Luisi, James

The Rockford Files - Season Four

Series about an ex-con-turned-private-investigator named Jim Rockford who would rather run away than fight and would rather go fishing than work. He isn't a coward and he isn't lazy--just a bit on the cautious side that's all. And he bears a very strong resemblance to Western TV hero Bret Maverick. Rockford is sometimes aided (and sometimes deterred) in his cases by friends Dennis Becker (a police detective) Angel (his cowardly former cellmate) and pretty Beth Davenport (his lawyer).Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 025195005715 Manufacturer No: 61100691

The Rockford Files - Season Two

"The best detective series ever," according to TV Guide, the second Rockford Files set begins at the beginning. That's because the double-length pilot ("Backlash of the Hunter") appears as an extra. In this episode, Jim Rockford (James Garner) explains to guest star Lindsay Wagner, "I only handle criminal cases that are closed." The first Rockford file also introduces his errant father, Rocky (Robert Donley, who'll soon be replaced by Noah Beery Jr.), detective buddy Dennis (Joe Santos, The Sopranos), and squirrelly pal Angel (Emmy winner Stuart Margolin) with whom he did time at San Quentin (before being granted a full pardon). Season two highlights include the two-part "Gearjammers," in which Rockford discovers his dad's secret life, "Chicken Little Is a Little Chicken," in which Rockford helps Angel fake his death, and "The Hammer of C Block," with Isaac "Shaft" Hayes as a former cellmate who just can't get his name straight—he thinks it's "Rockfish." (The Oscar-winning Hayes also contributes an original number called "Gandy's Theme.") Even when the episodes are less memorable, Garner's easygoing Oklahoma charm and potent chemistry with his co-stars, including lawyer/ex-girlfriend girlfriend Beth (Gretchen Corbett), makes each one worth watching. Like most Stephen J. Cannell programs (Baretta, 21 Jump Street, etc.), The Rockford Files never had any difficulty attracting famous (and soon-to-be-famous) guests. The second year claims such notables as Linda Evans ("The Farnsworth Stratagem"), Stefanie Powers ("The Real Easy Red Dog"), Blair Brown ("The Girl in the Bay City Boys Club"), Rob Reiner ("The No-Cut Contract"), and Louis Gossett Jr. ("Foul on the First Play'). The only other bonus feature is a short, if informative interview with Cannell, who reveals that the character of Joseph "Rocky" Rockford was modeled after his own father. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Starring James Garner as quirky ex-con turned detective Jim Rockford THE ROCKFORD FILES became a favorite of mystery lovers when it debuted in 1974. Living in a mobile home in Malibu Jim would rather just relax than solve crimes but his undeniable knack for uncovering the truth keeps him busy with casework in Los Angeles. This release gathers every episode from the show's second season.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 025192647222 Manufacturer No: 26472

The Rockford Files - Season Three

Series about an ex-con-turned-private-investigator named Jim Rockford who would rather run away than fight and would rather go fishing than work. He isn't a coward and he isn't lazy--just a bit on the cautious side that's all. And he bears a very strong resemblance to Western TV hero Bret Maverick. Rockford is sometimes aided (and sometimes deterred) in his cases by friends Dennis Becker (a police detective) Angel (his cowardly former cellmate) and pretty Beth Davenport (his lawyer).Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 025193281920 Manufacturer No: 61032819

Much like his trusty Pontiac Firebird, The Rockford Files was a particularly well-oiled machine by the third year. Everything was clicking into place, from the writing to the acting (writer/producer David Chase went on to create The Sopranos). Despite a terrific supporting cast, James Garner was always the main draw, and he received an Emmy for the series during year three (1976-1977). Considering that the show was carefully pitched between drama and comedy, it was well deserved as Garner excelled at both. Notable episodes include "Feeding Frenzy," in which Rockford returns stolen loot for a client; "Drought at Indian Head River," in which informant Angel (Stuart Margolin) reinvents himself as a real estate developer; and "Rattler's Class of '63," in which Angel ties the knot. Among the guest stars are such hip cats as Blazing Saddles's Cleavon Little ("Sticks and Stones May Break Your Bones...") and Cool Hand Luke's Strother Martin ("The Trees, the Bees, and T.T. Flowers"). Ned Beatty also drops by as a buddy from Korea ("Return to the 38th Parallel"), while R&B legend Isaac Hayes returns as prison pal Gandy Fitch ("Just Another Polish Wedding").

As usual, there are plenty of good lines, like Robert Loggia's "I expect him to tell me the truth. If he doesn't, he's gonna end up in the flower business--as a soil additive" ("Drought at Indian Head River") and Garner's "Stop batting your eyes like that or you're gonna get a muscle spasm" ("Return to the 38th Parallel"). The best part about season three is simply that it adds depth to Rockford's relationships with the four people most important to him: Angel, dad Rocky (Noah Beery Jr.), detective Becker (Joe Santos), and attorney Beth (Gretchen Corbett). The only extra feature is "Quickie Nirvana," an episode from the fourth season. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

The Rockford Files - Season Five

James Garner returns in his Primetime Emmy® Award-winning role as wisecracking ex-con-turned-private detective Jim Rockford in all 22 Season Five episodes of The Rockford Files! In this thrilling five-disc set Rockford chases down underworld mobsters art thieves an organ transplant ring and other criminals who never expect to find the world's most unlikely detective behind Rockford's easygoing laid-back demeanor. Along for the chase this season are such phenomenal guest stars as Tom Selleck Ed Harris John Pleshette Harold Gould and more. From legendary TV producer Stephen J. Cannell the Primetime Emmy® Award-winning series that earned eighteen nominations returns for more intelligent mysteries devious suspects and classic Rockford action!System Requirements:Running time: 297 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 025195017237 Manufacturer No: 61102094

Norma Rae

Veteran director Martin Ritt (Sounder) directed this earnest and very popular tale of a naive textile worker, widow, and mother in the U.S. South who becomes empowered by standing up for her rights in the workplace. Sally Field stars in the Oscar-winning title role as a woman who has been content to go along with the status quo until she realizes that she is entitled to more and can succeed if she stands up for herself. Her fight to improve deplorable working conditions at the textile plant causes a rift between her and the people closest to her, but her determination brings a new awareness to her and to all the women with whom she works. Ritt's typical, socially conscious story uses the politics of Norma Rae's struggle and also its emotions to build the film to a rousing climax. --Robert Lane

In an Oscar-winning performance, Sally Field is unforgettable as Norma Rae, the Southern millworker who revolutionizes a small town and discovers a power in herself she never had. Under the guidance of a New York unionizer (Ron Leibman) and with increasing courage and determination, Norma Rae organizes her fellow factory workers to fight for better conditions and wages. Based on a true story, Norma Rae is the mesmerizing tale of a modern day heroine. Beau Bridges co-stars.

Charles Bronson DVD Action Pack (Kinjite / Messenger of Death / Murphy's Law / 10 to Midnight)

Disc 1: KINJITE Disc 2: MESSENGER OF DEATH Disc 3: MURPHY'S LAW Disc 4: 10 TO MIDNITE

Star 80

Based on the story of Dorothy Stratten 1980 Playmate of the Year Star 80 explores a brief and tragic career that was engineered by Stratten's loutish husband and manager Paul Snider. Shunned by the rich and powerful people who court his beautiful ingenuous wife Snider makes her first the beneficiary and then the victim of his own ambition.Running Time: 105 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 085392001323

Legendary director/dancer/choreographer Bob Fosse may have been a consummate entertainer, responsible for popular productions on the Broadway stage, but he was also an uncompromising filmmaker who wasn't afraid to explore the dark side of humanity. After the autobiographical intensity of All That Jazz, Fosse's final film was this honest and painfully authentic biography about Dorothy Stratten, who was Playboy's Playmate of the Year for 1979 and had just begun a promising film career when her jealous boyfriend took a shotgun to her head. Fosse tackles this brutal reality head on, opening the film with the aftermath of murder and telling the story in flashback, beginning in Vancouver when slick charmer Paul Snider (Eric Roberts, in a chilling performance) discovers Dorothy (Mariel Hemingway) and makes her his ticket to fame and unearned glory. He's a loser and a user, and when Dorothy rises to success and glamour at the Playboy mansion, Hugh Hefner (Cliff Robertson, perfectly cast) urges the blonde beauty to drop her troublesome boyfriend. Jealousy and rejection push Paul over the edge, but Star 80 (the title is taken from Snider's vanity license plates) is no simple tale of male ego gone bad. Fosse explores the chasm between fame and obscurity, and the self-destructive lengths to which some people will go to bridge that gap. The film is a darker telling of the kind of story Boogie Nights would tell nearly 15 years later--both films are set in the late '70s and early '80s, and both deal with the inevitable loss of innocence in a world where innocence cannot survive. In a bleak but fascinating way, Star 80 is masterful in its refusal to look away from the tragedy of its true story. It's a farewell statement from a director who clearly understood the high cost of stardom. --Jeff Shannon

The Hidden

There's a power-mad space slug slithering among (and through) the innocent citizens of L.A., and it's up to a hardboiled cop and a detective from way up north to stop it in this wonderfully straight-faced sci-fi action flick. The basic plot may be nothing new, but this remains one of the most underrated testosterone fests of the '80s, with a plethora of amazing stunts (there are more expensive cars smashed here than in the entire oeuvre of Hal Needham), characterizations far beyond the call of duty by Michael Nouri and the otherworldly Kyle MacLachlan, and a startlingly creepy denouement. Babylon 5's Claudia Christian has a memorable role as a stripper with a high-caliber fetish. Essential viewing for audiences in the mood for something slimy. --Andrew Wright

Murphy's Law (1986)

This thoroughly unpleasant 1986 thriller stars Charles Bronson as a cop systematically framed for one murder after another. The killings, though, turn out to be the work of a female nutcase (Carrie Snodgress) he had once sent away to prison. Everyone involved in this leans on the atrocity-and-revenge formula, particularly Bronson and director J. Lee Thompson (The Guns of Navarone), two Hollywood guys who once upon a time made plenty of classic films. Snodgress's performance is unhinged, interesting but hard to watch, as we never really got to know her onscreen after Diary of a Mad Housewife. Just think of this movie as having come from the same creepy planet as the Death Wish series. --Tom Keogh

A killer on a rampage learns the hard way: "Don't mess with Jack Murphy!" Charles Bronson stars in this thrilling game of hide-and-seek between a clever psychopath and a lone lawman hellbent on reaping justice. Veteran detective Jack Murphy (Bronson) is suddenly a wanted man after he's framed for the murder of his ex-wife. Taken into custody by the very cops he works with, Murphy has no choice but to escape and hunt down the killer who set him up. But even as he pursues a false lead, Murphy is pursued by the real murderer a psychotic woman (Carrie Snodgress) out for revenge against those who institutionalized her ten years earlier including Murphy!

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