Post, Ted

Perry Mason - Season Two, Vol. 2

We strenuously object! Raymond Burr was conspicuously and criminally missing on Entertainment Weekly's list of the top 100 TV icons. This is a TV Land injustice, but this four-disc set of episodes that complete season 2 lays the groundwork for an appeal. Burr was honored with an Emmy for his commendable work this season as Los Angeles defense attorney Perry Mason, as was Barbara Hale, who portrayed his faithful secretary Della Street. Who knows how many impressionable viewers Burr inspired to become lawyers with his masterful portrayal of the unflappable, incorruptible Mason? No matter how much evidence district attorney Hamilton Burger (William Talman) and Lt. Tragg (Ray Collins) collect, and no matter how damning it is, it will usually collapse once Perry gets the real guilty party to break down on the witness stand or, in one case, in a beatnik hangout. In "The Case of the Lame Canary," a woman is discovered over her dead husband's body, gun in hand, and burning a stack of letters. "If she has any sense, she's at the airport waiting for the first plane out of the country," someone cattily remarks. Nope, she has better sense than that; she's at Perry's office.

Filmed in black and white, Perry Mason has a seductive noir sensibility. Here in sunny California are convoluted cases involving corruption, blackmail, scandal, revenge, and greed. Perry, with the help of private detective Paul Drake (William Hopper), sorts it all out, and in the episode codas, further parses the evidence ("I still don't see what put you on the right track" is a typical query) in inscrutable ways that invite replay. Beyond the pleasure of watching an actor thoroughly embody his character, it's also fun to spot familiar character actors. "The Case of the Petulant Partner" stars Will Wright, who played mean old Ben Weaver on the early seasons of The Andy Griffith Show, and that's a rather fetching Marion "Mrs C." Ross from Happy Days in "The Case of the Romantic Rogue." The episodes crackle with some old-school, hard-boiled dialogue. Almost worth the price of the set is hearing Lt. Tragg make with the beat talk in "The Case of the Jaded Joker." "I'm one of the cool ones," he jokes with Della and Perry. "I don't dig slick chicks trying to goof me up, daddy-o." Once again, this set is guilty of providing no extra features, but we'll let them off with a warning. This time. --Donald Liebenson

Perry Mason is an attorney who specializes in defending seemingly indefensible cases. With the aid of his secretary Della Street and investigator Paul Drake, he often finds that by digging deeply into the facts, startling facts can be revealed. Often relying on his outstanding courtroom skills, he often tricks or traps people into unwittingly admitting their guilt.

Planet of the Apes - The Legacy Collection (Planet of the Apes [1968] / Beneath the / Escape from the / Conquest of the / Battle for the)

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: DVD
Artist: PLANET OF THE APES LEGACY
Title: PLANET OF THE APES LEGACY
Street Release Date: 05/22/2007
Domestic
Genre: SCIENCE FICTION

Hang 'em High

Oklahoma 1873. Jed Cooper mistaken for a rustler and killer is lynched on the spot by crooked lawman Captain Wilson and a rampaging band of vigilantes. But as Wilson and his gang flee the scene there is one very important detail they have overlooked: Cooper is still alive! Saved in the nick of time by a sheriff Cooper takes on the job of deputy marshal in order to bring hard-handed justice to the Oklahoma territory...and to the nine men who "done him wrong."System Requirements:Starring: Clint Eastwood Inger Stevens Ed Begley and Pat Hingle Director: Ted Post Produced by Leonard Freeman; written by Leonard Freeman; running time of 110 minutes; Closed Captioned. Copyright: 1968 Warner Brothers Standard and Widescreen Versions Languages: English & French Subtitles: English French & Spanish Scene Selections Original Theatrical Trailer Digitally Mastered Dolby Digital English & French: Mono Standard version formatted from its original version to fit your screen. Widescreen version presented in a "matted" format preserving the aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition. Enhanced for Widescreen TVs. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/CLASSIC Rating: PG-13 UPC: 027616673022 Manufacturer No: 906730

After starring in the now-legendary trilogy of spaghetti Westerns for Italian director Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood became a box-office star and imported the style of those classic shoot-'em-ups for this 1967 Western directed by Ted Post, with whom Eastwood had worked during their days on the television series Rawhide. Eastwood plays an innocent rancher who is mistaken for a cattle rustler and sentenced to hang by an angry mob. When he is saved from the noose by a passing lawman, he embarks on a renegade campaign of vengeance against the men who attempted to lynch him. Hang 'Em High offers a number of memorable moments and stylistic flourishes, and features a superb supporting cast of Western veterans, including Ben Johnson, Ed Begley, Pat Hingle, Dennis Hopper, Bruce Dern, L.Q. Jones, and the "Skipper" himself, Alan Hale Jr. Made just three years before Dirty Harry, the film marked a turning point for Eastwood, who would soon move into a prolific period of contemporary thrillers. The digital video disc offers standard and widescreen formats and a remastered soundtrack. --Jeff Shannon

Perry Mason - Season 2, Vol. 1

There's something about Perry! Perry Mason, as a canny 14-year-old remarks in the episode "The Case of the Pint-Sized Client," is "the best lawyer in town." Here's the evidence. In 15 chronological second-season episodes from the classic series by which all lawyer shows are judged, Los Angeles attorney Perry Mason successfully defends a host of clients so seemingly guilty that Nancy Grace would have had them incarcerated by the first commercial break. Created by Erle Stanley Gardner, Mason was already a popular character in books, films, and radio before coming to television in 1957, and Raymond Burr, usually typecast as a heavy in feature films, did Mason justice (Mason was ranked 28th on the Bravo network's list of television's 100 best characters). Punctuating his sentences with that dramatic intake of breath, Burr's Mason exudes gravitas and expertise. He gets capable support from Barbara Hale as his secretary, Della Street, and William Hopper as private detective Paul Drake.

In what may be television's most thankless role, William Talman costars as district attorney Hamilton Burger, who nearly every week loses what looked to be an open-and-shut case, usually as the result of some dramatic surprise witness (in one episode, a parrot!), an unorthodox legal maneuver, or a cross-examination courtroom confession ("I didn't mean to kill him, your honor"). There is no delving into Mason's private life, although one episode hints at Mason being something of a ladies man. When Della suggestively tells him a new client is in his waiting room, he replies, "Blonde or brunette?" Cleverly plotted, and infused with a palpable noir sensibility , Perry Mason holds up as more than TV Land nostalgia, although it is fun to see such familiar faces as Jesse "the Maytag Repairman" White, Edgar Buchanan (Petticoat Junction), and Joseph Kearns and Herbert Anderson from Dennis the Menace. No extras, but these entertaining episodes will definitely please the court. --Donald Liebenson

Perry Mason - Season One, Vol. 1

Perry Mason is an attorney who specializes in defending seemingly indefensible cases. With the aid of his secretary Della Street and investigator Paul Drake he often finds that by digging deeply into the facts startling facts can be revealed. Often relying on his outstanding courtroom skills he often tricks or traps people into unwittingly admitting their guilt.System Requirements:Runtime: 1000 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 097368878143 Manufacturer No: 887814

There was a time when the defense attorney was a heroic everyman, not the butt of bad jokes; think Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, and, of course, Raymond Burr's incomparable Perry Mason. The first season of Perry Mason, which launched in 1957 on CBS, shows just how dramatic a "law and order" show could be. Shot in lush black and white, on film, the episodes have been lovingly restored (including lost minutes hacked from reruns to accommodate commercials). The story arcs and atmosphere feel more like film noir (Perry Mason + Philip Marlowe = separated at birth?) than early TV. The cast was stellar, including Burr's Emmy-winning Perry Mason, the indefatigable lawyer who takes tough cases no one else will touch. Burr's chemistry crackles from episode 1 with his costars, including Barbara Hale as secretary Della, William Hopper as private detective Paul Drake, and William Talman as Hamilton Burger, the well-meaning but overmatched district attorney. While it's true that the last-minute witness-stand confessions strain some credulity, the case-cracking, character development, and dialogue set a high bar for the legal shows that followed. "The Case of the Negligent Nymph," for instance, involves a comely young woman--and murder suspect--fished out of the Pacific; Mason deadpans to Drake, "Call off the search, Paul; we've landed our mermaid." The shows unfold at a leisurely pace, and yet don't rely on the overly expositive dialogue that, say, Law & Order does; the viewer learns a lot about each case simply as it happens. The set contains the first 19 episodes of the first season and will hook you, even if you're not a procedural buff. --A.T. Hurley

Perry Mason - Season One, Vol. 2

The second volume of season 1 of Perry Mason fleshes out the splendid entire first year of the show, a masterpiece of '50s film noir and crisp, savvy TV writing. Raymond Burr's unflappable defense attorney Perry Mason is equal parts P.I., father confessor, and yes, judge, jury, and executioner. The crimes include murder most foul, and lots of that sordid specter that haunted people pre-internet: blackmail. Everyone has a motive, and everyone in the harsh light of Los Angeles seems to have something to hide. The boxed set contains the remaining 21 episodes of the first season, with highlights like "The Case of the Lonely Heiress," in which detective and Mason sidekick Paul Drake tracks down a rich woman, who is then suddenly accused of the murder of the man who tried to find her. Some episodes haven't aged well (one involves Mason interviewing a "schizophrenic" woman on the witness stand, interviewing "both" her personalities). But overall, the writing and the assured ambience of the series, and Burr's commanding presence, make Perry Mason among TV's topnotch armchair crime series. --A.T. Hurley

The defense never rests as Volume 2 of the classic series Perry Mason returns to DVD with 20 more episodes from the groundbreaking first season!

Gunsmoke - The Second Season, Vol. 1

Marshall Matt Dillon is responsible for keeping the law and respectability in Dodge City in this western action-drama. Gunsmoke captured the courage character and spirit of the Western Frontier.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 097368528444 Manufacturer No: 852844

In its second season, Gunsmoke blazed its way into the top ten, where it would stay for the next six years (four of them ranked No. 1), and James Arness earned an Emmy nomination for his towering portrayal of U. S. Marshal Matt Dillon. Dillon broke the mold of the TV lawman. As he notes in one episode, "They tell me that back East, there are a lot of book writers and newspaper people who picture a frontier lawman as someone pretty near perfection, who always guns his man down, never makes a mistake, he's at the top of the heap on every play." The "mule-headed" Dillon is not that man. "My job is to keep the peace, and I'll do it my own way," he proclaims. In the episode "No Indians," he ambushes a band of white men who slaughter a family and frame the Pawnee Indians for the crime. "What kind of man would ambush a bunch of men like that?" a wounded survivor protests. "My kind, mister," Dillon replies. In the episode "Cow Doctor," he knocks out a man who knifes Doc. "Let me know when he comes to and I'll knock him out again," Dillon states. And in "The Mistake," he arrests the wrong man for murder.

These half-hour black and white episodes (the show expanded to an hour format in its seventh season) deliver traditional Western action, but at the heart of Gunsmoke are its character-based human dramas. An excellent example is "Gone Straight," featuring Carl Betz (The Donna Reed Show) as a man who answers the description of a wanted outlaw, but who is now an upstanding citizen trying to help another man (Tige Andrews of The Mod Squad) reform. Some episodes play out in unexpected ways that defy convention. We can pretty much guess the fate of an old friend who insists on helping Matt in "The Round-Up," but we can't predict at whose hand.

Gunsmoke was directed by sure Western hands, including Andrew McLaglan, Ted Post, and Christian Nyby. Several episodes were written by Sam Peckinpah, including "The Round-Up" and "Legal Revenge," featuring a young Cloris Leachman as a woman who appears to have it in for her wounded husband. Several episodes address social issues such as racism ("Sins of the Fathers" featuring Angie Dickinson as the daughter of a marauding Indian chief) and gun culture (the powerful "don't take your guns to town" episode, "Young Man with a Gun"). Along with Matt Dillon, the rest of Gunsmoke's characters became archetypes: "Mr. Dillon's" drawling, bum-legged deputy, Chester (Dennis Weaver), ornery Doc (Milburn Stone), and saloon gal, Miss Kitty (Amanda Blake), who, by the way, looks quite fetching in a riding outfit. An interesting bonus are the show's sponsor shots for LM cigarettes. "See you next week," Arness puffs. "In the meantime, light up." --Donald Liebenson

Go Tell the Spartans

Academy Award-winner Burt Lancaster delivers the finest performances of his illustrious career as a hard-boiled major in command of a grubby Vietnam outpost in this classic film of wartime confrontation. The war was still a "conflict" and American soldiers were merely "advisors" yet the ambushes the betrayals and the brutality were all very real. While the riveting action concentrates on a single obscure incident this excellent understated and sharply intelligent film illuminates the vast landscape of an era.Running Time: 113 min.System Requirements:Running Time 114 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 026359061523

Magnum Force (Deluxe Edition)

Magnum Force which was released in 1973 as a sequel to Dirty Harry has Eastwood reprise his famous role as Inspector Callahan which has him face crooked cops and a traitorous boss as well as suffering re- assignment from homicide to stakeout duty after his handling of the Scorpio case. Callahan and his new partner Earlington -Early- Smith (Felton Perry) are called off a case in which a man acquitted of murder is found dead along with his chauffer lawyer and bodyguard. Soon after a mafia figure and several of his family and friends are also gunned down. Then a well-known pimp is murdered too. Callahan and Early are soon re-assigned to investigate the homicides. Featuring: New Commentary by writer John Milius-In this gritty entertaining commentary legendary Hollywood screenwriter Milius discusses Eastwood the world of Dirty Harry and the rugged resilience of crime drama in American cinema; New Featurette "A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry" -- Filmmakers social scientists and authors take a provocative look at the moral political and ethical themes of the Dirty Harry films; The Hero Cop: Yesterday and Today; Trailer GalleryRunning Time: 124 min.System Requirements:Running Time: 124 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/CRIME Rating: R UPC: 012569818378 Manufacturer No: 81837

This first sequel to Dirty Harry was written by a couple of strong voices, writer-directors Michael Cimino (The Deer Hunter) and John Milius (Farewell to the King). But that doesn't mean the film is particularly good. After Don Siegel's ferociously dark style in the first movie, Ted Post's blocky, television-ish direction in Magnum Force is a huge letdown. The story doesn't win any prizes, either. Eastwood's San Francisco detective Harry Callahan (apparently having retrieved his badge after throwing it away at the end of Dirty Harry) takes on a vigilante squad within the city's police force. David Soul is pretty convincing as the major spokesman for these right-wing avengers. Eastwood, on the other hand, had already turned Callahan from fascinating outsider in Siegel's film to purveyor of tough-guy shtick in this one. --Tom Keogh

Stagecoach

The idea of remaking a John Ford classic as an all-star country-Western TV movie may seem blasphemous to Western fans, but this loose-and-lanky version of Stagecoach is surprisingly entertaining. While sticking close to the original plot (involving a cultural cross-section of passengers on a dangerous trip aboard the Overland Express stagecoach), this good-natured adaptation (from the original story by Ernest Lee Haycox and screenplay by Dudley Nichols) allows ample room for Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson to play off each other like the old friends they are. As directed by Ted Post (best known for helming Clint Eastwood's Hang 'Em High), the entire production has a light, friendly atmosphere, but the story remains earnestly well-served, and the cast (which also includes Elizabeth Ashley, Mary Crosby, Tony Franciosa, and Dukes of Hazzard alumnus John Schneider) thankfully avoids the in-joke frivolity that typically ruins all-star vanity projects like this one. It's obvious that Willie (as "Doc" Holliday) and his fellow musicians are playing thinly veiled versions of themselves, but they each bring their own legendary qualities to their roles. Gary Graver's cinematography adds to the inviting, outdoorsy warmth of the show, and with many of the cast no longer with us (including June Carter Cash in a cameo role, and Merritt Butrick from Star Trek II, who died of AIDS in 1989), this respectful rendition of Stagecoach is also a memorial to some of the most beloved talents of the 20th century. --Jeff Shannon

Country music stars Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings team up for this version of the popular Western story about a group of desparate travellers on a dangerous stagecoach ride to Arizona.