The Entertainer

Starring:Laurence Olivier, Brenda De Banzie, Roger Livesey, Joan Plowright, Alan Bates, Daniel Massey, Albert Finney, Shirley Anne Field, Thora Hird, Miriam Karlin, Geoffrey Toone, MacDonald Hobley, Anthony Oliver, Max Bacon, George Doonan, James Culliford, Gilbert Davis, Charles Gray, Gwen Nelson, Hope Jackson
Director: Tony Richardson
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com Review
Laurence Olivier broke with the theatrical poise of previous roles to play seedy music-hall entertainer Archie Rice in John Osborne's acclaimed play, The Entertainer, reprising the role in Tony Richardson's 1960 screen version and earning an Oscar nomination for his performance. Olivier gives his all as the gap-toothed vaudevillian living in the shadow of his music-hall-legend father Billy Rice (Roger Livesey), spitting out pithy wisecracks and mugging pathetically for bored audiences in seaside dives. Under the life-of-the-party patter, however, is a pathetic music-hall dinosaur trying too hard for his moment in the spotlight, nursing his wounded humiliation in trysts with naïve young girls and pouring out his passion in his finale tune, "Why Should I Care." "I have an affinity with Archie Rice," Olivier once opined. "It's what I really am. I'm not like Hamlet."

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Arguing With Myself, a recorded live performance of ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, portrays a comedian whose revival of an old-fashioned art has made ventriloquism more relevant to modern societal concerns. Starring his six main characters, from Bubba Jay, a Nascar-obsessed hick, to Peanut, a flamboyant gay monkey, Dunham's puppets have dirty but relatively inoffensive senses of humor that mock the American Dream. One can easily see why Jay Leno champions Dunham, as his skits contain a similar sly sarcasm disguised as wholesome teasing aimed at men indebted to their ugly wives, for example, or people who live their lives working in cubicles. At times, though, Dunham's humor seems to lose its ironic distance, especially as he interacts with puppets like Jose Jalapeño, a Cuban chile pepper, or Sweet Daddy D, a Black pimp, both reliant on the antiquated humor once popularized in cartoons by racial caricature. Since the entire audience in the film is white, it is difficult to assess whether or not African-Americans or Latinos would find Dunham funny. In other words, Dunham's humor isn't overtly offensive enough to make fun of ethnic heritage. However, his skills as a ventriloquist alone make him a fascinating entertainer, and anyone interested in how puppetry and ventriloquism has progressed over the decades would benefit from watching Dunham bring life to his wooden friends. --Trinie Dalton

Description

Breathing life into an elderly curmudgeon, a purple human-like creature from the Micronesian islands, and a self-effacing talking jalapeno on a stick, Jeff Dunham is straight man to some of the funniest partners in show business! His comedic skill and impeccable technique serve as slight of hand however, drawing attention away from the fact that Dunham is a ventriloquist extraordinaire.

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E.B. White's classic tale gets a Babe-like makeover in Charlotte's Web, a delightful and well-made film that is sure to become a family classic. Directed by Gary Winick (13 Going on 30), the new version eschews the musical numbers of the 1973 cartoon and mixes CGI with live-action animals. Dakota Fanning brings the right amount of chutzpah to Fern, the young farm girl who rescues a runt, Wilbur, from death and visits him every day at her Uncle Homer's farm. But it's Wilbur's friendship with Charlotte the spider (voiced by Julia Roberts) that ultimately saves him from the "smoke house" (a kid-friendly alternative term to the slaughterhouse), for Charlotte's talent for weaving praiseworthy words about Wilbur into her web turns the Zuckerman farm into a tourist attraction. The more tragic elements of the book are handled sensitively by Winick, working from a script by Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich), and Roberts' soothing, maternal voice (who knew it would work so well?) makes it all go down easy. It turns out to be just one of many perfect celebrity voice-casting choices, for the farm animals, voiced by an all-star cast including Oprah Winfrey (the goose), Robert Redford (the horse), Steve Buscemi (Templeton the rat), and John Cleese (the sheep), lend plenty of sharp humor. But it's two corn-hungry crows, voiced by Thomas Haden Church (Sideways) and OutKast's Andre "3000" Benjamin who steal the show. (Ages 4 and older) -- Ellen A. Kim

Beyond Charlotte's Web

Other Children's Book Adaptations on DVD
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
The Original 1973 Charlotte's Web Cartoon

Stills from Charlotte's Web (click for larger image)

Product Description

The classic story of loyalty, trust, and sacrifice comes to life in this live-action adaptation. Fern (Dakota Fanning) is one of only two living beings who sees that Wilbur is a special animal as she raises him, the runt of the litter, into a terrific and radiant pig. As Wilbur moves into a new barn, he begins a second profound friendship with the most unlikely of creatures - a spider named Charlotte - and their bond inspires the animals around them to come together as a family. When the word gets out that Wilbur's days are numbered, it seems that only a miracle will save his life. A determined Charlotte - who sees miracles in the ordinary - spins words into her web in an effort to convince the farmer that Wilbur is "some pig" and worth saving.

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Kathy Griffin - Allegedly
Starring: Kathy Griffin , and Matt Moline
Director: Keith Truesdell
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Take It Like a Man

ASIN: B0002Y4TB0
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Description

Her All New, Full-Length Totally Uncensored Concert DVD. In this hilarious stand-up performance filmed live in 2004, the D-List Diva unleashes on her stint as a red carpet host at the VH1 Fashion Awards, her USO tour of Afghanistan, being a guest at Brooke Shields' wedding, battling Barbara Walters on live television and much more. From dishing the dirt on Gwyneth to getting groped by an alcoholic celebrity mom, this is Kathy Griffin at her outrageous best: pissing off everybody, naming names and telling tales out of school like never before.

Yankee Doodle Dandy (Two-Disc Special Edition)

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Yankee Doodle Dandy (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: James Cagney , Joan Leslie , Walter Huston , Richard Whorf , and Irene Manning
Director: Michael Curtiz , Carl H. Lindahl , and Friz Freleng
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005JKS8
Release Date: 2003-09-30

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James Cagney thrills in a rare (and limber) song-and-dance performance as composer-entertainer George M. Cohan. This nostalgic biography is told in flashbacks, covering Cohan's formative years becoming Broadway's brightest star and touching upon his loves, musicals, and artistic triumphs. Director Michael Curtiz (The Adventures of Robin Hood) offers Cagney ample opportunities to invent an utterly charming performance in what is practically a one-man show. If you've never seen Cagney as a hoofer, you're in for a treat: his dancing is as dynamic as anything else he's ever done on screen. --Tom Keogh

Description

A nostalgic view of the golden era of show business and the man who made it glitter--George M. Cohan. His early days, triumphs, songs, musicals and romances.

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Charlotte's Web (Full Screen Edition)
Starring: Julia Roberts , Steve Buscemi , John Cleese , Oprah Winfrey , and Cedric the Entertainer
Director: Gary Winick
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000NA6CP4
Release Date: 2007-04-03

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Beyond Charlotte's Web

Other Children's Book Adaptations on DVD
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
The Original 1973 Charlotte's Web Cartoon

Stills from Charlotte's Web (click for larger image)

Product Description

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Cabaret
Starring: Liza Minnelli , Michael York , Helmut Griem , Joel Grey , and Fritz Wepper
Director: Bob Fosse
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Fosse

ASIN: B00009Y3L4
Release Date: 2003-08-19

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Winner of eight Academy Awards, including Best Director (Bob Fosse), Best Actress (Liza Minnelli), and Best Supporting Actor (Joel Grey), Cabaret would also have taken Best Picture if it hadn't been competing against The Godfather as the most acclaimed film of 1972. (Francis Ford Coppola would have to wait two years before winning Best Director, for The Godfather, Part II.) Brilliantly adapted from the acclaimed stage production, which was in turn inspired by Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Stories and the play and movie I Am a Camera, this remarkable musical turns the pre-war Berlin of 1931 into a sexually charged haven of decadence. Minnelli commands the screen as nightclub entertainer Sally Bowles, who radiantly goes on with the show as the Nazis rise to power, holding her many male admirers (including Michael York and Helmut Griem) at a distance that keeps her from having to bother with genuinely deep emotions. Joel Grey is the master of ceremonies at the Kit Kat Klub who will guarantee a great show night after night as a way of staving off the inevitable effects of war and dictatorship. They're all living in a morally ambiguous vacuum of desperate anxiety, determined to keep up appearances as the real world--the world outside the comfortable sanctuary of the cabaret--prepares for the nightmarish chaos of war. Director-choreographer Fosse achieves a finely tuned combination of devastating drama and ebullient entertainment, and the result is one of the most substantial screen musicals ever made. The dual-layered Special Edition widescreen DVD includes an exclusive 25th-anniversary documentary, Cabaret: A Legend in the Making, a 1972 promotional featurette, a photo gallery, production notes, the theatrical trailer, and more. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome to Cabaret. The winner of eight Academy Awards, it boasts a score by the legendary songwriting partnership behind another film that would energize the movie musical genre with equal razzle-dazzle 30 years later: Chicago's John Kander and Fred Ebb. Inside the Kit Kat Club of 1931 Berlin, starry-eyed singer Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli) and an impish emcee (Joel Grey) sound the clarion call to decadent fun, while outside a certain political party grows into a brutal force. Cabaret caught lightning (and won Oscars) for Minnelli, Grey and director Bob Fosse, who shaped a triumph of style and substance. Come to this Cabaret, old chum. You'll never want to leave.

DVD Features:
Documentary:25th-Anniversary Documentary "Cabaret: A Legend in the Making"
Featurette:"The Recreation of An Era"
Interactive Menus
Interviews
Production Notes:"Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery": The film's stars and creators reminisce about making movie musical history.
Scene Access
Theatrical Trailer

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Madagascar (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Stephen Apostolina , Sacha Baron Cohen , Cody Cameron , Cedric the Entertainer , and David Cowgill
Director: Tom McGrath (VII)
Manufacturer: Dreamworks Animated
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005JNX0
Release Date: 2005-11-15

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The penguins steal the show. In the sprightly Madagascar, a mid-life crisis inspires Marty the Zebra (voiced by Chris Rock) to escape from his lifelong home, a New York zoo. His equally pampered friends--Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer)--then escape to bring him back. Unfortunately, their attempt at damage control persuades zoo officials that the animals are unhappy, so all four get shipped to an animal preserve in Kenya...only a squad of maniacal penguins change the destination to Antarctica. The quartet end up on an island where, in addition to meeting some hedonistic lemurs, they learn about the food chain--and that Alex is a different link on the chain from the other three. Madagascar doesn't achieve the snappy perfection of a Pixar movie, but it tops most other computer-animated efforts; the collision of friendship and predator instincts makes for an unusually gripping conflict. The vocal performances of the central characters is serviceable, but Sacha Baron Cohen (Da Ali G Show) provides topnotch lunacy as the lemur king, and the penguins--voiced mostly by the animators themselves--are the best thing in the movie. --Bret Fetzer

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Ron White - You Can't Fix Stupid
Starring: Ron White
Director: Michael Drumm
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000E1OI6W
Release Date: 2006-03-28

Product Description

Irreverent bad boy Ron White will crack you up with a nonstop stream of hilarious jokes and clever observations. As described by Daily Variety, "White's inspired comic mind finds a dozen sources of humor where the average comic would find only one or two." In this brand-new stand-up performance, he explores the pitfalls of marriage, offers some hysterically funny advice on picking a spouse and introduces the nforgettable "Squirrel Man," plus much more. A well-loved Comedy Central favorite, star of the popular DVD They Call Me "Tater Salad" and the bestselling CD Drunk in Public, this extraordinary comedian will keep you laughing till your sides ache!

System Requirements:

Running Time 43 Mins.

Format: DVD MOVIE

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On the Riviera
Starring: Danny Kaye , Gene Tierney , Corinne Calvet , Marcel Dalio , and Jean Murat
Director: Walter Lang
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000ND91Z4
Release Date: 2007-05-22

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Just as Love Affair inspired An Affair to Remember and Sleepless in Seattle, Folies Bergère inspired That Night in Rio and On the Riviera. In Walter Lang's Technicolor version, Danny Kaye takes on a dual role previously assumed by Maurice Chevalier and Don Ameche. A master of mistaken identity, Kaye makes it his own. His Jack Martin is an American song and dance man based in Monte Carlo. When playboy aviator Henri Duran (Kaye with French accent) returns from his latest adventure, Martin notices a resemblance. He also notices Duran's neglected wife, Lili (Gene Tierney). After Duran is called away on business, Martin is enlisted to impersonate him for an important function. That gives him the chance to cozy up to Lili--and infuriate dance partner Colette (Corinne Calvet). Duran pays him back with an impersonation of his own. It isn't Twelfth Night, but On the Riviera is an enjoyable diversion. It also represents a family affair, since designer Oleg Cassini outfitted wife Tierney and Sylvia Fine penned tunes for husband Kaye (except for the standard "Ballin' the Jack"). Though considered a minor effort in the canons of Lang and Kaye--the musical was more of an audience favorite than a critical darling--Fox has done right by this long-unavailable title with an interactive press book, featurettes, lobby cards, and a pristine print (heavy on the brilliant blues). Look sharp for future Fosse hoofer (and wife) Gwen Verdon as a dancer and Tierney's famous Laura portrait above Duran's fireplace. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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Madagascar (Full Screen Edition)
Starring: Stephen Apostolina , Sacha Baron Cohen , Cody Cameron , Cedric the Entertainer , and David Cowgill
Director: Tom McGrath (VII)
Manufacturer: Dreamworks Animated
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000AY74OG
Release Date: 2005-11-15

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DVD

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Executive Decision

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TV Kult - Lassie - Folge 5