Restoration

Starring:Robert Downey Jr., Sam Neill, David Thewlis, Polly Walker (II), Meg Ryan, Ian McKellen, Hugh Grant, Ian McDiarmid, Mary MacLeod, Mark Letheren, Sandy McDade, Rosalind Bennett, Willie Ross, David Gant, Benjamin Whitrow, Neville Watchurst, Bryan Pringle, Roy Evans, John Quarmby, John Dallimore
Director: Michael Hoffman
Studio: Miramax
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

A fantastic premise is utterly blown in this film by director Michael Hoffman and screenwriter Rupert Walters (the two collaborated previously on the winning Some Girls). Robert Downey Jr. plays Robert Merivel, King Charles II's (Sam Neill) spirited young physician in 17th-century England. The king offers to set Merivel up for life in exchange for one small favor: marry the royal mistress (Polly Walker) to provide his highness some cover for his philandering. But Merivel blows it by falling in love with the woman, and he is cast out of his pampered paradise to reinvent himself as a serious man helping victims of the plague beyond the palace's walls. It's a superb notion, and the film looks just terrific, particularly Charles's court, where scientific and artistic innovation flourishes. But somehow the story completely falls apart once Merivel goes on his quest for salvation. The scenes aren't there, the characters are underdeveloped, the drama is clunky. The whole enterprise feels as if an editor tried to salvage a major failure and barely came up with something coherent. --Tom Keogh

Description

Meg Ryan (KATE AND LEOPOLD) and Robert Downey Jr. (WONDER BOYS) head a superb cast of stars in this stylish and provocative story of love, power, and seduction! Robert Merivel (Downey) is a young man who seems to have everything ... until a passionate affair leads to scandal, suddenly leaving him heartbroken and penniless. But it's only after losing it all that Merivel discovers who he really is and -- with the love of a beautiful woman (Ryan) -- becomes the man he never dreamed he could be! Also featuring Sam Neill (JURASSIC PARK) and Hugh Grant (NOTTING HILL), this critically acclaimed and entertaining motion picutre won two 1995 Academy Awards(R) for Best Achievement in Art Direction and Costume Design.

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It's All True
Starring: Francisca Moreira Da Silva , Manuel 'Preto' Pereira Da Silva , Jeronimo André De Souza , Miguel Ferrer , and Raimundo 'Tata' Correia Lima
Director: Orson Welles , Bill Krohn , Myron Meisel , and Richard Wilson
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

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Around the World with Orson Welles
Falstaff Chimes At Midnight [Import]
Macbeth (Fully Restored Version)
F for Fake - Criterion Collection
The Complete Mr. Arkadin (aka Confidential Report) - Criterion Collection

ASIN: B00062IDGU
Release Date: 2004-11-30

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In 1942, Orson Welles was at the top of his game in Hollywood and had, as far as he was concerned, a great future ahead of him. Then Nelson Rockefeller asked him to go to Rio to film the annual carnival as part of a goodwill mission to South America. Long story short, what was meant to be a side project destroyed Welles's promising career. He lost control of what might have been his greatest film, The Magnificent Ambersons, became saddled with an unfair reputation as a money squanderer, and had to beg for B-picture projects (which he turned into superb films) in Hollywood for the rest of the decade (after which he scrambled for years to make movies in Europe, except for a brief return to make, and again lose control over, Touch of Evil). Adding insult to injury, the South American footage--both from the carnival and a couple of narrative episodes Welles wanted to put together in a film called It's All True--disappeared for almost 50 years. Then, as these things happen, much of that footage turned up in a vault and eventually was assembled, long after Welles's death, by several people, among them director Richard Wilson (a Welles producer and ally going back to Mercury Theatre days, and who was present with him in Rio when things went from bad to worse). The film now known as It's All True is a combination of Welles's startling material--including the doomstruck episode called "Four Men on a Raft" (during production of which one of the men drowned)--and interviews with Wilson and other principals who witnessed the situation or can comment on it insightfully. Welles fanatics understand the powerful mystique that surrounds It's All True, and others who have enjoyed his work will certainly find this a gripping and ghostly experience. --Tom Keogh

Description

Would 25-year-old Orson Welles (whose 1941 Citizen Kane staggered Hollywood) go to Brazil and make a film for the United States' anti-Nazi "Good Neighbor Policy"? Welles eagerly agreed, masterminding a complex film that featured three separate stories, each vividly depicting the charm, drama and politics of South American culture. During the course of filming, Welles encountered hazardous locations and an ever-changing cast of studio executives at RKO. After months of arduous shooting, the studio suddenly pulled the plug and shelved the project. Welles never recovered from this and the true story of what happened to him in Brazil was never told.

The Rembrandt Collection - Rembrandt, Painter of Man / Restoration of The Nightwatch / Rembrandt's Masterly Brushstrokes / Rembrandt And His World

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The Rembrandt Collection - Rembrandt, Painter of Man / Restoration of The Nightwatch / Rembrandt's Masterly Brushstrokes / Rembrandt And His World
Starring: Rembrandt Collection
Manufacturer: Kultur Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

Rembrandt 400 Years
The Dutch Masters Boxed Set / Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Dyck, Rubens, Bosch, Bruegel
Simon Schama's Power of Art
The Great Masters of the Italian Renaissance Boxed Set
Becket

ASIN: B000O1713Y
Release Date: 2007-05-29

Description

Rembrandt's Masterly Brushstrokes: Rembrandt wanted the surface of his paintings to sparkle, and he achieved his desired result by developing paints of a highly specialized formula. His paints contained secret ingredients known only to the artist, and have eluded discovery until now.

Rembrandt and His World: Rembrandt's home for many years of his life was in Amsterdam where he and his wife kept a huge number of paintings to satisfy his mania for collection, and to provide inspiration for his own work. This program presents the restoration of his house and contains insights into Rembrandt's personality.

Rembrandt: Painter of Man is a fascinating documentary showing Rembrandt's unique capacity to capture and depict the many aspects of humanity. Dozens of his most famous paintings, as well as his self-portraits, are featured.

There are 40 years between the first and the last self-portraits of Rembrandt van Rijn. The first shows the coming young artist: proud and self-assured. The last one shows the old painter, marked by his misfortune and worries. In his paintings man was central, and these and his self-portraits are a mirror of his life, which is shown in a series of dissolves from one self-portrait to the other. A Film By Bert Haanstra.

: The Restoration of "The Night Watch" is an in-depth look at the restoration work performed on Rembrandt's masterpiece "The Night Watch," which was seriously vandalized in 1975. The eight-month job of restoration began: a new canvas was fixed in place, old varnish was removed, previous damage was repaired, and the entire painting was cleaned. This fascinating program shows how this masterpiece was brought back from the brink of destruction in less than a year, with the result that "The Night Watch" is once again on display.A Film By Theo Kok.

Rembrandt and His World: The renowned 17th century Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn was not only a major artist, but he was also an avid collector of prints, paintings and objects d'art. Many of the items in his collection became inspirations for his work and often can be recognized in his drawings and paintings. Today, the collection may be viewed at Rembrandt's house, now completely renovated and restored to its original condition and where many of his world-famous works of art were originally produced.
Rembrandt and his wife Saskia bought the house in 1634, two years after their marriage. At the time, the young artist's works were selling well and they lived quite comfortably. The Rembrandt's stayed in this grand residence for nearly twenty years surrounded by not only his own works, but also by works of numerous other artists.
This unique program brings to life the world in which Rembrandt lived and worked as well as showing less well-known aspects of the old master and his personality. It was his mania for collecting that ultimately led to the artist's financial downfall. Although his income had declined with fewer commissions coming to him, the artist continued to add to his collection and this finally led the family into bankruptcy. Fortunately, a complete inventory of the collection was drawn up at the time, and this list was an immensely valuable source of information during the restoration of the home.In addition to the many fine paintings and other works of art in his home, Rembrandt kept albums containing some 8,000 prints and drawings - many of which were by famous artists. Not only did the artist derive inspiration from many of the works in the collection, but also from the house itself.

Berlin's Hidden History
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Berlin's Hidden History
Starring: Brian Ladd
Director: Brian Ladd , and John Woods
Manufacturer: Woods Production
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Berlin: Symphony of a Great City

The Ghosts of Berlin: Confronting German History in the Urban Landscape

Berlin

Berlin Then and Now (Then & Now Thunder Bay)

Berlin (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

ASIN: 0970368119
Release Date: 2002-10-01

Description

Berlin, the capital of reunified Germany, is a city with a glittering present and a dark past. A historian leads the viewer through the new Berlin, revealing the many traces of history in a city that served as Frederick the Great's, Bismarck's, and Hitler's capital before it became the front line of the Cold War and the place where the Berlin Wall was built and destroyed. Learn that there is more than meets the eye at the Brandenburg Gate, Potsdamer Platz, Nazi buildings, Jewish cemeteries, Checkpoint Charlie, and many other places steeped in history.

Description

This two hour special hosted and narrated by Jesse James will explore the true essence of a chopper. Jesse will profile the pioneers of the chopper movement, the unsung heroes whose ingenuity and creativity have inspired him and other chopper builders of today. To best depict the history of the chopper, Jesse will restore the bird bike -- an old 1969 bike he bought off a pick up truck 15 years ago. It's all custom, no straight tubing to be found anywhere this bike embodies the real attitude and meaning of a chopper and Jesse will explain why. Jesse and the guys from West Coast Choppers put their heads together to figure out how to restore the bike to its original 1969 condition, everything from the frame, to the gas tank to the motor. HISTORY OF THE CHOPPER will chronicle the entire restoration.

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Gigli, Schipa: Mad About Opera
Starring: Tito Gobbi , Maria Caniglia , Beniamino Gigli , Gino Bechi , and Tito Schipa
Director: Mario Costa
Manufacturer: Bel Canto Society
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Beniamino Gigli - Ridi Pagliaccio
Gigli: Non Ti Scordar Di Me
Belcanto - Tenors of the 78 Era, Part One / Enrico Caruso, Beniamino Gigli, Tito Schipa, Leo Slezak, Joseph Schmidt, Richard Tauber
Andrea Chénier
Tito Gobbi In Pagliacci & Hlts From Guglielmo Tell

ASIN: B000B8QFBE
Release Date: 2005-11-22

Description

Bechi, Caniglia, Gigli, Gobbi, Schipa; Nives Poli and the La Scala Ballet; Ornella Santoliquido and Franco Mannino; Lollobrigida; Costa, dir. Barbiere (2), Carmen, Chenier, Norma, Pagliacci, song, plus "Invitation to the Dance" (Weber) and "La campanella" (Paganini-Liszt). (1948) 95m. Italian, with non-optional English subtitles. B&W.

Product Description

Contains one DVD video and one audio CD. The DVD includes 13 selections. Restoration is about finding grace, mercy and love through the seasons of life. It's about the reconciliation of all things to God. It is about joy.

DVD:

DVD

Winston Churchill - The Wilderness Years - Vol. 3: The Flyin

DVD: Winchester '73

Der Mondmann