Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi (1983) Review

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(More customer reviews)Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi is a great documentary on the behind the scenes processes used to make the creatures & monsters in Return of the Jedi. I am amazed this wasn't put in as an bonus feature on the DVD versions of the film. If you enjoy learning about Phil Tippet and pre-CG special effects, this is a great watch.

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Starwoids (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)DO NOT BELIEVE THE REVIEWS!!! I BOUGHT THIS MOVIE STRICTLY OFF THE REVIEWS, AND I TRULY WISH I HAD NOT.
I am a Star Wars nut. I now realize that I'm not a nut of watching Star Wars lunatics. I thought this would be an interesting glimpse into another aspect of the Star Wars realm, one that's not heavily documented elsewhere. However I was unbelievably disappointed to find out that this was nothing more than a documentary of several people in the months, weeks, and days ahead of Episode 1, with 90% of it devoted to the people waiting in line. If you think standing in line is boring, you should see how agonizing it is to watch people waiting in line, especially over a period of months. This movie has no spark, no inspiration, and no appeal whatsoever...and I'll watch anything Star Wars. This film was basically the equivalent of a news program, where they stand outside a movie theater and ask people as they're waiting or as they're leaving what they think.
Don't buy this movie, don't rent this movie, don't even watch it at a friend's house. It's not even worth 5 minutes of your time, let alone the whole film.

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On April 7th, 1999, lines formed at the Mann's Village and Chinese theaters to see the first Star Wars film in 16 years. Filmmaker Dennis Przywara actually stood in line for 42 days to capture the frenzy caused by the release of Star Wars Episode I! True fans clashed over those dramatic weeks as a rivalry ignited between the lines. Meet the fans behind the phenomenon from a Bob Fett musician, a woman who drives an X-Wing automobile, fans crashing Skywalker Ranch, to a high school production of Star Wars the Musical. Starwoids goes beyond the hype to reveal the fandom, the frenzy, and the pursuit to see the most anticipated film in cinema history.

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TILT: The Battle to Save Pinball (Two-Disc Set) Review

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(More customer reviews)Anyone who grew up in the 1960s and especially the 1970s has probably played a game of pinball at least once in their lives. At its core is a simple game of hitting a little ball with a couple of paddles controlled by two buttons but it also requires a certain amount of skill and hand-eye coordination to keep the ball in play and rack up as large a score as possible with three balls. Tilt: The Battle to Save Pinball documents the demise of Chicago-based Williams' pinball division which, at one point, controlled 80% of the market.
Tilt traces the development of a pinball machine that would take the medium into the 21st century and how it succeeded and failed with legends from the industry and from within Williams telling the story. It also takes us step-by-step through how a game is designed, from initial concept to the finished product. Ultimately, bad timing and licensing the wrong franchise (Star Wars: Episode 1) killed off this new kind of pinball game before it had a chance to grow. Maletic tells a fascinating if not tragic story about the end of an era that is accessible to the casual fan as well as the diehard gamer.
The first disc features an audio commentary by the film's director Greg Maletic. He says that he wanted to make this film accessible to non-pinball fans. He talks about various aspects like the opening credits and the music (inspired by Les Baxter). Maletic cites the Robert Evans documentary, The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002) as the primary influence on his own. Like that film, his has a definite bias. Maletic makes some good observations on this decent track.
The second disc features a staggering six hours of deleted scenes organized in the follow fashion:
"Highlights" allows you to view the best bits of the documentary without having to watch the whole thing in the form of easily digestible soundbites.
"Inside Pinball" features two segments that explain the evolution of pinball and how a machine is designed and assembled in more detail.
"Inside Pinball 2000" features a more detailed look at its origins, how it was made, marketed, and how it failed.
"Inside Williams" features more stories about this company including the demise of its pinball division and a tour of the factory in 1999 as they were assembling the Star Wars: Episode I machine.
"Inside the Industry" takes a more in-depth look at the pinball industry including the boom and bust of the 1990s. There are longer interviews with legends Steve Kordek (who designed nearly 100 machines) and Larry DeMar (who designed the video game Defender and the pinball game Black Knight).
"Lost Machines" takes a fascinating look at obscurities like Bally's Pinball Circus, Wizard Blocks and Playboy, machines that for whatever reason were unreleased with only one or two in existence. There is footage of these machines in action.
"Tributes" features pinball designers giving shout-outs to their contemporaries and mentors as they talk about who they admire in the business.
"Expo Speech" features footage of game designer George Gomez speaking at Pinball Expo in October 1999 about Pinball 2000 with a Q&A session afterwards. This speech was made three days before Williams shutdown their pinball division and Gomez was aware of this going up to speak.
"Cast Discussion" features audio of various designers talking about a wide variety of topics like Sega Pinball, the shutdown of Williams' pinball division, industry repercussions, and so on.
Also included are "Graphs and Statistics" of pinball machines sold, sales, etc.
Finally, "About Tilt" includes a featurette about the special effects used in the film and a trailer.

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Manufacturing Consent - Noam Chomsky and the Media (1993) Review

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(More customer reviews)Despite the previous reviewer's remarks, not once in this film does Noam Chomsky argue that the media suppreses certain news items at the behest of the goverment. Instead, he argues that the national media, as part of the elite corporate power structure, has certain vested interests in not reporting on potentially embarrasing events where the U.S. government is heavily involved on the wrong side. Places like East Timor in the late 1970s, for example. There is no conspiracy theory here. Chomsky is very clear on that. Rather, it's simply a case of people and corporations in power seeking to maintain their hold on power. That's it. Chomsky is an advocate of full, democratic participation in all aspects of American life, and that's the case he presents in this film. It's a wonderful educational tool. Highly recommended.

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Red White Black & Blue Review

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(More customer reviews)Red, White, Black, and Blue is a great documentary. I saw this film at a film festival in Boston and was really blown away. The true horific tale of what went on on the Island of Attu with our soldiers against Japan is important to know and learn from. The film is historically important as well as heart felt. We watch a man from that battle go back in today's time to visit the battle ground. Really touching. War sucks. I wish all documentaries were this interesting!

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As seen on the Emmy-award winning PBS series Independent LensOn June 7, 1942 Japan Invaded Alaska.It is the only invasion of American soil in nearly 200 years.4,000 People died.Now, 60 years later, one man has come to take it back.Bill Jones and Andy Petrus are the two toughest 85-year-olds you've ever met.Together, these life-long friends fought 3,000 Japanese in a secret Alaskan invasion during World War II. Now, 60 years later, these two forgotten heroes embark on an intense and emotional journey back to the remote Aleutian island of Attu, where they relive the brutal 19-day battle that the American government kept secret.As Bill and Andy retrace their steps over this desolate, untouched battlefield - a living museum littered with crashed airplanes, collapsing buildings, and unexploded bombs - the line between past and present begins to blur and long-forgotten memories resurface with moving force.Red White Black & Blue isn't just one soldier's story - it is the story of every solider who faces an enemy he does not understand and returns home with scars that are slow to heal.Walk through one of the bloodiest battles of World War II with the soldiers who lived it. Through their eyes you'll experience the complicated, and sometimes contradictory, mindset of a nation at war and what it really means to be an American hero.Red White Black & Blue is the first feature-length documentary to tell the story of the Battle of Attu, one of the bloodiest battles of World War II and the only invasion of the United States since the War of 1812. DVD includes the award-winning feature-length film plus over 35 minutes of extras including:The theatrical trailer for the filmDeleted scenesUnedited combat footage from the battle of AttuPeriod newsreelsThe 1945 animated short Private Snafu in the Aleutians directed by Chuck Jones and written by Theodor Dr. Seuss GeiselAdditional footage of the island todayAnd much more

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Baraka (1993) Review

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(More customer reviews)I will not attempt to extol the virtues film itself (what more can I say than has already been said?), but of the new collector's edition: I too have the original DVD release, and the VHS release. This new transfer is AMAZING, and is exactly what the first DVD release should have been... PRISTINE video (very few artifacts, little or no pixelation), and IMMACULATE audio (crisp, clean, and great presence without sounding "over-processed"). If you have both versions and can't tell the difference, then it's time to watch it on a large screen TV, and clean yer ears out! The improvements are painfully obvious. This is a truly incredible film, and finally justice has been done with the fantastic quality of the consumer version. Like someone else said, give your old copy away, and BUY THIS VERSION now! I'm glad I picked it up, and you will be too.

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The word "Baraka" means "blessing" in several languages; watchingthis film, the viewer is blessed with a dazzling barrage of images thattranscend language. Filmed in 24 countries and set to an ever-changing global soundtrack, the movie draws somesurprising connections between various peoples and the spaces they inhabit,whether that space is a lonely mountaintop or a crowded cigarette factory. Someof these attempts at connection are more successful than others: for instance,an early sequence segues between the daily devotions of Tibetan monks, OrthodoxJews, and whirling dervishes, finding more similarity among these rituals thanone might expect. And there are other amazing moments, as when sped-up footageof a busy Hong Kong intersection reveals a beautiful symmetry to urban life thatcould only be appreciated from the perspective of film. The lack of context isoccasionally frustrating--not knowing where a section was filmed, or the meaningof the ritual taking place--and some of the transitions are puzzling. However,the DVD includes a short behind-the-scenes featurette in which cinematographerRon Fricke ("Koyaanisqatsi") explains that the effect was intentional:"It's not where you are that's important, it's what's there." And what's here,in "Baraka", is a whole world summed up in 104 minutes. "--Larisa LomackyMoore"

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Triumph of the Will (Special Edition) (1935) Review

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(More customer reviews)TRIUMPH OF THE WILL has long been viewed through a dual perspective: It is both reviled by many for its glorification of Hitler, and at the same time praised for the masterful work of its director, the legendary Leni Riefenstahl (who at the time of this writing is still alive...I think she's over 100 by now). The truth is, it is all of that and more - a highly memorable, fascinating experience on several levels:
1. Despite the subject matter, it must be acknowledged that this film does what it was made to do marvelously well: It is a masterpiece of the art of propaganda...somethng that is practiced every day by all governments, in advertising, and in all political campaigns - but never better than this. The film does an amazing job of tapping deep into the German psyche, with scenes of Nuremburg, youth, etc., and allusions to great Germans of the past, all designed to tug at the "volkish" national sentiment, then deftly superimposed with images of Hitler. Very crafty, but no different than what we see every day in our media-saturated world.
2. As a study of the early the Nazi era, it is invaluable. Regardless of what happened in the years that followed, TRIUMPH needs to be viewed as a statement of its own era, when none of the horrors had yet happened and many around the world still referred to the Nazi regime (which was then consolidating power and trying to reach the hearts and minds of the people) as "the German renaissance". The commentary track adds a fascinating "what happened to that Nazi?" perspective.
3. This film has become unbelievably influential (possibly because it is still required viewing in film schools); it is perhaps second only to THE BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN as the most visually quoted film in hstory. Just a few examples: The closing scene in STAR WARS, "Be Prepared" from THE LION KING, and especially the entrance of Commodus into Rome from GLADIATOR are all lifted directly from visuals in TRIUMPH. Even more common is the visual "homage" that directors sometimes subtly insert, such as the woman being tossed in the air from THE BIG LEBOWSKI (remember the kid at the beginning of TRIUMPH)? The list goes on and on.
One certainly does not need to sympathize with the Nazis to appreciate this film. In fact, it is precisely because of what became of them that makes this early look so fascinating. Still, I would not call this "entertainment"; rather, this is a piece to study and analyze. Recommended for any student of history, sociology, mass media, or film.

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Smothered - The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)The 2002 documentary "The Great Smothers Brothers Censorship Wars" tells the story of how one of the most popular comedy variety shows on television in the Sixties went to far and was axed by the network. Tom and Dick Smothers were a popular comedy and folk singing team: Tommy played both the guitar and the role of dullard while Dick played bass, sang the tenor parts in the arrangement, and tried unsuccessfully to keep his brother in line. "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" first aired on February 5, 1967 going up against the #1 show on television, "Bonanza." The show finished 16th in the Nielsens and helped knock the Cartwrights out of the top spot the following season. The show was a hit with younger viewers, who liked the irreverence of the show, which poked fun at every sacred cow they could find, aided and abetted by Pat Paulsen's "editorials."
As this documentary shows, the Smothers Brothers were having trouble getting things past the CBS censors almost from the start. When Paulsen ran a joke campaign for the presidency, CBS kept him off the air fearing the real candidates would demand equal time, but the two key blows were an appearance by folk singing legend Pete Seger, who sang the Vietnam protest song "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" and a pair of comedy "sermons" by comedian David Bernstein. The technical reason for canceling the show was the failure to provide a tape on time to be cleared by the censors, but the motivation was clearly the anti-war, left-wing, and outspoken guest stars. Tommy Smothers could yell about the First Amendment all he wanted, but in the end CBS replaced the show with "Hee Haw," a lesson that was lost on no one at the time, which was, you should remember, Richard Nixon's first term in the White House.
The documentary is fairly balanced, with talking heads from both sides, some of which will be recognizable to young viewers (e.g., Steve Martin, a Smo Bro writer). For those of us who fondly remember Leigh French, Bob Einstein, and Mason Williams, this is a nice walk down memory lane, albeit through some bad times. "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" was my favorite television show and when we left for Japan where my father was stationed it was the last television show I watched the night before the flight over. The documentary does assume that you know about the comedy of the Smothers Brothers, because that takes a back seat to the behind the camera conflicts between CBS and Tommy Smothers. Of course, in the television climate of today with what is available on cable the problems of the Smothers Brothers seems rather nostalgic, but there is still a chilling aspect to the tale when you recall the protests against the war, the assassinations of Kennedy and King, and the movement against dissent by the establishment at the end of that decade.
The great irony of course was that it was CBS that would be the network that would decide to air "All in the Family," which both ushered in an age of "relevant" prime time programming and constituted a de facto absolution for Tommy Smothers. Unfortunately, when the Smothers Brothers were let back on the air (on NBC) they were produced by Joe Hamilton, Carol Burnett's husband, who tried to force them into the mold of his wife's successful comedy variety show. By the time Tommy took over the producer's role the show was doomed by the half dozen shows he put on at the end were as fine as anything the format had seen and I am glad that when I met him several years ago I was able to tell him exactly that.

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An incredible slice of America’s media and pop-culture history, SMOTHERED tells the story of the censorship struggles of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, the Emmy Award winning television program, broadcast on CBS from 1967 until it was prematurely stru

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Road Warriors: The Life and Death of the Most Dominant Tag-Team in Wrestling History Review

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(More customer reviews)Discuss This Story with Tons of Wrestling Fans!Silvervision.co.uk has released information in regards to the matches that will
be in the forthcoming Road Warriors DVD release from WWE. They've really packed
the two disk set with matches as they'res nearly 30 matches on it from the NWA,
WWF and AWA. Head to the site to see the cover art of the DVD and more
information. The DVD is set to be released on Tuesday, June 14, 2005.Disc One
NWA Georgia Championship Wrestling (11/06/83) vs. Joe Young & Randy Barber
NWA Georgia Championship Wrestling (07/08/83} vs. Arn Anderson & Paul Jones
NWA World Championship Wrestling Omni (28/08/83) Texas Tornado Match vs. The
Brisco Brothers
Commentary by: Jim Ross & Animal
NWA Georgia Championship Wrestling (03/01/83) vs. Mike Jackson & Stone
AWA All Star Wrestling (25/08/84) AWA World Tag Title Championship vs. Baron
von Raschke & The Crusher
Alternate Commentary by: Jim Ross & Animal
NWA Georgia Championship Wrestling (27/08/83)
AWA All Star Wrestling (28/07/84)
AWA ESPN Championship Wrestling (15/10/85)
NWA World Championship Wrestling (03/10/87)
NWA World Championship Wrestling (10/10/87)
NWA World Championship Wrestling (28/01/89)
WCW Wrestle War (25/02/90)
Brutus the Barber Beefcake's BarberShop Wrestling Challenge (28/09/91)
Royal Rumble (21/01/92)
In Your House: Degeneration X (07/12/97)
Hawk Tribute Part 1 Confidential (08/11/03)
Hawk Tribute Part 2 Confidential (08/11/03)
Trophy Room
Paul Ellering "Go For It"
Michaels Hayes "A Lesson in Striving for Success"
Road Warriors Music Video
Disc Two
AWA All Star Wrestling (21/08/85) vs. Larry 'the Axe' & Curt Hennig
Superclash (28/09/85) AWA World Tag Team Title Match vs. The Fabulous Freebirds
Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament Cup (19/04/86) vs. Magnum TA &
Ronnie Garvin
Commentary by: Jim Ross & Animal
Great American Bash (05/07/86) Russian Chain Match vs. Ivan & Nikita Kolaff
Starrcade (27/11/86) Scaffold Match vs. Midnight Express
Starrcade (29/11/87) NWA Tag Team Championship vs. Tully Blanchard & Arn
Anderson
New Orleans (29/10/88) NWA World Tag Team Championship vs. Midnight Express
Challenge (09/02/91) vs. Demolition
Wrestlefest (12/03/91) vs. Hart Foundation
Tokyo Egg Dome (30/03/91) vs. Hulk Hogan & Genichiro Tenryu
Japanese Commentary, Alternate Commentary by: Jim Ross & Animal
Summerslam (26/08/91) WWE Tag Team Championship vs. Nasty Boys
Summerslam (29/08/92) vs. Money Inc.
Superbrawl (02/11/96) WCW Tag Team Championship Match vs. Sting & Lex Luger
RAW (13/10/97) WWE Tag Team Championship vs. The Godwinns


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Battle for Survival, The Arab Israeli Six Day War (1998) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is B&W footage from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's coverage of the Six-Day War (dubbed Operation Strike, Zion! by Israel), the only film crew allowed on the battlefield.
This video has some spectacular shots, such as Israeli figher jet camera footage of the downing of an Egyptian MiG, though unfortunately, due to age, much of the film quality itself is poor.
Since the film crew was behind Israeli lines, the viewpoint is from their perspective and so might come across as slightly more pro-Israeli (as a warning to those who tend to get fanatical on the issue).
Militarily, this is an excellent study of an incredible war where superior intelligence, tactics and resolve were able to overcome superior numbers, arms and technology in a remarkably short period of time.
The only complaint I have is that, for the price, it could have been longer as it is only 60 min. long. That keeps it from getting more than 3 stars.

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S21 The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)Rithy Panh's award-winning documentary, endorsed by Human Rights Watch, will be painful for any compassionate human being to watch. The documentary brings together two surviving prisoners and a group of former Khmer Rouge cadre, interrogators, executioners, guards, record keepers, and the photographer who staffed the infamous S-21 prison where over 16,000 Cambodians were tortured, interrogated, and trucked off to be killed and cast into mass graves.
The scenes were filmed inside the still standing prison and at the Choeung Ek killing field. The Khmer language dialogue is crisply and accurately subtitled in English.
The executioner sits in his home enduring the lecture by his mother, who bemoans the fate of her son, turned into a killer by the Khmer Rouge. She raised him to know better. His father urges him to speak the truth and take responsibility for those he killed.
Former prisoner Chum Mey collapses in tears in front of the prison, unable to speak, as painful a scene as I have ever watched on film.
Interrogators sit holding photos and confessions of their victims and discuss specific cases -- beatings, torture, forcing female prisoners to strip off their clothes, unspeakable sexual violations. Former guards re-enact their prison routines on site, escorting incoming prisoners, monitoring the cells, taking prisoners to interrogation, taking them to the trucks headed to the killing field. Executioner and driver re-enact the execution and burial routine. The former prison staff re-enact political indoctrination and training meetings they attended in the prison, using genuine archival photos and documents preserved by the superb NGO, the Documentation Center of Cambodia, which is led by Cambodian-American director Mr Youk Chhang. The interrogators admit "embellishing" the interrogation reports. The prisoners admit "implicating" everyone they knew because that was what the interrogators wanted.
Surviving prisoner Vann Nath sits with the shamed former Khmer Rouge staff to try to fathom what was in their minds when they carried out the atrocities. "There are no more ideals, no more human conscience. We become dust in the wind." One of the final scenes is of dust blowing inside the upper floor of the prison during a thunderstorm.
It is in vogue this very week for some of our leaders to publicly challenge Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, calling them haters of America with ridiculous charges not to taken seriously. God knows the work of these two organizations is intended in part to insure that we never have to sit in shame in front of any human who suffered abuse at our hands or in our name. Documenting human rights violations around the world helps us to keep constantly alive in our minds the stark differences between "freedom-lovers" and "evil-doers." We must operate with the utmost transparency and openness with daily international inspections and demand the same from all of our momentary allies of convenience around the world.
Every American interrogator, intelligence officer, and prison guard and military officer should watch and learn and pride himself in knowing that he is in no way like the interrogator in the film who says, "I was arrogant. I had power over the enemy. I saw him as an animal."


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{Winner! International Human Rights Award, Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema 2004}{Winner! François Chalais Award, Cannes Film Festival 2003}{Winner! Gold Plaque, Best Documentary, Chicago International Film Festival 2003}{Winner! Best Documentary, European Film Awards 2003}In 1975-79, almost two million Cambodians lost their lives to murder and famine when the Khmer Rouge forced the urban population into the countryside to fulfill their ideal of an agrarian utopia. The notorious detention center code-named 'S21' was the schoolhouse-turned prison where 17,000 men, women and children were tortured, interrogated and executed, their "crimes" meticulously documented to justify their execution. In this award-winning documentary and astonishing historical document, Rithy Panh and his team undertook a three year investigation involving not only the survivors, but also their former torturers. They persuaded both groups to return to the actual site of what was formerly S21, now converted into a Genocide Museum, to face their past. One survivor, Vann Nath confronts his captors, some of whom were as young as 12 years old when they committed their atrocities.Human Rights Watch, widely regarded as one of the most influential and important human rights organizations in the world, and First Run Features, which for 25 years has distributed films that confront human rights issues, formed a collaboration to bring awareness to films that shed light on human rights abuses throughout the world. S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine is the first title in the HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH SELECTS DVD series.

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Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)There are many memorable images in Farenheit 9/11, Bush reading "my pet goat" after the second plane hit, the wailing Iraqi mother who lost her family, Gore and Deniro partying after the Democrats short lived win - but the one that really sticks in my mind and manages to sums it all up succinctly is the elderly woman at the bingo hall who saw through the tainted slant of the media and the ever shifting reasons for invading Iraq and exclaims with toal contempt "we were duped"! Its an epiphany many of us are waking up to now, thanks to a fat white guy who currently happens to be more dispised by the religious right then Marylyn Manson or Anton Levay.
To hear it from the naysayers, Michael Moore stands in front of a camera for 2 hours launching vicious slander against righteous George. The truth of the matter is we almost never see Moore, Bush himself is the "star" of Fanrenheit 9/11 and whatever opinion the audience ends up drawing, it is based on Bush's own words and actions. The religious right has us so transfixed we find ourselves saying things like "even if the movie is only 90% true..." Well i went through the exhaustive reference material available on www.michaelmoore.com and every assertion, every statement has been published somewhere before in the mainstream media based on traceable data. Unfortunately with just 5 guys controlling this information an article about the White house flying the Bin Laden family back to Saudi Arabia where 15 of the hijackers originated came from quickly dissapears from print and funnily enough is NOT the lead story on FOX news, I wonder why.
Moore plays his cards just right, I have watched this film with several groups of republican voters and fundamentalist Christians who would typically vote for George the anti-choice pro descrimination conservative. When Lila Liscombe reads the final letter from her son before he died serving in Iraq she breaks down in the point of his letter "Thank you for the Bible". It suddenly begins to dawn on these conservatives that Bush and his republican cohorts have behaved in a decidedly Un-Christian way in sending thousands of innocent men and women to unnecessary deaths, while Osama Bin Forgotton. I have watched every single Christian conservative melt like an ice cube thorugh this section of the film, indeed anyone without a heart of stone could not help but be touched by the Liscombe family. My female friends weep and the men sit in stunned silence "Im flaberghasted" is all one could manage at the conclusion.
This is as heavy handed as the film will get, the documentary itself is incredible not just from the content but in that we almost have a new doco genre here "tragi-comedy". What we witness in Farenheit 9/11 makes you angry enough to jump out of your seat and enrole to vote (even when you live on the other side of the world like me), it makes you want to weep at the injustice, all while you cannot help but laugh a hysterical laugh at the complete absurdity and stupidity we ourselves remain responsible for. I can not imagine a more important film being released this decade.
Ps If you think Michael is in it for the money he is losing millions in DVD sales to rush the release and attempt to have the film shown free on TV. He withdrew his nomination for best documentary Oscar on the chance a network will screen the film before the Election. I have a new American hero


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FAHRENHEIT 9-11 - DVD Movie

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Frontline: Ghosts of Rwanda Review

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(More customer reviews)This program is well done and very informative. It is definitely worth watching for anyone interested in the disaster in Rwanda. The interviews alone make the program worthwhile.
My only complaint about this program is that it is unmistakably USA-centric. A significant focus of the program is the shameful role of the U.S. in opposing every meaningful proposal for timely intervention or support of the meager peace keeping force on the ground in Rwanda. Though all the attention given to this aspect of the Rwandan disaster is worthwhile, there was no discussion of the responsibility of other Security Council members, especially France. The role of France is particularly deserving of analysis because of its close relationship with the regime, its role as a military adviser to the regime, and the use of its troops in Operation Turquoise to shelter the regime's retreat to refugee camps outside Rwanda once the genocide had been completed. Yet the program hardly mentions France at all, still unapologetic over its role in Rwanda. Similarly, the program skips over entirely the difficult questions surrounding the troubling lack of moral leadership of the Catholic and Anglican Churches in what had nominally been the most Christian country in Africa. The feckless response of the UN leaders in New York is not examined very closely, notwithstanding a few regretful, self-serving bromides from Kofi Anan, who was in charge of peace keeping missions at the time. There is not a single mention of UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who helped suppress any effective UN response. If time did not permit examination of all these issues, then the coverage of the American response should have been reduced to allow more focus on Kigali, New York, and Paris.
I recommend this program, but I also recommend that it be re-titled: "Ghosts of Rwanda: The American Perspective." I also recommend "Bystanders to Genocide" in the September 2001 issue of The Atlantic (the author was briefly interviewed in the program) and the report of Organization of African Unity, "Rwanda: The Preventable Genocide", both of which are available on the Internet. There are also a number of good books on this tragedy.


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FRONTLINE marks the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide with a documentary chronicling one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century. In addition to interviews with key government officials and diplomats, the two-hour documentary offers eyewitness accounts of the genocide from those who experienced it firsthand. FRONTLINE illustrates the failures that enabled the slaughter of 800,000 people to occur unchallenged by the global community.

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Wings of the Red Star: MIG Force - Duel Over Korea/Phantom's Foe/Foxbat Review

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(More customer reviews)I enjoyed this series which documents the peaks of Soviet aviation using Russian archives and Peter Ustinov (just to let us known that the producers meant business) to show us the other side of the story of mil-av. (The series also included entries for swing-wing fighters like the MiG-23, bombers like the Blackjack and gunship helicopters like the Hind".) The show not only documents the aircraft, but the political and historical context that shaped their development and use. We learn about TSAgI (not sure of the exact spelling), the Russian aerodynamics and hydrodynamics institute that led the way to developing advanced aircraft for a burgeoning soviet military, and encounter the figures who would give that drive its fuel.
The first tape shows the development of the MiG-15, the pioneering swept-wing fighter that would gain legendary status in the skies over Korea. The context here is the Soviets' phoenix-like resurgence from the ashes of "The Great Patriotic" war, a heady time in which pain was subsumed by the triumph over fascism. Nothing seemed impossible for the Soviets, and the MiG was an aluminum representation of that dream. From their first jets - basically WWII fighters with large and unsightly jets replacing the piston engine - the Soviets learn the lessons of compressibility and delayed critical mach. Having given primacy in fighter design to Lavochkin and Yak during the war, the Mikoyan design bureau finally exploited its research in jet-powered aircraft by unveiling their MiG-15. The MiG competed with a similar design from Lavochkin (visibly distinct with its higher-placed wings) that outflew the Mig, but would have been harder to maintain. The MiG flew in Korea and the mideast, setting the stage for conflicts where narrowing gaps between aircraft heightened the importance of training. (The MiG first fell to an F-80, an older American jet with unswept wings.)
The story continues with the MiG-21, a delta-winged fighter, but not a tail-less delta, which the Russians had a demonstrated aversion to. The cold-war has lost its post-WWII innocence, the MiG is a more determined entry. Exceedingly hobbled by poor range (it's small fuel fraction is further reduced because the plane - already unforgiving - needs much of its fuel for ballast), the MiG-21 is nevertheless invincible within a short hop from its homebase. Thus, the "Fishbed" represents the compromises made to ensure matchless horizontal agility.
The package concludes with the MiG-25, in which the Russians sacrificed agility for raw speed - to cut down weight, structural supports were deleted, reducing the plane to a limit of 4g. The "Foxbat" was the apex of Russian aviation - more advanced aircraft were introduced, but the Foxbat represented the ultimate in singleminded design, an almost fanatic pursuit of a single design goal. Latter Soviet jets were more practical machines - maneuverable and fast, able to fly from rough airfields (a Soviet design tradition) while using more sophisticated equipment - and weren't produced with a single, doomsday mission. Thus, more than its successors, the Foxbat reflected on the mind and the will of Soviet designers.
This was a great series - pursuing a (then) seldom appreciated subject from a rare perspective. (How many stories about how great the F-15 is can we stand to hear?) Ustinov's narration gives the story the quality of a Russian tragedy, while a serviceable score keeps things from devolving into camp.

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Paper Clips Review

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(More customer reviews)It is so refreshing to see that there can be genuinely excellent documentaries such as "March of the Penguins" and this moving film, "Paper Clips," particularly in light of some of the schlock documentaries that have become hits in recent years. "Paper Clips" documents a project in the Whitwell, TN Middle School in which principal Linda Hooper leads dedicated students and teachers in a lesson on the meaning of the Holocaust. Whitwell is a lower middle class rural community that is almost exclusively white Christian. The members of the community set out to collect six million paper clips, one for each Jew killed by the Nazis. As word spread, contributions came from all over the country and, indeed, the world.
A group of holocaust survivors, from the Five Towns area of Long Island, New York, came to visit the community. Most people in Whitwell had never seen a Jew before but, the two groups instantly bonded. As they heard the tales of what happened in the Holocaust, there were many tears and hugs between the two groups. One student, Cassie Crabtree, was taken by how grandfatherly one of the survivors named Sam is. What happened in Whitwell is that two sets of sterotypes were shattered. The people of Whitwell learned how devestating prejudice and hatred is but, visitors to Whitwell learned how sterotypes of rural southerners as prejudiced rednecks is equally wrong and inaccurate.
It is so intensly moving to see that in our midst there are good, kindly, saintly people. The students, teachers and community members of Whitwell are truly such people. What is also moving is to see how this project grew beyond its original scope. With the help of two German born journalists, the community acquired a cattle car that the Nazis used to transport victims to the concentration camps. This car is a lasting memorial and the clips are kept in that car. Since they received such a huge number of clips, eleven million are stored there, six million for the Jews that were slaughtered and five additional million for the other victims of the Holocaust. What makes this movie so emotional is to see the genuine good that can exist in people as exemplified by the wonderful citizens of Whitwell, TN.

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10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America (History Channel) (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)I love these documentaries. I don't quite understand the viewpoint of the other review. I work in the film industry and these docs are extremely well made by the best directors in documentary filmmaking.
They picked days in history that lead up to great events - turning points. They highlighted parts of our history that we rarely hear about in school or otherwise and I found them fascinating. My husband and I watched them together and would have wonderful discussions afterward. The subject matter was thought provoking and I felt showed how events from our past affect the future.
Each one was done in a different style with a different director. It seemed to me that content dictated the each style - very well executed. I highly recommend these films. Bravo!

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Offering a fresh perspective on the American experience, 10 acclaimed documentary filmmakers direct ten pivotal moments in United States history and the often unexpected changes they triggered. These critical but unsung pieces of history include a local rebellion that inspired a national constitution, bullets fired in Buffalo, New York, and even a crooner from Memphis who couldn't stand still. These are just a few of the fascinating subjects explored in 10 DAYS THAT UNEXPECTEDLY CHANGED AMERICA--10 riveting one-hour documentaries by 10 award-winning independent filmmakers. Together, the documentaries represent compelling stories about less well known events that serve as a lens with which to view the range of the American experience. From the first massacre of Native Americans to the single bloodiest day in American history, from a courtroom battle of science vs. religion that still rages today to the racial murders that led to the Voting Rights Act, these are the events that tested America's soul and forged her destiny.

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The 11th Hour Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a wonderful and important documentary. The film is full of terrifying images and fascinating interviews from some great minds. But, luckily, it does not spend too much time making its case about our destruction. After getting the viewer sufficiently terrified, the film shifts its focus to the causes of the problem. The film also inspires viewers to go out and make a difference (and tells them how).
Of course, comparisons will be made to An Inconvenient Truth, so I'll cover that too: it's clear that this project was always intended to be a film; it didn't begin as a PowerPoint presentation. It also doesn't waste time with a biography of it's narrator. But, most importantly, it's got a better mix of fear and inspiration; DiCaprio's film made me want to change the world.

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