By: Lucyinthesky
Warner Bros. Archives provided TheYoungFolks.com with some of their newly remastered DVDs, including ‘Sweet Hostage’, ‘Black Zoo’ and ‘The Phantom of Hollywood’. Here are some reviews on the three DVDs! Make sure to click the links below if you’re interested in buying them.
‘Sweet Hostage’
Director: Lee Philips
Starring: Linda Blair, Martin Sheen & Jeanne Cooper
Distributed: Warner Bros. Archive
Release date: 1975
Running Time: 91 minutes
This was a made-for-TV film in which Leonard Hatch (Martin Sheen) escapes a mental facility and later finds Doris Mae (Linda Blair), an illiterate 17 year old girl, whose car broke down and decides to give her a ride. Against her will, he kidnaps her but soon enough the amount of time spent with each other becomes somewhat of a Stockholm syndrome relationship, and the same man who took her away from her family teaches her how to read, and eventually how to love. Doris Mae is faced with a decision: to go back with her family or to run away with the man that has taught her more about live than everybody else?
Like the tagline says, “was it kidnapping…or a rescue?”.
Should you watch it? Yes, if you’re down to go on a time machine back to the 70’s films and delve into the topic of Stockholm syndrome and how someone can actually prefer to live with their captor instead of their family, and watch some amazing performances, then this is the movie for you! The DVD quality is amazing by the way.
Buy the DVD here: http://www.wbshop.com/Sweet-Hostage/1000232033,default,pd.html
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‘Black Zoo’
Directed by: Robert Gordon
Starring: Michael Gough, Jeanne Cooper, Rod Lauren, Virginia Grey, Jerome Cowan, Elisha Cook, Jr.
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Archive
Release Date: 1963
Running time: 88 minutes
Michael Conrad (Michael Gough) is a private zoo owner of Conrad’s Animal Kingdom and leader of a cult in where they worship animals that he owns. The animals obey Conrad’s every command, so after two visits by sketchy realtor/developer by the name of Jeffrey Stengle (Jerome Cowan), he comes into the picture with the idea to buy all of Conrad’s estate, Conrad decides to take the matter on his own hands and with the help of his animals decides to murder Stengle. Conrad becomes so manipulating with his animals, getting his way out of every situation, that with their help he even gets to control his wife Edna (Jeanne Cooper). Conrad even forces his mute son Carl (Rod Lauren) to commit the murders, he is the only witness of Conrad’s ways but his inability to speak doesn’t let him tell anyone, as well as the fear that somehow Conrad finds out that he told someone he would come after him with his animals.
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Should you watch it? If you’re down for some heavy organ music throughout the film that enhances the horror theme, that shows the relationship between a master and their pet, the way a man’s ambition manipulates everything around him becomes greater than his own self, then this is the movie for you.
Buy the DVD here: http://www.wbshop.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-WB-Site/default/Product-Show?pid=1000230370
‘The Phantom of Hollywood’
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Director: Gene Levitt
Starring: Skye Aubrey, Jack Cassidy & Jackie Coogan
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Archives
Release date: 1974
Running time: 74 mins
Another made for TV movie, ‘The Phantom of Hollywood’ is somewhat of a modernization of ‘The Phantom of The Opera, this time around the plot is: Worldwide Studios is the #1 studio in the country, but times are hard and movies aren’t being made like they used to before, so when its time to sell the studio people find out that apparently there have been murders going on in the back lot of the studio, apparently someone has been living back there for decades and will not give up their home.
Should you watch it? If you’re a ‘Phantom of The Opera’ fan, this film misses the whole point, PoTO was great because of its love story and here it lacks it completely. So unless you want to see Hollywood’s unsuccesful take on the tale, then this is the movie for you.
Buy the DVD here: http://www.wbshop.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-WB-Site/default/Product-Show?pid=1000231151
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