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DVD Review: Icons of Sci-Fi: Toho Collection: Ishiro Honda: Movies & TV

Posted by admin | on 19 August, 02:51 AM

DVD Review: Icons of Sci-Fi: Toho Collection: Ishiro Honda: Movies & TV

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Stills from Icons of Sci Fi To Ho Collection–Battle for Outer Space, H-Man, and Mothra (Click for larger image) DVD Review: Icons of Sci Fi: Toho Collection: Ishiro Honda: Movies & TV 200981910182076577801

DVD Review: Icons of Sci Fi: Toho Collection: Ishiro Honda: Movies & TV 200981910182082877802

DVD Review: Icons of Sci Fi: Toho Collection: Ishiro Honda: Movies & TV 200981910182092177804

DVD Review: Icons of Sci Fi: Toho Collection: Ishiro Honda: Movies & TV 200981910182096877805

DVD Review: Icons of Sci Fi: Toho Collection: Ishiro Honda: Movies & TV 20098191018216277807

DVD Review: Icons of Sci Fi: Toho Collection: Ishiro Honda: Movies & TV 200981910182110977808

Product Description
Toho, the most famous of all Japanese movie studios, first made its name in the West for the extraordinary masterworks of Akira Kurosawa. But they really struck box office gold with the wildly colorful kaiju eiga (monster movies) that began in 1954 with the original Godzilla (Gojira), the creation of director Ishiro Honda and special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya. Now for the first time on DVD — and in their original Tohoscope aspect ratios — Sony Pictures presents three Honda classics that display the enormous breadth of the Toho magic during its glory years. The H-Man, Battle in Outer Space and Mothra are presented in both their Japanese and U.S. versions. So travel back to the days before CGI, when special effects were real and the results were spectacular!

This should please fans of Japanese monster/fantasy fans,

By D. Steigman “Movie fan from silents to now” (USA) -

Even though this will not be out until August 18th, what I can tell you is that all 3 movies Mothra, H-Man and Battle in Outer Space will have both Japanese and English language versions & be widescreen transfers. I expect these to be clean & crisp Toho Scope letterboxed actually in Tohoscope.
All 3 of these movies were made by the people who brought us Godzilla such as Ishiro Honda and Eiji Tsuburaya and music by Akira Ifukube.
MOTHRA (1961) would be the main attraction starring Jerry Ito and the 1 inch Peanuts as they were called. Mothra rescues them after being kidnapped by gangsters. A magnificent movie done with style and taste.
BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE is a loose follow up to The Mysterians minus any monsters but it is a spectacular effects and an endless array of laser ray light show with rocket ships, UFOs and other space crafts.Great effects during its day.
The H-MAN admittedly I haven’t seen this in a long time but if I recall a human becomes a hydrogen man as a result of atomic testing and causes a reign of havoc. Its a man into monster movie.
All 3 were on VHS in full frame versions and were somewhat obscure. Now we can get them all in letterboxed transfers and see them how they were originally meant to be seen. I eagerly await this set..

Iconic Tokusatsu,

By Zillamon51 “Webmaster, www.digitalmonsterisla… (MI) -

The latest in Sony’s “Icons” collection of remastered classic sci-fi, horror, and monster films includes three from the heyday of Japan’s Toho Studios, directed by legendary Godzilla series helmer Ishiro Honda: The H-Man (1958), Battle in Outer Space (1959), and Mothra (1961).

As a nice pre-release bonus, customers can vote on the set’s cover art here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000373021&poll_name=Customer+Vote%3A+Icons+of+Sci-Fi+ToHo+Collection .

Fun 50’s Era Sci-Fi…And Its In Tohoscope!!,

By Darrell Heath (Little Rock, AR USA) -

A few years ago I got a chance to see the three films included in this set at the Castro Theater in San Francisco. While I enjoyed “Mothra” and “H-Man” I have to confess I got up and walked out on “Battle In Outer Space (something I don’t normally do).

All three films were directed by Toho Studio’s legendary kaiju director Ishiro Honda and when I saw them projected on the big screen at the Castro they looked almost like they had been shot the year before. I don’t know the source prints used for this DVD but I hope they are they ones used when I saw them in San Francisco.

Mothra (1961) needs little introduction to monster fans and is the best film in this set. Survivors of a shipwreck on a radioactive island miraculously survive radiation effects by eating and drinking the juice of a berry endemic to the island. They also find a pair of twin fairies and when a ruthless businessman wants to exploit them he brings down the wrath of Mothra upon Tokyo. Great special effects (for the time), appealing characters and story make this a very family friendly and very entertaining giant monster flick. Of the three films I saw at the festival this one looked the best. The vibrant colors and the amazing Tohoscope cinematography fairly sparkled and almost leaped off the screen. Either Toho had done some restoration or they had access to a very well preserved print. I might also add that the line to get into see this one at the theater wrapped around the block and consisted of lots of parents with kids and I was very pleased to see that kids brought up on the CGI films of today were able to buy into the fantasy of this film and were having a ball watching “Mothra”. BTW, once you hear the surprisingly poetic song the fairy twins sing to summon Mothra you will never be able to get it out of your head!

The H-Man (1958) was a real surprise for me. Frankly I didn’t know what to expect and was very pleased to experience this atmospheric sci-fi thriller from Toho. Most fans are accustomed to the studios giant monster extravaganzas but this one takes an entirely different tack with its low key storytelling. The plot involves (oddly enough) a crime story interwoven with the sci-fi monster story line. Tokyo police are investigating the disappearance of a narcotics dealer only to learn that his vanishing act as well as those by other people is in fact the work of some kind of radioactive blob creature. It tends to get talky and drags a bit but I have to tell you that there are some really creepy scenes in this film and it is well worth your time to watch it.

Battle In Outer Space (1959) supposedly influenced George Lucas’ Star Wars films. All I can say is if George found this flick about aliens invading earth entertaining then he is welcomed to it. Maybe it gets better later in the film but I can’t say because I have to admit I got up and left before the half way mark. There were endless scenes of space ships doing…well very little actually and the things they are doing takes forever!! I know this film is held in high regard by some and perhaps I should give it another chance but I still have to stick to my initial opinion that this film was deadly dull.

Anyway, this is a highly anticipated release for Toho sci-fi fans and I only hope that Sony gives the films their due with quality prints. The very reasonable price should make this a no brainer purchase for all 50’s monster movie enthusiasts. Heck, its worth it for Mothra alone!

UPDATE: (June 12, 2009) From the web site Digital Monster Island comes this news: “Both the complete Japanese and U.S. release versions of The H-Man and Mothra will be included. Since Battle in Outer Space wasn’t edited for U.S. release, that one will be dual-language. The films will be remastered and presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1 OAR).”
Search Icons of Sci-Fi: Toho Collection: Ishiro Honda: Movies & TV from AmAzon

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Tags: classics, war, kids, action, horror

DVD Review: The Last Starfighter 25th Anniversary Edition: Lance Guest, Catherine Mary Stewart, Ed Berke, Al Berry, Ellen Blake, Geoffrey Blake, Barbara Bosson, Owen Bush, Maggie Cooper, Cameron Dye, Chris Hebert, Kay Kuter, Britt Leach, John Maio, George McDaniel, Charlene Nelson, Dan O’Herlihy, John O’Leary, Peggy Pope, King Baggot, Craig Safan: Movies & TV

Posted by admin | on 19 August, 01:51 AM

DVD |

DVD Review: The Last Starfighter 25th Anniversary Edition: Lance Guest, Catherine Mary Stewart, Ed Berke, Al Berry, Ellen Blake, Geoffrey Blake, Barbara Bosson, Owen Bush, Maggie Cooper, Cameron Dye, Chris Hebert, Kay Kuter, Britt Leach, John Maio, George McDaniel, Charlene Nelson, Dan O’Herlihy, John O’Leary, Peggy Pope, King Baggot, Craig Safan: Movies & TV

Product Description
“Greetings, Starfighter! You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against Xur and the Kodan Armada.” So begins an adventure of galactic proportions in The Last Starfighter. After Earthling Alex (Lance Guest) conquers the Starfighter video game, he is recruited by alien Centauri (Robert Preston) to be part of an elite legion of fighters. Leaving behind his trailer park home for the outer regions of space, Alex becomes the last hope for the beleaguered Star League and hundreds of worlds – including Earth. Loaded with out-of-this-world bonus features and digitally remastered for optimum picture quality, The Last Starfighter 25th Anniversary Edition is the ultimate video game fantasy come true!

80’s CGI Fun,

By SRFireside “ZOOM!” (Houston, TX United States) -
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)

The Last Starfighter is essentially a space opera hinged on the fantasy that video game skills will save the day. Obviously this movie was made for the young teen crowd (essentially 13 yr old boys with Ataris/ Intelivisions/ColecoVisions/etc) and has its share of action and comedy that, like most space operas in the 80’s, has more than one similarity to Star Wars (but then again Star Wars was a homage to the classic space operas of the golden age of television). So it’s not high caliber sci-fi, but it’s not B-movie fodder either.

The story is pretty simple: Evil leader of evil aliens wants to attack good aliens, so in walks a single hero who is the last hope for freedom. That’s about it. The movie doesn’t deviate too far from this premise other than to further flesh out the fish-out-of-water scenario of an 80’s Earthling thrust into space (as well as a little fun with an alien in 80’s Earth) as well as the inner battle of said Earthling to stay and fight for a Star League he doesn’t know or stay home and go to community college. A serviceable story, if not deep.

The acting does make the simple story enjoyable to watch. Lance Guest seems to have fun with the role, which works for the character. Biggest props go to esteemed Robert Preston’s Centauri, who plays the role with the style of a magician and the charisma P.T. Barnum. Another esteemed actor, Dan O’Herlihy, does a surprisingly good performance. Especially when you consider he is wearing full prosthetics with less facial mobility than the costumes from the original Planet of the Apes. Yeah there is a bit of theatrical “drama”, but that works with the whole space opera motif.

Special effects are a benchmark here because this is the first film to incorporate live action elements to computer generated animation. The CGA is pretty barbaric by today’s standards and even back then was noticeable. The biggest glare in this are the scenes flying in around asteroids, which look pretty “plastic” CG-wise. However the CG ships looked awesome and you can’t beat the camera angles and fly-byes that computer animation affords. Plus back then this was pretty state of the art.

Not a lot of details have come out regarding The Last Starfighter 25th Anniversary DVD, but this is what I found out so far:

- Digitally remastered video (finally!) so it should be MUCH cleaner than the first DVD release. Anamorphic wide screen.

- It will have the same commentary with director Nick Castle and production designer Ron Cobb as in the first DVD release.

- It will have the documentary Crossing the Frontier: Making The Last Starfighter. This also was on the previous DVD release and as far as 30 minute featurettes are concerned it covers all the bases well.

- A new featurette, Heroes of the Screen, will be included. Will post more information when I found out.

- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround in English and subtitled in English (SDH), Spanish and French.

- Theatrical and teaser trailer.

- Image gallery is likely, but not confirmed to be the same as the original release. This includes images from an alternate ending.

Now they are releasing a Blu-Ray version too and as far as features are concerned will be identical to the DVD release. The differences are of course 1080p high def picture, 5.1 DTS-HD audio and BD-Live.

This movie is definitely a time capsule for 80’s science fiction. If you like that sort of charm then by all means pick this one up. If you already have the original DVD you may still want to grab this for the remastered picture surround sound more than just to have the one new featurette.

Best Ever,

By Nostalgic Nancy -

The best motivational movie that kids don’t know is motivational. Fun for kids and adults alike. Teaches everyone that you can do anything if you just stick to it. One of the best movies of its time - EVER. I ordered regular edition in June for my grands and this one for my husband and me!
Search The Last Starfighter 25th Anniversary Edition: Lance Guest, Catherine Mary Stewart, Ed Berke, Al Berry, Ellen Blake, Geoffrey Blake, Barbara Bosson, Owen Bush, Maggie Cooper, Cameron Dye, Chris Hebert, Kay Kuter, Britt Leach, John Maio, George McDaniel, Charlene Nelson, Dan O’Herlihy, John O’Leary, Peggy Pope, King Baggot, Craig Safan: Movies & TV from AmAzon

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Tags: war, drama, comedy, documentary, action

DVD Review: Pete’s Dragon (High-Flying Edition): Jim Backus, Walter Barnes, Calvin Bartlett, Red Buttons, Charlie Callas, Al Checco, Jack Collins, Jim Dale, Robert Easton, Robert Foulk, Jane Kean, Sean Marshall, Gary Morgan, Roger Price, Joe E. Ross, Henry Slate, Charles Tyner, Shelley Winters, Ben Wrigley, Jeff Conaway, Frank Phillips, Joel Hirschhorn: Movies & TV

Posted by admin | on 19 August, 01:41 AM

DVD |

DVD Review: Pete’s Dragon (High-Flying Edition): Jim Backus, Walter Barnes, Calvin Bartlett, Red Buttons, Charlie Callas, Al Checco, Jack Collins, Jim Dale, Robert Easton, Robert Foulk, Jane Kean, Sean Marshall, Gary Morgan, Roger Price, Joe E. Ross, Henry Slate, Charles Tyner, Shelley Winters, Ben Wrigley, Jeff Conaway, Frank Phillips, Joel Hirschhorn: Movies & TVCharming & Heartwarming Film; excellent extras!,

By Dave “Davelandweb” (San Diego, CA) -
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)

“Pete’s Dragon” (1977) has become a somewhat forgotten Disney movie that was originally inspired by the success of Mary Poppins (45th Anniversary Special Edition) as a live-action/animation musical. The story finally got the green-light in 1975; songs were by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn, and an all-star cast was assembled: singer Helen Reddy in her first film role, Broadway’s Jim Dale, Shelley Winters, Red Buttons, Jim Backus, and Mickey Rooney. Sean Marshall, in his first acting job, portrayed the title character of Pete.

Pete is a young orphan who has escaped the abusive family that adopted him: a dirty bunch of hillbillies known as The Gogans (Jeff Conaway, Kenickie from Grease (Rockin’ Rydell Edition) [Blu-ray] plays one of The Gogans). They adopted Pete to use him as a slave. Elliott, a large green dragon who can become invisible at will, helps Pete escape, and acts as his friend and protector. Pete ends up in the small village of Passamaquoddy, where he is taken in by kindly Nora (Reddy) and her father Lampie (Rooney). The two own the lighthouse in town, where Nora waits for her boyfriend Paul to return, even though he was lost at sea years before. The Gogans find Pete and attempt to steal him back, with the aid of Doc Terminus (Dale), a medicine showman, and his shill, Hoagy (Buttons). Although fairly predictable, it is a heartwarming story with an excellent cast and music that is light and breezy. Definitely good fare for the young!

Nominated for Best Original Score and Best Original Song (”Candle in the Water”), pleasantly sung by Reddy.

When watching today, the animation looks a little antiquated, as digital animation and the ability to combine live-action with cartoons has obviously improved since 1977. Still, with the limitations of the day, what the Disney team was able to create is still quite impressive. The entire town of Passamaquoddy was built on the Disney backlot, with a functioning lighthouse built above Morro Bay, California. The US Coast Guard had to give permission to Disney to actually light it so as not to confuse real ships in the water. Disney’s Golden Oak Ranch in Santa Clarita was also used for a number of outdoor shots.

SPECS:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound * Widescreen (1.66:1)–Enhanced for 16×9 TVs. This was the first Disney film recorded in the Dolby Stereo sound system. The clarity and color of the image of the DVD are excellent; sound is good too, but nothing that will really blow your speakers away. Running time of approximately 129 minutes, which is just about 5 minutes short of the original roadshow version.

BONUS FEATURES:

Sneak Peeks: Snow White on Blu-ray, The Prince & The Frog (theatrical), Disney Blu-ray, Hannah Montana the Movie, Up, D23, Earth, and Tinkerbell: The Lost Treasure.

Brazzle Dazzle Effects (25:23): Narrated by Sean Marshall (Pete) who is heard present day, but never seen! Sean takes us on a journey telling the history of live-action/animation in Disney films, beginning the Alice Comedies. Virginia Davis (Alice) recalls pantomiming to invisible animals. “Children love to pretend. I loved to pretend, too.” Disney thought that by putting a live girl in an animated setting he could get a leg-up on the competition. Ub Iwerks joined the Disney team early, left, and then returned in the 1940’s. Many of the special effect processes that have made Disney film magic possible were a result of his genius. “The Three Caballeros” was a milestone in 1945 in combining color live-action film with animation. Using rear-screen projection and special process-lab effects, Iwerks helped the film accomplish many things never seen before. The real jump came in 1959 with “Ten Who Dared,” a film that used the Sodium Vapor Process Screen. Using yellow lights/filters, filmmakers were able to block out backgrounds that made it easier to combine the animation. Without this process, “The Parent Trap” and “Mary Poppins” would never have been possible. Marshall recalls filming “Pete’s Dragon” in the summer of 1976. He loved the entire process: special effects, acting, dancing, makeup. “The only thing I didn’t like was the fame!” He recalls Red Buttons and Mickey Rooney attempting to upstage each other, and how choreographer Onna White’s instruction helped prepare him to be a college pole-vaulter. In this featurette, you will see the original live-action film and learn how it was combined with the animation. Very interesting to watch documentary.

Deleted Storyboard Sequence: “Terminus & Hoagy Hunt Elliott” (2:25)–Nothing really missed here!

Original Song Concept: “Boo Bop BopBop Bop (I Love You Too)” (2:35): Very pop-sounding; almost a little out of place. Not missed from the storyline, it featured both Pete & Elliott.

Original Demo Recordings (all from February 11, 1976):

Brazzle Dazzle Day: Alternate song, first attempt. The song was liked by re-written.

Every Little Piece: Alternate melody. Thought to be too somber, the lyrics were kept, but the melody was rewritten.

The Greatest Star of All: Deleted song for a deleted character. Artist Ken Anderson thought 2 villains were not needed, so both song and character were cut.

Promotional Record:

Pop versions of songs from the movie released on a 7″ Vista record are presented here: It’s Not Easy, Brazzle Dazzle Day, There’s Room For Everyone, Candle on the Water.

Art Galleries: Concept Art, Behind-the-scenes, and publicity galleries. Varying quality, but still very cool to see, especially the behind-the-scenes shots.

Trailers: International & Theatrical Trailers

“About Pete’s Dragon”: 5 screens with production notes about the movie.

“Disney Family Album” (excerpt, 2:20): About artist Ken Anderson. He describes how he based Elliott on Wallace Beery - large, bumbling, but loveable. He also is seen at the Disney ranch, which he describes as his Laughing Place.

“The Plausible Impossible” (excerpt, 3:36): From the Disneyland TV show, October 31, 1956. Shows the Disney Art of Animation book, with chapter 5 about the Plausible Impossible–using animation to make the unreal look real. Clips from Fantasia shown.

“Lighthouse Keeping” (1956, 6:45): Donald Duck cartoon

Includes a game for the very young, where you must find Elliott.

Overall, a really great DVD with enjoyable extras.

Song demos and groovy “pop versions” alone are worth the new edition,

By Gregory Ehrbar “mousetracksonline.com” (Orlando, FL) -

“I was the number one star of Hollywood back in 1940…and I worked alongside someone who would become a close friend and a great star. Her name was Frances Gumm. You know her as…Judy Garland.”

Surely during the production of PETE’S DRAGON, the great Mickey Rooney shared these facts with young Sean Marshall, who — as an offscreen adult — narrates a new documentary about the 1977 Disney musical fantasy on the new “High-Flying Edition.”

The new doc makes it easier to understand that sodium screen process so often used in Disney films of the period — a kind of yellow light behind the subject that somehow vanishes and allows two images to be combined. Maybe that yellow sheen is the reason that you could always spot a seam along the two separate images — a problem solved by today’s digital technology.

When PETE’S DRAGON premiered in 1977, I was extremely excited that a MARY POPPINS/BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS-type Disney movie was arriving. I listened to the various records over and over. I even was fortunate enough to see Wally Boag himself appearing at the Lakes Mall in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, in which the “Every Little Piece” sequence was recreated with an Elliott puppet that popped out of the box.

I loved the movie, though probably not as much as MP or B&B. It’s very much like the other frothy Disney comedies of the period, only an hour longer and with songs. I would have preferred something with just a tad more gravity, though not as dark as today’s movie fantasies.

That said, it’s still very entertaining and captures a period when the Disney studio had a backlot and you could smile at the sight of familiar faces like Jane Kean and Jim Backus. The score deserves better appreciation that it has received in recent years.

The idea of an animated Elliott cavorting with humans was not miraculous even in 1977, since Tony the Tiger and friends did it frequently on TV). It of course reached the next level with ROGER RABBIT. Thanks to outstanding animation, Elliott’s soars beyond a mere gimmick.

A couple of trivia gems: the screenwriter, Malcolm Marmorstein, was one of the writers for TV’s DARK SHADOWS and, if you’re a fan of the TV classic THE PRISONER, many of its episodes were directed by PETE’S DRAGON director Don Chaffey.

The new DVD, while not including an audio commentary, does improve on the previous edition in a major way — at least to a Disney music buff like me. There are a selection of demo recordings and a handful of Kids of the Kingdom-style “pop versions” of the songs I had not heard before. “Brazzle Dazzle Day” had a different melody with mostly different lyrics. “Every Little Piece” had the same lyrics with an “If I Were a Rich Man”-like melody. “It’s Not Easy” had alternate lyrics that transformed it into a romantic love song. And there’s even a deleted song called “The Greatest Star of All,” clearly intended for Jim Dale’s character, Terminus. These alone make the new DVD worth getting.

The extras from the previous edition are all still there except the 25-minute 1973 live-action/animated documentary MAN, MONSTERS & MYSTERIES, narrated by Sebastian Cabot with Sterling Holloway voicing the Loch Ness Monster (aka “Nessie”).

Before Barney, there was Elliot,

By Christian McCallister “dr dolphin” (The waters of the Great Lakes) -
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Pete is an orphan living in the hills with a bunch of crude people who treat him poorly. He does have one ally, though: Elliot. Who is Elliot? Why, he is Pete’s dragon, of course.

This Disney production, from 1977, blends live action and animation. Actually, all of the movie is live action, except for Elliot. The movie begins with Pete, played by Sean Marshall, running from his adoptive family, the Gogans, with their matriarch played by Shelley Winters. Elliot helps him escape, and the duo moves along to the Maine fishing town of Passamaquoddy. As Elliot can be invisible whenever he so chooses, and as he usually reveals himself only to Pete, the two inadvertently cause a bit of a ruckus. One man, Lampey, does see Elliot once. Lampey, portrayed by Mickey Rooney, is the keeper of the lighthouse, and has been known to have a drink or four now and then. Thus, no one believes he saw a dragon.

As Pete begins to fit in with the town, with Lampey and his daughter Nora (Helen Reddy) taking him into their home, and Elliot living in a cave on the seashore, things keep happening to interfere. Some of the problems occur because of Lampey’s drinking, some because of Elliot’s habit of occasionally revealing himself to others, and some because of Dr. Terminus (Jim Dale), a traveling snake-oil salesman and charlatan, who wants to obtain Elliot, chop him up, and get rich off the resulting medicines he can concoct. Oh, and the Gogans show up, too, to claim Pete.

By the way, did I mention that this movie is a musical? I had not seen the movie before now, and I was not expecting that. Most of the songs are silly, cheerful, happy songs that children will enjoy. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Nora, whose love is missing at sea, climbs up the lighthouse and sings to the sea a beautiful, somewhat haunting song, (I’ll Be Your) Candle on the Water. This song was nominated for an Academy Award, but lost out to You Light Up My Life. Personally, I prefer Candle on the Water. It’s appearance in the movie startled me. I had heard it before, and always liked it, but never knew from whence it came. For me, when this song occurs in the movie, it has a moment of magic, akin to the song Hallelujah in Shrek.

Sean Marshall has to carry a lot of screen-time in this movie and, while I cannot say he was great, he certainly did okay. Mickey Rooney is hyper and silly and likeable as Lampey. Helen Reddy is fine as Nora. Shelley Winters is good, albeit almost unrecognizable as the grimy, grubby Lena Gogan. Jim Dale does Dr. Terminus perfectly, as the epitome of sleazy hucksterism. Red Button is his sidekick, who is prone to drink a bit.

There are several things about this movie that I saw as less than optimum. One has to do with Elliot’s voice, done by comedian Charlie Callas. Is he actually saying words? Most of the time, it just sounds like gibberish, but then I catch a word here and there. I guess I like things more cut-and-dry: have him speak comprehensibly or only make animal noises. The in-between annoyed me. It’s a minor point, but there it is.

When the movie starts, Pete tries very hard to keep Elliot a secret. Later, he matter-of-factly tells Lampey and Nora all about Elliot. He had not known them very long at that point. This is another minor issue that annoyed me.

I am more concerned about the fact that there is quite a bit of drinking in this movie, and it is portrayed humorously. I know this is partly a function of times changing, but it is being re-released. If this were not a movie clearly aimed at young children, I would not be worried, but it is a children’s movie.

The weakest part of this movie is the animation, which is a surprise coming from Disney. Elliot is a completely flat character, in appearance, with minimal shading. He is mostly green, with some purple. His movements are fluid but unsophisticated, and reminded me of a Saturday morning cartoon, although many of them have more elaborate animation. Perhaps I have been spoiled by the wondrous animation we see nowadays, in movies like Shrek (Full Screen Single Disc Edition), Ratatouille, and Wall-E (Single-Disc Edition).

In the end, this is a cheerful, upbeat movie, with many pleasant songs, that is aimed at children. And then, there is a moment of movie magic, when Helen Reddy does what she does so well, with Candle on the Water.

– Chris McCallister, author of Coming Full Circle

P.S.: I received the DVD from Disney in exchange for an objective review.
Search Pete’s Dragon (High-Flying Edition): Jim Backus, Walter Barnes, Calvin Bartlett, Red Buttons, Charlie Callas, Al Checco, Jack Collins, Jim Dale, Robert Easton, Robert Foulk, Jane Kean, Sean Marshall, Gary Morgan, Roger Price, Joe E. Ross, Henry Slate, Charles Tyner, Shelley Winters, Ben Wrigley, Jeff Conaway, Frank Phillips, Joel Hirschhorn: Movies & TV from AmAzon

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Tags: animation, kids, action, war, documentary

DVD Review: The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season: Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress MacNeille, Pamela Hayden, Russi Taylor, Karl Wiedergott, Marcia Mitzman Gaven, Joe Mantegna, Bob Anderson, Chuck Sheetz, Dominic Polcino, Jen Kamerman, Lance Kramer, Lauren MacMullan, Mark Kirkland, Matthew Nastuk: Movies & TV

Posted by admin | on 19 August, 01:31 AM

DVD |

DVD Review: The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season: Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress MacNeille, Pamela Hayden, Russi Taylor, Karl Wiedergott, Marcia Mitzman Gaven, Joe Mantegna, Bob Anderson, Chuck Sheetz, Dominic Polcino, Jen Kamerman, Lance Kramer, Lauren MacMullan, Mark Kirkland, Matthew Nastuk: Movies & TV

Product Description
Audio: English: 5.1 Dolby Surround / Spanish & French: Stereo
Language: Dubbed: English, French & Spanish / Subtitled: French & Spanish
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen: 1.33:1

Disc 1: 110 Minutes
**Treehouse of Horror XI
**A Tale of Two Springfields
**Insane Clown Poppy
**Lisa the Tree Hugger
**Homer vs. Dignity

**Commentary:
*Treehouse of Horror XI - Matt Groening, Mike Scully, Rob Lazebnik, John Frink, Don Payne, Carolyn Omine, Matt Selman
*A Tale of Two Springfields - Matt Groening, Mike Scully, George Meyer, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Don Payne, Matt Selman, Dan Castellaneta, Shaun Cashman, Roger Daltrey, David Silverman
*Insane Clown Poppy - Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, John Frink, Don Payne, Tom Martin, Matt Selman, Dan Castellaneta, Joe Mantegna, Bob Anderson, Joel Cohen
*Lisa the Tree Hugger - Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Don Payne, Tom Gammill, Tim Long, Yeardley Smith, Steven Dean Moore
*Homer vs. Dignity - Matt Groening, Mike Scully, Rob Lazebnik, Carolyn Omine, Don Payne, Matt Selman, Max Pross

**Deleted Scenes

**Featurettes:
*A Comic Moment with Matt Groening
*Illustrated commentary - Lisa The Tree Hugger

**Animation Showcase: - Treehouse of Horror XI
**Animatic/StoryBoard Compare
*Storyboards: Storyboard with episode PIP
*Animatic: Animatic with episode PIP

**2 Easter Eggs

Disc 2: 132 Minutes
**The Computer Wore Menace Shoes
**The Great Money Caper
**Skinner’s Sense of Snow
**HOMR
**Pokey Mom
**Worst Episode Ever

**Commentary
*The Computer Wore Menace Shoes - Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Don Payne, John Frink, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, Mark Kirkland, Joel Cohen
*The Great Money Caper - Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Carolyn Omine, Don Payne, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, Chuck Sheetz
Skinner’s Sense of Snow - Matt Groening, Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Tim Long, Matt Selman, David Mirkin, Max Pross, Lance Kramer
*HOMR - Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, Mike B. Anderson
*Pokey Mom - Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Tom Martin, John Frink, Don Payne, Matt Selman, Dan Castellaneta, Joe Mantegna, Bob Anderson, Joel Cohen
*Worst Episode Ever - Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Larry Doyle, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, Hank Azaria, Chris Kirkpatrick

**Deleted Scenes

**Featurettes:
*Comic Book Guy: Best. Moments. Ever.
*Illustrated commentary - HOMR

3 Easter Eggs

Disc 3: 132 Minutes
**Tennis the Menace
**Day of the Jackanapes
**New Kids on the Blecch
**Hungry, Hungry Homer
**Bye Bye Nerdie
**Simpson Safari

**Commentary:
*Tennis the Menace - Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, John Frink, Don Payne, Matt Selman, Max Pross, Phil Rosenthal
*Day of the Jackanapes - Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Tim Long, Yeardley Smith, Michael Marcantel
*New Kids on the Blecch - Matt Groening, Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Tim Long, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, Hank Azaria, Steven Dean Moore, Chris Kirkpatrick
*Hungry, Hungry Homer - Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, John Frink, Don Payne, Matt Selman, Max Pross, Phil Rosenthal, Ben Rosenthal
*Bye Bye Nerdie - Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Don Payne, Matt Selman, Tim Long, Tom Gammill, Yeardley Smith, Lauren MacMullan, Steven Dean Moore
*Simpson Safari - Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Tim Long, Yeardley Smith, Mark Kirkland, Michael Marcantel

**Deleted Scenes

**Animation Showcase: Day of the Jackanapes
**Animatic/StoryBoard Compare
*Storyboards: Storyboard with episode PIP
*Animatic: Animatic with episode PIP

**Easter Egg

Disc 4: 132 Minutes
**Trilogy of Error
**I’m Goin’ to Praiseland
**Children of a Lesser Clod
**Simpsons Tall Tales

**Commentary:
*Trilogy of Error - Matt Groening, Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Rob Lazebnik, Matt Selman, Tim Long, Max Pross, David Mirkin, Mike B. Anderson
*I’m Goin’ to Praiseland - Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Carolyn Omine, Don Payne, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, Chuck Sheetz
*Children of a Lesser Clod - Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, Mike Polcino, Mike B. Anderson
*Simpsons Tall Tales - Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, John Frink, Don Payne, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, Bob Anderson, Joel Cohen

**Deleted Scenes

**Easter Egg

**The Commercials
*Nestle USA “Butterfingeritis”
*Nestle USA “Bart’s Nightmare”
*Burger King International “Spaced Homer”
*Red Rooster “Loungearama”

**Deleted Scenes Intro by Mike Scully
**Deleted Scenes Gallery W/ Commentary

**The Global Fanfest
**Sketch Gallery
**Illustrated commentary - I’m Goin’ to Praiseland

A chance for Fox to redeem themselves… plus a great season!,

By C. R. Swanson “wilybadger.wordpress.com” (Phoenix) -

We all know the many, many problems with season eleven’s packaging. To this day I almost never watch that season cause I’m afraid of a: scratching the disks when taking them out of the sleeves and b: ripping the sleeves. It makes me tempted to copy them onto different DVDs so I can watch them when I want to, but of course, Fox doesn’t want us to make copies.

We don’t know what the packaging will be like this time around, though I am guessing it’ll be similiar to the last design, with comic book covers instead of midway scenes, but what we do know is that there are some very good episodes in season twelve! The complete list:

“Treehouse of Horror XI” - The yearly Halloween insanity!

“A Tale of Two Springfields” - A personal favorite! Gotta love the badger at the begining!

“Insane Clown Poppy” - Krusty has an illegitimate child. Only one?

“Lisa the Tree Hugger” - Lisa goes green!

“Homer vs. Dignity” - Homer becomes Burns’ prank-monkey.

“The Computer Wore Menace Shoes” - Any resemblence between this episode and a certain 1960’s British TV series is completely in your imagination, Number Six.

“The Great Money Caper” - Homer becomes an artist. A CON artist! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Ah, I slay me.

“Skinner’s Sense of Snow” - Imagine a snow day where you’re trapped in the school. Sucktacular situation, but a fun episode!
“HOMR” - Homer has a crayon lodged in his brain. Messy.

“Pokey Mom” - Marge kicks it with a fun-loving criminal.

“Worst Episode Ever” - Comic Book Guy falls in love… with Skinner’s mom! Terrifying!

“Tennis the Menace” - Lots of tennis. Yeah, that’s about it here.

“Day of the Jackanapes” - Sideshow Bob and his boy-bomb attempt to destroy Krusty!

“New Kids on the Blecch” - Yeah, it’s got NSYNC, but it’s still a fun episode!

“Hungry, Hungry Homer” - When the owner of the Isotopes tries to move them to Albuquerque, Homer rises to the occasion! Pft. Imagine the idea of Albuquerque having it’s own baseball team. It is to laugh!

“Bye Bye Nerdie” - Eh, not one of the best. It’s a Lisa episode, but kind of, well, lame.

“Simpson Safari” - The Simpsons are goin’ to Africa!

“Trilogy of Error” - Three stories meet up together to make for one good episode!

“I’m Goin’ to Praiseland” - Flanders tries to create an amusement park devoted to God and Maude!

“Children of a Lesser Clod” - Lisa takes up gymnastics and Homer tries to run a day-care center!

“Simpsons Tall Tales” - a fun “anthology” episode centering around old folk stories and legends.

Lots of good episodes here, I just hope that Fox gives us good packaging this time around! They won’t, of course, but I can dream. I can dream.

Listing Of Episodes & Special Features,

By Reconnecting To My Childhood “Time Won’t Let … -

The twelfth season of the Simpsons will soon finally be on DVD. If you still love the Simpsons or still loved this particular season then you will be very excited at the chance to further complete your Simpsons collecton and the opportunity to own the following 21 episodes spread across 4 discs as follows:

Disc One
249 Treehouse of Horror XI: G-G-Ghost Dad/Scary Tales Can Come True/Night Of The Dolphin.
250 A Tale Of Two Springfields
251 Insane Clown Poppy
252 Lisa The Tree Hugger
253 Homer Vs. Dignity

Disc One Special Features Include:
Commentaries, Deleted Scenes, A Comic Moment with Matt Groening, Illustrated Commentary: Lisa The Treehugger, an Animated Showcase: Treehouse Of Horror XI, Animatic/Storyboard Compare, Storyboards with episode PIP (Picture in Picture), Animatics with episode PIP and 2 supposed Easter Eggs for viewer’s to find.

Disc Two
254 The Computer Wore Menace Shoes
255 The Great Money Caper
256 Skinner’s Sense of Snow
257 HOMR (Great Episode)
258 Pokey Mom
259 Worst Episode Ever

Disc Two Special Features Include:
Commentaries, Deleted Scenes, Comic Book Guy: Best. Moments. Ever., Illustrated Commentary on ‘HOMR’ and 3 Easter Eggs.

Disc Three
260 Tennis The Menace
261 Day Of The Jackanapes
262 New Kids On The Blecch
263 Hungry, Hungry Homer
264 Bye, Bye, Nerdie
265 Simpson Safari

Disc Three Special Features Include:
Commentaries, Deleted Scenes, Animation Showcase: Day Of The Jackanapes, Animatic/Storyboard Compare, Storyboards with episode PIP, Animatics with episode PIP and 1 Easter Egg.

Disc Four
266 Trilogy Of Error (I enjoy this episode)
267 I’m Goin’ To Praiseland
268 Children Of A Lesser Clod
269 Simpsons Tall Tales

Disc Four Special Features Include:
Commentaries, Deleted Scenes, 1 Easter Egg, 4 Commercials, A Deleted Scenes Intro by Mike Scully, Deleted Scenes Gallery with Commentary, The Global Fanfest, a Sketch Gallery and Illustrated Commentary: I’m Goin’ To Praiseland.

This set will have a running time of approximately 506 minutes. Video is standard Full Screen. Audio Options are English 5.1 Dolby Surround, Spanish Stereo and French Stereo. French and Spanish Subtitles are also available.

Aforementioned commentaries will, as usual, be available on all episodes with the ever interchanging group of writer’s producers and others who worked on the show. Matt Groening himself only appears on certain episodes nowadays opting not to spend all his spare time in commentaries. Some more noticable appearances are made by commentator’s Joe Mantegna, Chris Kirkpatrick and Hank Azaria as well as Yeardley Smith (Lisa) and Dan Castellaneta (Homer) again making several commentary appearances.

The packaging will most likely be the same as the fan hated packaging for the eleventh season, here’s hoping that FOX will respond to fans outrage by making the packaging for this set different. It would be nice to have a DVD boxed set that actual protects your DVD and makes them easily accessible but I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Artwork on these sets is always well done though.

Anyways, no matter how anyone may individually feel about the Simpsons long run the twelfth season will be out on DVD soon. I’m not yet sure if I’ll personally be buying this season but I do recommend it as 5 stars to fans of the show from the early millenium era and certainly to fans of the show today but probably 3 stars to anyone else. They’d better start releasing these sets faster if they ever want to catch up with themselves. Thanks For Your Time.

easy solution for the packaging issue,

By S. hare “music fan” (san francisco, ca) -

I know I am not alone when it comes to the way season 11 and probably season 12 will be packaged. In those almost immpossible sleeves the discs are crammed into. Once out of that tight fitting slot, just use some of those two sided sleeves or envelopes you get at office depot.They fit back in between the accordian type booklet just fine. It’s a quick low cost solution to the problem. Just thought i’d share that with everybody.
Search The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season: Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress MacNeille, Pamela Hayden, Russi Taylor, Karl Wiedergott, Marcia Mitzman Gaven, Joe Mantegna, Bob Anderson, Chuck Sheetz, Dominic Polcino, Jen Kamerman, Lance Kramer, Lauren MacMullan, Mark Kirkland, Matthew Nastuk: Movies & TV from AmAzon

[asa]B0024FAR52[/asa]

Tags: kids, animation, horror

DVD Review: The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season (Limited Edition Comic Book Guy Head Packaging): Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress MacNeille, Pamela Hayden, Russi Taylor, Karl Wiedergott, Marcia Mitzman Gaven, Joe Mantegna, Bob Anderson, Chuck Sheetz, Dominic Polcino, Jen Kamerman, Lance Kramer, Lauren MacMullan, Mark Kirkland, Matthew Nastuk: Movies & TV

Posted by admin | on 19 August, 01:11 AM

DVD |

DVD Review: The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season (Limited Edition Comic Book Guy Head Packaging): Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress MacNeille, Pamela Hayden, Russi Taylor, Karl Wiedergott, Marcia Mitzman Gaven, Joe Mantegna, Bob Anderson, Chuck Sheetz, Dominic Polcino, Jen Kamerman, Lance Kramer, Lauren MacMullan, Mark Kirkland, Matthew Nastuk: Movies & TV

Product Description
Audio: English: 5.1 Dolby Surround / Spanish & French: Stereo
Language: Dubbed: English, French & Spanish / Subtitled: French & Spanish
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen: 1.33:1

Disc 1: 110 Minutes
**Treehouse of Horror XI
**A Tale of Two Springfields
**Insane Clown Poppy
**Lisa the Tree Hugger
**Homer vs. Dignity

**Commentary:
*Treehouse of Horror XI - Matt Groening, Mike Scully, Rob Lazebnik, John Frink, Don Payne, Carolyn Omine, Matt Selman
*A Tale of Two Springfields - Matt Groening, Mike Scully, George Meyer, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Don Payne, Matt Selman, Dan Castellaneta, Shaun Cashman, Roger Daltrey, David Silverman
*Insane Clown Poppy - Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, John Frink, Don Payne, Tom Martin, Matt Selman, Dan Castellaneta, Joe Mantegna, Bob Anderson, Joel Cohen
*Lisa the Tree Hugger - Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Don Payne, Tom Gammill, Tim Long, Yeardley Smith, Steven Dean Moore
*Homer vs. Dignity - Matt Groening, Mike Scully, Rob Lazebnik, Carolyn Omine, Don Payne, Matt Selman, Max Pross

**Deleted Scenes

**Featurettes:
*A Comic Moment with Matt Groening
*Illustrated commentary - Lisa The Tree Hugger

**Animation Showcase: - Treehouse of Horror XI
**Animatic/StoryBoard Compare
*Storyboards: Storyboard with episode PIP
*Animatic: Animatic with episode PIP

**2 Easter Eggs

Disc 2: 132 Minutes
**The Computer Wore Menace Shoes
**The Great Money Caper
**Skinner’s Sense of Snow
**HOMR
**Pokey Mom
**Worst Episode Ever

**Commentary
*The Computer Wore Menace Shoes - Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Don Payne, John Frink, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, Mark Kirkland, Joel Cohen
*The Great Money Caper - Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Carolyn Omine, Don Payne, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, Chuck Sheetz
Skinner’s Sense of Snow - Matt Groening, Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Tim Long, Matt Selman, David Mirkin, Max Pross, Lance Kramer
*HOMR - Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, Mike B. Anderson
*Pokey Mom - Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Tom Martin, John Frink, Don Payne, Matt Selman, Dan Castellaneta, Joe Mantegna, Bob Anderson, Joel Cohen
*Worst Episode Ever - Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Larry Doyle, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, Hank Azaria, Chris Kirkpatrick

**Deleted Scenes

**Featurettes:
*Comic Book Guy: Best. Moments. Ever.
*Illustrated commentary - HOMR

3 Easter Eggs

Disc 3: 132 Minutes
**Tennis the Menace
**Day of the Jackanapes
**New Kids on the Blecch
**Hungry, Hungry Homer
**Bye Bye Nerdie
**Simpson Safari

**Commentary:
*Tennis the Menace - Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, John Frink, Don Payne, Matt Selman, Max Pross, Phil Rosenthal
*Day of the Jackanapes - Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Tim Long, Yeardley Smith, Michael Marcantel
*New Kids on the Blecch - Matt Groening, Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Tim Long, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, Hank Azaria, Steven Dean Moore, Chris Kirkpatrick
*Hungry, Hungry Homer - Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, John Frink, Don Payne, Matt Selman, Max Pross, Phil Rosenthal, Ben Rosenthal
*Bye Bye Nerdie - Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Don Payne, Matt Selman, Tim Long, Tom Gammill, Yeardley Smith, Lauren MacMullan, Steven Dean Moore
*Simpson Safari - Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Tim Long, Yeardley Smith, Mark Kirkland, Michael Marcantel

**Deleted Scenes

**Animation Showcase: Day of the Jackanapes
**Animatic/StoryBoard Compare
*Storyboards: Storyboard with episode PIP
*Animatic: Animatic with episode PIP

**Easter Egg

Disc 4: 132 Minutes
**Trilogy of Error
**I’m Goin’ to Praiseland
**Children of a Lesser Clod
**Simpsons Tall Tales

**Commentary:
*Trilogy of Error - Matt Groening, Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Rob Lazebnik, Matt Selman, Tim Long, Max Pross, David Mirkin, Mike B. Anderson
*I’m Goin’ to Praiseland - Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Carolyn Omine, Don Payne, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, Chuck Sheetz
*Children of a Lesser Clod - Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, Mike Polcino, Mike B. Anderson
*Simpsons Tall Tales - Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, John Frink, Don Payne, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, Bob Anderson, Joel Cohen

**Deleted Scenes

**Easter Egg

**The Commercials
*Nestle USA “Butterfingeritis”
*Nestle USA “Bart’s Nightmare”
*Burger King International “Spaced Homer”
*Red Rooster “Loungearama”

**Deleted Scenes Intro by Mike Scully
**Deleted Scenes Gallery W/ Commentary

**The Global Fanfest
**Sketch Gallery
**Illustrated commentary - I’m Goin’ to Praiseland

Obviously not for the episodes…,

By Weezy -

Once again FOX took the easy way out and put out awful packaging. At this point the only people buying these seasons are the hardcore fans that have been collecting since Season 1 so why not give us what we want??? These DVD’s are collectors editions so that we can always have any episode at our disposal whenever we want and to put them in scratchy cardboard flimsy packaging is a disgrace!! Go back to the old way for the next season, I can’t take this anymore!

Really?,

By John C. Brindiar -

Okay, first i want to say that i just started watching Simpsons during season 19. I think the show is currently really good and getting back to it’s roots.

I have every box set of this show and love evry season (with the exception of 8). When i read the pre-order reviews, i was stunned to learn so many people thought this season was the beginning of the end. I was even more stunned to learn they were right. I had never watched these episodes back to back before until today. They are not very good. Sure, it has it’s moments (Pokey Mom, Homer Vs. Dignity, Homr [backwards R], Trilogy of Error, Children of a Lesser Clod, and Simpsons Tall Tales), but most of the storylines are so far feched and i never realizd it before until i watched them together. Far fetched story lines include Tale of Two Springfields, The Money Caper, and Simpsons Safari.

Now, for the packaging:
The packaging is slightly better than season 11. The episode list on back has a little flap to hide the flip book style sleeves, giving us false hope for a box inside. It is nice to have a spine on both sides to look like an old boxset from the outside. Also, the cardboard sleeves have little indents where edges of the discs stick out for less chance of scratching. (In case you didn’t know, in the new head packages after season 10, the heads come off to reveal the regular boxes. So, if you prefer the regular boxes, like me, but feel like you should buy the “limited edition”, you can have both and it still matches your other boxes and will fit on your shelf.)

The season gets 3 stars.
Packaging gets 2 stars.

Please, give us season 13 in a proper package!

Great season but I can’t believe they did it again!!!!!!,

By ML “manuell” (Quebec Canada) -

Fox learned nothing from the release of season 11. After all the critizism received for the awful packaging for season 11, Fox did the same thing again for season 12!!! They’re obviously not paying attention or simply don’t care for customer feedback!!! What a dissapointment!!!
Search The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season (Limited Edition Comic Book Guy Head Packaging): Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress MacNeille, Pamela Hayden, Russi Taylor, Karl Wiedergott, Marcia Mitzman Gaven, Joe Mantegna, Bob Anderson, Chuck Sheetz, Dominic Polcino, Jen Kamerman, Lance Kramer, Lauren MacMullan, Mark Kirkland, Matthew Nastuk: Movies & TV from AmAzon

[asa]B0024FAR5C[/asa]

Tags: horror, kids, animation, war

DVD Review: Blue Thunder [Blu-ray]: Roy Scheider, Warren Oates, Candy Clark, Daniel Stern, Paul Roebling, David Sheiner, Joe Santos, Malcolm McDowell, Ed Bernard, Jason Bernard, Mario Machado, James Murtaugh, Pat McNamara, Jack Murdock, Clifford Pellow: Movies & TV

Posted by admin | on 16 August, 07:40 AM

DVD |

DVD Review: Blue Thunder [Blu-ray]: Roy Scheider, Warren Oates, Candy Clark, Daniel Stern, Paul Roebling, David Sheiner, Joe Santos, Malcolm McDowell, Ed Bernard, Jason Bernard, Mario Machado, James Murtaugh, Pat McNamara, Jack Murdock, Clifford Pellow: Movies & TV

Amazon.com
“Suspense in a void” is how critic Pauline Kael described this action-packed hit from 1983. In other words, this is one of those flashy, superbly crafted high-tech thrillers in which the star is a machine, while intelligent plotting and human characters are a lesser priority. The machine in question is Blue Thunder–a heavily armored prototype helicopter that is secretly being tested for use in a devious government conspiracy. Roy Scheider plays the police pilot who catches on to the nefarious plot and takes to the skies against an evil army colonel (Malcolm McDowell) who will defend his coconspirators at any cost. Director John Badham was a hot property in the early ’80s (he directed WarGames the same year), and Blue Thunder served as the popular model for many formulaic action thrillers to follow. That doesn’t make it a great movie, but with a fine cast (including Daniel Stern in a memorable supporting role) and a dazzling aerial chase among big-city skyscrapers, Blue Thunder qualifies as slick entertainment. –Jeff Shannon

Still not the complete cut…,

By Serial Movie Buff (Paris, France) -

This review is from: Blue Thunder (Special Edition) (DVD)

This Special Edition turned out to be not so special after all. Okay, the new transfer is better looking than the previous release. But the movie itself remains the same old version, missing a good bit of the car chase which, for some reason, was included in European copies but was never shown in the US.
The missing part - check it out on imdb - takes place when Roy Scheider’s wife, rushing to the TV studio with the tape, drives into a back alley with patrol cars on her tail: there, she skids into a wall on two wheels, bangs the roof of her car, then resumes her crazy run as the patrol cars slam into each other - and this is what makes Scheider wince from his chopper above.
Apart from leaving aside a nice piece of stunt work, this cut also accounts for a continuity loophole, when we see the car drive into the TV studio parking lot with a badly battered rooftop.
Granted, this missing part is no big deal, but it certainly makes this so-called ‘Special Edition’ a bit of a disappointment.
Five stars for the movie, three for the DVD.

This is not an anamorphic widescreen release,

By ”mrb55″ (Sacramento, CA) -

This review is from: Blue Thunder (DVD)

Contrary to what the details reports, this dvd is full screen only and single sided. There is no anamorphic transfer (for widescreen tv’s) included on this dvd even though other reviewers here have stated that one does exist. The widescreen review even stated "incorrectly" that the anamorphic transfer looked good.

If you want to purchase this for your widescreen tv, seek out alternate versions (british region 2) that include the actual widescreen (anamorphic) print.

THE ULTIMATE “KILLING MACHINE” ,

By THE CRITIC “MOVIE MANIAC” (Windsor, Ontario Canada) -

This review is from: Blue Thunder (Special Edition) (DVD)

If you’re a “Blue Thunder” fan then this DVD is the only version for you. This special edition version is presented in its 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio and remastered in high definition. The picture transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound are truly outstanding. The 5.1 surround sound breathes new life into this 1983 action classic and you get to hear “Blue Thunder” really roar.

For those who don’t know it, “Blue Thunder” is a new helicopter prototype that is secretly being tested by the government on its unsuspecting citizens. The helicopter is superior to anything ever built and it comes heavily armored. In the wrong hands “Blue Thunder” would be unstoppable. The movie stars Roy Scheider as Frank Murphy, the Blue Thunder pilot, Daniel Stern as his partner Lymangood and Malcolm McDowell as the bad guy Colonel Cochrane and he’s perfect in his role. The DVD contains bonus features such as commentary, theatrical trailer, storyboard galleries and making of featurettes. After comparing both DVD versions, in my opinion this one was the best. Prepare to witness an all out aerial assault over the city of Los Angeles.
Search Blue Thunder [Blu-ray]: Roy Scheider, Warren Oates, Candy Clark, Daniel Stern, Paul Roebling, David Sheiner, Joe Santos, Malcolm McDowell, Ed Bernard, Jason Bernard, Mario Machado, James Murtaugh, Pat McNamara, Jack Murdock, Clifford Pellow: Movies & TV from AmAzon

[asa]B0024FAG1W[/asa]

Tags: action, suspense, kids, war

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DVD Review: Blue Thunder [Blu-ray]: Roy Scheider, Warren Oates, Candy Clark, Daniel Stern, Paul Roebling, David Sheiner, Joe Santos, Malcolm McDowell, Ed Bernard, Jason Bernard, Mario Machado, James Murtaugh, Pat McNamara, Jack Murdock, Clifford Pellow: Movies & TV

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