Brilliant cinematography, an imaginative screenplay, haunting ballads, and splendid acting combine in this enchanting fantasy based on French legend. The Devil sends two envoys to Earth in the form of a minstrel couple to wreak anarchy on hapless mortals. Much to the Devil's dismay, instead of corrupting the human race, he finds he has no lasting power over affairs of the heart.

Before creating their grand fantasy King Kong, Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack took their cameras to Siam to put genuine wild jungle creatures on the screen in their part-adventure, part-documentary spectacle Chang. It was a smash hit upon its 1927 release and is still considered a classic of the genre, filled with sights that retain their power 70 years later. A loose story is constructed around the lives of a family living at the edge of the jungle in a hut raised high up on stilts. The father tracks the leopards killing his livestock while the children play with a veritable petting zoo of furry little pups and cubs. The filmmakers are at times condescending toward their tribal heroes ("We be mighty hunters, Kru," comments one warrior in an intertitle, as if their own language is but some pidgin dialect) and fill the film with goofy comic relief. Just forget the story and enjoy the sights: hunters building deadfalls and spring traps, a leopard charging through the woods, and the climactic elephant stampede. The images of the awesome beasts fording a river like a rampaging army while the villagers struggle to split the herd and save their village is astounding. The silent film is set to an original score by Bangkok composer Bruce Gaston and performed by the traditional Thailand orchestra Fong Naam. [+]

This lavish set contains film versions of the five major works by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, who helped define the American musical landscape and rewrite the direction of musical theater. After enjoying extremely successful careers working with others, Rodgers and Hammerstein first teamed up in 1943 for the prairie tale Oklahoma!, with songs including "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" and "People Will Say We're in Love. " The subsequent 1955 film starred Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones, who teamed up again for 1956's Carousel. While that film's dark nature made it less popular than its predecessor, the score ("If I Loved You," "You'll Never Walk Alone") was Rodgers's favorite. The King and I (also 1956) featured stage star Yul Brynner as the King of Siam and Deborah Kerr as schoolteacher Anna Leonowens, who must learn Asian customs even as she tries to instill some of her Western ones. The somewhat bloated version of South Pacific (1958) follows two couples during World War II and features standards such as "Some Enchanted Evening" and "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair" from stars Mitzi Gaynor and Rossano Brazzi. The last film, The Sound of Music (1965), proved to be the most popular, with Julie Andrews winning the hearts of seven children and their father with her blissful songs. And if the perhaps saccharine music and plot may test the patience of some, there's no doubt that songs such as "My Favorite Things" and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" have charmed audiences around the world for decades. Accompanying the Big 5 in this set is the relatively minor State Fair from 1945 (though it does have "It Might as Well Be Spring" and "It's a Grand Night for Singing"). Some may prefer other entries in the R&H canon such as Flower Drum Song or the television production Cinderella, but State Fair was included because it was one of the five films (not including Sound of Music) released in 1999 in sumptuous remasterings that allow their scores and locales to truly shine. [+]

Grandma's Boy features silent comedian Harold Lloyd as a timid wallflower who pines for a lovely girl (Mildred Davis), but whose competition is the town bully. When a manhunt for a murderous tramp causes Lloyd to run home in fear, his wise and kindly grandmother concocts a tale about his grandfather, a similarly cowardly Confederate soldier who was given a magic talisman that made him unbeatable in a fight. With this heirloom talisman in hand, Lloyd sets out after the tramp, pursuing him in a classic chase sequence. Lloyd's movies often seem to take a long time setting themselves up, but that's because they're more character-based than those of his contemporaries, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, who had personas that they sustained from movie to movie; Lloyd is less iconic. Though he always has his trademark spectacles and straw hat, his characters vary significantly in temperament and so need time to establish their particular qualities. By the end of each film, the emotional payoff of Lloyd's success is richly gratifying. (Also included on this video is the early short "Somewhere in Turkey," a mildly racist trifle notable for its amusingly cheap production values and live camel. ) -Bret Fetzer This Harold Lloyd classic was his great breakthrough film, placing him in the top rank of screen comedians. Harold is a shy, awkward youth who discovers a magical talisman that brings him strength and confidence. [+]

Ali Baba accidentally discovers the magic cave where Abdul and his band of 40 thieves hide their ill-gotten treasure. He takes enough to buy the beautiful slave girl Morgiane from his master, Cassim, so that he may take her as his wife. However, Kassim and Abdul have plans for Ali on his wedding night.