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Twelve O'Clock High (Special Edition)

Actors: Gregory Peck, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill, Millard Mitchell, Dean Jagger
ASIN : B000O78L0U
Sales Rank : 2004
Director : Henry King
Brand : TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
Studio : 20th Century Fox
Region Code : 1
Format : Black & White, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Special Edition
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0024543440550
UPC : 024543440550
Release Date : December 05, 2007
Publisher : 20th Century Fox
Manufacturer : 20th Century Fox
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : 20th Century Fox
Running Time : 132

Description

This gritty World War II action drama staring Gregory Peck, Oscar winner Dean Jagger, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill and Millard Mitchell is seen as one of the most realistic portrayals of the heroics and perils of war. Convinced an air force commander (Gary Merrill) is at the breaking point, Brigadier General Savage (Peck) takes over his struggling bomber group. Kind and understanding, he adopts a crushing discipline to revitalize the demoralized troop. At first resentful and rebellious, the flyers gradually change as Savage guides them to amazing feats. But the stress of command soon takes it's toll and the weary general reaches his own breaking point.

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The wartime memories of surviving World War II bomber squadrons were still crystal clear when this acclaimed drama was released in 1949--one of the first postwar films out of Hollywood to treat the war on emotionally complex terms. Framed by a postwar prologue and epilogue and told as a flashback appreciation of wartime valor and teamwork, the film stars Gregory Peck in one of his finest performances as a callous general who assumes command of a bomber squadron based in England. At first, the new commander has little rapport with the 918th Bomber Group, whose loyalties still belong with their previous commander. As they continue to fly dangerous missions over Germany, however, the group and their new leader develop mutual respect and admiration, until the once-alienated commander feels that his men are part of a family--men whose bravery transcends the rigors of rigid discipline and by-the-book leadership. The film's now-classic climax, in which the general waits patiently for his squad to return to base--painfully aware that they may not return at all--is one of the most subtle yet emotionally intense scenes of any World War II drama. With Peck in the lead and Dean Jagger doing Oscar-winning work in a crucial supporting role, this was one of veteran director Henry King's proudest achievements, and it still packs a strong dramatic punch. --Jeff Shannon

Essential Classics - Musicals (My Fair Lady / Singin' in the Rain / Gigi)

Actors: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds
ASIN : B000MV9O4U
Sales Rank : 15307
Director : Gene Kelly, Charles Walters, George Cukor, Stanley Donen, Vincente Minnelli
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : Warner Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0085391132844
UPC : 085391132844
Release Date : December 24, 2007
Publisher : Warner Home Video
Manufacturer : Warner Home Video
Label : Warner Home Video

Description

Disc 1: MY FAIR LADY Disc 2: SINGIN' IN THE RAIN Disc 3: GIGI

Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1 (Top Hat / Swing Time / Follow the Fleet / Shall We Dance / The Barkleys of Broadway)

Actors: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Bill Thompson, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes
ASIN : B0009NSCR6
Sales Rank : 7418
Director : Charles Walters, Edward L. Cahn, Friz Freleng, George Stevens, Joseph Henabery
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : Turner Home Ent
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Original recording remastered, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780780650787
ISBN : 0780650786
UPC : 053939725926
Release Date : December 16, 2005
Publisher : Turner Home Ent
Manufacturer : Turner Home Ent
Availability : Usually ships in 7 to 10 days
Label : Turner Home Ent
Running Time : 532

Description

You'll Love The Way Fred and Ginger Look Tonight in the 5-film, 5-Disc Astaire and Rogers Collection Volume One, including the highly acclaimed Top Hat and Swing Time.

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Fans of classic movie musicals will be in heaven with Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1, featuring the DVD debut of five films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the quintessential dancing duo. The two gems of the set are Top Hat (1935), generally considered their definitive movie, and Swing Time (1936), which many consider their most enjoyable. Follow the Fleet (1936), Shall We Dance (1937), and The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) fill out the set, each with its own charms.

Follow the Fleet

The Astaire-Rogers films mix light romantic comedy (usually centered around mistaken identities and ending, inevitably, in blissful wedding promises) with elegant dinner wear and surreal sets intended to transport '30s audiences away from the Depression to such locales as Rio, Paris, and Venice. The two stars are also aided by a recurring stable of RKO players such as Edward Everett Horton (master of the double-take), Eric Blore, and Helen Broderick. And then there's that sensational dancing set to great songs by the likes of Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, and Jerome Kern, numbers that are not merely entertaining but also innovative for their time in that they reveal character and advance the plot. Add it all up, and you have a recipe for an irrepressible joie de vivre that practically defines the movie musical.

With a score by Irving Berlin, Top Hat is most famous for two numbers, Astaire's definitive tuxedo setting "Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails" and the feathery duet "Cheek to Cheek." But other joys include Astaire's "Fancy Free" declaration, "Isn't It a Lovely Day," and the grand finale "The Piccolino." Favorite musical moments in Swing Time include the set-piece "Pick Yourself Up," in which Rogers "teaches" Astaire to dance before they break into a spectacular number; the farewell ode "Never Gonna Dance," and the Oscar-winning "Just the Way You Look Tonight," from the team of Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields.

Swing Time

Follow the Fleet changes the pace a bit, with Astaire playing a sailor, and it suffers from making him and Rogers the second-banana couple to the dull Randolph Scott and Harriet Hilliard. But it still has plenty of laughs and some classic Irving Berlin numbers, including "Let Yourself Go," which Rogers sings before she and Astaire compete in a dance contest; a Rogers solo tap number; "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket," their best comic dance. The pièce de résistance is "Let's Face the Music and Dance," a show within a show in which the pair dons their customary evening formals. Effortlessly flowing from pantomime to song to dance, this sublime piece of storytelling is one of the series' defining moments. Shall We Dance has a complex plot that has Astaire and Rogers actually getting married before the final credits roll, and turns George and Ira Gershwin's brilliant "They Can't Take That Away from Me" into a heartbreaking ode. Other great songs include "Slap That Bass," "They All Laughed," and "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," unforgettably performed on roller skates. The Barkleys of Broadway is the oddity, reuniting the stars 10 years after their last RKO picture when Judy Garland had to be replaced due to health problems. It's trademark MGM: splashy colors, Fred in a gimmicky solo number (playing sorcerer's apprentice to a line of unoccupied shoes), Oscar Levant providing his usual dynamic pianism and acerbic personality, and a score that is at its best when it borrows songs from a previous generation (including the big ballroom number set to "They Can't Take That Away from Me"). The film falls short of their best work, but serves as a fond remembrance of the most glorious partnership in film history. --David Horiuchi

An Affair to Remember

Actors: Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Richard Denning, Neva Patterson, Cathleen Nesbitt
ASIN : B00007JMDF
Sales Rank : 1626
Director : Leo McCarey
Brand : GRANT,CARY
Studio : 20th Century Fox
Region Code : 1
Format : Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0024543060765
UPC : 024543060765
Release Date : December 04, 2003
Publisher : 20th Century Fox
Manufacturer : 20th Century Fox
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : 20th Century Fox
Running Time : 119

Description

In this poignant and humorous love story nominated for four Academy Awards, Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr meet on an ocean liner and fall deeply in love. Though each is engaged to someone else, they agree to meet six months later at the Empire State Building if they still feel the same way about each other. But a tragic accident prevents their rendezvous and the lover's future takes an emotional and uncertain turn.

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Get out your handkerchiefs for this four-star weepie, a 1957 remake of the 1939 Love Affair, directed by Leo McCarey, who also made the original. Grant and Kerr are strangers on an ocean liner, involved with other people, but who can't resist each other for a shipboard romance. They decide to test whether this is the real thing by agreeing to split up, then meet in six months atop the Empire State Building. Is there anyone who can resist that setup or the tragic romantic mishap that nearly splits them up? Can you keep dry eyes during the famous finale? Some prefer the original (with Charles Boyer); practically no one liked the underrated 1994 remake with Warren Beatty and Annette Bening. While occasionally a shade slow, this one soars on Grant's charm and Kerr's noble suffering. --Marshall Fine

Becket

Actors: Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud, Gino Cervi, Paolo Stoppa
ASIN : B00007G1WH
Sales Rank : 1752
Director : Peter Glenville
Studio : MPI Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0030306105390
UPC : 030306105390
Release Date : December 15, 2007
Publisher : MPI Home Video
Manufacturer : MPI Home Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : MPI Home Video
Running Time : 150

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Made in 1964, but set in 12th-century England, this is the fact-based story of Henry II (Peter O'Toole) and his dear friend, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Richard Burton). When the king appoints his former drinking buddy to the high religious office, he believes he has placed an ally into power. Instead, he learns that Thomas very much takes his job to heart, prompting Henry to ask that fateful question--"Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?"

This won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, and it is a strong example of finely tuned performances--both leading men received Academy Award nominations for their roles. There is much passion and rage on the screen, but the beauty of their performances is that we always know that love is there as well. The film, shot on location in England, is also visually appealing. Trivia buffs may be interested to know that Peter O'Toole played Henry II four years later in The Lion in Winter. --Rochelle O'Gorman

On the DVD

The primary bonus feature is a treat: a feature-length commentary by Peter O'Toole, accompanied by a moderator. With only occasional gaps of silence, the still sharp and well-spoken O'Toole recalls the making of the film, how he didn't research the historical King Henry ("The author has made the character; that's his job. My job is to play it."), and his memories of Richard Burton, both personal ("We found that we both enjoyed rugby, we both enjoyed songs, and we both enjoyed drinking, and got along very well.") and professional ("he had an astonishing presence on the stage"). There are also two archival interviews with Burton from 1967 and 1977 (26 minutes total), in which he doesn't discuss Becket, but he does say a lot about his life on stage, he recites some lines, and speaks candidly about his drinking problem.

Don't skip over the interviews with the film's editor Anne Coates and composer Laurence Rosenthal. Coates (7 minutes) has some good stories, and Rosenthal (12 minutes) discusses the influences on his Oscar-nominated score and how he had to teach Gregorian chant to Burton ("He was one of these people whom you really can't teach anything. He had this characteristic that you can only remind him of something he already knows. But he didn't know how to sing Gregorian chant."). In addition to a photo gallery and the four-and-a-half-minute theatrical trailer, MPI's long-delayed DVD looks better than many major-studio classics. --David Horiuchi

Beyond Becket

Other Peter O'Toole Films

Other Richard Burton Films

More King Henrys on DVD

Stills from Becket (click for larger image)

The Time Machine

Actors: Rod Taylor, Alan Young, Yvette Mimieux, Sebastian Cabot, Tom Helmore
ASIN : 0790747324
Sales Rank : 2623
Director : George Pal
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780790747323
ISBN : 0790747324
UPC : 012569523128
Release Date : December 03, 2000
Publisher : Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Manufacturer : Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Running Time : 103

Product Description

About the inventor of a time-tracel device that whisks him through a war-ravaged 20th century and into a far-off era where humans are enslaved by evil subterranean mutants. Special features: dual-layer widescreen subtitles in english and french original theatrical trailer and much more. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 08/01/2006 Starring: Rod Taylor Alan Young Run time: 103 minutes Rating: G

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After scoring popular hits with When Worlds Collide and The War of the Worlds, special-effects pioneer George Pal returned to the visionary fiction of H.G. Wells to produce and direct this science-fiction classic from 1960. Wells's imaginative tale of time travel was published in 1895 and the movie is set in approximately the same period with Rod Taylor as a scientist whose magnificent time machine allows him to leap backward and forward in the annals of history. His adventures take him far into the future, where a meek and ineffectual race known as the Eloi have been forced to hide from the brutally monstrous Morlocks. As Taylor tests his daring invention, Oscar-winning special effects show us what the scientist sees: a cavalcade of sights and sounds as he races through time at varying speeds, from lava flows of ancient earth to the rise and fall of a towering future metropolis.

The movie's charm lies in its Victorian setting and the awe and wonder that carries over from Wells's classic story. The pioneering spirit of the movie is still enthralling, but it gets a bit silly when Taylor turns into a stock hero, rescuing a beautiful blonde Eloi (Yvette Mimieux) and battling with the chubby green Morlocks whose light-bulb eyes blink out when they die. Although it's quaint when compared to the special-effects marvels of the digital age, the movie's still highly entertaining and filled with a timeless sense of wonder. --Jeff Shannon

12 Angry Men (50th Anniversary Edition)

Actors: Martin Balsam, Ed Begley, Edward Binns, Rudy Bond, Lee J. Cobb
ASIN : B0010YSD7W
Sales Rank : 675
Director : Sidney Lumet
Brand : TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
Studio : MGM (Video & DVD)
Region Code : 1
Format : Black & White, Subtitled, Widescreen
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0027616097101
UPC : 027616097101
Release Date : December 04, 2008
Publisher : MGM (Video & DVD)
Manufacturer : MGM (Video & DVD)
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : MGM (Video & DVD)
Running Time : 96

Description

Eleven jurors are convinced that the defendant is guilty of murder. The twelfth has no doubt of his innocence. How can this one man steer the others toward the same conclusion? It's a case of seemingly overwhelming evidence against a teenager accused of killing his father in "one of the best pictures ever made" (The Hollywood Reporter).

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Sidney Lumet's directorial debut remains a tense, atmospheric (though slightly manipulative and stagy) courtroom thriller, in which the viewer never sees a trial and the only action is verbal. As he does in his later corruption commentaries such as Serpico or Q & A, Lumet focuses on the lonely one-man battles of a protagonist whose ethics alienate him from the rest of jaded society. As the film opens, the seemingly open-and-shut trial of a young Puerto Rican accused of murdering his father with a knife has just concluded and the 12-man jury retires to their microscopic, sweltering quarters to decide the verdict. When the votes are counted, 11 men rule guilty, while one--played by Henry Fonda, again typecast as another liberal, truth-seeking hero--doubts the obvious. Stressing the idea of "reasonable doubt," Fonda slowly chips away at the jury, who represent a microcosm of white, male society--exposing the prejudices and preconceptions that directly influence the other jurors' snap judgments. The tight script by Reginald Rose (based on his own teleplay) presents each juror vividly using detailed soliloquies, all which are expertly performed by the film's flawless cast. Still, it's Lumet's claustrophobic direction--all sweaty close-ups and cramped compositions within a one-room setting--that really transforms this contrived story into an explosive and compelling nail-biter. --Dave McCoy

Sunset Boulevard - The Centennial Collection

Actors: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson, Fred Clark
ASIN : B001EXE2ZG
Sales Rank : 2283
Director : Billy Wilder
Brand : Paramount
Studio : Paramount
Region Code : 1
Format : Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0097361389844
UPC : 097361389844
Release Date : December 11, 2008
Publisher : Paramount
Manufacturer : Paramount
Label : Paramount
Running Time : 110

Product Description

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 11/11/2008 Run time: 110 minutes Rating: Nr

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Billy Wilder's noir-comic classic about death and decay in Hollywood remains as pungent as ever in its power to provoke shock, laughter, and gasps of astonishment. Joe Gillis (William Holden), a broke and cynical young screenwriter, is attempting to ditch a pair of repo men late one afternoon when he pulls off L.A.'s storied Sunset Boulevard and into the driveway of a seedy mansion belonging to Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), a forgotten silent movie luminary whose brilliant acting career withered with the coming of talkies. The demented old movie queen lives in the past, assisted by her devoted (but intimidating) butler, Max (played by Erich von Stroheim, the legendary director of Greed and Swanson's own lost epic, Queen Kelly). Norma dreams of making a comeback in a remake of Salome to be directed by her old colleague Cecil B. DeMille (as himself), and Joe becomes her literary and romantic gigolo. Sunset Blvd. is one of those great movies that has become a part of popular culture (the line "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up," has entered the language)--but it's no relic. Wow, does it ever hold up. --Jim Emerson

The Fountainhead

Actors: Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal, Raymond Massey, Kent Smith, Robert Douglas
ASIN : B000HWZ4A2
Sales Rank : 2229
Director : King Vidor
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : Warner Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Original recording remastered, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0012569571624
UPC : 012569571624
Release Date : December 07, 2006
Publisher : Warner Home Video
Manufacturer : Warner Home Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Warner Home Video
Running Time : 112

Description

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.

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Exhibiting a darker edge to his hero persona, the strapping Gary Cooper has the (Frank Lloyd) Wright stuff as architect Harold Roark, a "fool visionary" who refuses to conform his artistic ideas to popular taste. His inflexibility makes enemies out of a tabloid architecture critic and a tycoon (Raymond Massey), who proclaims, "All men can be bought... there are no men of integrity." Keating (Kent Smith), a former classmate, urges Roark to take "the middle of the road so it's sure to please everybody." But Roark will not compromise, and when one of his building designs is radically altered without his consent, he resorts to drastic measures. Adapted for the screen by Ayn Rand from her towering and controversial bestseller, The Fountainhead is about as subtle as that phallic drill Roark wields so impressively, which catches the frenzied eye of the formidable Dominique Francon (Patricia Neal in her film debut). She recognizes Roark's nobility, but fears he has no chance "in a world where beauty, genius and greatness have no chance." Rand did little to dilute her polemics for the screen, resulting in melodramatic scenes that border on high camp, such as Roark and Francon's rather sexually charged discussion about limestone. Rand practiced what she preached. According to a bonus featurette about the making of the film, she refused to trim Roark's then-unprecedented six-minute courtroom speech in which he defends his actions. Even for those who don't adhere to her philosophy, The Fountainhead does offer something rarely seen on screens these days, a man of unshakable principles. And Hollywood could sure note Rand's object lesson about the perils of mediocrity and catering to "the mob." For Cooper fans, The Fountainhead is an essential addition to your DVD library. --Donald Liebenson

Touch Of Evil (50th Anniversary Edition)

Actors: Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, Marlene Dietrich, Mercedes McCambridge
ASIN : B001CC7PQ2
Sales Rank : 2588
Director : Orson Welles
Brand : Universal
Studio : Universal Studios
Region Code : 1
Format : Black & White, Dolby, DVD-Video, Restored, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0025195027809
UPC : 025195027809
Release Date : December 07, 2008
Publisher : Universal Studios
Manufacturer : Universal Studios
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Universal Studios
Running Time : 95

Description

Experience director Orson Welles’ masterpiece Touch of Evil like never before in an all-new 50th Anniversary Edition DVD! Starring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh and Orson Welles himself, this exceptional film noir portrait of corruption and morally compromised obsessions tells the story of a crooked police chief who frames a Mexican youth as part of an intricate criminal plot.

Now for the first time ever, see all three versions of the film – the preview version, the theatrical version and the restored version based on Orson Welles’ vision. The Touch of Evil 50th Anniversary Edition commemorates a true cinematic achievement and is an essential addition to the very movie lover’s library!

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Considered by many to be the greatest B movie ever made, the original-release version of Orson Welles's film noir masterpiece Touch of Evil was, ironically, never intended as a B movie at all--it merely suffered that fate after it was taken away from writer-director Welles, then reedited and released in 1958 as the second half of a double feature. Time and critical acclaim would eventually elevate the film to classic status (and Welles's original vision was meticulously followed for the film's 1998 restoration), but for four decades this original version stood as a testament to Welles's directorial genius. From its astonishing, miraculously choreographed opening shot (lasting over three minutes) to Marlene Dietrich's classic final line of dialogue, this sordid tale of murder and police corruption is like a valentine for the cinematic medium, with Welles as its love-struck suitor. As the corpulent cop who may be involved in a border-town murder, Welles faces opposition from a narcotics officer (Charlton Heston) whose wife (Janet Leigh) is abducted and held as the pawn in a struggle between Heston's quest for truth and Welles's control of carefully hidden secrets. The twisting plot is wildly entertaining (even though it's harder to follow in this original version), but even greater pleasure is found in the pulpy dialogue and the sheer exuberance of the dazzling directorial style. --Jeff Shannon