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4 comments about Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker / Vassiliev, Maximova, Bolshoi Ballet.

1. I bought this DVD for my parents who used to live in Moscow and frequently attended performances in the Bolshoi Theater. I was not sure what to expect from this DVD since the other Nutcracker DVD recordings were more recent (this one dates back to 1978), yet the Bolshoi is world famous. As it turns out, the performance itself is great. The sound quality is good and the picture quality is typical for color recordings from the seventies: the screen is permanently covered by a slight blue haze. Also, every five minutes or so the sound stalls for a split second. Moral of the story: if you're looking for something nice for the kids then you are better off buying George Balanchine's Nutcracker. If you are looking for a great classical performance by the Bolshoi Theatre and don't mind the slightly inferior picture quality and the periodically stalling sound then this DVD is for you.



2. First of all, the low rating is entirely for this particular DVD issue, NOT for the performance.

   The legendary Maximova-Vasiliev/Bolshoi "Nutcracker" has seen various VHS and now DVD releases over the years. This is undoubtedly one of the worst I ever came across. The editing is simply a disgrace. In the first Act white spots start appearing all over the screen and on a couple of places entire seconds of footage are missing. The sound has never been much to write home about and nothing has been attempted to improve it for this DVD. (Don't believe it is dolby surround, as the cover pretends.) The presentation is zero.

   The same performance has also been released by Kultur Video on VHS and DVD, and has to be preferred to this one.




3. I agree that this is a dismal DVD. The original filming is much of the problem, with the performance either not properly staged for film or the director having no idea how to capture ballet. Much of the time the feet of the performers are lopped off, and the overall effect is claustrophobic. Whatever was done to (supposedly) make this 5.1 Dolby wasn't beneficial. Oddly, quite frequently there is a silent momentary hiccup in the disc.



4. This performance is so badly filmed that it's hard to enjoy the dancing. The level of sophistication is actually close to what one would expect from a couple of cameras at a High School performance. My goal is to find a performance of the Nutcracker with a little more thought gone into its production.

No comments about DVD - THE BETTER HALF OF BOATING - HOW-TO GUIDE FOR WOMEN BOATERS.

5 comments about Walk the Line.

1. Unbelievable performance by Joaquin so give the award to Reese right?! She was good but what about the Phoenix! HELLO! Its a movie you can watch again and again.



2. LOVE ROCKABILLY. LOVE JOHNNY CASH. THIS MOVIE WAS SO GOOD.I LAUGHTED CRIED AND ROCKED OUT. GOTTA HAVE IT TYPE OF MOVIE.



3. Joaquin Phoenix probably would have won the Oscar for his portrayal of Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line" if only Jamie Foxx hadn't won the prize a year earlier for playing Ray Charles. The Oscars didn't want to look like the Grammys, so they gave the golden guy to Philip Seymour Hoffman for a less complex performance as Truman Capote.
   
   Phoenix is better, though (and does his own singing), and director James Mangold, in a commentary, praises the actor unabashedly. One of the most memorable scenes has Cash watching from the wings as Elvis Presley (played by Tyler Hilton) wows a crowd of screaming teenagers. Without uttering a single word, Phoenix conveys a range of emotions. At first, he's admiring. Then he appears momentarily jealous of qualities Elvis has that are lacking in his own performance. Finally, he shakes off any feelings of envy he may have and is once more admiring, much too impressed with his colleague to let petty feelings intrude.
   
   Biopics tend to follow a too predictable path, an unavoidable template when dealing with the kind of lives considered worthy of cinematic treatment. There's the early life and its troubles often depicted as providing the impetus for the subject's later success. There's the scene in which the hero discovers his talent or calling and struggles to effectively develop or present it to whomever (in this case, Sun Records' producer Sam Phillips) holds the power to bring it to the world. Then you've got the predictable rise and, sometimes, the fall. "Walk the Line" doesn't stray from the formula yet makes the cliches of the genre seem fresh because they allow Johnny Cash to appear not merely as a legend, an almost Mount Rushmore figure in popular music, but as a man full of doubts about his talent and his soul, and Phoenix captures him superbly.
   
   Cash never really had a downfall comparable to Elvis Presley's, but he struggled with addiction, only overcoming his demons through the love of June Carter. He had career setbacks, but the film ends before Cash was dumped from the Columbia label and also stops short of detailing his eventual return to glory through the series of brooding recordings he made for producer Rick Rubin's American Recordings. It's a fine, superbly realized film, a testament to both the legend of its subject, and to the talents of its stars.
   
   Brian W. Fairbanks



4. Here we have the rather luscious and dangerous Joaquin Phoenix channeling Johnny Cash in WALK THE LINE. At the literal heart of the movie is Cash's longstanding and long-unrequited love for June Carter (the ever ebullient Reese Witherspoon finally being allowed to put her Nashville accent to good use) and the trials and travails he must suffer before finally settling down with the love of his life. From the foot-stomping power of the very first scene, music is the thread that binds these two restless hearts and what makes the movie even more remarkable is that Phoenix and Witherspoon did all of their own singing!
   
   (Originally published on the website of author Teresa Medeiros at www.teresamedeiros.com)



5. Being A Johnny Cash fan, I loved this movie...
   Joaquin Phoenix really resembles "The Man In Black"
   
   Reese Witherspoom resembles June Carter
   the only question that I have is :Couldn't they( the people at
   the movie studio ) have taught them how to sing?
   
   I'm tired of movies in which the stars only lip synch to the sound track( Sweet Dreams is the best example of this fraudulant practice)
   Since ,this is a biopic ,I'd Expect Joaquin Pheonix to at least to play the guitar,instead of faking it!!

5 comments about Jingle All the Way.

1. Great family to watch with the family to put you in the holiday spirit!
   A movie you'd watch every season! (especially if you'd been in the same dilemma as Arnold....I know I have!)



2. I bought the vhs when that came out now I just got the family edition for christmas it's still fun and funny and now im 26 and it still makes me laugh it's one of my favorite holiday movie's it's turbo time on dvd now it's easier to watch on dvd instead of putting in the tape all the time I have to check out the extra's but I do like that the extended version is on here and I have never watched it on dvd before and owning it on dvd three things for me makes this a easy buy



3. Jingle All the Way brings to the screen the story of a father as he rushes to find his son a Turbo Man action figure on Christmas Eve. Things get a bit complicated though, when Turbo Man action toys are the year's most wanted toys...
   Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rita Wilson, Jake Lloyd, Phil Hartman, Sinbad, and the rest of the cast, have carried out their performances wonderfully. Very well written and very well presented, the movie is without a doubt guaranteed to provide more than just a few laughs during the holiday season.
   The setting, the plot, the dialogues, and the music are all good.
   In conclusion, Jingle All the Way is a movie definitely worth watching and one to seriously consider adding to your movie collection if you are a Schwarzenegger fan.



4. Classis Arnold comedy with the addition of sinbad to boot. Tons of laughs for anyone who loves this acting master. Got to get the turboman!



5. The movie Jingle All The Way is an extremely entertaining movie which must be watched with children, preferably under 12 years. Any parent who has frantically searched for his son's toys at the eleventh hour can immediately relate to the main character who searches for the coveted toy for his son for Christmas.

5 comments about A Christmas Adventure...From a Book Called Wisely's Tales.

1. My children ask to repeatedly watch this title over and over and never seem to get bored with it. The story is touching and it teaches kids that they shouldn't judge others until they get to know them and that nobobody likes bad people. I read some of the other posts and find it funny that it got a couple low reviews from a kindergarden teacher that can't even spell the class she teaches and a viewer who found the story disturbing. I, like so many others who posted high reviews loved it! But, where's the DVD version? Coming soon we hope!



2. This story is written beautifully, it helps tell children that the true spirit of Christmas is more about giving than receiving. I don't understand how anyone coud say this a diturbing meaning to Christmas. Also, the animation is spot on, it must have taken thousands of hours to complete this video. I highly recommend this video to everyone, for a reminder of the true spirit of the Christmas.



3. There's alot of really good christmas shows out there, but this has got to be one of the better ones. The story line and plot were heartwarming and the message it sends is truly how people should feel about Christmas. A+ to Columbia TriStar for making this type of show.



4. This video is a great story for conveying the true significance of the Christmas season. I can't believe a program with such high morals was not shown on TV this past Christmas. A friend of mine suggested that I buy this video for my children, but I enjoyed it as well. This video is first class, and I like my friend highly recommend it. If anyone is looking for a new Christmas classic, this could be it.



5. This movie is a bad movie, it lies about the meaning of x-mas. The line which I hate the most is the line where the kangaroo tells how great they treat you at the circus. They portray types of animals as villans. I would strongly advise not renting/buying this movie!!!

5 comments about The Apartment.

1. Billy wilder was the first woody allen
   
   and this movie shows it
   
   the best comedy and drama with great performances and direction.
   
   a treasure, no doubt about it



2. The movie was great! It's funny to see the same nonsense that happens nowadays being portrayed years ago. The more things change they definitely stay the same!



3. I am reviewing the new collector's edition DVD for this film. The film itself is a true classic and still holds up beautifully. Jack Lemmon is in fine form as well as the entire cast. The print looks great on this edition and there are a couple of very good extras. One about Jack Lemmon and another about the film itself. The film won the Academy Award for 'Best Picture ' in 1960 and if you haven't seen it, maybe it's time you did. A rare insightful film that manages to balance comedy and drama to perfection.



4. It SHOULD be sufficient to report that Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine feature in this superb classic movie.
   
   These two superb actors, carry this brilliant story and script along, effortlessly. Supporting cast members also contribute although to be honest I, personally, have never liked Fred McMurray in 'bad guy' roles. This doesn't detract from his acting ability, though.
   
   This is a super movie and there must, in all honesty, be something wrong with anyone who doesn't find it a rattling good tale - brilliantly acted and Directed throughout.



5. There is without a doubt this movie deserved the 1960 Best Picture award,not to mention the other Oscars that contributed to this movie's success. A great cast of Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Fred MacMurray (hard to believe this was Fred before his My Three Sons and Disney family movies). This is a movie that has its humorous moments and serious. By the way,if I lived in New York, I would stay at this "apartment". The cost..67 dollars a month back then if you heard Jack Lemmon's dialogue in this movie. But...I am sure the price has jumped since the movie's release in 1960..we can dream can't we? Enjoy your time with Billy Wilder's "The Apartment...worth checking into!

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