Billy Jack: DVD Collection

Starring:Tom Laughlin
Studio: Ventura Distribution
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Imitation of Life (1959)
The last film in Hollywood of director Douglas Sirk (Written on the Wind), the 1959 Imitation of Life--an adaptation of Fannie Hurst's novel--is an endlessly fascinating film that speaks volumes about the American journey toward materialism and the racial tensions that are inseparable from it. Lana Turner plays a white single mother and aspiring actress who takes in a black housekeeper (Juanita Moore) and her daughter (played by an adolescent Susan Kohner), the latter so light-skinned she passes for white. As the years pass and success mounts for Turner, Moore also becomes more comfortable but her status as a domestic never changes. Meanwhile, Kohner's character, chafing against social constraints, rebels at every opportunity and throws a wrench into the perfect order Sirk chillingly captures through the precise, architectural design of his images. On one hand a '50s weepie and on the other a daring allegory, Imitation of Life is an unusual masterpiece. --Tom Keogh

Description

Imitation of Life (1934)
In this Academy Award-nominated Best Picture, Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers are superb as two women with young daughters who build a fortune together. But success doesn't save them from sorrow with the passing years.

Delilah's light-skinned teenager rejects her mother and her race, while Bea must choose between the man she loves and the daughter who loves him, too. Now all of them will pay the price of love in this spellbinding classic.

Imitation of Life (1959)
Lana Turner heads the outstanding cast with Juanita Moore in the second screen version of this emotionally-charged story about two widows and their troubled daughters.

Lora's search for success causes her to neglect her daughter, while Annie's daughter rejects her culture by trying to pass for white. As the years pass, each of the four women realizes that she has been living out an emotionally fruitless existence.

Customer Reviews:

Imitation of Life.......2007-06-21

Great movie! However, I was disappointed in the way the DVD was marketed. I expected the DVD to actually include both films--one with Claudette Colbert (1934) and one with Lena Turner (1959). The DVD is only of the 1959 film. That is the reason for the low rating.

NO IMITATION.......2007-05-29

This film is most certainly not an imitation of moviemaking. In my view
it's a masterpiece ! Douglas Sirk made it his finest work he had ever done
during 1959 for Hollywood. I was 17 years old when I first gazed upon this
wonderful production and was instantly moved by the atmosphere, the camera
direction, the settings, the gowns and jewelry. Especially the music by
Frank Skinner which can be heard almost constantly throughout the movie is giving the audience a very warm feeling of belonging ..
All the actors are giving the best of their acting abilities. Lana Turner is absolutely lovely to look at and is giving one of her finest performances of her carreer. In looks John Gavin matches her beauty easily. The mature daughter roles are mediocre and I think that Sandra Dee misses the ability for strong dramatic acting. The most outstanding
performance was delivered by Juanita Moore. She should have won an Oscar for her role of Annie, but as far as I know she was not welcome on this
ceremonie because racism was still a big issue during that time.
I'm 65 now and has seen this film many times and every time it catches me
from start to finish. Don't miss this movie or your life maybe an imitation after all !

Max Wolper Amsterdam (The Netherlands)

IMITATION OF LIFE.......2007-05-14

This film is a true classic,cover's racial predjudice from all side' as well as a feel good film.Gives a true uunderstanding of what it was like and unfortunatly still today what it is like to be classed as a minority.All the actor's portray very convincing roles. I strongly recomend the film.

Imitation Of Life.......2007-05-13

Not as good as when i first saw it in the late 60's.But a certain tear jerker.

Two phenominal depictions of success, sorrow, self delial, and ultimatly, love. .......2007-04-07

I originally purchased this 2 DVD set for the 1959 Lana Turner /Juanita Moore second screen version which it includes. I was captivated by the emotional storyline, and especially Juanita Moore's presence. A highlight in the film is a Mahalia Jackson singing "Trouble of the World."

After Viewing the 1959 version, I was pleasently surprised to find that the 1934 Claudette Colbert / Louise Beavers version included in this set is even more captivating. While the basic plotline is the same, the characters are a bit more down to earth, and therefore more relatable to most people. There is also a better love story in this version. It is easy to see why it was Acadamy Award nominated for Best Picture.

Having both of these films to choose from is a wonderful option in DVD viewing. The reason I docked it a star, is because I initialy found it difficult to decipher which film was on which side of the DVD, since it was written in such tiny print around the center ring, and so I had to flip the DVD The first couple of times I watched it, until I figured it out. Of course, that could just be me.

Billy Jack 35th Anniversary Ultimate Collection (Born Losers/Billy Jack/ Trial of Billy Jack/ Billy Jack Goes to Washington)

Average customer rating:

Great "Ultimate"Collection!!!
Billy Jack 35th. Anniversary Ultimate Collection is great
Billy Jack Ultimate Review
Billy Jack 35th anniversary ultimate collection
So worth the wonderful memories

Billy Jack 35th Anniversary Ultimate Collection (Born Losers/Billy Jack/ Trial of Billy Jack/ Billy Jack Goes to Washington)
Starring: Billy Jack Ultimate Collection
Manufacturer: Billy Jack Ent.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B0002QO3BY
Release Date: 2005-09-27

Description

Born Losers: The first film in which the character Billy Jack ever appeared. Tom Laughlin had written Billy Jack back in the 1950's, but couldn't get anyone interested in a film about Indians - half-breed or otherwise. Tom Laughlin toned down the Indian and political themes in order to get Born Losers made. It became a very successful independent film! Billy Jack: The film that broke the mold. Billy Jack was, once again, the largest grossing independent film of all time. People saw Billy Jack 25 times or more than any movie in history until Star Wars. From the karate to the Native American spirituality, to the Freedom School, to the racial tolerance, few films have ever been this successful or stuck their necks out so far. The Trial of Billy Jack: The Trial of Billy Jack not only broke every box-office record for its day, it forever changed the way motion pictures were distributed. It was for the release of The Trial of Billy Jack that Tom Laughlin created the mega-multiple release that included the first-ever use of national TV advertising for a motion picture. Billy Jack Goes To Washington: Perhaps the most controversial film of all. Twenty years before Senators like Bradley, Rudman, Cohen, and Pell quit saying the U.S. Senate is so corrupt it doesn't work anymore, Billy Jack Goes to Washington told a story straight out of the headlines. At the Washington premiere one Senator exploded, vowing to do everything in his power to make sure Billy Jack Goes to Washington was never released.

Customer Reviews:

Great "Ultimate"Collection!!!.......2007-05-26

The Billy Jack series ALL-in-one DVD is fantastic! I know people have complained about: Billy Jack Goes to Washington; BUT IT TOO IS A WELL WRITTEN, WELL DIRECTED, AND A WELL ACTED MOVIE! The problem is, Billy Jack's attitudes of so profoundly mis-trusting governmental authority as in his previous movies is not the same in the Washinton movie. The Washington movie has Billy Jack trusting at least one Senator because of that Senator's relationship with Billy Jack's father before he was found dead( just like in: Mr. Smith Goes To Washington), however if this trust had existed for as long as it was implied, Billy Jack would have called on this Senator's assistance in the previous movies... So its like, 'where did this come from?'. Taken by itself a wonderful remake!!!

Billy Jack 35th. Anniversary Ultimate Collection is great.......2007-05-13

I am very happy with these movies and their quality. It had been a long time since I had seen these. A flood of memories were welcomed. These movies tell an important story that should be watched periodically just as a reminder. The movies have been remastered to a very good quality. Remember what you are buying. These movies are not from yesterday. Be ready to turn down the volume of the motorcycles. They really sound off good in the stereo speakers. Each movie progressively reaches better production and direction quality but I still like the first the best. Enjoy your purchase.

Billy Jack Ultimate Review.......2007-05-01

The only complaint I have about this wonderful box set is on Billy Jack Goes To Washington. I have the DVDs from a prior purchase elsewhere and BJGTW was Widescreen then, too. The sound in one particular scene talking about the National Initiative the sound cuts in and out for a few seconds. It didn't do this on the 2000 Box Set, why is it doing it now? Is there something wrong with the digital transfer? I exchanged it and it still has it, I want to hear the entire movie without reverting to the original box set I have. Can it be fixed? I know it seems minor and insignificant, but, I like the films to be done right.
Otherwise, this is a fine collection of a wonderful film series. It is worth the money. They are suppose to be working on a new Billy Jack movie for release in 2008. Keep up the good work Delores and Tom.
[...]

Billy Jack 35th anniversary ultimate collection.......2007-04-04

I've been looking for theses movies for years. I watched like it was the first time. This is my first purcase from Amazon, I will back to see what other treasures you may have
Thanks
Edwin Klaver

So worth the wonderful memories.......2007-03-09

I turned 40 this year and thought back to the old days with the heroic Billy Jack. I haven't seen it at the video stores and so I decided to look online. I would have paid the same amount just for one movie. Brings back wonderful memories! Great classic to have at home!

Classic Comedies Collection (Bringing Up Baby / The Philadelphia Story Two-Disc Special Edition / Dinner at Eight / Libeled Lady / Stage Door / To Be or Not to Be)

Average customer rating:

LAUGH OUT LOUD! FUNNY!!!!
SHAME ON WARNER BROTHERS!
A wonderful collection of classic comedies
Big Belly laughs in every single movie
This is nice to have on hand

Classic Comedies Collection (Bringing Up Baby / The Philadelphia Story Two-Disc Special Edition / Dinner at Eight / Libeled Lady / Stage Door / To Be or Not to Be)
Starring: Katharine Hepburn , Cary Grant , Charles Ruggles , Walter Catlett , and Barry Fitzgerald
Director: Howard Hawks , and George Cukor
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0006Z2KXY
Release Date: 2005-03-01

Amazon.com

"The love impulse in man," says a psychiatrist in Bringing Up Baby, "frequently reveals itself in terms of conflict." That's for sure. For a primer on the rules and regulations of the classic screwball comedy, which throws love and conflict into close proximity, look no further. A straight-laced paleontologist (Cary Grant) loses a dinosaur bone to a dog belonging to free-spirited heiress Katharine Hepburn. In trying to retrieve said bone, Grant is drawn into the vortex surrounding the delicious Hepburn, which becomes a flirtatious pas de deux that will transform both of them. Director Howard Hawks plays the complications as a breathless escalation of their "love impulse," yet the movie is nonetheless romantic for all its speed. (Hawks's His Girl Friday, also with Grant, goes even faster.) Grant and Hepburn are a match made in movie heaven, in sync with each other throughout. Not a great box-office success when first released, Bringing Up Baby has since taken its place as a high-water mark of the screwball form, and it was used as a model for Peter Bogdanovich's What's Up, Doc?

Re-creating the role she originated in Philip Barry's wickedly witty Broadway play, Katharine Hepburn stars as the spoiled and snobby socialite Tracy Lord in The Philadelphia Story, one of the great romantic comedies from the golden age of MGM studios. Applying her impossibly high ideals to everyone but herself, Tracy is about to marry a stuffy executive when her congenial ex-husband (Cary Grant), arrives to protect his former father-in-law from a potentially scandalous tabloid exposé. In an Oscar-winning role, James Stewart is the scandal reporter who falls for Tracy as her wedding day arrives, throwing her into a dizzying state of premarital jitters. Who will join Tracy at the altar? Snappy dialogue flows like sparkling wine under the sophisticated direction of George Cukor in this film that turned the tide of Hepburn's career from "box-office poison" to glamorous Hollywood star.

MGM originally promoted Dinner at Eight by touting the "all-star cast," but this is no run-of-the-mill omnibus picture. On the contrary, rather than cramming as many big names as possible into a lumbering vehicle, the movie's impeccably crafted script (by Edna Ferber and Herman J. Mankiewicz) and direction (by George Cukor) gave some immortal screen luminaries a chance to shine. For sheer bravery, John Barrymore's achingly poignant performance as Larry Renault, a washed-up matinee idol who has "outlived everything but his vanity," is unmatched. Barrymore's brother, Lionel, is equally touching as shipping magnate Oliver Jordan. Oliver vainly tries to save his family's century-old firm, at the same time hiding his financial and health troubles from his wife, Millicent, played to hysterical perfection by Billie Burke. The Great Depression is presented in microcosm as Millicent frets about throwing the ultimate society dinner, oblivious to the world tumbling down around her. She is forced to invite to her precious party such undesirables as crass financier Dan Packard ("He smells Oklahoma!"). Even worse in Millicent's eyes than Packard (Wallace Beery, doing an impressive steamroller imitation) is his social-climbing wife, Kitty (Jean Harlow, never funnier). Be sure to watch for Harlow's brief encounter with Marie Dressler, who brings an extraordinary winking wisdom to the role of aging star Carlotta Vance. As the two enter the dining room in the film's final scene, Harlow makes an offhand remark that elicits from Dressler one of the great screen double takes of all time. Like so much of Dinner at Eight, the moment is priceless.

Newspaper comedy doesn't seem like an MGM genre--ink-stained wretches don't go with Adrian gowns and white deco furniture--but Jack Conway, the designated bull in the Metro china shop (Boom Town, Too Hot to Handle) does what he can to bring some dash and flair to Libeled Lady's wildly complicated script. Spencer Tracy is the tough city editor who goes to some spectacular extremes when socialite Myrna Loy files a $5 million libel suit against his paper for calling her a notorious home-wrecker; he hires celebrated ladies' man William Powell to seduce Loy and asks his long-suffering fiancée, Jean Harlow, to marry Powell temporarily so she can play the wronged wife when Loy and Powell are discovered together. The couples crisscross, with frenetic and not entirely unpredictable results, but much of the pleasure here lies in seeing these iconic stars being so thoroughly themselves. The dialogue strains for champagne wit, but the movie's most memorable moment is pure, rotgut slapstick--Powell's bout with an unruly fly-fishing rod.

This one's all about the ladies. In Stage Door, an absolutely terrific 1937 gem, a Manhattan boardinghouse for aspiring actresses houses an amazing roster of golden-era performers--some of whom, like their characters, were just breaking in. It's hard to say who's in best form here: Katharine Hepburn in blueblood mode, Ginger Rogers streetwise, Andrea Leeds suffering, Lucille Ball and Ann Miller impossibly young, and Eve Arden being, well, splendidly Eve Ardenish. The sassy comedy and sober life lessons are wonderfully mixed by the underrated director Gregory La Cava (My Man Godfrey), who captures the brashness of '30s female chatter in a much pleasanter way than the more famous The Women. Hepburn's sublime attempts to wrestle with the line about calla lilies being in bloom will make you smile long after the movie's over.

Customer Reviews:

LAUGH OUT LOUD! FUNNY!!!!.......2007-06-09

Six of the all time great movies. Its a must for classic movie fans. You really get to see how good Jean Harlow was at comedy in "Dinner at Eight". Lets not forget Carole Lombard what a great comedian and actress she was in "To Be or Not To Be" her last film before she was killed in plane crash. Sometimes we forget how good they really were. They just don't make good movies like these anymore. I couldn't name you a good actor today with this much staying power. There will never be another Cary Grant, James Stewart, William Powell and Katherine Hepburn. You can watch these movies over and over. I know I will..

SHAME ON WARNER BROTHERS!.......2007-05-05

Shame on Warner Brothers for calling this collection a COMEDY Collection. And the other reviewers - where's your candor? Yes, Philadelphia Story is a classic comedy. But DINNER AT EIGHT, which has a few (a very few) funny moments, is, in fact a very dark story involving suicide, hateful marriages and people at the end of their means; with no particular redeeming quality. STAGE DOOR, it had funny moments, yes, but always with a very sad, dark suicide looming. TO BE OR NOT, this is like a skit, a joke, being stretched out to an hour and a half. LIBELED LADY was funny, but hardly a CLASSIC. BRINGING UP BABY is screwball comedy, but we all know that this was NEVER considered a CLASSIC. My recommendation (now that I feel bad I spent so much based on the other reviewers) - buy the films you know individually. One at a time. PHILADELPHIA STORY is a MUST HAVE.
Then you can laugh at the rest of us for buying movies we'll never watch.

A wonderful collection of classic comedies.......2007-03-20

I just recently finished watching all of the movies in this boxed set, and I couldn't be happier with it. Warner's has been going boxed set crazy over the past couple of years, boxing up into collections just about every movie in their vaults. Some collections are good, and some not so good, but this one is excellent. Three of the movies are well known, and the other three are less known. Probably the best known film is "The Philadelphia Story" that got Katharine Hepburn out of her "box office poison" era for good and won James Stewart his only Best Actor Oscar - about two or three Oscars shy of what he should have had in my opinion.

"Dinner at Eight" is a 1933 ensemble comedy using the "Grand Hotel Formula" that had won that film the Best Picture Oscar the year before. It is a comedy revolving around a group of people preparing to go to a dinner party and shows how their lives strangely intertwine beyond even their awareness. Remarkably, I don't think it even got nominated for an Oscar, but it has held up well over time and has one of the best last lines of any movie ever. As everyone is planning to go into dinner Jean Harlow is telling Marie Dressler how she has been reading that machinery has been taking over everything and soon they would all be replaced by machines. Marie Dressler looks Jean Harlow up and down as only she could do and says "My dear I don't think you need to ever worry about that."

"Bringing Up Baby" has Katharine Hepburn playing a scatter-brained young lady who gets Cary Grant involved in her inane plot to transport a tame leopard her brother sent her to her country estate. The film moves at such a fast clip with so much going on that it seems exhausting, but it is great entertainment. This film actually didn't catch on that much until years later.

"Libeled Lady" was the pleasant surprise of the bunch. I had never seen it before but it was quite funny. It all revolves around a false rumor about a young lady that gets reported as truth in a New York paper. The paper faces a libel suit and financial ruin if a way is not found to set up the "libeled lady" so that she appears to be in a genuine scandal, thus lessening the paper's chances of losing in court. This film has some great physical comedy from William Powell of all people.

"To Be Or Not To Be" is a comedy set in World War II Poland and involves an attempt by the occupied Poles to stop a spy from getting to German headquarters with the names of members of the resistance. It pairs Carole Lombard with Jack Benny, but strangely enough the combination does work.

"Stage Door" is a very good film about a group of women living in a boarding house all trying to make it on Broadway. I'm not sure what it is doing in a set of comic movies, though. It is actually more of a melodrama than a comedy, though it has some very witty banter between the struggling actresses at their rooming house and a great performance by Adolphe Menjou as a sophisticated cad, which is a part he played so well in several films of the 1930's.

There are bonus discs included with "Bringing Up Baby" and "The Philadelphia Story". "The Philadelphia Story" includes a feature on Katharine Hepburn's life and career, and "Bringing Up Baby" has a second disc that has a similar tribute to Cary Grant. There are also features included on the directors of these two films. My advice is to buy this set. It's a tremendous value and will give you many hours of entertainment.

Big Belly laughs in every single movie.......2006-06-17

I defy you to find a modern day movie where the wise cracks are funnier than any thing you'll find in each and every one of these 70 year plus old movies! Most of the dialogue was spoken at Tommy Gun blast speed, with every word clearly enunciated - a feat in itself! All the men are mostly in suits or tuxes, and the women wear the most beautiful outfits, created by the top designers in the world at the time. Visually, these movies are a feast for the eyes. It also helps that most of the actors and actresses were considered the most handsome and beautiful at the time. Hey - I can get ugly at home! The quality is also excellent considering how old these movies are. I'm an old-movie buff and I remember browsing the TV guide when I was a teenager and then setting my clock to get up at 3am to catch one of these movies whenever they were on. They still hold up and now I can watch them whenever I want and I am grateful. This is a must-have if you like a good story line, clever dialogue and honest laughs.

This is nice to have on hand.......2006-03-10

Sometimes my life, like so many others, gets a little overwhelming. These are perfect for when you need a 2 hr. break from reality. Make the popcorn, pull the shades, pop one of these in and totally escape. And it's cheaper than therapy. :-)

Fun and Fancy Free (Disney Gold Classic Collection)

Average customer rating:

Not one of Disney's Finest....
Excellent Product
Fun and Fancy Free
Classic and charming DVD
A true gem restored

Fun and Fancy Free (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
Starring: Cliff Edwards , Edgar Bergen , Luana Patten , Walt Disney , and Clarence Nash
Director: Jack Kinney , Hamilton Luske , Bill Roberts , and William Morgan
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00004R99H
Release Date: 2000-06-20

Amazon.com

Fun is probably worth the purchase for "Mickey and the Beanstalk," the second half of this combo-film. "Beanstalk" includes the last performance by Walt Disney of Mickey Mouse. It also has Donald Duck and Goofy as comrades who climb the beanstalk in their back yard to face Willy the Giant. This segment actually achieves the goals of the film's title. The first half, however, is "Bongo," the story of a addlepated circus bear. "Bongo" is more poky and interest-free. Dinah Shore warbles and narrates the segment, and it goes on much too long for its purpose. Don't trade your cow in for it. --Keith Simanton

Description

FUN AND FANCY FREE, Walt Disney's 9th full-length animated masterpiece, is a delightful gem that not only sparkles with charm, but is unbelievably rich in history-making Disney moments. It was the last animated feature starring Walt Disney as the voice of Mickey Mouse, and the only film featuring all four of Walt Disney's most famous characters -- Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Jiminy Cricket. Following Disney's classic tradition of great storytelling, unforgettable characters, music, and adventure, FUN AND FANCY FREE is the joyful telling of BONGO and MICKEY & THE BEANSTALK, two timeless tales magically brought to life by the beloved Jiminy Cricket and the masterful combination of animation and live action. And now, in celebration of its 50th anniversary, FUN AND FANCY FREE has been beautifully restored so a whole new generation can experience the magic of Walt Disney's original theatrical vision -- for the very first time! One of Disney's happiest films ever, FUN AND FANCY FREE makes a valuable addition to your Disney video collection.

Customer Reviews:

Not one of Disney's Finest...........2007-05-30

I watched this DVD with a younger family member recently and found the first story "Bongo" way too long and such a product of the 1940's to be only of historical interest. The second story "Micky and the Beanstalk" is better though I admit I found famed ventriloquist, Edgar Bergen's, two puppets a little, er, unsettling. If you are intent on viewing or owning every Disney animated classic ever made go ahead and choose this but the average viewer is not missing much in skipping this one.

Excellent Product.......2007-05-18

Product was in perfect condition. My kids and I love it. It brings back a lot of fun memories.

Fun and Fancy Free.......2007-03-08

My son loves this DVD very much. He is only 2, I don't think he understands the whole stories, but he loves those characters.

Classic and charming DVD.......2006-12-06

When I ordered this I didn't exactly know what I was getting. I knew it had the classic "Mickey and the Beanstalk" that I had loved as a child, but I didn't know it was the edited version narrated by Edgar Bergen. I also didn't know about the other short feature "Bongo", narrated by Dinah Shore.

I admit I was a little put off at first, but this quickly became one of our very favorite movies. "Mickey and the Beanstalk" is presented as a story told by Edgar Bergen at Luana's birthday party with many silly interuptions by Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. Jiminy Cricket chimes in occasionally too. On a child enjoyment level the character interaction at the party is excellent and really entertains children. The actual cartoon has really withstood the test of time. My daughter adores Mickey Mouse and she gets absorbed in the exploits of Mickey, Donald and Goofy as they take on the giant to rescue the magic harp. The giant is a particularly charming character. For adults this is like owning a little piece of cinematic history. You have the classic cartoon with classic characters as well as Edgar Bergen and his two famous "friends" Charlie and Mortimer. I take off one star because we don't love the Bongo cartoon.

A true gem restored.......2006-10-18

I loved this movie, particularly the Mickey and the beanstalk as it was originally done with Edgar Bergen. I hated the fact he was dropped in the TV version.
As a professional ventriloquist myself, I am slightly biased as I am a big Bergen fan. Even still, Mickey and the beanstalk was one of the funniest cartoon Disney ever did.
Bongo was cute but maybe too cute for my taste. I liked Dinah Shores narration. Don't forget she was a big star when this movie came out.
Get it and enjoy the fun!

Average customer rating:

Great movies!
great buy
A good collection
Great buy
pat

Chucky - The Killer DVD Collection
Starring: Brad Dourif , Jennifer Tilly , Billy Boyd , Redman , and Hannah Spearritt
Director: Don Mancini , Jack Bender , and Ronny Yu
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000FWHW86
Release Date: 2006-09-19

Amazon.com

The most unlikely horror-movie icon this side of Leprechaun, the homicidal doll Chucky has blossomed into one of the most recognizable faces of fright fare over the last two decades, and this double-disc set chronicles four of his most monstrous misadventures. The original--and still quite creepy--Child's Play feature (from 1988) is not included in the set (that title is owned by MGM, and this set is a Universal release), so the Killer DVD Collection kicks off with the more formulaic Child's Play 2 (1990) and 3 ('91, directed by Lost producer/director Jack Bender), both of which are saved only by veteran character actor Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky. The series received a much-needed shot in the arm in 1998 with Bride of Chucky, an over-the-top revamp that dispensed with the tired horror-movie mechanics and dove headfirst into a gleeful mix of camp and gore; much of the credit for that film's success must go to Hong Kong director Ronny Yu (Bride with White Hair), who imparts much visual flair to the proceedings and Jennifer Tilly as an amoral moll whose attempt to free the killer that possesses Chucky results in another monster doll on the loose. The fifth (and to date, final) Child's Play/Chucky feature, Seed of Chucky, rounds out the set; it strives for the humor-horror quotient of Yu's film, and yields mixed results.

No extras are featured on the first two sequels, but both Bride and Seed offer up commentaries and featurettes for the devoted Chucky fans. Bride gets two commentaries--one with Yu, and the other with Dourif, Tilly, and scriptwriter Don Mancini, while Seed's commentary has Mancini (who was promoted to director) and Tilly. Making-of featurettes for both features are also included, as well as a clip of Tilly on The Tonight Show. None of these supplements will be new to the longtime Child's Play collector--all have been released on previous single and multi-disc sets--and buyers should know that they will find the R-rated versions of Bride and Seed here, and not the unrated versions (which have also been previously released). So it's fans looking to fill in the Chucky gap in their DVD libraries that will benefit the most from the Killer DVD Collection. --Paul Gaita

Customer Reviews:

Great movies!.......2007-06-08

If you like horror movies, then get this collection! Probably, the best horror movies I've ever seen. A must-buy for fans of the series.

great buy.......2007-02-11

For some reason i thought child's play one was included as well. other that ok

A good collection.......2007-01-10

You have to buy the first "Child's play" film because this particular collection includes 2-5. Definitely a must have if you are a fan of the series.

Great buy.......2007-01-10

Great buy all you need is a few more to have the whole collection

pat.......2006-10-29

The reason why the first movie ain't included in this collection is Child Play 1 is presented by MGM but the rest is presented by Universal Studios

Average customer rating:

Playtime
Requires Active Viewing Participation
Tati's masterpiece....one of the greatest French films ever...
Whether it's a masterpiece or a failure or both, Playtime remains an essential Tati movie
Finally out of the hands of ebay weasels

Playtime - Criterion Collection
Starring: Yves Barsacq , Valerie Camille , France Delahalle , Barbara Dennek , and Erika Dentzler
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Amarcord (Criterion Collection)
Seven Samurai - Criterion Collection - 3-Disc Remastered Edition
Spirit of the Beehive - Criterion Collection
Mon Oncle - Criterion Collection
Pandora's Box - Criterion Collection

ASIN: B000G8NXZ0
Release Date: 2006-09-05

Amazon.com

There's never been, and never will be, another comedy like Playtime. Three years in the making, French comedy master Jacques Tati's 1967 classic was an epic, experimental undertaking of unprecedented scale: Requiring the lavish construction of three entire city blocks of ultra-modern buildings, it was the most expensive French film up to that time, financially ruined its creator, baffled many viewers and critics when it was finally released after numerous delays, and is now regarded as Tati's undisputed masterpiece. Once again, Tati plays his comedic alter ego, the hapless M. Hulot (first seen in 1953's Mr. Hulot's Holiday), seen here as a befuddled pawn on a gigantic chessboard (metaphorically speaking) of modern conformity. He's simply trying to get to an appointment, but in the film's astonishing mock-Parisian landscape of antiseptic steel, glass, and plastic, Tati's resonant theme of contemporary confusion is fully expressed through meticulous use of framing and space--so effectively, in fact, that critic Jonathan Rosenbaum (in an accompanying essay) suggests that the film's dazzling "Royal Garden" sequence "may be the most formidable example of mise-en-scène in the history of cinema." With M. Hulot taking a back-seat to the film's breathtaking accumulation of visual details, Playtime (or, if you prefer, Play Time) rewards multiple viewings, revealing something new every time in its widescreen canvas of subtle gags and delirious eccentricity. Although journalist Art Buchwald provided English dialogue for the film, Playtime bears closer kinship to silent comedy, with universal humor and a musical soundtrack that's as essential as any of the visuals. Tati (1908-1982) never recovered from the film's financial failure, but happily, he lived long enough to see Playtime receive its much-deserved critical re-appraisal. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Playtime.......2007-06-28

Preceded almost ten years earlier by "Mon Oncle," this marvelous French comedy continues the misadventures of Tati's Chaplin-esque everyman, M. Hulot. The most dazzling and technically accomplished of his films, "Playtime" is a light satire on the mesmerizing and disorienting effects of technology. Filmed in 70mm on a vast set--an extant metropolis that Parisians dubbed "Tati-ville"--"Playtime" is a jaw-dropping spectacle that certainly reflects the director's wistful regard for simpler times. Still, the carnival-like sequence in the nightclub and the symphonic traffic jam that close the film feel warm, fun, and somehow exquisitely human.

Requires Active Viewing Participation.......2007-01-03

This is a singular masterpiece in film making but totally unlike anything, even for it's day. By today's attention deficit disorder standards, this film is really really odd. But no doubt it is a masterpiece if the viewer is willing to put the effort in to catch all the nuances because this is a film of nothing but nuances. Tati himself is just one of many participants.

There is a plot of sorts dealing with a group of female American tourists and the one women who is the odd duck among them. She meets Tati and they spend the night together dancing at a night club and see in the dawn at a coffee shop. Various bits of business are constantly swirling around them and you could view this picture 10 times before seeing everything. There are many jokes but they are gentle visual puns. Don't expect belly laughs, just a wry but amazing view on modern life.

As is standard practice for Criterian these days the extras on disc two are spectacular. The documentaries on Tati's life and this film are brilliant and helped me understand his art and this film much better.

A gentle film with brilliant use of wide screen (this film would make no sense pan and scan) you need to fall into the picture to enjoy it. But there is an endless wealth of material to enjoy.

Tati's masterpiece....one of the greatest French films ever..........2006-12-21

This is Jacques Tati's masterwork. I have yet to see it in a theater (I should, considering it was shot in 70mm), but the DVD is spectacular. I had the original Criterion edition, but despite the fact I could have sold it on Ebay for a ridiculous amount of cash, I didn't, because I love this film. This film is really a marvel, because it's so visually and aurally complex, that you can watch it over and over again, and see many new things each time. It's a completely different film every time. The film has to be seen on DVD or at the theater, because of the immaculate detail. Everyone that appears in the film is actually doing something. There are no superfluous extras just walking around. Some actors whom you may think are extras appear later in the film and become main characters. It seems that Tati himself gave everyone direction. The final half of the film (the destruction of the restaurant) is one of the great setpieces in cinema history. It's brilliantly assembled. Tati was the Kubrick of France in many ways. He only completed 6 features (Jour de Fete, Mr. Hulot's Holiday, Mon Oncle, Playtime, Trafic, and Parade), and a few shorts. His attention to detail here is just astounding. The city here is an actual set built for the film, which the press dubbed "Tativille". Sadly, the film went way over budget (Tati's perfectionism, bad weather which destroyed much of the set), and was a major commercial failure. This drove Tati into bankruptcy. He made only 2 films afterwards (the lethargic Trafic and the sweet but slight Parade). But Playtime is one of the greatest films ever made, and Tati's masterpiece. That's how good this film is.

Whether it's a masterpiece or a failure or both, Playtime remains an essential Tati movie.......2006-11-02

Why was Playtime a failure, sending Jacques Tati into bankruptcy and costing him control over his life's work of films? His previous film, My Uncle, had been a commercial and artistic success. M. Hulot's Holiday and Jour de Fete had gained Tati world-wide recognition and respect. He had become recognized as one of the few authentic geniuses of film.

Watch Playtime and I think you'll find the answer. Tati in his earlier films placed Hulot in situations where we could empathize with him. Hulot was an innocent. As we came to like him, we also came to like the people he encountered. Even with their pretensions and idiosyncrasies, we could see something of ourselves in them. Tati might be holding up a mirror for us to look in, but M. Hulot was such a gentle companion that we smiled as we recognized ourselves.

With Playtime, there is little Hulot. Instead, we have Tati's view on all sorts of social and cultural issues, from the sterility he saw in much of modern life to modern architecture, group behavior, impersonal offices, loneliness, boorishness and American tourists. We're observers, and our job is to share Tati's viewpoint. Hulot, now middle-aged, has become a minor player in the film. In his earlier movies, Tati was careful to give us small numbers of people with whom, along with Hulot, we could come to know. In My Uncle, for instance, it was essentially one family and one modern home, along with Hulot's own apartment and his neighbors. In M. Hulot's Holiday, it was a small seaside hotel and its guests. With Playtime, we have a large, impersonal office building, all glass and right angles, filled with people -- employees, visitors, exposition guests, customers. Then we have an apartment building with huge curtain-less windows allowing the pedestrians to look right in, and we're among the pedestrians. Then we have a nightclub filled with customers, waiters and managers. There is little opportunity to get to know any of these people, much less develop affection for them.

However, as with all his movies, Tati fills Playtime with streams of intricate and carefully developed comic situations (although comic is too broad a term), often that build from small happenings we've barely noticed. There is only sporadic and incidental dialogue, but sound effects are vital to the movie, as subtle and amusing as what we see.

As sterile and unattractive as Tati makes the airport, the office building, a convenience store and the apartment, there are such odd and subtle sights as the bobbing wimple wings on two nuns, a floor sweeper staring at a booted officer, Hulot suddenly sliding down a floor, glass windows and doors impossible to tell if they're there or not, a table lamp that dispenses cigarettes, strange-looking and wobbling food at a self-service counter...and the list simply goes on. And it's not just one thing at a time. Tati can fill a screen with all sorts of amusing occurrences, some happening in the foreground, some in back, some at the sides.

The last hour of the movie takes place in a modern nightclub, the Royal Garden, which has just opened and is barely ready for its customers. A dance floor tile sticks to a maitre d's shoe, a fish is ostentatiously finished table-side by a waiter...then finished again and again by mistake while the two customers ooh and ah. A bow tie falls in the sauce. A bus-load of tourists suddenly appear. When Hulot manages to accidently shatter one of the glass doors to the restaurant, it is a culmination to all those glass walls we've been looking through and walking into. The follow-up gag with the round door opener is almost worth the price of the DVD. As the modern restaurant gradually disintegrates around us, Tati finally begins to ease up on personal viewpoints and let's us simply enjoy the sight of people becoming more like people. And that, I suspect, is the point Tati wanted to make. In an odd sort of way, the last ten minutes evoke the humor and warmth of previous Tati movies...a packed traffic circle with all the cars moving slowly together; a father taking a toy horn from his little boy and blowing it, too; the bittersweet last look at Hulot walking past a bus where a young woman he met at the nightclub is being taken to the airport with her tourist group.

If you like Tati's viewpoint on the impersonalization of modern society, you'll probably like Playtime. Some critics call it his masterpiece. If you like Tati, I think Playtime is essential, if only to understand what happened to him. The movie is an idiosyncratic and gallant failure, in my view, and much too long. Still, I'd rather watch Playtime than most of what passes as genius in films today.

The new Criterion release looks very good. This edition has several extra features including supplements about Tati and an audio interview with him. The case also contains an insert with an essay by Jonathan Rosenbaum, identified as a film critic.

Finally out of the hands of ebay weasels.......2006-10-06

Ahhhhh...finally, available for under $200, and with more and better features. Sit back, relax, and let it take over...

Average customer rating:

Variety TV Show Gold
Not what I expected
The Ultimate Variety Show
"Set is Fabulous with the Exception of Final Season!"
Please Make a Season By Season DVD

Sonny & Cher - The Ultimate Collection
Starring: Sonny Bono , Cher , Ted Zeigler , Chastity Bono , and Tom Solari
Director: Art Fisher
Manufacturer: R2 Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Sonny & Cher - The Christmas Collection
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Tony Orlando & Dawn - The Ultimate Collection (3-DVD Set)
The Best of Donny and Marie: Volume 1
Sonny and Cher - Nitty Gritty Hour

ASIN: B0000DA23M
Release Date: 2003-10-01

Amazon.com

It's not what you'd call high art, but there are some highly enjoyable moments in this nicely packaged box set, featuring nine complete shows (plus ample bonus material) spread out over three discs.

Beginning as a summer replacement in 1971, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour earned its own regular time slot that same year, running for three straight seasons and then returning in 1976 (as The Sonny & Cher Show), after the couple's divorce. The show's formula, which had already been established both onstage and on the small screen (their '69 pilot episode is among the extra features), includes plenty of music (duets, Cher's solo performances in typically outlandish Bob Mackie gowns, various guest shots); lots of shtick (consisting mostly of Cher's put-downs of the minimally talented but good-natured Sonny); and sketches and skits (ranging from lame to inspired, including a mock-opera based on All in the Family and starring Metropolitan Opera tenor Robert Merrill as a warbling Archie Bunker). Guests range from the obvious (TV stalwarts like Harvey Korman, Ruth Buzzi, and Don Knotts) to the downright weird (then-California governor Ronald Reagan). It's all fairly middlebrow, but Sonny & Cher's unpretentious, unself-conscious charm carries it; and once in a while everything congeals into one surreally entertaining package, like the '72 show featuring the Jackson 5 (led, of course, by Michael, who was then 14 and still apparently normal), who are followed to the stage by Reagan (telling jokes, sort of) and singer-actor Howard Keel, veteran of numerous movie musicals.

Bonus features include 2003 audio commentary by a nostalgic Cher, interviews with the producers, the '69 pilot, bios, discographies, and a show history. The DVD set also comes with a music-only CD, featuring live performances of "The Beat Goes On" and "I Got You Babe." --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews:

Variety TV Show Gold.......2007-01-04

If you haven't seen a TV variety show, this is the one to see. Music, comedy and technical effects of the day made this show a "must see."

Not what I expected.......2006-12-11

Sonny and Cher were one of the best variety show duos ever to inhabit TV land, so I was saddened that this DVD collections is not really the "best" that they've done.

Don't get me wrong, there are many great clips in here... but... the producers of this DVD package have decided to include full shows (with lots of boring stuff I didn't really care about) instead of concentrating on the star, Cher!

What I would like to see is a 'best of' compilation with all the best guest-stars, musical numbers, outfits, etc...

The Ultimate Variety Show.......2006-11-30

As far as I'm concerned, these two set the bar for the slew of variety shows that followed in the 70's (though I'm well aware there were predecessors). Their opening song and banter were always entertaining. The skits were actually funny (most of the time) and who didn't love the medley portion of the show (complete with matching outfits and Sonny busting out some lame dance moves). They had really good writers, regulars (including Steve Martin and Teri Garr), great guest stars, and groovy clothes that put the Brady Bunch to shame. Little Chastity closed out the show with them, and it was just a nice little, sweet family (little did we know).
However, as an elementary aged child at the time, I had an odd crush on Sonny Bono (which to this day I will never live down with the family). I get a big kick out of watching this 70's time capsule (and call me crazy, but I still thik Sonny was a cute little guy). My only complaint is that they didn't put the show out in individual seasons. I realize it's hard to get the rights to the music, but I'd love to at least see the 1st three seasons in their entirety....I can do without the post divorce show (though the skits were funny--it didn't gel). Shame it didn't work out between these two--they worked really well together during their relationship.

"Set is Fabulous with the Exception of Final Season!".......2006-05-14

I have been wanting to buy this set for a long, long time since I grew up anxiously awaiting each and every episode of The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour AND the Cher Show. Since I hadn't seen any of the episodes (like commentator Cher) since their original run in the early seventies,I noticed some good (and bad) stuff about the show.

The first season was a dress rehearsal in many ways; the editing was sloppy and continual "laughing" breakups from the lead couple during most of the skits got to be annoying after awhile. The best season seemed to be in 1973 with the episodes where Chastity comes out at the start of each show and newsworthy skits are performed on a cartoon train. You don't see the "cue cards" in the audience as much during the opening singing and monologues and Cher's vocals and delivery are more polished than in the first season especially. Sonny still stinks however (LOL) ... can't seem to act without looking off to the side to read his lines off the cue cards which director Art Fisher should have done something about but obviously didn't for one reason or another.

My favorite segements of the show are the "Vamp number," Lady Luck (another type of "Vamp sequence" in Season 3 ), Laverne at the Laundromat. (Cher was SO FUNNY along with Terri Garr and this showed her natural inclination towards comedy and acting) I really enjoyed watching a manic Sonny share the spotlight with "the hippest woman on earth" during the musical performances with their band backing them(which the final reunion season lacked incidentally)-their medley of "Brother Loves Traveling Salvation Show" and "Tamborine Man"-SO COOL!!!! On the sour side the "Opera" skits with Morgan Freeman annoyed the heck out of me as well as Sonny's Pizza. Cher's solos were very good-faves include "Half Breed," "Way of Love," and "Am I Blue?"
The first two discs were good to great especially disc 2!!

My only complaint is the chemistry and work on Disc 3 and the show they did after both their solo shows went off the air. They lacked the chemistry of the earlier shows playing it safe (of course they were divorced but they could have worked a little harder for an audience and ratings) the opening songs were only fair, the "Cutesie News" was totally stupid, liked the "War of the Sexes" with Sonny acting the sissy man he was (LOL) and Cher being very K.D. Lang....haha!! This season did not have them singing together which I really missed and Cher's solo's had her dressed to the nine's in typical Bob Mackie extravagant outfits but song selections for her were mediocre at best.

I loved Sonny and Cher-wish the CHER SHOW would come out in it's entirety as I thought she did a GREAT JOB on her own and that it was better than Sonny and Cher actually and more relaxed in many ways. She underestimated herself I think-however I would love to see all the original Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour episodes-Seasons 1 to 3 on disc-I will pass on the last show they did together. It just showed indifference and the writing and rapport was just not the same.

No offense to this great site but I would never pay almost 50 bucks for this-got it for half that somewhere else-maybe I'd pay it for for all the shows but not for nine episodes.

Please Make a Season By Season DVD.......2006-04-30

I would give anything to have every season of each show from The First Season to the last season when they came back after their divorce. I would also love to have The Cher SHow on a season by season (What was it 2 seasons?) Anyway, I was so impressed by her when I was a child. I would entertain my family doing impressions of her singing (and yes, I can still sound like her LOL) from Dark Lady to Gypsies, Tramps, ad Theives and the opening monologue. The gowns and make up and jewelry are my favorite and why I love Bob Mackie and Carol Burnette Shows as well!!!!My daughter is 3 and she loves to watch these DVD's. I have both the Ultimate and the Christmas Collection. So please, whoever has the rights, put them out there in their entirety. The Sonny and Cher Show, the Sonny and Cher Comedy Revue, and The Cher Show.

Batman - The Complete 1943 Movie Serial Collection

Average customer rating:

quite nostalgic
Nostalgia re-visited
The Legendary Caped Crusader on the Big Screen for the First Time
THE DYNAMIC DUO'S FIRST SCREEN APPEARANCE.
Batman 1943 serial.

Batman - The Complete 1943 Movie Serial Collection
Starring: Lewis Wilson , Douglas Croft , J. Carrol Naish , Shirley Patterson , and Pat O'Malley
Director: Lambert Hillyer
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Batman and Robin - The Complete 1949 Movie Serial Collection
Superman - The 1948 & 1950 Theatrical Serials Collection
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Adventures of Superman - The Complete Second Season

ASIN: B000AQOHNA
Release Date: 2005-10-18

Description

See how BATMAN really began. BATMAN started it all, and it's now available on DVD for the first time ever! Watch as mild-mannered Bruce Wayne (Lewis Wilson) becomes Batman, the classic superhero who, with Robin (Douglas Croft), protects Gotham City from the evil schemes of Dr. Tito Daka (J. Carrol Naish). Packed with adventures involving a radium-powered death ray, a deadly alligator pit, electronic zombies, and even the original Bat Cave, the BATMAN 2-disc set is a must-own DVD for any fan of the Caped Crusader!

Customer Reviews:

quite nostalgic.......2007-06-01

Robin is a wimp. The Butler, a good comic relief, Vicki Lane , a fox, and Batman himself lived up to the image that he portrayed, except for his mask. It fit kind of funny around his nose. The star of the series in my opinion was the villian. Two things struck me funny about the series: 1) Batman & Robin and their aliases drove in the same car, and no one (including the police)could put two and two together:-) 2) The Dynamic duo got in a lot of "fist-a-cuffs" with the bad guys , took a lot of blows to the face,fell a few times too, and when they changed back to Bruce and Dick, no scars,no black-eyes,no limps,.. they were certainly were the dynamic duo.-)

Nostalgia re-visited.......2007-04-10

If this serial was at your local cinema when you were growing up, then the memory of those times are re-kindled with this DVD. Every punch ,every
move, every cheer, every boo.

The Legendary Caped Crusader on the Big Screen for the First Time.......2007-03-27

Before Tim Burton's masterpiece, Batman first appeared on the silver screen in a 15 chapter cliffhanger serial in 1943, which was followed by DC Comics number 1 hero, Superman. Crime & danger is taking place in Gotham City & It's just a new mission for the dynamic duo, Batman & Robin. If you're a Batman or Superhero fan, this serial is a must see, it's thrilling early Batman entertainment

THE DYNAMIC DUO'S FIRST SCREEN APPEARANCE........2007-02-09

BATMAN (1943)
Columbia Pictures Corporation
Release Date: April 15, 1943
Runtime: 260 min.
Chapters: 15

Directed by:
Lambert Hillyer

Writiing Credits:
Bob Kane (character)
Victor McLeod (screenplay)
Leslie Swabacker (screenplay)
Harry L. Fraser (screenplay) (as Harry Fraser)

Produced by:
Rudolph C. Flothow....producer

CAST:
Lewis Wilson....Bruce Wayne/Batman
Douglas Croft....Dick Grayson/Robin
J. Carrol Naish....Dr. Tito Daka (aka Prince Daka)
Shirley Patterson....Linda Page
William Austin....Alfred Beagle

CHAPTERS:
1. The Electrical Brain
2. The Bat's Cave
3. Mark of the Zombies
4. Slaves of the Rising Sun
5. The Living Corpse
6. Poison Peril
7. The Phony Doctor
8. Lured by Radium
9. The Sign of the Sphinx
10. Flying Spies
11. A Nipponese Trap
12. Embers of Evil
13. 8 Steps Down
14. The Executioner Strikes
15. Doom of the Rising Sun

STORY:

Dr. Daka is using a mind-control device to make "zombie" servants out of
people. He uses a carnival funhouse for his headquarters. Batman and Robin
find out Daka is building a radium gun and must stop him. Dr. Daka kidnaps
Ken Colton, a man who had just found a radium mine. As Batman and Robin race to Daka's funhouse, they learn that Linda Page is also a "zombie" servant. They capture Daka and ask how to reverse the zombie-effect so Linda Page would return to normal. As Daka is tied up, he uses a knife to get loose and takes Linda as his prisoner. While Daka tries to escape, Batman tells Robin to flip the switch to the door that's the only exit from the hideout. Robin presses the wrong switch and a trap door opens. Daka falls to his doom in a pit of hungry alligators.

Trivia: Lewis Wilson (1920-2000) became the first actor to play Batman
in this serial. Lewis Wilson's son is Michael G. Wilson, producer of the James Bond movie franchise.[from imdb.com]: (1)Because of the strict serial regulations, Batman and Robin were portrayed as FBI agents in the serial. In the comic strip at the time, however, they were vigilantes. The regulations also prevented the writers from using Batman's Rogues Gallery, so none of Batman's villains appear in this serial and the one made in 1949.(2)With this release, Batman became the first DC Comics character to have his own serial.(3)This is the first filmed appearance of Batman.(4)Because of the low budget, there is no Batmobile. Batman and
Robin use the same black Cadillac as Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, and Alfred can be seen chauffeuring the men under both identities.
(5)The character of Alfred in the comics was introduced to conform the fact that in the film Bruce Wayne had a butler. However, the Alfred in the
comics was drawn as very chubby and clean shaven, while William Austin, who played Alfred, wore a moustache and was slim. Soon after the release of the film, the comics character grew a moustache and went to a health spa, where he lost weight. From then on, the comics Alfred has resembled the Austin image.(6)This serial introduced the underground headquarters, the Batcave, which was later incorporated into the comics.

Batman 1943 serial........2007-02-07

Like all those old b/w serials, each ep follows the formula of escape, deduce, chase, fight, get into a trap, paving the way for next ep's escape.
Still worth having as the earliest on screen appearance of Batman and Robin.
Print is good, cover design has great art.

The Sid Caesar Collection - The Fan Favorites - 50th Anniversary Edition

Average customer rating:

Classic TV
Expensive
Sid Caesar collection-Fan Favourites
Re-packaging of previous box set ASIN: B00005Q65F
THIS WAS LIVE TV!

The Sid Caesar Collection - The Fan Favorites - 50th Anniversary Edition
Starring: Sid Caesar , Imogene Coca , Carl Reiner , Howard Morris , and Jack Russell (III)
Director: Nat Hiken , Max Liebman , and Clark Jones
Manufacturer: New Video Group
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00022FW86
Release Date: 2004-06-29

Product Description

One of the greatest comedians ever, Sid Caesar has been making America laugh since the 1950s, when he ruled airwaves with his Emmy® Award-winning "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar s Hour." Now, for the first time ever, 20 of his fans all-time favorite sketches have been brought together in one hilarious DVD collection. Selected through an Internet poll, these skits represent some of the most beloved, admired, and side-splittingly funny moments of Sid s career. From his lunchtime gymnastics in "Big Business" to one of television s most famous ad-libs in "Gallipacci," this collection proves why generations of fans have come to love Sid Caesar, the original king of comedy. Turn back the clock to the golden age of comedy and join Sid for 20 of his fans favorite sketches as voted on by you, the fans.

SPECIAL FEATURES
Bonus Sketches: "Pantomine at Coney Island," "Continental Express," and "The Beauty Contest;" Interview Extras with Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, and Nanette Fabray; Sid Caesar Audio Commentary on "Auto Smash Up," "Gallipacci," and "Break Your Brains;" Original Scripts of "Auto Smash Up," "Newspaper Movie," and "The Professor;" Photo Gallery; Cast and Writer Biographies; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection

System Requirements:

Running Time 277 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com

When we worked together," reminisces Sid Caesar, "it was magic, and you don't question magic." So just enjoy this essential three-disc collection of vintage sketches from Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour. To work on these programs was to attend "the Harvard of Comedy," and this "great amalgamation of talents," which included Carl Reiner, Imogene Coca, Howard Morris, Nanette Fabray, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart, and Neil and Danny Simon, were at the head of their class. "We did everything," Caesar notes at one point, and the proof is on these discs: domestic sketches ("Life Begins at 7:45"), game show parodies ("Break Your Brains"), spoofs of foreign films ("U-Bet-U"), opera ("Gallipacci"), and classical music (and a pantomime of "the 1812 Overture"). It is a testament to the knowledge, technique, and taste of those who created the show that these 50-year-old sketches hold up as well as they do. This was the golden age of live television, when anything could happen, and the cast would have to go with it. In "Gallipacci," Caesar's make-up pencil breaks when his character, a heartbroken clown, is applying make-up to his face. Without missing a beat, Caesar rises to the potentially disastrous occasion with one of the most inspired ad-libs in television history.

In between the sketches, the cast members and writers, a virtual Who's Who of comedy, affectionately recall working with each other, and creating these classic sketches. Each DVD includes bonus sketches. Caesar also provides illuminating commentary on selected sketches. More than a television time capsule that vividly re-creates a bygone era, this priceless collection is also a master class for aspiring comedy writers and performers. It is not a coincidence that one of Caesar's signature characters was called "the Professor." --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews:

Classic TV.......2007-05-13

What a nice DVD set. I received this DVD as a birthday gift and it really made my day.

Expensive.......2006-01-07

This is overpriced for 23 sketches and we didn't need the coments from the 11 comedians. The space should have been used for more sketches.

Sid Caesar collection-Fan Favourites.......2005-07-08

Even with the kinescope(?) reproduction, the quality of the collection given its early age, is quite satisfactory, and just as funny as it was when I first watched its original TV production.

Re-packaging of previous box set ASIN: B00005Q65F.......2005-07-04

This is GREAT LIVE TV. But beware, it is a re-packaged, re-issue of the previous "Sid Caesar Fan Favorites" box set by a different distributor ASIN: B00005Q65F.

If you already have that older Out-Of-Print box set there is no need to buy this one. BUT if you missed out on that one, then this is a MUST BUY DVD set!

THIS WAS LIVE TV!.......2004-12-01

GREAT!SUPERB! A PLEASURE TO REVISIT THESE ABOSLUTLY FUNNY SKITS.
THERE HAS NEVER BEEN ANYTHING LIKE SINCE.
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE TRIES BUT MISSES THE CHARM.
BUY THIS DVD TODAY.
YOU WILL LAUGH UNTIL YOU CRY.

Bob Hope Tribute Collection - The Road Show Series (The Road to Morocco / The Road to Singapore / The Road to Utopia / The Road to Zanzibar)

Average customer rating:

Fine Family Vewing
OUTSTANDING - Bing is as always memorable - 5 STARS
Good quality- priceless entertainment
Ah yes....Thank you, so much....
"Patty Cake..Patty Cake...Baker's Man........"

Bob Hope Tribute Collection - The Road Show Series (The Road to Morocco / The Road to Singapore / The Road to Utopia / The Road to Zanzibar)
Starring: Bing Crosby , Bob Hope , Dorothy Lamour , Hillary Brooke , and Douglass Dumbrille
Director: Hal Walker , David Butler , and Victor Schertzinger
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Road to Rio
Road to Bali
The Road to Hong Kong
Bob Hope Tribute Collection - Monsieur Beaucaire / Where There's Life Double Feature
The Ultimate Bob Hope Collection (The Great Lover / How to Commit Marriage / The Lemon Drop Kid / My Favorite Brunette / Paris Holiday / The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell / Road to Bali / Road to Rio / The Seven Little Foys / Son of Paleface)

ASIN: B00005UMFD
Release Date: 2002-03-05

Amazon.com

Road to Singapore
Here's the first trip in what would become one of Paramount Pictures' most profitable film series of the '40s. When this comedy was released in 1940, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope had separately achieved stardom, though Crosby was an established power and Hope still a hot comedian new to movies. In fact, Hope is billed third in Road to Singapore, below Der Bingle and Dorothy Lamour. The script establishes what would be a constant in the Road series: a ramshackle plot, a handful of songs, and plenty of irreverent banter between the two boys. Crosby plays Josh Mallon, scion of a wealthy family, who prefers the vagabond life to his stuffy family; his pal Ace Lannigan (Hope) is only too happy to escape. They end up sharing a waterfront shack in Singapore and vying for the affections of a sarong-clad local (Lamour), amidst stabs at conning the natives with a dubious elixir variously known as "Spot-O" (stain remover) and "Scram-O" (cockroach killer). Singapore isn't as loose as some of the wacky subsequent entries in the series, but it already shows Crosby and Hope grooving to each other's perfectly timed burlesque rhythms in scenes that clearly depart from the script. They specialized in muttered asides, show-biz in-jokes, and gratuitous insults--and this one's got a song and dance number with an ocarina. No wonder it became a franchise. --Robert Horton

Road to Zanzibar
The second Road movie from Paramount Pictures finds barnstorming con artists Chuck Reardon (Bing Crosby) and Hubert "Fearless" Frazier (Bob Hope) at liberty after their act goes haywire. (In these movies, Crosby generally lures the suckers into the tent, while Hope is always stuck getting shot out of the cannon.) A phony map to a diamond mine brings our boys into the middle of Africa, which means there's a good chance they'll end up sitting in a cauldron while natives perform a cannibal dance around them. These stereotypes would be offensive if the movie wasn't actively parodying the kind of jungle movie popular in 1941 (just as Road to Morocco would satirize the Arabian nights picture). Dorothy Lamour is along for the ride, of course, and her scene in a tight clinch with Hope established a tradition of steamy comic exchanges through the series (as she croons a love song to him, he checks to see if his wallet is still in his pocket). This is the first Road movie to actively wink at the audience; in one scene, Lamour mocks the way movies always have characters break out into song in the middle of nowhere with a full orchestra backing--which is exactly what happens next. The chatter between Crosby and Hope already feels improvised, and it should be noted that the secret of their chemistry is not a sentimental friendship but a cheerfully hostile rivalry between the two characters, a cheeky approach that must've delighted audiences used to the Andy Hardy niceness of most Hollywood movies of that era. Oh, and they do their patty-cake routine, too. --Robert Horton

Road to Morocco
Road to Morocco, number three in the series of breezy comedies teaming Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, may be the funniest of the bunch. Bing and Bob find themselves Morocco-bound ("like Webster's dictionary"), caught in an elaborately faked-up world of harems, palm trees, and other Arabian Nights bric-a-brac. Naturally, Dorothy Lamour is also there, as she was the customary target of male rivalry in the Road scenarios. There is something so loose and ingratiating about the patter between Hope and Crosby that it doesn't ultimately matter if half the jokes don't land; these guys had their own comfortable rhythm, fueled by cheerful one-upmanship. Their sense of spontaneity broke the fourth wall between movie and audience in a way only the Marx Brothers had really accomplished before, and audiences--feeling in on the joke--ate it up. Songs (including "Moonlight Becomes You"), topical references, and ancient vaudeville routines fill out the program. --Robert Horton

Road to Utopia
I feel sorry for people who can't appreciate Hope and Crosby Road pictures. This is the fourth in the series, and has the boys masquerading as the killers Sperry and McGurk, from whom they've stolen the map to a gold mine, but which really belongs to Dorothy Lamour, but which... and you know it really doesn't matter anyway. The point is they've got this thin plot on which to hang a series of hit-and-miss jokes, coming fast enough to make it just all right and a certain amount of time to see who gets Dorothy Lamour, while maintaining their fierce and friendly and wisecracking rivalry. They're in the Klondike this time around, which doesn't stop the film from working in a glimpse of Dorothy in her sarong. Along the way, animals talk, including the humorist Robert Benchley, whose thoroughly dispensable introduction and running commentary I wouldn't dispense with for anything. This is arguably the goofiest of the road pictures. My favorite joke is when Bob is bested in fishing with Bing. Bob remarks, "My worm must have B.O." Bing comes back with "Couldn't B.U." You may not care where you're going, just as long as you're with them. Put it there, pal, put it there. --Jim Gay

Customer Reviews:

Fine Family Vewing.......2005-08-05

Where has the Golden Age of Hollywood gone? It's available in one box. Bing Crosby and Bob Hope keep you laughing in this collection of endearing films. Bing Crosby woos the ladies with his Crooning, Bob Hope keeps them entertained with his sly wit. As the series progress they make refrences to their previous adventures, and they even take time to include you the veiwer in on the joke.
The On The Road series of films revolve around the premise that Bob and Bing are broke knock around guys, that fall for the same woman (Dorthy Lamour) and the antics that suround them as they both try to win the girl and save the day.
These movies set the tone for all "Buddy" flicks that have followed. A great set of movies for the family to sit around and watch on a Friday night. Don't forget the pop corn. I highly recommend this Box set.

OUTSTANDING - Bing is as always memorable - 5 STARS.......2003-12-21

What to say. As a younger viewer, 18, of the road to series, mostly Bing Crosby, I can only tell you that this is not only funny and sweet. It's a movie for all ages, without the needed worrying of partial nudity or inappropriate language for younger viewers, or mature viewers. Bing and Bob, Hope and Crosby : ), have excellent chemistry, they ad-lib mostly because of the fact that they work so well together. This has great picture quality, and humor for all times. I recommend this set and all others that follow. The only drawback of the pack, is that it only contains the first four, (Road to Singapore, Zanzibar, Morocco, and Utopia), it is missing the hilarious other 3, (Road to Rio, Bali, and Hong Kong), and the title being attributed to Bob Hope. I love them both, but Bing steals the scenes. For Hope and Crosby fans alike. GREEAAAAAAAAAAT!!!

Good quality- priceless entertainment.......2003-11-17

Bing Crosby and Bob Hope are hilarious together in these films. The quality of the dvds is excellent in both picture sharpness and sound. And the bonus features, of which there are several (photos from the sets put to music, sing-alongs, tribute to Bob Hope etc), are delightful. It is wonderful collection of the Road films and you would not go wrong purchasing this particular collection.

Ah yes....Thank you, so much...........2003-10-19

Pre-"Call Me Bwana" Bob Hope!! Is there anything better? NO ONE was better with a one-liner or an ad lib than old Ski-Nose! And Bing playing against him, never ceasing to amaze with his OWN ability to toss off a few!

Of the movies in this collection, "Utopia" is the best, with the slyest one liners, some fourth-wall breaking and lots of "in" jokes. And ALL the movies, at least on the VHS version, were crisp as could be!

The one thing you'll notice about the "Road" movies, is that the humor in them seems WAAAYY ahead of its time....like something you'd see in the fifties or sixties rather than the forties. Hope and Crosby were to comedy films what "Citizen Kane" and "The Wizard of Oz" were to late thirties drama.... trendsetting and exceptional! You couldn't possibly go wrong getting this set...if only it had "Hong Kong" and "Bali" in it....! (Not to mention "Rio"...)

Who is ever going to replace these two guys? George Clooney and Brad Pitt? Mike Meyers and Dana Carvey? I don't think so.

We'll miss you...Bob, Bing, Orson, Audrey, Cary, Frank, Sammy, Lucy, Desi, Kubrick, Federico, Henson, etc., etc.,.....

Somewhere up in heaven, someone is being entertained royally....

"Patty Cake..Patty Cake...Baker's Man........".......2003-10-13

"Bake A Cake as Fast As You Can...."...because you will not want to miss one second of the first four entries in The Road Series flicks with Bob,Bing and Dorothy!

This attractively boxed "Tribute Collection" is a must have for fans of these guys. The films, all from the early fourties,all Black and White, are beautifully restored and transfered on Dual layer discs. Although each has the special feature "Bob Hope and the Road to Success", the rest of the bonus material is different on each one. There are fun "Sing-Alongs","Entertaining the Troops", "Command Performances", photo galleries, DVD ROM and more.

The films themselves, are classic laugh out loud stuff, as in each sto