DVD Collectors Online

Revenge of a Kabuki Actor, a review by Antares

Revenge of a Kabuki Actor (1963) 81/100 - A wonderful performance from Kazuo Hasegawa and a vibrant color scheme go hand in hand in this rather quirky revenge film from Kon Ichikawa. Supposedly, Ichikawa was being punished by Daiei for being a little too self-indulgent in his previous films. So instead of playing by the rules, he pulls out all the stops and makes a visually daring and beautifully crafted vision of Kabuki theater. The story itself, plays a back seat to Ichikawa's indulgence and though it is a good story, it kind of lacks the punch needed to make it a masterpiece. I kept waiting for some kind of payoff, but it never really came. But that's OK, because Hasegawa does a magnificent job with the two roles he's given, and getting any chances to gaze upon Ayako Wakao, is time well spent. I'm pretty sure that my score for this unique film, will increase upon a second viewing. I made the mistake of choosing the 'all subtitles' option on the Anim-Eigo DVD, which not only translated the dialog, but also threw in pop up descriptions of terms and subjects that were being used in the film. Trying to read two sets of subtitles in different portions of the screen became difficult at times and I missed a few things along the way. I don't think I would recommend this to anyone virginal to Japanese cinema, but for anyone who has dabbled and found an appreciation for this kind of film making, it's definitely an interesting, conceptual film.

What the color coding means...

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on July 18th, 2013)

Home on the Range, a review by GSyren

Title	Home on the Range (5-017188-814812)
Director	Will Finn, John Sanford
Actors	G. W. Bailey, Roseanne Barr, Bobby Block, Steve Buscemi, Carole Cook
Produced	2004 in United States
Runtime	73 minutes
Audio	English Dolby Digital 5.1, Other Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles	English, Portuguese, Spanish
Overview
My thoughts	The Wild, and also most computer animated features except the Tinker Bell sequels. I have some, but far from all, of their animated direct-to-video features. That said, I held off buying Home on the Range The Wild, too?
My rating	3 out of 5

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on September 26th, 2013)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969/United Kingdom) IMDb | Wikipedia (United States) Length: 1479 min. Video: Audio: Subtitles:

---

Plot:
Monty's Python's chief weapon is surprise. And silliness. Their two weapons are surprise and silliness. And men in drag. Their three weapons are surprise, silliness and men in drag. And bizarre animation. Their FOUR chief weapons... Oh, bloody hell.

As young men, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin showed tremendous promise as gifted comic artists. Then they created Monty Python's Flying Circus - very possibly the most tragic waste of Oxbridge education ever broadcast. If your television ever produces the sight or sound of rich drama or accomplished acting, there is most assuredly something drastically wrong with your set.

But it is clear: no programme in the history of television has brought such enlightenment to the common man. Monty Python's Flying Circus provides a veritable university education in cultural literacy - tailored, of course, to suit those not quite done with evolution.

The world will never forget Monthy Python's Flying Circus. But perhaps, someday, we'll forgive.


Monty Python's Flying Circus
1.01 Whither Canada (1969-10-05)
Writer: Graham Chapman (Writer), John Cleese (Writer), Eric Idle (Writer), Terry Jones (Writer), Michael Palin (Writer)
Director: Ian McNaughton
Cast: Graham Chapman), John Cleese), Eric Idle), Terry Jones), Michael Palin), Carol Cleveland), Terry Gilliam)

A classic. Especially great during the first two series. My favorite Python is John Cleese.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on June 9th, 2012)