Peter's Reviews

From the opening scenes you know you're in for a treat. It is inspiring to see that even under that sophicating autocratic regime that ruled Czekoslovakia beautiful music was still being created. Beautifully acted by all players.

Nostalgia only.

I was curious about George Burns when he was younger. Two episodes of his show with Gracie Fields cured me of that.

Funny in parts but mostly amusing. It does make one wonder about the role of television in modern everyday life. Its been said that TV is the modern equivalnet to old days' fireplace, that is something to stare at while relaxing. Could be right.

This is a woody allen film without the usual funny liners. Not funny really and somewhat painfully predictable at times though with a twist in the end. Suspensful yes but ultimately too long.

Not a dull moment in this classic french film noir thriller. Rivetting and highly enjoyable. Wonderful Paris street scape scenes from the fifties.

Could have had a more interesting dialogue. Too many silent scenes.

Yes four stars for the series overall, but this lot on this dvd was more disturbing than funny. You just find yourself wishing Arthur would finally free himself without all the drama and Maggie would finally give up her son to a happy life. Still, no other Australian series ever came near to topping this one.

Ricky Gervais looks a bit sad here, doesnt have a lot to say compared to his role in The Office. Also, the humour here is a bit more biting and hard so there aren't many belly laughs. Still worth watching though.

Got it to watch Audrey but found the movie surprisingly good. Not only for the story which covers a relevant issue for today, namely that of the trade of body parts (if I'm not giving away too much) but for its production values aswell. It is well paced and acted. The story is marred only a little by its 'wishful thinking' ending, a bit hollywoodish. But it helps to digest its unsavory underworld life and it will help you to sleep better, to think that there is a possibility of natural justice in the world. Thoroughly recommended, but not for kids.

Watch this late at night and you wont be able to separate some of this with some bad dream. Beware you may wake in fright or in laughter. I love the industrial sites where the characters dwell, they depict an alienated world full of wierd life forms - ok, people but not all, in their struggle to connect with other living souls. Not for everyone but if off-beat is your style this is definitely different.

Convoluted and probably improbable but ultimately entertaining love-triangle story, done the old French way.

A classic by all accounts, this film is probably more for students of cinema than your casual lounge lizard.

Its one for nostalgia or the fan.

My young daughter loved it. I was a bit bored with it.

Gentle comedy, no cheap jokes, sit-back and emerse into the life of these people.

The crime scenes are chilling without ever showing much. Very interesting film, depicting pre-industrial rural life in inaccessible areas in Europe.

Woody Allen at his neurotic best. Looking at Helen didn't hurt either.

The humour was started get thin by these epids. Still good though.

This is definitely one for the movie buffs, but a reasonable time passer for the rest of us. I watched it in 2x speed, which helped with the unnecessarily slow scenes.

I wish in all these cute cartoons they would have put a bit more on the plot and dialogue. Otherwise its "suffering Socratesh" time. BTW I noticed that Duffy Duck also uses that expletive, if you can call it that. But I always thought Socrates would be a cat's name.

Its ok. Couldnt go past 2 episodes though. The jokes are a bit obvious.

Good for the performaces. Reese was great, put on a believable southern accent.

OK, where is the sympathy level for people who knowingly risk painting themselves into a corner, so to speak, of life and death? Like people who for instance sail solo in treacherous waters and then need rescuing? You have to say it is a reduced level of sympathy. Even so you cannot fail to be gripped by the suspense (even though you know the ending) in this movie. Expertly filmed.

It's classic stuff, funny at the time and maybe the first time around.

Excellent family stuff.

The only interest is Charlotte.

On the plus side it shows an Australia not often seen on cinema. In the early days of the colony the place was as wild as any American wild west. These were really hard times in the outback. The sense of isolation is overwhelming. It is all well conveyed in this film. On the minus side, the violence shown was necessary only to make an impact in the cinema but does not add to the narrative and only detracts from the film.

First 30 min its interesting, the rest is gripping.

For romance addicts. About a dozen romances rolled into one movie. Trying to be cute with some very dull performances and witless script. At times going for the shock effect, maybe OK if you like to be manipulated. Altogether boring, actually.

There was something boring about this, not sure why. Maybe the script was a bit empty. Convoluted plot too. Timothy Spall was wasted here.

Get : Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer instead.

Ben H. is spot-on.

It may be gaol but very gentle comedy.

Great war flick. Very tense at times. Watch out for Michel Simon as the train engineer, the greatest face of French cinema. All the characters are real (except perhaps for Lancaster who is too much of a hollywood star but nonetheless likeable) and you get to live along side of them.

Might have given it another star if I had managed to stay awake.

Interesting nostalgia but a clip or two of the man performing wouldn't have hurt, especially given the film is so short.

Interesting, a bit surreal.

To enjoy this film please before anything else wind down and relax. Dont have any pending jobs waiting immediately afterwards and don't be sleepy. The film is slow because there is not much movement and not much dialogue. Still enjoyable though.

Nothing exceptional from Woody, fairly routine production and story line. Just adequate.

I think this film portrays pretty well the decadence in American society that people talk. Very convincing performances.

Didn't quite work for me. By the end I still didn't know what was 'biting ' the girl, what was her sexual hangup. Good black and white camera work though. Interesting how this good looking girl working in the beauty industry could live in such squallor.

I'll go with the minority on this one and agree with whoever said the film was annoying. The central idea had promise but the execution left wanting in a few departments. Not sure what is literate about this, maybe the book. In the final analysis this is just a romance dressed in pretential aspirations.

Yes, good performances all round but for some reason I found the experience a bit empty. I really didn't care who survived at the end. The burning question on the morality of the Nazi quest is never dealt with and Hitler's rantings go unchallenged by all around him (as it happens in dictatorships). The film was partly based on a book by Hitler's last secretary. She was 'gaga" eyed at his idol and over the moon at being given a job with the 'Furer'. She didn't know much about what she was witnessing and I think it shows in the film. The politics was beyond her and all the discussions of the generals are disjointed and shown only as snippets and impressions. Even so, worth watching.

Confronting is a good word for it. Entertaining? If you like it in your face. It is interesting though to see how one's empathies and feelings towards the characters change as the events preceeding the first scene get reavealed. At the beginning of the film I took an immediate dislike for the main character but as the film unfolds I began to justify his actions Interesting method of telling a story.

Those were the days! The Moody Blues at their best period, brilliant original compositions, great harmonies, interesting arrangements. But this video quality is perhaps more historical and nostalgic value for the fans rather than entertainment for today. The quality is a bit poor. But worse still is the dubbing of several of songs here. I would rather have listened to the original sound however bad in quality. The un-dubbed songs show just how good this band really was. If you are a fan do not miss it.

A little disappointing after watching a short film about killing. It was difficult to identify with the young man in the story.

Gripping recount, masterly directed story with a point to make and with adequate acting.

OK, I really want to give this four and a half. It fails to get a five only because as I read elsewhere yes it fails to grip at times. There isn't a great deal of drama. The drama is actually happening off screen in the political and social struggle of the times. But (a very big but) this film is sheer class. It never undersells its audience, offering a sort of worldly tragedy in an exquisitely masterly film production. Yes its like a painting encapsulating a moment in history, quite moving and beautiful. Definitely one for the 1001 films you must see before you die!

Agree with most of what's written here

It's unanimous, the dubbing is very annoying, otherwise a memorable film. Some of the images stay on. Living in freezing conditions among the cows! A very telling film of feudal Europe.

Good social comment type of movie of that era. I wish Margaret Rutherford had played the rich woman. Sellers is great here.

Hilary is sweet. Fun for the family.

The down note at the end is a bummer just like life. I did want a happy ending but no, Huston is a saddist, albeit a great one.

Closer to what? Apart from some infidelities I can't remember much of this film...Maybe I fell asleep.

Huge international success for Sellers and Kubrick, I still prefer Seller's other lesser films he made in the British backlots.

Good insight into the upcoming New Indian Rich jet-set.

Labourious and long, theatre at the movies with imaginary props and pretentiousness.

Just a bit of fun for Matthau fans. In one eye/ear and out the other.

As noted elsewhere the plot has some credibility gaps. It is however a rivetting film with great performances (Kingsley) and great drama.

Bit of a yawn, saved by Goodman's performance.

Stylish photography (using lots of camera lenses to good effect) with a harrowing end. Interesting incidental travelogue too.

Very watchable, well paced, and Rampling is good (as always) though the story has an almost predictable twist.

Even at three and a half hours it never bores. Beautiful Technicolor, fantastic cast of thousands, great story and great tricks (without computer graphics). Wonderful.

Hanks is good but its a bit long, and sickly sentimental at times.

Just a bit of fun

Love to watch Charlotte.

Do homosexual men really find women's bodies obscene? Or was it only the man in this film? He didnt seem to have any trouble getting turned on by her! This film is not what I'd call family entertainment, but equally I can't see that it's as shocking as some people make it out to be. Dialogue could've been a little 'fuller' but otherwise, OK.

If your interest in films excludes sex as a topic avoid this film, otherwise proceed. The only problem I found with this film is credibility. So I suspended mine and enjoyed the quirky personality of the girl.

I am highly disappointed with this. I'm not sure the director knew exactly what he wanted to say with this but he obviously didn't like Sellers. We get lots of bits of everything and no real direction. He throws in Sellers' relationship with two of his wives and ignores the other two. He looks at Sellers' late and internationally renowened films but merely mentions in passing his earlier great works. He focuses on the actor's erratic moments and never shows us his other side. Rush's performance however can't be faulted and does enaugh to save the film.

I have seen it several times and much has been written about this film. My two cents worth of opinion is that if you had to see only one film from this period, this would have to be it. This film is as perfect as any can be. It has a good pace; it is compact and every scene counts; it has wonderful characters, each one interesting; it deals with big themes; it tells a story which encapsulates the period; the dialogue is tight; the humour is warm; the tragedy worldly; the personal triumphs inspiring. And ofcourse beautiful Ingrid Bergman is alone worth the price of admission.

Audrey really does still the show here, as in most of her movies. On second viewing this film does stand up pretty well, probably thanks largely to Wyler's direction. Humphrey looks pretty grumpy here though and it is hard to see why a young pretty girl like Sabrina would switch her allegience from the dashing David (Holden). Only in movies!

This film has a "B" grade feel about it; and Humphrey seems to be doing a nine-to-five job here. Bacall is captivating as ever though.

All a bit mixed up to begin with, eventually clears up, but no, only a maybe.

A bit timid and quiet the film never overstates its obvious targets of ridicule, the Brittish ruling class and bungling government. Terri-Tomas and Sellers are a bit subdued but still worth the watch.

Great voices from Peter Ustinov, Terri-Thomas and others make this cartoon immensly enjoyable. It hits a bit harder than most other Disney movies.

A lovely film for an oldie like me (in my fifties) and even my daughter at ten years old. Audrey is beautiful here and Rome is charming with fewer cars. Thoroughly recommended classic. A film from another world.

I don't dish out 5 stars for too many films but this one gets it without hesitation. This film can be enjoyed in many levels, there's even a bit of slapstick, though don't let that put you off it as it is very estrained. But you will enjoy the characters as they are drawn so close to reality and brilliantly acted by ace stars of the day. Peter Sellers was never better than here as Mr Kite the Union leader. He cleverly under-plays it to make him totally believable, and representative of union leaders (if we are allowed to generalize). Terri-Thomas read his role to a tee, as the manager with an eye firmly fixed on the golf course whilst paying lip-service to his job, and yet so likable. Margaret Rutherford as the upwardly ambitious upper-class aunt who was probably born for the part. Carmichael as Stanley the naive pawn in their game makes you want to believe in his innocent, if not decent world he thinks he lives in - until the veneers of his vision come crushing down in the end. There is much one can write about this satire and much has been written and very little negative.

Classic performances by Joplin (and a bit of the Dead too) make this film worth watching. Some of the superfluous padding however should have been cut.(But it matters not when you have a fast-forward button).

Sentimental yawn with some good photography but not enaugh to save it.

Compulsory viewing even if you have no interest in film study. Anthony Perkins is perfect here, unlike in many of his other films.

Interesting for its subject matter(based on Kafka's novel) this film never really delivers, partly due to poor casting (Anthony Perkins as Mr.K.), poor acting by some of the rest, poor editing (especially the courtroom scenes) and a lot of mumbling throughout the dialogue, none more than Orson Welles' (and the dvd had no sub-text). A deliciously dark and gloomy back-drop around Zagreb however, and the fact that Welles considers this his best film make it still worth watching. Someone should really re-make this film properly.

Definitely under-rated, this film is an interesting study of two teenage sisters going through their growing-up pains. The ending was a bit unexpected but not to it's detriment. If you enjoy this one try also the Director's other film "Romance"

You only need to browse the internet a little to realize that human sexual behaviour is many and varied. This film deals with some of it through the person of a slightly tormented musician. I found the film totally absorbing and unpredictable. I would give it five stars if I wasn't so stingy!

Bad acting + excessive violence = not my kind of film. But by the comments on this site I am odd-man out. Good film tricks though so maybe.

A fascinating peep into the absurd world of a country managed by incompetent ideologues. The film could have ventured a little bit into the tribal nature of the 'government' but maybe that's for another film.

The story-line sounded ok but could not get through far with this on account of the compulsive, bad language and dislikable characters.

Can't ask for better in family entertainment. A lot of dog and other animal action. Well cast and straight forward story telling with colourful characters... Disney at its best.

Not Bogart's best but still enjoyable. The girlfriend's dog steals the show.

A landmark film for students of cinema.

Wonderful vintage hollywood, where every scene counts and entertains. Good place to get to know 'Bogie and Bacall', and then all their other films of that era.

Definitely a kid's film only (unlike Shrek) or harmless family time passer.

No, I couldnt go all the way with this one. I just couldnt swallow the inevitable romance side-plot and cliche asides designed to fill the audience with the issues of the day. Best to go with Spencer Tracy in Judgement at Nuremberg.

Interesting for its illustration of human's ability to adapt and even love alien environments. Beautifully photographed in Kenya and thoughtfully cast. Based on a biographical book, it focuses on the marital relationship more than the adventure of relocation and the new life in Africa but it is still fascinating viewing.

One thing you get from this film is that Mitchum is no Bogart and Rampling though similar in style she is no Bacall. Still enjoyable though, particularly if you are familiar with the genre.

Lending to conspiracy theories and somewhat contrived in its trendily derived story line but entertaining nonetheless. Just a bit irritating at times with its attempts to visually represent the brainwashing endured by the soldiers.

Suspenseful, small budget little good looking black and white film directed by a master

Enjoyable but eminently forgetable

Excellent classic courtroom drama, with legend actors dealing with a big theme. Beautiful black and white photography. A must for all fans of great cinema.