|
|
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 13
14
15
[...]
List Price: $14.99Price: $9.99You Save: $5 (33%)
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella
Actors: Brandy Norwood, Bernadette Peters, Veanne Cox, Natalie Desselle, Paolo Montalban
ASIN : B00004Z4SE
Sales Rank : 2032
Director : Robert Iscove
Brand : BRANDY
Studio : Walt Disney Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Live, Full Screen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0786936143355
UPC : 786936143355
Release Date : December 04, 2003
Publisher : Walt Disney Video
Manufacturer : Walt Disney Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Walt Disney Video
Running Time : 88
DescriptionA prince, a pumpkin, a glass slipper ... history's most enduring fairy tale returns with a thoroughly modern twist! Beautifully produced and featuring an all-star cast, RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S CINDERELLA shimmers to life in the most spectacular production ever of the classic musical -- including three additional Rodgers & Hammerstein songs exclusive to this special Disney presentation! Pop sensation Brandy (TV's MOESHA) stars as the beautiful Cinderella, who suffers the torment of her wicked stepmother (Bernadette Peters) and spoiled stepsisters. Cinderella dreams of the impossible -- going to the ball and dancing with the prince. Her impossible dream is realized when her fairy godmother (Whitney Houston) teaches her that with positive thinking and belief in yourself, "impossible things happen every day!" Also starring Jason Alexander (TV's SEINFELD) and Whoopi Goldberg (SISTER ACT), Disney's sparkling new version of RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S CINDERELLA promises to be an instant classic. Now you can relive the magic anytime you wish! Amazon.comMore is not necessarily better. A glitzy Hollywood cast and a big budget did not improve the wonderful 1957 teleplay (or its equally charming 1964 remake) upon which this version is based. This is partly because Brandy, cast in the title role, cannot act. Not helping matters are Whoopi Goldberg as the prince's mother and Jason Alexander as his valet. Their shtick wears thin very quickly. However, Paolo Montalban is charismatic as the prince, and Whitney Houston plays a fairy godmother with pizzazz. The production cost millions, and is certainly lavish, but the whole affair feels forced and overdone, reminding one of a prom queen wearing too much makeup. It does deserve credit for a multi-ethnic cast, the addition of two new songs and a hip attitude. However, the 1964 version (the original was not taped) is much sweeter and more romantic. Originally released as Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. --Rochelle O'Gorman
Reviews for the Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella
List Price: $26.98Price: $24.99You Save: $1.99 (7%)
Fiddler on the Roof (2-Disc Collector's Edition)
Actors: Topol, Norma Crane, Leonard Frey, Molly Picon, Paul Mann
ASIN : B000KX0IQS
Sales Rank : 2633
Director : Norman Jewison
Brand : TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
Studio : MGM (Video & DVD)
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0027616063281
UPC : 027616063281
Release Date : December 23, 2007
Publisher : MGM (Video & DVD)
Manufacturer : MGM (Video & DVD)
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : MGM (Video & DVD)
Running Time : 181
Description"An outstanding accomplishment in every category" (Boxoffice), this lavishly produced and critically acclaimed screen adaptation of the international stage sensation tells the life-affirming story of Tevye (Topol), a poor milkman whose love, pride and faith help him face the oppression of turn-of-the century czarist Russia. Nominated* for eight Academy Awards(r), including Best Picture and Best Director, and featuring such classic songs as "If I Were A Rich Man," "Matchmaker" and "Sunrise, Sunset," Fiddler on the Roof is a universal story of hope, love and acceptancea "stunning, joyful and jubilant" (New York Daily News) musical masterpiece. *1971: Actor (Topol), Supporting Actor (Leonard Frey), Cinematography (winner), Art Direction/SetDecoration, Sound (winner), Music (Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score) (winner) Amazon.comThis rousing musical, based on the stories of Shalom Aleichem, takes place in pre-revolutionary Russia and centers on the life of Tevye (Topol), a milkman who is trying to keep his family's traditions in place while marrying off his three older daughters. Yet, times are changing and the daughters want to make their own matches, breaking free of many of the constricting customs required of them by Judaism. In the background of these events, Russia is on the brink of revolution and Jews are feeling increasingly unwelcome in their villages. Tevye--who expresses his desire for sameness in the opening number, "Tradition"--is trying to keep everyone, and everything, together. The movie is strongly allegorical--Tevye represents the common man--but it does it dexterously, and the resulting film is a stunning work of art. The music is excellent (it won Oscars for the scoring and the sound), with plenty of familiar songs such as "Sunrise, Sunset" and "If I Were a Rich Man," which you'll be humming long after the movie is over. Isaac Stern's violin--he provides the music for the fiddler on the roof--is hauntingly beautiful. And despite the serious subject matter, the film is quite comedic in parts; it also well deserves the Oscar it won for cinematography. --Jenny Brown
Reviews for the Fiddler on the Roof (2-Disc Collector's Edition)
List Price: $18.99Price: $14.99You Save: $4 (21%)
Bellydance Basics and Beyond: Technique for a Solid Foundation
Actor: Jenna
ASIN : B000FSL8WQ
Sales Rank : 3766
Director : Jenna
Brand : STRATOSTREAM
Studio : StratoStream - WorldDance New York
Format : Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0188883000109
UPC : 188883000109
Release Date : December 26, 2006
Publisher : StratoStream - WorldDance New York
Manufacturer : StratoStream - WorldDance New York
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : StratoStream - WorldDance New York
Running Time : 140
Product DescriptionBellydance Basics & Beyond is a 2 hr. 20 min. program designed to teach the fundamental movements of bellydance and encourage their practice in a wide range of dance combinations. Jenna's methodical presentation of bellydance basics begins with POSTURE, the foundation on which dance movement is built. The BASIC ARMS section teaches you how to maintain and enhance a beautiful elongated body line through graceful positioning of the arms and hands. WARMUP includes select dance moves and dynamic stretches and is designed as a light total-body workout. The FOOTWORK section lays the foundation for traveling steps, focusing on a number of patterns, such as basic walk, 2-step and triple step traveling and ways to change directions. ISOLATIONS of shoulders, ribcage and hips are building blocks of bellydance movement. Jenna breaks down slides, lifts, drops, arcs and sharp accents. Some of these elements are dance moves in their own right, and others help to form compound moves. COMPOUND MOVES are the essential vocabulary of bellydance - circles, undulations and figure 8s. Jenna's technique of building them from the smallest and most basic elements up, ensures that they are performed with effortless grace. Next, Jenna shows how to layer simple and compound moves on top of TRAVELING steps. PRACTICE COMBINATIONS offer five 5-minute practice sessions made from many exciting bellydance combinations. As you follow Jenna, you can listen to the music together with her verbal cues or you can select the music-only option. This section offers a series of excellent technique drills and can be combined with the WARMUP for a fantastic 30-minute moderate workout. The last session contains stretches and can serve as a cooldown.
Reviews for the Bellydance Basics and Beyond: Technique for a Solid Foundation
List Price: $34.99Price: $22.99You Save: $12 (34%)
Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)
Actors: Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman, Edward Sanders, Timothy Spall
ASIN : B0013D8LOU
Sales Rank : 1983
Brand : Paramount
Studio : Dreamworks Video
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0097361321547
UPC : 097361321547
Release Date : December 01, 2008
Publisher : Dreamworks Video
Manufacturer : Dreamworks Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Dreamworks Video
Running Time : 116
DescriptionJohnny Depp and Tim Burton join forces again in a big-screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's award-winning musical thriller "Sweeney Todd." Depp stars in the title role as a man unjustly sent to prison who vows revenge, not only for that cruel punishment, but for the devastating consequences of what happened to his wife and daughter. When he returns to reopen his barber shop, Sweeney Todd becomes the Demon Barber of Fleet Street who "shaved the heads of gentlemen who never thereafter were heard from again." Joining Depp is Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney's amorous accomplice, who creates diabolical meat pies. The cast also includes Alan Rickman, who portrays the evil Judge Turpin, who sends Sweeney to prison and Timothy Spall as the Judge's wicked associate Beadle Bamford and Sacha Baron Cohen is a rival barber, the flamboyant Signor Adolfo Pirelli. Amazon.comAfter years of rumors, it turns out that Tim Burton was the perfect visionary to film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Stephen Sondheim's Broadway masterpiece, and the result is a macabre and moving musical movie as enthralling as anything Burton has ever done. The show's mix of gothic horror, Grand Guignol, very dark humor, and witty and beautiful music never was the stuff of traditional musical comedy, but it's a powerful work, and perhaps the richest of the late 20th century. In the movie, Burton's frequent collaborator, Johnny Depp, plays Todd, a wronged man whose lust for revenge drives him to murder (an 19th-century legend who has been traced to a real-life barber). Helena Bonham Carter, another Burton mainstay, is Mrs. Lovett, the barber's partner-in-unspeakable-crime. It's no surprise that Depp is an excellent choice to convey Todd's brooding intensity and volcanic rage, but he can also sing a score that is so challenging it has often played in opera houses (though not with the same style as the Broadway original, Len Cariou, and he occasionally lapses into pop style). Bonham Carter is small of voice and lacks the humor of the original Broadway Lovett, Angela Lansbury, but she sings on pitch, in rhythm, and in character at the same time, which is no small feat for a Sondheim show. Aficionados will regret the loss of certain musical passages--"The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" is just an instrumental overture and the chorus is gone altogether, among others--but the reassuring presence of orchestrator Jonathan Tunick and conductor Paul Gemignani ensures that the music feels right and sounds great. And the film's depiction of a Victorian London hellhole--with cinematography by Dariusz Wolski and costumes by Colleen Atwood--also looks and feels right. The excellent cast is filled out by Alan Rickman as the villainous Judge Turpin, Timothy Spall as his seedy Beadle, Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) as a rival barber, Jamie Campbell Bower as the young lover Anthony, Jayne Wisener as his object of affection, and Ed Sanders as the young Toby. For fans of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp who don't think they like musicals, Sweeney Todd should be a revelation (though not for the squeamish, as the gore is intense and completely appropriate). For fans of Broadway and Sondheim, it's hard to imagine getting a better adaptation than this. The fact that there's no newly composed Oscar-bait song sung by a Josh Groban-type over the end credits only makes it better. --David Horiuchi
Reviews for the Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)
List Price: $19.94Price: $14.99You Save: $4.95 (25%)
On the Waterfront (Special Edition)
Actors: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning
ASIN : B00003CXBU
Sales Rank : 2028
Director : Elia Kazan
Brand : Sony
Studio : Sony Pictures
Region Code : 99
Format : Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, Special Edition, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780767804271
ISBN : 0767804279
UPC : 043396784093
Release Date : December 23, 2001
Publisher : Sony Pictures
Manufacturer : Sony Pictures
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Sony Pictures
Running Time : 108
Product DescriptionStudio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 05/13/2008 Run time: 108 minutes Rating: Nr Amazon.com essential videoMarlon Brando's famous "I coulda been a contenda" speech is such a warhorse by now that a lot of people probably feel they've seen this picture already, even if they haven't. And many of those who have seen it may have forgotten how flat-out thrilling it is. For all its great dramatic and cinematic qualities, and its fiery social criticism, Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront is also one of the most gripping melodramas of political corruption and individual heroism ever made in the United States, a five-star gut-grabber. Shot on location around the docks of Hoboken, New Jersey, in the mid-1950s, it tells the fact-based story of a longshoreman (Brando's Terry Malloy) who is blackballed and savagely beaten for informing against the mobsters who have taken over his union and sold it out to the bosses. (Karl Malden has a more conventional stalwart-hero role, as an idealistic priest who nurtures Terry's pangs of conscience.) Lee J. Cobb, who created the role of Willy Loman in Death of Salesman under Kazan's direction on Broadway, makes a formidable foe as a greedy union leader. --David Chute
Reviews for the On the Waterfront (Special Edition)
List Price: $14.99Price: $9.99You Save: $5 (33%)
Strictly Ballroom
Actors: Paul Mercurio, Tara Morice, Bill Hunter, Pat Thomson, Gia Carides
ASIN : B00005V1Y0
Sales Rank : 2117
Director : Baz Luhrmann
Studio : Miramax
Region Code : 1
Format : Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0786936166712
UPC : 786936166712
Release Date : December 19, 2002
Publisher : Miramax
Manufacturer : Miramax
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Miramax
Running Time : 94
DescriptionFrom Baz Lurhrmann -- the director of the award-winning hits ROMEO & JULIET and MOULIN ROUGE! -- comes STRICTLY BALLROOM ... the hilariously funny romantic comedy that's sure to leave you laughing, cheering, and feeling great! It's the magical story of a championship ballroom dancer who's breaking all the rules, and his ugly duckling dancing partner. Together they make their dreams come true! Now celebrating its glorious 10th Anniversary -- you're sure to enjoy this exhaustively funny comedy as it dances and soars its way straight into your heart. Critics everywhere fell madly in love with this big-screen treat -- and so will you! Amazon.comWhile the plot of this Australian film may seem a bit familiar (The Ugly Duckling meets Dirty Dancing), the whimsical tone and superb dance sequences will make you forget the movie's predictability. Scott (Paul Mercurio) is a champion ballroom dancer who wants to dance "his own steps." Fran is the homely, beginning dancer who convinces Scott that he should dance his own steps... with her. Complicating matters are Scott's domineering mother (Pat Thompson), a former dancer herself, who wants her son to win the Australian Pan Pacific Championship (the same contest she lost years ago), and a conniving dance committee that is determined that "there are no new steps!" The dancing is enjoyable, yet not overwhelming, and the movie strives hard not to take itself too seriously (the beginning of the film is even styled as a pseudo-documentary). Strictly Ballroom, while not so subtly imparting its moral ("A life lived in fear is a life half-lived"), is a laughable romp that's sure to be a crowd pleaser. --Jenny Brown
Reviews for the Strictly Ballroom
List Price: $24.98Price: $17.49You Save: $7.49 (30%)
Mitzi Gaynor: Razzle Dazzle! The Special Years
Actors: Mitzi Gaynor, Bob Mackie, Kristin Chenoweth, Kelli O'Hara, Rex Reed
ASIN : B001CDL6R0
Sales Rank : 1266
Director : Various
Studio : City Lights Home Entertainment
Region Code : 1
Format : Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0897246001591
UPC : 897246001591
Release Date : December 18, 2008
Publisher : City Lights Home Entertainment
Manufacturer : City Lights Home Entertainment
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : City Lights Home Entertainment
Running Time : 120
Product Description'Mitzi Gaynor: Razzle Dazzle! The Special Years' is an all new documentary that captures the creative excellence, the brilliant fusion of song and dance, the glamorous Bob Mackie costumes and the non-stop excitement that were the hallmark of her glittering annual television events. Experience the ground breaking Emmy winning performances, unseen for three decades, as well as photos and footage from Gaynor's personal archive that illuminate the behind-the-scenes stories and impact of her landmark television events.
Reviews for the Mitzi Gaynor: Razzle Dazzle! The Special Years
List Price: $24.98Price: $15.99You Save: $8.99 (36%)
Roy Orbison: Black & White Night [Blu-ray]
Actors: Roy Orbison, Jackson Browne, T-Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello, k.d. lang
ASIN : B0017XFP4U
Sales Rank : 3309
Director : Tony Mitchell
Brand : Image Entertainment
Studio : Image Entertainment
Format : AC-3, Best of, Dolby, Live, Widescreen
Binding : Blu-ray
EAN : 0014381495454
UPC : 014381495454
Release Date : December 30, 2008
Publisher : Image Entertainment
Manufacturer : Image Entertainment
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Image Entertainment
Running Time : 64
Album DescriptionPresented on Blu-Ray for the first time, a special one-time event documenting one of rock and roll's greatest and most unique performances. Recorded live at the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles, Roy Orbison is joined by an eclectic ensemble of rock and roll superstars. Highlighting this all-star line-up are Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, T-Bone Burnett, J.D. Souther, Jennifer Warnes, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits. Orbison and fellow performers spend a scintillating hour performing many of his greatest hits. Amazon.com essential videoFew early rockers were more gifted or less honored in their prime than the late Roy Orbison, whose vaulting tenor and vulnerable love songs conjured heartbreak and desire with operatic intensity. This 1987 concert special, originally broadcast on Showtime, came two decades after Orbison had retreated from pop's front lines, yet neither Orbison nor his music coasts on mere nostalgia: in every respect, A Black and White Night survives as a triumphant performance and a superb video production, as well as a first-rate retrospective of Orbison's hits. Filmed in black and white against the streamlined art deco stage of the since-demolished Coconut Grove in downtown Los Angeles, the concert is buoyed by a remarkable cast of A-list Orbison fans who signed on as his accompanists. Under the direction of producer T-Bone Burnett, the stage band thus includes Jackson Browne, Burnett, Elvis Costello, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, J.D. Souther, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, and Jennifer Warnes, along with the rhythm section from Elvis Presley's fabled late '60s and early '70s touring band. That astonishing lineup is all the more noteworthy for the restraint with which they collaborate--it's evident that those superstars came to honor Orbison, not upstage him, resulting in a gratifying cohesion to the performances. Orbison himself sounds as powerful as ever, his soaring falsetto cresting as dramatically as it did on the studio versions of the hits that inevitably dominate. Those songs meanwhile confirm that his blue chip admiration society came as much for the caliber of his writing as for his ravishing voice: if he remains best known for the jaunty come-on of "Pretty Woman," Orbison was first and foremost a rock balladeer, capable of bringing lumps to our throats with such classics as "Crying" and "Only the Lonely," or conjuring romantic trances through such gentle charmers as "Dream Baby." On this night, he handled all of them with fervor and finesse. --Sam Sutherland Amazon.comFew early rockers were more gifted or less honored in their prime than the late Roy Orbison, whose vaulting tenor and vulnerable love songs conjured heartbreak and desire with operatic intensity. This 1987 concert special, originally broadcast on Showtime, came two decades after Orbison had retreated from pop's front lines, yet neither Orbison nor his music coasts on mere nostalgia: in every respect, A Black and White Night survives as a triumphant performance and a superb video production, as well as a first-rate retrospective of Orbison's hits.
Filmed in black and white against the streamlined art deco stage of the since-demolished Coconut Grove in downtown Los Angeles, the concert is buoyed by a remarkable cast of A-list Orbison fans who signed on as his accompanists. Under the direction of producer T-Bone Burnett, the stage band thus includes Jackson Browne, Burnett, Elvis Costello, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, J.D. Souther, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, and Jennifer Warnes, along with the rhythm section from Elvis Presley's fabled late '60s and early '70s touring band. That astonishing lineup is all the more noteworthy for the restraint with which they collaborate--it's evident that those superstars came to honor Orbison, not upstage him, resulting in a gratifying cohesion to the performances.
Orbison himself sounds as powerful as ever, his soaring falsetto cresting as dramatically as it did on the studio versions of the hits that inevitably dominate. Those songs meanwhile confirm that his blue chip admiration society came as much for the caliber of his writing as for his ravishing voice: if he remains best known for the jaunty come-on of "Pretty Woman," Orbison was first and foremost a rock balladeer, capable of bringing lumps to our throats with such classics as "Crying" and "Only the Lonely," or conjuring romantic trances through such gentle charmers as "Dream Baby." On this night, he handled all of them with fervor and finesse. --Sam Sutherland
Reviews for the Roy Orbison: Black & White Night [Blu-ray]
List Price: $14.98Price: $7.99You Save: $6.99 (47%)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Actors: Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn, Elliott Reid, Tommy Noonan
ASIN : B000FG65RQ
Sales Rank : 3997
Director : Howard Hawks
Studio : 20th Century Fox
Region Code : 1
Format : Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0024543261001
UPC : 024543261001
Release Date : December 29, 2001
Publisher : 20th Century Fox
Manufacturer : 20th Century Fox
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : 20th Century Fox
Running Time : 97
DescriptionThese glamorous showgirls have everything a girl could want - except engagement rings! In a quest for true love, Lorelei (Marilyn Monroe) and her gold digger pal Dorothy (Jane Russell) set sail on a luxury-liner bound for France. But the pair hits rocky waters when a manipulative detective, an over-aged, over sexed millionaire (Charles Coburn) and the entire men's Olympic team try to put an anchor in their marriage-minded mischief. It's a wild and joyously funny ride across the Atlantic as our bathing beauties plan and plot a way to land their men. Amazon.com essential videoAnita Loos's old story from the 1920s about a pair of single women in search of husbands gets a makeover in Howard Hawks's 1953 musical, starring Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe as friends who go to Paris looking for mates. The film is charged by Hawks's stylish snap, a famous set piece or two (Monroe descending that staircase while singing "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend"), Russell's wit, and songs by Leo Robin and Jule Styne. The film may largely be a fluff project best remembered as a showcase for its leading actresses, but then Monroe and Russell rarely got such extended opportunities to prove that they were more than cinematic icons. --Tom Keogh
Reviews for the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
List Price: $14.98Price: $9.99You Save: $4.99 (33%)
The Temptations
Actors: Charles Malik Whitfield, D.B. Woodside, Terron Brooks, Christian Payton, Leon
ASIN : B00005NSXV
Sales Rank : 2751
Director : Allan Arkush
Brand : Lions Gate
Studio : Lions Gate
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0707729114499
UPC : 707729114499
Release Date : December 14, 2001
Publisher : Lions Gate
Manufacturer : Lions Gate
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Lions Gate
Running Time : 150
Product DescriptionThey were the rhythm and blues sensation five singers who created a sound and style that redefined the boundaries of popular song. But there was a price to be paid for their meteoric rise and when the pressures became to great to bear rivalries threatened to tear them apart forever. Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 12/21/2004 Run time: 150 minutes Rating: Nr Amazon.comConceived as a television miniseries, this portrait of the epochal Motown vocal group scores as one of the most detailed re-creations of the '60s pop milieu ever filmed. Told largely through the eyes of founding member Otis Williams (Charles Malik Whitfield), The Temptations portrays its protagonists as soul Everymen whose early triumphs closely followed, and helped expand, Motown Records' emergence as "the Sound of Young America," providing an inspirational fable for black Americans. Inevitably, of course, the story is also a cautionary tale about the price of success for both the Temps and their mentor, Motown founder Berry Gordy (Obba Babatunde). With hit records and tours, Williams and his partners grapple with drugs, alcohol, depression, jealousy, and delusions of grandeur. In particular, the galvanic lead singer David Ruffin (Leon) serves as both a focal strength and potential destroyer for the group, as his ego combines with a mounting cocaine habit to create a monster. At the same time, Gordy's eventual decision to leave his and the label's home, Detroit, for Los Angeles marks a loss of innocence for the group and their label-mates. The film provides ample insider detail about how the former Ford assembly-line worker created and controlled his unique hit factory. Based on the biography coauthored by Williams and former manager Shelly Berger, the project gets a vital boost from behind the camera, thanks to executive producer Suzanne DePasse, herself a former Motown exec, and director Allan Arkush (Rock 'n' Roll High School). That lineage probably pulls some punches in terms of individual characters and Gordy's machinations, but it also affords The Temptations its convincing detail, as does the generous running time--a mixed blessing, due to the original two-part broadcast, which might have benefited from tightening for this video version. Giving the show its greatest kick are the group's original hits, performed and choreographed convincingly in lip-synched sequences. --Sam Sutherland
Reviews for the The Temptations
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 13
14
15
[...]
|