Eyer, Richard

Friendly Persuasion

For two years the Civil War has been elsewhere. Now Confederate forces are nearby, looting and burning. It is time to fight back, Jess Birdwell's neighbors insist. Yet Birdwell, a Quaker, knows there must be a better way to settle things.

Year: 1956

Director: William Wyler

Starring: Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire

The Desperate Hours

Humphrey Bogart is at his villainous best in William Wyler's taut home-invasion thriller, The Desperate Hours. Sharply adapted by John Hayes from his own fact-based novel and Broadway play, this marked a slight departure for Wyler, whose celebrated versatility is on ready display as Bogart--leading a panicky trio of escaped convicts--seizes control of a suburban family in the (dis)comfort of their own home. The domestic terror (similarly dramatized in the 1954 potboiler Suddenly) escalates as cautious patriarch Frederic March waits for an opportunity to retaliate, while the police (led by Arthur Kennedy) close in for an ambush. Viewers may recognize the home's exterior from TV's Leave It to Beaver, while its interior gives Wyler a sealed chamber for nail-biting advances and setbacks--and Bogey was rarely better at portraying ruthless, unpredictable menace. Poorly remade in 1990, The Desperate Hours remains a potent precursor to the many similar films (like Panic Room) that followed its enduring example. --Jeff Shannon

Escaped criminals hold a family hostage.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: NR
Release Date: 12-DEC-2003
Media Type: DVD

Hell to Eternity

Based on the true story of WWII hero Guy Gabaldon a Marine who was raised by a Japanese-American family. He daringly went behind enemy lines and convinced 2000 Japanese soldiers to surrender. Packed with action the film features Janssen before he found wider fame as TV's "Fugitive."Runtime: 132 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/CLASSIC Rating: NR UPC: 085391142119 Manufacturer No: 114211

Hell to Eternity (1962) sets out to tell the true story of Guy Gabaldon, a white Angeleno raised from boyhood by a family of Japanese-Americans. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, his parents are interned, his brothers enlist to fight in Europe, and Guy (Jeffrey Hunter)--after clearing it with mama-san--offers the Marines his services in the Pacific as an interpreter. During the battle for Saipan (reenacted by director Phil Karlson on the island of Okinawa) he undergoes several transformations, from reluctant warrior to implacable avenger to, ultimately, a truce-seeker trying to save lives on both sides. That's a fine-sounding dramatic trajectory, but the two-hours-plus Allied Artists production is patchy, with some amateurish acting in the Los Angeles portion (including an early appearance by George Takei) and an excruciating, wishfully raunchy night of shore leave in Hawaii before shipping out to the war zone. Sessue Hayakawa of Bridge on the River Kwai fame dominates the final sequences as the Japanese commandant. --Richard T. Jameson

The Sinbad Collection (7th Voyage / Golden Voyage / Eye of the Tiger)

A skeleton grabs a sword and slashes viciously at Sinbad. A 9-foot-tall Neanderthal man fights to the death with a saber-toothed tiger. All the while, the boys and girls in the fourth row forget about their popcorn and are hypnotized by the images on the screen. It's hard to believe so many years have passed since the last Sinbad movie held kids spellbound at Saturday matinees. The movies were never perfect, with stories that were sometimes little more than frameworks to drape Ray Harryhausen's special effects over. The performances left a bit to be desired at times, and the direction could be a bit choppy. What they did accomplish, however, was to give countless 8- and 10-year-olds their first taste of the magic that motion pictures were really capable of. Those grade-schoolers, of course, took with them an appreciation of that movie mojo that would extend to films like 2001, Star Wars, and countless other movies in the sci-fi and fantasy genres.

Ray Harryhausen was the preeminent special effects wizard in Hollywood for decades. With credits that date back to 1949's King Kong remake Mighty Joe Young, Harryhausen brought his creatures to life with painstaking stop-motion animation, with a realism that no one else's work could touch. Computers now do all the heavy lifting for cinematic special effects, and although the techniques of CGI are often time-consuming and tedious, they can't match the artistry and warmth of a Harryhausen Cyclops or troglodyte creature. Too often it's tempting to see beyond the eyeball-dislodging effects of a CGI dinosaur and picture a technician toiling away in front of a computer. Considering the tedious frame-by-frame repositioning of stop-motion figures, something like the six-armed Kali figure in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad is astonishing in the untold hours of labor that went into giving it life. Even more mind-boggling is the fact that it comes alive with grace and fluidity, without a trace of abruptness or jerkiness.

It's always a good time to revisit the Sinbad series, for all its imperfections and flaws. The movies are still tremendously entertaining escapist fare, still capable of inspiring new generations of budding movie buffs to create imaginary worlds with the magic of movies. --Jerry Renshaw

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

When the evil magician Sokurah (Torin Thatcher) shrinks Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant) to roughly half the size of a Barbie doll, only one thing can restore her: the egg of a Roc. The Roc, of course, is a gigantic bird that lives on the remote island of Colossa. Sinbad (Kerwin Mathews) hires a crew of mutiny-minded convicts and sets sail, Sokurah in tow, but runs afoul of a fire-breathing dragon, a very ticked off Cyclops, and an equally crabby two-headed mutant Roc. This swashbuckling adventure was the first installment of the Sinbad films, and decades later it still has the power to hold viewers spellbound. Thatcher is terrific as the sinister, shaven-headed Sokurah, mugging perfectly for the camera, and Mathews is suitably dashing as Sinbad.

As in all Sinbad films, though, the real stars are the Dynamation creations of Ray Harryhausen. The art of cinematic special effects has taken quantum leaps since 1958, which makes it so amazing that his work still looks as fine as it does. Harryhausen creates a world of fantasy where dragons and grotesque one-eyed humanoids battle to the death, one where it's very easy for adults to suspend their disbelief and watch the action with the wonder of a child. Seventh Voyage not only set the stage for further Sinbad adventures, but was a landmark film in the fantasy genre, opening doors for sword-and-sandal Hercules epics and countless other excursions. Few films, though, have the artistry that Ray Harryhausen's effects display in this movie. For great escapist fare for kids and adults alike, look no further than the first Sinbad film. --Jerry Renshaw

It's an incredible cinematic adventure as the legendary Sinbad sets off on a dangerous journey to the mysterious Island of Colossus. His quest is to break the spell cast over his beloved princess by a diabolical magician. But before he can save her Sinbad must battle an awesome collections of Mythical monsters - the man-eating Cyclops a saber-wielding skeleton a ferocious two-headed bird called the Roc and a fire-breathing dragon.System Requirements:Starring: Richard Eyer Kathryn Grant Kerwin Mathews and Torin Thatcher. Directed By: Nathan Juran. Running Time: 88 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 2001 Columbia TriStar.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: G UPC: 043396011496 Manufacturer No: 01149

Invasion USA

Rebellion of Thought

No Description Available.
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR
Release Date: 13-NOV-2007
Media Type: DVD

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad [Region 2]

When the evil magician Sokurah (Torin Thatcher) shrinks Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant) to roughly half the size of a Barbie doll, only one thing can restore her: the egg of a Roc. The Roc, of course, is a gigantic bird that lives on the remote island of Colossa. Sinbad (Kerwin Mathews) hires a crew of mutiny-minded convicts and sets sail, Sokurah in tow, but runs afoul of a fire-breathing dragon, a very ticked off Cyclops, and an equally crabby two-headed mutant Roc. This swashbuckling adventure was the first installment of the Sinbad films, and decades later it still has the power to hold viewers spellbound. Thatcher is terrific as the sinister, shaven-headed Sokurah, mugging perfectly for the camera, and Mathews is suitably dashing as Sinbad.

As in all Sinbad films, though, the real stars are the Dynamation creations of Ray Harryhausen. The art of cinematic special effects has taken quantum leaps since 1958, which makes it so amazing that his work still looks as fine as it does. Harryhausen creates a world of fantasy where dragons and grotesque one-eyed humanoids battle to the death, one where it's very easy for adults to suspend their disbelief and watch the action with the wonder of a child. Seventh Voyage not only set the stage for further Sinbad adventures, but was a landmark film in the fantasy genre, opening doors for sword-and-sandal Hercules epics and countless other excursions. Few films, though, have the artistry that Ray Harryhausen's effects display in this movie. For great escapist fare for kids and adults alike, look no further than the first Sinbad film. --Jerry Renshaw

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad [Region 2]

When the evil magician Sokurah (Torin Thatcher) shrinks Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant) to roughly half the size of a Barbie doll, only one thing can restore her: the egg of a Roc. The Roc, of course, is a gigantic bird that lives on the remote island of Colossa. Sinbad (Kerwin Mathews) hires a crew of mutiny-minded convicts and sets sail, Sokurah in tow, but runs afoul of a fire-breathing dragon, a very ticked off Cyclops, and an equally crabby two-headed mutant Roc. This swashbuckling adventure was the first installment of the Sinbad films, and decades later it still has the power to hold viewers spellbound. Thatcher is terrific as the sinister, shaven-headed Sokurah, mugging perfectly for the camera, and Mathews is suitably dashing as Sinbad.

As in all Sinbad films, though, the real stars are the Dynamation creations of Ray Harryhausen. The art of cinematic special effects has taken quantum leaps since 1958, which makes it so amazing that his work still looks as fine as it does. Harryhausen creates a world of fantasy where dragons and grotesque one-eyed humanoids battle to the death, one where it's very easy for adults to suspend their disbelief and watch the action with the wonder of a child. Seventh Voyage not only set the stage for further Sinbad adventures, but was a landmark film in the fantasy genre, opening doors for sword-and-sandal Hercules epics and countless other excursions. Few films, though, have the artistry that Ray Harryhausen's effects display in this movie. For great escapist fare for kids and adults alike, look no further than the first Sinbad film. --Jerry Renshaw

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad [Region 2]

When the evil magician Sokurah (Torin Thatcher) shrinks Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant) to roughly half the size of a Barbie doll, only one thing can restore her: the egg of a Roc. The Roc, of course, is a gigantic bird that lives on the remote island of Colossa. Sinbad (Kerwin Mathews) hires a crew of mutiny-minded convicts and sets sail, Sokurah in tow, but runs afoul of a fire-breathing dragon, a very ticked off Cyclops, and an equally crabby two-headed mutant Roc. This swashbuckling adventure was the first installment of the Sinbad films, and decades later it still has the power to hold viewers spellbound. Thatcher is terrific as the sinister, shaven-headed Sokurah, mugging perfectly for the camera, and Mathews is suitably dashing as Sinbad.

As in all Sinbad films, though, the real stars are the Dynamation creations of Ray Harryhausen. The art of cinematic special effects has taken quantum leaps since 1958, which makes it so amazing that his work still looks as fine as it does. Harryhausen creates a world of fantasy where dragons and grotesque one-eyed humanoids battle to the death, one where it's very easy for adults to suspend their disbelief and watch the action with the wonder of a child. Seventh Voyage not only set the stage for further Sinbad adventures, but was a landmark film in the fantasy genre, opening doors for sword-and-sandal Hercules epics and countless other excursions. Few films, though, have the artistry that Ray Harryhausen's effects display in this movie. For great escapist fare for kids and adults alike, look no further than the first Sinbad film. --Jerry Renshaw