rabbitrunning Reviews

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson (1980)

Hard to find series is well worth the hunt

[13 September 2011]

The listing here is missing one episode "Murder on a Midsummer's Eve", but all of the episodes are difficult to find. Geoffrey Whitehead is one of the more ruthless incarnations of Holmes, particularly in the darker episodes, but he can take advantage of the humorous scripts as well. Donald Pickering is one of the better Watsons -- you can believe he's been a military man from his bearing and his athletic build -- and he comes across as intelligent and capable, if occasionally astonished or bewildered by Holmes's more brilliant strokes of genius. There's a certain dry humor shared between the two of them, as well, which brightens the opening and closing sequences of several episodes.

Swashbuckler (1976)

Great Soundtrack, so-so movie

[2/10 · 3 February 2004]

What can you say about a pirate movie with only one ship? Well, that they tried very very hard. There are some memorable lines and scenes, but without a sea battle to liven up the festivities the poor film falls flat. The soundtrack music (which, sadly, is not available as a cd)is worth the price of the DVD though.

Children of Heaven (1997)

Delightful film

[21 November 2000]

This was a wonderful film. Working with children, I can appreciate the real reluctance Ali has to confide his problem to any of the adults in his life. Nothing about the children's emotions felt stilted or unreal in this film. The father, who might have been played as some kind of ogre, comes off as a real person too. How unusual for a film to see the world from both sides of the gap of age.

I only wish there was a "translated" version as well as a subtitled version so that I could show it to some of my younger audiences. American audiences aren't used to the kind of ending in this film, but it would make for some great discussions. (And of course, experiments to see if we could learn how to make soap bubbles without anything but our hands!)

Highly recommended.

Shall We Dance? (1996)

What a delightful film!

[18 June 2000]

Subtitles should not deter you from this charmer of a film. Ballroom Dancing, which is seen as risque in Japan, becomes the unlikely passion of an accountant who has gotten everything he thought he wanted and found he missed out on happiness. He begins classes hoping to meet a girl he saw looking as sad as he was himself, but finds that dance has charms of its own. Like Babette's Feast, the insight into another culture, and the elegant structure of the film leave you more than satisfied.