Kojak: The Complete Movie Collection

Finally, "The Marcus-Nelson Murders" is on DVD. And just perfect as to the picture quality and sound quality. Brand-new looking for a 1973 movie, the master for this was great quality and maybe even further cleaned up. Watched it tonight upon receiving this pre-ordered item from Amazon.A stunningly great movie as to the story, the Abby Mann script (1973 Emmy-winning), acting, etc. An infamous, sad, true story, based on NYC's "Career Girl Murders." Wonderful, not-found-anywhere-else, melancholy Andy Kim song used for the closing credits: "Don't Give Me A Road I Can't Walk." It's appropriately sad music and lyrics to close the show. The movie runs over 2:18."The Marcus-Nelson Murders" is the true story of a young, decent, poor, and mildly-mentally-challenged black man who was railroaded by the Manhattan police and D.A. for the 1963 murders of two white women in their 20s, and by the Brooklyn D.A. and police for the murder of a black woman and the attempted rape of a Puerto Rican woman, all separate incidents on different days. The young man told the police he didn't do any of these crimes, but by the next day, he had confessed, in great detail, in over 60 typewritten pages. Because, in actuality, . . . the police had beat it out of him. There are more twists and turns which I'll not mention here and which would ruin your viewing pleasure. (In real life, the young black man was named George Whitmore, Jr.) This story, as the movie notes, was one of the cases that formed the basis for the 1966 Supreme Court Miranda decision, requiring the police to read suspects their rights."The Belarus File", on the same disc #1, looks to be a soft-focus film-- literally it's recorded on film, not video, but not the high-quality film stock of "The Marcus-Nelson Murders." Didn't watch "The Belarus File" through, and never saw it before.I haven't viewed the other discs yet, but this collection is worth it just for the magnificent copy of the now-released, great, "The Marcus-Nelson Murders" movie.

This movie collection appealed to me as it had The Marcus Nelson Murder case included in the set, and as it starred Telly Savalas, I was intrigued. I was very happy to see 6 more episodes of Kojak included in the collection and all were great to see with the master actor as New York Lieutenant of Manhattan South.Being from New Jersey and going to New York all my life, even when moving to my present address, brought back memories of the City. The episodes were hard hitting with some not so, but still keeping my interest with great writing and good actors to support Mr. Savalas. I especially like the repartee with George Savalas, Telly's brother and the relationship with Crocker, who Kojak treats as a son. It is a great set and if you are a fan, treat yourself as I have the 6 sets after this one. Am happy with each and every one of them. Kudos to Lt. Kojak. Also, great to see some actors who became stars and who starred in episodes in these sets. A good guessing game for families to try to recognize and name them.l

There are no close captions and that is the only thing wrong. The stories are great and Yahoo there is NO 'Propaganda drama'. The shows I love have been now infomercials for political views. Like you are watching an infomercial that is what we are seeing with these remakes and drama we get now. . So I get these. Oh, you say you can get these on Netflix but you have to take all the ugly other stuff. This is a great show and the acting is so much better, plots and characters done so well.

Great Product

For those of us who can’t get enough of Kojak...Kojak is one of the few classic crime shows that can be watched and rewatched over and over again. I can’t, however, say the same about the Made-For-TV movies. Kojak the series that ran from 1973-1978 was an original and solid crime drama that set the stage and created the template for crime shows to come and was largely successful due to Telly Savalas larger-than-life screen persona, sharp and poetic dialogue, street smart scripts and great directing. A supporting cast that was pure chemistry and charming.Here is my assessment of the Made-for-TV Movies:Disc 1The Marcus-Nelson Murders (1973) **** was the pilot for the Kojak series and is indicative of the ‘70’s Made- for-TV-Movies like The Boston Strangler (Tony Curtis) or House on Greenapple Road (which launched the Dan August series with Burt Reynolds) or Helter Skelter. The subject of racial profiling and “Wrong Man” theme make this film a classic, albeit certain elements that now seem outdated.The Belarus File (1985) *** is a far cry from the 1972 film The Odessa File starring Jon Voight but seems to borrow from the genre. Predictable and worth a onetime watch, but falls flat even with the star power of the great Max von Sydow. By the time Suzanne Pleshette drops the coveted and conspiratorial “Belarus” file on Kojak’s desk and delivers her husky voiced punch line “Who Loves You Baby…” (a nod to Savalas) you're not sure whether to laugh or fast forward to the end.Disc 2True Kojak fans might want to skip Disc 2 altogether. It is the reason I gave the series 4 stars.The Price of Justice (1987) ** went too Film Noir and and robbed the classic Kojak series of good dialogue and lines. A staple of the original television series. We know Kate Nelligan is guilty from the beginning and there is no payoff or surprises in this agonizing flick. God Awful ‘80s music, wardrobe and bad script pacing.Ariana (1989) ** Forgettable with the exception of watching Savalas full command of his native Greek language.Disc 3Fatal Flaw (1989) *** starring Angie Dickinson, who doesn’t seem too distraught as a recent widow and of course a suspect, is a good premise but we’ve seen this plot before with a dead writer of a crime Expose and no surprise, but is still engaging. Great ending music theme by Mike Post.Flowers for Matty (1990) **** is also good episode and we begin to feel Kojak is getting back in his series groove.Disc 4***** It’s Always Something (1990) reunites series regular Kevin Dobson (Crocker) and it is one of the best movies in the collection and has cinematic pacing and a good script. Jack Laird who wrote a majority of the Kojak series is the writer on this one and it is obvious. Music composition in this episode is influenced by Oliver Stone’s Wall Street.**** None So Blind (1990)You’ll recognize Jerry Orbach (Law & Order) and James Remar (Ajax in The Warriors) in this well-written script because, once again Jack Laird delivers the essential Kojak script formula that made this show a success.BONUS DISC: Who Loves Ya BabyHigh-praise for everyone that knew and worked with Telly Savalas. He was truly respected and lionized. I would have liked to seen more original cast interviews, like Kevin Dobson, on this retrospective, but worth having in your collection as a Kojak fan.