Saturday night and Savant's out on the town! ... no, he's at home holding down the fort and writing more reviews. A couple of interesting titles tonight, one a European classic, and another a nostalgic fantasy from childhood.

Mysterious Island is Ray Harryhausen's imitation of a Bert Gordon film - big bugs, big crabs, big birds! Isn't there a joke about the birds, the bees, and the crabs? Columbia TriStar does its best to make what must be desperation-time elements look as good as possible. With Herbert Lom and one of Bernard Herrmann's most thunderous scores.

Image's Germany Year Zero is a hard-hitting, socially conscious story of a hapless boy living in the ruins of a Berlin just beginning to rebuild from the bombings of WW2. Good viewing for those who think bombing civilians accomplishes something. Italian Roberto Rossellini took his neorealist camera to Germany, and shot this with a cast of non-actors.

Well, I answered some emails and pulled MYSTERIOUS ISLAND out of order and reviewed it first. But there are still newer and bluer DVDs to peruse ... Thanks for reading, Glenn Erickson