Elvis Presley: The Great Performances [DVD]

Manufacturer: PBS Home Video Model: 5215705

William Shakespeare's unrelenting King Lear is considered to be one of the playwright's most enduring and haunting works for the stage. The challenge of playing its title role has long fallen to some of the greatest actors of our time. This telecast marks Sir Ian McKellen's return to the Royal Shakespeare Company, that has resulted in a tour-de-force performance as Lear. Co-directed for television by Sir Trevor Nunn and Chris Hunt.

Manufacturer: Image Entertainment Brand: Image Entertainment

Gillian Murphy and Angel Corella star in this American Ballet Theatre production of the Tchaikovsky ballet.

Manufacturer: Shout! Factory Brand: Universal Music

For over 70 years, the name Bob Hope has been synonymous with laughter. Now Shout! Factory cordially invites you to sit back and celebrate the legendary comedic career of Bob Hope with five of his most hilarious and popular films, completely remastered from brand-new, stunning high-definition transfers! The Lemon Drop Kid (1951): Bob Hope stars as Sidney Melbourne (a/k/a The Lemon Drop Kid), a con man who offers a friendly sure thing horse tip to the girlfriend of mobster Moose Moran. But when his sure thing loses and Mooses original pick wins, Sidney is given until Christmas to pay back the money or else. So to raise the money he owes, Sidney enlists some old pals to hit the street corners of New York dressed as Santa Claus accepting donations for a bogus elderly ladies home. What follows is vintage Hope shenanigans, highlighted by a heart-warming rendition of the Christmas classic Silver Bells sung by Hope and Marilyn Maxwell. My Favorite Brunette (1947): In this hilarious spoof of Film Noir and detective tales, Bob Hope plays Ronnie Jackson, a photographer mistaken for a detective. Co-starring Alan Ladd, Dorothy Lamour, Peter Lorre & Lon Chaney Jr. Road To Rio (1947): The fifth Road to.. picture starring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. When two musicians stow away on a ship bound for Rio, they get more than they bargained for. Intrigue, duels and high comedy are just a few of the adventures waiting for them. Co-starring Dorothy Lamour. Road To Bali (1952): Bob Hope and ...

Manufacturer: Paramount Brand: WILLIAMS,VANESSA L. Model: 08876980

Vanessa Williams, Kathy Griffin. A hip-hop remake of the immortal classic A Christmas Carol about a superstar singer who is visited by three sharp-witted ghosts intent on changing her ways. 2000/color/88 min/PG/fullscreen. A new twist on an old classic, this VH1 production may not look like the Dickens favorite with Alistair Sim, but it's true to its spirit. Vanessa Williams is "Ebony Scrooge," a miserly Diana Ross-type singer. She was once part of 1980s trio Desire, but Marli Jacob (TLC's Chilli) was killed in a car crash and Ebony abandoned Terry for a solo career. While in New York for a "charity" concert--designed to benefit her more than anyone else--Ebony is visited by four spirits. First comes Marli, followed by the Ghosts of Christmas Past (Suddenly Susan's Kathy Griffin), Present (Duran Duran's John Taylor), and Future. The last is a tragically humorous episode of Behind the Music, featuring cameos by Nile Rodgers and Brian McKnight. It's enough to make a diva change her wicked ways--some of them, at any rate. Williams sings several songs, notably "Sleigh Ride" and "Heartquake." --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Manufacturer: Decca Brand: Decca Model: 15173382

Culled from Sting's critically acclaimed world tour, Symphonicity, this exclusive live CD/DVD compilation features many of his greatest hits, including "Roxanne," "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," "King Of Pain," "Fields Of Gold," and more, all re-imagined for symphonic arrangement. Featuring special guest Branford Marsalis on select tracks, this live concert experience is quintessential Symphonicity! Recorded September 21 at the O2 Arena, Live in Berlin was directed and produced by the Emmy-award winning team, Jim Gable and Ann Kim of Graying & Balding, Inc., in association with Universal Music Classical Management & Productions and Executive Produced by Chris Roberts and Sting's long-time manager, Kathryn Schenker, with music produced by Rob Mathes and Sting and mixed in stereo and 5.1 by Elliot Scheiner and Thom Cadley. Live in Berlin captures Sting, for the first time, on the acclaimed Symphonicity world tour, which has garnered rave reviews from sold-out performances in prestigious venues such as Red Rocks in Denver, the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, London's Royal Albert Hall, among others: "The real stars of the show were the arrangements: classical twists on classic hits that make Symphonicity a must-see." - Globe and Mail (Toronto) "If you have the chance to hear Sting's greatest hits performed with a symphony orchestra, it is one that you don't want to miss." - Diena (Tallinn) "Pairing Sting with the orchestra is...

Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea Brand: WEA DES Moines Video

A recording of Josh Groban's performance at the Pasanda Civic Auditorium. Josh Groban in Concert has all the ingredients to be a long-running PBS staple: a young (21), good-looking performer with a golden voice; songs in Italian and Spanish for the crossover crowd (i.e., Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman) and pop and movie songs for the mainstream crowd; guest stars galore (David Foster, John Williams, Angie Stone, Andrea Corr, Lili Haydn); a large orchestra; and striking but not obtrusive visual effects. The centerpiece of this DVD/CD combo (also available in a CD jewel case) is the 80-minute concert DVD, filmed in Pasadena, California, in October 2002 and featuring numerous songs from Groban's debut CD, including "You're Still You," which catapulted him into stardom when he sang it on Ally McBeal. There are also two new songs--the ballad "Broken Vow" accompanied by Foster, and "For Always," with the orchestra conducted by John Williams, who wrote the song for the Steven Spielberg film A.I. The 37-minute CD offers seven songs performed in the concert (including the two not on the previous CD, "Broken Vow" and "For Always"), plus "O Holy Night." The DVD has excellent picture and sound (PCM stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, and DTS), interviews, and backstage footage, and the combination with the CD is an excellent value. Groban's fans, of course, will consider it a treasure at any price. --David Horiuchi

Manufacturer: RKO Brand: Warner Manufacturing Model: 883316287910 Color: Color

When Bundle of Joy premiered in 1956, Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher were the cutest young marrieds in Hollywood, the obvious choice to headline the musical remake of one of the great comedies of the '30s, Bachelor Mother. As the Prince Charming of the piece, Fisher proves that as an actor, he is a pretty good crooner. But Reynolds is warmly appealing in the role originated by Ginger Rogers, playing a salesgirl who picks up a foundling, is mistaken for its unwed mother and must keep up the charade - baby and all - to keep her job. Coincidentally, Reynolds discovered she was pregnant before filming began. In true trouper fashion, she was still hoofing up a storm on the soundstage when she was seven months along.When sold by Amazon.com, this product will be manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

Manufacturer: Paramount Brand: Paramount Studio

This filmed version of the 1927 George Gershwin Broadway musical Funny Face utilizes the play's original star, Fred Astaire, and several of the original tunes, then goes merrily off on its own. Astaire is cast as as fashion photographer Dick Avery (a character based on Richard Avedon, the film's "visual consultant"), who is sent out by his female boss Maggie Prescott (Kay Thompson) to find a "new face". It doesn't take Dick long to discover Jo (Audrey Hepburn, who does her own singing), an owlish Greenwich Village bookstore clerk. Acting as Pygmalion to Jo's Galatea, Dick whisks the wide-eyed girl off to Paris and transforms her into the fashion world's hottest model. Along the way, he falls in love with Jo, and works overtime to wean her away from such phony-baloney intellectuals as Professor Emile Flostre (Michel Auclair). The Gershwin tunes include the title song, "S'wonderful", "How Long Has This Been Going On" and "He Loves and She Loves"; among the newer numbers is Kay Thompson's energetic opener "Think Pink". For years available only in washed-out, flat prints, Funny Face was eventually restored to its full Technicolor and VistaVision glory.