CD Universe in Foreign DVDs & Videos

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PULP FICTION's Samuel L. Jackson brings his trademark cool to this hip animated series. Afro Samurai (Jackson) is on the hunt for vengeance as he follows the inappropriately named Justice (Ron Perlman, HELLBOY), who is his father's murderer. This mash-up of samurai life and hip-hop features the musical talents of Wu Tang Clan's RZA. This collection includes every episode of AFRO SAMURAI and AFRO SAMURAI: RESURRECTION. See individual titles for additional details.

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PULP FICTION's Samuel L. Jackson brings his trademark cool to this hip animated series. Afro Samurai (Jackson) is on the hunt for vengeance as he follows the inappropriately named Justice (Ron Perlman, HELLBOY), who is his father's murderer. This mash-up of samurai life and hip-hop features the musical talents of Wu Tang Clan's RZA. This collection includes every episode of AFRO SAMURAI and AFRO SAMURAI: RESURRECTION. See individual titles for additional details.

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UN DIA SIN SEXO is a day in the life of four Peruvian couples of varying ages and backgrounds as they struggle over issues between the sheets. This is a lighthearted comic look at the pitfalls of sex in relationships, whether the couples are young and hot to trot, or a little bit older and less full of fire. Either way, these lovers find themselves in all sorts of hilarious scenarios that speak to the voyeurs among us.

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An epic tale of the Spanish Civil War, LIBERTARIAS focuses on the role that women played in the conflict. Maria (Ariadna Gil, known in Spain for her success with roles deemed impossible for other actresses) is a nun forced to flee her convent when the war brings troops to Barcelona. She hides in a brothel, where she meets and unites with a women's organization to assist with the war effort against Franco's fascists, and thereby secures the rights for their sex. Through her experiences Maria encounters many women from various social groups and occupations, and learns that they are all united in being oppressed merely because of their gender. LIBERTARIAS concentrates on how the struggle for freedom and civil rights during the Spanish Civil War took on special meaning for women. The film was nominated for six Goya Awards in 1996, and director Vicente Aranda (best know internationally for his film AMANTES aka LOVERS) took home the Special Jury Prize at the Tokyo Film Festival.

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In the midst of World War II, as the tide turns against the Axis, a German U-boat crew is sent out to patrol the Atlantic and fire at Allied ships bringing supplies to England. The submarine also carries a press correspondent, there to report from the front lines of nautical warfare. Meanwhile, the crew's captain (Jürgen Prochnow) is becoming disillusioned with the Nazi regime and with war in general. What starts out as a routine mission is soon livened up beyond the crew's expectations when their boat's surprise attack on a convoy is thwarted by a fast-moving destroyer. Battered by depth charges, the crew must pull together to survive the attacks of their unseen enemy. Widely considered to be director Wolfgang Petersen's best film and one of the finest German films ever made, DAS BOOT is stunningly realistic in its portrayal of the cramped conditions aboard a German submarine. Based on a novel by Lothar G. Buchheim, it is a striking example of an intelligent antiwar film clothed in the guise of a military thriller.

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PORN THEATER, as its title suggests, covers a day in the life of a Parisian pornographic cinema, foregrounding its marginalized male patrons and their activities inside. Because the film cuts between only three locations--the ticket area, the main viewing theater, and the grungy, yellow bathroom--it effectively seals off the world outside, providing the viewer with a heightened sense of containment. An extraordinary amount of screentime is given to the spectators in the theater simply watching the film, the effect of which is almost Hitchcockean in the sense of cinematic double entendre--as one watches the characters in the movie viewing a movie, one becomes conscious of the architecture of the theater, the mechanics of film projection, and the other viewers. When PORN THEATER draws to a close, then, it is no surprise the pornographic film the characters watch also comes to conclusion, and everyone must leave their respective theaters more or less together. The film additionally makes comment on disease and desire and provides comic relief, though mostly at the expense of one hirsute drag queen. As one might also expect from the title, the film carries a ton of sexual content, though only between the male patrons of the theater, unsure as to whether they've come to reinforce their heterosexual desires through the movie or to cruise the other customers for homosexual encounters.

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Spanish actress turned director Laura Mana delivers an enchanting fable, by turns funny and achingly poignant, and seasoned with a bit of magical realism. Opening in black-and-white and set in a dull, drab Mexican town, the inhabitants of the film are beset by a bad case of the doldrums: the kids are taciturn, the adults are listless, and the elderly are afflicted. Among them, Dolores (Elisabeth Margoni, LOVE, ACTUALLY) stands out as a pious, big-hearted, and lovable woman, but her husband leaves her because he finds her undiluted goodness difficult to stomach. Shocked, hurt and angry, Dolores goes to bed with the first man who asks her, and soon she is providing all of the love-starved men of the town with the intimacy they have been missing. The changes are immeasurable and color is brought back into the lives of all the villagers, until problems arise in the form of the local prostitutes whose business has been hurt. Dolores's husband also returns and demands a stop to her behavior, forcing Delores to make a difficult decision. Mana delivers a beautiful, life-affirming, feminist take on the conservative mores of small-town life.

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A hit across the globe, bachata boy-band Aventura leave their adoring fans breathless in this sold-out concert at New York's Madison Square Garden. Joined onstage by a dazzling array of surprise guests--including Miri Ben-Ari, Olga Tanon, El Torito, Toby Love, and Anthony Santos--this live performance features knockout renditions of the songs "Obsesion," "No no no," "Ella y yo," and "Noche de sexo," among many others.

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THE SISSI COLLECTION includes the trilogy of romantic films about the Austrian princess: SISSI, THE YOUNG EMPRESS, and SISSI: THE FATEFUL YEARS OF THE EMPRESS. The three movies follow the adventures of Sissi and her husband Kaiser Franz Josef (Karl Heinz Böhm). Romy Schneider (WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT, TRIPLE CROSS), stars as the young princess, who has to endure the frustrations of court life in Vienna and a difficult mother-in-law. This popular series of costume dramas was directed by Ernst Marischka (SEASON IN SALZBURG), and this collection also includes two of his other movies, THE STORY OF VICKI and FOREVER MY LOVE.

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Amélie Poulain (Audrey Tautou) is a young woman who glides through the streets of Paris as quietly as a mouse. With wide eyes and a tiny grin, she sees the world in a magical light, discovering minor miracles every day. A shy and reserved person whose favorite moments are spent alone skimming stones into the water, Amélie was raised by a pair of eccentrics who falsely diagnosed her with a heart problem at the age of six and so limited her exposure to the outside world. Now a free and independent woman, Amélie wears a bob that curls in every direction and dresses in red. With a job in a café and an aptitude for spying on her neighbors, Amélie entertains herself by enacting a series of homemade, kindhearted practical jokes. She returns a long-forgotten box of childhood knickknacks to its proper owner, she sends her father's garden troll on a trip around the world, and she creates a love connection at the café between the hypochondriac druggist and a beer-drinking old grouch. But when the day is done, Amélie finds one stone unturned, and decides to work her magic on the quirky object of her affections, Nino Quincampoix (Matthieu Kassovitz), whom she has never met. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (who codirected DELICATESSEN and THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN with Marc Caro) presents AMÉLIE, an aesthetically gorgeous and inventive film. The rich, glowing color scheme is offset by flashbacks in black and white archival footage that give short biographies of each character. A soft-spoken narrator guides viewers through this enlightening fairy tale, which sometimes speeds through the streets and other times drifts in slow motion. AMÉLIE is humorous, questioning, and strange, and it will change the lives of all who watch it, if only for a short while after leaving Amélie's world.

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Ricardo (Marco Filiberti) is the son of an affluent Italian upper-crust family; he is also, unbeknownst to them, a very popular and flamboyant gay porn star who goes by the name of Riki Kandinsky. When he is forced to attend his father's funeral, he causes waves with his perfect hair and mascara. He endeavors to keep his identity from those in attendance, and is for the most part successful However, when his brother Federico visits Riki's Rome apartment to work out the details of the will, as well as to reconnect with his estranged brother, things take a decidedly different turn. Riki is forced to confess his lifestyle to his brother, and Federico is at first shocked, but moves on to acceptance. The two rekindle their relationship when Federico helps Riki adopt a young boy who has recently come into his life.

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HISTORIA DE UNA REINA is an apt name for a music video collection from Ana Gabriel, whom some have crowned "La Reina" (Spanish for "The Queen"). This collection assembles music videos that span her impressive career in Latin music.

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In Federico Fellini's seminal film LA DOLCE VITA, a three-hour masterpiece that shows one man's descent into "the sweet life" of debauchery, Marcello Mastroianni stars as eccentric journalist Marcello Rubini. On assignment to chronicle the lives of the rich and famous Italian aristocracy in a gossip column for a Roman newspaper, Marcello floats from one fabulous party to the next, meeting all varieties of beautiful, extravagant people. While he would never protest this seemingly ideal job, it makes him feel lonely and empty, and he stays up drinking and dancing night after night only to wake up each morning unbalanced and unfocused. The film follows Marcello's ups and downs in an episodic pattern in which each evening is a new story, a new adventure, a new dare, a new woman with whom to fall helplessly in love--but only for that night. Each morning the slate is wiped clean, and Fellini resets Marcello's score to zero. Sprinkled with religious images and gestures at salvation, LA DOLCE VITA is supreme in the beauty of its all-encompassing symbolism that is expressed through lavish sets, an alluring script, overemphasized physical movements, roller-coaster jazz music, and helpless emotions.

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Hong Kong satirist Stephen Chow wrote, directed, and stars in this hilarious spoof of sports and kung fu movie cliches. Chow plays "Mighty Steel Leg" Sing, who can kick soda cans through walls, and is a natural soccer star in the eyes of crippled coach Fung (Patrick Se Yin), who is looking to challenge his arch rival Hung, the captain of the aptly named Evil Team. Recruiting Sing and his goofy brothers who all have names like Steel Head, Hook Kick Leg, and Weight Vest (with qualities to match), Hung's team soon rises through the ranks via their supernatural Kung Fu soccer skills. There's also a love interest in the form of a shy girl (Vicki Zhao Wei) who uses martial arts magic in making steamed bread. MATRIX-style digital effects elevate the actor's martial arts skills to ludicrous heights, giving the clichéd story such a giddy, high-octane boost it soars into a comic class by itself. Soccer balls ripple through the air like slo-mo bullets, smashing through walls, and flying thousands of feet in the air. A box office smash in the East, SHAOLIN SOCCER should prove irresistible to open-minded Westerners looking for a laugh-out-loud experience.

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Hector Acosta ("El Torito"), award-winning tropical vocalist and former lead singer of the legendary Toros Band, plays all of his solo hits live on concert film EN VIVO.

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Acclaimed Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki adapts British writer Diana Wynne Jones's popular fantasy tale for this animated feature, adding his own unique and celebrated dreamlike spin. A young hat-maker named Sophie (voiced by Emily Mortimer) is turned into an old woman by the dreaded Witch of the Waste (Lauren Bacall) when she attracts the notice of Howl (Christian Bale), a young wizard whom the witch desires for herself. As the old woman, (voiced by Jean Simmons), Sophie finds refuge as a cleaning lady in Howl's magical castle, an impressively realized mishmash of anthropomorphic shafts and gears, where she meets, among other wonders, a cantankerous fire demon named Calcifer (Billy Crystal). Howl's courage inspires her to seek a cure for her curse, and vice versa, and the two work together to prevent a major war as the castle roams the countryside on its mechanical legs. There's lots of magic afoot as well, including travel through barriers of space and time, and shape-shifting, requiring full viewer attention to keep track of who, where, and when, but this how dreams really are and the film engages on that same subconscious level. As with Miyazaki's previous work (SPIRITED AWAY, KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE), the emphasis here is on creating a beautiful alternate reality, where anything can happen, and every frame is a breathtaking work of art. See it on the big screen if the chance presents itself; the elaborate intricacies and patiently realized alternate realities of Miyazaki's work makes him a true treasure.

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A man calls a suicide hotline and falls in love with the woman who takes his call in this erotic drama from director Lee Kang-Sheng.

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In this Mexican comedy classic, Tin-Tan and El Zorrillo are the same person and Lupe has fallen in love with the latter. But when Don Martin and his workers are jailed by the evil Don Gaspar, it's up to El Zorrillo to save the day.

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Bollywood and Hollywood entwine for this mix of romance, singing, comedy, dancing, and melodrama, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali (DEVDAS) and produced in tandem with Sony/Columbia. The achingly beautiful Rani Mukherjee narrates and appears as Gulab, a streetcorner princess haunting the red light district in an expressionistic melange of Venice, Vegas, and Amsterdam. The irrepressibly callow musician Raj (Ranbir Kapoor) catches her eye, but Raj thinks he's in love with Sakina (Sonam Kapoor) who prefers to pine away for her absent lover, Imaan (Salman Kahn). All this longing (it's based on Dostoyevsky's WHITE NIGHTS) is stunningly captured through bizarre and elaborate backdrops, winding staircases, torrents of rain, and a color scheme heavy on the blues. Fans of Baz Luhrman's MOULIN ROUGE will want to live inside this film: there may not a whole lot of weight to all the tomfoolery, but the pain of youthful romantic idealism is part of the message. The music is always the thing with Bollywood films and SAAWARIYA packs in its share of rousing numbers. Western viewers entering the realm of Bollywood for the first time will find SAAWARIYA ("beloved" in Hindi) to be a crossover film that's ready to welcome them with open arms into a jubilant world of high-spirited song and dance, over-the-top goofiness, anguished melodrama, gyrating hips (with very sexy exposed belly buttons), and PG-rated romance.

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Bizarre and frequently hilarious, EL CHAVO DEL 8 is a Latin American television show in which adults dress up as children. A simple premise, but one that has garnered millions of viewers over the years, and turned its creator and principle star Roberto Gomez Bolanos into a big celebrity. A selection of episodes from the show is contained on this collection.

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A well-crafted horror film in the tradition of Guillermo del Toro's THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE, Swedish import LET THE RIGHT ONE IN ably blends genre chills with genuine feeling. Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) is a 12-year-old outcast who is frequently picked on by his classmates. He dreams of getting his revenge, but he never stands up to the boys. With the arrival of his new next-door neighbor, 12-year-old Eli (Lina Leandersson), Oskar may finally have found a friend, ally, and first love. But Eli is no ordinary girl: she must keep her pale skin out of the sunlight, she can perform inhuman physical feats, and she has thirst for blood. The bodies begin to pile up, but Oskar can't stay away from the girl who has finally given him courage. Based on the novel by John Ajvide Linqvist (who also wrote the script), LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is the best kind of horror film: one that transcends the tropes of the genre to become something new. This is director Tomas Alfredson's first foray into horror, and he doesn't hesitate to include bits of vampire mythology. But his background making comedies and dramas gives the film a surprising depth; the relationship between Oskar and Eli is tentative and sweet, even though their interactions may be surrounded by blood and violence. Composer Johan Soderqvist and the sound department create a fascinating palette of music and sounds that add to the film's perfectly chilly mood, and setting the film in a snowy Swedish suburb gives director of photography Hoyte Van Hoytema a starkly beautiful environment for shooting. Though LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is ostensibly about a pair of children, this is a horror film for adults. There are plenty of scares, but it remains moving and intelligent, a rare feat for the genre.

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In his final collaboration with Akira Kurosawa, Toshirô Mifune portrays Dr. Kyojio "Red Beard" Niide, a gruff but caring head doctor at a 19th-century clinic for the poor. Sorely in need of competent assistance, Red Beard takes on a new intern, the ambitious Noboru Yasumoto (Yuzo Kayama). However, Yasumoto isn't made aware of his appointment until after he's visited the facility and seen its grim conditions and impoverished patients. Initially, the brash young physician rebels against the wise elder and declines his duties, but gradually Yasumoto begins to respect Red Beard and his difficult yet essential work. As Yasumoto slowly acclimates to the clinic, the story also follows the lives (and deaths) of various patients. Truly the end of an era, RED BEARD marks the dissolution of the Kurosawa/Mifune partnership and also Kurosawa's last black-and-white production. Although surprisingly little has been written about the rift between Mifune and Kurosawa, it's likely that tensions were largely due to the film's grueling two-year shoot. Despite the drama behind the camera, RED BEARD remains one of Kurosawa's underrated classics. Although Mifune is best known for his earlier roles as an impetuous youth, here he gives a mature, though no less vital, performance, echoing the mentor character Takashi Shimura played in STRAY DOG, SEVEN SAMURAI, and other Kurosawa movies. (However, Mifune does get one action-packed, YOJIMBO-worthy fight scene.) In turn, Kayama admirably fills the role of the headstrong young intern. A sort of period-piece MASH or ER, RED BEARD is a moving drama that uses doctors and patients to address the timeless notion of trying to be a good person in an often cruel world.

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REBELDE is a Mexican telenovela based in a school for the country's richest kids. But among the elite are a few children from poorer families whose natural gifts in a number of different fields have allowed them entrance to this exclusive institution. When these two markedly different groups meet, the poverty-stricken kids are tormented by their wealthy counterparts, and some explosive action follows. This release presents the series' first three seasons.

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EL MIEDO NO ANDA EN BURRO: This funny Mexican film tell the tale of a family who will do anything to get rid of the rich old lady who sits at the head of the clan. All the hilarious members want a piece of the very lucrative inheritance money. What they don't know, however, is that grandma has left all of the money to her trusty kitten. TONTA TONTA PERO NO TANTO: TONTA, TONTA, PERO NO TANTO translates to something close to "Dumb, Dumb, But Not So Dumb." This Mexican comedy is the story of María Epifanía Jolote, an Indian woman from San José of the Burros who leaves her family, her town and her priest to to go to the city to inquire about a job that's been promised her. LA PRESIDENTA MUNICIPAL: Mexico's comic goddess, La India Maria stars in this funny film in which she has been erroneously voted town mayor! OKAY MISTER PANCHO: Mexico's comic goddess, La India Maria, returns in this wildly funny adventure in which our lovely heroine is caught up in a diamond smuggling ring.

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Latin pop-rockers La Ley grace the soundstage at the MTV studios to perform a charming acoustic concert for the cable channel's famous UNPLUGGED series. The group perform 16 of their most beloved tracks, including "Animal" and "Hombre."

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DREAM OF THE RED CHAMBER: This tale of luck and love follows a family who are fall into some bad luck when their son loses a jade chip and then marries a woman who doesn't meet his father's approval. EMPRESS WU ZETIAN: The story of Wu Zetian is told here. Zetian was a female ruler of the Zhou Dynasty, and her reign came at a time when women were still stuck in very traditional roles throughout China.

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Returning to the U.S. after more than a decade, Brazilian singer Robert Carlos overwhelmed audiences with this live performance of Spanish-sung songs, including "Emociones," "Detalles," "Cama y Mesa," "Amigo," "Un Million de Amigos," and many others.

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Tony (Said Taghmaoui) makes a living as a small-time thief, robbing people for a local mobster. His real passion, however, is video games, and when he's finally caught during a burglary gone awry, he spends his time in prison designing one of his own.

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Videos of Latin pop singer Gloria Trevi's greatest hits are compiled in LA HISTORIA. This collection features songs from her early career, like her first hit, "Dr. Psiquiatra," as well as later offerings like, "Que Bueno Que No Fui Lady Di."