Lulu - Alban Berg - Blu-ray

Perfect!!!
Lulu is a very complex work. This DVD makes justice to all of the complexness of the work: musical and dramatic. First of all: Christine Schäfer. Since Teresa Stratas she is the most impressive singer to play this difficult role. As she is a genuine coloratura , Schäfer can handle with all these crazy cadenzas with naturality. And her personification of Lulu is as ambigous as Wedekind( the play ' s writer) has though. But it isn' t only Schäfer that is fantastic in this DVD. Wolfgang Schöne is a convincent Schon and Jack the riper.Stephan Drakulich as The Painter and the Neger is very sexy and exciting . The old wagnerian bass-baritone Norman Bailey is a moving and repulsive Schigolch (and yet in a very good voice).Alwa, one of the most demanding tenor roles in all lyric repertoire, is very well sung by David Kuebler, and his naive looking is very moving during all the performance.Kathryn Harries as Geschwitz is fantastic too. Her final singing is a golden key for...

Hair Raising - a Perfect Performance
I cannot say enough good about Glyndebourne's 1996 production of Berg's

opera recently (and finally) released on video here in the States.

Initially I believed I'd be disappointed in this unit set. Wrong. A tall,

brick semi-circular wall of red brick with offset white bricks that extend

as necessary into beams, creating an angular stage wide staircase joining

otherwise impossible to use doorways, etc. A bare floor with 3 or 4

concentric circles revolves (sometimes in opposite directions) as necessary

denoting scene changes etc. At its direct center is a vast round hole.

This circular concept is fascinatingly explored bookending Lulu's going

full circle - beginning and ending in the gutter. Interesting too watching

her rise from this hole (a really great visual) in her first scene to

sinking permanently into it in the final. Once again the team of Graham...

A winner
Lulu is not an easy opera to get to know. It is written in a twelve tone style (serial) invented by Arnold Schoenberg. But Berg's serial music is easier to listen to than Schoenberg and many parts of Lulu are beautiful in their own way.
This DVD is a perfect way to get acquainted with the score. It is a perfect performance and Christine Schafer has both the vocal resources for this difficult part as well as the looks and acting ability for this femme fatale. The rest of the cast are fully up to her.
The production is pretty bare: a brick wall with a stairway up to two doors, a wooden floor and chairs. But don't let that steer you off. The important thing in Lulu is passion, and it is here in spades.

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David Lean Directs Noel Coward (In Which We Serve, This Happy Breed, Blithe Spirit, Brief Encounter) (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

Criterion's celebration of David Lean and Noel Coward may be the year's best box set
Criterion, who probably makes more film fans happier than any other company, has just released David Lean Directs Noel Coward. An odd pairing, at first glance---the man who directed such epics as Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and The Bridge on the River Kwai---with the premier light comedy actor/author/composer of the twentieth century. Even odder is the choice of material: A world class war story about the sinking of a ship; a world class romance about lost love; a world class picture of the British lower-middle class; and the world class comedy fantasy of the last century, respectively In Which We Serve, Brief Encounter, This Happy Breed and Blithe Spirit. Perhaps even more surprising is that all four were made during a period of about three years, from 1942 to 1945.
Briefly, all four films are extraordinary examples of propaganda at its best. Lean and Coward were both fervently patriotic, and England was the underdog at the time in a war. Lean was just beginning his...

David Lean & Noel Coward
The Criterion Collection has released DAVID LEAN DIRECTS NOEL COWARD, a four-disc boxed set containing the quartet of films that the two artists made together during the first half of 1940s. The collection is being released in both Blu-Ray and DVD editions. This reviewer's remarks are based on the DVD set.

All four films, two of which are in Technicolor, have been magnificently remastered. The colors are brilliant and balanced; the black-and-white images sharp and solid.

I'm not going to use much space talking about the individual movies, since anybody who decides to purchase this collection will, undoubtedly, be well familiar with them.

IN WHICH WE SERVE (1942) was co-directed by Coward and Lean and deals with a ship of the Royal Navy, sunk in the Mediterranean during the early days of World War II. This event occurs at the start of the picture, thus most of the narrative is told via flashback as the survivors cling to a life raft, being strafed...

An elegant collection, worthy of "double dip" . . .
Am still thrilled with my 9 film Korean release David Lean DVD Collection Box Set [9 Discs, Import, All Regions] (Oliver Twist /Great Expectations / Blithe Spirit / This Happy Breed /Brief Encounter /Madeleine /The Sound Barrier /Hobson's Choice) (+ "Passionate Friends", unlisted), so was a bit hesitant to buy the Criterion set (after all, 9-set was only missing "In Which We Serve", which was only previously available as public domain release). Bit the bullet, spent $55 for THIS set (after spending $47 for 1st set). Summary: a most worthy addition to library. Criterion set has the 4 listed films, including a wonderfully restored "Serve", numerous extra features (as listed in product description), a 45 page booklet, and just flat-out classy packaging (each film has own case -hardboard w/film photos, and plastic tray-), including shiny black accents for all film titles, all housed in similarly designed box...

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Mystery Science Theater 3000: XXIII

A King Dinosaur, Fu Manchu, Diamond Head and The Last Of The Wild Horses.
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Volume 23, contains two episodes with creator Joel Hodgson as host and two with head writer Mike Nelson. All are from the Comedy Central era of the show. There's some good variety here in this set spanning seasons 2, 3 and 6. The variety of movie material used is also huge including an old low budget SF film, 1940s shorts, Christopher Lee as Fu Manchu, a western and a Quinn Martin TV movie.

* 210 KING DINOSAUR (with short: X MARKS THE SPOT)
King Dinosaur is a black and white 1955 SF film loaded with stock footage and endless walking scenes to pad it out in spite of its sparse 63 minute running time. Ordinary lizards masquerade rather badly as dinosaurs and the Tyrannosaurus Rex of the title is played by an iguana thanks to the animal enlarging talents of Mr. B.I.G. (Bert I. Gordon). A new planet, Nova (clever name for a new planet since it means "new", eh?), is discovered and astronauts are sent to explore Nova via some...

Two of my favorite shorts
This box set includes two of my favorite shorts: X Marks The Spot and A Day At The Fair. The shorts they've done have always been a highlight of the series for me, and these two don't disappoint. The first one is about traffic safety by way of 1940's New Jersey and the latter a look at the local fair from the perspective of a farming family. Between the two we get a glimpse of two drastically different shorts styles, with X Marks The Spot being a production with actors and sets and a plot, while A Day At The Fair is shot more documentary style and every bit as bland as life on the farm must have been.

JOEY THE LEMUR and the BoxSet Extras
Another great SHOUT MST3K boxset, filled with fun informational extras, well chosen experiments, and cool art direction. Plus, this is the JOEY THE LEMUR BOX SET! Like the leitmotifs of great symphonies, MST3K often used call back jokes to earlier episodes. But how astute could this audience be, to catch a callback joke in season 6, when Dr. Forester and Frank sing the JOEY THE LEMUR song, that was first sung in season 2? And, how cool is SHOUT to pull those two disparate episodes into a single box set? Too cool. It all started back in season 2....

1. KING DINOSAUR--Episode 210--Another film with giant monsters courtesy of Burt I. Gordon, who brought us more MST3K experiments than any other single director-writer. Your basic boy mets girl mets foreign planet just like earth with monster beasts. Joey the Lemur (its really a Kinkajou) is just one of the odd beasts hanging from the tree, that Joel and the 'bots sing about, using an ugly hairy puppet.
EXTRAS---included is...

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Waltz 101 (Shawn Trautman Dance Instruction)

Dancing Success DOES Start Here!
Fun and Friendly! Perfect for all the right reasons! Whether you only have a few minutes a day to learn and polish for a specific event, or you want to invest significant time to build a great base for regular, ongoing dance sessions...Waltz 101 is PERFECT. No matter what your style or reason, Waltz 101 is perfect for Country or Ballroom, formal social events, "date nights" out, or intimate evenings at home.... Waltz 101 gradually builds you up AT YOUR PACE from the basics to many of the finer points of posture, position, timing, leading, following, etc., without overwhelming... I can not recommend this disk enough! I also highly recommend the 2 hour Dance 101 DVD, which shows the basics and beyond of 8 popular dances....learn these and you've got the basics to do it all! Country, Club, AND Country Club! http://www.amazon.com/Dance-Lessons-101-Basics-Beyond/dp/B000X1GTCO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337697243&sr=8-1

Is an Elegant and Romantic Waltz - Fun?
Yea! Thanks to the Trautmans we can now add another dance step to our growing collection as we climb up the beginning dancers' learning curve. Waltz 101 is our fifth Trautman Dvd and it is every bit as good as the other four we've used.

I especially like the organization of instruction(intro/rhythm-timing/connection-style/lead-follow/review)that they have employed across all their 101 Dvd's. It makes for a very clear and easy progression to learn the dance step, and it has proven very useful for easy returns to specific sections of the dvd for repeated study.

Their combined instructional comments are extremely helpful for both partners and are well balanced for both the leader and follower. I enjoy the tasteful decor of their dance studio, the excellent video quality, the nice balance of music audio with their voice instruction, and the excellent camera tracking of their moves with respect to what is being taught at the moment. View it on a large screen tv and...

I learned to waltz!
Shawn & Joanna Trautman's Waltz 101 dance lesson video is perfect for beginners and also for anyone who just wants a review of these dance steps. I especially like the way these instructors actually show you and your partner in close-up view exactly where to position your feet and hands during each step of the waltz. I realized while taking this lesson how important these tips are for the overall gracefulness that you see when you watch people do this dance. The way this waltz lesson is presented makes you feel very confident during the learning process. I truly appreciate this encouragement as a beginner!

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My Boys - Season 04

AWESOME show, price way too high.
My Boys is a fantastic show, and the fourth season was definitely the best. But with only 9 half-hour episodes, how can anyone justify charging $36 for it? Hopefully this is a mistake, because it doesn't have a release date yet, and the price will come down.

Ugh!
What I can't understand is why hasn't this season released yet? I pre-ordered over a year ago... where is it? I was hoping that another station would grab this excellent show, seeing since they cannot seem to come up with butkis(?) on their own. This is a *fabulous* show, but TBS completely blew it... too few episodes, too long in between seasons, not enough attention paid to it. It's a real pity.

Great Show!
My Boys is one of my all-time favorite tv shows! It has great, funny writing and I love the characters! I wish there were more than 4 seasons!

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