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Slingshot, The A, A-
Sweden/1993/Yellow English Subtitles/Color/Widescreen 1.55/Stereo Surround/102
minutes/Directed by Ake Sandgren/Starring Jesper Salen, Stellen Skarsgard/Col-Tristar/59
Chaps/CLV/$34.95
This is one of those rare, magical films that manage to capture some essence of the
reality of growing up. Set in Stockholm of the 1920’s, the director and screenwriter,
Ake Sandgren, has done a splendid job of putting the pieces together. The scenic design of
the film is comfortably evocative of place and time.
The ten-year-old protagonist, Roland Shutt, is the youngest son of a marriage between a
Swedish Socialist and his Russian Jewish wife. The complexities of childhood are
compounded by his family’s beliefs, but it is also the great well of strength from
which this character draws his inspiration for life. The young lead actor is Jesper Salen
and he is perfectly natural in the role of the innocent and puny rebel. Director Sandgren
has guided this novice actor with a sure hand that avoids any sense of cliché associated
with films of this nature. Stellen Skarsgard is the boys father, who suffers from a
crippling pinched sciatic nerve. Skarsgard is equally perfect. T
here are many wonderful, insightful, and touching moments in The Slingshot, but there
is one exchange in the park between father and son that best exemplifies the skill and
spirit of this film. The boy asks his father "What does fingering mean?" The
father responds "In what context?" The boy pauses: "Context, I don’t
know-About girls, for example." The expression on the father’s face is a perfect
blend of pride and embarrassment as the camera looks closely at him. The father says
"That’s something every man learns in time. Once you’ve done it,
you’ll know. It’s like learning to ride a bike." The boy, who is dying to
get a bike says "I guess I’ll get a bike first. Then I’ll be able to do
it." This is life perfectly exposed on film for eternity.
The director has succeeded in magnificently capturing the nuances of growing up; the
pain, the joy, the fear and the pride of discovering the power of the mind, and the
strength of intestinal fortitude that slowly brews to maturity. The images of The
Slingshot have been photographed in crisp, clean, clear pictures that create a vivid
picture of the Stockholm environs.
The transfer and pressing of The Slingshot are quite beautiful. The splendid
photography has not been compromised in the least bit in the journey to laser. Colors are
natural and rich. This is a very bright transfer and the night scenes have a pleasing
luster. The surround information is very involving and the sound of a punch is replicated
in tight, strong bass. The Slingshot is a film for everyone and should not be missed. |
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Laser Disc
Ratings
|
12
Monkeys Special/A-,B+ |
12
Monkeys/ B+,B |
1941
SE/ C-, B- |
a
la Mode/B+,B+ |
A
Pure Formality/C,B |
After the Fox/C+,B |
Alaska/B,B+ |
Albino
Aligator/C+,B |
Alfie/B,B |
Amateur/B+,C+ |
American
President/ B+, B+ |
Apache/C+,C+ |
Apocalypse Now/A-,A- |
Apollo
13 SpecialA,A |
Apollo 13//A,A |
Appaloosa/C+,C+ |
Assassins/C,A |
Bad
and the Beautiful, The/A,B+ |
Basquiat/C+,B |
Bend of the River/ B, B+ |
Belle Epoque/B+,A- |
Bhagdad
Cafe/B,B |
Big
Country/ B, C |
Big Deal on Madonna Street/B,B |
Big
Picture, The/B,B |
Big
Trees, The/C+,C+ |
Bingo
Long and His Traveling All-Stars/B+,A |
Blood and Wine/B,B |
| Blue Kite/B+,B |
Bogus/C,C+ |
Bordello of Blood/C-,A- |
Borderline/C+,B |
Bound/B+,B+ |
Brazil
Special Edition/B+,A- |
Bride
Came COD/B-,B |
Bringing
Up Baby/A,B |
Brute Force/B+,B+ |
Bulletproof/C,B+ |
| Butch
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid/B,A- |
Call
Nothside 777/B+,C+ |
Camille
Claudel/ A, B+ |
Canterville
Ghost/C+,C+ |
| Caro Diario/A-,A- |
| Captain from Castile/B,B+ |
Casino/
C+, B |
Casper/C+,A |
Cause
for Alarm/C,B- |
Celestial
Clockwork/B+,B- |
| China Moon/B+,A |
Christmas in July/A,B+ |
Christopher
Columbus(1949)/C,C |
| Come and Get It/B,B+ |
Commandments/C+,B+ |
Courage Under Fire/B,A |
Crash/C+,B+ |
| Crimson Tide/A-,A |
Crossing
Guard, The/B,B+ |
Cutthroat
Island/C, A |
Dante's
Peak/B-/B |
Daylight/B,A- |
Dead
Man Walking/C+,B+ |
Dead Man/C+,A- |
Dead
Presidents Special/ B+,A |
Dersu Uzala/B+,B |
Diabolique(1995)/C+,C |
Diary
of Ann Frank/ A-,B |
Dodes'ka-den/ B+, B+ |
Double
Happiness/ B+,B+ |
Dragon/B+,A |
| Dune/C+,B+ |
Earrings
of Madame de.../ B+, B+ |
Enemy
Below/ B, B |
| Englishman Who Went..../C,B |
English Patient/B+,A |
Ermo/B-,B- |
Escape from LA/B-,A |
Everybody's
Fine/C+,C+ |
Executive
Decision/B+,A |
Eye
for an Eye/B,B+ |
F.I.S.T./B,B |
| Face-Off/B+,A |
| Family Thing/B,B+ |
| Farewell My Concubine/A-,A |
Far
Country/ B-, C+ |
Field
of Dreams Special/A-,B+ |
Field
of Dreams/ A-, B |
Fierce Creatures/B-,B+ |
| Fires on the Plain/B+,B |
Firestarter/C+,C+ |
First
Knight/ C-, B+ |
First
Wives Club/C+,B+ |
| For Whom the Bell Tolls/B-,B+ |
| French Kiss/B-,B+ |
| Fugitive,The(1947)/B-,B |
Frankie
Starlight/B+,B |
Freaks/B+,B |
Free
Willy 2/B-,B+ |
Funny Bones/A,A |
Get Shorty/ A, A |
Goldeneye/
B, A |
| Ghost Story/B,B |
Great
Escape(MGM)/A-,B- |
Great
Expectations/A,B+ |
Greystoke:
The Legend of Tarzan/B+,C |
| Grosse Point Blank/A-,A- |
Grumpier
Old Men/B-,B+ |
Gun
in Betty Lou's Handbag, The/B,C- |
Happy
Gilmore/ B-, A- |
| Hard Boiled/B-,B+ |
Hard Eight/B,C+ |
Harriet
the Spy/B,A |
Haunting,
The/A,B+ |
Head
Above Water/D+,B |
Heat/A-,B |
| Heaven
and Earth/B+,A- |
Helen
of Troy/C+,B+ |
| Henry V/A,B |
Hill,The/A-,B |
Hoop Dreams/A,A |
| Horseman on the Roof/B-,B |
Innocent,
The/ C, C |
Innocents,
The/ A, A- |
Interrupted
Melody/C+,C |
| Into the West/A,B+ |
Inventing
the Abbots/B-,B+ |
| Jack/C+,A- |
Jean
de Florette/ A-, B- |
Jumanji/
B+, B+ |
Kansas
City/D+,C+ |
Kentuckian/B-/B |
Kingpin/B,B+ |
Kolya/A-,A- |
Kwaidan/A,A- |
La
Dolce Vita/ A, B |
Last
Dance/B,B+ |
Last
Man Standing/C,B |
Last
Supper, The/B-,B+ |
League of Gentlemen/B,B |
Leave
Her to Heaven/B+,B+ |
Les
Miserables/ B, B+ |
Liar,Liar
Special/B+,A |
Lili/A-,C |
List
of Adrien Messinger/B,B+ |
| Lonely are the Brave/A-,A- |
| Lord of Illusions/B,A- |
Love
Jones/B,A- |
| Malice/B+,B+ |
| Mask,The/A-,A |
| Mi Familia/A-,A- |
| Michael/C+,A |
Miracle
of Morgan's Creek/B,B- |
Mirage/B,B- |
Mission
Impossible/C+,B+ |
Mona Lisa/B+,B+ |
Morgan/B,C+ |
Mulholland Falls/C+,B |
Muriel's
Wedding/ B, B+ |
My
Name is Nobody/C,C |
Mystery of Rampo/ A-, B |
| Natural Born Killers/B,B+ |
Nell/B,A- |
Net,
The/ C, B+ |
Nixon/B+,A |
Nothing
Sacred/B,C |
Old
Man and the Sea/B,B |
Othello/A-,B+ |
| Peeping Tom/A-,A- |
| Raw
Deal/B+,B |
| Red Firecracker,Green Firecracker/B+,A |
| Repulsion/A,A |
Restoration/B+,A |
Richard III/A,A |
Ridicule/A-,B- |
River Wild/B+,A- |
| Romy and Michele's High School Reunion/B,B |
Room
at the Top/A-,B |
Rosewood/B,B+ |
Scopio/B,C |
Seven
SE/ B+, A |
| Shawshank Redemption/A-,A |
| She/B,B- |
Shining
Through/C+,B |
| Silence of the Lambs/A,A |
| Sling
Blade/A,B+ |
Slingshot/A,A- |
Something
to Talk About/ B-, B+ |
| Spartacus Special Edition/A,A |
Species/C,B+ |
Star
Trek: First Contact/C+,A- |
Stars Fell on Henrietta/ C+,B+ |
Stealing
Beauty/B,B |
Strange
Days/ C+, B+ |
Striptease/D,A- |
Sudden
Death/ B, A- |
Sullivan's
Travels/B+,B |
Surviving
Picasso/C,B+ |
| T-Man/B,B |
That
Old Feeling/B-,A- |
That
Thing You Do/B,C+ |
They
Drive By Night/B,B |
| Thieves(Les
Voleurs)/B,B |
Things
You Do in Denver When You're Dead/D+,B+ |
This
Sporting Life/A-,B+ |
Timemaster/
D, C |
Tom
and Viv/B-,B- |
Tortilla
Flat/B+,B |
Trainspotting/B-,B+ |
Trees
Lounge/B-,B- |
| Trigger Effect/B-,B+ |
Two
Bits/C,B |
Unforgettable/C,C+ |
| Umbrellas of Cherbourg/B+,B |
Unzipped/B-,B- |
Usual
Suspects/ B-,C+ |
| Valdez is Coming/C+,B- |
Vengeance
Valley/B,C+ |
Vertigo/A-,A- |
Virtuosity/
C+, A |
Wait
Until Dark/B,B- |
Walk in the Clouds, A/ A-, |
Walkabout/B/B- |
Waterworld/ B+, B |
White
Man's Burden/ B, B+ |
White
Squall/ B,A |
| Whole Wide World/B,B |
Wicked
City/ B, C+ |
Wild
Bill/ C+, B |
Window
to Paris/ B,B |
| Witness/B+,A- |
| Wonderful,Horrible World Life..../B+,B |
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