Reviews

Take a 19xx male, rocket him into space and back to Earth of the near future. Back home was never so good. Hot chorus girls patrolling the corridors in mini-skirts and wearing stockings with seams. Oh and they're deaf mute. The perfect date! Also the rulers daughter has the hots for you. Fend off the pesky mutants and one over bearing civil servant and you've got it made.

When you have a shoe string budget you have to be inventive and the producers knew all the right buttons to press for the mostly young male audience this flick was intended for. 'A' for effort and imagination. Good enough to waste an hour and a half peeping.

I've seen this film many times and each time it gets better. The sets are imaginative and the TV monitors are actually widescreen. I admit that the idea of escaping to a world full of young sexy women who are eager to reproduce to save the human race is one of the reasons this film was on my repeat watch list. Merry Anders in a tanning booth with only two sections covered was pretty hot for 1964. But aside from sex appeal the android factory is truly futuristic with robot metal frames and hands with fingers. The androids are programmed for defense only which proves to be an error as they are needed to defend the underground colony. The ending is creative and leaves you wanting more which is always a good feeling when leaving a fantasy world and returning to the present. Well worth watching multiple times.

Episode 6 focuses on Faraday explaining to his wife what it is to be human. With lines like 'find meaning in a moment and it will last for eternity.' I was moved by the explanations of human behavior as well as the description of how joy is often followed by tragedy and that is also part of being human.

Do yourself a favor and watch the series for all of its deeper messages. The counter play of the evil CIA vs a small group of 'people' trying to save the Earth is compelling viewing.

This was Michael Todd's second big movie to use the Todd-AO film and sound process. It was shot in 65mm neg/70mm pos with 6 channels of audio on a separate 35mm film. It played for years at premiere theaters in NYC and San Fransisco. The acting is definitely stage-like which was common in the 50's but the use of footage that was shot 'around the world' makes up for any shortcomings. I watched this movie on HBO Max and it's presented in HD from the 70mm print and in glorious 5.1 audio. You will see the entire 3 hour movie with the intro by Edward R. Murrow. The 5.1 is stunning with the opening scenes showing carriages and the sound moves from left to right and front to back. Truly this was a showpiece for the Todd-AO 'surround sound' process. You have to remember that this was over two decades before Star Wars revolutionized theater audio.

I recommend this film to anyone who loves classic films and to anyone who is curious about how wonderful movies could be in 1956.

I've long been a fan of Oliver Stone. He knows the true nature of war since he is a veteran of the Vietnamese war of independence. The historical context that this film depicts is the most accurate on the whole subject.

The stories about life in rural Appalachia are interesting but the politics turned me off because she completely missed the real events that shaped the election of 2016. Why no mention of Bernie Sanders and real progressives? No mention of how poor people were the real victims of the election fraud by the Democrats that lead to Russiagate.

Instead we see the Queen of the warmongers (Clinton) portrayed as the rational voice against the poor, rural people who were 'duped' by Trump. It's only when working people in both red and blue states get together that the 1% get nervous. If only she had read 'Listen Liberal' by Thomas Frank. I would have encouraged the filmmaker to concentrate on poverty in rural Appalachia and avoid politics altogether.

The first hour sets up the scene which is a conspiracy. The last half hour will have you on the edge of your seat. If you love tech you will easily understand the many tech references. I was impressed by the use of an old school sound processor with dBx. But everyone will enjoy the 'make my day' ending.

I kept thinking of our current times and how events such as happened in Novocherkaask could happen here. In the film a wildcat strike by workers is dismissed by local party officials until it gets out of hand when the workers take control of the factory. The regional government then steps in and is also ineffectual so the army and KGB are called in which eventually leads to a massacre. Poignantly told from the perspective of of loyal party official who receives assistance from a sympathetic KGB official in trying to find her missing daughter in the midst of a town under siege. Well worth watching from both a historical and from a gripping dramatic presentation.