Special Interests - Page 69

Manufacturer: Universal Studios Home Entertainment Brand: UNI DIST CORP. (MCA) Model: 2219992

The winner of the 1998 Academy Award for Best Documentary, this powerful film traces the compelling experiences of five Hungarian Holocaust survivors who fell victim to Hitler's brutal war against the Jews during the final days of World War II. Including newly-discovered historical footage and a rare interview with a former Nazi doctor at Auschwitz, the film tells the remarkable story of five people - a grandmother, a teacher, a businessman, an artist and a U.S. Congressman - as they return from the United States to their hometowns and to the ghettos and concentration camps in which they were imprisoned. Through the eyes of the survivors and other witnesses, The Last Days recounts one of the most brutal chapters of this dark period in human history, when families were taken from their homes, stripped of their dignity, deported to concentration camps and ultimately murdered. Above all, The Last Days is a potent depiction of personal strength and courage, and a testament to the power of the human spirit.

Manufacturer: Kultur Video Brand: Kulter

Choreographed by Mikhail Baryshnikov after Petipa and Gorsky's original staging, this sparkling full-length production captures all the excitement, Spanish flair, and humor of Cervantes' masterpiece. It is one of the most popular and joyful ballets.

Manufacturer: Kultur Video Brand: Kulter

This unique DVD is a fun-filled introduction to the world of dance for kids! Combining three separate beginner dance classes specially designed for ages four through six, children will learn the basics of ballet, tap, and jazz. These classes are taught by Rosemary Boross, a renowned teacher on the art of training children in dance and the creator of other such programs for children as A Fantasy Garden Ballet Class, I'm a Ballerina Now, and The Land of Sweet Taps (also available from Kultur). The dances are demonstrated and explained step-by-step, followed by a performance by Rosemary and her beginning preschool students, so it's easy to dance along. The delightful music will help children remember and execute the dances. Includes the following programs: Baby Ballet, Tot Tap, Junior Jazz. Budding ballerinas ages 4 to 6 receive a thorough introduction to ballet at the tutelage of "Miss Rosemary" Boross in Baby Ballet. The program features Rosemary Boross, a student helper, and a small class of preschool age dancers as they explore the basics of warming up at the barre, stretching, center work, dancing across the floor, and revérénce. Miss Rosemary first describes and demonstrates steps like plié, tendu, suté, chassé, and grande jeté, then leads her class through each step to the accompaniment of original piano music by Bruce Stephen Foster. Because the program covers a large variety of steps and progresses fairly quickly, it is most effective when used in conjunction with enrollment in an introductory ballet class. Alternately, young dancers may want to view the video in short segments, then follow with ample practice time to ensure the correct execution of each individual step. In Tot Tap, Miss Rosemary Boross presents an authentic first-year tap class specifically geared toward children ages 4 to 6. Miss Rosemary covers a variety of basic tap steps like shuffle, dig, heel drops, toe taps, heel taps, and cramp rolls. She carefully details and demonstrates each tap step, then incorporates the ste...

Manufacturer: Barron's Educational Series Brand: Child Matters Model: 4966024

This best-selling, animated DVD has been making toilet training a little easier, and a lot more fun, for both children and parents for years. This version tells the story of a little boy's potty-training success. Toddlers will enjoy watching Joshua graduate from diapers to potty. They will want to emulate this cheery cartoon kid as he grows to understand what his potty is and how to use it. Best of all, they'll love singing The Potty Song right along with him and celebrating when they have their own potty triumph! This trusted DVD includes discussion and professional advice on toilet training for parents and caregivers. Once Upon a Potty is also available in a For Her edition, starring a little girl named Prudence.

Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Brand: Sony

SPELLBOUND follows the lives of eight young Americans who share one goal: to win the National Spelling Bee. Think this sounds boring? Prepare to be blown away. The Bee is as intense a competition as any Olympic match, and for the spellers and their families, the stakes are just as high. The unbearable pressure becomes even more extraordinary as it is felt by ordinary teenagers. Watch as the Bee becomes a dramatic backdrop for the bigger story about kids and families today as we discover thatwithin the roller coaster ride of the National Spelling Bee can be found the heart of America.

Manufacturer: Sacred Mysteries Productions

In this visually compelling and thought-provoking documentary, author, scholar and modern-day Indiana Jones, Jay Weidner uncovers some of the deepest secrets of the ancient western tradition of Alchemy - the knowledge of the fatal season of the apocalypse, the end of time and the great and imminent transformation of humanity. Using the work of the mysterious twentieth century French Alchemist, Fulcanelli, as his foundation, and his discovery of a three hundred fifty year old Alchemical Cross in the South of France, Jay Weidner describes the experiences, insights and powerful evidence that opens the door to a new view of the intimate relationship between myth, history, science and the true destiny of humanity. In doing so, he reveals the ultimate meaning underlying the resurrection of Christ, the message of the Book of the Revelations, the vision of Ezekiel and the Kabbalistic concept of the "Restoration of the World." Join him on this remarkable adventure as Jay Weidner journeys from the shores of Southern France through Alchemical Europe, Ancient Egypt and Peru, to decode the powerful and haunting message of the Great Cross of Hendaye.

Manufacturer: Rock 'N Learn Brand: ROCK N LEARN Model: RL-980

This is the fun way to learn what division is all about and practice solving basic division facts to a musical beat. Animated characters and colorful action engage learners. Includes understanding division, checking answers by using multiplication, parts of a division problem, remainders, story problems, and even an introduction to long division. Kids practice solving division facts, two through nine.

Manufacturer: New Liberty Videos

DVD-Warriors Of Honor by New Liberty Videos

Manufacturer: Abkco Films Brand: UNI DIST CORP (MUSIC) Model: 634 590-3

Filmmaker Michael Lindsay-Hogg's concert film features the Rolling Stones, the Who, Jethro Tull, John Lennon and Eric Clapton. Unavailable at all for nearly three decades, then issued in a VHS edition in 1996, the Rolling Stones' legendary Rock and Roll Circus finally gets the full treatment with this DVD release documenting the 1968 event. The Stones were reportedly unhappy with their performance (hence the long delay), and it isn't their finest moment; performing "Jumping Jack Flash" and a variety of songs from their then-new Beggars Banquet album, Keith Richards is game, but Jagger's preening (especially on "Sympathy for the Devil") is over the top, and guitarist Brian Jones looks dissolute and well on his way to his death the following year. A certain weirdness permeates some of the other musical acts as well: Jethro Tull lip-syncs unconvincingly, Taj Mahal and band were obliged to perform before the circus set was completed and the audience had arrived, and John Lennon's outing with impromptu supergroup the Dirty Mac (with Richards, Eric Clapton, and drummer Mitch Mitchell) is hampered by Yoko Ono's caterwauling, although their version of the Beatles' "Yer Blues" is cool. Still, the Who are brilliant, Marianne Faithfull is beautiful, the various circus acts are fun, and the crowd clearly loves it. The DVD comes with some fascinating bonus features, including three extra songs by Mahal, some lovely classical piano by Julius Katchen, and a "quad split-screen" version of "Yer Blues." Best of all are a new interview with the Who's Pete Townshend and the various commentary tracks added for the DVD--especially those by Tull's Ian Anderson, director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, and Stones Jagger, Richards, and Bill Wyman (who dryly attributes Jagger's reluctance to issue the show to his dissatisfaction with his own performance, not the band's). Flaws notwithstanding, this is a treat. --Sam Graham

Manufacturer: Island Brand: Uni Model: 2239860

First time on DVD. Bob Marley & The Wailers came to London's Rainbow Theatre in the summer of 1977. The Exodus album was riding the British charts. The band's potent, magical music was everywhere; on the airwaves, the jukeboxes, the sound system, hi-fi's. Live At The Rainbow captures a moment in time at the height of Bob Marley's popularity with a digitally enhanced picture, remastered DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, and Dolby Digital stereo. As a special bonus, the award-winning documentary Caribbean Nights: The Bob Marley Story and recently shot footage of The Bob Marley Museum, Tuff Gong Studios and Nine Mile have been included on this special two-disc DVD set. On June 2, 1977, London's Rainbow Theatre "caught fire"--in the best possible way, of course. At the time, Bob Marley and the Wailers, already huge in the UK, were on tour in support of the locally produced Exodus. While the show starts off with the slow-burning "Trenchtown Rock" (1973's African Herbsman), Marley's performance grows increasingly incendiary until, by the time they get to the climactic closer, "Exodus," it looks as he's in another world entirely. The turning point is an extended version of "Crazy Baldhead" (1976's Rastaman Vibration), in which Marley seemingly enters a trance, performing primarily with eyes closed. By the late-1970s, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer were long gone, making the electrifying Marley more the focus than ever before (and for the first few songs, the rest of the band is barely visible). Other highlights includes "Lively Up Yourself" (1974's Natty Dread), in which Julian "Junior" Marvin throws some Hendrix-style moves into the mix, and "Get Up, Stand Up" (1973's Burnin'), in which the audience echoes Marley's words, as lost in the moment as the man on the stage. This two-disc set includes the 1984 BBC documentary Caribbean Nights (AKA The Bob Marley Story). It features performance excerpts ("Slave Driver" from 1972, "Stir It Up" and "Rastaman Chant" from 1973, "Bad Card" from 1980, etc.), and interviews with...