Release date: 2000-08-01
List Price: $59.98
Price: $39.99
Review The Clint Eastwood Collection (In the Line of Fire/Unforgiven/Bronco Billy/Dirty Harry/The Outlaw Josey Wales/The Beguiled) / Warner Home Video:As both an actor and a director, Clint Eastwood has had a string of unparalleled critical and commercial successes, from his trademark Westerns to the Dirty Harry action films. This set of six Eastwood films captures the actor as both cowboy and cop, from the 1970s to the '90s. Eastwood ventured into new territory with 1971's The Beguiled, a creepy and seductive thriller about an injured Civil War soldier who causes strife at an all-girls school. While there, he tempts an innocent girl (Elizabeth Hartman), and engages in an unnerving battle of the minds with the school headmistress (Geraldine Page, at her tortured best). The same year, Eastwood burst onto screens with Dirty Harry. This action blockbuster introduced the world to Harry Callahan while making waves with its aggressive violence and nonstop thrills. Eastwood himself helmed the vigilante Western The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) as well as the comedy Bronco Billy (1980), which films show Eastwood at different ends of the cowboy spectrum: a vengeful family man seeking revenge and an amiable traveling showman who runs a Wild West extravaganza, respectively. With his Oscar-winning film Unforgiven, Eastwood showed himself as the master of the revisionist Western, crafting a morally complex tale of Western justice that turns the notion of good guys and bad guys on its head. And he proved he still had star status with the thriller In the Line of Fire, playing an aging FBI agent who takes on a cunning psycho (John Malkovich) determined to assassinate the president. While this selection doesn't feature any Sergio Leone Westerns or Eastwood's later acclaimed dramas, it remains a great snapshot of a long and illustrious career. [+]-Mark Englehart.
Release date: 1998-09-01
List Price: $59.99
Price: $19.98
Review Dirty Harry (3pc) / Warner Home Video:
Release date: 2002-01-29
List Price: $24.95
Price: $59.99
Review Eddie Murphy Collection - Volume 1 (Beverly Hills Cop/48 HRS./Trading Places) / Paramount:
Release date: 1997-03-25
Run time: 415 min.
List Price: $19.95
Price: $24.95
Review Value Pack : To Kill With Intrigue, Dragonfist, Spitual Kung Fu, New Fist of Fury / Simitar Entertainment:
Release date: 1992-11-03
Price: $59.91
Review The Complete Dirty Harry (Dirty Harry/Enforcer/Magnum Force/Dead Pool/Sudden Impact) / Warner Home Video:Five-count 'em, five-chances to wallow in the shoot-first, ask-questions-later ethos of San Francisco cop Harry Callahan, who became a signature character for actor Clint Eastwood. The first one, Dirty Harry, is the best, a Don Siegel film in which Harry flouts rules about police brutality to capture a serial killer. In Magnum Force he tracks rogue cops and utters his "Do you feel lucky, punk?" speech. In The Enforcer he gets a female partner (future Cagney and Lacy star Tyne Daly). Sudden Impact featured him tracking a female serial killer and offered a new catch phrase: "Go ahead. Make my day. " And The Dead Pool, aside from offering a smart little chase involving a radio-controlled model car, brought him face to face with Liam Neeson. You can't ask for much more firepower in one box than this. -Marshall Fine.
Actors & Directors
- Ali MacGraw
- Polly Bergen
- Robert Mitchum
- John Houseman
- Jan-Michael Vincent
- Dan Curtis
Run time: 883 min.
List Price: $19.95
Price: $89.95
Review The Winds of War / Paramount Pictures:An engrossing, 1983 television miniseries based on a bestselling work of historical fiction by Herman Wouk, The Winds of War is an admirable production reminiscent of the era of Hollywood's epic features. At the center of the globe-trotting story is the Henry family, whose laconic but straight-shooting patriarch is United States Navy Commander Victor "Pug" Henry (Robert Mitchum), sent to Hitler's Berlin in the spring of 1939 as a naval attaché to the then-neutral American embassy. A keen observer, Pug deduces that Germany is not preparing for war on two fronts (western Europe on one side, Russia on the other) despite what the Nazis want the world to believe, meaning that Hitler must be working out a secret peace deal with Stalin. Pug's prescience makes him a favorite eyewitness in Berlin for Franklin D. Roosevelt (Ralph Bellamy); the irony is that Pug is far less sagacious when it comes to the realities of his family. Polly Bergen plays unhappy wife Rhoda, who turns to A-bomb developer Palmer Kirby (Peter Graves) for comfort. Pug's 19-year-old daughter, Madeline (Lisa Eilbacher), defies her iron-willed dad's decision that she stay in school by taking a job for CBS radio in New York. Compliant son Warren (Ben Murphy) can't seem to get Pug's attention despite doing everything right (including becoming a Navy pilot, eventually present at the bombing of Pearl Harbor). By contrast, Pug spends more time fuming over black sheep son Byron (Jan-Michael Vincent), who is working in increasingly Fascist Italy as an assistant to an art historian (John Houseman) while trying hard to woo the latter's exasperating niece, Natalie (Ali MacGraw). The story of Byron and Natalie takes up much of The Winds of War as the pair traverse Poland during the shock of Hitler's 1939 assault, and Jewish Natalie later finds herself trapped inside Italy facing the threat of concentration camps. [+]Before The Winds of War ends, each of these characters will end up in places and situations, and with historical figures (Churchill, Mussolini) as well as ordinary people, they would not have anticipated outside the pressures of war. The program's length and smart script allow for a lot of ideas and background detail that pull a viewer in-happily. -Tom Keogh.
Release date: 1998-01-01
List Price: $49.98
Price: $47.99
Review John Wayne Anniversary Gift Set / Republic Pictures:
Release date: 1999-10-26
Run time: 361 min.
Creator: Harrison Ford
Price: $24.98
Review Complete Adventures of Indiana Jones (3pc) / Paramount:As with Star Wars, the George Lucas-produced Indiana Jones trilogy was not just a plaything for kids but an act of nostalgic affection toward a lost phenomenon: the cliffhanging movie serials of the past. Episodic in structure and with fate hanging in the balance about every 10 minutes, the Jones features tapped into Lucas's extremely profitable Star Wars formula of modernizing the look and feel of an old, but popular, story model. Steven Spielberg directed all three films, which are set in the late 1930s and early '40s: the comic book-like Raiders of the Lost Ark, the spooky, Gunga Din-inspired Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and the cautious but entertaining Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Fans and critics disagree over the order of preference, some even finding the middle movie nearly repugnant in its violence. (Pro-Temple of Doom people, on the other hand, believe that film to be the most disarmingly creative and emotionally effective of the trio. ) One thing's for sure: Harrison Ford's swaggering, two-fisted, self-effacing performance worked like a charm, and the art of cracking bullwhips was probably never quite the iconic activity it soon became after Raiders. Supporting players and costars were very much a part of the series, too-Karen Allen, Sean Connery (as Indy's dad), Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri, Denholm Elliot, River Phoenix, and John Rhys-Davies among them. Years have passed since the last film (another is supposedly in the works), but emerging film buffs can have the same fun their predecessors did picking out numerous references to Hollywood classics and B-movies of the past. -Tom Keogh.
Release date: 1992-11-02
Price: $49.98
Review James Cagney Gift Set (Gift) / MGM (Warner):
Release date: 1999-01-05
Run time: 285 min.
List Price: $34.98
Price: $19.00
Review Fred Williamson Collection (3pc) / Orion / MGM:
Release date: 1992-11-02
List Price: $59.98
Price: $19.99
Review Clint Eastwood: Movie (3pc) / Warner Home Video:
Release date: 2002-01-29
List Price: $34.85
Price: $19.99
Review Beverly Hills Cop Collection (3pc) / Paramount:
Actors & Directors
- John Lurie
- Tom Waits
- Willem DaFoe
- John Lurie
- Jim Jarmusch
- Dennis Hopper
Run time: 152 min.
List Price: $29.95
Price: $45.00
Review Fishing with John, Vol. 1-3 / Homevision:John Lurie knows absolutely nothing about fishing, but that doesn't stop him from traveling with his guests to the most exotic and dangerous places on earth. Originally produced for the Independent Film Channel, John Lurie's idiosyncratic take on the classical fishing program places the genre in entirely alien terrain-and that doesn't just refer to the strange and exotic locations. Best known to filmgoers for roles in Stranger Than Paradise and The Last Temptation of Christ, Lurie is also a composer, a saxophonist, the leader of the jazz group the Lounge Lizards, and a painter. Fisherman, however, is nowhere to be seen on his résumé, so this city-bred hipster's foray into rod and reel country is obviously another kettle of fish. Reeling in buddies Tom Waits, Matt Dillon, Willem Dafoe, Dennis Hopper, and director Jim Jarmusch to join him on his fishing trips to such faraway locales as Jamaica, Costa Rica, and Thailand, Lurie takes his show completely out of the "how to" realm: imagine a talk show defined by its contemplative silences. Fishing with John teaches nothing about fishing. Instead, John simply enjoys the company of his buddies as they venture out into unfamiliar territory and drop a line in the water, tossing in a current of absurdist commentary (dryly intoned by Roy Webb) and surreal speculation for good measure. This is the ultimate fishing show for people who could not care less about fishing. -Sean Axmaker.
Actors & Directors
- Jennifer Starrett
- Valerie Starrett
- Jack Starrett
- Earl Finn
- Morgan Stanford
- William Smith
- Richard Rush
Run time: 185 min.
List Price: $39.98
Price: $24.95
Review Golden Age of Leather 3 (Coll) / Starz / Anchor Bay:This pair of Joe Solomon-produced biker dramas are two of the better examples of the '60s subgenre. Jack Nicholson stars in Hell's Angels on Wheels as a moody cycle-riding gas station attendant adopted by Adam Roarke's gang when he jumps into a friendly bar fight. It's a fairly blatant rip-off of Roger Corman's The Wild Angels, but director Richard Rush (who next teamed up with Nicholson for the counterculture classic Psych-Out) offers up a lifestyle that's less nihilistic than simply meaningless and winds the unlikely friendship between restless Nicholson and rootless Roarke into an inevitable clash over basic philosophical differences (namely, Jack wants Adam's girl, and Adam wants Jack to kowtow to his leadership). William Smith is an unusual hero in Run Angel Run: he's a sellout on the run from vengeful biker clubs up and down the coast. Director Jack Starrett, a former actor in biker movies himself (Hell's Angels on Wheels, among others), creates a taut little picture highlighted by impressive stunts (Smith jumps onto the flat car of a moving train). Smith's brooding, taciturn performance mellows when he takes a job on a rural sheep farm and connects with a career farmer who used to be a barnstorming biker in the 1950s. "I gotta be free man, I gotta fly," confesses Angel, but at what price? Both pictures were cheaply made for quick playoff, but there's an interesting attempt to explore the tension between the thrill of the road and the hollow activity passing for freedom. The set comes in a cool-looking 8 by 12 tin storage container, but the tapes do not have separate video sleeves. -Sean Axmaker.
Release date: 1996-05-21
List Price: $119.99
Price: $24.99
Review James Bond 007 Collectors Set Vol 02 / Mgm Entertainment:
Actors & Directors
- Louisa Rix
- David Buck
- Tim Pigott-Smith
- Marilyn Galsworthy
- Geraldine Gardner
List Price: $79.98
Price: $79.95
Review Danger UXB Box Set (Volumes 1-5) / Hbo Home Video:Harrowing, funny, and immediately addictive, the 1979 British television series Danger UXB stars Anthony Andrews as Army Lieutenant Brian Ash, an engineering student whose excitement about his rapid commission as an officer during World War II is tempered by his unenviable post with a bomb disposal unit. Assigned to a fatality-heavy team that defuses unexploded German bombs scattered throughout London during the blitz, Ash faces down his terror and eventually becomes the closest thing to an expert one can be dismantling sometimes booby-trapped ordnance. In doing so, he earns the respect of his superiors as well as from the enlisted men working under him, and his protracted survival is nothing short of miraculous considering the tragic number of friends and colleagues Ash loses. There is a dark side, however. The longer Ash sticks with his unit, the more obsessive he becomes about his responsibility to keep London safe. Meanwhile, his nerves grow frayed and his morale collapses. Ash's desperate romance with a married woman (Judy Geeson) provides him little to hold onto, and when a true crisis ambushes his spirit toward the end, one can't be sure if he's headed for the scrap heap of permanent casualties. Based on the recollections of an actual wartime bomb disposer, Danger UXB was created by John Hawkesworth, who later produced (and wrote many episodes for) the fantastic Sherlock Holmes TV series starring Jeremy Brett. Despite many tense moments in Danger UXB's 13 episodes-one is always expecting a bomb to blow away a favorite character-the show is also graced by great humor (Ash's crew sometimes bring to mind Sergeant Bilko's hustlers) and a warm, likable cast. Andrews himself, perhaps, has never been better. [+]This boxed set includes a History Channel documentary, "Bomb Squad. " -Tom Keogh.
Actors & Directors
- Jeff Daniels
- Richard Jordan
- Tom Berenger
- Ronald F. Maxwell
- Stephen Lang
- Martin Sheen
Run time: 135 min.
List Price: $119.98
Price: $49.99
Review Gettysburg Collector's Set W/Bullet / Turner Home Entertainment:Three days in the summer of 1863, at a place called Gettysburg. Although it received a theatrical release, this four-hour depiction of the bloody Civil War battle was shot as a made-for-television film. But no taint of cheapness or shortcuts should stick to this magnificent picture (well, except maybe for those phony-looking mustaches). Based on Michael Shaara's book The Killer Angels, this film takes a refreshingly slow, thorough approach to the intricacies of battle. In ordinary circumstances, those intricacies might seem of importance only to fans of military strategy or Civil War enthusiasts, yet in Gettysburg they come across as the very stuff of life, death, and unexpected heroism. If the film has a problem, it's that it climaxes too early: the first long segment, detailing the struggle of a "civilian soldier," Union Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels), to hold his ground against long odds, is an enthralling piece of moviemaking. Daniels, in a heartbreaking performance, does his best film work. Other cast members include Tom Berenger, Sam Elliott, and Martin Sheen as Robert E. Lee. Richard Jordan, in his final role, gives a powerhouse performance as Confederate general Lewis A. [+]Armistead. Oh, and you can also try to spot Ted Turner, whose company produced the film, as a Confederate soldier. Writer-director Ronald F. Maxwell seems inspired by the gravity of the battle; long as it is, every moment of Gettysburg is informed by a nobility of purpose. -Robert Horton.
Actors & Directors
- Gorden Kaye
- Kirsten Cooke
- Vicki Michelle
- Carmen Silvera
- Sue Hodge
- Susan Belbin
Run time: 440 min.
List Price: $59.95
Price: $69.99
Review Billy Jack (4pc) / Xtreme Entertainment:This Box Set includes the following titles: Born Losers Billy Jack Trial of Billy Jack Billy Jack Goes to Washington
Release date: 1995-09-26
List Price: $69.98
Price: $24.99
Review Sylvester Stallone (4pc) / Warner Home Video:
Release date: 1995-09-26
List Price: $43.98
Price: $28.95
Review Mel Gibson Collection (3pc) / Warner Home Video: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. [+]Margaret Whitton (Major League) gives an unaffected performance as Chuck's narcissistic mother. "I'm just not cut out for this mothering racket," she tells her rudderless children, as she flits from man to man. Gibson's own personal code of honor, we suspect, is very much in evidence in this movie's message: One must take responsibility for what one wants in life. -Laura Mirsky.
| Models & Brands:
The Clint Eastwood Collection (In the Line of Fire/Unforgiven/Bronco Billy/Dirty Harry/The Outlaw Josey Wales/The Beguiled), Dirty Harry (3pc), Eddie Murphy Collection - Volume 1 (Beverly Hills Cop/48 HRS./Trading Places), Value Pack : To Kill With Intrigue, Dragonfist, Spitual Kung Fu, New Fist of Fury, The Complete Dirty Harry (Dirty Harry/Enforcer/Magnum Force/Dead Pool/Sudden Impact), The Winds of War, John Wayne Anniversary Gift Set, Complete Adventures of Indiana Jones (3pc), James Cagney Gift Set (Gift), Fred Williamson Collection (3pc), Clint Eastwood: Movie (3pc), Beverly Hills Cop Collection (3pc), Fishing with John, Vol. 1-3, Golden Age of Leather 3 (Coll), James Bond 007 Collectors Set Vol 02, Danger UXB Box Set (Volumes 1-5), Gettysburg Collector's Set W/Bullet, Billy Jack (4pc), Sylvester Stallone (4pc), Mel Gibson Collection (3pc)Top headlines: Dice-K breaks all the rules and still wins: Dice-K lives on the edge with his pitching, but he sure does win. And his success is upending some old beliefs, Gerry Fraley says. ›06:25 PR consultant helped Palin: Beginning this spring, a PR expert began pitching Sarah Palin as an "upstart governor" crusading against Big Oil. ›05:13 10 Oct, Fri Report: Making math uncool hurts U.S.: Americans may make fun of girls who are good at math, but this attitude is robbing the country of some of its best talent, researchers say in a new study. ›21:23 10 Oct, Fri GPS could save airlines billions in fuel costs: A World War II-era air traffic network that often forces planes to take longer, zigzagging routes is costing U.S. airlines billions of dollars in wasted fuel. ›18:05 10 Oct, Fri Which comedian poked fun at debate? That one: Which late-night comedian poked fun at the presidential candidates' debate performance? That one. ›13:28 9 Oct, Thu Video: Peace Corps: Not just for kids anymore: Oct. 10: At a time when senior citizens are supposed to be enjoying their "golden years," more and more are stepping up to help those in need, no matter where it takes them. NBC's Chris Jansing reports.(Nightly News) ›23:14 10 Oct, Fri Judge sentences rap fan to Beethoven: A defendant had a hard time facing the music. ›15:08 9 Oct, Thu Newsweek: Vets campaign for both Obama, McCain: No matter which candidate is being supported in an ad there are common threads that appear as the veterans speak of their service, yet at some point messages divide and the criticism begins. ›16:46 10 Oct, Fri 1 dead in crash at hot air balloon fest: A hot air balloon crashed into power lines and burst into flames Friday during the annual balloon fiesta in New Mexico, throwing both men on board to the ground and killing one of them. ›20:48 10 Oct, Fri Plastic film could make house lights obsolete: On a bank of the Mohawk River, a windowless industrial building of corrugated steel hides something that could make floor lamps, bedside lamps, wall sconces and nearly every other household lamp obsolete. ›15:52 10 Oct, Fri Camera combo devices not a one-stop solution: Do you even have to buy a digital camera anymore? It depends on your needs, but the answer for most of us is yes if you want good-quality photos. ›12:43 9 Oct, Thu Evidence is in: Gil Grissom is irreplaceable: Everyones favorite CSI might be leaving the crime lab, but William Petersen's portrayal of Gil Grissom has left an indelible mark on the show. By Paige Newman ›14:02 9 Oct, Thu Scoop: A fresh dose of reality for Britney?: Britney Spears' recent trip to New York wasn't just to work on her new album she was also shooting footage for a reality show, one that reportedly will show the pop star in the best possible light. ›16:33 10 Oct, Fri N.Y. mixup: 'Barack Osama' on ballot: Who is running for president? In an upstate New York county, hundreds of voters have been sent absentee ballots in which they could vote for "Barack Osama." ›21:57 10 Oct, Fri Video: Amtrak cruises into record sales: Oct. 10: Nearly 30 million passengers rode Amtrak over the past 12 months, breaking ridership records and increasing revenue for the rail company. NBC's Brian Williams reports.(Nightly News) ›23:10 10 Oct, Fri 'Bra Bandit' strikes again in Florida: The Lee County Sheriff's Office was searching for an individual they say stole 160 bras valued at nearly $6,000 on Thursday from a Victoria's Secret store. ›01:43 7 Oct, Tue Man doing well after double arm transplant: A German farmer who received the world's first complete double arm transplant said Wednesday that incredulity gave way to joy when he woke from surgery to discover he had arms again. ›13:13 9 Oct, Thu Soldier punished in beating of Jewish trainee: An Army trainee will face nonjudicial punishment rather than criminal charges for beating a Jewish soldier so badly he was treated by a hospital, the military said Friday. ›22:26 10 Oct, Fri Is Angelina breastfeeding on W mag cover?: Jolie appears in a sleeveless top, which has been opened to reveal part of her left breast and a tiny hand ostensibly belonging to one of her twins. ›23:03 9 Oct, Thu N.Y. mixup: 'Barack Osama' on ballot: Who is running for president? In an upstate New York county, hundreds of voters have been sent absentee ballots in which they could vote for "Barack Osama." ›21:57 10 Oct, Fri 1 in 4 U.S. girls received HPV vaccine: About one in four teen girls last year got the groundbreaking vaccine that prevents cervical cancer, federal health officials reported Thursday. ›18:51 9 Oct, Thu Review: Body of Lies deserves a swift burial: From The Kingdom to Traitor, movies about terrorism rehash the same tired trope while failing to say anything new or provocative. Add Body of Lies to this heap of snoozeburgers. ›18:02 8 Oct, Wed Creation Museum draws big crowds: The museum exhibits are taken from the Old Testament, but the special effects are pure Hollywood: a state-of-the-art planetarium, animatronics and a massive model of Noah's Ark, all intended to explain the origins of the universe from a biblical viewpoint. ›18:01 10 Oct, Fri CSIreturns, bids farewell toWarrick: After Warrick dies on the scene, the CSIs work round the clock to find the killer and then take some time to say goodbye. ›02:03 10 Oct, Fri |
