Just finished watched Sweeny Todd - not the Burton film, but the Broadway recording it's based on. Honestly, I enjoyed it much more than Burton's film - the acting was brilliant and George Hearn's Todd seems much more...manly and threatning.

If you like the film definetly check out this - it's on amazon for a couple of pounds! EXCELLENT!

Oh and it stars Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett! :woot:

Ah that would be brilliant mate! I'll swap you it for Jerry Springer: The Opera (also from the £land :laugh:)

"The Offence" -

Bleak, tough and unforgiving crime drama from Sidney Lumet.

Overly melodramatic at times and a good turn by Trevor Howard is far too short, but it is saved by the top acting on display (especially by Connery and Ian Bannen) and the (still today) harrowing content on display as Connery's character rips himself apart.

The montage of horror he has seen throughout his career as he drives home and the later aborted telling of it all to his Wife is the finest part of the film (followed by the finale confrontation) and it's tough, heartbreaking, utterly unforgiving stuff that cares not one bit about entertaining its audience in any conventional way.

It's the cinematic equivalent of having your face rubbed into a blood caked broken bottle at a filthy murder scene...and you can see why it failed at the box office but yet still survives today.

And Lumet captures that flawed 'Brave 'New Town' World' look of 70's Britain as good as any native.



"House of Dracula" -

Not very good.
The level of a bit of late night TV fun is the most such lesser 'Universal' films can ever hope to achieve today if we are being truly honest.

Some great use of shadows and Onslow Stevens effortlessly steals the show as the doomed Doctor and has great fun as the mr Hyde/vampire creature.
There is an interesting 'Igorrette' character in the form of a hunchbacked nurse.
And it finally has a good send off for the much troubled Larry 'Wolfman' Talbot.

But this features one of the worst and most boring Dracula's ever (Carradine) looking like a children's party magician doing very little vampyric other than cowering from crosses and turning into a floppy bat before being blandly turned into a novelty shop plastic skeleton.
Carradine is more slightly sinister hypnotist than any Lord of the Undead!

It also features one of the worst Frankenstein Monsters (in the hulking form of Glenn Strange once again) who does nothing whatsoever at all in the film except waddle around lin the last 5 minutes looking lost.

Good old Larry Talbot (Chaney of course) has 2 changes into the Wolfman and is allowed to do nothing at all with either of them before spending most of the rest of the film in human form where all he does is look sad while sitting in a bathchair.

Lionel Atwell pops up in a glorified cameo role as yet another identikit local police chief but this was near the end of his career and he looks and sounds very tired.
Half the cast is snuffed out at the end but the credits pop up so fast no emotional aftermath is allowed.

Ho hum.

Transferred some more old TV broadcasts into the digital realm:

Sir Henry At Rawlinson End

I love Viv Stanshall's Rawlinson audio stuff and though the transition to film is not entirely succesful, it is nonetheless a wonderful experience if all things Rawlinson float your boat. Drawing material from the legendary first Sir Henry At Rawlinson End album and from the many Rawlinson Peel Sessions, this film is astonishingly packed for such a short running time (just under 70 minutes PAL) never letting up as it bombards you with the insanity of life at Rawlinson End. Trevor Howard is just exceptional as Sir Henry and there's a great turn from Patrick Magee as Rev Slodden the corrupt clergyman, but the cast all seem to get the thing and give their all. I find this sruff hiolarious and inspiring, but I could imagine someone else being utterly unmoved and bewildered by it - Marmite comedy. I wish I had bought the Laserdisc release of this.

Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell

From an old ITV screening: this was always one of my favourites from Hammer's Frankenstein films and a fine Grand Guignol ending to the series. The insane asylum setting works brilliantly and it is superbly filmed with wonderful sets and - of course - an exquisite Peter Cushing performance. This seems a fairly complete print, with only one obviously cut scene, though there may have been more that escaped my notice. It will do until I manage to track down a copy of the Anolis release!

Funny you should say that but I already bought it, I'm a bit of a Poundland fiend you see. I know last time I looked there were several copies of Bird With The Crystal Plumage left too, would you like that one as well if it's there? It's a great transfer.
You don't have to return the favour, if I can get it then I'll just send it to you mate :biggrin:

You seen both cuts yet Reaps and if so what one do you prefer? I always remember seeing the trailer and all the scenes that weren't in the theatrical cut and wishing I could see Brian Helgeland's original version.I actually prefer the Director's Cut.It's a much darker film and Mel Gibson's Porter is a nastier piece of work in the than he was in the TC.The only thing I miss in DC is the TC's music score,which is very reminiscent of David Shire's score for one of my favourite films of the 70's,The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three.

Another thing I noticed,having already bought the U.S. disc of the 'Straight Up' Director's Cut is that the special features on the UK/European disc haven't been transferred properly for some reason.Whenever the camera pans across the screen,it's quite jerky.(I checked the disc on my region A and B players so it's nothing i have set incorrectly) :suspicious:

I saw it a few days ago, yeah it was very bleak and quite depressing.
Not a movie to watch when your having a bad day :lol:

Was very good though, at first I doubted that Viggo Mortensen could pull it off but I was surprised as he done a very good job of playing the father. The kid was pretty good too, felt so sorry for him at the end. He is in the Let The Right One In remake.

as far as I know (although TV screenings even then sometimes used a badly cut version) it's the UK cinema version. With just a small cut to the monsters destruction and the glass jar death.

Even though, it's far more complete than the crappy American version on our DVD.
If the full artery scene is in there (where you see the Baron hold the arm artery in his teeth while the hand is sewn on) it's the UK version...which is still the longest print.

That would be awesome Ant! My poundland has the odd goodie but mostly fishing dvds!

Yes from what I remember the TV showings often used the UK video version, which was the same as the cut cinema print. The second UK DVD release restores the 'artery clamp' shot but is still missing the monster's eyeball being popped back and some shots of the climactic 'tear up'. I replaced mine with the German Anolis release which is as uncut as we're ever likely to get. :ohwell:

Fully agree with you on The Offence. Brilliant film and one of Connery's best.