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Adapted from Daniel Keyes's novel Flowers for Algernon, Charly must be viewed as a soap opera of and for its zeitgeist--the halcyon '60s, when "natural" was nirvana, the air hummed with the mantra "Everybody's beautiful," and all ills stemmed from institutional monoliths such as Science, Government, Education, Religion. Accordingly, Charly (Cliff Robertson) is a 30-year-old retardate whose doofus sweetness makes him superior to most able-minded folk, whether they're the bigoted dolts he sweeps floors for or the ambitious scientists who see him as the human equivalent of Algernon, a mouse they've surgically (but impermanently) smartened up. Naturally, post-op Charly, sporting a genius IQ, "sees things as they are." Trotted out as the neurosurgeons' poster boy, he stands up to the "learned" audience--shot as faceless, inhuman interrogators. He's every '60s flower child, berating his "elders" for blighting their brave new world.
The one gift Charly gets out of becoming Brainiac is sex. In a lengthy montage resembling a retro TV commercial, he and his special-ed teacher (Claire Bloom, madonna with eternal Mona Lisa smile) romp through an Edenic outdoors, their embraces hallowed by sunlight glinting through leaves, moonlight glinting on water, and sappy Ravi Shankar music. (Stylistic clichés also include embarrassing outbreaks of split screens and multiple small screens within the frame, notably when rebellious Charly turns biker.) Robertson's performance is well-meaning but hokey. Still, in the penultimate moments when Charly begins to slide back into retardation, the actor achieves a genuine tragic gravity, and he became a surprise Oscar winner for his pains. --Kathleen Murphy Read more
Lord Richard Attenborough, acclaimed director and screen actor, is the narrator for this emotional and revealing two-hour documentary about one of the most beloved women of the 20th century. She was the people's princess, England's Rose, Lady Di. Her tragic death in August 1997 ended a life that was one-part fairy tale, one-part tabloid headline. Now, for the first time, Diana's definitive life story is revealed by those who knew her best: her friends, her family members, and world leaders. This presentation featuring dozens of exclusive interviews conducted all over the globe goes far beyond any other retrospective ever made about Diana. It paints her portrait in unprecedented detail: From her childhood to her picture-perfect wedding. From her troubled marriage to Prince Charles to the children she adored. From her secret battles in the palace to the charitable causes she triumphed. And finally to the tragic, fatal car crash in a Paris tunnel that resulted in the worldwide outpouring of emotion following her untimely death. This special presentation is both a loving tribute to one of the great leaders of our generation, as well as a celebration of whom Diana truly was, the power she had to heal and inspire, and the legacy she left behind. Read more
Perhaps the most endearing of all the Charlie Brown specials is "A Charlie Brown Christmas", the first in a long series of made for t.v. half hour films portraying the famous Peanuts Gang. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was made in a time when commercialism was running rampant all over the country. Stores advertising to shoppers what they ought to buy, long before Thanksgiving had come and gone. Unfortunately, we still see this blatant commercialism today, which makes this short film so very poignant and all the more special. Charlie Brown is assigned to direct the school Christmas pageant, much to his glee; for he feels accepted and worthy. When Lucy tells him to go out and get an alumminum tree, he takes Linus along with him. What Charlie Brown ultimately gets is a small, sickly looking tree, which is rapidly loosing its needles. But, Charlie can see how much the tree "needs him", somebody; something which he can identity with. When he returns, he finds the gang dancing to un-Christmas like music, instead of rehearsing their lines. They stop to take a look at the tree he brought, immediately burtsing out in mocking laughter. Apparently Charlie Brown has failed again. In disgust and humiliation he flees, taking the tree with him. And when he comes upon Snoopy's dog house, all decked out in Christmas lights, not to celebrate the joyous holiday, but to win money in a contest, Charlie Brown has had enough, and almost loses all faith in Christmas. Linus saves the day, somehow able to bring the tree back to life, and make it look much healthier and stronger. But it is when he explains the meaning of Christmas that the "gang" gets the point of Christmas, and what Charlie Brown was trying to do. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" ends with newfound meaning for Christmas, hopefully not soon forgotten by either the Peanuts Gang, or, more importantly ... us. Read more
A matinee programmer with lofty ambitions, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is best appreciated as a vintage showcase for the stop-motion animation of special-effects legend Ray Harryhausen. The hoary plot follows the cold-war formula that dominated science fiction movies of the 1950s: After an atomic bomb test in the northern polar ice cap, a gigantic dinosaur--the fictional "Rhedosaurus"--is awakened from eons of dormancy, plots an undersea course for the Eastern seaboard, and proceeds to wreak havoc on New York City, culminating in a showdown with military marksmen at the Coney Island amusement park. Stock footage and tissue-thin drama make this a by-the-numbers monster flick, further hampered by Eugene Lourie's lackluster direction and a wooden B-movie cast. And yet, Harryhausen's first independent effort retains its atomic-age fascination: Beast marked yet another technical milestone for Harryhausen's impeccable techniques, and its perpetual status as a sci-fi classic is duly acknowledged in the DVD bonus features, including a retrospective featurette and a latter-day reunion of Harryhausen and longtime friend Ray Bradbury, whose short story "The Fog Horn" served as this film's inspiration. --Jeff Shannon Read more
There are more than 20 million known substances in the universe, and they are all made of the same basic ingredients -- atoms and molecules. In this fun and engaging program, kids will learn about the three main subatomic particles -- protons, neutrons and electrons -- as well as the forces that keep atoms and molecules together. They'll discover how atoms bond to one another to form compounds. Ionic bonds are formed when electrons are transferred from one atom to another, while covalent bonds occur when atoms share electrons. Colorful graphics and fun visuals bring these concepts to life and make them easier for kids to understand. Includes a fun, hands-on activity that allows kids to simulate the movement of atoms and molecules in different phases of matter. This program is based on the concepts outlined in the National Science Education Standards for Physical Science: properties & changes of properties of matter, motions & forces and transfer of energy. Read more
The Fox and the Hound marked the last collaboration between Disney's older artists, including three of the "Nine Old Men" (Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, and Woolie Reitherman), and the young animators who would make the record-breaking films of the '90s. Based on a book by Daniel P. Mannix, the film tells the story of a bloodhound puppy and a fox kit who begin as friends but are forced to become enemies. Tod and Copper barely establish their friendship before Copper begins his training as hunting dog. Unfortunately, neither character develops much of a personality, which makes it difficult to care about them. The screen comes alive near end of the film, when Tod and Copper have to join forces to fight off an enormous bear. It had been years since Disney produced a sequence with this kind of feral power--and years would pass before they surpassed it. The Fox and the Hound ranks as one of the studio's lesser efforts, but it suggests that better films were soon to follow. (Ages 5 and older) --Charles Solomon Read more
A left-for-dead soldier tries to regain his fiercely disputed identity after a decade-long disappearance in this slow but engrossing adaptation of Balzac's classic Napoleonic-era novel. In his directorial debut, Yves Angelo (the brilliant cinematographer of, among others, Baxter and Un Coeur en Hiver) compensates for an occasionally plodding narrative with some startlingly lavish compositions and a masterful use of sound--particularly during some stunning combat flashbacks. An uneven, often viscerally compelling film bolstered by a haunting opening sequence and the primal charisma of star Gerard Depardieu. In French with English subtitles. For a markedly different, decidedly more romantic look at a similar theme, check out The Return of Martin Guerre (also starring Depardieu) or its Americanized remake, Sommersby. --Andrew Wright Read more
A man accepts a plum job at a law firm if he stops seeing the bosschr(39)s daughter. Read more
This award-winning documentary chronicles the lives of Bong, a boy with physical disabilities, and his best friend Donnell from third grase through high school. Bong impresses his mainstream classmates with his sense of humor. After elementary school, the boys have trouble focusing on homework and obeying rules as they become typical middle schools students experiencing the joy, pain, and exuberance of adolescence. By high school they are immersed in the dating scene and even make a movie about who can pick up the most girls at the mall. Their humerous teen male fantasy wins a Golden Apple Award and lands them in People magazine and on Good Morning America. The story of these two young men demonstrated the power of friendship over adversity and prejudice. Read more
4 stories. Family Portrait; Family Bath Time; Thinking of mother bear; Little bear's bad day Read more
The Passion of the Christ focuses on the last twelve hours of Jesus of Nazareth's life. The film begins in the Garden of Olives where Jesus has gone to pray after the Last Supper. Jesus must resist the temptations of Satan. Betrayed by Judas Iscariot, Jesus is then arrested and taken within the city walls of Jerusalem where leaders of the Pharisees confront him with accusations of blasphemy and his trial results in a condemnation to death.After all the controversy and rigorous debate has subsided, Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ will remain a force to be reckoned with. In the final analysis, "Gibson's Folly" is an act of personal bravery and commitment on the part of its director, who self-financed this $25-30 million production to preserve his artistic goal of creating the Passion of Christ ("Passion" in this context meaning "suffering") as a quite literal, in-your-face interpretation of the final 12 hours in the life of Jesus, scripted almost directly from the gospels (and spoken in Aramaic and Latin with a relative minimum of subtitles) and presented as a relentless, 126-minute ordeal of torture and crucifixion. For Christians and non-Christians alike, this film does not "entertain," and it's not a film that one can "like" or "dislike" in any conventional sense. (It is also emphatically not a film for children or the weak of heart.) Rather, The Passion is a cinematic experience that serves an almost singular purpose: to show the scourging and death of Jesus Christ in such horrifically graphic detail (with Gibson's own hand pounding the nails in the cross) that even non-believers may feel a twinge of sorrow and culpability in witnessing the final moments of the Son of God, played by Jim Caviezel in a performance that's not so much acting as a willful act of submission, so intense that some will weep not only for Christ, but for Caviezel's unparalleled test of endurance.
Leave it to the intelligentsia to debate the film's alleged anti-Semitic slant; if one judges what is on the screen (so gloriously served by John Debney's score and Caleb Deschanel's cinematography), there is fuel for debate but no obvious malice aforethought; the Jews under Caiaphas are just as guilty as the barbaric Romans who carry out the execution, especially after Gibson excised (from the subtitles, if not the soundtrack) the film's most controversial line of dialogue. If one accepts that Gibson's intentions are sincere, The Passion can be accepted for what it is: a grueling, straightforward (some might say unimaginative) and extremely violent depiction of the Passion, guaranteed to render devout Christians speechless while it intensifies their faith. Non-believers are likely to take a more dispassionate view, and some may resort to ridicule. But one thing remains undebatable: with The Passion of the Christ, Gibson put his money where his mouth is. You can praise or damn him all you want, but you've got to admire his chutzpah. --Jeff Shannon Read more
Around the corner or around the globe, embark on a thrilling journey to some of the most fascinating destinations in the world! Get set to visit exotic sights and thrill to nature's most breathtaking vistas. Meet unique and interesting people, visit the places you've dreamed about and marvel at wonders few know exist. Experience the best the world has to offer on these exotic travel destination videos! Read more
The Netherwoods (Keith Carradine and Daryl Hannah) are bad parents. They break into people's homes and steal food, leaving their daughter Janie (Julia Devin) in the car to occupy herself. So the state takes Janie away from them and puts her up for adoption. Unfortunately for Janie's new parents, the Cliftons (Moira Kelly and Vincent Spano), the state didn't catch the Netherwoods, and the bad parents want their daughter back. This summary, though accurate, isn't fair to The Tie That Binds; despite the broad strokes of the plot, the movie is surprisingly successful at creating suspense. The violent scenes are both effectively brutal and effectively restrained--what we see looks like it hurts, but the most gruesome violence happens offscreen. The performances aren't subtle, but like the movie itself, they're grounded enough in reality to sustain the suspense. The gorgeous cinematography lends itself to some beautiful images (a sheet blown away by the wind, fireflies flickering in front of an unfinished house) that create a unusually graceful sense of impending danger. This may not have played as well on the big screen, but in the intimacy of your own home The Tie That Binds has an accumulating creepiness that will last longer than the jagged shocks and jolts of most recent thrillers. --Bret Fetzer Read more