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Action/Adventure DVDs

Princess Mononoke

Sales Rank:848
List Price: $32.99
Lowest New Price: $15.50
Lowest Used Price: $12.87
MPAA Rating: Unrated

Format:

Animated
Color
DVD-Video
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Yôji Matsuda
Yuriko Ishida
Yûko Tanaka
Kaoru Kobayashi
Masahiko Nishimura

This epic, animated 1997 fantasy has already made history as the top-grossing domestic feature ever released in Japan, where its combination of mythic themes, mystical forces, and ravishing visuals tapped deeply into cultural identity and contemporary, ecological anxieties. For international animation and anime fans, Princess Mononoke represents an auspicious next step for its revered creator, Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service), an acknowledged anime pioneer, whose painterly style, vivid character design, and stylized approach to storytelling take ambitious, evolutionary steps here.

Set in medieval Japan, Miyazaki's original story envisions a struggle between nature and man. The march of technology, embodied in the dark iron forges of the ambitious Tatara clan, threatens the natural forces explicit in the benevolent Great God of the Forest and the wide-eyed, spectral spirits he protects. When Ashitaka, a young warrior from a remote, and endangered, village clan, kills a ravenous, boar-like monster, he discovers the beast is in fact an infectious "demon god," transformed by human anger. Ashitaka's quest to solve the beast's fatal curse brings him into the midst of human political intrigues as well as the more crucial battle between man and nature.

Miyazaki's convoluted fable is clearly not the stuff of kiddie matinees, nor is the often graphic violence depicted during the battles that ensue. If some younger viewers (or less attentive older ones) will wish for a diagram to sort out the players, Miyazaki's atmospheric world and its lush visual design are reasons enough to watch. For the English-language version, Miramax assembled an impressive vocal cast including Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup (as Ashitaka), Claire Danes (as San), Minnie Driver (as Lady Eboshi), Billy Bob Thornton, and Jada Pinkett Smith. They bring added nuance to a very different kind of magic kingdom. Recommended for ages 12 and older. --Sam Sutherland

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Troy - The Director's Cut [Blu-ray]

Sales Rank:103
List Price: $34.99
Lowest New Price: $15.95
Lowest Used Price: $15.00
MPAA Rating: Unrated

Format:

AC-3
Closed-captioned
Color
Director's Cut
Dolby
Dubbed
Special Edition
Subtitled
Widescreen

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Brad Pitt
Eric Bana
Orlando Bloom

No doubt about it, the 196-minute unrated director's cut of Troy represents a significant improvement over the film's original 162-minute theatrical release--and not just because it has more sex and violence. As director Wolfgang Petersen notes in his new "Troy Revisited" video introduction to this 2-disc special edition, he didn't have the time or directorial discretion (prior to Troy's release in 2004) to present a cut that more closely matched his vision for the film. Three years later, Petersen approached the film with a more relaxed perspective, and the result is a well-crafted expansion on a film that was previously underrated, with 30 minutes of previously unseen material. Character dynamics have been improved and intensified; the epic-scale narrative is now easier to follow, with greater emphasis on the inner turmoil of Achilles (well played by Brad Pitt) and his rivalry with Hector (Eric Bana); and viewers will feel a more satisfying escalation of tension and suspense from battle to battle. The film's enormous battle scenes (impressively enhanced with CGI) are bloodier and gorier, but they're also more effectively integrated into the political story, which goes beyond Homer's The Iliad and the death of Hector to incorporate elements of Virgil and a more revealing study of the differences between Trojan king Priam (Peter O'Toole) and his megalomanical Greek rival, king Agamemnon (Brian Cox), whose lust for revenge is now one of the film's most powerful ingredients. Some of Troy's original weaknesses remain (such as Orlando Bloom's wimpy performance as Paris), but overall, this director's cut easily justifies its existence, regardless of the film's overblown and historically inaccurate depiction of Troy as a gigantic city of massive columns and statuary. The good parts are better, and the not-so-good parts are more easily forgiven. And no matter how you cut it, Troy is a lavish feast for the eyes. --Jeff Shannon

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The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice

Sales Rank:472
List Price: $24.96
Lowest New Price: $17.49
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

Format:

AC-3
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
Subtitled
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Noah Wyle
Bob Newhart
Jane Curtin
Bruce Davison

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Newsies (Collector's Edition)

Sales Rank:1038
List Price: $19.99
Lowest New Price: $12.08
Lowest Used Price: $12.04
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

Anamorphic
Closed-captioned
Color
DVD-Video
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Christian Bale
Bill Pullman
Robert Duvall
Ann-Margret
David Moscow

Except for feature-length animation, the musical has gone the way of the dinosaur. The Walt Disney company took a stab at reviving the live-action musical in 1992 with Newsies, a throwback picture with a curious subject. In 1899, the pint-sized newsboys delivering the New York papers go on strike against the unfair practices of news magnates Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. The production is heavy on kiddie humor, although Christian Bale (the child star of Spielberg's Empire of the Sun) is charismatic as one of the older leaders of the revolt. The adult stars don't fare as well, with Robert Duvall doddering around as Pulitzer and Ann-Margret and Bill Pullman doing decorative duty. The film was not well received when first released, but hindsight reveals its charm (and allowed the young target audience to catch up with the picture on video). The first-time director is Kenny Ortega, the choreographer of Dirty Dancing, who brings plenty of energy to the action. --Robert Horton

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Harry Potter Years 1-5 [Blu-ray]

Sales Rank:989
List Price: $129.98
Lowest New Price: $81.99
Lowest Used Price: $85.99
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

AC-3
Color
Dolby
Dubbed
Subtitled
Widescreen

Director(s):

Alfonso Cuarón
Chris Columbus
David Yates
Mike Newell

Actor(s):

Daniel Radcliffe
Emma Watson
Rupert Grint
Richard Harris
Maggie Smith

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 11/11/2008 Rating: Pg

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Rome - The Complete First Season

Sales Rank:834
List Price: $59.98
Lowest New Price: $33.25
Lowest Used Price: $29.99
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

Format:

AC-3
Box set
Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
Subtitled
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Michael Apted
Allen Coulter
Timothy Van Patten

Actor(s):

Ciaran Hinds
Polly Walker
James Purefoy
Lindsay Duncan
Indira Varma

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Lady and the Tramp (50th Anniversary Edition)

Sales Rank:621
List Price: $29.99
Lowest New Price: $16.72
Lowest Used Price: $7.00
MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)

Format:

Animated
Closed-captioned
Color
Special Edition
Surround Sound
NTSC

Director(s):

Clyde Geronimi
Hamilton Luske
Wilfred Jackson

Actor(s):

Barbara Luddy
Larry Roberts
Peggy Lee
Bill Thompson
Bill Baucom

It's still one of the sweetest kisses onscreen, up there with Bergman and Grant, Bogey and Bacall: the moment when pampered purebred Lady and streetwise mongrel Tramp, sharing a moonlit plate of spaghetti in an alley behind an Italian café, unknowingly slurp the same strand, and suddenly find their mouths meeting in surprise and tenderness. Ah, puppy love. Lady and the Tramp is a delight of animation and surprisingly deep character development, given that the stars are all dogs. Lady, an adorable Cocker Spaniel, feels neglected when her owners become distracted by the pending birth of a baby. But the last straw is clueless Aunt Sarah's appearance with her conniving Siamese cats (among Disney's most creatively evil villains), who wreak havoc on Lady's blissful home life. Soon Lady is off on an adventure in the streets, where the savvy Tramp takes her under his paw. The lessons of friendship and loyalty, of integrity--not to mention trusting in the kindness of strangers--ring true to delighted children and adults alike. And unlike many Disney films, there's no real violence, only challenges that smart dogs (including a tough-talking vamp named Peg, voiced sublimely by Peggy Lee, who also wrote the songs), banding together, can tackle. The animation is terrific; the scene where we first meet Tramp shows him rinsing off under a pipe, and his subsequent shaking-off of the water follows the detailed rippling up and down his back that any dog lover will recognize. And is there any song more romantic than "Bella Notte"? Bellissima! --A.T. Hurley

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Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

Sales Rank:735
List Price: $19.99
Lowest New Price: $6.68
Lowest Used Price: $2.33
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

AC-3
Anamorphic
Closed-captioned
Collector's Edition
Color
Dolby
DTS Surround Sound
Dubbed
DVD-Video
Subtitled
THX
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Johnny Depp
Geoffrey Rush
Orlando Bloom
Keira Knightley
Jack Davenport

You won't need a bottle of rum to enjoy Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, especially if you've experienced the Disneyland theme-park ride that inspired it. There's a galleon's worth of fun in watching Johnny Depp's androgynous performance as Captain Jack Sparrow, a roguish pirate who could pass for the illegitimate spawn of rockers Keith Richards and Chrissie Hynde. Depp gets all the good lines and steals the show, recruiting Orlando Bloom (a blacksmith and expert swordsman) and Keira Knightley (a lovely governor's daughter) on an adventurous quest to recapture the notorious Black Pearl, a ghost ship commandeered by Jack's nemesis Capt. Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), a mutineer desperate to reverse the curse that left him and his (literally) skeleton crew in a state of eternal, undead damnation. Director Gore Verbinski (The Ring) repeats the redundant mayhem that marred his debut film Mouse Hunt, but with the writers of Shrek he's made Pirates into a special-effects thrill-ride that plays like a Halloween party on the open seas. Aye, matey, we've come a long way since Jason and the Argonauts! --Jeff Shannon

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NCIS Naval Criminal Investigative Service - The Complete First Season

Sales Rank:780
List Price: $64.99
Lowest New Price: $43.88
Lowest Used Price: $39.68
MPAA Rating:

Format:

Box set
Color
DVD-Video
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Equal parts JAG and C.S.I., NCIS does a formidable job of blending relevant military headlines with quirky characters who are tenaciously determined to solve a crime--even if it means having to sleep in the morgue to get a few minutes of shut eye. Created by Donald P. Bellisario (JAG, Quantum Leap), NCIS actually began as a two-part episode of JAG in 2003. Later that year, the drama made its full-season debut on CBS. On this six-disc set, which includes all 23 non-JAG episodes plus optional commentary by Bellisario on the first episode, viewers are introduced to an elite squad of special agents, led by Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon). Gibbs is a hard-nosed investigator who doesn't say much. But when he does, an insult usually comes out of his mouth. He's brilliant when it comes to ferreting out the truth, but he's not savvy enough to figure out how to block his ex-wife's nagging phone calls. Instead, he makes do by destroying his cell phone. Gibbs' team is fleshed out by an eclectic and somewhat eccentric set of colleagues, including medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard (David McCallum from The Man from U.N.C.L.E.), wannabe playboy and former homicide detective Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), forensics expert and resident Goth chick Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette), and former Secret Service agent Caitlin Todd (Sasha Alexander).

The murder of a peripheral NCIS agent halfway through the season is a taste of what's to come in future seasons when core characters leave the show (voluntarily or not). But in its first year, the show sets up a strong premise that (while not wholly original) is well executed. One of the more stickling aspects of the show is its reluctance to allow Tony to show signs of maturity. At times, he behaves more like a rambunctious puppy than an ace investigator. --Jae-Ha Kim

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Dr. Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh

Sales Rank:1204
List Price: $32.99
Lowest New Price: $58.00
Lowest Used Price:
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

Format:

Color
DVD-Video
Limited Edition
Restored
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Patrick McGoohan
George Cole
Kay Cole
Alan Dobie
Eric Flynn

"On the southern coast of England/There’s a legend people tell/Of days long ago when the great Scarecrow/Would ride from the jaws of hell/And laugh with a fiendish yell." Okay, it may not be as catchy as "The Ballad of Davy Crockett," but anyone who was glued to their TV sets in 1964 to watch the continuing adventures and heroic exploits of Dr. Syn on the Disney anthology series, The Wonderful World of Color, should feel a shiver of excitement that goes beyond mere nostalgia at hearing this theme song again. Old-fashioned to be sure, but The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh is still a ripping yarn and rousing family entertainment with its unforgettable hero, despicable villain, galloping chases and breathless escapes. Grandly produced in England, this three-part miniseries is "a story of high adventure and heart," as Walt Disney states in his folksy and avuncular episode introductions. Patrick McGoohan (known at the time for his iconic role as John Drake on Danger Man) stars as Dr. Syn, who leads a double life as a mild-mannered village vicar by day, and a fearsome avenger known as the Scarecrow by night. The haunting burlap-masked Scarecrow is a folk hero to the villagers, who are overtaxed by King George III, and brutalized by his press-gangs, who violently shanghai men into Navy service. Only two know the Scarecrow’s true identity, his sexton Mipps (George Cole), and the local Justice of the Peace’s son, John (Sean Scully, from Disney’s The Prince and the Pauper). There is a love story between John’s older sister and conflicted and compassionate English soldier Lt. Brackenbury (Eric Flynn), but it doesn’t slow things down or get too yucky. Over the course of three near-hour-long episodes, the Scarecrow foils attempts by his nemesis, General Pugh (Geoffrey Keen) to capture him, or intimidate villagers into giving him up. Leonard Maltin does his usual sterling job as enthusiastic host, who introduces the series, reflects on its place in the Disney canon, and credits the restoration efforts that made this pristine presentation possible. This two-disc set presents the miniseries as it originally aired, and also includes the widescreen feature film version that was released overseas. Disc one contains an interesting featurette about Dr. Syn’s historical and literary origins. Disc two features a segment about the British films that launched Disney’s live-action feature film career. This welcome addition to the Walt Disney Treasures line does full justice to one of Disney’s most wanted titles. --Donald Liebenson

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