Rosenthal, Rick

The Practice - Volume One

Set in Boston The Practice centers on a firm of passionate attorneys to whom every case is important and every client worth a fight to the end. Pursuing justice however sometimes means crossing the line...System Requirements:Running Time: 559 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 024543426226 Manufacturer No: 2242623

Defense attorney Bobby Donnell could've had his pick of high-paying jobs at any number of fancy Boston law firms. Instead, he chose to be his own boss. The Practice: Volume One combines all six episodes from the debut mini season in 1997, along with seven episodes from the sophomore year. Though it would've been a more cohesive collection if entire two seasons were included on this four-disc DVD set, it's still a welcome addition for fans of this David E. Kelley drama. Starring Dylan McDermott as Bobby, the cast also includes Kelli Williams as uber-attorney Lindsay Dole, Emmy Award winner Camryn Manheim as Ellenor Frutt, and former cop-turned-defense attorney Eugene Young (Steve Harris). Then there's their friend--and also foil--prosecutor Helen Gamble (Lara Flynn Boyle), who admires the team's tenacity but stops at nothing to beat them in court. During the early seasons, Donnell's firm doesn't bring in enough money to decorate their offices, which are filthy--just like many of their clients. But as they slowly build a reputation as the go-to firm for clients who most likely are guilty but want to be set free, they begin to wrestle with moral dilemmas. As can be expected from a Kelley series, the cases presented here are fabulously sensationalist. But they also touch on human emotions, such as when they represent a client who was fired for being unattractive. The lawyers also have bittersweet moments as they realize they have surpassed their former legal mentors, some of whom have been seduced by the promise of big money. The most compelling episodes involve Dole--a brilliant but unseasoned attorney--who slowly and methodically tackles the tobacco industry. While the opponent has teams of senior attorneys, associates, paralegals, and interns at its disposal, Dole tirelessly works the case and refuses to give in, even when the outcome seems inevitable. The end result isn't believable in the least, but her passion sets the groundwork for one of the show's most watchable characters. --Jae-Ha Kim

The Practice: Volume One Extras

View a clip of David E. Kelley speaking about the creation of The Practice.

Beyond The Practice: Volume One

More From David E. Kelley

More TV Dramas

More From 20th Century Fox

Stills from The Practice: Volume One

American Dreamer

JoBeth Williams plays an unfulfilled housewife who wins a trip to Paris after entering a short-story contest. Once there, she is hit by a car and wakes up believing she is the ingenious and brave heroine from her story. A series of misadventures leads her on a merry chase with fellow bumbler Tom Conti. The casting is a little dubious, but the ever adorable Conti gives this charm. It may rip off Romancing the Stone--without emulating that flick's witty dialogue or sexuality--but this appealing fluff remains a pleasant, if slight, diversion. --Rochelle O'Gorman

In AMERICAN DREAMER, frustrated housewife and writer Cathy Palmer enters a mystery-writing contest and wins an all-expense-paid trip to Paris. Once there, she is struck by a car and awakens believing that she is Rebecca Ryan, the heroine in a wild spy adventure.

Bad Boys (Uncut & Uncensored)

Mick O'Brien (Sean Penn) is a young Chicago street thug torn between a life of petty crime and the love of his girlfriend (Ally Sheedy). But when the heist of a local drug dealer (Esai Morales) goes tragically wrong Mick is sentenced to a brutal juvenile prison where violence is a rite of passage and respect is measured in vengeance. Can a bad boy on the edge of salvation find the heart to survive a manhood on the verge of murder?Clancy Brown Reni Santoni and Eric Gurry co-star in this gritty drama that sealed Sean Penn's reputation as the greatest young actor of his generation. BAD BOYS is now presented complete and uncut including footage not seen in previous DVD versions.System Requirements:Length: 123 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 013131549591 Manufacturer No: DV15495

Roar - The Complete Series

In an age of magic the greatest power of all was courage.Academy Award® nominee Heath Ledgerstars as Prince Conor. Conor is theone man who can unite the long sufferingCeltic clans against the seductively lethal Roman Queen Diana and her evil wizard Longinus. As Conor attempts to harness themagical power of the land called "The Roar"he is assisted by a raging group of fighters.System Requirements:Running Time: 185 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 025193026125 Manufacturer No: 61030261

Halloween II

"You can't kill the boogeyman," explains John Carpenter in Halloween, and to prove it he brings Michael Myers back in this handsome but grisly sequel. Jamie Lee Curtis returns as Laurie Strode but spends most of her time cowering in a hospital gown, and Donald Pleasence runs around like a maniac as the panicky doctor desperate to hunt down Myers before he kills again. Carpenter writes and produces with partner Debra Hill, and together they replace the mystery and uncertainty of the original with an exponentially bigger body count and some strange tales about the Druids and pagan ceremonies, and the now-familiar family ties between Michael and Laurie. First-time director Rick Rosenthal (Bad Boys) paces the film at a brisk jog and directs it with a clean, crisp style, taking the murders out of the dark to display them in all their nasty detail. --Sean Axmaker

Strong Medicine - The Complete First Season

Two strong-willed, capable female doctors with differing approaches to medicine must forge a working relationship when their practices are merged in this premier season (2000) of Lifetime television's longest running original series. All 22 episodes are included in this five-disc DVD box set beginning with the "Pilot," which introduces the characters and frenzied setting of the visceral drama. In an award-winning role, Rosa Blasi plays Dr. Luisa "Lu" Delgado who runs the inner city South Philly Women's Clinic serving a full caseload of indigent, drug addicts, and abuse victims. A straight-talking maverick, Dr. Delgado is sympathetic to the plight of her patients as she fights to keep her free clinic afloat despite financial hardships. Janine Turner (Northern Exposure, Cliffhanger) plays Dr. Dana Stowe, a polished-if-not-sterile surgeon at the prestigious Rittenhouse Hospital treating patients on the opposite side of the city and socio-economic spectrum. Practicing textbook medicine, Dr. Stowe chafes at Delgado's unconventional methods. (Turner will remain in the series until the early part of season three). A stroke of fate pairs the women to run a brand new women's heath center and, although sparks fly professionally, the doctors haltingly approach a level of understanding. The season explores a variety of women's health issues: infertility, abortion, rape, genetic testing, co-dependency, breast cancer, and right-to-die. Complex medical questions are explored from several perspectives without succumbing to quick resolutions. Undoubtedly, the series has grown in popularity because of the underpinnings established this first season. Blasi and Turner develop a compelling rapport—alternatively appreciating and opposing each other—while a supporting cast adds depth in standout performances by Josh Coxx (as nurse/midwife Peter Riggs) and Jenifer Lewis (as receptionist Lana Hawkins). Intense drama is tempered with comic relief, usually by way of Hawkin's banter and, in one case, her correct diagnosis of a patient's phobia of bald men. Season one introduces a budding romance and ends with a cliffhanger. Lending their vision are executive producers Tammy Ader and Whoopi Goldberg, who also plays a prominent role in the Pilot episode as Dr. Lydia Emerson, a women's health pioneer who returns in three additional stories. The only deficiency is the absence of bonus material: interviews, audio commentaries, or outtakes would strengthen the package. (Caution: violence, language, and adult themes). --Lynn Gibson

Dr. Dana Stowe (Janine Turner, Northern Exposure, Cliffhanger) is the head of women's medicine at Rittenhouse Hospital and doesn't let her emotions get in the way of her work. Dr. Luisa "Lu" Delgado (Rosa Blasi, Noriega) runs an inner city clinic and does whatever it takes to get her poverty-stricken clients the care they need. When the two women are paired up to run the Rittenhouse Women's Health Center, they must learn to work together even with their respective approaches clearly on opposite sides of the operating table. But can they get past it? From Executive Producers Whoopi Goldberg and Tammy Ader, this long-running Lifetime series contains all 22 first season episodes on a 5 disc DVD set.

Life Goes On - The Complete First Season

When Life Goes On first aired on ABC in 1989, it wore its ground-breaking bravura on its theoretical sleeve: The dramedy focused on a hard-working but deep-loving Midwest family, the Thachers, with a small twist. Son Corky, 18, had Down syndrome, and the actor who played him, the charming, sweet-faced Chris Burke, also has Down syndrome. And while many of the plot points revolved around Corky and the challenges he faced being "mainstreamed" into a regular high school, his sweet temperament and determination, and the ongoing trials of the rest of the members of the family, made for a compelling and well-rounded TV saga. The Emmy-nominated Kellie Martin (who would go on to star in ER) plays plucky sister Becca, the 14-year-old initially mortified that her older brother would be in her freshman class, but she rallies, believably, and becomes a key source of emotional support for Corky. The other cast high point is Patti LuPone, who in the '80s was one of the premiere stars of Broadway musicals, and who plays the loving but sometimes battle-scarred mom, Libby, to steely perfection. The Complete First Season contains all 22 episodes, plus some great extras, including commentaries by Burke and series creator Michael Braverman. In the end what made the Thacher family so special was that it was really just like every family; sometimes there are curve balls, and sometimes there are wild moments of joy. And always, life goes on. --A.T. Hurley

This heartwarming family drama broke ground by addressing difficult social issues including Downs Syndrome and AIDS is on DVD for the first time. The show centers around the Thatchers: Drew, Libby, Becca, Paige and Corky.

Nearing Grace

A coming-of-age independent feature film set in late 1970s NEARING GRACE follows high school senior Henry Nearing (Gregory Smith). Nearing has to cope with the death of his mother and is also forced to come to terms with evolving from a self-absorbed and confused adolescent to accepting the responsibilities of early adulthood. Unfortunately his father Shep (David Morse) and his older brother Blair (David Moscow) don t offer any kind of guidance and find themselves detaching at the seams. His father quits his teaching job buys a motorcycle and becomes a perpetual drunk while his brother takes off to live as a transient doper. To make things even more complicated Henry has two young women on his mind: the sexy wealthy and very popular Grace (Jordana Brewster) and childhood friend Merna (Ashley Johnson)--one drives him crazy the other keeps him sane.Based on the novel of the same name by Scott Somer NEARING GRACE at times seems to vicariously live through some of the more memorable moments of its coming-of-age predecessors SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL (1987) and GARDEN STATE (2004). Once the haze of constant pot-smoking clears the characters are relatable and in some instances the scenes are quite heartfelt although the film isn t much of a stretch for Smith who is well-known as teen-angst extraordinaire Ephram Brown in the television drama EVERWOOD. But it s Smith's co-stars Brewster (THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS) Johnson (FAST FOOD NATION) and Morse (DOWN IN THE VALLEY PROOF OF LIFE) that deliver the emotional leverage needed to expose Henry s pain. Genre: COMEDY UPC: 883476000640 Manufacturer No: FI0064DVD

Russkies

Halloween II

"You can't kill the boogeyman," explains John Carpenter in Halloween, and to prove it he brings Michael Myers back in this handsome but grisly sequel. Jamie Lee Curtis returns as Laurie Strode but spends most of her time cowering in a hospital gown, and Donald Pleasence runs around like a maniac as the panicky doctor desperate to hunt down Myers before he kills again. Carpenter writes and produces with partner Debra Hill, and together they replace the mystery and uncertainty of the original with an exponentially bigger body count and some strange tales about the Druids and pagan ceremonies, and the now-familiar family ties between Michael and Laurie. First-time director Rick Rosenthal (Bad Boys) paces the film at a brisk jog and directs it with a clean, crisp style, taking the murders out of the dark to display them in all their nasty detail. --Sean Axmaker