Having read the book, I can say that they really butchered this movie by taking out far too much of the original story. As a result you get a story that feels rushed and incomplete. (Not to mention that to save time they took some serious liberties with the story.) It should be noted that the movie is only about the first half of the book, and even that part of it is much different in the book.

I really think that this should have been a TV series, where they could explore it all in depth over time. Each episode could have exposed a bit more, and they could have gotten four or 5 seasons out of it.

Instead you have a movie that is not awful, but it's not that good either. I'd suggest it as something to pick up on the cheap after having read the book. That way you can get a taste of how this would have played out had they followed the book more closely.

While this book doesn't rate 5 stars for me, I think it is far too harsh to give it one star and harsh criticism that it has received from some. However, having just finished reading it, I can see how some people were put off by Hubbard's style of writing, and some aspects of the story.

One of the main objections seems to revolve around a key story element. (This isn't a spoiler...) The story opens with the revelation that mankind had been wiped out 1000 years ago by an alien race. As can be expected, the few pockets of humans that remained had mainly reverted to more 'primitive' living. For example, the 'hero' of the story is an accomplished hunter who uses clubs to kill his prey. So, this begs the question, would it be possible for a man who knows nothing of 'technology' and things like 'flying craft' ever be able to learn and master using such devices in a short (weeks to months) period of time?

This is a key element in the story that the reader must accept, and it would seem that some people just can't make that leap. For me I tend to think that in 'desperate times' a person could be capable of just about anything.

Something else I think needs to be kept in mind is this book was finished in 1980, and given the size would have been in progress for many years. This story is likely 40 years old. Don't judge it without keeping that in mind.

Lastly, I think this story would have been better if broken into two parts. Without giving anything away, there is a distinct shift in the story, and it easily could be broken into two books.

However, I still found it to be an interesting read. I think most people will find it enjoyable so long as they don't have excessively high expectations.

I don't agree with the review that says this watch is for 'kids'. Yeah it's an old design, and yeah it's been around for decades. However, if you are looking at this watch you are looking at it precisely because you don't want something fancy with 5 time zones, 10 alarms, 4 stop watches, a heart rate monitor and GPS.

It's a watch, it tells time, and at a glance you can see the day and date. It has an alarm and a stopwatch, but will you ever use it? I also like the band. Instead of having to fuss with removing 'links' to change the size of the bank, there is a simple clasp that you can adjust and just slide the clasp in/out. All you need is a small screwdriver or even a paperclip.

As for keeping accurate time, I have never had to adjust the watch except for changing to/from daylight savings time. It's simple, it keeps good time, and it is very reasonable in price.

So you've been wading through all the "OMG DRM!!!" reviews in the hopes of finding a review that can help you decide whether to purchase the game. I'll try and help you out here. (DRM means 'Digital rights management', which is a form of copy protection.)

First off, as you have read, this game has SecurROM DRM. Before you decide to give up a game over DRM, be aware that all the major games have it. Bioshock, Civilization III&IV, Gothic 2, Guitar Hero III, Fallout 3, Tomb Raider, all The Sims games, all the F.E.A.R. games, Need For Speed, Grand Theft Auto IV... I could go on, but the list of titles is well over a hundred if not more. If you won't play a game because of SecuROM, then you will have to give up on a lot of titles.

With that said, if you are wondering whether the game is any good DESPITE the DRM, then the answer is, not really.

Let's be clear here, it's not a 'bad' game in of itself. I give it 5 stars for originality and for creativity. The game's idea is unique, and the means to customize your 'race' are extensive. There are online options to download other creations as well, so there is a lot of depth in this aspect.

The problem is that the gameplay is very shallow, and once you reach the 'end-game' (the last part of your evolution where you are flying around in space) the game becomes very repititious very fast. Yeah there are plenty of customization options, but they are hobbled by shallow gameplay. It's a perfect example of a game that was designed by artists, not by players. I managed one playthrough and after a while in phase 5 I just stopped playing since it got boring. It was said in one review that I read that this is "more construction kit than game" and I would strongly agree. If this appeals to you, then you will like Spore.

In the end though, this is a twenty dollar game, and I would buy again at that price since it does have that originality and customization going for it. If you are a person that really likes the idea of being able to do all kinds of customization to your game elements, then you will like Spore. If you could care less what things look like and are just interested in the gameplay, then keep looking - you won't find it here.

I give it three stars, primarily for originality and customization ability, plus the fact it is interesting to play around with. I took off a one star for lack of replayability and took off another for poor gameplay. Frankly, people are making far too big a fuss about how many installs they get, when the reality is that you only need one. It's unlikely you'll want to play this one again after playing it once. While the game deserves more than one star, it doesn't deserve more than three.

Looking for the soundtrack to the film 1984? Then you best be sure what soundtrack you are looking for. There was a conflict when this film was being produced that led to two soundtracks being recorded. The director, Michael Radford, had originally hired Dominic Muldowney to compose the entire soundtrack to the film. However, unbeknownst to Radford, the production firm Virgin Films had other ideas. They wanted a pop act with which to market the film, and they exercised their right of refusal to overrule Radford and dub in the Eurythmics soundtrack.

The film that ran in the theatres had the Eurythmics soundtrack, as did the VHS tape version released soon thereafter. However, when the movie was released onto DVD the Muldowney score was put back in, and there is no sign of the Eurythmics score anywhere on that disc. This has led to some confusion, as can be expected.

In any case, while this is indeed a 'soundtrack' from the film, it is not the soundtrack that is present on the DVD.

Looking for the soundtrack to the film 1984? Then you best be sure what soundtrack you are looking for. There was a conflict when this film was being produced that led to two soundtracks being recorded. The director, Michael Radford, had originally hired Dominic Muldowney to compose the entire soundtrack to the film. However, unbeknownst to Radford, the production firm Virgin Films had other ideas. They wanted a pop act with which to market the film, and they exercised their right of refusal to overrule Radford and dub in the Eurythmics soundtrack.

The film that ran in the theatres had the Eurythmics soundtrack, as did the VHS tape version released soon thereafter. However, when the movie was released onto DVD the Muldowney score was put back in, and there is no sign of the Eurythmics score anywhere on that disc. This has led to some confusion, as can be expected.

In any case, while this is indeed a 'soundtrack' from the film, it is not the soundtrack that is present on the DVD.

As expected in reading the reviews, I find that people either loved or hated this movie. I'd like to look at this movie from two perspectives, first details on the disc itself.

The audio is presented in both DTS & Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. The video is presented in anamorphic widescreen 2.35:1 on the dual layer disc. Overall they did a decent job of encoding this title. The video is clean and crisp and only rarely do artefacts appear. An example of how 'bad' this movie could have been without the job done to clean it up can be seen during the close-up of the spinning weather vane near the end of the movie. As it 'transforms' into Billy Preston, if you slow-mo or pause-step though it, you can see an example of artefacts that were not removed during processing. (although it is not noticeable by most people since the scene transitions quickly) Overall, even when zoomed at 2x, the video quality remains good given the age of the content. Audio is clear and dynamic. While effort was put into the video quality, no effort was put into the extras. Just an original trailer (loaded with artefacts) and scene access are provided.

Now on to my opinion of the content. As you may see by looking at other comments, there is a marked difference of opinion about this title. I think the first mistake that some people made was in calling it a movie when it really isn't one. I tend to agree that this is really a time capsule of sorts, giving those who didn't see it when it was released a glimpse into the past. One of the big problems with the critics of this title was in the music. Not because the music was bad, but because the music was old Beatles songs. In many ways some people consider the use of these songs by anyone but the Beatles to be sacrilege. With an attitude like that I could have told you they were going to hate it before they watched it. If you are a big Beatles fan and aren't comfortable with people doing remakes of their music, then you may be wise to avoid this title.

On the other hand, I enjoyed it. It's a fun musical treat that you don't have to think about. Campy? Sure. Steve Martin's bit almost comes off like an old 'Saturday Night Live' routine, but you can't help but enjoy it. The loose storyline doesn't live up to a being considered a plot, but nevertheless one can still feel that this is more than a loose group of songs. Don't believe the critics that say this title ruined the careers of anyone who worked in it, since that just isn't the case. A brief look at some of the other acts like Areosmith, Earth, Wind & Fire, Alice Cooper & Steve Martin says that this just isn't the case. They all did quite well after this title's theatrical release.

Overall this offering tends to fall into the same category as titles like Xanadu, Phantom of Paradise, The Wiz etc. None of them were box office smashes, but they all have strong and loyal followings. In the end Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is a title in its own time. It captures the essence of music in the late 70's and puts it on screen. This title shouldn't be judged by today's standards since it will never measure up. Enjoy it for what it was, not for what others felt it should have been.

I've read the reviews and can understand the frustrations expressed. I've heard complaints about video quality. While the quality could have been better, it could have been much worse. There may be other issues with video but I didn't have them. I suspect those with large screen TVs will notice a bit of graininess as I did detect some when examining the picture closely.

I wanted to discuss the audio. It should be noted that this DVD has three different audio tracks. Dolby 2.0, Dolby 5.1 and DTS. When I originally popped in the DVD I paid no attention to selecting what audio track I wanted. I figured my DVD player would select the appropriate track. During the playback I was extremely disappointed at the lack of 'depth' and bass in the recording.

When reading reviews of a couple people saying the bass was great, I went into 'audio setup' to see what it was set at. Lo and behold the default was set to **DTS** when I just have a basic 2 speaker setup. Switching the audio to Dolby 2.0 made a significant difference in the audio quality and brought back bass quality to the recording. It's not quite as strong as it was on VHS, but it's still quite decent.

So if you do get (or have) this DVD, use the audio setup from the main menu if you're not using a DTS receiver. If you have two speakers, choose Dolby 2.0 - only use Dolby 5.1 mode if you have that setup (6 speakers) and only use DTS if you have a DTS receiver. Make sure your audio is set BEFORE you play this disc!

I won't dwell too much on the issue of overdubs. I would have wished that Peter didn't overlay new audio over old. It's not so much that destroys the audio (it doesn't) but moreso that this was a show in it's own time. Like a glimpse into the past, it's meant to be seen and heard as it occurred.

Nevertheless, it's an outstanding show. I agree with others in that it plays more like a performance and not a simple concert. I consider this a must buy for any Peter Gabriel fan, as well as anyone who appreciates music of this genre.

I won't bother discussing the storyline here since there are plenty of reviews that have done that. People who buy this DVD set will usually do so because they have seen the show already anyway. Instead I'll tell you a bit about what to expect from the DVDs themselves.

The DVDs are packaged in a 'new-style' black keep case which is larger than the single disc cases. This allows for better storage of the DVDs instead of cramming a second DVD into a case designed for one.

The menus are nicely done, and are all motion video menus. On the main DVD you have the options for selecting an individual episode AND also for selecting a scene within an episode. This was a nice touch since I thought they would only do one and not both. Of course you can choose to "play all" and it will sequentially play all the episodes for you. All bonus material is on the second disc.

The audio and video quality of the discs was QUITE good when you consider that this material is over 20 years old. I didn't notice any visual artifacts. The audio quality was good, although I found that the in some cases scenes with a lot of bass were harder to hear at lower volumes. (like the scene with 'Deep Thought') You can either add treble/lower bass or just increase the volume a bit. Given the age of the content, the audio was pretty good. No noticeable artifacts that detracted from the recording.

If you choose the 'setup' screen you'll be met with some options. First is to choose between "remixed stereo'' or mono. If you don't have stereo speakers or a stereo TV, it is best to choose MONO here. (see below for details) You should note these are actually two distinct audio tracks on the disc, not a setting to 'adapt' the audio.

Next you can choose to turn on one of the two sets of subtitles. There are standard English subtitles, and 'production notes'. In most DVDs the production notes are a few screens of text selected off the main menu. On this DVD they have instead used captions. So, it's sorta like a poor man's "Pop-up video" when the production notes are enabled. While you watch the episodes you'll see text that describes various aspects of the series and in many cases information related to the scenes themselves. The only problem on the setup menu is that when you access it, the settings LOOK like both the subtitles and production notes are turned ON. When you move your arrow to select that option you press enter on the word "ON" to turn it ON and not to turn it OFF. A touch confusing, but easy to understand once you know about it.

You'll see a couple reviews where people say there was 'missing audio dialog' on the DVD. I don't believe this is the case, but in actuality it is a 'setup' problem with their DVD Player/TV. The way the DVD works is as so: The main audio for the series is stereo, but certain aspects are only played on ONE channel. The narrator usually speaks on the right channel, and the guide narrator usually speaks on the left channel. So if you have a set or TV that is not true stereo and it is not processing the audio correctly, you may not hear one of the channels. In that case, adjust your audio settings as described above to MONO and that will likely fix your problem. However I watched the DVD and ALL the audio was there. If you don't like the way they did the stereo audio, you can always switch to mono and not lose much quality. (aside from not hearing stereo)

The episodes are presented in their entirety, and not 'clipped' together into one big 'movie'. So when you watch the shows you will see the start and close credits for EACH episode.

On disc two, there are a number of added features. One feature, 'The Making of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is a bit cheesy in that they have made it as if it is a 'mini-sequel' of sorts. It's supposedly 12 years later, and Simon Jones ('Arthur Dent') returns to find his home still intact and a pile of mail inside the door. He heads up to his bedroom and finds the Guide on his bed, and proceeds to 'watch' the making of on the Guide itself. For the most part they stick to the making of, but they occasionally cut back to him in his pyjamas

There are a few Easter eggs on the discs, but I'll leave that for you to find them. Overall I was pleased with the effort. They could have done a one disc deal and people would still have purchased it. However I think this is a great set and definitely a must buy for any Douglas Adams fan.

As you may have noticed (if you are reading comments) there are two distinct kinds of reviews here. Those who loved it, and those who hated it. Within that group you probably have two groups of people. Those who 'lived' in the '80s, and those who didn't.

If you will be judging this movie by the standards of today, then don't bother watching it. It won't measure up, I guarantee it.

Roller Skates, record albums (yuno, those 12" 'black things' that play on a turntable) "Farrah Fawcett" style hair and just about every fashion and dance style of the time are in this movie. Heck, in the animation sequence, when Olivia turns into a bird, she was STILL wearing leg-warmers.

This movie was likely meant to play more like a rock opera than a movie. The plot is thin and the acting so-so. However it is the MUSIC that makes this movie. If you saw "Grease", did you watch it for the 'acting'? Of course not. You 'watched' it for the music. This movie is no different.

If you hate 80's style music however, don't watch the movie.

Xanadu is a movie 'out of time'. Like a photograph that captures the moment, this movie captures the essence of a period in time. This movie typifies much of what the 'scene' was like in the early 80's.

Much like the remake of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club band, this is a classic in it's own TIME, and should be seen as such.