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International DVDs

Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan (+ Digital Copy)

Sales Rank:868
List Price: $27.98
Lowest New Price: $13.96
Lowest Used Price: $9.06
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)

Format:

Color
DVD-Video
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Tadanobu Asano
Khulan Chuluun
Ji Ri Mu Tu
Amarbold Tuvshinbayar
Aliya (II)

First entry in a proposed trilogy, Mongol vividly captures the beauty and brutality of ancient Mongolia. Beginning in 1172 and ending in 1206, Sergei Bodrov's Oscar-nominated epic presents future conqueror Ghengis Khan as more lover--and fighter--than diplomat. Against his father Esegui's wishes, nine-year-old Temudjin chooses his own bride, whom he marries in the years to come. Hopes for the future, however, turns to thoughts of vengeance when the clan forsakes the boy upon Esegui's death. While Temudjin (now played by Zatoichi’s Tadanobu Asano, a quietly commanding presence) makes his way in a cruel world, turncoat Targutai (Amadu Mamadakov) becomes the new khan. When an opposing clan kidnaps Temudjin’s wife, Börte (Khulan Chuluun), he eventually retrieves her, but betrays blood brother Jamukha (Sun Honglei, Seven Swords) in the process, leading to further enslavement and more Kurasawa-style slicing and dicing. Throughout his travails, Temudjin comes to believe that Mongols must unite to share the same language, culture, and set of values. Sustained by his faith in the god Tengri and the devotion of Börte, Temudjin sets out to wrest control of Mongolia from Jamukha and his women and children-killing hordes. Except for an over-reliance on CGI during the climactic battle sequence, Mongol equals the scope and grandeur of historical predecessors, like Braveheart and Hero. If much of the cast is Chinese and Japanese, Bodrov, who directed Prisoner of the Mountains, conjures up authenticity through detailed costumes, Mongolian dialogue, and remote Central Asian locations. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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Hot Fuzz (Full Screen Edition)

Sales Rank:4004
List Price: $12.98
Lowest New Price: $6.24
Lowest Used Price: $2.38
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)

Format:

AC-3
Color
Dolby
Dubbed
DVD-Video
Full Screen
Subtitled
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Jim Broadbent
Kenneth Cranham
Timothy Dalton
Julia Deakin
Patricia Franklin

In Shaun of the Dead, it was the zombie movie and the anomie of modern life. In Hot Fuzz, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg set their sights on the buddy cop blockbuster and the eccentric English village. The two worlds collide when overachieving London officer Nicholas Angel (Pegg) is promoted to sergeant. The catch is that he's being transferred to Agatha Christie country. His superiors (the comic trifecta of Martin Campbell, Steve Coogan, and Bill Nighy) explain that he's making the rest of the force look bad. On the surface, Sandford is a sleepy little burg where the most egregious crimes, like loitering, are committed by hoody-sporting schoolboys. In truth, it's a hotbed of Willow Man-style evil. Upon his arrival, Chief Butterman (Jim Broadbent) partners Angel with his daft son, Danny (Nick Frost, Pegg's Shaun co-star), who aspires to kick criminal "arse" like the slick duo in Bad Boys II. When random citizens start turning up dead, he gets his chance. With the worshipful Danny at his side, Angel shows his cake-eating colleagues how things are done in the big city. As in Shaun, their previous picture, Wright and Pegg hit their targets more often than not. With the success of that debut comes a bigger budget for car chases, shoot-outs, and fiery explosions. Though Hot Fuzz earns its R-rating with salty language and grisly deaths, the tone is more good-natured than mean-spirited. A wall-to-wall soundtrack of boisterous British favorites, like the Kinks, T-Rex, and Sweet, contributes to the fast-paced fun. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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The Voyeur

Sales Rank:592
List Price: $24.95
Lowest New Price: $14.52
Lowest Used Price: $14.63
MPAA Rating: Unrated

Format:

Color
Director's Cut
DVD-Video
NTSC
Widescreen

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Franco Branciaroli
Francesco Casale
Raffaella Offidani
Tinto Brass
Katarina Vasilissa

The Voyeur, based on the famous erotic novel (L'uomo che guarda) by Alberto Moravia, tells the story of Eduardo "Dodo," who in public is a professor of French literature but in private a desperately lovesick cuckold, married to the ever-more-elusive Silvia. His life shattered, he becomes an onlooker rather than a participant in life. Those around him, though, seem to be living life to the fullest: his bedridden father has a scantily clad nurse and a series of lady friends; his students have unending sexual fun, sometimes in his presence; and even the public beach has become an orgy ground. Through a series of small revelations, Dodo slowly comes to realize who his rival is. The discovery, rather than destroying his marriage, strengthens and renews it.
Erotic filmmaker Tinto Brass is here at the height of his powers, crafting an unforgettable fable of sexual desire. The music by Riz Ortolani is seductive, the sets and designs are sumptuous, and the photography is as stunning Hitchcock's. The lead performers, Francesco Casale and Katarina Vasilissa (a Polish photomodel) are both eye-catching. Cult Epics is proud to present the US premiere of the Uncut Italian Director's Cut.

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The Gospel of John

Sales Rank:940
List Price: $14.99
Lowest New Price: $7.43
Lowest Used Price: $7.47
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
Subtitled
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Christopher Plummer
Henry Ian Cusick
Stuart Bunce
Daniel Kash
Stephen Russell (II)

An epic in the spirit of THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, this widely acclaimed motion picture is a meticulous recreation of the turbulent era of Jesus and the events that changed the course of history! Narrated by Golden Globe nominee Christopher Plummer (Best Supporting Actor, AMERICAN TRAGEDY, 2000), it’s the bold and powerful story of Jesus as told by his disciple John. The best-loved but least understood of the gospels, John presents a uniquely human portrait of courage and passion encompassing Jesus' entire three-year ministry, the final years of his life. Intimate and reflective, THE GOSPEL OF JOHN offers an unparalleled opportunity to experience the incomparable life and times of Jesus Christ.

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Santa Claus - The Movie (20th Anniversary Edition)

Sales Rank:4357
List Price: $14.98
Lowest New Price: $7.26
Lowest Used Price: $5.69
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

Color
DVD-Video
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Dudley Moore
John Lithgow
David Huddleston
Burgess Meredith
Judy Cornwell

The producers of the Superman movies took a shot at revitalizing the myth of Santa Claus with this 1985 feature. Unfortunately, the results were much less compelling than the flagship Superman feature, despite a script by one of the latter's key writers (David Newman) and a story structure that is essentially a carbon copy of the Man of Steel's movie. The first half of Santa Claus: The Movie is a ponderous origins tale, in which we learn that Santa was actually a woodcutter saved from certain death by elves and taken to the North Pole to begin life as the chimney-dropping hero of children everywhere. The second half involves a world-class villain (John Lithgow) who recruits an outcast elf (Dudley Moore) in a scheme to sabotage old St. Nick. While it aims to become a Christmas classic in the hearts and minds of generations to come, the film never really engages an audience, partially because Santa himself is merely a supporting player in the drama. Jeannot Szwarc (Supergirl, Jaws II) directs with a disabling lack of vision, and the special effects are terrible for such an expensive production. Sorry, but it's coals in the stocking for this flick. --Tom Keogh

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Fargo (Special Edition)

Sales Rank:1094
List Price: $14.98
Lowest New Price: $4.42
Lowest Used Price: $3.44
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)

Format:

Anamorphic
Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
Dubbed
DVD-Video
Full Screen
Special Edition
Subtitled
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Ethan Coen
Jeffrey Schwarz
Joel Coen

Actor(s):

William H. Macy
Frances McDormand
Steve Buscemi
Peter Stormare
Kristin Rudrüd

Leave it to the wildly inventive Coen brothers (Joel directs, Ethan produces, they both write) to concoct a fiendishly clever kidnap caper that's simultaneously a comedy of errors, a Midwestern satire, a taut suspense thriller, and a violent tale of criminal misfortune. It all begins when a hapless car salesman (played to perfection by William H. Macy) ineptly orchestrates the kidnapping of his own wife. The plan goes horribly awry in the hands of bumbling bad guys Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare (one of them being described by a local girl as "kinda funny lookin'" and "not circumcised"), and the pregnant sheriff of Brainerd, Minnesota, (played exquisitely by Frances McDormand in an Oscar-winning role) is suddenly faced with a case of multiple murders. Her investigation is laced with offbeat observations about life in the rural hinterland of Minnesota and North Dakota, and Fargo embraces its local yokels with affectionate humor. At times shocking and hilarious, Fargo is utterly unique and distinctly American, bearing the unmistakable stamp of its inspired creators. --Jeff Shannon

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Notes on a Scandal

Sales Rank:2999
List Price: $19.98
Lowest New Price: $3.98
Lowest Used Price: $1.71
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)

Format:

AC-3
Color
Dolby
Dubbed
DVD-Video
Subtitled
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Judi Dench
Cate Blanchett
Tom Georgeson
Michael Maloney
Joanna Scanlan

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The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition)

Sales Rank:1842
List Price: $24.98
Lowest New Price: $38.98
Lowest Used Price: $14.85
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

Anamorphic
Box set
Closed-captioned
Color
DVD-Video
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Joel Gallen
Michael Pellerin
Peter Jackson

Actor(s):

Elijah Wood
Ian McKellen
Alan Howard
Noel Appleby
Sean Astin

In every aspect, the extended-edition DVD of Peter Jackson's epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring blows away the theatrical-version DVD. No one who cares at all about the film should ever need to watch the original version again. Well, maybe the impatient and the squeamish will still prefer the theatrical version, because the extended edition makes a long film 30 minutes longer and there's a bit more violence (though both versions are rated PG-13). But the changes--sometimes whole scenes, sometimes merely a few seconds--make for a richer film. There's more of the spirit of J.R.R. Tolkien, embodied in more songs and a longer opening focusing on Hobbiton. There's more character development, and more background into what is to come in the two subsequent films, such as Galadriel's gifts to the Fellowship and Aragorn's burden of lineage. And some additions make more sense to the plot, or are merely worth seeing, such as the wood elves leaving Middle-earth or the view of Caras Galadhon (but sorry, there's still no Tom Bombadil). Extremely useful are the chapter menus that indicate which scenes are new or extended.

Of the four commentary tracks, the ones with the greatest general appeal are the one by Jackson and cowriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, and the one by 10 cast members, but the more technically oriented commentaries by the creative and production staff are also worth hearing. The bonus features (encompassing two complete DVDs) are far superior to the largely promotional materials included on the theatrical release, delving into such matters as script development, casting, and visual effects. The only drawback is that the film is now spread over two discs, with a somewhat abrupt break following the council at Rivendell, due to the storage capacity required for the longer running time, the added DTS ES 6.1 audio, and the commentary tracks. But that's a minor inconvenience. Whether in this four-disc set or in the collector's gift set (which adds Argonath bookends and a DVD of National Geographic Beyond the Movie: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring), the extended-edition DVD is the Fellowship DVD to rule them all. --David Horiuchi

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Les Miserables - The 10th Anniversary Dream Cast in Concert at London's Royal Albert Hall

Sales Rank:2124
List Price: $34.98
Lowest New Price: $25.85
Lowest Used Price: $24.00
MPAA Rating: Unrated

Format:

Closed-captioned
Collector's Edition
Color
DVD-Video
Subtitled
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Colm Wilkinson
Michael Ball
Lea Salonga
Judy Kuhn
Michael Maguire

The 10th anniversary concert video of the international musical sensation Les Misérables might be the best thing to appease fans until a full-fledged movie comes along. Or it might be even better, as feature films are often subject to extramusical casting considerations and this 1995 dream cast is superb. Reprising their roles from the original London company are Colm Wilkinson (Valjean), Michael Ball (Marius), and Alun Armstrong (Thenardier). From Broadway come Judy Kuhn (Cosette), Lea Salonga (Eponine), and Michael Maguire (Enjolras); from a later London production comes Ruthie Henshall (Fantine); and from Australia comes Philip Quast (Javert).

Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg's score vividly captures the passion of Victor Hugo's epic tale of post-Revolutionary France, combining tear-jerking ballads ("I Dreamed a Dream," "Bring Him Home") and rousing anthems ("Do You Hear the People Sing"). The format of this concert is closer to that of a dramatic cantata rather than a fully staged production; the singers stand at their microphone stands with an orchestra and chorus behind them, but they do wear costumes and participate in some movement. At certain points such as the climax of the barricade scene, the video switches to action from a stage production. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra sounds great, and it can be thrilling when 200 choristers (dressed in logo T-shirts) rise to their feet for a full-company number such as "One Day More." Also, subtitles provide date and scene information and help move the story along.

The 147-minute video contains footage not seen when Les Mis was a PBS pledge-drive staple, most notably the encore in which a progression of 17 actors who have played Valjean around the world share "Do You Hear the People Sing?" Each sings a line in his native language, a testament to the enduring power of this show to audiences everywhere. --David Horiuchi

DVD features
The 2008 two-disc edition presents the concert on a single-sided disc (the original DVD split the concert over two sides) with optional English subtitles. It's also in anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1 aspect ratio) comparied to the original's 1.33 full-screen. The second disc has Stage by Stage: Les Miserables, the hourlong documentary from 1988. Unfortunately the sound is only Dolby Digital 2.0, and there's an odd omission (compared to the earlier Sony DVD): the first 10 seconds of Gavroche's "Little People" are missing ("Good evening, dear inspector, lovely evening, my dear..."). --David Horiuchi

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Waking Ned Devine

Sales Rank:1194
List Price: $9.98
Lowest New Price: $5.00
Lowest Used Price: $3.45
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
Letterboxed
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Ian Bannen
David Kelly
Fionnula Flanagan
Susan Lynch
James Nesbitt

When local wag Jackie O'Shea (Ian Bannen) discovers that one of his neighbors in the village of Tulaigh Mohr is a lottery winner he sees a chance to share in the wealth. Things get complicated when Jackie and his pal Michael O'Sullivan (David Kelly) discover that the winner, Ned Devine, died of shock at the very moment he learned of becoming a millionaire. Undaunted, Jackie and Michael dispose of the lucky stiff and hatch a plot to impersonate him and claim the prize. Soon the whole village is involved and the plot rapidly thickens.

This film has been compared to The Full Monty, but it lacks the vein of desperation that added depth to that film. Instead, Waking Ned Devine is closer in tone to classic British comedies like Whisky Galore!, with its cast of eccentrics gleefully conspiring to outwit the authorities. Those with a low tolerance for twinkly eyed Irish charm might be tempted to steer clear, although the movie is saved, for the most part, by its central performances. Bannen is superb as an old man who is clearly hungry for any excitement he can drum up and David Kelly is remarkable as his scrawny sidekick. Kelly has had a long career as a character actor in film and television, but here he has a chance to really let loose. His naked motorcycle ride is a marvelous set piece and in all of his other scenes his twitchy, perfectly timed performance quite simply steals the movie. --Simon Leake

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