High School Musical (Encore Edition)

Amazon.com

The Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical is a combination of backstage action and Grease without the unwholesome habits. Scoring record ratings at the time of its January 2006 broadcast, it's a smash hit with tween audiences (ages 6 to 10), but appealing for all ages. At a New Year's Eve party, Troy (Zac Efron of the WB's Summerland) has a chance meeting with Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) when they share a karaoke song. Lo and behold, when school resumes, they discover that Gabriella has just transferred to Troy's East High School, a campus divided into tight cliques of jocks, cheerleaders, brainiacs, and skater dudes. Eager to recapture the magic they'd discovered during karaoke, Troy and Gabriella consider auditioning for the school's upcoming musical, much to the dismay of the school's frost queen/theater goddess, Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody). Problem is, Troy is also the star of the basketball team and Gabrielle is being recruited to compete in the Scholastic Decathlon. Will they give up their cliques to start something new, or will they do as the show's first big anthem urges and "Stick to the Status Quo"? Well, this is a Disney movie, so maybe the sacrifices won't be that hard, and even the hints of romance are mild.

The bestselling soundtrack is catchy in that Disney-pop kind of way, mixing in a dash of hip-hop ("Getcha Head in the Game," punctuated by squeaky basketball shoes and other sound effects), salsa ("Bop to the Top"), and the endearingly hammy ("What I've Been Looking For" performed by Sharpay and her brother, Ryan, played by Lucas Gabreel). It's not hard to imagine High School Musical becoming a semi-staple for high school groups to perform themselves. DVD bonus features include sing-along subtitles; a 9-minute featurette discussing casting, recording sessions, and rehearsals; a multi-angle look at a rehearsal of "Bop to the Top"; and music videos for "We're All in This Together" and a song that didn't make it into the final film, "I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," performed by Efron, Hudgens, Tisdale, and Gabreel. --David Horiuchi

Description

The all-new, smash hit Disney Channel Original Movie everyone is talking about is now available for the first time ever on DVD -- with never-before-seen bonus features that will rock your house! Troy (Zac Efron), the popular captain of the basketball team, and Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgens), the brainy and beautiful member of the academic club, break all the rules of East High society when they secretly audition for the leads in the school's musical. As they reach for the stars and follow their dreams, everyone learns about acceptance, teamwork, and being yourself. And it's all set to fun tunes and very cool dance moves! Featuring the hottest talent, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL celebrates the power of music in this hip, entertaining, gotta-get-up-and-dance movie. Own all the excitement and the exclusive extras available only on this Encore Edition DVD.

Customer Reviews:

A Must Have.......2007-09-08

All in All the very best musical Ever!Im 48 and think these Actors/Singers Out did Grease 110 percent!My fav being Vanessa Anne Hudgens,Ashley Tisdale and the Talented Lucas Grabeel who plays Ryan.For you Grease Fans you should update your musical because this is a must have and really trully better.

A Whiff of Fascism.......2007-09-06

I know, this is a very popular movie and the music is OK. But the story is stridently insipid: winners win because that's what winners do, and losers lose because there's something wrong with anyone who's not a winner...and don't talk to me about underdogs. Despite the best efforts of its heroically perky cast, the film is nearly humorless. It was suggested that we stage this at our high school, but I've black-balled it.

Bring Back Grease!.......2007-09-01

I finally saw this movie after months of hearing about how unexpectedly brilliant it was, and I have to say I disagree completely. Nothing about this movie was unexpected; everything from the cheesy dialogue to the cliched plot to the corny songs to the caricatures, I mean characters, were predictable to the point of being campy and over-the-top. And not in a good way. Why exactly is a scrawny, short kid the star of the basketball team? What reasonable people are that frenetically obsessed with maintaining the status quo? And what's up with Sharpay and her brother starring in every school show *together*? Incest, that's a new one for Disney. I'd also like to point out that no one would name their two children "Ryan" and "Sharpay." As a disclaimer, I do love bad karaoke, Disney Channel Original Movies, Grease, but I can't see what the fuss is all about with this one. This movie's only redeeming qualities were Gabriella, Kelsi, and that kid who bakes stuff, all of whom I thought were adorable. The only reason this is even getting 2 stars is because for whatever reason, I set my TiVo to record the second one.

Well, the story line was good..........2007-09-01

alright I know this is going to effect my reviewer rank but i can't leave this unsaid, I CAN'T STAND DISNEY ANYMORE!!!! I used to love disney before they got all the teenager relationships!!! It did have a good story line so I'll give some credit to disney for that. if you like teenager sappy romance I guess you"ll love this. I mean no offence to anyone who likes this movie so please don't say this was an unhelpful review. I am just saying what I think.

A Great Movie Okay Songs Bad Basketball.......2007-08-27

My class did one of the songs from this movie for an "end of school" concert. We did We're All In This Together. I thought most of these songs were pretty corny apart from WAITT and Breakin' Free. I didn't like that you had to wait until the end of the movie to get two great songs. I was embarrassed as a basketball player when I saw "Getcha' Head In The Game" Zac Efron looks nothing like a basketball player. I thought this had some VERY corny songs, but had a couple jewels at the end to make you want to come back and see it again. I thought Vanessa Anne Hudgens and Lucas Graabel acted very well. Zac was so so. He could've done better. I have seen the second HSM, and liked the singing a lot better. I liked the plot too. I would CAUTION ANYONE THINKING ABOUT BUYING IT: RENT IT FIRST BEFORE BUYING IT. Watch HSM 2 as well. Overall: 2 was better, but for 13 bucks, buy it.

Average customer rating:

So Good I Saw It Twice in One Week
Amazing film experience!
The return of Paul Verhoven! Black Book is artsy and trashy at the same time. Entertaining all the way!
Just beautiful movie
BLACK BOOK

Black Book
Starring: Carice van Houten , Sebastian Koch , Thom Hoffman , Halina Reijn , and Waldemar Kobus
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000TGCR38
Release Date: 2007-09-25

Amazon.com

As in Basic Instinct, a lovely lady takes the lead in Black Book, but this time Paul Verhoeven has more than cheap thrills in mind. Towards the end of WWII, Rachel Stein (the vibrant Carice von Houten), a Jewish singer, is living with a gentile family in the countryside. When Allied forces bomb the area, she's forced to flee. On her perilous journey to The Hague (Verhoeven's hometown), brunette Rachel joins the Resistance and changes her identity to blonde Ellis de Vries. Her next order of business: infiltrate Gestapo headquarters. Like many Verhoeven heroines, Rachel aces her assignment--and then some. First, she seduces the handsome Captain Müntze (Sebastian Hoch, The Lives of Others), then she falls in love with him. Müntze, who returns her affection, isn't what he appears to be, but their relationship puts both at great risk. At this point, the filmmaker expertly kicks the proceedings into high gear, before concluding on a bittersweet note. Naturally, since this is a Verhoeven picture, there's plenty of wry humor and uninhibited sexuality along the way. Starting with 1985's Flesh + Blood, the Dutch director released an American movie every two to three years. After the poorly received Hollow Man, however, Verhoeven took a six-year break. Black Book, a return to his native Holland, was worth the wait. (He began work on the screenplay in the 1980s.) It works triple-time as a thriller, a tribute to Holland's Jewish population, and a poison pen letter to the Dutch opportunists who would attempt to sell them out. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Amazon.com

In the darkest days of World War II, Jewish fugitives attempt to escape occupied Holland - only to face a Nazi ambush. Rachel Stein (Carice van Houten) alone survives the attack and joins the Dutch Resistance to avenge her family. She soon confronts the ultimate test: she must infiltrate German headquarters by tempting Captain Ludwig Mÿntze (Sebastian Hoch). In the heat of passion, he uncovers her duplicity...but keeps her secret. Then Rachel's espionage reveals that a murderous traitor lurks within Resistance ranks. Unable to fully trust anyone, Rachel navigates a minefield of deception and becomes an enemy to both sides. Epic, passionate, breathtaking, Black Book relates an untold story of World War II where the distinctions between good and evil become blurred by the complexities of human nature.

Customer Reviews:

So Good I Saw It Twice in One Week.......2007-09-05

Sauntering over to the Music Box in Chicago to see a Robert Altman film one Saturday morning, traffic delayed me so much that I got there well into the Altman film, but in time to see "Black Book" which I really hadn't planned to see having been burned out on Holocaust films. But am I glad I did see it. It is unlike any Holocaust film I'd ever seen before. I loved it so much that I dragged my wife to see it the next Friday night -- and she loved it too!

I hadn't planned on ever seeing this amazing film, but it blew me away. I am going to try very hard to avoid revealing any spoilers because one of the great things about this adventurous, fast-moving tale of survival is all the twists and turns it takes. Our heroine can never really be sure who is one which side. Some good guys turn out to be bad guys; some bad guys turn out to be good guys; and some just stay the same. This is the sort of film that doesn't waste a scene. Pay attention ... because things that are said early on may come back later in the film.

Beyond that, I don't want to reveal anything else. While I still think this is the best film I've seen all year (it's now early Sept 2007), I realize it may not be everybody's cup of tea. But if you like a film that totally engages you, goes places you don't expect it to go, never has a dull moment, is incredibly well-acted especially by Carice van Houten, very well directed, and offers great inspiration and insight into the lengths ordinary people will go to survive against all odds (that's not a spoiler because not everybody survives against all odds in this film), then "Black Book" is for you.

Amazing film experience!.......2007-09-03

This is an amazing WWII movie! A Jewish woman joins the Dutch resistance, and the combination of action/thriller with the human drama of complex characters in this war-time situation is, in my opinion, mind-blowing. This is not to be missed!

The return of Paul Verhoven! Black Book is artsy and trashy at the same time. Entertaining all the way!.......2007-09-02

Finally taking on World War II and it's effects on the nation of Holland, Paul Verhoeven is back. He hasn't really dealt with this type of material since "Soldier of Orange" decades ago. His last film was the abysmal Hollywood sci-fi movie "Hollow Man". So now Verhoeven returns to the arthouse cinema, first time in many years. His ballsy style is in full evidence once again, filled with action, violence and sex but not gratuitously used like he sometimes does. The story is filled with twists, turns and many surprises, never disappointing in the area of entertainment. Some may claim that this is a Hollywood film masquerading as an arthouse flick but don't be so quick to judge. Hollywood would quickly sanitize an audacious film like this if they had a chance to produce it, that's why Verhoeven went back to Europe to make this film.

As most reviewers have already summarized the necessary plot points, I won't dwell on them. Just wanted to write this review and say that Verhoeven is back as a director to watch! Hopefully his next film will be more ambitious and contain the same type of great storytelling but brought to different subject matter. So, go out and rent or buy Black Book if you care about this filmmaker or if you just like World War II movies in general. Although this film contains it's many cliches, at least it shows that not all Germans were evil. Sebastian Koch is the male lead alongside the lead character played by Carice van Houten.

The title of this film is a bit random as this so called Black Book has little to do with most of the movie and acts as a sort of problem solving plot point near the end. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a deus ex machina. In conclusion, a very entertaining film indeed and a return to form for this director. For the record, my favorite Paul Verhoeven film is and probably always will be... ROBOCOP.

Just beautiful movie.......2007-08-21

It's a relief to see such well-made movies and such great performances without the stereotype American approach. I was absorbed into the movie from start to finish.

BLACK BOOK .......2007-08-15

IF YOU LIKED "THE LIVES OF OTHERS" THEN YOU WILL "LOVE" THIS FILM. IT MAY NOT RANK AS HIGH AS SCHINDLER'S LIST,BUT IT IS A FILM NOT TO BE MISSED. THE YOUNG WOMAN PLAYING THE LEAD, CARICE VAN HOUTEN, IS A DUTCH VERSION OF KATE BLANCHETTE. THEY ARE BOTH BRILLIANT ACTORS. THE STORY OF HER SURVIVAL IS A STRONG ONE, AND THE PERFORMANCES OF ALL THE ACTORS WERE INCREDIBLY WELL CRAFTED. AN EXCELLENT SCRIPT, AN EXCELLENT CAST AND WITH PAUL VERHOVEN AS THE DIRECTOR THIS FILM IS A MUST SEE. IT IS NOW THE MIDDLE OF AUGUST AND I BELIEVE BLACK BOOK TO BE THE BEST FILM I HAVE SEEN SO FAR THIS YEAR(2007). I WOULD NOMINATE THIS FILM FOR ONE OF THE BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE PICTURES OF THE YEAR, IN FACT, THE BEST!

High School Musical (Two-Disc Remix Edition)

Average customer rating:

A Must Have
A Whiff of Fascism
Bring Back Grease!
Well, the story line was good...
A Great Movie Okay Songs Bad Basketball

High School Musical (Two-Disc Remix Edition)
Starring: Zac Efron , Vanessa Anne Hudgens , Ashley Tisdale , Lucas Grabeel , and Monique Coleman
Director: Kenny Ortega
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Accessories:

Disney Channel's High School Musical DVD Board Game

ASIN: B000I2J6SM
Release Date: 2006-12-05

Amazon.com

On the DVD
The two-disc Remix Edition of High School Musical retains all the bonus features of the original DVD and adds a Spanish audio track and 34 minutes of new features. Following a couple minutes of red-carpet interviews from the DVD release party, "High School Reunion" (6 min.) gathers the cast for some more interviews, glimpses of their other Disney Channel credits, and appearances on the Teen Choice Awards and in London and Sydney. The longest feature is the dance-along, in which the cast teaches the choreography for "Get'cha Head in the Game" and "We're All in This Together." At 16 minutes, it allows for move-by-move instruction followed by half- and full-speed runthroughs, though they're facing the camera, so home participants will have to figure out the mirror image or simply ignore the left-right directions and do it backward. And because this is the Remix Edition, there are videos of the remixed versions of "Breaking Free" and "We're All in This Together" as well as a video of "Eres Tu," a Spanish version of "What I've Been Looking For" (the Ryan and Sharpay version) by Mexican band Belanova. Retained from the original DVD are the sing-along subtitles, the making-of featurette, the "Bop to the Top" rehearsal, and the music videos for "We're All in This Together" and "I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You." Not included in this version: the trivia-packed "pop-up edition" that debuted on the Disney Channel on Thanksgiving weekend 2006. So even if the Remix Edition is a little thin for two discs, fans will enjoy the new stuff while they wait for High School Musical 2. --David Horiuchi

Description

The power of music explodes in this spectacular, show-stopping, two-disc REMIX EDITION of the Emmy(R) Award-winning HIGH SCHOOL MUSCIAL! The smash-hit Disney Channel Original Movie everyone is talking about now features hours of awesome new bonus features that will rock your world. Take a front-row seat on the red carpet for the star-studded Hollywood premiere, and join the High School Reunion, where the cast reunites in an exclusive interview where they talk about how their lives have changed dramatically since being a part of this movie phenomenon. Plus, stand up and experience the Dance Along (as seen on Disney Channel), where Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, and Ryan give step-by-step instructions to popular dance sequences "Get'cha Head In The Game" and "We're All In This Together." Hear two exclusive remix versions of your favorite songs and watch three new music videos. HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL REMIX EDITION is everything you've been looking for -- and more!

Customer Reviews:

A Must Have.......2007-09-08

A Whiff of Fascism.......2007-09-06

Bring Back Grease!.......2007-09-01

Well, the story line was good..........2007-09-01

A Great Movie Okay Songs Bad Basketball.......2007-08-27

Once Upon a Time in America (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

Make Some Time
a classic
Has there ever been a longer movie?
Haunting and Brilliant.
LONG AND DRAWN OUT

Once Upon a Time in America (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Robert De Niro , James Woods , Elizabeth McGovern , Treat Williams , and Tuesday Weld
Director: Sergio Leone
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000DI87S
Release Date: 2003-06-10

Amazon.com essential video

This movie has a checkered history, having been chopped from its original 227-minute director's cut to 139 minutes for its U.S. release. This longer edition benefits from having the complete story (the short version has huge gaps) about turn-of-the-century Jewish immigrants in America finding their way into lives of crime, as told in flashback by an aging Jewish gangster named Noodles (Robert De Niro). On the other hand, it's almost four hours long, and this sometimes-indulgent Sergio Leone film is no Godfather. Still, it is notable for the contrast between Leone's elegiac take on the gangster film and his occasional explosive action, as well as for the mix of the stoic, inexpressive De Niro and the hyperactive James Woods as his lifelong friend and rival. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews:

Make Some Time.......2007-09-03

Once you start watching this movie you can't stop. DeNiro and James Woods are gangsters growing up in New York. One of the best movies I have scene which marks the passage of time.

Corey Cotta, Author of All of Yesterdays Tomorrows

a classic.......2007-08-05

his is an epic, episodic tale of the lives of a small group of New York City Jewish gangsters spanning over 40 years. The movie centers on David 'Noodles' Aaronson (Robert De Niro) and his lifelong partners in crime, Max (James Woods), Cockeye (William Forsythe) and Patsy (James Hayden) and their friends, who all grew up in New York's Lower East Side in the 1920s-1930s. In the late 1960s, an elderly Noodles returns to New York after many years in hiding to look into the past.

Told mostly in flashbacks and flash-forwards, this film is a classic that has us discover great actors, including Jennifer Connelly and Brian Bloom. It features a great cast, like Danny Aiello and Joe Pesci.

One of the masterpieces in film history worth watching.
If you have 4 hours to spare, take your time to watch it. It's worth it - at least once in your lifetime - for the cinematography, the acting, the music, and the directing.

Has there ever been a longer movie?.......2007-07-15

Well, sure. Several.

This movie is looong, and while it deserves to be seen in one sitting, that's not likely.

It's the standard rise-of-a-mob story, enhanced and improved, and even elevated, by the performances of De Niro, Pesci, Woods, and a cast of hundreds.

I admire this film way more than I actually like it. I'm not sure it needs to be owned; rented, perhaps.

Still, it needs to be viewed at least once by anyone who actually loves movies.

Haunting and Brilliant. .......2007-06-19

This is an unbelievably beautiful story which is multi-layered and textured to a great extent. Yes, it certainly is a gangster movie and it also is a love story; although, one about as politically incorrect as they come. Both aspects of the film are conceptually executed well. I can't say the same thing about many of its technical aspects, however. At 3:45, this movie is far too long and moves too slow. It could easily have been just as good if an hour had been cut out of it. Furthermore, Sergio Leone is no Martin Scorsese. There's an element of amateurism inherent to the production as the reunion of Elizabeth McGovern and DeNiro is rendered ridiculous as he was an old man despite her not aging a day after 35 years.

Once Upon a Time in America is a very unique film as unlike a Goodfellas or Casino it is rich in sentimentality and the effect is mesmerizing but also very depressing. Ennio Morricone's musical score adds to the film's melancholic feel. It's not the type of thing you can see more than a couple of times but there's no denying that it's excellent.

LONG AND DRAWN OUT.......2007-06-13

WITH AN ALLSTAR CAST YOU WOULD THINK IT WOULD BE SUPER. BUT IT'S NOTHING MORE THAN A SLEEPER. THIS MOVIE WAS TERRIBLE! I FELT TORTURED SITTING THROUGH THIS BOMB! DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THIS ONE.

L'Auberge Espagnole (The Spanish Apartment)

Average customer rating:

Great Movie in four languages
Love the film
The Spanish Apartment
Just OK
I love this movie.

L'Auberge Espagnole (The Spanish Apartment)
Starring: Kevin Bishop , Cristina Brondo , Javier Coromina , Federico D'Anna , and Cécile De France
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000C9JFO
Release Date: 2003-12-23

Amazon.com

An absolute delight, L'Auberge Espagnole captures a moment in a life, seemingly about nothing and everything all at once. Xavier (Romain Duris), a young Parisian not sure what his life is about, decides to spend a year in Barcelona studying economics--leaving behind his unhappy girlfriend (Audrey Tautou, Amélie) but joining an international mix of students in a hectic, crowded apartment. Arguing and partying with his British, German, Danish, and Italian roommates--not to mention getting lessons in love from a Belgian lesbian (Cecile De France) so that he can seduce a friend's wife (Judith Godreche, Ridicule)--Xavier learns more about life than economics. The movie, beautifully shot on digital video, has a freshness and spontaneity that make its simple events--a series of arguments and flirtations--feel like a miniature portrait of the European Union as it comes into focus (the title can be translated as "Euro pudding"). Vibrant, charming, and all-around entertaining. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Seven sexy co-eds. One Spanish apartment. No rules. A single year of learning turns into an outrageous adventure of a lifetime in this "fresh, captivating comedy" (Newsday) that has audiences and critics cheering around the world! Xavier (Romain Duris) is a straight-laced French college senior who moves to Barcelona as part of a exchange program, much to the dismay of his beautiful Martine (Audrey Tautou). But sharing cramped quarters with students from all over Europe quickly leads to multi-cultural chaos as Xavier gets a hilarious, eye-opening lesson on how to live, love, laugh?and party!

Customer Reviews:

Great Movie in four languages.......2007-08-13

No really, in the course of the movie, I counted four. It is a great movie. Oh, and unlike the cover of the DVD would lead you to believe, Audrey Tatou plays a mostly minor role in this film.

Love the film.......2007-08-02

This is a great film. It takes me back to my time abroad in Spain. I have watched it half a dozen times and purchased for friends where were abroad there. Captures the escence of many of my experiences.

The Spanish Apartment.......2007-07-20

This fizzy romantic adventure combines screwball laughs with eye-opening student-travel mishaps among the youthful, sexually vibrant cast of characters, who hail from all over Europe. Klapisch handles the madness with delightful cheek, even deploying split screens and other visual devices to heighten the comic tensions. Duris is a winner as our first-person narrator and angst-filled protagonist, credibly parsing the benefits and drawbacks of a future in French bureaucracy. "Amelie" star Tautou and Godresch provide strong support as the women he must choose between. For a spicy trip to festive Spain, book a room at "L'Auberge Espagnole."

Just OK.......2007-06-17

"The Spanish Apartment" follows Xavier, a French student who decides to improve his chance of getting a job in finance by studying a year in Spain. He leaves behind his girlfriend, but soon finds consolation in his fun roommates and somewhere else (I don't want to give too much away). The characters feel real, and that is one of the merits of the movie. The actors are also quite good. But the screenplay is never engaging enough to make us care much about Xavier.

I love this movie........2007-06-08

What to know why Europeans are, by and large, a happy and contented people?

Watch this and find out.

Funny, poignant, sensitive, and interesting. You want to be one of these people before the film is half-way through. Each character is very different and they all (eight of them) are jammed together into one apartment in Barcelona. Yet, somehow, they collectively play to each other's strengths and become life-long friends in the process.

Average customer rating:

Tragically Recaptures Ill Fated Occupants of The Annex
The Diary of Anne Frank
The Diary of Anne Frank
The Diary of Anne Frank
Good for Home, less good for school

The Diary of Anne Frank
Starring: Millie Perkins , Joseph Schildkraut , Shelley Winters , Richard Beymer , and Gusti Huber
Director: George Stevens , and Frankie Glass
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0000DJZ8P
Release Date: 2004-02-03

Amazon.com essential video

George Stevens (Giant) directed this 1959 film adaptation of the hit play based on the writings of Anne Frank, the Jewish girl from Amsterdam who hid in an attic with her family and others during the Nazi occupation. As Anne, Millie Perkins is something of a milky eyed enigma and--in retrospect--too old for the part; but she is surrounded by an outstanding cast, including Joseph Schildkraut as Anne's patient father, Ed Wynn as a cranky dentist who moves into Anne's "room," and Shelley Winters as the loud Mrs. Van Daan. Stevens turns the many overlapping dramas of the caged characters into the foundation of Anne's growth as a young woman, ready for life and love just at the moment the dream comes to an end. Beautifully shot by cinematographer William C. Mellor, and written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett from their stage production. --Tom Keogh

Description

A diary discovered in the attic of an Amsterdam factory reveals the plight of a jewish refugee family that lived there in hiding for two years during the Nazi occupation.

Customer Reviews:

Tragically Recaptures Ill Fated Occupants of The Annex.......2007-08-11

Begins with Otto Frank's 1945 return to The Annex, informed that he is the only surviver of the eight inhabitants, gone are his wife and daughters.

He recognizes a scarf knitted by Anne, picks it up and cried deeply upon it.the scarf seems to represent all that is now lost.

Millicent Perkins ***** is enchanting in the role of Anne Frank, her glossy eyes and energetic playfulness which keeps her deluded from the tragic fate of the eight. She's full of soul and depth.

Shildkraut is also realistic in his portrayal of a very compassionate father trying to keep the children's spirits up and insuring that the children continue with their studies,providing them with as normal a life as possible under the very oppressed ,disturbing circumstances.

Shelly Winters,well she was well awarded for her convincing role.

All in all it is a very great, though extremely disturbing and saddening film.

Watching this touching movie spreads into your heart, and makes the eyes flood up with pity and sorrow.

This movie Should be seen At Least Once. It is easy to forget that we should count our blessings and be reminded of human torture the Holocaust brought. This film has a humbling effect.

The ending can easily move one to be more appreciative of his family and how little time we have on earth to love. As they stand , the eight of them terrorized, and yet somehow seem accepting and still hold dignity despite the doom they face.

One Last Look at Each Other and the movie closes.

ly recommended, especially for anyone who tends to pity themself too much.

The Diary of Anne Frank.......2007-08-01

It was great the way this movie came quickly. I am always pleased with my purchases from Amazon.

The Diary of Anne Frank.......2007-06-26

One of the finest postwar films to deal with the human drama of the Holocaust, Stevens's tense, heartfelt adaptation of the popular stage play was based on the real-life Frank's own diaries. Schildkraut is tailor-made for the role of the ever-patient Mr. Frank, and Perkins is movingly adept at capturing Anne's adolescent turmoil in the face of impending horror. Shelley Winters's anxious, high-strung turn as Mrs. Van Dean won her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Gorgeously shot in CinemaScope by Oscar winner William Mellor, "Diary" is a poignant and ultimately tragic coming-of-age tale about a kind of imprisonment from which there is no escape.

The Diary of Anne Frank.......2007-06-09

Excellent portrail of what went on during the holocaust, when in hiding.

Good for Home, less good for school.......2007-06-08

really an excellent movie--I can see why it won an Academy Award

However, I used it in my eighth grade English class and students were a little bored; several of them voiced a wish that it was in color.

Average customer rating:

So Good I Saw It Twice in One Week
Amazing film experience!
The return of Paul Verhoven! Black Book is artsy and trashy at the same time. Entertaining all the way!
Just beautiful movie
BLACK BOOK

Black Book [Blu-ray]
Starring: Derek de Lint , Dolf de Vries , Thom Hoffman , Peter Blok , and Christian Berkel
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: Blu-ray

General | Blu-ray | Formats | DVD | Video

Mystery & Suspense | Blu-ray | Formats | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B000TGCR4C
Release Date: 2007-09-25

Amazon.com

Product Description

Customer Reviews:

So Good I Saw It Twice in One Week.......2007-09-05

Amazing film experience!.......2007-09-03

The return of Paul Verhoven! Black Book is artsy and trashy at the same time. Entertaining all the way!.......2007-09-02

Just beautiful movie.......2007-08-21

It's a relief to see such well-made movies and such great performances without the stereotype American approach. I was absorbed into the movie from start to finish.

BLACK BOOK .......2007-08-15

Average customer rating:

Be patient!
A Tasty Little Surprise
Great Movie!
A Great Comedy
A classic John Hughes holiday gem that should have gotten the recognition it deserved

Dutch
Starring: Ed O'Neill , Ethan Embry , JoBeth Williams , Christopher McDonald , and Ari Meyers
Director: Peter Faiman
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B00076ONUK
Release Date: 2005-03-22

Description

Ed O'Neill of MARRIED WITH CHILDREN stars as Dutch Dooley, a working-class good guy who's the new boyfriend of a wealthy big shot's ex-wife. But when the woman's spoiled son (Ethan Randall of CAN'T HARDLY WAIT and SWEET HOME ALABAMA in one of his first film roles) refuses to come home from his Southern prep school for Thanksgiving, Dutch volunteers to pick the bratty boy up for a road trip back to Chicago that quickly goes hilariously wrong. From fireworks fiascos to hitchhiking with hookers, can a man who's really just a grown-up kid find a way to bring out the child in a little jerk? Christopher McDonald (HAPPY GILMORE), E.G. Daily (VALLEY GIRL) and JoBeth Williams (THE BIG CHILL) co-star in this comedy hit written and produced by John Hughes (HOME ALONE, NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION) and directed by Peter Faiman (CROCODILE DUNDEE) about two strangers about to become best friends…with the scars to prove it!

Customer Reviews:

Be patient!.......2007-05-02

This is a good movie that takes awhile to develop. If you don't sit through the obnoxious son showing how bad he is, then you will miss his transition to a pretty good kid. Dutch is what he is a blue collar guy that although hard nosed, has a heart of gold. This is one of those roadtrips that shows the seemy side of life and the school of hard knocks. Good family entertainment. I recommend for rental first. It may not suit all tastes.

A Tasty Little Surprise.......2007-03-23

A friend of mine loaned me his VHS copy of this movie a couple years ago and I'd never even heard of it. I was a little skeptical at first, but I trusted his judgment based on previous referrals and so I watched it.

It's pretty excellent across the board. It's the best work I've ever seen Ed O'Neill do and that's for sure. He just shines in his role here. The movie is full of surprises so I'll not say anymore about the details, but the writing, acting and directing here are top notch as far as humor goes. There are several lines of dialogue that you will make part of your permanent vocabulary after watching this film similar to the way you adopted lines out of Caddyshack into your everyday world.

To give you just a tiny taste of what's waiting for you, Ed's character steps out of a truck stop restaurant and belches rather loudly prompting the line, "Ahhhhh... nothing burps like bacon!"

You've been warned.

Great Movie!.......2007-02-11

Love wins in the end! Great movie - One of my all time favorites. Ed O'neill is outstanding as the boyfriend. The movie carries a good story and message.

A Great Comedy.......2007-01-07

Very funny. Its like having Al Bundy, but with a little more aggressiveness. A fun time, and reminds you what is important.

A classic John Hughes holiday gem that should have gotten the recognition it deserved.......2007-01-06

I was finally introduced to this film through a friend. I have seen the majority of all the popular John Hughes productions but this one. This film came out around the same time that Home Alone did but as it has been seen Dutch was overshadowed. Dutch has a great cast. Both Ed O'Neil and Ethan (Randall) Embry carry the movie very well. This movie is great as both an everyday John Hughes film but at the same time is great to watch during the holidays. Get this movie now!

Average customer rating:

A winner is on the herison
Awesome Family movie
Iron Will
IRON WILL
Iron Will

Iron Will
Starring: Mackenzie Astin , Kevin Spacey , David Ogden Stiers , August Schellenberg , and Brian Cox
Director: Charles Haid
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Animal Action | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B0000633U4
Release Date: 2002-04-23

Amazon.com

A complete lack of imagination is what qualifies this as a B movie. Thankfully, this snowy adventure about a boy and his dogs is charming enough to entice the kiddies. Charismatic MacKenzie Astin plays a teenager trying to save the family farm by entering a 522-mile sled-dog marathon. Except for Astin, the lusciously scenic background has more depth than most of the characters. This is so predictable you could take a nap and miss nothing except a few rousing scenes in the 1917 Winnipeg-to-St.-Paul sled race. Although this is visually more appealing than most family fare, one wishes more attention had been paid to the script. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Description

Hang on for the ride of your life as Walt Disney Pictures presents the action-packed adventure that delivers thrilling heroics and rugged scenery! Based on an incredible true-life story, a brave young man is thrust into adulthood as he and his courageous team of sled dogs embark on a grueling and treacherous cross-country marathon. Together they race through the frozen wilderness, carrying hopes of capturing the $10,000 grand prize that will save his family from financial ruin. With dogged determination and sheer iron will, they face impossible odds and hardships along the dangerous trail to his dreams. IRON WILL is high adventure that will thrill and uplift everyone!

Customer Reviews:

A winner is on the herison.......2007-08-13

I cant tell you how well this movie was made.
Its about a young man willing to do anything for his family and his worst fear the white huskie.
Watch this adventure of a liftime turn to LIFE OR DEATH in hours.
Absolutly an amazing achivment for this true story.

Awesome Family movie.......2007-06-25

We love this movie. My 4 year old especially loves this movie. We watched it over and over again, and I never get tired of seeing it. My son loves this movie so much that he is "Iron Will" He acts out the entire movie. He uses his wagon as the sled, puts his snow pants and boots on, has a bag he packs for his trip across Canada and US. He has even changed our dogs name to Gus (the lead dog in the movie) and tried to hook her up to his wagon to pull his sled, but no go!

It is a great "feel good" movie. It is about the courage and determination a 17 year old faces running a 500 mile dog sled race alone, before televsions and high-tech equipment - just shear will! It truly is an amazing movie.

There are a few scenes involving death and dying that I thought my 2 and 4 years old would have a problem with, but it didn't seem to bother either of them. I highly recommend this movie.

Iron Will.......2007-05-20

Iron Will This by far..is a Great rugged outdoor type film!! lots of snow Scenes heart pounding action all the ..way!
I personally loved this ..Movie Dog sledding at its ..Best.....

IRON WILL.......2007-05-12

It is very refreshing to watch a movie that is both entertaining and heart tugging. I love animals or movies that show interaction between animals and humans with a personal relationship. This movie did a wonderful job that showed there is communication between the two. There is no such thing that animals are dumb or do not have sense of reasoning or acting or reacting. This is a classic example of just this. Thank you.

Iron Will.......2007-04-11

Great movie.....We watch it again every year or so and always enjoy it. Excellent family entertainment.

Average customer rating:

Where is the love in this global world?
The subtitles sucked
Russian Dolls great
Better even then the first, though not a straightforward sequel
Very good sequel...

Russian Dolls
Starring: Gary Love , Olivier Saladin , Romain Duris , Aïssa Maïga , and Zinedine Soualem
Manufacturer: Ifc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B000GBEWP2
Release Date: 2006-09-26

Description

Xavier is back! We find him 5 years after L'auberge Espagnole, he is now thirty years old. An aspiring novelist, his greatest achievement is a co-credit on an over the top TV soap and his romantic life is equally disappointing. He has one meaningless romantic encounter after another and lines up a confusing series of jobs related to writing. A chance meeting could be the answer to his career and love life but Xavier's lack of direction and will power threatens to turn his good fortune to ultimate heartbreak.

Customer Reviews:

Where is the love in this global world? .......2007-07-04

This is gratifying, intelligent and challenging comedy, that explores zealously the masculine universe with all its hidden contradictions. The Epicurean desire to resume the pretended happiness around the possession of all kind of women makes us to reflect around what is the final goal of this man, accustomed to obtain a yes as answer, but that in the eve of his thirty years old, begins to wonder what's going on. And, since he is a hired writer of love stories, the contradiction is even major.

There is a narrow resemblance respect that classic film of Truffaut, "The man who loved the women" , but this bitter comedy carves in relief these intimacies, this nestled sense of possession to reaffirm oneself as man, and curiously the woman he will chose at the end is certainly the distilled result of his work, a sort of dynamic and ceaseless energy, afar from social conventionalism and able to think and even face him from time to time, but all the way through he will experience winning and falling the bitter taste of the possession by itself without major concessions.

The cast is extraordinary, but Audrey Tatoo and Reilly shine with radiant splendor. The locations in Paris, San Petersburg and London are a big frame in which we will delight and enjoy more than once the contradictions of this man trapped in what we should call the globalization of the feeling, perhaps?

Watch it. You will never be disappointed.

The subtitles sucked.......2007-04-21

I don't speak French and only about half of the dialouge was translated.

Russian Dolls great.......2007-03-13

Another great movie, just like its prequel (L'Auberge Espagnole), another must see

Better even then the first, though not a straightforward sequel.......2007-01-07

Cedric Klapisch's 2005 film LES POUPEES RUSSES is a sequel to his effort of three years before, L'AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE ("The Spanish Apartment"). It's a very different sort of story. While the first film centered on the zany camaraderie that developed between several European students in Barcelona, LES POUPEES RUSSES focuses on the lovelives of a selected few characters, though Klapisch does briefly reunite the cast of the Spanish apartment. This review assumes that the reader has already seen L'AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE, a fine film I do recommend.

As LES POUPEES RUSSES opens, Xavier is now thirty, making his living in Paris ghostwriting celebrity autobiographies and scripting soap operas, while the manuscript of his Barcelona novel languishes in neglect. He has gone through numerous relationships since his return from Spain, and wallows in self-pity with Isabelle and Martine, both still alone as well. After an exposition on the misery of these characters, the main plot is set into motion by two events. One is Xavier's commute to London to work on a script with Wendy, now a writer herself. The other is William's engagement to a Russian dancer and move to Saint Petersburg, where he invites all his friends for the wedding. Though I shall avoid spoilers here, I can say that it is through his involvement in these goings-on that Xavier finally finds the stability he was looking for.

Lars, Tobias, Soledad, and Alessando only appear in the Saint Petersburg scenes, and are granted only a few lines each. Though it is rather curious that these characters were brought for probably the most expensive filming in spite of their peripheral roles, the viewer feels no outrage that they get so little screen time. At this point, one's sympathy is entirely with Xavier, Wendy, and William and his Russian bride, and so seeing some of the faces from L'AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE adds only a nice highlight on the years that have gone by.

For this reviewer, intrigued by the references to the building of a united Europe in L'AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE, the comments on society and politics in this film were powerful as well. If LES POUPEES RUSSES does not overtly speak of Europe's future, as in the first film when the students question the place of Catalan, the story is nonetheless based on growing changes in European youth. One is increased mobility. That a bunch of old friends from Spain can reunite in Saint Petersburg is a plausible development speaks much of how much young people travel now. Another is multilingualism, dialogues in LES POUPEES RUSSES are in English, French, Spanish, or Russian (with subtitles where necessary). And through the involvement of William's engagement to a Russian, the film shows that European integration goes beyond the borders of merely the EU.

But LES POUPEES RUSSES is also a beautiful love story. I was never content with the other portion of the plot of the first film, where alongside European changes we viewed the story of a young man finding himself. In Barcelona, the twenty-five year-old Xavier was acting like someone several years younger and some of the twists were silly. Here, however, the relationship between Xavier and the women he meets is entirely convincing, and the ending is one of the most satisfying and heartwarming I know of in film.

This reviewer finds himself at around the same point in life as Xavier, and resides in Europe with a similar multilingual and mobile lifestyle. Perhaps that is why the film is so touching for me, but I regrettably can't say what younger viewers in the United States might think of the film. Still, anyone is sure to finds LES POUPEES RUSSES a well-made and entertaining production.

Very good sequel..........2006-12-26

It was as good a follow-up as I was hoping. Unfortunately I don't see if there can be a trilogy...

Sylvain

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