Amazon.com

The three-volume set, Total Yoga: The Flow Series,contains three separate workouts, each targeting a different level ofexpertise. Total Yoga: Earth is the most basic workout drawingupon the foundations of Hatha Yoga. This 45-minute program introducesthe fundamentals through detailed instruction on ujjayi breathing andsun salutation. Teachers Tracey Rich and Ganga White keep the asanassimple and demonstrate alternative postures for participants withcompromised backs and necks. The cueing is both informative and clear,with valuable safety information about body alignment and form. This isa strong and thoughtful regimen that will be welcome for the first-timestudent and intermediate practitioner alike.

Total Yoga: Water presents a 45-minute intermediate workout withbasic combinations of standing postures and floor poses. Based in thefoundations of Hatha vinyasa, Water draws on core energy andujjayi breathing to increase focus and flexibility. Rich and Whiteillustrate modifications for most postures and limit the amount ofadvanced asanas. Participants will get a solid workout through a seriesof sun salutations and familiar poses such as triangle and warrior.Spinal rotation and inverted postures are kept to a minimum, but somegreat flexibility-building movements are incorporated that willincrease the students' capacity to work into these poses later in theirdiscipline.

The most rigorous workout is Total Yoga: Fire, which combinesboth classical and contemporary postures in one continuous flow. Theseposes are advanced to begin with, but the difficulty is increased withthe length that each asana (pose) is held and the repetition of eachvinyasa (series of poses). Rich and White silently lead this 60-minutesession with verbal instruction from a narrator, who gives direction inboth traditional yoga terminology and simple directional cues. Thefundamentals of balance, ujjayi breath, and safety are addressed at thebeginning, but the intensity level increases quite vigorously. Rich andWhite exhibit impeccable form and alignment through standing posturesand three series of sun salutations. All of the programs in thisexcellent series end with meditations. --Olivia Voigts ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Great for Beginners to Intermediate/Advanced
I consider myself an advanced beginner and have been practicing 3 times a week for the last year or so. I found this series to be great. The first two tapes are more for beginners and I like how at the beginning of each tape, they took the time to teach you the most important thing about yoga which is ujayii breathing. Most other tapes or even classes hardly spend the time telling u how to breathe which can affect your entire yoga experience.
As an advanced beginner, I only watched the first tape and did the second tape once. After that, I only practiced with the 3rd tape which is a more challenging hatha vinyassa yoga practice lasting a bit over 60 minutes. I disagree with one of the other reviewers saying that it's all about repetitions and nothing new. That's what vinyassa yoga is... lots of sun salutations one after another to get your body warm and to control your breathing well throughout the entire exercise!
I don't know what others expect. The poses in yoga practices are limited in the sense that you cannot really invent a new pose! But variations of each poses are limitless depending on the capability of your body. Plus, I have often done research with books on more advanced variations of certain poses and integrate them into this workout. Furthermore, as the tape demonstrates, while Rich is doing a simpler pose, Ganga will do a more challenging pose. This has helped me tremendously on setting goals.
Compared to the routines by Rodney Yee, I believe the narration is much better as Rich clearly tells u how to coordinate your breathing with your poses to maximize the effects of yoga. Compared to Power Yoga with Bryan Kest, this series seem more "traditional" and is a bit less "fun." Nevertheless, it is still quite challenging. I intermix Power Yoga - Sweat with Fire from this series for my in home practices and go to the yoga classes for additional inspirations and learnings.
As a beginner, I think you should get the whole set as the first two are invaluable in terms of teaching and poses. When you gets better, u can move on to the third tape and maybe give the first two tapes to friends and family to inspire them! Otherwise, just get Fire from this series and the last 2 tapes from Bryan Kest's series to have a challenging yoga experience! Namaste!

Best of All
Best of All!

Finally, a complete series I can highly recommend to my beginner and advanced students. The three tapes break down the original 1989 Vinyasa Yoga, The Flow Series. Beautifully presented in a 360 degree format, Earth, Water and Fire, shot with detailed angles of each pose, successfully resets the benchmark for yoga tapes and DVDS to a higher level. These are the best-detailed yoga videos I have seen, covering classic poses and focussing strong attention to breathing instruction. Not only does Tracey Rich gives clear and easy to follow instructions, which is rare in a yoga tape, but we see added modifications and alternative variations which make Earth and Water more accessible to all levels of students. A series they can truly grow and expand their practice with. All students can learn by watching Tracy and Ganga's beautiful alignment. Fire challenges the experienced yogi, keeping the traditions and familiar asanas of White Lotus Flow. They updated the original in many subtle ways, I particularly like the slower pace of the Sun Salutations. These are the best yoga video's to practice with.

The Best Yoga Flow Video Workout
I bought this video because I couldn't find a hatha or vinyasa flow class in my community and wanted a solid, flexible practice to do at home. I love it for two reasons:

1) The increasing challenges of the Earth, Water and Fire sequences let me vary my practice. So far I have tried Water and Fire, and even though a few of the Fire poses are beyond me, I could modify them and still get a great workout.

2) I found many other yoga videos to be too introductory or not a real flow session. Total Yoga - The Flow Series really provides an everyday workout -- for days when you feel weak or strong. I have also been turned off by videos narrated in overly dreamy, otherworldly voices. Total Yoga includes no-nonsense narration that focuses on posture, focus and safety.

Highly recommended!

Excellent Find
I am a beginner Yoga enthusiast and I found this series perfect for me. I did the beginner earth series for a couple of weeks and then I moved to the water series. I find the videos very soothing and easy to follow, but at the same time I sweat like crazy. Great workout and relaxation in one. Looking forward to the fire tape.

Monotone, mediocre instruction
The level of detail in the instuction varies widely; some asanas are almost painfully dissected, others seemingly glossed over. Also, instruction is delivered in a very serious-sounding monotone. I would recommend the Yoga Zone tapes over these. ... Read more

Description

As this landmark series demonstrates, the cataclysmic effects of World War I last to this day. "The war to end all wars" has influenced the Atomic Age and the Cold War, and is now shaping the conflicts in Bosnia and the Middle East. Period film footage and eyewitness accounts powerfully dramatize the horrors of trench warfare and the chaos of political revolution. History comes alive as The Great War reveals how World War I influenced the rise of communism, witnessed the first use of weapons of mass destruction, and provided a fertile aftermath for the rise of Nazism. Through perspectives from all sides of the war, the series shows how violent events early in this century still cast a dark shadow on life today. Titles include: "Explosion & Stalemate," "Total War & Slaughter," "Mutiny & Collapse," and "Hatred and Hunger & War Without End." ... Read more

Reviews (14)

A Great Disappointment
I am a big Great War buff. It's hardly uncommon to find books and documentaries about the Great War, but they're rare enough --especially in the US, where I live-- that I eagerly look foward to every new book, video, or work of fiction about this subject. I'm so happy to find videos about the Great War, instead of just books, that I often cut them extra slack. Given the calibre of the people who produced it and who lent a hand to the production, "Great War" SHOULD be the Documentary to End all Documentaries, but it's not. Fortunately, I was able to watch this video series at no cost from my local library. I would have probably demanded my money back if I had purchased it.

It's done in the "Ken Burns" style of documentary, with voice actors reading from period correspondence, poems, etc. to give a sense of "living history" and illustrate key themes. However, unlike in Ken Burns' documentary about the American Civil War, we rarely if ever learn the IDENTITIES of these letter writers, what have you. So you'll hear a soldier commenting on the war, or an editorial in the Times commenting on the war, but apart from contextual clues, who exactly the voice actors are trying to portray can be very unclear. (This is more frustrating than it sounds.) Not to mention Ralph Fiennes practically ruined the poetry of Wilfred Owen for me with his snooty, disaffected whine.

As other reviewers have remarked, the treatment of how the war broke out, the battles, the Armstice, and everything is between is very cursory. That would be understandable if this documentary was only 2 hours long, but on four video cassette tapes, it just comes across as sloppy and full of broad generalizations. It does indeed concentrate on "politically correct" events like socialism and feminism that are currently fashionable. It's nice to give voice to neglected facets of the war effort, like the female munitions workers or the African-American soldiers who served alongside the French, but I also would have liked some more standard commentary on weapons and battles. For a documentary of such length, it has a very rushed, incomplete feel.

By far the best thing about this series isn't the pastiche of voice actors and images, it's the interviews with famous (and infamous) Great War historians like Paul Fussell and Niall Ferguson. Hearing Fussell et alibi talk with real passion about their interest in the First World War was great, but it hardly justifies buying "Great War."

An extraordinary documentary at all levels
I'll not presume to bore you with too much detail, but as one man's opinion I thought this documentary was extraordinary. It breaks into chapters that both stand on their own and also intertwine into a comprehensive storyline. It offers an excellent beginning to explain in simple terms how the entire conflict began, and never loses the sight that the war is a series of human casualties as well as tactical gains and losses. With a musical score by Mason Daring which can vary from narrative to heroic to absolutely chilling, and many texts readily available for the more serious devotee of the subject, I give this documentary my highest rating. No longer satisfied with checking it out from my local library, I bought it to own, and consider it one of my best intellectual investments. Enjoy!!

Personal suffering not history
This tape series covers the personal suffering of people in the war. What it does not cover is the history of the war, why it happened,or why it unfolded as it did.

A description of endured suffering and false triumph
While we number them, there was really only one world war in the twentieth century consisting, of two outbreaks of intense fighting separated by twenty years of relative peace. Although when you consider the millions who died in the Soviet Union and China in those years, it is difficult to refer to it as peace. As is mentioned in this tape, the horrors of mass extermination started in the first round of fighting, with the first extermination being the Turkish slaughter of Kurdish civilians on their border with Russia.
This is not an easy tape series to watch, not because it shows so much death, but due to the human face it puts on the dirty, muddy men killing each other. The description is split up into sections, some of which examine the attempts of people to cope with something that it was impossible to cope with for long. The most poignant moment is the description of the mutiny in the French army in 1917. After yet another pointless battle where hundreds of thousands died, most of the army simply refused orders to attack. Coming amidst incredible brutality, it was a rather polite revolt. In general, officers were not killed and no one went on a rampage. They simply refused to attack when they understood (correctly) that it would accomplish nothing more than more death.
The fact of the revolt is not what is surprising, the astonishing part is that it took three years before it happened. As you can see from the images on these tapes, the soldiers lived for years in mud, surrounded by danger, dead bodies and excrement. The best that can be said is that it is a tribute to the resilience of the human body that even that can be tolerated for years.
As difficult as it is to face, the true horrors of war must be examined by all of us. There is no magic solution to the end of wars between humans. However, it is true that understanding the consequences is the first step towards deciding that it is a poor alternative to everything else.

Best Documentary I've ever seen
I watch perhaps more documentaries than is healthy, but I do tend to learn a lot. In my many years of watching I've never found a documentary as well done as this. It's entertaining and disturbing at the same time. The use of photographs and voices in this production are put together quite well and by far surpass any other production I've ever seen. I would definately recommend this to even new students of the war, although this is done well enough to impress even historians who have spent many years in study. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Of all the wars waged in the name of God, none has ever matched the arrogance and conceit of the Christian Crusades.For nearly two centuries (1095-1291), this medieval "holy war" variously raged, sometimes so spiritually misshapen by rapaciousness, murder, and political greed that to think it all had to do with Christian faith is absurd. And really, there is no one better to dramatize such a theater of holy war than Wales-born Terry Jones, host of The Discovery Channel's Ancient Inventions and an accomplished medievalist. Best known for his absurdist contributions to all things Monty Python--he was a founding member of Monty Python's Flying Circus and cowriter of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, among others--Jones wields an uncanny ability to explain the methodologies and madness of the Crusades while not failing us his sense of humor.

Jones wrote the scripts for each 50-minute presentation in the four volumes of The Crusades, which originally aired on The History Channel. His narration is not without an occasional sardonic air, almost of the roll-your-eyes type, which not only lends a skeptical perspective to a frequently misunderstood era in Western Europe, but also quite frequently editorializes the events that occurred between Pope Urban II's call for liberation of Jerusalem from the "infidels" of Islam and the embarrassing moment when officers of the fourth Crusade are conned out of its divine calling by the Venetians. While Jones's reconnaissance is sometimes oversimplified by casually not mentioning several Crusade sorties after the fourth (there were several, but by the 13th century they had become redolent of ennui and misguided commercial adventure), the technical ingenuity of the production and Jones's use of anecdote backed by academicians and preserved eyewitness accounts cinches a viewer's interest. Medieval "siege machines" are re-created to test their mettle against legends of famous battles, Jones dons real 11th- and 12th-century armor to demonstrate the outlandish appearance of Crusaders in the lands of Mohammed, mosaics come to life with body-painted characters of medieval fable, and computer graphics are deployed to re-create the interior of the great cathedral at Cluny.

All these elements are contrasted with intermezzos of contemporary European and Middle Eastern society and a moving original soundtrack to make The Crusades a thoroughly engaging documentary of the bloodletting of medieval Christian conquests and the ultimate result of Islamic fanaticism born from its crimson tide. In Jones's own words at the end of Volume IV: "It took 200 years for the Crusaders to create [this] Muslim fanaticism. It was the exact imitation of Christian intolerance." To understand the effects of the Crusades is to understand much of today's religious geography, and Mr. Jones and company can fairly lay claim to having helped set the record straight. --Jamie Friddle ... Read more

Reviews (34)

Entertaining and accurate for the most part
Being a scholar of history and Medieval Europe in particular, I found this documentary rather accurate on most points, despite what a few of the previous reviewers have said. Also, it was very entertaining. You can't beat that combination.

The only real problemswith it, is that it is only 4 hours long, and therefore, takes some short-cuts, oversimplifies a few things and is not as in-depth as I would have liked it to have been.

That said, it is still mostly true to the sense of the Crusades that is conveyed in many historical accounts, while at the same time cutting away the Pro-European bias that is present in many texts.

Some of the "facts" that the previous reviewers have mentioned (such as: the Crusades being a response to the Muslim takeover of the Balkans, which in actuality did not occur until well in the 14th century. another is the statement that the Muslims who eventually took over the Balkans were motivated by Mohammed's original fervor, which is also not true as these Muslims were Turks who only recently converted to Islam), are not really facts, and are clearly motivated by unfounded Anti-Muslim sentiments. I suggest ignoring them.

All in all, this is a very informative and enjoyable DVD set.

Propaganda? Make no mistake about it?
Readers and viewers of this work should realize that history contains ugly realities to anyone's perspectives. Certainly, the Moorish hordes relegated Christians and Jews to Dimi status (mostly as a sort of tax strategy), looted, enslaved, and killed masses just like the crusaders, but THIS ISN'T A BOOK ABOUT THE ARABS!!!

This same sort of 'prejuidcial history' is leveled against Noam Chomsky for his history of the Arab Israeli conflict and his focus on Israel and the U.S. As with critics of Chomsky, you should note that the author of the previous review makes no mention of the facts presented in the book. Why? Because he cannot refute them. Instead he accuses the authors of apologetic propaganda; exactly the exercise in which he is involved.

The humor of history triumphs in all the wrong places
This set of two disks takes a very modern look at about two hundred years of history, but I am not going to remember which two hundred. It was so long ago that people no longer seem to be concerned about how everyone involved managed to absorb all of the financial costs involved. Warfare often upsets some apple carts, and this presentation of the Crusades is openly aware of aristocratic ambition that could be condemned as a desire for conquest while it remains mired in the inversion of spiritual values which prompted the institutional churches at that time to consider each pathetic episode a great thing for one reason or another.

My intellectual bias in this area is that no college professor could have made a better version of a history for our times. Back in 1995, the nature of the Order of Assassins with its suicide squads high from hashish was hardly as important as it is in the world since September 11, 2001, but on the other side, the financial suicide involved in trying to change the nature of the Middle East by military invasion was as clear then as more recent expeditions threatening to last another two hundred years boggle the mind today. I might be taking a stand that is too political for 2004, which might be a year in which people in America try to impose their own interest in intelligence, competence, and living within the limits of our ability to absorb losses. This series of television shows puts a lot of emphasis on the extraordinary wealth of Constantinople and Egypt in those times, when military equipment also had a high price. What really gets your goat the first time through this series, though, is the treachery: cities plundered, caravans attacked, truces violated, and hostages held for ransom.

People with pride might feel that this DVD set is trying to chip away at it by using ridicule as the ultimate weapon against everything that used to consider itself great, and well they might. They should, too. Why am I giving this stars? Why can't I give it ARFs?

ARF, ARF, ARF, ARF, ARF!

As balanced as Humpty-Dumpty
Call this history? Try Monty Python and the Holy Grail for deeper insight, historical content and accuracy.

Giggle and Learn!
Who better than Terry Jones (Say no more, say no more, nudge nudge wink wink) to host a fresh look at warfare - in the name of Religion mind you - during the Middles Ages?

Rather conceited, in the name of reclaiming the Holy Lands (excuse for adventure and to loot!) - The Church not only encouraged the Crusades but sponsored them! It was a way a Knight could pay dispensation for sins of life and earn his way to heaven - by lopping of the heads of the Infidel (and stealing everything they had). For Centuries, involving the royal heads of France, Britain and Europe, the seemingly endless Crusades raged on and on. So who better to explain the unexplainable madness, but the head jester himself!

Terry Jones wrote each episode and starred as the host, trying to muddle through the mounds of nonsense involved everything connected to the religious sponsored mayhem. With his brilliantly incisive humour that made Monty Python was it was, he dons chain mail and pointy toe armour and has it.

It is great fun for the whole family and a painless way to have a good introduction to the Crusades. ... Read more

Description

A young coffee salesman rises to the top, only to fall and rise again. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

watch this movie
I can't really describe how I feel about this movie. I would love to just make you watch it. I am writing this because I felt a need to write a review for the soundtrack, now on cd. I found myself constantly talking about how much I love this movie. The music is incorporated into the film directly. So much so that McDowell(Travis) and Price(Price) actually exchange words at one point(and in the middle of one of Price's songs). Price's personality is felt everywhere. At a middle point, Price's band rescues Travis from a mad doctor(see Brittania Hospital)and appear proper in the film. The film itself was based partly on the character from "If.." and partly on McDowell's own experience as a coffee salesman. It is the middle part of Travis's trilogy. In my review of the soundtrack, you will see how I feel that Price's soundtrack adds to the tone and personality of the film. As serendipitous as Travis's adventures are, you can see layers of humanity peel away. To say something definite about it would just ruin the plot and theme. There are alot of scenes that are mockingly anti-authoritarian. And some creepy "things to be" scenes. Also, there are cold political reality scenes that still resonate. All that said, it is really Travis' story. Just watch it. The talents are huge and the movie is bleak. You will never see another movie like this again.

Inspirational! Cynical! Wonderful!
My all-round favorite film. Favorite because of its scope, Brit humor and enduring power to pick me up when I am down. Malcom McDowell's expressions throughout are bildungsroman in action. Music is amazing, and heralded a life-long love affair (sadly from a distance) with Alan Price, a sort of music hall Randy Newman. Band/party sequences are fabulous! Movie endures beyond intellectual collegiate urge to deconstruct symbolism. I like it even better than Shirley Temple's The Little Princess, another fave. Better than Robert Altman. 'Course, I'm one of the few who like Ishtar (at least parts)....But then I also adored Bullworth.

lucky to say the least
I recently watched O Lucky Man again with a friend who was watching it for the first time, and I became accutely aware of the feelings I had when I first watched it. It was an exhilarating and inspirational experience. I envied my friend for a moment and then I got back to the picture...and I realized how much better this movie gets after repeated viewings. Wow!

But as so many have said here in these reviews, a DVD release (Criterion are YOU listening??) packed with extras is sooooo overdue. I've only ever seen this film on vhs and I'm salivating at the thought of seeing it on DVD...

It'll be like watching it for the first time...

O Lucky Viewers
Everytime I see pictures of the flemish painter Heironymous Bosch and then see Lindsey Anderson in this movie I think, gee he looks just like Bosch; kinda makes movies like Bosch paints as well. His loosely connected Mick Travis trilogy: if.., O' Lucky Man and Britannia Hospital often look like the typical Bosch tryptich, in which the left panel shows man's expulsion from a distorted forboding man's view of "heaven"; in if..'s case a British authoritarian boarding school, while the right side of Bosch's tryptichs show the twisted tortuous hell that man merits from his sins on earth; in Britannia Hospital's case, an insane asylum diguised as a government run hospital where death is certain from the most disgustingly violent experiments and sponsered by bureaucratic sadists. In the middle of these moralty paintings is the incendiary display of sins man commits. And it is here that we often find the most engaging bits of Bosch's work where so much happens in an instant as viewing a painting, which, actually takes years to see it all. O' Lucky Man is very much designed in this fashion even if it wasn't intentional. We get elements from this movie that may never be fully realized again in film; a dismal prospect indeed. Innovations actually abound with this revolutionary film. We have it's soundrack and score composer not only effectively weigh commentary on the movie's long suffering but affably earnest protagonist Travis (played with astonishing exuberence and charm by Malcolm McDowell), but that the singer (Alan Price, formerly of the Animals) even interacts with him in the film. As innovative and amusing as that technique was, the soundrack can still stand on it's own as one of the greatest and most relevant to a film plot ever written. Tell anyone who goes on a job interview or for that matter, hates their job to listen to the world weary idiosyncratic bliss in the song Poor People, a song that sticks forever in the souls of those who loved this movie like honey melting on hot toast crumpets. All in all, a very touching ode to smiling down disaster.
Many may twitch at the seemingly overindulgent symbolism going on and the lengthy running time and disjointed feel of this epic. They may also get confused by the hilarious running gag of the actors playing repeated roles. I found it fun beyond a roll in the hay to catch when each player shows up again and again several times over then bust out in laughter when Travis actually recognizes the lusciously charming Helen Mirren groupie character Patricia who showed up in episodes before his stint in jail, then looking at her talent agency clerk character with puzzling bewilderment a few moments later as if he had no clue. As Mick, Malcolm McDowell can come off as enthusiastic and gullible then believably struggle with frustration, cynicism, and finally dogged determination to be "good" then giving up only to be thwacked back into his trademark grin. The writing is all over his vastly expressive face and makes this one of his most unforgettable portrayals, completly abscent is the casual sadism that has garnered him praise but unfortunate typecasting down the road. This is a must see movie for fans of his villian work who want to see his range; simply brilliant work.
It is also a film that is astonishingly relevant to how capitalist societies still function. We're often amazed at how we havn't changed much from our need to divest in our homeland to rape another for the needs of the selfish. Granted the film is long and bitingly sardonic and perhaps that idealism causes a slower decay then Anderson might have imagined. Still, many of the films relevant lines about dying like dogs, radio commentary on Zen and revolution being the opium of intellectuals ring strong in the hearts of anyone who questions their existence and worth in the world. This seems to be the one true everyman type of film as surreal as it may be. There is just something so satisfying in just hearing the characters walking, which sounds strikingly like marching. And it happens almost everytime before our poor boy Travis gets a beating. It is a movie that has to be seen and heard repeatedly. Defintely buy this film. For anyone who cares, if you managed to tape the uncut British version of the film when it ran on some obscure cable stations back in the early 90s, you may have gold in your hands; the deleted 'My Home Town' suicide sequence is there. Yes, like a Boscsh picture, there is so much to see in this gem and we are all the luckier for having it in our lives.

YEAH
I give this movie 5 stars because they just don't make 'em like this anymore. Also, when I read comments where folks bash the 70's, I simply wonder,I mean WONDER-what are they comparing the 1970's to??? Today? WHAT? You have got to be kidding? O Lucky Man is a journeyman movie built with the rambling sober style so popular at the time. The soundtrack I found irritating BUT it's still classic and really the movie wouldn't be the same without it. Some of the images and scenes in this movie are simply in the very top of movie ideas, the very top. See this movie. And as far as dated, it is dated compared to Survivor, The Apprentice, Friends, The Reality Show, ad nauseum and all the rest of the Nothing Zone we call today's digital media culture offerings. Blah! Give me the ole rusty 70's any day of the week! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Triumph of the Nerds won legions of computer-skeptical and computer-naive viewers with its mix of minutiae and hip techniques. Going one step further into the digital maze, Nerds 2.0.1: A Brief History of the Internet operates as a sequel of sorts to the surprise docu-hit. Just as its precursor chronicled the rise of empires built on computer software, Nerds 2.0.1 collects interviews from key players in the development of the Internet. Fashionably hip in its visual feel, the film begins by amassing data on the net's crowning, collaborative irony: conceived in the Pentagon during the counterculture's smokiest high point by members--dare it be said--of the military industrial complex, the Net developed on the axis of university research networks and Deadhead (as in the Grateful Dead) electronic bulletin boards. Much of the rest has become history, but Internet and computer industry pundit Robert X. Cringley makes the narrative a jumping, attractive embrace of being a nerd. Interviews with Bill Gates, Mark Andreesen, and Steve Case make these three hours (three tapes slipcased in a nice box) fly by. --Andrew Bartlett ... Read more

Reviews (13)

High motivation and Detail
This is a very exciting video about the origin, history, developments, success and failures of the Internet. It has good detail in the topics and companies that refers, but it does not touch every important(historical level) company in the net. Perhaps less time for "excite" and jokes, and more time to relevant companies and phenomena.

Great Video revealing the history of networking, internet.
I belive this is one of the greatest video on the subject of internet and world wide web. It gives a clear picture of the internet and world wide web. It commends the work of great research scientists who were not recognised for their initial achievements. It gives an idea how the internet emerged and how big companies like 3com, Cisco came into existence. This is great story of all the nerds who worked hard (not for money) to achieve good things in their research. Finally I believe money is nothing and it all comes because of hardwork and luck.

Where's the DVD???
This is an excellent historical overview of the Internet and the World Wide Web! NERDS 2.0.1 picks up right where TRIUMPH OF THE NERDS left off. Both documentaies are very interesting, informative and somewhat comical...from beginning to end!

Hopefully NERDS 2.0.1 will be released on DVD soon! I already own TRIUMPH OF THE NERDS on DVD and these two programs really go great together. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Great Entertainment and Education
Fantastic view of a topic that has changed all of our lives. The video is very entertainig and a good source of information. Would recommend this to anyone wanting to learn more about the roots of the internet.

Vintage Internet
Parts of these tapes already look like the old Volkswagen in the Woody Allen movie "Sleeper." For instance, the students who started Excite are all caught in their gloriously self-centered success, which didn't last long, it turns out, but did stoke them each with millions.

Cringely is eloquent, in words and in deeds. The shot of him driving in a convertible along a freeway, while holding forth about the internet as a big pipeline, is a great way to cast an image. His patient tracing of how the internet emerged from simple attempts to hook one computer to another, and get them to communicate meaningful information is also very well done, and penetrates to the level of the PhD thesis written in 1959 that laid out the binary math basis for it all in the first place.\

The tension between the hippie beginnings of the communitarian internet, and the later proprietary commercialization of the medium is also profiled, with subthemes like how to lose control of your company, played out in interviews with 3Com's Metcalfe, who also articulated "Metcalfe's law."

These videos stand on their own feet, but also on the shoulders of the book, written by Stephen Segaller, who wrote it, amazingly, for PBS. So look, some good things can come out of PBS after all(!). Segaller's book is, as you might suspect, much more detailed, but only the video takes you to Microsoft's campus, or shows you the inventor of an early wireless internet, Norm Abramson, years later standing on a beach holding a surfboard with his current corporate logo plastered in dead-center. Perhaps another symbol of hippie-goes-Ferrari. The book and the video also touch on the fascinating history of Cisco, and the bitterness of former husband and wife Sandy Lerner and Len Bosack, toward their first V.C., Don Valentine. The video has Sandy sitting in front of her English country mansion, and also Len, speculating on the existence of sentient beings elsewhere in the universe.

So most of these people were and still are complete nerds, and but for their work, we too would have to be nerds to use our computers. So thanks, nerds, for being nerds, so I don't have to be. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Anglophiles and Britcom aficionados will welcome the video of this delightful 1974 series based on the books by Charlotte Bingham. Happily, the sparkling dialogue and engaging characters wear much better than the actors' horribly dated '70s wardrobes. John Alderton and his real-life wife, Pauline Collins, star as C.D. and Clara, the George Burns and Gracie Allen of Hampstead, right down to the "Say goodnight, Clara" that closes each episode.

This boxed set contains the first seven episodes of the series. Episode 1 sets the stage as C.D. and Clara, who have been married, Clara notes, "nearly 10 years next Thursday a week on Monday," recall how they met at "Freddie's awful party." Framed by the couple's light banter, each of these episodes flashback chronologically to their often comically confused courtship and marriage.Oddly enough, we do not see them joined in (again, Clara's words) "holy deadlock," but instead join C.D. and Clara as they embark on their honeymoon and endeavor to keep their newly married status a secret (why they keep it a secret is a bit unclear) by pretending to be a boring, frustrated long-married couple.

"Life with Clara," C.D. observes at one point, "is not a bowl of cherries, it's a dish of blouse buttons." And in less expert hands, Clara could get tiresome quickly ("I tend to get things rather muddled," she confesses early on), but Pauline Collins (perhaps best known for her signature role as Shirley Valentine) plays her with a mischievous twinkle that make her leaps of illogic endearing. She particularly shines in episode 4, in which she resists C.D.'s efforts to make her dress more fashionably than like "the remnant of a disbanded folk group." --Donald Liebenson ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Very Cute
I saw these shows on public TV several years ago, and I fell in love with this couple. The girlfriend is extremely daffy, and her beau is a laid back kind of guy. I am pleased to find that they are on video.

fantastic video series finally on video!
I remember watching No, Honestly in the 70s and I have been looking for these videos for years! It is great that they have finally been released. Pauline Collins is terrific! These videos are highly recommended!

Oh, Honestly!
This show is very seventies and in my opinion, very good! The characters, CD and Clara recount the events leading up to their marriage. Clara is as cute as a whip and a bit scatterbrained and CD is most understanding and usually the recipient of all the disasters that befall them. A most entertaing show that really is funny in a nice clean sort of way. I give this show two wrench's up!

Wonderful, delightful, witty -- British humor at its best!
No, Honestly is a wonderfully funny British comedy showcasing the comedic talents of Pauline Collins and John Alderton as two young people who meet, fall in love, and eventually marry. The viewer is presented with a tour-de-force of wit and hilarity, as we see Charles (John Alderton), a struggling young actor and Clara (Pauline Collins) a kind of British Gracie Allen, look back fondly on their early days together through comical flashbacks that include football teams, parties, parents, friends, and the sometimes bewildering process of falling truly, madly, unexpectedly in love. No, Honestly will prove a delightful and very popular addition to any community library video entertainment collection.

A real treat from two comedic superstars
Since Mr. Liebenson's in-house review says much of what Iplanned to say, I thought I might expand on some of the details. Thereference to Burns and Allen is very apt but with a difference. Burns' timing to Gracie's inanities is slow, letting the audience have their laugh at her line before laughing at his reaction. With this Alderton and Collins, the delivery is rapid-fire; and indeed there are times when I had to ask my wife, "Did you catch that last remark?" because some of the zingers went by too quickly. And of course, those based on British idioms need footnotes for us Colonials.

As with Hyacinth Bucket's family relations, Clara's loopiness is obviously inherited from her parents, who will insist on misinterpreting everything they are told. Into this menage, Royal the super-Jeeves butler fits in perfectly.

The concept of chronological plots in these seven episodes is a good one from their first chance meeting to their (well, it was only 1974!) off-camera wedding night. And, by the way, their reason for not wanting to be known as newlyweds is explained--and fairly logically too, for Clara!--at the start of the episode.

The funniest two of the seven are those based on mistaken identity, that hoary device that goes back to Terence. The 3rd episode has C.D. arrive at his future in-laws just in time to be mistaken for the plumber with predictable results. The 5th episode is more elaborate, when an orphaned C.D. asks two fellow actors to appear as his parents at a dinner given at Clara's, just when her family has to hire temporary help to serve it. Once we accept the silliness of his not wanting to be known as parentless and the premise that no one in these scripts ever really tries to explain a thing in a normal manner, the results are not predictable at all; and this single episode alone is, I think, worth the price of the set.

Now if Acorn Media will only reissue these two wonderful comedians in the "Wodehouse Playhouse" series of "Mulliner" stories, life would be that much more perfect. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Beauty of Ireland
Excellent video. It brought back wonderful memories of my past trip to Ireland. It also gave me new ideas for my next trip. The video has a wonderful blend of lanscape, culture, and history. Unfortunately the video only covers four counties (Donegal, Dublin, Cork, and Kerry), but it covers them very well. ... Read more

Reviews (70)

The Rise and Fall of Tony Soprano continues its way
Tony Soprano is almost a Shakespearean tragic hero. His meteoric rise through the first season has been matched by a slow descent. Through the fourth season, we continue to see this, as those who Tony relied upon (in business, or emotionally, or otherwise) fall away through death, or abandonment (by Tony or the other person).

This DVD set contains the 13 episodes of the fourth season, together with commentary from writers, actors, and David Chase. Unfortunately, only a few of the episodes have such commentary, and the choice of episodes is open to question (episode 4-11, with Tony's dreams, needs interpretation from an authoritative source). The "trailers" at the beginning and end of each episode are also included (i.e., "Previously on the Sopranos", etc.)

All of the regular actors shine, and the bit players are, as always, very well cast.

The quality of most of the episodes is high, perhaps higher than any but the first season. But as the number of planned seasons has gone from four, to five, and now to six, I wonder if the purity of David Chase's vision has not been invaded by fluff. Well, we won't know until the series ends, I suppose.

Highly recommended.

Season 4 is great. You will realize it soon enough!
A lot of these so called Sopranos fans have an IQ of 4 when it comes to realizing what happend over the 13 episodes of season 4. For the first time in the series history we were left with a cliffhanger. If you notice in seasons 1,2,and 3 the story line for the season ended in the season finale. For season 4, Its going to carry over to next year. Dont you people get it? Season 4 was a setup. If you think about it all that happend in the season finale has to be resolved next season. For example, Paulie has been ratting out to new york and will probably get whacked, Adriana has ratted out to the feds and will probably get whacked, and if Tony finds out who really set the fire at the stables thier going down too!! And do you honestly belive that Tony and Carmela will get divorced? PLEASE! The way Tony is, hes going to do everything humanly possible to make up with her, that should be cool to see. And with the news reports of Steve Buscemi and Robert Loggia joining the cast, I think alot of Sopranos fans will quit whining when they see how season 4 was a setup to what looks to be a bad-... season 5

Another Brilliant Season
Above all other seasons, the forth in this groundbreaking series focuses on the complex enigma that is Tony Soprano. Creator David Chase allows Gandolfini's character to go places rarely reached in television or film. Traveling through these thirteen episodes with Tony, a viewer will get to experience utter joy, limitless rage, and the unequaled pain that accompanies an acknowledgment of personal culpability in creating one's troubles.

Tony comes to realize how others truly see him in the early episodes of Season Four. He laughs at his friend Artie and his cronious cohort Councilman Zellman when they nervously try to discuss different requests. He does not understand why they should be so afraid. But soon, he validates their concerns and sees the monster inside that drives away the closest people in his life.

His marriage is also falling apart, a plotline most associated with this season. Gandolfini and Falco provide career performances, particularly in the finale's blow-up scene. But Tony's most powerful moments concern two important losses in his life. Sudden news of the passing of an old acquaintance sends an unstable (and violent) Tony back to therapy and another tender relationship with an animal (remember the ducks) ends with Tony out looking for blood.

Chase loves to allow small incidental moments to provide the genesis for much of the show's conflict, a comment on the fragile nature of life. In the first season, the jokes about Junior's acquired "taste" of his girlfriend drive the wedge between he and Tony that causes many to get whacked. In this season, a throw-away line made about the weight of a tangential character builds and festers animosity all season. Plot built in such a masterful way is just another example of why The Sopranos is television's finest hour.

Click the order button!
Frankly I think they need to make the sopranos a couple more seasons. This season is just as good as all the other ones except for the fact they they jump to conclusions. If you're looking buying this season then that probably means you've already seen the first 3. Anyone who needs to read weather the Sopranos are good from this point has something seriously wrong with them. Go ahead and finish it up already! Why would you stop now!

WARNING ! If you buy this you won't be able to switch off
I've always loved the Sopranos, mainly for its subtle humour and incredible writing and story plots. I always thought The Sopranos would make a good book, because it would sure to be a page turner. Season four is no different. We start the series revitalised and ready for any new troubles that may face Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini better than ever).

The economy is down and the mob business is slow. That can only mean one thing. All the guys are going to have to work twice as hard to make more money. As this happens on Tony's mob side of life, it becomes clear he's also facing troubles at home - amazing acting takes place between Edie Falco and James Gandolfini in the incredible final episode.

This is one of the best things ever to come off of TV, and each episode is almost like a mini movie, action - drama - twists and turns. The only problem is, you buy this DVD, you're guaranteed to call in sick for work the next morning to carry on watching. You may even find yourself dropping the words 'BADA BING, BADA BOOM' into a conversation unknowingly... ... Read more

Reviews (293)

art collides with television
Twin Peaks rates as one of the most singularly innovative additions to network telelvision. David Lynch's obsession with making the everyday middle-american world beautifully strange (the word "awe" with its horrific element intact is useful here) and Mark Frost 's (St Elsewhere) quirky writing meld seamlessly in this soap opera that exposes to much beneath its surface. The episodic nature of television often strains to create new episodes that maintain sturdy characters while repeatedly playing the same scenario over and over. In this case the characters are superficial, common and quirky. But rather than falling into the dull routine of love triangles and deceit (although TP has these in abundance) Lynch and Frost immediately disrupt quiet american life with a murder--a dead prom queen, Laura Palmer, floats up to Pete Marshall shattering his early morning fishing routine. The town is cast into chaos. FBI agent Dale Cooper, played perfectly by Kyle MacLachlan, enters the town wide-eyed and appreciative of its tranquil simplicity. Using holistic methods, Cooper unravels the black underbelly that provides the illusion of innocence. Playing between superficial soap opera moments and some of the most horrific and surreal moment ever shown on TV, Lynch and Frost use the weekly format to delve deeply into the dark forces and evils which exists within beauty. And the show is ultimately beautiful in its raw exploration that reveals fear is always obliterated by love--not justice or truth. The show's inteligence survived its first season by hiding behind the murder mysery of Laura Palmer. Lynch and Frost planned to leave this mystery unsolved indefinitely in order to explore all corners of Twin Peaks. Unfortunately, the network forced the team to rush towards a solution in the second season fearing that ratings were dropping because viewers needed closure (actually Twin Peaks was losing the soap opera element as they realized the world of Twin Peaks was more complex and real than most prime time viewers were prepared to patiently stomach). Without its central nexus and Lynch leaving to complete Wild at Heart, the show floundered until Lynch's return. However, the show snapped back into brilliance following Lynch's return. But it was too late. The show met the same fate of all brilliant American network shows that shined too brightly before its time--it was cancelled. The team put together a final TV movie that "ended" the show in the manner it began. Lynch followed it with a dreamlike prequel in the theaters called Fire Walk With Me (a creepy mantra pulled from Laura's phantom killer). All of this if assembled adds up to a work of visual art that was way ahead of its time and dismissed as quirky and silly--but its rough end was probably caused by people expecting to be entertained by quirkines, but kept safe from the show's more awesome yet brutal spectacles. Still the entire work (if one can find it all and watch it in order) stands as a challenge to network programming need for dumbed-down product. First time viewers and skeptical fans should bravely revisit this fragmented masterpiece.

The best presentation of Twin Peaks
I won't try to sell you on the series in this review. I just want to say that this is, flat out, the best that Twin Peaks has ever looked (unless of course you were David Lynch and had the original master copies.)

Before the series was released on DVD, we had two options: We could either watch the high quality VHS version of the first season, or we could watch the low quality VHS version of both seasons. The first season boxed set was pretty good--you even got to see the "previously on Twin Peaks" montage, but it only covered the first seven episodes of the show. The complete box set had quality issues as all of the episodes were crammed onto 6 tapes--gone were the "previously on Twin Peaks" montage and there were issues with the picture/sound quality. Boo!

But I have received the DVDs and just love them. The show looks outstanding. If you want to share Twin Peaks with someone this DVD set is the way to do it--just a spectacular looking picture with great sound and no picture issues. Overall, Artisan did a great job and I would highly recommend the set to anyone looking for a high quality copy of the first season.

The show that saved television for the nineties
Okay, after waiting the two extra weeks for the release, from what I understand it was due to high demand, I faithfully went out and bought the DVD set today(Dec 18th) and boy my import DVD of the pilot really looks shoddy now in comparison to the brilliant transfers of the original series and the DTS sound and the packaging of this box set is very sweet. It DOES look and sound better than when it origianlly aired 11 years ago and broke the ground for such shows as The X Files Northern Exposure and American Gothic. If you are a Twin Peaks fan do not deny yourself. Make it a Xmas present for yourself. The extras do leave a little to be desired, but it has been said the extras on subsequent releases (and the more the first season sells the sooner we get the second season which may be in two separate sets) the extras are going to be even phatter. I have only watched the first disc so far (eps 1 and 2)and the extras (on disc 4) and I was blown away. The deep textures and feel of the show is beautifully maintained and looks fantastic and Angelo's score really stands out revealing the genius he is in his own right. I would recommend buying the import DVD and there are many to be had on Ebay (mainly because it looks better than my 11 year old copy of the original airing or any previous VHS release) even if the sound quality is a bit distorted at times, just because we may never get the pilot on DVD. There are no deleted scenes but there are script notes in the chapter selections for each ep which describe with text altered dialogue and deleted scenes giving fans a real inside look at the development of the series. The commentary is intersting and I personally like that they added the "previously on Twin Peaks" intros to each show like when it aired on TV. The one bright spot of the extras is the "Twin Peaks Directory" that starts with Laura Palmer where fans can get lost in the different characters and their various relationships to each other including bios and filmographies and in some cases "Video Postcards" which are excerpts of interviews ranging from how they got involved with the show or glimpses of their home life etc. Like Richard Beymer's psychedelic trip down the Amazon and Al Strobel's poignant story of the accident(when he was 17) which cost him his arm. It is a true delight for fans. And the extra an "Introduction to David Lynch" gives an insightful journey through vatious interviews on what it's like to work with him and work on the show. I can't say enough about how good these shows look. I kept saying "This looks fantastic" and "There is no other show like this nor will there ever be again." It dared the television audience to use their minds and get lost in the characters and their intertwining relationships to the point where you didn't care who killed Laura Palmer because there was so much more to dive into besides the main arc of the series. Don't hesitate. Go buy it now, because I want the second season to come out ASAP. I would give five stars but I adamantly agree Artisan should have went the extra mile to get the pilot. And in closing, something I noticed. The Republic Pictures emblem is on this DVD set. Well, guess what? It's on the import DVD of the pilot as well, so what's the problem? I'm guessing it had something to do with the European release of the pilot with the alternate ending but who knows for sure I don't even thinks Artisan does. Dust off that recipe for cherry pie, put on some coffee and invite your friends over for a Twin Peaks party, especially those who haven't seen it before (costume optional).

Great set...where is season 2?
All Twin Peaks fans need to buy this set...Season 2 isn't available yet but maybe it will be if more copies of Season 1 are sold. This first set was really well done and actually has extras unlike a lot of other David Lynch discs. If you loved the series, you'll love this.

As others have stated, the pilot episode is available and the quality is very passable.

A slice of pie, coffee and murder
"Twin Peaks" didn't roar out of the gate when it first appeared. Lynch and Mark Frost quietly set up this twisted soap opera (which had an impact and influence on the style, look and texture of everything from "The X-Files" to "CSI"). My only complaint is that when I received this as a gift, my wife didn't know that the pilot episode wasn't included and that's where the murder occurs.

Here's what you do get--seven episodes in a nearly pristine high definition transfers of the original full screen series on four discs with extras on disc four. There's material from the fan website, a booklet (which should have had more material on the series), interviews, introductions by the Log Lady and audio commentary. I haven't accessed the latter two features yet and have only watched bits and pieces of each episode until I receive the 90 minute pilot episode.

The packaging is exceptional although it's in an accordian fold out case. Curiously (or not as Lynch isn't the most interested in doing audio commentaries from what I can tell), it looks as if Lynch doesn't do an audio commentary for the series. The set only gets four stars as it doesn't include the pilot and honestly this could have been put onto a two or three disc dual layered set without any loss of quality at a less expensive price. Still, all told it's always interesting to visit Twin Peaks. Aside from some damn fine coffee you're never quite sure what you'll get in Lynch and Frost's twisted tale of murder, money and dry humor. Get it before it goes away. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In the same vein as The Larry Sanders Show, The Newsroom exploits the foibles behind the scenes of a television program (this time a Canadian public newsroom rather than a talk show), using dark humor and incredible wit. Ken Finkleman stars as George Findlay, a news director with few morals, an affection for bran muffins, and a BMW constantly in need of repair. (One of the funniest running jokes of the series is his quarrels with his BMW dealer, who must submit to George's tasteless anti-German remarks; when the dealer refuses to send someone to pick up George's car in order to fix a broken window, George retorts, "Well, listen, you had no trouble sending people over to Poland.") Finkleman is supported by a wonderful cast, including a less-than-submissive intern (she refuses to run his errands), two producers who are happy to "alter" the news, and a somewhat clichéd anchorman who makes bubbleheaded on-air faux pas.This set contains all 13 episodes of the show. For those lucky enough to have seen The Newsroom on television, this is a wonderful chance to relive the hilarious moments.For those who have yet to see the program, this is the perfect opportunity to discover one of the most intelligent and clever television shows made. --Jenny Brown ... Read more

Reviews (10)

"Newsroom" is sophisticated and wickedly funny satire.
If you love writing, acting and overall production like "Sports Night," "SCTV," and "Northern Exposure," you should feel your intelligence and funny bone rewarded with "Newsroom." What is it about Canadians that makes them so talented at very urbane parody and satire? They really know how to hit their target with just the right characterizations. Well, they got my attention big time with this series, which is now a part of my entertainment library.

Note: Somebody from Chicago told me that her cousin worked in the actual newsroom and offices where the series was filmed during working hours. I have this image of these stories being played out in the middle of the characters that inspired them. Funny is as funny does.

Brilliant
One of the best sitcoms of all time. Canadian television at its best. Excellent satire of tv news.

I asked for a BRAN muffin.. this isn't a BRAN muffin!!!
I stumbled onto this PBS series several years ago when it first aired, and was able to tape it on VHS, subsequently watching it over and over again.

This series KILLS me! I'm positively giddy as I see now that it's available on DVD. (Therefore, this rating applies to the series itself and not to the quality of the DVD release).

What can I say.. this show is brilliant, and the series finale is the height of over-the-top cynical humor. There are still moments when I think back on this series and laugh out loud.

If you like a little wickedly cynical humor, especially the kind that exposes all the ugly and pathetic human vices, then you will likely LOVE this series. And if you don't, you're probably in a coma, in which case.. watch out, George is probably scheming to take over your parking space!

Hilariously ahead of its time!
With the success of the BBC's "The Office" here in the US, fans of acerbic humor owe it to themselves to check out "The Newsroom." This Canadian contribution to the genre of wickedly funny workplace satires pre-dates Britain's "The Office" by a few years, but time has done nothing to take away its bite. Every character from the self-centered producer to the vacuous anchor to the put-upon intern is deftly played and gives the sharp dialogue just the right spin. This show never gained more than a minor cult following, but the time is right for a serious re-appraisal. The DVD version imrpoves on the VHS, with some nice extras, but really either verison of the show is well worth your money and (more importantly) your time.

Garry Shandling, get out your notebook
I was lucky enough to stumble upon "The Newsroom" on PBS, and after having only caught 3 episodes, they stopped showing it. Right away, I searched far and wide over the internet for this boxed set, and it's one of my most prized possessions. A half hour of this show is funnier than most of today's two hour movies. It's perfect in every aspect: writing, acting, directing, and laughs. It remains one of my favorite TV shows or movies, and if you like classics like this is spinal tap, larry sanders show, or network, this you have to check out. ... Read more

Reviews (69)

Best mini-series I have ever seen!
I recently watched North and South, and I was swept away into a time period that is such an important part of our American history. I feel that we often forget about the way our country was once torn apart. This depiction of what the North and South were like in the mid 1800's was excellent. I enjoyed it immensely and enjoyed Book II as well.

Great Mini-Series but C'mon Bring it on DVD
This is one of those events which mixes great drama, sex appeal and down right fun on the small screen. After 17 years and 3 mini series with top calibre actors including James Read, Patrick Swayze, Wendy Kilbourne, Jonathan Frakes, Jimmy Stewart, Johnny Cash and Hal Holbrook, this mini-series helped bring back an interest in the Civil War. Shot on location throughout the real South, the story involves the relationship of two friends, one a Northern factory owner and the other, a Southern Plantation owner. The story has everything you want to keep you intrigued, greed, sex, action, comedy, history, friendship, deceit. Book 1 takes you through the friendship build up of Read and Swayze and the lead up to the Civil War. Book 2 takes us through the Civil War as Read and Swayze take sides against each other as opposing generals. The third book and the least entertaining was shot nearly 10 years after the second book and offers the reconstruction of the country and the expansion to the West. Most of the original cast is back minus Swayze who opted to stay away after he had a semi-successful big screen career going. Like I said, it is a great mini series and I hope that the powers that be will bring it out in a 3 volume set on DVD, it certainly deserves it.

Simply EXCELLENT
North and South by far has to be the best TV miniseries of all time. The saga of the Hazard and Main families is set against a back drop of a fairly young country about to be divided by civil war.

The series begins with Orry Main (Patrick Swayze) of Mount Royal, South Carolina setting off to go to the Military Academy at West Point. On his way he rescues the very beautiful Madeline Fabray(Leslie-Anne Down) from a buggy accident and a snake. After taking Ms. Fabray to her destination, he is back on his journey to West Point. Another character that Orry meets on his trip is George Hazard(James Read) and they soon become life long friends. North and South follows both Orry and George during their time at the Point, the Mexican War and after. There is an all-star cast too many to mention.

This first installment of the North and South Trilogy follows the lives of both Orry and George and their respective families through the period leading up to the Civil War. North and South written by John Jakes is the best historical fiction book I have read and this Miniseries has stayed true to form. Because of the historical correctness I would say that this movie has enough appeal for those men that can't get enough of Civil War history or even general war history. The main characters in this are fictional, however there are references to historical figures like Lincoln, Grant and Lee to name a few. However there is certainly plenty of appeal to women, namely Swayze and there is an excellent love story as well. That being said I definitely recommend seeing this miniseries as well as North and South Book Two: Love and War.

simply the best mini series I've seen
I found it outstanding because it had an all star cast.It help me get a better outlook in the history of the south and the north.I always look forward to seeing it on the television.

It's Key-det Bent, an' He's from Joe-Jah, SUH!
Don't forget the villans, the men and women you just love to hate
(or is it hate to love?). Ashton must've been JR Ewing's grand ma. Kirstie Alley as Virgilia...I must say, did she take her acting lessons from someone's ex-wife for that role or what? ... Read more

Description

Available previously as a 5-part VHS set, New York now boasts two all-new episodes.The series offers fourteen spectacular hours of programming that chronicle the history of New York - from its beginning in 1609 as a Dutch trading post, through the turbulent years of change in the decades following World War II, to its present day status as one of the most important and influential cities in the world.

SYNOPSES
Episode 1: The Country and the City(1609 - 1825) chronicles the arrival of the Dutch, the impact of the English, the horrors of colonial slavery and New York's critical role in the American Revolution.
Episode 2: Order and Disorder(1825 - 1865) looks at New York's rise as a burgeoning cultural center and multi-ethnic port, concluding with the Civil War Riots - America's bloodiest civil disturbance. Episode 3: Sunshine and Shadow(1865 - 1898) turns the spotlight on a period of greed and wealth that fueled the expanding metropolis - even as politics and poverty defined it.
Episode 4: The Power and the People(1898 - 1918) follows New York into a new century, examining the interplay of capitalism, democracy and transformation in the wake of an extraordinary wave of immigration and the birth of the skyscraper.
Episode 5: Cosmopolis(1919 - 1931) details the African-American experience, the birth of new media industries and the incredible array of human and cultural energies that converged, ending with the construction of the world's tallest building.
Episode 6: City of Tomorrow(1929 - 1941) traces the spectacular but often troubling changes that overtook New York due to the crash of 1929 and the beginning of World War II.
Episode 7: The City and the World(1945 - Present) chronicles the history of New York from the end of World War II through today, exploring the complexities of the post-modern city and the turbulent years of physical, social and cultural change in the decades following the war. ... Read more

Reviews (42)

Extraordinary and compelling documentary!
I have just finished viewing the 6th Disc of the incredible journey of the greatest city in the world, and just had to share my excitement and disbelief at what I have been watching. Ric Burns does an extraordinary job of showing the history of New York from it's discovery by Henry Hudson to modern times. Each episode is addictive and compelling. Once the use of film and motion picture is employed in this collection at the turn of the 20th Century, each episode becomes even more amazing. I was amazed at the footage of the Empire State Building and the Chrylser Building as they were being built. The pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge being built were astounding. The time of La Guardia and seeing him in action, while Robert Moses built bridges and highways all around the city and beyond to Long Island was stunning. The history of Central Park, the Erie Canal, the plan for the streets of the city, the building of the subways and tunnels, the railroads, the coming of the immigrants, and many more were incredible to see. Being a native New Yorker born in the early 70's, I was exhilarated, but saddened at the same time while watching this, that I was not around to experience the great growth of the city. This film does justice though, as it brought me deep inside the history, and allowed me to see so vividly how New York came to be what it is today. I highly recommend all to view this, for not only is it a history of New York, but a history of why American is what it is today. It all started in New York City.

More justice. Better as the DVD version
The Burns family has come up with some fine work, from Baseball, to the Civil War; and now the latest, New York. A fine successor.
Ric Burns explores the early history of New York, starting with the God-created attributes of the region and one of the world's finest natural seaports. But the treasure is found in what man has added to the Apple, starting with the Erie Canal, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Subway system. The Bridge's history has itself been the subject of much scholarship, and Burns does it well also. The creation of the skyline, including the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building are some of the series best moments, filled with some of the fascinating type of information that fans of Burns' documentaries have come to expect and enjoy.

The history of New York is the history of immigrants, and the interaction of Irish, Italians, Africans and other groups is splendidly examined. The politics of the City, such as the rise and demise of Al Smith and Jimmy Walker are well explored also.

My few complaints are minor, and don't detract from the work. F. Scott Fitzgerald seems to have become a demi-god to Burns, and after awhile, I found the continued references to him and his
work tiring. More than a few minutes on the early history of Harlem would have been a welcome replacement.

I purchased the DVD version, although I had the videocassettes. Am I glad I did! It has two additional discs, which try to bring the series up to date. Fiorello LaGuardia and Robert Moses, the two most pivotal figures in the history of the City, are splendidly explored. More examination of the development and contribution of Harlem (which I lamented in the review of the VHS version) is also welcomed. New York's post W.W. II predominance as the true center of the Earth is made plain. As the series progresses, we see the value of the City (any city), the destruction of the great and old in the name of urban renewal, and the slow cancer of suburban sprawl.

Even those not from New York will find it to be a rich, interesting history, worth of the length of time one must devote to its viewing. The rest of the world will understand some of why New Yorkers love their home as they do. Those expatriate New Yorkers will be tugged to head back home. All in all, brilliant, brilliant work.

AMAZING!
If you are from New York this DVD set is a must have. Absolutley riviting and informative.The old film footage and other epherma that was collected for this compilation is remarkable. I literally sat through all 7 DVDs in one sitting without a moment of boredom. If you love history this will be a valued addition to any collection, even if you are not from NY.

Learn history painlessly
I have told several friends that they need to watch this wonderful series. Almost everyone seems to think that history is boring. It isn't - you just had boring history teachers in high school, that taught history in a boring manner. If history was taught as the clash of great personalities and the range of choices they had, and it was explained why the person choose the path they did based on the limited resources they had to divide between all their goals and aspirations - people would recognize that alot of history is facinating. As you learn the history of the city of New York you will also learn a great deal about American history - because they are so intertwined.

A Great Series for a Great City
Though there are many older cities than New York, in the (relatively) short time of its existence, no city has captured the imagination, desire, love, and even hatred, that New York City has. Ric Burns has captured all of these emotions and more in this, one of the finest documentaries ever put on film.

The series traces the history of NYC from its earliest days as a Dutch trading post through 2000 (an additional volume was produced after the September 11th terrorist attack). Using interviews, stories, & archival material (prints, paintings, photographs, and old silent films), Burns pulls the viewer in to the life of all types of New Yorkers through the last 300+ years. ... Read more

Reviews (41)

The history of professional wrestling for this generation.
The WWF has created a box set which not only depicts their history, but also many wrestlers and the sport itself. It is a walk down memory lane for most and a chance for new fans to see how some wrestlers got their start. It would have been nice if the WWF had packaged some type of written manual with the videotape. In it, they could have listed Wrestlemania facts, wrestler biographies, etc. Viewing all of the tapes will take some time due to the 3 hours per tape. It is great to see the classic matches like Steamboat vs. Savage, Hogan vs. Warrior, Micheals vs. Diesel, Austin vs. Hart. It is also nice to see Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, etc. in Wrestlemania matches. It seems anyone in this business has been at least one Wrestlemania. One question for the WWF, was it really necessary to preview those four other tapes and the super bowl commercial in every tape? Nonetheless, the WWF is, was, and shall be sports entertainment at it's finest. While expensive, this collection is recommended.

WWF Wrestlemania: The Best Event Of The Year 15 Times Over
When you have a chance to own all 14 Wrestlemanias' for less than $10 a tape, you must certainly go for it. I have everyone on tape since it's inception and I can tell you it is well worth every penny. Everyone will enjoy these tapes. I mean if you are a Hulkamaniac, you've got Wrestlemania I - IX containing the Hulkster...If you like HBK, you've got him in his early days with the Rockers and then as he matures into a WWF Champion...If Bret Hart is more to your liking, you have got him as a Tag Team Champ, Intercontinental Champ, and a World Champ all in the set...And for the man who is just like that 'ol Texas Rattlesnake "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, you watch him in his unforgettable feud with Bret Hart and you get to see him achieve the ultimate goal -- the WWF Championship. Pick up these tapes, you're never gonna get a better deal, if you smell what I'm cookin brother.