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SCREEN IT DVD CAPSULE REVIEWS

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Less filling than our full-length reviews but still informative, our DVD capsule reviews offer technical and supplemental information for each release, along with a quick look at whether the title is any good and/or entertaining or enjoyable.

BARBIE IN THE NUTCRACKER
[Barbie Length: 78 minutes
Screen Formats: 1.85:1, Full Frame
Languages: English
Subtitles: English
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Sides: 1
Extras:
  • Scene selection/Jump to any scene.
  • Living a Ballet Dream - A 32+ minute featurette about six star dancers studying and performing ballet in New York (live action).
  • Act With Barbie - You get to act the part of Clara in The Nutcracker yourself (from 4 scenes that include practice and act modes).
    • Barbie magically comes to life through computer animation in this modern adaptation of the E.T.A. Hoffmann classic. The tale begins when Barbie, playing the role of Clara, receives a beautiful wooden Nutcracker as a gift from her favorite aunt. That night, while Clara (voice of Kelly Sheridan) sleeps, the Nutcracker (voice of Kirby Morrow) springs to life to ward off the evil Mouse King (voice of Tim Curry) who has invaded Clara's parlor.

    She awakes and aids the Nutcracker, but the Mouse King shrinks her by casting an evil spell. Clara and the Nutcracker then set off on a spectacular adventure to find the Sugarplum Princess, the only one who can break the Mouse King's evil enchantment.

    The tale is enhanced with spectacular dance scenes created by the acclaimed choreographer Peter Martins, and the features the beloved music by Tchaikovsky, while the real-life movements of dancers from the New York City Ballet bring the beauty of ballet to the screen in a way never seen before.

    Although not of the same caliber or quality as that found in "Shrek" or "Monsters, Inc." the computer animation here (that retains the plastic doll look) works well enough for the film's target audience of young girls who may just be captivated and thoroughly entertained by this updated variation on the classic tale.

    Barbie in The Nutcracker is now available for purchase by clicking here.

    MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL
    [Monty Length: 89 minutes
    Screen Formats: 1.85:1
    Languages: English
    Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Henry IV, Part II
    Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
    Sides: 2 Discs
    Extras:
  • Scene selection/Jump to any scene (with moving images).
  • Running audio commentary by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones.
  • Running audio commentary by John Cleese, Eric Idle and Michael Palin.
  • On-screen Screenplay: Read the script while watching the film.
  • Follow the Killer Rabbit Feature - Access additional scenes/images, storyboards, etc. whenever the white rabbit appears on the screen.
  • Hard of Hearing Bit - Characters read the menu options aloud.
  • Sing-a-long Segments for Knights of the Round Table, Sir Robin and Monks Chant (subtitles of the lyrics).
  • The Quest for the Holy Grail Locations - 46+ minute feature with Michael Palin and Terry Jones revisiting various locations from the film.
  • How To Use Your Coconuts - 2+ minute "educational" film about coconuts.
  • Scenes from the film in Japanese (with English subtitles) - 8+ minutes.
  • BBC Film Night: Monty Python and the Holy Grail Location Report - 17+ minute behind the scenes look at the film's production.
  • Old Rubbish - Various placards and reviews about the film.
  • Artefacts - Various publicity placards.
  • Photos - Various still from the film and behind the scenes.
  • Original UK trailer and the U.S. 2001 re-release trailer.
  • The Cast - List of them and the characters they play in the film (with photos).
  • Lego Knights - 1+ minute scene as played by Lego characters.
  • Location Recce with directors' commentaries - 2+ minutes of "lost" footage with running commentary.
  • Unused Ideas - Various sketches of ideas not used in the film.
    • The film is a hilarious send-up of the Middle Ages as told through the story of King Arthur and framed by a modern-day murder investigation. When the mythical king of the Britons leads his knights on a quest for the Holy Grail, they face a wide array of horrors, including a persistent Black Knight, a three-headed giant, a cadre of shrubbery-challenged knights, the perilous Castle Anthrax, a killer rabbit, a house of virgins, and a handful of rude Frenchmen.

    Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Special Edition) is now available for purchase by clicking here.

    PRANCER
    [Prancer]</TD Length: 103 minutes
    Screen Formats: 1.85:1, 16x9
    Languages: English, French
    Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
    Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0
    Sides: 1
    Extras:
  • Scene selection/Jump to any scene.
  • Theatrical trailer.
    • A wounded reindeer and a precocious eight-year-old girl form an everlasting bond in this tender holiday drama about true devotion and friendship. Jessica Riggs (Rebecca Harrell) plays an angel in her school pageant...but she becomes a real guardian angel when she finds an injured reindeer in the forest.

    Convinced that the deer is Santa's very own Prancer, Jessica vows to nurse him back to health and return him safely home. But before she can carry out her plan, Jessica discovers that her father (Sam Elliott) has made another -- very different -- plan of his own! Will Jessica be able to help her antlered friend find his way back to Santa in time to make their deliveries on Christmas Eve?

    Aimed at younger viewers who will identify with and/or at least root for the protagonist and her goal, the film obviously isn't going to play that well to older kids and some adults may find it a bit slow, cloying and/or uneventful. Nevertheless, it's an old-fashioned and charming little piece of Christmas-based escapist entertainment that benefits from decent performances by Harrell and Elliot as her gruff father trying to make ends meet.

    Prancer is now available for purchase by clicking here.

    THE WOODY ALLEN COLLECTION
    [Broadway Length: 84 minutes
    Screen Formats: 1.85:1, 16x9
    Languages: English, French
    Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
    Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0
    Sides: 1
    Extras:
  • Scene selection/Jump to any scene.
  • Theatrical trailer.
  • Brief production notes on glossy case insert.
  • Broadway Danny Rose is now available for purchase by clicking here.

    • [Hannah Length: 107 minutes
    Screen Formats: 1.85:1, 16x9
    Languages: English, French, Spanish
    Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
    Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0
    Sides: 1
    Extras:
  • Scene selection/Jump to any scene.
  • Theatrical trailer.
  • Brief production notes on glossy case insert.
  • Hannah and Her Sisters is now available for purchase by clicking here.

    • [A Length: 88 minutes
    Screen Formats: 1.85:1, 16x9
    Languages: English
    Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
    Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0
    Sides: 1
    Extras:
  • Scene selection/Jump to any scene.
  • Theatrical trailer.
  • Brief production notes on glossy case insert.
  • A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy is now available for purchase by clicking here.

    • [The Length: 82 minutes
    Screen Formats: 1.85:1, 16x9
    Languages: English, French, Spanish
    Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
    Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0
    Sides: 1
    Extras:
  • Scene selection/Jump to any scene.
  • Theatrical trailer.
  • Brief production notes on glossy case insert.
  • The Purple Rose of Cairo is now available for purchase by clicking here.

    • [Radio Length: 88 minutes
    Screen Formats: 1.85:1, 16x9
    Languages: English, French, Spanish
    Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
    Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0
    Sides: 1
    Extras:
  • Scene selection/Jump to any scene.
  • Theatrical trailer.
  • Brief production notes on glossy case insert.
  • Radio Days is now available for purchase by clicking here.

    • [Zelig]</TD Length: 79 minutes
    Screen Formats: 1.85:1, 16x9
    Languages: English
    Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
    Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0
    Sides: 1
    Extras:
  • Scene selection/Jump to any scene.
  • Theatrical trailer.
  • Brief production notes on glossy case insert.
  • Zelig is now available for purchase by clicking here.

    • Title Summaries:

    Broadway Danny Rose: Saddled with piano-playing parrots, one-legged tap dancers and stuttering ventriloquists, Danny Rose (Woody Allen) is the all-time loser of show-biz agents - until a sudden nostalgia craze lands his top act, scheming crooner Lou Canova (Nick Apollo Forte), a coveted gig at the Waldorf. But when Lou refuse to go on unless Danny escorts Lou's Mafia-doll mistress Tina (Mia Farrow) to the concert, the stage is soon set for disaster. Taken with Tina, taken in by Lou, and even taken hostage by gangsters, Danny embarks on a hilarious and bittersweet adventure in his desperate bid to ensure that the show does go on...before it's curtains for more than his career. (PG)

    Hannah and Her Sisters: The eldest of show-biz parents, Hannah (Mia Farrow) is a devoted wife, loving mother and successful actress. A loyal supporter of her two aimless sisters, Lee (Barbara Hershey) and Holly (Diane Wiest), she's also the emotional backbone of a family that seems to resent her stability almost as much as they depend on it. But when Hannah's perfect world is quietly sabotaged by sibling rivalry, she finally begins to see that she's as lost as everyone else, and in order to find herself, she'll have to choose - between the independence her family can't live with and the family she can't live without. (PG-13)

    A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy: Love is in the air and magic is afoot when turn-of-the-century inventor Andrew (Woody Allen) and his wife Adrian (Mary Steenburgen) host a country wedding for the pompous philosopher Dr. Leopold (Jose Ferrer) and his young fiancé Ariel (Mia Farrow). But when Andrew's best friend, the randy Dr. Maxwell Jordan (Tony Roberts) and his lusty nurse Dulcy (Julie Hagerty) turn up for the festivities, the stage is soon set for thwarted seductions, mismatched mates and magical mayhem, as Maxwell falls for Ariel, she seduces Andrew, Leopold beds Dulcy - and the bride and groom say "I do" to everyone…except each other. (PG)

    The Purple Rose of Cairo: Lonely Depression-era waitress Cecilia (Mia Farrow) is hopeless addicted to Hollywood movies. Spellbound by her new favorite, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Cecilia is astonished when the leading man (Jeff Daniels) suddenly walks off the screen to meet her. Wooed by his charm, Cecilia finds herself falling for him - until she meets the real actor who plays him. Romanced by both a fictional character and a famous star, Cecilia struggles to locate the shifting line between fantasy and reality, only to discover that sometimes it's just a heartbeat away. (PG)

    Radio Days: Gripped by wild radio stories about bloody wars and beautiful celebrities, 10-year-old Joe Needleman (Seth Green) longs for adventure and dreams of the day he'll see enemy spies, German subs, or even his sexy grade-school teacher wearing a smile (and little else). But while Joe's life is filled with fantasies and radio voices, the real people behind the voices have fantasies of their own. And as stars rise, careers fall and a nation hurtles toward the future, only one thing is absolutely certain: The days of radio may fade, but the magic of Joe's memories will always endure. (PG)

    Zelig: Leonard Zelig (Woody Allen) is a social quick-change artist whose neurotic insecurity forces him to mimic - mentally and physically - whomever he's with. Treated by Dr. Eudora Fletcher (Mia Farrow), Zelig is slowly cured, and in the process goes from side-show freak to nation celebrity - to Eudora's fiancé. But when misdeeds from Zelig's multiple-personality past start to surface (larceny, bigamy and an unauthorized appendectomy), the human chameleon is on the run again, and Eudora must search the world over to find - and save - the only man who's every man she's ever wanted. (PG)

    The Woody Allen Collection, Set 3 is now available for purchase by clicking here.

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