Fireworks

Starring:Pyrotechnics
Studio: Global Movies Direct
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Fireworks - A Colorful Display of Light and Sound
Director: Tony Helsloot
Manufacturer: Isis Visuals
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Red White and Blue American Spirit
NOVA - Fireworks!

Product Features:

A great display of colorful fireworks.
Extra track has 10 second countdown ideal for New Year or special events.
Continuous play functions offer an endless show of sound and light.

ASIN: B000LVH0E2

Product Description

FIREWORKS was filmed at the world famous Spanish firework displays of the Las Fallas festival, held each year in Valencia in the middle of March. The first track is a dazzling display of brilliant color and light which is guaranteed to bring a bang to any party - a second track offers up a slow-motion view of these powerful fireworks - and a third track is preceded by a countdown sequence - ideal for New Year celebrations and special events. The Firework displays were filmed using broadcast-quality video cameras and professional sound recording equipment to give you the best possible firework experience and continuous play functions offer an endless show of color and light.

Average customer rating:

Great American Spirited DVD!!!

Red White and Blue American Spirit

Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Fireworks - A Colorful Display of Light and Sound
NOVA - Fireworks!

ASIN: B000094J70
Release Date: 2003-05-27

Description

Take the patriotic journey of a lifetime to experience the rugged beauty, the sheer stateliness, and the extreme diversity of the United States of America. Pull up a chair to watch a fireworks display, complete with full musical accompaniment. Sit back, take a beautiful scenic journey across the American landscape, and remember what it is to be called an American.

B&W/Color/50 min.

Customer Reviews:

Great American Spirited DVD!!!.......2003-04-25

This is a great Americana DVD, along with a fireworks show, it takes you back to the good ole days. It also takes you on a scenic tour all across America showing the different landscapes and also our prized National Landmarks, monuments. This DVD really restores my American Patriotism and it will for you too! It's great for the whole family!! I highly recommend it!

Average customer rating:

Kitano's best....
touching story of love, honor, and friendship
A MASTERPIECE!
Sugar and Spice
Great movie, but not what I expected

Fireworks
Starring: Makoto Ashikawa , Yuuko Daike , Hakuryu , Taro Istumi , and Setchin Kawaya
Manufacturer: New Yorker Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Zatoichi /Sonatine Double Bill
Violent Cop
Brother
Dolls
Kikujiro

ASIN: 1567302238
Release Date: 2000-06-27

Amazon.com essential video

A superstar and cultural icon in his native Japan, Takeshi "Beat" Kitano has conquered more than one medium, but he is best known in the West for his remarkable films. Among those, Fireworks is the clear favorite, a taut and enigmatic noir that fluctuates between perfect stillness and savage eruptions of violence.

Kitano plays a cop named Nishi, a determinedly impassive man whose face occasionally ripples with an involuntary tic, hinting at the explosive but contained forces within. Nishi's wife (Kayato Kishimoto) is dying of leukemia, a disease that already killed their child, and he cares for her with a shattering tenderness. While on a stakeout, Nishi takes a break to check in on her, and while he's gone his partner is crippled and another officer is killed. With death hovering at home and a score to settle outside, Kitano's hero sets off on an isolated course to seek justice.

Few filmmakers have understood as well as Kitano has here the irresistible draw of a thriller told with a moody calmness, with an eye toward graceful construction and rigorous composition. The careful, unhurried dispensing of story information also helps keep the focus on Nishi's warrior soul, on his mysterious capacity for the extremes of gentleness and brutality. The story here is the way one man can be the sum of such bold contradictions, and a great story it is. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Kitano's best...........2007-03-09

I have seen many Takeshi Kitano films, but this one haunts me especially. It's very poetic, sad, beautiful, and complex. What can you say about a Yakuza film that begins with serene, tender paintings (done by Kitano himself). Kitano gives probably one of his better performances here, playing yet another version of a disillusioned cop, but with more depth this time. This is not to say that his other films were shallow (quite the contrary), but here the emotional resonance makes this film even more moving and powerful. Yes, it's violent, but with all Kitano films, he doesn't wallow in it, even though it's brutal. I've always liked everything this man has done (even his comedy Kikujiro, which got terrible reviews), and this is probably my favorite of his films.

touching story of love, honor, and friendship.......2007-02-15

From the DVD cover, one would think this movie is full of violence and nothing else. On the contrary, this is one of the most touching films about love, friendship, loyalty, and compassion I've ever seen--and, surprisingly, the message is conveyed with very little dialogue. My Japanese husband and I both cried at poignant moments throughout the film. The ending was no surprise, but we found ourselves hoping for more choices for characters we felt deserved more. I wish Hollywood film directors would learn from Takeshi's unique style. He's one of the best talents anywhere in the world. Regarding the violence, any American TV police/crime drama can be as bad or worse. The Japanese title is "Hanabi" ("hana" is flower in Japanese; "hanabi" is fire flower or fireworks) and, on its cover, Takeshi is walking on the beach with a flower as background. If the U.S.-marketed cover had less about violence, I think the movie would have the wider audience it deserves.

A MASTERPIECE!.......2006-11-10

This is Beat Takeshi's masterpiece. Like his other movies, the film is understated, introspective, atmospheric, but with brief bursts of extreme violence. Most of the movie is very slow paced, but with sudden violence interrupting tender moments. The cinematography is wonderful. It is NOT an action movie. Somewhere I read a reviewer saying that Beat Takeshi is the Japanese version of Quentin Tarantino, which I think is incredibly inaccurate. Takeshi Kitano is more much similar to other contemporary Japanese directors than to Tarantino. To make an international comparison, he is much more similar to Wong Kar Wai than to John Woo. The movie is definitely not for everyone, but it is my personal favorite movie and I believe is widely viewed as a seminal movie for contemporary Japanese films.

Sugar and Spice.......2006-04-27

After an accident where a detective and his partner get in a shoot-out with a criminal resulting in the partner's being shot and crippled, the detective quits the force and decides to spend the last remaining days with his lukemiatic wife. Constrasting extreme violence with light and contemplative humor, Takeshi Kitano's "Fireworks" is a loving story about the importance of living life and aspiring to enjoy it.

I'm not quite sure what all the graphic violence is about, but it's certainly interesting watching the mostly blank-faced "Beat" Kitano kick butt on a bunch of greedy money sharks that follow him around. Also, the parallel story of the crippled partner and his expressions of suicide through painting are very mesmerizing and beautiful. Indeed this movie seems to take a real joy out of experiencing life as one wants to experience it.

It's shot and edited a lot like Kikujiro, so if you liked that one you'll definitely like this. It's a very distinctive style, though I don't know what it's all about. I can't say that his films are my favorite or even the best example of stuff to search for in the video store, but they are fun and frinedly, and pretty much accessible to anyone who wants some sweetness with their cinema.

--PolarisDiB

Great movie, but not what I expected.......2006-03-25

I bought this movie for my husband for Valentine's day. Based on the previous reviews I thought the movie was more of a "gangster" type movie, but it wasn't. Despite the confusion, the movie is excellent. I don't want to say too much b/c I don't want to give it away. The background story and the "special" features were really interesting.

Average customer rating:

NOVA - Fireworks!
Starring: Stacy Keach , Peter Thomas (VI) , and Don Wescott
Manufacturer: WGBH Boston
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Fireworks - A Colorful Display of Light and Sound
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ASIN: B000EZ907A
Release Date: 2006-06-06

Independence Day - The History of July 4th (History Channel) (A&E DVD Archives)

Average customer rating:

Independence Day - The History of July 4th (History Channel) (A&E DVD Archives)
Starring: Independence Day-History of 4th of July
Manufacturer: A&E Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

( I ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Christmas Unwrapped - The History of Christmas (History Channel) (A&E DVD Archives)
The Haunted History of Halloween (History Channel) (A&E DVD Archives)
The American Revolution (History Channel)
In Search of History - Salem Witch Trials (History Channel) (A&E DVD Archives)
Conquest of America (History Channel)

ASIN: B0007WFUEC
Release Date: 2005-04-26

Product Description

From the Continental Congress to the stunning fireworks displays that light up the skies nationwide, this is an affectionate look at Independence Day.

System Requirements:

Running Time 50 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Average customer rating:

A bloody 4th of July!
Anyone Who Doesn't Respect The American Way Of Life Deserves To Have Their Butt Kicked
Right
i love this flick
Psychotic Movie.

Uncle Sam
Starring: William Smith , David 'Shark' Fralick , Christopher Ogden (II) , Leslie Neale , and Bo Hopkins
Director: William Lustig
Manufacturer: Blue Underground
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Jack Frost
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Pinocchio's Revenge
Santa's Slay

ASIN: B00026PA7A
Release Date: 2004-06-29

Amazon.com

This G.I.-zombie tale, smartly scripted by exploitation auteur Larry Cohen (It's Alive, God Told Me To) and directed by William Lustig (Maniac, Vigilante), straddles the line between antiwar satire and slasher-movie silliness. American soldier Uncle Sam, as he's known to his hero-worshipping young nephew, is a bullying homicidal misfit too ornery to die. His bloodied and burned corpse, sent home from Kuwait for burial, crawls out of his casket and declares war on punks, crooked politicians, draft dodgers, and pretty much anyone who wanders into his path. There are some interesting ideas floating around--a pointed commentary on the attraction of violence under the flag of patriotism, an undercurrent of psychosis and sadism in Sam's home life, and a clever twist on all-American iconography--which get lost in the Fourth of July reign of terror. Body-count fans will appreciate victims hacked with hatchets, cleavers, and garden shears, teenagers buried alive, and a severed head found smoking in a barbecue pit. David "Shark" Fralick stars as Sam, with Isaac Hayes as a crippled Korean War vet and small roles by cult stars Bo Hopkins, Timothy Bottoms, P.J. Soles, and Robert Forster, a smarmy governor given a fireworks sendoff he'll never forget. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

A bloody 4th of July!.......2006-05-24

Sgt. Sam Harper has been killed during the Gulf War and his body has been brought back to his American hometown. His wife and nephew are both shattered by the news of his death, but a night later he is brought back to life mysteriously as a zombie who has a vengence to kill especially those who aren't patriotic and even dresses up in a Uncle Sam costume to kill his victims, as it's up to a former Korean war hero ( Issac Hayes) and Sam's nephew to put an end to this maniacal undead fiend from continuing to kill people.

Entertaining and gory if funny horror comedy from director William Lusting ( "Maniac", "Vigilantee") and writer Larry Cohen ("The Stuff", "It's Alive") combines a witty and gruesome little tale about a bloody 4th of July. There is some social satire like in some of Larry Cohen's stuff and dark humor as well in this now modern cult horror comedy fave that is well worth a look.

This DVD from Blue Underground has good picture and sound quality, two audio commentaries, Theatrical Trailer and poster-and-still gallery.

Also recommended: " Hostel", "Rabid Grannies", "Re-Animator", "House of 1000 Corpses", "The Devil's Rejects", "From Dusk Till Dawn", " A Nighmare on Elm Street series", "Street Trash", "Friday The 13th series", " Freddy Vs. Jason", " The Burning", "Sleepaway Camp", "Demons", "Tenebre", "The New York Ripper", " Faust: Love of the Damned", "Ichi The Killer", "The Toxic Avenger", "Tromeo and Juliet", "Scream 1 & 2", "High Tension", "Q: The Winged Serpent", "Cemetery Man", "Troma's War", "Combat Shock", "Kill Bill Vol. 1", "Terror Train", " Halloween", "Bad Taste", "Dead Alive (a.k.a. Braindead)", "Evil Dead II", " Texas Chainsaw Massacre part 2", "Martin", "American Werewolf in London", "Hannibal", "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer", "Jack Frost ( Horror flick)", and "Ginger Snaps".

Anyone Who Doesn't Respect The American Way Of Life Deserves To Have Their Butt Kicked.......2005-10-16

A movie that actually has that line in it is already deserving of at least three stars. Uncle Sam is one entertaining film. Notice I say "entertaining" and not "scary". A few of the one star reviewers apparently expected this to be scary, but all you have to do is merely look at the coverbox of this film, and anyone with common sense knows that this isn't meant to be taken seriously. Uncle Sam is directed by Blue Underground founder, Bill Lustig. Lustig directed Maniac Cop, which this film is very similar to. B movie legend Larry Cohen wrote the script. Sam was "killed" by friendly fire in the Gulf war, and once his body is shipped home, he decides he isn't gonna rest in peace. Sam is a hardcore patriot(and psychotic and child molester), and blames his "death" on Un-American Americans(he indirectly refers to hippies and draft dodgers as "cowards"). Once out of the coffin, he dons an Uncle Sam outfit and wreaks havoc at his hometown's annual 4th of July celebration. His targets include the draft dodging schoolteacher, the cop moving in on his wife, a couple of flag burning punks, a tax cheater, and a guy who makes a mockery of the national anthem. As ridiculous as this plot sounds, and as easy as it may be to lump this film into the category of silly horror flicks like Leprechaun and Jack Frost, Uncle Sam seems to have a little more class. Though it's not meant to be taken seriously, it's not trying to be outright comedy like the aforementioned films. The style is more in the vein of an 80s slasher flick without taking itself as seriously as one. Bill Lustig knows the genre. He may not have directed many films, but he's extremely immersed in the horror/exploitation genre. He's made his own contributions in the early 80s, and of course he runs Blue Underground. Before the end credits he even has a dedication to Lucio Fulci(this film was made right about the time of his death in 96). Plus, with Cohen on board as the writer, we have a real dynamite combination. That's not saying the movie is perfect. There's a blind, crippled kid who shows up about an hour into the film possessing a psychic ability and a strange bond to Sam which is never fully explained. All in all this character is completely pointless and does nothing at all for the movie. Genre fans will be pleased to see Bo Hopkins, PJ Soles and Robert Forster in small roles. You eventually get a good look at Sam's face in the last ten minutes or so of the film and I must say he does look kinda creepy. Definitely one you should see. After all, you're not a communist are ya?

Right.......2005-05-11

Are you kidding me? This movies is about as interesting as Children of the Living Dead.

i love this flick.......2005-04-12

I remember back in the day, I skateboarded to the local blockbuster (this was when I lived in Milwaulkee, Alaska doesn't have very many blockbusters lol), skipping school because it was the day before we got off for thanksgiving and we weren't doing anything anyway, and got this movie and Creepy Crawlers on VHS. I went home and watched it, and it scared the crap out of me. When he buries that guy alive, the impalement, the decapitation, I won't ruin anymore for you. But I will tell you this, if you like horror(and I am referring to real horror, not Scream and the like, but TCM, Halloween, the Funhouse, clownhouse, etc.), then you HAVE to see this movie. I finally found this on DVD, along with Creepy Crawlers, and I am so glad that I have them. It is absolutely perfect to watch on a stormy day in a dark room. It has a few political messages, but not enough to ruin the horror or atmosphere of the movie. So if you like 80's style horror/slasher flicks(I love em), then you gotta see this, hands down. A perfect double feature with Creepy Crawlers(that is probably just me though, because it reminds me of those rad cold days skating and watching horror movies, plus Creepy Crawlers is one hell of a scary movie). Kick back and enjoy a movie that is easily one of the best horror flicks of the 90's(Scream eat ya heart out!!)

Psychotic Movie........2004-07-10

I really enjoyed this movie it was chessy but at the same time kinda creepy.It made no sense that they would send a three year dead corpse to a family's house.I think this was the last of creative Horror Movies brutal deaths ,and funny one liners by Sam Harper.I thought the plot was good Though it never explains why he came back from the dead.Anyhow this a must have for any horror movie fan Collection.

Average customer rating:

Funny
Absolutely hilarious
Non-stop laughter
Love Carrot Top Live....HATE the DVD
Coarse, Yet Unrefined

Carrot Top: Rocks Las Vegas
Starring: Scott 'Carrot Top' Thompson
Director: Steve Hanft
Manufacturer: Delta Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Carrot Top

ASIN: B0000CBY0S
Release Date: 2003-10-21

Amazon.com

This fever dream of a Vegas comedy show finds prop-comic Carrot Top surrounded by showgirls, fire-breathing dragons, fog, strobe lighting, and the hysterical love of his fans. The orange-maned CT does bits about flying into Sin City, lost luggage, lost women--the works. It's all good, but his trademark, show-and-tell stuff is more effective: a lunchbox for fat kids (actually five interconnected lunchboxes), a hollow-bellied mannequin that serves as a buffet buddy, an expanding-contracting bra designed for Britney Spears, and tiny luggage suitable for tight storage. Penn and Teller make a cameo appearance during a humiliating dream sequence, but there's plenty of embarrassment to spread around as Carrot Top does his prop-heavy impressions of Kate Winslet, Tom Petty, Steven Tyler, and numerous other notables. The show has been heavily embellished, in a post-production sense, for home viewing, including weird (and sometimes annoying) drawings and film inserts. Not necessary, but not a problem either. --Tom Keogh

Description

Dizzying lights, exotic showgirls, whirling roulette wheels, clanging slot machines, sleepless nights, rolling dice, dazzling light shows, drive-through weddings, complimentary steak, and Carrot Top. Yes, you heard it right. Carrot Top, the red-headed wunderkind with a trunk full of giggles, invades Vegas and this one you won't want to miss. Filmed live at the MGM Grand, Carrot Top Rocks Las Vegas is a rock & roll hyper-reality comedy explosion with strobe laser lights, sound effects, pyrotechnics, and a fog machine. Marvel at this outrageous comic's zany repertoire as he pokes fun at celebrities, pop culture icons, red necks, and many, many more. No one is safe from Carrot Top's hilarious blend of wacky and biting jabs, and no one who watches this DVD will be safe from his infectious humor. So get ready to gamble on really good laughs: the odds are in your favor.

IT IS TIME TO GET CARROTIZED!

Customer Reviews:

Funny.......2007-02-06

This show is very funny (not for children). Carrot Top is one of a kind. It shows some good footage of Las Vegas too. I wanted the show to be longer because it was so funny!

Absolutely hilarious.......2006-08-01

I saw Carrot Top several years ago on a cable show and thought he was very funny. I couldn't resist this DVD because of the cost and I was extrememly happy with it. This is one of the best comic DVDs I have and for under 5 bucks you can't beat it. I would recommend this to everyone.

Non-stop laughter.......2006-07-28

Hilarious! We watch it over and over and never stop laughing. Carrot Top's original and over-the-top antics are always appealing. We want more!!!

Love Carrot Top Live....HATE the DVD.......2006-04-04

I have seen Carrot Top's show at least a dozen times live. It is a truly creative and energetic show. The creativity and energy (and comedy!) is all lost on the DVD.

My guess to why the DVD is so choppy and does not give a good representation of Carrot Top's show is that a lot of the live show incorporates / spoofs popular music. When you go to put the show on a DVD, you begin to run into copyright problems if you want to use other artist's music. I would assume that the DVD producers wanted to avoid the hassles / costs of purchasing all the needed music rights, so they chose to dub in generic "techno" music. Great idea...except it kills the jokes!!! Kills the show flow!!! Killed the DVD!!

The graphics and cuts are also incredibly annoying, as if they were done by some guy who is just trying out his home computer video editing software.

It is also important to point out that only a little more than 30 minutes of the video is Carrot Top's actual show. The rest is badly done filler.

I will be first in line to get tickets when Carrot Top comes around again, and recommend you save your money from NOT buying this DVD to buy a ticket for yourself too.

Coarse, Yet Unrefined.......2005-12-20

I received this as a gift, and honestly didn't think I would like it very much, however some of the material won me over in the end. Carrot Top is primarily a prop comic, and while I find that to wear thin pretty rapidly, some of his other routines were surprisingly funny: in particular I enjoyed his excellent comic interpretation of Mick Jagger. I found the multiple characters and special effects inserted in the video to be largely unnecessary, but in the end I found the DVD to be much more entertaining than I expected.

The DVD comes with several extras including a segment on those annoying 1-800-CALL-ATT commercials. For a few good laughs this is worth checking out once or maybe twice. I give the DVD three stars for some unusual humor from unexpected angles.

Water Music / Music for the Royal Fireworks

Average customer rating:

Magnificently played and sounding Handel

Water Music / Music for the Royal Fireworks
Starring: Handel , Aradia Ensemble , and Mallon
Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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Mozart - Famous String Quartets / Gewandhaus Quartet
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UNCOMMON BACH - Music Experience in 3-Dimensional Sound Reality TM, DVD-Audio DTS 24/96 Surround Music Disc. Volume 1.
GERSHWIN'S RHAPSODY IN BLUE - Music Experience in 3-Dimensional Sound Reality TM, DVD-Audio DTS 24/96 Surround Music Disc
Hotel California

ASIN: B000CEVTZY
Release Date: 2006-01-17

Customer Reviews:

Magnificently played and sounding Handel.......2006-02-12

Although this disc is listed with the DVDs here at Amazon it isn't a standard visual DVD. It is primarily a DVD-Audio disc with the great sound associated with that format. If your disc player isn't capable of playing DVD-Audio, it will try playing it in DTS Digital Surround, the format next lower down in the burgeoning Great Chain of Being of audio technology. Should your player be incapable of this format as well, it will play it in "lowly" 2.0 stereo. I can remember when stereo was the apex of recorded sound so I suppose this is progress of a sort. Remember those prognostications of the "future"? We were all supposed to have personal helicopters and robots by now. Instead we have 6 or 7 speakers. Ah, consumerism!

My player is one of those universal all-format players. It played the DVD Audio layer of the disc and wouldn't play the other 2 so I could not compare them, which I was really hankering to do. Thus, my comments about this disc are most applicable to the DVD-Audio format. Although the quality of performances are theoretically indifferent to the audio format by which they are reproduced, issues pertaining to instrumental balance, intonation and timbre are invariably affected by their playback format.

The DVD-A (or Advanced-Resolution Surround Sound to give its grander name) sounds spectacular with space surrounding each instrument and a real feeling of "live" music. This is a result of the 96khz. sampling rate in surround mode. In stereo mode there is a theoretical 192 khz. sampling rate; well beyond what the human ear can distinguish and it requires a newer A/V receiver capable of decoding such a high sampling rate. Both modes capture 24 bits of information each microsecond. Of course, to insure compatibility with different home theatre systems, a separate DTS track (not a lossless format) enables you to get multi-channel sound if you don't have DVD-Audio capability. This is the same DTS in which film soundtracks are recorded. I think it is the best sounding format for that purpose, but some information is lost in the compression process. Discs like this Handel recording, offering so many format choices, are a good value but I am unable to offer a comparison in sound quality between them.

The performance of Handel's Water Music, composed for royal water parties on the Thames in August 1715 and July 1717 (an unqualified success which the King "caused it to be plaid three times in going and returning"), is superb. There are 3 suites, in F Major, D Major and G Major respectively and the period instrument forces of the Aradia Ensemble under Kevin Mallon are nearly flawless in terms of expressiveness, tempi, intonation and interpretation. These are areas period instruments groups had difficulty in at the beginning of the authentic performance movement. It is an indication of how far things have evolved that comparisons to modern orchestras are now often to the modern's disadvantage in these performance areas. The Aradia Ensemble's performance style is reminiscent of Jeanne Lamon's Tafelmusik. Solid performances, fleet and expressive. The Music for the Royal Fireworks, composed to celebrate the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1749 with a fireworks display in Green Park London, was reported to have been "ill-conducted" and a pyrotechnic and public relations disaster. One of the pavillions caught fire and burned to the ground. The king did not ask the Fireworks Music to be replayed. The Aradia Ensemble have better luck; though the performance is blistering, nothing combusts. Kevin Mallon appears to be an excellent conductor. As the authentic performance movement's first wave of conductors age, talented younger conductors are arriving on the scene to further the precepts of their maturing antecedents.

This is an excellently performed, superb sounding DVD-Audio disc from Naxos: still a bargain for the price and definitely worth getting. My strong recommendation.

Mike Birman

Average customer rating:

Hills Like White Elephants Triumphs
An excellent set of shorts, based on short story classics

Women & Men - Stories of Seduction
Starring: Liza Ross , James Woods , Philip O'Brien , Molly Ringwald , and Ray Liotta
Director: Tony Richardson , Frederic Raphael , and Ken Russell
Manufacturer: Hbo Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000HT38F8
Release Date: 2006-10-03

Description

A short-film anthology that brings to life three famous short stories: "Hills Like White Elephants," "The Man in the Brooks Brothers Suit," and "Dusk Before Fireworks."

Customer Reviews:

Hills Like White Elephants Triumphs.......2001-09-01

The second of these three films in this anthology is a clever adaptation of Hemingway's famous short story. The screenwriters (Didion and Dunne)turn Hemingway's own short story against him. Their ploy is to present the film as an accurate representation of a brief moment in time and to intimate that Hemingway's short story is, to some extent, an unfaithful--or, at least, incomplete--account of the actual event. It does this marvelous inversion by hinting that the male lead is Hemingway and then having the Melanie Griffith character say, in effect, that "you are going to make a story about this, aren't you, and you're going to change everything around." Touche! Literature, in this act of gamesmanship, becomes an inaccurate representation of "reality" (i.e., the film itself) and Hemingway is the victim of this comic-satiric thrust.

The other two short films are fine, but "Hills" prevails as a cinematic coup.

An excellent set of shorts, based on short story classics.......1998-12-06

These 3 short pieces were unexpectedly excellent. The actors involved are - of course - stars, but the title suggests sexy late-night viewing. They are about seduction, but they are also about how to realize a short story on the screen and how bring a character fully to life in a few minutes. The first two pieces have stuck in my mind ever since I first saw them, especially the second.

In the first piece, Beau Bridges is a smooth, sleazy traveling salesman on the make. If he didn't make the character so damned likeable, the piece wouldn't work. Elizabeth McGovern does her innocent, unsophisticated girl perfectly, and the piece becomes a dance with a predictable result. It is so well done, and so quickly paced, that it is fun to watch, despite that predictability.

The "Hills Like White Elephants," an adaptation of Ernest Hemingway, starring Melanie Griffith & James Woods, took my breath away. Melanie Griffith has done her share of cute, lisping roles, but her work in this piece, especially given Hemingway's general lack of interest in his female characters, is just amazing. James Woods is always intense, but he was matched, almost blown off the screen, by Griffith. It was a revelation.

Customer Reviews:

a fine DVD..........2007-06-11

this is a very fine DVD, but I was left wanting more. It certainly gave me some new insight into the first book of Debussy preludes and will definitely help anyone that is learning one or more of these works. However, I would have liked more info and examples from each of the preludes and it was very curious why one of the preludes (#11 I think) was left out of the analysis. I can't imagine the same attitude as Richter ("I don't like that one - so I won't play it") so can only put the omission down to time constraints.

While I didn't give this the top rating, this is still recommended for anyone wanting insight into some of the great impressionist piano works.

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

Summer of Sam/Hand That Rocks the Cradle

From Tears To Triumph

Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg (REGION 1) (NTSC)

DVD: Prince of Darkness

Faster Blade Poisonous Darts