FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: The Green Hornet [DVD] [1974]

The Green Hornet [DVD] [1974]
enlarge	Director: Robert L. Friend;Norman Foster;Larry Peerce;E. Darrell Hallenbeck;Leslie H. Martinson;James Komack;William Beaudine;Murray Golden Actor: Bruce Lee Studio: Revelation Films Category: DVD List Price: ~~£3.99~~ Buy New: £1.26 as of 23/11/2009 11:13 GMT details You Save: £2.73 (68%) New (11) Used (1) from £1.26 Seller: gzoop Rating: 2 reviews Sales Rank: 17374 Format: Dolby, PAL, Widescreen Languages: English (Unknown), English (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 0 Discs: 1 Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 90 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5027182611164 ASIN: B00005NKBL Theatrical Release Date: September 9, 1966 Release Date: August 4, 2008 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review A single season TV show, originally aired in 1966-7, IThe Green Hornet/I was produced by William Dozier as a stable-mate for his more popular IBatman/I series. Originally a 1940s radio character (and the grand-nephew of the Lone Ranger), the Green Hornet was another masked crime fighter with a secret identity and a sidekick (not to mention a cool car, the Black Beauty, and a memorable theme, a jazzy riff on "Flight of the Bumblebee"). Newspaper magnate Britt Reid (Van Williams) dons a mask and slouch hat to fight corruption in the big city. In place of Robin or Tonto, GH has Kato (Bruce Lee), a martial arts expert-chauffeur whose name inspired Inspector Clouseau's assistant and who seems to blow the secret identity gaff by using his real name in both civilian life and masked adventuring. While IBatman/I was a colourful exercise in camp, with over-the-top villains played for laugh and a pop art hipness, IThe Green Hornet/I was a mundane pulp adventure with very little humour and very little in the character and plot departments. p After the superstardom and early death of Bruce Lee, 20th Century Fox decided to cobble together a couple of theatrical feature films from this property, of which this 1974 effort is the first. The bulk of the film consists of four episodes crudely spliced together. Scattered throughout are bizarrely irrelevant fight scenes from other episodes, which make the already disjointed plotting quite surreal. The television image was cropped to make a widescreen film, which means the tops of heads and hats are lopped off the frame with alarming regularity. Though an interesting curio, fans might have preferred a release of individual episodes.p BOn the DVD/B: This letterboxed transfer is probably the best the film could ever be made to look, considering it was probably shot on 16mm, then blown up and cropped for widescreen release. The quality varies notably from scene to scene, suggesting that the source episodes were in wildly different shape. The extras include thorough cast notes on Williams, Lee and under-used heroine Wende Wagner, still-image and film photo galleries, a quarter-hour featurette on the Black Beauty (flawed by the fact that the current owner is one of the dullest speakers in America), some shots of the Black Hornet Corgi model (oddly available in the UK in the 1960s, though the show didn't air on British television), a solid essay on the history of the character, notes on "The Bruce and Brandon Lee Association" and a funky if incomplete trailer for IBlack Samurai/I. --IKim Newman/I

Customer Reviews: The Kato show November 6, 2001 workman01@hotmail.com (Newport, Wales, UK) 8 out of 8 found this review helpful If like me you grew up watching kitch drama made in the 1960s and 1970s then you'll probably love this. The main feature comprises scenes from a number of episodes, so you really get a feel for the series. Bruce is wonderful, it's no wonder they called it the Kato show in Hong Kong. I can't wait for the second feature film to be released! Why but this when you can watch paint dry? January 12, 2004 0 out of 6 found this review helpful I think the question above about sums up this "film". To be perfectly honest if I could have given this film 0 stars out of 5 I would have. Compared to this alleged film Boredom Beaters 3 is a masterpiece. And no, I'm not remaining annonymous for fear of repurcussions. It's because I had this DVD as a Christmas present(more like a Christmas puniahment!) and wouldn't want to offend anyone. I hope this review will act as a warning to future people intent on buying crappy presents for people. BORING!

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