Forrest Gump (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)

Amazon.com essential video

The Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Best Director Robert Zemeckis, and Best Actor Tom Hanks, this unlikely story of a slow-witted but good-hearted man somehow at the center of the pivotal events of the 20th century is a funny and heartwarming epic. Hanks plays the title character, a shy Southern boy in love with his childhood best friend (Robin Wright) who finds that his ability to run fast takes him places. As an All-Star football player he meets John F. Kennedy; as a soldier in Vietnam he's a war hero; and as a world champion Ping-Pong player he's hailed by Richard Nixon. Becoming a successful shrimp-boat captain, he still yearns for the love of his life, who takes a quite different and much sadder path in life. The visual effects incorporating Hanks into existing newsreel footage is both funny and impressive, but the heart of the film lies in its sweet love story and in the triumphant performance of Hanks as an unassuming soul who savors the most from his life and times. --Robert Lane

Customer Reviews:

Numersous Secrets to Success are Shown in "Forrest Gump".......2007-09-14

Year of release: 1994
Writers: Winston Groom (who wrote the novel) and Eric Roth
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Runtime: 2 hours 22 minutes

I haven't seen this film for about 7 years or so. Seeing it again I was reminded why this is one of my all-time favorite pictures.

THE PLOT: Tom Hanks plays Forrest Gump, a mildly retarded Alabaman who brushes shoulders with the key figures and events of the 50s through the early 80s. Due to hard work, focus and uncommon wisdom he is hugely successful at whatever he does (running, war hero, ping pong, shrimp fishing). Meanwhile, the one woman he loves in all the world, Jenny (Robin Wright Penn), flounders through life hopelessly trying to find fulfillment in the drug culture with all the wrong people.

"Forrest Gump" is hugely entertaining on every level. It's a drama that skillfully includes both lighter, comedic moments and serious, tragic elements. If you've never seen it, don't think for a second that this is some average romantic comedy or goofball comedy. Far from it. I don't watch the Acadamy Awards or give any creedance to their judgment ("American Beauty," best picture? Please) but "Forrest Gump" is one instance where they were absolutely right in regard to the Best Picture award.

Some have criticized the film as an imbecilic fantasy, arguing that a simpleton like Gump would never become successful. It's true that the picture exagerates Forrest's successes and experiences, and in that sense it's not realistic, but the film plainly reveals WHY he experienced continued success throughout his life. We can all learn from these little gems of wisdom:

-- Whatever your I.Q., zero in on the areas for which you have a real talant.

-- Focus on those gifts and master them. In other words, don't be a jack of all trades. This is in line with the Russian proverb: "If you chase 8 rabbits you'll catch none."

-- Mastering your talants will take HARD WORK (which explains why lazy people are never wealthy, unless they inherit it).

-- Whatever you do, do it WITH ALL YOUR HEART.

-- Love deeply and cultivate deep loyalties (e.g. Jenny, Bubba & Lt. Dan). Loyalty is underrated.

-- Be patient and slow to judge (unless someone abuses another person).

-- Allow others the freedom to choose and make mistakes, even if it seems like it takes forever for them to learn from them.

-- If something or someone STINKS, reject it and stay away from it (remember the prostitute?).

-- Keep your word.

-- Pray and have FAITH.

-- Keep a humble spirit no matter how successful or great you become.

We can also learn lessons from Jenny: Trying to attain fulfillment through loose sex and foreign substances is a LOST cause. Recognize and embrace those who have your best interests in mind (i.e. those who truly love you and are loyal to you); stay away from people who use and abuse you.

From Lt. Dan (Gary Sinise) we learn a potent lesson about struggling with God to find true peace, success and reconciliation. Dan's all-out fight with God on the shrimp boat in the storm is potent and REAL. The great men and women of the bible experienced intense struggles with God: Most of the book of Job shows Job arguing with the Almighty and wanting to put Him on trial for crimes against humanity (!!); When God finally answers him Job falls to his face in humility and reverence. Jacob fought with God all night; the next day the Lord changed his name to Israel, which means "struggles with God" (Genesis 32:22-30). Also, remember Jesus' struggle with God and His will in the Garden of Gethsemane?

Another thing we can learn from Lt. Dan is that he was able to recognize a "golden connection" in Forrest. No one makes it alone, no one. They had help. Despite Forrest's lack of academic smarts, Dan recognized his wisdom and greatness; it attracted him and he respected it. Because of his link to Gump he became hugely successful. Remember: "One day of favor is worth a lifetime of labor."

Late in the film you'll see Lt. Dan and his Asian fiance at Gump's wedding. Note how Dan LOOKS at Forrest when they greet each other. Dan shows the utmost love and respect for Gump and is in utter awe of his simple-minded greatness. (This is great acting on Sinise's part).

"Forrest Gump" is a film gem to be RELISHED on many levels. Not only will you be incredibly entertained, you may learn a thing or two.

Forrest Gump DVD.......2007-09-04

Another Classic Movie worth watching over many times. My old VHS needed some updating.

The American Dream meets the American Nightmare.......2007-08-10

Two people, Forrest Gump and Jenny Curran, form an unbreakable bond as children. Forrest, although lacking in the brains department, manages to witness and play his part in some of the greatest events in American history. He meets JFK, wins the Medal of Honor in Vietnam, and manages to accidentally start the Watergate investigation. Forrest lives the American dream whereas Jenny lives the American nightmare; she has an abusive father and grows up to have a string of abusive boyfriends, works as a stripper, takes narcotics and ultimately contracts AIDS. Despite the pair going in completely different directions in life, they are still drawn to each other and Forrest and Jenny's story is one that will make you smile, laugh and shed a tear.

Every once and while, you see lists of the worst films to win Best Picture Oscars, and usually Forrest Gump makes that list. I think the reason for this is that we live in quite a cynical world and the majority of people do not really warm to lead characters that are innocent and pure of heart. This should not be the case. We should adore characters that are completely honest and very insightful despite their low IQs, and Forrest Gump is one of those characters that we should love. People who watch this film should check their cynicism at the door and just enjoy a film that is about the everyman battling the world using only truth and a deep-seated sense of what he believes is right. After all, this film has a noble tradition, it follows in the footsteps of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It's A Wonderful Life. If Frank Capra were alive today, he would make films like Forrest Gump (if he could come to grips with all the CGI) and that's all I have to say about that...

didn't really get it.......2007-07-12

when this came on tv a few weeks ago, i was excited to watch it b/c i knew it was an acclaimed movie, everyone loved it and it won oscars. i was shocked to find that it was just an ordinary movie. it was actually boring. i don't get the hype about this movie. it was a bit sad, and i was on the brink of tears, and tom hanks wasn't that bad in it, but i think it is not at all what people say it is. this is highly overrated.

Destiny in a box.... .......2007-07-10

This movie was and IS a classic. From the first moment to the last, this movie is touching, moving, action-packed, humorous and just plain unbelievable.

I can't add much to my review that hasn't already been said, but I like this collector's edition. I liked the extras and I loved watching the finished product. Tom Hanks brought this character to life. This movie isn't a script. It's a story that Tom Hanks took control over. It's a part that he was born to play. And he played it to the hilt!

I loved, loved, loved loved this movie!!!

Average customer rating:

JUST TOO, TOO FUNNY!!!
Funny!
O' Brother...
O Brother, Where Art Thou
USA FORMATS DVD

O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Starring: Michael Badalucco , George Clooney , Frank Collison , Charles Durning , and Wayne Duvall
Director: Joel Coen
Manufacturer: Touchstone
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ASIN: B00003CXRM
Release Date: 2001-06-12

Amazon.com

Only Joel and Ethan Coen, the fraternal director and producer team behind art-house hits such as The Big Lebowski and Fargo and masters of quirky and ultra-stylish genre subversion, would dare nick the plot line of Homer's Odyssey for a comic picaresque saga about three cons on the run in 1930s Mississippi. Our wandering hero in this case is one Ulysses Everett McGill, a slick-tongued wise guy with a thing about hair pomade (George Clooney, blithely sending up his own dapper image) who talks his chain-gang buddies (Coen-movie regular John Turturro and newcomer Tim Blake Nelson) into lighting out after some buried loot he claims to know of. En route they come up against a prophetic blind man on a railroad truck, a burly, one-eyed baddie (the ever-magnificent John Goodman), a trio of sexy singing ladies, a blues guitarist who's sold his soul to the devil, a brace of crooked politicos on the stump, a manic-depressive bank robber, and--well, you get the idea. Into this, their most relaxed film yet, the Coens have tossed a beguiling ragbag of inconsequential situations, a wealth of looping, left-field dialogue, and a whole stash of gags both verbal and visual. O Brother (the title's lifted from Preston Sturges's classic 1941 comedy Sullivan's Travels) is furthermore graced with glowing, burnished photography from Roger Deakins and a masterly soundtrack from T-Bone Burnett that pays loving homage to American '30s folk styles--blues, gospel, bluegrass, jazz, and more. And just to prove that the brothers haven't lost their knack for bad-taste humor, we get a Ku Klux Klan rally choreographed like a cross between a Nuremberg rally and a Busby Berkeley musical. --Philip Kemp

Description

Disenchanted with the daily drudge of crushing rocks on a prison farm in Mississippi, the dapper, silver-tongued Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney, THE PERFECT STORM) busts loose. Except he's still shackled to his own chain-mates from the chain gang -- bad-tempered Pete (John Turturro, SUMMER OF SAM), and sweet, dimwitted Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson, HAMLET). With nothing to lose and buried loot to regain -- before it's lost forever in a flood -- the three embark on the adventure of a lifetime in this hilarious offbeat road picture. Populated with strange characters, including a blind prophet, sexy sirens, and a one-eyed Bible salesman (John Goodman, COYOTE UGLY), it's an odyssey filled with chases, close calls, near misses, and betrayal that will leave you laughing at every outrageous and surprising twist and turn.

Customer Reviews:

JUST TOO, TOO FUNNY!!!.......2007-09-14

This has got to be one of the funniest movies ever made. And one of the cleverest, too. Three guys escape from a chain gang, make a hit record, become "rock stars" of sorts without knowing it, escape an attack on them by the Ku Klux Klan, survive a flood, become honorary advisors to the Governor and live happily ever after. Along the way, one of them gets turned into a toad by sirens, gets squished, "comes back to life" where he, coincidentally, meets up with his fellow escapees in a movie theater which, just happens to be filled with inmates from the chain gang they escaped from. Interested? You should be. I have 2 young children and whenever we watch this movie they cannot stop laughing. Neither can I. Rent or buy this movie. Enjoy yourself!

Funny!.......2007-09-01

there are so many other character references in this movie you forget what your watching, it is a hoot! and good songs!
Hows my hair look?

O' Brother..........2007-08-23

This is a great movie! The plot is easy to follow and if you're well-read and a fan of Homer, the parallels will make you chuckle. The musical score is amazing and I bought it later just because I wanted to enjoy it outside of viewing the movie.

George Clooney and John Goodman make this movie shine.

O Brother, Where Art Thou.......2007-08-15

What can anybody say about this movie! It's a real classic. Quirky, funny, sad, uplifting, delightful! Highlights the versatility of these fantastic actors, but it's not really George Clooney singing. A must-have for the film aficionado.

USA FORMATS DVD.......2007-08-11

DVD WILL NOT PLAY ON A NON USA MACHINE ( BUT WILL PLAY ON MY PC )

Average customer rating:

Music to my ears!
Great Classic
The Music Man is still good Music, Man
The Music Man
Great film. Poor picture quality

The Music Man (Special Edition)
Starring: Robert Preston , Shirley Jones , Buddy Hackett , Hermione Gingold , and Paul Ford
Director: Morton DaCosta , and Scott Benson (II)
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00000F14B
Release Date: 1999-02-23

Amazon.com essential video

The Music Man was one of the last great movie musicals from any studio, and it proved to be that rarest of events: a Broadway show that was measurably improved by its transition to the screen. Robert Preston made his musical debut--both live and on film--as "Professor" Harold Hill, the upbeat charlatan who promises to teach a small-town boys band by the "think system." But it's the part Preston was born to play and the one for which he will always be best remembered. Composer Meredith Willson based The Music Man on his own small-town Midwestern boyhood, circa 1912, a quasi-mythical place where the old-maid librarian looks and sings like Shirley Jones. The boy himself is an adorable Ron Howard, lisp-singing "Gary, Indiana." Willson's entire score, featuring a combination of what are now standards, such as "Goodnight My Someone" and "Till There Was You" and show-specific numbers ("Trouble," "76 Trombones"), is never less than infectious. This dazzling special edition is also as bright and sunny as any 4th of July in Iowa could ever hope to be. --Robert Windeler

Description

Let 76 trombones lead the big parade from the Great White Way into your home. It's the Music Man, the screen version of one of Broadway's all-time blockbusters, a skyburst of Americana as irresistible as 4th of July fireworks. Robert Preston and Shirley J Year: 1962

Customer Reviews:

Music to my ears!.......2007-08-04

What a joy to be able to add this great musical to my library. Thanks so much for a great DVD and at great price.

Great Classic.......2007-07-23

This is a wonderful version of a wonderful movie. It is beautifully restored and is crisp as a Fall day in Iowa.

The Music Man is still good Music, Man.......2007-07-16

Meredith Wilson was responsible for some great music but he manages here to paint a beautiful picture of early 1900, Small Town America. He does this by skillful blending of dialect, story and, of course music that allows one to overlook a very improbable story line.

To an extent the production is stylized such that only Robert Preston could make the lead character believable. However, he had already lost much of the vitality the role required when the movie was made. And that is the productions weak point. The actors are clearly acting to support the interludes between the music. But the music is what makes the man.

The Music Man.......2007-07-02

This exuberant, energetic adaptation of Meredith Wilson's hit Broadway musical is a bona fide marvel thanks to Robert Preston's virtuosic turn as the ultra-charming swindler. Homing in on small-town America in 1912, "Music Man" mixes nostalgic sentiment with real-world woes, memorably in the person of Ron Howard, who plays Marian's sullen younger brother Winthrop. Comedian Buddy Hackett adds levity as Hill's goofy sidekick, while Jones is a perfectly prim counterweight to Preston's engaging rogue. And let's not forget the songs: "Till There Was You" and the rollicking "76 Trombones" will leave you humming long after the lights go up.

Great film. Poor picture quality.......2007-06-18

This is a classic musical film and I have nothing but glowing things to say about it, however on my 50" plasma television, the picture quality is sub par and I would love to see it remastered.

Average customer rating:

Houston, We Have a Series of Problems
The Polish Brothers Shouldn't Do Mainstream Hollywood Films
BIG Disappointment
Great Sleeper
All dreams are not interesting

The Astronaut Farmer
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton , Virginia Madsen , Max Thieriot , Jasper Polish , and Logan Polish
Director: Michael Polish
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005JPLE
Release Date: 2007-07-10

Amazon.com

If you can give The Astronaut Farmer the big, bounding leap of faith it requires, you'll probably enjoy this good-natured film about the importance of holding on to your dreams. The title character (and the dreamer in question) is Charlie Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton), a Texas ranch owner and former aeronautics engineer who's got a homemade rocket in his barn and a dream to blast into space. Even though Charlie's deeply in debt and threatened with foreclosure, his wife (Virginia Madsen) and kids are deeply supportive of Charlie's Earth-orbit mission, even when he attracts the glaring attention of a seasoned Air Force colonel (played by Bruce Willis, in an uncredited role), the FAA, the FBI, and the national media. "If we don't have our dreams, we have nothing," says Charlie at a particularly desperate impasse, and this loopy, offbeat, and unabashedly sentimental drama embraces that message with disarming sincerity.

Suspension of disbelief is a challenge when the movie glosses over so many of its logistical details (like, where does one buy an old NASA space capsule?), and in trying for a kind of Capra-esque, eccentrically Western spin on the American dream, the Polish twins--director Michael and cowriter/actor Mark (making their mainstream debut after such indie hits as Twin Falls, Idaho and Northfork)--are only marginally successful in making Charlie's ambition genuinely believable. The film works much better as a kind of post space-age fable for families, and it's just involving enough to make its climax emotionally rewarding, mostly because Thornton, Madsen, and their costars (including Bruce Dern and Tim Blake Nelson) handle the delicate material with the earnestness it needs to be marginally convincing. Elton John's "Rocket Man" is predictably heard over the closing credits (accordingly, Charlie's launch-time is "zero hours, nine a.m."), and at a time when several adventurous entrepreneurs (including Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos) are gradually developing a civilian space-flight industry, The Astronaut Farmer is an admirable yet forgivably flawed reminder that we should never stop reaching for the stars. --Jeff Shannon

Description

All systems are "Go" for Charles Farmer. He's faced bank foreclosure, neighborhood naysayers and a government alarmed by his huge purchase of high-grade fuel, but now he's ready to blast into space inside the homemade rocket he built in his barn. Just be home in time for dinner, Charlie. Billy Bob Thornton portrays Charlie in this charmer about chasing dreams...and about what it means to be a family. 10,000 pounds of rocket fuel alone can't lift Charlie into the heavens. He needs a launch/recovery crew, and he has one of the best: his wife (Virginia Madsen) and children, dreamers all. They have liftoff. Our spirits have uplift. Gravity cannot hold down our dreams. The Astronaut Farmer is that kind of movie.

DVD Features:
Featurette
Outtakes

Customer Reviews:

Houston, We Have a Series of Problems.......2007-09-14

I have become more and more skeptical of movies over the years, mostly because of the political agendas attached to them in one form or another. This one had just a touch of that (a quip about not finding WMD's), but that wasn't the main reason my snoozer got in full gear almost before the opening credits were finished.

It would take some real skill to make the story of a farmer flying his own space rocket believable enough to keep a person's attention. This film doesn't have it. The characters come across as mindless lunatics, folks you would rather see incarcerated for their own protection rather than your next door neighbors. Most farmers struggle to balance their books just making a living, yet this guy can build million-dollar machines before almost losing the farm. The story doesn't flow well, and tries to force a climax on the viewers who are already mezermized by the film's stupidity. Sorry, but I would not recommend spending your 2.99 to rent this film, and if you care at all about wasting money certainly don't buy it.

The Polish Brothers Shouldn't Do Mainstream Hollywood Films.......2007-09-08

"I have a dream!" Those words echoed by Martin Luther King and the multitude of followers have since become a mantra for many. And there's nothing wrong with having a dream. Following it, though, can lead to problems. Especially if that dream is expensive, dangerous, maybe a bit psychotic, and possibly illegal ...or all four.

When a man named Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton, The Ice Harvest) from Texas wants to blast a space rocket out of his barn and into orbit, one might think "cool idea." But how far can one man's dream go before it becomes a damaging obsession? Damaging to his life, his family's life, and maybe even the nation.

Charles' family shares his dream, a kind of mass psychosis, about launching a private rocket (with Dad at the controls) into outer space. His wife Audie (Virginia Madsen, Sideways) supports him undyingly but has her doubts about him ever launching the rocket. His eldest son Shepard (Max Thieriot) will be his mission control, and his two young daughters Stanley (Jasper Polish) and Sunshine (Logan Polish) worship their father's dream in an almost biblical sense. But when foreclosures, FAA regulations, and the wavering support of his town develop, Charles must take drastic measures. Nearly killing himself with his first attempt, Charles' dream of spaceflight fades and with it the man and all those around him. His wife realizes what must be done, for without the dream her husband no longer exists.

Being a HUGE Polish brothers fan (Northfork is one of my all-time favorite films), I expected much from identical twins Mark and Michael, but they sadly disappointed me with THE ASTRONAUT FARMER. Plot and story are rapidly slashed in order to keep the movie moving forward, giving the entire film an unrealistic feel. There's no hallelujah moment (although the film would have you believe there is) simply because there's no way the watcher could get behind the characters and care about them with a story that didn't allow you to get and remain close to them.

This is the Polish brothers' most mainstream Hollywood film to date, with well-known actors and actresses at the top of their game (Bruce Willis, Bruce Dern, Tim Blake Nelson, etc.) but Hollywood cookie-cutter cutout film making doesn't seem to jive with Michael and Mark Polish's style. Their previous movies (Northfork, Jackpot, Twin Falls Idaho) have focused specifically on the minutiae of characters and events, giving their films a surrealistic feel. The Astronaut Farmer is more direct and thus loses much that has made the Polish boys an underground success.

I'm hoping that the brothers get back to what they do well; that is, making movies that extend beyond the mainstream. Although I could see a few Polish brothers details in The Astronaut Farmer (specifically the names of characters which are paramount to the story ...Shepard, Farmer, Sunshine, etc.), there were too many other problems that destroyed this unfortunate film.

BIG Disappointment.......2007-09-07

Slow, tired, predictable. I would expect that the screenplay could have been written by a 14 year old (if I had done it, I wouldn't admit it!) Worst movie I've seen Mr. Thornton in.

Great Sleeper.......2007-09-06

I didn't know much about this movie but it turned out to be a great family movie. It started out real slow but it was nice to see a well thought out movie. It will make you laugh out loud.

All dreams are not interesting.......2007-09-06

The reviewers of Ebert and Roeper liked this movie. I agree the movie has some cool scenes. When Billy Bob brings his ex-NASA pal to the barn and turns on the lights on the rocket, it was a really cool scene. Another scene is when Billy Bob was sitting in front of the rocket at night, drinking a beer and meditating on the rocket. Another cool scene is the successful take-off. They did a good job with it. The crash wasn't so good. The message of following your dreams no matter how bizarre is ok. The trouble is that a rocket is a dangerous thing. Men sometimes have to make choices and live with them. Mr. Farmer(Billy Bob) decided to drop out of the astronaut program because of a death of a family member. I agree with Bruce Willis's character here: you made the choice and you have to live with it.

The other negative of the movies is that it too slow and too quirky. A guy rearing a spacesuit riding a horse is a unusual sight, but it doesn't make for an interesting movie. It was hard for me to sympathesize with Farmer. I can relate to his dream, but I would have taken the space shuttle option without a second thought. It would have been safer for everybody involved and yet, he would have gotten into space.

I guess what summarizes the movie the best is the final scenes when "Farmer" is on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Yes, he would have been an unusual guest, but was this an interesting 3 or 5 minutes of my movie viewing time? Jay Leno interviewing a fictional guest? It was pretty boring. The movie just sort of fizzles at the end.

Average customer rating:

Amazing Concert DVD
Heart of Gold
Neil Young: Heart of Gold
STRUMMIN' IN THE REAL WORLD
Sound of Gold

Neil Young - Heart of Gold
Starring: Wayne Jackson (II) , Emmylou Harris , Jimmy Sharp (II) , Diana DeWitt , and Gary W. Pigg
Director: Jonathan Demme
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000F48D00
Release Date: 2006-06-13

Amazon.com

"I just want to play well, share the stage with my friends, give the best I can," says Neil Young before the concert that is the centerpiece of Heart of Gold. No problem, dude. Working with filmmaker Jonathan Demme, Young has come up with a gem--not all flash and bling-bling, but as understated as a single pearl, musically restrained yet emotionally open. Of course, neither Demme (an Oscar winner for The Silence of the Lambs; he also helmed Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense) nor Young would call it "a concert film"; the director describes it as "a dream concert, something that's literally being dreamt by Neil," while the singer-songwriter himself calls it "a multi-level story." Whatever, the project came together in 2005, as Young was finishing his Prairie Wind album (the latest in a string of lovely, country-flavored acoustic recordings dating back to 1972's Harvest) and preparing to debut the music at Nashville's fabled Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry. The fact that Young had also recently experienced a brain aneurysm might or might not have influenced his decision to film the show, but it certainly seems to have had an effect on the music. He and his band (which, with the addition of horns, strings, and backup singers, including Emmylou Harris, occasionally numbers forty or more musicians) perform Prairie Wind in its entirety, and there is some deeply moving, highly personal material here; in addition to the gospel-tinged "When God Made Me" and the dirge-like "No Wonder," Young sings about his recently-deceased father (the title song), his newly adult daughter ("Here for You"), the guitar he plays that once belonged to Hank Williams ("This Old Guitar"), and even his dog ("He Was the King"). Demme's direction is ideal for conveying the music's restrained acoustic textures, rich backing vocals, and simple, elegant melodies. Shots are held much longer than is usual in such films, and while there are lots of close-ups, there are no gimmicks. This superb DVD package is filled out by a second disc of bonus features, including a variety of featurettes and a solo performance of "The Needle and the Damage Done" from The Johnny Cash Show in 1971. --Sam Graham

Product Description

Academy-award winning director Jonathan Demme beautifully captures Rock & Roll Hall of Fame legend, Neil Young as he prepares and presents the performance of a lifetime with the help of his wife Peggi and friends country star Emmylou Harris, steel guitarist Ben Keith and more at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry.

Customer Reviews:

Amazing Concert DVD.......2007-09-02

I have always been a Neil Young fan and don't know how I missed this one in the theatre. In my opinion, Demme directs to perfection, besting Scorsese's work with The Last Waltz. If you are a fan of the music. you need to own both Heart of Gold and The Last Waltz amd then make your own comparisons. This one brought tears to my eyes.

Heart of Gold.......2007-08-29

A real life look at someone that has had a huge impact on the music industry.

Neil Young: Heart of Gold.......2007-07-23

This lovely, deeply affecting music doc gets the red-carpet treatment from "Stop Making Sense" director Jonathan Demme, who briefly introduces each of the players on their way to the show before literally zooming in on Young's remarkable performance. Singing folk-country songs about mortality, empty nests, and aged parents, Young's choppy rhythms and images of swaying Canadian cornfields harken back to his early '70s work on "Harvest" and "Comes a Time." It's obvious he's enjoying himself, and his between-song banter is tart, concise, and utterly charming. If you don't come away from "Heart of Gold" humming, you better have your ears checked.

STRUMMIN' IN THE REAL WORLD .......2007-07-21

I'll make no friends critisizing HEART OF GOLD as a dull concert movie. I liked the modern Nashville insight centered around the historic Ryman Auditorium, where Young and friends gather for a concert to premiere the album, PRARIE WIND, but the strength of this film is dependent on the success of Prarie Wind as an album, given it is played in it's entirety, and the music falls short of being outstanding, a sort of lesser, "Harvest", with routine Young acoustic melody, sentimental, less than profound lyrics, and war protest songs lacking inspiration and artistry. I'm glad Young is alive and well but Praire Wind is less a wind than a gust of crudely simple ideas and songcraft.

Sound of Gold.......2007-06-26

In the Prologue of Neil Young's beautiful concert DVD, 'Heart of Gold' key players, which are ample, reminisce over the highlights of concerts past. Each musician is alone except interviewer and camera, and the feeling is eager but laid back. Neil Young himself explains that the people he's chosen for this special concert are friends and not merely studio musicians, setting up a feel that Roy Orbison enjoyed for his magnificent 'Black and White Night' DVD. There is the same sense of intimacy, and, while I suspected a retro act, the scope and splendor of the chosen material is great. Although about two or three songs are familiar hits, he breathed real life into this concert at Reiman Auditorium in Nashville where the acoustics resonate with perfection. Besides a great repertoire of songs, his styles draw from country, bluegrass, folk, gospel, blues, and rock. Each song seems so singularly crafted and find Young switching from guitar to harmonica to banjo to piano. Distinctively, he proves to have many friends who back him up with vocals, brass, guitars, fiddles, and, even, a broom. Misguided casual fans like me are immediately struck by the economy of words that come in a stream on this "Prairie Wind" harvest.

More specifically, theme song "Prairie Wind" opens with words "It's a long road behind me...It's a long road ahead of me." Indeed even with his weathered, tan face he sings enraptured in his own music which translates the wisdom of his years. Whether singing about 9/11 ("Falling off the Face of the Earth") or "King, the best hound dog," ("He Was King") he connects in spare language. At one of his intimate moments he shares before "This Old Guitar" how he acquired the worn guitar he uses onstage from Hank Williams. Highlights are for every song, but "When God Made Me" so eloquently scotches any argument for chauvenism or bigotry known to man. In too few words to measure, he bridges the gap to every gender, race, and creed. Alone with his harmonica he adds to the mellow sweetness with "I'm Still in Love with You" and the lovely, wide-eyed "Harvest Moon". Oddly, "Heart of Gold" and "Old Man" seem anti-climatic, but are marvelous nonetheless. His explanation for the latter song is worth checking out. Seven guitars serenade "Four Strong Winds," (which, incidentally, was one of the tracks on Johnny Cash's last C.D.). Neil Young goes out with big brass on "One of These Days," but not without a couple of intimate moments: One is "Needle and the Damage Done," (which despite the movie warning, doesn't doing anything but deter drug use). Then, I believe, it's "The Old Laughing Lady" that finds Neil on stage to an empty auditorium.

There's little to criticize. Jonathan Demme deserves credit for capturing this "golden" event. While I would have preferred more shots of supporting players, no one will argue about the focus of this film, and many fans may find that assessment all wet. The small auditorium and the silent awe for this performance gives the whole affair the intimacy of Orbison in a nightclub setting. This DVD is a must for fans and the uninitiated alike. (Also starring Emmylou Harris, Ron Keith, Karl Himmell, Chad Cromwell, Larry Cragg, Spooner Oldham, Rick Rosas, Gary Pigg, Diana DeWitt, The Nashville String Machine, et al) (Essential)

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Touching
I'd just like to add...
Amazing
Truly beautiful in an alarmingly tragic way...
It's in the bag.

American Beauty (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Annette Bening , Thora Birch , Chris Cooper , Peter Gallagher , and Sam Robards
Director: Sam Mendes
Manufacturer: Dreamworks Video
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ASIN: B00003CWL6
Release Date: 2000-10-24

Amazon.com essential video

From its first gliding aerial shot of a generic suburban street, American Beauty moves with a mesmerizing confidence and acuity epitomized by Kevin Spacey's calm narration. Spacey is Lester Burnham, a harried Everyman whose midlife awakening is the spine of the story, and his very first lines hook us with their teasing fatalism--like Sunset Boulevard's Joe Gillis, Burnham tells us his story from beyond the grave.

It's an audacious start for a film that justifies that audacity. Weaving social satire, domestic tragedy, and whodunit into a single package, Alan Ball's first theatrical script dares to blur generic lines and keep us off balance, winking seamlessly from dark, scabrous comedy to deeply moving drama. The Burnham family joins the cinematic short list of great dysfunctional American families, as Lester is pitted against his manic, materialistic realtor wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening, making the most of a mostly unsympathetic role) and his sullen, contemptuous teenaged daughter, Jane (Thora Birch, utterly convincing in her edgy balance of self-absorption and wistful longing). Into their lives come two catalytic outsiders. A young cheerleader (Mena Suvari) jolts Lester into a sexual epiphany that blooms into a second adolescence. And an eerily calm young neighbor (Wes Bentley) transforms both Lester and Jane with his canny influence.

Credit another big-screen newcomer, English theatrical director Sam Mendes, with expertly juggling these potentially disjunctive elements into a superb ensemble piece that achieves a stylized pace without lapsing into transparent self-indulgence. Mendes has shrewdly insured his success with a solid crew of stage veterans, yet he's also made an inspired discovery in Bentley, whose Ricky Fitts becomes a fulcrum for both plot and theme. Cinematographer Conrad Hall's sumptuous visual design further elevates the film, infusing the beige interiors of the Burnhams' lives with vivid bursts of deep crimson, the color of roses--and of blood. --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews:

Touching.......2007-09-07

American Beauty is a spectacular movie of hope and life that has captured the hearts of so many people. Sam Mendes, the director, and Alan Ball, the screenwriter, both succeed in displaying the lonely life of Lester Burnham, a middle-aged man who takes a closer look at the world he lives in, and progresses on a journey to get his life back. The beginning tone of the movie is dull and uninspiring as Lester Burnham embarks on another boring day. He is seen as a prisoner looking out onto a world of beauty, a world that he once knew. He seems to be trapped behind bars everywhere he goes.

Sam Mendes was born in Reading, England in 1965. American Beauty was his first feature film in 1999 and it won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. He is now happily married to actress Kate Winslet. They have one child.

In the beginning of the movie during Lester's monologue, the audience finds out he is going to die, but at this point he seems already dead. His life is lonely and he has a low and tense relationship with his wife and daughter. Every aspect of this broken family is distant and isolated. Colors are dark and dull except for the red roses that so regularly appear throughout the course of the movie. The roses in the movie represent fantasy and life. The life of a rose depicts the direction of the movie and also the life of Lester. A rose begins as only a seed, waiting to be nurtured and cared for. It then transforms into a bud after it has grown and grown, and is only seconds away from blooming into the next phase - the American beauty. After the rose has had its beauty, it dies, satisfied and fulfilled because not only did it live, it lived a life of beauty.

Throughout the course of the movie and the introduction of all the characters, one specific character stands out more than any. Ricky, a teenage kid and the Burnham's new neighbor, brings light and beauty to the suburban family. He influences every character, directly and/or indirectly, and shows them how beautiful life really is. Lester begins to break free from his life of imprisonment and manages to live life without a care in the world. At one point Lester states, "I'm just an ordinary guy with nothing to lose." This movie illustrates that there are always preconceived notions about people and life, but in reality, there is usually a lot more going on. People are always searching for meaning in their lives, and Lester Burnham finds that meaning... that beauty.

American Beauty is a movie that will surely touch the lives of anyone who should watch it. It is a film that can be viewed by both young and old and never cease to send a beautiful message.

I'd just like to add..........2007-08-19

...a small ending to Gary F. Taylor "GFT"'s review by telling that a very significant thing is (like in real life) that the only decent and nice guy is the one who gets killed. Of course, American people seem to think that getting rid of those who make life miserable for those around them would not be compatible with 'Beauty' as they see it. Cast and crew are perfect.

Amazing.......2007-08-17

twisted but amazing the whole time your excpecting somthing only to realize what you think youve vigured out isent what it seems at all!

Truly beautiful in an alarmingly tragic way..........2007-08-02

Standing tall as one of my all time favorite films and one of the most deserved Best Picture wins of all time, `American Beauty' never loses its impression on me. I'm forever in awe at its overall magnitude; its presence that is so overwhelmingly absorbing. From Kevin Spacey's fantastic Oscar winning performance to each and every supporting player the cast is golden and the charisma and chemistry is dynamic and ultimately unrivaled. What makes `American Beauty' so enthralling and captivating to me is the sheer relatable atmosphere and utter honesty that it portrays. This is a life not unlike our own, with the same dilemmas and controversies, the same dreams and ambitions and no matter how perfect we think we have things there is always something missing, and sooner or later we're going to have to make a change in order to find our center. Brilliantly, and I mean that with every fiber of the words very meaning, `American Beauty' fleshes out that very innate desire.

The film follows Lester Burnham as he goes through his mid-life crisis, realizing that his wife doesn't love him anymore, his daughter finds him creepy and uninteresting, his job infuriates him; basically that his life in general is far from what he wants it to be. Through a catalog of events he begins to make serious changes, starting with his growing infatuation with his daughters cheerleading friend Angela. He begins to work out more, eat better and enjoy a little recreational drug provided by his neighbor's son Ricky. He quits his job and starts up working at the local burger joint where he can slack off and live life a teenager. He buys the ridiculously expensive sports car because he wants to and develops an attitude that repels those around him intent on dragging him down. In essence Lester becomes the man that everyman wishes he could become but lacks the `balls' to do it himself. Lester is everyman, just pushed to the limit of what any man can take.

But this film is far more than just about a single man and his crisis. Lester's wife Caroline is also going through a bit of a mid-lifer herself. She's finally come to the realization that she is more than Lester will ever be and she wants, no she needs someone that's a better fit for her. Lester proves himself a constant embarrassment to her, and his newfound identity is making it difficult for her to function in their life together. Lester's daughter Jane is pulling away from her parents due to their apparent insanity. She can't take them anymore, her mothers constant bickering and hysterics, her father's pedophilic lust for her best friend and sudden `cool guy' syndrome. She distances herself from Angela and forms a closer connection with her neighbor Ricky, a boy who opens her eyes to the real beauty that surrounds her.

But both Ricky and Angela themselves offer insight into the growing pandemic surrounding the American public as a whole. The film effortlessly exposes the common issues that are present in almost every home and exist within almost every human being. Ricky exists in a household run with a cold fist by his father. His every move is scrutinized and so he acts out in rebellion by living his life the exact opposite of his father's wishes, albeit behind his back. Angela is the classic case of girl-hates-self, girl-needs-attention but here she feeds off her characters energy, and most of all Spacey's energy and helps create a character that is in the end so touching and so real. Her final confrontation with Jane and Ricky is so heartbreaking and her feeling of rejection from Lester is so real. I actually was moved by her character almost as much as Spacey's.

The entire cast, not just Spacey, pull out all the stops here. Annette Bening is flawless as Lester's controlling and hysterical wife (and I mean hysterical in both of its forms, both hilarious when needed and outrageously dramatic when needed). Thora Birch is also dynamic as Jane, and Wes Bently brilliantly captures his characters unique outlook at adolescence. Mena Suvari though really stood out for me as Angela, as did Chris Cooper who plays the domineering and controlling father effortlessly. Peter Gallagher also develops a nice supporting character, although he comes off more as a cameo, and that's hard for me to acknowledge since under normal circumstances I find him nauseating. Here though he is fantastic, both charming and endearing while equally repulsive and condescending. How he manages to pull that off is beyond me. Each and every actor here benefits greatly from the brilliant script, that's for sure.

So, in closing, `American Beauty' is everything that is beautiful about American cinema. It's engrossing, entertaining, refreshing but most of all moving and emotionally investing. I often battle my feelings about Spacey's win only because the competition that year was so steep and I feel Crowe gave the performance of a career, but every time I watch this brilliant film I'm reminded of why he deserved his win. He was so invested, so grounded in Lester that he created one of the most likable sinners of all time, a man who we grew to love and embrace despite his faults. `American Beauty' will always be one of the most deserving Oscar winners to date and will be remembered every time we look in the mirror.

It's in the bag. .......2007-08-01

Suburban angst turns funny then tragic. We should all reach the spiritual level Kevin Spacey's Lester Burnham reaches in his last hours.
The kid with the video camera becomes a surprising focal point thanks to a superb acting performance by Wes Bentley. The kid and his recording of the floating plastic bag hold the key to the spiritual treasure of "American Beauty."
This first-time collaboration of director Sam Mendes and screenwriter Alan Ball is a prime example of what Hollywood could deliver more of if the studio executives ever got their heads out of the sequels and the comic books. I'm convinced there are other fine scripts floating around waiting for the will and the daring to produce them.

It's a Wonderful Life (60th Anniversary Edition)

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It is really wonderful.
Nothing less than 5 stars!
Things to consider
Merry Christmas
It's a Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life (60th Anniversary Edition)
Starring: James Stewart , Donna Reed , Lionel Barrymore , Thomas Mitchell , and Henry Travers
Director: Frank Capra
Manufacturer: Paramount
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ASIN: B000HEWEJO
Release Date: 2006-10-31

Amazon.com essential video

Now perhaps the most beloved American film, It's a Wonderful Life was largely forgotten for years, due to a copyright quirk. Only in the late 1970s did it find its audience through repeated TV showings. Frank Capra's masterwork deserves its status as a feel-good communal event, but it is also one of the most fascinating films in the American cinema, a multilayered work of Dickensian density. George Bailey (played superbly by James Stewart) grows up in the small town of Bedford Falls, dreaming dreams of adventure and travel, but circumstances conspire to keep him enslaved to his home turf. Frustrated by his life, and haunted by an impending scandal, George prepares to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. A heavenly messenger (Henry Travers) arrives to show him a vision: what the world would have been like if George had never been born. The sequence is a vivid depiction of the American Dream gone bad, and probably the wildest thing Capra ever shot (the director's optimistic vision may have darkened during his experiences making military films in World War II). Capra's triumph is to acknowledge the difficulties and disappointments of life, while affirming--in the teary-eyed final reel--his cherished values of friendship and individual achievement. It's a Wonderful Life was not a big hit on its initial release, and it won no Oscars (Capra and Stewart were nominated); but it continues to weave a special magic. --Robert Horton

Description

George Bailey has so many problems he is thinking about ending it all - and it's Christmas! As the angels discuss George, we see his life in flashback. As George is about to jump from a bridge, he ends up rescuing his guardian angel, Clarence. Clarence then shows George what his town would have looked like if it hadn't been for all of his good deeds over the years. Will Clarence be able to convince George to return to his family and forget suicide?

Customer Reviews:

It is really wonderful........2007-09-06

I have tried to buy this DVD twice before from non-Amazon Internet vendors and failed. Finally I bought it from Amazon. It is really wonderful to watch "It's a wonderful life". I especially enjoyed the special features of the DVD with Capra Sr. and Jr. and Jimmy Stewart recapturing the making and the history of this movie. Can you imagine it wasn't a hit when it was first released? It is a very interesting story, almost as good as the movie itself.

Nothing less than 5 stars!.......2007-08-27

It's a classic movie with a thought provoking message that we all can make a positive impact on the people's lives around us.

Things to consider.......2007-08-26

This is a classic, not just for Christmas. Everyone should reflect on their lives as Jimmy Stewart's character does.

Merry Christmas.......2007-08-12

If you want a great Christmas movie, this is one of the best X-mas movies I have ever seen. The old Miracle on 34th Street and this movie (It's a Wonderful Life) are the two best Christmas movies ever made. I remember watching it as a kind (I'm 28) and loving it even then, watching it over and over again!

It's a Wonderful Life.......2007-07-30

A brilliant movie with excellent values. Very moving and encouraging. Makes a wonderful gift for Christmas or any other time. Continuously voted one of the best movies of all time. Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

When times were fun.
One of the BEST movies of ALL TIMES
Longing for the good 'ol days
Happy Highways
American Graffiti

American Graffiti (Collector's Edition)
Starring: Richard Dreyfuss , Ron Howard , Paul Le Mat , Charles Martin Smith , and Cindy Williams
Director: George Lucas
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
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ASIN: 078322737X
Release Date: 1998-09-16

Amazon.com essential video

Here's how critic Roger Ebert described the unique and lasting value of George Lucas's 1973 box-office hit, American Graffiti: "[It's] not only a great movie but a brilliant work of historical fiction; no sociological treatise could duplicate the movie's success in remembering exactly how it was to be alive at that cultural instant." The time to which Ebert and the film refers is the summer of 1962, and American Graffiti captures the look, feel, and sound of that era by chronicling one memorable night in the lives of several young Californians on the cusp of adulthood. (In essence, Lucas was making a semiautobiographical tribute to his own days as a hot-rod cruiser, and the film's phenomenal success paved the way for Star Wars.) The action is propelled by the music of Wolfman Jack's rock & roll radio show--a soundtrack of pop hits that would become as popular as the film itself. As Lucas develops several character subplots, American Graffiti becomes a flawless time capsule of meticulously re-created memory, as authentic as a documentary and vividly realized through innovative use of cinematography and sound. The once-in-a-lifetime ensemble cast members inhabit their roles so fully that they don't seem like actors at all, comprising a who's who of performers--some of whom went on to stellar careers--including Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips, Charles Martin Smith, Candy Clark, and Paul Le Mat. A true American classic, the film ranks No. 77 on the American Film Institute's list of all-time greatest American movies. --Jeff Shannon

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

When times were fun........2007-08-18

I was 8 years old when rock n roll first came on the scene and when young people ask me what it was like when I was a teenager, I tell them to watch the movie American Graffiti. It nails it right on the head. The street rods, cruisers, custom cars, the music, all bring back good memories. Sock hops, car races, going steady, all part of an era in time that will never be duplicated again. All of these things were captured in a fun but very capable and accurate way by the director, producers and and actors. Richard Dreyfuss, Cindy Williams, Ron Howard and the rest were great. What a cast of characters and what a time in history. I loved it and have watched this movie more times than I can count. I highly recommend it to anyone that grew up in that era and to the young who want to see how the "older" generation had fun and enjoyed life. It didn't take much to entertain me or my friends when i was a teen. Give me a car, a girl friend, friends and a few hundred cruises around the circuit on a Friday and Saturday night and there you have it. American Graffiti.

One of the BEST movies of ALL TIMES.......2007-08-08

One, great cast. Two, great music. Three, great story. A must for any movie buff. This is one I watch from time to time and enjoy it every time I watch it

Longing for the good 'ol days.......2007-08-07

I grew up in Northern California and graduated from Fremont High School in the not so small town of Oakland in 1965 (and later from California Polytechnic University in San luis Obispo in 1975, after a short stint in the service). I remember the Mel's drive-in in downtown Oakland, and I remember the 'cruising' on San Leandro Blvd on Friday and Saturday nights (although I couldn't afford to get a car until 1968--a 1961 Volvo PV 544 sedan--(Wow, I wish I had that car back!). I have to say that this movie is truly one of the best nostalgia stirring movies I have ever seen. It tugs at your heart and reminds us babyboomers that there really was a simpler, more carefree time and we lived it! When gas was 23 cents a gallon (or less when the gas wars were on), you loved Casper's Hotdogs, and education costs were almost nothing if you attended Merritt Junior College. When you rode on the back of your friend's Vespa motorbike to San Jose, just because you had never been there, and when you took off in your car on a whim to visit Big Basin to see the redwoods. Talk about a movie that causes you to reminisce!

Happy Highways.......2007-07-09

Into my heart on air that kills
From you far country blows:
What are those blue remembered hills,
What spires, what farms are those?

That is the land of lost content,
I see it shining plain,
The happy highways where I went
And cannot come again.

This verse, from A.E. Housman's "A Shropshire Lad", summarizes everything that I feel for American Graffiti. The movie opened when I was 13 years old. It was my first "R" rated movie and the sold out theater erupted with laughter over and over. Now I'm 47 and I find it almost too sad to watch. Where did my childhood friends go? What lives have they led? The sweet promise of youth: a happy highway where I went and cannot come again.

American Graffiti .......2007-06-27

I didn't care for this movie too much. It might be ok for teenagers but I doubt today's teenager would relate, it may seem kind of nerdy to them.

Average customer rating:

The Grapes Of Wrath
Unsure
An Important Film to Watch - Then Read the Book
Steinbeck's Story Faithfully Filmed
A Real Movie.....

The Grapes of Wrath
Starring: Henry Fonda , Jane Darwell , John Carradine , Charley Grapewin , and Dorris Bowdon
Director: John Ford
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
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ASIN: B0000DJZ8R
Release Date: 2004-04-06

Amazon.com essential video

Ranking No. 21 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest American films, this 1940 classic is a bit dated in its noble sentimentality, but it remains a luminous example of Hollywood classicism from the peerless director of mythic Americana, John Ford. Adapted by Nunnally Johnson from John Steinbeck's classic novel, the film tells a simple story about Oklahoma farmers leaving the depression-era dustbowl for the promised land of California, but it's the story's emotional resonance and theme of human perseverance that makes the movie so richly and timelessly rewarding. It's all about the humble Joad family's cross-country trek to escape the economic devastation of their ruined farmland, beginning when Tom Joad (Henry Fonda) returns from a four-year prison term to discover that his family home is empty. He's reunited with his family just as they're setting out for the westbound journey, and thus begins an odyssey of saddening losses and strengthening hopes. As Ma Joad, Oscar-winner Jane Darwell is the embodiment of one of America's greatest social tragedies and the "Okie" spirit of pressing forward against all odds (as she says, "because we're the people"). A documentary-styled production for which Ford and cinematographer Gregg Toland demanded painstaking authenticity, The Grapes of Wrath is much more than a classy, old-fashioned history lesson. With dialogue and scenes that rank among the most moving and memorable ever filmed, it's a classic among classics--simply put, one of the finest films ever made. --Jeff Shannon

Description

This remarkable film version of Steinbeck?s novel was nominated for seven Academy Awards®, including for Best Picture, Actor (Henry Fonda), Film Editing, Sound and Writing. John Ford won the Best Director Oscar® and actress Jane Darwell won Best Actress for her portrayal of Ma Joad, the matriarch of the struggling migrant farmer family. Following a prison term he served for manslaughter, Tom Joad returns to find his family homestead overwhelmed by weather and the greed of the banking industry. With little work potential on the horizon of the Oklahoma dust bowls, the entire family packs up and heads for the promised land ? California. But the arduous trip and harsh living conditions they encounter offer little hope, and family unity proves as daunting a challenge as any other they face.

Customer Reviews:

The Grapes Of Wrath.......2007-08-31

This is one of the greatest film classics of all time.definitely a must see for all film students, actors, directors, cinephotogrphers

Unsure.......2007-08-23

The recording is exactly what I needed, but I am unsure if this is a legal copy of a copyrighted work.