Crowley, Ed

Witness (Special Collector's Edition)(Widescreen)

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Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 2-JAN-2007
Media Type: DVD

When Samuel (Lukas Haas), a young Amish boy traveling with his mother Rachel (Kelly McGillis), witnesses the murder of a police officer in a public restroom, he and his mother become the temporary wards of John Book (Harrison Ford), a detective who's been assigned to solve the crime. After suspect lineups and mug-shot books yield nothing, Samuel, in the most memorable scene of the film, recognizes the murderer as a narcotics agent whose picture he sees in the precinct. Once Book realizes that the police chief is in on it, too, he whisks Samuel and Rachel back home to Amish country, where he himself goes into hiding as a plain Amish man. The juxtaposition between the life of the Amish and the violence of inner-city police corruption work surprisingly well for the story, and Kelly McGillis as the falling in love widow gives an almost perfect performance. Directed by Peter Weir, the film is extremely successful in drawing the viewer into its world and, accordingly, is immensely entertaining. The only thing that mars its polish is the one-dimensional, almost cartoonish handling of the upper-echelon police corruption--a subtler, more realistic treatment of this aspect of the story would have rendered the film near perfect. --James McGrath

Network (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Media madness reigns supreme in screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky's scathing satire about the uses and abuses of network television. But while Chayefsky's and director Sidney Lumet's take on television may seem quaint in the age of "reality TV" and Jerry Springer's talk-show fisticuffs, it's every bit as potent now as it was when the film was released in 1976. And because Chayefsky was one of the greatest of all dramatists, his Oscar-winning script about the ratings frenzy at the cost of cultural integrity is a showcase for powerhouse acting by Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight (who each won Oscars), and Oscar nominee William Holden in one of his finest roles. Finch plays a veteran network anchorman who's been fired because of low ratings. His character's response is to announce he'll kill himself on live television two weeks hence. What follows, along with skyrocketing ratings, is the anchorman's descent into insanity, during which he fervently rages against the medium that made him a celebrity. Dunaway plays the frigid, ratings-obsessed producer who pursues success with cold-blooded zeal; Holden is the married executive who tries to thaw her out during his own seething midlife crisis. Through it all, Chayefsky (via Finch) urges the viewer to repeat the now-famous mantra "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take it anymore!" to reclaim our humanity from the medium that threatens to steal it away. --Jeff Shannon

Newscaster Howard Beale has a message for those who package reports of cute puppies, movie premieres and fender benders as hard news: "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore." Sidney Lumet directs Paddy Chayefsky's satire (an Academy Award-winning* screenplay) about the things people do for love...and ratings. Three performers won Oscars.* Best Actress Faye Dunaway is the TV exec guarding ratings like a tigress protecting cubs. Best Actor Peter Finch is Beale, whose airwave rants become a phenomenon. And William Holden, Robert Duvall and Best Supporting Actress Beatrice Straight add to the fierce vitality.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:by Director Sidney Lumet
Theatrical Trailer
Documentaries:The Making of Network (6-part Documentary): The World and Words of Paddy Chayefsky; The Cast, the Characters; The Experience; The Style; Mad as Hell! The Creation of a Movie Moment; A Classic; Network by Walter Cronkite
Featurette:Dinah! Episodes featuring Peter Finch (1976) and Paddy Chayefsky (1977)

Running on Empty

Two fugitive radicals must face the painful consequences of their teenage son striking out on his own. Year: 1988 Director: Sidney Lumet Starring: Christine Lahti River Phoenix Judd Hirsch Martha PlimptonRunning Time: 117 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 085391184324

It's difficult to watch this involving family drama and not end up mad at River Phoenix. He was such an incredibly talented, believable, available actor that it makes you mad at him for leaving us so soon. He's particularly good here as Danny, a talented musician and the eldest son of a couple of former war protestors (Christine Lahti and Judd Hirsch). Their bombing of a napalm plant during the Vietnam War makes their small, nuclear family act as fugitives, never letting themselves settle down, never leaving traces, one step ahead of the law. This works for the splinter group of rebels until Danny meets a teacher who believes in his talent, and meets the teacher's daughter, Lorna (played by Martha Plimpton). Danny's love for Lorna and his aspirations to attend Juilliard put the family in jeopardy of finally being tracked down. It's saying something that in this impressive ensemble cast, ably directed by Sidney Lumet, Phoenix sticks out. He was an actor whose tank never would have run out. --Keith Simanton

F/X

"F/X" is Hollywood-speak for "special effects," those often-bloody tricks that fool us into believing a gun has been fired or a head has been blown off. Bryan Brown plays a freelance effects wizard who arrives for each job fully equipped in a customized truck, making it easy for him to roll from one gig into the next. Accepting a hefty chunk of change for one such job, Brown stages the death of a gangster for the Witness Protection Program. At least, that is what he is led to believe. Illusion, it turns out, is everything. Not knowing whom to trust or what to think, Brown soon finds himself playing a vicious game of cat and mouse with the bad guys. What gives this an added thrill is that Brown is not sure exactly who is the villain in his own personal mystery movie. It could be the gangster (Jerry Orbach), the government agents, or the police officer (Brian Dennehy) with whom he joins