MGM DVDs Under $20

The Birdcage

The great improvisational comedy team of Mike Nichols and Elaine May reunited to (respectively) direct and write this update of the French comedy La Cage Aux Folles. Robin Williams stars as a gay Miami nightclub owner who is forced to play it straight and ask his drag-queen partner (Nathan Lane) to hide out when Williams's son invites his prospective--and highly conservative--in-laws and fiancée to a meet-and-greet dinner party. Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest play the straight-laced senator and his wife, and Calista Flockhart (from television's Ally McBeal) plays their daughter in a culture-clash with outrageous consequences. May's witty screenplay incorporates some pointed observations about the political landscape of the 1990s and takes a sensitive approach to the comedy's underlying drama. Topping off the action is Hank Azaria in a scene-stealing role as Williams's and Lane's flamboyant housekeeper, "Agador Spartacus." --Jeff Shannon

Lies and deception -- its all in the family when Robin Williams must convince conservative in-laws Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest that he is as upstanding and uptight as they are in this raucously funny comedy. Armand (Williams) and Albert (Nathan Lane) have built the perfect life for themselves tending to their successful and gaudy nightclub on the Miami strip. But their pastel tranquility is suddenly shaken by the arrival of Armands son... who is getting married to the daughter of ultra-conservative Senator Keeley (Hackman). Whats more the Senator and his wife (Wiest) are on the way over for dinner and expecting to meet Mr. and Mrs. Family Values!Starring: Robin Williams Gene Hackman Nathan Lane Diane Wiest Dan Futterman Calista Flockhart Hank AzariaDirector: Mike NicholsProduced by Mike Nichols Marcello Danon written by Elaine May; running time of 119 minutes; Closed Captioned. Copyright: 1996 MGM/UASystem Requirements:Interactive Menus Theatrical Trailer Video Format: Widescreen (no AR specified) Enhanced for 16x9 TVs Subtitles: English Spanish and French Track Info: English: Dolby Digital Surround Spanish: Dolby Digital Surround French: Dolby Digital SurroundFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 027616603395 Manufacturer No: M100538

The Thomas Crown Affair

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

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

Return to Me

Bob Rueland (David Duchovny) and Grace Briggs (Minnie Driver) have very little in common. Granted, they both live in Chicago and they're both a bit lovelorn, but that's about it. Still, fate has something in mind for these two somewhat-depressed souls (a construction worker and budding artist, respectively), who've both recently had brushes with death--he's a recent widower, she's just recovered from a heart transplant--and are a little more serious than their friends and relatives. After a series of misbegotten blind dates and almost-meetings, though, these two finally get together, and find that they fit seamlessly with each other. Despite their differences, they have a lot in common--in fact, quite a lot. It seems that the heart that now beats inside Grace's chest once belonged to Bob's wife (Joely Richardson), who died in a car crash. Coincidence? We think not.

A gentle, pleasing romantic comedy, Return to Me marks the directorial debut of Bonnie Hunt, an acclaimed actress known most famously for her role as Renee Zellweger's sister in Jerry Maguire. A shining, happy bright spot in whatever role she's in, Hunt has also invested the film with her trademark brand of humor: dry but sincere, sarcastic but not caustic, and with a deep current of humanity and romance. In the midst of all the permutations that fate surrounds them with, Driver and Duchovny make a pleasantly low-key couple; the triumph of the film is that despite all the contrived angst, the romance is never overly saccharine. They provide a quiet center in a film that has a fair amount of chaos in it, particularly due to Driver's extended family of Irish and Italian relatives (which occasionally tips the film into cutesy territory) and most hilariously to Driver's best friend, played by director Hunt . As a harried mother with innumerable kids and a likable oaf of a husband (James Belushi), Hunt again steals scenes effortlessly; Belushi is a comic revelation, better than he's been in years. You'll have the pleasant memories of both of these couples--one falling in love, one together for years--with you a long while after seeing this film. --Mark Englehart

Who knew that when he ordered the special he d get the dish of his life? David Duchovny ("The X-Files") and Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting) ignite sparks in this "warm-hearted winner" (Jeff Craig Sixty Second Preview) about a widower and a waitress who meet and fall in love. Featuring an incredible all-star cast this hilarious romantic comedy delivers a lot of laughs tears and joys that will make your spirits soar.It took a lot of coaxing to get Bob (Duchovny) a recently widowed architect to go on a blind date at a quirky Irish-Italian eatery. Once there he s smitten instantly...not with his date but with the sharp-witted waitress Grace (Driver). With unsolicited help from Grace s match-making Grandfather (Carroll O Connnor) Bob asks her out. And as their relationship blossoms everything seems to be going great until an unbelievable truth is revealed...one that could easily break both of their hearts for good.System Requirements:Starring: David Duchovny Minnie Driver Carroll O Connor Robert Loggia David Alan Grier Bonnie Hunt Joey Richardson and James Belushi. Directed By: Bonnie Hunt. Running Time: 1 Hour 56 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 2001 MGM Studios.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG UPC: 027616853417 Manufacturer No: M110591

Annie Hall

Annie Hall is one of the truest, most bittersweet romances on film. In it, Allen plays a thinly disguised version of himself: Alvy Singer, a successful--if neurotic--television comedian living in Manhattan. Annie (the wholesomely luminous Dianne Keaton) is a Midwestern transplant who dabbles in photography and sings in small clubs. When the two meet, the sparks are immediate--if repressed. Alone in her apartment for the first time, Alvy and Annie navigate a minefield of self-conscious "is-this-person-someone-I'd-want-to-get-involved-with?" conversation. As they speak, subtitles flash their unspoken thoughts: the likes of "I'm not smart enough for him" and "I sound like a jerk." Despite all their caution, they connect, and we're swept up in the flush of their new romance. Allen's antic sensibility shines here in a series of flashbacks to Alvy's childhood, growing up, quite literally, under a rumbling roller coaster. His boisterous Jewish family's dinner table shares a split screen with the WASP-y Hall's tight-lipped holiday table, one Alvy has joined for the first time. His position as outsider is uncontestable he looks down the table and sizes up Annie's "Grammy Hall" as "a classic Jew-hater."

The relationship arcs, as does Annie's growing desire for independence. It quickly becomes clear that the two are on separate tracks, as what was once endearing becomes annoying. Annie Hall embraces Allen's central themes--his love affair with New York (and hatred of Los Angeles), how impossible relationships are, and his fear of death. But their balance is just right, the chemistry between Allen's worry-wart Alvy and Keaton's gangly, loopy Annie is one of the screen's best pairings. It couldn't be more engaging. --Susan Benson

Considered to be "Woody Allen's breakthrough movie" (Time), Annie Hall won* four OscarsÂ(r), including Best Picture, and established Allen as the premier auteur filmmaker. Thought by many critics to be Allen's magnum opus, Annie Hall confirmed that he had, "completed the journey from comic to humorist, from comedy writer to wit [and] from inventive moviemaker to creative artist" (Saturday Review). Alvy Singer (Allen) is one of Manhattan's most brilliant comedians, but when it comes to romance, his delivery needs a little work. Introduced byhis best friend, Rob (Tony Roberts), Alvy falls in love with the ditzy but delightful nightclub singer, Annie Hall (Diane Keaton). When his own insecurities sabotage the affair, Annie is forced to leave Alvy for a new lifeand lover (Paul Simon)in Los Angeles. Knowing he may have lost Annie forever, Alvy's willing to go to any lengthseven driving L.A.'s freewaysto recapture the only thing that ever mattered'true love. *1977: Picture; Actress (Keaton); Director; Original Screenplay

The Big Country

William Wyler directed this epic Western, about the clash of East and West, intellect and action. Gregory Peck stars as a sea captain who moves way out West to marry Carroll Baker and become part of the ranch owned by her father (Charles Bickford). But he discovers that daddy's top hand (Charlton Heston) carries a torch for Baker and doesn't particularly like Peck stepping into his place. Peck also finds himself caught in the midst of a power struggle between Bickford and his surly neighbor, Burl Ives (and his reprehensibly bullying son, Chuck Connors). This long, sprawling tale works because its characters are played by movie stars who know how to command the big screen in a big story. --Marshall Fine

One of Hollywood's greatest directors teams with a cast of incredible screen legends for this bold,sweeping tale of a ship's captain who ventures west to find a hotbed of jealousy, hatred and dangerous rivalries. As the reluctant hero is thrust into the maelstrom, he must summon all of his resolveto save not only his own life, but also the life of the woman he loves. Four-time Academy AwardÂ(r) winner* William Wyler directs this action-packed adventure that triumphs as "a work of art" (Motion Picture Herald). Starring Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston, Jean Simmons, Chuck Connors and Burl Ives (in an OscarÂ(r)-winning** performance), this magnificently entertaining epic will take your breath away with unbridled suspense, exhilarating excitement and explosive drama on a grand scale.

Henry V

Very few films come close to the brilliance Kenneth Branagh achieved with his first foray into screenwriting and direction. Henry V qualifies as a masterpiece, the kind of film that comes along once in a decade. He eschews the theatricality of Laurence Olivier's stirring, fondly remembered 1945 adaptation to establish his own rules. Branagh plays it down and dirty, seeing the bard's play through revisionist eyes, framing it as an antiwar story. Branagh gives us harsh close-ups of muddied, bloody men, and close-ups of himself as Henry, his hardened mouth and willful eyes revealing much about this land war. Not that the director-star doesn't provide lighter moments. His scenes introducing the French Princess Katherine (Emma Thompson) are toothsome. Bubbly, funny, enhanced by lovely lighting and Thompson's pale beauty, these glimpses of a princess trying to learn English quickly from her maid are delightful.

What may be the crowning glory of Branagh's adaptation comes when the dazed, shaky leader wanders through battlefields, not even sure who has won. As King Hal carries a dead boy (Empire of the Sun's Christian Bale) over the hacked-up bodies of both the English and French, you realize it is the first time Branagh has opened up the scenes: a panorama of blood and mud and death. It is as strong a statement against warmongering as could ever be made. --Rochelle O'Gorman

He ruled a massive empire...and fought a mighty war! Kenneth Branagh Paul Scofield Derek Jacobi Ian Holm Emma Thompson and Judi Dench star in this heroic action-packed epic based on the timeless play by William Shakespeare. "Magnificent passionate and steeped in powerful emotion" (The Washington Post) Henry V is a "stunning" (Leonard Maltin) Oscar®-nominated* adventure that takes its place amongst the greatest war films of all time.Having recently been crowned King of England Henry (Branagh) commands a massive invasion to assert what he believes is his legal right to the throne of France. But a mighty army stands in his way and the young monarch must rely on untested reserves of courage and cunning as he personally leads his outnumbered forces into a desperate battle for the honor and glory of the British Empire.Special Features:Collectible BookletOriginal Theatrical TrailerSystem Requirements:Running Time 128 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG-13 UPC: 027616850126

Hair

The Age of Aquarius is brought to life by the filmmaker who made Amadeus a household word. Milos Forman directed this version of James Rado, Gerome Ragni, and Galt MacDermot's landmark musical in 1979 between his Oscar-winning films One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus. With mixed reviews (Gene Siskel named it that year's best film) and lukewarm box-office grosses, the film all but disappeared from the collective consciousness. Yet the film beautifully delivers on its promise to bring the '60s back to life. Hair re-creates a colorful world of counterculture finding an anvil to pound on: the Vietnam War. Forman and his design team allow the film to wash over you, starting at the free-flowing opening in which masses of hippies, police, and even their horses eagerly groove to the familiar beat of "Aquarius." In the best work of his career, Treat Williams makes his leading- man debut as Berger, the leader of the Central Park troop who takes draftee Claude (John Savage) under his wing on his trip through New York City and the apex of what the '60s was. The new recording of the music is quite fine, with Chicago band member Don Dacus's rendition of the title song a highlight. As Berger's pièce de résistance number says, "I've Got Life"; so does the film, right down to its poignant declaration to "let the sunshine in." --Doug Thomas

Brimming with the energy, passion and music that rocked a nation, Hair is an entertaining and powerful tribute to the turbulent spirit of the '60s. Brilliantly recreated by OscarÂ(r)-winning* director Milos Forman and screenwriter Michael Weller (Ragtime), this vibrant screen version of the Broadway phenomenon ranks "among the best film musicals" (The Hollywood Reporter)! Fresh from the farm, Claude Bukowski (John Savage, The Thin Red Line) arrives in New York City for a date with the Army Induction Board, only to walk into a hippie "happening" inCentral Park and fall in love with the beautiful Shelia (Beverly D'Angelo, American History X). Befriended by the hippies' pacifist leader, Berger (Treat Williams, Mulholland Falls), and urged to crash a formal party in order to declare his love for Shelia, Claude begins an adventure that lands him in jail, Central Park Lake and, finally, in the army. But Berger's final effort to save Claude from Vietnam sets in motion a bizarre twist of fate with shocking consequences. *1975: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; 1984: Amadeus

Ronin

Film about a group of former intelligence agents of various nationalities who are contracted to carry out a dangerous mission.System Requirements:Starring: Jean Reno et al. Director: John Frankenheimer Edition Details: Region 1 encoding (for use in US and Canada only) Color Widescreen Dolby Closed-captioned Commentary by director John Frankenheimer Never-before-seen alternate ending 8 page booklet featuring insights into the making of the film Full-screen and widescreen anamorphic formats Number of discs: 1 Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R UPC: 027616743923 Manufacturer No: 907439

Robert De Niro stars as an American intelligence operative adrift in irrelevance since the end of the Cold War--much like a masterless samurai, a.k.a. "ronin." With his services for sale, he joins a renegade, international team of fellow covert warriors with nothing but time on their hands. Their mission, as defined by the woman who hires them (Natascha McElhone), is to get hold of a particular suitcase that is equally coveted by the Russian mafia and Irish terrorists. As the scheme gets underway, De Niro's lone wolf strikes up a rare friendship with his French counterpart (Jean Reno), gets into a more-or-less romantic frame of mind with McElhone, and asserts his experience on the planning and execution of the job--going so far as to publicly humiliate one team member (Sean Bean) who is clearly out of his league. The story is largely unremarkable--there's an obligatory twist midway through that changes the nature of the team's business--but legendary filmmaker John Frankenheimer (Seconds, The Manchurian Candidate) leaps at the material, bringing to it an honest tension and seasoned, breathtaking skill with precision-action direction. The centerpiece of the movie is an honest-to-God car chase that is the real thing: not the how-can-we-top-the-last-stunt cartoon nonsense of Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon), but a pulse-quickening, kinetic dance of superb montage and timing. In a sense, Ronin is almost Frankenheimer's self-quoting version of a John Frankenheimer film. There isn't anything here he hasn't done before, but it's sure great to see it all again. --Tom Keogh

The Miracle Worker

Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft had been playing their respective roles as Helen Keller and her teacher, Annie Sullivan, on Broadway for some time before director Arthur Penn (The Left-Handed Gun) built a mesmerizingly beautiful film around their layers-deep performances. Duke is astonishing as the deaf, blind, mute Keller, who awakens to an awareness of language under Sullivan's determined guidance. Bancroft is fascinating and focused. Penn wisely kept his adaptation unencumbered by cinematic indulgence. The black-and-white film is sparse and charged with the immediacy of the drama. The script is by William Gibson, who also wrote the original play. --Tom Keogh

Starring in what is quite possibly the most moving double performance ever recorded on film (Time), Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke are remarkable in their OscarÂ(r)-winning* portrayalsof Annie and Helen. Ennobling and uplifting (Variety), this inspirational story of courageand hope is one of the finest works of art in the history of motion pictures (Boxoffice). Locked in a frightening, lonely world of silence and darkness since infancy, 7-year-old Helen Keller has never seen the sky, heard her mother's voice or expressed her innermost feelings. ThenAnnie Sullivan, a 20-year-old teacher from Boston, arrives. Having just recently regained her own sight, the no-nonsense Annie reaches out to Helen through the power of touchthe only tool they have in commonand leads her bold pupil on a miraculous journey from fear and isolation to happiness and light. *1962: Actress (Bancroft); Supporting Actress (Duke)

Crimes and Misdemeanors

Along with Deconstructing Harry which would follow seven years later, this is Woody Allen's most somber comedy-drama, as well as his most ambitious film of the 1980s. Allen weaves together two central stories about very different groups of Manhattanites, linking them through a mutual friend, a rabbi (Sam Waterston) who's going blind. This image is key to the sometimes ponderous, often clever musings on faith, morals, and vision (or lack thereof) that obsess his deeply troubled and unhappy characters. At its center, the film explores people who, through lack of religious conviction or arrogance, rationalize their awful, selfish acts by presuming that God couldn't possibly be watching.

The central story--a neo-noir of sorts--follows a fortuitous ophthalmologist (Martin Landau, all sweat and grimaces) who faces the prospect of his obsessed mistress (Anjelica Huston) ruining his life by telling his family of their affair. Desperate, the doctor hires his slimy criminal brother (Jerry Orbach) to eliminate the situation, and then suffers overwhelming regret afterwards. The flip tale is more typical Allen. Funnier and lighter, it focuses on an impossible romance between Allen's character and Halley Reed, a film producer played by Mia Farrow. Between Allen and his Hollywood fantasy stands his brother-in-law (Alan Alda, perfectly cast as an obnoxious, successful sitcom producer), who also desires Halley. Allen is Landau's opposite: an honest, struggling documentarian who cares nothing about fortune, suffers in a loveless marriage, and is surrounded by triumphant phonies. The nice-guys-finish-last moral may be as contrived as it is devastating. Yet, when Landau and Allen finally share a final scene during a wedding, their faces, subtle body movements, and contrasting fortunes somehow suggest that indeed God may be blind, and if not, the deity has a very sick sense of humor. --Dave McCoy

"Poignant penetrating [and] scathingly hilarious" (Long Beach Press Telegram) Crimes and Misdemeanors is a deftly rendered tale about the complexity of human choices and the moral microcosms they represent. Showcasing Allen's brilliant grasp of the link between the funny and the fatal his 19th movie is "one of the watershed films of his career" (Los Angeles Times).Cliff Stern (Woody Allen) is an idealistic filmmaker until he's offered a lucrative job shooting a flattering profile of a pompous TV producer (Alan Alda). Judah Rosenthal (Martin Landau) is the pillar of his community until he learns that his ex-mistress (Anjelica Huston) plans to expose his financial and extramarital misdeeds. As Cliff chooses between integrity and selling out and Judah decides between the counsel of his rabbi (Sam Waterston) and the murderous advice of his mobster brother (Jerry Orbach) each man must examine his own morality and make an irrevocable decision that will change everyone's lives forever.System Requirements:Running Time: 104 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 027616862662