Monday, January 16, 2012

Gunner Palace DVD

  • American soldiers of the 2/3 Field Artillery, a group known as the "Gunners," tell of their experiences in Baghdad during the Iraq War. Holed up in a bombed out pleasure palace built by Sadaam Hussein, the soldiers endured hostile situations some four months after President George W. Bush declared the end of major combat operations DVD Features: , Available Subtitles: English , Available Audi
GUNNER PALACE - DVD MovieGunner Palace may well prove to be the emblematic film of the Iraq war, offering a yet-to-be rivaled level of intimacy with the inner lives of those who hate war more than anyone--the soldiers who have to fight it. A war documentary seemingly without an agenda, at least in political terms, it appears to neither support left-wing nor right-wing interpretations of the Iraq war (or perhaps it supports both). Director Michael Tucker provides a ground-level view of the conflict! by closely following members of the 2/3 Field Artillery. He lived with these soldiers, documented their daily lives in a bombed-out former pleasure palace once belonging to Uday Hussein, accompanied them on raids, and recorded their brutally honest observations on film. We learn that mortar attacks typically fail to rattle the troops, but that paper bags or packages in the streets that may contain Improvised Explosive Devices evoke gut-churning anxiety. We see Iraqi civilians whose homes are raided, cowering with fear as these members of the occupation search for contraband weapons. We meet soldiers who express profound doubts about the morality of their mission, soldiers who earnestly hope they’re helping the people of Iraq, soldiers who roll on the ground with laughter at the ineffective armor they've been provided for their Humvees. Most of these men (and occasionally women) hail from small towns and vacillate between exaltation for the adventure they're experiencing ! on the world stage and deep confusion and disillusionment at h! ow it's proceeding. At one point in the documentary, Tucker returns to his home in the states; some footage of him making breakfast in his kitchen is shocking when one considers that only twelve hours previous he was in a war zone. Gunner Palace recapitulates this dissonant sensation by virtue of its candor and proximity to the conflict. In the 1970s the major broadcast media brought Vietnam into our living rooms via the nightly news. Gunner Palace, practically by itself, provides the same service today. --Ryan Boudinot

Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows - 10th Anniversary Collector's Edition

  • Never before released on DVD - Hitman Hart -Wrestling with Shadows, with bonus DVD, The Life and DEath of Owen Hart
  • "...truly a knockout film." - WALL STREET JOURNAL
  • ". . . it could be the best documentary I've ever seen." - IAN BROWN, writer/broadcaster
  • "...do yourself a favor and tune in." - L.A. Times
  • "I sat mesmerized . . . mind-boggling." - The West Australian
BEYOND THE MAT RINGSIDE - DVD MovieBarry Blaustein's critically acclaimed documentary about wrestling takes viewers beyond the ring and into the lives of the men and women who inhabit this colorful, competitive, and surprisingly complex world. During the five years he spent working on the film, Blaustein discovered that the control wrestlers exert in the ring is often contrasted by the lack of control they have in their own lives. Some pursue dreams--others are pursued by personal demons. Always rel! aying his love and respect for his subject matter, Blaustein travels on the open road with the wrestlers, shares their most intimate moments with their families, and witnesses their victories and defeats in the ring. 108 minutes.At first, this behind-the-scenes documentary about professional wrestling seems as if it will be an unabashed fan's whitewash of the increasingly bizarre and popular world of "sports entertainment," as it is known. But director Barry Blaustein (a Saturday Night Live veteran who has cowritten many of Eddie Murphy's films) goes much deeper than you'd expect in a film that is at once entertaining and disturbing. By focusing on a trio of wrestlers who give him surprising access, Blaustein uncovers human stories that can be wrenching in their stark honesty. That's particularly true of one-time superstar Jake "the Snake" Roberts, whose career has fallen on hard times because of a crack habit; Roberts brings Blaustein along for his first encounter ! in several years with his grown, estranged daughter. Blaustein! also go es into the lives of Terry Funk and Mick "Mankind" Foley in ways that are both revealing and, at times, upsetting. More than just a fan's appreciation, this is that rare documentary that shows you sides of a familiar subject you never knew existed. --Marshall FineAt first, this behind-the-scenes documentary about professional wrestling seems as if it will be an unabashed fan's whitewash of the increasingly bizarre and popular world of "sports entertainment," as it is known. But director Barry Blaustein (a Saturday Night Live veteran who has cowritten many of Eddie Murphy's films) goes much deeper than you'd expect in a film that is at once entertaining and disturbing. By focusing on a trio of wrestlers who give him surprising access, Blaustein uncovers human stories that can be wrenching in their stark honesty. That's particularly true of one-time superstar Jake "the Snake" Roberts, whose career has fallen on hard times because of a crack habit; Roberts brings ! Blaustein along for his first encounter in several years with his grown, estranged daughter. Blaustein also goes into the lives of Terry Funk and Mick "Mankind" Foley in ways that are both revealing and, at times, upsetting. More than just a fan's appreciation, this is that rare documentary that shows you sides of a familiar subject you never knew existed. --Marshall FineTHE NEW Double DVD set: BRETT THE HITMAN HART
And never before released on DVD,
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF OWEN HART....

Bret Hart, five times' champion of the World Wrestling Federation, sits in a hotel room - one day before the most important fight of his life.

Sure, it's just professional wrestling, but this match is different. It will be Bret's last in the WWF, a company for whom he's been the top guy and loyal champion for years. The owner of the company, the legendary Vince McMahon, want's him out, only months after signing an unprecedented twenty years contract. Now he want's him to lose his final match as well.

It's not just another wrestling show for Bret. This fight will determine how his character 'The Hitman', wrestling's favourite good guy for the last decade, will be remembered.

Sitting in a hotel room, one day before the match. What Bret doesn't know, is that he will be the target of the biggest double cross in the history of professional wrestling.

Over the span of one year, an award winning documentary film crew followed Bret Hart. They hoped for an unprecedented look behind the scenes of the WWF. What they got was the most dramatic story in the history of wrestling.

HITMAN HART is a story about loyalty and betrayal, money and greed, dignity and disgrace. It's about fathers and sons, fans and icons, and keeping one's integrity in a world of moral uncertainty. In a word, it's a film about being human.


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