Arts & Entertainment - Page 62

Manufacturer: Halestorm Entertainment Brand: Halestorm Entertainment

When Carmine "The Beans" Pasquale (Mark DeCarlo) is nabbed by the FBI, he decides to testify against his mafia boss (Michael Kagan) and go into the Witness Relocation Program with his wife Gina (Jeanette Puhich) and son Vincent (Clayton Taylor). Now known as George, Linda and Patrick Cheeseman, the Pasquale family is sent to suburban Utah to begin their new life. But can the "Cheesemans" survive in a wolrd where everyone is Mormon, all coffee is bad and scrapbooking reigns supreme? A hilarious comedy with a knockout comedic performance by DeCarlo, MOBSTERS AND MORMONS is an "entertaining fish- out-of-water comedy" (Wade Major, BOXOFFICE Magazine)!

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon Brand: VERDI,G. Model: 2228015

Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villzon, and Thomas Hampson perform Verdi's opera with Carlo Rizzi conducting the Vienna Philaharmonic. Also included are an introduction by Villazon, behind-the-scenes, trailer for Netrebko - The Woman, The Voice, picture gallery,

Manufacturer: Zeitgeist Films

AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF A GROUP OF PIONEERING ARTISTS - NOW IN THEIR 70S, 80S & 90S - WHO GAVE BIRTH TO MODERN BALLET.

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon Model: 3348241

Teresa Stratas, Bernd Weikl, Astrid Varnay, and Hans Beirer star in this Richard Strauss opera with Karl Boehm conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. This filmed version of Strauss' shocker features Teresa Stratas as opera's most depraved teenager, and she's as perfect a Salome as one would ever hope to see or hear. Stratas inhabits the role, exploring the character's sensuousness as she vainly woos Jochanaan, her venomous hatred when she's rejected, the crazed look in her eyes when she demands his head--on a silver platter, no less. Such complete identification with a role, especially of a character so malignant helps make this 1974 Salome stand out among the many fine DVDs of the opera. The visceral impact of the film owes much to Götz Friedrich's direction and Gerd Staub's sets. All of the action takes place in the courtyard of Herod's palace, but Friedrich exploits the claustrophobic possibilities of limited space by his deft camera angles that follow the singers and by copious close-ups that often show details unavailable to us when we see the opera live or even in a filmed stage performance: Stratas' face and eyes, which reflect her swift mood changes, Jochanaan's face, which shows his disgust, and the corrupt visages of Herod and Herodias. The cumulative effect of such close-ups heightens tension and creates an atmosphere in which we, the viewers, are thrust into the action. It's not always a comfortable experience but it's always an engrossing one. Staub's sets and the costumes designed by Jan Skalicky are more or less generic but functional, with nice touches like the headpiece Stratas wears, which emphasizes the reptilian slithering of her movements The veils in Salome's famous dance and some of the robes worn by the courtiers add touches of color to the overall grayness that emphasizes the claustrophobic elements of the opera. While Stratas' overwhelming performance commands prime attention, the cast is a strong one. The great Wagnerian soprano Astrid Varnay, long past her vocal prime, is a venomou...

Manufacturer: Island Records/Interscope/UMe Brand: Universal Music

Filmed at the Foro Sol Autodromo in Mexico City on 3rd December 1997, PopMart Live from Mexico City was directed by David Mallet and first released on video the following year; this is the first time it has been released on DVD. Described as a sci-fi disco supermarket, the PopMart Tour opened in its spiritual home, Las Vegas on 25th April 1997. All trash and kitsch, PopMart introduced a giant mirrorball lemon, a 100ft cocktail stick - complete with olive, and the works of Lichtenstein, Warhol and Haring, to a live rock audience: a production experience never quite seen before. Originally filmed on analogue video, the film has been transferred to a digital format with re-graded and cleaned pictures. Great care has been taken to maintain the original look by simply enhancing it, with an added degree of sharpness and contrast unavailable when originally filmed. The audio has also been re-mastered and mixed in 5.1 Surround Sound. PopMart Live from Mexico City will be available in two formats: a Standard 1-disc format containing the concert, and a Special Limited Edition 2-disc format, the 2nd bonus disc containing previously unreleased live audio and video material, including documentaries, a PopMart tour visuals montage, and DVD-ROM extras.

Manufacturer: Sony Legacy Brand: Sony Model: 4919185 Color: color

Aussie rockers AC/DC, led by the enduring twin guitar attack of the Young brothers, perform a greatest hits show at The Monster of Rock Festival, Castle Donington, August 17, 1991. 19 tracks in all, ranging from the debut album title track 'High Voltage' to their 1991 hit 'Thunderstruck', all accompanied by the usual sock-blow-offingly spectacular light show.