The Quiet Man (Collector's Edition)
by John Ford
from Republic Pictures
Blarney and bliss, mixed in equal proportions. John Wayne plays an American boxer who returns to the Emerald Isle, his native land. What he finds there is a fiery prospective spouse (Maureen O'Hara) and a country greener than any Ireland seen before or since--it's no surprise The Quiet Man won an Oscar for cinematography. It also won an Oscar for John Ford's direction, his fourth such award. The film was a deeply personal project for Ford (whose birth name was Sean Aloysius O'Fearna), and he lavished all of his affection for the Irish landscape and Irish people on this film. He also stages perhaps the greatest donnybrook in the history of movies, an epic fistfight between Wayne and the truculent Victor McLaglen--that's Ford's brother, Francis, as the elderly man on his deathbed who miraculously revives when he hears word of the dustup. Barry Fitzgerald, the original Irish elf, gets the movie's biggest laugh when he walks into the newlyweds' bedroom the morning after their wedding, and spots a broken bed. The look on his face says everything. The Quiet Man isn't the real Ireland, but as a delicious never-never land of Ford's imagination, it will do very nicely. --Robert Horton
When an American prize-fighter kills a man in the ring, he returns to the Irish village where he was born to find peace and there he meets and falls in love with the sister of the village bully.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: NR
Release Date: 22-OCT-2002
Media Type: DVD
Quo Vadis (Two-Disc Special Edition)
by Mervyn LeRoy
from Warner Home Video
"Welcome to Nero's House of Women" greets a concubine to a slave girl, Lygia (Deborah Kerr). Later this self-same greeter reveals that she, too, like Lygia, is really a fellow Christian neophyte. And it's that mixture of tawdry Hollywood sex and a strong Christian message that makes this film an enjoyable "gentiles and gladiators" flick. Marcus Vinicius returns home after conquering the Britons to find that Rome is infected with a crazy new sect called Christians and that his beloved emperor Nero (Peter Ustinov, roly-poly and wicked) has become increasingly wacky. Marcus tries his centurion wiles on Lygia, and she's smitten, but she's also a Christian convert and begs Marcus not to force her to choose between him and her god. The Christians have a tough go of it, with martyrdom in the Coliseum as punishment for belonging to the new religion in town. Though three hours long, director Mervyn LeRoy's film always has something going on. It could help you enjoyably kill any rainy Sunday afternoon. --Keith Simanton
Qigong Beginning Practice
from Living Arts
Our special 2-disk set includes insightful expert instruction in qigong technique PLUS our bonus documentary as seen on public television revealing qigong s origins and scientific evidence of its power to heal relieve and prevent common illnesses. Internationally acclaimed instructors Francesco and Daisy Lee-Garripoli guide qigong technique with clear explanation step-by-step demonstration and a modern viewpoint. Gentle flowing movements in sync with deep breathing rhythms and visualization techniques enhance the flow of qi the energy that fuels the body mind and spirit.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HEALTH/FITNESS Rating: NR UPC: 029956463707 Manufacturer No: 127-9500
Quigley Down Under
by Simon Wincer
from MGM (Video & DVD)
Tom Selleck plays Matthew Quigley, the cowboy hero in this traditional Western, set very untraditionally in Australia. After some macho silliness in the opening minutes, the story settles into a surprisingly evocative tale of Quigley, a sharpshooter who had come to the country to work for a land baron (Alan Rickman) and who is on the mend after a brutal attack. In the company of a woman (Laura San Giacomo) abused by that same baron, Quigley gets his strength and his shooting skills back while healing in the midst of aboriginal people as well as some stunning Australian settings. Director Simon Wincer (Phar Lap) brings a lot of integrity to this rare horse opera from contemporary Hollywood. --Tom Keogh
The Quick and the Dead
by Robert Day
from Warner Home Video
In 1876 Wyoming the gun is the only law. And for Duncan and Susanna McKaskel (Tom Conti and Kate Capshaw) newly arrived settlers beset by outlaws rugged frontiersman Con Vallian (Sam Elliott) is the only hope. From the book by famed Western author Louis L'Amour THE QUICK AND THE DEAD is a rousing adventure. It shares tried-and-true ingredients of those sagebrush sagas: a tale of peaceable folk driven to action under the guidance of a mysterious stranger.Running Time: 90 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: WESTERN/MISC. UPC: 085392458622
Not to be confused with Sam Raimi's flamboyantly stylized Western of the same name, this made-for-cable adaptation of the Louis L'Amour novel is a lean, taut pioneer adventure set in the wilderness of the northern Midwest. Sam Elliott, sporting his trademark bushy mustache and eyebrows so thick they keep the rains off his face, stars as the mountain man and tracker Con Vallian. Tom Conti is Scottish storekeeper Duncan McKaskel bringing his wife Susanna (Kate Capshaw) and son from Pennsylvania to a homestead in Wyoming. When a scraggly gang (led by the wonderfully sleazy Matt Clark) marks the family as an easy target, Vallian makes himself their gruff guardian angel, partly out of attraction to Susanna ("You're a handsome woman," he likes to repeat). Pride, jealousy, and rivalry make Duncan and Vallian uneasy allies and Conti's musical lilt is a marvelous contrast to Elliot's gravely drawl. Capshaw is somewhat colorless but comes to life in a surprising explosion of angry violence. The beautiful landscape culminates in a stunning meadow where the homesteaders find their cabin, a location that must be the closest thing to heaven on Earth, but for the devils still on their trail. --Sean Axmaker
The Queen
by Stephen Frears
from Miramax
Portrays the crisis in the British royal family immediately following the death of Princess Diana as Queen Elizabeth II reconciles her tradition-bound world with a modern Great Britain.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 24-APR-2007
Media Type: DVD
Helen Mirren reigns supreme in The Queen, a witty and ingenious look at a moment that rocked the house of Windsor: the week that followed the sudden death of Princess Diana in 1997. Diana's death came at just the same time that Prime Minister Tony Blair (played by the bright Michael Sheen) was settling into his new government--and trying to figure out the delicate relationship between 10 Downing Street and Queen Elizabeth II (Mirren). A large portion of the British population was trying to figure out the Windsors that week, as Elizabeth remained stiff-upper-lip and largely mum about the death of the beloved princess. In Peter Morgan's skillful script, we watch as Blair grows increasingly impatient with the Royals, who are sequestered in their Scottish estate while the public demands some show of grief. Prince Philip (James Cromwell, in good form) clumsily decides to take Diana's sons hunting, while a sympathetically-treated Prince Charles (Alex Jennings) displays some frustration with his mother's eerie calm.
None of this conveys how funny the film is, or how deftly it flows from one scene to the next. Director Stephen Frears (Dirty Pretty Things) deserves great credit for that, and for the performances, and for the movie's marvelous sense of well-roundedness; you could see this movie and groan at the cluelessness of the Royals and their outmoded existence, or you might just sympathize with showing reserve in a world that values gross public displays of emotion. But either way, you'll marvel at Mirren, who makes the Queen far more alert and human than one might ever have imagined. --Robert Horton
Beyond The Queen
![]() The British are Coming! Kings & Queens on DVD | ![]() Helen Mirren Essential DVDs | ![]() The Queen: Music From the Motion Picture by Alexandre Desplat |
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Queen of the Damned (Widescreen Edition)
by Michael Rymer
from Warner Home Video
It's her time. Her place. The wickedly regal Mother of All Vampires is ready again to rule! Aaliyah plays the title role in this stylish shocker based on Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles. Stuart Townsend portrays Lestat, the undead antihero previously seen in the movie version of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire. This time, Lestat finds acceptance in a tattooed and pierced world. He's a rock star. And his intoxicating Goth-riffed sound rekindles the desires of all-powerful Akasha.
Quest for Fire
from 20th Century Fox
Quest for Fire is so detailed in its depiction of prehistoric man that it might have been made by time-traveling filmmakers. Instead it's a bold and timeless experiment by visionary director Jean-Jacques Annaud (The Bear), inviting scientific debate while presenting a fascinating, imaginary glimpse of humankind some 80,000 years ago. Using diverse locations in Kenya, Scotland, and Canada, Annaud tells the purely visual story of five tribes (some more advanced than others) who depend on fire for survival. They "steal" fire from nature, but the actual creation of fire remains elusive, lending profound mystery and majesty to the film's climactic, real-time display of fire-making ingenuity. Employing primitive language created by novelist Anthony Burgess and body language choreographed by anthropologist Desmond Morris, a unique ensemble of actors push the envelope of their profession, succeeding where they easily could've failed. They're carnal, violent, funny, curious, and intelligent; through them, and through the eons, we can recognize ourselves. --Jeff Shannon
A colossal adventure odyssey that turns back the hands of time to the very beginning of man's existence. 80,000 years ago, when man roamed the earth, he was exposed to the many harsh elements of nature. Against the perilous atmosphere of rugged terrain, rival tribes and savage beasts, Quest for Fire examines a peaceful tribe's search for that all important element fire, and the knowledge to create it. Focusing on human dream as well as realistic insights into pre-historic man, the constant struggle for survival is vividly recreated in this sensational production.
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