The Wizard of Oz LaserDisc
Showing posts with label LaserDisc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LaserDisc. Show all posts
May 17, 2026
Margaret Hamilton articles/mentions
September 22, 2025
December 1, 2023
July 3, 2021
March 19, 2021
LaserDisc 14: The Fifth Element ~ Bruce Willis & Plavalaguna
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Today is the birthday of actor, Bruce Willis, who is an American actor and film producer. His career began on the off-Broadway stage in the 1970s. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series Moonlighting (1985–1989) and has since appeared in over 70 films, gaining widespread recognition as an action hero after his portrayal of John McClane in the Die Hard franchise (1988–2013) and other subsequent roles.
My favorite film of his is when he portrayed the character of Korben Dallas in the The Fifth Element, a 1997 French science-fiction movie written and directed by Luc Besson.
Besson started writing the story that became the movie when he was 16
years old; he was 38 when the film opened in cinemas.
LaserDisc front cover
The
story's premise is that every five thousand years, in conjunction with a
planetary arrangement, a 'Great Evil' appears whose purpose is to
destroy life. It is New York
at high noon in the year 2259 complete with thousands of flying cars,
Chinese junks floating incongruously among the melee and in one
astounding shot a vista of New York after the sea level has dropped with Manhattan perched atop a sheer cliff face. (plot link below).
One of the reasons I love this film is because the Diva, Plavalaguna, sings, l dolce suono, an aria from Lucia Di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti in one of the movie's scenes that is a visually and sonically stunning cinematic moment (link below)! The scene may look hokey by today's video standards but back then video was
not as sophisticated as it is now; at that time it was a mind blower!
back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
Comics artists Jean "Moebius" Giraud and Jean-Claude Mézières, whose books provided inspiration for parts of the film, were hired for production design. The costume design was by Jean-Paul Gaultier,
including the bandage dress that Leelou wears throughout the
first half of the movie.
Milla Jovovich - bandage dress
designer Jean Paul Gaultier
Gaultier
was very much involved with Besson
throughout the project in order to create something magical - creating
hundreds of costumes in total. The costumes themselves are bright,
colorful and fun and incorporate traditional materials as well as
looking futuristic (link below).
Bruce Willis & flight attendants
designer Jean Paul Gaultier
photographer unknown
The production was a truly international collaboration. Bruce Willis was born in Germany to a German mother and American father; he was brought to the U.S. by his family when he was two years old.
Bruce Willis - 1997
The heroine of The Fifth Element, Leeloo, played by Milla Jovovich, is an American actress, model, and musician who was born in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union. She emigrated with her parents to London when she was five, and then to Sacramento, California; she finally settled in Los Angeles seven months later.
The Diva, Plavalaguna, is superbly portrayed physically by Maïwenn Le Besco, a French actress and filmmaker who is of mixed Vietnamese, French and Algerian descent.
photo: Marko Dimic/PIXSELL
Every film has to have a villain. For this one, Gary Leonard Oldman fulfilled that role as Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg; Oldman was born in New Cross, London.
The comic relief is provided by Chris Tucker, an American actor and stand-up comedian from Atlanta, Georgia, as the flamboyant TV personality, Ruby Rhod.
Chris Tucker (Ruby Rhod)
Luc Paul Maurice Besson is a French film director, screenwriter, and producer; Besson was born in Paris, to parents who both worked as Club Med scuba-diving instructors. Influenced by this milieu, as a child Besson planned to become a marine biologist. He spent much of his youth travelling with his parents to tourist resorts in Italy, Yugoslavia and Greece.
photographer unknown
scenes from The Fifth Element
Gary Leonard Oldman as Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
Clifton Lloyd Bryan (Mangalore)
Chris Tucker (Ruby Rhod) left
& Bruce Willis (Korben Dallas) rightThe Fifth Element
costume designer Jean Paul Gaultier
side 4 is blank
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
American Cinematographer ~ The Fifth Element: a New Sci-Fi Aesthetic
Entertainment ~ There will never be another Fifth Element
Mental Floss ~ 13 Futuristic Facts About The Fifth Element
Screen Rant ~ The Fifth Element
YouTube links:
The Fifth Element ~
The Fifth Element (complete)
segments:
Diva Scene (Full version)
“Negative, I am a meat popsicle.”
~ Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis)
September 22, 2020
Titanic articles/mentions
~
Gavin Bryars ~ The Sinking of the Titanic
Titanic LaserDisc
mentions:
Tammy Grimes ~ The Unsinkable Molly Brown
~
July 31, 2019
1,001 LaserDiscs 13: Tom Petty ~ A Bunch of Videos & Some Other Stuff
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Tracklist:
Side 1:
A1 Introduction
A2 Jammin' Me
A3 Here Comes My Girl
A4 Interlude
A5 I Need To Know
A6 Interlude
A7 The Insider
A8 Interlude
A9 Don't Come Around Here No More
A10 Interlude
A11 The Waiting
A12 Interlude
A13 You Got Lucky
A14 Interlude
A15 Breakdown
A16 Interlude
A17 I'm Stupid
Side 2:
B1 Refugee
B2 Interlude
B3 I Won't Back Down
B4 Interlude
B5 Woman In Love
B6 Interlude
B7 American Girl
B8 End Credits
Notes:
Color approx. 64 minutes
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Barcode: 0 14381-6832-6
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers – A Bunch Of Videos And Some Other Stuff
Label: Image Entertainment, Inc. – ID6832TP
Series: The Music Disc –
Format: Laserdisc, 12", Compilation, Stereo, NTSC, CD Video
Country: US
Released: 1989
Genre: Rock
Net links:
Billboard ~ Tom Petty's 12 Greatest Videos
NY Times ~
Tom Petty, Classic Rocker? Sure. And Weird Video Star, Too
Rolling Stone ~ 10 Greatest Tom Petty Music Videos
Tom Petty discography
YouTube links:
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ~
A Bunch Of Videos And Some Other Stuff (29 min.)
Tom Petty ~ A Bunch of Videos & Some Other Stuff
Tom Petty ~ A Bunch of Videos & Some Other Stuff
LaserDisc back cover
photo by Styrous®
Tom Petty ~ A Bunch of Videos & Some Other Stuff
LaserDisc back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
Tom Petty ~ A Bunch of Videos & Some Other Stuff
LaserDisc back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
Tracklist:
Side 1:
A1 Introduction
A2 Jammin' Me
A3 Here Comes My Girl
A4 Interlude
A5 I Need To Know
A6 Interlude
A7 The Insider
A8 Interlude
A9 Don't Come Around Here No More
A10 Interlude
A11 The Waiting
A12 Interlude
A13 You Got Lucky
A14 Interlude
A15 Breakdown
A16 Interlude
A17 I'm Stupid
Side 2:
B1 Refugee
B2 Interlude
B3 I Won't Back Down
B4 Interlude
B5 Woman In Love
B6 Interlude
B7 American Girl
B8 End Credits
Notes:
Color approx. 64 minutes
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Barcode: 0 14381-6832-6
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers – A Bunch Of Videos And Some Other Stuff
Label: Image Entertainment, Inc. – ID6832TP
Series: The Music Disc –
Format: Laserdisc, 12", Compilation, Stereo, NTSC, CD Video
Country: US
Released: 1989
Genre: Rock
Net links:
Billboard ~ Tom Petty's 12 Greatest Videos
NY Times ~
Tom Petty, Classic Rocker? Sure. And Weird Video Star, Too
Rolling Stone ~ 10 Greatest Tom Petty Music Videos
Tom Petty discography
YouTube links:
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ~
A Bunch Of Videos And Some Other Stuff (29 min.)
~
~
June 25, 2019
1,001 LaserDiscs 11: Blade Runner ~ The Director's cut
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Viewfinder links:
Harrison Ford
Styrous® ~ Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Blade Runner ~ The Director's cut
LaserDisc front cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
Today is the anniversary of the release of the spectacular film, Blade Runner, released on June 25, 1982, in 1,290 theaters. That date was chosen by producer Alan Ladd Jr. because his previous highest-grossing films (Star Wars and Alien) had a similar opening date (May 25) in 1977 and 1979, making the 25th of the month his "lucky day".
And of course, the score for the film by Vangelis (link below) is stunning! The music ranges from heartrendingly beautiful to disturbingly surreal and eerie to dramatically thundering. It is one of finest electronic scores ever written, a dark but melodic combination of synthesizers that mirror the futuristic film noir envisioned by director Ridley Scott.
The original soundtrack release was delayed for over a decade, until 1994, despite the music being well-received by fans and critically acclaimed—it was nominated in 1983 for a BAFTA and Golden Globe as best original score. The soundtrack is regarded as a historically important piece in the genre of electronic music.
Blade Runner ~ The Director's cut
LaserDisc front cover
photo by Styrous®
There have been many versions of the film and the history of them is very confusing (links below) but the Director's Cut without the voice over used in the original version
is my favorite. In one story I read actor Harrison Ford objected to the voice over, in another Ridley Scott objected but in either case, the
producers thought the audience would not get the story. A
battle ensued but the producers won out and it was released with Ford
doing the voice over which he has stated he hated.
Blade Runner ~ The Director's cut
LaserDisc front cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
And of course, the score for the film by Vangelis (link below) is stunning! The music ranges from heartrendingly beautiful to disturbingly surreal and eerie to dramatically thundering. It is one of finest electronic scores ever written, a dark but melodic combination of synthesizers that mirror the futuristic film noir envisioned by director Ridley Scott.
The original soundtrack release was delayed for over a decade, until 1994, despite the music being well-received by fans and critically acclaimed—it was nominated in 1983 for a BAFTA and Golden Globe as best original score. The soundtrack is regarded as a historically important piece in the genre of electronic music.
Blade Runner ~ The Director's cut
LaserDisc front cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
Blade Runner is a neo-noir science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer and Sean Young, it is loosely based on the Philip K. Dick novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968). The film is set in a dystopian future Los Angeles of 2019, in which synthetic humans known as replicants are bio-engineered by the powerful Tyrell Corporation to work on off-world colonies. When a fugitive group of Nexus-6 replicants led by Roy Batty (Hauer) escapes back to Earth, burnt-out cop Rick Deckard (Ford) reluctantly agrees to hunt them down.
Blade Runner ~ The Director's cut
LaserDisc back cover
photo by Styrous®
Back in the sixties I read the short story by Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which Blade Runner
was based on. The book is nothing like the film version. In the book Deckard
is not in the slightest bit sympathetic, warm or even human as Ford eventually
becomes in the film. The story takes place in San Francisco in the book,
in Los Angeles in the film. The
story in the book is dismal from the start and remains so to the very
end. The film ends with some hope. There are very many other differences
(link below).
Blade Runner ~ The Director's cut
LaserDisc back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
So, the upshot is I loved the film not only better but in a way I have never loved a film; and I love many.
Blade Runner ~ The Director's cut
LaserDisc back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
Blade Runner ~ The Director's cut
LaserDisc back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
This 1991 LaserDisc pressing is on two discs and is a special widescreen edition in CAV standard play format.
Blade Runner ~ The Director's cut
detail photo by Styrous®
Viewfinder links:
Harrison Ford
Net links:
Plot
Cast
Versions of Blade Runner
Blade Runner Fandom ~ Blade Runner versions
The Bonus View ~ A History of Blade Runner on Laserdisc
Plot
Cast
Versions of Blade Runner
Blade Runner Fandom ~ Blade Runner versions
The Bonus View ~ A History of Blade Runner on Laserdisc
YouTube links:
Blade Runner (1982) Official Trailer
Blade Runner original version opening (1982)
Final scene, "Tears in Rain" Monologue
Blade Runner original version opening (1982)
Final scene, "Tears in Rain" Monologue
What Makes 'Tears in Rain" Special
Vangelis - Blade Runner Soundtrack (complete)
Blade Runner - book & movie Difference
The Blade Runner LaserDisc will be for sale on eBay
Vangelis - Blade Runner Soundtrack (complete)
Blade Runner - book & movie Difference
The Blade Runner LaserDisc will be for sale on eBay
"Blade Runner needs no explanation."
~ Rutger Hauer
Styrous® ~ Tuesday, June 25, 2019
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