DVD

Average customer rating:

regret puchasing
Peter Pan
It's in the eye of the beholder
One of the Best Disney Movies of All Time
it's timesless.buy it.

Peter Pan (2-Disc Platinum Edition)
Starring: Bobby Driscoll , Kathryn Beaumont , Hans Conried , and Bill Thompson
Director: Hamilton Luske , Clyde Geronimi , and Wilfred Jackson
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000JBWWRY
Release Date: 2007-03-06

Amazon.com

Peter Pan has a special place in the realm of classic animated Disney films: it instills an element of childlike wonder. The 1953 version of James M. Barrie's story is colorfully told and keeps on the straight and narrow of the book. Barrie's wondrous focus on child's play is the key to its longevity: kids who don't grow up, shadows that run away from their owners, pirates, a fairy, and the magic ability to fly. In short, you can't help wishing the adventure would happen to you. Fueled by a few memorable songs (the stunner being "You Can Fly") and the strong impression of the pixie fairy Tinkerbell and the goofy Captain Hook, Disney's version of this story neither supplants nor lessens the Broadway version with Mary Martin that was produced for television the same decade. Unlike some classics, Peter Pan never ages along the way. --Doug Thomas

Description

Let your dreams take flight with Walt Disney's original classic. PETER PAN soars to new heights in the magical 2-disc Platinum Edition DVD with an all-new digital restoration. Fantastic adventures await Wendy and her brothers when Peter Pan, the hero of their stories, whisks them away to the magical world of Never Land. After following Peter and his feisty sidekick Tinker Bell past "the second star to the right and straight on till morning," they explore the island and Peter's secret hideout with the rambunctious Lost Boys and leap into high-flying battles with swashbuckling pirates and the infamous Captain Hook! Bursting with fantasy, adventure, and pixie dust, this 2-disc Platinum Edition includes three all-new games in Camp Never Land, deleted scenes, a new discovery -- in which Walt Disney reveals why he made PETER PAN -- and much more.

Customer Reviews:

regret puchasing.......2007-07-02

The racism makes this movie inappropriate. I regret buying it for my three-year-old and will not be showing it a second time.

Peter Pan.......2007-06-26

An evergreen animated fantasy based on J.M. Barrie's beloved children's book, Disney's "Peter Pan" features dazzling hand-drawn visuals, excellent voice acting, and a winning score epitomized by the song "You Can Fly!" Rendered by Driscoll, Peter is refreshingly cocky, and even Tinkerbell has a bit of an impetuous streak; Hook, of course, is as dastardly as ever. Made by the same team that later created "The Lady and the Tramp," this thrilling, imaginative tale bests the 1923 live-action original, and leaves most other versions in the (fairy) dust as well.

It's in the eye of the beholder.......2007-06-24

I have loved this movie ever since I saw it on the Disneyland TV show in the early 1950's. It absolutely enthralled me.

The masterful animation, the fascinating story and the uplifting music go a long way in making the delicious fantasy almost seem true.

As in all good, juicy stories, characters give each other a rough time. Captain Hook stalks Peter Pan and even gives him a deadly bomb! Peter Pan also taunts the good captain. The crocodile also does his best to make Captain Hook's life a misery. Funny how the PC police never bring up these male-on-male confrontations.

But once Tinkerbell gets jealous of Wendy, or the mermaids act uppity, then we are dealing with female-on-female bullying, and that doesn't go over with the ladies nowadays. Never mind that it's a fact of life.

As for the caricatured native American stereotypes, that's all they are. Unhappily, a lot of caricatures are exaggerated images which have grown up around a kernel of truth. And they apply to all races. As a white male, my biggest nightmare is that I may someday actually look like Homer Simpson, Elmer Fudd or Popeye. But I'll just have to take my chances.

Kids are very sensitive to the energy around them, and if you sit there watching Disney's Peter Pan with them in a guarded, PC resistance-stance, they'll tune right into it and then get turned off.

Why not lighten up, and take this film on its own wonderful fantasy terms? That positive energy will enhance the experience for your little ones. If ever a film was made for children, this is one of the best.

One of the Best Disney Movies of All Time.......2007-05-21

This was one of my favorite movies as a child, and what better gift can you give than something you truly believe someone else would enjoy as well? Probably the best Disney movie out there!

it's timesless.buy it........2007-05-17

we all grew up with this(or should have)so get it if not for yourself for your kids or grandkids--keep the magic of walt's disney going and forget the neo-disney's money-grubbing sequal shennannigans!it's the only way to show them what quality we expect and trust!

Average customer rating:

Pixar's First and Best To Date!
Toy Story
One of my favorite movies
All Time Favorite!
One of the best Disney's movies ever!

Toy Story (10th Anniversary Edition)
Starring: Tom Hanks , Tim Allen , Don Rickles , Jim Varney , and Wallace Shawn
Director: John Lasseter
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
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ASIN: B0009MAO46
Release Date: 2005-09-06

Amazon.com Essential DVD

There is greatness in film that can be discussed, dissected, and talked about late into the night. Then there is genius that is right in front of our faces--we smile at the spell it puts us into and are refreshed, and nary a word needs to be spoken. This kind of entertainment is what they used to call "movie magic," and there is loads of it in this irresistible computer animation feature. Just a picture of these bright toys reawaken the kid in us. Filmmaker John Lasseter thinks of himself as a storyteller first and an animator second, much like another film innovator, Walt Disney.

The 10th anniversary edition of the landmark film repackages most of the extras found in the original Ultimate Toy Box set plus a few more. Two keen retrospectives are new, one with an assortment of talents including Roy Disney and Peter Jackson chiming in on the film's impact. The other is a roundtable with Lasseter and three of the creators simply talking about the experiences without--thankfully--any cutaways to noisy film clips. There's a load of other extras since the Ultimate Toy Box was one of the first and best DVD sets. Missing (besides the second film, which will be released separately) is the effects- and music-only tracks. Added is a whopping DTS soundtrack along with a remixed Dolby 5.1 track. The DVD has a higher transfer bit rate for a better picture, but only high-end enthusiasts will notice it. Since the film is a digital-to-digital transfer, both versions are eye-popping. A must-have set unless you have the Ultimate Toy Box.

Lasseter's story is universal and magical: what do toys do when they're not played with? Cowboy Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), Andy's favorite bedroom toy, tries to calm the other toys (some original, some classic) during a wrenching time of year--the birthday party, when newer toys may replace them. Sure enough, Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) is the new toy that takes over the throne. Buzz has a crucial flaw, though--he believes he's the real Buzz Lightyear, not a toy. Lasseter further scores with perfect voice casting, including Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head and Wallace Shawn as a meek dinosaur. The director-animator won a special Oscar for "the development and inspired application of techniques that have made possible the first feature-length computer-animated film." In other words, the movie is great. --Doug Thomas

The Pixar Feature Films

Toy Story, 1995
A Bug's Life, 1998
Toy Story 2, 1999

Monsters, Inc., 2001
Finding Nemo, 2003
The Incredibles, 2004

Description

Experience a hilarious fantasy about the lives toys lead when they're left alone. Woody (Tom Hanks), an old-fashioned cowboy doll, is Andy's favorite. But when Andy gets Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) for his birthday, the flashy new space hero takes Andy's room by storm! Their rivalry leaves them lost with a toy's worst nightmare -- Sid, the toy-torturing boy next door. Woody and Buzz must work together to escape, realizing along the way that they've got a friend ... in each other! Now, in a magnificent special edition, TOY STORY shines even brighter. With an all-new enhanced picture and a spectacular home theater mix as well as exclusive bonus features, including deleted scenes and a retrospective special with director John Lasseter, this modern classic is one you'll enjoy to infinity and beyond.

Customer Reviews:

Pixar's First and Best To Date!.......2007-06-26

TOY STORY is one of those classic movies that should be around for generations. Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear and Cowboy Woody are two of the most lovable and fully developed animated characters ever created. The movie is hilarious throughout though there are also many poignant moments (like Buzz's "I Will Go Sailing No More" song). Many talented actors contributed their voices most notably Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Jim Varney, John Ratzenberger and Don Rickles and the movie includes three memorable songs - "You Got a Friend", "Sailing No More" and Strange Things. And like all good stories it has some important themes including the meaning and value of friendship. Nothing scary for the little ones except perhaps some brief scenes of mutated toys and Syd's threatened violence toward Woody. This is a clever movie with heart that everyone should see.

Toy Story.......2007-06-12

A boy named Andy had a cowboy doll named Woody . Andy loved and had a good time with Woody ,until Andy's birthday . Andy's mom decided they were going to move . Andy got many toys even a Buzz Lightyear action figure for his birthday and everything changed . Andy stopped playing with Woody, and all of the posters , wallpaper, and many other things changed too. Everything changed into Buzz Lightyear.
Woody got angry , so he pulled a trick on Buzz . Buzz had to dodge a globe and flying thumbtacks and he had to jump out of the window. All of Andy's other toys blamed Woody. They said he pushed Buzz out of the window.
Andy's mother took Andy, his little sister, and Woody to Pizza Planet. Woody found Buzz in the car. Buzz was very mad, too. They stopped at the gas station. Wood and Buzz tustled out of the car and began to fight. Andy's car drove away and left them there, luckily they hopped into the Pizza Planet truck. They were driven to Pizza Planet where they find Andy, but Buzz has a different idea. Buzz and Woody hop into a crane game. Six, the crazy neighbor wins an alien, Woody, and Buzz in the crane machine and takes them home.
Six gets a big firework in the mail and attaches the rocket to Buzz. Woody and Sid's broken toys help Buzz out. They miss Andy's car but they get into the moving truck. Sid's dog, Scud, takes Buzz away but Woody takes Andy's remote control car and finds Buzz.. They race for the moving truck but the race car runs out of battery, so Buzz lights the firework and Woody and Buzz go flying in the air and land right into Andy's car. Andy finds them and they all live in a new home together as friends.
I love this movie. This has been my favorite movie since I was little. I think it is a very good movie for all ages to enjoy. I love all the adventures of Woody and Buzz.
I recommend this movie for people of all ages and people who love thrilling adventures.

One of my favorite movies.......2007-06-04

and I got it half price on here. What a deal! I actually bought it to watch with my kids, and they love it as much as I do. If you don't have a copy, you're missing out.

All Time Favorite!.......2007-05-16

I first saw this movie at the theatre while I was in college. I never DREAMED I would be watching it with my kids, and it would still be a favorite 12+ years later! This movie is destined to be on the all time classic list. The lessons learned in this movie are great for kids of all ages, while still being enjoyable for adults to watch. My kids can quote whole blocks of dialogue from the movie, love to re-enact scenes, and still ask for toys from this movie. We first had it on VHS, and had to replace it because we literally wore out the tape. Now you would think that we must watch a lot of TV in our house, but we don't!! We have a movie night once a week as a family, and this is one they would watch almost every time if I let them. It's a great movie for the whole family.

One of the best Disney's movies ever!.......2007-03-14

The 3D animation is awesome, in fact it was the first movie using this technology so it made history because of that. The story is very funny but also teaches a lot of good values to kids and adults, like loyalty work team and friendship. the bonus and dvd box is great too.

The Sergio Leone Anthology (A Fistful Of Dollars / For A Few Dollars More / The Good, The Bad And The Ugly / Duck, You Sucker)

Average customer rating:

A couple of these are among the best westerns ever!
Four classic Leone movies given the deluxe treatment and FINALLY released in the U.S. on DVD
Where's the postcards!
Unsure
At long last...

The Sergio Leone Anthology (A Fistful Of Dollars / For A Few Dollars More / The Good, The Bad And The Ugly / Duck, You Sucker)
Starring: Clint Eastwood , James Coburn , Rod Steiger , Eli Wallach , and Lee Van Cleef
Director: Sergio Leone
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000OPOAMU
Release Date: 2007-06-05

Amazon.com

From the innovative "James Bond Western" style of A Fistful of Dollars (1964) to the complete restoration of Duck You Sucker (1971), The Sergio Leone Anthology pays lavish tribute to one of the greatest of all Italian directors. A lifelong film buff deeply influenced by the movies he enjoyed as an uneducated youth in southern Italy, Leone (1929-1989) had officially directed only one previous film (1961's The Colossus of Rhodes) when he recruited a relatively unknown American TV star named Clint Eastwood (on a modest salary of $15,000) and made cinema history with A Fistful of Dollars, not the first Western made by an Italian but certainly the first truly Italian entry in the "Spaghetti Western" genre that Leone virtually invented. Each of the four films included in this eight-disc set are influential milestones in that once-maligned, now-celebrated genre, and while Leone's classic Westerns were largely dismissed by critics throughout the 1960s and '70s, they now stand as the masterworks of a visionary artist who was posthumously elevated into the pantheon of world-class filmmakers. To acknowledge Leone's historic impact on the genre, the Leone Anthology includes MGM's previous two-disc extended-cut collector's edition of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), and applies the same deluxe treatment to A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More (1965), and, for the first time on DVD, the fully restored English-language version of the original 157-minute Italian cut of Duck You Sucker (previously known by its alternate U.S. title A Fistful of Dynamite), which was never shown in American theaters.

A Fistful of Dollars is best known in America for spawning the "Man With No Name" marketing campaign that made Eastwood a star, although Eastwood's character is clearly named "Joe" in this cleverly adapted low-budget remake of Akira Kurosawa's samurai classic Yojimbo, in which Eastwood's lone drifter vies for strategic advantage in a corrupt Mexican town divided by a bitter family feud. The operatic qualities that grew increasingly lavish in Leone's later films are evident here on a smaller scale, along with the modern, innovative score of Ennio Morricone, whose legendary collaborations with Leone (on all four of these films) were vital to the director's deliberate defiance of Hollywood's Western traditions. Fistful was an instant success in Italy and its immediate sequel, For a Few Dollars More, is often cited as the definitive Spaghetti Western, with a bigger budget ($600,000) and a charismatic costar with Eastwood (Lee Van Cleef) in an uneasy alliance between gunslingers that introduced a hint of humanity to Leone's increasingly de-mythologized vision of the West. While teaming Eastwood, Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach in a ruthless Civil War-era quest for buried Confederate gold, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly completed Leone's "Dollars" trilogy (filmed primarily on locations in Spain) on a truly epic scale, introducing the darker cynicism, grander ambition, and artistic maturity that defined Leone's later films.

Leone vowed to quit making Westerns after his 1968 masterpiece Once Upon a Time in the West (a Paramount release not included in this set), but circumstances led him to seize the directorial reins of Duck You Sucker, a dynamic yet deeply disillusioned study of revolution that can now take its rightful place among Leone's greatest films. Like several of Leone's films, Duck You Sucker suffered a long history of cuts, re-cuts, and censorship, and the fully restored 157-minute version (unseen since the film's 1971 Italian premiere) more effectively explores the complex friendship between an Irish rebel explosives expert (James Coburn) and a brutish Mexican bandit (Rod Steiger) who becomes a reluctant revolutionary in 1913 Mexico. With explosive action sequences that remain among the most impressive ever filmed, Duck You Sucker now gives richer meaning to the film's original Italian title Giù la testa ("Keep Your Head Down"), asserting Leone's theme that family is far more important than the devastating violence of revolution. In the Leone Anthology (a variation on previous DVD sets released in England, Germany, and Japan), Duck You Sucker is the long-awaited crown jewel in a box-set of cinematic treasures. And while Leone purists will endlessly debate over the image quality (generally quite impressive) and 5.1-channel soundtrack mixes included here, there's no denying that The Sergio Leone Anthology is the definitive Leone tribute for a technically demanding 21st-century audience, and that's cause for enthusiastic celebration. --Jeff Shannon

On the DVDs
Listed in the glossy 32-page booklet that accompanies this eight-disc set (also including cast lists, scene selections, brief synopses, and behind-the-scenes details), the bonus features found in The Sergio Leone Anthology provide a comprehensive study of Leone's career, themes that dominated his work, and the historical contexts that inform Leone's classic "Spaghetti Westerns." With an even balance of lively authority and erudite scholarship, acclaimed Leone biographer and British film historian Sir Christopher Frayling provides informative commentary on A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and Duck You Sucker, while Time magazine critic Richard Schickel's equally astute commentary remains on MGM's previous two-disc release of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. (Many of these features were prepared for the U.K. version of The Leone Anthology, including interviews conducted in 2003 and 2005.) In addition to a wide variety of vintage American radio promotional spots for these films, the meticulously researched and delightfully fascinating "location comparisons" show "then and now" scenes from all four films, with original film clips perfectly matched to location photos taken in 2004 by devoted Leone fans Donald S. Bruce and Marla J. Johnson.

Extras on A Fistful of Dollars begin with "A New Kind of Hero" (22:53), Frayling's behind-the-scenes analysis of the film's innovative anti-hero played by Clint Eastwood, whom Leone hired (when first choices Henry Fonda, James Coburn, Lee Marvin, and Charles Bronson proved too expensive) after seeing Eastwood in a 1961 episode of Rawhide. In the interview featurette "A Few Weeks in Spain" (8:33), Eastwood recalls the experience of making the film on location, and "Tre Voci" (or "Three Voices") is an 11-minute combination of retrospective interviews with producer Alberto Grimaldi, screenwriter Sergio Donati, and Mickey Knox, an American actor living in Rome who provided many of the post-synchronized voices for the English-language versions of Leone's films. In "Not Ready for Prime Time" (6:20), maverick American director Monte Hellman describes the circumstances that led to his direction of an explanatory Fistful of Dollars prologue for the film's American network TV premiere on August 29, 1977. Featuring Harry Dean Stanton, and filmed as an attempt to "legitimize" the Man With No Name's seemingly immoral behavior, the rarely-seen prologue (7:44) is introduced by obsessive Leone fan Howard Fridkin, who saved his Betamax recording from the one-time-only 1977 broadcast.

Frayling examines For a Few Dollars More in "A New Standard" (20:15), a "making of" featurette with emphasis on the film's male/male dynamic (described by Frayling as Leone's "invention of the brother he never had"). In "Back for More" (7:08), Eastwood recalls how he'd begun to watch Leone to inform his own directorial ambitions. "Tre Voci" (11:05) continues the retrospective interviews with Grimaldi, Donati, and Knox, and "The Original American Release Version" (5:19) examines three edits (including removal of the name "Manco" so Eastwood's character could remain "nameless" in the film's American marketing) that were made for the film's U.S. release.

Extras on The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly are highlighted by "Leone's West" (19:53) and "The Leone Style" (23:47), a pair of excellent documentaries exploring the film itself and the evolution of Leone's visual style as his budgets and production values grew to epic proportions. Featuring interviews with Clint Eastwood, critic and Eastwood biographer Richard Schickel, and others, these are must-see features packed with entertaining observations and anecdotes. Lending historical context to Leone's film, "The Man Who Lost the Civil War" is a 14-minute excerpt from a documentary about ill-fated Confederate general Henry Hopkins Sibley's botched campaign to expand Confederate dominance in the West. The "Reconstruction" featurette (11:07) is a detailed study of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly's painstaking restoration to Leone's intended 179-minute extended cut, featuring an interview John Kirk, the MGM director of technical operations who supervised the film's meticulous reconstruction. The essential contribution of composer Ennio Morricone is celebrated in the "Il Maestro" featurette (7:47) and film music historian Jon Burlingame provides an excellent audio-only survey (12:29) of Morricone's most popular soundtrack. Deleted scenes include the extended "Tuco torture" sequence (in which the brutal beating of Eli Wallach's character is masterfully cross-cut with the melancholy performance of a prison-camp orchestra); the brilliant "Socorro sequence" that was drastically edited in previous cuts; and a French trailer revealing shots and alternate angles not seen in the film's various theatrical releases. The poster gallery includes eight posters from the film's international marketing campaigns.

For Duck You Sucker, Frayling's film-by-film analysis continues in "The Myth of Revolution" (22:10), a behind-the-scenes study of Leone's deepening artistic maturity, as manifested in the film's cynical view of political revolution. "Donati Remembers" (7:20) is a continuation of the retrospective interview with screenwriter Sergio Donati (who by the early '70s was urging Leone to return to smaller-scale filmmaking), and "Once Upon a Time in Italy" (6:00) explores the ambitious effort that went into creating the definitive traveling exhibit of material (props, posters, costumes, etc.) from Leone's archives and beyond, first shown at the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage, in Los Angeles, California, in July 2005. In "Sorting Out the Versions" (11:37), film historian Glenn Erickson narrates a visual survey of the various cuts and changes made to Duck You Sucker during its tortured history of global distribution, and in "Restoration Italian Style" (6:07), MGM director of technical operations John Kirk outlines the painstaking effort to restore Duck You Sucker to its original Italian premiere length of 157 minutes, resulting in the first-ever English language version based on the film's Italian-language restoration of 1996. The disc concludes with the enjoyable "Location Comparisons" (9:32), six rare radio spots from the film's original U.S. release in 1972, and (as with all other films in this set) the original theatrical trailer. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Disc 1: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY Collector's Edition Disc 2: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY Bonus Disc Disc 3: A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS Collector's Edition Disc 4: A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS Bonus Disc Disc 5: FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE Collector's Edition Disc 6: FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE Bonus Disc Disc 7: DUCK, YOU SUCKER (A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE) Collector's Edition Disc 8: DUCK, YOU SUCKER (A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE) Bonus Disc

Customer Reviews:

A couple of these are among the best westerns ever!.......2007-06-25

The Good The Bad and The Ugly is certainly in the top ten best westerns ever and For a few Dollars More in the top ten or at least top twenty. See my amapedia review below for more details.

Four classic Leone movies given the deluxe treatment and FINALLY released in the U.S. on DVD.......2007-06-10

Prepared for release in 2005 we've only had to wait two years for this deluxe reissue of three of the four Leone films included here. For those that want to know this box set has a 32 page booklet with credits and essays on the films but no postcards like the original release of "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly". If you want the collectable version, I suppose you'll have to buy these individually. This set is definitely worth picking up as it is a HUGE improvement over all the previously released home video versions of the film. All the films look terrific, have commentary tracks (although "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" is the exact same release as before)and great featurettes/extras that were released overseas two years ago.

"Fistful of Dollars" looks very good in its new DVD transfer lovingly restored although there is an odd strobe like effect in one sequence. We get a terrific commentary track from Leone scholar Sir Christopher Frayling discussing the making of the film, the delayed release in the United States (part of which was related to Akira Kurosawa's lawsuit. It was legit though since "Fistful" is an unauthorized remake of Kurosawa's classic "Yojimbo" although Leone's version of the same story is equally compelling), how Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson (who called it one of the worst scripts he had ever read...interesting considering he later appeared in "Once Upon a Time in the West")both turned down the lead role.

Eastwood reveals in a featurette that he wrote much of his own dialogue for the film, made his own script notes all of which contributed to truly making the role his own.

"For a Few Dollars More" looks exceptional. Like all the films here, it is released in an anamorphic widscreen transfer that does justice to the deep, rich colors of the films. There is one scene where there appears to be some sort of scratch on the film that wasn't corrected but otherwise the film looks beautiful. We also get Eastwood again discussing the making of the film, Sir Christopher Frayling with another very good commentary track as well as a section that compares three variations in the film (the sequence where Manco and Mortimer are beaten up has a slightly longer more brutal variation and we also see the way UA released the film with a brief trim that eliminated Manco's name to tie the film into the promo campagin that UA had for "The Man with No Name").

"The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" is exactly the same as the 2005 release on DVD right down to the graphics on the disc. Sir Christopher Frayling did record a commentary track for this after it was released hoping that it could be added to later editions (he wasn't available for the original remaster. Time critic Richard Schickel does the honors here). The extras are exactly the same. For those that are interested this includes the 5.1 mix that had new sound effects for that mix but does not include the original mono soundtrack in English.

"Duck You Sucker" comes in the most complete version released so far. At 157 minutes it is closest to Leone's original cut of the film. The film looks exceptionally good. It's clear that John Kirk went the extra mile to get this right. Also, kudos to Glenn Erickson (aka DVD Savant at DVD Talk)who worked on the featurettes and started the campaign to get these films restored and released on home video ages ago.

Again, Sir Christopher Frayling does a very good commentary track discussing the various versions of the film released. The soundtraack has been reprocessed for 5.1. Sergio Donati a collaborator of Leone's discusses working on the film in a featurette and how Eli Wallach was replaced by Rod Steiger at United Artist's insistance but that Leone never shared the information with Wallach. "Restoration Italian Style" features John Kirk who worked on this special project discusses how he went about reassembling the film for this edition. We also get location comparisons (this is also on the other discs as well)showing scenes from the film and how the locations look now. "The Autry Exhibit" is a featurette on a show assembled by Frayling and Estela Chung for a Leone exhibit. Unfortunately, that happened in 2005 when this was ORIGINALLY was supposed to be released before MGM was bought by Sony throwing this and other releases into limbo. "Sorting out the Versions" uses stills, footage used to show us scenes that weren't included in the movie.

The whole set is assembled in a cardboard foldout box with the discs resting on top of each other. There's a little holder built into the set for the booklet.

Overall this is a terrific set and an essential addition to fans of Leone's westerns. Although it took two years to get this released in the United States (that's nothing compared to the delay for the second season of "Twin Peaks" for even the release of the pilot for that show in the U.S.), it was worth the wait. I'm not sure what the Blu-Ray plans are for this release yet so I went ahead and plunked down the money for the whole set. Fans who already have "TGTBATU" may want to buy these individually although it would be more expensive than this set. MGM (and Fox which distributes all MGM titles now even though MGM is held by Sony)have done a terrific job with this set. My only complaint is that it would have been nice to have the collectable postcards that reproduced the lobby cards/posters. Highly recommended.

Where's the postcards!.......2007-06-07

I'm glad I didn't dump my copy of the previous "collectors edition" of G/B/U when I first pre-ordered this set, because the cool set of postcards reproducing international posters is NOT included in this set.

Does anyone know if the individual "collectors edition" releases of the other films, FOD/FFDM & Duck You Sucker come with any such goodies?

So five stars for the discs, but four for leaving out the postcards...

Unsure.......2007-06-06

I already own The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - Extended Cut (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

I've waited 3 years for the other Leone movies to come out on the Collector's Editions...Now I have to decide what to do.

Should I buy the three movies separately or buy the entire box set? Buying them individually would be cheaper...but will I lose out on anything by doing this and not buying the entire edition?

I don't know what to do...can anyone comment?

At long last..........2007-06-05

Like others in this thread, I too wondered why it took MGM soooo long to put this out. After seeing the fantastic work with TGBU remastering, I am excited to see what's in store for the rest of these masterpieces. BTW, in the Editorial Review, Jeff Shannon, as seems to be the case with numerous film critics, incorrectly states about Fistfull of Dollars "...although Eastwood's character is clearly named "Joe"...". Sure,he is called that but only by one person, the undertaker, in the entire film. His name was never revealed by his character nor was he referred to by any other name. I guess one could debate whether or not the undertaker even said "Joe" considering that his english dialogue was obviously dubbed. Oh, well. Enjoy the new releases!

Average customer rating:

true classic
Great Movie, but this is not the Special Edition DVD.
Man plus Machine equals Schwarzenegger!
Great movie
The Terminator

The Terminator (Special Edition)
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger , Michael Biehn , Linda Hamilton , Paul Winfield , and Lance Henriksen
Director: James Cameron
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
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ASIN: B00005N5S5
Release Date: 2001-10-02

Amazon.com essential video

This is the film that cemented Schwarzenegger's spot in the action-brawn firmament, and it was well deserved. He's chilling as the futuristic cyborg who kills without fear, without love, without mercy. James Cameron's story and direction are pared to the bone and all the more creepy. But don't overlook the contributions of Linda Hamilton, who more than holds her own as the Terminator's would-be victim, Sarah Connor--thus creating, along with Sigourney Weaver in Alien, a new generation of rugged, clear-thinking female action stars. It's surprising how well this film holds up, and how its minimalist, malevolent violence is actually way scarier than that of its far more expensive, more effects-laden sequel. --Anne Hurley

Description

In the year 2029, the ruling super-computer, Skynet, sends an indestructible cyborg (Arnold Schwarzenegger) back in time to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) before she can fulfill her destiny and save mankind.

Customer Reviews:

true classic.......2007-06-27

Schwarzeneggers Terminator debut is the best one in my
opinion but the technic isnt that good escpecially in
the last scenes animation of the robot ist done quit
simple for its time ok but today truely bad.
as for the imagequality forget about that fast.

Blu Ray is no magician but it is defenetly the best version when it comes to clear pictures
but no comparison to a new movie thats filmed with HD equipment.

Great Movie, but this is not the Special Edition DVD........2007-06-23

Don't be fooled, I have been looking everywhere for the Real Special Edition DVD.

The first DVD was a barebones Disc that was non-anamorphic. Then in 2001 MGM released the Special Edition with the following features.

- Other Voices Documentry.
- Terminator: a retrospective fetturette.
- Deleted Scenes with optional Commentary
- Theatrical trailers and TV spots.
- DVD-ROM features.

The DVD that Amazon is selling is only includes one trailer and some DVD-ROM stuff. I can't find the Special Edition DVD anywhere. Also, there are three Reagon 2 releases, a Special Editon, a Definitive Edition, and an Ultimate Edition! Why aren't there any Reagon 1 Ultimate Editions, all we have is a barebones Disc with no good extras. Someone tell me where I can find the Reagon 1 Special Edition DVD.

Man plus Machine equals Schwarzenegger!.......2007-06-16

Entertainment Weekly recently touted the first sequel ("Terminator 2: Judgment Day") to this film as being one of The Twenty-Five Best Action Films of all time. That title may be an accurate assessment of the non-stop action of the sequel but what would it have been without its predecessor which ranks as one of the best science fiction commentaries on the path that we may be going with our computer-dependent society.

James Cameron scored a casting coup when he gave the role to Arnold. At the time, the muscle-bound actor had had a few films under his belt, films that played mostly on his physical appearance and his novice acting skills. "The Terminator" character was short on dialogue but Cameron made the best of his star by providing him with one-line zingers and stares that could wake the dead.

To call the part "tailor-made" for Schwarzenegger would be a major understatement. He was muy perfecto.

Linda Hamilton, not yet the household name that she would become for TV's "Beauty and the Beast," as well as not yet the future "Mrs. James Cameron," is appropriately confused and terrified as the waitress that would ultimately become the mother of the man that would rescue humanity.

Michael Biehn is well-cast as the other traveler from the future, intent on preventing Arnold's malevolent cyborg from doing his killing-thing.

Stan Winston's effects still hold their own after almost a quarter of a century.

Great movie.......2007-06-07

Great movie, pretty impressive FX for it's time. The Blu-ray version suffers a little due to this movie's old master. It's no where near being Pirates of the Carabean clear (Probably the best Blu-ray video quality so far).

There are some extras, one which show the making of the FX, which is a plus.

But for 19 dollars, it's a no brainer. Get Blu-Ray version if you don't already own DVD version.

The Terminator.......2007-05-27

Lots of action from beginning to end. If you love an action film, this is for you!

Schwarzenegger was a perfect pick to play this character.

Average customer rating:

Billy Wilder's Lost Masterwork Get's the Royal Criterion Treatment
One of Billy Wilder's Masterpieces
Not To Be Missed
Gets more relevant every year!
Billy Wilder's Neglected Masterpiece

Ace in the Hole - Criterion Collection
Starring: Kirk Douglas
Director: Billy Wilder
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000PKG6OE
Release Date: 2007-07-17

Studio description

One of the most scathing indictments of American culture ever produced by a Hollywood filmmaker, Academy Award-winner Billy Wilder's Ace in the Hole is legendary for both its cutting social critique and its status as a hard-to-find cult classic. Kirk Douglas gives the fiercest performance of his career as Chuck Tatum, an amoral newspaper reporter caught in dead-end Albuquerque who happens upon the story of a lifetime-and will do anything to ensure he gets the scoop. Wilder's follow-up to Sunset Boulevard is an even darker vision, a no-holds-barred expose that anticipated the rise of the American media circus.

Customer Reviews:

Billy Wilder's Lost Masterwork Get's the Royal Criterion Treatment.......2007-05-05

"Ace in the Hole" is one of those movies that comes around every rare often and belts you right in the kisser. Yet, to my knowledge, Paramount has never released it on VHS, and certainly not on LaserDisc or DVD. Until now: Criterion is releasing a DVD with a cleaned-up print and all the bells and whistles. Until it comes out, I will have to console myself with my VHS third-generation copy that was recorded in the 1980s from some TV channel in Florida. The print is grainy, the sound warbles and the dialogue is out of sync at times. It nonetheless still packs a helluva wallop.

Read the bottom of pages on which Wilder's movies are sold: "Customers who bought DVDs directed by Billy Wilder also bought DVDs by these directors:

"Howard Hawks
"Alfred Hitchcock
"John Huston
"William Wyler
"George Cukor"

There isn't one weak or less than legendary director in this list. Personally, I rate Wilder right up there with Hitch and ahead of all the others. Yet, when Paramount released their DVD boxed set of three Wilder classics ("Sunset Boulevard," "Sabrina" and "Stalag 17"), "Ace in the Hole" was conspicuously absent. What a shame! I consider this his masterwork, arguably equalling "Double Indemnity" and "The Apartment."

Critics have called it a black comedy, I suppose because it's a Billy Wilder movie, so we reflexively think of him as a comedic director. In fact, having heard and read so much about this movie, I sort of felt jinxed, because when I go into a movie with high expectations, I come out of it a little disappointing.

And, the opening of this movie disappointed a little: When Kirk Douglas' character, Charlie Tatum, falls down on his luck and lands a job with an Albuquerque newspaper, it seems to be a bit of a new spin on an old classic, "The Front Page" (which, strangely enough, Wilder resurrected in 1974 as a Matthau/Lemmon vehicle).

Yet, that's the movie's genius, because you are lured into thinking it's a comedy. Yet, once Kirk Douglas finds his potential "Pulitzer-prize winning story" buried under fallen timbers in a New Mexico cave, you realise it's a cynical farce.

But then, it's no longer a farce, but a dark tragedy. Not so quick, because by the end you'll find it's an abomination -- not the movie itself, which is superbly casted and crafted -- because it shows at root what base intentions really drive mankind.

Of all his movies, it's the oddest. Imagine a cross between "Double Indemnity" and "The Fortune Cookie." Strange, I know, but that is the closest I can pin it down. Douglas' character is an even more cold-blooded version of Walter Matthau's supreme shyster Whiplash Willie. Think of William Holden's Sergeant Seften without the heart of gold, and you'll get Chuck Tatum.

Jan Sterling is equally, well, sterling as the victim's wife, whose blood runs as ice-cold as Barbara Stanwyck's Phyllis Dietrichson. Sterling, though, is no femme fatale: She's too tawdry, and can only aspire to the unimaginative dreams that accompany her former dime-a-dance persona. She does slip a pair of scissors into Douglas' flank, but, hey, he had it coming.

The ending, which I won't give away, is chilling and powerful. Nobody could write ending lines like Wilder could, and this one is no exception. It's right up there with Fred MacMurray's "I love you, too" ("Double Indemnity"), Shirley MacLaine's "Shut up and deal" ("The Apartment"), Gloria Swanson's "I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille" ("Sunset Boulevard") and Joe E. Brown's "Nobody's perfect" ("Some Like it Hot").

"Ace in the Hole" walks on the seedy and seamy side of journalist and shows the viewer all the manipulation behind the scenes of the newspaper racket. It presages other blisteringly scathing films as "A Face in the Crowd," "Sweet Smell of Success" and "Network."

One of Billy Wilder's Masterpieces.......2007-05-04

This 1951 film seems as relevant today as it ever did. Kirk Douglas is perfectly cast as an unethical newspaper reporter who, through his influence over the town's sheriff, keeps a dying man trapped in a mine for several days longer than necessary in order to milk the story for all it's worth - a strategy he hopes will help him claw his way back to the top of the journalistic world. Billy Wilder's incredibly vitriolic film tells many truths about how reality is manipulated by the media to serve personal and political ends without regard to the suffering caused by this agenda. His film spares nobody in its critique: those who perpetuate the lies, those who directly benefit from them, even those who uncritically consume the stories are all complicit in the wrongdoing. Wilder made many great films, most of which are far better known than this one, but "Ace in the Hole" is up there with the best of them.

Criterion's upcoming release is definitely cause for celebration.

Not To Be Missed.......2007-04-30

At last, at last, Wilder's finest film, "Ace In The Hole" (AKA "The Big Carnival") is released on DVD. For those without TCM (it's been run several times in the last month or two), you will now finally be able to see a film swimming in deep cynicism as well as experience one of the coldest characters every recorded on film - Jan Sterling's "grieving" wife. She is the female mirror to Kirk Douglas' down-on-his-luck, cruel Chuck Tatum.

More relevant in these media-frenzied times than when it was made, "Ace. . ." still packs a wallop in reminding us of the power of the press to manipulate (in Tatum's case for self-aggrandizment).

I first saw this film when I was about 8 or 9 years old. I couldn't grasp the story's nuances, but it sure put the zap on my pre-pubescent head.

Wonderfully acted from a great script under Wilder's sure hand, "Ace In The Hole" is a cinematic treasure not to be missed. (Especially for Wilder fans.) This is Wilder's masterpiece.

Thank you Criterion!

In short:

Reporter Chuck tatum (Kirk Douglas who's been kicked off every major US paper) ruthlessly exploits a man trapped in a cave he chances upon while on his way to cover a rattlesnake hunt (how fitting) for an Albuquerque daily. While an engineer promises to get the man out in hours, Reporter Tatum, and a corrupt sherrif, lean on the engineer to bore through rock. A process that'll take a week.

Tatum sells the story to the majors who lap it up. When the news breaks nationwide, thousands descend on the disaster. The scenes of the carnival invited by Leo's wife (Jan Sterling) to set up and cheesy country western singer twanging a guitar while singing about poor Leo (the trapped man), are powerful.

O Leo, Leo, Leee-Oooo
We're Coming Leo

Gets more relevant every year!.......2007-04-02

First of all, I want to remind people how amazing it is that Wilder managed to get this withering assessment of capitalism and the mass media made while deep in the bowels of the McCarthy era (1951) when anyone who didn't wave their pompoms for the great US of A and everything it stood for, usually got hauled in front of a Congressional committee of some sort or other. As miraculous in its own way as Marcel Carne's "Children of Paradise" getting made during the Nazi occupation of France.

Now how can you look at the Tatum character today and not see Karl Rove? Amazing!

This movie seamlessly weaves a great story into several still-timely themes, such as the mining of tragedy for profit; the distortion and manipulation of reality by the mass media for profit and circulation; the exploitation of the environment and disrespect of native peoples; the human foible of scrabbling onto the coattails of a media event for the mean purpose of self-aggrandizement. Man, this film is a veritable treasure trove of significant cultural phenomena. And to think it was made BEFORE television, satellite and the Internet! Wow.

The picture's literal "Ace in the Hole" is young Leo Cole, a young miner trapped by an avalanche in a mine shaft. He becomes Tatum's "ace in the hole" for a big story and self-glorification. Cole, in his native goodness and naivete, is almost a Christ like figure, totally beyond and ethically superior to the maggots swarming about his fate.

If this picture doesn't break your heart, you don't have one.

Billy Wilder's Neglected Masterpiece.......2007-03-14

This 1951 film seems as relevant today as it ever did. Kirk Douglas is perfectly cast as an unethical newspaper reporter who, through his influence over the town's sheriff, keeps a dying man trapped in a mine for several days longer than necessary in order to milk the story for all it's worth - a strategy he hopes will help him claw his way back to the top of the journalistic world. Billy Wilder's incredibly vitriolic film tells many truths about how reality is manipulated by the media to serve personal and political ends without regard to the suffering caused by this agenda. His film spares nobody in its critique: those who perpetuate the lies, those who directly benefit from them, even those who uncritically consume the stories are all complicit in the wrongdoing. Wilder made many great films, most of which are far better known than this one, but "Ace in the Hole" is up there with the best of them.

For now the only way to see it is on a bootlegged DVD or the Turner Classic Movies channel. A Criterion edition is due out this summer.

Average customer rating:

His 4th and last film
The man the myth, the legend.
bruce lee's best....
ONLY 170 PEOPLE REVIEW THIS?????????
The Classic Bruce Lee Movie

Enter the Dragon
Starring: Bruce Lee , John Saxon , Kien Shih , Ahna Capri , and Angela Mao
Director: Robert Clouse
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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ASIN: 6304981635
Release Date: 1998-07-01

Amazon.com

The last film completed by Bruce Lee before his untimely death, Enter the Dragon was his entrée into Hollywood. The American-Hong Kong coproduction, shot in Asia by American director Robert Clouse, stars Lee as a British agent sent to infiltrate the criminal empire of bloodthirsty Asian crime lord Han (Shih Kien) through his annual international martial arts tournament. Lee spends his days taking on tournament combatants and nights breaking into the heavily guarded underground fortress, kicking the living tar out of anyone who stands in his way. The mix of kung fu fighting (choreographed by Lee himself) and James Bond intrigue (the plot has more than a passing resemblance to Dr. No) is pulpy by any standard, but the generous budget and talented cast of world-class martial artists puts this film in a category well above Lee's primitive Hong Kong productions. Unfortunately he's off the screen for large chunks of time as American maverick competitors (and champion martial artists) John Saxon and Jim Kelly take center stage, but once the fighting starts Lee takes over. The tournament setting provides an ample display of martial arts mastery of many styles and climaxes with a huge free-for-all, but the highlight is Lee's brutal one-on-one with the claw-fisted Han in the dynamic hall-of-mirrors battle. Lee narrows his eyes and tenses into a wiry force of sinew, speed, and ruthless determination. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

His 4th and last film.......2007-04-17

Well, this movie had a profound impact on me. I discovered Bruce Lee shortly after his death, and then he became my childhood hero. Yes, I had all the posters and all the books. I even studied Wing Chun as an adolescent, just like he did. Speaking of which, it is amazing to me that until his last breath he never really abandoned that style of fighting, despite all his experimentation and despite founding Jeet Kune Do. Leaving aside the opening scene in which he mostly adopts Mui Thai (Kickboxing), and with remarkable prescience, Ultimate Fighting type mixed martial arts, the rest of the film in terms of his hand fighting is strictly Wing Chun: all the trapping hands and short, precise, practical movements and techniques are virtually 100% Wing Chun.

Now, was this Bruce Lee's best film? Well, in some ways in terms of production value it was. But if you pay close attention to Fists of Fury (also known as The Chinese Connection), and Return of the Dragon, you'll find that the production value of those two weren't that far behind ETD, and in some cases was better. Production wise, nothing in ETD can compare with the battle with Chuck Norris in the Coliseum in the climactic scene from Return of the Dragon. Similarly, in Fists of Fury, the battle in the Japanese Karate dojo along with the fight against the big European towards the end are as good, if not better than anything in Enter the Dragon. The one poorly produced film made by Bruce Lee would be The Big Boss, his first on his return to Hong Kong. Although, that too had some scintillating and spectacular fight scenes.

In terms of Bruce Lee himself, I'm afraid to say he was past his prime at this juncture. Remarkable, powerful and masterful yes, but somewhat past the prime he demonstrated in his earlier films. Martial Arts, in the end, is an athletic endeavor, and athletes generally reach their prime in their mid to late 20s and pass it as they approach 30 and beyond. And, of course, Bruce Lee was under an extreme amount of pressure. This would be his make or break film. If it failed he would be finished in Hollywood, if it succeeded he would finally take his place among the Hollywood elite whom he alternately admired, envied and detested. In addition to that, there were guys coming out of the woodwork wanting to fight him and claim the singular distinction of being the one guy who kicked Bruce Lee's butt. When he couldn't avoid it, he actually had a couple of real fights on set during the making of this film, and he didn't dissapoint. There was no fancy stuff, his opponents were quickly and ruthlessly dispatched. Had he lost any of those fights his career would be over.

All in all this film is a classic. It has some of the most brutal and beautiful hand to hand fight sequences ever committed to film. The battles are at once fantastical and savagely realistic. There is a minimum of fakery here, which at the time was the hallmark of Kung fu movies. And while Bruce Lee would always add fancy kicking to his film repertoire, many of his techniques here are in fact practical and commonsensical, and would work on the street if executed by a decent fighter.

Enter the Dragon is the only Bruce Lee film in which we hear his real voice. And it was finally the big budget, relatively carefully made Kung-fu movie everyone was clamoring for. But the greatest compliment I can pay this film is that after having watched it dozens of times over the last 30+ years, I can still watch it over and over again.

The man the myth, the legend........2007-04-02

Bruce Lee was a cult figure/phenomenon that may never be explained, a martial artist, a philosopher, a movie star. This movie I have always thought was his finest effort and showed the more thoughtful introspective side. The original scene with the shaolin,priest was cut out but it really gives you some of his thoughts on Zen and Fighting. Its great that it was put back in. I have to agree with others that in this movie Bruce was beginning to look sick and may have been slowly dying, his face was drawn and he was carrying to little body fat. The speed and power was evident and this is a great movie with a great story.

bruce lee's best...........2007-03-19

i have a lot of bruce lee's work but this is his finest hour... the plot and the movie have the best script and the supporting actors are very good... it also had the best cinematology, great locations... excellent dvd with bruce lee at his best in all categories!!!

ONLY 170 PEOPLE REVIEW THIS?????????.......2007-03-14

This is Bruce Lee at his best, he really shows how fast(scary fast)he is
The only sad thing about this movie is you can see(WELL DIE HARD LEE FANS ANYWAY) that the man was slowly dying. Bruce looks thin(still muscular
though) but very thin if you compare him to his other films,he had already
had a fainting spell prior or during filming of this masterpiece and sadly
it was just a matter of time. Still if he was not the man he was by not
relaxing and shutting his engine off so to speak we really would not be
celebrating him today,no by him pushing himself beyond the limits he has
shown the world that when you have speed,technique,skill and power,you
really can beat any man one on one.

The Classic Bruce Lee Movie.......2007-03-12

Long-time fans of Bruce Lee are well-aware of this two-disc DVD set, which captures Bruce Lee's restored "Enter The Dragon" along with an interesting collection of extra featurettes. For those who are not long-time Bruce Lee fans, "Enter The Dragon" was his first movie made to Hollywood production standards, and unfortunately his last (he died unexpectedly just prior to the release of the movie).

The storyline, featuring Lee infiltrating a martial arts tournament sponsored by a Chinese criminal warlord in Hong Kong, is pulp fiction at its best. It provides a series of opportunities for fights, with short intervals of expository dialogue. The characters are lightly drawn from popular fiction and stereotypes; only the handful of lead characters get any real development as people.

The real draw of the movie when it was released in 1971 were the dramatic martial arts action sequences. Lee choreographed the fight scenes, which feature himself and a number of other experienced martial artists, along with "real" actor John Saxon (who had enough martial arts training to look respectable in his fights). This movie spawned several generations of martial arts movies in Hollywood, but none have ever quite surpassed the performances in "Enter The Dragon", which rely on no special effects other than the rare use of slow-motion.

The director and producer's voice-over commentary is worth listening to; "Enter The Dragon" was accomplished on something of a shoe-string with respect to production in Hong Kong. Several of the supporting actors were literally walk-ons or support personnel asked to play a role. This reviewer was surprised to find out that the principal villian did not speak English and literally phonetically memorized and delivered whole chunks of menancing dialogue.

This DVD set is highly recommended to fans of Bruce Lee and to those looking for an excellent introduction to the genre of martial arts movies.

Terminator 2 - Judgment Day (Extreme DVD)

Average customer rating:

Ultimate and Extreme DVD's the way to go
HD version without DD5.1
Owes just as much to "Aliens" as it does its predecessor
High Def does not work in Vista
Let's Shed Some Light

Terminator 2 - Judgment Day (Extreme DVD)
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger , Linda Hamilton , Edward Furlong , Robert Patrick , and Earl Boen
Director: James Cameron
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00008PC2O
Release Date: 2003-06-03

Amazon.com essential video

After he pushed the envelope of computer-generated special effects in The Abyss, director James Cameron turned this hotly anticipated sequel to Terminator into a well-written, action-packed showcase for advanced special effects and for one of the most invincible villains ever imagined. Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a legitimate sequel: there's more story to tell about a hulking, leather-clad android (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who arrives from the future to protect a rebellious teenager and future leader (Edward Furlong) from being killed by the tenacious T-1000 robot (Robert Patrick), whose liquid-metal construction makes him seemingly unstoppable. The fate of the future lies in the balance, with Linda Hamilton (who would later marry her director) reprising her role as the rugged woman whose son will change the course of history. --Jeff Shannon

Description

He said he'd be back. This time experience T2 like never before! Go EXTREME with the best picture and sound ever! ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER returns as the Terminator in this explosive action-adventure spectacle. Now he's one of the good guys, sent back in time to protect John Connor, the boy destined to lead the freedom fighters of the future. LINDA HAMILTON reprises her role as Sarah Connor, John's mother, a quintessential survivor who has been institutionalized for her warning of the nuclear holocaust she knows is inevitable. Together, the threesome must find a way to stop the ultimate enemy - the T-1000, the most lethal Terminator ever created. Co-written, produced and directed by James Cameron ("The Terminator," "Aliens," "Titanic), this visual tour de force is also a touching story of survival.

Customer Reviews:

Ultimate and Extreme DVD's the way to go.......2007-06-28

This is the second movie from James Cameron that I consider to be among the best science fiction films ever. Sequels rarely stack up to their predecessor, but this film actually outdoes the original Terminator, which is saying a lot considering how good the original was. Terminator 2 has everything you need to make an excellent sci-fi including a fantastic premise, very strong well-rounded character development, groundbreaking special effects, and the kind of story that would make Rod Serling proud. If there is ever a sci-fi movie that gives you all the best the genre has to give this is it.

One of the big deals about this movie is that it's the one that introduces to the world CG animation that actually seems to interact with a live environment as well as the morphing technique unique to computer animation. While Terminator 2 wasn't the first to do it (The Abyss gets the credit for all that... another Jim Cameron film) they do get the credit for popularizing it. Practically everybody uses computer animations with live action in one form or another today. Even over a decade later the CG effects still measure up and even outdo stuff that's still being created today.

On top of the new CG stuff you get plenty of other tried and true special effects that will knock your socks off. The action in this movie is relentless at times and will be sure impress any testosterone junkie out there. There is a lot of exciting gunplay in this movie that includes some killer military hardware too like the awesome 1500 rounds per minute minigun action reminiscent of Predator. Eye candy for those with a short attention span? Check.

If Terminator 2 only had a neato special effects and action it wouldn't be as great as it is. Everything else must work as well. The story in Terminator 2 is deep with the main characters evolving as events happen around them. Even the Terminator robot gets to get some character development. While it's cool to see the action and explosions and stuff what makes the movie really fill out is the fact it delves into several different levels of the human condition. You also get a ton of background details too like who was involved with building Skynet and even a scene with the futuristic battle that John Conner grows up to lead. The theoretical twists in the plot are enough to get the thinkers debating over time paradoxes and stuff like that. Deep and involving storyline for those who prefer quality over pizzazz? Check.

The Terminator robots are as awesome as ever. Not only do you get to see the classic style cyborg bad boy like in the last movie but you also get to see a completely different concept in killer robot technology with the T-1000. The future scene has even more robot coolness to offer, though it's just a little more than what I saw in the last movie (but still sweet!).

The acting is superb as well, which is surprising considering Edward Furlong has absolutely no previous experience in acting. Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton play off each other well. Robert Patrick gives a stunning and eerie performance as the T-1000. The soundtrack takes the original Terminator themes and puts them to new heights. The music truly enhances the movie here.

If the original movie wasn't enough Cameron decided to make an extended cut with almost 20 minutes of new footage. I wouldn't necessarily say the new footage opens up brand new territory for the movie, but I will say the extra scenes do add some extra depth to some of the scenes. A couple of the new scenes flesh out young John Conner's character a little, which is always a good thing. I wouldn't say any incredibly cool scenes were added though there is one with the Terminator that is kinda cool, but the good stuff in that scene has more to do with fleshing out some character development with the humans than cool cyborg tricks. Speaking of cyborg tricks you get the added bonus of seeing a Terminator try to smile. Funny, funny stuff! While I can't say the extended edition is better than the original I will say it does give you more background on the story, and thats always good if you're into that.

With the exception to blu-ray fans there are only two DVD editions you should consider (the rest don't have any special features). The Ultimate Edition and the Extreme Edition. Essentially what you have is a trade off between the two. Neither edition have the same special features. The Extreme edition improved the picture quality slightly while the Ultimate edition has DTS. Here is a breakdown:

Ultimate Edition: You get three versions of the movie. The theatrical release, the director's cut and an extended director's cut via an easter egg (EDC basically includes the deleted scenes). You get three in depth documentaries including one on the Universal Studios 3-D ride. Commentaries from the crew (no James Cameron). Also included are several smaller featurettes covering all aspects of production, tons of storyboards, a 30 page hard cover booklet insert and the screenplay. Not to mention THX certified test signal package for fine tuning your audio set up, Dolby 5.1, Dolby 2.0 and DTS 5.1 for all the audio freaks out there.

Extreme Edition: Two versions of the movie with the director's cut being on the disk and the theatrical trailer as a DVDRom movie (via Windows Media Player... although you can see the theatrical version on the DVD via an easter egg). An audio commentary from director James Cameron and screenwriter William Wisher, very comprehensive text commentaries with over 90 minutes of branching video footage, a 24 minute documentary and a 12 page hard copy booklet insert.

If you have no version of T2 on DVD I would recommend the Ultimate Edition since it has the most features. Although the Extreme Edition is still worthy for its James Cameron commentary track and the excellent text commentary. Since the extras are completely different between the two this might not be a bad double dip if you get them at the current low prices. The blu-ray version has only the theatrical version (no director's cut), but includes the commentaries from BOTH the Ultimate and Extreme editions. I say wait for a better high definition release.

If you haven't seen this movie I strongly recommend it. VERY strongly. You action fans will get plenty of mayhem for your pleasure. You content fans will get rich and full storylines with character drama. You sci-fi purists will get the kind of story you would expect to be reading from someone like Phillip K. Dick. This is required viewing for any sci-fi fan. Nuff said.

HD version without DD5.1.......2007-06-19

I bought the DVD in order to watch the Hi-Def version. I already have the older version of the movie, and I've seen it many times over the years. I have an HP laptop running Windows Vista, hooked up to my 50" Panasonic HDTV (1280x720), with the VGA connection. I loaded the disk, and it prompted me to install the InterActual player. Vista warned me that the program has issues with the new operating system. I went ahead, and installed it anyway, then immediately downloaded the newest version from the Internet. It then told me that I needed a DVD decoder that I could buy on their web page. I ignored that message, and went on to play the HD version of the movie. It played OK, after some initial stuttering during the first few screens.

The picture quality was very good, but the audio was not Dolby Digital 5.1, meaning that there is no surround sound. I followed up on the InterActual web page, and they confirmed this. Apparently, Microsoft used some other audio encoding. So, even though the picture quality is better, I chose to watch the lower definition, extended edition in order to get the DD5.1 sound. I find the sound quality is at least as important as the video quality.

The standard definition image is still very good. The nVidia chip set in my laptop does a nice job of upscaling. The 5.1 sound is spectacular as ever. The added minutes in the extended edition don't really add much, but the novelty effect is nice anyway. All in all, I'd say that it is worth the price at under $10.00.

Owes just as much to "Aliens" as it does its predecessor.......2007-06-17

It's no surprise that the editors of "Entertainment Weekly" would choose both "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" and "Aliens" as two of its 25 Best Action Films of all time. Both are sequels that significantly up the special effects ante, along with the body count, and both feature two of the movies most dynamic kick-[...] heroines, Sarah Conner (Linda Hamilton" in the former and Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) in the latter.

Besides doubling the action of the first, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" also doubles the cyborg quotient by returning Arnold Schwarzenegger in the role that he was born to play (this time as a "good" cyborg) and bringing in a more than equal combatant/foe in the from of the Robert Patrick as an "upgraded" model. The movie adds an element of surprise in the form of the much smaller (and less developed) Patrick as a superior model to Arnold's character, able to best the strongman in many a scene.

The movie also brings back Earl Boen in an expanded role as the befuddled "Dr. Silberman." He brings needed comic relief in a film that is short on words but long on action sequences.

James Cameron may have felt on "top of the world" a decade later with his Oscar-winning "Titanic" but it is for the first two "Terminator" films that he probably made his greatest cinematic impact.

High Def does not work in Vista.......2007-06-08

The movie is great, great package with lots of good features. However the WMP video could not be played at all. Some may experience this and some may not. You will to install the Interactual player to view the WMHD version.

Let's Shed Some Light.......2007-05-27

i love this film being a big film buff and all but also i've noticed that the price is fantastic and is even more cheaper in certain stores, anyway when i bought the dvd and popped it in the dvd player i was amazed with the picture pure high def 1080p i mean i baught this movie for 5.50 and it's in high definition, the blu-ray version is like 20 or 25 bucks so i'm wonderin why make a whole nother disc-format and just make standard dvd's in high def i mean perhaps u can't fit any special features but why not just make them double sided dvd's and put the special features on the other side instead of movie companies using 2 discs and waste money. i believe this will prevail and end the war against blu-ray vs. hd-dvd and just keep blank blu-ray discs for information purposes. I mean i love blu-ray and i want one so bad but u gotta pay up the nose just to get one, at least players are becoming more and more affordable but i dont want to have to convert all my 700 dvds to high def formats. it's interesting how Artisan backed this movie and now it doesnt exist anymore as soon as the high def battle started, Lionsgate is now mastering all thier old movies and they back up blu-ray 100%, it just makes you think what coinsidences emerged with all this, terminator 2 on standard dvd is in high def (for us in the US anyway) it cost me 5.50 its just a big mystery to me...

The Wild Bunch - The Original Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

The Wild Bunch
It's all been done before.
Not As Advertised-
Much more than just a violent film...
Wild Bunch (or why I hate directors cuts)

The Wild Bunch - The Original Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Alfonso Arau , Ernest Borgnine , Elsa Cárdenas , Albert Dekker , and Emilio Fernández
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000BT96CS
Release Date: 2006-01-10

Amazon.com essential video

One of the best action movies ever made, in a cleaned-up print restoring crucial parts of the story. No cavalry ever rode in with more epochal impact than the Wild Bunch in the legendary opening scene. Their steel-eyed leader, Pike (William Holden), and his robbers in stolen army uniforms help an old lady across the street, and then spark a massacre led by Pike's old crony Thornton (Robert Ryan), sprung from jail to hunt down his old gang. In just a few minutes, Sam Peckinpah sets the scene--a dusty Texas town in 1913--sketches a dozen vividly individualized characters, and choreographs one of the most realistic, influential, brilliantly photographed shootouts under the pitiless sun. The cast is superb (even Ernest Borgnine!), the dialog crackling, the bitterly ambiguous moral of the story hard-earned. It's the deeper, dark flip side to 1969's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Consider buying the letterbox Wild Bunch, the review collection Doing It Right, and the Peckinpah bio "If They Move... Kill 'Em!" --Tim Appelo

Description

Outlaws on the Mexican-U.S. frontier face the march of progress, the Mexican army and a gang of bounty hunters led by a former member while they plan a robbery of a U.S. army train. No one is innocent in this gritty tale of of desperation against changing times. Pump shotguns, machine guns and automobiles mix with horses and winchesters in this ultraviolent western.

Customer Reviews:

The Wild Bunch.......2007-07-02

Maverick director Sam Peckinpah released this blood-soaked western ballet in 1969, at the height of the Vietnam War, igniting protests over his graphic depiction of violence. Yet some images, like the opening sequence of children watching a nest of fire ants attack a scorpion, have a cruel poetic force. Boasting a powerhouse veteran cast and virtually non-stop action, this mesmerizing film is not for the squeamish, but fans of pure western action and gunplay should cherish this pounding, hard-edged film.

It's all been done before........2007-05-27

The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969)

I will readily admit that my confusion over the prominence of The Wild Bunch in the annals of film criticism probably stems from my having bought into the hype. When I hear people wax poetic about the movie, one thing always comes to the surface sooner or later--the previously unheard-of level of violence in the movie. Here I was expecting something... different; even the tamest giallo lords it over The Wild Bunch in terms of violence. Mario Bava was doing it years before. What makes Peckinpah's opus so special? Not the violence.

The other thing that seems to come up often is that Peckinpah's version of the west is decidedly different than that which had been offered before, but again I head back to Italy, and this time flog the dead horse of Sergio Leone, whose westerns were riddled with grey areas long before this.

Okay, so Peckinpah was the first guy to do it in America. And it got John Wayne pretty mad. (But, really, he was already mad at Clint Eastwood for the Leone movies.) But from every other standpoint--plot, characters, pacing, cinematography, direction--Peckinpah has done better. (The pinnacle came three years later with Straw Dogs.) It's not bad, but don't go into it expecting one of the greatest films of all time, or you