A Show of Force

Starring:Amy Irving, Andy Garcia, Lou Diamond Phillips, Robert Duvall, Kevin Spacey, Erik Estrada, Juan FernÃ¡ndez, Lupe Ontiveros, LeÃ³n Singer, Priscilla Pointer, Hattie Winston, Joseph Campanella, Jorge Luis Ramos, Claribel Medina, Marilyn Sanabria, Michel Corbiere, Tony Chiroldes Carbia, Roger Pretto, Jaime Montilla, Luis Llanos
Director: Bruno Barreto
Studio: Paramount
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Top Gun gets the reality-TV treatment in American Fighter Pilot, a riveting seven-hour TV series that grants an all-access pass to the Air Force's most elite pilot training program. Produced immediately following the terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Center on 9/11/01, this is a serious examination of Air Force culture and the profound responsibility of warriors-in-training. The glory and glamour of being an F-15 "Eagle Driver" is presented as a noble privilege, in addition to the sheer adrenaline rush of piloting the Air Force's most versatile jet-fighter killing machine. Coproduced by Top Gun director Tony Scott and his director brother Ridley, and created with intelligent focus by Jesse Negron, AFP follows every stage of a pilot's rigorous 110-day training course at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, where "Top Gun" hopefuls endure an intense regimen of academics, flight simulation, two-man flights with intensely critical trainers, solo flight tests, basic fighter maneuvers, weapons deployment, dogfight combat scenarios and, ultimately, the selection of a "Top Gun" pilot in each graduating class.

There's plenty of high drama and male bonding to accompany AFP's wall-to-wall soundtrack. Most of the series' appeal comes from its focus on three well-chosen pilots-in-training: A promising Top-Gun candidate with prior experience as a B1 Bomber pilot; a devout Christian and expectant first-time father; and a hot-shot maverick who learns there's more to being a fighter-ace than living the Tom Cruise lifestyle. Their different personalities give the series a perfect blend of style and substance, and the constant threat of failure gives each of them added depth and conviction that anyone can relate to. These are proud, respectable young men who are living their dream, but AFP never forgets the higher purpose to which they've been called. A basic "making-of" featurette shows how the series' amazing in-flight footage was achieved. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Complete Season One Set -- contains 7 hours of programming, plus bonus materials including "the making of" documentary, interviews with Tony Scott, Jesse Negron and Leon Malas, additional footage, effects and animation and much more!

Customer Reviews:

don't bother with this one.......2007-05-28

american fighter pilot , I might have watched it on free to air tv but don't bother buying it's a disapointment , I guess I hoped for more or some , actual inside plane footage , not just a Big Brother show that happened to include pilots ,

american top guns.......2007-05-13

Great documentary if you like fighter jets and what it takes to get there then this series is well worth it

A great program, polluted with some annoying editing.......2007-04-29

I originally found out about this program when viewing a Google Video trailer for a documentary that used to be called "Eagle Drivers". The trailer included various briefing shots, small insights about life in a squadron, and some vary nice aerial and flightline footage. I was thrilled that someone was going to release a documentary that actually went into some detail about the training procedures and life as an aspiring military aviator instead of a dull narrative dubbed to dated, stock footage of military flying.

I did a little bit of searching and discovered that the project had turned into a "reality" TV show which was unfortunately canceled after a few episodes had aired. I wasn't able to find any more footage online than just the trailer, and I was very intrigued to check out the show. I found it here and was a little put-off by some of the reviews, but I decided to take the plunge.

It is a 3 DVD set and spans 7 one-hour episodes an an hour-long interview. The show follows 3 Lieutenants who are beginning training at Tyndall AFB in Panama City, FL to fly and fight in the F-15C. A big part of what drew me to the program is how much I like that plane. 2 of the pilots, Todd Giggy and Marcus Gregory, are straight out of Undergraduate Pilot Training and only have a small amount of flying experience from the airframes there (the T-37 and T-38). The other pilot, Mike Love, has former experience as a B-1 pilot.

They are filmed during various briefings and debriefings, simulator and centrifuge training, at the squadron bar, at home with their families, and there are a lot of shots with comments and personal insights from the pilots themselves. There are also numerous commentary shots from instructors and family members of the pilots, and it is really a great way to get a personal view of what is going on.

There was a lot of great aerial footage in the trailer I watched, and I saw that great aerial footage again. The only problem was that this footage was all I saw in pretty much every flying scene. It becomes increasingly obvious with each episode that they had a small amount of aerial and cockpit footage and they had to reuse it in as many different ways possible, such as reversing the image, using high-contrast filters on some shots, etc.

There are also some staged cockpit shots in which the pilot jerks the stick and throttle around, complete with exaggerated "clanging" sound effects. It was a little cheesy, but it's understandable that the camera crew probably would not be allowed to film a ton of flying footage. However, there are a lot of great shots of the flightline at Tyndall, and it's a pretty awe-inspiring sight to see the groups of planes all taxiing together at Tyndall on a sunny day.

All this talk about the footage gets me to the complaint that I'm sure you've already read about numerous times. The editing. The show is edited in the cheesy, short-attention span MTV style. Camera angles change rapidly every few seconds and random parts of dialog are emphasized with cheesy echo sounds put on the voice and a caption of the words placed on the screen. Although it is disappointing, I can understand why this editing might be necessary on the flying scenes since they apparently didn't have a lot of footage, but it gets pretty annoying after a while. Some of it seems really unnecessary though, like the captions during simulated training missions stating whether each pilot passed or not, as if the viewer really couldn't tell by watching the show.

Although all of the episodes are abundant in this cheesy style of editing, it seems to cool down a bit after the first few episodes. There's a lot less of the "emphasis on a particular phrase" thing. The thing that disappoints me the most is just that I wish they would have spent more time in each episode on each particular part and not jump around so much, but this is understandable because most average television viewers would not be looking for a very in-depth look at what goes on.

A lot of people claim the show was canceled because of its editing style, but I disagree. A majority of the "reality" shows you see on major-networks have editing just like this and they seem to do fine. I think the show was canceled because the average viewer isn't too interested in military aviation to begin with, and because there actually isn't really a ton of drama going on throughout the program (which is what most of these average viewers want). It's a real shame, but at least those of us who do care about what happened can now purchase this DVD set.

Anyway, if you can look past the editing, there is a great program here. Although it is not the most in-depth look at it you could ever get, it does put things into perspective a bit and gives you a very good idea of what the pilots have to go through and it is very entertaining. I'd highly recommend this program to anyone who is at least moderately interested in military aviation.

The story is good but the editing is bahhh........2007-04-27

I brought this together with the following:

Blue Angels: A Year In The Life
Fighter Pilot - Operation Red Flag (IMAX) (2-Disc WMVHD Edition)
The Magic of Flight (IMAX) (2-Disc WMVHD Edition) D

IMHO the editing of the video is like a movie trailer and too much gimmick. There are far too many scenes of dialoges remix and flashy replays. It slow down the rhythm of the story needlessly. To a certain point I got a little frustrated and thought I was watching a Rap /Hip Hop MTV. I did finish watching the whole video and think one can get use to the editing if one makes it through the first episode.

Apart from the bad thing mentioned, I actually enjoy the story of the three student pilots, however it was a bit too dramatic to my taste. e.g. they all face disqualification crisis in the story but all made it pass on their last try. Nice (but only okay video quality) dogfight scenes. Most are played out in external 3rd person views, just don't expect to see any great cockpit action. I get better treat from my F-16 flight sim cockpit.

All in all it may worth your money if you are really into jet fighter stuff, since there ain't much choice out there when it comes to fighter pilot documentary.

A Great Inspiring Video Worth Your Money.......2007-04-01

A great story about patriotism and overcoming obstacles to achieve your dream. A lesson more Americans need to hear today. I used to fly with this squadron in the early 90's as a geek in the back seat of the I.P.'s jet when they were teaching these students and I can tell you that this video only covers a small portion of everything these pilots have to go through. Buy this video and show it to everyone you know.

The Best of Ground Force - Garden Rescues

Average customer rating:

Amazing ...
Only Four Stars Because...
Leaves You Hungering For More

The Best of Ground Force - Garden Rescues
Starring: Alan Titchmarsh , Richard Foy (III) , and Kirsty King (II)
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Television | Genres | DVD | Video

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

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

Changing Rooms - Trust Me, I'm a Designer
Ground Force Weekend Workbook (Ground Force) (Ground Force)
Garden Handbooks: Practical Advice and Projects from the Experts (Ground Force)
Ground Force Practical Garden Projects
Trading Spaces - Great Kitchen Designs and More

ASIN: B00016120K
Release Date: 2004-03-02

Description

Ground Force has come a long way from its humble beginnings in West Wickham, Kent, and gardeners the world over have reaped the fruits of these magnificent garden makeovers. For the past six years, Alan Titchmarsh has led his fearless troops on a grueling, and often hilarious, tour-de-force campaign of incredible garden recreations.

DVD Features:
Extended takes
Featurette:Alan's Designs Tommy's Constructions Charlie's Water Features And other never-before-seen footage
Music Clips:The Music of Ground Force
Other

Customer Reviews:

Amazing ..........2006-11-04

I am from India and can watch this DVD again and again .. it leaves you wanting more. Alan, Charlie and Tommy are amazing. I definitely need some one like them!! I hope more DVDs are released by season or by terrain.

Only Four Stars Because..........2006-03-05

...a "Best Of" DVD is not enough!!! The Ground Force team is amazing -- and especially so during the Titchmarsh years. I would love to sit and watch these episodes over and over again. Alan, Charlie, and Tommy are not only garden makeover geniuses, but they've winkled their way into the hearts of BBC America fans. Please, please, please release Ground Force in season by season compilations!

Leaves You Hungering For More.......2004-03-23

The BBC television series Ground Force is a whole lot more than a gardening show. Like Trading Spaces, the team has 48 hours to complete their transformation, usually turning a weedy back garden into a thing of beauty in the space of 48 hours. In between this miraculous accomplishment, there is much banter, the occasional argument, and even a rare, full-blown snit. The team is marvelous, the projects imaginative, and the results always spectacular. It's a wonderful show, much more interesting than the subject implies. Great views of Britain abound as well. However, this DVD just whets the appetite for more. DVD releases by season would be much appreciated!

Average customer rating:

a government scandal
Good performances
Interesting Fact Based Thriller
Kinda corny...
BASED ON A TRUE STORY

A Show of Force
Starring: Amy Irving , Andy Garcia , Lou Diamond Phillips , Robert Duvall , and Kevin Spacey
Director: Bruno Barreto
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

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Similar Items:

Doomsday Gun
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Night Falls on Manhattan
The Man from Elysian Fields
Ordinary Decent Criminal

ASIN: B00062IDMY
Release Date: 2004-12-07

Description

Inspired by a true story, A SHOW OF FORCE follows a TV reporter's investigation into the brutal and suspicious deaths of two young Puerto Rican nationalists. The government claims the victims were terrorists, while some believe them to be student activists. It's up to this crusading reporter to find the truth despite threats to her own life.

Customer Reviews:

a government scandal.......2007-01-10

I was interested in this movie because i was in Puerto Rico in 1987 when this scandal came out. The movie is great and very interesting and now I have a clear picture as to what happen and the agencies involved.

Good performances.......2007-01-03

This is the dramatization of a real event that took place in Puerto Rico. So this captured my interest as I do not no much about that island and the feelings of its inhabitants. It is quite an atmospheric movie with good acting performances. Kevin Spacey shines in a minor role as a kind of an "FBI-villain", Andy Garcia plays a prosecutor and sports a massive beard. Amy Irving is effective in the lead role. My favorite scene is her character's encounter with tha one Garcia plays, who apparently falls in love with her immediately, staggering dumbfounded through the tropical heat. It is an encounter without consequences, romancewise, maybe that's why it stuck to my mind.

Interesting Fact Based Thriller.......2000-09-18

Based on actual events, "A Show of Force" was based on the scandalous Cerro Maravilla incident that rocked Puerto Rican politics in 1978. On July 25, 1978, two young independence-seekers were ambushed by island police and murdered in cold blood near Cerro Maravilla. Police reports claim that the activists were trying to sabotage a radio transmitter to air pro-independence messages throughout the island, however after a serious investigation by the Puerto Rican government, it was discovered that this was a planned murder sponsored by the governor at the time, Carlos Romero Barcelo, and members in his pro-statehood administration.

The scandal which left a major mark on the dirtiness of Puerto Rican politics, helped paved the way to Barcelo's defeat by pro-Commonwealth governor, Rafael Hernandez Colon, and destroyed the statehood party's reputation forever.

This film, directed by Brazilian director, Bruno Bareto, stars Amy Irving, as Kate, an investigative reporter working for a local newspaper. After uncovering the truth behind the massive cover-up by the governor, Kate is determined to uncover the truth even more so than before. However, danger lurks around, as both FBI and the governor's allies monitor her moves.

Based on actual events, "A Show of Force" is partly-fictional, however it does open the viewer's eyes that injustice, oppression, and corruption can exist even in a democratic free country as the United States. Although some of the film seems to be outdated and/or inaccurate (clothes, economic development, etc..) other parts of the film remain interesting enough to retain the viewer in a suspenseful state.

Amy Irving, who later married Bareto (after her divorce from Stephen Spielberg, she began filming in Puerto Rico) is an excellent actress, and her role is believable. Lou Diamond Phillips is excellent as a villain you will love to hate, and Andy Garcia's role is indeed a "glorified cameo". While the film ends on a different note (the film has Kate capturing the police chief's confession on tape, when in fact it took more than 15 years of senate hearings and investigations by human rights groups to finally reveal the truth about the cover-up) the film will allow many who have little or no knowledge about Puerto Rico's complex colonial situation with the United States to gain a broader understanding.

Filmed in San Juan, Puerto Rico and neighboring suburbs, this film should be watched by all who support human rights throughout the world.

Kinda corny..........2000-07-16

The only thing that actually made this movie watchable was that Kevin Spacey was in it. Any movie he's in is watchable. The plot is cheesy, and there are about 50 million other movies like it, but if you're a Spacey fan, go for it. Lou Diamond and Irving fans could probably watch this too.

BASED ON A TRUE STORY.......1999-05-28

Shots shatter the silence a top a foggy mountain in the tropical island, as the two dead bodies fall to the ground...Government conspiracy, political cover up, spies and corruption are the ingredients of this film based on the true story of the events that happened back in the 70'S, about the murder of two puertorrican students that were in favor of Puerto Rico's independence, in a time where people who favored this political view were being black listed and harrassed, by the government.One of the students was the son of a well known writer. Having been in Puerto Rico when all of this took place,and when the movie was shown in theaters there, I have to say that this movie is only a brief portrayal of the much more complex true story.The film is based on the book Murder under two flags, by Anne Nelson. Interesting to watch , even with it's geographical and cultural inaccuracies. In one scene, we see the students taking a cab to the Cerro Maravilla which is deep in the country side, however the cab is going in the wrong direction towards Old San Juan( Old San juan sits in a peninsula/island conected to the larger island by one bridge, which they had left behind). Also, they show the locals wearing clothes from the 40's, and make the island look like a banana republic which I thought was ridiculous. They show old trucks hauling chickens, people wearing straw hats, and a third world kind of atmosphere that even for that time, is inaccurate. Andy Garcia wears a hat, and dresses like Orvil Reddenbucker, bow tie and all! Needless to say we all laughed outloud in the theater,it was insulting and funny at the same time. The real life Rivera Cruz-the prosecutor- actually wore designer suits, and no hat! I guess Hollywood will never let a latin american country be shown as a modern city with well dressed,clean cut, educated people. We need Latin directors and producers who know the culture, to start pointing out this things to the big studios, because the people who do the research on culture for set and fashion design are way off, believe me,I know, I'm puertorrican, born and raised. The director, Bruno Barreto, is brazilian, and probably meant well by trying to show us a 70's Puerto Rico.Next time they should first contact the Instituto de cultura de Puertorriqueño(Cultural institute of Puerto Rico)and they gladly will provide the historical and cultural background needed for this type of movie. The movie is good although I didn't like the ending, it was too cliché. The movie features great puertorrican actors like, Tony Chiroldes, Michelle Corbiere, and Claribel Medina to name a few. These three are fully bilingual and I wonder why they haven't appear in more films, because I know there is a shortage of well train bilingual spanish/english speaking actors in the industry.All in all is a movie that shouldn't be missed. I bought it.

Average customer rating:

Wings of the Swiss Air Force
Starring: Wings of Swiss Air Force
Manufacturer: Geneon [Pioneer]
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

Science & Technology | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

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

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Description

In 1991, to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Swiss Surveillance Command, the largest airshow in Swiss history was held at Pairen Air Base. Because of Swiss neutrality, staging an airshow had been very difficult as most foreign flying teams were not allowed in. However, within the last decade those restrictions have been relaxed. This program includes aircraft rarely seen in the West, including the Russian Mi-24 "Hind" Attack Helicopter, arguably the best in the world.

Rolling in the Sky: Patrouille de France

Average customer rating:

Repetitive non-spectacular footage of air acrobatics

Rolling in the Sky: Patrouille de France
Starring: Patrouille De France
Manufacturer: Geneon [Pioneer]
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

Science & Technology | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Special Interests | Genres | DVD | Video

( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

The latest in the longstanding history of acrobats is the Patrouille de France, the official flying team of the French Air Force. The current team consists of eight Dasso Brege/Domier Alpha Jet E's which were jointly developed with Germany. Included in this program are planes from the British and Dutch Air Forces, as well as France's newer Mirage jets.

Customer Reviews:

Repetitive non-spectacular footage of air acrobatics.......1999-06-01

The film is very repetitious without any very inspiring shots. There also doesn't seem to be any strong theme to the movie that I can see. No dialog except for a small section towards the end involving the planning and execution of one of the air scenes. It was all in French with no subtitles and no alternate languages available.

My 3-year old son sat through one 55 minute run of this $3 rental and refused to watch it any more. He loves the "Super Speedway" DVD and most movies with airplanes, but not this one. I'm thankful it was only a rental.

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