July-August 2008 DVDs

Media Newsletter: July-August 2008

New DVDs:

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE: THE STORY OF POPULAR MUSIC
DVD2863--DVD2867
Videodisc release of a British television series.
"This critically acclaimed TV series, originally broadcast worldwide between 1976 and 1980, is featured here in its entirety - 17 episodes contained on 5 discs, encompassing ragtime, blues, jazz, vaudeville, the musical, folk, swing, country and western, rock 'n' roll and beyond"--Container.
5 DVDs, Color and B&W, 2008

BON VOYAGE
DVD2887
Originally released as a French motion picture in 2003.
French dialogue with English, Portuguese, and Spanish subtitles.
Widescreen (2.35:1) presentation.
Directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau.
Stars Isabelle Adjani, Gérard Depardieu, Virginie Ledoyen.
Following the premiere of her latest picture Viviane finds herself with a dead man in her apartment. Frédéric is a writer who's been falsely accused of murder, thanks to Viviane. Viviane has fled Paris for Bordeaux with a cabinet minister, and once Frédéric escapes from prison, he is not far behind. Once they reach the city, which is in chaos, they become entangled in a plot involving a rickety physicist, his endlessly resourceful assistant, an amiable ex-con, a shady reporter and several bottles of heavy water that absolutely, positively must not fall into the hands of the Germans.
1 DVD, Color, 115 min., 2004

CLANDESTINOS = UNDERCOVER
DVD2879
Videodisc release of a 1987 Cuban motion picture.
Directed by Fernando Pérez.
Stars Luis Alberto García, Isabel Santos, Susana Pérez, René Losada.
This tense, action-packed political thriller chronicles the romance between two young revolutionaries in 1950s Havana as they fight for their lives against Batista's secret service. Based on real events from the early days of the revolution.
1 DVD, Color, 89 min., 2008

CLASSROOM CHALLENGE: DEBATING DARWIN IN THE 21ST CENTURY
DVD2875
Examines the controversy over intelligent design and science education and sorts through arguments on both sides. Examines the debate in the context of America's larger political climate, and explores its fundamental questions: Are evolution and I.D. incompatible? Is exposure to both ideas harmful or beneficial to schoolchildren? Does fossil evidence make evolution immune to challenge?
1 DVD, Color with B&W sequences, 23 min., 2006

THE COLOR OF FEAR (1994)
DVD2871
Eight North American men of different races continue to talk together about how racism affects them and how their time together has changed their initial anger and racial perspectives.
1 DVD, Color, 90 min., 1995

THE COLOR OF FEAR ; FILM GUIDES
DVD2872
Film questions -- Film vignettes.
Presents suggestions for facilitating discussion of the film, The color of fear, and specific questions pertaining to each of the vignettes of Lee Mun Wah's film about nine men who "begin an honest and emotionally charged conversation about how racism and sexism have affected their lives and families".
1 DVD, Color with B&W sequences, 90 min. + 1 CD-ROM, 1997

THE EYE OF VICHY = L'OEIL DE VICHY
DVD2885
Videodisc release of a 1993 French motion picture.
English narration and French dialogue with English subtitles.
A compilation of long forgotten film footage and newsreels, produced by the Nazis and French collaborators during World War II. From the small town of Vichy in Central France, Field Marshall Petain's puppet government worked with their Nazi overlords in creating pro-Nazi propaganda. They skillfully produced a strange alternative history of the war years in order to turn public emotion against the Allies and the Jews.
1 DVD, B&W, 110 min., 2002

A GENERATION APART (1983)
DVD2860
A powerful yet personal documentary about the children of concentration camp survivors coming to terms with their parents and the Holocaust legacy.
1 DVD, Color, 56 min., 2008

HOODWINKED
DVD2870
Videodisc release of a 2005 animated motion picture.
Directed by Cory Edwards.
Voices: Anne Hathaway, Glenn Close, Jim Belushi, Patrick Warburton, Anthony Anderson, David Ogden Stiers, Xzibit, Chazz Palminteri, Andy Dick, Cory Edwards, Benjy Gaither.
Little Red Riding Hood, Granny, the Big Bad Wolf, and the Woodsman all face Detective Flippers as he attempts to determine the real events of the Little Red Riding Hood story.
1 DVD, Color, 81 min., 2006

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF OUR FOREFATHERS
DVD2855
This film follows 35 young Zoroastrians as they travel through Iran, the homeland of their religion, Zoroastrianism.
1 DVD, Color, 60 min., 2000

INTELLECTUAL PARITY: WHAT LITTLE GIRLS ARE MADE OF
DVD2877
Videodisc release of a 1983 segment of British television program, Horizon .
"This program from the BBC archives examines the nature of historical, intellectual prejudice against women, and how that prejudice has diminished opportunities in education, particularly in the area of science. Scientist and host Jan Harding discusses the educational barriers that nearly thwarted her own science career, and insists that prejudice still exists in the classroom today"--Container.
1 DVD, Color with B&W sequences, 2005

KISS OF DEATH (1947)
DVD2856
Full frame (1.33:1) presentation.
Screen play by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer.
Directed by Henry Hathaway.
Stars Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, Coleen Gray, Richard Widmark, Taylor Holmes, Howard Smith, Karl Malden.
Nick Bianco is a small-time crook who gets caught during a jewel heist. Despite some urging, he refuses to rat out the team, assuming they would take care of his family. When his wife commits suicide, he rats out his partners and one seeks revenge.
1 DVD, B&W, 98 min., 2005

LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: JO WILDING'S DIARY FROM IRAQ
DVD2873
Videodisc release of a 2005 British documentary.
"Narrated by Jo Wilding as a letter to Tony Blair and using original diary extracts, from her challenging of the legality of the devastating economic sanctions imposed on the country, through to her activities in Baghdad before and during the 2003 Invasion, the film traces the non-violent resistance to US/UK policy in the region. Wilding serves as witness to the destruction of the lives of ordinary people during the bombing campaign and their subsequent neglect by Occupation forces and the interim authorities"--http://www.alettertotheprimeminister.co.uk/
1 DVD, Color, 71 min., 2005

MADNESS
DVD2874
Videodisc release of a 2001 segment of the New Zealand television program, Kill or Cure .
This segment of the five-part series presents a history of medical treatment. This program follows the long, often grim road towards understanding and treating mental illness. Through testimonials, original manuscripts, photos, and extensive footage from medical archives, leading doctors and medical historians trace the history of asylums, the development of psychoanalysis, electroconvulsive therapy, and the rise of psychopharmacology. Details the once widespread use of phrenology, lobotomy, and lobotomy's ancient precursor, trepanning.
1 DVD, Color with B&W sequences, 51 min., 2005

MÉTISSE = CAFÉ AU LAIT
DVD2884
Originally released as a French motion picture in 1993.
In French with English subtitles.
Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz.
Stars Julie Mauduech, Hubert Koundé, Mathieu Kassovitz, Vincent Cassel.
An interracial romantic trio come to grips with joint parenthood when a pregnant woman has two lovers and refuses to reveal which of them is the father.
1 DVD, Color, 91 min., 2005

MR. MOM (1983)
DVD2857
Full frame presentation.
Written by John Hughes.
Directed by Stan Dragoti.
Stars Michael Keaton, Teri Garr, Martin Mull, Ann Jillian, Christopher Lloyd, Jeffrey Tambor, Martin Mull.
Michael Keaton plays a harried househusband and Teri Garr a rising business executive who encounter one problem after another.
1 DVD, Color, 91 min., 2000

MULHOLLAND FALLS (1996)
DVD2869
Includes widescreen (1.85:1) and full screen presentations.
Directed by Lee Tamahori.
Stars Nick Nolte, Melanie Griffith, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Treat Williams, Jennifer Connelly, Daniel Baldwin, Andrew McCarthy, John Malkovich.
A rough and vicious group of detectives stumble onto a conspiracy involving the murder of a general and a top secret nuclear program.
1 DVD, Color with B&W sequences, 107 min., 2004

MY COUNTRY MY COUNTRY (2006)
DVD2883
Widescreen (1.85:1) presentation.
Documentary providing an intimate portrait of Iraqis living under U.S. occupation. The principal focus is Dr. Riyadh, an Iraqi medical doctor, father of six, and Sunni political candidate who is an outspoken critic of the occupation but passionate about the need to establish democracy in Iraq. As his waiting room is filled daily with patients suffering the physical and mental effects of ever-increasing violence, Dr. Riyadh struggles to understand the tragic contradiction of the U.S. occupation of Iraq and its project to spread democracy through the Middle East.
1 DVD, Color, 90 min., 2007

NETWORK (1976)
DVD1472
Special Edition.
Widescreen presentation.
Written by Paddy Chayefsky.
Directed by Sidney Lumet.
Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall, Wesley Addy, Ned Beatty, Jordan Charney, Conchata Ferrell.
A television newscaster's mental breakdown turns him into a celebrity when the network tries to profit from his illness.
2 DVDs, Color, 121 min., 2006
2nd disc contains special features.
REPLACEMENT.

THE OLDEST VICTIMS
DVD2878
Subtitle on disc label and container: Elder Abuse .
Videodisc release of a 1997 episode of the television program, Against the Law .
"This program addresses a number of elder abuse-related topics, including the embezzlement of elders' funds by family members; the criminal neglect and endangerment of housebound and bedridden elders by their children and friends; and alleged mercy killings of terminally ill elders by their spouses. The case of a senior-stalker who murdered over a dozen elderly women and the story of a parent-abuser turned elder-advocate are also presented"--Container.
1 DVD, Color, 45 min., 2004

PROTAGONIST (2006)
DVD2858
"A riveting and provocative documentary that explores the psychological transformation of the modern character. Inspired by Greek drama, Academy Award-winning director Jessica Yu weaves together the stories of four men consumed by personal odysseys - a notorious former German terrorist, an evangelical minister who comes out of the closet, a bank robber turned journalist, and a kung-fu fanatic who becomes a stay-at-home dad and author"--Container.
1 DVD, Color with B&W sequences, 90 min., 2008

SAND AND SORROW (2007)
DVD2851
Details the historical events that have given rise to the Arab-dominated Darfur government's willingness to kill and displace its own indigenous African people, and examines the international community's failure to respond to such profound crimes against humanity in the past. Offers unparalleled access to a contingent of African Union peacekeeping forces.
1 DVD, Color, 94 min., 2008

SARTRE: THE ROAD TO FREEDOM (1999)
DVD2876
"This program uses archival footage, accounts by some of his close friends, and interviews with experts to analyze Sartre's life and existential outlook from the vantage point of World War II and its aftermath. Dramatized excerpts of Nausea and No exit underscore Sartre's themes of alienation and commitment and offer a glimpse of his vision of hell"--Container.
1 DVD, Color with B&W sequences, 48 min., 2004

SHIRTS AND SKINS
DVD2852
Subtitle on disc label: The Sociology of Basketball .
Film originally aired on WTIU (Bloomington, Indiana) on March 28, 2002.
Shows how pickup basketball can turn strangers into teammates. Follows a group of serious amateur basketball players in Bloomington, Indiana during an eight-month period.
1 DVD, Color, 30 min., 2005

SUR MES LÈVRES
DVD2886
Disc label title: Read my Lips .
Originally released as a French motion picture in 2001.
In French with English subtitles.
Widescreen (1.85:1) presentation.
Directed by Jacques Audiard.
Stars Vincent Cassel, Emmanuelle Devos, Olivier Gourmet.
Carla works in a real estate office and has a hearing problem. Carla makes the acquaintance of Paul, a small-time criminal who has just been released from prison on parole. Before long, it becomes obvious that Paul is having an influence on Carla's normally stable nature. Carla and Paul's actions go from malicious to seriously criminal when Paul hatches a scheme to rob a nightclub owner to whom he owes money, a scheme that involves Carla's keen skill as a lip reader.
1 DVD, Color, 119 min., 2003

THAT'S BLACK ENTERTAINMENT
DVD2862
Videodisc release of a 2002 television mini-series.
That's Black Entertainment is a fascinating three-part series that showcases the groundbreaking work of African American talent during the early years of Black cinema.
Disc 1. Actors -- disc 2. Comedians -- disc 3. Westerns.
3 DVDs, Color and B&W, 420 min., 2006

THE TRIALS OF LAW SCHOOL
DVD2859
Explores the demanding law school experience of eight students going through their first stressful year at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Includes insights from legal scholars around the country.
1 DVD, Color, 87 min., 2006

THE WAR YEARS: BRITAIN IN WORLD WAR TWO
DVD2868
Videodisc release of a 1990 British documentary series.
Stories of the familiar men and women and the famous battles of World War Two, of Churchill and Montgomery, Roosevelt and Eisenhower, Hitler and Goering, of Dunkirk, El Alamein, Normandy, Stalingrad, as well as the stories of those who stayed home in Britain, to endure the Blitz, to enlist in the Home Guard, to do what had to be done.
The Phoney War (1938-1945) -- The Battle of Britain (1940) -- The Blitz (1940-1941) -- The Tide Turns (1942-1944) -- The Final Chapter (1944-1945).
5 DVDs, B&W, 290 min., 2004

WAYANG KULIT: THE SHADOW PUPPET THEATRE OF JAVA (1970)
DVD2853
Presentation of the Javanese shadow puppet play Wayang Kulit.
1 DVD, Color, 22 min., 2008

WESTINGHOUSE
DVD2854
Series: The Minutes of History series.
Examines the life and career of industrialist George Westinghouse, pioneer of electric power and provider of numerous important inventions. Emphasizes Westinghouse's honesty and integrity as a businessman and possessor of wealth.
1 DVD, Color and B&W, 112 min., 2008

WORLD WAR 1: AMERICAN LEGACY
DVD2861
Series: The Minutes of History series .
Tells the many forgotten stories of the men and women who served in the Great War from the summer of 1914 to November 1918, reminding Americans of their impact on our country that can still be felt today.
1 DVD, B&W, 112 min., 2006