EMPIRE

EMPIRE: TV will often get a case of “Hollywood envy,” hopping on the bandwagon to try its hand at big-budget spectacle, usually in the form of a much-hyped mini-series “event.” Empire was network TV’s answer to Gladiator and Troy, a four-hour re-telling of the assassination of Julius Caesar and the rise of his successor, Octavious, a naïve pretty boy under the protection of Rome’s greatest gladiator, Tyrannus. I have no idea if history is presented properly here, but surprisingly, it’s a whole lot of fun! Sure, there are some corners cut in the battle scenes (computer generated legions are replaced by trees and plenty of fog), but the plot chugs along with a contagious energy and just enough gory gladiatorial combat to keep you from changing channels (or switching discs, as the case may be). Empire is smart enough not to get bogged down in politics, unlike the similar HBO show, Rome. This is old-fashioned adventure in an almost serialized format, just simplistic enough not to be insulting if you don’t know Caesar from a Caesar salad. Extras include your typical Making Of and a before-and-after reel of effects shots. THE FLESH EATERS: Just when thought you’d tracked down every sci-fi B-movie on DVD from the golden years of the 50’s and 60’s...and found most of them boring as hell as an adult...along comes The Flesh Eaters, cut from the very same cloth, but miraculously somehow still in style! Retaining all the kooky fun of the best monster movies (this time it’s flesh-eating micro-organisms that grow into gigantic crab creatures when exposed to electricity), director Jack Curtis and his cast work from a remarkably adept script, full of believable characters (well, except that annoying beatnik) and a classic survival scenario. Trapped on a deserted island with a mysterious mad scientist, our group of castaways must somehow defeat the aquatic menace before a worldwide plague spreads. There are a few moments of shocking (for the era) B & W gore that earned the film a cult reputation, but now it’s out there for everyone to enjoy on a too-good-to-be-true transfer from Dark Sky films, with deleted scenes and an entire alternate sequence included as extras.