Mark of the Hawk

Starring:Sidney Poitier
Studio: Unicorn Video
Product Type: DVD

A River Runs Through It (Deluxe Edition)

Average customer rating:

a classi movie
A WONDERFUL, WHOLESOME FILM FOR THE FAMILY
POSSIBLY THE BEST FILM OF THE 1990s
Stunningly Beautiful Film , Story And Brad Pitt Too!...But "Deluxe" Edition?
Eventually All Things Merge Into One, And A River Runs Through It...

A River Runs Through It (Deluxe Edition)
Starring: Chuck Adamson , Brenda Blethyn , Philip A. Braun , Nicole Burdette , and Rob Cox
Director: Robert Redford
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000BBOUEK
Release Date: 2005-11-29

Description

Academy Award®-winner Robert Redford (Best Director, Ordinary People, 1980) captures the majesty of the Montana wilderness and the strength of the American family in this acclaimed adaptation of Norman Maclean's classic memoir. Craig Sheffer stars as the young Norman, and Brad Pitt stars as his brother Paul, an irresistible daredevil driven to challenge the world. Growing up, both boys rebel against their stern minister father. While Norman channels his rebellion into writing, Paul descends a slippery path to self-destruction. Co-starring Tom Skerritt as the Reverend Maclean and Emily Lloyd as wild-hearted Jessie Burns.

Customer Reviews:

a classi movie.......2007-01-29

This movie was a big hit when it firs came out in the late 90s. A word of warning this movie has frequent cursing in mild drinking and a couple short scenes with brief nudity. This movie should be for those ages ten and up. It tells the storey of two boys growing up in montanta in the early 1900s. Based of the best selling book made a few years prior to this. This movie will have you laughing at times and crying at others. Don't miss this classic storey, of love, family and forgiveness.

A WONDERFUL, WHOLESOME FILM FOR THE FAMILY.......2007-01-20

A wonderful family-oriented movie with such beauty and heart. It's too bad more film makers can't produce quality movies like this one. This is so-ooo worth seeing!

POSSIBLY THE BEST FILM OF THE 1990s.......2006-10-04

This film is hard to describe, but I'll do my best; the interaction between the characters was enjoyable, the beautiful relationships between the people, i.e.: Crag Shaffer (spelling?) and his minister father, as well as Craig Shaeffer's would-be/soon(?)-to-be-wife, and his brother, played by Brad Pitt. This is a warm-hearted film, yet it's melancholly, 'cause like towards the end of the film the narrator says, beautiful things don't last forever. Nothing specific really points to this direction (the sad ending), its just this kinda subliminal feeling the film has, like all the good stuff happening is too good to be true or something. None of the material in this film is boring (unless you want an action film...) nor hokey or sappy or anything. It's a mature blend of everything sweet and beautiful...and melancholly. The very last scene where the narrator reflects on the current state of his life left shivers on my spine. I LOVE this movie!!!

Stunningly Beautiful Film , Story And Brad Pitt Too!...But "Deluxe" Edition?.......2006-08-27

Even with Brad Pitt co-starring in this film, it was the awesome cinematography that kept me mesmerized. Filmed in the lush mountains and rivers of Montana, director Robert Redford and Director of Photography Phillipe Rousselot(who won an Oscar for his work on this film)capture the beauty of this land and the story.

Based on a autobiographical novella by Norman Maclean, we are swept back to the earlier part of the 20th century with the Maclean family. Family, church and Fly fishing came above all else. Norman, played at the younger age by newcomer Joseph Gordon-Levitt(who was honored with the Young Artists award in 1993 for his performance), and his younger brother Paul are close and come from a loving but highly disciplined household, run by their stern father(Tom Skerritt) the Reverend of the small town church. The Rev. is strict when it comes to their education, but a big part of that education is the freedom to fly-fish, enjoyed by all the Maclean men.

We watch as Norman and Paul grow into men(Craig Scheffer/Brad Pitt) and how differently their lives turn out. Norman grows into a fine scholar, but Paul takes a different path. His is one of a rebel, who finds trouble at every turn. But always they have their love for each other, their family, and their love of fly-fishing. Paul turns it into an art that is a sight to behold in that beautiful Montana scenery.

Other fine performances are turned in by Brenda Blethyn as Mrs. Maclean,and Emily Lloyd as Jessie Burns, the girl who steals Norman's heart. A beautiful music score by Mark Isham adds greatly to the view without being obtrusive to the story. A fine screenplay by Richard Freidenberg will draw you in and keep you there. It's a great break from action movies without getting overly dramatic.

It is rated PG, but probably not appropriate for the younger viewers, there are some adult themes as well as brief nudity.

This is the second new "Deluxe" edition film I have come across this week(the other, another Brad Pitt Film, "Legends of the Fall), that does not list the features that makes this edition "Deluxe" and more expensive then the previous edition by Columbia.The earlier edition does justice to this beautifully filmed movie in it's transfer to DVD. Just Gorgeous! Remastered in anamorphic widescreen(if you prefer full screen, that is on side B)with excellent clarity of the colors as well as the picture. The sound remastered in Dolby 2.0 Surround was very good, but I would have loved to hear it in 5.1. It may be viewed in French, Spanish(also stereo),or Portuguese(mono), and has subtitles in these languages as well as English. There are theatrical trailers and Talent files, but no other special features. So Amazon, it would be nice for fans if any "extras" on the Deluxe edition were listed here.

If your in the mood for a great action thriller, this is NOT it! This is a film to just sit back and savor.....Oh and I really did enjoy Brad Pitt's performance(almost as much as the scenery)...enjoy....Laurie

Eventually All Things Merge Into One, And A River Runs Through It..........2006-02-21

A River Runs Through It is a haunting, powerful, nostalgic, drama directed by Robert Redford and based upon the autobiographical novella by Norman McLean. The film follows the McLean family growing up in rural Missoula Montana, raised on a steady diet of fly fishing and strict religious conservatism. The film embodies strong messages about the human condition and man's struggle against himself and his external reality. Showcasing the incredible acting abilities of a young Brad Pitt, breathtaking cinematography, and a lush sweeping score by Mark Isham, A River Runs Through It is simply one of the finest coming of age family dramas ever created. Won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

The film opens with a shot of the river, and then a montage of sepia tone photographs of Missoula Montana in the 1930's. Redford memorably recreates the period, in an ode to early America. Norman McLean is (voice over narration by Robert Redford) recalling the memories of his life since past. We learn that he and his brother Paul (Brad Pitt) were brought up by his strict Presbyterian preacher father (Tom Skerrit), in an extremely conservative environment, their father introducing them to fly fishing, and yet making no clear distinction between the two. Although it will come to serve as a counter point to their religious grounding (Freedom versus Restraint). Fly fishing serves as a metaphor for the way that each son will approach life, literally and symbolically. The River (Water) is a constant motif in the film that also serves as the never-ending physical and emotional challenge that will eventually shape their destinies.

We learn that Paul (Brad Pitt) is the rebellious younger brother, who "toughness came from somewhere deep inside of him", while Norman (Craig Sheffer) is the more conservative brother. In an early scene, Paul further rebels and refuses to eat his food. We watch the boys grow up. Paul comes up with an idea to steal a rowboat and "shoot the chutes", (ride the boat down the huge waterfall) everyone else chickens out when they finally reach the river, except Paul and Craig. Craig reluctantly goes along with his brother's impulsive urges, for fear of looking afraid. Back at home, the boys are confronted by their distraught parents, who found out from another one of the boys parents. Their father tells them that they will go to church and pray for forgiveness. The next morning during lunch, Norman and Paul engage in a brawl that is a result of their two personalities clashing. We hear that was the only time they ever fought. Norman is accepted into Dartmouth College on the east coast, while Paul stays in Montana. This begins to foreshadow Paul's inability to change his situation, while Norman has the means to seek his own path. Four years later, Norman returns home, Paul has taken a job as a Helena reporter, and developing as a fly fisherman. In their first fishing trip together, we learn that Paul has broken free from the structure of his father's "four count rhythm" and developed a more improvisational technique called "shadow casting". We begin to see how fly fishing will symbolize the course of Paul's life.

Norman meets a pretty girl named Jessie Burns (Emily Lloyd) at the local fourth of July dance in an awkward encounter. He makes arrangements to see her again, and they meet Paul and his Indian girlfriend one night. Paul, has brought his Native American partner along, (a statement to the rebellion of his character) and causes some commotion at the bar. We meet Jessie's brother Neal, who is visiting from California, an arrogant, self flattering drunk, who is the heart of the Burn's family. Norman agrees to take Jessie's brother Neal fishing one day, and they return to find Neal and his friend passed out in the sun among a couple of empty beer bottles. In a mirrorlike situation, Jessie and her brother are symbolic of Paul and Norman. Jessie as Norman, and Neal as Paul. (note the similarity in name) Jessie asks Norman "How come the people who need the most help, won't take it." Norman is not able to answer her, and it is through their relationship that we begin to see the McLean's more clearly.

The film slowly unfolds itself, letting the viewer appreciate it's subtle yet powerful storylines. Perhaps it is so effective because it appears matter of factly. It does not come across heavy handedly. Norman is called by the police station to pick his brother up one day, having gotten into a fight over his girlfriend. Paul becomes increasingly in debt at the local gambling house, and has also become an alcoholic. As his life slowly spirals into oblivion, he is unaware of the consequences of his actions. Norman immediately recognizes the destructive path that his brother is heading towards and offers to help. Paul stubbornly refuses to take the money and help that his brother has offered to him. Norman has been accepted to teach at the University of Chicago and urges Paul to come with him. Paul realizes that he will never leave Montana, and so does Norman. In the family's final fly fishing trip together, Paul has seemingly transcended the art of fly fishing, having mastered his method of "shadow casting", and makes an incredible catch. Paul has ironically found freedom from his father's religious upbringing through fly fishing, although he is simultaneously being destroyed by his own rebellion. We are presented with the duality of man and his conflicting inner desires to find equilibrium on many levels. Although Paul has found peace with nature, he is struggling to resolve inner demons that plague him. The inner demons that will eventually destroy him.

Redford's commentary on the healing power of nature and the stubbornness of the human spirit is a a testament to man's universal struggle against himself. Indirectly, we recognize that there is only so much a family or person can do to protect someone. We realize that love is simply not enough, and that eventually a person will take their own path that they were meant to take. The River ultimately symbolizes the destinations that are unstoppable as much as nature itself is unstoppable. Everyone's course is their own. In its ambiguity and power, it is at once haunting and beautiful.

*The rerelease A River Runs Through It contains a brand new Anamorphic widescreen presentation, the image is stunning, although "Deluxe Edition" is misleading. Aside from trailers, text only filmographies, and a collectible scrapbook, there are no additional special features*

Average customer rating:

Love it
So BAD
Hilarium Ensued
Best. Movie. Ever.
HAGGARD RULES!

Haggard (Unrated Version)
Starring: Dave Battaro , David Decurtis , Brandon Dicamillo , Ryan Dunn (II) , and Jason Ellis (III)
Manufacturer: Slam Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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CKY4: The Latest & Greatest
CKY Trilogy
MTV - Viva La Bam - The Complete First Season
Viva la Bam: Complete Seasons 4 & 5
MTV - Viva La Bam - The Complete 2nd and 3rd Seasons

ASIN: B00009YXKE
Release Date: 2003-09-09

Description

Ryan Dunn (played by himself) is one sorry SOB; he's completely hung up on Glauren (Jenn Rivell), his ex-girlfriend, even though she's out playing the field. Rumor spreads that she's hooked up with heavy metal's poster child, aptly named Hellboy (Rake Yohn). Ryan can't stand the thought of the two of them together, so he recruits his friends Valo (Bam Margera) and Falcone (Brandon DiCamillo) to find out the truth. The pair do whatever it takes to get their evidence, even break into her house. In the meantime Ryan flirts with insanity, has run-ins with the law and even gets stabbed in the eye with a fork as his friends try relentlessly to help him forget the girl. Haggard also features special appearances by professional skateboarders Tony Hawk, Jason Ellis and Bucky Lasek.

Customer Reviews:

Love it .......2007-05-16

If you like the craziness of Jackass and Viva la bam! Then you will like this. Its very similar only theres no stunts, its a storyline with a plot! Which makes its a great comedy and a little strange but none the less its extremely funny. Just remember who's acting in it Bam Margera, Dico, Dunn, And Raab and Of course Mr. Don Vito!! as well as many more , you defiantly know with people like that you are going to have a seriously funny zany movie

So BAD.......2007-05-14

I bought this DVD, being a big Bam/Jackass fan...and boy, was I disappointed. There are times when the writers of this film take it too seriously, and times when they don't take it seriously enough. It was kind of all over the place for me. I think the guys should just stick with what they do best and not try to seem so "deep".

Hilarium Ensued.......2007-04-13

This movie was so freakin hilarious I watched twice the day I got it and I have watched it like 3 times afterwards. Excellent movie can't wait for another from Bam and the crew.

Best. Movie. Ever........2007-03-20

If you like the CKY guys -- this is a must own. If like me -- you like Ryan Dunn -- it's a chance to see him on screen almost the whole time looking totally foxy. Excellent performances from Bam, Raab and Dico. We hate Glauren.

HAGGARD RULES!.......2007-03-14

i think everyone can relate to this movie. its great! a little annoying with the dragged out skate parts and stuff that dont have crap to do with the movie, but still ROCKS!!!

Jackass - The Movie (Unrated Special Collector's Edition)

Average customer rating:

Not for the squeamish
So funny
Movie
the title says it all...
Gross by funny.

Jackass - The Movie (Unrated Special Collector's Edition)
Starring: Tony Hawk , Mat Hoffman , Henry Rollins , Spike Jonze , and Johnny Knoxville
Director: Jeff Tremaine
Manufacturer: Paramount / MTV
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000GBEWHK
Release Date: 2006-09-05

Amazon.com

Some critics see the success of Jackass: The Movie as the last nail in the coffin of civilization, and they're probably right. This compilation of pain-inflicting stunts and embarrassing pranks has no artistic merit whatsoever--which doesn't keep it from being freakishly entertaining. Among other things, Johnny Knoxville and his posse get beaten up by a female kick-boxing champion; shoot bottle rockets out of their rectums; run amok in Japan wearing giant panda bear costumes; swim with whale sharks while holding pounds of brine shrimp in their swimsuits; and get done up in realistic old-age makeup so that they can race each other in motorized wheelchairs, among other goofs. It's a weird mixture of machismo and masochism, adolescent recklessness and frat boy homoeroticism, and someday someone will write a doctoral thesis about how Jackass relates to our safety-obsessed society. In the meantime, just enjoy. --Bret Fetzer

Description

All the jackasses you love from the MTV series are back performing stunts no one would let them pull on television.

Customer Reviews:

Not for the squeamish.......2007-05-19

This movie is as wrong as it is funny. Get a handful of your buddies, who happen to be nigh-fearless stuntmen and film yourselves doing incredibly stupid things (you know "guy stuff"), things we (guys) all do when we are with out dumb friends, and especially if we have been drinking. From the giant shopping cart (who hasn't wanted to do THAT at one point or another?) to the taser (ouch!), this is almost two hours of fun and gut-busting laughter as we get to be voyeurs of a frat party gone wild. This movie is worse than its reputation. Don't even bother watching it if you are the "sensible" type. It will just give you a conniption. However, if you are having a wild party and need something playing in the background, turn the sound down, the music up (loud) and pop this in the DVD. A good night's entertainment is guaranteed.

So funny.......2007-05-09

These guys are just plain crazy! Great movie to watch on depressing rainy sundays!

Movie.......2007-03-30

Was surprised by the price compared to other movies, but it was worth it.

the title says it all..........2007-03-13

this is another JackAss movie I purchased for my husband. He thought they both were hilarious. So, I know he would give them a 5 star rating. Fortunately, he is of an age where he wouldn't try to imitate any of the stunts. At least I hope he is of an age where he wouldn't try... But boys will be boys, whether five or 65.

Gross by funny........2007-03-12

There were a couple of parts of this movie that were pretty disgusting. I think the Jackass crew sometimes trys too hard with the gross out factor. But overall this is hilarious. I little too much sausage for the younger kids though! But is your 17 or over I highly recommend it.

Average customer rating:

The Start of a Classic
Great
OK
The first is still the best
all the survivor tv series

Survivor - The Complete First Season
Starring: Jeff Probst , Stacey Stillman , Richard Hatch (II) , Gretchen Cordy , and Rudy Boesch
Director: Mark Burnett (II)
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Survivor - The Australian Outback: The Complete Second Season
Survivor All-Stars - The Complete Season
Survivor Pearl Islands - The Complete Seventh Season
Survivor Palau - The Complete Season
Survivor Vanuatu - The Complete Season

ASIN: B0001ZDKXI
Release Date: 2004-05-11

Amazon.com

Here's where it all began. The first season of Survivor dominated the ratings in the summer of 2000, helped spur the reality-TV craze, and inspired countless water-cooler jokes about getting voted off the island. The first season established the formula that would continue, with sometimes surprising variations, over numerous subsequent seasons: 16 people intended to represent the American mosaic are stranded far from civilization (in this case, the island of Pulau Tiga, off the coast of Borneo), struggle for food and shelter, compete in a series of physical and mental challenges, and at the end of each three-day episode vote out one of their fellow contestants. After 39 days, the one sole survivor who is able to outwit, outplay, and outlast the others wins a million-dollar prize. Because the Survivor craze preceded the craze for complete-season DVD boxed sets, the first season was represented on DVD and video by a 150-minute highlights package called Season One: The Greatest and Most Outrageous Moments. Now, all 13 episodes are available in a five-disc set (the fifth disc is ...Outrageous Moments) that contains every challenge, every political maneuver, every next-episode preview and previous-episode recap, every tribal council including the famous finale, and the reunion show. If you started watching Survivor in the Australian Outback or later, this is the perfect opportunity to see how host Jeff Probst, scheming Richard Hatch, tough truck driver Sue Hawk, ex-Navy SEAL Rudy Boesch, athletic Kelly Wiglesworth, and the others got the ball rolling. If you did watch the first season, here's your chance to relive it, and you also get an enthusiastic group commentary by host Jeff Probst (poking fun at himself) and contestants Hatch (talking the most, which should surprise no one), Boesch, and Gervase Peterson on the first and last episodes, plus some minor featurettes (seven minutes of footage of the contestants leaving L.A. for Borneo, David Letterman's Top 10 featuring the contestants, and 10 minutes of new interviews with Hatch, Boesch, and Peterson). Many reality shows have come and gone in the meantime, but in terms of staying fresh over a long run, Survivor has outwitted, outplayed, and outlasted them all. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

The Start of a Classic.......2007-02-10

As Survivor started this week with Fiji, you should go back to see how it all started. It was shot in many cases with one camera and things were done on the fly so to speak. In the out takes it explains the how the survivors revolted late in the series when the reward was minimal, and how the production team thought on their feet to fool the winner and provide a good reward.
The voice overs which are optional are good, I watch the series both ways, and sometimes the say something that just makes you laugh or stuns you that you did not think of it before.
This is the original, and worth the watch.

Great.......2007-01-19

Very secvure pacakging and good shipping times, were pleased to be able to locate as we could not find in stores.

OK.......2006-05-23

This season was OK only because a person who didn't deserve the money won it. Kelly should of won hands down. Why did the jury vote Rich? OK Sue, Rudy and Greg had a reason. Wait a minute, Greg did the number thing. So that means that Sue and Rudy had the only good reason voting for Rich and against Kelly. Otherwise the season was very good.

The first is still the best.......2006-01-04

There is no topping Season One of Survivor. Love him or hate him, Richard Hatch made the game of Survivor. Without him, who knows how long this series would have lasted. I've seen every single season of Survivor and I still think Borneo was the best. I enjoy the editing more and its so nice to not have Jeff commentating every challenge nonstop ("So-and-so has her first puzzle piece. Oh now, so-and-so is in the lead". Shut up already!) There wasn't any of that in the first season and I love it. The DVD set is nice, the only thing I wished for more of was behind-the-scenes stuff. I wanted to actually see people filming the castaways and see them doing some of the interviews while on the island. Oh well, still worth buying, that is for sure.

all the survivor tv series.......2006-01-01

I am writing in regards to these tv series. They have the first season and the second, well I haven't seen all the rest of the seasons haven't came out. I am upset because they have all the other reality series out there and not all the complete survivor series. It's very frustrating. So I hope to see all the rest of the seasons come soon.

Average customer rating:

Bizarre Obsessions

The Hawk Is Dying
Starring: Shelby Saboy , Katie Dixon , Mark Campbell , Rusty Schwimmer , and P.J. Lalka
Director: Julian Goldberger
Manufacturer: Strand Releasing
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000OCZD56
Release Date: 2007-05-29

Customer Reviews:

Bizarre Obsessions.......2007-05-16

"The Hawk is Dying"

Bizarre Obsessions

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

Strand Releasing has a big hit on tap for us this summer and the release of "The Hawk is Dying" is sure to create an audience. The movie stars two time Academy Award nominee, Paul Giamatti who has quite a role here. He plays George Gattling from Gainesville, Florida who is unhappy and lonely. He details cars and lives with his sister, Precious who is also a malcontent and her mentally ill son, Fred (Michael Pitt). When Fred's dad deserted the family some twenty years earlier, George began to raise Fred. George has virtually no love life except for a casual sexual relationship with a young psychology student who could probably be his daughter.
George and Fred have one passion in common, the sport of kings, falconry. By training falcons and hawks, George feels a sense of the past that he thinks is nonexistent in the modern world. However whenever he attempts to train a bird, the result is death of the animal. George and Fred try to catch a hawk and while doing so ties his own fate to the fate of the bird. Hawks that are kept in cages will sometimes starve themselves to death rather than submit to being caught. In an attempt to find meaning in his life, George refuses to eat or drink until the hawk he has caught does.
As tragedy comes to the family, George's obsession with the hawk increases and he is so bent on taming the wild bird that he borders on insanity and he alienates and bewilders those around him. The hawk and man are at odds--as George locks himself into a battle of the will with the bird, the bird would rather die than give in.
The movie is based upon Harry Crews's semi-autobiographical novel which he published in 1973. We meet bizarre characters who drive themselves, by their obsessions, to the very limits of human experience. The compassion of the film as seen through George's determination to tame the hawk. This gives beauty and humor to the film as if George is one who marches to the beat of a different drummer. This obsession of George's pulls at the viewer and drags him into the film in a way I did not think was possible. Giamatti gives another Oscar caliber performance but he is not alone. The entire film is imbued with great acting by a superior cast. The movie moves you like few can do. Michael Pitt as the mentally challenged Fred gives a performance of sheer beauty and he rises to new heights in a supporting role.

Average customer rating:

Bad, Bad Skater!
stoked
sad and rad.
Sad- Unbelievable!
Furnace of Affliction

Stoked: Rise & Fall of Gator
Starring: Mark 'Gator' Rogowski , Tony Hawk , Jason Jessee , Steve Olson (VIII) , and John Brinton Hogan
Director: Helen Stickler
Manufacturer: Palm Pictures / Umvd
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Fruit of the Vine (Dol)

ASIN: B0002K10NE
Release Date: 2004-10-19

Amazon.com

Stoked is a fascinating history of Southern California's skateboarding scene in the late 1980s, a profitable and exciting time for then-rising superstars such as Tony Hawk, Lance Mountain, and Steve Caballero, but a far darker experience for the much-worshipped Mark "Gator" Rogowski. Helen Stickler's film begins with an entertaining overview of skateboarding's renaissance in the '80s, when Rogowski and other talented skaters in and around Los Angeles developed a massive following of boys, who in turn provided a market for flashy, Rogowski-endorsed designer boards and accouterments. For a time, the charismatic, handsome Gator became a wealthy sports celebrity in search of greater pop-star status. When the skating scene shifted from the half-pipe to the street, however, Rogowski's fortunes, sanity, and freedom tragically erode. Stickler's thorough research, smart pacing, and extensive interviews make this a compelling, cautionary tale; a jailhouse phone interview with the now-mid-30s Gator proves both enlightening and spooky. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Bad, Bad Skater!.......2007-02-18

Oh man, I hated this movie! I'd just watched "Dogtown And Z-Boys" (which I loved!) and was looking forward to seeing some eighties skate action after that great view of the seventies. Anyway, this movie is a total bummer. The skating is boring, the style is bad and it doesn't cover the eighties skateboard era well at all. If you don't already know the story, Gator was a sub-par skater who became a corporate sell-out and a has-been in short order. He was an arrogant jerk. He once punched one of his young fans after the kid asked for an autograph. As his career started to fall apart, he became a born again Christian. He then raped and killed his ex-girlfriend's best friend as a revenge ploy after she dumped him. He's currently serving life in prison. Perhaps some kind of redeeming documentary could have been made out of this sad and depressing story, but this film is not it.

stoked.......2005-08-16

Tragic story of someone who had it all, looks, money, fame, fans; and when he lost it all, he turned to destruction of not only himself, but an innocent.

Will love this movie if you grew up in the 1980's.

sad and rad........2005-05-23

this film is fascinating in content and well produced in style. having grown up in California in the 80s, i was pretty familiar with this skateboarding scene. i was not aware of the tragedy of Gator until much much later (after i had pretty much given up actual skateboarding). to see the story unfold in this thoughtful manner was amazing. highly recommended.

Sad- Unbelievable!.......2005-01-29

I saw this documentary not knowing anything about skateboarding or Mark "Gator" Rogowski, so I was surprised when I was affected so much by this story. I have never seen a "true crime" story where I actually feel sorry for the perpretator as well as the victim.

There were two sides to this documentary. First, there is the glamour, fame, hot guys, fun times, etc. of the rise of the skateboarding superstars of the 80's. This aspect is thoroughly entertaining and one cannot help but be impressed at the athletic talent of these young men, not to mention they are not bad to look at!

Then there is the incredible story of the meteoric rise of Gator Rogowski and all of the success and excess that he was exposed to at such a young age. This would be difficult for any kid, but he was particularly vulnerable because he had no father figure and not a strong parental/authoritative influence in his life. The only "elders" in his life with any influence seemed to be the executives who hired him to promote their products, and they just used him to make money off of him. They and all of his adoring fans gave him a God-like complex for a time, it seems. When you are that revered and that young and that misguided, there is only one way to go and that is down. Once the executives used him up for all they could, they discarded him. Once his fans decided that vert was out, they discarded him. His pitiful fiance, who everyone admitted used him for his fame and money, discarded him once the fame and money was gone. It seems like he was used by everyone and that all he wanted all along was acceptance and to be loved. Isn't that what we all want? His struggle to fulfill this basic human need was magnified in the limelight and he was being ridiculed. No one seemed to get that he was searching and desperate and that he was looking for a new identity outside of skating. He received no support from anyone, it seems. You can see how he slowly started to disconnect from people and reality, just by the interviews and snippets of him in film in the later years, where he started to act a little different. It is sad that he wasn't close enough to anyone or no one cared enough to try to help him during this slow, maddening spiral of manic depression and identity crisis.

On another note, I also feel that Jessica would not have died if it had not been for Brandi. She seemed so pathetic, self-involved, self-centered, unsupportive and unempathetic. He was so needy and vulnerable, I think that was the final crush for him, when she blatantly left him and flaunted her new "hot surfer guy" to him. That is just cruel to do to someone who is hurting. I think that rejection along with everything else was what made him break. These ragefull and painfull issues mixed with his bi-polar and manic depression led him down a path to the darkest places a soul can know. He turned himself in and has expressed nothing but deep remorse ever since. My point is not that it justifies what he did, but that it was not his true self. It was the extremeness of his situation. I think it is sad, because I honestly feel that if he got the help he needed and had people who genuinly cared for him and looked out for his best interest, this would have never happened. He could live a free life and Jessica wouldn't have had to be the victim of his outlet of hurt and rage.

I defanitely recommend this film- it really makes you think and stays with you for a long time.

Furnace of Affliction .......2004-12-09

Helen Stickler's Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator (2002) is an energetic, responsible, and riveting documentary about the tragic life of Mark 'Gator' Rogowski, the Eighties vertical skateboarding champion who violently raped and murdered an ex-lover's close friend after he was abandoned by the sports world and his long-stirring inner demons rose to the fore.

Stickler makes a brief but important mistake when, in the accompanying bonus feature, "Stoked: Uncovered," she questions "how one reconciles someone who has so much greatness in him and so much evil," since nothing in the film or accompanying material supports the hypothesis that Rogowski, who is today serving a life sentence in a California prison after pleading guilty to the crime 1992, was anything but a very talented and increasingly troubled young man who was suffering from an undiagnosed bipolar disorder, alcoholism, and a rapid series of emotionally devastating defeats at the time of the murder. Already brash, self-directed, and handsome at fourteen, Rogowski had literally grown up in the sport's private and public arenas, and known little else but being on object of adulation and fanfare.

While much of the Eighties footage presents Rogowski as a preening, arrogant, and narcissistic teenage rebel manque, he was clearly also highly intelligent, clever, well spoken, industrious, creative, and amazingly charismatic, in Max Weber's use of the term. While none of the factors in Rogowski's life prior to the crime excuse the murder of Jessica Bergsten, there's no evidence that Rogowski was inherently "evil" in any sense of the word, if the word is actually applicable at all. In fact, after his meteoric fall from popularity in the late Eighties, Stoked pragmatically documents how Rogowski became a zealous and sincere "Born Again" Christian who fervently preached the bible to young skateboarders both in person and in print, behavior that his friends and associates responded to only with cynical amusement and disdain.

While it could be argued that Rogowski had evidenced sociopathic tendencies in the years before the crime (an argument that could apply to a small percentage of the skateboarding subculture from the Seventies onward), it could equally be argued that Rogowski, who began skating professionally at fourteen, was a fatherless boy whose athletic popularity was both carefully and carelessly exploited by corporate sponsors, who quickly cast Rogowski aside when trends in skateboarding passed him by, leaving him tragically unable to evolve in his chosen field while only in his early twenties.

Rogowski and the other vertical skating stars were hardly the first people in the history of modern popular culture, from the vaudevillians, the stars of the silent film era, and the Doo Wop singers of the Fifties to momentarily beloved but subsequently typecast television performers, to find themselves confronted with a sudden reversal of popularity and thus of fortune; even a cursory viewing of Stoked reveals that Rogowski's life was already spiraling downward into chaos well before Bergsten's murder.

Though there is no doubt that Rogowski often made foolish personal and business decisions during the peak years of his fame, there were also repeated signs that he was greatly in need of several kinds of professional help, as well as the firm guidance of a dedicated, selfless, and financially disinterested mentor. Nothing underscores this more than an incident which took place in Germany in 1990, when Rogowski, apparently in a drunken stupor, leapt from the top of a "construction crane" and landed on a fence, severely lacerating himself; the next morning, awakening in a hospital bandaged, drugged, and sutured, he had no memory of his desperate action, which was suicidal, whether consciously so or otherwise. If this event precipitated an intervention by employers, friends, or family, Stickler does not include the related material in the film; sadly, the incident in Germany is absent from the timeline of pivotal events in Rogowski's life, suggesting that the episode is as little comprehended today as it was in 1990.

There were other warning signs: famous within the worldwide skateboarding arena as Mark 'Gator' Rogowski, he changed his name to 'Mark Anthony' while at the height of his popularity, and his fervent, potentially desperate, but enduring conversion to fundamentalist Christianity also suggests a crisis of identity--and conscience. Additionally, while touring Australia, he is widely believed to have publicly struck a persistent young fan in a fit of rage, an incident that caused significant damage to his already stricken reputation. Stoked suggests that Rogowski, as a errant taboo breaker, had been a willful source of mischievous entertainment for so many people for so long a period that a certain portion of his associates found his personal disintegration and has-been status a form of continued entertainment-in addition to a well deserved comeuppance.

The fact that Rogowski turned himself in to authorities of his own volition after the murder, which was simultaneously an act of displacement, a crime of passion, and a eruptive manifestation of a psychotic breakdown, also supports the theory of his fundamental decency. Though California law prevented Stickler from filming Rogowski, he appears in Stoked as a disembodied voice, hauntingly, hypnotically, and grimly discussing the events of his past in an eerily monochromatic tone. At no point does he lay the blame for the events of his life on anyone's shoulders but his own.

Like Dogtown And Z-Boys (2002), Stoked is a fascinating examination of a dynamic American subculture that has remained stubbornly misunderstood by the general public, a misunderstanding that the skateboarding community has both decried and perversely acerbated. Stickler treats her specific subject with intelligent objectivity, which insures that Stoked never becomes a for-or-against polemic. Rogowski's is an quintessentially American tragedy, and one that could easily have been lost to wider history without Stickler's exhaustive contribution. Like the boyish Icarus, the vertical skaters of the Eighties attempted to liberate themselves from the forces of gravity and propel their bodies into space; they succeeded, however temporarily, making Black Flag's 'Rise Above' a fitting anthem for their obsessive, poorly appreciated, and frequently heroic efforts.

Ken Burns - American Lives (Thomas Jefferson / Lewis & Clark / Frank Lloyd Wright / Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B Anthony / Mark Twain / Horatio's Drive / Unforgivable Blackness)

Average customer rating:

A Great Collection of PBS Documentaries

Ken Burns - American Lives (Thomas Jefferson / Lewis & Clark / Frank Lloyd Wright / Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B Anthony / Mark Twain / Horatio's Drive / Unforgivable Blackness)
Starring: Sam Waterston , Gwyneth Paltrow , Ossie Davis , Blythe Danner , and Michael Potts
Director: Ken Burns , and Lynn Novick
Manufacturer: PBS Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

Documentary | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

( K ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

All | PBS | Specialty Stores | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Ken Burns Presents: The West
Ken Burns' America Collection (Brooklyn Bridge/The Statue of Liberty/Empire of the Air/The Congress/Thomas Hart Benton/Huey Long/The Shakers)
Benjamin Franklin
The American President (PBS Box Set)
Empires Collection - The Dynasties (Egypt's Golden Empire / The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance / Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire / The Roman Empire in the First Century / The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization)

ASIN: B000ANVQ50
Release Date: 2005-10-25

Description

Ken Burns American Lives (7 Disc Gift Set) - Ken Burns American Lives Collection is a compilation of seven outstanding biographies and stories of some of America's most celebrated pioneers and historical events. Programming in this series began with Thomas Jefferson in 1997 and concludes with Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson in 2005. The 7-disc Gift Set collection includes:
- Thomas Jefferson (1997)
- Lewis and Clark (1997)
- Frank Lloyd Wright (1998)
- Not For Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony (1999)
- Mark Twain (2002)
- Horatio's Drive (2003)
- Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2005)

Customer Reviews:

A Great Collection of PBS Documentaries.......2006-01-15

I bought all of these individually. As he did with The Civil War and Baseball (as well as his earlier works which are now also in a box set, not to mention The West, New York and Jazz). Ken Burns continues to present his "American Stories" with pictures and narration that bring the past alive. 1 tiny nitpick note however. This is an 8 not a 7 disc set (for some reason the Jack Johnson story was released on 2 discs rather than a double sided disc like Mark Twain and Lewis and Clark which are of equal length to it). Other than that, you're getting a good deal on this and it will fit nicely along side the "America" box set (or your copies of those individually) and Ken's award winning "mini series" (plural). Get em all, and all other documentaries will just fade away. Ken Burns is the KING of the modern documentary film. Keep em coming, Ken, we'll keep buying em (on DVD) :-)

Average customer rating:

Because it's SOOOO bad!!
Definate MUST NOT SEE...
Campfire Stories....
trash
Creepy bunch of stories!

Campfire Stories
Starring: Jamie-Lynn DiScala , John Hensley (II) , Joshua Harto , Charlie Day (II) , and David Johansen
Director: Andrzej Krakowski , Jeff Mazzola , and Bob Cea
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Horror | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Science Fiction & Fantasy | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

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

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Campfire Tales
Prom Night
Extreme Dating
Call Me - The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss
The Triangle

ASIN: B0000C2387
Release Date: 2003-08-12

Customer Reviews:

Because it's SOOOO bad!!.......2007-03-23

My roommates and I rented this movie in college, thinking it would be scary. It was so awful that we were in hysterics for pretty much the whole movie. I think we had to pause it so that we could calm down from laughing. If Mystery Science Theater 3000 was still around(sniff...I miss that show), this would be the PERFECT movie for them to watch. Rent (or buy, the cheapest copy is 29 cents!) this movie if you want to be entertained by just how bad a movie can be.

Definate MUST NOT SEE..........2005-09-05

This ranks down there with the worst of the straight-to-video horror movies of recent years. The acting is sub-par, the "campfire stories" are dull and predicatable, and the myriad video camera angles and technqiues border on the nauseating at times (oh, not to mention the worst CGI you'll see this year in the "Indian" story). It's such a waste of time, that there is really nothing at all ever remotely interesting enough to make a comment like "worth seeing for a laugh" or the usual... Just skip it - save your time and money. (yes - it is one of THOSE movies, sorry to say).

Just by way of background, and while other reviewers seems to prefer to reveal much of the story and plot, I think that sort of ruins the film in many cases. So, you'll want to look for other reviews and reviewers if that is what you are looking for...

Campfire Stories...........2004-11-21

This movie was not that bad. The first time I watched it, I was like what the heck??? I looked at it a second time, and I really like it. I won't write another movie description because other people have done so already.
Check the movie out for yourself, and maybe you'll like it, too.

trash.......2004-09-14

this movie is not even worth renting, trust me. the entire crew of this movie put so little effort into all aspects of production that it is completly unwatchable. The plots are simple and childish(essentialy poorly acted and directed "Are you afraid of the dark?" sequences.

Creepy bunch of stories!.......2004-06-19

I was expecting cheese but surprisingly the acting was quite good and a lot of the plots were really nasty and bad minded people getting what they deserved I guess. Little too graphic in my opinion but it's horror so that should be expected.

Average customer rating:

Sydney Poitier Rules!!!

Mark of the Hawk

Manufacturer: Treasure Box Collection
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Brother John
Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light
Mandela and de Klerk
The Wilby Conspiracy
No Way Out (Fox Film Noir)

ASIN: B0002739VS

Product Description

Obam, Sidney Poitiers character struggles with increasingly hostile forces facing each other in a colonial African country. The African people want their lives and their land back from the British colonist. 83 Minutes, in COLOR.

Customer Reviews:

Sydney Poitier Rules!!!.......2005-05-26

Sydney Portier rules in this great colonial African Drama.It's a must see!!!

Average customer rating:

Bad, Bad Skater!
stoked
sad and rad.
Sad- Unbelievable!
Furnace of Affliction

Stoked - The Rise and Fall of Gator
Starring: Mark 'Gator' Rogowski , Tony Hawk , Jason Jessee , Steve Olson (VIII) , and John Brinton Hogan
Director: Helen Stickler
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Biography | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

Documentary | Sports | Genres | DVD | Video

Skateboarding | Sports | Genres | DVD | Video

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

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Rising Son - The Legend of Skateboarder Christian Hosoi
Dogtown and Z-Boys (Deluxe Edition)
Powell-Peralta Animal Chin Special Edition DVD
Thrashin'
Fruit of the Vine (Dol)

ASIN: B000127ZDM
Release Date: 2004-02-17

Amazon.com

Description

DVD bonus footage:
- Five page interactive timeline
- Rare vintage interview outtakes, skate sessions and demo
- Extended scenes with arresting new material
- Private unseen home movies
- Criminal case documentation
- New short films by director Helen Stickler
- "Stoked: Uncovered" FUEL television special
- Theatrical trailer
- Weblinks
- Spanish subtitles
- Surround sound

Customer Reviews:

Bad, Bad Skater!.......2007-02-18

stoked.......2005-08-16

sad and rad........2005-05-23

Sad- Unbelievable!.......2005-01-29

Furnace of Affliction .......2004-12-09

DVD:

DVD

DVD

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