Description

Che Guevara, the man with the beret with the star, embodies one of the strongest myths of the 20th century. He was a combination of a saint and an adventurer; somewhere between Don Quixote and a latter-day Jesus Christ. In his relations with Fidel Castro, he is the hero of a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions. Che Guevara became a symbol of an entire generation. Today he is a myth. Some still draw inspiration from him - others condemn him; sometimes bitterly. For all, he is a subject of controversy and passion. This film examines the myth, and contains: His voyages of discovery through Latin America, the meeting with Fidel Castro, when an instantaneous friendship was born, his travels around the world, and footage of his tragic end in Bolivia at age 39.

Special Bonus Feature: Tracing Che. In this documentary, a Canadian film director goes in search of the man behind the myth, re-creating the legendary road trip through South America on an old Norton motorcycle that Che documented in The Motorcycle Diaries. On his way, he encounters many of Che's family and friends - including the friend who took the trip with him - who shed light on the truth behind this icon of the 20th century. This is a film that discovers the humanity, the passion, and the free spirit of a young 22 year old whose eyes were forced open on a relentless road trip. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Kalfon's version of Guevara
This is the film version of French biographer/diplomat Pierre Kalfon's book "Che -- Ernesto Guevara, a Legend of the Century" (as yet unavailable in English, though Amazon sells the French & Spanish versions.) Made by Canal +, it is certainly the best thing available in video on the subject for English-speaking audiences. Beginning with the famous Carlos Puebla "Hasta Siempre, Commandante" song, it covers his military/political life with reasonable thoroughness and restraint, giving a strong, clear-eyed picture of the public man while still managing to remain sympathetic overall. It has quite a bit of good footage of Che as well as interviews with various friends and associates (esp. the then recently defected Col. Dariel Alarcon Ramirez, aka "Benigno", who served with Che in the Sierra Maestra all the way through to the bitter end in Bolivia), though Che's US TV interviews and his memorable appearance on "Face the Nation" are missing. But at the very least, this film has the guts to point its finger at Castro as Che's ultimate betrayer, something Jon Lee Anderson, in his massive and massively footnoted bio, couldn't bring himself to. However, the tone here comes off a bit stodgy and superficial with very little info or insight into Che as a human personality. Also, as one earlier reviewer put it, the BBC-ish narration is indeed a little "corny" (though said reviewer should be made aware that when the narrator compares Che to "Rambo", he is not referring to the movie super commando but to the French poet Arthur Rimbaud, famous for his wandering.) Overall this is by no means the definitive last word on Che, such a documentary film has yet to be made. But take it all around it rates a very solid 4 stars.

a damn good biography
contrary to the person that wrote "the narrator's voice was too dramatic"it is perfect.i do wish that they would have shown all of che's un speech,but what the hell.NOW one thing that i found very interesting,is mr.richard alarcon aka benigno.this guy portray's himself like if he was che's brother.i had the chance of getting my hands on a documentary on che imported from cuba.unfortunately its all in spanish with no subtitles.its called entre leyendas.this documentary is a joke.this shows the only three survivors from the bolivian campaign talking about che.of course this interview was filmed in cuba.pombo,tamayo,and none other than,guess who?richard alarcon(benigno).this guy tells one story in the cuban documentary,then in investigating a legend,in exile of course,he tells a totally different story about the final battle.either way this documentary is awesome.take what benigno says with a grain of salt because he is full of crap.other than that this film is very informative.remember che left cuba because he didnt want any part of what castro and the soviet union were doing to the island that he(being from argentina)helped,in his mind to liberate............HASTA LA VICTORIA SIEMPRE,PATRIA O MUERTE!!! (dvd edition)

El Che Vive
This DVD contains a fairly detailed account (for a film) of the life of Che Guevara, it follows him from his Argentine birthplace to his eventual death in Bolivia. It also contains many interviews from people who either knew Che personally or had even fought against him. In once instance there is even an old interview with a CIA agent in Bolivia as they are tracking down Che. If you want to learn about Che Guevara but for some reason do not have the time, or do not want to put forth the effort, to read his biography, then this DVD is the perfect alternative. The film is also great if you have already read one of his biographies and are looking for an audio/visual companion.

In addition to Che's biography, the viewer is also treated to a short film about a man who takes a similar Motorcycle trip as Che did. He follows the exact same path and tries to see what Che saw. Of course many of what Che saw on his trip was missing at the time of the filming, but the viewer can get and idea of what the Argentina/Chile portion of the trip was like for him.

Not Worth It!
If only I had been a movie star like Che. Kudos for great cinematography and excellant punch lines especially the ones about being the "most idolized revolutionary of the 20th century" and that "capitalism exploits the poor".

While I may not have had movie star looks I was a far better actor that he was.

For those in an a really revolutionary mood I suggest "Reds" and The Road to Serfdom both are more accurate portrails of the problems/failures of the communism/socialism systems.

Is It A Travelogue or a Biography?
If are interested in Che's journeys, then you'll appreciate this movie. But it's an insipid biography of his life.

The problem is not merely that the film covers the most introductory aspects of Che's life. The principal problem is that the introduction offers no insight about Che that viewers cannot assume themselves without the film. Look at a pop poster of Che, make the usual cliché assumptions about a political radical and you'll have as much insight about Che as this film presents. ... Read more

Reviews (35)

HERE'S A LIL' STORY THAT MUST BE TOLD...
C'mon, who can resist all that bummy-ass gear some of our Hip Hop hero's are rockin' in this movie? lol Or how about the infamous ball court face-off with Cold Crush and the Fantastic 5? Not to mention Double Trouble's classic set in gangster garbs and totin' "toolies". Wild Style, though low in budget, is definitely high in spirit and Hip Hop talent. One of the very few pieces of urban cinema to capture New York Hip Hop pioneers during their zenith, Wild Style is a cult classic. But before we head down to the "Dixie" to puff cheeba and jam; there is one bone that needs to be picked. What in God's name was director Charlie Ahearn thinking when he replaced the original music from the infamous "kitchen" scene with Grandmaster Flash!? For those of you who need more clarity - in the original version of Wild Style (i.e., pre-DVD) turntable legend, Grandmaster Flash butchers Bob James' infamous "Mardi Gras" on a pair of 1 & 2's in his kitchen. In the DVD version, (to my surprise) Flash is cuttin' up another breakbeat! My jaw dropped when I heard this b-list beat replacing a breakbeat classic. I think Mr. Ahearn n' gang were out on tour when Henry Chalfant and Tony Silver (creators of the classic, Style Wars) were teaching "Hip Hop Integrity 101" and "How To Release A Hip Hop Classic on DVD". Was Ahearn too cheap to pay for the rights to use that beat? Damn Charlie, I know Wild Style has been (financially) good to you; so, what gives? How could you sell the consumers short, (on DVD no less)? The lil' extras on the DVD are cool and the movie itself is still classic, but Ahearn definitely get's a 0 for "remixing" one of the illest Hip Hop scenes of all time! Nuff said. --James "Koe" Rodriguez

Don't expect Shakespeare, expect Hip-hop!
I think it's possible that a generation raised on "realism" in movies, and now "reality TV" (oxymorons for morons), have come to expect De Niro-style dramatic acting in every movie they view. But drama is not reality. Real life might seem more like film, and perhaps as exciting, if God the Director would see fit to edit out all the bathroom breaks, stretches of boredom, mundane and inane dialogue, and blow things up more often. Alas, He doesn't. Still, people tend to ham it up when a camcorder's trained on them, as if this is more interesting than how they normally behave. Conversely, if they view a film where the actors behave normally, they malign it as "bad acting".

Hence Wild Style's bad "rap" in the acting department. What's brilliant about Wild Style is that all the key roles are played by real emcees, deejays, breakdancers, and graf writers. Unlike Beat Street, where the center character (Ramo) is portrayed by some thirty-year-old white guy pretending to be a teenage graffiti writer. Or Breakin', which has as its cast everyone who got kicked off the set of the TV show Fame.

And Wild Style's "poor plot" is another victim of the reality/drama confusion. Yeah, there's no awesome John Woo-style gunplay or revenge drama. Instead we have an honest and historical account of the merging of South Bronx subculture and New York's Uptown art scene. Fab Five Freddy, whose character "Fade" in the movie shuttles between these two worlds, was, in reality, a liason who helped hip-hop cross boundaries into mainstream culture (first, as depicted in the film, and later as vee-jay for Yo! MTV Raps). Lee Quinones really was a young artist trying to find his place in a world of alienation, and in the film is the archetype of the individual vs. society, who "comes of age" with the realization that he is an individual within society, a society comprised of individuals. Lee's pontifications on graffiti as outlaw-art throughout the film are key to understanding the essence of hip-hop as a whole.

See my review of the Wild Style soundtrack for my list of how influential this film has been to hip-hop music itself. Thank Charles Ahearn and Fab Five Freddy for this time capsule, without which a gaping hole would exist in the musicological timeline. My one beef here is that, probably out of copyright considerations, the classic Grandmaster Flash scene has been butchered to remove the Bob James "Take Me to the Mardis Gras" bells. Oh well. The film still rocks.

classic
If you are into Hip Hop and don't own this then you should! It's a capture of the early eighties scene on the edge of going worldwide..the very end of the old school. Classic rhymes and breaking. Worth owning alone for the A to the K scene...

legendary classic
im from england and in 1984 the hip hop breaking and grafiti scene arrived. but it took me a good 6 months to really get into it. i use to bomb my school walls and break too. in 1985 the breakin scene died down, but in my heart i wanted to keep it alive. it wasnt till the summer of 1986 when i went to NEW YORK that i was looking forward to seeing the greatest breakers and graffiti artists, but when i arrived it was all finished. i even asked people on the street wheres all the breakin and graffiti, they replied its out of style man. i was just so saddened i could not have seen a culture which in my view was new yorks greatest. it wasnt till after that i saw WILD STYLE,WHICH made it more saddened for me. i actually stayed in the south bronx, in which was the centre of it all. Wild style bought the real fruit of the culture. if there was no wild style, i dont think there would of been beat street, breakin or any of the other classics. Even to this day i still have the pleasure in watching it. Many people in ENGLAND believed that going and bombing trains in new york was part of the film, but life in NEW YORK was exactly how you saw wild style. I remember a puerto rican guy named CHICO who i made friends with over in new york, said to me" wild style exactly how new york was in 1983,84. i guess my real sadness was i couldnt of gone to new york at that time to see it.

GOD BLESS, all old skool lovers....

adesh kumar.... many thanks

More "important" than it is "good", and sadly made worse
With the recent release of the truly fantastic "Style Wars" on double DVD and its assorted surprises and added features, the errors, omissions, and ultimately negative tinkering with "Wild Style" on DVD are made even more alarmingly clear. Not a good sign for a movie that seemed always like a cute little story about the early hip-hop years than a powerhouse phenomenon. I can understand why people twenty years on might get excited about seeing it, but the truth is that it never was really something to get excited about in the first place.

To someone who was there when it all went down, "Wild Style" is a chaotic and somewhat-interesting "cute home movie" with atrocious acting, lethargic pacing, a disastrously bad ending, and an embarassingly poor sense of filmmaking. The film is so devastatingly predictable and laughingly mundane that it is a wonder that any sort of cult appreciation for it exists at all. As everyone will probably agree, the saving grace of the entire project is twofold: the soundtrack is still one of the top ten pieces of hip-hop music of all time, and the fact that the actors themselves are the real old-school heroes from the scene is more than an adequate excuse for their bad acting skillz. I mean, who wouldn't want to hear Rammellzee rap for another three hours, or see Lee and Zephyr screw around in the yards zooted out of their minds, or hear Fab 5 Freddie try to ad-lib the role of a cheesy promoter? The whole concept was fly, but it's the end result that is less than the sum of its parts. The scenes with Patti Astor make me sick, and the good scenes can be boiled down to a twenty-minute highlight film.

None of these faults should obscure the true simple pleasures the movie has to offer, however: a chance to see some legends dance around and act like actors while the equivalent of a home-movie camera seems to roll with no mercy for screw-ups, hilariously bad lines, or ... footage. So what, eh? I have at least once enjoyed the ride.

By the way, the kitchen scene with the REAL music is on my old (original) VHS issue of the film, and the excuses for not having the original music in the DVD version (Ahearn wouldn't foot the bill) is no excuse to tamper with an already damaged artifact. It says alot about Ahearn's attention to detail, self-appreciation for his supposed art, and his true feelings about an otherwise important film and piece of history. ... Read more

Description

Produced by acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns, this sweeping documentary reveals the American West stripped of its Hollywood mythology, yet filled with intense drama and peopled with a mix of larger-than-life heroes and villains. Spanning the years from the first European advance into the wilderness to the dawn of the 20th century, the series portrays the profound, often devastating impact the onrushing white settlers, adventurers and exploiters had on Indian peoples and the land. In vivid imagery and in words spoken by many of today's best-known personalities, The West shows how the discovery of gold in California changed the country forever. Witness the torrent of violence triggered by the Civil War, the building of the transcontinental railroad, the tragedies at Little Big Horn and Wounded Knee -- all the key events and the people who created and shaped this great American story. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Absolutely Magnificent.
Photography breathtaking. Music spellbinding. The story riveting. This documetary should be mandatory viewing in every American History class. True history here - not the whitewashed watered down, self serving glorification of the conquest of the untamed West. Here is the story of America at its genecidal worst; ruthless, murderous, calculating, and devestating. And yet this same story shows unimagineable beauty, heroics, love, and the enevitability of change. This is undoubtably one of the most fair tellings of what happened to the West and the people who took it from the People who loved it. See it, feel it, and continue to think about it.

Selective History
I looked forward to viewing this, since the history of the west is so rich. It would have been very difficult to present a comprehensive documentary of its history, but it seems that in this case Ives doesn't even try. He is consumed by victimology. It is perfectly appropriate to give a comprehensive account of the Native Americans and the great injustices that were done to them, although much was left out about the different tribes, regions they inhabited, culture, etc.. I would expect that this would be a major part of the series, which it was. Unfortunately, the rest is literally drenched with some sort of guilt-driven quest by the director to include every persecuted group of people, and individually outline their plights (blacks, chinese, mexicans, mormons). The message has become terribly boring by now. Whites bad, everyone else good. And only a passing mention of the Donner party? Believe it or not, you get a much better history overall from Kenny Rogers' "The Real West".

Dreary P.C. stuff
Yes once more the academic liberals have hijacked what could be an interesting subject and turned it into a P.C rant. There is not much history here and given the biases that are so evident throughout the series, I am guessing that we should take all statements with a great grain of salt.

"someone finally got it right ~ The West!"
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)

PBS; The Best DVD production around....
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. ... Read more

Amazon.com

For all of its controversial manipulations of reality, ProjectGreenlight offers a revealing, pragmatic look at the pressure cooker of filmproduction. Originally broadcast during the HBO 2001 to 2002 season, this 12- part series chronicles the premiere contest--conceived by coproducers BenAffleck, Matt Damon, and Chris Moore--that resulted in 30-year-old Pete Jonesbeing plucked from obscurity, out of 10,000 contestants, to direct his winningscreenplay, Stolen Summer, as a professionally crewed feature filmdistributed by Miramax Films (included in this set; see separate review). Theseries gained notoriety for emphasizing the negative (backstabbing,budgetary battles, onset crises, etc.), but it's also a definitivenuts-and-bolts exposé of the filmmaking process--stripped of glamour,emotionally intense, and daunting to anyone without a steel-platedconstitution.

Key personnel emerge as admirably tenacious in their given roles, from thecommanding presence of Chris Moore; the frictional yet ultimatelycooperative dynamic between executive producer Pat Peach and coproducer JeffBalis; the rally-the-troops efficiency of 1st Assistant Director Bruce Terris;and many other crucial crew members. Through it all, Jones shows hisinexperience but rises to the occasion, earning the respect of those who couldeasily have dismissed him as a lucky amateur. The series' editorial weaknessesare readily apparent, and the postproduction process (especially the creation ofa musical score) is woefully underrepresented, but Project Greenlight isa riveting and altogether encouraging primer for anyone who shares Pete Jones'sdream. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Lights...... Camera..... DRAMA!
What started as a simple Internet contest transformed into one of the most acclaimed reality series to hit cable for quite some time. Pete Jones was the winner and was given the opportunity to direct his film, "Stolen Summer." Sounds easy, right? WRONG!

With these episodes, you get to see all the drama, all the battles, and all of the controvercy that took place during the filming of "Stolen Summer." From casting complications to the infamous beach incident, they're all here, uncut and uncensored.

I for one really enjoyed the series. It was a look into directing that I had never witnessed before. I never knew how complicated and stressful it is for the director, even when it comes to getting ONE scene into the can!

This spectacular DVD package includes four disks. On these disks you will find twelve episodes, the full length movie "Stolen Summer," and a disk full of all sorts of extras and goodies.

The disks go something like this:

Disk One: The complete film "Stolen Summer," with extra features that include audio commentary from the director, co-producer and producer Chris Moore, the theatrical trailer, 2 deleted scenes (with choice of commentary or no commentary), and Pete Jones' "Project Greenlight" scene vs. the final film. I highly recommend the full length commentary. It's funny and informative at the same time.

Disk Two: Episodes 1-6. (Or Episodes 101-106, if you want to be more accurate.)

Disk Three: Episodes 7-12. (Or Episodes 107-112, if you would like again to be more accurate.)

Disk Four: A bonus disk with tons of extras that include notable filmmaker videos from the contest, the Top 10 videos, Top 10 "Where are they now" videos, "The Chris Moore Challenge," the Top 10 3-minute scenes from the Top 3 contestants, and lessons from "Project Greenlight" that you didn't get to see on the show. "The Chris Moore Challenge" is guaranteed to get a laugh out of you, especially when you see Ben Afleck's impression. The extended lessons were also interesting and funny, especially Kevin Smith's conversation with Pete. There's some great filmmaking tips in it if you're interested.

Note: Since this was broadcasted on HBO, all of the strong language is in it, so it's not really recommended for younger viewers. The language can get pretty intense at times, but it adds to the realistic element of filmmaking. Not to mention it's funny as hell at times. (If you thought Afleck and Damon had potty mouths in "Goodwill Hunting......")

I really enjoyed "Project Greenlight." And I'm glad they released the complete series on DVD. Again, if you like the series and want the movie as well, DO NOT BUY THE MOVIE SEPARATELY! The movie already comes with the series. It was quite remarkable to see how the movie evolved from all of the battles and controvercy. I was a little worried about the movie, because there was a lot of drama that went on during the filming, but the movie turned out really good. (I'll write a seperate review of the movie "Stolen Summer" VERY shortly.) Forget "Survivor," this is the ultimate reality series! Filled with over 6 hours of bonus material, the "Project Greenlight" DVD package is a must-have for anyone who loved the show. It's also a great show for those who are new to it. I can't wait for the new season, and I hope it comes to HBO very soon.

Interested in the movie biz? Check this out...
First, the movie. "Stolen Summer" isn't bad, definitely not great, but for a first-time director with no real filmmaking experience at all, it's a pretty good effort. Sure I'm grading on a curve here, but when you see some of the dreck put out by people with plenty of experience, "Summer" begins to seem more than worthy to be called a film. Throughout the series, many involved express concerns that the script ventured too far down into Afterschool Special territory, and to some extent, they were right. The nice thing about the script is that it manages to avoid getting too preachy (given the clash of religions at the story's core, that is a feat in itself) and the attitudes of all the characters to young Pete's quest ring surprisingly true, at least, in a nice, better world scenario. As a directed film, The pacing is a bit slow, scenes can be a bit static, and the child actors in the leads could be a bit stronger, but these are not unusual problems in movies with bigger budgets and more accomplished directors, "Phantom Menace", anyone?

Enough defense of Pete Jones, and on to the series. As a general rule, I steer clear of the "reality" genre as it has developed into public humiliation of private citizens while avoiding the need to pay writers (it probably keeps film and video editors in banner business, however). "Project Greenlight" is an exception. Why? Well for one thing, the end result is at least a creative endeavor and not just some idiot getting a lot of money or a usless marriage proposal. For another, you also learn a little something about the business of making a movie, usless of course if you could care less, but it's better than watching "Survivor" for wilderness survival tips.

All that, a bag of chips and MOORE!!!
I must begin by saying that I am addicted to Project Greenlight. I, too, am an aspiring writer and find PGL inspiring. I loved this DVD set.
First, Stolen Summer. It may not win the academy award but it won my heart. Pete Jones tells a story that is so human and so touching with moments of humor as well as sadness. It just felt natural and I think that is why I enjoyed it so much. The little boy who plays the lead role was just amazing, especially being he first time out. I would reccommend this movie to anyone who wants to be entertained and touched.
Second, Project Greenlight, the series. WOW. I was unable to see all of the episodes while it ran last year so you can imagine my elation to find it all together in a DVD set. The whole process fascinates me and I just love Jeff Balis ( I love Balis more season 2) and Chris Moore.
Third, Pete Jones. He was terrific. Yes, he was rough around the edges but heck he had never done anything remotely like this before. I think his rapport with the younger actors is a gift and part of what will eventually make him a great director. The more opportunities Pete is given the better he will hone his craft, I am a fan and wish him all the luck.
Lastly, The Chris Moore Challange was great, Project Redlight was even better. Project Redlight was terrific in that it poked fun at everyone and the whole process and how wonderful is it that people are able to laugh at themselves in such a "self involved" industry!!!

If you are a fan of PGL, buy this, you will love it.

Great DVD
I thought this was a great DVD, and it's not just because I'm on DVD #4. ;-)

View this DVD on a PC/MAC with Internet Access
This DVD set is packed with more than Stolen Summer and the Project Greenlight series.

I made the mistake of viewing it with my default DVD sofware. Instead install the InterActual software (included on the DVD's) and you will get MUCH MOORE (You get links to the script notes made by all of the Key people in the series. I watched Stolen Summer once in normal mode, and then twice in the commentary mode which includes the comments and humor of Chris Moore, Jeff Balis, and Pete Jones which was hilarious. You will see that the Project Greenlight series does not on its own reflect the true chemistry between these three guys. Plus you will also get to find out some of the not-so-easy to spot bloopers that remain un-cut from the finished film. Another feature I like was watching Stolen Summer, and if JUMP-TO-SCENE was on, I clicked on the screen during certain parts of the movie, and it would pause the movie, then play the respective part of the Project Greenlight show that dealt with the filming of that scene.

It was nice to see all the top 10 winners scene submissions and videographies.

The Chris Moore Challenge is worth the cost of the set! Ben affleck is hiollarious. Stolen Summer has its own reviews and gets my recommendation.

I highly recommend the entire 4-disk series. Even if you saw the show on HBO, you will get much moore out of this DVD set. This is only my 10th DVD so far, but none of the others had features equal to this one. MIRAMAX did a good job with content, though I find navigating through the menus a little frustrating. I look forward to downloading a few of the commentaries by Pete Jones that did not have time to do yet. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In an era when we have an unprecedented number of movies and other diversions at our fingertips, is there still a need for a clip show like That's Entertainment?Certainly, because the film series, beginning in 1974, was an unabashed peddler of glorious nostalgia, not only collecting many of the most memorable moments in the magical history of the MGM musical--and therefore in the history of film--but bringing in many of the original stars to introduce them decades later.And another few decades after the series was released, the nostalgia is that much greater since many of those stars are now gone.In addition, the sheer number and variety of clips (though they're often too short) would be hard to match in any collection or in the span of an evening's viewing.Where else could you enjoy Gene Kelly singin' in the rain and also James Stewart crooning "Easy to Love"?Or follow fun trends like the Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland "let's put on a show" pictures, of which Rooney says "only our names seemed to change"?Following the surprising box-office success of the initial film, Part 2 was released in 1976 and it still had plenty of famous and obscure clips (remember Bobby Van?), and even a nod to the nonmusical films of the era such as the Hepburn-Tracy pictures.It topped everything off with the irresistible pairing of hosts Kelly and Fred Astaire, who share a dance--for only the second time in their careers--at the ages of 64 and 77, respectively (and a more graceful 77-year-old you never will see!). The third film wasn't made until in 1994 (host Kelly is strikingly older), but it offered more of the usual fare plus a variety of cut numbers by such stars as Judy Garland, Lena Horne, and Debbie Reynolds. A half-century later, Hollywood's valentine to the movie musical was still shining strong.

The DVD trilogy set offers all three films with the choice of widescreen anamorphic or full-screen formats (don't worry, the clips are in their original aspect ratio).There's also a two-sided fourth disc with supplemental material, most interestingly the "musical outtakes jukebox," a 16-song, 49-minute collection of numbers that were cut from musicals of the era.None of the selections are Great Songs, but it's hard to discount any musical number from the MGM vaults, for example, three selections by Garland and two by Horne (only one of which, Garland's "Mr. Monotony," appears in TE3, and there in a slightly shorter form). The rest of the content is behind-the-scenes documentaries, the most significant being "That's Entertainment: The Masters Behind the Musical" (37 minutes, profiling the talent behind the films such as Arthur Freed and Michael Kidd), "That's Entertainment III: Behind the Screen" (1994, 53 minutes), and vintage black-and-white footage of MGM's 25th anniversary celebration (10 minutes). Not included in the set: the 1985 compilation That's Dancing, which is also deserving of a DVD release.--David Horiuchi ... Read more

Description

On its 20-year anniversary, and not a moment too soon, THE ATOMIC CAFE is back to provide us with a much-needed release of comic energy.A dark comedy in the truest sense, this timeless classic took the nation by storm when it first debuted in 1982.The ... Read more

Reviews (27)

It's Finally on DVD!
I am gratified to see that this film is on DVD. Michael Weldon, author of The Psychotronic Film Guide, calls this the most important film ever made. I'm not sure I'd go so far as that, but this is a good film.

Few of the other reviewers have commented about the actual content of the movie. It's a documentary with little (or no) narration which pieces together newsreel and archival films to contrast the stark destructive reality of nuclear weapons with the insipid optimism of 50's Cold War propaganda. Apparently this theme is lost on a great deal of viewers including the US Air Force; you can buy it at the National Atomic Museum gift shop.

Another reviewer commented on the bad music on the soundtrack. In fact, this soundtrack is just as important a historical document as the film itself. It was the very last LP record I ever bought in shrink-wrap. Now that the film is on DVD, it's time for the soundtrack to come out on CD as well.

Remember Kids. What do you do? DUCK AND COVER!
"The Atomic Cafe" is an example of Eisenstein's notion of montage on the macro level. Produced and directed by Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty and Pierce Rafferty, this film achieves it rhetorical potency simply by editing together old film and documentaries from the 1940's and 1950's. By putting a cartoon of Tommy the Turtle teaching school children to "Duck and cover" next to film of actual atomic bomb tests, "The Atomic Cafe" renders the Cold War both ludicrous and chilling at the same time. Without narration and by using a few choice songs, this documentary finds a surprising strong voice against the insanity of nuclear destruction.

It is important to remember that by the end of the 1950's, and for quite some time after that, it was assumed that one day there would be World War III and that it was going to be an all-out nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. ... The manner in which Americans cheerfully prepared for a nuclear war cannot help but seem patently absurd to us today, but these images are unforgettable. Still, you have to admire the spirit of American inventiveness that would come up with radiation suits and quickie shelters.

"The Atomic Cafe" manages to inform us about the mentality of the American people during that period of the Cold War, while harshly critiquing that view from our informed perspective of today. I have always been impressed by how this could be achieved simply by arranging the order in which we view these historic bits of film and adding a dramatic counterpoint through the use of music. Very simple but quite powerful. Final Note: be prepared for Hugh Beaumont (a.k.a. Ward Cleaver) to show up in a military training film to explain what happens when an atomic bomb goes off.

Duck, Cover, And Blow Away...
Yep, get those fallout shelters dug and those lead suits pressed! It's time for THE ATOMIC CAFE! Culled from archival footage and spliced together to make the best presentation of the nuclear nightmare I've ever seen. Watch as politicians talk about the benefits and wonders of the hydrogen bomb! See ordinary folks being lulled to sleep by official propoganda! Listen to the military brass tell their troops about the minor threat of the live nuke test they are about to experience up close! Hear the pure balogna told to the poor natives of the Bikini atoll, just before the test blast that would bring tons of radiation raining down on their smiling heads! This is more than a movie, it's a damning slice of history. Nothing gets across the vastness of our own insanity like our own words and actions! The atomic age becomes the atomic culture as we live in fear of the russians and the bomb. Most of the statements by politicians and military types are so ridiculous, it's as though they were scripted by Mel Brooks! The true horror of this movie lies in it's presentation of real people saying and doing irrational, stupid things. Watch it and tremble...

Funny, sobering, shocking, pacifist
With a clever montage of 1940s/1950s news clips and Civil Defense and military training films overlaid with off-beat contemporary songs about The Bomb, the creators of THE ATOMIC CAFE produced a film that will amaze the post-Cold War generation and cause those who lived during that period to ask, "Could that be us?"

This docu-drama begins with the Trinity atomic test blast in New Mexico in 1945, then proceeds through the annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the subsequent atomic test at Bikini atoll. With the acquisition of the A-bomb by the Soviets in 1949 - my birth year - and the Korean War, the film gets into the meat of the piece, which is a visual commentary on the paranoia about the Red Menace and Nuclear Armageddon which gripped the United States during Eisenhower's two terms as President.

THE ATOMIC CAFE is alternately funny, sobering, and shocking. Funny, as when Kruschev and Nixon verbally joust in a comedic Tricky Dick and Nicky routine during the former's visit to the States. And the training films depicting citizens, singly and in large groups, on the streets and in schools, doing the "duck and cover" drill in response to the hypothetical Big One. Sobering, as when a priest discusses the merits of excluding non-family members from your personal bomb shelter. (In a departure from Christian charity, he was all for it.) Or the message given to Army troops assigned to the near vicinity of test explosions, which was that in a real atomic war it would be the blast that kills them, not the radiation. And shocking, as when we see the disfiguring burns and blisters affecting the residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the pigs exposed to subsequent test detonations in the desert Southwest. (My wife, an animal lover, left in horror after seeing the latter.)

Released in 1982, THE ATOMIC CAFE is a pacifist and anti-war statement produced, I suspect, in response to President Reagan's confrontational stance vis-a-vis the Evil Empire after his 1980 election. While the film inspires many different emotions, its consistent and overall tone is to mock the U.S. government for the nuclear fix it got the country into with the development of the A and H-bombs, the wild-eyed propaganda it disseminated to rally the citizenry against the Commie Hordes, and the Best Face the Civil Defense authorities put forward on the possibility of surviving a nuclear holocaust.

As a child of the 50s, I also remember the periodic tests of the air raid siren, and the "duck and cover" exercises. My Dad built us an elaborate bomb shelter under the garage around the time of the Cuban Crisis. While I found THE ATOMIC CAFE fascinating, it certainly wasn't balanced. (For example, the narrative tellingly ends prior to Kennedy's election. Bay of Pigs and nuclear brinkmanship? Say what?) I would also like to have seen some of the equivalent anti-American propaganda the Soviets disseminated to their citizens during the period. Perhaps, best of all, the film would be better produced today after decades' distance from the events.

Entertaining review of the "atomic" aspect cold war era
Excellent!!! Very entertaining and humorous. Includes all sorts of ridiculous songs, propaganda films, and common beliefs from the time. From kids trying to ride bikes in lead suits, to families throwing their lunch and crawling under their picnic blankets for protection from nuclear blast. A must see!!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Italian fabulist Italo Calvino observed that there are two kinds of artists--those who are prolific and successful, and the tortured geniuses, each gazing at the other in deep jealousy and admiration. The two rock bands chronicled in the documentary DiG! fall easily into this equation. On the side of the tortured geniuses is the Brian Jonestown Massacre, led by the psychedelic and volatile Anton Newcombe. Portland's the Dandy Warhols, fronted by Courtney Taylor, fulfill the role of the artists who, while unable to plumb the artistic depths of their friendly rivals, achieve a fair degree of popular acclaim (in Europe, anyway). Shot over seven years and containing some astonishingly intimate footage, the film represents a labor of love for director Ondi Timoner, who befriended, lived, and traveled with the bands. DiG! will likely be most remembered for a remarkable scene of rock and roll implosion--a show in LA's Viper Room after which the Brian Jonestown Massacre were expected to ink a record deal. Instead, the band erupted in a fist fight onstage. Among themselves.

Does it go uphill or downhill from here? Depends on your definition of the terms. While dooming their careers, the Brian Jonestown Massacre manage to crank out an insane number of self-distributed albums--including three records in a single year. Courtney Taylor and the Dandies regard the musical output of their peers worshipfully and find themselves virtually ignored stateside but huge stars across the pond. While tens of thousands of fans in Germany and the UK sing along to every word at sold-out festivals headlined by the Dandies, Newscombe leads his crew in a nine-hour set in a dingy club for an audience of ten. Throughout the film there are controlled substances imbibed, clothing shed, sitars broken, punches thrown, arrests made. Taylor performs double duty as narrator of the film, begging the question of whether to accept his assertion that he fronts "the most well-adjusted band in America" at face value. The destined-for-greater-things Joel Gion, BJM's tambourine player, is the thief of every scene in which he appears, playing Flavor Flav to Newscombe's Chuck D. For those who want even more immersion, the DVD includes the option to "zoom," or expand, various scenes--a very cool feature. Those responsible for the hilarious excesses of DiG! have made a movie worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as This Is Spinal Tap, as mixed an honor as that might be.

DVD Features

The second of this set's two discs is practically its own sequel. Director Ondi Timoner had 1500 hours of footage to work with, so there was plenty of good material left on the cutting-room floor that found its way onto this supplemental disc. The deleted scenes include an unintentionally haunting pre-9/11 interview on a New York rooftop with BJM's Anton Newcombe; the twin towers loom behind the singer as he attempts to justify singing about love yet engaging in violence, drawing tenuous parallels between himself and militant prophets throughout history. This, and Newcombe's delight in listening to Charles Manson's musical recordings, is about as heavy as it gets, though. Other extras include various videos by the bands, with the conspicuous absence of the Dandy Warhol's David LaChapelle-directed "Not if You Were the Last Junkie on Earth." (The omission is understandable in light of the Dandies' sour grapes over the $400,000 video.) The Where Are They Now features find various members of the bands a little older and reflective, with new families and new gigs, reminiscing fondly on the seven years spent under Timoner's watchful spycam. As is the case with the film proper, the mood picks up whenever Joel Gion appears. When is this guy going to get his own talk show? For fans of Timoner's commentary on disc 1 there is--get this--footage of the director and her partners recording that commentary. Why there's no footage of Timoner watching and commenting on the footage of herself recording the commentary is anyone's guess. --Ryan Boudinot

Dig These Discs by the Brian Jonestown Massacre

Tepid Peppermint Wonderland: A Retrospective	Strung Out in Heaven	Bravery Repetition & Noise
And This Is Our Music	Thank God for Mental Illness	Bringing It All Back Home Again

Dig These Discs bythe Dandy Warhols

Welcome to the Monkey House

Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia

The Dandy Warhols Come Down

Dig These Documentaries (and One Classic Mockumentary) on DVD

This Is Spinal Tap (Special Edition)	Metallica: Some Kind of Monster	Hype
X (The Band): The Unheard Music	End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones	Gimme Shelter

... Read more

Reviews (17)

great film but neither is god-like
I lived in Portland saw the Dandy Warhols early on and thought that they were cool because they approximated a music I was always into, 60's psychedelia, and they brought their own sensibilities to it. I had the same reacton to the Brian Jonestown Massacre when I heard their early records. Anything that references that kind of 60's swirl in music is fine by me and I gravitate to it - Reasons I am fans of both bands -
HOWEVER-
I would never claim that either of these bands has a one up on the other one because I don't think either band is one of the alltime greats and I don't care how either achieved their musical goals concerning the reasons given. I don't care about b.s. arguments that claim "hey, man BJM is great because they were prolific and didn't sell out" or the Dandies were great because "they found a way to make it work and that's what you have to do." At the end of the day, all you are left with is the music and if you like it great, but the suggested argument that separates the two (one sold out, one didn't) is bogus. All the bands from the 60' sold out (whatever the hell that means) at one time or another and the ones who didn't wished they had. So what? Any entertainment deal involves a deal with the devil at some level and to suggest otherwise, or that the people who make "unheard" music are somehow "more pure" is nonsense. Why sign a record deal at all, in that case, if everything that comes from that intial decision is a frickin slippery slope to being compromised? IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THUS.
As to the hyberbole of the movie as if it is pitting two super bands against each other, the "5 years ahead of their time" is good rhetoric, but nothing more. Supporters of both bands can claim the Dandies' or BJM influence on music all day long, but as both were so influenced themselves (and never sold many records) who can claim a rightful timeline as to their either band's influence on anyone, unless you're talking about the heirs to BJM, none of which has had that much success on the kind of level the film wants us to accept.
To stress again, I am a fan of both bands, and I loved the movie, but the resulting success vs. sell out argument is, ultimately, a tired and worn out cliche from an era that, ironically or not, had great influence on both bands.

truth in advertising
Sometimes names fit so perfectly;The Dandy Warhols were, well, just dandy, while the Brain Jonestown Massacre came pretty close to their suicidal namesake.BJM and the DW were fellow travellers in the mid to late 90's;West Coast bands in the psycedelic folk rock tradition.Each were friends and fans of the other.DIG chronicles their divergent career paths during this period.The Warhols had great business sense (just like their namesake), were hard working, very talented and intelligent and able to put on great multimedia shows reminisent of the psychedelic 60's.They produced wonderfully listenable music (though from what I heard lyrically ho hum) and to use an anochronistic term which seems apropo, they were thouroughly bourgeois.They seemed to be very good and fun,just not the stuff of legend.Very few are willing or able to pay that price....which brings us to BJM, or more particular to Anton Newcombe, the singer songwriter whose disturbed genius is really the eye of the hurrican around which DIG revolves.His songs seem to come from the Manson mermaids on the mothership, his inspirational conduit connects him to a netherworld where few dare to tread....but of course, like any crazy possessed artist he had no choice in the matter.He is who he is and could be no one else.Naturally, he has no business sense and only goes through the 'career motions' because greater forces lead him there.All he really wants to do is make songs, no matter if he makes them in the gutter or on the big star-lit stage.Alas, it's a tale as old as the hills;The possessed neglected artist who can not be managed and is left to wither on the vine, and the good artists with good work ethics who find wide public appeal.
BJM's shows, as depicted in DIG, tend to sputter and crash on the launch pad, often leaving one breathless for more (I wish DIG had shown more concert footage) One telling scene during their first American tour showed some of their ten hour set played for ten people at the Communist offices in Cleveland.If that isn't playing music for the pure love of it I don't know what is!Meanwhile (although the timeline was unclear) the Warhols were playing giant festivals in Europe, thoughStateside, thanks to the deplorable state of our commercial radio industry et al.they remained little known.
I found myself greatly admiring both bands (both were lovable in their own ways) and rooting for both to achieve greater success in a cruel and fickle industry.The myth od Sisyphus comes to mind.
Ultimately DIG is a great document of the struggle of the creative spirit (in all its guises) in the modern world.

Strung Out in Heaven
Shot over seven years, Dig! is a documentary that, at its most basic, chronicles the complicated friendship between two musicians, Courtney Taylor of the Dandy Warhols and Anton Newcombe of the Brian Jonestown Massacre.

The film goes deep beneath the surface to capture the funny, sad and compelling lives of these men and their bands, particularly the mercurial Newcombe. The Taylor-Newcombe friendship is fraught with jealousy, rage, admiration, love, hate and bitterness, especially as Taylor's Dandys achieve some level of commercial success while Newcombe's BJM self-destructs at every turn, mostly by Newcombe's own hand..

One important theme here is the concept of giving up or compromising one's vision and art for the almighty dollar. Taylor iswilling to take the risk (and succeeds), Newcombe isn't (and flounders). But that leads to another compelling question, posed by the Dandy's Peter Holstrom: what's the point of making music if no one gets to hear it?

Indeed. When BJM is given a second (tenth?) chance at getting signed with a major label, Newcombe again pisses it away as the band brawls on stage. The label rep was apparently not impressed.

There's no doubt that Newcombe is the "star" of this film. From his flashes of brilliance to his indulgent heroin use, the engaging and fascinating artist wastes his talent and creativity to fill a higher need, which apparently is a strong desire for attention. This becomes clear when we see interviews with his parents - a deadbeat dad who commits suicide on his birthday and an ambivalent mother who has simply given up.

Ondi Timoner captures some great moments on film, including all the amusing fights on stage, rants, raves and general madness. And she does a nice job of capturing it all without being a part of it or judging any of the motley cast of characters in the process. I loved this film. The second disc filled with special features and concert footage is just the icing on the cake.

I DiG!
DiG! is about everything you want from a documentary. The fact that I was watching raw footage of two bands I actually care about that aren't huge arena-style bands, captivated me.

This documentary had me focussing on Anton Newcombe's genius and self-destructive persona.Don't get me wrong - I love the Dandies, but throughout the years, they have gotten their camera time and really tried looking for it as well.Anton's comment about how the Beatles are for sale (album reference), and he's just giving it away puts the whole movie into perspective.He takes a Bill Hicks approach to being famous.He'll do it on his terms and not sell out for it.His critical discomfort with Courtney Taylor was pretty touching, complimenting, yet uncomfortable.They are in two different worlds and it shows here.Courtney & Co. are pop culture enthusiasts, always have been.Anton is obviously stuck in a warp of 60's induced debachery - the formula of being in rock n roll.The only thing is he does what he does second nature and not for the rock n roll lifestyle.

I don't want to give a whole lot away like many of the other reviewers.If you like music documentaries, this is one honest moment after another caught on video and edited in a professional sequence.Ten stars.

What a Rockumentary Should Be
This was a great film, one of the best music documentaries I have seen in quite some time. They really capture a lot about the music business and the lives of the two bands. Anton (singer for the masacre) is hilarious, and it makes for some great scenes. If you are a music fan, or are just fond of documentaries this is a must buy. ... Read more

Reviews (61)

The Sex Pistols
I truly enjoyed this film. I first heard the Sex Pistols a few years ago becuase my best friend is obssesed with them. If you enjoy the Sex Pistols then you will enjoy this film. It is a movie for fans really, it would not be a good introduction to the band. Or if you enjoy punk rock but haven't heard the Sex Pistols then this would be good. The accents are difficult to follow occasionally but in general it flows well.
Some of the best parts of this movie are the live concert footage. I've not seen many good representations of punk shows on film and these all were excellent. I also like how much time was spent showing the audience, each of them as individuals. I just loved seeing all the kids out there with their mohawks and leather. Its really very much a documentary of the rise of the youth culture in Britan. Punk is a culture within itself and this film documents that rise in England. Also the audience is always being shown as nice, not as scary people like punks are often shown. It sends a message that the punk youth culture is not a bad group of people. The movie gives a very positive image of the youth culture becuase mostly only the band is outrageous.
I feel the film really captures the realities of teenage youth culture as a punk in England in the late 70's. The movie is still relevant today becuase the culture is still thriving tody and its a documentary of its roots. Its an excellent film that anyone with an appreciation for punk culture will enjoy.

Whether you like The Sex Pistols or not...
...The Filth and the Fury is an amazing documentary, and is as good an account of the rise of punk music as it is of the social and political landscape of England in the 70's.

Every aspect of the 26 month long Sex Pistol phenomenon is covered. From the birth of the band, through their most imfamous escapades, to the tragedy that came to be with Sid and Nancy. Band interviews, live footage, news coverage, it's all here! A ton of Sex Pistol info and documentation.

The DVD also contains a bonus documentary about the birth of punk music in general. Made up of interviews with everybody and anybody in and about the punk music circle, it was a nice surprise when I was done watching the main feature.

BOTTOM LINE: If you like the Sex Pistols and think you know everything about them, think again. This film will open your eyes to some great little known facts about the band. Buy the DVD if you haven't already. If you're interested in punk music in general, I also recommend this film, as it has as much to share about the style of music as it does specifically with the Sex Pistols. THUMBS UP!

Get down and dirty
It's not immediately apparent where Punk stands in historical terms. There were only a handful of great bands, the music was rarely memorable, and the whole thing (the real thing I mean, not the post-punk posing) was practically over within four years. Compared with the sixties, when the pop movement encompassed a revolution in sexual habits, drug-taking, fashion, music, film, civil rights, concepts of individuality and community, and even took on and managed to end a major war, it looks like Punk was just one of a number of notable ripples (another being Red Brigades-style terrorism) which extended outwards after 1969.

But ripple or not, it had a bigger cultural impact than anything else on my teenage years: I clearly remember in 1978 a friend pulling out his latest purchase, a record called "Never Mind the Bollocks" and how completely staggered I felt when I looked at this luminous urine-yellow cover, took in the ransom-note font and then heard the noise - I couldn't comprehend it as music at first - of the first few tracks. These bits of vinyl and card seemed at the time as dangerous a thing as a shipment of heroin.

Basically I and most of Britain was in a daze when the Pistols appeared. The sixties had been a huge upheaval, but the energy seemed to dissipate as rapidly as it had appeared. By 1974 the oil embargo, massive inflation, strikes, terrorism, pomp rock, et. al. had all but crushed the mod movement and the airwaves were jammed with coma-inducing pop like the Bay City Rollers and Abba. Moreover, the "establishment", that is the traditional structures of power, having been battered halfway to oblivion in the sixties, were gradually and rather insidiously reasserting themselves.

What this film captures is the electrifying effect the Pistols had on a country that had become complacent in its own dismalness. The famous Grundy interview is as notable now for the toe-curling triteness of daytime TV of that time as for the naughtiness of the Pistols. Footage of the housing estates from whence the group emerged reveals the brutal starkness of urban working-class Britain. With the rubbish piling up on the streets thanks to another strike and utter shabbiness seemingly everywhere, there's a strong impression of a country at the nadir of a massive multi-year hangover. The Pistols woke the country up like an exploding alarm clock, caused an outcry that seems almost funny in retrospect, and made flares, permed hair on males and Emerson Lake and Palmer utterly unfashionable for a couple of decades.

On a more serious note, it is also worth considering that Punk probably helped Mrs. Thatcher get elected in 1979. Much of the population was shocked into believing that a strong law and order Government was the only hope for Britain. So perhaps a bit more than just a historical ripple, albeit in a very ironic manner?

As for the Pistols themselves, it is not hard to see why they only lasted a couple of years: they are the (mostly) living proof that anarchy is great in theory but hard to sustain in practice. There is a lot of bitching between the boys twenty-plus years on, and while most other reviewers seem to have found Rotten inspirational, I thought he was full of s***, moaning about just about everything including bizarre things such as once having had to stay in a motel. Apparently blind to irony, he even at one point launches a heartfelt attack on the people he considers let Sid down: "they had no respect" he wails.

Good film of a fascinating time with well-chosen footage, witty asides (nice idea to compare the Pistols with Richard III), wild music and interesting interviews. My only complaint is that it was difficult to work out who was talking in the voiceovers and not always easy to hear them either.

Never Mind Anything Here's the Sex Pistols
Somewhere in a Snow-White-and-the-Seven-Dwarfs suburbs a soccer mom just unloaded her brood for the match after the Soccer-mom 7-3 shift at the office and now has to go home help the digital-literate Nascar dad with the dinner and hope that the kids are home and the plates are in the dishwasher in time for American Idull, only to find a friend of a friend's copy of The Filth and the Fury laying about, daring you to pop it in the player and find out what rock'n roll was meant to be about before she swoon's to another syrup drip balladeer over-singing supper club karoake standards. Maybe it would be of interest to the aspiring American consumer stereotypes that much of Simon Cowell's ubersnob delivery can be attributed to Pistol's head snarler Johnny Rotten. Their curiosity peaked, they drop it in and discover the Amercian consumer's lifestyle is under bombardment, even though the Filth's recollecting anti- establishment and chaos in the 70's.
Remarkably, one of the instant revelatory moments in this film is how up to date the Pistols look compared to the ridiculously vomitous slabs of polyesteryear fashions their supposedly hip hosts were wearing during the old interview clips. What's more, this is exactly what Lydon (Rotten) hates the most about the Pistols legacy: the mall culture they so deplored finds "punk fashion" cool and watered it down to flavorless damp 4/4-time whining while doing nothing to deconstruct the world into a better place. This is also where the Pistols couldn't last. They were too messed up to fix a world they wanted to destroy. Rotten remains gloriously disgusted throughout the film often leaving your Mom and Dad (who grew up familiar with the Pistols and continously failing to understand them) wondering why he's still in it (to give bollocky pissoff to mums and dads of course).
The other Pistols will continue to provide vigor towards their old antics in rollickingly funny interviews. The serious viewer will understand that Chaos was their goal and not making punk fashionable. And if the soccer mom and Nextel Cup Pops take a second or two to think about how this film and the Chaos that was the Pistols' true legacy are meant to affect them..just imagine..perhaps the world may be a little more dangerous, but it won't be boring and we won't feel cheated.

"drunken prophecies, libels and dreams"
Wow. The Sex Pistols? Never heard a more perfect name for a band. Immediately conjures up all sorts of images. Then seeing photographs of the band and the environment they spawned: like walking into a cultural junk shop and finding some wild, interesting things. Then you hear the music, and you KNOW that things will be all right. The documentary was like watching a wildly painted, gravelly sounding, busted-up auto running laps around the neighborhood grandstand. I sat on the couch, popcorn and soda handy - and watched this documentary twice in one night.

Memories of this sort are like a giant bonfire that everyone throws logs on to keep it going. For the first time, the Pistols toss there own logs onto the fire. Just the thought of the backdrops, colors and possibilities attached to that time and place are wondrous enough. It seemed so open, raunchy and ugly that you can run a million scenarios in your head and still have room for more. The Sex Pistols were at the apex of all this: an accident, a force of nature.

The title alone, THE FILTH AND THE FURY, suggests so much about what you are about to experience. You are told a story in a chaotic manner, images hurled at you - grainy, black and white concert footage; crazy, young English kids acting like they just don't care; seedy bars, streets and garbage dumps; representatives of various government, media and church organizations. Lots of news reels and garish lights. The surviving band members tell their own versions of what happened; their faces cast in shadow to keep you carefully tuned in to the images of the time period. Essentially a history lesson taught by the people who created, and were created by, the moment. I thought it was well done - but left me wanting more. But that was OK, too. Their career was so abrupt, 26 months from start to end - which I think has much to do with interest in them to this day.

"High drama" as John Lydon describes it - is exactly it. Everything suggested by the Sex Pistols, all the random images and brilliant simplicity of the music just feeds the imagination. You can't create that kind of magic with high gloss and untouchable superstars. For my money, Steve Jones was the best interview in the whole thing. The guy is hilarious! He seems like someone you'd hang out with for hours and hours at a bar, drinking beers and exchanging war stories. The commentary by Julien Temple is extremely dull and doesn't add much. The other punk documentary, if it serves any purpose at all, illustrates where they could have gone wrong in the making of THE FILTH AND THE FURY. So, you may want to rent first, but you'll probably want to pick up a copy for yourself. It doesn't wear thin with repeat viewings. ... Read more

Description

Provides a behind-the-scenes look, with unprecedented access, into life inside the Vatican. With rare footage of secret archives, private chapels and papal quarters, the program explores the Vatican's long, powerful history, and the unique traditions and ceremonies that have survived for nearly 2000 years. Accounts from Vatican officiants, historians and devoted individuals who work closely with the Pope John Paul II provide privilieged insight into the inner workings of one of the richest wonders of the world. 60 minutes. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Great insights
This DVD provides great insights into the Vatican and the role of the pope. This video tells a great story with pictures.

EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO THE HOLY SEE
Gain behind-the scenes access to the See of Peter in National Geographic's INSIDE THE VATICAN. This documentary provides an unprecedented view of the inner workings of the Church, such as the election of a new Pope, enlistment of Swiss Guards, the ordination of Archbishops, the restoration of priceless works of art, and a history of the Papacy and its critical role in the development of Western civilization.

The Papacy has its beginnings with St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and leader of the formative Church. He is the first Pope, who ministered the flock in Rome at the time of Nero, and was martyred at Vatican Field in a circus in the outskirts of the city. The disciples recovered his body and buried it in the same field, which became a center of pilgrimage in the ensuing centuries. The exact spot of his crucifixion was preserved by tradition, and is now marked by an altar. Constantine the Great built a basilica at the site of his tomb, which has been replaced with the magnificent renaissance structure of today.
One can see for the first time the original tomb of Saint Peter, which had been lost for centuries and has been rediscovered only a few decades ago, right under the main altar of today's basilica.

Of particular interest are the priceless documents from the last two millennia in the Vatican's Secret Archives. One can see letters from Michelangelo to Pope Julius II, the request of Henry VIII for the annulment of his marriage (this was denied, and led to the formation of the Anglican Church), and even a demand from the Mongol Emperor that the Pope pay homage to him! (Of course, denied.)

Great attention is given into a "normal" day in the Vatican: the restoration of priceless tapestries by Raphael; the cleaning of Bernini's colossal baldachino; meetings of international figures with the Vicar of Christ. In addition, one can see the blessed ministry of Pope John Paul II, a man of great compassion. Particularly moving is footage of his visit to a leper colony in Korea: the Holy Father embraces and kisses these poor souls, not shying from their diseased flesh, but rather sharing with them the love of Christ.

Truly the Gates of Hell have not endured against Christ's Church. The successors of Peter have served the Church, and will continue doing so, throughout the ages. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Ideal for teaching about the Vatican and Papacy
Every teacher of the Catholic faith to young adults and adults should incorporate this DVD into their classes. It is so unusual to see the Catholic faith presented without an agenda -- and this succeeds. Everything is clearly explained and given a historical context. I was impressed with the archival newsreel footage incorporated into the explanation of the papal elections.

Fascinating!
I found this dvd very entertaining and informative. It is a fascinating look into the operations of the most visited place in the world. The beauty and grandeur of the place especially the priceless paintings and artifacts have made the Vatican the most valuable wealth of historical information available. The dvd is great! National Geographic has done a great presentation of the Vatican and great to watch especially if you have never been there. This dvd is a great addition to any dvd collection.

Well researched!
This video is an excellent video to show students, young adults as well as adults who want to know more about their faith and how did the Vatican came to be. I think it is also encourage anyone who is interested or curious about the Cathoilc faith to take a preview of the video. The video decribes how an ordination happens at Saint Peters, what actually goes on during an ordination. The video also decribed a Blessed and is story and how one day, he could become a Saint by the Pope. Finally, once a Pope dies, a new Pope must be elected, the video will cover that as well. The pictures of the Vatican are just awesome. I've been to Rome before, and these pictures just bring back memories. Also, I forgot to mention, the Swiss Guards. The video goes into how one becomes a guard for the Pope and there uniform. You must buy it or at least rent it if you can. The Pope is seen in several frames thoughout the video. ... Read more

Description

This 3-DVD set details the Apollo 13 mission through the actual television transmissions, onboard film, press conferences and more. The set begins with an original documentary detailing the mission, and includes all of the television transmissions and onboard film, the midnight press conference detailing the emergency, additional press conferences throughout the mission, footage from the Apollo 13 review board investigation showing the nature of the explosion, complete coverage of training, suitup, launch, mission control, recovery and more. Over 10 hours of the real story of Apollo 13, through new digital transfers of archival film. This 3-DVD set brings you the story of the mission through the real stuff. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Excellent!
This