sunvulcan

A desperate attempt to cash in on the Shaider name. Typical Filipino drama fare where casting big names and young fresh female faces is more important than innovation or adding improvements to stories that have been rehashed ad nauseam. Use of CG is great but the props and costumes are of such poor quality that it makes the show look even older than the twenty-plus year old show it is trying to emulate.

You're better off watching reruns of the original Shaider.

Recommended for: fans of Philippine drama and cute actresses. Not Recommended for: everyone else, especially Japanese superhero show fans, and ESPECIALLY not for those who loved the original Shaider show.

I've read the book, and seen the movie. Both are excellent. This film is generally loyal to the book, with except in the book the Russians are the bad guys as opposed to SPECTRE manipulating everyone. Lotte Lenya is simply magnificent in her villainess role, and Vladek Sheybal is memorable in his brief scenes. The best actor in this whole film is Robert Shaw as Red Grant. Shaw manages to project more evil and ruthlessness in Grant's character than many future Bond villains put together, and he does it without uttering a single word for most of the film. Talk about Silent Killers!

this is truly a SPY epic, unlike later bond films which are more sci-fi and action hero than espionage. The gadgets are simple yet sufficient, and do not dominate the action as with later adventures. Incidentally, this film marks the introduction of Desmond llewelyn as Major Boothroyd or Q, a role he will play for 36 years until 1999.

Back to connery. his chemistry both with Daniela Bianchi and Pedro Armendariz are simply amazing. It is sad that Armendariz was dying of cancer as this film was being made and chose to end his life a short time later. Sean's Bond and Pedro's Kerim Bey really work well together.

This is the film that introduced me to St. Francis of Assisi (alongside marvel comics' 1982 adaptation of his life). While several historical inaccuracies are present (Francis is referred to as "Father Francis" once, yet St. Francis was never ordained priest in real life, for example), this is a good film to show to people if your purpose is to introduce them to the saint.

Unfortunately, the film does come out like a Disney film, with all the colors and dialogue. Hardly present at all is the tension between Francis and his father Pietro. Omitted is the very important event when St. Francis returns ALL his property and clothes to his father and declares, "no longer shall i call you my father, but I shall only say, our Father who art in heaven." - a beautifully done scene in Brother Sun, Sister Moon ten years later. On the good side, it focuses on the supernatural - miracles, God speaking to Francis. This is good because other films tend to make us forget that this is the life of a SAINT, after all.

All in all, a great movie. There should be more films like this to change others' lives.