Ain't In It For My Health: A Film About Levon Helm [Blu-ray]

Wonderful!
Levon Helm lived a life in music, one that unfortunately ended too soon last year when he was 71 years old. But what a life! His career traced the entire arc of the rock and roll era, from his early years seeing Elvis, Sonny Boy and Bill Monroe as a kid in Arkansas, to his years on the road as a member of Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks, then leader of Levon And The Hawks, which became Dylan's first road band. Then The Hawks became The Band, the most respected band of the golden age of rock.

He played a decent guitar and a distinctive mandolin, but that voice! Levon was the voice of the American heartland, an iconic, craggy, lusty voice whether singing, acting and narrating, or just telling stories. And, oh yes, he was one the the very best drummers in the world. But his post-Band career, while artistically rich, left him ultimately broke, and in the late nineties cancer took his voice.

To pay the rent and medical bills, and just to play, he began hosting Midnight...

A Truly Beautiful Film
Nobody, however skilled, can make a decent documentary about an individual, band or indeed event, if the subject matter doesn't create a fascinating story. However in the case of Levon Helm this was surely the director's least concern - indeed it would be difficult to make a bad film about this fascinating musical maverick. But in the hands of the previously unknown Jacob Hatley - clearly a man destined for big things - the incredible story of Levon and his music is treated with finesse, skill and feeling to create possibly the best music documentary to emerge this year.

There are now 3 classic documentaries available that tell the story of The Band or members thereof and which all fans of this American institution should be sure are in pride of place in their collections.

The Last Waltz (Special Edition)
Dylan, Bob -...

A candid and intimate portrait of a truly inspirational man
This documentary accomplishes something rare in a biographical story: it is uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time. Watching Levon simultaneously struggle with illness while continuing to live and love life and create and perform beautiful music is powerfully inspiring. Listening to the stories about the dark side of his history with The Band was heartbreaking, and the filmmaker gives us a nuanced look at how Levon deals with his legacy with pride, but also with some bitterness about the music business. In his unguarded moments, we can see that Levon is still heartbroken over the loss of Richard Manuel and Rick Danko, and the interview sequences with Rick's widow are a brilliant juxtaposition that meshes Levon's story with the demise of The Band and the era in which they breathed rarefied air. I thank the filmmaker for this heartwarming portrait, and I treasure this intimate record of a slice of the life - and tragic death - of a man and musician I have always admired and...

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Nosferatu: Kino Classics 2-Disc Deluxe Remastered Edition

FIGURING OUT WHICH NOSFERATU TO BUY
This is a classic of horror cinema and arguably the first real horror movie. Still carries a genuine fright over 80 years later.
Now my real issue - Amazon lists a whole bunch of different versions of "Nosferatu". The only problem is, the reviews for the good editions end up on the pages of the cheap ones. There are only 2 good versions of Nosferatu to choose from - The version from Image (black/red cover), which is the only one with the great commentary by Lokke Heiss, and the newer Kino 2 disc edition. These are well-presentede editions. All the other versions are cheap, public domain, fly-by-night crap! Hopefully this review gets spread around like all the other ones. Amazon needs to have item-specific review pages.
And if you haven't seen either of them yet, check out "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" and Carl Dreyer's "Vampyr" from the same period.
Thank you to everyone for clicking for this review. It's the most helpful one I've ever written. That was my sole aim.

Great DVD and Excellent audio Commentary!
We are lucky to see "Nosferatu"; All copies were to be destroyed in 1923. "Nosferatu" was the product of plagerism, and an unlawful and (at the time) uncredited movie version of Bram Stoker's "Dracula". Stoker's widow sued the movie producers, they went out of business and the court ordered all copies of the film to be destroyed. Fortunately for us, copies were moused away and it is from these reels that we can see, what is considered the first horror film.

Nosferatu's horrific reputation is unchanged today; The sight of the vampire (Max Schreck) is every bit as grotesque now as it's ever been. The story is familiar Dracula, however the genesis of German film expressionism is clearly engrained; Nosferatu was one of a handful of films that changed the industry and made people think in ways that were never explored before.

The music score of this DVD is wonderful pipe-organ music composed from many early-19th century compositions. It's...

Everlasting Life and Greta Schroeder
I bought "Nosferatu" on Halloween night, to screen a double-feature with "Shadow of the Vampire". This turned out to be a terrific idea and caused me to wish, for the first time since childhood and my array of Star Wars costumes, that Halloween came eleven or twelve times a year.

"Nosferatu" may be 80 years old, but its influence is, amusingly enough, going to be eternal. The "Symphony of Horror" special edition DVD is absolutely a must-have, with three audio tracks that basically create three different versions of the film, and with three excellent mini-features.

The basic audio track is an organ score derived from early-19th-century Romantic composers. Married to the film's flickering tinted images, this makes ideal Halloween (or, indeed, any post-midnight) viewing. The second audio score is more experimental, more modern, and much, much more fun. Whereas the organ track basically lies underneath the movie and provides a traditional...

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