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Sense & Sensibility Collector's Set (Sense & Sensibility 2008 / Miss Austen Regrets / Persuasion 2007)

Sales Rank:1567
List Price: $49.98
Lowest New Price: $34.10
Lowest Used Price: $33.91
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

Format:

Box set
Collector's Edition
DVD-Video
Subtitled
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Lush, dramatic, and beautifully acted, the BBC's three-part miniseries Sense & Sensibility captures the languid urgency that resonates throughout the Jane Austen novel on which it is based. The miniseries begins with a seduction scene: As a young girl cautiously gives herself to a man, she asks, "But when will you come back?" He answers ominously, "Soon... very soon," and gallops off into the night. We know what she does not--that he will not return for her. But viewers do not learn until the end who the couple are, and how their actions set off a chain of events. It is inevitable that this period piece will be compared to the 1995 big screen adaptation that starred Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet and Hugh Grant, and won Thompson an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. To its credit, this later version stands up incredibly well, with actors whose looks match Austen's written description. And due to a longer running time than the film version, there is more attention paid to detail and minor characters. Sense & Sensibility focuses on the longings of the Dashwood sisters Elinor (Hattie Morahan) and Marianne (Charity Wakefield). After their wealthy father dies, leaving his entire estate to their milquetoast half brother John (Mark Gatiss), Elinor, Marianne, their younger sister Margaret (Lucy Boynton), and their mother are left penniless. John and his shrew-like wife Fanny move into the manor, making the Dashwoods feel like unwanted guests. It is only after Fanny's handsome and kind brother Edward Ferrars (Dan Stevens) arrives for a visit that Elinor feels happy again. Marianne, too, has attracted the attention of two suitors: serious and shy Colonel Brandon (David Morrissey) and dashing Willoughby (Dominic Cooper). Learning that the 35-year-old colonel is interested in her, a stunned Marianne says, "You do realize that it will be impossible for me to speak to him again." Her actions are that of a little girl, running away and hiding when he comes to call on her. But her feelings for Willoughby are real: the kind of love a girl feels for the first time. The differences in the sisters' choices, actions, and secrets set the tone for an era when a perceived impropriety could ruin a woman's reputation and her family's standing in a community. Filmed in England with good use of aerial shots, the production has a sweeping feel that adds a distinct flavor to the drama. As with many Austen novels, the heroines in Sense & Sensibility go through many misunderstandings before their happily-ever-after ending. But that ending leaves viewers satisfied that things turned out just the way that they should.

Austen fans will be delighted with the second disc in this set: Miss Austen Regrets is a perfect companion to the miniseries, starring Olivia Williams stars as the author, and Greta Scacchi--who could easily pass as Williams' real-life sibling--as Austen's sister Cassandra. The film takes a bittersweet look at Austen's life and hints at what could have been had she married one of her suitors. Smart and headstrong, Austen refuses to cave into society's notions of what a proper woman should do. While her famous heroines all paired up with dashing gentlemen, Austen found that the loves of her life were her written creations. --Jae-Ha Kim

On the third disc of this set is the sumptuous production design and first-rate acting in the 2007 Masterpiece Theatre version of Persuasion. Sally Hawkins is controlled and moving as Anne Elliot, the quietly heartbroken but sensible heroine who was "persuaded" (read: forced) to turn away her true love but still carries an unseen torch for him. Hawkins's performance is genteel yet steely, and the quiet strength of the entire production. Hawkins looks alternately quietly lovely and sadly pinched--as one might expect the long frustrated Anne to look. Other highlights include a post-Buffy Anthony Head, as Anne's clueless, blustery father, Sir Walter. Head gets to turn on his deft comic talent here in ways most American audiences have not yet seen him; he's clearly enjoying himself immensely, blustering about "my shrubberies" and other trivial affairs. The cinematography is lush (several breathtaking tracking shots are used, especially early on), as are the period costumes. The production was filmed exclusively on location, and the reality of the sets enforces the story. Some fans may prefer the 1995 Amanda Root version, for the casting of Ciaran Hinds as Capt. Wentworth, but this later effort is a worthy entry in the Austen film oeuvre--and Rupert Penry-Jones is a dreamboat in his own right. As the wistful Anne says, on behalf of all women, "We do not forget you, so soon as you forget us." --A.T. Hurley

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Downfall

Sales Rank:952
List Price: $14.94
Lowest New Price: $7.66
Lowest Used Price: $5.48
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)

Format:

AC-3
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
Subtitled
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Bruno Ganz
Alexandra Maria Lara
Corinna Harfouch
Ulrich Matthes
Juliane Köhler

The riveting subject of Downfall is nothing less than the disintegration of Adolf Hitler in mind, body, and soul. A 2005 Academy Award nominee for best foreign language film, this German historical drama stars Bruno Ganz (Wings of Desire) as Hitler, whose psychic meltdown is depicted in sobering detail, suggesting a fallen, pathetic dictator on the verge on insanity, resorting to suicide (along with Eva Braun and Joseph and Magda Goebbels) as his Nazi empire burns amidst chaos in mid-1945. While staging most of the film in the claustrophobic bunker where Hitler spent his final days, director Oliver Hirschbiegel (Das Experiment) dares to show the gentler human side of der Fuehrer, as opposed to the pure embodiment of evil so familiar from many other Nazi-era dramas. This balanced portrayal does not inspire sympathy, however: We simply see the complexity of Hitler's character in the greater context of his inevitable downfall, and a more realistic (and therefore more horrifying) biographical portrait of madness on both epic and intimate scales. By ending with a chilling clip from the 2002 documentary Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary, this unforgettable film gains another dimension of sobering authenticity. --Jeff Shannon

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The Scarlet Pimpernel

Sales Rank:1673
List Price: $19.99
Lowest New Price: $11.08
Lowest Used Price: $14.16
MPAA Rating: Unrated

Format:

Color
DVD-Video
Full Screen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Anthony Andrews
Jane Seymour
Ian McKellen
James Villiers
Eleanor David

It's tough trying to beat the 1934 version of the popular adventure-romance story, starring Leslie Howard as the 18th-century British hero who poses as a fop in London society but runs a secret mission to rescue the doomed in Robespierre's Paris. But this 1982 television version, starring Anthony Andrews (Under the Volcano) as the Pimpernel and Jane Seymour as his beloved but estranged wife, is quite a treat. Andrews and Seymour expertly capture the essence of a relationship suffering from misunderstandings and elusive passion, and there is plenty of crackle to the action sequences. Clive Donner (What's New, Pussycat?) brings some strong cinematic qualities to this television presentation. --Tom Keogh

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The Rocky Horror Picture Show (25th Anniversary Edition)

Sales Rank:4641
List Price: $26.98
Lowest New Price: $11.39
Lowest Used Price: $9.99
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)

Format:

Anamorphic
Closed-captioned
Color
DVD-Video
THX
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Tim Curry
Susan Sarandon
Barry Bostwick
Richard O'Brien
Patricia Quinn

Fasten your garter belt and come up to the lab and see what's on the slab! It's The Rocky Horror Picture Show Special Edition, a screamingly funny, sinfully twisted salute to sci-fi, horror, B-movies and rock music, all rolled into one deliciously decade

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Joyeux Noel (Widescreen)

Sales Rank:1457
List Price: $14.94
Lowest New Price: $5.94
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)

Format:

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

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Diane Kruger
Benno Fürmann
Guillaume Canet
Natalie Dessay
Rolando Villazón

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Hamlet

Sales Rank:2041
List Price: $14.98
Lowest New Price: $6.71
Lowest Used Price: $5.48
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

Anamorphic
Closed-captioned
Color
DVD-Video
Subtitled
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Mel Gibson
Glenn Close
Alan Bates
Paul Scofield
Ian Holm

Franco Zeffirelli's stripped-down, two-hour version of Shakespeare's play stars Mel Gibson as a rather robust version of the ambivalent Danish prince. Gibson is much better in the part than many critics have admitted, his powers of clarity doing much to make this particular Hamlet more accessible than several other filmed versions. The supporting cast is outstanding, including Glenn Close as Gertrude, Alan Bates as Claudius, Ian Holm as Polonius, and Helena Bonham Carter as Ophelia. Zeffirelli's vigorous direction employs a lively camera style that nicely alters the viewer's preconceptions about the way Hamlet should look. --Tom Keogh

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Mansfield Park (1999)

Sales Rank:1632
List Price: $14.99
Lowest New Price: $4.93
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

Anamorphic
Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
Full Screen
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Frances O'Connor
Jonny Lee Miller
Alessandro Nivola
Hannah Taylor-Gordon
Talya Gordon

This fun and sexy comedy tells a timelessly entertaining story where wealth, secret passions, and mischievous women put love to the test ... with delightfully surprising results! When a spirited young woman, Fanny Price, is sent away to live on the great country estate of her rich cousins, she's meant to learn the ways of proper society. But while Fanny learns "their" ways, she also enlightens them with a wit and sparkle all her own! Featuring an exciting ensemble cast of young stars -- you'll join critics everywhere in their overwhelming praise of this smart, playful, and funny hit!

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Pink Floyd - The Wall 25th Anniversary (Deluxe Edition)

Sales Rank:1368
List Price: $24.98
Lowest New Price: $12.97
Lowest Used Price: $11.54
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)

Format:

AC-3
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Bob Geldof
Christine Hargreaves
James Laurenson
Eleanor David
Kevin McKeon

By any rational measure, Alan Parker's cinematic interpretation of Pink Floyd: The Wall is a glorious failure. Glorious because its imagery is hypnotically striking, frequently resonant, and superbly photographed by the gifted cinematographer Peter Biziou. And a failure because the entire exercise is hopelessly dour, loyal to the bleak themes and psychological torment of Roger Waters's great musical opus, and yet utterly devoid of the humor that Waters certainly found in his own material. Any attempt to visualize The Wall would be fraught with artistic danger, and Parker succumbs to his own self-importance, creating a film that's as fascinating as it is flawed.

The film is, for better and worse, the fruit of three artists in conflict--Parker indulging himself, and Waters in league with designer Gerald Scarfe, whose brilliant animated sequences suggest that he should have directed and animated this film in its entirety. Fortunately, this clash of talent and ego does not prevent The Wall from being a mesmerizing film. Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof (in his screen debut) is a fine choice to play Waters's alter ego--an alienated, "comfortably numb" rock star whose psychosis manifests itself as an emotional (and symbolically physical) wall between himself and the cold, cruel world. Weaving Waters's autobiographical details into his own jumbled vision, Parker ultimately fails to combine a narrative thread with experimental structure. It's a rich, bizarre, and often astonishing film that will continue to draw a following, but the real source of genius remains the music of Roger Waters. --Jeff Shannon

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Jean De Florette / Manon of the Spring (MGM World Films)

Sales Rank:1150
List Price: $19.98
Lowest New Price: $10.49
Lowest Used Price: $10.49
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

Color
DVD-Video
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Yves Montand
Daniel Auteuil
Emmanuelle Béart
Hippolyte Girardot
Margarita Lozano

Disc 1 Side A: **Widescreen Feature Film - Jean de Florette

Disc 2: **Widescreen Feature Film - Manon of the Spring

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The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition)

Sales Rank:1133
List Price: $24.98
Lowest New Price: $7.74
Lowest Used Price: $2.92
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

Box set
Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
DTS Surround Sound
Dubbed
DVD-Video
Special Edition
Subtitled
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Viggo Mortensen
Liv Tyler

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