James-Brolin Movie Reviews

Westworld was Michael Crichton's first shot (pardon the pun) at directing a feature film (he had directed a t.v. movie of the week based on an obscure novel he wrote under a nom de plume before this) and he pulls it off with lightning speed. Taking the Disney anamatronics one step further, Crichton imagined a world where you could interact with the robots at Delos' theme parks. You could be the hero, the villian, the lover and live out just about any fantasy.

Yul Brynner was a inspired bit of casting as the gunslinger. His performance recalls his role of Chris from The Magnificient Seven right down to the black clothing and black hat. In many respects, Westworld is a blueprint for some more successful Crichton projects (Jurassic Park) and a few bombs as well (Looker). Richard Benjamin and James Brolin fresh from movie and television stints appear as the heroes. One would expect Brolin to be the main character given the tough guy demeanor but it's the more laid back and quiet Benjamin that becomes the everyman for the audience to identify with in the film.

When Westworld went into production it almost became the victim of a change in management. As it was, the original budget was scaled down and Crichton, his actors and crew had to work with a minimal budget. Luckily, Crichton's film could be made on some of the existing MGM backlot sets. This helped to reduce the film's overhead and allow him to produce a quality film. An example of the slim budget is the sequence with the hovercraft. There wasn't enough money to build the entire passenger area, so Crichton flip flopped the image and matted them together. It's pretty convincing looking. The optical effects were cutting edge at the time even with the low budget. The sequences shot from The Gunslinger's point of view were quite innovative and done at a time when computer graphics in film were virtually nonexistant.They're still quite impressive given the year they were done.

A bit of trivia about the film;
1) A writer's guild strike prevented Crichton from writing the opening commerical. It was penned by someone else (and directed by an assistant director due to the strike). It sets the tone perfectly for the film
2) Brynner injured his eye during the film. Why is this important? It isn't but it makes the scenes where he wears the full contact lenses even more impressive. One of the blanks from his gun spewed out something that scratched his cornea. By the end of each take his eyes would be so irritated that his eye would weep.
3) His make up during the scene where he's hit by acid using Alka Seltzer. His make up is laced with the material. When the H20 hits him in the face, it appears that his face is smoking (courtesy of special effects) and dissolving due to acid.
4) The film features a number of film/t.v. personalities that went on to bigger things (or came from bigger things). Majel Barrett-Roddenberry from Star Trek plays the owner of the whore house. Dick Van Patten plays a mild mannered guy who becomes the town sheriff. Jared Martin (who later went on to fame on t.v. with a couple of science fiction based television including War of the Worlds) plays an unnamed character in the control room sequences.
5) Crichton didn't have enough money to build both halfs of the hovercraft. So he filmed one side of the set with different actors and had the image flip flopped in an optical printer.
6) The cover is the original poster art (although I recall it being printed on a white background) with a line about Westworld being a place where nothing can go worng (deliberately misspelled).
7) Westworld, despite it's tiny budget (it was shot for less than $3 million when ads and prints were calculated in), made a lot of money for a cash strapped MGM. The studio had recently put up much of its memorbilia for auction it was in such bad financial shape (including Dorothy's Wizard of Oz ruby slippers).
8) Crichton used many pre-existing backlot sets to save money during production.
9) The computer graphics used to depict the Gunslinger's point of view were a first for a film. They were quite sophisticated for their time and look impressive. They predate the computer graphics from Star Wars by 4 years.
10) A paperback tie in was published when MGM realized the film had so much potential. It was published by Bantam books (long since out of print) and was Crichton's original screenplay. There either wasn't enough time for a novelization or Crichton wasn't interested in doing one. It included one cool sequence cut for budget reasons (all this was explained in the introduction by the film's producer).

11)Westworld was one of the first in a series of science fiction films that helped save the studio from finanical ruin. The studio was so pleased that they greenlighted other films including Soylent Green, Logan's Run and other films. Although these films found a large audience and did well, none had the return on investment like Westworld (or were as well written).

12) Crichton's script was the first film to ever feature the concept of a computer virus. This is what ultimately causes the machines to malfunction by rewriting the robot's programs or causing their programming to fail.

Westworld is far from a perfect film. While the cast is impressive and the film well made, it has a number of minor flaws due to the time and budget constraints. It's an entertaining film that takes a number of risks that pay off with the unexpected ending of the film. Crichton would later helm Coma (based on Robin Cook's bestselling thriller)as writer/director for MGM.

As to the DVD the transfer is pretty good. With Crichton, Benjamin and Brolin available it would have been fun to have a commentary track about the film.

The ads for its initial release read, "Westworld: Where Nothing Can Possibly Go Worng..." And that sums the movie up, pretty well.

Yuppies James Brolin and Richard Benjamin decide to shell out the mega-cost for a week's vacation at Delos, the world's most elaborate amusement park, indulging themselves in the total environment of the old west in Westworld - guests can also choose to live their fantasies in Romanworld or Mediaevalworld - where everyone they come across (who isn't a guest) is a robot. The robots are programmed to act like human beings, and are indistinguishable from them. Yul Brynner, the robot gunslinger, regularly gets shot-up by the guests at the bar, and is as regularly patched-up again in the robot repair shop - his guns, like the rest of the robots' armaments, are unable to fire at a living target, a safeguard built into the devices for the guests' guaranteed safety. Until the day, for whatever reason, Brynner's gunslinger robot beats the safety device, shoots Brolin dead, and goes on an unstoppable murderous rampage across the desert after Benjamin...

This movie is mostly just mindless theme park entertainment itself, until the last twenty minutes - but the buildup has a lot of humor in it, and the final payoff is really intense. From the time Brynner guns down Brolin, you couldn't force yourself to run to the bathroom if you had to. The musical score is alternately as western as you could ever hope to hear, and frighteningly, relentlessly mechanistic. The film is gorgeously shot, well-acted and -directed.

Ironically, screenwriter Michael Crichton proved to be pretty prophetic with his theme park idea, even becoming involved in them himself - and more or less continued the same "theme" with his later Jurassic Park series.

I am not ashamed in the least to admit that the 1973 science fiction thriller "Westworld" is one of my all time favorite movies. I first saw it about twenty years ago and never forgot it, so when I had the opportunity to watch it again recently I jumped at the chance. I can easily say that I still found this picture still compelling with its mixture of futuristic elements and chilling suspense. Directed by big shot novelist Michael Crichton, the creator of "Jurassic Park," "The Andromeda Strain," and "Congo," "Westworld" may constitute his most compelling work to date in either print or on the big screen. Why? Because even at this early date Crichton effectively displays his concerns over technology and how mankind adapts to technical innovations. Not surprisingly, at least to anyone familiar with Crichton, man suffers plenty in "Westworld." It is important to remember that this writer/director is not the only creative talent dealing with the seeming incompatibility of man and machine: writer J.G. Ballard and director David Cronenberg have been exploring these vistas for decades now. Crichton holds his own with both of these visionaries, and "Westworld" resoundingly proves it.

"Westworld" begins with a lengthy commercial touting the benefits of vacationing at Delos, a company that runs a most unusual theme park. For only one thousand dollars a day (in 1973 dollars!), the curious can star in their own version of the Wild West (Westworld), Medieval Europe (Medievalworld), or in the decadent splendor of Rome (Romanworld). A steep price to play for such diversions, to be sure, but Delos employs amazingly realistic robots and stylish props to completely recreate these eras. A visitor to the Delos amusement park can fight a knight to win the hand of a queen, gun down outlaws in the streets, or take part in a Roman banquet. The robot characters look so real that it is difficult to tell them apart from the other guests, a fact that adds a real dimension of excitement to the experience when you stand down someone at the end of a gun barrel. Obviously, Delos cannot have guests dying violently left and right, so they engineered the props, like guns, to only fire at "cold" machines. An enormous army of technicians runs the show from an underground control center where the worlds undergo constant scrutiny and where employees repair robots "killed" or "injured" in the day's activities. Despite a few worrisome problems, mainly regarding some sort of emerging computer "virus" that mystifies the techies, Delos operates without many serious hitches.

Enter the main characters of the film, two business types looking for fun played by Richard Benjamin and James Brolin. Both decide to go to Westworld, and after donning western style clothing complete with firearms, they start their adventure. What follows is every western film cliché imaginable. The two take part in a bar brawl, share special relationships with the local ladies, and orchestrate a jailbreak. Moreover, the two soon earn the enmity of the local gunslinger, a sinister, shining eyed figure clad in black played with frosty efficiency by Yul Brynner. The shootouts involving the gunslinger look as though Crichton lifted them from a Sam Peckinpah movie, with blood spraying in slow motion splendor. "Westworld" even includes a nicely done "guy on fire scene," one of the best in cinematic history. The movie occasionally shifts to Medievalworld to follow the exploits of one of the park visitors there, but most of the action involves what is going on in Westworld. Look for Dick Van Patten in a smaller role as a white bread businessman who soon learns a thing or two about manhood at the theme park.

The last part of the film, after the computer virus causes the robots to rebel against their human masters, shifts the focus of the film from science fiction fare to a harrowing thriller. I think one of the grimmest, chilliest sequences in film history involves Brynner's single-minded pursuit of Richard Benjamin through the desert and mountains surrounding Delos. I can still hear the sound of the gunslinger's boots clicking down the long hallways of Delos's control center as he marches to the final showdown with his prey. Who will win in the battle between technology and man? Benjamin's character must apply the lessons he learned about being a man during his stay at Westworld to save his own life at the conclusion of the film, but it won't be easy triumphing over an unthinking killing machine.

Flaws do abound in this movie. How does Delos insure that swords and similar weaponry in Medievalworld won't hurt real guests? Why do the hands on two immobile robots change position in various shots? How can the gunslinger detect the heat patterns from Benjamin's feet on a sunny day, especially considering Benjamin was wearing boots and had left the tracks at least ten minutes before the gunslinger saw them? These are minor problems, but they are noticeable after repeated viewings. Overall, "Westworld" is a grand slam homerun that every science fiction fan must watch at some point. Regrettably, the movie did not receive a worthy DVD release. The film's transfer quality isn't bad, but it isn't great, either. A trailer is the only extra, so forget about listening to a commentary or seeing any production stills, cast bios, behind the scenes footage, or deleted scenes. Oh well, at least "Westworld" made it to DVD. For that, we can all be thankful.

Westworld was Michael Crichton's first shot (pardon the pun) at directing a feature film (he had directed a t.v. movie of the week based on an obscure novel he wrote under a nom de plume before this) and he pulls it off with lightning speed. Taking the Disney anamatronics one step further, Crichton imagined a world where you could interact with the robots at Delos' theme parks. You could be the hero, the villian, the lover and live out just about any fantasy.

Yul Brynner was a inspired bit of casting as the gunslinger. His performance recalls his role of Chris from The Magnificient Seven right down to the black clothing and black hat. In many respects, Westworld is a blueprint for some more successful Crichton projects (Jurassic Park) and a few bombs as well (Looker). Richard Benjamin and James Brolin fresh from movie and television stints appear as the heroes. One would expect Brolin to be the main character given the tough guy demeanor but it's the more laid back and quiet Benjamin that becomes the everyman for the audience to identify with in the film.

When Westworld went into production it almost became the victim of a change in management. As it was, the original budget was scaled down and Crichton, his actors and crew had to work with a minimal budget. Luckily, Crichton's film could be made on some of the existing MGM backlot sets. This helped to reduce the film's overhead and allow him to produce a quality film. An example of the slim budget is the sequence with the hovercraft. There wasn't enough money to build the entire passenger area, so Crichton flip flopped the image and matted them together. It's pretty convincing looking. The optical effects were cutting edge at the time even with the low budget. The sequences shot from The Gunslinger's point of view were quite innovative and done at a time when computer graphics in film were virtually nonexistant.They're still quite impressive given the year they were done.

A bit of trivia about the film;
1) A writer's guild strike prevented Crichton from writing the opening commerical. It was penned by someone else (and directed by an assistant director due to the strike). It sets the tone perfectly for the film
2) Brynner injured his eye during the film. Why is this important? It isn't but it makes the scenes where he wears the full contact lenses even more impressive. One of the blanks from his gun spewed out something that scratched his cornea. By the end of each take his eyes would be so irritated that his eye would weep.
3) His make up during the scene where he's hit by acid using Alka Seltzer. His make up is laced with the material. When the H20 hits him in the face, it appears that his face is smoking (courtesy of special effects) and dissolving due to acid.
4) The film features a number of film/t.v. personalities that went on to bigger things (or came from bigger things). Majel Barrett-Roddenberry from Star Trek plays the owner of the whore house. Dick Van Patten plays a mild mannered guy who becomes the town sheriff. Jared Martin (who later went on to fame on t.v. with a couple of science fiction based television including War of the Worlds) plays an unnamed character in the control room sequences.
5) Crichton didn't have enough money to build both halfs of the hovercraft. So he filmed one side of the set with different actors and had the image flip flopped in an optical printer.
6) The cover is the original poster art (although I recall it being printed on a white background) with a line about Westworld being a place where nothing can go worng (deliberately misspelled).
7) Westworld, despite it's tiny budget (it was shot for less than $3 million when ads and prints were calculated in), made a lot of money for a cash strapped MGM. The studio had recently put up much of its memorbilia for auction it was in such bad financial shape (including Dorothy's Wizard of Oz ruby slippers).
8) Crichton used many pre-existing backlot sets to save money during production.
9) The computer graphics used to depict the Gunslinger's point of view were a first for a film. They were quite sophisticated for their time and look impressive. They predate the computer graphics from Star Wars by 4 years.
10) A paperback tie in was published when MGM realized the film had so much potential. It was published by Bantam books (long since out of print) and was Crichton's original screenplay. There either wasn't enough time for a novelization or Crichton wasn't interested in doing one. It included one cool sequence cut for budget reasons (all this was explained in the introduction by the film's producer).

11)Westworld was one of the first in a series of science fiction films that helped save the studio from finanical ruin. The studio was so pleased that they greenlighted other films including Soylent Green, Logan's Run and other films. Although these films found a large audience and did well, none had the return on investment like Westworld (or were as well written).

12) Crichton's script was the first film to ever feature the concept of a computer virus. This is what ultimately causes the machines to malfunction by rewriting the robot's programs or causing their programming to fail.

Westworld is far from a perfect film. While the cast is impressive and the film well made, it has a number of minor flaws due to the time and budget constraints. It's an entertaining film that takes a number of risks that pay off with the unexpected ending of the film. Crichton would later helm Coma (based on Robin Cook's bestselling thriller)as writer/director for MGM.

As to the DVD the transfer is pretty good. With Crichton, Benjamin and Brolin available it would have been fun to have a commentary track about the film.

The ads for its initial release read, "Westworld: Where Nothing Can Possibly Go Worng..." And that sums the movie up, pretty well.

Yuppies James Brolin and Richard Benjamin decide to shell out the mega-cost for a week's vacation at Delos, the world's most elaborate amusement park, indulging themselves in the total environment of the old west in Westworld - guests can also choose to live their fantasies in Romanworld or Mediaevalworld - where everyone they come across (who isn't a guest) is a robot. The robots are programmed to act like human beings, and are indistinguishable from them. Yul Brynner, the robot gunslinger, regularly gets shot-up by the guests at the bar, and is as regularly patched-up again in the robot repair shop - his guns, like the rest of the robots' armaments, are unable to fire at a living target, a safeguard built into the devices for the guests' guaranteed safety. Until the day, for whatever reason, Brynner's gunslinger robot beats the safety device, shoots Brolin dead, and goes on an unstoppable murderous rampage across the desert after Benjamin...

This movie is mostly just mindless theme park entertainment itself, until the last twenty minutes - but the buildup has a lot of humor in it, and the final payoff is really intense. From the time Brynner guns down Brolin, you couldn't force yourself to run to the bathroom if you had to. The musical score is alternately as western as you could ever hope to hear, and frighteningly, relentlessly mechanistic. The film is gorgeously shot, well-acted and -directed.

Ironically, screenwriter Michael Crichton proved to be pretty prophetic with his theme park idea, even becoming involved in them himself - and more or less continued the same "theme" with his later Jurassic Park series.

I am not ashamed in the least to admit that the 1973 science fiction thriller "Westworld" is one of my all time favorite movies. I first saw it about twenty years ago and never forgot it, so when I had the opportunity to watch it again recently I jumped at the chance. I can easily say that I still found this picture still compelling with its mixture of futuristic elements and chilling suspense. Directed by big shot novelist Michael Crichton, the creator of "Jurassic Park," "The Andromeda Strain," and "Congo," "Westworld" may constitute his most compelling work to date in either print or on the big screen. Why? Because even at this early date Crichton effectively displays his concerns over technology and how mankind adapts to technical innovations. Not surprisingly, at least to anyone familiar with Crichton, man suffers plenty in "Westworld." It is important to remember that this writer/director is not the only creative talent dealing with the seeming incompatibility of man and machine: writer J.G. Ballard and director David Cronenberg have been exploring these vistas for decades now. Crichton holds his own with both of these visionaries, and "Westworld" resoundingly proves it.

"Westworld" begins with a lengthy commercial touting the benefits of vacationing at Delos, a company that runs a most unusual theme park. For only one thousand dollars a day (in 1973 dollars!), the curious can star in their own version of the Wild West (Westworld), Medieval Europe (Medievalworld), or in the decadent splendor of Rome (Romanworld). A steep price to play for such diversions, to be sure, but Delos employs amazingly realistic robots and stylish props to completely recreate these eras. A visitor to the Delos amusement park can fight a knight to win the hand of a queen, gun down outlaws in the streets, or take part in a Roman banquet. The robot characters look so real that it is difficult to tell them apart from the other guests, a fact that adds a real dimension of excitement to the experience when you stand down someone at the end of a gun barrel. Obviously, Delos cannot have guests dying violently left and right, so they engineered the props, like guns, to only fire at "cold" machines. An enormous army of technicians runs the show from an underground control center where the worlds undergo constant scrutiny and where employees repair robots "killed" or "injured" in the day's activities. Despite a few worrisome problems, mainly regarding some sort of emerging computer "virus" that mystifies the techies, Delos operates without many serious hitches.

Enter the main characters of the film, two business types looking for fun played by Richard Benjamin and James Brolin. Both decide to go to Westworld, and after donning western style clothing complete with firearms, they start their adventure. What follows is every western film cliché imaginable. The two take part in a bar brawl, share special relationships with the local ladies, and orchestrate a jailbreak. Moreover, the two soon earn the enmity of the local gunslinger, a sinister, shining eyed figure clad in black played with frosty efficiency by Yul Brynner. The shootouts involving the gunslinger look as though Crichton lifted them from a Sam Peckinpah movie, with blood spraying in slow motion splendor. "Westworld" even includes a nicely done "guy on fire scene," one of the best in cinematic history. The movie occasionally shifts to Medievalworld to follow the exploits of one of the park visitors there, but most of the action involves what is going on in Westworld. Look for Dick Van Patten in a smaller role as a white bread businessman who soon learns a thing or two about manhood at the theme park.

The last part of the film, after the computer virus causes the robots to rebel against their human masters, shifts the focus of the film from science fiction fare to a harrowing thriller. I think one of the grimmest, chilliest sequences in film history involves Brynner's single-minded pursuit of Richard Benjamin through the desert and mountains surrounding Delos. I can still hear the sound of the gunslinger's boots clicking down the long hallways of Delos's control center as he marches to the final showdown with his prey. Who will win in the battle between technology and man? Benjamin's character must apply the lessons he learned about being a man during his stay at Westworld to save his own life at the conclusion of the film, but it won't be easy triumphing over an unthinking killing machine.

Flaws do abound in this movie. How does Delos insure that swords and similar weaponry in Medievalworld won't hurt real guests? Why do the hands on two immobile robots change position in various shots? How can the gunslinger detect the heat patterns from Benjamin's feet on a sunny day, especially considering Benjamin was wearing boots and had left the tracks at least ten minutes before the gunslinger saw them? These are minor problems, but they are noticeable after repeated viewings. Overall, "Westworld" is a grand slam homerun that every science fiction fan must watch at some point. Regrettably, the movie did not receive a worthy DVD release. The film's transfer quality isn't bad, but it isn't great, either. A trailer is the only extra, so forget about listening to a commentary or seeing any production stills, cast bios, behind the scenes footage, or deleted scenes. Oh well, at least "Westworld" made it to DVD. For that, we can all be thankful.

Michael Crichton had the vision in this story that would return for Jurassic Park 20 years later. This movie would lay the foundation for it. It still packs a wallop! The suspense still lingers after its over. An enjoyable ride in to the future.

I am not ashamed in the least to admit that the 1973 science fiction thriller "Westworld" is one of my all time favorite movies. I first saw it about twenty years ago and never forgot it, so when I had the opportunity to watch it again recently I jumped at the chance. I can easily say that I still found this picture still compelling with its mixture of futuristic elements and chilling suspense. Directed by big shot novelist Michael Crichton, the creator of "Jurassic Park," "The Andromeda Strain," and "Congo," "Westworld" may constitute his most compelling work to date in either print or on the big screen. Why? Because even at this early date Crichton effectively displays his concerns over technology and how mankind adapts to technical innovations. Not surprisingly, at least to anyone familiar with Crichton, man suffers plenty in "Westworld." It is important to remember that this writer/director is not the only creative talent dealing with the seeming incompatibility of man and machine: writer J.G. Ballard and director David Cronenberg have been exploring these vistas for decades now. Crichton holds his own with both of these visionaries, and "Westworld" resoundingly proves it.

"Westworld" begins with a lengthy commercial touting the benefits of vacationing at Delos, a company that runs a most unusual theme park. For only one thousand dollars a day (in 1973 dollars!), the curious can star in their own version of the Wild West (Westworld), Medieval Europe (Medievalworld), or in the decadent splendor of Rome (Romanworld). A steep price to play for such diversions, to be sure, but Delos employs amazingly realistic robots and stylish props to completely recreate these eras. A visitor to the Delos amusement park can fight a knight to win the hand of a queen, gun down outlaws in the streets, or take part in a Roman banquet. The robot characters look so real that it is difficult to tell them apart from the other guests, a fact that adds a real dimension of excitement to the experience when you stand down someone at the end of a gun barrel. Obviously, Delos cannot have guests dying violently left and right, so they engineered the props, like guns, to only fire at "cold" machines. An enormous army of technicians runs the show from an underground control center where the worlds undergo constant scrutiny and where employees repair robots "killed" or "injured" in the day's activities. Despite a few worrisome problems, mainly regarding some sort of emerging computer "virus" that mystifies the techies, Delos operates without many serious hitches.

Enter the main characters of the film, two business types looking for fun played by Richard Benjamin and James Brolin. Both decide to go to Westworld, and after donning western style clothing complete with firearms, they start their adventure. What follows is every western film cliché imaginable. The two take part in a bar brawl, share special relationships with the local ladies, and orchestrate a jailbreak. Moreover, the two soon earn the enmity of the local gunslinger, a sinister, shining eyed figure clad in black played with frosty efficiency by Yul Brynner. The shootouts involving the gunslinger look as though Crichton lifted them from a Sam Peckinpah movie, with blood spraying in slow motion splendor. "Westworld" even includes a nicely done "guy on fire scene," one of the best in cinematic history. The movie occasionally shifts to Medievalworld to follow the exploits of one of the park visitors there, but most of the action involves what is going on in Westworld. Look for Dick Van Patten in a smaller role as a white bread businessman who soon learns a thing or two about manhood at the theme park.

The last part of the film, after the computer virus causes the robots to rebel against their human masters, shifts the focus of the film from science fiction fare to a harrowing thriller. I think one of the grimmest, chilliest sequences in film history involves Brynner's single-minded pursuit of Richard Benjamin through the desert and mountains surrounding Delos. I can still hear the sound of the gunslinger's boots clicking down the long hallways of Delos's control center as he marches to the final showdown with his prey. Who will win in the battle between technology and man? Benjamin's character must apply the lessons he learned about being a man during his stay at Westworld to save his own life at the conclusion of the film, but it won't be easy triumphing over an unthinking killing machine.

Flaws do abound in this movie. How does Delos insure that swords and similar weaponry in Medievalworld won't hurt real guests? Why do the hands on two immobile robots change position in various shots? How can the gunslinger detect the heat patterns from Benjamin's feet on a sunny day, especially considering Benjamin was wearing boots and had left the tracks at least ten minutes before the gunslinger saw them? These are minor problems, but they are noticeable after repeated viewings. Overall, "Westworld" is a grand slam homerun that every science fiction fan must watch at some point. Regrettably, the movie did not receive a worthy DVD release. The film's transfer quality isn't bad, but it isn't great, either. A trailer is the only extra, so forget about listening to a commentary or seeing any production stills, cast bios, behind the scenes footage, or deleted scenes. Oh well, at least "Westworld" made it to DVD. For that, we can all be thankful.

back in 1973, hi tech sci fi , was beginning to show up on the screen on a regular basis, although a few weak moments are in the film, this sci0-fi gem is a must for collectors.
i would imagine, a up dated version would be great and a re make would generate a new fan base, perhaps, tom berringer
as the cowboy-bad guy...a.k.a. yul brynners role...

Nightmare on the 13th Floor is a rather creepy, very riveting and very suspenseful television movie with some cheesy transition effects, "different" cinematography, and a few rather amateur actors.

Elaine Kalisher is a writer for a travel magazine and is sent to the Wessex Hotel in Los Angeles to write an article. While exploring the hotel, the service lift breaks down on an unmarked 13th floor. There she witnesses a murder, but is assured (when she is awake) by the hotel doctor, that there is no 13th floor. What she discovers is actually really disturbing and very creepy.

This is really not the best movie, nor is it even a good TV movie. But, it does deliver some creepy bits, some good suspense and good set design. I like how this movie sort of gave us extremely good hints to solving the mystery of the masked murderer on the 13th floor and still was impossible for us to really guess who it was.

Overall, I'd say this is a decent film, though I'd really like to change a few things if I could. I'd give it three stars for it's overall good production values, even thought it has some flaws. Pretty good.

9/10"This means that Nightmare on the 13th Floor" is a good movie especially for fans of the genre.

Nightmare on the 13th Floor is a movie that remained with me

after I watched it on TV. The 13th Floor and James Brolin make

the movie devilishly good and wickedly scary. The acting is

good, although some people in the movie were amateur like Kerry

Noonan as Gale Myers. Michele Greene, James Brolin and John

Karlen all show good spirit in their roles.

This movie should not be missed and is very rare. So order it

here from Amazon.com like I did.

I was surprised to find that this made-for-cable hotel chiller was creepy...even scary. Although acting may be a little dry, the special effects and action in this mystery make up for the acting. This movie must be good as my mom even likes it. This is a very great item. I love it...buy it!

I'm sorry but I did not like this movie. It had some flaws. The
actors were good but the story was not told very well. I wouldn't recomend this movie.

Judging by the amount of reviews written here,obviously this isn't a popular film. But just in case someone actually looks up this movie,I have to let you know this is a wonderful,silly,amusing comedy. Curtis and Reynolds are perfect on-screen together. Both deliver fun performances,as does Pat Boone. Here's a good movie to watch when your a little down,and in need of a laugh. It will definitely bring a smile on your face. A little personal note:A remake followed this film some 20 years later Blake Edward's "Switch". But between the two I prefer this one.

A playboy is shot by a jealous husband after he is caught in the middle of an affair with the man's wife. Later he comes back as Debbie Reynolds, possibly as God's punishment to him for the way he spent his life using women for his own pleasure, or mabey as a way of seeing if being a woman can teach him how to be a better human being, or maybe both. It's a saddly undiscovered comedy that hopefully more people will get to see and enjoy, now that it's been rereleased on video. I also happened to find the script for the play that this movie is based on. (There was a copy of the play write in the public library.) The play is very, very short, so of course the movie adds much more to the story. I was a little disapointed by the ending of the movie, however. (I liked the ending of the play much better.) The movie is still well worth seeing, however, and if you are lucky enough to find the play script, it is well worth reading.

It's going to be difficult keeping a straight face while I write this, but I'll give it a shot (chuckle). Don't ask me why I sought out this film, I haven't much of a clue. Maybe it was because I liked the old tv series "Kung Fu" and thought this might have an interesting spin (ROTFL). After all, I recognized many of the names here (Brolin, Singer, and Lee). Obviously not from the best talent pool in Hollywood, but Lee was very convincing as the drill sargeant in Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket", and has done fairly good work in other movies. Mark Singer wasn't too awful in some of his flicks either. Brolin? Uh, well, he's James Brolin (luckily, he has very few scenes).

Ahhhh, but on to this movie (ha). It is, without doubt, the most untentionally funny movie I've seen in many a year. I can't wait to give it to my son. He will be laughing for days! (I'm sure he will pass it around to all of his friends...it'll leave 'em in stitches!...and hopeful, they won't return it;-). I knew I was in for a "treat" the very first moment this film...oops...movie (film indicates quality) came on. I dare anyone not to double over watching our 'hero' ride (try to ride) his horse as the opening credits scroll on the screen. Every scene thereafter (yes, EVERY scene), presented the viewer with very old cliches, one after another after another. There was never a scene that hasn't been done a hundred times before and a million times better.... Correction! There were a few scenes that nobody in their right mind would EVER do!

What makes this flick so funny is the atrocious acting (I've seen grade school skits that had better acting) along with the horrible screenplay (I've heard better dialogue in silent movies!). Folks, you just won't believe the lines these act...uh...'people' spoke...and in front of God and everyone. And as bad as the 'stars' were, the beautiful dark-haired girl in the flimsy top (don't all western women wear these things?), deserved an award for using the same non-descript look whether she was happy, sad, fearful, or excited. (I don't think the director could believe it either, as he kept panning back to her expression, I think to see if it had changed--it didn't). At least she didn't make any pretenses, she looked lost all the way through this flick. And what is with the evil gunslinger? If anything can produce laughing fits, it's this guy's "evil eye". Unless you see it, you won't believe it. Hell, I've seen it, and I still don't believe it!

Oh my, how do I rate such a movie? Well, if I thought for one moment that they did this tongue-in-cheek mess on purpose, I'd rate it much higher. After all, it WAS pretty funny in most places, and down right gut-busting in others. However, I can find no evidence of such intelligence, not with the actors, the producers, and ESPECIALLY not the director (other than old 8mm home movies, I suspect that this is his first attempt to direct). Between 1 and 10, "The Fighter" gets a marginal 1. I honestly thought that as expensive as movies are to film, I would never see the likes of this one ever again. I also thought that I would never see a worse movie than "Christopher Columbus -- The Discovery". But I now know that I was wrong.

Okay, so Ian Zierig doesn't give this movie a whole lot ofrespectability, but where else can you see the Nemesis (OlivierGruner) battle it out with the Beastmaster (Marc Singer)? That says it all right there.

The plot's cheesy and has been used before, the acting does not approach Shakespearian, but the fight sequences with Gruner are a joy to watch, and it'll hold your interest. I'd watch it again.

This flick is the perfect example of a movie that's so bad...it's actually good!

The writing, directing, & the acting are just awful, awful, awful!!! One reviewer said that he's seen high-school drama skits that had better acting...and he's right!

The thing is, it's very obvious that the stars in this thing were very aware of the script's shortcomings. Marc Singer ("V", "The Beastmaster") actually seems to be enjoying himself in his grunting cave-man-like role of the Austrian General Ziegfield Von Trotta. (What a name!) The other actors, Brolin, Ziering, Palance, & Gibb, actors who have proven that they actually can act (in other shows, that is) seem to be having fun on this grade-z straight-to-video release. The only one who doesn't seem to be enjoying herself is Ashley Laurence, the love interest. She had guest-starred on an episode of "Cheers" a decade-and-a-half ago & so I suspect that she may be a "serious" actress. Well, that's the last thing we need in a movie like this!

The premise of the story, in the hands of more competent & serious writers, directors, & producers, would have produced an excellent martial-arts/western fusion film. The story follows the adventures of a former French officer (played by Olivier Gruner, from "Nemesis" & "Angel Town") who leaves Mexico at the end of the war against Maximillian (which coincided with our own Civil War) in search of an Austrian officer (Singer) who murdered his best friend. Along the way, he defends a small ranch from a ruthless railroad man. (Shades of "Shane.") He is also adept at la savate, the French martial-art of kick-boxing. This is a good plot with an unusual, but true to historical-fact premise.

Unfortunately, every cliche' from both westerns (especially "Spaghetti Westerns") & martial-arts films (the "Enter The Dragon" dangerous tournament-types) is what makes up this mess! The murder of Gruner's friend by Singer was taken directly from "Once Upon A Time In The West" & even the soundtrack sounds like a Sergio Leone directed epic. I have no problem with the martial-arts (after all, savate was standard training for French officers at this time), but the "tournament" (a bare-knuckle boxing match) has all sorts of fighters from all over the world competing. Not only do we have boxers & wrestlers, but a kung-fu man (okay, there were lots of Chinese working the railroads & the gold-fields of the West at this time) & a capoerista from Brazil! (Now, how did HE get there?) This all takes place in a VERY SMALL TOWN. Why on Earth would anyone hold a tournament like this in a little, tiny town like that? They should've set it in San Francisco or Denver. At least those cities in the West were actually big enough to sponsor these "champions" to come over.

To make matters worse, this movie is very, very FUNNY. (Or sad, depending on your outlook. I liked Marc Singer in "V", a thought-provoking anti-fascist science-fiction thriller on tv. But here, he just grunts & growls through the role. But then again, that's how the part of "the general" was written.)

So why give it 5 stars instead of 1? As the old show-biz adage goes, "You can make your audiences mad, you can make them sad, you can make them laugh. Just don't bore them!"

This movie is NOT boring. It's just VERY stupid!

It doesn't get much better than this with action, adventure, good humor and everything goes wrong.
Four layed off guys hear a rumor about a drug lord(James Coburn) who keeps 5 million, in cash, at his hacienda in South America. Of course, they need firepower(Ernest Bourgnine), they run afoul of local banditos(Anthony Quinn), pick up an expatriated American(Lindsey Wagner), land in jail, are shot at, beat up and are depending on a couple of dope smoking, ex vietnam vets in a badly missing and sputtering plane to rescue them. it is a very fun and exciting ending when it all comes together.
I recorded my copy from the TV, with ads and cuts, because i can't find a commercial reproduction. i would buy a good quality DVD for sure.

The movie HIGH RISK is a good movie. But don't buy a copy of the
DVD. It is the worst looking copy of a film on DVD I have ever
seen. The film looks totally washed out and blury...

Released in 1981 HIGH RISK suffered the "back of the bus" treatment while higher profile adventure epics like DRAGONSLAYER, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, CLASH OF THE TITANS, and an obscure little flick called RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK took the best seats with reviewers and moviegoers. And it's a bloody shame because this "DELIVERANCE for chuckles" features a crackerjack cast (James Brolin, Cleavon Little, Chick Venera, Lindsay Wagner, Bruce Davison, Anthony Quinn, James Coburn and Ernest Borgnine) all at the top of their game; a tight plot and swift sure-handed direction by Stewart Rafill (THE PHILADELPIA EXPERIMENT); a fast paced Latin-Jazz flavored score by Mark Snow (THE X-FILES); and a cheerful glee in toying with every action/adventure movie cliche' in the book ("what would really happen if you tried to knock someone out with the butt of pistol" - hilarious.The only drawback is in the VHS tape itself - most available versions are recorded in the LP mode and the colors aren't as crisp as they should be. But if you can find a used SP version or you've got to have a grade-A action adventure fix ... you can't do much better.

I love stuff like this, quirky Altman-esque comedy-dramas with huge casts, and this did not disappoint. For a film that was almost entirely improvised, "Parallel Lives" chugs along quite smoothly. Standouts in the cast are Liza Minnelli (who deserved an Emmy nomination), Lindsay Crouse, Dudley Moore and Ally Sheedy.

We liked the interaction of the actors, and the story line--but mostly, we loved the song of the movie, also entitled, Parellel Lives. Don't know why they didn't release the song as a single. We had searched for it, but guess no one ever recorded it. What a shame!

I saw this when it came out in the theatres some time ago. Half-decent film, but I don't remember most of it.

Mira Sorvina gives a splendid performance in this effects filled, creepy and tense exersise in traditional creature features. Sorvino plays a scientist who finds a cure for a deadly virus by creating a new breed of cockroaches called "Junos." After the virus was wiped out, the Junos were destroyed. However, years later, the Junos have evolved into giant roaches that live in the sewers of New York, praying on humans. While there are some standard cliche's in this well crafted horror movie, the latter of the film is in Sorvino's performance and the excellent special effects. Director Guillermo del Toro does a great job of keeping the tenstion at a high mark, and you can tell when you're sitting on the edge of your seat biting your nails. This is an excellent installment into the creature feature genre.

"Life finds a way." Ian Malcom, "Jurassic Park"

This famous line from Steven Speilberg's dinosaur adventure has become a popular lesson of many science fiction films today. "Mimic," a film in which genetically altered insects become something never intended, is no exception to this particular lesson; in fact, the movie uses it to its advantage on numerous occasions, that, and some very sophisticated special effects and filmmaking techniques. Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, who directed "Cronos," turns what is a basic nature-gone-mad movie into something more terrifying, more chilling, and more suspenseful than anything we've ever seen done before.

That's not to say that "Mimic" is as fresh as a spring breeze. There are elements at work in the film that are all too familiar if you know your science fiction well. There's the obligatory explanation for the havoc surrounding the central characters, scenes involving them being trapped somewhere beyond any help, and a hero in the group that will devise all the plans for escape and the way in which to kill their opponent. But under a new premise, and some very strikingly intense moments, "Mimic" makes the old seem new again.

The hero (or heroine, in this case) is Dr. Susan Tyler (Mira Sorvino), who is called upon by the city of New York to find a cure for a fatal disease striking the city's children. Along with husband Peter Mann (Jeremy Northam), they create a genetically altered breed of insect (revealed as a cross between a cockroach and a praying mantis) to wipe out the disease-infested cockroaches underneath the city.

Of course, the bugs, named the "Judas" breed, were altered in ways that left them with a short life expectancy of only six months, plus a sterile female so that no mating will take place. But, after three years have passed, Susan encounters a bug closely resembling the "Judas" breed insects, and it becomes apparent to her that they have survived.

How did they survive? The movie never explains it, which is best; it's better left as a mystery. It also leaves room for the ensuing action sequences, as Susan and Peter, along with a police officer (Charles Dutton), make their way into the underground subways and abandoned facilities beneath the city streets.

This is where things get really interesting, as del Toro works his magic on us. A simple scene in which Susan attempts to retrieve a flashlight by sticking her hand in a dark hole is full of suspense, while a claustrophobic intensity permeates sequences involving an abandoned subway car where the group seeks refuge from their predators. Accompanying all of this is a heightened sensory perception. Del Toro toys with shadow and light, along with sight and sound, to add an atmospheric feel to each setting. Not since "Seven" have I seen a film that uses this technique so masterfully.

And the message behind it all? It's one we're well familiarized with, that playing God gets us nowhere. Sure, Susan's intentions were in the right place, and we even understand her reasons after an early shot of her in a hospital ward filled with sick children. I think the general theme behind all of the mayhem is not one of toying with science, but one on the many ways that life can change, and evolve into something previously unknown.

"Mimic" has a good cast in its favor. Mira Sorvino shines in a role that differs from others roles of her career, such as "Mighty Aphrodite." But she proves herself able to play a convincing character in any situation. Jeremy Northam is the last person you'd expect to see running through tunnels and putting himself in dangerous situations, but he pulls it off. F. Murray Abraham makes an appearance as Susan's mentor, Dr. Gates, playing the well-educated man to perfection, while Charles Dutton is superbly comical and heroic as Leonard, the police officer.

"Mimic" is a dazzlingly intense adventure that is genuinely suspenseful and totally entertaining. It's ability to tighten the intensity surrounding its sequence of events is a trait rare to this genre, as is its ability to bring us into the atmosphere of the film's murky settings. Del Toro has fashioned a new evolution of sci-fi out of old-school tricks; I highly recommend this film.

Suprisingly, I saw this movie for the first time just a few short days ago, even though I was old enough to have seen it when it hit the theaters. A shame I let it go so long.

At the beginning of this movie, three astronauts (played by James Brolin, Sam Waterston, and O.J. Simpson) are pulled from a space flight destined for Mars. There was something wrong with the life-support system. The director of the space program (Hal Holbrook) says that they can't afford for the flight to be cancelled, so the three astronauts are coerced through threats to go through with a fake landing filmed on a closed base.

A reporter (Elliot Gould) talks with a friend (Robert Walden) who claims there is something mysterious going on with the flight. Immediately after this revelation, the friend disappears with no trace of him having ever existed. The reorter begins a quest to find out what is going on.

Meanwhile, the now unmanned spaceship burns up on re-entry. This means that except for the three astronauts and few head people in the space program, everyone else thinks they're all dead. This leads to the exciting last half of the movie.

A similar conspiracy theory (held mostly by extreme nutcases) revolves around our own moon shots, but this movie makes the plot an extremely good way to pass a couple of hours.

CAPRICORN ONE is a film that when I saw it in the theatre in its original release - I was impressed. I walked out thinking that - wow, can this really happen?

The film is written and directed Peter Hyams (2010: The Year We Make Contact, Stay Tuned) and has a realism about it that makes conspiracies seem real. The cast is quite good - with the exception of one person. Leading the pack is Elliot Gould as a reporter who stumbles on a story that involves astronauts James Brolin, Sam Waterson and O.J. Simpson (yuch!) in what ends up being a staged performance. There are some great performances by Brenda Vaccaro and Telly Sevalas (TV's Kojack). I don't want to give away the plot or story too much - but it has a great build up to a good strong ending.

One of the best aspects of the film I enjoy most is the score. Academy Award winning composer Jerry Goldsmith does some of his best work in this film. You know his musical schemes from films like Patton, Star Trek The Motion Picture, Legend (Original Version - see my review) and countless TV and Movie Productions.

Technically the film is an action and adventure. It has special effects and car chases and you must remember it is the product of the late 70's - so forgetting the period costumes of the time - the film is technically up to speed. I loved this movie and even when I watch this film now I can still feel the tension. A good action drama for everyone's collection. (8-27-02)

Writer/director Peter Hyams (Outland, End of Days) drew on the popularity of All The President's Men and the USA's love of conspiracy theory (notably that the moon landings were faked) to create a wonderful little thriller in Capricorn One. When it is discovered that the life support system will not support life for the duration of the trip, the power that be (played by Hal Holbrook) decides to fake the mission. The crew of Capricorn One (Brolin, Simpson, and Waterson) reluctantly play along (it must have been the emplied threat on their families that did it). All seems to go well, until one techinician discovers that the signals from Capricorn One could not come from space. That techinician vanishes, but not before stating his suspicions to a friend (a news reporter played by Elliott Gould) and Capricorn One burns up as it enters into the Earth's atmosphere. Leaving three very much alive astronauts to dispose of. The chase is on! Capricorn One is a fun, thrilling ride of a movie that also features a nifty score by the legendary Jerry Goldsmith. Recommended.