She Done Him Wrong (Universal Cinema Classics)
by Lowell Sherman
from Universal Studios
"Why don't you come up sometime and see me?" Screen legends Mae West and Cary Grant heat up the screen in the racy comedy She Done Him Wrong! Nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award® this classic from the pre-code Hollywood era follows a brash saloon singer (West) with a penchant for troubled men - especially the mission director (Grant) who wants to reform her. The unabashed queen of the double-entendre shines in her first starring role in what has been called "Mae West's best film" (Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide).System Requirements:Running Time: 65 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/SCREWBALL COMEDY Rating: NR UPC: 025192578823 Manufacturer No: 61025788
In her first starring film vehicle, She Done Him Wrong, Mae West is Lady Lou, a saloon singer and "slick article" who drives every man who sees her mad with desire. She positively oozes sex, but always with sly, self-mocking humor. Lady Lou remarking on the nude painting of her hanging over the bar: "I gotta admit that is a flash, but I do wish Gus hadn't hung it over the free lunch." West warbles several numbers in her Brooklyn-accented, sweetly nasal voice, accompanied by her famous suggestive roll of the eye and flip of the hip: "Frankie and Johnny," "Easy Rider," and "A Guy What Takes His Time."
Based on West's Broadway play Diamond Lil, the film is set in the Gay '90s, "a lusty, brawling, florid decade, when there were handlebars on lip and wheel and legs were confidential." The corny plot involves the eternal male rivalry for Mae's favors, as well as a white slavery ring that is shipping unsuspecting girls to the Barbary Coast. But the movie's real treat is the cat-and-mouse game between West's Lady Lou and the Hawk, a detective disguised as a missionary, played by a devastatingly handsome young Cary Grant. West: "Why don't you come up some time, see me? I'm here every night." Grant: "Yeah, but I'm busy every night." West: "What're you tryin' to do, insult me?... You can be had."
In She Done Him Wrong, Mae West is absolutely in her prime. Her one-of-a-kind intermarriage of eroticism and humor, worldly wisdom and scalding wit are presented with perfect panache. --Laura Mirsky
The Police - Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out
by Stewart Copeland
from Hip-O Records
"We're done," says Stewart Copeland near the end of Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out, his homemade documentary about the rise and eventual fall of the group that ruled the planet during their '70s-'80s heyday. "When you get to where you're going, the ride is over." Yeah, but what a ride it was. Some 20 years after the Police (Copeland, Sting, and Andy Summers) disbanded for good, the drummer, now a film composer, edited the 50-plus hours of Super 8 footage he shot way back when, compiled a new soundtrack, wrote some voice-over commentary, and put together a film that, while considerably less than perfect, provides genuine insight into the chaotic, ultimately deadening world of rock superstardom. It all starts in '76, when the original band formed in England; by 1978, Copeland narrates, "we were ready to shed the leprous scab of (our) wretched history… and sally forth to the promised land of America." Fame and fortune ensued, and along the way, Copeland filmed everything--not just the inevitable scenes inside their tour van and backstage, but pre-gig sound checks, recording sessions, in-store promo appearances … Hell, he even recorded the band while they were making their videos, and there's one remarkable sequence in which he sets up his camera on a tripod behind his drum kit, then turns to address the viewer in mid-performance ("There's a little fight going on in front of the stage," he tells us). The camera work is often pretty shaky, and the performance footage is primitive, not to mention loud and distorted, but somehow that fits Copeland's fly-on-the-wall approach; and the soundtrack, live and studio versions of familiar tunes that Copeland "lobotomized" and "de-arranged," is revelatory. Perhaps best of all, the film offers Copeland a chance to tell us how it all went wrong. By the time of Ghost in the Machine, Sting (who comes off as his usual standoffish, mostly-humorless self) was no longer collaborating with other musicians in the studio. What's more, "(the) adulation started to feel like obligation," and while being rich and famous was swell, the price they paid was "our vibe, our essence." Part documentary, part travelogue, part video diary/confessional, Everyone Stares helps capture that essence again. --Sam Graham
Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out, the directorial debut of five-time Grammy Award-winning composer and drummer Stewart Copeland, is a first-person account of The Police's ascent from obscurity to worldwide fame as well as an astute and sometimes hilarious commentary on the pop culture of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Culled from over 50 hours of Super 8 movies he shot during the acclaimed trio's heyday, the film offers an insider's perspective on touring, the other band members and the adoring fans that puts the audience in the drummer's seat. Copeland's kinetic and artful camerawork forms a visual ode to the rhythm of the road: a surreal swirl of hotel rooms, bus rides, press conferences and record signings punctuated by nightly flashes of electrifying on-stage exhilaration.
Formed in 1977 and marked by Sting's keening vocal style and driving bass, Copeland's intricately syncopated Caribbean-influenced drumming and Andy Summers' lush guitar harmonies and The Police delivered a bracing, sophisticated alternative to the head-banging punk rock of the day. Shortly after the release of their first album, Outlandos d'Amour, the band's fresh sound caught fire with audiences in the U.S. and Europe. In a few short years, these 20-something rock virtuosos went from touring grungy clubs in a beat-up car to flying between arena gigs in a private plane. But despite the sudden, intoxicating and sometimes terrifying rush of fame, The Police remained a remarkably close-knit unit throughout the early 1980s, sustained by a rare musical compatibility, a shared sense of humor and the knowledge they had succeeded beyond their wildest dreams largely on their own terms. Copeland's breezy narration and onscreen annotations provide a wry, sometimes self-mocking perspective on the group's high jinks, from a lip-syncing session on skis for an early music video to their later travels throughout the Third World. Edited with a percussionist's precision timing and a composer's ear for the inherent pulse of each scene, Copeland scores the film using a pastiche of de-constructed studio and live versions of The Police's extensive and memorable repertoire."As soon as I raised the camera to my eye and started filming, amazing things began to happen," Copeland recalls. "A thrill ride began that took our group to the tippy-top of the music ziggurat. It was such an unreal experience that it seemed to make the most sense when I watched it through the lens of my camera. It was literally like watching a movie as the band sparked a fire that lit up the world for us. Everyone Stares is that movie." Copeland is an award-winning film and television composer who has written scores for Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 film Rumblefish, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination, Oliver Stone's Wall Street and Talk Radio, John Hughes' She's Having a Baby, John Waters' Pecker and Bruno Barretto's Academy Award-nominated Four Days in September. His television credits include scores for Desperate Housewives, Dead Like Me, for which he received an Emmy nomination, and The Amanda Show.He was recently nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for "Birds of Prey" from his 2005 CD Orchestralli. Copeland won five Grammys for his work with The Police. Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out is directed, produced, written and edited by Stewart Copeland. He is also the film's cinematographer, music editor and narrator.The Police - Synchronicity Concert
by Kevin Godley
from A&M
Martin Lawrence Live - Runteldat (Full Screen Edition)
by David Raynr
from Paramount
Prudes won't survive a single minute of Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat, but those who brave the journey will be duly--albeit conditionally--rewarded. This is surely the dirtiest comedy performance ever released to the general public, but beneath his barrage of profanity, crudeness, and unabashed sexual material, Lawrence gets into some serious truth about life's trials and tribulations, to which (he repeatedly observes) none of us are immune. The title's a hip-hop contraction of "run and tell that," and Lawrence runs and tells like a seasoned pro, expounding on his own misdeeds (arrest for disturbing the peace, substance abuse, his heatstroke-induced coma) and mining comedic gold from the hazards of marital candor under the influence of Courvasier. Lawrence is a better actor than a writer--his material's inconsistent, but his delivery is lose-your-lunch hilarious, digging gems of keen observation from life's messiest details. One might wish for greater substance, but Lawrence can runteldat with a righteous guilt-free conscience. --Jeff Shannon
Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis
by Paul Flattery
from WEA/Reprise
No Description Available.
Genre: Music Video - Pop/Rock
Rating: PA
Release Date: 4-DEC-2007
Media Type: DVD
Bring on the Night
by Michael Apted
from A&M
It's been available on audio CD since 1985 (now in a newly-remastered edition), but the long-awaited release of the DVD version of Bring on the Night will be a cause for celebration for fans of both Sting and the Police. Directed by Michael Apted (Coal Miner's Daughter, Gorky Park, Enough), the film observes Sting and his new band as they rehearse and then perform their first concert, in Paris. The musicians, including Branford Marsalis (sax), Kenny Kirkland (keyboards), Darryl Jones (bass), Omar Hakim (drums), and two backing vocalists, are all superb, all with strong jazz backgrounds but a good feel for rock as well; and Sting's then-new material, drawn from his The Dream of the Blue Turtles album, is among the best of his solo career, especially "Consider Me Gone," "Children's Crusade," and the brilliant "Fortress Around Your Heart" (there are also several Police tunes, including "Roxanne" and "Message in a Bottle"). Equally compelling, surprisingly, are the insights, intended or otherwise, into the characters of the various participants. Sting himself is a bit of a stiff, frankly. Guarded, controlled, and not a little arrogant (he calls the pop music of the day "reactionary and racist"--except his, of course), he's in direct contrast to the others, especially the outspoken, irrepressible Marsalis, who's not at all shy about needling his basically humorless boss; Sting's manager, Miles Copeland, also has no problem saying exactly what he thinks. With a crisp digital transfer and remastered digital sound, Bring on the Night is highly recommended on every level. --Sam Graham
Infernal Affairs (Wu jian dao)
by Siu Fai Mak
from Miramax Home Entertainment
Two men have trouble maintaining their identities as one works undercover as a cop for a crime lord, and the other works as a cop, undercover as a criminal.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 2-AUG-2005
Media Type: DVD
With Infernal Affairs, Hong Kong filmmakers Wai Keung Lau and Siu Fai Mak have successfully taken a smart script and a great cast, added some stylistic cinematography, and dual-fistedly given a new twist to a formulaic genre. Lau Kin Ming (Andy Lau), a young, loyal gangster, is ordered by his Triad boss Sam (Eric Tsang) to join the police force. While on the inside the young mole can keep a close eye on police activity, ensuring the gang's activities will not be interrupted. Police Superintendent Wong (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang) has a similar plan. He takes a bright, ambitious police cadet Yan (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) and makes him an undercover cop with plans to get him inside the Triads. Years pass and both are now deep into their assigned roles. Undercover cop Yan, more or less living the life of a gangster, is now a member of Boss Sam's group, and "Officer" Lau has all the appearance of a good cop trying to bust up the Triads' drug ring. During a bust that could finally bring down Boss Sam, the moles inadvertently become aware of each other's existence, and each is left wondering who is on the inside. What follows is a unique and exciting twist on the classic cat and mouse chase in which each man is not fighting for his life, but for his anonymity. In addition to its plot twists, what lifts Infernal Affairs above the standard cop story is its subtle exploration of the relative nature of good and evil. Part action, part psychological examination, Infernal Affairs is a sharp and fresh take on the classic crime story, and the inspiration for a 2006 Martin Scorsese remake (The Departed). Not to be missed. --Rob Bracco
Music for Montserrat
by Julia Knowles
from Eagle Rock Ent
On the evening of September 15, 1997, legendary British music producer George Martin (who had risen to prominence with the Beatles) held a benefit concert at London's Royal Albert Hall for the small Caribbean island of Montserrat, which had recently been devastated by a volcanic eruption. All of the invited superstars had recorded some of their biggest hits at Montserrat's Air Studios, which Martin had founded in 1970, and this shared history gives Music for Montserrat an added sense of enjoyment among friends. Despite a few vocal dropouts and forgivable mixing problems, this outstanding concert has been captured with impressive fidelity, and while each artist performs songs appropriate to the occasion, they share the stage (along with a house band, choir, and orchestra conducted by Martin) in brilliant combinations that bring out the best in everyone involved.
The show hits full stride with Mark Knopfler's exquisite "Brothers in Arms," which segues nicely into "Money for Nothing" with guest vocals by Sting, who then performs two hits from his Police years. And while Elton John and Eric Clapton form the centerpiece of the concert (especially Clapton and Knopfler's acoustic "Layla"), Paul McCartney anchors the show with a spectacular four-song conclusion. Phil Collins's expert drumming is matched throughout by legendary percussionist Ray Kooper, and McCartney's fully orchestrated "Golden Slumbers" is a genuine show-stopper, followed by a "Hey Jude" sing-along with everyone on stage. They all follow McCartney's lead for a rockin' rendition of "Kansas City" (which the Beatles had performed as early as 1960), by which time Music for Montserrat had given its royal audience a show they would never forget. --Jeff Shannon
ERIC CLAPTON, PAUL McCARTNEY, PHIL COLLINS, MARK KNOPFLER, and STING all on one Royal stage for one night!!
On September 15, 1997 at Royal Albert Hall, Sir George Martin assembled an all-star cast to perform a benefit for the island of Montserrat, an island in the Caribbean that ws devastated by a volcanic explosion. The artists that appeared at this show had all recorded some of their biggest hits at Martin's recording studio on the island. Included in this group are PAUL McCARTNEY, STING, ELTON JOHN, JIMMY BUFFET, AND ONE OF THE FINAL APPEARANCES FROM CARL PERKINS.
Track Listing:
Phil Collins - Take Me Home
Arrow & His Band - Hot, Hot, Hot
Carl Perkins - Blue Suede shoes
Jimmy buffet - Volcano
Mark Knopfler - Brother In Arms
Mark Knopfler - Money For Nothing (w/Sting, Eric Clapton)
Sting - Message In a Bottle
Sting - Magic
Elton John - Your Song
Elton John - Live Like Horses
Elton John - Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me
Eric Clapton - Layla (w/Mark Knopfler)
Eric Clapton - Same Old blues (w/Mark Knopfler, Phil Collins, Jools Holland, Ray Cooper)
Paul McCartney - Yesterday
Paul McCartney - Golden Slumbers (w/Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton)
Paul McCartney - Hey Jude (w/all the artists who appeared at the concert)
Paul McCartney - Kansas City (w/all the artists who appeared at the concert)
Tony Bennett: Duets - The Making of An American Classic
by Jay Krugman
from Sony
Legendary entertainer TONY BENNETT teams up with the biggest names in contemporary music live-in-the-studio to take you on an exclusive and rarely seen journey into the process behind creating a duets recording.1. Opening/Smile2. I Wanna be Around3. Are you Havin Any Fun?4. Cold Cold Hear5. Lullaby of Broadway6. Put on a Happy Face7. The Very Thought of You8. Just in Time9. The Boulevard of Broken Dreams10. The Best is Yet to Come11. Rags to Riches12. Because of You13. Sing You Sinners14. The Good Life15. For Once in my Life16. Closing/SmileFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: MUSIC DVD/CONCERTS UPC: 886970786492 Manufacturer No: 886970786492
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