DVD Review: Lost Honor of Katherina Blum, The (B)

Lost Honor Of Katherina Blum (1975)
Directed By Volker Schlondorff & Margarethe Von Trotta
German With Subtitles
Grade: B

Review by Scott Standish

Focused clearly on the issues of terrorism/anarchy and the tendency of the press to sensationalize stories for their own gain, this film could have been made today.

Based on the novella of the same name, The Lost Honor of Katherina Blum relates the story of a young girl who meets and falls for a young man wanted by the government. In their mad attempt to track him down, they drag the naive girl (Katherina Blum) into their non-stop interrogation machine.

The governement works hand in hand with the press, who unscrupulously badger and defame everyone in their way (all in the name of selling more papers).

The acting is solid and the direction is superb. Highly recommended.

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DVD Review: Inseminoid aka Horror Planet (D+)

Inseminoid (aka Horror Planet) (1981)
Directed by Norman J. Warren
Starring Robin Clarke, Jennifer Ashley, Stephanie Beacham, Steven Grives, Victoria Tennant, Barry Houghton, Judy Geeson
MPAA: R
Grade: D+

Review By Ellyn Elm

Oy gevalt! Where to begin? Let’s just say that my husband refused to speak to me for several days after I made him watch Inseminoid. Not only is this movie really bad, it’s really, really gross! I loved it, but in all fairness, it stunk. The acting is abysmal.

But, on the bright side, Victoria Tennant (AKA the ex Mrs. Steve Martin) has a minor role. I am quite sure it led to her other important roles in, for instance, Flowers in the Attic. Additionally, Stephanie Beacham, from such television favorites as Dynasty and The Colbys, makes an appearance! The cast as a whole is a motley assortment of British and American nobodies destined for the made-for-tv circuit.

Archaeologists working at a dig on a distant planet are terrorized when one of their own is raped and impregnated with alien spawn. Sandy (Judy Geeson) the unfortunate mother-to-be, soon rallies to the cause and is quickly found dismembering crewmates and scheming about in order to provide for her unwholesome brood.

Made on an extremely low budget, Inseminoid revels in its cheapness. Cheesy sets, bad acting, even worse direction and lighting: this movie succeeds at being really bad.

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DVD Review: Wilde (B-)

Wilde (1997)
Directed By Brian Gilbert
Starring Stephen Fry and Jude Law
MPAA: R
Grade: B-


Review by Scott Standish

Oscar Wilde was, as proclaimed in this movie's tagline "the world's first modern man". I am not entirely sure what they mean by that, but I am guessing they mean "an educated, articulate, artistic man of liberal politics and taste". If I am am target with my guess, than I guess Wilde was certainly that, and this film really showcases that flair that made Wilde so popular, and at times, misunderstood.

The film Wilde clearly centers on the famous writer's awakening as a homosexual (after his marriage) and how it affected his career and personal life. This period piece has all the usual fluff of the now formulaic "Merchant Ivory paint by numbers and go for an Oscar" crap that floods the market every year, but this film manages to climb above the froth, due in part to the fine acting. Stephen Fry does an amazing job as the remarkable playwright Oscar Wilde. His lover the Lord Alfred Bosie Douglas is played by Jude Law, an actor that seems to provide his own indelible stamp on every role. Law was quite good in Gattica, AI, and especially eXistenz, the very underrated David Cronenberg film.

The script here is solid and the actors seem to jump off the screen with much emotion. The downsides of Wilde were the flat costume and art direction, and the sickeningly sweet "sure fire Oscar!" strings that seem to overtake key scenes (note to filmmakers: please look for alternate ways of hammering home emotion besides sappy violins).

But Wilde is definitely worth a rental. The subject matter is interesting, the handling of which was well very done (if not handled delicately this might have been a disaster) and the performances are better than expected.

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