Never seen The Longest Day? Wow...

Title: The Longest Day
Year: 1962
Director: Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki
Rating: NR
Length: 178 Min.
Video: Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.0, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, French: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
Eddie Albert as Colonel Thompson
Paul Anka as United States Army Ranger
Arletty as Madame Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault as Father Louis Roulland
Richard Beymer as Private Dutch Schultz

Plot:
On June 6, 1944, the Allied Invasion of France marked the beginnig of the end of Nazi domination over Europe. The attack involved 3,000,000 men, 11,000 planes and 4,000 ships, comprising the largest armada the world has ever seen.

Presented in its orginal black & white version, THE LONGEST DAY is a vivid, hour-by-hour re-creation of this historic event. Featuring a stellar international cast, and told from the perspectives of both sides, it is a fascinating look at the massive preparations, mistakes and random events that determined the outcome of one of the biggest battles in history. Winner of two Oscars® (Special Effects and Cinematography), THE LONGEST DAY ranks as one of Hollywood's truly great films.

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Bonus Trailers
Closed Captioned
THX

My Thoughts:
This is the first time I ever seen this movie. It is one of many that a good friend of mine sent my mother when he found out that she loved war movies. I been wanting to see this one for quite some time now... but the 3hr length made me put it off more then once. There is some big names in this movie. Note that I use the a DVD Profiler HTML Window to generate my reviews for all technical information... so the names listed above is not the names I would have personally mentioned. Or I would have pointed out some other names I personally am familiar with such as John Wayne, Red Buttons and so on.

Normally war movies in general is not a favorite genre of mine. Don't get me wrong... I don't hate them. I actually enjoy them quite a bit when I am in the mood for them. Unfortunately the mood does not hit all that often. This is a very good one... but wow it is long!  Unfortunately there is quite a few subtitles in it. Which for me is a big pain since I am a slow reader. I had to rewind a few seconds so often that it probably took me several extra minutes to complete this movie. And the constant rewinding to see what dialog I missed did take away from the movie for me a little. But still... this is a very good movie... deserving of the awards it has won. The cinematography is definitely wonderful... I couldn't get over the imagery used in the movie. It looks fantastic. This is definitely a movie I would recommend to others.

My Rating: 4/5

Title: Psycho: Collector's Edition
Year: 1960
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Rating: R
Length: 108 Min.
Video: Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Mono, French: Dolby Digital: Mono
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates
Vera Miles as Lila Crane
John Gavin as Sam Loomis
Martin Balsam as Milton Arbogast
John McIntire as Sheriff Al Chambers

Plot:
Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece of the macabre stars Anthony Perkins as the troubled Norman Bates, whose "old dark house" and adjoining motel are not the place to spend a quiet evening. No one knows that better than Janet Leigh, the film's ill-fated heroine who is victimized in the now-notorious "shower scene." Vera Miles, Martin Balsam, John Gavin and John McIntire co-star in Hitchcock's most compelling and terrifying film. Screenplay by Joseph Stefano.

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Gallery
Production Notes
8 Page Booklet
Newsreel Footage

My Thoughts:
I have watched this movie time and again... and I never seem to tire of it. There really is nothing about this movie I dislike. As I am learning... Hitchcock was an outstanding artist. Both Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles. Janet Lee... everyone were amazing in their roles. I pretty much know this movie by heart... and still I am glued to my seat every time I watch it. The last time I watched this movie I was pretty hard on it with my rating... but I really can't recommend this movie high enough. So I think I really need to give this movie a full 5 star rating.

My Rating: 5/5

Title: Batman: The Movie
Year: 1966
Director: Leslie H. Martinson
Rating: PG
Length: 105 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, English: Dolby Digital: Mono, French: Dolby Digital: Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
Adam West as Batman (Bruce Wayne)
Burt Ward as Robin (Dick Grayson)
Lee Meriwether as The Catwoman (Kitka)
Cesar Romero as The Joker
Burgess Meredith as The Penguin

Plot:
When Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward) get a tip that a commodore (Reginald Denny) is in danger aboard his yacht, they launch a rescue mission. But they are unaware that the tip was actually a set-up by four of the most powerful villains of all time - Catwoman (Lee Merriwether), the Penguin (Burgess Meredith), the Joker (Ceasr Romero) and the Riddler (Frank Gorshin).

Armed with a dehydrator that can turn humans into dust, the fearsome foursome intends to defeat the Dynamic Duo once and for all in a bid to take over the world! Can the Caped Crusaders use their high-flying heroism and amazing gadgetry to foil the nefarious scheme in time?

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Bonus Trailers
Featurettes
Gallery
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:
I felt like something lighthearted and silly next. So thought I would watch this Batman movie.... done with the same people (Cast and Crew?) that did the series. A series I used to watch all the time as a kid.

This is one movie I figured it would not hold up to the test of time at all. And yes... this is a corny, cheesy show... but I actually still enjoyed it! What a surprise that was to me. I figured this addition to my collection would be for nostalgic reasons only... but I found something I definitely see myself watching again. Sure there was huge plot holes... sure it was as silly as could be... but it also has a charm about it... and I felt like I was back in my childhood again when I watched it. I am actually wanting to watch it again soon so I can listen to the audio commentary with Adam West and Burt Ward. I have to think that will be one entertaining commentary. When I first got this movie I watched it with my daughter, Brittany. And what did she think of it?... she enjoyed every second of it! She actually wanted to watch it with the commentary that night... but I told her we should put that off for a while. So I am really happy I got this movie added to my collection. I would even consider buying the TV Series... if they could ever figure out who owns the rights to it!

My Rating: 3.5/5

Title: The Wild Bunch: The Original Director's Cut
Year: 1969
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Rating: R
Length: 145 Min.
Video: Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
William Holden as Pike
Ernest Borgnine as Dutch
Robert Ryan as Thornton
Edmond O'Brien as Sykes
Warren Oates as Lyle Gorch

Plot:
By any standard, director Sam Peckinpah's film The Wild Bunch, a powerful tale of hang-dog desperados bound by a code of honor, rates as one of the all-time greatest Westerns, perhaps one of the greatest of all times.

This Original Director's Cut restores it to a complete, pristine condition unseen since its July, 1969 theatrical debut. The image is letterboxed, the color renewed, the stereo soundtrack remixed and reintegrated - all to blood-and-thunder effect. Watch William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan and more great stars saddle up for the roles of a lifetime.

This DVD also features (on Side B) the home video debut of The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage, the Academy Award®-nominated 1996 documentary by Paul Seydor and Nick Redman. It includes long-unseen footage of the on-set shooting, and reminiscences by principals connected with the film.

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Featurettes
Production Notes
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:
This is one of several movies a good friend sent me last year. And just now getting the chance to watch. It is one of the ones I been wanting to see... but it being almost 2 and a half hours made me put it off a bit. Western movies... much like war movies is not a favorite genre of mine. But it is one I do enjoy quite a bit when I am in the mood for one. And I did enjoy this one quite a bit. The length did not bother me in the least. Matter of fact it seemed to move along rather quickly. And for me that has always been a sign of a good movie. Especially when the movie is of a length of over two hours. Even if you only have a mild fondness for Westerns... this is one you really should check out.

My Rating: 4.5/5

Toon Time!


Marine Boy was one of the first color anime cartoons to be shown in a dubbed form in the U.S., and later in Australia  and the United Kingdom. It was originally produced in Japan as Undersea Boy Marine. The plot revolved around the undersea adventures of a boy who was able to breathe underwater by chewing a special chewing gum called "oxy-gum". He was powered underwater by his propeller boots and armed with an electric boomerang. Marine Boy's father, Dr. Mariner was part of the Ocean Patrol, an organization set up to maintain peace and security in the Earth's oceans. Adventures often featured the Ocean Patrol craft P-1, a submarine crewed by Piper and Bullton[1]  (a double act, reminiscent of Laurel and Hardy) who would assist Marine Boy.

Battle to Save the World
Season 1 - Episode 20
Marine Boy leaves the P-1 to search for the wreckage of a ship sunk by Captain Rex Rancid's electronic missiles.

My Thoughts:
This is one of the ones I don't remember ever seeing. Before I put this info on... I set up this post. When I found the Youtube intro I have to admit I was very worried as it does not look like something I would enjoy! So I went into this one with very low expectations. As it turns out my initial thoughts from the intro were correct. I couldn't find much I liked about this one at all. Trying to think back... was there anything I liked about this cartoon? Hmmmmm... well... the way they drew Marine Boy was pretty cool. But at the same time the voice he had seemed to have an aggravating result on me. I know this was a Japanese Anime title... so not the original voices. That is another thing... for some reason (yes I know I may get flamed for this... but) I never cared for Japanese Anime. So that is staying true to form.

I can't update my list on the first post... but with this month's DVD order I am able to add 23 more movies to my '60s movie collection...

- The Amazing Transparent Man
- The Atomic Brain
- Attack of the Monsters
- Blood of Dracula's Castle
- The Devil's Hand
- The Devil's Messenger
- Devil's Partner
- Eegah
- Horrors of Spider Island
- Kong Island
- The Long Hair of Death
- The Madmen of Mandoras
- Manos: The Hands of Fate
- The Manster
- Night Fright
- Night Tide
- Nightmare in Wax
- The Sadist
- The She-Beast
- Sound of Horror
- Terrified
- Terror Creatures from the Grave
- The Wasp Woman

And no... I am not familiar with any of these movies. I think they are mostly just low budget horror.

Tell me about it... there is sure to be some real winners in these!