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The Sentinel | 
| Director: Michael Winner
Actors: Cristina Raines, Ava Gardner, Chris Sarandon, Martin Balsam, John Carradine
Studio: Good Times Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.98
Buy New: $2.89
You Save: $7.09 (71%)
New (6) Used (19) from $2.82
Rating:  70 reviews
Sales Rank: 51533
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
DVD Layers: 1
DVD Sides: 1
Picture Format: Academy Ratio
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 92 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
ISBN: 076620376X
UPC: 018713810441
EAN: 9780766203761
ASIN: B00000JZHF
Theatrical Release Date: 1976
Release Date: May 1, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 65 more reviews...
A rather cheesy yet atmospheric and creepy 70s horror flick. June 16, 2009
z hayes (plano,texas)
The 70s gave us many horror classics, notably "The Exorcist" and "The Omen". Hidden away amongst those gems was 'The Sentinel', by no means a great example of the genre, but creepy nonetheless and boasting a cast of familiar names.
The story focuses on Alison Parker [Christina Raines], a famous model who has been involved with her lawyer boyfriend Michael [Chris Sarandon] and living with him for a while. After her father's death,Alison is revisited by painful memories of her late father, a reprobate and the cause of her first suicide attempt. Alison decides to move out into a her own place, and a sinister real-estate agent leads her to an apartment in a large building that is being leased at an incredibly affordable price. Alison's initial joy at scoring a deal turns sour when she realizes that the building's inhabitants are weird and eccentric, including intrusive neighbor Charles [Burgess Meredith], a pair of lesbian lovers [Sylvia Miles and Beverly D'Angelo], and a sinister blind priest [John Carradine] who lives on the topmost floor, perpetually standing at the window.
Alison soon starts experiencing strange incidents - nightmares that seem all too real, and hearing footsteps where there shouldn't be any. Michael tries to help her by digging into the building's history, uncovering some very strange and shocking truths in the process. Will he be able to save Alison from an unfathomable fate?
The acting is actually quite good with credible turns by Raines, Sarandon [though I much preferred his performance in "Fright Night"],Meredith and also other stars like Christopher Walken etc. The effects are okay for the time frame it's set in, and there are quite a few gory scenes. Nudity is also featured here in scenes of an orgy, masturbation etc.
All in all, this is an atmospheric horror movie that is watchable and representative of horror movies of its time.Some parts are rather plodding, but the plot itself is intriguing. Fans of supernatural horror might like it, though I'd recommend it as a rental first.
All Fear The Seeeeeeeeeeeentinel!!! May 30, 2009
Stanley Runk (Camp North Pines)
A fun little gem from that good ol' satanic 70s movie craze. It's not as well known as it's peers, but it should be.
It's about a model, Alison, who rents an apartment and finds she has a bunch of oddball eccentrics as neighbors(including a masturbating Beverly D'Angelo, who'd be welcome at my apartment anytime). Turns out that these neighbors aren't really neighbors, but specters. Looks like Alison's sharing the building with only one other tenant-a locked in reclusive priest(John Carradine) on the top floor. Spooky and ghastly goings on start in Alison's apartment, and it's starting to look like she's out of her tree, but her lawyer boyfriend, Michael(Jerry Dandridge....I mean, Chris Sarandon) doesn't think she's so crazy and starts to dig. What he finds is a rather interesting plot involving the catholic church. The final act unleashes some neat looking demons that look like they walked off the set of one of Frank Henenlotter's Basket Case films! I'm not gonna spill the beans on the whole thing, but it's a neat spin on the many satanic 70s film plots.
This film has familiar faces up the wazoo! Blink your eyes and you may miss one or two. Among the many are Jeff Goldblum, Eli Wallach, William Hickey and Jerry Orbach. It was directed by Michael Winner, who as we all know, made everyone's favorite reverse-mohawk-gang-terrorizes-old-folks-in-an-apartment-and-get-blown-to-smithereens-by-Charles Bronson flick, Death Wish 3!!
Definitely a "they don't make em like this anymore" type film. Recommended to those who love The Omen, The Exorcist, The Devil's Rain and Death Wish 3.
 Caution... content may be offensive May 24, 2009
Midge (TX)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Although this movie is laden with well-known stars and is a cult horror movie, I think potential buyers should know what they are getting into. This movie is NOT for children under 18 for any reason. No exceptions.
You may find the content of this movie quite offensive... especially if you are unaccustomed to politically incorrect themes and borderline p0rn where one female of a samesex couple blatantly gratifies herself in front of the new tenant... albeit while wearing leotards... it is still quite graphic and the camera doesn't miss a moment from beginning to end.
You can also expect plenty of full nudity, orgies, lewd behavior, spurting blood, graphic violence, hacking with knives, suicides and graphic slashing of wrists... need I say more? Just the nudity and sexscenes alone should have merited an X rating for this movie.
As for the politically incorrect, this was a 70's movie. It depicts a samesex couple (two females) as being sinners of lewd behavior condemned to he11 and those who attempted suicide as ostracized to the gateway of he11. Some people may find this offensive. Don't expect to see current day standards in a 70's movie.
I can't believe the movie was rated R. Perhaps that is the "new generation" ratings... Just be sure you are ready for the content of this movie before you buy it... and please don't let any children watch this movie. Not even teenagers. This movie is clearly too disturbing, shocking and inappropriate for anyone under 21... much less under 18.
I remember watching this movie back in the 70's. I can remember the beginning and the end of the movie but I did not remember anything in between, so when I bought the video, I couldn't believe this was the same movie. I clearly would have remembered the shocking scenes in between if I had seen them. Needless to say, the shocking content took me by surprise and I'm at a loss to explain how I missed it the first time. I must have seen a censored, chopped down family version or fell asleep in the interim.
The storyline is quite different than most other horror stories of the supernatural. A different twist to be sure... but most of the focus is on the bizarre ongoings of the building tenants, lewdness and the dead.
This movie could have been much better if the Director had concentrated on the past "sins" of the characters rather making nudity & lewdness the focus.
The writer could have also chosen a different qualifying factor for the gatekeeper other than suicide.
With that said, the movie only merited 2 stars based on the way the movie was handled by the director.
The actors themselves did an excellent job. This must have been an early film for Goldblum. You see him front and center while they are running the beginning credits... but his name isn't mentioned until the end of the movie... 3rd from the bottom of the list of incidental characters. If he was that new and insignificant, then he shouldn't have been front and center while the beginning credits were running. It may not have been noticed back then, but now that we know this actor, it really stands out.
 Slow, at times silly, but gruesome toward the end. May 24, 2009
the smart guy
The script needed obvious improvement, the plot needed development, the acting is good enough in regards to the main character and the freaky neighbors, the story is interesting enough, however, the movie is too slow and at times way too silly until the final scenes that will shock you. This movie is intended to shock in the way The Exorcist shocked many of its viewers. There is a scene of cannibalism, lesbianism, and some explicit violence. There are a few moments that might make you think of David Lynch in regards to the ultra weird characters, however, this movie lacks skilled and artistic cinematography that you will find in most other classic horror and thriller movies.
The Sentinel does play off as a type of slow paced Hitchcock movie mystery for most of the film, however, towards the end it gets a bit gory and gruesome. The freaks and evil people at the end are both hideous and shocking. The movie borrows some of its theme from Rosemary's Baby in that a cult-like group of people indoctrinate an innocent female. The ending isn't a happy one and the screenwriter insinuates that evil will live on.
The Sentinel (1976)-Frightening film and book. May 12, 2009
Keith Mirenberg (www.spaceanimations.org)
I saw The Sentinel with my wife back in 1976 when it first opened. We were both interested in seeing this flick because we had read the book and found it to have a really effective and frightening plot. While we agreed the book was better, the movie was a four star experience for the two of us. I also liked the interesting cast, music, and strange plot twists. The make up and special effects were just so, so, but with a good plot like this one, great special effects are not essential.
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