Reviews

Just bought the VHS on this film for two bucks, Did I waste my money! Hey, I dig Adam "Batman" West and Tina "Giligan's Island" Louise, but hello! This third rate production is a rehash of a dozen other biker films; crazed bunch of bikers psychos ride into a hick town, beat up everybody and everything, and then are defeated in the man by a dashing hero. Adam West looks the part as a hero, but he's missing cape, and his Batman uniform. Sorry, just isn't the same. Tina L. looks really nervous and frightened the whole show, but at least we know what happened to "Ginger" once she was rescued from the island...LOL! The bikers are a motley group, and known of them ever acted again or at least shouldn't have. Hell Riders is Hell to Watch!

Interesting movie & very informative. Starring Jay W. Jensen, a drama teacher with the Miami Public Schools, who according to this film, has been the inspirational driving force in the lives and careers of various actors, actresses, singers, directors,producers, movie stars, sports announcers, lawyers, doctors, teachers, and other professionals.

Jensen comes across as witty, inspirational, and slightly eccentric. However, the interviews with his former students, among them movie star, Andy Garcia, is very emotional and moving.

This is a movie which will have the public thinking, and hopefully acting to save drama studies throughout the nation.

Class Act is A Class Act.

What in blazes was going through John Holmes's brain when he made 3 porno flicks in Italy knowing that he was infected and dying from the AIDS virus.

Holmes looked surprising fit and healthy in this film. The viewer has really no idea that the "King" is only months away from death on March 13, 1988. According to a documentary on John C. Holmes, John felt that everyone in the porno business would get AIDS and die anyhow, so what was the problem with him having unprotected sex with the actresses in this film. Just knowing this fact really made me angry and sick to my stomach. Holmes made a Gay porno flick in which 3 of his co-stars died of AIDS as well.

Who knows who gave John Holmes AIDS, and who really knows who he infected. The bottom line is that this movie stands out in a perverted historical way, just due to the facts related to Holmes and AIDS.

John Holmes was a man of various faces. Some loved him, some hated him; but it's clear that John Curtis Holmes, the King of the porno world was only interested in himself.

Anzio is a weird film. Made at the height of the Viet-Nam War, it's clear this Italian film is trying to be anti-war. Robert Mitchuim, who looks like he hadn't slept for a month, and was on a week-long drinking binge, rambles on about the waste of war. He sounds like a drunk at a upscale cocktail party. Yet, the movie also uses the basic Hollywood heroics to attract the viewing public. The sniper shoot-out is done realistically and is somewhat exciting. Aside from that, the film is way to talkative, way too long, and the action in general is dull.

The best thing about this movie are the performances of Mark Damon and Reni Santoni as two U.S. Army Rangers. Peter Falk was stereotyped with this type of anti-establishment role in the late 1960s and played the exact same role in Castle Keep. Falk also looks beat, drunk, and bored. Arthur Kennedy and Robert Ryan are totally wasted and it's clear they were hired for their names. Earl Holliman gives a modest performance.

Just finished seeing Triumph of the Spirit. What a sad, bleak, dark, and depressing film.

This was based on the true story of Greek Balkins Middleweight Champion Salamo Arouch who was undefeated before World War II. Once the Nazi army invades Greece, Arouch, his entire family, and all the Jews in Greece are shipped off to the Nazi death camp in Austwitz.

With-in moments, all the women in Arouch's family are murdered in the gas showers. He is forced with his family and brother to work at slave-labor. Arouch is brutalized by a camp Kapo who happens to be a professional boxer as well. In a brutal scene, Arouch and the Kapo have a fist fight with Arouch scoring a knockout and a Nazi camp guard finishes off the Kapo with a gun shot to the head. Arouch is then forced to box in the camp for the Nazi officers who bet on the "boxing" matches. Only problem, the losing boxer ends up the "chimney stack".

A heart-wrenching and brutal story. Shocking to realize that not only did the Nazi murder, torture, starve and kill the inmates at Auswitz, but they also forced all the professional Jewish boxers to put on "Galdiator" matches for their entertainment.

The Triumph of The Spirt is a triumph of film-making. A very depressing one at that.

I just saw this DVD for the first time. I couldn't believe that in 1968 at age 44 that Marlon Brando was in such outstanding shape. He was fit and trim and blonde. His acting was unbelievable. In one particular scene with Jess Hahn, Brando is at his best.

This "kidnap" film has a strong supporting cast which gives equally impressive performances. Richard Boone gives a very creepy performance as a sadistic psycho. He reminds me a lot of Alan Arkin's role in Wait Until Dark. Jess Hahn is great as the pot-bellied brother of Rita Moreno.

The Night Before The Following Day is one of Marlon Brando's top 10 acting roles.

Frank Sinatra made two detective films in which he played the hip, Miami Beach private-eye Tony Rome.

Lady in Cement was filmed in the mid 60s when Miami Beach still had that hip-cool reputation. The movie takes place in the now gone Jilly's Nightclub which belong to Frank's pal, Jilly Rizzo. Other neat spots are the old mansion (now gone) of Panama dictator General Trijullio, the Fontenbleau Hotel and houseboat row(also a memory).

Dan Blocker steals the show as a 2nd rate hood named Bronski. Richard Conte gives his typical good performance, and Old Blue eyes shines in this type of hipster role. The biggest scene stealer is the ultra hot Raquel Welch. Raquel was in her prime and her swimming pool scene is steaming. The funny thing is that this bombshell could act. Look for South Florida "cult" legend Chris Robinson in a minor part as a gay funeral home director.....he's fantastic in his 3 minute part.

Just saw this film again on DVD. Really wasn't overly impressed. Of course it's old hat now and really out-dated. It rode in on the coat-tails of the Godfather and though Charles Bronson is good and Lino Ventura isn't too bad either, it's really the same old rehash of a typical mob story. The bright light of the film is sexy redhead Maria Baxa as Donna, Lino Ventura's mistress in the film. She is smoking hot and sexy as the over-sexed moll who beds both a beautiful woman and one of her boy-friend's bodyguards. It's really unbelievable that this beauty never achieved international fame.

So, unless you're really a fan of Charles Bronson, Lino Ventura or the beautiful Maria Baxa, The Valachi Papers is only an above average rehashing of your typical mob movie.

What can I say. Just bought the DVD for the all-star cast. Out-dated story of a LA police detective who shoots a Beverly Hills doctor who he claims pulled a gun on him, but no one can find the gun. The rest of the movie shows the detective trying to prove he is not guilty, and that the well-respected doctor was really a bad-guy after all.

Lots of well-known stars in the movie, but the standout is the Elenor Parker who looks very sexy and plays the part of a sexed-up, drunken widow to the tilt. Aside from that, and a few laughs regarding butter milk, this 1966 Who-Done-It is bested viewed on a rainy Saturday afternoon, the one which I'm having right now.

I wanted to like this movie, but aside from Billy Bob Thorton, it stunk. The whole movie is a total disgrace to the heroes of the Alamo. The fight scenes were badly done and the acting was stiff and wooden; totally lifeless. Billy Bob Thorton gives an outstanding performance as the legendary hero Davey Crockett, who according to this film is more myth than reality. Personally I would rather see John Wayne's outstanding version of the battle for the Alamo. Wayne's vision might be more romantic, but it's acted and filmed, 100 times better then this updated version. Remember the Alamo (with John Wayne)! And forget the Alamo 2004!

I can't believe anyone thinks that this movie is good, let alone great. This movie is just the same rehash of dozens of other films. Hanks looks bloated and bored. He seems to be getting over a two-week drinking binge. Paul Newman looks old and listless. It's really sad to see such a great acting talent as Newman's wasted in this junk. What's even harder to think about is that Paul Newman is still racing cars at 81! The movie plot is old and the story is one of the most stupid around. Typical one-man army kills over dozens of foes. Tom Hanks shoots down Paul Newman and 6 of his bodyguards in one of the stupidest shootouts ever seen. Every time there's a gun battle, no one in town seems to notice and the police are no where around. Paul Newman is a top crime boss and he can't kill off one man. The father-son relationship is wooden and cold, and the so-called humorous part of Hanks teaching his son to drive the get away car is milked to death. The whole movie stinks and the ending was seen a mile away. Pure garbage. If you want to see some great gangster films rent The Roaring 20s, Public Enemy Number 1, or Little Cesar.

What a great movie! One of the most realistic stories of the small-time criminal. Robert Mitchuim gives an outstanding performance as Eddie Coyle, a small-time Irish gangster who works both sides of the fence. Richard Jordan in a fine supporting role as a hard-nosed detective out to burst a gang of well-trained bank robbers. Alex Rocco as a no-nonsense bank robber, and Peter Boyle as the stoolie/hit-man.

The movie however is stolen by the late Steven Keats. Keats plays a gun runner who sells machine guns out of the trunk of his sport's car. The friends of Eddie Coyle is extremely well-acted, grittly filmed, and low-key. It has a brutally shocking and surprising ending. An outstanding movie which for some strange reason hasn't found it's way to DVD or video.

Chuck Heston is not a football star, but an actor playing one. I laugh at the comments made by the other comments here; expecting Chuck to play like a pro. That's why they call it acting.

Truthfully, football is only a backdrop for a story about a faded legend trying to hold on to his career by the skin of his teeth. It's an interesting tale of all of us; facing the reality of old age.

Being that this was filmed in the late 1960s, it has a real 60s flair to it, which to me makes it kind of neat. I liked the "surprise" ending.

Number One is not the greatest movie ever made, but it is a decent entertaining flick.

I'm a big boxing fan and a great fan of former world heavyweight boxing champion Charles "Sonny" Liston. However, after viewing this documentary, I felt it left more questions than answers.

I found it strange that none of Sonny Liston's brothers or sisters were interviewed. No mention was made of the career of "Sailor" Liston who was fighting some 10 years before; was it Sonny or as some say his uncle. No mention was made of his step-daughter.

The controversy of Liston's birth-date was slightly addressed, as was his comeback following the Ali defeats. As for his death, it left no clear cut answers.

I enjoyed this film, but it left me scratching my head, hoping for a follow-up.

What an outstanding movie. The story-line from 1970 is not out-dated. I'm too young to have seen this movie when it first came out, but my older sister told me that the movie was historically groundbreaking in 1970.

What is sad however is the fact that 5 of the male leads in this movie died from AIDS. Of course the liberating sexual times of the 70s and early 80s before AIDS took a terrible toll on so many unsuspecting people, many of them artists.

Can't wait to see this movie released on DVD. Truthfully, I can't figure out why it hasn't. The acting is fantastic with Len Frye stealing the show, and Cliff Gorman is an outstanding supporting role.