von-13 Reviews

The Battle of Neretva (1969)

disappointing viewing.....

[6/10 · 18 August 2000]

Hmm....don't like this Yugoslav warflick all that much. Story + acting is hard to feel interested in and it's too gloryfying of the Yugoslavian resistance battling Chechtnics + Germans. Ok...some of the battlescenes are well staged with good explosions and bullits whipping up dirt, etc...Rather chaotic and a little intense. But whenever a partizan is killed or wounded, we are forced to feel ooohh sooooo sad...like if the whole wide world is bleeding/crying.. Irritating as h...!! Orson Welles gets a few bullets in his (f..) belly and tumbles to the ground. Great stunt !!!! Also there's a fine little homage to Sergio Corbucci's DJANGO. We see Franco Nero clutching to a cross with bloodied hands and a "sick" expression on his face. Danish tape runs 126.45 mins...letterboxed about 1:1.70

Overlord (1975)

Stunning mix of newsreel and fiction...wow!!

[8/10 · 27 July 2000]

Fantastic little "war" gem this. Stands to reason why it won a Silver Bear at the Berlin Filmfestival once. We are offered visually very beautiful images of documentary footage from world war 2. In an extremely competent manner this material is mixed into a fictitious story about a young soldier´s life and death as a soldier participating in the famous D-Day invasion (Operation Overlord).Don't expect another Saving Private Ryan or The Longest Day.....Overlord is by far too "experimental" for that.Well, it's really impossible to compare these films, but rest assured Overlord will deliver a very unique war movie experience, like you´ve (probably) never seen it before.

Dick Turpin (1974)

not two seconds worth coming for !!

[1/10 · 27 July 2000]

Ridiculously baaad film from 1'st to last second...oh boy!! It's a "knock-ém up" comedy in the Trinity-manner...only far far FAR worse. I saw a Danish (ultra rare) x-rental version... running 86.55 mins(pal)...letterboxed...and immediately sold it to a Norwegian collector.

Shredded (2000 Video)

Well made and with o.t.top horrorabsurdities making U laff U'r butt off!!

[7/10 · 23 July 2000]

Yes yes....many Danish film critics and splatter/horror-fans have been real busy dismissing this no-budget flick as the worst of the worst. Well...my opinion is they don't know what to look for. For starters...FLÆNSET(SHREDDED) is ok filmed and edited. The director and his crew certainly know their genre territory and plays around with horror/sleaze/xploitation-conventions in a rather amusing manner(in many scenes).This film...with all its shortcomings,yeah sure....is actually a very cleverly arranged piece of gross-out entertainment.Don't look for anything artsy,great classic acting etc...U'll only get disappointed. The gore-score is minimal, but we're not talking serious splatter as in Lucio Fulci. The gory happenings are exaggerated to the "xtreme" and U'll need a grin on your face to really appreciate it.There's a lot of sexual "activities" as well and it's here that Heini Grunbaum delivers truly nice touches. Like where hubby is watching the miss'us getting done by a big stud, who asks her. "So what is your husband really like ?". Moaning of lusty pleasure she replies..."En vattepik" (hanging d...!!!). Ooohh...it is just sooo...funniiii!!! And the scene with the policeman sneaking up on a girl in the shower...uuuhh-huuuhhh!!!???? So.....a lot of good B-horror fun + some promise of talent, makes this little quickie far from the worst Danish movie ever. Actually it's the first "SERIOUS" try in this field and director Heini should take another slap at it again soon...please.

Largo retorno (1975)

promising start...good idea...poor film!!

[5/10 · 22 July 2000]

The opening of this romantic muddle is none the less magical. Some piece of classical music is used with great result. Much like Kubrick does with the Schubert piano piece in Barry Lyndon....aahh..well!!?? Anyways....I'm a sucker for great music and images of lovers to be...aaahhh. Remember the little "close U'r eyes"-scene in The Evil Dead, where Ash is charming his way in on a girl by use of jewelry...?? This moment is also great and features some nice romantic music. Ok.....back to A Long....which is typically 70's Euro style. The story is full of baaad cliches + a honymoontrip to Venice. Later on when the young girl (dies and) is frozen down...the now older man is watching the pictures of that trip. And so on, so on, so on.....get the picture now!!?? The Danish video-release is 94.19 mins long(pal)...full screen...very hard to come by, of course!!

The Mystery of Thug Island (1964)

Aaaarrgh....lemme' outta' here.....!!!!

[2/10 · 22 July 2000]

Wooden acting....ridiculous turbans....stuffy tigers...Guy Madison. I was 7 years old when they made this "lame'o"... thank God I didn't saw in at the time...my youth would've been over in a sec. What a crazy world the grownups can make...!!! Seen letterboxed on Italian tv-channel RaiUno, running 82.00 mins, pal. Took me about 22 mins fast-forwarding on my vcr.

The Loves of Hercules (1960)

cheesy film...different versions/scenes...oohh maaann!!

[5/10 · 8 July 2000]

The totally rare Danish videorelease of this "trashy" film is full screen running 96.00 mins precisely. Italian tv channel RaiUno showed a letterboxed print(1: 1.70 cirka) the other day running ½ a minnute shorter. The 2 versions features a whole bunch of scenes filmed from different/alternative angles and many are diff/alternative takes. Quite "interesting" to compare actually...if you are into this sort of movie-watching. One scene found only in the Danish version shows Miss mansfield (hidden behind some see-through cloth)covering her naked body with some clothes. Extremely...uuhuuhhh...daring!!!!! I give it 5 out of 10.....but "reflecting" on it afterwards is worth a good laugh and....10 !!! Cheers sandal-genre comrades!!!

The Scarlet Lady (1969)

Sweet, easy and VERY sixties Euro-style....

[8/10 · 30 June 2000]

Ok...nothing really to "upset" you in anyway here...but the atmosphere...colors...Paris...clothes.....music....everything just makes me wanna travel back in time and be a part of this filmproduction. Easy viewing film you can "easily"(!!) label this little Euro gem. Monica Vitti looks wonderful...a bit like Elke Sommer in Mario bava's Lisa And The Devil. But it's lightweight context here...nothing to worry about. No violence...sex....creepiness....just a charming experience which I recommend you check up on any day. I saw the extremely rare danish x-rental version...83.02 mins... letterboxed....english language. Best of all...I'll add it to my collection...no other collector buys this off'a me...nope.

Sunday Lovers (1980)

easy viewing and very nice indeed.

[7/10 · 26 June 2000]

There are quite a few memorable scenes. I especially fell for Gene Wilder's story in which he deal with "sexual problems" in a very different manner than U get most of the times in mainsream films. And the music from S N Fever....wow!!! My feet just keep on tappin'!!! The story featuring Lino Ventura has some interesting moral aspects and some good dialogue. And then there's the shot of the young secretary in her see-through dress...now I'll remember that any day!!!! The last installment feat. Ugo Tognazzi has a very unusual scene where he encounters a woman who supposedly is "the original deep throat". Check out her "talents" guys....an' I'm sure many of U will find her...ahh..."interesting"!!!! The first story w. R Moore and D Elliot is instantly forgettable I'll grant U that. Otherwise...this is delightful entertainment, meant to "sweaten" U up...arrite...!!?? Danish videoprint runs 121.35 mins and is fullscreen(looks very good).

Corbari (1970)

Fine little Italian "war" gem here.

[7/10 · 2 June 2000]

Well.....it's not that it's a great movie or anything like that, but it's well made and has some more "lyrical" passages along the way. Not a typical war-movie at all, dealing with "revolution"(= Corbari, the hero) vs. fascism in Italy during w.w.2 Two scenes stand out...especially the first one, which I hold as one of filmhistory's best staged execution-scenes ever!!! Damn fine editing and some passionate music to go with the "emotinal" happenings. Second scene is the finale where, again, people are being executed.This time they're hanged though. In the first one they were shot.Director Orsini has an outspoken flair for these matters it seems. Saw this on Danish videotape....letterboxed 1:1.90 approx.... English language...running 97.18 mins, pal time. Tina Aumont dosn't dress down I'm afraid....but instead we get full frontal male nudity for those into such ah...!!??

A Rumor of War (1980)

Wonderfully moody + realistic tv-film on the "everlasting" Nam War.

[31 May 2000]

Found this really neat and tight little tv-production on an old vhs x-rental tape the other day. Wholeheartedly recommendable to anyone with the slightest interest in the psychological aspects of warfare. Hardcore action/shoot 'em up-fans should proceed with care, as emphasis is not on the bodycount...luckily!! Great acting all around...perhaps best of all by the possible "VC-agents" in minor roles. Oh, and Ken Foree...of DAWN O T DEAD fame...does a funny scene as an MP. Danish tape runs a fully 3 hours and some secs(pal system) and a hard find for collectors....I was dirt lucky. Cheers

South of Hell Mountain (1971)

Ooohhh maaan!!!!

[3/10 · 20 May 2000]

Well.....horror this ain't, but.......!!!??? A terrible low low budget backwood-flic of the worst kind, sort of AND...therefore quite charming and funny to watch...at least on my tv set!!! A cross between Pete Walker, Herschell Gordon Lewis and...say....damn, I give up...just can't come up with any "prettier" resemblances for this trashy movie. Everything is soooo wrong that I just have to enlist it in my film collection alongside with....Death In Venice.....Nekromantik.....Blue Velvet and The Good,Bad,Ugly... right !!?? People with some small talent for adding gory inserts or sexy happenings to film they buy offa other people, should pick this film up immediately....sure is a fat lil' ol' goldmine waiting here, oh maaaannnn!!!!!

Act of Aggression (1975)

Half interesting half "confused" 70's Euro rape/kill/revenge film.

[5/10 · 8 April 2000]

Shown on the Italian tv-channel Rai Uno the other day and with

actor names as J L Trintignant and C Deneuve featured in a Euro "giallo" from the seventies I naturally hooked up my vcr for taping. Dubbed in Italian language I ofcourse didn't understand a single spoken word, but several scenes are experimentally(!!) actionpacked and although it dosn't come near (or tries to be) a sleaze-movie, one cannot help comparing it to films like Night Train Murders( Aldo Lado), Spoorloos(Dutch film)and Mario Bava's Rabid Dogs in terms of associations, at least. Anyways...J L Trintignant's wife and daughter are raped/killed at the very beginning by a gang of viscious bikers. Then follows a lot of talky talk always accompanied by agressive behaviour by the charactors of the movie. I'm not quite sure where and why Miss Deneuve fits in, but she does a fine job looking sexy and mature and we even get a slight glimpse of her breasts. Guess that means this is an art-movie !!?? Trintignant gets his revenge at the end and a "drive-by" shooting of one of the bikers is indeed very well executed. A bikergirl is terrorrised by a guy(who befriends Trintignant + Deneuve),who turns out to be really creepy. His "hobby" is really perverse and adds the sleaze-associations to the film. As for the music, aahhh....??? Lemme know what You think, ok?? Overall I totally recommend it to fans of Euro films....You won't be disappointed I'm sure, but try catching an English languaged version, as I'm pretty sure I missed out on a whole lot of interesting talk....yep.

Django the Bastard (1969)

Horror and ghostly like spaghettiwestern

[7/10 · 2 April 2000]

"Wait a minute stranger, please...tell me who you are anyway"... a baddie asks Django, who replies, "A devil from hell"!! So yes...this movie certainly plays like a typical Italian horrorfilm.You know, one that takes place in an old remote castle where various people are destined to die horroble deaths. Technically this Sergio Garrone film is a much more skillful production than some of his "women in kz-lager" efforts of which he is so "famous"!!! The first 30-45 mins are visually very stimulating and this bears the film through. But after an hour or so, with lots'a style, thrills, atmosphere,moods etc, it just becomes too much(for me at least!!). Django appears everywhere never showing any facial expressions shooting down tons of baddies.Quite frankly, it borders on the tediously boring!!

The ghostly happenings does set the film apart from most other entries in this fine genre and for this I praise and recommend it.

Day of Anger (1967)

Diasappointing spaghettiwestern

[5/10 · 2 April 2000]

In the book..."Western all' Italiana"(Bruscheni/Tentori)they think of this film as extremely touching + particularly moving. I couldn't disagree more. It could have been great though, if only the charactors were stronger and the topic more developed. Visually, it's not that good either.Tonino Valeri doesn't use the possibilities in Cleef and Gemma's faces. Ok, there is a duel of the more "exotic" kind with Cleef and his opponent riding towards eachother in full horsespeed, equipped with old muzzle loaders, which they must load while riding. Very nice indeed. And classic dialogue from Cleef's mouth is always a pleasure to lend an ear....."Alright..I'll kill you anyway you want. Tomorrow morning...(dramtic pause)...at sunrise"!!!! Seen on UK videotape in awfull fullscreen titled "Gunlaw". Running some (shortened, I believe) 81 mins

My Sister, My Love (1969)

Beautifully filmed.Sexy mature women.Dull film..!!

[6/10 · 1 April 2000]

Wellknown "menage a trois" formula for this French film directed by an obviously talented Italian...R. Malenotti. A younger woman visits her sister and her husband. The sisters have had a lesbian affair(with each other!!) earlier in their lives. The husband is handsome, rich and...impotent. A loverboy for the older sister is close by!! But on the entertainment side this (giallo)drama lacks excitement and tension. There's no " mystery" and hardly any murders. Technically..ie. camera,angels, compositions,editing,lighting,location,interiors,colors,faces, darkness,acting....all is extremely well executed. But the "balls" are missing!!! There's no shortage when dealing with sex....tits,buttoms,lesbianism, we get to see it all. if only Le Sorelle(The Sisters) had had some "action" in the giallo-tradition of Dario Argento and a couple of Euro-perversions a-la Jess Franco,Sergio bergonzelli....this film could have been a total classic laying behind top-films of the above mentioned Euro-directors. As it is now...it falls flat on the floor, more or less!!. It's lbx'ed about 1:1.90 on the Danish DVS-label, running for 106.15 mins and of course completely impossible to find anywhere nowadays. I'm glad I keep it in my collection.

La mano spietata della legge (1973)

Totally rare(ly seen) Italian crime flic, although not a very entertaining one!!

[5/10 · 21 March 2000]

Found this title on Danish x-rental vhs-tape the other day. Letterboxed 1:1.70 and uncut. Runningtime is 95.21 mins, pal system. Danish title is....Politiets Hårde Drenge(tuff police-boys...in English!!). It's supposed to be extremely violent,but I fail to see the reason for this rumour as no real graphic violence is shown directly "in y'ar face"!! Ok...Klaus Kinski...looking very very cool in 70´s sunspex by the way....does set a guy's groin area on fire with a small flamethrower. Not a very pleasant scene. There's really no interesting story to follow and the action is rather tame, but we do get lots of truly nice shots of Klaus, who performs with his usual flair for putting on a cruel face. Participating from start to finish,he dosn't speak one single word throughout the entire movie,though!! Recommended for die-hard fans of either Italo crime or the wonderful Mr Kinski. I'm the latter, yep!! Worth a million on the sell/swap/trade scene among collectors worldwide!!