tomomary

Here is a film that everyone should see. It is real and sublime and

each character in the picture has a growth arc that is fascinating to

watch. Charles Laughton is the master in this as we see him as

the town coward a man afraid of everything. An older man who has

learned little of life and less about expressing his love for his

school teaching colleague played by O'Hara.

Laughton learns hard lessons as the film progresses. Walter Slezak's portrayal of a Nazi officer in

charge of the French town is marvelous. He captures the nature of

the will of Fascism and it's unrelenting and sinister application of

pure power using the minds of men. George Sanders, is the

businessman who makes sure things work for the Germans, who

doesn't strain over the matter of occupation by the Nazis until he is

forced to reveal his best friend is the saboteur fighting the

occupation. There is so much more in this film that deals with

oppression and the only way to fight it.

I love this film.

Thayer's Quest became the home video game "Kingdom". Rick Dyer Industries closed because of changes made by Phillips Inc. and the decision to stop producing the large laser disks. However, emerging technologies at the time CD (Compact Disc) became the new medium for this video game. It's counterpart games were Dragon's Lair, Space Ace, and Shadowlands. Brilliant animation by Don Bluth and terrific visuals made this an unusually superior product in it's day. It must be remembered these games are to video games what a "Jupiter" class rocket was to the NASA space program. Early test platforms for what now is the Playstation II, X-box, etc.

It also should be remembered that video games are the most complex form of entertainment available and the product of minds the equal to an Einstein or Werner Von Braun were required to envision them..

This is a very good piece of cinema. Who cares if it's formula or true or ficticious. This is a film on the same level as Lawrence of Arabia, Zulu, 55 days at Peking, The Sand Pebbles, and with more quality lovemaking than Dances with Wolves. This is the way a man wants to love a woman. Don't go if you don't care for violence. You'll get it in Spades...ah, I mean "Blades" ...pun intended.