The Sentinel

Rating:
Summary: GREAT
Review: I got this ages ago when it first came out on DVD in pan and scan. I loved it, and it had the "priest-get-together" that everyone said was cropped from all the other versions.

I got it for $5 at Best Buy in the bargain bin. This was a couple of years ago that I had this version on DVD.

Mike

Rating:
Summary: Polka Time!
Review: I had heard about this movie for years and finally decided to get it since no rental stores here have it. While the movie is flawed, it was the story that drew me in. Clearly, filmmakers got away with a lot back in the 70's, so it was nice to know this film would hold nothing back. Sure, the acting, editing, script, etc aren't the best they could have been....... but this is a horror movie. If that's not a good enough excuse, then at least you get Cristina Raines to look at. The DVD has a rather disappointing full-screen transfer and lacking mono sound, but I really shouldn't be complaining considering it's less than [dollar amount]. This is definitely a must-see for 70's horror fans.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Horror Classic; curious difference in story
Review: I have just purchase the DVD from Goodtimes Video of the 70's horror classic. As other customers have noted, it is really worth having, and there is indeed a lot that you will see that is cut out of "TV" versions. However, there is at least one scene missing from the DVD, and I wonder if other viewers have noticed this..that is the scene or scenes that pertain to the group of priests who call themselves "The Brotherhood of the protectors" who had been disbanded from the church for their beliefs. The is at least one scene showing a meeting of the "brothers" that is in my age-old tape of a television broadcast of the film that is not shown in the DVD. However, in the beginning of the DVD, the movie begins in Northern Italy with a group of priests discussing the "danger" as do the "brotherhood" in the "other" version. I also note the another DVD version is set to be released on September 7, 2004 by Umvd. So, I await this release to see if the deleted scene is included. I wonder if anyone would like to comment on this oddity? Aside from this curious detail, I thoroughly enjoyed the DVD from Goodtimes Video.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Horror Classic; curious difference in story
Review: I have just purchase the DVD from Goodtimes Video of the 70's horror classic. As other customers have noted, it is really worth having, and there is indeed a lot that you will see that is cut out of "TV" versions. However, there is at least one scene missing from the DVD, and I wonder if other viewers have noticed this..that is the scene or scenes that pertain to the group of priests who call themselves "The Brotherhood of the protectors" who had been disbanded from the church for their beliefs. The is at least one scene showing a meeting of the "brothers" that is in my age-old tape of a television broadcast of the film that is not shown in the DVD. However, in the beginning of the DVD, the movie begins in Northern Italy with a group of priests discussing the "danger" as do the "brotherhood" in the "other" version. I also note the another DVD version is set to be released on September 7, 2004 by Umvd. So, I await this release to see if the deleted scene is included. I wonder if anyone would like to comment on this oddity? Aside from this curious detail, I thoroughly enjoyed the DVD from Goodtimes Video.

Rating:
Summary: There Has Always Been a Sentinel
Review: I have seen this movie a number of times and never liked it. But with the complete movie available on DVD I now can appreciate the movie as it was intended. Because of its subject matter and sexual references, much of the story was missing when I had seen it in the past.

A young model get her own apartment in New York as she feels she needs some space away from her fiance. No sooner does she move in than she meets most of the eccentric residents of the building. Everyone except a blind priest who stares out of a window on the top floor. But when things go bump in the night and she complains, she finds out that she and the priest are the only residents. She must have imagined anyone else.

More strange things begin to happen and her fiancé gets involved in trying to figure out what is going on. While no one seems to know what is going on (other than church officials wearing a special ring), most are convinced that there is something going on. Eventually we learn how the model ties into the events, the importance of her building, and what the priest is doing.

If you have only seen the edited versions of this film, you have not had the chance to truly experience this tale. In its complete form the movie makes sense and flows well in ways that were just not possible when it was butchered. If you like religious horror you should check this one out.

Rating:
Summary: This is a trashy and actually scary 70s gem!
Review: I must be in that generation now of people who realize they are getting older. I can't believe how many other reviewers stated that they remember this movie from TV or Showtime. This is definitely a movie I also remember as a child from TV and I watched it more than once. Now that I have the DVD I am shocked to see the parts they cut out (and they are shocking). This movie always gave me the creeps. It is so over the top theatrical. And what about those stars! Good heavens there are more stars here than a bad late night variety show. I recognize more now than I did when I was a kid. Now this has got to be the most politically incorrect mess I have witnessed in a long time. Warning to Catholics, lesbians, the elderly, and people with disabilities you will be exploited for horrific purposes in this movie. Still I had to cringe and laugh the whole way through this film. It is even better than I remembered and goes right up there with some of my other favorite conspiring neighbors in a new creepy apartment or school: Rosemary's Baby (satanic senior citizens hoping to witness a demon seed), The Tenant (facist neighbors who drive you to suicide for being too noisy), Suspiria (witches disguised as ballet teachers in an on campus school who decide they are fed up with you). This also ranks up there with other 70s/80s horror favorites of mine: Burnt Offerings, Sisters, Legend of Hell House, Halloween, Black Christmas, He Knows Your Alone, Don't Answer The Phone, The Changeling, The Hearse, Its Alive, and Deadly Blessing. This is a fun movie that won't disappoint you in the area of genuine scares and good laughs.

Rating:
Summary: Creepy Movie
Review: I remember this movie from back int he 70's it scared me to death and I want to see it again!!

Rating:
Summary: Great fun.
Review: I saw the video of this, and I wanted to get it for a friend who loves it. He loved the DVD great quality and sound. Fun.

Rating:
Summary: A creepy classic!
Review: I saw this movie originally when I was about 12 and it gave me nightmares!Flash forward many years and,curious to see it again,I found to my horror that the film was nowhere to be found.A couple years later I find this DVD!Still creepy as heck,this movie should be remastered and letterboxed.As is,this is still a must have for my fellow horror fiends.Especially if you still dig those 70s creepers.

Rating:
Summary: Strange Neighbors
Review: In the 1970's there was a sort of "satanic renaissance" in film: "The Omen", "The Exorcist", "Rosemary's Baby", and last and probably least, "The Sentinel".

While this is not what I'd call a great horror film, there are genuinely chilling, demented moments: Burgess Meredith is particularly eerie as an old "birdman" who lives in the doomed tenement complex the unfortunate Cristina Raines, a budding supermodel and soon to be basket case, takes up residence in.

You can tell right from the outset of the film that something is terribly wrong with her new living quarters--the other inhabitants are strange old cookies (watch for the two old lesbians) who seem a little over eager to have Raines in their odd little community. John Carradine is the key to the film: he lives on the top floor, supposedly simply a blind old recluse. He is much more.

The film lacks the subtlety of "Rosemary's Baby", but does possess the mood of enroaching doom. The ending is not exactly happy, but there are some unforgettable scenes in which the "tenants" reveal who they really are, and Raines' husband meets a grisly end.

If you like 70's horror, this is essential.