alembic

Well it's been 2 years since I last posted a review for this movie... I have just purchased the "Special Edition" version mainly because at last there is a wide-screen DVD version now available! This was one movie that suffered very greatly from a standard T.V format transfer ..... Now in wide-screen,it is possible to see the cinematography as it was intended to be viewed from the original Super Panavision format,even though there is still some "enhanced" format alteration to bring it into line with 16:9 ratio and luckily it was shot in Technicolor,which was easily the best analogue colour system around. Perspectives can now be seen as intended and the beautiful sets and the dance routines look vastly better... you can actually see all the dancers ! Take for instance one scene in Caractacus Potts windmill laboratory,where he shows Truly Scrumptious one of his inventions with which he intends to transmit "pictures and sound".....in the standard format half of the shot is missing so the machine cannot be fully seen and it makes no sense.. however in wide-screen you can see the "picture" and also the whole machine; so now you can enjoy one of Emmet Rolands fantasy machine creations in full. All through the movie the scenery and sets are set up framed with objects in the foreground and back ground which lend to perspective and depth of the image. The sound track seems also to have been worked on .. in previous releases the children's voices seemed to "squeak" but now they sound much more natural. You can see how much we have been missing with previous releases and it is a lot. The Special Edition also has some featurettes on the making of the movie and other related information plus a lovely booklet as well.

As to the movie itself .... it has never lost it's magic for me. I see reviews which pan the musical numbers or say it's too long or that

after seeing it as an adult they were disappointed from what they remember as a child ... but is that not the point ? It is a movie for children and/or those adults who can still view it remembering the child in themselves. It has no coarse language , no mindless violence (except the pantomime variety).. no cynicism ...just fun. In short it is a type of movie that Hollywood can no longer make because they no longer know how ... so it should be treasured more for it. People criticize Dick Van Dykes "American" accent but I find it not intrusive at all ... in fact he would probably have been better off using his normal voice in "Mary Poppins" than attempting the cockney accent which he obviously had some difficulty with.

Kids love this movie .. let them be the judges.

Thank-you Cubby Broccoli ..we miss you. Thank-you Ian Fleming / Roald Dahl / Richard Maibaum and Ken Hughes. Thank-you Ken Adam ... a genius in design for Chitty.

I'll come clean.. I really liked this movie.... O.K there will be those who decry it for historical accuracy and some of the liberties taken with the depiction of some of the characters etc...... but at the end of the day this movie is entertainment and I have sure seen movies a lot worse than this. Likely if all the events and persons were accurately presented , the result might well have been a boring lecture/travelogue. Instead there is the "Duke" John Wayne in true John Wayne style and his able cast giving us a rousing movie and with loosely enough facts to make it believable. Imagine the reaction of moviegoers of the day, if John Wayne was not the larger than life John Wayne in turn playing the even more larger than life Davy Crockett ! Movie-goers of the time who expected to see the style of John Wayne got exactly that. Likely in America where "remember the Alamo" is of much importance, any movie-maker would have his work cut out to please everyone - Wayne's effort should be judged on the attitudes of the time and his personal battle to get the movie made at all.

As purely entertainment in the western/action style this movie stacks up. There are those who mention the "slow" segments ... what do you want 167 minutes of cannon fodder and gore ? True the movie portrays events from the American viewpoint, yet Wayne does pay homage to the gallantry of the Mexican forces.

The musical score is also very memorable with a haunting main theme.

Big mythical heroes, big scenes, and big fun .. enjoy .

Sometimes it's hard to realise that "American Graffiti" was directed by the same George Lucas who is now serving up Star Wars. There's a sort of corporate feel about him these days .. lot's of young eager computer jocky's under his leadership but turning out a product that does not seem to really grab you such as in the "hands on" days of the original Star Wars. Maybe George will give us this last movie , close the book and heave a sigh of relief that he will not be expected to produce any more Star Wars episodes.. likely 6 movies is enough to make any person to want to move on.

I don't know... but I kind of feel that George is too wrapped up in the CGI.. ILM world ... and has forgotten to step outside once in a while and see real people and real objects. Lucas and ILM undoubtably produce the best GGI work that is around these days and the technology continually improves .. but it does not substitute for the real thing in my view. It used to be that CGI was used in a supporting role where physical limitations or situations made it impossible to film in any other way. These days it seems soon that entire movies will be made using CGI only , with the actors subjegated to studio blue screen type inserts. Sure, you get total control but isn't it like processed food where the flavour is lost ? Not to say that Attack Of The Clones is bad..... in fact I rate it much better than Phantom Menace. Perhaps I long for the old "real" sets and clunky props..... the original Star Wars has not yet been bettered by other offerings in the series.. Maybe because of the chaos of production and uncharted waters in those days where filming processes/techniques had to be invented more or less on the spot to bring the ideas to the screen... they still look good today. Somewhere the old chemistry/fun vapourised in favour of slick CGI. The only real blunder in the new Episodes in the introduction of "Midichlorians" as little bugs that float around in your bloodstream... if you have lot's of these little mites you become great Jedi. Gone is the mysticism and good vs evil in the universe and personal challenge.. now bug squatt. Still if Espisode 3 is as much improved as 2 was from 1 then we will be in for a treat. Hopefully George Lucas will give us something special for the Star Wars swan song.