Video Movie Reviews

my only regret about MARK TWAIN TONIGHT is that it's only 90 minutes. holbrook apparently has about 12 hours worth of material that his life shows alternate among. these 90 minutes include his views on man (the only animal that blushes), his mississippi adventures as seen through tom's eyes, and jim blaine's story of the ram and old man wheeler. the ram story alone is enough to be twice worth the cost of the dvd. buy the disk. holbrook is now at just the age where his twain would be even more sublime. let's hope the sales of this dvd inspire him to do another all these years after this 1967 performance. the sound and video are good (for broadcast tv) -- mainly though, holbrook is outstanding and twain is -- twain IS twain. buy it. watch it.

I was introduced to Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain Tonight in a high school English class in 1962 and have been fascinated with Holbrook and his Twain presentation ever since. As the story goes, Holbrook took up cigar smoking to get the timber in his voice, spends three hours in make-up preparing, and has even listened to Edison recording tubes of Twain to get the voice and inflection just right. Sit back and enjoy tales from a hundred years ago that are just as germaine today. You'll soon be convinced that the man in front of you is actually Mark Twain!

if you have not heard the recordings or saw the television special 'mark twain tonight' starring hal holbrook, you are in for a real treat. my aunt took me to see the one man show many years ago in toronto. when he came a second time, years later, i took her.

i have listened to the two recordings of mark twain and mark twain tonight at least once a week for over twenty years. hal holbrook is not talente, he is gifted. listening to 'jim and huck on a raft' is so touching to me it defies description. if hou have ever trusted anyone on anything trust me. this is not to be missed. i have never heard or seen anything quite like it.

Not only have I seen this HBO Show, I was also in the audience for the taping of this, what can only be described as mesmerising, stand-up performance by Ellen. I travelled over form Belfast to see the show, got front row seats and was also fortunate enough to get to ask the lady a question at the end of the show.....wot a lady (I am hoping there may be extrs of audience questions....). This DVD testifies the irrepressible force that is Degeneres, and is a great catch-up opportunity for anyone not familiar with Ellen prior to her daytime talk show (I've seen about 10 shows of it and they're a riot!). This stand-up show digresses around the theme of procrastination, containing laff-out loud and painfully realistic observations of everyday human idiosyncranices....from the brilliant observation of brand new cds to the riotous observations of waving at someone you think you know, I was rolling in the aisles at this. My hat goes off to her, she has fought adversity in recent years and come out (metaphorically, lol) a true winner....Finding Nemo, an awesome talk-show and this truly original and entertaining fun show...the lady has it all. Worth putting in your loved ones' Xmas stocking....laughter the best therapy and Degeneres is the cure.

I went to see this BRILLIANT act by Ellen DeGeneres live Apirl 16, 2003 at GW's Lisner Auditorium in Washington D.C. And let me just say that it was the most hilarious thing. I had a blast! The rhythm, the timing, the pauses! EVERYTHING! Pure genius! How does she do it? Just how does she do it? I also watched this show on HBO and demanded that my aunt watch it too and she loved it! Ellen had us laughing until we were choking to death!!! I can not even wait until the release of this classic on DVD! I own it on tape now and it's just about ruined from me looking at it so much. I just about know everything that she says verbatim! I have a little bit of a problem.

I saw Here and Now on HBO and I laughed almost constantly! Her humor is clean and free of foul language ...a lost art by most of today's comedians. She is relevant and timely and will make you laugh about things I guarantee never occured to you. This would make an excellent Christmas present...it is going on my wish list right now!

if you like dennis than buy this. this one is great quaility sound, film and content.well worth it.

Wow. Until his recent comments about the various states of the world at large on Jay Leno, the news and print, I knew him only from Saturday Night Live and Joe Dirt (I realize it's an abomination of a movie but it does have Christopher Walken). Upon reading about his various quips relating to the world today and various entertainers and celebrities constant whining, I knew I had to see his act.

Dennis Miller is a rare breed of entertainer. He talks to you, not at you. He doesn't espouse slogans and chants, he speaks with clarity, reason and incredible wit. Even when he's not particularly funny, he speaks with the mind of someone who; at the very least, is incredibly observant. He completely brushes aside the agendas of the whiny left and the argumentative right and breaks it all down the middle with common sense. He leans in neither direction but instead steps back and views the world from an objective stand point and even when you disagree with him, you still hang on every word because he speaks like someone who thinks constructively and free of the sheepishness of a good number of people. And, to top it all off, he is very funny.

What can I say... I'm sold.

This is one of Dennis's best HBO specials! It contains a lot of new funny material like carobou living in Alaska,Iraq,his kids,and going to church.The people in Chicago are very lucky that he came to their state to do this! But on September 7th Dennis finally came to my state and cracked us up with a lot of the material from this very funny HBO Special.So see this you wont be dissappointed!

This is a Must-Have for ballet lovers and ballet historians alike. The DVD combines two prior VHS releases onto one DVD:

"Complete Bell Telephone Hour Appearances" and "Maria Tallchief in Montreal."

Tallchief made 5 guest appearances on the Bell Telephone Hour, with a starry assemblage of leading male dancers. The performances were broadcast in 1959,1961,1962,1964 and 1966.

The Bell Telephone Hour performances include:

Adagio from the "Scotch" Symphony (with André Eglevsky) music: Mendelssohn; choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust telecast of April 9, 1959

Grand pas de deux from Don Quixote (with Erik Bruhn) music: Minkus; choreography: Marius Petipa telecast of January 6, 1961

Pas de deux from Flower Festival in Genzano (with Rudolf Nureyev) music: Helsted & Paulli; choreography: Erik Bruhn, after Bournonville telecast of January 19, 1962

Allegro brillante to Tchaikovsky's Third Piano Concerto (with Nicholas Magallanes) music: Tchaikovsky; choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust telecast of February 25, 1964

"Balcony Scene" pas de deux from Romeo and Juliet (with Conrad Ludlow) music: Prokofiev; choreography: John Butler telecast of February 13, 1966

The second part of this DVD is "Maria Tallchief in Montreal."

These magnificent performances are the earliest known recordings of Tallchief's magnificent dancing. The performances were live telecasts from the archives of Radio-Canda, recorded between 1954 and 1963. Contents include:

1963 Pas de deux from Les Sylphides - Maria Tallchief, Royes Fernandez music: Chopin; choreography: Michel Fokine telecast of November 5, 1957

Pas de dix - Maria Tallchief, André Eglevsky, and Corps de Balletmusic: Glazunov; choreography: George Balanchine after Marius Petipa telecast of March 25, 1954

Swan Lake - Scenes from Act II - Maria Tallchief, André Eglevsky music: Tchaikovsky; choreography: George Balanchine after Lex Ivanov

Total running time of the DVD is about 83 minutes. That may seem short, but for these kinds of rare recordings, you'll treasure and cherish every moment!

I really got an idea of why she is such a legend. Thanks

I recently viewed this film at the Out On Screen Festival in Vancouver. Greg Walloch's natural charm and talent bubbles over in this film featuring his smart and very funny stage show.

"Keeping It Real: Adventures With Greg Walloch" (as the film was titled in the festival) is best when we see Walloch simply telling stories and sharing with his audience, for whom he seems to have a true respect and affection towards.

Greg Walloch is the new garde in the tradition of Sandra Burnhard, Spalding Gray, and David Drake, his honest and puckish world view might well shake you up and it will certainly make you laugh. I can't wait to show the DVD to friends who couldn't make the festival. Don't miss this!

Greg Walloch is a brilliant performer--he observes the world deeply, with great compassion and humor. This movie is a tour de force; Greg Walloch is a splendid force of nature.

This video, billed as Ms. Russell's "First Farewell Concert," features almost all of her best routines including: a lecture in her series "Wind Instruments I Have Known," "How to Write Your Own Gilbert & Sullivan," and "The history of the Folksong." Of course, no Anna Russell collection would be complete without her analysis of Wagner's "Ring der Nibelungen." Creating great parody requires even greater knowledge of the subject being parodied, and Anna Russell, having studied at the Royal College of Music, is well qualified. The only other routine I would have liked to see on this tape would be "Introduction to the Concert (By the Women's Club President)." Truly classic Anna Russell! I'm glad this only the "First" farewell condert. I'm looking forward to many more. P.S.-- During the last folksong, look for a famous newscaster in the audience.

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.

This is definitely the funniest stabnd up DVD ever.Also,there are no swear words,so almost any English-speaking person can watch this!There is very mild crude humor,but not enough to not let a kid watch this.Here is my review of each comedian here:
Ron White starts this show. he jokes about advertising,tubing,and advertising.He is my third favorite on here.
Larry The Cable Guy continues this show.He has a very thick Southern accent.Most of his routine is about women.Here is is funniest joke:

"I once dated a girl who had nine earrings in this ear,seven in this ear,a ring in her nose and a bolt in her tongue.It felt like making love and working on my truck at the same time.I didn't know if I should kiss her or adjust the torque in her buttcrack.He is deinitely my second favorite on here.
Bill Engvall is next.He is nowhere near as funny as the other three.Most of his routine is about his family,mainly his sixteen year old daughter.I thought his routine was too long.
Jeff Foxworthy closes this show.He talks about the words rednecks use,women and tells a story about a guy he met in Atlanta whose wife's brother got his nipple bitten off by a live beaver.("That mus have been the first time that the words "Beaver" and "Nipple" could be said in the same headline without offending anybody".)He is defintely my favorite on here.At the end,they all get together.Ron White and Larry The Cable Guy tell stories,Bill Engvall tells some "Here's your Sign" jokes,("My car started overheating and a guy asked me "Did your car breakdown"?I said,"It wanted a cigarette,so I gave it one".),and Jeff Foxworthy tells some "You Might Be A Redneck If... jokes.The funniest one is:
"If you've ever stared at a bottle of orange juice because it said concentrate,you might be a redneck.

My husband and I could not stop laughing. Tears were coming down our faces and we could hardly breathe. Highly recommend this for anyone who just wants to laugh for two hours

Remember the Rat Pack? A group of guys that entertain better than anyone else and also enjoy each other's company?

Well, now we have the 'Possum Pack. These 4 guys are so funny it hurts. They work the audience better than any group of entertainers I have ever seen. Toward the end of the show, it's just like you might see in daily life - the guys get together to discuss life and hammer each other. The stories are funny because they are (mostly) true. You might come away from some of the bits thinking "Hey, I went to school with a guy that did the same thing."

One of the funniest lines (no spoiler, only a teaser): "It's a good thing those things don't come in biscuits & gravy flavor."

The coverage of humor is not so much southern humor, but good ole boy humor which applies to every state in the U.S.

Holy Moley - this video is already a classic.

I saw BLAST! and the BLAST! master class when it came to my city. All I want to do is say that it was one of the most amazing and mind-boggling experiences of my life. I want to reccomend this DVD to anyone who loves music, marching band(props to marchers everywhere) or lovers of DCI drum corps type shows. This is an amazing example of where music (and marching band!) can take you. I encourage all musicians or marchers to watch this show- you will be thoroughly amazed and inspired. Enjoy! ~Kat =^^=

Our 3 year old son saw segments from Blast at Disneyland and was completely mesmerized. We bought the DVD for Christmas last year and he has literally watched it (he gets to pick three songs a night) every single night this entire year!

As parents, it is rare to find something that is equally interesting (OK, tolerable!!) for adults and children, but Blast has kept us all entertained, through many, many viewings. This is the perfect DVD to inspire young and older musicians alike.

For those of you who do not appreciate this fine piece of work it takes some pure steel balls, I mean come on, marching band meets ballet meets anything else you could possibly want. Coming from my own experiences with Blast (seeing them preform live [Raleigh, NC 2003]) nothing can top this except seeing them live like i have..... you must enjoy the craftsmanship and talent it takes to do all the complicated manuevers that they do and while playing all that MEMORIZED music. Keep this DVD on your shelfs at all times