Mandingo
from Legend Films
Based on the best-selling book, Mandingo is a shocking look at plantation life in the Deep South. Mede (Ken Norton) is a slave whose master, Hammond Maxwell (Perry King), intends on keeping him as a prizefighter. As Maxwell focuses his attention on his wenches and Mede's brutal training, his neglected wife (Susan George) turns her passions towards Mede himself. The sordid doings explode across the screen as Mandingo plays out its savage and dramatic story.
Roots (Four-Disc 30th Anniversary Edition)
by Marvin J. Chomsky
from Warner Home Video
Based on Alex Haley's best-selling novel about his African ancestors Roots followed several generations in the lives of a slave family. The saga began with Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton) a West African youth captured by slave raiders and shipped to America in the 1700s. The family's saga is depicted up until the Civil War where Kunte Kinte's grandson gained emancipation. Roots made its greatest impression on the ratings and widespread popularity it garnered. On average 130 million - almost half the country at the time - saw all or part of the series.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 085391144854 Manufacturer No: 114485
Brian's Song
by Buzz Kulik
from Sony Pictures
This highly acclaimed winner of five Emmy Awards is one of the best-loved movies ever made for television. It s the true story of the special relationship between two professional football players Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams) and Brian Piccolo (James Caan). Both star players for the Chicago Bears Sayers and Piccolo soon become roommates and best friends. When Sayers suffers a knee injury in mid-season it s Piccolo who prods and inspires him to work toward a complete recovery. Then fate deals a cruel blow: Piccolo is stricken with malignant cancer. The constant support and friendship of Sayers plays an important role in Piccolo s heroic fight against the disease. Also starring Shelly Fabares (TV s Coach) as Piccolo s loving wife Brian s Song is a moving and unforgettable film.System Requirements:Starring: Billy Dee Williams James Caan and Shelly Fabares. Directed By: Buzz Kulik. Running Time: 74 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Standard" format. Copyright 2000 Columbia TriStar Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: G UPC: 043396048638 Manufacturer No: 04863
While women shed more than a few tears over Love Story back in 1970, men had their equivalent with Brian's Song on TV. This biopic about the Chicago Bears' Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers is no mere sports film. It's one of those transcendent stories that struck a rare cultural nerve, a sensitive film about love, friendship, cancer, racial harmony, and football that came along at just the right time. James Caan is at his free-spirited best as Piccolo, and Billy Dee Williams is very charming as the quiet Sayers destined for superstardom. Roommates and rivals, these two rookies soon become best friends because of their competitive natures and complementary personalities. When Piccolo becomes stricken with cancer, his relentless will to live inspires the talented Sayers to reach his athletic potential. Jack Warden, as the masterful coach George Halas, superbly manipulates the ying and yang relationship for all it's worth. Michel Legrand's melancholy theme still lingers in the mind as one of the all-time greats. --Bill Desowitz
Outrageous Fortune
by Arthur Hiller
from Walt Disney Video
Sometimes a movie works despite all its faults. Outrageous Fortune has a flimsy, formulaic script, so-so production values, and an odd combination of stars, but somehow it's engaging and fun. Shelley Long and Bette Midler play two struggling actresses--one a hoity-toity priss and the other a brassy slob--who learn they've been sleeping with the same guy (Peter Coyote) when he gets blown up in a terrorist assault and they confront each other in the morgue. When they discover that he's still alive, the bickering pair track him down, traipsing across the U.S. in high heels, pursued all the way by government agents, using their dubious acting talents to get them out of tough situations. The absurd plot keeps things moving and director Arthur Hiller (Silver Streak, The Out of Towners) gets cheerful performances out of everyone, particularly the strong supporting cast--including Robert Prosky (Broadcast News, Mrs. Doubtfire) as a pompous acting teacher, comedian George Carlin as a burnt-out would-be Indian, and the underused John Schuck (M*A*S*H, McCabe & Mrs. Miller) as a long-suffering agent. Contrived, cliché-ridden, but just absurd enough to entertain. --Bret Fetzer
Lauren (Shelley Long, THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE) is refinement, regimentation, and ballet slippers. Sandy (Bette Midler, THE FIRST WIVES CLUB) is brassy, bossy, and stiletto heels. They meet and it's hate at first sight. But these two opposites are shocked to discover a common bond: They share the same boyfriend -- a handsome schoolteacher (Peter Coyote, RANDOM HEARTS) who mysteriously and conveniently disappears. Mr. Right wronged them ... and when they decide to track the scoundrel down, they're thrown together in a cross-country pursuit for better or worse ... mosty for worse! Brilliantly cast and deviously written, this racy, riotous comedy provides sidesplitting laughs of outrageous proportions!
Change of Habit
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