Costumes Movie Reviews

A interesting sacred programme: Pergolesi's Stabat Mater coupled with Mozart's Coronation Mass. The interpreters are four very good soloists (only the two ladies in Pergolesi); a regular orchestra (with some troubles, like violins out of tune); and an irregular choir, alternating bad and good moments (e.g.: bad in Kyrie, good in Gloria). Also, there's a notorious predominance of female voices.
Well, you can find reasons to buy this one: first of all, the music - although these two works deserves better interpretations, here we can listen some pleasant moments. Isn't a first class perfomance (like in Messiah's DVD with Cleobury, or The Creation's DVD with Schreier), but an accetable one. Other reasons are a good work from a young conductor, the quality of soloists, good sound and images (a beautiful church in Paris), and the director's work.
So, if we don't have a definitive version of this couple, let's enjoy this one (two curiousities: mistakes at subtitles informing the dates of the death of both composers, and there is interventions of woman's choir at some parts of Stabat).

The soloists have beautiful voices, the whole program is played with appropriate dynamics and enthusiasm. The sound is excellent and the filming is also good, giving viewers a sense of "being there".

I decided to check this out because I had heard good things about it,and D.L. Hughley is one of my favorite comedians.(This is the exact same reason why I checked out the Original Kings Of Comedy.)I was satisfied.This DVD contains 3 episodes of HBO's groundbreaking comedy series,"Def Comedy Jam".They each contain 4 comedians.They are all hosted by Martin Lawrence.This is one of the reasons why I didn't give this 5 stars.The first two shows on here are very funny,and the third one is OK.Two comedians on the third show aren't funny.One of them was Laura Hayes,from the Queens of Comedy.The other one was one of Russell Simmons' favorites.His name was Gi George.My favorites on here are D.L. Hughley,Ricky Harris,and the very first comedian on here.His name was AJ Jamal.There is A LOT of cussin' and swearin'.Every comedian also tells at least one sex joke.So if you have young children,DO NOT let them come CLOSE to the ENTIRE SERIES.Otherwise,sit back and enjoy the greatest stand up TV show ever recorded.I'm signing off for now.In the mean time check out the rest of the series,I guarantee you will like it.

Well, I actually just got this in the mail the other day. I had forgotten that I ordered it. The version I received from Time Life has the "2 Raw 4 TV" extras, and they are definitely worth it. The first two shows are very funny and the third one is OK. Two of the comedians on the third show were not very funny. Each show has four (4) comedians, for twelve acts total. The "2 Raw" segment has about five or six comedians and they are very raunchy but still funny.

There is a whole lot of cussin' and swearin', so if you're faint of heart with regards to profanity, you're going to want to avoid this whole series. Definitely, this DVD is worth the money. I had several friends who used to tape every episode when it used to come on HBO. This saves us a lot of trouble. The picture quality is good considering it was ten years ago and the sound is great. If you like good African American comedy, pick up this DVD. I'm going to check out the rest of the series.

This is a good DVD,but not as good as volume one.This DVD contains 3 episodes of HBO's groundbreaking comedy series Def Comedy Jam.The first one is hosted by Martin Lawrence,the second by Chris Rock,and the third by Cedric The Entertainer.The first show is hilarious!Every comedian is funny.Chris Tucker starts off this show.He gives a very funny performance.Kevin Anthony is next.His whole routine is about sex,but he is SOOO funny.Alonzo "Hamburger" Jones is next.I like the way he says "Hamburger" instead of a cuss word.Last,but not least,is the one and only Bernie Mac.Like Kevin Anthony,his whole routine is about sex,but he is SOO funny.In the second show,Chris Rock gave a terrible performance.He sounded like he didn't want to be there.The second comedian in this show,Dominique,is terrible also.The only famous comedian in this show is Rudy Rush.He gives a funny performance.Cedric's performance in the third show is great.Him and Mike Bonner are the only funny comedians in the show.

From the outset Martin Lawrence starts one of the funniest comedies to date. The wide range of comedians from the unknown Chris Tucker (not anymore) to the brilliances of Bernie Mac, Cedric make this a classic. I do not have one bad thing to say about this video other than Chris Rock provided a very wack show, like he did not want to be there at all.

A great buy!!!

In this film, Chuck Habermehl instructs on how police officers can gain control of suspect when fighting on the ground. There is a vast amount of techniques presented in the film, but still I have a feeling that these techniques don't cover all situations - not even all major ones.

The large amount of techniques forces Habermehl to go through them in a hurried manner, not explaining the techniques fully. More detailed treatment would have increased the rating of the film. Another problem with this many techniques is that if you try to learn them all, you end up not knowing any of the techniques properly. Therefore, it would be wise to choose some of the techniques to learn, and discard the rest (at least until you have mastered the ones chosen first). The techniques itself seem quite realistic, and there are some very interesting variations.

I don't recommend this film to a beginner. Not because the techniques are hard, but because they are not instructed in enough detail. This film would serve best, if someone with enough skill in self defence would see it through, and then choose some of the techniques, and pass them on.

Run time: 2 hours

The DVD is packed with moves in the self defense realm. Its geared toward police officers and is easy to relate to. The lessons move right along but with some note taking and instant replays you can master the moves quickly.

Worth every penny!!!

Although Marton was wonderful as usual, her dynamic voice could not make up for the sound quality. There were points when the orchestra overwhelmed the artist. I suspect this was recorded as a "whole" versus miking the individual artists. I was reminded of home movies.

I must disagree with the other reviewer and say that the sound quality and the staging were exceptional. All of the singers put in great performances, sharing the limelight equally. I've never seen or heard a better Scarpia. The only complaint is that some of the scenes are a bit dark, which seems to happen all too frequently when movies are transferred to DVD.

This DVD gives us a special look into the life and behind-the-scenes workings of Barbara Hendricks- one of the worlds most enchanting (opera) singers. I appreciate that this DVD documents her rise to Paris fame from her humble Arkansas roots. She is truly a magnificent woman in so many ways, from her voice, to taking on formidable challenges with grace, to her beauty, to her visionary path, that I really don't know what to say... but this DVD gives us a unique glimpse into this Diva's stunning voice, mind, career, and mystique...

I bought this DVD thinking that it was a "Greatest Hits" type collection of performances -- but instead it was retrospective/tribute to Billy Connolly -- with a few bits of his live performances sprinkled throughout. There is about half an hour of standup at the end - but it's really not Billy's best stuff.

As a documentary, it's very, very good. Eddie Izzard, Parkinson, Dustin Hoffman, Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams, Dame Judi Dench and Billy, himself, turn up in interviews here.
But don't buy it if you are wanting to just see his standup.

Other viewers may respond more positively than me to Britten's "Death in Venice." The searching and inward qualities of the writer Aschenbach are certainly noble, but, while I am far from a prude, there is a repulsive quality here which loses me. Nonetheless, Britten is a terrific opera composer, his last opera has magnificent music and the performance is superb. Robert Tear is very moving as Aschenbach. He is in excellent voice and his superb, plangent tenor is matched by eloquent acting. Alan Opie, too, is quite fine, in very good voice and offering a wide variety of acting skills in his numerous roles. The staging, video and sound are first rate.

Although this is in English, I wish subtitles were available, as they would have made it decidedly easier to understand the entire opera. Fast moving choruses are indecipherable without them. I definitely got more out of this by reading through a libretto as I watched. Still, if you can embrace the story, this is recommended. By the way, the production is not from 1973 but from 1990.

Well, we now have two performances of this opera on DVD: the one by the Glyndebourne opera, and this film from Tony Palmer. It's a film rather than a recording of a stage performance, and, perhaps necessarily, reminiscent of the Visconti film. Some of the lines are so similar that, if I didn't know otherwise, I'd think one artist was stealing from another. It's more visually interesting than the austere Glyndebourne performance, but I kept expecting to hear Mahler rather than Britten. Hallelujah, thank God and Image Entertainment that this DVD has subtitles in the original languages. That is when English is being sung, the subtitles are in English; when Italian, then Italian; and when German, in German. One aspect of both performances that I don't care for is that the actors playing Tadzio are not the delicate fourteen-year-old of Mann's novella, but robust dancers in their late teens.

This L'Etoile is thoroughly enjoyable after a slow start, and very well sung & acted. If you enjoy Gilbert & Sullivan or Offenbach operettas, I would highly recommend this DVD.