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Terrahawks - The Complete Series (DVD)
by mjc121
Terrahawks was the last puppet animation programme created by the late great Gerry Anderson. Out of all of them it was, and still is my favourite mainly because it was on TV when I was growing up but also because of the noughts and crosses game at the end.
However, in this series latex puppets were used in place of the wooden ... marionettes used in Anderson's previous series. This was partly to keep costs down due to the low budget he had to work with but also it enabled movement without the need for wires so the puppets could be made to walk without having to jump them up and down as much.
This box set is made of 10 discs and contains all 39 episodes for the three series and a special bonus disc. It is currently on sale for £22.49 from a certain online retailer.
Each episode is about 25 minutes in length.
Brief plot:
Some of this takes up the first 5 minutes of the first episode so not giving too much away.
The year is 2020 and NASA's base on Mars has been attacked by Zelda, an android who was accidentally made self-aware on her own planet of 'Guk'. She has sworn to wipe out all human life in the universe and Earth is her next target. On Earth a small group of fighters, the Terrahawks, has been set up to defend Earth form Zelda, her rather odd 'family' and Zelda's army of monsters.
Each episode shows Zelda, helped (or should that be hindered) by her family destroy the Terrahawks so she can invade Earth to continue her mission.
Main Characters:
The Terrahawks:
Doctor "Tiger" Ninestein (voiced by Jeremy Hitchen): is the leader of the Terrahawks and is a clone of his creator. One of nine clones in existence any of the remaining eight clones can replace him should something unfortunate happen. Rather trigger happy and does not suffer fools gladly.
Captain Mary Falconer (voiced by Denise Bryer): Battle hawk's pilot and the voice of reason especially towards Ninestein. She, unlike Ninestein values life - even those of Zelda's army of monsters. Highly intelligent but can let her heart rule her head.
Captain Kate Kestrel (voiced by Anne Ridler - speaking, Moya Griffiths - singing): Hawk wing's pilot and also has an alter ego as an international pop singer. She changes her hair colour more times than most fanatical members of the gourmet society have had hot dinners. She is sort of half way between Ninestein and Mary in her outlook but is willing to speak her mind on things.
Lieutenant Hawkeye (voiced by Ben Stevens): The gunner of Hawk wing and a dead eye shot. A bit of a sheep as he has a tendency to blindly follows instructions for the majority of the time. Perhaps an underused character in some respects and he is distinctly absent from a number of the episodes.
Lieutenant Hiro (voiced by Jeremy Hitchen): The commander of the Terrahawk's space station. Highly logical and at times seemingly more intelligent that Ninestein although he is careful not to show the fact. He has a strong sense of duty and can be found talking to his plans on the space station.
The Terrahawks are aided by the zeroids - a group of spherical robots which have the ability to increase their mass and each one has a slightly different quirk and voice e.g. Sargent Major Zero (voiced by Windsor Davies) sees himself as the leader - a typical sergeant major in many ways, loud and opinionated. Dix-Huit has a rather put on French accent and the stereotypical mustache.
Zelda and her cronies:
Zelda (voiced by Denise Bryer): An android that is a blood thirsty as Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan rolled into one. Her principle objective is to wipe out all human life. She has taken over Mars and is now hell bent of conquering earth. She has powers to teleport herself and others as well as make things change in size. She appears to tolerate her family rather than like them.
Cy-star (voiced by Anne Ridler): Zelda's rather dim witted sister. She goes along with Zelda's plans but is more interested in partying and is more hyperactive than a five year old. Everything has to be explained to her in words of one syllable and still she rarely understands it.
Young-star (voiced by Ben Stevens): Zelda's idiotic and lazy son. Young-star tries to get out of everything and the only thing that terrifies him more than some of his mother's monsters is his mother herself. Young-star could not even organise a you know what in a brewery, much to Zelda's constant annoyance.
It-star (voiced by Anne Ridler and Jeremy Hitchen): Cy-star's child born part way through the series. It-star has a major split personality, a sweet innocent girl and an evil scheming boy. S/he is the apple of Zelda's eye and as the boy helps Zelda to plot her invasions of earth - only for the plans to be mucked up by Young-star.
Zelda has robots of her own her cubes which have quite a lot of fire power but unlike the zeroids they are all the same.
What I think of it:
Whilst there has been great strides in animation since this was made I still think for the budget and the fact it was the 1980s it does stand up well. The fact no instantly recognisable voices have been involved I think allows this to stand up on its own merits. The delivery of the voices in particular Zelda's manic rather insane laughter is excellent. In fact when I first watched this in the 80s her laugh scared me slightly as did one or two of her monsters. Ok a little silly looking at how bad they are - think the tackiest Dr Who monsters from the original run only much less realistic and you get the ones used here. The majority of the sets look like they were made by a Blue Peter presenter with a serious hang over. The special effects, such as they are, are limited to small pyrotechnics and Zelda's monsters disappearing. My favourite one is, however, where HUDSON (Nienstein's car) changes colour - apparently due to it being painted in what they referred to as 'chameleon' paint. It is, however, this low budget tacky sets that I find endearing about the series.
The storylines for each episode all run along the good vs. evil line and they do get quite repetitive as each story is much like the last just with a different monster and a different way for Young-Star to muck it all up. Whilst the way the Terrahawks manage to foil Zelda's plans do differ as well a bit more variety in plot lines would have been good.
The majorly irritating character is that of Kate's record producer, Stu Dapples (no, seriously that is his name - honest) permanently warring his earphones. His personality is permanently like that of a child that has had too many E-numbers. Constantly running around saying how great everything is. Although the bonus to it is that you do tend to get a different Kate Kestrel song each episode, some of which are fairly good. In one episode Kate is selected to represent the solar system in the galactic song contest - an obvious micky take of Eurovision.
There are a few comic moments in the series, mainly centring around Zelda's contempt for her families stupidity. Also Windsor Davies' laugh well whenever you hear that you can't help but smile. His character in Terrahawks is rather like the character he played in 'It aint half hot mum' (for those of you who remember that) right down to his use of the terms 'you horrible lot' and 'lovely boy' Davies' natural wit does come through and he does seen to have a lot of fun doing the voice form the character.
As a child one of my favourite bits was the noughts and crosses game with the closing credits. Played between the zeroids (noughts) and the cubes (crosses). My brother and I would always try to guess who would win. contrary to popular belief the cubes did not always win - but they did cheat to win the ones they did.
Extras:
Each disc has a small amount of additional material on it. This is mainly biogs of the characters and the ships of both sides. There are also a few scripts included as well.
Bonus disc:
Revisiting the future:
the intro to the series is shown but with pics of the voice artists in place of some of the characters. This follows with interviews with the cast describing their lives and how they became involved in Terrahawks. This is interlaced with snippets of the four main cast members re-performing some of the scripts. Amazing really how many voices came from so few actors.
Gerryhawks:
A sort of puppet version of a meeting supposedly between GerryAnderson and Christopher Burr discussing the new series. This is old and a rarely seen, possibly as it wasn't made by Anderson and Burr. The quality of the video is a bit patchy due to its age and possible poor storage of the tapes it was taken from. Whilst this isn't all that good it does make a reasonable addition to the disk. However, none of the character voices are the originals and are fairly poor imitations.
Interviews:
There are 3 more in this section with some of those who worked on the series.
The graphics featurette has the US closing titles which are much worse than the original British one. The interview with Kevin Davies (graphics designer) talking about where he started and hoe he became involved with the series. He also discusses the problems they had producing the computer graphics and transferring to film with what would be by today's standards very crude and slow computers. Also how they got around the fact they were using 16mm film rather than the usual 35mm showing how the opening titles were done including the use of letterset
Other interviews are with one of the puppet makers Richard Greggory saying how they were made and how they got them to move their facial features etc. Also an interview with the special effects director Steve Begg saying how he started and getting involved in the series.
Unseen footage:
Some of the filming which never made it to the series. Again some of it is poor quality but as it wasn't used it is of little conciquence. There is also no sound for this section - but you are told about this at the start.
Out takes:
This is more of an 'Easter egg' feature and it only visable directly after watching the extra 'revisiting the future' as it is a few out takes of one of the sketches the cast did whilst filming their interviews.
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The Outsiders (DVD)
by teafan11
The Outsiders
This has to be one of my favourite films of all time. The film is based on the book "The Outsiders" by S.E Hinton and is so emotive. The film deals with a variety of sensitive topics in a thoughtful and entertaining way. I consider it to be an iconic 80s film released in ... 1983.
The story is set in late sixties America, in an area of clear class and wealth divide. The main focus of the story is around the three Curtis brothers Pony-Boy who is the youngest, Darry and Soda-Pop played by C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze and Rob Lowe, who living in a poor part of town. They have lost their parents and are coping alone with the help of their "gang". Darry, who is the oldest, is working to keep both Soda and Pony out of care. Soda has dropped out of school and working at the local "gas" station to make ends meet. Each of the gang have equally challenging upbringings, and particular emphasis is on Johnny played by Ralph Macchio who is the "puppy" of the group and who has an abusive family but desperately wants to be "wanted".
Other members of the gang include Dally played by Matt Dillon, the rogue of the group and quite clearly the most dangerous, he has a very special connection to Johnny and it lovely to watch this tough guy trying and failing not to show his sensitive side. There is also Steve played by Tom Cruise, he appears to be a bit of a jack-the-lad and is friends with Soda-Pop, they both work in the local gas station.
Last but definitely not least is Two-Bit, the most colourful member of the group, and is a very entertaining cast member played wonderfully by Emilio Estevez.
An all-star cast and each brings something special to the film and bringing the characters alive.
The story starts by introducing you to Pony-Boy who is the main character, as he tells his story from the beginning with the introduction of "As I stepped out into the bright sunlight...."
The film deals with poverty, abuse and class divide, but also the gang culture of sixties America. There are two main class sects, the Socs and the "greasers". The Soc`s are the rich kids and the greasers are the poor kids, this obviously bring about friction and resentment and usually turns to violence. There are fights and "rumbles" amongst the groups. The film also touches on drinking when violence spirals out of control through alcohol, vengeance and jealousy.
When Johnny and Pony-Boy are forced to go on the run you begin to see the true extent of their friendship and loyalty. Also the extent friends will go to protect each other, truly touching. I can't say more without ruining the story for you but it is truly a great film well worth a watch.
There is a very poignant poem that Pony quotes to Johnny whilst on the run called "nothing gold can stay" by Robert frost and it sums up everything and just a few words, this has become one of my favourite poems. Both the poem and the soundtrack have been perfectly chosen to enhance the story and emotes feelings in the audience.
The sound track is by Steve Wonder and is called "Stay Gold" and was written for the film and is perfectly linked to the film.
The film is directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written for screen by Kathleen Rowell. Each have done an admirable job and have created a fantastic film without diverting to far from the book which is incredible. I hate it so much when you get a film that is supposed to be based on a book only to find that they are completely different.
I can't recall the price I paid for this as I have had it for many years, but have recently seen the 2 disc addition available on amazon for little less than fourteen pound with free delivery. The movie is a 12 rating which I consider to be appropriate due to the sensitive story lines and violence (although this is very minimal). However saying that this does depend on the sensitivity of the child, some ten year olds maybe mature enough to handle the issues touched in the film.
Although this film seems intense and involved it can be watched for purely entertainment value and you would thoroughly enjoy it, but as I have been looking at it for a home educational resource to go along with the book, I have gone a little more in-depth and delved into the issues involved to help guide and educate my son.
Overall the film is fantastic from both an educational and entertainment viewpoint with a great cast and story line. I have watched this film more times than I can remember and still find it great.
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Razia Sultan (DVD)
by anonymili
Razia Sultan is a Bollywood film released way back in 1983. The film's dialogue is in Hindi and Urdu. The film depicts the story of Razia Sultan, the only woman in Islamic history to have been a recognised Indian sovereign.
PLOT
The sultan dotes on his lovely daughter Razia as she is good natured, committed to ... the welfare of their subjects and also a good soldier. He has no interest in putting any of his sons in power after himself due to their bad behaviour and poor reputations, womanizing and boozing. Unfortunately there are people plotting in the background to ensure Razia doesn't take power including her step-mother who wants her own son or son-in-law to take the throne. The fact that Razia seems to be romantically involved with a lowly Abyssinian slave Yaqub only gives those that wish Razia's downfall even more ammunition.
Will Razia get to rule her people? Will the people ever accept a woman as their leader?
ANALYSIS
Hema Malini plays the role of Razia Sultan with grace and dignity. She carries herself elegantly throughout the film and looks a picture of beauty in every scene she appears in. Although she looked perfect as a princess, I wouldn't say her acting was anything particular to note.
Dharmendra looks very odd throughout the film as he is smeared in dark paint to make him look credible as a man of Ethiopian/Eritrea descent. Sadly I felt like laughing every time he appeared on screen as it just reminded me of the rather embarrassing black minstrels of yesteryear American TV, The Black and White Minstrel Show. I wasn't at all impressed by Dharmendra's acting in the film and the fact that I was wanted to laugh every time he appeared on screen.
I imagine Malini and Dharmendra were chosen for the leads in the film as they were Bollywood's darlings at the time having fallen in love with each other and gotten married in 1980 (although he was and still is officially married to his first wife).
Sultan Altamash gives the slave Yakut his freedom and gives him the title of Quwwatul-e-mulk (apparently meaning "chieftain" or "commander") for his loyalty to the Sultan's daughter as well as bestowing him with a fort and some land. You feel rather sorry for this proud but well respected Sultan whose son Feroz is a boozing rapist. He's trying to deal with matters of state when a woman comes to him in tears saying his son has kidnapped her daughter to have his wicked way with her. He tires of Feroz's doting mother who has spoilt their son to such an extent that he thinks it's acceptable to do whatever he pleases to women and constantly drink himself into a stupor. Can you imagine a ruler in this day and age taking matters into his own hands to physically go and rescue a girl from his wayward son? Pradeep Kumar plays the Sultan ably enough but there's some over-acting there which grates at times. Unfortunately this over-acting is prevalent throughout the film by pretty much all of the characters.
Parveen Babi plays the trusted friend and confident of Razia, who also happens to be the sultan's chief minister's daughter. Babi looks beautifully serene throughout her scenes and was a good choice for the role.
Rather bizarrely there's a scene in the film where the evil prince is riding his elephant around the kingdom and spots a young woman bathing in her back yard, he gets the elephant to break down the brick wall (?!) and kidnaps the woman in broad daylight and rapes her atop the elephant before throwing her to the ground from his carriage! I know this is supposed to be a historical film but scenes like this weren't really necessary to show just how far gone Feroz is. It did feel a lot of the scenes intended to show hardship and struggle felt more like scenes put in to drag out the length of the film.
There is no doubt that a lot of money was spent in the making of the film, what with all the beautiful location shoots and very expensive looking royal outfits. Not to mention the camels across the dessert scenes and the 100s of extras hired to play soldiers and subjects.
As someone of Indian origin I can't say I liked much of the behaviours portrayed of that era. These were barbaric times where people thought it acceptable to own slaves and rape women and kill people at the slightest whim. The laws of the land (such as they were) were quite unfair. Can you imagine you're a decent law-abiding person and your son has committed crimes including rape and murder that attract a punishment of public lashings (as the crime of murder wasn't proven) and then you have to take the majority of the lashings in his place as he's such a wimp that he can't bear his punishment?
I have to admit to also feeling quite uncomfortable with some of the racist behaviours portrayed in the film. For example in one scene when Yakut turns up to fight for the honour of the kingdom, the Khalil of Altunia turns him down saying "No! How can a Turk fight against a Negro!" and another character says "Balban has come here to tell you that our Sultan's ever increasing unreasonable favours on a Negro!" (a sentence I might add which didn't make much sense on its own)!
One of the redeeming features of the film was that it had some memorable songs in it. One such song was Ay Dil-ey Nadan by Lata Mangeshkar. This is a beautifully haunting lullaby like melody picturised on Hema Malini wondering around lost in the dessert. The editing of the actual scenes for the song were not too good to be honest, one can see Malini's hands and feet looking considerably darker than her face which made it look unnatural. Also the lip synching could have been done better (this applies to all of the songs in the film actually). I know Bollywood stars pretty much always have their songs dubbed but in Razia Sultan this was more obvious than most other films. Still I was saying how beautiful the song was, it's worth a listen to if you like classic Bollywood music. Jalta Hai Badaan is also a very catchy tune and is as easy to listen to as Aaye Zanjeer Ki Rasta, Tere Jeet and Hare Yana Vanna. The choreography by Gopi Krishna is worth a mention as it was delivered beautifully.
I found the film's length to be somewhat excessive. Even to tell a story as regal as this, there were quite a few scenes which could have easily been cut which wouldn't have impacted the story.
From what I know, the director of Razia Sultan, Kamal Amrohi, only directed 4 films in his career. I imagine the reason he directed so few was that he had a reputation for taking years to research his stories and this was also the case with Razia Sultan. Unfortunately for Amrohi at the time of this film's release it had been awaited for so long that it was rather a flop as it didn't live up to the public's expectations.
HISTORICALLY ACCURATE?
A little bit of background here regarding the Sultan of Delhi for those that are interested: the Delhi Sultanate period covered 5 dynasties mostly of Turkic or Afghan origin between around 1205 and 1525, finally being replaced by the Mughal dynasty. It is understood that the Urdu language was born during this time as a result of invading Persians, Turks and Arabs.
I understand that poetic license was used in the telling of the story of Razia Sultan. It was never actually 100% known whether Razia Sultan had an actual romantic relationship with her servant as depicted in the film or whether he was just her confidante and loyal servant as some believe. In the year 1236 Feroz and his power hungry mother were apparently assassinated but this is depicted differently in the film.
There are scenes in the film where Razia is sitting around relaxing with her female entourage quite indolently yet history shows she was supposed to be a busy and dedicated during her reign. In another scene she is shown to aim her arrow at and shoot dead a flying bird to show off to her chief minister just moments before she walks off with a tiger on a leash.
DVD
My DVD of this film is presented by Eros Entertainment/B4U World. I thought the transfer to DVD wasn't done very well and this marred my enjoyment of the film somewhat as there is a certain light fuzziness throughout which makes for a bit of a struggle to appreciate the grandeur of many scenes.
I have to say that I had to really concentrate on reading the subtitles when watching this film which made it more difficult to follow. I understand Hindi well enough not to have to totally rely on subtitles when watching a Bollywood flick but was unable to understand a lot of the dialogue for this film. Coupled with the fact that the subtitles weren't done very well (the level of English wasn't very good which made for some confusing subtitles) meant some of the dialogue didn't make much sense!
There are no real extras to speak, just a chance to advertise the company (Eros) and some other film trailers of that time.
RATING
Overall I wouldn't be inclined to give Razia Sultan any higher than 2 out of 5 stars. I struggled to stay interested to the end of the film as the story just seemed to drag on forever. The 2 stars I have actually awarded are for the scenery and music more than the story or acting.
TECHNICAL
Cast: Hema Malini, Dharmendra, Pradeep Kumar, Parveen Babi, Viyayendra, Ajit, Veena, Tajdar Amrohi, Sohrab Modi
Director: Kamal Amrohi
Producer: A K Misra
Music: Khayyam (although the DVD cover credits someone called Brahm Arenja of whom there is no information available)
Playback singers: Ustad Niyaz Ahmed, Asha Bhosle, Mahendra Kapoor, Jagjit Kaur,
Ustad Dilshad Khan, Ustad Fayez Ahmed Khan, Lata Mangeshkar, Kabban Mirza,
Sulakshana Pandit, Bhupendra Singh, Parveen Sultana
Cinematography: V K Murthy
Release date: 1983
Duration: 176 minutes
Certification: PG
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