DO 2452 1/85

1. "The Last Days of Pompeii" is a worthwhile mini-series. You should try to see it if you can! It's really pro-Christian, & really brings out spiritual applications & things, it's good! It's one of the best I've seen along that line, & there's hardly a Jewish name in the credits!—There's the secret!

2. It's made in Britain, & a lot of the British are still pretty Christian. They're even officially Christian, they still even teach Bible in the public schools. So "The Last Days of Pompeii" really teaches some good lessons. Mt. Vesuvius erupts & buries the whole city.—And it shows why, it shows the corruption, the vice & their cruelty to the Christians, how they were slaughtering & burning them at the stake & feeding them to the lions & all that sort of thing. It really builds up to why God got furious & destroyed the city. So it's really worth watching.

3. I certainly don't care for the typical cowboy movies or war movies, unless it's a spy movie that happens to have war involved‚ something like that. And I don't care for those violent shoot'm up gangster movies, nor do I really care much for old-hat History, it's gone & done!—Unless it's a real classic which you can learn something from.

4. Mama & I like romantic stories‚ & we like some of those Historical classics. They're especially good for the kids & you guys too who don't know much about History. It wouldn't hurt you to see a little bit of History in dramatic, more palatable form. But these modern violence movies with all that violence & fights & chases, ugh! The average American movie almost makes no sense at all, it's just a shoot'm-up, a fight, a chase!

5. They typically start out with a mystery, somebody commits a crime, then whodunnit. Then they find out whodunnit & they've got the car chase, & they bang up several cars in the process. I think it's terrible the way they absolutely ruin good cars. They must be destroying them by the millions of dollars worth now! Then they catch the culprit & they shoot it out. Then they run out of bullets so they have a fist fight until finally‚ by brawn & bravery, they beat the guy down & they've got him. Now isn't that the usual scenario? Almost every single stupid idiotic damn American so-called "action" movie is like that!—So watch out for so-called "action" movies!

6. Mysteries I like‚ as long as you don't make those a steady diet. Who doesn't like a mystery? It's thought-provoking‚ it gets you thinking to try to solve whodunnit, & usually in those they've got a lot of lessons to learn.—Don't do this, don't get caught this way or that way or the way he did! I'm dumbfounded at the way people open doors in these movies without finding out who's there!—And half the time it's the wrong party! Crazy! In those movies it's rare that they ever look through a peep hole or even ask who's there. They just hear a knock or a ring & they go to the door & fling it open & there's the criminal with a gun or something!—Crazy!

7. You can learn a lot from such movies. If you don't learn what to do, you can at least learn what not to do! But I like mysteries‚ especially if they're intelligent mysteries like Agatha Christie & some of that stuff. "Death on the Nile" was quite a good movie, it really kept you guessing until the end. In these old-fashioned mysteries they always gathered them all together in the hotel lobby or the ship lounge or the house living room, & all the people are there & you're wondering until the last minute who's the criminal, whodunnit, who's guilty!

8. They're really intriguing, & it makes you think‚ & also teaches you a lot about security. On some of these it teaches you a lot about being followed, being chased & what to do & not do‚ things like that which we could really afford to learn a few things about. I'm also very interested in spy movies, as long as they're not too stupid & not just that senseless "action" stuff.

9. Circus movies are often good for the kids. We also like spiritual movies about ghosts & spirits & ESP. But if they get into too much horror, that awful horror stuff, vampire stuff, that kind of stuff where it's all scary & all horror, forget it! Of course, you can't always tell right away, some of them are really pretty good & believable. But some of them are nothing in the World but fear, & are trying to scare you to death! They figure they've succeeded if they've absolutely frightened you with all their suspense & horror & all. They've usually got somebody creeping through the dark.—Those stupid idiots, they're always going around by themselves! They'll have a team of three looking for the criminal in the yard or something, & they all split up, so the girl's by herself.

10. Of course, you know it's the standard procedure for the villain to come out & grab the girl in the dark because that's the scariest thing, & I presume all the women scream & everything. Time & again I've told Mama, "Uh oh, turn down the volume, here comes the scream!"—And sure enough‚ it was coming! They're just in a rut! You can just about tell what's going to happen.—Somebody's creeping through the house quietly in the dark, get ready for either the scream or the big bang or something that's supposed to knock your eardrums out—crazy! I don't care too much for that kind of stuff. But some of these ESP sort of spiritual movies are very interesting.

11. I like some science fiction because some of it's quite realistic, some of it is quite interesting. Things about recent World History‚ atomic war etc. are also very interesting.—Like "World War III" & some of those movies, how people think things are going to turn out, how they think the war might start.

12. Some movies are almost prophetic! Serious movies with the President of the United States & Congressmen etc., movies that are supposed to be referring to the important events of today & the possible outcome of political or social crises & that sort of thing‚ are often very interesting or significant.—Serious political movies or even serious war movies, as long as they're not all war & all action.

13. You can often spot good quality movies right away. Number one, they've got quality actors & actresses, well-known top-notch stars who will not usually act in a bad movie. Sometimes it's just a pleasure to watch good stars acting, even if the movie is not all that hot!

14. When you've got top–notch stars‚ you're going to have a good movie, as a rule. It's going to be a movie that's at least entertaining. It's just a pleasure to watch those guys in action because they really know how to act & they usually will not act in a bad movie.

15. If you've got one of these little encyclopedias of movies, movie guide books, they're often quite helpful, & will tell you who the actors are & what the story is & everything‚ so right away you can tell whether you want to see it or not. However, we've sometimes found that if they're thoughtful movies, the author sometimes thinks they're dull & dead, so he gives them a low rating & sometimes won't even bother to tell you the story or even who's in it!—So you can't always go by the movie book! But once in a while it gives you a lead & a hint what it's all about & whether you want to see it or not.

16. Some movies, you can't tell what they're going to be like until you actually watch them. In "Savage Loosed", this family is apparently marooned on a jungle island‚ shipwrecked, & when I first began watching it I thought, "Oh no, another Tarzan story or something!" You know the reason why I kept watching it? Because it had one of my favourite, outstanding stars in it, George C. Scott. He's usually a serious actor, usually acts only in "thinking" movies, even the Westerns that he's in are usually serious, thoughtful Westerns.

17. So once in a great while you can even find a Western that has a good plot & is thoughtful. But that's the only reason I watched "Savage Loosed"‚ because he was in it. I thought, what in the World is this guy doing, playing the part of a native or a savage in the jungle, he's not that type at all! He must be a real rebel or he never would have acted in a movie like that, because that movie was strictly anti-System.

18. So some movies you've got to go by who's in it. If they're really top famous stars who usually only make good movies, worthwhile movies—at least entertaining even if it's not necessarily educational or inspiring or historical or whatever—if it's got good stars in it it's bound to be a pretty good movie.

19. Sometimes you like to see comedy just for a good laugh. Mama & I just nearly split our sides on this funny movie with Dick Van Dyke & James Garner we saw the other night. I got a real kick out of it, it's really got a funny plot, it's a scream‚ & you're just laughing & laughing all the way through.—Those guys are good comedians, & they can really give you a good laugh.—And you need a good laugh once in a while, you know? It was a good comedy that, you might say, had a clever plot, a serious comedy. It was a good plot even if it hadn't been funny.

20. Of course, some comedies are slapstick comedies, just silly ridiculous stuff, idiotic & sickening, usually because they've got that kind of actors in it & that's the kind of stuff you can expect from them. Lou Costello or the Three Stooges & that kind of junk—it's just junk! Absolute junk! It's all slapping & hitting each other & throwing pies—silly‚ idiotic, ridiculous stuff. We came upon a tape with one of those on it, & even our kids thought, "Oh that's silly‚ isn't that ridiculous?"—Even they were disgusted!

21. I don't know whether they call it serious comedy or what, but a good comedy usually has good actors & it's usually at least believable humour.—But that slapstick stuff is unbelievable, it's not natural, it's not real, it's not normal! The best humour is what's natural & believable & could really have happened, & you figure that it's pretty close to reality. Sometimes it's a little stretched & far-fetched, but nevertheless it's funny. So I really enjoy a good comedy, if it's good humour & by good actors.

22. We also enjoy a good musical if it's good music & pretty girls & dancing like "Can Can", with a good story & a whole galaxy of famous stars. So try to be a little choosy, & don't waste your time with stuff that's plain junk or silliness or foolishness‚ OK? I don't like wasting my time watching something that really isn't believable‚ isn't human, isn't normal‚ natural.

23. A lot of movies are what they call human situation movies, movies of human relations & that sort of thing, & they're usually romances‚ & they're almost like true stories about relationships between people, & they're interesting. You can learn a lot of lessons from them.

24. Of course, the producers of most of those human relations movies or series have now told their casts that they have to have more violence or they're not going to be popular. They've actually told them, "You've got to have more violence or it's not going to sell! The people want violence, they want crime, they want gore, they want death, so you've got to give it to them!" So the series which used to be mild little soap-box romances for the housewives, now that the men are watching, they want violent crime! So nearly every one of them now has violent crime.

25. Those hospital movies that seem to be so popular now, I don't like them at all! Some are good, have got good actors & all, but why should I go through all that suffering & gore & blood & guts & junk before I have to!—I hope I never do! So for God's sake, spare yourself from hospital movies!

26. The kind of movies we particularly like are usually significant movies, you might say, on significant themes of the day like Atomic War or politics or intrigue between nations & spies, things like that. You know the things we're interested in, you've seen them in the WND & you've seen them in my Letters. You ought to have a pretty good idea by this time of what we think is worthwhile & what we think is not. It doesn't have to be a perfect movie‚ it doesn't have to even be a serious movie, it can even be a comedy if it's really funny & it's good acting. I mean you need a good laugh once in a while! Just try to use a little discernment.

27. If a movie is just the same old thing, bang bang, shoot'm-up Western, cowboy, gangster, strictly action, chases, fights, violence—I get sick of it! Yet it's almost the only thing you can find sometimes nowadays!

28. That's one thing I loved about England—they had lots of documentaries, travelogues & serious political themes & so on, nonfiction movies. Plus serious historical fiction, serious, thoughtful movies on important themes with good actors & good dialogue, very little violence, almost none of these car chases & shoot'm-ups & shoot'm-outs & bang-ups & blah blah blah fights! They were based on serious themes with lots of dialogue‚ very thoughtful. Americans hate that kind of movie where they have to think & they have to listen to someone talking!

29. Take most of your British movies & you'll notice they're mostly dialogue. They love to hear their language & they love to speak it, & it's beautiful to hear them, those that really know how to speak their own language. And they carry the conversation & dialogue, sometimes with almost no action, it's totally dialogue, totally conversation.—But it's fascinating to me, I like it! I like British movies! Most Americans don't like them because they don't have enough "action", violence‚ crime & all that kind of stuff. But sad to say, I've noticed that a lot of the British movies are now getting into that same theme because they find it sells better in the USA, & they always want to hit the American market. (Prays:)

30. Do help them, Lord, give them wisdom & discernment in choosing their videos. It doesn't always have to be of any great, significant value, because video viewing is often a time when we just want to relax & not have to think too hard & not even be too serious. We often just want to rest & relax & be entertained & even enjoy something funny.

31. So do help them, Lord, to pick out the good & eschew the evil. Bless & help them & give them wisdom in their selection of what they watch.—To try to watch things that are worthwhile, things that are encouraging, cheerful, even sometimes funny‚ to relieve the strain of the responsibility, the burdens of the day.

32. Help us to use all these instruments that You've provided for our blessing & our help & even for Thy glory, that we might be not only entertained but edified‚ instructed, educated‚ even as we try to do with the children's tapes. Some of it's just entertainment, some just funny, some amusing‚ some just to enjoy, but we also try to give them as much educational material as possible, instructional material‚ Lord, that will be helpful, & teach them something worthwhile.

33. So help us all in the use of these tools that You have given us for our education & edification & even our entertainment & our recreational hours.—We ask in Jesus' Name, amen. PTL!—Happy video viewing!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family