Romantic Adventure

The Last of the Mohicans (Director's Expanded Edition)

Wildly romantic, daringly exciting, Michael Mann's film of James Fenimore Cooper's novel created a new babe magnet out of Daniel Day-Lewis, he of the heaving pecs and flowing mane. As Hawkeye, he plays an American settler raised by the Mohicans who is forced to serve as a guide for British adventurism in upstate New York. But the British have been outflanked by the French (and their Indian allies); then British honor is betrayed when a band of renegades assaults them during their retreat. Mann captures the viciousness of this era's hand-to-hand combat in startling battle scenes. But he also invests the film with heartfelt romance, as the feelings swell between Day-Lewis and Madeleine Stowe. The ending is a stunner, a long, nearly wordless sequence of battle and loss. Strong performances all around, particularly by Russell Means as Chingachgook and Wes Studi as the evil Magua. --Marshall Fine

An epic adventure and passionate romance unfold against the panorama of a frontier wilderness ravaged by war. Academy Award® winner Daniel Day-Lewis (Best Actor in 1989 for My Left Foot) stars as Hawkeye, rugged frontiersman and adopted son of the Mohicans, and Madeleine Stowe is Cora Munro, aristocratic daughter of a proud British Colonel. Their love, tested by fate, blazes amidst a brutal conflict between the British, the French and Native American allies that engulfs the majestic mountains and cathedral-like forests of Colonial America.

The Thomas Crown Affair

Thrill-seeking billionaire Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan) loves nothing more than courting disaster - and winning! So when his world becomes too stiflingly "safe" he pulls off his boldest stunt ever: stealing a priceless painting - in broad daylight - from one of Manhattan s most heavily guarded museums. But his post-heist excitement soon pales beside and even greater challenge: Catherine Banning (Rene Russo). A beautiful insurance investigator hired to retrieve the artwork Catherine s every bit as intelligent cunning and hungry for adventure as he is. And just when Thomas realizes he s finally met his match she skillfully leads him into a daring game of cat and mouse that s more intoxicating - and dangerous - than anything either of them has ever experienced before!System Requirements:Starring: Pierce Brosnan Rene Russo and Denis Leary. Directed By: John McTiernan Running Time: 1 hrs. 53 mins. This film is presented in both "Widescreen" and "Standard" format. Copyright 1999 Warner Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 027616745224

For the Hollywood remake rule, which dictates that an update of an older film be inferior to the original in almost every aspect, The Thomas Crown Affair stands as a glorious exception. The original 1968 film, starring a dapper Steve McQueen and a radiant Faye Dunaway, was a diverting pop confection of mod clothes and nifty break-ins, but not much more. John McTiernan's new version, though, cranks up the entertainment factor to mach speed, turning what was a languid flick into a high-adrenaline caper romance. Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan) is now a man of industry who likes to indulge in a little high-priced art theft on the side; Catherine Banning (Rene Russo) is the insurance investigator determined to get on his tail in more ways than one. If you're thinking cat-and-mouse game, think again--it's more like cat vs. smarter cat, as both the thief and the investigator try to outwit each other and nothing is off-limits, especially after they start a highly charged love affair that's a heated mix of business and pleasure.

What makes this Thomas Crown more enjoyable than its predecesor is McTiernan's attention to detail in both the set action pieces (no surprise from the man who helmed Die Hard with precision accuracy) and the developing romance, the witty and intelligent script by Leslie Dixon (she wrote the love scenes) and Kurt Wimmer (he wrote the action scenes), and, most of all, its two stunning leads (both over 40 to boot), combustible both in and out of bed. Brosnan, usually held prisoner in the James Bond straitjacket, lets loose with both a relaxed sensuality and a comic spirit he's rarely expressed before. The film, however, pretty much belongs to Russo, who doesn't just steal the spotlight, but bends it to her will. Beautiful, stylish, smart, self-possessed, incredibly sexy, she's practically a walking icon; it's no wonder Crown falls for her hook, line, and sinker. With Denis Leary as a police detective smitten with Russo, and Faye Dunaway in a throwaway but wholly enjoyable cameo as Brosnan's therapist. --Mark Englehart

Never Say Never Again

Agent 007 fights the SPECTRE organization once again to save Washington, D.C. from a nuclear attack.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG
Release Date: 4-SEP-2001
Media Type: DVD

After years of enduring Roger Moore in the role of James Bond, it was good to have Sean Connery back in this 1983 film for a one-time-only trip down 007's memory lane. Connery's Bond, a bit of a dinosaur in the British secret service at (then) 52, is still in demand during times of crisis. Sadly, the film is not very good. In this rehash of Thunderball, Bond is pitted against a worthy underwater villain (Klaus Maria Brandauer); and while the requisite Bond Girls include beauties Kim Basinger and Barbara Carrera, they can't save the movie. The script has several truly dumb passages, among them a (gasp) video-game duel between 007 and his nemesis that now looks utterly anachronistic. For Connery fans, however, this widescreen print of the Irvin Kershner (The Empire Strikes Back) film is a chance to say a final goodbye to a perfect marriage of actor and character. --Tom Keogh

Father Goose

Cary Grant's penultimate feature before retirement was this cheerful 1964 effort to overturn his career-long image of urbane sophistication. As the unshaven, messy misanthrope Walter Eckland, a World War II-era beach bum who monitors Japanese air activity for the Australian navy in exchange for booze, Grant makes a convincingly hard-bitten, hard-drinking antihero. Until, that is, a pretty French schoolmistress (Leslie Caron) and her seven little charges (all girls) survive a nearby plane crash and invade Eckland's raunchy isolation. Directed by 1960s hit-maker Ralph Nelson (The Lilies of the Field, Charly), Father Goose is a glossy comedy that also does justice to its more suspenseful scenes (a deadly snakebite suffered by Caron's character is especially memorable) and leaves plenty of room for Grant to indulge in some entertaining if atypical screen behavior. All in all, this is a minor treat in the actor's magnificent filmography. --Tom Keogh

The Adventures of Robin Hood (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Dashing Errol Flynn is the definitive Robin Hood in the most gloriously swashbuckling version of the legendary story. Warner Brothers reunited Michael Curtiz, their top-action director, with the winning team of Flynn and Olivia de Havilland (Maid Marian) and perennial villain Basil Rathbone as the aristocratic Sir Guy of Gisbourne, and pulled out all stops for the production. It became their costliest film to date, a grandly handsome, glowing Technicolor adventure set to a stirring, Oscar-winning score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The decadent Prince John (a smoothly conniving Claude Rains) takes advantage of King Richard's absence to tax the country into poverty but meets his match in the medieval guerrilla rebel Robin Hood and his Merry Men of Sherwood Forest, who rise up and, to quote a cliché coined by the film, "steal from the rich and give to the poor." Stocky Alan Hale Sr. plays Robin's loyal friend Little John (a part he played in Douglas Fairbanks's silent version), Eugene Palette the portly Friar Tuck, and Melville Cooper the bumbling Sheriff of Nottingham. Flynn's confidence and cocky charm makes for a perfect Robin Hood, and his easygoing manner is a marvelous counterpoint to Rathbone's regal bearing and courtly diction. The film climaxes in their rousing battle-to-the-finish sword fight, a magnificently choreographed scene highlighted by Curtiz's inventive use of shadows cast upon the castle walls. --Sean Axmaker

Dashing Errol Flynn is the definitive Robin Hood in the most gloriously swashbuckling version of the legendary story. Warner Brothers reunited Michael Curtiz, their top-action director, with the winning team of Flynn and Olivia de Havilland (Maid Marian) and perennial villain Basil Rathbone as the aristocratic Sir Guy of Gisbourne, and pulled out all stops for the production. It became their costliest film to date, a grandly handsome, glowing Technicolor adventure set to a stirring, Oscar-winning score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The decadent Prince John (a smoothly conniving Claude Rains) takes advantage of King Richard's absence to tax the country into poverty but meets his match in the medieval guerrilla rebel Robin Hood and his Merry Men of Sherwood Forest, who rise up and, to quote a cliché coined by the film, "steal from the rich and give to the poor." Stocky Alan Hale Sr. plays Robin's loyal friend Little John (a part he played in Douglas Fairbanks's silent version), Eugene Palette the portly Friar Tuck, and Melville Cooper the bumbling Sheriff of Nottingham. Flynn's confidence and cocky charm makes for a perfect Robin Hood, and his easygoing manner is a marvelous counterpoint to Rathbone's regal bearing and courtly diction. The film climaxes in their rousing battle-to-the-finish sword fight, a magnificently choreographed scene highlighted by Curtiz's inventive use of shadows cast upon the castle walls. --Sean Axmaker

Errol Flynn is eternally charming as Robin, defender of the poor, in this rousing family adventure that co-stars Olivia de Havilland and Claude Rains. Year: 1938 Director: Michael Curtiz, William Keighley Starring: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Alan Hale

Hatari!

John Wayne heads a group of highly skilled professional game hunters in Africa to capture animals for zoos and circus attractions.
No Track Information Available
Media Type: DVD
Artist: WAYNE/KRUGER/MARTINELLI/BUTTON
Title: HATARI!
Street Release Date: 07/24/2001
Domestic
Genre: ACTION / ADVENTURE

Howard Hawks's 1962 adventure-comedy is basically the same, loosely plotted movie Hawks made over and over again for decades. A collection of professionals with a common goal--in this case, animal trapping in Tanganyika--forms a pocket community and holds each other to high standards in their work. This is a film about camaraderie, crisp banter, romance, and exciting action (the animal sequences are great). John Wayne played this part in about a thousand ways for Hawks over the years, and he could not be more entertaining as a grizzled pro. --Tom Keogh

Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves

Academy AwardO winner* Kevin Costner triumphs as the legendary Sherwood Forest outlaw leader in this epic adventure bringing a 12th-century medieval world to spectacular screen life. Enhancing the sheer fun of this audience rouser are 10 added minutes of footage not seen in theatres especially more of the juicy malevolence and sinister background of Robin Hood's archenemy the Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman). Morgan Freeman Christian Slater and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio also star in this lavish production lensed in Britain and France where historic structures majestic forests and vividly realistic recreations of Olde England combined to create a world at once ancient and ageless.Running Time: 144 min.System Requirements:Starring: Kevin Costner Morgan Freeman Christian Slater Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio Director: Kevin Reynolds Interactive Menus Production Notes Theatrical Trailers Scene Access Languages: English & French Subtitles: English French & Spanish Dolby Surround Stereo Widescreen version presented in a "matted" widescreen format preserving the aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition Note: This disc must be "flipped over" to be viewed in its entirety. Additional Information Special Features: Interactive Menus Production Notes and Theatrical Trailer Video Format: Widescreen (no A.R. specified) Subtitles: English Spanish and French Track Info: English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround French: Dolby Digital Surround Closed Captioning: Yes # Discs: 1 Produced by Pen Densham John Watson; written by Pen Densham John Watson; running time of 144minutes; Closed Captioned. Copyright: 1991 Warner Bros.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG-13 UPC: 085391400028

Kevin Costner's lousy English accent is a small obstacle in this often exciting version of the Robin Hood fable. That aside, it's refreshing to have a preface to the old story in which we meet the robber hero of Sherwood Forest as a soldier in King Richard's Crusades, coming home to find his people under siege from the cruelties of the Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman). After Robin and his community of outcasts and fighters take to the trees, director Kevin Reynolds (Fandango, 187) is on more familiar narrative ground, and he goes for the gusto with lots of original action (Robin shoots two arrows simultaneously from his bow in two directions). Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, as Marion, makes a convincing damsel in distress, and Morgan Freeman brings dignity to his role as Robin's Moor friend. Alan Rickman, however, gets the most attention for his scene-chewing role as the rotten sheriff, an almost campy performance that is highly entertaining but perhaps a little out of sorts with the rest of the film. --Tom Keogh

The Blue Lagoon (Special Edition)

The lush beauty and splendor of a South Pacific paradise is vividly captures in this version of Henry DeVere Stacpoole's 1903 novel. Two small children and a ship's cook survive a shipwreck and find safety on an idyllic tropical island. Soon however the cook dies and the young boy and girl are left on their own. Days become years and Emmeline (Brooke Shields) and Richard (Christopher Atkins) make a home for themselves surrounded by exotic creatures and nature's beauty. They learn to cope with the bewildering variety of physical and emotional changes that come with adolescence. And as they begin to mature their childhood affections lead to a sensitive and more profound love and the birth of a child. But will they ever see civilization again?System Requirements:Starring: Brooke Shields Christopher Atkins Leo McKern and William Daniels. Directed By: Randal Kleiser. Running Time: 105 Min. Color. This film is presented in both "Widescreen" and "Standard" formats. Copyright 2000 Columbia TriStar Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 043396013797

The cinematography by Néstor Almendros garnered him an Oscar nomination. Unfortunately, the performance by then child star Brooke Shields garnered her a nomination, too--for a Razzie Award. She won, he didn't.

This 1980 remake of a much classier, 1949 British version features Shields and Christopher Atkins as children shipwrecked on a lush tropical island. They grow to maturity and fall in love, with the script paying special attention to their burgeoning sexuality. Should you desire more trite dialogue, there is an even less satisfying sequel, 1991's Return to the Blue Lagoon. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken

This charming Disney live-action picture is a genuine sleeper. It's a variation on the old boy-runs-away-to-join-the-circus story, except this time the boy is a girl. After she joins a traveling show in the 1930s, spunky teen Sonora Webster (Gabrielle Anwar) learns the ropes and eventually lands a plum role in the program: riding a horse off a 40-foot-high diving board into a tank of water. Well, Sonora thinks it's a plum, anyway. Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken has the usual love interest, a brush with tragedy, and some worldly wisdom (the latter doled out by old pro Cliff Robertson, in a nice role as a crusty barnstormer). What makes the movie memorable is the performance of the lovely Gabrielle Anwar, the doe-eyed actress who later danced the tango so memorably with Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman. The movie may be sappy--no surprise with that title--but Anwar provides bright star wattage and a plucky role model. --Robert Horton

Everyone will cheer Walt Disney Pictures presentation of this captivating real-life story of Sonora Webster's determination and courage -- now on DVD. A runaway orphan, young Sonora (Gabrielle Anwar) persists for a menial job mucking stables in Doc Carver's traveling stunt show. Her great wish is to become a death-defying "diving girl," but Doc (Cliff Robertson) refuses her pleas. Undaunted, Sonora's gutsy resolve finally convinces him to give her a break. On the brink of stardom, however, a cruel twist of fate threatens to destroy her dream. With the help of a loving friend (Michael Schoeffling), Sonora must prove that if you want something badly enough, anything is possible!

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Two master warriors (Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh) are faced with their greatest challenge when the treasured Green Destiny sword is stolen. A young aristocrat (Zhang Ziyi) prepares for an arranged marriage but soon reveals her superior fighting talents and her deeply romantic past. As each warrior battles for justice they come face to face with their worst enemy - and the inescapable enduring power of love.Set against 19th-century China's breathtaking landscape Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is the action-packed box office smash from acclaimed director Ang Lee (Sense and Sensibility The Ice Storm) featuring stunning martial arts choreography by Yuen Wo Ping (The Matrix).Bonus Features: Ang Lee and James Schamus Commentary BRAVO Making-Of Special: Unleashing the Dragon Conversation with Michelle Yeoh Featurette Photo Montage Link to Website Filmographics Animated Menus Production NotesSystem Requirements:Starring: Chow Yun-Fat Michelle Yeoh Ziyi Zhang and Chen Chang. Directed By: Ang Lee. Running Time: 120 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 2000 Columbia TriStar Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG-13 UPC: 043396059900 Manufacturer No: 05990

Hong Kong wuxia films, or martial arts fantasies, traditionally squeeze poor acting, slapstick humor, and silly story lines between elaborate fight scenes in which characters can literally fly. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has no shortage of breathtaking battles, but it also has the dramatic soul of a Greek tragedy and the sweep of an epic romance. This is the work of director Ang Lee, who fell in love with movies while watching wuxia films as a youngster and made Crouching Tiger as a tribute to the form. To elevate the genre above its B-movie roots and broaden its appeal, Lee did two important things. First, he assembled an all-star lineup of talent, joining the famous Asian actors Chow Yun-fat and Michelle Yeoh with the striking, charismatic newcomer Zhang Ziyi. Behind the scenes, Lee called upon cinematographer Peter Pau (The Killer, The Bride with White Hair) and legendary fight choreographer Yuen Wo-ping, best known outside Asia for his work on The Matrix. Second, in adapting the story from a Chinese pulp-fiction novel written by Wang Du Lu, Lee focused not on the pursuit of a legendary sword known as "The Green Destiny," but instead on the struggles of his female leads against social obligation. In his hands, the requisite fight scenes become another means of expressing the individual spirits of his characters and their conflicts with society and each other.

The filming required an immense effort from all involved. Chow and Yeoh had to learn to speak Mandarin, which Lee insisted on using instead of Cantonese to achieve a more classic, lyrical feel. The astonishing battles between Jen (Zhang) and Yu Shu Lien (Yeoh) on the rooftops and Jen and Li Mu Bai (Chow) atop the branches of bamboo trees required weeks of excruciating wire and harness work (which in turn required meticulous "digital wire removal"). But the result is a seamless blend of action, romance, and social commentary in a populist film that, like its young star Zhang, soars with balletic grace and dignity. --Eugene Wei