5 comments about The Little Drummer Boy.

1. The collaborative work of Katherine Davis, Henry Onorati and harry Simeone, "The Little Drummer Boy" is delightful retelling of a classic Christmas story and song wonderfully combined with the glowing, full-color illustrations of Ezra Jack Keats and the iconic music and vocals of John Jennings in superbly produced, flawlessly recorded, six-minute DVD format. A very highly recommended addition to family, school, and community library Christmas DVD collections, "The Little Drummer Boy" is also available from Weston Woods in a Paperback/CD format (NPCD124, $18.95) and a Paperback/Cassette format (NPRA124, $14.95).



2. When I was a little boy, Christmas time was never complete until I had the opportunity to see "The Little Drummer Boy" on TV. Now that it's out on DVD I don't have to wait to see it on TV. That's right, I still consider it a pinnacle of my Christmas traditions. It's a beautiful, but sad story about a little boy who loses his parents in a house fire deliberately set by some roaving thieves. He, along with his camel and sheep, teams up with a wondering junk dealer and low and behold winds up being at the stable in Bethlehem on the night of The Savior's birth. Since he lost everything he owned in the house fire, he decides as a gift for the new born King he would play his drum. Again, this is a beautiful story that leaves me in tears each time I watch it.



3. This is a fairly short Christmas special but it was made in the old days when a half hour on TV contained only four minutes of commercials. The best part about The Little Drummer Boy is its wholesome simplicity. The fact that it is so unabashedly religious is its strongest point in my opinion. Chasing the hate out of your heart and replacing it with love is a valuable lesson for all children, so I agree with another reviewer about its being a timeless family classic. It begins rather slowly but the last five minutes are absolutely outstanding and worth scanning back to watch a second time. The quotations from scripture give it its oomph but this also means that it would never be televised today on any of the big three networks. This might be a good DVD to buy because you probably won't catch it for free.



4. The movie is as good as I remember from my childhood but unfortunately the quality of the reproduction is very poor. My mother-in-law happens to have a copy of it on VHS that must have been made before the producers lost the 35mm original, because her VHS reproduction is much clearer than what's on my DVD. It's a real pity the 35mm was lost because it makes a big difference to watch it with the original quality. I imagine if someone redid the story from scratch it would be saccharine and puerile just like all the christmas movies made these days.
   
   Anyway, as far as I can tell from searching for this item on other sites, this DVD is as good a copy as anyone is going to be able to find.



5. Probably the only true spiritual Christmas movie. Excellent story line and thought provking meaning of Christmas. Hope that it is some day remastered.

1 comments about We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

1. This is billed as part of the Christmas Classic series. In truth it should be billed as the Christmas forgettable series. This is one of those humdrum, mundage animated Christmas specials that fail to capture even a tiny bit of the magic of some of the true classics like Rudolph or Frosty. Voices are provided by Travis Tritt, Nell Carter, and John Forsythe. It's a sappy story about how three orphans in the town Harmony look to give the the people of the town a gift and basically come up with Christmas Carols. It's a pretty weak premise to begin with and when you couple it with weak animation, and an annoying theme songs that plays over and over, this one adds up to a very forgettable holiday chunk of coal.

No comments about Classic TV Christmas V.1 / Angels We Have Heard on High.

5 comments about A Christmas Carol.

1. Amazon seems to have mixed up the reviews, so I will say that I am writing about the 1999 DVD of Alistair Sim's A Christmas Carol as released by VCI. I also have the 2007 release, and this 1999 disc is MUCH more enjoyable. Not a perfect transfer of the movie, but good enough to get lost in and revel in Sim's and all the other actors' marvelous performances.
   
   Avoid the 2007 2-disc set at all costs.



2. This is by far the best version of A Christmas Carole out there. Black and White all the way!



3. Be careful what you're buying here. Pictured is a 30 minute animated version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL with the VOICE of Alistair Sim. But read the other reviews and you'll discover that they're describing the live-action 1951 version in which Alastair Sim played Scrooge also. Both are great films. If you want the animated version, do an Amazon search using the two principle voices as your search criteria: "Alastair Sim Michael Redgrave".



4. In December 1845 Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol was first published. Many consider it the best short story (70 pages) ever written. There have been more film versions of A Christmas Carol than any other story, the latest has Micheal Moore as Scrooge. This version in B&W is by far the best. Other reviews praise the style and narrative of this version, and miss the fact that this is the story word for word as Dickens wrote it. Dickens like Shakespeare is best in his own words. Alastair Sim heads a great cast, Even death is the best one ever done. I have watched this movie on TV, DVD, and VCR, every Christmas Eve since the late 50's when it first came out on TV. (except the two Christmases I spent in Viet Nam) It's as much a part of my Christmas as a Christmas tree, and the best story of redemption ever written.
   The only suggestion I have to improve the movie is read the story then watch the movie.



5. Very good adaptation on film for of this classic book written by Ch. Dickens but I think there are more adaptations much better as release.

No comments about The Beverly Hillbillies: Christmas at the Clampetts.

3 comments about Genius of Lady Day.

1. This collection seems to have become available via several different international labels recently. At first glance, the selling point for GENIUS is a documentary about Lady Day's life. Clocking in at approx. 30 minutes, you're obviously getting the bare-bones version of a complex individual's life, skimming over her life story with some of the better-known facts about her upbringing and career, and with an emphasis on photos and film clips of the singer rather than interviews. A competent overview, but I've seen better video bios elsewhere.
   
   For Holiday fans the main course of this DVD lies in the bonus features. Some of the menus aren't too enlightening (e.g., the discography, bibliography, lyrics to "Strange Fruit," and a list of the tunes she wrote or co-wrote). Yet the DVD is largely redeemed by a collection of rare Lady Day footage, mostly from the two-year period prior to her death in 1959. While Billie is not in top form either vocally or in her physical appearance -- some clips show her off better than others -- she remains captivating to the point where you don't want to take your eyes off her for a second. Some of the video is pretty rough in quality, though (so buyer beware), and many of the clips are roughly edited together.
   
   I've always been a big fan of her final, early-1959 appearance. Though only months away from her death, she looks quite well and sounds as good as she got this late in her career. Lastly is the complete 17-minute 1950 Count Basie short feature (in watchable yet only fair quality), with Billie looking and sounding in fine form on two numbers. Child piano prodigy "Sugar Chile" Robinson practically steals the show with some entertaining boogie-woogie and banter with Basie, who closes the show with one big-band number. If nothing else, this DVD gets some rare clips in circulation. Fans and collectors should take notice, while others should be aware that there are many better examples of Billie's singing in print, particularly reissued on CDs.



2. This DVD is strictly for Billie Holiday fans. The audio quality for most of the tracks is fine, but the video quality ranges from marginally acceptable to very, very poor. For these reasons, it is unlikely that the disc will be appreciated by anyone other than true fans of Billie Holiday.
   
   However, it does offer several video performances not available elsewhere. When I first spotted this in the store, and the packaging promised a short feature of Billie with Count Basie, I simply couldn't believe it. But I took it home and, sure enough, there it was. Many of the other video clips are also unavailable elsewhere. Many of the film clips are complete, and others just offer a few precious bars.
   
   There is a short clip of Billie singing just a single verse of "My Man". She sings the phrase, "He isn't true, he beats me too" and the camera pans to the audience, revealing the laughing face of Louis McKay, the user / loser who was the last of several abusive men in her life. The appearance of Mr. McKay is startling to say the least; as any true fan of Billie Holiday knows, he was hardly a knight in shining armor, and that fact that the camera catches him smiling as she sings the words, "He beats me too" literally sent chills down my spine. It's just one of many surprises that this disc has to offer.
   
   Among the other interesting clips is one of Billie singing "Travelin' Light" with Mal Waldron. She is in poor voice, but looks absolutely lovely, and, like several of the other clips, the song is presented complete.
   
   But the highlight of the video for me was the two songs with Count Basie, God Bless the Child and Now Baby or Never. Especially in the latter number, Now baby or Never. Even though the video quality is atrocious, we get a good sense of the true genius of Lady Day (hence, this video is aptly named). During that clip, the long shots are so fuzzy that you can hardly make out Billie as she swings her way through the number, but, the clip also contains several wonderful if brief close-ups, and we get a glimpse of the facial expressions and expert styling that was Lady Day at her finest. Like the famous clip of her singing Fine and Mellow from the Sound of Jazz special, it manages to convey a small part of what a live performance of Lady day must have been like. One can only imagine, of course, how much more effective she was in her prime, as there is no surviving video record of her prior to 1950 (except the 1935 short with Duke Ellington, which is included here, and the 1947 feature film, New Orleans, and neither of those were filmed before a live audience in a club or theatre). The result is that this video really does live up to its name, if one can just manage to get past the extremely poor video quality of the film clips. This is not a DVD for those whose appreciation of this great artist is either marginal or casual. But if you are a true lover of Billie Holiday's craft, you will find that it's certainly a worthy and at times exciting addition to your library.



3. For those of you who are considering the purchase of this DVD, I have one piece of advice: don't! A high school film class could have done a better job of putting this thing together.
   
   For starters, the main portion of the video is only 27 minutes long. Next, the video resolution is so poor in some sections as to be almost worthless. Additionally, the audio was set far too low; even with my television volume at maximum, it's still barely audible.
   
   The famous cut of Billie with Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, and Ben Webster is included. However, it's interrupted with annoying commentary and spliced up throughout the film. There are some interesting extras, but again, the video and audio quality on some of them is truly awful.
   
   I've seen far better specials about Billie on TV. Save your money and time. Give this a miss.

5 comments about Halloween 5- The Revenge of Michael Myers.

1. I would have to say the Halloween 5 and The curse of Michael Myers are the worst of the bunch. and as a lot of Halloween fans will say "halloween 3 does not count". That being said, I would say I enjoyed the directors commentary of Halloween 5 because it gave the director a chance to defend his choices of why he did what he did. I think it's much better than sitting through the whole movie wondering "why did they do something stupid like that". I dont agree with most of his choices but at least I understand his mind set a little better. Besides, hardcore halloween fans have to buy every Michael Myers related offering anyway so why should this one be any different than the twelve copies of the original Halloween we buy just because it comes in a different style case?



2. Halloween five?
   Wasn't one and two enough?
   Clearly not for Hollyweird, who insists on beating the franchise to death for every last penny.
   Michael survives yet again to terrorize everyone in the most gruesome fashion.
   This film doesn't even resemble the original in any way and the story is getting cornier with each installment.
   A psychic connection???
   It reeks of desperation the Hollyweird's part for a story line of ANY kind.
   And Michael getting broken out by the person in black sets up part six which is also a disaster.
   For hardcore Halloween fans only.
   I can't recommend this, it's just your standard blood and guts with a sorry story line.



3. Horror movies are really fun to watch, and Halloween 5 is another great installment to the Halloween series. Michael Myers is actually one of the creepiest "monsters" in a horror movie. Aside from the fact that he just won't die, it is actually within the realm of possibility that something like what happens in these movies could actually happen, increasing the scare-factor of this movie. There are pleanty of places in this movie to make a first time watcher jump. As you never know when Michael will appear he really can move fast. So if you haven't seen this or any of the others in the series...take a chance and get scared cause its pretty creepy!



4. Love it that the saga continues! It was great quality, you would never know that it was made so long ago. Shipped fast.



5. H5: The Revenge of Micael Myers, is said to have failed and be the worst in the series, but I can't figure out what is so bad about it. It's almost like Halloween 4, it has most of the same characters like Jamie, Rachel, Dr. Loomis, and of course Myers!
   
   This movie also had some decent killes
   
   SPOILER
   
   There is a really good death scene where a couple is having sex in a cellar of a barn, and the boy is impaled with a pitchfork, while the woman is sliced up with a scythe.
   
   Then this boy gets his faced picked with a pitchfork leading to a bloody finish.
   
   This time, Jamie has returned back to normal by the help of a childrens clinic she stays at, shes has developed a 'boy' friend named William (Billy). She must stop Michael from claiming her just like the fourth.
   
   This is one of my favs, why don't other people think that way?

No comments about Winged Victory.

1 comments about Scrooge with Bonus CD: Greatest Christmas Collection.

1. This is more of a warning than a true review. This movie is the same as the one that Amazon pairs it with Scrooge in their recommendation to buy this with another related object. Unless you want this for the bonus material, if you already have another version of the Seymour Hicks' "Scrooge" stay away from this. This film is also listed on another page as Starring Oscar Ashe Scrooge.
   
   Just for the benefit of those considering this - Oscar Ashe (listed as the main actor on the top of the page) plays the Spirit of Christmas Present in this movie.

No comments about Santa and the Three Bears.