An Evening with O. Henry (DVD)
$28.47
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An Evening with O. Henry (DVD)
A boxed set containing three of William Sydney Porter's (O. Henry) literary classics. Includes THE GIFT OF THE MAGI, O. HENRY: A LIFE IN STORIES, and THE LAST LEAF. See individual titles for complete details.DVD Features:Region 1Keep CaseAdditional Release Material: Conversations with James W. Thomas, Ph.D Discussion TopicsText/Photo Galleries: Photo Gallery Biography Read the Story
Drama
Brief Encounter - Criterion Collection (DVD)
$28.47
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Brief Encounter - Criterion Collection (DVD)
Though he might be best remembered for sweeping epics such as DOCTOR ZHIVAGO and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, renowned British director David Lean began his film career with small-scale character studies based on the plays of Noel Coward. Lean's fourth film, BRIEF ENCOUNTER--which was also his fourth and final collaboration with Coward--adapts the playwright's heartbreaking tale of two ordinary people caught up in the extraordinary power of love. Laura (Celia Johnson) is a seemingly happy, middle-class housewife who meets the equally married physician Alec (a young Trevor Howard in only his third screen role) when he removes a speck of dust from her eye at a London railway station. The pair soon find themselves drawn together through weekly meetings at the station cafe, their casual encounters blooming into a chaste love affair marked by intimate conversation, longing glances--and the tragic realization that neither of them will be able to break the bonds of social propriety that keep them wedded to other people. Seen by some as quintessentially English, Lean's achingly lovely exploration of the conflicting demands of personal happiness and social responsibility remains nonetheless universal and timeless. Johnson and Howard's nuanced performances, Robert Krasker's shadowy cinematography, and a soundtrack of hauntingly romantic Rachmaninov piano concertos only add to the film's aura of quiet desperation.DVD Features:Region 1Keep CaseFull Frame
-1.33Audio: Dolby Digital Mono - English Dolby Digital Mono - ItalianAdditional Release Material: Audio Commentary - 1. Bruce Eder - Film Historian Original Theatrical TrailerInteractive Features: Scene Access Interactive Menus
Drama
George Washington - Criterion Collection (DVD)
$28.47
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George Washington - Criterion Collection (DVD)
David Gordon Green makes a stunning directorial debut with GEORGE WASHINGTON, a highly poetic drama that tells the story of the inhabitants of a small, impoverished southern town. Focusing on a group of five adolescent friends--George (Donald Holden), Nasia (Candace Evanofski), Buddy (Curtis Cotton III), Vernon (Damian Jewan Lee), and Sonya (Rachel Handy)--Green uses the town's barren landscape to provide a bleak, yet beautiful, backdrop for their day-to-day lives. After Nasia breaks up with Buddy for George, an introverted youth with an extremely sensitive fontanel, tragedy strikes and the friends are forced to come to terms with the situation. The resulting internal struggles send each individual into a search for redemption in intensely personal, yet very different, ways.Green's film is reminiscent of Terrence Malick's DAYS OF HEAVEN in its potent blend of naturalistic acting, lush photography, and nostalgic voice-over. The 24-year-old shows a maturity that many older directors rarely attain. It is this overriding optimism that makes it such an uplifting moviegoing experience, even amidst such somber circumstances. Also, there is an understated humor--most notably in Paul Schneider's portrayal of Rico Rice--that keeps matters hopeful throughout. GEORGE WASHINGTON is an honest, thoughtful, and deeply transcendent motion picture.DVD Features:Region 1Keep CaseAnamorphic Widescreen - 2.35Single Side - Dual LayerAudio: Stereo 2.0 - EnglishAdditional Release Material: Audio Commentary - 1. David Gordon Green - Director 2. Tim Orr - Cinematographer
3. Paul Schneider - Actor Deleted Scene Trailers - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer Short Films - 1. PLEASANT GROVE - Directed by David Gordon Green
2. PHYSICAL PINBALL - Directed by David Gordon Green
3. A DAY WITH THE BOYS - Directed by Clu Gulager Interviews
Drama
The Passion of Joan of Arc - Criterion Collection (DVD)
$28.47
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The Passion of Joan of Arc - Criterion Collection (DVD)
Danish filmmaker Dreyer's dramatization of the trial and martyrdom of Joan of Arc remains one of the most striking and original films ever made. Shot entirely in close-ups and utilizing techniques years ahead of his contemporaries, Dreyer's deft cinematography and direction captures the intense emotional and spiritual turmoil of the young martyr--immortalized by the French actress Falconetti in her sole screen performance. The original version, thought lost forever, was discovered in the janitor's closet of a Norwegian mental institution in 1981.DVD Features:Region 1 EncodingKeep CaseOrchestral Work inspired by the filmNotes on the orchestral workAudio essay by Dreyer scholar Casper TybjergInteractive essays on the film and the life of Joan of ArcMultimedia history of the film's different versionsRestoration Demonstration
Drama
A Night to Remember - Criterion Collection (DVD)
$28.47
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A Night to Remember - Criterion Collection (DVD)
Directed by Hammer horror director Roy Ward Baker, this is another version of the tale of the doomed maiden voyage of the Titanic, told in a semi-documentary style through the eyes of the ship's second officer, Herbert Lightoller, whose duties provided him with a unique perspective of the everyday goings-on aboard the huge ocean liner.
An excellent cast (selected for their resemblances to photos of the real passengers) conveys the courage, greed, fear, hope and despair of the real-life passengers. Based on the novel by Walter Lord.DVD Features:Region 1 EncodingKeep CaseFeaturette:The Making of a Night to RememberAudio CommentaryBritish and American Theatrical Trailers.
Drama
Young Mr. Lincoln - Criterion Collection (DVD)
$28.47
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Young Mr. Lincoln - Criterion Collection (DVD)
John Ford`s film on the early career of Abraham Lincoln, which centers on an apocryphal murder trial, impressed even the great Sergei Eisenstein. It stars Henry Fonda as the title character, who opts for the law after receiving encouragement from his early, ill-fated love, Anne Rutledge (Pauline Moore). Too poor to own even a horse, he arrives in Springfield on a mule and soon establishes a law practice with friend John Stuart (Edwin Maxwell). At a July 4th celebration, a man is murdered in a brawl, and the accused are Matt and Adam Clay (Richard Cromwell and Eddie Quillan), two brothers of a family that Lincoln knows. After saving the two men from a lynch mob, Lincoln becomes their defending attorney, a difficult task since each man claims guilt to spare the other. Admiring his courage, Mary Todd (Marjorie Weaver) invites him to her sister`s soiree and expresses an intense interest in his future. More pressing is his meeting with Abigail Clay (Alice Brady), who understandably refuses to tell Lincoln which of her sons is the killer. Although entirely fictional, Ford`s fable conveys the essence of the great man`s character: honesty, humor, wisdom, and a shrewdness that knew how to take a back road to reach the high road. A triumph of acting, writing, and direction, YOUNG MR. LINCOLN features one of Fonda`s greatest screen performances.
Drama
Hamlet By Brook / Brook By Brook (DVD)
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Hamlet By Brook / Brook By Brook (DVD)
Shakespeare's HAMLET has been interpreted in many ways, with a vast array of actors and directors producing some superlative renditions of the Bard's sublime work. Peter Brook offers his own inimitable take on HAMLET here, leading a stellar cast through the play in a highly unique manner. This is followed by the film BROOK BY BROOK, which is a fascinating documentary on the filmmaker/theater director. Helmed by Brook's son, it shines a compelling light on his life and work, offering valuable insight into Brook's methodology.DVD Features:Region (unknown)Keep CaseWidescreenAdditional Release Material: Collectible Booklet Essay by Screenwriter Jean Claude Carriere Peter and Simon Brook BiographiesInteractive Features: Scene Access
Drama
Traffic (DVD)
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Traffic (DVD)
Steven Soderbergh followed up his critical and commercial smash ERIN BROCKOVICH with this wildly exhilarating exploration of the complex, multilayered international drug problem. The film tells three seemingly disparate stories that loosely intersect and overlap, unfurling at a frantic, relentless pace. In the first, a well-intentioned Mexican police officer, Javier Rodriguez Rodriguez (Benicio Del Toro), comes face-to-face with the hypocrisy and hopelessness of his situation after he learns that his superior, General Salazar (Tomas Milian), isn`t the law-abiding officer he claims to be. In the second, Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas), a conservative Supreme Court judge from Ohio, takes a position as the president`s new drug czar. What he doesn`t realize is that his teenage daughter, Caroline (Erika Christensen), is falling prey to the dangerous narcotics that he has been hired to eradicate. In the third section, federal agents Montel Gordon (Don Cheadle) and Ray Castro (Luis Guzman) are baby-sitting Eduardo Ruiz (Miguel Ferrer), a drug smuggler who is about to testify against the wealthy Carlos Ayala (Steven Bauer). When Ayala`s pregnant wife, Helena (Catherine Zeta-Jones), learns of her husband`s illegal activities, she takes her family`s future into her own hands. Soderbergh`s bold decision to photograph the film using three strikingly different visual schemes adds even greater punch to TRAFFIC, which stands firmly as one of 2000`s most stirring motion picture events.
Drama
Bleak House (DVD)
$27.98
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Bleak House (DVD)
This BBC production of a Dickens` 1852 classic brings to life a host of famous characters. It is at the Court of Chancery, London, where the Jarndyce versus Jarndyce case has dragged on for many years. As new evidence is brought out in court, a long line of innocent victims are ground down by this suit.
Drama
The Mahabharata (DVD)
$27.57
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The Mahabharata (DVD)
THE MAHABHARATA, a 2,000-year-old sacred work of the Hindu tradition, is the source for director Peter Brook's most unusual film. After spending much of the 1980s laboring on a nine-hour version of the 18-volume Sanskrit text, which in English means The Political Story of the Human Race, he reduced the work to six hours for television and three for film. Adapted by Jean-Claude Carriere, the film stars Vittorio Mezzogiorno as Arjuna, the leader of the virtuous Pandava clan, which wages war throughout the epic with the power-hungry Kauravas, who are led by Arjuna's half-brothers, Karna (Jeff Kissoon) and Duryodhana (Georges Corraface).
Although the benign Lord Krishna (Bruce Myers) cannot intervene, he provides advice for both clans on protecting dharma, the order of the universe.As with the mythology of any culture--or any Wagnerian opera, for that matter--there are sections that can be grasped only by initiates. But the dramatic impact of most of this compendium of stories and ethical teaching, enacted by an international cast with only minimal sets and props, can be appreciated by anyone. Indeed, for viewers ready to accept Brook's conventions, which are not unlike those of the silent film, this can be a valuable entry point to a fascinating cultural tale.DVD Features:Region 1Keep Case2-Disc SetFull Frame - 1.33Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo - EnglishAdditional Release Material: Production Interview - 1. Cast& Crew Featurette - 1. Making The Mahabharata
Drama
Gormenghast (DVD)
$27.12
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Gormenghast (DVD)
The ancient castle of Gormenghast has housed the dynasty of the Groan family for many generations. After so long, the Groans are ripe for destruction, and their kitchen boy Steerpike (Jonathan Rhys-Meyer) just may be the instrument to implement an end. The young heir, Titus Groan, is too naive and inexperienced to successfully prevent the turnover. Will the Groans of Gormenghast defeat the determinedly power-hungry Steerpike?DVD Features:Region 12-Disc SetAnamorphic Widescreen - 1.78Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo - EnglishAdditional Release Material: Behind the ScenesInteractive Features: Interactive Menus Scene AccessText/Photo Galleries: Stills/Photos - 1. Design Gallery Biographies - 1. Cast& Crew
Drama
The Aviator/ Memphis Belle (DVD)
$27.05
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The Aviator/ Memphis Belle (DVD)
This DVD two-pack features two historical dramas inspired by actual events.THE AVIATOR: Martin Scorsese's epic drama is a lavish spectacle of a motion picture that harkens back to Hollywood's Golden Era in telling the story of Howard Hughes, one of 20th-century America's most pioneering and influential figures. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the eccentric billionaire, Scorsese's biopic concentrates on Hughes's life between the 1920s and'40s, when he made some of his most striking contributions to both the film and aviation industries. Scorsese gleefully recreates all of Hughes's major life accomplishments (which included the most expensive film ever made up to that point, HELL'S ANGELS (1930), and several record-breaking feats in flight technology), while also revealing Hughes's hidden struggles with an obsessive-compulsive mental disorder. During all of this, Hughes also became known as an unabashed playboy, bedding the likes of Jean Harlow (singer Gwen Stefani), Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale), and Katherine Hepburn (a brilliant Cate Blanchett). Stunningly photographed by Robert Richardson, Scorsese's nearly three-hour drama features an impassioned performance by DiCaprio, who is also credited as an executive producer.MEMPHIS BELLE: The brave young men of the B-17 flying fortress named Memphis Belle have just one more mission to fly over Nazi-occupied Europe before heading back home to a hero's welcome. But this 25th mission will also be their most dangerous. This fact-based drama from director Michael Caton-Jones (THIS BOY'S LIFE) features an all-star cast including Matthew Modine, Tate Donovan, Sean Astin, Billy Zane, Eric Stoltz, and John Lithgow among others.
Drama