We have a little taste of everything here. Swashbuckling drama, Action, Adventure, and some of the greatest westerns of all time.
So, let's have a look at The Man in the Iron Mask
, Marked for Death
, The Edge
, Hang 'em High
, and The Man With No Name Trilogy
The Man in the Iron Mask
Written and Directed by: Randall Wallace
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, John Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu, Gabriel Byrne, Anne Parillaud, and Judith Godreche
Special Features: Audio Commentary from Writer/Director Randall Wallace, Myth and the Musketeers Featurette, Directors Take Featurette, Original 1998 Behind-the-Scenes Featurette, Alternate Mask Prototypes, Storyboards/Conceptual Drawings, and a DVD version of the film.
Mystery, intrigue, laughs and adventure are at hand in this thrilling film featuring the return (of sorts) of the Three Musketeers.
The unfortunate fate of this film was to be labeled a teeny movie simply because of its star, Leonardo DiCaprio, who was fresh of the monster success of Titanic
. In reality, it's a pretty great flick. It's got a lot of laughs and some good old fashioned swashbuckling.DiCaprio isn't even the real draw for the flick. Instead, it's the aging musketeers played flawlessly and often hilariously by John Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu and Gabriel Byrne. They're the heart of the film and the source of the fun.
I enjoyed the film as much, if not more, than when I first saw it.. I hadn't seen it in years and it really holds up.
The Blu-ray looks and sounds spectacular and has a few interesting special features, including a DVD in case dad doesn't have a blu-ray yet but might be upgrading soon. Dad's out there are sure to love the adventure and the intrigue provided here along with the laughs. Don't let the fact that it stars Leo scare you away from picking this one up. Your Dad will love it
The Man in the Iron Mask
is available now.Marked For Death
Written by: Michael Grais & Mark Victor
Directed By: Dwight H. Little
Starring: Steven Seagal, Joanna Pacula, and Keith David
Special Features: None.
If swashbuckling isn't in your Dad's wheelhouse then perhaps they're more likely to enjoy Steven Seagal beating the crap out of a bunch of Jamaican drug dealers, in Marked for Death
.Seagal kicked off the 90's with a bang and a punch and a kick with this one. This high octane action flick is pretty standard but still, what are the 90's for if not great action movies?
It's a decent transfer for the Blu-ray and the sound is nice but for some reason they didn't add a single special feature. It's frustrating when there is such a vast amount of space available on the format and studios don't take advantage of that and give every release some decent supplemental material.
Now I know this isn't a huge title but still it would be deserving of some kind of materials. Especially, since it's a Seagal movie. He pretty much defined action movies in the 90s and I feel releasing his films as barebones releases is a bit cheap. Especially if you're going to charge $22 bucks for the DVD.
Still, action fans will dig the film and more than likely enjoy returning to a film that haven't seen in a while. It's always great to revisit Mr. Seagal and Marked For Death
is Seagal at his prime.Marked for Death
is available now.The Edge
Written by: David Mamet
Directed by: Lee Tamahori
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin, Elle Macpherson, Harold Perrineau, and a big bear.
Special Features: None
On another angle entirely is the David Mamet written survival tale The Edge
featuring Alec Baldwin and Anthony Hopkins as two men in love with the same woman who end up crashed in the Alaskan wilderness. Will suspicion stand in the way of survival?Featuring some fantastic performances, gorgeous scenery and tense action, The Edge delivers in every way. It seems like it's been a bit forgotten for some reason, which is unfortunate. The chemistry between Hopkins and Baldwin is palpable and makes for a great film to watch.
The film looks great. The scenery is represented extremely well but this release also suffers from the lack of special features. I don't get it to be honest. Sure it's a great film that does stand on its own but it would be nice to have something here. Especially since we're talking about a Blu-ray.
There really isn't any room for movie only releases anymore and I can only hope that the studios realize that. Still, The Edge
is worth the money and dad is sure to agree. Hang 'em High
Written by: Leonard Freeman and Mel Goldberg
Directed by: Ted Post
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Inger Stevens, Ed Begley and Pat Hingle
Special Features: Lossless Audio, Original Theatrical Trailer, DVD Version of the film
The Man With No Name Trilogy
Written by: Luciano Vincenzoni, Age-Scarpelli, and Sergio Leone
Directed By: Sergio Leone
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Marianne Koch, John Wells, W. Lukschy, S. Rupp, Joe Edger, Gian Maria Volonte, Mara Krup, Luigi Pistilli, Klaus Kinski,Josef Egger, Panos Papadopulos, Benito Steffanelli, Roberto Camardiel, Aldo Sambrell, Luis Rodriguez, Mario Brega, Aldo Giuffre, and Eli Wallach
Special Features: Audio Commentary by Christopher Frayling for all three films, Audio Conmentary by Richard Schickel for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,"The Christopher Frayling Archives: A Fistful of Dollars,"The Christopher Frayling Archives: For A Few Dollars More","Tre Voci: A Fistful of Dollars", "Tre Voci: For A Few Dollars More", "A Few Weeks in Spain: Clint Eastwood on the Experience of Making the Film", "Back for More: Clint Eastwood Remembers For A Few Dollars More", "A New Kind of Hero", "Not Ready for Primetime: Renowned Filmmaker Monte Hellman Discusses the Television Broadcast of A Fistful of Dollars", "The Network Prologue with Actor Harry Dean Stanton", "Location Comparisons: Then to Now", 10 Radio Spots for A Fistful of Dollars, 12 Radio Spots for For a Few Dollars More, Commentary by Film Historian Christopher Frayling, A New Standard: Frayling on For A Few Dollars More", "For A Few Dollars More: The Original American Release Version", "Leone's West", "The Leone Style", "The Man Who Lost the Civil War", "Reconstructing The Good, The Bad and the Ugly", "Il Maestro: Ennio Morricone and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly - Part One", "Il Maestro: Part Two", Deleted Scenes: Extended Tuco Torture Scene, The Socorro Sequence: A Reconstruction, and Easter Eggs
Finally, we have four of the greatest westerns of all time. The brilliant Hang 'em High
and the even more brilliant Man With No Name Trilogy which includes A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
. These films are Clint Eastwood at his gun-slinging best, ,especially as The Man with No Name
in Sergio Leone's brilliant trilogy. The Blu-ray set of that trilogy is jam packed with special features that will tell you pretty much everything you could possibly want to know about the films.The films look great for the most part. There are a few flaws here and certainly nothing to balk at. Could they have done a better job with the transfer? Yes, as a matter of fact they could, but Eastwood's amazing performance more than make up for some grain and softness in the picture, believe me.
Each of the three films here are excellent and if you choose only one thing from this list to pick up, make sure it is The Man With No Name Trilogy
! Hang' em High
is a little lighter on the features (but most definitely not on the performances) but it does come with a DVD version of the film. It makes for a great companion to the other westerns and certainly belongs on a shelf next to them. Of course, it looks and sounds rather good on the format as well. These four films are fine examples of a great genre that we don't see too often anymore and I'd bet anything that the dad's out there would be more than happy to revisit these old classics.All in all this is a great selection of films to give out to most any dad this father's day. They're sure to love the superior picture and sound on this great films that blu-ray offers and will certainly go crazy when they hear that famous whistle. You know the one...
All the films covered in this column are available now! Pick them up at your local store or from the Pop Culture Beast Store!
Happy Father's Day!
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