The six videos in this boxed set provide a solid history of Communism in the 20th century, from the Russian Revolution of 1917 to the eventual collapse of the Iron Curtain in the 1980s. Extensive use is made of archival footage as well as interviews with participants in the major events, from the storming of the Winter Palace to the opening of the Berlin Wall. The major figures, including Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Castro, and Gorbachev, are all seen and heard, as are many ordinary people who lived through great events. The presentation is balanced, with interview subjects recalling how the standard of living was raised as well as the terrors of Stalin's purges and Mao's Cultural Revolution. The interviews can be alternately inspiring and chilling, as the people who speak before the cameras remind us that the great events in history had profound effects in the lives of everyday people. Separate tapes cover the main themes of Communism's rise in Russia, the roots of the cold war, the victory of the Communists in China, and the eventual collapse of European Communism. In addition, one video concentrates on the role of guerrilla warfare during the cold war, while another focuses on the role nuclear power played in creating a fearful standoff between the superpowers. Produced by WGBH Boston, these videos are artfully produced and their entertainment value in no way detracts from the scrupulous history being presented. -Robert J. McNamara Communism - the extraordinary social experiment promising equality and freedom swept from Russia around the world. [+]

The critically acclaimed PBS series that weaves mystery with real historical events returns with four stories set in September and October 1940. Winner of the Audience Award at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2003, the series stars Michael Kitchen (Proof of Life) as quietly enigmatic detective Christopher Foyle whose territory on the south coast of England is rocked by the chaos and danger of World War II. Also starring Anthony Howell, Honeysuckle Weeks, Julian Ovenden, and featuring Nicholas Farrell, Alan Howard, Corin Redgrave, and Amanda Root. The Mysteries: Fifty Ships—Foyle's determined investigation of a body on a deserted beach puts at risk the donation of American Aid and the crucial start of Lend-Lease in the war. Among the Few—Pilots and their girlfriends live fast and die young in a story of greed and passion where Foyle finds appearances are deceptive. War Games—Divided loyalties lead to revenge and murder when a businessman puts profits before principles in a secret pact with the Nazis. The Funk Hole—Foyle finds himself accused of a serious offense, which complicates his hunt for a ruthless murderer at a sinister hotel. "Brilliantly explores the moral gray areas of war"—San Francisco Chronicle "For mystery fans, Foyle is a must-see" —The Houston Chronicle "A series to be relished" —Radio Times.

Roots rocked the cultural landscape in the late '70s, creating a new wave of awareness of black history. That wave opened the door for its sequel, Roots: The Next Generations, even more of a star-studded event than the original, with stars like Olivia de Havilland, Henry Fonda, Marlon Brando, and James Earl Jones eager to partake in the tale. The sequel follows the rest of the saga of the family of author Alex Haley, from where Roots ended at the Civil War, up to the 1970s when Haley was researching and writing his earth-shattering family story. While nothing can rival the power of the original Roots' unflinching look at the slave trade and slave life in the early years of this country, the sequel is still full of rich African American history, from Reconstruction, to Jim Crow, to the civil rights movement and the early rumblings of black power. Fonda and de Havilland are respectable in their period-piece roles, but the real power of this sequel is in the more immediate concerns of Haley and his own experience of prejudice while building a stellar reputation as a writer and journalist in the '60s and '70s. One of the most unsettling scenes takes place then, when Haley interviews the head of the American Nazi Party, played with chilling diffidence by Brando. (Brando won an Emmy for this performance. ) Haley is also challenged by his fractious interview with Malcolm X (a gripping Al Freeman Jr. ). Jones launches his acting career playing Haley with nuance and heart, but with a humanizing set of his own demons. [+]

As four young American women find their way through the labyrinthine social world of 1870s England, their fortunes rise-and sometimes, with brutal abruptness, fall. Based on Edith Wharton's unfinished novel, The Buccaneers, this lavish BBC production follows Nan and Virginia St. George (Carla Gugino, Spy Kids, and Alison Elliott, The Spitfire Grill), two American sisters who follow their friend Conchita Closson (Mira Sorvino, Mighty Aphrodite), a Brazilian bad girl who marries a dissolute British lord, to England in search of aristocratic husbands-partly due to the influence of their canny governess, Laura Testvalley (Cherie Lunghi, Excalibur). The Buccaneers has a good dose of the delicious satirical wit to be found in many BBC dramas, but tempered by the presence of the naive American girls, who find themselves trapped by the very things they thought they wanted. Though mocked by some critics for its heaving bosoms and towering hairdos, the five-part series stealthily paints a sometimes devastating portrait of women's lives. When Idina Hatton (Jenny Agutter, Logan's Run), the older lover of the aimless Lord Seadown (Mark Tandy, Shackleton), learns that Seadown is going to marry the young and lovely Virginia, it's a heartbreaking moment, yet one that isn't overdone. The Buccaneers is full of such gracefulness-Wharton observes the fickle turns of life in society with a judicious eye, empathizing with the pain but never losing sight of the hard realities of money and marriage. In a strong cast, Gugino particularly shines; with her round, rosy cheeks and expressive eyes, she makes a smart yet vulnerable heroine. -Bret Fetzer Four American young girls journey from New England to England in search of romance and adventure in this exquisite production of Edith Wharton's final book.

Kurt Vonnegut's Monkey House relies on the same successful strategy behind Ray Bradbury Theater and The Twilight Zone: great stories and decent acting, which win out over big-budget production values every time. At first glance, Monkey House seems just like any of those Canadian productions that air on the Sci-Fi channel late at night, but don't let the inevitable synthesizer soundtrack and Vonnegut's cheesy intro narration fool you. Each story is culled from the short works of a master writer in his prime, guaranteed to amuse and to make you think. Name actors like Ally Sheedy, Madeleine Kahn, Frank Langella, and Jon Cryer deliver convincing performances under some pretty unusual circumstances; split personalities, disembodied heads, and romantic tangles with artificial intelligence are just part of the fun. For viewers familiar with Vonnegut's Welcome to the Monkey House and Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons, some of the rewrites for television can be puzzling or disappointing (although some, like "Epicac," work quite well). And if you're looking for action-packed, effects-laden sci-fi, this series might not be for you; some of the best stories could take place right here, right now, and feature monsters no more bizarre or unearthly than the human being next door. But thanks to Vonnegut's capable imagination, one realizes how that familiar neighbor can really be more alien than any creature from outer space. -Grant Balfour.

He fired cannon on his own countrymen, wooed the mistress of a formidable opponent and even threatened the Pope. He was Napoleon, one of the most brilliant and complex figures in history. This absorbing appraisal of his life offers a new perspective of the little man from Corsica, who rose to new heights of power by seizing every brutal, outrageous opportunity in his path. Step inside Napoleon's world through dramatic recreations of key events. Ride into the heat of battle with large-scale reconstructions of his campaigns. From the glory of his empire to his defeat at Waterloo and miserable exile on Elba, here is an entertaining and complete portrait of an extraordinary life.

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.