Alec-Guinness Movie Reviews

Gulley Jimson is an unappreciated painter, loopily passionate about his art, and defiantly inured to the rigors of poverty & the fear of giving offense.

"The Horse's Mouth" wears its 45 years effortlessly. We are fortunate that Alec Guinness poured his unique talents into imagining the genius of this comic character, getting it down as a screenplay, and rendering so inspired a performance. The result defies imitation. Intelligent viewers will find the comedy as delightfully quick as it must have been when it was first shown.

The Criterion Collection DVD has preserved the Technicolor gorgeously. We are spared the customary tedium of "DVD filler" but given a wonderful short interview with director Ronald Neame.

Alec Guiness is fantastic as a sort of likeable but stubborn starving artist. It's a great character and probably my favorite performance from him(he's so much more abrasive than most of his other films). To be sought out at whatever cost(it seems to be not widely availabe right now)-find it, watch it!

If a film buff askes you to name a classic film you realy like you can do no worse than to answer "The Horse's Mouth". Try to suppress a smile as the buff looks at first puzzled and then cautiously admits that they have never heard of let alone seen that movie so can it be that good?

Well actually yes it is explain to them then casually mention that it is the only film that Alec Guinness ever wrote a screenplay for and that he gained an Academy Award nomination for his trouble and that in his "Parkinson" interview in 1977 he almost (but not quite) admitted that it was his favourite film in his long career.

Then you can go on to tell that it is one of the few films from the 1950's that shows London in colour and the music adapted from Sergei Prokofieff's "Lieutenant Kije" gives the film a touch of class and a unique sense of style not to be found in other films of the period.

You may then mention that the acting is superb; as well as Guinness' faultless study of an obsessive and slightly desturbed artist Gulley Jimson. Kay Walsh(Mrs. David Lean)adds humour and pathos as Miss Coker the comugenly woman who none the less has a soft spot for Jimson and music hall turn Renee Houston as Sara Munday (Gulley's ex-wife) adds a bit of bawdy fun to the proceedings. Young actor Mike Morgan gives an energetic perfomance all the more sad because he died before the film's release.

As the discussion continues you may point out that there are a few technical problems; the original three strip Technicolour camaras were so heavy, with their sound blimps, that the camera doesn't move that much during dialoge shots but that makes the actors move more especially when Gulley and Coker are escaping from the police . Also because the film was assembled onto one roll of negative (a common practice in British films until the 1960's )the dissolves are a bit klunky. But any discerning viewer will forgive such imperfections like the bullet holes in a Jimson painting.

You can then round off your discourse by stating that the end of the film, when Jimson sets sail in his wreck of a boat (a metaphor for his own body?), to find something new to paint is sublime.

Then if the film buff is still a bit bemused you can tell them that there is an excellent DVD of the film including an interview with director Ronald Neame and a D.A. Pennebacker Short that accompanied the film on it's original release from Criterion and that no serious DVD collection should be with out it and that comes, as they say, from the horse's mouth.

Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" first appeared in a magazine in 1838. Since then, 13 motion picture versions have graced the silver screen. Perhaps the uncontested classic was released in England in 1948. David Lean stands within a tiny circle of 20th Century film directors who could literally paint with a camera. And paint he did. Dark and moody, his "Oliver Twist" opens in an English countryside storm, as a pregnant young girl seeks shelter from the squall. She is about to give birth to Oliver Twist. Intentionally mute, there is no dialogue until seven minutes into the story. The stage is set for gothic evil and tragic foreboding. Lean auditioned 1500 boys for the lead role, but complained that, in each case, "there was nothing in the eyes". He eventually settled on 8 year-old John Howard Davies. Hard-drinking Robert Newton plays Bill Sikes. Alec Guinness appeared in 6 David Lean productions. His second was here as Fagin. Future movie beauty Diana Dors has a small part. Peter Bull and Francis L. Sullivan are outstanding in supporting roles. Filmed in the shadows of St. Paul's Cathedral, "Oliver Twist" reveals the circuitous, seamy London backwaters of the 19th Century. I have to say it. The extras for this Criterion DVD are rather "lean". However, it does contain a trailer, and 12 minutes of film censored from the original 1951 U.S. release. These scenes show Fagin giving a pick-pocket lesson, and counting his jewels. Charles Dickens and David Lean were just at the beginning of their long and prodigious careers when each released their own versions of "Oliver Twist". Amazingly for both, the best was yet to come.

John Howard-Davies as Oliver,Robert Newton as Bill Sykes,and unforgettable is Alec Guinness,buried beneath the make-up,and totally convincing as the villianous,but lovable rouge,Fagin. Dickens' "Oliver Twist",bought to life with a some fantastic on-screen characterizations.The Nineteenth Century London Streets and shops,and Fagins little hideaway,for his little thieves,re-created in rich detail,adds a real depth of atmosphere.An extremely entertaining film with some memorable scenes,including:The demise of Bill Sykes,When Oliver reaches London,and meets the Artful Dodger,and almost every time Fagin appears,or even Bill Sykes Bull Terrier Dog.For the film,5/5. Transfer quality:Because this film was made in 1948,i did expect more than the occasional scratch,and a lot of dirty marks and blemishes.I saw very little of either.Rarely did i see a scratch,and noticed virtually no blemishes,dirt,and on an overall basis,the picture was sharper,and cleaner than i had previously seen.Original Aspect Ratio,1.33/1.,4.5/5. The sound quality:Dolby Digital-(Mono)All sound effects are entirely crisp and clear,some background noise is evident on occasion,and also some popping glitches,but this never really distracted me,being absorbed in the film.Considering the films age,i'd say the sound quality on this DVD,overall,is pleasing,4/5. Conclusion:Great Film,very good picture,good sound.Extras are a little thin on the ground.While i respect the immense,and painstaking work that has gone into this DVD by Criterion,and that the cost and effort to which,must obviously be recovered,i thinkthat ...(the price),is a little excessive.Such a timeless piece of film-making should be made more easily available!?

Oliver Twist is the great tradition of restoration and revenge stories that include The Count of Monte Cristo, Cinderella, Robin Hood, and many other myths. The aristocrat born in squalor, abused, betrayed and otherwise forced to live as a member of the lower orders never fails his blood. Dickens used this theme in other works such as Nicholas Nickelby and Great Expectation, but Oliver Twist remains the most satisfying of these excursions into the lower depths.

David Lean's version of the book is one of the great post-war British films. Shot in expressionist black and white, Oliver Twist doesn't shy away from the nasty bits of the underworld life that Oliver is forced into. Robert Newton's Sykes gleams with a psychotic edge, and Anthony Newley's Dodger leaps from the screen like Dicken's makes him rise from the page. James Newton Howard, as the poor but blonde lad, looks wan, pathetic, and suitably aristocratic among the unwashed. (Howard survived the experience and grew up to produce the well-beloved Monty Python)

The sets are spectactular and well-detailed. I should like you to notice the street band that appears in several scenes looking moldy and playing with resigned anger. The claustrophic slums of London are dark, dusty, and muddy all once, and when the sun pentrates the mire, it is so strange that it transforms the squalor into beauty. This is Lean's black and white masterpiece. The sequence where Sykes beats Nancy to death is one of Lean's best. The terror of Bulldog is moving, and after the beating, when Sykes opens the window and the morning sun bursts in is filmmaking at its best.

Lean also manages to cut the book without losing the essense of the story: the plot against Oliver by a userper who stands to inheirit Brown's estate if Oliver is surpressed. This greedy man conspires with the Beadle and with Fagan to get rid of the Oliver. Lean compresses this material well; the best scenes remain. The fall of Bumble and his wife is still one of the great scenes of all times. "The Law, sir, is an ass. The law, sir, is a bachelor."

Now to Alec Guiness's Fagan. Anti-semiticism was so ingrained in Britian that neither Lean nor Guiness saw anything wrong with making Fagan into a Nazi's dream of a Jew. Made up in a fright wig and a nose that longer than anything outside of a puppet show, Guiness presents Fagan's charm and evil as he would have played Shylock, the uncious cheat, liar, and villian, corrupter of children and receiver of stolen goods. Indeed, in the catalog of villians in English literature Fagan is second only to Shylock. So outrageous did post-Holocaust audiences find this Fagan, the film's distributor cut some of the more disturbing close-ups for American audiences.

Even Dickens realized he had gone too far back in the 1830's: he wrote wholly good, kind, and emasculated Jewish characters in later books, but the damage was done. Fagan is at no time presented as a relious Jew; even as he awaits hanging, he refuses to see Rabbis who come to him. Fagan is also somewhat psychotic, and collapses mentally the night before he hangs. To many people in the Europe Fagan and Shylock represented the Jewish People, not Moses, Albert Einstein or Moses Montefiore. This is a legacy of misunderstanding and hate with with we Red Sea Pedestrians must deal with every day.

This is great filmmaking and one of my favorite films. "Oliver Twist" is one of Lean's great films, and certainly the finest interpretation of Dickens on-screen, but the sorrow, the pity, the death camps, the suicide bombers, and 2000 years of violence against my people cannot be ignored simply because this is a work of art.

I watch it and weep.

Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" first appeared in a magazine in 1838. Since then, 13 motion picture versions have graced the silver screen. Perhaps the uncontested classic was released in England in 1948. David Lean stands within a tiny circle of 20th Century film directors who could literally paint with a camera. And paint he did. Dark and moody, his "Oliver Twist" opens in an English countryside storm, as a pregnant young girl seeks shelter from the squall. She is about to give birth to Oliver Twist. Intentionally mute, there is no dialogue until seven minutes into the story. The stage is set for gothic evil and tragic foreboding. Lean auditioned 1500 boys for the lead role, but complained that, in each case, "there was nothing in the eyes". He eventually settled on 8 year-old John Howard Davies. Hard-drinking Robert Newton plays Bill Sikes. Alec Guinness appeared in 6 David Lean productions. His second was here as Fagin. Future movie beauty Diana Dors has a small part. Peter Bull and Francis L. Sullivan are outstanding in supporting roles. Filmed in the shadows of St. Paul's Cathedral, "Oliver Twist" reveals the circuitous, seamy London backwaters of the 19th Century. I have to say it. The extras for this Criterion DVD are rather "lean". However, it does contain a trailer, and 12 minutes of film censored from the original 1951 U.S. release. These scenes show Fagin giving a pick-pocket lesson, and counting his jewels. Charles Dickens and David Lean were just at the beginning of their long and prodigious careers when each released their own versions of "Oliver Twist". Amazingly for both, the best was yet to come.

John Howard-Davies as Oliver,Robert Newton as Bill Sykes,and unforgettable is Alec Guinness,buried beneath the make-up,and totally convincing as the villianous,but lovable rouge,Fagin. Dickens' "Oliver Twist",bought to life with a some fantastic on-screen characterizations.The Nineteenth Century London Streets and shops,and Fagins little hideaway,for his little thieves,re-created in rich detail,adds a real depth of atmosphere.An extremely entertaining film with some memorable scenes,including:The demise of Bill Sykes,When Oliver reaches London,and meets the Artful Dodger,and almost every time Fagin appears,or even Bill Sykes Bull Terrier Dog.For the film,5/5. Transfer quality:Because this film was made in 1948,i did expect more than the occasional scratch,and a lot of dirty marks and blemishes.I saw very little of either.Rarely did i see a scratch,and noticed virtually no blemishes,dirt,and on an overall basis,the picture was sharper,and cleaner than i had previously seen.Original Aspect Ratio,1.33/1.,4.5/5. The sound quality:Dolby Digital-(Mono)All sound effects are entirely crisp and clear,some background noise is evident on occasion,and also some popping glitches,but this never really distracted me,being absorbed in the film.Considering the films age,i'd say the sound quality on this DVD,overall,is pleasing,4/5. Conclusion:Great Film,very good picture,good sound.Extras are a little thin on the ground.While i respect the immense,and painstaking work that has gone into this DVD by Criterion,and that the cost and effort to which,must obviously be recovered,i thinkthat ...(the price),is a little excessive.Such a timeless piece of film-making should be made more easily available!?

Oliver Twist is the great tradition of restoration and revenge stories that include The Count of Monte Cristo, Cinderella, Robin Hood, and many other myths. The aristocrat born in squalor, abused, betrayed and otherwise forced to live as a member of the lower orders never fails his blood. Dickens used this theme in other works such as Nicholas Nickelby and Great Expectation, but Oliver Twist remains the most satisfying of these excursions into the lower depths.

David Lean's version of the book is one of the great post-war British films. Shot in expressionist black and white, Oliver Twist doesn't shy away from the nasty bits of the underworld life that Oliver is forced into. Robert Newton's Sykes gleams with a psychotic edge, and Anthony Newley's Dodger leaps from the screen like Dicken's makes him rise from the page. James Newton Howard, as the poor but blonde lad, looks wan, pathetic, and suitably aristocratic among the unwashed. (Howard survived the experience and grew up to produce the well-beloved Monty Python)

The sets are spectactular and well-detailed. I should like you to notice the street band that appears in several scenes looking moldy and playing with resigned anger. The claustrophic slums of London are dark, dusty, and muddy all once, and when the sun pentrates the mire, it is so strange that it transforms the squalor into beauty. This is Lean's black and white masterpiece. The sequence where Sykes beats Nancy to death is one of Lean's best. The terror of Bulldog is moving, and after the beating, when Sykes opens the window and the morning sun bursts in is filmmaking at its best.

Lean also manages to cut the book without losing the essense of the story: the plot against Oliver by a userper who stands to inheirit Brown's estate if Oliver is surpressed. This greedy man conspires with the Beadle and with Fagan to get rid of the Oliver. Lean compresses this material well; the best scenes remain. The fall of Bumble and his wife is still one of the great scenes of all times. "The Law, sir, is an ass. The law, sir, is a bachelor."

Now to Alec Guiness's Fagan. Anti-semiticism was so ingrained in Britian that neither Lean nor Guiness saw anything wrong with making Fagan into a Nazi's dream of a Jew. Made up in a fright wig and a nose that longer than anything outside of a puppet show, Guiness presents Fagan's charm and evil as he would have played Shylock, the uncious cheat, liar, and villian, corrupter of children and receiver of stolen goods. Indeed, in the catalog of villians in English literature Fagan is second only to Shylock. So outrageous did post-Holocaust audiences find this Fagan, the film's distributor cut some of the more disturbing close-ups for American audiences.

Even Dickens realized he had gone too far back in the 1830's: he wrote wholly good, kind, and emasculated Jewish characters in later books, but the damage was done. Fagan is at no time presented as a relious Jew; even as he awaits hanging, he refuses to see Rabbis who come to him. Fagan is also somewhat psychotic, and collapses mentally the night before he hangs. To many people in the Europe Fagan and Shylock represented the Jewish People, not Moses, Albert Einstein or Moses Montefiore. This is a legacy of misunderstanding and hate with with we Red Sea Pedestrians must deal with every day.

This is great filmmaking and one of my favorite films. "Oliver Twist" is one of Lean's great films, and certainly the finest interpretation of Dickens on-screen, but the sorrow, the pity, the death camps, the suicide bombers, and 2000 years of violence against my people cannot be ignored simply because this is a work of art.

I watch it and weep.

This is a fine story of life aboard a British naval vessel during the Napoleonic wars. Alec Guiness stars as the enlightened and thoughtful captain, Dirk Bogarde is the cruel and hard first lieutenant (executive officer). The two are locked in a battle of wills and leadership concerning the means by which the ship will be commanded. The captain believes that a happy ship is an efficient ship, and seeks to lead by inspiration. The first lieutenant believes in merciless discipline, reinforced with his sadistic love of inflicting punishment. This conflict is complicated by the fact that the men of the British fleet are plotting the famous Spithead mutinies, and the first lieutenant has influential friends in London. This is a very interesting story of leadership and conflict.

The storyline moves along smartly most of the time, and the acting is quite good. The special effects are very good--no "bathtub ships" or battles. Guiness does his customary excellent job in his role as captain, although I personally thought he might have exerted more personal force than he did; his leadership style as portrayed in the film is somewhat understated. Bogarde is excellent as the villainous first lieutenant--you'll hate him by the end of the movie.

This is a fine movie worth watching more than once.

The movie presents a side of Napoleanic British Royal Navy life I have seldom seen in film. Lashings are common enough in sailing films, but the use of corporal punishment, press gangs, and poor shipboard life and the like reveal a picture of life in the Royal Navy in the early 1800s less often shown.

As for the movie...while a a good and decent ship's captain (played by Alec Guinness) prepares for sea, we learn that his young son will ship out with him as a new midshipman. In the meantime navy pressgangs are out on the streets rounding up men to be pressed into service in the navy. Involved in rounding up men for the crew is a new first officer (Dirk Bogard).

The story centers around conflict between the good and fair captain and his devious and conniving first officer. Caught in the middle of them is the young, innocent midshipman son of the captain.

A supporting plot involves a plan by the sailors to seek for improved conditions...and there is, of course, the war.

One thing leads to another, and the captain is wounded in battle. While the captain is bedridden the now outwardly abusive first officer takes over and runs roughshod over the crew and the ship.

I enjoy this film for it's fine efforts toward historical accuracy. The character development is excellent, and you can feel the strain on the captain as he stands by and is helpless to remove his son out from under the thumb of the 1st officer.

An excellent yarn of life at sea. Guinness is, as always, outstanding. Top notch! Top marks! 5 stars.

This fictionalized story of a mutiny on HMS Defiant, commanded by a captain burdened with a vicious first lieutenant, is worth seeing if you like nautical fiction in general, or are a lover of novels by Patrick O'Brian or C.S. Forester. It is not easy watching, although there is no deliberate crudity (this is an old film for one thing).

The story begins prosaically enough with the Defiant setting off under the command of a man who has just brought his son in as a midshipman (a typical way for a son to follow his father into the navy; Nelson began by following a maternal uncle into the navy, albeit on another ship). We learn quickly enough that this voyage will not quite be what is intended. The first officer, played brilliantly by Dirk Bogarde, is a vicious but very well-connected man, who punishes harshly for the slightest offense (even an unintended one). The crew are on the point of mutiny, in what is intended to be a concerted action with the rest of the Mediterranean Fleet and the ships in British ports. A few sailors are reluctant to join the planned mutiny, but they are persuaded to join thanks to the harshness of the lieutenant and the lack of action taken by the captain. Is the captain weak? Not really. His choices are limited firstly by the system (whereby powerful enemies can ruin even a captain's career) and secondly by the fact that his son is made a pawn in a vicious game. Things take an unexpected turn, firstly when the captain gets his son off on a prize crew (a small crew commanding a captured enemy vessel, civilian or otherwise) and thus wrests back control from his first lieutenant; and secondly, when the captain is seriously injured.

The denouement comes rapidly. The crew mutinies, driven to desperation - but they must make a crucial choice when the French fleet comes out unexpectedly with fire ships (ships set aflame deliberately) and attacks the British ships still at anchor. Will the crew agree to let the captain take command back and fight off the French ships? Or will the crew choose to murder all the officers (or the most hated ones, at any rate) and take the ship where they will? Watch the film for the dramatic if slightly unrealistic conclusion. This film is particularly recommended for an unflinching portrayal of the harshness of naval discipline (with back-breaking lashes for even the slightest gesture of insubordination or resistance) and for the realistic portrayal of naval actions. The principal roles are played by Alec Guinness (the captain) and Dirk Bogarde (the first lieutenant). The film, incidentally, was directed by John Brabourne (7th Baron Brabourne), a son-in-law of Admiral The Earl Mountbatten of Burma. The DVD appears to have no special features, and the sound and picture quality is said to be only average. I wish that a special edition widescreen DVD was available with documentaries about the naval aspects of the Napoleonic wars, the British navy in the late 1700s, and finally, some information about the great naval mutinies at Spitshead and Nore.

For someone like me, who is just beginning to be fascinated by nautical fiction, this was a great film, better than even the Hornblower series and film (good as they are). If you are reading nautical fiction set in this era, this film is strongly recommended. There is no particular amazing feat of seamanship, merely a realistic depiction of hard choices made by men facing almost impossible consequences.

I came to this site today (13 Nov. 03) after coming from TCM requesting this movie (I know they would show it in the widescreen format). No showing for next month. I left their site with the same yearly disappointment.
I did my yearly check on dvd for this title and my jaw dropped when I saw it was available!

I ordered it right away and I can't wait to get it! I have never seen this movie in the widescreen format and it will be a pleasure to finally see the whole picture!

Many people I knew use to complain about not having the screen on the tv filled, until they finally realized that 1/4 to 1/3 of the picture is missing. I recall how upset I would get because VHS rarely offer movies in it's original theatrical format. I was in heaven when dvd's came out and offer widescreen on 98% of the movies.

I don't know what the author of the editorial was smoking, but it could not have been very good, because he/she (from reading the other reviews)is all wrong about this movie. It is a great musical and the songs are indeed memorable. My favorites were "Father Christmas" "December the 25th", the title song at the beginning, and a few other songs.

I for one am very happy to finally have this movie in my dvd library. Many thanks to the forces that brought this movie to dvd!

When I first saw this movie at about 8 years old, I fell in love with it. Christmas isn't christmas without it. My father and I often watch it at other times of year too. The review on this homepage which states that the music isn't all that good is sorely wrong. The whole movie is put together with the music to tell a tale that captivates even an 8 year old. Now at 31 I am ecstatic to know I can now get it on dvd!!!!!! Thank You Very Much!!!!!!!!!

I've watched this movie every year since as far back as I remember. I've seen many versions of this story but this one remains the best. My family has gone through 3 or 4 VHS editions of this movie over the past 20 years and now it is finally on DVD. I can't wait to see it in widescreen for the first time.

I came to this site today (13 Nov. 03) after coming from TCM requesting this movie (I know they would show it in the widescreen format). No showing for next month. I left their site with the same yearly disappointment.
I did my yearly check on dvd for this title and my jaw dropped when I saw it was available!

I ordered it right away and I can't wait to get it! I have never seen this movie in the widescreen format and it will be a pleasure to finally see the whole picture!

Many people I knew use to complain about not having the screen on the tv filled, until they finally realized that 1/4 to 1/3 of the picture is missing. I recall how upset I would get because VHS rarely offer movies in it's original theatrical format. I was in heaven when dvd's came out and offer widescreen on 98% of the movies.

I don't know what the author of the editorial was smoking, but it could not have been very good, because he/she (from reading the other reviews)is all wrong about this movie. It is a great musical and the songs are indeed memorable. My favorites were "Father Christmas" "December the 25th", the title song at the beginning, and a few other songs.

I for one am very happy to finally have this movie in my dvd library. Many thanks to the forces that brought this movie to dvd!

When I first saw this movie at about 8 years old, I fell in love with it. Christmas isn't christmas without it. My father and I often watch it at other times of year too. The review on this homepage which states that the music isn't all that good is sorely wrong. The whole movie is put together with the music to tell a tale that captivates even an 8 year old. Now at 31 I am ecstatic to know I can now get it on dvd!!!!!! Thank You Very Much!!!!!!!!!

I've watched this movie every year since as far back as I remember. I've seen many versions of this story but this one remains the best. My family has gone through 3 or 4 VHS editions of this movie over the past 20 years and now it is finally on DVD. I can't wait to see it in widescreen for the first time.

Alec Guinness leads an inept group of thieves who cleverly steal a considerable amount of cash, but find one stumbling block to their success - a little old lady. She is the landlord of the house that Guinness is staying in, under the guise of being a professor and his gang are also professors practicing for a concert. He actually uses her in his plan, but that proves to be all the help she gives. Katie Johnson, as the old lady, is hysterical without much effort, exactly right on target as the proper, overly helpful, good citizen that finds herself mixed up in a crime that will cause her great personal scandal. The scene where she tries to keep apart her tea party friends and the gang is very, very funny. Guinness is, of course, his usual comic genius, and his gang all score too, including a young Peter Sellers. This is a perfect example of the "little" films that England turned out during the Forties and Fifties that remain just as entertaining today as they did when first produced. It's a terrific example of black comedy.

This British comedy is very funny. Alec Guinness is perhaps the funniest character in the film, especially with his funny teeth and the way he talks. Peter Sellers and the rest of the characters are also good, although Sellers is not that involved in the film. There is a hilarious scene with a few of the characters trying to rescue a bird. I definitely recommend it, although be wary that you may have trouble finding a good copy without something wrong with it (such as white streaks or a picture that shakes periodically). I bought this film a few weeks ago, and the first 3 copies I have gotten have been defective, but I have faith that the next one will be okay.

Ealing comedy at its zenith. Led by Alec 'Kenobe' Guinnes, a cabal or robbers hole up in the house of an elderly lady, Mrs Wilberforce, under the guise of a string ensemble. Mrs W eventually rumbles them and they agree there is no option left but to dispose of her. Unfortunately, things do not go as planned and string ensemble is whittled down to nothing in no time.

Comedy throughout, although a very real sense of the macabre helped by the backdrop of a dark marshalling yard to the rear of the property where the final scenes are played out. Beautiful!

The second entry in the Star Wars trilogy is my personalfavorite. Irvin Kershner and George Lucas accomplished something fewother filmakers have done: They made a sequel that is considered to be better than the original. This film, has a more dark, eerie edge to it comparing it to Return of the Jedi or the original. This is probably the most realistic film of the series. Mark Hamil is great as Luke but probably is better in Return of the Jedi. Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford are in top form in this one though. At the 198O Academy Awards Empire won Best Sound and a Special Achievement Award for its dazzling visual effects. I felt bad that it didn't win Best Art-Set Direction but felt it got cheated when it lost Best Original Score since the score in this was probably the best in the series. The fight on the ice planet Hoth where the Imperial AT-AT Walkers attack the Rebel base is very exciting and memorable, as are several other scenes such as the chase through the asteroid field and the part where Han is lowered into the carbon-freezing pit in Cloud City. The dialogue is funny such as "Shut him up or shut him down!". Yoda was very good and Frank Oz did a great job as the voiceof Yoda. The climax is a thrilling lightsaber fight in the bowels of the Cloud City . It is my favorite one in the series, edging out the one in Return of the Jedi aboard the half-completed Death Star before the Emperor. Pretty cool. I really liked how you got to see Vader's meditation chamber and the Imperial Fleet. I also liked how you got to see all the Imperial officers and the inside area of the Executor. seeing more of the Cloud City made this dark film a bit brighter. I heavily recommend this movie to anyone, especially HUGE Star Wars fans like myself.

"Star Wars" began a cinematic adventure which introduced us to characters born from myth and fairy tales. The first sequel; "The Empire Strikes Back" takes these same characters and makes them people. "Empire" begins three years after the events in "Star Wars". All the important characters are still here only now there's a maturity and nobility to their prescence.

Luke Skywalker and his friends; pilot Han Solo and Princess Liea, in an attempt to evade the Empire are hiding on a frozen ice world. Pursuing them is Darth Vader who even more evil than before is obsessed with not only destroying the rebellion but capturing Luke Skywalker.

In the first film, the heroic trio of Luke, Han and Leia worked together through their adventures. In this installment they are split up after a sudden attack by the Empire. Han and Leia with Chewbacca and C-3PO escape near death together while Luke leads a brief defense against the Imperial attackers before escaping with R2-D2 to a mysterious swamp planet to learn more about the mystical Force.

From here the film follows two separate storylines. While Luke is trained by Yoda, a Jedi Master on the swamp planet of Dagobah, Darth Vader relentlessly pursues Han and Leia hoping to lure Skywalker to him. The pacing of this film is less kinetic than the first film or even the next sequel; "Return of the Jedi". However, the story is not dependant any miltary action or secret missions to save the galaxy. It's focus is on character and the loss of innocence. While there are plentiful action set pieces in this film the real excitment comes from the characters themselves and none more evident than in Han Solo.

In this film he is more of the lead character than Luke. His brazen disregard of responsibility in the first film is replaced with introspection and humanity here. He isn't concerned with money this time but only the saftey of his friends and it his sacrifice in the film where the "Star Wars" Trilogy reveals it's heart.

Filled with more imagination than any other "Star Wars" film, "The Empire Strikes Back" explores fears of heroes we know as family and subtly reveals their vulnerabilities. It is the best "Star Wars".

As long as there had been motion pictures, there had been science fiction films. Unfortunately, very few of them ever managed to hit the spot. That was, until 1977 rolled around. It was in this year that George Lucas would change the way we look at science fiction. How would he do this? With the film he released that year - Star Wars. The film was so successful, that two sequels were released! And in 1997, special edition versions of the films were released! How does The Empire Strikes Back, the second film in the classic trilogy measure up? Read on for my review.

BASIC PLOT:
The basic story of the movie goes something like this. Three years have past since the events of the first Star Wars film. The Rebel Alliance has gone into hiding in a base on the remote, icy world of Hoth. Unfortunately, the Galactic Empire discovers them. After an intense battle against imperial forces, Luke goes to a distant, swampy world to begin his training to become a Jedi knight, while Han and Leia get chased by the Empire, and a number of bounty hunters employed by them. The climax of the film comes in a lightsaber duel between Luke and Darth Vader, in which Vader makes a startling revelation...

FILM OPINIONS:
A great film - no questions asked. This is a rare example of a film nearly thirty years old that doesn't seem dated. Even by modern standards, this is still an excellent film. I was glad to see the movie get the remastering it so desperately needed. Oh, and to all you folks new to the series - steer clear of the prequels. Stick with the CLASSIC trilogy.

EXTRAS:
Even though this is a VHS tape and not a DVD (god only knows when this film will get a DVD release), Lucasfilm has included extra features. Before the actual film begins, you get a "making of" featurette, which is very informative and entertaining. But the best extra of all is the new footage - each film has had some new footage added. Of all the films, this one probably got the least new footage. A shame, since this is my favorite Star Wars film. Though these new scenes don't reveal anything important (many were originally thought of as outtakes), they're still a nice touch.

OVERALL:
The Star Wars films are science fiction masterpieces that don't fail to stand the test of time. Hell, these movies are better than most of the modern sci-fi films out there! If you're a fan of the genre, the Star Wars series is not to be missed.

Hilarious beyond compare. That describes "Murder by Death." Spoofing everyone from Miss Marple to Sam Spade, Charlie Chan to The Thin Man, and everyone in between, Neil Simon's script (outdoing such Simon classics as "The Odd Couple") is so far out there that one can only fall in love with this movie.

Being a big fan of mysteries, parodies, and all-star casts, this was the movie for me. The whole cast has a ball and hams it up to High Heaven. I love David Niven and Maggie Smith as Dick and Dora Charleston. Smith especially soars, giving an offhanded, almost nonchalant performance that leaves you rolling in the aisles. Elsa Lanchester is great as Jessica Marbles, and Estelle Winwood, in a very small role, gets a few good lines as her senile nurse. (Watch for their entrance!) James Coco is a comic riot as the always-hungry Monsieur Perrier. Peter Sellers is classic again as Inspector Wang (with every line funnier than the last). He has more proverbs than all the fortune cookies in Chinatown: "Treacherous road like-a fresh mushroom..." Peter Falk is insane as really-not-quite-there Sam Diamond, and Truman Capote gets in a fun cameo appearance as their puckish host, Lionel Twain. Smith, Coco, Sellers, and Falk shine. But two of the best performances are in rather small roles played by a pre-"Star Wars" Sir Alec Guiness (so don't expect to hear the Force theme on his entrance) showing his comedic talent as the blind butler, Bensonmum, and "Rhoda" alum, the great Nancy Walker, as the deaf-and-dumb cook, Yetta. These two have some of the funniest scenes in film history, each playing marvelously off the other's shortcomings. (Watch for when Bensonmun "fires" her--even holding the door open and pointing out--while she looks on, bewildered!)

The classic lines are everywhere. Falk: "I gotta go to da can. Sometimes I talk so much, I forget ta go." Lanchester: "Pardon my language, but it scared the ca-ca out of me!" Smith: (in response) "You know, Dicky, I like her. I really like her." Capote: (chastising Sellers' broken English) "IT! IT! Use your damn pronouns!" Perrier's driver: (About a chocolate bar with almonds instead of nuts) "The man at the store had no nuts." Coco: (responding) "He was short?" Sellers: "Look! Voice come from cow on wall!" But the best line in the whole movie is when the butler has been gone for quite some time and not returned with their meal, and starving Coco, in detective mode, says, "The most important question is: Where is the butler? And why has he not returned...(Screaming dramatically)...WITH OUR DINNER! "

I was in a murder-mystery play last year in which one character was a sendup of Truman Capote; I loaned this video to the actor who had that part. And this week, I'm playing a role in Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians," in which Estelle Winwood (Ms. Marbles' nurse in this film) originated the stage role of Emily Brent in 1944.

This is a really fun movie to watch on a Friday night with lots of friends--for even more fun, watch it back-to-back with "Clue!"

"Oh Dickie, what would one do with a naked, dead body...?" "Well, Dora, there ARE some people WHO ......"[whisper,whisper,whisper] "Oh Dickie, that's tacky! Really Tacky!" {with great apology to Neil Simon!}

It's a tremendously "fun movie" - a confusing "whodunnit" with everybody [Sellers,Coco,Falk,Elsa Lanchester, and even Estelle Winwood, and then some]. also zingers like Eileen Brennan to Peter Falk "What are all those pictures of naked men doing in your desk?" Falk [Sam Diamond, pointblankfaced]: "Research!" A delightful work from the mid 1970ies, still available, but not quite surpassed [imitations have followed], and the stars out do each other with comedic timing - don't miss late Alec Guinness as the blind butler, or Nancy Walker as the mute maid. There's a moment when Miss Walker enters the dining room "Screaming", Maggie Smith calmly retorts : "I think she's trying to tell us something....."

A full-screen DVd version would be nice, possibly there might be outtakes in a vault somewhere in town - - good family entertainment for any holiday season.

The rent a few of the originals - "Charlie Chan", "Thin Man", etc.

If you have a sense of humor, you can't go wrong here. I have re-watched this movie several times, it's a classic to me!