The Message

Starring:Anthony Quinn, Irene Papas, Michael Ansara, Johnny Sekka, Michael Forest, Wolfe Morris, Ronald Leigh-Hunt, Ronald Chenery, Mohammad Al-Gaddary, Ewen Solon, AndrÃ© Morell, George Camiller, Earl Cameron, Hassan Joundi, John Humphry, Michael Godfrey, Garrick Hagon, Nicolas Amer, Martin Benson, Elaine Ives-Cameron
Director: Moustapha Akkad
Studio: Anchor Bay
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Producer-director Moustapha Akkad made a true labor of love out of The Message, which seeks nothing less than to tell the story of the origins of Islam. Originally released in the U.S. as Mohammad, Messenger of God, the film has the appeal of most biblical epics: persecuted true believers, a revolutionary prophet scorned by the powers-that-be, and the miraculous triumph of faith. It also has the cheesiness of many biblical epics, with nose-flaring performances and awkward dialogue, but the whole mish-mash is generally entertaining (and informative for those unversed in the "origin stories" of Islam). Akkad had one major hurdle; he couldn't portray the person or voice of Mohammad himself, as such things are traditionally forbidden in Islam. To say the least, this presents an interesting narrative challenge. Akkad tackles it by having characters address the camera-as-Mohammad, or having disciples step out of Mohammad's tent to repeat what the prophet has just said. It's a weird device, but the surprising thing is how often you forget about it. Akkad is aided by some topnotch technicians, including cameraman Jack Hildyard (The Bridge on the River Kwai) and composer Maurice Jarre (whose score was Oscar-nominated); Anthony Quinn, Irene Papas, and Michael Ansara lead the cast.

Amazon.com essential video

Made in 1964, but set in 12th-century England, this is the fact-based story of Henry II (Peter O'Toole) and his dear friend, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Richard Burton). When the king appoints his former drinking buddy to the high religious office, he believes he has placed an ally into power. Instead, he learns that Thomas very much takes his job to heart, prompting Henry to ask that fateful question--"Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?"

This won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, and it is a strong example of finely tuned performances--both leading men received Academy Award nominations for their roles. There is much passion and rage on the screen, but the beauty of their performances is that we always know that love is there as well. The film, shot on location in England, is also visually appealing. Trivia buffs may be interested to know that Peter O'Toole played Henry II four years later in The Lion in Winter. --Rochelle O'Gorman

On the DVD

The primary bonus feature is a treat: a feature-length commentary by Peter O'Toole, accompanied by a moderator. With only occasional gaps of silence, the still sharp and well-spoken O'Toole recalls the making of the film, how he didn't research the historical King Henry ("The author has made the character; that's his job. My job is to play it."), and his memories of Richard Burton, both personal ("We found that we both enjoyed rugby, we both enjoyed songs, and we both enjoyed drinking, and got along very well.") and professional ("he had an astonishing presence on the stage"). There are also two archival interviews with Burton from 1967 and 1977 (26 minutes total), in which he doesn't discuss Becket, but he does say a lot about his life on stage, he recites some lines, and speaks candidly about his drinking problem.

Don't skip over the interviews with the film's editor Anne Coates and composer Laurence Rosenthal. Coates (7 minutes) has some good stories, and Rosenthal (12 minutes) discusses the influences on his Oscar-nominated score and how he had to teach Gregorian chant to Burton ("He was one of these people whom you really can't teach anything. He had this characteristic that you can only remind him of something he already knows. But he didn't know how to sing Gregorian chant."). In addition to a photo gallery and the four-and-a-half-minute theatrical trailer, MPI's long-delayed DVD looks better than many major-studio classics. --David Horiuchi

Beyond Becket

Other Peter O'Toole Films
Other Richard Burton Films
More King Henrys on DVD

Stills from Becket (click for larger image)

Customer Reviews:

a classic.......2007-07-05

Burton and O'Toole are wonderful in this historical drama based on the realtionship between Henry II and Thomas Becket. This edition has a commentary by O'Toole which enhances the experience if you watch it first and then watch the film. There are also a couple of interviews with Burton that are very interesting. Great acting by two of our most gifted artists.

Superb Film.......2007-07-03

With all the junk movies in the theaters and out on the store shelves, I am relieved & happy to see such a classic film re-released on DVD. This is a superb film by any standard! Watching Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole perform together -- two of the greatest actors who ever lived -- is a magnificent experience. It reminds you of how numbed out we have become by bad acting and bad writing. Do yourself a tremendous favor and buy it.

Becket .......2007-07-02

I loved this movie. Why we have had to wait so long for the DVD release, is the real question I would like answered. This is one of the great films of all time and perhaps because it came out the same year as My Fair Lady, in which it lost most of the awards it was nominated for, it may have been forgotten. I think MPI deserves a lot of credit for finally putting this out. I only wonder why Paramount didn't do this a long time ago.

Becket.......2007-06-29

Becket is a powerful movie. Great content, educational and with excellent play by two great actors.

A classic.......2007-06-28

I have waited a long time for this movie to come out on DVD. I'm so glad I now have both of Peter O'Toole's portrayals of Henry II. He looks so young here! He and Richard Burton work so well together. It's wonderful sometimes to watch a movie with no special effects that relies on story and acting alone.

Blood Diamond (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

Got Boringly Familiar
eye opening movie
Human life is the currency of those powerful enough to control the blood diamond trade
Excellent action sequences and an all around magnificent movie
HAHAHA!!! THIS MOVIE IS SOO FUNNY!!!!!

Blood Diamond (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio , Djimon Hounsou , Jennifer Connelly , Kagiso Kuypers , and Arnold Vosloo
Director: Edward Zwick
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Babel

ASIN: B00005JPGO
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Amazon.com

Leonardo DiCaprio puts a handsome face on an ugly industry: In parts of Africa, diamond mining fuels civil warfare, killing thousands of innocents and drafting preteen children as vicious soldiers. DiCaprio (The Departed) plays Danny Archer, a white African soldier-turned-diamond-smuggler who gets wind of a large raw jewel found by Solomon Vandy, a native fisherman (Djimon Hounsou, In America) recently escaped from enslavement by a brutal rebel leader. Archer offers a deal: He'll help Vandy find his war-scattered family if Vandy will share the diamond with him. Drawn into this web of exploitation is journalist Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly, Little Children), who agrees to help if Archer will tell her the details of how conflict diamonds make their way into the hands of the corporations who sell them to the Western world. DiCaprio is compelling because he never flinches from Archer's utter ruthlessness; Archer ends up doing the morally justifiable thing, but only because his desperate greed has led him to it. Hounsou and Connelly, though saddled with all the moral and political speeches, rise above the cant and keep the movie's treacherously formulaic plot rooted in human characters. But in the end, the story won't stick with you as much as the dead stillness in the child soldiers' eyes; the horror of African civil strife refuses to be contained by Blood Diamond's uplifting message--and the movie is all the more potent as a result. --Bret Fetzer

Description

An ex-mercenary turned smuggler (Leonard DiCaprio). A Mende fisherman (Djimon Hounsou). Amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone, these men join for two desperate missions: recovering a rare pink diamond of immense value and rescuing the fisherman's son, conscripted as a child soldier into the brutal rebel forces ripping a swath of torture and bloodshed across the alternately beautiful and ravaged countryside. Directed by Edward Zwick (Glory, The Last Samurai), this urgent, intensely moving adventure shapes gripping human stories and heart-pounding action into a modern epic of profound impact.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Commentary with Director, Edward Zwick (A revealing look at a filmmaker?s personal journey.)
Documentary:Blood on the Stone (RT: 50:00) Follow the path of a diamond from the ground to the store.
Featurette:1) Becoming Archer (RT: 8:29) - A profile of Leonardo DiCaprio and how he trained for the war; 2) Journalism on the Front Line (RT: approx 6:07) - Jennifer Connelly on Women Journalists at war; 3) Inside the Siege of Freetown (RT: 10:28) - See how Ed Zwick tackled the pivotal scene.
Music Video:"Shine On Em" by rap artist Nas

Customer Reviews:

Got Boringly Familiar.......2007-07-05

Yes, there is action. Yes, there is decent acting. But ultimately, it becomes another preachy, and bogged down film.

eye opening movie.......2007-06-27

This movie truly is an eye opener. Even though it is very hard to watch because of all of the killing, it is still a must see movie. Well written and well acted. I'm not a huge fan of Leonardo DiCaprio, but this movie made me think twice. Djimon Hansu is phenomenal. This movie shows the brutality of greed and power. Highly recommended.

Human life is the currency of those powerful enough to control the blood diamond trade.......2007-06-23

Greed is the dark heart of "Blood Diamond," director Edward Zwick's ("Traffic," "The Last Samurai") uncompromising look into the underground trafficking of illegally-traded gems in sub-Saharan Africa. Greed of corrupt men for power, greed of an amoral mercenary willing to sacrifice anything for a chance to escape Africa, greed of Western businessmen who seek to artificially control the diamond market, and the greed of a simple man for his family's return. This movie powerfully demonstrates the valuelessness of a human life to those persons obsessed with blood diamond collection in war-ravaged Sierra Leone.

Djimon Hounsou plays Solomon Vandy, a simple fisherman and father of two who witnesses his idyllic existence crumble before his eyes. Rebels seeking new recruits, slaves, and random carnage swarm into his village. They select his adolescent son and other young men as future cadets in their guerilla army--following suitable brainwashing and manipulation techniques--before then getting down to the real business of slave collection. Seemingly devoid of any mental workings besides casual sadism, these bandits top-off their kidnapping and slave-taking exercise with the mutilation and execution of men deemed too troublesome for them to bother with. Vandy is rescued from dismemberment at the last minute when the rebels recognize his strength, seeing it as an asset they can utilize in their constant search for capital: the blood diamond pits. Condemned to toiling underneath the blazing sun with nary a chance of reaping any benefit (besides possible continued survival) for his efforts, Vandy happens to discover an egg-sized blood diamond hidden in the streambed. Hiding it underneath his foot, he buries it when the rebel encampment is attacked by government troops. The only witness to his "theft" is the wounded slave captain--now captured, along with Vandy, by government forces--who swears that the former fisherman will soon be begging to reveal the diamond's whereabouts.

Parallel to Djimon's character's storyline is the tale of Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), an opportunistic solider of fortune caught within a dichotomy of conflicting motivation. He desires escape from Africa at any cost, yet secretly knows that his blood will someday mix with the earth of his homeland. Perhaps it is this realization that he is doomed which propels Archer forward: in every action and every word, he seems to be daring destiny to obliterate him. Taken in and trained from a young age by Colonel Coetzee (Arnold Vosloo), Archer is easily the most dangerous entity alive on the continent: ruthless, misanthropic, callous, manipulative, and incredibly lethal with bullet and blade. After a close-call haggling with rebel leaders over fair prices for blood diamonds, Archer is arrested for smuggling while crossing the Sierra Leone border. It is here that he intercepts the distraught Vandy and begins weaving a plan to save himself from the war-torn country: by dangling the freedom of the fisherman's family as bait to cajole Vandy into revealing the gigantic diamond's location. Solomon, though a simple man, is not so easily fooled. He eventually agrees to help Archer--but only if the mercenary agrees to help locate his family and also permit Solomon to be his travel companion.

There is barely time for indrawn breath during the watching of this movie. Action sequences are furious, brutal, and frequent. The pace of the movie is frenetic. The score is perfect throughout. The "education" of Vandy's son by the rebels is heart-wrenching. Solomon's overarching belief that fatherhood trumps all initially feels naïve, but is eventually revealed to be the singularly most powerful force in the entire movie. Danny's character--the realist mercenary who seems most capable of surviving, when compared to Vandy--shows the most evolution, shedding layers of the personality onion until an actual human appears. He is moved to reveal an element of his past to the beautiful American reporter (Jennifer Connelly), whose persistence and mutual survivorship cements a bond they both were too proud to admit from their first meeting. Archer and Vandy relationship morphs into something beautiful when a sacrifice is needed, prompting Solomon to reverse that remarkably chauvinistic statement made by Rudyard Kipling over one hundred years ago: the "white man's burden."

This is hands-down Djimon's most impressive performance: I have never seen him better represent a character. In fact, he blurs the line between character and actor, totally suspending my disbelief to the point where I "knew" him only as Vandy. I have been told by an acquaintance--currently living in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia)--that DiCaprio's accent is spot-on. In addition, he was utterly believable as heartless mercenary, and his later transformation was also quite convincing. The action sequences were, as mentioned, jaw-dropping in their intensity, but never felt gratuitous or over-the-top.

Easily one of my five favorite movies of 2006--miss it, and you risk missing some of the finest cinematographic wizardry and directorial finesse of cinema from the last year, period.

Excellent action sequences and an all around magnificent movie.......2007-06-22

The Blood Diamond has double meaning. An extremely bloody war is being funded by diamonds, and the stars of the movie are after a huge stone that has a red tint to it. Leonardo Dicaprio is after the diamond and Djimon Hounsou (named Solomon in the movie) agrees to show him where it is, but only goes along with Dicaprio so that he can find his son. Solomon's son has been been taken and made into a 10 year old rebel soldier. Jennifer Connelly plays a journalist and does a great job of using her charm to help forget about the war that is going on, even if it is just for a moment. The best parts are the action scenes. Solomon will do whatever he has to to get his son back, and likewise for Dicaprio with the diamond. It all leads to a very exciting ending.

There is great drama, a great story, and marvelous acting from everybody, but the action sequences stood out the most to me. The rebels seem to enjoy killing everyone and anyone. When they show up, expect to see some intense shoutouts. The 2 fight scenes are also good, mainly because Djimon Hounsou is such a superb actor. I wouldn't have minded seeing more of his rage. Dicaprio also gives an extraordinary performance. He may be better in this than he was in 'The Aviator'.

This is the best movie I have seen in at least a couple months, and I am a hardcore movie junkie. I don't like giving away too much in my reviews, in fact I always try to give away as little as possible. My rating sums up how I feel the best. This movie gets a perfect 5/5 from me. It is relentless, and I couldn't look away for a second. I can't believe I waited so long to finally watch this.

HAHAHA!!! THIS MOVIE IS SOO FUNNY!!!!!.......2007-06-19

Im not saying that this movie is comedy, but Djimon Hounsou's acting JUST MADE ME LAUGHT UNTIL MY STOMACH HURTS. I mean... I know that his character is suffering because of his family but there are like three scenes that he COMPLETELY OVER-ACTED the whole situation about his family!(specially in the final fight scene). AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

Another funny stuffs are the gore that is kind of fake, DiCaprios's dialoge sometime is cheesy, Connelly wasn't acting! she was modeling and the captions that even describes the music that will play on the movie!!

The movie has a lot of action scenes but this is more like drama, and the action is choreographied as war! so don't think that the action is this movie is the same as Last Samurai by the same director.
I gave it 3 stars because all of that, but the movie is still entertaining and easy to understand.

adios and have fun with this movie.

Average customer rating:

Got Boringly Familiar
eye opening movie
Human life is the currency of those powerful enough to control the blood diamond trade
Excellent action sequences and an all around magnificent movie
HAHAHA!!! THIS MOVIE IS SOO FUNNY!!!!!

Blood Diamond (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio , Djimon Hounsou , Jennifer Connelly , Kagiso Kuypers , and Arnold Vosloo
Director: Edward Zwick
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000MZHW40
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Amazon.com

Description

An ex-mercenary turned smuggler (Leonardo DiCaprio). A Mende fisherman (Djimon Hounsou). Amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone, these men join for two desperate missions: recovering a rare pink diamond of immense value and rescuing the fisherman's son, conscripted as a child soldier into the brutal rebel forces ripping a swath of torture and bloodshed across the alternately beautiful and ravaged countryside. Directed by Edward Zwick (Glory, The Last Samurai), this urgent, intensely moving adventure shapes gripping human stories and heart-pounding action into a modern epic of profound impact.

Customer Reviews:

Got Boringly Familiar.......2007-07-05

Yes, there is action. Yes, there is decent acting. But ultimately, it becomes another preachy, and bogged down film.

eye opening movie.......2007-06-27

Human life is the currency of those powerful enough to control the blood diamond trade.......2007-06-23

Excellent action sequences and an all around magnificent movie.......2007-06-22

HAHAHA!!! THIS MOVIE IS SOO FUNNY!!!!!.......2007-06-19

Gandhi (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

A Spiritual Giant Who Left His Mark In History
Ghandi
Outstanding movie!
Chinese extras menu?!?!?!?
Brilliant film; surely one of Attenborough's best!

Gandhi (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Ben Kingsley , Candice Bergen , Edward Fox , John Gielgud , and Trevor Howard
Director: Richard Attenborough
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000KX0IOA
Release Date: 2007-02-20

Amazon.com

Sir Richard Attenborough's 1982 multiple-Oscar winner (including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Ben Kingsley) is an engrossing, reverential look at the life of Mohandas K. Gandhi, who introduced the doctrine of nonviolent resistance to the colonized people of India and who ultimately gained the nation its independence. Kingsley is magnificent as Gandhi as he changes over the course of the three-hour film from an insignificant lawyer to an international leader and symbol. Strong on history (the historic division between India and Pakistan, still a huge problem today, can be seen in its formative stages here) as well as character and ideas, this is a fine film. --Tom Keogh

Stills from Gandhi (click for larger image)

Beyond Gandhi on Amazon.com

Other Oscar Winners at Oscar Central
More Biographies on DVD
The Films of Ben Kingsley

Description

A critical masterpiece, GANDHI is an intriguing story about activism, politics, religious tolerance and freedom. But at the center of it all is an extraor- dinary man who fought for a nonviolent, peaceful existence, and set an entire nation free. Winner of 8 Academy Awards® including Best Picture, Best Director (Lord Richard Attenborough) and Best Actor (Sir Ben Kingsley), GANDHI's highly acclaimed cast also includes Candice Bergen, Edward Fox, Sir John Gielgud, Roshan Seth and Martin Sheen.

The extras include more than 90 minutes of new material, including interviews with director Lord Richard Attenborough; actors Geraldine James, Saeed Jaffrey, and Edward Fox; Diana Hawkins (Director of Publicity), Terry Clegg (Executive in charge of production), Billy Williams (Cinematographer) and Stuart Craig (Production Designer). The DVD includes a Director's commentary with Attenborough, who also filmed a personal introduction to the film. The featurettes include In Search of Gandhi, Reflections on Ben, Madeleine Slade: An Englishwoman Abroad, The Funeral, Shooting an Epic In India, Looking Back, Designing Gandhi (3 mini featurettes) and From the Director's Chair (2 mini featurettes).

Customer Reviews:

A Spiritual Giant Who Left His Mark In History.......2007-06-03

In one of the interviews with Ben Kingsley, he expressed great apprehensiveness and even reluctance to play Mahatma Gandhi. "Nobody can play this man," he'd stated. After a while, he gave it some more thought and finally decided to accept the role. Thankfully, his decision would bring one of the best and most memorable acting performances ever shown on the silver screen. It was a no-brainer that he won the Oscar for Best Actor that year, and that "Gandhi" won for Best Picture.

Martin Luther King Jr once stated about Gandhi, "I have found it challenging at times to live by the words of Jesus, but Gandhi proved it can be done."

This beautiful autobiography of the "Mahatma" or "Great Soul" (a title bestowed upon him by the people of India and not by himself) demonstrates how one man conquered a nation through love and non-violence instead of hatred and war. Gandhi understands that to stand up to the fear and hatred in others, you must first conquer the fears of yourself. A master teacher of ALL religions, he recognized the spiritual paths of all men, and put into practice the universal teachings of peace, love, forgiveness, and brotherhood; teachings that every great master and saint has ever taught.

Richard Attenborough directed this magnificent story that opens with his assassination. This was a brilliant move, on his part. He shows how Gandhi dies, but immediately focuses on his extraordinary life. Filmed in India with wonderful performances by both Western and Eastern performers, they collaborated together to bring this film to life.

Ben Kingsley plays Gandhi in such a true and humble way. He brings Gandhi to life and endows him with the characteristics and personality that I have read so much about. Paramahansa Yogananda (a great Master from India who came to the U.S.) spent some time with Gandhi at his hermitage and wrote about the experience in "Autobiography of a Yogi." Some of Gandhi's ashes were also given to him were they now lie at rest in Lake Shrine, California.

Every actor, whether they have a small part or a large one, brought their best for this film. You can see that in their performances. Martin Sheen looks as if he's sitting next to he real Gandhi. Perhaps that isn't far of a stretch, if the spirit of Gandhi was indeed working through Ben Kingsley.

It is simply amazing how Gandhi was able to persuade the people of India into non-cooperation with the British. Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" coincides beautifully with Gandhi's actions. "We want to see the British off as our friends, not our enemies," explains Gandhi.

The film is over three hours in length, and every time I watch it, I feel as if I've had a spiritual experience. I can understand why he was given the title of "Mahatma." Albert Einstein may have said it best in a quote that is given at the very beginning of this movie, "Few people will scarcely believe that any one in flesh and blood ever walked the face of this Earth."

Ghandi.......2007-05-08

A great movie with a wondeful lesson that needs to be practiced to a degree by everyone in this country and beyond.

Outstanding movie!.......2007-04-19

I watched this movie when it first came out in the theaters. Being Indian and watching it at such a young age was definitely a memory I will never forget. I've seen it since over a dozen times and love it every time. I was ecstatic to see they finally made a two disc special edition one and grabbed it. This movie will live on for centuries, and I really think it's high time someone makes just as symbolic a movie of Martin Luther King Jr. so that children of this time can have a movie to cherish for in centures to follow!

Chinese extras menu?!?!?!?.......2007-04-17

Hey, the extras disc has menus in Chinese..they still work, and you can view all the stuff, but you have to guess at what each menu option will do...anyone else get this?

Brilliant film; surely one of Attenborough's best!.......2007-04-10

When I first saw this film in 1982, it reminded me of one of David Lean's epics. Like Lawrence of Arabia or Dr. Zhivago, it tells a story of nations and political movements from the perspective of a single person. The cast is top notch, the acting is superb (Ben Kingsley is amazing in this role), and the photography is gorgeous.

So it's a must-see film, but what about the dvd? In a word, terrific! The sound and color all look wonderful, and the extra features are informative. I cannot say how this dvd edition compares to the one that came out about five years ago, but if you don't already own a dvd copy of this film, you won't be disappointed with this one.

Average customer rating:

This movie is a rip off!!!
AWESOME!
great movie, brand new condition
A Time to Kill
A Time to Kill is actually a racist film

A Time to Kill
Starring: Matthew McConaughey , Sandra Bullock , Samuel L. Jackson , Kevin Spacey , and Oliver Platt
Director: Joel Schumacher
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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The Client
The Pelican Brief
The Rainmaker
The Firm
The Negotiator

ASIN: 0790729660
Release Date: 1997-03-26

Amazon.com

You wouldn't know it by watching the Batman movies they collaborated on, but this smart adaptation of John Grisham's novel proves that director Joel Schumacher and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman have some talent when the right project comes along. Schumacher had previously directed Grisham's The Client, and brought equal craft and intelligence to this story about a young Southern attorney (Matthew McConaughey, in his breakthrough role) who defends a black father (Samuel L. Jackson) after he kills two men who raped his young daughter. Sandra Bullock plays the passionate law student who serves as McConaughey's legal aide and voice of conscience in the racially charged drama. Added to the star power of the lead roles is a fine supporting cast, including Kevin Spacey, Ashley Judd, and Oliver Platt. --Jeff Shannon

Description

John Grisham's bestseller A Time to Kill hits the screen with incendiary force, directed by Joel Schumacher (Batman Forever, The Client). Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey and Kevin Spacey portray the principals in a murder trial that brings a small Mississippi town's racial tensions to the flashpoint. Amid a frenzy of activist marches, Klan terror, media clamor and brutal riots, an unseasoned but idealistic young attorney mounts a stirring courtroom battle for justice. The superb ensemble also includes Brenda Fricker, Oliver Platt, Charles S. Dutton, Ashley Judd, Patrick McGoohan, Chris Cooper and both Donald and Keifer Sutherland. These and other talents make A Time to Kill "one of the year's most powerful films" (Jeffrey Lyons, SNEAK PREVIEW/ABC WORLD NEWS NOW).

Customer Reviews:

This movie is a rip off!!!.......2007-06-28

I just purchased this movie here in Amazon and what I got, is to see half of the damn movie because the other half will not show in the DVD that is supposed to be 2 ways. I was so upset. What a damn rip off!

AWESOME!.......2007-06-16

This movie is about more than just racism. Even though being from the deep South I know with certainty that a great deal of the elements in this movie are the brutal truth. However, it's more than that, it's about LOYALTY! REVENGE! JUSTICE! and a FATHER'S LOVE! for his child. It goes deeper than it being about the rape of a black girl by white guys. Don't get me wrong, that part is very prevalent to the movie. I just think that any father in his position would've done the same thing if his daughter was brutalized the way this man's little girl was. That's a father's love, and any real father will defend his own. My dad would've done the same thing without thinking twice about it. Not saying that makes it right, but I know there wasn't a dry eye in the house while Matthew McConaughey was doing his closing agruements, and describing in graphic detail what this poor child went through at the hands of these grown men. This is a hard thing for any woman to deal with anyway, but to rip innocence from a child is just plain sick and monsterous. So, Carl Lee put them down like rabid bloodthirsty cannines. Seriously, They almost ripped that poor kid apart, wrecked her from inside out, almost beat her to death and then had the nerve to be gleeful about it on their way out the courtroom. Don't get me wrong, I know it isn't anyone's place to take the law into their own hands, nor think it's o.k to kill someone just because they may feel like it. However, I do think they deserved it, and that justice was served. Frankly, instead of jail they should've given him a medal. I know this review is gonna upset a lot of people, but I gotta keep it real. It doesn't matter if the father were black, white, brown, purple, or blue he still probably would've done the same thing. It's just sad that people can't understand that this girl was only done like this because she was black and no other reason. I guess if you haven't lived it then it's best not to judge it, or even speak on it.

great movie, brand new condition.......2007-06-10

movie was shipped quickly and arrived early. It was also in the new packaging and works perfectly

A Time to Kill.......2007-06-08

Matthew McConaughey is a McDreamy in this one.... That southern boy has it all....

A Time to Kill is actually a racist film.......2007-04-12

At the time this movie came out, I went to see it, didn't care for it, but couldn't quite figure out why. After seeing it again recently, it hit me. This movie is patronizing and in a subtle way, quite racist. The story set up is so unquestionable that one is left with only one conclusion - that Sam Jackson's character was justified and hence, should go free. There is no doubt at the beginning of the movie that those two potbellied, white-trash looking guys raped his daughter in the back of their stars and bars pickup truck (I bet they were also into NASCAR). Never mind that they didn't get a fair trial or that Jackson shot a deputy while taking his revenge on them. But, you know, 'if it was my daughter, I'd do the same thing', says the deputy - so Jackson is forgiven and the jury acquits - especially after hearing the defense attorney's impassioned plea to picture the little girl as white. And of course, everybody has known each other since they were kids - that's the way it is in these small towns of the south you know... Oh, and don't forget the KKK is in there to threaten the white defense attorney's sexy wife, child and friends. And, there's a sexy, bleeding heart, white college girl who comes to town to help out with the defense (but also to create a half baked love triangle for Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock and Ashley Judd - what beautiful white actors!) There is more, but basically the black actors are in passive roles - the outcome of the trial is in white hands all the way, the prosecution, defense, judge and jury. (Can one really say that a condemned black man would be acquitted in such circumstances?) Samuel Jackson's character sits in jail most of the movie. Charles Dutton's sheriff basically does his dutiful best for the white cast. A Time to Kill doesn't really say anything meaningful about the conflict of racism. So, what story would I have liked to see? First, eliminate the Bullock character completely. Then have the script leave in doubt as to who raped Jackson's little girl. That would give Charles Dutton's sheriff something to investigate, after his first suspects have been killed by Jackson's character. When the Sheriff discovers that some other white guys raped the little girl, then he has a problem and a major part of the story hinges on how he wants to handle the situation. Will he choose to let the court know about his discovery which would probably lead to a guilty verdict or will he keep silent on the chance that Jackson might go free, knowing that Jackson killed two innocent men? And who are the actual rapists? Are they local (members of the KKK maybe, a member of the prosecution)? Does the defense attorney know the truth? Does he try to hide it in the name of winning the case? How will the discovery affect the town after the verdict is rendered? That would have been a film to watch and would have generated a lot of discussion centering around the question of 'What should the sheriff have done?' I know there are a lot of people out there who like this movie. I mean no disrespect - in fact - I would recommend watching the movie again - keeping my POV in mind. Perhaps you will see the potential of what this movie could have been.

Average customer rating:

baraka the film
great efforts to capture the global experience......
Powerful images
The One Indispensable DVD
Yes.

Baraka
Director: Ron Fricke
Manufacturer: Mpi Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005M91K
Release Date: 2001-09-25

Amazon.com

The word Baraka means "blessing" in several languages; watching this film, the viewer is blessed with a dazzling barrage of images that transcend language. Filmed in 24 countries and set to an ever-changing global soundtrack, the movie draws some surprising connections between various peoples and the spaces they inhabit, whether that space is a lonely mountaintop or a crowded cigarette factory. Some of these attempts at connection are more successful than others: for instance, an early sequence segues between the daily devotions of Tibetan monks, Orthodox Jews, and whirling dervishes, finding more similarity among these rituals than one might expect. And there are other amazing moments, as when sped-up footage of a busy Hong Kong intersection reveals a beautiful symmetry to urban life that could only be appreciated from the perspective of film. The lack of context is occasionally frustrating--not knowing where a section was filmed, or the meaning of the ritual taking place--and some of the transitions are puzzling. However, the DVD includes a short behind-the-scenes featurette in which cinematographer Ron Fricke (Koyaanisqatsi) explains that the effect was intentional: "It's not where you are that's important, it's what's there." And what's here, in Baraka, is a whole world summed up in 104 minutes. --Larisa Lomacky Moore

Customer Reviews:

baraka the film.......2007-06-14

One of the best movies ever. It shows it doesn't take more than nature and imagination to do a strong film.

great efforts to capture the global experience.............2007-06-12

I saw BARAKA in theaters, back in the early 1990s. I was immediately drawn to the eye-popping photography. The filmmaker spent twelve years gathering footage from over twenty countries, to capture life at its best and worst. The name of the film, "Baraka" is translated as "blessing" in several languages. Was this film a blessing to me? No, not really. It felt more like a ponderous, new age journey, set to mind-numbing orchestral accompaniment. In all honesty, the film repulsed me in many ways. The director tried to contrast visions of beauty with visions of the grotesque. Instead, I was left with phantom images of death, torture and sickness, and that superceded any attempts at beauty. We see the elements exposed (mountains, etc), and I am sure for anyone seeing this film, more recently, these visions of peaks and valleys are poignant, in the age of global warming and environmental trauma. What's more, visions of people from very diverse cultures almost seemed more exploitative than honorable. It almost felt as though they were puppets acting in a very strange (and sprawling) incidental play about mortality. There are shots of skulls, women who have participated in genital mutiliation and glimpses into very tragic events in humankind. This felt more manipulative than visionary. Yes, I am aware I am going to receive a lot of flack because I didn't give this film a perfect five star rating, like 95% of the Amazon writers here, but, I must speak my truth. And, if you asked, "Should I buy BARAKA, and find out what everyone is talking about?" I would advise you to pass on this one.

Powerful images.......2007-06-08

Basically that's all it is, a series of powerful images that give an accurate and above all objective view of our world and society in general.

The One Indispensable DVD.......2007-05-27

I own at least 500 DVDs. If you asked me which is my favorite film/DVD I would have to say "Baraka," because, if for no other reason, it is the DVD I watch most. Scarcely a week goes by that I don't watch Ron Fricke's masterpiece.

"Masterpiece" is not a term I use lightly. In fact, it's not a term I use at all but it describes this film. First, it is simply beautiful. If you have a home theater system that you take pride in, this is the one DVD to own. It's approximately ninety minutes are spread over two layers: as a result the picture is almost HD-like, especially if you have an "upscaling" DVD player and a suitable display.

The music, a combination of Michael Stearn's original score and contributions by artists like "Dead Can Dance," compliment the visuals perfectly.

None of this would matter if the subject of the film weren't worthy of your consideration. Rest assured, it is. I don't trust the words "spiritual" or "spirituality" but I will make an exception for "Baraka." As Fricke puts it in the documentary on the DVD, while we have been invited to live on the planet, life has not given any of us a veto over the guest list. "Baraka" is about that "guest list."

There is no other film I can say this about: I watch it a lot because I am always a better person for having watched it. 12/10

Yes........2007-05-26

Haunting, Beautiful, Terrifying, Irreplaceable. That describes Earth, and it also describes this movie.

This is Education in the most visceral way.

Jesus Christ Superstar (Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

Christianity Meets Rock & Roll. Does It Get Any Better?
Best Rock Musical Ever
Fabulous
For the Ages
JC Superstar revisited

Jesus Christ Superstar (Special Edition)
Starring: Ted Neeley , Carl Anderson (II) , Yvonne Elliman , Barry Dennen , and Bob Bingham
Director: Norman Jewison
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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