Ash Ketchum

That's a great series. I finished watching it last year during either the Historical Challenge or the Animation Challenge. Thanks to this series I went on a tour of Versailles during my trip to Paris.

shadokitty

I agree with you from what I've seen so far. I've gotten 4 or 5 episodes in so far, and every episode just seems to draw me in even more, with all of the court intrigue between Marie Antoinette, and Madame Du Barry.

BobO'Link

I finished WWII in HD. Telling the story of WWII in 10 short (~44 min) segments just doesn't work well. It's like the Reader's Digest condensation of the Reader's Digest story of WWII (a double condensation). The series *does* have some interesting footage and it's nice to see color footage. It just wasn't well produced.

I then watched the "Bonus Features" of "Finding the Footage" and "Preserving the Footage." I was slightly horrified at the "preservation" techniques they showed. Cleaning the film consisted of someone running the film between layers of a saturated cloth held between fingers! To capture the film it was *projected* on a screen with a 2K camera simply pointed at that screen! I'm no preservationist but from what I *do* know that's not a proper way to clean or capture such images. That the film looks as good as it does is simply amazing considering those techniques.

The bonus video profiling the living participants was the best part of the production. This was a ~15 piece with around 3 minutes each of the gentlemen who told their stories for the main production. In this one you got to hear them speak fully - no voice actor taking their place. Very interesting stuff with information that wasn't included in the main program. They still had that annoying, generic, History Channel soundtrack stuff under their voices but it was mostly easily ignored.

BobO'Link

While I greatly enjoyed the documentary, I got nothing new from it, but I grew up during those years and saw it all first hand. It's a very good overall view of their early career as a group for us "old timers" and serves as a good primer for people just getting started with the group. IMHO it's one of the best productions Howard has done. I want my oldest granddaughter (age 10) to see it as she's recently become interested in The Beatles and has fallen in love with their music.

If you've never seen Anthology you should seek it out and give it a viewing. It goes deeper into what was happening during each phase of their years together. It's a excellent mini-series.

pacaway

Might have to add that to my docket for this month

JOE29

Got to get in The Longest Day today, on the 6th. Might be the first time ever.
Usually work gets in the way. But I was able to have off by chance today.
So I put it to good use.

davidh777

Just saw Wonder Woman, and it qualifies!

The 1970s Richard Lester movies would probably qualify as comedy-adventure as well.

The one from 2011 is ridiculous but has some entertainment value. I might try to slip it in this month.

BobO'Link

All of them that I've seen do to some extent. Even my favorite - the 1948 version with Gene Kelly.

I'm a sucker for that story and have a copy of just about every filmed version available... but not that 2011 one (or the Disney w/Mickey Mouse for that matter). I've had a copy of the 2011 in my Amazon cart for some time but just haven't pulled the trigger.

I have a copy of the recent TV series - a complete blind buy - now would be a good time to get it out and give it a screening...

davidh777

The BBC series is good. I've seen a few episodes and have been meaning to watch more.

shadokitty

While watching The Twilight Zone, on MeTV tonight, I found another episode that counts for this Challenge, 'The Odyssey Of Flight 33'. It's about an airliner that gets caught in a jet stream, and ends up in the past, and the crew tries to get back to their own time.

Ash Ketchum

I have yet to see a Musketeer movie I really like. The 2011 one is awful. Not a fan of the 1948 one at all, it's like two different movies awkwardly edited together--a Gene Kelly swashbuckler and a Lana Turner costume melodrama. I remember kind of liking the 1935 version with Walter Abel as D'artagnan. THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK (1939) was pretty good and had Alan Hale as Porthos. The best version I've seen is AT SWORD'S POINT (1952) with the sons--and daughter--of D'artagnan and the Musketeers, with Cornel Wilde and Maureen O'Hara starring and Alan Hale Jr. playing Porthos Jr. Wilde and Hale Jr. would reunite--as D'artagnan and Porthos--in THE FIFTH MUSKETEER (1979). So Alan Hale and Hale Jr. played father and son in different movies and the same role in different movies. Any other parent-and-child actors ever do that?

pacaway

Watched it as well. Really was a few uncovered angles, at least for me. Very interesting.

numbercrunch

Broke open my twilight time Blu Ray of The Boston Strangler tonight. I don't recall ever watching it

jacob_b

Any good?

numbercrunch

The Boston Strangler was awesome. Innovative for its time. I did a full video review on my youtube channel.

Giles

so if 'Wonder Woman' qualifies can 'The Iron Giant' as well? since it's set in 1957, revolves around Sputnik and the threat/fear of a 1950's nuclear war scare?

caligulathegod

If you want to watch it, go ahead. Might as well make this more interesting. I'm about to watch Excalibur.

Cardsfan111

If anyone is looking for a film to see in the theater, I'll recommend Megan Leavey. It was a good film, one that animal lovers will especially enjoy.

shadokitty

Bargain bins at Wal-Mart can be gold mines if one takes the time to look. I was at Wal-Mart a few days ago and picked up a few movies in the bargain bin. I just finished one of them, Big Miracle. As an animal lover, I loved the movie, as it was a true story, about the effort to free the gray whales in Alaska that were trapped by the ice back in the late 80s or early 90s. I forget exactly when it happened, but I do remember that being all over the news.

BobO'Link

I've been watching some of my more recent purchases. A couple of days ago I finished the BBC mini-series The Nazis: A Warning from History. It is very well done and I learned a few new things. This one strictly focuses on the rise and fall of the Nazi party and features interviews with still living participants. It's obvious that many of them still feel the way they did in WWII but just as many showed remorse at what they'd allowed to be done. My grandson has shown an interest in the war and I want him to see this one first as it gives perspective that's missing from other presentations. In a way it presents many of the participants in a more sympathetic light without negating the horrors inflicted by Hitler and his followers illustrating how easy it is for a people to simply follow their leaders without speaking out against observed wrongs.

numbercrunch

Me too. I enjoyed it. I was shocked at how unrepentant many of the german's were. I really liked the pre-rise to power part 1 since that is not as extensively covered as the war years

BobO'Link

The ones who showed pride at having been a Nazi caught me off guard. You could see in the faces of many that they still hate the Jewish people and feel that what the Nazis did was not wrong. Even with an interviewer trying to get them to show at least a glimmer of remorse.

It also shows how easily properly presented propaganda can influence a nation's peoples and get them to do things they otherwise might not.

I was also surprised at just how few Gestapo agents there were. It was significantly less than I'd imagined. That they maintained control by making everyone an informant was telling as to the power they wielded.

BobO'Link

I just watched the Japanese edit of Tora! Tora! Tora!. Until today I didn't know such a thing existed. I recently purchased a BR upgrade and watched it today. When I put the disc in, up pops a menu with choices of "Theatrical" or "Japanese edit" versions so I watch the Japanese edit. From what I read about this cut there are only a couple of scenes added with little else changed. It runs ~4 minutes longer than the theatrical cut. One scene I noticed without having to read about it - a couple of Japanese cooks discussing the International Date Line in a somewhat comedic manner. It's still my favorite film about the bombing of Pear Harbor.

I also watched my new BR upgrade of The Longest Day. Some of the early rear screen stuff still annoys me but it gets less frequent use as the film progresses. It's another favorite.

Watching both of those back-to-back, it struck me as how some of the mistakes the US leaders made in the days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor were similar to those made by the Germans in the days lading up to D-Day. I'd never noticed that before.

numbercrunch

watched this one too for this challenge. make sure you listen to the commentary track. well worth your time.

Giles

question: 'Zeitgeist Wild Cards' don't have to apply to video/film based content - right? I just saw 'Anastasia' on Broadway and am thinking of including it as a wild card.