Drama

• Condition: New
• Format: DVD
• Closed-captioned; Color; DVD; Letterboxed; Subtitled; NTSC

By the winter of 1942, Hitler's dream of Aryan supremacy had become a nightmare. His armies could be found freezing and starving on the Eastern front, and America's fighting forces had just entered the war to the West. On January 20th of that year, 15 officials attended a conference at Wannsee on the outskirts of Berlin. Comprised of mid-ranking SS commanders and a variety of government ministers, the meeting was organized by SS Major Adolf Eichman, under the direction of the ruthless and efficient Chief of Security Reinhard Heydrich. It was to be a polite conference with food, wine and some debate, but beneath this thin veneer of manners lay an evil intent. By the meeting's close, the fate of six million lives would be decided, and a terrible machine put into operation that would alter the shape of the world. Conspiracy is based on the only surviving record of that meeting. It would be the blueprint for Hitler's "final solution."

On January 20, 1942, with the tide of war turning in favor of the Allies, a small group of SS officers, government ministers, and Nazi officials met near Berlin to decide the fate of Europe's Jews. Based on the only surviving record of that meeting, Conspiracy is a powerful combination of historical reconstruction and speculation that attempts to offer new insights into a pivotal moment in history.

The cast does a marvelous job of fleshing out the documentary evidence to create convincing characters. Kenneth Branagh is especially chilling as SS Chief of Security Reinhard Heydrich, who uses a combination of charm and ruthless power-mongering to gain support for his plans. Colin Firth is fascinating as Wilhelm Stuckart, a lawyer who sees the brutal tactics of the SS as a threat to his own intellectualized anti-Semitism, and Stanley Tucci gives a wonderfully understated performance as Adolf Eichmann.

Conspiracy is a carefully crafted, completely unsensational film that offers ample proof of the banality of evil. There are no histrionics and no comic-book Nazi villains, just a small group of politicians and war-weary soldiers arguing about the meaning of words and the logistics of extermination, calmly preparing to unleash an unimaginable horror on the world. --Simon Leake

• Condition: New
• Format: DVD
• Closed-captioned; Color; DVD; Full Screen; HiFi Sound; NTSC

A powerful and compelling adaptation of author Randy Shilts' chronicle of the evolution of the AIDS crisis, this acclaimed drama follows the battles of doctors and scientists against an uncaring bureaucracy to identify the virus, while the stories of AIDS patients from all walks of life and those close to them bring the problem into a deeply personal focus. Matthew Modine, Glenne Headly, Charles Martin Smith, Lily Tomlin star. 140 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital Surround, Spanish Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish, French; biographies.

A superior, made-for-cable film, this Home Box Office adaptation of Randy Shilts's chronicle detailing the emergence of AIDS in America and the fight against bureaucracy and society for a cure is a taut, outrageous, and affecting true-life drama. Matthew Modine (Birdy, Married to the Mob) is featured as a doctor with the Centers for Disease Control at the time when the first reports of a disease plaguing the gay community were heard. Modine and his colleagues embark on an investigation that resembles a compelling detective story as they try to track the source of the disease and discover a cure. Their efforts are thwarted by an ambivalent government and a turf war between French physicians and a celebrated American researcher (Alan Alda) who seems to place his own glory above the dead and the dying. Featuring heartfelt performances from a stellar cast including Richard Gere, Glenne Headly, Anjelica Huston, Steve Martin, Ian McKellen, Saul Rubinek, and Lily Tomlin, this impassioned film stands as an impressive and important document of one of the darkest eras in modern human history, and a tribute to the spirit of those who sought to save lives. --Robert Lane

In the summer of 1961, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle took on Babe Ruth's record - the 1927 single-season 60 home run slam. It would be a summer that no one would forget. Mickey Mantle is a Yankee favorite. The natural heir to his predecessors Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, and Babe Ruth. Also at bat is a young Midwesterner, Roger Maris. Maris is Mantle's opposite in almost every way. Quiet and soft-spoken, he doesn't add up to everything a sports legend should be. As the summer of 1961 unfolds, both Maris and Mantle find themselves approaching Babe Ruth's benchmark of 60 home runs. Facing mounting pressure from the media and the stands, they both know there's only room for one winner. The people make their choice known. But the people's favorite isn't the favorite to win.

61* is an endearing ode to the baseball days of yore when the press was the enemy, salaries were in check, and breaking records with bat and glove took on Ruthian proportions. In 1961 baseball expanded its season from 154 games to 162, allowing weaker pitching into the major leagues and two New York Yankees teammates--the colorless Roger Maris and golden boy Mickey Mantle--to make an assault on the sport's ultimate record: Babe Ruth's 60 home runs. To add to the stew, baseball commissioner Ford Frick announced any record set in the last eight games of the season wouldn't count toward the official record; records had to be achieved in 154 games.

Director Billy Crystal guarantees success for his movie in the perfect casting of the leads. Barry Pepper (Saving Private Ryan's religious sniper) is deft as Maris, and Thomas Jane is a perfect Mantle, a superman in a Yankee uniform. Despite the differences between family man Maris and hard-living Mantle, they form a rewarding friendship amid the media and fan frenzy. The shy Maris took the brunt of the storm, even facing boo-birds in his home stadium. Crystal and first-time writer Hank Steinberg keep the pace moving quickly between the field, the locker room, the press box, and the home front. The film never tries to dazzle with more than the facts (and it softens Mantle up a bit), yet it belongs on the short list of grand baseball movies. --Doug Thomas

• DVD
• 4 X 3 FULL FRAME
• Digi-Pack
• Multi Disc
• Dolby Surround 5.1 - English Mono - Spanish Mono 1.0 - French
• Audio Commentary: Audio commentary by Adam Ball Featurette: Behind-the-scenes 20-minute featurette including interviews with Michael C. Hall Peter Krause Frances Conroy Lauren Ambrose Rachel Griffiths Freddy Rodriguez Mathew ST. Patrick and Alan Ball 15-minute featurette on the making of the Six Feet Under titles

Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Rachel Griffiths. HBO's brilliant and original series about a family who takes over the operations of a funeral home when the head of the household is suddenly killed. Created by Academy Award winner Alan Ball ( American Beauty ). Includes 13 episodes, behind-the-scenes features, deleted scenes and much more. 3 DVDs. 2001/color/13 hrs/NR/fullscreen.

• The 80's. It was a time when everybody was doing the big bucks, but f. Ross Johnson, CEO of R.J. R. Nabisco has every intention of making a fortune. When Johnson (James Garner) decides to buy out the Nabisco shareholders and take over his company, no one is prepared for what hits the fan. Johnson is introduced to the master of the leveraged buyout, Henry Kravis (Johnathon Pryce) but, afraid of lo

James Garner, Joanna Cassidy, Jonathan Pryce. Humorous depiction of corporate greed based on a true story. Garner plays F. Ross Johnson, CEO of RJR/Nabisco, who slyly schemes to buy out its shareholders until a shrewd investor beats him to it. 1993/color/120 min/NR/widescreen.

This HBO original comedy, adapted by Larry Gelbart (Tootsie) from the book by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, concerns one of the most compelling tales of corporate buyout madness in the go-go 1980s. James Garner plays F. Ross Johnson, CEO of RJR Nabisco. Following failed and expensive efforts to sell a smokeless cigarette to the public, Johnson decides that he's had enough of navigating around the wrath of the company's stockholders. Drawing up plans to buy RJR Nabisco outright, he soon finds himself outmatched (though still determined) in a race for the prize with takeover king Henry Kravis (Jonathan Pryce). The ensuing battle is both bitterly funny and full of acid-tinged insights into the '80s greed that changed corporate America forever. Besides Gelbart's great script and Glenn Jordan's competent direction, the star of this exciting film is Garner, who is absolutely wonderful as the gracious Johnson. --Tom Keogh

• Based on the New York Times No.1 bestselling novel and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, Don Cheadle and Cicely Tyson star in 'A Lesson Before Dying." Grant Wiggins (Don Cheadle) has become resigned to racial injustice in the south. Returning to his home town with a college degree, he continues to teach in the same one-room school of his youth. Struggling to make a difference in an

Based on the acclaimed novel by Ernest J. Gaines, this powerhouse drama stars Don Cheadle as a teacher who returns to his hometown in the segregated South. When he's called on to counsel Mekhi Phifer, a young man wrongly convicted of killing a white store owner and sentenced to die, each undergoes a life-changing experience and a lesson in dignity. Irma P. Hall, Cicely Tyson also star. 101 min. Standard; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital Surround, Spanish Dolby Digital stereo; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; biographies.

On a bright sunny day in 1948, Jefferson (Mekhi Phifer) sets off down the road to go catch some fish; by the end of the movie's opening sequence, he is the one who's been caught, and wrongly accused of the murder of a white shopkeeper. Racial inequality, at the time, is so pervasive in Louisiana that the white defense lawyer's argument at Jefferson's trial is that his client is not worthy of conviction: "You might just as soon put a hog in the 'lectric chair as this," he declares. Outraged by this statement, Jefferson's godmother (Irma P. Hall) does not want her godson to die as a hog. To this end she enlists the reluctant aid of the black community's teacher, Grant Wiggins (Don Cheadle), to teach him to "be a man." As Grant and Jefferson get to know each other (and the viewer gets to know them both), it's not clear which of them needs the lesson more. As in Ernest J. Gaines's award-winning novel, the movie goes beyond the conflict between the races to explore divisions that splinter the black community: education versus religion, dark skin versus light. And, thanks to masterful performances from Cheadle and Phifer as well as a thoughtful screenplay by Amy Peacock, A Lesson Before Dying goes even further, examining what it means to be human and the responsibility a man has to himself and to his community. Originally made for HBO, this adaptation of Gaines's novel richly deserves to be seen by a wider audience. --Larisa Lomacky Moore

Sometimes life throws a curve ball, a fork in the road, or a wall between you and what you want. For Socrates Fortlow, life keeps getting in the way, but nothing stays in the way of a man with his mission. Socrates is going to make it - his way on his terms - and if you aren't part of the solution, then you know where you stand. If you're a killer terrorizing the neighborhood, you'll have to deal with him first. If you're a beautiful woman who deserves more attention, attention will be paid. If you're a witness to murder and you need protection, you're staying alive in his hands. Life's questions can be hard, but the answers are east. When it comes to trouble, you look for the man who's still standing.Because the way he's fighting for his life is the way you want him fighting for yours.

• One woman refuses to give up her seat in a "whites only" section of a public bus. The bus stops. The city stops. The world stops. December 1, 1955, Montgomery, Alabama. A time when resentment gives birth to rebellion; when a gesture has the power to bring about change. This single act by Rosa Parks inspires an uprising that will make history, and make a leader of Martin Luther King, Jr. BOYCOTT is

Carmen Ejogo, Terrence Howard. The emotionally charged story of Rosa Parks, the black woman who refused to give up her seat on a public bus and consequently made history. 2002/color/112 min/PG/widescreen.

When Rosa Parks was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white man, the Reverend Martin Luther King was but a modest young Baptist minister suddenly thrust into the leadership of local bus boycott. What started as a one-day protest of unfair bus laws turned into the 381-day boycott that gave birth to the civil rights movement. This riveting, rousing made-for-cable drama meticulously recounts the challenges the protest faced. Jeffrey Wright (Basquiat) is excellent as King, capturing his charisma and rousing speeches while grounding his heroism in human vulnerability and fear, but Boycott reminds us that he was only one of the thousands of ordinary people roused into extraordinary action in the name of equality and social justice. That portrait of everyday heroes changing the course of history remains the film's most rousing message. --Sean Axmaker

• From the director of "Moonstruck" comes a movie about food, fun, and infidelity. Gabe and Karen. Beth and Tom. Four close friends, two great couples. Married for 12 years, they planned on eating, drinking, and parenting their way into old age together. But when Gabe and Karen host a dinner to try out some new recipes on their best friends, only one arrives, bringing news that will test their frien

What should be a simple dinner party hosted by married food critics Dennis Quaid and Andie MacDowell turns into a night of revelation, temptation and soul-searching when best friend Toni Collette announces she's leaving husband Greg Kinnear, which leads Quaid and MacDowell to examine their own relationship. Norman Jewison directs Donald Margulies' adaptation of his Pulitzer Prize-winning drama. 95 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital Surround, Spanish Dolby Digital stereo; Subtitles: English, Spanish, French; audio commentary; biographies.

Directed by Norman Jewison and adapted by Donald Margulies from his Pulitzer Prize-winning play, this acclaimed HBO production offers a welcome antidote to the superficiality of mainstream Hollywood. With the same attention to emotional detail that he brought to Moonstruck, Jewison establishes a delicate balance of anguish and bittersweet humor, reaching peak intensity as two couples confront the aftershocks of infidelity. Dennis Quaid and Andie MacDowell play the steady pair, committed to surviving every marital peak and valley. Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette are splitting up, divided by his infidelity and forced to reevaluate connections to their long-term friends. While Jewison and cinematographer Roger Deakins expertly translate the stagy material, the revealing, nonjudgmental quality of Margulies's dialogue inspires excellence from this quartet of underrated actors. Funny, painful, and full of truth, Dinner with Friends presents marriage as an organic work in progress, never to be taken for granted, and never guaranteed. --Jeff Shannon

James Woods plays Roy Cohn, a ruthless attorney who first took the Rosenbergs to trial as spies, ensuring he got them the death penalty. As Senator Joe McCarthy's right-hand man in the Communist witch-hunts of the 1950s, he disrupted many more lives. During the Kennedy years, he fought their support of civil rights, befriending the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover and attempting to undermine the leadership of Martin Luther King. 1992/color/112 min/R.

James Woods seems to find his most adventurous roles in television movies, particularly this made-for-HBO biography of the late lawyer and powerbroker Roy Cohn. A hallucinatory, impressionistic look at his career and life, the film is comprised of flashbacks by Cohn, who is seen dying of AIDS in 1988 in his New York hospital bed. Woods sinks his teeth deeply into the role of the shark-like Cohn, capturing his arrogance and his insecurity, both at his own Jewishness and his deeply closeted homosexuality, even as he rides Sen. Joe McCarthy's anti-Communism campaign for all it's worth. Woods even manages to make the deeply detestable Cohn vulnerable, if not sympathetic. A strong supporting cast includes Joe Don Baker as an amused and calculating McCarthy, but the film lives and breathes in Woods's flamboyantly nuanced embodiment of the whiny, manipulative Cohn. --Marshall Fine