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Preston Sturges - The Filmmaker Collection (Sullivan's Travels/The Lady Eve/The Palm Beach Story/Hail the Conquering Hero/The Great McGinty/Christmas in July/The Great Moment)

Actors: Preston Sturges, June Preston
ASIN : B000HT3Q2S
Sales Rank : 1250
Brand : UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAIN.
Studio : Universal Studios
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0025193112620
UPC : 025193112620
Release Date : December 21, 2006
Publisher : Universal Studios
Manufacturer : Universal Studios
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Universal Studios

Product Description

Preston Sturges was the first prominent screenwriter to direct his own script. He went on an unparalleled creative streak that brought to the screen some of the most beloved films of all time.This collection pays tribute to seven of his finest and funniest films starring cinema's most illustrious screen stars.The Great McGintyAn opportunist (Brian Donlevy) turns corruption into a promising political career but struggles to stay on top when he tries to go honest.Christmas in JulyHope springs eternal when an office clerk (Dick Powell) mistakenly believes he's won a coffee slogan challenge and spends the "prize money".The Lady EveIt's the ultimate battle of the sexes when a wealthy heir (Henry Fonda) falls (literally!) for a con woman (Barbara Stanwyck) with a shady past.Sullivan's TravelsIn this comedic masterpiece a wealthy director (Joel McCrea) wants to find "real" people for his next great film (co-starring Veronica Lake).The Palm Beach StoryMoney makes the world go round or so Gerry (Claudette Colbert) believes when she divorces her struggling husband (McCrea) and supports him by marrying a millionaire.The Great MomentThis stirring biopic follows the fascinating life of W.T.G. Morton (McCrea) a 19th century dentist who successfully develops the first anesthesia.Hail the Conquering HeroA quirky soldier (Eddie Bracken) gets an unexpected homecoming when a group of uproarious Marines decide to "make" a hero out of the comic misfit.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 025193112620 Manufacturer No: 61031126

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Preston Sturges was a 20th-century Renaissance man who, at Paramount Pictures between 1940 and 1943, wrote and directed eight original movies unlike anything before or since. All but one were high-energy, brilliantly detailed, and very, very funny comedies that became instant classics. No one ever dreamed up a more colorful assortment of characters, wrote more lovingly textured dialogue for them, or sent them hurtling and skittering through more outrageous situations, with undertones often darker than most dramatic films. Seven of these pictures comprise this boxed set; The Miracle of Morgan's Creek is missing because it remained with Paramount when most of the studio's pre-1949 inventory was acquired decades ago by Universal/MCA. (It's on DVD via Paramount.) The omission of a single film from the cycle--and one of the very best--is regrettable, but there's plenty here to relish.

Sturges was already an established playwright and screenwriter when he cajoled Paramount into letting him direct one of his own scripts. The Great McGinty won him the 1940 Oscar for best original screenplay, the raffish tale of a bum (Brian Donlevy) who ingratiates himself with the political machine of a heartland city by successfully voting 37 times in one election, then rises to become "reform" candidate for governor. The film is a glowing example of Sturges's penchant for filling the foregrounds as well as backgrounds of his movies with flavorful, mostly nameless character actors and according each of them star status, if only for one world-class line of dialogue. They and Sturges stood by one another throughout the cycle, and the result was a richness variously--and aptly--likened to Dickens or Bruegel.

Christmas in July (1940) followed, a sardonic but big-hearted comedy about a young working-class couple (Dick Powell and Ellen Drew) duped into believing one topsy-turvy afternoon that they've struck it rich by winning a slogan contest. Then came the film widely regarded as Sturges's most side-splitting, The Lady Eve (1941). Barbara Stanwyck is merciless--and breathtakingly sexy--as a second-generation con artist who targets brewing heir Henry Fonda, a clueless amateur herpetologist who has spent entirely too much time up the Amazon.

Then again, there are people who name Sullivan's Travels (1942) among the best films ever made. Joel McCrea plays a successful director of Hollywood comedies who decides he must make a social-consciousness allegory, O Brother Where Art Thou? His exploratory road trip disguised as a hobo, with starlet Veronica Lake for companionship, combines Hollywood satire with starkest drama verging on horror. The film is utterly unique and shatteringly powerful.

The Palm Beach Story (1942), a return to screwball comedy, dances a goofy tarantella on the American obsession with wealth. There are a couple of dozen millionaires at large in this movie, every one of them insane: Robert Dudley as a comic deus-ex-machina ("the Wienie King"), a railroad club car filled with Sturges stalwarts ("the Ale and Quail Club"), and '20s crooner Rudy Vallee ascending to character-actor immortality as the devoted suitor of Joel McCrea's runaway wife, Claudette Colbert. At that point (still in 1942) Sturges embarked on his most tortuous project, Triumph over Pain, the fact-based chronicle of the Boston dentist (Joel McCrea) who discovered the use of ether for anaesthesia. Instead of being canonized, he was destroyed. Sturges, whose 1933 screenplay The Power and the Glory had anticipated the fractured time scheme of Citizen Kane by eight years, tried for even more complicated narrative-in-reverse here--and also studded the tragic story with startling bursts of slapstick humor. Paramount recut the film drastically and changed the title to The Great Moment; the fitful results would not be released till two years later.

Meanwhile, Sturges scored a pair of best-screenplay Oscar nominations in 1944 for The Miracle of Morgan's Creek and Hail the Conquering Hero, two small-town comedies starring Eddie Bracken as a nebbish ill-made for heroism yet obliged by wartime circumstance to rise to the occasion. Each of these films is a comic masterpiece, each asking discomfiting questions about cherished, arguably destructive American values, yet finding its own cockeyed way to affirmation. Miracle isn't available here, but Hail the Conquering Hero casts a lingering spell, beyond satire. To quote its last line: "You got no idea." --Richard T. Jameson

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Jesus of Nazareth

Actors: Robert Powell, Olivia Hussey, Laurence Olivier, James Mason, Anne Bancroft
ASIN : B0000633QW
Sales Rank : 1268
Director : Franco Zeffirelli
Brand : Lions Gate
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

A reverent depiction of the life of christ using the gospel accounts. Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 09/13/2005 Starring: Anthony Quinn James Earl Jones Run time: 371 minutes Rating: Nr Director: Franco Zeffirelli

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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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South Park - The Complete Third Season

Actors: Robert Powell, Olivia Hussey, Laurence Olivier, James Mason, Anne Bancroft
ASIN : B0000CABL2
Sales Rank : 1371
Director : Trey Parker, Matt Stone
Brand : Paramount
Studio : Comedy Central
Region Code : 1
Format : Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Box set, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780792196495
ISBN : 079219649X
UPC : 097368796249
Release Date : December 16, 2003
Publisher : Comedy Central
Manufacturer : Comedy Central
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Comedy Central
Running Time : 374

Product Description

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 04/03/2007

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The third time's the, for want of a better word, charm for South Park on DVD. Instead of mere episode intros as on the first two boxed sets, Trey Parker and Matt Stone finally oblige us with actual episode commentary, or, as they call it, "commentary-mini." On this optional audio track, Trey and Matt goof for about five minutes or so at the top of each episode, certifying some as favorites ("Tweek vs. Craig," "Jewbilee," and "Worldwide Recorder Concert," which is described as "a reverse after-school special from hell"), championing others popularly dismissed by South Park's otherwise loyal fans ("Jakovasaurs," "Sexual Harassment Panda"), and provocatively dismissing all of season 2.

The third season was frantically produced simultaneously with the feature film, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. This was the season, Trey proclaims, "where South Park turned the corner... and became good (as far as we were concerned)." Among their most inspired conceits is the so-called "Meteor Shower Party" trilogy, three episodes that unfold over the course of one night, each focusing on a different kid. "Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery" pays homage to Hanna-Barbera-style animation and Scooby-Doo, recasting Korn as the Mystery Inc gang. "Rainforest Shmainforest," featuring a game Jennifer Aniston, cuts rainforest crusaders down to size. "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics" takes its irreverent cue from the album of the same name, and contains an outrageously obscure reference to the 1978 made-for-TV Star Wars Holiday Special. Throughout the season, South Park is, as usual, a gleeful equal-opportunity offender, but the show's true gonzo spirit is truly illustrated in such surreal touches as the employment of live action in "Tweek vs. Craig," the singing of "The Morning After" backwards to save Chef from the spell of "The Succubus," and the Seinfeld-worthy argument over whether the term should be "pirate ghosts" or "ghost pirates" in "Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery." --Donald Liebenson

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Road to Perdition (Widescreen Edition)

Actors: Tom Hanks, Tyler Hoechlin, Rob Maxey, Liam Aiken, Jennifer Jason Leigh
ASIN : B00005JLBQ
Sales Rank : 550
Director : Sam Mendes
Brand : Paramount
Studio : Dreamworks Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780783274454
ISBN : 0783274459
UPC : 678149014723
Release Date : December 25, 2003
Publisher : Dreamworks Video
Manufacturer : Dreamworks Video
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Label : Dreamworks Video
Running Time : 117

Product Description

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 02/13/2007 Run time: 117 minutes Rating: R

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In Road to Perdition, Tom Hanks plays a hit man who finds his heart. Michael Sullivan (Hanks) is the right-hand man of crime boss John Rooney (Paul Newman), but when Sullivan's son accidentally witnesses one of his hits, he must choose between his crime family and his real one. The movie has a slow pace, largely because director Sam Mendes (American Beauty) seems to be in love with the gorgeous period locations. Hanks gives a deceptively battened-down performance at first, only opening up toward the very end of the film, making his character's personal transformation all the more convincing. Newman turns in a masterful piece of work, revealing Rooney's advancing age but at the same time, his terrifying power. Jude Law is also a standout, playing a hit man-photographer with chilling creepiness. This movie requires a little patience, but the beautiful cinematography and moving ending make it well worth the wait. --Ali Davis

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Saturday Night Live - The Complete First Season

Actors: Dan Aykroyd, Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Fran Brill, Richard Hunt
ASIN : B000JLQPYK
Sales Rank : 535
Director : Alice Tweedy, John Belushi, Garrett Morris, Gilda Radner, Laraine Newman
Brand : Universal
Studio : Universal Studios
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0025193056528
UPC : 025193056528
Release Date : December 05, 2006
Publisher : Universal Studios
Manufacturer : Universal Studios
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Universal Studios
Running Time : 1593

Description

Nicknamed the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players," the original cast of Saturday Night Live ignited a comedy revolution with their mix of irreverent characters and satirical impressions of political figures and pop culture icons. From the premiere of this groundbreaking sketch comedy show on October 11, 1975, live from historic Studio 8H in New York City's Rockefeller Center, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Chevy Chase, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner launched themselves into instant stardom and were often referred to as "The Beatles of Comedy." Created by Lorne Michaels over three decades ago, Saturday Night Live has had the cultural impact and relevance that few shows can claim. Nowhere else can you see the complete first season of SNL, featuring hosts George Carlin, Rob Reiner, Lily Tomlin, Richard Pryor, Elliott Gould, Candice Bergen, or original musical performances by Simon & Garfunkel, ABBA, Patti Smith, Jimmy Cliff, and Carly Simon. And if you're curious as to how the original cast was hired, check out the DVD bonus features, which include the screen tests of each performer.

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Saturday Night Live: The Complete First Season boxed set is much more than the sum of its parts, in fact it's one of the most significant TV DVD releases yet. This isn't just an 8-disc set featuring 24 episodes of live sketch comedy, it's a big box of zeitgeist. This really is the complete first season, mostly uncut and complete with every musical act and short film intact (a few bumpers and transitions were removed to make it flow better on DVD). The first broadcast aired on October 11, 1975, hosted by George Carlin and featured musical guests Billy Preston and Janis Ian. At first, things seem a little raw: Carlin's opening monologue is painfully unfunny, Chase's first shot at the seminal "Weekend Update" is amusing but sloppy, and much of the cast seem to be holding back. But the groundwork is all there, and soon in subsequent episodes you can see it all start to come together (especially with John Belushi who lets his simmering intensity out to tremendous effect), proving that the first episode simply belies the historic impact the show would come to have on popular culture. Here you'll find the first airing of some of the many skits that stayed famous over the years: the Land Shark, Samurai Hotel, Chevy Chase's opening pratfalls and the impersonations of Gerald Ford which would spin off into the proud SNL tradition of presidential parodies.

The set is a very entertaining look at a significant point in TV and American cultural history. It is so 1975, but that's a major part of its appeal: did Chevy Chase really used to look that young? Did a young George Carlin really used to look so old? Check out Abba in those disco jumpsuits. And if you're a fan of The Muppets, seeing them here on late-night TV making jokes about getting drunk will blow your mind. Younger fans may not fully understand just how groundbreaking this show was at the time. For example, Richard Pryor hosting the seventh episode, which includes the famous "Word Association" sketch. Back then, to have a comedian of Pryor's reputation joking about drugs, sex, and race on live TV was a tremendous risk (it's also gratifying to see the obvious effect he had on the next generation of comics like Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock), and it helped established the show's cache as unpredictable and edgy. The DVD set is full of moments like this and, like the show itself, it has its ups and downs. Watching hosts like Rob Reiner (back when he was still in his "Meathead" days from All in the Family), Madeleine Kahn, and Desi Arnaz work their comedy chops with the cast are high points. Whereas the infamous Louise Lasser episode, which is known for being among the worst episodes in the show's history… not so much. Still, it's entirely to Executive Producer Lorne Michaels's credit that it's included here. It's a tremendous collection of everything that gave birth to Saturday Night Live, and the seed of what SNL would become, spawning many movies (not to mention a few catch-phrases), launching the careers of many great comedians, and providing TV viewers with some of the most famous, and infamous, moments in broadcast history. And it all started right here.

The set is packaged in a well-designed, sleek fold-out digi-pack with every episode listed on the sleeves, with hosts, musical guests, and the original air date. The special features include a rare look at the cast members' original screen tests, and a 1975 TV interview with the cast. --Daniel Vancini

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The Big Lebowski [HD DVD]

Actor: Jeff Bridges; Steve Buscemi; Sam Elliott; Flea; Ben Gazzara; John Goodman; Philip Seymour Hoffman; David Huddleston; Dom Irrera; Julianne Moore; Jon Polito; Leon Russom; Peter Stormare; David Thewlis; John Turturro; Tara Reid; Aimee Mann
ASIN : B000O179EK
Sales Rank : 1065
Director : Joel Coen
Brand : Universal
Studio : Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Region Code : 0
Format : Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
Binding : HD DVD
EAN : 0025193290427
UPC : 025193290427
Release Date : December 26, 2007
Publisher : Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Manufacturer : Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Running Time : 118

Product Description

Universal Big Lebowski (HD-DVD)
The hilariously twisted comedy-thriller stars Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi and Julianne Moore. Join the "Dude" and his bowling buddies on their journey that blends unforgettable characters, kidnapping, a case of mistaken identity and White Russians. Enter the visually unique and entertaining world from the creative minds of the Coen brothers and remember: the Dude abides.

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After the tight plotting and quirky intensity of Fargo, this casually amusing follow-up from the prolifically inventive Coen (Ethan and Joel) brothers seems like a bit of a lark, and the result was a box-office disappointment. The good news is, The Big Lebowski is every bit a Coen movie, and its lazy plot is part of its laidback charm. After all, how many movies can claim as their hero a pot-bellied, pot-smoking loser named Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) who spends most of his time bowling and getting stoned? And where else could you find a hairnetted Latino bowler named Jesus (John Turturro) who sports dazzling purple footgear, or an erotic artist (Julianne Moore) whose creativity consists of covering her naked body in paint, flying through the air in a leather harness, and splatting herself against a giant canvas? Who else but the Coens would think of showing you a camera view from inside the holes of a bowling ball, or an elaborate Busby Berkely-styled musical dream sequence involving a Viking goddess and giant bowling pins? The plot--which finds Lebowski involved in a kidnapping scheme after he's mistaken for a rich guy with the same name--is almost beside the point. What counts here is a steady cascade of hilarious dialogue, great work from Coen regulars John Goodman and Steve Buscemi, and the kind of cinematic ingenuity that puts the Coens in a class all their own. Be sure to watch with snacks in hand, because The Big Lebowski might give you a giddy case of the munchies. --Jeff Shannon

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The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Full Screen Edition)

Actors: Tilda Swinton, Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Skandar Keynes, Anna Popplewell
ASIN : B00005JO1X
Sales Rank : 1229
Director : Andrew Adamson
Brand : Buena Vista Home Video
Studio : Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Disney
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0786936292916
UPC : 786936292916
Release Date : December 04, 2006
Publisher : Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Disney
Manufacturer : Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Disney
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Label : Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Disney
Running Time : 143

Description

Prepare to enter another world when Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media present C.S. Lewis' timeless and beloved adventure. With the stunningly realistic special effects, you'll experience the exploits of Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter, four siblings who find the world of Narnia through a magical wardrobe while playing a game of "hide-and-seek" at the country estate of a mysterious professor. Once there, the children discover a charming, once peaceful land inhabited by talking beasts, dwarfs, fauns, centaurs, and giants that has been turned into a world of eternal winter by the evil White Witch, Jadis. Aided by the wise and magnificent lion Aslan, the children lead Narnia into a spectacular climactic battle to be free of the Witch's glacial powers forever! The Chronicles of Narnia, Narnia, and all other book titles, characters and locales original thereto are trademarks of C.S. Lewis Pte Ltd. and are used with permission. © Disney/Walden

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C.S. Lewis's classic novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe makes an ambitious and long-awaited leap to the screen in this modern adaptation. It's a CGI-created world laden with all the special effects and visual wizardry modern filmmaking technology can conjure, which is fine so long as the film stays true to the story that Lewis wrote. And while this film is not a literal translation--it really wants to be so much more than just a kids' movie--for the most part it is faithful enough to the story, and whatever faults it has are happily faults of overreaching, and not of holding back. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe tells the story of the four Pevensie children, Lucy, Peter, Edmund, and Susan, and their adventures in the mystical world of Narnia. Sent to the British countryside for their own safety during the blitz of World War II, they discover an entryway into a mystical world through an old wardrobe. Narnia is inhabited by mythical, anthropomorphic creatures suffering under the hundred-year rule of the cruel White Witch (Tilda Swinton, in a standout role). The arrival of the children gives the creatures of Narnia hope for liberation, and all are dragged into the inevitable conflict between evil (the Witch) and good (Aslan the Lion, the Messiah figure, regally voiced by Liam Neeson).

Director (and co-screenwriter) Andrew Adamson, a veteran of the Shrek franchise, knows his way around a fantasy-based adventure story, and he wisely keeps the story moving when it could easily become bogged down and tiresome. Narnia is, of course, a Christian allegory and the symbology is definitely there (as it should be, otherwise it wouldn't be the story Lewis wrote), but audiences aren’t knocked over the head with it, and in the hands of another director it could easily have become pedantic. The focus is squarely on the children and their adventures. The four young actors are respectable in their roles, especially considering the size of the project put on their shoulders, but it's the young Georgie Henley as the curious Lucy who stands out. This isn't a film that wildly succeeds, and in the long run it won't have the same impact as the Harry Potter franchise, but it is well done, and kids will get swept up in the adventure. Note: Narnia does contain battle scenes that some parents may consider too violent for younger children. --Dan Vancini

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Chappelle's Show - Season 1

Actors: Liz Beckham, Anthony Berry, Billy Burr, Dave Chappelle, DJ Cipha Sounds
ASIN : B00018YCIM
Sales Rank : 1826
Director : Andre Allen (II), Bill Berner, Todd Broder, Rusty Cundieff, Bob Goldthwait
Brand : Paramount
Studio : Comedy Central
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9781415700587
ISBN : 1415700583
UPC : 097368799141
Release Date : December 24, 2004
Publisher : Comedy Central
Manufacturer : Comedy Central
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Comedy Central
Running Time : 283

Product Description

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 05/20/2008 Run time: 315 minutes Rating: Nr

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The 2003 debut of Chappelle's Show on Comedy Central marked a high point for the cable channel, and now the entire, wildly creative first season can be seen, with hundreds of bleeps removed. That's not to say Chappelle's Show is perfect entertainment: there are too many moments among the 12 episodes here that descend into pointless scatology and booty fever. But for the most part, Chappelle, a talented comic slowly growing into greatness, is trying to push the sketch-humor envelope and succeeds at surprising us with original concepts and merciless execution.

The merely clever material includes "National Geography's Third World Girls Gone Wild," basically an update on those topless-native-women gags of yore, and Chappelle's "Educated Guess Line," in which the sage comic eschews psychic powers to logically deduce racial insights from his callers' questions. Far more wicked is an in-your-face satire on such autobiographical film fare as Antwone Fisher and 8 Mile, in which Chappelle plays himself ascending from street hustler to rapper-comedian to bona fide savior of America. The best thing here, however, is a parallel-universe version of The Real World, in which the usual racial proportions on MTV's workhorse series are reversed, thrusting a token white guy into a Hoboken houseful of crazy African Americans. There are also laughs in "Ask a Gay Guy with Mario Cantoned," as well as a sketch about an "inner-thoughts cam" and a nasty piece about Chappelle's Make-a-Wish visit to a dying child, which decays into a cruel video game competition. Overlooking the series' weaker material, this is outstanding television comedy. --Tom Keogh

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Seven Samurai - 3 Disc Remastered Edition (Criterion Collection Spine # 2)

Actors: Takashi Shimura, Toshirô Mifune, Yoshio Inaba, Seiji Miyaguchi, Minoru Chiaki
ASIN : B000G8NXYG
Sales Rank : 985
Director : Akira Kurosawa
Brand : Image Entertainment
Studio : Criterion
Region Code : 1
Format : Black & White, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0715515019927
UPC : 715515019927
Release Date : December 05, 2006
Publisher : Criterion
Manufacturer : Criterion
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Label : Criterion
Running Time : 207

Product Description

Studio: Image Entertainment Release Date: 09/05/2006

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Hailed as the greatest film in the history of Japanese cinema, Seven Samurai is director Akira Kurosawa's undisputed masterpiece. Arguably the greatest of all jidai-gecki (or historical swordplay films), Kurosawa's classic 1954 action drama has never been surpassed in terms of sheer power of emotion, kinetic energy, and dynamic character development. The story is set during the civil unrest of 16th-century Japan, as the cowering residents of a small farming village are seeking protection against seasonal attacks by a band of marauding bandits. Offering mere handfuls of rice as payment, they hire seven unemployed "ronin" (masterless samurai), including a boastful swordsman (Toshiro Mifune) who is actually a peasant farmer's son, desperately seeking glory, acceptance, and revenge against those who destroyed his family. Led by the calmly strategic Kambei (Takashi Shimura, star of Kurosawa's previous classic, Ikiru), the samurai form mutual bonds of honor and respect, but remain distant from the villagers, knowing that their assignment may prove to be fatal.

Kurosawa masterfully composed his shots to emphasize these group dynamics, and Seven Samurai is a textbook study of the director's signature techniques, including extensive use of telephoto lenses to compress action, delineate character relationships, and intensify motion. While the climactic battle against raiding thieves remains one of the most breathtaking sequences ever filmed, Seven Samurai is most triumphant as a peerless example of character development, requiring all of its 2-hour, 37-minute running time to illuminate every essential detail of villagers and samurai alike, including an abundance of humor as Kambei's defense plan unfolds. In terms of its overall impact, Seven Samurai spawned dozens of copycat films (notably the American Western remake The Magnificent Seven) and cannot be adequately summarized by even the most comprehensive synopsis; it must be seen to be fully appreciated, and the Criterion Collection's 2006 DVD reissue is an essential addition to any definitive home-video library. --Jeff Shannon

On the DVDs
According to the accompanying booklet, "the picture has been slightly window-boxed (in correct original 1.33:1 aspect ratio) to ensure that the maximum image is visible on all monitors." The two-disc format was necessary "to maintain optimal image quality throughout the compression process," with dual-layered DVD-9's encoded "at the highest possible bit rate for the quantity of material included." The picture and sound quality are simply amazing compared to Criterion's one-disc release from 1998. The all-new, fully restored high-definition digital transfer takes full advantage of HD's clarity and crispness, resulting in picture detail far surpassing the previous DVD. This also applies to the soundtrack, presented in optional Dolby surround in addition to the remastered original mono track. The new transfer "was mastered in 2k resolution from a duplicate negative created with wetgate processing from the original fine-grain master positive" (the film's original negative is no longer available), and "several different digital hardware and software solutions were utilized for flicker, instability, dirt, scratch, and grain management."

The complete 207-minute film is accompanied by two full-length commentary tracks, including a new track combining the critical insights of film scholars David Desser, Joan Mellen, Stephen Price (author of The Warrior's Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa), Tony Rayns, and the dean of Japanese film experts, Donald Richie (author of The Films of Akira Kurosawa). Each scholar is given approximately 40 minutes of film-time, and their commentaries represent a unique opportunity to appreciate Seven Samurai from distinct yet complementary critical perspectives. The commentary by Japanese film expert Michael Jeck (from Criterion's original 1988 laserdisc release) remains useful as a thorough analysis of Seven Samurai, primarily in terms of visual composition.

The 50-minute "making of" documentary, from Japan's 2002 Toho Masterworks TV series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create emphasizes Kurosawa's collaboration with co-screenwriters Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni, including production footage, crewmember interviews, and a reverent visit to the rural inn where Seven Samurai was written over a six-week period of intense seclusion. The two-hour "My Life in Cinema" interview with Kurosawa was recorded in 1993, with fellow filmmaker Nagisa Oshima serving as a gentle admirer, colleague, and well-informed historian of Kurosawa's career. "Seven Samurai: Origins and Influences" is a richly informative documentary that places Kurosawa's classic in both historical and cinematic context, examining its place in the jidai-gecki (swordplay) genre, its accurate depiction of samurai codes and traditions, and its stature as the prototype for many films that followed. The lavishly illustrated 58-page booklet includes eight brief essays on various aspects of Seven Samurai, each written by noted film scholars or film directors (including Arthur Penn and Sidney Lumet). Also included is a reminiscence by the great actor Toshiro Mifune, excerpted from a conversation recorded in 1993. Taken as a whole, the remastered three-disc Seven Samurai ranks as one of the finest DVD sets ever released. --Jeff Shannon

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Easy Living (Universal Cinema Classics)

Actors: Jean Arthur, Edward Arnold, Ray Milland
ASIN : B0012GVMIA
Sales Rank : 1912
Director : Mitchell Leisen
Brand : Universal
Studio : Universal Studios
Region Code : 1
Format : Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0025193299123
UPC : 025193299123
Release Date : December 22, 2008
Publisher : Universal Studios
Manufacturer : Universal Studios
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Universal Studios
Running Time : 88

Description

Jean Arthur and Ray Milland shine in this screwball comedy written by Academy Award® winner* Preston Sturges. Mary Smith (Arthur) is a poor working girl who literally has a fortune dropped in her lap when a wealthy financier (Edward Arnold) tosses a sable coat out a window and it lands on her. Everyone automatically assumes she's his mistress, and soon her fairytale-like rags-to-riches lifestyle threatens a very real romance with an inept waiter (Milland). It's a "delightful comedy" (Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide) full of misunderstandings that showcases high-society slapstick at its best!

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Of all the screenplays Preston Sturges wrote for Paramount before becoming the greatest comic director of his generation, 1937's Easy Living seems the most like something he would have filmed himself--a satirical fable about chance, class, and the absurdity of the American dream. Jean Arthur is a New York secretary riding to work atop a double-decker bus when a fur coat miraculously descends from the sky and settles on her shoulders. The fur, however, has not dropped from Olympus but from the hand of a millionaire (Edward Arnold) who has just tossed it from a nearby roof to punish his wife. But as if it were a magic fleece (the mythical reference is almost certainly intended by the erudite Sturges), it makes its wearer invincible, conferring an aura of prosperity, celebrity, and power on the previously average working girl. No folk tale is complete without a prince: Sturges's is the millionaire's son, Ray Milland, who is trying to pass as an apprentice stockbroker. Directed with a light, elegant touch by Mitchell Leisen, the film lacks the crazy energy it would have had under Sturges's own hand, but this remains one of the great screwball comedies (in a year that also saw The Awful Truth and Nothing Sacred). --Dave Kehr

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