Change of Heart (The True Stories Collection)

Editorial Review:
Description
A compelling true story of a father who goes to court to fight for his right to keep his adopted daughter. Unable to conceive a child, Kim Lussier (Teri Polo) loses no time investigating adoption. To her husband, Keith (Andrew McCarthy), the adoption process seems like a remote possibility, until he sees a picture of his daughter to be, whom they name Brittany. When Kim is suddenly diagnosed with cancer, it seems that their dream of becoming parents may not come true. But, she receives a positive prognosis and the adoption process continues. With Kim recovering from surgery and weakened by chemotherapy, Keith assumes most of the parental responsibilities when Brittany comes home. Then, Kim's illness recurs and soon Keith is a single parent. With barely any time for Keith to grieve, the agency refuses to finalize his adoption of Brittany and places her in another home. All of Keith's time and energy must now be devoted to preparation for the most important battle of his life. He lost his wife but he will not lose his child.
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Night Passage
Starring: James Stewart , Audie Murphy , Dan Duryea , Dianne Foster , and Elaine Stewart Director: James Neilson Manufacturer: Universal Studios ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00008CMT0 Release Date: 2003-05-06 |
Amazon.com
Thanks to ultracrisp Technirama photography of great mountainside and river gorge locations in Colorado, Night Passage is often terrific to look at; you can almost feel the autumn sun and brisk air. This should have been another classic Western pairing James Stewart with director Anthony Mann. But after choosing the locations, cast, and crew, and directing the precredit sequence, Mann abruptly resigned. He found Borden Chase's screenplay an "incoherent" rehash of relationships and setups from their previous films, nor was he encouraged by Stewart's determination to play the accordion and sing. Stewart's an ex-railroad cop who became a pariah by letting a prisoner--Audie Murphy's "The Utica Kid"--escape. The two cross paths again in a ghost town where Dan Duryea, doing a zany version of his loony outlaw from Winchester '73, has holed up with his gang. Replacement director James Neilson, a newcomer destined for bland Disney servitude, fosters a lot of flatfooted standing-around. --Richard T. JamesonCustomer Reviews:
COLORADO, JAMES STEWART AND AN ACCORDION DON'T MAKE A MOVIE.......2007-06-13
Jimmy Stewart at his personal best........2007-04-20
Pretty silly 50's western.......2007-03-16
The movie lacks the severe sadism that Mann would have injected it..........2006-11-08
Solid Stewart Western Holds Up Nicely.......2006-10-28
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Change of Heart (True Stories Collection TV Movie)
Starring: Andrew McCarthy , Michael Learned , Teri Polo , Linda Sorenson , and Chuck Shamata Director: Alan Metzger Manufacturer: Mpi Home Video ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0007VY53K Release Date: 2005-07-26 |
Description
A compelling true story of a father who goes to court to fight for his right to keep his adopted daughter. Unable to conceive a child, Kim Lussier (Teri Polo) loses no time investigating adoption. To her husband, Keith (Andrew McCarthy), the adoption process seems like a remote possibility, until he sees a picture of his daughter to be, whom they name Brittany. When Kim is suddenly diagnosed with cancer, it seems that their dream of becoming parents may not come true. But, she receives a positive prognosis and the adoption process continues. With Kim recovering from surgery and weakened by chemotherapy, Keith assumes most of the parental responsibilities when Brittany comes home. Then, Kim's illness recurs and soon Keith is a single parent. With barely any time for Keith to grieve, the agency refuses to finalize his adoption of Brittany and places her in another home. All of Keith's time and energy must now be devoted to preparation for the most important battle of his life. He lost his wife but he will not lose his child.Customer Reviews:
Change of Heart.......2006-08-12
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In Old California
Starring: John Wayne , Binnie Barnes , Albert Dekker , Helen Parrish , and Patsy Kelly Director: William C. McGann Manufacturer: Republic Pictures ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: 0782011179 Release Date: 2000-05-16 |
Amazon.com
Picture, if you will, a regulation old-time Western saloon, teeming with colorful frontier types and about to be knocked into kindling by a galoot with a fearsome toothache. At this moment, through the swinging doors appears a pilgrim from the East--Boston, to be precise--outfitted with top hat, frock coat, a courtly manner, and a medical bag filled with the miracles of modern (i.e., 1849) pharmacology. He will cure the ruffian's toothache. He is a druggist. He is also John Wayne.In Old California qualifies as one of Duke's quirkier assignments during his indentured servitude at Republic Pictures, and he makes a game stab at the sort of arch light-comedy heroism more typically left to his Reap the Wild Wind costar Ray Milland. Unfortunately, he has to do so without discernible assistance from director William McGann. Moreover, the script, which is incoherent even by Republic standards, absentmindedly omits any prospect for menace till half the running time has elapsed. Saloon songstress Binnie Barnes may or may not be kept by her employer, the loutish empire builder Albert Dekker, who resents her attraction to Wayne almost as much as he wants to hog California for himself. Fortunately, the gold rush comes along to provide opportunity for civic hysteria, an outbreak of fever, several varieties of unlikely heroism, and a climactic shootout of surpassing silliness. Edgar Kennedy and Patsy Kelly handle the comic relief... but where does it begin? --Richard T. Jameson
Customer Reviews:
The DUKE is great, but the rest are second-rate..........2001-06-16
Although he
does engage in some gunplay, for the most part, DUKE is not the center
of action in this one. Rather, he's more or less a gentle man of
science who tries to bring much needed medicines to Sacremento. In the
process of following his dream, and the attentions of saloon girl
Lacey Miller, he incurs the wrath of local bad guy and town boss Britt
Dawson and his brother.
Eventually, DUKE has to choose between two
girls, clear his name of selling poisoned medicines, have it out with
the Dawsons, and save a gold mining camp from typhoid fever. All in a
day's work for The DUKE!
Unfortunately, this 1942 effort is not
exactly a classic DUKE movie. Rather, it plays more like some of the
non-descript "B" westerns DUKE made between 1930's "The
Big Trail", and 1939's "Stagecoach".
Most of the
cast is forgettable, save DUKE and Patsy Kelly. Kelly played comedic
roles similar to those played by Mary Wickes, and she stands out better
than the bland villains in the film. Her comedic love interest is
okay, though somewhat William Frawley-ish.
As for the DVD, the
transfer is fair at best. The print is pretty well-worn, and even
identifies itself as being a re-release print in the opening
credits!
While DUKE's part is pretty interesting, unless you are a
DUKE or Kelly completist, you could probably pass this one up.
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Blood & Sand
Starring: Christopher Rydell , Sharon Stone , Ana Torrent , Guillermo Montesinos , and Albert Vidal Director: Javier Elorrieta Manufacturer: Lions Gate ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: 6305645477 Release Date: 2001-07-24 |
Customer Reviews:
Incredibly awful remake of great classic.......2004-01-08
TOTAL WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY!!!.......2003-03-25
Disappointing DVD.......2002-01-03
Disappointing DVD.......2002-01-03
Blood and Sand.......2001-12-08
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The Green Promise
Starring: Irving Bacon , Walter Brennan , Marguerite Chapman , Ted Donaldson , and Connie Marshall Director: William D. Russell Manufacturer: Alpha Video ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000E8N9FG Release Date: 2006-03-28 |
Customer Reviews:
The Green Promise.......2007-05-07
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A Matter of Principle
Starring: Alan Arkin , Barbara Dana , Virginia Madsen , Daniel Garza II , and Aaron Freeman Director: Gwen Arner Manufacturer: Monterey Video ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0002Z0EBS Release Date: 2004-11-23 |
Customer Reviews:
A Matter of Principle.......2007-02-09
Great story, terrible DVD (and VHS) transfer.......2006-03-02
A Matter of Principle.......2006-01-29
Should Be 10 Stars.......2001-03-06
At last I have found you!.......2001-01-17
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Choices of the Heart: the Margaret Sanger Story (True Stories Collection)
Starring: Dana Delany , Henry Czerny , Rod Steiger , Julie Khaner , and Tom McCamus Director: Paul Shapiro Manufacturer: Mpi Home Video ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000AQKZ2W Release Date: 2005-11-22 |
Description
Choices of the Heart: The Margaret Sanger Story is the dramatic story of public heroism, personal passion, and the private sacrifice of one woman's historic fight to promote family planning and sex education in the early part of this century. New York City, 1914. Modern progress confronts the oppressive prohibitions of the past. Moral crusaders enforce rigid laws banning "obscene" materials - including literature on safe sex and family planning. The result: desperate women with too little money and too many children risking their lives to end unwanted pregnancies. Working as a nurse in New York's poorest neighborhoods, Margaret Sanger (Dana Delany, China Beach) boldly fights to end this epidemic of ignorance. However, zealots led by the formidable Anthony Comstock (Rod Steiger, On the Waterfront), Chairman of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice, are determined to stop her rebellious campaign. Facing prison - and making headlines - for daring to voice her opinions, Sanger is forced to part with her loving husband (Henry Czerny, The Ice Storm), three children and flee the country. Yet, public support for her becomes so strong that she overcomes the attacks of her puritanical opponents.
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Honor of the Range
Starring: Hank Bell , Al Bridge , Ben Corbett , Franklin Farnum , and Frank S. Hagney Director: Ken Maynard , and Alan James Manufacturer: Alpha Video ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0009OL95W Release Date: 2005-07-26 |
Customer Reviews:
Weird Western.......2006-09-14
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Fleeing By Night
Starring: Rene Liu , Lei Huang , Chao-te Yin , Leon Dai , and Yaoxuan Shu Director: Chi Yin , and Li-Kong Hsu Manufacturer: Strand Releasing ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00008AOT6 Release Date: 2003-02-04 |
Description
In the heart breaking tradition of Farewell to My Concubine, Fleeing By Night is a lush period piece that follows the love triangle of three men against the backdrop of the Chinese opera and wonderfully conveys a universal tale of unrequited love. Written and directed by a producer of both The Wedding Banquet and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, this film was an official selection of the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and the Los Angeles Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. One of the most striking film s to come out of Asia in recent years, this Chinese epic has everything: romance, history, spectacle and sheer go-for-broke melodrama. Yet, as directed by LI-Kong Hsu and Chi Yin from a screenplay by Hui-Ling Wang and Ming-Xia Wang, Fleeing By Night makes its greatest impression though subtlety. Set primarily in the 1930's, it tells of the unrequited passion of a theater owner's daughter and the cellist who would have been her fiancé for a mesmerizing Chinese opera star who is kept by a wealthy, controlling, yet oddly sympathetic lover.Customer Reviews:
You Will Thank Yourself for Seeing This Film!.......2003-10-15
Slow pace, but a grand romantic heart.......2003-05-16
Several key personnel from CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON were reunited for this Chinese/Taiwanese co-production, including co-director Hsu Li-kong (longtime associate of director Tsai Ming-liang) and co-writer Wang Hui-ling. And while it's a pleasant surprise to find a government-sanctioned Chinese film addressing a number of previously taboo subjects (corruption and hypocrisy in high places, gay romance, etc.), the results are decidedly mixed. Set against the backdrop of sweeping changes which transformed Chinese society during the first half of the 20th century, FLEEING BY NIGHT invites predictable comparisons with Chen Kaige's superior FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE, but the resemblance is superficial at best. Directors Hsu and Yin Chi employ the trappings of traditional Chinese melodrama - villainous gangsters, thwarted love, enduring loyalty, lifelong tragedy, etc. - though the film relies for much of its dramatic impact on a measured accumulation of intimate details, an approach which reaps dividends in the long run, despite the film's unsatisfying narrative structure. Huang's doomed relationship with Liu is allowed to dominate proceedings for a little longer than necessary, and the subsequent romance between Huang and Lin is thwarted at every turn, frustrating audience expectations and leading some critics to question the film's sexual politics. In fact, despite a lush orchestral score by Chris Babida, the movie lacks a formal visual grace, thanks to production design (by Sung Chun) which fails to generate an appropriate period ambience, and non-stylized cinematography by Tsai Cheng-hui (SWEET DEGENERATION, MURMUR OF YOUTH).
More a tragedy than a love story, the narrative builds to a genuinely heartbreaking conclusion: Few will be unmoved by a blunt, devastating sequence at the end of the movie in which Huang and Yin are 'reunited' after many years apart, all the more heartbreaking for the understated manner in which it is staged. Huang (LIFE ON A STRING, THE PHANTOM LOVER) makes an attractive and sympathetic protagonist, while Yin smoulders intensely in a difficult role, and Liu (who made an impressive debut five years earlier in the title role of SIAO YU) is quietly effective as the understanding wallflower laid low by her fiancee's deceit. Equally memorable is Tai, playing the nominal 'villain' as a sympathetic character hidebound by traditions and his place within Chinese society. Ultimately, some viewers will reject the film's deliberate pacing, while others will embrace its quiet dignity and grand romantic heart.
Strand Releasing's all-region DVD - which runs 119m 52s, despite a 123 minute running time quoted on the packaging - is letterboxed at 1.66:1. Colors are muted, and picture quality is compromised by an unforgivable lack of anamorphic enhancement. Unfortunately, like so many movies released on DVD by independent distributors these days, the theatrical Dolby Digital soundtrack has been downmixed to 2.0 stereo, and while the movie isn't affected too badly by this unwelcome audio revision, it doesn't represent the original theatrical experience. The Mandarin soundtrack is supported by optional English subtitles, which are excellent. There's no trailer for FLEEING BY NIGHT in the disc's meager supplemental section, but previews of other gay-themed releases from Strand are included as consolation.
Wonderful and Heartwrenching at the same time.......2003-04-21
The film is narrated intermittently by the cellist and his fiance, in the form of letters to each other while they are apart at different points in the movie, and I really thought this added to the somber, but also romantic, mood
The background musical scores are beautiful, sometimes touching, often tragic.
This film was absolutely charming, and at the same time, terribly depressing, in a romantic sort of way. A young male cellist meets a woman whom he is supposed to marry, and shortly after they first meet, they attend a Chinese Opera. The lead of the opera is a handsome young man who is srictly "controlled" by a somewhat older rich man, his lover. Both the cellist and his fiance fall in love with the Opera star, and eventually, the two younger men briefly touch upon their love for each other. The fiance discovers this, then the older rich guy does too... and then everyone knows.
From there, it gets more and more depressing. I won't divulge the details of the second half, but especially depressing is the fate of the ex-opera star as he desperately attempts to reunite with the cellist. In the end, you are taught a lesson about never missing an opportunity for true love....
Buy this movie, and watch it with a close friend or someone you love. And then hold him or her tight and never let go.
An intelligent surprise.......2003-03-30
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Gene Autry - Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride
Starring: Gene Autry , Smiley Burnette , June Storey , Mary Lee , and Warren Hull Director: Frank McDonald Manufacturer: Image Entertainment ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000C20VLY Release Date: 2006-02-28 |
Description
Cowboy Gene Autry inherits the Belmont Packing Company and the management duties that come with it. When a rival company owned by a pretty socialite plots to force Gene to sell, a feud soon ensues between the lady, who uses her womanly wiles to take business from Gene, and the cowboy who tries to recover by using old-time rally methods, including parades and bands.DVD:
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