I went to see 'Shakespeare In Love' because it won the Oscar for Best Picture. I didn't like it (simply not my cup of tea), but I just loved Gwyneth Paltrow. One of the most wonderful performances of the decade. Then I saw 'Great Expectations', another delightful performance, and right now she's one of my favorite actresses. What do you do when someone's your fave actress? You scan their filmography looking for other movies to watch. I ran through Paltrow's list on IMDb and came across 'Hush'. The 4.5 average rating didn't look too promising. Then my sis also told me she thought this movie was awful, but I decided to rent it anyway.

The movie tells the story about Helen, Jackson and his mother Martha. Helen gets pregnant, they marry and go live with Martha in her giant house. Martha's very possessive over Jackson. More and more it becomes clear Martha's not the nice mother-in-law she appeared to be. She's spreading lies between the two lovers and things get worse. This all leads to a, looking back on it, predictable sequence of scenes.

But... there's Jessica Lange. She plays Martha. She really got on my nerves. Actually, when the movie was over I completely hated her. She does a fantastic acting performance. I really wanted to strangle her sometimes. Her character that is. Gwyneth Paltrow plays a quite vulnerable and likable young woman. That combined with the evil Lange caused this movie to be suspenseful for me. Really. It was predictable, but it was the kinda movie where we (I anyway) so want the heroine to win over the evil character. It is not the best movie ever made, but I was really sucked into it, especially because of Lange's perfect portrayal of an utter bitch.

So I can't believe why this movie only got 4.5 out of 10 here on IMDb. I overall liked it and grade it much higher:

8 / 10


Hush is a real masterpiece. Three of the finest actors going around star in this and they all play their parts extremly well. Jessica Lange as Martha is the perfect women to play this character she had a good grip of it.

Gweneth plays Helen brilliantly as that innocent but wise new wife. And Jonathen is good as the moddie coddled son.

The location is a perfect 10 out of 10. I fell in love with Kilronin what a beautiful place. Hush builds and builds to a climax, The climax i must admit could be a little better, but maybe the director was thinking a like myself of a possible sequel.

Jessica Lange full marks to you though a great role in a good film of the 90's where it may show what some mothers inlaws are actually like, no offence


Okay, I can certainly admit that the plot isn't original, and that things get predictable on more than a few occasions, but I still thought that this was a great movie. I tend to enjoy movies with truly hateful characters, and I thought that Jessica Lange played her part wonderfully. Paltrow and Foch also were effective in their roles. Yes, some scenes are melodramatic, and some are even hard to believe, but that's not always a bad thing. This type of movie is supposed to be a little over the top, after all. So, even though this movie takes us through some familiar territory, I still thought it was a lovely ride.


I loved this movie. Jessica Lange is very convincing as the controlling , vindictive mother-in law to Gwenyth Paltrow's seemingly unsuspecting Helen. Jonathon Scheatch (what a hunk) is the believable, niave son, does a fantastic job as well. Nina Foch is awesome, where did they get her? Overall, a great suspense-thriller


Despite all of the negative reviews I've read, (and there are plenty!) I actually liked this movie. The writing is quite good and even though there requires a certain suspension of disbelief in the plot, the characters remain true to form. Lange and Paltrow I consider to be two of the best actresses around today and they truly carried the film. The film builds a psychodramatic suspense in the characters of Lange and Paltrow that transcends the shortcomings of the plot details.


When Gyneth Paltrow's character blows her cookies at one point in the film, I couldn't help but feel she was speaking for everyone in the audience. Well, maybe that's stretching things a bit, but "Hush" manages to rise only to the level of a mediocre made-for-tv flick on the USA network...the kind that would have trouble winning its 3:00 AM time slot against cable's worst info-mercials.

The acting ranges from NOT BAD (Jessica Lange) to EMBARRASSING (Jonathan Schaech). The screenplay is utterly predictable despite the fact that everything has to go totally wrong - or the characters act really stupid - in order to push the plot along. This movie would be perfect fodder for Mystery Science Theater 3000.


This movie resides on my top 10 of all time list. Sadly enough, I came up with a story concept not entirely unlike this story for a novel. Maybe this is why I was so enthralled by this film. Spoiler ahead!! Don't read any more if you don't want to know what happens towards the end!

A mother's love for her son becomes more and more prominent ending in a suspenseful crescendo, where you can feel the Helen's suffering and powerlessness as she is thrown into a situation out of her control as she struggles for her life through labor pains. The rest of the film builds quite well up to this, as you are slowly shown the depths of the mother's obsession with only son.


Having read so many devastating reviews and comments on this movie, why even bother watching it. Still there was something about the storyline that drew my attention. And yes, it was entertaining. Not a Hollywood classic but the quality acting of both Jessica Lange and Gwyneth Paltrow made it worth enjoying. A 7/10 for this film.

Ernest Hamstra


i liked this movie. in it, gwyneth paltrow plays helen, who becomes pregnant and moves in with jackson, played by johnathon schaech, and his mother. everything takes off from there. im not telling what happens, but its a good movie. i give it 6 and a half stars outta ten. if you have the money, go rent it.


I thought it was a pretty good suspense film. I also thought Jessica and Gwenyth did a good job. My only complaint is that they gave away who the killer was too early in the movie.


This movie was without a doubt, very predictable. There have been a hundred other movies made with basically a similar plotline. But I still enjoyed it, simply because I enjoy this type of movie. Jessica Lange gave a great performance as the deranged mother in law. It's fun to watch, even though you know how it's probably going to turn out in the end. I think everyone should at least give this movie a chance. It's worth watching.


Greatly enjoyed this film and the wonderful photography of New York City and beautiful scenery in various Historical Towns in Virginia, namely: Charlottesville, Culpeper and Orange, Virginia. Jessica Lang,(Martha Baring),"Big Fish", '03 played the very over powering mother-in-law to Gwyneth Paltrow,(Helen Baring),"A Perfect Murder",'98, who is very much in love with her husband and there are many scenes where they are making love most of the time. Jessica Lang is very protective of her son and even goes through their luggage looking at Helens method of Birth Control. Nina Foch,(Alice Baring),"A Song to Remember",'45, a great veteran actress, gives very important information to Helen Baring concerning the Baring Family past secrets. If you look close, you will see Hal Holbrook,(Dr. Franklin Hill),"Purpose",'02, giving advice to Martha Baring concerning prescriptions for horses. If you love Gwyneth Paltrow and Jessica Lang, this film will greatly entertain you from beginning to end.


I don't know about spoilers but all those cynical negative comments might spoil my pleasure if I was easily influenced or if I let them, so my simple advice to any film lover is : just watch it and you might just enjoy it. I certainly did. I do not wish to say anything about the plot, the characters and the acting and filming qualities except this: Jessica Lange is great as the seemingly sweet and soft mother, Gwynneth Paltrow is thoroughly convincing as the frail bride and mother to be, Jonathan Schaech is at least adequate, the plot is haunting, so yes, I repeat, just watch it and enjoy it !!! One of the most gripping movies I have ever seen. (Manlyn, a viewer in Switzerland)


Good movies are unpredictable if unrealistic. Has anyone, I wonder, suffered through this film for any other reason than being a Gwyneth Paltrow fan or wanting to see if Jessica Lange has aged gracefully?


Hush is a film that lacks credibility because the plot is more or less unbelieveable. The mother character (Played by Jessica Lange) has a dream that she believes must be fulfilled at any costs. On route to this happening, the story is wasted by using unnecessary characters, loathsome acting and what seems to be the same scenes shot over and over.

Jessica Lange is the highlight of this film. Her performances always seem to steal the show and it is no different here. Now if her choice of films to make were a little wiser, she probably wouldn't have signed on here. Palthrow does well with what she has. Those expecting a "Shakespeare" like performance won't get one because the credibility of the plot takes away from all of the performances. Gwyneth has few opportunities to really act and for some reason is always having her face touched. Why?

The cinematography is average mainly because of the natural beauty of Virginia in the (early?) winter. The film progresses at a torrid pace during the first half-hour without any character build-up that would have formed a bond with the audience. As a scene ends it always seems to tell what is going to happen in the next and this is rather annoying as well. The director only wanted to rush to get to the climax of the film not saving time for any real development.

I don't see how one could really like this film, since it lacks so much. Watching the scene with Lange and the grandmother at the retirement home is about as bad as it gets. There is really no point to that scene of the entire film itself.

4/10 stars.


"Decoys" is one more of those new low budget horror movies that are coming straight to video these days. However, "Decoys" shines among the rest of b-grade films because of the simple fact that it is quite funny and entertaining despite its clichéd storyline. This is no "Ginger Snaps" (the Canadian horror cult-film) of course, but it is very close to be great.

The plot follows the adventure of Luke (Corey Sevier), a young man in his first year in college, who just discovered that the two beautiful students he just met are actually murderous aliens who kill every guy they have sex with. Of course nobody believes him, and the movie follows his lonely attempt to prove he is not insane. To make things worse, his best friend Roger (Elias Toufexis) is currently dating one of the aliens and is very interested in losing his virginity this year.

With a storyline like that one would expect a cheap and dumb teen movie, but "Decoys" manages to keep the interest and the laughs at a good level without becoming stupid or boring. In fact, it slowly develops the characters and one can't avoid to feel for them. Something quite rare nowadays. This is director Matthew Hastings' first feature and boy he did it notably well for a debut.

The acting is very good for the most part, although Corey Sevier is a bit weak for a lead role. On the other hand, Toufexis shows a lot of potential in a remarkable performance as Luke's friend that goes beyond being a simple comic relief to become a likable and interesting character. The same could be said of Kim Poirier, who in her role of the alien Constance shows that she is more than a pretty face and sexy body.

Of course, like the plot implies, the movie displays its fair share of nudity; not only of Poirier, but also of the beautiful Stefanie Von Pfetten. Fans of these actresses will be pleased.

The film has the obvious flaws of a b-movie film, although some of the CG effects are very good. the script its a bit flawed and has some plot-holes, but nothing minor or too distracting. Of course it could had been better, but it is OK for the movie. Also, the film drags a bit by the middle but it recovers its power for a very good and clever ending.

"Decoys" may not be a horror classic, but it is a very funny mix of horror, comedy and sci-fi. Hastings, Toufaxis and Poirier show a lot of talent and probably they'll have a bright future ahead if they continue this way. This was really a surprisingly entertaining film. 7/10


I saw the Criminal on Palm Pictures VOD and i must say, while at first I was skeptical, I thought it was a fantastic movie that unwounded perfectly with many twists and turns along the way. Each scene gets better and better and the story only gets more confusing but in a way that works towards its advantage rather than the opposite. Once the movie ended, I was just stunned, in almost awe of the film I saw, for everything will come unraveling at the end and doing so in a fantastic way to boot.

The acting I admit was a bit mediocre. The main character was decent, but his acting wasn't award worthy by any standard. The other cops do an okay job as well, with the male police officer being the best, but overall this won't win any awards for acting (note to director: the American girl was awful! She shouldn't be allowed to act ever again!). However, what really wins over is the plot. It does a good job revealing little hints throughout the movie e.g. Usual Suspects to provide the viewer with a grasp of what's going on. But viewer be warned, when you think you know it all, you'll be in for a real surprise. Believe me, i thought this movie was going to be a real cookie cutter noir film. It's much more than that, you just have to be patient with it.

Is The Criminal the film of the decade? Probably not. But it's one hell of a ride. After thirty minutes in you'll be so immersed in the story you might forget all about the mediocre acting. With a great plot, intense action, and unbelievable suspense, The Criminal is one of those surprise films that should get recognized more in the states but probably won't. It's definitely more refreshing than the usual Michael Bay garbage we're used to here.


The Criminal is undeniable proof of the adverse affect that Pulp Fiction has had on cinema. The title of the movie is actually ironic, as the movie itself is no better than a common criminal. After paying money to see it, you'll see why. Basically, The Criminal is a huge waste of 90 minutes. I can think of multiple better things to do in 90 minutes than watch this movie, one of them involving your own toenails and a pair of rusty pliers. After seeing the film, I doubt that you will disagree. It is with that in mind that I say; don't bother with this movie. The premise of The Criminal is actually quite intriguing, and you'll be forgiven for thinking that the film is worth watching for that reason. After the first ten minutes, you'll think that you've made the right choice in deciding to see the movie. You're wrong, but you won't know it yet. The movie opens with a man chatting to a woman in a bar. After hearing his speech about dance music being rubbish, you'll be utterly convinced that you're in the right film, but you're not. The man and woman, after some banter, go back to his apartment. Events transpire, and she ends up dead. Shock, horror! Indeed, as it's down, down, deeper and down from then on. And just to clarify; I don't mean 'down' as in 'down into Britain's criminal underworld', unfortunately.

Steven Mackintosh takes the lead in this film. You'll almost certainly recognise this man from one of Britain's good crime films; Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. The character that Steve plays here is, in fact, only a certain plant away from being the same character that he played in Lock, Stock; namely, a wimp who happens to be in a world of criminals. The rest of the cast isn't noteworthy, with the exception of the police inspector. He isn't noteworthy for anything but swearing a lot, however. He swears and he swears and then he swears some more. That's all he does, and it gets beyond a joke after the third or fourth swear word. It's a blatantly obvious attempt to cash in on the childish 'coolness' of profanity.

Pulp Fiction's influence can be seen all too often through this film; but what The Criminal doesn't realize is that just because it worked for Pulp Fiction, doesn't mean it will work here. At times, the film works in flashback sequences that just pop up from nowhere, it sometimes uses cool dialogue to convey it's points, and sometimes puts stuff in just for the sake of having it there; and all in all, it's extremely annoying. That's all this film is really; annoying. Annoying, boring and unoriginal sums it up perfectly, and it is, with no fear of a lie, one of the worst movies of recent years. Maybe even of all time


cinematography starts out excellent, actors talented but do not bother with this film. I love Eddie Izzard and Steven MacIntosh; all the other actors were excellent but this was a hateful script, which tortures viewers. We readily identify with MackIntosh's & Natasha Little's characters, so evil done to them is spikes driven into our eyeballs. Not since "Clockwork Orange" have I hated a film so intensely and I admit that Clockwork had redeeming values, art-wise & social commentary-wise. "The Criminal" was a lame excuse for someone who is de-sensitized to violence (whether by video games or limbic system dysfunction) to slam viewers' heads down onto a table. I put it on fast fwd after 20 minutes into the film and made stops to catch up with dialogue, skipping violence. Thus, for me, the film was thankfully 45 minutes long. Despised the ending. Let it be known that my favorite writer is Dostoyevsky. So I'm not a suburban granny making whiny comments. I can handle intensity/violence if the plot is worthwhile & characters get to develop (I have to hand it to MackIntosh, his work in this was, as usual, top notch). My favorite movies are "Dr. Zhivago" and "Gangs of NY" (and I recently appreciated "In Bruges") These films do not spare the viewers' sensibilities, with Cossaks slaughtering innocents and Bill Cutting's vengeful personality. Please DO see Anything else that these talented actors have done & best wishes to the script writer. Director, you've got talent but get out of this genre, it's old hat.


Beware all the positive reviews. Reading that this film bears any resemblance to a Guy Ritchie film made me cringe.

"Contrived" never described a film as perfectly as it does this one.

From laughable bad-cop antics, to pointless paranoid schizophrenics and finally to an brief and amateurish handling of serious political issues, "The Criminal" promises to fail to engage the mind of the sophisticated movie-watcher.

That said, "The Criminal" isn't terrible. For the most part, the acting is better than average, and there certainly isn't a lack of action. However the writing and directing are marginal at best. 4 out of 10.


i think naf' said about gangster films in england.. but this is "the movie" it's amazing! it's kinda like a mix between guy richie and david lynch just without the bulls**t! it's a really brilliant! when u'll think u finally getting it.. even at the end... you'll than see once again that you wrong and this movie is even brilliant than you thought it is.. that this movie is one of the best movies i've ever saw.. i liked snatch and lsn2sb a lot! i gave them both 9 or 10.. but this one is da' best i saw in the genre


For a first movie by the young director one can only say "great" even if he were an old hand it would still be a great thriller and one that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I loved the camera work and the ideas in telling the story. Gritty with some fine acting, a very British movie without all the usual gloss and fancy fashions! Highly recommended.


"The Criminal" is a noirish Brit crime flick which tells of a man (Mackintosh) who is in the wrong place at the wrong time and finds himself as a murder suspect on the run from the police and a bunch of super secret underground heavies. A busy flick with little to offer save a bunch of running around, "The Criminal" suffers from low budgetness, a thin plot, lots of filler, and an awful ending. An okay time waster for the couch potato who can't find anything better. (+D)


I paid to see this film and I stayed until the end...in retrospect the two largest mistakes of the day. A roller coaster ride between wishing it would end and wishing I had something better to do at two-thirty in the morning. An absolutely terrible British film...nearly as bad as Rancid Aluminium.


I was really disappointed in this movie. Most thrillers will spend the first hour developing the characters, involving you in their story so when they are in danger you are frightened for them. You truly care for them and feel for what they go through. But not in this movie. Before the first hour is over, our heroine is already fighting for her life, and it would appear the story is about to come to an end. There was no real developing of a plot, and it made me think the writers were in the hall closet writing it as we watched. It feels rushed, and when we do meet the killer, we feel short changed.

Candice Bergen should stick to comedy. She is not interesting in the role of victim, but comes across as bland, boring. I was actually rooting for the killer at times. There is way too much dialog at times and no one seems to know how to dial 911. It is not a movie I would recommend if you are looking for an on-the-edge-of-your-seat type thriller.


I found myself constantly trying to find something wrong with this film through the duration of it because I knew better than to be liking it so much - but i couldn't help it. I kept thinking that with some decent actors this script had great potential. It did of course have its typical t.v movie flaws but you learn to except those eventually. I must admit the one let down I will stick with is the not so brilliant title. It's really got nothing to do with the film and it certainly doesn't make you say "I need to watch this film."

The twists and turns this movie take will keep you on edge right to the last shot. I even loved the last scene so much it took this from an 8 to a 9 so stay tuned right until the end credits flash up.


As a big Candice Bergen fan i was looking forward to see this movie. And i wasn´t disappointed, this was a very interesting movie. It´s the kind of movie that you don´t know how it´s gonna end until the last minute, and you don´t trust anyone. Candice Bergen´s performance was amazing and so was Bug Hall´s and Bryan Brown´s. I hope this movie comes out on VHS or DVD but in the mean time I recommend anyone who likes suspense to catch this one on tv.


I thought this movie was really good especially considering that there were only about 4 main characters in the entire movie. I really wanted to see this movie because of Bug Hall. Who by the way was totally HOT in this movie. I think he's a really good actor and is totally underrated. The guy who played Eddie did a pretty good job too. In all this movie could have been better, as most movies could, but it's not a bad way to spend 2 hours. Very entertaining.


JACK THE MANGLER ( 1971 ) starring Paul Naschy aka SEVEN CORPSES ( MURDERS ) FOR Scotland YARD This is a very hard to see film, but is worth the hunt for fans of Naschy and also giallo knock offs. It's a decent thriller with a mysterious Jack the Ripper wanna be who kills each victim with a distinctive blade, each from a different country. One by one, prostitutes are turning up dead and missing various body parts, a set of eyes here, a heart there. One of the early victims is Naschy's whore for hire wife, and he becomes a suspect in the early investigations, despite the fact that a younger, athletic man is the type sought, and Naschy has a gimpy leg from a high wire accident that ended his circus career. The local criminal element has it in for him as well, the murders bring the cops down on them and it's hurting business. The mystery of who the killer is and why he's so eager to carve up the local tarts is decent giallo fodder and satisfied me. Orchidea de Santis provides some hotness and Andres Resino ( the boyfriend in WEREWOLF SHADOW ) does OK as a friend of the cop running the investigation. The copy I watched is from VSoM and looks like a 3rd gen dub. It's in Italian with English subs that get the job done. Sadly, it's also the covered version of the film and not the nude version that was prepared for export. The film was dubbed into English had played the US in 1976, and this presumably was the uncovered variant, but it's whereabouts are unknown. A real shame as it's up there with a lot of the Italian giallos and without the nudity, it comes off as a bit tame considering it's subject matter. Here's hoping it turns up someday, it's on the list with a few others that really need their nude versions found so these films can be properly appreciated. The plot description that mentions Jack's a cannibal this time around is bogus BTW.


This had been shown on late-night Italian TV some years back and, later, I recall it being mentioned favorably online; hence, given its theme of an updated version of Jack The Ripper and the fact that it starred Euro-Cult icon Paul Naschy, I decided to check it out this time around. However, it turned out to be quite a mess: not so surprising when considering that the only other J.L. Madrid film I've watched was the similarly dispiriting THE HORRIBLE SEXY VAMPIRE (1970)!; as in that film, the women here are mainly on screen in order to disrobe and get butchered.

The plot provides three possible suspects of the serial killings: a crippled and bitter ex-trapeze artist (Naschy) whose wife is among the victims, a handsome schoolteacher of noble birth but who's actually impotent and, surprisingly, a police commissioner who just happens to be the latter's boyhood chum and is also secretly in love with his wife (Orchidea De Santis, whom I saw in the flesh and on screen  in Luciano Salce's equally obscure but infinitely superior political satire, COUP D'ETAT [1969]  at the 61st Venice Film Festival)!

The Swinging London locations are just about the only authentic element here: both the gore and the occasional action scene look extremely phony; another clear measure of the film's lack of budget is that Naschy's accident (which continues to haunt him) is hilariously depicted simply by having the actor throw himself in front of the camera and utter a couple of none-too-convincing groans!


Seven Murders for Scotland Yard is pretty much your standard Giallo fare, and that is no bad thing! The plot revolves around a vicious psychopath who goes around brutally slaying prostitutes. You would expect a film with this sort of plot to be a completely brutal and sleazy affair, but Seven Murders for Scotland Yard is surprising in that aspect as while there are murders aplenty, there's no real nudity, and the murders themselves have been heavily edited, so we don't get to see much more than a bit of blood. This is unfortunate as Seven Murders for Scotland could have done with these appealing elements to compliment the plot, but even so; it has to be said that this isn't a bad film on the whole, and it's certainly one of the better Spanish Giallo's. As mentioned, the plot focuses on the murdering of prostitutes, and as the title suggests, Scotland Yard are soon on the case. The main suspects in the murders is a Peter Dockerman, whose girlfriend was killed along with the prostitutes, but Commissioner Henry Campbell of Scotland Yard doesn't believe Dockerman to be the one they're looking for.

It's clear just looking at this film that it didn't benefit from a large budget, and indeed the locations do all look very cheap. Of course, the fact that my copy isn't exactly brilliant doesn't help, but it is obvious that director José Luis Madrid was merely cashing in on the popular formula of the day. Like a lot of seventies Spanish horror films, this one stars Paul Naschy. Naschy has given some good performances in the past; but this isn't one of his better ones. In fact, none of the performances in this film really inspire anything from the audience and it doesn't seem like anyone is really putting any effort in. The plot is fairly standard stuff too, though it never completely dries up as there's always another murder just around the corner. The identity of the murderer becomes obvious early on in the film, and the twist I was expecting never came. The ending itself is decent enough, however, as we finally get to see the killer's lair and the climatic struggle is decent despite the fact that you wont really care who comes out victorious. Overall, Seven Murders for Scotland Yard is a decent enough Giallo, but there are many, many better ones out there!


Good, gothic-feeling movie. Richard Lynch, with his searing eyes, gaunt, handsome face, flowing blonde hair and sexy voice was a natural to play the vampire, Anton Voytek. Seeing him come up out of the earth, roaring in pain and anguish of being sealed up in his tomb of earth for nearly 40 years was a very creepy site. I highly recommend this movie for vampire movie fans and for Richard Lynch fans it is a MUST SEE I believe this was really the first time I noticed Richard Lynch. I am not sure if I saw him in anything else, previously, but this movie left me wanting to see him in everything he has/had ever done.


Actually, this is an excellent, character driven horror movie made by the creators of Hill Street Blues, which aired 2 years later. Suffice it to say, you have Jason Miller ("The Exorcist")creating another of his too little seen angst ridden characters and E.G. Marshall as an old cop playing Van Helsing, teaming up in search of a vampire uprooted when a construction crew unwittingly release him. It has brains, style and a surprisingly literate script for a change. Again, you get character over MTV videos like those found in the almost unwatchable and campy Lost Boys.

Thank God for 1970's movie-making! True, you have a ham of the grind house, Richard Lynch (good in "Scarecrows"), but he is better here as the vampire than you'd expect. At least it was not Henry Silva! For more of this quality, see "The Night Stalker" (a true classic, Dan Curtis' "Dracula" with a fine Jack Palance, and Bob Clark's "Death Dream". Oh yes--- throw in Soprano's creator David Chase's strange drive in flick "Grave of the Vampire" for good measure (not nearly as good though).

Sadly, the only as yet released version of this film is a 12 year old VHS tape put out at SLP speed to boot! The above films are all on DVD---let's get this one out there already, huh? Shame on whoever has the rights and has been sitting on it.


Next to the original "The Nightstalker" this may well be the best made-for-TV vampire flick there is. A superb cast led to a superior offering. Special effects were correctly kept to a minimum, allowing the story and performances to carry this hidden gem. Jason Miller gave a wonderful, sympathetic performance. I read where his portrayal of the vampire Voytek is Richard Lynch's favorite role, and well it should be - he is marvelous! I only wish that he would have been able to reprise his role in the series that never was.

It is a rare film that leaves a favorable impression after 27 years. Rarer still one that was produced for the small screen. Vampire, for me, is such a film. To the Powers That Be: please release this on DVD soon. It is long overdue. A few extras would be nice too.


If you're looking for graphic gore, this is not the movie for you. Loaded with wonderful imagery and insinuation that leaves the horror to your imagination. You won't see Leslie's or the private detective's mutilated body, but we all know what happened to them. Richard Lynch's portrayal as a vampire is superb, with a deliciously evil and seductive air. There are no special effects, yet the story is quite riveting.


It's been close to 30 years since I watched this movie with Richard Lynch as the blonde vampire, and who played the part to perfection. For the younger people expecting blood, gore and action, this isn't the one to watch. Vampire is more of a 'reader's' film, where the imagination fills in today's 'action' in movies. An earlier film I saw him in is called The Premonition, where he portrayed a rather creepy carny; also a fascinating film. I've been looking for this movie, Vampire, for all these years and would love to see it released on DVD. I'd wondered for years whatever became of Lynch and am glad to see he remained active for some time. I was surprised to read in his mini-biography that he'd been burnt in a drug related fire. I always had the idea he'd been a burn victim at one time. Although I believe him to be an excellent actor, ultimately it was his voice and unconventional good looks that drew me in.


I enjoyed this movie very much when I was a little girl, it was so erotic I din'd want the vampire to be killed at all... But the real reason I'm writing is because I would really appreciate some help to find the name of another vampire film I can't stop thinking about: all I remember about it is that is was in B&W (or maybe it was just my TV, I can't remember) I recall only two scenes: one, there was like a parade and there was this woman who looked very much like a nun, and the vampire grabbed her and sucked her blood inside of a car, and everyone who saw them laughed 'cause they thought they were making out. The other scene I remember is that this vampire (who wasn't attractive at all and looked very much like a mid 40's accountant with a trench coat) made a much needed cash by selling the paintings of the women he murdered. In fact in the scene I remember there was this old lady who was a fan of his art, and the painting she was purchasing was of a nude girl lying in a rock with a knife stabbed in her chest. Does anyone know this picture's name? Is it possible I only dreamed it? Thanks in advance Wendy


This was a "real" vampire movie. I liked it when I first saw it in '79 and I like it more now. Lynch captures a vampire that is cultured, charismatic, vulnerable, and still human. He collects rare art! As the film progresses we learn this vampire is also evil, materialistic, vengeful, exploitative, selfish, and classically Evil with a capital "E". This movie thoughtfully updated elements of Stoker's conceptualization of the vampire without losing those classical elements that makes it an interesting tale. Acting is excellent and casting great. I had hoped this would be made into a series... but, oh well. A few producers of modern vampire movies could learn something by watching this.

My video copy is coming apart - so when is this thing coming on on DVD already?


When I first saw this movie(Vampire) on TV some years ago, and have looked for it ever since, I was enthralled with Richard Lynch, his portrayal is 'right on' in this role..............now some of you may not agree with me, but I also put Rutger Hauer in a similar category, delightful to watch, downright scary in some of his roles,(Nighthawks) but the ultimate romantic, if given half a chance...........of course, my all-time favorite love story movie is Ladyhawke, so I admit to being a tad prejudiced.......I have seen Richard Lynch in a number of TV movies, series, etc, but have lost track of him over the recent years......

there are also websites for Rutger Hauer where his fans can go to keep up with his movie roles, etc........He also is the founder of an organization that helps AIDS victims, mostly children, i believe.....called STARFISH. Its always nice to know that some of the actors today at least have some compassion for others less fortunate than themselves.


I can't believe that there are 10 people giving this c**p a 10. This is a very boring movie. This movie has the title vampire, so what would you expect: sharp teet, spooky eyes, good effects, gore and lots of blood. This movie has absolutely nothing of these things. If you wanne see this movie and your expecting something like "from dusk till dawn" or "near dark" or "the lost boys" -all fabulous vampire movies- then you'll be wrong and you will be watching a boring drama.


I really loved this movie. Well I've always loved robot & androids like Transformers, Datal, Lore, Go Bots, so of course I did! And transforming rocks ... Now there's something you don't see every day! I must see it again, it's probably available on DVD nowadays.

I adored the Rock Lord character Solitaire the most. She was kind, wise and caring. She looked lovely and her voice was done really well. Kudos to Margot Kidder! *Memo to me, must search Ebay for Solitaire toy ... * Nuggit was cute also, reminded me of the Transformer Bumblebee! I also like the Go Bot Characters, Leader 1, Sparky, Small Foot, Pathfinder, Scooter, Fitor and Cop-Tur, though it's been a while since I saw the movie and I can't remember if some of those characters were in it, alas.

It was a good movie, clearly showing how good can overcome evil, as it should. Sends a positive message to the world.

I wish the movie was longer though, with more Go Bot and Rock Lord characters, particularly the more obscure ones, like Steamer.

I also wanted to know more about Solitaire, the Jewel Lord Diamond Queen!


This was the greatest movie I have ever seen. I used to hate the go-bots but have come to love them since seeing this.

The Rock Lords and Go-bots form an alliance that proves that good things can come from bad situations, a must see for any child or adult that loves childish things.

This maybe be hanna-Barbara s greatest accomplishment to date. Anyone who wants to recapture there youth and vigor will enjoy this movie immensely. I suggest it for people of any age.

A must See.

I give it a 10


I thought that the characters were really neat and all had great personalities. The animation in My opinion was crisp, clean, and really clear. Not to mention beautiful! Most of the characters in this show all have great personalities. in My opinion these characters are some of the best ever seen. In fact, The things that goes on in this series' cartoons are in My opinion action packed which that is what makes the show good. There are so many characters to like If you like the other classic 1980s' animated cartoons like The GoBots, M.A.S.K., Transformers, C.O.P.S. and many others then I strongly recommend that you watch this show!


The whole movie was to sell toys. Even Leader one was awful when he didn't want to save Cy- kill, the nut. Is this the same Leader- one? Not that the psycho didn't deserve to be saved, they should have put more thought into this movie not just to sell more toys. The part of the lava scene was unrealistic and they should have added more young go bots. Get rid of those weird rock creatures and put in some young guardians and renegades. They are girl go bots so I resume that they can reproduce since they have souls of men and brains. The only smart people in this entire movie were the girls, Soltaire, small foot and A.j. It would be better if you had a hot shot guardian trying to get himself in trouble than three old pros and a rebellious renegade fighting with old rusty renegade.


You'd think that with all of the money that Tonka was making selling Gobots they could come up with new and better ideas than Rock Lords. I was almost 10 when this movie came out and frankly I didn't really see what all of the fuss was about. A transforming rock shtick that was probably done because Tonka running a bit low on ideas. I can't even begin to tell everyone how disappointing this movie was to me. Maybe it was because I was a preteen and I really didn't care or it could have been because I was getting into other things.

If I had the chance to compare this movie to the Transformers movie I'd have said that the Transformers would have won hands down. The Transformers movie was nowhere near as violent as this movie was and even then at least the writers of the Transformers movie waited until somewhere near the middle before they even started killing off characters. In this movie we see a character being killed within the first five minutes of the movie.

Needless to say if I had 1000 monkeys on 1000 computers they could come up with a better idea than this.


Totally generic, forgettable trash. Boring story and terrible animation (typical of Hanna Barbera). Not much different than the equally forgettable TV series, except with this they got "celebrity" voices. Hanna Barbera should never have been hired to make a robot cartoon. There was a reason Transformers is remembered and loved and Gobots gone and forgotten-- the difference in quality of their respective television shows. Both were good toys, but Transformers had fun stories and great animation (for its time). Gobots was standard Saturday Morning schlock. I strongly suggest get the DVDs of "Machine Robo: Revenge of Cronos" (currently out on Region 1) instead and see how the Gobots & Rock Lords should have been done.


This film is a 75 minute animated commercial for the Gobots toy line. The animation was produced by Hanna-Barbera, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Since I was nearly 30 years old when this toy line was introduced, I didn't expect to really understand the charactors, and the plotline.

As I watched this epic, I kept wondering what made Roddy McDowell do a voice for this thing. Musta been paid major bucks.

The bad guys are destroying everything in their paths, and the good guys (the GOBOTS®) are out to get them. Lots of pointless shooting, and noise. Perfect for the kids of the mid '80's.

The color and animation is typical Hanna-Barbera. The backgrounds were decent, but the stilted animation style hurt the flow of the story. Perhaps Tonka (the toy maker) just couldn't see paying more for better work. If they had, this film would be better.

Hanna-Barbera is not at fault here. They are capable of some fine work, and have done fine work in the past. This, unfortunately, is not the one.

This film was rated G. If there had been live actors instead of animation, this thing would be rated PG. What's the difference?


I bought Rome Total War (short: RTW) because I was interested in the add-on Barbarian Invasions. The add-on promised to invoke the mood of the final days of the empire and the early middle ages, the period that is the subject of Gibbons book, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. This period holds my special interest because I am fascinated in last days and falls of anything. However I never got around to buying the add-on since I was disappointed in the way Rome Total War worked on a strategic level. Let's get around to RTW main failings before getting to the good bits. This way we can end in a happier mood.

RTW's primary failings are on a strategic level. Politics, broken down into internal and external relations, are usually based on marriages, the key component in the power-games that surrounded the rise of the roman empire. However in RTW internal relations, while being represented in the game, are beyond the influence of the player. External relationships are better represented, but in RTW you can't arrange a marriage with representant of another nation and an alliance is as easily broken as it is agreed upon by the AI, which doesn't represent reality and for game purposes it means it is useless. In fact with the exception of bribing most instruments of the diplomat in this game are either not effective or useless.

Strangely, while in politics there is not enough control, there is to much control on the economic level. You can develop every town in any way you see fit, while in reality and of necessity the ancient period lacked a tight centralized control. Only the roman emperors could, because of their vast wealth and power, slightly influence economics, but even when they applied drastic policies these would general fail or backfire.

There are more strange things in this game. For instance, populous cities always get inflicted with rebellion regardless of how many guards or pacifying buildings you assign to them, so you need to exterminate the population of all large cities you conquer. This extreme measure seems to have no influence on the opinion of the rest of the world as far as I know. A bit strange. Another strange thing is that when you are roman, the senate will give you quests that half the time simply undo-able(conquer a city in the middle of enemy territory within 10 turns, even if the trip will take 10 turns). There are many more examples, but let's leave it with these two examples.

Now after all this negativity, let's have a look at the positive sides. The best way to do it is to forget that the game tries to accurate depict historic realities of ancient roman times. If you look at the game from the bottom-up: that it is battle generator in which the battles are given a context by having a rudimentary, but easily manageable, strategic shell, the this game is superb.

The battles are stunningly well done. There is a wide selection of troops available who's composition is dependent on the nation you play. Play the Greeks and you get a hoplite army, play the Parthians and you get a horse army, play the Romans and you get a heavy infantry army. Each nation is well represented with their own troop types which allows for much replay-ability and sheer enjoyment when watched on the battlefield. The AI in combat is adequate(compare it with the AI from Mark of Chaos, which is two years younger and performs worse) although it is unable to learn from failures, so once you find the key to defeat a specific army composition(horse archers vs infantry) then the AI will not adapt his army to the new challenge. The developers have put in every effort to make sure the battles are pleasant experience by easy control, speed of pace and free range of the camera. There is little to more to require. A special remark I want to make for the sounds. The developers have chosen good sounds in the battle and for each of the nations you can play. This is well done and enhances the mood of the game.

So here is it, a weak strategic shell but a hell of a good battle generator. With these limitations it is recommended to anyone interested in tactical games. Hopefully the add-ons will be available in one big bundle in the near future.


Rome: Total War is a great strategy game. The Total War series is one of the best around, only Football Manager can beat it. The game is set during the growth of the Roman Empire and the mission is simple: take control of the empire! There are 3 factions that trying to gain power, the Julii in the North of Italy, the Brutii in the South and the Scripii in Central Italy and Silicy. You are meant to help gain territory for the Empire until you have enough strength to conquer Rome itself and the other two factions. As you conquer states you are also able to play as other states such as Gaul, Greece, Egypt, etc. What makes the Total War types of game in one. There is the battle real time part which is excellent and the mission is simple, win! The other part is the turn-style strategy on the European map and you have to do a lot to maintain your empire. There are other parts to the game as well, such as Historical battles and set-piece battles.

Rome: Total War is a great game and worth playing and is very addictive. Medieval: Total War II is also very good and I will like to play Empire: Total War when it comes out.


A doctor researching "frozen therapy" seeks out Boris Karloff, the therapy's originator. Boris has been missing from his island laboratory for ten years. After ignoring requests to stay off the island by locals, the doctor and his beautiful nurse discover Boris frozen in secret caves beneath the lab. Boris has been frozen along with a host of villagers. Through flashback it is learned these others came to arrest Boris for murder ten years earlier and they all wound up being gassed and frozen. This is the proof Karloff needs to vindicate his research. He sets out to duplicate his accidental results, his methods become increasingly Machiavellian. Ultimately he is his own undoing. This movie is hard to catagorize. The film makers tried to add shock to an interesting scifi story. The film succeeds in spite of the efforts to punch it up. The acting is uneven but overall this is a top notch "B" effort. The science is very plausible, a rarity in old laboratory films. See it and be pleasantly surprised


This little known gem from 1940 is impressive for a few reasons: first, it stands head and shoulders above most of the B movies of the era, largely due to a good script and a great performance from Boris Karloff. Also, while made in the midst of the Universal horror period, it demonstrates some of the best elements of that genre, however it also pre-figures the oncoming decade of sci-fi flicks of the 50s, but with a more intelligent, and mysterious, plot than most of the B sci-fi films that followed. It also incorporates some noir elements such as shadowy images, gun play, etc. The Man with Nine Lives is also known under the alternative title Behind the Door (which is actually more accurate).


It's not exactly a major shock that Boris Karloff plays a mad scientist in this film, though it is very unusual the way he plays this role. Instead of the evil twisted genius set on making monsters or ruling the world, Karloff's goals are incredibly noble. And, when he later kills, you really understand with and could possibly condone why he did this. The moral implications of the film are astounding! As for the rest of the film, the writing for this sort of B-movie is very good, the acting fine and production values work out well (proving you don't need a huge budget to make a good film). About the only negatives at all are the ending (I would have just ended the film a minute or two earlier without the unnecessary final scene) and a mistake in the film about how deep the lab was under the earth. In the beginning, they count 191 steps to the bottom of the shaft to the lab, but later, it's just a homemade ladder about 12 feet long. Regardless, it didn't harm the film in any serious way and the film is a very good 'mad scientist' flick that actually is good entertainment and well thought-out.


Boris Karloff's makeup isn't frightening, but his eyes and facial expressions keep you on edge. Boris Karloff is working on a cure for cancer by FREEZING, Dr Kravaal (Boris Karloff) places his dying patient in an underground ice chamber carved out from a surrounding glacier. One of his patients die and Boris is in fear of being arrested. Karloff uses a powerful drug which puts Boris and his captors in an unconscious rest. Ten years after the disappearance of Dr. Kravaal, they discover the ice chamber containing the frozen bodies. The story progreses with Karloff going out of control experimenting with his prisoners, using them as his guinea pigs until he obtains the complete formula. All you can say about this picture is that Boris was trying to cure cancer the best way that he could in 1940.


"Scandal Sheet" director Nick Grinde's "The Man with Nine Lives" qualifies as a good Boris Karloff mad scientist movie about the application of cryogenics as a cure for cancer. No, this is neither a scary movie nor is Boris buried beneath layers of make-up, though he does affect spectacles and a beard. Grinde and scenarists Karl Brownwho wrote "The Man They Could Not Hang" and "Counterfeit Lady" Harold Shumate explore the thin line between scientific genius and criminal insanity in this provocative thriller. The depth of sophistication in the writing and Karloff's extraordinary performancehe waxes from a kind gentle soul to a demented madmansets "The Man with Nine Lives" apart from most horror movies. Later, in 1940, Karloff played a similar role as a scientist with greater sympathy in director William Nigh's "The Ape" where he resorts to horrible means to perfect a serum so that a wheel-chair bound beauty can stand up and walk again. Moreover, "The Man with Nine Lives" deals with something much more believable, the use of cryogenics to eliminate human ailments. Indeed, this low-budget opus considers the difference between scientific success and its real-life application. Just because an individual is right doesn't mean that they are morally justified to perform their deeds. For example, the protagonist, Dr. Tim Mason (Roger Pryor of "Belle of the Nineties"), impresses to the press how the use of cryogenics can help mankind before his procedure has been checked by others and the head of the hospital reprimands him for behaving in a presumptuous manner and advises him to take a sabbatical until his experiments can be checked.

Mason and his fiancée Nurse Judith Blair (Jo Anne Sayers of "Young Dr. Kildare") use the leave of absence to track down the scientist, Dr. Leon Kravaal (Boris Karloff) whose research inspired Mason. Kravaal has been missing since 1930 and Mason resolves to find him. Kravaal lived on an island and a man who rents out boats warns them that several gentlemen visited Kravaal, but they never returned. Mason and Judith land on the island and find a destitute, empty house. The house, however, conceals many hiding places and they discover a dilapidated laboratory and Judith shrieks when they stumble upon a skeleton. Later, our heroes uncover a locked down and open it to find it filled with ice and the body of Dr. Kravaal. They revive him and Mason explains his interest in cryogenics.

Dr. Kravaal explains how he came to be frozen. The circumstances involved a dying wealthy man who sought treatment for his ailment, but the man's hysterical son believes that Kravaal is taking advantage of a terminal case to make money and the authorities force Kravaal to take him to his island so that they can see what he has done. A medical authority who accompanies them has nothing but contempt for Kravaal's treatment of freezing a man to cure him. Kravaal gets the drop on them and smashes a chemical potion that knocks them out. Their interference brings about the death of the dying rich man and Kravaal stashes them in one of his frozen chambers. Unfortunately, the same chemicals that he resorted to so that he could take them hostage works on him and he collapses and is frozen until Mason and Judith thaw him out. They thaw out the incredulous authorities and the adventure really begins! This is a really thoughtful science fiction movie.


The Columbia Karloff Pictures would recycle generally the same idea, incorporating touches here or there to remove identical ties to each other. Thematically, Karloff portrays a dedicated scientist whose goal is to benefit mankind through some type of medical experiment to prolong life. His work is treated with skepticism, unbelief, and scorn by local authorities and medical doctors who would find his experiments too fantastic to accept despite all his efforts to persuade him otherwise. The use of human guinea pigs(..voluntary, as often was the case)would not be received well by those who were critical of his work, or found his experiments too far-fetched or, as often was the case, morally objectionable. But, as in many of these film's story arcs, Karloff's scientists would proclaim that in order to achieve breakthroughs in science, sacrifice had to be made, most of the time those volunteers perhaps would've survived while under his care if those who oppose this new, "dangerous" science hadn't of interfered. The opposition would balk that the threat of human life was too great and so this dilemma always seems to disrupt Karloff, plague his desires to bring good to the world, not evil.

The Man With Nine Lives establishes the experiment as "frozen therapy", cryogenic science as a method for benefiting mankind, with Karloff's Dr. Leon Kravaal, found in a chamber frozen in ice in his abandoned secret laboratory by Dr. Tim Mason(Roger Pryor) and his nurse/fiancé Judith(Jo Ann Sayers)as they were hoping to uncover notes of his research since he's known as the father of this type of growing medical practice many consider the future for helping the sick and dying. When it's discovered that there are four others in another room of the chamber where he was found, their lives are thrown into a crisis..those who threatened to imprison Kravaal for his frozen therapy, endangering a patient he had under cryogenic sleep, are awakened and despite the obvious success before them threaten to ruin all the potential benefits which could reach the world. See, when threatening to arrest him, Kravaal concocted a solution which could poison them if the liquid were to erupt into gaseous form, when breathed could cause harm. Instead, this solution, as written down while preparing it, stabilized those who ingested it, and so, for ten years, those in the ice chamber rooms remained in a cryogenic state, but kept alive. Unfortunately, Kravaal's nemesis is a greedy nephew who wants the inheritance of his patient in cryogenic sleep, and this maggot rips up and burns the exact written details of the solution which would in fact help prolong human life. This causes Kravaal to shoot him in the back, with others a witness to the murder..seeing as they pose a threat to his developing another solution, in the name of science, he will do whatever it takes to achieve again what has been lost thanks to the vile stupidity of another.

In these kinds of movies, it never ends well for Karloff's scientists. He often achieves extraordinary results, paying the ultimate price, a sacrifice is often made so that others may benefit. In most of these films, Karloff would succumb to his human frailties such as revenge against those who opposed him or caused damage to the potentiality of success in his work. Unlike the mad science of Frankenstein, these Karloff Columbia Pictures grounded their stories in a modern setting, despite how outrageous the experiments might seem, often they still offer a realism, debating how far one should go to increase life expectancy. Those that find his work crazy, most of these films show that Karloff, at first anyway, was completely sane and determined to help his fellow man if allowed to continue his work unabated, and this was so often not the case.

In most of these movies(..like Before I Hang or The Man They Could Not Hang)Karloff is provided a loving daughter who can reason with him in his moments of emotional blackness and despair, even as he threatens the lives of others who have railroaded his mission to bring medical breakthroughs to humankind. The Man With Nine Lives almost entirely takes place within the cramped confines of Kravaal's laboratory, holding prisoner those who were to arrest him, using them as guinea pigs for his experiments concerning the development of a new solution, needing to test his theories, raising the ire of his contemporaries, Tim and Judith, who can see the lengths he's willing to go to achieve success. Again, the story will seem familiar if you have watched other movies Karloff made for Columbia Pictures..if you like them, I think you might like this one as well.


I have a feeling that many of us have entertained the whimsical notion, as we dragged ourselves to work in the morning, that it might be nice to have hot coffee fed intravenously into our systems. Well, in the misleadingly titled Boris Karloff vehicle "The Man With Nine Lives" (1940), we get to see that such a procedure might be as pleasant as imagined. In this picture, experimental patients of one Dr. Mason, who's looking to cure cancer victims via cryogenics, are brought out of deep freeze in just that manner! Dr. Mason and his nurse fiancée soon discover the body of cryogenics pioneer Dr. Leon Kravaal, 100 feet underground in a Canadian ice cave, where he'd been laying frozen--a corpsicle--for a full decade. Dr. Kravaal (played by Karloff, of course, in still another of his overly ardent scientist roles) is remarkably brought back to life, and begins his scientific pursuits anew. Anyway, this film is a fairly restrained affair, impeccably acted by its small cast, economically written, nicely photographed, and captured here on a pristine-looking DVD. The goateed Kravaal, likable at first, grows increasingly deranged as the film progresses, but still manages to hold the audience's sympathies; a brilliant scientist using unethical methods to achieve great ends. Despite the far-fetched central conceit of the possibility of freezing a man indefinitely and bringing him back to life, the movie is fairly believable; a testament to its intelligent script and fine players. But wait...did I say "far-fetched"? I have a feeling that Walt Disney, Ted Williams and thousands of frozen sperm cells the world over might disagree with that sentiment!


It's been 30 years since I saw this film, and most of what I recall about it is that I loved it, as a 10-year-old watching at 4 a.m.

I distantly recall a tale of bringing life back with a dark, brooding sinister Karloff obsessed with a purpose. There was of course, a young couple in danger. I recall dark sets, with much of the action in a dark room, or maybe it was even a cave. As I mentioned, it's been a long time. I wish I could recall more, and find this film gem. Does anyone know if a DVD or video company sells this classic of the genre?


The adaptation of Francisco Ibañez's comics is, no doubts, impeccable. Perhaps some people won't like it as much as I did, but I had great fun with this film, since there is a very funny gags mixture, where there is something outlandish and nonsensical every 30 seconds, typical of Fesser's movies. I also have to say that things that look normal in the comics, may seem nonsense in the film, that's another component that I liked. As I said before, there might be people who don't like it because it has the humor of "Torrente", but the film is exceptional, especially because of the visual effects. It is important to point out that the DVD is for sale already, where there are 2 discs with the movie and tons of extra content, so if you liked it you shouldn't miss it.


It is amazing to see all the things you have read all your life in the big screen. It is not only the characters, but also all the background is related to the comic (and all the little details you can find).

I had seen no movie where you could find so few differences between the comic and the film (much much better than Asterix and Obelix, where the things look quite strange).

And the best of all: The actor playing Mortadelo is really Mortadelo (same face, same voice, everything!! is like the comic).


Mortadelo & Filemon's first film (and may be not the last because it's going to be a success) is just great. Transforming the comic into a movie was a really hard job, but Javier Fesser has accomplished it very well; the comic's gags, humour and constant violence is here, helped by convincing and hilarious special effects (there are many!); it's a mix between Fesser's humour (shown in El Milagro de P. Tinto) and Francisco Ibáñez one.

The comics are quite known, specially around Europe, and of course, in Spain. However, whether you know them or not, it doesn't matter because its fun for everyone, all ages! The movie isn't based in any of the comics, but takes several elements from their first long comic, El Sulfato Atomico (1968), but there are many other references. Benito Pocino and Pepe Viyuela are excellent in their parts; Pocino doesn't perform. He IS Mortadelo. And he does his job fairly well. Viyuela isn't as similar as the comic's Filemon but has the exact psycology, and I think he does the best performance in the film. The other supporting actors, like Janfri Topera (as Prof. Bacterio) and Mariano Venacio (as the Superintendent), are almost identic, and you do really believe that it's the comic translated to the screen. Dominique Pinon plays Fredy Mazas, an invented character, hilariously.

There are other funny characters like Rompetechos and the people in 13 Rue del Percebe, that have great cameos in this film. It is, as Francisco Ibáñez (the creator of the comic) said, the comic as a movie. It's really imaginative, with many original ideas and things (like Prof. Bacterio's cool inventions)

Finally, must say that the special effects are simply amazing, and really believale (they don't look cheesy or fake), the best in spanish movies, and there are so many details that it's impossible to see them all if you see it only once; there are lots of gags and funny details that you won't notice at first sight, so look sharp!

Very entertaining movie, you laugh your pants off ***1/2 of ****


If you like the Comic, you will like the film. Javier Fesser and Comapny have made the perfect film of Mortadelo and Filemon (Clever and Smart, etc). Benito Pocino is the perfect actor for Mortadelo because he is Mortadelo, and we can't forget Filemon, a great Pepe Viyuela who makes a great performance too. But even the Super and the Profesor Bacterio are as I have imagined them. They have done a great job recreating the inventations and all the items that are in the comics. You can see the Eskimo, and a lot of nonsense in the set, like signs, draws, etc...

The Plot is very funny, the seed of the film is the comic El Sulfato Atomico, one of the masterpieces of Ibañez, in where you can see the Tirania Dictator, and a lot of inventions.

A Must see for all the Real Fans.


This film is a perfect adaptation of PAco Ibáñez characters. Mortadelo, Filemon, Professor Bacterio, The Super, Ofelia, Rompeteños, people from RUE 13 PERCEBE are perfectly represented. Story and development take all the topics of the comic. Pepe Viyuela and Benito Pocino are credible and incredible as the worst couple of secret agent in the history of T.I.A.


When this movie was released I thought that being a fan of the comic books (as almost every other spaniard) I would be disappointed. Months went by and one day my husband rented it. To my surprise, the movie was hilarious and it recreated the weird Mortadelo and Filemon's world very well. When the movie ended we both agreed we had to watch it again to be able to get the million things that happened at the same time on the screen. Just like in the comic books.

To me, the highlights of this movie are, and not in this exact order, the cast and the script. I thought it was impossible to find someone to play Mortadelo that really looked like Mortadelo, or that Berta Ojea could make such a great Ofelia.

The movie is so weird and so surrealistic that I don't think everybody would like it. But if you like that kind of humor, go rent it.


This has to be one of the all time best crazy fun movies that I have ever seen. The cast is excellent and the quality of the props and scenery are also excellent to watch. I don't speak Spanish and therefore the sub-titles are great. I saw this show on local TV and am now going to purchase a DVD copy as its an excellent library addition. I missed the first 10 minutes of the show and I am eager to watch the entire movie and I am sure there are so many bits that I missed whilst watching it on TV, watching this show over and over will be a treat. I hope you enjoy it as well and it brings a smile to your face and makes your day happy. I'm my opinion its a pity that all the Hollywood hype means that a lot of sub-standard USA shows make it to the big time in the box office. This Mortadelo movie proves the world is a bigger and better place than just Hollywood. Thanks. Bill.


The definite challenge for a film director is his second movie. Many have made a good or even flawed but interesting first feature, and then either showed how good can really be (i.e. Tarantino's Pulp Fiction) or how the hits of their hit'n'miss first effort were just coincidential (i.e. Amenábar's Open Your Eyes). To me, Javier Fesser's Mortadelo y Filemón classifies him as somebody just gifted to be a garbage picker. His first movie The Miracle of P. Tinto was very irregular, it had some great moments (like the opening B&W short) and also tons of unfunny and lame jokes and weirdness for the sake of weirdness. However, the visual aspect of the film, while too tributary of Jean-Pierre Jeunet, made me think Fesser would ever make something of interest.

Of course, I was totally wrong. Mortadelo y Filemón was a source material choice that was as commercially safe (given the fame of the comic books, EVERYBODY in Spain would watch it) as artistically risky (not only the comic books are really difficult to adapt to the screen, but everbody has his own vision of what Mortadelo & Filemón should be). Anyway, even an interesting failure would be nice to watch.

What Fesser did was the worst comic book adaptation this side of Schumacher's Batman and Robin.

OK, I see, Benito Pocino and Pepe Viyuela are reasonable M & F lookalikes (specially Pocino, whose heartwarmingly fun performance is the only good thing in the film), but I'd rather see Affleck and Damon play M & F than endure the debacle that's Fesser's film. And the rest of the cast isn't that good either: The Super is too thin, Bacterio is too fat, and everybody has too much hair. But I wouldn't mind if the performances were adequate. For example, in the comic books, Filemón is a more serious person with very bad luck (he receives all the physical damage that's destined to Mortadelo). In the movie, Filemón is just a permanently angry freak, and is not comprensible why he's the "boss". Also Rompetechos is now a "facha" (Francisco Franco-supporting nostalgic), which in the comic books never was.

And the script... Ohhh, the gawd-awful script! I have read a Fesser interview where he said he didn't enjoy the first live-action Astérix movie because no matter how good the lookalikes were, it didn't respect the essential of the comics. Given this isn't it strange that in M & F the lookalikes are much better but the essence of the books is way less respected? Not only Fesser did the same thing than the producers of Astérix (another very bad movie, BTW), which was taking little bits of this and that story and glueing them without much coherence, but Fesser's film makes much less sense. It only resembles the comics in the visuals (which, by the way, still borrows a whole lot from Jeunet), but the plot takes the characters and gives them a 360 degrees rotation (if, in the comics, Ofelia ever kissed Mortadelo, instead of feeling pleased his reaction would be more like puking). Want more badness? It's incredibly boring and incongruous. Want EVEN more badness? Most of the characters, specially the non-comics-based characters Fredy Mazas (Dominique Pinon! Wasn't the Jeunet link already clear enough?), Nadiusko and the Franco-based bad guy Tyrant, have A LOT MORE screen time than M & F themselves. This seems more like "Fredy Mazas' Big Adventure with cameos of Mortadelo and Filemón". And, you guessed it, Fesser is more interested in his obsessions about Catholic Mass songs, butane gas cylinders and spoofing Spielberg movies than in making anything remotely connected to the works of Francisco Ibáñez.

This said, and as the 1994 TV cartoon sucked as well (but by different reasons), the only worthwhile M & F screen adaptations are those made in the late 60s and early 70s (El Armario del Tiempo, and the likes).

2 out of 10. Avoid like the plague, specially if you are a fan of the comics.


Well, I didn't expect a great film, and I watched "El Milagro de P.Tinto" and I didn't liked very much, but I love the comic and I had to watch the film. The movie was even worse than I expected, characters only look like comic characters, but their personalities are completely differents, and the director included sexual jokes that you'd never find in the comic. If you loved the comic, DON'T watch the film. If you don't care about the comic and you want to watch 2 hours of easy jokes, this is your film.


I love this movie and have watched it more than any other film I own. What makes it for me is the subtle face acting of the two leads whose comic timing is perfect. Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn have never been so good (plus this is the only film in which Bruce Willis doesn't do his trademark smirk even once).

Every role is played to perfection and the script is a comedy work of art.

I won't bother defending it to those people who need their jokes hammered home to them by comedy actors whose only way of getting a laugh is to gurn and fart. Each to their own.


There is so much greatness in this unexpected Hollywood comedy that the cheap shots are really cheap and, quite frankly, unbearable. Buried somewhere between the special effects (extraordinary by the way) is one the wittiest satires to come out of Hollywood in many, many moons. Meryl Streep is sensational and Bruce Willis is, I swear, unrecognizable in the best possible way. The movie hits the highest moments when, for instance, Meryl asks Isabella Rossellini how much the magic potion costs and Isabella replays: "Oh the sordid topic of coin" sublime, exquisite, funny but with enormous regard for its audience. But when Bruce calls Goldie Hawn to explain the "incident" at home he goes through a TV style monologue that seems to belong to a sit-com and not to the elegant vulgarity of this three sad, magnificent wannabees. The dialog, for the most part, is the best in any American serious comedy since Billy Wilder. The structure of the script is flawless and inventive. The costumes are atrocious and certain scenes seem directed by a 3rd assistant. I don't know how to explain it. However, I have it, I own it and sometimes I put it on with my finger in the fast forward. What's good is so good that makes the whole thing really worth it.


I must have seen this film about 15 or so times now. I love the vain, shallow characters of Madeline and Helen who are the ultimate example of what might happen if you took the advice of our "obsessed-with-perfection" media to its illogical conclusion. Meryl and Goldie play their parts with unrestrained enthusiasm, pushing them to the limit to emphasise that these two who believe they are truly beautiful are, after all, just caricatures of perfection.

Like Icarus, Mad and Hell take no advice and pursue the unattainable regardless of the cost. That they see every mountainous obstacle as a mere minor inconvenience helps reinforce the humour of the film. Bruce Willis is marvellous as Ernest, the unhappy mouse caught in the middle of their game; the voice of reason amid lunacy.

The writing is witty and sometimes painfully sharp, emphasising in almost every scene that beauty does not equal happiness, and the closer you come to attaining an obsessively pursued physical perfection, the further you get from real happiness and fulfillment. Stylistically our attention is focused on this concept over and over again, with mirrors and reflections used very creatively throughout the film.

We don't see a lot of clever satire these days, which is a pity. This is a fabulous film.


Death becomes her has a really good idea: what would it be like to live forever, stay young and beautiful? I don´t consider this movie gives an answer to that, but it represents one over-exaggerated view - a particularly well-carried out view. Goldie Hawn and Meryl Streep make an unique performance and fit perfectly to their roles. Interesting was also to see Bruce Willis in so different kind of movie I have used to see him. The plot was a little bit too easy to guess beforehand, but I didn´t mind. Just great!


I never saw "Death Becomes Her" when it first come out because of a review I had read somewhere. The review was dismissive and made a lot of sense, so I decided to give it a miss. What a terrible mistake! This is a movie I would love to see on a big screen. The script is so brilliantly clever. Disguised as a silly comedy there is a world of serious themes executed by a knowing cast. Meryl Streep in particular, playing convincingly an actress without talent. I remember the bad review criticized the writers for setting the story in a rainy, stormy Los Angeles when California was going through a drought. Imagine if a comedy about magic potions should worry about the accuracy of the weather. In fact the Los Angeles of "Death Becomes Her" feels more like Los Angelers than most realistic movies and it does it with nerve and wit. "In 12 years in Los Angeles have you ever seen a neighbor?" screams Meryl to his mousy Bruce. An absolute delight. Other hidden treasures are a cameo from Sidney Pollack and a very funny and very sexy "76 years old" Isabella Rossellini. A new cult classic and a total must.


When I first watched this movie, I felt like it is just one of those movies that I would give a 6 score. But I found myself watching this movie again and again. As conversations or question of immortality arises, I found myself quoting or referencing the movie.

Because the movie is so watchable after so many viewings, I think this is a classic movie. It is about two woman trying to steal a man and fighting over their differences and jealousy. These woman wants to pursue immortality while another man wants to choose mortality and live a full life. It is the question of superficiality and immortality that struck me deep. The other issue is the desire to find that fountain of youth at the same time. The issues are as old as time. How do you feel when someone comes to you and say "You are old!". That was one of the phrases when a young man complains to Meryl Streep. These are some of the things you will ponder.

Bruce Willis really surprise me this one as he no longer plays the tough man image. While Goldie Hawn and Meryl Streep play great opposite roles as the two jealous fighting women who fight over differences and yet have to live together inspite of it. Yes, I have people I really detest and must live with them. Therefore, a lot of issues in this movie really hits me deep.


If only Bette Davis and Joan Crawford could be alive today and see this! Two emasculating she-wolfs battling it out - they think - because they want one man, but really, it's all about ego and oneupmanship, and with two equally established actresses such as Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn, both looking exceptionally beautiful in their mid-40s, DEATH BECOMES HER is a visual treat that throws back an unintentional but hilarious reference to the aforementioned divas who preceded them. Very tongue-in-cheek, and whoever saw (and read) the sustained repulsion Davis and Crawford sustained throughout their life, mirrored in WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? will not be lost on the background reference.

A simple premise presides: Madeline Ashton (Streep), a fading B-movie actress, relegated to performing an awful musical based on SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH, sets sight on renown surgeon Ernest Manville (Bruce Willis) whom Helen Sharp (Hawn) has taken to meet her as a test to prove he will still be hers after their meet. Needless to say, he drops his commitment to Helen, marries Madeline, and sends Helen into a spiraling self-destruct mode. Years later she becomes a bloated whale - a shell of her former self - living in total abandon, watching Madeline's movies obsessively, seething in hatred, until she is evicted from her apartment and has a brilliant idea while in a mental facility: she must eliminate Madeline.

Madeline, on the other end, is no less happy. A total, absolute bitch, she has reduced Ernest to blubber. She hates the way she looks at 50 and the way young girls preen their perky looks. Both live in marital hell. An invite to attend Helen's book party (on beauty) has her howling in laughter - beauty tips from a disgusting fattie? Please! - but when she sees that Helen is now a svelte redhead, she balks - and their reunion is one of dripping, beautiful venom, the highlight of the entire movie. Distraught, she seeks the advice of a mysterious woman, Lisle von Rhuman whom she was referred to earlier, and she gives her what seems an innocent potion to drink which will restore her looks. Meanwhile, Helen is planning to have Ernest dispose of Madeline and rekindling their botched affair. When Madeline returns home, she gets into a heated argument with Ernest and he pushes her down the stairs. She is dead.

Or is she? A marvelous setup that until this point in the story works, but one which later takes a left turn to be overcome by silly fight scenes and cartoonish special effects that recall Tim Burton circa 1987. The triangle of actors work absolutely perfectly here, Streep drips with venomous lines reminiscent of Elizabeth Taylor's overwhelming performance as Martha in WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?; however, Hawn and Willis, while established as personalities more than actors of considerable range, fare better than Streep in that she is "expected" to play hers to perfection. Hawn on the other hand proves she's capable of very dark roles that suggest more than they give. Willis, stripped of his usual machismo, comes across as a broken man who throughout most of the film is emasculated but makes one crucial decision which saves him from an uncertain fate. Casting these three actors are cast against type works in this edgy comedy, and if anything, it's final act is its own weakness, as if the writers had somehow not known where to go with the inevitable, violent encounter between them but all in all, it's still very enjoyable.

Robert Zemeckis, though, makes one glaring mistake during one of the key scenes. When Streep rises from the ground, we see Willis in the foreground talking on the phone to Helen who wants to know if she is dead. We know she is not; the deep focus has established she is not. As she slowly makes her way to where Willis is, Zemeckis chooses to cut to Hawn for a brief second. Big mistake. We don't need to see her sitting in front of her shrine of hatred for Madeline - we know she hates her, it's quite clear - so he should have held that scene perfectly still, allowing us to see Streep get closer and closer to the forefront. That is suspense in itself: how will Willis react to seeing his wife shuffling her way to him. But the use of deep focus is something that has fallen out of vogue in film-making, as if they've lost the interest to really tell a visual story, and the quick cut to Hawn being the need to give her a moment's screen time.


This was way fun. One of my favorite guilty pleasures. All the actors are in top form here and I loved Bruce, Goldie, and Meryl. This is truly a classic in the black comedies. The score was terrific, set design fantastic, and all around excellent.


Classic 90's time, this is one of those movies that I kind of remember seeing on TV five million times as a kid. I always loved watching it, it had the most incredible effects and I thought it was so funny. I was such a deranged 7 year old I guess. But still to this day, I really enjoy watching Death Becomes Her. It has a very clever story, amazing effects and three great actors: Bruce Willis, Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn. Who said dark comedies can't be good? Death Becomes her shows the true competitive side of women that scares most of the human race, how far we will go to be the hottest, the smartest, the kindest, etc. But also the whole essence of eternal youth, beauty and living forever, and Death Becomes Her handles the subject very well.

Actress Madeline Ashton and writer Helen Sharp are longtime rivals. Helen's life falls apart when glamorous Madeline steals Helen's fiancé, plastic surgeon Ernest Menville, and marries him. Seven years later, Helen is now an obese, depressed woman, and is arrested and placed in a mental institution. Obsessed with getting revenge against Madeline, she struggles in the institution with healing. Madeline's career on Broadway ends, and 14 years later she is still struggling with her fading looks and bygone acting career. Ernest, now an alcoholic and miserable in his marriage, has been reduced to working as a high-end mortician. When Madeline and Helen meet again at Helen's book-signing party, Helen appears miraculously rejuvenated, thin, and youthful. Madeline is first dumbfounded then jealous. As part of Helen's plan, she plays both Madeline and Ernest, telling them each she has never blamed them for her ruined love life. Madeline resorts to the aid of the mysterious Lisle Von Rhoman, who claims she has discovered the secret of eternal youth. Madeline purchases the potion, drinks it, and is delighted to see her body visibly losing the signs of aging as she watches in a mirror, leaving her thin, firm, and young. Helen, meanwhile, seduces Ernest and reveals to him a detailed and foolproof plot to kill Madeline. Ernest kills Madeline, Madeline is still alive Madeline kills Helen Helen is still alive death has become them.

The film is flawed no doubt, it should have developed the characters a bit more, we never really understood why Madeline and Helen were friends in the first place as it seems like they've always hated each other, they could have just explored the friendship a little further. As well as why we should care what is happening to these pretty horrible characters. But still this is one of those films that for some reason keeps me watching it every time it pops up on TV. I think it was a lot of fun and had some good laughs, especially the fight between Madeline and Helen, they discover that there's really no point to inflicting physical pain but keep going at it with each other. This is a recommendation to those who have a strange sense of humor, it's something only a few will get.

7/10


I saw this film when i was about 9, since then i have been hooked on it! Its hilarious and cool. Meryl Streep, is superb and funny and knows how to light up the screen. This is definatly one of my favourite films of all time and very good if you want a laugh. Death Becomes Her has great special effects and is an excellent 'black comedy'.


I have seen this movie at least a dozen times and still find things to laugh at. >From the scene when Madeline falls down and breaks her neck to the ending where they both fly apart, it just does not get any better. I recommend this movie to any one wanting to see something completely different. This movie goes to prove that beauty is more than skin deep when it comes to the celebrities. I give this movie a 10 out of 10!

Bravo!! to all three actors.


What do you get when you put the 2 greatest actresses alive today (Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn) together with the incomparable Bruce Willis and thrown in a little Isabella Roselini for good measure...you get a hilariously funny comedy that had to have been just as much fun to make as it was to watch! The effects in this film were uproariously funny and definitely Oscar worthy! The acting is unsurpassed and it is filled with comic scenes such as the one where they make Hellen Sharp (Goldie's character) look a hundred pounds heavier and place her in an apartment cluttered with trash, cats, and frosting containers! How about the funny lines such as "You paint my ass, I'll paint yours!" and the 'death' scenes. How do you kill something that won't die? You don't but you have lots of fun mutilating her! The fight sequence where Hellen and Madeline Ashton (Meryl's character) beat each other senseless without killing each other or even inflicting pain is uproariously funny! Hellen winds up with a huge hole in her stomach and Madeline winds up with a broken neck that won't repair itself. Only Earnest Menville (Bruce Willis' character and the man these 2 women fight over throughout the film) can piece them together again! Not since Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" have 2 such brilliant and gifted actresses been on the same screen and worked so well together to make such a colorful and masterful film...see it today, if you haven't already and if you have...see it again!


This is an excellent Dark comedy that's very funny with 3 amazing performances from Bruce Willis, Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn!. All the characters are fantastic, and i thought the story was awesome, plus Bruce Willis, Meryl Streep And Goldie Hawn are all simply amazing in this!. Meryl and Goldie seemed to be having a blast here, and It was great To see Bruce ham it up in a different role and he pulled it off perfectly, plus the ending is hilarious!. Streep and Hawn had wonderful chemistry together, and the effects were really awesome, plus The plot was really cool as well!. Sure it's hammy but damn is it a lot of fun to watch, and it's extremely underrated as well, plus the costumes were fantastic!. Meryl truly deserves her reputation as one of the best actresses of all time, and i thought the shovel duel was hilarious, plus the funeral scene at the end was very amusing.I can't believe this only has a 5.6 rating as it should be much higher in my opinion, plus Goldie and Meryl's constant arguing was quite funny. This is is an excellent dark comedy, that's very funny, with 3 amazing performances from Willis, Streep and Hawn, and i say it's a must see for everyone!. The Direction is great!. Robert Zemeckis does a great job here, with awesome camera work, good angles, and keeping the film at a very fast pace!. The Acting is amazing!. Bruce Willis is AMAZING as always, and is amazing here, he is extremely likable, had a ball watching him Ham it up as a surgeon, had some very funny dialog, had awesome chemistry with Streep and Hawn, looked very funny in those glasses, and just did an amazing job overall, a tough role that he nailed perfectly. (Willis Rules!!!). Meryl Streep is also AMAZING here, she is extremely hilarious, gorgeous, seemed to be having a ball, had some great costumes, was very unpredictable and i just loved her overall, she was amazing. (Streep Rules!!!). Goldie Hawn is also amazing here, she is very beautiful, funny, had some cool facial reactions, was quite bizarre at times, and just rocked overall!. (Goldie rules). Isabella Rossellini was evil, and was quite fun to watch, she was quite interesting.., i liked her lots, even if her character was really bizarre. Rest of the cast do good. Overall a must see for everyone!. ****1/2 out of 5


I mean, I doubted this movie at first from the beginning in Broadway. But as it progressed, I was laughing so hard on certain scenes like when Dr. Menville is reporting the murder of Madelyn and she suddenly gets up and starts walking toward him. It was too funny and the effects were so phenomenal. I mean literally. But then again, it won an Oscar for its effects. I mean, the fight scene where the 2 start fighting with shovels and Helen breaks off the metal end of Mad's and she throws it right through her. "Yes! I mean No! Oh Damn!" That scene was just side-splitting. Overall it was a good black comedy and I'd recommend it to anybody. And Robert Zemeckis, I never knew he did such a great movie because he's a head producer for Dark Castle Entertainment and he's done some pretty bad movies from there like Ghost Ship and Thir13en Ghosts. But wow, he has really made an excellent movie.


When a glamorous awful actress by the name of Medeline Ashton (Oscar-Winner:Meryl Streep) always stole boyfriends from her friend:Helen Sharp (Oscar-Winner:Goldie Hawn). When Helen loses her fiancé Ernest Manville (Bruce Willis) to Medeline, which Ernest is a brilliant plastic surgeon. Then Helen goes to a depression and subsequently doubles her weight. Years later... When Medeline becomes a out of work actress and her husband-Ernest is now touching up and putting make-up on Dead People. Madeline and Ernest, who haven't seen Helen in years and complete surprise, she changed in her looks and seemingly didn't aged at all. When Medeline is tired about her looks, because she getting older. Then she meets a mysterious very attractive enchantress (Isabella Rossellini), who changed the lives of Helen and Medeline. Their death forever by turning greed, vanity, sex, immortality and life into one unusual difficult crazy buoyancy.

Directed by Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future Trilogy, Cast Away, Contact) made a unique, unusual, different kind of Black Comedy mixed with fantasy. There's great comic performances by the three leads. Rossellini is also good in her small but important role. This film has stunning visual effects done by Industrial, Light & Magic (ILM), which they win an Oscar. Great music score by Alan Silvestri (Cat's Eye, Forrest Gump, What Lies Beneath) and lush cinematography by Dean Cundey (The Fog, Jurassic Park, Who Framed Roger Rabbit) highlight this one. Film Director:Sydney Pollack (Out of Arfica) has an funny unbilled cameo as a Beverly Hills Doctor. Written by Martin Donovan (Apartment Zero) and David Koepp (Panic Room, The Shadow, Spiderman). (****/*****).


I just love this movie! It has some of the greatest acting I have ever seen. For regular people they probability wont understand the complexity of this brillant movie. Meryl streep is a wonderfull actress. Bruce Willis's acting was so good I did not reconize him the first time I saw this move. Watch this movie if you like strange and wild stuff.


I haven't laughed this hard watching a film in years! First of all the very theme is eternal life and how to get it.Sounds promising, doesn't it?Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn in conflict in which they forget the cause,and the conflict becomes it's own purpose.Until... Zemeckis gives us a film with,some might say,predictable plot.But isn't this a satire of the whole scheme? It's filled with smart little jokes and details.Every scene is very precisely built and planed.There was interesting use of longer shots with rich(er) mise-en-scene, and tension built by great editing. In her role Meryl Streep gave us so many wonderful,depicting and amusing little things that she does.Detailes,detailes!Goldie was also very funny,and Bruce was certainly unusual(but in a good way). This film could be used as great lesson in film directing.As a satire it touches a great number of Hollywood film clichés.But isn't learning how to film those clichés basis for making something unique? Anyway,great thanx to the creators of this film!


Any person who has seen this movie and didn't laugh has no sense of humor. From the opening theater scene to the last "BLAH! BLAH! BLAH! BLAH! at Ernest's funeral, this movie kept me laughing throughout. Streep, Hawn (love her eyes) and Willis kept me "doubled over" and I thought they worked great together. I would highly recommend this movie for any one looking for a FIERCE "dark humor" comedy!


This a GREAT movie. It's one of my favorites. It's funny, smart, and it has a lot to say about vanity and jealousy. Not only that, but it really changed my perspective on the idea of living forever. It shows you that it is NOT a good idea!


The genre of black comedy is today unfortunately lacking in many aspects . To think of black comedies there aren't really many to begin with. Not many worth watching, that is. Other forms of comedy have in recent years gone to the extremes in such a way that the real element of fun is missing in all the sex and secretions. There are of course important comedic factors to make the audiences laugh but in my opinion they have to come from the characters and the writing.

In Death Becomes Her Robert Zemeckis brings in a cast extraordinaire to a film that is fresh in ideas and verging on poetic in its writing. The way the film is sculpted leaves only the most essential scenes on the screen, which at the end resonate with each other and become vital like peaces in a thrilling yet dark puzzle. If ever death truly became her, Zemeckis has found the right wardrobe yet. The cast bring their unpeccable goods despite all the visual effects (which still after 14 years look amazing). It must have been difficult to form characters in such an environment but there they are - flesh and not so warm blood. The actors are not TRYING to be funny, they are. Meryl Streep is on fire, never missing a beat as the distraught Madeline Ashton. Goldie Hawn matches her magic scene for scene, and gives a real performance of desperation. Bruce Willis stretches his comedic muscles like never before or after this. Isabella Rosselini is brilliantly cast as the sour and joie de vivre Lisle Von Rhoman. One feels almost ashamed when watching her.

What is even still surprising in Death Becomes Her is that there are real motives behind all the actions. Hurting the one you love by using beauty and youth as a weapon, trying to stay young forever, finding happiness - these are big things, and there might have been a serious way to approach it. But then of course the essence of humor would be lost and I would be deprived of hands down one of the best comedies I have ever seen.


In some ways, Goldie Hawn would seem like the only cast member who should be involved with the zany "Death Becomes Her", given that Meryl Streep is best known for serious roles and Bruce Willis is best known for action movies (not to mention that director Robert Zemeckis is best known for the likes of "Forrest Gump"). But believe you me, everyone does a great job! Portraying two women vying for a man - and going to literally any length to succeed - this is one movie sure to blow your mind. Of course, the best part is what happens to Hawn and Streep. How anyone came up with that I'll never figure out! And then they fight! Ha! Overall, this is just a really cool flick. Whether we interpret it as a jab at Hollywood (and movie stars' obsessions with their looks) or as plain old wacky fun, it's still something else. Also starring are Isabella Rosselini as the woman who gives people the potion, and Sydney Pollack as a physician who gets a really, REALLY big surprise.

I guess that you could say that Meryl Streep's character was "neck-in-neck" with certain other parties, and that Goldie Hawn's character had a hole in more places than her head!


It looks like this movie has had quite mixed reviews, but personally

I love it! It's outrageous, irreverent and absolutely hilarious. The

special effects are amazing and the gags just keep coming.

There are so many witty lines that it's hard to remember them all.

One of my favourites is when Bruce Willis and Goldie Hawn plan

to murder Meryl Streep (who plays Willis' wife). They concoct an

elaborate plot to push her car off Mulholland Drive, but Willis ends

up pushing her down the stairs instead. After the deed is done he

phones Goldie Hawn and breathlessly exclaims, "Helen? I did it!

She's dead, she started shouting at me and I couldn't take it any

more and I pushed her down the stairs and she's dead!" There is

a long pause on the other end of the phone, then Hawn slowly

asks , ". . . which part of the plan didn't you understand?".

Meanwhile, Streep is not dead, but is slowly standing up at the foot

of the stairs with her head on backwards!

Isabella Rosselini is good as the mysterious Lisle von Rhuman

and, at times, looks and sounds uncannily like her mother, Ingrid

Bergman. The film is not everyone's cup of tea, I know, but it's a scream!