Costumes Movie Reviews

This DVD recording of the Alpine Symphony by Strauss is amazing. Having had his release on the Karajan Gold edition for a while, I thought it would be good to pick up yet another Karajan interpretation.

The Berlin Philharmonic play beautifully especially at the section following the storm. Karajan appears to be completely overcome by the passionate BPO strings. I would dare say Karajan gave this music his all to prove how valuable this piece is in the repetoir.

The storm sequence is wonderfully played. I wish the cameraman could have captured a shot of the wind machine...as i have never seen one before. Other than that though there are some fabulous shots of Karajan's conducting, strings, brass, woodwinds, ect. The only neglected section is the percussion section. The picture appears clear, and the sonics are great in my opinion.

The music itself really packs a wollop and deserves to be played on a quality surround sound system. This is my introduction to the Karajan Legacy Series and i am very impressed with this recording of the Alpine Symphony.

I have been a fan of Jennifer Larmore ever since her early, spectacular recording of Handel's "Julius Caesar," but have unfortunately never seen her sing. This video, then, fills an important gap in my collection, and I cannot praise it highly enough. Larmore is both a fine artist and an entertaining singer: though some of her acting seems a little contrived when compared to, say, Janet Baker, she is never overly silly or annoying. The way she "acts out" the three Rossini songs that comprise "The Venetian Regatta," for instance, is amusing without being irksome, and to see her settle into the crook of the piano to deliver Kurt Weill's French cabaret songs is simply delightful.

In addition to all this, Larmore is in excellent voice and the program is well-chosen, except for the two songs by Jake Heggie which are drivel. It is also interesting to watch the way Larmore positions herself and manages her vocal equipment: you can tell that this is a singer who works very hard to appear "effortless" in both sound and motion. She surprises one with her sensitive renditions of Purcell and Debussy, then launches into more popular material like "Brazil" and "Art is Calling Me" with no suggestion of preciousness. In short, Larmore leaves a good taste in the ear...she is always worth hearing and, on this wonderful video, definitely worth watching.

originally aired live on the CBC, these three limon ballets are danced on a set rather than the stage. the cameras are set for an intimate experience with the dances (esp. in The Moor's Pavane). the collection features jose limon and lucas hoving in three roles each that define the male modern dancer.

This is a wonderful must have video!With the great Kiri Te Kanawa in her best form and old friend Robin Stapleton conducting this is one for all music lovers.Kiri has a wonderful range in dynmanics.She has worked with greats from Berstein to Lloyd Webber himself so her vast knowledge of all music types comes into play here.Plus you have the stunning outblack.This is not the first time Dame Kiri has sung in the outback.Its wonderful to have the whole concert on view here.

After being scratched by a radioactive cat, Sam a top U.S. Agent develops super-human powers. By using both his laser vision and his incredible strenght, he battles the Asian Mafia which is trying to gain ultimate control over the orient! With the help of the mysterious rebel Franco, Catman does battle with these muderous crimal organizations. Fist fly and blood boils with every crushing blow Catman and his allies deal these vicious scum!

This is a must have Pavarotti DVD. It Looks and Sounds good, not normal DVD quality (more like Video Quality) BUT it includes a great selection of Arias and Italian favorites. IT IS A MUST HAVE.

Two of the most rootfull bluesmen: Rev. Gary Davis and Sonny Terry, introduced by another leggend of music, Taj Majal. This video shows us the power and the glory of the songs, hymns and other compositions by Rev. Davis. With powerfull voice and a marvelous guitar he celebrates with holy grace of the Lord. Sonny Terry makes an exceptional and rare solo performance that reveals his skills as harp player and shows the very escense of whoopi'n the blues as no one ever. An exceptional testimony of two greats of the blues music ever.

This DVD comes highly recommended. When this set from Pioneer was first released in 1987 on VHS and laserdisc, Pioneer combined excerpts from five of its greatest complete opera telecasts at the time: DON CARLO, UN BALLO IN MASCHERA, TANNHAUSER, LA BOHEME, LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR with the BARTERED BRIDE Overture from the 1983 Met Gala. All of these telecasts offered rich, classic and committed interpretations from such stars as Sutherland, Pavarotti, Freni, Domingo, Carreras, Marton, and Stratas. I promise you that you will want to buy most of these operas complete on DVD when you see these extensive excerpts. The added bonus is a set of six, short intermission features that were on the 1983 Gala, tracing the history of the Met in eras from "The Inaugural Season" thru "Bing and Beyond" --a fascinating look at the MET's history, using prints, photographs, sound recordings, newsreels and interviews. The DVD is titled "Volume One" but there has never been a Volume Two, which is a shame since Pioneer has such a rich library of telecasts from which to select.
Particularly for someone who is just learning about opera and wants a quality introduction, with the finest singers of there time, this DVD is a must-have.

In this film, C.J. Caracci teaches some good hand to hand combat techniques useful for police officers. He gives a very compete instruction on every technique, and explains what details are important in succesfully employing the techniques. Caracci also shows counter moves to some of the techniques, which helps you pay attention to the important details.

The techniques shown are very simple to learn. I do not have much experience on martial arts, but still I had no difficulties on learning the techniques. And as a police officer, I have had a chance of testing some of the techniques in real life situations, and in my experience they work very well.

Caracci teaches also some little tricks you can use with other techniques than those instructed here. So, even if your departmental policy demands you to use different tehniques than in the film, you can still benefit from those tricks.

Run time: 1:44

THIS DVD WILL BLOW YOUR MIND AWAY!!! THESE WOMEN ARE THE BEST FEMALE FIGHTERS I HAVE SEEN!!THERE IS NO DIFFRENCE BETWEEN THE WOMEN AND THE MEN BECAUSE THESE WOMEN FIGHT JUST HAS HARD IF NOT HARDER THAN THE MEN AND THAT SIMPLY BECAUSE HAS FEMALE FIGHTERS THEY HAVE SOMETHING TO PROVE TO THE PUBLIC AND THE M.M.A. INDUSTRY..SO WHEN YOU SEE THEM FIGHT THEY ARE EXPLOSIVE!! THE ONLY NEGATIVE THING I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THE DVD IS THAT THE FIGHTS ARE FAST BUT STILL VERY GOOD..

Hook N Shoot took a big gamble by having the first ever all women's MMA card in North American history. After watching this DVD, you will have to agree that the gamble paid off big time. 7 fights in all with only one going past the first round. People who say women MMA fighters have no skill will be forced to shut their mouths after watching this event. All 14 women show amazing heart and they show some pretty impressive skills levels too. The main event has Debi Purcell, my favorite female fighter, taking on Chris Van Fleet. An excellent event that would be a shame if missed.