Sales Rank:3818 List Price: $27.95 Lowest New Price: $21.05 Lowest Used Price: $14.50 MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Format:
AC-3
Anamorphic
Animated
Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
Special Edition
Widescreen
NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
Richard Romanus
John Candy
Joe Flaherty
Rodger Bumpass
Jackie Burroughs
As long as there is a need for adolescent male sexual fantasy, there will be an audience for Heavy Metal. Released in 1981 and based on stories from the graphic magazine of the same name (possibly the greatest publication to simultaneously provoke imagination and masturbation), the film has since become the most popular single title in Columbia/TriStar's entire film library. That's an amazing fact considering just how silly and senseless the movie really is--an aimless, juvenile amalgam of disjointed stories and clashing visual styles, employing hundreds of animators from around the world with a near-total absence of creative cohesion. It remains, for better and worse, a midnight-movie favorite for the stoner crowd--a movie best enjoyed by randy adolescents or near-adults in an altered state of consciousness.
With a framing story about a glowing green orb claiming to be the embodiment of all evil, the film shuttles through eight episodic tales of sci-fi adventure, each fueled by some of the most wretched rock music to emerge from the 1980s. The most consistent trademark is an abundance of blood-splattering violence and wet-dream sex, the latter involving a succession of huge-breasted babes who shed their clothes at the drop of a G-string. It's all quite fun in its rampantly brainless desire to fuel the young male libido, and for all its incoherence Heavy Metal remains impressive for the ambitious artistry of its individual segments. Courtesy of producer Ivan Reitman (who'd just scored a hit with Stripes), voice talents include several Canadian veterans of Second City comedy, including John Candy, Harold Ramis, Eugene Levy, and Joe Flaherty. --Jeff Shannon
Sales Rank:4150 List Price: $19.98 Lowest New Price: $7.49 Lowest Used Price: $7.00 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format:
AC-3
Color
Dolby
DTS Surround Sound
DVD-Video
Live
NTSC
Surround Sound
Director(s):
Actor(s):
Nirvana
David Grohl
Kurt Cobain
Krist Novoselic
Cris Kirkwood
While the album of the same name made its first appearance in 1994, and went on to become Nirvana's second best selling CD of all time, nearly 15 years have passed since that memorable initial broadcast. Now, fans will finally get the chance to see the release of the entire, unedited performance...with neverbefore- seen footage...on DVD...and in Dolby Stereo and 5.1 Surround sound. Mixed in surround sound by legendary surround mixing engineer Elliot Scheiner, this DVD allows fans to experience this performance like never before, completely unedited including the two songs not originally broadcasted ("Something In The Way" and "Oh Me" ), and with the best sound ever available (to anyone not in the studio for the original taping.) For the purists, also included on this DVD is the original 44 min broadcast version of the show, plus never-before-seen REHEARSAL performances. As an extra bonus to the DVD, a 14-minute interview segment called Bare Witness produced by MTV focuses on the recollections of those who experienced this magical moment in music history, those who produced it and interviews with the band from the day of the taping.
Sales Rank:12628 List Price: $14.99 Lowest New Price: $4.98 Lowest Used Price: $4.80 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format:
Closed-captioned
Color
DVD-Video
NTSC
Director(s):
Burt Gillett
Charles A. Nichols
Clyde Geronimi
Jack Hannah
Jack King
Actor(s):
Pinto Colvig
Walt Disney
Dessie Flynn
James MacDonald
Clarence Nash
'Tis the season for fun, fun, fun as Mickey and pals celebrate the holidays in these classic animated stories! Mickey and Pluto reap the rewards of "Mickey's Good Deed" and discover the gift of friendship is the best gift of all. In "Toy Tinkers," Donald and those rascally chipmunks Chip 'n' Dale battle over a huge spread of holiday treats using all the toys around the Christmas tree. Seven hilarious and heartwarming stories are included in this classic collection -- there's something for everyone!~
Sales Rank:3096 List Price: $14.94 Lowest New Price: $8.19 Lowest Used Price: $6.49 MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Format:
Anamorphic
Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
Full Screen
Widescreen
NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
Roger Daltrey
Ann-Margret
Oliver Reed
Elton John
Eric Clapton
If you've ever wanted to hear Jack Nicholson sing (or try to) or marvel at the sight of Ann-Margret drunkenly cavorting in a cascade of baked beans, Tommy is the movie you've been waiting for. As it turns out, the Who's brilliant rock opera is sublimely matched to director Ken Russell's penchant for cinematic excess, and this 1975 production finds Russell at the peak of his filmmaking audacity. It's a fever-dream of musical bombast, custom-fit to the thematic ambition of Pete Townshend's epic rock drama, revolving around the titular "deaf, dumb, and blind kid" (played by Who vocalist Roger Daltrey) who survives the childhood trauma that stole his senses to become a Pinball Wizard messiah in Townshend's grandiose attack on the hypocrisy of organized religion.
The story is remarkably coherent considering the hypnotic dream-state induced by Russell's visuals. Tommy's odyssey is rendered through wall-to-wall music, each song representing a pivotal chapter in Tommy's chronology, from the bloodstream shock of "The Acid Queen" (performed to the hilt by Tina Turner) to Nicholson's turn as a well-intentioned physician, Elton John's towering rendition of "Pinball Wizard," and Daltrey's epiphanous rendition of "I'm Free." Other performers include Eric Clapton and (most outrageously) the Who's drummer Keith Moon, and through it all Russell is almost religiously faithful to Townshend's artistic vision. Although it divided critics when first released, Tommy now looks likes a minor classic of gonzo cinema, worthy of the musical genius that fueled its creation. --Jeff Shannon
Sales Rank:5289 List Price: $14.99 Lowest New Price: $4.62 Lowest Used Price: $3.21 MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Format:
Closed-captioned
Color
DVD-Video
Letterboxed
Widescreen
NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
Fairuza Balk
James Bates Jr.
Kathy Bates
Dawn Birch
Blake Clark
Adam Sandler vaulted into the $20-million-salary stratosphere with this, his second $100-million hit in 1998--a movie that further shows just how deeply embedded he is in the Jerry Lewis tradition of idiot comedy. He plays Bobby Boucher, a backwoods Cajun and a mentally challenged individual with a fixation on water: specifically, on serving the coolest, most refreshing H2O available to the college football team he has served since he was an adolescent. But when he's fired from his position, he takes up a similar job with a lowlier college team coached by neurotic Henry Winkler. One day at practice, Bobby loses his temper and delivers a bone-shaking tackle to the starting quarterback; before he can say, "blackened crawdads," he's the star of the team and leading it to a bowl game. But it's all against the wishes of his overprotective mother (Kathy Bates), who wants to keep her Bobby to herself--and that includes keeping him away from the floozy girlfriend (Fairuza Balk) who's sweet on him. There are two kinds of people in this world: People who find Sandler funny and people who view him as a neon-lit symbol of the decline of popular taste. You know who you are and, based on that, you can decide whether this is a movie for you. --Marshall Fine
Sales Rank:10325 List Price: $15.99 Lowest New Price: $14.49 Lowest Used Price: MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format:
Director(s):
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The Lawrence Welk Show Original Broadcast Dates:
1958 Christmas Party, Runtime: 59:15
1959 Christmas Show, Runtime: 56:49
1966 Winter Special, Runtime: 46:31
Includes performances of Christmas classics such as: Santa Clause is Coming to Town, Oh Holy Night, It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas, Winter Wonderland, Jingle Bells, Ava Maria, Silent Night, and many, many more!
Sales Rank:6719 List Price: $19.98 Lowest New Price: $5.99 Lowest Used Price: $5.75 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format:
Black & White
Closed-captioned
DVD-Video
Subtitled
NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
Spencer Tracy
Mickey Rooney
Henry Hull
Leslie Fenton
Gene Reynolds
Spencer Tracy won an Oscar for his portrayal of Father Flanagan, who opens Boys Town and dedicates himself to helping juvenile delinquents go straight. Mickey Rooney plays one of the tougher kids, figuring out early on that Flanagan is nobody's fool. Warmhearted and inspiring, the film's inevitable sentimentality is nicely cut by Tracy's performance and a smart script by Eleanore Griffin and Dore Schary (who also won Oscars). A good film for all ages, directed by Norman Taurog (Adventures of Tom Sawyer). --Tom Keogh
Sales Rank:2461 List Price: $14.99 Lowest New Price: $8.80 Lowest Used Price: $8.80 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format:
Closed-captioned
Color
DVD-Video
NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
Scott, Dave, Rich, and Smitty--the Imagination Movers--make music that's as much for parents as kids. While their lyrics are aimed at the short set, their bouncy tunes evoke pop and funk acts like Smash Mouth, Devo, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (without any profanity or sexual innuendo). The first DVD from the New Orleans-based quartet, Stir It Up, features a heaping helping of material from both their CDs, Good Ideas and Calling All Movers. Lively videos alternate with energetic live performances, many of which feature audience participation. Some songs, like "I Want My Mommy (Time for Bed)," combine both approaches. Fans of the Wiggles and Bob the Builder are sure to find themselves tapping their toes with abandon, while learning some useful lessons along the way, like the importance of remembering your manners ("Please and Thank You") and tidying up ("Clean My Room"). (Ages 2 to 7) --Kathleen C. Fennessy