Reviews (6)

American Dreams Is Fabulous
I just found out about the new American Dreams Season One DVD that will be released in September. Thank God that my birthday is in August so I can order it! I started watching American Dreams in September of 2003 and fell head over heals in love with it! Even though I did not grow up in that generation, my goodness, I can certainly relate to their family's way! Watching the show is one of the highlights of my week. I already know that this DVD will be awesome, and I haven't even seen it yet. I definately suggest everyone get the DVD. I sure will.

What a great family show!!
I have watched every minute of American Dreams since it began and LOVE it!! I'm a Baby Boomer who lived through the tumultuous 1960's and this show portrays the unrest very accurately. It's a great family show and I applaud NBC for renewing it!!

One of the Best!!!
This is one of the best shows on today. It's great for the whole family. I'd love to know what the extras on this DVD will be and I can't wait for it to come out.

Great Show!
From the first promo I saw for "American Dreams" in the summer of 2002, I knew I would love this show and I was right!

This is such a great show for the entire family. It surprises me that it doesn't do better in the ratings than it does.

I was born in the late 60's, so I can kind of relate to how the Pryor's family life plays out ... having only one television set (and only having 3 channels to choose from), one telephone, buying and listening to 45's (for those younger ones of you out there, these are the single records) on a tabletop record player, penny candy that actually cost a penny, Coca-Cola in glass bottles, getting into movies for 50 cents, having a sit down dinner with your family most every night (exceptions were Friday & Saturday nights) of the week ... especially Sunday and so many other things. I love this show, because it reminds me so much of being a child in the late 60's in early 70's.

If you haven't ever watched "American Dreams", I suggest you buy the DVD for Season 1, catch up on Season 2 by reading episode synopsises at nbc.com and start watching Season 3 at 8 p.m. on Sunday night starting September 26th!

American Dreams is awesome
I love this show so much. Even though i wasn't born in this generation, each week, i tune in. The music of American Bandstand is amazing. The special guest stars were awesome. I love how the Pryor family always has something going on. I can't wait to watch the 3rd season. Meg pryor and Roxanne are really funny and cool, while Patti is a brat. Will is adorable, and JJ Pryor has issues with Beth. JJ is also very cute! anyways I would recomend this dvd to anyone. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Mankind's greatest adventure is remembered for the digital age. The DVD format changed the way we look at movies and especially TV series, with massive complete-season sets. That concept is spectacularly taken one-step further with Spacecraft Films' definitive collections of the Gemini and Apollo space missions, stuffing in nearly every scrap of TV transmissions and on-board footage. The three- to six-disc sets use the full functions of the DVD format; see a liftoff in six different angles (some remixed with 5.1 sound) or listen to a mixture of air-to-ground communications, official NASA narration, or post-flight debriefings, most often carefully synched to the exact moment of footage seen. Like any good research paper, every bit of footage may not be interesting, but taken as a chronicle of history, it's irreplaceable.

NASA's most monumental mission was Apollo 11, placing Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the moon. Unfortunately, it's one of the least stunningly photographed missions, with grainy black-and-white TV footage for the two-hour moon walk. However it's so rare that hardly anyone has seen more than a few seconds of this broadcast since 1969. Watch the broadcast as it was (alas, no Walter Cronkite, but this is the NASA feed--not a network), or watch the 16mm color footage shot by a stationary camera inside the lunar module, or watch a composition of both that also displays the famous photographs at the moment they were taken (how cool is that?). The moon walk is only one of three discs and there's another eight hours of footage, including all the onboard film and TV transmissions, pre-and post flight news conferences, and 15 views of the launch. Plus there's plenty of behind-the-scenes footage--the assembly of the giant Saturn 5 spacecraft, moon-walk rehearsals, and capsule recovery.For space junkies, it's the ultimate visual treasure trove. Any kid who has primed himself watching Ron Howard's majestic Apollo 13 (which featured no real space footage) will probably be disappointed in the lack of "cool" footage (oddly, the earlier Gemini missions have more "whoa" photography), but anybody interested in the moon mission finally has a complete chronicle of what it looked like when it happened. --Doug Thomas ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Must See
If you were alive in July '69 , then you know the feeling the world had as they followed the Apollo 11 astronauts to the moon.This DVD set is a very impressive piece of work.The images may be raw and the audio scratchy,but it is a true representation of what went on that summer in space...I found it most interesting and informative...I have seen most films of this flight,so I was surprised to see a few clips that I had not...If you are looking for a documentry or hollywood version,look elsewhere, because this is the REAL thing...I enjoyed the multiple angles at liftoff and the multiple audio tracks to choose from during the lunar landing clip...I will definitely purchase the Apollo 16 and 17 versions as they become available...If you were interested in these missions 30 years ago and enjoy space flight today,get these DVD's before they are out of print,you will not regret it...

An Amazing Wealth of Information
I have been wanting someone to do this for years. The first memory that I can recall is at age four watching the telecast of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon, and I have been hooked ever since. There have been many excellent Apollo documentaries over the years since, but this is a totally different concept.

Instead of taking the strict documentary approach and editing the raw materiel until only the subjective 'best' materiel is left, the producers show basically all the uncut, raw materiel, frequently from different perspectives or with different options. Examples here are watching the Lunar Landing film taken from the LMP window synched with numerous different soundtrack options such as the Flight Director Loop, the TELCOMM (later TELMU) loop (which is of particular interest during the 1202 and 1201 Program Alarms), the PAO loop, or the onboard recorder from Eagle. Similarly, you can select up to six different angles to watch the launch from.

This set is simply amazing to watch. It includes all the TV transmissions and onboard 16 mm film. If you are interested in Apollo or space exploration, you absolutely must have this DVD set. You will love it.

Humbling Experience
This is not the only DVD set that I would get on Apollo 11, but I believe it is an important one to have. I'm only 27 years old and I feel that I was greatly brought up to speed on what happened with the Apollo 11 mission during the summer of 1969.

The raw, continous footage shown that was accompanied by the actual air and ground communications was surprisingly satisfying. Surprising, because I wasn't entertained at first. No, instead, this DVD set, without hardly any narration, gave me a greater appreciation for what was experienced and accomplished during Apollo 11's flight. Man, I love it.

Comments from the producer
When we set out to create this series of DVDs, we wanted to achieve something that all of the previous accounts of a documentary nature had not - to present this material without a filter, in a way to allow the viewer to see the maximum amount of material - both video and audio - in the best quality possible. In short, as lifelong students of the U.S. space program, we wanted to put together a collection the way we wished to see it - the way it happened.

Most importantly, we set out to present the complete television transmissions and onboard motion picture film for individual missions - material that just hasn't been available before. This material is purposely left in its original form, albiet with new digital transfers, color correction where necessary and possible, and digital noise reduction.

To do this we realized we would have to use certain unconventional methods. For example, we wished to present multiple angles of footage from rollout, suitup, etc. To do this required us to use different angles out of context, so that from time to time certain events were shown a couple of times so that the varied angles could be presented. Unless one realizes this was done to present multiple angles one might mistake it for material out of order.

Nearly all of the 16mm film from EVA training, suitup, astronauts visiting the launch pad (all of which was re-transferred from the original using modern, digital telecines) was shot silent, and since we also wished to present as much audio as possible from mission events such as countdowns, we have married this audio to that footage. The result is the maximum amount of primary source material available on the subject and results in important audio from other events used on previously silent film.

Lastly, especially for launch vehicles, we wanted to present the material we had only previously seen in short clips on documentaries, such as pad cameras, in its entirety. For those interested in the creation and flight of these vehicles, this material is fascinating, and filled with insightful information.

Much of the material on these sets is presented, purposefully, the way it was shot. Some of the Hollywood storytelling created on this subject is wonderful, we love that, too, but as a chronicle of the greatest explorations of mankind the material deserved to be presented without such a filter. This is the way it happened, and it is amazing.

Very soon in 2004, a six-disc chronicle of Apollo 15 and a three-disc edition on the Saturn V will be released.

Minority report
After reading the other reviews on this site, all of which granted five stars, I bought this disk set. As a great admirer of the Apollo program and a reasonably well-informed student of that effort, I fell compelled to offer a different review.

Positives: As others have noted, there is seldom-seen footage and it is really good to see. The use of NASA audio and the definite lack of overdramatization (that smothers some other notable multi-disk videos) is also welcome. Seeing the entire lunar EVA is good to see (finally). The minimalistic narratives at times help focus the viewer on what was really going on. There are some uses of multiple-angle views that are novel, but the astonauts' post-flight audio commentary (covering some key mission events)are more interesting. These are significant positives that the Apollo fan will appreciate.

Negatives: While there is some great footage and audio bits, one should remember that that was the result of NASA's prodigious work -- and considerable public money. The producers' job was to assemble and present them as a coherent narrative. They do their best when they simply let the NASA video play (for example, in the case of the entire EVA). But what they themselves have done is quite modest and at times thoughtless. First, they provide absolutely no overall narrative, although several methods -- a second audio track, accompanying booklet, use of subtitles, an occasional diagram -- could have been used. Those not familiar with the mission's major milestones (preparation, science goals, staging, critcal manuevers, etc.) will not gain insight and will be confused by some of the offerings. Take, for example, the footage labeled "probe and drogue" (disk 3), presented after the landing footage. With knowledge of the mission, one can figure out that it was taken shortly after LM-CSM docking, before the landing. But if you don't have this knowledge, or even what the probe and drogue assemblies are, you're left in the dark and perhaps puzzled as to its place in the mission. The lack of context confuses and fails to educate. Repeatedly, the disks choose not to illuminate the viewer when they easily could have (again, through optional subtitles or 2nd audio track). On disk 1, one sees ~15 minutes of video from a top-mounted camera looking down at the vehicle, poised for launch. It is accompanied by very sparse commentary from an Apollo public-affairs official who largely marks time until launch. One sits through at least five segments of no audio, each lasting 1.5 to 3 minutes! Even one predisposed to like this kind of DVD gets restless at staring at this uninformative shot for that long. Finally, the editing at times is thoughtless. During the section on vehicle roll-out, there are many nice shots of the vehicle, launch tower, and mobile service structure. However, they are inanely and repeatedly shown out of order, one minute ready to launch, the next with the service gantry surrounding it (i.e., events that are days apart). And while presenting NASA audio of the countdown 2 hrs prior to launch, they show the 3 astronauts on top of the launch tower...in shirt sleeves! Later, they show them getting suited up, again with the audio mismatched to the time when they're already in the command module! These large mismatches were simply not necessary.

In summary, I think a die-hard Apollo fan (such as myself) will welcome the additional footage and the lack of over-the-top dramatization. The moon EVA footage is a real highlight. However, the $45 cost, the nice packaging and dramatic menus belie the lack of useful editing and supportive narrative. This set is will interest Apollo admirers, but doesn't do the less-informed viewer any favors. Finally, I have no financial interest in this product. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Be afraid. Be VERY afraid.
Having lived through my own disaster at the mall (well, the parking lot, at least), I was quite curious to see how similar this film was to my experience.

IMDB summarizes the movie as:

"A disparate group of people is trapped in a shopping plaza during a flood. To make matters worse, one of the folks is an escaped killer, and deadly methane gas is seeping up through the flood waters."

There are a number of chilling parallels: a flood, seeping methane gas, and an "escaped killer" (so to speak).

Now, the title is inconsistent (the movie is listed either as "Disaster at the Mall" or "Terror in the Mall")--but either one certainly works.

It's an entertaining thrill-ride you'll enjoy over and over again, for years! ... Read more

Description

What she just saw could kill her. Virginia Madsen (The Rainmaker) and Harry Dean Stanton (The Green Mile) star in this sleek, stylish thriller about an ancient myth that comes to life in a woman's quest for vengeance. According to legend, the savage Blue Tiger has only one weakness: its desire for a Red Tiger soulmate. When a Yakuza assassin emblazoned with the Blue Tiger tattoo kills her young son, Gena Hayes (Madsen) transforms herself into the predatory Red Tiger to seek revenge. Aided by reclusive tattoo artist Smith (Stanton), she prowls the underworld of Los Angeles's Little Tokyo, seducing Japanese gangsters one by one to see if their bare bodies contain the tattoo she seeks. Increasingly dependent on a world she barely understands, Gena realizes she cannot stop until she finds the Blue Tiger--and her own true destiny. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Better than it should be
While skirting the edges of formula, this film nevertheless manages to include a few elements of originality that definitely place it above the norm in the thriller arena.

Gena Hayes, a single mother of a five year old son, watches in shock and grief as her young son's life is destroyed by a yakuza in a drugstore wearing a silver mask. She sees a blue tiger tatoo on the yakuza's chest and does some research, ultimately finding a tatoo artist who knows its signficance. When she has him ink a red tiger on her bare skin, following the legend of the meeting of the two tigers, it's purely for revenge.

So the revenge motif, long a staple of the thriller--American and otherwise--pins the story's plot to its characters. But here the writing and directing are both fresh and lean, so there is a minimum of unnecessary grunting, emoting, slipshod hammy dialogue, and pointless commanding and commandeering (i.e., You do this; Steal that truck...etc.)

Instead what we have is a sharper, crisper entry in the East meets West thriller department (the setting is Los Angeles' Little Tokyo) whose momentum is strong and confident enough to pull you to the finale which is a meting out of just desserts. More important than the inner working of the yakuza is Gena's own thinking on how to find the one who killed her child. (For a more in-depth, gritty, and intense portrayal of the yakuza, see a few films by Fukasaku like Battles Without Honor or Humanity, or Yakuza Graveyard--or by Beat Takeshi, like Sonatine).

Harry Dean Stanton here plays a reclusive tatoo artist and acquits himself well. Only one logical flaw comes to mind here. Is there only ONE man with a blue tiger tatoo?

You decide.

Well done
This movie was well done. It got it's message across on how revenge motivates people to do things. Madsen was execellent as the mother out for justice. The other actors did well also. I'd recomend this to everyone I see.

Great Action
If your into action movies, this is right up your alley. It keeps you hooked. Virginia Madsen does a great job as a mother getting revenge on the person you killed her son. I'd recommend this to all my friends.

Violent, haunting, stunning
"Blue Tiger" is a film that you want to hate for its overtly gratuitous violence, but instead you find yourself compelled to watch it again and again, haunted by the tragic story that slowly unfolds before your eyes. The film begins with the death of a child. A young mother Gena Hayes played magnificently by Virginia Masden witnesses the death of her son when he is accidentally shot by a member of the Japanese Yakuza. All she sees of the killer is a tattoo on his chest and back depicting a red tiger. This image haunts Gena and to stop herself descending into madness she decides to find the man who killed her child. In order to find him she must first infiltrate the world of the Yakuza. This she does by becoming a hostess at a club frequented by Yakuza gang members. She learns to speak Japanese, teaches herself how to handle a gun and then sets out on her quest of retribution. At the same time she learns more about the red tiger she saw. Harry Dean Stanton is superb as the dying tattoist Smith who tells her the legend of the red tiger and the blue tiger. These two mythical creatures are destined to meet one day, whether in passion or in violence, but when they do meet a price has to be paid. Gena takes this legend to heart and gets Smith to craft into her flesh the image of the red tiger's nemesis. This is he does, and it is one of the film's pivotal moments as we watch him begin to tattoo her flesh, not swiftly with an electric needle but done over time with crude instruments, as it would have been done hundreds of years ago in Japan. Gena's pain becomes our pain as she suffers the agonizing crafting of the Blue Tiger onto her flesh for like her we know that soon the two tigers will meet and only one will survive. The director uses the image of this tiger and its counterpart as a central theme that runs throughout the story. This is not just a story about revenge; it is also a love story, because Gena inadvertently falls in love with the killer of her son. There are several sub plots to keep track of such as the killer's relationship with his brother, a gang war between Asian and Whites, and a cop who suspects that Gena knows more about her son's killer than she is letting on. The film is amazing because it manages to grab you by the throat from the beginning and keep you riveted to your seat right to the end. This is one of the best films you will ever buy; it will stun your senses and leave you begging for more. Virginia Masden brilliantly portrays the fragile but vengeful Gena Hayes and Tôru Nakamura is totally believable as the damned killed Seiji, a man of violence, yet a man of compassion. "Blue Tiger" is well worth adding to your collection of videos if you want something intelligent but action packed on your shelf; it's just a shame it isn't available on DVD as well.

Best in Class!
This is an excellant film in nearly all regards. While the storyline is fairly "mature", the plot twists and characterizations are fresh and new. And as anyone with body art will attest, as the ink work progresses with patience and no little amount of discomfort, so to does the film. It's almost as if the frames of the next scene can't come soon enough! I've been looking for this film to add to my collection for some time. Harry Dean Stanton is a real sleeper here. GREAT acting. When the economics allow, it's spot is reserved. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Frankly, I Watched SOLO To See Adrien Brody!
When I recently stumbled upon SOLO on cable TV and realized that Adrien Brody, one of my favorite actors, was third-billed in this Mario Van Peebles action flick, I decided to record it and check it out later for the heck of it. Turns out that was a good idea, since I got the most enjoyment out of this derivative SF/action/adventure when I simply gave up and fast-forwarded to Brody's scenes as Solo's endearingly scruffy creator Dr. Bill Stewart (sounds like the kind of bland name they'd give the hero in a 1950s creature feature -- see, I told you SOLO was derivative! :-). Brody's one of the few performers in the film who actually says his lines with heart and conviction. When he was emoting opposite Van Peebles & Co., I wonder if Brody ever thought one day he'd be winning an Oscar for his starring turn in a Roman Polanski drama? :-) Adrien Brody fans, get the VCR ready; genre fans, try renting THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, FRANKENSTEIN, THE TERMINATOR, or any of the other movies that SOLO rips off, er, pays homage to! :-)

Very good move and concept
The movie was great. Im actually surprised it didn't jump start Mario Van Peebles' career more than it did.

A one star rating on this movie is too much of a compliment
This movie is nothing but a boring, unthrilling waiste of money. It's like an eclipse, people, it's dangerous to look at it directly.

An action pack thriller.
Director Norberto Barba directed the independence "Blue Tiger" starring Virginia Madsen. Not a bad movie. And his next movie "Solo" is much better. Sure, nothing new about the plot. About a cyborg that somehow got soft spot in his "heart" and disobey direct order to destroy civilians. Eventually it is destroyed but guess what it survived. But the good thing about this DVD is the powerful sound. Until the recently released T2 special edition, I think this is one of the best sound for an action movie on DVD. Consider to add this title to your DVD collection if you are an action movie fans. I did.

Don't Underate This movie--There are so far only 2 reviews
This movie is underrated, and how are you supposed to tell how good it is with only 3 reviews? There are 3 different opinions here, but it is up to you who you believe. I really enjoyed this movie. It is almost like a PG-13 Terminator 2 with much less violence and a different plot. Solo is a "robot" that stumbles upon a village of Mexican Farmers. They are being attacked by stubborn rebels but Solo quickly gets rid of this threat. He teaches them how to fight back, and they get their turn for fighting back. Action-a little bit of love, a good plot-what more could you need? This story brings together the thought of friendship through tough odds and different races. The acting is quite good, the plot is believable, and it teaches you some good facts about how to live your life. Hatred--or friendship. Solo has his hands filled with battling soldiers, and even a new improved version of the same kind of robot he is.

THIS MOVIE IS NOT THE BEST IN THE WORLD, BUT IS DEFINITELY WORTH SEEING. ... Read more