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Downfall

Actors: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler, Corinna Harfouch
ASIN : B0009RCPUC
Sales Rank : 524
Director : Oliver Hirschbiegel
Brand : Sony
Studio : Sony Pictures
Region Code : 99
Format : AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9781404987609
ISBN : 1404987606
UPC : 043396115453
Release Date : December 02, 2005
Publisher : Sony Pictures
Manufacturer : Sony Pictures
Label : Sony Pictures
Running Time : 156

Product Description

This takes you into hitlers bunker during the brutal & terrifying last days of the third reich. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 04/24/2007 Starring: Bruno Ganz Julianne Kohler Run time: 155 minutes Rating: R

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The riveting subject of Downfall is nothing less than the disintegration of Adolf Hitler in mind, body, and soul. A 2005 Academy Award nominee for best foreign language film, this German historical drama stars Bruno Ganz (Wings of Desire) as Hitler, whose psychic meltdown is depicted in sobering detail, suggesting a fallen, pathetic dictator on the verge on insanity, resorting to suicide (along with Eva Braun and Joseph and Magda Goebbels) as his Nazi empire burns amidst chaos in mid-1945. While staging most of the film in the claustrophobic bunker where Hitler spent his final days, director Oliver Hirschbiegel (Das Experiment) dares to show the gentler human side of der Fuehrer, as opposed to the pure embodiment of evil so familiar from many other Nazi-era dramas. This balanced portrayal does not inspire sympathy, however: We simply see the complexity of Hitler's character in the greater context of his inevitable downfall, and a more realistic (and therefore more horrifying) biographical portrait of madness on both epic and intimate scales. By ending with a chilling clip from the 2002 documentary Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary, this unforgettable film gains another dimension of sobering authenticity. --Jeff Shannon

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October Sky (Special Edition)

Actors: Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern, Chris Owen, William Lee Scott
ASIN : B0006FYOTC
Sales Rank : 836
Director : Joe Johnston
Brand : Universal
Studio : Universal Studios
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0025192554421
UPC : 025192554421
Release Date : December 25, 2005
Publisher : Universal Studios
Manufacturer : Universal Studios
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Universal Studios
Running Time : 108

Description

Coalwood, West Virginia, 1957. Working in the coal mines is an inescapable way of life in this small town. When high schooler Homer Hickam, Jr. (Jake Gyllenhaal) sees the Sputnik satellite in the night sky, he dares to break free of the mines and reach for the stars. With the support of his teacher (Laura Dern) and three friends, Homer sets out on an inspiring quest to build his own rocket. Overcoming a poor education, a tough father (Chris Cooper) and a series of misfires, Homer turns his dreams into reality in this incredible true story of hope, determination and triumph. "You’ll laugh with it, cry with it, and go away absolutely loving it," says Robert Butler (Knight Ridder News Service) of the critically acclaimed October Sky.

This special edition dvd includes:

*Aiming High: The Story of the Rocket Boys, starring the real Rocket Boys.
*Feature Commentary with Homer Hickam
*Spotlight on Location
*Production Notes
*Theatrical Trailer

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Based on the memoir Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickam Jr., October Sky emerged as one of the most delightful sleepers of 1999--a small miracle of good ol' fashioned movie-making in the cynical, often numbingly trendy Hollywood of the late 20th century. Hickam's true story begins in 1957 with Russia's historic launch of the Sputnik satellite, and while Homer (played with smart idealism by Jake Gyllenhaal) sees Sputnik as his cue to pursue a fascination with rocketry, his father (Chris Cooper) epitomizes the admirable yet sternly stubborn working-man's ethic of the West Virginia coal miner, casting fear and disdain on Homer's pursuit of science while urging his "errant" son to carry on the family business--a spirit-killing profession that Homer has no intention of joining.

As directed by Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer), this wonderful movie is occasionally guilty of overstating its case and sacrificing subtlety for predictable melodrama. But more often the film's tone is just right, and the spirit of adventure and invention is infectiously conveyed through Gyllenhaal and his well-cast fellow rocketeers, whose many failures gradually lead to triumph on their makeshift backwoods launching pad. Capturing time and place with impeccable detail and superbly developed characters (including Laura Dern as an inspiring schoolteacher), October Sky is a family film for the ages, encouraging the highest potential of the human spirit while giving viewers a clear view of a bygone era when "the final frontier" beckoned to the explorer in all of us. --Jeff Shannon

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The Dreamers (Original Uncut NC-17 Version)

Actors: Michael Pitt (II), Eva Green, Louis Garrel, Anna Chancellor, Robin Renucci
ASIN : B00023P4I8
Sales Rank : 340
Director : Bernardo Bertolucci
Studio : 20th Century Fox
Region Code : 1
Format : Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0024543128083
UPC : 024543128083
Release Date : December 13, 2004
Publisher : 20th Century Fox
Manufacturer : 20th Century Fox
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Label : 20th Century Fox
Running Time : 115

Description

From Academy Award®-winning director Bernardo Bertolucci (The Last Emperor, 1987), comes an erotic tale of three young film lovers brought together by their passion for movies -- and each other. When Isabelle and Theo (Eva Green, Louis Garrel) invite Matthew (Michael Pitt) to stay with them, what begins as a casual friendship ripens into a sensual voyage of discovery and desire in which nothing is off limits and anything is possible. Featuring an engaging, seductive cast, The Dreamers is a ?spellbinding, provocative feast!" (Ebert & Roeper)

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A love letter to movies (and the French new wave of the 1960s in particular), Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers starts with a 1968 riot outside of a Parisian movie palace then burrows into an insular love triangle. Matthew (Michael Pitt, Hedwig and the Angry Inch), an expatriate American student, bonds with a twin brother and sister, Isabelle (Eva Green) and Theo (Louis Garrel), over their mutual love of film--they not only quote lines of dialogue, they act out small bits and challenge each other to name the cinematic source. Matthew suspects the twins of incest, but that doesn't stop him from falling into his own intimacies with Isabelle. As the threesome becomes threatened, Paris succumbs to student riots. The Dreamers aspires to be kinky, but the results are more decorative than decadent; nonetheless, the movie's lively energy recalls the careless and vital exuberance of Godard and Truffaut. --Bret Fetzer

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Going My Way (Universal Cinema Classics)

Actors: Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, Frank McHugh, James Brown (II), Gene Lockhart
ASIN : B000KJTGHO
Sales Rank : 2186
Director : Leo McCarey
Brand : Universal
Studio : Universal Studios
Region Code : 1
Format : Black & White, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0025193236920
UPC : 025193236920
Release Date : December 06, 2007
Publisher : Universal Studios
Manufacturer : Universal Studios
Availability : Usually ships in 1 to 2 days
Label : Universal Studios
Running Time : 126

Description

Winner of seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, the unforgettable classic Going My Way lights up the screen as it warms the heart. Best Actor winner Bing Crosby shines as Father O'Malley, a young priest new to an established but financially flailing parish. When his philosophies conflict with those of curmudgeonly Father Fitzgibbon (Best Supporting Actor winner Barry Fitzgerald), the result is a timeless story of patience, compromise and - just maybe - understanding. Featuring an all-new digitally remastered picture and filled with mesmerizing music including the Academy Award-winning song "Swinging on a Star," Going My Way exemplifies the silver screen at its golden best! "****! Hard to resist!" (Leonard Maltin)

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This irresistible Oscar winner from writer-director Leo McCarey (An Affair to Remember) stars Bing Crosby as a low-key, crooning priest who joins the parish of a no-nonsense but sweet old Irish man of the cloth (Barry Fitzgerald). While Bing turns local toughs into a choir, the elder priest worries over the church building fund and whether he'll get a chance to see his old mother back in Ireland before she dies. One would have to have a heart of stone not to be won over by this charmer, with a lovely ending guaranteed to make you bawl for a week. --Tom Keogh

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Anne of Green Gables

Actor: Megan Follows; Colleen Dewhurst; Richard Farnsworth
ASIN : B00005YNTR
Sales Rank : 767
Director : Kevin Sullivan
Brand : ANNE OF GREEN GABLES
Studio : Sullivan
Region Code : 1
Format : Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0622237220725
UPC : 622237220725
Release Date : December 13, 2001
Publisher : Sullivan
Manufacturer : Sullivan
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Sullivan
Running Time : 250

Product Description

Studio: Sullivan Home Entertmnt Release Date: 09/26/2006

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This gorgeous adaptation of Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic children's story is well worth watching with the whole family. Produced for Canadian television, it's one of those rare productions that actually sticks to the book and even enhances it through first-rate performances and an excellent script. Set on bucolic Prince Edward Island in the late 19th century, Anne of Green Gables is the story of Anne Shirley, an imaginative and headstrong orphan. When brother and sister Marilla and Mathew Cuthbert decide to adopt an orphan boy to help Matthew work the farm, they are astonished when Anne arrives at the train station by mistake. "What use is she to us?" grumbles the gruff Marilla. "We might be of some use to her," answers Matthew, who has taken an instant liking to the talkative Anne. As Anne grows up, her adventures are both hilarious and moving. It's a delight to watch as she forms a friendship with the beautiful Diana and her admirer--the dashing Gilbert Blythe--then dyes her hair green, cracks a slate over Gilbert's head when he calls her "Carrots," and finds a sympathetic teacher who encourages her to attend college.

Richard Farnsworth is perfect as the shy and gentle bachelor Matthew, who confides to Anne that he never went courting because "I would have had to say something." Colleen Dewhurst delivers a nuanced and powerful performance as Marilla, a seemingly cold-hearted spinster whose no-nonsense exterior conceals a warm heart. And as Anne, Megan Follows strikes the perfect note, maturing from freckle-faced orphan to elegant and poised young woman. --Elisabeth Keating

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Description

The fire of Barbra Streisand. The magnetism of Kris Kristofferson. The reckless world of big-time rock 'n' roll. All three bring a new passion and timeliness to A Star Is Born, one of the screen's classic love stories (previously filmed in 1937 and 1954) and winner of five Golden GlobeO Awards, including Best Picture, Actress and Actor (Musical/Comedy). Paul Williams, Kenny Loggins, Leon Russell and others worked with Streisand on one of the most popular song scores ever, topped by the Streisand/Williams Evergreen winning the Academy AwardO and Golden GlobeO Award as 1976's Best Original Song. Their teamwork resulted in a box-office triumph as well as "a considerable achievement" (Clive Hirschhorn, The Hollywood Musical).

DVD Features:
Additional Scenes:Additional Scenes/Alternate Takes
Audio Commentary:Commentary by Barbra Streisand
Other:Wardrobe Tests
Theatrical Trailer:A Star Is Born Trailer Gallery

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This film actually began with the idea of remaking A Star Is Born with the then-hot couple James Taylor and Carly Simon. Eventually, it evolved into this vanity production for Barbra Streisand, with Kris Kristofferson as the designated stud muffin. The story remains the same: A superstar on the decline meets a young singer on the way up. They marry as their career trajectories intersect, and his eventual demise is meant as a sacrifice to further boost her career by ridding her of the burden of him. Kristofferson's rock & roll numbers are decidedly lousy--Hollywood's idea of rock music--and Streisand looks good and always sounds fine (she won an Oscar for cowriting the song "Evergreen"). But you can feel her heavy hand guiding every shot; she seems to serve as puppet master for director Frank Pierson, framing every image of herself for maximum glow. The ultimate date flick (if the guy can sit still through it). --Marshall Fine

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North & South

Actors: Daniela Denby-Ashe, Richard Armitage, Tim Pigott-Smith, Sinéad Cusack, Brendan Coyle
ASIN : B000AYEL6U
Sales Rank : 646
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : BBC Warner
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9781419821004
ISBN : 1419821008
UPC : 794051245328
Release Date : December 15, 2005
Publisher : BBC Warner
Manufacturer : BBC Warner
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : BBC Warner
Running Time : 233

Description

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Commentary on Episodes 1 and 4 by producer Kate Bartlett, director Brian Percival and writer Sandy Welch
Biographies:Cast bios
Deleted Scenes
Interviews:Specially recorded interview with Richard Armitage
Production Notes

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North & South is a splendid, four-hour adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's 19th century novel about an unlikely, and somewhat star-crossed, love between a middle-class young woman from England's cultivated south and an intemperate if misunderstood industrialist in a hardscrabble, northern city. Daniela Denby-Ashe plays Margaret Hale, forthright and strong-willed daughter of a former vicar (Tim Pigott-Smith) who relocates his family from a pastoral village outside London to unforgiving, largely illiterate Milton, a factory town where John Thornton (Richard Armitage) and his mother (Sinead Cusack), survivors of poverty, rule their cotton mill with an iron hand. Thornton befriends Margaret's father but incurs her wrath for his severity with his workers. What she doesn't notice is Thornton's core sense of responsibility for his employees' welfare. On the other hand, he misinterprets some of Margaret's own actions and intentions. Equally stubborn, the two drag out their obvious attraction over many painful months and events.

North & South's two leads are both very good, though Armitage's brooding, penetrating performance may very well be considered a classic one day. There are other wonders in the cast: Cusack and Pigott-Smith are superb, and Brendan Coyle is memorable as a firebrand union organizer who ultimately becomes an ally to a softening Thornton. The miniseries script by Sandy Welch is a persuasive mix of historical context and character study. Brian Percival's direction is full of moments that linger in the imagination, such as the winter-dream look of a busy cotton mill, with thousands of snowy fibers floating in the air. --Tom Keogh

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Jesus of Nazareth

Actors: Robert Powell, Olivia Hussey, Laurence Olivier, James Mason, Anne Bancroft
ASIN : B0000633QW
Sales Rank : 1574
Director : Franco Zeffirelli
Brand : LION'S GATE ENTERTAINMENT
Studio : Lions Gate
Region Code : 1
Format : Digital Sound, Full Screen, NTSC, Surround Sound
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0012236128113
UPC : 012236128113
Release Date : December 01, 2002
Publisher : Lions Gate
Manufacturer : Lions Gate
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Lions Gate
Running Time : 371

Product Description

Beginning before the Nativity and extending through the Crucifixion and Resurrection Jesus Of Nazareth brings to life all the majesty and sweeping drama of the life of Jesus (portrayed here by Robert Powell) as told in the Gospels. A star studded international cast featuring Michael York Sir Laurence Olivier James Earl Jones Anne Bancroft Olivia Hussey Rod Steiger and Anthony Quinn adds depth and humanity to the roles of the saints sinners and ordinary people who walked in the footsteps of the Lord. The film provides the setting and background for the birth childhood baptism teaching and many miracles of the Messiah culminating in the Divine Resurrection. Directed by Oscar nominee Franco Zeffirelli and acclaimed by critics and religious leaders worldwide Jesus of Nazareth tells the greatest of all stories with tremendous emotion and splendor.System Requirements: Running Time 382 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 012236128113 Manufacturer No: A012811

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Originally made for TV in 1977, this in-depth (six hours plus) version of Jesus' life is so thorough that the first hour is devoted solely to the story of his birth. The film doesn't skimp on some of the other landmark events of this famous story either. Director Franco Zeffirelli gives more than 12 minutes screen time each to the Last Supper and the Crucifixion. Passages of the Bible are quoted verbatim, the locations have a Palestine-like authenticity, and, aside from some of the principals (Robert Powell as Jesus, Olivia Hussey as Mary, and Stacy Keach as Barabbas), many of the non-Roman characters are actually played by Semitic-looking actors. Zeffirelli diligently provides the sociopolitical background that gave rise to Jesus' following and the crisis in belief it caused for the people of Israel (and one or two Romans). While not graphic by today's standards, some of the scenes--baby boys being ripped from their mothers' arms and slaughtered, nails being driven into Jesus' hands--may disturb young and/or sensitive children. --Kimberly Heinrichs

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American History X

Actors: Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo, Avery Brooks, Jennifer Lien
ASIN : 6305313687
Sales Rank : 712
Director : Tony Kaye
Brand : BIGTOFFICE
Studio : New Line Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Feature : LEARNING MATERIALS; Classroom Decorations; Charts
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9786305313687
ISBN : 6305313687
UPC : 789892013441
Release Date : December 06, 1999
Publisher : New Line Home Video
Manufacturer : New Line Home Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : New Line Home Video
Running Time : 119

Description

Edward Norton's Academy Award nominated role as a White Supremist who sees the error of his ways while jailed for murder. Unfortunately, he leaves prison to find his brother (Edward Furlong) heading down the same path.

DVD Features:
Biographies
Deleted Scenes
Filmographies
Interactive Menus
Production Notes
Scene Access
Theatrical Trailer

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Perhaps the highest compliment you can pay to Edward Norton is that his Oscar-nominated performance in American History X nearly convinces you that there is a shred of logic in the tenets of white supremacy. If that statement doesn't horrify you, it should; Norton is so fully immersed in his role as a neo-Nazi skinhead that his character's eloquent defense of racism is disturbingly persuasive--at least on the surface. Looking lean and mean with a swastika tattoo and a mind full of hate, Derek Vinyard (Norton) has inherited racism from his father, and that learning has been intensified through his service to Cameron (Stacy Keach), a grown-up thug playing tyrant and teacher to a growing band of disenfranchised teens from Venice Beach, California, all hungry for an ideology that fuels their brooding alienation.

The film's basic message--that hate is learned and can be unlearned--is expressed through Derek's kid brother, Danny (Edward Furlong), whose sibling hero-worship increases after Derek is imprisoned (or, in Danny's mind, martyred) for the killing of two black men. Lacking Derek's gift of rebel rhetoric, Danny is easily swayed into the violent, hateful lifestyle that Derek disowns during his thoughtful time in prison. Once released, Derek struggles to save his brother from a violent fate, and American History X partially suffers from a mix of intense emotions, awkward sentiment, and predictably inevitable plotting. And yet British director Tony Kaye (who would later protest against Norton's creative intervention during post-production) manages to juggle these qualities--and a compelling clash of visual styles--to considerable effect. No matter how strained their collaboration may have been, both Kaye and Norton can be proud to have created a film that addresses the issue of racism with dramatically forceful impact. --Jeff Shannon

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Dr. Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh

Actors: Patrick McGoohan, George Cole, Kay Cole, Alan Dobie, Eric Flynn
ASIN : B001DPHDCE
Sales Rank : 1761
Studio : Walt Disney Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Color, DVD-Video, Limited Edition, Restored, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0786936769005
UPC : 786936769005
Release Date : December 11, 2008
Publisher : Walt Disney Video
Manufacturer : Walt Disney Video
Label : Walt Disney Video
Running Time : 287

Album Description

Originally airing in three parts on "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color," this thrilling adventure stars Patrick McGoohan as Dr. Syn, a kindly country vicar in 18th-century England. Only a few know that Syn is also the masked Scarecrow, notorious leader of a band of smugglers, who defends the villagers from unjust taxes and oppression by King George III's men. George Cole, Michael Hordern, Sean Scully also star. Includes all three episodes, along with the British theatrical version; 129 min./98 min. AKA: "Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow," "The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh." Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital mono.

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"On the southern coast of England/There’s a legend people tell/Of days long ago when the great Scarecrow/Would ride from the jaws of hell/And laugh with a fiendish yell." Okay, it may not be as catchy as "The Ballad of Davy Crockett," but anyone who was glued to their TV sets in 1964 to watch the continuing adventures and heroic exploits of Dr. Syn on the Disney anthology series, The Wonderful World of Color, should feel a shiver of excitement that goes beyond mere nostalgia at hearing this theme song again. Old-fashioned to be sure, but The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh is still a ripping yarn and rousing family entertainment with its unforgettable hero, despicable villain, galloping chases and breathless escapes. Grandly produced in England, this three-part miniseries is "a story of high adventure and heart," as Walt Disney states in his folksy and avuncular episode introductions. Patrick McGoohan (known at the time for his iconic role as John Drake on Danger Man) stars as Dr. Syn, who leads a double life as a mild-mannered village vicar by day, and a fearsome avenger known as the Scarecrow by night. The haunting burlap-masked Scarecrow is a folk hero to the villagers, who are overtaxed by King George III, and brutalized by his press-gangs, who violently shanghai men into Navy service. Only two know the Scarecrow’s true identity, his sexton Mipps (George Cole), and the local Justice of the Peace’s son, John (Sean Scully, from Disney’s The Prince and the Pauper). There is a love story between John’s older sister and conflicted and compassionate English soldier Lt. Brackenbury (Eric Flynn), but it doesn’t slow things down or get too yucky. Over the course of three near-hour-long episodes, the Scarecrow foils attempts by his nemesis, General Pugh (Geoffrey Keen) to capture him, or intimidate villagers into giving him up. Leonard Maltin does his usual sterling job as enthusiastic host, who introduces the series, reflects on its place in the Disney canon, and credits the restoration efforts that made this pristine presentation possible. This two-disc set presents the miniseries as it originally aired, and also includes the widescreen feature film version that was released overseas. Disc one contains an interesting featurette about Dr. Syn’s historical and literary origins. Disc two features a segment about the British films that launched Disney’s live-action feature film career. This welcome addition to the Walt Disney Treasures line does full justice to one of Disney’s most wanted titles. --Donald Liebenson

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Downfall

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October Sky (Special Edition)

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The Dreamers (Original Uncut NC-17 Version)

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Going My Way (Universal Cinema Classics)

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Anne of Green Gables

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A Star Is Born

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North & South

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Jesus of Nazareth

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American History X

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Dr. Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh

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