Conflict

Starring:Trevor Howard, Raf Vallone, Martin Sheen, Cyril Cusack, Andrew Keir, Godfrey Quigley, Michael Gambon, Leon Vitali, Seamus Healy, John Kelly (XII), John Franklyn (II), Patrick Long, Cecil Sheridan, Tom Jordan (II), Liam Burk, Richard Oliver, Frank Howard (III), Gilbert McIntyre, John Pine, Conor Evans
Director: Jack Gold
Studio: Direct Source Label
Product Type: DVD

Slap Shot (25th Anniversary Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

Slap Shot
Hockey Hilarity
Slap Shot DVD Movie 1977
A true classic
very satisfied with this dvd

Slap Shot (25th Anniversary Special Edition)
Starring: Paul Newman , Strother Martin , Michael Ontkean , Jennifer Warren , and Lindsay Crouse
Director: George Roy Hill
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005V0XF
Release Date: 2002-03-26

Amazon.com essential video

Paul Newman and his Butch Cassidy director, George Roy Hill, made a very original comedy in this 1977 story of an over-the-hill player/coach (Newman) for a lousy hockey team who gets results when he teaches his players to get dirty. One of the most hilariously profane movies ever to come out of Hollywood, this is the kind of film that makes its own rules as it goes along. Newman is very good, and while Hill goes for the gusto in terms of capturing the violence of this world, his instinct for comedy has never been sharper. Great support from Strother Martin, Paul Dooley, and the rest. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Slap Shot.......2007-07-04

This wildly profane film is consistently funny, and often side-splitting. And Newman's Reggie adds an element of poignancy; he's a perennial rogue with plenty of charm, but hardly a responsible adult, evidenced by his failed marriage to Francine (Jennifer Warren), for whom he still carries a torch. Veteran character actor Strother Martin makes the perfect weasel as smarmy team manager Joe McGrath, and Andrew Duncan is memorable as a radio announcer with the worst toupee on the planet.

Hockey Hilarity.......2007-05-07

Crude in parts, but hilarious bush league hockey! Many "laugh out loud" sceens sure to amuse fans of "ole time hockey." The Hanson brothers add great Canadian humor.

Slap Shot DVD Movie 1977.......2007-01-22

Awesome movie. Best hockey movie of all time. Paul Newman is awesome. Classic characters in the movie. A must see.

A true classic.......2007-01-20

Has to be one of the top 5 sports movies of all times!

very satisfied with this dvd.......2007-01-11

The dvd arrived promptly and is in excellent condition. I was completely satisfied. I was not able to find it in local stores.

Average customer rating:

WONDERFUL MOVIE FOR CHILDREN TO WATCH + 10
Once upon a DREAM . . . Good & Dark Fairies, Kings & Princes, Fire Breathing Dragon & a Golden Beauty
One of the best
Sleeping Beauty
GREAT

Sleeping Beauty (Special Edition)
Starring: Eleanor Audley , Candy Candido , Pinto Colvig , Verna Felton , and Taylor Holmes
Director: Les Clark , Eric Larson , Clyde Geronimi , and Wolfgang Reitherman
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005JKHN
Release Date: 2003-09-09

Amazon.com

Disney's 1959 animated effort was the studio's most ambitious to date, a widescreen spectacle boasting a gorgeous waltz-filled score adapting Tchaikovsky. In the 14th century, the malevolent Maleficent (not dissimilar to the wicked Queen in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) taunts a king that his infant Aurora will fatally prick her finger on a spinning wheel before sundown on her 16th birthday. This, of course, would deny her a happily-ever-after with her true love. Things almost but not quite turn out that way, thanks to the assistance of some bubbly, bumbling fairies named Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. It's not really all that much about the title character--how interesting can someone in the middle of a long nap be, anyway? Instead, those fairies carry the day, as well as, of course, good Prince Phillip, whose battle with the malevolent Maleficent in the guise of a dragon has been co-opted by any number of animated films since. See it in its original glory here. And Malificent's castle, filled with warthogs and demonic imps in a macabre dance celebrating their evil ways, manages a certain creepy grandeur. --David Kronke

Description

Heralded by audiences and critics alike, SLEEPING BEAUTY was the final fairy tale to be produced by Walt Disney himself. Now fully restored with revolutionary digital technology, its dazzling colors, rich backgrounds, and Academy Award(R)-nominated orchestrations shine brighter than ever. When an enchanted kingdom and the most fair princess in the land fall prey to the ultimate mistress of evil, the fate of the empire rests in the hands of three small fairies and a courageous prince's magic kiss. Their quest is fraught with peril as the fellowship must battle the evil witch and a fire-breathing dragon if they are to set the Beauty free. From spectacular action to the breathtaking pageantry of the princess and her kingdom, SLEEPING BEAUTY has something to charm every member of your family.

Customer Reviews:

WONDERFUL MOVIE FOR CHILDREN TO WATCH + 10.......2007-07-01

SLEEPING BEAUTY IS A WONDERFUL MOVIE FOR CHILDREN.THERE IS NO VIOLENCE FOR CHILDREN TO SEE IN THIS MOVIE.LIKE OTHER DISNEY MOVIES THAT ARE COMING OUT NOW.I HAVE THIS MOVIE BOUGHT 2 OF THEM ONE FOR MY DAUGHTER ONE FOR HER GIRLFRIENDS BIRTHDAY.I AM SO PICKY AND MAD OVER SOME OF DISNEY'S REMAKES THAT HAS SO MUCH VIOLENCE IN THEM.NOT GOOD FOR ANY CHILD TO WATCH.I HAVE NOT BOUGHT MANY OF DISNEYS NEW MOVIES DUE TO THIS REASON.THERE IS ENOUGH VIOLENCE IN THIS WORLD" OUR CHILDREN DO NOT HAVE TO SEE IT IN DISNEY MOVIES"WHAT IS DISNEY THINKING MAKING THESE VIOLENT MOVIES FOR KIDS. CHARACTERS HITTING EACH OTHER CALLING NAMES IS IT FOR THE MONEY? THE WAY OF THE WORLD NOW? ALSO TEACHING CHILDREN ITS OK TO HIT EACH OTHER AND CALL NAMES YELLING AT EACH OTHER" BEST MOVIES FOR CHILDREN TO SEE ARE, JUNGLE BOOK LIMITED ISSUE,PETER PAN LIMITED ISSUE,PINOCCHIO LIMITED ISSUE, 101 DALMATIANS LIMITED ISSUE, SLEEPING BEAUTY, SNOW WHITE, I GIVE ALL THESE MOVIES 10 STARS.************************** I DO NOT EVEN RECOMMEND CINDERELLA THE NEW RELEASE ANYMORE" ALSO MANY MORE NEW RERELEASES, DISNEY RUINED THE OLD TARZAN DVD WITH A NEW REMAKE" TARZAN IS SUCH A WONDERFUL MOVIE FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS I HAVE THE LIMITED ISSUE MY FAMILY LOVES THIS MOVIE SO HEARTWARMING TO WATCH" ALL THE DISNEY LIMITED ISSUE DVDS ARE THE BEST FOR ALL CHILDREN AND ADULTS TO WATCH''FORGET THE 2 DVDS NEW EDITIONS" JUST CHEAP REMAKES"
ALL OF DISNEY'S
LIMITED ISSUES FIRST RELEASED ARE THE BEST ONES TO BUY" BEFORE THEY ARE ALL GONE FOR GOOD''''

Once upon a DREAM . . . Good & Dark Fairies, Kings & Princes, Fire Breathing Dragon & a Golden Beauty.......2007-06-16

Once upon a Dream, many moons ago, when I was a child; I viewed this Dark Disney Fairy Tale and became instantly mesmirized by all fairy folk and tales to be told. Dear Walt gave us little gals the imagined lore of pretty Princess's or Princess's to be. As well as the Tom boy in me, the warrior Princes with sword and shield fighting for the greatest cause . . . defending ones kingdom from evil overbearing forces.

My undying luv for the winged serpents of old - Dragons, is all given credit due to my favorite Walt Disney villian . . .
Malevolent Maleficent, considered a Dark Fairy (more suitable in Disney standards of the time than a witch) who transformed her being into the statuesque purple fire breathing dragon in the ending battle together with Prince Phillip and the delightful fairies; Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather to save the realm from darkness.

MALEVOLENT MALEFICENT, THE DARKEST FAIRY - notable quotes:
"The Forest of Thorns shall be his tomb!
Move through the skies on a fog of doom!
Now go with the curse, and serve me well!
Round Stefan's Castle, CAST MY SPELL!"

"She is indeed, most wondrous fair.
Gold of sunshine in her hair,
lips that shame the red red rose.
In ageless sleep, she finds repose.
The years roll by, but a a hundred years to a steadfast heart, are but a day.
And now, the gates of a dungeon part, and our prince is free to go his way.
Off he rides, on his noble steed, a valiant figure, straight and tall!
To wake his love with "loves' first kiss"! And prove that "true love" conquers all! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

SLEEPYING BEAUTY is most intoxicating, hilariously funny, beautiful artistry, classical music and captivating characters immortalized. Both an enchantment and fulfilling destiny, from a prickling finger to a long awaited magical kiss.

Other Disney's to see in the realm of Princess Fairy tales:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney Special Platinum Edition)
Cinderella (Two-Disc Special Edition) (Platinum Edition)

Walt Disney has been adored and admired by many generations since his beginning in the movie animation industry. Sir Walt has become a part of movie making history and his Disney kingdom will continue to grow, and for future generations, his legend will live on evermore.

LadyGray quote:
"The last in Sir Walts time, a Fairy Tale to be told;
The setting of the stage is a unique Dark Disney mold.
This adventurous stunning musical for all to see and believe;
A long quest to save a kingdom and release Sleeping Beauty free."

LadyGray
Author of the Yuletide Tale - White Holly

One of the best.......2007-05-31

I purchased this DVD at a used bookstore for $14.95 and I was expecting it to be damaged in some way, but it wasn't!

Anyway, this is the classic Disney movie about a jealous witch, a beautiful princess, three bumbling fairies, a handsome prince, and the spell.

I highly recommend that everyone watch this movie with their children.

A+++

Sleeping Beauty.......2007-05-08

It took really long for delivery, however, it's a great classic and worth it! I'm glad that even though it was sent back into the Disney Vault, I was still able to get it on Amazon!

GREAT.......2007-04-13

GREAT FLICK FOR THE LITTLE PRINCESS IN YOUR LIFE, A CLASSIC, IT WILL NEVER LOSE IT'S VALUE OR POPULARITY

Average customer rating:

The Quiet Man DVD
The Quiet Man
Commentary by Maureen O'Hara is wonderful
Our Family's Favorite
perfect

The Quiet Man (Collector's Edition)
Starring: John Wayne , Maureen O'Hara , Barry Fitzgerald , Ward Bond , and Victor McLaglen
Director: John Ford
Manufacturer: Republic Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00006JMRD
Release Date: 2002-10-22

Amazon.com essential video

Blarney and bliss, mixed in equal proportions. John Wayne plays an American boxer who returns to the Emerald Isle, his native land. What he finds there is a fiery prospective spouse (Maureen O'Hara) and a country greener than any Ireland seen before or since--it's no surprise The Quiet Man won an Oscar for cinematography. It also won an Oscar for John Ford's direction, his fourth such award. The film was a deeply personal project for Ford (whose birth name was Sean Aloysius O'Fearna), and he lavished all of his affection for the Irish landscape and Irish people on this film. He also stages perhaps the greatest donnybrook in the history of movies, an epic fistfight between Wayne and the truculent Victor McLaglen--that's Ford's brother, Francis, as the elderly man on his deathbed who miraculously revives when he hears word of the dustup. Barry Fitzgerald, the original Irish elf, gets the movie's biggest laugh when he walks into the newlyweds' bedroom the morning after their wedding, and spots a broken bed. The look on his face says everything. The Quiet Man isn't the real Ireland, but as a delicious never-never land of Ford's imagination, it will do very nicely. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

The Quiet Man DVD.......2007-07-04

The DVD showed up within the time frame in mint condition. I was very satisfied with the service.

The Quiet Man.......2007-06-27

Immortal director Ford directed this Oscar-winning valentine to his ancestral home, a love story that soars thanks to Ford's resplendent shooting and a solid, flavorful performance from the Duke. O'Hara radiates an untamed red-haired beauty playing Wayne's love interest, while McLaglen is a joy as the blustery Red Will.

Commentary by Maureen O'Hara is wonderful.......2007-05-31

The commentary by Maureen O'Hara is wonderful. I've seen this movie many times over the years but never knew the many stories and facts that Miss O'Hara reveals in the two hours of commentary. Her memory is remarkable and her comments are charming.

Our Family's Favorite.......2007-05-28

The Quiet Man (Collector's Edition)
This has been an all time favorite of our family for years. Perhaps because it is set in Ireland, or because we are all of Irish descent; or just because it is just a great story and very well made. In any case it is a movie for the whole family to watch and even though it is a classic, it seems like it was made recently.

It will pull on all of the emotions, bringing out laughter, cheering, and tears. The guys will be drawn by the great male cast, the women by the romance and the children by the fun. It is truly for all genders and ages.

perfect.......2007-05-19

The dvd was new and in perfect condition and arrived in three days. It also contained interviews from the actors and other extras. Well worth the price.

Average customer rating:

Michael Moore is "slightly" over the Top
A poorly argued liberal rant.
great documentary movie
Good but a little sensational
Fahrenheit 9/11

Fahrenheit 9/11
Starring: John Ashcroft (II) , James Baker III , James Bath , Khalil Bin Laden , and Stephen G. Breyer
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B00005JNEI
Release Date: 2004-10-05

Amazon.com

To anyone who truly understands what it means to be an American, Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 should be seen as a triumph of patriotic freedom. Rarely has the First Amendment been exercised with such fervor and forthrightness of purpose: After subjecting himself to charges of factual errors in his gun-lobby exposé Bowling for Columbine, Moore armed himself with a platoon of reputable fact-checkers, an abundance of indisputable film and video footage, and his own ironically comedic sense of righteous indignation, with the singular intention of toppling the war-ravaged administration of President George W. Bush. It's the Bush presidency that Moore, with his provocative array of facts and figures, blames for corporate corruption, senseless death, unnecessary war, and political favoritism toward Osama Bin Laden's family and Saudi oil partners following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Moore's incendiary film earned Palme d'Or honors at Cannes and a predictable legion of detractors, but do yourself a favor: Ignore those who condemn the film without seeing it, and let the facts speak for themselves. By honoring American soldiers and the victims of 9/11 while condemning Bush's rationale for war in Iraq, Fahrenheit 9/11 may actually succeed in turning the tides of history. --Jeff Shannon

Description

In the most provocative film of the year, Academy Award-winner Michael Moore presents a searing examination of the role played by greed and oil in the wake of the tragic events of 9/11. From Academy-Award winning director Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine). WINNER, Palme D'Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival, BEST PICTURE. DVD features:

* "The Release of Fahrenheit 9/11" featurette
* "Iraq, Pre-War" featurette: The people of Iraq on the eve of invasion
* "Homeland security, Miami style" featurette: Footage of the old men who patrol the Florida coast lookng for terrorists as part of the homeland security plan
* "Outside Abu Ghraib Prison"
* Eyewitness account from Samara, Iraq
* "Lila, D.C.": Lila Lipscomb at the Washington, D.C. premiere
* Arab-American comedians: Their acts and experiences after 9/11
* Extended interview: More with Abdul Henderson
* "Condi 9/11": Condoleezza Rice's 9/11 Commission testimony
* "Bush Rose Garden": George W. Bush's full press briefing after 9/11 Commission appearance

Customer Reviews:

Michael Moore is "slightly" over the Top.......2007-07-05

This film is a good portrayal of the the dissentinting notion to the lies that Bush and his addman Cheney were presenting to US and to the world prior to the Iraq invasion. Unfortunately, most of us bought it. For me, unlike Hillary and most of the rest of the cadidates who seem to have a hard time recognizing true religious extremism (narrow mindedness), or comment on it, and the politicians who have endeavored to use that extremism to further their re-election ambitions the Bush-Cheney ploy to advance himself power-wise, has been lost. We live in, as always, a likely difficult world if we are not in the right place at the right time with the right look for our purposes. I think Michael Moore did a good job in affirming that perception.

A poorly argued liberal rant........2007-06-30

I am about as liberal as they come and I couldn't stand this movie. Completely ignoring the fact that this movie has very little in common with real documentaries, this movie begins with a rambling, incoherent conclusion that repetitiously attacks Bush and his administration in every way conceivably possible. Now, I realize most of us already have opinions on a subject and it is good to be honest about the fact that none of us can truly be impartial. But the whole point of a well-crafted argument is that you provide your audience with copious evidence, and you present it in such an artful way that the audience reaches your conclusion by themselves by the end of the movie. This even-handed persuasion obviously escapes Moore, as the first few minutes of the movie consist of a very hateful rant about Bush and his policies. Only after this rant does Moore begin to provide any evidence as to why we should hate Bush. The feeling I got from the movie was of a little kid tattletaling on his older brother. That's not to say I don't agree with the general conclusions. But the point of a movie like this should be persuasion. Liberals don't need convincing that Bush is despicable. It's the moderates and conservatives who need persuading, and this crude and poorly put together "documentary" surely is not going to do that.

great documentary movie.......2007-06-25

This movie makes you think. This movie is kinda biased and a lot of clips were taken way out of context. For example, the clip where Britney Spears says " we should all support our president Bush" was take out of context much like the American soldiers in Iraq acting psychotic and making them seem like they lost it and were killing everyone randomly. But yes, the Bush administration and politicians and the goverenment in general are all corrupt and evildoers. This is how the American society is. The rich justs keeps getting richer and the middle and lower class are becoming poorer. And everything in our society is in favor of the rich. For example, Paris Hilton. If the Paris Hilton incident happened to someone else that person would've been behind bars for 5 to 10 years. But poor Paris was whining and crying and said "this isn't right" by serving only 20 something days. Our US laws and our government are a big joke.

Good but a little sensational.......2007-06-20

Worth watching, and full of good facts. I admit I prefer my documentaries a little less "sensational" just put the facts out there and let people judge. But that's just me other people find that boring...

Fahrenheit 9/11.......2007-06-13

Excellent movie - sad, but true! A must see for everyone in this country.

Average customer rating:

Justice in a Small Room
Minus 1 star for script/believability - the other four for acting alone
A Classic !!
A good film
Excellent

12 Angry Men
Starring: Martin Balsam , John Fiedler , Lee J. Cobb , E.G. Marshall , and Jack Klugman
Director: Sidney Lumet
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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Inherit the Wind
To Kill a Mockingbird (Universal Legacy Series)
The Grapes of Wrath
Judgment at Nuremberg
Witness For the Prosecution

ASIN: B000056HEC
Release Date: 2001-03-06

Amazon.com essential video

Sidney Lumet's directorial debut remains a tense, atmospheric (though slightly manipulative and stagy) courtroom thriller, in which the viewer never sees a trial and the only action is verbal. As he does in his later corruption commentaries such as Serpico or Q & A, Lumet focuses on the lonely one-man battles of a protagonist whose ethics alienate him from the rest of jaded society. As the film opens, the seemingly open-and-shut trial of a young Puerto Rican accused of murdering his father with a knife has just concluded and the 12-man jury retires to their microscopic, sweltering quarters to decide the verdict. When the votes are counted, 11 men rule guilty, while one--played by Henry Fonda, again typecast as another liberal, truth-seeking hero--doubts the obvious. Stressing the idea of "reasonable doubt," Fonda slowly chips away at the jury, who represent a microcosm of white, male society--exposing the prejudices and preconceptions that directly influence the other jurors' snap judgments. The tight script by Reginald Rose (based on his own teleplay) presents each juror vividly using detailed soliloquies, all which are expertly performed by the film's flawless cast. Still, it's Lumet's claustrophobic direction--all sweaty close-ups and cramped compositions within a one-room setting--that really transforms this contrived story into an explosive and compelling nail-biter. --Dave McCoy

Description

Eleven jurors are convinced that the defendant is guilty of murder. The twelfth has no doubt of his innocence. How can this one man steer the others toward the same conclusion? It's a case of seemingly overwhelming evidence against a teenager accused of killing his father in "one of the best pictures ever made" (The Hollywood Reporter).

Customer Reviews:

Justice in a Small Room.......2007-06-22

1957's "Twelve Angry Men" is the story of a jury confined to a small room on a hot, humid summer night to decide the fate of a young man accused of knifing his father to death. The jury's initial poll has eleven jurors for guilty, one for innocent. The ensuing drama revolves around the struggle by the dissenting juror, an architect played with characteristic understated determination by Henry Fonda, to convince the other jurors of the presence of reasonable doubt.

The outstanding cast, a collection of experienced 1950's movie and tv actors who may not be familiar to today's audiences, each bring their particular insights and prejudices to the debate. An elderly man, played by Joseph Sweeney, sides with the Henry Fonda character because he admires the younger man's grit. Lee J. Cobb has an outstanding role as an angry father who sees his estranged son in the actions attributed to the young man on trial. E.G. Marshall plays a confident businessman who gets a lesson in the limits of memory from the Henry Fonda character.

The confining atmosphere of the jury room adds to the tension. Sidney Lumet's brisk but deliberate direction allows each man a turn in the spotlight to examine his conscience as well as the case in front of the other jurors. The end result is a tense, insightful drama about the nature of man and justice.

This movie is highly recommended to viewers looking for an outstanding example of the movie art and a different slant on today's crime dramas.

Minus 1 star for script/believability - the other four for acting alone.......2007-06-13

All the stars I gave was for the acting alone- superb all around though that old man was pretty annoying at times esp with the close ups on him. But the story itself wouldnt last 10 minutes in real life. It begins with Fonda pleading the boy is only 18 (dont we send 18 years olds off to war? 18 years olds can kill?) But the surreal part is when Fonda pulls out that concealed switchblade in the jury room (gov property), sticks it in the table, and tells everyone how he went into the boys neighborhood and found a store and bought it there (AKA doing your own research); all of this HIGHLY illegal; in real life, someone would have told all of this to the bailif, got Fonda arrested and hauled off, and an alternate or a mistrail would have taken place. End of movie right there. One other thing, Fonda kept mentioning "Is it possible"; Possible is not probable, and a million possibles does not equate to one possible, much less a "Reasonable" doubt.

A Classic !!.......2007-05-27

What a great movie!! I haven't watched it in years, but for some reason i watched it tonite. Wow, as good now as ever!!

A good film.......2007-05-18

Though I did think it to be ever so slightly predictable, I found this movie to be a great murder mystery without all the blood, guts, gore, and horror.
The movie begins with a the jury trying to decide whether or not a eighteen year old boy is guilty of brutaly killing his father. they put it to a vote, and find that all but one of them feels that the boy is guilty without giving it so much as a second thought. The one that refused to say the boy is guilty doesn't necessarily think that he is innocent, he just thinks there aught to be more thought put into it. As the story progresess, you see how everyone's personal intersts, background and prejudices get intangled as they try to decipher between right and wrong.
This movie is well worth watching, and deserves to be in anyone's collection.
And I really have to add that I think Henry Fonda's preformance in this movie is great!

Excellent.......2007-05-09

12 Angry Men is an awesome example of how groups work. It is very useful in demonstrating all the points of group interaction that I teach in my Sociology class. The students liked the movie and were able to quickly tie the movie to concepts taught in class. Excellent plot and follow through in developing the story line.

Average customer rating:

Cool Hand Luke
Yet Another Newman Masterpiece!
A must see
One of the best movies ever
Great Movie!!

Cool Hand Luke
Starring: Paul Newman , George Kennedy , J.D. Cannon , Lou Antonio , and Robert Drivas
Director: Stuart Rosenberg
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: 0790731509
Release Date: 1997-06-25

Amazon.com

Paul Newman gives one of the defining performances of his career, and cemented his place as a beautiful-rebel screen icon playing the stubbornly tough and independent title character in Cool Hand Luke. And before he became familiar as a sidekick in 1970s disaster movies (Earthquake and the Airport movies), George Kennedy won an Oscar for playing Dragline, the brutal chain-gang boss who tries to beat loner Luke's cool out of him. It's a classic rebel-against-the-repressive-institution story in the line of One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest or The Shawshank Redemption. Certain moments have become classics--particularly the hardboiled egg-eating contest, and the immortal line (drooled by Strother Martin, as a sadistic redneck prison officer), "What we have here is a failure to communicate." And don't forget, Luke is also the source of the oft-quoted driving ditty, "I don't care if it rains or freezes, long as I have my plastic Jesus, right here on the dashboard of my car..." He is cool, all right. The digital video disc is in anamorphic widescreen and digital stereo. --Jim Emerson

Description

A defiant chain-gang prisoner suffers a "failure to communicate" in this searing drama. Paul Newman Shines in the title role, George Kennedy as his sidekick won an Oscar(R). Year: 1967 Director: Stuart Rosenberg Starring: Paul Newman, George Kennedy, J.D. Cannon

DVD Features:
Production Notes
Theatrical Trailer

Customer Reviews:

Cool Hand Luke.......2007-06-27

"Luke" is a work that transformed Newman from movie star to anti-authoritarian folk hero. Clearly the actor was attracted to the dispossessed, in life and in film. His Luke is two things at once: a loser whose drunkenness lands him on a chain gang, but also a tough individualist equipped with personal courage and a defiant spirit. Top-notch support comes from Martin as Luke's wormy nemesis, and Kennedy, who won an Oscar for his turn as Luke's loyal pal, Dragline.

Yet Another Newman Masterpiece!.......2007-06-23

If you haven't seen this film yet, by all means, go out and rent it today! Hell, you might as well purchase it, because it is definitely worth every penny and I promise you won't regret it. It is a true classic and a movie you will want to see over and over again. God knows I must have viewed this one at least a dozen times now. The acting, directing, writing, score, etc... is top notch. Am I the only person out there who constantly poses this question - WHY DONT THEY MAKE FILMS LIKE THIS ANYMORE? Then again, there has never been, nor will there ever be, an actor quite like Paul Newman. And if ever there was a role in which Newman was born to play, this was it! Seriously folks, could you even imagine another actor playing the part of Luke? It's definitely one of his finest performances ever. The man has charm oozing out of every pore in his body.

Along with the outstanding, understated work of Mr. Newman, this film also contains several wonderful performances by a fine supporting cast - George Kennedy (Best Supporting Actor Winner as Dragline), Strother Martin, Robert Donner, Morgan Woodward, Wayne Rogers, Ralph Waite, Harry Dean Stanton, Dennis Hopper and Jo Van Fleet as Luke's mother Arletta. By the way, the scene in which Luke confronts his dying mother Arletta is one of my favorites of all-time. It redefines the word POIGNANT and I can almost guaranty it will melt your heart.

There are so many famous lines and scenes in this movie that make this film completely unforgettable. I have yet to meet one person (male or female) that didn't thoroughly enjoy this film from begining to end. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, you are in for a treat. I still remember the first time I saw this film and how much I enjoyed it. In fact, the very next day I went to the video store (sorry Amazon, you weren't around yet) and immediately purchased it. Trust me folks, this is one EXCEPTIONAL film.

Finally, I think we sometimes forget just how many classic films Paul Newman has been in - "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof", "The Hustler", "Hud", "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", "The Sting", "Abscence of Malice", "The Verdict", "The Color of Money", "Nobody's Fool", etc... etc... etc... The man is a living legend and one hell of a good human being to boot! At 82 years old, he just announced his retirement from acting. I don't know about the rest of you out there, but I for one feel like I am losing an old, dear friend.

A must see.......2007-05-15

This is by far one of the greatest movies of all times. Paul Newman is amazing, the ultimate rebel. Who else would cut the heads off parking meters because "Small town, not much to do in the evenin."

One of the best movies ever.......2007-05-13

This is a must see and must own movie. Any movie lover has to have this movie in their collection. The shipping was fast and I am totally satisfied with my purchase. BUY THIS MOVIE!!!

Great Movie!!.......2007-05-13

Great Movie, A Must See. Cool hand Luke Is awesome. This was my First Time seeing this movie, and Loved every minute of it.

Five Stars

Average customer rating:

Romeo and Juliet
Impression of Romeo & Juliet years after first seeing it.
A Great Love Story
The power of love.
"For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."

Romeo & Juliet
Starring: Leonard Whiting , Olivia Hussey , John McEnery , Milo O'Shea , and Pat Heywood (II)
Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: 0792165055
Release Date: 2000-05-23

Amazon.com

Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was unique in its day for casting kids in the play's pivotal roles of, well, kids. Seventeen-year-old Leonard Whiting and 15-year-old Olivia Hussey play the titular pair, the Bard's star-crossed lovers who defy a running feud between their families in order to be together in love. Typically played on stage and in previous film productions by adult actors, the innocent look and rawness of Whiting and Hussey resonated at the time with a burgeoning youth movement from San Francisco to Prague. The tragic romance at the center of the story also clicked with anti-authority sentiments, but even without that, Zeffirelli scores points by validating the ideals and passions of strong-willed adolescents. Less successful are scenes requiring the actors to have a fuller grasp of the text, though the best thing going remains the unambiguous duel between Romeo and Tybalt (Michael York). Lavishly photographed by Pasquale de Santis on location in Italy, this Romeo and Juliet brought a different tone and dimension to a story that had become tiresome in reverential presentations. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Romeo and Juliet.......2007-06-28

My favorite version of this oft-filmed classic is Zeffirelli's Oscar-nominated version. Starring two unknowns in the title roles (17-year-old Whiting and 15-year-old Hussey), the movie remains true to Shakespeare, while making the language more accessible to modern audiences. Both Michael York (as Romeo's nemesis, Tybalt) and Milo O'Shea (as Mercutio) lend strong support, while Zeffirelli's unabashed romanticism is enhanced by magnificent period detail and a sweeping score from Nino Rota. The story of youthful rebellion also spoke to basic issues arising in the restive sixties. A top-notch rendering of an eternal classic.

Impression of Romeo & Juliet years after first seeing it........2007-06-16

I first saw the 1968 version of Romeo & Juliet the year it was released.
In our small town, we had only one theatre, and it showed the same movie
for about 5 days. I was studying Shakespeare in college and decided it
might be a good idea to see the film. The first viewing made such an
impression on me that I was left wanting more. I know I went the first
night it opened and then went every night again till it left the theatre.

In the period between 1968 & 2007, I didn't see the movie...even though
VHS & DVD releases made it possible. I'm not sure why I decided to see
it again...by accident, I guess. After so many years, I was surprised
to have the same emotions as I'd felt so long ago. Leonard Whiting &
Olivia Hussey are perfection in their title roles...both in appearance and delivery of the famous lines. If nither of them had never done anything else in their careers, they've left a lasting impression (as teenage actors) which will be ageless. Others may try to better this production of Shakespeare's famous play, but none will ever come even close to equalizing the 1968 production by Franco Zeffirelli. Do yourself a favor and buy the movie in DVD or VHS. You'll want to watch it again and again to see scenery you've missed and understand lines you've heard.

I've read some reviews indicating [...] aspects of the 1968 production.
These people need psychiatric help. Their repulsive suggestions toward
the acting/actors in this production couldn't be more off the mark.
There is nothing [...] or degrading about this movie.

A Great Love Story.......2007-06-08

I saw this movie when I was in High School. I have LOVEd it ever since. The Nurse charater just cracks me up. Olivia Hussy was really beautiful. For you kids out there that think nothing existed before 1980, this version is just as good as the Leonardo DiCaprio version.

The power of love. .......2007-05-25

I only have one thing to say. This movie shows what true love really is.

"For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.".......2007-04-28

I've loved it since I saw it first time - I was 16 and for me, Romeo and Juliet were not the Shakespeare's characters, they were just a girl and a boy who loved each other and died together because they could not live without each other. I did not know the names behind the production but I remember that the costumes were gorgeous (I still remember the red and gold dress Juliet wore in her first scene), the score and song were sweet and tender, and the cinematography brought to life a very real Verona, colorful and violent. Only much later I learned that Nino Rota was the composer, Danilo Donati a costume designer, and Pasqualino De Santis a cinematographer. Both Donati and De Santis won very well deserved Oscars.)

I was absolutely charmed by Olivia Hussey - she could be the most beautiful (and sensual and youngest) Juliet ever on screen. The only other film I've seen her was "Death on the Nile" - and she was not lost among very famous costars (Peter Ustinov, Bette Davis, and Angela Lansbury among others). I also remember that even though I was in love with Leonard Whiting's Romeo, I realized that as an actor he was much less interesting than John McEnry (whimsical Mercucio), Milo O'Shea (Friar Laurence) and Pat Heywood (the Nurse). Zeffirelli came from a successful career as an international opera designer and director in London, New York, and Milan with a reputation for opulent spectacle. It may explain his ability to handle crowds on the screen so effortlessly and skillfully. He also at one point of his career worked as Luchino Visconti's assistant - perhaps he learned a lot from him. In "Romeo and Juliet" he was able to make a very dynamic film that did not feel at all as an adapted play and also was a great romance which made me feel incredibly close to its characters. Four hundreds years seemed to disappear and Shakespeare became my contemporary. I've seen "Romeo and Juliet" many times and I believe Zeffirelli's is the best adaptation of the play. Well, there is of course, the ballet with the Sergey Prokofiev's music - but it is a different story altogether.

Average customer rating:

Cinematic ideal
A Magnificent Film on the French Resistance in World War II
A moving, tragic portrayal of the French Resistance.
A grim, austere masterpiece of the French resistance during World War II, by Jean-Pierre Melville
The best movie you've never heard of.

Army of Shadows - Criterion Collection
Starring: Lino Ventura , Paul Meurisse , Jean-Pierre Cassel , Simone Signoret , and Claude Mann
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Manufacturer: Criterion Collection
ProductGroup: DVD
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Sansho the Bailiff - Criterion Collection
The Third Man - Criterion Collection (2-Disc Edition)
Overlord (Criterion Collection)
Vengeance Is Mine - Criterion Collection
If... (Criterion Collection)

ASIN: B000NOK0HG
Release Date: 2007-05-15

Description

JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE'S MASTERPIECE ABOUT THE FRENCH RESISTANCE WENT UNRELEASED IN THE UNITED STATES FOR THIRTY-SEVEN YEARS, BEFORE ITS TRIUMPHANT THEATRICAL DEBUT IN 2006. ATMOSPHERIC AND GRIPPING, ARMY OF SHADOWS IS MELVILLE'S MOST PERSONAL FILM, FEATURING LINO VENTURA, PAUL MEURISSE, JEAN-PIERRE CASSEL, AND THE INCOMPARABLE SIMONE SIGNORET AS INTREPID UNDERGROUND FIGHTERS WHO MUST GRAPPLE WITH THEIR OWN BRAND OF HONOR IN THEIR FIGHT AGAINST EVIL.

Customer Reviews:

Cinematic ideal.......2007-06-16

Now why would you want to see L'ARMÉE DES OMBRES (or ARMY OF SHADOWS, or ARMY IN THE SHADOWS)?

Do you appreciate beautiful visuals? Jean-Pierre Melville possessed a truly cinematic eye. His characters are part of a setting but they don't get lost in it (unless he wants them lost, for effect). And here he worked with his cinematographer, Pierre Lhomme, to produce a blue-tinged world too exquisitely lit to be grim and ugly. This is a visual masterpiece of mood.

How about an honest story of the French Resistance? Not too romantic, nor too cynical? Melville was in the Resistance. So was the writer of the novel that this is based on. Here, Resistance fighters are presented as brave, and frightened. As self-sacrificing, yet pragmatic. As diverse, and single-minded. As successful, or frustrated. As doomed. As hopeful.

Do you like depth of character? This is not an action film. Very little violence is shown. This is a story of the lives between the violence where most of the time is spent. Where suspense dogs each Resistance member's footsteps. Where secrecy, even from family, is the way of life.

Do you like something thoughful? The effect of this film's quiet, deliberate pacing is intellectual - not just emotional. I didn't lose myself entirely in the fatalism of the Resistance fighters' circumstances. There was a sane, comforting person befriending me. And his name was Jean-Pierre Melville.

This was the first Melville film that I had seen. It was like the splash of cold water. Why had this filmmaker been overlooked? Here was a Frenchman who constantly wore a cowboy hat, Ray Ban sunglasses, drove an American convertible and soaked in American films - and he got nothing beyond art house exposure in return.

Here was a man who blended his beloved American influences with his own sensibilities, creating an extraordinary style all his own. Melville may be as close to my ideal cinematic auteur as I'll ever find. And, I only now discovered him.

A Magnificent Film on the French Resistance in World War II.......2007-06-12

"Army of Shadows" is a powerful presentation of the heroism of some members of the French Resistance during World War II. Their heroism in the face of Nazi torture is extraordinary. I can do no better than to quote from Amy Taubin's essay in the book that comes with the Criterion DVD's (Taubin is a contributing editor for Film Comment and Sight and Sound and also writes frequently for Art Forum): "The hideous mess in Iraq, the sense that we are enmeshed in a situation in the Middle East where all options are bad, may partly account for the embrace in 2006 of Melville's depiction of the tragedy within even the supposedly 'good' war. In their pessimism about the inevitability of war and its cost in individual lives, Clint Eastwood's admirable and moving World War II films "Letters from Iwo Jima" and "Flags of Our Fathers," ... have something in common with "Army of Shadows." All three films show that in the worst of circumstances, human beings can act with courage and honor, but that there is a larger tragedy in the fact that war is a realm in which such heroism comes into being. Perhaps Roger Ebert's review best accounts for the contemporary power of this emissary from 1969:'Rarely has a film shown so truly that place in the heart where hope lies with fatalism.'

A moving, tragic portrayal of the French Resistance........2007-06-03

With its release on DVD, Jean-Pierre Melville's "Army of Shadows" finally is available to the wide audience it always deserved. First released into a France under the sway of radical intellectuals, "Army of Shadows" was denounced as Gaullist propaganda and flopped at the box office. A U.S. release was never even considered until 2006, when a version restored under the direction of cinematographer Pierre Lhomme received a limited release here. Set between late October 1942 and late February 1943, "Army of Shadows" exists in a grim world of drab buildings, barren fields, and rain, all the better to depict the bleak prospects of the French Resistance in their fight against the Nazi invaders. Resistance fighters live in such danger that they dare not reveal their membership in that shadow army, even to close relatives; even the brothers Luc (Paul Meurisse) and Jean-Francois (Jean-Pierre Cassel) never learn of each other's courageous sacrifices for the cause of freedom. The life of the film's hero, Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura), demonstrates in microcosm the perils Resistance fighters face; in the space of four months, he escapes from two German prisons (including one escape, literally, from a firing squad); parachutes from a British airplane during aerial bombardment; and is forced to kill two traitors to the Resistance. The action of "Army of Shadows" is episodic, all the better to emphasize the uncertainty and constant terror under which all Resistance fighters lived. While not particularly gory, the film pulls no punches about the brutality of the Nazis. In two separate instances, Resistance fighters are brought to Gestapo headquarters and tied to chairs. One jump cut later, both fighters are slumped in those chairs, their faces beaten into hamburger, their sightless eyes bulging from their sockets. The unrelieved tragedy of "Army of Shadows" pays grim but just tribute to those who sacrificed their lives in the name of freedom, not least in the excellence of the performances. Watch out particularly for the great Simone Signoret as Mathilde, the most tragic of the Resistance fighters. Equal in courage, resourcefulness and daring to any of the other fighters, Mathilde nevertheless is unable to separate her life as a Resistance fighter from her life as a wife and mother, and therefore becomes an inevitable hostage to fate.

A grim, austere masterpiece of the French resistance during World War II, by Jean-Pierre Melville.......2007-06-01

"...but I'm going to die and I'm not afraid. It's impossible not to be afraid of dying. But I'm too stubborn, too much of an animal to believe it. If I don't believe it to the very last moment, the last split second, I'll never die." This is Philippe Gerbier speaking. The time is between October, 1942 and February, 1943. He's the leader of a resistance cell in German-occupied France. He was an engineer. Now he is a hard man of skeptical intelligence. He kills a German guard with a knife to the throat so quickly and so unexpectedly it's nerve rattling. In Jean-Pierre Melville's austere, somber Army of Shadows, we follow what happens to Gerbier (Lino Ventura) and a handful of others, primarily Luc Jardie (Paul Meurisse), a weak-seeming intellectual who turns out to be the head of resistance in France; Jean François Jardie (Jean-Pierre Cassel), Luc Jardie's younger brother; and the remarkable Mathilde (Simone Signoret), resourceful with icy nerves, a woman, Gerbier tells us, who is "strong-willed, methodical and patient. She knows both how to command and how to carry out orders." For four months we watch them operating in a claustrophobic environment of matter-of-fact violence, the realities of betrayal, hiding and planning, a life without humor and only cautious trust, and above all else, the goal of killing Germans. That also means the need to kill informers, no matter how young or how respected. They will all probably die.

The movie is really a series of incidents that happen during these four months and how this group must respond: a prison camp and an escape, a shave from a barber who might be a Petainist, the killing of a young informer in an empty house when three of the resistance, including Gerbier, discover they cannot use a gun, there is no knife and finally they decide to use a towel to strangle the man. All the while, gagged and tied, the informer can hear them discuss the problem. This will be the first time any of the three have ever killed a man, and they do it. There's Mathilde's nerve in smuggling a radio through a German cordon, and her attempt to rescue a Resistance comrade from a prison where he has been tortured. There's the death of one of the four, carried out by three. Briefly, at the very end, we read of what happened to the members of this group...a cyanide pill, a beheading, tortured to death, survived. The ending is logical and incredibly sad.

One of the most effective aspects of this movie is how it concentrates on this small group of people. There are no explosions, gun fights, beatings and torture scenes, no gore, no bravado. In fact, there are comparatively few Germans. What there is is the unremitting pressure of discovery, of making a mistake, of tension, of never being able to relax. All the main characters were based on members of the French resistance. The actors are excellent. Lino Ventura dominates his scenes. Signoret is incredible.

This is tragedy, not melodrama, says Amy Taubin, author of an article which appears in the Criterion booklet. When that last note on the screen is finished, we feel exhausted. We have to remind ourselves that the right side won. Otherwise, I, at least, would feel not just respect for these men and women, but also deeply pessimistic. We've gotten to know them. Not to like them; they are too grim and dedicated for that, but to understand them to a degree. We know that if they had never existed there would have been others in their place. But I came to understand that I probably would never have had the fatalism, the nerves or the courage to undertake what they did.

Army of Shadows was shot in color, but the effect has been so deliberately muted that the movie looks as chilly and overcast as the time period. The Criterion edition has an excellent DVD transfer, a commentary by film historian Ginette Vincendeau, a booklet in the DVD case and a second disc filled with extras.

The best movie you've never heard of........2007-05-31

A year ago, while the whole world saw such films as "Mission: Impossible III", "The Da Vinci Code", "Poseidon" among others, This movie "Army of Shadows" was finally released in the United States last year. I know this because then, I'd never heard of "Army of Shadows" until recently. I viewed this movie on DVD from the Criterion Collection last week and this was a great movie. I was shocked to learn that Jean-Pierre Cassel who was in the movie is Vincent Cassel's father. I didn't know that. Why was this movie remained unreleased for 37 years in the U.S. until last year I'll never know. My guess it was a political thing. This was a great film from France from 1969 which why this was the best movie you've never heard of.

Average customer rating:

Heartfelt but unmoving and slightly disappointing
A disappointment
Excellent film, based on historical facts.
Stunning
The Mission

The Mission (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Robert De Niro , Jeremy Irons , Ray McAnally , Aidan Quinn , and Cherie Lunghi
Director: Roland Joffé
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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ASIN: B00003CXBH
Release Date: 2003-05-13

Amazon.com

Roland Joffé (The Killing Fields) directs this fuzzy effort at a David Lean-like epic without David Lean's sense of emotional proportion. Lean's most important screenwriting collaborator, Robert Bolt, in fact wrote The Mission, which concerns a Jesuit missionary (Jeremy Irons) who establishes a church in the hostile jungles of Brazil and then finds his work threatened by greed and political forces among his superiors. Robert De Niro is briefly effective as a callous soldier who kills his own brother and then turns to Irons's character to oversee his penance and conversion to the clergy. The narrative and dramatic forces at work in this movie should be more stirring and powerful than they are--the problem being that Joffé is too removed from them to allow us in. --Tom Keogh

Description

Rodrigo Mendoza (ROBERT DE NIRO) was a violent soldier-for-hire in 1750s South America. Now he is a man of peace serving the Rain Forest Indians he once enslaved. But armies of Spain and Portugal threaten the lifestyle and safety of the native peoples. Now Rodrigo may have to pick up his sword and musket once again. From the producer of Chariots of Fire and the director of The Killing Fields comes a powerful epic co-starring JEREMY IRONS and graced with dazzling Academy Award-winning cinematography, set to a memorable music score and scripted by the Oscar-winning screenwriter of A Man for All Seasons and Doctor Zhivago.

Customer Reviews:

Heartfelt but unmoving and slightly disappointing.......2007-06-08

One of a trio of big-budget films that was intended to turn Goldcrest into a major producer after a run of successful (mostly) low-budget films but which instead all but destroyed the company, The Mission isn't as irredeemably disastrous as Revolution or as over-reaching as Absolute Beginners, but it's still a disappointment despite its many admirable qualities. Screenwriter Robert Bolt has an interesting, if obscure story to tell in the violent closure of the 18th Century Jesuit missions in Paraguay as part of a territorial wrangle between Spain and Portugal, with the Vatican going along with genocide to avoid political repercussions in Europe while the priests in the missions try to protect their native Guarani converts from the slave traders simply waiting for the Church to withdraw its protection. Robert Bolt's screenplay is strong, thanks to Chris Menges' cinematography the film looks superb and Ennio Morricone's score is one of his best. Yet the film feels as if something is missing, possibly because it is: the work-in-progress version that won the Palme D'Or at Cannes was reputedly nearly twice as long. What's left tells the story and makes its points, but doesn't really touch the heart or carry you along with more than academic interest. But perhaps worst of all, there's a gaping hole where the heart of The Mission should be in the form of Robert De Niro.

He looks the part, learnt fencing, speaks Spanish, yet for all that it's a hollow shell of a performance hiding behind underplayed surface detail. On paper his character is easily the film's most interesting, going from slave-trader to Jesuit missionary only to find himself at odds with his vows when he needs to protect those he used to prey on with force, but De Niro brings nothing to the part in a passive, detached and unemotional performance. His crisis of conscience and road to possible redemption seems no more torturous that trying to decide what to order from a disappointing restaurant menu. Very much a supporting role, if it weren't for his reputation you'd have no idea he's supposed to be the great actor of his generation.

By contrast, Jeremy Irons, often a stuffy and mechanical performer, is something of a revelation here, taking the part to heart and abandoning all artifice to give a performance that draws its strength from its genuine humility and humanity. But the film's best performance comes from Ray McAnally as the Papal representative sent ostensibly to judge the matter but in reality to provide a fig leaf for the Church abandoning its converts only to find himself all too aware of the immorality of his actions and tormented by his inability to rebel against them. It's a subtle portrait but a powerful one, and puts a genuinely human face on the film's clash between the ideals of faith and the realities of the way of the world. In many ways it's almost a pity that the film keeps him on the sidelines. (Incidentally, one of the actors playing one of the Jesuit missionaries, Daniel Berrigan, was himself a Jesuit missionary who had been threatened with excommunication, while the Portuguese villain of the piece is played by De Niro's real estate broker!)

The 2-disc DVD comes with an excellent one hour documentary about the making of the film from the days when they weren't studio-sanctioned love-ins. Concentrating on the impact on the Waunana extras, much emphasis is placed on the possibly devastating cultural effects their involvement could have, only to be somewhat torpedoed by the telling detail at the end of the program that the entire tribe received only £85,000 for a month-and-a-half's work - apparently rather less than the fencing instructor De Niro insisted be flown in to the location to teach him got if producer David Puttnam's memoirs are to be believed (De Niro fences for a grand total of 30 seconds in the film).

Also included are an audio commentary by Joffe and the full theatrical trailer.

A disappointment.......2007-05-12

My disappointment is because, having received the disc, I found it would not work in European format. The subject of the film was the basis of a discussion I had with several friends when the bi-centenary of the abolition was discussed. I told of this film which I had seen in the UK some years back. As I could neither see it nor show it, I lost my argument!!

Excellent film, based on historical facts........2007-05-07

The content of the film is excellent. the DVD is good, but at some point the picture stops, few seconds after it runs again.

Stunning.......2007-03-31

This is a true story and it is a very sad one in the history of the west and of the church.
Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson and many more take us through the history of slavers in South America. Irons, who plays a Spanish Jesuit Priest, goes into the wilderness to build a mission, to convert the Indians. DeNiro plays a slaver who eventually joins Irons' mission and serves the native peoples.

The main question in this film is that of ownership, and the right to make slaves. The mission begins in Spanish territory that is sold to the Portuguese. The Portuguese do not want to accept that the natives are humans - but at best trained monkeys - and that their Christianity does not protect them from becoming slaves. The Cardinal who came to oversee the decision came with a decision already made, and his inner turmoil, as the narrator, draws the viewer into the political side of the decision and the political side of the church's role in the decision, at that time, in a way that few other films ever have.

The film is a cinematographic masterpiece. While watching the movie, pay close attention to light and darkness, the music, and the angles used in filming. This movie is great and a must see because of the story it tells and the way it tells it. It is truly a film and not just a movie.

The Mission.......2007-03-29

I have always loved this movie, but especially love the music used in the soundtrack. It lifts the soul.

Average customer rating:

My all-time favorite western!
The Best Spagetti Western To Date
BEST of the spaghetti Westerns
Formidable, operatic western
Poetic and Truly Original

Once Upon a Time in the West
Starring: Henry Fonda , Claudia Cardinale , Jason Robards , Charles Bronson , and Gabriele Ferzetti
Director: Sergio Leone
Manufacturer: Paramount
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ASIN: B0000AUHPG
Release Date: 2003-11-18

Amazon.com essential video

The so-called spaghetti Western achieved its apotheosis in Sergio Leone's magnificently mythic (and utterly outlandish) Once upon a Time in the West. After a series of international hits starring Clint Eastwood (from A Fistful of Dollars to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly), Leone outdid himself with this spectacular, larger-than-life, horse-operatic epic about how the West was won. (And make no mistake: this is the wide, wide West, folks--so the widescreen/letterboxed version is strongly recommended.) The unholy trinity of Italian cinema--Leone, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Dario Argento--concocted the story about a woman (Claudia Cardinale) hanging onto her land in hopes that the transcontinental railroad would reach her before a steely-eyed, black-hearted killer (Fonda) does. (The film's advertising slogan was: "There were three men in her life. One to take her ... one to love her ... and one to kill her.") Meanwhile, Leone shoots his stars' faces as if they were expansive Western landscapes, and their towering bodies as if they were looming rock formations in John Ford's Monument Valley. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews:

My all-time favorite western!.......2007-06-20

I never really cared for westerns until I saw this movie. I became hooked on spaghetti westerns, and in my opinion, this is the best of them all! The storyline is certainly different, and the ending is somewhat of a surprise. The main characters really stand out: Charles Bronson, Jason Robards, Claudia Cardinale, and Henry Fonda. The music is haunting, and that was what really hooked me.

The Best Spagetti Western To Date.......2007-06-12

Once Upon a Time in the West From start to finish,is by far the best spagetti western ever made to date. It Stars Henry Fonda as a ruthless outlaw. Along with a pose' he murders and destroys his way through every town he and his gang enters.He shows his victims no mercy, not a drop of sympathy is in his bones. He'll make your blood run cold. Henry Fonda is at his acting best! You have never seen him like this! He encounters a mysterious traveler who plays a mysterious melody on a Harmonica. The traveler seems to be looking for him. Why? Here's where the real edge of your seat action really happens. Finally time to reveal what everything means. Right down to the mysterious song played on the harmonica by the traveler througout most of the movie.
Since this film was made other westerns that followed, used Itlalian director Sergi Leone's touch, i.e. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly etc.)

BEST of the spaghetti Westerns.......2007-06-08

Sergio Leone made his indelible mark with the three Clint Eastwood films, but this is his best work, even though Clint is absent. Not to worry. "Once Upon A Time" features a wonderful all-star cast. Avoiding the overdone goodguys vs bad guys cliche, Leone casts perpetual goodguy Henry Fonda as one of the sleaziest amoral villains you'll ever see. And Fonda doesn't disappoint in the role. The so-called goodguys are actually not so good, but they're played brilliantly by Jason Robards and Charles Bronson. Claudia Cardinale is striking as the libertine. Even the opening scene focuses on Jack Elam and Woody Strode - two of the best character actors to appear in any Western.

The plot meand