Islands in the Stream

Amazon.com essential video

The film of Ernest Hemingway's posthumously published novel has the air of an Important Event that never quite comes off. Here's Thomas, an artist who's outlived his artistry and settled into sun-kissed reclusiveness on one of the lesser Bahamas. With World War II literally rumbling on the luminous horizon, he divides his time between torturing metal into sculpture, lolling with semi-worshipful retainers and cronies, and committing occasional acts of petty, booze-induced, aimless destructiveness. He is, of course, not Ernest Hemingway. But if he were, who in 1979 would have more appropriately been asked to incarnate him than that disputatious, granite-jawed, reclusively inclined, Oscar-scorning actor George C. Scott? And who better to preside over the ceremony than Franklin J. Schaffner, the director of that earlier celebration of truculently rugged individualism, Patton?

Alas, Scott doesn't so much act as pose, and Schaffner sets up every shot and every encounter like a dust-jacket for a tasteful book-club edition (the DVD transfer is impeccably crisp; the images, stillborn). Thomas's attempts to bond with the three sons who come to visit after years of estrangement are painful, mostly because of the badness of the kids' dialogue and the worseness of the kid actors. However, as Thomas's boon companion Eddie--the "good man" rummy reminiscent of To Have and Have Not--David Hemmings is heartbreakingly fine. So, astonishingly, is the final reel, an absurdist adventure on the periphery of war... and we realize there could have been, should have been, a good movie in this bad idea for a movie after all. --Richard T. Jameson

Description

Thomas Hudson (Scott) is an American sculptor whose self-imposed isolation on an island in the Bahamas is ended by two forces: the visit of his sons and the outbreak of World War II. Hudson attempts to guide his sons while coping with his own personal conflicts and the threat of war.

Customer Reviews:

Islands in the Stream.......2007-05-29

Great movie and George C. Scott at his very best. I've read the Hemingway novel of the same name and like the movie adaptation better. Filmed on location in the Bahamas and wonderful scenery and music. This is film making at it's best.

Islands in the Stream.......2007-01-20

This is a very good movie but something in the formating to DVD is not correct. The sound track, although sincronized, has something lacking. The musicical background of the sound track does not flow fluently.

George C. Scotts finest performance.......2007-01-19

A very relaxing movie to watch. Picturesque landscapes, great characters!!!! This movie had some great character actors Hollywood never fully utilized. A great human story of life, love, war and peace, tragedy and death. Oh and the soundtrack is wonderful! So calming and soothing. Always a great family movie! When I'm away from family I appreciate this film the most. You feel like your right there with George C. Scott. I cant explain it. Again, great for the whole family!!!

"It is all true".......2007-01-15

Islands in the Stream, Hemingway's posthumously published exercise in romanticised self-loathing about an ageing artist in self-imposed exile in the Bahamas in WW2 coming to terms with his failure as a husband and father and trying to make amends, reunited many of the key talents from Patton - director Franklin J. Schaffner, composer Jerry Goldsmith, cinematographer Fred Koenekamp and star George C. Scott - to almost universal audience indifference, but it's a surprisingly solid and engrossing film that gradually works its way under your skin. The kind of personal project that somehow usually heralds the end of a director's major works and the beginning of his descent into lucrative journeyman work when it fails to find an audience, it does build up a surprising degree of emotional power in the last third. Scott reins it in to good effect here: the scene where he realises the true reason for his ex-wife's visit overcomes the atrocious writing to deliver real suppressed emotional power, while his scene on the beach with Julius Harris where he knows he needs to move on but cannot bring himself to do it is genuinely touching. Aided by a well-cast David Hemmings as his rummy mate and a superb score by Jerry Goldsmith (the composer's favorite) that builds on the sea theme from Papillon and works much better on screen than on CD, it's well worth checking out, although be warned that in the marlin fishing sequence there is one bit of back projection so staggeringly bad you cannot understand why it was allowed to remain in the picture!

Paramount's DVD offers a good 2.35:1 widescreen transfer but no extras.

Disappointing.......2005-12-30

My opinion of this film is tainted by my familiarity and love for the novel. The film seems to be an amalgam of "Islands" and "To Have and Have Not" with an odd Holocaust twist thrown in. The film may be satisfying to someone unfamiliar with the novel, but if you're expecting a cinematic presentation of Hemingway's last and greatest work you will be sorely disappointed. The film, like the novel is presented in 3 parts. The first, "The Boys" is a faithful but truncated rendition of the book, that is somewhat flat due to the deletion of the family history that makes Hudson's relationship with his sons understandable. The film does capture a little of the complex and often achingly touching father-son bond which is the great strength of the novel. The second section, "The Woman" is poorly done in the film. The movie includes the ex-wife's visit solely for the purpose of telling us that Tom, the eldest son, is dead, the tragic motivation for Hudson's heroic trip in the third section. The novel presents, in rich, profane and erotic prose a journey deep within the tortured soul of Tom Hudson and makes a solid, unambiguous connection to the third section. Hudson volunteers for the hazardous anti-Uboat patrol (not the maudlin rescue of Holocaust refugees inexpicably inserted into the film) because with the deaths of all 3 of his sons and his best friend Eddie, the loss of 2 wives and with an entire world at war, making pretty pictures in isolation on a desert island seems ridiculously irrelevant. Very little of this comes through in the third act of the film. Here, elements of "Have Not" are thrown in to lend a Hemingwayesqe veneer to what is definitely not a Hemingway plot line. Tom Hudson would not act out his grief over the loss of his son at the hands of the Germans by passively and accidentally rescuing refugee Jews (as in the film), but by actively hunting down and killing renegade Uboat sailors (as he does in the book). This is Hemingway, afterall. To die in this personally meaningful cause is satisfying to Hudson and he can let go of his previously meaningless life with satisfaction. It would not seem to have been more difficult to tell the tale as it was written. The film softens Hudson, perhaps to make him more appealing to an audience of mixed gender. Perhaps Hemingway doesn't transfer well to films intended for general audiences. It confirms my view that Hemingway was a man who wrote for men and his works cannot be understood by women, as politically incorrect as that opinion may be.

Average customer rating:

Not too old to scream....
Good but not impressive.
Useless.....
Two hidden videos...
best music but old tehnical sound (dolby 2.0)

Scorpions - A Savage Crazy World
Starring: Scorpions
Manufacturer: Island / Mercury
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00006G8EI
Release Date: 2002-08-27

Amazon.com

This time-capsule snapshot of '80s pop metal brings together live performances and videos that show how the Scorpions used to hit hard musically. It's unlikely this disc will win new fans, although longtime Scorpions fans will be sated; yet there's a nagging feeling this set skimps on more material. All of the German quintet's biggest and best videos are present--"Rhythm of Love," "Rock You Like a Hurricane," "Still Loving You," and "Wind of Change"--with four bonus videos--"Alien Nation," "Holiday," "No One Like You," and "I'm Leaving You." But the concert footage is alarmingly skimpy: 12 songs, 55 minutes; where's the rest of the performance? What's here is good, with a revved-up band playing in front of a home-turf crowd in Berlin in 1991, but the rest of the show is inexplicably missing. --Kevin Filipski

Customer Reviews:

Not too old to scream...........2007-03-11

As a long time fan of Scorpions (since 1984) I was really looking forward to getting this DVD. Not only was I NOT disappointed, I was also finding myself so excited by the fantastic concert footage, I thought I was going to scream. I am an older adult but found I wanted to squeal like a young girl watching these guys in their element; LIVE. They are one of the few rock bands who feed off the frenzied excitement and adoration of their audience and give a performance that is out of this SAVAGE CRAZY WORLD. Their music videos are enjoyable because you can see they had so much fun making them. But as a skilled LIVE band, not many groups can come close to the powerful performances of The Scorpions in front of their fans. If you are or are not a Scorps fan, you will enjoy our favorite boys from Germany bringing all they've got to us; to entertain, enlighten, and energize. UP THE SCORPS!

Good but not impressive........2005-08-02

I am a big fan of old school heavy metal. I listen and collect different dvd's and cd's of different bands like mettalica, pantera, iron maiden,judas priest, black sabbath, led Zep to name a few and Scorpions is one of them. Having recently bought and watched this DVD, I have to say that whoever produced this material is NOT a fan of the Scorpions. If it were up to me, I would make the live material a real concert event, without the cuts and without the gaps. I would make it a point that the person watching it feels like he is really in a scorpions concert. I have seen the scorpions live 4 times over the years and i know that they play their best songs all the time. So being a fan, I say this DVD deserves a better deal.The videos are okay though, but I prefer watching them live.

Useless............2004-04-02

I bought 3 copies of this and they've all paused on my DVD player. I bought one copy after another, thinking this was just 1 or 2 faulty DVDs. But they've all done this! So then I spent money having my DVD player cleaned and "fixed", only to find that they still wouldn't play right! I give up! What is the use of having a DVD if it's not going to play right? Quality wise, these videos aren't much better than the original videos.

Two hidden videos..........2004-02-22

This is not the greatest DVD release, but being a big scorpions fan, I'm still glad I got it and have watched it several times. The greatest scorpions DVD by far (I have them all) is Acoustica, the Scorpions version of unplugged in Dolby Digital 5.1, with an un-believable cover of dust in the wind by Kansas, plus 20 other songs. Acoustica was never released in North America for some un-known crazy reason. My copy came from Germany.

The 2 hidden videos-To get to "Big City Nights", from main menu select special features, then with dolby digital 2.0 highlighted, press the left arrow button twice. When the Scorpions logo appears, hit enter to play video. To get to "No One Like You", from main menu select Live, then next to highlight track 7, then hit the left arrow twice. When the Scorpions logo appears, hit enter to play video.

best music but old tehnical sound (dolby 2.0).......2003-11-29

Scorpions are always good in live, so this dvd is original scorpions dvd.The penalty is about the recording tech of sound.
It must be released again in dolby digital sound or DTS.If someone want to see only the live without care about tech...
...then my personal recommended is 5 star at least.

Average customer rating:

Bug Bites...
Creeping Crawling Terror
Made My Skin Crawl!!
Strong Story Line + Scary FX = Well Done Horror Flick
THIS WILL REALLY BUG YOU!!!

Creepy Crawlers
Starring: Thomas Calabro , Dean Stockwell , John Savage , Kristen Dalton , and Tom McBeath
Director: Ellory Elkayem
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000A1HSB
Release Date: 2003-09-02

Customer Reviews:

Bug Bites..........2007-07-14

Dr. Cahill (Thomas Calabro) is a recovering alcoholic. After being unable to perform a surgery, he is told to take a "vacation" by his superior. This leads him to a small island, where he hopes to settle in and relax. Instead, the locals, led by two brothers (one played by John Savage), cause nothing but problems for Cahill. Meanwhile, a growing legion of biting, killer cockroaches have arrived on the island, ready to destroy all in their path! Dr. Cahill, with the help of the sheriff (Dean Stockwell!) and the gal from the general store (Kristen Dalton), must find out what's been killing the townsfolk before it's too late. CC is a solid little grabber w/ enough twists and jolts to keep things running on all six legs. There's even some gory goo that's surprising for a PG-13 movie! Loved it...

Creeping Crawling Terror.......2005-12-16

A small island in Maine experiences terror once an infested body washes up on shore. The Island's newest resident is a doctor in need of getting away. Unfortunately the Doc has made enemies just by buying the wrong house. As tempers flare among the residents the doctor stumbles upon the hidden problem growing on the island.

The Island is now home to a horrible bug that lays its eggs in small mammals. Now they have turned toward man as a host. Unfortunately once the residents are finally confronted with the reality it is too late to do more than run. But it is hard to run far when you are surrounded by water and the next ferry isn't due for a week.

Very realistic looking bugs really add to the creep factor in this film. Some pretty decent acting is also present and you will probably recognize a few faces (and not just Dean Stockwell as the Sheriff). Parts of the movie look like it could lead to an interesting sequel (if handled right) while the existing ending adds just the right touch. If you like swarms of bugs in your movies then this one is right up your alley.

Made My Skin Crawl!!.......2005-06-28

This movie is extremely creepy. Definitely worth watching. It WILL make your skin crawl! Well worth what it is selling for on Amazon.

Strong Story Line + Scary FX = Well Done Horror Flick.......2004-11-07

THE NEST is one of those horror movies that are light years ahead of their better publicized yet less competently crafted brethren. What makes a horror film memorable is not just well-designed gory effects (although that helps). What does make the difference is the same quality that attracts or disinterests moviegoers with all films: does the audience connect to the characters in a way as to make us care about their fates? In THEY NEST, director Ellery Elkayem presents the hero Dr. Ben Cahill (Thomas Calabro) as a drunken sot of a surgeon who loses his job as an attending physician at a prestigious hospital and heads to a small island off the coast of Maine to sober up. Cahill is a good but flawed man who clearly wants to reset his moral compass. On the island he meets the lovely Nell (Kristin Hocking Dalton), with whom he is allowed to gradually form a romantic tie. The Big Bug Menace of this movie is not big at all. They are ordinary looking Africanized pincer wielding cockroaches that show their menace only when covering the ground in a rapidly moving insect blanket of pincer snapping lethality. These bugs breed, attack en masse, and lay their eggs within a human host so that their emergence smacks of the stomach bursting scene from ALIEN. The bugs seem to operate in a hive mentality; thus, they function as a collective threat to humanity.

Dean Stockwell as the local sheriff and John Savage as the hick lobsterman are surprisingly effective in backup roles. Calabro and Hocking-Dalton gradually show a growing love interest, with Hocking-Dalton taking the lead in romance. The ending is a let-down. How many times have we seen the last of the Bug Eyed Monsters get killed only to see a lone survivor fly or crawl off to repeat the process? Still, the scenes in which Stockwell and Savage try to swat away a rolling carpet of predator bugs must surely cause the audience to peek into that shoe before they put it on. Recommended.

THIS WILL REALLY BUG YOU!!!.......2004-02-28

CREEPY CRAWLERS is the first movie in some time that made my squirm and my skin crawl; with an effective use of silence and eerily atmospheric music and some nifty camerawork, this movie really gets under your skin.
It opens with some shipmates duct taping a fellow matey, and then dumping him overboard; the body comes to rest on a sleepy little island in Maine. A surgeon (Thomas Calabro, in a marvelously controlled and humorus performance) has recently purchased a house on this island. It needs fixing up, and the only one who can help out electically is a nasty feller named Jack Wald (played with venomous relish by John Savage). Seems like Wald and his brother should have inherited the house, but since their pappy didnt pay his taxes, the house went up for sale and Calabro bought it. Meanwhile, the cockroaches are swarming and just dying to breed in their human hosts.
There are some incredibly creepy scenes, and when the bugs sprout wings, look out.
This is a great "little" movie, full of dark humor and nasty, nasty bugs!
Buy you some Raid afore you watch it, ye heah?

Average customer rating:

Islands in the Stream
Islands in the Stream
George C. Scotts finest performance
"It is all true"
Disappointing

Islands in the Stream
Starring: George C. Scott , David Hemmings , Gilbert Roland , Susan Tyrrell , and Richard Evans
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0007LXJE6

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

Islands in the Stream.......2007-05-29

Islands in the Stream.......2007-01-20

George C. Scotts finest performance.......2007-01-19

"It is all true".......2007-01-15

Disappointing.......2005-12-30

Average customer rating:

great series
andy sidaris is back
Savage Beach
I sure wish Indiana had cops like these
What you see is what you get!

Savage Beach
Starring: Dona Speir , Hope Marie Carlton , John Aprea , Bruce Penhall , and Rodrigo Obregón
Director: Andy Sidaris
Manufacturer: Malibu Bay Films
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00005YR1L
Release Date: 2002-07-09

Customer Reviews:

great series .......2007-01-09

love the whole series of movies.. check them out if you have a chance

andy sidaris is back .......2006-01-07

if your like me you found out about andy sidaris movies thanks to cable t.v.! those after dark movies were great to a 12 year old. mr sadaris made action movies useing play mates and large amounts of nudity. this collection is 3rd of his to come out and i'm glad that there being traeted so well. not for the kids just the kids who never grew up. no deep meaning just action and big breasted playmates, what more could a growing boy want. enjoy. for plots , who cares just watch!

Savage Beach.......2005-08-10

Arrived in good time. No problems. Picture is splendid. No problems what so ever!!!

I sure wish Indiana had cops like these.......2004-04-30

Yeah, baby, this is the one you've been waiting for all your sexually frustrated life. "Savage Beach" was filmed in the lovely lakes of Fort Wayne, Indiana. In fact, Andy Sidaris cleverly disguised the location to look like some tropical island in the Caribbean. But don't be fooled, that's Fort Wayne you're looking at. Lastly, the hotties! The women are not from Fort Wayne--thank goodness. Silicon free, these women are 100% natural. "It takes a special hand to wield my gun..."-The dialog is just simply awesome.

What you see is what you get!.......2003-09-26

Andy Sidaris! Guns and explosions! Random nudity! All-synonymous. I purchased this movie because it is the prequel to "Return to Savage Beach" which was, in my opinion, the best T&A movie that I have EVER seen up to this date. And if you don't know what T&A stands for than you are unfamiliar with the genre, and I therefore do NOT recommend ANY Andy Sidaris films to you. "Savage Beach" pales in comparisons when it comes to the babes in the movie. For bouncy silicone lovers, the sequel, Return to Savage Beach would definitely be a more satisfying choice. What you see on the cover is what you get with the original "Savage Beach." Two avergage looking blondes, scantily clad, packing serious heat. I give it 3 stars out of 5 because if you are even considering this film, than you're certainly not looking for much more than what you see on a cover. And in that case, this film does deliver, and even goes slightly beyond. It is cheesy (as expected) but comical. There is even something that ALMOST mildly resembles a plot, which was a surprising bonus to this film. "Savage Beach" is good for a B-rate, C-cup, Sidaris flick. But it does lack the much better looking, super double D-cup (and beyond), silicone laced, higer polished models featured in its sequel.

Average customer rating:

LEAVE THIS ONE ON THE SHELF!!
Wow, you can make a decent film with a camcorder!
A shot on video nightmare (it's that bad).
Oh, Boy! Rednecks Again, Delieverance From Evil
DV rip off of The Hills Have Eyes

Savage Island
Starring: Don S. Davis , Brendan Beiser , Sheila Tyson , Kristina Copeland , and Zoran Vukelic
Director: Jeffery Scott Lando
Manufacturer: Allumination
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0001KNHAY
Release Date: 2005-02-22

Description

Prepare to experience a twisted thriller that's destined to become a new cult classic. Steven and Julia Harris' are visiting Julia's family on remote Savage Island. But their peaceful weekend getaway turns into a brutal nightmare of unspeakable terror when a family of backwoods squatters demands the couple's infant son as an even swap for causing the death of their own youngster... And these folks will NOT take no for an answer; they're out for blood! Stargate SG1's Don S. Davis co-stars in this award-winning masterpiece of mayhem that promises to give all true horror fans "a gritty, shocking good time" (Film Threat).

Customer Reviews:

LEAVE THIS ONE ON THE SHELF!!.......2006-01-15

Despite the reviews of this movie being overwhelmingly bad, I went ahead and took a chance on it much to my chagrin. Savage Island is your standard Redneck Degenerates vs. Progressive Yuppies kind of movie, which has been done almost to death. Indeed, Savage Island adds nothing to this favorite of horror movie themes. However, my one big criticism of the film is that the casting of the the Savage family (the redneck family) seemed all wrong. If they are supposed to exemplify the qualities of barbarity and backwardness then at least use some actors/actresses that appear to be somewhat representative of those qualities. Simply put, the actors portraying the Savage family just seemed to attractive, or at least too normal looking. And the one member of the family, the elder son, come on, he could have doubled as a GQ model. He sure ain't screaming redneck inbred. In fact, none of the actors really are. I suppose the yuppies seem yuppie enough but in fact it would seem that the families could be interchangeable, i.e. either one could play either side. And if the director meant the distinction to be ambiguous I think that he succeeded, however, to the detriment of the movie itself. Other things could be said about the failure of this movie but I'd rather not take the time to dwell on them. simply put, leave this one on the shelf!

Wow, you can make a decent film with a camcorder!.......2005-07-11

Remember John Boorman's 1972 film "Deliverance," based on the novel by celebrated southern author James Dickey? The picture starred Ronny Cox, Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, and Ned Beatty as four city dwellers who decide to go rafting on the Cahulawassee River before a dam turns it into a lake. The trip rapidly turns into a nightmare when backwood hicks launch a war of vengeance against the outsiders. The film serves primarily as a framework to examine the fragility of civilization, and how four men raised in the city respond when confronted by barbarism. It's a film whose violent themes contrast sharply with the beautiful imagery of the river and the Georgia backcountry. It's also the film in which actor Ned Beatty forever after became associated with the term "Sooey." I mention "Deliverance" because the low budget, shot on video production "Savage Island" borrows many of its most significant plot points from Boorman's masterpiece. This film also introduces us to city folk confronted with tough decisions when a tragedy unleashes violence in the shape of a backwoods clan. And like "Deliverance," civilization must battle barbarity for supremacy. This film, however, ends on a decidedly different note.

"Savage Island" introduces us to the Harris family, father Steven (Steven Man), mother Julia (Kristina Copeland), and their infant child. The three are heading out to an island somewhere in the Pacific Northwest to meet up with Julia's parents and brother. Keith Young (Don Davis), his wife Beth (Beverley Breuer), and their son Peter (Brendan Beiser) live on Savage Island, as its known, with the hope of building a ritzy resort to lure wealthy vacationers from the coast. Unfortunately, Keith runs into a few snags in his plans due to the presence of a family of "squatters." This is the Savage family, consisting of patriarch Eliah Savage (Winston Rekert), wife Mary (Lindsay Jameson), and their kids Joe (Gregg Scott), Lenny (Zoran Vukelic), Rebecca (Nahanni Arntzen), and Jimmy (Kyle Sawyer). That's a big family, isn't it? In fact, there are so many people mooning around on this island that it's difficult in the extreme to keep track of them all. Hopefully I got the genealogy correct. Anyway, Peter Young drives down to the dock to pick his sister's family up and take them back to the house. This guy is such a clown, however, that he accidentally hits little Jimmy Savage with the SUV when he takes his eyes off the road to hassle his sister. Ooops. Needless to say, Eliah and his clan aren't happy this incident occurred.

Shortly after the accident Eliah and his wife show up at Keith Young's house demanding that Julia and Steven hand over their infant child as a replacement for their loss--a straight out trade, in other words, that will stave off confrontation. Keith predictably refuses and orders the Savages off his property at the point of a gun. Big mistake. Peter disappears after mucking around in the forest, captured by a couple of the Savage kids, and a war of attrition soon erupts with horrific ferocity. The Young family suffers most of the casualties, and the Savages kidnap Julia and her child. This bloody turn of events leaves Steven as the sole survivor, meaning he must come up with a way to rescue his family and get off the island. He'll have to hurry, however, as Eliah plans on marrying off Julia to one of his sons. Ugliness follows as Steven locates the Savage cabin and takes his own brand of bloody revenge against the squatters. Will Steven rescue his beloved wife and child? Will the family escape from the island and return to the comforts of civilization? I leave it up to you to discover the answers behind these questions. I will say that before everything is said and done, a couple of twists unfold that fundamentally changes the direction of the narrative.

"Savage Island" is a decent picture. In fact, compared to most of the shot on video dross I've seen over the past couple of years, director Jeffrey Lando's film is the "Citizen Kane" of the camcorder school of filmmaking. He manages to tease out good to great performances from his cast, with notable mention going to the actress who played the nervous and later greatly terrified Julia. Too, he convinced a recognized actor, Don Davis, to star in his film. The atmosphere and locations also work to the film's advantage. Savage Island is a gloomy, heavily forested region that reeks of isolation. When it gets dark on this island at night, it gets DARK. Sort of makes you wonder why someone would plan to build a resort on such a brooding piece of real estate. The film works well overall in spite of a few flaws, such as the totally unbelievable conclusion, and is entertaining enough for a zero budget production. A bit of violence rears its head from time to time too, which always helps a film move along. "Savage Island" isn't a gorefest by any stretch of the imagination, but the fate of several characters is grim enough to give the film an even darker edge.

The disc contains a lot of extras. I've discovered that these miniscule budget filmmakers love to pile on the supplements when they finally get a chance at a DVD release, and "Savage Island" is no exception to that rule. Trailers for this movie, one for "Liar's Poker," and another for "Jack Frost" are here for your perusal. Also on the disc are three separate commentary tracks and interviews with the director and several cast members. There's even a look at the production facilities where the film received its finishing touches. I recommend "Savage Island" to those viewers close to losing patience with shot on video turkeys. It's not exactly a diamond in the rough, but it's close.

A shot on video nightmare (it's that bad)........2005-06-27

Savage Island is a lame movie that was shot on digital video. No, the movie is not lame becasue it was shot on video. It's jsut plain dumb. The nonsensical plot , tedious acting and boring direction is what makes this movie lame.
Nothing worth mentioning about this flick except find something else when you're at the video store.

Not recommended.

Oh, Boy! Rednecks Again, Delieverance From Evil.......2004-12-20

Here we go again! This time the rednecks are squatters who are living on someone's private island. They feel since they were there first they own the land. This part of the story really isn't important. One day the normal family runs over the redneck baby and all heck breaks loose. Sime real good tension and chills are abound, but this film clearly tries to be "The Hills Have Eyes" which it is clearly not. Still, it is better than Hills 2 (what couldn't be?) and is menacing, graphic, and well paced to keep the viewer interested. Its kinda like a hybrid of Hills with the new Chainsaw saga. Not nearly as good, but effective as a low budget shocker.

DV rip off of The Hills Have Eyes.......2004-11-23

Jeff Lando's Savage Island was a huge disappointment when i saw it recently in the bargain bin at Blockbusters. This film was shot on DV for around $35,000 and looked as if it was going to be an exciting The Hills Have Eyes / Deliverance style exploitation flick. The film begins well but after ten minutes or so, the image quality becomes terrible and with no real reason other than the camera man got his settings wrong. This was a real shame as if the film had been lensed in a straightforward manner; Savage Island would have been a successful straight to video thriller. However the visual failings make the film look like a grainy home-movie when it shouldn't be. Apparently the film has won some awards. I doubt they were for best cinematography. This was unwatchable.

Average customer rating:

The beauty of independent film.
A masterpiece
Actors shine working with out a net in this improvised film!
Edgy, Riveting, Truly Independent

Getting Out of Rhode Island
Starring: Shawn Savage , Spring Hill , Rachel Langley , Karen Diorio , and Denise Giblin
Director: Christian de Rezendes
Manufacturer: Indieforce / Film
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000228SXC
Release Date: 2004-06-29

Customer Reviews:

The beauty of independent film........2005-01-30

G.O.R.I. is a proof positive that you don't need big stars and $50 million dollars to make a great movie. Thoroughly engrossing from the first mysterious moments, this improvised story (shot in real time) goes from a fun little party to an emotional nightmare as more and more is revealed about the characters at the party. In the spirit of "The Celebration", this is a gritty, intense, and often very funny movie that doesn't play out like your average Hollywood fare.

A masterpiece.......2004-11-07

"Getting Out of Rhode Island" is so wonderfully different from the majority of films currently in release. I hope this bold and visceral work can be seen by as many people as possible. "Getting Out of Rhode Island" is something you don't see everyday in contemporary filmmaking: a masterpiece.

Actors shine working with out a net in this improvised film!.......2004-07-12

What a great film find ! I stumbled over this one searching for "The Deli" and am I glad I did ! This is an emotionally and physically jarring film, DeRezendes' cinematography wonderfully punctuates the fractured reality of the story. The actors bring the piece to life by skillfully interpreting the random situations at the party while staying in character and keeping the plot cohesive and making you actually care what happens to these people. (I hope to see these actor taking over the Hollywood scene ASAP !) The documentary interviews on the DVD really made the experience richer. A great film that is ideally packaged on DVD by FilmThreat. MORE MORE ! Cheers to all !

Edgy, Riveting, Truly Independent.......2004-06-26

This was a fully improvised feature film and the magnetic atmosphere of the moment pulls the audience in as if they are there. Intricate character plots, real life emotion & edgy, handheld camera work make this one an original. A model for the spirit of a true independent film. Worth seeing.

Average customer rating:

Cannibal Rollerbabes
Starring: John Sorbera , Mark Tyler (III) , Amy Van Elle , Paul Noiles , and Lisa Heughan
Director: Kalman Szegvary
Manufacturer: Wildfire Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Savage Island (Deadman's Island) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Germany ]

Average customer rating:

Savage Island (Deadman's Island) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Germany ]
Director: Jeffery Scott Lando
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

Germany released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: English (Dolby Digital 2.0), German (Dolby Digital 2.0), English (Subtitles), German (Subtitles), Spanish (Subtitles), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SYNOPSIS: A relaxing weekend getaway turns into a fight for their lives when a young couple falls prey to a vengeful clan of backwoods squatters in cinematographer-turned-director Jeffery Scott Lando's directorial debut. As they arrive on Savage Island with their newborn son for a weekend visit with the family, young couple Steven and Julia is greeted at the pier by Julia's young brother Keith. Callously speeding back to the cabin with the headlights turned off in a bid to get a rise out of his sister, Keith runs over what he assumes to be a small animal. When the Savage clan arrives at their doorstep claiming that Keith ran over their young boy and demand Steven and Julia's newborn son as compensation for their loss, the couple's refusal to hand over their son sparks a brutal struggle for survival pitting the determined city-dwellers against their resourceful -- and bloodthirsty -- backwoods counterparts. SPECIAL FEATURES: Biographies, Cast/Crew Interview(s), Commentary, Interactive Menu, Posters, Trailer(s),

Average customer rating:

Savage Island
Starring: Winston Rekert
Manufacturer: Allumination Filmworks/Allumin
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B0001KNHB8
Release Date: 2004-04-27

DVD:

DVD

DVD