Elizabeth Taylor

Starring:Elizabeth Taylor
Studio: Delta
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Description
Includes:
The Last Time I Saw Paris
Father's Little Dividend
Divorce His/Divorce Hers

Amazon.com

Culled from 30 years of material, this collection of moments from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson contains some of most inspired bits of lunacy ever recorded. Whether cajoling with Hollywood's biggest stars or normal folk with special talents, Carson was a master of finding the right joke, with timing second to none. Along with bits of his opening monologues, skits, and early standup appearances from the likes of David Letterman and Eddie Murphy, there are many highlights with perhaps the perfect Carson guest--exotic animals that stole the show. This collection was released shortly after Carson's reign ended in 1992. Although most of the tapes from his first decade are lost, there are plenty of highlights from the '70s through the '90s. Also included is Carson's touching and historic "Final Show," which finds the host simply talking to his audience and showing highlights--or just the faces--from his years on the set. Although many followed--and a few have even succeeded--Carson's Midwest charm made him the king of TV in a period when America was defined by television.

The DVD edition adds some superlative extras, including "Danger Johnny" segments from his first decade, short bits on the history of the show and the host, and more behind-the-scenes glances, including an intriguing way to watch the final show via unedited feeds from isolated studio cameras. Also included is the 1982 NBC special "Johnny Goes Home," which follows Carson on a tour of his rural Nebraska homeland, and a slightly edited version of the penultimate show, in which his last two guests, Robin Williams and Bette Midler, are on fire. These extras make the DVD, produced a decade after Carson left, a must-have piece of entertainment and pop history. --Doug Thomas

Description

On his final Tonight Show telecast, Johnny Carson summed up the feelings of a nation of late night viewers. Host of the most highly-acclaimed late night show in television history, for seven presidential administrations, Johnny's monologue was a nightly barometer of the times. While his wide range of characters, comic impersonations and merry band of Tonight Show regulars became fixtures of pop culture, his guest list was a virtual Who's Who of show business legends, sports heroes, authors, heads of state, amazing animals and average citizens with above average talents. For fans of Johnny, The Tonight Show and 30 wonderful years of laughter, this is the definitive retrospective chronicling television's late night legend and legacy. Enjoy.
Volume 1 - The Best of the 60s & 70s; The Best of the 70s & 80s
Volume 2 - The Best of the 80s & 90s; Johnny Goes Home
Volume 3 - 5.21.92 Episode (never before available); The Final Show

Customer Reviews:

YOU MUST SEE 'THE GREAT FLYDINI"...THE BEST OF CARSON!.......2007-06-10

WE BOUGHT THIS SET AS A GIFT WITH INSTRUCTIONS ON FINDING THE SEGMENT OF STEVE MARTIN'S "GREAT FLYDINI" ROUTINE. THE RECIPIENT WATCHED IT OVER AND OVER AND WE MUTUALLY DECIDED MARTIN IS A COMIC GENIUS...AND THAT CARSON KNEW AND APPRECIATED THE BEST TALENT ON EARTH. MAKES A GREAT GIFT OF LAUGHTER.

A More Definitive and Comprehensive Release Needed In Honor of Johnny.......2007-05-18

A lot has changed with " Johnny's Favorite Moments" since their original early 90's release on VHS. I picked up this set and noticed some skits were left off. The late Sam Kinison is a good example, and his Elvis lullaby ode to women who have torn his heart out.

Where is it? Another volume? I have noticed other volumes, but these are unavailable. I just remember there being so much more than what is on this DVD set.

Anyway, a more comprehensive/definitive release should be produced. The red carpet needs to be rolled out in honor of a comic genius and his wide-spread influence on an American mainstream audience that couldn't get enough of him. Wouldn't you agree?

The Ultimate Johnny Carson Collection - His Favorite Moments from The Tonight Show (Vols. 1-3) (1962-1992).......2007-05-10

great dvd esp if you like johnny carson...it was great

Disappointing.......2007-04-11

The great comics that appeared for years on the Tonight Show, such as Don Rickles and Rodney Dangerfield, are largely ignored. All the great band music isn't here. Only one singer is featured, Bette Midler, crooning to Johnny on the final show. Only traces of the opening monologues appear. The best feature is a Steve Martin bit on the second disc: The Great Flydini. Now that's funny! But on the whole, this is a great disappointment, and certainly not worth the money.

Here-e-e-e-r's Johnny! .......2007-03-26

It is a refreshing privilege having just viewed this 3-DVD video anthology of Johnny Carson's very successful TV career without have to be leary whether or not those shows were suitable for all-family-viewing or needed to be screened for children like many of the contemporary TV shows requiring parental lock-out! The video clips extracted from his entire 30+ year TV career are a breath of freshness compared to so much of the tripe that is present-day, à la mode humor! NO ONE ever will or EVER could be capable of replacing Mr. Carson's genre of humor, facial expressions, gestures, and the myriad of interesting guests he chose for his TV presentations. We will always miss you Johnny but thank goodness for this SUPER career presentation!! You will always be remembered as a truely philanthropic, generous patron of the TV arts forever! His original die was cast when he was born, had a fairytale career and can no longer be replicated. His legacy is of special interest to me because he hailed from my hometown area close to his hometown of Norfolk, Nebraska; he was a popular figure while he attended OUR University of Nebraska, and later on so generously contributed some of his good fortune back into so many living tributes for the State of Nebraska to show his appreciation. Thank you Mr. Johnny 'Legendary' Carson!!

Average customer rating:

Torture!
ITS GOOD FOR THE SOUL
Very Original Opening Credits
This is GREAT!
It's actually hard to describe why this movie was so funny...

Napoleon Dynamite
Starring: Jon Heder , Efren Ramirez , Jon Gries , Aaron Ruell , and Diedrich Bader
Director: Jared Hess
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005JNBQ
Release Date: 2004-12-21

Amazon.com

As deadpan comedies go, Napoleon Dynamite stands in a class all its own. Played by John Heder, the title character is (in the words of critic Roger Ebert) "the kind of nerd other nerds avoid," a mouth-breathing dweeb with a mangy nest of orange hair, and ungainly features that suggest a perpetual state of half-conscious depression. He lives in Preston, Idaho (former home of 24-year-old director Jared Hess) with his thrill-seeking grandma and 32-year-old brother, and his days at high school consist mostly of being abused or ignored by indifferent classmates. Napoleon's sad-sack story doesn't offer the scathing, impassioned humor of Welcome to the Dollhouse because Hess (who cowrote the nearly plotless screenplay with his wife, Jerusha) doesn't have an angst-ridden axe to grind. Instead, the comedy (which exists in a tacky universe of worn-out rural suburbia) is so low-key that some will find it difficult to laugh, while others (i.e., those who feel superior to Napoleon) will have plenty of fun at Napoleon's expense. The result is a curiously uneven film, hilarious at times, but hampered by its own sense of affectionate mockery. An audience favorite at the Sundance film festival, Napoleon Dynamite may not be entirely lovable, but it's definitely unique. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Napoleon Dynamite is a new kind of hero, complete with a tight red 'fro, sweet moon boots, and skills that can't be topped. Napoleon spends his days drawing mythical beasts, duking it out with his brother, Kip, and avoiding his scheming Uncle Rico. When t

Customer Reviews:

Torture!.......2007-06-24

This movie was absolute torture! There is no plot. The characters need to be killed and put out of their misery. We only suffered through 45 minutes before we turned it off. Don't waste your money.

ITS GOOD FOR THE SOUL.......2007-06-18

FIRST TIME I SAW IT I WAS IN BAD ANXIETY.I HAVE GAD.IT TOOK MY MIND OFF MY ANXIETY AND STRESS,ITS SO CUTE AND SWEET.URE NOT SURE WHAT YR IT IS.LOL
I ORDERED IT.I WATCH IT WEEKLY.ITS GOOD TO WATCH WHEN URE STRESSED.I SEE IT IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT.ITS JUST ABOUT A HIGHSCHOOL OF NERDS BUT THEY HAVE FEELINGS AND ARE SWEET.
IM SO GLAD I HAVE IT

Very Original Opening Credits.......2007-06-12

I just don't get it. I guess I'm just an oldfardt. The only time I laughed during this film was when Napolean was trying to jump the make-shift ramp with his bike. I do give 1 star for the very original opening credit sequence.

This is GREAT!.......2007-06-09

We love this movie & to get it here at such a great savings too! We received it in perfect condtion & the movie is wonderfully funny. We like the extra bonus features also!

It's actually hard to describe why this movie was so funny..........2007-05-06

When someone gushes about a movie being the funniest thing they've ever seen, it usually kills it for me. Fortunately, I had no expectations at all for this movie, and ended up thinking it was hilarious.

I don't know where to start...Napoleon's brother is SUCH a dweeb you'll want to smack him yourself---yet I'm laughing even now thinking about him. There are all these subtle continuity errors and era-inappropriate artifacts that are so obvious they had to be intentional, and even those still make me laugh.

But the real reason the movie is funny is because most of the characters are so incredibly pathetic they'll remind you, sometimes quite painfully, of real people. Some parts almost make you cringe that way.

If you're looking for something a little different, and if you can sit down to watch this without any particular expectations, you might accidentally get a huge kick out of it. I did. (Make sure you watch the part after the credits; a lot of people miss that.)

Average customer rating:

Excellent Investment
That's Entertainment!
A great bargain
Beatles Anthology
A Must Have for Any Beatles Fan

The Beatles Anthology
Starring: John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison , Ringo Starr , and Neil Aspinall
Director: Kevin Godley , Bob Smeaton , and Geoff Wonfor
Manufacturer: Capitol
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00008GKEG
Release Date: 2003-04-01

Amazon.com

Initially broadcast as a TV miniseries to go with the series of three Anthology double-CD albums, this set of eight documentary tapes has the heft and scope of one of Ken Burns's expansive projects. Still, unless you are either a historian or a truly committed fan, you'll find yourself with way more material--particularly about the Beatles' early lives as lads in Liverpool--than you'll want to watch. The documentary material is copious, including early performance films and tapes, at the point before they found their true voices. The actual Beatlemania years--beginning in 1963 and concluding in 1970--feature extensive performance films, as well as home movies and archival material. The best parts, of course, are the interviews with the Beatles themselves, who produced the entire thing. Along with reworking two previously unreleased John Lennon tracks as "new Beatles songs," the Anthology includes some unseen Lennon interview tapes so that his acerbic voice can be heard as well. This stands as a comprehensive document of that heady period, the second coming of rock & roll, as the Beatles took what Elvis had started and expanded upon it exponentially. The tapes give a solid sense of the historical context and the way these four musicians changed the world around them in the 1960s. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Investment.......2007-06-27

I love, love the Beatles, and this DVD set is awesome. I bought it as a gift for my sister, but I watch it too.

That's Entertainment!.......2007-05-22

People, please. What could be more entertaining than hours upon hours of the Beatles telling their story? I have watched this many times, and never tire of it. If you are a fan, you are missing out if you don't see this. And the bonus material is great too - Paul George and Ringo jamming and reminscing - wow!

A great bargain.......2007-05-16

This Beatles Anthology DVD set is a great bargain because when it originally came out in the mid 90's on VHS tapes it was about $120 more. I still have a catalog from then to prove it. I was very impressed with the sound quality. The best sound quality I've ever heard Beatles music presented in. Makes me wish my old Beatles CDs sounded that good. On alot of my other DVD's I have to crank the volume way up to get any decent audio. The only thing I didn't like is that during some of the songs like "Revolution" & "Hey Jude" there is talking. I'm interested in what they have to say but not during the songs. And it doesn't seem to have a feature where you can just play the music videos. But I guess it's supposed to be a documentary & not a collection of music videos. Also I seem to recall some minor scenes when I saw it on TV in 1995 that weren't on the DVD, like the reunited Beatles in the 90's admiring one of the member's fancy car.

Beatles Anthology.......2007-05-16

This was a great price for a great product. I have really enjoyed watching all the episodes and learning more about the Beatles. The interviews with each of the members help give a personal perspective to the events surrounding the Beatles' amazing popularity. A great buy!

A Must Have for Any Beatles Fan.......2007-04-23

Anthology is the history of the Beatles as told by the Beatles. It is the story of the Beatles from when they were young boys in Liverpool to when they recorded their last album, and everything in between. It is not only told through their words and interviews, but by their music, their movies and live performances, including their first concert at Shea Stadium and their appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, just to name a few. Anthology also comes with a bonus disc of extras which includes the making of Anthology and the recording of the two latest Beatles singles, "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love". Anthology is 10 hours of pure joy for anyone who likes the Beatles. Just sit back, watch, listen and enjoy!

Average customer rating:

One for your collection
This flick is genius! TWO DOLLARS!
Classic 80s
rofl
One of the best 'dumb movies'

Better Off Dead
Starring: Yano Anaya , Curtis Armstrong , Frank Burt Avalon , John Cusack , and Elizabeth Daily
Director: Savage Steve Holland
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005JKFA
Release Date: 2002-07-16

Amazon.com

Lane Myer (John Cusack) is stuck in a personal hell. A compulsive, adolescent Everyman growing up in Suburbia, USA, not only does he fail to make the prestigious high school ski team (again), but his beloved sweetheart, Beth, also leaves him for Roy, the team's popular, arrogant captain. If this isn't bad enough, he's stuck with a mother who frighteningly experiments--rather than cooks--with food, a brother who builds rockets out of models, and a best friend so desperate for drugs that he settles for snorting powdered snow. Faced with these prospects, Lane opts to end it all ... until he comes up with a ridiculous plan to gain acceptance and win Beth back. Director Savage Steve Holland warps this simple, clichéd premise, letting his wacky imagination twist it into a fairly original, slightly dark, and completely hilarious '80s teen comedy. Not as serious a "suicide-attempt" movie as, say, Harold and Maude but just as funny, the film's more a collection of screwball sketches than a narrative. Holland livens the high jinks with surrealistic fantasy touches, including Jell-O that crawls, a hamburger that sings Van Halen, drawings that mock its creator, Japanese race-car drivers who only speak Howard Cosell, and a psychotic paperboy seeking blood over a missing $2. Cusack puts the whole thing on his shoulders and carries the insanity with another one of his touching, obsessively romantic performances, which, along with Say Anything, The Sure Thing, and One Crazy Summer, made him the quintessential (and appealing) personification of lovestruck adolescence and suffering. --Dave McCoy

Customer Reviews:

One for your collection.......2007-06-10

If you are looking for a corky, funny movie this is it. One of my all time favorites.

This flick is genius! TWO DOLLARS!.......2007-05-29

Who else loves this film? Apparently, John Cusack doesn't. Oh well!

The film is about a teenager, Lane Meyer, who is ridiculously obsessed with his girlfriend. After breaking up with her, he tries suicide. Of course, the attempts backfire on him. Meanwhile, she's with a new guy, Roy, captain of the ski team, and he's trying to avoid a paperboy who will try anything to acquire his two dollars, and unbearable events at his house with his off the wall family members. Fortunately, Lane's neighbors have taken in a French exchange student, Monique Junot, who seems to have a crush on Lane. Meanwhile, Lane has to defeat Roy in order to get his girlfriend's respect...

"Better Off Dead..." is DEFINITELY one of the greatest teen comedies ever conceived. It's truly an original, off the wall, hilarious film. Cusack will always be Lane Meyer to me.

Classic 80s.......2007-05-23

I love this movie! I watched several times when I was a kid and loved it. It was a must for my DVD collection. Hilarious, classic one-liners!

rofl.......2007-05-14

This movie is a must for anyone with a sense of humor. Cusak is witty and funny portraying the feelings of the average teen with great skill. The plot, characters, and everything in-between are simply perfect for its time and their value still carries today.

One of the best 'dumb movies'.......2007-05-07

One of the best 'dumb movies' of all time.

Average customer rating:

I have not read the book....AND I AM GLAD!!!
If You Don't Mind a little Affection between Cousins
Most enjoyable
Great for romantic movie lovers, not so good for Austen purists
It is difficult to put Austen's work to film...

Mansfield Park (1999)
Starring: Hannah Taylor-Gordon , Talya Gordon , Lindsay Duncan , Bruce Byron , and James Purefoy
Director: Patricia Rozema
Manufacturer: Miramax
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305907145
Release Date: 2000-07-11

Description

This fun and sexy comedy tells a timelessly entertaining story where wealth, secret passions, and mischievous women put love to the test ... with delightfully surprising results! When a spirited young woman, Fanny Price, is sent away to live on the great country estate of her rich cousins, she's meant to learn the ways of proper society. But while Fanny learns "their" ways, she also enlightens them with a wit and sparkle all her own! Featuring an exciting ensemble cast of young stars -- you'll join critics everywhere in their overwhelming praise of this smart, playful, and funny hit!

Customer Reviews:

I have not read the book....AND I AM GLAD!!!.......2007-06-18

Excellent..superb..well acted..well scripted..dark and brooding......I could go on and on! We review FILMS here at Amazon...not the book from which the film came! As a film, Patricia Rozema's adaptation of Jane Austen's MANSFIELD PARK stands on it's own as a stinging, satirical view of the life and times of one Fanny Price in 1806 England. All that is Austen,the "advantageous alliances" that are made through marriage, scandals that could kill a family's reputation, the pecking order of sons for inheritance, and the heart as the moral compass and guide are all here, and brought to the screen with great effect infused with a little bit of naughtiness and innuendo. This retelling of MANSFIELD PARK is so interesting and wonderfully reconceived that it far outweighs the BBC version for it's fresh and new characterizations of Fanny and the Bertrams and the Crawfords.

What I really like about this MANSFIELD PARK is Rozema's clever weaving of the English Slave Trade into the fiber of the film. No doubt this WAS THE hot topic of the time as in 1807 the trade of the Middle Passage WAS abolished in England.(See the current film AMAZING GRACE)Yes,people who sought their fortunes in it DID turn "to tobacco",which was the trade simply continued in America!!!

As far as performances...they are OUTSTANDING. Harold Pinter as Sir Thomas was played with great complexity and the late Sheila Gish as Fanny's Aunt is one of the best comedic turns yet for an Austen adaptation!

Lesley Barber's soundtrack is lush, romantic and also full of witty motifs to propel the action.

This MANSFIELD PARK is full of fine direction, sets, costumes and modern sensibility that makes the timeless Austen all the more compelling.The film never lags and is quite clever. 5******'s for Rozema's Austen!

If You Don't Mind a little Affection between Cousins.......2007-05-24

I am always challenged in finding any kind of romance in the characters of Mansfield Park. They are cousins. Back in Ms. Austen's day, this was cool. To me, it is SO not.

This telling of the story, however, is really fun. I love the dramatic pauses at the end. I love the nasty Mrs. Norris. I love the artful Crawfords and the artless Edmund. Most of all, I LOVE Fanny, the smart creative Fanny that is presented in this movie. She totally makes the movie.

(*)>

Most enjoyable.......2007-05-15

Most Janeites will disregard this film as not being true to the novel and claim the actors are too "pretty." I however, think this film is strong enough to stand on it's own without having to be completely true to the original. The characters are strong, the acting honest and raw, and Fanny is very funny, in a very Jane Austenesque subtle, ironic way. I am glad to own it.

Great for romantic movie lovers, not so good for Austen purists.......2007-05-12

I wouldn't call myself an Austen purist, but I definitely compare the books with the movies I watch. For purists of Jane Austen's novel, this movie really tears the book apart substituting characters and cutting some out completely. But as a movie, Mansfield Park is one of my favorites. Most of the more recent Jane Austen adaptations really stole my heart in the movie category and this one was no exception. The heart of Jane Austen's story is still there and, as we all know, no one can write about love and romance quite like Jane Austen.

So purists: Beware! Dramatic and Romantic movie lovers: Check this one out!

It is difficult to put Austen's work to film... .......2007-05-11

I always anticipate the difficulty of a relatively short film (2 hours or under) being able to fully bring to life the characters of ANY complex and beloved novel. Aside from maybe the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, very few movies who aspire to bring Jane Austen's novels to life ever do. That being said. This movie is a piece of art in its own right, and also should be seen as such. I enjoyed this film. And while it did take many liberties, I still feel it was a genuinely well done movie. I LOVE Jane Austen's novels, for she was a woman entrenched in her time but also ahead of her time. I don't think she would take her stories to be sacrosanct, as many of her admirers and critics do. I enjoyed this cast and what the director did with the story. I was endeared to this Mansfield Park and the world that was created in it.

Average customer rating:

Yes disappointing print, but.......
Night Music smiles....
a little night music
Keep your VHS.
Collectors, Beware!

A Little Night Music
Starring: Elizabeth Taylor , Diana Rigg , Len Cariou , Lesley-Anne Down , and Hermione Gingold
Director: Harold Prince
Manufacturer: Henstooth Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B00003CWT3
Release Date: 2007-06-05

Amazon.com

There are many enjoyable elements in the 1978 film version of Stephen Sondheim's exquisite chamber musical A Little Night Music, based on Ingmar Bergman's film Smiles of a Summer Night. First, Sondheim's score (all based on meters of 3) is full of riches such as "Now/Later/Soon," "Every Day a Little Death," "It Would Have Been Wonderful," and the famous "Send in the Clowns." There's even one reworking, of "The Glamorous Life," that became something of a collector's item for fans. Second, much of the cast is good, with original Broadway lead Len Cariou reprising his role as Frederik, the lawyer torn between his young wife, Anne (Lesley Anne-Down), and his former beau Desiree (Elizabeth Taylor). Others from the original Broadway company are Laurence Guittard (as pompous soldier Carl-Magnus) and Hermione Gingold (Mme. Armfeldt), and Diana Rigg adds a wonderful spice. Unfortunately Hal Prince couldn't translate his successful stage direction to this clunky film, Taylor's marquee value couldn't help her sing her big number, "Send in the Clowns," and a number of decisions--cutting songs, moving the setting from Sweden to Austria, eliminating the Greek chorus--just didn't work. It's worth seeing for the cast and for Sondheim's music, but all in all, A Little Night Music is one of the most dismal Broadway-to-movie adaptations ever made. --David Horiuchi

On the DVD
The 2007 DVD is in a barely perceptible 1.66 widescreen, not enhanced for anamorphic televisions. Years earlier, the film was scheduled to be released by Image Entertainment but the print was judged too poor to release. Hen's Tooth's DVD has visible print damage throughout; you won't use it to show off your home theater, but it is watchable, and the film's reputation makes an expensive restoration unlikely. If you want A Little Night Music, you're unlikely to get anything better than this any time soon, if ever. (Smalller quibble: only 12 chapter stops makes it hard to find the songs.) --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

Yes disappointing print, but..............2007-07-05

Yes this is not a good print, it is inaccurate advertising-- it is not widescreen as several people point out and is really just a pan and scan TV print with scratches. Yet with such an aobscure movie musical that hardly ever received a theatrical release, its better than nothing and probably as good as we will ever get. It is a little easier to watch than the Video print by a small margin.

Night Music smiles...........2007-06-26

Night Music was a beautiful film with a leading lady who was charming but couldn't sing, but dispite that the movies is still a joy to watch. As for the quality of the DVD, some reviwers said their copies were bad...Mine was not. The Sound was great and the music beautiful and the picture cleat and the color beautiful. As for the clame of wide screen that is not quite true, But over all the DVD and it packaging were lovely and quite enjoyable and far better than my old VHS copy....Buy it you will enjoy it !

a little night music.......2007-06-12

I AM RETURNING MY COPY OF "A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC". FIRST OF ALL IT STATES ON THE DVD THAT IT IS IN THE WIDESCREEN FORMAT, IT IS NOT, IT IS FULL SCREEN. I DO NOT KNOW WHERE THEY GOT THIS PRINT BUT THERE IS A BLACK LINE GOING DOWN THE PICTURE FOR ALMOST ALL OF THE FILM. THE SOUND IS BAD AND THERE ARE TWO PLACES WHERE THE A BIG BLACK LINE SHOWING TH AGE OF THE FILM. I TRIED TO FIND OUT WHERE HEN'S TOOTH VIDEO IS LOCATED AND THERE WAS NO WEBSITE FOR THEM. THIS IS AWFUL THAT A FILM OF THE CALUBLAR HAS BEEN LOST. WHERE IS THE MASTER STORED? I AM SURE THAT SOMEONE HAS IT.
THEY WERE ABLE TO RESTORE "MY FAIR LADY". THIS FILM NEEDS SONE RESTORING BEFORE IT IS LOST FOREVER, OR IT IS TIME TO REDUE IT AGAIN WITH A DIFFERENT CAST.

Keep your VHS........2007-06-12

This DVD is not good, not that the quality of the original film was all that good, either. Yes, the film has mono sound- it always did. Yes, the picture quality is not good- it never was. This DVD looks like it was put together from a best-available positive print. Both the DVD and the packaging look like fairly well done home-grown bootleg product. Don't ANY original negatives still exist? The worst part of the DVD is that, unlike the VHS, it has been remastered at a slightly accelerated speed, resulting in ALL the music coming out a half tone higher in pitch- MOST disconcerting.

Collectors, Beware!.......2007-06-08

This DVD is a major disappointment. Like so many other Sondheim fans, I'd been looking forward to this release because the 1978 film is--for better or worse--a rare record of one of my favorite Broadway shows. But, the film itself aside, this DVD is a problem. It is not professionally done. It's supposed to be a new, widescreen print in Dolby stereo, but it isn't. It's a terrible, scratchy old print, and the "widescreen" is apparently stretched out from a fullscreen TV print. The framing is so bad that the opening titles are all cut off, like on an old TV print. And the soundtrack is mono--not even very clear mono. There are more glitches and scratches and sudden jumps (indicating reel changes on old movie theater equipment) than you can count.

I swear, this looks and sounds like it was taken from a TV broadcast with second-rate equipment. Try pausing the picture, and you'll see the horizontal lines that indicate a broadcast on an obsolete TV. And there's a vertical slash down the entire center of the picture for much of the running time, projector damage from long ago. They didn't use the laser disc or VHF recordings, both of which are in much better shape, to make this DVD. Is this legal? Who is "Hen's Tooth Video," anyway?

I don't know what we can do about this, but you really want to think twice before ordering this title. I'm furious, and you will be, too. What a rip-off!

Average customer rating:

Lame Remake
Flicka
flicka
Save your money!
boycott my dead flicka

Flicka
Starring: Tim McGraw , Maria Bello , Alison Lohman , Ryan Kwanten , and Daniel Pino
Director: Michael Mayer (VI)
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000LV63MW
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Amazon.com

Can a wild horse with a bad attitude and a not-quite-wild but pretty darn sullen teenage girl with a bad attitude be the best things that ever happened to each other? Though we guess the answer pretty early on in Flicka, it doesn't diminish the feel-good family film one bit. The film is a remake of the 1947 My Friend Flicka itself based on the bestselling (and still riveting) novel by Mary O'Hara, and starring a young Roddy McDowall as the aimless teen hero. This 2006 update changes the hero to a heroine, Katy (Alison Lohman), though the dynamic is similar, and in some ways makes the appeal of the film broader. After all, young girls love their horses, and Katy's moxie and determination, as she opens her heart to the wild filly, a touchingly and humanly conveyed. As Katy struggles with her relationship with her gruff dad (given an excellent performance by country star Tim McGraw), she finds she can gain confidence and be the person her father wants her to be--solely by being herself as she connects with Flicka the horse. The cinematography is stunning, and showcases a part of America that once was seen and celebrated often in films, and lately so rare as to be precious. --A.T. Hurley

Beyond Flicka

Flicka Family Classics Collection
My Friend Flicka (Paperback)
Flicka Soundtrack

Stills from Flicka

Description

Sixteen year old Katie McLaughlin (Alison Lohman) is a headstrong and determined teenager trying to find her way in life. Katie forms a bond with a wild horse she names Flicka. Despite pleas from her father (Tim McGraw) not to ride Flicka, Katy sets out t

Customer Reviews:

Lame Remake.......2007-06-13

Whoever green-lit this remake needs to be horsewhipped. Now I don't expect every viewer to be coming from my perspective--I read the 1941 novel My Friend Flicka, watched the 1943 movie many times throughout my childhood and, like the protagonist of the story, broke my own horse to ride. However, I do expect that anyone with an iota of horse sense will immediately agree that this is one lame remake.

The basics are in place: a horse-raising family living in Wyoming struggles to hold onto their ranch while their dreamy youngest child latches onto a wild mustang and becomes convinced that their fates are intertwined. There, the similarities end.

In the update, 12-year-old Ken has morphed into 16-year-old Katy (Alison Lohman), and Flicka, once a delicate sorrel filly we met as a foal and watched grow into a racehorse, is portrayed by a fully-grown, massive black male horse (though he is still referred to as a "she"). Apparently, once Ken lost his manhood, he also lost his ability to ride: Katy falls off of Flicka so many times, head injuries are the only explanation for her incredibly stupid behavior throughout the movie.

If you are hoping, at least, for any semblance of authenticity when it comes to the horsey scenes, forget it. For months, Flicka lives in a roundpen with no feeder, no water bucket and no shelter. Katy has no idea how to properly break and train a horse, but of course Flicka--after a stint in the rodeo, no less--plods along like she's a Pony Rides veteran.

Add to all of the above: over-wrought performances (even the horse overacts!), ding-bat dialogue, and a never-ending barrage of New-Agey songs set to dramatic montages, and you've got the "Flicka" remake. No wonder two horses died during the production of this film--they probably committed suicide.

The only saving grace for this DVD is a delightful photo slide-show of real girls and their horses, which plays out through the end-credits. It's much more stirring and heartwarming than the film itself.

Staci Layne Wilson

Flicka.......2007-06-13

This heartwarming, breathtaking, exciting, PG rated, DVD movie is one of the best I've seen. Featuring Alison Lohman, Maria Bello and country music star Tim McGraw. If you country lovers are excited already, then get ready for an even bigger excitement!
16-year-old Katy McLaughlin (Lohman) finds a black mustang in the mountains where her family's ranch is set. Katy falls in love with the horse and wants it to be hers. Katy sets out to find and rope the mustang. She then sets out on the struggle to tame the horse. But it's not going to be easy this mustang is pure wild! Taking days to tame, Katy's not going to give up. Katy soon reach's the heart of the horse. Flicka meaning beautiful young girl, is what Katy names her precious horse. Together, Flicka and Katy saddle out for adventures to come. Her and Flicka know that they must become a hard working team in order to stand up to their challenges and face them. But one challenge throws them off. The two meet up with a mountain lion when traveling through the woods to home. Both scared and not knowing what to do. What will happen to Flicka and Katy? Your going to have to see the movie to find out.
I thought this was a great movie! The best! When I heard about it I knew I had to see it. And when I did I loved it! The end was so sad. Movie's never make me cry no matter how sad, but this one did make me cry. This movie took me on an adventure, and I hope it takes you on one too.
I recommend this movie for country lovers, ranchers, and horse lovers because this movie has this all packed in it. I recommend you see Flicka.

flicka.......2007-06-12

Flicka
Tim McGraw Maria bellow Alison lohman Ryan Kewanee
Pg
Michael Mayer

This movie wills Mack you laugh cry may even get a little scared! A girl named Katy goes to boarding school and she was tacking her final exam. She did not write her essay down on paper she wrote it in her head. Her family lives on a ranch that they own filled with horses. When she got home from boarding school she went for a ride on the horse. When she got out there ache saw a mountain lion. The mountain lion stared to chase them all of the sudden a wild mustang came running and saved them Katy and the house. Katy went back to the woods one-day and the caught the wild mustang and brought it home. Her parents found out that she did not do her final exam paper her teacher told her that she could do it over the summer or she could repeat the year her dad made her do the paper over summer. They put the wild mustang in an outdoor stable. Her father told everybody not to go in the stable but Katy did not listen to her father! One night she went out to the stable opened the gate and got on the flicka that is what she named the wild mustang. Katy fell off flicka and flicka stepped on her and cut her back Katy kepped it a secret .one night she tried again and she fell off and her whole family came running outside. The dad had the wild mustang took to the rodeo show. One day they all went to see the rodeo show and katty entered in a wild mustang countess and she chose filcka no body the whole time she was their could ride her but as soon as she got on to flicka she rode her right out of the rodeo show. Katy and flicka got lost in the wood s and it stared to rain. Katy whole family went looking for her and they could not find her any where when Kate and flicka were in the woods bye there house t the mountain loin came out and took out flica and Katy came with her Katy got a concision and got very sick the both end up living and o by dies but the mountain loin dies it was so sad
I loved the movie flicka because it was s ad at times and it was happy at time and I even got scared to! Loved this movie because y our can never tack your eyes away and you cant pause it or stop it was amazing I ha do watch over and over again! At first I thought this movie it boring I would not ever watch then my sister bought to and made me watch it and I loved it so much
I loved this book I would recommend this book to any one loves houses or even hates them every body in the world should see this movie was ammonizing

Save your money!.......2007-06-06

I was so disappointed in this movie, being a great fan of Mary O'Hara's original book. Tim MCGraw was better than I expected---everything else was worse!

boycott my dead flicka.......2007-06-05

I made the mistake of renting this and watched a few minutes -- only to discover with a little online cruising that I should have done ahead of time that two horses were killed in the making of the movie. I didn't watch any further. Who can consider being entertained by any movie knowing animals were tortured and killed during the making of it? It's nauseating and disgusting.

Average customer rating:

The Birds
The Birds are the manifestation of the mother's rage against rivals for her son's affection
Hitchcock's best
Hitchcock's best!
A Cult Classic

The Birds (Collector's Edition)
Starring: Malcolm Atterbury , Veronica Cartwright , Lonny Chapman , Richard Deacon , and Ethel Griffies
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 0783240236
Release Date: 2000-03-28

Amazon.com essential video

Vacationing in northern California, Alfred Hitchcock was struck by a story in a Santa Cruz newspaper: "Seabird Invasion Hits Coastal Homes." From this peculiar incident, and his memory of a short story by Daphne du Maurier, the master of suspense created one of his strangest and most terrifying films. The Birds follows a chic blonde, Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), as she travels to the coastal town of Bodega Bay to hook up with a rugged fellow (Rod Taylor) she's only just met. Before long the town is attacked by marauding birds, and Hitchcock's skill at staging action is brought to the fore. Beyond the superb effects, however, The Birds is also one of Hitchcock's most psychologically complicated scenarios, a tense study of violence, loneliness, and complacency. What really gets under your skin are not the bird skirmishes but the anxiety and the eerie quiet between attacks. The director elevated an unknown model, Tippi Hedren (mother of Melanie Griffith), to being his latest cool, blond leading lady, an experience that was not always easy on the much-pecked Ms. Hedren. Still, she returned for the next Hitchcock picture, the underrated Marnie. Treated with scant attention by serious critics in 1963, The Birds has grown into a classic and--despite the sci-fi trappings--one of Hitchcock's most serious films. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

The Birds.......2007-06-28

Undoubtedly one of Hitchcock's scariest films, the special effects are surprisingly effective for the time; you may never look at our winged friends quite the same again. Rod Taylor is stolid in a role Cary Grant might have done ten years prior, and Tippi Hedren is suitably intriguing as the icy blonde who's a magnet for men--and birds. The scene where Melanie sees the birds gradually build up on the playground jungle gym remains one of Hitch's most inspired and creepy set-pieces.

The Birds are the manifestation of the mother's rage against rivals for her son's affection.......2007-06-12

Hitchcock's last truly great film, The Birds, is an anomaly in his oeuvre by being based on a supernatural force, rather than the motives and machinations of his characters. And as a supernatural film, it opens itself to interpretation of what the real-world phenomenon is that the birds serve as metaphor for. The question everyone has about this film is: WHY are the birds attacking? Hitchcock, in his book of interviews with François Truffaut, says that he doesn't believe there IS a reason for the bird attacks. But even if Hitchcock or screenwriter Evan Hunter did not intend to provide a solid reason for the attacks, their work does present a subtext and pattern of dialogue and events that can be interpreted. I believe that a persuasive case can be made that the birds are the manifestation of the mother's rage at rivals for her son's affection.

THE FILM:

The main character of the film is Melanie Daniels, played by Tippi Hedren. Melanie is the daughter of a San Francisco newspaper executive and, though it is difficult to see today, is supposed to be a wild international party girl. She is introduced walking across the street to a pet shop. A man's appreciative whistle is heard offscreen, and when Melanie turns hear head to smile, she sees masses of birds swirling in the distance.

Melanie enters the bird shop, where she has ordered a pair of Mynah birds. She intends to teach them naughty language in order to mortify her "prim and strait-laced" Aunt Tess. While the shopkeeper is in the back, Mitch Brenner [Rod Taylor] walks in and pretends to mistake Melanie for a shop assistant. He says he is looking for lovebirds that are "not too demonstrative, nor too aloof. Just friendly." Melanie does her best to fake her way through a discussion on the mating and molting habits of birds, releasing a yellow canary [similar to the color of Melanie's golden hair] into the shop in the process. As Mitch catches it, he says "Back into your gilded cage, Melanie Daniels," revealing that he knows who Melanie is and of her scandalous past. Taken aback, Melanie decides to play a trick on Mitch in return. She purchases the lovebirds he was looking for and takes them up to his house in Bodega Bay, about an hour North of San Francisco.

When Melanie arrives, she receives a great deal of helpful exposition about the layout of the town. A plot contrivance gets her to the home of Annie Hayworth [Suzanne Pleshette], who has been out working in her garden. "This tilling of the soil can become compulsive," she says. We will find out later that Annie is a former flame of Mitch's, but their relationship was destroyed by pressures from Mitch's mother Lydia. Tilling of the soil is what Adam was charged to do upon being cast out of Eden, by the way. Annie probes Melanie to find out what she's doing in Bodega Bay, and is rather arch upon realizing that Melanie is the latest pretty young thing to try to win his affection. She notices the birds in the car. Upon being told that they're lovebirds, she says "I see. Good luck, Miss Daniels." Melanie's confident "Thank you," and toss of the head is priceless.

Melanie takes a small boat across the bay and deposits the birds in the Brenner's house. Mitch sees the birds, sees her, and drives to the other side of the bay to meet her. As Melanie confidently approaches Mitch in the boat, a seagull dives toward her, cutting her forehead.

Mitch takes Melanie into the local diner, where, after some light flirtation, they meet Mitch's mother, Lydia. She is made up as an older version of Melanie, with a similar outfit and hairstyle, emphasizing that she could be somewhat interchangeable with the women who want Mitch. Lydia seems very disconcerted by Melanie's presence, especially upon learning that she has been invited for dinner. Upon learning that Melanie has brought not just any birds, but lovebirds, Lydia's response, "Oh, I see," echoing Annie's reaction, further reinforces the similarities between his suitors.

Melanie goes to dinner at the Brenner's that night and meets Mitch's sister, Cathy [Veronica Cartwright], who takes an immediate liking to Melanie. Lydia confides her misgivings about Melanie's partying past to Mitch, who calls her "dear" and "darling," while brushing her off. It is clear from the look on Lydia's face that her worries have not been eased. Before Melanie leaves, Cathy invites her to her eleventh birthday party the next day.

Melanie returns to Annie's house [where she's staying the night]. They have a conversation in which Anne reveals that she had an affair with Mitch four years before, just after his father died. In response to Melanie's protestation that there's nothing between her and Mitch, Annie responds: "Maybe there's nothing between Mitch and any girl." They were seeing each other, until he brought her to meet Lydia, whose "attitude nearly drove me crazy... I spent days trying to find out exactly what I'd done to displease her." And what had she done? "Nothing. I simply existed. ...Now that I'm no longer a threat we're very good friends." Annie speculates that what Lydia feels isn't simply possessiveness or jealously, but fear of being abandoned. Melanie articulates what I think happens by the end of the movie, which is that Lydia "would be gaining a daughter." Annie goes on to tell that even after her relationship with Mitch ended, she moved to Bodega Bay just to be near him. Mitch calls and invites Melanie to the birthday party the next day, while Annie, in a wonderfully framed shot, listens with detached interest. Hanging up the phone, Melanie asks Annie if she should go. Told it's up to her, she responds "It's really up to Lydia, isn't it?" Annie tells her to "never mind Lydia," and Melanie agrees to disregard what Lydia might think about it, and attend the party. At that moment a gull smashes into the front door.

The next day, at the party, Melanie and Mitch walk alone away from the group. Melanie tells Mitch of her plan to teach dirty words to the Mynah bird she is giving Aunt Tess, and Mitch responds "You need a mother's care, my child." This brings an unpleasant memory to Melanie, who tells of being abandoned by her mother at eleven [the same age Cathy is turning on that day], and she hasn't seen her since. Feeling foolish, she says "I ought to go join the other children." Near the house, Annie watches them on their way down from their obviously romantic walk. A few seconds later, Lydia comes out of the house and pauses, also watching the couple returning from their walk. Immediately after, seagulls attack the party.

Later that evening, Melanie is planning on returning to Annie's. Mitch suggests that she stay the night. Lydia freezes upon hearing this invitation, and then sparrows stream into the room through the chimney.

The local sheriff visits after the attack, but is ineffectual. While this is happening, Melanie watches Lydia neurotically gather pieces of broken teacups and try to piece them together. Melanie offers to put Cathy to bed, and suggests that she stay the night, "if it's all right with Mitch." Lydia again reacts.

The next morning Lydia drives over a nearby farm, the Fawcett's. Not hearing a response to her call, she goes inside and notes some broken teacups--and we all know what that means. The wordless sequence in which she explores the house, finds the body, and reacts showcases Hitchcock's wonderful ability to tell a story entirely visually. On her way back to her house, there is a shot in which it appears that she will run down Mitch and Melanie with her truck.

Later, Melanie brings Lydia tea in her bed. Lydia alternates so suddenly between describing her fear of being abandoned and her worry for Cathy that it becomes apparent that her concern for Cathy is a mask for her fear of abandonment. She says she feels that she lost all of her strength when her husband died, and that she can't relax or sleep since he's been dead. She says she lacks her dead husband's talent for understanding her children, for entering into their world and "becoming part of them." She says that on certain days she wakes up "and there's a very good reason for getting out of bed" --until she remembers that her husband is dead.

When Melanie is about to go, Lydia bids her to stay. "I feel as if I don't understand you at all and I want so much to understand. Because my son seems to be very fond of you... and I don't know quite how I feel about it. I don't even know if I like you or not." Melanie asks "Do you HAVE to like Mitch's girlfriends? Lydia says she wants to like whatever girl Mitch chooses, but Mitch does exactly what he wants. She then becomes emotional and articulates her fear of being left alone. This immediately reverts back into worry for Cathy. Melanie volunteers to go to the school to check on her. As she's leaving, Lydia warmly thanks her for the tea.

Melanie arrives at the school, and waits outside in the justly famous sequence of the massing crows. The birds attack the children as they run away from the school. This is followed by the also-famous sequence in the diner, in which various perspectives on the bird's behavior are aired, including one that says birds are dirty, messy animals and should be killed. A mother at the diner protests that the talk of