The Moon-Spinners

Rating:
Summary: Hayley Mills Rocks!
Review: She is awesome! What has she done lately?

Rating:
Summary: Now I want to go to Crete and have an adventure!!!!
Review: The Moon-Spinners has to be one of my favorite movies of all time. Hayley Mills is the all-american girl....err...except for the fact that she's English (it makes no sense, but it is completely true). She gives a genuine performance and most girls can relate to her. I will not deny that this movie is completely cheesy, but it is all in the best way. This movie has everything; adventure, romance, drama, mystery, and is set in the beautiful isle of Crete. The love story is unique and original and will make you smile all over. This movie was acclaimed for being Hayley Mill's first onscreen kiss and I have to admit that it's a good one. I love how this movie embodies the essence of crete, with the beautiful beaches and little villages. I recommend this movie to people of all ages.

Rating:
Summary: Now I want to go to Crete and have an adventure!!!!
Review: The Moon-Spinners has to be one of my favorite movies of all time. Hayley Mills is the all-american girl....err...except for the fact that she's English (it makes no sense, but it is completely true). She gives a genuine performance and most girls can relate to her. I will not deny that this movie is completely cheesy, but it is all in the best way. This movie has everything; adventure, romance, drama, mystery, and is set in the beautiful isle of Crete. The love story is unique and original and will make you smile all over. This movie was acclaimed for being Hayley Mill's first onscreen kiss and I have to admit that it's a good one. I love how this movie embodies the essence of crete, with the beautiful beaches and little villages. I recommend this movie to people of all ages.

Rating:
Summary: the way a movie should be made
Review: This and other disney movies of the era bring back memories of movies on weekends. No matter how many times you see this movie, you are still on the edge of your seat in spots and you can't wait to see what happens next. Its older than my kids. Its great you can get these movies now for your own. As far as I am concerned there will never be actresses of the caliber of Miss Mills again. The times for real acting is long gone.

Rating:
Summary: "Moon-Spinners" a welcome DVD release
Review: This is a first-rate video of "The Moon-Spinners" if you take into account that it's a "full-screen presentation" only which cost it a rating star from me.

The folks at Disney apparently don't think their "lesser" live-action titles merit any special presentation...and, consequently,their fans are let down.

"The Moon-Spinners" was a very good summer release in 1964 based on a mystery novel by Mary Stewart and starred the always appealing Hayley Mills who made a mint for Disney when its animation unit was only so-so, despite "Mary Poppins."

The location of Crete, alone, should have warranted a widescreen presentation. The video is crisp and clean and the sound is fairly good throughout. The video bears the Dolby Digital trademark. Aside from subtitles, there are no audio choices.

Greek actress Irene Pappas, though way too underused, lends an authenticity that is not too severely distracted from by Eli Wallach in one of his patented bad-guy-in-dark-makeup roles. He doesn't chew the scenery, but he stops just short of doing it. The ever-delightful Joan Greenwood is appropriately British with a touch of ditz as Mills' aunt who is collecting folk tunes. Mills is very good as Nicki Ferris, a gal with a 60s sensibility who thinks nothing of doing the twist at a Greek wedding, and Peter McEnery is first-rate as a British man of mystery with a dangerous secret that Mills tries to unravel as she helps him elude some dangerous men.

This is a movie that resonates for me on many levels, not the least of which is that it perfectly captures some of the flavor of the Mediterranean with its evocative photography and music. The location is a very important character in this tale. Key, too, is the part of Alexis played by Michael Davis as an earnest, ostensibly Greek, boy with a Disneyesque tendency to throw Americanisms into every situation for comic relief. The comments are more than transparent if not annoying. He helps move things along, though, and that's a plus.

There are a couple of wonderful small parts: John LeMesurier passes himself off as a consul; he and Joan Hancock, whom he identifes as his wife, are extremely convincing. Hancock has quite a nice under-the-influence scene that hints at dipsomania.

Last but not least is silent screen legend Pola Negri as "Madam Habib" -- a wealthy woman who buys rare jewels and who is the target of Wallach, LeMesurier and McEnery. Negri is wonderful as the rich woman with a conscience but with a greater love for rare jewels. She more than holds her own in her scenes with Mills and Wallach and should have been making films on a regular basis. A showdown on her yacht "Minotaur" -- with all turning out well for the hero and heroine -- ends the film.

This film features a very impressive music score by Ron Grainer -- intensely atmospheric, moody, evocative and definitely among the best for the mystery genre of the 1960s....and given John Barry's James Bond entries for that period, that's saying something!

As for the ratio, there is a specific scene where it is quite obvious the theatrical presentation was wider than it is on DVD.

Hayley is following a blood trail in a church on Crete. As she spots each drop of blood, there is an orchestral punctuation (Grainer uses his main theme and each punctuation is on the first note of a melodic line). As she goes down some stairs, you get the punctuation before the blood spot enters the frame, and if you watch it over and over (as I did), you see that someone was thinking, "Oops, gotta get that blood spot in there."

I remember seeing it in a wider perspective in a theater. It may not have been much wider, but we might have been given what the director intended us to see.

This is a no-frills release that could have been exceptional with more care from the studio. I think it's a lot of fun and a good story. It's not mindbending or thought-provoking, but it's a good entertainment for almost any time of day or night.

Rating:
Summary: "Moon-Spinners" a welcome DVD release
Review: This is a first-rate video of "The Moon-Spinners" if you take into account that it's a "full-screen presentation" only which cost it a rating star from me.

The folks at Disney apparently don't think their "lesser" live-action titles merit any special presentation...and, consequently,their fans are let down.

"The Moon-Spinners" was a very good summer release in 1964 based on a mystery novel by Mary Stewart and starred the always appealing Hayley Mills who made a mint for Disney when its animation unit was only so-so, despite "Mary Poppins."

The location of Crete, alone, should have warranted a widescreen presentation. The video is crisp and clean and the sound is fairly good throughout. The video bears the Dolby Digital trademark. Aside from subtitles, there are no audio choices.

Greek actress Irene Pappas, though way too underused, lends an authenticity that is not too severely distracted from by Eli Wallach in one of his patented bad-guy-in-dark-makeup roles. He doesn't chew the scenery, but he stops just short of doing it. The ever-delightful Joan Greenwood is appropriately British with a touch of ditz as Mills' aunt who is collecting folk tunes. Mills is very good as Nicki Ferris, a gal with a 60s sensibility who thinks nothing of doing the twist at a Greek wedding, and Peter McEnery is first-rate as a British man of mystery with a dangerous secret that Mills tries to unravel as she helps him elude some dangerous men.

This is a movie that resonates for me on many levels, not the least of which is that it perfectly captures some of the flavor of the Mediterranean with its evocative photography and music. The location is a very important character in this tale. Key, too, is the part of Alexis played by Michael Davis as an earnest, ostensibly Greek, boy with a Disneyesque tendency to throw Americanisms into every situation for comic relief. The comments are more than transparent if not annoying. He helps move things along, though, and that's a plus.

There are a couple of wonderful small parts: John LeMesurier passes himself off as a consul; he and Joan Hancock, whom he identifes as his wife, are extremely convincing. Hancock has quite a nice under-the-influence scene that hints at dipsomania.

Last but not least is silent screen legend Pola Negri as "Madam Habib" -- a wealthy woman who buys rare jewels and who is the target of Wallach, LeMesurier and McEnery. Negri is wonderful as the rich woman with a conscience but with a greater love for rare jewels. She more than holds her own in her scenes with Mills and Wallach and should have been making films on a regular basis. A showdown on her yacht "Minotaur" -- with all turning out well for the hero and heroine -- ends the film.

This film features a very impressive music score by Ron Grainer -- intensely atmospheric, moody, evocative and definitely among the best for the mystery genre of the 1960s....and given John Barry's James Bond entries for that period, that's saying something!

As for the ratio, there is a specific scene where it is quite obvious the theatrical presentation was wider than it is on DVD.

Hayley is following a blood trail in a church on Crete. As she spots each drop of blood, there is an orchestral punctuation (Grainer uses his main theme and each punctuation is on the first note of a melodic line). As she goes down some stairs, you get the punctuation before the blood spot enters the frame, and if you watch it over and over (as I did), you see that someone was thinking, "Oops, gotta get that blood spot in there."

I remember seeing it in a wider perspective in a theater. It may not have been much wider, but we might have been given what the director intended us to see.

This is a no-frills release that could have been exceptional with more care from the studio. I think it's a lot of fun and a good story. It's not mindbending or thought-provoking, but it's a good entertainment for almost any time of day or night.

Rating:
Summary: Yet another Disney classic ruined on DVD!
Review: This is so sad! When will the Disney people understand that it is NOT the young kids of today who want to buy this movie? The willing consumers for a film like "Moon Spinners" are those who were kids when this film opened in theatres. I'm one! And I want my fond memories to look they way they did then! Which means sharp, fresh, colorful, and in the correct aspect ratios! This DVD is colorful! The rest is lacking! As a matter of fact, this disc is an exact copy of the old laserdisc issue. The Disney folks have not lifted a finger to clean dirt or scratches from the earlier transfer. Very annoying, not to mention the tight and ugly framing we get when the widescreen original is ignored. This is not a "scope" film, but there are still quite a lot of picture information missing on the sides. That also explains the foggy look. I often get the impression that the Disney organization care about their consumer products. But then I watch DVD:s like this one, "The Absent Minded Professor" and several others, and completely loose my faith. We fans want ALL Disney films on DVD to look like theatrical screenings. If not, we will simply refuse to buy any more. Period!

Rating:
Summary: The Moon-Spinners!
Review: This was a great movie. It had suspense, mystery, and even a little romance. I was glad there were no commercials when I saw it so I didn't have to wait for what happened next. What was it all about? It had to do with stolen jewels and attempted murder (or was it murders?) Let me just say I'm glad I wasn't living it in real life...

Rating:
Summary: lousey hayley mills film
Review: We love hayley at our house but not this film!She seemed dull,stilted and unnatural.The plot was strange and unbelievable.It wasn't even really appropriate to watch with your children one scene shows Hayley drunk.Rent and don't buy and watch it before your children do.It's more foe adults and children won't really enjoy it much.

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite movies!
Review: When I was a child the only time I saw this was in 3 segments on the Wonderful World Of Disney. We didn't even have a color tv. I was absolutely fascinated by it. This is real adventure. I especially liked the windmill sequence when our heroine has to ride a moving windmill to safety. It has an excellent plot I even wrote to Disney about releasing this film before it was released. As soon as it was released I bought my copy. Need I say more.