Living on Video

Starring:Nukleon, Cosmicity, Brave New World, Ganymede, Blow-up, Neuroactive, Freezepop, Soviet
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Excellent Movie
And the Band Played On Played it RIGHT!
This is a weird movie
Good Movie
very educational

And the Band Played On
Starring: Matthew Modine , Alan Alda , Patrick Bauchau , Nathalie Baye , and Christian Clemenson
Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Manufacturer: Hbo Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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Longtime Companion
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And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic
Torch Song Trilogy
Miss Evers' Boys

ASIN: B00005AQMJ
Release Date: 2001-06-05

Amazon.com essential video

A superior, made-for-cable film, this Home Box Office adaptation of Randy Shilts's chronicle detailing the emergence of AIDS in America and the fight against bureaucracy and society for a cure is a taut, outrageous, and affecting true-life drama. Matthew Modine (Birdy, Married to the Mob) is featured as a doctor with the Centers for Disease Control at the time when the first reports of a disease plaguing the gay community were heard. Modine and his colleagues embark on an investigation that resembles a compelling detective story as they try to track the source of the disease and discover a cure. Their efforts are thwarted by an ambivalent government and a turf war between French physicians and a celebrated American researcher (Alan Alda) who seems to place his own glory above the dead and the dying. Featuring heartfelt performances from a stellar cast including Richard Gere, Glenne Headly, Anjelica Huston, Steve Martin, Ian McKellen, Saul Rubinek, and Lily Tomlin, this impassioned film stands as an impressive and important document of one of the darkest eras in modern human history, and a tribute to the spirit of those who sought to save lives. --Robert Lane

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Movie.......2007-06-27

This is a wonderful, fact based movie about the initial public awareness of HIV. The acting is superb and the cast list reads like a WhosWho of Hollywood. I use this movie for one of my college classes in order for students to see how callous political maneuvers in the 1980s delayed the recognition and testing for HIV, and as a result, many innocents died.

And the Band Played On Played it RIGHT!.......2007-06-17

I saw the movie first and I cried. To think that millions of people had to die,( or at the time thousands)before someone would get off the pot and do something. I read the book afterward, many times and was moved even further. We're not out of the woods yet, but we're a heck of a lot further along than we were...THANK GOD! Randy Shilts would be pleased at the screen adaptation of his book!

This is a weird movie.......2007-05-11

primarily because it doesn't take a stance. It argues neither in favor of the homosexual rights groups most heavily hit by AIDS at first, nor Reagan and the Republican Party who refused to allow AIDS to enter the media- it demeans such tenants of modern science as the scientific method and its inherent refusal to practice medicine off emotionalism while having a lot of fun giving people who work off emotionalism grief. It's one long, tortuous "I told you so."

However, everything else about the movie excelled enough to compensate. The actors, choreography, music, filming, and directing more than make up for a script centered heavily around "Whose fault is it?" And keep in mind- the subject is AIDS in the 1980s, when inaction made a disaster a pandemic. Maybe we should be asking "Whose fault is it?"

Good Movie.......2007-02-01

The movie was for my 11th and 12th grade classes to see how and when the HIV/AIDS was brought to national attention. Very interesting and good movie. The movie proves that AIDS has no boundaries on those who suffer from the disease. Education is our best ally.

very educational.......2007-01-09

i bought this movie for a friend,she is doing a paper on aids,and it was very helpful to her,a great cast very well done

George Gershwin - Porgy & Bess / Trevor Nunn · Sir Simon Rattle · W. White · C. Haymon · Glyndebourne Opera

Average customer rating:

The classic DVD currently on the market - a film of the opera performance done at England's Glynnebourne, always well done there
George Gershwin - Porky & Bess
Very Good!
out of date
Preminger's version is NOT the "original"!

George Gershwin - Porgy & Bess / Trevor Nunn · Sir Simon Rattle · W. White · C. Haymon · Glyndebourne Opera
Starring: Willard White , Cynthia Haymon , Gregg Baker (II) , Cynthia Clarey , and Marietta Simpson
Director: Trevor Nunn
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: DVD
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Porgy & Bess: High Performance
Gershwin: Porgy & Bess [With Members of the Original Cast]
Carmen Jones
Show Boat
Porgy & Bess

ASIN: B00005LIN0
Release Date: 2001-07-03

Amazon.com

This powerful production originated on the stage of the Glyndebourne Festival. It was restaged and filmed on location for the BBC telecast preserved in this video recording. Director Trevor Nunn takes full advantage of the realism, fluidity of movement, and precision of small details that are difficult to achieve when televising a staged performance but easy and natural in a movie treatment.

Nunn's vision, conveyed by an unusually talented cast, is constantly touching and rises to overwhelming intensity at climactic points. For example: the crap game and fight that end in Robbins's death, the hurricane scene, Crown's capture and abuse of Bess on Kittiwah Island, Porgy's fight with Crown, the comically sinister antics of Sportin' Life, the double-edged pathos and absurdity of the scene in which Bess gets "divorced," and the electrifying conclusion, when Porgy throws away his crutches and sets out, naively, to find Bess in New York.

Musically, Simon Rattle and all the performers find the exact style for Gershwin's marvelous score--not only such big numbers as "Summertime," "Bess, You Is My Woman Now," "I Loves You, Porgy," "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'," "It Ain't Necessarily So," "I Hates Your Struttin' Style," and "O Lawd, I'm on My Way," but such smaller items as the exquisite cries of the street vendors of honey, strawberries, and crabs. There are no weaknesses in the cast. Willard White and Cynthia Haymon are ideal in the title roles, Gregg Baker is a terrifying, larger-than-life Crown, and Damon Evans is a properly slimy Sportin' Life. The white police officers are splendidly repulsive. --Joe McLellan

Description

The Gershwins' musical masterpiece Porgy and Bess is one of America's greatest works. This production was adapted for the screen by Trevor Nunn and Yves Baigneres. It was directed by Trevor Nunn and is based on the highly successful staging of the original Glyndebourne Festival Opera production in 1986-87, which was remounted at Covent Garden in the autumn of 1992 with most of the original cast. Immediately after that performance the production was moved to the giant stage at Shepperton Studios, with much expanded sets and lighting. It was then recorded using EMI's original award-winning soundtrack.

First performed in 1935 and based on the play Porgy by DuBose and Dorothy K. Heyward, Porgy and Bess has achieved worldwide renown through such memorable songs as "Summertime," "It Ain't Necessarily So," "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'," "Oh Lawd, I'm on My Way," and many more, set to Gershwin's moving symphonic score. 184 minutes.

Porgy: Willard White
Bess: Cynthia Haymon
Crown: Gregg Baker
Serena: Cynthia Clarey
Maria: Mariette Simpson
Sporting Life: Damon Evans
Clara: Paula Ingram (sung by Harolyn Blackwell)
Jake: Gordon Hawkins (sung by Bruce Hubbard)
Mingo: Barrington Coleman
Robbins: D. Alonzo Washington (sung by Johnny Worthy)

Customer Reviews:

The classic DVD currently on the market - a film of the opera performance done at England's Glynnebourne, always well done there.......2007-06-10

A film of a staged performance always is interesting if the background doesn't take over. In this Glynnebourne production later filmed at a studio, that is the case. Good cast, great music (Gershwin's only opera), and popular in Europe as well as the U.S., this "Porgy" is a classic.

George Gershwin - Porky & Bess.......2007-05-21

George Gershwin - Porgy & Bess / Trevor Nunn Â· Sir Simon Rattle Â· W. White Â· C. Haymon Â· Glyndebourne Opera

Very Good!.......2007-05-19

Having read some of the other reviews, it appears as though some don't realize that Porgy and Bess was (and is) an opera. Many who are only familiar with the 1959 Samuel Goldwyn musical with Sidney Poitier, Brock Peters, Dorothy Dandrige, and Sammy Davis Jr. appear to be disappointed with this production. I too was initially introduced to Porgy and Bess via the musical. And, as a child, enjoyed it! However, after having purchased a complete score recording back in the 1970's, I came to discover just how much I was missing! I also discovered that Ira Gershwin had the Samuel Goldwyn musical pulled in 1974 since it demeaned what he and his brother, George, had in mind. A number of years back (March 20, 1983 to be exact) I saw a production of Porgy and Bess in it's entirety (it did omit the "Buzzard song") at Radio City Music Hall from the front row and was overwhelmed. I saw it again a couple of years ago at, I believe, the Carpenter Center in Richmond Va. (not quite the production as the one in NYC but good none the less). This DVD is about as close as I'll get to seeing a fine production of that opera again! If you don't like George Gershwin music or Operas, don't buy it! If you want to experience what George and Ira Gershwin intended, this is as close to it as we'll get for a while.

out of date.......2007-03-08

In it's prime this was probably a great opera and if you are interested in the early culture of our country it is a must see. The opera is difficult to follow and a guide would be helpful otherwise you just stumble through it. Not much for entertainment.

Preminger's version is NOT the "original"!.......2006-09-20

Several other users have said everything I'm going to, but their opinions may get lost amongst the overwhelming majority of comments lamenting the unavailability of the 1959 film version of "Porgy & Bess". Let's just get some of the basic facts straight again.

The "original" production of "Porgy & Bess" as an opera took place in 1935 on stage. Even this premiere presentation was abridged, both to conform to the conventions of Broadway (where it was originally presented), and to spare the voices of the leads, particularly Porgy (which is why the "Buzzard Song" was cut from the first production).

In a sense, the first time the opera was presented as Gershwin truly envisioned it was by the Houston Grand Opera in 1976, with the full score restored, as well as the recitative passages which were frequently changed to spoken dialogue in earlier productions.

The film version was an aberration-- I've never seen it, but have read quite a bit about it, and it seems clear that this version was intended as more of a musical than an opera. Also, most of the parts were dubbed by other singers, so those who complain about about this issue on the current DVD release of the Glyndebourne production should bear that in mind.

The Gershwin estate *is* responsible for squashing any trace of the PReminger film, which I think is a shame if only for reasons of artistic free speech, but the censorship becomes more understandable when you see how many Amazon.com users have posted comments that demonstrate the 1959 film is, to a large degree, what the public sees as the true "Porgy & Bess". And this is after almost 50 years of supressing the film from public view!

OK, so all the above said, what about the Glyndebourne DVD? I think it's exceptionally well done, but share some of the reservations noted by others: the lip synching is distractingly off at points (particularly if you're watching on a large screen TV); I find the sound mixing occassionally off, sometimes drowning out the vocal lines.

But these are minor quibbles. I can't imagine a true operatic trreatment as a film. I can't even think of a precedent. It's taken for granted that cinematic presentations of Shakespeare will be abridged, rearrange, and reinterpreted, and the same holds true for film treatments of opera. The forms just don't naturally jell.

Television can present opera as opera, with just enough opening up of the action to prevent the story from feeling static or stagebound. And I think Trevor Nunn has done just this, with some creative and original interpretations of his own. Whether you like the change he's made to the ending or not, I think you have to admire the creativity behind it. It's certainly not exploitative. At worst, it's a bit sentimental. I find it inspiring, in a metaphorical way. I don't think the miracle is meant to be taken quite literally.

The performances are uniformally excellent, powerful and dignified. I was personally most impressed by Cynthia Haymon as Bess, who is really the only character to undergo a major transformation through the course of the story. She is believable, earthily beatiful, and the sympathy you feel for her intensifies the heartbreaking tragedy of her fate.

Those who have complained about the acting performances simply don't understand that opera acting is generally stylized, similarly to silent film acting. There's also an unfortunate history of only semi-competent acting in the opera world, but I can't point to a single weak link in the cast of this DVD production.

This is a creative, faithful adaptation for television of the opera as it was intended to be seen by Gershwin himself. The 1959 film should be available for contemporary evaluation, but it's simply unfair to knock this wonderful 1993 prodcution on the basis of dimly nostalgic memories of the lost Preminger film. I do wish the sound were a bit better, and that the lip synching was better matched to the dubbed vocals, but these are intellectual, trivial criticisms of what I find to be a musically and emotionally powerful presentation of Gershwin's masterpiece.

ABC News presents Morrie Schwartz - Lessons on Living

Average customer rating:

Something even a teenager can appreciate
Wonderful & Heartfelt
Tender, Real & Inspiring
ABC News presents Morrie Schwartz- Lessons on Living
Lessons for Thriving not Just Living

ABC News presents Morrie Schwartz - Lessons on Living
Starring: Ted Koppel , and Morrie Schwartz
Manufacturer: KOCH VISION
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson
Wit

ASIN: B0009NZ6N4
Release Date: 2005-08-09

Description

Renowned journalist Ted Koppel conducted a series of interviews with former Sociology professor Morrie Schwartz during the last year of his life after being diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). This series is among the most requested and widely discussed Nightline series of the last 25 years. Watching the night they aired was Schwartz's former student and sportswriter Mitch Albom who was then inspired to reconnect with his former professor and write the best-selling book Tuesdays With Morrie.

Customer Reviews:

Something even a teenager can appreciate.......2007-05-10

I was pleased to see this DVD on amazon's website. I am a high school English teacher and this DVD supplements my Tuesdays with Morrie unit perfectly. We just watched it as a class the other day and the students loved being able to connect with Morrie as a real human being not just a character in the book. Morrie's warmth transcends through the screen and he really is the person everyone wants to be friends with. The interviews show Morrie's deteriorating condition and just what this disease does. Also the extras are excelllent with great features like an interview between Ted and Mitch Albom.

Wonderful & Heartfelt.......2007-01-22

This documentary pairs well with the novel, "Tuesdays with Morrie". Morrie Schwartz seems to be such a lovable, intelligent, insightful, brave man. I was truly touched.

Tender, Real & Inspiring.......2006-12-30

My husband and I enjoyed this DVD so much as we dealt with his own terminal illness. It helped us talk about tough things and gave us hope that the last part of his life needn't be spent in fear or desperation. Absolutely tender, honest and very inspiring.

ABC News presents Morrie Schwartz- Lessons on Living.......2006-11-10

A great companion to book, "Tuesdays with Morrie." Ted Koppel does a sensitive and no nonsense interview of Morrie Schwartz. DVD was in new condition as advertised. I purchased it as a gift.

Lessons for Thriving not Just Living.......2006-11-10

In these interviews Morrie Schwartz shares with his audience what it means to live with meaning. All too often all of us get caught up in the day to day grind and do not take time to be aware of the things that are important until it is too late as they say. We can learn from Morrie what we can do to live now, each and every day with purpose, kindness, and certitude that we have a purpose. Morrie Schwartz left his mark via these interviews. In addition, I believe Ted Koppel did some of his most important journalist work when interviewing Morrie Schwartz.

I have used this material with college students, and they have walked away from class different people as a result of their encounter with the now posthumous Morrie Schwartz. He has truly been given the gift of eternal life!

Average customer rating:

Beautiful Movie Ever
Glad to find it!!!
An entertaining ride
Another great Drew movie
My Favourite

Boys on the Side
Starring: Whoopi Goldberg , Mary-Louise Parker , Drew Barrymore , Matthew McConaughey , and James Remar
Director: Herbert Ross
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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Boys On The Side: Original Soundtrack Album
Riding in Cars with Boys (Special Edition)
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If These Walls Could Talk 2

ASIN: 0790741822
Release Date: 1999-04-27

Amazon.com

This female-bonding film takes your basic soap opera and twists it inside out. Although director Herbert Ross draws superb performances from his actresses, he occasionally wallows in that maudlin, Hollywood melodrama in which close-ups are crucial. Remember, this is the man who directed Steel Magnolias. However, Ross also does something you don't expect: he makes you fall in love with his characters. Whoopi Goldberg is a down-on-her luck singer who hopes to start over in Los Angeles. Mary-Louise Parker is the realtor whose life is going nowhere. After Goldberg answers Parker's ad in the paper for a companion to drive to LA, these two completely different women grudgingly find themselves emotionally involved. Drew Barrymore enters the picture on the first leg of the trip when Goldberg insists on visiting her. After battling with her drug-dealing boyfriend, the flighty, sexy Barrymore throws in with them. During their trek west, the women learn to take life as it lands on them while recognizing true friendship. The film is enlightened in that it accepts the complications and blurred family ties of the '90s. At the heart of the story is the realization that people can expand past expected boundaries. The movie gels in other areas as well. The all-female soundtrack is powerful and works to underscore, not overpower, certain scenes. The same can be said of the supporting cast, specifically Anita Gillette and James Remar. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful Movie Ever.......2007-06-10

Embrace diversity is the message that this movie brings to us all. With the most amazing woman of our time, Whoopi Goldberg has given us a masterful production. A road trip to assist a friend sees these women find a friendship that will last forever, regardless where their future lives take them. This is a must for the sunday afternoon with good friends.

Glad to find it!!!.......2007-04-11

I saw this movie a long time ago and couldn't find it anywhere. I was very excited when I finally found it--and for a great price too!!

An entertaining ride.......2007-01-29

A road movie for the fairer sex, "Boys on the Side" is helped immeasurably by the performances of Mary-Louise Parker, Drew Barrymore, and Whoopi Goldberg. The latter plays a lesbian nightclub singer (!) who agrees to share the wheel with repressed, straight-laced Parker on a trip to San Diego. Following a serious misadventure with her drug pusher boyfriend, the still pixy-ish Barrymore joins the journey.

"Boys on the Side" is as contrived as a soap opera with each character facing a personal crisis, but the three stars are so good, it's easy to overlook the frequently smarmy plot developments and enjoy the performances. Parker is particularly good, especially when she unwinds by lip-synching to Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock." The soundtrack is nicely compiled, too, and features performances by the likes of Sarah McLachlan, Bonnie Raitt, The Indigo Girls, and Annie Lennox.

Brian W. Fairbanks

Another great Drew movie.......2007-01-14

Another great Drew Barrymore movie. Another great cross-country road trip movie. Whoppi Goldberg stars as a lesbian lounge singer in search of a new life; Drew Barrymore stars as a pregnant girl who accidentally killed her abusive boyfriend; and Mary Louise Parker stars as an uptight real estate agent who is infected with HIV. The three women hide out in a small town in Arizona, hoping to start a new life. The relationship between Goldberg's character and Parker's character is very touching. A great chick flick.

My Favourite.......2006-11-10

As this is my favourite soundtrack/movie, of course I would rate it highly!!! Excellent quality, fast delivery, all round good service!!

Living Colour: On Stage at World Cafe Live

Average customer rating:

living colour
Exactly what I expected!
Its about time
Living Colour; absolutely phenominal
I wish it was longer

Living Colour: On Stage at World Cafe Live
Starring: Living Colour
Manufacturer: Decca Vision
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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Still Stuck in Your Throat
What's Your Favorite Color? (Remixes, B-Sides & Rarities)
Paul Rodgers: Live in Glasgow
Rhett Miller: On Stage at World Cafe Live
Sammy Hagar and The Wabos: Livin' It Up! Live in St. Louis

ASIN: B000OYC3I4
Release Date: 2007-05-08

Customer Reviews:

living colour.......2007-07-05

Best live band on the planet still bar none!
Vernon is crazy, will is solid, dougs bass duznt sound like one, but fantastic all the same
and coreys voice is on top form!!

Exactly what I expected!.......2007-06-26

These World Cafe series seem to be pretty high quality - think " Austin City Limits" type audio mix ( very good).
Of course, I would have liked to hear 2 or 3 of my personal favorites that aren't on here, but those songs were never Living Colour's biggest anyway.

The whole band is on fire in this - their hiatus didn't mean anyone stopped playing.

The setlist: 1.Desperate People 2.Middle Man 3.In Your Name 4.Open Letter ( to a Landlord) 5. Wall 6. Glamour Boys 7.Love Rears its Ugly Head 8. Bless Those 9. Ignorance Is Bliss 10. Auslander 11. Cult of Personality

The show is from 2005 / 2006 tour. Bonus features are a band interview, and photos.

Its about time.......2007-06-20

Its about time Living Colour put out a live dvd. This had been a long time coming for us LC fans. I have been a fan since Vivid, and also any solo stuff Vernon Reid puts out, Im into. This dvd rocks all the way thru, with songs from Vivid, and some off their last cd, and of course Cult Of Personality is on there, come on. Like the other reviewer, I feel that this dvd is way to short, but hey, I will take what I can get. When I got this dvd the other day, I watched it 3 times in a row. If your a LC fan, or a Vernon Reid fan, or both, you owe it to yourself to get this dvd. It should be a part of any rock/musicians collection....

Living Colour; absolutely phenominal.......2007-05-18

Yes, this DVD is far too short. I read this show was actually 2 hours long. But to see this band in all its glory is worth every penny. Corey Glover is the best front man in rock. Each of the 4 in the band is an absolutely master of his instrument. I'll take everything available of Living Colour.

I wish it was longer.......2007-05-16

I had seen them in Cleveland a few nights before this performance. The set list is different and ends just short of an hour. I had the misfortune of having to leave the Cleveland concert early so I know I had to have missed about 7 or more songs. I was looking forward to hearing again what I saw that night "Flying" and others. Vernon gives some quotable sermons which is both an extra and interweaved within the concert tracks. I really hope these guys stick around. They are my second favorite band and a DVD release is probably a big step for them in this day and age of burning and pirating discs.

Average customer rating:

yesterday - nezuro
Wonderful!
Where Does the River Go?
I LOVE THIS MOVIE!
Awesome

Yesterday
Starring: Kenneth Khambula , Lihle Mvelase , Harriet Lenabe , Camilla Walker , and Leleti Khumalo
Director: Darrell Roodt
Manufacturer: Hbo Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Sometimes in April
Tsotsi
Cry, The Beloved Country
Sarafina
Paradise Now

ASIN: B000BPL2F6
Release Date: 2006-01-10

Amazon.com

As beautiful as it is heartbreaking, the Oscar®-nominated drama Yesterday brings an intimate human perspective to the AIDS crisis in Africa. On the surface, it's a harsh and devastating story about bad things happening to good people, but such a limited description robs the film of its warmth and tender compassion. Best known for his 1995 drama Cry the Beloved Country, director Darrell James Roodt returns to his native South Africa for this moving and heartfelt portrait of a young, devoted mother named Yesterday (played by Leleti Khumalo, from Hotel Rwanda) who learns that she is HIV positive, and remains determined to stay alive until her young daughter Beauty (Lihle Mvelase) is old enough to go off to school. Her husband (Kenneth Khambula) is also stricken with AIDS, and Yesterday cares for him even as they are ostracized by fearful neighbors in their tiny Zulu village. One might expect a film about AIDS to be terribly depressing, and Roodt pulls no punches when conveying the emotional anguish of Yesterday's dilemma. But Yesterday is so visually beautiful in terms of its physical and spiritual landscape (it was filmed in the expansive KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa) that it's universally appealing, and the score by Madale Kunene adds just the right emotional seasoning to the film's ethnic roots. Anyone with a beating heart can relate to Yesterday's plight as a caring wife and mother, and Khumalo's performance is so lovely that she lights up the screen, even (and perhaps especially) during Yesterday's darkest hours. Without pounding on its point, Yesterday puts a human face on a global crisis that's too often viewed on impersonal terms. --Jeff Shannon

Description

After falling ill, Yesterday (Khumalo) learns that she is HIV positive. With her husband in denial and young daughter to tend to, Yesterday's one goal is to live long enough to see her child go to school. Set against the awesome, harsh landscapes of South Africa, Yesterday is an eloquent, unsentimental film that quietly builds an overwhelming emotional force

Customer Reviews:

yesterday - nezuro.......2007-04-19

this movie is excellent. i cried she had true love in her heart. this move shows aids in africa. I loved it because its based on what is happening in the world. great movie.

Wonderful!.......2006-09-11

This movie is so moving. It shows the true impact AIDS has on a rural South African black community. A must see!

Where Does the River Go?.......2006-07-07

"Where does the river go?" the small daughter asks her mother as they wash clothes on the special washing stones at the river.
"To the sea. It comes from the mountains," she replies, "and it cannot run backwards." Thus runs a paraphrased passage of dialogue from "Yesterday."

This powerful film of compassion and communtity is directed by Darrell James Roodt, best known for his film "Cry the Beloved Country," a stunning film based on the literary classic of South African life by the same name. His film "Yesterday" was nominated for many awards in 2004, the year of its release: best foregn language film for the Academy Awards; the Official Selection of such prestigious film festivals as the Toronto International film festival,and London Film Festival. In 2005, "Yesterday" was the Independent Spirit Awards Best Foreign Film nominee. But it was the Human Rights Film Award at the Venice Film Festival in 2004 where it scooped up the prize.

But, back to that river. "Yesterday" shows the river of love, harsh and true. All types of love: mother-daughter; communal; professional; the reinstatement and deepening of a marriage at the end of life, and a vast landscape holding its humans. "Yesterday" shows the river of time. No, it cannot run backwards. Only to the sea.

--Janet Grace Riehl, author "Sightlines: A Poet's Diary"

I LOVE THIS MOVIE!.......2006-05-02

This is a great movie. The Actor who played yesterday showed great acting skills when showing diffrent emotions. The story was very touching...and it is always great to see the south african culture and hear the wonderful language of Zulu. Although this movie was in subtitles, the movie will still touch your heart and will still take you into the movie as if it were in english. I think the subtitles made the movie truly unique and original you get so much into the movie you forget. GET THIS MOVIE! TODAY NOT TOMMOROW...GET YESTERDAY!

Awesome.......2006-03-18

The movie bought life into an issue that most times is overlooked in reference to other people and cultures who are affected by HIV. I had to watch it twice. Both times were very moving as if I'd never seen it before. The acting, especially Yesterday, was awesome.

Average customer rating:

Great physical comedy!
Suprisinly good
Touching comedy
Not at all what I'd expect from the Farrelly Brothers
mixed feelings

Stuck On You (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Matt Damon , Greg Kinnear , Eva Mendes , Wen Yann Shih , and Pat Crawford Brown
Director: Bobby Farrelly , Mark Steilen , and Peter Farrelly
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005JMG8
Release Date: 2004-04-27

Amazon.com

Stuck on You finds those fun-loving Farrelly brothers in a feel-good mood, delivering a tame, kind-hearted comedy that even your grandma could enjoy. That's a big change from the seminal "hair gel" of There's Something About Mary, but the codirecting Farrellys have genuine affection for Bob and Walt (Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear), conjoined twins who are the owners and short-order cooks at a Martha's Vinyard burger joint. When amateur actor Walt decides he wants to make it in Hollywood--where he lucks into a star-making TV role with Cher (who gamely plays herself in this light Hollywood satire)--Bob has no choice but to go along. Separation surgery is risky, so most of Stuck on You milks mild laughs from the brothers' intimate connection, especially when Bob finds love with a pen-pal (Wen Yann Shih) who's initially unaware of Bob's brotherly predicament. Once again, the Farrellys score big points for their progressive acceptance of differences; several minor roles are played by physically or developmentally disabled actors, and it's a consistently commendable aspect of the Farrellys' comedic worldview. Other, more conventional rewards include Eva Mendes (and her ample cleavage) as a bubbly show-biz wannabe, Seymour Cassel as Walt's old-school agent, and Meryl Streep--yes, Meryl Streep--showing good sportsmanship in a glorified cameo. Stuck on You is dispensable comedy, but you can't knock it for good ol'-fashioned brotherly love. --Jeff Shannon

Description

"Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear make a terrific team" (Newsweek) in this delightfully demented comedy from the inseparable Farrelly Brothers (Shallow Hal, There's Something About Mary). Conjoin the fun with Bob (Damon) and Walt (Kinnear) Tenor, two brothers who share a passion for life—and a liver. But their unique bond leads to wild complications when Walt decides to pursue his dreams of becoming an actor and persuades his reluctant sibling to go along for the ride! Loaded with over-the-top humor and outrageous antics, Stuck On You will leave you beside yourself with laughter!

Customer Reviews:

Great physical comedy!.......2007-01-27

Enough people have summarized the plot so no need for that. What I liked about this film is the very smooth choreography between Damon and Kinnear. They really do move as if they've been together -- long enough. I don't know how many 'takes' it took, but the two actors were quite convincing as people who anticipated each other's moves and have worked out many of the logistics.

There were scenes with very clever choreography of the conjoined twins playing football, boxing, hockey and in a bar fight. No doubt these scenes were to convey the message that conjoined twins can be good athletes.

But as a film and a performance, those scenes showed that the film makers did think about the problems of being 'stuck together.' When the twins were separated, Matt Damon's character still walked sideways and often fell over because his brother wasn't there to balance him.

Good acting, surprising from Damon, not known as a physical comedian.

Suprisinly good.......2007-01-23

When I first saw the previews I thought this movie would be stupid, but the movie proved otherwise. The Farhley brothers are great at bringing to life the characters and making the audience laugh at the same time. This movie is no exception. It focuses more on the characters, but there are still some good laughs. I really got to feel for the characters and cared what happened to them at the end, and I know many of my friends agree.It's a good date movie. Both sexes will like it, becuase it is funny and compelling.

Touching comedy.......2007-01-18

This is a touching and rather moving gentle comedy starring Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as Bob and Walt Tenor, a pair of conjoined twins who are determined to live normal lives to the full despite their condition and the consequent lengths they have to go to support each other's very different ambitions. Walt is the extrovert who wants to be an actor and comedian: Bob is introverted and shy, though a keen sportsman.

As young children Walt and Bob had made each other a promise that neither of them would ever try to hold the other back, and the film is about the lengths they have to go to to keep that promise. At the start of the story they are running a successful fast food outlet in Martha's Vineyard, but early on Walt persuades Bob that they should move to Hollywood to follow Walt's ambition to become a film star. At first nobody takes them seriously, but through a ludicrous series of chances Walt does get a chance at a TV role, and then the difficulties really start.

While Walt is trying to build an acting career, Bob is trying to find romance with his internet pan pal, played by Wen Yann Shih, who is unaware of the fact that he is half of a set of conjoined twins.

Although the film does not shy away from occasional, mostly gentle, jokes about the consequences of the twin's condition, I did not feel that this film was cruel about conjoined twins or people with disability generally. The film was far more scathing about people who saw the brothers as freaks. It presents them as a pair of regular guys who are coping heroically with an unusual set of circumstances.

The rest of the cast was superb. Several Hollywood or TV personalities play themselves, including Cher, Meryl Streep, and Jay Leno - Cher in particular has some outrageous scenes taking the mickey out of herself. Eva Mendes, looking stunning, gives a lift to the film as a cheerful wannabee actress who becomes a supportive friend of the brothers.

There are a few weak or embarrassing moments but overall this is a moving and entertaining film and I can recommend it.

Not at all what I'd expect from the Farrelly Brothers.......2006-10-10

Greg Kinnear and Matt Damon play conjoined twins Walt and Bob Tenor. The two decide to move to LA from their hometown of Martha's Vineyard when Walt decides to pursue a career as an actor. Despite Bob's stage fright, he goes along with his brother's choice and tries to remain supportive. The film has a variety of celebrities in supporting roles and cameos including Cher, Meryl Streep, Eva Mendez and Frankie Muniz.

This movie was fine, but just fine. At no point did I ever laugh out loud, and I probably wouldn't watch it again. It was disappointing to say the least. I've come to expect more from the Farrelly Brothers after There's Something About Mary and Shallow Hal, but this movie didn't really shine in any way. If you've never seen one of their other movies, don't watch this one and consider it characteristic of their work. Instead go for There's Something About Mary which has all the same crass humor and unrealistic moments as this film, but with better delivery and a stronger plot.

mixed feelings.......2006-09-06

I bought this dvd because of the wonderfull Eva Mendes but i didn't know about the plot...what a surprise
I think there is nothing funny in this movie and sometimes bad taste is at his best.
The situation of the siamese twins is far to be a lot of fun and is disturbing somewhere.
Sometimes it looks good and there is a little something.photography and music are very good.
not more than 2 stars.

God Is Closer Than You Think: Six Sessions on Experiencing the Presence of God (Zondervangroupware Small Group DVD Edition)

Average customer rating:

Good small group resource
Great study materials

God Is Closer Than You Think: Six Sessions on Experiencing the Presence of God (Zondervangroupware Small Group DVD Edition)
Starring: John Ortberg , Stephen Sorenson , and Amanda Sorenson
Manufacturer: Zondervan
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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God Is Closer Than You Think Participant's Guide: This Can Be the Greatest Moment of Your Life Because This Moment is the Place Where You Can Meet God (ZondervanGroupware Small Group Edition)
God Is Closer Than You Think: This Can Be the Greatest Moment of Your Life Because This Moment Is the Place Where You Can Meet God
Just Walk Across the Room Curriculum Kit: Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith (Small Group DVD)
Acts
Everybody's Normal Till You Get to Know Them

ASIN: 0310266378

Book Description

The story of the Bible is the story of God’s desire to be with his people. God is extending himself, stretching out to reach us and to fill our lives with his presence. Every moment of your life is like a page in a Where’s Waldo book. God is there, the Scriptures tell us, but the ease with which he may be found varies from one page to the next. God is closer than you think!

Customer Reviews:

Good small group resource.......2007-05-15

Ortberg does it again! This is a good series for any small group. The video teaching is good and the production quality is high. It also works well in large group settings (church Sunday school, etc), which is the way I used it. I would recommend it.

Great study materials.......2006-03-16

The package was a complete one; book, study guide, PowerPoint, & video presentations. I read the book first, then proposed it to my church as a book study, which they enjoyed very well. John Ortberg is a good author and presenter of his materials, challenging common ideas about God with correct biblical ones.

Average customer rating:

AIDS and HIV Answers

Manufacturer: History on Video
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ASIN: B00076ON8M
Release Date: 2004-12-28

Average customer rating:

beautiful film/flawed transfer
Eyes of the soul always pull the strings of life
Buddha's Teaching On Emptiness
poor transfer!
Stunning Movie Making

Life on a String
Starring: Zhongyuan Liu , Lei Huang , Qing Xu , Jinzhan Zhang , and Ling Ma
Director: Kaige Chen
Manufacturer: Kino Video
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ASIN: B00005S3JJ
Release Date: 2002-01-08

Customer Reviews:

beautiful film/flawed transfer.......2004-04-12

Kaige's work with symbolism and emotion is superb.I initially saw this movie on VHS after reading Hoberman's review in the Village Voice. The pacing is fairly fast, given the length of the story, the activity moves right along. Those folks not use to movies outside the mainstream might feel ackward but give it a chance. At the same time Kino Video has done an atrocious job with the video transfer. The initial 10 minutes the frame shakes and jerks and I guarantee that's not from the original. The resolution is overly grainy, someone else needs to redo the remaster, because this awesome screen parable deserves it.

Eyes of the soul always pull the strings of life.......2003-12-14

Chen Kaige's Life on a String is an interesting drama about a blind musician and his young student in past times of China. Master and student travels through the countryside depending only each other in harsh conditions. Master however is hailed as a saint in villages and highly respected. He dreams of being able to see after breaking the 1000th string on his instrument which is told him by his master when he was very very young.
His student however is different than him, more focused on life itself, and a villager girl who has an eye on him makes issues even more complex and thus causing trouble between 2 man.
Life on string is an early work of Chen Kaige and many people will find it long, heavy and basicly very boring. Film demands your attention fully focused on it and requires your patience.
You need to sit back and watch it peacefully without disruption. It is nearly 2 hours long and you wont see much action here apart from some sad twists of life. But such experience is difficult to comeby these days. Kaige's way of telling the story is nothing less than amazing with great takes of Chinese landscape; the wastelands, furious rivers, small towns and temples. Camera work and cinephotography is amazing and acting is good.Zhong yuan Liu's portrayal of the old blind master who can even ends fighting between clans with his instrument. Of course there is traditional Chinese music and songs which creates a great atmosphere by simply elevating the masters "saint" status while he wa singing.
Story questions life itself, asking what is actually seeing and do we see everything by our eyes only? Although master and the student are both blind they actually are aware of every situation around them and use the eyes of their hearts and souls to see. "2 princes fell to earth from heaven" as master says to his student. God of heaven sent his soldiers to shut their eyes so they could not see the evil and dirt of the earth. Both musicians are pure in one sense having none of earthly desires but one : to be able to see which they already know but unaware.
We see it through may examples like in the scenes where master watches a waterfall blindly while a small rainbow graces this beautiful view. Film also has many philosophic underlines and religious background like God of death appearing in man's form
keeping an eye on the old master, refusing to take any money from him, gracing his food with a burning sauce, preparing freshest noodles for the brave traveller only.When master asks about him an answer comes without hesitation: He is the boss, one and only.
Overall it is a difficult long film by Kaige and should not be mixed by his later work. But although it is demanding, it is also very very promising in terms of beauty of cinema as an art. You need to watch life on a string not only with your eyes but with your heart and soul as well. A beautiful example of cinema as a visual art that always touch the senses like nothing else.

Buddha's Teaching On Emptiness.......2003-09-28

A young blind musician is promised by his master that he will
be able to see once he has broken one thousand strings while playing his chinese banjo. Now an old man, he wanders through Chinese village with a young apprentice (who is also blind), playing for villagers who treat him as a saint.

When he breaks the 1000th string, there is no miracle for his eyes; however, he does "see" that each one is led through life by an illusion that suffering will miraculously disappear one day. His young apprentice also has been disillusioned by the death of his lover. Faced with the emptiness of life, the two have different reactions. The old man first becomes angry but then goes back to singing the same old songs about how one day we will not sing from sadness but from joy. It would seem that he has gathered that in the same way as he needed the myth of the 1000 broken strings to get through life with hope, so too do most people need
a myth to carry them through life.

The young apprentice, on the other hand, chooses death and jumps from the same cliff that brought death to his beloved.

This movie is about as happy as reading Schopenhauer. However, there is something liberating about confronting our mortality. When we do so, we can finally begin living instead of devoting so much energy to "covering up" death. This idea was not really explored in the movie though.

As in all Chinese cinema there is wonderful camerawork and scenery; the songs are beautiful and haunting. I would have given 5 stars, except the director attempted to add some minimalist touches to this movie which seemed forced and, in any case, did not completely work.

poor transfer!.......2003-09-19

this dvd looks like a bad copy from an old vhs tape.
i remember seeing this movie years ago being amazed by its
spectacular images. this dvd print is loaded with
faded and dusty pictures, accompanied by muddy audio tracks.
it is disappointing.

Stunning Movie Making.......2002-08-26

Chen Kaige is special. Hollywood has nobody like him. While most movies these days seem obsessed with special effects, Chen Kaige shows how a master movie maker can create a masterpiece with seemingly so little. Acting is superb, photography quite breathtaking and the music will haunt you for weeks after the movie has finished. If you like other Kaige movies like Temptress Moon and Farewell My Concubine, chances are you will love this.

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