Tim Blake Nelson
Drama
Chickie the Cop
R
Tough Coach Duke Goulding leaves nothing untried to lead his almost exclusively white boarding school basketball team, the Hawks, to victory after victory, but his own son Hugo feels his polyvalent technical excellence and tireless efforts -which require using stimulants- are not getting anything like the recognition he deserves, especially when coach gives the best player award to Odin James, the only black teammate, even saying he loves Odin like his own son, who in turn only calls super-rich Michael Cassio to share in the honor. So Hugo, who is liked by everyone, decides to set up the boys who stole his glory, and he knows a cocky adolescent's weak points are his pride and his girl. This Dixie Jago schemes to bring down a black Othello and his Cassius, playing into the poisonous power of jealousy, however badly this also hurts their loved ones and the whole team...

Joel Coen
Comedy
Touchstone Pictures
PG-13
Loosely based on Homer's 'Odyssey' the movie deals with the grotesque adventures of Everett Ulysses McGill and his companions Delmar and Pete in 1930s Mississipi. Sprung from a chain gang and trying to reach Everetts home to recover the buried loot of a bank heist they are confronted by a series of strange characters. Among them sirens, a cyclops, bankrobber George 'Babyface' Nelson (very annoyed by that nickname), a campaigning Governor, his opponent, a KKK lynch mob, and a blind prophet, who warns the trio that "the treasure you seek shall not be the treasure you find."

Robert Altman
Comedy
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Nicholas Hytner
Comedy
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
R
George and Nina seem like the perfect couple. They share a cozy Brooklyn apartment, a taste for tuna casserole dinners, and a devotion to ballroom dancing. They love each other. There's only one hitch: George is gay. And when Nina announces she's pregnant, things get especially complicated. Vince - Nina's overbearing boyfriend and the baby's father-wants marriage. Nina wants independence. George will do anything for a little unqualified affection, but is he ready to become an unwed surrogate dad?

Lewis Milestone
Comedy
Dorchester

Eleven friends who know each other from World War II service plan to rob five of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas in one night. They develop a master plan but after the whole thing is over, something goes wrong...

Lewis Milestone
Comedy
Dorchester

Eleven friends who know each other from World War II service plan to rob five of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas in one night. They develop a master plan but after the whole thing is over, something goes wrong...

Steven Soderbergh
Comedy
Warner Bros. Pictures
PG-13
Danny Ocean (Clooney) wants to score the biggest heist in history. He combines an eleven team member, including Frank Catton (Mac), Rusty Ryan (Pitt) and Linus Caldwell (Damon). Their target? The Bellagio, the Mirage and the MGM Grand. All casinos owned by Terry Benedict. It's not going to be easy, as they plan to get in secretly and out with $150 million.

Steven Soderbergh
Comedy
Warner Bros. Pictures
PG-13
Danny Ocean (Clooney) wants to score the biggest heist in history. He combines an eleven team member, including Frank Catton (Mac), Rusty Ryan (Pitt) and Linus Caldwell (Damon). Their target? The Bellagio, the Mirage and the MGM Grand. All casinos owned by Terry Benedict. It's not going to be easy, as they plan to get in secretly and out with $150 million.

Steven Soderbergh
Comedy
Warner Bros. Pictures

The last time we saw Danny Ocean's crew, they were paying back ruthless casino mogul Terry Benedict after stealing millions from him. However, it's been a while since they've come back together, which is all about to change. When one of their own, Reuben Tishkoff builds a hotel with known casino owner Willy Banks, the last thing he ever wanted was to get cut out of the deal personally by the loathsome Banks. Banks' attitude even goes so far as to finding the amusement in Tishkoff's misfortune when the double crossing lands Reuben in the hospital because of a heart attack. However, Danny and his crew won't stand for Banks and what he's done to a friend. Uniting with their old enemy Benedict, who himself has a vendetta against Banks, the crew is out to pull off a major plan. One that will unfold on the night Banks' newest hot spot opens up, when the crew is out to bankrupt one of the city's most despised businessmen. But they're not in this for the money, but for the revenge.

Steven Soderbergh
Comedy
Warner Bros. Pictures

The last time we saw Danny Ocean's crew, they were paying back ruthless casino mogul Terry Benedict after stealing millions from him. However, it's been a while since they've come back together, which is all about to change. When one of their own, Reuben Tishkoff builds a hotel with known casino owner Willy Banks, the last thing he ever wanted was to get cut out of the deal personally by the loathsome Banks. Banks' attitude even goes so far as to finding the amusement in Tishkoff's misfortune when the double crossing lands Reuben in the hospital because of a heart attack. However, Danny and his crew won't stand for Banks and what he's done to a friend. Uniting with their old enemy Benedict, who himself has a vendetta against Banks, the crew is out to pull off a major plan. One that will unfold on the night Banks' newest hot spot opens up, when the crew is out to bankrupt one of the city's most despised businessmen. But they're not in this for the money, but for the revenge.

Steven Soderbergh
Comedy
Warner Bros. Pictures
PG-13
They pulled off one of the biggest heists ever and now they have another job to complete. Ocean's Eleven, which consisted off Danny Ocean (Clooney), Rusty Ryan (Pitt) and Linus Caldwell (Damon) and others, all thought they would be able to enjoy their money, but someone has other plans. Terry Benedict (Garcia) is still fuming after losing his money and wants it back. The team now have the job of getting all the money they spent back, or risk being thrown in jail. How are they going to get it all back? By pulling off another amazing plan.

Steven Soderbergh
Comedy
Warner Bros. Pictures
PG-13
They pulled off one of the biggest heists ever and now they have another job to complete. Ocean's Eleven, which consisted off Danny Ocean (Clooney), Rusty Ryan (Pitt) and Linus Caldwell (Damon) and others, all thought they would be able to enjoy their money, but someone has other plans. Terry Benedict (Garcia) is still fuming after losing his money and wants it back. The team now have the job of getting all the money they spent back, or risk being thrown in jail. How are they going to get it all back? By pulling off another amazing plan.

Joe Johnston
Biography
Universal Pictures
PG
In 1950's mining town called Coalwood, Homer Hickam is a kid with only one future in sight, to work in the local coalmine like his father. However in October 1957, everything changes when the first artificial satellite, Sputnik goes into orbit. With that event, Homer becomes inspired to learn how to build rockets. With his friends and the local nerd, Homer sets to do just that by trial and a lot of error. Unfortunately, most of the town and especially Homer's father thinks that they are wasting their time. Only one teacher in the high school understands their efforts and lets them know that they could become contenders in the national science fair with college scholarships being the prize. Now the gang must learn to perfect their craft and overcome the many problems facing them as they shoot for the stars.

Gene Saks
Comedy
Paramount Pictures
G
Felix Ungar has just broken up with his wife. Despondant, he goes to kill himself but is saved by his friend Oscar Madison. With nowhere else to go, Felix is urged by Oscar to move in with him, at least for a while. The only problem is that Felix is neat, tidy, and neurotic, whereas Oscar is slovenly and casual.

Harvey Miller, Alex March, Charles R. Rondeau, Jack Winter, George Marshall
Television
Paramount
NR
Jack Klugman and Tony Randall give an advanced course in chemistry in the auspicious first season of "The Odd Couple", which would only get better as the veteran character actors made themselves at home in their signature roles and the series switched from a laugh track to a live audience. In these first episodes, "The Odd Couple" hews pretty much to the voice and spirit of Neil Simon's play about mismatched roommates, sloppy sportswriter Oscar Madison and "miserable, picky, irritating" photographer Felix Unger ("That was the point," defends series executive producer and writer Garry Marshall, who provides lively audio introductions for each episode and commentary for the pilot). Playing pivotal roles this first season are Felix and Oscar's poker playing buddies, Murray the cop (Al Molinaro), Vinnie, Roy, and Speed, the fabulous Pigeon sisters (Monica Evans and Carole Shelley reprising their Broadway and film roles), and, of course, Neil Hefti's jaunty, jazzy theme, which was introduced in the 1968 film. As with "M*A*S*H", the series would establish its own identity and supplant previous incarnations in the public's consciousness. "The Odd Couple" was never a ratings smash before it became a syndication staple.
The series' loyal following is amply rewarded with this five-disc set. In addition to all 24 first season episodes, a bonus disc contains four billed as "Tony and Jack's Favorite Episodes," including the one where Oscar attacks Felix in his sleep, and the duo are paired as contestants on the game show "Password". In a clip from "The Mike Douglas Show", Tony Randall promotes the series, and somehow ends up challenging Douglas and Pat Boone to a push-up contest (Boone wins!). A reunited Randall and Klugman, his voice a rasp following his throat cancer surgery, are seen in a priceless clip from a 1993 performance of "The Odd Couple" to benefit Randall's National Actor's Theatre. A gag reel is negligible, but Klugman contributes home videos of a book tour and he provides commentary for a clip of him winning his first Emmy Award ("I've never seen this," he says delightedly). "The Odd Couple" is the very model of a classic character-driven comedy. From its dream-team casting to the literate, witty writing, there is nothing odd about why this series' remains one of the most beloved in all TV Land. "--Donald Liebenson"

Beyond "The Odd Couple"
The Movie
More DVDs with Jack Klugman
More ‘70s TV Series Stills from "The Odd Couple: The First Season" (click for larger image)

Bruce Bilson, George Marshall, George Tyne, Hal Cooper, Jack Donohue
Comedy
Paramount Home Video
NR
In its second season, ""The Odd Couple" was filmed before a live studio audience," and a good sitcom was well on its way to becoming a great one. Jack Klugman, as sloppy Oscar, and Tony Randall as fussy Felix, two divorced men trying to live together without driving each other crazy, was casting alchemy, and as time goes by, we appreciate the fundamental things that still apply: smart, character-based writing and indelible performances. While there are no episodes that can be said to be truly classic, several are fan favorites, including "Sleepwalker," which was included as one of the bonus episodes on the first-season set, "Felix the Calypso Singer," in which Felix becomes the third wheel on Oscar's romantic getaway with his girlfriend, and "You Saved My Life," in which Felix almost kills Oscar with kindness after Oscar rescues him. This season fleshes out the mismatched friends' backstory with two fun flashback episodes. In "Speak for Yourself," Oscar is forced to step in when Felix develops laryngitis on the night he was to propose to his future ex-wife Gloria, and in "A Night to Dismember," a season benchmark, Oscar, Felix, and Oscar's ex-wife, Blanche, have different memories of the fateful night on which Oscar and Blanche split up.
Gone this season are the daffy Pigeon sisters. Introduced are Janis Hansen as Gloria, Joan Hotchkis as Oscar's girlfriend, Dr. Nancy Cunningham, and Brett Somers, a perfect match, as the dread Blanche. A pre-"Laverne and Shirley" Penny Marshall makes her first appearance as Oscar's secretary, Myrna, and in the episode, "Security Arms," that's John Fiedler, who portrayed Vinnie in the original 1968 "Odd Couple" movie (he is also the instantly recognizable voice of Piglet in the Disney "Winnie the Pooh" shorts). In later seasons, "The Odd Couple" overindulged on stunt casting (remember the Billie Jean King-Bobby Riggs episode?) This second season offers comedian David Steinberg ("The Odd Couple Meets Their Host") and opera singer Richard Fredricks ("Does Your Mother Know You're Out, Rigoletto?"). "The Odd Couple" was a series that got better with each season. This live incarnation of the show is the one that is most fondly remembered, making the second season one that, unlike Felix, will never wear out its welcome. "--Donald Liebenson"

Various
Comedy
Paramount
NR
In "The Odd Couple"'s third, and best yet, season, coarse and crude sportswriter Oscar Madison is dubbed--by a princess, no less--as "Sir Oscar, Nicest of the Nice Guys." His roommate, best friend, and consummate pest, Felix Unger, tells him at one humbling point, "Oscar, you're well above average." Exploring Oscar's softer side no doubt helped earn Jack Klugman an Emmy Award for this season, but rest assured, not all of Oscar's edges have been smoothed out. He's still a slob, his room is still a disaster area, and he is still quick to erupt, which is understandable. As obsessive and overbearing Felix (Tony Randall) himself states, "I drive everybody crazy. I never learn my lesson." In one of the series' most fondly remembered episodes, "My Strife in Court" (also known as the "Never Assume" episode), Felix humiliates Oscar in court after he gets them both arrested for scalping theatre tickets. In another fan favorite, "Password," Oscar and Felix are a washout on the classic game show, thanks to Felix's arcane clues ("Aristophanes" for the password "bird"). In "Gloria, Hallelujah," jealous Felix goes to great lengths to prove he's not when Oscar is matched with Felix's ex-wife, Gloria (Janis Hansen), for a computer date. All of which helps make the episode "I Gotta Be Me" so much fun, as the constantly bickering duo try their hand at role reversal with Oscar kvetching and fussing, and Felix trashing a dinner party with beer and cheap cigars. In the third season, Penny Marshall (brother Garry wrote several episodes), as Oscar's secretary, Myrna, and Al Molinaro as hangdog cop, Murray, are given more prominent roles. In some odd stunt casting, Monty Hall guest stars as himself in the episode "Let's Make a Deal," and Howard Cosell proves to be an excellent foil for Oscar and Felix in "Big Mouth." Bret Sommers, the former Mrs. Klugman, makes a welcome return as Oscar's dread ex-wife, Blanche in "The Odd Couples," in which Oscar and Blanche must pretend they are still married for the benefit of Oscar's tradition-bound mother. Elinor Donahue (whose TV Land resume includes "Father Knows Best" and "The Andy Griffith Show") debuts as Felix's girlfriend, Miriam. With a live studio audience to cheer the actors on, this season provides several show-stopping moments, from Felix and Murray performing a little Gilbert & Sullivan in "Gloria, Hallelujah" to Myrna's spectacular tap dance in "Myrna's Debut." "--Donald Liebenson"

Various
Comedy
Paramount
NR
Even at its guest-starringest, "Will & Grace" had nothing on "The Odd Couple"’s fourth season stunt casting. Just two months after their epic "Battle of the Sexes" drew the largest-ever live audience for a tennis match, Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King squared off against each other at the ping-pong table in the episode, "The Pig Who Came to Dinner." Ballet superstar Edward Villella performs in "Last Tango in Newark" and Marilyn Horn, as a baker with an operatic voice and an unrequited crush on Oscar, sings selections from "Carmen", as well as "People," in "Vocal Girl Makes Good." "The Songwriter" features legendary disc jockey Wolfman Jack and entertainer Jaye P. Morgan, who performs the ever-popular Felix-penned ditty, "Happy and Peppy and Bursting with Love." "Playboy" emperor Hugh Hefner drops in for the flashback episode, "One for the Bunny," in which a jealous Felix is undone when he must photograph his future wife, Gloria, for a possible Playmate spread. But the chemistry between Tony Randall and Jack Klugman, Best Actor Emmy nominees in each of this series’ five years, is the real attraction. They are so thoroughly at home in their roles that they elevate the more over-the-top material, as witness their ill-fated presentation as glue entrepreneurs in "A Barnacle Adventure." Among the season’s best episodes are the ones that go back to the basics of Neil Simon’s warhorse play: Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy? In "The Insomniac," Felix cannot get to sleep ("I’m up as a pup") despite Oscar’s best efforts. In "Cleanliness is Next to Impossible," Felix hypnotizes the unwitting Oscar into becoming a neat freak after Oscar’s new girlfriend calls him sloppy (Felix’s heartbreak at having to bring Oscar out of it is palpable. "It’s like a dream come true," he moans). Elinor Donahue’s Miriam, Felix’s girlfriend, is conveniently forgotten in the episodes in which Felix tries to win back his ex-wife ("Gloria Moves In"). Zinger-queen Brett Somers also returns as Oscar’s ex-wife, Blanche, in flashback episodes that continue to play havoc with Felix and Oscar’s backstory (so now they were in the Army together?) Randall, Klugman and company (including Penny Marshall as Oscar’s secretary, Myrna) clearly relish playing to their enthusiastic live audience, and this richly entertaining season is brimming with classic moments and bits of comic business that continue to bring down the house. "--Donald Liebenson"

Various
Comedy
National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
NR
The British sitcom "The Office" has the most devoted following this side of "Monty Python", so an American remake seemed doomed. Amazingly, the remake actually finds its own enjoyable version of the original's uncanny comedy of embarrassment. Office manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell, "The Daily Show", "The 40 Year-Old Virgin") believes he's the beloved leader of the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of a paper products company--but his relentless and painfully forced efforts at comedy creep out everyone around him, including paranoid Dwight (Rainn Wilson, who had a memorable recurring role on "Six Feet Under"), nervous receptionist Pam (Jenna Fischer, "LolliLove"), and aimless salesman Jim (John Krasinski, "A New Wave"), who's smitten with the already engaged Pam. The pilot episode suffers from closely replicating the British pilot, but after that "The Office" finds its own footing, turning diversity training, an office birthday party, and a basketball game into excruciating yet hypnotically funny rituals of humiliation. Carell, though clearly talented, can't match Ricky Gervais' unique performance as the aggressively needy British manager (it's hard to imagine that anyone could); as a result, the supporting roles become more prominent, and Wilson, Fischer, and Krasinski quickly create a rapport that matches and may even exceed that of their British counterparts. Be sure to watch the deleted scenes; remarkably, they're as good as the material that made it on the air in this six-episode season. "--Bret Fetzer"

Various
Drama
National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
NR
Thank goodness for second seasons. While the first season of "The Office" started dubiously with a pilot that was just a poor copy of the original British version, it did manage to provide enough good material to stay on the air and hint that better was yet to come. And here it is. The second season of "The Office" finds its own footing and manages to do the near-impossible by not only breaking free of the gravity of that excellent BBC version to stand solidly on its own, but establishing it as one of the best comedies on TV. Season 2 starts out strong with "The Dundies," where Regional Manager, Michael Scott (Steve Carell, "The 40 Year Old Virgin") hosts the company’s annual office-awards event with his signature less-than-perfect grace. Things seem to only get worse for him this season as he bumbles a potential affair with his boss, Jan (Melora Harding), angers his employees by reading their emails ("Email Surveillance"), cooks his foot ("The Injury"), and accidentally destroys the warehouse with a forklift in "Boys and Girls," one of the season’s highlight episodes. Always at his side is the clueless paranoid Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), the Assistant Regional Manager ("Assistant "to" the Regional Manager," Michael always reminds him in one of the show’s running jokes).
One of the reasons for the show’s improvement in the second season is increased focus on Dwight’s character, who’s becoming something of a pop-culture icon right down to having his own bobblehead. He in turn provides so much good material for Pam (Jenna Fischer) and Jim (John Krasinsky) to play off of, to their own amusement. But of course, Pam and Jim’s simmering relationship is the real meat of the show, as their compatibility becomes more obvious, Jim’s feelings for her continue to grow, and Pam struggles with the impending marriage to her less-than-caring boyfriend, Roy (David Denman). Things have to come to a head, and they do nicely in the final episode, "Casino Night." As strong as the leading characters are in "The Office", it’s the excellent peripheral characters that really make the show hilarious, especially dimwitted office-slug Kevin (Brian Baumgartner), long-suffering intern Ryan (B.J. Novak), office-ditz Kelly (Mindy Kaling), and ultra-conservative Angela (Angela Kinsey). As with season 1, this season contains excellent bonus features to give you an excuse to spend more time at "The Office", including the fake PSAs, commentaries, Michael’s "The Faces of Scranton" movie, the ten stand-alone webisodes, and deleted scenes. "--Daniel Vancini"

Various
Comedy
National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
NR
After a shaky first season of finding its footing, and a second season of establishing itself as one of the funniest shows on TV, the third season of "The Office" finds the show in its strongest form yet, thanks in large part to the addition of some new characters and stronger plotlines centered on office romances. A corporate merger brings the Stamford staff to the Scranton office of Dunder-Mifflin a quarter of the way through the season giving a nice boost to the season's arc of story lines, especially the addition of Andy (Ed Helms, another "Daily Show" alum in a role that seems custom made for him) who serves as yet another foil to Dwight (Rainn Wilson) in his unending fight for Michael's approval. As the season begins, the focus is more on Michael (Steve Carell) and his unique "leadership" style in the Scranton office. "A good boss gruntles the disgruntled," and despite his best intentions, he proceeds to somehow screw it up, as in the opening episode, "Gay Witch Hunt," in which he accidentally outs a gay employee. In the second episode, "The Convention," Michael tries to get the party started at the Mid-Market Office Supply Convention ("fun jeans"), and ends up revealing his insecurity about Jim's (John Krasinski) decision to move to Stamford. It leads up to "The Coup," where Dwight meets with Michael's Boss Jan (Melora Hardin) in a misguided attempt to take control of the office. The merger of the two offices into the Scranton location provides the fuel needed to continue the Jim and Pam (Jenna Fischer) subplot as Jim returns with his new girlfriend, Karen (Rashida Jones) who also transferred, and with Pam no longer engaged to Roy, the tension among them increases significantly. Other major plot points this season include: Dwight shows his true feelings for Angela in an excellent climax to one of the funniest subplots on the show; Michael negotiates a raise after learning he barely makes more than his subordinates; new office suck-up Andy is forced into anger management classes; and finally, in what may be the most bizarre company retreat in history, a day at the beach ends with Pam revealing her true feelings for Jim in front of the entire office. The season wraps up in unpredictable fashion when Karen, Michael, and Jim all travel to headquarters to interview for the same position. The strength of this season just continues to solidify "The Office"'s place as the preeminent satire of today's cubicle culture. "--Daniel Vancini"

Various
Comedy
Universal Studios
NR
Is a season of "The Office" with less episodes still a great season? That seems to be the debate among the Emmy-winning sitcom's faithful audience in regard to season four, which like every program in 2007 and 2008 suffered due to the Writers Guild strike. But even a truncated season can't dispel the fact that "The Office" remains one of television's funniest and most consistently inventive programs. If a theme can be grafted upon season four, it's Things Fall Apart: former temp Ryan (writer-producer B.J. Novak) is promoted to executive position and then squanders that power, while Dwight (series MPV Rainn Wilson) attempts to recover from his breakup with Angela (Angela Kinsey) and her apparent relationship with the hapless Andy (Ed Helms). Elsewhere, HR's Toby (writer-director Paul Lieberstein) finally flees Dunder Mifflin for that long-threatened vacation to Costa Rica (and is replaced by Oscar nominee Amy Ryan), and Stanley (Leslie David Baker) reaches his own breaking point in "Did I Stutter?" The center of office entropy is, of course, boss Michael Scott (Steve Carell), who is knocked off his pedestal throughout the season; his sweetly naïve television spot is disparaged in "Local Ad," he's passed over for the executive outing in "Survivor Man," and in the season's highlights, he is forced to twice endure humiliation at the hands of his own girlfriend Jan (Melora Hardin), first in the heartbreaking "Deposition," and then immediately after in the Emmy-nominated "Dinner Party," which puts their disintegrating relationship in sharp focus. Even office lovebirds Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) experience some rocky moments as Jim anguishes over the right time to propose to her. But don't let that laundry list of disasters fool you into thinking that season four is a downer; if anything, many of the episodes are among the funniest the show has produced to date. Most notable among these are the opener "Fun Run" (the Scranton team participates in Michael's charity race for rabies prevention), "Job Fair" (Michael attempts to hawk Dunder Mifflin to high schoolers, while Jim struggles to land a client), and the aforementioned "Dinner Party" and "Goodbye, Toby." Longtime viewers may wince at some of the broader gags in the season, like Michael and Dwight driving into the lake in "Dunder Mifflin Infinity," but the best episodes are so strong--and Carell and his fellow players so dead-on in their performances--that it's hard to make a case against the season for those relatively few low points. Extras in the season-four set are fewer than in previous releases, though that may have to do with the reduced number of episodes. Deleted scenes are offered for every episode, and many are real gems, most notably those in "Dinner Party" and "Goodbye Toby." A smattering of commentaries is also included; Carell and Krasinski are noticeably absent, but Wilson, Fischer and the writing and directing staff more than make up for their absence. And the featurette "Writer's Block," which includes footage of the writers' panel at an Office convention, gives an amusing alternate to the usual behind-the-scenes coverage. Michael's complete ad for Dunder Mifflin, a battery of amusing faux PSAs for rabies, and a gag reel do much to fill out the supplemental features. --"Paul Gaita


Stills from Season Four of "The Office " (Click for larger image)

Mike Judge
Comedy
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
R
Peter Gibbons, thanks to a hypnotic suggestion, decides not to go to work at the same time his company is laying people off. When layoffs affect his two best friends, they conspire to plant a virus that will embezzle money from the company into their account.

Ricky Gervais
Comedy
BBC Warner
NR
The brilliant and devastating comedy of "The Office" is brought to a satisfying conclusion in "The Office Special", originally a two-part Christmas special on the BBC, set three years after the end of the faux-documentary's second season. The former office manager David (Ricky Gervais) now ekes out a desperate existence as an oblivious quasi-celebrity, making awkward, humiliating visits back to the office staff he still believes loves him. Gawky Gareth (Mackenzie Crook) has risen to manager and become a petty tyrant, while the sweet but snide Tim (Martin Freeman) continues to pine for former receptionist Dawn (Lucy Davis), who fled to Florida with her fiance. When the documentary crew pays for Dawn to return for the holiday party, an unpredictable reunion looms ahead. "The Office" fuses scathing humor and genuine empathy, turning excruciating social discomfort into inspired satire. Fans will find this special rewarding in all respects. "--Bret Fetzer"

Ricky Gervais
Comedy
BBC Video
NR
It feels both inaccurate and inadequate to describe "The Office" as a comedy. On a superficial level, it disdains all the conventions of television sitcoms: there are no punch lines, no jokes, no laugh tracks, and no cute happy endings. More profoundly, it's not what we're used to thinking of as funny. Most of the fervently devoted fan base watched with a discomfortingly thrilling combination of identification and mortification. The paradox is that its best moments are almost physically unwatchable.
Set in the offices of a fictional British paper merchant, "The Office" is filmed in the style of a reality television show. The writing is subtle and deft, the acting wonderful, and the characters beautifully drawn: the cadaverous team leader Gareth (Mackenzie Crook); the monstrous sales rep, Chris Finch (Ralph Ineson); and the decent but long-suffering everyman Tim (Martin Freeman), whose ambition and imagination have been crushed out of him by the banality of the life he dreams uselessly of escaping. The show is stolen, as it was intended to be, by insufferable office manager David Brent, played by codirector-cowriter Ricky Gervais. Brent will become a name as emblematic for a particular kind of British grotesque as Basil Fawlty, but he is a deeper character. Fawlty is an exaggeration of reality, and therefore a safely comic figure. Brent is as appalling as only reality can be. "--Andrew Mueller"

Ricky Gervais
Comedy
BBC Video
NR
The second series of the award-winning BBC mockudrama "The Office" exceeded even the sky-high standards of the first. Indeed, it ventured beyond caricature and satire, touching on the very edge of darkness. Ricky Gervais was once again excruciatingly superb as David Brent, a subtly shaded modern English comic grotesque in the desperate and self-deluding tradition of Alan Partridge and Basil Fawlty. In this series, however, Brent's to-the-camera assertions concerning his management qualities and executive capabilities are seriously challenged when the Slough and Swindon branches are merged and his former Swindon equivalent Neil takes over as area manager. To compensate, Brent cultivates his pathologically mistaken image of himself as an entertainer-motivator-comedian whose stage happens to be the workplace.
Meanwhile, Tim Canterbury (Martin Freeman), who can only maintain his sanity by teasing the priggish Gareth Keenan (Mackenzie Crook), continues to wrestle with his yearning for receptionist Dawn Tinsley (Lucy Davis), a sympathetic character persisting in a relationship with a man about whom she still maintains unspoken reservations. As ever, it's the awkward, reality TV-style pauses and silences, the furtive, meaningful and unmet glances across the emotional gulf of the open-plan office, that say it all here. As for Brent, his own breakdown is prefaced by a moment of hideous hilarity--an impromptu office dance, a mixture of ""Flashdance" and MC Hammer" as Brent describes it, but in reality bad beyond description. Then, when his fate is sealed, he at last reveals himself in a memorable finale to perhaps the greatest British sitcom, besides "Fawlty Towers", ever made. All this and Keith too. "--David Stubbs"

Taylor Hackford
Drama
Capitol Equipment Leasing

Zack Mayo is a young man who has signed up for Navy Flight School. He is a Navy brat who has a bad attitude problem. Sgt. Foley is there to train and evaluate him and will clearly find Zack wanting. Zack meets Paula, a girl who has little beyond family and must decide what it is he wants to do with his life.

Carl Reiner
Comedy
Warner Bros. Pictures
PG
Jerry, a assistant grocery manager (John Denver) is approached by God to help spread his message. Reluctant at first, Jerry finally ends up in a court case involving the slander of a popular evangelist.

Gilbert Cates
Comedy
Warner Bros. Pictures
PG
Second 'Oh God' movie has God (again in the form of George Burns) appearing before 11-year-old Tracy Richards (Louanne) to ask for her help to spread his word and influence over the world which she suggests the slogan 'Think God.' Naturaly, Tracy's divorced parents Paula (Suzanne Pleshette) and Don (David Birney) think Tracy's just crazy and plot to halt her 'heaven-sent' mission to spread God's word.

Paul Bogart
Comedy
Warner Bros. Pictures
PG
George Burns is back as God, but oops, here he is as Satan, too. A young rock star is ready to sell his soul to Satan, and Satan is all too happy to oblige. Oops! Seems the fellow was watched over by God as a baby, so now the almighty and his nemesis have to duke it out over the soul.

Billy Kent
Comedy
Ambush Entertainment
R
In Ohio, Priscilla Chase is the VP of a company that works bringing new business to Cleveland. She has been married for more than ten years with Jack Chase, the biology teacher from the local public school. Priscilla is successful in her career but is frigid and has never reached an orgasm, hurting her frustrated husband. When Priscilla decides to buy a vibrator, Jack is seduced by his teenage student Kristen Taylor and recovers his self-esteem, working out, losing weight and dressing adequately. Priscilla has new sexual experiences and becomes closer to Wayne the Pool Guy, the constructor of swimming pools in her neighborhood since she was a child. The new relationships upgrade the personal and professional lives of Priscilla and Jack.

William Beaudine
Comedy
Paramount Pictures

The Great McGonigle's traveling theatrical troupe are staying at a boarding house. They are preparing to put on a production of "The Drunkard" (and do so during this movie). Cleopatra Pepperday puts up money for the show provided she can have a part ("Here comes the prince!"). Little Albert Wendelschaffer torments McGonigle all through lunch ("How can you hurt a watch by dipping it in molasses?"). In spite of being pursued by several sheriffs, McGonigle is able to keep going and see his daughter Betty happily married.

Todd Phillips
Comedy
DreamWorks Pictures
R
Mitch, Frank and Beanie are disillusioned with their personal lives begining when Mitch's nymphomanic girlfriend, Heidi, cheats on him, then former party animal Frank gets married, but unwilling to get go of his wild life, and Beanie is a family man seeking to reclaim his wild and crazy youth. Beanie suggests that they form their own fraternity in Mitch's new house on a college campus to re-live their glory days by bringing together a variety of misfit college students, losers, middle-aged and elderly retirees as their new friends and later try to avoid being evicted by the new Dean of Students, Pritchard, whom still holds a personal grudge against all three of them.

Chan-wook Park
Drama
Egg Films
R
An average man is kidnapped and imprisoned in a shabby cell for 15 years without explanation. He then is released, equipped with money, a cellphone and expensive clothes. As he strives to explain his imprisonment and get his revenge, he soon finds out that not only his kidnapper has still plans for him, but that those plans will serve as the even worse finale to 15 years of imprisonment.

David Mamet
Drama
Bay Kinescope

A two character movie, involving a college professor, John, who is confronted by a female student, Carol, who is failing his course. The two spend a long time talking to each other, during which time John says a few things that can be taken the wrong way. After the night the two spent talking, John is slapped with a sexual harassment accusation by Carol. After more accusations from Carol, John's career as a teacher begins to fall apart. This forces John with a choice on how to handle the situation, and the results make up for a shattering ending to the movie.

Charles Kiselyak
Documentary

David Lean
Adventure
Independent Producers

Based on the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist is about an orphan boy who runs away from a workhouse and meets a pickpocket on the streets of London. Oliver is taken in by the pickpocket and he joins a household of young boys who are trained to steal for their master. This version of Oliver Twist is topped by Alec Guinness's masterly performance of arch-thug Fagin.

Roman Polanski
Drama
Runteam II Ltd.
PG-13
Oliver Twist (Clark) is an orphan, who is soon kicked out of the orphanage and thrown into a terrible home. The bad treatment Oliver receives, forces him to run off to London. Here, he is soon picked up by the Artful Dodger (Eden) and taken to Fagin (Kingsley). Fagin treats Oliver well, but is it the life Oliver really wants?

Richard Donner
Horror
Twentieth Century-Fox Productions
R
Robert and Katherine Thorn seem to have it all. He is the US Ambassador to Italy and they want for nothing in their lives, except one thing: they do not have children. When Katharine has a stillborn child, Robert is approached by a priest at the hospital who suggest that he take a healthy newborn whose mother has just died in childbirth. Without telling his wife he agrees to to so but after relocating to London, strange events - and the ominous warnings of a priest - lead him to believe that the child he took from that Italian hospital is evil incarnate.

John Moore
Horror
11:11 Mediaworks
R
When the Vatican observatory priest sees the appearance of a comet, the Church is sure that it confirms the eve of the Armageddon. Meanwhile, the USA President's godson Robert Thorn is informed in the maternity in Rome by Father Spiletto that his wife Katherine has just lost her baby and she had troubles with her uterus and would not have another pregnancy. Spiletto suggests Robert that another just born child that lost his mother could be the substituted for his son, and Robert accepts the child and gives the name of Damien. Robert is promoted to ambassador in London after a tragic accident. When Damien's nanny commits suicide in his birthday party, a substitute, Mrs. Baylock, comes to work and live with the family. Along the years, Katherine realizes that Damien is evil, while Robert is contacted by Father Brennan, who tells him that Damien is the son of devil. When the priest dies in a bizarre accident, the photographer Keith Jennings shows evidences to Robert that the boy is the Antichrist. They travel to the town of Megiddo to learn how the boy can be stopped.

Graham Baker
Horror
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Now come into his full knowledge and power, the Anti-Christ in the body of Damien Thorne is about to strike his final blow. The Christ-child has been born again, on the Angel Isle, Great Britain (Scotland, England & Wales). The plan is simple, find the male children born on the specified day, and kill them all.

Jorge Montesi, Dominique Othenin-Girard
Horror
FNM Films

Damien Thorn is dead, but his prophecy is reborn in a mysterious girl named Delia, who is adopted by two attorneys, Gene & Karen York. When Karen realizes her baby was born under suspicious circumstances, she hires a private investigator to find Delia's real parents. A series of bizarre accidents occur, and Karen begins to suspect everyone of conspiring against her as she unravels the truth about her baby.

Clive Brook
Comedy
IP-Verity

Nicholas Ray
Crime
RKO Radio Pictures

Hard, withdrawn city cop Jim Wilson roughs up one too many suspects and is sent upstate to help investigate the murder of a young girl in the winter countryside. There he meets Mary Malden, whom he finds attractive and independent. However, Mary's brother is chief suspect in the killing. And Mary herself is blind.

Marty Callner
Comedy
Home Box Office (HBO)

Elia Kazan
Crime
Horizon Pictures

Terry Malloy dreams about being a prize fighter, while tending his pigeons and running errands at the docks for Johnny Friendly, the corrupt boss of the dockers union. Terry witnesses a murder by two of Johnny's thugs, and later meets the dead man's sister and feels responsible for his death. She introduces him to Father Barry, who tries to force him to provide information for the courts that will smash the dock racketeers.

John Carney
Drama
Bórd Scannán na hÉireann
R
An (unnamed) Guy is a Dublin guitarist/singer-songwriter who makes a living by fixing vacuum cleaners in his Dad's Hoover repair shop by day, and singing and playing for money on the Dublin streets by night. An (unnamed) Girl is a Czech who plays piano when she gets a chance, and does odd jobs by day and takes care of her mom and her daughter by night. Guy meets Girl, and they get to know each other as the Girl helps the Guy to put together a demo disc that he can take to London in hope of landing a music contract. During the same several day period, the Guy and the Girl work through their past loves, and reveal their budding love for one another, through their songs.

John Woo
Action
Golden Princess Film Production Limited

Stylish caper thriller stars Chow Yun-Fat, Leslie Cheung and Cheri Chung as a trio of international art thieves. Shot primarily throughout Europe, this Woo film is a romantic and exciting change of pace for Woo.

Sergio Leone
Crime
Embassy International Pictures
R
Epic tale of a group of Jewish gangsters in New York, from childhood, through their glory years during prohibition, and their meeting again 35 years later.

Robert Rodriguez
Action
Columbia Pictures Corporation
R
A drug lord who pretends to overthrow the Mexican government. A corrupt CIA agent (Johnny Depp) who at that time, demands retribution from his worst enemy to carry out the drug lord's uprising against the government.

Sergio Leone
Action
Finanzia San Marco
PG-13
Story of a young woman, Mrs. McBain, who moves from New Orleans to frontier Utah, on the very edge of the American West. She arrives to find her new husband and family slaughtered, but by who? The prime suspect, coffee-lover Cheyenne, befriends her and offers to go after the real killer, assassin gang leader Frank, in her honor. He is accompanied by Harmonica on his quest to get even. Get-rich-quick subplots and intricate character histories intertwine with such artistic flair that this could in fact be the movie-to-end-all-movies.

Kevin Macdonald
Documentary
Passion Pictures
R
The 1972 Munich Olympics were interrupted by Palestinian terrorists taking Israeli athletes hostage. Besides footage taken at the time, we see interviews with the surviving terrorist, Jamal Al Gashey, and various officials detailing exactly how the police, lacking an anti-terrorist squad and turning down help from the Israelis, botched the operation.

Carl Franklin
Thriller
IRS Media

With the assistance of two Los Angeles Police Department detectives, Star City, Arkansas Police Chief Dale "Hurricane" Dixon prepares to take on several criminals heading to his small town after a crime-filled road trip from California.

Michael Hoffman
Comedy
Fox 2000 Pictures
PG
Melanie Parker, an architect and mother of Sammy, and Jack Taylor, a newspaper columnist and father of Maggie, are both divorced. They meet one morning when overwhelmed Jack is left unexpectedly with Maggie and forgets that Melanie was to take her to school. As a result, both children miss their school field trip and are stuck with the parents. The two adults project their negative stereotypes of ex-spouses on each other, but end up needing to rely on each other to watch the children as each must save his job. Humor is added by Sammy's propensity for lodging objects in his nose and Maggie's tendency to wander.

Milos Forman
Drama
Fantasy Films
R
McMurphy thinks he can get out of doing work while in prison by pretending to be mad. His plan backfires when he is sent to a mental asylum. He tries to liven the place up a bit by playing card games and basketball with his fellow inmates, but the head nurse is after him at every turn.

Mark Romanek
Drama
Fox Searchlight Pictures
R
Seymour 'SY' Parrish has been doing photo development for 20 years. He has a vast knowledge of modern photography and develops photos at a local department store for a living. But SY lives a sad and lonely life and begins spying on the Yorkin family, his biggest customers who seem to have everything in the world. SY begins to feel that he wants to be in the Yorkin's life, but when he discovers that the Yorkins are not as perfect as they seem, he becomes a man on a mission to expose the imperfections of the Yorkin family that could tear them apart.

Teodoro Maniaci, Francine Rzeznik
Documentary
FIRST RUN FEATURES

Focusing on the contemporary religious Right Wing proliferation of curative therapies for homosexuality, this riveting documentary offers historical context as well as a political analysis of this frighteningly large movement.

A. Edward Sutherland
Comedy
Universal Pictures

Mike Figgis
Drama
New Line Cinema
R
Los-Angeles commercials director Max visits his friend, artist Charlie, who was diagnosed with AIDS in New York. There he meets Karen, they are attracted to each other and after they meet later that day at the concert, they have a passionate night. Then he returns home to L.A. to his family and wife Mimi. A year later Max returns to New York again to visit Charlie who is now dying, and there he meets Karen again, who is married to Charlie's brother Vernon.

Peter Calabrese, David Grossman
Comedy
Home Box Office (HBO)

Marlon Brando
Western
Pennebaker Productions

Running from the law after a bank robbery in Mexico, Dad Longworth finds an opportunity to take the stolen gold and leave his partner Rio to be captured. Years later, Rio escapes from the prison where he has been since, and hunts down Dad for revenge. Dad is now a respectable sheriff in California, and has been living in fear of Rio's return.

Prachya Pinkaew
Adventure
Baa-Ram-Ewe
R
Booting lives in a small and peaceful village. One day a sacred Buddha statuette called Ong Bak is stolen from the village by a immoral businessman who sells it for exorbitant profits. It soon becomes the task of a young man, Boonting (Phanom Yeeram), to track the thief down to Bangkok voluntarily and reclaim the religious treasure. Along the way, Boonting uses his astonishing athleticism and traditional Muay Thai skills to combat his adversaries.

Kaneto Shindô
Drama
Kindai Eiga Kyokai

After being forcefully inducted as a soldier into war in 14th century Japan, his wife and mother remain living in a swamp. They eke out their living by ambushing worn-out warriors, killing them and selling their belongings to a greedy merchant. The woman comes to mistrust her daughter-in-law who has coupled up with a deserter, and begins to wear a facial mask she has taken from a slain samurai. Soon the mask will not come off again. In this disguise she is at first taken for a demon by her daughter.

Harold Becker
Crime
Black Marble Productions
R
Greg Powell is a disturbed ex-con who recruits Jimmy Smith (aka Jimmy Youngblood), a petty thief, as his partner in crime. Powell panics one night when the two of them are pulled over by a pair of cops for broken brake-lights. Powell decides to kidnap the cops and Smith, as always, reluctantly goes along with Powell's crazy scheme. The group drives out to a deserted onion field in Bakersfield, California and one officer is shot while the other escapes. The remainder of the film explores the nature of the American justice system, as well as the devastating psychological effects of this event and the trial on the surviving officer.

Howard Hawks
Drama
Columbia Pictures Corporation

While waiting for her boat, Bonnie Lee stops at a small airport in South America. The pilots there deliver mail over a dangerous and usually foggy mountain pass. Geoff Carter, the lead flyer, seems distant and cold as Bonnie tries to get closer to him. Things heat up as Judy MacPherson, Geoff's old flame, shows up with her husband who is an infamous pilot.

Kevin Costner
Drama
Touchstone Pictures
R
Boss Spearman, Charley Waite, Mose Harrison and Button freegraze their cattle across the vast prairies of the West, sharing a friendship forged by a steadfast code of honor and living a life unencumbered by civilization. When their wayward herd forces them near the small town of Harmonville, the cowboys encounter a corrupt sheriff and kingpin rancher who govern the territory through fear, tyranny and violence. Boss and Charley find themselves inextricably drawn towards an inevitable showdown, as they are forced to defend the freedom and values of a lifestyle that is all too quickly vanishing. Amidst the turmoil, life suddenly takes an unexpected turn for the loner Charley when he meets the beautiful and warm spirited Sue Barlow, a woman who embraces both his heart and his soul.

Chris Kentis
Drama
Plunge Pictures LLC
R
A couple on a holiday in the Caribbean decide to spend the day on a scuba diving trip. But was it the wrong decision? When a miss-count happens on the boat, Susan (Ryan) and Daniel (Travis) are left behind in the middle of the ocean, with the boat long gone. With all their hopes set on the boat coming back to rescue them, they try to keep themselves safe, especially when sharks start to appear.

Alejandro Amenábar
Drama
Canal+ España
R
An imprisoned man hides his face behind a mask is telling his story, as a flashback, to a psychiatrist: his name is César, he is an orphan but he had inherited a fortune from his parents, and he used to live in a luxurious house of his his own. He was also very handsome and a renowned womanizer. His best friend, Pelayo, was jealous of César because he was not very successful with women. But one night, Pelayo showed up in one of César's parties with a beautiful woman named Sofía. When César met her and talked to her for a while, he began to feel something he had never felt before: love. And, although she was supposed to be Pelayo's girlfriend, he tried to woo her, spending that night at her home. But Nuria, with whom César had his last affair, was very jealous; she went to pick him up in her car the next morning, and committed suicide by crashing into a wall. César survived the crash, but his face was hideously disfigured, his handsome looks gone. Doctors said they couldn't help him. He was very depressed and still in love with Sofía. One night he went out with her and Pelayo, and he felt that they were very uncomfortable with his presence. But the morning after, his luck seemed to change completely: Sofía came to him, saying that it was he whom she really loved, and the doctors called him and told him that, with a revolutionary new technique, they could rebuild his face, which they did. César was happier than ever, but that's when the really strange and scary things started to happen...and César found out that the real nightmare had only just began for him....

John Cassavetes
Drama
Faces Distribution
G
A young woman gets killed in an accident trying to meet her favorite actress Myrtle Gordon after a play. Then Myrtle Gordon felt responsible for the killing leading her down to an emotional crisis that interferes with her professional work as an actress.

Radley Metzger
Adult
Crescent Films

Pornography meets Pygmalion. Misty, the hooker, meets the sexologist who thinks he can transform her from "the nadir of passion" into someone who inspires passion. While Misty is trained for her big test, seducing a homosexual artist, the relationship between the doctor and Misty remains unsettled.

Skip Jones
Animation
Amblin Television

Opus the Penguin, amoung his other problems, always felt inadequate by his being "aerodynamicly impaired". Together, with Bill the Cat he tries doggedly to overcome that weakness, all without success. It is only on Christmas Eve that Opus learns what worth his natural abilities are.

Jake Kasdan
Comedy
Paramount Pictures
PG-13
Shaun Brumder is a local surfer kid from Orange County who dreams of going to Stanford to become a writer and to get away from his disfunctional family household. Except Shaun runs into one complication after another starting when his application is rejected after his dim-witted guidance counselor sends the wrong application. So, Shaun goes to great lengths with a little help from his girlfriend Ashley and his drugged-out loser brother Lance to get into Stanford any way they see fit.

Carl Theodor Dreyer
Drama
Palladium Film

Trey Parker
Comedy
Kuzui Enterprises
NC-17
Joe Young was a simple young man trying to spread the word of the Book of Mormon when he picked the wrong house to preach at! The owner, a porn director named Maxxx Orbison, tells his henchmen to kill the guy at the door who interrupted their scene, but Joe fights off the guards with great skill, which impresses Maxxx so much that he offers Joe the lead role in the movie he's making at the moment: Orgazmo, which is about a sex superhero who fights crime with his Orgazmorator and ChodaBoy, his sidekick. Joe, against his beliefs, takes the job so that he can pay for the wedding he plans for he and his fiancee, who he doesn't tell about his risque new acting job. However, when the movie becomes an amazing hit just about everywhere and he finds out that Ben (ChodaBoy) has created a real Orgazmorator, Joe is in some serious hot water!

Spike Lee
Comedy
40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks
R
February 26 and 27, 2000, the Original Kings of Comedy play Charlotte, NC. The themes are Blacks and Whites, men and women, old-school and hip-hop. Steve Harvey emcees, celebrates '70s music and lyrics of love, and pokes at folks in the front row. D.L. Hughley mines racial differences and talks about his marriage. Cedric the Entertainer riffs on a Black president and on being grown up. Bernie Mac, who says he expresses what's in the back of our minds, closes with reflections on being 42 (new aspects to his sex life and his attitude toward children). Spike Lee's camera takes us backstage and off-stage with the Kings and into the crowd where everyone's laughing.

Michael Cristofer
Thriller
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
R
Can love release our true self? A wealthy Cuban coffee exporter, Luis Vargas, advertises for a US wife; Julia Russell, from Delaware, sends her photograph, but the woman who steps off the ship is much lovelier. Luis marries her immediately and gives in to love. But Julia may not be who she claims: first a private eye shows up on behalf of Julia's sister, then the sister herself. By now, Luis has given has wife access to bank accounts, and when she runs with his cash, he pursues her, with the help of Downs, the P.I., perhaps to kill her. Pursuit may be part of a con game as well, and Julia's past explains some, if not all, of what remains of the story. A priest hears her confession.

Jean Cocteau
Fantasy
Andre Paulve Film

Orphee is a poet who becomes obsessed with Death (the Princess). They fall in love. Orphee's wife, Eurydice, is killed by the Princess' henchmen and Orphee goes after her into the Underworld. Although they have become dangerously entangled, the Princess sends Orphee back out of the Underworld, to carry on his life with Eurydice.

Orson Welles
Drama
Passport
NR
Included in this fascinating 5-DVD collection are THE STRANGER (1946) KING LEAR (1953) DAVID AND GOLIATH (1960) and THE TRIAL (1962). In addition two documentaries Hollywood Remembers Orson Welles and Hollywood Couples: Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth round out this terrific set.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. UPC: 025493535099 Manufacturer No: PIP-DV-5350

Orson Welles
Drama
El Silencio Producciones

Robert Kane Pappas
Documentary
Sag Harbor-Basement Pictures

Katherine Brooks, Darren Ewing, Sarah K. Pillsbury, Donald Bull (II), Brendon Carter
Comedy
Miramax Home Entertainment
NR
As the second season aired, the decline in TV ratings and the tepid sales of Kelly Osbourne's album indicated that the Osbourne family's 15 minutes were just about up. But this two-disc set is an indispensable time-capsule keepsake of that brief and shining moment when Ozzy and his family put their indelible stamp on pop culture as the stars of the first reality sitcom. For addled heavy-metal pioneer Ozzy, his fiercely devoted wife and manager Sharon, and two (of three) of their children--petulant misfit Jack and the more flamboyant pink-haired Kelly--it was a very good year. They were MTV's top-rated series ever. They graced magazine covers. They were championed by no less a moral arbiter than Dan Quayle. Even President George W. Bush got into the act, toasting Ozzy at the annual Washington Press Club soiree: "Ozzy, mom loves your stuff." "The Osbournes" is the kind of series for which the phrase "instantly addictive" was coined. The idea seemed positively batty: Chronicle the lives of the Osbournes as they settle in to their new Beverly Hills home. They ain't the Clampetts, as the crates marked "Dead Things" indicates. Persistent use of the "F" word and other obscenities (not bleeped on the uncensored DVD) aside, the Osbournes at heart are a close-knit, loving family. Or, as Ozzy so tenderly puts it, "I love you more than life itself, but you're all f------ mad." Episode 4 bears him out, as Sharon and Jack declare war on their noisy next-door neighbors with airborne foodstuffs. These 10 endlessly repeatable episodes are enhanced by this features-heavy DVD; among its most inspired extras is an "Ozzy translator." The first season of "The Osbournes" was a lightning-in-a- bottle phenomenon whose success has yet to be duplicated, not by the shameless Anna Nicole, not by clueless Liza, not even by the Osbournes themselves. "--Donald Liebenson"

Katherine Brooks, Darren Ewing, Sarah K. Pillsbury, Donald Bull (II), Brendon Carter
Comedy
Miramax Home Entertainment
NR
The modern-day Addams Family returns for a second season of their landmark reality sitcom. Overexposure quickly wore out the Osbournes' welcome, but the season opener, "What Goes Up," is a reminder of the surreal circus that was their lightning-in-a-bottle 15 minutes of fame. Ozzy and Sharon attend the White House Correspondents' dinner, where Ozzy rates a mention by the president and receives a thundering ovation. Daughter Kelly performs "Papa Don't Preach" at the MTV Music Awards. And son Jack is thrilled that McDonald's has brought back the McRib. The next episode, "Must Come Down," is the reality check, in which Sharon is diagnosed with colon cancer. But the family quickly gets back "to what they usually do," which is drive each other (and anyone who crosses them) crazy. Jack takes special delight in tormenting trespassing tourists by turning the sprinklers on them. When Kelly brings home her first serious boyfriend, a rock singer, it's to her mortified horror that Sharon questions him about his obscene nickname. The season does comes to a poignant end with a lavish New Year's party during which Ozzy and Sharon renew their vows, and ends with Ozzy passed out on the couch (just like their first honeymoon, Sharon sardonically observes).
Of course, there is reality and there is reality. Though not dealt with onscreen, it has since been reported that Jack has undergone rehab for a substance abuse problem, a tragic family legacy. This puts something of a damper on watching the "wacky" antics. But as with the first season, "The Osbournes" is fun to visit, with cameos by, among others, Natalie Portman, Mandy Moore, P. Diddy, and Marilyn Manson adding to the cachet. But thank god you don't live there. As with the first season, this two-disc package contains such inspired extras as a translator that provides subtitles for the addled Ozzy's profanity-laced dialogue and a preferred bleep-free viewing option."--Donald Liebenson"

Robert Stone
Documentary
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Orson Welles
Drama
Mercury Productions

Durante il periodo delle Repubbliche Marinare, in Italia, Otello, detto "il moro di Venezia", viene inviato dal doge a difendere la roccaforte di Cipro dai musulmani, dopo il suo matrimonio con la bella e nobile Desdemona. Avendo scelto Cassio come aiutante, Otello provoca invidia e gelosia nel perfido Jago, che comincia ad insinuare dubbi sulla fedeltà della moglie. Con un artificio, il subdolo Jago crea "l'incidente del fazzoletto di Desdemona". A questo punto l'ingenuo Otello gli crede e, folle di gelosia, soffoca la moglie con un cuscino. Ma la verità viene a galla e Jago è smascherato e condannato a morte. Otello non resiste al rimorso e si suicida. Tratto dal dramma di Shakespeare, il film si rifà alla versione operistica di Arrigo Boito.

Stuart Burge
Drama
BHE Films

Desdemona defies her father to marry the Moor of Venice, the mighty warrior, Othello. But Othello's old lieutenant, Iago, doesn't like Othello, and is determined to bring about the downfall of Othello's new favorite, Cassio, and destroy Othello in the process, by casting aspersions on Othello's new bride.

Norman Jewison
Comedy
Warner Bros. Pictures
R
A corporate raider threatens a hostile take-over of a "mom and pop" company. The patriarch of the company enlists the help of his wife's daughter, who is a lawyer, to try and protect the company. The raider is enamoured of her, and enjoys the thrust and parry of legal manoeuvring as he tries to win her heart.

Larry Buchanan
Drama
Dal-Art Films

Alejandro Amenábar
Drama
Cruise/Wagner Productions
PG-13
A woman named Grace retires with her two children to a mansion on Jersey, towards the end of the Second World War, where she's waiting for her husband to come back from battle. The children have a disease which means they cannot be touched by direct sunlight without being hurt in some way. They will live alone there with oppressive, strange and almost religious rules, until she needs to hire a group of servants for them. Their arrival will accidentally begin to break the rules with unexpected consequences.

Rachel Boynton
Documentary
Boynton Films Production

Robert F. McGowan
Short
Hal Roach Studios Inc.

One member of the gang has a widowed mother who keeps the village store. A rival merchant opens a shop across the street and by questionable methods lures the widow's customers away from her. The gang decides to take a hand and try and get the widow's business back.

Various
Comedy
Good Times Video
NR
This is probably the best DVD to buy if you want a sampler of Our Gang/Little Rascals video. Picture clarity is very good, much better than I ever expected for films this old. Sound has often been a problem, but its again better than usual. This DVD release consists of two discs. One contains some of the more classic episodes such as "Kid From Borneo".
The second disc contains some rare footage such as a reunion of the original cast on the TV show "You Asked For It", and an advertisement for a bicycle with Spanky as the star. Much of this rare footage I had never seen before.
My only complaint is the length. There could have been at least another hours worth of footage put on both discs. I got the feeling I was paying DVD prices for a VHS tape

John G. Blystone, Buster Keaton
Comedy
Joseph M. Schenck Productions

This is a costume-period piece set in 1830s Kentucky. The Canfields and the McKays are feuding clans (essentially the real life Hatfields and McCoys renamed). In New York Willie boards a train (an exact recreation of the original "Stephenson Rocket"); on board he meets Virginia Canfield (the actress is Buster's real life wife). The dramatic waterfall rescue near the end is performed by Buster himself.

Carol Reed
Drama, Thriller, Comedy
Kingsmead Productions

Jim Wormold is an expatriate Englishman living in pre-revolutionary Havana with his teenage daughter Milly. He owns a vacuum cleaner shop but isn't very successful so he accepts an offer from Hawthorne of the British Secret Service to recruit a network of agents in Cuba. Wormold hasn't got a clue where to start but when his friend Dr. Hasselbacher suggests that the best secrets are known to no one, he decides to manufacture a list of agents and provides fictional tales for the benefit of his masters in London. He is soon seen as the best agent in the Western Hemisphere but it all begins to unravel when the local police decode his cables and start rounding up his "network" and he learns that he is the target of a group out to kill him.

James Naughton
Drama
Line by Line Productions

Steven Soderbergh
Comedy
Jersey Films
R
A career bank robber busts out of jail (Clooney) with the help of his buddy (Rhames) and kidnaps a US Marshal (Lopez) in the process. When the two cons head for Detroit to pull off their final big scam, the Marshal is put on their case but she finds she is attracted to one of them and has second thoughts about bringing them in.

Jacques Tourneur
Drama
RKO Radio Pictures

Jeff Bailey, small-town gas pumper, has his mysterious past catch up with him one day when he's ordered to meet with gambler Whit Sterling. En route to the meeting, he tells girlfriend Ann his story. Flashback: Once, Jeff was a private eye hired by Sterling to find his mistress Kathie who shot Whit and absconded with $40,000. He traces her to Acapulco...where the delectable Kathie makes Jeff forget all about Sterling... Back in the present, Whit's new job for Jeff is clearly a trap, but Jeff's precautions only leave him more tightly enmeshed...

Carl Franklin
Crime
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Matt Lee Whitlock, respected chief of police in small Banyan Key, Florida, must solve a vicious double homicide before he himself falls under suspicion. Matt Lee has to stay a few steps ahead of his own police force and everyone he's trusted in order to find out the truth.

Wolfgang Petersen
Drama
Punch Productions
R
In July of 1967, In Motaba River Valley, Zaire, a virus with a 100% mortality rate starts infecting people. The virus becomes known as the Motaba virus, and it's so deadly that it causes severe bleeding and liquefies internal organs, killing within 3 days. The virus wipes out Motaba River Valley, and a devastatingly huge fire bomb is dropped onto Motaba River Valley in order to reduce the chances of further infection. The bomb was dropped on the orders of corrupt General Donald McClintock, even though an army surgeon, General Bill Ford, was against the idea. 27 years later, in 1994, there is another outbreak in Motaba River Valley. At the United States Army Research Insitiute of Infectious Diseases (USARIID), located at Fort Detrick in Maryland, Colonel Sam Daniels is doing research on the Motaba virus, and so is his ex-wife Roberta Keough, who works at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. A monkey carrying the Motaba virus stows away on a ship that is heading for the USA, and after the monkey's arrival, people in Cedar Creek, California start becoming infected by the virus. Sam and Roberta head into Cedar Creek with fellow doctor Casey Schuler, and they start searching for the monkey, thinking that the monkey is the key to finding a cure. Along the way, Sam stumbles onto some information that may be of help -- McClintock has been concealing vital information from the president of the United States. Since 1967, McClintock and Ford have been in possession of E-1101, a serum that was made to cure the virus. McClintock has been trying to stop Ford from coming forward with this information, and so far, McClintock has succeeded. McClintock now wants to drop onto Cedar Creek the kind of firebomb that was dropped on Motaba River Valley 27 years ago. Sam and Roberta figure out that the virus in the Cedar Creek outbreak is a new strain of the Motaba virus -- an airborne strain that is even more contagious than the flu. When a new serum is made to stop the new strain, Sam and Roberta set out to stop McClintock from having the town blown up.

Robert Greenwald
Documentary
Carolina Productions

Howard Hughes
Drama
Howard Hughes Productions

Newly appointed sheriff Pat Garrett is pleased when his old friend Doc Holliday arrives in Lincoln, New Mexico on the stage. Doc is trailing his stolen horse, and it is discovered in the possession of Billy the Kid. In a surprising turnaround, Billy and Doc become friends. This causes the friendship between Doc and Pat to cool. The odd relationship between Doc and Billy grows stranger when Doc hides Billy at his girl, Rio's, place after Billy is shot. She falls for Billy, although he treats her very badly. Interaction between these four is played out against an Indian attack before a final showdown reduces the group's number.

Martin Ritt
Drama, Western, Crime
February

A Mexican bandit, Juan Carrasco, spies a newlywed couple journeying through rugged country. He confronts them, rape and robbery on his mind, and the husband ends up dead. From the viewpoints of each participant and witness, a different story is told of what "really" happened. The "true" version is.....

Michael Corrente
Comedy
Eagle Beach
R
A boy from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, caught up in the drug scene of the mid-70s, gets in trouble one too many times with the law. To stave off a jail term, his father arranges for him to be placed into a prep school in Cornwall, Connecticut. The terms: Graduate, or else.

Francis Ford Coppola
Crime
Pony Boy
PG-13
Based on the novel of the same name. The story of young men growing up facing hard times where they have little going for them. Two opposing groups, the Greasers and the Socs, continually fight against each other and their "turf".

Lloyd Allen
Drama
Ted Lake Productions

Tim Johnson, Karey Kirkpatrick
Animation
DreamWorks Animation
PG
Traveling raccoon con artist, RJ, arrives in a woods outside a human city in the Midwest, excited about the wonders that living near humans can bring hungry animals. What he finds, however, is an Amish-like community that is deathly afraid of humans, after their leader, Vern the tortoise (Shandling), has an encounter with human boys that terrifies him. Encouraged by RJ, however, the animals slowly venture over the hedge that separates them from the brand new suburban development that appeared over the winter while they were sleeping, and what RJ shows them is a whole new world where humans leave tin cans full of fish and other food in big canisters, ripe for the taking. As they get closer and closer to humans, however, their comfortable lives in the woods appears to be threatened...

Menahem Golan
Action
Cannon Group
PG
Lincoln Hawk (Stallone) is a struggling trucker who's trying to rebuild his life. After the death of his wife, he tries to make amends with his son who he left behind years earlier. Upon their first meeting, his son doesn't think too highly of him until he enters the nation-wide arm wrestling competition in Las Vegas.

Stuart Cooper
War
Joswend

Tony Montana, Mark Brian Smith
Documentary
Black & White Productions
R
The rags-to-riches-to-rags story of Troy Duffy, a blue collar Boston twenty something that struck a dream movie deal with Miramax in 1997 to direct the $15 million project "Boondock Saints" from his own script. It was a deal that received worldwide attention. But when Miramax jumped ship and put the film in turnaround, Duffy's overnight success soon starts to crash and burn.

Richard Kwietniowski
Crime
Alliance Atlantis Communications
R
Dan Mahowny was a rising star at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. At twenty-four he was assistant manager of a major branch in the heart of Toronto's financial district. To his colleagues he was a workaholic. To his customers, he was astute, decisive and helpful. To his friends, he was a quiet, but humorous man who enjoyed watching sports on television. To his girlfriend, he was shy but engaging. None of them knew the other side of Dan Mahowny--the side that executed the largest single-handed bank fraud in Canadian history, grossing over $10 million in eighteen months to feed his gambling obsession.