New Acquisition: I Want to Live! (1958)

 

The Sound of Music (1965)

The Haunting (1963)

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

On the set: Michael Rennie

The Curse of the Cat People (1944)

A young, friendless girl befriends her father's dead first wife and an aging, reclusive actress.

The Haunting (1963)

A scientist doing research on the paranormal invites two women to a haunted mansion, and one of the participants soon starts losing her mind.

This ghost story works effectively with cinematic shocks only, supported by excellent cinematography, but the plot barely makes sense, and Julie Harris' performance is so intense - and irritating, you can consider it over-the-top.

Halliwell*: "Quite frightening but exhausting and humourless melodrama with a lot of suspense, no visible spooks, and not enough plot for its length. The wide screen is a disadvantage."

Maltin***1/2: "Don't see this one alone!"

The Andromeda Strain (1971)

A group of scientists investigate a deadly new alien virus before it can spread.

Science fiction in the full sense of the word: an instant classic! Its aesthetics, especially the split-screen, may seem a bit dated, but they do fit the topic well.

On renewed viewing: again, it's pure science fiction.

Halliwell**: "Solemn and over-detailed but generally suspenseful thriller, with a sense of allegory about man's inhumanity to man."

Maltin**1/2: "Overlong sci-fi thriller..."

Psychotronic/Michael Weldon: "An excellent big-budget technological thriller...With great special effects by Douglas Trumbull and an exciting climax with James Olson vs. a computerized laser beam. A pretty terrifying look at the future (present?)."

New acquisition: The Haunting (1963)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

When a destructive space entity is spotted approaching Earth, Admiral Kirk resumes command of the Starship Enterprise in order to intercept, examine and hopefully stop it.

Although very slow-paced and basically just a TV episode drawn out much too long, it's still fun to see the team back in action and this time with a much greater budget.




On renewed viewing; the story is silly, of course, but you do get some great sci-fi scapes to see.

Halliwell (no star): "And a surprisingly boring one. Vast sets and big-screen solemnity hardly make this more enjoyable than some of the TV episodes which got more tricks and philosophical fun into one-third of the length."

Maltin **1/2: "Slow, talkative, and derivative, somewhat redeemed by terrific special effects and majestic Jerry Goldsmith score; still, mainly for purists."

A gathering

A gathering in Los Angeles, 1972: (from left to right standing) Robert Mulligan, William Wyler, George Cukor, Robert Wise, Jean-Claude Carrière, Serge Silberman;
(seated) Billy Wilder, George Stevens, Luis Buñuel, Alfred Hitchcock, Rouben Mamoulian.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

The Andromeda Strain (1971)

A group of scientists investigate a deadly new alien virus before it can spread.

Science fiction in the full sense of the word: an instant classic! Its aesthetics, especially the split-screen, may seem a bit dated, but they do fit the topic well.

On renewed view: still enjoy watching this science fiction classic.

Halliwell**: "Solemn and over-detailed but generally suspenseful thriller, with a sense of allegory about man's inhumanity to man."

Maltin**1/2: "Overlong sci-fi thriller..."

New acquisition: The Andromeda Strain (1971)

Another acquisition from the package deal.

The Sound of Music (1965)

On the set: Julie Andrews