This Platinum Edition includes everything from the standard bonus features like interactive games, music videos, and deleted songs to exciting and sometimes rare commentaries by everyone from modern day animators to Walt Disney himself, multiple featurettes about specific aspects of the film and its production, and a lengthy deleted scene featuring lost character Rocky the Rhino. Especially interesting for adults and Disney fans are "The Bare Necessities: The making of The Jungle Book" featurette, which explores Walt Disney's commitment to developing strong characters and his insistence that writers, animators, and song writers create a light version of Jungle Book that followed his own personal interpretation of the story, and the "The Lure of The Jungle Book" featurette, which discusses Frank Thomas' and Ollie Johnston's amazing contribution to the film as prolific animators and the inspiration and influence that their work provided for future animators including Brad Bird (The Incredibles), Andreas Deja (Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King), Sergio Pablos (Tarzan), Will Finn (Home on the Range), and Eric Goldberg (Fantasia 2000). The full length commentary by Bruce Reitherman (voice of Mowgli), animator Andreas Deja, and composer Richard Sherman with its interspersed archival commentary of Disney greats from the original creative team (Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Woolie Reitherman, and others) is also very interesting and insightful. --Tami Horiuchi
Running Time 110 Mins.
Format: DVD MOVIE
Amazon.com
One of the greatest scandals in American corporate history is chronicled in the riveting documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. Based on the bestselling book by Fortune magazine reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkin, and directed by Alex Gibney (who also produced The Trials of Henry Kissinger), the film is an epic morality tale, drawing upon a wealth of insider interviews and archival material to show how Enron, once the nation's seventh largest corporate entity, essentially faked its bookkeeping to report profits that never existed. The corrupt and closely-guarded mismanagement by Enron executives (including Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, later placed on criminal trial) is revealed through such heinous concepts as "Hypothetical Future Value" (a way of reaping fortunes based on false profit projections) and the use of offshore "shell" companies to hide the massive losses that eventually toppled the company (along with the venerable Arthur Anderson accounting firm) and left 20,000 employees jobless. As a maddening portrait of hubris and white-collar crime, Enron transcends political and corporate boundaries by showing how smart and powerful men grew blinded by greed and brought ruin upon themselves, along with thousands of otherwise innocent victims. For better and worse, it's a perfect double-feature with eye-opening 2004 documentary The Corporation. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews:
Amazingly Engrossing.......2007-09-09
From the time this documentary starts you are captured. I have never been so engrossed in a story about Corporate America before. The arrogance of business and the manipulation for self gain was astounding. Awesome how the unravelling began with one simple question. I have watched this now several times and I never cease to be amazed. A "must" to watch.
Sickening!.......2007-08-30
I had always wondered how this fiasco could be allowed to happen in the U.S. After watching this movie, I now understand! It is sad that a country such as ours could allow this type of theft, larceny, and destruction to happen to thousands of innocent people!
The hyper-capitalistic puppet masters of the invisible build Frankenstein's monster.......2007-08-21
Imagine starting a company that comes up with the idea of selling potential without actually realizing that potential first. Imagine then without the realization of that potential that loads of people invest in the idea because the CEO's know how to put on a show. Then imagine the idea becoming so big that a whole country invests in the idea. Then imagine that the company selling the idea gets so big that it ends up owning a massive share of that nation's power grid. Then imagine that the company starts telling the power company operators to perform lots of blackouts and downtime so that it can hold the nation to ransom before it turns it back on again by demanding government funds (tax money). Then imagine on top of this that the CEO's just sign themselves big fat paychecks into the tens of millions and decide to head off home when everything is falling apart because someone asked the question... "How does Enron make money?"
While the above schematic might not be the exact way things where actually done, it still is but in a more complex way that this documentary surprising makes simple for everyone to understand. We are dealing with a company that dealt in selling the imagination and then played the evil demigod when it eventually had its way. It is a documentary also about the CEO's and personalities which got too big for a nation to manage. This is when greed becomes hyper-greed and when making millions out of public disasters was considered a normal 9 to 5. Imagine Enron employees just saying `Burn baby burn' while wildfires rage under power lines. Imagine Enron employees finding loopholes in government contracts they designed and calling those ambiguous areas `fat boy' and `death star' to make millions from the gaps. Then stop calling this just imagination. This is the real thing!
Enron is essentially about the abuse of trust. It is about a nation built on freedoms and liberties actually becoming hostage to those freedoms and liberties when extremist capitalists will cash in on anything. This isn't just about cooking the books. This is about cooking independence into slavery so that a few guys could make loads of money.
In a strange sort of way it is hard to actually imagine that these guys did anything wrong in terms of how they developed a very imaginative system of corporation into a business. The tendency for them to exploit a weakness in a deal was bad character, but nothing that is that unusual in today's world. All this is considered somewhat expected in big business except for one thing. They did all this by gambling with the savings of over 20,000 US Citizens (most of them Joe Soap families with kids) while they also played with the national power grid (how many people indirectly died and suffered remains uncertain but real) to either make more money or to get their own backsides off the hook. In a way people everywhere look up to models like this but in the end Disneyland just isn't real and that is what is important to learn (and some former CEOs are learning it hard, like Jeffrey Skillings) who is serving 24 years and 4 months in prison.
A Disappointment.......2007-08-14
Could have been a seminal work on some of the most egregious robber-barons of the 1990's, but succumbed to a ridiculous partisanship characterized by heavy-handed Bush-bashing -- how tiresome (this even tho Kenny-Boy was head of Ann Richards's finance committee when Bush challenged her). Meanwhile, one of the documentary's great moralizers was investigations-target Bill Lerach, and one of the chief complainers was the since-recalled Gray Davis, who was so incompetent he couldn't sell beer on a troopship.
Entertaining, not thorough & informative.......2007-07-23
It was too dramatized, I thought. Also I didn't like the stripper scene because it was too long and too much nudity for my taste... gross. You lose concentration from what they're talking about. They could have just narrated the story about the strippers, why show so much nudity in a corporate scandal documentary???
Better off reading the book called "Conspiracy of Fools"... very good reading material and informative, not too dramatic like this "documentary"
Average customer rating:
- A bear s life is for me.
- all time classic
- Jungle Book
- Cute Characters, Great Songs and Sweet Story Make this a Disney Classic
- Still love this movie...
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The Jungle Book (Limited Issue)
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Pinocchio (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
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101 Dalmatians (Limited Issue)
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Peter Pan (2-Disc Platinum Edition)
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Accessories:
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Disney's Jungle Boogie: 14 Favorite Songs From Jungle Book, The Lion King, Jungle Cubs, Timon & Pumbaa (Soundtrack Anthology)
ASIN: B00001QEE8
Release Date: 1999-12-07 |
Amazon.com essential video
Disney's 1967 animated feature seems even more entertaining now than it did upon first release, with a hall-of-fame vocal performance by Phil Harris as Baloo, the genial bear friend of feral child Mowgli. Based on fiction by Rudyard Kipling, the film goes its own way as Disney animation will, but the strong characters and smart casting (George Sanders as the villainous tiger, Shere Khan) make it one of the studio's stronger feature-length cartoons. Songs include "The Bare Necessities" and "Trust in Me." --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews:
A bear s life is for me........2007-07-24
It s the perfect movie to teach kids about jungle animals and have a great time all in one, great songs that just make you dance all around and a lot of comedy which I like. Great message about friendship and the right thing to do.
all time classic.......2007-05-13
The shipping was great and what can you say about the movie other than perfect thank you
Jungle Book.......2007-05-09
A Disney classic on DVD, what more could you want. Beautiful colors, wonderful music and an enchanting tale of boy cub raised in the jungle.
Cute Characters, Great Songs and Sweet Story Make this a Disney Classic .......2007-02-04
Though it diverges wildly from the the original story by Rudyard Kipling Disney's THE JUNGLE BOOK is one of the mouse's best classic animated musical movies. The voice actors are excellent and the songs are clever, memorable and move the story forward. There is enough action and humor for adults to enjoy the movie and though there are villains they are not too scary for the little ones. All ends happily though bittersweetly.
Still love this movie..........2007-01-12
My Daddy took me to see this movie when I was a small child. This movie has been a lasting and happy memory of my childhood, so I was thrilled when my grandson fell in love with it also. I had a VHS version of the movie and when it was destroyed I panicked because Disney had already stopped production of it. After checking EVERYWHERE I finally located the movie with Amazon.com as my middleman. I ordered the CD version, which was not cheap, but I got it at the best price through Amazon.
My grandson is singing with the movie again and happy. This movie is timeless and well worth the price paid.
Amazon.com
An epic in length and breadth, this documentary aims at nothing less than a full-scale portrait of the most dominant institution on the planet Earth in our lifetime--a phenomenon all the more remarkable, if not downright frightening, when you consider that the corporation as we know it has been around for only about 150 years. It used to be that corporations were, by definition, short-lived and finite in agenda. If a town needed a bridge built, a corporation was set up to finance and complete the project; when the bridge was an accomplished fact, the corporation ceased to be. Then came the 19th-century robber barons, and the courts were prevailed upon to define corporations not as get-the-job-done mechanisms but as persons under the 14th Amendment with full civil rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (i.e., power and profit)--ad infinitum.
The Corporation defines this endlessly mutating life-form in exhaustive detail, measuring the many ways it has not only come to dominate but to deform our reality. The movie performs a running psychoanalysis of this entity with the characteristics of a prototypical psychopath: a callous unconcern for the feelings and safety of others, an incapacity to experience guilt, an ingrained habit of lying for profit, etc. We are swept away on a demented odyssey through an altered cosmos, in which artificial chemicals are created for profit and incidentally contribute to a cancer epidemic; in which the folks who brought us Agent Orange devise a milk-increasing drug for a world in which there is already a glut of milk; in which an American computer company leased its systems to the Nazis--and serviced them on a monthly basis--so that the Holocaust could go forward as an orderly process.
The movie goes on too long, circles too many points obsessively and redundantly, and risks preaching-to-the-choir reductiveness by calling on the usual talking-head suspects--Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Michael Moore. And except for an endlessly receding tracking shot in an infinite patents archive, there's scarcely an image worth recalling. Still, it maps the new reality. This is our world--welcome to it. --Richard T. Jameson
Description
In this acclaimed documentary from the co-director of MANUFACTURING CONSENT: Noam Chomksy and the Media, 40 corporate insiders and critics—including Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, NO LOGO author Naomi Klein and Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman—explore the nature and spectacular rise of the most pervasive institution of our time. Combining analysis with footage from advertising, television news and industrial films, THE CORPORATION is an entertaining and provocative look at the inner workings, curious history, controversial impacts and possible futures of the modern global conglomerate. This Two-Disc Special Edition features more than 8 hours of additional material.
Customer Reviews:
Frankenstein, Inc. - "It's the science of exploitation".......2007-09-06
I was once having coffee with an old friend who, before his retirement, had spent his career as a major player in major corporations (principally international banks). Our conversation had turned to business and he said to me, "You know what a corporation is, right, John? It's a being without a soul." The Corporation begins by pointing out that while intended to protect the legal personhood of former black slaves, the Fourteenth Ammendment became the legal basis for granting legal personhood to corporations.
Narrator: "Having acquired the legal rights and protections of a person, the question arises: What kind of person is the corporation? We can analyze [a corporation] like a psychiatrist would a patient. We can even formulate a diagnosis on the basis of typical case histories of harm it has inflicted on others, selected from a universe of corporate activity."
Methodically examining typical case histories of corporate activity, the film presents the following assessment of "what kind of person" a corporation is:
PERSONALITY DIAGNOSTIC CHECKLIST/WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ICD-10/MANUAL OF MENTAL DISORDERS DSM-IV:
* Callous unconcern for the feelings of others
* Incapacity to maintain enduring relationships
* Reckless disregard for the safety of others
* Deceitfulness: Repeated lying and conning others for profit
* Incapacity to experience guilt
* Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors
Subject: The Corporation
Diagnosis of Personality Disorder: PSYCHOPATH
As my friend said, in its creation of the corporation, the West has created the ideal golem.
Robert Monks, Corporate Governance Advisor: "And it was more or less as if we had created a doom machine. In our search for wealth and prosperity we created something that is going to destroy us."
The Corporation is elegant, informative, and filled with fine interviews: Milton Friedman, Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, scientists, psychologists, investigative journalists, former CEOs, et alia. "A winner of 25 international awards, 10 international audience choice awards, and Canada's most popular documentary." Highly recommended.
Very important, needs to be seen.......2007-09-03
We seem to assume these days that development of the corporation is another dimension of "progress," and that it developed naturally, kind of like acne on a teen's complexion. Among the lessons of this film is that no such natural development occured. Rather, the corporation started out as a sort of association dedicated to one project or another. So, history is one development the DVD covers.
The film is divided into sections, and that keeps one able to watch it, and continue to be mesmerized. Beyond history, the issues of corporate power are covered, and especially globalization. Indeed, I was thinking that a more appropriate title to the DVD might be corporate globalization rather than just "The Corporation." Examples of that include the representatives of an organization who scrutinizes sweat shops. He's going over various clothing items, stating what those who make them are paid and what we're paying for them. (In Central America, Korean corporate bureaucrats deny him the right to enter the factory. "This is private property!")
In one particularly heart wrenching segment, that person describes the mud hut of a woman working 120 hour weeks in Bangladesh at somethint like 3 cents an hour, making clothes that we in the West pay a fortune for.
There are many, many dimensions of the corporation covered, and each has a speaker or two with many of whom I'm familiar, e.g., Noam Chomksy and Micheal Moore. Covered also are the health dimensions of corporate products (one in two men and one in three women will get cancer!) and what might be done about it. Kathy Lee Gifford apologized for her products oppressive nature--then the corporation responsible for that oppression continued to do what it had always done...
I wish I could go into more detail, but, rather, you really should see this important documentary.
Oh, and the speakers in the film have sections of their own on the second DVD, and a great means of searching out their statements by subject. But that, believe it or not, leads me to my objection to the film: I've always been a Micheal Moore fan. But he says in this film something with which he entititled one of his books: that the corporations are run by white men, and that's what makes them evil. That's far, far too "post-modernist" for me. Face it, Michael, as far as that goes, race is irrelevant. I speak from the perspective of one the absolute worst manager of whom was a woman, and arguably the second worst was a black woman. The issue is one of hierarchy, of "authority," and that the corporations are run largly by white, male, heterosexuals is of no consequence. Mark my word, if they were run by black, lesbians, they'd be run just as ruthlessly, or worse.
All right, maybe Michael claims that for rhetorical effect, but we need to focus on what the problem is and not shoot ourselves in the foot by creating hostilities where they barely exist, if at all.
Among the bottom lines is that the corporation is completely indifferent to your needs or mine. Their bottom line is--the bottom line--profit. As Chomsky has pointed out for years, their goal is to make us mindless consumers with no connection with each other. They seem to have succeeded!
Aside from that, see this fine DVD, and show it to your classes to get students challenging the things they take for granted, especially consumption.
Happy Birthday..........2007-08-26
Before I say anything, I will begin by saying "Noam Chomsky." That is all. I adore him and have since my first linguistics course in college. He features largely in this documentary, along with some other wonderful beings.
No newsflash that Big Brother is attempting to take over everything. I was grateful for the initial historic introduction to corporations in the US, detailing that they were largely created to give groups of people with a common financial interest coverage by the Bill of Rights. The documentary moved very slowly, which is a death knell for any self-respecting documentary that wants to hold anyone's attention. That said, I had to watch it in two sittings, cos I can only absorb so much at a time. Anyhoo, the things that stood out to me that I did not know were that what also occurred at the same time that the Bill of Rights was jostled to cover corporations, is when it also was written to include supporting the rights of freed slaves. However, in the first year or so (I forget the given timeframe) after this change 200 appeals indicating that one's rights had been violated were filed. Nineteen of them were filed by African Americans, the rest by corporations. I didn't realize it started that long ago, but I'm naive. The other thing I did not know was that AOL/Time Warner owns the copyright to "Happy Birthday" and anytime it is featured in a film or recorded feature AOL/TW is paid a royalty.
Ones I did know: IBM (a US-based branch) created the machines and punch cards that were used in various concentration camps in Nazi Germany, one of which was Dachau. Also, patents on microorganisms have been issued (ie on basic life forms, human genome, etc), including the gene for breast cancer. The company that owns it doesn't allow anyone to test potential drugs to cure it without paying an assload of fees first, which if a drug company can't afford to pay must be astronomical.
I guess the documentary was well-done. It definitely got bogged down in places, but the way it presented the info kept me engaged.
Useless.......2007-08-09
this film is really full of false information which makes it really useless and actually dangerous. The film takes advantage of people who believe what they see in media without questioning or looking at the other side. It's unfortunate that the makers of this film are so dishonest.
fine documentary about the corporation and the monster that it morphed into..........2007-08-01
The Corporation uses historic footage and modern day interviews with famous thinkers like Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore to document first the evolution of the corporation and then how the corporation grew into something the earliest corporation founders never could have envisioned. These days, the corporation is a gigantic, sprawling, powerful, crushing force that creates wants in humans for items they don't need, encourages slave labor in third world countries and successfully obtains patents on life forms.
The movie, as many people have stated, is rather long. However, I personally liked it much more than I thought I would. I learned a lot about corporations and the pace at which it moves along held my attention.
The movie begins by showing us the birth of the corporation. Corporations were initially small entities created by small groups to get one goal accomplished and then disband. Unfortunately, trouble starts about a century ago when the Supreme Court rules that a corporation has the rights of a human being. From there on in things begin to happen that boggle the mind and shock even some of the conservative people in the audience.
We learn about the growth of corporations through the use of advertising to create wants for both children and adults for things they don't truly need; and then make stunning profits off those items. In one very shocking example, we see how one clothing line pays only 74 cents for a ladies' jacket that runs about $170 retail. Ouch! The corporation becomes a bully entering into third world countries to give ridiculously low paying jobs to people too poor and unskilled to do anything except take those jobs.
Other examples of the bullying that corporations do, as we learn, involve patenting life forms; putting dangerous chemicals into cows so that the milk we drink is unhealthy for us; and polluting rivers at a pace that would make even the most evil Spiderman villain blush.
On the bright side, we see people fighting back legally--sometimes winning, sometimes losing--but the message is that corporations aren't quite as powerful as they were about 15 years ago.
DVD extras include deleted scenes and The Majority Report interview with Joel Bakan. There is also a talk with Katherine Dodds on grassroots marketing. Noam Chomsky stars in a short trailer, too. Great!
Many people will tell you that this film is preaching to the choir--and, most unfortunately, they are correct. Most people will read the general synopsis of the film before choosing to buy it and if they are not in agreement with persons like Michael Moore and Noam Chomsky then they'll never see it. At least, however, the movie can try to rally the troops to do something to become more alert to the bigger picture about how corporations bully and pollute our world every day.
Overall, this is a fine documentary and a tool to educate people about corporations--I learned a great deal. People who like sociology and psychology will enjoy this even more; and I highly recommend this film for persons with an active social conscience who want to make this world a better place in which to live.
Average customer rating:
- Good Night, and Good Luck
- A waste of a good subject and great actors in addition to the viewer's time.
- Excellent
- Maybe 4.5 stars...
- Very good
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Good Night, and Good Luck (Widescreen Edition)
Starring:
Robert John Burke ,
Patricia Clarkson ,
George Clooney ,
J.D. Cullum , and
Jeff Daniels
Director:
George Clooney
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Walk the Line (Widescreen Edition)
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Pride & Prejudice
ASIN: B000E1NXJ0
Release Date: 2006-03-14 |
Product Description
"Good Night, And, Good Luck." takes place during the early days of broadcast journalism in 1950's America. It chronicles the real-life conflict between television newsman Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee. With a desire to report the facts and enlighten the public, Murrow, and his dedicated staff - headed by his producer Fred Friendly and Joe Wershba in the CBS newsroom - defy corporate and sponsorship pressures to examine the lies and scaremongering tactics perpetrated by McCarthy during his communist 'witch-hunts'. A very public feud develops when the Senator responds by accusing the anchor of being a communist. In this climate of fear and reprisal, the CBS crew carries on and their tenacity will prove historic and monumental.
Running Time: 93 min.
Format: DVD MOVIE
Amazon.com
Without force-feeding its timely message, Good Night, and Good Luck illuminates history to enlighten our present, when the need for a free and independent press is more important than ever. In 90 breathtaking minutes of efficient and intricate storytelling, writer-director George Clooney and cowriter Grant Heslov pay honorable tribute to the journalistic integrity of legendary CBS newscaster Edward R. Murrow,
Director George Clooney |
who confronted the virulent and overzealous anti-Communist witch-hunting of Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy in 1953-54, and emerged as a triumphant truth-seeker against the abuses of corporate and governmental power.
David Strathairn as Edward R. Murrow |
As played by David Strathairn, Murrow is a dogged realist, keenly aware of the smear tactics that will be employed against him; Clooney provides crucial backup as Murrow's "See It Now" producer and closest confidante Fred Friendly, forming a fierce but not entirely fearless triumvirate of broadcasting bravery with CBS chief William Paley (Frank Langella), who anxiously champions Murrow's cause under constant threat of reprisals. While using crisp black-and-white cinematography (by Robert Elswit) to vividly recreate the electrifying atmosphere of the CBS newsroom and the early years of television, Clooney (son of long-time Cincinnati newsman Nick Clooney) proves his directorial skill by juggling big themes and an esteemed ensemble cast, never stooping to simplification of ethically complex material. Good Night, and Good Luck is an instant classic, destined for all the accolades it so richly deserves. --Jeff Shannon
Learn More About Edward R. Murrow and Broadcast Journalism
George Clooney's Recommended Reading |
George Clooney's Recommended Movies |
The Edward R. Murrow Collection |
Customer Reviews:
Good Night, and Good Luck.......2007-09-06
Good Night, and Good Luck is the story of veteran radio and TV journalist Edward R. Murrow's conflict with U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy over the Senator's anti-Communist actions among other things.
It's a bit politic heavy, but a very insightful, and emotionally charged movie. The movie sports a great cast, a great script, and great directoion. George Clonney, coming off of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind directs this completely different picture. I recommend this to everyone. It's a movie everyone can, and should see.
Highly recommended.
A waste of a good subject and great actors in addition to the viewer's time........2007-08-25
McCarthy was the devil himself quoting the scripture of patriotism, and Murrow went toe-to-toe with him--but you don't get that in the film.
Best Picture nominee? Must have been based on the trailer. This movie was badly done--well acted, but badly directed and badly shot. There was simply nothing to it other than the speech that it opens and closes with, and that was written by Edward R. Murrow. Though I have to say the part of McCarthy was very well played, by McCarthy.
The greatest flaw of this film is that you don't get the feel of the time and place it was set in, and the general feeling of the American public at the time is utterly absent.
There was also a rediculous amount of period footage used--from McCarthy's time on the program to the cigarette commercial. The film would have been far better recreating these scenes rather than jumping repeatedly between drama and documentary.
Shooting in black and white, and having everyone smoking and drinking constantly doesn't set the period. It looked very much like contemporary people smoking and drinking in their offices, and to a comical degree because nothing else placed you there. Even the smoking stopped halfway through the film, so the one prop they had was gone. It's not like people don't dress in suit and tie anymore, though news programs seem to aim for that paragon of insipidness--the Today Show.
OK, so Edward R. Murrow was a real news man, the likes of which we don't see today. We get that in the opening, and here and there when he's meeting with his boss about the bottom line. But that message is lost in the rest of the film--as if Murrow taught us nothing but that the news isn't entirely for entertainment. The film didn't do the man justice, nor the times, nor depict the threat that McCarthyism represented very well at all.
It seemed they didn't study the actual people they were portraying at all, nor the times they lived in.
Terrible.
To enjoy this movie, you have to have a pretty strong memory of the time and people it depicts--because the film generates nothing more than a catalyst for nostagia.
Excellent.......2007-08-22
I have a feeling for most people this is the kind of movie that you've either already seen or aren't interested in. But I'll go ahead and sing its praises anyway.
For fellow history buffs, this is a real treat. It mixes in Hollywood stars with lots of old archival footage to give a film that feels like a gripping drama and a documentary at the same time. Although websites like wikipedia draw attention to some of the accuracy gaps in the film, I still felt like I learend a lot.
And, although I'm far from the first person to mention this, its subject material couldn't have come at a more appropriate time. As you listen to discussions of civil liberties, secret military tribunals, the act of habeas corpus, and the rights of the accused to fair trial, you can't help but compare it to recent events.
If you haven't seen this movie yet, I can't recommend it enough.
Maybe 4.5 stars..........2007-08-11
...but still the *true* winner of "Best Picture" for 2006. I think that GNGL is something of a revelation. It manages to create an inspired iconography without smacking the viewer's head with it. Clooney's direction is absolutely superb. The cinematography on display makes excellent use of B&W, and then almost eavesdropping-like quality of the shots is, for me at least, entertaining as hell. It is a very understated movie, but if you let it reveal itself to you, it is excellent, and in my opinion, one of the best films of the new century.
I noticed that some reviewers feel that the movie lacked some emotion. I can understand this to a certain degree, and I think it might have something to do with the script (which did become perhaps a bit too verbose for characters who probably did not talk like that), but it is certainly not reflective on the actors. Downey Jr., as always, does a fantastic job, and any potential faults of the other performances seem to disappear thanks to Clooney's direction.
As for the DVD, the extras are a bit skimpy. There is a nice commentary by Clooney and co-screenwriter Heslov, as well as a "companion piece" about the making of the film, in context of the guidance of relatives of those involved in the Murrow/McCarthy feud. I think that there could certainly be more stuff to throw out there, from archival footage not used in the film and perhaps the rise of McCarthyism.
Otherwise, this movie is great. Strathairn gives an awesome performance as Murrow, and the movie manages to flesh out the personalities, the triumphs, and the tragedies surrounding this time in US history within 90 minutes.
Very good.......2007-08-06
This film is a salutary lesson in the fact that the USA goes through regular fits of total barminess, such as the one currently being endured under the present theocracy. In the early 1950s, Wisconsin, a state famous for two reasons only, dairy products and the Green Bay Packers, acquired a dubious third, a junior Senator called Joseph McCarthy, who sought to make a name for himself by finding Reds under nearly every bed. It was an era when people could lose jobs because they were risks to national security, based on evidence they weren't allowed to see and when the media were relatively subdued for fear of being labelled as "unpatriotic" or even "treasonous". Sound familiar?
The story is of the confrontation between McCarthy and the distinguished CBS newsman Ed Murrow, famous for his broadcasts from London during the Blitz ("Goodnight, and good luck" was his London sign-off - after all, nobody knew whether there was a Luftwaffe bomb with your name on it - which he kept). On his CBS news show, Murrow calmly and methodically exposed McCarthy for the humbug that he was, and when McCarthy tried to smear him, equally calmly and methodically took him apart. It was the end of the road for McCarthyism (although the whole travesty of un-American activities, blacklisted Hollywood writers, etc., was to continue for some years).
The film is in black and white and features director George Clooney in a secondary role. Murrow is played by David Strathairn, who looks passably like Murrow, and he does a splendid job as the determined journalist. No actor plays McCarthy, he being played by himself, on old TV recordings. Another good role is CBS's long-suffering boss, forever on the verge of becoming a nervous wreck because of the fear of Murrow's crusading scaring away the sponsors. In the end, he tells Murrow that his type of reporting is no longer required and changes the nature of his show.
Which brings us to the beginning and the end of the film. The story is bookended by a speech that Murrow gave to a radio and TV association meeting, which was a litany of complaint of how television, a powerful force for enlightenment, was becoming a trivial medium, lacking serious meaning and squandering its potential. It wasn't popular, but how right it was...
All in all, a short film (less than 1½ hours) effectively executed and well worth seeing. The atmosphere and feel of the time (including endless cigarettes!) are beautifully captured.
Average customer rating:
- Breezy Predictable Fun
- Devil Wears Parda DVD Review
- Opened my eyes...
- To Say It's Cliche' Would Be An Understatement
- A fun, enjoyable movie
|
The Devil Wears Prada (Full Screen Edition)
Starring:
Meryl Streep ,
Anne Hathaway ,
Emily Blunt ,
Stanley Tucci , and
Simon Baker
Director:
David Frankel
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
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![The Departed (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000M5AJQ8.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
The Departed (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD]
ASIN: B000J103OI
Release Date: 2006-12-12 |
Amazon.com
This clever, funny big-screen adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's best-seller takes some of the snarky bite out of the chick lit book, but smoothes out the characters' boxy edges to make a more satisfying movie. There's no doubt The Devil Wears Prada belongs to Meryl Streep, who turns in an Oscar�-worthy (seriously!) strut as the monster editor-in-chief of Runway, an elite fashion magazine full of size-0, impossibly well-dressed plebes. This makes new second-assistant Andrea (Anne Hathaway), who's smart but an unacceptable size 6, stick out like a sore thumb. Streep has a ball sending her new slave on any whimsical errand, whether it's finding the seventh (unpublished) Harry Potter book or knowing what type she means when she wants "skirts." Though Andrea thumbs her nose at the shallow world of fashion (she's only doing the job to open doors to a position at The New Yorker someday), she finds herself dually disgusted yet seduced by the perks of the fast life. The film sends a basic message: Make work your priority, and you'll be rich and powerful... and lonely. Any other actress would have turned Miranda into a scenery-chewing Cruella, but Streep's underplayed, brilliant comic timing make her a fascinating, unapologetic character. Adding frills to the movie's fun are Stanley Tucci as Streep's second-in-command, Emily Blunt (My Summer of Love) as the overworked first assistant, Simon Baker as a sexy writer, and breathtaking couture designs any reader of Vogue would salivate over. -- Ellen A. Kim
Beyond The Devil Wears Prada
The Devil Wears Prada: A Novel |
The Devil Wears Prada Soundtrack |
Prada Handbags |
Stills from The Devil Wears Prada (click for larger image)
Description
Based on the hilarious best-selling novel, this sinfully funny movie starring Academy Award(r) winner Meryl Streep* and Anne Hathaway is "sensationally entertaining in every way" (maxim). As assistant to impossibly demanding New York fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly (Streep), young Andy Sachs (Hathaway) has landed a job that "a million girls would die for." Unfortunately, her heaven-sent appointment as Miranda's personal whipping girl just might be the death of her!
Customer Reviews:
Breezy Predictable Fun.......2007-09-04
Not quite a grown-up's movie (maybe more like 14), it's still a fun way to wile away a couple of hours when you aren't in the mood for thinking. Meryl Streep's role isn't difficult, but she's fun to watch and effective enough to distract you from the well-worn plot. The heroine is more believable as a fashion trollop than a serious journalist. The saucy co-worker is too stereotyped, and a collection of friends only adds filler and backdrop to the story. Even the poor boyfriend only gets one dimension to his character. Did I mention the pat ending? But it has it's moments of charm. Those of us who have worked for a Miranda Priestly can nod along as we laugh.
Devil Wears Parda DVD Review.......2007-09-01
I think my wife has worn out the DVD, she can't stop watching it.The Devil Wears Prada (Widescreen Edition)
Opened my eyes..........2007-08-28
I had bought the DVD and had placed it on a shelf. I decided to watch it and was amazed! Meryl Streep is simply incredible and is bigger than life onscreen! Anne Hathaway is similar to the Ugly Little Duckling... until she finds her inner beauty and it shines to all of us:) The other actors are all believable and we cant help but falling in love with all of them:) The soundtrack is great. This movie opened my eyes. At first you smirk at how much these people take themselves too seriously and how fashion is more important than...oxygen! But then you get into it and I have to admit, now when I dress up, I think about handbags and accessories:) So, if you want a great movie, great actresses and actors, a great plot... look no further!
To Say It's Cliche' Would Be An Understatement.......2007-08-24
Warning: This review contains my own skewed sense of humor full of slang and more.
The story of frumpy, ugly girl from Ohio goes to the big city (aka Manhattan) in search of "the" dream job has been done TOO many times!
And we've seen it all before. Frumpy, ugly girl goes through complete transition and becomes classy, pretty girl after landing the job "a million other girls want."
Of course, frumpy girl has frumpy boyfriend who does not transition with her and, in the end, makes for a strained relationship.
If you've watched just one of these movies, I don't have to tell you the outcome...you know it already.
Frankly, you have your coming of age movies for your teens (and many of their movies are better than this one) and this you have this movie: a single-just-out-of-college movie.
It's been done...and done to death. Come on, try a little originality!
P.S. Am I the only one who thought Meryl Streep looked too much like Cruella from 101 Dalmations? Add a black streak to that gray and there ya have it! :)
A fun, enjoyable movie.......2007-08-23
I have not read the book, but I really liked the movie. It seemed fresh and different. Meryl Streep alone is worth watching, she is so amazing. Yes there are some very unrealistic parts in this (like the Harry Potter scene), but I didnt feel dissuaded from watching it and would recommend it to anyone.
Average customer rating:
- Campy fun
- Great movie
- Geroge of the Jungle
- Quick
- George of the Jungle
|
George of the Jungle
Starring:
Brendan Fraser ,
Leslie Mann ,
Thomas Haden Church ,
John Cleese , and
Richard Roundtree
Director:
Sam Weisman
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
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Tarzan (Special Edition)
ASIN: 6304711867
Release Date: 2000-12-12 |
Amazon.com
Not even the executives at Disney could have predicted the runaway success of this live-action movie inspired by Jay Ward's goofy 1960s cartoon character. Not only did George make a killing at the box office, but Disney's marketing wizards turned it into one of their best-selling videos. It's hard to begrudge the movie's success, even if this is the kind of mindless entertainment that caters to the lowest common denominator. In any case, it's obvious that kids love this movie, in which the idiotic George (Brendan Fraser) repeatedly swings into trees and attracts the attention of a lovely jungle explorer (Leslie Mann) who decides to call off her engagement to a wealthy snob (Thomas Hayden Church) in favor of the vine-swinging hunk with an elephant named Shep (that thinks it's a dog) and an ape named Ape (with a proper Brit voice provided by John Cleese). Filled with slapstick gags and some funny special effects, the movie can be a bit of a trial for adults, but it's a hilarious treat for its intended audience. --Jeff Shannon
Description
Disney presents the smash hit comedy that families and critics everywhere went bananas over! Deep in the heart of the African jungle, a baby named George, the sole survivor of a plane crash, is raised by gorillas. George grows up to be a buff and lovable klutz (ENCINO MAN'S Brendan Fraser) who has a rain forest full of animal friends -- like Tookie, his big-beaked messenger, Ape, a talking gorilla who's smarter than your average rocket scientist, and Shep, a gray-haired peanut-loving pooch of an elephant! When poachers mess with George's pals, the King Of Swing swings into action. But before you can say, "Watch out for that tree," George comes face-to-bark with a few vine-covered obstacles! You'll go wild for this "wonderfully wacky comedy" that People Magazine calls "impossible to resist!"
Customer Reviews:
Campy fun.......2007-05-25
This is one of those movies that doesn't take itself seriously, and can laugh at itself with you. There are a few moments when the fifth wall comes down, as in when the narrator directly interacts with the characters, or the characters address the viewer directly. Lots of slap stick. Good music. And a very buff and handsome Brendan Frasier. As others have noted, there are no extras on the DVD, just the movie. Still, it's a lot of fun to own and pop in the DVD player on those afternoons when you just need some lighthearted laughs and a storybook happy ending.
Great movie.......2007-05-16
Saw this in theatres back in the day, had the VHS so I had to upgrade to DVD
Geroge of the Jungle.......2007-05-09
The recurring theme of the human raised by animals of the jungle. George of the Jungle is a comic striation of that. Funny and enjoyable.
Quick.......2007-01-22
My experience was great, I purchased this DVD on Dec 21 and recieved it Dec 22. Definately recommend!!!!
George of the Jungle.......2007-01-04
My son loves this movie. It took a while to find it, but it was well worth the effort.
Average customer rating:
- Wake Me When It's Over.
- Hollywood hates America
- Don't take this one too seriously
- The Film Makers Forgot Something
- proof of dumbing down of American film audience
|
Syriana (Widescreen Edition)
Starring:
Kayvan Novak ,
George Clooney ,
Amr Waked ,
Christopher Plummer , and
Jeffrey Wright
Director:
Stephen Gaghan
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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Inside Man (Widescreen Edition)
ASIN: B000F7CMRM
Release Date: 2006-06-20 |
Product Description
Big oil means big money. Very big money. And that fact unleashes corruption that stretches from Houston to Washington to the Mideast ? and ensnares industrialists, princes, spies, politicos, oilfield laborers and terrorists in a deadly, deceptive web of move and
countermove. This lightning-paced, whip-smart action thriller grips your mind and nerves with an intensity that doesn't let go for an instant.
Running Time: 128 min.
Format: DVD MOVIE
Amazon.com
Syriana is an oil-based soap opera set against the world of global oil cartels. It is to the oil industry as Traffic was to the drug trade (no surprise, since writer/director Stephen Gaghan wrote the screenplay to Traffic): a sprawling attempt to portray the vast political, business, social, and personal implications of a societal addiction, in this case, oil. A major merger between two of the world's largest oil companies reveals ethical dilemmas for the lawyer charged with making the deal (Jeffrey Wright), and major global implications beyond the obvious; a CIA operative (George Clooney) discovers the truth about his work, and the people he works for; a young oil broker (Matt Damon) encounters personal tragedy, then partners with an idealistic Gulf prince (Alexander Siddig) attempting to build a new economy for his people, only to find he's opposed by powers far beyond his control. Meanwhile, disenfranchised Pakistani youths are lured into terrorism by a radical Islamic cleric. And that's just the start. As in Traffic, in one way or another all of the characters' fates are tied to each other, whether they realize it or not, though the connections are sometimes tenuous. While Syriana is basically a good film with timely resonance, it can't quite seem to measure up to Gaghan's ambitious vision and it very nearly collapses under the weight of its many storylines. Fortunately they are resolved skillfully enough to keep the film from going under in the end. To some viewers, Syriana will seem like an unfocused and over-loaded film that goes, all at once, everywhere and nowhere. Others will find it to be an important work earnestly exploring major issues. In either case, it's a film that deserves to be taken seriously, and it's likely to be one that will be talked about for a long time to come. --Dan Vancini
Beyond Syriana
The soundtrack |
More from Participant Productions |
Why We Love Jeffrey Wright |
Starring George Clooney |
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