glaxona Reviews

Cat and Mouse (1975)

Lovely film deserving of DVD transfer

[9/10 · 29 August 2005]

This film has stayed near the top of my recommendation list since I first saw it in 1976, in spite of the fact that I haven't seen it but once since then, when I found a copy on Betamax (remember Sony?).

The storyline is an interesting and romantic mystery between a detective and the femme fatale suspect. The many plot twists and turns are only bettered by the wonderful cinematography and mr. LeLouch's delicious direction through the streets of Paris and the countryside of France.

I have seen many "foreign" films the past 30 years, and this one has continued to hold a fond place in my memory. There is so much dreck on video, and so many pleasant little films for the over-twelve audience have simply slipped through the cracks and disappeared into the mists of time. A real shame for those of us tired of seeing endless scenes of carnage and violence...

The Apple War (1971)

Funny fanciful tale of magical retribution

[9/10 · 29 August 2005]

I loved this film when I first saw it in Seattle at the Egyptian Moore Theater in 1972. The Moore used to run this film regularly, and there was as much a cult following for this film as for Rocky Horror.

Great fun, with giants and other magical bits and pieces conspiring to rid their town of a corporative nightmare, "Deutschneyland, a gigantic amusement park for German tourists." Gentle fun and a lot of laughs.

Although not available on DVD (though I once found a bootleg copy dubbed in German on VHS!), The Apple War would be welcomed by a lot of folks, as would other films of this era, such as "Cat and Mouse" by Claude LeLouch, "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin," "No, Actually," and many, many others. There were a lot of terrific films and television series made in the 1970s, just prior to video becoming a household commodity, and I feel sure there is a ready market on couches around the world just waiting for their release.