Tribute to Jerome Robbins [Blu-ray]

See 09March2012 Update; the rest, for the record
Note this blu ray is shown under Product Description as being region B/2 encoded which means it will NOT play in most US/Canada machines (which are region A/1). Amazon normally displays such information prominently. They failed to do so here.

HOWEVER if one looks at the rear of the box, one can see the imprint of the seal denoting the blu-ray to be region free. European sites show the blu-ray being region 0, that is, region free.

So, it seems Amazon probably made a mistake in the Product Description. I called them and the people on the phone have no product access, they see what we see. So, what is one to do?

UPDATE 09March2012: Amazon has corrected its entry to note that it is indeed a region-free blu ray. I got it in Amazon France and it is beautiful. The performances are exquisite even if, good as the Paris Opera Ballet soloists are in the Ravel, the eloquent Maire-Agnès Gillot and Florian Magnenet, they do not erase memories of Suzanne...

A Fantastic Tribute to Jerome Robbins
'Tribute to Jerome Robbins' contains some excellent ballets by Jerome Robbins; En Sol, In the Night, and The Concert. This is one of the most perfect collections of his genius, showing one of his lighter ballets, an emotional and genius one, and finally, a comedic one. The music, a collection of Ravel and Chopin, is played exquisitely. The first of these ballets, En Sol, is a Broadway musical-esque balletic scene of a day at the beach, with somewhat abstract scenery and costumes. The ballet is fun, exciting, light-hearted, and touching. Ravel's music stunningly fits into every single movement of Robbins' dance. Marie-Agnès Gillot is excellent here, as well. The next ballet by Robbins is In the Night, a testament to his genius. It is emotionally complex, yet so simple and effective - an amazing effect for the viewer. The ballet is based on the structure of Les Sylphides - to the music of Chopin, in a series of 'atmospheric variations'. The scenery is of a starry night sky, with...

A Great Tribute to a Great Choreographer.
We don't see much of Jerome Robbins in ballet discography. Perhaps he has been overshadowed by his colleague, George Balanchine, or he has been too often considered only a movie musical choreographer. But Jerome Robbins has made great contributions to serious(and comically serious!) ballet. We see three of his ballets in this recording of a live performance: one to the music of Ravel, and two to the music of Chopin. These ballets feature many solos and small groupings including pas de deux. Each ballet is wonderfully danced by Etoiles of the Paris Opera Ballet, along with dancers of lesser rank(but not lesser talent!) One interesting aspect of this performance is that we actually have Etoiles partnered by not only Premier Danseurs, but also Sujets, Coryphees, and Quadrilles. (The ranks of the Paris Opera Ballet from the highest to the lowest are: Etoile, Premier Danseur or Premiere Danseuse, Sujet, Coryphee, and Quadrille.) That is unusual for the Paris Opera Ballet, but I love to see...

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The Brief Complete Collection

LONDON COURTROOM AND PRIVATE LAW ACTION APLENTY
A barrister's life and cases in a contemporary London setting. It's as good as and very like the period legal-drama of Rumpole of the Bailey: Complete Series Megaset and Garrow's Law: Series One but showing modern crime & modern times. Each episode has a primary plot/case but also multiple cases added, chamber relationships, and plots in barrister Farmer's personal life. Plus humor. It's all there.

Henry Farmer (Alan Davies-Jonathan Creek) is a gambler, divorcee, bad dad, speech defective, debtor, biker, & obviously lawyer. All these characteristics adding up to believability of Davies portrayal. There is a number of chamber office people from barristers to clerk that appear in every episode, including Linda Bassett (Lark Rise to Candleford: The Complete Season...

Another reason that British TV crime dramas hold our attention - great personal lives of the main characters.
This series, which only ran for eight episodes, is another fine British crime series being distributed in the US by Acorn Media. (These are the same folks who distribute the "New Tricks" series, which is still my favorite.). Produced by Carlton Television, one of the largest producers of TV shows in the UK (and now part of the larger ITV commercial network) in 2004, the series follows criminal attorney Henry Farmer as he both defends and, sometimes prosecutes, cases in the London court system.

My fellow reviewer, "Doc" Wolf, has outlined the eight episodes for you, so I won't rehash that. What made this series most interesting for me - and I hope others - that, line many of fine British crime shows, the actual crime cases take a back seat to the series character's own lives. Farmer is separated from his wife (who is raising their 12 year old son) and is having an "affair" with a woman whose husband is terminally ill (and is fully aware of the affair because he wants her to...

Loved This !
I just finished watching this series last evening and enjoyed every bit of it. Why oh why was The Brief ended so soon ??? Alan Davies is wonderful as the very kind, endearing and slightly flawed (gambles too much) lawyer. I really ended up wanting to see much more and wish it would have gone on a lot longer !!

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Music Masters Collection

Maybe
Three video clips from German TV , lots of swirling backgrounds and colours but lots of Live Deep Purple too.This release could be considered worth the purchase price for the version of No,no,no alone, where Richie Blackmore shows he is a very underated player indeed as he kicks this tune along with consumate ease. He just makes playing the guitar look effortless.The version of Highway star suffers a little from Ian Gillan fooling around with the lyrics and tune but both this and Hallelujah are sure to be of interest to Purple fans.
The DVD jukebox would have been better without the cheap and uninspiring advertising that almost ruins Emerson Lake and Palmer and stops me from watching more than 10 seconds of any one else.Shoddy.

3 stars for 3 songs, but the price and material is right
Ok, so you may pass this one up because there's only 3 Purple tunes, and let's face it, "Hallelujah" isn't one of their best. But, it IS the first song the classic Mk II lineup recorded and its a never before released promo at that. You know, it shows where they began, and that's real rock'n'roll history for sure. If its any consolation, Gillan's vocals are superlative and this opened the doors to his 'Jesus Christ Superstar' fame. The other two songs, "No No No" and "Highway Star" are real interesting with the former, in this version, given a helluva fun treatment that lays waste to the plodding 'Fireball' version. It just oozes confident attitude and slides on a slippery bedstone of Purple funkiness, the kind that fit their sound to a tee. Gillan improvises effotlessly with Blackmore, spouting off amusing asides. They in the pocket! As for "Highway", we get to see the band fearlessly rip through an incomplete version that's still very close to the 'Machine Head' version in many...

Nice vintage clips!
I would've given this "5 stars" but there's only 3 songs on it! [More please! -- heh heh].

You get a big fancy menu on this DVD that let's you see "Highway Star" or "No, No, No" or "Hallelujah", which were all from the German [pre-MTV days!] show "BEAT CLUB".

That show probably had the best use of 'chroma-key' & 'luma-key' effects [almost comical!] but by 1970, when the show went colour, the band's started PERFORMING their songs & NOT 'myming' [with few exceptions like "The Nice" & "Humble Pie" who performed LIVE on BEAT CLUB in B&W 1969] it depended on the BAND.

"Highway Star" & "No, No, No" are both ROCKIN' LIVE no-nonsense performances! [Yeah!] Both are in colour & look like they were shot the same session[?]

"Hallelujah" in THIS DVD uses a BEAUTIFUL 'stereo audio track' they re-sync'd with the original B&W TV appearance, which was a 'myme' job in the first place.

I first saw "Hallelujah" on a TV series called "The Golden Age...

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Good Grades FAST Study Skills Program

Improved Study Skills, Helpful Tips
This is a great study skills program! I felt like I was in Professor Straub's own study skills class. I needed to learn some new strategies to cope with school, plus I have nieces and nephews and these tips will be invaluable for them as well. I'll certainly be able to pass on what I have learned.

If you need one-on-one attention, definitely consider taking a study skills course at your local college, but if that's not feasible then this program is the next best thing.

Time management and taking tests have always been a challenge for me, and now I have better strategies to handle both. I've bought a few books in past on this same topic, but seeing and hearing it on video is a much better option in my opinion.

great study skills product
Going back to school later in life was a challenge and remembering how to study was sometime I needed to relearn. This product helped me quickly and efficiently. I also have a child in junior high and here study habits are typical so I was looking for something that could help both of us. I watched the first two dvd's and couldn't believe how many things I didn't know about studying.

It was easy for me to learn and implement these techniques but for my daughter this was more difficult, so I decided to chunk it down into small bites. We'd watch a section together, talk about what we would try (as we are both in school) then give it a week to try out a new trick or technique. It was fun as we both shared experiences from the week. I really wish professor Scott had a program for k-6 kids (he may, but I haven't found it yet) but for older learners this have been invaluable.



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Broken Blade: Complete Collection [Blu-ray]

When the story is so good, it just can't be told in a single season...
What you are looking at here is such an anime. Each episode is literally a movie itself. The series was not released all at once in Japan but over many months. Very similar in that respect to Katanagatari.

How I would categorize this show is a dirty mecha. Mechs are not overly glamorized or well fashioned. Combat is brutal and they are not like others where they stand there and take punishment while looking cool. People do die and often in gory ways. While the camera cuts away on most of them, it leaves enough to the imagination where you'd know it would hurt.

The storyline itself is about an invasion based on a need for Quartz. So, in other words, resources. But there is a lot of background to the plot that may slightly confuse you if you spend too long thinking about it. Resources isn't the only reason they are invading. Most of the answers are revealed during the course of the other films. A lot of bad blood has taken place between the nations and what makes...

a mechwarriors dream come true
For anyone out their who wished their was a mechwarrior movie out their look know further then this film collection. I really enjoyed this 6 part movie their is good story good charactor development the story starts with a boy named rygod he gets summoned by the king of his nation to pilot a new mecha that he uncovers but it also turns out that he and the king and queen are good friends. One thing i would like to say is that i'am so glad that hollywood is not the only choice for movie making. The japanese film industy and the indepentent film industies can also make really good films as well. through it seems that indie films have gotten more popular it would be nice to see more people give them a chance. Because they do not know what their missing

Looks great, ends... was that really the ending?
For those who aren't in the know, this series of animated "films" (all of which, as Sentai Filmworks is doing their best to assure you, are included herein) is based upon an ongoing comic series which is probably going to wind up being "cancelled" before it can ever find its way to either an appropriate or satisfactory (what satisfies the critic rarely sits with the fan, and vice-versa) ending.

Just in case I didn't already scare you off with the title, this review itself essentially amounts to an unapologetic spoiling of Broken Blade's (non-)ending since I can easily imagine how one might feel cheated after purchasing this "complete collection" without fully understanding its nature. Then again, since this set has already dropped down to nearly half its MSRP a mere two months after release (that is as of 20120521) perhaps the only thing left for a perspective buyer to consider is whether or not you'll feel like you've wasted your time. Hopefully I can help you make that...

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Maigret - Set 1

Bruno Cremer IS Maigret
When I first saw Maigret - after having read several of the Simenon books - I instantly recognized that the producers had captured the essence of the mysteries and had found in Bruno Cremer the perfect actor to portray the enigmatic French detective. It's a joy to see this series again in a remastered edition, especially when mysteries rely increasingly on forensics, technology & special effects to support the plot. Here, in the tradition of good old-fashioned detective work, the story is revealed through Maigret's masterful comprehension of the facts and manipulation of the people he meets, quietly assessing and judging, seemingly without sympathy. The sympathy comes from the dignity of the writing and directing, which humanely never allow the archetypal characters of post-war France from descending into cartoon representations. The stories are intriguing and the atmospheric productions are full of memorable images evocative of the time period. When Bruno Cremer died about two years...

masterful
Yes, Bruno Cremer IS Maigret. Reading these mystery stories many decades ago, I was struck by the fact that atmosphere was everything. No high speed car chases, no shootouts in the bedroom. Maigret interacts with myriad characters relying on his experience, empathy and intuition. Some relevant history is unearthed and the case is solved. Sometimes a person will end up in jail, sometimes not. Either way justice and the viewer's sense of appropriateness is served. These shows perfectly capture the stories, every character, even the most minor feels correct. One hopes all 4 series which I have seen on Region 2 DVD's are made available in the U.S.
Incidently, the Michael Gambon version is excellent too, but very different, far more English in its sensibility (Gambon takes the ministry stairs two at a time, Cremer seems to take them one half at a time. Cremer speaks on the phone to his wife in each episode but she almost never appears, with Gambon, the wife is often...

an excellent portrayal of Maigret
These episodes are very true to Simenon and what I imagined when I read the books long ago. Bruno Cremer is a very good actor and perfect for the part. What I didn't notice when I bought this series was that it was in French. The English subtitles come on automatically and I couldn't find a way to get rid of them, but I needed them anyway. My high school French classes were also long ago. If you are a Simenon fan you will love these mysteries.

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The Fades: Season One [Blu-ray]

Teen Angst, Ghostly Apparitions, And Apocalyptic Mayhem Populate The Six Episodes Of This British Supernatural Thriller
Jack Thorne, who wrote for the daring and original UK series "Skins," brings teen angst to a whole new level in the supernatural thriller "The Fades." This six part endeavor takes familiar elements from many different genres and cobbles them together in a rather new and inventive way. Someone described the show to me as an updated zombie tale, and while certainly influenced by the undead phenomenon in many ways--this program incorporates a more convoluted mythology. It's what I would essentially describe as everything-but-the-kitchen-sink plotting. In addition to zombie lore, you might see large touches of "The Sixth Sense" and Buffy as easy comparison points. But you've also got apocalyptic drama, awkward teenage comedy, religious undertones, and superhero themes all wrapped up in a hip and pop culture obsessed package. If anything, the show borders on being overstuffed with good ideas and, at the beginning, I wasn't sure that things were going to gel satisfactorily. There is so much...

Why?
This was an excellent series. Why it wasn't picked up for a second season I'll never understand. Excellent production vaules couldn't look better. Cast & storyline still worth buying as just a one off series.

Great Show!!!
I just happened to come across this title by accident, and it looked interesting enough to buy on dvd. I loved it. Such a fun, yet creepy series. I hope that BBC opts for a second season, so fans get more of The Fades.

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