Sales Rank:640 List Price: $24.96 Lowest New Price: $18.98 Lowest Used Price: $14.94 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
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Finally, the studio knuckleheads got it right! The way that the Three Stooges have been presented on home video has been a real slap in the face and a poke in the eye to fans. The Stooges have been anthologized, colorized, and public domained. Their shorts have been released and re-released in varying degrees of quality. In the immortal words of Curly, they have truly been victims of circumstance. This two-DVD set, then, is for what Stooge-philes have long been waiting. Spanning the years 1934-36, it presents the first 19 Stooges short subjects chronologically. These shorts hail from the Curly era, which makes them essential. The first, "Women Haters," comes billed as a "musical novelty" and is performed entirely in rhyme. More interesting is that Moe, Larry, and Curly appear as Tom, Jim, and Jack. In the second short, "Punch Drunks," they are again not quite a team, but teaming up to make a boxer out of put-upon waiter Curly. This is the one in which Curly "pops" when he hears "that 'Weasel' tune." And the hits just keep on coming.
Remember the prologue of The Twilight Zone: The Movie, in which traveling companions Dan Aykroyd and Albert Brooks trade favorite "Zones"? Many of the shorts gathered here are the ones most quoted or referenced by Stooges fans, such as "Men in Black," the only Stooges short to be nominated for an Academy Award, and the one with the immortal page "Calling Dr. Howard, Dr Fine, Dr. Howard." "Hoi Polloi" is the first Stooges short to tackle the "environment" vs. "heredity" conundrum by introducing the Stooges to high society, reducing the well-heeled stuff shirts into a slap-happy mob. "Pop Goes the Easel" introduces another recurring theme in the Stooges oeuvre as the boys pose as artists in the art school in which they take refuge from a pursuing cop. This short contains a signature Curlyism, "Look at the grouse," as does "Horses' Collars," in which the mere sight of a mouse completely unnerves Curly ("Moe! Larry! The Cheese!) "Three Little Pigskins" is another mistaken identity gem, as the boys pose as three football players (look for a very young and very blonde Lucille Ball). Like the Little Rascals, the Stooges in these shorts were very much of their Depression-era times, but "Uncivil Warriors," "Restless Knights," and the decidedly un-PC "Whoops, I'm an Indian" get their anachronistic kicks by placing the boys behind enemy lines during the Civil War, in the medieval castle of a kidnapped Queen, and in the Old West. Collectors who have suffered through, say, "Disorder in the Court" on one of those $1 bin Stooges collections will be heartened to know that this set at last does these comedy classics justice. More than 70 years old, and they look better than ever! So spread out and get your n'yucks on! --Donald Liebenson
Sales Rank:1572 List Price: $26.98 Lowest New Price: $18.99 Lowest Used Price: $19.15 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
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Bing Crosby
Fred Astaire
Marjorie Reynolds
Virginia Dale
Shelby Bacon
In 1942, Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby teamed up at Der Bingle's Paramount Pictures for Holiday Inn, a black-and-white musical that proves more entertaining than Crosby's color semi-remake White Christmas in 1954. Astaire and Crosby play partner/rival song-and-dance men who compete for the hand of their performing partner, played by Virginia Dale. After Crosby loses, he moves to the Connecticut countryside where he creates a resort that is only open on holidays and puts on the shows with the help of Marjorie Reynolds. Dumped by Dale, Astaire makes a drunken arrival at the inn on New Year's Eve and dances with Reynolds. He decides she'll be his new partner, but doesn't remember what she looks like, setting off a frenzied search at every subsequent show while the once-bitten Crosby does his best to steer him off track. The theme gives Irving Berlin an excuse to craft or recycle a number of holiday-themed songs, such as (in the former category) "Washington's Birthday" or (in the latter) "Easter Parade." The most famous of the new material, of course, is "White Christmas," which became one of the bestselling songs of all time and the title song of Crosby's 1954 film. Astaire and Crosby also team up for "I'll Capture Her Heart," which playfully contrasts the stars' specialties, and Astaire's "It's So Easy to Dance with You" became one of the signature songs of his post-Ginger Rogers career. Astaire and Crosby teamed up again for Blue Skies in 1946. --David Horiuchi
Bonus Descriptions Disc 1: Original Black & White Version - A Couple of Song and Dance Men: An intimate retrospective of Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire featuring an interview with Ava Astaire-MacKenzie - All Singing-All Dancing: Experience the making of the unforgettable song and dance numbers of Holiday Inn - Audio Commentary: Feature-length audio commentary with film historian Ken Barnes with archive audio comments by Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire and John Scott Trotter - Original Theatrical Trailer
Disc 2: New Color Version - Coloring a Classic: Learn how Holiday Inn was color-designed using amazing new technology that transformed the black and white classic to color with the help of Jan Mucklestone, personal sketch artist of the famed costume designer Edith Head
Disc 3: Music Soundtrack CD - 12 classic Irving Berlin holiday songs from the original soundtrack including Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" and "Happy Holiday"
Track Listing 1. I'll Capture Your Heart (Bing Crosby & Fred Astaire) 2. Lazy (Bing Crosby) 3. You're Easy to Dance With (Fred Astaire) 4. Happy Holiday (Bing Crosby) 5. Let's Start the New Year Off Right (Bing Crosby) 6. Abraham (Bing Crosby) 7. Be Careful, It's My Heart (Bing Crosby) 8. I Can't Tell a Lie (Fred Astaire) 9. Easter Parade (Bing Crosby) 10. Song of Freedom (Bing Crosby) 11. I've Got Plenty to be Thankful For (Bing Crosby) 12. White Christmas (Bing Crosby)
Sales Rank:1061 List Price: $39.98 Lowest New Price: $19.64 Lowest Used Price: $11.99 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format:
AC-3
Animated
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Dolby
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Full Screen
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Director(s):
Bob Anderson
Chuck Sheetz
Dominic Polcino
Jim Reardon
Mark Kirkland
Actor(s):
Dan Castellaneta
Nancy Cartwright
Julie Kavner
Yeardley Smith
Harry Shearer
Most TV shows never make it eight seasons, but then The Simpsons is not most TV shows. At a point where other shows would generally become stale and repetitive, Matt Groening & Co. pull out the stops to come up with one of the most creative and hilarious seasons in the whole series. Cases in point for season eight (1996-1997) include "Treehouse of Horror VII," in which aliens Kang and Kodos make a bizarre run for President having taken on the appearances of Bill Clinton and Bob Dole; "Bart After Dark," in which Bart gets a job at The Maison Derriere (featuring one of their most popular songs, "The Spring in Springfield"); and one of the great all-time episodes, "The Simpsons Spin-off Showcase," a trilogy of Simpsons spin-offs that never made it to prime-time (the final segment--"The Simpson Family Smile-Time Variety Hour"--is about the best six minutes of parody in the entire Simpsons canon). Season eight also features some of the most notable guest appearances: Rodney Dangerfield as Mr. Burns’s long lost son; Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny as Scully and Mulder from X-Files in "The Springfield Files;" "The Brother from Another Series" which brilliantly pairs up Kelsey Grammar as Sideshow Bob with his brother Cecil (David Hyde Pierce) in a parallel of their Frasier characters; and in a major casting coup, Johnny Cash shows up in the form of a red fox as Homer’s spirit guide in "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer" (also known as "The Chili Pepper episode"). Other notable episodes include "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show," a fun wink to the audience from the writers about keeping the show fresh without ruining it, and the send up of Mary Poppins "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(annoyed grunt)cious," which has one of their most memorable endings when Shary Bobbins floats off under her umbrella ("So long Superman," Barney cries)... only to get sucked into a jet engine from a passing airplane. That’s the thanks she gets for offering her help. Good to see that, eight seasons in, The Simpsons still don’t need it. --Daniel Vancini
Sales Rank:263 List Price: $34.95 Lowest New Price: $19.19 Lowest Used Price: $18.11 MPAA Rating:
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Seinfeld's final season seems to take its cue from a little piece of "showmanship" advice that Jerry offers to the hapless George (Jason Alexander) in the episode "The Burning": "When you hit that high note, say goodnight and walk off." In television, as in comedy, timing is everything, and that's what Seinfeld, No. 1 in the ratings, did. The show that TV Guide would later rank the greatest of all time, left the stage, perhaps not at the top of its game, but at least on its own terms. To the end, Jerry, George, Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and Kramer (Michael Richards) remain true to the show's misanthropic muse. In the episode "The Merv Griffin Show," Jerry induces sleep in his new girlfriend so he can have his way with her retro toy collection. In "The Apology," George relentlessly badgers an old acquaintance (James Spader) now in AA, for a Step Nine apology over a long-ago insult. At one point, Elaine resumes her on again-off again relationship with Puddy (Patrick Warburton) because she needs a bureau moved. In the end, it all comes crumbling down for the so-called "New York Four" when they are put on trial in a Massachusetts courtroom for violating a Good Samaritan Law after not coming to the aid of an obese carjack victim. A parade of lack-of-character witnesses spanning the series' near-decade-long run, from Mabel Choate, the Marble Rye Lady, to Babu and the Soup Nazi testify how they were "abused, wronged, deceived, and betrayed" by Jerry and company. Anyone expecting Seinfeld or Larry David to apologize for this bitter, and not at all sweet, finale, can just stuff those sorrys in a sack, mister. In "The Last Lap," a bonus featurette about Seinfeld's decision to end the series despite unprecedented offers from NBC brass to continue, they acknowledge the episode's "mixed reaction," but remain defiant. As Alexander notes, nothing could have lived up to the massive hype the episode received.
Seinfeld's ninth does not quite leave audiences wanting more. While there are several great episodes, including "The Butter Shave," "The Betrayal," "The Cartoon," and "The Maid," the season is loaded with what George might call "gaffes," including a series nadir, "Puerto Rican Day," which in these PC times, drew enough protest to hinder its rebroadcast. The writing this season is more outrageous (see "The Merv Griffin Show," in which Kramer salvages a discarded talk-show set and installs it in his apartment), but there are enough inspired bits of silliness (fleeting season-opening mustaches in "The Butter Shave," a live-action re-creation of the classic arcade game in "The Frogger," and Jerry's silly voice in "The Voice") to keep Seinfeld's legacy intact. As an added bit of showmanship, this set contains bountiful extras, perhaps the most interesting being a chronological re-edit of the backwards episode, "The Betrayal." Season 9 may not win Seinfeld any new fans, but this DVD set is a Festivus for the rest of us. --Donald Liebenson
Sales Rank:648 List Price: $12.98 Lowest New Price: $6.80 Lowest Used Price: $5.49 MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
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Anamorphic
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Actor(s):
Kathy Bates
Jessica Tandy
Mary Stuart Masterson
Mary-Louise Parker
Cicely Tyson
Kathy Bates stars as an unhappy wife trying to get her husband's attention in this amusing and moving 1991 screen adaptation of Fannie Flagg's novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. After befriending a lonely old woman (Jessica Tandy), Bates hears the story of a lifelong friendship between two other women (Mary Stuary Masterson and Mary-Louise Parker, seen in flashback) who once ran a cafe in town against many personal odds. The tale inspires Bates to take further command over her life, and there director Jon Avnet (Up Close and Personal), in his first feature, has fun with the film. Bates develops a real attitude toward her thickheaded spouse at home and some uppity girls in a parking lot, but dignity is generally the key to Avnet's approach with the story's crucial relationships. Tandy is a joy and clearly loves the element of mystery attached to her character, and Masterson and Parker are excellent in the historical sequences. --Tom Keogh
Sales Rank:718 List Price: $49.99 Lowest New Price: $28.93 Lowest Used Price: $25.99 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
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Trey Parker
Matt Stone
Isaac Hayes
Adrien Beard
Paula Holmberg
After 10 seasons of sick, wrong, brilliant, subversive, and groundbreaking humor, South Park just keeps getting a little more sick, a little more wrong, and a lot more funny. What could possibly be left for the boys from the small, redneck mountain town of South Park, Colorado to accomplish? Plenty, as it turns out. Cartman, for example, fights a midget in the season opener, pulls a practical joke that gets poor Butters sent to a special camp for gay children, sets a new town record for the most number of homeless people jumped over on his skateboard, and fakes having Tourette's syndrome in order to get away with saying whatever he wants at school. Stan gets pulled into a bizarre and hilarious conspiracy surrounding Easter in a plot that parallels The Da Vinci Code, and Kyle becomes a Guitar Hero, only to lose his best friend to the glittering lights of rock stardom. Clearly the brightest star in this season, though, is the two-part episode Imaginationland, where the boys have the entire contents of the world's imaginations, religions, and superstitions, laid before them for better, and for worse. It's a brilliant episode that encapsulates everything that continues to make South Park so strong: imaginative story lines; sharp animation; indelible characters thrust into ridiculous situations; and all of it tied together with a strong ekimthread of subversive humor. It's a formula that results in the sort of TV that just won't be seen elsewhere, and considering that one whole story line revolves around a plot where Randy Marsh (Kyle's Dad) tries to outdo Bono (lead singer of U2) for the record of World's Largest... umm, Stool, well, maybe that's a good thing. But for fans of the show who can't get enough of goin' down to South Park to see some friends of theirs, season 11 will continue to give plenty of reasons for making the trip. --Daniel Vancini