Bye Bye Birdie

Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Brand: Victor Model: 4945430

The international hit musical sensation GODSPELL comes to life in this exhilarating screen adaptation. An updated interpretation of the Gospel's lessons filled with unforgettable song and dance numbers, GODSPELL is rousing entertainment in the tradition of the classic rock operas Hair, Tommy, and Jesus Christ Superstar. John the Baptist (David Haskell) gathers a diverse band of youthful disciplesto follow and learn from the teachings of Jesus (Victor Garber, Titanic). They form a roving actingtroupe that enacts the Parables through the streets and landmarks of a brilliantly photographed contemporary New York City. High-spirited music, including the smash hit song Day by Day from Oscar(r)-winning lyricist Stephen Schwartz (Original Song Colors of the Wind and Original Score, Pocahontas, 1995) and show-stopping dance routines contribute to this superb family entertainment. Comparing Godspell to its near-contemporaries Jesus Christ Superstar and Hair is unavoidable, but Godspell has developed its own unique following. With their thrift-store-meets-circus-performer garb, the characters in David Greene's adaptation of the popular off-Broadway production may look more like the hippies in Hair than the biblical personages of Superstar. But Godspell isn't really about the "Age of Aquarius," nor does it adopt a dark or operatic tone towards its subject matter, the Gospel according to Matthew. The mood is, instead, upbeat and uplifting (at least until the crucifixion sequence). The f...

Manufacturer: Universal Studios Home Entertainment Brand: Universal Studios

For the first time ever, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's fun-filled musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has been specially filmed for video. Inspired by the record-breaking London Palladium stage show, this production stars Donny Osmond, Maria Friedman, Richard Attenborough and Joan Collins. A lively and colorful journey through ancient Egypt, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat follows the rags-to-riches story of Joseph, his eleven brothers and the coat of many colors. Spectacular visuals and an enchanting score packed with hit songs, including Close Every Door to Me, Go, Go, Go Joseph and Any Dream Will Do make this a dream of a show for all the family. Following the successful 1998 video release of Cats comes another Andrew Lloyd Webber blockbuster musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and it's a savvy choice. It hasn't been represented on film before, it's short enough (78 minutes) to present without cuts, and it has the star power of former teen icon Donny Osmond, who played over 1,800 performances across North America. Rather than record a live performance, Cats director David Mallet conceived Joseph as a film, though one that is based strongly on codirector Steven Pimlott's 1991 London revival and relies more on camerawork than venturing beyond its stagelike sets. Lloyd Webber's first project with lyricist Tim Rice was originally written in 1968 as a school cantata; accordingly, this film uses a framing sequence of a school...

Manufacturer: WarnerBrothers Brand: Warner Manufacturing Model: 4970171

Purple Rain (DVD)Rock star Prince makes a spectacular feature film debut in this highly autobiographical blockbuster that won both an Oscar and a Grammy award.Headstrong, vulnerable young musician The Kid (Prince) struggles with his own inner demons and with his alcoholic father who beats his mother. But the madness infects his music, fueling a sound that transforms the struggling, young rocker into a star.]]> When Prince's dazzling and dynamic Purple Rain (movie and soundtrack album) and the hypnotic hit single "When Doves Cry" exploded onto the pop-culture scene in 1984, it seemed there was nothing the purple one couldn't do. The film is basically a feature-length music video, but no musician has ever had a better big-screen showcase for his many talents. The plot is really just a theme (about the son of an abusive father struggling not to continue the pattern) upon which to hang some of Prince's most dazzling songs (including "Let's Go Crazy" and the title tune), and some sizzling live-concert numbers. Apollonia Kotero is ravishing as the romantic interest, and Morris Day and the Time provide some terrific musical competition. Purple Rain is an essential artifact of the mid-'80s pop Zeitgeist. Prince took home an Oscar for the song score. --Jim Emerson

Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD) Brand: VAN DYKE,DICK

An inventor takes his kids and a candy tycoon's daughter for a musical ride in a flying car that floats. This remastered, pan-and-scan 30th-anniversary edition of that kiddie-car caper is flawed but solid family fare. It retains a quaint charm while some of the songs--including the title tune--are quite hummable. A huge plus is Dick Van Dyke, who is extremely appealing as an eccentric inventor around the turn of the century. With nimble fingers and a unique way of looking at the world, he invents for his children a magic car that floats and flies. Or does he? The special effects are tame by today's standards, and the film is about 20 minutes too long--but its enthusiasm charms. The script was cowritten by Roald Dahl and based on the novel by Ian Fleming, best known for his James Bond adventures. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Manufacturer: Warner Home Video Brand: STRAIT,GEORGE Model: 4970143 Color: Color

Pure Country (DVD)Country music superstar George Strait plays Dusty Chandler, a singerwho, after struggling for years singing in small honky-tonks, suddenlydiscovers that with success he has lost something important in hislife.After cutting his hair and shaving his beard, Dusty takes a job ona ranch where no one recognizes him, reconnects with people who muststruggle each day to survive--and finds love. Now, can he balance thelife he lost--and found again--with the lifelong dream he has attainedof being a country music star?]]>

Manufacturer: Image Entertainment Brand: PETERS,BERNADETTE Model: 2214760

THE BROADWAY MUSICAL INSPIRED BY THE PAINTING, A SUNDAY AFTERNOON ON THE ISLAND OF GRAND JATTE, AND LOOSELY BASED ON THE LIFE OF ITS CREATOR, GEORGES SEURAT. HIS CLASSIC PAINTING COMES TO LIFE IN THIS AWARD-WINNING MUSICAL. Stephen Sondheim's landmark 1984 musical Sunday in the Park with George is a fictional representation of maverick French Impressionist painter Georges Seurat's efforts to create his masterpiece, Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte. Seurat, played by Mandy Patinkin, is obsessed with his work, to the frustration of his mistress, Dot (Bernadette Peters). Along the way, we meet many other characters--whoever happens to be in the park that Sunday--who eventually become part of the canvas. Act 2 fast-forwards 100 years. Patinkin now plays Seurat's great-grandson, George, himself a frustrated artist. (Peters plays his grandmother--Seurat and Dot's daughter.) In the score's best-known song, "Putting It Together," George (and Sondheim himself) explains the hazards of trying to create art while also confronting the reality of having to pay for it. In a search for inspiration, George travels to the original island where Seurat created the painting. As with Sondheim and cocreator James Lapine's next collaboration, Into the Woods, Sunday is often criticized for redirecting its focus in the second act instead of letting the first act stand by itself as a complete work. The second act, however, is the emotional core of the show, as George confronts all the fe...

Manufacturer: Polygram Video Brand: Universal

Filmed at the Point Theatre in Dublin, 'Lord of the Dance' takes Irish dancing to spectacular new heights. Orchestrated and conducted by Anne Dudley, inspiring original music by Ronan Hardiman and exhilarating dance starring the sensational Michael Flatley with supporting characters Bernadette Flynn, Daire Nolan, Gillian Norris, Helen Egan and Anne Buckley - 'Lord of the Dance' is a rare and magical experience. Michael Flatley takes to the stage on a stunning Celtic dance spectacular which retells Irish folk legend in a dazzling and updated style. Join us when time stood still and Erin was goddess of all....The stories had all been written and everyone knew their parts. But the ancient clans, sitting in their stone circles, heard mumblings and the spirits dream was troubled. A new dark power had emerged to challenge the Lord of the Dance.

Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Brand: Sony Model: 2227731

Relive the magic. This newly restored, 2-disc anniversary edition of Jim Henson's Labyrinth contains an all-new commentary and bonus features that are guaranteed to captivate as never before. David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly invite you into a magical universe where nothing is what it seems. Babysitting infant stepbrother Toby on a weekend night isn't young Sarah's (Connelly) idea of fun. Frustrated by his crying, she secretly imagines the Goblins from her favorite book, Labyrinth, carrying Toby away. When her fantasy comes true, a distraught Sarah must enter a maze of illusion to bring Toby back from a kingdom inhabited by mystical creatures and governed by the wicked Goblin King (Bowie).

Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Brand: OLDMAN,GARY

Gary Oldman, Jeroen Krabbe, Isabella Rossellini and Valeria Golino star in IMMORTAL BELOVED, a mesmerizing mystery based on the tumultuous real life of Ludwig van Beethoven. Oldman gives a tour de force performance as the passionate, volatile genius who inspired love and hatred in equal measure. Whether seducing regal followers or criticizing the ruling class, Beethoven made many enemies. But he also had one true love, the unnamed "Immortal Beloved" mentioned in an enigmatic letter discovered upon his death. The thrilling search for the identity of this mystery woman leads us into Beethoven'sdark past, his hidden passions, and, ultimately, into the unparalleled genius of his music.