Home Movie Reviews

Growing up in the Midwest, I thought "The West" was Hopalong Cassidy, Randolph Scott and John Wayne ~ nevertheless Westerns or B-Westerns captured my interest and I became addicted to what it was like from the very beginning of the West! Here is a wealth of history collected within the realm of centuries, put down on paper by Geoffrey C. Ward and Dayton Duncan ~ directed by Stephen Ives and presented by Ken Burns on five discs, as we take the journey westward bringing together all races, nationalities and religions striving for a new land and freedom for all her people.

Never have I witnessed such openness in the telling of the triumphs and tragedies of America's westward expansion ~ it took more than 75 historians on this project to make it right. Right from the git go we have Episode One(The People/Bonus DVD Features), Episodes Two & Three (Empire Upon The Trails/The Speck of the Future), Episodes Four & Five (Fight No More Forever/The Geography of Hope) and Episodes Eight & Nine (Ghost Dance/One Sky Above Us) ~ featuring some of the most beautiful photography of our country. The entire collection covers the period of 1800 to 1915, wonderfully narated by Peter Coyote (whose voice sounds very much like Henry Fonda).

This is one of, if not the best documentaries on "The West", I've ever seen. Been collecting Time/Life leatherbound books on the subject for years ~ Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell books and paintings ~ plus bronze of "The Mountain Man", "The Rattlesnake" and "Comin' Through the Rye" by Frederic Remington. Ken Burns "The West" on DVD is something I will cherish the rest of my life ~ will pass it on to my children and grandchildren, so they will know this is the way it was moving WEST!

Total Time: 12 Hours ~ PBS B8891 ~ (9/30/2003)

This movie, like all films on DVD that were made and released by PBS, has a high level of quality to them. They show the whole movie in it's entirety. No cut and paste editing that comes with commercial TV film prints, and they useually allow the film maker to put in extra footage that was not part of the original PBS boardcast, but widens the enjoyment of the film in it's DVD release. I must say that films made on PBS give you your money's worth and are not part of the big rippoffs that come from releaseing whole seasons of forgethable TV shows on other DVD boxed sets that cost way too much money and are not worth the film that they were made. I stay with PBS DVDs. They are worth it.

Absolutely gripping, and heartbreaking how the West was not won! It brought me to tears of how Native Americans lost so much but have endured throughout the years. I also like that this documentary shows that White americans were not the only ones in The West, but Natives(of course), Black, Latino, Chinese(who practically built the West). A fantastic job and the main title song will haunt you forever!

Highly recommended.

A very matter-of-fact approach to describing the tragic story of the Donner party. Heavy reliance on actual diaries and notes those involved. I thought it demonstrated the strength of the human spirit but, more evident, the strength of the women. While many of the men went nuts, several of the mothers somehow manaaged to keep themselves and their children alive.

So many twists and turns you would think it was made up. A women watches her husbands heart being cooked on a stick. Failed rescue parties. And, in the ultimate irony, the only member who publicly admitted to the cannibalism ended up opening a restaurant.

Cons: Not long enough. Not enough use of maps - would have liked to see more big-picture mapping of events.

It is hard to find words to describe this that haven't been used in many earlier reviews --- "haunting, mind-blowing, chilling," all come to mind.

Suffice it to say, everyone of us has had a moment in life where we could make the right choice or the wrong choice. All too often, making the wrong choice leads to more wrong choices. Most of the time, the results are unfortunate, and sometimes they are perilous. Rarely are the results as grisly as the fate that befell the Donner Party.

As another reviewer noted, these were not bumbling fools done in by their own incompetence. In fact, many members of the Donner Party were intelligent men & women who really should have known better. When sound decisions really counted, they consistently made the wrong choice, and these series of bad choices now means that most of us remember the Donner Party alone out of the thousands of wagon trains that went west in the 19th century.

It is an awesome documentary that will not be easily forgotten. The narrative & the music only augment the eerie, depressing quality of the production. Ultimately, it leaves all of us with that nagging question: what would we have done in that same situation?

Like most people raised in the west I had heard the story of the Donner Party many times, though badly and inaccurately told. In fact, the Donner Party was in many cases the butt of many a bad joke rather than the historic and tragic story that should have been told.

I blundered onto the Burns' Donner Party documentary on my local PBS station and was immediately corrected of years of misconception.

Here is the story, not of a bunch of bumbling fools who planned things badly and suffered the consequences, but rather of a group of well-meaning pioneers who were doomed by the benighted vision of an enterprising fool named Lansford W. Hastings. Bad information led to bad decisions and ultimately to the most tragic of consequences.

A marvelous story of the indomitable human spirit and beautifully narrated by David McCulloch (author of Truman, John Adams), The Donner Party will be a haunting addition to the most complete western video collection. This one can absolutely not be missed.

I use this video in my rotation of cardio. Granted, it as not as challenging as a lot of cardio videos out there. I use it on days when I'm not up to working until I'm panting and ready to pass out. Since it is not as challenging, it is also great for beginners, expectant moms (check with your doctor first), and those who are significantly overweight. You find really good low-impact moves, and very easy direction on how to do each move. There are no complex aerobics to learn, if you can walk you can do this workout. Leslie also does a great job at reminding us to stay healthy and drink our water and the other walkers in the video are realistic people rather than super-thin crazy workout gurus.

The music is pretty good, you can also do this video to your own music if you find some with the same beat as the music in the video.

AWESOME.
I own nearly all of Leslies videos and have been walking away the pounds for 8 months now and have lost 84 pounds,quickly and easily and have so much fun doing it.
Please believe me,Leslie Sansone works,it really does.I just turned 40 years old and because of my commitment to these vidoes I am in better shape and have more muscle definition then I had when I was 25.
I have tried them all,believe me,and any and all of Leslie's videos are simply the best.
Try her programs,they are well worth the investment.

I have to say, I was told that Leslie was great by a few people and tried her one, two and three mile DVDs. They were great, and as an addition to those, I purchased the new four mile. I LOVE it. She keeps you moving, is friendly, upbeat, and it works. I have lost over 25 pounds as a direct result of Leslie and her videos. I will continue to purchase any and all that she releases. Highly recommended.

Sadly this was before cable gave an outlet for great shows like this. Ben Stiller had his own show and it was good! It's a collection of great skits. I will never forget the scene where he plays Tom Cruise on the pro bowling circuit.
Just pure brilliance.

Finally! Simply the finest comedic television of the last decade. My friends and I have worn out our VHS dubs of dubs of dubs. We even wrote to the studios at one time begging for official release. Stiller is a master of the comedy sketch-- especially parodies of popular culture. Smarter and more daring than his films-- perhaps part of why the show was cancelled. The best supporting cast/co-writers ever: Andy Dick, Janine Garofolo, Bob Odenkirk.

I think that you have not lived if you have not seen ben stiller do anthony robbins. watch my teeth, see how they rule you. classic sheet. also, it is important to see ben so U2. Also I think there was a parody of "the heights meets beverly hills 90210" also there was an "ask manson" segment. bob odenkirk doing really funny sketches. "advantage agassi" with ben doing armand assante. now if they would only release the GET SMARTs, police squad and some of the new ren and stimpys i think i would be just about set...I dont remember andy dick doing anything but he had the funniest part in the intro to the show....

A delightful tale told well about life in the ghettos of Naples and how kids get trapped into a life with no future. The amazing part of this film is that the children who played the parts of the ghetto kids were actually local kids from the ghetto with no acting experience! They do an acting job that puts most of Hollywood's kid stars to shame. All the acting was first rate as was the direction and technical aspects of the film.

Heart warming and very funny. Certainly worth seeing from both an entertainment and educational point of view.

This movie, of a professore from the North, who gets transferred in error to a village outside of Napoli is a funny but sobering look at the conditions that the southerners had to live with and still do. You'll love the approach of the film to the societal problems of the south, you'll laugh and then want to cry, all at the same moment. If your family origins are from southern Italy, the memories of our dialect are unmistakable, enjoyable, nostalgic and funny.

I saw this film several times - I was born and went to elemntary and grade school in Naples - as it reminded me all to well of both the incredible warmth, generosity and spirit of my fellow Neapolitans as well as the many evil and decaying aspects of life that persist. I was lucky enough to live in the City itself and go to a better school; however, the film is actually based on very real events and is merely somewhat adapted to ease the translation into film. The movie - and most of the dialogue - is based on a book that collected the essays of grade 3 students in the De Amicis school in Arzano, a poor suburb of Naples, in the late 80's. The teacher had collected the genuine and honest tales of life as precieved by his students. In the film the teacher comes from another city through bureaucratic error; in the book he's as Neapolitan as pizza. The excellent children actors - who were chosen among regular school children in Arzano (called Corsano in the film) - in fact use dialogue that is lifted directly from the essays. Unfortunately, to capture the full humor, knowing Italian is not enough, it's necessary to understand Neapolitan dialect and the psychology of Neapolitans. One of my favorite characters - apart from the briosche loving fat kid (I love briosche also) is the old and very sarchastic uncle who advises the baby that life is tough and hardly a collection of smiles. Like all Wertmuller's films, this one has a lot of humanity and is ultimately optimistic about the future of humanity. i suppose that's why she chooses so many of her film subjects among the very human people of Naples.

Our family continues to enjoy this set. Poor Wooster isn't very smart. One favorite referred to over and over is when Wooster faints. Very funny stuff.

The only annoying thing about these DVD's is the fact that several key characters are portrayed by different actors in subsequent seasons. Fortunately, Jeeves and wooster remain constant, and they of course are the selling point. You just have to get used to the aunts, cousins and wacky friends changing actors and it is manageable once you get used to the idea and roll with it. Every episode is hilarious and the setting and ambiance are fantastic. I like the music too. You will definitely get your moneys worth, even if you are new to Jeeves and Wooster. The P.G Wodehouse books about the same pair are fantastic and should be read to more fully enjoy the shows. If you are into Brit comedy "Fawlty Towers" with John Cleese is great too. But I digress. This DVD set is great, with no useless and annoying frills, just a heaping helping of hilarity.

There are not a lot of glowing words I say about this DVD collection that haven't already been said, but I will try. Having read numerous books about the characters of Jeeves and Wooster, and listened to BBC radio collection performances, I have to say all the characters seem to hit the mark in bringing P G Wodehouse's creations to the screen. I have laughed a lot watching the amazing Bertie Wooster botch well-meant attempts to help(?) his friends. Mr Laurie and Mr Fry really do all they can to bring out the humor and wisdom of the stories. The other characters, both the recurring ones and the infrequently appearing ones, are also spot on with their roles. The twins, Claude and Eustace, had me rolling on the floor with their relentless pursuit of the singer. If you enjoy P.G. Wodehouse's stories, you will truly enjoy these DVD's. I know I will watch them over and over, as I have listened to BBC tapes I bought in the 1980's. Two very good comedic actors put their marks on some excellent Jeeves and Wooster stories. I only wish there were more of them in the series to watch.

It is a grate movie, dragon ball fan will aprove. If you ar'nt big in to DB then you may want to look at something else.

This was the first feature film based on the original DB series that I watched, and it literally blew me away! Dragonball Z is always touted as being faster than Dragonball, yet this movie is more frenetic than any battle against Cell, Cooler, Frieza, Lord Slug, Majin Buu, or any other part of the DBZ story. Speaking of story, this story doesn't quite fit into the original DB storyline (since when is Chiaotzu the emperor? and since when is Master Shen and the Red Ribbon Army working for Chiaotzu? And for gosh sake, why is Emperor Pilaf working for the red Ribbon Army!?). Ah, but who cares? We get to see Goku and Krillin kick some serious butt here, plus appearances from almost every great villain in the series. It's a little too frenetic, but it's still a lot of fun. Plus, we get to see Tien and Chiaotzu's friendship unfold. But the best scene of all is when Bulma and Launch pose as nuns on a pilgrimage as they try to sneak into the palace to steal the dragonballs. If you have no idea who these characters are, I suggest you introduce yourself to Dragonball through one of the sagas, but preferably not through this or the other features. Same goes for my other DB/DBZ reviews, because I'm not going to summarize the entire series for you (check the Dragonball web site for that). Anyway, this is a great story for all you fans of Goku and his friends. Kamehameha!

I bought this DVD with some pretty high expentations, and I was totally satisifed! I would suggest sticking with the Jap. version with the english subtitles. The dud was all right but the voice actor for Goku is WAY diffrent then the one who is Goku on Cartoon Network, but the Jap. version makes up for it, that's why it got 5 stars from me.

Though kinda short the viewers see just how close Tein and Chiaotzu's friendship really is. It really doesn't tie in with any story line for Dragon Ball but good never the less.
I would diffently recommend this if you're a Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z fan!

This is a great DVD. It contains 4 episodes of action between Frieza and newly transformed Super Saiyan Goku. The menus are the same as the rest of the Frieza Saga and there aren't really any cool extras.

Although on the back of this video it says "Contains some violence and brief nudity," there is no nudity in these episodes. The best part was when SS Goku hits Frieza in the gut and he coughs up a truckload of blood, that was so cool. I also liked the music that played while Frieza was powering up to maximum strength. He, however, still couldn't really mach Goku's power because after Frieza hurtles him into a bunch of molten lava, Goku comes bouncing back. During the time when Goku was in the lava, it was cool when Gohan started beating Frieza up (he did the same thing when Frieza stabbed Krillin with his horns). It was also funny when Dr. Briefs, Yajirobe, Chi-Chi, and Master Roshi were all stacked up on each other trying to keep the graphic communicator stable while they were talking to Gohan. I've seen the episodes after these, too, Goku kicks Frieza's @$$! Buy this movie, it's one to remember!

Frieza Eleventh Hour Episodes 82, 83, 84, 85

Namek's Destruction? - Finding Goku's newfound Super Saiyan strength to be too much for him, Frieza directs his attack at the planet Namek itself! Unable to react in time, Goku is forced to watch helplessly as Frieza's energy blast tears through the heart of the once tranquil planet. Things look bleak for the mighty Saiyan and his friends as the fiery explosion rips through Namek's core! Can anyone survive such incredible destruction?

A Final Attack - With only minutes to go before the planet explodes, Goku launches a ferocious assault against the weakened Frieza. But Frieza proves that he has a few tricks left up his sleeve as he begins to gather the energy he needs to achieve 100% of his true power! Can Goku defeat the evil titan in time to escape the dying planet, or is the fully energized Frieza too powerful for even the Super Saiyan to handle.

Approaching Destruction - The two most powerful forces in the universe collide as the battle between Goku and Frieza rages on. Back on Earth, the seven Dragon Balls have been collected, and King Kai devises a plan that may save his friends on Namek and put an end to the evil Frieza. But with Namek's final destruction imminent, can Kame and Popo use the Dragon Balls before it's too late?

Gohan Returns - The first stage of King Kai's plan is complete, and all of Frieza's victims have been wished back to life. But while the people of Namek begin to rise again, the mighty Super Saiyan Goku falls as Frieza launches a devastating final assault. Sensing his father's defeat, Gohan rushes to the scene as the universe's last hope against the seemingly invincible Frieza. Can Gohan succeed where Goku failed, or will this be the end of both father and son?

This is simply the best horror movie ever created.

At the end of all analysis and accolades, the rawness and invetiveness is nothing short of remarkable.

Highly recommended and a must have for true horror fans of all ages.

I'm usually not too big on horror films, but I thought that is movie if from 1968, "how scary can it be?" It doesn't have the big cinematic effects that movies have today, which I think made me uneasy. And it just got more terrifying from there.

Being the over-analytical person that I am, I wondered how were the zombies able to break the door. I mean, c'mon, its a solid wood door on an old farmhouse, but like I said, I'm over-analytical.

When everyone was turning on each other, it reminded me of the Twilight Zone episode "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street".

I definately didn't expect the ending.

George A. Romero directed this masterpiece back in the late 60s and it defined a new type of filmmaking, a whole new genre and a new type of horror film. In many ways this film is a landmark piece of work that pushed the whole boundaries of filmmaking outwards and gave the system a run for its money. The violence is graphic and gory. Good guys die. A black man is in a lead role. A child murders her mother. A totally untypical Hollywood ending. It had all the hallmarks of a film that should have tanked in the box office, but it did not and the overall reaction was extremely positive. People had never seen anything like it before and quickly a whole barrage of copycat horror films started to appear on the scene.

Basically the story has been rehashed by a million horror films that followed in its wake. Virus takes over the planet, the dead rise, survivors barricade themselves into a house and fight off the monsters and fight between themselves. By todays standards everything in this movie is cheesy from the hamming acting to bad special effects and the stupid "Dont go there" type maneuvers that some of the cast make and it is very slow in parts. Aside from all its misgivings it also has lots of surprises in store and the ending still manages to shock.

The "Citizen Kane" of horror movies is right here and any fan of the horror genre should not be without a copy. A critical part of anyones collection.

[By the way - you may have noticed that a number of competitive dealers are trying to sell their own brand of this movie. Just get the one that has been not been re-edited and make sure that it is really grainy and the transfer looks crap. If you have a color edition, just tune your television to black and white. The worse it looks the better. Just forget the "extra-stuff" hogwash. What you want is the gritty original feel.]

This routine takes about 50 minutes, and that's 50 minutes of full-on, nonstop exercising. So don't fall into the trap of thinking that this is a piece of cake! It's a serious workout. But it is fun, fun, fun -- the songs are great, the dance steps are NOT difficult after the 2nd or 3rd try (and I'm a pure klutz), and Richard is funny and campy and utterly charming. It's hugely inspiring to see the other dancers, of all imaginable shapes and sizes moving through the routine; I especially loved the ending credits, where each one comes on and shares how much weight they've lost. Very motivating. Try this one, but be prepared, it's not for your light-workout days unless you're very fit. If you're a beginner or intermediate and want to give yourself a push, this is a fun way to do it!!

I am not a real big fan of excercise. I have to admit that "Disco Sweat" has made something I dread more fun. I enjoy the music and Richard makes it fun. One really does work up a sweat. Even when the sweat is dripping off the body, one cannot stop the workout. You just want to continue.

I just did the workout for the first time, and I tell you, Richard Simmons between making me smile and having so much fun dancing, I barely felt like I was working out besides the sweat streaming down my face. There is also a surprise ending. I think you will love to do this on a daily basis.I can't wait to do it again.