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106 of 109 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
YOU GET MORE THAN YOU PAY FOR, March 18, 2006
This is a collection of 50 movies on 12 two-sided disks. All the films are historical classics, meaning they are based on history or famous literature, and that they are excellent productions, some of which are even famous. The collection includes both theatrical films and television productions from the 50's. There is also a companion, "Mystery Classics: 50 Movie Pack."
Many of the films are Biblical, including Constantine and the Cross, Saul & David, The Old Testament, Herod the Great, Esther and the King, The Pilgrimage Play, King Solomon's Treasure, David & Goliath, Our Daily Bread, Gideon & Samson, The Nativity and Pontius Pilate. Many are based on literature, like David Copperfield, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Captain Scarlett, The Jungle Book, Oliver Twist, Little Men, The Legend of the Sea Wolf, Cyrano de Bergerac, Scrooge, Vanity Fair, Becky Sharp, Lady Windermere's Fan, The Three Musketeers, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and A Tale of Two Cities. Others are based on the lives of famous people, like Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther, Daniel Boone, Henry the VIII and His Six Wives, Man of the Forest, Betsy Ross, The Jackie Robinson Story, Spartacus and the Ten Gladiators, Scott of the Antarctic, The Emperor Jones and Trial of John Peter Zenger. There are many others - well, 50 in all.
All of these films feature actors of the first order: Orson Welles, Charlton Heston, Warren Beatty, John Carradine, Jose Ferrer, Sir Lawrence Olivier, Hugh Grant, Donald Pleasance, Edmund Purdom, Oliver Reed, Michael York, Sir John Gilgud, Ronald Colman, Myrna Loy, Thomas Mitchell, Keith Mitchell, Boris Karloff, Richard Greene, Sir Ralph Richardson, John Mills, Dame Edith Evans and more.
None of these films have been restored, so you can expect the range in quality to be from poor to good. Some of the films are silent. Some, as I said, are television dramas. Many of the films are Brittish or of other nationality. It's a mixed bag, but it contains many gems. This is your chance to see productions that may not be restored or available individually for years.
I've only seen the first two so far; but based on them, I'd recommend the lot. The first one was Constantine and the Cross, and was excellent. When I say excellent, I'm not referring to the quality of the transfer; I'm referring to the quality of the film as best I can make out from a poor reproduction. It stars Cornel Wilde as Constantine and is filmed in Italy by an Italian film company, but it is in English. The acting, sets, costumes, etc. are all excellent, and, because of the setting and film company, is full of Italian flavor.
The second film was A Bolt of Lightening, a Westinghouse Studio One television drama that was directed by one of my teachers from college! It stars Charlton Heston and is superb. When I say superb, you have to understand how television dramas were shot back in the 50's. Everything was live, so there was no editing and no retakes. While one scene was going on, the crew was setting up the next scene, just like in theatre. There's even one shot where the camera panned too far to the left and caught a shot of some of the crew through a window getting ready for the next scene. The DVD even includes the commercials, which were also shot live.
The thing to look for in these productions is the writing. I expect the writing all to be excellent, expecially in the television dramas. These latter were 45 minute dramas that stood or fell on their writing. You can easily see how they're structured, how they build dialogue, how they develop plot, how they work the camera angles. It's kind of a cross between theatre and film, but would be a good model for a young, independent filmmaker to follow. The acting in these dramas is also superb; but, like theatre, they contain a few flubbed lines.
You may be disappointed in the quality of the transfers for most of these films, especially since they haven't been restored - and especially for the television productions; but you won't be disappointed in the films themselves if you give them a chance. And, as I said, there are many gems here. With the television dramas, just realize that that is pretty close to the way television looked in the 50's. So it's an education, okay?
Waitsel Smith
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DVD ~ John Barrymore
DVD ~ Judy Garland
DVD ~ Ron Howard
DVD ~ Buster Keaton
DVD ~ Cary Grant
