The Bird With the Crystal Plumage [Blu-ray]

Fast-paced and clever
There are two types of Dario Argento films: those after "Four Flies on Grey Velvet" (excluding "The Five Days of Milan," which was never released in the U.S.) and those before it. "The Bird With the Crystal Plumage," Argento's first film, belongs to the category of the before and includes the noticeable differences between the two. While the entire body of Argento's work is something to admire, his first three films are surprisingly well-plotted, given Argento's notorious lack of interest in matters of narrative structure. "Bird" begins with Sam Dalmas, an American writer living in Rome, witnessing an attempted murder in an art gallery. Though he is unable to do anything, his fortuitous arrival saves the victim from almost certain death. His passport confiscated and at first held as a suspect, Sam is told by the police that this is the fourth attack in one month. The only difference is, the victim, a beautiful woman named Monica...
Broad appeal for Argento's debut feature
THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE
[L'Uccello dalle Piume di Cristallo]

(Italy/W.Germany - 1969)

Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (Cromoscope)
Theatrical soundtrack: Mono

Even those who don't care for writer-director Dario Argento's later baroque extravaganzas may warm to his debut feature, a well-received thriller in which an American writer living in Rome (Tony Musante) witnesses an assault on a woman in an art gallery and is subsequently targeted by the would-be assassin, a crazed psychopath who's been terrorizing the city with a series of brutal murders. Typical of an Argento thriller, the hapless hero's investigation unleashes a cycle of violence which culminates in a climactic unmasking that will take some viewers completely by surprise.

Loosely inspired by Fredric Brown's novel 'The Screaming Mimi' (filmed under that title in 1958), Argento's first film is a fairly straightforward thriller with horror asides, anchored by a strong...
His first and arguably one of his best
I really couldn't tell you why I have yet to watch every film in Dario Argento's filmography. A few years ago it was easy to claim ignorance of many of this Italian director's important works because it was often so difficult to find any of them in an uncut form. Fortunately, DVD arrived on the scene and salivating film fans with dollars to spend prodded numerous companies to start churning out any movie they could get their hands on to satiate the masses. It wasn't too long before practically every Argento film arrived on store shelves, with many of these releases being the uncut, unrated editions. Even Troma, the flagship of flaccid filmmaking, released a so-so version of Argento's "The Stendhal Syndrome." People outside of the world of Italian horror cinema have most likely never heard of Dario Argento, unfortunately. These days, more people are familiar with the director's beautiful daughter Asia than with the horror maestro himself. What a shame. Argento's films, at...
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Esther Waters

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It's Love Again

It's Love Again on VHS
About 1920 Jessie Matthews started performing in the chorus of musicals in England. Very soon she had become a major stage star of musical comedies and reviews on the West End of London. Mind you this was all before talkies movies were invented.

I so enjoyed Ms. Matthews first major screen musical "The Good Companions" that I searched Amazon for her subsequent musical movies. "It's Love Again" was made a few years later, so it takes advantage of improved movie making techniques. It also shows just how talented Jessie Matthews was! Unlike some Hollywood musical stars of the 1930s, Jessie Matthews had a wonderful singing voice. She was a very good dancer. She also was a natural actress, without the affected performance of many of her contemporaries. I believe Jessie Matthews combined all the very best virtues as a performer of Ginger Rogers, Ruby Keeler, Eleanor Powell and Joan Crawford, all her American contemporaries.

The VHS I purchased was listed as used, but...
Good movie, poor quality DVD
It's Love Again is a very enjoyable film starring the fabulous Jessie Matthews. She shines throughout, and the story is very entertaining, but this is a review about this particular DVD release itself (Synergy Entertainment, 2010). For your money you will be getting a DVD-R featuring an unrestored version of the film complete with specks, dust, flickers and an audio track half drowned out by static. My copy doesn't even play all the way through, and freezes with about 15 minutes to go.

To make matters worse, someone else I know bought this same release just a few days after me and he reported that the movie itself isn't even complete. Apparently this release has a couple of scenes missing, which are in his version on VHS!

I dearly want a decent copy of this film, so I hope some other company will do a better job at some point in the near future.
Favourite Jessie Matthews film - Dreadful print
This 1936 Britsh Gaumont film directed by Victor Saville and staring the fabulous Jessie Matthews is my absolute favourite of all her films and I was elated to find this for sale on Amazon USA.Unfortunatly this print has about five minuits cut from it,scenes missing and the rumba dance number with Cyril Wells cut in the middle.The print and sound track are of a very poor quality.Thankfully as a huge fan of Miss Matthews I have both a VHS copy and one recorded to a blank DVD disk purchased from someone on Ebay UK.Miss Matthews was an enormous blinding star in the 30's please would some company release all of her films on DVD - NOW! The only saving grace of this purchase for me was the art work on the case.
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Popeye Cartoon Collection: Volume 2 (Famous Studios Era)

Request for information
I am interested in Popeye Cartoons that have Eugene the Jeep in them, Such as Popeye Presents Eugene the Jeep (1940), Hag Way Robbery (1960) and Jeep-Jeep (1960), I Wants Me Mummy (1978) or Jeep thrills (1980) Please help me locate any of these.


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Flowers For Fannie

Family Film, a reminder to keep after those who need to feel loved the most.
I was contacted by the Director/Screenwriter Sharon Wilharm to review Flowers For Fannie. I am always on the lookout for great Faith Based movies so I said yes!

However, when it came, the back of the DVD case was a grave and the front of the DVD case was the two characters above, but with a graveyard in the back instead of clouds. I really like the DVD case above a lot better. I held on the to movie for a couple of weeks until I had time to watch it by myself without the boys interrupting.

I must confess, I didn't expect a lot out of the film. I was pleasantly surprised when, quite quickly, I was in love with Fannie and wanted a friend for her. The characters introduced as family, church members and people in town are all enchanting.

The settings are beautiful, an old time town with a square and old homes that are furnished beautifully. You really want to have an invite to Fannie's house for lunch.

I was really pulled into this story. I...
Uplifting
This is a very good Christian movie, one the whole family can watch and learn from. We need more constructive entertainment like this.

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