She (1965)

I have to admit this is not a great movie. It is also not a very good transfer. So why did I buy it you ask? Well, in a word nostalgia. This was one of the first movies I saw in a theater and probably for that reason alone I have always wanted to have a copy of it. So I can only recommend it to those who like me share some nostalgic affection for the film.

well described. good packaging.

A great deal of Ursula Andress' performance is owed to Monica Van Der Syl who re-dubbed all of her dialog.The story has been filmed many-many times (this remains my favorite version). It's an adventure, part road trip, as three hapless idiots cross a desert following a map that looks more like a bad painting (they're also aided by a fancy ring and a delusional visitation with a really-really old lady). It's a sad, cautionary tale of a scorn lover who kills her boyfriend then lovingly preserves the body in a box until she can get her hands on his reincarnated duplicate centuries after the fact. John Richardson plays the look-alike sap willing to risk all to be with the woman who already killed him once. (She even saved the fancy blade she stabbed him with as a souvenir!) If that's not love, what is? Naturally, things do not go smoothly as another woman falls in love with the sap. Heedless to say, all hell breaks loose as the sap in question just cannot keep his lips to himself (prearranged ownership belonging to SHE who must be avoided). Yes, there's a moral: careful what you fish for.This movie also stars the incomparable Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Poor Lee has the misfortune of ending up wearing a gold beehive hat with a crown on top (talk about overkill!), and yes, his dignity suffers for it.For a DVD-R format, it's a nicely preserved piece of 60's kitsch. Glad to finally have it in my collection.

I had been looking for this version of H. Rider Haggard's book, "She" for some time. Finally, a Reg. 2 edition was released, however soon after Warner Archive released their edition, and having become familiar with the quality of their on demand work, I realized my Reg. 2 would not suffice as it had many imperfections including a large scratch from the beginning and washed out color. Hammer went all out with their re-make, and later repeated their success recipe with another re-make of "One Million B.C." starring Victor Mature which became in 1968 "One Million Years B.C." and made a star of Raquel Welch. The original "She" with Randolph Scott and Helen Gahagan had made the mistake of transferring the setting of the book from Africa to the Arctic. Both Hammer films mentioned co-star the handsome John Richardson who was featured in the sequel to "She" but the flame of youth eternal shone brightest upon him in 1965 as he was cast opposite Ursula Andress as Haggard's "She Who Must Be Obeyed." Oxford University Press in the publication of Haggard's classic novel have Andress gracing the cover. With a screenplay by David T. Chantler, a fine score by James Bernard and photography by Harry Waxman, Hammer made a smart choice also with Robert Day as director as he had experience on Tarzan adventures. This is the definitive re-make, an original of sorts since Hammer made the impressive sequel, "Vengeance of She" in 1968 with Richardson and an exciting new personality Olinka Berova, but it was as with the new adage of re-makes and sequels that the original is always better. Olinka never got past this landmark. 1965's "She" transports the imagination to a fantasy world deserving of rich color, music and sequences and Warner Archives's treatment does it justice.

Great Sixties nostalgia! Takes me back to my adolescence when I first saw this gorgeous and exotic fantasy film in an elegant old movie theater, and I was thoroughly entranced by it then! So glad to find it again!I do smile with a sad wistfulness to remember how this film seemed so ineffably beautiful, so haunting to me back in 1965, as I watch it now with more critical, jaded adult eyes. It casts a less powerful spell over me now, but fortunately it still evokes much of that old enchantment. The musical score is still amazing, even if a bit overused in places, particularly during the long desert trek. Ayesha's theme is one of the lushest representations of feminine beauty ever written. And as someone else mentioned, the echoing trumpet call is THE perfect theme for any lost civilization!The stars Ursula Andress and John Richardson seemed like the two most beautiful human beings on Earth to me back then - like gods! It's amusing now to learn that their spoken performances were so bad that Hammer Productions had to dub over their voices - Ursula's Swiss accent was so strong that she was unintelligible, (Ursula was also dubbed in the James Bond *Dr. No*), and John's delivery was so monotone and boring that it sounded like he was reading a dull legal document (which explains why the incredibly handsome Richardson's career never went very far).Ah, but the magical craft of cinema overcame these limitations and created this fantastic illusion that will always enchant the young teenage boy inside me.

Hammer Films have taken the principal characters and the bare bones of the story from H. Rider Haggard's book and made a very watchable film in their best tradition. The casting is splendid, the acting good, and the iconic Ursula Andress in particular is well cast in the title role. This is a movie that bears re-watching; but if you have read the book and expect adherence to its storyline, you are going to be disappointed.

I ordered this DVD hoping for a good transfer of this underrated film. Studio Canal releases are usually wonderful but this is not the case. The transfer is pretty bad, no subtitles and the image is not the original scope 2.35 but 1.85.

Classic 1960s movieBeen looking for it for yearsOnce again Amazon and its sellers did not disappoint meI was a kid when I first saw this movie in the 1970sI'm now trying to get hold of the sequelThe Return of SheHope to find it soon on Amazon

The opening titles proudly tell us that this film was shot in "Hammerscope" which means 2.35:1 to most Hammer collectors. As soon as the titles are over however this edition suddenly converts to 16.9 meaning that image is cropped off on either side. An Anamorphic edition it may be but what's the point if you don't get the full image as it was intended to be seen?This is particularly frustrating as Studio Canal's previous release in October 2001 was in full 2.35:1 however sadly it was non-anamorphic which reduced the definition considerably.Just before slinging this edition in the bin I did notice that it does say 16:9 on the back of the package. Amazon, please take note that your product description above clearly quotes from Kim Newman's review "the 2.35:1 widescreen print is in very good shape..." Presumably this is the product description from the 2001 edition which has just been been duplicted?The reason Optimum/Studio Canal have chosen to release a film this way is beyond me. Thanks a bunch!

Optimum DVD release has weak video and is not in the correct CinemaScope aspect ratio. Save your money and instead buy the Warner Archive release, which is in the correct aspect ratio.