robthehand

Rocky: I love this film. Making a feel-good film that's not nauseating or overly cheesy isn't easy (judging by the number of failures), but this one really succeeds. The training montage and final boxing match are perfectly executed, and I admire Stallone and Avildsen for taking their time in the build-up. I think the film's reputation has been damaged by the increasingly sillier sequels (not counting Balboa), but as a standalone film it's practically perfect. Fistful of Dollars: It's the weakest of the trilogy, but it's still a fantastic film. I know Morricone hates his score for this film, and while it's certainly not as sophisticated as GBU, it works. Blow Out: Just as good as ever. To my mind this is De Palma's best film, or at least tied-best with Carrie. The score is very good, especially at the end. E.T.: Sometimes I love this film, sometimes I just like it. This time I loved it. I don't think it's perfect by any means, but it's very well-written, directed, acted - and of course, scored. I don't think the ending is too over-the-top, as some people say it is. E.T. himself is incredibly well realised, it's so easy to forget you're watching essentially a puppet. Carlito's Way: Wow! I never considered this to be among De Palma's best, but that might change now. Unlike some of De Palma's weaker films, the characters here are all very well developed. The action set pieces are (not surprisingly for a De Palma film) perfectly executed, with the railway station scene particularly impressive. Many smaller moments, such as Kleinfeld's death, are equally impressive.

Umm... unless I'm mis-reading the topic, Neil did just tell you. You said "Sounds like the problem they had with the SE" ("the SE" - singular) in response to Jim's post about specifically the Star Wars disc. And besides, the problems with Empire and Jedi's SEs weren't to do with using the wrong takes, or (as far as I can tell) a rushed schedule.

"Leia's Instruction" and "Departure of Boba Fett" (and possibly another cue) have the stereo channels reversed on the anthology.

I might watch the movie tonight, or at least listen to the score.

I remember one religious group praised the film The Exorcist, but objected to the fact that Regan is "implied to be naked" while in the bath.

I hadn't noticed that. I like the new layout. Looks less cluttered than the previous version.

What was it? Sounds like some CBeebies program?

I've yet to see Serenity. The trailer completely turned me off when it originally came out, so I didn't bother.

So if you buy a new one you might have to wait months to watch it? I'm looking forward to The Dark Knight and Bond 22 a lot, apart from that I don't know what's coming out. I'm sure there'll be plenty more nearer the time.

It's Charles Dance.

Can't wait for The Mission.

The Fury film recording, "Gillian's Power" 0:54-1:39. Though it's hardly "little"...

BBFC have done better than that - one film (I forget which) was listed as containing "moderate sex". Not moderate sex references, moderate sex. What does that mean, they were only partly having sex? How does that work?

Films are censored in the uk by the BBFC, and you can search to check whether a film was cut or not on their website.

But there are more good Bond films than good IJ and LOTR films combined.

OK, these are my own definitions, can't be sure they're 100% accurate: Theme = a single (but complete) tune/melody. Could stand alone as piece of music in its own right. Motif = like a shorter theme, usually only a few bars, could not stand alone as a piece of music in its own right. Leitmotif = a motif that applies to a specific thing, usually a character.

I'm guessing that was "The Creation"? I have that on a Silva compilation somwhere, and it's OK, but not as good as Gerhardt's version (on his Waxman album). It's a shame that both tracks leave off the actual cue for when the bride is revealed (the one with the wedding bells - I'm assuming that's on the Silva album elsewhere?).

Is that the Silva recording? I've been meaning to pick that up for ages. I only have that terrible-sounding suite of the original recording.

That makes twice he did exactly that last year.

No doubt his recent work isn't up to the standard of The French Connection (or The Exorcist), but I'd have thought those two films would put him above the level of "least impressive". I mean, he's not on the level of this guy, surely? Not to split hairs, but it's not a "director's cut", Friedkin says that the "director's cut" is what was released in 1973, and the extended version was basically (writer) Blatty's version - Blatty wanted those extra scenes in, especially the happier ending - while Friedkin preferred the more ambigious ending of the theatrical version, and thought the added devil images made the fact that she really was posessed too obvious, too soon. I agree with Friedkin, and I didn't care for the extended version at all. The spider-walk was startling the first time I saw it, but I do think it was out of place, for the same reason as the devil images were. Also, in the documentary on the theatrical version DVD, Friedkin says that he wasn't satisfied with the way they'd originally had the spider-walk scene since it comes just seconds after Chris finds out about Burke's death, and that neither moment ended up being effective, so they cut it. The way it was added in the extended version basically just proves his point.

Quick thoughts on a few films I saw recently... Star Trek - The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition. I enjoyed it. To say that it's the best version of the film is sadly not saying very much - but now it moves along at an agreeable pace. The script however, particularly the dialogue, is dreadful. But that score... words can't describe it. One of the best ever written, both as standalone music and in terms of how well it suits the film. Enjoyable film, but much less than the sum of its parts. Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan. That's more like it! Great performances, great script, better than TMP in pretty much every way - except the score (which is still absolutely superb, but inevitably pales in comparison to Goldsmith's original), and special effects (which are nevertheless perfectly acceptable). That scene doesn't disappoint, but just as good was the scene where the Enterprise crew prepares for battle. And I just love the look of Khan's face earlier in the film when he finds out that the shields are dropping. Just a quick thought about Star Trek in general: I really think it was Nimoy who made it work. Shatner has that star power, but Nimoy gives it a real class, and as a result Spock is frequently the most interesting part of the episode or film. Manhattan. Not as good as Annie Hall, but very close. Funny, sad, beautifully shot, great music, everything about it just works. The Time Machine (1960 version, of course). Great fun, and a clever and thought-provoking plot, despite being quite drastically dumbed down from the source material. I haven't seen Rod Taylor in many films, but he was better here than in The Birds. Great score, I should get the CD. The Exorcist. Fantastic film, my favourite horror film along with Carrie. Technically no movie is perfect, but I really just can't think of anything wrong with this one. The Untouchables. I've always loved this film, but I've come to appreciate it more, recently. Great script, great performances from pretty much everyone, and of course great, stylish direction from the master of great, stylish direction. Only thing that didn't quite work for me were the scenes with Ness' family. Nothing bad about them, they just weren't particularly interesting. The Adventures of Robin Hood. Watched it with my dad, who hadn't seen it in years. We both enjoyed it a lot, it's a perfect adventure film. Die Hard. If Robin Hood is the perfect adventure film, this is the perfect action film. The casting is spot-on, the dialogue wonderfully witty, and extremely well directed and photographed by John McTiernan and Jan de Bont. I think this film would really suffer in pan-and-scan. Kamen's score was good, I loved the use of "Ode to Joy". Three Days of the Condor. Overall, not very impressive. And I generally like this sort of film. Max von Sydow was great, as usual. Redford's character didn't seem at all convincing, to me. Nor did Dunaway's. I'm not exactly sure what I didn't like about it, but overall I just felt underwhelmed and disappointed.

I saw about this ages ago, meant to book up, but had forgotten about it until just now... too late.

Blumenkohl, that's one of the strangest posts I've ever read here. What else does anyone have? Evidence? Morlock has seen the film, therefore can judge it. What more to it is there than that?

He borrowed more from The Hidden Fortress, if I remember correctly.