Reviews

Recently retired after years of night work I have never really had a chance to watch this show. Further more I have never been a fan of "soapies". I am now getting the chance to see episodes I have never seen before. I do not consider it a top show but considering the time it has been around it must appeal to some people. When the options are considered for this time slot there really isn't anything else.

However, when compared with other soaps it rates fairly well. I am a very difficult person to satisfy but I at least feel comfortable with the characters. Though the story lines get up my nose sometimes, they at least have some similarity to real people and problems. Compare this show with " The Bold and the Beautiful", an American farce. This program must truly be the worst ever devised. The people behind this program must come from another planet. The feeling I get of this show is that everyone is schizophrenic. What else can it be when the actors talk to themselves. The actors seem false and appear to represent a lifestyle no common person could relate to. I also wonder just how long they spend in front of a mirror getting the glaring facial expressions right.

Compared with the tripe and drivel that is coming out of America and served up to women during the daytime slot I have no doubts that Home and Away will be around for some time yet.

Tonight for the first time I learned of Selena Quintanilla Perez. She was the subject of our feature movie. May I say that she was truly a great talent and those with negative comments don't realize how fortunate they really are.

Here in Australia, despite immigration, Mexican or Spanish culture doesn't feature greatly in our day to day life. Sure we have citizens of Spanish or Portuguese languages living here but their influence is small. Foreign languages are usually elective and it is almost impossible to find a Spanish restaurant.

However, music is an universal language and whether you can speak the language or not does not matter a jot. What matters is if you enjoy good music. I am 56 and like all genre. My only criteria is that it be good music. Unfortunately in Australia we are saddled with mainstream pop and that is it. If we want world music we have to search long and hard for it and still not find it. This is why I had never heard of Tejano music until tonight. You Americans are lucky. You have great talent representing all genres and still you criticize.

It does not matter who portrayed this talented young lady. The important message is that her talent was depicted to those ( like myself ) who had never heard of her. It is now my intent to find out as much as I can about this wonderful young woman and purchase some of her music. It seems strange to me but all the truly great artistes' all seem to die young. Its quite ironic.

In summation, I can only say I enjoyed the movie without reservation. I accept it for what it was. A story of a beautiful life cut tragically short. If not for this movie I would never have known this lady had existed and for me that would truly have been tragic.10/10.

In 1974 I was 29 years old when I first saw this movie. At the time I didn't question the suitability of the lead stars as I had grown up with them appearing in other films. Considering all the various genre of films I had seen up to that time, I must confess that it didn't seem a bad effort at that point in time. I grew up with various westerns and others and one film in particular I remember well is the classic "King Kong".

Critics who knock this film must remember that 1974 was a transitional period where techniques were still being learned. Without the benefit of computers, I might add. When you have grown up with computer wizardry, that is, since the start of the seventies, it it far easier to find fault than to see the merit in what these people achieved.

However, with the passage of time, one realizes the major fault with this film was the poor casting. This should not detract from the efforts of the special effects people. They have led the way and shown the young people coming along what can be done with skill and imagination. 3/10 for casting, 6/10 for special effects.