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Au Revoir Les Enfants [VHS]

Au Revoir Les Enfants [VHS]

Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Staring: Gaspard Manesse , Raphael Fejtö , Francine Racette , Stanislas Carré de Malberg , Philippe Morier-Genoud
Director: Louis Malle
The long shadow of Malle's autobiographical memoir of occupied France continues to fall heavily across subsequent representations of World War II, boarding school, and male adolescence--in fact, it would be difficult to identify a recent film that addresses these concerns and does not, in some substantial way, echo Au Revoir Les Enfants. The straightforward, unsentimental, gutsy Enfants finds its 12-year-old protagonist, Julien Quentin, sheltered from the conflict in a Catholic school. His classmate Jean, a new arrival, becomes first a competitor, then a beloved friend. Jean, however, hides a secret from his classmates and the Gestapo; evenly, subtly, Malle creates an atmosphere of hovering and inescapable danger. It won't take you more than a few frames to guess Jean's "secret," and many of the plot points here are too telescoped. Nevertheless, the plainspoken courage with which Malle tells his story remains wholly engrossing. The cinematography here is masterful and drunk with childlike wonder, alternating claustrophobic, wood-paneled church interiors with vivid, occasionally frightening outdoor vistas. And never is it more affecting than in the chilling scene where...
List Price: $19.99 Our Price: $10.99
Little Big Man [VHS]

Little Big Man [VHS]

Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Staring: Dustin Hoffman , Faye Dunaway , Chief Dan George , Martin Balsam , Richard Mulligan
Director: Arthur Penn
Jack Crabb is the only white survivor of the Battle of Little Big Horn and the centenarian shares his story in this picaresque fable of the Old West. In Arthur Penn's adaptation of Thomas Berger's novel, Dustin Hoffman plays Jack from teen years into old age in a bravura performance. And Jack's story is a fantastic one: captured by Indians as a boy, reared as an Indian, shuttling back and forth between the white and Indian worlds. In the process, he befriends everyone from Wild Bill Hickock to George Armstrong Custer and is a gunslinger, a snake-oil salesman, and an Army scout. This is a solid blend of comedy and tragedy, with a strong statement to make about America's treatment of Native Americans without sermonizing. A terrific cast includes Faye Dunaway, Martin Balsam, and Richard Mulligan. But this show is all Hoffman's. --Marshall Fine
List Price: $9.98 Our Price: $4.50
No Retreat No Surrender [VHS]

No Retreat No Surrender [VHS]

Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Staring: Kurt McKinney , Jean-Claude Van Damme , J.W. Fails , Kathie Sileno , Tai Chung Kim
Director: Corey Yuen

List Price: $9.99 Our Price: $34.23
Arsenic and Old Lace [VHS]

Arsenic and Old Lace [VHS]

Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Staring: Cary Grant , Priscilla Lane , Raymond Massey , Jack Carson , Edward Everett Horton
Director: Frank Capra
Frank Capra made this film in 1941 before he went off to make films for America's war effort, but it wasn't released until 1944. Adapted from the hit play by Joseph Kesselring, this frantic black comedy shows Capra at his best as a master of mood and timing. Actresses Josephine Hull and Jean Adair reprise their Broadway performances as two gentle old ladies who poison men with elderberry wine to put them out of their misery. Cary Grant plays one nephew, a normal guy who just gets wind of their little hobby and tries to get them to stop, while Raymond Massey plays another, a villain just escaped from jail. Capra encourages the cast, especially Grant, to give a somewhat more outsized performance than one might expect. But made during the war years as it was, this overstated comic approach to killing was probably cathartic. --Tom Keogh
List Price: $19.98 Our Price: $13.50
The Egyptian [VHS]

The Egyptian [VHS]

Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Staring: Jean Simmons , Victor Mature , Gene Tierney , Michael Wilding , Bella Darvi
Director: Michael Curtiz

List Price: $19.98 Our Price: $31.59
Ruby Bridges [VHS]

Ruby Bridges [VHS]

Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Staring: Chaz Monet , Penelope Ann Miller , Kevin Pollak , Michael Beach , Lela Rochon
Director: Euzhan Palcy
This well-conceived made-for-television Disney movie brings the pain and difficulty of desegregation to life for a generation of kids to whom the 1960s is ancient history. Young Chaz Monet plays Ruby, who in real life walked up those Southern school steps with armed guards barely shielding her from the hate-filled epithets white adults hurled at her as she single-handedly desegregated the institution. Penelope Ann Miller plays her Yankee teacher--actually a tutor, since no white kids will share her classroom. Kevin Pollak plays the psychiatrist who donates his time to help her deal with the trauma, but won't eat her mother's food. This 89-minute film offers surprisingly complex portraits of many of the adult characters and an admirably frank look at the less-than-positive reaction from her own community. Even her father (Michael Beach) waivers in resolution, especially when his white boss fires him. Superior acting, writing, and production mark this look at one of the uglier periods in American social history and the little girl who helped the country take a giant step in the right direction. Somewhat scary situations and use of racial slurs make parental guidance advi...
List Price: $14.99 Our Price: $29.90
That's Entertainment [VHS]

That's Entertainment [VHS]

Rated: G (General Audience)
Staring: Fred Astaire , Bing Crosby , Gene Kelly , Peter Lawford , Liza Minnelli
This nostalgic history lesson in the treasures of MGM musicals touches upon the obvious highlights--An American in Paris, Singin' in the Rain, many others--and includes clips of wonderful though more obscure performances by Esther Williams, Jimmy Durante, Eleanor Powell, and even Clark Gable singing and dancing. It's a film lover's box of candy and perfect for musical mavens, and getting a chance to see so many legends host the whole affair (many of whom have died since the film's 1974 release) is as pleasing as the old footage. --Tom Keogh
List Price: $9.98 Our Price: $5.00
Arsenic and Old Lace [VHS]

Arsenic and Old Lace [VHS]

Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Staring: Cary Grant , Priscilla Lane , Raymond Massey , Jack Carson , Edward Everett Horton
Director: Frank Capra
Frank Capra made this film in 1941 before he went off to make films for America's war effort, but it wasn't released until 1944. Adapted from the hit play by Joseph Kesselring, this frantic black comedy shows Capra at his best as a master of mood and timing. Actresses Josephine Hull and Jean Adair reprise their Broadway performances as two gentle old ladies who poison men with elderberry wine to put them out of their misery. Cary Grant plays one nephew, a normal guy who just gets wind of their little hobby and tries to get them to stop, while Raymond Massey plays another, a villain just escaped from jail. Capra encourages the cast, especially Grant, to give a somewhat more outsized performance than one might expect. But made during the war years as it was, this overstated comic approach to killing was probably cathartic. --Tom Keogh
List Price: $19.98 Our Price: $2.90
Three Coins in the Fountain [VHS]

Three Coins in the Fountain [VHS]

Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Staring: Clifton Webb , Dorothy McGuire , Jean Peters , Louis Jourdan , Maggie McNamara
Director: Jean Negulesco
Velvety and glazed like a fattening pastry, this 1954 love story concerns three American women who make wishes for love in Rome, and end up having three romances. The cast is fine, but as for the film, what you see is what you get. There's no mystery to any part of this movie--like everything director Jean Negulesco made once CinemaScope entered his life (e.g., How to Marry a Millionaire, A Certain Smile), Three Coins is designed to lull rather than stimulate. (It did, however, win Oscars for cinematography and the Jule Styne-Sammy Cahn title song performed by Frank Sinatra.) --Tom Keogh
List Price: $19.98 Our Price: $8.94
Viva Zapata [VHS]

Viva Zapata [VHS]

Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Staring: Marlon Brando , Jean Peters , Anthony Quinn , Joseph Wiseman , Arnold Moss
Director: Elia Kazan

List Price: $19.98 Our Price: $129.99