Cinemaniac Reviews

Believe it or not, you may not want to see that movie.

Archive for the tag “1956”

01 Feb 2012
2 Comments

The Ten Commandments

Bottom Line: Works much better for those suffering from insomnia and/or studying history vigorously.

Directed by: Cecil B. DeMille
Starring: Anne Baxter, Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner

The prelude begins with a curtained stage, on which filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille appears and presents his final film. He does this by informing us that the Holy Bible, though chronicling much of Moses’s life, omits an entire thirty years. Before exiting, he explains that for his 1956 epic THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, a partial remake of his 1923 silent film bearing the same title, he will turn to historians to bridge that gap for the next three hours and thirty-nine minutes.

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Posted in Drama, Epic, History, [Film Reviews] and tagged
27 Jan 2012
2 Comments

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Bottom Line: Often entertaining use of science fiction and horror as a cautionary Cold War message.

Directed by: Don Siegel
Starring: Dana Wynter, Kevin McCarthy, Larry Gates

Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) is a doctor returning to his work as a doctor, and almost immediately, he realizes that most, if not all of his patients are having the same delusion: all of them are haunted by the thought that their friends and family are merely plausible impostors. Though initially jumping to the conclusion that his patients are simply crazy, he is convinced that something strange has happened to his patients, and becomes driven to discover what it is.

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Posted in Cult, Horror, Science Fiction, [Film Reviews] and tagged
20 Jan 2012
13 Comments

Plan 9 from Outer Space

Bottom Line: No less than terrible in the script, acting, and visuals, but somehow entertaining from beginning to end.

Directed by: Ed Wood
Starring: Bela Lugosi, Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Tom Keene

Picture a man (Criswell, the narrator) facing the camera as if ready to give a news report. He tells his audience: “Greetings, my friend. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future. You are interested in the unknown… the mysterious. The unexplainable. That is why you are here. And now, for the first time, we are bringing to you, the full story of what happened on that fateful day.” These images you are picturing in your mind serve as the preluding sequence in PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, a “Z-Movie” (not a “B-Movie”) from cult director Edward D. Wood, Jr. If that sounds like a terrible beginning to a film, you’re absolutely right, but the rest of the film, I must honestly say, makes that one scene look like nothing.

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Posted in Cult, Horror, Science Fiction, [Film Reviews] and tagged

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