| Contact: | goodger@python.org |
|---|---|
| Updated: | 2008-08-18 |
Note
Here’s my wish list for anybody who would like to help me expand my collection. I also have an Amazon.ca wish list; FutureShop.ca may be cheaper though.
Many of these films contain hidden features, which I’ve collected in my easter eggs file.
Contents
A warped, twisted, and brilliant film from the director that brought us Brazil and Time Bandits. Rewards multiple viewings with fresh insights and details.
| Released: | 1995 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | drama/thriller/SF |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 2h10m |
| Rating: | 14A |
| Edition: | “Collector’s Edition” |
| Director: | Terry Gilliam |
| Screenplay: | David Webb Peoples & Janet Peoples; inspired by the film “La Jetée” by Chris Marker |
| Starring: | Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer |
| Plot: | A convict, sent back in time to stop a devastating plague, is sent too far back and is hospitalized as insane. |
| Links: | IMDb |
Powerful, raw, heroic, ultra-violent, stunning, and brilliant. An impeccable, immensely entertaining adaptation.
| Released: | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | action/drama/history/war |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h56m |
| Rating: | 18A |
| Edition: | “Two-Disc Special Edition” |
| Features: | commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes |
| Director: | Zack Snyder |
| Screenplay: | Zack Snyder & Kurt Johnstad and Michael B. Gordon, based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley |
| Starring: | Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominic West, David Wenham, Vincent Regan, Michael Fassbender |
| Plot: | Xerxes and the enormous army of the Persian Empire are poised to conquer Greece. King Leonidas and his band of 300 Spartan warriors must hold the pass at Thermopylae at all costs. |
| Links: | IMDb, easter egg, |
A classic.
| Released: | 1968 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | SF/adventure |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 2h28m |
| Rating: | PG |
| Edition: | “Stanley Kubrick Collection” |
| Director: | Stanley Kubrick |
| Screenplay: | Stanley Kubrick & Arthur C. Clarke |
| Starring: | Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Douglas Rain (voice) |
| Plot: | The assisted evolution of intelligence, the discovery of a sentinel, and an eventful mission to Jupiter to investigate. |
| Links: | IMDb |
Fun, funny, intelligent, and silly. An SF/comedy classic. Requires multiple viewings and a bit of the geek nature to get all the jokes. Great lines.
| Released: | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | adventure/romance/comedy/SF |
| Format: | widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h42m |
| Rating: | PG |
| Edition: | “Special Edition” |
| Features: | commentary, alternate opening, deleted scenes, documentaries, easter eggs |
| Director: | W.D. Richter |
| Screenplay: | Earl Mac Rauch |
| Starring: | Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Lloyd |
| Plot: | Adventurer/surgeon/physicist/rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his band of men, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, take on evil alien invaders from the 8th dimension. |
| Links: | IMDb, DVDReview.com, easter eggs, Banzai Institute, FAQ, Starland (merchandise) |
I had heard how bad this film was supposed to be. It was reviled by fans of the original series of animated shorts. Movie critics panned the film (once they were allowed to see it; it wasn’t pre-screened). I was ready to agree when I caught it on cable TV.
But I liked it. It’s nowhere near perfect, but it’s not bad at all. Never having seen the animated series, I wasn’t biased in any existing direction. I can understand the disappointment of true fans, but a feature film is a different medium from experimental shorts. The story may be too high-concept, complex, and serious for the typical “SF action” fan. The action is cool, but there’s not enough of it to call this an action movie. The story is hard SF with ideas, set in a utopian/dystopian future.
I hope a director’s cut is released someday; I’d love to see it.
We’re meant to die. It’s what makes anything about us matter.
—Æon
| AKA: | Aeon Flux |
|---|---|
| Released: | 2005 |
| Genre: | action/adventure/drama/romance/SF/thriller |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h32m |
| Rating: | 14A |
| Edition: | “Special Collector’s Edition” |
| Features: | commentaries, featurettes |
| Director: | Karyn Kusama |
| Screenplay: | Phil Hay & Matt Manfredi, based on characters by Peter Chung |
| Starring: | Charlize Theron, Marton Csokas, Jonny Lee Miller, Sophie Okonedo, Frances McDormand, Pete Postlethwaite |
| Plot: | Aeon Flux is a highly-trained assassin working for a group of rebels trying to overthrow the government of a future “utopia”. Sent on a mission to kill the Chairman, a clue from her forgotten past is revealed and the true nature of her world is revealed. |
| Links: | IMDb |
Alien is great horror/SF, and Aliens is great action/SF. The third and fourth films don’t really compare, but it’s nice to have them for completeness. (I don’t know about AVP; haven’t seen it yet.) And we’ll just overlook the fact that “quadrilogy” isn’t even a real word (“tetralogy” is correct, if awkward).
Each of the Alien films has a theatrical version and an alternate or “director’s cut”. Runtimes and some ratings differ between the two versions. The information for the two versions is shown slash-separated, as “theatrical/alternate”.
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
|---|---|
| Edition: | “Alien Quadrilogy” boxed set (9 discs) |
| Features: | 2 discs per film: disc 1 contains the films with commentaries, and disc 2 contains featurettes and extras. Plus there’s an extra disk with a documentary, a Q&A with Ridley Scott, and archives. |
Groundbreaking horror/SF. Its success stems from suspense due to its restraint—we don’t actually see the alien until quite late in the film.
| Released: | 1979 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | SF/horror/thriller |
| Runtime: | 1h57m/1h56m |
| Rating: | 18A/14A |
| Director: | Ridley Scott |
| Screenplay: | Dan O’Bannon; story by Dan O’Bannon & Ronald Shusett |
| Starring: | Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto |
| Plot: | When commercial towing vehicle Nostromo, heading back to Earth, intercepts an SoS signal from a nearby planet, the crew are under obligation to investigate. After a bad landing on the planet, some crew members leave the ship to explore the area. At the same time as they discover a hive colony of some unknown creature, the ship’s computer deciphers the message to be a warning, not a call for help. When one of the eggs is disturbed, the crew do not know the danger they are in until it is too late. |
| Links: | IMDb, DVDReview.com |
Great action; a worthy sequel.
| Released: | 1986 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | SF/action/thriller/horror |
| Runtime: | 2h17m/2h34m |
| Rating: | 18A |
| Director: | James Cameron |
| Screenplay: | James Cameron; story by James Cameron, David Giler &, Walter Hill; based on characters by Dan O’Bannon & Ronald Shusett |
| Starring: | Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser, Bill Paxton, William Hope, Jenette Goldstein, Al Matthews |
| Plot: | The only survivor of the Nostromo, Ripley is discovered in deep sleep half a century later by a salvage ship. When she is taken back to Earth, she learns that a human colony was founded on the same planet where the aliens were first found. After contact with the colony is lost, she finds herself sent back to the planet along with a team of warriors bent on destroying the alien menace forever, and saving any survivors—if any remain. |
| Links: | IMDb, easter eggs |
| Released: | 1992 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | action/horror/SF/thriller/drama |
| Runtime: | 1h54m/2h25m |
| Rating: | 18A |
| Director: | David Fincher |
| Screenplay: | David Giler, Walter Hill, & Larry Ferguson; story by Vincent Ward; characters by Dan O’Bannon & Ronald Shusett |
| Starring: | Sigourney Weaver, Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance |
| Plot: | After escaping from the alien planet, the ship carrying Ellen Ripley crashes onto a remote prison colony. While awaiting rescue, Ripley discovers the horrifying reason for her crash: an alien stowaway. As the alien matures and begins to kill off the inhabitants, Ripley is unaware that her true enemy is more than just the killer alien. |
| Links: | IMDb |
| Released: | 1997 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | SF/action/horror/thriller |
| Runtime: | 1h49/1h56 |
| Rating: | 18A |
| Director: | Jean-Pierre Jeunet |
| Screenplay: | Joss Whedon; characters by Dan O’Bannon & Ronald Shusett |
| Starring: | Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Dominique Pinon, Ron Perlman, Gary Dourdan, Michael Wincott, Kim Flowers, Dan Hedaya, J.E. Freeman, Brad Dourif |
| Plot: | 200 years after her death, Ellen Ripley is revived as a research clone who finds that she must continue her war against the aliens. |
| Links: | IMDb |
Not a good movie. Eye candy worth $6.
| AKA: | AVP |
|---|---|
| Released: | 2004 |
| Genre: | action/adventure/horror/SF/thriller |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h49m |
| Rating: | 14A |
| Edition: | “The Unrated Edition” (2 discs) |
| Features: | theatrical & unrated extended cuts; commentaries; featurettes; documentary; comic book |
| Director: | Paul W.S. Anderson |
| Screenplay: | Paul W.S. Anderson; screen story by Paul W.S. Anderson and Dan O’Bannon & Ronald Shusett |
| Starring: | Sanaa Lathan, Raoul Bova, Lance Henriksen, Ewen Bremner |
| Plot: | The discovery of an ancient pyramid buried in Antarctica sends a team of scientists and adventurers to the frozen continent. There, they make an even more terrifying discovery: two alien races engaged in an all-out war. |
| Links: | IMDb |
Cool ideas, dated effects. Worth the price ($9CDN), but not much more.
| Released: | 1980 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | drama/horror/SF |
| Format: | widescreen & fullscreen |
| Runtime: | 1h43m |
| Rating: | 14A |
| Director: | Ken Russell |
| Screenplay: | Paddy Chayefsky (a.k.a. Sidney Aaron) from his novel |
| Starring: | William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban, Charles Haid |
| Plot: | A Harvard scientist conducts experiments on himself with a hallucinatory drug and an isolation chamber, allowing him to access genetic memory, but it may be causing him to regress genetically. |
| Links: | IMDb |
Gift from Mayumi, birthday 2008.
| Released: | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | drama/music |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 3h0m |
| Rating: | 14A (not sure why; G/Quebec) |
| Edition: | “Special Edition Director’s Cut” (2 discs) |
| Features: | documentary, commentary |
| Director: | Milos Forman |
| Screenplay: | Peter Shaffer |
| Starring: | F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Simon Callow, Roy Dotrice, Christine Ebersole, Jeffrey Jones, Charles Kay, Kenneth McMillan |
| Plot: | In 1781 Vienna, court composer Antonio Salieri is maddened with envy after discovering that the divine musical gifts he desires for himself have been bestowed on he bawdy impish Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whom he plots to destroy by any means necessar. |
| Links: | IMDb |
| Released: | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | drama/comedy |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h41m |
| Rating: | PG |
| Features: | commentary; comic book insert |
| Director: | Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini |
| Screenplay: | Robert Pulcini & Shari Springer Berman; based on the comic book series “American Splendor” by Harvey Pekar and “Our Cancer Year” by Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner |
| Starring: | Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis, Harvey Pekar |
| Plot: | An original mix of fiction and reality illuminates the life of comic book hero everyman Harvey Pekar. |
| Links: | IMDb, easter eggs |
A great blend of humor and horror.
| Released: | 1981 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | horror/comedy/romance/thriller |
| Format: | widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h38m |
| Rating: | R |
| Edition: | “Collector’s Edition” |
| Features: | commentary, featurettes, extras |
| Director: | John Landis |
| Screenplay: | John Landis |
| Starring: | David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Gruffin Dunne, John Woodvine |
| Plot: | It’s a rainy night on the moors of northern England. Two American students on a walking tour of Europe trudge on to the next town, when suddenly the air is pierced by an unearthly howl... Three weeks later, one is dead, the other is in the hospital, and the nightmare begins. |
| Links: | IMDb, DVDReview.com, easter eggs |
Extremely funny & silly.
| Released: | 1971 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | comedy |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen |
| Runtime: | 1h30m |
| Rating: | G/Quebec |
| Director: | Ian MacNaughton |
| Screenplay: | Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin |
| Starring: | Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Carol Cleveland, Connie Booth |
| Plot: | An anthology of Monty Python’s best sketches from their 1st & 2nd seasons of their original TV show. |
| Links: | IMDb |
An SF classic.
| Released: | 1971 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | SF/mystery |
| Format: | widescreen |
| Runtime: | 2h11m |
| Rating: | PG |
| Director: | Robert Wise |
| Screenplay: | Nelson Gidding, from the novel by Michael Crichton |
| Starring: | Arthur Hill, David Wayne, James Olson, Kate Reid |
| Plot: | After an errant satellite crashes to Earth near a remote New Mexico village, the recovery team discovers that almost everyone in the town are victims of a horrible death, with the mysterious exception of an infant and an old homeless man. The survivors are brought to a state-of-the-art laboratory, descending five stories beneath the ground where the puzzled scientists race against time to determine the nature of the deadly microbe before it wreaks worldwide havoc. |
| Links: | IMDb |
| Released: | 1987 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | horror/mystery/thriller |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h52m |
| Rating: | R/MPAA |
| Edition: | “Special Edition” |
| Features: | commentaries, interviews, documentaries |
| Director: | Alan Parker |
| Screenplay: | Alan Parker, based on a novel by William Hjortsberg |
| Starring: | Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling |
| Plot: | Investigator Harry Angel has a new case, to find a man called Johnny Favourite. Except things aren’t quite that simple, and Johnny doesn’t want to be found. |
| Links: | IMDb |
A classic comedy.
| AKA: | National Lampoon’s Amimal House |
|---|---|
| Released: | 1978 |
| Genre: | comedy |
| Format: | widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h49m |
| Rating: | 18A |
| Edition: | “Double Secret Probation Edition” |
| Features: | mockumentary, music video |
| Director: | John Landis |
| Screenplay: | Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney, Chris Miller |
| Starring: | John Belushi, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Tom Hulce |
| Plot: | At a 1962 College, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the Delta House Fraternity, but those roughhousers have other plans for him. |
| Links: | IMDb |
Quirky and fun.
| AKA: | Out of Rosenheim |
|---|---|
| Released: | 1987 |
| Genre: | comedy/drama |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h32m |
| Rating: | PG |
| Features: | trailer |
| Director: | Percy Adlon |
| Screenplay: | Percy & Eleonore Adlon & Christopher Doherty |
| Starring: | Marianne Sägebrecht, CCH Pounder, Jack Palance |
| Plot: | Drawn to a pair of lights in the barren American desert sky, a mysterious German woman, Jasmin, stumbles upon a dilapidated motel/diner in the middle of nowhere. Her unusual appearance and demeanor are at first suspicious to Brenda, the exasperated owner who has difficulty making ends meet. |
| Links: | IMDb |
One of the campiest films ever. Jane Fonda is at her pinup-girl height (or depth) and looked great when this was released—the year I was born.
| AKA: | Barbarella: Queen of the Galaxy |
|---|---|
| Released: | 1968 |
| Genre: | adventure/SF/fantasy |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h38m |
| Rating: | 14A |
| Features: | trailer |
| Director: | Roger Vadim |
| Screenplay: | Terry Southern, from the comic by Jean-Claude Forest with Claude Brulé |
| Starring: | Jane Fonda, John Phillip Law, Anita Pallenberg, Milo O’Shea, Marcel Marceau |
| Plot: | In the far future, a highly sexual woman is tasked with finding and stopping the evil Durand-Durand. Along the way she encounters various unusual people. |
| Links: | IMDb |
| Released: | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | action/adventure/crime/thriller |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 2h20m |
| Rating: | PG |
| Director: | |
| Screenplay: | Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer; story by David S. Goyer; based on characters by Bob Kane |
| Starring: | Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe, Morgan Freeman |
| Plot: | The story of how Bruce Wayne became what he was destined to be: Batman. |
| Links: | IMDb |
Gift from Kaito & Erika, birthday 2008.
| Released: | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | action/adventure/drama/fantasy |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h54m |
| Rating: | 14A |
| Edition: | “Director’s Cut” |
| Features: | deleted scenes, featurettes, three 3-D trading cards |
| Director: | Robert Zemeckis |
| Screenplay: | Neil Gaiman & Roger Avary |
| Starring: | Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman, Angelina Jolie |
| Plot: | The warrior Beowulf must fight and defeat the monster Grendel who is terrorizing towns, and later, Grendel’s mother, who begins killing out of revenge. |
| Links: | IMDb, easter eggs |
“Do you mean sleep over? Well, okay... but I get to be on top!”
| Released: | 1988 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | comedy/drama/family/fantasy/romance |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h44m |
| Rating: | PG |
| Director: | Penny Marshall |
| Screenplay: | Gary Ross & Anne Spielberg |
| Starring: | Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia, John Heard, Jared Rushton |
| Plot: | When a boy wishes to be big at a magic wish machine, he wakes up the next morning and finds himself in an adult body literally overnight. |
| Links: | IMDb |
“That rug really tied the room together.”
| Released: | 1998 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | comedy/crime/mystery |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h57m |
| Rating: | 18A |
| Edition: | “Collector’s Edition” |
| Features: | Jeff Bridges’ Photography, “Making of” featurette |
| Director: | Joel Coen |
| Screenplay: | Ethan Coen & Joel Coen |
| Starring: | Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, David Huddleston, Philip Seymour Hoffman |
| Plot: | “Dude” Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire Lebowski, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it. |
| Links: | IMDb |
A lot of fun. An fantasy/comedy classic. Contains many great lines and exchanges; here’s a sample:
It’s all in the reflexes.
—Jack Burton
Would you just stop rubbing your body up against mine, because I can’t concentrate when you do that.
—Jack Burton to Gracie Law
A brave man likes the feel of nature on his face.
And a wise man has enough sense to get out of the rain!
—Wang Chi & Egg Shen
Ready? I was BORN ready.
—Jack Burton
Who are these people? Friends of yours? Now this really pisses me off to no end!
—Lo Pan
Are you crazy, is that your problem?
—Jack Burton
And Ching Dai will be happy and my curse will be lifted!
And you go off and rule the universe from beyond the grave.
Indeed!
Or check into a psycho ward, whichever comes first, huh?
—Jack Burton & Lo Pan
A much cheaper 1-disc edition is available.
| Released: | 1986 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | action/fantasy/adventure/comedy |
| Format: | widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h39m |
| Rating: | 14A |
| Edition: | 2-disc “Special Edition” |
| Features: | commentary, deleted scenes, featurette, extras |
| Director: | John Carpenter |
| Screenplay: | Gary Goldman & David Z. Weinstein, adapted by W.D. Richter |
| Starring: | Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James Hong, Victor Wong |
| Plot: | Jack Burton, an All-American trucker, gets dragged into a centuries-old mystical battle in Chinatown. |
| Links: | IMDb, DVDReview.com, easter eggs, The Wing Kong Exchange |
For Kaito, March 2007. Found it second-hand in Dallas.
| Released: | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | animation/action/adventure/fantasy |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h14m |
| Rating: | PG/MPAA |
| Features: | commentary; deleted scenes; featurette |
| Director: | David Molina & Terry Shakespeare |
| Screenplay: | Henry Gilroy, Alastair Swinnerton, Bob Thompson, Greg Weisman, Tracy Berna |
| Plot: | The spirit that protects the islands of Mata Nui is put into a deep sleep, causing the islands to crumble into the ocean, and three islanders must use the Mask of Light to save it. |
| Links: | IMDb |
Tragic and comic; the last minute pays for all. An excellent soundtrack by Peter Gabriel consists of instrumental versions of songs from his 3rd & 4th solo albums.
| Released: | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | drama/war |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen |
| Runtime: | 2h |
| Rating: | R/MPAA |
| Director: | Alan Parker |
| Screenplay: | Sandy Kroopf and Jack Behr, based on the novel by William Wharton |
| Starring: | Matthew Modine, Nicolas Cage |
| Plot: | Two young men are seriously affected by the Vietnam war. One of them has always been obsessed with birds—but now believes he really is a bird, and has been sent to a mental hospital. His friend tries help him pull through. |
| Links: | IMDb |
Brutal. Beautiful. Moving. Stunning. Compelling. Magnificent.
A cinematic masterpiece: visuals, music, and emotion.
Some love it, others don’t get it. It’s a classic.
I saw it in the theater in 1982, and from the first scene, the “Hades” flyover with Vangelis’ music, I was blown away.
It’s very different in plot details from Philip K. Dick’s novel, but it captures the essence very well (unlike most other PKD adaptations).
My copy of the “Director’s Cut” was a gift from Mayumi, spring 2003. My “Ultimate Collector’s Edition” (“limited edition gift set”: a briefcase containing a model spinner, a plastic origami unicorn, a motion film clip, and an art folio) was a gift from Mayumi, Christmas 2007.
| Released: | 1982, 1992, 2007 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | action/SF/drama |
| Format: | widescreen & fullscreen |
| Runtime: | 1h57m |
| Rating: | 14A |
| Edition: | “Five-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition” |
| Features: | 5 versions of the film (1982 US Theatrical Cut, 1982 International Theatrical Cut, 1992 Director’s Cut, pre-release workprint, 2007 Final Cut), commentaries, “Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner” documentary (3h34m), “Enhancement Archive” disc, featurette |
| Director: | Ridley Scott |
| Screenplay: | Hampton Fancher & David Peoples, from the novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick |
| Starring: | Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, M. Emmet Walsh, Daryl Hannah, William Sanderson, Brion James, Joe Turkel, Joanna Cassidy, James Hong, Morgan Paull |
| Plot: | Deckard, a blade runner, has to track down and terminate 5 replicants who hijacked a ship in space and have returned to earth seeking their maker. |
| Links: | IMDb, BRmovie.com, “On-Line Magazine”, 2019: Off-World, Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner |
Beware the baked beans!
| Released: | 1974 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | comedy/western |
| Format: | widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h33m |
| Rating: | R/MPAA |
| Edition: | “30th Anniversary Special Edition” |
| Features: | commentary, documentaries, TV spinoff pilot, deleted scenes |
| Director: | Mel Brooks |
| Screenplay: | Mel Brooks, Norman Steinberg, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Alan Uger; story by Andrew Bergman |
| Starring: | Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Slim Pickens, Mel Brooks, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn |
| Plot: | To ruin a western town, a corrupt political boss appoints a new sheriff, who happens to be black, and who promptly becomes his most formidable adversary. |
| Links: | IMDb |
A satisfying remake of the Zatoichi story.
| Released: | 1989 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | action |
| Format: | widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h24m |
| Rating: | R/MPAA |
| Edition: | “Double Feature” (double-sided disc with Omega Doom, a piece of crap) |
| Director: | Phillip Noyce |
| Screenplay: | Charles Robert Carner, from an earlier screenplay by Ryozo Kasahara |
| Starring: | Rutger Hauer, Terrance O’Quinn, Noble Willingham, Lisa Blount, Randall “Tex” Cobb |
| Plot: | A blind Vietnam vet, trained as a swordfighter, returns home and helps to rescue the son of a friend and fellow soldier. |
| Links: | IMDb |
| Released: | 1981 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | crime/mystery/thriller |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen |
| Runtime: | 1h48m |
| Rating: | 18A |
| Director: | Brian De Palma |
| Screenplay: | Brian De Palma |
| Starring: | John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz |
| Plot: | A sound man accidentally records the evidence that proves a car “accident” was murder, and consequently finds himself in danger. |
| Links: | IMDb |
A classic comedy.
| Released: | 1980 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | action/comedy/music |
| Format: | widescreen |
| Runtime: | 2h28m |
| Rating: | 14A |
| Edition: | “Collector’s Edition” |
| Features: | expanded version, documentary |
| Director: | John Landis |
| Screenplay: | Dan Aykroyd, John Landis |
| Starring: | John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd |
| Plot: | Jake Blues, just released from prison, and his brother Elwood put together their old band to save the orphanage where the brothers were raised. They’re on a mission from God. |
| Links: | IMDb |
Sexy and fun.
| Released: | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | mystery/thriller |
| Format: | widescreen & fullscreen |
| Runtime: | 1h54m |
| Rating: | R |
| Director: | Brian De Palma |
| Screenplay: | Robert J. Avrech & Brian De Palma; story by Brian De Palma |
| Starring: | Craig Wasson, Melanie Griffith, Gregg Henry |
| Plot: | Jake, an unemployed actor is asked to house-sit a luxurious hillside home, equipped with a telescope through which he can spy on a neighbor’s arousing striptease. Jake discovers another man is also spying on her, but with murderous aims. |
| Links: | IMDb |
A wildly imaginative, funny, tragic, controversial, and entertaining masterpiece.
Harry Tuttle: Bloody paperwork. Huh! Sam Lowry: I suppose one has to expect a certain amount. Harry Tuttle: Why? I came into this game for the action, the excitement. Go anywhere, travel light, get in, get out, wherever there’s trouble, a man alone. Now they got the whole country sectioned off. You can’t make a move without a form.
Harry Tuttle: Listen, kid, we’re all in it together.
Holly: Put it on, big boy. I won’t look at your willy.
Mrs. Terrain: My complication had a little complication.
Harry Tuttle: We’re all in it together, kid.
Sam Lowry: You don’t exist anymore. I’ve killed you. Jill Layton is dead. Jill Layton: Care for a little necrophilia? Hmmm?
| Released: | 1985 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | comedy/drama/fantasy/SF |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 2h22m |
| Rating: | G/Quebec (R/MPAA!) |
| Edition: | Criterion Collection boxed set (3 discs) |
| Features: | director’s cut, butchered “Love Conquers All” U.S. theatrical release, commentary (both versions), documentaries, production notes |
| Director: | Terry Gilliam |
| Screenplay: | Terry Gilliam & Tom Stoppard & Charles McKeown |
| Starring: | Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Bob Hoskins, Michael Palin, Ian Richardson, Peter Vaughan, Kim Greist |
| Plot: | A bureaucrat in a retro-future world tries to correct an administrative error and himself becomes an enemy of the state. |
| Links: | IMDb |
A truly great film. Entertaining & inspiring.
| Released: | 1979 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | comedy/drama/sport |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen |
| Runtime: | 1h40m |
| Rating: | PG |
| Director: | Peter Yates |
| Screenplay: | Steve Tesich |
| Starring: | Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley, Barbara Barrie, Paul Dooley, Robyn Douglass |
| Plot: | When top-notch cyclist Dave learns that the world’s cycling champions are always Italian, he attempts to turn himself into an Italian, driving his parents crazy. But everything changes after he meets the Italian racing team—an encounter that ultimately leads him and his friends to challenge the local college boys in the town’s annual bike race. |
| Links: | IMDb |
A wonderful, thought-provoking, fun film.
| Released: | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | comedy/drama/SF |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h50m |
| Rating: | R/MPAA |
| Features: | commentary |
| Director: | John Sayles |
| Screenplay: | John Sayles |
| Starring: | Joe Morton |
| Plot: | A mute alien is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem. |
| Links: | IMDb |
Part of “The Essential Steve McQueen Collection” (6 film box set), a gift from my parents, birthday 2008.
| Released: | 1968 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | action/crime/drama/thriller |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h54m |
| Rating: | 14A |
| Edition: | “Two-Disc Special Edition” |
| Features: | commentary, documentaries, featurette |
| Director: | Peter Yates |
| Screenplay: | Alan R. Trustman & Harry Kleiner; novel “Mute Witness” by Robert L. Fish |
| Starring: | Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset, Don Gordon, Robert Duvall, Simon Oakland, Norman Fell |
| Plot: | An all guts, no glory San Francisco cop becomes determined to find the underworld kingpin that killed the witness in his protection. |
| Links: | IMDb |
Funny stuff.
| Released: | 1980 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | comedy/sport |
| Format: | widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h38m |
| Rating: | 14A |
| Edition: | “20th Anniversary” |
| Features: | documentary |
| Director: | Harold Ramis |
| Screenplay: | Brian Doyle-Murray & Harold Ramis & Douglas Kenney |
| Starring: | Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O’Keefe, Bill Murray |
| Plot: | An exclusive golf course has to deal with a brash new member and a destructive dancing gopher. |
| Links: | IMDb |
Gift for Kaito & Erika, Christmas 2006.
| Released: | 2006 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | animation/comedy/family |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h56m |
| Rating: | G |
| Features: | two animated shorts; deleted scenes; featurettes |
| Director: | John Lasseter & Joe Ranft |
| Screenplay: | Dan Fogelman & John Lasseter & Joe Ranft & Kiel Murray & Phil Lorin & Jorgen Klubien; story by John Lasseter & Joe Ranft & Jorgen Klubien |
| Starring: | voice talents of Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry The Cable Guy, Cheech Marin, Tony Shalhoub, Guido Quaroni, Jenifer Lewis, Paul Dooley, Michael Wallis, George Carlin, Katherine Helmond, John Ratzenberger, Joe Ranft, Michael Keaton |
| Plot: | A hot-shot race-car named Lightning McQueen gets waylaid in Radiator Springs, where he finds the true meaning of friendship and family. |
| Links: | IMDb easter egg |
The best Bond film... ever? Since Connery at least. (Mayumi’s purchase.)
| Released: | 2006 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | action/adventure/thriller |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 2h24m |
| Rating: | 14A |
| Edition: | (2 discs) |
| Features: | documentaries, music video |
| Director: | Martin Campbell |
| Screenplay: | Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and Paul Haggis; novel by Ian Fleming |
| Starring: | Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini |
| Plot: | In his first mission as a double-0, James Bond must stop Le Chiffre, a banker to the world’s terrorist organizations, from winning a high-stakes poker tournament at Casino Royale in Montenegro. |
| Links: | IMDb |
Stunning imagery.
| Released: | 2000 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | crime/horror/SF/thriller |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h47m |
| Rating: | MPAA/R |
| Features: | commentaries, deleted scenes, documentary, vignettes, extras |
| Director: | Tarsem Singh |
| Screenplay: | Mark Protosevich |
| Starring: | Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jake Weber |
| Plot: | A psychotherapist journeys inside the mind of a comatose serial killer in the hopes of saving his latest victim. |
| Links: | IMDb |
| Released: | 1997 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | comedy/romance/drama |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h53m |
| Rating: | 18A |
| Edition: | Criterion Collection |
| Features: | Commentary, deleted scenes, outtakes |
| Director: | Kevin Smith |
| Screenplay: | Kevin Smith |
| Starring: | Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Lee, Dwight Ewell, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith |
| Plot: | Everything is going well for comic book artist Holden until he meets Alyssa, another comic book artist. He falls for her, but his hopes are crushed when he finds out she’s a lesbian. |
| Links: | IMDb |
A gift to Erika, April 2004.
| AKA: | Ian Fleming’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang |
|---|---|
| Released: | 1968 |
| Genre: | family/comedy/musical/fantasy |
| Format: | widescreen & fullscreen |
| Runtime: | 2h24m |
| Rating: | G |
| Edition: | “Special Edition” (2 discs) |
| Features: | sing-along, featurettes |
| Director: | Ken Hughes |
| Screenplay: | Roald Dahl & Ken Hughes, from the novel by Ian Fleming |
| Starring: | Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Benny Hill |
| Plot: | An eccentric professor invents wacky machinery, but can’t seem to make ends meet. When he invents a revolutionary car, a foreign government becomes interested in it, and resorts to skullduggery to get their hands on it. |
| Links: | IMDb, DVDReview.com |
Part of “The Essential Steve McQueen Collection” (6 film box set), a gift from my parents, birthday 2008.
| Released: | 1965 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | drama |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h42m |
| Rating: | ? |
| Features: | commentaries, featurette |
| Director: | Norman Jewison |
| Screenplay: | Ring Lardner Jr. and Terry Southern; novel by Richard Jessup |
| Starring: | Steve McQueen, Edward G. Robinson, Ann-Margret, Karl Malden, Tuesday Weld |
| Plot: | An up-and-coming poker player tries to prove himself in a high-stakes match against a long-time master of the game. |
| Links: | IMDb |
| Released: | 1994 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | comedy |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h32m |
| Rating: | 18A |
| Edition: | “Clerks. X: Tenth Anniversary Edition” (3 discs) |
| Features: | theatrical version, unrated original version, commentaries, documentary, deleted scenes, animated funeral parlor scene (in the style of Clerks below) |
| Director: | Kevin Smith |
| Screenplay: | Kevin Smith |
| Starring: | Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Lisa Spoonhauer, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith |
| Plot: | A day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof. |
| Links: | IMDb |
TV series: 6 animated episodes.
Me and Silent Bob have an appointment at the gorilla cage. We’ve come to the conclusion that we need more gorillas in our empty lives.
—Jay, from episode 6
| Released: | 2000 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | comedy/animation |
| Format: | fullscreen |
| Runtime: | 2h10m |
| Rating: | 14A |
| Edition: | “Clerks Uncensored” (2 discs) |
| Features: | commentary, featurettes, intros by Jay & Silent Bob |
| Director: | Chris Bailey, Nicholas Filippi, Steve Loter |
| Screenplay: | David Mandel, Scott Mosier, Kevin Smith, Paul Dini, Brian Kelley |
| Starring: | (voices) Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith |
| Plot: | The continuing adventures of clerks Dante and Randal, who try to make the best of their menial labor, with no help from Jay and Silent Bob. |
| Links: | IMDb |
A worthy sequel, better than the original.
| Released: | 2006 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | comedy/drama |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h37m |
| Rating: | 18A |
| Edition: | “2-disc widescreen edition” |
| Features: | commentaries, deleted scenes, documentary, featurettes |
| Director: | Kevin Smith |
| Screenplay: | Kevin Smith |
| Starring: | Jeff Anderson, Brian O’Halloran, Rosario Dawson, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith |
| Plot: | Ten years after Clerks., Dante and Randal have become “funployees” at Mooby’s fast food. |
| Links: | IMDb, easter eggs |
Fancy a little of the old ultra-violence?
| Released: | 1971 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | crime/drama/SF |
| Format: | widescreen |
| Runtime: | 2h17m |
| Rating: | R |
| Edition: | “Stanley Kubrick Collection” |
| Director: | Stanley Kubrick |
| Screenplay: | Stanley Kubrick, based on the novel by Anthony Burgess |
| Starring: | Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Adrienne Corri, Miriam Karlin |
| Plot: | The adventures of a young man who loved a bit of the old ultra-violence, went to jail, volunteered for an experimental therapy and came out cured. Or was he? |
| Links: | IMDb, DVDReview.com |
A classic. Alien-contact SF taken seriously. “We are not alone.”
| Released: | 1977 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | adventure/drama/SF |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 2h17m |
| Rating: | PG |
| Edition: | 2-disc “Collector’s Edition” |
| Features: | Making-of documentary, featurette, deleted scenes, trailers, filmographies |
| Director: | Steven Spielberg |
| Screenplay: | Steven Spielberg |
| Starring: | Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, François Truffaut |
| Plot: | A line worker, after a encounter with UFOs, feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen. |
| Links: | IMDb |
Good SF with a message of hope.
| Released: | 1997 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | drama/SF/mystery |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 2h30m |
| Rating: | PG |
| Edition: | “Special Edition” |
| Features: | commentaries, featurettes |
| Director: | Robert Zemeckis |
| Screenplay: | James V. Hart & Michael Goldenberg, based on the novel by Carl Sagan, story by Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan |
| Starring: | Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, John Hurt, Tom Skerritt, Angela Bassett, David Morse, Jena Malone |
| Plot: | After years with the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI), Dr. Ellie Arroway finds conclusive radio proof of intelligent aliens, who send plans for a mysterious machine. |
| Links: | IMDb |
Stylized, dark (sometimes comedic), disturbing, brilliant, and well worth seeing. The uncensored version is definitely superior to the R-rated theatrical cut, but it’s interesting to contrast them and recognize the hypocrisy of the ratings boards, especially the MPAA.
| Released: | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | drama/romance/thriller |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h52m |
| Rating: | unrated |
| Edition: | “Unrated. Uncensored.” |
| Features: | commentary, deleted scenes |
| Director: | Ken Russell |
| Screenplay: | Barry Sandler |
| Starring: | Kathleen Turner, Anthony Perkins, John Laughlin, Bruce Davison |
| Plot: | A sportswear designer leads a double life as a hooker named China Blue. |
| Links: | IMDb |
| Released: | 1997 |
|---|---|
| Genre: | drama/horror/mystery/SF/thriller |
| Format: | anamorphic widescreen |
| Runtime: | 1h30m |
| Rating: | 18A |
| Edition: | “Special Edition” |