Swimming

Starring:Lauren Ambrose, Joelle Carter, Jennifer Dundas, Russ Ferrari, Jamie Harrold, Joshua Harto, Todd A. Kovner, Dennis La White, Greg Miller (II), Gage Nettleson, Josh Pais, David Raeford-Davis, Joe Roseto, Anthony Ruivivar, Sharon Scruggs, Summer Still, James Villemaire, Jeffrey Ware, Benny Lamar Wheeler
Studio: Sundance Channel Home Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Pride Is The Right Title
Pride, Determination, Resilience
Teaching Pride through Swimming

Pride (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Terrence Howard , Bernie Mac , Kimberly Elise , Tom Arnold , and Brandon Fobbs
Director: Sunu Gonera
Manufacturer: Lionsgate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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

Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls (Widescreen Edition)
Norbit (Widescreen Edition)
Dreamgirls (Two-Disc Showstopper Edition)
Stomp the Yard (Widescreen Edition)
Breach (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B000Q7ZNYU
Release Date: 2007-06-26

Description

Based on true events, PRIDE is the inspiring story of Jim Ellis, a charismatic schoolteacher in the 1970s who changed lives forever when he founded an African-American swim team in one of Philadelphia's roughest neighborhoods.

Customer Reviews:

Pride Is The Right Title.......2007-07-01

I have seen a lot of these types of films throughout my life. Where the odds are against someone and it seems impossible to accomplish a goal. I've seen it in kids movies, comedy, and even more serious ones like this one. To be honest they get boring after a while because you know that there are really only two outcomes, they win or they lose. Pride kills that feeling I had and made me feel pretty good. It gives you an amazing feeling watching it, I believe that feeling is pride. The film starts 10 years earlier at a very important swim meet. Terrence Howard plays Jim Ellis, a young man that just wants to compete. At the meet Jim is told by his coach that the other teams and judges don't want him to swim because he is African American. His coach supports him and tells him to swim anyway but the teams still refuse to swim and he has no competition.

Now it is 1974 in Philadelphia and even after finishing college Jim is turned down for jobs he's qualified for. After a long frustrating job hunt Jim accepts a job cleaning up the Philadelphia Department of Recreation so it can be closed down in a few months. There he meets janitor Elston (Bernie Mack) who is very close to the building having been there when it was opened many years ago. Instead of tearing the building down Jim ends up really cleaning it up, even the swimming pool. The two become good friends after a while and accomplish a great thing. Jim runs into some kids who have athletic potential and some funny jokes as well. The kids just play basketball all day but now their rim is being taken down because the center is closing down.

On a very hot day Jim lets them in to swim and cool off but they got a lot more than that. Jim coaches the kids on to become great swimmers and even break the same racial barrier that he suffered 10 years ago. Because there are so many characters it's a bit hard to explain everyone without making this a very long review. What I will say is that each character will definitely get to you. This is a true story that is great to see on screen. A few actors really stuck out to me, of course Kimberly Elise was great and Bernie Mack wasn't just doing comedy. Bernie did a great job in showing his love for the Rec Center and also the kids. Evan Ross showed great potential playing a character that really isn't easy. I understand that Terrence Howard got nominated for awards for Hustle & Flow but this is the film he deserves those for and I hope he gets them.

The casting period was perfect; all of these actors did a great job. It's easy to take a star and fault the film because there have been so many like it before it but I won't take that star. What you'll be watching it for is to get that feeling it gives you when you see what Jim Ellis does. To see how he changed something that was dying into something that creates amazing swimmers to this day and even one that is going to the Olympics. The DVD had great quality and pretty good extras. I'd recommend this to anyone and everyone; it's a great movie that has the right title.

Pride, Determination, Resilience.......2007-06-27

PRIDE does not open any new doors in the genre of film biopics of teachers who raise the status of downtrodden students to the point of genuine appreciation of self worth. The story has been told countless times with different characters, both male and female, different races (African American, Hispanic, Caucasian, etc), and different areas of the United States. But despite the recurring similarity of heart-on-the-sleeve stories such as this, PRIDE stands solidly on its own merits, in part due to the well developed and written screenplay by Kevin Michael Smith, Michael Gozzard, J. Mills Goodloe, and Norman Vance Jr. based on the life and contributions to society of Jim Ellis, in part due to the sensitive direction of Sunu Gonera, and in part due to the fine cast. The idea behind the story may not be new, but PRIDE is a fine example of the genre.

Opening in the 1960s we meet Jim Ellis (Terrence Howard) as a superior swimmer unable to use his gifts because of his race. Jump 10 years forward and Ellis has finished college as a math major and seeks to teach in Philadelphia, only to face racism again. Desperate for work he accepts a 'closing down' job at a condemned Philadelphia Recreation Center tended by downtrodden Elston (Bernie Mac) who resents Ellis' intrusion into his domain. Ellis restores the center's swimming pool and gradually initiates a swim team for troubled teens, young boys and a girl who are new to swimming and even newer to the thought that they can become someone important and rise out of their slum surroundings and influence of drug lords. With time Ellis teaches the team not only how to swim like champions, but also how to gain faith in themselves through PDR (Pride, Determination, Resilience), eventually winning a championship as a team of African Americans in a city still plagued by racism.

The cast is excellent: Terrence Howard once again proves he can create a character of complete credibility, completely immersing himself in a role with all of the subtle facilities of fine acting; Bernie Mac at last is given a serious role and rises to the level of Howard in skill; Kimberly Elise and Tom Arnold provide fine cameo roles. But one of the treasures of this film is the cast of young actors who seem so natural that they deserve special plaudits: Brandon Fobbs, Alphonso McAuley, Regine Nehy, Nate Parker, Kevin Phillips, and Evan Ross. Clint Eastwood's son Scott Reeves plays a pivotal role as a racist swimmer.

So despite the overexposure of stories such as this, PRIDE stands out as one of the best. It is a beautifully filmed and well-developed homage to a very worthy man and coach: PDR. Grady Harp, June 07

Teaching Pride through Swimming.......2007-06-26

Jim Ellis (Terrence Howard) loves to swim. During the 60's, he joined his schools swim team, which created problems. Jim is African American, and the white competitors in North Carolina weren't happy to be competing against him.

10 years later, Jim has landed in Philadelphia. Despite his credential to teach math, the only job he can get is cleaning out the recreation center in the poor part of town. It's scheduled to be torn down soon. The only person inside the building is maintenance man Elston (Bernie Mac). The closest anyone else comes to it is playing basketball outside.

That changes one day when the basketball hoops are taken down in the march toward tearing down the center. As five of the guys stand there fuming about the loss of the hoops, Jim invites them in to use the pool.

Slowly, Jim gains their trust and begins to teach them the fundamentals of swimming. They gain enough skill to ask to go to a meet, hoping to meet women. But do five men and one woman really have the skills to compete against all male teams who have been training for years?

Okay, let's get the obvious out of the way first. This is an underdog sports movie featuring kids from a bad neighborhood. Picturing every cliche that normally brings to mind? Yep, they're here.

But, is this movie worth seeing? Absolutely.

As is always needed for a film like this to succeed, you need to become attached to the characters. Jim is a sympathetic character from the start, and the youth he's working with grow on you quickly as well. The result is a movie that truly does inspire.

To top is off, the acting is great. Terrence Howard is absolutely believable as Jim. His drive to reach the kids comes through in every scene. I'm not usually a Bernie Mac fan, but he did a great job as well with a part that is mostly series with a few comic bits thrown in. And the kids were all great.

I do have a couple complaints. The minor one is the needless slowing down of the climax. The two swimmers in the final race are slowed way down to build suspense. And I do mean way down. It was beyond laughable.

My bigger complaint was the language. Considering the PG rating, I was surprised by the handful of "s" words that littered the film. Not as surprising were the few racial epithets used. Unfortunately, they fit the time period and setting of the film.

This film isn't highly original, but it is inspiring. And if that's what you want to watch, you could do much worse then this great film.

Average customer rating:

Not happy...
Good Supplement to Total Immersion Book
Total Immersion DVD
Disappointed in DVD
A Great Tool When Used In Conjunction With Book

Happy Laps
Starring: Terry Laughlin
Manufacturer: Total Immersion
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Special Interests | Genres | DVD | Video

Fitness | Fitness & Yoga | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Fitness & Yoga | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Sports | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Educational | Genres | DVD | Video

( F ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Sports | Independently Distributed | Stores | DVD | Video

Special Interests | Independently Distributed | Stores | DVD | Video

Independently Distributed | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video

General | Instructional | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Triathlon Swimming Made Easy: The Total Immersion Way for Anyone to Master Open-Water Swimming
Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way To Swim Better, Faster, and Easier
Freestyle: Made Easy
The Triathlete's Training Bible (2nd Edition)
Triathlon Training in Four Hours a Week

ASIN: B000FDK78W
Release Date: 2004-01-01

Description

The best freestyle DVD ever-we guarantee it! Includes more "secrets to freestyle success" than any previous TI video, including help for struggling swimmers, how to breathe, how to kick,how to swim faster and how to learn open turns and flip turns.
English with Spanish subtitles

Customer Reviews:

Not happy..........2007-06-27

$30 for this and no case?! I can't believe that for $30, this is delivered in a sleeve that doesn't even close.

Also, having read the book, I thought the disk would expand on the material in the book. Instead, it only goes very quickly through the drills. Perhaps this would be sufficient for an experienced swimmer, but for a novice, it is really lacking in content.

Good Supplement to Total Immersion Book.......2007-06-11

The book (Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way To Swim Better, Faster, and Easier) and DVD aren't completely aligned, but do supplement each other well. Actually, I probably wouldn't recommend the DVD without the book.

There are two extremes of swimmers that would likely be interested in this swim method: complete beginners looking to start swimming and experienced swimmers looking to examine this method. Like most, I was somewhere in the middle (after being told by a swim coach that I looked like I was being electrocuted in the water, I thought that this relaxed style of swimming would be a good remedy).

Beginners will instantly see the value; it starts at the very beginning with active floating. Experienced swimmers will need to be prepared to start at the very beginning as well, as Terry Laughlin (correctly) sees a need to break down established patterns of movement in order to build new muscle memory.

My freestyle has become significantly more relaxed. Of course, I still have a long way to go to becoming a proficient distance swimmer (practice, practice, practice), but this video has helped eliminate a lot of bad habits so that the practice is actually beneficial.

One criticism (aside from the somewhat cheesy production): proper flutter kick is nearly ignored. Although it's not the primary source of propulsion for efficient swimmers (e.g., Terry only kicks once per stroke), it's still a significant supplement when wanting to swim fast. It would have been nice to see it addressed more in the video.

Total Immersion DVD.......2007-05-20

The visuals are very helpful. Along with the book, they make understanding this swim style a snap.

Disappointed in DVD.......2007-05-15

I thought I was going to get a great, how-to DVD that would show me some new techniques and give me a better understanding of how to improve my freestyle. Based on the reviews I read prior to my purchase I figured this would be the right DVD for me. Boy was I wrong. The instruction is geared for the complete beginner and spends WAY TOO much time telling the swimmer that they should work on the techniques with a "swim buddy." A lot of good that does when you swim alone and have no one you can swim with at all. The DVD also wastes too much time with the basics of the freestyle stroke. From its title, "swim better, faster and easier" I didn't get that at all from this DVD. It also stated that you would learn about the turns, and open water swimming. In reality, it shows about 8 minutes in total for those two segments. Don't waste your money on this DVD, look for another teaching video, or start asking people you know where they learned about swimming and if they can recommend anything.
I've gotten more out of other swimmers at the pool than I did out of this DVD.

A Great Tool When Used In Conjunction With Book.......2007-05-13

This DVD is a great watch, & very useful to get a visuale aspect on drills as explained in 'Triathlon Swimming Made Easy'. It has great underwater & above water footage, & a really cool shot of fully underwater freestyle. However, it would be less useful if used as a stand alone product.

Average customer rating:

PRIDE......WONDERFUL MOVIE!

Pride (Full Screen Edition)
Starring: Tom Arnold , Terrence Howard , Bernie Mac , Scott Reeves , and Gary Sturgis
Director: Sunu Gonera
Manufacturer: Lionsgate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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

Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls (Full Screen)
Stomp the Yard (Widescreen Edition)
Norbit (Widescreen Edition)
Dreamgirls (Two-Disc Showstopper Edition)
Deja Vu

ASIN: B000Q7ZNZ4
Release Date: 2007-06-26

Description

Customer Reviews:

PRIDE......WONDERFUL MOVIE!.......2007-07-06

What a great well rounded movie.LOVED the inclusion of the female swimmer role!Will watch again!

Average customer rating:

Great!
Great Swim DVD
Invaluable self-coaching tool
Four Strokes Made Easy
Ok for drills

Four Strokes Made Easy
Starring: Terry Laughlin
Director: Terry Laughlin
Manufacturer: Total Immersion Swimming, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Special Interests | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Sports | Genres | DVD | Video

( F ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Sports | Independently Distributed | Stores | DVD | Video

Special Interests | Independently Distributed | Stores | DVD | Video

Independently Distributed | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Happy Laps
Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way To Swim Better, Faster, and Easier
Freestyle: Made Easy
Becoming A Faster Swimmer: Volume 5, Starts, Turns, and Finishes for All Swimming Strokes
Becoming A Faster Swimmer: Freestyle Swimming

ASIN: B000GIXGXY
Release Date: 2003-01-01

Customer Reviews:

Great!.......2007-06-08

Enjoyed the dvd and would definitely recommend it! Goes well with Terry Laughlin's book.

Great Swim DVD.......2007-06-01

This is a fabulous DVD for the novice or expert swimmer. Hard to believe but I fit the first category and I have gone from struggling, gasping swimmer to a smooth and steadily improving swimmer. I have Master Swimmers ask me about my training and some of the drills I practice. My training consists of reading Total Immersion ...the book by Mr. Laughlin which is fleshed out by this DVD. The drills are all described in the book but hard to recreate on your own. Not only does the DVD show you in great detail and narrative how to do the drills but you get to see good technique in all four strokes. Never mind about the packaging. It is the content that is absolutely priceless.

Invaluable self-coaching tool.......2007-03-09

Like all the Total Immersion DVD's I've viewed, this one provides easy-to-follow instructions for drills, arranged in series of gradually increasing difficulty. Even without a coach, I find that I can use these intelligently designed drills to learn new strokes or even a whole new way of being in the water.

This latest addition adds new material on the crawl, not repetitions from earlier crawl DVDs. My balance in the water, already good after working with the TI Freestyle Made Easy DVD, has improved dramatically after just a few sessions in the pool using these latest drills. I had never before learned any butterfly, but the drills on the Four Stroke DVD have enabled me to "dolphin" two pool lengths in a row after just a few days of practice....I expect to be performing the complete stroke--as well as the breaststroke--soon.

This video calls into question the common wisdom which tells us that you can't really learn a skill correctly without the aid of a teacher. I am hoping someday to be able to take some lessons with a TI swimming coach, but until then, I am enjoying the water (for the first time in my life) and feeling safe, powerful, and fluid as I move through it.

By the way, the production values are excellent. The slow-mo sequences are particularly helpful in breaking down each stroke into its elements for learning. It would be nice to have a brief introduction to the swimmers who elegantly demonstrate the drills so we could see what their faces look like.

Thanks, Terry Laughlin, for producing this wonderful tool.

Four Strokes Made Easy.......2007-01-12

This DVD shows in detail progressive drills for each competitive swimming stroke, so that by practicing them the swimmer can greatly improve technique, which leads to faster and more effortless swimming. At the age of 50 I recently joined a Masters swimming program, and practicing the drills has greatly enhanced my understanding of and ability to do the strokes.

Ok for drills.......2007-01-09

Good explainations of drills and easy to see examples. Focus is ONLY on drills, not on any full stroke. Something more comprehensive, showing the breakdown of a full stroke, would be more useful for age-groupers.

Average customer rating:

Great instructor
good guide for parents
Lifesaving Gift
If your kids are around water then Waterproof Kids them.
The Best Learn-to-Swim Instruction for Children

Waterproof Kids DVD
Starring: Gaylene Anderson
Manufacturer: Waterproof Kids
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Special Interests | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Sports | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Educational | Genres | DVD | Video

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

( W ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Special Interests | Independently Distributed | Stores | DVD | Video

Independently Distributed | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video

General | Instructional | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Learn to Swim: Step-by-Step Water Confidence and Safety Skills for Babies and Young Children
Waterproof Kids - Baby Steps
Teaching Swimming and Water Safety: The Australian Way (Austswim)
Stewie the Duck Learns to Swim
Water Babies: Safe Starts in Swimming

ASIN: B00024ONDO
Release Date: 2004-04-21

Product Description

Winner of the iParenting Media Award 2005. A fun guide for teaching children to swim. Disc includes segments on babies 6 months to 2 years, toddlers 2 to 4 years, children 5 to 12 years, teens and adults, and a segment on open water swimming.

Customer Reviews:

Great instructor.......2007-07-04

This is a great video to start your child swimming on. The instructor is great. She starts off teaching babies how to swim and goes on up to adults. A great video to learn the basics of swimming.

good guide for parents.......2005-09-23

Like the title say....this video concentrate on guidelines for parents to familiazied kids with water, floating, some swimming technique for all ages. Recommended.

Lifesaving Gift.......2005-02-01

I purchased Waterproof Kids last spring. I am pleased with my purchase. I live near a lake. It's a popular place for kids of all ages to gather when the weather gets nice. One reads about a drowning every summer. Sadly, some of the drowning is among young adults who did not learn respect for the water.

Waterproof Kids is a great tool to aid parents in teaching their children that they could have fun in the water, and at the same time teach them to respect the water and its power. Coach Gaylene Anderson loves children, water, and teaching. She believes in her work, and it is reflected in her video. This is a great video to teach our children how to have fun and be safe in and around water. She demonstrates it in a clear organized step by step format divided into age appropriate skills from babies to adults. Gaylene's positive and enthusiastic approach is contagious. She emphasizes safety at all times. The "Before You Begin" and "As You Progress" summary at the beginning and end of each module is very helpful.

It is never too early to set the foundation. Waterproof Kids is a wonderful gift to give to family and friends that are expecting or who have just had a baby. It also makes a great tool for water instructors, and companion tool for parents whose children are enrolled in swim lessons.

Thank you for making Waterproof Kids available to the public. With a product like this on the market, I look forward to not hearing emergency vehicles pass my house on the way to the lake.

If your kids are around water then Waterproof Kids them........2004-08-12

I live in Hawaii and my son has been around water since he was 6 months old. He's now 2 1/2 years old and he has no fear of water. This has been very scary for me. On a couple of occasions while I was watching him he charged into the ocean as fast as he could run without a life jacket or floaties. He was up to his kneck before I could catch him. He can dog paddle and he knows how to hold his breath but he's still 2 1/2 years old. When I heard about Waterproof Kids I had to get it but I was worried about getting my son to sit through it. The first time I put it in he watched the whole thing with me from start to finish. We paused between the modules to practice on dry land some of what we had just watched. He loves the interactive part. He has since requested Waterproof Kids to watch on his own many times. When we are at the beach I've even seen him practicing some of the skills on his own. There is no substitute for an attentive parent when your child is around water but Waterproof Kids has given me a little extra peace of mind. I highly reccomend Waterproof Kids as must for kids who have been around water and kids who haven't.

Aloha From Hawaii,

John Ogrodny
Concerned Parent

The Best Learn-to-Swim Instruction for Children.......2004-08-02

Waterproof Kids is essential for all parents who want to give their children the gift of being safe and comfortable around water as well as helping them learn to swim. With a strong emphasis on safety Ms. Anderson shows us step-by-step everything we need to know from introducing infants to water to teaching teenagers advanced swimming techniques.

After loving the water as an infant, my almost 4 year old son when through a phase of resisting going in the water at all and he especially hated getting his face and head wet. After seeing Waterproof Kids my son took an interest in the wonderful video footage of Gaylene demonstrating various strokes and showing infants going completely underwater. Now it's his favorite DVD.

Since being introduced to Waterproof Kids and seeing other kids learning to swim, he now loves "getting dunked" and doesn't mind getting his face and head wet at all. In the last three weeks since he's been watching Waterproof Kids, he's made more progress in learning how to swim than all the rest of his life. It may be designed for patents to teach their children to swim, but the real benefit has been from our son watching it and becoming inspired and motivated.

I am sure that we will use the different modules of the DVD as we progress through from toddler, young children and teens. It's a good thing that DVD's don't wear out because it's going to get used in our house a lot!

Gaylene is bright, energetic, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and clearly loves what she does. Her positive energy is a delight. Give your kids and yourself a life-long gift of love for swimming. Get Waterproof Kids. You won't regret it!

Average customer rating:

Swim Like a Fish

Freestyle: Made Easy
Starring: Terry Laughlin
Manufacturer: Total Immersion Swimming
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Special Interests | Genres | DVD | Video

Fitness | Fitness & Yoga | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Fitness & Yoga | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Sports | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Educational | Genres | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

General | Instructional | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Happy Laps
Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way To Swim Better, Faster, and Easier
Four Strokes Made Easy
Total Immersion Drill Cards: Freestyle Made Easy
Triathlon Swimming Made Easy: The Total Immersion Way for Anyone to Master Open-Water Swimming

ASIN: B000I6AHVI
Release Date: 2005-01-01

Product Description

Happy Laps is the first TI self-help tool to address the real basics: how do I swim without fear of sinking, how do I breathe in water, and how do I move with such efficiency that I will be able to swim graceful, nearly effortless laps for health, fitness or pleasure with absolute comfort and confidence. This self-teaching book and video offers a simple, clear, common-sense approach to learning to move through the water easily, comfortably, and so pleasurably that your practice time becomes the healthiest, most rewarding, part of your day. Happy Laps will show you, step by step, a completely fresh way to move through the water, a way I guarantee will make swimming easier than anything you ve tried before.

Customer Reviews:

Swim Like a Fish.......2007-06-13

I'm constantly trying to improve my swimming skills and was recently steered toward Total Immersion swimming. This DVD clearly demonstrates the drills and lessons of the Total Immersion Swim School. It was instructional and clear and I found it to be very helpful. The concept of swimming on your side instead of flat to the surface is a real advancement in grace and speed. The DVD is easy to follow and the lessons are spelled out clearly. I'm mastering the drills and look forward to swimming like a fish soon! I recommend this product to anyone interested in improving their swim skills.

Average customer rating:

Was it a dream? Is this reality? If I don't know, then I don't care.
Intellectual but also alive
Mostly a Waste of Time
Swimming Pool is a sly, subtle and sexy mystery
Quite the little head trip.

Swimming Pool (Unrated Version)
Starring: Charlotte Rampling , Ludivine Sagnier , Charles Dance , Jean-Marie Lamour , and Marc Fayolle
Director: François Ozon
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

DTS | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

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

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

The Dreamers (Original Uncut NC-17 Version)
Sex and Lucia (Unrated Edition)
Intimacy (Unrated, Widescreen Edition)
Romance
Uncovered

ASIN: B00005JMIJ
Release Date: 2005-08-23

Amazon.com

In terms of alluring female nudity, Swimming Pool shows a lot, but it's what remains concealed that gives this erotic thriller a potent, voyeuristic charge. With his Hitchcockian handling of secrets and lies, prolific French director François Ozon reunites with his Under the Sand star, Charlotte Rampling, to tell a seductive tale of murder and complicity, beginning when British mystery novelist Sarah Morton (Rampling) seeks peace and relaxation at her publisher's French villa, only to find his brash, sexually liberated daughter Julie (Ludivine Sagnier) arriving shortly thereafter to disrupt her solitary reverie. What begins as mutual annoyance turns into something more sinister and duplicitous, alternating between Julie's predatory sex with men and Sarah's observant, perhaps jealous fascination. These two women, generations apart, share in Ozon's delicate dance of trust, curiosity, and gradual understanding, until a twist ending that forces you to reevaluate everything you've seen. Only then will the mysteries of Swimming Pool be fully and tantalizingly revealed. (Note: The unrated version contains full-frontal nudity that's been edited from the rated version. In both versions, the overall plot is not affected.) --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Was it a dream? Is this reality? If I don't know, then I don't care........2007-07-05

Ultimately this is a stinker. It started out great and then the "did that really happen?", "which part is real?" stuff started...and I stopped caring. Skip it; you're not missing much.

Intellectual but also alive.......2007-06-20

A truly interesting, beautiful, and thought-provoking film, about desire, revenge, and sisterhood (motherhood? daughterhood?), and the sources of art. The men have no chance in this movie, which turns out to be a good thing; it's not a film about romance, despite the fact that both female protagonists have a soft, sentimental spot for a good "harlequin." If it's a film about sex (and there is plenty of steamy sex in the film), it's about sex as a proxy for something harder and more elemental: the need to be recognized and affirmed. Despite being an intellectual movie, it's also eminently watchable, even gripping. A careful, even brilliant performance on all levels.

Mostly a Waste of Time.......2007-03-07

The movie starts off very slowly, gathers a bit of steam, and then takes a plot turn that is totally inconsistent with the personalities of the two main characters, uptight writer Sarah and free spirit Julie.

I'd quote one of Sarah's lines as she "assists" Julie with a task that they undertake, but it would be too much of a spoiler... in any case, once that line was spoken, I lost all respect for the plot.

Some of the scenery in the movie is pleasing to the eye. For that, I'll give the movie two stars, rather than the one star it would have otherwise deserved.

In any case -- don't waste your time watching "Swimming Pool." You'll drown in the stupidity.

Swimming Pool is a sly, subtle and sexy mystery.......2007-02-12

This movie is a really enjoyable adventure through the eyes of a female mystery writer, Sarah Morton played by Charlotte Rampling. Morton is looking for a new and different kind of story to add to her list of successful mystery novels. As a working retreat, she accepts the use of her publisher's home in Luberon, in the south of France, where she soon encounters the lovely young indolent and insouciant daughter (we think!) of her publisher, played by Ludivine Sagnier in her blossoming youth. What follows is ingenous, keenly interesting and definitely offbeat but fully enjoyable. The nudity of both Rampling and Sagnier is in fine taste (for Europeans) and still gives we old men something to lust over. Great movie, but you have to see it to appreciate it because the ending leaves one slowly becomming aware of the real story.

Quite the little head trip........2007-02-09

Swimming Pool explores some very interesting themes: the differences between youth and age, innocence, sexual awakening, motherhood, solitude, and voyeurism, among others.

The plot is deceivingly simple. Sarah, a writer, is staying at her editor's house in France so she can work on her next novel. She's had a great deal of success as a mystery writer, but seems to have hit a wall. She doesn't want to do another mystery, but she doesn't know what else to write about.

Enter Julie, the editor's daughter. She breezes into the house one night like a force of nature. Her first order of business? She uncovers the swimming pool in the backyard. It's full of leaves, but this doesn't stop her from peeling her clothes off and swimming in it. She also takes to sunbathing topless and having sex in the living room on a nightly basis, with whatever men she can talk into coming home with her.

Sarah is disgusted by all of this behavior at first, but as time goes by, she becomes captivated by it. She creates a 'Julie' file on her computer, and she starts writing again.

But there's a lot more going on under the surface. What is fantasy? What is reality? Is the movie just a product of Sarah's imagination? Are Sarah and Julie linked in some way, and if so, how? What the hell is going on?

Francois Orzon, in an interview with Indie Wire, had this to say:

"I don't want to give you the key. I myself have an opinion about it, obviously -- but I wanted to keep the film open-ended and let every viewer imagine what he wishes. It's a movie that gives viewers the freedom to make their own film."

So essentially the meaning of the movie is left for you to decipher. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It doesn't really seem like good storytelling, and it would be disastrous if every director in the world started doing this. But Orzon isn't every director, and Swimming Pool isn't an ordinary movie. I found myself thinking about it a lot once I had ejected the DVD, turning the facts over in my mind and trying to make them fit into some kind of coherent storyline. It's strangely satisfying to do this, and I seriously suggest that you watch the film so you can do the same.

My only complaint is that the DVD features were sparse - just a trailer and a few deleted scenes that didn't seem to add much. There wasn't any director's commentary, which irked me to no end. I would have loved to hear Orzon's take on the rather bizarre series of events, but no such luck.

Oh, and should you pick up the unrated version, be prepared for a lot of Ludivine Sagnier's breasts. They should have been given second billing for all their screen time.

Average customer rating:

What to do next?
The Believable Exraordinary
Uplifting & Life Affirming Movie!
Kept Me Laughing
A good movie for older adults

On A Clear Day
Starring: Peter Mullan , Brenda Blethyn , Sean McGinley , Jamie Sives , and Ron Cook
Director: Gaby Dellal
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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

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

Notes on a Scandal
Eight Below (Widescreen Edition)
The Queen
Inside Man (Widescreen Edition)
The World's Fastest Indian

ASIN: B000FQISV2
Release Date: 2006-07-11

Amazon.com

An independent film from Britain, On a Clear Day tells the story of a man trying to come to terms with his past by setting a goal for the future: to swim across the English Channel. Frank (Peter Mullan) is a stoic man who tells his young grandson, "Things aren't meant to be fixed nowadays." After working all his life, the Glasgow shipbuilder finds himself middle-aged and jobless. His loving wife Joan (two-time Academy Award nominee Brenda Blethyn) tries to lessen the financial burden by learning to become a bus driver. Frank's relationship with his househusband son Rob (Jamie Sives) is distant at best. And though he doesn't speak of his other son, who drowned decades ago, Frank thinks of him often. Director Gaby Dellal reveals a gentle touch in the film's quieter moments. But she's just at home balancing the melodramatic moments (Rob confronting his father in a swimming pool) with comic relief (Frank's friendship with a woebegone group of men, including optimistic Danny, played by Billy Boyd from The Lord of the Rings). In the end, it's less important whether Frank's goals are met than mending his broken relationships. The finale is touching in the way it all plays out, because some things are meant to be fixed. --Jae-Ha Kim

Customer Reviews:

What to do next?.......2007-06-05

When you're fiftyish and have just lost your job, what do you do next?

If you're Frank in "On A Clear Day," then you swim the English Channel, and confront some nasty personal demons. This wee, warm Scottish flick does a great job balancing out comedy and melancholy, with a bit of family strife thrown in. It's just a small-scale, sweet little film.

A Scottish shipyard is laying off workers, and Frank (Peter Mullan) suddenly finds himself without a job. His wife Joan (Brenda Blethyn) starts training to be a bus driver, and his relationship with his son Rob (Jamie Sives) remains chilly, as it has been ever since his other son's death. Frank becomes increasingly depressed and antsy, unsure what to do next.

But while on a "booze cruise" with his friends, inspiration strikes -- he'll swim the Channel. He keeps his plans a secret from his family, but allows Chinese-Scot Chan (Benedict Wong) to be his trainer, with his pals as moral support. But his secret alienates his wife and son even further, and as he faces the biggest swim of his life, Frank will have to overcome his worst, most haunting memories of the sea.

"One Clear Day" is basically a heartwarming little family dramedy, which avoids the usual cliches and schmaltz, even in scenes where it could have easily become goopy. It takes a pretty talented director to handle things like government layoffs and racism without being heavy-handed, or dealing with emotional trauma without being soppy about it.

The plot seems even more colourful against the grey skies and seas of Scotland -- there are sad flashbacks and some melancholy moments, but Dellal balances it out with kooky good-ol'-lads comedy, such as Danny joyously careening around on a tiny motoboat. And the dialogue is nothing short of hilarious, whether it's bawdy jokes or banter ("Shark. Thirty-five footer." "Fell off my bike. Two-wheeler!").

Mullan has a very challenging role -- his character has repressed his grief, and doesn't want to let anyone see his problems. So Frank is gruff, secretive, but has moments of unbridled delight. Blethyn and Sives round out the family beautifully, as Frank's loving wife and emotionally starved son -- the beach scene with the three of them is enchanting.

But the supporting cast is also great -- Jodhi May has a small, good role as Rob's wife, and Ron Cook and Sean McGinley are snappily solid as two of Frank's pals. And Billy Boyd simply steals every scene he's in, as the perpetually upbeat, charmingly troublesome Danny. But comedy isn't his only skill: his best scene would have to be when Danny sadly confesses that he's always wanted to be like Frank.

"On A Clear Day" is a sweet, small Scottish movie with plenty of heart and joking-around, and the ability to warm your heart without turning your stomach. Definitely worth swimming to.

The Believable Exraordinary.......2007-05-15

What could be a trite, Disneyesque family values homily turns out to be endearing and (gulp) even inspiring. One of those films with modest aspirations and surprisingly deep achievement. If you don't like happy outcomes (they do occasionally occur in life . . .), you'll hate it.

Uplifting & Life Affirming Movie! .......2006-11-09

I went to see this film in theatres with little idea of what to expect. I was overwhelmed! This movie carefully presents characters that feel familiar and full. Frank, the story's hero, who decides to swim the English Channel in a bid to help move on from past traumas, reminded me in turns of my grandfather, my father and me.

The actors in this film are wonderful to watch and the film is heartfelt without be smaltzy. It's a very enjoyable and funny movie, with an engaging emotional core. I bought this film for several people for Christmas this year, and I earnestly believe they will all embrace it as I did.

Kept Me Laughing.......2006-10-08

It is a wonderful film about "real life" people. I think it is really hard to pull that off and keep it interesting when so many viewers are used to Hollywood glitz. But this movie was full of laugh-out-loud scenes and the dialogue was great. Though, the soundtrack volume choices left something to be desired for American ears struggling with accents. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters, and laughing at their antics.

A good movie for older adults.......2006-09-09

Frank is laid off from his job and feels like his life is over. Slowly he gets himself together and decides to swim the English channel.

I liked Frank and his wife Joan a lot. I admired Joan wanting to try something different (learning to drive a bus). Frank's friends are interesting and seem like real people too.

My one complaint is there wasn't captioning. I had a difficult time understanding their accents occasionally and I felt I missed some important dialog.

Average customer rating:

Brilliant film, excellent disc. Fast delivery.
The Perfect Moment is this entire Film
Fantastic
An all-time favorite--and yes, I have friends, too!

Swimming To Cambodia

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Monster in a Box: The Movie
Gray's Anatomy
Life Interrupted: The Unfinished Monologue
It's a Slippery Slope
Sex and Death to the Age 14

Product Features:

Swimming To Cambodia
The Killing Fields
Spalding Gray

ASIN: B000260NKO

Product Description

Spalding Gray sits behind a desk throughout the entire film and recounts his exploits and chance encounters while playing a minor role in the film 'The Killing Fields'. At the same time, he gives a background to the events occurring in Cambodia at the time the film was set.

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant film, excellent disc. Fast delivery........2007-02-07

This is one of my favorite films, which is sadly otherwise unavailable on DVD. This vendor provided a pristine copy in rapid time (three days). Excellent quality, just as promised, rapid delivery. Good deal.

The Perfect Moment is this entire Film.......2006-01-04

Even the spit coming out of his mouth at one point in this film makes this all the more engaging.

It's one of my favorite movies- he was a true original- and so is this film.

Fantastic.......2004-12-04

Swimming to Cambodia was my introduction to the late, great Spalding Gray and it was a great one. I had previously had the misguided idea that monolouges were dull and not the proper subject matter for film. Happily, Mr.Gray proved me wrong with this one performance that is both thoughtful and hilarious. His vivid storytelling and animated delivery create lasting images in the mind of the viewer, so don't let the fact that this movie takes place entirely behind a desk hinder your enjoyment of the story. It's a classic.

An all-time favorite--and yes, I have friends, too!.......2004-12-02

Ok, so I couldn't just let this go by without doing something. One opinion does not a ratings system make, so allow a tempered voice of reason to enter the field and bring that "1 star" rating up a notch or two for a very deserving film. Having first seen "The Killing Fields" many times, I was fascinated to come across this little gem. While yes, it is true that Gray sits behind a desk most of the time and talks, that is what makes this film so special. Yes, it's a one-person show, but what's wrong with that if what the person has to say is engaging, stimulating and thought-provoking? I welcome the opportunity to spend time once in awhile listening to someone spin a yarn about their adventures, misadventures and epiphanies. I recommend you first watch "The Killing Fields", an excellent movie based on a true story, and then wait a day or two before sinking into the sofa with a big tub o'microwave popcorn and this dvd.

Swimming Upstream (Against all odds, he found the strength to become a champion)

Average customer rating:

Watching Uphill
Great movie!
Good son, bad dad . . .
Good film.
Survival of the Fittest

Swimming Upstream (Against all odds, he found the strength to become a champion)
Starring: Geoffrey Rush , Judy Davis , Jesse Spencer , Tim Draxl , and Deborah Kennedy
Director: Russell Mulcahy
Manufacturer: © 2005 MGM Home Entertainment, LLC
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Sports | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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

Stranded
P.D. James - Death in Holy Orders
Flourish
Uptown Girls
Summer Storm

ASIN: B0008ENFWI
Release Date: 2005-05-31

Product Description

The inspirational true story of a swimmer's quest for Olympic gold, Swimming Upstream is a "gripping" (The New York Times) tale of emotional triumph. Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush and Academy Award nominee Judy Davis deliver "terrific performances" (New York Post) in this haunting meditation of dreams, determination and defeating the odds. As the target of his father Harold's (Geoffrey Rush) drunken abuse, young Tony Fingleton (Jesse Spencer) escapes to the underwater solitude of the local pool, where he aspires to win his father's love by becoming a national swimming champion. But when his cruel father pits Tony against his own brother in a competition to make the Olympic team, Tony must find the courage to swim his way to victory... and out of his father's emotionally crippling net.

Customer Reviews:

Watching Uphill.......2007-05-14

Swimming and writing poetry share one important characteristic; both activities can be richly satisfying to the practitioner while providing little, if any, spectator appeal. This limitation delivers a crippling blow to Swimming Upstream - without the obligatory water-churning competitions all that remains is a collection of drunken rampages and psychological tortures meted out by a deranged and permanently crippled father (Geoffrey Rush).

The film rests entirely on Rush's shoulders, and he is an amazing talent, well equal to the task. This is a man submerged in his own tortured world, incapable of asking for help or providing comfort. Instead, he revisits the cruelties and illnesses of his own childhood onto his children, passing them down like prized heirlooms. The father is an interesting character, and Rush owns him, unfortunately the screenwriter apparently dropped the scenes that might cause our perception of him to expand beyond pure loathing into some sort of understanding, if not sympathy.

Judy Davis, certainly one of the best actresses working today, wrestles with her Australian accent but offers a typically excellent performance. She has the unenviable chore of providing care for the children despite her husband's seeming determination to undermine her at every turn. Davis inhabits a doomed universe, and it is possible to see the life force draining right out of her. Despite her maternal commitment, despair is never too far away.

Superimposed on this dark canvas is a chirpy tale about a nice looking kid who wins a swim meet, goes to an Ivy League school, and gets a job on a hit TV show. It's such a spunky little parable that it actually has the nerve to ask, "If you do well for the wrong reason, if you struggle for the approval of somebody who will never give it to you and end up getting pretty good at something in process, is that such a bad thing, really?"

There is a scene where Tony (Jesse Spencer) is showing his medal to a blind drunk dad, spilling the beans, saying all the things these Stoic, macho Aussie men haven't said throughout the picture. (It's probably the performance that got him his job on House.) Tony is crying, dad is lurching, glassy-eyed like a bloated beast from the underworld. If at that moment Tony had used the medal to carve his name into dad's forehead - backwards - just so dad was reminded which son was the best swimmer every time he looked in the mirror - then maybe, just maybe, you would have something. As it is, what you've got is Disney directing 120 Days at Sodom.

Great movie!.......2007-02-02

Wonderful story, fantastic acting. The amazing true story of a young man who yearned all his life for the acceptance of his alcoholic father. He becomes one of the greatest swimmers in Australian history. The human spirit is amazing.

Good son, bad dad . . ........2006-08-20

You wonder about any film that claims to be "based on a true story" how much of it is really true, and one feels this way about Tony Fingleton's account of his achievement as a championship swimmer in 1960s Australia. Beautifully filmed, with international stars Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis, and with plausible performances by young actors with movie magazine good looks *and* the apparent ability to swim like professionals, this film is both entertaining and dramatic in ways that seem too perfect to be true.

Rush, as the alcoholic, tyrranical father, makes no secret of preferring another of his four sons, and constantly undercuts and humiliates the central character, Tony, whom he regards as weak and unmanly, apparently for no other reason than that he plays the piano. Haunted by demons of his own impoverished childhood, he drinks up what little he earns, while Davis as the mother provides the needed emotional support for a family forced to live in poverty. Fingleton's story, as he tells it, is one of overcoming all these obstacles to leverage a career as a young athlete into a full scholarship at Harvard. While he attempts to make peace with his father in the closing scenes, he portrays himself as selfless, endlessly patient, and forgiving. Meanwhile, it seems pretty obvious that he's using his autobiographical screenplay to get back at the old man. Definitely worth watching for the performances and the portrayal of a family ruled by an abusive alcoholic. You may wonder though about its authenticity. The DVD has a short featurette, including comments from the real Tony Fingleton, and numerous deleted scenes.

Good film. .......2006-03-29

Most of these reviewers are right on. This is a good film. Not much can be added about it

Survival of the Fittest.......2005-12-06

Any film with Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis in a sports story of family dysfunction and child abuse recommends itself, and after finding its backstroke this one clocks in a winner. The two sets of actors who play their three sons as youngsters and young men are attractive athletes who can act. One of the sons, Australian Olympic swimming champion Tony Fingleton, advised the director and spared no one: the unloving father, the mother who enables his cruelty, and the bullying elder brother. The brothers excel at swimming to escape their father's verbal, emotional and physical abuse, only to be forced by him to compete against each other.

Fingleton's story is inspiring. Watching it is another matter. It upends our notions of family and argues soundly for the licensing of parents (you need a license to fish or own guns.) The demons that fuel the father's personality disorder are hinted at; the mother's ineffective protests only stoke her husband's behavior. Their sons seek love and approval, only to have it rejected by their father. Rush and Davis brilliantly convey the parents' inability to change their ways. Jesse Spencer's physical prowess, as the swimmer who survives, is as impressive as his acting in a part that will flutter hearts in and out of the pool.

There are some amazing flourishes, not the least of which is how the director shoots the swimming meets, splitting the screen into two to four frames that show all aspects of the race, his camera moving fluidly above and below water. He also moves respectfully into scenes of family discord knowing that these real people are still alive and remember. "Swimming Upstream" has the courage of convictions that are as relevant today as in the 1960s. It is a painful picture to watch and a powerful one to experience.

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

Arjuna - Conflicts (Vol. 3)

Good Night Maisy

Prison on Fire

DVD: Rain

Unter Anklage - Der Fall McMartin