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This was director Peter Bogdanovich's second hit film in a row, following his marvelous THE LAST PICTURE SHOW. The next year he would make PAPER MOON, and for all intents and purposes he seemed to be the next great American director. But then for whatever reason his gifts seemed to desert him, and while he has occasionally reemerged with a decent film, he has never managed to reascend to the level of these three films. He has, however, managed to write a great deal of film criticism, along with one of the greatest collections of interviews with directors ever published. But in this film his direction was fine, and if the comedy towards the end sometimes seems less screwball than Keystone cops, I find it easy to forgive him.

I repeat that this is my favorite Barbra Streisand film. I know people are divided on her looks, but when I look at her in this one, I think she is remarkably beautiful, and her personality is so infectious that she manages to dominate the screen every second she is onscreen. She was so superb in this film that I wonder why she didn't try to undertake similar parts in the future. She did the follow up to FUNNY GIRL, but she never really tried anything this goofy again. It's a tremendous loss, because she obviously excelled at it.

I'm surprised at how well this film has aged in thirty years. Sometimes you go back and see a film two or three decades after you first saw it, and it can be shocking how aged it appears. I had that experience with both TOOTSIE and ROXANNE, and both now seem hopelessly outdated. But this one, despite the early seventies clothes and decor, remains truly fresh.

This is the season in which Tony and his mother split irrevocably. The show explodes as Tony faces the truth about his mother--both in therapy and in real life. We think, o.k. now he'll have some peace. Oh, no, along came Janice, the sister, and grew a head in his mother's place. She is a piece of work and Aida Turturro delivers here.

To be able to sit and watch the entire season at once is indescribable joy! Get the tapes!

James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Lorraine Bracco and all of the other outstanding actors for this series bring such a liveliness and depth of character to each character that each and every one of them deserves all of the accolades they've received and will continue to receive for their performances in this pivotal series.

Series creator David Chase can only be described a pure genius for "The Sopranos!" No other movie or series has ever taken a look at the mob life such as this one and it works brilliantly from episode to episode, there's never a dull moment. I truly enjoy how they work in clues in one episode that may payoff in that episode or it may take several episodes before it pays off, it's just brilliant. "The Sopranos" is truly episodic drama at its finest!

Even though I do find that the pricing for the boxed DVD set is a bit high considering that there are only thirteen episodes per season, it is worth every penny as it will give you an opportunity to get caught up on the entire season. Due to job responsibilities at the time, I didn't get caught on to this show until recently and I can only imagine the wait between episodes and seasons on HBO, as I will soon be discovering as the fifth season rolls in here in a few months.

Episodes:

Guy Walks Into a Psychiatrist's Office... - Junior's in jail following a Federal indictment; Big "P" makes a surprise return; Dr. Melfi has given up on Tony in fear for her life; Tony is now no longer the de-facto boss, he is the boss; Tony's completely given up on his mother and his sister Janice makes a return from Seattle to "help" Livia.

Don Not Resuscitate - Tony has taken over almost all of Junior's business but leaves him five percent to continue earning and Janice falls into Livia's web of deceit and self pity.

Toodle-F'ing-Doo - Interesting title for an episode that can certainly not be named here. Meadow has a "party" at Livia's house, leaving Tony and Carmela to come up with a "suitable" punishment. Dr. Melfi finds herself completely mortified after a chance run in with Tony and Richie Aprile gets out of prison after ten years and starts making things complicated for Tony. Big "P" has some new friends!

Commendatori - As part of taking over Junior's car importing business, Tony and crew take a trip to Italy where he finds an interesting boss there and he also arranges for a new lieutenant in Furio.

Big Girls Don't Cry - Furio proves his talents to Tony; Dr. Melfi is spending some time on the couch herself; Richie and Janice make a chance reunion and Christopher receives a gift of acting/writing classes from Adrianna.

The Happy Wanderer - Robert Patrick of T2 and X-Files fame makes a guest appearance as David Scatino, an old high school pal of Tony's and he has a gambling problem that soon gets him in trouble with both Richie and Tony. The tension between Tony and Richie is almost palpable at this point.

D-Girl - AJ's confirmation is coming up but Tony and Carmela are finding his attitude to be apathetic; Christopher is trying to pursue writing and meets John Favreau through his cousin's fiancée Amy, he regrettably reveals some family secrets.

Full Leather Jacket - Carmela takes advantage of her "family" status in an attempt to keep Meadow to a closer college; Richie makes an attempt at making peace with Tony and two young associates of Christopher's try to hook up with Richie but go about it in entirely the wrong way, bringing dire consequences upon themselves.

From Where to Eternity - Christopher has an out of body experience and tells Tony and Paulie about it, causing Paulie to rethink his life in some of his best scenes ever; "P" takes on a hit with Tony in an attempt to get closer to him and Carmela wants Tony to get "snipped."

Bust Out - Richie makes an attempt at an alliance with Junior; a witness comes forward in the shooting that Tony did and he starts to make arrangements should he be arrested but he still has time to squeeze David Scatino for his last penny.

House Arrest - Tony gets lucky with the legal bullet and his lawyer suggests he should spend time with his legitimate business; Junior finds a companion; Dr. Melfi makes a scene with her son and the tension between Tony and Richie and Richie's pending wedding to Janice has Tony up in arms.

The Knight in White Satin Armor - Tony throws an engagement party for Janice; Carmela has reached her limit with Tony's womanizing; Tony tries to break it off with Irina but she's doing everything she can to keep him; Junior brilliantly analyzes his situation between Tony and Richie.

Funhouse - Tony finally must deal with Livia and her living arrangements; Tony has a bout with food poisoning and his waking dreams bring about a revelation that he must deal with once his suspicions are confirmed. {ssintrepid}

Episode List:

Guy Walks Into a Psychiatrist's Office...
Don Not Resuscitate
Toodle-F'ing-Doo
Commendatori
Big Girls Don't Cry
The Happy Wanderer
D-Girl
Full Leather Jacket
From Where to Eternity
Bust Out
House Arrest
The Knight in White Satin Armor
Funhouse

Special Features:

-Audio commentary on a couple episodes
-Season review
-Season 1 recap
-Cast & Filmmakers bios
-Awards
-2 Featurettes

As someone who has worked in the television business, this gives me the impression that something is going on in the internal politics of the studio or the business relationships involved that is blocking the release. Nothing else really makes sense.

The performances are wonderful. Shearer is winsome and emotional, Crawford is venomous and ambitious (though we don't see enough of her character), and Rosalind Russell steals the show as the scheming, manipulative and two-faced 'Friend' you'd like to hit with a bus. The dialogue is spectacular, comparable in places with Bette Davis in her magnificent opus 'All About Eve', and the ensemble cast of over 150 women hangs together beautifully.

The direction, too, is superior, and Cukor exacts almost superhuman expressions and angles from the 'Faces' - Crawford, Russell and, most of all, Shearer. The gowns, hats, gloves, shoes, furs and jewelery in 'The Women' play almost as important a part in the picture as the cast members themselves, and the 'glorious technicolour' fashion show is a gem.

Sadly, 'The Women' suffers from the same syndrome as all Stage-to-Screen movies do. In a theatre, with scene and time restrictions, the audience depends on dialogue and character interaction for entertainment. In movies, such restrictions don't exist, and 'The Women', like 'Cabaret', 'The Sound of Music' and 'Funny Girl' after it, suffers from a 30-minute or so period in the centre, where it unfortunately loses its momentum. However, the ending is wonderful, especially Crawford's line about Kennels, and for anybody, 'The Women' stands the test of time as an illustration of the awful and hilarious power of gossip.

I don't think that the plot is important here, but the way the actors performed and the place where the story is set.
In Rome, a European princess manages to escape the rigid and boring life and have and unforgettable experience, living for one day as a normal person. She does all the things that she was not allowed to do before, such as cutting her hair, eating ice-cream, strolling down the streets and why not, falling in love with an ordinary man.

This is the role that brought Audrey Hepburn an Oscar and made her a well-known star.
It is the natural and ingenuous performance that makes her such a charming and unforgettable character, a graceful presence on the screen.

Her companion is Gregory Peck who has also a great performance and makes the film even more delightful. He plays the part of a young and charming journalist, looking for news that might increase sales of his newspaper and bring some money in his pocket.

The DVD includes also a section with a kind of "making of": interviews of the people who participated at the shooting, memories, etc. This is even more interesting, as you will have the chance to listen to the people who were involved in this project, and the stories behind the scene. You will also see that time did not alter too many of Audrey Hepburn's features and even at an older age she still looks refined and elegant.

I have one complain about this movie: 118 minutes seemed to be not enough for such a romantic story. I believe that everyone of us would like to dream about what is like to be lost in the "eternal city" for one day and enjoy the simple things of life.

I'm not familiar with American Comedy, but I try to watch as much British Comedy as possible. This series especially stuck with me. I 'love' all the characters, most of all Susan and Jeff. I heard that an American version of Coupling 'makes use of different actors' but if indeed this is true, then you're not getting the 'Coupling Experience'.

So go for the original and The First Season, the latter to get more familiar with the characters. "The Girl with Two Breasts" is probably one of the (if not The) perfect episode.

Much of Coupling is based around embarrassing situations and misunderstanding, but I can almost assure you that that won't be a problem, as there's so much more. Lastly, it's too bad there's only 6 episodes here. Still those 6 keep fresh even after visiting them again and again. So it's, IMO, value for money.

Each year my students learn and memorize the Preamble to the Constitution thanks to Schoolhouse Rock. And how interesting would the American Revolution be without No More Kings, Fireworks, or The Shot Heard 'Round the World? From a fourth grader's perspective, NOT VERY!

This DVD is a must have for students, teachers, and parents. This fun, entertaining quick review of these necessary skills is a great way to learn with your kids/students. After all, how else would we know that a conjunction's purpose is, "Hooking up words and phrases and clauses"?

This dvd is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and is pretty decent. Don't expect reference quality but it pretty good for this flick.

It features a 2.0 Dolby surround standard issue sound mix. Dialogue is clear and crisp and surrounds are next to none.

No bonus features included. :(

While some bonuses would have been nice (even just the trailer!)I can still recommend this one for the movie alone. If you're looking to have 90 minutes of fun, pick this up.

If political liberalism is a problem - and it really is in the world of media entertainment (west wing, for example - then at the very least 24 deserves kudos for amplifying the monstrosity that is Hillary Clinton through David Palmer's wife. And ultimately who really gives a crap that David Palmer is black? What matters is that he's a good man. I'll get my politics elsewhere. I'll watch 24 to be entertained and no more.