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Roy Orbison - A Black & White Night (DTS)

Actors: Roy Orbison, Jackson Browne, T-Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello, k.d. lang
ASIN : B0000203YR
Sales Rank : 7883
Director : Tony Mitchell
Studio : Image Entertainment
Region Code : 0
Format : AC-3, Black & White, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD-Video, Live, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0014381882629
UPC : 014381882629
Release Date : December 09, 1999
Publisher : Image Entertainment
Manufacturer : Image Entertainment
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Image Entertainment
Running Time : 64

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Filmed in black and white against the streamlined art deco stage of the since-demolished Coconut Grove in downtown Los Angeles, the concert is buoyed by a remarkable cast of A-list Orbison fans who signed on as his accompanists. Under the direction of producer T-Bone Burnett, the stage band thus includes Jackson Browne, Burnett, Elvis Costello, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, J.D. Souther, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, and Jennifer Warnes, along with the rhythm section from Elvis Presley's fabled late '60s and early '70s touring band. That astonishing lineup is all the more noteworthy for the restraint with which they collaborate--it's evident that those superstars came to honor Orbison, not upstage him, resulting in a gratifying cohesion to the performances.

Orbison himself sounds as powerful as ever, his soaring falsetto cresting as dramatically as it did on the studio versions of the hits that inevitably dominate. Those songs meanwhile confirm that his blue chip admiration society came as much for the caliber of his writing as for his ravishing voice: if he remains best known for the jaunty come-on of "Pretty Woman," Orbison was first and foremost a rock balladeer, capable of bringing lumps to our throats with such classics as "Crying" and "Only the Lonely," or conjuring romantic trances through such gentle charmers as "Dream Baby." On this night, he handled all of them with fervor and finesse. --Sam Sutherland

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Few early rockers were more gifted or less honored in their prime than the late Roy Orbison, whose vaulting tenor and vulnerable love songs conjured heartbreak and desire with operatic intensity. This 1987 concert special, originally broadcast on Showtime, came two decades after Orbison had retreated from pop's front lines, yet neither Orbison nor his music coasts on mere nostalgia: in every respect, A Black and White Night survives as a triumphant performance and a superb video production, as well as a first-rate retrospective of Orbison's hits.

Filmed in black and white against the streamlined art deco stage of the since-demolished Coconut Grove in downtown Los Angeles, the concert is buoyed by a remarkable cast of A-list Orbison fans who signed on as his accompanists. Under the direction of producer T-Bone Burnett, the stage band thus includes Jackson Browne, Burnett, Elvis Costello, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, J.D. Souther, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, and Jennifer Warnes, along with the rhythm section from Elvis Presley's fabled late '60s and early '70s touring band. That astonishing lineup is all the more noteworthy for the restraint with which they collaborate--it's evident that those superstars came to honor Orbison, not upstage him, resulting in a gratifying cohesion to the performances.

Orbison himself sounds as powerful as ever, his soaring falsetto cresting as dramatically as it did on the studio versions of the hits that inevitably dominate. Those songs meanwhile confirm that his blue chip admiration society came as much for the caliber of his writing as for his ravishing voice: if he remains best known for the jaunty come-on of "Pretty Woman," Orbison was first and foremost a rock balladeer, capable of bringing lumps to our throats with such classics as "Crying" and "Only the Lonely," or conjuring romantic trances through such gentle charmers as "Dream Baby." On this night, he handled all of them with fervor and finesse. --Sam Sutherland

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The History Channel Presents The Crusades - Crescent & The Cross

Actor: Crusades-Cresent & the Cross
ASIN : B000BB1520
Sales Rank : 1772
Studio : A&E Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780767086530
ISBN : 0767086538
UPC : 733961736113
Release Date : December 26, 2005
Publisher : A&E Home Video
Manufacturer : A&E Home Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : A&E Home Video
Running Time : 180

Description

THE CRUSADES: CRESCENT & THE CROSS presents the epic battle between two Middle Age superpowers: the Christian Crusaders and the Muslims. Fought over two centuries, the conflict decided the fate of the Holy Land of the Middle East. Only a tiny strip of land, just a few hundred miles long, it contained the ultimate prize, the city of Jerusalem. The documentary is driven by the key personalities of the First, Second and Third Crusades, the popes, kings, sultans and knights who, in the name of God, ruthlessly fought for land and power. Experience the murder, treachery, and bloodshed of this legendary chapter of history throuth the eyes of key historical figures such as Richard the Lionheart and Saladin, King Louis VII and Nur al-Din. With breath-taking CGI-enhanced visuals, heart-pounding reenactments, and stunning footage from rarely-seen locations THE CRUSADES: CRESCENT & THE CROSS brings the first three Crusades alive for a new generation in conflict. DVD Features: Timeline; Behind-the-Scenes Featurette "History in the Making: The Crusades"; Bonus Documentary "The Knights Templar"; 16:9 Widescreen Format; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection

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The Christian invaders were regarded as infidels. The Arabs were scorned as lawless pagans. The Westerners saw their quest as literally a sanctified crusade, while the Muslims launched their own holy war, called a jihad, in retaliation. Sound familiar? It should, because although the events depicted in the History Channel's The Crusades - Crescent & The Cross took place nearly a thousand years ago, they are but a distant mirror to what's going on in the Middle East right now. This two-part, three-hour program, released here on two discs (the second includes over an hour of bonus material), impressively details all three Crusades, starting in the late 11th Century, when Pope Urban II dispatched a huge force to reclaim Jerusalem, which had been under Muslim control for some 400 years. For the knights and others who made the journey, it was a noble spiritual quest, not to mention an escape from Europe's petty wars and famines; in the end, the fact that many of them were greedy butchers who murdered Muslims, Jews, and even other Christians indiscriminately (sometimes even eating the flesh of the vanquished) detracted not at all from their conviction that they were acting in the name of God. Of course, so were the Muslims, who, after the bloody first crusade succeeded in seizing the holy city, mounted a massive counterattack under leaders like Nur al-din and his son Saladin, who managed to take back Jerusalem (from whence Mohammed was said to have ascended to heaven) and hold on to it through the failed second and third crusades, the latter led by England's Richard the Lionheart.

All of this is presented by way of techniques that will be recognizable to History Channel buffs. They include modern-day historians, who re-trace the routes of the crusaders and examine the ancient sites where the action took place, as well as actors who portray characters of the time (chroniclers, knights, and others); numerous re-enactments, aided by excellent cinematography and skillful use of CGI (whereby a few dozen extras could be made to look like many thousands), vividly illustrate the battles and other events that took place during this roughly 200-year period. Add to that a bonus documentary about the Knights Templar (the soldier-monks in charge of protecting the Kingdom of Jerusalem) and a decent "making of" documentary, and you have an absorbing, enlightening look at events that prove one thing above all: the more things change, the more they stay the same. --Sam Graham

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Taxi To the Dark Side

Actors: Alex Gibney, Brian Keith Allen, Moazzam Begg, Willie Brand, George W. Bush
ASIN : B001BEK8FQ
Sales Rank : 2712
Director : Alex Gibney
Brand : Image Entertainment
Studio : Velocity / Thinkfilm
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0014381494020
UPC : 014381494020
Release Date : December 30, 2008
Publisher : Velocity / Thinkfilm
Manufacturer : Velocity / Thinkfilm
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Velocity / Thinkfilm
Running Time : 106

Album Description

Oscarr-nominated director Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room) investigates the torture and killing of an innocent Afghani taxi driver in this gripping probe into reckless abuses of government power. Disturbing and incisive, the Academy Awardr-winner Taxi To The Dark Side incorporates rare and never-before-seen images from inside the Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan and Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay prisons into its exposure of the Bush administration's "global war on terror." This stunningly crafted narrative demonstrates how this one man's life and death symbolizes the erosion of our civil rights and how what it means to be an American has changed forever.

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Among the slew of documentaries inspired by the post-9/11 war, arguably none is more important than Alex Gibney's Taxi to the Dark Side. The story it has to tell, with compelling thoroughness and no recourse to rhetoric, should be as disturbing to Americans supporting the war as it is to opponents. In December 2002, Dilawar, a young rural Afghan cabdriver, was accused of helping to plan a rocket attack on a U.S. base, clamped into prison at Bagram, and subjected to physical torture so relentless that he died after two days of it. But Dilawar was innocent--and he'd been denounced by the real culprit, who thereby took the heat off himself and won points with U.S. forces by giving them "a bad guy." Dilawar was the first fatal victim of Vice President Dick Cheney's devotion to "working the dark side"--torturing, humiliating, and otherwise abusing prisoners in the "Global War on Terror." His story, developed in horrific detail with testimony from the soldiers who tortured him, and also from two New York Times investigative reporters, becomes a prism for slanting light onto the "dark side" policy and the mindset behind it. The program at Bagram was deemed such a success that it served as the model for Abu Graibh the following year in Iraq, and both prisons became pipelines to the detainee facility at Guantánamo, Cuba.

The film's impact is powerful and complex. We come to see the very soldiers who broke Dilawar's body and spirit as victims, too--and patsies of a policy that, from Cheney and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on down, ignored the Geneva Convention and shrouded itself (and commanding officers) in "a fog of ambiguity" while the grunts took the fall. A lot of these grunts testify here, and the accumulation of their individual perspectives on a shared tragedy is devastating. The latter half of the film features penetrating commentary from critics of torture as a policy (Senator John McCain was still one at the time), all of whom agree that it doesn't work and it only damages us. And for Theatre of the Absurd, there's a PR tour of (a discrete portion of) the Guantánamo facility, which turns out to be kinda like summer camp: "They get ice cream on Sundays." Finally, Taxi to the Dark Side isn't about torture or politics or the justness or unjustness of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Gibney is entirely correct when he says, "It's really about the American character and whether we have become something rather different from what we imagine ourselves to be." He's asking; he doesn't want it to be true. --Richard T. Jameson

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Planet B-Boy

Actors: Gamblerz, Ichigeki, Knucklehead Zoo, Last For One, Phase T
ASIN : B001CD6LK2
Sales Rank : 3024
Director : Benson Lee
Studio : Arts Alliance America
Region Code : 1
Format : Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0829567054826
UPC : 829567054826
Release Date : December 11, 2008
Publisher : Arts Alliance America
Manufacturer : Arts Alliance America
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Arts Alliance America
Running Time : 95

Product Description

With compelling characters and vibrant dance sequences, Planet B-Boy is set in the International world of B-boying the urban dance more commonly known as break dancing. Weaving between the vivid backdrops of Osaka, Paris, Seoul and Las Vegas, unforgettable images frame the intimate stories of dancers who struggle for their dreams despite being misunderstood by larger society and even their own families.

Battle 360 - Season 1 (History Channel) (Steelbook)

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For nearly a decade, the legendary World War II aircraft carrier USS Enterprise held a pivotal place on the turbulent seas of war, engaging in some of the fiercest multi-front battles ever witnessed in modern combat. The only carrier to be front and center in every major sea conflict in the Pacific, the Enterprise and her crew s battles were marked by intense firepower, instinct and a 360-coordination between the ship, the destroyers, the aircraft above and the submarines below. In each of ten episodes, and using incredible CGI visualizations, BATTLE 360 follows the Enterprise and its men through another conflict of WWII as they fight off the enemy from the air, the sea and underwater.

DVD Features: Additional Footage

BATTLE 360: THE COMPLETE SEASON ONE includes all 10 original episodes on 4 DVDs:
Disc 1: Call to Duty / Vengeance at Midway / Jaws of the Enemy
Disc 2: Bloody Santa Cruz / Enterprise vs. Japan / The Grey Ghost
Disc 3: Hammer of Hell / D-Day in the Pacific
Disc 4: Battle of Leyte Gulf / The Empire's Last Stand / bonus material

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It would be an understatement say that Battle 360: Season 1 has substantial appeal for World War II and naval history "enthusiasts." Considering the depth and thoroughness of the program and the sheer volume of data and information on hand--and with ten episodes, each more than 50 minutes long, there's very little that’s not covered--it’s likely that experts, fanatics, and obsessives will be well satisfied too. Using a combination of extensive computer-generated imagery (CGI), charts, graphics, statistics, file footage, photos, interviews with military men both past and present, and more, the program focuses on the Pacific Theater, where the United States and its allies battled Japan for the three and half years between Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and the end of the war in August 1945. At the center of virtually every battle during that span was the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. Launched in 1936, this Yorktown class vessel, also known as "a fighting city of steel" and "the Lucky E" (for its ability to avoid major catastrophe, at least for the most part), carried 96 planes, a huge amount of weaponry, and a crew whose average was an astonishing 19 years old. Proceeding chronologically, the series details such major conflicts as Midway (when the U.S. disabled no less than four Japanese carriers), Guadalcanal (when the Enterprise suffered serious damage while helping to thwart the enemy’s plans to invade Australia), and Leyte Gulf ("the largest naval battle in the history of mankind"), finishing with the Japanese’s last-gasp use of kamikaze pilots to attack the U.S. fleet. Much of this is genuinely gripping, as the episodes provide literally minute-by-minute accounts of every encounter and the size, speed, function, and firepower of every vessel and aircraft on both sides. But there are notable drawbacks as well, starting with the fact that for all of its detail, we see almost nothing of the Enterprise’s interior or descriptions of daily life on board the enormous vessel. There’s also the issue of how much CGI you can take; although there is some film footage (which may or may not be from the specific skirmish being described), the computer work, while generally pretty convincing, is pervasive and rather like a video game without a controller. What’s more, each episode is kinetic almost to distraction, with a ceaseless flow of pounding music and sound effects, flashing graphics, and macho voice-over detailing the action. On the other hand, the reminiscences of those who were actually there are often very moving, not to mention a welcome surcease from the high-tech assault of the rest of the show. Bonus material is limited--a few additional scenes--but the steel box it all comes in is pretty cool. --Sam Graham

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National Geographic - Inside the Living Body

Actor: Kate Burton
ASIN : B000VWX6TO
Sales Rank : 4723
Director : Kirk Simon, Karen Goodman
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : Nat'l Geographic Vid
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0727994752639
UPC : 727994752639
Release Date : December 11, 2007
Publisher : Nat'l Geographic Vid
Manufacturer : Nat'l Geographic Vid
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Nat'l Geographic Vid
Running Time : 60

Product Description

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 12/11/2007

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National Geographic provides a whole new perspective on the extraordinary processes involved in human life with this primarily internal look at the human life cycle from conception through old age. Thanks to amazing technological advances like camera pills and high-definition endoscopes, physicians and scientists can now obtain actual camera footage and images of body processes as well as create elaborate computer simulations to aid in the research and understanding of how the human body works. This 95-minute exploration of the human body and its processes follows human life from fetal development through the amazing changes demanded of virtually every organ in the hours after birth, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. It explores the senses and how they work, brain development, digestion, blood circulation, cell division, the hardening and replenishing of bone, puberty, sexuality, childbirth, changes inherent in the aging process, the virtual shutting down of the body at death, and much more. The fascinating camera footage includes everything from the digestive process of food from the mouth through the esophagus, stomach, small intestines, large intestines, and then to excretion; to blood flow through the heart, veins, and capillaries; and the accumulation of fat in the abdomen and intestines. While the squeamish might proclaim the graphic footage gross, it is incredible, fascinating, and educational. Significant time is also devoted to detailing life choices like exercise, drinking, smoking, listening to loud music, and stress and how those choices can directly affect our bodily functions and overall health. This 2002 presentation is an informative, graphic look at the amazing human body and how it works. --Tami

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Ultimate Dinosaur Collection (Walking with Monsters / Walking with Dinosaurs / Allosaurs / Chased by Dinosaurs)

Actor: Ultimate Dinosaur Collection
ASIN : B000UPMZ44
Sales Rank : 5668
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : BBC Warner
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0794051420329
UPC : 794051420329
Release Date : December 13, 2007
Publisher : BBC Warner
Manufacturer : BBC Warner
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : BBC Warner
Running Time : 471

Description

Four award-winning, massively popular Walking With... programs now in one monster set! Explore the amazing worlds before o own with the Ultimate Dinosaur Collection! Take a journey back hundreds of millions of years to a time when monsters roame the primordial seas and forests with Walking With Monsters, discover how dinosaurs moved and looked with Walking with Dinosaurs, follow the life and death struggle of one dinosaur who really existed in Allosaurus, and go back in time with zoologist-adventurer Nigel Marven to be Chased By Dinosaurs! Each program is a virtual lost world which has been recreated with spectacular digital effects and animatronics. The end of their era is only the beginning!

DVD Features:
Documentaries
Documentary
Featurette
Other
Photo gallery
Screen Saver
Storyboards

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Julia Child - The French Chef

Actor: Julia Child
ASIN : B0006VXMHG
Sales Rank : 5457
Brand : WGBH BOSTON VIDEO
Studio : Wgbh Boston
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9781593752378
ISBN : 1593752377
UPC : 783421382992
Release Date : December 26, 2005
Publisher : Wgbh Boston
Manufacturer : Wgbh Boston
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Wgbh Boston
Running Time : 30

Description

Cooking legend and cultural icon Julia Child, along with her pioneering public television series, The French Chef, introduced French cuisine to American kitchens. In her passionate and sometimes breathless way, Julia forever changed the way we cook, eat, and think about food.

Entertaining, fun, and real in a way that influenced every television cooking program that followed, The French Chef embraced Julia's passion for food and teaching and reflected her joie de vivre: "If I can do it, you can do it...and here's how to do it!"

Now chefs of all ages and abilities can share Julia's love of fine French food and learn to cook some of her most-loved dishes with this special collection of 18 episodes from her original 1960s series, The French Chef. In her signature style and with bloopers intact, Julia demonstrates such classic recipes as boeuf bourguignon from her debut show, salade Nicoise, bouillabaisse a la Marseillaise, mousseline au chocolat, and many more delicious dishes.

Bon appetit!

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Three servings of practical cooking advice per one serving of nostalgia is the recipe for this 18-episode culinary collector’s item. The French Chef with Julia Child, the pioneering public television series which premiered in 1962, brought French cuisine to American kitchens without a dash of pretension. Child (1912-2004), a cooking legend and cultural icon with her 6’2" commanding-yet-self-deprecating presence, leads viewers through some of her favorite and classic recipes with requisite humor and congeniality. The three-disc compilation is divided into Starters and Side Dishes; Main Courses; and Desserts and Other Classics, and includes several printable recipes from each category. In vintage black and white, the collection begins with "The Potato Show" and Child’s sage counsel, "When you flip anything you must have the courage of your convictions," before she flips half of her sautéed potatoes onto the stovetop. Peppered throughout the collection are such reminders of why Child was so endearing: she let the camera roll through all her culinary disasters. In another show, "To Roast a Chicken," Child lines up five headless poultry as if arranging for a family photo, while earnestly discussing the differences between a fryer and a roaster, the "full glory of its chickendom." Even non-gourmands will find themselves captivated by such vintage entertainment, while passionate epicureans will relish step-by-step demonstrations of wonders such as boeuf bourguignon (from her debut show), salad Nicoise, bouillabaisse a la Marseillaise, and mousse au chocolat. (All ages) --Lynn Gibson

Browse General Online

Roy Orbison - A Black & White Night (DTS)

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National Geographic: The Wildlife Collection

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The History Channel Presents The Crusades - Crescent & The Cross

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Taxi To the Dark Side

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Planet B-Boy

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Battle 360 - Season 1 (History Channel) (Steelbook)

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National Geographic - Inside the Living Body

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The Original Kings of Comedy

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Ultimate Dinosaur Collection (Walking with Monsters / Walking with Dinosaurs / Allosaurs / Chased by Dinosaurs)

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Julia Child - The French Chef

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