Articles - Movie Reviews by Merc50

DVD's: All are letterbox (the way they should be), and I think they will be of interest to colonial gamers and fans of the 19th Century.

The Wild Bunch: You can't go wrong with this one if you like Western shoot em ups. Great restoration and the extra footage adds to the film. A must buy.

Mountains of the Moon: Great movie about Burton and Speke's search for the source of the Nile. Great action at the start (Burton gets speared in the mouth), but it can get slow in places.

Ghost in the Darkness: Lets just say its a fun romp with colorful characters and ignore the claims to history. The movie takes a great true story and adds drama and action, but its still a good movie.

Legionnaire: Jean-Claude Van Damme joins the French Foreign Legion and fights in the Rif War. Its really is a decent movie, and besides...its about the Rif War! Why oh why have we not seen minis for the Rif War in Morocco yet?

Lion of the Desert: Great battles in this one! Like the Rif War in "Legionnaire," it features a conflict that just begs to be put on the game table with proper minis.

Off Topic DVD's worth looking at:

Das Boot: The Directors cut is another must have. Maybe one of the best war films ever!

Stalingrad: Good movie, but slow in parts and depressing. A great battle scene for a factory is found in the movie, along with sewer fighting. A must have for fans of the Eastern Front.

The Green Berets: The Duke making America strong. Corny, overdone, but has a great battle scene and is a classic none the less.

Hamburger Hill: Good action can be found in this movie, but its not the best Viet Nam movie by far. " Full Metal Jacket" and "Apocalypse Now" are much better films.

About "Zulu" and "Zulu Dawn."

Zulu is supposed to come out on DVD anytime now, but no word about Zulu Dawn yet. I must point out that the recently released VHS copies on the movie are of a poor quality, and I can not recommend them unless you are such a fan of the movie that you must have a copy. Second hand Laserdiscs of "Zulu Dawn" sell for about 100-150 dollars US these days, and I know of one copy that sold for 200 bucks. Somebody needs to get this one on DVD soon.

VaVoom SoKKo has emailed TinyWars.com a little more info on this:

"I just got the one with Mike Cain for about $8 at best Buy. Cover looked cheeze but good quality transfer. I hope this helps you"

About "The Wind and the Lion."

A great version exists on Laserdisc, but no word on a DVD version yet. Great movie and a must see if you have not yet.