Tuesday, November 07, 2006

'The Two Towers: The Complete Recordings' Out Today! - Xoanon @ 13:10 PST

Head on down to your local favorite record shop to pick up 'The Two Towers: The Complete Recordings' today! Take a look at the official product details:

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers film's entire score composed, orchestrated, conducted, and produced by Howard Shore. The set encompasses three CDs plus a DVD-audio disc featuring the score in four superior sound configurations.

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Monday, November 06, 2006

DVD Tuesday: Cars, Carson, Who! - Xoanon @ 10:42 PST
Ah! My Goddess: Premium Box Set: Keiichi, down on his luck at college, tries to order take-out, but instead dials the wrong number and gets a goddess instead. He is granted one wish, which he uses to ask her to stay with him forever. Keiichi's life suddenly becomes ... interesting.

Anna Karenina (1967): The film is based on the eponymous book by Leo Tolstoy. Anna Karenina is a young and beautiful wife of Mr. Karenin, who is 20 years older. She meets the handsome Count Vronsky and they fall in love with each other. Vronsky loves Anna very much, and he is ready to do anything to make her happy. But her husband Karenin will not give her a divorce. The lovers are trying to escape from a society that does not accept their actions. Anna moves in with Vronsky, and her life becomes more complicated then ever. She becomes traumatized by the conflict between her new desires and her duties as a wife and a mother. Such a painful reality causes depression and suicidal thoughts. Anna loses interest in such a life and jumps under a train.

Ark II: The Complete Series: After Earth has been devastated by years of pollution and nuclear war, a group of scientists send out a team of young people as well as an intelligent chimpanzee to seek out the surviving pockets of human beings in order to help rebuild civilization. Also, as they meet these people they take time to teach them valuable life lessons along the way.

Band of Gold: The Complete First Series: More than 12 million viewers were taken on an unprecedented journey in television history into the dark and dangerous underworld of prostitution. Follow the lives of four women caught up in a gritty, contemporary lifestyle that suddenly explodes with menace as a vicious killer stalks them.

Battle of The Brave: In the mid-18th Century, as England and France battle over control of Canada, an epic romance between a peasant woman and a trapper unfurls.

The Best of Carson, Volume 1: Relive the memories from 30 years of The Tonight Show in this 3 DVD collection of the most hilarious moments with the biggest stars in television history. All of your old Tonight Show favorites are here - Johnny's monologue, wildlife handler Jim Fowler, the extraordinary talents of ordinary people, Carnac the Magnificent, sports heroes, and stand-up comics. See early performances from some of today's most popular comedians including Drew Carey, Garry Shandling, and the debut performance of Ellen DeGeneres. Features the famous lost episode Return to Studio One. The stuff of showbiz legend, this famous "lost" episode of The Tonight Show (most of the tapes from the first 10 years of The Tonight Show were accidentally erased) defines the essence of live television. It is a kind of magic that can't be rehearsed, recycled, or reproduced, but thanks to this recent discovery, we can now return to Studio One to witness Johnny and his guests working witout a net. Originally recorded on two-inch videotape, the show was later transferred to film for broadcast on the Armed Forces Network. It was this film version that was eventually tracked down and identified among 10,000 Tonight Show tapes 54 stories underground in a working salt mine somewhere in the middle of Kansas. This show has not been seen since its original broadcast on March 6, 1969. This classic episode is considered by many as one of the most hilarious in TV history. In March of 1969, Carson took the show on the road from its home in New York to Burbank, California. On this particular night, Johnny and his guests had no idea what was in store for them when Bob Hope and Dean Martin decided to drop in announced, and stole the show. The spontaneous and unrehearsed antics that followed are now a part of show business history.

Beverly Hills, 90210 - The Complete First Season: Originally based around the lives of a group of high school students living in the wealthy Beverly Hills neighborhood, then later moving on to their college days as they got older. The kids become friends and enemies, fall in and out of love, and go through an endless series of crises as this small group somehow becomes personally involved in every newsworthy social issue from alcoholism to South African apartheid to pregnancy to AIDS.

Breakup Artist: A romantic comedy that takes a rare look at romance and relationships from a decidely different angle...the unapologetic male point of view. The Breakup Artist is a no-holds-barred, soul-baring look at one man's struggles with life, love and his unending quest to find a woman he can stay with...for longer than six months. Before the Breakup Artist can learn from the troubled romantic ruins of his past...he must overcome the one debilitating dating disorder that has addled him all of his life...RADD (Romantic Attention Deficit Disorder)!

Carousel: Billy is sent down "from above" for one day to try and make amends for mistakes he made in life. Billy worked at the carnival running the carousel, which is where he met Julie. The carny owner Mrs. Mullen fires him because of jealousy, and he and Julie get married. Billy gets into bad habits when he can't find a job and they are forced to live with Julie's cousin Nettie after Julie is fired from her factory job for staying out late with Billy. When Julie tells him she's pregnant, he feels compelled to somehow find a way to support his family, but the only option seems to be falling back into crime with his old pal Jigger.

Cars: Lightning McQueen is a cocky, rookie race car. Speeding on his way to a big race, he crashes into Radiator Springs, destroying lots of the inhabitants belongings. In order to make up for what he did, the cocky roadster is sentenced to community service. Though he will do anything to get away from the work, McQueen must learn to respect and bond with the Radiator Springs inhabitants in order to get out of the town and back on the racetracks.

Chairman: An American scientist (Gregory Peck) is sent to Red China to steal the formula for a newly developed agricultural enzyme. What he is not told by his bosses is that a micro-sized bomb has been planted in his brain so that should the mission ever look likely to fail, he can be eliminated at the push of a button!

Christmas Classics Box Set: Disc 1: JINGLE ALL THE WAY Disc 2: CHRISTMAS CAROL, A Disc 3: HOME ALONE Disc 4: MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1994)

Cinema Paradiso: A famous film director returns home to a Sicilian village for the first time after almost 30 years. He reminisces about his childhood at the Cinema Paradiso where Alfredo, the projectionist, first brought about his love of films. He is also reminded of his lost teenage love, Elena, who he had to leave before he left for Rome.

Cinema Paradiso: A famous film director returns home to a Sicilian village for the first time after almost 30 years. He reminisces about his childhood at the Cinema Paradiso where Alfredo, the projectionist, first brought about his love of films. He is also reminded of his lost teenage love, Elena, who he had to leave before he left for Rome.

Colt .45 / Tall Man Riding / Fort Worth: Lanky icon Randolph Scott saddles up for three Westerns making their home video debut. He buckles up a brace of six-shooter "hand cannons" in Colt .45 (Side A) to chase a desperado who uses similar weapons to terrorize locals. No one messes with Texas - not in Fort Worth (Side B). Gunsmoke and glory combine as newspaperman Scott backs up his fiery editorials with a blaze of bullets when lawlessness threatens. Finally, Scott is a Tall Man Riding (Side B) - and brawling and shooting - as he rights an injustice involving a gambler's attempted land grab. The well-worn Stetson Scott wears is his "lucky" hat, and Tall Man Riding marked the 27th time Scott wore it in a movie. We tip our hats to one of the genre's all-time greats!

Curse of Pirate Death: Over a century ago Pirate's Point was overrun by pirates, led by Abraham LeVoy, who became known as Pirate Death. He looted from the town, slaughtering over 150 men, women and children and then hid the treasure. To this day the vile putrid stench of Pirate Death can be smelled as he roams Pirate's Point protecting the precious treasure. Unaware of the terrifying and tortuous nature of Pirate Death, a group of college students researching their "pirate" heritage decide to locate the hidden treasure of Pirate Death. Will anyone survive the Curse of Pirate Death?

Doctor Who: Hand of Fear - Episode 87: Doctor Who fans must take the bittersweet with the suspenseful in this four-part story arc from 1976, which pits the Doctor (Tom Baker) and companion Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) against the fossilized hand of an alien criminal which possesses a hideous will to live again. Discovered by the Doctor and Sarah during a trip to Earth that puts them in the middle of a mining blast, the hand belongs to Eldrad, a fugitive criminal from the planet Kastria who desires to regain his bodily form and return to his home. To do so, he possesses Sarah and the staff of a nearby nuclear reactor in order to use its power to regenerate, which leads to several eerie scenes with the reanimated hand that nicely evoke British horror features from the '60s and '70s. Well-liked by Baker-era fans, The Hand of Fear is best remembered as Sladen's final turn as Sarah (though she has frequently returned to the role on both radio and TV), and her final scenes with Baker (largely written by the two actors) have an endearing sort of wistfulness. As with all Doctor Who DVD releases, The Hand of Fear features a number of well-produced extras that flesh out the production history of the episodes. The commentary by Baker, Sladen, co-star Judith Paris (who plays the reconfigured Eldrad in an early female form), co-author Bob Baker, and producer Phillip Hinchcliffe is an excellent place to start for first-time viewers and longtime fans; all except Paris are also featured in an informative 50-minute featurette titled "Changing Time," which illuminates the warm working relationship between Baker and Sladen, as well as her reasons for departing the series. An 11-minute videotape clip from the U.K. children's show Swap Shop featuring Baker and Sladen before the broadcast of The Hand of Fear is also included, as well as the now-standard photo gallery, text-only commentary, and PDF of the 1977 Doctor Who Annual and Radio Times.

Doctor Who: Mark of the Rani - Episode 140: Fans of the Colin Baker-era Doctor Who (which is somewhat underrepresented on DVD) will be pleased with this terrific and well-liked serial from 1985 that pits Baker's Doctor and Peri (Nicola Bryant) against not one but two formidable foes against the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution in 19th-century England. The villains in question are the Doctor's longtime antagonist, the Master (Anthony Ainsley), who despite appearing to perish in 1984's Planet of Fire is back for more world domination, and the Rani (UK TV vet and former Hammer starlet Kate O'Mara), a cold and calculating renegade Time Lady whose experiments on the population of a mining town are turning the citizens into savage killers. Scripted by the husband-and-wife team of Pip and Jane Baker (who wrote three additional Doctor Who serials, as well as for Space: 1999), Rani is a literate and exciting Baker episode, well buoyed by O'Mara's elegantly evil performance and clever touches like the Doctor's brainstorming session with real-life engineering legend George Stephenson. Chief among the wealth of extras on the Mark of the Rani DVD is a commentary track featuring a typically charming Baker and Bryant, who are joined by O'Mara; Baker, in particular, shines here by giving a considerable amount of production information along with personal reminiscences. "Lords and Luddites" is a 43-minute featurette about the serial's conception and production (narrated by UK television personality Louise Brady) that's chock full of interviews with the cast and crew, including the Bakers and composer Jonathan Gibbs (who is also profiled in a short interview piece), who replaced John Lewis, who died during production (both composers' soundtracks are offered in isolated music tracks). A battery of deleted and extended scenes, a return jaunt to the production locations, related clips from the children's TV programs Blue Peter and Saturday Superstore, and the by-now standard photo gallery, text-only information track, and PDF files for the Doctor Who Annual and Radio Times listings round out the supplements.

Doctor Who - The Complete First Season, Vol. 1: Rose Tyler, a young shop assistant in a London department store, lives a humdrum and profoundly average life - until the night the shop dummies where she works wake up and try to kill her. Her life is saved by a strange man who only calls himself The Doctor, and intrigued by him, she finds herself thrown headlong into a hectic battle to stop an alien presence from invading Earth and annihilating the human race. She comes to learn that her new friend is even stranger than she thought - in fact, the Doctor's an alien adventurer called a 'Time Lord', seemingly the last of his race, who travels through time and space in his TARDIS battling evil where he finds it. And if she travels with him, she'll find herself witnessing the heat-death of the Earth five billion years in the future, meeting Charles Dickens in the past, and encountering lifeforms and invaders stranger than she'd ever thought possible. Only one thing is certain - it'll be the ride of a lifetime...

Doctor Who - The Complete First Season, Vol. 2: Christopher Eccleston's Doctor is wise and funny, cheeky and brave. An alien and a loner, his detached logic gives him a vital edge when the world's in danger. But when it comes to human relationships, he can be found wanting. That is why he needs Rose. From the moment they meet, the Doctor and Rose understand and complement each other. As they travel together through time, encountering new adversaries, the Doctor shows her things beyond imagination. Includes Aliens of London, World War Three and Dalek.

Extreme Comedy Collection: Features Team America: World Police - Jackass - Beavis and Butt-Head Do America

The Fallen Idol: Philippe, a diplomat's son and good friend of Baines the butler, is confused by the complexities and evasions of adult life. He tries to keep secrets but ends up telling them. He lies to protect his friends, even though he knows he should tell the truth. He resolves not to listen to adults' stories any more when Baines is suspected of murdering his wife and no-one will listen to Philippe's vital information.

Flower Drum Song: A Chinese woman and her father illegally enter San Francisco to marry her fiance. While in San Francisco, she meets another man and falls deeply in love with him and the American way of life; to her father's disapproval.

The Forest: Two couples plan a trip into the forest to escape the hustle-n-bustle of everyday city life. But there's a crazed killer on the loose with a taste for human flesh! When the men get separated from the women, it's every man and woman for themselves. Haunted by the ghosts of his victims, the killer is eventually double-crossed by them as they ghosts come to the aid of the campers. Featuring Gary Kent (BODY FEVER, HELL'S BLOODY DEVILS).

The Fountainhead: Based on the novel by philosopher Ayn Rand, this is the story of architect Howard Roark. An idealist, Roark believes he can balance his values with the needs of society. His mentor disagrees - encouraging him to compromise his integrity rather than suffer for his artistic goals.

Francis Ford Coppola Presents William S. Burroughs' The Junky's Christmas: Part claymation and part live action, The Junky’s Christmas, depicts a story by William S. Burroughs written in 1952. Danny the car wiper, a desperate character who has just been released from jail on the upper west side of Manhattan, searches for a fix on a cold Christmas day. His story ends in a revelation that even Danny could never have thought possible.

Gary Cooper - The Signature Collection: Includes: Sergeant York (1941) (Two-Disc Special Edition), The Fountainhead (1949), Dallas (1950), Springfield Rifle (1952), and The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959).

Grosse Pointe: Complete Series: Satire centers on the off-camera antics of five actors who star in a fictional high school drama called "Grosse Pointe".

Grounded for Life: Season Four: THE FINNERTY FAMILY IS BACK WITH 28 COMPLETE EPISODES FROM THEIR BIGGEST SEASON EVER! It’s an unforgettable season full of strippers, hangovers, teen sex, unfortunate tattoos, geek makeovers, a dead cat, nude photos, disastrous dates, disturbing flashbacks, one perpetually mean nun and more wholesome Finnerty family fun. Why is a furious PTA trying to close Sean’s bar? How did Claudia end up at a frat house keg party? What have Jimmy and Henry done with a priceless coin collection? Can Lily and Brad manage to stay together without police intervention? What is Uncle Eddie doing with an electric car and a bodyguard? And why is there a homeless guy in the living room? Join Donal Logue, Megyn Price, Kevin Corrigan, Lynsey Bartilson, Griffin Frazen, Jake Burbage and Bret Harrison for 28 hilarious episodes — their first full year on the WB — featuring such guest stars as Adam Brody, Mike Vogel, Richard Riehle, Dave Foley, Stephen Root, Kevin McDonald, Brian McFayden, Scott Thompson, Elizabeth Berridge, Mila Kunis and more!

The Harry Smith Project Live: 2 1/2 hours and 23 performances featuring Elvis Costello, Beck, Steve Earle and more! The Harry Smith Project Live DVD compiles the best moments from Hal WillnerÂ’s Harry Smith Project concerts in London, New York and Los Angeles, celebrating the eccentric collector and his influential Grammy®-winning box set, Anthology Of American Folk Music. Drawing on this rich legacy, these landmark shows brought together a remarkable roster of artists performing their own unique interpretations of these classic songs. From Nick Cave's cathartic take on spirituals, to Lou ReedÂ’s mesmerizing evocation of Blind Lemon Jefferson, these passionate reinterpretations (as well as performances by Elvis Costello, Beck, Sonic Youth, Steve Earle, Beth Orton and Richard Thompson, among others) connect the leading musicians of today with the greatest songs of America’s past.

Harum Scarum/Speedway/The Trouble with Girls (1965): A hunka-hunka burnin' excitement comes your way in three Elvis Presley movie romps. Former Miss America Mary Ann Mobley teams with rock's renowned King for the Arabian daze and nights of Harum Scarum (Disc 1/Side A). Next, these beauts are made for watchin' as go-go-booted Nancy Sinatra plays an IRS tax collector and Elvis portrays a top World 600 stock-car driver in Speedway (Disc 1/Side B). Finally, Presley takes on a change-of-pace role in The Trouble with Girls (Disc 2), starring as the white-suited impresario of a traveling 1927 tent show that brings its novelty acts, lectures and musical harmonies to Radford Center, Iowa. Songs, romance, Americana and co-stars Vincent Price and Sheree North - that's the kind of trouble we'd all like to have!

Harvey Toons - The Complete Collection: Classic Media, Harvey and Sony Wonders have released Harveytoons-The Complete Collections. If you are old enough to remember these classic shorts you will be glad to finally own these classic cartoons on DVD. If you are new to the Harveytoons collection, you will enjoy yourself getting acquainted with the original Casper The Friendly Ghost, Wendy, Baby Huey, Katnip, Little Audrey and other characters.

Honkytonk Man / Pink Cadillac / City Heat (1982): Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood shows his on-screen versatility in three very different films. The star who grew up during the hard times of the 1930s takes on a Depression Era role as a rambling Honkytonk Man (Disc 1/Side A) and Dust Bowl drifter who hopes to land a Grand Ole Opry gig. The pace is lighter and loopier as Eastwood revs up a Pink Cadillac (Disc 1/Side B) to play a skip-tracer who nabs bail jumpers before the ink on their bogus I.D.s is dry. Bernadette Peters is the woman who slaps cuffs on the lawman's heart. Finally, Eastwood returns to Depression times for City Heat (Disc 2), teaming with Burt Reynolds in a hard-boiled and hilarious tale of jazz, bullets and bootleg gin in 1933 Kansas City. Drink up and duck!

Inside The Actors Studio: Dave Chappelle: James Lipton interviews some of today's most talented actors, directors and writers. In the audience are students and famous alumni of the Actors Studio's master of fine arts program. The interviewees talk about their childhood, how they got started in show business, their early career and behind-the-scenes trivia. The interview concludes with a standardized questionnaire that includes such questions as "What is your favorite word?" and "If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive?" After that, Lipton and the interviewee move to a classroom where the M.F.A. students can question the interviewee directly.

Inside the Actors Studio:Icons: For more than twelve years, James Lipton has sat down with over 200 of the world's most accomplished artists - ranging from actors and directors to musicians and comedians - for penetrating, fascinating interviews. Lipton's studious research and enlightened curiosity has inspired his guests to open up and confess their deepest thoughts about their craft since the series premiere in 1994. Inside The Actors Studio has earned a reputation of being a forum where guests can speak fearlessly, openly and honestly about the things that matter most to them: their craft and the crucial events of their lives and careers. The series is seen in 80 million homes on the Bravo cable network and has received 12 consecutive Emmy nominations including this year's nod for Outstanding Nonfiction Series. This set features some of the most popular actors in Hollywood and includes the interview with Barbra Streisand that broke records for the series drawing 1.14 million viewers. Four episodes including: Clint Eastwood (2003) Paul Newman (1994) Robert Redford (2004) Barbra Streisand (2003) SPECIAL FEATURES: "James Lipton: Flashbacks" (new introductions with James Lipton) "Great Moments That Didn't Make The Cut" (previously unseen portions of the original interviews)

JAG - The Complete Second Season: In this explosive hour-long dramatic adventure series, David James Elliot stars as Lieutenant Commander "Harm" Rabb, Jr., a brave, outstanding Navy Lawyer and officer in the Judge Advocate General (J.A.G.) Corps. His missions are to investigate and prosecute all crimes, accidents, acts of terrorism and espionage related to the Navy and Marine Corps. Playing the diverse roles of investigator, prosecutor and defense attorney, Harm and his partner Major Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie (Catherine Bell), use their intelligence and determination to uncover the mysteries behind cases involving murder, treason, espionage and other high crimes to bring world-class criminals to justice. JAG combines all the intensity of the battlefield and all the suspense of a criminal investigation into an action-packed hour!

James Bond Ultimate Collection - Vol. 1: Includes: The Man with the Golden Gun / Goldfinger / The World Is Not Enough / Diamonds Are Forever / The Living Daylights

James Bond Ultimate Collection Vol. 2: Includes: A View to a Kill / Thunderball / Die Another Day / The Spy Who Loved Me / License to Kill

Julius Caesar: An examination of the relationship between political power and personal conscience, Joseph Mankiewicz's traditional Julius Caesar (1953) is a veritable master class for aspiring thespians. As the opportunistic Marc Antony, Marlon Brando delivers the famous funeral speech with pure conviction, elsewhere casting an intense physicality that recalls his work in A Streetcar Named Desire. James Mason suggests a latent Hamlet in his turn as the honorable Brutus, while John Gielgud is positively serpentine as the lean, hungry Cassius. Louis Calhern invests Caesar with intelligence and edgy noir echoes, and director Mankiewicz astutely balances the Renaissance view of Caesar as a power-obsessed, corrupt tyrant destined for punishment with modern suggestions that his murder may have been ill advised. The director's scrupulous pacing is supported in no small measure by Miklós Rósza's stunning score. At film's end, power itself is without a master, and the spirit of Caesar has been left unrevived: and to Mankiewicz's credit, the latter is revealed to be the true tragedy of Julius Caesar.

The King and I: This visual and musical masterpiece features Yul Brynner's Academy Award(r) winning performance, an inforgettable Rodgers and Hammerstein(r) score, and brilliant choreography by Jerome Robbins. It tells the true story of an Englishwoman, Anna Leonowens (Deborah Kerr), who comes o Siam as schoolteacher to the royal court in the 1860's. Though she soon finds herself at odds with the stubborn monarch (Brynner), over time, Anna and the King stop trying to change each other and begin to understand one another.

The Kremlin Letter: A network of older spies from the West recruits a young intelligence officer with a photographic memory to accompany them on a mission inside Russia. They must recover a letter written by the CIA that promises American assistance to Russia if China gets the atomic bomb.

Lassie Come Home/Son of Lassie/Courage of Lassie: The devoted collie escapes kennel captivity (with help from young Elizabeth Taylor) and braves storms and peril to return home to Roddy McDowall in the all-time classic Lassie Come Home (Disc 1/Side A). Courage runs in the family in Son of Lassie (Disc 1/Side B), as Lassie's progeny stows away on a World War II Allied bombing run piloted by RAF airman Peter Lawford. Wartime heroics are again at the forefront in Courage of Lassie (Disc 2), starring Taylor and shot on beautiful Canadian locations.

Layer Cake Blu-Ray: Based upon JJ Connelly's London crime novel, "LAYER CAKE" is about a successful cocaine dealer (DANIEL CRAIG) who has earned a respected place among England's Mafia elite and plans an early retirement from the business. However, big boss Jimmy Price hands down a tough assignment: find Charlotte Ryder, the missing rich princess daughter of Jimmy's old pal Edward, a powerful construction business player and gossip papers socialite. Complicating matters are two million pounds' worth of Grade A ecstasy, a brutal neo-Nazi sect and a whole series of double crossings. The title "LAYER CAKE" refers to the layers or levels the dealer has to go through as he painstakingly plots his own escape. What is revealed is a modern underworld where the rules have changed. There are no 'codes', or 'families' and respect lasts as long as a line. Not knowing who he can trust, he has to use all his 'savvy', 'telling' and skills which make him one of the best, to escape his own. The ultimate last job, a love interest called Tammy and an international drugs ring, threaten to draw him back into the 'cake mix'. But, time is running out and the penalty will endure a lifetime..

Legal Legends Collection Box Set: Includes: Runaway Jury / Class Action / Compulsion / The Verdict

Little Man Blu-Ray: Hired to steal the fabulous Queen Diamond, pint-sized jewel thief Calvin Sims (Marlon Wayans) and his dimwitted partner Percy (Tracy Morgan) stash the stone in Vanessa Edwards' (Kerry Washington, Ray) handbag when their getaway plans go uproariously awry. Discovering Vanessa's husband, Darryl (Shawn Wayans), who's hopelessly obsessed with becoming a father, Calvin trades in his duds for diapers and poses as an abandoned baby. Suffering through a host of hysterical humiliations and outrageous family outings, Calvin desperately tries to retrieve the gem before his cover is blown, and Darryl and Vanessa really cut him down to size. Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans (White Chicks).

Little Man: Hired to steal the fabulous Queen Diamond, pint-sized jewel thief Calvin Sims (Marlon Wayans) and his dimwitted partner Percy (Tracy Morgan) stash the stone in Vanessa Edwards' (Kerry Washington, Ray) handbag when their getaway plans go uproariously awry. Discovering Vanessa's husband, Darryl (Shawn Wayans), who's hopelessly obsessed with becoming a father, Calvin trades in his duds for diapers and poses as an abandoned baby. Suffering through a host of hysterical humiliations and outrageous family outings, Calvin desperately tries to retrieve the gem before his cover is blown, and Darryl and Vanessa really cut him down to size. Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans (White Chicks).

M"A"S"H - Season Eleven: As the eleventh season begins, rumors are running rampant around camp. One rumor has everyone believing that Marilyn Monroe is going to pay the 4077 a special visit, while another claims that the peace talks are finally making headway. This second rumor gets Margaret thinking after Charles mentions how a Los Angeles skyscraper had a time capsule built into its cornerstone. Although he thinks the idea is insane, Margaret decides to make a time capsule of her own to bury in camp. "We could put something in the ground to remind people we were here," she suggested. With Hawkeye’s help, items from around camp were gathered up for the capsule: a chopper’s broken fan belt, Radar’s teddy bear, one of Henry Blake’s fishing flies, a bottle of Charles’s cognac and Father Mulcahy’s boxing gloves. And finally, the gang of the 4077 hears the announcement they’ve been waiting for: "This is Robert Pierpoint speaking to you from nearby Panmunjom. It is one minute before ten p.m. We can still hear the sound of nearby artillery. At some point during the next few seconds, the guns should go silent, as the cease-fire officially goes into effect…There it is. That’s the sound of peace."

The Man Behind the Gun / Thunder Over the Plains / Riding Shotgun: Tall Randolph Scott is every inch a hero in three bullet-laced Westerns. The secessionist fervor of the 1850s comes to California, and undercover Army officer Scott aims to thwart the separatist passions in The Man Behind the Gun (Side A). There's Thunder over the Plains (Side B) and lightning in Scott's holsters in the second film. He portrays an army captain assigned to a lawless area of Texas after the Civil War. Next, Scott is Riding Shotgun (Side B) and heading into a whirlwind of trouble: a mob bent on vigilante justice wrongly suspects him of robbing a stagecoach. An action bull's-eye all the way!

The Marlon Brando Collection: Includes: Julius Caesar / Mutiny on the Bounty 1962 / Reflections in a Golden Eye / The Teahouse of the August Moon / The Formula

Martha Stewart Collection: Martha Stewart, the Bob Vila of Home Economics, gives tips on everything from cooking and flower arranging to gardening and making homemade Christmas decorations.

Mash: Martinis & Medicine Collection: One of television's longest-running and most beloved shows of all time is now available in one extraordinary DVD collection. Loaded with top-rank extras that every M*A*S*H fan will love, The Ultimate Collection contains all 11 heartwarming and hilarious seasons, including the record-breaking series finale (still the most-watched episode in TV history), plus the original 1970 film, two all-new bonus discs and a retrospective book created exclusively for this release. Relive all your favorite M*A*S*H memories with the doctors and nurses of the 4077th that kept us in stitches—and created a true television classic.

Melrose Place - The Complete First Season: A nighttime soap opera about the lives, careers, trials and tribulations of a group of young people living in an apartment building in the trendy neighborhood of Melrose Place. The show was a spin off of Beverly Hills, 90210 and starred Heather Locklear as the scheming Amanda Woodward, head of her own advertising agency and owner of the apartment building.

Men Behaving Badly - Complete Collection: Crack open a beer, grab your remote control and gorge yourself on an extra-large helping of bad behavior, British style. Whether making viewers chuckle or chunder, Men Behaving Badly undeniably and unapologetically became the British sitcom of the 1990s, rivaled perhaps only by Absolutely Fabulous. The antidote to the 1980s "caring and sharing" male, Men Behaving Badly made boorish behavior into a cause celebre. Flatmates Gary and Tony are unabashedly self-centered, rude and crude. They brag, belch, fart, swear, drink beer and fantasize about women with no shame. Here in this collection is every episode of the original British, era-defining series, ready to shock.

Mutiny on the Bounty :Se: The Bounty leaves Portsmouth in 1787. Its destination: to sail to Tahiti and load bread-fruit. Captain Bligh will do anything to get there as fast as possible, using any means to keep up a strict discipline. When they arrive at Tahiti, it is like a paradise for the crew, something completely different than the living hell on the ship. On the way back to England, officer Fletcher Christian becomes the leader of a mutiny.

National Velvet/The Story of Seabiscuit/Black Beauty: Adventure gallops home in three films featuring the speed, power and grace of majestic horses. In two-time Academy Award winner* National Velvet (Disc 1/Side A), Elizabeth Taylor poses as a boy in order to ride her beloved steed in the Grand National. Mickey Rooney co-stars in this all-time thoroughbred of a family-film winner. Real-life racing footage of the legendary "the Biscuit" adds to the drama of The Story of Seabiscuit (Disc 1/Side B), starring Shirley Temple. And the heroic colt in Black Beauty (Disc 2) triumphs over adversity and changes lives as he passes from owner to owner. David Thewlis and Sean Bean lead the two-legged cast members in this splendid version of Anna Sewell's famed tale. Time to ride!

New Love in Tokyo: A unique, award-winning art film that's funny, edgy, and sexy, it's the story of a morally-flexible dominatrix, who is at the same time a serious amateur actress trying to build real relationships with both her acting and sex-business acquaintances. When you need a big audience for your new play, it's always good to have a Yakuza boss as your whipping boy! It's Sex In the City meets Tokyo, only kinkier!

Night: Detective Mike Jericho is changing. He stops showing up for work and shuts out the people once important to him. Now, he spends all his time hanging out with his new friends, having fun, and learning how to hunt and kill innocent people. Mike is changing… and his new friends aren’t quite human. Detective Jimi Cannon is searching. He’s hitting the streets, fiercely looking for his best friend, Mike. Now, Jimi must enter a world of shadows and face off - guns blazing - against an enemy that won’t die. He’ll do everything he can to save Mike, but it will take more than courage for Jimi to survive the NIGHT!

Objective, Burma!/Never So Few/Go for Broke: World War II Burma is the setting for two gritty and gut-grabbing combat classics. In Never So Few (Disc 1/Side A), Frank Sinatra and Steve McQueen (in his first big-budget film) play U.S. combatants waging guerrilla war. U.S. paratroopers in Burma cope with a mission gone wrong in Objective, Burma! (Disc 2). Errol Flynn heads the acclaimed World War II morale booster. And Japanese-American volunteers from internment camps show plenty of fight in Go for Broke! (Disc 1/Side B), making its DVD debut. Van Johnson plays the lieutenant who witnesses the courage of the famed 442nd in Europe.

Obsession: Two men become entangled in a torrid love affair with the same woman. Pierre is Miriam's longtime lover. John is desperately searching for clues about his past when he and Miriam have a fateful encounter in a Berlin train station. The allure of forbidden love becomes irresistible, and an intense love triangle is ignited. Who will Miriam choose? Who will walk away? For two men who desperately adore the same woman and for the woman who loves them equally...there is no easy way out.

Once Upon a Christmas: Santa's good-hearted daughter, Kristen (Kathy Ireland), tries to save Christmas. Unlike her conniving older sibling, Rudolfa, Kristen, who embodies holiday cheer, is shocked to learn her father is fed up with the selfish mortal world and plans to retire from his duties. Unable to simply sit back and let Rudolfa take over the reins, Kristen cuts a deal with Santa: If she can convert a family on his naughty list---a single dad (John Dye) and his two bratty kids---by showing them the spirit of giving in time for Christmas, then Santa must continue to spread holiday cheer.

The Passing Show - The Life & Music of Ronnie Lane: This brilliant musical documentary tells the story of Ronnie Lane from his heyday with first the Small Faces and then the Faces, through the sixties and seventies, his experiments with a rural life and the touring musical circus that he dubbed The Passing Show. Finally it charts his latter days once he developed Multiple Sclerosis. Featuring numerous musical clips and interviews with family, friends and colleagues including Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Ian McLagan, Kenney Jones, Glyn Johns, Henry McCullough, Joe Ely and many more. Includes clips from: April Fool, Debris, Whatcha Gonna Do About It?, Tin Soldier, Lazy Sunday, Itchycoo Park, Stay With Me, How Come, The Poacher, Tell Everyone, Annie, Kushty Rye, Ooh La La and many more...

Police Squad! The Complete Series: Marginally a "straight" police drama in the Jack Webb/Quinn Martin school, Police Squad occurs in a strange universe where everything is taken literally (when a name "rings a bell" we here bells go off everytime someone mentions it), non sequiturs occur (a mime tries to spell out a ransom note, and Officer Nordberg guesses "Theme From a Summer Place") and sight gags abound (while looking for a corpse, someone wants to know the time and the dead man's hand drops out of a tree).

Pusher Trilogy: Includes: Pusher - With Blood on My Hands: Pusher II - I'm the Angel of Death: Pusher III

Quiller Memorandum: Two British agents are murdered by a mysterious Neonazi organization in West Berlin. The British Secret Service sends agent Quiller to investigate. Soon Quiller is confronted with Neonazi chief "Oktober" and involved in a dangerous game where each side tries to find out the enemy's headquarters at any price...

Reds HD DVD: Reds is the story of the love affair of John Reed and Louise Bryant in a war-torn world and how the Russian Revolution shook their lives.

Reds Blu-Ray: Reds is the story of the love affair of John Reed and Louise Bryant in a war-torn world and how the Russian Revolution shook their lives.

The Big Stampede / Ride Him Cowboy / Haunted Gold: Twenty-five-year-old John Wayne saddles up in three of six early 1930s shoot-'em-ups made for Warner Bros. and previously filmed with silent-screen cowboy Ken Maynard. The Big Stampede pits Wayne against a cattle baron (Noah Beery) heaping a load of misery on new ranchers. Haunted Gold unravels the mystery of an abandoned gold mine lying beneath a ghost town. Ride Him, Cowboy finds drifter Wayne rescuing a spirited horse, tracking a notorious killer called The Hawk...and falling under suspicion of being the infamous outlaw. Billed with Wayne in each of the three films is the white stallion Duke (chosen to match Maynard's horse in intercut footage from the earlier films). Ride him, John!

The Seduction: Synopsis L.A. anchorwoman Jamie Douglas (Morgan Fairchild in her delectable big screen debut) has it all: a glamorous career on a top-rated news show, a luxurious house in the hills, and a devoted young admirer named Derek (Andrew Stevens). But when Jamie rebuffs his romantic advances, Derek becomes an obsessed stalker who plays out an increasingly psychotic courtship with the frightened newswoman. Soon he is threatening every part of her life, secretly watching even her most intimate moments. Her tough-talking lover (Michael Sarrazin) can’t console her. A by-the-book cop (Vince Edwards) can’t protect her. Now Jamie is alone, trapped like an animal and fighting back with the only weapon she has left. Will she finally be forced to use her luscious body to fulfill THE SEDUCTION? DVD Features: Widescreen Presentation enhanced for 16x9 TVs,Theatrical Trailer,Audio Commentary with Producer Irwin Yablans and Writer/Director David Schmoeller,Remembering The Locations And Production,Remembering THE SEDUCTION,THE SEDUCTION And The Law

Sergeant York: A hillbilly sharpshooter becomes one of the most celebrated American heroes of WWI when he single-handedly attacks and captures a German position using the same strategy as in turkey shoot.

She-Ra - Princess of Power - Season One, Vol. 1: Princess Adora raises her magic sword and becomes She-Ra, the most powerful woman in the universe, to aid her friends in defeating the Evil Horde so their planet Etheria can be free.

The Sopranos - Season 6, Part 1: Several crises threaten Tony and his crew; for starters, rival boss Johnny Sack (Vince Curatola) is in prison, and the always-tense relations between the New Jersey and New York families are strained through the unpredictable behavior of Sack?s surrogates. Then there are the inevitable power struggles that ensue when certain family members are eliminated, by natural and other causes.

The Souler Opposite: All Barry Singer wants, "is a woman to like him for who he pretends to be," ...or so he says in his act. A stand up comedian toiling in the netherworld of the L.A. comedy scene, Barry's universe is turned upside down when he meets Thea Douglas, a young political activist who is clearly in the "spiritual quest mode." Together, they throw into a comic dance of high intimacy where for the first time in their lives the physical and emotional come together. When their relationship hits the rocks, Thea is swept into the whirlpool of the '92 political season and hits the road with the Jerry Brown presidential campaign. All this leads Barry to one certainty; he has no choice but to take off cross country in pursuit of his "souler opposite."

South Pacific: Can a girl from Small Rock find happiness with a mature French planter she got to know one enchanted evening away from the military hospital where she is a nurse? Or should she just wash that man out of her hair? Bloody Mary is the philosopher of the island and it's hard to believe she could be the mother of Liat who has captured the heart of Lt. Joseph Cable USMC. While waiting for action in the war in the South Pacific, sailors and nurses put on a musical comedy show. The war gets closer and the saga of Nellie Forbush and Emile de Becque becomes serious drama.

Stroker Ace/Hooper/Sharkey's Machine: Great times with the good ol' boy! Burt Reynolds takes the wheel in Stroker Ace (Disc 1/Side A), a roaring stock-car-racing comedy co-starring Loni Anderson and featuring real-life Daytona International footage. Sally Field teams with Reynolds in Hooper (Disc 1/Side B), the affectionate and much-admired salute to movie stunt people. When the boss says jump...Hooper says how far down?! And Atlanta nights have never been hotter than when vice cop Reynolds (who also directs) puts the heat on big-time criminals in the volatile thriller Sharky's Machine (Disc 2). It's a lean, mean, powerful machine, fueled by an enduringly popular star in peak form.

The Telegraph Trail / Somewhere in Sonora / The Man from Monterey: John Wayne made six exciting early-1930s Westerns for Warner Bros. Three make their DVD debut here. The actor poses as a nobleman to unravel a land-grab scheme in The Man from Monterey. The excitement unfolds Somewhere in Sonora when Wayne infiltrates a gang to bring its outlaws to justice. And our buckskin-shirted hero saves the day when villains try to stop the stringing of the earliest mass-communication lines in The Telegraph Trail. Equally stalwart in all three films is Duke, the billed "Miracle Horse" who's as swift as the wind...and as loyal as Rin-Tin-Tin.

Totally Awesome: A spoof of typical 1980's teen movies. The idea is that VH1 found a "long-lost", never-released teen film made in the 1980's and decided to air it now in 2006; thus it is loaded with the typical formula, clichés, bad fashions, and stereotypical characters found in those movies and makes fun of them.

The Transformers - The Movie: It is the year 2005. The war between The Autobots and Decepticons has escalated all the way to Cybertron, which the Decepticons have reclaimed. The Autobots, without Optimus Prime after a conflict on Earth takes his life, must now face a destiny they know nothing of. Megatron and a group of forsaken Decepticons have been reformed by the ultimate transformer, a planet consuming demon known as Unicron into even deadlier warriors. Now Galvatron, Scourge and Cyclonus must destroy The Autobot Matrix of Leadership for Unicron's glory or suffer the horrific destruction of Cybertron. However, Optimus Prime has decreed that an Autobot will rise from his rank and use the power of The Matrix to light the darkest hour of the Autobots. With Hot Rod facing responsibility for Prime's death, he feels he may be able to use the power of the Matrix to turn the tide of the Cybertronian Wars and stop Unicron. Until all are one, the future of the Autobots and Decepticons is uncertain.

Twice Upon a Christmas: Santa's first born daughter, Rudolfa, is secretly selling pieces of the North Pole, and plans to ruin Christmas and replace Santa's workshop with a brand new casino. But Santa's lost daughter Kristen returns to the North Pole with her two children who are desperate to save Christmas, and rebuild the shattered village.

Ultimate Flint Collection: Move over James Bond, and step aside Austin Powers...there's an even groovier Superspy, and his name is Derek Flint! Starring screen icon James Coburn, the Flint series (Our Man Flint and In Like Flint) are "two of the more successful and endearing spy spoofs!" (The Onion A.V. Club) featuring hordes of gorgeous ladies, outlandish gadgets, nonstop action, and a wide variety of exotic, far-flung international locales! And as a special added bonus, making its long-awaited Home Entertainment debut...the riveting 1976 T.V. Movie: Our Man Flint: Dead On Target! As the top-ranked super-agent for the Zonal Organization of World Intelligence Espionage (Z.O.W.I.E.) Derek Flint is always the first spy on the scene! Blessed with incredible skills (like the ability to stop and restart his own heart at will) and armed with an arsenal of high-tech gadgetry (including a custom-made lighter with 82 different functions...83, if you count lighting a cigar!) the fearless, dashing, and ultra-cool Flint has never met a woman he couldn't seduce, never met an enemy he couldn't vanquish, and most important of all, never broken a sweat...even while saving our planet from total destruction!

Ultraman, Vol. 2: No Description Available

Un Coeur en Hiver ( A Heart in Winter ): Daniel Auteuil (Manon of the Spring) stars as Stephane, the curiously diffident co-owner of an exclusive violin brokerage and repair shop. A brilliant technician, Stephane can make any instrument live up to its promise, yet he himself is emotionally remote and disconnected from passionate experience. His partner, Maxime (André Dussollier), lacks Stephane's gifts but is rich in personality and desire. When Maxime's new lover, a violinist named Camille (Emmanuelle Béart), is drawn to Stephane's still waters, he is briefly moved, thus destroying the fragile, symbiotic relationship between all three individuals.

West Wing - The Complete Series Collection: Inside the lives of staffers in the west wing of the White House.

West Wing: The Complete Seventh Season: The seventh season of the West Wing chronicles the transition between the administration of President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet and the race for the new presidency between Congressman Mathew Vincente Santos of Houston, Texas and Senator Arnold Vinick of California. The season includes the live episode of "The Debate" and ends with a new administration in the West Wing.

The Who - The Vegas Job: If you weren't one of the fans in the audience that night, you never saw this concert! On October 29th, 1999, The Who gave an awesome and historic concert at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas...one night only! It was the first time in 20 years that they performed as a 5-piece band - The Who's original configuration. Legendary founding members ROGER DALTREY, PETE TOWNSHEND and JOHN ENTWISTLE, along with ZAK STARKEY and JOHN "RABBIT" BUNDRICK, drove the audience wild, knocking off 14 of their greatest rock classics in grand style. The concert was meant to be seen by an audience of over one billion - via the internet. But due to "technical difficulties," the broadcast failed, leaving only those lucky enough to be sitting in the audience to witness this awesome performance. At long last, you can be a part of that amazing night. In addition to all 14 complete songs, Bonus Features include exclusive interviews with Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle, as well as intimate interviews with the audience where a few lucky fans get to share their personal Who memories. Not to be missed! Set List: " I Can't Explain " Substitute " Anyway Anyhow Anywhere " Pinball Wizard " See Me, Feel Me " Baba O'Riley " My Wife " 5:15 " Behind Blue Eyes " Who Are You " Magic Bus " Won't Get Fooled Again " The Kids Are Alright " My Generation.

Wordplay: "Wordplay" starts the story of the New York Times crossword puzzle, and the current and historical creative forces behind it. But as it dances across the story, filling it in as one of its devotees might across the puzzles, it reveals an entire amazing world behind its practice, creation, and history, from the annual crossword convention in Stamford to the breadth of individuals who enjoy it daily.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

A Journey Through NZ Film - Xoanon @ 23:07 PST
Ian Brodie writes: Just to let you know my new book entitled A Journey Though New Zealand Film has just been released. It contains information and imagery for a number of film locations in this country. I have updated images for the major Lord of the Rings Sites and put them in the book as well. I will personally sign each copy. Not available at Amazon until February. More information and purchases can be made at nzfpm.marketeer.co.nz.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

'The Two Towers: Complete Recordings' Press Release - Xoanon @ 13:31 PST
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS
THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS
SET FOR RELEASE November 7, 2006
Available For The First Time!

Howard Shore’s complete Grammy-winning score for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, from the epic film trilogy The Lord of the Rings, will be available in a deluxe four-disc edition from Reprise/WMG Soundtracks on November 7, 2006.

This historic release contains over 180 minutes of music on three CDs, comprising the full score of the 2002 film, composed by Howard Shore. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Complete Recordings marks the second edition of the three complete recording releases of the film trilogy whose score has been honored with three Academy Awards, four Grammy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards, and which has sold over 6 million copies worldwide. This deluxe set also includes exclusive new artwork, packaging, extensive liner notes written by Doug Adams, and “Gollum’s Song” performed by Emiliana Torrini.

Composed for symphony orchestra and choir, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Complete Recordings was performed by London Philharmonic Orchestra, The London Voices, The London Oratory School Schola featuring vocal performances by Emiliana Torrini, Isabel Bayrakdarian, Sheila Chandra, Elizabeth Fraser, Ben Del Maestro and cast member Miranda Otto. The fourth disc is a DVD-Audio presenting the entire The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Complete Recordings in 5.1 Surround Sound.

The boxed set for the complete recordings of the first film, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – The Complete Recordings, was released on December 13, 2005. It spent months in Amazon.com’s top 100 Sales Ranking, and garnered some of the best reviews of the year. “For fans of any of The Lord of the Rings films, The Fellowship of the Ring/Complete Recordings is an essential experience,” Heather Phares, All Music Guide.

“The Complete Recordings is last year’s most important archival soundtrack release, expanding and preserving one of the finest and most significant recent scores in all of film music. Shore’s Lord Of The Rings trilogy is an operatic symphony that is among the finest musical accomplishments of the last half-century. The plethora of unreleased material on this beautifully packaged edition is mouth-watering at the least, and the sonic dynamic achieved on the surround sound DVD of the entire 180-minute score is simply astonishing.” Randall Larson, Music From the Movies

Composer of over sixty-five film scores, Howard Shore brought a lifetime of experience to creating the epochal soundtrack for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Shore used Tolkien's texts and drew from multiple periods throughout music history to evoke the book’s enchanted worlds. He developed over 80 leitmotifs to describe the cultures of Middle-earth. Collaborating with authors/lyrists Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, he composed choral music utilizing the Tolkien-created languages for the Elves (Quenya and Sindarin), the Dwarves (Khuzdûl), Men (Adûnaic) and the evil cultures of Mordor (Black Speech). For Rohan, all the choral text was set in Old English.

In 2003, working with conductor John Mauceri, Shore created The Lord of the Rings Symphony, a two-hour 6 movement concert piece drawing from the nearly 12 hours of music he composed for Peter Jackson’s landmark film trilogy. This piece features a full symphony orchestra, adult and children's choirs, as well as solo instrumentalists and vocalists, totaling more than 200 musicians on stage. Since its debut in November 2003 in Wellington, New Zealand, The Lord of the Rings Symphony has been performed in sold-out concerts on four continents and in some of the world’s most legendary venues, including London’s Royal Albert Hall, Moscow’s Kremlin Palace Theater and Sydney’s Opera House. Some of the world’s leading international orchestras – including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony and London Philharmonic – have performed The Lord of the Rings Symphony in addition to regional orchestras across the United States, and this past July, the symphony celebrated its 100th performance by the San Francisco Symphony.

The UK’s Classic FM voted The Lord of the Rings soundtracks the Best Film Score of All Time for five consecutive years. Shore’s other impressive film credits include Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator (Golden Globe Award), David Fincher’s Se7en and Panic Room, Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia, and 11 films with David Cronenberg including A History of Violence and Spider. Shore is currently writing an opera based on his film collaboration with Cronenberg, The Fly, commissioned for the Los Angeles Opera, and he is also completing work on his fifth collaboration with Martin Scorsese, The Departed, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlberg.

Says Shore of his time on The Lord of the Rings, “Everybody felt that we were working on something important. It was a film that welcomed the intensity of our efforts. As much as we put into it, it showed us more. It was endlessly revealing working on The Lord of the Rings.”

Pre-Order 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - The Complete Recordings' on Amazon.com today!

Order 'The Lord of the Rings: The The Fellowship of the Ring - The Complete Recordings' on Amazon.com today!

Monday, October 30, 2006

DVD Tuesday: Mission Impossible III, C.S.I. Miami & More! - Xoanon @ 11:54 PST
Baywatch-Season-1: This long-running series follows the adventures of a team of lifeguards on a crowded resort beach. Veteran lifeguard Mitch Buchannon watches over the younger lifeguards that come and go with each passing season as they keep the beaches safe for vacationers. Frequently he must take action to save them from the raging seas and from the raging tempers that sometimes flare up between the young guards in this stressful job.

Baywatch: Collection 1: This long-running series follows the adventures of a team of lifeguards on a crowded resort beach. Veteran lifeguard Mitch Buchannon watches over the younger lifeguards that come and go with each passing season as they keep the beaches safe for vacationers. Frequently he must take action to save them from the raging seas and from the raging tempers that sometimes flare up between the young guards in this stressful job.

Baywatch: Collection 2: This long-running series follows the adventures of a team of lifeguards on a crowded resort beach. Veteran lifeguard Mitch Buchannon watches over the younger lifeguards that come and go with each passing season as they keep the beaches safe for vacationers. Frequently he must take action to save them from the raging seas and from the raging tempers that sometimes flare up between the young guards in this stressful job.

Mission - Impossible III: Tom Cruise is back as Special Agent Ethan Hunt in the third installment of the big screen spin-off of the cult espionage TV series of the 1960s and this time takes on a vindictive international super-villain (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who takes his revenge on Hunt by kidnapping his fiancé (Michele Monaughan). Directed by TV creator J.J. Abrams, it plays like a an entire season of Alias condensed into one film where any motivation beyond revenge simply confuses the issue. The rest is just action movie spectacle, pyrotechnics, and devilishly clever missions full of split second timing and cool gear and feints that always work. Keri Russell (star of Abrams' earlier series Felicity) makes a striking appearance as a fellow agent, Ving Rhames, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Maggie Q, and Billy Crudup fill out Hunt's team, and Simon Pegg and Laurence Fishburne co-star. Available in separate widescreen and full screen editions. The 2-Disc Collector's Edition includes exclusive featurettes. Details: Color, 125 mins, Paramount, Widescreen anamorphic. Supplements: Commentary by director J.J. Abrams and actor/producer Tom Cruise; Deleted scenes; "The Making of the Mission" featurette; Tribute Montage: Excellence in Film; Exclusive to 2-Disc Collector's Edition:; "Mission Action: Inside the Action Unit" featurette; "Visualizing the Mission" featurette; "Inside the IMF" featurette; "Mission: Metamorphosis" featurette; "Scoring the Mission" featurette; "Launching the Mission" featurette; Moviefone Unscripted: Tom Cruise/J.J. Abrams; Tribute Montage: Generation: Cruise; Photo gallery; Trailers. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) and French (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional Spanish and English subtitles.

Mission Impossible 3 HD DVD: Tom Cruise is back as Special Agent Ethan Hunt in the third installment of the big screen spin-off of the cult espionage TV series of the 1960s and this time takes on a vindictive international super-villain (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who takes his revenge on Hunt by kidnapping his fiancé (Michele Monaughan). Directed by TV creator J.J. Abrams, it plays like a an entire season of Alias condensed into one film where any motivation beyond revenge simply confuses the issue. The rest is just action movie spectacle, pyrotechnics, and devilishly clever missions full of split second timing and cool gear and feints that always work. Keri Russell (star of Abrams' earlier series Felicity) makes a striking appearance as a fellow agent, Ving Rhames, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Maggie Q, and Billy Crudup fill out Hunt's team, and Simon Pegg and Laurence Fishburne co-star. Available in separate widescreen and full screen editions. The 2-Disc Collector's Edition includes exclusive featurettes. Details: Color, 125 mins, Paramount, Widescreen anamorphic. Supplements: Commentary by director J.J. Abrams and actor/producer Tom Cruise; Deleted scenes; "The Making of the Mission" featurette; Tribute Montage: Excellence in Film; Exclusive to 2-Disc Collector's Edition:; "Mission Action: Inside the Action Unit" featurette; "Visualizing the Mission" featurette; "Inside the IMF" featurette; "Mission: Metamorphosis" featurette; "Scoring the Mission" featurette; "Launching the Mission" featurette; Moviefone Unscripted: Tom Cruise/J.J. Abrams; Tribute Montage: Generation: Cruise; Photo gallery; Trailers. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) and French (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional Spanish and English subtitles.

Mission Impossible 3 Blu Ray: Tom Cruise is back as Special Agent Ethan Hunt in the third installment of the big screen spin-off of the cult espionage TV series of the 1960s and this time takes on a vindictive international super-villain (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who takes his revenge on Hunt by kidnapping his fiancé (Michele Monaughan). Directed by TV creator J.J. Abrams, it plays like a an entire season of Alias condensed into one film where any motivation beyond revenge simply confuses the issue. The rest is just action movie spectacle, pyrotechnics, and devilishly clever missions full of split second timing and cool gear and feints that always work. Keri Russell (star of Abrams' earlier series Felicity) makes a striking appearance as a fellow agent, Ving Rhames, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Maggie Q, and Billy Crudup fill out Hunt's team, and Simon Pegg and Laurence Fishburne co-star. Available in separate widescreen and full screen editions. The 2-Disc Collector's Edition includes exclusive featurettes. Details: Color, 125 mins, Paramount, Widescreen anamorphic. Supplements: Commentary by director J.J. Abrams and actor/producer Tom Cruise; Deleted scenes; "The Making of the Mission" featurette; Tribute Montage: Excellence in Film; Exclusive to 2-Disc Collector's Edition:; "Mission Action: Inside the Action Unit" featurette; "Visualizing the Mission" featurette; "Inside the IMF" featurette; "Mission: Metamorphosis" featurette; "Scoring the Mission" featurette; "Launching the Mission" featurette; Moviefone Unscripted: Tom Cruise/J.J. Abrams; Tribute Montage: Generation: Cruise; Photo gallery; Trailers. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) and French (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional Spanish and English subtitles.

Mission Impossible: Ultimate Missions Collection Blu-ray: Three film collection

Mission Impossible: Ultimate Missions Collection HD DVD: Three film collection

42nd Street Forever Vol 2: The Deuce: Compilation of exploitation trailers for cult and trash films, promising sex, violence, monsters, mayhem, and all around sleaze. Details: Color/Black and White, 121 mins, Synapse, widescreen, 1.78:1. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 1.0). Optional subtitles.

Acapulco H.E.A.T Season 2: Beginning as a counter-terrorist organization stationed in the tropical paradise of Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco H.E.A.T. has evolved into an elite team for hire. H.E.A.T. once again delivers fast-paced action set against a heavenly landscape of sunny beaches and beautiful women.

Andy Goldsworthy - Rivers and Tides (Special Two-Disc Collector's Edition): (2001) Andy Goldsworthy uses the natural world as the raw materials of his art, which he creates as ephemeral artifacts in the natural environment of the materials. Thomas Riedelsheimer investigates the art of the Scottish creator, the philosophy behind it, the artist in his element as he creates his organic sculptures (or earthworks, as he calls them) in this award winning documentary, now in a new special edition featuring 7 bonus short films dedicated to individual earthworks and a new documentary about his recent project involving 13 giant snowballs. Details: Color, 155 mins, Docurama. Supplements: Seven short films: Storm King Wall, Leaf Horn, Ice Arch, Garlic Leaf Line, Black Stone/Rain Shadow, Ice Cake, Colored Leaf Hole; Photo gallery; Andy Goldsworthy biography; Filmmaker biography ; New to this edition:; Bonus documentary Snowballs in Summer; Exclusive interview with filmmaker Thomas Riedelsheimer; Companion book with never-before-seen photos of Andy Goldsworthy creating his artwork during the making of the film. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional subtitles.

Angel Terminators: (Hong Kong, 1990) Sharon Yeung leads an all-female group of elite cops to take on a fugitive drug trafficker. Carrie Ng co-stars and Wai Lit directs. Details: Color, 92 mins, Tai Seng. Supplements: Trailer. Audio: Cantonese and Mandarin. Optional English subtitles.

Benny Hill Collection: Benny Hill Collection Sets 1-5

Boogiepop Phantom DVD Thinpak Collection: No Description Available

C.S.I. Miami - The Complete Fourth Season: David Caruso is Lt. Horatio Caine, the former homicide detective who leads the Miami forensics unit in the first spin-off of the hugely popular crime investigation series. Emily Proctor co-stars as the famed "bullet girl," a ballistics specialist almost as driven at Horatio, Sofia Milos is Detective Yelina Salas, who just so happens to be his dead brother's widow, and Khandi Alexander, Adam Rodriguez, and Jonathan Togo round out the team, each bringing a specialty to the unit that is, invariably, essential to solving the crime at hand, and they take pains to explain it to each other in every episode. Details: Color, Paramount, Widescreen anamorphic. Supplements: 25 episodes on seven discs; Commentary on six episodes; "Creating Feature Television: The Concept, Script, and Pre-Production of CSI: Miami" featurette; "Producing Feature Television The Production of CSI: Miami" featurette; "Finishing Feature Television The Post-Production of CSI: Miami" featurette. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) and Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional subtitles.

Classic Christmas Collection: It's a Wonderful Life / White Christmas

Complete The Persuaders Series: No Description Available

Daughters of Darkness: 2-Disc Special Edition: (Belgium/France, 1971) Delphine Seyrig is the elegant, ageless Countess Bathory who seduces a honeymooning couple in a posh French hotel. While her loyal "companion" (Andrea Rau) works on the husband (John Karlen), the Countess introduces the young wife (Daniele Ouimet) to the pleasures of blood. One of the classics of erotic horror and surrealism, it is presented in a 2-disc set with the Spanish erotic horror The Blood Spattered Bride (1972), Vicente Aranda's adaptation of Le Fanu's "Carmilla." Details: Color, 100 mins, Blue Underground, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.66:1. Supplements: Disc 1: Daughters of Darkness; Audio Commentary #1 with Co-Writer/Director Harry Kumel; Audio Commentary #2 with Star John Karlen and Journalist David Del Valle; "Locations of Darkness" - Interviews with Co-Writer/Director Harry Kumel and Co-Writer/Co-Producer Pierre Drouot; "Playing the Victim" - Interview with Star Danielle Ouimet; "Daughter of Darkness" - Interview with Star Andrea Rau; Theatrical Trailer; Radio Spots; Poster & Still Gallery; Disc 2: The Blood Spattered Bride; U.S. Combo Theatrical Trailer. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono). Optional subtitles.

The Devil's Rain (1975): (1975) Ernest Borgnine is a Satanic priest who will stop at nothing to recover a book with names of those whose souls belong to Satan and Eddie Albert, Tom Skerritt, and William Shatner are among those that stand up to him in the seventies cult horror. Joan Prather, Ida Lupino, Keena Wynn, and John Travolta co-star and Robert Fuest directs. Details: Color, 86 mins, Dark Sky Films/MPI, widescreen, 2.35:1. Supplements: Commentary by director Robert Fuest; Newsreel with Anton LeVey, High Priest of the Church of Satan; Trailer; Radio spots; Still gallery. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono). Optional subtitles.

Down to the Bone: A woman stuck in a stale marriage struggles to raise her children and manage her secret drug habit. But when winter comes to her small town, her balancing act begins to come crashing down.

Excalibur HD DVD: The myth of King Arthur brought once again to the screen. Uthur Pendragon is given the mystical sword Excalibur by the wizard Merlyn. At his death Uthur buries the sword into a stone, and the next man that can pull it out will be King of England. Years later Arthur, Uthur's bastard son draws Excalibur and becomes king. Guided by Merlyn, Arthur marries Guenivere and gathers the Knights of the Round Table. Arthur's evil half-sister Morgana sires a son with him, who may prove his downfall.

Future-Kill: (1985) Sci-fi slasher thriller about a mutant murderer on a Texas college campus, featuring the stars of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Edwin Neal and Marilyn Burns. Details: Color, 89 mins, Subversive, Widescreen anamorphic. Supplements: Commentary by director Ronald Moore and star/co-writer Edwin Neal; "Making of" featurette; Cast and crew bios; Trailers; Reproduction of original artwork by H.R. Giger. Optional subtitles.

Ghost in the Shell SAC Complete 1st Season Box Set: The second season of Ghost in The Shell: Stand Alone Complex begins with Section 9 being called back to work after a hostage situation of concern to the Ruling Party renders the Police useless. The entire team returns to the front lines: Kusanagi, Batoh, Togusa, Ishikawa, Saito, Paz & Borma, with four of the original Tachikomas restored after the firefight of Episode 26. The hostage situation announced the rising of a new terrorist cell, which takes much after another one in the headlines of today's papers. The Individual Eleven, whose members are neither individuals, or total up to eleven are a new threat to Public Security. How does a specialized public security group face an enemy more faceless than the "laughing man" during a time of political unrest? Among the broad changes from the first show involve the new ruling party, headed by the new Prime Minister Kabayuki after the prior ousting in GITS: SAC, the Japanese Residents caught in the middle of the affairs and paying the taxes for jobs they're going to lose in a time of recession, and the downtrodden "invited" Asian Immigrants of the Second Vietnamese War who were brought to Japan as a half-hearted humanitarian act from the government who was really just seeking cheap labor. And just who is the man called "Gohda", a mysterious new 'supervisor' (don't worry, Aramaki still runs the group) who appears to be calling the shots for Section 9 during certain missions? He calls out orders as if he was in charge of the group, yet has no apparent loyalty or respect to the government, military or Section 9.

Ghost Whisperer: The Complete First Season: Jennifer Love Hewitt doesn't just see dead people, she converses with them in this supernatural drama. Earth bound spirits who have yet to cross over to the other side seek out Melinda Gordon (Hewitt) for help in communicating and resolving unfinished business with the living, much to her consternation. As a newlywed to a paramedic (David Conrad) and a partner in an antique store wither her friend Andrea (Aisha Tyler), she's ambivalent about her talent but embraces her unique "abilities" -- at times a blessing, at others a curse -- and helps clients both alive or dead find emotional closure. Details: Color, 960 mins, Paramount, Widescreen anamorphic. Supplements: 22 episodes from the 2005-2006 season on 6 discs; Commentary by cast and crew on select episodes; "Can You See Me? The First Season of Ghost Whisperer" featurette; "Second Sight: The Clairvoyants of Ghost Whisperer" featurette; A Tour of Grandview; Ghost Whisperer Mythology; Scare Tactics; Deleted Scenes; Blooper Reel. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional English subtitles.

Hardcastle & Mccormick: Season 1: Milton C. Hardcastle was Judge in Los Angeles. Mark McCormick, a racing motorist, convicted for robbery, was Hardcastles last case. McCormick was set under supervision of Hardcastle and they start to inspect two hundred cases that were never closed totally during Miltons judgeship.

Heartstopper: Robert Englund plays the good guy for a change in the horror film about an executed serial killer (James Binkley) who rises to life in the hospital morgue and continues his rampage. Meredith Henderson, Nathan Stephenson, and James Binkley co-star. Details: Color, 92 mins, Union Station/Anchor Bay, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.78:1. Supplements: Interviews with star Robert Englund and director Bob Keen. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional subtitles.

Irving Klaw Classics Vol 1:Bettie Pag: (1951-1956) A box set of classic exotic dance, fetish, strip, and bondage loops made by mail-order nudie king Irving Klaw, collected in four volumes organized by theme: The Bettie Page Films (16 short films starring the cult pin-up), The Wrestling Films, The Fetish Films, and The Dance Films. All accompanied by fifties lounge, jazz, rock and roll, and big band soundtracks. Details: Color/Black and White, 270 mins, Cult Epics, Academy Ratio. Supplements: 68 short films on four discs; Bonus films. Optional subtitles.

It's a Wonderful Life (60th Anniversary Edition): George Bailey has so many problems he is thinking about ending it all - and it's Christmas ! As the angels discuss George, we see his life in flashback. As George is about to jump from a bridge, he ends up rescuing his guardian angel, Clarence. Clarence then shows George what his town would have looked like if it hadn't been for all his good deeds over the years. Will Clarence be able to convince George to return to his family and forget about suicide ?

Jules Verne's the Fabulous Journey to the Center of the Earth (1978) A.K.A. Where Time Began: From the director of PIECES and SLUGS, comes WHERE TIME BEGAN based on the Jules Verne classic "Journey to the Center of the Earth". Juan Piquer Simon helms this tale of an expedition, led by Kenneth More, to the earth's core via an inactive volcano. There they discover an underground sea, giant mushrooms and prehistoric creatures.

Kids in the Hall - Complete Season 5: "The Kids in the Hall" are a sketch comedy troupe, set apart by their cross-dressing antics and seemingly infinite supply of unique characters. Although writer Paul Bellini, various extras, and sometimes even an actual woman appear in the sketches, for the most part, the five main cast members portray every single character themselves. Recurring characters range from the harried corporate executive Danny Husk to Queen Elizabeth, from alienated teen rocker Bobby Tarrance to gay bar owner Buddy Cole, from occult TV show host Simon and his sidekick Hecubus to the gossiping corporate secretaries Cathy and Kathy, and an endless parade of others.

The Kids in the Hall Megaset: "The Kids in the Hall" are a sketch comedy troupe, set apart by their cross-dressing antics and seemingly infinite supply of unique characters. Although writer Paul Bellini, various extras, and sometimes even an actual woman appear in the sketches, for the most part, the five main cast members portray every single character themselves. Recurring characters range from the harried corporate executive Danny Husk to Queen Elizabeth, from alienated teen rocker Bobby Tarrance to gay bar owner Buddy Cole, from occult TV show host Simon and his sidekick Hecubus to the gossiping corporate secretaries Cathy and Kathy, and an endless parade of others.

King Dinosaur/The Jungle: King Dinosaur - A new planet moves into our solar system and four scientists (two couples) are sent to explore Planet Nova. In between romantic interludes, the cast faces an iguana masquerading as a Tyrannosaurus Rex. The Jungle - A great white hunter and an Indian princess trek into the Indian jungle to investigate a number of wild animal stampedes which have resulted in the deaths of many people. On their journey, they discover a herd of prehistoric wooly mammoths are responsible for the terror!

Kissology, Vol. 1, 1974-1977 (2006): No Description Available

Lady Libertine: (1984) Adaptation of the anonymous Victorian erotic novel "Frank and I," starring Jennifer Inch as the cross-dressing orphan Frank (or Frances) and Christopher Pearson as the kinky nobleman who adopts him/her. Sophie Favier co-stars in the Harry Alan Towers production, which had its American debut on The Playboy Channel. Details: Color, 84 mins, Private Screenings, Academy Ratio. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono). Optional subtitles.

Macumba Sexual: (Spain, 1983) Euro-tica from exploitation legend Jess Franco and his muse Lina Romay (under the pseudonym Candy Coster), about a young wife whose erotic hallucinations become flesh when the self-proclaimed "Goddess of Unspeakable Lust" draws her and her unsuspecting husband into a kinky world of hedonism. Details: Color, 80 mins, Severin, Widescreen anamorphic, 2.35:1. Supplements: "Voodoo Jess" - Interviews with Director Jess Franco and Star Lina Romay. Audio: Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono). Optional English subtitles.

Mansion of the Living Dead: (Spain, 1985) Sexploitation meets zombie horror in Jess Franco's tale of libidinous stewardesses on vacation and undead Knights templar who rise from the dead to crash the party. Lina Romay (under the pseudonym Candy Coster), Eva Leon, and Robert Foster star. Details: Color, 93 mins, Severin, Widescreen anamorphic, 2.35:1. Supplements: "The Mansion Jess Built" - Interviews with Director Jess Franco and Star Lina Romay. Audio: Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono). Optional English subtitles.

Martin & Lewis:Vol 1: This 4 disc set includes 8 movies - My Friend Irma, My Friend Irma Goes West, That's My Boy, Sailor Beware, Jumping Jacks, The Stooge, Scared Stiff, and The Caddy.

The most beautiful wife: (Italy, 1970) Ornella Muti made her film debut in the drama of a peasant girl who is abducted and raped by the local Mafia and, after being spurned by friends and family, breaks a tradition of silence in Sicily and reports the crime to the authorities. Damiano Damiani directs the drama, which is based on a true story. Details: Color, 108 mins, NoShame, Widescreen anamorphic, 2.35:1. Supplements: Introduction by director Damiano Damiani; "Sicily, Ornella, The Mafia and Beyond" featurette - interviews with director Damiano Damiani, assistant director Mino Giarda, editor Antonio Siciliano, star Alessio Orano and director of photography Franco Di Giacomo. ; Booklet with liner notes and talent bios. Audio: Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional English subtitles.

Northville Cemetery Massacre: Mayhem starts when a gang of bikers is accused of a sadistic rape in a small town.

Parts: The Clonus Horror: Peter Graves (Mission Impossible) and Hollywood legend Keenan Wynn (Dr Strangelove) star in this dazzling political thriller, that works equally well as a pulse pounding horror film, packed with moments of jaw dropping terror. Somewhere in California is hidden a mysterious industrial complex. Apparently well known to certain priveleged members of the inner circles of government, this factory has only one product: human clones...Raised in a state of blissful ignorance, both about their origins and their ultimate fate, the clones dream of 'America' - where, so their guardians tell them, they will one day be sent. But what happens hen one of these farmed clones starts to ask difficult questions... and comes looking for the real America?

The Passing Show - The Life & Music of Ronnie Lane: This brilliant musical documentary tells the story of Ronnie Lane from his heyday with first the Small Faces and then the Faces, through the sixties and seventies, his experiments with a rural life and the touring musical circus that he dubbed The Passing Show. Finally it charts his latter days once he developed Multiple Sclerosis. Featuring numerous musical clips and interviews with family, friends and colleagues including Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Ian McLagan, Kenney Jones, Glyn Johns, Henry McCullough, Joe Ely and many more.

The Phantom of the Opera Blu-ray: "The Phantom of the Opera" is a magnificent tale that begins when an opera ghost terrorizes the cast and crew of the French Opera House while tutoring a chorus girl. He finally drives the lead soprano crazy so she and her friend leave. The girl is able to sing lead one night but the soprano doesn't want her show stolen so she comes back. The ghost demands they keep giving his protoge lead roles. Meanwhile, His pupil falls in love with the Vicomte de Chagny, but the Phantom is in love with Christine, his student. The Phantom is outraged by their love and kidnaps Christine to be his eternal bride. Will Raoul, the Vicomte, be able to stop this dastardly plan? Watch and find out

Rampo Noir: No Description Available

Raw Force/Kung Fu Cannibals: Two cannibal films to satisfy the appetite! Kung Fu Cannibals has a secluded village in China grabbing unsuspecting travellers (a la Texas Chainsaw Massacre)and carving them into edible works of art. A police inspector is sent ti investigate but finds that he too is on their menu! Directed by Hong Kong master Tsui Hark! Raw Force takes you to a remote island where the locals worship a god who needs human sacrifices. When fortune hunters turn up they find out they are worth their weight in gold. Hang on to your heads!

The SearchersBlu-ray: Working together for the 12th time, John Wayne and director John Ford forged The Searchers into an indelible image of the frontier and the men and women who challenged it. Wayne plays ex-Confederate soldier Ethan Edwards, a believer more in bullets than in words. He's seeking his niece, captured by Comanches who massacred his family. He won't surrender to hunger, thirst, the elements or loneliness. And in his obsessive, five-year quest, Ethan encounters something he didn't expect to find: his own humanity.

Speed Racer 5: (Japan, 1967-1968) Go, Speed Racer, go in the final 8 episodes of the popular animated action series about a teenage race car driver and his death defying race adventures, many of them featuring the mysterious Racer X ("who is secretly his older brother Rex, who ran away from home years ago"). Dubbed with a rapid fire delivery (to fit all that exposition in mouths that race like the cars on the track) and animated in a limited style that favors speed and violent motion, it raced into pop culture. Features episodes 45-52. Details: Color, 184 mins, Lionsgate. Supplements: Eight episodes; Miniature license plate. Optional subtitles.

Splatter: Naked Blood: A young scientist named Eiji (Sadao Abe from "Uzumaki") decides to follow in his father's footsteps to help humanity by developing a drug that converts pain into pleasure. To test it out, he secretly adds his drug to a contraceptive that his mother has been performing clinical trials on with three young women at a local clinic. Of these women, one is enamored with eating, one is obsessively narcissistic, while the third has one seious case of insomnia.

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Volume 2: (1989-1991) The Brooklyn plumbers of video game fame became TV stars in animated adventures and live action segments (featuring Captain Lou Albano as Mario and Danny Wells as Luigi) in the weekday half hour series. The second volume of episodes features appearances by Vanna White, Fred Travalena, and Rowdy Roddy Piper. Details: Color, 600 mins, Shout! Factory, Academy Ratio. Supplements: 24 episodes on four discs; 4 Bonus Animated Episodes ; "Meeting Mario: A Fan's Tale" featurette ; Super Mario Bros. Fan Costume Gallery; The Worlds of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Concept Art Galleries; Interactive Tour Of The Mario Bros. Plumbing. Optional subtitles.

Tales from the Crypt: The Complete Fifth Season: Tomb it may concern. Yes, you. No one else is reading this, right? Besides, you're the ideal person for this happily haunted collection of scares and silliness ? someone warm and bleeding. Sorry, breathing. The Cryptkeeper delivers more keepers (and terrorific Spookcial Feartures) with this atmosfearic Season 5. Ready to delight your feverishly warped mind are Forever Ambergris, with Steve Buscemi and Roger Daltrey portraying war photographers; Two for the Show, with Traci Lords, David Paymer and Vincent Spano embroiled in a tale of wife and death; Well Cooked Hams, with Martin Sheen and Billy Zane putting hocus pocus in focus as rival magicians; plus 10 more eerie encounters of fate, fiends and flat-out funniness. Lullaby and good fright, kiddies!

Tales of the Rat Fink: Pop culture chronicler Ron Mann pushes the definition of documentary with his animated portrait of hot rod and custom car culture guru Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, whose merchandising savvy made his designs and cartoons into a cottage industry. The colorful history lesson in an idiosyncratic key is entertaining and informative, if a little indulgent in its adoration. John Goodman narrates as the voice of the deceased Roth. Details: Color, 76 mins, Shout! Factory, Widescreen anamorphic. Supplements: Big Daddy Lives! - Rare interviews with Ed "Big Daddy" Roth; Rat Fink Reunion - Painting Jam with Ed Roth and Von Dutch; Big Daddy's Garage - Virtual Art Gallery; Interview with Director Ron Mann; Deleted Scene; Theatrical Trailer; The Sadies Music Video. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) and English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional subtitles.

The Tarzan Collection Starring Johnny Weissmuller, Vol. 2: The final six features in the 12-film series starring Olympic gold medal swimmer Johnny Weissmuller as the quintessential screen Tarzan. His natural athleticism, his lean, lithe grace and easy physicality, the and naiveté and sincerity of his untrained performance style made his interpretation the one the fans embraced (even if it is not the character as envisioned by creator Edgar Rice Burroughs). The series began at MGM but Weissmuller moved to RKO for Tarzan Triumphs (1943), which inaugurated a run of lower budget adventures, and he recorded a new trademark yell with the studio relocation. Jane is gone from both this and Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943), but Boy (Johnny Sheffield) and Cheetah join him in the two World War II adventures, which pit the jungle team against the Nazis in Africa. Brenda Joyce takes over the role of Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan stayed at MGM) in Tarzan and the Amazons (1945), co-starring Henry Stephenson, Barton MacLane, Maria Ouspenskaya as the Amazon Queen, and she played the part through the final films in the series: Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946), Tarzan and the Huntress (1947), and Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948), directed by Robert Florey, which marked Weissmuller's final appearance as Tarzan, though not his final role as a jungle swinger: he returned to the screen in Jungle Jim the same year, while Johnny Sheffield went on to headline his own series with Bomba the Jungle Boy. Details: Black and White, 433 mins, Warner, Academy Ratio, 1.33:1. Supplements: Box Set Includes:; Tarzan Triumphs (76 mins.); Tarzan and the Amazons (76 mins.); Tarzan and the Huntress (72 mins.); Tarzan's Desert Mystery (70 mins.); Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (72 mins.); Tarzan and the Mermaids (68 mins.). Audio: English (Dolby Digital 1.0). Optional Spanish, French and English subtitles.

Under Siege HD DVD: The battleship Missouri is about to be decomissioned. Casey Ryback is Captain Adam's personal cook. And Ryback is always butting heads with the ship's XO Commander Krill but the Captain always intercedes. One day, after the President visits the Missouri, which is also the Captain's birthday, the Captain learns that a helicopter has been cleared to land on the ship by Commander Krill, which he was not informed of. When questioned Krill tells the Captain that it's a surprise for his birthday, the Captain then allows it. Later after another one of their scuffles, Krill has Ryback locked in the freezer. During the party, the rock band reveals themselves to be mercenaries, led by William Stranix, a CIA operative, who is in league with Krill to unload all of the ship's nuclear warheads. They lock up all of the crew and make preparations to remove the warheads. And Krill remembers Ryback, Stranix sends two of his men to take care of Ryback, only thing is that Ryback took care of them. Upon discovering their bodies, Stranix deduces that Ryback is more than a cook. He then sends Krill to check on him, and Krill discovers that Ryback's a NAVY SEAL, who got busted down to a cook after an incident in Panama. And Ryback continues to create trouble for them, so Stranix tries to hunt him down. Along the way, Ryback meets Jordan, a former playmate, who was supposed to entertain at the party but was also forgotten.

Under Siege Blu-Ray: The battleship Missouri is about to be decomissioned. Casey Ryback is Captain Adam's personal cook. And Ryback is always butting heads with the ship's XO Commander Krill but the Captain always intercedes. One day, after the President visits the Missouri, which is also the Captain's birthday, the Captain learns that a helicopter has been cleared to land on the ship by Commander Krill, which he was not informed of. When questioned Krill tells the Captain that it's a surprise for his birthday, the Captain then allows it. Later after another one of their scuffles, Krill has Ryback locked in the freezer. During the party, the rock band reveals themselves to be mercenaries, led by William Stranix, a CIA operative, who is in league with Krill to unload all of the ship's nuclear warheads. They lock up all of the crew and make preparations to remove the warheads. And Krill remembers Ryback, Stranix sends two of his men to take care of Ryback, only thing is that Ryback took care of them. Upon discovering their bodies, Stranix deduces that Ryback is more than a cook. He then sends Krill to check on him, and Krill discovers that Ryback's a NAVY SEAL, who got busted down to a cook after an incident in Panama. And Ryback continues to create trouble for them, so Stranix tries to hunt him down. Along the way, Ryback meets Jordan, a former playmate, who was supposed to entertain at the party but was also forgotten.

UnforgivenBlu-Ray: The town of Big Whisky is full of normal people trying to lead quiet lives. Cowboys try to make a living. Sheriff 'Little Bill' tries to build a house and keep a heavy-handed order. The town whores just try to get by.Then a couple of cowboys cut up a whore. Unsatisfied with Bill's justice, the prostitutes put a bounty on the cowboys. The bounty attracts a young gun billing himself as 'The Schofield Kid', and aging killer William Munny. Munny reformed for his young wife, and has been raising crops and two children in peace. But his wife is gone. Farm life is hard. And Munny is no good at it. So he calls his old partner Ned, saddles his ornery nag, and rides off to kill one more time, blurring the lines between heroism and villainy, man and myth.

V for Vendetta HD DVD: "Remember, remember the fifth of November," for on this day, in 2020, the minds of the masses shall be set free. So says code-name V (Hugo Weaving), a man on a mission to shake society out of its blank complacent stares in the film V for Vendetta. His tactics, however, are a bit revolutionary, to say the least. The world in which V lives is very similar to Orwell's totalitarian dystopia in 1984: after years of various wars, England is now under "big brother" Chancellor Adam Sutler (played by John Hurt, who played Winston Smith in the movie 1984), whose party uses force and fear to run the nation. After they gained power, minorities and political dissenters were rounded up and removed; artistic and unacceptable religious works were confiscated. Cameras and microphones are littered throughout the land, and the people are perpetually sedated through the governmentally controlled media. Taking inspiration from Guy Fawkes, the 17th century co-conspirator of a failed attempt to blow up Parliament on November 5, 1605, V dons a Fawkes mask and costume and sets off to wake the masses by destroying the symbols of their oppressors, literally and figuratively. At the beginning of his vendetta, V rescues Evey (Natalie Portman) from a group of police officers and has her live with him in his underworld lair. It is through their relationship where we learn how V became V, the extremities of the party's corruption, the problems of an oppressive government, V's revenge plot, and his philosophy on how to induce change.

The Vampire & The Vampire's Coffin: The Vampireaka:El Vampiro - Described as "Dracula on a hacienda," The Vampire chronicles the journey of young Marta (Ariadna Welter) who learns that her family is under the demonic control of Count Luvad (Germán Robles). As he feeds on the blood of the locals and aims to raise his brother from the dead, Marta and the mysterious Dr. Enrique (Abel Salazar) threaten the Count. The wrath of The Vampire then reigns down upon them, and an all-time horror classic plays out with unforgettable eeriness and excitement. The Vampire's Coffinaka:El Ataúd del Vampiro - You can’t keep a wicked bloodsucker down, as proven in The Vampire's Coffin, the follow-up to The Vampire. Marta (Ariadna Welter) and Dr. Enrique (Abel Salazar) battle Count Luvad (Germán Robles) anew, after he has turned the grave-robbers who accidentally resurrected him into zombie servants. Bent on vengeance and clamoring for the blood of beautiful women, Count Luvad proves to be one of horror’s most indelible villains, and The Vampire’s Coffin is a spooky, thrilling classic every bit on par with its renowned predecessor.

Van Morrison - Live At Montreux 1980 & 1974: Van Morrison's long and illustrious career has included many appearances at the Montreux Festival. This two DVD set focuses on two performances that have been chosen by Van to create his first ever DVD release. Dating from 1974 and 1980 they illustrate the evolution of his songwriting over this period and include many of his best loved tracks including "Wavelength", "Moondance", "Street Choir" and "Tupelo Honey" alongside other classics.

Western Double Feature: The Lonesome Trail - A veteran of the Indian wars, Johhny Rush returns to his home to find that it has been confiscated by a cattle baron taking over in the valley. Rush also finds that his girl is engaged to the baron, because the girl's fathers' ranch is in financial jeopardy. When Rush loses the use of his gun arm in a fight with the barons henchmen, he learns to use a bow and arrow for defense...with deadly consequences. The Sheriff - A frontier marshal doubts his own courage when three gunmen threaten his town.

Keeping Up with the Steins: Lucky is the story of a 13-year-old boy who uses his upcoming bar mitzvah to reconcile the strained relationship between his father and grandfather.

Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America: An outbreak of avian flu mutates into a virus that becomes transmittable from human to human.

Fast Food: Stars Douglas Henshall, Emily Woof and Gerard Butler. Shot in 16mm, this kinetically charged indie is highlighted by an early screen appearance of sexy, young Gerard Butler. Fast Food is an offbeat story of a simple man on a collision course with his past. Benny (Douglas Henshall) is back. He’s come home to visit the friends he knew, to find the girl he once loved and become the man he might have been. In the years he’s been gone things have changed quite a bit. His boyhood friends Zac (Robert Donovan), Jacko (Gerard Butler), Bisto (Danny Midwinter) and Flea (Stephen Lord) are now big talking, wannabe criminals who spend their days playing cards, arguing about the Royal Family and eating repellent fast food. But they’ve also been plotting to rob a local mobster’s safe. And that robbery has come to include Benny.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawntreader: Young Prince Caspian of Narnia wonders and dreams about the old days of Narnia when animals talked, and there were mythical creatures and four rulers in Caer Paravel. But his uncle and aunt don't like to hear him thinking of such things, and plan to murder him and take his throne. Caspian's tutor, Dr. Cornelius manages to save him, and not only teach him about the old ways, but bring him into the real Narnia and introduce him to the real Narnia. But Caspian's plight is desperate, and he must use the legendary horn to call help from another world: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy.

Isabella: On the eve of Macau's handover to China, police officer Shing is having the worst time of his life. Suspended for suspected corruption, he tries to find solace with an elfin creature by the name of Yan, whom he just picks up. As he tries to smooth-talk her to bed, she suddenly snaps back with the biggest turn-off imaginable: that she is the daughter he never knew existed!While Shing desperately tries to hold himself together, his bachelor life inevitably falls apart as Yan insists on living under his roof. Together the two of them start roaming through exotic Macau, tracking down Yan's missing puppy and striving to acquaint with each other. No sooner has Shing grown into his new role as a father than he finds his hands full: when Yan is not fighting with his girlfriend Kate, she is being bothered by her dorky classmate Fai.

Don't Open Your Eyes: (Hong Kong) A police detective (Alex Fong) and a supernatural expert (Yuen Wah of Kung Fu Hustle) team up to battle a group of evil ghosts in the Wong Jing production. Details: Color, 94 mins, Tai Seng, Widescreen anamorphic. Supplements: "Making of" featurette; Trailer. Audio: Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1) and Mandarin (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional) and English subtitles.

The Trouble Makers: (Hong Kong) Romantic comedy starring Maggie Q and Terence Yin as bickering neighbors who become something more when a prank backfires and sends her into a breakdown and turns him into her attentive care-giver. Aman Chang directs. Details: Color, 85 mins, Tai Seng, Widescreen anamorphic. Audio: Cantonese and Mandarin. Optional Chinese (Unspecified) and English subtitles.

The Red Shoes: A mysterious pair of pink shoes found on a subway platform seems to bring a curse on the owner. Those that see them must have them and a grisly end awaits those that forcibly take them. A mother, who has just left her cheating husband, finds them and ghostly apparitions and strange occurrences follow her as she tries to make a go of it with her young daughter. A helpful decorator helps her solve the mystery and put the ghosts to rest. Or does he?

Another Way: Acclaimed Hungarian director Karoly Makk (LOVE, CATSPLAY) directs a startling romantic drama set against the aftermath of the failed Hungarian uprising of 1956. Livia, the quiet wife of an army officer, is a reporter for a Budapest newspaper where Eva, an outspoken lesbian, comes to work after two years of politically motivated unemployment. Eva and Livia engage in an intense flirtation, which leads to tragic consequences. Makk, a master at portraying complex relationship with socio-political undertones, based his film on a best-selling autobiographical novel by Hungarian author Erzsebet Galgoczi.

The Wait: THE WAIT tells the story of three intertwined lives: a mother, her daughter and their neighbor. Their dependent coexistence is driven by lonlinesss and a yearning for genuine affection, but the happiness they pursue cannot be obtained because of the price life exacts. Director Aldo Garay’s masterful mise-en-scene and painterly eye together to create a film with a power that goes beyond words.

White Soup -- Zurek: The award-winning and highly acclaimed story of a woman's struggle to discover the identity of her grandchild's father. The grandmother (played by Katarzyna Figura) becomes obsessed with discovering the identity of the man who fathered her daughter's child.

Vabank II: A sequel to "Vabank" (1981), introduces the same characters entangled in a duel between a former safecracker and a crooked bank manager. Imprisoned ex-banker Kramer breaks out with the help of recently released accomplice and wants to get even with his nemezis, Kwinto. Kwinto calls up the old gang to respond to this threat. In the end, Kramer seemingly victorious heads to Switzerland by a prearranged flight to Zurich. First, however, they have to cross the German border. They bribe the Nazi border guards, board the plane and land in what they think is Switzerland, only to find out that the film-team has outwitted them with sets and actors and the police is waiting for them.

Terrorstorm: A History of Government Sponsored Terrorism: From Good Morning America, 20/20, and 60 Minutes to The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, controversial talk show host and activist Alex Jones has brought the information war to the mainstream media worldwide. Now, Jones is back with a chronicle of the startling actions Western governments don't want their citizens to know about in TERRORSTORM.

Investigation of a Flame: On May 17, 1968, three Catholic priests, a nurse, an artist and four others walked into the Catonsville, Maryland draft board office, grabbed selective service records, and burned them with homemade napalm. INVESTIGATION OF A FLAME is an intimate look at this unlikely band - dubbed the Catonsville Nine - who broke the law in a poetic act of civil disobedience. The publicity frmo their ensuing trial helped galvanize an American public that was become increasingly disillusioned with the Vietnam War. The film explores this Sixties protest within the context of these extremely different times: times in which foes of Middle East peace, abortion, and technology resort to violence to access the public imagination. Lynne Sachs has combined volatile, long-unseen, archival footage with a series of informal interviews with Daniel and Philip Berrigan, Howard Zinn, John Hogan, Tom Lewis, and Marjorie and Tom Melville. The meditative result encourages viewers to ponder the contemporary relevance of civil disobedience, and the implications of personal sacrifice for the greater good.

The Thursday Club: In October 1967, documentary filmmaker George Paul Csicsery was beaten by police at an antiwar demonstration in Oakland, California. Thirty years later, he set out to find the policemen who were working that day. His only clue–a startling news photograph of himself begin clubbed by stern-faced cops. Take a trip back to America’s turbulent 1960s as Csicsery visits a group of retired Oakland, California, policemen, who recall their days battling antiwar demonstrators and Black Panthers

Hungry for Monsters: This gripping documentary captures the nightmare that one family endured after being persecuted by the mental health community and legal system.When a teenage girl confesses to a teacher that her father molested her, the entire household is turned upside down. During therapy sessions to recover her "repressed memories," the daughter exaggerates and embellishes her accusations as social workers, therapists, and officers of the court inadvertently egg her on. The girl’s tales of satanic rituals and wild orgies eventually lead to further arrests of family members, resulting in years of turmoil and heartache for all of them. As harrowing as any Hitchcock thriller, HUNGRY FOR MONSTERS warns of the damage that can occur when seemingly responsible professionals are overtaken by the zeal of a lynch-mob mentality.

Indoctrination: From his work in the fiction mode to documentary to installation, German filmmaker Harun Farocki (VIDEOGRAMS OF A REVOLUTION) has consistently explored ideas of language, ideology, perception, and contemporary audio-visual culture. In INDOCTRINATION Farocki recorded a five-day seminar designed to teach management executives how to better present themselves using basic rules of dialectics and rhetoric. Throughout the seminar, a group of young professionals learn verbal skills so they can "sell themselves" better; then they are trained in body language, posture, and facial expression. Using no titles, talking heads, narration, or other conventions of documentary, Farocki manages to expose how big business uses psychology and principles of rhetoric to sell ideas and products. The result is a window into the secret world of corporate behavior, marketing manipulation, and ultimately modern capitalism.

The Interview: From his work in the fiction mode to documentary to installation, German filmmaker Harun Farocki (VIDEOGRAMS OF A REVOLUTION) has consistently explored ideas of language, ideology, perception, and contemporary audio-visual culture.Everyone has experienced the stress of interviewing for a job; many have endured the strain of being unemployed. In this unique documentary, Farocki draws on the anxiety of unemployment as he follows the efforts of several candidates who take part in a training program designed to teach them how to apply for a job. The goal is to learn how to market and sell themselves, a goal that Farocki exposes as demeaning and superficial. An insightful look at the manipulative tactics of big business, THE INTERVIEW is as thought-provoking as it is revealing.

The Exodus Decoded (History Channel): Exodus Decoded is a documentary created by Jewish Canadian filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici, in which new evidence in favor of the historicity of the Biblical Exodus is explored. It is partially narrated by film director James Cameron. Jacobovici suggests that the Exodus took place around 1500 BCE during the reign of pharaoh Ahmose I, and coincided with the eruption of Santorini that most scholars believe ended the Minoan civilization. In the documentary, the plagues that ravished Egypt in the Bible are explained as having resulted from that volcanic eruption, and a related collapse in the Nile river delta. While much of Jacobovici's archaeological evidence for the Exodus comes from Egypt, a surprising quantity comes from Mycenae, on mainland Greece.

The History Channel: Warrior Empire - The Mughals: WARRIOR EMPIRE: THE MUGHALS is a sweeping, in-depth portrait of India's most colorful, violent, and majestic era. From 1526 to 1858, this dynasty of nomadic warriors indulged their appetite for territorial expansion, spreading their rule throughout the Indian subcontinent. Though they conquered their kingdom with crushing brutality, the Mughals were also brilliant technological innovators and masters of art and architecture. This program offers lush, detailed images of Mughal accomplishments such as the glorious Taj Mahal, palaces, forts, water systems, elaborate gardens, and richly crafted artwork. Step-by-step scientific recreations of advanced Mughal metallurgy and weaponry show the meticulous production of chain mail armor for a battalion of elephants, lethally flexible composite bows, rocketry, and swordsmith techniques passed down through the generations, and still alive today. Join us for an enthralling history of the inventive warfare, material excess, architectural marvels, and cultural flowering that shaped modern India. DVD Features: Interactive Menus; Scene Selection

Vikings: Journey To the New Worlds: Documentary on the Vikings, originally made for the IMAX format. Details: Color, 62 mins, Vista Point Entertainment, widescreen. Supplements: "The Making of Vikings" featurette. Audio: English, Spanish and French. Optional subtitles.

The Making of "Miss Saigon": A behind-the-scenes look at the production of a musical, this feature chronicles the development of "Miss Saigon," from its early beginnings, through casting, preparations, choreography to its opening night on The West End.

Hard Rock Treasures: An iconic guitar, an unmistakable stage prop, a hand written lyric Sheet… The next great piece of rock and roll memorabilia is out there, it just hasn't been discovered yet. Join host Don Bernstine in a high pressure, deadline driven search for that next great addition to the most extensive rock memorabilia collection on the planet. As the Director of Acquisitions for the Hard Rock, Bernstine is the king of rock and roll memorabilia, personally responsible for procuring and maintaining this priceless treasure-trove of rock and roll riches. Travel along as Don criss-crosses the globe searching the tour buses, studios, homes and garages of the biggest names in the world of rock and roll. For the first time, HARD ROCK TREAURES gives back stage access into the high stakes world of high-end rock and roll memorabilia collecting.

The Last Detective - Series 2: (2004) Peter Davison is Detective Constable "Dangerous" Davies, a quiet, honorable guy who is the scorn of his precinct and "the last detective" his boss will ever hand a major case, in this low-key British mystery series adapted from the novels by Leslie Thomas. He manages to dig up interesting cases anyway, not that solving them does him any good in the eyes of this superiors. The only help he can count on is his eccentric buddy Mod (Sean Hughes), who's got a new line of work in every episode. Details: Color, 276 mins, Acorn, Widescreen anamorphic. Supplements: 4 feature length episodes on 2 discs; Leslie Thomas bio and booklist; Photo gallery; Cast filmographies. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional subtitles.

A Touch of Frost - Seasons 11 & 12: Another Life: Frost returns after his suspension and is faced with a complex murder case. While one victim is leading a double life, another dismembered body turns up with two left feet and one of them isn't his! Frost will need all the help he can to crack these baffling cases. Dancing in the Dark: A man's body is discovered at a recycling plant with no ID, save a gold tooth. Frost ivestigates but can't seem to match him to any missing people. Next, the body of a female escort is found in the hotel room of a wealthy man who commits suicide prior to his arrest. Frost tries to find the link between forged passports and illegal immigrants from Poland. Near Death Experience: Sergeant George Toolan is seriously injured as he and Jack try to prevent a young man's suicide attempt. A ritualistic murder echoes a previous case and when another woman is murdered, it seems as if it's a direct challenge to Frost. The serial killer covers his tracks, but Frost finds a mistake that leads to vital information about the murderer's next move...and his next victim.

George Burns - The TV Specials Collection: George Burns was a legendary comedian and actor and arguably the greatest straight man of the 20th century. He started his career in vaudeville, and later made a successful transition to film, radio and television, when he formed the Burns and Allen duo with talented comedian and future wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and his cigar smoking became his trademarks in an illustrious career that spanned over three-quarters of a century. With his passing at the age of 100 in 1996, George Burns solidified himself as one of the grand old men of American show business. This collector’s DVD set preserves his most memorable TV specials – never before available on DVD or VHS - and features many of the greatest names in entertainment.

The Films of James Broughton: For the first time on DVD, the best films of avant-garde pioneer James Broughton have been assembled for this magnificent three-disc set. A poet, author, and filmmaker, Broughton, who was christened the "great and wise master of the American avant-garde" by critic Amos Vogel, attempted to use cinema as kind of poetic statement. He took as his subject matter love, sex, the human body, and dream imagery, rendered with a playful, whimsical, and sometimes erotic touch. Featuring such seminal titles as MOTHER’S DAY (1948), DREAMWOOD (1972), and TESTAMENT(1974), this three-disc set organizes 17 of Broughton’s films into three distinct eras to capture the breadth and evolution of his themes and subject matter. Disc 1: THE EARLY YEARS Disc 1: THE EARLY YEARSBroughton’s first films focused on the themes of romantic love and human behavior. A highlight in this collection includes THE PLEASURE GARDEN, which was named Best Fantastic-Poetic Film at the Cannes Film Festival. This group of black and white shorts include: MOTHER’S DAY(1948), LOONY TOM (1951), FOUR IN THE AFTERNOON (1951), and THE PLEASURE GARDEN (1953). Disc 2: A MIDDLE PERIOD During the 1960s and 1970s, Broughton’s imagery became more erotic while his subject matter explored the landscape of dream and the mysteries of Zen poetry. A highlight in this collection is TESTAMENT, a self-portrait that depicts Broughton’s life as a pageant of personal imagery. This group of color films include: THE BED (1968), THE GOLDEN POSITIONS(1970), This Is It (1971), DREAMWOOD (1972), HIGH KUKUS (1973), TESTAMENT (1974), THE WATER CIRCLE (1975), and EROGENY.Disc 3: FINALE: THE FILMS WITH JOEL SINGER In the last era of his life and career, Broughton teamed with partner Joel Singer to produce a series of films on the nature of intimacy and personal relationships. Films include: SONGS OF THE GODBOY (1977), HERMES BIRD (1979), THE GARDENER OF EDEN (1981), DEVOTIONS (1983), and SCATTERED REMAINS (1988), a portrait of Broughton by Singer in which the artist acts out his poetry.

Westerns with a Twist (Apaches / Chingachgook - The Great Snake / The Sons of the Great Bear): (1965-1973, East Germany) Three films from the sixties wave of "Indianerfilme," westerns of East Germany during the Communist era which cast the American Indians as the heroes and the American Army and white settlers as villains. The Sons of Great Bear (1965), Chingachgook: The Great Snake (1967), and Apaches (1973) all star Serbian actor/stuntman/screenwriter Gojko Mitic. See Cult and Classic for details on each film. Details: Color, 273 mins, First Run Features. Supplements: Interview with actor Gojko Mitic; Film notes from the DEFA Film Library; Photo Gallery; Biographies. Audio: English. Optional English subtitles.

The Hitchhiker, Vol. 3: A series of mystery-thriller stories, linked only by the character of The Hitchhiker, who would introduce and close each episode in the style of Rod Serling or Alfred Hitchcock. Occasional stories involved supernatural forces, but most plot twists stemmed only from the dark side of the human spirit.

BBC Atlas of the Natural World - Western Hemisphere and Anarctica (Land of the Eagle / Spirits of the Jaguar / Wild South America / Life in the Freezer): The first release in BBC Video's ambitious Atlas of the Natural World series presents an in-depth look at the Western Hemisphere and Antarctica. This six-disc set brings together four landmark BBC series that combine to give one of the most comprehensive portraits of the Americas and Antarctica ever assembled. In over 18 hours of programming viewers will explore the vast richness of the land, wildlife and peoples of North America (Land of the Eagle), Central America (Spirits of the Jaguar) South America (Wild South America) and Antarctica (Life in the Freezer).

Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting: Two narrators, one seen and one unseen, discuss possible connections between a series of paintings. The on-screen narrator walks through three-dimensional reproductions of each painting, featuring real people, sometimes moving, in an effort to explain the series' significance.

Hamlet: Considered by many the finest screen adaptation of Shakespeare’s greatest work, Grigori Kozintsev’s HAMLET is a spare, haunting interpretation based on a translation by novelist Boris Pasternak. The malevolence afoot in the state of Denmark is magnificently captured by the foreboding black and white cinematography and the dark, dramatic score by composer Dmitri Shostakovich. In addition, acclaimed Russian actors Innokenti Smoktunovsky and Anastasia Vertinskaya offer stellar, award-winning performances. Kozintsev, a peer of Eisenstein’s who worked well into the 1960s, was a master of cinematic technique who finally achieved recognition at the end of his career for his stunning interpretations of Shakespeare. Leading film historian Richard Dyer wrote in the Boston Globe: "Paradoxically, the two most powerful films of Shakespeare plays [HAMLET and KING LEAR] were made not in Great Britain but in the Soviet Union."

Savior of the Soul II: (Hong Kong, 1992) Andy Lau is the only link this oddball super-hero/spy fantasy has to the original Savior of the Soul, this time as a single dad living in a high tech playhouse with his son and his gadget-man until he's off to battle The King of Hell for the secret of immortality. Directors Corey Yuen and David Lai fill the film with strange cartoonish gags and wild action. Details: Color, 93 mins, Tai Seng, widescreen. Audio: Cantonese and Mandarin. Optional Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional) and English subtitles.

Who Wants to Kill Jessie?: BIFF! POW!! KRAACKK!!! In this trippy but charming comedy, a well-respected scientist creates a formula that can remove elements from dreams. But, what she doesn't know is that these dream images can manifest themselves in the real world. When she injects her husband with the formula, his dreams of Jessie—the blonde, voluptuous heroine of the comic strip "Who Wants to Kill Jessie?"—come crashing into their lives. Following closely behind are the two men chasing her—a muscle-bound superhero and a gun-toting cowboy. The trio not only causes serious damage around Prague, but they still talk in comic-strip word balloons, which get in everyone’s way! WHO WANTS TO KILL JESSIE? mixes up Sixties pop culture with the anarchic spirit of Czech New Wave classics such as DAISIES and LEMONADE JOE to create a hilarious comic Molotov cocktail!

Whoever Says the Truth Shall Die: In 1975, controversial Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini (ACCATONE,THE DECAMERON, SALO) was brutally murdered by Pino the Frog, a seventeen year-old male prostitute who claimed self-defense. Pasolini, an avowed Marxist and open homosexual as well as an outspoken critic of Italy’s consumer culture and rampant political corruption, was admired by artists and intellectuals but reviled by conservative authorities. Documentary filmmaker Philo Bregstein probes the mysterious circumstances surrounding Pasolini’s death to suggest a possible cover-up or conspiracy by right-wing groups. Interviews with Pasolini’s peers and associates, including director Bernardo Bertolucci, actress Laura Betti, and writer Alberto Moravia, put the controversial filmmaker’s life and career into perspective, along with photos, readings of his poetry, and clips from these films

The Sons of the Great Bear: (East Germany, 1965) Gojko Mitic plays Tokei-ihto, son of the Dakota Indian murdered by white settlers who discover gold on tribal lands. Jailed for refusing to move the tribe (who are resettled in his absence), he returns to reclaim his clan's ancestral lands and avenge his father's murder. The East German "Indianerfilme," one of fourteen such films featuring American Indian heroes. This one was filmed in Montenegro and East Germany. Details: Color, 93 mins, First Run Features. Supplements: Interview with actor Gojko Mitic; Film notes from the DEFA Film Library; Photo Gallery; Biographies. Audio: German. Optional English subtitles.

Chingachgook - The Great Snake: (East Germany, 1967) Gojko Mitic is Chingachgook, the Indian warrior, in an adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's novel "The Deerslayer." When the French and English pit rival tribes against each other in the battle for land, Chingachgook and his friend Deerslayer (Rolf Romer) unite them. Filmed in Slovakia and Bulgaria. Details: Color, 86 mins, First Run Features. Supplements: Interview with actor Gojko Mitic; Film notes from the DEFA Film Library; Photo Gallery; Biographies. Audio: German. Optional English subtitles.

Apaches: (East Germany, 1973) East German "Indianerfilme" set in the eve of the Mexican-American war and starring Gojko Mitic as young Apache warrior out to avenge the extermination of his tribe. Filmed in Romania and Uzbekistan. Details: Color, 94 mins, First Run Features. Supplements: Interview with actor Gojko Mitic; Film notes from the DEFA Film Library; Photo Gallery; Biographies. Audio: German. Optional English subtitles.

Western Film Noir, Vol. 1 (Little Big Horn / Rimfire): Double feature low budget westerns with a dark tinge. Lloyd Bridges and John Ireland star in Little Big Horn (1951), about a cavalry patrol that discovers an ambush awaiting General George Custer. Marie Windsor, Reed Hadley, Jim Davis, and Hugh O'Brian co-star in the film written and directed by Charles Marquis Warren. Rimfire (1949) is a revenge thriller about an unjustly convicted and executed man who returns from the grave, starring James Milligan and Reed Hadley. Details: Black and White, 150 mins, VCI, Academy Ratio. Supplements: Robert L. Lippert, Sr. Biography, Filmography, Theatreography; Rimfire Liner notes; Little Big Horn trailer; Advertising and stills gallery; Trivia; Bonus trailers; Bios. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono). Optional subtitles.

Forgotten Noir 2 (Loan Shark / Arson Inc): Double feature of B-movie crime films, both making their DVD debut. George Raft headlines Loan Shark (1952) as an ex-con who takes on a loan-sharking mob. Robert Lowery is an undercover FBI agent out to douse a ruthless arson ring in Arson Inc. (1949). Details: Black and White, 137 mins, VCI, Academy Ratio. Supplements: Commentary on Loan Shark by Richard M. Roberts; "Inside Lippert - Part 1: 1907-1949)" as told to Robert L. Lippert Jr.; Bios; Photo gallery; Trivia; Trailers. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono). Optional subtitles.

Forgotten Noir 3 (Shadow Man / Shoot to Kill): Double feature of B-movie crime films. Cesar Romero is a saloon owner who falls for the neglected wife (Kay Kendall) of a gambler in Shadow Man (1953), and winds up caught in a murder investigation. This is the British cut of the American film and runs 7 minutes longer than the American cut. A crooked D.A. and an escaped killer go head to head in Shoot to Kill (1947), starring Russell Wade and Susan Walters. Details: Black and White, 143 mins, VCI, Academy Ratio. Supplements: "Inside Lippert - Part 2: 1950-1976)" as told to Robert L. Lippert Jr.; Shoot to Kill production records (schedule, wardrobe plot, contracts, sample script pages with director's notes); Advertising materials gallery; Bios; Trailers. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono). Optional subtitles.

The Human Factor: John Kinsdale (Academy Award winner George Kennedy, Cool Hand Luke, The Dirty Dozen) is a devout family man working as a NATO computer specialist in Naples, Italy. When political terrorists kill his entire family, John uses his technological prowess to track and hunt down the cold-blooded killers. Trying to prevent him from taking the law into his own hands are a local police inspector (Raf Vallone), a U.S. military commander (Arthur Franz), and peers MacAllister (Sir John Mills) and Janice (Rita Tushingham). But nothing short can prevent John from meting out his bloody brand of grief-stricken revenge. Directed by Edward Dmytyk (The Caine Mutiny, Mirage) and featuring a haunting soundtrack by legendary composer Ennio Morricone, The Human Factor is the violent but emotional saga of an ordinary man pushed beyond the limits.

Black Venus: Based On The Scandalous Story By Honore de Balzac...Only Far, Far Filthier! Former Miss Bahamas Josephine Jacqueline Jones sparked an international firestorm with her debut starring role as Venus, the stunning ebony seductress whom no man - or woman - can possibly resist. But when Venus becomes the muse and lover of an impoverished young sculptor, she succumbs to a staggering odyssey of savage rape, Sapphic lust and extreme carnal degradation. In a Victorian society ruled by sexual repression and personal perversion, will the touch of her flesh lead them to the most depraved and shocking act of all? Karin Schubert (BLUEBEARD, BLACK EMANUELLE), Monique Gabrielle (BACHELOR PARTY, CHAINED HEAT) and Mandy Rice-Davies (the real-life teen temptress who almost brought down the British government) co-star in this infamous erotic classic now presented totally uncut and uncensored for the first time ever on DVD!

Movie Bad Girls (Sins of Jezebel / Queen of the Amazons): Double feature of low-budget screen sirens. Paulette Goddard stars in the Biblical sin spectacle Sins of Jezebel (1953). Patricia Morrison and Robert Lowery star in the jungle adventure Queen of the Amazons (1947). Details: Color/Black and White, 128 mins, VCI, Widescreen anamorphic, Academy Ratio, 1.85:1. Supplements: Article written by Robert L. Lippert Jr.; Biography of Robert L. Lippert Jr.; Bios; Photo gallery; Trivia; Trailers. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono). Optional subtitles.

Schramm: (Germany, 1993) Thriller about real life serial killer Lothar Schramm, the notorious "Lipstick Killer," by Germany's notorious extreme sex and gore director Jorg Buttgereit. Details: Color, 65 mins, Barrel Entertainment, Academy Ratio. Supplements: Commentary by director Jorg Buttgereit; Commentary by actors Florian Koerner von Gustorf and Monika M.; "The Making of Schramm" featurette; Early Jorg Buttgereit Super 8 shorts "Mein Papi" and "Captain Berlin"; Music video directed by Jorg Buttgereit; Still gallery of over 100 photos; Trailers of Jorg Buttgereit films; Liner notes by Jorg Buttgereit and his biographer, David Kerekes. Audio: German (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) and German (Dolby Digital 1.0). Optional English subtitles.

Red Nights of the Gestapo: (Italy, 1977) Fabio De Agostini directs this entry into the most notorious of exploitation genres: the Nazi sexploitation thriller. Details: Color, 103 mins, Exploitation Digital/Media Blasters, widescreen, 1.85:1. Supplements: Photo gallery; Bonus trailers. Audio: Italian. Optional English subtitles.

Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom: Three new students at a super-strict girl's school must face off with a repressive school administration, the sadistic, murderous student discipline brigade and corrupt politicians over the murder/suicide of one of their friends. They're approached by a blackmailer (Tsunehiko Watase) who promises to help them exact vengeance in exchange for setting up a corrupt local politician, and aided by a independent Yakuza biker chick (Reiko Ike).

Girl Boss Guerilla: Miko Sugimoto is the leader of the Red Helmet Gang, a biker girl gang from Shinjuku who wind up in Kyoto and make a bid to take over the local girl gangs there. Successful for a short time in ruling the streets it isn't long before Miko and her crew run afoul of the local Yakuza, and are forced to turn to Reiko Ike, a ronin Yakuza girl, and sister to one of the top Yakuza in Kyoto, for help, leading to a murderous showdown at a small coastal resort.

Sunday, October 29, 2006

TTT: The Complete Recordings Review - Xoanon @ 22:13 PST
From soundtrack.net: Last year, we were treated with a monumental soundtrack release - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - The Complete Recordings. This four-disc box set included nearly every note of music from the Oscar-winning film score by Howard Shore, and now - nearly one year later - we are finally able to look at the next release in the series: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - The Complete Recordings.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the middle film in the trilogy, has the narrowest scope of the three, given the journey of the ring in Fellowship of the Ring and the epic battles of Return of the King. Focusing on two elements - the Ring's journey toward Mordor and the battle for Rohan - The Two Towers also has a very focused score, tonally and thematically. A large number of minor themes and motifs permeate the score and the trilogy, but the major theme featured in this film is for Rohan. One of my favorite cues from this film is the opening cue, here heard in "Glamdring", which tells the story of Galdalf's battle with the Balrog. It sets a dark, grim tone that is a far cry from the bouncy Shire theme that opened The Fellowship of the Ring. Building into an epic cue with a pulsing male choir that ends the cue solo, it sets up the darker elements of the film perfectly. [More]

Pre-Order 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - The Complete Recordings' on Amazon.com today!

Order 'The Lord of the Rings: The The Fellowship of the Ring - The Complete Recordings' on Amazon.com today!

Saturday, October 28, 2006

'The Marvellous Land of Snergs' Reissue - Xoanon @ 11:33 PST
Turgon writes: The book that inspired The Hobbit, The Marvellous Land of Snergs by E. A. Wyke-Smith, has just been reissued in an inexpensive facsimile edition published by Dover books (ISBN 0486452557), priced $9.95. For more information on the Tolkien connections, see my previous column and a follow-up interview with the author's grandson, Charles Wyke-Smith.

Order 'The Marvellous Land of Snergs' on Amazon.com today!