Big Business

Starring:Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin, Fred Ward, Edward Herrmann, Michele Placido, Daniel Gerroll, Barry Primus, Michael Gross, Deborah Rush, Nicolas Coster, Patricia Gaul, J.C. Quinn, Norma MacMillan, Joe Grifasi, John Vickery, John Hancock, Mary Gross, Seth Green, Leo Burmester, Lucy Webb
Director: Jim Abrahams
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

By now, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan have amassed such a fund of goodwill with moviegoers that any new onscreen pairing brings nearly reflexive smiles. In You've Got Mail, the quintessential boy and girl next door repeat the tentative romantic crescendo that made Sleepless in Seattle, writer-director Nora Ephron's previous excursion with the duo, a massive hit. The prospective couple do actually meet face to face early on, but Mail otherwise repeats the earlier feature's gentle, extended tease of saving its romantic resolution until the final, gauzy shot.

The underlying narrative is an even more old-fashioned romantic pas de deux that is casually hooked to a newfangled device. The script, cowritten by the director and her sister, Delia Ephron, updates and relocates the Ernst Lubitsch classic, The Shop Around the Corner, to contemporary Manhattan, where Joe Fox (Hanks) is a cheerfully rapacious merchant whose chain of book superstores is gobbling up smaller, more specialized shops such as the children's bookstore owned by Kathleen Kelly (Ryan). Their lives run in close parallel in the same idealized neighborhood, yet they first meet anonymously, online, where they gradually nurture a warm, even intimate correspondence. As they begin to wonder whether this e-mail flirtation might lead them to be soul mates, however, they meet and clash over their colliding business fortunes.

It's no small testament to the two stars that we wind up liking and caring about them despite the inevitable (and highly manipulative) arc of the plot. Although their chemistry transcended the consciously improbable romantic premise of Sleepless, enabling director Ephron to attain a kind of amorous soufflé, this time around there's a slow leak that considerably deflates the affair. Less credulous viewers will challenge Joe's logic in prolonging the concealment of his online identity from Kathleen, and may shake their heads at Ephron's reinvention of Manhattan as a spotless, sun-dappled wonderland where everybody lives in million-dollar apartments and color coordinates their wardrobes for cocktail parties. --Sam Sutherland

Description

Neigborhood bookstore rivals unwittingly become e-mail pen pals in this charming remake of The Shop Around the Corner

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Commentary with N. Ephron & L. Shuler-Donner
DVD ROM Features:N. Ephron Audio Bytes "Sounds of NY" (10:07) Interview Gallery - Individual Clips (12:00) Comparison Scenes (38:00)
Featurette:HBO First Look Special: "A Conversation with Nora Ephron" (14:39)
Other:DIscover NY's Upper West Side" - 11 Selectable Clips (15:00)

Customer Reviews:

You've got OSCARS!!!.......2007-07-03

I absolutely know why the academy went nuts over this one. It definitely graduated magnum cum laude in my opinion!!!

The chemistry between Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan is out of this world! Sleepless in Seattle was good, Running in Circles was great, and You've Got Mail was phenomenal!!!

I loved that one part when Tom Hanks sells the dictionary to that one guy!!! It was so funny. I heard that most of this movie was unscripted... just a testament to these actors' abilities to light up the Silver Screen.

Before I write more about this movie, I think it would be a good idea JUST TO THANK these wonderful actors for their contribution. I heard that AOL didn't even exist until after this movie was made!! Talk about defining popular culture, huh?

So back to the movie. Greg Kinnear is in it.

RENT IT.

Very Good Date Movie.......2007-07-03

Very Good movie based on the start of the cyberdating era. Good storyline, very believable. It is cute, it is entertaining, it's a little funny! You root for the success of the romance!

Again and Again!!!.......2007-06-27

I LOVE IT! It could be called a chick flick but even a guy would be able to find something to love. It leaves Shop Around the Corner (the orginal You Got Mail) in its dust. I orginally had you got mail on VHS but I watched it so much the picture was starting to look pretty bad. But I didn't mind having to buy it again. Hanks and Ryan work perfectly together! And the music isn't that bad either. It's most definitely one of the best romantic comedies EVER! And anyone that says differently should feel shame.

Tom and Meg..........2007-06-16

...is there a better pairing? Lovely film! Be sure to watch it again with Nora's commentary.

You've Got Mail.......2007-06-08

This is a classic and I never get tired of watching it. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are a very good match for this romantic comedy. This type of movie is something a entire family can set down and watch together.

Average customer rating:

Well done all around
Wickedly Entertaining, Shocking
Long, Repetitive and Biased
Works on computer only
Excellent

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Starring: Peter Coyote , Reverend James Nutter , Bill Clinton , Lou L. Pai , and Colin Whitehead
Director: Alex Gibney
Manufacturer: Magnolia
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

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Similar Items:

The Corporation
Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
Good Night, and Good Luck (Widescreen Edition)
Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron
Why We Fight

ASIN: B000C3L2IO
Release Date: 2006-01-17

Product Description

Based on the best-selling book of the same name by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, a multidimensional study of one of the biggest business scandals in American history. The chronicle takes a look at one of the greatest corporate disasters in history, in which top executives from the 7th largest company in this country walked away with over one billion dollars, leaving investors and employees with nothing. The film features insider accounts and rare corporate audio and video tapes that reveal colossal personal excesses of the Enron hierarchy and the utter moral vacuum that posed as corporate philosophy. The human drama that unfolds within Enron's walls resembles a Greek tragedy and produces a domino effect that could shape the face of our economy and ethical code for years to come.

DVD Features:

Available Audio Tracks: English (Unknown Format)
Commentary by: writer-director Alex Gibney (Unknown Format)
Deleted scenes
"The Making of Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" featuring research footage and exclusive interviews with writer-director Alex Gibney and investigative journalist Bethany McLean
Enron company skits
Enron commercial
Where are they now?: updates on the executives, traders, and whistleblowers
A gallery of Enron cartoons
The original Fortune magazine articles

System Requirements:

Running Time 110 Mins.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com

One of the greatest scandals in American corporate history is chronicled in the riveting documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. Based on the bestselling book by Fortune magazine reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkin, and directed by Alex Gibney (who also produced The Trials of Henry Kissinger), the film is an epic morality tale, drawing upon a wealth of insider interviews and archival material to show how Enron, once the nation's seventh largest corporate entity, essentially faked its bookkeeping to report profits that never existed. The corrupt and closely-guarded mismanagement by Enron executives (including Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, later placed on criminal trial) is revealed through such heinous concepts as "Hypothetical Future Value" (a way of reaping fortunes based on false profit projections) and the use of offshore "shell" companies to hide the massive losses that eventually toppled the company (along with the venerable Arthur Anderson accounting firm) and left 20,000 employees jobless. As a maddening portrait of hubris and white-collar crime, Enron transcends political and corporate boundaries by showing how smart and powerful men grew blinded by greed and brought ruin upon themselves, along with thousands of otherwise innocent victims. For better and worse, it's a perfect double-feature with eye-opening 2004 documentary The Corporation. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Well done all around.......2007-06-20

Well made and interesting documentary, that tells the whole story of Enron from start to finish. Amazing how much free reign businesses have these days, and how greed & corruption can flourish.

Wickedly Entertaining, Shocking.......2007-06-20

This documentary on the collapse of "energy giant" Enron plays out like a gripping crime thriller. Fraud abounds and lies pile upon lies until a business that took decades to build comes crumbling down in a matter of weeks.

Writer/Director Alex Gibney provides a model of documentary filmmaking in this taught story of corporate greed. Using news footage and trial coverage, Gibney avoids the "talking heads" trap that hobbles most documentaries. There are talking heads in this film, the most prominent of which is Fortune senior editor Bethany McLean. As co-author of the book on which the movie is based, McClean offers fascinating analysis on the financial industry and the corporate stupidity that led to Enron's downfall.

But it's the film and sound footage that make this movie a must-see. To hear a flustered Jeffrey Skilling stumble through a non-explaination of Enron's finances and finally call his questioner an "a**hole" is hilarious; sound clips of Enron traders laughing gleefully while engineering California's rolling blackouts are nothing short of chilling.

We've been hearing about Enron now for six years, now. I never understood what exactly Enron did before seeing this film. Now I don't feel so ignorant, as this documentary makes clear that at times Enron didn't know what Enron did. One Enron trader puts it best in saying, "I had a lot of questions about what was going on, but I didn't ask them because I didn't want to know the answers."

Watch this movie and stay for the bonus material. As the Enron convictions continue to roll in half a decade after the fact, "The Smartest Guys in the Room" gives profound insight into the corruption and incompetence leading to the scandal.

Long, Repetitive and Biased.......2007-06-10

The content of this documentary (?) could easily fit in a 30-minute piece. There is an attempt to sensationalize things. For instance, they make a big fuss about the trips made by top execs to Baja, making a tenuous connection to the risk-taking culture at Enron. There is practically nothing of substance. For instance, one would like to know more details about the actual shady dealings that Enron went through, rather than a depiction of trading room banter. Very shallow.

Works on computer only.......2007-05-29

Watch out, this one only runs on a computer & that wasn't made obvious in the description. That's what WMVHD means. If you want the DVD which plays on a regular DVD player, buy the 1-disc set which is actually a valuable one to have. It's a very good story, very enlightening & informative.

Excellent.......2007-05-28

Just can't stop watching this movie again and again. I'll recommend it to anyone.

Average customer rating:

BOVINE GROWTH HORMONE is giving us CANCER
A Truly Chilling New Reality
5 Star Content
Important Film
Everyone should see this film

The Corporation
Starring: Mikela J. Mikael , Maude Barlow , Pope John XXIII , Martha Stewart (II) , and Kofi Annan
Director: Jennifer Abbott , and Mark Achbar
Manufacturer: Zeitgeist Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
Control Room
Manufacturing Consent - Noam Chomsky and the Media
Why We Fight

ASIN: B0007DBJM8
Release Date: 2005-04-05

Amazon.com

An epic in length and breadth, this documentary aims at nothing less than a full-scale portrait of the most dominant institution on the planet Earth in our lifetime--a phenomenon all the more remarkable, if not downright frightening, when you consider that the corporation as we know it has been around for only about 150 years. It used to be that corporations were, by definition, short-lived and finite in agenda. If a town needed a bridge built, a corporation was set up to finance and complete the project; when the bridge was an accomplished fact, the corporation ceased to be. Then came the 19th-century robber barons, and the courts were prevailed upon to define corporations not as get-the-job-done mechanisms but as persons under the 14th Amendment with full civil rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (i.e., power and profit)--ad infinitum.

The Corporation defines this endlessly mutating life-form in exhaustive detail, measuring the many ways it has not only come to dominate but to deform our reality. The movie performs a running psychoanalysis of this entity with the characteristics of a prototypical psychopath: a callous unconcern for the feelings and safety of others, an incapacity to experience guilt, an ingrained habit of lying for profit, etc. We are swept away on a demented odyssey through an altered cosmos, in which artificial chemicals are created for profit and incidentally contribute to a cancer epidemic; in which the folks who brought us Agent Orange devise a milk-increasing drug for a world in which there is already a glut of milk; in which an American computer company leased its systems to the Nazis--and serviced them on a monthly basis--so that the Holocaust could go forward as an orderly process.

The movie goes on too long, circles too many points obsessively and redundantly, and risks preaching-to-the-choir reductiveness by calling on the usual talking-head suspects--Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Michael Moore. And except for an endlessly receding tracking shot in an infinite patents archive, there's scarcely an image worth recalling. Still, it maps the new reality. This is our world--welcome to it. --Richard T. Jameson

Description

In this acclaimed documentary from the co-director of MANUFACTURING CONSENT: Noam Chomksy and the Media, 40 corporate insiders and critics—including Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, NO LOGO author Naomi Klein and Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman—explore the nature and spectacular rise of the most pervasive institution of our time. Combining analysis with footage from advertising, television news and industrial films, THE CORPORATION is an entertaining and provocative look at the inner workings, curious history, controversial impacts and possible futures of the modern global conglomerate. This Two-Disc Special Edition features more than 8 hours of additional material.

Customer Reviews:

BOVINE GROWTH HORMONE is giving us CANCER.......2007-06-29

BGH means no dairy product sold in USA is safe: not the cheap cheese I got on sale, not the Buttoni tortellini also on sale, not the 2 for 1 sour cream not the neufchatel cheese for rugelach and not the butter! There goes my baking, my homemade ice cream and my quick cheese fix. Aaargh!!!

Canada and Europe continue to ban BGH.

Rupert Murdoch's Fox looks pure creep in this and Michael Moore is sympathetic.

A Truly Chilling New Reality .......2007-06-08

The Corporation throws light on the rule of the few. With cameos from Michael Moore and Noam Chomsky. If this film does not move you to action.......

5 Star Content.......2007-05-29

The information in this DVD should be seen by everyone. I give the DVD 4 stars, however, because the direction and production could use some improvement. It's a bit slow.

Important Film.......2007-05-17

This film is one of the most important documentaries I've ever seen. It does an excellent job of informing us of what has warped our way of life that makes it so hard for us to be an independent people and a nation. Forget politics! Find out about the true power...Corporations.

Everyone should see this film.......2007-05-07

This film, and the book on which it is based The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, is a history of how corporations developed the idea that corporations are persons. One implication of this theory is that leadership of corporations can only seek maximum short-term profit.

Average customer rating:

All that Italian food just made me hungry
Chef John at foodwishes.com says:
a delicious film (on many levels).....
For Foodies Everywhere
Love is not enough

Big Night
Starring: Caroline Aaron , Marc Anthony , Peter Appel , Andre Belgrader , and Larry Block
Director: Campbell Scott
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Eat Drink Man Woman
Mostly Martha
Tortilla Soup
Like Water for Chocolate
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ASIN: 0767802535
Release Date: 1998-04-07

Amazon.com

Critics tripped all over their big feet to praise Big Night, and in doing so performed a grave disservice to this fine little film. They fooled audiences into believing it was a "super movie" instead of a home movie buoyed by friends and family. Consequently, many viewers were disappointed. Big Night is an intimate look at the immigrant struggle to attain the American Dream, set in New Jersey in the 1950s. Its disproportionate success gave co-directors Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott, who also star in the picture, the green light to follow up with a smug, unsuccessful second venture called The Imposters. Tucci wrote Big Night with his cousin Joseph Tropiano, and they based the story on the experience of growing up in a large, proud Italian family. The brothers in Big Night--chef Primo (Tony Shalhoub) and businessman Secondo (Tucci)--have come to New Jersey to open a bistro named The Paradise that serves the finest in traditional, authentic Italian cuisine. Their every move is foiled by rival restaurant Pascal's, which serves mile-high servings of spaghetti and meatballs and flasks of bad Chianti at exorbitant prices. Primo is disgusted by the fact that Americans want cheap pasta instead of risotto, so Secondo hatches a plan to boost business: rumor has it bandleader Louis Prima is travelling through and will dine at The Paradise that very night. Secondo gambles to bring the finest dinner ever cooked--at the risk of losing his shirt and being reduced to exile to the old country with his tail between his legs. Big Night is a film that will easily invite comparisons to other "food" fare like Babette's Feast and Eat Drink Man Woman but, though Tucci insists his story is "about the struggle between art and commerce and the risk of staying true to yourself," the media refused to let it stay a small, comparative work. The movie, and the buzz around it, became a parable for the essence of the film itself: art vs. commerce. --Paula Nechak

Customer Reviews:

All that Italian food just made me hungry.......2007-06-07

Recommended by my good friend Dee, I thought I give this one a try. The pace of this film is like that of a wonderful meal, considered, not rushed, and with attention to detail. Hard-edged business people often use salty language and such is the case here, by both Pascal and Secondo. Pascal is cavalier because he feels in charge of the world and Secondo is trying to figure out how not to be crushed by the weight of it. In Pascal's restaurant, people are having a wonderful time eating what clearly mediocre food is served with great fan fair. At The Paradise, the work in the spotless kitchen is done with the best ingredients and where only a perfect plate is allowed to be taken to the dining room. As is the custom, it is presented with an understated elegance.

During this film Stanley Tucci, plays Secondo, who manages to have a fling with both Isabella Rossellini and Minnie Driver. (This is the movie where it is proved that she is nine foot tall and all the stuff in "Good Will Hunting" about how she can dunk) Tony Shaloub plays Stanley Tucci's brother, as Primo, who is less talented on the woman front but is, in compensation, the superior chef. Both of them have a mixed relationship with Ian Holm who I feel lets the side down rather by doing too much of the acting stuff with a forced "eyetalian" accent. Two points here, firstly, all the male leads also crop up in supporting roles in A Life Less Ordinary and take the opportunity to show off their talents in these bigger roles. Secondly, if a fine actor like Ian Holm is the only disappointment in a movie that is quite a distinction. As the Big Night approaches, we share the preparation and presentation of multiple courses of delicious dishes, where any one could be on the cover of Gourmet magazine. Having a good time and good food is special.

In addition to this, the script and the direction is good - the movie is a miracle of brevity considering that, on repeated viewing, one can see that it is shot on a budget that wouldn't buy two lemon polenta cakes at The River Cafe. "Big Night" is one of the three cool indie movies that came out of America in 1997. Miss it and you probrably deserve to eat at McDonalds for the rest of your life.

Also recommended "Eat Drink, Man Woman," "Like Water for Chocolate," and "Babette's Feast."

Chef John at foodwishes.com says:.......2007-06-03

When a chef recommends a restaurant you know that it's a good place to eat, and when a chef recommends a food film... Chef John over at Foodwishes.com has this to say about the movie:

"I've probably watched it over 30 times. I consider it the best restaurant movie ever made, and no movie that I've seen before or since has captured the experience of the food business so brilliantly as this one. The film is the story of two Italian brothers who own a restaurant called "Paradise". Primo (played by Tony Shalhoub), is an intense, passionate chef who can't cope with his customers' expectations of "real" (Americanized) Italian food. The other brother, Secondo (played by Stanley Tucci), is the restaurant manager, who is in a constant battle with his brother over the balance between making money, and staying true to their culinary roots.

This is a great movie, even if you are not a "foodie," as its very funny, sweet, sad, and has an amazing sound track of music from that period. Also, any movie with Isabella Rossellini is worth seeing, and try and see if you can identify the busboy who later (in real life) goes on to have quite a successful music career. Anyone thinking of going to culinary school and/or starting a restaurant, should be made to watch this movie first. It gives such a perfect study of the agony and ecstasy of the restaurant experience."

a delicious film (on many levels)............2007-05-27

BIG NIGHT is a great film and an equally great story, that really appeals to the senses. For starters, we see great Italian food shots, during the "big night" (for which the film derives its title). I am not much of an Italian food aficianado, but it makes me want to be! Everything from the colorful appetizers, to the main course-what I would describe as a pasta cake, loaded with sausage, cheese and other filling ingredients, just fill your senses and you can just smell the basil, cheese and tomato sauce. Secondly, the writing and what the actors do with that writing (thanks to great direction by Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott, as well as a great cast) is just beautiful.

The plot is modelled on the hopes and dreams of many immigrants, arriving on the shores of 1950s United States, searching for a better life, determined to achieve something bigger and better than what they could ever have accomplished, back home (there is a poignance to this theme, especially at this time, where that dream is more and more fleeting, as we are all being pulled into a state of paranoia and disdain, particularly toward foreigners). Two brothers, Primo (Tony Shalhoub) and Segundo (Stanley Tucci) own and operate a failing Italian restaurant. Though, Primo is an amazing and dedicated chef, Segundo is the more wily and crafty younger brother, determined to cut a deal and make them successful. When they get wind of an opportunity to bring in famous swing singer Louis Prima, to their restaurant, for one very big night, how can they pass up on this opportunity? This could either make or break their reputation, as well as their bank account.

BIG NIGHT is beautifully crafted, and another great actor (who we know better as a well-respected and very talented salsa star) featured here is Marc Anthony, in an understated role as their young, quiet and slightly bumbling waiter, at the restaurant. The women featured in this film are gorgeous, too. Minnie Driver is stunningly beautiful, as Phyllis, Segundo's American girlfriend, and Isabella Rossellini plays the "other woman." I don't want to divulge any more plot details. I will say that this is a film that you really can't compare to other "food movies," though many have anyway. It's really a very intelligent character study about the immigrant experience, with food as a very colorful (and flavorful) backdrop.

For Foodies Everywhere.......2007-05-19

This is an outstanding piece of film making which is as satisfying as a good meal. A first course which tests and teases the tastebuds; a satisfying main course made up of rich performances and wonderful surprises; and the final dish which is breath-takingly beautiful and poignant.

Love is not enough.......2007-04-09

"Big Night" is another sad movie for the entrepreneur, though not as sad as "Tucker". After all, more restaurants fail than industrial companies, and very frequently because they start with a dream of cooking outstanding food and little more to the plan. This movie is about more than a bad business plan. It's really about the building of community through a shared meal.

Italian brothers, significantly named Primo (Tony Shaloob, not Italian, but dark and hairy) and Secundo (writer/director and actual Italian-American Stanley Tucci) are chefs and owners of an Italian restaurant during the 1950s in the US. Primo, the artistic one of the duo, concocts exquisite and authentic Italian food. Secundo, who is also manager of the restaurant, stands outside his empty restaurant and watches the throngs standing in line for spaghetti and meatballs at the Italian place across the street. Facing foreclosure, the brothers make an all-or-nothing gamble to host famous Italian-American crooner Louis Primo and his band, hoping that a good recommendation from him will bring more discerning diners. They also impulsively invite everyone who has crossed their path during their stay in America: the cute flower shop girl Primo has been making eyes at, the Cadillac salesman who takes Secundo for a test drive, their best customer who is a Bohemian painter, and more.

It's easy to forget how foreign Italians seemed a generation or two ago, and how their less familiar foods were viewed with suspicion.

This is an affectionate and only slightly ironic portrayal of two men who predate any ability to talk about their feelings. It's a worshipful depiction of Italian cuisine and elevates food and cooking to the level of worship.

I recommend this film for anyone who is thinking about starting a restaurant. Also just a good movie that's about more than food.

Average customer rating:

It could happen to you
Warning: Watch this movie at your own risk!
Hysterically funny!
Lighthearted Entertainment
80's throw back

Big Business
Starring: Bette Midler , Lily Tomlin , Fred Ward , Edward Herrmann , and Michele Placido
Director: Jim Abrahams
Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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Similar Items:

The First Wives Club
Troop Beverly Hills
Death Becomes Her
That Old Feeling
Hello Again

ASIN: B000065V3L
Release Date: 2002-08-13

Description

Bette Midler (THE FIRST WIVES CLUB, BEACHES) and Lily Tomlin (DISNEY'S THE KID, ALL OF ME, 9 TO 5) -- the first ladies of laughter -- star in this critically acclaimed box office hit about two sets of identical twins who are mismatched at birth. Forty years later, their paths cross amid the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, and the result is unrestrained pandemonium. New York's opulent Plaza Hotel is the setting for a wildly hilarious, classic case of mistaken identities, split personalities, and double trouble! With the unparalleled comedic talents of Midler and Tomlin, two's company ... four's a riot!

Customer Reviews:

It could happen to you.......2007-01-27

Loved this, it could really happen, and I am glad it turned out great!!

Warning: Watch this movie at your own risk!.......2006-09-05

Because you might just die laughing.
A perfect motion picture comedy; watch it alone, with a date, with your parents or your children, everyone's going to feel better after seeing this one.

Hysterically funny!.......2006-07-23

While times have changed in terms of special effects, they certainly did an excellent job pulling this one off. Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin are at their finest in this movie. Great lines, excellent acting and a funny plot make this a must watch movie.

Lighthearted Entertainment.......2006-03-09

This film for me has always been a guaranteed laugh. The southern accents and snooty New York attitude superbly played are hilarious! Bette Midler and Lilly Tomlin now how can you come up with a better duo other than double it.

80's throw back.......2006-02-18

Good movie, needs Special Features
The movie is absolutely great. However, I've seen the movie and what I was looking forward to on the DVD was special features. How great would a commentary by Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin be. But unfortunately there were absolutely no special features included with this movie.

Outfoxed - Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism

Average customer rating:

Everyone should be required to see this
Shining light on a cesspool
On Republican Brain washing of the United States
This Blatant Propaganda Hit Piece Has No Relation To FOX, But Does Smell of A Chicken Coup
Outfoxed

Outfoxed - Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism
Starring: Cal Thomas , Jon Stewart , Steve Doocy , Christiane Amanpour , and Peter Jennings
Director: Robert Greenwald
Manufacturer: The Disinformation Company
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

Politics | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

General | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( O ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Uncovered - The Whole Truth About the Iraq War
Control Room
Unconstitutional - The War On Our Civil Liberties
Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
The Corporation

ASIN: B0002HDXTQ
Release Date: 2004-07-13

Amazon.com

Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism uses the inflammatory tactics of the Fox News Channel to demonstrate the conservative bias that's handed down by Fox's owner, media mogul Rupert Murdoch. The documentary gathers interviews from media watchdogs and former Fox employees (including a former anchor, Jon Du Pre, who describes his flailing efforts to create a celebration for Reagan's birthday when the one he was sent to cover never materialized), but their overwhelming condemnation of Fox's skewed news practices isn't half as effective as footage taken directly from Fox itself--an appalling montage of pundit Bill O'Reilly telling guests to shut up; repeated efforts to paint Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry as weak and waffling, while President Bush is captured in respectful, reverent images; and management memos dictating language, subject matter, and point of view. Outfoxed is unlikely to persuade Fox News fans to change their views, but it may spur outraged liberals to take action. --Bret Fetzer

Description

"Fair and balanced"??? How about anything BUT?!?! For the first time ever, this documentary reveals the secrets of Former Fox news producers, reporters, bookers and writers who expose what it's like to work for Fox News. These former Fox employees talk about how they were forced to push a "right-wing" point of view or risk their jobs. Some have even chosen to remain anonymous in order to protect their current livelihoods. As one employee said "There's no sense of integrity as far as having a line that can't be crossed."

"Outfoxed" examines how media empires, led by Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, have been running a "race to the bottom" in television news. This film provides an in-depth look at Fox News and the dangers of ever-enlarging corporations taking control of the public's right to know.

"Outfoxed" first examines media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the Australian company, News Corp., tracing how the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) helped Murdoch break the rules to establish a fourth network in the United States. The film explores Murdoch's burgeoning kingdom and the impact on society when a broad swath of media is controlled by one person.

Media experts, including Jeff Cohen (FAIR), Bob McChesney and Chellie Pingree, provide context and guidance for the story of Fox News and its effect on society.

The team behind "Outfoxed" created a system to monitor Fox News 24 hours a day for months to discover exactly how its shows worked. A team of volunteers around the country scrutinized every hour of Fox News programming, noting examples of bias in its coverage. The result is an intense examination of Fox News and the lie inherent in its favorite motto: "Fair and Balanced."

Customer Reviews:

Everyone should be required to see this.......2007-06-20

There is no hype here. Just facts and interviews regarding a very profitable propoganda machine that many people are aware of- but nobody thinks they can do anything about. Please watch this movie!

Shining light on a cesspool.......2007-06-19

I found this film to be illuminating. I was, of course, already aware that Fox is nothing but a pez dispenser for GOP talking points, but I still learned quite a lot, especially about Rupert Murdock. What a guy. Most of the negative reviews here are utterly without substance, and not even worthy of response, except to say that yes; the film has a bias. It never pretends otherwise. Show me a documentary that doesn't have a bias. Highly recommended.

On Republican Brain washing of the United States.......2007-06-02

This DVD Documentary exposes Fox News as a journalistic fraud media forum for extreme right political propaganda.

Some speakers appearing to speak in the documentary on Fox News propaganda tactics include the following people:
Bob Mc Chesney Founder of Free Press and author of "The Problem of The Media."
Jeff Cohen, Former NSNBC/FOX NEWS Contributor
David Brock, President/CEO of Media Matters for America
Gene Kimmelman, Sr. Director of Public Policy and Advocacy Consumer Union.
Frank O'Donnell, Former Fox News Producer Washington DC.
Diana Winthrop, Former Fox News Producer
David Burnett, Former Fox News Reporter Washington DC.
Peter Hart, Media Analyst for Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting.
Larry Johnson, Former CIA Analyst/Fox News Contributor.
Clara Frank, Former Fox News Producer.
Richard Clarke, Former National Security Advisor
Walter Cronkite, a former TV news anchor man trusted and well respected across America in the 1960s and 70s makes a couple of appearances and statements on the journalistic integrity of Fox News.

Rupert Murdoch bought WTTG Channel 5, small, successful local News Channel in Washington DC in 1985, which later became Fox News. The news crew were left alone for some time as they produced quality news broad casts. But, eventually the Fox News station management began to dictate a one sided political perspective, scripted political messages and opinions to be broadcasted by the news crew. Political messages began to appear in odd polling, odd graphics banners on the TV screen.
Blatent censorship by cutting off guest speakers voicing a point of view Fox News station management opposed became regular practice. The most rude censor is Bill O'Reilly. He is shown again and again telling guests to shut up in emotional outbursts with an extreme lack of objectivity or tolerance to other perspectives. Overall, the current Fox News crew displays a lack of ability or willingness to listen to other opinions which conveys a serious lack of understanding and respect. If they don't cut a guest speaker off, they very likely to talk on top of the guest to drown out the sound of anything he or she has to say.

An audible tone which had been previously used to seize the viewer's attention to an important piece of breaking news known as the Fox News Alert began to be used to grab the viewer's attention to an attitude and oppinion and tabloid issues about to be broadcasted.

A phrase, "Some people say" which is used in journalism to protect anonymous sources began to be used by Fox as a scripted pretext to broad cast a political opinion.

Fox News broadcasts relentless attacks on political dissent and political opponents of the extreme right republicans and uses fear to manipulate emotions of the viewer and public opinion.

It's pointed out that the real fraud is Fox News claims to be fair and balanced because it is nothing even sort of fair nor balanced. Those who appear on Fox News having extreme right opinions are always shown in numbers significantly outnumbering their opponents. Easy questions are asked of republicans with respectful tone of voice while others are presented with more difficult questions in harsher tones.

Bill O'Reilly lies, distorts facts and subjects guests to hostility to put them off balance. Bill O'Reilly is shown overtly threatening the livelihood of celebrities who makes public statements with which he does not agree.

Iraq was being portrayed as a happy, safe place by Fox News during a time of increasing danger due to a rise in rebellion and political violence in Iraq.

As an example of a lack of journalistic objectivity, a Fox News reporter interviewing George W Bush is shown telling Bush about how The reporter's wife was campaigning for him during the elections prior to the interview.

The documentary says that George W Bush's cousin, John Ellis was working as an election analyst for Fox News in the 2000 elections when he interrupted its election coverage to announce that George W Bush was the winner of the election while voting was still in progress to create a false perception of premature election victory for Bush.

Rupert Murdoch is a paradoxical man. He enjoys the freedom of the press and the freedom of expression in the U.S. He buys what amounts to be an empire of media. Once he has the media in his grip, he dictates brain washing political propaganda to the public. If freedoms of speech, press and expression are dear to Americans, this man and other extreme right wing media people need to recognized as threats to these freedoms because they claim to be news or entertainment and they are neither. They are
extreme right political propaganda machines of the type America used to recognise as non free mediums in other totalitarian countries. These media are responsible for the new rants of hatred by Americans for other Americans who do not share their political ideology.

Here are some other sources on simular subjects:

The Republican Noise Machine : Right-Wing Media and How It Corrupts Democracy

Big Lies: The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine and How It Distorts the Truth

What Liberal Media?: The Truth About Bias and the News

Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative

Lapdogs: How the Press Rolled Over for Bush by Eric Boehlert

Uncovered - The Whole Truth About the Iraq War by Robert Greenwald

State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration by James Risen

State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III by Bob Woodward

This Blatant Propaganda Hit Piece Has No Relation To FOX, But Does Smell of A Chicken Coup .......2007-05-23

There is nothing out of character in this absurd diatribe that does not reflect the ideology of the liberal political action group MoveOn[...] the original distributors of this DVD.

Even Howard Kurtz, a vociferous critic of FOX, commented that Greenwald's propaganda flick, posing as a documentary, made allegations against FOX that relied on "orders, or attitudes, of an unnamed "'they.'" Kurtz chastises Greenwald for not even providing the illusion of fairness or balance himself. "Not only did he avoid contacting FOX, and indulge in some misleading editing, but the film also features a parade of the network's liberal detractors," noted Kurtz.

Had Greenwald actually been interested in making a documentary, he might have bothered to check his facts, and in doing so, would have discovered that some of the "sources" for this "documentary" never worked for FOX News Channel. Those employees he did eventually bamboozle into appearing in his amateur Leni Riefenstahl propaganda flick represent fewer than ten out of 2,000 FOX employees spanning an eight year period.

I wonder what sort of reply Greenwald would get from ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, MSNBC, CNBC, NPR, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The LA Times, asking for them to submit 100 percent of their editorial directions and internal memos? But then again, why would Greenwald be interested in exposing liberal media when their ideology mirrors his own.

Compared to the viewing audience of network TV news, FOX Channel barely registers at all. While it does trounce the other cable channels in ratings, it is a head scratch why Greenwald targeted a relatively tiny market share channel while ignoring the shameless propagandizing and biased news reporting that is de rigueur for network TV. Of course if you understand that Greenwald is a left wing ideologue, posing as a documentarian, in the mold of Michael Moore, it really isn't mysterious at all.

Outfoxed.......2007-05-21

Finally! An expose on what the news watching cognoscenti have known for years - Fox is neither fair nor balanced. Fox would not receive the overwhelmingly deserved criticism heaped upon it, if it would simply fess up to being the propaganda arm of right wing causes everywhere. This documentary shows the pressure Fox put upon both producers and reporters alike to intentionally slant the news to the right in-spite of contrary facts...Must see!

Average customer rating:

Absolute Perfection.
"You know,...for kids!" Comic Genius! Top 5 All Time!
Please enter a title for your review
20 minutes and not a single laugh.
Wonderful Coens Film

The Hudsucker Proxy
Starring: Tim Robbins , Jennifer Jason Leigh , Paul Newman , Charles Durning , and John Mahoney
Director: Ethan Coen , and Joel Coen
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00000ING2
Release Date: 1999-05-18

Amazon.com essential video

The Coen brothers (Raising Arizona, Fargo) have become the most consistently original filmmakers in the land. In a salute/reworking of the fast-talking comedies of the '40s, we follow Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins) and his amazing rise to the top. But he's only a puppet for the evil Sidney J. Mussburger (Paul Newman), who wants the company for himself. The Coens' design is the real star, and their first big-budget film will stimulate movie fans. The story weakens in the middle, but you will find very few films that move with this much imagination. As a Kate Hepburn hybrid, Jennifer Jason Leigh is wonderful in an almost unplayable role. The less you know about the film, the better it plays, so just think of it as How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying mixed with Brazil and every journalistic drama made before 1960. Cowritten by Sam Raimi. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews:

Absolute Perfection........2007-06-09

I cannot say enough about this movie, and, after seeing it for the third time, I remain amazed by the skill and power of the Coen brothers. That they were able to put together a master plot while making every subfacet and tertiary character of this film incredibly interesting is nothing short of astounding. The Hudsucker Proxy is a flawless work of art that cannot be confused with real life. Many of its elements are wonderfully overstated and some of its sequences need to be replayed several times in order to grasp their grandeur--in particular, the scene in which Robbins is promoted from the mailroom in which everyone's laughs continuously and uncontrollably. That was an incredible clip and I think I'll view it again after writing this. Furthermore, Jennifer Jason Leigh's accent is priceless as is the send up of the old school newsroom. As for Newman, well he's Newman so nothing more needs to be said. Seeing this again reminded me that the Coens have more than one film I'd give 100 stars out of 100 to (Miller's Crossing). The Hudsucker Proxy is nothing short of spectacular.

"You know,...for kids!" Comic Genius! Top 5 All Time!.......2007-05-29

It is always odd to love a movie, a cd, whatever because you know others are going to hate it for the same reasons that you love it. The Coen's always get a knee-jerk reaction from some, but this is one I really don't understand because the movie is so smart. The dialogue is amazing.

I read a review where some guy panned this because it rips on capitalism. Good grief, man. Loosen up and enjoy an intelligent, dark comedy.

Some nobody schlub from Muncie, Indiana, namely one Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins), arrives in the big town and has big plans. "You know, for kids". So begins one of the greatest movies ever written, acted, directed, edited, whatever. This is fantastic, great, superb, excellent... you get the point.

So, Norville is out to take on the world, fresh out of Muncie Business College. He carries his plan for the next big thing in his shoe, it is drawn out in great detail on a neatly folded piece of plain white paper; it is a perfect circle. "You know, for kids." Robbins committed so fully to this role that I cannot imagine anyone else being able to pull it off. His stupid but smart, funny but not, noble but humble, etc... portrayal is amazing.

Paul Newman, Sid Musburger, the # 2 guy, is looking for "a proxy, a pawn", someone that can fill the recently emptied head seat of the board of Hudsucker Industries; because Mr. Hudsucker leapt 43 stories "not counting the mezzanine". They need an idiot to make the stock drop and a Muncie man is perfect for that job. Heck, he even gets to pitch his idea to the board and they love it, for all the wrong reasons.

Buzz, the elevator boy is friggin' hilarious.

Jennifer Jason Leigh, does the fast talking, big city reporter schtick to perfection. She plays the hard-hearted softy very well and somehow makes it work between her and Robbins.

Every word in this film is perfectly planned and you will miss half of what is funny because you are laughing. Watch this at least twice but probably better 3 or 4 times to get all of the dialogue. I don't know what this screenplay looked like on paper, but by the time it was on film, a masterpiece of comic genius was created.

Surprisingly, not as many people as I would think have seen this movie, but I believe it should be required for everyone that has any appreciation for writing, comedy, dark humor, or film making.

This is the Coen Brother's Opus; sheer genius.

Please enter a title for your review.......2007-05-05

Every time they set a context, it's just to defy it. It's never predictable. They'll start going in some kind of serious direction and then just make the silliest thing possible happen.
The dude who has the idea for the hula hoop, he draws a circle and expects people to understand what it is, and they never ask what it is they just ignore it like they think he's retarded or something. And the reporter gal's voice is so funny because it exists completely out of context. (People who dislike this movie seem to take the accent seriously.)
And the old guy who gets up like he's going to the bathroom or changing a lightbulb or something, really slowly while the other twenty guys around the table watch in silence, and then runs the length of the boardroom table like a diving board and dives through the glass of the 44th floor.
I think the funniest part though was when the other old dude tells Tim Robbins he's fired, but he still insists on trying to put out the fire he started in the trashcan, and he walks over to the window for some reason and the old dude thinks he's trying to leave like he told him to, and he's like "not that way, through the door". omg that was so funny.
And the sequence where the hula hoop finally reaches it's popularity, some kid finds one and starts using it and a crowd of kids stare for a while then run away screaming, seemingly in horror.
They don't direct your attention to a certain place and then put the joke there, they hit you with it while you're waiting for something else to happen. A lot like Sarah Silverman and her Program. It's unfortunate that comedy in film and tv has become so regimented that people often can't see a joke unless there's an indicator beforehand telling them where to look for it.

20 minutes and not a single laugh........2007-03-30

Big stars, famous directors and not a laugh to be found in the first 20 minutes of this overblown phony-looking movie. Oh, and loud. I forgot loud. This is like a big George W. Bush speech: lots of racket, big budget, and ultimately, a huge waste of time.
Har har har, buddy.

Not. Please stop the DVD player. Please.

Wonderful Coens Film.......2007-03-07

This is a wonderful film filled with great characters in this 1950's piece about the business world and how unpredictable it is. the coens fill this dark comedy with flair and fun, so it amazes me that it flop. i guess people were'nt ready for it in late 90's when it was released, it could be the title as a reviewer mentioned or the world was'nt ready the pre 21 century and now to present state we really need creativity and talented shows like these to lift are spirits and realize they're hope and we can laugh at things once in awhile.

Thank you to the coens brothers for writing this and may other oddball classics.

Average customer rating:

material girls
A cool movie!
Not as Pleasant as Getting Your Wisdom Teeth Pulled.
Not the best :-l
Same cookie cutter, but still cute

Material Girls
Starring: Hilary Duff , Haylie Duff , Maria Conchita Alonso , Anjelica Huston , and Brent Spiner
Director: Martha Coolidge
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
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ASIN: B000JFY05W
Release Date: 2006-12-12

Amazon.com

Glamour girls Hilary and Haylie Duff (featured in Lizzie McGuire and 7th Heaven, respectively) star as cosmetic heiresses Ava and Tanzie Marchetta, whose lives get turned upside down when their deceased father's company is accused of selling toxic products. Wouldn't you know it, Ava and Tanzie decide to go all Erin Brockovich and investigate. Material Girls should be awful--but it isn't. It's not a great film, it may not even be a good film, but it's more watchable than it has any right to be, thanks to the confident and thoughtful guiding hand of director Martha Coolidge (Rambling Rose, Valley Girl). It's hard to say exactly how a director can keep something like Material Girls from being as insipid as, say, New York Minute. Coolidge injects some hint of awareness of what it actually means to be poor, casts some surprising actors (like Anjelica Huston, Prizzi's Honor; Brent Spiner, Star Trek: The Next Generation; and Lukas Haas, Brick), and somehow makes the Marchetta sisters both vapid and sympathetic--all of which is some impressive cinematic alchemy. The result is the most enjoyable film of Hilary Duff's career. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Sisters Tanzie and Ava (Hilary and Haylie Duff) have it all ? designer clothes to wear, hunky guys to date and millions of dollars to spend. Their life has been one big party since inheriting their dad's cosmetics company... but the party ends when a product scandal leaves the celebutantes without a penny to their name. It's a hilarious riches-to-rags tale as the girls go from maximum fun to minimum wage. Co-starring Anjelica Huston and Lukas Haas, MATERIAL GIRLS proves that laughter is always in fashion.

Customer Reviews:

material girls.......2007-05-26

this film was brilliant i really enjoyed it. hilary was fantastic and so was her sister haylie really good film recomend it :D

A cool movie!.......2007-05-12

A really cool, funny video! I'll give it 4 stars, since its not Hilary's best movie, but it's worth too see!

Not as Pleasant as Getting Your Wisdom Teeth Pulled. .......2007-04-14

I really wanted to like this movie because I think the Duff sisters are cute and actually have some potential. This movie has nothing about it to offer additional points to that train of thought. Hilary and Hayley are two spoiled brats who lose all their money, then get it back--an obvious parody of the ditzola factor the Hilton sisters live for real. About as painful, stupid and empty as My Date with the President's Daughter (UGH!), the only redeeming thing about this vapid little teen chick flick is Anjelica Houston. For good teen flicks that are thoroughly enjoyable, I highly recommend 10 Things I Hate About You and the old 80s classic hit, John Hughes' Sixteen Candles. Where this movie is concerned, I wouldn't recommend it to your dog's fleas.

Not the best :-l.......2007-04-13

While I'm not a teen anymore, I still like to watch the occasional movie in this 'genre' (ones that appeal to the tween market) and I do normally like Hilary Duff but this was NOT GOOD.
Hilary was OK in this, but her sister was annoying. There were the odd funny moments here and there. The plot was OK (two rich kids lose their money and become broke, yet bounce back into riches again). It was mostly unbelievable, yet kind of cute if you are of the age that this was intended for. I think kids would like this, but I found it to be only average.

Same cookie cutter, but still cute.......2007-04-10

Okay, same story line, rich person gets too comfortable, someone else is running the show, makes mistakes, rich person has to have a reality check and fix the world and everyone is better off because of it. It was still a cute movie. Suggest you watch, but don't buy.

Average customer rating:

Doesn't compare to his other films, but still interesting.
The Big One: Michael Moore's Crusade against Corporate America
Cheap Trick Fans will like the Interview with our favorite 'Trickster, Richard V. Nielsen, at his home in Rockford, Ill.!
Michael Moore is an idiot
I turned it off half way through.

The Big One
Starring: Elaine Bly , Dan Burns , Chip Carter , Jim Czarnecki , and Robert Dornan
Manufacturer: Miramax Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00008L3TE
Release Date: 2004-09-28

Amazon.com

A brazen mixture of stand-up comedy, political commentary, CEO confrontations, and shenanigans with Random House tour escorts, Michael Moore's second foray into dark docucomedy after Roger and Me follows his Midwest book tour to promote Downsize This. One of his Milwaukee tour escorts explains that medium-sized cities in the Midwest tend not to attract tours by the self-important celebrities of the Coasts; instead, they attract "more thoughtful authors like Michael." His kind of thoughtfulness evokes both laughter at, and disgust with, corporate America. To be sure, there is a certain naiveté in Moore's proworker take on corporate and political America--his half-serious plan for a Nike shoe factory in Flint, Michigan, makes as much business sense as coal mining on Maui--but he gives voice to well-reasoned arguments that have most easily gotten lost amid the Clinton-era boom's corporate downsizing and reliance on "temporary" employees.

In cities like Des Moines, Minneapolis, St. Louis, and Portland, The Big One juxtaposes both Moore's lighthearted-sounding but deeply biting humor speaking before bookstore patrons and painful-to-watch confrontations with security personnel at companies such as Procter & Gamble and PayDay. (For future targets of Moore's style of journalism, take note of Nike CEO Phil Knight's fairly effective approach as Moore calls him to task on Nike's Indonesian labor.) Moore speaks clandestinely with Borders employees organizing a union; a woman laid off from Ford attends Moore's Rockford, Illinois, bookstore visit the same day. Though slow in spots, frustrating if not depressing in others, it's intensely funny the rest of the time. The Big One is fundamental viewing. --Erik Macki

Description

Outrageously entertaining and widely acclaimed, THE BIG ONE marks the return of America's favorite corporate avenger, Academy Award(R) winner Michael Moore (BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE, Best Feature Documentary, 2002; ROGER & ME). Armed only with a camera and a sharp sense of humor, Moore is back in the nation's heartland and searching for an executive -- any executive -- who will respond to one tough question: If Fortune 500 companies are posting record-setting profits, why do they continue laying off thousands of workers? Looking out for the little guy with plenty of laughs along the way, Moore's howlingly funny crusade has resulted in a crowd-pleasing motion picture that's big entertainment fun!

Customer Reviews:

Doesn't compare to his other films, but still interesting........2007-02-13

There wasn't much point to this film, but Moore's antics and opinions are entertaining as usual. The subject of this documentary is basically the downsizing of multi-million dollar corporations and shipping work overseas.

The Big One: Michael Moore's Crusade against Corporate America.......2006-06-03

G'D bless you Michael Moore for your crusades not only in the books you have written but also for your doccumentary movies to safeguard the working man blue collar workers. The Big One is depressing and funny at the same time. His political satire and savy humour helps you deal with the horrible reality of the coruption in government and in corporations in america. It is about time someone stood up to the corruption of the ceos and corporations. G'D gave michael moore the heart and the guts to go out there and fight the good fight not only for faith but also for justice.

Cheap Trick Fans will like the Interview with our favorite 'Trickster, Richard V. Nielsen, at his home in Rockford, Ill.!.......2006-03-24

Michael Moore strikes at the Establishmewnt again!
Moore's best is still his first, 'Roger And Me,,
but this is the next best. Imagine my surprise as
few yrs., agao when a friend, who also votes Third
Party, lent me the VHS of this and found out that
Moore is also a Cheap Trick fan. Nielsen's picture
with Moore is even on the back of the DVD sleeve!

A good effort, though Moore's somewhat leftist oc-
cational leaniings may put some Third Party types
off...The far Middle strikes back, again! And Rock
on Rick Nielsen!

Michael Moore is an idiot.......2006-02-20

This was a ridiculous documentary. I watched with an open mind, and after it was finished I was so irritated because he showed such a one sided biased view, it was ridiculous. Being that it is a Michael Moore movie I should have expected this but I tried to view it openly. Let me warn you now, don't waste 2 hours or 20 dollars.

I turned it off half way through........2005-11-24

Michael Moore can be really funny at times, but most people should not take this goofball too seriously. About half way through 'The Big One', I turned it off because I did not find it the least bit funny and I didn't know where Moore was going. What is the point of putting in a pointless sequence where he is talking to the guitar player of Cheap Trick? This is not one of his better films.

Average customer rating:

Brilliant
An engaging video
The bitter truth about an artificial sweetener
check out what you eat
Eye Opening Truth on Aspartame/Nutrasweet

Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World
Director: Cori Brackett , and JT Waldron
Manufacturer: Sound and Fury Productions, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B000BQ5IWS
Release Date: 2006-01-31

Description

This documentary is a close examination into what some consider to be a "hoax": aspartame toxicity. This documentary attempts to look at what is definitively known about aspartame and discovers that the label "hoax" in this case is a dangerous misconception. This controversial documentary is sure to open eyes to the possible dangers of what lurks in our food.

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant.......2007-05-07

A comprehensive and thoroughly damning expose of FDA complicity in marketing a known toxic substance to an unsuspecting public.

An engaging video.......2007-04-20

It's a very interesting video which explained the facts behind aspartamine in an easy to understand manner.

I was a little disappointed it didn't go into the chemical composition very much... as that's central to understanding the problem... but if you know the hazards of methanol you will appreciate the toxic effects of this substance.

A few illustrations of methanol poisoning from news reports wouldn't have gone astray... as most people aren't familiar with it's effects.

It took me two goes before it all really clicked (it's almost beyond belief in places).

Despite this the message is clear... the message is compelling... and shocking.

It puts a new light on the political machinations that are driving organisations like the FDA. It also puts a new light on a few politicians which you might have thought of as relatively spotless. Ouch!!!

If you've got friends who use artificial sweetners... get them to start using something safer. This video should do the trick.

:-)

The bitter truth about an artificial sweetener.......2007-03-29

Just over a year ago, I became a statistic when I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. After moving past that initial shock, it occurred to me that I could still enjoy many items because of the convenience of the `artificial sweetener' Aspartame. I took it on faith that it was tested and deemed safe by the FDA so I frequently used products that contained it. After watching Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World and realizing that I'm naïve, I should have done my homework and found out just what it was that I'd been ingesting. Needless to say, I will never again eat or drink anything containing Aspartame.

What is Aspartame exactly? Apart from it being called an artificial sweetener I mean? Well, in a word, it's poison. That may sound a little extreme but when you analyze the known information, there really is no other way to categorize it. Let's take a look.

Aspartame is broken down into 3 parts which consist of Phenylalanine, Aspartic Acid, and Methyl Ester. When swallowed, Methyl Ester immediately turns into Methyl Alcohol (a.k.a. Methanol, a.k.a. Wood Alcohol). This substance is very poisonous to the human body. Aspartame has been linked to 92 different medical symptoms, some of which are also associated with Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes, Lupus, and Fibromyalgia. A predominant number of these symptoms are neurological problems. After discontinuing use of Aspartame laden products, individuals 'detoxifying' themselves have felt their adverse reactions decrease and show a marked improvement in health. This is strong circumstantial evidence lending credence to the fact that Aspartame is poisonous to the body. Common sense states that not everyone will have the same acute reactions to Aspartame toxicity. Information in the documentary shows that those who consumed large quantities of products containing Aspartame were showing severe symptoms sooner rather than later. Others who use these products less frequently are probably setting themselves up for health problems in their future.

In the late 1970's, the maker of Aspartame, G.D. Searle, attempted to get it approved for public consumption. Initial tests were not favorable due to health hazards created by the substance (when tested on lab animals, brain tumors didn't prove to be very popular). This didn't fit the agenda for G.D. Searle so they decided to put the ethics aside. Upon later investigation, just some of the following information was discovered: improper lab testing, fabricated test results, destruction of medical evidence showing toxicity, tampering with medical records and scientific data, and critical study documentation purposefully withheld from the FDA.

In 1980, a public board of inquiry voted unanimously to reject the use of Aspartame for public use until more tests were conducted. Once again, this was unacceptable to the G.D. Searle Company. By way of unethical political maneuvering and a total lack of professional behavior, the FDA, the government, and G.D. Searle completely disregarded public safety and got Aspartame approved for public consumption. And this was after 3 senior scientists from the FDA pleaded with the `powers that be' not to release this product. Unbelievable but true. This entire ordeal is explained in detail in Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World and it's downright appalling. In 1983, now being approved, Aspartame was finally unleashed on the unsuspecting public for the first time. Only 6 months after Aspartame hit the streets, so to speak, the following health statistics were noticed: brain tumors were up by 10%, Diabetes was up by 30%, and brain lymphoma (a very aggressive type of brain tumor) was up by 60%. To add insult to injury, in 1988, of all the food additive complaints reported to the FDA, 80% of these concerned Aspartame.

To get an idea of how prevalent Aspartame is, it can be found in these following products (just to name a few):

Soft drinks, vitamin & herb supplements, yogurt, instant breakfasts, candy, breath mints, cereals, sugar-free chewing gum, cocoa mixes, coffee beverages, instant breakfasts, gelatin desserts, frozen desserts, juice beverages, laxatives, milk drinks, shake mixes, tabletop sweeteners (NutraSweet & Equal), tea beverages, instant teas and coffees, topping mixes, wine coolers.

Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World is a very straightforward documentary and while the material presented is highly informative and absolutely necessary, it is also distressing and unpleasant. I commend the producers of this work for their courage to stand up and expose the shocking behavior of big business and government and their utter disregard for the greater good...the public at large. For everyone concerned about their health and knowing that knowledge is power, I seriously recommend this documentary to all of you.

check out what you eat.......2007-02-18

There are a lot of things that we eat that are killing us, BEWARE

Eye Opening Truth on Aspartame/Nutrasweet.......2006-06-25

This is a must see movie especially if you or someone you love are nutrasweet drinkers. I was, and I'm not now. I was appauled at how this dangerous substance was approved by the FDA in spite of the mounting evidence it caused brain tumors and other neurological problems. If you think everything approved by the FDA is safe, you need to see this movie... politics and big business are very powerful... education is power... empower yourself to take control of your health.

DVD:

DVD List

DVD

DVD

National Geographic - Everest 50 Years on the Mountain

Night On Earth

Hidden Hollywood: Treasures From the 20th Century Fox Vaults

DVD: Tremors 3 - Back to Perfection

Benjamin Smoke