HBO - DVD

Six Feet Under - The Complete Third Season

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 83 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Best Season So Far 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

It started slow, and I think that's one of the reasons why it's so great. The first two or three episodes of this season were probably as good as any of the previous episodes, but I just felt like there was something missing from them. Like there was something off. I could already envision myself titling my review "Worst Season So Far" and I was only on the first disc.

Well, that 'off' feeling quickly turned into awe. This season, more than anything, delves headfirst into the intricacies of the relationships between the main characters, both romantic and familial. Never before have I seen such beautiful art created from telling stories about the daily lives of people who are at once regular and anything but. Nate takes center stage for most of this season, becoming the 'main character' more than ever before as his new marriage with Lisa clashes with his need for personal space. At the same time, David and Keith's relationship hits new highs and new lows, Ruth spends a lot of the season trying to find the right man for her, Federico deals with his wife's depression and his nagging sister-in-law, and Claire finally finds out what art school (and art students and teachers) are really like.

It's uncomfortable, hilarious, heart-breaking, warm, and so strange all at the same time, touching on life and death and even blurring the lines a little bit. From the slow-boil start to the tensely climatic season finale, this is the finest season of "Six Feet Under" so far.

10/10 Classic.

Editorial Review:

(HBO Dramatic Series) Life. Death. Guilt. Afterlife. For the Fishers, the more things stay the same, the more they change. Get ready to break new emotional ground with Six Feet Under: The Complete Third Season.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:5 Audio commentaries w/ Alan Ball, writers and directors on episodes 3, 4, 5, 11 and 13
Interviews:"A Birdseye View of the Third Season" : An in-depth interview with show creator Alan Ball including the original HBO trailer

La Vie en Rose (Extended Version)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 165 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Read All the one & two star reviews ... 2 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

You'll find the repeated complaint that this American release was cut and re-edited, and suffered as a result. I tend to believe those complaints, though I've only seen the American version. Again and again I had the feeling that something vital had been cut in order to produce a trendy hopscotch of life-moments. It might be taken, if the viewer so chooses, as the jumbled memories of the dying woman. Words are spoken, in fact, from the death bed, to that effect; Edith declares that she remembers only what she doesn't want to remember. The 'unprepared' revelation of her secret loss, in the last moments of the film, makes no sense as art or as biography. Likewise the death-or-murder that interrupts Edith's progress toward stardom is annoyingly vague in time and in narrative purpose. What's left, if you try to make orderly sense of the film, is a montage of griefs and losses, enough to drive anyone to drink and self-destruction. Is that what we're supposed to get from the film?

Marion Cotillard, taking full advantage of the fact that no one has any prior role-associations for her, does offer a virtuosic portrayal of a damaged personality. Whether that personality bears any resemblance to Edith Piaf isn't terribly important, unless you're a Piaf fan. You'll note that the reviewers here who announce their longtime adoration of Piaf tend to be extremely critical of Cotillard's representation. I'm never been a Piaf fan. In fact, I've always thought her singing was maudlin and exaggerated. I was quite ready to believe that the insufferable narcissist portrayed in the film was authentically the "Little Sparrow" at her normal ugliest. So she took a bad life and made the worst of it, despite her gifts. Why should we care?

Editorial Review:

Picturehouse and HBO Films present a critically-acclaimed biopic about the legendary international singing icon Edith Piaf, whose voice and talent captivated the world. Starring award-winner Marion Cotillard (A Very Long Engagement, A Good Year) in an astonishing performance, the film is a portrait of a remarkable artist born into poverty who survived using the only gift she had â€" her voice. Piaf’s tragic life was a constant battle to sing and survive, to live and love, with no regrets.

The Sopranos - The Complete Fourth Season

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 106 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Beginning to fade 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Upon the suggestion of my soon to be father-in-law, my fiancée and I embarked upon the Odyssey that is The Sopranos. He loved it to such an extent that he began to emulate specific cultural traits of the characters. While my fiancée and I will incorporate certain "catch phrases" into our conversation we didn't take it that far.
At this point we're at the beginning of Season 5 but all the seasons' are starting to blend together. This may be high praise in the sense that the overarching storylines are so well entwined that seams are non existent or this may be damning in the sense that it's all the same and nothing stands out.
Whichever the case may be, this can be said; for these two viewers the series started off great, got better with season 2 when we admitted our commitment to it, stalled with season 3 or at least maintained itself but began to boor a bit with season 4. Of course, the outrageous highway robbing, price gouging cost of the later seasons jumping to $100.00 dollars a pop in stores has left a bad taste in my mouth just for the principle of the issue. Even Amazons discount, as good as it is, is still pricey for a series that boasts only 13 episodes per season, most of them under an hour. Don't even get me started on the price of the 6th season which has been divided into 2 boxed sets. The DVD distributors certainly took a page from the playbook of the characters being depicted in this series.

Editorial Review:

It's tough times in Jersey for Tony Soprano. The sluggish economy hasn't been good for the family business. His wife Carmela is angling for more financial security. Some longtime lieutenants aren't happy with Tony's recent decisions. A rival boss wants a bigger piece of the suburban pie. A Sopranos is actually heading to trial for the first time in decades. At least one child seems to have lost interest in higher education. And the ducks aren't coming back anytime soon. PROGRAM INFORMATION Number of Episodes: 13 1. For All Debts Public & Private 2. No -Show 3. Christopher 4. The Weight 5. Pie O My 6. Everybody Hurts 7. Watching Too Much Television 8. Mergers & Acquisitions 9. Whoever Did This 10. The Strong Silent Type 11. Calling All Cars 12. Eloise 13. Whitecaps

The Sopranos: The Complete Third Season

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 103 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Stroke of genius 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wow, season 3 of the Sopranos is a memorable one for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the previous 2 seasons, but by season 3 every storyline, every line that was muttered by a character, every shocking or subtle development, was a stroke of genius.

In this season, the cast and writers alike, SHINE. Here we really start getting to the meat of things. And it's nothing if it's not like riding a fast-paced thrilling rollercoaster. One you will not want to get off of.

I highly recommend the Sopranos series. I am not a big action or mafia movie goer, nor am I big into the violence...but something within this show is bigger than all of that. Something about family and a persons will to survive. Much of what these characters go through, we all experience on some level or other. Don't miss out on this fantastic show!!

Editorial Review:

Some suburban households have two cars. Some have two houses. But Tony Soprano has two families. This could be why the FBI is going to such lengths to wiretap his home. Why the son of his dear late friend Jackie Aprile is causing him such agita. Why a Russian housekeeper is searching for her missing leg. Why his son is vandalizing school property and his daughter is getting her heart broken. Why his wife Carmela is both consulting a psychiatrist and confessing to a priest. And it's also why Tony Soprano is still seeing Dr. Melfi for his anxiety attacks. It isn't easy heading-up the mob in New Jersey. But that's what puts dinner on the table for the two families of Tony Soprano.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
Biographies
Featurette
Interactive Menus
Other
Scene Access

Deadwood - The Complete First Season

Amazon Price: $40.49 List Price: $59.98 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Warner Brothers - Model: HBOD92430D Amazon Marketplace: 69 new & used starting at $21.34

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 233 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Deadwood is awsome 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I got this for my parents and they loved it so much that they insist on lending it out for other people to watch. You gotta buy this series its excellent!!!

Deadwood Season One 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I got this series for my husbands birthday. He had watched a few shows on HBO and was interested in seeing more. It is a very well done series - great acting, costumes, directing etc. It was interesting to see how the town of Deadwood started. If you can get past the profanity and the violence especially against women it is well worth the purchase.

From the begining 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I was hooked from the very first episode. I literally couldn't get enough. Literally. Good extras but a few more would have been perfect. This show, without extras, would still be a wonderful buy. Fun commentaries. I got this at a great price and have no plans to let anyone borrow these DVDs. I'd be worried sick. I love Deadwood!

Editorial Review:

(HBO Dramatic Series) 1876. In the Black Hills of South Dakota lies Deadwood, a lawless town inhabited by a mob of restless misfits ranging from an ex-lawman to a scheming saloon owner to the legendary Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. The richest gold strike in American history provides the backdrop for HBO's next great drama.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
Featurette
Other

The Wire - The Complete Second Season

Amazon Price: $49.99 List Price: $59.98 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Warner Brothers - Model: HBOD92358D Amazon Marketplace: 65 new & used starting at $27.99

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 93 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

I love DVD...one season DONE in 3 days. 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I couldn't imagine waiting weeks from beginning to end-no way. S%$t like this gives me faith in humanity-no small task. Genius. So good it's scary. Perfection. My wife wants sex, but I tell her to go to bed alone-I have a show to watch and beers to drink...the Alpha-Male of television IS THE WIRE...

...and how is Omar NOT one of the best characters ever??!!

Editorial Review:

(HBO Dramatic Series) The most unvarnished, uncompromising and realistic police drama ever returns for another hard hitting season. McNolty has been demoted to harbor patrol, Daniels is in the police archive dungeon, Prez is chafing in the suburbs and Gregs is stuck behind a desk. Meanwhile, on the docks of the Baltimore harbor, the rank and file scrounge for work and the union bosses take illegitimate measures to reinvigorate business, but a horrific discovery is about to blow the whole port inside out. While the detail is on ice, a new case begins...

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Audio commentaries with Dominic West and Michael K. Williams, executive producer Karen Thorson and editor Thom Zimny. Episodics and Recaps
Episodic Recaps

The Sopranos - The Complete Fifth Season

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 112 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Don't miss this show! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Season 5 of the Sopranos brings about some exciting changes and developments for many of the characters. It is entertaining and enthralling to watch. It kept me up late at night, just to watch "one more episode". Yes, officially addicted.

What I enjoy about the Sopranos is that each season they bring about some new characters, most of which are great "villians". It keeps the show fresh and interesting. Here we meet Tony's cousin, played by Steve Buscemi.

I can't say enough good things about this series, but as I'm reviewing all 6.2 seasons right now, I guess I am running out of original things to say for each. But I just wanted to take the time and add my opinion for each so that each prospective viewer can add my vote to the count that says "Don't miss this show!"

Editorial Review:

His separation hasn't been working out. His nephew's fiance has become a distraction. His paroled cousin is giving off bad vibes. His business rival is looking for payback. His therapist isn't buying into the "other Tony." It's enough to send any mob boss over the edge. Hell hath no fury like The Sopranos.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
Other

An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

WOW This is a film for all to see. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Last night on HBO I watched the premiere of this American Girl movie. I enjoyed the Kit movie from last year, they are really on a roll now I have to say!! This movie is a MUST see for students from 3rd or 4th grade and up. The movie is about a 5th grade girl who is new to a school and is soon bullied by a click of 3 girls, one in particular named Tara. This is not a sugar coated movie and you see Chrissa's situation go from bad to worse as she struggles to handle it by herself.

I figured this movie would be like every other typical Disney-style movie where Chrissa will eventually get revenge on the "bad guy", you know with some plot where say she makes some elaborate contraption which will embarrass the heck out of Tara and spill green paint on her or whatever and everyone will laugh at Tara and Chrissa will be the hero. That is NOT how this story goes at all, and I am very impressed American Girl (who is in the DOLL business) did not fantasy candy-coat the story. Rather, as you will see, it is shown with much more realism and makes you think about what you would do if you were in Chrissa's (or her parents') situation.

I actually have someone who has been bullying my 10 year old daughter over the past few months and ironically I got a few pointers from this movie last night, it made me think a little different about how to approach the situation. It also reinforced some of my beliefs on what makes someone a bully as well as providing some tips on ways to keep Chrissa staying strong.

Like other viewers, I bet you will be curious to see what bully Tara's parents look like - in every other movie (e.g. Camp Rock) the snobby/mean girl's mother is usually some self-centered witch who is nasty with her daughter and thus the chain continues....in this movie, you never get to see her parents. I think that is a good thing because it really let me focus on the rest of the story. I am seriously considering buying a copy for my local school and/or library to donate it, it was that good. The acting was fantastic and Chrissa is absolutely charming, I would love to have a friend like her for myself or my daughter!

The Wire - The Complete Third Season

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 124 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Amazing!! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Amazing show, amazing DVDs. Quality. The acting and storylines are superb. Season 3 is solid.

Editorial Review:

The heat is on in Baltimore. The drug war is being lost, bodies are piling up, and a desperate mayor wants the tide turned before the election. But the police department hasn't got any answers. With the demolition of the Franklin Terrace towers, Stringer Bell and the Barksdale crew have been forced to improvise. But no matter how hard McNulty and the detail try, the dealers always seem to be one step ahead of the game.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
Episodic Previews
Episodic Recaps
Other
Audio Commentary:Five audio commentaries with creatorDavid Simon, director Joe Chappelle, writers Richard Price and George Pelecanos, and producers Karen L. Thorson and Nina K. Noble
Interviews:Q&A with David Simon and Creative Team, Courtesy of the Museum of Television & Radio Conversation with David Simon at Eugene Lang Collete, The New School for Liberal Arts

Deadwood - The Complete Third Season

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 102 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Frustrating build-up to absolutely nothing *SPOILER ALERT* 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I was hooked on Deadwood from the start and in particular absolutely mesmerised by Ian McShane's performance - acting at its absolute finest, perfect timing and pacing of his lines and expressions. Comedy, violence, anger and angst, all delivered in impeccable and perfect pitch - a complete masterclass in the art. And this from the same man who played Lovejoy!

The sets were superb, the supporting ensemble pretty good... but unfortunately, by Season 3, it seemed like things were starting to unravel, probably when the director/producers realised the viewing figures were waning, HBO had lost interest and that the end was nigh.

Which probably explains why the massive build-up to a climactic showdown never happened - they ran out of budget. Committed to a set number of shows for the rest of the season, they just stretched it out to fill. A massive anti-climax and disappointment, and an affront to the show's loyal fans.

Hearst arrived and everything was building up to some sort of epic confrontation. Hired guns arriving in town, Mr Wu fetching his army of Chinese from San Francisco... I thought we were going to go out in an epic blaze of glory.

Instead, we had characters standing around agonising on what to do next, marching around from one building to another, doing the odd Shakespearean-style soliloquoy, indulging in embarrassing lesbian scenes (Calamity Jane must rank as the most irritating and unwatchable character in any TV series) and all manner of other pointless and dull interludes.

Meanwhile key characters from Seasons 1 and 2, like Sy Tolliver, became sidelined in Series 3, characters going nowhere and with no real motives or objectives in life.

Tolliver spends most of Series 3 standing around ranting and raving, but for reasons which totally escape me. What his purpose was, and what his relationship with Hearst was, all seemed to melt into nothing, so he was reduced to standing on his balcony looking angry and gritting his teeth.

All this wouldn't have been so bad, but as the guns massed, the taunts grew, the violence simmered and boiled, the random acts of brutality caused ever more teeth-clenching... what happened? Nothing! Nothing at all! Hearst rode out of town after Bulloch clenched his teeth at him one last time, and that was it! How feeble was that?

The whole series just fizzled out, with the election supposed to be some sort of climactic finale. But the significance of the election, or who was standing for what, and why, completely escaped me. It just seemed an irritating, confusing and weakly-scripted diversion in the background, not the major plotline.

When the election finally took place, the results were confusingly blurted out in Al's pub by a minor character, nobody seemed bothered by them (including the viewers), or even heard them properly, and the meaning and impact of it had become totally lost, to the point where it hardly seemed to matter.

This review gets three stars for Ian McShane's brilliant character acting, for the sets, and for HBO's bravura in putting this ambitious series on in the first place.

But it desperately needs some sort of finale, a tying up of loose ends, as some sort of payback for the long hours the loyal fans have put in following it all.

Oh, it also gets bonus points for the magnificent horse in the credits (called Bobby, I believe), and for Ellwood's wonderful dog (can anybody supply any more information on him?)

Editorial Review:

(Rolling Stone) "The Best Drama on Television" is back with the third season on DVD! Timed to coincide with Father's Day, HBO will release Deadwood: The Complete Third Season DVD on June 12, 2007. Watch as the lawless era of Deadwood comes to an end. This DVD is loaded with bonus features including two featurettes, audio commentaries and more.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
Featurette