advnarayan Reviews

Les Charlots contre Dracula (1980)

Crazy Boys vs. Dracula Junior

[7/10 · 25 October 2017]

This movie was released in English in India and I remember seeing it in theaters in the mid Eighties. If my memory is correct, this was the last movie in the Les Charlots series (Crazy Boys as they are known in India) to be dubbed into English and released in India. However, there is no information available on whether these movies were released in English in DVD/ home media. For all purposes- it seems no one is aware of the English avatar of this movie

Bons baisers de Hong-Kong (1975)

This movie was released in English as CRAZY BOYS IN HONG KONG

[9/10 · 25 October 2017]

One of the super hit English films that hit India in the early Eighties. Yup, I saw this movie in English in a cinema hall in the early Eighties. But there is no information on the availability of this movie in English. Matter of fact many a Les Charlots movie was released in English in India.

Le grand bazar (1973)

The Crazy Boys at the Supermarket

[9/10 · 25 October 2017]

I think this was the first movie in the Crazy Boys series to hit theaters in India- way back in the Seventies. this was a huge hit and the movie has been shown multiple times in theaters during the early Eighties. However, there is no information available about the movies availability in English in the Net. Very surprising...for this was one super duper hit.

Moebius (2013)

black comedy???IIII

[6/10 · 7 January 2014]

I have been a Kim Ki- Duk fan ever since I saw Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter....and Spring. And I tend to gauge all his subsequent works with this masterpiece. and Moebius which created quite a ruckus when it was screened in this part of the world (as part of the International film festival of Kerala, 2013) is definitely not the best work of Kim Ki- duk. the director himself was a special invitee...but the theme of the movie proved to be too gruesome for some viewers. castration and its aftermath..a mother who should be confined to an asylum are the topics that this movie covers. if one were to tell the story - the oral description would be too horrible....but i can tell you the visual depiction is not as horrendous. This has been hailed as a black comedy....but I feel that the old TV movie Attack of the 5ft. 2 women starring Julie Brown was much better as a comedy. I remember laughing my guts out while seeing that movie. so do yourself a favour- go with Julie Brown rather than Kim Ki- duk as far as this topic is concerned.

Saturday the 14th (1981)

Friday the 13th is bad, Saturday the 14th is worse

[7/10 · 15 September 2013]

This movie was telecast on TV in my part of the world (India) in the early Nineties when the cable TV boom hit India. It was released as Friday THE 13th IS BAD, Saturday THE 14th IS WORSE. With a catchy title like that how can we miss this scary movie. At that time I had heard about the Friday the 13th horror series- but had not seen that movie. My brother and I waited with baited breath for this movie which we expected to be much, much, much more terrifying than Friday the 13th. but what we saw was a mild movie; a movie which just about gets a D- grade among horror movies. At that time id dint know that this was a spoof, or that its one not to be taken seriously. now thinking back- did i enjoy that movie- yup- and its another golden oldie which i treasure of my childhood.

One Dark Night (1982)

a nostalgic horror flick

[8/10 · 15 September 2013]

One Dark Night is a movie which brings back lot of nostalgic memories. It was 1991 and cable TV had just hit this part of the world. Star Plus now became the craze of us kids (I was aged 14 then) and every Friday night there used to be aired an English movie in Star Plus. and the first movie that was thus aired was One Dark Night. My brother (aged 12), me and my parents sat and watched this movie. this was the first horror movie which we watched on TV. It gave us the creeps. and after seeing the movie- we were so scared that my dad decided that we will sleep together in the hall...... but seriously was this movie so scary- 22 years have passed and now my diet includes a steady stream of horror movies (and books). i have seen greater and bigger horror movies and also cheaper and worse ones... but as a movie that brings back nostalgic memories of childhood this is one prized possession,

The Vigilantes Return (1947)

a movie which inspired a young man to become a film archivist

[7/10 · 1 September 2013]

I have not seen this movie- but heard about it in the documentary of P.K. Nair- film archivist and popularly known as the Henri Langlois of Indian Cinema. In a documentary about his life, CELLULOID MAN, K Nair reminisces about how he got attracted to movies at a very young age and he remembers this movie Vigilantes Return as the first Hollywood movie he saw in Trivandrum as a young boy. He still has with him the ticket stub when he saw the movie at Sree Padmanabha Theater, Trivadnrum. This was his first introduction to Hollywood and from then onwards he became a fan of cinema. His life then took a turn and was devoted for preserving cinema and cinematic history. He started the first film archives in India. This is the movie that started all this. Now I got to see this movie

Who Finds a Friend Finds a Treasure (1981)

a nostalgic movie

[6/10 · 20 May 2008]

WHO FINDS A FRIEND FINDS A TREASURE is my favourite Bud Spencer- Terence Hill flick. Recently I got hold of the DVD of the same- and it took me back 20 odd years. As a young kid (around 10 years or so) I remember my parents taking me to see this movie in the theatre. It was in the early Eighties when the only English movies appearing in theatres were these dubbed Italian movies, dubbed French movies (read as Crazy Boys- aka Les Charlots) and Indo- Chinese movies- dubbed Chinese kung-fu action flicks. Original Hollywood movies took a while to reach India (at least 10 years). And Bud & Terence provided huge guffaws. The movie is all about a treasure hunt in a supposedly desert island in the pacific. Terence hill is a stowaway in Bud's boat and he manipulates the ship's navigation controls to take them to this island. Then on it's a laugh riot with the duo endearing themselves to the natives of the island. The laughs may not be of that quality we associate with modern day movies- but as nostalgic remembrance of my childhood, I treasure this movie.