The blurb on the DVD box is impressive. "3 DVDs (they're double-sided, how cool is that ? It's better for the environment and takes up less room on your DVD shelf), 6 Classic Crime Movies" and a list of well-known actors including Michael Douglas, Uma Thurman, Danny DeVito, Kim Basinger, Joe Pesci and Shannon Doherty.
Unfortunately, all that glitters isn't gold ! All of the actors and actresses in the list do feature in the films, but they are often the kind of roles that will have them all cringeing, reminiscent of the "what they did before they were famous" kind of TV shows that have A-listers doing dodgy Japanese adverts dressed as a giant chicken or starring in a really low-budget movie. Like one of these !
It's a real mixed bag of movies. They're all really dated - the clothes, music and really old fashioned TV's and technology will have you laughing out loud - and the picture quality is nothing like the high definition we all take for granted these days. I quite like the occasion scratch and flash on vintage movies as it adds to the atmosphere, making you feel like you're in an old-fashioned cinema (just like the pops and crackles add to the listening experience when listening to old vinyl LPs) but some are these have real problems with the colours and the brightness levels.
I attempted to watch all six of the films. None of them are Oscar winners but I did quite enjoy four of them, which had plausible stories and reasonable acting (think low budget but quite watchable TV movies) but two of them were just so bad I couldn't sit through them ! That's totally down to personal taste though so you'll have to judge for yourselves !
For a pure slice of nostalgia of the 70's/80's, it can be quite entertaining to do a bit of not-yet-star-spotting but these are definitely B (or even C) movies so don't expect anything more.
star rating : 3/5
RRP : £24.99 but £12.93on amazon
Studio: Pegasus Entertainment
DVD Release Date: 21 Mar 2011
Run Time: 565 minutes
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Love this sort of thing, older films of anything. Sadly missing on 'normal' tv now.
ReplyDeleteNice review xx