The award-winning team of David Gill and Kenneth Brownlow present a definitive and unparalleled look at the history of silent film in America: "Hollywood," narrated by James Mason. This 13-part series celebrates the birth of an industry, the town and people who made it all happen. People who, in a few short years, produced an enourmous range of spectacular, inventive and exciting films. From the arrival of the filmmaking pioneers early at the dawn of a new century, through the outbreak of the first World War; from the rise of romance, to the demise of the Old West; from when comedy was king, until the advent of sound. These are the stars, the scandals, the directors, producers, cameramen, stuntmen and, of course, the films themselves that created the legend we know as "Hollywood. ".

1 copy of each of the following: Intermezzo (FLV1437), June NIght (FLV1438), Only One Night (FLV1439), Dollar (FLV1440), A Woman's Face (FLV1441) and Walpurgis Night (FLV1442) shrink-wrapped together.

Throughout the 1920s, Constance Talmadge was one of the queens of Hollywood, a top favorite of fans and critics alike. Sadly, she's been overlooked since then because her films are now hard to find. But this frisky comedy-romance shows her at her peak, in a story about a passionate reader of romance novels who has to choose between the man she married and a dashing adventurer. Written by Frances Marion. Transferred from an excellent fine-grain print in the Blackhawk Collection, this video features an original organ score by Bob Vaughn.

French documentarian Pierre Schoendorffer served as a combat soldier in Vietnam in the 1950s during France's quagmire. In the fall of 1966, he returned with a cameraman and spent six weeks with an American infantry platoon. This film, which won a 1968 Best Foreign Documentary Oscar, is stark and riveting. Commanded by a West Point graduate, Lieutenant Joseph Anderson, the 33-man platoon Schoendorffer traveled with was a cross-section of America. Perhaps as the film was shot relatively early in the war, the soldiers still seem motivated and even naive, though it seems to be dawning on everyone that their task may well be hopeless. Exhausting patrols to hunt the Viet Cong turn up nothing but deserted camps, and at one point when the platoon is taking heavy gunfire, you can hear an American yelling that he can't tell where the shooting is coming from. Schoendorffer refrains from making any political statements and offers only the most minimal narration to the black-and-white footage, none of which appears to have been staged for the camera. When the body of a young soldier killed in an ambush is loaded aboard a helicopter, the pain of the scene is palpable. At one point the platoon is shown getting a detailed briefing on a mission, only to have the plans abruptly change and the helicopters drop them into a battle where they have virtually no idea what their role is supposed to be. The Anderson Platoon doesn't tell you, it shows you, and this remarkable film resonates deeply. [+]

The Mighty Thor There was some amazing, classic animation for superhero cartoons done as far back as Max and Dave Fleisher's Superman series of the early 1940s (echoes of which can be found in Batman: The Animated Series). Those were done for the big screen; by the mid-1960s, superhero cartoons were being brought to television, and some of Marvel Comics' biggest heroes-Captain America, Spider-Man, Thor, and the Incredible Hulk-were the stars. Unfortunately, television didn't have much in terms of cachet-or production values-at the time, and all four heroes suffer for it. Between Odin's ever-changing looks (Thor's father rarely manages to keep the same face-let alone the same outfit-from shot to shot) and the over-the-top dialogue, it's hard to follow whatever semblance of plot was scripted. On the two episodes here-"Enter Hercules," in which the Norse God of Thunder battles his equally brawny Greek cousin, and "Battle of the Gods," in which Loki enlists the Enchantress and the Executioner to defeat Thor-the animation is minimal. It looks as if only a couple dozen pictures of the main characters were drawn; for the most part, this is a series of stationary illustrations with voice-overs and plenty of narration. -Randy Silver Sub-Mariner This vintage 1966 cartoon features Marvel Comics' king of the deep, the Sub-Mariner. In the first story, "Atlantis Under Attack," the sacred trident of Neptune is stolen and all signs point to Namor's trusted grand vizier, Lord Vashti. In disbelief, Namor follows Vashti's trail to the carnivorous sea forest while the real thief, his archenemy, Attuma, lies ready to attack the city. The second story, "To Conquer a Crown," opens with a military demonstration by Atlantis's munitions expert, Namor's cousin Biera. [+]

This wonderfully eerie film is based on three mysteries by Somerset Maugham, Roderick Wilkinson, and Brett Halliday. In the first tale, a doomed museum guard is magically transported into his favorite painting. In the second, two friends fall in love with the same woman, who is suddenly killed. The dramatic finale stars Orson Welles as a statesman driven mad by guilt after he destroys his political rival.

Scream of Fear (originally titled Taste of Fear in Britain), the first and best of the psychological thrillers to come out of Hammer Studios, was produced in the wake of Psycho's international success but actually owes more to the cool calculation and grueling psychodrama of Henri-George Clouzot's Les Diaboliques. Susan Strasberg stars as the estranged daughter of a continental millionaire who arrives at his Cote d'Azur estate only to find her father mysteriously gone "on a business trip. " When his corpse keeps popping up in the strangest places, only to disappear when her stepmother arrives, she concludes she's the target of a campaign to drive her mad. Ronald Lewis costars as the darkly handsome chauffeur and Christopher Lee makes a memorable appearance as a suspicious doctor. Director Seth Holt deftly handles the twisting curves of Jimmy Sangster's fairly ingenious screenplay, and though at times it telegraphs its secrets, there are plenty of dramatic jolts in the beautifully realized set pieces, notably a spooky underwater swim in a weed-filled swimming pool and a startling bang smack in the middle of the film. It falters in spots (the sudden outpouring of exposition at the conclusion spoils the mood, although it's quickly redeemed by a shocking climax), but the handsome production, elegantly photographed in shadowy black and white by Douglas Slocombe, remains a gripping thriller. -Sean Axmaker.

Back in the mid-'60s, television's Hullabaloo was a show that gave music-hungry baby boomers a rare chance to see some of their heroes in action. But it was far from perfect, as the six episodes (plus 17 bonus performances) contained on this four-and-a-half-hour disc make abundantly clear. The shows are in black and white; the quality of the images is poor, especially by today's digital standards, and the sound mixing is generally atrocious. The performances mostly consist of live vocals set to prerecorded tracks. And as for the overall tone. well, suffice to say that in 1965-66, when Hullabaloo originally aired, Hollywood and the TV industry were utterly clueless when it came to youth culture and the burgeoning rock & roll scene, resulting in a hokey quality-ridiculous sets and props, go-go dancers galore-that was laughably square then, let alone now. Still, mixed in with the horrible Beatle medleys (the Supremes doing "I Feel Fine"? Oy!) and predictably disposable pop hits of the era (by Nancy Sinatra, Peter & Gordon, Freddie & the Dreamers, Herman's Hermits, etc. ) are the Byrds, the Animals, the Hollies, the Lovin' Spoonful, the Young Rascals, and other significant mid-'60s rockers, as well as the likes of Marvin Gaye, the Everly Brothers, and the Impressions. [+]

The Invincible Iron Man This installment of Marvel Comics cartoons features the invincible Iron Man. In "The Death of Tony Stark," a laser beam emitted from a mysterious satellite orbiting the Earth destroys the home of wealthy industrialist Tony Stark. Iron Man's alter ego has obviously dodged the strike, but cannot disprove the rumor that Stark is dead until he confronts the culprit, the Mandarin. In "The Crimson Dynamo," Iron Man faces Soviet electrical genius Professor Vanko, who has designed his own suit of crimson armor in order to defeat Iron Man as the first step to destroying the ultimate capitalist, Stark Enterprises. These stories, rather dated in their cold-war depiction of the Chinese and the Soviets, are each divided into three six-minute serial-type segments. The animation is minimal, restricted mostly to camera zooms and moving limbs and mouths, punctuated by Batman-style sound effects ("Wham!"). -David Horiuchi The Incredible Hulk There was some amazing, classic animation done for superhero cartoons as far back as Max & Dave Fleisher's Superman series of the early 1940s (echoes of which can be found in Batman: The Animated Series). Those were done for the big screen; by the mid-1960s, superhero cartoons were being brought to television, and some of Marvel Comics' biggest heroes-Captain America, Spider-Man, Thor, and the Incredible Hulk-were the stars. Unfortunately, television didn't have much in terms of cachet-or production values-at the time, and all four heroes suffer for it. The Hulk gets short shrift here; the interesting thing about the character has always been twofold: the misunderstood misfit trying to make a quiet life for himself, and the Dr. [+]