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Blade Runner - The Director's Cut
: essential video:When Ridley Scott's cut of Blade Runner was finally released in 1993, one had to wonder why the studio hadn't done it right the first time--11 years earlier. This version is so much better, mostly because of what's been eliminated (the ludicrous and redundant voice-over narration and the phony happy ending) rather than what's been added (a bit more character development and a brief unicorn dream). Star Harrison Ford originally recorded the narration under duress at the insistence of Warner Bros. executives who thought ...
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Intruders
: essential video:When Ridley Scott's cut of Blade Runner was finally released in 1993, one had to wonder why the studio hadn't done it right the first time--11 years earlier. This version is so much better, mostly because of what's been eliminated (the ludicrous and redundant voice-over narration and the phony happy ending) rather than what's been added (a bit more character development and a brief unicorn dream). Star Harrison Ford originally recorded the narration under duress at the insistence of Warner Bros. executives who thought ...
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Alien (20th Anniversary Widescreen Edition)
: essential video:A landmark of science fiction and horror, Alien arrived in 1979 between Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back as a stylishly malevolent alternative to George Lucas's space fantasy. Partially inspired by 1958's It! The Terror from Beyond Space, this instant classic set a tone of its own, offering richly detailed sets, ominous atmosphere, relentless suspense, and a flawless ensemble cast as the crew of the space freighter Nostromo, who fall prey to a vicious creature (designed by Swiss artist H.R. Giger) that had ...
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Reptile (Ws Spec)
: :John Gilling shot this supernatural thriller after wrapping Plague of the Zombies, using that film's locale and even some of the same sets. Noel Willman stars as the mysterious Dr. Franklyn, a reclusive nobleman with a beautiful daughter (Jacqueline Pearce) he keeps hidden away--and for good reason. His daughter carries a curse, the result of his forays into forbidden knowledge in the Far East, and transforms into an uncontrollable, snakelike creature who preys upon the local villagers. Gilling's spooky, mist-enshrouded countryside and foreboding interior atmosphere is ...
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Godzilla Vs Monster Zero
: :In the darkness behind Jupiter there lurks a heretofore undiscovered planet, Planet X, boasting beings of superior intelligence. The Planet X-ers are forced to live underground because of the havoc wreaked on the surface by Ghidra, the three-headed monster. Once discovered by our astronauts, including the ultra-hip Nick Adams (spouting such phrases as 'That's right, baby!' with innocent conviction), the Planet X-ers propose that they transport Godzilla and Rodan from Earth to their planet to help rid them of the Ghidra menace. Only, as it turns out, they have ...
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Alien Resurrection (Widescreen Edition)
: :Perhaps these films are like the Star Trek movies: The even-numbered episodes are the best ones. Certainly this film (directed by French stylist Jean-Pierre Jeunet) is an improvement over Alien 3, with a script that breathes exciting new life into the franchise. This chapter is set even further in the future, where scientists on a space colony have cloned both the alien and Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), who died in Alien 3; in doing so, however, they've mixed alien DNA with Ripley's human chromosomes, which gives Ripley surprising power ...
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12 Monkeys (Widescreen Edition)
: essential video:Inspired by Chris Marker's acclaimed short film La Jetée (which is included on the DVD Short 2: Dreams), 12 Monkeys combines intricate, intelligent storytelling with the uniquely imaginative vision of director Terry Gilliam. The story opens in the wintry wasteland of the year 2035, where a virulent plague has forced humans to live in a squalid, oppressively regimented underground. Bruce Willis plays a societal outcast who is given the opportunity to erase his criminal record by 'volunteering' to time-travel into the past to obtain a ...
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Star Wars Trilogy (Special Edition) (Widescreen)
: essential video:Was George Lucas's Star Wars Trilogy, the most anticipated DVD release ever, worth the wait? You bet. It's a must-have for any home theater, looking great, sounding great, and supplemented by generous bonus features. The Movies The Star Wars Trilogy had the rare distinction of becoming a cultural phenomenon, a defining event for its generation. On its surface, George Lucas's story is a rollicking and humorous space fantasy that owes debts to more influences than one can count on two hands, but filmgoers became ...
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A Clockwork Orange
: essential video:Stanley Kubrick's striking visual interpretation of Anthony Burgess's famous novel is a masterpiece. Malcolm McDowell delivers a clever, tongue-in-cheek performance as Alex, the leader of a quartet of droogs, a vicious group of young hoodlums who spend their nights stealing cars, fighting rival gangs, breaking into people's homes, and raping women. While other directors would simply exploit the violent elements of such a film without subtext, Kubrick maintains Burgess's dark, satirical social commentary. We watch Alex transform from a free-roaming miscreant into a convict ...
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Daimajin
: :Decked out in stone gray with a scowling jade-green war face, the 60-foot statue come to life, Majin, is one of the most impressive of giant Japanese monster movie threats, an irresistible force relentlessly driving ahead with the thundering echoes of his earthshaking steps. This unusual mix of the fantasy and samurai genres put Daiei into the rampaging monster business in 1966 with not one but three monumental adventures set in the feudal past. In the first of the trilogy, this massive statue rising up out ...
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