Using the KKK as heroes is in astonishingly poor taste. Even then, in much lass enlightened times, Griffin was taken to the woodshed and taken to task. Griffin responded by partially redeeming himself with the overly ambitious Intolerance. That said, the movie itself is brilliantly made. The acting, cinematography, direction and story are perfect. Definately a must watch for anyone interested in film as art or craft.

Plays like an ennactment of one of those tasteless joke books set to a Western theme. Not for everyone. Even fans of this sort of thing have to be in a certain mood.

One of the last great grand sweeping epics. Truly a cast of thousands. I've never been a big Heston fan but you got give the man his due. He was born to play these larger than life characters. The chariot race is really all its cracked up to be. One of the greatest cinematic moments ever. The chariot race in the silent version is even better, if you can believe that. Just amazing.

Wouldn't it be neat if both editions of Ben Hur were availiable in a two pack or even a special edition with extras and compare/contrast commentaries on both? I think these studios are really missing the boat and missing a major moneymaking enterprise by not getting these silent classics out on dvd. I actually prefer this olderr edition. It moves along faster and seems like a greater accomplishment from a filmmaking pov. Both are brilliant, of course, and its just a matter of subtle differences.

Another fine movie not availiable on vhs or dvd. The Big Parade is a bit derivative of All Quiet on the Western Front but holds its own as solid entertainment. I enjoyed it but I can't honestly say I missed any sleep thinking about it.

Weird, dully acted, occasionally gross and sometimes unintentionally funny. Lynch desperately wants to have his cake and eat it too by being so uncool that he's cool. Lynch cannot just tell, he has to show. All the time. Like the weird kid in 3rd grade who always brought something unsettling to show-and-tell and the kids told their parents and the parents complained and the teacher had to talk to his parents about his not bringing anything else. The weirdos Lynch populates his underworld with are hilariously overacted by actors who obviously don't know what the heck is going on and probably think Lynch is full of it. Dennis Hopper is hysterical. He basically didn't change his act a bit from Apocalypse Now and, of course, the critics and fans raved about how "brilliant" ansd "electrifying" his performance was. After Blue Velvet, I imagine Hopper got down on his knees every night and thanked God for giving most people short memories and short attention spans.

Creepy. Disturbing. Difficult to sit through. Compelling. Thought provoking. Touching. Maybe even a little bit brilliant. Only a simpleton could watch this movie and come away completely unaffected. The freaks are a clan and they stick together and look out for each other and woe to the person who harms one of them. The freaks know that, for a normal person, the greatest punishment is to be made a freak. They use this to their advantage in a climax both compelling and frightening. Will stay with you for days.

In 1980 Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari came to the small screen in the sitcom Bosom Buddies and the rest is history. For Hanks anyway. Haven't seen Scolari since Newhart and I'm not complaining. Bosom Buddies only ran for three seasons but Hanks starred in the smash hit Splash in 1984 and his star only rose from there. As he matured throughout the 80's, it became clear that Hanks wasn't going to stand pat with dumb little pratfall comedies like The Money Pit. Little by little his comedies crept away from the silliness and into the drama. Big, in retrospect, seems like a defining moment in Hanks' career. It's the first time Hanks is asked to carry a big budget sink or swim flick all his own. There's plenty of comedy here, of course, but there are underlying themes of loss and fear that had been touched on in some of his earlier smaller movies but never in a big buget blockbuster type flick and not so pervasively. This sense of the inherent sadness and uncertainty of life has come to dominate Hanks' flick. Movies like Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Castaway, and, especially, Philadelphia are quite grim in thier life is suffering seriousness. The Hanks in earlier fare like Splash and Volunteers contrasts sharply with the turn of the millenium Hanks. Big is a must watch for any Hanks fans.

Plenty of star power. One of those movies that, through almost no fault of it's own, features several rising actors who all went on to make it big one way or the other. Very 80's baby boomer 30 somethingish. Celluoid soap opera. Oddly, The Big Chill was a remake of a terrible low budget movie. Go figure.

The story is great. The treatment is very old and dated. Seems to be sort of a forgotten golden oldie. Purhaps a remake without the silly prank section. At least the DVD should be made. Still a fun movie w the classic battle scene w the mad officer propping up the dead bodies. Great for Cooper fans.