Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre -The Complete Collection Gift Set (1982) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)After years of waiting, Faerie Tale Theatre fans can finally own the series on DVD. Shelley Duvall's series originally appeared on Showtime 20 years ago and featured well-known and rising stars of the time. The series' enthusiastic interpretations of beloved fairy tales has made it a cult classic. Better yet, the DVD prices are affordable, especially after the high prices the used VHS copies have been earning in recent years.
The collection package featured here contains all of the 26 fairy tales created for the series. The original series had an extra special, called Grimm Party, that was a retrospective of the series with various casts and Shelley Duvall. Unfortunately, this episode has never been made available on VHS, laser disc, or DVD, not being included in licensing packages. While this might be a disappointing omission, it shouldn't lessen the thrill of finally having DVD editions of the 26 tales themselves at a great price.
Here's a list of all 26 episodes contained in this collection:
The Tale of the Frog Prince
Rumpelstilskin
Rapunzel
The Nightingale
Sleeping Beauty
Jack and the Beanstalk
Little Red Riding Hood
Hansel and Gretel
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
The Princess and the Pea
Pinocchio
Thumbelina
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Beauty and the Beast
The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers
The Three Little Pigs
The Snow Queen
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Cinderella
Puss 'n Boots
The Emperor's New Clothes
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
The Princess Who Had Never Laughed
Rip Van Winkle
The Little Mermaid
The Dancing Princesses

Click Here to see more reviews about: Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre -The Complete Collection Gift Set (1982)

Click here for more information about Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre -The Complete Collection Gift Set (1982)

Read More...

The Four Complete Historic Ed Sullivan Shows Featuring the Beatles (1964) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This 2 disc set provides a most wonderful glimpse of an important time in both music and television history. Most notably, it contains the three full length shows (along with commercials) that were integral in the Beatles' first visit to the United States. The Beatles perform their chart toppers in the U.S. including "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "She Loves You," "From Me To You," and "Please Please Me." The set also includes a most intriguing (and complete) 1965 show where you can clearly see the group's growth as songwriters. The 1965 song set consists of "I'm Down," "Ticket to Ride," and "Help." This is a long way in a relatively short time from "All My Loving" and "From Me To You." The first show is the one most treasured by fans, and it obviously is a must-see. Viewing the complete show allows you to better appreciate the magnitude and importance of the Beatles appearance in the U.S. However, ALL of the shows provide an amazing look at popular music during this time. Performances by Mitzi Gaynor, Cab Calloway, and the original brodway cast of Oliver (including Davy Jones who later became a member of the Monkees) are incredible and historical. Cilla Black (also managed by Brian Epstein) performs two enjoyable numbers.
One interesting note about the entire set is that you might get a feel for the generation gap that existed in America at that time and what impact the Beatles had on whom Ed Sullivan called "youngsters." Performances by Acker Bilk, Tessie O'Shea (from England), and Gordon & Sheila McCrae show us what most adults who tuned in to Sullivan were listening to. The Beatles clearly went against the grain. As one famous person noted, "Suddenly, there were the Beatles and everybody else. And everybody else just looked wrong." As you see the younger generation embrace the Beatles, references to Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and even Dave Barry's comedy routine (on disc 3) seem like something that only the "old folks" would be interested in and perhaps considered very "square." Suddenly, the younger generation has decided what they like and what they would listen to. Soon after the Beatles first visit, Sullivan would be sure to always include "something for the youngsters."
Historic and classic comedy routines by Allen & Rossi, Morcombe & Wise (also from England), and Soupy Sales are enjoyable to watch as well. The novelty acts are quaint and somewhat amusing, but nevertheless important because they were an integral part of Sullivan's shows. The real importance of these discs lies in the music and musical productions.
The only drawback to the set is that it leaves Beatle fans hungry for more in the sense that now we want "the story behind the story." Davy Jones mentioned his inability to leave the wings during the broadcast because he was so enraptured by the Beatles' performance and how he suddenly realized that he wanted a future in a band. McCall & Brill, who perform a comedy skit on the first show, have told of their experience that Sunday night. Ed Sullivan hated their skit and wanted them to switch to another routine just before they hit the air. They panicked and didn't know what to do. By chance, they met the Beatles backstage while John Lennon was looking for a Coca-Cola. All of the Beatles made them feel more at ease and they went ahead with the routine, but Sullivan was not pleased. You'll notice that he does not call them over to shake hands, which is what Sullivan usually did with the acts he truly liked. It would have been nice to see interviews with reflections from those involved in the production of the first show.
There are naturally some technical glitches once in a while but they are really not noticable. The shows are in glorious black and white and the audio is at its best. If you are a Beatle fan, this is definitely a must-buy. If you're not, but have a longing for musical variety programs once again, this set is still classic and enjoyable.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Four Complete Historic Ed Sullivan Shows Featuring the Beatles (1964)

An estimated 73 million Americans tuned in to watch the Ed Sullivan Show when the Beatles performed All My Loving, Till There Was You, She Loves You, I Saw Her Standing There and I Want To Hold Your Hand. And every one of these songs is included on this rockin' dvd! They are all part of 20 live performances and 7 number one hits!
Format: Color, NTSC
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. )
Number of discs: 1
Rating:
Studio: Ventura Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: November 23, 2004
Run Time: 240 minutes
Size: 7 1/2" x 5 1/4" x 1"

Click here for more information about The Four Complete Historic Ed Sullivan Shows Featuring the Beatles (1964)

Read More...

The Adventures of Robin Hood, Vol. 1 (4 episodes) (1955) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)"The Adventures of Robin Hood," starring British actor Richard Greene was broadcast on CBS from 1955 through 1958 and later had a successful run in syndication for a number of years. The series featured good acting by a variety of British character actors, innovative set design (for its time), and interesting scripts, a number of which were written by blacklisted Hollywood writers like Ring Lardner, Jr. using aliases. It was also one of the very first series produced in England that aired in the United States and paved the way for the "British Invasion" of the Sixties for shows like "Secret Agent (a/k/a "Danger Man"), "The Saint," and "The Avengers," among many others.
While "The Adventures of Robin Hood" has had an official release of its first three seasons (of four) in Great Britain, many of the episodes have fallen into "public domain" status in the U.S. and, consequently, different episodes from the series have been sporadically released by a variety of companies specializing in public domain material. Having seen most of these public domain releases of the Robin Hood series that have been released on DVD to date, I can say that Alpha Video's Robin Hood episodes are among the best available on the market at present. Unlike most of the other Robin Hood DVD releases, the prints used by Alpha are relatively defect-free in terms of scratches, dirt, etc. and audio is fine for a series that is nearly 50 years old. The prints are clean with mostly solid contrast.
Volume 1 features the series' premiere episode, "The Coming of Robin Hood." This episode was previously released on a DVD from another company, but was missing about a minute and a half of footage. Not so with Alpha's print . . . it's complete and uncut. The other three episodes included on this DVD are all from Season 2 and are making their U.S. debut on DVD. They are "The Borrowed Baby," "The Final Tax," and "The Ambush."
Perhaps the only negative on this disc is the fact that on one of the episodes, the end credits are incorrect, i.e., they have been spliced in from a different episode, perhaps as a way of including the famous Robin Hood theme song at the end.
My rating is closer to **** ½ for this release.


Click Here to see more reviews about: The Adventures of Robin Hood, Vol. 1 (4 episodes) (1955)

Get 69% OFF

Click here for more information about The Adventures of Robin Hood, Vol. 1 (4 episodes) (1955)

Read More...