Vaccaro, Brenda

Midnight Cowboy (Two Disc Collector's Edition)

The first, and only, X-rated film to win a best picture Academy Award, John Schlesinger's Midnight Cowboy seems a lot less daring today (and has been reclassified as an R), but remains a fascinating time capsule of late-1960s sexual decadence in mainstream American cinema. In a career-making performance, Jon Voight plays Joe Buck, a naive Texas dishwasher who goes to the big city (New York) to make his fortune as a sexual hustler. Although enthusiastic about selling himself to rich ladies for stud services, he quickly finds it hard to make a living and eventually crashes in a seedy dump with a crippled petty thief named Ratzo Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman, doing one of his more effective "stupid acting tricks," with a limp and a high-pitch rasp of a voice). Schlesinger's quick-cut, semi-psychedelic style has dated severely, as has his ruthlessly cynical approach to almost everybody but the lead characters. But at its heart the movie is a sad tale of friendship between a couple of losers lost in the big city, and with an ending no studio would approve today. It's a bit like an urban Of Mice and Men, but where both guys are Lenny. --Jim Emerson

Daring. Provocative. Shocking. Compelling. Nearly thirty years after its original release, "Midnight Cowboy is still heartbreakingand timeless" (The New York Observer). This Academy Award® winner* for Best Picture, Director and Screenplay also boasts Oscar®-nominated** performances by Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, neither of whom have "ever been better on screen than they are here" (Chicago Tribune)! When Joe Buck (Voight), a good-looking,naively charming Texas "cowboy" makes his way to the Big Apple to seek his fortune, the only wealthhe finds is in the friendship of Ratso Rizzo (Hoffman), a scrounging, sleazy, small-time con man with big dreams. Living on the tattered fringe of society, these two outcasts develop an unlikely bond one that transcends their broken dreams and get-rich-quick schemes and makes Midnight Cowboy "that rarest of things: [a film] every bit as moving now as it was when it was [first] released" (Premiere). *1969 **1969: Actor

Zorro, the Gay Blade

After having a surprise hit playing Dracula in Love at First Bite, George Hamilton seized the moment and spoofed another movie hero: Zorro. In fact, he plays two characters: the heroic Don Diego, who fights Spanish tyranny in Old California in his secret identity as Zorro, and Diego's long-absent brother, Bunny Wigglesworth, a man totally comfortable with his sexual identity and unafraid of accessorizing the Zorro outfit by rendering it in purple. When the swashbuckler is injured, he turns his sword over to the swishbuckler, who is just as good a swordsman, though a few shades less fiery. Some of the gay humor is heavy-handed, but Hamilton easily handles the comedy demands of the dual roles, and has strong support from Ron Leibman as the chief bad guy. --Marshall Fine

The Mirror Has Two Faces

Barbra Streisand's self-absorbed remake of a 1958 French film stars Jeff Bridges as a college professor tired of sexual politics. He makes a deal with a dowdy colleague (Streisand) that they provide companionship for one another, with no thought of getting into bed. She agrees but soon becomes frustrated, the agreement only reinforcing her unfulfilled desire to have a complete relationship with a man. Mimi Rogers is on hand as Babs's striking sister, and Lauren Bacall received an Oscar nomination for her role as the heroine's selfish mother. The film is OK, but it becomes an irritating vanity piece for Streisand (who directed as well as stars). Her character constantly gazes upon her own reflection and is told at least a dozen times, one way or another, just how attractive she is. One wants to shout out, we get it already--you're pretty! The DVD release presents the film in both widescreen and pan and scan versions, plus a Dolby soundtrack. --Tom Keogh

Love Affair

A romance about two people who meet on a cruise ship and find themselves falling in love although they are involved with someone else. They promise to meet in six months only if they both still feel the same way about each other. What happens next surprises...Running Time: 108 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG-13 UPC: 085391316725

You can hear the big gears clank in this glossy, oh-so-watchable remake of the classic 1939 film (and the popular An Affair to Remember). Instead of updating the story with contemporary attitudes (as Warren Beatty did so successfully with Heaven Can Wait), this is a virtual carbon copy of the other films. The early scenes succeed as the two love birds (Beatty and real-life wife Annette Bening) banter with smart, fun talk. But the dramatics never really work in the modern era and romance doesn't blossom. Do we have to visit the Empire State Building again? Why couldn't the man be the victim? Everything looks wrapped for Christmas: a lovely score, nice use of old songs, rich designer clothes, familiar faces popping up everywhere, all surrounded by ace Conrad L. Hall's glowing, luscious light. It comes off like a big still-life, no zeal with two big exceptions: Garry Shandling's comic portrayal of lawyerhood as Beatty's agent and the reappearance of Katharine Hepburn. Seen for maybe 10 minutes, she packs more magic in her work than the entire rest of the movie. --Doug Thomas

Supergirl

Introducing a brand new superhero - the beautiful and mighty Girl of Steel in her very first adventure. Her name is Kara and she's Superman's cousin from Krypton. Coming to Earth on a mission to save her dying city Supergirli has to find and recover the Omegahedron a source of almost unlimited power. But it's fallen into the hands of an amateur witch named Selena--who intends to use it to rule the world! To get it back Supergirl has to fight not only evil humans but the unimaginable forces of Black Magic (including a hundred-foot monster made of pure energy) and make a perilous journey into the forbidden depths of the Phantom Zone.System Requirements:Run Time: 114 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG UPC: 012569766761 Manufacturer No: 76676

Supergirl qualifies as one of the most bizarre comic book adaptations ever to hit the silver screen. Bereft of logic or sensible plotting, but featuring a strong cast and slick special effects, the film follows Superman's cousin Kara (played by Helen Slater in her film debut) as she leaves Krypton to venture to Earth to retrieve the "Omegahedron," a life-force globe vital to her people's survival. She tracks down the device, unaware that it's fallen into the hands of aspiring black magician Selena (Faye Dunaway), which leads to an inevitable showdown.

All of the strong characters in Supergirl are women, making for a nice change of pace from traditional superhero machismo. However, none of the players seem to notice that many things are left unexplained, including how the naive Kara knows so much about Earth while having never been there, how a novice sorceress can attain power so quickly from something she does not understand, and how hardly anyone notices Supergirl flying around their city! (And hey, where's Superman?)

Taken as a campy 1980s comic book relic rather than a serious adaptation, Supergirl is fun because of its engaging special effects and sets, tongue-in-cheek humor, and Dunaway's truly inspired performance. Look for Marc McClure reprising his Superman role of Jimmy Olsen, while Mia Farrow and Peter O'Toole have small supporting roles as Kara's mother and mentor, respectively. The director's cut DVD features 24 minutes of newly restored footage that has never been seen before, which should enthrall Supergirl aficionados, although the additional material doesn't make the story any more logical. --Bryan Reesman

Capricorn One

Thanks to repeated showings on cable television and home video, this speculative thriller has built quite a loyal following since its release in 1978. The provocative "what if?" scenario still packs a punch, even if it is not always believable. James Brolin, Sam Waterston, and O.J. Simpson star as three astronauts who agree to spare the government embarrassment by faking their historic landing on Mars after their spacecraft is determined to be unsafe for blastoff. When a scheming mission controller (Hal Holbrook) plots to kill the astronauts in a staged capsule fire, the trio embarks on a dangerous mission to expose the truth. Elliott Gould costars as the journalist determined to crack the conspiracy, and director Peter Hyams turns up the tension with an exciting chase sequence involving Telly Savalas as an eccentric barnstormer who comes to Gould's aid in his attempt rescue the hoax mission's sole survivor. --Jeff Shannon

Midnight Cowboy

The first, and only, X-rated film to win a best picture Academy Award, John Schlesinger's Midnight Cowboy seems a lot less daring today (and has been reclassified as an R), but remains a fascinating time capsule of late-1960s sexual decadence in mainstream American cinema. In a career-making performance, Jon Voight plays Joe Buck, a naive Texas dishwasher who goes to the big city (New York) to make his fortune as a sexual hustler. Although enthusiastic about selling himself to rich ladies for stud services, he quickly finds it hard to make a living and eventually crashes in a seedy dump with a crippled petty thief named Ratzo Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman, doing one of his more effective "stupid acting tricks," with a limp and a high-pitch rasp of a voice). Schlesinger's quick-cut, semi-psychedelic style has dated severely, as has his ruthlessly cynical approach to almost everybody but the lead characters. But at its heart the movie is a sad tale of friendship between a couple of losers lost in the big city, and with an ending no studio would approve today. It's a bit like an urban Of Mice and Men, but where both guys are Lenny. --Jim Emerson

Daring. Provocative. Shocking. Compelling. Nearly thirty years after its original release, "Midnight Cowboy is still heartbreakingand timeless" (The New York Observer). This Academy AwardÂ(r) winner* for Best Picture, Director and Screenplay also boasts OscarÂ(r)-nominated** performances by Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, neither of whom have "ever been better on screen than they are here" (Chicago Tribune)! When Joe Buck (Voight), a good-looking,naively charming Texas "cowboy" makes his way to the Big Apple to seek his fortune, the only wealthhe finds is in the friendship of Ratso Rizzo (Hoffman), a scrounging, sleazy, small-time con man with big dreams. Living on the tattered fringe of society, these two outcasts develop an unlikely bond one that transcends their broken dreams and get-rich-quick schemes and makes Midnight Cowboy "that rarest of things: [a film] every bit as moving now as it was when it was [first] released" (Premiere). *1969 **1969: Actor

Boynton Beach Club

This labor of love from Susan Seidelman is a warm winning romantic comedy about finding love no matter what your age. A film that has all the potential to be a sleeper hit.System Requirements:Run Time: 104 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 043396174313 Manufacturer No: 17431

Early in the charming romantic comedy Boynton Beach Club, one randy 70-something guy makes a heartfelt toast to "sex after 60"--in all of its untidy, slightly saggy, unpredictable glory. And so is this film, by Susan Seidelman, as much a toast to love among the retiree set as her Desperately Seeking Susan was a valentine to Madonna and the early '80s hipster scene. The all-star cast, including Joe Bologna, Dyan Cannon, Sally Kellerman, Brenda Vaccaro, and Michael Nouri, explore the nuances of grief, loss, heartbreak, and horniness in a retirement community in Boynton Beach, Fla. The usual jokes about senior communities--the outnumbering of men by women, the orchestrated community-center social lives, the bad driving--are here, but with a twist. Seidelman is just as interested in showing that some things, like schoolgirl crushes, one-night-stand cads, and finding love when you think you're not even looking, are as universal whether you're 17 or 70. While some of the cast seem almost distracting at the beginning of the film, because of apparently drastic plastic surgery (Cannon and Kellerman, especially), by the film's end they blend in with the rest of the cast, just as facelifts coexist with sagging jawlines in real Florida towns. Boynton Beach Club has a big heart, and the heart, thankfully, never shows its age. --A.T. Hurley

Just Desserts

A Delectable Story of Love and Confection Sparks fly when pastry chefs Grace Carpenter (Lauren Holly) and Marco Poloni (Costas Mandylor) team up for the Golden Whisk Dessert competition, "the Olympics of desserts," and its $250,000 prize. With nothing

Red Shoe Diaries: The Movie

After the death of his beloved wife, a man reads her diary and finds out that she was having an affair with a young construction worker.