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Walk among the ancients in this fascinating "you are there" series! Meet legendary rulers, visit powerful places and experience the extraordinary customs of ordinary people in ancient times. From the Great Pyramids to the Roman Empire and beyond, you’ll see the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and discover why they were built! Expert commentary and cutting-edge graphics make the distant past come alive—with you at the heart of the action! No other collection brings you this close to the Ancient World. Disc 1: Rome and Pompeii - Imagine being among the bloodthirsty thousands at a gladiator bout in the Colosseum or at the chariot races in Circus Maximus. This program makes it possible through its magnificent reconstructions of Rome and Pompeii. Bonus Program: Faith Unconquered: The Roman Persecution of Early Christians Disc 2: Athens and Ancient Greece - Ancient Greece was a civilization like no other in history—and at last you can see why. Computer graphics, archival film, and classic art combine to recreate places and events never before seen outside the imagination. Bonus Program: Atlantis: In Search of a Lost Continent Disc 3: The Land of the Pharaohs - Ancient Egypt awakes—and this magical program is there to capture it. Through computer reconstructions, this program takes you back 5,000 years to a civilization that could create wondrous structures with the most primitive tools and human hands. Bonus Program: Touring Egypt Disc 4: Fall of the Aztec & Maya Empires - The Aztec and Maya Empires return—for one glorious hour. Reenactments and computer reconstructions recreate Aztec and Mayan cities as they may have looked 1,000 years ago, just before defeat and decay. Bonus Program: The Maya: Temples, Tombs & Time Disc 5: Gladiators: Bloodsport of the Colosseum - "Modern-day reenactors, gladiator movie clips, sumptuous footage, an incredible computer-generated tour, and actor David Hemmings’s eloquent narration are among the ‘to die for’ features of this fabulous production." —Booklist Extra Features: Colosseum, House of Terror • Flamma, Gladiator Superstar Gladiators of Hollywood • Training Killers • Fighting Men of the Arena • Fearful Facts Disc 6: Cleopatra: The First Woman of Power - Narrated by Anjelica Huston, this program offers an Egyptian perspective, showing the legendary ruler as a brilliant strategist and strong leader. Extra Features: Interactive Menus • Biographies • Timeline • Cleopatra Facts
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Dean Martin was the very definition of the word "cool." Handsome, charming, equally at home in heavy dramas or slapstick comedies, founding member of the Rat Pack, half of the hysterical team of Martin & Lewis, and, above all, crooner extraordinaire, Dean Martin was one of the most-popular and most-imitated singers of the twentieth century. This DVD collection is a fabulous compilation of full-length live performances from the early days of television that lets you hear and see why there was nobody quite like Dino. Here he is singing his biggest hits like That's Amore, Memories Are Made of This, Mambo Italiano and much more! DEAN MARTIN: EVERYBODY LOVES SOMEBODY Dean Martin's smooth, seemingly effortless singing style was often imitated but never equaled. "The Colgate Comedy Hour" was the perfect showcase for the madcap antics of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis in the 1950s, but a highlight of each show was when audiences got the chance to see and hear Dino singing his hits live. In this delightful collection, you too will get to see and hear Dino singing at his best on "The Colgate Comedy Hour" as well as some of his later classics in other rare live performances. Songs include "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On," "King of the Road," "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime" and many more. DEAN MARTIN: MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS Whether you know him as Dino or half of the comedy team of Martin & Lewis, nobody could put a song over quite like Dean Martin. Here's Dino in top form with another swingin' selection of songs culled from vintage live TV appearances. Songs include, "Almost Like Being In Love," "Memories Are Made Of This," "When You're Smilin'" and many more. DEAN MARTIN: ENCORE Features Dino at the top of his form singing many of his greatest, most-enduring songs at the height of his popularity. In this fabulous DVD collection, you'll enjoy Dino at the very top of his form, ample proof of his remarkable versatility. Songs include: "That's Amore", "Mambo Italiano," "Pennies From Heaven," and many more. No fan of pop music - or the Rat Pack - should miss out on this great collection!
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Adapted from Cormac McCarthy's award-winning novel,
All the Pretty Horses cries for epic length but runs only 112 minutes for theatrical release. Drastically shortened during a lengthy stretch between production and release, this operatic drama feels as if huge chunks are missing, and what remains are fragments of a masterpiece that might have been. Unless a more definitive version is revealed, we must settle for this faint echo of McCarthy's ambitious narrative, in which dispossessed Texas rancher John Grady Cole (Matt Damon) ventures to Mexico in 1949 to revive his fading dreams of cowboy glory. With best friend Lacey Rawlins (Henry Thomas), Cole's odyssey takes him from youthful idealism to rugged, often horrific, and ultimately ennobling tests of integrity.
Much of Cole's ordeal is sparked by his forbidden love for Alejandra (Penelope Cruz), the beautiful daughter of his Mexican employer, whose family honor is threatened by their mutual attraction. A gunslinging teenager (Lucas Black) casts a black cloud over them all, and All the Pretty Horses becomes a test of Cole's ability to navigate a labyrinth of distorted truth, imprisonment, and hard-fought redemption. All of which begs for emotional depth and carefully developed characters, but this truncated film lacks both. Scenes jump from one to the next with obvious gaps between them, lending no opportunity for emotional investment. It's clear that director Billy Bob Thornton is attempting to redefine the Western, and the effort is laudable on many points, notably in its perfect match of visuals and a flavorful musical score. There's much to admire in this film, making its shortcomings all the more lamentable. --Jeff Shannon
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Marvel Comics' first family of superherodom, the Fantastic Four, hits the big screen in a light-hearted and funny adventure. It begins when down-on-his-luck genius Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd,
Horatio Hornblower) has to enlist the financial and intellectual help from former schoolmate and rival Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon,
Nip/Tuck) in order to pursue outer-space research into human DNA. Also on the trip are Reed's best friend, Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis,
The Shield); his former lover, Sue Storm (Jessica Alba,
Dark Angel,
Sin City), who's now Doom's employee and love interest; and her hotshot-pilot brother, Johnny Storm (Chris Evans,
Cellular). Things don't go as planned, of course, and the quartet becomes blessed--or is it cursed?--with superhuman powers: flexibility, brute strength, invisibility and projecting force fields, and bursting into flame. Meanwhile, Doom himself is undergoing a transformation.
Among the many entries in the comic-book-movie frenzy, Fantastic Four is refreshing because it doesn't take itself too seriously. Characterization isn't too deep, and the action is a bit sparse until the final reel (like most "first" superhero movies, it has to go through the "how did we get these powers and what we will do with them" churn). But it's a good-looking cast, and original comic-book cocreator Stan Lee makes his most significant Marvel-movie cameo yet, in a speaking role as the FF's steadfast postal carrier, Willie Lumpkin. Newcomers to superhero movies might find the idea of a family with flexibility, strength, invisibility, and force fields a retread of The Incredibles, but Pixar's animated film was very much a tribute to the FF and other heroes of the last 40 years. The irony is that while Fantastic Four is an enjoyable B-grade movie, it's the tribute, The Incredibles, that turned out to be a film for the ages. --David Horiuchi
DVD features
The principal extra on the DVD is a spirited commentary track by Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, and Ioan Gruffudd. Self-avowed FF fan Chiklis explains why the Thing doesn't have a craggy brow, Alba recalls which things were "cool," and they all talk about looking forward to the sequel. There are three short deleted scenes (including a goofy Wolverine reference), 20 minutes of barely watchable hand-held video footage from the press tour, music videos, and some short featurettes including an appearance by FF creator Stan Lee. --David Horiuchi
The Fantastic Four at Amazon.com
Comics and Graphic Novels | 
Disney animated series | 
The classic comic book |
Movie tie-in graphic novel | 
The Xbox game | 
Fantastic Four Soundtrack |
The Fantastic Cast
Stills from Fantastic Four (click for larger images)
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"Well, gang, it looks like we're up to our armor plates in another mystery." Oddly enough, this line comes from the very first episode of
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, the part-mystery, part-haunted house animated series that premiered in 1969. The first five episodes are featured on
Scooby-Doo's Original Mysteries, in which Freddy, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and of course the practical-joking Great Dane Scooby-Doo drive around the country in their lime-green van "The Mystery Machine" investigating haunted castles, ghost towns, and a host of alleged otherworldly beings. Ventriloquist, gymnast, and resident hippie Shaggy and fraidy-cat canine Scooby provide the comic relief between clues, and can usually be bribed into anything with a yummy Scooby snack (the ingredients of which remain the show's real mystery). Sure, the animation is flat, the music receptive, and the jokes not nearly as funny as the laugh track would have you think, but that's par for Saturday morning animation. If you grew up with Scooby and the gang, these original episodes are like a nostalgia train to Saturday morning yesteryear, yet after 30 years the shows have hardly aged (even beatnik Shaggy could pass for modern grunge). The DVD also features an abbreviated music video (not as good as Matthew Sweet's rendition of the theme song on
Saturday Morning Cartoons) and a trivia quiz. The episodes: "What a Night for a Knight," "Hassle in the Castle," "A Clue for Scooby Doo," "Mine Your Own Business," and "Decoy from a Dognapper."
--Sean AxmakerRead more!
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Repeated viewings can't dispel the shock of the final scene in this classic 1941 romantic mystery--a brief but disorienting confrontation that suddenly inverts the heroine's mounting conviction that she's married a murderer, forcing us to reconsider virtually every scene and line of dialogue that's preceded it. It's a masterful coup de grace for director Alfred Hitchcock, who has built a puzzle around the corrosive power of suspicion, threaded with deft ambiguities that toy with dramatic conventions and character archetypes in nearly every frame.
As embodied by Joan Fontaine, who nabbed an Oscar in this second outing with the director, Lina McLaidlaw is a buttoned-up, bookish heiress whose prim exterior conceals longings for a more engaged emotional life. Her solution materializes in the darkly handsome Johnnie Aysgarth, a gambler, womanizer, and spendthrift who flirts, then pursues, and soon marries her. As Aysgarth, Cary Grant is both irresistible and sinister, capable of deceit and petty theft, as well as grander designs on his bride's impending fortune. Lina's passion for Johnnie is clouded by each new revelation about his apparent dishonesty, from clandestine gambling to real estate development schemes; more troubling are clues implicating him in the death of his best friend, and the prospect that Johnnie may be slowly poisoning Lina herself. By the time we see him ascending a darkened staircase with a suspicious glass of milk, an image made all the more indelible through the spectral glow the director captures in the glass, the evidence seems damning indeed.
In fact, even as Hitchcock stacks the deck against Johnnie, and takes full advantage of Grant's skill at conveying such menace, the director also dots his landscape with visual clues to Lina's own neurotic (and erotic) obsessions. The final scene forces us to reevaluate her behavior while leaving enough of a cloud over Johnnie to rob him, and us, of a complete exoneration. It's a wicked, unsettling payoff to a brilliantly executed thriller. --Sam Sutherland
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In 1943 to support the overseas troops engaged in World War II, Major League Baseball created an official film recapping the World Series championship games. Since then, these official highlight films have evolved into comprehensive documentaries that include classic footage from the television broadcasts, dynamic scenes shot by the Major League Baseball Productions crews, and exclusive interviews with the key players and managers from the Fall Classic. This video is just one in a series of exciting and comprehensive programs. So many of the greatest moments from America’s National Pastime are captured in the World Series DVD collection: Don Larsen’s perfect game; Bill Mazeroski’s and Joe Carter’s World Series-ending home runs; the unforgettable shots of Carlton Fisk, Kirk Gibson, and Kirby Puckett; the dynastic Yankees, Cardinals, A’s, and Reds; and the underdog champions--Dodgers, Mets, and Twins. All of these Fall Classic memories, and more, are showcased in the official World Series DVD collection. *1982: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Milwaukee Brewers--Led by Manager Whitey Herzog and World Series MVP Darrell Porter, the Cardinals conquered Paul Molitor and his Milwaukee Brewers. *1985: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Royals--In a classic, Mid-American showdown, the Redbirds came up one short in this seven-game World Series. *1987: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Minnesota Twins--The home field advantage never proved so vital. St. Louis and Minnesota both won all of their home games. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Minnesota Twins had four to three.
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In his direction of
The Hurricane, veteran filmmaker Norman Jewison understands that slavish loyalty to factual detail is no guarantee of compelling screen biography. In telling the story of boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter--who was wrongly convicted of murder in 1967 and spent nearly two decades in jail--Jewison and his screenwriters compress time, combine characters, and rearrange events with a nonchalance that would be galling if they didn't remain honest to the core truth of Carter's ordeal. Because of that emotional integrity--and because Denzel Washington brings total conviction to his title role--
The Hurricane rises above the confines of biographical fidelity to embrace higher values of courage, compassion, and ultimate justice.
Jewison is woefully heavy-handed in his treatment of the fictionalized, absurdly villainous detective (Dan Hedaya) who zealously plots to keep Carter in jail, and anyone familiar with Carter's story may object to the film's simplified account. But what matters here is the shining star of hope that is Lesra (Vicellous Reon Shannon), the Brooklyn teenager who rejuvenates Carter's legal battle in the early 1980s. This surrogate father-son relationship is what revives Carter's hope for family and future, and makes The Hurricane so engrossing and emotionally effective. Lesra's real-life Canadian mentors are compressed from nine characters to three, but their efforts are superbly dramatized, and Jewison hits the small but important grace notes that make a good film even better. By its final scenes, The Hurricane conveys the rich, rewarding satisfaction of surviving a difficult but valuable journey of mind, body, and soul. --Jeff Shannon
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The episodes in this collection conclude the
New Generation/
Mospeada story line--and the entire series. As the war between the Earthlings and the alien Invid escalates, the Regis of the Invid creates two additional "Invid larvae humanoids" (aliens in human form), Sera and Corg. Sera argues for understanding between species, while Corg becomes a fanatic warrior. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Scott Bernard and his motley crew of freedom fighters prepare to join Admiral Rick Hunter's returning star fleet for a final attack on the Invid stronghold. Faced with imminent defeat, the Regis, who invaded Earth and enslaved humanity, delivers an address denouncing war to Scott's crew and transports her people "to a higher plane." Only Marlene/Ariel and Sera remain, and their romances with Scott and Lancer parallel the peace-through-intermarriage theme that began with Max and the Zentraedi Miriya in the
Macross continuity. It's a surprisingly lame conclusion to three interstellar wars. This early sci-fi epic helped foster an audience for Japanese animation in America and was created by the producers at Harmony Gold, who edited together the unrelated series
Super Dimension Fortress: Macross,
Genesis Climber Mospeada, and
Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross. The seventh
Elements of Robotechnology disc includes an assortment of deleted scenes--some only a few seconds long--but no translations or explanations as to why they were cut, and a gallery of print material about various
Robotech products. Unrated; suitable for ages 10 and up: Minor nudity, violence (human versus human, spaceship and robot battles).
--Charles SolomonRead more!
The EndThe Robotech Legacy Collection 7: The New Generation, a three disc collection, contains episodes 74 through 85 the THRILLING CONCLUSION of the legendary anime series Robotech from the mid 1980s. Also included is the last installment of the Elements of Robotechnology special features DVD which includes deleted scenes, animation galleries and more video clips. In all, this is one the must haves in the collection.
THE STORY:
Several years after the events of the Robotech Masters saga, the earth is conquered by a deadly alien race called the Invid. Out of the ashes rises a resistance movement of Robotech freedom fighters committed to reclaiming earth and vanquishing the Invid conquerors...
The New Generation story arc chronicles Scott Bernard's freedom fighters' deadly journey across the world in search of the Invid's Reflex Point as they battle not only the merciless Invid, but also the perils of a lawless Earth full of cutthroat humans looking to survive at ANY cost....
In this volume the endgame is finally here as the Freedom Fighters slowly make their way and finally reach Reflex Point for their final showdown with the Invid invaders.
THE CONTENTS
Here's the rundown of the episodes and content on each disc:
Disc 1: Genesis
Episode 74 - Annie's Wedding: On the run from the Invid, the Freedom Fighters enter a tropical forest where they meet a primitive tribe who just may be more harmful to them than the Invid...
Episode 75 - Separate Ways: Tensions run high and inner fears about the futility of their struggle rise to the surface as the Freedom Fighters become trapped in an underground tunnel after yet another run-in with the Invid.
Episode 76 - Metamorphosis: As a result of their genetic experiments, The Invid's Prince Korg and Princess Sera undergo transformation in the ULTIMATE lifeform with a mission to seek out and DESTROY the Freedom Figthers - as the gang unknowingly takes a break for R&R on a deserted former Tropical Island Resort.
Episode 77 - The Midnight Sun: It's guerrilla warfare in the mountains as the Freedom Fighters, without their mecha, take on Korg and Sera in an icy mountain pass.
Episode 78 - Ghost Town: Traveling to the Wild, Wild, West, the gang encounters a band of OLD soldiers who fought alongside Rick Hunter who steal and sell weapons.
Episode 79 - Frostbite: The gang comes upon the buried ruins of a perfectly preserved Denver, Colorado and take the opportunity to restock supplies and have R&R.
Disc 2: Hollow Victory
Episode 80 - Birthday Blues: The gang throws Annie her first ever REAL birthday party. Will the Invid crash it?
Episode 81 - Hired Gun: Can the gang stop a mysterious gunmen (who looks like Kid Rock!!!) who's been killing off soldiers in the desert - or will they become just another victim?
Episode 82 - The Big Apple: Korg passes a death sentence to the people of New York. Can Yellow Dancer and the gang stop him?
Episode 83 - Reflex Pont: Finally arriving at Reflex Point the gang teams up with a videographer from Rick Hunter's REF sent to do recon to prevent a deadly weapon from falling into Invid hands.
Episode 84 - Dark Finale: The final showdown begins as the freedom fighters and a mass Earth army under Admiral Rick Hunter's REF attacks Reflex Point.
Episode 85 - Symphony of Light: It's the bittersweet conclusion to the Robotech Saga. Who will win? Who will survive? Where's Rick Hunter? WHY WAS A SEQUEL NEVER MADE???
Disc 3: Elements of Robotechnology 7
This collection contains the second best installment in the "Elements of Robotechnology" series. Here's a rundown:
1. Robotech Deleted Scenes: As most know, Robotech was made by editing together three separate Japanese Anime series: Macross, Southern Cross and Mospeada. TONS of edits had to be made to seamlessly edit them together. Presented here is a HUGE collection of cut footage, totaling about an hours worth of view time. Overall, this is definitely a must-see. The clips are presented in Japanese.
2. Merchandise Gallery: Slideshow presentation format of various galleries of Robotech merchandise set to the Robotech theme (which you'll be sick of hearing afterward). TONS of merchandising (clothes, toys, books, games, videos, etc) was done for Robotech. Approximately 20 minutes worth of footage.
3. Robocon 10 Footage: This was supposed to be interviews with talent at a Robotech convention done in 1996, but IT WASN'T ON MINE. No link or whatever. Searching through the chapters though I found two commercials for Robotech. DO I HAVE AN UNINTENDED COLLECTOR'S ITEM HERE???
4. Video Game Clips: Two clips for two Robotech based video games. Clip 1 for an unreleased N64 game. Not bad, kinda likes like Starfox and those Star Wars X-wing/Tie Fighter shoot-em up games. Clip 2 for a soon to be released next-gen system game. AWESOME graphics. Looks like a keeper.
5. International Clips: Two scenes of Robotech in French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. Clip 1: Rand peeping on the girls at Annie's party, Clip 2: The Regess confronts the gang in the Hive. Clip 3: A Robotech Pepsi commercial in Spanish???
THE VERDICT:
Many feel that the New Generation story arc is the best out of all three of the Robotech story arcs, including the Macross Saga, and with good reason. The ultra-cool mecha and the ULTRA-INTENSE action as the freedom fighters literally run and fight for their lives against the Invid and make their way through a post-apocalyptic and treacherous world is awesome!!
If you've never seen Robotech, simply put YOU MUST. The action and the drama are compelling, clearly showing why Robotech became a pop culture icon. It is the series that forever put Japanese anime on the map in the US. If you did grow up with Robotech, give these a watch again. They're great for a trip down memory lane. You can't lose!!! Hopefully someday a sequel will finally be made to tie-up some of the loose ends.
Highest Recommendation
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Before
The Avengers and the James Bond films, the pioneering 1960 British series
Danger Man helped to usher in spy-mania in Great Britain. Patrick McGoohan stars as "Drake, John Drake," an agent of NATO's secret service branch. "A messy job," he informs us, "That's when they usually call on me." Most Americans only know Drake as the
Secret Agent Man, the title of the hour-long series that debuted on these shores in 1964. This half-hour series never aired in the United States, making this five-disc set, containing all 39 first season episodes, essential for Brit-TV aficionados, not to mention that branch of
Prisoner devotees who insist that the kidnapped "No. 6" is actually Drake himself. Like 007, the dapper and unflappable Drake possesses a keen wit and "animal sense of danger," and his assignments take him all over the world, from Rome and Paris to the Arabian desert. But Drake is old school. He very rarely uses a gun. He is not a womanizer. He does not possess an arsenal of cool gadgets. His missions are more gritty and realistic; classic "cloak and dagger" stuff. He foils not megalomaniacs trying to take over the world, but a rogue's gallery of embezzlers, assassins, slave traders, traitors, and the like. Also fun for Anglophiles are early glimpses of favorite British character actors, including Miss Moneypenny herself, Lois Maxwell ("Positions of Trust"); a pre-
Avengers/Pussy Galore Honor Blackman ("Colonel Rodriguez"), Judy Carne,
Laugh-In's Sock-It-to-Me girl ("Hired Assassin"; Charles Gray from the Bond films
You Only Live Twice and
Diamonds Are Forever ("The Key"); and Jean Marsh of
Upstairs, Downstairs fame ("Name, Date and Place"). The jazzy score is also killer.
--Donald LiebensonRead more!
A Real ClassicIn the 1960's the highest paid actor on British TV was Patrick McGoohan. Ironically despite what some people think McGoohan is American. His family came from Ireland to the U.S. where he was born. They later moved to England where he was schooled. It is equally ironic that agent John Drake was not always British.
The British tv series "Danger Man" exists in two versions with agent John Drake. First there was the half hour version (this set) which, contrary to Amazon's reviewer , was briefly shown in the U.S.Then there is the one hour version which was widely shown in the U.S. under the title "Secret Agent". But a change occured. In the half hour version John Drake is an American agent working for NATO although at times the NATO connection is fuzzy.McGoohan throughout the half hour series cuts back on the British accent.When the hour "Danger Man"/"Secret Agent" appeared Drake was now British and his accent given free reign.
What matters though is the quality of the shows. After 40 years they are still superb. Great scripts and actors with crisp no nonsense direction. McGoohan's Drake is equally no nonsense and he created one of television's most unforgettable characters. Fans of McGoohan's last tv series "The Prisoner" will find a few shocks here. Peter Swanwick, the Village's security controller, pops up in a few episodes as do several future Number 2's. The biggest shock though will come in the very first episode of this present series. Drake is in Rome tracking down a missing person . His only clue is a painting of an Italian village that he finds out is a real place. He goes there and it looks Italian. It is not though. It is Portmeirion in Wales, the resort village that would become The Village of "The Prisoner" ! So Patrick McGoohan's British TV career would span some 7 years and begin and end in the same place, Portmeirion, The Village.
