Sadako-Toyboy

George Clooney may be the the ultimate hearthrob, sexiest man since sliced bread, etcetc but he simply doesn't cut it as a macho action hero. He just doesn't look right with a gun in his hands, wearing an ill-fitting army uniform and shouting orders at soldiers in a practiced "manly" voice. At last, us guys who have no luck with women can have a good laugh at his expense. You're playing with the big boys now Clooney, leave the rough stuff to Mel and Bruce!

P.S. Can you tell I'm bitter?

I've seen some real hardcore horror films in my lifetime, but this one really takes the cake. I thought I'd never get affected by a movie in this way again, but when this one was over I was just shellshocked. This is the kind of bleak and unrelenting stuff that could only come from England- Hollywood wouldn't touch this material in a million years... You simply MUST see this, unless you are of a nervous or queasy disposition (in which case, I recommend to stay well away). Also, be warned that finding this film will not be easy, since I understand that it is very rare indeed. So if you see it, snap it up!

Outstanding and seemingly ignored horror film, based on a Lovecraft story. The creepy, intense POV shots (with accompanying weird background noises) predate Black Christmas by some five years. Also, "Shuttered Room" was almost certainly a big influence on "Straw Dogs"- a bizarre link to draw I know, but trust me, it is there. Although the film does have flaws (such as Reed's dodgy US accent, and the unintentionally hilarious karate-chopping husband), the compelling direction more than compensates. A real quality genre film.

Although the show was probably not as sophisticated as "Blair Witch", IMHO it was every bit as intense as that movie, using all the same tricks (playing with sounds, blink-and-you'll-miss-it images, feeding off our paranoia etc)... But there are a few reasons I would rate Ghostwatch higher than BW:

1) It was broadcast "live" on Halloween night. This may sound like just a hokey gimmick now, but believe me it has an effect on you when you're watching alone in a dark room. The mind DOES play tricks.

2) They used two established UK "serious" TV personalities- Michael Parkinson and Sarah Greene. These people had never done any kind of acting before, and played it completely straight-faced, giving the show that extra edge of credibility. That whole "Blair Witch was real" thing was fun, but I don't think there were many people who took it seriously- however with Ghostwatch, unless the viewers had bothered to check the tv listings (which described it as "drama" in very small print), they would have been convinced that it was real. I believe that the BBC received MANY worried phone calls during and after the show was broadcast. It's comparable to the "War of the Worlds" radio hoax decades ago, although perhaps not on such a grand scale.

3) There was ZERO hype. To my knowledge, there were no reviews of the show in the press; certainly there was no BW-style bandwagon with "scariest thing ever" type stuff... Not even a tv-spot. People were completely unprepared, most of them settling down for what they expected to be a boring and cheesy Halloween night documentary.

As scanner-9 points out, it was never released on any home video format. This is in a large part due to the fact that at the time of broadcast, the tabloid newspapers tried to link Ghostwatch to the real-life suicide of a mentally retarded man. The participants have since distanced themselves from the show. I believe the only screenings it gets are at Halloween, at local venues in Wales, where the writer Stephen Volk lives.

I did not tape the show, and to this day I curse myself for it. But I also know that if I were to watch it again today, it would not have the same impact on me as it had back then. So much of it was down to the circumstances. It was a simply UNFORGETTABLE experience.

Thank god that I'm a Bronson fan. This was my first Leone movie, and dumb kid that I was, I actually watched it thinking I was in for a typical Bronson "vehicle"! Looking back I'm thankful, because if it wasn't for his involvement, I would never have discovered the beauty and majesty that is Once Upon a Time in the West.

I absolutely love this movie. It's probably my all time favourite, certainly one of the few that I can watch OVER and OVER again without losing interest. I love the way Leone creates intrigue and mystery around what is a relatively thin plot. He can make even the smallest twist of fate seem like an epic turn of events, with that amazing sense of revelation that he generates out of old hackneyed situations (something Argento has since picked up). Leone proves in this film that he could seemingly take anyone, even peripheral characters, and give them screen charisma without using dialogue as a crutch.

OUATITW features the most tense two man stand-offs ever, with some serious deja-vu in the direction of his "Dollars" trilogy. In fact, it does feel like those three movies were warm ups, practice sessions in the build up to OUATITW. Here though, he perfected everything; despite the long running time, it's all focused, and without a single irrelevant scene. For me, the two hours plus just fly by, I wish it would never end. Leone was without question at his artistic peak when he made this, that's not to say that he went downhill from then on, but I honestly don't think he ever did another film where everything came together so perfectly.

The cast is flawless. Fonda eclipsed every good guy he ever did in one fell swoop, truly chilling. Robards is a great comic character, the lovable rogue with an edge. And Cardinale is more than just (incredible) window dressing; she switches between passionate, angry, delicate and sentimental at all the right moments.

Which leaves the hero; I'm a huge Eastwood fan, but I honestly don't believe he could have done the role justice. His "man with no name" was a cool, sly character with hidden complexities. Eastwood always does these layered personalities, with some kind of mental baggage. Bronson, on the other hand, mostly does himself; simple, uncomplicated figures with only one state of mind, that's why he's put in so many revenge flicks. Plus, he looks like he's been seriously wronged at some point in his life, Eastwood doesn't have that quality. Bronson is the genuine hard-as-nails article. You can readily imagine that, had he been born decades earlier and been put in the same situation, he would resolve the problem in much the same way as his character in the movie (sometimes I affectionately refer to this movie as Deathwish part 0- could Harmonica be the great granddaddy of Paul Kersey?).

Of course the other great contribution is the music. I still think that the main theme is one of the most breathtaking pieces of music I have ever heard. It affects me deeply whenever I hear it, regardless of the mood I'm in. Maybe I should listen to more opera or something, I don't know, but that's the way I feel. And the individual character themes are just so well integrated into the film, it's unbelievable. Leone replaces words with music, and it conveys so much more in return. Bronson just plays that melancholy tune on the harmonica instead of answering people back, it consistently cracks me up.

High Noon, Naked Spur, Shane, The Searchers, etc. are all classics of the genre, but I really don't think it's possible to compare those "traditional" westerns with OUATITW. For me, it exists on a plane of it's own, it's the kind of film experience that you let wash over you, a waking dream. I recommend this movie to anyone, if you're on the right wavelength you'll be greatly rewarded.