Yoga for Flexibility regards flexibility as "one of the key foundations of good health. " Instructor Linda Arkin promises that her routine will promote this, along with increasing "range of motion, muscle tone, and energy flow. " Lofty goals, to be sure, but Yoga for Flexibility could actually deliver-providing, of course, that the user practices regularly and consistently. Following an informal, chatty intro in which Arkin and an accompanist demonstrate the use of the breath and proper body alignment, the tape moves through four sequences of asanas (poses). The first two, both of which are repeated, focus on gentle forward bends and twists, all of them approached from a seated position; the third, which is repeated twice, includes five standing positions (finishing with the eagle, perhaps the most difficult pose in the entire series); and the fourth consists of a few final relaxation poses. None of it is what you would call grueling, or especially strenuous. But Arkin's good, clear instructions and the overall gentleness of the series make this a tape that will stand up to repeated viewings-and perhaps lead to a deeper, more challenging practice. -Kelly Welldon.

PBS's Masterpiece Theatre began business in 1971 with the American premiere of an engrossing, 12-part BBC series, The First Churchills, inspired by Sir Winston Churchill's biographical writings about 17th-century ancestors John Churchill and Sarah Jennings. Besides being a painless way to learn a few things about the revolving-door monarchy of the House of Stuart, The First Churchills is written with a stately air though its story flows like a steady stream of fresh gossip. A viewer needn't feel guilty about being entertained by intrigues at the royal court while listening to screenwriter's Donald Wilson's elegant and uplifting dialogue, rich in civility and courtly asides. John Neville (The Adventures of Baron Munchausen) and Susan Hampshire (lauded for her earlier performance in The Forsyte Saga, a British series that helped launch public television in America) play John and Sarah, who meet in the court of Charles II (James Villiers) and defy family and friends by marrying for love instead of family fortune. (Neither has any money. ) John, a military officer who built much of Charles's army and never lost a battle, and Susan, an aide and confidante to the Duchess of York, are trusted figures in the king's circle. But as with everyone around them, they are jostled by political and religious forces following the death of Charles, including anti-Catholic sentiments that drive the king's stubborn successor, James II (John Westbrook), to Ireland and see the latter replaced on the throne by William, Prince of Orange (Alan Rowe), and his vindictive wife (and James's daughter), Mary (Lisa Daniely). With a European war raging and British soldiers and resources mishandled by amateurs, a restless John is sidelined and even briefly arrested due to royal paranoia; meanwhile, Sarah's close friendship to the future Queen Anne (Margaret Tyzack) yields numerous dramas on its own. The First Churchills is really about a tumultuous period in English history which saw strains between Parliament, the citizenry, and the monarchy come to a head, several times over. The story of John and Sarah's survival and deep regard for one another offers a perfect, reassuring line to follow through all the epochal raucousness. [+]

Technophiles of the 21st century can be smug about the advances made in recent years. But modern man doesn't have a monopoly on knowledge; in fact many of the advances made in earlier centuries have been lost to us. How did the Egyptians build their obelisks? How were the Chinese able to build the rainbow bridges? What are the mysteries of the Roman baths? Nova explores these and other ancient engineering feats in its brilliant series Secrets of the Lost Empires II. Using the same techniques as in the first series of Secrets of the Lost Empires, Nova brings together teams of scientists, engineers, and historians to re-create ancient marvels. The five episodes in this boxed set take you around the world and through time. Medieval Siege explores warfare of yore, as a team attempts to build a trebuchet, a giant weapon used to impregnate fortresses. Easter Island travels to a remote island in the South Pacific where giant human forms, sculptures called moai, dot the landscape. Discover how approximately 900 moai were carved over a period of 500 years by ancient people who had only stone tools hewn from volcanic rock. Pharaoh's Obelisk looks back 3,500 years to the time of Hetshepsut, as a team tries to build the giant stone obelisks that helped the pharaoh control her people. Roman Bath attempts to re-create those infamous places of community and hygiene, despite the lack of blueprints and information. [+]

A tragedy set against the ethnic violence of India's independence in 1947, the second film in Deepa Mehta's elemental India trilogy is even more incendiary than her controversial Fire. Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and Parsees alike buzz like bees around the lovely flower Shanta (Nandita Das), the Hindu nanny of sheltered 8-year-old Parsee girl Lenny-baby. This sunny Eden of racial harmony plunges into darkness when independence brings the partition of the empire and sets ethnic groups against one another in civil war. As seen through the naive eyes of little Lenny-baby, Earth is more tragic melodrama than social history, but what Mehta's adaptation of Bapsi Sidhwa's autobiographical novel Cracking India lacks in insight, it makes up for in fiery imagery, emotional passion, and a heavy-hearted longing for the paradise lost. -Sean Axmaker Take a close-up look at some of Earth's most spectacular phenomena. IncludesIn the Path of a Killer Volcano,The Day the Earth Shook andFlood! and a 12-page comprehensive teacher's guide.

A truly perfect movie, the 1942 Casablanca still wows viewers today, and for good reason. Its unique story of a love triangle set against terribly high stakes in the war against a monster is sophisticated instead of outlandish, intriguing instead of garish. Humphrey Bogart plays the allegedly apolitical club owner in unoccupied French territory that is nevertheless crawling with Nazis; Ingrid Bergman is the lover who mysteriously deserted him in Paris; and Paul Heinreid is her heroic, slightly bewildered husband. Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Conrad Veidt are among what may be the best supporting cast in the history of Hollywood films. This is certainly among the most spirited and ennobling movies ever made. -Tom Keogh A truly perfect movie, the 1942 Casablanca still wows viewers today, and for good reason. Its unique story of a love triangle set against terribly high stakes in the war against a monster is sophisticated instead of outlandish, intriguing instead of garish. Humphrey Bogart plays the allegedly apolitical club owner in unoccupied French territory that is nevertheless crawling with Nazis; Ingrid Bergman is the lover who mysteriously deserted him in Paris; and Paul Heinreid is her heroic, slightly bewildered husband. Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Conrad Veidt are among what may be the best supporting cast in the history of Hollywood films. This is certainly among the most spirited and ennobling movies ever made. [+]

By now the revisionist Western chronicling the horrors suffered by the American Indian has become a genre as codified as the old Westerns ever were. And, regrettably, the new genre is just as susceptible to oversimplification and facile audience manipulation. This Canadian miniseries, based on a true story, manages to avoid all pitfalls, however, filling out its three-hour running time not with tirades faced toward the choir or half-baked mysticism, but with generous and sympathetic portraits of people caught up in the waves of history-inevitably to their peril. When Canadian officials insist that Cree chief Big Bear (Gordon Tootoosis, in a performance of nobility but also with enough of an old man's confusion about a changing world to avoid cardboard saintliness) sign a treaty and lead his people off the buffalo-rich land where they have lived, he refuses to sacrifice his tribe's independence. But the coming of the soldiers is a fait accompli-in a nice touch the whites' halting attempts at Cree are identical to the ungrammatical "Injun" speech of movies past-and the arrogance and casual cruelty of the reservation agents spur younger members of the tribe to declare war. Big Bear is philosophical about what he sees as an unwise move, while his wife Running Second (the formidable Tantoo Cardinal) spitefully mocks the "brave young men" whose actions have forced them on the run. Only one of many scenes testifying to the expansive humanity director Gil Cardinal brings to this film. -Bruce Reid.

For Doors completists only, this shapeless gathering of rare film clips of the band performing in Europe is hampered by the same old, frustrating problems with attempting to convey, through lousy camera work, the band's power as a live act. The packaging tells us the Doors swept through London, Stockholm, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam during a 1968 tour documented here, but there's no way to appreciate that save for a random clip or two of Jim Morrison milling about outside concert venues, talking with fans. Otherwise, we see the same sort of obfuscating on-stage close-ups of Morrison you can see in any footage of a Doors gig, stumbling around, crooning, and reciting poetry to minimalist accompaniment by Ray Manzarek on keyboards, John Densmore on drums, and Robby Krieger on guitar. Unless one can see, in the mind's eye, what the band is up to from the point of view of a kid in the 30th row, there's no way to really get the hypnotic, Dionysian effect for which the Doors were justifiably famous. Thus, for anyone who can imagine such a thing, or take it on faith, there's good reason to enjoy performances of "Spanish Caravan," "Five to One," and two versions of "Light My Fire. " There's even a relic of pre-MTV, pop promotion: a silly-looking performance of "Hello, I Love You" shot before a baffled crowd on a London street. -Tom Keogh.

The long, long story of evolution is told very well in this extensive eight-hour series originally shown on PBS. The production begins with a dramatization of the struggles of Charles Darwin in a two-hour film aptly titled "Darwin's Dangerous Idea. " Scenes of actors portraying Darwin and his contemporaries are supplemented by interviews with experts such as Stephen Jay Gould. In further installments, various topics related to evolution, such as major transformations of species, the intellectual development of humans, the phenomenon of animal extinction, and even the organized opposition to evolutionary theory by religious fundamentalists, are discussed with considerable depth. Interview segments with scholars (and their opponents) are accompanied by extraordinary visuals, including some computer-generated sequences (such as one illustrating how whales left land and evolved in the oceans) that are dazzling. This series, which is narrated by actor Liam Neeson, is a remarkably intelligent and entertaining approach to a fascinating topic. -Robert J. McNamara A journey into where we're from and where we're going. Evolution is happening all around you-in your body, your backyard, your local hospital, and in the products that make it to your grocery store shelves. Perhaps no other scientific theory has as far reaching an effect on our daily lives as evolution, yet it is one of the most overlooked and misunderstood principles of life. [+]

Lee/Gettysburg A two part set containing: Robert E. Lee Lee was, perhaps, the greatest commander of the American Civil War. Loved by his men and respected by his enemies, he led the Confederate side masterfully in what was a losing cause until the emotional surrender at Appomattox Court House in 1865. The Battle Of Gettysburg The story of the ferocious three-day battle which wrote names such as Little Round Top, Cemetry Ridge and The Peach Orchard into the pages of American history. Both films feature: • Superb battle reconstructions • Authentic filmed recreations • New footage from the battlefield • Expert comment, interpretation and analysis • Period images and photographs • Graphics and maps.

Ronald Reagan: The Great Communicator edits together over 100 clips of Ronald Reagan speaking-including television appearances, press conferences, addresses of Congress and the U. N. , speeches at political conventions, and even a few snippets from his movie career-into four 90- to 120-minute themed retrospectives: One is an overview of his presidential career; one portrays his stance against the Soviet Union; one pulls together his inspirational view of America; and one is devoted to his humor. There's no narration or interviews with other politicians or aides; this is 100%, pure unadulterated Reagan, boiled down to pithy, punchy sound bites (as well as an archive of 28 lengthier excerpts). Pop-up boxes provide a smidgeon of historical context and there is nothing unflattering (no hint of the Iran/Contra scandal, for example). However, the sampling demonstrates his gift for using stories and jokes to illustrate his political points, as well as his undeniable skill as a speaker. Devotees of the 40th president will treasure this document. -Bret Fetzer.

This set contains Star Trek #2-The Wrath of Khan, #4-The Voyage Home, #5-The Final Frontier, #6-The Undiscovered Country