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Total number of titles: 90

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Director: Ki-duk Kim (II)
Starring: Seung-yeon Lee, Hyun-kyoon Lee, Hyuk-ho Kwon, Jeong-ho Choi, Ju-seok Lee
Genre: Art House & International
Studio: Sony Pictures Rated: R
Language (Country): Korean, French ()
Summary: Words really do get in the way in "3-Iron", a strange, poignant South Korean film from director Kim Ki-Duk ("Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring") in which the central character doesn't utter a single word. It's not explained why the puck never speaks, but it adds an element of mysticism to this love story that's at once humorous and disturbing. In this case, the knight in shining armor, Tae-Suk (Hee Jae) is a vagabond who supports himself by breaking into people's homes when they're on vacation. But rather than steal possessions, he cooks himself a meal, carefully washes the dishes, takes a bath, does their laundry, fixes anything broken, sleeps in their pajamas, and leaves each home spic and span. One day he trespasses on the home of a battered wife (Seung-yon Lee) who's still home. Fascinated, she leaves her husband and joins in his adventures, until one of their random break-ins gets them in trouble and the couple is forced apart.
Adding in a reliance on some stunning visuals, "3-Iron" does a good job filling itself out in a non-implicit way. In this case, compliments and banter aren't needed to tell you that the pair has found a bond that no one can wrest away from them. The ending may tickle suspended reality (it's either becoming supernatural or someone's a lot more nimble than we thought), but it's still a poetic conclusion to this twisted fairy tale. "--Ellen A. Kim"

The 4400 - The Complete First Season

Director: John Behring, Morgan Beggs, Milan Cheylov
Starring:
Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy
Studio: Paramount Rated: NR
Language (Country): English ()
Summary: "The 4400", which began as a five-week miniseries on the USA Network, is built around a deceptively simple, dramatically rich premise. What if all the people, who had ever been abducted by aliens, were suddenly returned to Earth? What would happen? Although they look exactly as they did when they left, they have no knowledge of where they were or why they were taken. Now some even have special powers, like clairvoyance. As with ABC's "Lost", which centers on the survivors of a plane crash, "The 4400" features a large cast of characters and a host of mysteries to be solved. If the special effects, which are kept to a minimum, can be a little cheesy at times, the concept--and the skillful execution of the concept--easily makes up for it.
Produced by Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope and created by Scott Peters ("The Outer Limits"), "The 4400" is set in Seattle, where the 4400 are returned. The principal characters include Dennis Ryland (Peter Coyote of "E.T."), the local supervisor of Homeland Security. He's joined by agents Tom Baldwin (Joel Gretsch of "Taken"), whose nephew was one of the returnees, and Diana Skouris (Jacqueline McKenzie of "Romper Stomper"), who takes in one of the youngest returnees.
Guest stars include Michael Moriarty ("Law and Order") in "Pilot" and Lee Tergeson ("Oz") in "Becoming." Billy Campbell ("Once and Again") also appears in several episodes as Jordan Collier, a real-estate magnate and returnee who becomes an advocate for others like himself, many of whom are having problems adjusting to a changed world. Like "Lost", one of the biggest success stories of 2004, "The 4400" debuted to strong ratings and was renewed for a full season. "--Kathleen C. Fennessy"

Abel Raises Cain

Director: Jenny Abel, Jeff Hockett
Starring: Alan Abel, Jeanne Abel, Jenny Abel
Genre: Documentary
Studio: Crashcourse Documentaries Rated:
Language (Country): (USA)
Summary:

Alias - The Complete First Season

Director:
Starring: Jennifer Garner, Michael Vartan
Genre: Action & Adventure
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment Rated: NR
Language (Country): Spanish, English ()
Summary: Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) is a super (and super sexy) spy, fighting nefarious villains and working for the good guys--or so she thinks. Recruited as a college freshman for espionage work, Sydney found her true calling with SD-6, a secret division of the CIA. When her hunky doctor-boyfriend proposes to her, she decides to let him in on the truth she's not supposed to tell anyone: she's not a grad student with a demanding job for an international bank, but a secret agent who constantly puts her life on the line for the free world. But when SD-6 discovers her security breach, her fiancé is brutally assassinated, and Sydney suddenly finds herself face-to-face with the truth: she's been working for the bad guys. Deciding to become a double agent for the CIA and bring down the evildoers, Sydney gets one more surprise--her estranged father (Victor Garber) is also working for SD-6, and the CIA as well. Welcome to the family, Syd!
Confusing? This is all just in the first episode of "Alias", the brainchild of "Felicity" creator J.J. Abrams that plays like a cross between "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and James Bond. With its double-edged tension (how long can Syd play double agent?) and one heck of a MacGuffin (the dreaded Rambaldi device, the mythic creation of a Renaissance genius), the show leads its viewers from episode to episode with visceral, compelling action, not to mention the nascent romance between Syd and her CIA handler, Vaughn (Michael Vartan), and her clashes with her heretofore distant father. Sharp, smart, and always suspenseful, "Alias"' center was held by the gorgeous Garner, a stellar action heroine and an even better actress who could pull off Sydney's exotic undercover missions and conflicted emotions with equal dexterity. By the end of this first season, which concludes with a breathtaking cliffhanger, you'll be seduced into "Alias"' world with, happily, no desire to escape. "--Mark Englehart"

American Splendor

Director: Shari Springer Berman
Starring: Chris Ambrose, Nick Baxter, Vivienne Benesch, Shari Springer Berman, Earl Billings
Genre: Action & Adventure
Studio: HBO Video Rated: R
Language (Country): English ()
Summary: One of the most acclaimed films of 2003, "American Splendor" is also one of the most audaciously creative biographical movies ever made. Blending fact, fiction, and personal perspective from the comic books that inspired it, this marvelous portrait of Harvey Pekar--scowling curmudgeon, brow-beaten everyman, insightful chronicler of his own life, and frustrated file clerk at a Cleveland V.A. hospital--is an inspired amalgam of the media (comic books, TV, and film) that lifted Pekar from obscurity to the status of a pop-cultural icon. As played by Paul Giamatti in a master-stroke of casting, we see Pekar and his understanding wife (played by Hope Davis) as underdogs in a world full of obstacles, yet also infused with subtle hope and (gasp!) heartwarming perseverance. We also see the "real" Pekar, and this multifaceted commingling of "reel" and "real" turns "American Splendor" into a uniquely cinematic celebration of Pekar's life and, by extension, the tenacity of an unlikely American hero. "--Jeff Shannon"

Belleville Rendez-Vous

Director: Sylvain Chomet
Starring: Mari-Lou Gauthier, Lina Boudreau, Béatrice Bonifassi, Michel Robin, Michèle Caucheteux
Genre: World Cinema
Studio: Tartan Video Rated: Universal, suitable for all
Language (Country): French, Portuguese ()
Summary: One of the more surprising critical hits of 2003, Sylvain Chomet's "Belleville Rendezvous" is a French animation that combines occasional beauty and charm with sardonic grotesquerie. People have commented about its bitchy portrait of a USA where everyone is overweight and over-helpful; it is equally nasty about a provincial France, where everything is grey and nothing is convenient. A grandmother and her dog set out to rescue a cyclist who has been kidnapped by the French Mafia and is forced to race endlessly into a receding projected landscape; she is helped by a superannuated trio of female close-harmony "chansonniers" marooned in American poverty.
Nothing in this film is mere chance--almost everything we see turns out to be relevant. There is also little dialogue--most of the time, sound effects and music take its place, from the irritating squeak of a mechanic's breathing to the sublimity of Mozart's "Kyrie" as a storm rages at sea. "Belleville Rendezvous" uses the best of traditional animation techniques and modern technology to produce something sharply funny and beautifully composed; it is not quite like anything you have seen before. --"Roz Kaveney"

Boston Legal - Season 2

Director:
Starring: Boston Legal
Genre: Drama
Studio: 20th Century Fox Rated: NR
Language (Country): English ()
Summary:

Boston Legal - Season One

Director:
Starring: Boston Legal
Genre: Drama
Studio: 20th Century Fox Rated: NR
Language (Country): English, French ()
Summary: The classic combination of James Spader and William Shatner is just one of many reasons to savor the inaugural 17-episode season of "Boston Legal". Making its highly rated ABC debut on October 3, 2004, this darkly comedic spinoff from "The Practice" looked like a formulaic reworking of creator David E. Kelley's previously successful series "Ally McBeal", with similar plots and quirky characters enmeshed in personal and professional affairs of the heart at the prestigious Boston law firm of Crane, Poole & Schmidt. It quickly became apparent that Kelley, co-executive producer Bill D'Elia, and the show's magnificent ensemble cast were onto something equally fresh, funny, and infectiously entertaining.

Brazil - The Criterion Collection -

Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Jim Broadbent, Anthony G. Brown, Patrick Connor, Robert De Niro
Genre: Art House & International
Studio: Criterion Rated: R
Language (Country): English ()
Summary: Terry Gilliam's "Brazil" is an extremely ambitious effort brimming with socio-political criticism. It is filled with intense, chaotic images of a highly centralized, technological, authoritarian society gone horribly sour. It is 1984 brought to flesh, and done with the Gilliam touch where dreams are the only way to escape a reality that is completely insane. What is disturbing is that this world looks so familiar...the endless paperwork to do the simplest things...the failure of gadgetry to make life easier...bureaucracy failing to take into account people...nepotism, vanity, the constant threat of "terrorists" to unite people in fear...mindless consumerism as religion...yes, Gilliam's kinetic visuals are indeed center stage, but much of the world in this film is a prophecy and funhouse refraction of our own world. Welcome to fascism: welcome to Brazil.

Breathless - Criterion Collection

Director:
Starring: Jean Domarchi, Van Doude, Roger Hanin, Henri-Jacques Huet, Claude Mansard
Genre: Art House & International
Studio: Criterion Collection Rated: Unrated
Language (Country): English, French ()
Summary: There was before Breathless, and there was after Breathless. With its lack of polish, surplus of attitude, crackling personalities of rising stars Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg, and anything-goes crime narrative, Jean-Luc Godard's debut fashioned a simultaneous homage to and critique of the American film genres that influenced and rocked him as a film writer for Cahiers du cinema. Jazzy, free-form, and sexy, Breathless (A bout de souffle) helped launch the French new wave and ensured cinema would never be the same.

A Brighter Summer Day

Director:
Starring: Elaine Kam, Cheung Kwok Chu, Yang De Chang
Genre:
Studio: A Brighter Summer Day Rated:
Language (Country): Mandarin ()
Summary: From visionary Taiwanese directory Edward Yang comes A Brighter Summer Day, an epic four-hour film set in 1960s Taiwan. Using a cast of nonactors and natural, real locations, Yang brings what looks like a tale of rival street gangs to the screen. But his focus is really one young man, who faces his own individual struggles as the people of Taiwan come to grips with their personal identity. The boy's generation is the first born to Taiwan after the massive immigration of Nationalist Chinese from the Mainland following the rise of Communism. These new Taiwanese struggle to define their own identity, and find inspiration in sources from Chinese swordplay novels, to Russian literature, to Japanese weaponry, to American pop culture and music.The world of A Brighter Summer Day is opposed to its hopeful title, and reflects one of uncertainty, where the future has never seemed quite so cloudy or unpredictable. Yang draws upon the trials of his own childhood - the daily dangers of gang violence, his own rural background, and the true-life murder of a thirteen year-old girl by a fourteen year-old boy - to weave a complex tapestry of the anxieties and fears facing a nation uprooted by change and exile. A stunning, mesmerizing film which exemplifies the notion of film as art, A Brighter Summer Day is one of the definitive films of modern Taiwanese cinema.

Burmese Harp - Criterion Collection

Director: Kon Ichikawa
Starring: Rentaro Mikuni, Shôji Yasui, Jun Hamamura, Taketoshi Naitô, Kô Nishimura
Genre: Art House & International
Studio: Criterion Rated: Unrated
Language (Country): Japanese ()
Summary: Kon Ichikawa's Buddhist tale of peace, "The Burmese Harp", is universally relevant in various eras and cultures, although it comments specifically on the destruction of Burma during World War II. Based on the novel by Michio Takeyama, "The Burmese Harp" stars a Japanese platoon stationed in Burma whose choir skills are inspired by their star musician, Private Mizushima (Rentaro Mikuni), who strums his harp to cheer the homesick soldiers. As the troop surrenders to the British and is interred in Mudon prison camp, Mizushima escapes to be faced with not only his imminent death, but also the deaths of thousands of other soldiers and civilians. Relinquishing his life as a military man, Mizushima retreats into a life of Buddhist prayer, dedicating himself to healing a wounded country. Filmed in black and white, strong visual contrasts heighten the divide between peace, war, life, and death in this highly symbolic film. Scenes in which the Japanese soldiers urge opposing forces to sing with them portray military men regardless of alliance as emotionally sensitive. Showing the humanistic aspects of war, such as the male bonding that occurs between soldiers, doesn't justify war as much as deepens its tragedy. This release includes interviews with the director and with Mikuni, further contextualizing its place in Japanese cinema. "The Burmese Harp", with its lessons in compassion and selflessness, is so transformative that viewing it feels somewhat akin to a religious experience. "--Trinie Dalton"

Cafe Lumiere

Director: Hsiao-hsien Hou
Starring: Yo Hitoto, Tadanobu Asano, Masato Hagiwara, Kimiko Yo, Nenji Kobayashi
Genre: Art House & International
Studio: Fox Lorber Rated: NR
Language (Country): Japanese ()
Summary: One of today's greatest filmmakers, Hou Hsiao-hsien pays homage to one of the masters, Yasujiro Ozu, commemorating the centenary of Ozu's birth. In a residential Tokyo neighborhood, Yoko, a young freelance writer defies her strongly traditional parents with news that she is pregnant and has no desire to marry the father. She calmly accepts this reality and stoically deals with the worried reactions of her family. In an effort to alleviate her loneliness, she befriends the owner of a second-hand bookstore. He falls in love with her, but keeps his feelings silent. Gradually, Yoko begins to re-evaluate everything in her life in this meditative masterpiece of young urban solitude.

Capturing the Friedmans

Director: Andrew Jarecki
Starring: Arnold Friedman (II), Elaine Friedman, David Friedman (IX), Seth Friedman (II), Jesse Friedman (II)
Genre: Documentary
Studio: HBO Video Rated: NR
Language (Country): English ()
Summary: A Sundance Grand Jury prize winner and a true conversation starter, "Capturing the Friedmans" travels into one apparently ordinary Long Island family's heart of darkness. Arnold and Elaine Friedman had a normal life with their three sons until Arnold was arrested on multiple (and increasingly lurid) charges of child abuse. Because the Friedmans had documented their own lives with copious home movies, filmmaker Andrew Jarecki is able to sift through their material looking for clues. Yet what emerges is more surreal than fiction: the youngest Friedman son went to jail, the eldest became a birthday-party clown. In the end, we can't be sure whether Arnold Friedman is a monstrous child molester or the victim of railroading. The portrait of a disconnected family is deeply disturbing, either way, and this film is further proof that a documentary can be just as spellbinding as anything a great storyteller dreams up. "--Robert Horton"

Chimes At Midnight

Director:
Starring:
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Hollywood's Attic Rated: NR
Language (Country): ()
Summary: Sir John Falstaff (Shakespearian character superbly portrayed by Orson Welles), is the charming although drunken and obese companion of young Henry V. At first Prince Hal and Falstaff lead a life of debauchery and idleness, but as the prince sees the import of his destiny as the future king of England, Falstaff fearfully believes their relationship might be heading for trouble. Welles marvelous portrayal of this jovial but tragic character and strong acting throughout make Chimes at Midnight an exceptionally worthwhile film.

Comedy Central's TV Funhouse

Director:
Starring: Comedy Central's TV Funhouse
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Comedy Central Rated: NR
Language (Country): English ()
Summary: COMEDY CENTRAL'S TV FUNHOUSE (DVD MOVIE)

Commune

Director: Jonathan Berman
Starring: Peter Coyote, Michael Tierra, Elsa Marley, Richard Marley, Creek Hanauer
Genre: Documentary
Studio: First Run Features Rated: NR
Language (Country): English ()
Summary:

Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul

Director: Fatih Akin
Starring: Alexander Hacke (II), Baba Zula, Orient Expressions, Duman, Replikas
Genre: Art House & International
Studio: Strand Releasing Rated: NR
Language (Country): German ()
Summary:
German-born Turkish director Faith Akin captures in his film the endless variety of the different styles in music and songs in Istanbul, a city that is a bridge between East and West, a city that is uniquely located on both sides of the Bosporus, in Europe and in Asia. Kurdish dirges represented by Aynur, who performs her own brand of Kurdish gospel music, passionate and melodic. We are introduced to Romany instrumentals, to Orhan Gencebay, who has been called the Elvis of Arabesque music - sounds of music are heard everywhere in the city as Faith Akin takes us into underground clubs, to the street performers, and to recording sessions. German bassist Alexander Hacke who comes to Istanbul to play and to learn about Turkish music quotes Confucius, "To understand the place, you have to listen to the music it plays". Akin's fine documentary does just that - gives us 90 minutes of music that helps to cross the bridges. For me, watching the movie was especially interesting because I recently visited Istanbul as a part of my vacation and spent four days there. The city fascinated me by its images, colors, crowds, vibrancy and visual beauty. Now, I can add the sounds of music to the ever-changing portrait of Istanbul

Dangerous Liaisons

Director: Stephen Frears
Starring: Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Swoosie Kurtz, Keanu Reeves
Genre: Drama
Studio: Warner Home Video Rated: R
Language (Country): English, French ()
Summary: A sumptuously mounted and photographed celebration of artful wickedness, betrayal, and sexual intrigue among depraved 18th-century French aristocrats, "Dangerous Liaisons" (based on Christopher Hampton's "Les Liaisons Dangereuses") is seductively decadent fun. The villainous heroes are the Marquise De Merteuil (Glenn Close) and the Vicomte De Valmont (John Malkovich), who have cultivated their mutual cynicism into a highly developed and exquisitely mannered form of (in-)human expression. Former lovers, they now fancy themselves rather like demigods whose mutual desires have evolved beyond the crudeness of sex or emotion. They ritualistically act out their twisted affections by engaging in elaborate conspiracies to destroy the lives of their less calculating acquaintances, daring each other to ever-more-dastardly acts of manipulation and betrayal. Why? Just because they can; it's their perverted way of getting get their kicks in a dead-end, pre-Revolutionary culture. Among their voluptuous and virtuous prey are fair-haired angels played by Michelle Pfeiffer and Uma Thurman, who have never looked more ripe for ravishing. When the Vicomte finds himself beset by bewilderingly genuine emotions for one of his victims, the Marquise considers it the ultimate betrayal and plots her heartless revenge. "Dangerous Liaisons" is a high-mannered revel for the actors, who also include Swoosie Kurtz, Mildred Natwick, and Keanu Reeves. "--Jim Emerson"

Dark City

Director: Alex Proyas
Starring: Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, Richard O'Brien
Genre: Action & Adventure
Studio: New Line Home Video Rated: R
Language (Country): English, French ()
Summary: If you're a fan of brooding comic-book antiheroes, got a nihilistic jolt from "The Crow" (1994), and share director Alex Proyas's highly developed preoccupation for style over substance, you might be tempted to call "Dark City" an instant classic of visual imagination. It's one of those films that exists in a world purely of its own making, setting its own rules and playing by them fairly, so that even its derivative elements (and there are quite a few) acquire their own specific uniqueness. Before long, however, the film becomes interesting only as a triumph of production design. And while that's certainly enough to grab your attention ("Blade Runner" is considered a classic, after all), it's painfully clear that "Dark City" has precious little heart and soul. One-dimensional characters are no match for the film's abundance of retro-futuristic style, so it's best to admire the latter on its own splendidly cinematic terms. Trivia buffs will be interested to know that the film's 50-plus sets (partially inspired by German expressionism) were built at the Fox Film Studios in Sydney, Australia, home base of director Alex Proyas and producer Andrew Mason. The underground world depicted in the film required the largest indoor set ever built in Australia. Befitting a film of such ambition, the DVD includes a feast of bonus features, including audio commentaries by the director, producer, writers, and cinematographer, and also by film critic Roger Ebert, who named "Dark City" one of the best films of 1998. Also included is an isolated music track, an interactive game, and a photo gallery of production stills and set design sketches. "--Jeff Shannon"

Dave Chappelle's Block Party

Director: Michel Gondry
Starring: Dave Chappelle, Lauryn Hill, Big Daddy Kane, Andrea Smith, Rudolph Walker
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Universal Studios Rated: R
Language (Country): English ()
Summary: Few movies, documentary or otherwise, capture the relaxed exuberance of "Dave Chappelle's Block Party". This is Chappelle's first project since his show on Comedy Central received so much popular and critical attention that he apparently had a psychological meltdown and fled to Africa to escape. You can still see a hint of weariness and wariness in his eyes--but even more you can see his relief to be launching a project that bears no expectations. Funded by his own money and free to all who attended, Chappelle set up a secret concert location in Brooklyn and pulled together a musical lineup of stellar acts, including Erykah Badu, Kanye West, Mos Def, Jill Scott, Common, the Roots, Dead Prez, and the reunion of the Fugees, all of whom give vibrant performances. But "Block Party" doesn't just capture the show; at least a third of the movie is Chappelle wandering around Brooklyn or the Ohio neighborhood where he lives and interacting with the people he meets, many of whom he gives free tickets for the show. These scenes, combined with footage of the performers rehearsing or just gassing around before the show, offer a sense that for Chappelle performing is just an extension of his everyday life; that he takes just as much pleasure from goofing around with one person as he does goofing around in front of hundreds or thousands. Putting together this event becomes a unique self-portrait as well as an experience that rejuvenated Chappelle. If you surrender to the vitality of the show and Chappelle's loose comic jazz, you may find it rejuvenating too. "--Bret Fetzer"

David Lynch's Inland Empire

Director: David Lynch
Starring: Laura Dern, Jeremy Irons, Justin Theroux
Genre: Drama
Studio: Absurda / Rhino Rated: R
Language (Country): English, Polish, French ()
Summary: Though Inland Empire's three hours of befuddling abstraction could try the patience of the most devoted David Lynch fan, its aim to reinvigorate the Lynch-ian symbolic order is ambitious, not to mention visually arresting. The director's archetypes recognizable from previous movies once again construct the film's inherent logic, but with a new twist. Sets vibrate between the contemporary and a 1950s alternate universe crammed with dim lamps, long hallways, mysterious doors, sparsely furnished rooms and, this time, a vortex/apartment/sitcom set where rabbit-masked humans dwell, and a Polish town where women are abused and killed. Instead of speaking backwards, mystic soothsayers and criminals speak Polish. Filmed on video, the film's look has the sinister, frightening feel of a Mark Savage film or a bootlegged snuff movie. Constant close-ups, both in and out of focus, make Inland Empire feel as if a stalker covertly filmed it. A straightforward, hokey plot unravels during the first third of Inland Empire to ground the viewer before a dive off the deep end. Actor Nikki Grace (Laura Dern) is cast as Susan Blue, an adulterous white trash Southerner, in a film that mimics too closely her actual life with an overbearingly jealous and dangerous husband. When Nikki and co-star Devon (Justin Theroux) learn that the cursed film project was earlier abandoned when its stars were murdered, the pair lose their grasp of reality. Nikki suffers a schizophrenic identity switch to Sue that lasts until nearly the film's end. Suspense builds as Nikki's alter ego sleuths her way through surreal situations to discover her killer, culminating in Sue's gnarly death on set. Sue's actions drag on because any sign of a narrative thread disappears due to idiosyncratic editing. Non-sensical scenes still captivate, however, such as when Sue stumbles onto the soundstage where she finds Nikki (herself) rehearsing for Sue's part. In this meta-film about identity slippage, Dern's multiple characters remind one of how a victim can become the hunter in their fight for survival. Lynch's portrayal of Nikki/Sue's increasing paranoia is, in its own confusion, utterly realistic. Laura Dern has created her own Lady Macbeth, undone by her guilt over infidelity. Even though Inland Empire is too long and too random, Laura Dern's performance coupled with Lynch's video experiments make it magical. --Trinie Dalton

Discovery Channel 20th Anniversary DVD Collection

Director:
Starring:
Genre: <Name>Television
Studio: Discovery Channel Rated:
Language (Country): ()
Summary: Product Detail:
Celebrate two decades of globe-spanning exploration and top-notch entertainment with this special, five-disc collection. Featuring a variety of hit programs from Discovery's first 20 years some never before available on DVD.

Forbidden City: The Great Within
Explore one of the world's most extravagant palaces the Forbidden City of Beijing. Unprecedented access reveals for the first time some of its reputed 9,999 rooms and 240 acres of palace grounds, schools, temples and theaters. Once closed off to the world, this icon of Chinese imperial power is now yours to discover.

Wolves at Our Door
Join documentary filmmaker Jim Dutcher and his wife, Jamie, as they share their experiences living with a family of wolves for three years. By bottle feeding them as puppies and being a constant presence in their lives, the Dutchers gain unprecedented acceptance into the world of these lively but misunderstood canines.

Titanic: Anatomy of a Disaster
Touted as unsinkable prior to its maiden voyage, the manner in which the Titanic sank has long been a source of debate. Watch as scientists and researchers combine underwater archaeology, forensic science, metallurgy and other disciplines to get to the bottom of this 90-year-old mystery.

Queen of the Elephants
As India's population explodes, precious elephant grazing areas are beginning to disappear. Join conservationist Mark Shand and elephant handler Parbarti Barua as they stride 300 miles across India on the backs of elephants to generate awareness for the plight of these gentle giants.

Carrier: Fortress at Sea
Meet the crew of the USS Carl Vinson and shove off for a six-month, 45,000-mile voyage from San Francisco to the Persian Gulf. Along the way, thrill to the real-life story of the Navy's top guns as told by the men themselves and marvel at the visual excitement of flight deck operations and footage from jet-mounted cameras.

Presented in full screen format.

Doc Martin - Series 3 - Complete

Director: Minkie Spiro, Ben Bolt
Starring: Joe Absolom, Lucy Punch, Carol Catz, Stephanie Cole, Martin Clunes
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Momentum Pictures Home Ent Rated: Suitable for 15 years and over
Language (Country): ()
Summary: The adventures of Doctor Martin Ellingham--more commonly known as "Doc Martin"--have proven to be one of ITV's most popular hits of recent years. And within this series three DVD set, you've got plenty of evidence as to why.
For newcomers, "Doc Martin", played with effortless skill by Martin Clunes, is a surgeon based in a small Cornish village. But it's not his direct, blunt manner that proves to be his only problem. No, the issue too is that the Doc has a phobia of blood. It's not the handiest problem for a Doctor to have, but it does allow "Doc Martin" to mix in good chunks of comedy alongside its drama.

Doc Martin Series 1 & 2

Director:
Starring: Joe Absolom, Martin Clunes, Carol Catz, Ian McNeice, Lucy Punch
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Momentum Rated: Suitable for 15 years and over
Language (Country): English ()
Summary:

Dogville

Director: Lars von Trier
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Harriet Andersson, Lauren Bacall, Jean-Marc Barr, Paul Bettany
Genre: Drama
Studio: Lions Gate Rated: R
Language (Country): English ()
Summary: The latest galvanizing and controversial film from Lars von Trier ("Dancer in the Dark", "Breaking the Waves", "The Kingdom"), "Dogville" uses ingenious theatricality to tell the Depression-era story of Grace (Nicole Kidman, "The Others"), a beautiful fugitive who stumbles onto a tiny town in the Rocky Mountains. Spurred on by Tom (Paul Bettany, "Master and Commander"), who fancies himself the town's moral guide, the citizens of Dogville first resist Grace, then embrace her, then resent and torment her--little realizing they will pay a price for their selfish brutality. The town is indicated by fragments of building and chalk outlines on a soundstage floor, stylishly pointing to the movie's roots in classic plays (particularly Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" and Friedrich Durrenmatt's "The Visit"). Several critics have stridently attacked "Dogville" as anti-American, but the movie's dark, compelling view applies as easily to Rwanda, Bosnia, the Middle East, or pretty much anywhere in the world. Also featuring Lauren Bacall, Patricia Clarkson, Jeremy Davies, Stellan Skarsgârd, Chloe Sevigny, and many more. "--Bret Fetzer"

Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist - Season 1

Director:
Starring: Jonathan Katz, H. Jon Benjamin, Laura Silverman, Will Le Bow, Julianne Shapiro
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Paramount Rated: NR
Language (Country): English ()
Summary: "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist: Season One" includes the first six 1995 episodes from the Comedy Central animated series, which was based, the story goes, on comic actor Jonathan Katz's personal life. Playing himself (i.e., providing the voice for his cartoon self) as a divorced psychologist whose clients include a number of comedians, Katz is very funny in a non-confrontational, quietly frustrated yet loquacious way. Dr. Katz lives with his grown son (H. Jon Benjamin), an unemployed, apparently unskilled loser who hangs around Katz's office ineptly trying to pick up his dad's prickly receptionist (Laura Silverman). The latter is so surly and self-centered she tells Katz he doesn't "know what it's like" to spend a day around "crazy people" at work. (Katz, being Katz, has no comeback to that remark.) These three absurd characters (and the inspired performers behind them) would be enough to fill a show by themselves. But the biggest plus in "Dr. Katz" is a succession of vocal performances (which sound largely improvised) by some welcome comedians playing neurotic versions of themselves, including (and especially) Ray Romano, Wendy Liebman, Dave Attell, Laura Kightlinger, and Larry Miller, all in the first season. Each episode exudes anxiety and churns along to the sound of rambling dialogues that barely paper over repressed desire and rage. Sort of like real life, except funnier. "--Tom Keogh"

EDDIE PALMIERI AND FRIENDS-DVD SALSA y JAZZ LIVE

Director:
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Genre:
Studio: Rated:
Language (Country): ()
Summary:

The Essential Steve McQueen Collection

Director: Norman Jewison, John Sturges, Sam Peckinpah
Starring: Steve McQueen, Edward G. Robinson, Ann-Margret, Karl Malden, Tuesday Weld
Genre: Action & Adventure
Studio: Warner Home Video Rated: PG
Language (Country): English ()
Summary: 6 Steve McQueen classic movies are now available in one giftset -- THE ESSENTIAL STEVE McQUEEN COLLECTION! BULLITT TWO DISC-SPECIAL EDITION: Buckle up for gritty police procedure and a wild, trend-setting chase over Frisco's hills with THE GETAWAY DELUXE EDITION A heist gone wrong is dead-right in the hands of McQueen and director Sam Peckinpah. THE CINCINNATI KID McQueen and Edward G. Robinson ante up. Norman Jewison guides the big-time poker flick. NEVER SO FEW Commando action in World War II Burma! McQueen's first big-budget film. Frank Sinatra stars. PAPILLON Can McQueen and Dustin Hoffman escape Devil's Island? From the director of Patton. TOM HORN True to the cowboy way! McQueen rides tall in a star-packed elegy to a changing West. Titles also available separately.

Extras - The Complete First Season

Director:
Starring: Ricky Gervais, Ashley Jensen, Stephen Merchant
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Hbo Home Video Rated: NR
Language (Country): English ()
Summary: After the British series of "The Office" came to an end, co-creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant were faced with an enviable problem: After making the most influential and acclaimed sitcom of the past decade, what do you do next? Amazingly, they've actually created an equally brilliant show: "Extras", in which Gervais plays Andy Millman, an frustrated actor who can only get work as a "background artist"--i.e., an extra. Not only does the role continue to mine Gervais' gift for self-humiliation (which, staggeringly enough, may be even more excruciating than his David Brent's behavior in "The Office", because Andy is more socially capable yet still can't avoid moments of jaw-dropping embarrassment), but Gervais has also persuaded a glorious variety of stars to tweak their own images. High points include Kate Winslet ("Sense & Sensibility") teaching Andy's best friend Maggie (Ashley Jensen, "Ugly Betty") how to talk dirty and Patrick Stewart ("X-Men") describing his new screenplay about a man who uses psychic powers to remove women's clothing. But Ben Stiller, Samuel L. Jackson, Ross Kemp (sort of the British version of Michael Chiklis), and Les Dennis (sort of the British version of...well, there may not be an American version of Les Dennis) all also turn in deliciously ego-bursting turns. Merchant plays Andy's deliriously dense agent, but the core of the show is the relationship between Andy and Maggie. Over the course of six episodes, the interplay between this hapless, starry-eyed pair grows into a wonderfully tender portrait of friendship that perfectly balances the show's so-funny-it-hurts humor. The extras are few but worth watching: Along with a behind-the-scenes featurette, genuinely funny deleted scenes, and the usual clips of everyone forgetting their lines and swearing, there's a very funny sequence of Gervais and Merchant desperately trying to replace Jude Law (who had to drop out of an episode) with Leonardo DiCaprio. All in all, "Extras: The Complete First Season" is essential viewing. "--Bret Fetzer"

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Criterion Collection

Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Tobey Maguire, Ellen Barkin, Gary Busey
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Criterion Rated: R
Language (Country): English ()
Summary: The original cowriter and director of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" was Alex Cox, whose earlier film "Sid and Nancy" suggests that Cox could have been a perfect match in filming Hunter S. Thompson's psychotropic masterpiece of "gonzo" journalism. Unfortunately Cox departed due to the usual "creative differences," and this ill-fated adaptation was thrust upon Terry Gilliam, whose formidable gifts as a visionary filmmaker were squandered on the seemingly unfilmable elements of Thompson's ether-fogged narrative. The result is a one-joke movie without the joke--an endless series of repetitive scenes involving rampant substance abuse and the hallucinogenic fallout of a road trip that's run crazily out of control. Johnny Depp plays Thompson's alter ego, "gonzo" journalist Raoul Duke, and Benicio Del Toro is his sidekick and so-called lawyer Dr. Gonzo. During the course of a trip to Las Vegas to cover a motorcycle race, they ingest a veritable chemistry set of drugs, and Gilliam does his best to show us the hallucinatory state of their zonked-out minds. This allows for some dazzling imagery and the rampant humor of stumbling buffoons, and the mumbling performances of Depp and Del Toro wholeheartedly embrace the tripped-out, paranoid lunacy of Thompson's celebrated book. But over two hours of this insanity tends to grate on the nerves--like being the only sober guest at a party full of drunken idiots. So while Gilliam's film may achieve some modest cult status over the years, it's only because "Fear and Loathing" is best enjoyed by those who are just as stoned as the characters in the movie. "--Jeff Shannon"

The Fifth Element

Director: Luc Besson
Starring: Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Milla Jovovich, Chris Tucker
Genre: Action & Adventure
Studio: Sony Pictures Rated: PG-13
Language (Country): English ()
Summary: Ancient curses, all-powerful monsters, shape-changing assassins, scantily-clad stewardesses, laser battles, huge explosions, a perfect woman, a malcontent hero--what more can you ask of a big-budget science fiction movie? Luc Besson's high-octane film incorporates presidents, rock stars, and cab drivers into its peculiar plot, traversing worlds and encountering some pretty wild aliens. Bruce Willis stars as a down-and-out cabbie who must win the love of Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) to save Earth from destruction by Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg (Gary Oldman) and a dark, unearthly force that makes Darth Vader look like an Ewok. "--Geoff Riley"

The Five Obstructions

Director: Jørgen Leth
Starring: Jacqueline Arenal, Patrick Bauchau, Bent Christensen, Marie Dejaer, Stina Ekblad
Genre: Documentary
Studio: Koch Lorber Films Rated: Unrated
Language (Country): Danish, English, French, Spanish ()
Summary: Once upon a time--1967, to be precise--Danish director Jørgen Leth released "The Perfect Human". In "The Five Obstructions", fellow countryman Lars von Trier ("Breaking the Waves") challenges his "hero" to remake the short five times and provides a different set of "obstructions" for each. Because Leth likes cigars, von Trier suggests the first be made in Cuba. For the second, however, he sends Leth to "the worst place on earth"--Bombay's red light district. The obstructions keep coming, interspersed with conversation and clips from the original film, in which actors engage in a variety of activities, like eating and dancing, while the narrator posits oblique questions like "Why is joy so whimsical?" (Von Trier claims to have watched it "at least 20 times.") In the end, the two Danes have whipped up an unclassifiable concoction that plays less like documentary and more like a duel between friendly adversaries. "--Kathleen C. Fennessy"

From Other Worlds

Director: Barry Strugatz
Starring: Peter Bartlett, Cara Buono, Isaach de Bankolé, Laura Esterman, David Lansbury
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Bfs Entertainment Rated: Unrated
Language (Country): English ()
Summary: "Cara Buono, in a charming lead performance... amiable and arch comedy... fun..." - Variety
"A witty and sincere take on one of my favorite genres... a real treat and I thoroughly enjoyed it." - Jonathan Demme, Oscar® Winning Director
From the Writer of "Married to the Mob" and "She-Devil"
"A Comic Cosmic Caper to Combat Catastrophe!"
In a bizarre incident, depressed Brooklyn housewife Joanne (Cara Buono - "Artie Lange's Beer League") suspects that she has had a UFO encounter. Joanne meets Abraham (Isaach de Bankolé - "Casino Royale") and establishing a common bond, these two ordinary people embark on a search for answers that becomes a frantic adventure of ancient scrolls, Egyptian symbology, threats, aliens, thievery - and Earth's impending destruction!
Starring: Cara Buono, Isaach de Bankolé, David Lansbury and Robert Downey, Sr.
Special Features: Cast Profiles / Cara Buono's Audition / Commentary Track / Trailer
approx. 89 mins. col. WIDESCREEN

The Graduate

Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman, Katharine Ross, William Daniels, Murray Hamilton
Genre: Comedy
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD) Rated: R
Language (Country): English, French ()
Summary: Nominated* for seven Academy AwardsÂ(r) and winner for Best Director, this ground breaking and "wildly hilarious" (The Boston Globe) social satire launched the career of two-time OscarÂ(r)-winner** Dustin Hoffman and cemented the reputation of acclaimed director Mike Nichols. Pulsating with the rebellious spirit of the '60s and a haunting score sung by Simon and Garfunkel, The Graduate is truly a "landmark film" (Leonard Maltin). Shy Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) returns home from college with an uncertain future. Then the wife of his father's business partner, the sexy Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), seduces him, and the affair only deepens his confusion. That is, until he meets the girl of his dreams (Katharine Ross). But there's one problem: she's Mrs. Robinson's daughter!

Groundhog Day

Director:
Starring: Carol Bivins, Ken Hudson Campbell, Brian Doyle-Murray, Rick Ducommun, Robin Duke
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Sony Pictures Rated: PG
Language (Country): English, French, Portuguese, Spanish ()
Summary: Bill Murray does warmth in his most consistently effective post-"Stripes" comedy, a romantic fantasy about a wacky weatherman forced to relive one strange day over and over again, until he gets it right. Snowed in during a road-trip expedition to watch the famous groundhog encounter his shadow, Murray falls into a time warp that is never explained but pays off so richly that it doesn't need to be. The elaborate loop-the-loop plot structure cooked up by screenwriter Danny Rubin is crystal-clear every step of the way, but it's Murray's world-class reactive timing that makes the jokes explode, and we end up looking forward to each new variation. He squeezes all the available juice out of every scene. Without forcing the issue, he makes us understand why this fly-away personality responds so intensely to the radiant sanity of the TV producer played by Andie MacDowell. The blissfully clueless Chris Elliott ("Cabin Boy") is Murray's nudnik cameraman. "--David Chute"

Head-On

Director: Fatih Akin
Starring: Cem Akin, Philipp Baltus, Meltem Cumbul, Francesco Fiannaca, Stefan Gebelhoff
Genre: Art House & International
Studio: Strand Releasing Rated: R
Language (Country): German, Turkish ()
Summary: "Head-On", Fatih Akin's gritty drama, is like a great punk-rock song-- rough around the edges, but filled with heart. Cahit (Birol Ünel) is a middle-aged drunk whose apartment looks like the toilet in "Trainspotting". Sibel (Sibel Kekilli) is a suicidal woman half his age, stuck at home with repressive relatives. They're two troubled Turks, adrift in Germany. A chance encounter at a psychiatric hospital represents a way out. If Cahit will marry her, Sibel can flee her family. They'll accept him, because he's Turkish. As for Cahit, he won't be alone anymore, left to mourn his dead wife and drink his life away. At first, things go as planned. Sibel moves into Cahit's dump and spiffs it up. The two live, eat, and party together, while continuing to see other people. Gradually, their marriage of convenience starts to resemble the real thing--until Cahit's violent tendencies get the best of him. "--Kathleen C. Fennessy"

Herzog/Kinski Collection

Director:
Starring:
Genre: World Cinema
Studio: Video Treasures Rated:
Language (Country): German ()
Summary:

A History of Violence

Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt, Ashton Holmes
Genre: Action & Adventure
Studio: New Line Home Video Rated: R
Language (Country): English ()
Summary: On the surface, David Cronenberg may seem an unlikely candidate to direct "A History of Violence", but dig deeper and you'll see that he's the right man for the job. As an intellectual seeker of meaning and an avowed believer in Darwinian survival of the fittest, Cronenberg knows that the story of mild-mannered small-town diner proprietor Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is in fact a multilayered examination of inbred human behavior, beginning when Tom's skillful killing of two would-be robbers draws unwanted attention to his idyllic family life in rural Indiana. He's got a loving wife (Maria Bello) and young daughter (Heidi Hayes) who are about to learn things about Tom they hadn't suspected, and a teenage son (Ashton Holmes) who has inherited his father's most prominent survival trait, manifesting itself in ways he never expected. By the time Tom has come into contact with a scarred villain (Ed Harris) and connections that lead him to a half-crazy kingpin (William Hurt, in a spectacular cameo), Cronenberg has plumbed the dark depths of human nature so skillfully that "A History of Violence" stands well above the graphic novel that inspired it (indeed, Cronenberg was unaware of the source material behind Josh Olson's chilling adaptation). With hard-hitting violence that's as sudden as it is graphically authentic, this is "A History of Violence" that's worthy of serious study and widespread acclaim. "--Jeff Shannon"
On the DVD
On a single disc and with little fanfare, this DVD makes an excellent case for the best extras of the year. Dive into the one-hour-long documentary and learn more about moviemaking than on many a double-disc. The secret lies in director David Cronenberg's (and his usual crew) folksy casualness in showing off the craft, be it makeup (green screens were used), directing (Cronenberg doesn't storyboard), or art direction (the diner set). It also is very funny to hear about "fish Fridays" and how Maria Bello's Uncle Pete became an influence. Even the infamous sex-on-the-staircase scene is diagnosed with candor as stars Viggo Mortensen and Bello act as if there is no backstage camera. There's only one deleted scene, but it's uncommonly deconstructed on why it was filmed and why it was cut (it's a very Cronenbergian dream sequence). A short bit on Cannes is also a delight. So much is here that Cronenberg's smart commentary track is nearly superfluous. Isn't that a nice surprise? "--Doug Thomas"

Hotel Rwanda

Director: Terry George
Starring: Xolani Mali, Don Cheadle, Desmond Dube, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Tony Kgoroge
Genre: Drama
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD) Rated: PG-13
Language (Country): English, French ()
Summary: Solidly built around a subtle yet commanding performance by Don Cheadle, "Hotel Rwanda" emerged as one of the most highly-praised dramas of 2004. In a role that demands his quietly riveting presence in nearly every scene, Cheadle plays real-life hero Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager in the Rwandan capital of Kigali who in 1994 saved 1,200 Rwandan "guests" from certain death during the genocidal clash between tribal Hutus, who slaughtered a million victims, and the horrified Tutsis, who found safe haven or died. Giving his best performance since his breakthrough role in "Devil in a Blue Dress", Cheadle plays Rusesabagina as he really was during the ensuing chaos: "an expert in situational ethics" (as described by critic Roger Ebert), doing what he morally "had" to do, at great risk and potential sacrifice, with an understanding that wartime negotiations are largely a game of subterfuge, cooperation, and clever bribery. Aided by a United Nations official (Nick Nolte), he worked a saintly miracle, and director Terry George ("Some Mother's Son") brings formidable social conscience to bear on a true story you won't soon forget. "--Jeff Shannon"

How to Cook Your Life

Director: Doris Dörrie, Doris Doerrie
Starring: Edward Espe Brown
Genre: Documentary
Studio: Lions Gate Rated: PG-13
Language (Country): English, German ()
Summary: Dorris Dörrie's jazz-inflected documentary should come with a disclaimer: Don't watch on an empty stomach. While it doesn't cover the basics of food preparation, "How to Cook Your Life" offers a delectable introduction to Buddhist living. Yes, subject Edward Brown is both pastry chef and Zen priest, but Dörrie's approach is more holistic than instructional. (For culinary specifics, viewers can always pick up Brown's bestselling how-to guide, "The Tassajara Bread Book".) In other words, home cooking--as opposed to fast food and pre-packaged goods--isn't just healthier and better for the environment; it connects the creator to the product of their efforts. And it helps if they know more about the tools of their trade. Hence, the director of 2000's "Enlightenment Guaranteed" and a Buddhist practitioner herself, also interviews organic gardeners, cookware salespeople, and the like. Throughout, Brown shows students in the US and Austria how to prepare vegetarian pizza, fruit tarts, and other wholesome delights. All the while, he talks about the connection between the body and the spirit. Fortunately, Brown isn't some kind of holier-than-though type. Little things, like hard-to-open packages, can set him off, but he's just as quick to laugh. To him, cooking is a way to nourish yourself and others. As he likes to say, "When you wash the rice, wash the rice." (True, he sounds like Yoda at times; it’s actually quite charming.) Like "Super-Size Me", "How to Cook Your Life" is an elegy for those long-lost days of leisurely dinners with loved ones. "--Kathleen C. Fennessy"

How to Draw a Bunny

Director: John W. Walter
Starring: Roy Lichtenstein, Gerald Ayres, James Rosenquist, Judith Malina, Ray Johnson (VIII)
Genre: Documentary
Studio: Palm Pictures / Umvd Rated: Unrated
Language (Country): English ()
Summary: A fascinating look inside the New York art scene and the predecessor class to Warhol. I confess that I knew absolutely nothing about this artist before watching this documentary, and yet I couldn't get enough of it. Truly a man who lived his life as art. And his death? That's the central guessing game of this film, and it makes for a captivating and vaguely haunting biopic.

John Cleese's Personal Best

Director:
Starring: Monty Python's Flying Circus
Genre: Comedy
Studio: A&E Home Video Rated: NR
Language (Country): English ()
Summary: The SAINTS of SATIRE, The LORDS of LAUGHTER, The HIGH PRIESTS of LOW COMEDY have sold out once again. For more than 40 years, John Cleese has made millions--nay, billions--of fans laugh themselves into a state of near incontinence. But have you ever asked yourself, "What makes John Cleese laugh?" You haven t, have you, you selfish git? Well, for once in your life think about someone else and pick up this copy of JOHN CLEESE S PERSONAL BEST. It s chock full of Python bits selected by The Great Cleese himself, plus original never-before-seen material created by The Magnificent One exclusivey for this sacred DVD. Collect all six PERSONAL BEST collections. For the Python lover, they're concentrated joy. For the novice, a dangerously addictive substance to be administered with care. DVD Features: Behind the Scenes of JOHN CLEESE S PERSONAL BEST; The John Cleese 15-Question, 15-Ton Megaquiz; Biography and Selected Credits; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection

Joni Mitchell - Woman of Heart and Mind: A Life Story

Director:
Starring: Joni Mitchell
Genre: Documentary
Studio: Eagle Vision USA Rated: NR
Language (Country): English ()
Summary: One of the great talents of her or anyone else's generation gets the royal treatment with this superb two-hour (with bonus material) documentary. It's all here (via interviews, including conversations past and present with Mitchell herself, photos, generous helpings of concert footage, and more): her Saskatchewan childhood, her lovers, her painting, her reunion with the daughter she had left behind at age 19... and, of course, her music, the songs, recordings, and performances, so intensely personal yet so universally accessible, that comprise one of the most extraordinarily original and significant (if not always wildly popular) bodies of work any artist has ever produced. Even true fanatics are likely to find revelations here; the rest of us can simply rejoice in the life and artistry of Joni Mitchell. The extras are highlighted by complete concert readings of four songs, including "Big Yellow Taxi" and "Woodstock." "--Sam Graham"

Journey After Awakening

Director:
Starring: Adyashanti
Genre:
Studio: Rated:
Language (Country): ()
Summary:

Jules and Jim - Criterion Collection

Director: François Truffaut
Starring: Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner, Henri Serre, Vanna Urbino, Boris Bassiak
Genre: Art House & International
Studio: Criterion Rated: NR
Language (Country): French ()
Summary: François Truffaut's third feature, though it's named for the two best friends who become virtually inseparable in pre-World War I Paris, is centered on Jeanne Moreau's Catherine, the most mysterious, enigmatic woman in his career-long gallery of rich female portraits. Adapted from the novel by Henri-Pierre Roché, Truffaut's picture explores the 30-year friendship between Austrian biologist Jules (Oskar Werner) and Parisian writer Jim (Henri Serre) and the love triangle formed when the alluring Catherine makes the duo a trio. Spontaneous and lively, a woman of intense but dynamic emotions, she becomes the axle on which their friendship turns as Jules woos her and they marry, only to find that no one man can hold her. Directed in bursts of concentrated scenes interspersed with montage sequences and pulled together by the commentary of an omniscient narrator, Truffaut layers his tragic drama with a wealth of detail. He draws on his bag of New Wave tricks for the carefree days of youth--zooms, flash cuts, freeze frames--that disappear as the marriage disintegrates during the gloom of the postwar years. Werner is excellent as Jules, a vibrant young man whose slow, melancholy slide into emotional compromise is charted in his increasingly sad eyes and resigned face, while Serre plays Jim as more of an enigma, guarded and introspective. But both are eclipsed in the glare of Moreau's radiant Catherine: impulsive, demanding, sensual, passionate, destructive, and ultimately unknowable. A masterpiece of the French New Wave and one of Truffaut's most confident and accomplished films. "--Sean Axmaker"

The King of Masks (Hong Kong Version)

Director:
Starring: Zhu Xu, Wu Tian Ming
Genre:
Studio: Mei Ah (HK) Rated:
Language (Country): Mandarin ()
Summary: Wu Tianming directs The King of Masks, a compelling tale of a master and his apprentice, and a time-honored tradition on the brink of extinction. Wang Bianlian (Zhu Xu) is an elderly street performer who possesses the knowledge of amazing "face-changing" opera techniques. Bianlian wishes to impart his knowledge to future generations, but he has no heir. Enter Gou Wa (Zhou Renying), an orphaned boy adopted by Bianlian, who is quickly charmed by his newly appointed heir. But Gou Wa possesses a secret which traditionally mandates that Bianlian to keep his art from the young child. Should Bianlian save his art, but violate the socially-accepted ways of the society in which he lives? That conflict is the center of The King of Masks, an affecting and surprising drama that explores the rigid gender and cultural politics of 1930s China.

Kinski: My Best Fiend

Director:
Starring: Isabelle Adjani, Claudia Cardinale, Justo González, Mick Jagger, Klaus Kinski
Genre: Documentary
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay Rated: NR
Language (Country): English, German ()
Summary: Most people associate the director Werner Herzog with the actor Klaus Kinski--but few know how twisted and enmeshed their relationship was. Though Kinski has made dozens of movies, he probably remains best known for the five he made with Herzog: "Aguirre: The Wrath of God", "Woyzeck", "Nosferatu the Vampyre", "Cobra Verde", and "Fitzcarraldo". In this documentary/cinematic memoir, Herzog uses clips from these remarkable films, on-the-set footage, and personal recollections to create a portrait of Kinski as both a deeply passionate actor and a raving lunatic; it's hard to say whether he's defaming Kinski or being generous to this mercurial, erratic actor. There's no question that their relationship is fascinating; after their first movie ("Aguirre", probably the best of their collaborations) they both described moments of wanting to kill each other--in fact, both agree that Herzog threatened to shoot Kinski at one point, though they differ on the details. Yet they went on to make four more movies, almost all of them under circumstances that would be difficult for the most serene personalities. "My Best Fiend" was inspired by Kinski's death, and probably the movie's weakest aspect is that we don't get Kinski's side of their friendship. But even though it's one-sided, it's still a remarkable portrait of two artists who were willing to go to extremes to capture their visions. Any fan of either will find this unique documentary indispensable. "--Bret Fetzer"

The Lady Vanishes - Criterion Collection

Director:
Starring: Emile Boreo, Mary Clare, Selma Vaz Dias, Catherine Lacey, Philip Leaver
Genre: Mystery & Suspense
Studio: Criterion Rated: Unrated
Language (Country): English ()
Summary: In this best-loved of Hitchcock's British-made thrillers, a young woman on a train meets a charming old lady (Dame May Whitty), who promptly disappears. The other passengers deny ever having seen her, leading the young woman to suspect a conspiracy. When she begins investigating, she is drawn into a complex web of mystery and high adventure.

Lessons of Darkness / Fata Morgana

Director:
Starring: Eugen Des Montagnes, Lotte Eisner, James William Gledhill, Wolfgang von Ungern-Sternberg
Genre: Art House & International
Studio: Anchor Bay Rated: NR
Language (Country): German ()
Summary: "Lessons of Darkness" shows the disaster of the Kuwaiti oil fields in flames after the Gulf War. This comes packaged with a special bonus DVD of "Fata Morgana", which also takes a special non-linear look at the beauty of the Sahara Desert.

Little Murders

Director:
Starring: Vincent Gardenia, Elliott Gould, Lou Jacobi, Jon Korkes, Martin Kove
Genre: Comedy
Studio: 20th Century Fox Rated: R
Language (Country): English ()
Summary: Based on jules feiffer's play about a man who marries the girl who saved him from muggers.

Live-In Maid

Director: Jorge Gaggero
Starring: Norma Aleandro, Mónica Gonzaga, Elsa Berenguer, Susana Lanteri, Marco Mundstock
Genre: Art House & International
Studio: Koch Lorber Films Rated: Unrated
Language (Country): Spanish ()
Summary: In this universally acclaimed film from writer-director Jorge Gaggero, Academy Award-nominated actress Norma Aleandro plays Beba, a sophisticated older woman whose recent divorce has left her in a precarious financial position. Despite her attempts to keep up appearances, she is finally forced to do the unthinkable - discharge her live-in maid. Dora has worked for Beba for thirty years and is dutiful but distant and reserved. When both women finally face life without the ot