Movie Bad Girls (Sins of Jezebel / Queen of the Amazons) (1953) Review

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(More customer reviews)VCI Entertainment and Kit Parker Films presents "MOVIE BAD GIRLS DOUBLE FEATURE" (Sins of Jezebel (1954) & Queen of the Amazons (1947) --- (Dolby digitally remastered)...featuring top performances from the '40s and '50s with outstanding drama and screenplays, along with a wonderful cast and supporting actors to bring it all together ... another winner from the vaults of almost forgotten Hollywood gems.
First up we have Lippert Pictures feature "SINS OF JEZEBEL" (1954) (74 min/Color) --- Under Reginald Le Borg (Director), Sigmund Neufeld (Producer), Richard Landau (Screenwriter), Gilbert Warrenton (Cinematographer), Bert Shefter (Composer (Music Score), Carl Pierson (Editor), F. Paul Sylos (Art Director), Paul F. Sylos (Art Director) ----- the cast includes Paulette Goddard (Jezebel), George Nader (Jehuz), John Hoyt (Elijah), Eduard Franz (King Ahab), John Shelton (Loram), Margia Dean (Deborah), Joe Besser (Yonkel, Chariot man), Ludwig Donath (Naboth), Carmen D'Antonio (Dancer) . . . . . our film and story has a scheming wicked princess of Phoenicia named Jezebel whose pagan ways brings destruction to all she comes in contact with ... Paulette Goddard is believeable as Jezebel, with George Nader who is under her magical spell ... will she introduce her pagan idols in place of the God of Israel, what danger lies before the King of Israel Eduard Franz as Ahab ... Sins of Jezebel takes place in 9th Century, B.C., in the city of Jezreel, the prophet Elijah warns Ahab, the King of Israel, against marrying Jezebel the beautiful but evil Phoenician ... on a very small budget this film comes across and delivers the goods and more
BIOS:
1. Paulette Goddard (aka:Marion Goddard Levy)
Date of birth: 3 June 1910 - Whitestone Landing, Long Island, New York
Date of death: 23 April 1990 - Ronco, Switzerland
2. George Nader
Date of birth: 19 October 1921 - Pasadena, California
Date of death: 4 February 2002 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
3. Reginald Le Borg (Director)
Date of birth: 11 December 1902 - Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Austria)
Date of death: 25 March 1989 - Los Angeles, California
4. Robert L. Lippert (Producer)
Date of birth: 31 March 1909 - Alameda, California, USA
Date of death: 16 November 1976 - Unknown City & State
BONUS FEATURES:
1. Movie Trivia
2. Photo Gallery
3. Three Nuts In Search of A Bolt (trailer)
4. Promises Promises (trailer)
Second on the double bill is a Robert L. Lippert Picture release "QUEEN OF THE AMAZONS" (1947) (61 min/B/W) --- Under Edward F. Finney -(Director / Producer), Roger Merton (Screenwriter), Robert Pittack (Cinematographer), Lee Zahler (Musical Direction/Supervision), John Link (Editor), James Reimer (Art Director) ----- the cast includes Robert Lowery (Gary Lambert), Patricia Morison (Jean Preston), J. Edward Bromberg (Gabby), John Miljan (Narrator/Colonel Jones), Amira Moustafa (Zita, the Amazon Queen), Keith Richards (Wayne Monroe), Bruce Edwards (Greg Jones), Wilson Benge (Professor), Jack George (Commissioner), Cay Forrester (Sugi), Vida Aldana (Tondra), Hassan Khayyam (Moya) . . . . . our story line as woman searches the Amazon jungle for her missing fiancé ... The problem is not that she finds her husband alive and well, but that he has fallen in love with the Amazon Queen ... is the jungle controlled by a tribe of she-devils ... are outsiders safe, or will they be enslaved and tortured by a gang of smugglers ... what's with all the lions roaming the Lippert Picture set, does one of them have a collar ... don't leave the theater you're about to find out in the last reel . . . . . all courtesy of VCI Entertainment, who in my humble opinion is the best there is in restoring early serials and film noir features like this one.
BIOS:
1. Robert Lowery
Date of birth: 17 October 1913 - Kansas City, Missouri
Date of death: 26 December 1971 - Hollywood, California,
2. Patricia Morrison
Date of birth: 19 March 1915 - New York, New York
Date of death: Still Living
3. Edward F Finney (Director)
Date of birth: 18 April 1903 - New York, New York
Date of death: 10 January 1983 - Los Angeles, California
BONUS FEATURES:
1. Movie Trivia
2. Photo Gallery
3. Bad Blonde (trailer)
4. Man Bait (trailer)
5. Unwed Mother (trailer)
Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing the "MOVIE BAD GIRLS DOUBLE FEATURE" (Sins of Jezebel (1954) & Queen of the Amazons (1947), digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more of the same from the '40s and '50s vintage...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment, stay tuned once again for epics and jungle adventures that only VCI Entertainment (King of the Serials) can deliver.
Total Time: 128 mins on DVD ~ VCI Home Video KPF-559 ~ (9/26/2006)

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Rambo (Extended Cut) Review

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(More customer reviews)Well I must admit I had to have this, cos let's face it, it's Rambo. I'm a huge fan of the original trilogy and was a huge fan of Stallone's recent revival of the character in 'John Rambo' which i thought was a raw and gritty supercharged action film yet with depth of character and story that easily surpassed any of it's disposable contemporaries. Make no bones about it; "the expendables" sticker on the front the "expendables" trailer; the trailers of films from all of the actors in the "expendables" - this is a pure money making and marketing combo to tie in with the release of Sly's latest actioner. BUT, I have to say, what whilst expecting nothing more than the all new "Rambo - to hell and back" production diaries special feature, and maybe a couple of extended scenes in the movie, I was actually really surprised at just how different this new cut of the film is.
This is not just the theatrical cut with a couple of extra bits, this is a true director's cut style extended edition with a completely re-edited opening, many extended takes, many alternate takes, and whole new extra scenes that all blend seemlessly to really compliment and add much to the film. A lot of this really helps to elaborate the story, and really flesh out character and themes that whilst hinted at in the original, were never really fully explored. When Rambo says in the original "no, what you're trying to do is change what is", and Sara asks him "and what is?"; he just says "go home". I always used to wonder, "yeah, what is??". Well, a whole knew alternate take here reveals all, and also a few real home truths about his real feelings about war and regret. And that's not all, you find out so much more about the characters, their relationships, motivation, and so many tiny insertions of lines here and there, very subtle shot changes, alternate dialog, black and white flashbacks, that it's almost an entirely new take on the film. It's all great stuff!
A word of warning tho, there do appear to be a few cuts and alterations to some of the more violent and extreme/controversial scences. Some of these bits are alternate takes (when the main bad guy leader takes delivery of the young village boy for example), but others are just plain removed, or cut short. The child being stabbed in the attack on the village is missing, the guy flying though the air with both legs blown off is cut short, the bearded mercenary stabbing the solider under the hut is removed, and a few other bits that seemed slightly shortened. I should add that these alterations are VERY few, I probably counted 5 or 6, and doubt that this was a censorship issue as the majority of the blood soaked limb exploding violence is completely intact. I'd imagine this was purely a directorial/artistic decision, (a lot of the excised scenes were digital effects, some of which don't stand up quite as effectively as others). Something to bear in mind though before you buy!
The stunning MPEG 4 AVC encoded 1080p picture and 7.1 dts hd master audio remain, giving an blu-ray experience of reference quality, just like the original lionsgate release. People may hesitate to buy this, thinking that they're not really getting much for their money, but trust me this is FAR from a lazy release to steal your money, this is a superb director's cut edition that totally delivers. Also, for any foreign buyers, the blu ray is officially ABC encoded, so it will play on any blu ray player. Enjoy an all new Rambo!

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The next chapter finds Rambo recruited by missionaries to protect them during a humanitarian aid effort on behalf of the persecuted Karen people of Burma. After the missionaries are taken prisoner by Burmese soldiers, Rambo gets a second impossible job: rescue the missionaries in the midst of a civil war.

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