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Monty
Python and the Holy Grail VHS
Could this be the funniest movie ever made? By any rational measure
of comedy, this medieval romp from the Monty Python troupe certainly belongs
on the short list of candidates. According to Leonard Maltin's Movie &
Video Guide, it's "recommended for fans only," but we say hogwash to that--you
could be a complete newcomer to the Python phenomenon and still find this
send-up of the Arthurian legend to be wet-your-pants hilarious. It's basically
a series of sketches woven together as King Arthur's quest for the Holy
Grail, with Graham Chapman as the King, Terry Gilliam as his simpleton
sidekick Patsy, and the rest of the Python gang filling out a variety of
outrageous roles. The comedy highlights are too numerous to mention, but
once you've seen Arthur's outrageously bloody encounter with the ominous
Black Knight (John Cleese), you'll know that nothing's sacred in the Python
school of comedy. From holy hand grenades to killer bunnies to the absurdity
of the three-headed knights who say "Ni--!," this is the kind of movie
that will strike you as fantastically funny or just plain silly, but why
stop there? It's all over the map, and the pace lags a bit here and there,
but for every throwaway gag the Pythons have invented, there's a bit of
subtle business or grand-scale insanity that's utterly inspired. The sum
of this madness is a movie that's beloved by anyone with a pulse and an
irreverent sense of humor. If this movie doesn't make you laugh, you're
almost certainly dead. --Jeff Shannon - Amazon.com
Braveheart
Listed under Mel Gibson
Camelot
1967 VHS
Stars Richard Harris and Vanessa Redgrave
Castles
of War/Castles of Fear DVD
Dare to storm the battlements of the world's most legendary fortresses!
This armor-clashing, sword-slashing series takes you back in time to experience
for yourself what life- and death -were like within the walls of Europe's
medieval strongholds. Originating as simple earth mounds surrounded by
ditches, castles swiftly grew into mighty fortresses that could withstand
tremendous attacks. CASTLES OF WAR uses extensive re-enactments to place
you at the center of these bloody sieges. From the narrow slits that archers
used to target their enemies to the devastating practice of dropping pots
of boiling oil onto outside invaders, see how castles changed the techniques
of warfare. You'll also witness the secret strategies used by military
commanders to successfully attack these impenetrable structures. Some of
history's bloodiest moments took place inside the castle walls. CASTLES
OF FEAR sheds light on the role they played in terrorizing a region. Whether
it was fearsome dungeons, horrifying instruments of torture or devilish
defense mechanisms, go deep inside the blood-soaked structures whose names
can still invoke chills up the spine. - The Publisher.
Special Order
First
Knight VHS
Richard Gere and Sean Connery
Joan
of Arc
VHS Tape from Schlessinger Media
Published: 22 February, 1999
The
Passion of Joan of Arc
VHS Tape from Home Vision Entertainment
starring Maria Falconetti, Eugene Silvain
directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
Published: 26 October, 1999 |
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Joan
of Arc
VHS Tape from Artisan Entertainment
directed by Christian Duguay
Published: 20 August, 2002 |
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Joan
of Arc
VHS Tape from Vid-America
directed by Roberto Rossellini
The
Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
VHS Tape from Columbia Tri-Star
starring Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Dustin Hoffman
directed by Luc Besson
1999 may be remembered as the year of Joan of Arc: NBC created a miniseries
in her honor, Carl Dreyer's long-lost The Passion of Joan of Arc was discovered
in a mental hospital, and Facets re-released Jacques Rivette's Joan the
Maid. Luc Besson rounds out the corpus with his stylistic and vaguely heretical
grand-scale feature, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc.
Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Fifth Element) challenges established notions
about the Maid of Orleans as he creates a decidedly more human heroine
than have previous biopics. The story line is the same--a young, illiterate
peasant girl convinces the dauphin of France to give her an army, and she
leads them to victory in Orleans, only to be burned at the stake for heresy--but
Milla Jovovich, in the title role, is a woman possessed. Her influences
are less than heavenly; as a child she witnesses the murder of her sister
by the English, a death caused by the sister's giving her hiding place
to young Joan, which causes an intense desire for revenge. Yes, God still
speaks to Joan, but even this is undermined, as Dustin Hoffman, playing
The Conscience, questions her motives.
Cinematically, The Messenger is stunning, with fantastical sequences
of Joan in communication with higher powers. Yet the graphic violence (scenes
include random decapitation and a dog gnawing on a body); the uneven accents,
which make it difficult to tell who is fighting on which side; and the
rewriting of lore may make this version of Joan of Arc appeal only to Besson
fans. Jovovich is convincing, and while at times the film may drag (at
times you wish they'd hurry up and burn her), it is a remarkable and insightful
retelling of a well-known piece of history. --Jenny Brown - Amazon.com
Published: 05 September, 2000 |
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Knights
of the Round Table1953 VHS
Stars Ava Gardner, Robert Taylor, Mel Ferrer
This 1953 follow-up to the successful teaming of actor Robert Taylor
and director Richard Thorpe on Ivanhoe isn't quite as good a film, but
it is a sumptuous adventure-romance shot on location in England. MGM's
first widescreen production finds Taylor playing Sir Lancelot to Mel Ferrer's
King Arthur. Based in part on Thomas Malory's 14th-century version of the
Camelot legend, Knights of the Round Table tells the familiar tale of Arthur's
construction of a Utopian kingdom, where virtue, courage, and a sense of
possibility rule the hearts of strong men. Lancelot is there every step
of the way, but after Arthur marries a particularly bodacious Guinevere
(Ava Gardner), Lancelot can't stifle his love for her, nor can she stifle
her own for him. That chink in the wall of the Camelot dream is exploited
by detractors Morgan le Fay (Anne Crawford) and Mordred (Stanley Baker),
who set up the lovers for their downfall. The script by Talbot Jennings
is proficient at capturing the outsized passions of Malory's epic, which
may be one reason why Ivanhoe, with a bit more understatedness, is the
better of the two adaptations. True-blue Arthurians, however, will want
to see this for its visual sweep and loyalty to the source. --Tom Keogh
- Amazon.com
Hamlet
Listed under Mel Gibson
Merlin.
TV miniseries VHS
Stars Sam Neill and Helena Bonham Carter
The
Adventures of Robin Hood VHS
VHS Tape from Warner Studios
starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland
directed by William Keighley, Michael Curtiz
Published: 08 May, 2001
Robin
Hood - Prince of Thieves VHS
VHS Tape from Warner Studios
starring Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Mary Elizabeth
Mastrantonio
directed by Kevin Reynolds
Published: 04 February, 2003
The
Sword in the Stone VHS
Starring: Sebastian Cabot, Karl Swenson, ...
Director: Wolfgang Reitherman
Based upon T.H. White's beloved novel, this Disney-fied version chronicles
the tutoring of the Once and Future King, Arthur, as handled by the magician
Merlin. Sword was a portent of things to come, with slapstick upbraiding
storytelling, and cultural in-jokes substituting for wonder. But there's
much to enjoy here as Merlin shows Newt, the young Arthur, things that
will help him become the ruler of the Britons. The transformation sequences,
where the boy is turned into a fish, a bird, and a squirrel are vintage
Disney. The oft-repeated scene of Merlin battling it out with the mean
old Madame Mim still is worth a few chuckles, but it belies the problem
with most of the film--the scenes are only there for the chuckles. References
by Merlin to television and other items of modern life also mar the generally
innocuous landscape. Children will like it, but they won't cherish it.
--Keith Simanton - Amazon.com
Sword
of Lancelot 1963 VHS
Stars Cornel Wild.
A
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court 1949 VHS
Stars Bing Crosby
The
Princess Bride (1987) VHS
~ Cary Elwes
Worth watching for the swordplay alone.
Rashomon
- Criterion Collection (1951) DVD
~ ToshirĂ´ Mifune
Kagemusha
(1980) DVD
~ Tatsuya Nakadai
Living
in the Past: Life in Medieval Times (2000) VHS
Siena:
Chronicles of a Medieval Commune (1988) VHS
~ Siena
Landmarks
of Western Art, Vol. 1: The Medieval World (1999) VHS
~ Landmarks of Western Art
Medieval
Soldier VHS
Medieval
Warfare - The Crusades: The Holy Wars (2001) VHS
Great
Castles of Europe: Fortress to Fairy Tale (2001) VHS
~ Great Castles of Europe
Castles
of Scotland (1998) VHS
Order
Castles of the Third Reich (2000) VHS
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