It's War

Starring:It's War
Studio: Vintage Home Ent.
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Description
Classic WWII Documentaries and films telling the tale of a world torn by warfare.

LAST DAYS OF PATTON: George C. Scott reprises his role as General George S. Patton in this touching portrayal of the last days of his life.

PEARL HARBOR DEC. 7, 1941: Produced on behalf of the US government and directed by noted director John Ford, who painstakingly recreates the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.

Amazon.com essential video

Wolfgang Petersen (In the Line of Fire) made his first English-language film with this 1984 fantasy about a boy (Barret Oliver) visualizing the stories of a book he's reading. The imagined tale involves another boy, a warrior (Noah Hathaway), and his efforts to save the empire of Fantasia from a nemesis called the Nothing. Whether or not the scenario sticks in the memory, what does linger are the unique effects, which are not quite like anything else. Plenty of good fairy-tale characters and memorable scenes, and the film even encourages kids to read. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful adventure re-visited.......2007-06-04

The wonderful adventure of Bastion on the never ending story was my favorite movie when it was released many years ago. I now have the opportunity to enjoy it all over again with my 5 year old. She is particularly intrigued by the Luck Dragon and wants one. Don't we all.
Enjoy this movie as a family.
Sound recording is a bit poor but I guess it was pre digital and has alot of back ground hiss.

Such a sweet movie.......2007-05-17

I bought this b/c I used to watch it all the time when I was a kid. I loved it, and would watch it over and over again. Thing is, I looked around on Amazon, and this movie comes in a set w/ Part 2 and 3. That is where the value is, so look around. You can get 2 movies for the price of one.

If you don't own this movie, ADD IT TO YOUR CART today :)

classic fantasy.......2007-05-13

always enjoyed this movie as a child so i knew it was a must have and i was right.

very good.......2007-05-12

this is a very good movie for tha family, we are enjoying it. Thankyou.

Chapter 2 of the greatest kids movie.......2007-05-07

This movie was excellent my grandkids love it ages 2 the seller shipped it very quick and great price

The Manchurian Candidate (Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

Commies in Congress
Chilling !!!
A Classic Cold war Thriller
Great suspense thriller
The Red Queen said, "Off with her head!"

The Manchurian Candidate (Special Edition)
Starring: Frank Sinatra , Laurence Harvey , Janet Leigh , Angela Lansbury , and Henry Silva
Director: John Frankenheimer
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00020X88Y
Release Date: 2004-07-13

Amazon.com essential video

You will never find a more chillingly suspenseful, perversely funny, or viciously satirical political thriller than The Manchurian Candidate, based on the novel by Richard Condon (author of Winter Kills). The film, withheld from distribution by star Frank Sinatra for almost a quarter century after President Kennedy's assassination, has lost none of its potency over time. Former infantryman Bennet Marco (Sinatra) is haunted by nightmares about his platoon having been captured and brainwashed in Korea. The indecipherable dreams seem to center on Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), a decorated war hero but a cold fish of a man whose own mother (Angela Lansbury, in one of the all-time great dragon-lady roles) describes him as looking like his head is "always about to come to a point." Mrs. Bates has nothing on Lansbury's character, the manipulative queen behind her second husband, Senator John Iselin (James Gregory), a notoriously McCarthyesque demagogue. --Jim Emerson

Description

Eerie, shocking, daring, thrilling and mesmerizing, The Manchurian Candidate will leave youbreathless (People)! Featuring an all-star cast, including Angela Lansbury in an OscarÂ(r)-nominated performance, this chilling and controversial (Leonard Maltin) film may be the most sophisticated political satire ever made (Pauline Kael). When a platoon of Korean War G.I.s iscaptured, they somehow end up at a ladies garden club party. Or do they? Major Bennett Marco (Frank Sinatra) can't remember. As he searches for the answer, he discovers threads of a diabolical plot orchestrated by the utterly ruthless Mrs. Iselin (Lansbury) and involving her war hero son (LaurenceHarvey), her senator husband (James Gregory) and a secret cabal of enemy leaders.

Customer Reviews:

Commies in Congress.......2007-05-23

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962) still has the power to stun us, to fascinate us, and to raise our ire when we recall the 50's as the pervue of Senator Joseph McCarthy. John Frankenheimer was one of the first directors to take on McCarthy. James Gregory as Sen. John Iselin was a standout both as a dupe and a would-be demagogue. Gregory, a good luck charm for Frankenheimer, who used him often, was able to adlib more than half his lines giving a bravura performance.

The director and his friend George Axelrod bought the rights to the Richard Condon novel, but were having difficulty finding backing for the film. Enter Frank Sinatra who was very interested in playing Capt. Marko, and the project immediately found funding. Sinatra wanted Lucille Ball to play Mrs. Iselin, but Frankenheimer had just worked with Angela Lansbury in ALL FALL DOWN, and he had great faith in her. She certainly did an excellent portrayal, one of the very best in her career. Even Meryl Streep playing the part in the recent remake paled in Lansbury's shadow. As the mole, the real Communist operative, she was part black widow, part seductress, and part assassin -giving us a glimpse of what a real zealot is capable of; something we are immersed in today in the Middle East. Frankenheimer said that in that last scene where the mother is giving Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey) his final assignment, and she begins kissing him passionately, he could only take the scene part ways; because in the novel the mother slept with her son to seal the bargain.

Sinatra seemed to do best on the first take, a situation Frankenheimer was very aware of. His acting in this film was excellent, finding just the right notes for the frustration of reacting to his "brainwashing", and finding the courage to confront Raymond Shaw, the bogus Medal of Honor winner. Janet Leigh was effective in her underwritten part -a part expanded to be an FBI agent in the interesting remake. Laurence Harvey was picked specifically for Shaw precisely because he could project being "unlikable". I did not like his attempt at an American accent, but then I have never been much of a Harvey fan. His transitions after his hasty marriage seemed forced and inept for me. John McGiver in a rare dramatic role was very good, leaving us with a strong impression of a principled, brave, and steadfast senator. Leslie Parrish as his daughter, Jocelyn, look great in her black strapless bra, but brought very little else to the part. Khigh Dheigh found in his character, Dr. Yen Lo, a signature part for his career. He is not actually oriental, and he found himself playing them for the remainder of his career. Henry Silva, a penetrating and intense actor (who can forget him in the last scene of VIVA ZAPATA (1952)?), also created a character in his Chunjin that we will not soon forget. His karate fight with Marko was one of the first of that type on film, and he and Sinatra rehearsed it for weeks before they shot it.

Frankenheimer shot the film in 41 days, with the minimum of location shooting. Some of the backdrop and stock footage looks a bit pedestrian today, but it worked well in 1962. He used his stable of actor friends to good use, folks like James Gregory, John McGiver, Albert Paulson, Whit Bissell, Douglas Henderson, Barry Kelley, and Lloyd Corrigan. It is a film that runnith over with excellent performances, and taunt and sparse and delivered like punches to the gut.

Chilling !!!.......2007-04-05

By far one of the best Cold War psychological dramas ever made. The fact that this was made before the era of CG graphics,shaky cam effects and ear-splitting soundtracks for effect only show how unnecessary they are when you have an excellent script,backed by an outstanding cast and great director who lets the story tell itself. The choice for Black & White enhances the suspense. Frank Sinatra gives a moving and powerful performance as he frantically tries to beat the clock in what is to be,unknown until the very end,the assassination of the presidential candidate, and the insertion of a puppet senator controlled(unknowingly) by Communists in his place.The idea of McCarthy era Communist hunts and brainwashing tactics,common to the era,gets the viewer involved right up to its conclusion. This is but a few of my favorite movies which I can enjoy time & time again as freshly as the first time. See it once and I think you'll agree!

A Classic Cold war Thriller.......2007-04-03

This is the original "The Manchurian Candidate", released in 1962 and very much derivative of the tensions of the Cold War. The Cold War context provides its suspenseful and haunting story with a logic denied the recent and convoluted remake starring Denzel Washington and Liev Schieber.

Frank Sinatra leads an outstanding cast as Major Marco Bennett, an Army officer recently returned from combat in Korea, who is troubled by strange dreams associated with a patrol for which Sergeant Raymond Shaw (played by Laurence Harvey) was awarded the Medal of Honor. Bennett, in search of his own peace of mind, makes contact with other survivors of the patrol and ultimately with Raymond Shaw himself. An encounter with Shaw's Korean houseboy triggers a memory of the patrol different from the account parroted by all the survivors. Bennett's relentless investigation of this anomaly slowly unravels a murderous plot involving Raymond's manipulative mother (played in an Oscar-nominated turn by Angela Lansbury), and insipid politician stepfather (played by veteran character actor James Gregory), and a group of shadowy Chinese military officers. Bennett will end up racing against time to defeat the plot, which has as its goal nothing less than a monstrous crime against the American Government.

Frank Sinatra has lots of help in this film. Janet Leigh plays a very understanding love interest. Laurence Harvey is superb as the lonely and tortured Raymond, manipulated by his enemies in ways he cannot fight and forced into horrific acts. Angela Lansbury gives a compelling performance completely at varience with her "Murder, She Wrote" personna. A kiss between Raymond and his mother may be one of the most chilling moments ever captured in an American movie.

The DVD provides a crisp black and white rendition of the movie, along with several interesting special features on the making of the movie.

This movie is highly recommended to those seeking a superb Cold War thriller featuring a collection of first-rate actors in an excellent story.

Great suspense thriller.......2007-03-30

If you like thrillers this movie is great. It seems a little dated now but the acting and characters are rich and the plot is interesting.

The Red Queen said, "Off with her head!".......2006-10-29

Widely considered one of the best and most influential films ever made, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE is a Cold War thriller released in 1962 (near the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis) that concerns a brainwashed assassin tasked to kill the President (shades of John F. Kennedy). The intense reality of this film led star Frank Sinatra (who plays Maj. Bennett Markoe) to pull the film from distribution for decades after Kennedy's shooting death in Dallas, 1963.

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE concerns Korean War Medal of Honor winner Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), the son of powerful politicians, whose bravery under fire saved most of his platoon. However, Markoe and several other men have been having odd dreams in which a ladies' garden club transmutes into a meeting of high-level Communists during which Captain Shaw kills two men upon their command. Markoe quickly becomes convinced that these dreams may be more real than anyone wants to admit.

Shaw, described as the "kindest, gentlest man" anybody ever met is in reality a one-dimensional stick of a man whose head "always seems about to come to a point" according to his own dragon lady mother (Angela Lansbury).

Lansbury is busy shoving her stupid red-baiting husband (James Gregory) toward the White House. Satirically, the McCarthyesque candidate has made his career denouncing Communists in the government---how many? Well, the ketchup bottle says "57", so that's an easy number to remember.

In the meantime, there are enemies to be neutralized, including Raymond's beloved employer who is a left-wing newspaper owner, his Senatorial liberal father-in-law (John McGiver), and his cute but overly influential wife Jocelyn (Leslie Parrish), all of whom end up dead.

After Jocelyn's death, the distraught Shaw seeks out Markoe, who discovers that Shaw himself is the killer, programmed to follow orders when shown a Queen of Diamonds (a little Alice in Wonderland, anyone?) from any card deck.

Finally becoming aware of his own brainwashing at the hands of the Red Chinese, Shaw takes revenge on the agents assigned to be his American Control Officers---who are none other than his staunch anti-Communist parents, the would-be President and First Lady.

A film truly frightening in its implications, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE is a film that should be required viewing for any American voter.

Average customer rating:

Full Metal Jacket
Starring: Adam Baldwin , Bruce Boa , Tim Colceri , Vincent D'Onofrio , and Harry Davies
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000P0J09C
Release Date: 2007-05-15

Description

The story of an 18-year-old marine recruit named Private Joker - from his carnage-and-machismo boot camp to his climactic involvement in the heavy fighting in Hue during the 1968 Tet Offensive.

Average customer rating:

BLU RAY VERSION
Not a perfect transfer, but hardly grainy.
Grainy transfer

Full Metal Jacket [Blu-ray]
Starring: Adam Baldwin , Bruce Boa , Tim Colceri , Vincent D'Onofrio , and Harry Davies
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: Blu-ray

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ASIN: B000HOMU98
Release Date: 2006-09-05

Description

The story of an 18-year-old marine recruit named Private Joker - from his carnage-and-machismo boot camp to his climactic involvement in the heavy fighting in Hue during the 1968 Tet Offensive.

Customer Reviews:

BLU RAY VERSION.......2007-03-30

if you liked full metal jacket before, the blu-ray version is almost unbelievable. overall the cinematography is fabulous. in a few spots the picture is a little grainy but its like watching these poor guys get shot in 3d. a must for any collector or action lover.

Not a perfect transfer, but hardly grainy........2007-01-15

Kubrick was a visual wizard. Masterfully controlling the cinematography of Full Metal Jacket, he rendered every image is a work of art, searing them into the conscious and subconscious mind. And seeing it in high definition is a wonder. To be sure, there are better transfers, but mostly on subpar films (trash like Stargate). This version of Full Metal Jacket is crisp and clear; the soundtrack is amazing.

As far as the story goes, it's impressionistic -- a series of vignettes held together by characters we first meet in bootcamp. It leaves a powerful, lasting impression of the horror, irrationality, and, ultimately, the pure humanity of war. We are killing machines and lovers, passionate friends and brutal thugs. And, in killing and fighting, we sometimes find ourselves most alive.

There are amazingly poignant lines in this film that resonate powerfully in terms our current war in Iraq. They don't support one side or another, but merely reflect on the universality of war and on America's invervention in places where the locals might not entirely appreciate our efforts and sacrifices. Reasonable human beings can differ on what is going on in Iraq, just as they could about Vietnam. Full Metal Jacket really isn't about that kind of debate. Rather, it turns the spotlight on how much war is a part of us -- and we a part of it.

Grainy transfer.......2006-10-14

This film is my least favorite of the Stanley Kubrick films - which still makes it a thousand times better than much of what is released these days. Kubrick was a master, and this movie is a character study about what it takes to make someone a trained combat killer. There are two separate and distinct setting here - boot camp and the battle fields of Vietnam. It was clear Kubrick had an ax to grind, and for a man obsessed with detail, these guys were running around with 80s hair the latter part of the movie. But he successfully makes his point. It is violent and disturbing, but seems a bit dated after seeing Saving Private Ryan. Speilberg raised the bar on war films in regard to capturing the details of the horror of war. Kubrick got the coldness of it down to a tee.

My complaint isn't with the content - it is with the transfer and lack of special features. This movie is so grainy, it looks like a bad VHS copy. Why didn't WB properly upscale this film, add some special features, and give us what we paid for?

Average customer rating:

Get Some
Great depiction of boot camp.
Dehumanisation
Stanley Kubrick USMC
Awesome

Full Metal Jacket [HD DVD]
Starring: Adam Baldwin , Bruce Boa , Tim Colceri , Vincent D'Onofrio , and Harry Davies
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: HD DVD

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ASIN: B000E5KJGQ
Release Date: 2006-05-16

Product Description

The story of an 18-year-old marine recruit named Private Joker - from his carnage-and-machismo boot camp to his climactic involvement in the heavy fighting in Hue during the 1968 Tet Offensive.
Running Time: 116 min.

Format: HD DVD

Amazon.com essential video

Stanley Kubrick's 1987, penultimate film seemed to a lot of people to be contrived and out of touch with the '80s vogue for such intensely realistic portrayals of the Vietnam War as Platoon and The Deer Hunter. Certainly, Kubrick gave audiences plenty of reason to wonder why he made the film at all: essentially a two-part drama that begins on a Parris Island boot camp for rookie Marines and abruptly switches to Vietnam (actually shot on sound stages and locations near London), Full Metal Jacket comes across as a series of self-contained chapters in a story whose logical and thematic development is oblique at best. Then again, much the same was said about Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, a masterwork both enthralled with and satiric about the future's role in the unfinished business of human evolution. In a way, Full Metal Jacket is the wholly grim counterpart of 2001. While the latter is a truly 1960s film, both wide-eyed and wary, about the intertwining of progress and isolation (ending in our redemption, finally, by death), Full Metal Jacket is a cynical, Reagan-era view of the 1960s' hunger for experience and consciousness that fulfilled itself in violence. Lee Ermey made film history as the Marine drill instructor whose ritualized debasement of men in the name of tribal uniformity creates its darkest angel in a murderous half-wit (Vincent D'Onofrio). Matthew Modine gives a smart and savvy performance as Private Joker, the clowning, military journalist who yearns to get away from the propaganda machine and know firsthand the horrific revelation of the front line. In Full Metal Jacket, depravity and fulfillment go hand in hand, and it's no wonder Kubrick kept his steely distance from the material to make the point. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Get Some.......2007-05-14

"This is my rifle, there are many like it but this one is mine." This is one of the greatest movies of all time. If you have Platoon and Apocolypse Now, you need to add this to your collection.

Great depiction of boot camp........2007-05-14

Having gone through Marine Corps boot camp, I'd have to say this movie pretty accurately covers the emotional shock of the whole experience. It's actually a a cult classic amongst Marines because it reminds us of the "hell" of our indoctrination to the Corps. That indoctrination in turn has made the Marine community an extremely cohesive brotherhood that lasts well past our time in the Corps. In fact, would any other Marines agree that this was actually a pretty light depiction of the mental stimulation that is boot camp?

On a side note. If you think that Lee Ermey was funny in his dark and nasty quips at the recruits, think of 3 drill instructors doing it at the same time. It's like the most hilarious comedy routine that you have ever seen with a dark twist; you laugh--you lose. Hilarity ensues.

Dehumanisation.......2007-05-10

"Full Metal Jacket" is a very effective movie about the training and war in Vietnam. Following the character Private Joker, the movie takes in the training of new recruits and their experiences in Vietnam.

The movie itself really is an illustration of the dehumanising effects of war and the training. Gunnery Sergeant Hartmann particularly illustrates this in his treatment of Private Pyle, (and, yes, Hartman has a lot of fun with Pyle's name). The dehumanising theme is continued in the Vietnam part of the movie, with the soldier's views on the locals being very much as objects. The movie does not simplify it, but looks at the complexities of the moral choices that face the soldiers in the movie.

Overall, the movie is a powerful look into the realities of war's effects on people. It is a hard movie to really "enjoy", but it is a very good film all the same. I have seen it a few times, and it has stuck in my memory for the way it addresses a very complicated and broad topic.

Stanley Kubrick USMC.......2007-04-17

Full metal jacket is a bright loud well made well acted brilliant look at the Vietnam war. The characters are unforgetable. The story is realistic and accurate. i like it better than Platoon and Apocalypse now. The boot camp part sets it apart and the Vietnam part is briliant.

Awesome.......2007-04-11

If you like Jar Head or Mail Call, you'll love this movie.
It's a raw, great commentary piece on the Vietnam War, seriously a must own!!!

Average customer rating:

PTSD is real
"No One Wants to Be In A Cage"
Has Been Overlooked For Too Long
Birdyy!Cool!!!
Awful

Birdy
Starring: Matthew Modine , Nicolas Cage , John Harkins , Sandy Baron , and Karen Young
Director: Alan Parker
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00003L9CH
Release Date: 2000-02-15

Amazon.com

Based on William Wharton's transcendent novel of the same name, this film is about many things: friendship, war, and, of course, birds. The framing device is an effort by a horribly scarred combat soldier (Nicolas Cage) to break through to his best friend, Birdy (Matthew Modine), hospitalized after seemingly being driven mad by fighting in the Vietnam War. Cage then flashes back to their boyhood, where Birdy, a canary aficionado, was considered the school weirdo but managed to be a solid companion nonetheless. Directed by Alan Parker, it works best as a coming-of-age story, but misses the bizarre psychological transferences of the book, in which Birdy imagines himself within the world of canaries he creates in his bedroom at his parents' house. Modine is fine as an out-of-it misfit enraptured by his own little universe. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews:

PTSD is real.......2007-02-26

Main characters:
Al: Nicolas Cage
Birdy: Matthew Modine

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

"Birdy" tackles the complex issue of post traumatic stress following wartime, telling the story of two childhood friends damaged by the ills of war in Vietnam. Raised in the slums of Philadelphia, Birdy and Al were very close friends as teenagers before the war. The film begins with Al returning stateside in facial bandages, headed for a military hospital at the behest of a psychiatrist who believes Al may find a way to coax Birdy from a catatonic state.

The storyline drifts back and forth between the pair's childhood and the mental hospital, interspersed with flashbacks of the war. As the movie unfolds, we learn that Al just may need Birdy as much as or more than Birdy needs him. The movie takes an agonizing look at the emotional and physical trauma war can inflict on soldiers, and manages to portray the tragedy of PTSD with a silver-lining. A five-star movie with very good acting, directing and an ending which is sure to ask questions, "Birdy" is a wonderful addition to everyone's movie library.

"No One Wants to Be In A Cage".......2006-10-22

"Birdy" is a 1984 drama film set around two fresh Vietnam War veterans, with a score by Peter Gabriel. I picked it up mainly because of Gabriel's score, but after watching it discovered it was a brilliant and moving film as well.

Birdy (Matthew Modine) and Al (Nicholas Cage) are good friends, and have been since high school back in Philadelphia. Al's a wrestling champ at school, a bit lusty and is often getting into trouble. Birdy's a more quiet kind of guy, not really interested in girls, and sticks to himself. He loves birds, builds his own set of wings, and trains carrier pigeons. He's so far into birds and flying it's more than a bit of a worry sometimes, and has got him into trouble more than once. The obsessive nature is from his father's side. When Birdy's Dad was a boy he was really into making wicker chairs, so he understands his son. His mother doesn't understand as much, and is rather worried at and angry about Birdy's passions. Still, Al and Birdy have a good time, they're always getting part time jobs together, trying to make some money. They end up going to Vietnam, and both come back messed up, Al physically (half his face was blown off), and Birdy mentally (Birdy now acts like a bird). Birdy is now in the psychiatric ward of a military hospital, and Al, covered in bandages, has been called in to see if he can talk Birdy out of his condition. If he can't, says the psychiatrist, he'll be sent to an institution. So Al goes into the cramped white room where Birdy is, reminsicing about all times, getting no answer. He is convinced that Birdy is still there, deep inside, but the psychiatrist is convinced otherwise. In fact, after reviewing Al's records, he thinks that Al is equally messed up. Will Al be able to get through to Birdy, or will they both end up as institionalized war veterans?

Director Alan Parker has done a really good job with the look of this film, I thought. The Philadelphia we see is run down and rubbish strewn, but unlike so many films that try to be "gritty", there is a warmth to these places, they feel lived-in and loved rather than just trashy. There's an atmosphere to every place, be it under the bleachers, at the hospital, or in the darkness of Birdy's cell. The characters too, are interesting, especially the way they interact. (The scene where the usually quiet Birdy has a heated argument with Al's Dad, a gruff and usually furious man, and wins, for instance). Matthew Modine captures the quiet and intense feel of Birdy's character really well, as well as his quirky, dangerous moments that worried his friends and family so much. I've had a few friends like this in my time, and I think Modine hit the personality just right. There are a few themes and social comments running through the film (when and what is mental illness, the cold, hyper-sensitive eye of the mental health system, why young men choose to go to war, the nature of a deep friendship between two young men, etc) which were interesting concepts to digest.

Peter Gabriel's score heightens the emotion and themes really well. Give or take a new composition, the score is made up of instrumental tracks and segments from his third and fourth albums, "3" and "Security", with the production values leaning more towards that of the fourth album. Already being familiar with the music, it was interesting hearing how Gabriel chose to use it. Birdy seems to get the song "Wallflower" as his theme (which I think is rather appropriate, given the lyrics of the original) while Al, more or less, gets an instrumental of "Family Snapshot" in his vulnerable and emotional moments. Gabriel was a good choice for scoring this film, I thought. In those albums whose materials he used for the score, he dealt a lot with mentally vulnerable people through his lyrics, while on Genesis albums like "Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" explored the friendship between men (Brother John and Rael, who appear through the songs), so I think he would have understood nature of the material when scoring it. Alan Parker also made a good decision in adapting the "Birdy" book to screen. Having dealt with mental trauma very well through his last film "Pink Floyd - The Wall", he had the experience to deal with the material with sensitivity, understanding and could add the right evocative imagery and dialogue. I got a bit emotional by the end, actually.

Definitely worth a look for fans of a good drama, fans of Alan Parker and fans of Peter Gabriel.

Has Been Overlooked For Too Long .......2006-08-31

"Birdy"is an outstanding character study with a well-written script that was directed by a very talented director (Alan Parker of "Pink Floyd The Wall", "Midnight Express", "Mississippi Burning", and "Angel Heart"). Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage both gave unforgettable performances in this dark, disturbing yet somehow uplifting story of two friends from South Philadelphia, Al (Cage) and Birdy (Modine in the performance that easily could be one of the best ever given by any actor on screen and sadly has been overlooked for too long). Birdy is an innocent and odd young man who has been always fascinated by birds and wanted to learn to fly. Both friends had to take a traumatic tour of duty in Vietnam that affected them tremendously - both physically and mentally. The film is not about Vietnam, though - it is a brilliant story of friendship and how far Al would go for his friend. The film has one of the most original and surprising endings ever.

Birdyy!Cool!!!.......2005-12-16

The boy once wants to fly!...I really loved the movie!I was zapping when i stop int this movie...i was like "that's a comon movie" but was wrong. Its just amazing to see how obcessed we coulb be...we can became just others due to an obcession...for me was too interesting to see this movie...the boy fell in love with a bird...wants to be a bird, its out of normal...its fascinating!=)

Awful.......2005-11-09

This movie was so awful it prompted me to write my first review. The DVD is now a beer coaster. I would give it zero stars if I could.

Full Metal Jacket (Limited Edition Collector's Set)

Average customer rating:

Get Some
Great depiction of boot camp.
Dehumanisation
Stanley Kubrick USMC
Awesome

Full Metal Jacket (Limited Edition Collector's Set)
Starring: Adam Baldwin , Bruce Boa , Tim Colceri , Vincent D'Onofrio , and Peter Edmund
Manufacturer: Creative Design Art
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005LC3Y
Release Date: 2001-11-06

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

Get Some.......2007-05-14

"This is my rifle, there are many like it but this one is mine." This is one of the greatest movies of all time. If you have Platoon and Apocolypse Now, you need to add this to your collection.

Great depiction of boot camp........2007-05-14

Dehumanisation.......2007-05-10

Stanley Kubrick USMC.......2007-04-17

Awesome.......2007-04-11

If you like Jar Head or Mail Call, you'll love this movie.
It's a raw, great commentary piece on the Vietnam War, seriously a must own!!!

Average customer rating:

Challenges, changes and discoveries occuring before, during and after marriage
Jaw dropping performance by Nastassja Kinski
simply great
Kinski's best performace
nastassja is great

Maria's Lovers
Starring: Nastassja Kinski , John Savage , Robert Mitchum , Keith Carradine , and Anita Morris
Director: Andrei Konchalovsky
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Paris, Texas

ASIN: B00005R5GI
Release Date: 2001-12-26

Amazon.com

Splicing scenes featuring his protagonist, Ivan (John Savage, The Deer Hunter), among excerpted interviews with real soldiers from John Huston's landmark World War II documentary Let There Be Light, director Andrei Konchalovsky brilliantly sets the stage for a morally ambiguous tale of a war hero's return home to a small town. Disappointingly, the opening of Maria's Lovers promises much more than it ultimately delivers. Ivan has survived the tortures of a Japanese POW camp by continually dreaming of his childhood sweetheart Maria (Nastassja Kinski). When he returns to find her with a boyfriend and a grown-up libido, Ivan can't reconcile his guardian vision with the real Maria. Even as she declares her love for him and they hastily marry, Ivan's nightmares intervene. In short, Ivan can't perform. Minor roles for Robert Mitchum and Keith Carradine (as a ridiculous wandering minstrel who seduces Maria after Ivan flees in shame) seem wasted on a melodramatic script that often sounds as if it was poorly translated into English. The nostalgic scenery of Brownsville, Pennsylvania, (rolling fog, river ferries, careening factories) is compelling, as is Kinski (who is at her most seductive and downright breathtaking), but Konchalovsky's affection for his characters and their landscape cannot surpass his stilted vision of America. --Fionn Meade

Description

Nastassja Kinski is radiant (The New York Times) in this war-torn love story that breaks the eroticism barrier [with] an astonishing directness (L.A. Weekly). Co-starring John Savage, John Goodman, Robert Mitchum and Oscar(r) winner* Keith Carradine, Maria's Loversis a unique, compelling [and] intimate drama (L.A. Weekly). When her teenage sweetheart Ivan (Savage) returns home from WWII, Maria (Kinski) eagerly accepts his marriage proposal, looking forward to a lifetime of happiness. But her joy is short-lived when Ivan's dark past shrouds their wedding night in misery, driving a wedge between them that neither knows how to remove. Confused and depressed, Maria attempts to mend her true love's heart despite the advances of other suitors. But when a traveling musician (Carradine) hits the right note, Maria struggles to justify her unfulfillinglife. Is her passion too powerful to be contained within the sanctity of marriage? *1975: Original Song ( I m Easy ), Nashville

Customer Reviews:

Challenges, changes and discoveries occuring before, during and after marriage.......2007-06-22

MARIA'S LOVERS (1984), was a hit, and frequently shown in the
theatres, back in the day of its release. Comprising famous stars
from that time, Nastassja Kinski, Robert Mitchum and John Savage,
the reputations of all 3 was extremely merited, considering the
outstanding job the actors did in bringing this work to life. Anita
Morris also packs a tremendous presence, as well, to the screen,
with dancing action and intense looks, interacting very well, too,
with the others, alternating between a hysterical, artificial call
girl of sorts, with a more serious, affectionate conduct.

Clearly, not all people in an audience finds a sentimental,
romantic movie appealing, that underlines the ephemeral nature of
various stages in one's life, (death, birth, the crossing from a
youthful maturity into married adulthood, and the need to make the
right choice for the relationship to work.)

The author shows an extreme skill in crafting a story about a
relationship between a man and a woman, before and after the
marriage, the challenges, changes and discoveries occuring
thereafter among the partners. It also tells how old habits
sometimes die hard, such as the urge for spontaneous romantic
relationships between other men and/or women even after the formal
union is made. As before, this show the character oscillating one
and another partner depending on which brings the most excitement
at the time, etc.

We see Kinski plaging a girl who easily infatuates, and captures
the sentimental imaginations of men, who are on the same wave
length as her own, that she projects unknowingly or not. At the
same time, Savage is the husband, who is unable to move beyond or
even cope with, those 2 feelings, both before, during and after
their marriage.

Unable to progress to a deeper, more meaningful emotional and
mental rapport with Kinski, Savage, reaching for immediate answers
and relief (like for an Aspirin), finds the solution in simple
girls of his own socio-economic background with which he was raised
and is comfortable in all aspects.

While all this is happening, isolated between her aging mother, her
career as a maternity ward nurse and as a neglected married woman,
Kinsky turns to casual romantic encounters with a handful of men
who can read her situation instinctively, and can satisfy her
artistic and other impulses.

The cinematography is impeccable, with a sharp, clear transfer to
DVD, even after 20 years, the movie doesn't seem to have aged at
all, on screen, especially from the timeless, idyllic tiny rural US
town depicted. The automobiles, homes, clothes worn, layout of the
town all convincingly shows that these are the 1950's or early
60s.

With Savage playing a veteran of the Second World War, released
from a Japanese POW camp, the movie wisely refrains from touching
upon the military life for more than only a few brief moments, to
avoid opening up a Pandora's box of pre-judgements, experiences,
struggles, hazings, isolation, stress, or memories of overcrowded
conditions of such a canp experience, that otherwise would distract
from the story.

Keith Carradine plays a ambulant musician, bringing some accoustic
guitar numbers, and a bit of humor and outside perspective to the
story, that otherwise would have obviously been more introverted,
intensely personal, occuring between Kinsky and Savage.

Jaw dropping performance by Nastassja Kinski.......2006-08-12

She's a goddess I can't imagine another actress playing the role of Maria, and its nice to see the late Robert Mitchum in a very good film like this. Perhaps a very intimate film, a very good one to keep your relationship strong with your love one.

simply great.......2005-12-18

Perhaps a very underated movie, but the story is unpredictable, Keith Carradine is very Hilarious here, And I just love the song Maria's eyes

Kinski's best performace .......2005-12-18

Ive always admire Nastassja as an actress, but of all of her movies that I've saw, this is difinitely her best performace to date. Great movie esp. if you like European films in general, John Savage also plays the perfect role of Ivan Bibic, Maria's husband who struggles to fight his demons. The story is very realistic, it can happen to anyone.........

nastassja is great.......2005-12-02

just recently saw this movie on HBO, great movie, also starring the late Robert Mitchum,

my fav. line on the movie is when Ivan's father ask Maria for a kiss, and Maria replies, and said " A father don't need to ask a daughter for a kiss". Perhaps a very sad Love story.

Average customer rating:

Get Some
Great depiction of boot camp.
Dehumanisation
Stanley Kubrick USMC
Awesome

Full Metal Jacket
Starring: Adam Baldwin , Bruce Boa , Tim Colceri , Vincent D'Onofrio , and Peter Edmund
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B00000J2KT
Release Date: 1999-06-29

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Customer Reviews:

Get Some.......2007-05-14

"This is my rifle, there are many like it but this one is mine." This is one of the greatest movies of all time. If you have Platoon and Apocolypse Now, you need to add this to your collection.

Great depiction of boot camp........2007-05-14

Dehumanisation.......2007-05-10

Stanley Kubrick USMC.......2007-04-17

Awesome.......2007-04-11

If you like Jar Head or Mail Call, you'll love this movie.
It's a raw, great commentary piece on the Vietnam War, seriously a must own!!!

Average customer rating:

Very British and well worth a watch
"It" is on DVD
Delightful fantasy
Poor reviews are too harsh... this is a GREAT family film!
Wholesomely, magically spellbinding

5 Children & It
Starring: Tara Fitzgerald , Freddie Highmore , Alex Jennings , Jonathan Bailey , and Jessica Claridge
Director: John Stephenson (II)
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B0009S4ILA
Release Date: 2005-07-05

Description

What would you wish for if you were granted a new wish every day? That's the delightful situation five children face when they're sent to live with their eccentric uncle in his moldering mansion while their father fights in World War I. There they discover It, a fairy who makes their wishes come true! This exuberant adaptation of E. Nesbit's beloved classic features young Freddie Highmore (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Finding Neverland), Kenneth Branagh and Zoe Wanamaker (both veterans of the Harry Potter film series), comedy star Eddie Izzard as the voice of It, and the film wizardry of the Jim Henson Creature Shop.

Customer Reviews:

Very British and well worth a watch.......2006-12-23

This is a fairly faithful (in concept) retelling of E Nesbit's moralistic children's classic, although the story is reset in the first world war period. This film is very gentle and occasionally moving to watch, although it is more amusing than laugh out loud funny (at least when Eddie Izzard isn't about). It's more 'The railway children' or 'The secret garden' than 'Spy Kids' (hardly surprising as Nesbit also wrote The Railway Children).

The stalwart British adult actor's Zoe Wannamaker and Kenneth Branagh are in good form and all the children are excellent and likable leads, particularly the young Freddie Highmore - now the new Charlie (in Charlie & the Chocolate factory) and his 'nasty cousin' Horace (Alexander Pownall). The wise & witty old sand fairy naturally steals all his scenes (and Eddy Izzard is really great as his voice). The only downside is the rather naff static dinosaur sequence, more than made up for though by the breathtaking Zeppelin scene (best viewed on the big screen). There are some other famous UK faces as well, including Norman Wisdom in a micro cameo. The film hasn't got the depth or historical accuracy of the three hour BBC's TV adaptation of the book from 1991, and is far less faithful to the book's plotline set in the earlier late Victorian/Edwardian period. However the film is quite acceptable fun and has the advantage that it can easily be viewed as a sequel to the superb BBC adaptation (if you can find it). The actual sequel to the book though is BBCs later 'all star' serialisation 'The Phoenix and the carpet', at present only available highly edited as a region 1 'Disney film' from Amazon (and this DVD is also highly recommended - until a proper BBC DVD set appears).

On release, my 10 y old daughter and I chose this 'Five Children and it' film over Sharks Tale and didn't regret it. My daughter was absorbed throughout it (and cried a bit). My 8 y old son and mum really enjoyed this DVD later. So well worth couple of viewings on quiet winter Sundays.

"It" is on DVD.......2006-07-30

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's Charlie, Freddie Highmore, Shakespearean actor Kenneth Branagh and er... Eddie Izzard's voice star in this remake of "Five Children and It", orignally based on E. Nesbit's novel of the same name. I haven't read the book (though I'd like to), but I grew up with the old TV serial, which I thought was great. Though it's great to see the story with a bigger budget and some fine actors, and its fine family entertainment, I wish it was more like that old serial.

In the midst of World War I, a father goes to war and five children are sent into the country until things cool down a bit in England's south. The kids are sent to their Uncle Albert's (Kenneth Branagh), an eccentric writer of maths textbooks who likes his rules and dislikes distrubances. One of the rules of the house is that they are not allowed into the greenhouse. Robert (Freddie Highmore) who is a bit of a rulebreaker, goes in anyway and discovers a beach beyond an old doorway. On that beach, he finds a sand fairy, the Psammead (voiced by Eddie Izzard). Sand fairies can grant wishes, which is a pretty good thing to have access to, even if the wishes often go wrong and only last until the sun sets. Still, the kids get up to all sorts of adventures thanks to the Psammead's power.

The film is very well cast for the most part. The boys are as they should be, the girls are loving and sweet, and Kenneth Branagh makes a brilliant Uncle Albert. I can't say I really like the idea of Eddie Izzard as the Psammead. It's the voice he chooses that bugs me. It's kind of British, kind of French, which kind of makes him a bit zanier and cartoonish than the sagely plump puppet from the TV serial. Doesn't make him seem as wise and ancient, which is something I used to love about his character. It might be just the script, but this film's sand-fairy is a bit more wise cracking too, which usually annoys me, but its pretty restrained here, so it isn't too bad. Like I said, I haven't read the book, but I'm sure the TV series wasn't as "Narnia" as this. A beach in a greenhouse cupboard? Was it really like that? I don't know...

Special features include an hour long making of documentary, featuring interviews from all the actors (Freddie Highmore, Kenneth Branagh, etc), and a couple of interviews from the crew on the more technical side of things. The kids seemed really nice from their interviews. There's also an outtakes montage, some unused audio improvs from Eddie Izzard's It, a featurette on merchandise from the film (pretty much a commercial), a storyboard gallery, a design gallery, a photo gallery and a series of trailers from both TV and the theatres.

A reasonable kids film, but I do prefer the old TV serial. Three and a half stars.

Delightful fantasy.......2006-07-18

A delightful fantasy/adventure/comedy based on the children's classic by E Nesbit. 5 children are sent to spend the summer holidays during the First World war with their loopily obsessive uncle (very well played by Kenneth Branagh). Some excellent set pieces, such as when for example "IT", the odd creature they discover on the magic beach, succeeds in cloning the 5 children to perform the tedious household chores devised by their barmy Uncle, and some splendid clashes between the occasionally irritatingly sensible children and their nerdish overweight cousin.
I'm sure if this film had been made in America more would have been made of the absent father fighting in the trenches, who is only slantingly referred to in a rather stiff-upper-lip sort of way, but this is after all a British film and very faithful to the period.

Poor reviews are too harsh... this is a GREAT family film!.......2006-05-27

Okay, I will say that I've never read the book, although my 9 year old wants to after this movie! We have watched movies every Friday night for over 2 years (4 kids, current ages 9, 7,4 and 9 months), and this is one of the best ones by far. No questionable language at all, and the sand fairy has some hilarious dry humor and off-the-wall comments (but entirely appropriate for a kid's movie). It's not rated, which worried me at first. I'm still not sure why it didn't get a rating, however, I'd say it's a definate "G". There's some scenes that younger kids might think is scary, but is mostly suspense. I really enjoyed the learning process the characters go through (even if the characters were a little underdeveloped); I thought for children they were decent actors.

Yes, there are a lot of similarities to Narnia, especially the opening of the film. However, if you enjoy each movie for what it is, and not compare the two, it's very enjoyable. As for the review that slams the graphics and audio, we watched it on our 32 inch tv with no problems... maybe he had an HDTV or something. My daughter commented at one point how life like the sand fairy looked. I do think a commentary or trailer would have been a nice touch, but as for the movie itself, it was one of the best we've seen. I don't say this often, but this time, enjoy the movie first and THEN read the book!

Wholesomely, magically spellbinding.......2006-03-25

I must say that I was so pleasantly surprised by this movie. My young daughter asked to rent it, and not having read the book, we didn't know what we were in for. It captivated the imagination, had great effects, thanks to Jim Henson studios, all the while showing how youthful siblings manage to handle each other while living without their parents. And...how innocently children can live in the midst of fear of losing their father in war. It was not too serious. If your children like fantasy without overdone drama and scary effects, see this!

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