Savant's new reviews today are

It's adventure night at DVD Savant - risk, danger, far-off lands and uncertainty -- you know, like the debates and the election.

They're all good movies - one rarity, one studio doing a great job with a title, another a poor job, and one 'refined' epic that never got the attention it deserved. I like 'em all.

I'm only 2.5 movies into the Cassavetes collection, my only excuse for not having a review ready. They're fascinating and will be coming right up. Thanks! Glenn Erickson

Savant's new reviews today are

Quite a stimulating weekend with Fellini and a couple of John Cassavetes films to watch ... BATTLE OF ALGIERS just came in, in enhanced widescreen, but I've got to wait until previous commitments are reviewed, darn it.

Saw the only film I've wanted to walk out on in years last Wednesday, SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW. It's a movie that begs to stop being screened and become a series of screen savers. Every rule of good storytelling is broken and every symptom of runaway CGI syndrome was present. The characters were impossible to care about and with every single shot somebody's work of art, there was no pacing of effects; events had no weight. Every room is some overdesigned cavern, every effect has to have 500 robots or 300 chrome pods or 200 airplanes when three or four of each would do. A P-40 that flies underwater just doesn't fly for me ... it's just dumb. With all the 'imaginative' visuals and ideas lovingly copied from great old movies from KING KONG (note VENTURE on the sea floor) to OUR MAN FLINT, there's no real imagination present or reason for the thing to be. If they dispensed with the live action stars stars and used animated figures, it would still be lacking in sufficient character. Dismal.

The fun's on DVD for the moment, and the occasional revival screening ... -note- since my main rank of reviews just below holds only eight titles, don't forget to check the paragraph of links immediately below. Some of them are only a few days old. Thanks for reading, Glenn Erickson

Savant's new reviews today are

Just got in discs for EYES WITHOUT A FACE (!!!) and LA DOLCE VITA and will be getting to them right away. The Fellini is a week after street date but the Criterion is almost a month off so Savant will actually have a timely review to tout. Hope your September week is shaping up, and that school is starting off well for those .edu types ... thanks for reading. Glenn Erickson

Savant's new reviews today are

Lee Broughton of the UK steps in to help out this week, while the discs keep rolling in, a steady stream. Thanks for the corrections last week, and all the interesting opinions about I Confess. Glenn

Savant's new reviews today are

A big week ... one major studio gets sold to another, and if the deal doesn't fail in the paper stage, next year this time MGM may exist only as a monster film library for Columbia's new Comcast cable TV deal. I worked for Cannon in the 1980s, which was bought by Pathé, which bought MGM, and I worked for MGM for seven years wondering every minute when something like this was going to happen. Maybe it will be a good thing, we'll see.

Just got the new THX-1138 disc set and a giant Criterion Box of John Cassavetes films ... but the Treasures from Film Archives 2 set comes first. There's a lot to wear out one's eyeballs around here ... Glenn Erickson

Savant's new reviews today are

Not much to say for myself this Sunday afternoon, except that I CONFESS remains a movie that provokes strong discussions. It really splits the public along Catholic and non-Catholic lines - one either understands the concept of the priest's oath or one doesn't. The idea of an absolute oath seems impossible to many people ... maybe we're too used to modern celebrities and politicians and the idea of situation ethics.

Can't wait for October's Halloween horror film releases... Thanks for reading. Glenn Erickson

Savant's new reviews today are

Well, the news on the web is that Warners has bought MGM. What this means, we'll just have to wait and see. Pretty weird happenings. Five reviews tonight, a lot more coming. Thanks for the opinions about THE WORLD AT WAR, etc. Next time around will see some reviews from the independent labels ... Thanks, Glenn Erickson

Savant's new reviews today are

The weekend rolls around with some superb movies to tout on DVD. I've been watching episodes of THE WORLD AT WAR for two weeks and filling holes in my knowledge of WW2. And Synapse's remarkable rediscovered LEMORA is quite a coup for horror fans. Finally, the Warner Hitchcock titles are in and I've started with the always enjoyable FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT. By the way, the LEMORA review has a photo of Savant from just about the same time director Richard Blackburn was ankling UCLA film school to do his bit for horror film history. It follows a paragraph about my memories of Melnitz hall back when film students were into revolution and social relevance. And had long hair.

Thanks, Glenn Erickson

Savant's new reviews today are

Hello! The Hitchcocks came in and the packages look beautiful - all original artwork on their covers. I sense the influence of the old head of MGM home video in the 90s, George Feltenstein, who I believe is heading up this avalanche of great Warners DVD releases. I just learned that my favorite musical, DAMN YANKEES, is coming out in a couple of months from Warners, which is really good news as well.

I've also been told by another reviewer (so I don't know for sure) that Columbia is going to put out a 16:9 widescreen version of CASTLE KEEP. There was a big uproar on the web, but I prefer the illusion that my own complaining review helped the decision get made. When the disc comes out, I'll have a lot more to say about it than I did last time.

Thanks for reading - four real reviews today ... see you on Sunday. Glenn