Miller, George

The Man From Snowy River

A conventional boy-and-his-horse story set against the red rocks of remote Australian mountains. (If there's a wide-screen edition, grab it. The scenery is one of the movie's strongest features.) Tom Burlinson is Jim Craig, a young man left stranded after his father's death who is struggling to save the family farm. He proves his manhood during a hair-raising hunt over the wooded slopes in search of an escaped stallion. The great, grizzled, Australian character actor Jack Thompson (the idealistic lawyer in Breaker Morant) is the tough, older horseman who takes the lad under his wing. The director, George Miller (not to be confused with the action-master who made the Mad Max films) allows costar Kirk Douglas to mug and grimace and prance far too much in a duel role as a pair of lovable old coots who hate each other's guts. Luckily, one of the coots has a handsome daughter (Sigrid Thornton, an Elizabeth McGovern-type with grit), who also has a way with horses. So it isn't all rocks and pine trees. --David Chute

With its unforgettably heroic story, its stunning cinematography, and acting performances that are uniformly excellent, THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER is one thrilling adventure you won't want to miss. Set during the 1880's, when the Australian frontier was as wild and dangerous as the American West, the film follows the exploits of a handsome youth (Tom Burlinson) who sets out to tame a wild herd of horses. Taking on a challenge many men had attempted before him, he rides deep into the treacherous and untamed wilderness of his native timberlands where boys become men fast - or die trying. Featuring Kirk Douglas in a remakable dual role and highlighted by a climactic chase involving 40 horsemen and 90 wild stallioins thundering across snow-covered peaks, THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER is destined to become a legendary film!

The NeverEnding Story / The NeverEnding Story II

When 10-year-old Bastian opens the mysterious, ornately bound book entitled The NeverEnding Story, he never imagines he will be transported into its amazing world of Fantasia - and become the hero of its even more amazing tale. Now you can go there too in this magical film full of astonishing creatures and directed by Wolfgang Petersen (The Perfect Storm). Bastian, the Luckdragon and the genial Rock Biter return for more adventure in the spellbinding The NeverEnding Story II The Next Chapter from director George Miller (The Man from Snowy River). This time, new forces threaten the world of imagination. But they aren't the only foes Bastian faces. He must also overcome problems at home!

Andre

"If you loved Free Willy, you'll adore Andre" (Maggie Barron, Kids Today), a totally delightful family film. Here is the remarkable true story of a seal who each spring swam hundreds of miles to visit the human family that rescued him when he was an orphaned pup. Keith Carradine stars as a Maine harbor master who witnesses the playful and appreciative animal's impact on his hometown, his family and especially on his shy nine-year-old daughter (Tina Majorino of Corrina, Corrina). Her friendship with Andre helps bring her out of her shell, reinforcing this film's timeless message: a little love can have big results.

Journey to the Center of the Earth

The NeverEnding Story II - The Next Chapter

Based on Michael Ende's classic children's book this sequel finds the young hero Bastian encountering new adventures in the magical world of fantasia. In this sequel to the 1984 film our young hero again bored with the real world returns to his storybook's magical land of Fantasia and attempts to slay the evils that threaten the extinction of goodness. There he finds a special brand of courage within himself a reminder of the eternal optimistic child within us all.Running Time: 89 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY UPC: 085391327820

Filled with a few imaginative moments and a child actor who looks like a miniaturized Sharon Stone, II isn't as neverending as the third headache in the series, but it's not on par with the original. Versions of Atreyu, the brave warrior, Rockbiter, and Falcor, that flying, pink, poodle-dragon, return to travel across the storybook world of Fantasia. This time our protagonist and reader, Bastian, is actually in the story the entire time instead of looking on from outside the pages. The interaction doesn't help, as it's the same crisis and the same story line (well, okay, he is reading the same book), but at least the film is not as unrelentingly melancholy as the first one either. Children may be frightened by the "giants," large dung beetles on two legs, that threaten our heroes. --Keith Simanton

Five Mile Creek - The Complete First Season

A somewhat unusual but very fine drama series for the family, Five Mile Creek: The First Complete Season gets under one's skin very quickly. A 19th century Western set in the wilds of Australia, the show concerns a small but international community of men and women whose lives revolve around the scrappy origins of a stagecoach line. The story begins when a headstrong American woman, Maggie Scott (Louise Caire Clark), arrives in New South Wales with her daughter, Hannah (Priscilla Weems), in search of her husband, Adam. The latter, an American prospector who came to make his fortune in Aussie goldfields, sent word to his family to meet him at a place called Five Mile Creek. When Maggie and Hannah arrive there, they find Adam isn't around and no one has heard of him.

Stuck in the deeply wooded outpost, which is halfway between two important port towns and plagued by highwaymen and violent squatters (two dangerous groups interested in preventing progress in the region), Maggie settles in at the Haven. A makeshift rest stop and lodging for travelers on the Australian Express stagecoach, the Haven becomes a domestic mecca for the series' other major characters. Among them are the Express' two enterprising partners, a chivalrous American, Con (Jay Kerr), and a mischievous Aussie, Jack (Rod Mullinar). Restless taskmaster Kate (Liz Burch), a lovely young woman who owns the Haven, rides herd over several colorful hands, including reformed scoundrel Paddy Malone (Michael Caton). The 13 episodes in the first (1983) season juggle several running storylines (including the dramatic appearance of Adam, played by Star Trek: The Next Generation's Jonathan Frakes) and introduce a host of guest stars conveniently supplied by Con and Jack's daily stagecoach runs. Five Mile Creek also imparts some interesting historical context, including native revulsion at England's brutal military presence, old battles between white settlers and indigenous blacks (similar to the American West's Indian wars), and a climate of lawlessness that makes pioneering a dangerous business. Despite these brushes with real seriousness, Five Mile Creek is a very entertaining show for school-age-and-up viewers. --Tom Keogh

Journey back to the booming Australian gold rush of the 1860s, a wild Outback frontier, and the spirited pioneers who aim to tame it. Now for the first time on DVD, enjoy every episode of the trailblazing first season of FIVE MILE CREEK, which chronicles a story of outlaw bushrangers, ruthless government troops, and the challenges of making an emerging stagecoach line a rip-roaring success. Filmed entirely on location -- your whole family can experience the adventure, courage, and heart of these enterprising young settlers as they meet one incredible challenge after another.~~

Zeus and Roxanne

Zeus is a rowdy little ruffhouse of a dog but no less rough around the edges than his owner Terry (Steve Guttenberg) and Terry's son Jordan (Miko Hughes). They've moved in Next door to Mary Beth (Kathleen Quinlan) a marine biologist who is more than a little preoccupied with studying Roxanne a delightful dolphin and keeping an eye on her two uncontrollable daughters. But what Mary Beth and Terry are about to discover that Zeus and Roxanne are developing an unexpected relationship. Their communication and bond of friendship and trust will change the lives of both sets of families as they learn that there's more to life than work and nothing so important as love. What happens when the two come together - and the effect they have on the people who love them - is an exciting and unexpected tale of freedom friendship and love.Running Time: 98 min.System Requirements:Interactive Menus Digitally ProcessedFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: PG UPC: 026359139222

Too bland for any kid over age 7, Zeus and Roxanne is one of those utterly formulaic family movies that is so harmless it could put even younger kids to sleep. It's really about a cute dog (Zeus) who develops a fun-filled friendship with a clever dolphin (Roxanne) along the tropical coasts of the Bahamas. Zeus's owner is a kid whose bachelor father (Steve Guttenberg) is trying to compose a rock opera, and Roxanne is being lovingly studied by a single marine biologist (Kathleen Quinlan) who's got two young daughters. In true Brady Bunch fashion, they all get together to form a family, but there's danger afoot when another scientist threatens to use Roxanne for unfriendly research. There's plenty of surf and sun to go with this save-the-dolphin sentiment, so Zeus and Roxanne score a few points for being good-natured and adorable. Whether any kid will watch it more than once is another matter entirely. --Jeff Shannon

Robinson Crusoe

Pierce Brosnan stars in a new movie version of the classic adventure tale Robinson Crusoe. After killing a friend in a duel, Crusoe flees his native Scotland and takes to the high seas. A storm casts him ashore on an island in the Indian Ocean, where he builds himself a home out of bamboo and goes a little crazy from solitude--until he finds a footprint in the sand that isn't his. The relationship between Crusoe and Friday, a native from a neighboring island, gets a more contemporary (less colonial) interpretation than in the original story; the result is quite enjoyable. Brosnan is particularly good at depicting Crusoe's borderline madness from isolation, and William Takaku gives Friday both dignity and intelligence. The cinematography of the island is gorgeous. --Bret Fetzer

Dynamic screen star Pierce Brosnan (THE TAILOR OF PANAMA, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH) braves the perils of an untamed land in this classic story of sweeping action and high adventure! As the sole survivor of a disastrous high-seas shipwreck, Robinson Crusoe (Brosnan) is forced to build a solitary life on a deserted tropical island. But he eventually discovers that even this existence is threatened by a local tribe, which uses his island for barbaric sacrificial rituals! Soon, Crusoe will risk his own life to save a doomed tribesman from certain death! In a thrilling adaptation of the timeless novel by Daniel Defoe, both men -- each stranded and unable to return home -- must cross an immense cultural divide to forge a friendship and survive against impossible odds!

The Aviator

Christopher Reeve (Superman) and Rosanna Arquette (Pulp Fiction) star in this thrilling post-World War I drama about survival, romance and the resilience of the human spirit. Co-starring OscarÂ(r) nominee* Jack Warden (The Replacements) and Tyne Daly ("Judging Amy"), The Aviator soars with adventure. As a solo pilot for the nation's newly-formed airmail service, Edgar Anscombe (Reeve), a man haunted by a tragic memory, has made a career of keeping tohimself over the years. But one day he's unexpectedly assigned an involuntary passenger: the rebellious and outspoken Tillie Hansen (Arquette), whose unrelenting impudence drives Edgar crazy! But when their plane is forced to crash-land in a rugged and desolate mountain canyon, the unlikely companions find they have only one source of hope against the excruciating elements, the savage wilderness and a pack of hungry wolves: each other! *Supporting Actor, Heaven Can Wait (1978); Shampoo (1975)

Attack of the Sabretooth

The ferocious feline predator of the Pleistocene Epoch the Saber-toothed Tiger has been extinct for 1.6 million years. Now it's back and it's really hungry. A cloned saber-toothed tiger escapes from the lab into an abandoned amusement park. When a group of college students stumbles into the park they discover what it feels like to be cat food. In the tradition of JURASSIC PARK ATTACK OF THE SABRETOOTH brings a terror of the ancient world into the modern era.System Requirements:Running Time 88 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: R UPC: 012236191070 Manufacturer No: 19107