GIMME SHELTER (1970) * * ¾

This musical documentary concerns the Rolling Stones and their tragic free concert at Altamont Speedway in the hills west of San Francisco on December 6, 1969. Over 300,000 people attended. The event known as "Woodstock West" was all but destroyed by violence that marked the end of the peace and love euphoria of the 1960s. Altamont degenerated into mayhem when drunken Hells Angels, hired to keep order in front of the stage for $500 of beer, beat concertgoers over their heads with leaded pool cues. The violence was capped by the murder of an 18 year old black man, Meredith Hunter. Captured on film, Hunter's murder cemented the festival's reputation as the official end of the 1960s counterculture. Three others also died that day. GIMME SHELTER showed that the counterculture was not going to redeem or change anything, especially human violence.

Hell's Angel: They told me, if I could sit on the stage so nobody climbed over me, I could drink beer till the show was over.

Brothers Albert and David Maysles with co-director Charlotte Zwerin constructed GIMME SHELTER to lead to the murder. They give away the ending at the beginning of the film, and don't adhere precisely to the chronology of events. The Flying Burrito Brothers played after the Jefferson Airplane. But in order to show the mounting tension and violence at the festival, the film puts the Jefferson Airplane's set before the Flying Burrito Brothers. Jefferson Airplane singer Marty Balin was knocked out by a Hells Angel when he jumped into the crowd to stop a fight. The film makes it appear that the Stones opened their set with "Sympathy for the Devil," which they did not. It also appears that the show concluded after Hunter's stabbing at the end of "Under My Thumb," which it did not. The New York Times, Variety, and Rolling Stone magazine criticized the Stones and the Maysles Brothers for exploiting the murder to their economic advantage. These accusations are as responsible for Altamont's notoriety as the murder itself.

The documentary begins with The Stones doing a bit of dressup spoofery, then cuts to Madison Square Garden for an energetic rendition of "Jumpin Jack Flash", which segues into Charlotte Zwerin's editing suite in London. A bemused Mick Jagger is watching himself on an editing screen. Next Charlie Watts is listening to Sonny Barger make excuses for the Hell's Angels: "I ain't no cop," he snarls, "They were messing with our bikes." Now jump to Jagger, looking very nervous as Barger says Jagger may be fingering the Hells Angels as the perpetrators, but that's not the way he sees it.

GIMME SHELTER depicts some of the Stones' Madison Square Garden concert, later featured on the live album "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert", as well as the photography session for the cover, featuring Charlie Watts and a donkey. It also shows the Stones at work in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, recording "Brown Sugar" and "Wild Horses". The film also includes footage of Ike and Tina Turner opening for the Stones at their Madison Square Garden concert, with Jagger commenting, "It's nice to have a chick occasionally."

The action then turns to the concert itself at the Altamont Speedway, with security provided by the Hells Angels armed with pool cues. From the moment the Stones arrive at Altamont, we know things are going to turn ugly. In fact, Jagger can't even get from the helicopter to his trailer before he is smacked in the mouth. As the day progresses, with drug-taking and drinking by the Hells Angels and members of the audience, the mood turns very bad. Fights break out during performances by The Flying Burrito Brothers and Jefferson Airplane. Grace Slick pleads with the crowd to settle down. At one point Jefferson Airplane lead singer Marty Balin is knocked out by a Hells Angel. Paul Kantner attempts to confront "the people who hit my lead singer" in response. Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh arrive, but The Grateful Dead opt not to play after learning of the incident with Balin. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young also performed at the concert but are not shown in the movie.

There is a brief exchange between a few members of the Grateful Dead. Jerry Garcia is offstage talking with another person about the violence transpiring in front of the stage. Weir rushes over with a brief report. Garcia's response is a druggie cliche: "Oh, bummer." To which Weir adds that Hells Angel's beating up musicians "doesn't seem right." In many ways, this movie created the myth of Altamont, just as the music and movie shaped the myth of Woodstock. Even before the violence starts mounting, the film depicts kids who are far from all right.

The night began smoothly with the Flying Burrito Brothers opening for the Rolling Stones and performing the truck-driving classic "Six Days on the Road" and Tina Turner giving a sensually charged performance. But on this particular evening, the Stones made the disastrous decision to hire the Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang as bodyguards and bouncers. Halfway through the Stones' act, the Hells Angels stabbed to death one black spectator, and injured several others who were present, including Jefferson Airplane's lead singer Marty Balin.

By the time The Stones hit the stage, it is evening, and the crowd is especially restless. The Stones open with "Jumpin' Jack Flash". They are also shown performing "Sympathy for the Devil" as tension continues to build. It is during the next song, "Under My Thumb", that a member of the audience, 18 year old Meredith Hunter, pulls out a revolver in the course of a melee near the stage, and is stabbed to death by Alan Passaro, a member of the Hells Angels. Mick Jagger is reduced to standing on stage like a frightened child with his finger in his mouth in wake of the violence.

Mick Jagger: Who's fighting and what for?

Baird Bryant, one of the many cameramen at Altamont, caught Meredith Hunter's stabbing on film. The film sequence clearly shows the silhouette of a handgun in Hunter's hand as a member of the Hells Angels enters from the right, grabs and raises the gun hand, turning Hunter around and stabbing him at least twice in the back before pushing the victim off camera. We actually get to see Meredith Hunter being stabbed, zoomed right up close and in slow motion, and unlike the visually degraded Zapruder film, this is shot in glorious 16mm color by a professional cameraman. And it's real. The Maysles used 22 cameramen and 14 Nagra-toting soundmen. Among the camera operators for the Altamont concert was a young George Lucas, who went on to become a successful film director. At the concert his camera jammed after shooting about 100 feet of film, and none of his footage was used in the final cut.

First planned for Golden Gate Park, the free concert was moved to the Sears Point Raceway after its permit was withdrawn. The stage was all but ready at Sears Point when that venue fell through. The deal to perform at Altamont was struck at the last minute, with negotiations that the Maysles reveal to the film audience. In these scenes, the air of desperation to do something that no one can stop is palpable. The final shots of scattering silhouettes are among the most desolate ever put on a movie screen. The dream is over. This picture ends on a despairing note, with the Stones repeatedly watching a film of the murder. Celebrated documentary filmmakers Albert and David Maysles directed and Haskell Wexler shot the film, with heightened instinct and control. As a result, this film is considered one of the greatest rock documentaries ever made.

The film is named after "Gimme Shelter", the lead track from The Rolling Stones' 1969 album "Let It Bleed". It was screened at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival, but wasn't entered into the main competition. This documentary is associated with the Direct Cinema movement of the 1950s and 1960s. The Maysles Brothers, who directed it, are strong figures of the era. Direct Cinema revolves around the philosophy of being a "reactive" filmmaker. Rather than investigating a subject matter through such documentary techniques as interviews, reconstruction and voiceover, Direct Cinema simply records events as they unfold naturally and spontaneously--like a fly on the wall.

Much of the film chronicles the behind-the-scenes dealmaking that took place to make the free Altamont concert happen, including much footage of well-known attorney Melvin Belli negotiating by telephone with the management of the Altamont Speedway. The movie also includes a playback of Hells Angels motorcycle gang leader Ralph "Sonny" Barger's famous call-in to radio station KSAN-FM's "day after" program about the concert.

The Songs Performed:

The Rolling Stones

* "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
* "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
* "You Gotta Move"
* "Wild Horses" (in studio at Muscle Shoals)
* "Brown Sugar"
* "Love in Vain"
* "Honky Tonk Women"
* "Street Fighting Man"
* "Sympathy for the Devil"
* "Under My Thumb"
* "Gimme Shelter" (live version, over closing credits)

Ike and Tina Turner: "I've Been Loving You Too Long" (at Madison Square Garden)

Jefferson Airplane: "The Other Side of This Life" (at Altamont)

Flying Burrito Brothers: "Six Days on the Road" (at Altamont)

Unlike C**KSUCKER BLUES (1972), the notorious film of the Stones' 1972 North American tour, GIMME SHELTER reeks of professional technique, clever ideas, and lots of cash. Director/Film Editor Charlotte Zwerin has to be given credit for the film's fascinating structure. She asked members of The Stones to drop round her editing suite and check out the raw footage. They agreed, and cameras were set up to catch their reactions. Suddenly the film changes from a documentary into something doubly voyeuristic. This double removal from the action means the film takes on a timeless feeling, as The Present in the film is forever locked to those moments when The Stones watch the rough cuts and watch The Stones watching the rough cuts. This reveals the story in a normal timeframe, but fragmented into flashbacks. This startling new structure means GIMME SHELTER is not a true documentary, but not really fiction. It's a powerful new combination of reality and fiction, told through action and reaction. This "time bounce" structure also takes advantage of the lack of filmed material Zwerin had to work with. GIMME SHELTER examines the Stones and Altamont with such a cold eye, it seems somehow to be examining itself.

Showing the Stones watching the footage enabled them to deflect charges that they were responsible for the Altamont disaster. "That's bulls**t," Jagger remarks to the onscreen Jagger, who has tried to be charming with a female reporter. Mick has nothing to say as he watches himself tell the media about the free concert, a concert that will show the world a large group of people can get together and behave like idealized hippies.

The cast includes: Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Bill Wyman, Marty Balin, Sonny Barger, Melvin Belli, Dick Carter, Jack Casady, Mike Clarke, Sam Cutler, Spencer Dryden, Chris Hillman, John Jaymes, Paul Kantner, Jorma Kaukonen, Pete Kleinow, Bernie Leadon, Gram Parsons, Ronald Schneider, Rock Scully, Grace Slick, Frank Terry, Ike Turner, Tina Turner, Jerry Garcia, Meredith Hunter, Michael Lang, Phil Lesh, Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Alan Passaro, Michael Shrieve, Ian Stewart, and Bob Weir. Directed by Albert Maysles, David Maysles, and Charlotte Zwerin.

There is a lot of music and performing in GIMME SHELTER, but it is not a concert film like WOODSTOCK (1970) which took place four months earlier. GIMME SHELTER was a part of the event it recorded, in fact a commissioned movie. The proceeds were meant to help the Stones pay the costs of the free concert, although they grossed a reported $1.5 million from the other non-free concerts on their tour. Mick Jagger did not attend the London School of Economics for no reason. Cynicism is the pervading force in this 1970 documentary.

The Criterion DVD is overpriced, but you do receive a fair number of extras on this single-sided, double-layered disc. Audio commentary by Albert Maysles (his brother David died in 1987), editor Zwerin, and production collaborator Stanley Goldstein has a wealth of information. For example, Goldstein gives a clear explanation as to how the Hells Angels ended up as the security team, and he debunks myths about why the band went on late. Maysles communicates how he views film composition and the images he and his team managed to capture here. Zwerin offers perhaps the most emotional and insightful dialogue about GIMME SHELTER as she explains how she painstakingly put the film together. All three also offer a great deal of detailed technical information. A brief restoration demonstration offers before-and-after examples of the image, color, and sound restoration used to create this beautiful high-definition release.

There is a full recording of the December 7, 1969 post-Altamont KSAN Radio program with a new introduction by former DJ Stefan Ponek, and an "Altamont Stills Gallery" with photos by Bill Owens and Beth Sunflower. Also there is never before seen footage of the Madison Square Garden show that includes Stones covers of "Little Queenie" and "Prodigal Son," along with backstage outtakes. Tina Turner and Jagger try to talk while Ike seems to be purposely playing his guitar so loud that they can barely hear each other. The original and re-release trailers are included as well as a 44-page booklet with essays by Jagger's former assistant Georgia Bergman, music writers Michael Lydon and Stanley Booth, ex-Oakland Hell's Angels Chapter Head Sonny Barger, and film critics Amy Taubin and Godfrey Cheshire. This film is presented in the original full-frame 1.33:1 and the audio restoration is so good that, in the Dolby Digital 5.1 remix, it sounds like it was recorded yesterday and not on equipment from decades ago.

The Kids Are Alright (1979) * * ¾

This musical documentary literally begins with a bang at The Who's only US variety show appearance. On September 15, 1967 the band appeared on THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS COMEDY HOUR on CBS in LA following the end of their first US tour. They lip-synched the songs "I Can See For Miles" and "My Generation" and flustered host Tommy Smothers by refusing to follow the script as he tried to converse with them. Moon made the biggest impact when the destructive nature of his on-stage persona reached its highest level. After The Who's performance of "My Generation", they began smashing their instruments. Moon packed an explosive charge in his bass drum which set Townshend's hair on fire and made him temporarily deaf for 20 minutes, while cymbal shrapnel left a gash in Moon's arm. Townshend then took the acoustic guitar Smothers was holding and smashed it to bits on the ground. Smothers was completely frustrated, but the audience thought the whole performance was staged. Clips of a 1973 interview from London Weekend Television's RUSSEL HARTY PLUS appear six times throughout the film. While Harty delves into the background of the members' lives, Moon again steals the show as he rips off Townshend's shirt sleeve and then strips down to his underwear.

Tom Smothers: And you must be Roger.
Roger Daltrey: Well I must be.
Tom Smothers: Are you?
Roger Daltrey: Yes.
Tom Smothers: And where are you from?
Roger Daltrey: Oz.
Tom Smothers: Roger from Oz?
Roger Daltrey: Yes!

One of the TV interviews included in the film features Ken Russell, the director of the film TOMMY (1975), who makes his mark with his exaggeratedly passionate plea: "I think that Townshend, The Who, Roger Daltrey, Entwistle, Moon could rise this country out of its decadent ambient state better than Wilson or all of those crappy people could ever hope to achieve!"

An early performance from ABC television's SHINDIG! and one of only two surviving tapes from the group's many appearances on the British program READY STEADY GO!, both recorded in 1965, are included along with numerous interview clips from BBC Radio and Radio Bremen of Hamburg. Segments filmed in each of the band member's homes include several conversations between Moon and fellow drummer Ringo Starr.

Ringo Starr: (regarding Keith Moon) Well, I'm sure most of his friends have been on here, cos I'm only one of several, and they've told you about all the mad things he's done in life. Such as, breaking up rooms... driving his car into swimming pools... and driving his car into foyers. Well, I'm not gonna tell you about any of that. I'm just here to tell you about the Keith I know and love.

Keith Moon: (asked about previous jobs) I was a rust repairer. I was a rust repairer and full-time survivor. I survived all the major earthquakes, and the Titanic, and several air crashes. My friends call me Keith, but you can call me John.

Performances from three of the band's largest concert appearances bear witness to the band's progression from the British mod scene to global superstardom. They reluctantly performed at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair on 17 August 1969. It was not an artistic success in the eyes of the band, but it helped "Tommy" become a critical and financial success. The four clips that appear in the film, besides being a completely new cut of the Woodstock performance, without the "split-screen", include three tracks from "Tommy" and "My Generation", topped off by Townshend throwing his guitar into the crowd.

Pete Townshend: When I'm on the stage--let me try to explain--when I'm on the stage, I'm not in control of myself at all. I even don't know who I am. I'm not this rational person that can sit here and talk to you. If you walked on the stage in the middle of a concert for an interview, I'd probably come close to killing you--I have come close to killing people that walked on the stage. Abbie Hofmann walked on the stage at Woodstock and I nearly killed him with me guitar. A cameraman walked... a, a, a policeman came on when the bloody building of the Fillmore in New York was burning down--and I kicked him in the balls and sent him off. It's not like being possessed, you know, it's just--I do my job, and I know that I have to get into a certain state of mind to do it. What first made us want to go to America and..."conquer" it, was being English! It wasn't that we cared a monkey's about the American Dream, or the American drug situation, or the dollars or any of that. It's because we were English kids! And we wanted to go to America and be English!

John Entwistle: We became rich later than I expected. Now I'm too old to enjoy my money.

The Who's 1975 US tour reached its peak before a crowd of 75,962 at the Pontiac Silverdome on 6 December 6, 1975. The images in the film were broadcast to large screens in the stadium so those in the far reaches could actually see the band members on stage.

Pete Townshend: If you steer clear of quality, you're alright.
Interviewer: But wouldn't you say a group like The Beatles have a certain musical quality?
Pete Townshend: Oooh, that's a tough question. Alright, actually, this afternoon, John and I were listening to a stereo LP of The Beatles, in which the voices come out of the one side and the backing track came out of the other. And when you actually hear the backing tracks of The Beatles without their voices, they're flippin' lousy.

Near the end of the film, the band's appearance at the Monterey International Pop Festival on June 18, 1967 brought about their first big media exposure in the United States. In the film, The Who's Monterey Pop appearance cuts away to footage from past concerts depicting the band destroying their equipment before returning to the destructive end of "My Generation".

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT is a documentary film about the English rock band The Who, including live performances, promotional films and interviews from 1964 to 1978. It chronicles the development of the Who from young British mods in their early R & B period to worldwide arena rock icons. The film begins with the band's American TV debut and continues through into the 1970s with QUADROPHENIA. Twenty-two classic Who tunes are featured, including a special version of the title track, "My Generation", "Magic Bus", "Happy Jack", and "Long Live Rock". Director Jeff Stein, who was just 21 at the time, was given unlimited access to archives of the Who, occasionally butting heads with strong-willed guitarist and songwriter Pete Townsend over the direction of the film. Stein had produced a book of photographs from the band's 1970 tour when he was just 17.

In 1975 he approached Pete Townshend and attempted to convince him of his feature length movie idea. Townshend initially rejected the idea, but was persuaded by the group's manager, Bill Curbishley, to give their cooperation. Then Stein showed the band the 17-minute reel of The Who television appearances he had cobbled together. The band laughed hysterically at the footage, and Stein said, "Townshend was on the floor, banging his head. He and Moon were hysterical. Daltrey's wife was laughing so hard she knocked over the coffee table in the screening room. Their reaction was unbelievable. They loved it. That's when they were really convinced that the movie was worth doing."

Pete Towshend: A definitive end? What do you want me to do? Go out there and fall asleep on stage? Maybe I should go out there and die during my last solo? Or maybe I should hit that motherf**ker who's been yelling for "Magic Bus" over the head with me guitar?" (response to Jeff Stein's request for an encore of "Won't Get Fooled Again")
Jeff Stein: Yeah, that'd be fine.

Stein attempted to create not a linear, chronological documentary, but "a celluloid rock 'n' roll revival meeting" and "a hair-raising rollercoaster ride" that was worthy of the band's reputation. The performances which comprise the body of the film are organized around a number of encounters by the band members with various variety and talk show hosts, Pete Townshend's playful relationship with his fans, admirers and critics, and the endless antics of Keith Moon. Manic drummer Moon, who provides numerous laughs in the film, died a year before the film was released. Singer Roger Daltry said, "Most rock films are pretentious. They're made for the sole purpose of making Robert Plant's dick look big. This is totally the opposite. Within the first half hour we're made to look like complete idiots."

The film was released to theaters in October 1979. When the film was originally released on video, two musical segments were cut, paring it down from 106 minutes to 99 minutes. The 2003 video release restores the film. The performances of "Baba O' Reilly" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" were Keith Moon's last with the band before his death on September 7, 1978. So the film became a sort of "time capsule" for the band, after Keith Moon died only one week after he'd seen the rough cut of the film with Roger Daltrey. After Moon's death, the rough cut didn't suffer a single change, since neither Jeff Stein nor the rest of the band wanted to turn the movie into an homage to remember Moon's passing, but to celebrate his life and career with The Who. They were determined not to change anything.

Sound editing was supervised by bassist John Entwistle and, with the exception of a 1965 performance of "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" where Entwistle had to replace a missing bass track, most of the music is authentic. Entwistle and Townshend overdubed their backing vocals on the Woodstock footage because Entwistle considered the original backup vocals "dire."

The film is raw, edgy and explosive but always professional and focused. It is aggressively loud and consistently unapologetic, and thoroughly committed to its audience, a document of a rock band embracing its successes without ever pandering to its critics or its culture. The film offers no voice-over or neat chronology. And while Pete Townshend is at times visibly tortured by self doubts about the contradictions of pop music, art, money, and authenticity, his band mates were fearless about The Who's mission. Nothing substantial from The Who's career as a live act has been omitted, and even the most obscure performances and most subtle moments contain revelations.

The cast includes: Roger Daltrey (Himself, singer), John Entwistle (Himself, bass), Keith Moon Himself, drummer), Pete Townshend (Himself, guitar and songwriter), Tom Smothers (Himself), Jimmy O'Neill (Himself), Russell Harty (Himself), Melvyn Bragg (Himself), Ringo Starr (Himself), Mary Ann Zabresky (Herself), Michael Leckebusch (Himself), Barry Fantoni (Himself), Jeremy Paxman (Himself), Bob Pridden (Himself), Keith Richards (Himself), Garry McDonald (Norman Gunston), Steve Martin (Himself), Rick Danko (Himself), and Ken Russell (Himself). Incidental music was composed by John Entwistle and Keith Moon. Jeff Stein wrote the script and directed.

The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 13 May 1979. The Who promoted the release of the film with some live performances with their new drummer Kenney Jones. THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT premiered in the US on 15 June 1979 in the middle of the disaster film era that featured films like EARTHQUAKE (1974), THE POSEIDEN ADVENTURE (1972), and THE TOWERING INFERNO (1974). In this environment, the original press kit for THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT drew on the band's destructive reputation and called it "the world's first rock 'n' roll disaster movie."

Critics generally liked the documentary. Michael Azerrad in Rolling Stone wrote, "Mind-boggling live footage and TV clips offer smashups, trenchant insights and hilarious pratfalls along with some of the most staggeringly powerful rock music you will ever see..." Simo wrote in Variety, "Best by far are the onstage sequences, and the older the footage, the more intriguing..." Mike Clark on USA Today said, "A storehouse of great clips, starting with the rock group's literally explosive performance on The Smothers Brothers Show..." And Janet Maslin of the New York Times wrote, "Wonderfully obscure and diverse footage of the group..."

An album was released as a soundtrack in June 1979 that included some songs and musical performances from the movie. The album reached # 26 in the UK, and fared better in the US where it peaked at # 8 on the Billboard album charts and went Platinum.

For many years the film was released on VHS in an edited 90-minute form. Several scenes were removed and the audio had several pitch problems and dropouts. In 2003, a DVD edition of the film was released. The strange thing about the DVD presentation is that it comes in two distinct and confusing packages that make you choose between a wealth of bonuses in the "Special Edition" or a standard, straightforward no-frills experience in the "Deluxe Edition". A pristine 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer melds many divergent elements (television, video, film, newsreels, and kinescopes) into a panoramic overview of the band's image and history.

The film had been transferred from the restored 35mm interpositive and the audio was extensively restored. In addition to the original film, with English subtitles, on-screen liner notes, commentary with Jeff Stein and DVD producer John Albarian, there is a 27-page booklet. This DVD was released by Pioneer Home Entertainment. Special features are extensive: 100 or so minutes of multiple-angle footage, an insightful interview with Roger Daltrey, a featurette about the film's restoration, and a mesmerizing, isolated John Entwistle audio track. The digitally-restored version of the film was premiered at the New York Film Festival in October 2003 with Daltrey, Lewis, Stein and Alberian in attendance. The DVD contains a bonus disc with over three hours of additional materials:

* "See My Way": Q & A with director Jeff Stein
* "Behind Blue Eyes": Q & A with Roger Daltrey
* "Miracle Cure": Documentary on the restoration of THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
* "Getting In Tune": Audio comparison of old vs. new)
* "Trick of the Light": Video comparison of old vs. new
* "The Who's London": A tour of Who locations in London
* "The Ox": Isolated tracks of John Entwistle for "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again"
* "Anytime You Want Me": Multi-angle feature for "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again"
* "Pure and Easy": Trivia game. The prize: A rare recording of Ringo Starr promoting "The Kids Are Alright"
* "It's Hard": Trivia game. The prize: A slide show to the "Who Are You" 5.1 studio mix

Edward Scissorhands (1990) * * *

(first lines)
Grandmother Kim: Snuggle in, sweetie. It's cold out there.

The movie opens with a snowy winter scene, as an elderly woman tells a story to her granddaughter (Gina Gallagher) about snow, and why it snows. There was a man with scissors for hands named Edward (Johnny Depp), the creation of an inventor (Vincent Price). The gentle inventor was inspired to make an artificial man due to the anthropomorphic appearance of his other inventions. He raised Edward as his son and tutored him in various subjects, but died while in the act of offering a pair of hands to Edward. He is left with only scissors for hands, an unfinished creation who now lives in a ruined Gothic mansion at the top of a hill, above a suburban town.

Many years later, local Avon saleswoman Peggy Boggs (Dianne West), after failing to make profits in her suburban neighborhood, visits the mansion on the hill. She finds Edward there and convinces him to move in with her family, then brings him to the town below. Her intentions are good, but she lacks wisdom in her actions. Edward's scissors initially are obstacles when it comes to eating at a table and sleeping in a waterbed. He befriends Peg's young son Kevin (Robert Oliveri), and after an initial misstep, her teenage daughter Kim (Winona Ryder). Covered with white make-up and with only a few words of dialogue, Edward is painfully shy and delicate.

Peggy: Why are you hiding back there? You don't have to hide from me. I'm Peg Boggs, your local Avon representative and I'm as harmless as cherry pie... (sees Edward come toward her) Oh--I can see that I've disturbed you. I'll just be going now...
Edward: Don't go.
Peg Boggs: (sees his scissor hands) Oh, my. What happened to you?
Edward: I'm not finished.

Peggy: The light concealing cream goes on first. Then you blend, and blend, and blend. Blending is the secret.

The neighborhood soon accepts Edward in a perverse way, as the people see him as a curiosity. His scissorhands are an obstacle which prevent him from being fully accepted as a member of society. But he soon becomes popular for his masterful gift of cutting hedges into pieces of beautiful topiary art and arousing the dormant passions of women with his skillful haircutting. However, two of the townspeople, a religious fanatic named Esmeralda (O-Lan Jones) and Kim's jock boyfriend Jim (Anthony Michael Hall), dislike him immediately. Joyce (Kathy Baker), a "lonely housewife", suggests that Edward open a haircutting salon with her. While examining a proposed site, she attempts to seduce him, confusing Edward, who escapes the room in a state of panic. Edward attempts to bring up the subject of her actions while the family is having dinner, but no one reacts to the news. At dinner Peggy's husband Bill (Alan Arkin) reminds Edward that in society money is all that matters. If one cannot earn money, then one is not acceptable, and Edward is taken to a bank for a loan, but they will not give him one without the proper official papers that go with being a member of the society.

Bill: So Edward, did you have a productive day?
Edward: Mrs Monroe showed me where the salon's going to be. (turns to Peg) You could have a cosmetics counter.
Peggy: Oh, wouldn't that be great!
Bill: Great.
Edward: And then she showed me the back room where she took all of her clothes off.

Esmerelda: He has been sent first to tempt you. But it's not too late. You must push him from you, expel him! Trample down the perversion of nature! It's not heaven he's from! It's straight from the stinking flames of hell! The power of Satan is in him, I can feel it. Can't you? Have you poor sheep strayed so far from the path?
Edward: We're not sheep.
Esmerelda: Don't come near me!

He secretly falls for Kim, but she is turned off by his ungainliness. She makes fun of Edward and soon uses him unwillingly to break into her obnoxious boyfriend Jim's house. Wanting money for a van, Jim fools the guileless Edward into helping burgle his parents' house. The burglar alarm sounds and all but Edward escape, despite Kim's angry insistence that they return for him. The police arrive, Edward is arrested, but released when a psychological examination reveals that his isolation allowed him to live without a traditional sense of ethics. The arresting officer, Allen (Dick Anthony Williams), befriends the timid Edward, sensing his intrinsic goodness. The neighbors start to question their opinions about Edward's personality. Meanwhile, infuriated by Edward's rejection, Joyce gets revenge on Edward by claiming that he tried to rape her. Many of the neighbors begin to gossip and slowly turn against Edward. Suddenly the people in the neighborhood begin to see Edward as an outcast and a freak. During Christmas, Edward is hated and feared by almost everyone around him except the Boggs family. His initial naivety changes to feelings of frustration, rejection and revolt at people's ways. Edward also comes to realize that he can be dangerous to others, that he is unable to touch others without harming them because of the sharpness of the blades he has instead of hands.

Kim: Hold me.
Edward: I can't.
Kim: You're here... They didn't hurt you, did they? (Edward shakes his head) Were you scared? I tried to make Jim go back, but, you can't make Jim do anything. Thank you for not telling them that we...
Edward: You're welcome.
Kim: It must have been awful when they told you whose house it was.
Edward: I knew it was Jim's house.
Kim: You... you did?
Edward: Yes.
Kim: ...Well, then why'd you do it?
Edward: Because you asked me to.

Officer Allen: Will he be OK, Doc?
Psychologist: The years spent in isolation have not equipped him with the tools necessary to judge right from wrong. He's had no context. He's been completely without guidance. Furthermore, his work--the garden sculptures, hairstyles and so forth--indicate that he's a highly imaginative... uh... character. It seems clear that his awareness of what we call reality is radically underdeveloped.
Officer Allen: But will he be all right out there?
Psychologist: Oh yeah, he'll be fine.

While the family is setting up Christmas decorations, Edward carves an ice sculpture from a block of ice. The ice shavings create the effect of falling snow, under which Kim dances. Jim catches Kim's attention, whereupon Edward accidentally cuts Kim's hand. Jim assumes that Edward deliberately harmed her, and uses this as a pretext to attack Edward in a jealous rage. The situation worsens when Kevin is almost run over by Jim's drunken friend. Edward pushes Kevin out of the way, accidentally cutting his face in the process. The neighbors misunderstand the situation, thinking Edward attacked Kevin. Edward flees back to his hill-top mansion. The neighbors form an angry mob and pursue him. Officer Allen unsuccessfully attempts to turn back the mob by giving them the impression that Edward is dead. He fires his gun a few times and tries to tell them that it's all over. They continue to the mansion, presumably to kill Edward themselves to verify Officer Allen's claims that Edward is dead.

Kim heads to the mansion before the mob can get there and reunites with Edward. Jim follows them and battles Edward, and is eventually killed by him. Kim professes her love for Edward and convinces the mob that Edward and Jim killed each other in the fight. All the neighbors return to their homes, while Joyce is seen guilty and ashamed for making up the rumor about Edward.

The elderly woman from the beginning reappears, as she finishes telling her granddaughter the story. It is revealed that Edward is still alive and "creating snow" from his ice sculptures, which fall upon the valley below. The elderly woman reveals to her granddaughter that she is Kim. She refuses to visit Edward because she wants Edward to remember her the way she was in her youth.

(last lines)
Kim: You see, before he came down here, it never snowed. And afterwards, it did. If he weren't up there now... I don't think it would be snowing. Sometimes you can still catch me dancing in it.

EDWARD SCISSORHANDS is a 1990 comedy-drama fantasy film directed by Tim Burton. The film is filled with humorous scenes, yet within the humour there are always darker overtones. It captures the delicate flavor of a fable or fairy tale in a live-action movie. Most of Burton's movies are visual spectacles with elements of fantasy, but EDWARD SCISSORHANDS is more tender and personal than the others. Johnny Depp, making his first successful leap from TV to film, captures Edward's childlike vulnerability even while his physical posture evokes horror icons like the vampire in NOSFERATU (1922) and the sleepwalker in THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1919). Classic horror films feel a deep sympathy for the monsters they portray.

Burton conceived the idea for EDWARD SCISSORHANDS from his childhood upbringing in suburban Burbank, California. He said that he was often alone, and had trouble retaining friendships: "I get the feeling people just got this urge to want to leave me alone for some reason, I don’t know exactly why". During pre-production of BEETLEJUICE (1988), Caroline Thompson was hired to adapt Burton's story into a screenplay, and the film began development at 20th Century Fox, after Warner Bros. passed on the project. At the time, the budget was projected to be around 8 to 9 million dollars. EDWARD SCISSORHANDS was then fast tracked after Burton's enormous success with BATMAN (1989). He was now an A-list director.

The film is also the fourth feature collaboration between Burton and film score composer Danny Elfman. The movie sounds like a Tim Burton producton, very much like PEE-WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE (1985). There are many choirs, very reminiscent of the music score for Roman Polanski's THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS (1967). Burton should get a new music composer, because Elfman's music makes Burton's movies sound all the same. Elfman's style is at times moving, soft, wild, silly, weird and crazy. He has worked on many musical soundtracks since, but this one is possibly the most beautiful he ever created. The orchestra consisted of 79 musicians. Elfman cites EDWARD SCISSORHANDS as epitomizing his most personal and favorite work. In addition to Elfman's music, three Tom Jones songs are also heard: "It's Not Unusual", "Delilah" and "With These Hands".

It's a wonderful tale about love and kindness, but also about rejection and estrangement. It shows the limits of people's tolerance for what is different and how those who stray from the norm, commonly named misfits, awake mockery or fear from a society which will use them and then reject them, thus breaking their innocence and goodness. Though a harsh satire of deceit, gossip, jealousy, hypocrisy, as well as a tragic witness to the pain of not being accepted by others, the tone is still one of constant sweetness, gentleness and innocence.

Johnyy Depp's performance as Edward is truly touching and full of gentleness. Winona Ryder is subdued and unconvincingly blonde as the love interest, but Alan Arkin and Dianne Weist both give perfectly deadpan performances. Vincent Price in his last screen appearance plays The Inventor with genteel charm. Their good-nature shows humanity at its best while some other characters show its least pleasant aspects. Photography is quite beautiful and is thematically based on a strong contrast between Edward's universe, the dark noiseless castle, with the town filled with bright colors and voices. The gloomy castle is in fact a shelter from the seemingly happy outside world, which is in fact much darker and sinister underneath its bright colors. Of all Burton’s films this is the one that feels the most honest and heartfelt.

The cast also includes: Conchata Ferrell (Helen), Caroline Aaron (Marge), Susan Blommaert (Tinka), Linda Perri (Cissy), John Davidson (TV host), Biff Yeager (George), Marti Greenberg (Suzanne), Bryan Larkin (Max), John McMahon (Denny), Victoria Price (TV Newswoman), Stuart Lancaster (Retired Man), Aaron Lustig (Psychologist), Alan Fudge (Loan Officer), Steven Brill (Dishwasher Man), Peter Palmer (Editor), Marc Macaulay (Reporter), Carmen J. Alexander (Reporter), Brett Rice (Reporter), Andrew B. Clark (Beefy Man), Kelli Crofton (Pink Girl), Linda Jean Hess (Older Woman / TV), Rosalyn Thomson (Young Woman / TV), Lee Ralls (Red-Haired Woman / TV), Eileen Meurer (Teenage Girl / TV), Bea Albano (Rich Widow / TV), Donna Pieroni (Blonde / TV), Ken DeVaul (Policeman), Michael Gaughan (Policeman), Tricia Lloyd (Teenage Girl), Kathy Dombo (Other Teen), Rex Fox (Police Sergeant), Sherry Ferguson (Max's Mother), Tabetha Thomas (Little Girl on Bike), Tammy Boalo, Jackie Carson, Carol Crumrine, Suzanne Chrosniak, Ellin Dennis, Kathy Fleming, Jalaine Gallion, Miriam Goodspeed, Dianne L. Green, Mary Jane Heath, Carol D. Klasek, Laura Nader, Doyle Anderson, Harvey Bellman, Michael Brown, Gary Clark, Roland Douville, Russell E. Green, Cecil Hawkins, Jack W. Kapfhamer, Bill Klein, Phil Olson, Joe Sheldon, James Spicer, Nick Carter, Tim Rerucha (Van Friend), and L.A. Rothman (Girl in Diner). Danny Elfman composed the music. Caroline Thompson wrote the screenplay from a story by her and Tim Burton, who also directed.

The production design work is quite stunning--from the beautifully gaping bare castle walls and antiquarian gardens to the amusingly color-toned suburbia where products are known by generic brand names, and most imaginatively the flashback tour of Vincent Price’s robot egg and cake beater inventions, all designed in a sort of L. Frank Baum steampunk. The houses were painted in faded pastel colors to represent the generic nature of American suburbia with which Edward finds himself at odds. Burton explained that his depiction of suburbia is "not a bad place. It's a weird place. I tried to walk the fine line of making it funny and strange without it being judgmental. It's a place where there's a lot of integrity."

Burton said, "Dianne, in particular, was wonderful. She was the first actress to read the script, supported it completely and, because she is so respected, once she had given in her stamp of approval, others soon got interested." When it came to cast the lead role of Edward, Fox was persistent to have Burton meet with Tom Cruise. "He certainly wasn't my ideal, but I talked to him," Burton remembered. "He was interesting, but I think it worked out for the best. A lot of questions came up." Cruise wanted the ending to be "happier". Michael Jackson then lobbied hard for the part, but was unsuccessful. Tom Hanks turned it down in favor of THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES (1990). William Hurt and Robert Downey, Jr. both expressed interest, and were considered. The Inventor was written specifically for Vincent Price.

Lutz, Florida and the Southgate Shopping Center of Lakeland were chosen for a three month shooting schedule. The production crew found, in the words of the production designer Bo Welch, "a kind of generic, plain-wrap suburb, which we made even more characterless by painting all the houses in faded pastels, and reducing the window sizes to make it look a little more paranoid." Rick Heinrichs worked as one of the art directors. The key element to unify the look of the neighborhood was Welch's decision to repaint each of the houses in one of four colors. He described them as "sea-foam green, dirty flesh, butter and dirty blue".

The facade of the Gothic mansion was built just outside of Dade City. Filming EDWARD SCISSORHANDS in the Tampa Bay Area created hundreds of temporary jobs and injected over $4 million into the local economy. Production then moved to a Fox Studios sound stage in Century City, California, where interiors of the mansion were filmed. To create Edward's scissor hands, Burton employed Stan Winston, who would later design Penguin's prosthetic makeup in BATMAN RETURNS (1992). Depp's wardrobe and prosthetic makeup took one hour and 45 minutes to apply.

EDWARD SCISSORHANDS was released with positive feedback from critics, and was a financial success. The movie had its limited release in the United States on December 7, 1990. The wide release came on December 14, and the film earned $6,325,249 in its opening weekend in 1,372 theaters. It eventually grossed $56,362,352 in North America, and $29,661,653 internationally, coming to a worldwide total of $86.02 million. With a budget of $20 million, the film was declared to be a box office success.

The film received numerous nominations at the Academy Awards, British Academy Film Awards, Saturn Awards, as well as winning the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. Both Burton and Elfman consider Edward Scissorhands their most personal and favorite work. The New York Times wrote "The chemistry between Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder, who are both engaged in real life, gave the film teen idol potential, drawing younger audiences. In the case of Edward Scissorhands, it is a tale of misunderstood gentleness and stifled creativity, of civilization's power to corrupt innocence, of a heedless beauty and a kindhearted beast. The film, if scratched with something much less sharp than Edward's fingers, reveals proudly adolescent lessons for us all." Roger Ebert gave the film a negative review. He felt that "Burton has not yet found the storytelling and character-building strength to go along with his pictorial flair. The ending is so lame it's disheartening. Surely anyone clever enough to dream up Edward Scissorhands should be swift enough to think of a payoff that involves our imagination."

The DVD includes audio commentary by Burton and Elfman. Neither talk all the way through the film, and you may wonder when they will speak again. Burton probably speaks 12 to 15 times through most of the movie, but it sounds more like he's having little afterthoughts. Elfman's audio plays after certain music segments are done, and his background music plays over the dialogue so we hear outright how it sounds. Tim Burton's concept art is shown, about 7 pieces of art (5 concepts of Edward, 1 of The Inventor, and 1 of Edward's place in the mansion's attic). The featurette talking about the film is a letdown, as there is nothing notable. The only decent feature is the interactive menu, made like a pop-up book of the mansion Edward is found in. It's a great movie on this DVD, but the extra features leave much to be desired. In October 2008, the Hallmark Channel purchased the television rights.

Meet the Applegates (1990) * * ¾

The Applegates look like a typical suburban Ohio family. Richard "Dick" P. Applegate (Ed Begley, Jr.) and Jane (Stockard Channing) have two kids and a dog named Spot. Like most families, they also have secrets: Dick has an affair with his secretary while Jane has an affair with credit cards, their son Johnny (Robert Jayne) has a drug problem, and their daughter Sally (Camille Cooper) is pregnant. The Applegates, however, are hiding a much bigger secret: They are actually advanced Amazonian insects who are masters of disguise with the ability to mimic the appearance of other species. They may seem as American as apple pie, but these Brazilian bugs have a taste for human flesh and are on a mission: They plan to blow up the nuclear power station where Dick works in protest of the industrialization of their homeland, which threatens their existence.

The movie starts in a forest with a family being attacked by a family of huge Brazilian Cocorada bugs. The insects find a "Dick and Jane" book dropped by fleeing teachers. Not long after, the group of Cocoradas camouflage themselves as an ordinary human family and set up house in the well-off suburban neighborhood of Median, Ohio. They take on human form and meet every "normality" standard from the magazine Family Bazaar. Their neighbor is an exterminator as well as a bigot, and he frightens them. Dick gets a job at a nuclear power plant. He works there to one day cause an explosion as a warning against destruction of the Brazilian rain forest, and to rid the world of humans and let bugs rule. Like cockroaches, these bugs can survive anything, including radiation.

But after a while the family drifts from its normalities. The temptations of Western civilization prove to be too much for them, and the American way begins to make converts of them. Johnny, a drug free student, begins listening to Heavy metal music and becomes a bratty junkie. The husband and wife drift away from each other, and Sally becomes a cold pregnant militant lesbian feminist after being raped by a jock from the high school. They each show their true bug form at least once in the film. Johnny does while smoking marijuana with his metalhead buddies, and Sally while being raped by Vince Sampson (Adam Biesk). Her experience seems an appropriate punishment as the cute blonde morphs into a giant insect during the sex act. When one of the Applegates gets teed off, he can revert to his original insect self and stun the offending party into unconsciousness, trapping him in a giant cocoon. Soon, the house is filling up with mummified victims. Sexually frustrated Dick disappears into the washroom with a spread of insect photos in Scientific American and drools over bug pictures the way another man might look at Playboy. When her family congratulates her on the tastiness of their supper, Jane says, "I happened to find some rancid trash in a dumpster behind the 7-Eleven."

As they drift away from normality, and nearly are discovered by the neighbors, their Aunt Bea (Dabney Coleman) is sent to help. She becomes a nuisance and they decide she should be taken care of. Dick decides to not blow up the nuclear power plant, due to his growing fondness of life, and kills Aunt Bea. At the end of the movie they return to their lives in Brazil, and are visited by the townspeople who grew to love them. Although the plant did not blow up, enough radiation was released to remove the hair from much of the population of the town.

MEET THE APPLEGATES is a 1991 black comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann. It was filmed in 1989, but not released until 1991. The movie takes a dark, satirical look at the end of the world, nuclear holocausts, alienism and terrorism. This was Lehmann's followup to HEATHERS (1989). While not nearly as popular or memorable, THE APPLEGATES is still quite an entertaining film, and its current "Out of Print in any format, anywhere in the world" status is baffling. A surreal ecological and suburban satire, laden with weird, silly and wonderful gags, this film parodies suburban family life much as HEATHERS focused on the darker side of high school.

The movie is clever, funny, intelligent, poignant, and surprisingly shocking. It represents an old style of cinema and engulfs our social problems, idiosyncratic ways, and our hidden flaws with a flair that cannot be found in today's films. THE APPLEGATES has a good cast, a powerful blend of humor with satire, and lots of fun. It is considered a cult classic for three reasons: a strong cast, a powerful story, and moments you will always remember. The human elements that invade these bugs' lives are over-developed for this film, but they work very well. The Applegates prove to humans that even if they come to us, we will still destroy their sense of what is right or wrong.

THE APPLEGATES uses a powerful technique for keeping this film easy on the eyes. It uses the K.I.S.S. method so it can withstand repeated viewings. The "Keep It Simple Stupid" formula was applied to this film by merely saying that these bugs were going to nuke a small town in the United States. There wasn't a fear of technology, over-analyzing, or future consequences--and with a film like this, we didn't need it. It's a simple story with a clear message: There are problems in the US we cannot blame on outside influences. We have issues with underage pregnancies, drug use, over-spending, and adultery. Metaphors abound, and we feel sad for these Applegates as they begin to falter in their mission because we are causing the failure. Our lifestyles are killing these bugs, and this satire of American manners is a send up of the ineffectual environmentalists the Applegates represent. The film was released during a time when there was a fear of the destruction of the Amazon forests, while we battle today with the issue of Global Warming. In other words, it's a save the rain forests ecology movie presented as a comical horror and fantasy film.

The cast also includes: Glenn Shadix (Greg Samson), Susan Barnes (Opal Withers), Savannah Smith Bouchér (Dottie), Roger Aaron Brown (Sheriff Heidegger), Lee Garlington (Nita Samson), Philip Arthur Ross (Kevin), Steven Robert Ross (Kenny), Mark Bringleson (Rich Block, Family Bazaar Magazine), Chuck Lafont (Clem Shepherd), Allan David Fox (Peace Corps Volunteer), Sherrie Wills (Peace Corps Volunteer), Jerry Craig (Amazon Native), Joe VanStrike (Russell Withers), Mindy Bell (Coach Himler), Meg Weldon (Courtney), Chelsea Lee (Ingrid), Jessica Schwartz (Monica), Mike Rieden (Vince's Friend), Bob Fox (Junior Cartwright), Kathryn Garrison (Drone with Aunt Bea), Margaret Mazon (Drone with Aunt Bea), Gustavd Mellando (Drone with Aunt Bea), Sherry Narens (Relative), Michael Raysses (Durpre), Les Podewell (Mr. Goodpastor), Bradley Mott (Pastor Cooter), Patrick Donahue (Bed Bug), Barbara Lehmann (Cocktail Waitress), Lisa Sutton (Pregnant Woman), Kiki Huygelen (Gail the Dyke), Adrian Tafoya (Motorboat Captain), John Escobar (Jorge), Tony Cecere (Banana Boat Helmsman), Rick Snyder (Bank Officer), Joe Liss (Customs Official), Ivan H. Migel (Cashier), Dan Bradley (Power Plant Worker), Richard Barker (Power Plant Worker), Lisa Comshaw (Pregnant Woman), Mark Roberts (Screaming Guard in Plant), and Joe Van Slyke (Russell Withers). David Newman composed the original music. The screenplay was written by Redbeard Simmons and Michael Lehmann, who also directed.

The screenplay written by Redbeard Simmons and the director is sharp, witty, intelligent, and hysterical. Special makeup effects designed by Kevin Yagher were used to make the Applegates appear as bugs. The special effects are all done with plastic molding and firecracker explosions. MEET MEET THE APPLEGATES was filmed in Oshkosh and Neenah, Wisconsin. It has been rated R, has vulgar language and partial nudity. Why is it unavailable? One viewer commented: "There's a reason why this film has been forgotten. It is horrible. But it's compellingly horrible! I could not stop watching it. I felt like it should be revered as a bizarro cult-classic, because it's so bad in such an enjoyable way. It is so extraordinarily bad, and the characters are so unapologetically one-dimensional, and the dialogue is so ridiculously over-the-top, you may find yourself, like me, unable to stop watching." The VHS title is simply THE APPLEGATES, and hopefully this comedy will be released on DVD soon.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) * * *

Sir Oliver S. Lindenbrook (James Mason), a geology professor at the University of Edinburgh, is given a piece of volcanic rock by his admiring student Alexander "Alec" McEwen (Pat Boone). Deciding that the rock is unusually heavy and therefore must contain Icelandic peridotite, Lindenbrook, mostly thanks to the carelessness of his lab assistant Mr. Paisley (Ben Wright), discovers a plumb bob inside bearing a cryptic inscription. Lindenbrook and Alec conclude that it was left by an explorer by the name of Arne Saknussem, who had 300 years earlier found a passage to the center of the Earth. Lindenbrook transcribes the text on the plumb-bob and learns that it reveals the entrance to the world below, so he immediately sets off with Alec as his assistant to follow the example of the Icelandic pioneer.

The first obstacle of the journey is Professor Göteborg of Stockholm, because the University in Stockholm writes to let Lindenbrook know that Göteborg has disappeared. Lindenbrook estimates the date of Göteborg's disappearance as being approximately when the first letter would have arrived. It's a lot of set-up, but it goes by quickly and it's made enjoyable by Mason's suaveness and the boyish charm of Pat Boone.

Act One is fun, but Act Two is better when Lindenbrook and Alec rush off to Iceland to try to beat Göteborg to Saknussem's secret entrance. Once they are in Iceland, Göteborg with the help of his goon, manages to kidnap both of them and trap them in an underground cellar, from where they are freed by young athletic farmer Hans Belker (Peter Ronson). He and his duck Gertrude join their expedition, but he doesn't speak English. That necessitates including a translator in their party, so they also bring along Carla Göteborg (Arlene Dahl). They next go to the inn where Göteborg is staying and sneak in his room, where they find him dead. Lindenbrook, with the astuteness of a forensic scientist, combs the goatee of Göteborg and retrieves some potassium cyanide crystals. They conclude that he has been killed by some rival scientist.

Carla Göteborg: Whom were you taking besides this young man?
Sir Oliver Lindenbrook: The big Icelander.
Carla Göteborg: Then I'll be very useful. He doesn't understand a word of English.

Alec McKuen: (after discovering Professor Göteborg dead in his hotel room) Why didn't they tell us at the desk?
Oliver Lindenbrook: Hotels rarely advertise the fact that there are corpses lying around.
Carla Göteborg: Sir Oliver, you are not going to listen to a murderer?
Oliver Lindenbrook: Never interrupt a murderer, madam.
Carla Göteborg: Someone is walking up there. I heard footsteps, human footsteps.
Oliver Lindenbrook: Since the beginning of time all women have heard footsteps up there.

Finding him dead before his expedition even began, Lindenbrook and Alec are suddenly supplied with all the materials they need for their project. Göteborg's widow Carla, who at first vowed to destroy all her husband's supplies, agrees to lend them his valuable supplies, including the much sought after Ruhmkorff lamps, if they include her in their trip. Lindenbrook grudgingly agrees to take her along, and so four explorers and a duck are soon journeying to the center of the Earth. Along with Lindenbrook and Alec, the group includes Hans Belker, Gertrude, and Mrs. Göteborg.

Strange terrain, a deranged rival scientist named Count Arne Saknussem (Thayer David), breathtaking scenery and giant reptiles embellish the rest of their journey. Count Saknussem is the descendant of Saknussem, the famed scientist who tried to travel to the center of the earth 300 years ago and left many guiding marks along the path for the posterity. Count Saknussem thinks that the center of the earth is his territory and only he has a right to visit there, as it was his forefather who went there first. He trails the group secretly with a servant. During his independent travels, as he becomes separated from the rest of his group, Alec almost trips over Saknussem's dead servant. When Alec refuses to become his new servant, Saknussem shoots Alec in the arm. Lindenbrook is able to locate Saknussem from the reverberations of the sound of the guns' echo, and in a strange court hearing, sentences him to death. However no one has the nerve to kill him, and they grudgingly take him along.

Count Saknussem: I don't sleep. I hate those little slices of death.

They eventually encounter a subterranean ocean, and make a raft from the stems of giant mushrooms to cross it. Somewhere in the middle of the ocean, they pass through the center of the earth and their raft begins circling in a mid-ocean whirlpool. The professor deduces they must be at the center of the earth, because the magnetic forces from north and south meeting there are strong enough to snatch away even gold in the form of wedding rings and tooth fillings. They manage to cross the ocean, and reach the shore on the other side completely exhausted.

Hans Belker: (in Icelandic) There is a tunnel on this side.
Carla Göteborg: He says there's a tunnel on the other side.
Hans Belker: (in Icelandic) And they slant downhill, and we can walk them.
Carla Göteborg: Slanting downhill, but walkable.
Hans Belker: (in Icelandic) O, madam, will you all come down here where the boy fell. It is so wonderfully beautiful down there.
Sir Oliver Lindenbrook: What's happened now? What's he saying?
Carla Göteborg: He said we should go back to where Alec fell.
Hans Belker: (in Icelandic) He is guilty. Excuse me, madam, can you tell me, where do we go now, what do we do now?
Carla Göteborg: (in Icelandic) Hans, let him go.
Hans Belker: (in Icelandic) Madam, the tunnel lies straight upwards, but there is a big rock in the way and sadly we can't move it. Only a landslide could move it. (to his duck) My Gotrun, have you been lonely?

Despite the dangers of their journey, no one has died. That, however, soon changes. Gertrude, the duck, loses her life. But ironically it is not the difficult terrain that kills her, but Saknussem, who can't control his hunger and eats her. Nature delivers its justice immediately when soon after a mild earthquake occurs, and Saknussem is buried under a shower of heavy stones. Right behind the collapse, the group comes upon the sunken city of Atlantis. They are now faced with one question: How will they return to the surface?

Not far from the ruins of Atlantis, they see the remains of the scientist who went centuries before them with the hand of his skeleton pointing toward a passage to the surface. They decide that they have to create an artificial explosion to get out to the surface. They use the gunpowder in one of the sacks of their ancestor to create an explosion that awakens a giant lizard which tries to eat them--but is soon consumed by the lava that torrents down after the explosion. The same lava lifts them up out of the depths of the earth in a large sacrificial altar bowl. They are thrown out to the sea, emerging to the surface via a volcanic shaft. Three are retrieved from the sea by seafarers while the fourth, Alec, is thrown out of the altar bowl as it flies through the air and ends up naked in a tree in a nunnery orchard.

When the group returns to Edinburgh, the four travelers are greeted as national heroes. Alec has married Lindenbrook's niece Jenny Lindenbrook (Diane Baker), Hans announces his return to Iceland, and the result of previous tensions between Lindenbrook and Carla is two headstrong people in love. The film ends with Lindenbrook and Karla kissing each other and the crowd cheering them and joyously singing in chorus.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH is an adventure film adapted by Charles Brackett from the novel by Jules Verne. The film is also known as TRIP TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH. Excitement comes from its sense of mystery and the drama between characters more than it does from giant monster attacks. It features solid character development, and the actors take their roles seriously, bringing them to vivid life. This is a long film at 132 minutes for a general release, family oriented project.

The film is notable for its special effects, which are excellent. Matte painting artists of the old Hollywood studio system could truly be called artists, and this film is a prime example of this art. However, the special effects on the dinosaurs look phony. Putting fake back-sails on live reptiles and calling them dimetrodons is cheesy. But the rest of the film is great and the movie requires dinosaurs. Bernard Hermann's atmospheric score is one of the stars of the picture. His music supports the film, like a character all its own. It complements the story rather than overpowering it, combining woodwinds, brass, a huge percussion section, and five organs for the film's original surround mix. The payoff is sublime, as Herrmann's music dips into subterranean registers, while a harp captures the travelers' wonder.

The cast also includes: Robert Adler (Groom), Alan Napier (Dean), Gertrude the Duck (Gertrude), Mary Brady (Kirsty), Alan Caillou (Rector), John Epper (Groom), Edith Evanson (Innkeeper), Alex Finlayson (Professor Bayle), Mollie Glessing (News Vendor), Frederick Halliday (Chancellor), Kendrick Huxham (Scots Newsman), Owen McGiveney (Shopkeeper), Molly Roden (Housekeeper), Ivan Triesault (Professor Peter Göteborg of Stockholm), Red West (Bearded Man at Newspaper Stand / University Student), and Peter Wright (Laird of Glendarick). Bernard Herrmann composed the music. Walter Reisch and Charles Brackett wrote the screenplay from Jules Verne's novel "Voyage au centre de la Terre". Henry Levin directed.

Derived from Jules Verne's 1864 novel, the movie "sexed up" the story compared to the original. In the book there is just a little romance between Axel and the professor's goddaughter, but Arlene Dahl's character (Professor Göteborg's widow), Arne Saknussemm's descendant and even Gertrude were additions made by the screenwriters. For the movie it definitely makes sense to add a romantic subplot as well as the intrigue with Saknussemm's descendant. The novel does not start in Edinburgh, but in Hamburg, the Professor's name is Otto Lidenbrock, Axel is his nephew, and Axel's sweetheart, Lidenbrock's goddaughter from the Vierlande is only known as Grauben. Lidenbrock, professor of geology and mineralogy at the Johanneum, is also a rather different character from Lindenbrook, perhaps an early example of the mad scientist and to some extent a caricature of a German academic as seen by a Frenchman who was heavily influenced by reading the strange tales of E.T.A. Hoffmann. James Mason's character is worldly and suave compared to the dry and irascible Lidenbrock of the novel. In the first chapter it is mentioned that his lectures are well-visited because people hope to witness his famous fits. In the novel, as in many of Jules Verne's Extraordinary Voyages, it's mainly about the journey and teaching young readers about as many geographic and scientific facts as possible. Famous and wealthy in his lifetime, Jules Verne predicted the future use of submarines, space-travel, and crustaceous exploration. Over 80 motion picture and TV productions around the world have heralded his work.

Location shots were filmed at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, and wild sets were designed to show off the scope ratio as the Lindenbrook Expedition reaches the Earth's surprisingly solid center. Fox's anamorphic transfer was made from a restored print, and those who grew up watching the film in a faded TV version will be delighted to see the production's attractive lensing. Like some of Verne's more exotic ideas, the underground territories share a lot of fanciful ideas, and that's part of the film's charm. Even the giant dinosaurs are well intercut between the terrified explorers, and much like the film's sets and locations, the creatures make good use of the scope frame.

The DVD presents the film in its original CinemaScope aspect ratio. This brand new anamorphic (2.35:1) DVD is an excellent transfer. Fox found the original 1959 camera negative worn and faded. A search for viable film elements led to a black-and-white silver print. From this came a 35mm interpositive. Finally came digital restoration and video enhancement. The original 4-track MagOptical soundtrack is offered in Dolby Digital 4.0 surround. DVD extras include 40 chapter stops, 8 trailers, and a conclusive restoration documentary.

Jules Verne's novel has been adapted several times for the big screen: Juan Piquer Simon's 1976 Spanish version starring Kenneth More; a 1989 Cannon version glued together for a cheap video release; a 1993 TV film featuring Carel Struycken, Tim Russ and Jeffrey Nordling; a 1999 mini-series starring Treat Williams and Bryan Brown; a 2008 TV film featuring Rick Schroeder; and a 2008 direct-to-DVD film produced by The Asylum.

In 2008 JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH starring Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, and Anita Briem was released. It's also called JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 3D or JOURNEY 3D. Probably it should be considered a 21st Century sequel to the 19th Century of Jules Verne's novel of the same name.

Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser) is a Bostonian volcanologist whose 13-year-old nephew, Sean (Josh Hutcherson), is supposed to spend ten days with him. Trevor has forgotten that Sean is coming until he receives several messages from Sean's mother.

When Sean's mother drops him off, she leaves Trevor with a box of items that belonged to Max, Trevor's brother and Sean's father, who disappeared 10 years before. Sean suddenly takes interest in what Trevor has to say after he tells him about his father, whom he never really had a chance to know. Inside the box Trevor discovers Max's old baseball glove, a yo-yo, and the novel "Journey to the Center of the Earth" by Jules Verne. Inside the book Trevor finds notes written by his late brother. Trevor goes to his laboratory to find out more about the notes and realizes that he must go to Iceland to investigate for himself. He intends to have Sean flown back to Canada but relents at Sean's protest and brings him along for the adventure.

They start by looking for another volcanologist named Sigurbjörn Ásgeirsson and instead find his daughter Hannah (Anita Briem). The scientist died years earlier. It turns out that he and Trevor's brother Max were Vernians, a small group who believe the works of Jules Verne to be fact. Hannah offers to help them climb up to the Stag Mountain which has suddenly started sending data again.

While hiking the mountain, a lightning storm forces the three into a cave that collapses, leaving them trapped. The group then explores the cave looking for an exit, and they find it is an abandoned mine which was closed after an accident that killed 81 people. They venture deep into the mine until they reach the end of the tunnels and enter to the bottom of a volcanic tube which is full of precious gems. As they are admiring the gems they realize the floor they're standing on is actually muscovite, a very thin rock formation. Due to their weight, the muscovite breaks and the group falls thousands of miles through the volcanic tube to the center of the earth, surviving only because the volcanic tube eventually turns into something like a water slide which drops them into a lake. It is there that they find that the center of the Earth is actually another world contained within the Earth, "a world within our world", and they set out to explore the place.

Along the way they find evidence that someone was there 100 years previous. Trevor remarks that the instruments found are Lindenbrook's, hinting that his views of the events of the book being real are changing. They find some of Max's (Trevor's brother and Sean's father) things as well. While Trevor and Sean are going through what they've found, Hannah wanders off and unfortunately discovers Max's body. They bury him on the beach of the underground ocean and Trevor reads a letter to Sean found in Max's journal. They then say their goodbyes and embrace. Trevor then realizes that his brother died due to dehydration.

Trevor figures that they must find a geyser that can send them to the surface, which is located on the other side of the underground ocean, or otherwise the temperature will rise up to 200 degrees, making it impossible to survive. They must reach the geyser in 48 hours or all of the water to create the geyser will have evaporated. They also figure that they must get out before the temperature rises past 135 degrees, which is the limit that the human body can withstand. They begin by crossing the underground ocean, and then the two adults become separated from Sean. Sean's guide is now a little bird who has been present since the trio entered the center, and it takes him towards the river. After he goes through a path of floating magnetic rocks, he encounters a Giganotosaurus and Trevor--who has desperately been searching for him--finds him. The beast pursues them until they discovers that the ground beneath them is muscovite, the same type as earlier. The monster falls through the muscovite, creates a massive hole and dies in the process. When they arrive at the geyser, it is all dried up. But they find water on the other side of a wall.

Trevor uses a flare to ignite the magnesium in the wall and causes a geyser to shoot them through Mount Vesuvius in Italy. When they destroy the vineyard of an Italian man, Sean gives him a diamond which he found earlier. Trevor sees that he has many more in his backpack, and he uses them to fund his brother's laboratory. Throughout the adventure, Hannah and Trevor gradually become close and even share a kiss. The film ends on the final day of Sean's visit with Trevor and Hannah. As he is leaving their new home, which was purchased with some of the diamonds, Trevor hands Sean a copy of the book "Atlantis: The Antediluvian World" by Ignatius L. Donnelly, suggesting they might hang out during Sean's Christmas break, which suggests a possible sequel.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH grossed $21,018,141 in 2,811 theaters with an average of $7,477.57 percent of the opening gross was taken from theaters which showed the film in 3-D. It has since made just over $100 million domestically. As of May, 2009, the film has grossed $101,704,370 in the US and $139,157,146 foreign sales, with a total of $240,861,516 worldwide. Warner Bros. marketed the film like a theme park attraction. However, the studio had to change the ad campaign, including dropping "3D" from the title, when it became clear that the film would be shown in 3-D in far fewer theaters than anticipated.

The film has enjoyed strong DVD sales. It was released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 28, 2008 in standard 2-D format as well as a magenta/green anaglyph. Four pairs of 3-D glasses are available along with the two-disc edition of the movie.

From the Earth to the Moon (1958) * * ½

Shortly after the end of the American Civil War, munitions producer Victor Barbicane (Joseph Cotten) announces that he has invented Power X, a new explosive which he claims is much more powerful than any other explosive. Metallurgist Stuyvesant Nicholl (George Sanders) scoffs at Barbicane's claims and offers a wager of $100,000 that it cannot destroy his invention, an ultra-tough steel that is the hardest metal in existence. Barbicane stages a demonstration using a puny cannon and demolishes Nicholl's material and an area of the countryside.

With the backing of manufacturers, Barbicane plans to continue his experiments. He is denounced by Nicholl, and President Ulysses S. Grant (Morris Ankrum) requests that Barbicane cease development of his invention, as other countries warn that continuing work on Power X could be considered an act of war. Barbicane agrees, vilified by his backers and the public, but then comes up with a new scheme--to build a cannon that will fire a manned projectile to orbit The Moon. When he discovers that pieces of Nicholl's metal retrieved from the demonstration have somehow been converted into an extremely strong yet lightweight ceramic, he cannot resist the chance to construct a spaceship to travel to the Moon. He recruits Nicholl to help build the ship. Meanwhile, Nicholl's daughter Virginia (Debra Paget) and Barbicane's assistant Ben Sharpe (Don Dobbins) are attracted to each other.

When completed, Barbicane, Nicholl and Sharpe board the spaceship and blast off with much fanfare. Once in outer space, the strongly religious Nicholl reveals that he has sabotaged the vessel, believing that Barbicane has flouted God's laws. Nicholl does everything he can to ruin the expedition. However, when it is discovered that Virginia has stowed away, Nicholl cooperates with Barbicane in a desperate attempt to save her. Sharpe is knocked out, and he and Virginia are placed in the safest compartment of the ship. Barbicane and Nicholl then fire rockets that send the young couple on their way back to Earth, while the two scientists land on the Moon in another section, with no way off. However, they are able to signal to the young couple that they have managed to reach the Moon safely.

FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON (1958) is a science fiction and fantasy film adaptation of the 1865 Jules Verne novel of the same title. The resurgence of interest in Jules Verne following the release of 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (1954) led to a brief fad of Verne-based films. There were the big-budget pictures: AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (1956), JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH (1959), MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1961) and IN SEARCH OF THE CASTAWAYS (1962). Then there were the low-budget films: FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON (1958), VALEY OF THE DRAGONS (1961) and MASTER OF THE WORLD (1961). Also produced were THE FABULOUS WORLD OF JUES VERNE (1958), FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON (1962) and JULES VERNE'S ROCKET TO THE MOON/THOSE FANTASTIC FLYING FOOLS (1967). These films tend to fall into silly buffoonery, but FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON is notably one of the few serious ones.

Produced in Mexico by Benedict Bogeaus, FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON stars Joseph Cotten as an eccentric scientist, and his bitter enemy George Sanders, who feels that the laws of God and nature are being violated. The romantic interest is handled by Debra Paget and Don Dubbins. Wandering in and out of the story is a mysterious bearded character known only as J.V. (Carl Esmond). The cast is probably the main reason to take a look at FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON. Cotten and Sanders are always worth watching, but also present are popular character actors Carl Esmond and Henry Daniell, both of whom excelled as suave, sinister villains in their careers. This film is one of the few ever produced with a positive view of war profiteers.

The film began as an RKO Pictures movie, but when RKO went into bankruptcy the film was released by Warner Brothers. This led to the film's budget being greatly slashed during production. The effects department suffered the greatest loss, and scenes on the moon were eliminated from the script. What remains once the rocket blasts off is a disappointingly verbose drama aboard the rocket with little in the way of special effects. It doesn't deliver the effects that its ad campaign implicitly promised, but the actors are convincing and the story is logically presented. Plus, the interior of the spaceship rocket comes with beautifully plush interiors in the retro-Victorian style that is de rigeur for Jules Verne films, as well as a series of Steampunk mechanical engine devices that one believes could almost work. The movie definitely has an antiquated feel to it and the technology shown is amusing.

FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON is almost a good film, but lacks the nerve of most 1950s science-fiction films. It builds up well through the fights and conciliations of the two rivals, played with fine charisma by Joseph Cotten and George Sanders. The rocket lifts off, but nothing happens. Just when we get into space and come to what promises to be the most interesting part of the story, FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON slows down and becomes a stage bound drama between the two rivals fighting one another. The dramatics are occasionally pumped up by a meteor shower and the emergency repair of an arcing engine gyro, but the sense of wonder that the film could have achieved is missing. Outer space scenes are quite unremarkable. There is almost nothing in the way of special effects--the rocket launch is limited to a series of exteriors of the capsule where the crane cable and arm holding it are clearly visible. Even the climactic Moon landing takes place off screen. This movie reuses some of Louis and Bebe Barron's electronic score and sound effects from MGM's FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956).

Furthermore, Verne’s story has also been changed by a need to add a topical theme about the nuclear arms race. In Verne's original 1865 novel, the Baltimore Gun Club set themselves the challenge of building a rocket to go to the Moon. Here club president Barbicane is a munitions industrialist and his scheme is that of firing a rocket to the Moon in order to demonstrate his powerful new explosive. It's a scheme that doesn't make much sense, and the film's desire to comment on the arms debate leaves us uncertain whether this is something that the film supports or condemns. In Verne's version, Barbicane and Nicholls are friendly academic rivals who spend most of their trip politely arguing over engineering issues. In the movie, this rivalry is beefed up to catastrophic proportions simply to add drama to the narrative. Of course a romance is included as well. Making matters worse, the science is both sloppily handled and inconsistent. For example, a centrifugal spinner is used during take-off to "counterbalance gravity", yet stowaway Debra Paget emerges perfectly fine from the space suit she hid out in.

The cast also includes: Patric Knowles (Josef Cartier), Carl Esmond (Jules Verne), Henry Daniell (Morgana), Melville Cooper (Bancroft), Ludwig Stössel (Von Metz), Robert Clarke (Narrator), and Les Tremayne (Countdown Announcer). Louis Forbes composed the incidental music. Some of Louis and Bebe Barron's "electronic tonalities" are used. Robert Blees and James Leicester wrote the screenplay derived from Jules Verne's novels "De la Terre à la Lune" and "Autour de la Lune". Byron Haskin directed.

FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON had been made into movies prior to 1958 and it would be again. A famous Georges Méliès short loosely based on the book appeared in 1902, and further screen versions appeared in 1914, 1967, and 1986 (French TV movie). The title was also used for a 1998 HBO mini-series hosted by Tom Hanks, documenting the Apollo space program. Twelve episodes were produced. Largely based on Andrew Chaikin's book "A Man on the Moon", the series is known for its accurate telling of the story of Apollo and its outstanding special effects. The last episode of the series begins with a look at the making of Georges Méliès' film based on Jules Verne's book.

Originally broadcast in April and May of 1998, the epic miniseries FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON was HBO's most expensive production to date, with a budget of $68 million. The miniseries tackles the daunting challenge of chronicling the entire history of NASA's Apollo space program from 1961 to 1972. It explores the ups and downs of space travel, beginning with President Kennedy's famous speech before Congress on May 25, 1961, and chronicling the journey to putting the first man on the moon. NASA's complete participation in the production lends to its total authenticity, right down to the use of NASA equipment, launch locations, and even spacecraft. The re-creation of the lunar landscape is almost as impressive as the real thing.

This highly acclaimed, Emmy-nominated, 12-episode series is available as a four-disc DVD set. The original series was shot in 1.33 aspect ratio, intended to be viewed on standard television sets. With the proliferation of widescreen flat-panel TV sets the series was remastered in 1.78 aspect ratio and rereleased in 2005 as a 5-disc DVD box set. New framing causes loss of top and bottom parts of the frames from the original movie. This is not always noticeable because of a careful transfer process, but in some scenes important details are lost. Some captions have also been compromised. Features include a behind-the-scenes featurette, a special effects featurette, President John F. Kennedy's historic speech, a tour outside our solar system, and 6 original promotional trailers as seen on HBO.

Il Ritorno di Zanna Bianca (1974) * * ½

In the Northwest Territories of Canada in 1899, Mitsa (Missaele) the young boy from the first ZANNA BIANCA movie is working with his hybrid wolf and two fur traders. Beauty Smith (John Steiner) and two henchmen appear, raid the traders camp, shoot all of them, then escape in a canoe with all their equipment. Several hours later, the wolf-dog is found by John Tarwater (Harry Carey Jr.) a grizzled old trader who buries Mitsa, and takes the hybid wolf back to a nearby town which is his home. The wolf-dog befriends another young boy, John's orphaned 10 year-old grandson Bill Tarwater (Renato Cestiè). Bill names him White Fang because of its ivory-white teeth. At a local saloon, White Fang helps John Tarwater win some money at a card game from a crooked card-shark, and a hilarious fistfight breaks out between the swindler and his victims as John casually counts his money, while White Fang and Bill take cover behind the bar. John then embarks on one of his periodic expeditions to discover gold.

Meanwhile, Beauty Smith is again exploiting the people in the town where John and Bill live. Smith uses the alias Charles Forth, pretends to be a businessman, and fakes a crippling injury by confining himself to a wheelchair with his two henchman always at his side. Sister Evangelina (Virna Lisi) is running a new mission hut in the town to convert into a hospital, and decides to ask Mr. Forth for funding to operate the hospital, despite warnings that Mr. Forth won't give her any money unless she will repay the loan with interest within 60 days or less. Sister Evangelina goes to meet him, and instantly recognizes the villain. She contacts novelist Jason Scott (Franco Nero) who's on a book tour down south and he agrees to come to her assistance. Scott also contacts his old friend Kurt Jansen (Raimund Harmstorf), now working as a local mines inspector to help out. Together, the three of them take their accusations to the town's corrupt police chief, Inspector Lt. Charles Leclerq (Renato de Carmine), who is actually on the payroll of Beauty Smith and claims to have known Mr. Forth for six years. Leclerq's wife Jane (Hannelore Elsner) is pressuring her husband to accommodate Smith's nefarious plans in return for more bribe money in exchange for protection, since Smith is now a wanted fugitive.

Jason Scott attempts to expose the illegal complicity between Mr. Forth and the police chief with the help of a local worker named Liverpool (Donald O'Brien), who agrees to write a statement in exchange for money. But Liverpool goes back on his word to help Scott by skipping town with the money that was given to him. Shortly afterwards, Scott encounters Bill and John Tarwater when White Fang drags them back to town after their sled dogs had run away leaving them stranded on a snowy plain. The animal shows affection for both Bill and Scott, remembing Scott from their previous adventure in Dawson City. Elsewhere, Kurt meets Liverpool's younger and attractive sister (Yanti Somer) and a romantic attraction develops between both of them.

The following day Liverpool returns to the town with two men, one dead and the other suffering from frostbite. They were selling insufficient and overpriced supplies from Beauty Smith. The survivor, Carter (Rolf Hartmann), has gangrene in both legs and Scott has to help Sister Evangelina perform the amputation at the mission hut. When Beauty Smith and his two henchmen see and recognize White Fang, they frame the wolf-dog for savaging Liverpool to death. An enraged posse attempts to kill White Fang, forcing Bill to drive the hybrid wolf out of town. When Bill looks for White Fang later in the woods, he gets attacked by a vicious eagle, but White Fang jumps in and saves him by fighting off the bird. Bill smuggles White Fang back into town and to Sister Evangelina's mission where the hybrid wolf's injuries are tended to.

While visiting his grandson and White Fang at the mission, John learns from Carter about the location of a gold-stream in the mountains that he found. But Harvey (Werner Pochath), a mission employee and a secret associate of Beauty Smith, sees them discussing the location and reports it to his boss. Jane then fakes a sickness to lure Sister Evangelina away from the mission, leaving Carter alone in his sickbed. Beauty Smith visits and tortures Carter for the location of the gold stream, then kidnaps John Tarwater and has his two henchmen set fire to the mission hut. Carter is burned to death, while Bill, who walked in while Smith was torturing Carter, is trapped by the flames. When Sister Evangelina realizes that Jane is not sick, she races back to the burning mission and rushes in to save Bill, but she catches on fire and dies from the severity of her burns.

Hearing of her death, the townspeople start a riot after learning from Bill about the wanted Beauty Smith and of Inspector Leclerq's association with him. As the mob breaks through the Mounties into the police station, Leclerq shoots himself. Scott, Kurt, and Bill find Jane who tells them where Beauty Smith is heading. Scott and Kurt with White Fang organize a posse to give chase. Locating Smith and his henchmen, Scott leads the posse forward and a gun battle ensues. Smith manages to shoot a few posse members, but his two henchmen are killed. White Fang catches up to Smith and attacks him. Smith's gunshots miss the wolf-dog and instead triggers an avalanche. The villain finally dies, crushed to death under the falling snow and ice. Shortly afterwards, Scott, Kurt, and White Fang locate John Tarwater who was shot and left for dead. But before he dies, he asks Scott that his grandson be the beneficiary of the gold stream that he found right near him with Carter's advice. The two-faced Harvey suddenly shows his true colors and says that the owner will legally be the first one to register the claim in the town. He suggests a dog-sled race to settle the disputed claim.

In the climatic sled race, Harvey attempts dirty tricks to win the race, but the tables turn on him when he falls from his sled and dies when he gets accidentally run over by the sled-team headed by White Fang. Scott and White Fang arrive in the town first, and the writer enters Bill Tarwater's name in the ledger in place of his own.

In the final scene, Jason Scott says his goodbyes to Kurt who now has the job as the new police inspector, and he announces that he and Liverpool's sister will be getting married in the spring. Bill also stays to live with Kurt and his wife who have agreed to raise the boy and White Fang. Scott then returns to Vancouver with new stories to write, while White Fang is torn between running after him or staying with Bill. However, White Fang chooses to stay with his young master as he runs back to Bill and trots off with the boy.

IL RITORNO DI ZANNA BIANCA is the sequel to prolific director Lucio Fulci's ZANNA BIANCA (1973). The titles translate into English as "White Fang" and "The Return of White Fang" or "The Challenge of White Fang". The German title is "Die Teufelsschlucht der Wilden Wölfe" and the French titles are "Le Retour de Buck le Loup" and "Le Retour de Croc Blanc". This sequel is set a few years after ZANNA BIANCA, and White Fang once again faces the harsh reality of the increasingly cruel nature of men, but remains faithful to those who are kind. Horror film specialist Fulci does a fine job adapting a variation on Jack London's 1906 novel "White Fang" to the big screen

This light-hearted adventure is set in the harsh wilderness of northern Canada in 1899. It's a typical wintry adventure that should appeal to children, and adults might want to watch it for the cast and director. But if you have seen ZANNA BIANCA, this sequel will seem like more of the same to you, and ZANNA BIANCA isn't all that great a B movie. The sequel is somewhat sloppily written or translated, yet another story about a boy and his hybrid wolf, with some gold rush-Western elements thrown in. There are surprisingly few movies about wolves. Most are adaptations or variations on Jack London's 1903 book "Call of the wild" or its 1906 sequel "White Fang". A German Shepherd dog plays White Fang in ZANNA BIANCA.

Lucio Fulci's ZANNA BIANCA movies are among the strangest films ever made. He has cooked up a populist entertainment that's too violent for children and too cute for adults, except when people aren't being tortured and burned alive. While missing the nudity and sex of exploitation films, these are not really all-age adventures, at least in their unedited forms. You might think this would be fun for the whole family until the town drunk is beaten senseless, the hapless Indian family is murdered in cold blood, and the child terrorized by bad guys who get a kick out of torturing cripples. The bullets fly, the bodies pile up, and White Fang gets to do clever things like figure out that someone is cheating at poker.

Both of Fulci's ZANNA BIANCA films were part of a fad by Italian film producers trying to squeeze some life out of their spaghetti western industry. There were maybe a dozen of these things made between 1973 and 1977 or so--Alpine adventures set in the gold rush era Klondike with plucky kids and an intelligent, resourceful wolf-dog as the star of the film. They usually bring in an action hero and a bad guy and come up with all sorts of fascinating adventures for the hybrid wolf to have while the humans stand around cheering him on.

If there are any saving graces to this sequel it is that White Fang is not forced to fight any other animals for the benefit of the camera, though he does get chased around, kicked, beaten with axe handles and thrown out of burning buildings. He's also depicted as fighting off a golden eagle that attacks the young boy, leading to one of the most bizarre gore effects sequences ever staged where the canine performer is festooned with a truly twisted zombie makeup effect to have it appear as though the bird scratched his eyes out. Probably this was one of the scenes cut from prints exported to North America in the 1970s.

The film ends in a dog sled race finale that took a few cues from BEN HUR (1959), with the two sled riders battling it out as they hurtle across the wilderness. The credits include Canada as one of the filming locations, although IL RITORNO DI ZANNA BIANCA was filmed mostly in Austria. The whole thing is marvelously fake and tacky, which is half of the fun of this little sub-genre of spaghetti westerns. They are fascinating and this is probably one of the better examples with no apparent harm coming to the animal performers. But the people get battered around quite a bit. It looks like it was a tough, physical shoot under adverse conditions, and a minor miracle the film was even made at all.

The cast also includes: John Bartha (Mountie Sergeant), Paolo Magalotti (Smith's Henchman 1), Sergio Smacchi (Smith's Henchman 2), Ezio Marano (Gambler), Stanislaus Gunawan, Vittorio Fanfoni, Carla Mancini, Riccardo Petrazzi (Man in Saloon), Pietro Torrisi (Man in Saloon), and Goffredo Unger (Fighter in Saloon). Carlo Rustichelli composed the incidental music. Lucio Fulci, Roberto Gianviti, and Alberto Silvestri wrote the screenplay. Lucio Fulci directed.

Donald O'Brien who plays Liverpool said about John Steiner (Beauty Smith), "He was a good actor, but we didn't get along well. I am Irish, he is British, maybe that's why..." O'Brien said of Raimund Harmstorf who plays Kurt Jansen, "An incredibly good-looking guy. He used to be a Decathlon athlete, I think. These people have the best physiques because they have to do everything, run, jump, throw weights." When informed that director Lucio Fulci had died, O'Brien was shocked and said, "He was a great director. Many terrible things happened to him in his life. He was rather unlucky. I have always enjoyed working with him greatly, as he was a truly original human being with a great love for cinema."