Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Check -- mate?, January 20, 2002
A children's chess tournament. Two boys facing each other in the final game, intently staring at each other and the chess board between them. They make their moves and register their time. Ultimately, one of them has to concede defeat. Facing "check" twice and almost out of time, he topples his king. And assaults his adversary. A doctor recommends that he not ever be allowed near a chess board while he is treated for his "condition."
Years later, another chess tournament. Grand master Peter Sanderson (Christopher Lambert) is in attendance, making a surprise return after three years' retirement. He easily wins the first rounds. After dinner with daughter Erica (whose only parent he is) and a strategy session with his advisor, Sanderson concludes the evening with a few steamy hours with a sensuous blonde ... and the psychopath who will soon hold the community in thrall has found his first target. When the woman is found murdered, gruesomely dressed up in death and the word "Remember" written on the wall above her in blood, Sanderson initially denies having been with her. This, and his arrogant demeanor towards the policemen investigating the crime - particularly, Detective Andy Wagner (Daniel Baldwin) - makes him an instant suspect. But is Sanderson the psychopath? Or is he, as appearances would have it, the psychopath's true target?
In a grisly game of strategy in which a city is turned into a chess board and women living in the target areas of town (attractive blondes all of them) are the chess pieces, Sanderson and the police hunt a serial killer who always seems to be one step ahead of them. While Detective Wagner never loses his suspicion of Sanderson, his newly minted boss, Captain Frank Sedman (Tom Skerritt) reluctantly comes to the conclusion that since the clues provided by the killer are based on chess references and directed to none other than Sanderson himself, they will not be able to solve the case without his help. Yet, for a long time the grand master, too, seems unable to decipher the killer's clues, and the meaning of the words written above the dead body of each of his victims. - How many women will have to die before his identity is revealed? Will he ever be caught? Will psychologist Kathy Sheppard (Diane Lane), brought in by the police to determine if Sanderson himself fits their suspect's profile, end up as one of his victims?
"Knight Moves" is a suspenseful thriller, intelligently built on the patterns of the royal game of strategy itself, and in which the audience is kept on their toes until the very end. Christopher Lambert in particular is believable as the astute, arrogant Sanderson, who hides his personal fears and insecurities under a mask of unapproachability which only one person seems to be able to pierce - his daughter Erica. His face-offs with Daniel Baldwin alias Detective Wagner, sarcastic and spewing barely controlled rage at each other, are among the highlights of the movie; in addition, of course, to the mind game itself which the killer plays with his hunters and, by extension, with the audience. While it is clear that the solution has to have something to do with the fateful game played by those two boys so long ago, all elements of the story are only connected up in the final scenes ... which are, however, unfortunately somewhat overplayed and emphasize gore more than psychology and hence, are a bit of a let-down. This, and the relationship soon forming between Sanderson and Sheppard, which doesn't entirely work for me (strangely enough, since Lambert and Lane were married at the time) are the only detractors I find in this movie. Overall, however, "Knight Moves" would have deserved much more attention than it has received since its 1992 cinematic release.
Also recommended:
Seven (New Line Platinum Series)
The Silence of the Lambs (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Red Dragon (Widescreen Collector's Edition)
Highlander
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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Love the movie. Hate the DVD., April 19, 2001
By A Customer
This movie has ranked among my favorites since the first time I saw it. It's a great suspense thriller that keeps you guessing until the very end. I was eager to add it to my DVD collection, so I ordered it as soon as it came out.Imagine my disappointment in seeing this DVD. The transfer is horrible. This disc was released in the first quarter of 2001 -- over a year after Anamorphic Widescreen became the accepted standard for DVD -- and not only is this transfer not anamorphic, but it is worse quality than the VHS I have seen. There are a number of glitches in the transfer, including some that look as though the transfer was done from a damaged source negative -- maybe even from the VHS itself. On top of that, the disc has NO special features. Even the VHS version had a making-of documentary after the credits rolled! It's hard to believe that transfers with quality this poor are still being released today. If the studio doesn't care enough to do it right, then why do it at all? In summary, I highly recommend this movie.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Allan Rocky Lane B-Western Series ... Oklahoma Badlands (1948) ... Republic Pictures", December 14, 2006
Republic Pictures present "OKLAHOMA BADLANDS" (1948) (59 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- relive those thrilling days when Allan Rocky Lane took us down the dusty trails with hard riding and straight shooting hitting the bull's eye with excitement every time ... the Allan Rocky Lane series of B-Westerns were a staple of Saturday matinees in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s ... Lane's best known and most popular series, a total of thirty eight Allan 'Rocky' Lane features, all but six of which co-starred Eddy Waller as old timer 'Nugget Clark' ... The "Rocky Lane Series" would open with Rocky riding his horse Black Jack as their names appear on the screen, then moving on to the rest of the cast, director, screenwriter and cinematographer and other credits ... don't miss any of the Allan Rocky Lane features loaded with action that will leave you wanting more of his B-Western adventures.
Under Yakima Canutt (Director), Gordon Kay (Producer), Bob Williams (Screenwriter), John MacBurnie (Cinematographer), Mort Glickman (Musical Direction/Supervision), Arthur Roberts (Editor) ------ the cast includes Allan Lane (Rocky Lane), Black Jack (Black Jack (Rocky Lane's stallion), Eddy Waller (Nugget Clark), Mildred Coles (Leslie Rawlins), Roy Barcroft (Henchman Sanders), Gene Roth (Oliver Budge (as Gene Stutenroth), Earle Hodgins (Jonathan Walpole, posing as George Black), Dale Van Sickel (Henchman Sharkey), Jay Kirby (Ken Rawlins), Claire Whitney (Agatha Scragg), Terry Frost (Sheriff), Hank Patterson (Postmaster Fred), House Peters Jr. (Stage Passenger), Jack Kirk (Stagecoach Driver) ------ take note "Oklahoma Badlands" was the 3rd feature in The 'Rocky Lane' Series at Republic, with quality in screenplay and direction .... the plot line has Rocky Lane impersonating the owner of the Rawlins Ranch, as the real owner is a woman named Leslie (Mildred Coles) ... knowing that the baddies Roy Barcroft and associates are looking for a man, Rocky takes on the task ... Eddy Waller (Nugget Clark) is the foreman and hires the real Leslie Rawlins as a cook and cleaning woman, giving her what for during the entire 59 minutes of this feature ... some hilarious scenes when Nugget provides lessons in shooting and riding to Rocky who pretends to be a dude ... director Yakima Canutt keeps Bob Williams screenplay moving in a triumphant gallop ... there's plenty of action and fancy stunt work to entertain the fans with a protracted fisticuffs near the end between Rocky and the boss outlaw ... Rocky astride his stallion, Black Jack, chasing the outlaws was always a high point of the Allan Rocky Lane features ---- they just don't make 'em like this anymore and Republic Pictures was one of the leaders of exciting B-Westerns and Serials.
Special Footnote, actor Allan Lane looked to better roles, he signed with Republic in 1940 ... after struggling a bit in his initial films, hit pay dirt after teaming with Linda Stirling in the popular serial "The Tiger Woman" (1944) ... his own serials with "Daredevils of the Red Circle" (1939) and "King of the Royal Mounted" (1940), Mountie Dave King proved popular and, around this time, he started gaining added attention as a photogenic and very personable cowboy star, with his trusty steed "Blackjack," ... Lane managed to churn out a bucketful of oaters every year beginning with "Silver City Kid" (1944)), for nearly a decade, trading blows with the bad guy Roy Barcroft and seeing justice prevail ... best remembered these days for his dashing good looks and saddle appeal on film ... it's no small wonder that Allan Rocky Lane's name was at the top of the list, working with the top directors of the day Howard P. Bretherton, Spencer Gordon Bennett, Joseph Kane, Wallace A. Grissell, Leslie Selander and R.G. Springsteen all under Republic Pictures banner.
BIOS:
1. Allan Lane (aka: Harry Leonard Albershart)
Date of birth: 22 September 1909 - Mishawaka, Indiana
Date of death: 27 October 1973 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
Great job releasing "Oklahoma Badlands (1948) - Allan Rocky Lane, the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials ---Western Classics, all my heroes have been cowboys!
Total Time: 59 min on VHS ~ Republic Video ~ (1/01/1999)
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