A Chorus Line

Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD) Brand: West

This brilliant (The New Republic) film sets the ageless story of Romeo and Juliet against a backdrop of gang warfare in 1950s New York. Directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins and scripted by Ernest Lehman, the film combines Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's unforgettable score ( Maria, America, 'somewhere, 'tonight ) with Robbins own exuberant choreography to achieve an exhilarating work of art (Saturday Review). A love affair is fated for tragedy amidst the vicious rivalry of two street gangsthe Jets and the Sharks. When Jets member Tony (RichardBeymer) falls for Maria (Natalie Wood), the sister of the Sharks leader, it's more than these two warring gangs can handle. And as mounting tensions rise, a battle to the death ensues, and innocent blood is shed in a heartbreaking finale.

Manufacturer: Paramount Brand: FINNEY,ALBERT Model: 2237805 Color: Color

Scrooge was designed as a follow-up to 1968's Oliver, the Oscar-winning musicalization of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. The umpteenth musical version of Dickens' 1843 novelette A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is blessed with several sprightly Leslie Bricusse songs, including the bonafide hit Thank You Very Much. Once more buried under mounds of latex, Albert Finney is perfection itself as Ebeneezer Scrooge, proving as effective as a young (un-made up) man as the old skinflint we've grown to love. The Three Ghosts who turn the miserly Scrooge's life around on Christmas Eve are portrayed by Edith Evans (Past), Kenneth More (Present) and Paddy Stone (Yet to Come). Our favorite among the huge, predominantly British supporting cast is Sir Alec Guinness as a fussy, slightly effeminate Marley's Ghost. Best of all, Finney performs his many songs "live" and not lip-synched to a pre-recording. Though it is overproduced to the hilt, and its Technicolor photography tends to induce eyestrain, Scrooge is more than satisfactory Yuletide entertainment.

Manufacturer: Lions Gate Brand: LIONS GATE HOME ENT. Model: 2209738

A doctor's daughter gets slinky with the dance teacher at a Catskills resort, summer 1963.

Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Brand: FINNEY,ALBERT

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Annie's hit debut on Broadway, we present the classic movie version of the beloved musical, now digitally remastered and featuring the original theatrical trailer. Annie is the story of a plucky, red-haired girl who dreams of life outside her dreary orphanage. One day, Annie (Aileen Quinn) is chosen to stay for one week with the famous billionaire "Daddy" Warbucks (Albert Finney). One week turns into many and the only person standing in the way of Annie's fun is Miss Hannigan, the gin-soaked ruler of the orphanage (played to hilarious perfection by Carol Burnett). Will Miss Hannigan's zany attempts to kidnap the irrepressible Annie succeed? Enjoy all the unforgettable songs, including "It's A Hard Knock Life" and "Tomorrow."

Manufacturer: Universal Studios Home Entertainment Brand: HOPE,BOB/CROSBY,BI Model: 1024902

They are some of the best-loved film comedies ever created. Now, four of the most popular "Road" pictures, starring the unbeatable screen duo of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, are here together in this deluxe DVD collection. Join Bing and Bob as they travel the world and experience rollicking, fun-filled misadventures in the company of the alluring Dorothy Lamour in such screen gems as Road to Singapore, Road to Zanzibar, Road to Morocco and Road to Utopia. You'll laugh yourself silly with four of the titles that made Hope and Crosby one of the most successful comedy teams of the 1940s and which continue to charm and entertain audiences of all ages today.

Manufacturer: Warner Home Video Brand: Warner Manufacturing Model: 4945888

Graffiti Bridge (DVD)In a sequel of sorts to Purple Rain, the artist formerly known as Princestruggles musically with Morris Day for control of the nightclub thatthe two co-own in this dramatic musical fantasy. There is the power offaith--in oneself and in a higher power. There is the power of love.There is the never-ending struggle between good and bad. And there isthe power of music. Graffiti Bridge.]]> A sort of fairy-tale sequel to Prince's enormously successful Purple Rain, 1990's Graffiti Bridge finds his purple highness not only singing and acting, but writing and directing, too. His performance suffers on all fronts. The film isn't a disaster, but it's safe to predict completist fans will make up most of its viewers. In the earlier film, Prince (known as the Kid) was fighting for his place on stage. This time he's fighting to keep his club safe from the money-grubbing hands of his musical rival, the Time's Morris Day, now a nightclub mogul. Day embodies spiritual, sexual, and economic corruption, while the Kid stands for salvation through music and a more redemptive form of lust. The graffiti bridge conceit--a metaphor for a place of rejuvenation and artistic inspiration--is intriguing. Unfortunately, the bridge itself is merely a prop in a Paisley Park soundstage. Where Purple Rain was a movie that set new standards for lensing musical performances, Graffiti Bridge feels like a music video masquerading as a movie. Lucky for us, Prince cast the honey...

Manufacturer: Warner Home Video Brand: Warner Manufacturing Model: 085393353827

Under The Cherry Moon (DVD)Worldwide musical sensation Prince stars in this offbeat love story of two young people who fight to stay together.Scheming to get rich quick, Christopher (Prince) and his friend Tricky travel to the French Riviera. But Christopher's plans go awry when he falls madly in love with a beautiful, spoiled heiress whose parents plot to keep them apart.]]>

Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD) Brand: KLINE,KEVIN

"The most unusual and enchanting musical in years" (Roger Ebert), this cinematic ode to legendary composer Cole Porter is at once buoyantly fun and "heartbreakingly beautiful" (Liz Smith). OscarÂ(r) winner* Kevin Kline (The Ice Storm) is "perfection" (Rolling Stone) as the elegant and deeply complex Porter in a film that offers "knockout performances" (Gene Shalit) from Natalie Cole, Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Diana Krall, Alanis Morissette and Robbie Williams, and "melancholy, wit and style to burn" (The Philadelphia Inquirer)! From Paris to Venice to Broadway to Hollywood, the lives of Cole (Kline) and Linda (Ashley Judd) Porter were never less thanglamorous and wildly unconventional. Though Cole's thirst for life strained their marriage, Linda never stopped being his muse, inspiring some of the greatest songs of the twentieth century.*1988: Supporting Actor, A Fish Called Wanda

Manufacturer: Image Entertainment Brand: Image Entertainment Model: 014381212723

THE CLASSIC FAIRY TALE WITH A RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN SCORE. The DVD era has unearthed another treasure. For the first time ever, Julie Andrews's performance in the title role of the original 1957 television production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is available to the public on home video. Cinderella was created as a Broadway-style television production with an original score from the creators of Oklahoma! and Carousel, featuring such songs as "In My Own Little Corner," "Impossible," "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful," and "Stepsisters' Lament." Cast in the title role was the 21-year-old Andrews, at the time starring on Broadway in My Fair Lady (another Cinderella story of sorts), and the cast was filled out by a talented bunch of stage veterans (including Kaye Ballard, Edie Adams, Dorothy Stickney, and Stickney's husband, writer Howard Lindsay). On March 31, 1957, a then-record 120 million homes saw the program as it was broadcast, live and in color, but it was preserved only in black-and-white kinescope, i.e., by aiming a camera at a monitor during the broadcast. While this version probably looks better than we have any right to expect, the picture is still fuzzy black-and-white, which makes it a tougher sell for kids than the later color versions, 1965 with Lesley Anne Warren and the 1997 Disneyized version. But give older kids (say, 8 or so) credit for being able to look past the black-and-white picture and primitive effects and enjoy the charming song...