The Trip

Starring:Trip
Studio: Highland Ent.
Product Type: DVD

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Pile together a blue-ribbon cast, a screenplay high in quirkiness, and the Sundance stamp of approval, and you've got yourself a crossover indie hit. That formula worked for Little Miss Sunshine, a frequently hilarious study of family dysfunction. Meet the Hoovers, an Albuquerque clan riddled with depression, hostility, and the tattered remnants of the American Dream; despite their flakiness, they manage to pile into a VW van for a weekend trek to L.A. in order to get moppet daughter Olive (Abigail Breslin) into the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. Much of the pleasure of this journey comes from watching some skillful comic actors doing their thing: Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette as the parents (he's hoping to become a self-help authority), Alan Arkin as a grandfather all too willing to give uproariously inappropriate advice to a sullen teenage grandson (Paul Dano), and a subdued Steve Carell as a jilted gay professor on the verge of suicide. The film is a crowd-pleaser, and if anything is a little too eager to bend itself in the direction of quirk-loving Sundance audiences; it can feel forced. But the breezy momentum and the ingenious actors help push the material over any bumps in the road.-- Robert Horton

Beyond Little Miss Sunshine

More Dysfunctional Family Comedies
More films from the stars of Little Miss Sunshine
More Independent Films Turned Sleeper Hits

Stills from Little Miss Sunshine

Description

Take a hilarious ride with the Hoovers, one of the most endearingly fractured families in comedy history.

Product Description

In this exclusive 83 minute DVD premiere, featuring brand new, never before seen content, Stewie, the maniacal baby genius, is distracted from his plans for world domination when he sees a man who looks just like him on television. Convinced that this man must be his real father (after all, how could he possibly share genetic material with the dimwitted Peter?), Stewie sets off on a cross-country road trip to find him. But his incredible journey leads him to discoveries far more vile and shocking that anything found in his diaper.

Format: DVD MOVIE

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For Family Guy fans, there are no freakin' sweeter words than "Never Before Seen." A triumphant homecoming for the Griffins, Stewie Griffin is not so much a movie as it is a not-yet-aired three-episode story arc enhanced with a home-video-exclusive "red carpet premiere" prologue and an epilogue (capped, of course, with a fart joke). Family Guy's resurrection is a television miracle, and its creators have rewarded the faithful by picking up right where they left off, offending any and all sensibilities (recasting Jesus as comic magician Art Metrano), dissing the celebrity disenfranchised (Ellen Cleghorne references, anyone?), and generally taking potshots at anyone on their enemies list (Stewie breaks the neck of a reporter for Entertainment Weekly, the magazine that once called Family Guy "the Awful Show They Just Keep Putting on the Air"). The Untold Story! is a star vehicle for Family Guy 's breakout character, in which the mega maniacal and matricidal infant has a Grinch-like change of heart after a near-death experience (and a disturbing encounter with Steve Allen in Hell) and, more life-altering, discovers a football-pated man who could be his father (the truth is more shocking!). As go the gags, so goes Family Guy, and there are enough good ones here to compensate for the many misfires. The Miller-esque (as in Dennis) penchant for channeling arcane pop culture can grow tiresome. But for those who do remember the words to the Who's the Boss theme song, know (or still care) who Steve Bartman is, and are always up for "a sexy party," this will be the greatest story ever untold. --Donald Liebenson

Stills from Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin - The Untold Story (click for larger image)

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Who would have thought that Primeval, a movie about a giant man-eating crocodile, would turn out to be closer in spirit to Hotel Rwanda and Blood Diamond than to the average slasher-movie horror flick? Perhaps it doesn't aim at the social-issue heights of those more prestigious films, and the acting is uneven to say the least, but give this monster movie credit for trying to get in the smart, edgy vein of some of John Sayles's early scripts for Roger Corman. A cable-TV news crew travels to Burundi to capture footage of (and, if possible, just plain capture) the enormous crocodile that's been terrorizing the local landscape. Making things more complicated: the local landscape is also being terrorized by a civil war. The film does a clever job of weaving the two scourges together, and the script by John Brancato and Michael Ferris pays surprisingly explicit attention to the way the West has been slow to acknowledge human-rights disasters in Africa, calling out Rwanda and Darfur by name. Now if only the characters were more than cardboard-thin; only Orlando Jones, doing the standard-issue wisecracking black sidekick, makes any particular impression. (Poor Jurgen Prochnow, glowering about in the Great White Hunter role--you'd think the guy who commanded Das Boot could knock off a giant reptile, no problem.) Pedestrian direction doesn't bring the human element to life, but give it up for a fine crocodile--his name is Gustave--who exists in a nifty, hungry computer-generated frenzy for most of his performance. And the script even provides Gustave some behavioral motivation that recalls the it's-not-their-fault-it's-man's-fault spirit of 1950s monster movies. Not a bad effort at all. --Robert Horton

Description

Inspired by the true story of a legendary 25-foot man-eating crocodile comes the intense, terrifying horror movie PRIMEVAL, starring Dominic Purcell (TV's PRISON BREAK) and Orlando Jones (RUNAWAY JURY, EVOLUTION). An American news crew, determined to capture this voracious monster and stop his demonic rampage, travel deep within the darkest reaches of Africa to hunt their prey. But Gustave, as the natives call him, is also on the hunt — always on the move, always elusive, always hungry for human flesh. Heart-pounding fear is nonstop in this edge-of-your-seat nail-biter about the cunning killer who continues to blaze his blood-soaked trail of terror.

Customer Reviews:

Based On A True Story.......2007-06-19

My Oppinion: Primeval is a great creature movie. I've alays enjoyed these types of films.

About The Movie: Primeval is based on a real life 25 foot man eating crocodile. The movie sets in africa where the thing actually lives. The movie is about a crew of news reporters who are sent catch the croc on film or catch the croc its self. In the middle of trying to get the killer croc one f news memeber played by orlando bloom accidentaly catches an exucution on tape and that they are now on the bad guys most wanted list. did a metion that africa is under civil war. well they got themeselves in a fine mess, Killer croc, merssinaries and civil war soldiers oh my. can they escape or will they get eaten, shot or beheaded. well you'll just have to find out.

My second oppinion. Even though this is based on a true story the most scariest part is that the Crocodile is still alive. This movie rocks i don't care what any body else says.

Very misleading billing.......2007-06-18

Once again Hollywood has mislead us into watching a movie. If you were to watch the trailers you would think this was going to be a slasher thriller of gigantic proportions. What a hoax!
It is hard to say just what this movie wanted to be about. The plot has been gone over, so I won't do that. What I will say is that it starts out gathering a herd of 'unsuspecting' victims and relocating them to where the danger is... all typical.
However, on the way, we learn of the political unrest in the land they travel to. From there on this movie flips back and forth from being the slasher/thriller to being an expose of murder and mayhem generated by the local king.
It flips and flops so poorly that it never dwells in any area long enough which is distracting. The acting is poor save for Orlando Bloom.
The only thing this movie does do is pull the two plots together in at the end... for about 3 minutes.
What could they have been thinking?
I don't know about anyone else out there... but I'm getting really tired of the 'Bait and switch' routine that Hollywood is doing to get people to watch movies.
If you're absolutely bored and up for ANY kind of distraction this movie will suffice... while you do laundry or cooking or something else.
Otherwise... pass it by. Honestly isn't worth the money they spent on it.

Very good CG, and a pretty fun movie too.......2007-06-18

This is one I will definitely be adding to my horror collection. There have been alot of killer-croc movies and most have been pretty poor, but I found this one to be exciting, fun, and surprisingly well shot. Throw in the fact that it is based on a true story and it all adds up to a nice surprise in what has been a dreary year for horror movies. I'm not sure of the box-office totals, but I don't think it fared very well, and obviously by reading alot of the other reviews most of you didn't care for it, and that's a shame. Let me ask you all when was the last time you saw a good creature feature? It's been a long time, so for those who have not seen it, give it a chance, I'm glad I did.

I see a few people are complaining about the acting, and granted, it's not top-notch, but then again.....it's a creature feature remember? Who cares about the acting? The real star is the croc, and it's quite a sight to behold. I usually don't give props to CG unless it's done real well and believable and it succeeds here. Never through the entire movie did it look fake, grainy or mis-matched, and by that I mean the backgrounds stayed the same as did the colors. Some of the croc killing scenes are real intense and gory which just added to the terror of how monstrous and horrible this thing was. The natives have taken to calling him Gustave and apparently Gustave has killed almost 300 people in real life, that alone is pretty unsettling. I must insist everyone watch the special feature "Crokumentary: The making of Gustave" I appreciate the time and labor the crew when into making Gustave look as real as possible and the attention to detail and perfection the director was aiming for.

Dominic Purcell and Orlando Jones are both decent, Orlando is able to crack some funny one-liners and actually show he has a little range as an actor. The female lead (Brooke Langton) is rather bland but easy on the eyes, and Jurgen Procknow is credible as usual until he dies, cuz' let's face it, every movie he does, he dies in..... The scenery is wonderfull and the war between the two African factions is scary and sad and adds a crual conflict to the back-drop of the search for Gustave. The ending also surprised me, it was well done and exciting, didn't feel rushed and nice to see the not-so-happy ending for once. The African swamp is a creepy place and the movie is eager to show all just how creepy it can get.

The movie is not perfect by any means, and instead of listing it's short-comings I'm going to just say again how much fun I had watching it. It was a pleasant surprise and helps me to believe in monster movies again, as I have been a fan of them my whole life. One of my favorite early 80's horror movies was Alligator, and this had the same feeling and vibe as that movie. The special effects are solid, the acting decent, and Gustave was just awesome I tell you, awesome. Gustave apparently still lives and hunts along that same river, maybe we can get a sequel down the road, could be fun, here's hoping...........

Monster movie that doesn't bite..........2007-06-17

The other day I watched part of "Lake Placid II" on the Sci-Fi network and it was really bad. Well, probably much worse than that. Actually it was unwatchable.
The killer croc storyline's been done many times but only once or twice decently. If you know anything about croc movies than you realize I'm referring to the fabulous "Alligator" and the above average "Lake Placid".
Part of the problem with Primevil is that there's too much going on, diverges in too many directions, and often leaves viewers somewhat lost. The film takes itself rather seriously and suffers from a lack of consistent tone, humour, & focus. On the upside the violence when it presents itself is often extremely brutal and unrelentling & the CGI, above average in most scenes, manages to convey the "monster" to good effect. I still wasn't able to discern if this was a monster flick, a war thriller, or a statement film proselytizing on the politics of Africa? It's a little hard to follow frankly but I guess that's not of huge importance since I found myself shamelessly enjoying the film. Remember the movie Anaconda? Well if you're reading this review then of course you do. At any rate I pretty much hated that film but found this to be interesting & kind of weird where Anaconda was just derivative & cheesy. For fans of "Jaws", Primevil ain't a bad popcorn event. For fans of "Tentacles" (yes, with Shelley Winters) this will be an almost memorable way to spend two hours.

A surprisingly bad movie.......2007-06-16

Primeval centers around a group of journalists who go to Africa in search of the notorious man-eater, Gustave. They are joined along the way by a man who loves crocodiles and a man who wishes to capture and kill Gustave.

To tell the truth, I don't care for the storyline. I remember when the first trailer for Primeval was shown and the way hardly any film scenes were given, just shots of piles and piles of skulls and bones. This did make me think that they were being overly mysterious, and now I know why. While watching the movie it becomes obvious why they did that, because seriously, if they had given much away no one would want to see this. There are so many problems with this movie I don't know where to start.

In the beginning, the idea of a new movie maybe able to fit in along the lines Jaws or similar was nice for me. I wanted to enjoy this, but I couldn't. It seemed to me that not much effort was made in any aspect of this movie. The actors, except for Orlando Jones, in my opinion, seemed cold and wooden. The story was a jumbled mess, confused and stuck in the middle of a Civil War, rebels traveling the land just to murder people, and Gustave, the crocodile who always seemed to turn around and save the good guys from the bad guys at just the right moment. I suddenly had a memory, during one of the many Gustave-saves-the-day scenes of one of the very last moments in Jurassic Park, when the T-rex saved everyone from the Raptors. While that scene always held a certain appeal for me, Primeval packed it on way too much, to the point where I groaned every time it happened AGAIN.

Also, the two men who accompany them, the crocodile fanatic and the hunter were so generic and cliche I was hoping they weren't heading in the direction I thought, but they did. Of course, the crocodile fanatic, blind to the killings thinks it's wrong to kill the murdering crocodile, and he was constantly at odds with the man who did want to kill it. I was also very offended by a comment made by Orlando Jones later in the movie. Despite the said comment, his character was the only enjoyable one.

The special effects were so bad this looked almost like a tv-made movie. I can't say how bad the crocodile looked, almost like some old video game and the blood, although I'm not a fan of gore in general, was completely ridiculous and stupid. My thoughts were, if you can't get the crocodile to look real, be mysterious; don't show it. Maybe that might have helped, a faceless monster, or a very well hidden one that never quite showed itself. But, probably not.

Along with all of those things was the usual, expected, continual idiotic actions of every character in every possible situation. I actually yelled at the screen in frustration more than half of this movie. Then, along with the problem of Gustave was the storyline, the idea of a couple of journalists, unexperienced and obviously not professionals, to capture a crocodile!! Why, why, why? And then, they had to incorporate the Civil War and random shootings just to keep the story going. It was horrible. I truly think this is offensive in a way, like the crocodile storyline wasn't enough so they just threw in the rest in a cold way that couldn't possibly work.

Honestly, I didn't expect very much from Primeval, maybe some entertainment, but even those expectations were too high.

Overall: I never enjoyed a second of Primeval. It was boring and very dumb. I recommend skipping it and watching something else.

The Motorcycle Diaries (Widescreen Edition)

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The Motorcycle Diaries (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Gael García Bernal , Rodrigo De la Serna , Mercedes Morán , Jean Pierre Noher , and Lucas Oro
Director: Walter Salles
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005JNCZ
Release Date: 2005-02-15

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The beauty of the South American landscape and of Gael Garcia Bernal (Y Tu Mama Tambien, Bad Education) gives The Motorcycle Diaries a charisma that is decidedly apolitical. But this portrait of the young Che Guevara (later to become a militant revolutionary) is half buddy-movie, half social commentary--and while that may seem an unholy hybrid, under the guidance of Brazillian director Walter Salles (Central Station) the movie is quietly passionate. Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna, a lusty and engaging actor) set off from Buenos Aires, hoping to circumnavigate the continent on a leaky motorcycle. They end up travelling more by foot, hitchhiking, and raft, but their experience of the land and the people affects them profoundly. No movie could affect an audience the same way, but The Motorcycle Diaries gives a soulful glimpse of an awakening social conscience, and that's worth experiencing. --Bret Fetzer

Flash Gordon: Box Set (Space Soldiers/Flash Gordon's Trip To Mars/Flash Gordon Conquers The Universe) (3DVD)

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Flash Gordon: Box Set (Space Soldiers/Flash Gordon's Trip To Mars/Flash Gordon Conquers The Universe) (3DVD)
Starring: Buster Crabbe , Carol Hughes , Charles Middleton , Anne Gwynne , and Frank Shannon
Director: Ford Beebe , and Ray Taylor
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Buck Rogers
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ASIN: B00004Y2QO
Release Date: 2000-10-03

Description

All three Flash Gordon serials in one box! "Space Soldiers" (1936, 245 min., 13 episodes) - Internationally renowned polo player and Yale graduate Flash Gordon and the lovely Dale Arden are enlisted by Dr. Hans Zarkov on his quest to save Earth from being destroyed by the runaway planet Mongo. "Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938, 299 min., 15 episodes) - A mysterious beam of light emanating from Mars is sucking the nitrogen from the Earth's atmosphere, and only Flash Gordon can stop it, battling Queen Azura, the Clay People of Mars, and his mortal enemy Ming the Merciless! "Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe" (1940, 234 min., 12 episodes) - A rocket is dropping purple dust into the Earth's atmosphere, causing instant death! Can Flash Gordon stop the madman from Mongo while retrieving the antidote to the death dust from the frozen planet of Frigia?

Space Soldiers - Flash is enlisted to save Earth from a runaway planet. "Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars" - A light beam from Mars is sucking away Earth's atmosphere! "Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe" - A rocket is dropping deadly purple dust onto the Earth! 3-disc box set.

Robert F. Hill, Ford Beebe, Ray Taylor, Frederick Stephani

Amazon.com

From the director of Dude, Where's My Car? comes another crazed tale of two friends on a perilous quest--in this case, to eat burgers at the fast food restaurant White Castle. The pair--repressed Harold (John Cho, Better Luck Tomorrow) and freewheeling Kumar (Kal Penn, Love Don't Cost a Thing)--get extremely high and set off on the road, only to be sidetracked by skateboarding hooligans, racist cops, an inbred tow truck driver, and Neil Patrick Harris--yes, Doogie Howser, M.D. The humor is all over the map, and it would be nice if there were one female character who wasn't a caricature, but Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle has a loose, gregarious charm, and the movie's canniness about the cliches of the buddy-movie genre give it a sneaky subversive feel--just the fact that neither of the heroes is white puts a different spin on just about every circumstance. Surprisingly clever, cheerfully stupid. --Bret Fetzer

Description

In the year's funniest comedy, two guys on a quest to satisfy their cravings for burgers find themselves on a hilarious all-night adventure as they run into one screwy obstacle after another.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
DVD ROM Features
Deleted Scenes
Featurette
Interviews
Music Video
Other:Spansh Subtitles!

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Tommy Boy (Special Collector's Edition)
Starring: Chris Farley , David Spade , Brian Dennehy , Bo Derek , and Dan Aykroyd
Director: Peter Segal
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0009W5J1O
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Amazon.com

Before his death, comedian Chris Farley made a pair of surprisingly successful comedies that teamed him with Saturday Night Live colleague David Spade. Their relationship in each film was pretty much the same, but then so was Abbott and Costello's or Laurel and Hardy's (not that Farley and Spade are in their league). In Tommy Boy, Farley plays the ne'er-do-well son of a successful auto parts manufacturer (Brian Dennehy). When Dad drops dead just after marrying a young new wife, it's up to Tommy (aided by sarcastic bean-counter Spade) to rescue the company by taking over for his father. Black Sheep features a slightly different plot: This time, Spade is hired by Farley's brother (Tim Matheson), a candidate for governor, to keep Farley (an accident-prone buffoon) out of sight until after the election. Farley has a likable quality that is exploited by continuous slapstick centered on his clumsiness, both physically and socially. --Marshall Fine

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The Brown Bunny
Starring: Elizabeth Blake (II) , Mary Morasky , Chloë Sevigny , Cheryl Tiegs , and Anna Vareschi
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0009VRHLK
Release Date: 2005-08-16

Amazon.com

After its scandalous screening at the 2004 Cannes film festival, Vincent Gallo's The Brown Bunny was cut from 118 to 92 minutes, and that made all the difference. The film that critic and long-time Cannes attendee Roger Ebert originally called "the worst film in the history of the festival" was transformed, by Gallo's judicious editing, into a perfectly acceptable if not universally respected art-house curio, widely criticized yet ripe for cult status, able to stand beside Gallo's Buffalo 66 as the work of a genuine artist with a singular vision. Yes, that vision is self-indulgent, narcissistic, and likely to turn off a majority of viewers with its glacial pace and endless shots of Gallo driving, driving, and driving some more. But in portraying a melancholy motorcycle racer who drives cross-country while mourning a private loss that remains secret until the final scenes, Gallo gives us a character, and a film, that feels spiritually akin to such early '70s classics as Five Easy Pieces and Two-Lane Blacktop. It's a flawed yet ultimately moving example of maverick, unconventional cinema, and while Chloe Sevigny's explicit oral sex scene with Gallo is completely unnecessary, it's just one more element that places The Brown Bunny firmly, and refreshingly, out of the mainstream. --Jeff Shannon

Steve Harvey - Don't Trip... He Ain't Through With Me Yet!

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Steve Harvey - Don't Trip... He Ain't Through With Me Yet!
Starring: Steve Harvey , and Rickey Smiley
Director: Leslie Small
Manufacturer: Code Black
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Madea Goes to Jail (The Tyler Perry Collection)
Preaching to the Choir
Why Did I Get Married? (The Tyler Perry Collection)
Madea's Family Reunion (Full Screen Edition)
Love on Layaway

ASIN: B000EQ5V8Q
Release Date: 2006-05-02

Description

With a clever range of side-splitting new material, Harvey performs one of his funniest and most memorable performances in front of church folks. That's right; Mr. Harvey keeps it clean and family friendly! No easy feat for one of the Original Kings of Comedy, but then Harvey's versatility is precisely why he's in a class by himself. Tackling topics such as faith, family, preachers, and relationships with his trademark candor and sardonic wit, Harvey will have you laughing out loud along with the audience in this rousing stand-up special! This DVD is sure to become an instant classic.

The Simple Life - The Complete Second Season (Road Trip)

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The Simple Life - The Complete Second Season (Road Trip)
Starring: Trae Lindley
Director: Alicia Bean , Troy VanderHeyden , Laura Korkoian , Kasey Barrett , and Katherine Brooks
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
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ASIN: B0002PYS5Q
Release Date: 2004-11-02

Amazon.com

For Depression-era audiences, much of the fun of screwball comedies such as It Happened One Night and My Man Godfrey, was the pleasure of watching rich people act like loons or get their redemptive comeuppance from some Average Joe. The same vicarious kicks are at play in the sophomore season of The Simple Life, in which Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie drive from Florida to California. With no cash or credit cards, they must depend on the kindness of strangers (invariably nonplussed men whom the ladies approach for handouts at toll booths, gas stations, or fast food joints). The series takes great delight in putting the pampered and privileged duo in embarrassing situations, such as getting them jobs as maids at a nudist resort. But through it all, our uneasy riders are game for almost anything and never lose their 'tude. And just when their antics try the viewers' patience or sympathy (at the nudist resort, they shamelessly goldbrick on the job, posing as guests and calling for a maid to clean up the room for which they are responsible), they somehow redeem themselves. On a cattle drive, they pull a City Slickers and save one steer from slaughter. But comeuppance? These girls don't know the meaning of the word (insert your own joke here). They are forced to take it from several of their less-than-impressed hosts, but they also dish it out, as witness one episode in which one unwitting antagonist is served a dog food sausage courtesy of Nicole. How much of this is staged is probably beside the point. The Simple Life is unreality television at its most addictive. Fasten your seatbelts. --Donald Liebenson

DVD:

DVD

DVD: Great Trains of America: Western Railroading

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