HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: leeper@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (mark.r.leeper)
Subject: DIGGSTOWN
Organization: AT&T
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 13:02:24 GMT

                                 DIGGSTOWN
                      A film review by Mark R. Leeper

          Capsule review:  DIGGSTOWN is a fast, smart film about a
     con job worthy of the "Mission Impossible" team.
     Unfortunately, it leaves holes and unanswered questions and
     has an ending that is just not completely satisfying.  It is,
     however, a good film to get the juices flowing.  Rating: +1
     (-4 to +4).  (Following the review will be a spoiler section
     presenting script problems.)

     Gabriel Caine (played by James Woods) is a con man about to be paroled
and he is not waiting to be released to get into mischief.  He has a scam in
mind that could leave him owning a sizable piece of a redneck town.
Diggstown is a town that lives and dies for boxing.  It is named for a local
boxing legend who once took on five men in one day.  Now the town is
covertly owned by John Gillon (played by Bruce Dern) who runs the town like
a king.  Caine, with a little help from some friends like card sharp and
hustler Fitz (played by Oliver Platt) and a boxer, "Honey" Roy Palmer
(played by Louis Gossett, Jr.) is going to put the squeeze on John Gillon
in an absurd bet that Palmer can take on any ten locals.  Once these two men
set up an honorable bet, each is going to cheat in any way possible to win.

     Steven McKay's screenplay based on Leonard Wise's novel THE DIGGSTOWN
RANGERS races and forces the viewer to work hard to keep up with everything
that is happening in DIGGSTOWN's 97 minutes.  This dialogue is fast and
funny, though the film's best line (starting "Just remember") is reportedly
an ad lib by Woods clever enough that the trailer is built around it.
DIGGSTOWN is directed by Michael Ritchie, who at some time decided to
concentrate on sports films like SEMI-TOUGH, DOWNHILL RACER, THE BAD NEWS
BEARS, and WILDCATS.  That may be a pity, since his one really superb film,
SMILE is about a beauty pageant rather than sports.  Ritchie's DIGGSTOWN is
not as good as SMILE, but it is diverting.  I give it a +1 on the -4 to +4
scale.

     (Spoilers)


     There are problems with the screenplay.  One is that Caine is entirely
too brilliant at knowing what his opponent will do.  He is prepared for
eventualities that he would have no reason to suspect would happen.  Also,
for him to choose the right set of the ten boxers to involve in his plan
requires knowledge that he is unlikely to have had.  Finally, the punishment
at the end seems surprisingly mild when one considers what has happened
before.

					Mark R. Leeper
					att!mtgzy!leeper
					leeper@mtgzy.att.com
					Copyright 1992 Mark R. Leeper
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
From: smith@panther.adelphi.edu (Jim Smith)
Subject: Re: Rip-Offs <and on and on>
Organization: Adelphi University Swirbul Library
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 15:49:13 GMT

In article <1992Aug11.055110.7576@engage.pko.dec.com> boyajian@ruby.enet.dec.com (The Man from Another Place) writes:

>In article <smith.52@panther.adelphi.edu>, smith@panther.adelphi.edu (Jim Smith) writes...

[stuff deleted]

>} I donno.

>Apparently.

Ouch!

>} Wasn't the "You _will_ believe a man can fly" tag line for the film for
>} the benifit of tv viewers who remembered the cheezy flights George
>} Reeves took on tv?

>No. Why do you think so?  

'Cause I saw G. Reeves fly like a cheeze-ball on my tv.

>People don't believe a man can fly, and the ads
>were saying that after seeing the movie, they will. If you want to read
>it as a jab at George Reeves, you're welcome to, but that's not what they
>intended.

Ouch II!  (When I say I flew to Chicago last week, do you believe me? ;<))

>} And there was "Superman and the Mole People" (195?), a  58 minute feature
>} film with Mr. Reeves and the tv cast that traded on the series.

>Actually, it was the other way around. SUPERMAN VS. THE MOLE MEN was made
>and released before the TV series hit the air. So actually, the TV series
>is a spin-off of the movie. In fact, the movie was later re-edited into
>a 2-part TV episode.

I figured they'd first "fly" with the series, see it was "super," and 
"launch" an hour feature.  So SM v. MM was actually a series "pilot," like 
they did with Kojak (the Something-Something Murders).

>I was referring to live-action only. Every other example you were using
>was a live-action show, and you didn't specify cartoon when talking about
>DICK TRACY.

Sorry you missed it.  I was following the original "rip-off" thread.

>} Each week, at the Bijou, you'd get another thrill-packed chapter. And
>} Superman, too, was serialized, with Kirk Alyn as "Clark Gable."

>Try Clark Kent.

Ouch III!  I should have attributed that quote to the Facets Video 
Catalog.  Blame them for the typo and me for not checking it out before 
posting.

Jim "A little rudeness and disrespect can elevate a meaningless interaction 
to a battle of wills and add drama to an otherwise dull day" Smith
smith1.franklin@panther.adelphi.edu
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
From: uhschreg@cip.informatik.uni-erlangen.de (Ulrich Schreglmann)
Subject: Re: T2 Judgement Day date.
Organization: Student Pool, CSD, University of Erlangen, Germany
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1992 12:14:11 GMT

<DSF105@psuvm.psu.edu> writes:

>Hope this helps:

>    To the best of my memory, Judgement Day was August 29.
>I forget the exact year. . . 199? something.

I don't remember the exact date, because it's not my birthday but the
year was 1997.


May the Cool Be with You until Then!

(C)OOL mcmxcii
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
From: brg6080@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Rasputin)
Subject: Location: Unforgiven
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1992 08:28:16 GMT


I really liked the locations they used in Unforgiven.
Where was it filmed?  In the credits, they thank several
locations in Alberta, but there is an earlier reference
to a "Sonora Film Crew."  Is that the name of the crew,
or does that refer to a location in Arizona?

--rasp		brg6080@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
From: matt@cray.com (Matthew Marchese)
Subject: Re: HEAD[-less] (by the Monkies)
Organization: Cray Research, Inc.
Date: 17 Aug 92 04:30:22 CDT

In article <JEFFT.92Aug10011443@w20-575-76.mit.edu> jefft@athena.mit.edu (Jeff Tang) writes:
>
>Head is Teri Garr's first movie (small role).  When asked about this movie
>on Letterman, she said it was titled that way, so if they ever made a
>sequel, the could say, "From the people that gave you Head."
>
In a similar vein Teri plays a stuck-in-the-Sixties waitress and Monkee's
groupie in the film "After Hours". As I recall, she traps Griffin Dunne
in her apartment and makes him listen to "Last Train to Clarksville".

*******************************************************************************
*  "Supernatural perhaps...Baloney, perhaps not!" - Bela Lugosi               *
*******************************************************************************
Matt Marchese	    The opinions expressed here are not those of my employer, *
Cray Research  	    my wife, my church, or myself...But they are the opinions *
DKRZ                of Elvis as revealed to me through the medium of my pet   *
Hamburg, Germany    hamster, Lee Harvey Oswald...                             *
*******************************************************************************

Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
From: cb366@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Mark B. Bendiksen)
Subject: Re: wayne's world music c
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, (USA)
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 92 13:34:12 GMT


James Kewageshig writes:

>I think this has to do with some dumb loophole when getting the rights
>to songs in movies, I noticed this before in other movies when they
>go to video.  It has something to do with that the makers of the movie
>gets the rights to use it in the movie, but not nessasarily for the video.
                
>PS: The only other example I can think of is in 'Sixteen Candles' where
>the theme to 'Twilight Zone' is replaced...

As I recall, _Fast Times at Ridgemont High_ had similar problems
(at least on the CED Videodisc version (not laserdisc)). I remember
a note on the sleeve saying some music had been changed for
home video, and indeed quite a few songs were changed on the
soundtrack. Stupid me, at the time I thought the director had
rethought her choices of music and picked songs which worked
better in the various scenes. But now I know better. Amy
Heckerling's later films (including NL European Vacation) testify
to her blandness. With as few female directors as there are in
Hollywood, we need more Penny Marshalls and fewer Heckerlings
(but I digress). For the record, I did enjoy FT at RH somewhat.
But I kept thinking it could have been so much better. Cameron
Crowe's interesting and layered novel left me wishing for more.
Oh well......
-- 
"If we don't get some cool rules ourselves, pronto,
 We'll just be bogus, too."-- Dr. Jeff Spicolli
From: rorschak@daimi.aau.dk (Jesper Lauridsen)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
Subject: Most international actor (Was Re: Highlander (was Re: What makes a movie good))
Date: 22 Aug 92 18:35:24 GMT
Organization: Exile Government of Bramming

colinm@max.carleton.ca (Colin McFadyen) writes:

>  Just look at Connery's track record.

>   James Bond is supposed to be an Englishman.
>   Malone (The Untouchables) was a Scots Irishman.
>   In 'The Wind And The Lion' he was a Scottish Arab.
>   In 'The Hunt For Red October' he was a Scottish Russian.

Which actor has played the highest number of different nationalities?
My first guess is Peter Sellers (English, French, German, Indian, 
Spanish, American and probably a couple of others that I have forgot).

-- 
No News is Bad News
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
From: dtschett@scott.skidmore.edu (donna tschetter)
Subject: Re: Unforgivable  ***SPOILERS***
Organization: Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs NY
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1992 15:13:22 GMT


I agree with Chris, bad movie all the way.  Some moments I liked
involved character interplay--but not enough was said about why Gene
Hackman's character was behaving that way.  Who was he protecting and
why??

Unresolved plot line and cliches galore.  I give it * for effort and
scenery only.
From: ccoprdj@prism.gatech.EDU (Jorge Diaz)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
Subject: Re: ** ULTIMATE CLASSIC MOVIE BABES ** Who?
Date: 16 Aug 92 06:33:42 GMT
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology

In article <1992Aug16.000336.4292@daimi.aau.dk> pilgrim@daimi.aau.dk (Jakob G}rdsted) writes:
>john@spss.com (John Przyborowski) writes:

>>Let's not forget Jodie Foster............

>No. Let's forget Jodie Foster. She is a reasonably good actor,

She's an ACTOR???  Holy shit, that's news to me.
Wait, or does PC now dictate that we call women actors so that it doesn't
sound sexist (kinda like calling women in the the military sir)?

>but to put it midly she is not pretty. 

In your opinion.

-- 
Jorge Diaz                       | Sign in a restaurant:
Georgia Institute of Technology  | 
Office of Information Technology |   "We reserve the right to serve refuse to
ccoprdj@prism.gatech.edu         |        anyone."
From: jblixt@neon.cdc.com (jon blixt)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
Subject: Re: Remote
Date: 21 Aug 92 13:45:01 GMT
Reply-To: jblixt@mips.COM (Jon Blixt)
Distribution: rec
Organization: Your Organization Goes Here

At my girlfriend's house, whoever has the controller is called "king/queen
controller".

Jon
From: Mike_Quigley@mindlink.bc.ca (Mike Quigley)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
Subject: Marilyn/Otto Preminger Info Wanted
Date: 20 Aug 92 19:44:03 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Distribution: world

Does anyone have any info at all about Marilyn Monroe and/or the filming of
River Of No Return in Banff and  Jasper in the summer of 1953? Reminiscences,
photos, memories, anything at all. Also, does anyone know where Otto
Preminger's library (books, scripts, other literary or written effects) might
have been donated to when he died?
From: boyajian@ruby.enet.dec.com (The Man from Another Place)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
Subject: Re: Movies starring Claude Rains Wanted.
Date: 14 Aug 92 10:48:54 GMT
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation

In article <1992Aug14.004130.42718@watson.ibm.com>, yozzo@watson.ibm.com (Ralph Yozzo) writes...

} One of my favorite actor is Claude Rains and I'd like to see if there is
} any movies that he was in that I missed.

} I've seen him in  }  "Caesar and Cleopatra"      }  "Casablanca"
}  "Robin Hood"     }  "The Phantom of the Opera"  }  "The Invisible Man"

} Did I miss any?

Plenty. Off the top of my head, there's:

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
NOTORIOUS,
NOW, VOYAGER
MR. SKEFFINGTON
MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
JUAREZ
THE SEA HAWK
THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD
HERE COMES MR. JORDAN

And I haven't even scratched the surface.

-- 

	"She's my radiation baby.
	 She's my teenage fallout girl."

--- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, "The Mill", Maynard, MA)

    boyajian@ruby.enet.dec.com
From: pearl@sw.stratus.com (Dan Pearl)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
Subject: Re: The Potion with the Poison...
Date: 20 Aug 92 20:29:48 GMT
Distribution: rec
Organization: Stratus Computer, Inc.

the court jester
-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dan Pearl  **  Stratus Computer, Inc.  **  pearl@spectacle.sw.stratus.com
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
From: davidba@carmel.technion.ac.il (David Ben_Ami)
Subject: Re: ** ULTIMATE MOVIE BABES ** Who?
Organization: Technion, Israel Inst. of Technology
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1992 13:09:49 GMT

My selection:
-------------

1. Jodie Foster. (especially The Silence of the Lambs)
2. Michelle Pfeiffer. (the most beautiful IMHO)
3. Julia Roberts. (Pretty Woman of course)
4. Susan Sarrandon. ("the witches of Eastewake" , "Thelam & Louisse").
5. Vanessa Paradise. (in "White Wedding" a french film)
6. Marily Monroe (How could any of you forget her?)

and some local babes (Israeli ones that is):

  Anat Azmon, Yona Elian,Michal Kalzinski.

  (but none of you ever heard of them do I'll stop here :-))


David.
-- 
=============================================================================
  David Ben-Ami (irc: bigdav)      |   "I can resist anything but Temptation"
  s2780369@Techst02.Technion.Ac.Il |       Oscar Wilde
  davidba@Carmel.Technion.Ac.Il  davidba@Moav.Techniona.Ac.Il
From: pearl@sw.stratus.com (Dan Pearl)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
Subject: Re: Death Becomes Her *SPOILERS*
Date: 19 Aug 92 15:08:31 GMT
Organization: Stratus Computer, Inc.

Streep was filmed with a blue head mask on, stumbling her way backwards
through the scene.  She had a "twisted neck" appliance on her neck, below
the mask.  Later, she was placed in a swivel chair in front of a blue screen,
and wearing a blue poncho, and had matching shots filmed.   The images were
combined by computer, and probably with lots of painstaking work frame-by-frame.

I'd guess that Goldie was wearing a blue patch in the middle of the hole.
A shot of the background of the scene was placed in the hole, with 
additional frame-by-frame touch up.

I haven't seen the movie yet, but still, I admire the FX job.  Masterful.

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dan Pearl  **  Stratus Computer, Inc.  **  pearl@spectacle.sw.stratus.com
From: marks@castle.ed.ac.uk (Mark Steyn)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
Subject: The Potion with the Poison...
Date: 20 Aug 92 12:52:34 GMT
Distribution: rec
Organization: Edinburgh University

I while back there was a big discussion which I barely glanced at
involving the line:

"The potion with the poison is in the flagon with the dragon"

Or something similar.  At the time I could have sworn that the line came
from "The Princess Bride" (Great film!) but having actually seen the
film I was surprised to find the line absent.  

Where then did this line originate?

Mail me if you know!

	Mark

-- 
? As long as the youngest child is free to dream,  ? Mark Steyn :          ?
? In the forest that we call imagination,          ? marks@castle.ed.ac.uk ?
? There shall always be a Unicorn.                 ? mpjs@dcs.ed.ac.uk     ?
?              Knowledge is no virtue and Innocence no vice                ?
From: amberle@athena.mit.edu (Amberle S Ferrian)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
Subject: Re: Audience Comments During Movies
Date: 14 Aug 92 23:20:20 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

In article <1992Aug6.231315.15870@athena.cs.uga.edu> jordan@castor.cs.uga.edu (Chuck Jordan) writes:
>In article <1992Aug6.170201.6063@encore.com> jpenovic@encore.com writes:
>>  I can't stand it anymore.  I've been reading all these
>>  comments, and I have something to say: They are NOT funny.
>>  Most are not even interesting.
>>
>>  Excuse me, I feel better now. :-)

>Sorry to flame, but your post was NOT funny, it was not even interesting.
>I was having a good time reading this thread until you blurted out your wet-
>blanket of a post like some adolescent in a newsgroup...

Agreed!  If you don't like it, put it in your killfile.
--
 amberle		    "I want so much more than they've got planned..."
<amberle@epx.cis.umn.edu>		Belle		
<amberle@athena.mit.edu>		  Walt Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
From: young@elec.uq.oz.au (Steven Young)
Subject: Re: REBECCA
Organization: Prentice Centre, University of Queensland
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 04:14:04 GMT

colten@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (marc.colten) writes:
>In article <5892@taurus.cs.nps.navy.mil>, jxxl@taurus.cs.nps.navy.mil (John Locke) writes:
>>rehak@breeze.rap.ucar.edu (Nancy Rehak) writes:
>>#Yes, Joan Fontaine was the lead actress in Rebecca. However, she did not play
>>#the title role-Rebecca. Rebecca was the first Mrs. de Winter.  Joan Fontaine
>>#played the second Mrs. de Winter.
>>Yes, but what is the name of the character Joan Fontaine plays? Another
>>trick question?

>The easy answer is "Mrs. DeWinter", but that's not the point.  They
>never say what her name is or was - and the closest the book comes to
>it is "I", as in "Last night I dreamed I went to Manderlay again."

Yes, Daphne du Maurier leaves the character nameless in the book.
It's one of _those_ unanswered questions.  Alfred Hitchcock wanted to
call the character Daphne, but the producers disagreed.

Steven.
--
Steven Young       PhD Student  |  The problem with people who
email : young@s1.elec.uq.oz.au  |  have no vices is that generally
Dept of Electrical Engineering  |  you can be pretty sure they're going
University    of    Queensland  |  to have some pretty annoying virtues.
From: schuck@fraser.sfu.ca (Bruce Jonathan Schuck)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
Subject: Re: unforgiven
Date: 16 Aug 92 03:08:11 GMT
Article-I.D.: sfu.schuck.713934491
Reply-To: Bruce_Schuck@sfu.ca
Distribution: rec
Organization: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada

eric.walker@channel1.com (eric walker) writes:


>          It's with Ned Logan's character that Eastwood makes his only bow
>     towards political correctness: not once in the movie is the fact that
>     Ned is black mentioned.  On one hand, this is a good move on
>     Hollywood's part, but on the other hand it subtracts slightly from
>     the realistic feel of the movie - after all, the 19th Century was
>     as racist a time as ever there was, here in America.

I agree that racism was rampant in the US , but I think Eastwood may
have been trying to overturn one of the great myths about the west.

There were a lot of blacks in the west!

A significant portion of the cowboys in the post civil war period
WERE black.

There WERE a lot of black cavalry troopers, who got the nickname
"Buffalo Soldiers" because their hair reminded Native Americans
of the coats of buffalos.

Most movies about the west totally ignore blacks, except those made by
blacks such as "Buck and the Preacher" 

Eastwood went out of the way to trample a lot of the myths about the
west, and the inclusion of Morgan Freeman as his black partner was
probably a deliberate attempt to destory the myth of an all white
west.
From: krawling@banana.ucs.indiana.edu (Ken Rawlings)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
Subject: Re: RAISING CAIN [Spoilers at End]
Date: 19 Aug 92 22:41:19 GMT
Organization: Indiana University, Bloomington

In article <1992Aug19.163016.29091@ccu.umanitoba.ca> ummorea0@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Gene Moreau) writes:
>
>Well I could I guess.  It was just plain bad.  It was confusing, I, along
>with the 5 other people I went with, couldn't figure out the plot till there
>was about 10 mins left.  I will have to admit that acting was pretty good
>though. Let's see, I really liked(note the sarcasm here) the dream
>sequence with in a dream sequence with in a dream sequence.  Not very
>confusing at all.  It's almost impossible to find words to describe it,
>except PU of course. Is this enough elaboration?  


	Well I suppose I should make a bit of a defense for this movie, which
seems to be almost universally being panned. I thought it was quite good,
but you have to approach it as you would a roller coaster: Don't think too
much, just brace yourself for the ride.


SPOILERS FOLLOW:





	I actually like the "dream within a dream" part of the movie. As far as
I could tell, there was only one real dream sequence in the movie(discounting
the multiple personality scenes): The one that ended with the wife being
impaled. It was a _huge_ shock to me when I realized the scene with his wife
cutting his wrists and the sinking car scene were real. For me at least it all
came together then. 

	Now for the two things I didn't like:

	The sinking car scene was right out of Psycho. I remember when that
scence started I sighed and said to my friends, "Geez, I wonder where i've
seen this before - I bet the car gets stuck half way under". Of course I was
joking about the car not sinking, who would be that hokey... I was wrong.

	I thought the scene where Cain's father shoots the end off the 
thing that was just about to impale Cain's wife's lover was _hokey beyond
belief_. I mean, geez...

	
	Anyway, other than those two minor glitches, I give the movie a hearty
thumbs up.


						Regards,
							Ken Rawlings

-- 
: Ken Rawlings      | One Tool to rule them all, one Tool to find them,       
: Computer Science  | One Tool to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
: Indiana University|           -J.R.R. Tolkien(referring to Emacs)
From: em@merlin.cvs.rochester.edu (Ethan Montag)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
Subject: Re: Woody Allen / Mia Farrow
Date: 21 Aug 92 18:45:33 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of Rochester, Rochester NY

In article <BD.92Aug21130434@fluent.UUCP> bd%fluent@dartmouth.EDU writes:
>
>golchowy@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca (Gerald Olchowy) writes of Woody Allen and
>Sun-Yi:
>
>>I am merely stating the obvious, that
>>intercourse with the sister of your children, and the daughter of
>>your common law spouse, and a person for whom you have essentially
>>been a father to for a decade is the moral equivalent of incest...
>
>The young woman at the center of this was the daughter of Andre Previn, and 
>Woody and Mia lived in separate places (although I assume that they spent 
>more than a few nights at each other's).
>
>Is there _any_ reason to think that Woody was the girl's "father figure" 
>and not Andre Previn?  Either you folks have heard things I haven't (quite 
>possible) or you're making some pretty big assumptions (also quite possible).
>-- 

Allen is in a no win situation when it comes to custody:  If he argues
that he was an involved father to the children (as his lawyers did on
the Today show this morning) who wakes up early to get them ready for
school, spends as much time as he can with them, etc., then his affair
with Sun-Yi is morally suspicious because he's been a "family member"
for quite a while.  If however, his involvement with the children was 
nominal, then why the heck should he get custody.  

In my opinion, the whole thing is pretty disgraceful no matter what the
other facts in the case may be.  
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies