12 Angry Men

12 Angry Men Starring: Fonda, Henry Cobb, Lee J. Sr., Ed Begley Warden, Jack Marshall, E.G. Fonda, Henry Begley, Ed Director: Lumet, Sidney

Rating: NR (MPAA)
Category: Courtroom Drama : Stage Play
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Running Time: 1 Hour 36 Minutes

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Barnes & Noble A splendidly realized film adaptation of a dramatic classic from television's Golden Age, 12 Angry Men is guaranteed to rivet the attention of even the most casual viewer, despite its claustrophobic one-room setting and lack of physical action. Reginald Rose's adaptation of his own teleplay opens on a hot summer day in a New York courthouse, where 12 jurors retire to a small, stifling room to deliberate the fate of a teenage boy accused of murdering his father. The first ballot finds quietly dignified Henry Fonda the lone holdout for acquittal. Blustery Lee J. Cobb leads the charge for conviction, and it remains for the other ten -- played by distinguished character actors Ed Begley, E. G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, George Voskovec, Robert Webber, Edward Binns, and Joseph Sweeney -- to be swayed by the grimly determined Fonda. The feature-film directorial debut of Sidney Lumet (Fail-Safe), 12 Angry Men derives its dramatic strength not only from his economic, incisive handling of a powerhouse cast, but also from Rose's sharply limned character studies. This 1957 film has been remade and reworked several times, but none of the subsequent versions has ever approached the original's perfection. Ed Hulse All Movie Guide A Puerto Rican youth is on trial for murder, accused of knifing his father to death. The twelve jurors retire to the jury room, having been admonished that the defendant is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Eleven of the jurors vote for conviction, each for reasons of his own. The sole holdout is Juror #8, played by Henry Fonda. As Fonda persuades the weary jurors to re-examine the evidence, we learn the backstory of each man. Juror #3 (Lee J. Cobb), a bullying self-made man, has estranged himself from his own son. Juror #7 (Jack Warden) has an ingrained mistrust of foreigners; so, to a lesser extent, does Juror #6 (Edward Binns). Jurors #10 (Ed Begley) and #11 (George Voskovec), so certain of the infallibility of the Law, assume that if the boy was arrested, he must be guilty. Juror #4 (E.G. Marshall) is an advocate of dispassionate deductive reasoning. Juror #5 (Jack Klugman), like the defendant a product of "the streets," hopes that his guilty vote will distance himself from his past. Juror #12 (Robert Webber), an advertising man, doesn't understand anything that he can't package and market. And Jurors #1 (Martin Balsam), #2 (John Fiedler) and #9 (Joseph Sweeney), anxious not to make waves, "go with the flow." The excruciatingly hot day drags into an even hotter night; still, Fonda chips away at the guilty verdict, insisting that his fellow jurors bear in mind those words "reasonable doubt." A pet project of Henry Fonda's, Twelve Angry Men was his only foray into film production; the actor's partner in this venture was Reginald Rose, who wrote the 1954 television play on which the film was based. Carried over from the TV version was director Sidney Lumet, here making his feature-film debut. A flop when it first came out (surprisingly, since it cost almost nothing to make), Twelve Angry Men holds up beautifully when seen today. It was remade for television in 1997 by director William Friedkin with Jack Lemmon and George C. Scott. Hal Erickson PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Vistavision (1.66:1) Presentation: B&W Sound: monaural Features: Original theatrical trailer; English: mono; French: Mono; French and Spanish subtitles Language: English, Français SubTitles: Français, Español Time: 1 Hour 36 Minutes

The Accidental Spy

The Accidental Spy Starring: Director:

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Category: Action
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From Amazon.com Jackie Chan returns to dazzling form! If you've watched Chan's Hollywood movies (Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon) and been unimpressed, The Accidental Spy is a good introduction to the astonishing fights and extraordinary stunts that make Chan's Hong Kong films such events. Chan plays an exercise-equipment salesman who turns out to be the missing son of a Korean double agent who's connected with drug lords in Turkey who have developed a super-addictive opium--got all that? The plot is largely nonsensical, a series of implausible escapades that frame the action; but what the movie lacks in logic, it makes up for in spectacle, ranging from a burning runaway truck cascading off a bridge to a stark-naked Chan pursued by thugs in a Turkish bazaar, defending himself with every implement in sight. This is why Jackie Chan is the biggest movie star in the world--check it out. --Bret Fetzer

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland Starring: Jackson, Wilfred Luske, Hamilton Beaumont, Kathryn Director: Geronimi, Clyde

Rating: G (MPAA)
Category: Classics - Action/Adventure : Children - Animation : Animation - Disney : Children - Disney : Children - Fantasy : Classics - Ge
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Running Time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes

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Barnes & Noble Walt Disney's 1951 animated adaptation of Lewis Carroll's enchanting fable emerges through the looking glass and onto DVD in this two-disc "Watch Me" set that's brimming with fascinating archival treasures and fun interactive features. Following Snow White and Cinderella, Alice was the third storybook heroine Disney animators brought to life. Their Alice is a bored schoolgirl who, like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, yearns for a more exciting life. Things get "curiouser and curiouser" after she follows the frantic White Rabbit down the rabbit hole and has a series of surreal misadventures in a world where "nothing's impossible." Although less emotionally engaged than such Disney animated masterworks as Pinocchio and Bambi, Alice in Wonderland is still a riot of fantastic incidents and classic characters (the Walrus and the Carpenter, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Queen of Hearts, and, to quote Grace Slick, that hookah-smoking Caterpillar). The voice work is superb, from charmer Kathryn Beaumont as Alice to Ed Wynn as the Mad Hatter, Jerry Colonna as the March Hare, and Sterling Holloway as the Cheshire Cat. The musical score includes the Disney standards, "I'm Late" and the rollicking "The Unbirthday Song." And, for once in a Disney film, a wicked queen is more comical than terrifying. As for the bonuses: Rarities include "One Hour in Wonderland" form 1950, culled from Walt Disney's first television show, as well as the 1923 Disney cartoon "Alice's Wonderland," which combines live action and animation, and the classic Mickey Mouse cartoon "Thru the Mirror." An adult Beaumont appears in a surprising segment that reveals how unused music from Alice found its way into Peter Pan. Donald Liebenson All Movie Guide This Disney feature-length cartoon combines the most entertaining elements of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Chasing after the White Rabbit, who runs into view singing "I'm Late! I'm Late!," Alice falls down the rabbit hole into the topsy-turvy alternate world of Wonderland. She grows and shrinks after following the instructions of a haughty caterpillar, attends a "Very Merry Unbirthday" party in the garden of the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, stands in awe as the Cheshire Cat spouts philosophy, listens in rapt attention as Tweedledum and Tweedledee relate the story of the Walrus and the Carpenter (a sequence usually cut when Alice is shown on TV), and closes out her day with a hectic croquet game at the home of the Red Queen. The music and production design of Alice in Wonderland is marvelous, but the film is too much of a good thing, much too frantic to do full honor to the whimsical Carroll original, and far too episodic to hang together as a unified feature film. One tactical error is having Alice weep at mid-point, declaring her wish to go home: This is Alice in Wonderland, Walt, not Wizard of Oz! Its storytelling shortcomings aside, Alice in Wonderland is superior family entertainment (never mind the efforts in the 1970s to palm off the picture as a psychedelic "head" film). Hal Erickson PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Presentation: Pan & Scan Sound: Dolby Digital Features: "Alice in Wonderland" DVD storybook; "Alice in Wonderland" trivia game; "Operation Wonderland" featurette; "The Unbirthday Song" singalong; "All in the Golden Afternoon" singalong; Theatrical trailer Language: English, Español SubTitles: English Time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes

Amélie

Amélie Starring: Director:

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Category: Comedy
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Running Time: 121 ·

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From Amazon.com Perhaps the most charming movie of all time, Amélie is certainly one of the top 10. The title character (the bashful and impish Audrey Tautou) is a single waitress who decides to help other lonely people fix their lives. Her widowed father yearns to travel but won't, so to inspire the old man she sends his garden gnome on a tour of the world; with whispered gossip, she brings together two cranky regulars at her café; she reverses the doorknobs and reprograms the speed dial of a grocer who's mean to his assistant. Gradually she realizes her own life needs fixing, and a chance meeting leads to her most elaborate stratagem of all. This is a deeply wonderful movie, an illuminating mix of magic and pragmatism. Fans of the director's previous films (Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children) will not be disappointed; newcomers will be delighted. --Bret Fetzer

American Movie

American Movie Starring: Borchardt, Mark Schank, Mike Director: Smith, Chris

Rating: R (MPAA)
Category: Independent - Documentary : Documentary - Feature Length : Documentary - general
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Running Time: 1 Hour 44 Minutes

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Barnes & Noble You're behind on your child support, your phone's being turned off, and you owe money to the IRS -- what do you do? Make a movie! At least that's what beleaguered Wisconsin filmmaker Mark Borchardt decided to do in the Sundance smash American Movie. Documentary director Chris Smith and producer Sarah Price followed Borchardt for two years as he struggled to complete a "35-minute direct-market thriller film" called Coven, with $3,000 borrowed from his semi-senile uncle and the loyal support of his unflappably affable guitar-playing best friend, Mike Schank. The result is a poignant and often hilarious character study of a charismatic all-American underdog, who makes up in drive and vision what he lacks in talent. Interviews with Borchardt's skeptical family and friends are combined with scenes of sparsely attended production meetings, no-budget film shoots (the scene in which Borchardt tries to shove an actor through a "breakaway" cabinet door is already a classic), and camp-outs in the editing room with the kids. Guaranteed to touch a nerve in anyone who has ever aspired to make films, American Movie is an offbeat, sometimes sad, but ultimately inspirational tribute to pursuing one's dreams. Gregory Baird All Movie Guide Director Chris Smith made this documentary about independent filmmaking which had its world premiere at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize. American Movie centers on a low-budget horror-film buff named Mark Borchardt, who grew up on such horror classics as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Night of the Living Dead. Now in his late twenties, he has decided to make the ultimate horror opus in the form of an indie feature entitled Northwestern, the scariest film ever made in his Wisconsin town. Filled with determination and passion (and very little else), this documentary follows Mark for a year and a half in the making of Northwestern. The audience sees Mark fending off creditors, including the IRS, and avoiding child support payments so he can make this direct-to-video flick. His efforts to round up cast and crew are disastrous, as there is nobody in his town who shares his knowledge and passion for moviemaking. Eventually he decides to star in his film and wears a dozen crew members' hats as writer, producer, director, cameraman, editor, and soundman. American Movie follows this man with a dream to his dying uncle's trailer park, where he raises three thousand dollars. Unable to make an entire feature for that price, he scraps the idea in exchange for completing one of his many abandoned short films, Coven, which also premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. The end is a world premiere as satisfying as getting accepted into Sundance. Arthur Borman PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Presentation: Pan & Scan Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Digitally mastered audio and video; Full-screen presentation; English and Spanish subtitles; Director and cast commentary; "Coven" short film by Mark Borchardt; Deleted scenes; Direct web link; Theatrical trailer; Scene selections; Interactive menus Language: English SubTitles: English, Español Time: 1 Hour 44 Minutes

Annie

Annie Starring: Finney, Albert Burnett, Carol Peters, Bernadette Curry, Tim Reinking, Ann Holder, Geoffrey Quinn, Aileen Herrmann, Edward Herrmann, Edward Director: Huston, John

Rating: PG
Category: Studio Specials : Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment : Kids and Family
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Running Time: 128

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Amazon.com Charmless and dull, this adaptation of the Broadway hit stars Aileen Quinn as the depression-era moppet, Albert Finney as Daddy Warbucks, Carol Burnett as the cruel headmistress at an orphanage, and Tim Curry as a villain. The film never gets its legs, and there is no sense of setting; it's almost as if the whole thing is happening in a void. John Huston nominally directed--no doubt to make money between his smaller, cheaper masterpieces--but one would have thought he would invest something of himself in here. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. DVD features The DVD's production notes, which are new enough to discuss the competing (and superior) 1999 television production, include a timeline of the "Little Orphan Annie" comic strip and its theater and film adaptations. The notes also mention the four songs written specifically for the 1982 film but name only one, "Let's Go to the Movies." The others are "Dumb Dog," "Sandy," and "Sign"; "We Got Annie" was written for an early draft of the Broadway show but not used until this film. --David... read more

Annie Get Your Gun

Annie Get Your Gun Starring: Hutton, Betty Keel, Howard Wynn, Keenan Keel, Howard Sundberg, Clinton Arnold, Edward Hutton, Betty Director: (II), George Sidney

Rating: NR
Category: Musicals & Performing Arts : General
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Running Time: 107

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Amazon.com Never before available on home video and unseen on television since 1973, the 1950 production of Annie Get Your Gun has achieved somewhat legendary status, most notably for who would inherit the role Ethel Merman had made famous on Broadway in 1946. MGM originally cast Judy Garland, but her ongoing drug and alcohol problems led to her being fired and replaced by Betty Hutton. Fortunately, the bright and brassy Hutton sparkles in this highly fictionalized story of Annie Oakley, the sharpshooter who wins fame in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and wins the heart of fellow sharpshooter Frank Butler (Howard Keel). Dashing baritone Keel was beginning his career as one of MGM's favorite leading men in the 1950s (including Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Kiss Me, Kate). Together they make gold of the many Irving Berlin hits--"Doin' What Comes Naturally," "Anything You Can Do," "They Say It's Wonderful," "I Got the Sun in the Morning," and the classic anthem "There's No Business Like Show Business." Annie Get Your Gun is unquestionably a product of the 1950s. Keel's relentless chauvinism and Hutton's constant fawning over him grow tiresome (though she does stand up to him in a battle of the sexes), and the Indians wear full headdresses and face paint, say "Ugh," and destroy modern conveniences. (In the name of political correctness, the 1999 Broadway revival starring Bernadette Peters removed "I'm an Indian Too" and received its own share of criticism from purists.) Quibbles aside, the excellent cast and immortal score make Annie Get Your Gun a classic musical. It's great to have it back. --David Horiuchi --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. DVD features Included on this DVD release, and of prime interest to many fans, are two scenes originally filmed by Judy Garland before she was replaced by Betty Hutton. By unfortunate coincidence, those two are the least flattering, with "Doin' What Comes Naturally" portraying Garland as a backwoods hick and "I'm an Indian Too" (filmed on a set strikingly different from what was used in the final Hutton version) showing her in Indian face paint. Garland is warm and likable in the first number, without the... read more

The Apartment

The Apartment Starring: Lemmon, Jack MacLaine, Shirley MacMurray, Fred Walston, Ray Kruschen, Jack Shawlee, Joan Lemmon, Jack Holiday, Hope Holiday, Hope Stevens, Naomi Director: Wilder, Billy

Rating: NR (MPAA)
Category: Comedy - Urban : Office Comedy : Comedy Drama : Romantic Comedy
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Running Time: 2 Hours 5 Minutes

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Barnes & Noble Billy Wilder always liked to thread a strong streak of cynicism through his comedies, and he rarely made a film with a darker undertow than The Apartment. The effervescent comic charm of Jack Lemmon and quirky beauty of Shirley MacLaine give the film a palatable sweetness (while she would be given more glamorous treatment in later films, MacLaine was never more adorable than she was here), but they sugarcoat a very bitter pill in what is ultimately a story about moral accountability (and the lack thereof) in American business. While the film starts off as a naughty-for-its-time sex comedy about sad sack C.C. Baxter (Lemmon) who discovers he can curry the favor of his many bosses by letting them use his apartment for romantic indiscretions, it takes a more serious turn when we get to know Fran Kubelik (MacLaine), an elevator operator with precious little self-esteem. While most of the women Baxter's superiors lure to the tiny den of seduction look like brassy bar girls who've been this route before and know what they're doing, Kubelik is at heart a sweet (if disappointed) girl who desperately wants to be loved and who has made the mistake of falling for the duplicitous J.D. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray), whose callous indifference to the agony he inflicts falls just short of horrifying. (Anyone who grew up watching MacMurray on My Three Sons may be shocked to see how slimy he is in this role.) Ultimately, Baxter and Kubelik seem like two innocents stranded in a corrupt world, and what's most remarkable is not that they finally end up together, but that they both survive the experience intact and that Wilder is able to wring so many laughs out of a story that runs so close to tragedy. Mark Deming All Movie Guide Widely regarded as a comedy in 1960, The Apartment seems more melancholy with each passing year. Jack Lemmon plays C.C. Baxter, a go-getting office worker who loans his tiny apartment to his philandering superiors for their romantic trysts. He runs into trouble when he finds himself sharing a girlfriend (Shirley MacLaine) with his callous boss (Fred MacMurray). Director/co-writer Billy Wilder claimed that the idea for The Apartment stemmed from a short scene in the 1945 romantic drama Brief Encounter in which the illicit lovers (Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson) arrange a rendezvous in a third person's apartment. Wilder was intrigued about what sort of person would willingly vacate his residence to allow virtual strangers a playing field for hanky panky. His answer to that question wound up winning 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. The Apartment was adapted by Neil Simon and Burt Bacharach into the 1969 Broadway musical Promises, Promises. Hal Erickson PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1) Presentation: Wide Screen Language: English, Français, Español SubTitles: English, Français, Español Time: 2 Hours 5 Minutes

Band of Brothers (Widescreen, 6 Discs)

Band of Brothers (Widescreen, 6 Discs) Starring: Director:

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Category: Docudrama
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From Amazon.com An impressively rigorous, unsentimental, and harrowing look at combat during World War II, Band of Brothers follows a company of airborne infantry--Easy Company--from boot camp through the end of the war. The brutality of training takes the audience by increments to the even greater brutality of the war; Easy Company took part in some of the most difficult battles, including the D-day invasion of Normandy, the failed invasion of Holland, and the Battle of the Bulge, as well as the liberation of a concentration camp and the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest. But what makes these episodes work is not their historical sweep but their emphasis on riveting details (such as the rattle of a plane as the paratroopers wait to leap, or a flower in the buttonhole of a German soldier) and procedures (from military tactics to the workings of bureaucratic hierarchies). The scope of this miniseries (10 episodes, plus an actual documentary filled with interviews with surviving veterans) allows not only a thoroughness impossible in a two-hour movie, but also captures the wide range of responses to the stress and trauma of war--fear, cynicism, cruelty, compassion, and all-encompassing confusion. The result is a realism that makes both simplistic judgments and jingoistic enthusiasm impossible; the things these soldiers had to do are both terrible and understandable, and the psychological price they paid is made clear. The writing, directing, and acting are superb throughout. The cast is largely unknown, emphasizing the team of actors as a whole unit, much like the regiment; Damian Lewis and Ron Livingston play the central roles of two officers with grit and intelligence. Band of Brothers turns a vast historical event into a series of potent personal experiences; it's a deeply engrossing and affecting accomplishment. --Bret Fetzer Additional Features HBO's impressive miniseries may have the most handsome DVD packaging to date: a tin container enclosing the accordion sleeves holding six discs. The extras on the set are just as classy. Besides the rudimentary 30-minute making-of, there's an hour's worth of video diaries by actor Ron Livingston (who portrays Lewis Nixon) detailing the tough "actors' boot camp." The first-person recollections of the real Easy Company soldiers that begin each episode are expanded in the 80-minute documentary We...

Battle of Britain

Battle of Britain Starring: Andrews, Harry Howard, Trevor Caine, Michael Caine, Michael Andrews, Harry Shaw, Robert Jurgens, Curt McShane, Ian McShane, Ian Plummer, Christopher Director: Hamilton, Guy

Rating: G (MPAA)
Category: War Epic : Epic : Action - general : Historical Film : UK : War Drama
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Running Time: 132

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All Movie Guide James Bond-flick director Guy Hamilton helmed this episodic, all-star World War II film. With Sir Laurence Olivier heading up an ensemble cast as flight commander Sir Hugh Dowdling, The Battle of Britain pays tribute to other nationalities instrumental in fending off the waves of Luftwaffe planes, notably the expatriate Polish and Czech pilots. Trevor Howard, Michael Caine, and Michael Redgrave also populate the cast. Hal Erickson PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1) Presentation: Wide Screen Features: Origional theatrical trailer; Origional theatrical english/german mono; English, french and spanish language subtitles Language: English, Deutsche SubTitles: English, Français, Español

Being There

Being There Starring: Sellers, Peter MacLaine, Shirley Sellers, Peter Warden, Jack Basehart, Richard Dysart, Richard Director: Ashby, Hal

Rating: PG
Category: Studio Specials : Warner Home Video : DVDs Under $15
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Running Time: 130

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Amazon.com essential video Thanks to an extraordinary, delicately balanced performance by Peter Sellers, Being There received mixed reviews during its theatrical release in 1979, but has since become a celebrated comedy with a loyal following. It's one of the most unusual black comedies ever made, simply because it stretches a simple premise over 130 minutes of straight-faced, strangely compelling commentary on politics, media, and celebrity in media-savvy America. Adapted by Jerzy Kozinsky from his own novel, the movie's about a simple-minded, middle-aged gardener who, after a lifetime of seclusion and safety in a Washington, D.C. townhouse, gets his first exposure to reality beyond the walls of his sheltered existence. His only reference to the world is through his childlike addiction to television, and when a chance encounter brings him into the inner fold of a dying billionaire (Melvyn Douglas), he suddenly finds himself the toast of Washington's political elite. His simple phrases about gardening are misinterpreted as anything from economic predictions to sage political advice, and under the sharp direction of Hal Ashby, Sellers has the audacity to take this comedic conceit to its logical extreme. Being There is not for all tastes--especially not for those who don't appreciate comedic subtlety. But as a showcase for the daring genius of Peter Sellers, this is a classic movie in a category all its own. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. Description Based on Jerzy Kosinski's satirical novel about an illiterate gardener who has lived his entire life behind the walls of a Washington, D.C., house, his only knowledge of the world coming from the TV programs he watches. When his employer and protector dies, he is catapulted into the fast lane of political power.

Best In Show

Best In Show Starring: Levy, Eugene O'Hara, Catherine Higgins, John Michael O'Hara, Catherine Higgins, John Michael McKean, Michael Cranshaw, Patrick Coolidge, Jennifer Coolidge, Jennifer Balaban, Bob Director: Guest, Christopher

Rating: PG-13 (MPAA)
Category: Comedy of Manners : Mockumentary
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Running Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

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All Movie Guide After parodying the idiosyncrasies of community theater devotees in the mock documentary Waiting for Guffman, actor/director Christopher Guest returns with another semi-improvised comedy that casts a satirical gaze on the world of championship dog breeding and training. A television crew is on hand to document the prestigious Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show, and competition is fierce among the canine devotees vying for top honors. Salesman Gerry Fleck (Eugene Levy), who is cursed with two left feet (literally), and his wife Cookie (Catherine O'Hara) have entered their Norwich terrier "Winky" in competition. Wealthy and neurotic Meg Swan (Parker Posey) and her husband Hamilton (Michael Hitchcock) are on hand with their Weimaraner "Beatrice," who they fear may have been traumatized by watching them have sex. Scott Donlan (John Michael Higgins) and his life partner Stefan Vanderhoof (Michael McKean) have brought their beloved Shih Tzu, "Miss Agnes." Trophy wife Sheri Ann Cabot (Jennifer Coolidge) and her close friend and trainer Christy Cummings (Jane Lynch) are hoping for a repeat victory for Sheri's poodle, "Rhapsody In White." And Harlan Pepper (Guest), who operates a store specializing in fly-fishing gear, has decided to stack his bloodhound "Hubert" up against the competition. In addition to Guest, Levy, O'Hara, and Posey, several other veterans of the Waiting for Guffman cast also appear in Best in Show, including Fred Willard, Bob Balaban, and Lewis Arquette. Mark Deming New York Times "Best in Show" reunites many of the same brilliant comic actors who appeared in Mr. Guest's last movie, the cult comedy classic "Waiting for Guffman." .... As before, the actors improvising from a bare-bones screenplay (by Mr. Guest and Eugene Levy) riff off one another like jazz musicians to create what may be the cleverest on-the-spot caricatures since the heyday of Mike Nichols and Elaine May. ...The movie's weaknesses are inextricable from its form. For "Best in Show" is essentially a well-organized, exquisitely nuanced skit comedy, "Saturday Night Live"-style sketches loosely stitched together and refined to the nth degree. Although the movie pretends to have narrative structure, it doesn't really go much of anywhere. It is futile to look for deeper patterns in this kind of storytelling. The whole point is to savor the moments. This comic jigsaw puzzle is crammed with deliriously funny little bits. Stephen Holden PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Features: Audio commentary with director-actor Christopher Guest and actor-writer Eugene Levy; 17 deleted scenes; cast and filmmaker profiles; original theatrical trailer Language: English, Français SubTitles: English, Français Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

The Best of Benny Hill

The Best of Benny Hill Starring: Hill, Benny Wright, Jackie Angels, Hill's Director: Robins, John

Rating: NR (MPAA)
Category: Television - British : Television - Comedy : Television : Made for TV : Slapstick : UK
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Running Time: 1 Hour 27 Minutes

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All Movie Guide Taken from the popular British television show featuring comedian Benny Hill, this video is a collection of some of the best skits from these raunchy and vulgar--but funny--episodes. Kristie Hassen PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Presentation: Pan & Scan Sound: Dolby Digital Mono Features: Full-frame presentation; Trailer Language: English Time: 1 Hour 27 Minutes

Bottle Rocket

Bottle Rocket Starring: Wilson, Luke Wilson, Owen Musgrave, Robert Ponds, Jim Caan, James Wilson, Andrew Cavazos, Lumi Director: Anderson, Wes

Rating: R
Category: Comedy : General
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Running Time: 91

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Amazon.com This quietly daffy comedy should have been an indie hit, but ended up ignored by audiences. Too bad; it's a wonderfully sustained caper movie about friends whose career choice is all wrong. Low-key Anthony (Luke Wilson) and high-strung Dignan (Owen C. Wilson--the two actors are brothers) are brought into a life of crime by Dignan's ambition to be a small-time thief. After a few amusingly laid-back trial burglaries, they (and a third buddy) find themselves over their heads when they hook up with an experienced crime boss (James Caan). Because this movie is so relentlessly deadpan, you really have to be dialed in to its brand of humor--but once there, Bottle Rocket shoots off plenty of sparks. Above all, Owen Wilson's portrayal of Dignan is a terrifically original comic creation; Dignan is so sincerely focused on his goals that he can't see how completely absurd his ideas are. Owen Wilson, who went on to supply similarly knuckle-headed performances in Armageddon and Permanent Midnight, wrote the screenplay with director Wes Anderson. --Robert Horton --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Breakfast at Tiffany's Starring: Hepburn, Audrey Peppard, George Neal, Patricia Balsam, Martin Hepburn, Audrey Neal, Patricia Peppard, George Director: Edwards, Blake

Rating: NR (MPAA)
Category: Classics - Comedy : Classics - General : Classics - Romance : Sophisticated Comedy : Literary Adaptation : Romantic Comedy
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Running Time: 1 Hour 54 Minutes

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All Movie Guide In an idealized New York City during the early '60s, Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) is a charming socialite with a youthful zest for life who lives alone in a nearly bare apartment. She has such a flippant lifestyle that she won't even give her cat a name, because that would be too much of a commitment to a relationship. Maintaining a childlike innocence yet wearing the most perfect of designer clothes and accessories from Givenchy, she spends her time on expensive dates and at high-class parties. She escorts various wealthy men, yet fails to return their affections after they have given her gifts and money. Holly's carefree independence is changed when she meets her neighbor, aspiring writer Paul (George Peppard), who is suffering from writer's block while being kept by a wealthy woman (Patricia Neal). Just when Holly and Paul are developing their sweet romance, Doc (Buddy Ebsen) appears on the scene and complicates matters, revealing the truth about Holly's past. Breakfast at Tiffany's was nominated for several Academy awards, winning Best Score for Henry Mancini and Best Song for Johnny Mercer's classic tune "Moon River." ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide All Movie Guide Few performers are as inextricably linked to a character as Audrey Hepburn to the role of Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Her Holly is a delicate portrait of a grown-up girl with the soul of a child. Blake Edwards's spirited direction sets a deceptively light tone as he gradually reveals a portrait of two young New Yorkers who, like the film itself, are more complicated than they first appear. George Axelrod's adaptation of the Truman Capote novel successfully balances sentiment and comedy, and Henry Mancini's legendary score (including the Oscar-winning "Moon River"), sets the film's tempo. George Peppard is solid as writer Paul Varjak, and we understand his impulse to try to shield Holly from a world that's tougher than she is. While Hepburn's impish spirit makes this film a classic, other aspects of the film, most notably, Mickey Rooney's insulting characterization of a buck-toothed Japanese neighbor, have become somewhat dated. Capote originally envisioned Marilyn Monroe as Holly; it's a testament to Hepburn's performance that one can hardly imagine any other actress as Holly. Breakfast at Tiffany's became the most recognized role of her career, and, for many viewers, one of the most cherished romances ever made. Matthew Doberman PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Mono Features: Widescreen version enhanced for 16x9 TVs; Dolby Digital: English 5.1 Surround, English Dolby Surround, French Mono; English subtitles; Interactive menus; Scene selection; Theatrical trailer Language: English, Français Time: 1 Hour 54 Minutes

A Bug's Life (Disney Gold Classic Collection)

A Bug's Life (Disney Gold Classic Collection) Starring: Foley, Dave Spacey, Kevin Spacey, Kevin Ratzenberger, John Harris, Jonathan Kahn, Madeline Foley, Dave Leary, Denis Leary, Denis Pierce, David Hyde Director: Stanton, Andrew

Rating: G
Category: Kids & Family : Animation
User Rating:
Running Time: 96

Color Stereo

Amazon.com There was such a magic on the screen in 1995 when the people at Pixar came up with the first fully computer-animated film, Toy Story. Their second feature film, A Bug's Life, may miss the bull's-eye but Pixar's target is so lofty, it's hard to find the film anything less than irresistible. Brighter and more colorful than the other animated insect movie of 1998 (Antz), A Bug's Life is the sweetly told story of Flik (voiced by David Foley), an ant searching for better ways to be a bug. His colony unfortunately revolves around feeding and fearing the local grasshoppers (lead by Hopper, voiced with gleeful menace by Kevin Spacey). When Flik accidentally destroys the seasonal food supply for the grasshoppers he decides to look for help ("We need bigger bugs!"). The ants, led by Princess Atta (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), are eager to dispose of the troublesome Flik. Yet he finds help--a hearty bunch of bug warriors--and brings them back to the colony. Unfortunately they are just traveling performers afraid of conflict. As with Toy Story, the ensemble of creatures and voices is remarkable and often inspired. Highlights include wiseacre comedian Denis Leary as an un-ladylike ladybug, Joe Ranft as the German-accented caterpillar, David Hyde Pierce as a stick bug, and Michael McShane as a pair of unintelligible pillbugs. The scene-stealer is Atta's squeaky-voiced sister, baby Dot (Hayden Panettiere), who has a big sweet spot for Flik. More gentle and kid-friendly than Antz, A Bug Life's still has some good suspense and a wonderful demise of the villain. However, the film--a giant worldwide hit--will be remembered for its most creative touch: "outtakes" over the end credits à la many live-action comedy films. These dozen or so scenes (both "editions" of outtakes are contained here) are brilliant and deserve a special place in film history right along with 1998's other most talked-about sequence: the opening Normandy invasion in Saving Private Ryan. The video and DVD also contain Pixar's delightful Oscar-winning short, Geri's Game. --Doug Thomas --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Casablanca

Casablanca Starring: Bogart, Humphrey Bergman, Ingrid Henreid, Paul Wilson, Dooley Veidt, Conrad Greenstreet, Sydney Lorre, Peter Sakall, S.Z. Sakall, S.Z. Page, Joy Director: Curtiz, Michael

Rating: NR (MPAA)
Category: Classics - Drama : Classics - General : Classics - Romance : Classics - War : Drama - general : Period Drama : War Romance : War
User Rating: 8.8/10 (IMDB)
Running Time: 1 Hour 43 Minutes

B&W Dolby Digital Mono

Barnes & Noble Star-crossed lovers meet during wartime under the Moorish arches of Rick's Café Americain in Casablanca. This legendary melodrama is one of the most perfectly realized movies to come out of the Hollywood studio system. Directed by Hungarian émigré Michael Curtiz, it stars Humphrey Bogart in his iconic role as the fiercely independent but ultimately honorable Rick, an American expatriate running a swanky nightclub on the French North African coast. An embittered romantic, Rick has never forgotten the beautiful and enigmatic Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), who left him waiting at the train station in Paris as Nazi tanks rolled in. Their secret love, unexpectedly rekindled at Rick's, drives a charged narrative set against an exotic backdrop. Bogart and Bergman supply enormous star power, to be sure. But Casablanca's witty script, brisk pacing, lush atmosphere, and bittersweet romance -- not to mention a splendid performance by Claude Rains as the morally flexible French official, Inspector Renault -- all help make it the classic that it is. Monica McIntyre All Movie Guide One of the most beloved American films, this captivating wartime adventure of romance and intrigue from director Michael Curtiz defies standard categorization. Simply put, it is the story of Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a world-weary ex-freedom fighter who runs a nightclub in Casablanca during the early part of WWII. Despite pressure from the local authorities, notably the crafty Capt. Renault (Claude Rains), Rick's café has become a haven for refugees looking to purchase illicit letters of transit which will allow them to escape to America. One day, to Rick's great surprise, he is approached by the famed rebel Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) and his wife Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), Rick's true love who deserted him when the Nazis invaded Paris. She still wants Victor to escape to America, but now that she's renewed her love for Rick, she wants to stay behind in Casablanca. "You must do the thinking for both of us," she says to Rick. He does, and his plan brings the story to its satisfyingly logical, if not entirely happy, conclusion. Robert Firsching PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Presentation: B&W Sound: Dolby Digital Mono Features: Documentary you must remember this, hosted by Lauren Bacall and featuring recently unearthed outtakes; All-new introduction by Lauren Bacall; Interactive menus; Theatrical trailer; Scene access; Languages & subtitles: English & Français Language: English, Français SubTitles: English, Français Time: 1 Hour 43 Minutes

Chasing Amy

Chasing Amy Starring: Affleck, Ben Adams, Joey Lauren Lee, Jason Willyung, John Washington, Tsemach O'Donnell, Ernie Mosier, Kristin Smith, Virginia Smith, Virginia Mewes, Jason Director: Smith, Kevin

Rating: R (MPAA)
Category: Independent - Comedy : Independent - Romance : Comedy - general : Romantic Comedy
User Rating: 7.6/10 (IMDB)
Running Time: 1 Hour 53 Minutes

Color Dolby Digital

All Movie Guide After a pair of films about hipster slackers, the work of writer-director Kevin Smith matured and gained critical respect with this low budget, independent comedy-drama about love, sex and the fine line between the two. Ben Affleck stars as Holden McNeil, a New Jersey comic book writer who is roommates with his best friend and professional partner, artist Banky Edwards (Jason Lee). Their hit comic book series, "Bluntman and Chronic," is loosely patterned after a pair of acquaintances, Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (played by Smith), two characters already familiar as supporting players in several Smith films. Into Holden's life comes Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams), a lesbian and fellow comic book creator who quickly becomes a close friend, although Holden is powerfully attracted to her. Eventually, Alyssa realizes that she is attracted to Holden as well and they begin a physical relationship, much to the consternation of Banky, whose ire over losing his best friend to a lesbian seems to border on romantic jealousy. After he learns something about Alyssa's sexual past, however, Holden's immature response to his new knowledge destroys both his romance with Alyssa and his friendship with Banky. Chasing Amy (1997) was the third film in what Smith referred to as his "New Jersey series," films set at least partly in the Garden State and featuring the Jay and Silent Bob characters. Karl Williams PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Widescreen digital transfer supervised by cinematographer David Klein and enhanced for 16x9 televisions; 5.1 channel Dolby Digital soundtrack; New video introduction to the DVD edition from director Kevin Smith; Screen-specific audio commentary by Kevin Smith, producer Scott Mosier, actors Ben Affleck and Jason Mewes, associate producer Robert Hawk, Miramax executive Jon Gordon, and View Askew historian Vincent Pereira; Ten deleted scenes, plus outtakes; Trailer; Video introductions from the cast and crew; "The Askewniverse Legend": a guide to the characters in the "New Jersey Trilogy"; English subtitles; Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition Language: English SubTitles: English Time: 1 Hour 53 Minutes

Clerks

Clerks Starring: O'Halloran, Brian Anderson, Jeff Ghigliotti, Marilyn Mewes, Jason Director: Smith, Kevin

Rating: R (MPAA)
Category: Comedy - Black : Independent - Comedy : Office Comedy : Comedy - general
User Rating:
Running Time: 1 Hour 32 Minutes

B&W Mono

All Movie Guide When Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) is reluctantly put in charge of the Quick Stop market on his day off, he tries, though half-heartedly, to perform his minimum-wage duties as efficiently as possible. This gets tough amidst the on-going fight with his girlfriend, Veronica (Marilyn Ghigliotti), and his attempt to get back together with his ex-girlfriend, Caitlyn Bree (Lisa Spoonhauer). Meanwhile, his friend and alter ego Randall (Jeff Anderson) is working behind the counter of the adjacent video store?at least when he feels like it. Randall's unabashed disdain of his place of employment, a long with his self-admitted hatred towards its customers is a sharp contrast to Dante's feeble attempts at the niceties of customer service. Much of the film consists of Randall and Dante's criticism of their customers, their lives, and the world in general. Clerks, filmed in black-and-white on a budget of only $27,000, began the career of writer director Kevin Smith, who would go on to make Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma (1999), and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). Hal Erickson PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1) Presentation: B&W Features: Audio commentary by director Kevin Smith and members of the cast and crew; Deleted scenes with introduction by Kevin Smith; Alternate ending; Soul Asylum music video; Theatrical trailer; Widescreen 1.85:1 aspect ratio; Dolby Surround; Chapter search Language: English Time: 1 Hour 32 Minutes

Comedian

Comedian Starring: Director:

Rating:
Category: Comedy
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Color Mono

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Starring: Yun-Fat, Chow Yeoh, Michelle Ziyi, Zhang Li, Fa Zeng Gao, Xian Hai, Yan Wang, Deming Yeoh, Michelle Yeoh, Michelle Chen, Chang Director: Lee, Ang

Rating: PG-13 (MPAA)
Category: Cult - Martial Arts : Action/Adventure - Romance : Magic Realism : Costume Adventure : Martial Arts : Romance - general
User Rating:
Running Time: 2 Hours

Color Dolby Digital Surround

Barnes & Noble A hypnotically fascinating hybrid produced by crossing martial-arts adventure with fairy-tale romance, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon quickly became the most successful foreign film ever released in the U.S. Chow Yun-Fat, an international superstar whose English-language films include Anna and the King, portrays a Chinese warrior who retires from a life of violence and relinquishes custody of his fabled sword, the magnificent Green Destiny. Hong Kong action star and erstwhile Bond girl Michelle Yeoh plays the longtime friend and admirer whose father is entrusted with the sword. A thrill-seeking young aristocrat (Zhang Ziyi), working with an evil mentor whom Chow once swore to kill, steals the sword -- and the chase is on. The characters square off in a series of exhilarating, occasionally dreamlike confrontations -- including a particularly memorable scene that unfolds amid windblown treetops -- staged with split-second precision and choreographic grace. As directed by Ang Lee (The Ice Storm), Crouching Tiger assumes multiple aspects; it offers two contrasting love stories that are at various points wistful, soaring, melancholy, and profoundly spiritual. It is, in every way, an impeccably executed film that refuses to be confined by formula and therefore delights on many levels. Ed Hulse Barnes & Noble All Movie Guide Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee took a break from making Western period dramas to fashion this wild and woolly martial arts spectacular featuring special effects and action sequences courtesy of the choreographer of The Matrix (1999), Yuen Woo Ping. In the early 19th century, martial arts master Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) is about to retire and enter a life of meditation, though he quietly longs to avenge the death of his master, who was killed by Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei). He gives his sword, a fabled 400-year-old weapon known as Green Destiny, to his friend, fellow martial arts wizard and secret love Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), so that she may deliver it to Sir Te (Sihung Lung). Upon arrival in Peking, Yu happens upon Jen (Zhang Ziyi), a vivacious, willful politician's daughter. That night, a mysterious masked thief swipes Green Destiny, with Yu in hot pursuit -- resulting in the first of several martial arts action set pieces during the film. Li arrives in Beijing and eventually discovers that Jen is not only the masked thief but is also in cahoots with the evil Jade. In spite of this, Li sees great talent in Jen as a fighter and offers to school her in the finer points of martial arts and selflessness, an offer that Jen promptly rebukes. This film was first screened to much acclaim at the 2000 Cannes, Toronto, and New York film festivals and became a favorite when Academy Awards nominations were announced in 2001: Tiger snagged ten nods and later secured four wins for Best Cinematography, Score, Art Direction, and Foreign Language Film. Jonathan Crow Chicago Sun-Times Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is the most exhilarating martial arts movie I have seen.... But like all ambitious movies, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" transcends its origins and becomes one of a kind. It's glorious, unashamed escapism and surprisingly touching at the same time. Roger Ebert Boston Globe Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a magical dream of a martial arts epic. It surpasses any you've ever seen. Jay Carr PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Surround Features: Audio commentary by Ang Lee and co-screenwriter James Schamus; optional Dolby 5.1 soundtracks in Mandarin, English, and French language; Unleashing the Dragon, a making-of featurette; Michelle Yeoh conversation featurette; photo gallery; multiple theatrical trailers; cast and crew filmographies Language: Mandarin, English, Français SubTitles: English, Français Time: 2 Hours

D-Day 60th

D-Day 60th Starring: Director:

Rating: Not Rated
Category:
User Rating:
Running Time: 116 Minutes

Color

They landed in the early morning hours, a part of the greatest military invasion in history. June 6, 1944 – D-Day. Sixty years later, we join thousands of veterans and their families in France and in Canada and remember the heroism and the sacrifice on the beaches of Normandy. Re-live the most memorable and poignant moments of CBC News’ coverage of the 60th anniversary of D-Day with this special CBC Home Video – the ceremony at the Canadian cemetery at Beny-sur-Mer, the commemorative events on Juno Beach, the international gathering at Arromanches, the ceremony of remembrance in Ottawa, the ceremony of reconciliation in Caen, and the personal stories of Canadians who will never forget.

Dark Days

Dark Days Starring: Director: Singer, Marc

Rating: NR (MPAA)
Category: Sociological Documentary
User Rating:
Running Time: 1 Hour 24 Minutes

Color DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound

All Movie Guide Novice filmmaker Marc Singer lived in the bowels of a midtown Manhattan railway station for two years to shoot this harrowing account of the day-to-day existence of the homeless. Shot in noirish black and white, Singer shows how society's discarded and disenfranchised fashion a community of sorts in the sunless labyrinth of the station's transit tunnels. Though told without narration, a dozen or so individual stories emerge. Dee (the sole woman depicted in the film) lost all her children in a house fire while she was high on crack; Ralph remains inconsolable after his five-year old's rape and mutilation during a stint in prison. In the final reel, Amtrak sends in armed police to clean out the tunnels, citing health concerns. However, the subterranean tenets happen upon a stroke of luck, as an NYC social worker discovers a cache of previously unclaimed public housing. Featuring a sparse soundtrack by DJ Shadow, Dark Days won the Grand Jury prize for cinematography, the Freedom of Expression award, and an audience award at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. Jonathan Crow PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Sound: DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound Features: The Making of Dark Days - 45 minute documentary, includes interviews with director Marc Singer, DJ Shadow, Ben Freedman and more; Commentary by Marc Singer; Never-before-seen footage - 15 additional scenes with notes by Marc Singer; The history of the NYC subway tunnels; "Life after the Tunnel" - Follow up by Marc Singer; Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound; Digitally mastered / 16:9 widescreen version; Crew biographies; Scene access; Theatrical trailer and more Language: English Time: 1 Hour 24 Minutes

Devil's Brigade

Devil's Brigade Starring: Holden, William Robertson, Cliff Edwards, Vince Andrews, Dana O'Connor, Carroll Knowles, Patric Prine, Andrew Akins, Claude Akins, Claude Jaeckel, Richard Director: McLaglen, Andrew V.

Rating: NR (MPAA)
Category: War Adventure
User Rating:
Running Time: 2 Hours 11 Minutes

Color Dolby Digital Mono

All Movie Guide During the early days of World War II, while the United States was massing its forces for the war, England hastily plans commando raids against the German forces to keep them at bay until America's troops enter the war. As a part of this plan, the Allies create the 1st Special Service Force to plan and carry out an attack on Norway in order to tie up the German forces. This commando force of Canadian soldiers and American GIs is headed by Lt. Col. Robert T. Frederick (William Holden), a paper-pusher given his first field command. Antagonism immediately erupts between Canadian Maj. Alan Crown (Cliff Robertson) and American Maj. Cliff Bricker (Vince Edwards). But Frederick utilizes their mutual dislike as a basis for a rivalry that turns this rag-tag group of misfits into a disciplined fighting force. But now that Frederick's men are ready to fight, Frederick receives word that the Norway mission has been canceled. After appealing to Washington for another assignment for the commandos, the brigade is sent on a patrol near the German lines in southern Italy. The brigade captures an enemy-held village and is then given the seemingly impossible task of taking Mt. La Difensa. Paul Brenner PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Mono Features: Original theatrical trailer; English mono; Spanish mono; English, French & Spanish subtitles Language: English, Español SubTitles: English, Français, Español Time: 2 Hours 11 Minutes

Dirty Dancing

Dirty Dancing Starring: Swayze, Patrick Grey, Jennifer Orbach, Jerry Weston, Jack Bishop, Kelly Price, Lonny Cantor, Max Jones, Neal Jones, Neal Knight, Wayne Director: Ardolino, Emile

Rating: PG-13 (MPAA)
Category: Drama - Coming of Age : Message Movie : Musical Drama : Musical Romance : Romantic Drama : Teenage Drama
User Rating:
Running Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

Color Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround

All Movie Guide A teenage girl learns about love, adult responsibility, and how to do The Dirty Boogie in this romantic drama. In 1963, "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey) is a 17-year-old spending the summer with her family at a resort hotel in the Catskills; she plans on being in the Peace Corps next summer, so this is expected to be her last summer as a carefree adolescent. Baby doesn't get along with her older sister, Lisa (Jane Brucker), and she's bored to tears by most of the older guests at the resort. However, one night Baby hears what sounds like a party going on in the employee's dormitory, and she pokes her head in to discover most of the hotel staff enjoying the sort of close dancing that would get you kicked out of the senior prom in no time flat. Baby is particularly struck by handsome Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze), a dancer in the resort's floor show, and falls head over heels in love, wanting to be near him. When Johnny's dance partner, Penny (Cynthia Rhodes), finds herself pregnant after a fling with one of the waiters, Baby volunteers to learn her steps and take her place; however, Baby's father, Dr. Jake Houseman (Jerry Orbach), will have none of it, convinced that Johnny is a low life and that his daughter is too young to understand her own feelings. Dirty Dancing was a surprise box-office hit, and the soundtrack album was an even bigger success, spawning several hit singles and inspiring a top-drawing concert tour featuring several of its artists. Mark Deming PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Features: Special commentary from the creator Eleanor Bergstein; Behind-the-scenes making of featurette; Music videos of: "Hungry Eyes," "She's Like the Wind," "[I've Had] the Time of My Life" ; 4:3 widescreen; 5.1 Dolby Digital; Digitally mastered; Interactive menus; Scene access; Production notes; Cast & crew information; "Dirty Dancing: Live in Concert"; Theatrical trailer Language: English SubTitles: English Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

The Dirty Dozen

The Dirty Dozen Starring: Marvin, Lee Borgnine, Ernest Cassavetes, John Ryan, Robert Bronson, Charles Marvin, Lee Sutherland, Donald Lopez, Trini Lopez, Trini Director: Aldrich, Robert

Rating: Unrated
Category: Action & Adventure : General
User Rating:
Running Time: 150

Color Stereo

Amazon.com A model for dozens of action films to follow, this box-office hit from 1967 refined a die-hard formula that has become overly familiar, but it's rarely been handled better than it was in this action-packed World War II thriller. Lee Marvin is perfectly cast as a down-but-not-out army major who is offered a shot at personal and professional redemption. If he can successfully train and discipline a squad of army rejects, misfits, killers, prisoners, and psychopaths into a first-rate unit of specialized soldiers, they'll earn a second chance to make up for their woeful misdeeds. Of course, there's a catch: to obtain their pardons, Marvin's band of badmen must agree to a suicide mission that will parachute them into the danger zone of Nazi-occupied France. It's a hazardous path to glory, but the men have no other choice to accept and regain their lost honor. What makes The Dirty Dozen special is its phenomenal cast including Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas, George Kennedy, Ernest Borgnine, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, Jim Brown, Clint Walker, Trini Lopez, Robert Ryan, and others. Cassavetes is the Oscar- nominated standout as one of Marvin's most rebellious yet heroic men, but it's the whole ensemble--combined with the hard-as-nails direction of Robert Aldrich--that makes this such a high-velocity crowd pleaser. The script by Nunnally Johnson and Lukas Heller (from the novel by E.M. Nathanson) is strong enough to support the all-star lineup with ample humor and military grit, so if you're in need of a mainline jolt of testosterone, The Dirty Dozen is the movie for you. The DVD extras are also a kick in the pants, including a promotional featurette showing Marvin and his stylishly macho costars enjoying some male bonding in the mod London bistros of the 1960s. (You almost expect Austin Powers to come speeding around the nearest corner, making it a dirty baker's dozen! Yeah, baby, yeah!) --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the DVD edition.

Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Starring: Sellers, Peter Scott, George C. Hayden, Sterling Reed, Tracy Bull, Peter Wynn, Keenan Sellers, Peter Jones, James Earl Jones, James Earl Director: Kubrick, Stanley

Rating: NR (MPAA)
Category: Comedy - Black : Classics - Comedy : Classics - Drama : Classics - General : Political Satire : UK : Anti-War Film
User Rating:
Running Time: 1 Hour 33 Minutes

B&W monaural

Barnes & Noble Rarely does nihilistic humor bubble up so relentlessly as in Stanley Kubrick's 1964 masterpiece of political satire, Dr. Strangelove. The tale begins when Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden), a United States general who is as obsessed with the spread of communism as he is with the dangers of fluoridation, dispatches a flock of B-52's into Russia, putting the world inexorably on a path toward self-annihilation. Kubrick's early training as a photographer is evident, especially in his bold sense of visual composition. The film's cartoonish characters grease the scathing commentary on cold war buffoonery. George C. Scott blows hard as a posturing hawk of the Pentagon. Peter Sellers plays three characters, among them the bizarre title character -- a former Nazi war criminal turned White House consultant. And of course, there's Slim Pickens's cowboy kamikaze, who rides a missile rodeo style, whooping and hollering into oblivion. Monica McIntyre All Movie Guide In 1964, with the Cuban Missile Crisis fresh in viewers' minds, the Cold War at its frostiest, and the hydrogen bomb relatively new and frightening, Stanley Kubrick dared to make a film about what could happen if the wrong person pushed the wrong button -- and played the situation for laughs. Dr. Strangelove's jet-black satire (from a script by director Stanley Kubrick, Peter George, and Terry Southern) and a host of superb comic performances (including three from Peter Sellers) have kept the film fresh and entertaining, even as its issues have become (slightly) less timely. Loaded with thermonuclear weapons, a U.S. bomber piloted by Maj. T.J. "King" Kong (Slim Pickens) is on a routine flight pattern near the Soviet Union when they receive orders to commence Wing Attack Plan R, best summarized by Maj. Kong as "Nuclear combat! Toe to toe with the Russkies!" On the ground at Burpleson Air Force Base, Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake (Peter Sellers) notices nothing on the news about America being at war. Gen. Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) calmly informs him that he gave the command to attack the Soviet Union because it was high time someone did something about fluoridation, which is sapping Americans' bodily fluids (and apparently has something to do with Ripper's sexual dysfunction). Meanwhile, President Merkin Muffley (Sellers again) meets with his top Pentagon advisors, including super-hawk Gen. Buck Turgidson (George C. Scott), who sees this as an opportunity to do something about Communism in general and Russians in particular. However, the ante is upped considerably when Soviet ambassador DeSadesky (Peter Bull) informs Muffley and his staff of the latest innovation in Soviet weapons technology: a "Doomsday Machine" which will destroy the entire world if the Russians are attacked. Mark Deming PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Presentation: B&W Sound: monaural Features: Inside the Making of Dr. Strangelove, a documentary on the restoration; an original split-screen interview with Peter Sellers and George C. Scott; biographical featurette The Art of Stanley Kubrick: From Short Films to Strangelove; advertising gallery; talent files; trailers Language: English, Français, Español, Portugais SubTitles: English, Français, Español, Portugais, Korean, Thai Time: 1 Hour 33 Minutes

Eight Men Out

Eight Men Out Starring: Cusack, John James, Clifton Strathairn, David Sheen, Charlie James, Clifton Strathairn, David Lerner, Michael Sayles, John Sayles, John Terkel, Studs Director: Sayles, John

Rating: PG (MPAA)
Category: Drama - Docudrama : Independent - Drama : Sports Drama : Historical Film
User Rating:
Running Time: 2 Hours

Color Dolby Digital

All Movie Guide Writer/director John Sayles' dramatization of the most infamous episode in professional sports -- the fix of the 1919 World Series -- is considered by many to be among his best films and arguably the best baseball movie ever made. This adaptation of Eliot Asinof's definitive study of the scandal shows how athletes of another era were a different breed from the well-paid stars of later years. The Chicago White Sox owner, Charlie Comiskey (Clifton James), is portrayed as a skinflint with little inclination to reward his team for their spectacular season. When a gambling syndicate led by Arnold Rothstein (Michael Lerner) gets wind of the players' discontent, it offers a select group of stars -- including pitcher Eddie Cicotte (Sayles regular David Strathairn), infielder Buck Weaver (John Cusack), and outfielder "Shoeless" Joe Jackson (D. B. Sweeney) -- more money to play badly than they would have earned to try to win the Series against the Cincinnati Reds. Sayles cast the story with actors who look and perform like real jocks, and added a colorful supporting cast that includes Studs Terkel as reporter Hugh Fullerton and Sayles himself as Ring Lardner. Tom Wiener PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Original theatrical trailer; English: mono; French: mono; Spanish: mono; French & Spanish subtitles Language: English, Français, Español SubTitles: Français, Español, English Time: 2 Hours

The Fortune Cookie

The Fortune Cookie Starring: Lemmon, Jack Matthau, Walter Rich, Ron Osmond, Cliff Tuttle, Lurene Tremayne, Les Lemmon, Jack Redmond, Marge Redmond, Marge Pitlik, Noam Director: Wilder, Billy

Rating: NR (MPAA)
Category: Comedy of Manners : Satire
User Rating:
Running Time: 2 Hours 6 Minutes

B&W Dolby Digital

All Movie Guide The British title of Billy Wilder's classic comedy was Meet Whiplash Willie -- for, despite Jack Lemmon's star billing, the movie's driving force is Oscar-winning Walter Matthau as gloriously underhanded lawyer "Whiplash" Willie Gingrich. CBS cameraman Harry Hinkle (Lemmon) is injured when he is accidentally bulldozed by football player Luther "Boom Boom" Jackson (Ron Rich) during a Cleveland Browns game. Willie, Harry's brother-in-law, foresees an insurance-settlement bonanza, and he convinces Harry to pretend to be incapacitated by the accident. To insure his client's cooperation, Willie arranges for Harry's covetous ex-wife Sandy (Judi West) to feign a rekindling of their romance. Harry's conscience is plagued by the solicitous behavior of Boom Boom, who is so devastated at causing Harry's injury that he insists on waiting on the "cripple" hand and foot. Meanwhile, dishevelled private eye Purkey (Cliff Osmond) keeps Harry under constant surveillance, hoping to catch him moving around so the insurance company can avoid shelling out a fortune. Wilder and usual co-writer I.A.L. Diamond were at their most jaundiced and cynical here, even if, after a sardonic semiclimax, the last ten minutes succumb to the sentimentality that often marred Wilder's later movies. Hal Erickson PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1) Presentation: B&W Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Original theatrical trailer Language: English, Français SubTitles: Français, Español Time: 2 Hours 6 Minutes

Freaks and Geeks

Freaks and Geeks Starring: Director:

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FUBAR

FUBAR Starring: Spence, Paul Lawrence, Dave Director: Dowse, Michael

Rating: R (MPAA)
Category: Mockumentary
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Running Time: 1 Hour 17 Minutes

Color Mono

All Movie Guide Two young men ponder life, death, cheap beer, and the guitar stylings of Angus Young in this mock-documentary-comedy. Dean (Paul Spence) and Terry (Dave Lawrence) are a pair of Canadian metalheads who have devoted their lives to the manly arts of drinking beer, appreciating the finer points of heavy metal, and breaking stuff. Filmmaker Farrell (Gordon Skilling) has been trailing the pair with a camera crew in order to produce a documentary on their lives, and while initially there isn't much about Dean and Terry's existence that seems at all interesting, it looks like he may have hit pay dirt when Dean discovers he has cancer, and a possible tragic death looms on the horizon. FUBAR was the first feature film from writer and director Michael Dowse; the film was screened in competition at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. Mark Deming PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Features: Deleted scenes with filmmaker introductions; Character biographies; 3 music videos: - New Pornographers "Slow Decent Into Alcoholism" - New Pornographers "Your Daddy Don't Know" - Thor "Fubar Is a Super-Rocker"; Filmmaker commentary track (Mike Dowse, Paul Spence & Dave Lawrence); Commentary track by Terry and Dean; Terry Cahill's short film "The Package"; Photo gallery; Trailers Language: English, English Time: 1 Hour 17 Minutes

Ghost World

Ghost World Starring: Birch, Thora Buscemi, Steve Johansson, Scarlett Douglas, Illeana Garr, Teri Renfro, Brad Birch, Thora Balaban, Bob Balaban, Bob Buzzington, Ezra Director: Zwigoff, Terry

Rating: R (MPAA)
Category: Drama - Coming of Age : Comedy - general : Comedy Drama
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Running Time: 1 Hour 51 Minutes

Color Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround

Barnes & Noble Director Terry Zwigoff's bitingly humorous Ghost World successfully nails several brands of droll despair with its lustrous lull and gloom. Written by Zwigoff and Daniel Clowes, author of the same-named comic-book serial, Ghost World is a loving look at the growing pains of two eccentric young women, told in an almost bluesy tempo. The movie starts with the bonding of best friends Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson); flipping the bird at their high school on graduation day, they've also decided not to attend college, keeping with Enid's goal of defying "definition." Before the workaday grind begins to close in on them, the girls are a deadpan Laurel and Hardy, getting involved in a series of incidents that express their bleak, defensive humor: tailing suspected Satanists; prank-calling personal-ad writers; needling customers at a '50s-retro diner called Wowsville; and taunting an inert store clerk (Brad Renfro) whom they both secretly fancy. Rebecca's decision to look for an apartment in a "totally normal" neighborhood begins a separation process, as Enid responds by dyeing her hair green and dressing punk for a day. Enid's emotional currents shift as often as her spectacles, which she changes from scene to scene -- cat eyes, wire rims, and squarish black frames. Her room, a colorful enclave with goldenrod shelves packed with vintage pop ephemera, becomes her retreat. Ghost World evolves into a funny, un-romance between Enid and bug-eyed, stooping record collector Seymour (Steve Buscemi), but it resists the impulse to resolve Enid's issues in a tidy Hollywood fashion. The first fiction effort by Zwigoff -- whose celebrated Crumb also savored eccentricity, specifically that of comic-book legend R. Crumb and his kin -- fires potent salvos against strip-mall America while serving as an apt measuring of teen ennui. Although cast in a color palette and more cinematically structured than Clowes's comics, the film preserves the characters' funk, regarding this rich gallery of creeps, weirdos, and loners with essential sympathy. The DVD edition sports the infectious, dizzying shimmyfest "Jaan Pehechaan Ho," from the Bollywood film Gumnaam (1965), a frenzied dance number that -- even as a clip -- is an incredible movie. Eddy Crouse All Movie Guide Filmmaker Terry Zwigoff, who enjoyed breakthrough success with his 1994 documentary Crumb, shifts gears as he examines the lives of two young women on the verge of leaving their adolescence behind in his first dramatic feature. Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) are two close friends who've just graduated from high school, and are trying to decide what to do with their lives. Enid is a dark-haired arch cynic who is tired of living at home with her ineffectual dad (Bob Balaban) and his annoyingly perky girlfriend Maxine (Teri Garr), while Rebecca is prettier and a bit cheerier, but no more certain about her future. While the two girls have vague plans of getting an apartment together, they seem content to while away their summer hanging out and indulging in their shared infatuation with Josh (Brad Renfro), a friend from school who works at a convenience store and doesn't seem to be especially attracted to either of them. Enid discovers that in order to get her diploma, she'll have to take an additional class over the summer, where she winds up studying art with Roberta (Illeana Douglas), who is determined to encourage Enid's creative impulses, whether Enid likes it or not. More significantly, Enid meets Seymour (Steve Buscemi), a geeky record collector more than twice her age, and while they would seem to have little in common (and Rebecca thinks he's a creep), Enid discovers a kindred spirit in fellow misfit Seymour, who shares her disgust with the world around them, and a relationship begins to develop between the two. Ghost World is based on the award-winning graphic novel by comic artist Daniel Clowes, who also wrote the film's screenplay. Mark Deming Village Voice Keep your Lara Croft and your Shrek.For me, the summer's reigning i

Gods Must Be Crazy 1 & 2

Gods Must Be Crazy 1 & 2 Starring: N!xau Prinsloo, Sandra Weyers, Marius Bowen, Erick N!Xau Farugia, Lena Strydom, Hans Director: Uys, Jamie

Rating: PG (MPAA)
Category: Comedy : General
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Running Time: 3 Hours 27 Minutes

Color Dolby Digital Surround

All Movie Guide Kalahari bushman Xi (played by genuine bushman N!xau) is as surprised as the rest of his tibe when a Coke bottle, thrown from a passing plane, lands in the middle of their village. This "gift from the gods" proves to be a mixed blessing when the tribesmen fight over it and eventually use it for a weapon. To keep peace in the village, Xi is assigned to take the bottle to "the end of the earth" (actually a lush valley) and throw it back to the gods. Meanwhile, back in urbanized South Africa, Kate Thompson (Sandra Prinsloo) leaves her office job in the city to take a job teaching Kalahari children; once in the wilderness, she finds herself constantly bumping into clumsy microbiologist Andrew Steyn (Marius Weyers). And meanwhile, maniacal Sam Boga (Louw Verwey) is leading a military coup against the government. How do all these various and wildly divergent characters fit together? You'll have to see The Gods Must be Crazy yourself--if you haven't seen it already. This Botswanian comedy/melodrama was directed by Jamie Uys, who had helmed dozens of films before Gods and would make many more afterwards. Originally slated for limited domestic distribution in 1982, Gods Must Be Crazy was picked up for American consumption by 20th Century-Fox in 1984. Within a few weeks, "word of mouth" transformed Gods into the biggest foreign boxoffice hit ever released in the U.S. The 1989 sequel didn't do quite as well, indicating that perhaps the bloom was off the rose for N!xau and his confreres. Hal Erickson All Movie Guide This sequel to the enormous international hit The Gods Must Be Crazy isn't quite as fresh and enchanting as the original, but it is still a garden of small delights. N!Xau, the Kalihari bushman who starred in the first film, is separated from his children while on a hunting expedition in the desert. The emphasis is on the kids, who are kidnaped by elephant poachers. This activity is counterpointed with the adventures of the film's "civilized" characters, transplanted New York attorney Lena Farugia and zoologist Hans Strydom, who find themselves stranded in the desert (their adventures are similar to those experienced by fish-out-of-water Linda Kozlowski in Crocodile Dundee). Meanwhile, a couple of soldiers who've wandered away from a border war devote their time to capturing, and escaping from, each other. As in the first film, the various subplots converge, with N!Xau once more emerging as the hero of the hour. Hal Erickson PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Surround Features: The Gods Must Be Crazy; Featurette "Journey to Nyae Nyae"; Baraka School Photo Gallery; Weblink to Kalahari People's Fund; Bonus Trailers; ; The Gods Must Be Crazy II; Featurette "Buster Reynolds Remembers Jamie Uys"; Weblink to the Kalahari People's Fund; Bonus Trailers Language: English SubTitles: English, Français, Japanese, Korean, Portugais, Español Time: 3 Hours 27 Minutes

Godzilla 2000

Godzilla 2000 Starring: Murata, Takehiro Sano, Shiro Abe, Hiroshi Sano, Shiro Tsutomu, Kitagawa Nishida, Naomi Kitagawa, Tsutomu Director: Okawara, Takao

Rating: PG (MPAA)
Category: Science Fiction/Fantasy - Aliens : International - Japanese : Cult - Monster : Horror - Monster : Science Fiction/Fantasy - Mons
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Running Time: 1 Hour 39 Minutes

Color Dolby Digital Surround

Barnes & Noble Japan's resident monster star -- and everybody's favorite giant lizard -- enters the new millennium in this elaborate, effects-studded vehicle, a kitschy delight that ranks with the best of his 23 feature-film outings. As the film opens, Godzilla has surfaced near the island of Hokkaido, where he's spotted by leading man Takehiro Murata -- a technician working for the Godzilla Prediction Network (an early-warning system designed to minimize civilian casualties). Government official Hiroshi Abe targets the rampaging reptile for destruction, but he changes his tune when a long-buried UFO rises from the sea and begins wreaking havoc: Only Godzilla, annoyed by this encroachment on his turf, can successfully engage the aliens in battle. Obviously committed to replicating the classic Godzilla movies of yore, director Takao Okawaro doesn't waste much footage on plot or characterization: Once he sets the scene, the human actors simply stand by and watch our hero do his thing. Sophisticated special effects (including computer imagery) are occasionally employed, but the lovable lizard still looks like a rubber-suited actor tromping on miniature Tinkertoy buildings. The American distributor has further enhanced Godzilla 2000 with lots of corny dialogue, making this old-fashioned monster movie an often hilarious romp. Ed Hulse All Movie Guide Following Roland Emmerich's controversial Americanization of the Japanese monster icon in Godzilla (1998), the Beast from the East comes roaring back in this sci-fi adventure tale. Yuji Shinoda (Naomi Nishida), a scientist devoted to researching Godzilla, is setting up equipment on a fog-shrouded peninsula with her daughter Io (Mayu Suzuki) and journalist Yuki Ichinose (Takehiro Murata) when everyone's favorite 180-foot-tall lizard appears from the sea and begins laying siege to a nuclear power plant. The military swings into action, but the monster's fiery breath soon uncovers an alien spacecraft; beings from outer space have come to take over the earth, and now Godzilla is our last line of defense against them. Hugely successful in Japan, Gojira Mireniamu (aka Godzilla 2000) was the first Japanese Godzilla movie since Godzilla 1985 to receive a US theatrical release. Mark Deming New York Times Watching this transcendentally tacky movie, which wants us to laugh at it and with it at the same time, it is easy to see why the series threatens to be as enduring as its namesake. Stephen Holden PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Surround Features: Digitally mastered audio and anamorphic video; Widescreen presentation; Languages: English 5.1 [Dolby Digital] and 2-channel [Dolby Surround], French; Subtitles: English, French; Audio commentary; Behind-the-scenes footage; Theatrical trailers; Talent files; Interactive animated menus; Production notes; Scene selections Language: English, Français SubTitles: English, Français Time: 1 Hour 39 Minutes

The Great Escape

The Great Escape Starring: McQueen, Steve Garner, James Attenborough, Richard Donald, James Bronson, Charles Taylor, Jud Pleasence, Donald McCallum, David McCallum, David Jackson, Gordon Director: Sturges, John

Rating: NR (MPAA)
Category: Classics - Action/Adventure : Classics - Drama : Classics - General : Classics - War : Historical Epic : Escape Film : POW Drama
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Running Time: 2 Hours 52 Minutes

Color monaural

Barnes & Noble Director John Sturges (The Magnificent Seven) pulls out all the stops in The Great Escape, his classic big-budget World War II POW extravaganza. The title pretty much says it all: The film tells the true story of some determined Allied prisoners who manage to tunnel out of a new and presumably escape-proof camp in which they have all been interred. Sturges lovingly details every aspect of their elaborate scheme, as the prisoners bring a host of skills -- engineering, forgery, and even tailoring -- to the job at hand. There is some rudimentary character development along the way, but don't expect detailed, complex glimpses into the inner workings of these guys' psyches. The inmates (Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, James Garner, and many more) are cleanly drawn as heroic to a man, and their camaraderie, ingenuity, and courage allows them to pull off a truly impressive feat. Yes, these are idealized portraits, but immensely satisfying ones. The structure of The Great Escape evokes a powerful sense of liberation, as the claustrophobic atmosphere of the first half of the film gives way to open-air chases in the second half, including McQueen's famous motorcycle romp through some spectacular wide-screen vistas of the German countryside, with a battalion of soldiers in hot pursuit. Topping it all off is a memorable -- and eminently whistle-able -- score from Elmer Bernstein. The Great Escape is Hollywood entertainment at its finest. Sit back and enjoy. Gregory Baird All Movie Guide The Great Escape is based on the true story of a group of Allied prisoners of war who managed to escape from an allegedly impenetrable Nazi prison camp during World War II. At the beginning of the film, the Nazis gather all their most devious and troublesome POWs and place them at a new prison camp, which was designed to be impervious to escapes. Immediately, the prisoners develop a scheme where they will leave the camp by building three separate escape tunnels. Richard Attenborough is the British soldier who masterminds the whole plan, and who commands his motley squad--featuring Charles Bronson as a Polish trench-digging expert, James Garner as an American with a talent for theft, Donald Pleasence as a masterful forger, and Steve McQueen as an American rebel--through the construction of the tunnels and, eventually, their escape. An epic adventure film, The Great Escape runs nearly three hours, featuring a rousing Elmer Bernstein score and exciting action sequences -- including a notorious motorcycle chase between McQueen and the Nazis -- the likes of which had never been seen before in Hollywood productions. Stephen Thomas Erlewine All Movie Guide John Sturges' The Great Escape could easily be the most under-appreciated movie of its genre and decade, which may seem a strange thing to say about a movie that is one of the most popular World War II adventure films ever made. It not only defined the screen personae of Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough and much of the rest of the cast, but along with The Magnificent Seven represented a high-water mark in Sturges' career. Yet, despite that and the millions of dollars it earned at the box office, The Great Escape didn't command much respect until years after its release. Critics lumped the film together with such mammoth World War II productions as The Longest Day, The Guns of Navarone and Battle of the Bulge and overlooked its unique status as a fundamentally tragic movie that still managed to appeal to audiences in an upbeat manner. Beneath the fact-based heroics, the humor of many of the portrayals and Elmer Bernstein's rich, rousing score lay the elements of a classic tragedy. While ordinary viewers responded to the driving dramatic forces among the characters -- Bartlett's obsession, Hilts's self-absorption and cynicism, Hedley's practical approach to survival and the mission -- critics and scholars viewed the movie as an artless, empty blockbuster. They were looking for self-conscious subtlety and obvious artistic touches in a story that require

Guys and Dolls

Guys and Dolls Starring: Brando, Marlon Simmons, Jean Sinatra, Frank Blaine, Vivian Keith, Robert Kaye, Stubby Pully, B. S. Stone, George E. Stone, George E. Director: Mankiewicz, Joseph L.

Rating: NR (MPAA)
Category: Music & Musicals - Classic Musicals : Classics - Comedy : Classics - General : Classics - Musicals : Classics - Romance : Musica
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Running Time: 2 Hours 29 Minutes

Color Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround

Barnes & Noble The Broadway musical Guys and Dolls -- source of such standards as "Luck Be A Lady Tonight" and "Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat" -- also proved to be one of Hollywood's greatest musical achievments. This rollicking spectacle from 1955 offered a dream pairing of leads: the inimitable toughness of Marlon Brando with the street savvy savoir faire of Frank Sinatra. Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz (All About Eve) finds all the character nuances of Damon Runyan's original story and illuminates them against the colorful hustle and bustle of New York's Times Square. Guys and Dolls is the story of down-and-out gambler Nathan Detroit (Sinatra) and his floating crap game -- "the oldest established permanent floating crap game in New York" -- which comes vividly alive with song and dance scenes. Jean Simmons plays the prudish Sara Brown, and her infamous tango scene with Sky Masterson (Brando) in Havana rumbles with excitement. Vivian Blaine gives the performance of her career as the flaky, gorgeous dumb-blonde Adelaide, and Sinatra gives Detroit the kind of meekness and desperation necessary for us to feel empathy for this lowly gambler. Although Guys and Dolls continues to be a stage favorite, the film version maintains its own legend as one of America's most beloved musicals. Karen Backstein All Movie Guide This 1955 film began life as two Runyon short stories, the most prominent of which was "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown." This material was fleshed out into a 2-act libretto by Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling, then set to music by Frank Loesser and directed by George S. Kaufman. Opening late in 1950, Guys and Dolls was one of Broadway's hottest tickets for several seasons. The plot involves a certain Broadway citizen by the name of Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra), who maintains the "Oldest Established Permanent Floating Crap Game in New York." Seeking a location for his latest high-stakes game, Nathan has an opportunity to rent out the Biltmore Garage, but he needs $1000 to do so. He decides to extract the money from high-rolling Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando), known for his willingness to bet on anything. Nathan wagers that Sky will not be able to talk the virginal Salvation Army lass Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons) into going on a date with him. While Sky goes to work on Sarah, Nathan endeavors to fend off his girlfriend Miss Adelaide (Vivian Blaine, repeating her Broadway role), who has developed a psychosomatic cold because of her frustrating 14-year engagement to the slippery Mr. Detroit. Thanks to some fast finagling, Sky is able to take Sarah on that date, flying to Havana for this purpose. By the time they've returned to New York, Sky and Sarah are in love, but their ardor cools off abruptly when Nathan, unable to secure the Biltmore garage, attempts to use Sarah's mission as the site of his crap game. Hal Erickson PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Features: New Dolby 5.1 surround soundtrack; Collectible booklet; Original theatrical trailer Language: English, Français, Español SubTitles: Français, Español Time: 2 Hours 29 Minutes

High Fidelity

High Fidelity Starring: Cusack, John Hjejle, Iben Black, Jack Robbins, Tim Taylor, Lili Wagner, Natasha Gregson Zeta-Jones, Catherine Cusack, Joan Cusack, Joan Gilbert, Sara Director: Frears, Stephen

Rating: R (MPAA)
Category: Comedy - Urban : Office Comedy : Comedy Drama : Comedy of Manners : Romantic Comedy
User Rating:
Running Time: 1 Hour 54 Minutes

Color Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround

Barnes & Noble Inspired casting and a clever narrative strategy make Stephen Frears's adaptation of Nick Hornby's wry cult novel an unexpected triumph that never loses the voice of the book's protagonist -- or the hilarious musical obsessions that make this one of the best music movies this side of Spinal Tap. With his ordinary-guy appeal, John Cusack is a natural as Hornby's underachieving hero, Rob -- a 30-something owner of a failing record store whose lawyer girlfriend has just left him when the story opens. Rob spends the rest of the movie on a funny and poignant quest to understand why his life -- particularly his love life -- has not turned out like a pop song. Cusack, who cowrote the film, changes the novel's London setting to his native Chicago, and the transition works surprisingly well. Frears preserves the charm of the book's first-person narrative by having Cusack talk directly to the camera; it's a device that could have been cloying, but the actor pulls it off with flying colors. Everyone in the cast is terrific, but Rob's dysfunctional record shop assistants -- Todd Louiso as the hopelessly geeky Dick and the unstoppable Jack Black as the aggressively obnoxious Barry -- are the real show stealers. The scenes where they sit around compiling endless "Top Ten" lists of everything from songs to dream jobs are comic perfection. As for the hip soundtrack that Cusack helped assemble -- well, it's everything even the most die-hard fans of the book could have hoped for. Kryssa Schemmerling All Movie Guide A man discovers that there's more to love than a good mixed tape in this dramatic comedy about music and relationships. Rob (John Cusack), an obsessive record collector in his mid-thirties, is struggling to reconcile his adolescent enthusiasm for pop music with adult responsibilities and a more mature outlook. He runs a record shop with his friends Barry (Jack Black) and Dick (Todd Louiso), who are known to drive away customers whose taste in music doesn't match their exacting standards -- which may have something to do with why the shop is losing money. But Rob's biggest problem is his failing relationship with Laura (Iben Hjejle), a lawyer who needs more out of the relationship than Rob is capable of giving. To Rob's horror, Laura starts dating Ian (Tim Robbins), his upstairs neighbor, known throughout the building for his long and noisy sex sessions. Rob, on the other hand, finds himself catching the attention of singer/songwriter Marie DeSalle (Lisa Bonet), as he tries to deal with his breakup by tracking down his previous ex-girlfriends and taking a fresh look at what he's been doing wrong. Based on the acclaimed novel by Nick Hornby, High Fidelity also features Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lili Taylor, and Joelle Carter as three of Rob's ex-lovers, and Sara Gilbert as Dick's new girlfriend, who gets a crash course in U.K. punk bands that influenced Green Day. Mark Deming PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Features: Conversations with writer/producer John Cusack and director Stephen Frears; Deleted scenes; Theatrical trailer; Spanish subtitles; 5.1 surround; Widescreen [1.85:1] enhanced for 16x9 televisions Language: English SubTitles: English, Español Time: 1 Hour 54 Minutes

The Iron Giant

The Iron Giant Starring: Marienthal, Eli Diesel, Vin Aniston, Jennifer McDonald, Christopher Leachman, Cloris Connick Jr., Harry Mahoney, John Emmet Walsh, M. Emmet Walsh, M. Bergman, Mary Kay Director: Bird, Brad

Rating: PG (MPAA)
Category: Children - Animation : Children - Fantasy : Animation - Features : Animation - Kids : Children's Fantasy : Children : Animation
User Rating: 7.8/10 (IMDB)
Running Time: 1 Hour 27 Minutes

Color Dolby Digital

Barnes & Noble Directed by Brad Bird (of "The Simpsons") and based on a storybook by British poet laureate Ted Hughes, The Iron Giant was among 1999's very best family films despite its inexplicably swift departure from theaters. Set in 1957 against a backdrop of cold war paranoia engendered by Russia's Sputnik launch, this is a deeply satisfying and lushly animated parable of friendship and trust. In the woods near his bucolic Maine hometown, imaginative nine-year-old Hogarth (voiced by Eli Marienthal) rescues and befriends a titanic mechanical man that has fallen from the sky. Hogarth must keep the iron man hidden from his mother (Jennifer Aniston) and a snooping government agent (Christopher McDonald) determined to find the metal man and destroy it. The expert cast of voices also includes Harry Connick Jr. as Dean, a beatnik and aspiring artist whose junkyard provides sanctuary and sustenance for the robot. Programmed with the potential to be either a ferocious weapon of a 50-foot toy, the giant has a few things to iron out, and Hogarth there to help him. A towering filmmaking achievement, The Iron Giant is finally finding the audience it so richly deserves. Donald Liebenson All Movie Guide A boy's best friend is his robot in this animated adventure from Brad Bird, best known for his TV work on such series as The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and The Critic. Set in 1957, The Iron Giant focuses on Hogarth (voice of Eli Marienthal), an imaginative nine-year-old boy who daydreams of alien invasions and doing battle with Communist agents. One day, Hogarth hears a local fisherman talk about something that surpasses anything he could dream up: a fifty-foot robot that fell from the sky into a nearby lake. Needless to say, Hogarth's mom, Annie (voice of Jennifer Aniston) finds this a little hard to swallow, but when Hogarth finds the robot (voice of Vin Diesel) and fishes him out of the water, his pal Dean (voice of Harry Connick Jr.), a beatnik sculptor who also runs a junkyard, offers to help by hiding the robot with his salvage. A government agent named Kent Mansley (voice of Christopher McDonald) soon gets wind that there's a mechanical invader of unknown origins in the neighborhood and wants to wipe out the potential threat. However, the robot (which loves to eat metal and is learning to talk) turns out to be friendly, and the boy in turn tries to teach his new pal the ways of humans. The Iron Giant is loosely based on the book The Iron Man by late British poet Ted Hughes, previously adapted for the stage by rock musician Pete Townshend, who executive produced the film. Mark Deming PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Presentation: Pan & Scan Sound: Dolby Digital Features: "Making Of" documentary; Eddie Platt "Cha-Hua-Hua" music video; Interactive menus; Filmographies; Theatrical trailer; Scene access; English subtitles; DVD-ROM features: original theatrical web site and links; web links; web events and chat room access Language: English SubTitles: English Time: 1 Hour 27 Minutes

Jackass: The Movie

Jackass: The Movie Starring: Knoxville, Johnny Margera, Bam Pontius, Chris Margera, Bam Pontius, Chris Steve-O Knoxville, Johnny England, Dave England, Dave Dunn, Ryan Director: Tremaine, Jeff

Rating: R (MPAA)
Category: Documentary - Artists and the Arts : Documentary - Feature Length : Comedy - general : Documentary - general
User Rating:
Running Time: 1 Hour 24 Minutes

Color Dolby Digital Surround

Barnes & Noble If you snort wasabi, there's an excellent chance you'll vomit. If you watch somebody else snort the Japanese hot stuff and he loses it, chances are you still might toss the cookies. But if you're a fan of Johnny Knoxville and his MTV shock show, Jackass, at least you'll do it laughing. And you won't be alone. Tapping into some primal human delight in the disgusting, Knoxville's self-destructive, politically incorrect, socially unacceptable stunts have a loyal following, one that will not be disappointed at this hilarious first foray into filmdom. It is essentially a 90-minute TV episode juiced with plenty of puke, words they could never say on air, and nudity of the full-frontal kind. Having set the bar for barbarism fairly high on MTV while testing taser guns on themselves or sitting in a filthy port-a-potty turned upside-down, Knoxville and his gross-out gang pull out the stops, and a few unmentionables, with their extra-stupid human tricks. There is no plot or script or actual actors, which is as it should be. A dignified thespian would only get in the way of the inspired insanity. One jackass walks on a tightrope above hungry gators wearing merely a jock and a piece of raw meat. Another jackass wrecks a rental car in a demolition derby, and tries to return it. A store's floor-display toilet gets taken for a test run in another jaw-dropping trousers-down sequence. It's all too much, really, and the rough-video quality complements the frat-prank-gone-awry sensibility. The DVD's riotous "Making Of" segment captures the Zen-like inexplicability of why these twisted progeny of the Three Stooges are so entertaining. And they are. Don't try to fight it. Peter Marchand All Movie Guide Johnny Knoxville and his crew of fun-loving masochists bring their routines to the big screen in this feature adaptation of the popular but controversial MTV series Jackass. A crew of young men perform a variety of strange, painful, and often humiliating stunts for the amusement of themselves and those around them, including crawling across dozens of mousetraps while wearing rodent make-up, being rolled down bowling lanes on skateboards, racing in golf carts across an ancient driving range, giving themselves self-inflicted paper cuts, making snow cones out of urine, tightrope walking over live alligators, using uninstalled sanitary plumbing in a hardware store, terrifying Japanese pedestrians while wearing panda costumes, and much, much more. Johnny Knoxville, the show's creator and star, returns to head up this movie version of Jackass, along with series regulars Bam Margera, Ryan Dunn, Chris Pontius, Steve-O, Dave England, Jason "Wee Man" Acuna, Preston Lacy, Ehren McGhehey, and Brandon DiCamillo; Henry Rollins, Tony Hawk, and Spike Jonze are among the movie's guest stars. Mark Deming Entertainment Weekly I'm not sure if I enjoyed myself, exactly, but I could hardly wait to see what I'd be appalled by next. Owen Gleiberman Village Voice It's funny, as the old saying goes, because it's true. PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Surround Features: Commentary by director, cinematographer, and Johnny Knoxville; Jackass cast group commentary; MTV's "Making of Jackass the Movie"; Outtakes; 27 minutes of additional footage; Jackass the Movie promo spots; Music video: "If You're Gonna Be Dumb" by Roger Alan Wade; Music video: "We Want Fun" by Andrew W.K.; Theatrical trailer; Cast & crew biographeis; Photo gallery; Poster gallery; Widescreen version enhanced for 16:9 TVs; Dolby Digital: English 5.1 Surround, English Dolby Surround; English subtitles Language: English SubTitles: English Time: 1 Hour 24 Minutes

The King of Masks

The King of Masks Starring: Xu, Zhu Ren-ying, Zhou Yuk, Chu Director: Tianming, Wu

Rating: NR (MPAA)
Category: Drama - Family : China : Childhood Drama : Melodrama : Period Drama : Hong Kong (U.K.)
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Running Time: 1 Hour 41 Minutes

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All Movie Guide This tender Chinese tale of an aged street performer who begins teaching a young child is filled with warm humanity but not imbued with undue sentiment. It is set about seventy years in the past and centers on elderly Wang Bian Lian, who travels the street performing with his pet monkey. Just looking at him it would be hard to tell that he is a master of the rapid changing face masks technique that characterizes Sichuan opera. He came to the streets thirty years before, after his wife abandoned him, and now he seeks to pass on his technique to a young boy. Liang, a well-known actor specializing in female roles wants to learn the skill, but Wang politely refuses to teach him. Wang finally gets his candidate when he buys "Doggie," a young child from a starving family. Doggie's presence adds renewed zest to Wang's life. One day the child falls ill and Wang sells one of his few priceless heirlooms to save him. This leads him to learn that Doggie is not a 'he' at all. Wang still cares, but he is heartbroken for only a boy can learn the face-changing skill. Doggie begs him to let her stay and to teach her to be an acrobat. He agrees to this and continues looking for a boy. One day, Doggie accidentally burns up Wang's boat. Horrified, she flees into the city only to secretly return later with a baby that she had rescued from kidnappers. Wang, not knowing who bestowed the gift of the child, is delighted. Unfortuantely the child's wealthy parents learn that he has it. Wang is arrested and sentenced to death. Fortunately, Doggie is determined to save him. Sandra Brennan PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Presentation: Pan & Scan Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Digitally mastered audio & video; Original language: Mandarin Chinese; Subtitles: English, Spanish, French; Theatrical trailer; Production notes; Interactive menus; Scene selections Language: Mandarin SubTitles: English, Español, Français Time: 1 Hour 41 Minutes

Lawrence of Arabia

Lawrence of Arabia Starring: O'Toole, Peter Director: Lean, David

Rating: PG
Category: Studio Specials : Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment : Best Picture Winners
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Amazon.com essential video There's no getting around a simple, basic truth: watching Lawrence of Arabia in any home-video format represents a compromise. There's no better way to appreciate this epic biographical adventure than to see it projected in 70 millimeter onto a huge theater screen. That caveat aside, David Lean's masterful "desert classic" is still enjoyable on the small screen, especially if viewed in widescreen format. (If your only option is to view a "pan & scan" version, it's best not to bother; this is a film for which the widescreen format is utterly mandatory.) Peter O'Toole gives a star-making performance as T.E. Lawrence, the eccentric British officer who united the desert tribes of Arabia against the Turks during World War I. Lean orchestrates sweeping battle sequences and breathtaking action, but the film is really about the adventures and trials that transform Lawrence into a legendary man of the desert. Lean traces this transformation on a vast canvas of awesome physicality; no other movie has captured the expanse of the desert with such scope and grandeur. Equally important is the psychology of Lawrence, who remains an enigma even as we grasp his identification with the desert. Perhaps the greatest triumph of this landmark film is that Lean has conveyed the romance, danger, and allure of the desert with such physical and emotional power. It's a film about a man who leads one life but is irresistibly drawn to another, where his greatness and mystery are allowed to flourish in equal measure. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. DVD features This vast movie is spread leisurely across two discs, with Maurice Jarre's overture standing in as intermission music for the first track of the second disc. But the clarity of the anamorphic widescreen picture and Dolby 5.1 soundtrack justify the decision not to cram the whole thing onto one side of a disc. The movie has never looked nor sounded better: the desert landscapes are incredibly detailed, with the tiny nomadic figures in the far distance clearly visible on the small screen; the... read more Description Director David Lean follows the heroic true-life odyssey of T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) in this dramatic portrait of the famed British officer's journey to the Middle East. Assigned to Arabia during World War I, Lawrence courageously unites the warring Arab factions into a strong guerrilla front and leads them to brilliant victories in treacherous desert battlefields where they eventually defeat the ruling Turkish Empire.

Legally Blonde

Legally Blonde Starring: Witherspoon, Reese Wilson, Luke Blair, Selma Taylor, Holland Ubach, Alanna Perkins, Osgood Cardellini, Linda Davis, Matthew Davis, Matthew Blair, Selma Director: Luketic, Robert

Rating: PG-13 (MPAA)
Category: Comedy of Manners : Romantic Comedy
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Running Time: 1 Hour 36 Minutes

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All Movie Guide Reese Witherspoon stars in this romantic comedy, the feature film debut of award-winning Australian director Robert Luketic. As a ravishing Miss Hawaiian Tropic, sorority president, and calendar girl, Elle Woods (Witherspoon) is a big hit on the campus of her sun-drenched Los Angeles college. She's also got the perfect boyfriend in Warner Huntington III (Matthew Davis), a wealthy East Coast blue blood. Fearing that his snooty friends and family will never accept the bubble-headed Elle, however, Warner dumps her before heading off to graduate law school at Harvard University. Determined to win back her man, Elle enrolls in the same imposing institution, quickly becoming an object of scorn and ridicule, especially to Warner's old prep school flame (Selma Blair). Despite her penchant for malls, makeup, and tanning, Elle is no dummy and is soon showing elite Ivy League snobs a thing or two about class, self-confidence, and courtroom victory. Karl Williams PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Presentation: Pan & Scan Features: Deleted scenes; Two featurettes: "Inside Legally Blond" and "The Hair That Ate Hollywood"; Two audio commentaries featuring Robert Luketic, Reece Witherspoon, Marc Platt, and film crew; Hit music video "Perfect Day" by Hoku; Trivia Track; Original theatrical trailer; English: 5.1 Surround; French: stereo Surround; Spanish: stereo Surround; English, French & Spanish language subtitles Language: English, Español, Français SubTitles: English, Français, Español Time: 1 Hour 36 Minutes

Legend Of Drunken Master

Legend Of Drunken Master Starring: Director:

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Category: Action/Adventure
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Cast List Jackie Chan ...

Life Is Beautiful

Life Is Beautiful Starring: Braschi, Nicoletta Durano, Giustino Bustric, Sergio Durano, Guistino Alfonsi, Lydia Bustric, Sergio Bini Paredes, Marisa Bucholz, Horst Bucholz, Horst Director: Benigni, Roberto

Rating: PG-13 (MPAA)
Category: Tragi-comedy : Comedy Drama : Italy : War Drama
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Running Time: 1 Hour 56 Minutes

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All Movie Guide In this WW II tragicomedy, famed Italian funnyman Roberto Benigni (The Monster) portrays Guido, who moves during the '30s from the country to a Tuscan town, where he is entranced by schoolteacher Dora (Nicoletta Braschi, Benigni's real-life wife). Dora likes Guido, but she remains faithful to her pompous fiancé, so Guido has an uphill struggle. Meanwhile, anti-Semitic attitudes lead to attacks against Guido's Jewish uncle (Giustino Durano). Leaping ahead to five years later, during WW II, Guido and Dora are married and have a son Giosue (Giorgio Cantarini). After they are imprisoned in a concentration camp, Guido goes to elaborate lengths to keep his son from understanding the truth of their situation. He tells the boy that they are competing with others to win an armored tank -- so everything from food shortages to tattoos is explained as necessary for participation in the contest. Bhob Stewart PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Features: "Making Life Beautiful" featurette; Academy Award TV commercials; Theatrical trailer; English-language track; Dolby Digital 5.1 audio; Widescreen [1.85:1] Language: English, Italiano SubTitles: English Time: 1 Hour 56 Minutes

Little House on the Prairie: Season 1

Little House on the Prairie: Season 1 Starring: Landon, Michael Grassle, Karen Gilbert, Melissa Anderson, Melissa Sue French, Victor Bartlett, Bonnie Swenson, Karl Hagen, Kevin Hagen, Kevin MacGregor, Scottie Director: Landon, Michael

Rating: NR (MPAA)
Category: Television : By Decade : 1970s : General
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Running Time: 18 Hours

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Barnes & Noble Based on the beloved books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie was one of those unabashed, old-fashioned family series that apathetic critics often take for granted but that earn the undying love of viewers. After leaving the Ponderosa, Michael Landon, as Charles Ingalls, found a welcome home for ten seasons on the banks of Plum Creek in Walnut Grove with his steadfast wife, Caroline (Karen Grassle), and daughters Laura (Melissa Gilbert), Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson), and Carrie (Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush). Frontier life here is idyllic, but not without hardships. Each episode in this inaugural season extols the virtues of hard work, perseverance, community, and, above all, faith. In the premiere episode, "A Harvest of Friends," the residents of Walnut Grove pitch in to help an injured Charles fulfill an obligation and keep his new home. The second episode, "Country Girls," introduces the good-hearted general store owner Mr. Oleson (Richard Bull), his shrewish wife (Scottie MacGregor), and their stuck-up daughter, Nellie (Alison Arngrim, who was recently honored with a Young Artist Lifetime Achievement Award). Other benchmark episodes include: "Mr. Edwards' Homecoming," in which Victor French, reprising his role from the Little House premiere movie (also available on DVD), joins the cast as frontiersman Isaiah Edwards; the powerful two-part episode, "The Lord Is My Shepherd," in which a guilt-stricken Laura runs away from home following the death of the infant brother she initially resented; and the heartwarming "Christmas at Plum Creek," which echoes O. Henry's story "The Gift of the Magi." Parents disheartened by the often crass programming that TV offers as family entertainment these days will welcome the return to Walnut Creek. For nostalgic viewers who grew up with the Ingallses and wish to introduce them to a new generation, this six-disc set will offer many quality family hours to come. Donald Liebenson PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Sound: stereo Features: Interactive full-motion menu; Character profiles; The Ingalls Photo Album (photo gallery); The "Little House" episode quiz Language: English Time: 18 Hours

Longest Day

Longest Day Starring: Marton, Andrew Oswald, Gerd Wicki, Bernhard Connery, Sean Mitchum, Robert Buttons, Red Wagner, Robert Anka, Paul Anka, Paul Director: Annakin, Ken

Rating: NR (MPAA)
Category: Classics - Drama : Classics - General : Classics - War : Epic : War Epic : Historical Film : War - general
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Running Time: 2 Hours 58 Minutes

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All Movie Guide The Longest Day is a mammoth, all-star re-creation of the D-Day invasion, personally orchestrated by Darryl F. Zanuck. Whenever possible, the original locations were utilized, and an all-star international cast impersonates the people involved, from high-ranking officials to ordinary GIs. Each actor speaks in his or her native language with subtitles translating for the benefit of the audience (alternate "takes" were made of each scene with the foreign actors speaking English, but these were seen only during the first network telecast of the film in 1972). The stars are listed alphabetically, with the exception of John Wayne, who as Lt. Colonel Vandervoort gets separate billing. Others in the huge cast include Eddie Albert, Jean-Louis Barrault, Richard Burton, Red Buttons, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Gert Frobe, Curt Jurgens, Peter Lawford, Robert Mitchum, Kenneth More, Edmond O'Brien, Robert Ryan, Jean Servais, Rod Steiger and Robert Wagner. Paul Anka, who wrote the film's title song, shows up as an Army private. Scenes include the Allies parachuting into Ste. Mere Englise, where the paratroopers were mowed down by German bullets; a real-life sequence wherein the German and Allied troops unwittingly march side by side in the dark of night; and a spectacular three-minute overhead shot of the troops fighting and dying in the streets of Quistreham. The last major black-and-white road-show attraction, The Longest Day made millions, enough to recoup some of the cost of 20th Century Fox's concurrently produced Cleopatra. Hal Erickson PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1) Presentation: Wide Screen Language: English, Français SubTitles: English, Español Time: 2 Hours 58 Minutes

The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition)

The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition) Starring: Wood, Elijah Monaghan, Dominic Astin, Sean McKellen, Ian Holm, Ian Mortensen, Viggo Wood, Elijah Bloom, Orlando Bloom, Orlando Tyler, Liv Director: Jackson, Peter

Rating: PG-13
Category: Science Fiction & Fantasy : Series & Sequels : Lord of the Rings
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Running Time: 208

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Amazon.com essential video In every aspect, the extended-edition DVD of Peter Jackson's epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring blows away the theatrical-version DVD. No one who cares at all about the film should ever need to watch the original version again. Well, maybe the impatient and the squeamish will still prefer the theatrical version, because the extended edition makes a long film 30 minutes longer and there's a bit more violence (though both versions are rated PG-13). But the changes--sometimes whole scenes, sometimes merely a few seconds--make for a richer film. There's more of the spirit of J.R.R. Tolkien, embodied in more songs and a longer opening focusing on Hobbiton. There's more character development, and more background into what is to come in the two subsequent films, such as Galadriel's gifts to the Fellowship and Aragorn's burden of lineage. And some additions make more sense to the plot, or are merely worth seeing, such as the wood elves leaving Middle-earth or the view of Caras Galadhon (but sorry, there's still no Tom Bombadil). Extremely useful are the chapter menus that indicate which scenes are new or extended. Of the four commentary tracks, the ones with the greatest general appeal are the one by Jackson and cowriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, and the one by 10 cast members, but the more technically oriented commentaries by the creative and production staff are also worth hearing. The bonus features (encompassing two complete DVDs) are far superior to the largely promotional materials included on the theatrical release, delving into such matters as script development, casting, and visual effects. The only drawback is that the film is now spread over two discs, with a somewhat abrupt break following the council at Rivendell, due to the storage capacity required for the longer running time, the added DTS ES 6.1 audio, and the commentary tracks. But that's a minor inconvenience. Whether in this four-disc set or in the collector's gift set (which adds Argonath bookends and a DVD of National Geographic Beyond the Movie: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring), the extended-edition DVD is the Fellowship DVD to rule them all. --David Horiuchi Description DISCS 1-2: The Feature Unique version of the epic adventure with over 30 minutes of never-before-seen footage incorporated into the film and new music scored by Academy Award(r)-winning composer Howard Shore (approx. 208 minutes); four audio commentaries by director and writers, the design team, the production team, and the cast featuring more than 30 participants including Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, and Academy Award(r) winners Richard Taylor, Andrew Lesnie, Howard Shore, Jim Rygiel, Randy Cook, and many more. DISCS 3-4: The Appendices Two discs with hours of original content including multiple documentaries and design/photo galleries with thousands of images to give viewers an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring DISC 3: "From Book to Vision": Adapting the book into a screenplay & plannin g the film Designing and building Middle-earth Storyboards to pre-visualization Weta Workshop visit: An up-close look at the weapons, armor, creatures, and miniatures from the film Atlas of Middle-earth: Tracing the journey of the Fellowship An interactive map of New Zealand highlighting the location scouting process Galleries of art and slideshows with commentaries by the artists Guided tour of the wardrobe department Footage from early meetings, moving storyboards, and pre-visualization reels And much more! DISC 4: "From Vision to Reality": Bringing the characters to life A day in the life of a hobbit Principal photography: Stories from the set Scale: Creating the illusion of size Galleries of behind-the-scenes photographs and personal cast photos Editorial and visual effects multi-angle progressions Sound design demonstration And much more! DVD-ROM Content: Includes access to exclusive online features

The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition)

The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition) Starring: Wood, Elijah Monaghan, Dominic Astin, Sean McKellen, Ian Blanchett, Cate Bloom, Orlando Hill, Bernard Mortensen, Viggo Mortensen, Viggo Otto, Miranda Director: Jackson, Peter

Rating: PG-13
Category: Science Fiction & Fantasy : Series & Sequels : Lord of the Rings
User Rating:
Running Time: 250

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Amazon.com The greatest trilogy in film history, presented in the most ambitious sets in DVD history, comes to a grand conclusion with the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Not only is the third and final installment of Peter Jackson's adaptation of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien the longest of the three, but a full 50 minutes of new material pushes the running time to a whopping 4 hours and 10 minutes. The new scenes are welcome, and the bonus features maintain the high bar set by the first two films, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. What's New? One of the scenes cut from the theatrical release but included here, the resolution of the Saruman storyline, generated a lot of publicity when the movie opened, as actor Christopher Lee complained in the press about losing his only appearance. It's an excellent scene, one Jackson calls "pure Tolkien," and provides better context for Pippin to find the wizard's palantir in the water, but it's not critical to the film. In fact, "valuable but not critical" might sum up the ROTK extended edition. It's evident that Jackson made the right cuts for the theatrical run, but the extra material provides depth and ties up a number of loose ends, and for those sorry to see the trilogy end (and who isn't?) it's a welcome chance to spend another hour in Middle-earth. Some choice moments are Gandalf's (Ian McKellen) confrontation with the Witch King (we find out what happened to the wizard's staff), the chilling Mouth of Sauron at the gates of Mordor, and Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) being mistaken for Orc soldiers. We get to see more of Éowyn (Miranda Otto), both with Aragorn and on the battlefield, even fighting the hideously deformed Orc lieutenant, Gothmog. We also see her in one of the most anticipated new scenes, the Houses of Healing after the battle of the Pelennor Fields. It doesn't present Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) as a savior as the book did, but it shows the initial meeting between Éowyn and Faramir (David Wenham), a relationship that received only a meaningful glance in the theatrical cut.

The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition) The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition) Starring: Wood, Elijah Bloom, Orlando Boyd, Billy Dourif, Brad Hill, Bernard Lee, Christopher McKellen, Ian Monaghan, Dominic Monaghan, Dominic Otto, Miranda Director: Jackson, Peter Rating: PG-13 Category: Science Fiction & Fantasy : Series & Sequels : Lord of the Rings User Rating: Running Time: 214 Color DTS Surround Sound Amazon.com The extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was perhaps the most comprehensive DVD release to date, and its follow-up proves a similarly colossal achievement, with significant extra footage and a multitude of worthwhile bonus features. The extended version of The Two Towers adds 43 minutes to the theatrical version's 179-minute running time, and there are valuable additions to the film. Two new scenes might appease those who feel that the characterization of Faramir was the film's most egregious departure from the book, and fans will appreciate an appearance of the Huorns at Helm's Deep plus a nod to the absence of Tom Bombadil. Seeing a little more interplay between the gorgeous Eowyn and Aragorn is welcome, as is a grim introduction to Eomer and Theoden's son. And among the many other additions, there's an extended epilogue that might not have worked in the theater, but is more effective here in setting up The Return of the King. While the 30 minutes added to The Fellowship of the Ring felt just right in enriching the film, the extra footage in The Two Towers at times seems a bit extraneous--we see moments that in the theatrical version we had been told about, and some fleshed-out conversations and incidents are rather minor. But director Peter Jackson's vision of J.R.R. Tolkien's world is so marvelous that it's hard to complain about any extra time we can spend there. While it may seem that there would be nothing left to say after the bevy of features on the extended Fellowship, the four commentary tracks and two discs of supplements on The Two Towers remain informative, fascinating, and funny, far surpassing the recycled materials on the two-disc theatrical version. Highlights of the 6.5 hours' worth of documentaries offer insight on the stunts, the design work, the locations, and the creation of Gollum, and--most intriguing for rabid fans--the film's writers (including Jackson) discuss why they created events that weren't in the book. Providing variety are animatics, rough footage, countless sketches, and a sound-mixing demonstration. Again, the most interesting commentary tracks are by Jackson and writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens and by 16 members of the cast (eight of whom didn't appear in the first film, and even including John Noble, whose Denethor character only appears in this extended cut). The first two installments of Peter Jackson's trilogy have established themselves as the best fantasy films of all time, and among the best film trilogies of all time, and their extended-edition DVD sets have set a new standard for expanding on the already-epic films and providing comprehensive bonus features. --David Horiuchi Description Not seen in theaters, this unique version of the epic adventure features over 40 minutes of new and extended scenes integrated into the film by the director. DVD set consists of four discs with hours of original content including multiple documentaries, commentaries and design/photo galleries with thousands of images to give viewers an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at the film. Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship continue their quest to destroy the One Ring and stand against the evil of the dark lord Sauron. The Fellowship has divided and now find themselves taking different paths to defeating Sauron and his allies. Their destinies now lie at two towers - Orthanc Tower in Isengard, where the corrupted wizard Saruman waits and Sauron's fortress at Baraddur, deep within the dark lands of Mordor. Lost in Translation (Widescreen) Lost in Translation (Widescreen) Starring: Director: Rating: Category: Drama User Rating: Running Time: Color Mono From Amazon.com Like a good dream, Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation envelopes you with an aura of fantastic light, moody sound, head-turning love, and a feeling of déjà vu, even though you've probably never been to this neon-fused version of Tokyo. Certainly Bill Harris has not. The 50-ish actor has signed-on for big money shooting whiskey ads instead of doing something good for his career or his long-distance family. Jetlagged, helplessly lost with his Japanese-speaking director, and out of sync with the metropolis, Harris (Bill Murray, never better) befriends the married but lovelorn 25-year-old Charlotte (played with heaps of poise by 18-year-old Scarlett Johansson). Even before her photographer husband all but abandons her, she is adrift like Harris but in a total entrapment of youth. How Charlotte and Bill discover their soul mate will be cherished for years to come. Written and directed by the twentysomething Coppola, the film is far more atmospheric than plot-driven: we whiz through Tokyo parties, karaoke bars, and odd nightlife, always ending up in the impossibly posh hotel where the two are staying. The wisps of bittersweet loneliness of Bill and Charlotte are handled smartly and romantically, but unlike modern studio films; this isn't a May-November fling film. Surely and steadily, the film ends on a much-talked-about grace note, which may burn some, yet awards film lovers who "always had Paris" with another cinematic destination of the heart. --Doug Thomas Amazon.ca Acclamé par la critique et le public international, Virgin Suicides avait révélé en 1999 le talent de Sofia Coppola, digne fille de son père. Son deuxième long-métrage, Lost in translation, confirme tout le bien que l'on pensait d'elle puisqu'elle réussit à y transformer la rencontre de deux solitudes à Tokyo en véritable instant de grâce. Charlotte a 20 ans et se cherche encore. Dans l'hôtel de luxe de la... Magnificent Seven Magnificent Seven Starring: Brynner, Yul Wallach, Eli McQueen, Steve Coburn, James Vaughn, Robert Bronson, Charles Dexter, Brad Sokoloff, Vladimir Sokoloff, Vladimir Hoyos, Jorge Martinez De Director: Sturges, John Rating: NR (MPAA) Category: Classics - Action/Adventure : Classics - General : Classics - Westerns : Action - general : Western - general User Rating: Running Time: 2 Hours 8 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Barnes & Noble Here's one film that truly lives up to its title, more than 40 years after it hit theater screens: The Magnificent Seven, adapted from Akira Kurosawa's Japanese classic The Seven Samurai, extracts from one simple situation more action, suspense, and pathos than you'd expect to see in any three movies. The residents of a small Mexican village, brutalized and impoverished by outlaw raids led by cruel bandito Eli Wallach, hire seven American gunfighters to protect them. An incongruously cast Yul Brenner leads the pack of mercenaries, which includes soon-to-be-stars Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, and James Coburn, along with Brad Dexter and German actor Horst Buchholz (another odd but inspired bit of casting). As directed by John Sturges (The Great Escape), the film becomes something much more than the sum of its straightforward setup and showdown. It's a revealing study of the warrior ethos: The seven are paid killers, each of them obsessed with professionalism but ever mindful that their dangerous calling could result in an untimely, painful death. They don't pass judgment on their adversaries, at first. They're only in the village to do a job -- at first. Almost alone among classic westerns, The Magnificent Seven explores the mind-set of the gunfighter, a genre icon that still holds a powerful fascination for anyone who's ever loved seeing a showdown at high noon. The remastered DVD Special Edition sports a new documentary on the film, along with a photo gallery, theatrical trailers, and commentaries from Eli Wallach, James Coburn, and producer Walter Mirisch. Ed Hulse All Movie Guide One of the most popular Westerns of all time, John Sturges's The Magnificent Seven was based on Akira Kurosawa's 1954 epic The Seven Samurai (which was originally titled The Magnificent Seven and was, itself, a thematic descendant of the westerns of John Ford). Director-producer Sturges packed a huge amount of plot and detail into what could have been a routine western -- the opening threat to the Mexican village; the first meeting between Yul Brynner's Chris and Steve McQueen's Vin, in a tense confrontation with a group of racist thugs trying to block a funeral procession; the decision to help the villagers and the gathering of the unlikely band of heroes; the heroes' journey to the village, and their confrontation with who and what they, as gunmen, really represent to the people they're trying to help. Some of this kind of material had figured in other, earlier movies, including George Stevens's Shane, Anthony Mann's underrated The Tin Star, and Sturges's own Last Train From Gun Hill, but no one had ever put quite that much plot or character development into a single western before. Apart from Yul Brynner, who was already an established star thanks to The King And I, the cast featured a half-dozen actors who were either on the edge of stardom, such as Eli Wallach and Steve McQueen, or who would become major stars in coming years, including James Coburn, Charles Bronson, and Robert Vaughn; indeed, Sturges would re-team with McQueen, Coburn, and Bronson for 1963's The Great Escape, a film that provided a huge boost to each man's career. The Magnificent Seven was a massive hit when it was first released, and by 1966 had spawned the first of three sequels; but the cast, which grew in prominence as most of them became massive box office attractions in their own right, only made the movie seem bigger and more important as time went on, so much so that, had it not gone to television in the early 1960's, The Magnificent Seven would have been ripe for an even bigger theatrical run in, say, 1965 or 1966. As it was, a television series based on the film was finally spawned at the end of the 1990's. There were also enough parodies, and references to the movie in such media touchstones as the 1980's sitcom Cheers -- The Magnificent Seven being the favorite movie of the bar's regular patrons -- to confirm its place in the cultural lexicon. None of the sequels or the television series, however, ever matched Sturges's origi Meet The Parents Meet The Parents Starring: Niro, Robert De Stiller, Ben Danner, Blythe Polo, Teri Danner, Blythe Stiller, Ben Rebhorn, James Niro, Robert De Niro, Robert De Abrahams, Jon Director: Roach, Jay Rating: PG-13 (MPAA) Category: Farce User Rating: Running Time: 1 Hour 48 Minutes Color DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound Barnes & Noble Teri Polo, as Pam Byrnes, seems the perfect girlfriend. But how would you like a raging bull for a father-in-law? That's the situation entered by Ben Stiller (as Greg Focker) in this blockbuster comedy from Austin Powers director Jay Roach. Greg is an anxiety-prone male nurse who spends an excruciating weekend at the plush country home of his girlfriend's parents, one of whom is ex-CIA man Jack Byrnes, played with brutal relish by Robert De Niro. Roach shows his gifts for pacing and slapstick fun here as Greg tries way too hard to please and ends up blowing up the septic tank, among many misdeeds that send De Niro into his signature glare. Owen Wilson (Shanghai Noon) adds another delicious turn to his growing resume as the silk-smooth and much more appropriate former boyfriend. This special wide-screen DVD features commentary from Roach, De Niro, and Stiller, as well as deleted scenes, outtakes, games, screen savers, production notes, and an on-location featurette. Daniel Weizmann All Movie Guide In this comedy from Austin Powers director Jay Roach, Ben Stiller plays a young man who endures a disastrous weekend at the home of his girlfriend's parents. Greg Focker (Stiller) is completely in love with Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo), and views their upcoming trip to her parents' house on Long Island (where her sister is to be married during the weekend) as a perfect opportunity to ask her to marry him. Once Greg is introduced to Pam's parents, however, things stampede steadily downhill. Pam's father Jack (Robert De Niro) takes an instant and obvious dislike to his daughter's boyfriend, lambasting him for his job as a nurse and generally making Greg painfully aware of the differences between him and Pam's family. Where Greg is grubby, relatively unambitious, and Jewish, Pam comes from a long line of well-mannered, blue-blooded WASPs. Things go from bad to worse in less time than it takes to spin a dreidel, with Greg incurring the wrath of both Pam's father -- who, it turns out, worked for the CIA for 34 years -- and the rest of her family, and almost single-handedly destroying their house and the wedding in the process. Rebecca Flint Entertainment Weekly "Meet the Parents is to be commended -- it's a bouncy, loose-limbed, families-do-the-darndest things sitcom that ellicits laughs without invoking water boys, pet detectives, or Klumps." Lisa Schwarzbaum PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound Features: Exclusive featurette on the making of "Meet the Parents" featuring interviews with the cast and crew and behind-the-scene footage; Feature commentary with director Jay Roach and editor Jan Poll; Feature commentary with cast members Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, director Jay Roach, and producer Jane Rosenthal; Deleted scenes with commentary; Outtakes; Lie detector test; Forecaster game; Production notes; Cast and filmmakers' biographies and film highlights; DVD-ROM features including: games, screensavers, and wallpaper; Both Dolby and DTS audio tracks; Theatrical trailer Language: English, Français SubTitles: English Time: 1 Hour 48 Minutes Memento (Limited Edition) Memento (Limited Edition) Starring: Pearce, Guy Moss, Carrie-Anne Director: Nolan, Christopher Rating: R Category: Studio Specials : Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment : Columbia Classics User Rating: Running Time: Color Dolby Amazon.com essential video Guy Pearce (L.A. Confidential) and Joe Pantoliano (The Matrix) shine in this absolute stunner of a movie. Memento combines a bold, mind-bending script with compelling action and virtuoso performances. Pearce plays Leonard Shelby, hunting down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The problem is that "the incident" that robbed Leonard of his wife also stole his ability to make new memories. Unable to retain a location, a face, or a new clue on his own, Leonard continues his search with the help of notes, Polaroids, and even homemade tattoos for vital information. Because of his condition, Leonard essentially lives his life in short, present-tense segments, with no clear idea of what's just happened to him. That's where Memento gets really interesting; the story begins at the end, and the movie jumps backward in 10-minute segments. The suspense of the movie lies not in discovering what happens, but in finding out why it happened. Amazingly, the movie achieves edge-of-your-seat excitement even as it moves backward in time, and it keeps the mind hopping as cause and effect are pieced together. Pearce captures Leonard perfectly, conveying both the tragic romance of his quest and his wry humor in dealing with his condition. He is bolstered by several excellent supporting players, and the movie is all but stolen from him by Pantoliano, who delivers an amazing performance as Teddy, the guy who may or may not be on his side. Memento has an intriguing structure and even meditations on the nature of perception and meaning of life if you go looking for them, but it also functions just as well as a completely absorbing thriller. It's rare to find a movie this exciting with so much intelligence behind it. --Ali Davis --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Metropolis Metropolis Starring: Imoto, Yuka Kobayashi, Keiji Okada, Kouki Price, Jamieson Axelrod, Robert Blum, Steven Furukawa, Toshio Ishida, Tarô Ishida, Tarô Mallow, Dave Director: Rintaro Rating: PG-13 (MPAA) Category: Animation - Anime : International - Japanese : Science Fiction/Fantasy - Sci-Fi Action : Future Dystopias : Adventure Drama : An User Rating: 7.3/10 (IMDB) Running Time: 1 Hour 48 Minutes Color DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound Barnes & Noble An all-star anime team conjures an urban dystopia with world-class visual pyrotechnics in the anime feature Metropolis. Directed by Rintaro (X), based on the 1945 comic book by the legendary Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy), and written for the screen by anime legend Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira), Metropolis is a free-form riff on imagery and themes from Fritz Lang's silent classic of the same name. To the strains of bouncy Dixieland jazz, the complex plot involves a power struggle for control of the city Metropolis and a young boy's attempt to protect a robot girl who is the proverbial key to the city's Babel-esque tower. The tower is Metropolis's architectural pride and joy, and a doomsday weapon to boot. As in the vertically stratified mega-city of Lang's 1927 silent, the aboveground life of fantasy and privilege in this city of the future conceals subterranean levels of poverty and hard labor. This juxtaposition overlaps with the familiar anime theme of man vs. machine, which plays out with shades of the 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner. There are too many influences and homages fueling Metropolis to list; but suffice to say that the film's multilayered, multicultural, and multireferential texture forms a dazzling pastiche. It's all realized in a state-of-the-art blend of conventional and computer-generated animation, with a kinetically breathtaking and eye-ravishing attention to futuristic details. The juxtaposition of various styles and genres makes the film unique, a fact driven home in the apocalyptic climax, set with knockout-punch irony to the music of Ray Charles. The result transcends mere allegory to induce a psychedelic overload of metaphor that's guaranteed to both daze and dazzle. Gregory Baird All Movie Guide Playing like a candy-colored hybrid of Fritz Lang's film of the same name and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis borrows its plot liberally from numerous legendary sci-fi sources (despite the fact that the original Manga was released in 1945, certain cinematic aspects can't help but appearing overly familiar), all the while dazzling viewers on the same cutting-edge visual level as such animé classics as Akira and Ghost in the Shell. The common animé practice of combining amazingly rendered backdrops and more traditionally hand-drawn characters continues here, though with such nuances as beautifully flowing hair and soulfully expressive faces, it becomes obvious that painstaking detail was paid to making the characters both visually and emotionally involving. Though as expressive as some of the central characters may be, it's the elaborate tri-level industrial labyrinth that encompasses the world of Metropolis that forms the film's central character, and it is a kalidescopic animated marvel to behold. Director Rintaro's beautifully composed visual design is so awe-inspiringly colorful and complex, that from the opening frames, the viewer is fully absorbed in the environment, with plot and characterization almost coming as an afterthought. And that is precisely where the film's ultimately forgivable main weakness lies. In between scenes of wide-eyed, jaw-dropping visuals, the story of human and android tension set against the backdrop of a futuristic city borrows from so many sources that it borders on cliché. Thankfully, writer Tezuka's characters are given a depth and sense of purpose, that, while not altogether unconvincing or original, consistently connect with the viewer's sense of recognition and sympathy. Viewers will no doubt attest that Metropolis works almost flawlessly on a purely visual and asthetic level within the opening frames of the film. Thankfully, Tezuka's storytelling skills compliment that on a level that, while not entirely new or original, is at the very least genuinely sincere and thoughtful. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide Chicago Sun-Times If you have never seen a Japanese anime, start here. If you love them, Metropolis proves you are right. Roger Ebert PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1) Presentation: W The Mighty Peking Man The Mighty Peking Man Starring: Hsiu-hsien, Li Kraft, Evelyn Yao, Hsiao Kraft, Evelyne Hou, Hsiao Wei-Tu, Lin Lee, Danny Director: Meng-hua, Ho Rating: PG-13 (MPAA) Category: Cult - Monster : Horror - Monster : Science Fiction/Fantasy - Monsters : Adventure - general : Jungle Film : Hong Kong (U.K.) User Rating: Running Time: 1 Hour 31 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Stereo Barnes & Noble Unbelievable to the point of being surreal and unintentionally hysterical, this 1977 film might be best described as "King Kong in Hong Kong." The Mighty Peking Man possesses the same appeal of any Godzilla movie: A guy in a goofy-looking monster suit stomps on miniature buildings and toy tanks. Its human protagonist is daring adventurer Johnny Feng (Danny Lee), who guides an expedition into the mountainous Himalayas. Their goal: to find a 100-foot-tall ape known as the Mighty Peking Man. The creature is captured and shipped to Hong Kong, accompanied by the white jungle goddess Samantha (Evelyne Kraft), his only human friend and the film's most impressive visual effect. A vacuous blonde who flits about in abbreviated animal-skin ensemble, Kraft is quite a sight. If ever there was a film that deserves its reputation as a camp classic, The Mighty Peking Man is it. Ed Hulse All Movie Guide This campy Hong Kong version of King Kong played at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival (in the Midnight Madness sections), as well as the Toronto Film Festival. Mighty Peking Man is an over-the-top retelling of the great ape story in classic Hong Kong action style. A giant ape (called Mighty Peking Man) has emerged following an earthquake in the Himalayas, and has made its way to the Indian jungles. Lu Tien and Johnny Feng plan to capture the ape and exploit it, so they head out on an expedition to catch the beast. After violent encounters with elephants and other wild creatures they turn back, except for Feng, who on his own meets Samantha, a Tarzan-like woman in a leopard skin who was raised in the jungle. Feng and Samantha fall in love, capture the ape, and take it to Hong Kong. There, of course, the ape escapes its shackles and ravages the city. The big guy eventually climbs the Connaught Centre, the city's tallest building, where he soon meets his demise. Chris Gore PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo Features: Theatrical trailer; 2.35:1 aspect ratio - enhanced for 16x9 televisions Language: English Time: 1 Hour 31 Minutes Monty Python and the Holy Grail Monty Python and the Holy Grail Starring: Jones, Terry Chapman, Graham Cleese, John Cleveland, Carol Duffell, Bee Young, John Cleese, John Chapman, Graham Chapman, Graham Cast, Monty Python Director: Gilliam, Terry Rating: PG (MPAA) Category: Comedy - Screwball : Comedy of Errors : Comedy Adventure : Comedy - general : Parody (spoof) : Slapstick : UK User Rating: Running Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Barnes & Noble Attempting to describe the Monty Python sensibility to the uninitiated is a little like attempting to describe what life after death is like to the living -- you kind of have to be there. The British bad-boy comedy troupe dish out lunacy of the highest order, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail is arguably their purest work. Following the basic story of King Arthur (Graham Chapman) and his quest to find the Holy Grail, they strew the narrative with some of the wackiest gags to ever hit the screen, along with plenty of body parts. Highlights include The Knights Who Say "Ni--," the Trojan Rabbit, and John Cleese's "invincible" Black Knight. Monty Python and the Holy Grail is surprisingly detailed in its re-creation of the Middle Ages, but the climactic battle at the end featuring hordes of extras is suddenly halted by the arrival of a modern-day squad of bobbies who break up the shenanigans and confiscate the camera. Historical comedy the way it oughtta be! Kenneth Chanko All Movie Guide From its opening multi-language titles (that sure looks like Swedish) to the closing arrest of the entire Dark Ages cast by modern-day bobbies, Monty Python & the Holy Grail has "comedy cult classic" written all over it. This time the Pythonites savage the legend of King Arthur, juxtaposing some excellently selected exterior locations with an unending stream of anachronistic one-liners, non sequiturs, and slapstick set pieces. The Knights of the Round Table set off in search of the Holy Grail on foot, as their lackeys make clippety-clop sounds with coconut shells. A plague-ridden community, ringing with the cry of "bring out your dead," offers its hale and hearty citizens to the body piles. A wedding of convenience is attacked by Arthur's minions while the pasty-faced groom continually attempts to burst into song. The good guys are nearly thwarted by the dreaded, tree-shaped "Knights who Say Ni!" A feisty enemy warrior, bloodily shorn of his arms and legs in the thick of battle, threatens to bite off his opponent's kneecap. A French military officer shouts such taunts as "I fart in your general direction" and "I wave my private parts at your aunties." Rabbits are a particular obsession of the writers this time around, ranging from the huge Trojan Rabbit to the "killer bunny" that decapitates one of the knights. Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin collaborated on the script and assumed most of the onscreen roles, while Gilliam and Jones served as co-directors. Hal Erickson PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Language: English SubTitles: English, Français, Español Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes Moulin Rouge (Double Digipack) Moulin Rouge (Double Digipack) Starring: Kidman, Nicole McGregor, Ewan Director: Luhrmann, Baz Rating: PG-13 Category: Drama : General User Rating: Running Time: Color DTS Surround Sound Amazon.com essential video A dazzling and yet frequently maddening bid to bring the movie musical kicking and screaming into the 21st century, Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge bears no relation to the many previous films set in the famous Parisian nightclub. This may appear to be Paris in the 1890s, with can-can dancers, bohemian denizens like Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo), and ribaldry at every turn, but it's really Luhrmann's pop-cultural wonderland. Everyone and everything is encouraged to shatter boundaries of time and texture, colliding and careening in a fast-cutting frenzy that thinks nothing of casting Elton John's "Your Song" 80 years before its time. Nothing is original in this kaleidoscopic, absinthe-inspired love tragedy--the words, the music, it's all been heard before. But when filtered through Luhrmann's love for pop songs and timeless showmanship, you're reminded of the cinema's power to renew itself while paying homage to its past. Luhrmann's overall success with his third "red-curtain" extravaganza (following Strictly Ballroom and William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet) is wildly debatable: the scenario is simple to the point of silliness, and how can you appreciate choreography when it's been diced into hash by attention-deficit editing? Still, there's something genuine brewing between costars Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman (as, respectively, a poor writer and his unobtainable object of desire), and their vocal talents are impressive enough to match Luhrmann's orgy of extraordinary sets, costumes, and digital wizardry. The movie's novelty may wear thin, along with its shallow indulgence of a marketable soundtrack, but Luhrmann's inventiveness yields moments that border on ecstasy, when sound and vision point the way to a moribund genre's joyously welcomed revival. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. DVD features The "Spectacular, Spectacular" theme of Moulin Rouge continues with the two-DVD set's dazzling array of extras, a must-watch for the Moulin Rouge fanatic. The first disc contains the film along with two commentary tracks--one with Baz Luhrmann, the production designer, and the cinematographer, the second with Luhrmann and Craig Pearce, the writers of the film. Both commentaries contain lots of interesting and fun facts about the making of the film, including back story on the characters that was... read more Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Starring: Stewart, James Arthur, Jean Rains, Claude Carey, Harry Mitchell, Thomas Arnold, Edward Rains, Claude Stewart, James Stewart, James Demarest, William Director: Capra, Frank Rating: NR (MPAA) Category: Classics - Comedy : Classics - Drama : Classics - General : Political Drama : Message Movie : Comedy Drama User Rating: Running Time: 2 Hours 9 Minutes B&W Dolby Digital All Movie Guide Frank Capra's classic comedy-drama established James Stewart as a lead actor in one of his finest (and most archetypal) roles. The film opens as a succession of reporters shout into telephones announcing the death of Senator Samuel Foley. Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains), the state's senior senator, puts in a call to Governor Hubert "Happy" Hopper (Guy Kibbee) reporting the news. Hopper then calls powerful media magnate Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold), who controls the state -- along with the lawmakers. Taylor orders Hopper to appoint an interim senator to fill out Foley's term; Taylor has proposed a pork barrel bill to finance an unneeded dam at Willet Creek, so he warns Hopper he wants a senator who "can't ask any questions or talk out of turn." After having a number of his appointees rejected, at the suggestion of his children Hopper nominates local hero Jefferson Smith (James Stewart), leader of the state's Boy Rangers group. Smith is an innocent, wide-eyed idealist who quotes Jefferson and Lincoln and idolizes Paine, who had known his crusading editor father. In Washington, after a humiliating introduction to the press corps, Smith threatens to resign, but Paine encourages him to stay and work on a bill for a national boy's camp. With the help of his cynical secretary Clarissa Sanders (Jean Arthur), Smith prepares to introduce his boy's camp bill to the Senate. But when he proposes to build the camp on the Willets Creek site, Taylor and Paine force him to drop the measure. Smith discovers Taylor and Paine want the Willets Creek site for graft and he attempts to expose them, but Paine deflects Smith's charges by accusing Smith of stealing money from the boy rangers. Defeated, Smith is ready to depart Washington, but Saunders, whose patriotic zeal has been renewed by Smith, exhorts him to stay and fight. Smith returns to the Senate chamber and, while Taylor musters the media forces in his state to destroy him, Smith engages in a climactic filibuster to speak his piece: "I've got a few things I want to say to this body. I tried to say them once before and I got stopped colder than a mackerel. Well, I'd like to get them said this time, sir. And as a matter of fact, I'm not gonna leave this body until I do get them said." Paul Brenner PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Presentation: B&W Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Frank Capra Jr. commentary; Frank Capra Jr. remembers "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"; Vintage advertising; Original theatrical trailer; Bonus trailers; Talent files; Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese; Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai Language: English, Español, Portugais SubTitles: English, Español, Portugais, Thai, Korean Time: 2 Hours 9 Minutes MTV - Viva La Bam - The Complete First Season MTV - Viva La Bam - The Complete First Season Starring: Margera, April Margera, Phil Dunn, Ryan Margera, Bam Raab, Chris Rivell, Jenn Dicamillo, Brandon Yohn, Rake Yohn, Rake Director: Rating: NR Category: Television : MTV : General User Rating: Running Time: 154 Color Stereo Description Based on the premise of reality television, VIVA LA BAM centers on the fanatical and often extreme life of pro-skater Bam Margera and his fascination with amusement at the expense of his family and friends. With an almost contagious energetic persona, Bam is able to instigate his friends into lavishly planned tricks plotted against his loved ones. From turning his parents' house into a skate park to putting an alligator in his mother's kitchen, catastrophe and emotional abuse has never been so funny. MTV Jackass, Vol. 2 MTV Jackass, Vol. 2 Starring: Knoxville, Johnny Margera, Bam Director: Rating: NR (MPAA) Category: Television : MTV : General User Rating: Running Time: 1 Hour 18 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Surround Barnes & Noble There is no Jackass Volume 1. Resident masochist/MTV-made antihero Johnny Knoxville decided to simply skip it. And who's going to argue with a guy who's already stretched out his 15 minutes of fame longer than anyone since Tom Green? Critics lambasted his big-screen debut, and audiences flocked to see it anyway. So maybe we should just forget the hows and whys and just (gulp) appreciate Knoxville for what he is: a showman who has managed to tap into a particularly fecund channel within the collective psyche, and proudly flaunts the smell. This two-volume jamboree of Jackass antics features such classics as Knoxville sticking his arm up a cow's butt and reading the Gettysburg Address with a beard of leeches. His cohorts Bam Margera and Brandon Dicamillo also chip in, performing such surefire audience grabbers as starting a brawl in a crowded café. Remember, just because Johnny Knoxville does it doesn't mean that you should. All Movie Guide MTV Jackass, Vol. 2 collects around 40 skits from the hit gross-out series Jackass. Produced by Spike Jones in the style of his early skateboard prankster videos, this Paramount title offers highlights of entertaining violence, injuries, and stupidity. Starring Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Chris Pontius, and other extreme guys. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Sound: Dolby Digital Surround Features: Trivia game; Photo gallery; Cast bios; Scene selection; Bleeped cuss words; Blurred genitalia Language: English Time: 1 Hour 18 Minutes MTV Jackass, Vol. 3 MTV Jackass, Vol. 3 Starring: Knoxville, Johnny Margera, Bam Director: Rating: NR (MPAA) Category: Television : MTV : General User Rating: Running Time: 1 Hour 17 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Surround Barnes & Noble There is no Jackass Volume 1. Resident masochist/MTV-made antihero Johnny Knoxville decided to simply skip it. And who's going to argue with a guy who's already stretched out his 15 minutes of fame longer than anyone since Tom Green? Critics lambasted his big-screen debut, and audiences flocked to see it anyway. So maybe we should just forget the hows and whys and just (gulp) appreciate Knoxville for what he is: a showman who has managed to tap into a particularly fecund channel within the collective psyche, and proudly flaunts the smell. This two-volume jamboree of Jackass antics features such classics as Knoxville sticking his arm up a cow's butt and reading the Gettysburg Address with a beard of leeches. His cohorts Bam Margera and Brandon Dicamillo also chip in, performing such surefire audience grabbers as starting a brawl in a crowded café. Remember, just because Johnny Knoxville does it doesn't mean that you should. All Movie Guide MTV Jackass, Vol. 3 collects around 40 skits from the hit gross-out series Jackass. Produced by Spike Jones in the style of his early skateboard prankster videos, this Paramount title offers highlights of entertaining violence, injuries, and stupidity. Starring Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Chris Pontius, and other extreme guys. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Sound: Dolby Digital Surround Features: Trivia game; Photo gallery; Cast bios; Scene selection; Bleeped cuss words; Blurred genitalia Language: English Time: 1 Hour 17 Minutes Napoleon Dynamite Napoleon Dynamite Starring: Heder, Jon Gries, Jon Ruell, Aaron Ruell, Aaron Gries, Jon Duff, Haylie Majorino, Tina Ramirez, Efren Ramirez, Efren Brady, Carmen Director: Hess, Jared Rating: PG (MPAA) Category: Drama - Coming of Age : Anarchic Comedy User Rating: 7.3/10 (IMDB) Running Time: 1 Hour 35 Minutes Color Mono Barnes & Noble Oddballs and underdogs are common fodder for comedies, but audiences had never seen a hero quite like the title character of this quirky indie hit from first-time filmmaker Jared Hess. Another newcomer, Jon Heder, delivers a truly unforgettable performance as Napoleon, a social outcast with a wild 'fro who lives in a state of constant exasperation at a world that just doesn't understand him; his protracted sighs are consistently amusing. Napoleon lives with his freewheeling grandma and his even nerdier older brother, Kip (Aaron Ruel), in the rural town of Preston, Idaho. He endures constant torture from bullies at his high school, and he gets no sympathy at home from Kip, who spends most days "chatting online with hot babes." When his grandmother takes ill, Napoleon's uncle Rico (John Gries) is sent to take care of the boys but spends most of his time hatching get-rich schemes and reliving his '80s salad days. The film itself, though set today, seems to be stuck culturally in the Reagan years. Life takes a turn when Napoleon meets two fellow outsiders: desperately shy Deb (Tina Majorino), and transfer student Pedro (Efren Ramirez). Spearheading Pedro's bid for student body president against snobby cheerleader Summer Wheatley (Haylie Duff, sister of Hilary) may be just the thing to give Napoleon the self-confidence he needs. What Napoleon Dynamite may lack in narrative, it more than makes up for with little moments of hilarity: an action figure dangled out of a school bus on a string; Kip decked out in gangsta rap attire; Napoleon's triumphant solo dance number. But the biggest laughs come from the highly quotable dialogue, which eschews profanity in favor of "gosh" and "darn." The deliberately flat line readings only add to the film's quirky charm. If all this sounds a little too ironic -- à la Todd Solondz -- it isn't. Hess likes his misfit characters and injects the film with a healthy dose of heart. Napoleon Dynamite gets funnier every time you see it, and repeated viewings are almost a given. Bill Pearis All Movie Guide The directorial debut of filmmaker Jared Hess, who also co-wrote the screenplay, Napoleon Dynamite is a quirky, offbeat comedy set in the small Idaho town of Preston. Jon Heder stars in the titular role, a carrot-topped oddball with a decidedly eccentric family that includes his llama-loving, dune-buggy enthusiast grandmother. The story centers on the local high school's race for class president. Using some nontraditional means, Napoleon is determined to help his pal Pedro (Efrem Ramirez) run a winning campaign and defeat popular girl Summer (Haylie Duff). Also starring The Drew Carey Show's Diedrich Bader, Napoleon Dynamite premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Matthew Tobey Washington Post Jon Heder in the magnificent Napoleon Dynamite, is one of the most winning movie creations in years. Stephen Hunter Washington Post I laughed. And I laughed primarily over Heder's hilarious performance. You ain't seen nothing till you've seen Napoleon attack that tether ball. Desson Thomson PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Presentation: Pan & Scan Features: Director/co-writer producer and actor commentary; Peluca original short film with optional director/writer producer and actor commentary; The wedding of the century! making of featurette; Deleted scenes, still gallery and more Language: English, Español, Español SubTitles: English, Français Editions: Subtitled Time: 1 Hour 35 Minutes Not One Less Not One Less Starring: Minzhi, Wei Huike, Zhang Zhenda, Tian Director: Yimou, Zhang Rating: G (MPAA) Category: Drama - Coming of Age : China : Neorealistic : Urban Drama : Comedy Drama User Rating: Running Time: 1 Hour 46 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Surround All Movie Guide In a village in China mired in poverty, Gao (Gao Enman) is the lone teacher in a school so threadbare he must ration chalk to make sure he has enough for the day. The destitution of the village is not limited to the school; some of the children sleep in the schoolhouse because they have nowhere else to go, and many students have already dropped out to go to work to help feed their families. Gao is forced to leave town for a month, and no one in the village is able to take over for him except a 13-year-old girl, Wei Minzhi (Wei Minzhi), who possesses only the most rudimentary education herself. What she lacks in educational credential, she makes up for in determination -- she needs money, and teaching is an honest job that pays, and since she'll get a 10 yuan bonus if all 28 students are still attending when Gao gets back, she is determined that no one will drop out on her watch. So when one student turns up missing, and word has it he's been sent to the city by his mother to work, she travels to the city to look for him. In a place where thousands of children are working in the underground labor force or begging on the street, one boy hardly stands out from the crowd, and she has little luck. However, she's able to persuade a sympathetic TV station manager to let her make an announcement in hopes someone knows where he has gone. Despite its serious and often grim theme, Yi Ge Dou Bu Neng Shao is often light in tone and draws on the strength and humor of its characters; the film won the Golden Lion at the 1999 Venice Film Festival. Mark Deming PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Surround Features: Digitally mastered audio and anamorphic video; Widescreen presentation; Audio: Mandarin 2-channel [Dolby Surround]; Subtitles: English; Theatrical trailers; Interactive menus; Scene selections Language: Mandarin SubTitles: English Time: 1 Hour 46 Minutes Ocean's 11 Ocean's 11 Starring: Sinatra, Frank Martin, Dean Jr., Sammy Davis Dickinson, Angie Conte, Richard Sinatra, Frank Romero, Cesar Wymore, Patrice Wymore, Patrice Director: Milestone, Lewis Rating: NR (MPAA) Category: Comedy - Cops/Crooks User Rating: Running Time: 2 Hours 7 Minutes Color Dolby Digital All Movie Guide During a Los Angeles Christmas, a group of 82nd Airborne vets assembles under the leadership of gamblin' man Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra) to rip off four Las Vegas casinos just after the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day. Playboy Jimmy Foster (Peter Lawford) joins in the scheme because he's sick of needing his oft-married mother's money, especially now that she's about to wed Duke Santos (Cesar Romero), a self-made man with all sorts of underworld ties. After he receives the news that he could die at any time, newly released convict Anthony Bergdorf (Richard Conte) reluctantly agrees to participate so he can leave some money to his estranged wife and young son. Ocean's own wife, Beatrice (Angie Dickinson), doesn't think much of her husband's promise of a big score to come, but her quiet protests don't dissuade him. With Las Vegas garbage man and fellow vet Josh Howard (Sammy Davis Jr.) and several casino employees among their number, the titular band of thieves have just a few days to get ready for their caper. When Duke Santos, Jimmy's mother, and one of Ocean's discarded paramours all show up in Sin City at the same time as the veterans, the crew's perfect plans face some serious hurdles. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Commentary by Frank Sinatra, Jr. and Angie Dickinson; scene from The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, featuring guest host Sinatra and guest Dickinson; Las Vegas "Then and Now" interactive map; two original theatrical trailers; English, French and Spanish subtitles Language: English, Français SubTitles: English, Français, Español Time: 2 Hours 7 Minutes One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest Starring: Nicholson, Jack Fletcher, Louise Redfield, William Lloyd, Christopher Crothers, Scatman Sampson, Will Dourif, Brad Cumbuka, Mwako Cumbuka, Mwako Brocco, Peter Director: Forman, Milos Rating: R (MPAA) Category: Psychological Drama : Literary Adaptation User Rating: 8.7/10 (IMDB) Running Time: 2 Hours 14 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Stereo All Movie Guide With an insane asylum standing in for everyday society, Milos Forman's 1975 film adaptation of Ken Kesey's novel is a comically sharp indictment of the Establishment urge to conform. Playing crazy to avoid prison work detail, manic free spirit Randle P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is sent to the state mental hospital for evaluation. There he encounters a motley crew of mostly voluntary inmates, including cowed mama's boy Billy (Brad Dourif) and silent Native American Chief Bromden (Will Sampson), presided over by the icy Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher). Ratched and McMurphy recognize that each is the other's worst enemy: an authority figure who equates sanity with correct behavior, and a misfit who is charismatic enough to dismantle the system simply by living as he pleases. McMurphy proceeds to instigate group insurrections large and small, ranging from a restorative basketball game to an unfettered afternoon boat trip and a tragic after-hours party with hookers and booze. Nurse Ratched, however, has the machinery of power on her side to ensure that McMurphy will not defeat her. Still, McMurphy's message to live free or die is ultimately not lost on one inmate, revealing that escape is still possible even from the most oppressive conditions. Lucia Bozzola PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Presentation: Pan & Scan Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo Features: Interactive menus; Production notes; Scene access; Languages: English, Français; Subtitles: English, Français, Español Language: English, Français SubTitles: English, Français, Español Time: 2 Hours 14 Minutes The Osbournes - The First Season (Uncensored) The Osbournes - The First Season (Uncensored) Starring: Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy Osbourne, Jack Osbourne, Sharon Director: (III), Todd Stevens Rating: Unrated Category: Television : MTV : General User Rating: Running Time: Color Dolby Amazon.com As the second season aired, the decline in TV ratings and the tepid sales of Kelly Osbourne's album indicated that the Osbourne family's 15 minutes were just about up. But this two-disc set is an indispensable time-capsule keepsake of that brief and shining moment when Ozzy and his family put their indelible stamp on pop culture as the stars of the first reality sitcom. For addled heavy-metal pioneer Ozzy, his fiercely devoted wife and manager Sharon, and two (of three) of their children--petulant misfit Jack and the more flamboyant pink-haired Kelly--it was a very good year. They were MTV's top-rated series ever. They graced magazine covers. They were championed by no less a moral arbiter than Dan Quayle. Even President George W. Bush got into the act, toasting Ozzy at the annual Washington Press Club soiree: "Ozzy, mom loves your stuff." The Osbournes is the kind of series for which the phrase "instantly addictive" was coined. The idea seemed positively batty: Chronicle the lives of the Osbournes as they settle in to their new Beverly Hills home. They ain't the Clampetts, as the crates marked "Dead Things" indicates. Persistent use of the F word and other obscenities (not bleeped on the uncensored DVD) aside, the Osbournes at heart are a close-knit, loving family. Or, as Ozzy so tenderly puts it, "I love you more than life itself, but you're all f------ mad." Episode 4 bears him out, as Sharon and Jack declare war on their noisy next-door neighbors with airborne foodstuffs. These 10 endlessly repeatable episodes are enhanced by this features-heavy DVD; among its most inspired extras is an "Ozzy translator." The first season of The Osbournes was a lightning-in-a- bottle phenomenon whose success has yet to be duplicated, not by the shameless Anna Nicole, not by clueless Liza, not even by the Osbournes themselves. --Donald Liebenson Description Collect the entire first season of "The Osbournes," the most outrageously fun reality television show ever, with THE OSBOURNES ? THE FIRST SEASON, a 2-disc DVD. Starring legendary rocker Ozzy Osbourne, his amazing wife Sharon and their kids Kelly and Jack, THE OSBOURNES ? THE FIRST SEASON includes never-before-seen bonus footage, and many terrific DVD programs including set top features and DVD ROM features, with new cast interviews, commentary tracks, "Too Oz For TV" blooper reel, an Osbournes bingo game and lots more. THE OSBOURNES ? THE FIRST SEASON uncensored version has even more hilarious wit and wisdom from Ozzy's clan. "The Osbournes" has become a top-rated "reality show" phenomenon. Last Fall Ozzy Osbourne, the original Madman of Rock, opened up his family life to the cameras, and the resulting television series has earned a huge fan following. Whether familiar with Ozzy's musical career or not, audiences everywhere have grown to know and love each Osbourne family member. THE OSBOURNES ? THE FIRST SEASON collects all the unforgettable personalities and day-to-day problems and pleasures that come from being a part of America's most fun-to-watch first family. Osbournes: Second Season Osbournes: Second Season Starring: Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy Osbourne, Kelly Osbourne, Jack Varga, Melinda Director: (III), Todd Stevens Rating: Not Rated Category: Television : MTV : General User Rating: Running Time: 3 Hours 20 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Surround Barnes & Noble The Osbournes began with a brilliant idea: Reinvent the family sitcom as reality TV cross-bred with This Is Spinal Tap. But not even MTV expected it to be an overnight sensation, despite (or perhaps because of) all those bleeps. As "The Dad," bat-chomping Ozzy Osbourne won viewers' hearts from the get-go, enduring Everyman struggles with tricky remotes, sex-crazed pets, and his recalcitrant teens, Jack and Kelly. Even his rock-star problems played out like domestic disputes, such as when his wife suggested he tour with a bubble machine: "C'mon, Sharon, I'm the Prince of @#%$!# Darkness!" By the time Season 2 rolled around, The Osbournes had become such an institution that Ozzy and Sharon dined at the White House. This two-DVD set includes all 10 shows from the second season (plus commentary tracks with the Osbourne family). It's also an Ozzy-appropriate orgy of extra features. One can train to become an Osbourne with the DVD-ROM feature "Crazy Training," decode the master's mutters with the "Ozzy Translator," or play the set-top game "Dookie's Revenge." And though the series often plays like one big blooper, it turns out that what aired was just the tip of the iceberg. Just wait 'til you cue up the never-before-seen footage. PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Sound: Dolby Digital Surround Features: Uncensored and censored language tracks on all 10 episodes; Hilarious never-before-seen footage; Ozzy Translator for each episode; Episode commentary track with the Osbourne family; Dookie's Revenge set-top game; "What the $%#@ Did He Say" trivia game; DVD-ROM materials include "Crazy Training": Train to become a member of the Osbourne household by playing along with each episode; Dolby Digital Surround Sound; Full-screen (1.33:1); French subtitles Language: English SubTitles: Français Time: 3 Hours 20 Minutes The Party The Party Starring: Sellers, Peter Champion, Marge Sellers, Peter Miller, Denny Wayne, Carol MacLeod, Gavin Lester, Buddy Longet, Claudine Longet, Claudine Director: Edwards, Blake Rating: PG Category: Comedy : General User Rating: Running Time: 99 Color Stereo Amazon.com Though this film is a relatively minor one in the massive canon of Peter Sellers, it has moments of absolute hilarity. Written and directed by Blake Edwards, one of Sellers's most fertile collaborators, the film stars Sellers as a would-be actor from India (let them try to get away with that today) who is a walking disaster area. After ruining a day's shooting as an extra on a film, he finds himself unintentionally invited to a big Hollywood party. That's pretty much it as far as plot goes, but Edwards and Sellers know how to milk a simple idea for an unending string of slapstick gags. The result is a film that is episodic and sketchy, but also frequently loony in an inspired way. --Marshall Fine --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. Pee-wee's Big Adventure Pee-wee's Big Adventure Starring: Reubens, Paul Daily, Elizabeth Salinger, Diane Omen, Judd Reubens, Paul Brolin, James Fairchild, Morgan Director: Burton, Tim Rating: PG Category: Comedy : General User Rating: Running Time: 90 Color Stereo Amazon.com Former animator Tim Burton (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Batman, Mars Attacks!) made his feature directorial debut with this delightful comedy, coscripted by the late Phil Hartman (who also appears briefly as a reporter). Wisely, they keep the story simple so as to concentrate on the characters: Pee-wee's most prized possession, his shiny new bicycle, is stolen, and he sets off on an obsessive cross-country journey, determined to recover it. Pee-wee's awkward and childish attempts to be cool and mature ("I meant to do that!!") are hysterical, as when he tells his girlfriend (Elizabeth Daly): "There's things about me you don't know, Dottie. Things you wouldn't understand. Things you couldn't understand. Things you shouldn't understand.... I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel." Look for Saturday Night Live vet Jan Hooks in a hilarious bit as a tour guide at the Alamo. And beware of Large Marge! --Jim Emerson --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. Pi Pi Starring: Gullette, Sean Margolis, Mark Shenkman, Ben Pearlman, Stephen Herman, Stanley Gullette, Sean Gordon, Joanne Shenkman, Ben Shenkman, Ben Lao, Kristyn Anne-Marie Director: Aronofsky, Darren Rating: R (MPAA) Category: Independent - Drama : Independent - Mystery-Suspense : Avant-garde / Experimental : Future Dystopias : Psychological Drama : Psy User Rating: Running Time: 1 Hour 25 Minutes B&W Mono Barnes & Noble A little knowledge turns out to be a dangerous thing for the protagonist of this relentlessly energetic psychological thriller. While working on a system to predict stock prices, mathematics genius Max Cohen (Sean Gullette) stumbles onto a powerful secret that piques the interest of both a Wall Street brokerage house and a group of Hasidic Cabalists. The debut feature of director Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream), Pi is a stunningly assured showpiece of kinetic visual style with gorgeously grainy, high-contrast black-and-white photography, wild camera movements, and rapid-fire editing. As Max's discovery leads him to the brink of a psychotic breakdown, a throbbing electronic score by Clint Mansell, music by Autechre and Orbital, and head-spinning discussions of Pythagorean theorems and Jewish mysticism add to the heady atmosphere of paranoia. By the end, Pi produces a kind of sensory overload through a barrage of sounds, images, words, and numbers that magnificently capture the thrill and danger of an obsessive search for ultimate truth. Gregory Baird All Movie Guide Darren Aronofsky scripted and made his directorial debut with this experimental feature with mathematical plot threads hinting at science-fictional elements. In NYC's Chinatown, recluse math genius Max (Sean Gullette) believes "everything can be understood in terms of numbers," and he looks for a pattern in the system as he suffers headaches, plays Go with former teacher Sol Robeson (Mark Margolis), and fools around with an advanced computer system he's built in his apartment. Both a Wall Street company and a Hasidic sect take an interest in his work, but he's distracted by blackout attacks, hallucinations, and paranoid delusions. Filmed in 16mm black-and-white, the Kafkaesque film features music by Clint Mansell (of the UK's Pop Will Eat Itself band). Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival where Aronofsky won the drama directing award. Bhob Stewart PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Vistavision (1.66:1) Presentation: B&W Features: Widescreen version; 2.0 Dolby Surround audio; Director's commentary track; Actor's commentary track; Behind-the-scenes montage; Lost scenes; Music video; Digitally mastered; Interactive menus; Scene access; Theatrical trailers; Production notes; Cast and crew information Language: English SubTitles: English Time: 1 Hour 25 Minutes The Pink Panther The Pink Panther Starring: Niven, David Sellers, Peter Jeffries, Fran Gordon, Colin Miller, Martin Wagner, Robert Capucine Banzie, Brenda De Banzie, Brenda De Director: Edwards, Blake Rating: Unrated Category: Comedy : General User Rating: Running Time: 113 Color Dolby Amazon.com essential video The history of film comedy would have been much altered if Peter Ustinov had stayed in the role of Jacques Clouseau, the bumbling French police inspector in The Pink Panther. But Ustinov dropped out, the role went to Peter Sellers, and a classic character was born: suspicious, blundering, with a pompous little mustache and a sometimes impenetrable accent, Clouseau was always one step behind everybody else in the room. The Pink Panther introduced Clouseau hot on the trail of a famous jewel thief (David Niven), who may be planning to make off with an expensive gem known as the Pink Panther. Set in a European ski resort, this bubbly comedy is a wonderful dose of '60s style, from the famous Henry Mancini theme music to the presence of two of Europe's top sex symbols of the era, Claudia Cardinale and Capucine. The film also introduced the popular cartoon Pink Panther, slinking around to Mancini's music in an animated credits sequence. The film's success brought a follow-up, A Shot in the Dark, also released in 1964; after 11 years, Sellers and top comedy director Blake Edwards (10) returned with three more sequels. --Robert Horton Planet of the Apes Planet of the Apes Starring: Heston, Charlton McDowall, Roddy Hunter, Kim Whitmore, James Daly, James Harrison, Linda Gunner, Robert Heston, Charlton Heston, Charlton Whitmore, James Director: Schaffner, Franklin J. Rating: G (MPAA) Category: Cult - Camp : Science Fiction/Fantasy - Sci-Fi Action : Future Dystopias : Message Movie : Sci-Fi Action User Rating: Running Time: 1 Hour 52 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Barnes & Noble Simply put, Planet of the Apes is a great film. The various film and TV sequels, the collectable lunch boxes, and the lingering visions of thespians emoting through simian-shaped latex can't obscure that fact. Like the Pierre Boulle novel that inspired it, the film has just enough satirical wit to carry the day. Three American astronauts, including Charlton Heston, crash-land into an upside-down world where the apes are civilized and humans are wild. Heston's overblown performance as George Taylor is legendary -- his delivery alone makes for great one-liners. The actors playing apes are also riveting: Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter shine through their makeup (which won a special Academy Award) as a pair of scientists who befriend Taylor. Also chewing the scenery is Maurice Evans, who, as Dr. Zaius, sees Taylor as a threat to the ape status quo. Sharply directed by Franklin Schaffner, the film features some stunning scenery and a superb score by Jerry Goldsmith. But the real fun comes from such throwaways as "Human see, human do" and "I never met an ape I didn't like" (The Twilight Zone's Rod Serling was one of the screenwriters). Good to the last shot, Planet of the Apes also boasts one of the best endings in cinema history. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll groan out loud. Gregory Baird All Movie Guide Originally intended as a project for Blake Edwards, the film version of Pierre Boule's semisatiric sci-fi novel came to the screen in 1968 under the directorial guidance of Franklin J. Schaffner. Charlton Heston is George Taylor, one of several astronauts on a long, long space mission whose spaceship crash-lands on a remote planet, seemingly devoid of intelligent life. Soon the astronaut learns that this planet is ruled by a race of talking, thinking, reasoning apes who hold court over a complex, multilayered civilization. In this topsy-turvy society, the human beings are grunting, inarticulate primates, penned-up like animals. When ape leader Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans) discovers that the captive Taylor has the power of speech, he reacts in horror and insists that the astronaut be killed. But sympathetic ape scientists Cornelius (Roddy McDowell) and Dr. Zira (Kim Hunter) risk their lives to protect Taylor -- and to discover the secret of their planet's history that Dr. Zaius and his minions guard so jealously. In the end, it is Taylor who stumbles on the truth about the Planet of the Apes: "Damn you! Damn you! Goddamn you all to hell!" Scripted by Rod Serling and Michael Wilson (a former blacklistee who previously adapted another Pierre Boule novel, Bridge on the River Kwai), Planet of the Apes has gone on to be an all-time sci-fi (and/or camp) classic. It won a special Academy Award for John Chambers's convincing (and, from all accounts, excruciatingly uncomfortable) simian makeup. It spawned four successful sequels, as well as two TV series, one live-action and one animated. Hal Erickson PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Widescreen 2.35:1; THX-certified Dolby Digital 5.1 audio; photo gallery; theatrical trailers; Planet Of The Apes web link; English and Spanish subtitles; English and French language tracks. Language: English, Français SubTitles: English, Español Time: 1 Hour 52 Minutes The Powerpuff Girls Movie The Powerpuff Girls Movie Starring: Jong-Ho, Kim McCracken, Craig Cavadini, Cathy Kane, Tom Kenny, Tom Jackson, Roger L. Hale, Jennifer Martin, Jennifer Martin, Jennifer DeLisle, Grey Director: Chang-Yul, Jeong Rating: PG (MPAA) Category: Children - Animation : Children - Comedy : Action/Adventure - Family : Animation - Kids : Comedy Adventure : Children : Animatio User Rating: 6.3/10 (IMDB) Running Time: 1 Hour 13 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Stereo Barnes & Noble Bubbles, Blossom, and Buttercup flex their muscles in their first feature film! If you're not familiar with Cartoon Network's phenomenally popular animated series, fear not, as this movie fleshes out the Girls' back-story. The setting is Townsville, a city in serious, serious trouble. A mild-mannered man of science, Professor Untonium, sets out to save the lawless, crime-ridden town by creating in his lab "perfect, normal, everyday little girls" to inspire the populace. What he gets is the Powerpuff Girls, who, thanks to the accidental addition of Chemical X, have unique powers. Not knowing their own strengths, the Girls unwittingly wreak havoc on Townsville during a simple game of tag, which hilariously escalates into a maelstrom of destruction. Shunned as freaky bug-eyed weirdo girls, the disheartened trio are exploited by an evil former lab monkey, Mojo Jojo, who plans to rule Townsville with the unwitting Girls' help. Like the Powerpuffs themselves, this movie is just the right blend of sugar and spice. The PG rating, for near-relentless action and intense fight scenes, is appropriate. Wonderfully stylized animation and sly-witted spoofing of the superhero genre make this feature a cheeky delight. Donald Liebenson All Movie Guide The most adorable little superheroines in all of Townsville make the jump to the big screen in this feature-length animated adventure based on the popular Cartoon Network series The Powerpuff Girls. Brilliant scientist Professor Utonium (voice of Tom Kane) is performing an experiment in his lab when Jojo, a monkey trained to assist the professor, accidentally drops a bottle of hyper-powerful Chemical X into a mixture of sugar, spice, and everything nice. To the professor's surprise, what should emerge from the subsequent chemical reaction but three little girls: bright and practical Blossom (voice of Cathy Cavadini), sweet and sunny Bubbles (voice of Tara Strong), and tomboyish Buttercup (voice of Elizabeth Daily). Professor Utonium discovers that the girls have remarkable powers and super-human strength, and he hopes they'll be able to improve life in the crime-infected City of Townsville. However, after their first day at Pokey Oaks Kindergarten with Ms. Keane (voice of Jennifer Hale), the girls learn that having super powers can be both a blessing and a curse. Rejected by their classmates and quite unhappy, the girls are easily swayed when Mojo Jojo (voice of Roger L. Jackson), a superintelligent monkey in a turban, asks them to help him with a campaign to save the city. What the girls don't know is that Mojo Jojo is actually the monkey who once assisted the Professor; now he's embraced evil and hopes to use the Powerpuff Girls as part of his criminal scheme to wrestle control of Townsville away from the dense but well-meaning Mayor (voice of Tom Kenny). The Powerpuff Girls Movie was directed and co-written by Craig McCracken, who created the original television show as well as writing most of the episodes. Mark Deming PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Presentation: Pan & Scan Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo Features: Cast interviews with new animation; Behind the scenes; Director's commentary; Deleted scenes; Character commentaries; Theatrical trailer; Dexter's laboratory bonus cartoon: chicken scratch; Cartoon network sneak peeks; Interactive menus; Scene access; English, French, and Spanish languages & subtitles; DVD-ROM features:; 4 awesome games; Screensaver; Online trading cards Language: English, Français, Español SubTitles: English, Français, Español Time: 1 Hour 13 Minutes The Powerpuff Girls: 'Twas the Fight Before Christmas The Powerpuff Girls: 'Twas the Fight Before Christmas Starring: Cavadini, Cathy Strong, Tara Daily, Elizabeth Kane, Tom Kenny, Tom Martin, Jennifer Jackson, Roger L. Soucie, Kath Soucie, Kath Baker, Dee Bradley Director: McCracken, Craig Rating: NR (MPAA) Category: Animation User Rating: Running Time: 44 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Mono Barnes & Noble If you're looking for one of those heartwarming "true meaning of Christmas"-type holiday specials, best stick with good 'ol Charlie Brown, the Grinch, or Rudolph with his nose so bright. Kids of the Chemical X generation will instead find good cheer in all the "smashing and the crashing" as Bubbles, Blossom, and Buttercup race against time to fly to the North Pole to foil a bratty and spoiled princess's scheme to put all of the world's children on Santa's "naughty" list. A bonus "Dexter's Laboratory" cartoon confirms that it's all about the presents. This super stocking stuffer will top every Powerpuff Girls fan's "gimme list." Just don't expect any miracles on 34th Street. Donald Liebenson All Movie Guide America's cutest superheroines have a new assignment -- saving Christmas from the world's most spoiled brat -- in this holiday-themed animated adventure. Blossom (voice of Cathy Cavadini), Bubbles (voice of Tara Strong) and Buttercup (voice of Elizabeth Daily) are getting ready for the annual arrival of Santa Claus, but much to their distress they discover that despite their many good deeds, they've ended up on Santa's "naughty" list. The girls soon learn why -- the über-selfish Princess (voice of Jennifer Hale) has not only convinced St. Nick that the Powerpuff Girls were bad in the past year, but that she should be given superpowers to take them on. But what Princess really has in mind is to hijack Christmas for herself; can the Powerpuff Girlsstop her before she spoils the holiday for everyone in Townsville? Mark Deming PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Sound: Dolby Digital Mono Features: Music video featuring Cherish; "We Three Girls" music video; Dexter's Laboratory bonus episode; Family favorite trailers; Languages: English; Subtitles: English, Français, Español Language: English SubTitles: English, Français, Español Time: 44 Minutes Powerpuff Girls: Down N Dirty Powerpuff Girls: Down N Dirty Starring: Cavadini, Cathy Strong, Tara Daily, Elizabeth Kane, Tom Kenny, Tom Martin, Jennifer Jackson, Roger L. Soucie, Kath Soucie, Kath Baker, Dee Bradley Director: McIntyre, John Rating: NR (MPAA) Category: Kids & Family : General User Rating: Running Time: 2 Hours 5 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Barnes & Noble For the first time on DVD, cute superheroines the Powerpuff Girls save the day before bedtime with ten episodes from their hit cartoon series, as featured in the previous video releases Dream Scheme and Birthday Bash. Bonus DVD features include three interactive Powerpuff Girls games, a link to the heroic trio's official web site, bonus Cartoon Network toons, and Powerpuff trivia with which to stump the villains. The complementary DVD debut Powerpuff Bluff features even more crime-fighting fun, including the Emmy-nominated episode "Bubblevicious." PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Presentation: Pan & Scan Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Three interactive games; Bios; Powerpuff girls trivia challenge; Sheep in the Big City bonus cartoon; Web-enabled; Episode selections Language: English Time: 2 Hours 5 Minutes Powerpuff Girls: Mane Event Powerpuff Girls: Mane Event Starring: Cavadini, Cathy Strong, Tara Daily, Elizabeth Kane, Tom Kenny, Tom Martin, Jennifer Jackson, Roger L. Soucie, Kath Soucie, Kath Baker, Dee Bradley Director: Renzetti, Robert Rating: NR (MPAA) Category: Kids & Family : General User Rating: Running Time: 2 Hours 13 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Barnes & Noble Since their delightful DVD debut on the Down 'n' Dirty and Powerpuff Bluff collections, Cartoon Network's supertots from Townsville continued their assault on worldly evils -- including the total eclipse of the sun by a disco mirror ball in "Boogie Frights" and Blossom's bad hair day in "The Mane Event." In addition to those two hit episodes, The Mane Event DVD compiles four more high-flying favorites, plus two episodes never seen before on Cartoon Network. But the action doesn't stop there! Series creator Craig McCracken's first Powerpuff cartoon, pop-rock sensation Shonen Knife's "Buttercup" video, and two episodes featuring audio commentary by none other than the Mayor and Mojo Jojo makes The Mane Event a must-see for Powerpuff fans the world over. Some may argue that these wunderkinder have redefined Girl Power for the new millennium. Not bad for some doe-eyed preschoolers. Tony Nigro PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Presentation: Pan & Scan Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Audio commentary, two never-before-seen episodes, interactive games, DVD-ROM materials, video bios of the Powerpuff Girls, creator Craig McCracken's original Powerpuff Girls cartoon. Language: English Time: 2 Hours 13 Minutes Powerpuff Girls: Meet The Beat Alls Powerpuff Girls: Meet The Beat Alls Starring: Cavadini, Cathy Strong, Tara Daily, Elizabeth Kane, Tom Kenny, Tom Martin, Jennifer Jackson, Roger L. Soucie, Kath Soucie, Kath Baker, Dee Bradley Director: Rating: NR (MPAA) Category: Movies & Non Theatrical Video > Children's > Kids DVD User Rating: Running Time: 2 Hours Color Dolby Digital Barnes & Noble The Powerpuff Girls save the world eight days a week in Meet the Beat-Alls, a collection featuring five superb entries from the Cartoon Network series. The Emmy-nominated title episode is an unending barrage of riotous references to Liverpool's most beloved export, the Beatles, as the girls' fiercest foes come together in the titular, Powerpuff-busting supergroup. But the fun doesn't stop there: In "Bought and Scold," mean Mayor Princess decrees illegal activities lawful -- but money can't buy her power. Next, Bubbles learns that life goes on when she is forced to wear nerdy glasses in "Bubblevision." "Jewel of the Aisle" does not feature a send-up of the Fab Four's Help!, but it does prove that the Powerpuff Girls can't be duped with the secret prize from a cereal box. Finally, in "Collect Her," a freaky fan kidnaps the girls and hides them away until the girls get a little help from their friends, the citizens of Townsville. Always a crowd-pleaser for children and adults alike, this Blossom-Buttercup-Bubbles collection is a ticket to ride, assuring that happiness is a warm pun. Patricia Kim O'Cone PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Seven episodes; Mayor commentary on "Bought and Scold"; Mojo Jojo commentary on "Meet the Beat-Alls"; Apples in Stereo music video; DVD-ROM:; Powerpuff Girls movie screensaver; Links to CartoonNetwork.com games; Shop.CartoonNetwork.com ; Free exclusive C-Toon; Links to Powerpuff Girls; Interactive movie; Links to character web sites on CartoonNetwork.com Language: English, Français, Español SubTitles: English Time: 2 Hours Powerpuff Girls: Powerpuff Bluff Powerpuff Girls: Powerpuff Bluff Starring: Cavadini, Cathy Strong, Tara Daily, Elizabeth Kane, Tom Kenny, Tom Martin, Jennifer Jackson, Roger L. Soucie, Kath Soucie, Kath Baker, Dee Bradley Director: McCracken, Craig Rating: NR (MPAA) Category: Kids & Family : General User Rating: Running Time: 2 Hours 20 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Barnes & Noble One of two DVD debuts of Cartoon Network's favorite pint-size heroes, Powerpuff Bluff features ten Powerpuff Girls episodes handpicked by fans as seen on the videos Monkey See, Doggie Do and Bubblevicious, including an Emmy-nominated episode. DVD extras include three interactive games, a link to the official Powerpuff Girls web site, bonus Cartoon Network toons, and enough Powerpuff trivia to keep your mind sharp for crime fighting. The other must-have DVD debut from the Chemical X sisters is Down 'n' Dirty. PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Presentation: Pan & Scan Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Three interactive games; Power Puff Girls bios; Courage the Cowardly Dog bonus cartoon; Web-enabled; Episode selections Language: English SubTitles: English Time: 2 Hours 20 Minutes The Princess Bride The Princess Bride Starring: Elwes, Cary Wright, Robin Patinkin, Mandy Sarandon, Chris Elwes, Cary Wright, Robin Savage, Fred Giant, André the Giant, André the Falk, Peter Director: Reiner, Rob Rating: PG (MPAA) Category: Children - Comedy : Children - Fairy Tales : Children - Fantasy : Action/Adventure - Romance : Action/Adventure - Swashbuckler : User Rating: Running Time: 1 Hour 38 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Barnes & Noble With its tongue firmly in cheek, Rob Reiner's delightful revisionist fairy tale simultaneously challenges and reaffirms the conventions of happily-ever-after stories. Once upon a time, as this particular yarn goes, there was a beautiful princess named Buttercup (Robin Wright) who was being held against her will by the evil Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon) and his dastardly henchmen. Luckily, her childhood sweetheart, now the Dread Pirate Roberts (Cary Elwes), and his newfound friend, the dashing swordsman Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), come to the fair maiden's rescue. In chronicling their adventures, director Reiner and screenwriter William Goldman tinker playfully with time-honored plot devices and counterbalance swashbuckling action with plenty of laughs. Broad character turns by Billy Crystal, Peter Falk, Carol Kane, and André the Giant give the film a loosey-goosey feel, and all the actors play it to the hilt throughout. Although the twinkles in their eyes could have made this a cloying affair, Reiner finds a nice balance, never making it feel as if they're trying too hard to have fun. Ed Hulse All Movie Guide Based on William Goldman's novel of the same name, The Princess Bride is staged as a book read by grandfather (Peter Falk) to his ill grandson (Fred Savage). Falk's character assures a romance-weary Savage that the book has much more to deliver than a simpering love story, including but not limited to fencing, fighting, torture, death, true love, giants, and pirates. Indeed, The Princess Bride offers a tongue-in-cheek fairy tale depicting stable boy-turned-pirate Westley's journey to rescue Buttercup (Robin Wright), his true love, away from the evil prince (Chris Sarandon), whom she had agreed to marry five years after learning of what she had believed to be news of Westley's death. With help from Prince Humperdinck's disgruntled former employee Miracle Max (Billy Crystal), swordsman Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), and a very large man named Fezzik (Andre the Giant), the star-crossed lovers are reunited. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Presentation: Pan & Scan Sound: Dolby Digital Language: English, Español SubTitles: Français, Español Time: 1 Hour 38 Minutes Quiz Show Quiz Show Starring: Turturro, John Morrow, Rob Fiennes, Ralph McDonald, Christopher Paymer, David Scofield, Paul Azaria, Hank Director: Redford, Robert Rating: PG-13 (MPAA) Category: Drama - Docudrama : Drama - general User Rating: Running Time: 2 Hours 13 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Surround All Movie Guide It's 1958, and the producers of the quiz show 21 have a problem. Their current champ, Herbert Stempel (John Turturro), has a phenomenal memory and a broad range of knowledge. He's also a pudgy loudmouth with a grating personality, so Herbert is encouraged to "take a dive" and allow Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes), a handsome and charming college professor, to become the show's new champion. Audiences like Van Doren, and he's certainly not averse to the money he's winning, but the ethics of the situation begin to trouble him, especially when the show's producers begin to give him the questions in advance. Director Robert Redford and writer Paul Attanasio paint a telling portrait of how the network heads and advertising men who manipulated the quiz shows were also able to manipulate the responsibility for the scandal away from themselves. While on the surface a story about the scandal itself, Quiz Show is just as importantly about a turning point in the 1950s when TV and advertising began to change American character and culture. Mark Deming PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Surround Features: Theatrical trailer; French-language track; Dolby Surround; Widescreen [1.85:1] Language: English, Français SubTitles: English Time: 2 Hours 13 Minutes Revenge of Nerds / Revenge of the Nerds 2 Revenge of Nerds / Revenge of the Nerds 2 Starring: Carradine, Robert Edwards, Anthony Montgomery, Julia Busfield, Timothy Edwards, Anthony Scott, Larry B. Whitford, Bradley McGinley, Ted McGinley, Ted Cromwell, James Director: Kanew, Jeff Rating: R (MPAA) Category: Comedy : General User Rating: Running Time: 2 Hours 58 Minutes Color monaural All Movie Guide In this simplistic, predictable story enhanced somewhat by a good musical score and decent acting, the titular nerds would have been classified as computer geeks in a later era, but whatever they are, they are humiliated and ostracized by the rest of the pro-football, pro-frat college students until they devise a way of getting back at their hostile environment. First sent to sleep in cots in the gym because the football players burnt down their own residence and are taking over the nerds' freshman dorm, the male mental athletes are told they will have to stay in the gym until basketball starts, at which point the team has the floor. Exasperated, the rejected group of young men rent out a decrepit house and change it into an admirable place to live, establishing their own fraternity in the process. The difficulty is that the school does not recognize their fraternal union and so retrenching, the nerd-geeks align themselves with another, friendly fraternity that might have its own axe to grind, and the great revenge lies just over the horizon. John Goodman can be caught in a bit part here, if the audience does not blink. In the follow-up Revenge of the Nerds 2, the nerdy frat boys from Lambda Lambda Lambda go to Ft. Lauderdale to a national frat conference where they again must outwit the thick-tongued jock frat-boys who are also at the conference. This they can do. PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: monaural Features: "Revenge of the Nerds":; Anamorphic widescreen [aspect ratio 1.85:1]; Interactive menus; Scene selection; Original theatrical trailer; Audio: English; Surround; English mono; French mono; Subtitles: English; ; "Revenge of the Nerds II":; Anamorphic widescreen [aspect ratio 1.85:1]; Interactive menus; Scene selection; Original theatrical trailer; Audio: English; Dolby Surround; French mono; Subtitles: English Language: English, Français SubTitles: English Time: 2 Hours 58 Minutes Rocky Rocky Starring: Stallone, Sylvester Shire, Talia Young, Burt Weathers, Carl David, Thayer Spinell, Joe Silvani, Aldo Stallone, Frank Stallone, Frank Stallone, Sylvester Director: Avildsen, John G. Rating: PG (MPAA) Category: Sports - Boxing : Classics - Drama : Classics - General : Marriage Drama : Melodrama : Sports Drama User Rating: Running Time: 1 Hour 59 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Barnes & Noble In 1976, undistinguished bit player Sylvester Stallone became an overnight sensation with the release of Rocky, a modestly produced drama that brought cheering audiences to their feet, won that year's Best Picture Oscar, and ultimately spawned four sequels. The film's surprise success vindicated both Stallone, who had written the script as a starring vehicle for himself, and little-known director John G. Avildsen, who cleverly retooled old B-movie characters and plot devices for '70s moviegoers. Stallone's protagonist, would-be prizefighter Rocky Balboa, inspired viewers with the courage and dedication he exhibited while preparing for his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a title fight with current champ Apollo Creed (played memorably by Carl Weathers). Veteran character actor Burgess Meredith was dazzling as Rocky's grizzled, feisty trainer, and Talia Shire contributed a sensitive performance as the challenger's shy girlfriend. Working with limited resources, Avildsen, who won the Best Director Oscar for his effort, turned in a finished product not unlike its eponymous hero: gritty and rough-edged, with plenty of heart and raw energy to spare. A quarter century later, firmly entrenched in American pop culture and undiminished by innumerable, witless parodies and cheesy knockoffs, Rocky is one ringside opus that still packs a wallop. The 25th Anniversary DVD edition sports a newly filmed, 33-minute interview with Stallone, along with an audio commentary by Avildsen, a behind-the-scenes featurette including cast and crew, a tribute to Burgess Meredith, and a potpourri of advertising and promotional material. Ed Hulse All Movie Guide Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), a Philadelphia boxer, is but one step removed from total bum-hood. A once promising pugilist, Rocky is now taking nickel-and-dime bouts and running strongarm errands for local loan sharks to survive. Even his supportive trainer Mickey (Burgess Meredith) has given up on Rocky. All this changes thanks to Muhammad Ali-like superboxer Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). With the Bicentennial celebration coming up, Creed must find a Cinderella opponent for the big July 4th bout--some unknown whom Creed can "glorify" for a few minutes before knocking him cold. Rocky Balboa was not the only "Cinderella" involved here: writer-director Sylvester Stallone, himself a virtual unknown, managed to sell his Rocky script (one of many that he'd written over the years) on the proviso that he be given the starring role. Since the film was to be made on a shoestring and marketed on a low-level basis, the risk factor to United Artists was small. For Stallone, this was a make-or-break opportunity--just like Rocky's million-to-one shot with Apollo Creed. Costing under a million dollars, Rocky managed to register with audiences everywhere, earning back sixty times its cost. The film won several Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Hal Erickson PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Features: DVD includes video commentary by Sylvester Stallone; "Behind The Scenes" with director John Avildsen; never-before-seen footage; tributes to Burgess Meredith and James Crabe; audio commentary from the director,producer and cast; original advertising materials; and original theatrical trailer. Language: English, Français, Español SubTitles: Français, Español Time: 1 Hour 59 Minutes Rodgers & Hammerstein Collection Rodgers & Hammerstein Collection Starring: Hammerstein, Rodgers & Andrews, J Andrews, Julie Jones, Shirley Crain, Jeanne Brynner, Yul Andrews, Dana Kerr, Deborah Kerr, Deborah Gaynor, Mitzi Director: Lang, Walter Rating: NR (MPAA) Category: Boxed Sets : Classics User Rating: 6.9/10 (IMDB) Running Time: 13 Hours 51 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Mono Barnes & Noble Among the most successful musical teams of the 20th century, composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein Jr. created some of America's most beloved stage and screen musicals. Several of their best-known works are part of this new six-title anthology from 20th Century Fox. Anchoring the box set is the restored, THX-mastered edition of The Sound of Music, an edition that includes commentary from director Robert Wise. The box also includes the Americana classics State Fair, Carousel, and Oklahoma!, the wartime extravaganza South Pacific, and the lavish costume drama The King and I, all presented in the letterboxed format. PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Mono Features: [None specified] Language: English, Français SubTitles: English, Español Time: 13 Hours 51 Minutes Rounders Rounders Starring: Damon, Matt Norton, Edward Turturro, John Landau, Martin Janssen, Famke Mol, Gretchen Malkovich, John Turturro, John Turturro, John Director: Dahl, John Rating: R (MPAA) Category: Drama - general : Melodrama : Psychological Drama : Urban Drama : Post-noir (Modern Noir) User Rating: Running Time: 2 Hours 1 Minute Color Dolby Digital All Movie Guide John Dahl directed this exploration of New York private clubs devoted to high-stakes poker, with first-person narration from the film's central figure, law student Mike McDermott (Matt Damon), who loses his entire savings to Russian club owner Teddy KGB (John Malkovich). Mike then turns away from cards, devoting his attentions to his law studies and his live-in girlfriend Jo (Gretchen Mol), who's concerned when Mike's former gambling buddy Worm (Edward Norton) is released from prison. She has good reason to worry, since it takes Worm only a matter of minutes to draw Mike back into poker action. When she learns Mike has returned to the poker clubs, she moves out, and Mike begins to lose interest in his studies. Worm has a pre-prison debt, and the threatening Grama (Michael Rispoli) wants the money. Mike not only indulges the irresponsible Worm, he gets involved in Worm's debts. When Grama demands $15,000 on a five-day deadline, the two buddies go into high gear with a non-stop, no-sleep gambling binge that spirals downward toward an ultimate confrontation with Teddy KGB. Darkened club interiors and New York nights are captured by the cinematography of Jean Yves Escoffier, who moved from French films (the 1991 Les Amants du Pont Neuf) to American movies with the reflective surfaces of Excess Baggage (1997) and the patina of pathos found in Harmony Korine's experimental Gummo (1997). Shown at the 1998 Venice Film Festival and the 1998 Montreal Film Festival. Bhob Stewart PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Language: English SubTitles: English Time: 2 Hours 1 Minute The Royal Tenenbaums (The Criterion Collection) The Royal Tenenbaums (The Criterion Collection) Starring: Hackman, Gene Paltrow, Gwyneth Paltrow, Gwyneth Wilson, Luke Wilson, Owen Murray, Bill Hackman, Gene Glover, Danny Glover, Danny Director: Anderson, Wes Rating: R Category: Studio Specials : Criterion Collection : Comedy User Rating: Running Time: 109 Color DTS Surround Sound Amazon.com In a fitting follow-up to Rushmore, writer-director Wes Anderson and cowriter-actor Owen Wilson have crafted another comedic masterwork that ripples with inventive, richly emotional substance. Because of the all-star cast, hilarious dialogue, and oddball characters existing in their own, wholly original universe, it's easy to miss the depth and complexity of Anderson's brand of comedy. Here, it revolves around Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman), the errant patriarch of a dysfunctional family of geniuses, including precocious playwright Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow), boyish financier and grieving widower Chas (Ben Stiller), and has-been tennis pro Richie (Luke Wilson). All were raised with supportive detachment by mother Etheline (Anjelica Huston), and all ache profoundly for a togetherness they never really had. The Tenenbaums reconcile somehow, but only after Anderson and Wilson (who costars as a loopy literary celebrity) put them through a compassionate series of quirky confrontations and rekindled affections. Not for every taste, but this is brilliant work from any perspective. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. Description Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) and his wife Etheline (Anjelica Huston) had three children-Chas, Margot, and Richie-and then they separated. Chas (Ben Stiller) started buying real estate in his early teens and seemed to have an almost preternatural understanding of international finance. Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) was a playwright and received a Braverman Grant of $50,000 in the ninth grade. Richie (Luke Wilson) was a junior champion tennis player and won the U.S. Nationals three years in a row. Virtually all memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums was subsequently erased by two decades of betrayal, failure, and disaster. The Criterion Collection is proud to present Wes Anderson's hilarious, touching, and brilliantly stylized study of melancholy and redemption. Run Lola Run Run Lola Run Starring: Potente, Franka Bleibtreu, Moritz Knaup, Herbert Petri, Nina Rohde, Armin Potente, Franka Krol, Joachim Schipper, Sebastian Schipper, Sebastian Director: Tykwer, Tom Rating: R (MPAA) Category: Non-linear : Chase Movie : Comedy - general : Germany User Rating: Running Time: 1 Hour 21 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Surround Barnes & Noble Lola's predicament is simple and dire: She has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 marks or her boyfriend, Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu), is a dead man. It's a tall order (considering that she's broke and unemployed), but the rest of Run Lola Run proves that a lot can happen in 20 minutes, as Lola (Franka Potente) sprints desperately through Berlin. Lola's mad dash to accomplish the apparently impossible through sheer force of will is accompanied by a superb -- and relentless -- techno score. Along the way, director Tom Tykwer pulls out all cinematic stops, mixing 35mm and video, color and black and white, using pans and dolly shots, fast motion, slow motion, split screen, and even animation, while Tykwer's story explores alternate realities in which the future hinges on the slightest variations in chance encounters. Surprisingly taut and incredibly fun, Tykwer's ultra-fast-paced little odyssey is a terrific ride of a movie. Gregory Baird All Movie Guide Tom Tykwer directed this German thriller in which Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) handled a smuggling job, delivered the loot, collected the payment, left the bag on the subway, and now has 20 minutes to gather 100,000 deutsche marks or confront the wrath of his boss, local criminal Ronnie (Heino Ferch). Desperate, Manni phones his girlfriend Lola (Franka Potente) who immediately runs downstairs and through Berlin streets to the bank run by her father (Herbert Knaup). However, she's rejected and leaves minus money. When she goes to meet Manni, he's holding up a supermarket, and she's shot by the cops. In a destiny device familiar to readers of Ken Grimwood's acclaimed novel Replay, the story begins anew with different outcomes. In one version, Lola robs the bank and takes her father hostage; in another, there's casino cash to be won. All Lola-Manni scenes were in 35mm, while scenes without them were shot in video. Other cinematic techniques on display here include whip pans, jump cuts, slow and fast motion, split-screen, intercut color and black and white, segment titles, and animation. Shown at 1998 film fests (Venice, Montreal, Toronto). Bhob Stewart PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1) Presentation: Pan & Scan Sound: Dolby Digital Surround Features: Digitally mastered audio and anamorphic video; Production notes; Interactive menus; Audio: Original German 5.1 [Dolby Digital] & 2-channel [Dolby Surround]; Music video; Director and lead actress commentary; Talent files; Subtitles: English, French; Theatrical trailers Language: Deutsche, English SubTitles: English, Français Time: 1 Hour 21 Minutes Rushmore Rushmore Starring: Schwartzman, Jason Murray, Bill Williams, Olivia Cassel, Seymour Murray, Bill Wilson, Luke Wilson, Andrew Gamble, Mason Gamble, Mason Nielsen, Connie Director: Anderson, Wes Rating: R (MPAA) Category: Comedy - Black : Drama - Coming of Age : Comedy - Teen : Anarchic Comedy : Comedy - general : Romantic Comedy User Rating: Running Time: 1 Hour 33 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Stereo Barnes & Noble Unappreciated at the box office, Rushmore is nevertheless a poignant comedy that deals with heartbreak, cross-generational friendship, class, ambition, and emotional resurrection -- not to mention the variegated ways to say and mean a word like "handjob." The plot traces four months in the life of Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman), a high school sophomore on a scholarship to Rushmore Academy, where he is both the most prolific club-founder and worst student. Over the course of a few days in September, he befriends a steel tycoon, Herman Blume (Bill Murray), and a fourth-grade teacher, Ms. Cross (Olivia Williams). Smitten with Ms. Cross, he illegally builds an aquarium dedicated to her -- a project that gets him expelled from the academy. Adding insult to injury, he also discovers Cross and Blume have taken up with each other, and so November is marked by his forlorn withdrawal from the world. By December, he has bounced back with a new play, based on his pain and parts of his friends' lives, delivering Heaven and Hell, one of the greatest school dramas known to mankind. Rushmore is Wes Anderson's follow-up to his immensely likeable debut, Bottle Rocket, and establishes the director as an equal in the deep-dish comedy realm of Stanley Kubrick (Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb) and Hal Ashby (Harold and Maude). Overall, the deluxe DVD packaging and amusing extras go a long way to carving out Rushmore's place as the warm, rich piece of comic poetry it is. All Movie Guide After the highly acclaimed independent film Bottle Rocket, director Wes Anderson followed up with a quirky Touchstone Studios film entitled Rushmore. Written by Anderson and friend Owen Wilson (an actor in Armageddon and Anaconda), they created the story of Max Fischer, a highly eccentric 15-year-old boy who attends the tenth grade at Rushmore Academy. Played by Jason Schwartzman (Talia Shire's son and Francis Ford Coppola's nephew), Max is a poor student with big dreams and a love of extracurricular activities. Max is editor of the school newspaper and yearbook, president of the chess, astronomy, French, and German clubs, captain of the fencing team, and director of the school play. Max is also a compulsive liar, telling everyone that his barber father (Seymour Cassel) is really a brain surgeon. Suddenly Max falls in love with Miss Cross (Olivia Williams), a first-grade teacher at the school. He also makes a new friend in business tycoon Mr. Blume (Bill Murray), an eccentric millionaire who also loves Miss Cross. The love triangle heats up as Max refuses to believe that his age has anything to do with Miss Cross refusing his romantic advances. Also Max's poor grades lead to his eventual dismissal from Rushmore Academy. As Max's life crumbles around him, he is forced to grow up and accept the consequences of his actions and his lies. He throws himself more into his extracurricular activities, hoping to redeem himself by staging the most ambitious school play ever attempted. Arthur Borman PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo Features: Closed captions; Commentary Language: English SubTitles: English Time: 1 Hour 33 Minutes Salesman Salesman Starring: Maysles, David Zwerin, Charlotte Mitchell Brennan, Paul Director: Maysles, Albert Rating: NR (MPAA) Category: Studio Specials : Criterion Collection : All User Rating: Running Time: 1 Hour 31 Minutes B&W Dolby Digital Barnes & Noble Whether peddling vacuum cleaners or encyclopedias, the door-to-door salesman is a uniquely American archetype, and one that comes under fascinating scrutiny in David and Albert Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin's landmark 1969 documentary, Salesman. This exquisitely crafted film follows four Bible salesmen -- nicknamed "The Badger," "The Gipper," "The Rabbit," and "The Bull" -- as each makes his way to a national sales meeting in Chicago. The Maysles vividly capture their motel-room life on the road and their attempts to inveigle their way into living rooms to promote "the best seller in the world." Perhaps the most moving of the four hawkers is The Badger, who seems caught in the downward spiral of negative thinking that spells doom for a salesman's success. Splendidly photographed in black-and-white, Salesman epitomizes the cinema verité documentary style (also known as "direct cinema") that emerged in the 1960s. Scenes unfold as if the camera weren't present, making the subjects seem unnervingly candid and authentic. With no narrator, no musical score, no talking-head interviews, and no contrived plotline, Salesman feels remarkably intimate. Together with their legendary Rolling Stones documentary, Gimme Shelter, which followed the next year, Salesman solidified the Maysles' position among the great documentary filmmakers, such as D. A. Pennebaker and Richard Leacock. Gregory Baird All Movie Guide One of the most well respected of the cinema verite documentaries of the 1960's, this non-fiction film follows a group of real-life Bible salesmen for the Mid-American Bible Company as they ply their wares. The central figure in the film is Irish-American Paul Brennan, a 56-year-old of great wit who traipses door to door in an effort to sell the good book to Catholic housewives who really can't afford to buy but don't want to appear rude to a Church-sanctioned representative. The documentary, a collaboration by the Maysles brothers, also follows Brennan as he shares war stories with fellow Bible peddlers and attends management and sales meetings. The Maysles' next film was their classic documentary of the Rolling Stones fateful 1969 tour, Gimme Shelter (1970). Karl Williams PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Presentation: B&W Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Brilliant new transfer from a restored image, with optimal dual-layer RSDL quality; audio commentary by directors Albert Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin; 1968 Jack Kroll TV interview with directors Albert and David Maysles; a radio interview from 2000 with "The Rabbit" on NPR's Weekend Edition; behind-the-scenes photographs; original theatrical trailer; filmographies SubTitles: English Time: 1 Hour 31 Minutes The Sand Pebbles The Sand Pebbles Starring: McQueen, Steve Attenborough, Richard Crenna, Richard Andriane, Marayat Gates, Larry McQueen, Steve Robinson, Charles Mako Mako Director: Wise, Robert Rating: PG-13 (MPAA) Category: Action/Adventure - Romance : Historical Epic : Historical Film User Rating: Running Time: 2 Hours 59 Minutes Color Mono All Movie Guide SAND PEBBLES is the story of an American sailor (Steve McQueen), who is stationed on China's Yangtze River in 1926. Though he'd prefer to stay below deck and work on the engines, he falls in love with a missionary teacher, and through his romance, he becomes aware of the Chinese political climate. When civil war breaks out within the country, he finds himself siding against his American superiors. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine All Movie Guide Steve McQueen received his only Academy Award nomination for his performance in this epic-scale war drama, based on the novel by Richard McKenna. In 1926, as China teeters on the edge of political revolution in the midst of a civil war, an American battle ship, the USS San Pablo, is ordered to patrol the Yangtze River to represent and protect American interests. While the San Pablo may be an American ship, much of the labor is actually performed by Chinese locals willing to work for American money, while stern but inexperienced commanding officer Captain Collins (Richard Crenna) frequently drills his charges, unsure what else to do. A new engineer, Capt. Jake Holman (Steve McQueen) is assigned to the San Pablo and immediately makes enemies among the crew -- he prefers to do his own work rather than farm it out to others, and the one Chinese man who works by his side, Po Han (Mako), is treated as an apprentice rather than a servant. Holman also falls in love with an idealistic American missionary (Candice Bergen), while his shipmate Frenchy (Richard Attenborough) loses his heart to a lovely Chinese girl, only to discover she's a "hostess" and her hand will cost him 200 dollars. As Holman's methods and attitudes continue to anger his comrades, they find themselves increasingly at odds with the Chinese, especially after Frenchy's girlfriend becomes pregnant and Po Han is captured by revolutionary forces and branded a traitor. Mark Deming PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1) Presentation: Wide Screen Features: Commentary by director Robert Wise, Candice Bergan and Mako; two radio documentaries; still photo gallery; three radio spots; theatrical trailer Language: English, Français SubTitles: English, Español Time: 2 Hours 59 Minutes Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Farley Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Farley Starring: Farley, Chris Applegate, Christina Baldwin, Alec Carvey, Dana Cleghorne, Ellen Daniels, Jeff Fallon, Siobhan Garofalo, Janeane Garofalo, Janeane Hooks, Jan Director: Farley, Chris Rating: NR (MPAA) Category: Television - Comedy : Comedy - Stand-up/Performance : Television : Comedy - general User Rating: 7.7/10 (IMDB) Running Time: 1 Hour 2 Minutes Color Stereo All Movie Guide The late Chris Farley was one of the finest physical comedians to emerge from the cast of the long-running sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live; mixing shamelessly broad, anything-for-a-laugh mugging and pratfalls with a brilliant sense of comic timing and a grace that belied his huge frame, Farley's humor was at once bizarre, outrageous, and endearing. Saturday Night Live: The Best Of Chris Farley compiles an hour of highlights from Farley's five seasons with SNL, including his audition as a member of the Chippendales dance troupe, his turn as motivational speaker Matt Foley (who often informs his charges they'll end up "livin' in a VAN, down by the RIVER!"), an episode of The Chris Farley Show (a talk show in which he interviews Paul McCartney with clueless clumsiness, stopping periodically to announce to the audience, "This is so AWESOME!"), and his appearance on the sports talk program "Bill Swerski's Super Fans." The video also features a brief tribute to Farley from fellow SNL star Tim Meadows. Mark Deming PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Sound: stereo Features: Full frame; Additional footage; Episode background Language: English Time: 1 Hour 2 Minutes Saving Private Ryan Saving Private Ryan Starring: Hanks, Tom Burns, Edward Sizemore, Tom Sizemore, Tom Pepper, Barry Hanks, Tom Goldberg, Adam Diesel, Vin Diesel, Vin Davies, Jeremy Director: Spielberg, Steven Rating: R (MPAA) Category: War Epic : Combat Films : War - general : War Adventure : War Drama User Rating: Running Time: 2 Hours 49 Minutes Color DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound Barnes & Noble Steven Spielberg's 1998 film Saving Private Ryan instantly took its place in the pantheon of great war movies by setting a new standard for its shockingly realistic D-Day sequences -- scenes that redefined the graphic depiction of film violence. When a platoon, led by Tom Hanks, receives orders to rescue the title character (Matt Damon) from behind enemy lines, the value of a life is questioned. Can Ryan be worth the potential sacrifice of eight men? Spielberg put his young actors through a modified boot camp, and their harrowing real-life experience informs their portrayals. Tom Sizemore (one of the many psychos in Natural Born Killers) displays great humanity as Sergeant Horvath, while Giovanni Ribisi and Barry Pepper turn in career-making performances as a medic and a sniper. Through it all, Spielberg's remarkable, unfussy technique keeps the narrative's preachiness from overwhelming the film. He and Academy Award-winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski always place the camera in exactly the right perspective to the action, providing even the quiet moments with great power. Squeamish viewers be forewarned: The violence here is truly brutal. But that is part of Spielberg's point: War is hell. Or, as Hanks puts it: "Every time I kill somebody, I get farther away from home." Ben Wolf All Movie Guide Steven Spielberg directed this powerful, realistic re-creation of WWII's D-day invasion and the immediate aftermath. The story opens with a prologue in which a veteran brings his family to the American cemetery at Normandy, and a flashback then joins Capt. John Miller (Tom Hanks) and GIs in a landing craft making the June 6, 1944, approach to Omaha Beach to face devastating German artillery fire. This mass slaughter of American soldiers is depicted in a compelling, unforgettable 24-minute sequence. Miller's men slowly move forward to finally take a concrete pillbox. On the beach littered with bodies is one with the name "Ryan" stenciled on his backpack. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall (Harve Presnell), learning that three Ryan brothers from the same family have all been killed in a single week, requests that the surviving brother, Pvt. James Ryan (Matt Damon), be located and brought back to the United States. Capt. Miller gets the assignment, and he chooses a translator, Cpl. Upham (Jeremy Davis), skilled in language but not in combat, to join his squad of right-hand man Sgt. Horvath (Tom Sizemore), plus privates Mellish (Adam Goldberg), Medic Wade (Giovanni Ribisi), cynical Reiben (Edward Burns) from Brooklyn, Italian-American Caparzo (Vin Diesel), and religious Southerner Jackson (Barry Pepper), an ace sharpshooter who calls on the Lord while taking aim. Having previously experienced action in Italy and North Africa, the close-knit squad sets out through areas still thick with Nazis. After they lose one man in a skirmish at a bombed village, some in the group begin to question the logic of losing more lives to save a single soldier. The film's historical consultant is Stephen E. Ambrose, and the incident is based on a true occurance in Ambrose's 1994 bestseller D-Day: June 6, 1944. Bhob Stewart PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound Features: Exclusive message from Steven Spielberg; 2 theatrical trailers; Production notes; Cast and filmmakers' bios Language: English SubTitles: English Time: 2 Hours 49 Minutes Schoolhouse Rock - Special 30th Anniversary Edition Schoolhouse Rock - Special 30th Anniversary Edition Starring: Director: Rating: NR (MPAA) Category: Kids & Family : Characters & Series : Schoolhouse Rock User Rating: Running Time: 4 Hours 43 Minutes Color DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound Barnes & Noble This indispensable two-disc set is a nostalgic blast from the past, reviving for the DVD generation the Emmy Award-winning Schoolhouse Rock that aired Saturday mornings on ABC from 1973 to 1985. Its irresistible three-minute ditties introduced the basic concepts of grammar, science, math, and history. Songs such as "Three Is a Magic Number," "Conjunction Junction, What's Your Function," and "I Am a Bill" (which was affectionately spoofed on The Simpsons) are era-defining classics poised for discovery by a new generation. This collection contains all 46 Schoolhouse Rock songs, including the long-lost, legally entangled "The Weather Song," and a new song no doubt inspired by the 2000 Presidential election, "I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College." Other archival treasures include four "Scooter Computer and Mr. Chips" songs and the Nike commercial set to "Three is a Magic Number." A tad dated, perhaps, but it's reassuring to know that after all these years, Schoolhouse still rocks! Donald Liebenson PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Sound: DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound Features: Original 46 animated songs; All-new song "I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College"; Play-all feature; Shuffle-all feature; Rockin' top 10 jukebox; Long-lost song "The Weather Show"; Never-before-released on video, "Scooter Computer and Mr. Chips" 3-song set; Behind-the-scenes footage; Top 20 countdown; "Earn your diploma" trivia game; Arrange-a-song puzzles; 4 music videos by contemporary artists; Emmy award featurette; Nike commercial of "Three Is a Magic Number"; Audio commentaries; 5.1 DTS of all-new song "I'm gonna Send Your Vote to College" Language: English Time: 4 Hours 43 Minutes Searching For Bobby Fischer Searching For Bobby Fischer Starring: Mantegna, Joe Kingsley, Ben Director: Zaillian, Steven Rating: PG Category: Drama : General User Rating: Running Time: Color Dolby Amazon.com Steve Zaillian, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Schindler's List, made his directorial debut with this critically acclaimed but little-seen drama based on the nonfiction book by Fred Waitzkin, about a father (Joe Mantegna) who discovers that his seven-year-old son (Max Pomeranc) is a genius at playing chess. The boy plays chess for fun, but when he's tutored by a former champion (Ben Kingsley) and entered into high-pressure competitions, an enjoyable pastime becomes a source of tension and resentment, forcing the father to reconsider his parental priorities. A poignant study of the difference between parental idealism and proper parenting, the movie is also an observantly witty portrait of a precocious child who is still, after all, a child, and still eager for the joyful discoveries of youth. While offering a fascinating look into the world of competitive chess, the movie's dramatically engrossing and extremely well-acted by a brilliant cast that also includes David Paymer, William H. Macy, and Dan Hedaya in memorable supporting roles. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. Secretary Secretary Starring: Director: Rating: Category: Drama User Rating: Running Time: Color Mono Amazon.ca Steven Shainberg explore la relation plus que particulière qu'entretiennent un patron et sa secrétaire dans Secretary, second long métrage audacieux qui a obtenu le prix spécial du jury pour son originalité au Festival des films indépendants de Sundance. Après quelques années d'internement dans un hôpital psychiatrique, la jeune Lee Holloway cherche un emploi. Même si elle rêve toujours d'orchidées roses et de dauphins, elle n'aurait jamais cru que ses pulsions sadomasochistes seraient son atout principal pour convaincre M. Grey, un avocat, de l'engager. Comment alors éviter que le jeu n'aille trop loin ? Si Steven Shainberg est habile à une chose, c'est bien à faire naître le malaise. En filmant cette Secretary comme une série B romantique ordinaire, mais en y injectant une bonne dose de déviance, il crée un décalage fort original et dérangeant. James Spader et Maggie Gyllenhaal, dont le jeu frôle la folie, sont les interprètes convaincants de cette fable sadomasochiste qui révèle les liens secrets entre amour, sexe et pouvoir. La fin, un peu facile, aurait sans doute pu être plus audacieuse pour rester dans le ton du film. Reste que Secretary ose regarder, avec beaucoup de franchise et d'humour, derrière la porte de la sexualité humaine. --Helen Faradji The Seven Year Itch The Seven Year Itch Starring: Monroe, Marilyn Ewell, Tom Keyes, Evelyn Keyes, Evelyn Moore, Victor Strauss, Robert Homolka, Oscar Chapman, Marguerite Chapman, Marguerite Director: Wilder, Billy Rating: NR (MPAA) Category: Comedy - Urban : Romantic Comedy : Sex Comedy User Rating: Running Time: 1 Hour 50 Minutes Color Mono All Movie Guide Like thousands of other Manhattanites, Tom Ewell annually packs his wife (Evelyn Keyes) and children off to summer vacation, staying behind to work at the office. This particular summer, the lonely Ewell begins fantasizing about the many women he'd foresworn upon getting married (in one of the fantasies, Ewell and Marguerite Chapman parody the beach rendezvous in From Here to Eternity). He is jolted back to reality when he meets his new neighbor--luscious model Marilyn Monroe. Inviting Monroe to dinner, Ewell intends to sweep her off her feet and into the boudoir. Things don't quite work out that way, thanks to Ewell's clumsiness (and essential decency) and Monroe's naivete. Still, Ewell becomes convinced that his impure thoughts will somehow be transmitted to his vacationing wife and to the rest of the world, leaving him wide open for scandal and ruination. In the original play, the husband and the next-door neighbor did have an affair, but both play and film arrived at the same happy ending, with Ewell and his missus contentedly reunited at summer's end. Featured in the cast of The Seven Year Itch are Robert Strauss as a lascivious handyman, Sonny Tufts as Evelyn Keye's former beau, Donald MacBride as Ewell's glad-handing boss, and veteran Broadway funny man Victor Moore in a cameo as a nervous plumber. Hal Erickson PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1) Presentation: Wide Screen Features: Anamorphic widescreen [aspect ratio 2.55:1]; English 3.0; English stereo; French mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish; Theatrical trailer; Spanish theatrical trailer; Movietone newsreel: "The Seven Year Itch"; Two deleted scenes: Bathtub and Subway Language: English, Français SubTitles: English, Español Time: 1 Hour 50 Minutes Shrek Shrek Starring: Jenson, Vicky Myers, Mike Murphy, Eddie Director: Adamson, Andrew Rating: PG (MPAA) Category: Children - Fairy Tales : Fantasy Comedy : Animation : Computer Animation User Rating: Running Time: 1 Hour 33 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Barnes & Noble "What kind of a knight are you?" the imprisoned princess asks of her unconventional rescuer. "One of a kind," the ogre replies. And so is Shrek, the compound-fractured fairy tale that ranks as 2001's box office champ, as well as the most successful non-Disney animated film ever. With its state-of-the-art computer animation, A-list voice cast, hit-heavy soundtrack, and subversively funny story (based on William Steig's book), it will live happily ever after on VHS and special-edition DVD. Mike Myers is the voice of Shrek, a repulsive but good-hearted green ogre. His solitude is shattered by an influx of fairy tale characters banished by the diminutive Lord Farquaad from his kingdom. To rid his swamp of these intruders, Shrek offers to rescue Farquaad's (John Lithgow) bride-to-be, Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from a tower guarded by a fire-breathing dragon. Accompanying him on his quest is Donkey -- who speaks with Eddie Murphy's voice and galvanizes the film in much the same way that Robin Williams elevated Aladdin. Meanwhile, Fiona awaits her rescuer, and naturally enough, Shrek is not what she anticipated. Brimming with delights both visual and verbal (with many wickedly funny jokes at the expense of Walt Disney's legacy), Shrek invites repeated viewings. Not since The Princess Bride has there been a magical, family-friendly, true-love story told with such humor and heart. Donald Liebenson All Movie Guide In this fully computer-animated fantasy from the creators of Antz, we follow the travails of Shrek (Mike Myers), a green ogre who enjoys a life of solitude. Living in a far away swamp, he is suddenly invaded by a hoard of fairy tale characters, such as the Big Bad Wolf, the Three Little Pigs, and Three Blind Mice, all refugees of their homes who have been shunned by the evil Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow). They want to save their homes from ruin, and enlist the help of Shrek, who is in the same situation. Shrek decides to offer Lord Farquaad a deal; he will rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), who is intended to be Farquaad's bride. Accompanying Shrek on his adventure is the faithful but loquacious Donkey (Eddie Murphy), who has a penchant for crooning pop songs. The two must face various obstacles in order to locate the Princess, but they find their world challenged when she reveals a dark secret that will affect the group. Shrek is based on the children's book by William Steig, and features additional voice-work by Vincent Cassel, Cody Cameron, and Kathleen Freeman. Jason Clark New York Times The movie itself is a giggly cocktail, though it's more foam than drink, a return to the frothy riffing on pop culture that started back on Bugs Bunny's watch in the Vitaphone days. Elvis Mitchell PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Language: English Time: 1 Hour 33 Minutes The Simpsons - The Complete First Season The Simpsons - The Complete First Season Starring: Director: Rating: NR Category: Television : By Decade : 1990s and Newer : General User Rating: Running Time: Color Dolby Amazon.com America's first family of dysfunction, the Simpsons, appear in all their depraved glory in this wonderful DVD compilation of their show's premiere season. Fans accustomed to the slick appearance of the later episodes will be delighted by the rougher nature of these earlier episodes, when the characters weren't as well defined (Homer isn't quite as dumb as he is in later seasons) and the animation was still evolving. This only adds to the charm of these 13 episodes, which begin with "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," the December 1989 Christmas special in which a down-and-out Simpson family adopt Santa's Little Helper. Throughout the season, familiar faces are introduced, as we catch first glimpses of Smithers, Mr. Burns, the Flanderses, and Patty and Selma. Highlights of the season include "The Crepes of Wrath," in which Bart is sent to France as an exchange student ("Don't mess up France the way you messed up your room"); "Bart the Genius," in which Bart ends up in a school for the gifted; and "Krusty Gets Busted," in which Bart's lifelong animosity with Sideshow Bob begins. --Jenny Brown DVD features This set is chock-full of extras (mostly on the third disc), although not all are up to high standards set by the series itself. The menu is less than enticing; however, the original scripts--complete with side notes and margin drawings--will be intriguing to diehard fans. The original skit from The Tracey Ullman Show, "Goodnight Simpsons," is a must-watch, and it's impressive to see how much the Simpsons have changed. Of course, Matt Groening's (and some of the show's producers') commentary is... read more Description The 13 episodes on The Simpsons - The Complete First Season are: "Some Enchanted Evening," "Bart the Genius," "Homer's Odyssey," "There's No Disgrace Like Home," "Bart the General," "Moaning Lisa," "The Telltale Head," "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," "Call of the Simpsons," "Homer's Night Out," "Life in the Fast Lane," "Krusty Gets Busted," and "The Crepes of Wrath." The Simpsons - The Complete Fourth Season The Simpsons - The Complete Fourth Season Starring: Director: Rating: NR Category: Television : By Decade : 1990s and Newer : General User Rating: Running Time: Color Dolby Amazon.com By its fourth season, The Simpsons had come far enough where Lisa could make a self-referential joke about Dustin Hoffman and Michael Jackson's pseudonymous guest voice appearances in seasons 2 and 3, respectively. In this season, no less than Elizabeth Taylor (in two episodes), Bette Midler, and even the reclusive Johnny Carson blessed The Simpsons with their iconic presences. Awhile back, Entertainment Weekly ranked The Simpsons' Top 25 best episodes ever. Five gems from season 4 cracked the top 12, including the (debatable) choice for No. 1, "Last Exit to Springfield." Other episodes that loom large in the Simpsons legend are "Mr. Plow" (you know the jingle: "Call Mr. Plow / That's my name / That name again is Mr. Plow"), "Marge vs. the Monorail," featuring a Music Man-style extravaganza, and "A Streetcar Named Marge," the episode that outraged New Orleans residents, who heard their fair metropolis referred to as "a city that the damned call home." The Simpsons smartly subverts traditional family sitcom convention, but anyone who thinks the show doesn't have a heart is advised to watch "I Love Lisa" and "New Kid on the Block," two fourth-season gems that absolutely nail the agony and ecstasy of unrequited crushes ("You won't be needing this," a heartbroken Bart fantasizes his babysitter saying while dropkicking his heart into a wastebasket in "New Kid"). While the Simpsons' celebrated ensemble gets all the glory, we must pause now to praise the peerless writing staff, among them, George Meyer, Al Jean, Jon Vitti, John Swartzwelder, David Silverman, and Conan O'Brien. One can only marvel in astonishment at the alchemy that went into creating, week after week, such essential episodes as "Kamp Krusty," "Streetcar," the profane and profound "Homer the Heretic," and "Lisa the Beauty Queen" (And that's just disc 1!). The animators, too, rose to the occasion, particularly in "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie," with its dead-on, ultra-violent sinking of the seminal Disney cartoon, "Steamboat Willie." And another benchmark in The Simpsons' rise to the TV pantheon: Its very first clip show. What Homer says about donuts in "Monorail" holds true as well for The Simpsons itself: Is there anything this show can't do? --Donald Liebenson The Simpsons - The Complete Second Season The Simpsons - The Complete Second Season Starring: Director: Rating: NR Category: Television : By Decade : 1990s and Newer : General User Rating: Running Time: Color Dolby Amazon.com "A Simpson on a T-shirt. I never thought I'd see the day." So remarks Marge Simpson in "Dancin' Homer," just one of 22 mostly classic episodes that comprise this series' brilliant second season. The Simpsons by that time was already a pop culture phenomenon, but instead of suffering a sophomore slump, this iconoclastic animated series was just hitting its stride. Series milestones include: first Oscar®-winning guest voice (an unbilled Dustin Hoffman in "Lisa's Substitute"), first Beatle guest voice (Ringo in "Brush with Greatness"), first "Treehouse of Horror" Halloween episode, first flashback episode ("The Way We Was," in which Homer meets Marge), and the first episode to make me cry (Bart's last frolic with obedience school washout Santa's Little Helper in "Bart's Dog Gets an F"). It's in this season the The Simpsons really finds its voice. The writing is sharper, and the upending of sitcom convention more subversive. "Perhaps there is no moral to this story," observes Lisa at the end of "Blood Feud." "Exactly," agrees Homer. "Just a bunch of stuff that happens." In the first season, Bart was the series' breakout star, but in the second, The Simpsons established itself as a true ensemble series. Each character came into their own with career-best episodes. Marge, the family's long-suffering voice of reason, crusades against cartoon violence in "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge." Lisa, the heart and tortured soul of the series, develops an ill-fated crush on her new teacher in "Lisa's Substitute." Bart desperately tries to raise the money to buy Radioactive Man No. 1 in "Three Men and a Comic Book." Homer's stock rises when he grows hair in "Simpson and Delilah." Joining the Simpsons roster of scene-stealing supporting characters are Dr. Hibbert ("Bart the Daredevil"), shyster lawyer Lionel Hutz (voiced by the late, great Phil Hartman in "Bart Gets Hit by a Car"), the Ahnold-esque action hero McBain ("The Way We Was"), slobbering aliens Kang and Kodos ("Treehouse of Horror"), and "nutty professor" Frink ("Old Money"). This essential, extras-laden DVD set is illustrative of why The Simpsons is, in the parlance of Comic Book Guy, funniest show ever. --Donald Liebenson Description Fans can continue to build a complete Simpsons DVD collection with the specially packaged, four-disc The Simpsons Season Two DVD Collection, where the evolution of The Simpsons is marked by the introduction of new characters (Ralph Wiggum; Groundskeeper Willie; Professor Frink; Dr. Julius Hibbert; Kang & Kodos; Blinky, the three-eyed fish; Comic Book Guy; Lionel Hutz; Kent Brockman), more celebrity guest stars (Jon Lovitz; Danny DeVito; Tony Bennett; Ringo Starr; Larry King and others), the debut of the Treehouse Of Horror Halloween specials, and the Billboard-topping song "Do The Bartman." The Simpsons - The Complete Third Season The Simpsons - The Complete Third Season Starring: Director: Rating: NR Category: Television : By Decade : 1990s and Newer : General User Rating: Running Time: Color Stereo Amazon.com Broadcast in 1991, the third season of The Simpsons contains a host of candidates for "Best Simpsons Episode Ever." Homer is in such good form throughout that a reasonable case can be made that he has superseded the importance of his Greek namesake in the annals of culture and civilization. The opener, "Stark Raving Dad," for instance, features a guest appearance by an uncredited Michael Jackson, who plays an obese white inmate whom Homer meets while confined to a mental institution. Other standout episodes include "Like Father, Like Clown," in which Krusty reveals he is estranged from his Rabbi father; this is The Simpsons at the height of its powers, mature, ironic, erudite, and touching while bristling with slapstick and Bart-inspired cheek. "Flaming Moe's" features Aerosmith and sees Homer invent a cocktail that desperate, sleazy bartender Moe steals from him. "Radio Bart" is another demonstration of the series' knack for cultural references, parodying the Billy Wilder movie Ace in the Hole. Finally, there's "Brother Can You Spare Two Dimes," in which Danny DeVito reprises his role as Homer's brother, regaining the fortune Homer lost him by inventing a Baby Translator. Immensely enjoyable at any level, this third year demonstrates conclusively that The Simpsons is quite simply, and by a large margin, the greatest television show ever. --David Stubbs Singin' in the Rain Singin' in the Rain Starring: Kelly, Gene O'Connor, Donald Reynolds, Debbie Charisse, Cyd Moreno, Rita Hagen, Jean Thompson, Jimmie Addams, Dawn Addams, Dawn Clarke, Mae Director: Donen, Stanley Rating: NR (MPAA) Category: Music & Musicals - Classic Musicals : Classics - Comedy : Classics - General : Classics - Musicals : Classics - Romance : Musica User Rating: 8.5/10 (IMDB) Running Time: 1 Hour 43 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Barnes & Noble Gotta dance! And sing, and jump for joy (especially if there's an available puddle): That's the usual reaction to Singin' in the Rain, considered by many to be the greatest American musical ever made. A charming, often quite realistic look at the difficult transition from silent to sound cinema at the end of the 1920s, this sly backstage story has far more going for it than the brilliantly giddy, love-soaked Gene Kelly dance scene that will remain forever lodged in Hollywood's collective memory. It features a deliciously witty and original script by Betty Comden and Adolph Green; a hummable score consisting of period songs by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown; and, of course, high-flying choreography that ranges from vaudeville hoofing to ballroom to ballet, courtesy of Gene Kelly and director Stanley Donen. Kelly was simply born to play the egotistical but lovable Don Lockwood, star of the silent screen, who falls hard for a sweet chorine (Debbie Reynolds) he meets while trying to escape from some overly enthusiastic fans. Jean Hagen, who does a show-stopping turn as Lockwood's gorgeous but vocally challenged and vindictive costar, actually dubbed Reynolds's singing voice -- the exact reverse of what happens in this most delightful of all movie musicals. Karen Backstein All Movie Guide Hollywood, 1927: the silent-film romantic team of Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) is the Toast of Tinseltown. While Lockwood and Lamont personify smoldering passions on screen, in real life the down-to-earth Lockwood can't stand the egotistical, brainless Lina. He prefers the company of aspiring actress Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), whom he met while escaping his screaming fans. Watching these intrigues from the sidelines is Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor), Don's best pal and on-set pianist. Cosmo is promoted to musical director of Monumental Pictures by studio head R. F. Simpson (Millard Mitchell) when the talking-picture revolution commences. That's all right for Cosmo, but how will talkies affect the upcoming Lockwood-Lamont vehicle "The Dueling Cavalier"? Don, an accomplished song-and-dance man, should have no trouble adapting to the microphone. Lina, however, is another matter: put as charitably as possible, she has a voice that sounds like fingernails on the blackboard. The disastrous preview of the team's first talkie has the audience howling with derisive laughter. On the strength of the plot alone, concocted by the matchless writing team of Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Singin' in the Rain is a delight. But with the addition of MGM's catalog of Arthur Freed-Nacio Herb Brown songs -- You Were Meant for Me, You Are My Lucky Star, The Broadway Melody, and of course the title song -- the film becomes one of the greatest Hollywood musicals ever made. Hal Erickson PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1) Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1; Interactive menus; Theatrical trailer; Scene access; Languages & subtitles: English, Français & Español Language: English, Français, Español SubTitles: English, Français, Español Time: 1 Hour 43 Minutes Some Like It Hot Some Like It Hot Starring: Monroe, Marilyn Curtis, Tony Lemmon, Jack O'Brien, Pat Brown, Joe E. Persoff, Nehemiah Shawlee, Joan Gray, Billy Gray, Billy Monroe, Marilyn Director: Wilder, Billy Rating: NR (MPAA) Category: Comedy - Cops/Crooks : Comedy of Errors : Farce : Sex Comedy User Rating: Running Time: 2 Hours 2 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Barnes & Noble Billy Wilder's legendary cross-dressing comedy, Some Like It Hot, satisfies on split levels: silly and sophisticated, sweet and salacious, feminine and masculine -- often, all of these at once. Set in 1929, the film costars Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as a pair of down-and-out Chicago musicians trying to escape the wrath of vicious gangsters. Posing as women, they sign on for an all-girl gig in Florida, where they both fall for the act's sexy lounge singer, Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe). Lemmon's classic observation about Monroe, that she moves "like Jell-O on springs," is just the tip of the iceberg here. Some Like It Hot's snappy, sexually charged dialogue never lets up. But the movie's more than just talk: Wilder displays storytelling virtuosity, unfolding his madcap tale at a giddy pace through a series of endless twists and turns. Yet, through it all, the characters and situations are realized with a clarity on the order of a Shakespearean comedy. Some deliberate male-female stereotyping early on yields quickly to subtle, urbane explorations of sexuality and sexual roles. Lemmon and Curtis prove to be perfect matches for this material, sliding in and out of drag and female personae with ease, with Curtis indulging in a sly Cary Grant caricature to boot. Monroe, meanwhile, is at her most vulnerable and voluptuous, serving as the explosive catalyst in one of the screen's greatest love triangles. Add to this Monroe's breathy renditions of "I'm Through with Love" and "I Wanna be Loved by You," and it's easy to see why Some Like It Hot is one of the most beloved comedies ever to come out of Hollywood. They don't make them better than this. Gregory Baird All Movie Guide The launching pad for Billy Wilder's comedy classic was a rusty old German farce, Fanfares of Love, whose two main characters were male musicians so desperate to get a job that they disguise themselves as women and play with an all-girl band in gangster-dominated 1929 Chicago. In this version, musicians Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon) lose their jobs when a speakeasy owned by mob boss Spats Columbo (George Raft) is raided by prohibition agent Mulligan (Pat O'Brien). Several weeks later, on February 14th, Joe and Jerry get a job perfroming in Urbana and end up witnessing a gangland massacre in a parking garage. Fearing that they will be next on the mobsters' hit lists, Joe devises an ingenious plan for disguising their identities. Soon they are all dolled up and performing as Josephine and Daphne in Sweet Sue's all-girl orchestra. En route to Florida by train with Sweet Sue's band, the boys (girls?) make the acquaintance of Sue's lead singer Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe, in what may be her best performance). Joe and Jerry immediately fall in love, though of course their new feminine identities prevent them from acting on their desires. Still, they are determined to woo her, and they enact an elaborate series of gender-bending ruses complicated by the fact that flirtatious millionaire Osgood Fielding (Joe E. Brown) has fallen in love with "Daphne." The plot gets even thicker when Spats Columbo and his boys show up in Florida. Nominated for several Oscars, Some Like It Hot ended up the biggest moneymaking comedy up to 1959. Full of hilarious set pieces and movie in-jokes, it has not tarnished with time and in fact seems to get better with each passing year, as its cross-dressing humor keeps it only more and more up-to-date. Hal Erickson PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Vistavision (1.66:1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Nostalgic Look Back with Tony Curtis and hosted by Leonard Maltin; featurette: Memories From The Sweet Sues; Virtual Hall Of Memories with five vignettes featuring never-before-seen photos of Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Billy Wilder and behind-the-scene images; original pressbook gallery; original theatrical trailer; Billy Wilder film trailers Language: English, Français, Español SubTitles: Français, Español, English Time: 2 Hours 2 Minutes Spartacus Spartacus Starring: Douglas, Kirk Olivier, Laurence Ustinov, Peter Curtis, Tony Gavin, John Douglas, Kirk Foch, Nina Olivier, Laurence Olivier, Laurence Director: Kubrick, Stanley Rating: NR (MPAA) Category: Studio Specials : Criterion Collection : Classics User Rating: Running Time: 3 Hours 16 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Barnes & Noble Stanley Kubrick's first big-budget movie, a rousing testament to the unquenchable human thirst for freedom, was phenomenally successful when first released in 1960 and is today regarded -- rightfully so -- as one of the truly great cinematic spectacles. It was certainly a career highpoint for Kirk Douglas, who is superbly stoic as Spartacus, the former gladiator who led an army of fellow slaves against their Roman oppressors. But his was only one of many vivid characterizations. Equally memorable are Laurence Olivier's deliciously sly aristocrat, Peter Ustinov's conniving promoter, Jean Simmons's adoring maiden, Tony Curtis's rebellious slave, and Charles Laughton's wily senator. Kubrick's legendary perfectionism (which sparked repeated on-set clashes with producer/star Douglas) manifested itself in astonishingly intricate period re-creations and large-scale stagings of battle scenes. He added his own flourishes to the script, written by blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo, and never allowed spectacle, action, or pageantry to overshadow human emotion. An enormous influence on Gladiator, this sprawling epic has consistently thrilled moviegoers. Ed Hulse PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: 2.20:1 Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Disc one: the restored 1991 Super Technirama version of Spartacus; audio commentary by actors Kirk Douglas, Peter Ustinov, novelist Howard Fast, producer Edward Lewis, restoration expert Robert A. Harris, and designer Saul Bass; scene-by-scene analysis by Dalton Trumbo; restoration demonstration; additional Alex North score compositions Disc two: Behind-the-scenes "gladiatorial school" footage; deleted footage; gallery of production stills, lobby cards, posters, print ads, a comic book; sketches by director Stanley Kubrick; Saul Bass's storyboards; vintage newsreel footage; 1960 interview with Jean Simmons and Peter Ustinov; 1992 video interview with Peter Ustinov; 1960 documentary The Hollywood Ten, plus archival material about the blacklist; original theatrical trailer Language: English Time: 3 Hours 16 Minutes The Straight Story The Straight Story Starring: Director: Rating: Category: Drama User Rating: Running Time: Color Mono From Amazon.co.uk Throughout The Straight Story, 73-year-old Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) gazes calmly at the night sky, as if the stars were reflections of his own memories. When he hears his brother Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton), with whom he hasn't spoken in years, is ailing Alvin decides to go visit him and make peace. But since Alvin's eyesight is bad and his daughter (Sissy Spacek) refuses to drive him, he sets out on the 500-mile journey from Laurens, Iowa to Mt. Zion, Wisconsin on a John Deere lawnmower. It's slow going, so there's plenty of time to stop for the night and ponder the cosmos. Along the way, he befriends a variety of nice folks, and you have to ask yourself: is this really a David Lynch movie? It's a miracle that this wholesome film was made by a director whose work is often described as twisted and bizarre. But Lynch is too complex an artist to be labelled, and he brings charm, grace and kindness to this story based on a newspaper clipping. Moreover, The Straight Story has a serenity rarely found in movies anymore. It's a film of moments--funny, odd, quietly spiritual--and this simple tale of a man, a lawnmower and rural hospitality becomes a genuine Lynchian odyssey, unlike any film you've seen but as welcoming as a cup of lemon tea with honey. Best of all, it's a fitting tribute to the career of veteran stuntman-actor Farnsworth who, at age 79, plays Alvin Straight to sheer perfection, his face a subtle roadmap to a broad spectrum of emotional destinations. --Jeff Shannon Theremin - An Electronic Odyssey Theremin - An Electronic Odyssey Starring: Theremin, Leon Moog, Robert Director: Martin, Steven M. Rating: PG Category: Documentary : General User Rating: Running Time: 82 Color Stereo Amazon.com Leon Theremin was the secret link between sci-fi films, the Beach Boys, and Carnegie Hall. His self-named electronic musical instrument--the first of its kind--took the world by storm in the 1920s and '30s. Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey, winner of Sundance's Filmmakers Trophy, explores the inventor's strange life and times, including his mysterious 50-year disappearance beginning in the 1940s. Interviews with theremin virtuoso Clara Rockmore, synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog, and Theremin's contemporaries, as well as clips from movies such as The Day the Earth Stood Still, featuring the unworldly sounds of his creation, show an eccentric genius working toward success until his sudden vanishing in the Soviet Union. Footage of Theremin at 94 years old, finally rediscovered and rewarded for his achievements, brings a celebratory ending to what could be a grim or at least uncertain story, but instead is a fascinating documentary. --Rob Lightner --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. This Is Spinal Tap (Special Edition) This Is Spinal Tap (Special Edition) Starring: Reiner, Rob McKean, Michael Shearer, Harry Drescher, Fran Huston, Anjelica Kirby, Bruno Begley, Ed Hesseman, Howard Hesseman, Howard Crystal, Billy Director: Reiner, Rob Rating: R Category: Comedy : General User Rating: Running Time: 83 Color Dolby Amazon.com Director Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner) solemnly alerts us to the glory that was Spinal Tap in his introduction to this "rockumentary" about the legendary British heavy-metal group, featuring lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), lead singer David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), bassist Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer), and a succession of drummers whose careers were cut short by spontaneously combusting on their stool, drowning in somebody else's vomit, or otherwise perishing in untimely fashion. Under DiBergi's studious interrogation, the band and their familiars retrace the band's evolution from head-bopping Mersey Beat poseurs to head-banging metal poseurs, each change in musical direction or tonsorial chic having little effect on the surviving trio's sublime idiocy. For, as St. Hubbins (he's the "deep" one, relatively speaking) sagely observes, "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever." Happily for us, director Reiner, who developed the underlying story line with Guest and former Credibility Gap pranksters McKean and Shearer, stays squarely on the right side of the line, even as his writer-actors remain hilariously trapped on the other side. In lieu of a formal shooting script, the quartet created an extensive and detailed band history ripe with the sort of dead-pan detail that hard-core rock historians and screwball aficionados will savor on countless replays; with the three Tap members also musicians themselves, the "band" developed its stage act under the unsuspecting noses of L.A. club denizens, who accepted them as just as loud, flashy, sexist, and obvious as any other mullet-tressed, leather-garbed brigade of guitar slingers, circa 1984. The resulting footage thus manages to lob its punch lines and build its characters (including some thinly veiled character assassinations of various industry folks) with a loose, tossed-away verve rooted in the improvisational approach. This Is Spinal Tap remains the funniest, and most truthful, look at rock culture ever filmed and a personal best for all involved. --Sam Sutherland --This text refers to the DVD edition. Toy Story - The Ultimate Toy Box Toy Story - The Ultimate Toy Box Starring: Story, Toy Allen, Tim Director: Lasseter, John Rating: G Category: Kids & Family : Animation User Rating: Running Time: 546 Color Stereo Amazon.com Toy Story There is greatness in film that can be discussed, dissected, and talked about late into the night. Then there is genius that is right in front of our faces--we smile at the spell it puts us into and are refreshed, and nary a word needs to be spoken. This kind of entertainment is what they used to call "movie magic," and there is loads of it in this irresistible computer animation feature. Just a picture of these bright toys on the cover of Toy Story looks intriguing, reawakening the kid in us. Filmmaker John Lasseter's shorts (namely Knickknack and Tin Toy, which can be found on the Pixar video Tiny Toy Stories) illustrate not only a technical brilliance but also a great sense of humor--one in which the pun is always intended. Lasseter thinks of himself as a storyteller first and an animator second, much like another film innovator, Walt Disney. Lasseter's story is universal and magical: what do toys do when they're not played with? Cowboy Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), Andy's favorite bedroom toy, tries to calm the other toys (some original, some classic) during a wrenching time of year--the birthday party, when newer toys may replace them. Sure enough, Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) is the new toy that takes over the throne. Buzz has a crucial flaw, though--he believes he's the real Buzz Lightyear, not a toy. Bright and cheerful, Toy Story is much more than a 90-minute commercial for the inevitable bonanza of Woody and Buzz toys. Lasseter further scores with perfect voice casting, including Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head and Wallace Shawn as a meek dinosaur. The director-animator won a special Oscar for "the development and inspired application of techniques that have made possible the first feature-length computer-animated film." In other words, the movie is great. --Doug Thomas Toy Story 2 John Lasseter and his gang of high-tech creators at Pixar create another entertainment for the ages. Like the few great movie sequels, Toy Story 2 comments on why the first one was so wonderful while finding a fresh angle worthy of a new film. The craze of toy collecting becomes the focus here, as we find out Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) is not only a beloved toy to Andy but also a rare doll from a popular '60s children's show. When a greedy collector takes Woody, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) launches a rescue mission with Andy's other toys. To say more would be a crime because this is one of the most creative and smile-inducing films since, well, the first Toy Story. Although the toys look the same as in the 1994 feature, Pixar shows how much technology has advanced: the human characters look more human, backgrounds are superior, and two action sequences that book-end the film are dazzling. And it's a hoot for kids and adults. The film is packed with spoofs, easily accessible in-jokes, and inspired voice casting (with newcomer Joan Cusack especially a delight as Cowgirl Jessie). But as the Pixar canon of films illustrates, the filmmakers are storytellers first. Woody's heart-tugging predicament can easily be translated into the eternal debate of living a good life versus living forever. Toy Story 2 also achieved something in the U.S. two other outstanding 1999 animated features (The Iron Giant, Princess Mononoke) could not: it became a huge box-office hit. --Doug Thomas DVD features Not only are the folks at Pixar smart, fun filmmakers, they understand the promise of DVD. The Ultimate Toy Box is a scrapbook of "ideas, art, and effort" behind the two landmark films. Both films are presented in their original widescreen (1.77:1) format with commentaries from director John Lasseter and his fellow filmmakers, but the real treasure is the third disc of background information from both movies. This includes the history, story design, animation, music, and publicity of each film.... read more Transformers - First Season Collector's Edition Transformers - First Season Collector's Edition Starring: Director: Rating: NR Category: Kids & Family : Characters & Series : Transformers User Rating: Running Time: 490 Color Dolby Amazon.com The 1985 series Tatakae Cho Robot Seimetai Transformers ("Fight Super Living Robots Transformers") was a U.S.-Japanese coproduction, written in America and animated in Japan. Based on a line of robot toys from Takara--licensed to Hasbro in America--that could be reconfigured into cars, trucks, planes, etc., it spawned numerous sequels and a feature. Civil war rages on the planet Cybertron between the virtuous Autobots and the evil Decepticons. Both sides launch crews into space to find new energy sources, but the ships crash on Earth and are buried in lava. When the robots awaken four million years later, the Decepticons, led by the dictatorial Megatron, want to drain the planet of its resources, enslaving or destroying mankind. The Autobots ally with humanity and befriend oil-rig worker Spike Witwicky. The Saturday morning-style cheat of cutting to a logo, rather than animating transitions, and the frequent pauses for commercial breaks make for very choppy storytelling. The designs of the robots are interesting but lack the graphic sophistication of Yoshiyuki Tomino's Gundam Mobile Suits. The animation is very limited, and the choreography of the battle sequences lacks the panache of Tomino and other more talented directors. Like Robotech, Transformers will appeal most strongly to adults who watched the show as kids: it's remained popular through Web sites, role-playing games, fan fiction, and a lively trade in the original toys. Serious students of anime will find this early series of historic interest. Unrated; suitable for age 6 and up: Robot vs. robot violence. --Charles Solomon Twelve O'Clock High Twelve O'Clock High Starring: Director: Rating: Category: Action/Adventure User Rating: Running Time: Color Mono Waiting for Guffman Waiting for Guffman Starring: Levy, Eugene Willard, Fred O'Hara, Catherine Balaban, Bob Guest, Christopher Willard, Fred Dooley, Paul Posey, Parker Posey, Parker Cross, David Director: Guest, Christopher Rating: R (MPAA) Category: Independent - Comedy : Mockumentary : Parody (spoof) User Rating: 7.6/10 (IMDB) Running Time: 1 Hour 24 Minutes Color Dolby Digital All Movie Guide The city of Blaine, Missouri is celebrating its sesquicentennial, and what better reason could there be to put on a show? Corky St. Claire (Christopher Guest), current leader of Blaine's community theater group and creator of a stage musical version of Backdraft that led to the unfortunate destruction of the theater, has been commissioned to put together a musical about the city's noble history, "Red, White and Blaine," which stars a variety of the town's theatrical talent. Corky's cast includes Ron and Sheila Albertson (Fred Willard and Catherine O'Hara), a pair of married travel agents that Corky calls "the Lunts of Blaine;" Allan Pearl (Eugene Levy), a dentist who insists that he wasn't the class clown in high school but did sit next to him; Libby Mae Brown (Parker Posey), a sweet young thing who lives for her job at the Dairy Queen; and Clifford Wooley (Lewis Arquette), an "Old Blainian" who makes gun racks from deer hooves. Somehow, Corky has persuaded a major theatrical producer in New York to send a representative to look at the show -- is it possible that "Red, White and Blaine" could be headed to Broadway? Christopher Guest directed and co-wrote this very funny mock-documentary, in addition to playing the flamboyant Corky; Guests's partners from This Is Spinal Tap, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, helped write the memorable songs for "Red, White and Blaine." Mark Deming PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Audio Commentary by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy; 30-plus minutes of deleted scenes with optional audio commentary; original theatrical trailer Language: English SubTitles: English, Français, Español, Portugais Time: 1 Hour 24 Minutes West Side Story West Side Story Starring: Wise, Robert Wood, Natalie Beymer, Richard Oakland, Simon Mordente, Tony Wood, Natalie Feld, Eliot Beymer, Richard Beymer, Richard Director: Robbins, Jerome Rating: NR (MPAA) Category: Music & Musicals - Classic Musicals : Drama - Coming of Age : Classics - Drama : Action/Adventure - Gangster : Classics - Genera User Rating: Running Time: 2 Hours 32 Minutes Color Dolby Digital Barnes & Noble A masterpiece of the musical form, West Side Story sizzles with the propulsive rhythms and flash-point energy of New York City's streets in the late 1950s, thanks to the music of Leonard Bernstein, lyrics of Stephen Sondheim, choreography of Jerome Robbins, and direction of Robbins and Robert Wise. An adaptation of "Romeo and Juliet" set in New York's Hell's Kitchen, West Side Story revolves around the ill-fated love affair between Tony (Richard Beymer) and Maria (Natalie Wood). Since Maria's older brother is Bernardo, leader of a Puerto Rican gang called the Sharks, and Tony heads a rival gang, the white ethnic Jets, their romance ignites a smoldering turf war into a full-scale rumble. The tenement fire escapes and chain-link fences of West Side Story are powerful accents to Bernstein's sophisticated score and Robbins's electric choreography. Winner of ten Academy Awards -- including Best Picture, Supporting Actor (George Chakiris's Bernardo) and Supporting Actress (for Rita Moreno, as Bernardo's girlfriend Anita) -- the film burns with intensity, using film techniques to present theatrical set pieces with a jazzy flair that has never been equaled. Monica McIntyre All Movie Guide Romeo and Juliet is updated to the tenements of New York City in this Oscar-winning musical landmark. Adapted by Ernest Lehman from the Broadway production, the movie opens with an overhead shot of Manhattan, an effect that director Robert Wise would repeat over the Alps in The Sound of Music four years later. We are introduced to two rival street gangs: The Jets, second-generation American teens, and the Sharks, Puerto Rican immigrants. When the war between the Jets and Sharks reaches a fever pitch, Jets leader Riff (Russ Tamblyn) decides to challenge the Sharks to one last "winner take all" rumble. He decides to meet Sharks leader Bernardo (George Chakiris) for a war council at a gymnasium dance; to bolster his argument, Riff wants his old pal Tony (Richard Beymer), the cofounder of the Jets, to come along. But Tony has set his sights on vistas beyond the neighborhood and has fallen in love with Bernardo's sister Maria (Natalie Wood), a love that, as in Romeo and Juliet, will eventually end in tragedy. In contrast to the usual slash-and-burn policy of Hollywood musical adaptations, all the songs written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim for the original Broadway production of West Side Story were retained for the film version, although some alterations were made to appease the Hollywood censors (especially in the lyrics of "Gee, Officer Krupke"), and the original order of two songs was reversed for stronger dramatic impact. The movie more than retains the original choreography of Jerome Robbins, which is recreated is some of the most startling and balletic dance sequences ever recorded on film. West Side Story won an almost-record 10 Oscars, including Best Picture, supporting awards to Chakiris and Rita Moreno as Bernardo's girlfriend Anita, and Best Director to Robbins and Wise. Natalie Wood's singing was dubbed by Marni Nixon, who also dubbed Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady; the film's New York tenement locations were later razed to make room for Lincoln Center. Hal Erickson PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Newly restored from the original 65 mm elements; New Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack; Dual layer for interruption-free playback; 8-page booklet featuring trivia, production notes, and a look at the making of the film; Original theatrical trailer Language: English SubTitles: English, Français Time: 2 Hours 32 Minutes What Dreams May Come What Dreams May Come Starring: Williams, Robin Jr., Cuba Gooding Sciorra, Annabella Sciorra, Annabella Williams, Robin Director: Ward, Vincent Rating: PG-13 (MPAA) Category: Fantasy - general : Heaven-Can-Wait Fantasies : Romantic Fantasy User Rating: Running Time: 1 Hour 54 Minutes Color Dolby Digital All Movie Guide Based on a metaphysical 1978 novel by science fiction and horror author Richard Matheson, this romantic fantasy-drama won an Oscar for its expensive and impressive visual vistas depicting an imaginative afterlife. Robin Williams stars as Chris Nielsen, a doctor who has suffered with his artist wife Annie (Annabella Sciorra) through the devastating loss of their children, Marie and Ian, who were killed in a car accident. Although Annie's all-consuming depression nearly destroyed their marriage, the couple rebuilt their relationship and are now living out a comfortable middle age. Stopping one night to help a motorist in a wreck, Chris is struck by a car and killed. At first confused about where he is, Chris meets Albert (Cuba Gooding Jr.), a spiritual guide who helps him to realize he's passed away and that he must move on to the next world. After trying with only limited success to communicate with the devastated Annie, Chris moves on and discovers an afterlife that can become whatever one envisions, where even his pet dog awaits him. What Chris envisions as paradise are the paintings of his wife, and he happily takes up residence there, awaiting the far-off day when Annie will eventually join him. He also meets his children, although they have chosen different appearances than the ones they had in life. Then tragedy strikes when Annie, inconsolable, commits suicide and goes to Hell. Although it is rarely done, Chris insists on traveling there, risking his eternal soul to save the woman he loves. Accompanied part of the way by Albert and a wizened guide called The Tracker (Max von Sydow), Chris finally reaches Annie in Hell, and must convince her of the truth in order to release her from her dark prison. Karl Williams PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Dual-interactive menu screens; Director's commentary; About the visual effects; "Making Of" featurette; Alternate ending; Photo gallery; Cast and crew biographies and filmographies; Production information; Theatrical trailers; DVD-ROM features include Windows 95/98 wallpaper and Macintosh desktop images; Widescreen 16x9, dual layered; English 5.1 channel AC3; English 2.0 Dolby Pro Logic; French, Spanish subtitiles; English closed captioned Language: English SubTitles: English, Français, Español Time: 1 Hour 54 Minutes William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet Starring: DiCaprio, Leonardo Danes, Claire Leguizamo, John Caprio, Leonardo Di Postlethwaite, Pete Venora, Diane Rudd, Paul Leguizamo, John Leguizamo, John Director: Luhrmann, Baz Rating: PG-13 (MPAA) Category: Tragedy : Stage Play : Romantic Drama User Rating: Running Time: 2 Hours Color Dolby Digital Barnes & Noble It's Shakespeare for the MTV generation. Director Baz Luhrman (Strictly Ballroom) brings his gaudy, overheated aesthetic to this hyperkinetic rendering of the Bard's famous romantic tragedy -- a movie that moves like an action film while keeping Shakespeare's text intact. Updated to the present and set in an unspecified Latin city bursting with tropical colors, red-hot mamas, gun-toting skin heads, and oversized religious icons, this Romeo and Juliet was a big hit with young moviegoers. Leonardo DiCaprio's turn here as Romeo put him on the map as a teen heartthrob, but it's the radiant Claire Danes who carries the picture. As the child-woman Juliet, she has a gravity and heartbreaking intensity that allow her to hold the screen in the midst of fast cuts and flying bullets. Kryssa Schemmerling All Movie Guide The classic Shakespearean romantic tragedy is updated by director Baz Luhrmann to a post-modern Verona Beach where swords are merely a brand of gun and bored youths are easily spurred toward violence. Longtime rivals in religion and business, the Montagues and the Capulets share a page from the Jets and Sharks of West Side Story when they form rival gangs. Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) is aloof toward the goings-on of his Montague cousins, but after he realizes that Juliet (Claire Danes) is a Capulet at the end of one very wild party, the enmity between the two clans becomes the root of his angst. He relies heavily -- and with serious consequences -- on his rebel gender-bender of a friend, Mercutio (Harold Perrineau Jr.), and Father (not Friar) Lawrence (Pete Postlethwaite) for protection and support. Romeo is, of course, exiled, and it looks like Juliet will be forced into an arranged marriage with the bland Paris (Paul Rudd). It ends, as Romeo and Juliet must, when Romeo hears a tragic piece of misinformation and brings his suicide wish to what was meant to be Juliet 's temporary tomb. This time, though, the turf and the weapon of choice have taken a turn toward the surreal. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide Los Angeles Times Like flaming youth everywhere, this film is loud, exuberant and excessive, but it has enough positive energy and dizzying high spirits to make it irresistible. Kenneth Turan PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital Features: Widescreen format [aspect ratio: 2.35:1]; Interactive menus; Scene selection; Original theatrical trailer; Languages: English 5.1 surround; English Dolby surround; Subtitles: English; Spanish Language: English, Français SubTitles: English, Español Time: 2 Hours The World At War - Complete Set The World At War - Complete Set Starring: War, World at Olivier, Laurence Director: Rating: NR Category: Documentary : General User Rating: Running Time: 1800 Black & White Stereo Amazon.com essential video Sir Jeremy Isaacs highly deserves the numerous awards for documentaries he has earned: the Royal Television Society's Desmond Davis Award, l'Ordre National du Mérit, an Emmy, and a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II. His epic The World at War remains unsurpassed as the definitive visual history of World War II. The Second World War was different from other wars in thousands of ways, one of which was the unparalleled scope of visual documents kept by the Axis and Allies of all their activities. As a result, this war is understood as much through written histories as it is through its powerful images. The Nazis were particularly thorough in documenting even the most abhorrent of the atrocities they were committing--in a surprising amount of color footage. The World at War was one of the first television documentaries that exploited these resources so completely, giving viewers an unbelievable visual guide to the greatest event in the 20th century. This is to say nothing of the excellent, comprehensible narrative. Some highlights: A New Germany 1933-39: early German and Nazi documentation of Hitler's rise to power through the impending attack on Poland Whirlwind: the early British losses in the blitz in the skies over Britain and in North Africa Stalingrad: the turning point of the war and Germany's first defeat Inside the Reich--Germany 1940-44: one of the most fascinating documentaries that exists on life inside Nazi Germany, from Lebensborn to the Hitler Youth Morning: prior to Saving Private Ryan, one of the only unromanticized views of the Normandy invasion Genocide: this film is one of the most widely shown introductions to the Holocaust Japan 1941-45: although The World at War is decidedly focused more on the European theater, this is an important look into wartime Japan and its expansion--early 20th-century history that lead to Japan's role in World War II is superficial The bomb: another widely shown documentary of the Manhattan Project, the Enola Gay, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki The World at War will remain the definitive visual history of World War II, analogous to Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. No serious historian should be missing The World at War in a collection, and no student should leave school without having seen at least some of its salient episodes. Rarely is film so essential. --Erik J. Macki --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. Description The award-winning series narrated by Laurence Olivier. A powerful and devastating historical chronicle of war, composed of penetrating interviews with world leaders, statesmen and the military, along with the experiences of the ordinary men and women of a Young Tiger Young Tiger Starring: Chan, Jackie Director: Rating: NR Category: Action & Adventure : Martial Arts User Rating: Running Time: Color Stereo