I stumbled across a copy of the DVD yesterday and had to pick it up. It was the “50th Anniversary edition” that boasted “Both the US and UK versions!”
UK version?
So I first re-watched the original film. I wish they’d gotten a better print for the 50th annversay edition, because this one had a lot of scratches and the like. The movie is pretty much as I remembered it, Menzies showed off his love for really tall sets (as in the 1824 Thief of Bagdad), with his Police State with anomalously high doors and high-ceilinged rooms and tall lamps on the front desk. Also the science lab later in the film is incredibly tall, with really high lab constructions. It’s his signature style.
The script is still annoying if you’re not a kid – people jump to conclusions with ludicrous speed. At the end they set the timer for sic minutes, and danged if it doesn’t take six minutes of screen time between the setting and the explosion. And it all ends with that “it was just a dream…” ending.
The UK version is almost the same, except that the scene in the Observatory is quite a bit longer, expounding on Mars and the other planets, and talking about UFOs - the “Lubbock Lights” and the destruction of Paul Mantell’s plane, and showing models of UFOs. Then it goes back to the same as the US film, except that the ending is different – the astronomer and the lady doctor duck behind an Army truck, and do does little David, and the UFO blows up in mid-air. There’s no “it was all a dream” scene. The astronomer and doctor tuck . David in bed and night, ostensibly because his parents are still in the hospital. According to both Wikipedia and the Internet Movie Data Base, the added scenes were all shot later at the insistence of British censors, who wanted an upbeat ending. So they brought back those three actors to shoot the new scenes, even though Jimmy Hunt had clearly grown taller and older since the previous scenes were shot. It also explains the absence of David’s parents at the end.
I can’t think of anything quite like that, except when they brought back Rosie O’Donnell and Dan Aykroyd to re-film scenes for Exit to Eden, which O]'Donnell hated, because she’d put on weight between the sessions, and it was obvious when Thin Rosie went through a door and Fat Rosie emerged.
Guns & Moses In the high desert, Jewish members of a small community are being shot. Hate groups are blamed, but the Rabbi is not so sure. As he investigates, violence mounts. It’s a nicely done indie with a cast populated by “that guy/gal, from that thing” actors. The mystery is nice and twisty (though frankly, if you can’t identify the big bad from the first scene, you’ve never watched a mystery show) and watching the peaceful pastor (and his wife) eventually rain holy hell on the bad guys is satisfying. I’m guessing it is getting its week’s release in the theaters and will be streaming by the end of the month.
One of the good things about watching these indies at my local AMC is that they play trailers from fairly obscure films, which is a relief from the constant repetition of the big release trailers before most movies. Based on the trailers, in the next month or so I’m looking forward to She Rides Shotgun, Americana, and Honey Don’t.
I’m also one who missed it back when it came out. Excellent movie, but a true downer. So many good performances. And Gig Young well deserved his Oscar.
At work (dog daycare/boarding) the coaches (the people tending the dogs in the rooms full time) can watch movies. Or at least there can be a movie on in the background as you break up scuffles and pick up dog shit. I’ve have to cover a couple of coach shifts lately. At first I called up Grandma’s Boy (2006), but just as the party scene at Grandma’s house started up, I remembered the nudity in it - no nudity or graphic violence allowed because pet parents can view the room on camera - so I shut that off and watched Gung Ho (1986) starring Michael Keaton before he was Batman. Keaton plays a car plant rep who convinces a Japanese car manufacturer to take over the town factory. Cultural high-jinks ensue. It’s funny, if a little hammy at times.
I’ve really been intrigued by this one, despite the fact that it lived in limbo for a couple of years. The trailer looked like fun, and the handful of festival reviews from two years ago were quite good.
I’m sure that it was. Certainly most critics say so. But it’s also true that it was Menzie’s style. Have a look at many of the sets from Thief of Bagdad.
I re-watched Sinister after having seen it several years ago. I’d forgotten how good it is. Ethan Hawke is a true crime writer and he and his family have moved to Kentucky so he can do research for his next book. Unbeknownst to his wife, he’s taken his family to a “murder house” in order to do research about the brutal murder of the family that lived there.
It’s got its flaws; the woman who plays his wife is annoying and some people really dislike some scenes near the end(I think they’re fine) but its got some creepy parts that are original and very well done. Highly recommend.
Yep, agreed. Watched a few years ago and was creeped out by that. Hits the usual beats but so well done. Watched it again more recently and was still scared and disturbed. The home movie at the start is disturbing in the extreme.
Watched KPop Demon Hunters (2025) by Sony Pictures Animation, distributed by Netflix. It’s what it says on the tin: K-pop and hunting of demons. And a large dose of Korean melodrama and anime, as well. It follows the tropes of its genres, but this particular combo feels unique. It actually makes a good date movie if you like any of those things.
Yikes, each home movie is more horrifying than the next. The soundtrack (?) during “bbq 79” is one of the most effective I can think of at the moment. That, combined with the horrific images really gets under my skin, and that’s not too easy to do.
Limitless, a 2011 sci-fi thriller starring Bradley Cooper, is available for streaming on Amazon Prime. We watched a series based on this a while back and enjoyed it enough to give the movie a shot.
Cooper plays a total schlub whose life is transformed by a mind-expanding drug he is given by a questionable source. He’s amazed by the results, takes advantage of his new-found brilliance in ways that could be considered unwise, and soon discovers the consequences.
It’s a pretty good ride with lots of twists and turns. Not sure if I entirely bought the ending, but it’s good watch for a Saturday night.
I highly recommend it. It’s one of my favorite silent films, especially with the Carl Davis score, based on Rimsky-Korsakoff.
Don’t believe the people who tell you that the two versions tell the same story, only splitting the roles of thief and suitor. They’re two completely different films. In the 1924 version you can see the moral arc of the titular Thief as he is transformed by the power of love. There’s no evil vizier and no foolish Caliph playing with toys. And no genie (or magic lamp or bottle).
Starts interesting, becomes boring. I understand how difficult life in Seoul is and how many young folks carry huge debt, but this movie was dull as could be. I kept hoping for something bigger and better, but no.
It’s one of the more realistic depictions of combat that I’ve seen.
Air Cav seems like a good strategy but everything goes to shit when the LZ is under direct enemy fire.The US helicopter pilots made a lot of sacrifices evacuating wounded troops from the battlefields.
I recommend the movie. But the realism makes it difficult to watch.