Posted by DVD Verdict on 10/18/05 08:16

Today, DVD Verdict posted reviews of ANNA KARENINA, BATMAN: SPECIAL
EDITION, BATMAN AND ROBIN: SPECIAL EDITION, BATMAN BEGINS: DELUXE
EDITION, BATMAN FOREVER: SPECIAL EDITION, BATMAN RETURNS: SPECIAL
EDITION, COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER: 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION, THE HAMMER
HORROR SERIES, HARRY AND TONTO, LAND OF THE DEAD: UNRATED DIRECTOR'S
CUT, ORWELL ROLLS IN HIS GRAVE, and SAW: UNCUT EDITION:


ANNA KARENINA (reviewed by James A. Stewart, overall score 88/100):
"Although I haven't read Count Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, it was
immediately evident that there's a lot missing here. A quick check of
the novel's plot on Wikipedia reveals that tons of material (including
an out-of-wedlock pregnancy) was lost, between the condensation of an
epic novel into 93 minutes and the restraints of the Hays Code."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/annakarenina.php

BATMAN: SPECIAL EDITION (reviewed by Ryan Keefer, overall score 92/100):
"For those who think that Batman hasn't held up all that well since
1989, consider that the movie made a ton of money and everyone loved it.
Putting it up against the comic book movies now that are swimming in
computer animation, one would have to think that a new vision from
Burton would be gangbusters."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/batmanse.php

BATMAN AND ROBIN: SPECIAL EDITION (reviewed by David Johnson, overall
score 60/100):
"It is as if the collective subconscious of a hundred thousand eight year-
olds on crystal meth spilled forth and materialized on screen. Batman
and Robin is an unending onslaught of sensory overload, where every
corner of every synapse of your feeble mind is continually laid siege
upon for two hours."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/batmanrobinse.php

BATMAN BEGINS: DELUXE EDITION (reviewed by Mike Jackson, overall
score 96/100):
"Okay, let me lay it all on the line: Batman Begins is an incredible
achievement. It wrests the crown of Best Comic Book Adaptation from Spider-
Man 2 -- wait, 'wrests' isn't the right word. It denotes competition,
and there's no competing with Batman Begins."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/batmanbegins.php

BATMAN FOREVER: SPECIAL EDITION (reviewed by James A. Stewart, overall
score 81/100):
"If you're new to this Bat-arc in the Dark Knight's career, I'd suggest
you start with the better Batman or Batman Returns. But even Robin on
his first mission could figure out that most of you have seen this and
know what you're getting here. There are a lot of flaws, but I can't
deny the thrill of watching Batman escape a bank vault full of acid, or
any of the other comic-book traps."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/batmanforeverse.php

BATMAN RETURNS: SPECIAL EDITION (reviewed by Michael Stailey, overall
score 99/100):
"Yet, even beyond the invented drama and hair-pulling frustrations of
marketing, product placement, and merchandising tie-ins, Burton and his
team found themselves in the unenviable position of topping their
original work with a new chapter in the Caped Crusader mythos -- the
expectations of which proved a more formidable adversary than any member
of The Batman's rogues gallery."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/batmanreturnsse.php

COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER: 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION (reviewed by Bryan Pope,
overall score 90/100):
"Lynn is widely regarded as a national treasure thanks to her largely
autobiographical songs, intelligence, and irresistible backwoods
charm. Her story was given the big-screen treatment in 1980's crowd-
pleasing, Academy Awarding-winning Coal Miner's Daughter, an
entertaining, stunningly performed film that falls just short of being
a certified classic."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/coalminersdaughter.php

THE HAMMER HORROR SERIES (reviewed by Brett Cullum, overall score
77/100):
"The films in this collection aren't so much scary as they are just
plain gorgeous people on handsome sets engaged in elaborate metaphors of
fear and sex. It's exploitation in its purest, lurid form, and it's a
hell of a lot of fun."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/hammerhorrorseries.php

HARRY AND TONTO (reviewed by Ryan Keefer, overall score 86/100):
"At its core, the film is a touching story about life, and put within
the context of the 1974 Oscars, Carney's win is still amazing, but a lot
more justified now that I've finally seen the film."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/harryandtonto.php

LAND OF THE DEAD: UNRATED DIRECTOR'S CUT (reviewed by Bill Gibron,
overall score 95/100):
"Now imagine if those sluggish, rotting visages coming at you could
actually think? That's right, what if the zombies that you thought were
easily defeatable with tricks and tenacity were capable of limited
reasoning? Would that make it scarier for you?"

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/landofthedead.php

ORWELL ROLLS IN HIS GRAVE (reviewed by Russell Engebretson, overall
score 95/100):
"This DVD is a must-see for anyone interested in how the media creates
and shapes public opinion. It presents a vivid and troubling picture of
how U.S. public policy and democratic principles are subverted by the
mediacracy for private gain."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/orwellgrave.php

SAW: UNCUT EDITION (reviewed by Bill Gibron, overall score 91/100):
"The real selling point here is the new DVD presentation. Starting with
a wonderfully sick packaging concept (the front cover art is encased in
plastic, and fake blood and a saw blade float around in it like some
kind of sinister snow globe), this two-disc set really tries to flesh
out the Saw experience."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/sawuncut.php

Mike Jackson
Editor & Webmaster, DVD Verdict
www.dvdverdict.com

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