L-O
This is a listing of videos you can check out at the library.
These videos have been reviewed over the last few years by Audio-Visual
staff member, Bob Statzer. List of titles
Back to Reviews listing
MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS
Mother Goose gets a helping hand when
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy lead the MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS.
The lads work in Toyland, an enchanted village where the gifts
Santa brings each Christmas are made. But Stan and Ollie’s
troubles begin when Stanley gets confused by Santa’s latest
order: Instead of 600 toy soldiers that stand one foot tall,
he makes 100 toy soldiers that stand six feet tall...a mistake
that costs the boys their job. When they go home to tell their
landlady, the Old Woman Who Lived in the Shoe, they find she
is no better off...the mortgage is due on her home. Penniless
(and soon to be shoeless!), the widow finds the worst is yet
to come—the wicked miser, Silas Barnaby (who holds the mortgage),
offers to forget the money she owes him...but only if she agrees
to let him marry her daughter, Bo Peep. Rejected by Bo Peep,
Barnaby unleashes swarms of hideous creatures known as bogeymen
upon Toyland, and it’s up to Stan and Ollie’s army
of toy soldiers to save the townspeople.
Nearly every famous fairytale and nursery
rhyme character can be found in Toyland, and the fantastic sets
and costumes give the picture a storybook look that has never
been duplicated. Based on Victor Herbert’s BABES IN TOYLAND
(the film’s original title), this festive fantasy was released
by MGM on November 30, 1934, and is still filled with the magic
of the season
MEN
IN BLACK
Problems with illegal aliens? Call THE MEN IN BLACK!
A satiric look at the modern myth of government agents who specialize
in dealing with “visitors” from “out there,” the
MIB offers a GHOSTBUSTERS-style spoof of the sci-fi genre recently revitalized
by THE X FILES and other such fare. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones star,
respectively, as a rookie agent and his mentor, operating from an installation
that acts like the Grand Central Station for extraterrestrial traffic
on earth. When abrasive alien activity threatens our world, it’s
up to Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones (along with some high-tech weaponry and
a talking dog) to save civilization. Based on the popular comic book,
the film has gone on to launch an animated series...with rumors of a
big-screen sequel on the horizon.
MIRACLE
ON 34th STREET
Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O’Hara and
John Payne star in 1947’s MIRACLE ON 34th STREET, the story
about a department store Santa who turns out to be the real thing.
O’Hara plays a single parent who seems to pay more attention
to her job at Macy’s than to her little girl (Natalie Wood).
When a young, love-struck lawyer (Payne) finds himself as interested
in starting a home with the two girls as he is in establishing
his practice, it takes a touch of Christmas magic from Kris Kringle
(Gwenn) to bring them all together.
Written and directed by South Bend-born
George Seaton (a former screenwriter for the Marx Brothers),
this romantic holiday fantasy won the Indiana native an Academy
Award for his screenplay, as well as an Oscar nomination for
Best Picture. Although MIRACLE ON 34th STREET has been adapted
twice for television—along with a recent cinematic remake
in 1994—the timeless charm of the original makes it an anticipated
Christmas tradition.
MR.
BEAN
An increasingly familiar face to American
audiences, actor/comedian Rowan Atkinson is back on the air,
this time as the incredibly inept Mr. Bean. A fellow who fancies
himself a cunning man-about-town, Mr. Bean has all the suave
sophistication of Inspector Clouseau, the bumbling policeman
portrayed by Peter Sellers in the PINK PANTHER pictures. Unlike
Clouseau, however, Mr. Bean holds no official rank or influence
to aid him in his misadventures, and is more than happy to bend
or break the law to achieve his goal. Whether it be accidently
blowing up a chemistry lab during Visitor’s Day at school,
attempting to get out of a parking garage without paying, or
experiencing trouser troubles before meeting the queen, mischief,
mayhem and misery follow our hero like a second shadow.
Probably more familiar to viewers as the conniving
“Black Adder” in a series of hysterical historical spoofs,
Atkinson re-teamed with BLACK ADDER writer Richard Curtis to create
the character of Mr. Bean. Currently, there are eight helpings of Beans
on video: THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF MR. BEAN, THE EXCITING ESCAPADES
OF MR. BEAN, THE TERRIBLE TALES OF MR. BEAN, THE PERILOUS PURSUITS OF
MR. BEAN, THE MERRY MISHAPS OF MR. BEAN, THE FINAL FROLICS OF MR. BEAN,
THE UNSEEN BEAN and THE BEST BITS OF MR. BEAN. In addition to the material
aired on PBS and HBO, the videos include material never before seen
by the public. And in response to the growing popularity of the character
(likened by one critic to Chaplin’s “Little Tramp,”)
a Mr. Bean feature is slated for theatrical release later this year.
THE
ODYSSEY
A cast of internationally acclaimed
actors brings Homer’s epic adventure, “The Odyssey,”
to life in this 1997 Hallmark Hall of Fame mini-series. Armand
Assante stars as Odysseus, a proud warrior whose victory in the
Trojan War causes him to defy the very gods who aided him in
battle. As punishment, the ancient gods decree he shall never
see his homeland or family again. Odysseus is determined to overcome
the odds, and sets sail with his crew, pitting his wits against
the elements, a cyclops, sea serpents and the fickle forces of
Fate to return to the side of his bride. Geraldine Chaplin, Christopher
Lee, Eric Roberts, Isabella Rossellini, Greta Scacchi and Vanessa
Williams co-star, with a guest appearance by Bernadette Peters
as the seductive sorceress Circe.
ON
HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE
When British agent James Bond decides
to spend the holidays in Switzerland, it’s definitely not
a vacation for 007. In a mountain top lair hidden in the Swiss
Alps, Bond’s old foe, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, is preparing
to unleash a deadly biological weapon across the globe. To complicate
matters, the British Secret Service have refused to support 007’s
plans to destroy Blofeld, feeling they have no choice but to
give in to the terrorist’s demands. Bond must now turn to
organized crime for backing, and among his new allies he finds
a danger he has always managed to avoid: Love. Before it’s
over, Commander Bond finds himself trotting across the globe...and
down the aisle!
When ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE
was first released, audiences and critics were skeptical of the
new 007, actor George Lazenby. After all, he was the first person
to attempt the role when Sean Connery hung up his license to
kill. (A young actor named Timothy Dalton was offered the part,
but felt—at the time—he was too inexperienced to step
into Connery’s shoulder holster.) While this was his first
starring vehicle, Lazenby not only made a credible debut, but
did his own stuntwork. Although Lazenby would never (officially)
return to the role, ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE has
come to be regarded by many fans as the last accurate adaption
of Ian Fleming’s work by filmmakers. Telly Salvalas co-stars
as the gleefully villainous Blofeld, and Diana Rigg appears in
the coveted role of Traci, the woman who became Mrs. James Bond.
One
For All, and All For Fun!
In 1973, one of the most impressive
international casts of all time was assembled to bring author
Alexandre Dumas’ classic, “The Three Musketeers,”
to life. At the helm was director Richard Lester, working from
a screenplay by George MacDonald Fraser that blended swordplay
and slapstick with a dry, wry wit. When the final cut of the
film ran nearly four hours, it was decided to re-edit the end
result into two movies, THE THREE MUSKETEERS (“The Queen’s
Diamonds”) and THE FOUR MUSKETEERS (“The Revenge of
Milady”). A sweeping swashbuckler that endures as one of
the few true epic adventures, these combined companion pieces
chronicle the misadventures of D’Artagnan, a young man on
his way to Paris to join the king’s guards, only to find
himself involved in intrigue when an extramarital affair threatens
the throne of France.
Nearly two decades later, Lester reassembled
his cast to reprise their roles for THE RETURN OF THE MUSKETEERS,
the first film to be based on the second novel in the series,
“Twenty Years After.” We find the lads are older, but
not necessarily wiser...and still caught up in court conspiracy
when the daughter of an old foe seeks revenge against them. Although
there have been many adaptions of the swashbuckling saga, Richard
Lester’s musketeer trilogy still remains the most faithful
and fun. Join the talented team of Jean-Pierre Cassel, Richard
Chamberlain, Geraldine Chaplin, Faye Dunaway, Frank Finlay, Charlton
Heston, Roy Kinnear, Christopher Lee, Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch
and Michael York for this tongue-in-cheek, sword-in-sheath romance.
101
DALMATIANS
It’s not often that a cartoon classic
can be successfully turned into a live-action film accepted by
audiences, but the people at Disney have done it twice. Following
in the tradition of THE JUNGLE BOOK comes a new look at 101 DALMATIANS.
Based on the novel by Dodie Smith, the film tells the story of
Cruella de Ville, a woman fond of fur...any fur! The idea of
having a coat made from the coats of dalmatian dogs, whose black
and white fur will go nicely with her hair, is too tempting to
resist...no matter what the cost in pounds at the pound.
While it’s difficult to imagine
anything topping the animated adaption, one of the key attractions
to this new version is the evil Cruella de Ville herself. Gleefully
gloating over the petrified pups she plans to use as a fashion
statement, actress Glenn Close (as Cruella) is having the time
of her life in such an over-the-top performance. Recently completing
the roles of Norma Desmond in SUNSET BOULEVARD and a dizzyingly
theatrical Victorian madame in MARY REILLY, Close gives the impression
those two characters were just a dress rehearsal for the villainous
de Ville. While the original still remains as fresh today as
it did when first released, fans will not be disappointed in
this re-tread of the tale.
