The 1951 John Huston classic, set in Africa during World War I, garnered Humphrey Bogart an Oscar for his role as a hard-drinking riverboat captain in Africa, who provides passage for a Christian missionary spinster (Katharine Hepburn). Taking an instant, mutual dislike to one another, the two endure rough waters, the presence of German soldiers, and their own bickering to finally fall into one another's arms. This is classic Huston material-part adventure, part quest-but this time with a pair of characters who'd all but given up on happiness. Bogart (a longtime collaborator with Huston on such classics as The Maltese Falcon and Key Largo) and Hepburn have never been better, and support from frequent Huston crony Robert Morley (Beat the Devil, also featuring Bogart) adds some extra dimension and color. -Tom Keogh.

In 1984, an American China - Everest Expedition returns to the treacherous north face of the world's highest mountain. The climbing team includes Jim Wickwire, Phil Ershler and John Roskelley, led by Lou Whittaker, the dean of American climbers. Journey with them through Tibet and follow them up the perilous mountain and share their triumph when a single team member, Phil Ershler, stands on top of the world. With orginal music by composer Alan Hovhaness, Winds of Everest celebrates the brotherhood of men as they pit their skills against the elements. EMMY AWARD WINNING DOCUMENTARY.

Biography of Wladyslaw Sikorski, Prime Minister of the Polish Government-in-exile during WWII in England. His meetings with Stalin, negotiations to release Polish soldiers from Russia. Cast: Jerzy Molga, Arkadiusz Bazak, Emil Karewicz. 1984, color. 165 mins. English Subtitles.

Forget Steve Reeves and all those Italian strongmen who played stiff, humorless versions of the mythic demigod in 1960s Saturday matinee fodder. Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (a cluster of 1990s television films followed by a syndicated series) re-imagines and re-introduces Hercules-son of Olympian chief Zeus and an earthbound, mortal mother-as a laidback but focused hero of ordinary folks with extraordinary problems. Played with casual grace and ironic wit by Kevin Sorbo, the new Hercules wanders through an equally entertaining, revisionist view of ancient Greece as, well, charming and accessible-not exactly Homeric. There are gods and monsters aplenty, but if this was the cradle of civilization, well. This eight-disc volume includes five movie-length adventures, thirteen one-hour episodes, and numerous bonus features. Narratively, the unfolding story finds Herc doing good deeds wherever he's needed, though his backstory is more interesting, including a dubious relationship with his all-powerful dad (a sweet performance by Anthony Quinn)and a tendency to feel the wrath of Zeus's wife, Hera, simply because Hercules is the philandering old man's illegitimate offspring. The movie cycle ends with Herc in a state of domestic bliss; the subsequent, regular series darkens him considerably but then thrusts him repeatedly into adventures with redemptive possibilities. [+]

Making this movie represented a rather risky venture for Mel Gibson-it was his first effort at directing, and the role demanded that he deliberately obscure his sexy matinee-idol looks. Gibson seems to truly relish his Lon Chaney Jr. -esque turn as Justin McLeod, a reclusive former teacher with half his face and body badly scarred, and a dark, secret past. The folks in McLeod's postcard-pretty Maine town have dubbed him "Hamburger Head" and exchange malicious gossip about him. But one boy is needy enough to dare to penetrate the fortress McLeod has built against the outside world. Fatherless Chuck Norstadt (Nick Stahl) is so anxious to escape his dysfunctional family that he pesters McLeod into becoming his mentor. Their relationship for the most part avoids the sort of sticky sentimentality one might expect from Hollywood. Chuck is a real, credible kid, a petulant pain with a chip on his shoulder, and McLeod is no Mr. Chips. It's fun, and quite moving, to watch these two cranky misfits battle their way toward a friendship that will change both their lives. [+]

Created by the Military to Kill, Only One Man Could Stop Him. International Action Star and Martial Arts Master, SCOTT SHAW, stars as Sam Rockmore - a Hollywood Private Investigator who inadvertently becomes friends with a samurai sword carrying mechincal mutant who is on a path of destruction. The two join forces to defeat the powers of evil reigning over Los Angeles. Samurai Johnny Frankenstein is a Martial Arts Driven Wild Ride through the Streets of Chaos.

ShaftGordon Parks (The Learning Tree) directed this 1971 detective story about John Shaft (Richard Roundtree), an African American private eye who has a rocky relationship with cops, an even rockier one with Harlem gangsters, and a healthy sex life. The script finds Shaft tracking down the kidnapped daughter of a black mobster, but the pleasure of the film is the sum of its attitude, Roundtree's uncompromising performance, and the thrilling, Oscar-winning score by Isaac Hayes. Parks seems fond of certain detective genre clichés (for example, the hero walking into his low-rent office and finding a hood waiting to talk with him), but he and Roundtree make those moments their own. Shaft had a couple of sequels and a follow-up television series, but none had the impact that this movie did. -Tom Keogh Shaft's Big ScoreWhen a pal of detective John Shaft is murdered in a bombing (and $250,000 in cash turns up missing), New York's coolest private eye finds himself caught in the middle of a power struggle between black and white gangsters over the numbers racket in Queens. Directed by Gordon Parks (who does a brief cameo as a croupier in an illegal casino) and written by Ernest Tidyman (both of whom did the original Shaft), this film lacks the pacing of its progenitor. Roundtree is at his best when he's questioning a woman he's just met about a suspect while at the same time beguiling her into the sack (ah, those lazy, crazy days of the sexual revolution). The finale-a shootout in a cemetery, followed by a car-boat-helicopter chase through Queens and up the Harlem River-is preposterously drawn out: Shaft, impervious to machine-gun fire, winds up tripping, spraining his ankle, and limping while running from the chopper; two shots later, he's sprinting like a halfback. Look for late Muhammad Ali trainer Drew Bundini Brown as a wisecracking mobster. -Marshall Fine Shaft in AfricaThe second sequel to the hit Shaft, this film foreshadows itself early on when Shaft, asked to go undercover in Africa to halt modern-day slave trade, claims that he's not James Bond but strictly Sam Spade. [+]

A good wizard finds his magical powers diminishing as this Rankin/Bass production based on the Peter Dickinson novel opens. His nemesis, the evil Ommadon (voiced by James Earl Jones at his deepest and scariest), swiftly takes advantage of the situation. Who will save the world? Why, none other than a young scientist-novelist-game inventor, named Peter Dickenson (mildly voiced by John Ritter), who is zapped from the future back into the time of dragons. Populating this Japanese-animation fantasy film are the titular fire-breathing dragons, the wizards, a knight, a maiden, some elves, and-in a feminist departure from tradition-a heroic bowwoman. The battles are fairly mild and most of the virtuous characters recover, making this a good choice for family viewing, as well as a staple for the fantasy fanatic's video library. -Kimberly Heinrichs.

Cast Away is a good movie that wants to be much better. While director Robert Zemeckis's earlier film Contact achieved a kind of mainstream spiritual significance, Cast Away falls just short of that goal. That may explain why the film's most emotionally powerful scene involves the loss of an inanimate object, even as it presents a heart-rending dilemma in its very human final act. It's three movies in one, beginning when punctuality-obsessed Federal Express systems engineer Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) departs on Christmas Eve to escort an ill-fated flight of FedEx packages. Following a mid-Pacific plane crash, movie number two chronicles Chuck's four-year survival on a remote island, totally alone save for a Wilson volleyball (aptly named "Wilson") that becomes Chuck's closest "friend. " Movie number three leads up to Chuck's rescue and an awkward encounter with his ex-girlfriend Kelly (Helen Hunt, in a thankless role), for whom Chuck has seemingly risen from the grave. It's fascinating to witness Chuck's emerging survival skills, and Hanks's remarkable physical transformation is matched by his finely tuned performance. With slow, rhythmic camera moves and brilliant use of sound, Zemeckis wisely avoids the postcard prettiness of The Black Stallion and The Blue Lagoon to emphasize the harshness of Chuck's ascetic solitude, and this stylistic restraint allows Cast Away to resonate more than one might expect. Even the final scene-which feels like a crowd-pleasing compromise-offers hope without shoving it down our throats. You may not feel the emotional rush that you're meant to feel, but Cast Away remains a respectable effort. [+]