The Sentinel

[Cujo108]

This is yet another of my true favorites that is underrated as all hell, and this masterpiece is actually one of my top 20 favorite films of all time! It freaked the shit out of me at a few parts when I first saw it and it has a very interesting storyline. Reminiscent of THE BEYOND in some ways, but much better than that overrated (but still great) Fulci film!

The acting is excellent and there is tons of great atmosphere. Cristina Raines is utterly stellar here, not to mention gorgeous as can be, Burgess Meredith is wonderfully deceptive and vile, and its always nice to see Chris Sarandon in a film. Several nice cameos in this too. Love the scene at the end with all of the freaks of hell! Its even more disturbing when you know that some of them are real freaks. This film is very underrated and I rarely see anyone talking about it anywhere. It is an undiscovered classic in my opinion! What do you all think?


*Edited for mispelled word*

[mcchrist]

The Sentinel is a great flick, I haven't seen it in a while though.

[Hellbilly]

The Sentinel rocks!
I love that scene were Christina Raines stabs her (undead) father, scared the shit outta me!
Beverly D'Angelo also had a neat scene there :D
I wish Universal would give us a 16:9 Widescreen DVD someday.

[Paff]

You know, I'm gonna have to see this movie sometime. I remember a bunch of my friends calling it "the scariest movie ever" when it first came out, but that means were were all around 9 or 10 years old, so that statement might not mean as much today.

Still, I'm always up for a good creep-out

[KillerCannabis]

I love The Sentinel. It was creepy as hell AND it has a great cast. Too bad the current disc out now isnt 16X9. I REALLY hope Uni gets on the ball and delivers us the goods next Halloween.

[Zodiac-Mindwarp]

I saw this at the store the other day, but I could not remember ever seeing it before. By the sound of the positive reviews here, I should be sure and check it out the next time I get a chance.

[Cujo108]

Just so you guys know, if you are holding off on buying the DVD because it is 1.33:1, go and buy it, because I 100% guarantee you that THE SENTINEL was shot that way, and is indeed in its OAR. I never buy pan and scan discs, and I own this classic on DVD, as it is the correct aspect ratio, so a widescreen transfer is not needed. :) I would kill for a SE of this gem though!

[betterdan]

This is a very creepy movie and yes it does deserve special treatment. If you can still find it thn get it you won't be disappointed.

[Paff]

Well, all y'all better be right, 'cause I rented it tonight

[betterdan]

Just like another thread stated... If you don't like it you are the biggest moron cause I like it and you will probably come up with stupid reasons why you don't like it. You dumb dumb :p :lol:

[Paff]

You won't have to call me a moron. I watched it tonight and sure did like it a lot.

It's a bit slow in a few parts, but for the most part it's freaky as hell (no pun intended). I like this style of film, where they take a while to answer things, keeping the audience in the dark for most of the time.

Cujo is sort of right about the aspect ratio of the transfer. It doesn't look like anything was cut from the sides to make a 1.33:1 transfer. I have some hard mattes that turned it into a 1.78:1 ratio, and it looked real nice that way. You don't lose anything with the full-frame.
So, a 16x9 anamorphic version could still be done, 'cause it looks like this was shown 1.85:1 in the theaters. Also, the sound on the disc was REALLY bad, so it's definitely up for a re-vamp.

But movies like this are far and few between. One of the better religious-themed films from the 70s

[betterdan]

I'm glad you liked it I knew you were not a dumb dumb:D

[slinker]

I just got this as a double pack with `The Funhouse`(Tobe Hooper) from Goodtimes DVD, hope to be watching it real soon!...the trailer looked kinda good :)

[betterdan]

The Funhouse is another fave of mine and it needs a nice animorphic transfer. The transfer on the Goodtimes disc is pretty good though. I love the sound on that disc and a 5.1 remix would be even better. Can't beat the carnival for a sleazy terrifying setup.

There is no escape from The Funhouse

[bloodthirsty]

you can get both The Sentinal & The Funhouse in a double pack for $12 or each disc separate for $6 - great friggin' deal!

[Urotsukidoji]

Plus the Sentinel has a young Christopher Walken as Detective Rizzo! Too bad he only gets a few lines.

[Cujo108]

I also got my DVD of this classic along with the underrated THE FUNHOUSE, which is another big favorite of mine. It was $12, so basically $6 for each DVD, and these gems are an absolute steal for that price!

[Zodiac-Mindwarp]

So where has everyone been finding the double disc set of The Sentinel and Funhouse for such a great price. I did not see the 2 pack at my local Best Buy the last time I was there, of course I will double check for it again tomorrow.
By the way, I think I still have Funhouse on Laserdisc. Does anyone know if the DVD has better picture and sound? If not, I will most likely stick with my laser and just look for the single disc version of The Sentinel.

[Paff]

Originally posted by Zodiac-Mindwarp
By the way, I think I still have Funhouse on Laserdisc. Does anyone know if the DVD has better picture and sound? If not, I will most likely stick with my laser and just look for the single disc version of The Sentinel.

I've never seen the Funhouse DVD, but it's GOTTA look better than that Laser, right?
HOWEVER, the DVD is Dolby 2.0, and the Laser has a nice Pro-Logic Surround track. There's one scene where that really helps out. Also, the trailer is only on the LD, and that's a pretty creepy trailer.
So even if you get the DVD, you'll want to hold onto the LD

[Agent Z]

By the way, I think I still have Funhouse on Laserdisc. Does anyone know if the DVD has better picture and sound?

Which version do you have? I have the MCA reissued widescreen version and was impressed with the quality of it. Then again, with the dvd being so cheap (that $6.00 mentioned by others on this thread is with free shipping from DeepDiscountDVD.com), just have both. :)

[Yowie]

I've never thought there were any "slow" parts in "The Sentinel", Winner is a very fast-paced director who always keeps the action going, I think it's mostly a great movie. I do think Chris Sarandon was miscast though, but he was damn fine in "Fright Night". Had Chris Walken been more well known at the time the roles most likely would've been reversed in "The Sentinel".

[Zodiac-Mindwarp]

Originally posted by MISSIONCODEZ
Which version do you have? I have the MCA reissued widescreen version and was impressed with the quality of it. Then again, with the dvd being so cheap (that $6.00 mentioned by others on this thread is with free shipping from DeepDiscountDVD.com), just have both. :)

I have the MCA Widescreen of Funhouse, but I am not sure if it is the reissued version or not.
I found The Sentinel and The Funhouse DVD's for $6.00 each on Deep Discount DVD. Thanks much for the tip :D I will have to give their website a look thru later this week when I have a small break from work.
Thanks again for saving me from buying the copy that I saw at Best Buy for $14.99! :)

[rhett]

This thread has definitely got me interested in this film. I am going to see if I can track it down at my local video stores. Creepy 70's movies always hit the spot. :cool:

[onebyone]

I never even heard of this movie until this thread got bumped up. That is odd as I don't miss too many movies from this time period. It sounds right down my alley too. I think I will check it out. :glasses:

[Cujo108]

Yes, definitely track it down, Rhett. I can pretty muchly gaurantee you won't be disappointed, as this film is pure gold in my book! :)

[Cujo108]

I was bored, so I decided to resurrect my thread on this masterpiece, as we were talking about it in the chat last night, and the film deserves to be discussed as much as possible. Anyways, I fucking treasure this film, and the more people that discover it, the better! Maybe this thread will help. :)

Anymore opinions on this gem?

[Zodiac-Mindwarp]

I had forgotten all about this thread.

I never got around to ordering this from DeepdiscountDVD, since I have so much stuff on my wish list there. Then Luna mentioned that she picked it up at Sam's Club recently in another thread.

Needless to say I was very happy last week when I stopped by Sam's and found it in the double feature pack with Funhouse for $7.06! I watched it as soon as I got home.

The Sentinel is a great movie, and I am shocked that I never saw it before. This is something that I would not mind double dipping on if they ever bring out a Special Edition.

Fabulous cast in this movie. Chris Sarandon, Chris Walken and Burgess Meredith. Christina Raines was really good.

All in all a wonderful movie. If you do not have, GET IT! :D

[Hellbilly]

Yup, this film is definitely recommended and I urge anybody to pick it up if you haven't seen it yet. Your missing out big time :p

Jeffrey Konvitz actually wrote a sequel to The Sentinel called The Guardian. Too bad they never made a feature out of this though.

[Cujo108]

Zodiac-Mindwarp, I'm glad this thread turned you on to this classic. Its one of my top 20 favorite films of all time, and I would absolutely KILL for an all out SE of it like another of my top 20, DEAD AND BURIED is getting later this year!

Hellbilly, I actually hunted down the novel after seeing this gem many years ago. Its a damn good book as expected after viewing the film. I'm guessing you've read it?

[shift]

i need 2 still get this movie.

[Hellbilly]

Cujo, I've only read The Guardian and it was quite good -
but it's been ages though.

[ArrowBeach]

I remember THE SENTINEL getting into a big controversy in 1977. Many critics mentioned it's gruesome make up, but it was either the director or the producer, said those werent make up, many extras were real life carnival freaks, to real life burn victims to real life people with disfigurements, and real life (dying) cancer victims, which completely outraged some critics! And I have seen the film about ten times, and yes, some of those are NOT make ups. I been there, I know, which does leave a bitter taste in the mouth IMHO.

[Blade]

Yes those carnival freaks look absolutely disgusting. Contrary to general horrormovies, which have pretty fake looking make-up, the freaks in The Sentinal are hard to look at, they even maken me look the other way!

[chrishicks]

I still need to pick this up. I noticed DDD doesn't have this anymore.

[Cujo108]

I personally don't have a problem with the use of real freaks, unless the freaks were forced to do it. Either way, the scene with the freaks is effective as hell, and it gives this masterpiece a spectacular climax!

I wish Cristina Raines did more horror films. She is so very gorgeous, and that's putting it lightly.

[rhett]

This film had some amazingly effective imagery, from those carnival freaks to the shots of that roaming old man. The climax was definitely hard to look at during some parts, but it was very creepy and well done.

I liked the film a lot, it was a bit predictable, but the execution is what matters, and it definitely succeeds there. Cristina Raines is a hottie, I too wish she had done more horror, or more anything for that matter!

[Hellbilly]

She did NIGHTMARES, another film worth checking out :)