SNL - Best of Gilda Radner
from Lions Gate
Gilda Radner, one of SNL's original cast members is considered to be one of the most gifted comediennes of all time. Radner's sweet and loveable appeal quickly turned her into one of America's favorite women. See all of her fantastic performances as some of the funniest characters ever seen on television, including Emily Litella, Roseanne Roseannadanna, Candy Slice, Baba Wawa and the nerdy Lisa Loopner. In addition, there's extra bonus material, including exclusive interviews from SNL's original cast and writers and classic never before seen footage.
The Last Detail
from Sony Pictures
Overshadowed by his high-profile leads in such '70s landmarks as Five Easy Pieces, Chinatown, and One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, Jack Nicholson's remarkably complex turn in this raucous yet ultimately somber road movie also remains his most underrated. As the snarling, hedonistic, but emotionally lost Navy lifer Billy Budduskey, Nicholson teams with fellow sailor "Mule" (Otis Young) on a seemingly simple duty of escorting a naive thief (Randy Quaid) from the Norfolk naval base to the brig in Massachusetts. Though polar opposites--Mule is hard-nosed Navy, while the first image of Budduskey shows him asleep in a chair, tattered and tattooed, gripping a near-empty bottle of cheap wine--both sailors learn that the 18-year-old will lose eight years of his life for a petty theft, and agree to cram his lost years into one booze-, sex-, and drug-infested (lost) weekend. From bizarre religious ceremonies to drunken nights in New York brothels, the two sailors provide all the sins they can think of, while their charge, Meadows, appears to go along just to please his escorts. The older sailors are definitely having more fun, essentially projecting all of their own lost freedom onto Meadows. The young sailor's ultimate doom mirrors the daily prison lived by both Budduskey and Mule, and director Hal Ashby hangs a decisive air of bleakness and claustrophobia over screenwriter Robert Towne's profane humor. When the question of whether to let the poor teenager escape ultimately arrives for the two sailors, the final decision is relatively pointless: in or out of prison, all three men are trapped by the Establishment and their own lost free will. --Dave McCoy
Haunted Honeymoon
from MGM (Video & DVD)
Gene Wilder's Haunted Honeymoon attempts to re-create the charm of those horror spoofs from the 1940s like Hope and Crosby's My Favorite Brunette. Larry (Wilder) and Vickie (wife Gilda Radner) play radio stars who decide to spend their honeymoon in the spooky old manse where Larry grew up with his Aunt Kate (Dom DeLuise in drag). The setup is a good one and the mostly British supporting cast, including Brazil's Jonathan Pryce, are certainly game. Unfortunately, Wilder elicits more chills--and groans--than chuckles (the dialogue is particularly ghastly). In the end, the results come closer to the George Lucas-penned dud Radioland Murders than to Mel Brooks's brilliant Young Frankenstein (featuring Wilder as the good doctor himself). If the Wizard of Oz-type ending doesn't completely redeem it, Haunted Honeymoon is still entertaining enough and seems positively sophisticated compared to the spoofs of more recent vintage (now that's a scary thought!). --Kathleen C. Fennessy
What do you get when you combine three of Hollywood's most hysterical talents with a creaky old castle and a werewolf legend? An "amiable kinky blend of high jinks and horror" (The Hollywood Reporter) that'll leave you howling with laughter! Starring Gene Wilder Gilda Radner and Dom DeLuise this "ingenious amusing horror comedy [will] put a smile on your face and keep it there" (Los Angeles Times)!At the mansion of his Great Aunt Kate (DeLuise) Larry Abbot (Wilder) is undergoing a psychological procedure designed to rid him of his irrational phobias by frightening them right out of him! But the jolts and frights may turn out to be the least of his problems when Great Kate names him her sole heir. Suddenly the entire family seems a little too vigorous in participating with his "scare-apy" leading Larry to believe that one of his jealous kin may be murderous and that another may be werewolverous!System Requirements:Starring: Gene Wilder Gilda Radner Dom DeLuise Jonathan Pryce Paul L. Smith Directed By: Gene Wilder Running Time: 84 Min. Copyright Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 2005Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG UPC: 027616865472 Manufacturer No: 1002328
The Rutles - All You Need Is Cash
by Eric Idle
from Rhino Theatrical
Originally hatched in 1978 as a short film parody for Saturday Night Live, this expanded, 70-minute mockumentary on a trend-setting quartet of British mop-tops bloomed into one of Eric Idle's better projects outside Monty Python. Taking the career (and hagiography) of the Beatles and inverting them quite nicely, Idle conjures up four doppelgangers who offer the familiar mannerisms but practically none of the intelligence of their models. If that sounds like the same gag that powered This Is Spinal Tap (which emerged six years later), it is, with the crucial difference that Idle's lampoon is precise where Tap was consciously generic.
In telling the saga of the Rutles, Idle (who doubles as earnest narrator and McCartney-esque Rutle Dirk McQuigley) works from a rich and immediately familiar trove of pop lore, and he has a ball revisiting and reinventing milestones from the Fab Four's fabled history. The attention to period detail helps elevate the gags further, but Idle's real secret weapon is Neil Innes, standing in as Ron Nasty, the Rutles' answer to John Lennon: it's Innes who serves as the musical architect for the wonderful Beatles parodies that give All You Need Is Cash a delicious kick, and Innes, a one-time principal in the legendary Bonzo Dog Band, is gifted enough to capture the band's lyricism and energy as well as their shifting sense of style.
With the blessing and on-camera participation of George Harrison, and wry cameos from Mick Jagger and Paul Simon, All You Need Is Cash is a perfect companion to the Beatles' own glorious screen comedies and a great antidote to sanctimonious pop documentaries. --Sam Sutherland
The Woman in Red
from MGM (Video & DVD)
For a few years in the mid-1970s, thanks mostly to his collaboration with Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder was the hottest name in comedy. His films with Richard Pryor made him such a star that he was given the chance to write and direct--a big mistake. The nadir was this slow-moving, self-conscious Americanization of the French bedroom comedy Pardon Mon Affaire. Wilder plays an American executive who glimpses a gorgeous woman and turns his life and his marriage upside down in his misguided pursuit of an unattainable ideal. Heavy-handed sex farce doesn't get much help from Wilder, who does himself no favors as a director; LeBrock is a worthy object of obsession, but she deserves a better movie. --Marshall Fine
Seduction is a powerful force, and in the form of The Woman in Red, it's certain to lead to unbridled passion and unlimited laughs! Featuring a first-rate cast that includes Gene Wilder, Charles Grodin, Joseph Bologna, Judith Ivey, Kelly Le Brock and Emmy-winner Gilda Radner, this comedy bombshell scores a perfect 10! Businessman Teddy Pierce (Wilder) has always played by the rules... until he meets the woman in red. With killer legs and a knock out style, sexy Charlotte (Le Brock) is the ultimate fantasy woman. Now Teddy's headed straight for trouble. Deciding just this once 'to give in to temptation, he's looking forward to the most romantic experience of his life. But Teddy's amorous affections soon lead to hilarious consequences when his friends, his secretary and Charlotte's husband get involved!
Saturday Night Live: Best of Steve Martin
by Dave Wilson
from Lions Gate
No other person has been a guest on Saturday Night Live as many times as the inimitable Steve Martin, which is what makes SNL's Best of Steve Martin compilation the finest of the series. This collection gives us not only clips of some of the show's funniest moments, but also a sense of how the show has evolved from the 1970s. Earlier monologues were rougher, less staged, but absolutely out of control in the best way, as Martin is given free rein to unleash his "happy feet," play the banjo, and generally explore his zaniness. The earliest clip dates from 1976 and the latest from the mid-'90s, showcasing the program's greatest players throughout the seasons--Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Mike Meyers, Dana Carvey, Nora Dunn, David Spade, Jon Lovitz. The beloved classics are here, from "King Tut," with complete Egyptian regalia, to the arrow through the head to, of course, a "wild and crazy guy." Not enough for you? Well, "excuuuuuuse me." Also included are the Coneheads at home (with Martin playing a hapless IRS agent), "Jeopardy 1999," "Common Knowledge" (one of the wittiest SNL sketches ever), and ads for "Rise" and for "Steve Martin's Penis Cream." This collection will satisfy longtime SNL fans and is a great way to show newer fans what comedy is really about. --Jenny Brown
Although he was never a cast member on SNL, Steve Martin currently holds the record for number of times hosting the show. From his early days as a stand-up to becoming a household name, Steve Martin has played many memorable and hilarious characters such as "wild and crazy guy", Jorge Festrunk, Theodoric Of York, Tightwad 007, and paid homage to King Tut through song. He also played himself in sketches. Whether peddling a special kind of beauty cream, attempting to renegotiate his contract in the middle of a live show, or doing his infamous banjo-playing monologue with an arrow through his head, Steve Martin is undoubtedly one of the most successful hosts in SNL history.
Comic Relief: The Greatest... and the Latest
from Shout Factory Theatr
COMIC RELIEF-THE LATEST AND THE GREATEST (DVD MOVIE)
The Trials of Henry Kissinger
by Eugene Jarecki
from First Run Features
Even as it preaches to those who will relish its witch-hunting zeal, The Trials of Henry Kissinger makes a potent assertion that the legendary diplomat and former Secretary of State is guilty of crimes against humanity. Produced for the BBC, seductively narrated by actor Brian Cox, and based on the scathing book by Christopher Hitchens (a Kissinger-bashing journalist featured heavily here in talking-head interviews), this film is clearly biased against its target, but there's ample documentation to support its claims that Kissinger prolonged the Vietnam war and orchestrated the illegal and indiscriminate bombing of Cambodia; supervised the 1973 coup against democratically elected Chilean president Allende; and played a role in U.S.-backed atrocities in East Timor. Expert interviews on both sides of the political fence (but mostly damning Kissinger) make this a compelling, information-packed example of situational ethics in action; additional viewings simultaneously deepen the film's conviction and reveal the weakness of its one-sided embrace of Hitchens. Either way, this is essential viewing for anyone interested in the labyrinthine machinations of international power. --Jeff Shannon
Hanky Panky
by Sidney Poitier
from Sony Pictures
Wilder plays Michael Jordan an innocent by-stander turned victim turned hero. Kate Hellman (Radner) falls in love with him while looking for her brother's murderers. Together they are caught in a world of international intrigue suspense and murder. Ransom (Richard Widmark) a ruthless adversary is intent on eliminating Michael. Pursued by Ransom Michael and Kate embark on a bold mission which takes them on a wild ride in an airplane high above the Grand Canyon to a hidden military command center through a frenzied chase in the streets of New York and to a desert outpost where attackers besiege them from all sides.System Requirements:Running Time: 107 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG UPC: 043396078895
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