Outbreak

Starring:Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Cuba Gooding Jr., Donald Sutherland, Patrick Dempsey, Zakes Mokae, Malick Bowens, Susan Lee Hoffman, Benito Martinez, Bruce Jarchow, Leland Hayward III, Daniel Chodos, Dale Dye, Kara Keough, Gina Menza, Per Didrik Fasmer, Michelle Joyner, Donald Forrest (II)
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

When Warner Brothers was unable to secure the rights to Richard Preston's terrifying nonfiction book The Hot Zone (purchased by a rival studio), they took the basic idea of a fatal virus on the loose in the U.S., added Dustin Hoffman and director Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot), and produced an unusual thriller--a surprise hit--called Outbreak. The other picture, slated to star Robert Redford and Jodie Foster, fell through. The premise of Outbreak, which owes something to Elia Kazan's 1950 plague-scare movie, Panic in the Streets, is as terrifying as it is timely. As developers slash their way deeper into the previously unexplored tropical rainforests, they are exposed to radically new forms of life, including diseases, that in these days of commonplace international travel could turn into deadly epidemics almost before we know it. Hoffman's character and his estranged wife (Rene Russo) are disease experts called in to identify the unknown killer, which was carried into the country by an illegally smuggled monkey. The best sequence shows the disease spreading--through recycled air on a passenger jet, or a sneeze in a crowded movie theater. The final chase is pretty conventional, but the cast is terrific, including Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Donald Sutherland, Cuba Gooding Jr., J.T. Walsh, and Zakes Mokae. --Jim Emerson

Description

Catch the fever of "one of the great scare stories of our time" (Roger Ebert) as Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo and Morgan Freeman race to save life on earth when an unstoppable killer virus hits our shores.

Customer Reviews:

Outbreak is Very Entertaining.......2007-06-11

Very intertaining movie. Acting is good. A little overdone in the makeup department trying to shock the audience with the "horror" of the disease, but typical Hollywood in doing so. Also, it is always Hollywood's way to depict the very people that die to defend their rights as evil....Donald Sutherland must have loved doing that.

However, it was entertaining and demonstrated the possible panic a pandemic would cause.

Best infectious disease-related movie.......2007-05-31

This movie is intellectually entertaining, highly educational and motivating. It can happen anytime, anywhere; a recent example is the detection/quarantine of a patient with multi-drug resistance tuberculosis, who air-traveled into the USA.

A hard nut to crack.......2007-01-18

Surprisingly slow action film from "Das Boot" director Wolfgang Peterson, who had better success in the states with "In the Line of Fire" and "Air Force One." They originally wanted to use Richard Preston's real life story, "The Hot Zone" for this film, but when they couldn't get the rights, they went ahead and made this one up. For fans of the leads only. Everyone else go in with low expectations and you won't be too disappointed.

Ebola?!.......2006-11-10

What a nasty virus... The cast is great, the plot is wonderful, the action superb, even a hint of comedy. This is a good buy and a great show.

This movie is well worth watching........2006-06-02

The vicious cycle of events had started in Motaba River Valley in Zaire. In July 1967, a deadly virus, which caused deaths of tens of people in the Mercenary Camp, was discovered by the army. The doctor of the camp wanted supplies to treat the patients. However, the army officials preferred bombing the camp in an attempt to erase the evidence of the virus's existence along with the potential carriers of the virus. Although, they developed the antiserum, "the E-1101," from a blood sample taken before the bombing, they kept it as a secret to be able to use the virus as a biological weapon.

The virus showed up in a village in the same area again. Colonel Sam Daniels (Dustin Hoffman) was sent to the area to take a close look at the incident without being notified about the previous experience in the area. His superiors did not share the information about the previous incident with him. Actually they hid it. When Colonel Daniels and his team arrived at the place of incident, it was too late; the entire village was exterminated by the virus. When they arrived there, Major Salt (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), who had never been in the field before, could not stand the horrible scene that he saw in the village and took off the helmet of his protective suit in an attempt to vomit. By chance, the virus was not airborne and nothing happened to him at the time. After they took their samples, they burned down the village since there was nothing to be saved there.

After Colonel Daniels came back to the United States, he recommended his superior Brigadier General Billy Ford (Morgan Freeman) to inform the public about the incident in Zaire believing that they found a new deadly virus which has a 100% mortality rate. However, instead of doing so, Brigadier General Ford reminded him of another two incidents in which Colonel Daniels previously recommended informing the public but happened to be wrong. So the story was not publicized believing that the virus was contained. Then, Major General Donald McClintock (Donald Sutherland) and Brigadier General Ford conducted their own analysis on the sample which was brought by Colonel Daniels. They found that this was the same virus that they had kept as a secret for thirty years. However, they once again wanted to cover the story up instead of sharing the information with Colonel Daniels at least, if not the general public.

However, the unexpected happened and the virus found its way to the United States. The virus was carried by a monkey which was smuggled into the United States from Zaire. Jimbo Scott (Patrick Dempsey) took the monkey to a small town called Cedar Creek and tried to sell it there but he couldn't. So Jimbo drove to San Francisco and released the monkey on the way, and then got on an airplane for Boston. At first, it was not airborne and was spread through direct human contact, such as sharing food, sneezing, coughing. Jimbo got sick on the plane, however, as far as I could observe, no one cared, including himself. In Boston, he got off the plane and met his girlfriend. Then, they both got very sick and died at the hospital. Unfortunately, in a short period of time, the deadly virus mutated and began to spread at an epidemic rate killing people in a matter of hours in Cedar Creek. When the local officials understood that they were unable to treat the disease at the time, the United States Army was ordered to contain it within the town by all means necessary. Then, panic occurred in the town since no one informed the public about what the government was doing and would do to cure the disease and the only announcement made was that there was a curfew. A couple of people attempted to go through the cordon established by the army; however, they were stopped by random shooting.

Colonel Daniels was constantly threatened by his superiors in order to prevent him from digging out the truth and to protect the secret of the biological weapon. After a while, Brigadier General Ford brought "the E-1011 antibody" at the hospital in Cedar Creek to see whether it was working for the virus or not. Unfortunately, that antibody did not work for the mutated virus. When Colonel Daniels saw "the E-1011 antibody," he quickly understood that his superiors were well aware of the virus all along and had had the solution to solve the problem before it got worse; however, they had simply chosen to keep it as a secret not to disclose the biological weapon.

The officials in the White House thought that they could not eliminate the virus and decided to blow up the town to stop it from spreading further since they realized that it would exterminate the entire nation in a matter of days. Although this decision meant sacrificing the lives of all of the people in the town, Major General McClintock put it as "casualties of war." So the top officials started the countdown for exploding the town.

According to Colonel Daniels and his team, the solution was to obtain an antibody from "the host" which carries the virus. Colonel Daniels discovered that the carrier of the virus was the monkey. A woman from Palisades called the center and said that she knew where the monkey was after Colonel Daniels broadcasted the description of the monkey and the phone number of the Center for Disease Control through invading the broadcasting studio of the KAEF-TV, in Santa Rosa, California. Then, Colonel Daniels went there and found the monkey. Eventually, Colonel Daniels and his team developed the antiserum and saved the town in the nick of the time.

Note: I do not discuss the scientific flaws in the movie... Hey,remember that this is just a movie!!!

Average customer rating:

RIP OFF
Sad To Say........I should listen
oh god I don't even know
great zombie flick
day of the dead 2

Day of the Dead 2 - Contagium

Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
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Land of the Dead (Unrated Edition)
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Undead
Return of the Living Dead 3

ASIN: B000AQ69RM
Release Date: 2005-10-18

Description

This film is set sometime in 1968 when a strange viral outbreak is contained within the walls of a military hospital in Pennsylvania: all those exposed are destroyed and burned to the ground. A wall of silence befalls the incidence, and soon enough only a vague myth remains. The hospital becomes a civilian mental treatment center. But old secrets can't be kept secret forever.

Customer Reviews:

RIP OFF.......2007-06-18

DO NOT BUY THIS DVD - DO NOT RENT THIS DVD. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH DAY OF THE DEAD (MY FAVORITE IN THE QUADRILOGY OF THE DEAD FROM GEORGE ROMERO)
IF YOU ARE A REAL HORROR FAN, IF YOU ARE A REAL ZOMBIE MOVIE FAN, YOU WILL NOT LIKE THIS MOVIE.... DONT LOOSE YOUR TIME

Sad To Say........I should listen.......2007-06-13

Since I am a huge zombie/horror fan,I read the reviews for Day Of The Dead 2 and how bad the film was, I decided to take a chance on it...and there were some good parts that I thought was good...but when the zombies started to talk.....that pretty much blew it for me. I was dissapointed..maybe sometimes u shoul listen to the majority of the people!!

oh god I don't even know.......2007-05-30

I really don't know how to describe this film. My friends and I had to actually stop it halfway through and finish it later because the first 45 minutes or so are

SO

EXCRUCIATINGLY

BORING.

There are several scenes that are like, five minutes of people lying in bed coughing, as in: Shot of character lying in bed coughing. Cut to next character lying in bed coughing. Cut to next character lying in b HEY DO YOU THINK MAYBE THEY ARE GETTING SICK? WHAT NO THAT'S CRAZY TALK

I won't even get into the special effects (and believe me, they ARE special) but I will say this: remember in grade school, when you would put a thin layer of Elmer's glue on the back of your hand and peel it off because school makes you bored enough to do things like that? Well, say hello to what I'd wager is the most believable effect in this whole sad pile of dorkiness.

I loved the original Day of the Dead so much (yeah, I am one of the "trolls" as Mr. Romero himself so affectionately refers to us, haha) that I feel it is my duty to publicly ridicule this turd. It's hysterical that this even has the real logo on it. Also "contagium" is a dumb word and I swear the case the rental DVD came in smells like feet.

This is the true meaning of suffering. This is pain, distilled into its purest form. The disc? That's not plastic. Each "DVD" consists of approximately one thousand tormented souls, refined, melted down to the clearest of plastic-like materials and compressed into a convincingly disc-like shape, after which it is blessed (by which I mean teabagged) thrice by Satan himself, packaged in a box made of cast brimstone, and shrinkwrapped in the specially prepared flesh of some fell beast that happens to have skin which looks exactly like shrinkwrap. Did I mention this movie is a bit bad? Because it is. Oh, it is. I hurt so much inside.

Seriously (?) though, I have to give it three stars if only for the in-jokes it has spawned, some of which make me laugh until I puke at the mere thought. I conversely feel total revulsion and some kind of terrible giddy spastic glee when I think about it. It defies description. Hell, I just described it and I still can't quite gather my senses enough to interpret what the hell I just said. Watch it in the company of friends, beer, and a couple of large pizzas and you will feel slightly less miserable about being alive. Watch it and you will laugh; however, it will be the choked and tortured laughter of a man insane. Watch it, and you will know Agony.

But you know what?

I'm going to watch it again. That's right, I am. I want to see if I really saw what I think I saw. After that I'm going to have a few shots and cry myself to sleep. Even after all this, I can't say I hate it. This movie and my feelings for it make me question the meaning of life itself. I am confused, deep in my heart. It's cold here and I am scared and alone and the dopey zombie on the cover is staring at me from across the room and ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY

Christ, there ought to be a law.

great zombie flick.......2007-05-26

granted it has it's flaws but I really liked it. Cool effects.

day of the dead 2.......2007-03-29

its very interesting but i found it does have its boring momments

Average customer rating:

Started my interest in pandemic influenza
a forgotten tragedy

American Experience - Influenza 1918
Starring: Marion Ross
Director: Rocky Collins , and Matthew Collins (III)
Manufacturer: PBS (Direct)
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000EOTEM2
Release Date: 2006-06-06

Description

As the nation mobilized for war in the spring of 1918, ailing Private Albert Gitchell reported to an army hospital in Kansas. He was diagnosed with the flu, a disease about which doctors knew little. Before the year was out, America would be ravaged by a flu epidemic that killed 675,000 people--more than died in all the wars of this century combined--before disappearing as mysteriously as it began.

Customer Reviews:

Started my interest in pandemic influenza.......2006-07-06

When this film was originally broadcast on PBS in 1998, I had not heard of the 1918 Spanish Influenza. I was shocked that I had never heard of the 1918 pandemic, given the impact it had on the 20th century. I've now read every book I coould find that chronicles the outbreak. Some of the historical facts in the film may be disputed in other histories, but it's a solid documentary and I highly recommend it. It is a rivoting film.

a forgotten tragedy.......2006-06-15

I did relatively well in high school American history and yet I never heard of this national crisis. I guess World War I wasn't the only big deal of the 1910s. I am glad to see that the American Experience series not only covers great names, wars, and transportational feats, but also health concerns.

I recall that Charlie Chaplin's sweetheart died in a flu epidemic in Britain, but I didn't know the problem started in the United States. (If our revolution and our stock market crash can have global effects, I guess I should not be surprised.) It's easy to think of the bubonic plague as the world's only human international die-off. However, this film shows that it happened in the recent past too. This shows that savage diseases can be spread widely, unlike the localization of Ebola or SARS. I learned that the Titanic's sinking humbled early 20th-century modernists, but this flu outbreak must have been the same way. Nowadays, incurable diseases are usually associated with stigmatized groups. In contrast, this work clearly points to American soldiers, a well-respected group, as the cause of the spread.

This work proved the problem was cross-regional. This is not example of something on the East Coast being equated with all of America. The epidemic hit Philadelphia, but San Francisco, Nebraska, and the Dakotas as well. This work starts with interviewees waxing nostalgic about the pre-flu period. I thought it was offensive to think of a Jim Crow time as wonderful. However, this work compensates by interviewing an African-American witness to the crisis and a person recalling how a Native American group was affected.

In "Memoirs of a Geisha," one character says, "The interesting thing about wars is that you never know who will survive and who will not." This work revealed the same is true in epidemics. It was a bit anti-climactic how this crisis was resolved, but history doesn't usually have spectacular conclusions. After the bubonic plague, Europeans stopped killing cats and started killing mice. Because of AIDS, many are now practicing safer sex and cleaning drug needles. This documentary doesn't suggest that public health changed at all due to the flu. I'm surprised by that.

I usually don't care for scientific matters, but this work was informative and really has my wheels spinning.

Average customer rating:

Secrets of the Dead: Killer Flu

Manufacturer: Pbs (Direct)
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ASIN: B000EOTE9A
Release Date: 2004-04-06

Average customer rating:

CZW at it's best
A Pleasure with No Guilt
Guilty Pleasure

Combat Zone Wrestling:Violent Outbreak
Starring: Czw-Combat Zone Wrestling
Manufacturer: Xtreme Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
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Unscarred - The Life of "Sick Nick Mondo"
CZW - Scarred
CZW - Combat Zone Wrestling: Xtreme Action
CZW: Aerial Assault
King of the Death Match (Mick Foley, Terry Funk)

ASIN: B0002JP39C
Release Date: 2004-08-10

Customer Reviews:

CZW at it's best.......2006-06-25

This DVD shows you why CZW is the ultimate source for ultraviolent entertainment.

1.The opening clipped match between Zandig and Lobo was awesome, the only bad thing being the match not shown completely. Still, an insane match none the less.

2.The second match is Wifebeater vs. Nick Gage in a 200 light tubes match. Absolutly insane match. This match is where the DVD really starts to heat up.

3.The third match is a Fans Bring The Weapons tag match, pitting "Sick" Nick Mondo and Jun Kasai against the team of Johnny Kashmere and Justice Pain. This a brutal, brutal tag match, with so many insane weapons it's not even funny. The best weapon, in my opinion, is the light tube board that Justice Pain had brought out from the back. An excellent match.

4.Stretched in Smyrna. I'm not sure exactly when the match begins here, but I'm guessing when Wifebeater sneaks up behind Zandig and then busts a light tube across his face. This one is all over the arena, with "Sick" Nick Mondo coming in with some of his boys to fight Wifebeater and his gang. A real bloody fight.

5.Nick Gage vs. Nate Hatred in a 200 light tubes match. Another violent match. Some sick spots, including a suplex through some light tubes held between chairs. Nearly all 200 light tubes get busted. An excellent match.

A superb CZW DVD. If you want more CZW insanity, check out the Tournament of Death DVDs and also the Cage of Death DVDs.

A Pleasure with No Guilt.......2005-09-17

If you thought ECW was hardcore, or think WWE is not enough bite for your bucks, then the Combat Zone is for you. This DVD has it all... and then some. If you honestly think you're hardcore, then you'll pick this DVD up.

Guilty Pleasure.......2004-11-02

I don't usually admit that I like what is referred to as "garbage wrestling" but I can't deny liking it.Sometimes I wanna see a wrestling clinic and smark up so i'll put on some ROH.Then their are other times were i'm feeling like a bloodmark so I watch this dvd!

If your looking to get in to seriously hardcore wrestling or give it a try then look no further then this dvd.
It features 2 clip matches plus 3 full for a total of 5.
I usually don't like clipping of matches but for these kinds of matches I don't mind because it's usually trimming the stalling in between spots.
Here's my rundown.

Clipped-

MATCH ONE
LOBO VS. ZANDIG, Exploding Barb-wire match-up

-Zandig is the owner of CZW and Lobo is the first graduate of the CZW school.Zandig is actually in shape here to the point he looks ripped.

-The gimmick is that the barb-wire is loaded with c4 and for this match it is only strung up on 2 sides of the ring, with 2 sides being left open.On the open sides their are tables with c4 rigged barb-wire on top.

-This is pretty entertaining for the barb-wire c4 spots and the few times they smash each other with light tubes.

MATCH TWO
NICK GAGE VS. WIFEBEATER,200 Light Tubes Match!
-The ring ropes are surronded by 200 standing light tubes taped to them.

-Now this is were you really start getting your money's worth.I can't be sure if theirs really 200 light tubes but theirs still a ton.You can expect to see alot of just smashing a light tube over the guy's back spots with some wrestling moves done on to them here and there.Pretty bloody match with alot of the bleeding done by Wifebeater.

Unclipped-

MATCH THREE

SICK NICK MONDO & DOGBOY VS. JOHNNY KASMERE & JUSTICE PAIN-
-Sick Nick was pretty much the franchise of CZW before he had to retire.If you watch the intro video to this video you will see the insane move right at the very end that made him decide to retire.

-Dogboy, I don't call him this as an insult.I really can't remember his name and since he has a dog tail and that is his gimmick along with taking a beating like one that is what i'll be referring to him as.

-Justice Pain/Johnny Kasmere,I'm not real up on this fed but I know prior to this match Kashmere didn't do hardcore matches and since Justice Pain mainly delivers pain without barely enduring any I take it he didn't do harcore either.

This match is really good and probably the best on the dvd.Besides all the harcore stuff their's a decent amount of actual wrestling thrown in.It get's really bloody with Sick Nick and Dogboy doing most of the bleeding.Infact dogboy's bleeding in this match is some of the worst i've seen in a wrestling match ever.Some really great spots including "threw a guitar on a post" if you can mentally imagine that and a powerbomb to the outside of the ring on to a board covered in light tubes,OUCH.

-The finish is really really stupid wrestlecrap with dogboy's tail being lit on fire.

-The announcer claims after this match it got CZW banned from delaware but I wouldn't doubt that to be a half truth.I would guess setting the tail on fire got them in trouble with a fire inspector since they can be very tuff on wrestling about that.Considering they were doing the show out of a fire house...

MATCH FOUR

WIFEBEATER VS. ZANDIG-
-Zandig is inbetween his transformation to overweight beef eater here.

-Wifebeater is a character that started out as an obvious heel but became a fan favorite due to him using a wheedwhacker on his opponents.Yes a real one :)

-This match is all over the place.It basically starts out with Zandig cutting a promo with Wifebeater doing a run-in and smashing some light tubes over the boss's head.From there they tie Zandig vertically across the ring to the turnbuckles for about 10 minutes.SERIOUSLY that is the only bad part of this match.I mean we know it's all worked so why not just pretend the friggin rope's tied and do the spot already.Then Wifebeater
takes a nice pack of 10 light tubes and swings for the fences on Zandig's exposed back...HOLY %$#& OUCH!
We get a close-up of the shards sticking out of Zandig's back just before he's carted off by paramedics.

-From here on out the match is basically a big mess with Wifebeater and his crew hanging around and wrestling with other random wrestlers like Lobo,Nick Gage,Nate Hatred and Co.

-Suprisingly theirs actually a finish to the match which I won't spoil and is really cool.

MATCH FIVE

NICK GAGE VS. NATE HATRED,200 Light Tubes

-This is a pretty good match with nearly all the tubes used up.By the end of the match you can't even see the mat it is so covered in glass and the ref has to wear gardening gloves just to make a count.

-The end features another one of these overly long "hey let's tie the guy up so we can hit him with light tubes" that once again takes about 5 minutes of tying up for a minute worth of bulb smashing.

Average customer rating:

I also remember me
I Remember Me Indeed!
walk a foot or so in someone elses shoes
The only one.
Best video to introduce CFIDS

I Remember Me
Starring: Michelle Akers , Jan Armstrong , Faye Austin , David Bell M.D. , and Blake Edwards
Manufacturer: Zeitgeist Films
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Stricken: Voices from the Hidden Epidemic of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Encounters With the Invisible: Unseen Illness, Controversy, And Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Medical Humanities)
The Doctor's Guide to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Understanding, Treating, and Living with Cfids
If You Would Just Get Out of Bed
Parting the Fog: The Personal Side of Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

ASIN: B00020X942
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Description

Fueled by the same rage at an unresponsive system that has inspired many a great social documentary, filmmaker Kim Snyder has taken up the fight for the more than 800,000 people living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) in the U.S. today. CFS has recently received much high-profile media discussion due to SEABISCUIT author Laura Hillenbrand's longtime battle with the disease. Investigating the baffling malady once maligned as "yuppie flu," Snyder interweaves her own four-year battle with the disease with the stories of others facing the same challenges; soccer star Michelle Akers and legendary Hollywood director Blake Edwards (BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY's, THE PINK PANTHER) are among the participants. More than an account of an epidemic unfolding, I REMEMBER ME speaks to universal themes of loss, human perseverance and the difficulties in grappling with uncertainty.

Customer Reviews:

I also remember me.......2007-05-24

I became aware of this documentary at a CFIDS conference I recently attended. I rented it immediately, and for the first time since I was diagnosed with CFIDS (about 3 months ago), I didn't feel alone. I had my mother watch it, and it helped her understand what I have been going through. I will be lending it to my family and friends, as it explains my new life better than I can. I highly recommend this documentary to anyone who is suffering from CFIDS or has a loved one with this misunderstood illness.

I Remember Me Indeed!.......2006-09-21

This film conveys the frustration, confusion, the pain of no support that every person who suffers from CFS experiences. It does it in a unique way that finally gives outsiders an intimate view of the life of CFS. It shows the range of affliction and suffering. Bravo, a fabulous tribute to all who have CFS.

walk a foot or so in someone elses shoes.......2003-06-27

It is very hard to understand CFS from the outside looking in, but this is a good way to begin. Unlike books, the emotions that accompany this illness are expressed in such a way as to vibrate all the way into your soul.

I should make a technical note. The use of camera angles and shake may come off as gimicky. As a photojournalist I have no problem with the methods employed, but from my stand point as an editor whatever method you use, it has to work.

The only one........2002-11-04

How happy I was to find this most important documentary on CFIDS. I felt so grateful to Kim Snyder for making this film which, not only let me know I am not alone but, gave me a very good visual tool to educate my family,friends and colleagues who really don't get it. My husband and I were particularly struck by the testimony of one family member who related that, unless you live with a CFIDS sufferer you really have no idea. The fact is that people only see us when we are having a good day and can get out of bed through the miracle of chemistry. This is a must have film for all CFIDS sufferers. Buy two! One for you and one to lend out. I only wish there were more than one film on this subject and that it were easier to find.

Best video to introduce CFIDS.......2002-10-17

This video documents the history of CFIDS as seen throught the eyes of someone with the illness. A great video for anyone with CFIDS to acknowledge others with the same symptoms and problems. A great video for friends and family of CFIDS patients, a brief overview of the illness. Fantastic for those who don't know what it is to suffer with this illness.

Average customer rating:

Crossing the boundaries of fact and fiction

Epidemic
Starring: Allan De Waal , Ole Ernst , Michael Gelting , Colin Gilder , and Svend Ali Hamann
Manufacturer: Homevision
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0002KPHTW
Release Date: 2004-09-21

Amazon.com

It's reassuring to know Lars von Trier was always unconventional. Epidemic, von Trier's second feature, comes close to being a horror movie, except it keeps derailing itself to noodle while a director (played by von Trier) and screenwriter (screenwriter Niels Vorsel) improvise a scenario about a plague epidemic. Their struggles are shot in grainy 16 mm., while flashes of the intended film are in stunning 35. Epidemic is meandering enough to test the patience of even devoted von Trier fans, but it always looks good even when it looks bad, if that makes any sense, and the finale--which involves hypnotism, one of the Danish director's early obsessions--will give a chill to genre fans looking for a "gotcha." Von Trier regular Udo Kier pops up, and the film wouldn't be complete without its logo: the title branded onto the upper-left corner for most of the movie. Lars, you devil. --Robert Horton

Description

From controversial director Lars von Trier (Breaking the Waves, Dogville, Dancer in the Dark) comes the bizarre story of a director (played by von Trier himself) and a writer who create a script about a mysterious plague that engulfs Europe, only to find their horrific scenario coming true in real life. Featuring Udo Kier (Andy Warhol's Frankenstein, Suspiria, Armageddon), Epidemic is a dark and original horror film with a twist: Is the epidemic real, or is it only a dark figment of von Trier's imagination?

Customer Reviews:

Crossing the boundaries of fact and fiction.......2005-02-11

While not Lars von Trier's first feature film, Epidemic is the earliest of his films to be released to DVD and it's a powerful piece of work that blasts wide open the conventions of film--even modern (i.e., as of 1987, when this film was released) ones.

The title refers to a script that Lars and Niels Vorsel are in the process of writing during the film itself, after their first collaborative script, The Cop and the Whore, gets accidentally trashed in a PC crash.

Some interesting markers on the film:

1. shot in black and white
2. the title of the film is shown in red letters with a trademark symbol throughout the entire course of the film in the upper left corner

As these two develop their story, scenes alternate between the two of them--with their friends and acquaintances--and scenes they envision from the film Epidemic. In the film within a film, Lars plays Dr. Mesmer, whose name, of course, evokes that of the famed 19th century hypnotist, but the character is 20th century; in one scene, we see him suspended from a helicopter. Also in the film within a film is an American black priest. The language of the entire film alternates between English and Danish; the priest speaks English and in one wacky scene, Niels reads a letter from an American teenage girl penpal in English, based on his deciding to have some "fun" (if that's what it could be called) by spoofing pen pal correspondence, writing to 70 teenage American girls and pretending to be a Danish teenaged boy.

If this sounds disjointed, from one perspective, it is that, yes. But what it also does is to establish a jarring juxtaposition of mundane day to day life with the horrific story the two filmmakers are developing. The priest, for example, is consumed with fear about which he is mortally ashamed--fear of the plague epidemic that is spreading like wildfire across Europe--and voices that fear and shame in alternating whispered speech and anguished screaming, as he himself succumbs.

Why did von Trier pick Mesmer as the name of the latter-day doctor in the film within a film? This relates to the last scene in the film itself which is a real shocker and will not be revealed here. This last scene brings to a boil all the elements previously presented, including a short stay in the hospital for Neils who undergoes minor surgery to remove some undesirable growths.

What makes this film so powerful, among other things, is how easily von Trier plays with reality and fiction. We know that Lars and Neils are the real names of the people playing these characters, as is true of all the other characters who appear in the scenes with Lars and Neils. We know that Lars has a strong and morbid fascination with things medical, and this is reflected both in his interests expressed in the film itself, and his portrayal of Dr. Mesmer in the film within a film. And, subtly, we know that Lars and Neils' perspective embraces more than just Denmark, but other parts of Europe--France (love of wine), Germany (a side trip in one scene), and other countries--as well as the U.S. Any conjuring up of an epidemic has to imply a huge territory of possible infection; with the references to several other countries, von Trier is saying that this infection is really modern life itself which gives us the ability to appreciate sensory experience but not much else. And which spreads, plaguelike, to all, regardless of name, nationality, position, occupation, self-image.

Maybe this last statement is pompous; maybe not. In spite of the potentially annoying ever-present logo in the upper left corner of the screen, this is a film that uses the intellect to deliver a one-two punch to most of your cinematic expectations. And watch out for the ending; it will leave you breathless (no reference to Godard here, just an observation).

Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

Ancient Mysteries - The Black Death
Starring: Leonard Nimoy
Manufacturer: A&E Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

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DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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

In Search of History - Scourge of the Black Death (History Channel)
The Plague (History Channel)
The History Channel Presents The Crusades - Crescent & The Cross
Ancient Mysteries - Pompeii: Buried Alive
Ancient Mysteries - Dragons: Myths and Legends

ASIN: B000AABKUO
Release Date: 2005-09-27

Description

What is the Black Death? Where did it come from? Scientists still do not know the origins of this deadly plague. Appearing miraculously in 542 A.D., the devastating outbreak claimed 100 million lives. Winding its way from Egypt, through Asia Minor and into Europe, the devastation lasted 52 years and disappeared as mysteriously as it arrived. Many believed that the plague was sent from God as punishment for the world's sins. How was the cure for the plague finally discovered? Is it still with us today? These are some of the many questions we will explore in this program.

The Wrath of God - Super Outbreak Tornadoes (History Channel)

Average customer rating:

Very Good...
Wednesday, April 3rd, 1974 -- A Bad-Weather Day That Will Never Be Forgotten! .... 148 Tornadoes Across 13 States!

The Wrath of God - Super Outbreak Tornadoes (History Channel)

Manufacturer: A&E Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( W ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

National Geographic - Tornado Intercept
Tornado Terror I
The Wrath Of God - Tornado Alley (History Channel)
Twisters: Nature's Deadly Force
Tornado Glory

ASIN: B000F6ZCN4
Release Date: 2006-04-25

Customer Reviews:

Very Good..........2007-05-23

but could have been better. I don't think the running time on this video (just under an hour) is nearly enough time to give to the catastrophic weather events of April 3, 1974.

Still, it was a very good DVD with lots of facts, information, and photos about the areas primarily affected during the outbreak, i.e. Ohio, Kentucky, Alabama. All in all it gives a good overview, but I would have liked it to have been more detailed.

Wednesday, April 3rd, 1974 -- A Bad-Weather Day That Will Never Be Forgotten! .... 148 Tornadoes Across 13 States!.......2006-09-05

I'm sure anyone who lived in the midwestern sections of the United States in the mid-1970s can probably recall the horrific day of Wednesday, April 3, 1974, a day when 148 tornadoes touched down in 13 U.S. states in the midwest and south, claiming more than 300 lives, injuring another 5,400+ people, and causing massive amounts of property damage. It was the single worst outbreak of twisters ever in North America. That day of windy weather became known thereafter as the "Super Tornado Outbreak".

This nearly hour-long "Wrath Of God" program, produced by The History Channel and A&E Home Video, probes that '74 "Super Outbreak" of deadly tornadoes, providing ample video footage of various twisters during the rampage, plus a close look at the damage left in their wake.

In 1974, there were no video camcorders. Therefore, all of the footage taken of the storms came from either private citizens who were using their home movie (film) cameras, or via local area television stations, who were able to film (or tape) some of the twisters with their TV station's commercial camera equipment. In either case, much of this original 1974 footage is quite remarkable -- and scary as heck (knowing the death and destruction that these devastating storms caused).

Many local weather agencies were so swamped with warnings that it became nearly impossible to keep up with them all. It was a weatherman's worst nightmare come true.

From Decatur, Illinois....to Plum Tree, Indiana....to Xenia, Ohio....to Nashville, Tennessee....to Louisville, Kentucky....to Shady Spring, West Virginia....to Roanoke, Virginia -- all of these communities (and tons of others) were hit by at least one twister during the funnel-cloud onslaught of April 3rd.

The Xenia, Ohio, storm turned out to be the most deadly of the tornadoes to strike that day. The fierce half-mile-wide Xenia funnel, which struck at 4:42 PM local time, killed 33 people, while injuring 1,150 more. Approximately half the town was either completely destroyed or badly damaged by the wrath of the incredible "F5" twister. ("F5" being the most powerful and potentially destructive on the "Fujita" tornado-measuring scale.)

The official "Fujita" definition of an F5 twister indicates the following --- "F5 Tornado: Wind Speed: 261-318 MPH; producing 'Incredible Damage'. Strong frame houses leveled off foundations and swept away; automobile-sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100 yards; trees debarked; steel re-inforced concrete structures badly damaged. Incredible phenomena will occur. F5 Relative Frequency: Less than 1% of all recorded tornadoes."

In theory, it is believed that an "F6" category of tornado could exist, but no F6 storms have ever been officially recorded. Interestingly, the official Fujita description of a potential "F6" storm is classified in the "Inconceivable" category (with winds of 319-379 MPH).

Xenia is located 16 miles west of Dayton, Ohio, and has a population of about 25,000. There were nine churches, four schools, and 1,333 homes and businesses destroyed. The total cost of the damage sustained to the town was estimated to be approximately 100 million (circa 1974) dollars.

The F5 monster that annihilated Xenia stayed on the ground for 32 miles and lasted nine minutes, which is nearly twice as long as a normal tornado. The clean-up lasted three months.

The following link provides a terrifying image of the massive Xenia twister:

snrs.unl.edu/amet451/kozisek/xenia%20tornado.jpg

Having been located in the easternmost portion of Ohio's neighboring state of Indiana as Xenia was being pummelled by its hellish F5 vortex, I can vividly recall tuning in to Dayton television station WHIO-TV on 4/3/74 during the tornado outbreak and watching weatherman Gil Whitney as he provided the non-stop warnings to the public.

I can also remember watching Whitney's radar screen and seeing the distinctive "hook" echo pattern located directly over Xenia on the radar. I'll never forget that. Scary as hell.

At about 4:00 PM on April 3, Whitney broadcast an unofficial tornado warning for Xenia based upon images from the station's newly-installed radar. Technically, his action violated National Weather Service procedures, but the "unofficial" warning was widely credited with keeping the number of casualties lower than what they might have turned out to be otherwise.

The 32-mile duration of the Xenia funnel, however, did not establish the record-high for "consecutive length on the ground" that April day. A twister that tore through Monticello, Indiana, remained on the ground for an incredible 121 miles before finally dissipating. That "F4" tornado killed 19 people and injured more than 360 others.

What I, personally, remember the most about April 1974 is visiting the stricken town of Xenia, Ohio, a couple of weeks after the tornado. I recall seeing virtually nothing but devastation on every street we drove down. From local restaurants without their roofs, to houses ripped from their foundations. A sad sight indeed.

And as if the '74 storm wasn't bad enough, Xenia was, amazingly, struck a second time by a deadly twister, some years later. On September 20, 2000, one person was killed and 60 homes totally destroyed by yet another wicked funnel cloud that swept through the small town of Xenia. Talk about lightning striking twice.

There's an Internet website that features all kinds of interesting details, data, and photos surrounding the '74 "Super Outbreak". It's located at april31974.com.

That website includes some stunning photographs of many of the deadly twisters that touched down that spring day, and also contains a page of word-for-word text from the remarkable live as-it's-happening reports that were heard on radio station WHAS in Louisville, Kentucky, when helicopter traffic reporter Dick Gilbert tracked the F4 tornado that hit Louisville, reporting live over WHAS radio what he was witnessing.

This History Channel "Super Outbreak" DVD program contains very good narration and excellent picture and sound quality. The video is Full-Frame (1.33:1). Audio is in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo.

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More Tornado Talk..........

Nine years prior to the 1974 "Super Outbreak", the midwest U.S. experienced a precursor to the '74 storms when more than 50 tornadoes ripped through the middle U.S. states, killing better than 250 and injuring thousands more. That spate of twisters was known as the "Palm Sunday Outbreak", occurring on Palm Sunday, April 11, 1965. Lots more information on the '65 outbreak can be found here:

wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Palm_Sunday_Tornado_Outbreak

The all-time record for the deadliest single tornado in United States history belongs to the so-called "Tri-State Tornado", which killed an almost unbelievable 695 people in Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, on Wednesday, March 18th, 1925.

That amazing twister kept the same heading (NE 63 degrees) for 183 miles of its 219-mile path. The tornado travelled at an average speed of 62 MPH, setting still more records for both speed and path length.

After the "Tri-State" twister moved into Illinois, the storm was at its worst. In Gorham, Illinois, 34 were killed as nearly 100% of the town was destroyed. Between Gorham and Murphysboro, the record for "fastest tornado ground speed" was broken as the relentless funnel cloud barrelled across the ground at 73 miles-per-hour!

The tornado arrived at Murphysboro, Illinois, at 2:34 P.M., killing a staggering 234 people, breaking yet another record (the most deaths in one U.S. city from a single tornado). Damage in Murphysboro exceeded 10-million (1925-era) dollars.

The incredible "Tri-State Tornado" was part of a larger tornado outbreak on that March day way back in 1925, an outbreak which included eight tornadoes that killed an absolutely-incredible total of 747 people, making it (to date) by far the deadliest multi-tornado outbreak on record. And it's a record that's not likely to ever be topped. God willing, it never shall.

A 140-page book, first published in March 1992, can be obtained here at Amazon that focuses solely on that 1925 monster twister ("The Tri-State Tornado: The Story Of America's Greatest Tornado Disaster"). Here's a link:

amazon.com/gp/product/0595311881/sr=1-14/qid=1156492225

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A final word about this History Channel/A&E DVD.......

Re-living the very windy day of April 3, 1974, by way of this 50-minute DVD program, is a tense and, frankly, rather frightening experience. The unpredictability and sheer raw power of Mother Nature at work can quickly make a person realize how helpless any human being truly is when brought face-to-face with what Mrs. Nature dished up during that one heart-pounding day of very bad weather in the spring of 1974.

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Contact/Outbreak
Starring: Jena Malone , David Morse , Jodie Foster , Geoffrey Blake , and William Fichtner
Director: Robert Zemeckis , and Wolfgang Petersen
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B0000E6FQ4
Release Date: 2003-11-18

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