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List Price: $29.95Price: $24.99You Save: $4.96 (17%)A Life Apart - Hasidism in America
Actors: Leonard Nimoy, Sarah Jessica Parker
ASIN : B00005JG6Y
Sales Rank : 28598
Director : Menachem Daum;Oren Rudavsky
Studio : FIRST RUN FEATURES
Region Code : 1
Format : Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0720229909716
UPC : 720229909716
Release Date : December 17, 2001
Publisher : FIRST RUN FEATURES
Manufacturer : FIRST RUN FEATURES
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : FIRST RUN FEATURES
Running Time : 95
Product DescriptionIn New York City, the Hasidim are a common sight, but even here their way of life remains a mystery to those outside their community. With their use of Yiddish, their distinctive clothes and their strict observance of Jewish ritual and law, the Hasidim are considered by many an insular people with little connection to mainstream America. Yet their values are those that many Americans find most precious: family, community, and a life of meaning.
In this "unique glimpse into this closed society" (Philadelphia Inquirer), seven years in the making, we are taken into the depths of the Hasidim's joyous, sometimes harsh, and often beautiful world. A "series of beautifully shot, startlingly intimate interviews" (New York Post) sheds light on idiosyncratic customs such as matchmaking, secular education and traditional dress, by taking us through the homes, schools and synagogues of this insular world. The filmmakers also candidly address suspicions of racism and accusations of sexism from the outside community.
A Life Apart: Hasidism in America, narrated by Leonard Nimoy and Sarah Jessica Parker takes us on an illuminating journey into a "beautiful, mesmerizing and mysterious world" (San Francisco Bay Guardian) of a community kept distinct from its surrounding culture for generations. Amazon.comHasidic Jews seem alien, and even hostile, to those outside their culture, which frequently includes other Jews. They dress differently, don't mingle between the sexes, speak Yiddish, and wear side curls, all in an attempt to rigorously follow the commandments of the Torah. They tend to keep to themselves, shunning television and the media so outside influences cannot corrupt their values and views. Yet filmmakers Oren Rudavsky and Menachem Daum were able to enter their world, and the result is the fascinating documentary A Life Apart: Hasidism in America. Using interviews with academics and members of the community and some historical footage, the filmmakers trace the growth of Hasidic groups in the United States. Groups formed around particular Rebbes (learned leaders) and they took their names from their Eastern European home cities (the Samovar Hasids, the Breslover Hasids, and so on). Leonard Nimoy and Sarah Jessica Parker narrate, explaining how this movement came to America and how it was able to flourish. Dissenting voices also appear, in the form of neighborhood people who are distressed at the Hasids' refusal to speak to members not in their community and of a young woman, Pearl Gluck, who left the community in order to pursue her writing and to follow a life of her own choosing. Many Hasids refuse to speak on camera, and we see many shielding themselves with hands or coats so as not to appear on film. But those who do appear are poignant in their discussions of why the Hasidic life is important to them. One man speaks to the directors, even as he acknowledges that he will never see the movie, but he will do it "in order to help a Jew make a living." One couple, Holocaust survivors, are not Hasidic, but their children are, and the reasonings of both the parents and the children are interesting. This film, shown on PBS, is a consequential look into a lifestyle many of us don't understand, and it may help in increasing an understanding. --Jenny Brown
Reviews for the A Life Apart - Hasidism in America
New Price: $114.34The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg
Actors: Rabbi Reeve Brenner, Hank Greenberg, Walter Matthau, Alan M. Dershowitz, Carl Levin
ASIN : B00005NTOI
Sales Rank : 45800
Director : Aviva Kempner
Studio : 20th Century Fox
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0024543025788
UPC : 024543025788
Release Date : December 16, 2001
Publisher : 20th Century Fox
Manufacturer : 20th Century Fox
Label : 20th Century Fox
Running Time : 95
DescriptionAs baseball's first Jewish star, Hammerin' Hank Greenberg's career contains all the makings of a true American sucess story. An extraordinary ball player notorious for his hours of daily practice, Greenberg's career was an inspiration to all and captured the headlines and the admiration of sportswriters and fans alike. This is the story of how he became an American hero. Amazon.comAviva Kempner's Peabody Award-winning documentary is about baseball like Field of Dreams is about cornfields. Kempner efficiently covers all the bases of Detroit Tigers Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg's magnificent career with archival footage and talking heads, including family members, former teammates and baseball legends, broadcasters and sportswriters, and such unabashed fans as Alan Dershowitz and Walter Matthau. If this biography's style is not remarkable, its subject certainly was. Greenberg, the son of immigrant parents, was a beacon of hope to Jews. As one observer notes, baseball was a way of "showing we were as American as everybody else." To see one of their own succeed in the national pastime at a time of virulent anti-Semitism was a source of pride and inspiration. One lifelong fan, a rabbi, states, "He was the baseball Moses." Winner of several critics association awards for Best Documentary, this is a stirring film for all seasons. --Donald Liebenson
Reviews for the The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg
List Price: $34.95Price: $31.49You Save: $3.46 (10%)The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg (Deluxe Two-Disc Set)
Actors: Allen Ginsberg, Joan Baez, Timothy Leary, William S. Burroughs, Abbie Hoffman
ASIN : B000PHX4S8
Sales Rank : 26561
Director : Jerry Aronson
Studio : New Yorker Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Black & White, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0717119942649
UPC : 717119942649
Release Date : December 17, 2007
Publisher : New Yorker Video
Manufacturer : New Yorker Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : New Yorker Video
Running Time : 480
Amazon.comThe re-release of Jerry Aronson's biopic, The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg, timed to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of "Howl," suits this wonderful documentary and proves Ginsberg central to all radical artistic and political movements of the past 60 years. The feature-length film, segmented by decade, provides ample footage of Ginsberg's life; but extras added into this package, including footage of his memorial and 35 interviews with artists inspired by the visionary poet--from Beck to Lawrence Ferlinghetti--solidify Ginsberg as an American cultural icon. The film unravels Ginsberg's obsession for life and death around his mother's nervous breakdown and his father's affinity for poetry. Interviews with Ginsberg from each decade, both amongst his Beat friends like Burroughs and Huncke, and later with talk show hosts William Buckley and Dick Cavett, show the author's progression from sexual politics in the '40s and '50s to the "politics of ecstasy" in the '60s and '70s, when he founded the Flower Power movement with Tim Leary, and later, Naropa Institute. Ample footage of Ginsberg's stepmother provides a sensitive outsider's opinion on how he blossomed into one of the most spontaneous minds of the century. The film transcends simple Ginsberg descriptions by framing his life with historical happenings to contextualize the author's words and actions. The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg reminds the viewer that there is no better example of an artist devoted to a life of letters, activism, and idealism than the original beatnik. --Trinie Dalton
Reviews for the The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg (Deluxe Two-Disc Set)
New Price: $125.00The 50 Years War - Israel & The Arabs
Actor: Will Lyman
ASIN : B00004TX2W
Sales Rank : 66334
Director : David Ash, Dai Richards
Studio : Pbs Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0794054389722
UPC : 794054389722
Release Date : December 21, 2000
Publisher : Pbs Home Video
Manufacturer : Pbs Home Video
Label : Pbs Home Video
Running Time : 300
DescriptionLeading statesmen, generals, terrorists and others who made the headlines in one of history's most bitter and enduring struggles tell the story of the Arab-Israeli conflict in The 50 Years War: Israel and the Arabs. Opening with the U.N decision to partition Palestine in 1947, the program charts the ensuing half-century of enmity, warfare, mediation and negotiation. Among the current and former heads of state and prime ministers interviewed or featured in the series are Benjamin Netanyahu, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Shamir of Israel; King Hussein of Jordan; Yasir Arafat of the Palestine Authority; Hafez al-Assad of Syria; Jafaar Numeiry of Sudan; and U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush and Jimmy Carter. Also appearing are foreign ministers, defense ministers, commanders in the field, heads of intelligence and guerrilla leaders, as well as high-ranking officials in the United States and the former Soviet Union. Amazon.comThe conflict in the Middle East between Israel and its neighbors is given comprehensive treatment in this two-video set produced by PBS. Using archival footage and extensive interviews with participants, the production begins by explaining conditions in Palestine at the end of World War II and the crisis created by the exodus of European Jews who went to the Middle East after the Holocaust. The withdrawal of the British, who had controlled Palestine for decades, is detailed, as is the creation of the state of Israel. Much of the region's history is complex, with the local struggles being conducted at times as a part of the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union, but these videos do an admirable job of explaining the complexities of the situation. The segment on the Six Day War, for example, is masterful, with the scenes shifting from Israel to Egypt to Washington to Moscow, the story developing before the viewer's eyes. The 50 Years War is often a tale of mistrust and betrayal, but this production strives to present a balanced view of history, and is not only impressive for its command of the facts but for its skillful and often dramatic presentation of history. --Robert J. McNamara
Reviews for the The 50 Years War - Israel & The Arabs
List Price: $29.95Price: $26.99You Save: $2.96 (10%)One Day in September
Actors: Michael Douglas, Ankie Spitzer, Jamal Al Gashey, Gerald Seymour, Alex Springer
ASIN : B000059H77
Sales Rank : 35084
Director : Kevin Macdonald
Brand : Sony
Studio : Sony Pictures
Region Code : 99
Format : Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780767865920
ISBN : 0767865928
UPC : 043396063587
Release Date : December 24, 2001
Publisher : Sony Pictures
Manufacturer : Sony Pictures
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Sony Pictures
Running Time : 91
Product DescriptionThe 1999 academy award winning documentary feature provides explosive new insights into the 1972 munich massacre the horrendous murders of eleven israeli athletes by a group of palestinian extremists. Special features: talent files: bonus trailers: interactive menus: production notes and much more. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 04/24/2001 Starring: Narrated By Michael Douglas Run time: 94 minutes Rating: R Director: Kevin Macdonald Amazon.com essential videoOn September 5, 1972, eight Palestinian terrorists killed two Israeli athletes and took nine others hostage at the Munich Olympic Village. The event stopped the games, gripped the world, and perhaps for the first time fully illustrated the volatile state of affairs in the Mideast to the world. Kevin Macdonald's 1999 Academy Award(r)-winning documentary painstakingly reconstructs the events, shedding light on what the world saw on television with the exasperating revelation of behind-the-scenes blunders. This visceral, tense film uses riveting news footage to great effect, weaving in affecting interviews. Macdonald mourns the deaths of the innocent Olympic hostages and dutifully gives a voice to the Palestinian cause through interviews with Jamal al-Gashey, the only survivor of the eight terrorists, who briefly came out of hiding for the film. He earnestly but half-heartedly sketches a picture of the social and political situation that fueled the act, reserving his anger for the grossly unprepared German police force. The tragedy that erupted at the Fürstenfeldbruck air base becomes all the more upsetting in light of the incompetence and unforgivable mistakes: botched rescues, poor planning, bad intelligence, and lack of contingency plans. Even the irresponsibility of the media circus gets off lightly. It's a sobering, angering, often frustrating piece of non-fiction cinema, a thorough piece of historical research brought to life with an angry immediacy. Macdonald simply doesn't know what lessons to draw from it all. --Sean Axmaker
Reviews for the One Day in September
List Price: $19.98Price: $17.99You Save: $1.99 (10%)They Came for Good - A History of the Jews in the United States - Present at the Creation, 1654-1820
Actor: Amram Nowak
ASIN : B00005A1TG
Sales Rank : 70982
Studio : SHANACHIE
Region Code : 1
Format : Black & White, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0163510984984
UPC : 163510984984
Number Of Discs : 1
Release Date : December 01, 2001
Publisher : SHANACHIE
Manufacturer : SHANACHIE
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : SHANACHIE
Running Time : 60
Amazon.comThe story of Jews in America is told in "Present at the Creation 1654-1820," the first installment of a series that was shown on PBS, They Came for Good. Beginning with the arrival of 23 Brazilian Jews who fled persecution and arrived unwelcome at the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam in 1654, the story involves a number of heroic figures who fought for the rights of Jews to own property and practice their religion in the New World. One such colonist, Asher Levy, whose name is memorialized on several landmarks in New York City today, was a successful merchant who fought against being treated as a second-class citizen. During the American Revolution, Jewish financiers helped the Colonial cause, and in what would have been startling in a European country of that era, President George Washington wrote a letter expressing his wishes that America not practice bigotry directed at Jews. Actors in period costume appear as Jews of the time, telling stories derived from diaries and letters of how they managed to mesh in the new country while at the same time keeping to the strict Jewish customs. This is a very intelligently produced look at an aspect of early American history that is often overlooked. --Robert J. McNamara
Reviews for the They Came for Good - A History of the Jews in the United States - Present at the Creation, 1654-1820
List Price: $19.98Price: $17.99You Save: $1.99 (10%)They Came for Good - A History of the Jews in the United States - Taking Root, 1820-1880
Actor: Amram Nowak
ASIN : B00005A1TH
Sales Rank : 80466
Studio : SHANACHIE
Region Code : 1
Format : Black & White, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0016351098597
UPC : 016351098597
Number Of Discs : 1
Release Date : December 01, 2001
Publisher : SHANACHIE
Manufacturer : SHANACHIE
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : SHANACHIE
Running Time : 60
Amazon.comIn "Taking Root 1820-1880," the second installment of They Came for Good, a series that aired on PBS, the role of Jews in American history is examined in an informative and entertaining manner. In the early days of the new nation, 15,000 Jewish peddlers traveled the roads and were a main method of distribution for goods manufactured in the industrial northeast. As many of the peddlers settled down, small towns across the country often had one Jewish-owned store on the main street. Stories tell of some of the notable Jewish merchants and businessmen, including a peddler named Levi Strauss who arrived in California during the Gold Rush and made his fortune by inventing pants made of heavy canvas that were soon the preferred work clothes among miners. Actors in period garb appear to enact the roles of prominent Jews, speaking passages discovered in diaries and letters written by Jewish religious, civic, and business leaders. The development of reform and conservative Judaism in America is also discussed, and historians offer insights into how Jewish life developed in unique ways in America, including service on both sides in the Civil War. By 1880, more than 250,000 Jews would arrive in America as they fled persecution in eastern Europe, and a young Jewish woman in New York, Emma Lazarus, would write "The New Colossus," the poem associated with the Statue of Liberty. This is an engaging look at how Jews contributed greatly to the building of the American nation. --Robert J. McNamara
Reviews for the They Came for Good - A History of the Jews in the United States - Taking Root, 1820-1880
Price: $19.95Saturday At Reuben's
Actor: Magicians Sharing Secrets & Stories.
ASIN : B000LP5CM0
Sales Rank : 48720
Director : Leslie Danoff
Studio : Danova Productions
Region Code : 1
Format : Dolby, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0842841026432
UPC : 842841026432
Release Date : December 03, 2003
Publisher : Danova Productions
Manufacturer : Danova Productions
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Danova Productions
Running Time : 56
Product Description"Saturday At Reuben's" is an entertaining film about a group of magicians who have been getting together in the backroom of a New York City delicatessen to share their magic tricks -- along with stories and humor -- every Saturday afternoon for decades. It shows the true brotherhood of magicians--young and old-- entertaining each other as they practice their close-up magic.
Reviews for the Saturday At Reuben's
Price not listed for this item.Heritage - Civilization and the Jews
Actor: Abba Eban
ASIN : B00005N5S1
Sales Rank : 112907
Director : Julian Krainin, Peter Rosen, Alan Rosenthal, Eugene Marner, Marc Siegel (IV)
Studio : Home Vision Entertainment
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780780024441
ISBN : 0780024443
UPC : 037429160329
Release Date : December 30, 2001
Publisher : Home Vision Entertainment
Manufacturer : Home Vision Entertainment
Label : Home Vision Entertainment
Running Time : 540
DescriptionWinner of the coveted Peabody Award, Heritage - Civilization and the Jews is the monumental nine-part series spanning five millennia of Jewish history and culture. The series is hosted by former Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Abba Eban, who describes it as "a celebration of our common humanistic and moral heritage, explored through the mysteries of preservation, renewal, and resonance of the Jewish people." From the stony heights of Sinai to the shores of the Dead Sea, from a Greek amphitheater in Delphi to the Forum of ancient Rome, out of the ashes of concentration camps to the rebuilt cities and villages of Israel, Heritage brings to life the long and complex history of the Jews and their centuries-old interaction with the rest of Western civilization. Amazon.comOver the course of nine hours, this sumptuous PBS documentary from 1984 chronicles the history of the Jewish people from biblical times through the 20th century. This is not, however, a documentary solely about Judaism; it is instead an in-depth look at the history of Jewish interaction with the world at large, a look at how Jews have shaped communities around them and how the communities around them have shaped the Jews. Host Abba Eban, who has served as foreign minister of Israel and Israeli ambassador to the U.N., is authoritative and knowledgeable in his explications. Using paintings, artifacts, modern cinematography of ancient sites, readings, and theatrical music, Eban brings drama and tension to events long past. The spanning of five millennia necessitates at times briefer detail than a viewer may like, yet it also provides a sampling of history that may provoke the viewer into seeking more information. This marvelous set should be experienced by anyone who desires a greater understanding of the Western world and the role of the Jews in shaping it. --Jenny Brown
Reviews for the Heritage - Civilization and the Jews
New Price: $149.95Chagall
Actor: Abba Eban
ASIN : B000055XMR
Sales Rank : 71469
Director : Kim Evans
Studio : Image Entertainment
Region Code : 1
Format : Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0014381580624
UPC : 014381580624
Release Date : December 16, 2001
Publisher : Image Entertainment
Manufacturer : Image Entertainment
Label : Image Entertainment
Running Time : 52
DescriptionDuring his own lifetime, Marc Chagall became a legend--the grand old man of French painting. Born in the Jewish ghetto in provincial Russia, he broke away from the restrictions of poverty and religious constraints to become swept up in the political and artistic maelstrom of the Russian Revolution before moving to Paris, at that time the artistic capital of Europe. Cubism, Expressionism, Surrealism--Chagall learned from all of these movements and rubbed shoulders with many of the great painters and poets of the century, but he stayed very much his own man and developed a unique style which was his hallmark through the years. This important film was completed shortly before Chagall's death and is the only film made about this great artist during his lifetime. Amazon.comChagall is a portrait of portraits, for it studies the art as much as the artist while it explains how Marc Chagall came to create joyous and fantastical paintings, a rarity in the early 1900s. The production's conceit is in following the journey of a young artist who sets out to find out why "the grand old man of French painting" came to paint the way he did. The camera follows him as he visits places Chagall lived and worked, views exhibits, and seemingly ponders installations of astonishing art, including a ceiling painting for the Paris Opera and stained-glass windows that appear painted with light. Stock footage of historical events is interwoven with stills and film showing Chagall at work. The pace, which can seem slow at times, is an asset, for it lingers on his paintings, allowing you to study them. In the end, the conceit works, and "the man of masks" is, at least, partly revealed. --Valerie J. Nelson
Reviews for the Chagall
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