DVD Reviews
May. 16th, 2005 05:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ceebeegeeSo I joined Netflix and watched some DVDs this past week.
The first was the first disc of the first season of one of my favorite shows, Dallas. This disc had the first three episodes of the 1978 5-ep miniseries that was eventually turned into the show, so this is where we first meet all the characters. It starts with Bobby and Pam driving to Southfork to announce their impulsive marriage to the Ewings--this is problematic because their respective families are mortal enemies. Watching the earliest episodes, I was impressed with how strong much of the acting and writing is, right off the bat. Often the earliest episodes of a series are exposition-heavy and the actors are unsure of their tone, but most of these actors are really strong from the beginning, especially JR, Pam, Bobby and of course Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes). I was, however, chagrined to realize how very bad Charlene Tilton is as Lucy--I loved Lucy, because she was the only character to whom I could relate in the slightest, but bless her heart, CT is cringe-inducingly bad. And Steve Kanaly as Ry (his later wife in the series always pronounced his name with this strong Texas accent--it's actually Ray) needs to hit the gym a little more before running around with no shirt on. He looks like Captain Kirk in the turd season of Start Trek: TOS.
One reason I loved this show was how...masculine it was, how muscular all the characters were. It wasn't too maudlin or weepy or self-indulgent--the characters tended to be pretty aggressive. JR was the central character, after all, and he's an icon of "Me and mine" (Anne Boleyn's motto). He had such great lines too like "Once you get rid of integrity, the rest is a piece of cake!" and of course my favorite, "Whoever she is, you'd better believe she'll be more of a woman than the slut I'm lookin' at right now!" God, that's awesome. Interestingly, Pam was originally intended to be the focus of the seris, as the Juliet half of the Romeo and Juliet couple of Bobby and Pam. And a lot of the roles were switched around--I think Steve Kanaly was supposed to play Cliff, or maybe Ken Kercheval was supposed to be Ry. Also, Linda Evans was supposed to play Pam--ugh, I can't imagine her as the fiesty Pam. Dallas was so much more interesting than Dynasty, which I could never warm up to.
I love how Lucy and Ry (the Sotuhfork foreman) are having an affair in the first couple of episodes, and then suddenly three seasons later we find out that Ry is Jock Ewing's illegitimate son (and hence Lucy's half-uncle). And the writers never mentioned it or pursued it. They were probably hoping the viewers had forgotten.
The second episode on the disc has a scene that takes place at a disco. The director shoots most of the episode pretty conventionally, but when they get to the disco all of a sudden, the camera angles are off the hook and just crazy. Perhaps he was trying to simulate the effects of dropping acid at the disco. MANY butt shots, including Charlene Tilton's and Victoria Principal's. And all the women are wearing that late '70s fashion staple, slacks.
The other DVD I watched was Super Size Me, an awesome documentary about McDonald's, obesity in America and Big Business. This guy, Morgan Spurlock, is inspired by the lawsuits against McDonald's (the ones where the teenage girls are suing McD's for making them fat) and decides to go on an all-McD's diet for one-month. The guy gains 25 lbs. and actually gets sick--his cholesterol, etc. goes WAY up. It's quite funny--there's one scene, on the second day of the diet, where he's just finished a full, super-sized meal of a QuarterPounder and fries, and he feels terrible. He starts listing how he feels ("I got the McGurgles...the McGas is starting up...I got the McShakes, the McHeadache...") and then stops, leans out the window and pukes. It's horrifying and hilarious--I couldn't stop laughing. I also love the one scene where he's talking to a lawyer right outside a McD's and the angle of the shot makes it appear as though Ronald is just hanging out with them, in on the discussion. It's very funny to look at. A great movie.
The first was the first disc of the first season of one of my favorite shows, Dallas. This disc had the first three episodes of the 1978 5-ep miniseries that was eventually turned into the show, so this is where we first meet all the characters. It starts with Bobby and Pam driving to Southfork to announce their impulsive marriage to the Ewings--this is problematic because their respective families are mortal enemies. Watching the earliest episodes, I was impressed with how strong much of the acting and writing is, right off the bat. Often the earliest episodes of a series are exposition-heavy and the actors are unsure of their tone, but most of these actors are really strong from the beginning, especially JR, Pam, Bobby and of course Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes). I was, however, chagrined to realize how very bad Charlene Tilton is as Lucy--I loved Lucy, because she was the only character to whom I could relate in the slightest, but bless her heart, CT is cringe-inducingly bad. And Steve Kanaly as Ry (his later wife in the series always pronounced his name with this strong Texas accent--it's actually Ray) needs to hit the gym a little more before running around with no shirt on. He looks like Captain Kirk in the turd season of Start Trek: TOS.
One reason I loved this show was how...masculine it was, how muscular all the characters were. It wasn't too maudlin or weepy or self-indulgent--the characters tended to be pretty aggressive. JR was the central character, after all, and he's an icon of "Me and mine" (Anne Boleyn's motto). He had such great lines too like "Once you get rid of integrity, the rest is a piece of cake!" and of course my favorite, "Whoever she is, you'd better believe she'll be more of a woman than the slut I'm lookin' at right now!" God, that's awesome. Interestingly, Pam was originally intended to be the focus of the seris, as the Juliet half of the Romeo and Juliet couple of Bobby and Pam. And a lot of the roles were switched around--I think Steve Kanaly was supposed to play Cliff, or maybe Ken Kercheval was supposed to be Ry. Also, Linda Evans was supposed to play Pam--ugh, I can't imagine her as the fiesty Pam. Dallas was so much more interesting than Dynasty, which I could never warm up to.
I love how Lucy and Ry (the Sotuhfork foreman) are having an affair in the first couple of episodes, and then suddenly three seasons later we find out that Ry is Jock Ewing's illegitimate son (and hence Lucy's half-uncle). And the writers never mentioned it or pursued it. They were probably hoping the viewers had forgotten.
The second episode on the disc has a scene that takes place at a disco. The director shoots most of the episode pretty conventionally, but when they get to the disco all of a sudden, the camera angles are off the hook and just crazy. Perhaps he was trying to simulate the effects of dropping acid at the disco. MANY butt shots, including Charlene Tilton's and Victoria Principal's. And all the women are wearing that late '70s fashion staple, slacks.
The other DVD I watched was Super Size Me, an awesome documentary about McDonald's, obesity in America and Big Business. This guy, Morgan Spurlock, is inspired by the lawsuits against McDonald's (the ones where the teenage girls are suing McD's for making them fat) and decides to go on an all-McD's diet for one-month. The guy gains 25 lbs. and actually gets sick--his cholesterol, etc. goes WAY up. It's quite funny--there's one scene, on the second day of the diet, where he's just finished a full, super-sized meal of a QuarterPounder and fries, and he feels terrible. He starts listing how he feels ("I got the McGurgles...the McGas is starting up...I got the McShakes, the McHeadache...") and then stops, leans out the window and pukes. It's horrifying and hilarious--I couldn't stop laughing. I also love the one scene where he's talking to a lawyer right outside a McD's and the angle of the shot makes it appear as though Ronald is just hanging out with them, in on the discussion. It's very funny to look at. A great movie.
