Laserdisc

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Small-time drug dealer and Vice Lords gang member Greg Yance gets a second shot at living straight when he's sentenced to a rigorous prison boot camp. Based on a true story. Produced for HBO.

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Terrence Malick returns to Hollywood after a two-decade hiatus with this adaptation of the classic WWII novel by James Jones. The story follows the efforts of an army platoon to capture the Japanese-controlled island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific Ocean, which will have a major effect on the outcome of the war. The members of C-for-Charlie Company are all fighting for different reasons: some to achieve glory, some to fight for democracy, and some simply to remain alive. They spend the quieter moments reflecting upon their existence, searching for meaning amid the senselessness of war. Malick's reputation as one of cinema's most brilliant directors, based on his masterworks BADLANDS and DAYS OF HEAVEN, enabled him to pull together one of the largest ensemble all-star casts in Hollywood history. The result is a sprawling epic that carries itself like a poem read in a dream, a feeling that is greatly enhanced by John Toll's floating camerawork and Hans Zimmer's haunting score. Rather than concentrating solely on the violence and destruction of war, Malick uses the situation to address philosophical questions such as man versus nature, war versus peace, and good versus evil. THE THIN RED LINE proves that after a 20-year layoff, Malick hasn't lost a step.

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America's first supermodel Gia Carangi lives hard and dies young in the glamorous, excessive urban wilds of 1970s New York City. Adapted by Cristofer and novelist Jay McInerney from the biography "Thing of Beauty" by Stephen Fried. Made for HBO. Available in rated and unrated versions.

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For the follow-up to his dark crime thriller SEVEN, director David Fincher decided to remain in a film noir vein. The result is THE GAME, a fast-paced cinematic roller-coaster ride that stars Michael Douglas as Nicholas Van Orton, a joyless San Francisco investment banker who receives an unusual birthday present from his estranged younger brother, Conrad (Sean Penn). The gift enrolls Nicholas in CRS (Consumer Recreation Services), a company that designs elaborate real-life games for each specific participant. As the game begins, the reluctant Nicholas becomes the victim of a series of pranks that quickly turn malicious and dangerous. Stripped of his finances and convinced that he can trust no one, Nicholas realizes that this game may be an attempt to steal his fortune and leave him for dead. In a desperate bid to regain his life, Nicholas infiltrates CRS in order to uncover the secrets of the mysterious organization. Douglas is perfect playing the uptight businessman Nicholas, cleverly riffing on his Oscar-winning performance as the cold-blooded Gordon Gekko in WALL STREET. Fincher's Kafkaesque carnival show is an exercise in taut filmmaking that mischievously pulls a seemingly endless supply of rugs out from under both Nicholas and, even more impressive, the viewer.

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Steven Soderbergh explodes onto the scene with this provocative, intelligent drama about infidelity and voyeurism. Ann Milaney (Andie MacDowell) lives in a comfortable Louisiana home with her lawyer husband, John (Peter Gallagher). She spends her days fretting over the insurmountable problems of the world and her own unfocused sense of melancholy. Although she doesn't know it, she has a good reason to be upset: John is having a torrid affair with her younger, more extroverted sister, Cynthia (the sexy Laura San Giacomo). When Graham Dalton (James Spader), an old college pal of John's, comes to visit, all three are momentarily distracted from personal problems and intrigues as they scrutinize the odd outsider. Ann soon discovers that Graham has some strange habits and problems of his own. Plagued by impotency since the calamitous breakup of his last relationship, the young drifter finds sexual gratification by videotaping women willing to talk about their sexual past and fantasies in front of the camera. A chain of attraction and jealousy develops as the four interconnect in several varied pairings, culminating with Ann's decision to become Graham's latest subject. Soderbergh's highly influential debut independent feature plays like a dangerous thriller that builds in tension until everyone's secrets are bitterly exposed.

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A celebration of the life of Tejano princess Selena Quintanilla Perez, the rising star who was gunned down by the president of her own fan club in 1995. Amid the racial tensions and economic hardships of 1980's South Texas, the daughter of a Mexican immigrant (himself a failed doo-wop singer) grows up to be a sensation in the blossoming Tejano scene before meeting a tragic end. Light on insight, this biopic revels rather in Selena's on-stage achievements. Selena's father is credited as an executive producer to the film.

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Robert Altman's adaptation of Michael Tolkin's novel gives the notorious director a chance to address perhaps his greatest nemesis: the Hollywood studio system. Disguised as a thriller, the film assembles virtually every famous actor in Hollywood to create an exhilarating blend of real life and fiction. Tim Robbins plays Griffin Mill, a studio executive who begins to fear for his job when upstart Larry Levy's (Peter Gallagher) name becomes a hot topic on the lot. After receiving threatening postcards from an unidentified writer, Griffin tracks down David Kahane (Vincent D'Onofrio), who he thinks is the guilty party. The two argue, with disastrous results. Later, as Griffin struggles to keep his job while trying to distance himself from the law, he finds himself falling in love with Kahane's mysterious girlfriend (Greta Scacchi). THE PLAYER is a vicious satire that exposes the Hollywood industry as fraudulent, weak, and shallow. Altman's film also sends up both the noir genre and filmmaking technique, the latter notably in an extended opening shot which is a sprawling one-take that covers the studio's entire lot and features a series of hysterical pitches by actual screenwriters, including Buck Henry offering forth on his concept for THE GRADUATE 2. Bitter and electric, THE PLAYER ends on an ironic upbeat note that perfectly concludes a stellar picture.

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President James Marshall (Harrison Ford) is one of the most respected leaders in the history of America. When Kazakhstanian separatists commit atrocities on their own people, Marshall authorizes a guerrilla mission to take their leader, General Radek (Jürgen Prochnow), into custody and restore the democratic regime. In his speech afterward, the president vows never to let America hesitate again when dealing with terrorists. However, that's before a group of them, led by the ruthless Korchunov (Gary Oldman) take over his own flight on Air Force One, with his wife and young daughter also on board. President Marshall, a decorated Vietnam veteran, becomes a one-man vigilante force in his efforts to free his family and the other hostages, retake the plane, and thwart the hijackers. Director Wolfgang Petersen's thrilling film is supported by an excellent ensemble cast, which includes William H. Macy, Philip Baker Hall, and Glenn Close as Kathryn Bennett, the vice president who must hold the Cabinet together in Marshall's absence.

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As in his 1977 film THE LATE SHOW, Robert Benton focuses on a private detective who's playing the back nine. With the passing of a quarter century, however, the director's tone had grown more somber. Paul Newman stars as the detective, Harry Ross, living in semiretirement in Santa Monica on the estate owned by his movie-star friends, Jack (Gene Hackman) and Catherine Ames (Susan Sarandon). When Harry delivers a package as a favor to Jack, he finds fellow private dick Lester Ivar (M. Emmett Walsh) dying from a bullet wound. Harry checks out Ivar's apartment, where he uncovers 20-year-old clippings relating to the disappearance of Catherine's first husband. As he tries to get to the bottom of the case, he enlists the help of a former lover, LAPD lt. Verna Hollander (Stockard Channing), and receives unsolicited assistance from feckless chauffeur Reuben Escobar (Giancarlo Esposito). Ex-cop and former studio security chief Raymond Hope (James Garner) also seems to know a thing or two about the case. Strong ensemble acting and Benton's characteristically nuanced and intelligent writing highlight this sinuous, richly textured murder mystery.

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One of the funniest, pithiest rock films ever made with its own particular brand of a seriocomic chaos. A mock-machiavellian mock-rockumentary masterpiece. Songs include: "God Save the Queen," "No Feelings," "Pretty Vacant," "My Way," "Rock Around the Clock," and many others.

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Wild Africa is the setting for this animated tale of a young lion cub whose evil uncle usurps his father's crown and lets hyenas overrun the kingdom. Dodging danger and befriending some oddball characters, the cub wanders until the day he's ready to return. Songs by Elton John and featuring the voices of Whoopie Goldberg, Cheech Marin, James Earl Jones, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane and Jeremy Irons. Academy Award Nominations: 4, including 3 for Best Original Song. Academy Awards: 2, including Best Original Score and Best Original Song (Elton John and Tim Rice: "Can You Feel the Love Tonight").

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Set in 1966; Produced and released in 1983. Francis Ford Coppola's stylized teen melodrama is based on the popular novel by S. E. Hinton. In 1960s Tulsa, the "right" and "wrong" sides of the tracks are represented by rival gangs, the upscale Socs and the underprivileged Greasers. Darrel Curtis (Patrick Swayze) is doing his best to raise his two younger brothers, Sodapop (Rob Lowe in his first film role) and Ponyboy (C. Thomas Howell). Sensitive Ponyboy is a budding writer in love with Cherry (Diane Lane), the unobtainable beauty from the enemy gang. When Ponyboy's buddy, troubled Johnny Cade (Ralph Macchio), kills one of the Socs in self-defense, their friend Dallas (Matt Dillon) helps the two youths hide out in an abandoned country church. There they live as exiles from a society that doesn't want them. But not all is lost, when Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dallas save some children caught in a fire they become unlikely heroes. The young cast is the jewel of this sensitive, moving film. Tom Cruise and Emilio Estevez play Greasers, and pop singer Leif Garrett plays rich-kid Bob. Dillon also starred that year in another S. E.Hinton adaptation directed by Coppola--the fascinating and extremely entertaining RUMBLE FISH.

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In this Sidney Lumet-directed Motown rendition of THE WIZARD OF OZ, Diana Ross plays a soulful Dorothy, accompanied by a cast peppered with R&B stars such as Roberta Flack and Luther Vandross.

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This timeless Shakespeare tale of two star-crossed lovers has made it to the screen in numerous variations, but perhaps none rival director George Cukor's lavish 1936 production for sheer romantic will; producer Irving Thalberg appointed him for his well-known ability to weave elaborate productions and emotional story lines. Norma Shearer, Thalberg's wife, plays Juliet to Leslie Howard's Romeo. Both stars, at the height of their fame going into ROMEO AND JULIET (though neither was close to being an actual teenager), portray the achingly poignant young lovers whose families are sworn enemies in this classically beautiful Hollywood adaption. Striving for perfection, Thalberg hired literary consultants to ensure that the abridged screenplay would be faithful to the Bard's original lines. John Barrymore makes his presence felt as the boisterous Mercutio, Romeo's close friend. ROMEO AND JULIET was Cukor's, (originally a theater director) only Shakespeare adaptation, and his largest production up to that time. This well-crafted film garnered four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and a Best Actress nod for Norma Shearer.

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Determined to rid the world of all vampires to gain vengeance for having been turned into one himself, a centuries-old vampire with a mortal's heart tracks down the most powerful remaining demon in a castle in contemporary Transylvania. There, he must temper his own thirst for blood, as well as wrestle with his conscience, to destroy his nemesis while he's at his most vulnerable. From the creator of the "Subspecies" series.

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A celebration of the life of Tejano princess Selena Quintanilla Perez, the rising star who was gunned down by the president of her own fan club in 1995. Amid the racial tensions and economic hardships of 1980's South Texas, the daughter of a Mexican immigrant (himself a failed doo-wop singer) grows up to be a sensation in the blossoming Tejano scene before meeting a tragic end. Light on insight, this biopic revels rather in Selena's on-stage achievements. Selena's father is credited as an executive producer to the film.

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One of the most exhilarating and influential trilogies in the history of motion pictures, George Lucas's sci-fi spectacular continues to capture the hearts and minds of individuals throughout the world. This release contains the STAR WARS trilogy (episodes IV-VI) in one glorious package. First up is STAR WARS; George Lucas's stunning sci-fi masterpiece, and arguably one of the most inventive and entertaining films ever made. As the adventure begins, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), an impulsive but goodhearted young man who lives on the dusty planet of Tatooine with his aunt and uncle, longs for the exciting life of a Rebel soldier. The Rebels, led by the headstrong Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), are fighting against the evil Empire, which has set about destroying planets inhabited by innocent citizens with the Death Star, a fearsome planetlike craft commanded by Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) and the eternally frightful Darth Vader (David Prowse, with the voice of James Earl Jones). When Luke's aunt and uncle are murdered by the Empire's imperial stormtroopers and he mysteriously finds a distress message from Princess Leia in one of his androids, R2-D2 (Kenny Baker), he must set out to find Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), a mysterious old hermit with incredible powers. On his journey, Luke is aided by the roguish, sarcastic mercenary Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his towering furry sidekick Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) as they run into a host of perilous situations while trying to rescue the princess--and the entire galaxy. Considered the most morally and emotionally complex of the original Star Wars trilogy, THE EMPIRE STRIKE BACK continues creator George Lucas's epic saga where STAR WARS left off. The Rebel Forces--which include young adventurer Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), rogue pilot Han Solo (Harrison Ford), and the beautiful but seemingly humorless Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher)--have been successful in destroying the Evil Empire's Death Star. However, the Empire's top commander, the terrifying Lord Darth Vader (played by David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones), is scanning the galaxy for the Rebels' secret location. After a visually stunning showdown on the ice planet Hoth, the Rebels are forced to flee, and Luke separates from Han and Leia. Masterful storytelling weaves multiple, archetypal plotlines that pit Vader against Han and Leia as he desperately attempts to capture Luke for political--and, secretly, personal--reasons. Luke, meanwhile, finds himself under the tutelage of the tiny but powerful old Jedi Master Yoda, who teaches him the ways of the Force and warns the impatient but talented student against the threat of the Dark Side. Greek tragedy meets a philosophical hero's journey in EMPIRE, a remarkable sci-fi epic in which the performances are as powerful as the spectacular special effects. The third and final chapter in the wondrous STAR WARS saga is RETURN OF THE JEDI. Luke (Mark Hamill) must save Han Solo (Harrison Ford) from the clutches of the monstrous Jabba the Hut, and bring down the newly reconstructed--and even more powerful--Death Star. With Solo imprisoned, Luke accompanies his faithful droids R2D2 (Kenny Baker) and C3PO (Anthony Daniels) in a rescue bid, with Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) also lending a hand. After they valiantly disentangle their friends from Jabba's clutches, Luke returns to his Jedi Knight training with Yoda. Meanwhile, the Rebel Troops amass in an attempt to see off the impending threat from Darth Vader (played by David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones) and his new Death Star, with the operation being lead by Han Solo. But Luke must face Vader himself if he is to become a true Jedi Knight, and as he enters into a spirited battle with his light saber-wielding enemy, some surprising revelations await the young warrior.

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Comedy-adventure about a fast-talking, cigar-chomping, beer-loving duck from another dimension who somehow winds up in Cleveland and has run-ins with punk rockers, motorcycle mamas and the all-powerful overlord who make him wish he were back on his own duck planet.

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Shot in Salzburg against the majestic Bavarian Alps, THE SOUND OF MUSIC is considered one of the greatest screen musicals ever made. Winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director (Robert Wise), the film, based on a real family and their true events, tells the story of a young postulate, Maria (Julie Andrews), who, after proving too high-spirited for the Mother Abess and other nuns, is sent off to work as a governess to seven unruly children. The Von Trapp family is run, in military style, by the seemingly cold-hearted Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer), a lonely widowed naval officer. Seeing how badly he and his children need companionship, he proposes to the Baroness Schraeder (Eleanor Parker), a calculating, mutual friend of beloved family friend Max Detweiler (Richard Haydn). It is the baroness who soon realizes that it's Maria--with her warmth and love for the children--the captain really loves. It is nearly bliss for the newly formed family who loves to sing together--except for the cloud looming over their beloved Austrian horizon: Hitler is ascending to power, forcing Von Trapp to decide whether to join the Nazi party--which he loathes--or force his family to leave their home forever. One of the most memorable scores ever written (by Rodgers and Hammerstein) and breathtaking performances by Andrews, Plummer, and the seven children mark this classic as one of the world's most favorite films.

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Radio's larger-than-life bad boy, and self-proclaimed "King of All Media," Howard Stern exposes his "Private Parts" in this adaptation of his best-selling autobiography. Tracing his evolution from hopelessly geeky student to top-rated shock jock, the film not only chronicles his legendarily off-color on-air demeanor (Lesbian Dial-a-Date; frequent nude guests) and his continuous battles with management over content and co-hosts, but it also examines his unexpectedly touching and sincere relationship with his wife, Alison.