Pure Country/Honeysuckle Rose (1980) Review

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(More customer reviews)My family and I love Pure Country. It is a simple and pleasurable movie with a predictable but delightful ending. While George Strait is not an A-List actor, he gives a solid performance. Besides, his list of lifetime accomplishments far outweigh most actors 10 fold.
Honeysuckle Rose is just packed with Willie Nelson tunes. While Nelson is also not an A-List actor, Amy Irving and Dyan Cannon certainly fit the bill. I'm partial to "Song For You", a tune Willie sings at the end of the movie. And, practically stealing the show is veteran character actor Slim Pickens, who comically swears with flair making "Honeysuckle" a "sweet" affair.

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They're singing the songs...and living them. George Strait already had 25 chart-topping hits when he made his film debut in Pure Country (Side A). He plays Dusty, who ditches his superstar C&W career to rediscover his simple roots...and finds that the simple life can be complex when his manager (Lesley Ann Warren) retaliates. Next, in another savvy, song-filled slice of the performing life, Willie Nelson is On the Road Again for a film that's not autobiographical yet knows its highways and byways well. Dyan Cannon, Amy Irving and Slim Pickens join Nelson in a film that has the knack for providing the right song at the right time. Get on the bus. With Honeysuckle Rose (Side B) marking its DVD Debut, you can't help but go places.

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The Complete James Dean Collection (East of Eden / Giant / Rebel Without a Cause Special Edition) (1955) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've anxiously anticipated this collection of James Dean's films, together in a complete set. Each of the films is presented in a two-disc package, with extras.
"East of Eden" is, for me, the most welcome film in this set, simply because it has been so difficult to obtain a copy of it in recent years. The anamorphic transfer here is stunning, with crisp color and detail. The stereo soundtrack is fine. There is an audio commentary, as well as a wealth of bonus materials. Some of the material here includes screen tests, and wardrobe tests, although strangely some footage included briefly in the included documentaries (Dean's test with Paul Newman, the playful "pinching" footage of Dean and Julie Harris) is not included here.
"Rebel Without a Cause", like "Eden" offers a stunning anamorphic transfer with strong surround sound. The extras include a commentary, deleted scenes for the film (both in the original black and white, and the final color version), and screen tests. There is a very funny and insightful screen test here with Dean, Mineo and Wood. The previous DVD release of this film had only shown portions of this clip, but this release offers the full (some may say 'uncensored') version. There is also a documentary reflecting on Dean's spectacular, but brief career.
Dean's final film, "Giant" is featured here in a very clean, but oddly NOT-anamorphic transfer. This would not be an issue, if the film was not presented in a letterbox transfer. I would imagine this is the same transfer that was done several years back. However, I don't think it's acceptable that any recent widescreen DVD release not be presented in an anamorphic transfer. Additionally, the film's soundtrack has been remastered in a 5.1 mix, that sounds weak at best. I would have preferred to have seen this film released in it's original full-frame image, with a clean mono soundtrack. That aside, there is a wealth of extras here.
All in all, a very nice set, not totally perfect, but the best to date, by far.


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COMPLETE JAMES DEAN COLLECTION - DVD Movie

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