Gwynne, Fred

My Cousin Vinny

A college student and his friend are accused of murder in the depths of the South, and law school graduate cousin Vinny comes to the rescue. The trouble is, Vinny passed the bar on his sixth try and has never appeared in court before.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: R
Release Date: 4-FEB-2003
Media Type: DVD

When two Italian-American boys from New York are falsely accused of murder in a small Alabama town, they call for a lawyer--but the only lawyer they know is their cousin Vinny (Joe Pesci), who made six attempts before he passed his bar exam. My Cousin Vinny is a classic fish-out-of-water comedy; the flimsy plot about clearing the two boys and solving the murder is just a hook to support a lot of culture-clash humor. Thanks to the strong cast of character actors like Fred Gwynne, Austin Pendleton, and Lane Smith, it's pretty funny--even old-hat jokes about Brooklyn versus Southern accents come to life. Pesci has played a few too many schticky characters, but this time it works. There's just enough humanity in his caricature to make Vinny likable and entertaining. When the movie was released, there was controversy about whether Marisa Tomei, playing Vinny's big-haired and black-leather-wearing fiancée, deserved to win the best supporting actress Oscar (she beat out Judy Davis, Joan Plowright, Miranda Richardson, and Vanessa Redgrave); but seeing her performance on its own, it's a comic marvel and worthy of honor. --Bret Fetzer

On the Waterfront (Special Edition)

Marlon Brando's famous "I coulda been a contenda" speech is such a warhorse by now that a lot of people probably feel they've seen this picture already, even if they haven't. And many of those who have seen it may have forgotten how flat-out thrilling it is. For all its great dramatic and cinematic qualities, and its fiery social criticism, Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront is also one of the most gripping melodramas of political corruption and individual heroism ever made in the United States, a five-star gut-grabber. Shot on location around the docks of Hoboken, New Jersey, in the mid-1950s, it tells the fact-based story of a longshoreman (Brando's Terry Malloy) who is blackballed and savagely beaten for informing against the mobsters who have taken over his union and sold it out to the bosses. (Karl Malden has a more conventional stalwart-hero role, as an idealistic priest who nurtures Terry's pangs of conscience.) Lee J. Cobb, who created the role of Willy Loman in Death of Salesman under Kazan's direction on Broadway, makes a formidable foe as a greedy union leader. --David Chute

Marlon Brando gives one of the screen's most electrifying performances as Best Actor in this 1954 Academy Award® winner for Best Film. Ex-fighter Terry Malloy (Brando) could have been a contender but now toils for boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) on the gang-ridden waterfront. Terry is guilt-stricken however when he lures a rebellious worker to his death. But it takes the love of Edie Doyle (Eva Marie Saint) the dead man's sister to show Terry how low he has fallen. When his crooked brother Charley the Gent (Rod Steiger) is brutally murdered for refusing to kill him Terry battles to crush Friendly's underworld empire. Directed by Elia Kazan (A Streetcar Named Desire) and written by Budd Schulberg (What Makes Sammy Run?) this unforgettable drama about Terry's redemption is among the most acclaimed of all films.System Requirements: Running Time 107 Min Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 043396784093 Manufacturer No: 78409

Fatal Attraction (Special Collector's Edition)

A rejected woman is driven into madness after an affair with a married man and seeks revenge on his family.
Genre: Suspense
Rating: R
Release Date: 24-JUN-2003
Media Type: DVD

The date movie of the late 1980s, this had everyone arguing in the aisles. Does Michael Douglas deserve the unwanted attention he and his family are receiving at the hands of loony stalker Glenn Close? After a weekend extramarital affair with colleague Close, he returns home to wife Anne Archer, and Close becomes progressively angrier. You might even say she is boiling bunny mad.

Directed by Adrian Lyne, this is not your average thriller, as it garnered six Academy Award nominations. The plot is too obvious, but the dialogue rings true and the intense performances hold the story together. Anne Archer deserves kudos for side-stepping cliché as the strong but frightened wife, and Close is a scream as she chews up the scenery.

The film's original ending, which was reshot after poor preview screenings, has been added to the video release. --Rochelle O'Gorman

The Secret of My Success

Derivative fluff from 1987, made tolerable by its bawdy exuberance and an appealing performance by Michael J. Fox, who was still enjoying TV stardom and the career momentum he earned by traveling Back to the Future. Here he plays a Kansas farm boy who dreams of scoring big in New York City, but reality turns out to be brutal to his ambition. When his uncle (Richard Jordan) gives him a mail-room job in the high-rise headquarters of a major corporation, Fox occupies an empty office and poses as a young executive, winning the attention of a lovely young colleague (Helen Slater) and having an affair with his boss's wife (Margaret Whitton). Sporadically amusing as a yuppie comedy and rather off-putting as a wannabe sex farce, the movie's still recommendable for its lively cast and a breezy style that almost succeeds in updating the conventions of vintage screwball comedy. Whitton is a standout performer here, so you may wonder why her comedic talent has been underrated, apart from a good role in the first two Major League movies. This may be little more than a big-screen sitcom, but it's not without its charms. --Jeff Shannon

Pet Sematary (Special Collector's Edition)

Dr. Louis Creed having just moved to Maine with his wife and two children is heartbroken when he finds that his daughter's beloved cat has been hit by a truck and killed. Thankfully a strange elderly neighbor called Jud knows a secret that may spare the young girl's tears. He takes the dead cat to an ancient Indian burial ground that lies hidden in the surrounding hilltops; and when he buries the feline there it comes back to life a few days later.But Louis can't be trusted with the secret and despite strong warnings that something horrible will happen he uses the power of the burial ground to bring his son back from the dead -- after the child is killed the same way the family cat was.System Requirements:Running Time: 102 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: R UPC: 097361183640 Manufacturer No: 118364

The Boy Who Could Fly

Saddened by the untimely death of their father and husband, a family moves to a new town and confronts the usual--bullies, demanding new job--and the unusual: an autistic neighbor boy who believes he can fly. Bonnie Bedelia is the stressed-out mom, and Bedelia-look-alike Lucy Deakins plays the perceptive daughter who braves ridicule to reach out to the boy under the tutelage of wise teacher Colleen Dewhurst. This earnest film's melancholy is tempered by its fantastical ending and the fun of seeing a pre-Wonder Years Fred Savage as the soldier-obsessed little brother, not to mention one of the future denizens of Beverly Hills 90210 (Jason Priestley). Parents may wax nostalgic over early '80s fashions and may take delight in appearances by Mr. Munster (Fred Gwynne) as an alcoholic with self-knowledge, Facts of Life gal Mindy Cohn as a chatty neighbor, and Louise Fletcher playing a kindly psychologist. Slow pacing and heavy dollops of tragedy make this most appropriate for ages 8 and up. --Kimberly Heinrichs

A poignant, uplifting fable about a young girl and her relationship with a mute boy who dreams of flying. Together they learn if you wish hard enough, anything is possible.Year: 1986Director: Nick CastleStarring: Lucy Deakins, Jay Underwood, Bonnie Bedelia, Fred Savage

The Cotton Club

Oscar®-winners* Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo rejoin forces to create a mesmerizing (L.A. Weekly) homage to 1930s gangster films and musicals. Nominated** for three Oscars® The Cotton Club is a genuine vision (Newsweek) of the golden age of jazz you won t soon forget!1928 New York. Spirits are high and sultry jazz lively dancing and ruthless gangsters rule supreme. In the center of it all is Harlem s Cotton Club. Playing on stage is cornet player Dixie Dwyer (Gere) who dreams of the big time but he s too mixed up with the club s owner (Hoskins) -- and his sexy moll (Lane) -- to get anywhere fast. Add the frustration of tap sensation Sandman Williams (Hines) who can t touch his girl the lovely lounge singer Lea Rose Oliver (Lonette McKee) and you ve got a short fuse ready to go. As tensions rise so do tempers and the legendary nightclub becomes a pressure cooker of jilted loves and mob jobs that blows the lid off one of the most shocking showdowns ever staged.System Requirements: Running Time 129 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 027616864369 Manufacturer No: 1002205

The Cotton Club is routinely eclipsed by the controversies that surrounded its tumultuous production, but the film itself offers abundant pleasures that should not be overlooked. If Apocalypse Now represents the triumph of director Francis Coppola's perilous ambition, then The Cotton Club represents the ungainly glory of uncontrolled genius, as brilliant as it is out of its depth. As an upscale homage to classic gangster films it's frequently astonishing, cramming a thick novel's worth of plot and characters into 129 minutes, gloriously serviced by impeccable production design, elegant cinematography, and stylistic flourishes that show Coppola at the top of his game.

What The Cotton Club lacks is cohesion. As written by Coppola and novelist William Kennedy (then enjoying the peak of his critical acclaim), the movie struggles to exceed the narrative scope of The Godfather, but its multiple early-'30s plot lines fail to form any strong connective tissue. It's three (or four) movies in one, with cornet player Dixie Dwyer (Richard Gere, playing his own jazzy solos) drifting from one story to the next--loving a young, ambitious vamp (Diane Lane, with whom Gere shares precious little chemistry), enjoying the success of a hotshot hoofer (Gregory Hines), and protecting his brazen bother (Coppola's then-newcomer nephew, Nicolas Cage) from the deadly temper of mob boss Dutch Schultz (James Remar). Bob Hoskins and Fred Gwynne also score big in grand supporting roles, but The Cotton Club is perhaps best appreciated for its meticulous re-creation of Harlem's Cotton Club heyday, and the brilliant music (Ellington, Calloway, etc.) that brought rhythm to gangland's rat-a-tat-tat. --Jeff Shannon

Sgt. Bilko - 50th Anniversary Edition (The Phil Silvers Show)

Phil Silvers plays Ernie Bilko a motor pool sgt in the US army. He is based at Fort Baxter a small camp hidden away near a town called Roseville in the wilds of Kansas. The camp is supposedly run by Colonel Hall but it's Bilko that calls the shots. Whether it's poker games betting on the horses or when ever he was short of money which was just about all the time getting his platoon to cough up. Along with the other Sgt's from the Mess Hall Signals and Supply Bilko is continually at war with Colonel Hall who is desperately trying to put a stop to the gambling once and for all.System Requirements:Running Time 542 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR UPC: 097368881549 Manufacturer No: 888154

"Goldbricker." Now there's a term you don't hear much anymore. But that's what Ed Sullivan called Sgt. Ernest G. Bilko back in the 1950s, and it's as apt a term as any for Phil Silvers' immortal comic creation. Hustler, gambler, scam artist, and con man also apply, but anyway you slice it, Bilko is inarguably one of the greatest characters to emerge in television's so-called Golden Age, and this three-disc 50th Anniversary Edition, cherry picking episodes from all four seasons (it ran from '55-'59), is a beautiful thing. Created by Nat Hiken and originally called "You'll Never Get Rich," The Phil Silvers Show is classic situation comedy. There's no character arc, no lessons learned, no sentimental denouement; just laughs, and plenty of 'em. The typical episode finds Bilko on the make--usually, though not exclusively, for money--and generally ends with him holding the short end of his own shtick. (They don't all follow the formula; a hilarious exception is "The Court Martial," in which Bilko is ordered to defend a chimpanzee that the Army has somehow managed to enlist and is now trying to expel.) Silvers, a master at both verbal and physical comedy, is the focal point, of course. But the ensemble work, featuring Bilko's usual stooges from the Fort Baxter motor pool (Barbella, Doberman, Paparelli), his favorite victims (cf. Col. Hall), and occasional guest stars (episodes with Fred Gwynne, Alan Alda, and Dick Van Dyke are included in this set), is uniformly brilliant, the acting is seemingly effortless, and the pleasure they take in their work is palpable. Bottom line: these shows may have been produced 50 years ago, but the jillions of TV comedies that followed have never improved on them. Among the many quality bonus features are a full-length "lost audition show" (recorded on kinescope), appearances by Silvers on Ed Sullivan and Dick Cavett's programs, audio commentary on some episodes, and more. Some fans will undoubtedly quibble with the episode selection; with only 18 of the more than 140 produced shows included here, it's inevitable that a few favorites didn't make the cut. Still, until (or unless) Paramount gets around to releasing each individual season, this set is a must-have. --Sam Graham

The Munsters: Two-Movie Fright Fest - (Franchise Collection) - (Munster, Go Home! & The Munsters' Revenge)

There aren't many funny, pre-Pufnstuf era monster movies suitable for the family, until one remembers the Munsters, who beyond their two-season television stint, made two feature films, albeit fifteen years apart. Both filmed in Technicolor, the vibrance of the Munsters' spooky lifestyle is most apparent in Munsters, Go Home (1966), far superior to the cornier Munsters' Revenge. A true '60s relic, Munsters, Go Home begins when Herman's deceased relative bestows him with Lord status, necessitating the Munsters' trip to England to claim his title. There, he meets other Munsters, Lady Effigy and Freddie Munster, whose jealousy results in frightening antics that only thrill Herman, Grandpa, Lily, Eddie, and Marilyn (with Pat Priest replaced by Debbie Watson). As the plot thickens, Herman faces other threats to the family honor with his classic innocent bravado. In Munsters' Revenge, a wax museum criminal circuit sends Munsters' imposters out to commit crimes, so it's up to the real family to solve the mystery. Different Eddies and Marilyns slightly spoil the family reunion's ambience, though ample physical comedy--for example when Herman's bee sting causes him to destroy the police precinct where he's being held as a criminal suspect--makes the film authentic to its original characters. Moreover, watching this double feature is an inspiring reminder of what props used to look like, like George Barris's Munster Koach, not to mention those that grace the entire Munster Mansion. --Trinie Dalton

America s first family of fright lives on in The Munsters: Two-Movie Fright Fest! Following their wildly popular TV series original cast members Fred Gwynne (Herman Munster) Yvonne De Carlo (Lily Munster) and Al Lewis (Grandpa) are reunited in two hilarious movies as you ve never seen them before in color!Munster Go Home!: The laughs begin when Herman moves the family to an English estate he inherited.The Munsters Revenge: Dr. Diablo (Sid Caesar) concocts a plan to create robot Munsters to pull off a series of art heists.System Requirements:Running Time: 97 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR UPC: 025193107725 Manufacturer No: 31077

The Stephen King Collection (Pet Sematary Special Collector's Edition / The Dead Zone Special Collector's Edition / Graveyard Shift / Silver Bullet)

The Stephen King Collection, a box set of four films, Graveyard Shift, The Dead Zone, Silver Bullet, and Pet Sematary, is great in that it provides viewers with a full range of King movies, from the truly eerie to the terrible. The set's two finest movies, The Dead Zone, directed by David Cronenberg and starring Christopher Walken, and Pet Sematary--arguably King's finest story adapted to film--both come as Special Collector's Editions, with excellent bonus material, including lengthy interviews with both Stephen King and the directors. Pet Sematary, shot in King's home territory, Maine, tells the story of city slickers Rachel and Louis Creed (Denise Crosby, Dale Midkiff), who move to the country to raise their daughter, Ellen, in peace. They learn that they've relocated onto a trucking thoroughfare, and Ellen consequently loses her pet cat. The plot quickly riffs out into mystical, traumatic territory. Louis's neighbor Jud Crandall takes Louis to ancient Indian burial grounds, where the dead are reanimated. The Creeds's zombie cat sparks this Frankenstein-ian adventure, pitting urban settings against rural, and the horrific against the pastoral. Pet Sematary looks more and more like Hitchcock, thanks to director Mary Lambert's careful attention to detail. The low point in the set is Graveyard Shift, a washed-up story about a cotton factory that's not only infested by carnivorous rats, but also hosts a dragon/pterodactyl. As night-shift employees get continuously munched, Bachman Mills' owner Mr. Warwick is forced to clean up squalid conditions, for which he hires a basement clean-up crew. Crew members are slaughtered as they try to combat their discovered behemoth, and grizzly scenes showing rats, humans, and the beast's head being chewed up in the cotton gin reduce Graveyard Shift to schlock gore. One is reminded of the intricacies involved in adapting books to film. As King has managed to be an integral part of his film projects, there are still successes and failures. All the movies in this set, though, still bear King's trademark, a love for "supernatural deadfall." --Trinie Dalton

Includes: The Dead ZonePet SematarySilver BulletGraveyard ShiftFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: NR UPC: 097361184142 Manufacturer No: 118414