Musicals - Page 39

Manufacturer: Fox Searchlight Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT Model: 3348060

A serendipitous meeting on the streets of Dublin between a down on his luck Irish street performer and a poor Czech immigrant sparks a bond that plays out in this hip, modern day music film. ONCE follows the two as they write, rehearse and record the songs that reveal their unique love story. Winner of the World Audience Award at Sundance, Once starts out as a small-scale romance, like Before Sunrise, before arriving somewhere unexpected. An Irish busker (Glen Hansard, the Frames and The Commitments) meets a Czech flower seller (Markéta Irglová) while singing on the streets of Dublin. (In the credits, they're listed as Guy and Girl.) She likes what she hears and lets him know. Turns out she's a musician, too. They work on a few songs together and a friendship is forged. She lives with her widowed mother, who doesn't speak English. He lives with his widowed father, who owns a repair shop. Since he broke up with his girlfriend, the guy has been drifting, unable and unwilling to get his life in order. The girl encourages him to pursue a record deal, and the guy emerges from his funk. Then he makes a move on the girl, who rejects his advances. He's confused, but as he comes to find, there's a reason she’s keeping her distance. Though Once is filled with appealing folk-pop by Hansard and Irglová (released on CD as The Swell Season), the movie isn't a traditional musical, but rather a more optimistic Brief Encounter. Filmmaker John Carney, Hansard's former bandmate, captures the real city--in all its affluence and poverty--rather than the picture postcard version. His beautifully shot film serves as a heartfelt ballad about all the underclass Guys and Girls swept aside amidst Ireland's economic miracle. --Kathleen C. Fennessy Beyond Once on DVD Musicals on DVD Once: The Soundtrack More from Fox Stills from Once

Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Brand: TCFHE

Halftime is party time in this high-energy film about a gifted street drummer (Nick Cannon) who snares the top spot in a university marching band - but quickly discovers it takes more than talent to succeed. Once you've seen Drumline, halftime shows will become works of art. This formulaic yet surprisingly captivating movie honors the military precision of college football marching bands, those battalions of eager, sternly disciplined brass sections, drummers, and fly girls who turn halftime shows into well-oiled Vegas variety acts on steroids. Devon (played by Will Smith protégé Nick Cannon) is a cocky Brooklyn kid with a snare-drumming scholarship to (fictional) Atlanta A&T University. He can't read music (he lied on his application) and his attitude sucks, but he's the best natural drummer the college has ever had, so he quickly rises through the marching band ranks. The school year brings Devon the obligatory girlfriend (Zoë Saldana, smart and charming); clashes with his old-school band director (Orlando Jones); and well-earned redemption at the championship marching band showdown. No surprises here, but great chemistry all around, and a fantastic, positive role-model showcase for a musical form that has evolved far beyond the main street parades of Smalltown, U.S.A. --Jeff Shannon

Manufacturer: Warner Home Video Brand: Warner Manufacturing

Purple Rain/Fame (DBFE)PURPLE RAIN: Set against the subculture of the thriving Minneapolis music scene, a struggling musician dealing with his hatred for his abusive father and his love for a beautiful singer/dancer. FAME: Follow the heartaches and triumphs of a group of talented students as they struggle to graduate from New York's prestigious High School for the Performing Arts.]]>

Manufacturer: Warner Home Video Brand: Warner Bros Model: 4924199

August Rush (WS/FS/DVD)Separated by events they could not control but bound by love and by music, three people search for what they lost and what will make their lives complete ... each other. Keri Russell (Waitress, "Felicity"), Johathan Rhys Meyers ("The Tudors") and Freddie Highmore (Charlie and the Chocolate Family, Finding Neverland) star with Robin Williams in this amazing, heartwarming tale of two very different musicians who fall in love only to be torn apart, both unaware that they have a child, a musical prodigy who is trying to find them as much as they are trying to find each other, a boy destined for greatness as the rising young star August Rush.]]> Music has long been considered a universal language with the power to bring people together, but can the simple act of playing music possibly unite a child with a mother and father who live in two different cities and don't even know of the child's existence? Having shared one extraordinary night, classical cellist Lyla Novacek (Keri Russell) and Irish singer and songwriter Louis Connelly (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) were a union meant to be that was torn apart by circumstances and a protective father (William Sadler). After eleven years, both Lyla and Louis have given up performing only to find that they are unhappy and searching for a sense of fulfillment that will ultimately lead both artists back to music and performing. Evan (Freddie Highmore) is an 11-year old orphan who's grown up hearing music in everything around him and is convinced that his real parents want him and will find him with the help of music. Driven by his innate musical genius and a powerful compulsion to perform before the world, Evan runs away from the orphanage and is initially taken in by a street man known as Wizard (Robin Williams) who encourages his musical talent and renames him August Rush and, later, by a local priest who arranges for August to receive a Julliard education. August is a child prodigy who excels beyond even the wildest expectations and earns the opportunity ...

Manufacturer: Warner Home Video Brand: Warner Manufacturing Model: 3712301

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1982) (DVD)Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton reteam following their worldwide blockbuster Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to bring a Broadway masterpiece to the big screen--Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Based on true events, this darkly comic musical tale tells the story of London barber Benjamin Barker (Depp--Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) unjustly sentenced to a prison term in Australia by a judge who covets Barker's wife. When Barker returns to England, he takes up his former profession, using the name Sweeney Todd--and slits the throats of customers who come into his shop. Now, while Sweeney confronts the problem of accumulating corpses, a local businesswoman finds a novel and enterprising use for the bodies . . . a bloody business that profits them both.]]>

Manufacturer: ITV Studios

Import only Blu-Ray pressing. Region All. Special features include, Promotional Trailers, Photo Gallery, 'From Sketch to Screen' featurette. 1080p / 16:9 - 1.78:1. Dolby Digital 5.1. This award winning film directed by Alan Parker (1976) stars Jodi Foster and Scott Baio. A child gangster determined to rule over New York City. Instead of throwing fists or bullets, the prohibition-era kiddie mobsters sling confections at one another. When he learns that a rival gang has developed a secret weapon capable of firing sweets as quick as a machine gun shoots bullets, he sets out to heist the high-tech tart-launcher. ITV. 2008.

Manufacturer: Lionsgate Brand: LIONSGATE FILMS Model: 24080

The Red Violin has a lasting hold on all the lives it has touched. From its creation in 17th century Italy, to the courts of Imperial Vienna in 1790, to Victorian England, to the People's Republic of China in the 1960's, and finally, to a modern day auction house in Montreal, the violin has been at the center of controversy, adventure, love and passion. It is the mythical power of this unique instrument that draws Charles Mortiz (Samuel L. Jackson) into its web and incites him to action, just days before it is to be auctioned off.