The Keeper (4 Stars)

This is the true story of Bernhard Trautmann, who lived from 22nd October 1923 to 19th July 2013. In the Second World War he served in the German air force as a paratrooper. For his services he received an Iron Cross and was promoted to sergeant. In early 1945 he was captured by the British army and sent to a POW camp just outside St. Helens.

He was spotted playing football in the camp by the manager of the non-league football club St.  Helens. In 1948 he was allowed to play for the team, and his proficiency as goalkeeper prevented them being relegated. His skill attracted the attention of talent scouts, and in 1949 he was signed by Manchester City, one of England's best football teams.

At first there was a lot of animosity about a German playing for Manchester City, especially from the local Jewish community. Bernhard (who now called himself Bert) had no interest in politics, he just wanted to play football. Within a year he overcame the prejudice by showing himself to be an excellent goalkeeper. In 1955 he became the first foreigner to be named the football association player of the year. In 1956 Manchester City won the FA cup final. He continued as Manchester City's goalkeeper until 1964.

It's easy to understand the prejudice felt by the people of Manchester. It was only four years after the war against Germany. The Germans had bombed their homes relentlessly. They thought all Germans were bad. Understandably. Bert Trautmann proved to them that they were wrong. In 2004 he was awarded an OBE for his work in promoting Anglo-German friendship. That was late. He should have been given the OBE 40 years early.

I'm not saying prejudice is justifiable. It's wrong. It's always wrong. All I'm saying is that I understand it.

Success Rate:  - 6.4

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The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Movie (5 Stars)

I have to be thankful to my grandson Oliver. He was clicking around on Netflix, looking for cartoons, and he found this "film". I put the word film in apostrophes, because it's actually a compilation of short cartoons. The cartoons were made from 1949 to 1958, and they're linked by a commentary on the cartoons which was filmed in 1978. In the bridge sequences Bugs Bunny appears in a bath robe, looking like a rabbit version of Hugh Hefner.

These are the Looney Tunes cartoons made by Warner Brothers from 1930 to 1969, in colour from 1943 onwards. They were directed and animated by different people over the years, but there's a consistent style of chaotic races and chases. I used to watch them on television while I still lived with my parents. I haven't seen any Looney Tunes cartoons since, but I've never forgotten them. They're brilliant, better than the Walt Disney Cartoons made at the same time.

The main characters in the first hour are Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny. In the last 20 minutes there are a series of short scenes showing Road Runner being pursued by Wile E. Coyote. It's an incredible collection. The individual cartoons are outstanding, including a cartoon with Daffy Duck complaining to the artist that the backgrounds aren't good enough. This breaking of the fourth wall was ahead of its time.

Is it worth watching again? My answer is a resounding Yes! It's no longer available on disc, but I'm hoping it will remain on Netflix for a long time to come.

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2 Stars)

Amazon Friday #11

This is the first in a series of films about a legendary Chinese detective who lived in the seventh Century AD. Several of the characters are based on people who lived in the Tang Dynasty, but the story itself is fictional.

Wu Zetian has been ruling the Tang Dynasty for eight years, but she's delayed her coronation until now. There have been open rebellions against her, because it's considered unsuitable for a woman to rule. She's commissioned the construction of a 70 meter tall Buddha statue overlooking her palace. The Buddha has her face, as if to provoke her opponents.

Several of the court officials spontaneously burst into flame shortly before the coronation. She releases Di Renjie (called Detective Dee in the film title) from prison. He was jailed as a rebel eight years ago, although he claims innocence. He was outspoken and told Wu Zetian that he didn't consider her appointment as Empress rightful, but he insists that he never rebelled; he only spoke his opinion. She knows she can trust his honesty and impartiality, so she asks him to solve the mysterious murders.

While he's working to solve the case, Di Renjie is repeatedly approached by officials who want his help in overthrowing the Empress, but he refuses. Whatever his objections to her rights to rule might be, he respects her as the de facto Empress and continues with the work given him.

If the film had been made as a historical epic, I would have enjoyed it more. It has elements of a fantasy film, with supernatural beings who are shape-changers. This grated. I'm in the minority with my opinion, because the film and its sequels have been extremely successful in China.

Success Rate:  + 0.6

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The Boat that Rocked (4 Stars)

Bill Nighy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Nick Frost and Rhys Ifans walk the plank? Say it ain't so!

This is a cute little comedy that amuses me every time I watch it. It's not just the excellent actors, including a small appearance by Gemma Arterton. It's the whole 1960's atmosphere. Pirate radio ships were a part of British culture. They were a phenomenon unique to the UK, so I need to explain what they were to my readers from other countries. In the early 1960's British radio broadcasting was in a state of chaos. It was a time of musical revolution, sparked by groups like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, but the BBC never played their music. In the absence of the Internet, people who weren't hip knew that a group called the Rolling Stones existed, but they'd never heard their music.

The BBC had a broadcasting monopoly in the United Kingdom. Private radio stations weren't allowed to broadcast. This led to the creation of pirate radio stations. They anchored boats in international waters, just outside of the British territorial waters, and broadcast pop music 24 hours a day. It's estimated that more than half of the British population, mostly younger people, listened to pirate radio stations regularly. This was a thorn in the eye to the BBC and the UK government in general, so they spent years trying to find ways to make them illegal.

The most popular pirate radio station was Radio Caroline. The radio station in the film, Radio Rock, is clearly based on Radio Caroline. Several of the film's DJs are clearly based on famous Radio Caroline DJs like Tony Blackburn, Terry Wogan and Emperor Rosco. Maybe they all are. I really must listen to the director's commentary to hear what Richard Curtis has to say about the cast.

"The Boat that Rocked" isn't just a film about the 1960's, it's a film in the style of the 1960's comedies. Rather than telling a single story, there are multiple situations taking place side by side. Government ministers are struggling to make new laws. The nephew of the boat owner is trying to find out who his father is. A DJ is heartbroken when a woman marries him only to get close to another DJ. Girls visit the boat every second Saturday to have sex with the DJs, because no women are allowed to live on the boat. The only exception to this rule is Felicity, the ship's cook. She's a lesbian, which means that she's not a real woman. The others on the ship call her lesbionic. Nice word. I'd use it myself, if I were sure that women didn't find it offensive

This is a film that desperately needs a Director's Cut. The Blu-ray contains 44 minutes of deleted scenes that were only removed because the film was too long. That's tragic. Unfortunately, the film was a financial failure, so it's unlikely that the studios would approve a Director's Cut. Maybe the topic is too obscure for cinema audiences outside of the UK. It's worth watching by anyone who loves music, 1960's or later.

Success Rate:  - 1.4

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TV Series: Batman Season 2

Yesterday I finally finished watching the second season of "Batman". Better late than never. There are subtle preparations for the third season. In the last four episodes Commissioner Gordon mentioned his daughter Barbara twice, although she wasn't shown on screen. I'll discuss her in my next post, because there are some curiosities about her introduction into the series.

The episodes follow an inflexible formula, but it works. A crime occurs, so Commissioner Gordon rings Batman and asks him for his assistance. Batman and Robin appear at the police station at the beginning of every episode. The Commisioner and his associate Chief O'Hara must be the most incompetent policemen ever. They don't do anything. They just sit in their office all day and rely on Batman to fight crime. Isn't that what the police should be doing?

The Joker is played by Cesar Romero. He was a famous film actor with over a hundred roles from 1932 to 1977, but in retrospect he's only remembered for his role as the Joker. His badly applied lipstick was a new look for the Joker, but due to the popularity of the television series this was soon copied by the comics.

The Joker was a humorous character in the TV series, just as he was portrayed in the 1960's comics.

Women couldn't resist the Joker's charm. I don't know what they saw in him.

They also fell for Bruce Wayne. That's understandable. Adam West was a handsome man!

The Batman television series was broadcast from 1966 to 1968, but it wasn't released on disc until 2014. This creates a problem for copyright lawyers. According to the Berne Convention the series is now in the public domain, because the copyright of television episodes expires 50 years after their first broadcast. The television studios don't accept that the copyright expired less than five years after the release on Blu-ray. That's understandable. They invested a lot of money in the remastering.

Most countries signed the Berne Copyright Convention. There are clauses allowing countries to impose longer copyright dates if they wish. This might have been feasible in 1986, when the Convention was first signed, but today the world is more of a global marketplace. In America exceptions to the Berne Convention are frequent. If a publisher says, "Hey, this old book is still a bestseller, I want to extend the copyright", he can go to court and request a copyright extension. Usually the extension will be granted. I assume that 20th Century Fox would do so, if they haven't done so already. They want to protect the income from their shiny new Blu-ray box set.

Great Britain and the European Union, on the other hand, keep strictly to the Berne Convention. Extensions aren't allowed, as was seen in the lengthy court case about the Goodies radio show. So what does that mean? Quite simply, if someone in England decides to duplicate the Batman Blu-rays and sell them, he's not breaking the law. He can also show the TV series to a paying audience, regardless of what the warning text on the discs says. But private copies of the Blu-rays are illegal in America.

Publishing copies of the Batman episodes online is a difficult matter. If someone in America posts an episode online, he's breaking the law. If someone in England posts an episode online, it depends where the server is located. The Goodies radio series was an interesting case. The BBC released the series on CD after the copyright had already expired. Someone promptly encoded the series as MP3s and published them online. The BBC issued a copyright complaint, and the MP3s were removed. Normally that would have been the end of the matter, but the person appealed against the removal. After a long court case, in which the BBC's lawyers tried to say that the episodes were public domain but the scripts weren't (!!!), the MP3s were allowed to be published again.

So what will happen with "Batman"? Personally, I'm happy to buy the official box set. It's cheap, considering what I got for my money. I doubt a bootlegger could offer the series any cheaper. On the other hand, it's a matter of principle. If anyone is taken to court for selling copies of the series, I'll be in the front row shouting for his legal rights. The law is the law. The law should be enforced as-is. It can't be changed from case to case, just because something seems unfair. If the law is unfair, it can be changed. The Berne Convention can be updated. Until then, it should be followed as it is.

The Batman TV series is in the public domain.

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Kill Bill (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #15

Even though it was released in two parts, I consider "Kill Bill" to be one film. I've heard discussions whether "Kill Bill Volume One" is better than "Kill Bill Volume Two", but I refuse to compare them. It's just one film. It's perfect as it is.

The story's chronology jumps backwards and forwards, but it's never difficult to understand. The Bride's numbered Kill List tells us what order things are happening, even when a scene isn't explicitly marked as a flashback. I once asked myself the question whether the film would be better if everything were shown in chronological order, and I eventually came to the answer No. Things are ordered just as they should be to tell the best possible story. I'd prefer a single four and a half hour cut as a single film, omitting the recap at the beginning of the second part, where the Bride speaks directly to the camera. That's the only change I'd make. Quentin Tarantino promised a complete cut 15 years ago, and I'm still waiting. I'm sure the film studio has blocked it as financially unviable. I'm hoping that the 4K remastered release will have a single cut, when it's finally released.

I mean a single cut of the official films. I'm not talking about the Japanese version, which has several differences to the international version. It would be interesting to see the two versions side by side, but they'll never be released in a single box set, because a different studio holds the rights to the Japanese version.

Beatrix Kiddo, usually called the Bride, was a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. It's never stated what their aims were. Mercenaries for hire? Probably. Their leader is a man known only as Bill. When she found out she was pregnant, she spontaneously decided to quit, even though Bill was her child's father. She didn't tell him she was leaving, she just went into hiding. She changed her name and fell in love with a record shop owner in El Paso, Texas. Bill located her and took revenge by executing her and everyone else invited to her wedding rehearsal.

From left to right.....

Elle Driver (code name California Mountain Snake).

 Vernita Green (code name Copperhead).

Budd, Bill's brother (code name Sidewinder).

O-Ren Ishii (code name Cottonmouth).

Sofie Fatale wasn't a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, but she was trained by Bill, and she was present at the El Paso massacre as a witness.

The Bride (code name Black Mamba) survived the massacre and lay in a coma for four years. When she woke up the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad had broken up, so she had to search for the former members. She set out to take revenge on the four assassins and Bill himself. She spared Sofie's life, merely cutting off her arms.

The Bride was also carrying out revenge for the death of her child, but she discovers that the baby was born while she was in a coma. The girl called B.B. is living with her father.

The Bride becomes the Mother. And they all lived happily ever after.

Success Rate:  + 3.6

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Song for Marion (3 Stars)

Is this a depressing film or an uplifting film? It depends on the way you look at it. It's supposed to be uplifting, but for me the depressing aspects overweigh.

70-year-old Marion Harris, pictured above, is happy and loves life. Even though she's wheelchair-bound and terminally ill with cancer, she regularly visits her local community centre for choir practise. Her husband Arthur doesn't get it. He thinks she should stay at home and relax instead of exerting herself.

The word cancer is never used in the film, even though it's obvious what's meant. It's a terrible word that people are afraid to use.

Arthur loves his wife, there's no doubt about it, but he's a grumpy old man. Because of her disability he has to bring her to the community centre, but he doesn't go in. He stands outside by himself smoking. He listens to the songs through the window, but he doesn't approve. They're too modern for him.

Halfway through the film Marion dies. Arthur becomes even more of a recluse than he was before. Then he starts to think about Marion's singing. He goes to the community centre and listens through the window, even though he has no reason to be there. Elizabeth, the choir's teacher, encourages him to start singing. At first she gives him private lessons, and then he joins the choir.

I think you can see the film's dichotomy. A man finds new hope through singing after the death of his wife. That's uplifting. But she's dead. The film even shows her dying. I have difficulty watching films about cancer.

In the film's favour, it has outstanding performances by the main actors. Gemma Arterton is my favourite actress among all actresses who're active today. Christopher Eccleston plays his part excellently as Arthur's son. But Terence Stamp steals the show as Arthur. It's amazing how well he portrays a man with pent up emotions. He's playing a man who's trying to hide his emotions, but Arthur isn't 100% successful. Terence Stamp lets the emotions seep through with an occasional flash of his eyes.

For the sake of realism, a complete amateur choir was used in the film. They already knew one another, so they had natural chemistry. There were just a couple of actors inserted into the choir for the speaking roles. As far as the singing was concerned, they were acting naturally and doing what they did best.

I can imagine that many of my friends will like this film. Maybe you can concentrate on the film's uplifting aspects. I can't.

Success Rate:  + 7.2

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Coyote Ugly (4 Stars)

Amazon Friday #10

Today I've been lucky enough to catch another film shortly before it's due to be removed from Amazon Prime. To be precise, very few films are actually removed. They're still available to stream on Amazon's website. The difference is that after a film is "removed" it can no longer be watched for free by Amazon Prime's subscribers. The film has to be bought or rented. In this case, "Coyote Ugly" will cost 10 Euros to be bought for an indefinite period, or 4 Euros to be rented and watched for two days only.

In case you don't already know, I subscribe to Amazon Prime in Germany. The selection of films available varies from country to country. Maybe "Coyote Ugly" will still be available on Amazon Prime in England. Maybe it was never available at all. I don't know. Check for yourself.

"Coyote Ugly" is a romantic comedy that was released in 2000. I was fortunate enough to see it in the cinema. It's been unanimously panned by critics, but cinema audiences enjoyed it, and in the 20 years since its release it's become more popular than ever. It's not popular for the romantic elements in the film. Many people who've seen the film are unable to remember the couple's names. It's Violet and Kevin. They remember the film for its scenes of raunchy dancing in a crowded bar with the dancers spraying soda water at the male customers.

Violet is a young woman, probably in her early 20's, who leaves her hometown of South Amboy, New Jersey, to move to New York City. She rents a small room in Manhattan. It's not that far, only 30 miles away, but it's a completely different world. South Amboy is a sleepy little town, while New York City is the busiest city in America. She wants to become a songwriter, but doors are slammed wherever she goes. She gets a job in a club called Coyote Ugly. If New York City is the busiest and most chaotic place in America, Coyote Ugly is the most chaotic place in New York.

But as I said, it's a romantic comedy. Violet meets a young man called Kevin. He works making hamburgers in a restaurant, but he does other jobs as well, such as unloading fish at the docks. One job isn't enough to survive in New York. It's a troubled relationship. He wants to get closer to Violet, but her job gets in the way.

I shan't try to persuade anyone this is a good film. I understand why the critics don't like it. Despite the high production values, the film is trashy. I also understand why so many normal people like the film. It has a high level of excitement that draws in the viewer. I'm glad I'm one of those normal people who can find naive pleasure in films like this.

Success Rate:  + 0.5

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Touch of Evil (4 Stars)

I bought this film on Blu-ray a few days ago, and I wasn't prepared for what awaited me. The box contains FIVE versions of the film on two Blu-ray discs. It's a big treat for fans of Orson Welles and this film in particular, but I don't intend to watch all five. I've picked the two versions that interest me most: the 1958 theatrical version and the 1996 restored version. I watched the theatrical version today, and I'll watch the restored version in the next few days..

In 1957 Orson Welles made a film called "Badge of Evil". He was absent during post-production, and the studios were in a hurry to release the film, so they gave the work to a film editor called Aaron Stell. Stell was unhappy with the footage left by Welles, so he rearranged scenes and asked for some new scenes to be filmed. The lead actor, Charlton Heston, refused to make the new scenes, because he thought that the film was already perfect as made by Orson Welles, but his contract compelled him to make the new scenes. Charlton Heston wrote in his journal, "I have done worse work in the movies than this day's retakes, but I don't remember feeling worse". The film was also renamed "Touch of Evil".

In the mid 1990's footage was found that had been removed from the film. Using Orson Welles' notes, an attempt was made to recreate the film as Welles wanted it, removing the new scenes and re-inserting the old scenes. You can think of the 1996 version as a Director's Cut without the director. This new version has been universally acclaimed as superior to Aaron Stell's hack job.

The film takes place in two towns on either side of the Mexican border. In Mexico a bomb is placed in the car of an American millionaire. The bomb explodes after the car crosses the border into America. This raises problems about whose jurisdiction it is. The American police captain Hank Quinian leads the case, but he's assisted by the Mexican prosecutor Miguel Vargas, nicknamed Mike by his American wife. Vargas suspects a connection with a drug case which will soon come to trial.

Quinian's main suspect is a young man called Sanchez, but Vargas thinks he's innocent. Quinian isn't a bad cop, but he believes in cutting corners to put the guilty behind bars. He places evidence in Sanchez's apartment so that he can make an arrest. Vargas knows that the evidence was freshly placed, so he tries to investigate Quinian. The drug lord Joe Grandi knows about the tension between the two men, so he approaches Quinian and offers to frame Vargas for drug possession.

I found the film very good, apart from unwanted comedy scenes with an inept motel night manager. It's thrilling and exciting, with a fascinating plot. I wonder if the restored version really is so much better. I'll let you know.

Success Rate:  + 0.7

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The Last Circus (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #16

This is an epic film about War, Revenge, Love, Hate and Madness. The story is woven around important events in Spanish history from 1937 to 1973. In the middle of personal tragedy that brought sorrow to all of Spain, leaving the country in ruins, the circus was the only thing left to make people laugh. But what happens when the circus fails in its mission and makes people cry?

Don't mess with a clown.

There's symbolism hidden in this scene. The clown goes to the cinema. The cinema is big and magnificent, while the circus is only advertised on a rubbish bin. The cinema replaced the circus as the main source of entertainment. Is that a good thing? Don't ask me, I'm biased.

Cinemas don't just make people laugh, they make people cry. Even clowns can cry.

The film he's watching is "Without a goodbye" (1970) starring Lesley-Anne Down and the Spanish singer Raphael. I'd like to watch it, if I can find it anywhere.

More symbolism? A film projector is set up in a cave surrounded by thousands of dead bodies. Films are shown in a place of death.

---

Balada triste de trompeta,
por un pasado que murió
y que llora y que gime,
como llora.

Aah, aah, aah, aah.
Aah, aah, aah, aah.
Aah, aah, aah, aah, aay.

Aah, aah, aah, aah.
Aah, aah, aah, aah.
Aah, aah, aah, aah, aay.

Con tanto llanto de trompeta,
mi corazón desesperado,
va llorando, recordando,
mi pasado.

Aah, aah, aah, aah.
Aah, aah, aah, aah.
Aah, aah, aah, aah, aay.

Aah, aah, aah, aah.
Aah, aah, aah, aah.
Aah, aah, aah, aah, aay.

Balada triste de trompeta,
de un corazón desesperado.

---

Sad ballad of the trumpet
for a past that died,
and it weeps and moans,
how it cries!

Aah, aah, aah, aah.
Aah, aah, aah, aah.
Aah, aah, aah, aah, aay.

Aah, aah, aah, aah.
Aah, aah, aah, aah.
Aah, aah, aah, aay.

With the weeping of the trumpet
my desperate heart
is crying,
remembering my past.

Aah, aah, aah, aah.
Aah, aah, aah, aah.
Aah, aah, aah, aay.

Aah, aah, aah, aah.
Aah, aah, aah, aah.
Aah, aah, aah, aay.

Sad ballad of the trumpet
from a desperate heart.

---

Success Rate:  + 1.1

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I still know what you did last summer (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #18

This film is a direct sequel to "I know what you did last summer", made a year earlier. In the first film four teenagers were involved in the murder of the fisherman Ben Willis. They made a pact that they would keep it secret as long as they lived. The only problem is that the murder didn't succeed. A year later, Ben Willis came back to take revenge on the four teenagers.

Two of them died. Now Ben Willis returns again to finish his work. By arranging a fake contest he tricks Julie James into taking a vacation on a small island in the Bahamas. Ray Bronson wants to go to the island with her, but Ben attempts to kill him before he can get there. Ray survives, but he's badly injured, so Julie travels to the island with three friends from college: Will, Tyrell and her roommate Karla. They arrive on the last day before the end of the season, so they're trapped on an almost uninhabited island. Instead of a luxury vacation, the hotel feels like a claustrophobic prison.

This is an example of a well designed sequel. It copies the premise of the first film, while transferring the action to a different location. The serious film critics have criticised the film for being predictable. I answer them by saying that it doesn't need to be unpredictable. We already know who the killer is. So what? That doesn't stop him being terrifying. Even though the critics didn't like the film, the fans enjoyed it, making it another box office success.

And I greatly enjoy it. It deserves its place in my top 20.

Success Rate:  + 1.5

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Black Widow (5 Stars)

When I went to the cinema tonight there was a trailer for the new James Bond film. The Black Widow film that followed was more of a high octane spy thriller than James Bond could ever be. The similarity is deliberate. The action jumps from country to country (USA, Cuba, Norway, Hungary), before finally settling in Russia.

Is the story faithful to the comics? Not really. I was grinding my teeth in annoyance when the Red Guardian was shown to be Natasha's father by adoption. In the comics he was her estranged husband. On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised that the Red Guardian's costume was so similar to the comics. Here's what he looked like in his first appearance in August 1967.

The Black Widow has gone through many costume changes over the years, but none of them are like the white leather outfit she wears in the film's posters. She first appeared in Tales Of Suspense #52 (April 1964), wearing a sexy long dress, looking like a sultry Russian spy from 1950's films.

How many of you understood the significance of Yelena mistakenly calling her father the Crimson Dynamo? It made me chuckle. When the Black Widow first appeared in Tales Of Suspense #52, she was sent to assist the Russian super-villain Crimson Dynamo.

After their defeat at the hands of Iron Man, the Crimson Dynamo returned to Russia, but Black Widow remained in America. At first she acted alone, but in Tales Of Suspense #57 (September 1964) she teamed up with Hawkeye, who was still a villain at the time. Hawkeye was immediately love-struck, but Natasha was only using him. It wasn't until a few years later that a genuine romance developed.

This is Black Widow's costume in Tales Of Suspense #64 (April 1965). Hawkeye was considering giving up crime, but she tempted him to attack Iron Man yet again. He called her darling, but she felt nothing for him. He should have known better than to trust a woman who calls herself Black Widow. He gave up crime and joined the Avengers a month later in Avengers #16 (May 1965).

In Avengers #30 (July 1966), Natasha claimed that she'd been brainwashed by the Russians and now wanted to defect to America. After that she often aided the Avengers in their battles, but she didn't become an official member until Avengers #111 (May 1973). For months she worked for SHIELD, which separated her from Hawkeye. During this time she met and fell in love with Daredevil. Daredevil and Black Widow were partners from Daredevil #81 (November 1971) to Daredevil #124 (August 1975).

Hawkeye was jealous, understandably. Notice that the title of Daredevil's comic was temporarily changed to "Daredevil and the Black Widow". This was from Daredevil and the Black Widow #92 to Daredevil and the Black Widow #107. It makes things awkward for collectors.

Natasha's inviation to become an Avenger in Avengers #111 was one of the steps in their eventual breakup. Daredevil wanted to turn down Natasha's membership on her behalf. This is typical of the writing of Steve Englehant in the 1970's. Stan Lee had written about super-heroes with weaknesses, such as Daredevil being blind, but Steve Englehart took it a step further. He showed that heroes could have character faults, such as wanting to boss women around. Natasha was a strong, independent woman and didn't stand for it. She accepted the invitation and became an Avenger.

This is the tearful break up of Daredevil and Black Widow in Daredevil #124. Couldn't they have been given a little privacy?

After breaking up with Daredevil, Natasha left the Avengers and formed a new group called the Champions with Hercules, Ghost Rider, Angel and Iceman. I shan't go into it here. Black Widow has a long history in Marvel comics, too much to write about in a short review.

Nevertheless, the film is very good, and I'll write more about it when I own it on Blu-ray.