Legion of the Dollar DVDs

Loaded up on $1 DVDs at Wal-Mart last week. All are from Digiview Products, have flat washed out pictures, and the sound on most is murky. There are chapter stops and no extras but a clip reel of other films available from them.

"Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur" - A collection of this and eight other cartoons, most of which are Daffy and Warner Bros. cartoons that turn up on bargain discs.

"Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Vol 2." - Three episodes of the 1950s Holmes series shot in France. Have only watched part of this, too little to comment.

"Incident on a Dark Street" - a legal procedural 1972 TV movie about federal prosecutors of the Justice Dept. starring lots of vaguely familar faces from 70s TV. Costars William Shatner as a corrupt city official whose hair, mustache, and clothing could have inspired the Beastie Boys in their "Sabotage" video. Seems like a TV pilot really.

"The Conflict" - a 1973 religious drama starring Martin Sheen, Cyril Cusack, and Trevor Howard. Based on a Brian Moore novel called "Catholics" (the back of the case even calls the film by that name, but the title of the film is cut off on the disc during the credits), Sheen is a priest sent by Rome to investigate an isolated Irish abby that is still saying the Latin Mass when they aren't supposed to. May be too "inside baseball" for most but as an ex-Catholic I found it interesting if dated with it's references "liberation theology". Costars a young Michael Gambon and an old Andrew Keir.

"It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time" - a Canadian comedy from the early 70s about minor scam artists Anthony Newley and his ex-wife Stephanie Powers. Lots of bad 70s clothing and atmosphere, costarring Issac Hayes and a young John Candy (but the front of the disc says they are the stars) in minor roles. Not awful, but few true laughs.

"Project Kill" - Directed by the late William Girdler and starring Leslie Nielsen (referred to as Neilson every time on the case blurb) and Gary Lockwood. A convoluted plot with spies on super drugs, Nielsen goes renegade for some reason and gets mixed up with drug smugglers while Lockwood tracks him down. I'll have to watch it again to make any sense of the story. Shot in the Philipines, I began to wonder if MST3K ever did this one, I don't think so, maybe they should have. The case says "not rated" but cautions may not be suitable for kids, yet there is an MPAA "R" rating card at the end of the film. Contains what may be the most underwhleming martial arts fight of all time between Nielsen and Lockwood.

"The Bodyguard" - Oh Yeah! Sonny Chiba takes on the drug dealing Japanese branch of the Italian Mafia (stereotypical Italian mustaches must be standard issue when you join) and a trio of killers. Very violent, but it's hard see anything in full frame plus the director seems to be channeling Jess Franco with his obsession for zooming closeups. Chiba styles and profiles in three piece suits. Whoever worked over this American version shot footage of American martial artists (claiming to be Chiba's buddies) practicing their moves by trying to imitate Chiba and Bruce Lee's styles. Includes the Ezekiel 25:17 verses spoken by Sam Jackson in "Pulp Fiction" as an opening crawl with "Chiba the Bodyguard" replacing the words "the Lord". Must be where QT got the idea from. Also includes footage of martial artists practicing during the opening credits while chanting " Chiba! Chiba! Chiba!" Worth finding, highly recommended for all the wrong reasons.