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Jane Eyre

Actors: William Hurt, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anna Paquin, Nic Knight, Nicola Howard
ASIN : B00007K02F
Sales Rank : 7281
Director : Franco Zeffirelli
Studio : Miramax
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0786936204407
UPC : 786936204407
Release Date : December 04, 2003
Publisher : Miramax
Manufacturer : Miramax
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Miramax
Running Time : 112

Description

Academy Award(R)-winner William Hurt (1985 Best Actor -- KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN; SMOKE) leads an all-star cast in this story of passion and intrigue! Jane Eyre (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is a young woman whose will to overcome a life of hardship leads her into a passionate romance with a handsome -- and mysterious -- gentleman (Hurt). Swept up in the possibility of a happy new life, Jane is shattered when terrible, untold secrets from his past are revealed, threatening to tear her and her lover apart forever! Also featuring the talents of Anna Paquin (THE PIANO), Joan Plowright (ENCHANTED APRIL), and sexy Elle MacPherson (SIRENS), this enduring tale has captivated moviegoers everywhere, just as Charlotte Bronte's classic best-seller has entertained for generations!

Amazon.com

Franco Zeffirelli (Romeo and Juliet) and screenwriter Hugh Whitemore strip away a bit of the familiar romanticism of Charlotte Brontë's novel and come up with a more plain but somehow quite interesting film adaptation. Charlotte Gainsbourg (The Cement Garden) makes for an oddly appealing but deliberately unlovely version of Jane (previous actresses have included Susannah York and Joan Fontaine), and William Hurt is excellent as an equally revised Rochester, brusque and self-involved but not the totem of torment and charisma we've seen before. The story clings to the usual chapters in the book, but with Zeffirelli shaping the principal characters to reflect their cautious perceptions of one another--rather than to a Hollywood notion of grand passion--the film has a wonderful accessibility. Great support from Joan Plowright, Billie Whitelaw, Anna Paquin, and the rest of the cast. --Tom Keogh

Amistad

Actors: Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, Nigel Hawthorne
ASIN : 0783231202
Sales Rank : 3691
Director : Steven Spielberg
Brand : Paramount
Studio : Dreamworks Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780783231204
ISBN : 0783231202
UPC : 667068416220
Release Date : December 04, 1999
Publisher : Dreamworks Video
Manufacturer : Dreamworks Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Dreamworks Video
Running Time : 152

Product Description

An epic journey of one mans fight for his life and his freedom. This story of courage and determination is presented by a director whose vision goes to the heart of the story and the soul of its characters. Once again steven spielberg has created a film event that will never be forgotten. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 02/13/2007 Starring: Morgan Freeman Djimon Hounsou Run time: 155 minutes Rating: R Director: Steven Spielberg

Amazon.com

Steven Spielberg's most simplistic, sanitized history lesson, Amistad, explores the symbolic 1840s trials of 53 West Africans following their bloody rebellion aboard a slave ship. For most of Schindler's List (and, later, Saving Private Ryan) Spielberg restrains himself from the sweeping narrative and technical flourishes that make him one of our most entertaining and manipulative directors. Here, he doesn't even bother trying, succumbing to his driving need to entertain with beautiful images and contrived emotion. He cheapens his grandiose motives and simplifies slavery, treating it as cut- and-dry genre piece. Characters are easy Hollywood stereotypes--"villains" like the Spanish sailors or zealous abolitionists are drawn one-dimensionally and sneered upon. And Spielberg can't suppress his gifted eye, undercutting normally ugly sequences, such as the terrifying slave passage, which is shot as a gorgeous, well-lit composition. At its core, Amistad is a traditional courtroom drama, centered by a tired, clichéd narrative: a struggling, idealistic young lawyer (Matthew McConaughey) fighting the crooked political system and saving helpless victims. Worse yet, Spielberg actually takes the underlying premise of his childhood fantasy, E.T. and repackages it for slavery. Cinque (Djimon Hounsou), the leader of the West African rebellion, is presented much like the adorable alien: lost, lacking a common language, and trying to find his way home. McConaughey is a grown-up Elliot who tries communicating complicated ideas such as geography by drawing pictures in the sand or language by having Cinque mimic his facial expressions. Such stuff was effective for a sci-fi fantasy about the communication barriers between a boy and a lost alien; here, it seems like a naive view of real, complex history. --Dave McCoy

Copying Beethoven

Actors: Diane Kruger, Ralph Riach, Matyelok Gibbs, Ed Harris, Bill Stewart
ASIN : B000MV8AE0
Sales Rank : 6307
Director : Agnieszka Holland
Studio : MGM (Video & DVD)
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0027616064981
UPC : 027616064981
Release Date : December 03, 2007
Publisher : MGM (Video & DVD)
Manufacturer : MGM (Video & DVD)
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : MGM (Video & DVD)
Running Time : 104

Description

When young Anna Holz (Diane Kruger), a Viennese music student is asked to transcribe scoring notes for the great Ludwig van Beethoven (Harris), she eagerly accepts, despite warnings about his volatile behavior. Part maestro, part mentor and part madman, Beethoven reluctantly relies on Anna to help him realize the culmination of his art.

Amazon.com

A passionate, powerful drama based loosely on the final months of Ludwig van Beethoven's life, Copying Beethoven finds the maestro a haunted man, composing the most revolutionary yet unappreciated work of his lifetime; largely deaf; disappointed in his relationship with a wastrel nephew; and fascinated by a young, female composer, Anna Holtz (Diane Kruger), who goes to work for him transcribing music. Staying as a guest at a convent and engaged to a stolid engineer, Anna is drawn to Beethoven’s tempestuous genius. Half the time he's enchanted by her and seems to see straight through to her soul. The other half, he's shouting at her for her timidity or flattery. Hardly a mouse, Anna fights back. The more she does, the more Beethoven recognizes in her a kindred survivor, someone with whom he can reveal his vulnerability and the burden of his artistry. Ed Harris' Beethoven is wracked by pain but not overwhelmed by it; he looks like a man who understands his responsibility to nature too well to merely disintegrate. ("God whispers in most men's ears," Beethoven says. "He shouts in mine.") Director Agnieszka Holland (Olivier, Olivier) oversees a handsome, alternately tender and brutal drama, with several thrilling moments, including the stunned look of audience members hearing the world premiere of the glorious 9th Symphony. --Tom Keogh

Copying Beethoven Extras

Watch Ed Harris speak about portraying Beethoven in this exclusive clip.

Beyond Copying Beethoven

Copying Beethoven Soundtrack

Famous Composers: Ludwig Van Beethoven

More From MGM

Stills from Copying Beethoven

The Last Sin Eater

Actors: Louise Fletcher, Henry Thomas, Liana Liberato, Soren Fulton, A.J. Buckley
ASIN : B000NVI0DU
Sales Rank : 3887
Director : Michael Landon Jr.
Brand : LAST SIN EATER
Studio : 20th Century Fox
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0024543427537
UPC : 024543427537
Release Date : December 15, 2007
Publisher : 20th Century Fox
Manufacturer : 20th Century Fox
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : 20th Century Fox
Running Time : 118

Description

10-year-old Cadi feels responsible for her little sister's death, so she searches out the one man she feels can take away her sin: The Sin Eater. But in her quest for redemption, Cadi uncovers a secret that threatens to divide her family and community in this heartwarming, inspirational tale for the entire family. Based on the novel by best-selling author Francine Rivers.

Amazon.com

Part of the new wave of Christian filmmaking, The Last Sin Eater appeals to a broader family audience as well--and perhaps film lovers seeking, simply, more soul in their cinema. The film, directed by Michael Landon Jr., has more than a bit of homage to Little House on the Prairie as its story unfolds through the eyes of its young heroine, Cadi, a Welsh immigrant whose family has settled deep in Appalachia, bringing superstitions and rites from the Old World and melding them with those from the new. Cadi is played by Liana Liberato with gravitas and knowingness that evokes the young Anna Paquin. Cadi's turmoil begins at the deeply disturbing nighttime funeral for her beloved Granny, when a shadowy figure creeps in and chants, "For your earthly sins, woman, I pawn my own soul!" Cadi, warned her own soul would be in peril if she looked upon the sin eater, can't help turn around and lock eyes with the wretched man. And so begins Cadi's own journey of the soul. As tragedy and evil plague the plucky settlement, Cadi is driven to understand her own life and religious choices. "Would I have to live to be Granny's age to be forgiven for my sins?" a bleakly discouraged Cadi wonders in a voiceover. The costumes are sumptuous (perhaps a bit too much so for such a hardscrabble existence in the 1850s), as is the lovely but unforgiving landscape. Cadi's journey is rewarding, yet not at all predictably so. Terrific supporting appearances by Henry Thomas and Louise Fletcher flesh out a very moving tale. Extras include some deleted scenes, and some cool behind-the-scenes footage. --A.T. Hurley

Brother Sun, Sister Moon

Actors: Graham Faulkner, Judi Bowker, Leigh Lawson, Kenneth Cranham, Lee Montague
ASIN : B00015HX9A
Sales Rank : 6240
Director : Franco Zeffirelli
Brand : Paramount
Studio : Paramount
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Surround Sound, Digital Sound, Dubbed, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780792197003
ISBN : 0792197003
UPC : 097360809848
Release Date : December 09, 2004
Publisher : Paramount
Manufacturer : Paramount
Label : Paramount
Running Time : 121

Product Description

A medieval italian wastrel becomes francis of assisi founder of an order under pope innocent iii. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 03/09/2004 Starring: Graham Faulkner Alec Guinness Run time: 121 minutes Rating: Pg Director: Franco Zeffirelli

Amazon.com

It seemed like a good idea in 1973: a musical scored by Donovan about the life and times of St. Francis of Assisi, the passionate ascetic who expressed love for God by loving nature. But the finished product was something else. Filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli (Endless Love) makes a decorous effort at communicating the ideals of Francis and even tweaking the character toward flower-power relevance. But the result is feel-good fluff, a boring movie that doesn't penetrate its subject as much as reinvent him toward a modern bias. Graham Faulkner is entirely forgettable in the lead, and Donovan's songs on this project aren't exactly first-rate, either. --Tom Keogh

Vanity Fair (Widescreen)

Actors: Reese Witherspoon, Romola Garai, James Purefoy, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Gabriel Byrne
ASIN : B0006FO8E8
Sales Rank : 4132
Director : Mira Nair
Brand : Universal
Studio : Universal Studios
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9781417003594
ISBN : 1417003596
UPC : 025192500121
Release Date : December 01, 2005
Publisher : Universal Studios
Manufacturer : Universal Studios
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Universal Studios
Running Time : 141

Product Description

Unsatisfied with her lower-class birthright beautiful calculating becky sharp is resolved to conquer high society by any means necessary employing all of her wit guile and sexuality to move her way up. Adapted from the classic novel. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 08/22/2006 Starring: Reese Witherspoon Jonathan Rhys-meyers Run time: 141 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Mira Nair

Amazon.com

The corsets and high waists of the 19th century meet the lush colors and visual splendor of India in Vanity Fair, a classic novel translated into modern celluloid by Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding). The very contemporary Reese Witherspoon (Legally Blonde, Election) at first seems to hit the wrong note as Becky Sharp, an orphaned girl who rises to the heights of society using her quick wits and feminine wiles. But as Vanity Fair unfolds, the movie's tone embraces both period decor and modern attitudes, searching for a bridge that will carry us more deeply into a different time. It isn't wholly successful--the movie's end wraps things up awkwardly--but some scenes achieve a surprising and vivid immediacy, in particular one in which Becky's gambler husband (elegant James Purefoy) catalogues his worth for her before going off to the Napoleonic battlefields; love and pragmatism fuse with heartbreaking results. --Bret Fetzer

The Inheritance with Bonus CD: Absolute Romance

Actors: Meredith Baxter, Cari Shayne, Thomas Gibson, Tom Conti, Brigitta Dau
ASIN : B000LE1GGW
Sales Rank : 6466
Director : Bobby Roth
Studio : Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
Region Code : 1
Format : Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0096009494995
UPC : 096009494995
Release Date : December 02, 2007
Publisher : Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
Manufacturer : Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
Running Time : 93

Product Description

FREE MUSIC CD: Absolute Romance
At the lush Evenswood estate in Concord, Massachusetts, Edith Adelon (Cari Shayne), a beautiful orphan, lives as the paid companion to the daughter of the wealthy Hamilton family, although they regard her as one of their own. Years ago, Henry Hamilton (Tom Conti) saved Edith from an Italian orphanage at the request of his long-deceased brother. Now, Edith is his daughter Amy's (Brigitta Dau) prized friend and confidante. As the Hamiltons await a trio of visitors for the annual Greens Cup horse race, Beatrice Hamilton (Meredith Baxter) asks for Edith's help in finding a suitable husband for a cousin, Ida Glenshaw (Brigid Walsh Brannagh), with one of two visiting eligible bachelors. But when it becomes clear that both the young men have affection for Edith and not Ida, jealousy soon develops, leading to malicious conniving and brutal backstabbing. Despite the growing love between Edith and one of the young suitors, because of their conflicting social classes, the couple is reminded time and again that their love can never be.

The Inheritance is a story that centers on an innocent young woman's struggle to make sense of her position within the Hamilton household and in society, and the love she feels for her patrons, as well as for a young man she can never marry.
Includes FREE Music CD!
ABSOLUTE ROMANCE Volume 2
1. Emperor Waltz-J. Strauss II
2. Piano Concerto in A Minor, 1st Mvt. -Grieg
3. Violin Concerto in E Minor, 3rd Mvt.-Mendelssohn
4. Symphony No. 5, 2nd Mvt.- Beethoven
5. Carmen (exc.)-Bizet
6. Polonaise in A-Flat, Op. 53- Chopin
7. Blue Danube Waltz- J. Strauss II

Memoirs of a Geisha (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition)

Actors: Ziyi Zhang, Ken Watanabe, Michelle Yeoh, Suzuka Ohgo, Togo Igawa
ASIN : B000EHRVMY
Sales Rank : 4222
Director : Rob Marshall
Brand : Sony
Studio : Sony Pictures
Region Code : 99
Format : Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0043396111592
UPC : 043396111592
Release Date : December 28, 2006
Publisher : Sony Pictures
Manufacturer : Sony Pictures
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Sony Pictures
Running Time : 145

Description

A Cinderella story set in a mysterious and exotic world, this stunning romantic epic shows how a house servant blossoms, against all odds, to become the most captivating geisha of her day.

"... a visually stunning adaptation of Arthur Golden's best-selling novel." (Barry Caine, OAKLAND TRIBUNE) The director of Chicago, Rob Marshall, transports us into a mysterious and exotic world that casts a potent spell. A Cinderella story like no other, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA stars Ziyi Zhang, Ken Watanabe, Michelle Yeoh and Gong Li. "Gorgeously photographed, meticulously directed and hypnotically acted. MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA is luxurious, ethereal and intoxicating. It will leave you breathless." (Rex Reed, NEW YORK OBSERVER)

Amazon.com

Chicago director Rob Marshall's pretty but empty (or pretty empty) film has all the elements of an Oscar® contender: solid adaptation (from Arthur Golden's bestseller), beautiful locale, good acting, lush cinematography. But there's something missing at the heart, which leaves the viewer sucked in, then left completely detached from what's going on.

It's hard to find fault with the fascinating story, which traces a young girl's determination to free herself from the imprisonment of scullery maid to geisha, then from the imprisonment of geisha to a woman allowed to love. Chiyo (Suzuka Ohgo), a young girl with curious blue eyes, is sold to a geisha house and doomed to pay off her debt as a cleaning girl until a stranger named The Chairman (Ken Watanabe) shows her kindness. She is inspired to work hard and become a geisha in order to be near the Chairman, with whom she has fallen in love. An experienced geisha (Michelle Yeoh) chooses to adopt her as an apprentice and to use as a pawn against her rival, the wicked, legendary Hatsumomo (Gong Li). Chiyo (played as an older woman by Ziyi Zhang), now renamed Sayuri, becomes the talk of the town, but as her path crosses again and again with the Chairman's, she finds the closer she gets to him the further away he seems. Her newfound "freedom" turns out to be trapping, as men are allowed to bid on everything from her time to her virginity.

Some controversy swirled around casting Chinese actresses in the three main Japanese roles, but Zhang, Yeoh and Gong in particular ably prove they're the best for the part. It's admirable that all the actors attempted to speak Japanese-accented English, but some of the dialogue will still prove difficult to understand; perhaps it contributes to some of the emotion feeling stilted. Geisha has all the ingredients of a sweeping, heartbreaking epic and follows the recipe to a T, but in the end it's all dressed up with no place to go.--Ellen A. Kim

Richard III

Actors: Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent, Robert Downey Jr., Nigel Hawthorne
ASIN : 0792844041
Sales Rank : 8899
Director : Richard Loncraine
Studio : MGM (Video & DVD)
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780792844044
ISBN : 0792844041
UPC : 027616841926
Release Date : December 28, 2000
Publisher : MGM (Video & DVD)
Manufacturer : MGM (Video & DVD)
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : MGM (Video & DVD)
Running Time : 104

Description

Shakespeare's immortal tale of ambition, lust and murderous treachery is brilliantly updated and brought to life in this riveting, 20th-century masterpiece. Boasting breathtaking performances, unforgettable imagery and two OscarÂ(r) nominations*, this astounding wartime spectacle is mesmerizing...it will rivet you and shock you (Jeffrey Lyons, 'sneak Previews ). In 1930s Britain, a savage, civil war between two royal families has just concluded. But even as the newly installed King Edward (John Wood) takes the reins of power, his ruthless, younger brother Richard (Ian McKellen) sets in motion a monstrous scheme to claim the crown for himself. Enlisting the aid of equally duplicitous allies in the court, Richard embarks on a merciless, single-minded campaign of betrayal, seduction and cold-blooded murder to achieve the goal that has obsessed him all of his tortured life: to beking...at any price. *1995: Costume Design, Art Direction

Amazon.com

This film adaptation of a critically acclaimed stage production of Shakespeare's historical drama stars Ian McKellen in the title role. The setting is a comic-book vision of 1930s London: part art deco, part Third Reich, part industrial-age rust and rot. The play's force is turned into a synthetic high by art directors and storyboard sketchers, all of whom have a field day condensing the material into disposable pop imagery. This is a fun film, more than anything, so infatuated with its own monstrous stitchery that even the most awkward casting (Annette Bening and Robert Downey Jr.) seems a part of the ridiculous design. McKellen is the best thing about the movie, his mesmerizing portrayal of freakish despotism and poisoned desire a thing to behold. Directed by Richard Loncraine (Bellman and True). --Tom Keogh

William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

Actors: Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes, Lynn Collins, Zuleikha Robinson
ASIN : B0007WRT4Q
Sales Rank : 4045
Director : Michael Radford
Brand : Sony
Studio : Sony Pictures
Region Code : 99
Format : AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9781404980228
ISBN : 1404980229
UPC : 043396109100
Release Date : December 10, 2005
Publisher : Sony Pictures
Manufacturer : Sony Pictures
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Sony Pictures
Running Time : 138

Product Description

The classic tale from william shakespeare of 16th century morality revenge redemption & love set in the the lavish era of 16th century venice follows the interlocking lives of a captivating assortment of classic shakespearean characters. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 03/27/2007 Starring: Al Pacino Joseph Fiennes Run time: 131 minutes Rating: R Director: Michael Radford

Amazon.com

Rarely has The Merchant of Venice, one of Shakespeare's most complex plays, looked as ravishingly sumptuous as in this adaptation, directed by Michael Radford (Il Postino). In a decadent version of renaissance Venice, a young nobleman named Bassanio (Joseph Fiennes, Shakespeare in Love) seeks to woo the lovely Portia (newcomer Lynn Collins), but lacks the money to travel to her estate. He seeks support from his friend, the merchant Antonio (Jeremy Irons, Reversal of Fortune); Antonio's fortune is tied up in sea ventures, so the merchant offers to borrow money from a Jewish moneylender, Shylock (Al Pacino, Dog Day Afternoon). But Shylock holds a grudge against Antonio, who has routinely treated the Jew with contempt, and demands that if the debt is not repaid in three months, the price will be a pound of Antonio's flesh.

The Merchant of Venice is famous as a "problem play"--the gritty matters of moneylending and anti-Semitism sit uncomfortably beside the fairy tale elements of Portia and Bassanio's romance, and some twists of the plot can seem arbitrary or even cruel. The strength of Radford's intelligent and passionate interpretation is that he and the excellent cast invest the play's opposing facets with full emotional weight, thus making every question the play raises acute and inescapable. Irons is particularly compelling; kindness and blind prejudice sit side by side in his breast, rendering the clashes in his character as vivid as those in the play itself. --Bret Fetzer