Crimes of the Century

Starring:Mike Connors
Studio: Timeless Media Group
Product Type: DVD

The Last King of Scotland (Widescreen Edition)

Average customer rating:

mildly surprised
Essential Viewing
Great Movie.
Even as fiction, very scary...
More relevant than ever!

The Last King of Scotland (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Forest Whitaker , James McAvoy , Kerry Washington , Gillian Anderson , and Simon McBurney
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000NIVJF4
Release Date: 2007-04-17

Amazon.com

As the evil Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, Forest Whitaker gives an unforgettable performance in The Last King of Scotland. Powerfully illustrating the terrible truth that absolute power corrupts absolutely, this fictionalized chronicle of Amin's rise and fall is based on the acclaimed novel by Giles Foden, in which Amin's despotic reign of terror is viewed through the eyes of Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), a Scottish doctor who arrives in Uganda in the early 1970s to serve as Amin's personal physician. His outsider's perspective causes him to be initially impressed by Amin's calculated rise to power, but as the story progresses--and as Whitaker's award-worthy performance grows increasingly monstrous--The Last King of Scotland turns into a pointed examination of how independent Uganda (a British colony until 1962) became a breeding ground for Amin's genocidal tyranny. As Whitaker plays him, Amin is both seductive and horribly destructive--sometimes in the same breath--and McAvoy effectively conveys the tragic cost of his character's naiveté, which grows increasingly prone to exploitation. As directed by Kevin Macdonald (who made the riveting semi-documentary Into the Void), this potent cautionary tale my prompt some viewers to check out Barbet Schroeder's equally revealing documentary General Idi Amin Dada, an essential source for much of this film's authentic detail. --Jeff Shannon

Beyond The Last King of Scotland

More from Forest Whitaker
General Idi Amin Dada
The Last King of Scotland (Paperback)

Stills from The Last King of Scotland

Description

As Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, Forest Whitaker gives "one of the greatest performances of modern movie history" (Wall Street Journal), one that the Associated Press calls "nothing short of Oscar(r) worthy." This is Amin's incredible story as seen through the eyes of Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), a young Scotsman who becomes the volatile leader's personal physician, due in part to Amin's unexpected passion for Scottish culture -- Amin even proclaims himself "The Last King of Scotland". Seduced by Amin's charisma and blinded by decadence, Garrigan's dream life becomes a waking nightmare of betrayal and madness from which there is no escape. Inspired by real people and events, this gripping, suspenseful stunner is filled with performances you will never forget.

Customer Reviews:

mildly surprised.......2007-07-06

not at all expected. entertaining and informative.not the usual historical account of the character. this movie gave a more personal account of the time by showing how others around the historical figure were affected by his actions. good story line. very well done.

Essential Viewing.......2007-07-05

Director Kevin McDonald won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for "One Day in September" in 1999. His next (non-documentary) film is "State of Play" that stars Brad Pitt. He does an excellent job with this film, bringing the horrific reign of Idi Amin to the screen with enough humor & humanity to make it watchable. Jeremy Brock, who did the screenplays for Judy Dench's "Mrs. Brown" & Cate Blanchett's "Charlotte Gray," does a good job of adapting Giles Foden's novel into a workable film.

This may well be Forest Whitaker's most memorable role, despite such excellent work as in the Clint Eastwood picture of Charlie Parker's life titled "Bird" for which he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival & in a lesser-known drama Ghost Dog - The Way of the Samurai. In addition to the Oscar for this film, he won similar awards from the British Academy Awards, the Golden Globe & film critics awards from Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York Film Critics + NY Online Critics, Oklahoma, Phoenix & Washington D.C. Idi Amin is known as one of the most brutal dictators in modern history, joining Lenin, Hitler, Pol Pot & perhaps Sadam Hussein in that nefarious category. In order for the film to work, Brock's screenplay had to show the various levels for the character, which Whitaker delivers with a cinematic payload. We see the humor, the paranoia, the immaturity, the ruthlessness & the bravado of the character. It is an amazing performance.

James McAvoy, who had a small part in "Wimbledon" and played in "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & the Wardrobe," plays the film's protagonist, Dr. Nicholas Garrin. He's a young recent graduate trying to escape the esteemed shadow of his father in Scotland, which makes him decide to arrive in Uganda, where he is ignorant of the politics. On one hand, it seems unbelievable that a character could graduate as a doctor and have such little maturity. On the other hand, we watch TV's "Grey's Anatomy" & see varying levels of maturity among doctors. McAvoy delivers a good performance as he grows up considerably before our eyes. We learn to care about the character and wonder what the next chapter of his life might be like. McAvoy will next be in "Becoming Jane," opposite Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen.

Of the smaller roles, there are some standout performances. Kerry Washington, who breezed through two "Fantastic Four" films, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" & played Della Charles opposite Jamie Foxx in "Ray," plays Idi Amin's wife who is the mother of an epileptic child. In caring for her child and in her position as "third wife," she is seduced by Dr. Garrigan and pays the price.

Gillian Anderson, who will forever be known from her work on the TV show "X-Files," has a stunningly different blonde look and does a good job in this cameo. Simon McBurney from "The Manchurian Candidate" & the upcoming "The Golden Compass," plays the disagreeable British diplomat Stone to perfection. We really hate him, as we are supposed to do. David Oyelowo's cameo part as Dr. Junju who is the conscience of the clinic does an excellent job. Stephen Rwangyezi as Amin's assistant Jonah Wasswa does good work in a small part. "The Last King of Scotland" is not always pleasant, but Whitaker's celebrated performance makes this essential viewing. Enjoy!

Great Movie........2007-07-03

This movie is very moving. To think that stuff like that actually is still happening all over the world is crazy. Worth watching for sure. Forest Whitaker was excellent.

Even as fiction, very scary..........2007-07-03

This is said to be fiction, but the subject of that fiction is as frightening as anything you may ever see. Idi Amin certainly had charm, charisma, and all the things I've learned to avoid in people as I've gotten older. It's never what it seems... James McAvoy is really the lead, and it's his observations that create the center of this fine film. Forrest Whitaker justifiably won many awards for his powerful, insightful portrayal, though he really wasn't the lead character. Known for generally sweet-natured performances, Mr. Whitaker has a repertoire that is most respected. This display of total control and command of the character is frightening and complete, a tour de force. Anyone remember his magnificent performance as Charlie Parker in Eastwood's "Bird"? Though he wasn't the main character, this man created memorable moments (not unlike other Oscar winners with limited screen time, like Anthony Hopkins in "Lambs" or Geoffrey Rush in "Shine"). James McAvoy was given a bad rap by many, but I thought he was terrific. Kerry Washington, too was excellent, and te direction & editing were to the utmost power of the simple story being told.DVD extras are insightful, and Mr. Whitaker's humble approach to the frighteningly powerful role is well examined. The atrocities committed by Idi Amin are only history now, and the idea that such people still exist cannot be ignored. Even as fiction, this depiction of a power hungry maniac can't be discounted by a caring world public.

More relevant than ever!.......2007-07-01

The Last King of Scotland sheds light on one of the most well known African dictators, General Idi Amin Dada of Uganda, who ruled from 1971 to 1979.
A Scot doctor arrives in Africa upon graduating from University in order to distance himself from his overprotective family as well as get a feel of adventure. In Uganda he witnesses the military coup d'etat that brings Idi Amin to power. Upon stumbling across the new leader by chance he renders his medical services and before he knows it he becomes the Ugandan leader's personal physician. His problems, however, have just started...
James McAvoy, Forest Whitaker, Gillian Anderson (who looks great after losing weight and going blonde), and the rest of the cast carry out their respective roles very well.
More relevant than ever, the movie does a great job as an eye-opener to one of the most brutal leaders the Dark Continent has seen in the twentieth century. The film provides the necessary background as well as an accurate description of political and social conditions therein. British involvement is briefly touched upon, but nevertheless provides for some important insight.
Moreover, it could have been and it should have been much more graphic in showing what really took place in Uganda's "killing fields."
Hopefully more will be done to stop the ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of Western Sudan and we will not have to wait for another movie to come out after it's all over before people become aware and do that which is humane.
Similarly to movies like The Lord of War, Hotel Rwanda, and Blood Diamond to name a few, The Last King of Scotland draws attention to some very important issues facing Africa.

The Last King of Scotland (Full-Screen Edition)

Average customer rating:

mildly surprised
Essential Viewing
Great Movie.
Even as fiction, very scary...
More relevant than ever!

The Last King of Scotland (Full-Screen Edition)
Starring: Forest Whitaker , James McAvoy , Kerry Washington , Gillian Anderson , and Simon McBurney
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B000NIVJFE
Release Date: 2007-04-17

Amazon.com

Beyond The Last King of Scotland

More from Forest Whitaker
General Idi Amin Dada
The Last King of Scotland (Paperback)

Stills from The Last King of Scotland

Description

Customer Reviews:

mildly surprised.......2007-07-06

Essential Viewing.......2007-07-05

Great Movie........2007-07-03

This movie is very moving. To think that stuff like that actually is still happening all over the world is crazy. Worth watching for sure. Forest Whitaker was excellent.

Even as fiction, very scary..........2007-07-03

More relevant than ever!.......2007-07-01

Average customer rating:

The best feel good book ever.
A true saga of "loving your neighbor as thyself"
engaging movie
The Hiding Place
Too much misinformation here!

Billy Graham Presents: The Hiding Place
Starring: Julie Harris , Jeannette Clift , Arthur O'Connell , Robert Rietty , and Pamela Sholto
Director: James F. Collier
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
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ASIN: B000BOH8VO
Release Date: 2006-04-11

Description

In this inspiring true story of Holocaust survivor Corrie ten Boom, a family joins the underground resistance. But when they themselves are arrested and imprisoned in concentration camps, they realize the importance of their own faith.

Customer Reviews:

The best feel good book ever........2007-04-06

Hard to put this book down. It has to make you a better person just for reading it. She must have a special place in heaven.

A true saga of "loving your neighbor as thyself" .......2007-03-13

The Hiding Place

A true saga of "loving your neighbor as thyself"
[146 minutes - genre: reality and drama]

In a manuscript from the 1st century AD one reads < < "You have heard that it was said `An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'" But I say to you Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also ..." "You have heard that it was said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven...">> [words of Jesus, gospel manuscript according to Matthew]

"The Hiding Place, is one of the most extraordinary true stories to come out of World War II. Filmed in Holland and other authentic European locations, the film traces the lives of Corrie ten Boom, her father, and sister Betsie, from the quiet years before WWII, to their work with the `under-ground' in helping to save the lives of countless Jewish families. The ultimate price they pay for their efforts is arrest and imprisonment in one of Nazi Germany's most dreaded concentration camps. In the midst of monstrous cruelty and suffering, Corrie and Betsie must face the greatest test of their faith in God and their ability to love mankind." [DVD jacket description]

Los Angeles Times calls it "It is that rarest of rarities, a film of shining, triumphant spirituality."

The acting was flawless, the cinematography could not be more authentic [accurate details of life in a `work-camp'], but what shined above all else was the testimony of faith and courage of this Christian Dutch family. Their morals and religious ethics came first, not only in times of freedom, or Nazi occupation, but also in times of despair living in sub-human conditions of the Nazi `lager' [concentration camp].

The end is as dramatic as the rest of the story itself -
"Years later it was learned my release came through a clerical error. ... Some questions remain, but they are not to be feared. Out heavenly Father holds all things in His hands. Even our questions. ... No pit is so deep, that He is not deeper still. With Jesus even in our darkest moments, the best remains, and the very best is yet to be. ... I promised my sister - I would tell it - and I tell you."

What a beautiful testimony of living as a child of God and loving one's neighbor and also one's enemies.

engaging movie.......2007-01-19

Nice movie on the topic, particularly for Christians,
(good choice of movies at Easter time).

The Hiding Place.......2007-01-06

I am researching the life of Corrie Ten Boom, and found the depiction of her life from the movie was portrayed quite well! The horrifying events that lead up to the Holocaust were unknown to me. I did not come from the era that it is still so fresh upon the hearts of all men. Only those that remember and lived it. My eyes were opened even more by this beautiful movie to a time that as a country and world we should never forget, lest it happen again and again. Corrie's courage is just one of millions of souls that suffered this horrendous ordeal. Allow her story to touch your heart as it did mine. Enjoy this film!

Too much misinformation here!.......2006-10-11

In a number of the reviews, I've read that "nobody survived except Corrie."

Simply not true. Her sister died, her father died, and one of her many nephews died. After her release from the camp, she returned to her surviving brother and sister-in-law (brother died in '46 from tuberculosis), and her surviving sister, who had also been arrested and imprisoned. And many nieces and nephews as well.

One poster asks "what did they accomplish by their sacrifice?" Beyond the fact that they weren't trying to "sacrifice" anything, but rather just living their faith to the best of their ability, the poster doesn't seem to realize that they were part of the Dutch Underground. They were part of an organizational system that saved, and got ration cards, for hundreds of Jews. The Ten Boom home transferred many Jews to safer hiding places, as did others. They did it as part of a network of people, many of whom were ordinary and clumsy and inexperienced, and deceived eventually by informers.

Of the five eventual "permanent" residents, four survived the war. The fifth, an elderly woman, was arrested while walking the street in daylight.

Please check facts before you post!

Average customer rating:

The Diary of Anne Frank
The Diary of Anne Frank
Good for Home, less good for school
Unforgetable
Grandma

The Diary of Anne Frank
Starring: Millie Perkins , Joseph Schildkraut , Shelley Winters , Richard Beymer , and Gusti Huber
Director: George Stevens , and Frankie Glass
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000DJZ8P
Release Date: 2004-02-03

Amazon.com essential video

George Stevens (Giant) directed this 1959 film adaptation of the hit play based on the writings of Anne Frank, the Jewish girl from Amsterdam who hid in an attic with her family and others during the Nazi occupation. As Anne, Millie Perkins is something of a milky eyed enigma and--in retrospect--too old for the part; but she is surrounded by an outstanding cast, including Joseph Schildkraut as Anne's patient father, Ed Wynn as a cranky dentist who moves into Anne's "room," and Shelley Winters as the loud Mrs. Van Daan. Stevens turns the many overlapping dramas of the caged characters into the foundation of Anne's growth as a young woman, ready for life and love just at the moment the dream comes to an end. Beautifully shot by cinematographer William C. Mellor, and written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett from their stage production. --Tom Keogh

Description

A diary discovered in the attic of an Amsterdam factory reveals the plight of a jewish refugee family that lived there in hiding for two years during the Nazi occupation.

Customer Reviews:

The Diary of Anne Frank.......2007-06-26

One of the finest postwar films to deal with the human drama of the Holocaust, Stevens's tense, heartfelt adaptation of the popular stage play was based on the real-life Frank's own diaries. Schildkraut is tailor-made for the role of the ever-patient Mr. Frank, and Perkins is movingly adept at capturing Anne's adolescent turmoil in the face of impending horror. Shelley Winters's anxious, high-strung turn as Mrs. Van Dean won her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Gorgeously shot in CinemaScope by Oscar winner William Mellor, "Diary" is a poignant and ultimately tragic coming-of-age tale about a kind of imprisonment from which there is no escape.

The Diary of Anne Frank.......2007-06-09

Excellent portrail of what went on during the holocaust, when in hiding.

Good for Home, less good for school.......2007-06-08

really an excellent movie--I can see why it won an Academy Award

However, I used it in my eighth grade English class and students were a little bored; several of them voiced a wish that it was in color.

Unforgetable.......2007-05-13

I think everyone in the world should see this classic,ageless movie..Its well presented, true storyline and endearing to all ages..No one must ever forget.

Grandma.......2007-05-07

This book was purchased for my 13 yr. old granddaughter. She could not put the book down. She is very interested in this subject matter. It was very enlightening for her to read about this era of history.

Average customer rating:

Different WWII film that speaks to the war today
Purple Heart
"WE WILL BLACKEN YOUR SKIES AND BURN YOUR CITIES TO THE GROUND AND WIPE YOUR DIRTY LITTLE EMPIRE OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH"
A must see
"We'll come by day and we'll come by night. Thousands of us.

Purple Heart
Starring: Dana Andrews , Richard Conte , Farley Granger , Kevin O'Shea (III) , and Don 'Red' Barry
Director: Lewis Milestone
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000MGBLJ6
Release Date: 2007-04-24

Amazon.com

One of Hollywood's most striking films of World War II has very little war in it, yet it whips up a fearsome power. A U.S. bomber that took part in the Doolittle raid on Tokyo crash-lands in Japanese-occupied China afterward. Captured, the officers and crew are hauled before a Japanese court and tried for war crimes. The trial is illegal and stacked against the Americans from the outset. But that doesn't stop it from developing into a fierce duel of nerves and icy politesse, especially between the U.S. commander (Dana Andrews) and the Japanese general (Richard Loo), who is the chief architect of the strategy to break the Americans and learn how the raid was carried out.

The story for The Purple Heart was written by none other than 20th Century-Fox studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck, resurrecting one of his pseudonyms--Melville Crossman--from the days when he used to crank out gangster pictures and Rin Tin Tin movies for Warner Bros. Did it have any corollary in fact? Home front audiences in 1944 were ready to believe the worst, and what The Purple Heart asked them to believe was both terrible and inspiring. The film was directed, pungently, by Lewis Milestone, a two-time Oscar winner and Hollywood's most honored chronicler of the horrors of war (e.g., All Quiet on the Western Front); cinematographer Arthur Miller, Fox's master of black and white, worked wonders with the claustrophobic interiors. The solid cast also includes Richard Conte, Sam Levene, and Farley Granger. --Richard T. Jameson

Description

World War II American fighter pilots are shot down over China and tortured. Dana Andrews, Richard Conte and Farley Granger struggle against tyranny.

Customer Reviews:

Different WWII film that speaks to the war today.......2007-06-27

In my quest to see all of the great old films of WWII made in the 1940's, I bought this one and I'm glad I did!
It's very different from the "typical" battle-action films; this one is set mainly in Japan where American Army Air Corps pilots are put on trial for "war crimes."
In the course of their imprisonment, they are tortured to confess to crimes they didn't commit.
They have no real lawyers.
The Geneva Convention is never mentioned.
They go bravely and proudly to their deaths by execution.
All of it highlights not only the humane treatment we give enemy combatants now at Guantanamo Bay but also the fanatical aim of world domination of today's Islamofacist enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan is exactly like that of the Shinto/Bushido Japanese that we vanquished in WWII.
This movie is really a must see that acurately portrays the enemy in wartime as truly evil with none of the moral equivalence that we get from Hollywood and the Media these days.

Purple Heart.......2007-06-08

Fantastic movie, have enjoyed it for many years on my copy on a VCR tape that I made off of TV, and now I have a great DVD version of it. The best part of the movie is that it is in the Full Screen format and not as how most come. I wish that your organization could get more movies in the Full Screen format, and not as most company's use the Wide Screen or that stupid letter boxed. Keep up the good work!!

"WE WILL BLACKEN YOUR SKIES AND BURN YOUR CITIES TO THE GROUND AND WIPE YOUR DIRTY LITTLE EMPIRE OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH".......2007-04-04

This is an inspiring movie to ALL Americans at this stage of the war vs Japan...in reality, three [3] of the captured USAAF crew were beheaded, others tortured unmercifuly...3 survived at war's end...with the release of, "The Purple Heart" at Christmas time [1944] well after the Gen Doolittle raid in April 1942, it hit home and in our hearts to the heroics of our courageous United States Army Air Force and Naval Forces in harm's way...this movie depicts Japan for all of her quick grabs in the Pacific War; yet, Japan was wide open and vunerable to air attack...it helped lift our morale to perservere, sacrifice and no more surrenders, ultimately paving the way for Japan's unconditional surrender forevermore in Aug/1945...it was NOT a propaganda movie; conversely, a cornerstone film for total victory over Japan who was our most formidable and cunning enemy we ever faced on the sea and on the land...Dana Andrews stirring lecture to that Japanese judge rang true as the "USAAF will blackened your skies, day and nite we'll come to burn your cities to the ground and wipe your dirty little Empire off the face of the earth"...that was a TRUISM and justly so...sadly, today's liberal Americans can't relate or comprehend to just what a UNITED effort it took to bring the Japanese Militarists to extinction in Aug/1945...the Japanese got what they readily deserved with A-Bomb interest...this movie was a harbinger of what was to come to the home-islands of Japan...WW2 was a great American lesson to America's enemies...I loved this wartime 1944 film about wartime April/1942....SSGT CHRIS SARNO-USMC FMF

A must see.......2007-02-21

This is one of the all-time classic propaganda pieces of the war. Here we have the "typical" American unit made up of boys from Texas, Brooklyn, and Iowa, led by a steely officer (Dana Andrews)in a tribute to democracy. For my money, however, the scenery-chewing performance of Richard Loo as the Tojo-look-alike Japanese officer (complete with an appliance in his mouth to make his teeth look bigger...just like all of the print propaganda characatures of Japanese soldiers) steals the show. Loo's line "How many people will the white man sacrifice?" has become a cult classic with my colleagues and I and will likely remain so for some years. You've truly got to see this to believe it.

"We'll come by day and we'll come by night. Thousands of us........2005-09-20

One of the greatest WWII movies ever made.We need this on DVD. The best part is when Dana Andrews tells the court "We'll come by day and we'll come by night. Thousands of us and we won't stop coming till we wipe that dirty little empire off the face of the earth." What could be more inspiring. Please put this out on DVD as a collectors edition.

Average customer rating:

Camp Rules
Must-have DVD ... but there is a discrepancy
Beyond the Valley of the dolls
Get real
Wow.

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
Starring: Pam Grier
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000EXDSC0
Release Date: 2006-06-13

Amazon.com

One never tires of watching Russ Meyer's Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, a distant relative of Jaqueline Susann's bestselling novel, Valley of the Dolls, and its filmic counterpart, Valley of the Dolls. Kelly McNamara (Dolly Read), Casey Anderson (Cynthia Myers), and Petronella Danforth (Marcia McBroome), star as the hot female trio who clumsily navigate Hollywood during the Swingin' Sixties to promote their band, The Carrie Nations. Written by Rogert Ebert, Ebert calls the film the "first rock-horror exploitation musical," because BVD, as it's called by fans, encompasses all that was sexy, funny, hip, schlocky, stylish, and horrific about America's most interesting cultural period. BVD can be viewed as a Sixties' artifact, packed with consummate party scenes (and a cameo appearance by Strawberry Alarm Clock), as the original skin flick, as a proto-cult classic, or as a benchmark in American cinema, since it is actually well- written, artfully shot, and finely edited. This special edition re-release includes a second disc comprised of five featurettes, whose topics include Meyers' biography, the Carrie Nations music as soundtrack, Casey and Roxanne's titillating lesbian love scene, and the political climate during the Sixties. Revisiting Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, especially after Russ Meyer's recent death, reminds viewers to treasure his visionary obsession with female beauty. --Trinie Dalton

Description

When three female rock'n'rollers travel to Hollywood to claim an inheritance, they meet up with a kinky music promoter who turns them on to a whole new scene. At first, all seems very exciting and the naïve trio becomes submerged in his dangerous tinseltown underworld-before they discover his true motives.

Customer Reviews:

Camp Rules.......2007-07-05

If you're like campy 70s drug culture, hippie culture movies, this is the best one!! Top notch!

Must-have DVD ... but there is a discrepancy.......2007-06-12

I just got a DVD set from an on-line auction that includes an extra disc (Ebert commentary, and just tons of extras) and miniature lobby cards.

But the Amazon listing above (same ISBN!) has none of these extras listed and is just ONE disc:

Another oddity is that the Amazon listing says it is rated X whereas my DVD has it rated NC-17. The running time of my DVD is the same 109 minutes however so if they cut some scenes to "soften" it for NC-17 they must have put new material in. My guess is that the MPAA now requires DVD releases to adapt the rating equivalent from the new system.

Beyond the Valley of the dolls.......2007-06-05

The movie it's self is okay. When I ordered this film, I was under the impression that this was the original "X" rated version. What I got was the NC-17 version. This is a milder version from what the original film is. When I ordered this film, it said it was the "X" rated one. I also read that they had changed the rating from the x rated to the nc-17 version, but did not mention that the content in the movie was aslo changed. I am somewhat disappointed.

Get real.......2007-03-21

Quite possibly, the stupidest movie ever made.

"well-written"--could have fooled me.
"artfully shot"--I guess it had its moments, especially if you like a lot of very black shadows covering most of what you want to see, but the rest of it is no better than the standards of crappy 60's TV.
"finely edited"--I guess there's an art to cutting a real turkey

Not a campfest, not a comedy, just plain bad. Get some busty dolls and some dopey guys, throw them in a stew, show some teasers of the breasts, add a cheesy, dashed-off script by a guy who suddenly exemplars "do as I say, not as I do" and plan on it becoming a "cult classic." This is not "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"! And you'd have so much more fun watching that one again instead.

Roger Ebert, do you really chuckle when you remember this one claim to movie making fame? I thought your profession was about helping people to not waste their time. You sure wasted mine.

Wow........2007-03-09

The Roger Ebert commentary is one of the most educational pieces available out there. (ps. the Newsradio commentary with Brad Grey, Paul Simms, Julie Bean and Warren Littlefield is a close second).

Average customer rating:

Ashley Judd & Morgan Freeman
Lots of turns and twists!
Great movie
Quick paced, suspense filled, not to be underestimated movie
Guilty as charged

High Crimes
Starring: Ashley Judd , Morgan Freeman , James Caviezel , Adam Scott , and Amanda Peet
Director: Carl Franklin
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000068MBI
Release Date: 2002-08-27

Amazon.com

A welcomed reunion of Kiss the Girls costars Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman makes High Crimes a worthwhile thriller with vivid, likable characters. Efficiently directed by Carl Franklin, this military mystery doesn't have the unpredictable edginess of Franklin's Devil in a Blue Dress, but its twisting plot is sure to hold anyone's attention. Judd plays a successful, happily married lawyer whose husband (Jim Caviezel) is accused of killing innocent citizens during his military service in El Salvador some 13 years earlier. A cover-up implicates a powerful Brigadier General (Bruce Davison), but when Judd hires a maverick attorney (Freeman), Judd is caught in a potentially lethal trap of threats and deception. Attentive viewers will stay ahead of the action, and alleged villains are posed as obvious decoys. Still, Judd and Freeman have an appealing rapport (shared with Amanda Peet, playing Judd's vivacious sister), and Freeman's character flaws add worldly spice to yet another rich performance. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Ashley Judd stars as Claire Kubik, a high-powered attorney whose perfect life comes down when her husband is charged with high crimes of murder. Enlisting the aid of a shrewd military lawyer (Morgan Freeman), Claire will risk her career and even her life to find the truth in this "head-snapping thriller" (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

Customer Reviews:

Ashley Judd & Morgan Freeman.......2007-05-13

This is a great movie. I loved the interaction between Judd & Freeman, and Freeman asking Judd to join his business.

Lots of turns and twists!.......2007-03-07

Ashley Judd gives a stunning performance as an attorney who must keep her husband from getting the death penalty in military court. Tom Kubik has been living under an assumed identity to keep from being arrested for a crime he says he didn't participate in, but will have a hard time proving since many of the eye witnesses are dead. Once a secret mission gets the layers peeled away, things get brutal and many involved find their lives at risk as someone in the military tries to bury the truth. Morgan Freeman is a top attorney who is fighting with alcoholism, but hasn't lost his edge. He goes out on a limb to help clear Claire Kubik's husband of accusations and prove what really happened in a marine mission that went terribly wrong. However, the attorneys dig too deep and uncover some facts they really didn't want to know about. Great story!

Chrissy K. McVay - Author

Great movie.......2007-02-16

This was an excellent suspense thriller. I was caught off guard for the final twist. I recommend this movie.

Quick paced, suspense filled, not to be underestimated movie.......2007-01-05

HIGH CRIMES is a powerful, quick paced, eyes-peeled to the screen
kind of movie, that will keep you on the edge of your seat for
most of the picture, until the very end, notwithstanding some
jaded and defeatist comments seen elsewhere on this site from
other movie goers.

The military tribunal, and the portrayal of military life, mility
justice and those who work in that industry - as living in a
significantly differnet world than the civilian one - is
accurate. Obviously, anyone having done basic training will
recall the indoctrination, team values, hard work, dedication and
focus that those joining it are expected to incorporate into
themselves, that some might also call, brainwashing or hazing.

In this movie, James Caviezel plays a character that is difficult
to discern, as a good guy or bad guy...he keeps the audience
guessing until the very end. Most will fail to recognize him, as
Mel Gibson's Jesus, as I did, certainly.

The weak spot of this movie, are 1 or 2 special effects and
action scenes, .. such as when the SUV is pushed over the side of
the highway, and flips over. The vehicle didn't seem to have the
natural momentum to flip, and this is later shown accurate in the
extras part of the DVD, which shows wires pulling the SUV to one
side, digitally manipulated afterwards to hide those wires from
the viewers. Others effects and scene and better filmed, such as
the scene in the street, with the SWAT team.

All in all, this movie, with Morgan Freeman bringing his
credibility to it, and Ashley Judd showing her dynamic and
articulate presence, is not to be underestimated, considering
that it will impact the mind of the viewers with a strong and
remarkably powerful artistic statement.

Guilty as charged.......2006-10-03

THE CASE: High Crimes begins with grainy footage of a bunch of bodies lined up in a grungy town, while an elderly woman wails over and over. We flash back to the happy marriage of Claire (Ashley Judd) and Tom Kubik (James Caviezel) who are trying to start a family. She's a successful lawyer; he's a successful Marine. Their life is disrupted by a break-in by some punks.

In a trend that is highly representative of the disjointed plotline of High Crimes, Tom is suddenly arrested. Tom's name is actually Sergeant Ron Chapman, and he is wanted for the execution of a bunch of people in another country. But Tom/Ron proclaims his innocence, complicated by the fact that Claire is pregnant.

So Claire buckles down. She decides to stand by her man and act as counsel on the case after meeting Ron's defense, Lieutenant Terrence Embry (Adam Scott), a newbie for sure. Claire's not dumb; she knows she needs help. She pulls in Dr. Alex Cross...I mean Charles W. Grimes, played by Morgan Freeman. Complicating things is Jackie (Amanda Peet), Claire's sister.

I'm bringing High Crimes up on charges of opaque plot points, awful stereotypes, and worst of all, just being plain boring. The charges are as follows:

HIGH CRIME #1: Using Grimes' alcoholism for laughs. It's not funny and it's insulting to alcoholics.

HIGH CRIME #2: Portraying the Marines as bloodthirsty, incompetent thugs who terrorize women and the downtrodden. It's offensive to just about everyone in the armed forces.

HIGH CRIME #3: The Jackie character doesn't need to be in the movie. Peet's sole purpose is apparently to walk around in underwear so that Judd doesn't have to.

HIGH CRIME #4: Idiotic clues. Ambidextrous people do NOT all throw things back and forth in their hands; that is certainly not indicative of a person being a criminal. Worse, in the flashback sequences, the main bad guy tosses an AK-47 (not an easy weapon to toss around) back and forth in his hands. All to demonstrate he's ambidextrous and therefore the killer.

HIGH CRIME #5: A long, drawn-out (115 minute) plot with a depressing conclusion that doesn't make up for any of the nonsense we had to put up with to get to the end.

LESSER CHARGES: Unbelievable plot points (a civilian lawyer defending her military husband?), choppy editing (what does the break-in have to do with anything?), cheesy music that telegraphs When Bad Things Are About to Happen (TM), characters that appear out of nowhere and then disappear until conveniently needed, and really stupid terror tactics by the shadowy bad guys.

Your honor, I find High Crimes guilty of all of the above charges and recommend both Judd and Freeman be given better acting opportunities, Yuri Zelster and Grace Cary Bickley sent to writing school, and director Carl Franklin sentenced to acting in the Alf Christmas Special...again.

Average customer rating:

The Young Lions
A Fresh Look at WWII
Watch this for Brando
An eloquent statement with a masterly musical score ever composed for a war film...
good show

The Young Lions
Starring: Marlon Brando , Montgomery Clift , Dean Martin , Hope Lange , and Barbara Rush
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005PJ8M
Release Date: 2002-05-21

Amazon.com

One of the most thoughtful films about World War II, this 1958 Edward Dmytryk (The Left Hand of God) drama, based on a novel by Irwin Shaw, tells parallel stories of two American soldiers (Montgomery Clift and Dean Martin) and one German officer (Marlon Brando), whose war experiences we follow until they intersect outside a concentration camp. Martin plays what he calls "a likable coward," Clift is intense as a Jewish GI, and Brando experiments with the limits of his part as a Nazi reevaluating his beliefs. Legend has it that Clift accused Brando of bleeding-heart excessiveness. Interestingly, the two Method actors share no scenes together. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

The Young Lions.......2007-06-27

Based on Irving Shaw's novel, Edward Dmytryk's perceptive rumination on love, war, loyalty, and fate is notable for offering one of the first three-dimensional portrayals of a Nazi character, courtesy of Brando, in a surprisingly understated mode. Clift's own turn as the proud, patriotic Jew is one of his shining moments on-screen, while Dino eased into his first serious screen role with assurance. Great support from Lee Van Cleef (as Clift's racist superior), the superb Maximillian Schell (as a cynical Nazi), and Hope Lange, Barbara Rush, and May Britt (as love interests) keep these "Lions" roaring.

A Fresh Look at WWII.......2007-06-01

All too often you watch a movie about WWII and it's a pretty one sided affair as we follow a group of angst ridden GI's as they fight the enemy and each other to save Democracy from the evil German fascists.

But every now and again you get a film like the Young Lions which spins the familiar story on its head and shows you that the evil fascist German is also human no matter how wrong the cause he or she served.

Marlon Brando is good as an idealistic German who buys into the social changes promised by the NAZI regime. And honestly, a great many young and old Germans shared a belief in that promise. Our "good" German sees combat in France and North Africa before ending his career in the West against the Americans played by Clift and Martin. Their encounter underscores the painful truth about war, which is men kill men with whom in other circumstances they might have been friends.

There is also an interesting connection between Brando's German and Martin's American as they share an interest in the same American woman.

One of the most interesting scenes in the movie takes place early on as Brando's German has dinner with a comrade and his comrade's two French female friends. The French woman paired with Brando's German takes the opportunity to slam the Boche and as Brando accepts her withering attack, the camera pans to show two SS Officers beginning to show interest in the goings on at Brando's table. Utimately, the scene between the good German and the patriotic French woman ends with simple man to woman appreciation symbolic that at the heart of everything we are all just the same despite our languages, our politics, etc.

For a movie made in 1958, The Young Lions is daring and engages your mind to think about the possibility that the Germans were human after all and that even the good Americans had their flaws as Clift's Jewish American endures the racial enmity of his fellow GI's.

Hey, this great film is selling cheap and is well worth your time! C'mon what else you gonna do for the next 2 hours!?!

Watch this for Brando.......2007-03-05

What lifts this WWII film above the conventional is the brilliant portrayal by Brando of a confused German soldier. His story is far more interesting than his American counterparts. Schell's character is also interesting although his "mummy" garb after he is blown off his motorcycle is unintentionally funny.

Clift and Dean Martin's characters are actually quite irritating - Clift appears to be in a different film with a portrayal dripping with inner turmoil - think James Dean in Giant. Martin's character is simply redundant.

If you want sweeping battle action you will be disappointed, however what action the film does have is quite effective. It also features a nice score.

An eloquent statement with a masterly musical score ever composed for a war film..........2007-01-17

More than a passing resemblance exists between Clift's Noah and the Robert E. Lee Prewitt of 'From Here to Eternity.' They are both "hard heads,' determined to live by their own special code of honor... The chief difference is that Noah is not alone... Throughout the film, he is accompanied by a friend, who has a number of reasons to be against the war... Also Noah gets the girl of his dreams... He even marries her...

'The Young Lions' retains its impact as one of the better films made about war... The combat scenes are limited in scale but brilliantly staged and photographed, with good direction of a complex script and a masterly musical score by Hugo Friedhofer...

Director Dmytryk never misses an opportunity to underline how war comes into collision with the destinies of people... When Brando encounters May Britt - as the wife of his superior officer, Maximilian Schell - she is the perfect image of Nazi vices: Corrupt, hedonistic, and, of course, condemned along with the rest of the decadent Germans... Her hazardous beauty is used as counterpoint to Brando's enthusiasm and beliefs: She represents all that is bad and immoral while he is everything noble and pure...

Dmytryk is less awkward depicting the relationship between Clift and Lange: Their Love is a natural condition... They belong together... Like Robert E. Lee Prewitt, Clift's Noah is ill-at-ease socially... When he meets Lange, his reaction is clear, spontaneous, purposeful, direct... He begins to babble a lot to make an impression on her, because, as he tells her later, "I was afraid that if I was myself you wouldn't look at me twice." But Hope was gracious enough to attend the guy... The young nice girl has at last found her favorite kind of hero...

Clift, who finds himself standing up for his rights and for principles he did not even know he had, pared his lines to the minimum needed to convey the essence of Noah Ackerman... The prison sequence is a clear and simple proof of it... The emotional urgency of the young couple is communicated through looks, small gestures, and soft and tender words of love and caring...

Nominated for Best Cinematography, Best music and Best Sound, Dmytryk's motion picture is a moving and eloquent statement of how war collides with the destinies of people and hurls them into a maelstrom...

good show.......2006-07-14

Great WWII story...saw it in the theatres when it came out and wanted to see it again. Good performance by Brando, of course.

Average customer rating:

The Young Lions
A Fresh Look at WWII
Watch this for Brando
An eloquent statement with a masterly musical score ever composed for a war film...
good show

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Adventure | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

Action & Combat | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( Y ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Holocaust | Jewish Heritage | Specialty Stores | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Morituri
The Desert Fox
The Desert Rats
Guadalcanal Diary
Wing and a Prayer

ASIN: B00096S4DA
Release Date: 2002-05-21

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

The Young Lions.......2007-06-27

A Fresh Look at WWII.......2007-06-01

Watch this for Brando.......2007-03-05

An eloquent statement with a masterly musical score ever composed for a war film..........2007-01-17

good show.......2006-07-14

Great WWII story...saw it in the theatres when it came out and wanted to see it again. Good performance by Brando, of course.

Average customer rating:

Beyond the Gates (Unrated)
Starring: John Hurt , Louis Mahoney , Dominique Horwitz , Nicola Walker , and Jack Pierce
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Prime Suspect 7 - The Final Act
Lonely Hearts
Breaking and Entering
Perfume - The Story Of A Murderer
Zodiac (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B000RW3VDY
Release Date: 2007-09-18

Description

Based on true events during the Rwandan genocide in 1994, an exhausted Catholic priest (John Hurt) and a young idealistic English teacher (Hugh Dancy) find themselves caught in a literal and spiritual crisis. They have to choose whether to stay with the thousands of Tutsis about to be massacred or to flee for safety.

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

Keeping the Promise

Mortal Kombat - Defenders Of The Realm - Vol. 6 -

Seduced: Pretty When You Cry (REGION 1) (NTSC)

DVD: This Is the Army

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