kikuchiyo-1

IMDb member since April 2004
    Lifetime Total
    5+
    IMDb Member
    20 years

Reviews

The Alien Dead
(1980)

I can't believe!
Do you think that "Hell of the Living Dead" is the worst zombie flick ever made? Or maybe "Zombie Lake"? Or "Oasis of the Zombies"? Well, if you think like this then I say: watch "Alien Dead" and you'll change your mind. It is not another low budget film, it is another low budget crap without one thing worth of watching. Do you want gore? There is no gore in this film; instead you can see scene where some old guy lies covered with leaves and you must believe that half of his body has been eaten. Action is slow and level of direction makes H.G. Lewis looking like Orson Welles. Finally, I can't believe that this crap was released on DVD but it really was. Funny is world we live in.

Ivan Groznyy. Skaz vtoroy: Boyarskiy zagovor
(1958)

Shakespeare could like it
While the first part of "Ivan the Terrible" is unique, stylized and powerful historical chronicle, second part is something more: poignant tragedy of authority. Since boyars poisoned Ivan's wife and his friends betrayed him, tsar remains in lonely. Oprichniki are only people he can trust. Ivan orders to kill some of boyars for instance, then Efrosinia Staricka (his aunt) sets plot against his life. One word gives atmosphere of this film: paranoia. Every character cares burden of fear - about his life, about his political business. Pervasive fear is delivered to us with unearthly dance of shadows, dramatic Prokofiev's score, haunting acting, poetic dialogs, monumental decorations and costumes. Everything looks very artificial but, paradoxically, not false; this film works with peerless emotional strength and brings as much true about authority as Shespeare's best works, being compatible to Maciavlelian theory of authority. There are only few films in history of cinema that so heavily consider problems of power (I'd mention "The Godfather, Part II" and Kurosawa's "Kagemusha" and "Ran" beside "Boyars Plot"). Don't miss. And if you decide to watch this film, I recommend: take great Criterion DVD box set which contains also first part and "Alexander Nevsky", another Eisenstein's sound masterpiece.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(2002)

What a trash!
This is undoubtedly one of THE worst films ever made. I would think Peter Jackson can't make films if I didn't see "Braindead" and "Bad Taste". Those films had low budget but they was made very well: dynamic, funnily, with good concept. There is different in cause of LOTR. All "LOTR" trilogy is bad but "Two Towers" is especially crappy. Cinematography is average, music is horrible (one lame theme in 2,5 h film) and absolutely nothing happens. And when finally Jackson starts with action scenes, he makes them possible worst. Battle scene is chaotic and stupidly edited; I didn't see what going on, where are good people and where are bad. Watching this film is total waste time and money. If you want good fantasy, watch better "Willow", "Neverending Story", "Excalibur" or "Conan the Barbarian". If you want good battle scene, watch "Alexander Nevsky", "Seven Samurai", "Breaveheart" or "Joan of Arc". 1/10

Jôi-uchi: Hairyô tsuma shimatsu
(1967)

The last great samurai film
I don't know why so little people have seen this film. This movie has place in history of cinema as one of the greatest masterpieces. Story has structure of ancient tragedy and we sit in permanent tense from beginning to end; none other film I saw isn't so suspenseful. Direction is perfect and there isn't one unnecessary second in all 2 hour film. Toshiro Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai - duet well known from Kurosawa films like "Yojimbo", "Sanjuro" or "High and Low" - make peerless performances, really dramatic and deep. "Samurai Rebelion" is as excellent, humanistic and timeless as the best of Kurosawa films. Everybody I know agree with this opinion after watching Kobayashi's masterpiece. 10/10

Shichinin no samurai
(1954)

Absolutely masterpiece
"Seven Samurai" is the greatest film in cinematography. I can't find any bad thing about this masterpiece although I saw it something over 100 times. Every scene is necessary and perfectly directed; every part has different atmosphere. There are liricism, humour, suspense and definitely most powerful and dynamic battle scenes ever filmed (Peter Jackson should watch it to learn). Kurosawa shot them using long objectives and four cameras simultaneously; this technique was precursory at 1954 and makes very well today. In spite 200 minutes of running time "Seven Samurai" doesn't bore at all. This is rare sample of pure cinematography greatness.

...E tu vivrai nel terrore! L'aldilà
(1981)

...And You Shall Live In The Terror for Enternity
This is probably the best horror movie I've seen. Most famous thing about 'The Beyond" are its abrupt gore scenes with tarantulas chewing face of guy or warlock painter nailed to wall alive etc. Of course, those bloody parts make film extremaly shocking and I love them but 'The Beyond' isn't only another violent horror stuff. Fulci was able to create creepy atmosphere like in bad dream; once I watched this film with my friend who is not acclimated to watching horrors and he was really scared within all show. Yeah, I understand him because I had similar experiences with this movie when I saw it first time, and I have today sometimes although I know it very well. Despite this fact I love 'The Beyond' for all: dark picture, graphic violent, great music and convicting acting. And I give rating 10/10 now without doubt. This Fulci's masterpiece is bloody, bloody and bloody again, and extraordinary creepy. Very memorable. If you watch this film, you'll perhaps never dispose some feeling of disturbing left by it - "and you shall live in the terror for enternity".

Paura nella città dei morti viventi
(1980)

Unusual horror movie
'The Gates of Hell' (aka 'City of the Living Dead') is the strangest horror movie I've seen. Excellent and boring simultaneously, gory and working with disturbing atmosphere. You will not enjoy if you expect gore and only gore, you'll not enjoy if you think to find typical horror atmosphere. Of course, there are few strong gore scenes but not as many as in 'The Beyond' or even in 'Zombie'. Plot is a joke, action is sleepy slow, zombies behave like they wouldn't be zombies, appearing and disappearing suddenly like UFO or ghosts. I don't know what they want and why they takes human brains instead human flesh (inspiration for 'Return of the Living Dead, perhaps?). They also jump from above and die from blow in stomach instead head. What a original zombies! However, I don't think 'The Gates of Hell' is bad movie because it has something that lot of other horrors have not: untypical, hypnotic atmosphere. It's not gore nor plot what is most important but climate of city visited by unspeakable and unforseen evil. We can't predict what is going to happen, we can't even explain why happens what we're watching. In one scene some young lady are vomiting her guts, in other young man gets drill in head and those things aren't explained by nothing but presence of anonymous evil. I think it's more disturbing than it would be explained more rationally. 'The Gates of Hell' isn't the best of Fulci but I think it is an experiment. The master intended to make untypical horror with untypical zombies and plot. It did work only partially but 'The Gates of Hell' isn't another crappy film like some tell about it. Music is rhythmical, gore is shocking, Mrs McColl is an innocent beauty and scene where she is buried alive is one of the best in her career. It's one of most interesting horrors of eighty.

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