Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Do the Right Thing [Blu-ray]

  • Condition: New
  • Format: Blu-ray
  • AC-3; Color; Dolby; DTS Surround Sound; Dubbed; NTSC; Subtitled; Widescreen
The hottest day of the year in the bedford-stuyvesant area of brooklyn explodes into events that will change the residents lives forever. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 01/09/2007 Starring: Danny Aiello Ruby Dee Run time: 120 minutes Rating: R Director: Spike LeeSpike Lee's incendiary look at race relations in America, circa 1989, is so colorful and exuberant for its first three-quarters that you can almost forget the terrible confrontation that the movie inexorably builds toward. Do the Right Thing is a joyful, tumultuous masterpiece--maybe the best film ever made about race in America, revealing racial prejudices and stereotypes in all their guises and demonstrating how a deadly riot can erupt out of a series of small misunderstandings. Set on o! ne block in Bedford-Stuyvesant on the hottest day of the summer, the movie shows the whole spectrum of life in this neighborhood and then leaves it up to us to decide if, in the end, anybody actually does the "right thing." Featuring Danny Aiello as Sal, the pizza parlor owner; Lee himself as Mookie, the lazy pizza-delivery guy; John Turturro and Richard Edson as Sal's sons; Lee's sister Joie as Mookie's sister Jade; Rosie Perez as Mookie's girlfriend Tina; Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee as the block elders, Da Mayor and Mother Sister; Giancarlo Esposito as Mookie's hot-headed friend Buggin' Out; Bill Nunn as the boom-box toting Radio Raheem; and Samuel L. Jackson as deejay Mister Señor Love Daddy. A rich and nuanced film to watch, treasure, and learn from--over and over again. --Jim EmersonThe hottest day of the year explodes onscreen in this vibrant look at a day in the life of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Featuring a stellar ensemble cast that includes Danny Aiello, O! ssie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Robin! Harris, Samuel L. Jackson, Bill Nunn, Rosie Perez, and John Turturro, Spike Lee's powerful portrait of urban racial tensions sparked controversy while earning popular and critical praise. Criterion is proud to present Do the Right Thing in a new Director Approved special edition. Spike Lee's incendiary look at race relations in America, circa 1989, is so colorful and exuberant for its first three-quarters that you can almost forget the terrible confrontation that the movie inexorably builds toward. Do the Right Thing is a joyful, tumultuous masterpiece--maybe the best film ever made about race in America, revealing racial prejudices and stereotypes in all their guises and demonstrating how a deadly riot can erupt out of a series of small misunderstandings. Set on one block in Bedford-Stuyvesant on the hottest day of the summer, the movie shows the whole spectrum of life in this neighborhood and then leaves it up to us to decide if, in the end, anybody actually does th! e "right thing." Featuring Danny Aiello as Sal, the pizza parlor owner; Lee himself as Mookie, the lazy pizza-delivery guy; John Turturro and Richard Edson as Sal's sons; Lee's sister Joie as Mookie's sister Jade; Rosie Perez as Mookie's girlfriend Tina; Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee as the block elders, Da Mayor and Mother Sister; Giancarlo Esposito as Mookie's hot-headed friend Buggin' Out; Bill Nunn as the boom-box toting Radio Raheem; and Samuel L. Jackson as deejay Mister Señor Love Daddy. A rich and nuanced film to watch, treasure, and learn from--over and over again. --Jim EmersonIt's the hottest day of the summer. You can do nothing, you can do something, or you can...Do the Right Thing. Directed by visionary filmmaker Spike Lee, Do the Right Thing is one of the most thought-provoking and groundbreaking films of the last 20 years. The controversial story centers around one scorching inner-city day, when racial tensions reach the boiling point in a tough Brookly! n neighborhood. Featuring over four hours of bonus features, ! a digita lly remastered picture and new 5.1 surround sound audio, Do the Right Thing 20th Anniversary Edition captures an unforgettable piece of American history.Spike Lee's incendiary look at race relations in America, circa 1989, is so colorful and exuberant for its first three-quarters that you can almost forget the terrible confrontation that the movie inexorably builds toward. Do the Right Thing is a joyful, tumultuous masterpiece--maybe the best film ever made about race in America, revealing racial prejudices and stereotypes in all their guises and demonstrating how a deadly riot can erupt out of a series of small misunderstandings. Set on one block in Bedford-Stuyvesant on the hottest day of the summer, the movie shows the whole spectrum of life in this neighborhood and then leaves it up to us to decide if, in the end, anybody actually does the "right thing." Featuring Danny Aiello as Sal, the pizza parlor owner; Lee himself as Mookie, the lazy pizza-delivery guy; John! Turturro and Richard Edson as Sal's sons; Lee's sister Joie as Mookie's sister Jade; Rosie Perez as Mookie's girlfriend Tina; Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee as the block elders, Da Mayor and Mother Sister; Giancarlo Esposito as Mookie's hot-headed friend Buggin' Out; Bill Nunn as the boom-box toting Radio Raheem; and Samuel L. Jackson as deejay Mister Señor Love Daddy. A rich and nuanced film to watch, treasure, and learn from--over and over again. --Jim Emerson

Amadeus - Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)

  • Director's Cut
  • 2-Disc Special Edition
THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART, TOLD INFLASHBACK MODE BY ANTONIO SALIERI - NOW CONFINED TO AN INSANE ASYLUM.The satirical sensibilities of writer Peter Shaffer and director Milos Forman (One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest) were ideally matched in this Oscar-winning movie adaptation of Shaffer's hit play about the rivalry between two composers in the court of Austrian Emperor Joseph II--official royal composer Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham), and the younger but superior prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce). The conceit is absolutely delicious: Salieri secretly loathes Mozart's crude and bratty personality, but is astounded by the beauty of his music. That's the heart of Salieri's torment--although he's in a unique position to recognize and cultivate both Mozart's talent and career, he's also consumed with envy and i! nsecurity in the face of such genius. That such magnificent music should come from such a vulgar little creature strikes Salieri as one of God's cruelest jokes, and it drives him insane. Amadeus creates peculiar and delightful contrasts between the impeccably re-created details of its lavish period setting and the jarring (but humorously refreshing and unstuffy) modern tone of its dialogue and performances--all of which serve to remind us that these were people before they became enshrined in historical and artistic legend. Jeffrey Jones, best-known as Ferris Bueller's principal, is particularly wonderful as the bumbling emperor (with the voice of a modern midlevel businessman). The film's eight Oscars include statuettes for Best Director Forman, Best Actor Abraham (Hulce was also nominated), Best Screenplay, and Best Picture. --Jim EmersonGripping human drama. Sumptuous period epic. Glorious celebration of the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This marvelous ! winner of eight Academy Awards(R) portrays the rivalry between! the gen ius Mozart (Tom Hulce) and the jealous court composer (Best Actor Oscar(R) Winner F.Murray Abraham) who may have ruined Mozart's career and shortened his life. A note-perfect cinematic event whose immortality was assured from its opening night, Amadeus is an unlikely candidate for the director's-cut treatment. Like one of Mozart's operas, the multiple Oscar-winning theatrical version seemed perfectly formed from the outset--ideal casting, costumes, sets, cinematography, lighting, screenplay, music, music, music--so the reinstatement of an extra 20 minutes simply risks adding "too many notes." Yet though this extended cut can hardly be said to improve a picture that needed no improvement, it does at least flesh out a couple of small subplots and shed new light on certain key scenes. Here we learn why Constanze Mozart bears such ill will towards Salieri when she discovers him at her husband's deathbed, and we see deeper into the reasons why Mozart has no students. The s! tructure of the picture is otherwise unaltered.

The director's cut of Amadeus finally accords this masterful work the DVD treatment it deserves. The handsome anamorphic widescreen picture is accompanied by a choice of Dolby 5.1 or Dolby stereo sound options, and it's all contained on one side of the disc. Director Milos Forman and writer Peter Shaffer provide a chatty though sporadic commentary, but they're obviously still too mesmerized by the movie to do much more than offer the odd anecdote. The second disc contains an excellent new hour-long "making of" documentary, with contributions from Forman, Shaffer, Sir Neville Marriner, and all the main actors, taking in the scriptwriting, choice of music, casting, and problems involved in filming in Communist Czechoslovakia with half the crew and extras working for the Secret Police. --Mark Walker

A Walk through the Heavens: A Guide to Stars and Constellations and their Legends

  • Projects starts, moon and planets
  • 3D glasses included
  • Features a focus dial
  • Displays up to 10,000 stars on walls and ceiling for the home
  • Planetarium sound track included
The Star Theater Pro is a sleek, portable projector that projects an exciting map of the night sky directly onto your ceiling or wall. This optical star projection system comes with two discs, a Starfield disc and an Earth/Moon/Sun disc, that can be easily inserted into the spherical projector unit to give you a crystal-clear display of cosmic scenery. Star Theater Pro is the optical projection system that allows you to explore distant galaxies from the comfort of your bed or provide stellar entertainment for friends and family.

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Star Theater Pro

Ages: Adult
Requires: Three AA batteries

What We Think

Fun factor: 4 starts
Durability: 5 starts
Ease of assembly: 5 starts
Educational factor: 4 starts
Novelty factor: 5 starts

The Good: Quick and easy setup for instant cosmic entertainment

The Challenging: The closer the surface, the smaller the image

In a Nutshell: An entertaining way to view galactic scenes from the comfort of your bedroom or living room
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Star Theater Pro

Star Theater Pro allows you to relax under the starry night sky in the comfort of your own home.

Projector Turns Your Home into a Planetarium

! The Star Theater Pro optical star projection system is a sleek, spherical projector that transforms any wall or ceiling into a starry night sky. The main projection unit is a modern-looking, plastic sphere that sits on a simple base, which swivels the projector easily and securely into any position. Once the projector is in position, the projection can be viewed as a still image or as a slowly rotating view of the night sky by selecting the rotate option on the main control panel. Other features include a timed shut-off option, a focus dial, an optical-quality lens, and the option to power the unit by AA batteries (not included) or AC adaptor (included.) The included planetarium soundtrack can be played on any CD player while using the Star Theater Pro to enhance the overall planetarium experience.

Star Theater Pro slide

Includes two slides: Earth/Moon/Sun & Star Field.
View larger.

Versatile Projector Works Almost Anywhere

The Star Theater Pro is easy to set up and comes with two image discs, a Starfield disc and an Earth/Moon/Sun disc. These discs fit into the disc tray located on the front of the projector. Once inserted, the spherical projector can be turned to face any flat wall or ceiling surface. The focus dial located on the top of the projector around the optical lens can then be used to make sure the galactic image is sharp and crystal clear.


The small size and sleek shape of the projector make it easy to place in a bedroom or living room unobtrusively, and the option to power the projector by battery makes it possible to place it in almost any room in your home. Set up the projector in your living room as an entertaining way to learn about the solar system and distant galaxies, or use it to drift off to sle! ep in your bedroom by setting the shut-off timer and playing the planetarium background soundtrack.


What's in the Box

Star Theater Pro projector unit, base, AC adaptor, lens cover, two image discs, planetarium soundtrack CD, instruction manual.


A Walk through the Heavens is a beautiful and easy-to-use guide to the constellations of the northern hemisphere. By following the unique simplified maps, readers will be able to easily find and identify the constellations and the stars within them. Ancient myths and legends of the sky are retold, adding to the mystery of the stars. Written for the complete beginner, this practical guide introduces the patterns of the starry skies in a memorable way. No equipment is needed, apart from normal sight and clear skies. Milton D. Heifetz is a clinical professor of neurosurgery at the University of Southern California and visiting professor at Harvard Medical School. This is his first astronomy book.! Wil Tirion is the author of numerous sky guides, including ! The Camb ridge Guide to Stars and Planets (1997), The Cambridge Star Atlas (1996), and The Monthly Sky Guide (Cambridge, 2003). Previous Edition Hb (1998): 00-521-62513-0

Living with a Black Dog: His Name Is Depression

  • ISBN13: 9780740757433
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
BLACK DOG - DVD MovieAn ex-con daredevil trucker must reinfect himself with white-line fever in order to save his wife and kid from nasty gunrunners in this enjoyably mindless, twisted-metal-fest from the director of Passenger 57. Longtime MIA action stud Patrick Swayze (who snagged the part after Kevin Sorbo had to suddenly vacate due to health problems) is even more expressionless than usual in the lead role, but helmer Kevin Hooks compensates with a seriously rocking country soundtrack, some pleasantly eccentric supporting characters (including erstwhile crooner Randy Travis and a way-over-the-top Meatloaf as a psychotic trucker preaching damnation by the dashboard light), and--most importan! tly--a whole lot of rolling iron getting smashed in spectacularly kinetic fashion. A low-down, down-home, cotton-picking flick that blows up real good. --Andrew WrightOne in four women and one in six men will suffer from depression at least once in their life. Few are immune. It was the greatly admired Winston Churchill, a depression sufferer for much of his life, who nicknamed this human condition "Black Dog."

Living with a Black Dog is perhaps the most useful book ever created about depression. In simple text and strongly supportive illustrations, this slim volume examines, explains, and demystifies one of the most widespread and debilitating problems afflicting modern society.

Whether you've struggled with your own Black Dog for years, wondered why you're feeling sort of "ruff" lately, or known someone shadowed by a dark canine, Living with a Black Dog is for you. Artist and writer Matthew Johnstone, a depression sufferer himself, delivers! a moving and uplifting insight into life with this unsavory c! ompanion . Even better, the book shows the strength and support to be found within and around us to tame this shaggy beast and ultimately bring it to heel.

Johnstone's book doesn't pretend to have all the answers. It doesn't resort to simple "dog tricks" for dealing with depression. But Living with a Black Dog does deliver understanding, hope, and the assurance that Black Dog days are not forever.

A Haunting in Connecticut

  • The day Karen and  Ed Parker move into their dream home, ominous clues of its chilling funeral parlor past greet them: crucifixes on doors, toe tags and coffin keys in the basement. Soon, the house is plagued by dark forces that torment the entire family, forcing Edward and Lorraine Warren - investigators of the Amityville haunting - to be called in. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR
Based on a chilling true story, Lionsgate's THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT charts one family's terrifying, real-life encounter with the dark forces of the supernatural. When the Campbell family moves to upstate Connecticut, they soon learn that their charming Victorian home has a disturbing history: not only was the house a transformed funeral parlor where inconceivable acts occurred, but the owner's clairvoyant son Jonah served as a demonic messenger, providing a gateway for spiritual entities to cross over. Now, u! nspeakable terror awaits when Jonah, the boy who communicated with the dead, returns to unleash a new kind of horror on the innocent and unsuspecting family.Based on a chilling true story, Lionsgate's The Haunting in Connecticut charts one family's terrifying, real-life encounter with the dark forces of the supernatural. When the Campbell family moves to upstate Connecticut, they soon learn that their charming Victorian home has a disturbing history: not only was the house a transformed funeral parlor where inconceivable acts occurred, but the owner's clairvoyant son Jonah served as a demonic messenger, providing a gateway for spiritual entities to cross over. Now, unspeakable terror awaits when Jonah, the boy who communicated with the dead, returns to unleash a new kind of horror on the innocent and unsuspecting family.

As Seen On The Discovery Channel
The day Karen and Ed Parker move into their dream home, ominous clues of its chilling funeral parlor past greet them: crucifixes on doors, toe tags and coffin keys in the basement. Their 14-year-old son, Paul, claims he sees ap! paritions and hears voices. Soon, the house is plagued by dark forces that torment the entire family, and it will take a desperate call to Edward and Lorraine Warren--investigators of the Amityville haunting--to offer any hope of relief.

Appleseed Ex Machina [Blu-ray]

  • The next installment in the Appleseed franchise, Appleseed: Ex Machina,available on DVD! Produced by John Woo and Directed by Shinji Aramaki,and featuring next generation CG technology, Appleseed: Ex Machina isback bigger and badder! Based on the manga from reknown creator Shirow Masamune, in this movie,Deunan and Briareos are both partners and lovers. As members of ESWAT,the elite forces servi
The next installment in the Appleseed franchise Appleseed: Ex Machinaavailable on DVD! Produced by John Woo and Directed by Shinji Aramakiand featuring next generation CG technology Appleseed: Ex Machina isback bigger and badder!Based on the manga from reknown creator Shirow Masamune in this movieDeunan and Briareos are both partners and lovers. As members of ESWATthe elite forces serving Olympus they are deployed everywhere troublestrikes. The two fighters find their partnership tested in a new way by! the arrival of Tereus who uncannily resembles Briareos before thewartime injuries that led to his becoming a cyborg. At the same timeOlympus finds itself under a stealth attack . Cyborg terrorism deadlynanotech zealots and rioting citizens are just some of the threats thatDeunan must contend with as she fights to save Olympus.System Requirements:Running Time: 104 minutesFormat: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY/FANTASY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 085391200666 Manufacturer No: 120066Produced by John Woo and directed by Shinji Aramaki, Appleseed Ex Machina (2007) ranks as the most elaborate, stylish, and violent of the three adaptations of Masamune Shirow's manga. When it was released in 1988, the original Appleseed felt like a summary of anime's past, while Akira pointed the way to the future. The second Appleseed (2004), also directed by Aramaki, was an unimpressive motion-capture CG feature that borrowed elements from other sci-fi anime. In this lat! est incarnation, Deunan, Briareos, and Tereus of the E.S.W.A.T! . team a re charged with preserving the peace of the city-state of Olympus, a hi-tech paradise on a largely ruined Earth. Screenwriters Kiyoto Takeuchi and Todd W. Russell have given the story a contemporary twist, adding attacks by "cyborg terrorists" and an effort by the ruler of Olympus to control a world-wide satellite surveillance system. When cyborgs and human launch coordinated attacks on the government headquarters in Olympus, Deunan, Briareos, and Tereus swing into action against a mysterious enemy. The plot has little in common with the earlier films: the Appleseed technology that was at the core of the story isn't even mentioned. The look, tone, and characters in Ex Machina recall Shirow's Ghost in the Shell, rather than the original Appleseed. Not surprisingly, the elaborately choreographed fight scenes reflect Woo's signature style, with slo-mo martial-arts combat, close-ups of falling shells, dynamic camerawork, and all-out gun battles. But the weig! htless movements of the motion-capture characters and the limited rendering of the skin textures gives Appleseed Ex Machina the feel of an extremely elaborate computer game. Despite the limits of the mo-cap technology, Appleseed Ex Machina is a fast-past, take-no-prisoners cinematic adventure that will delight action-movie fans as well as anime lovers. (Rated PG-13: violence, violence against women, profanity, grotesque imagery, potentially offensive religious imagery.) --Charles Solomon

The Horse Whisperer

  • After a devastating riding accident, a young girl and her beloved horse are both left with serious physical and emotional scars. Determined to help, the girl s desperate mother (Thomas) puts her busy, big-city life on hold and travels west to seek out the "Horse Whisperer." When she meets this, rugged, down-to-earth rancher (Redford), she discovers his extraordinary gift with animals also touches
"I've started horses since I was 12 years old and have been bit, kicked, bucked off and run over. I've tried every physical means to contain my horse in an effort to keep from getting myself killed. I started to realize that things would come much easier for me once I learned why a horse does what he does. This method works well for me because of the kinship that develops between horse and rider. " --Buck Brannaman

In THE FARAWAY HORSES, Brannaman shares his methods for training and  p! rovides a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Robert Redford's movie The Horse Whisperer, for which he was the technical advisor.
 
*Authoratative figure in horsemanship
*Reveals the key to understanding animals
BUCK BRANNAMAN is a horse gentler--not a horse "breaker"--who has started more than 10,000 young horses in his clinics. He lives with his family in Sheridan, Wyoming.

WILLIAM REYNOLDS is the associate publisher of Cowboys & Indians magazine. He lives with his family in Santa Ynez, California.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

His name is Tom Booker. His voice can calm wild horses, his touch can heal broken spirits. And Annie Graves has traveled across a continent to the Booker ranch in Montana, desperate to heal her injured daughter, the girl’s savage horse, and her own wounded heart. She comes for hope. She comes for her child. And beneath the wide Montana ! sky, she comes to him for what no one else can give her: a rea! son to b elieve.The Horse Whisperer is a story made in Hollywood heaven. The novel was written by a first-time author, and the film option was snapped up by aging heartthrob Robert Redford for 3 million smackers. Why take such risks on a brand-spanking-new author? The answer becomes clear upon reading the touching tale.

One morning while teenage Grace Maclean is riding Pilgrim, her goofy, loveable pony, she has a horrendous glass-shattering, bone-splintering, ligament-lynching meeting with a megaton truck that leaves her and her four-legged friend damaged in mind, body, and spirit. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, her jaded, brilliant, bitchy mom, Annie Graves (Kristin Scott Thomas in the 1998 film) is working out a wrinkle in her self-absorbed existence when she gets a call at her plush, Manhattan office about Grace's accident. Racked with guilt, Graves makes it her calling to find the mythical horse whisperer, an equine Zen master who has the ability to heal! horses (and broken souls) with soothing words and a gentle touch. Just when it seems he can't be found, what do you know, she finds him. He arrives in the form of Tom Booker-- a rugged, sensitive, dreamy cowboy who helps Pilgrim and Grace repair their fractured selves. To add more mesquite to fire, Booker has a way with not-so-injured, attractive, married women--like Annie. As the plot thickens, so does the familial strife, which threatens to undo Booker's healing work.

Like an expert cinematographer, Evans deftly crafts each scene with precision and clarity, sprinkling in ominous signs and foreboding images. For example, in the opening paragraphs, as Annie starts out on the tragic ride, she comes across a bloody bird wing that seems to have fallen out of nowhere. The weight of impending doom is further strengthened by the truck driver's bad luck--he has a run-in with the highway patrol just moments before his meeting with Grace and Pilgrim. These not-s! o-subtle subliminal messages are masterfully stitched in thro! ughout t he story and may compel readers to act as if they were watching a B-grade horror movie, shouting aloud, "Don't go there!" However sentimental, The Horse Whisperer is an engaging read, sort of like a finely tuned, well-edited film. --Rebekah Warren#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

His name is Tom Booker. His voice can calm wild horses, his touch can heal broken spirits. And Annie Graves has traveled across a continent to the Booker ranch in Montana, desperate to heal her injured daughter, the girl’s savage horse, and her own wounded heart. She comes for hope. She comes for her child. And beneath the wide Montana sky, she comes to him for what no one else can give her: a reason to believe.No Description Available.
Genre: Soundtracks & Scores
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 7-APR-1998Soundtracks can sometimes be disjointed affairs, lacking the cohesion necessary to create a mood when! collecting songs from various artists. This is a pitfall the soundtrack from the forthcoming film The Horse Whisperer melodically and artfully avoids. From the first honest, unsentimental notes of Dwight Yoakam's "Cattle Call" you are taken wholeheartedly onto this wide-open prairie of soulful, plaintive music. The Horse Whisperer soundtrack is a fluid, coherent gathering of the most literate and distinctive voices in country music today, including Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, The Mavericks, Iris DeMent, and The Hill Country Flatlanders (featuring original Flatlanders Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, and Joe Ely). This spare, haunting ensemble of wistful twangs and hopeful hearts is a must-have for any country collection. --Dominique D'Anna Academy Award(R)-winner Robert Redford (Best Director, 1980, ORDINARY PEOPLE) stars with Adademy Award(R)-nominee Kristin Scott Thomas (Best Actress, 1996, THE ENGLISH PATIENT)! in this landmark epic adapated from one of the most acclaimed! novels of our time! After a devastating riding accident, a young girl and her beloved horse are both left with serious physical and emotional scars. Determined to help, the girl's desperate mother (Thomas) puts her busy, big-city life on hold and travels west to seek out the "Horse Whisperer." When she meets this rugged, down-to-earth rancher (Redford), she discovers his extraordinary gift with animals also touches the lives of the people around him! Featuring Hollywood favorites Sam Neill (JURASSIC PARK) and Oscar(R)-winner Dianne Wiest (Best Supporting Actress, 1994, BULLETS OVER BROADWAY) in a superb cast -- critics and moviegoers alike were captivated by this powerful motion picture event!Although it's best viewed on a big theatrical screen to take full advantage of Robert Richardson's breathtaking widescreen cinematography, it seems likely that most people will see this classy romance in the comfort of their own homes. Adapted from the bestseller by Nicholas Evans and directed! by Robert Redford, the film did respectable business at the box-office, but it was too sprawling and too soapy to be a bona fide hit. Redford stars as the title character, a Montana rancher named Tom Booker, who possesses the specialized talent of healing traumatized horses through careful and affectionate rehabilitation. He gets his most challenging case when he's sought out by a fast-lane New York magazine editor (Kristin Scott Thomas, in a role modeled after former New Yorker editor Tina Brown) whose daughter (Scarlett Johansson) was injured and traumatized by an accident that nearly killed her favorite horse. When mother, daughter, and horse arrive at Booker's ranch, the big-city editor falls in love with the serene rancher and faces the painful decision of whether to stay in Montana or return to her husband (Sam Neill) in New York. Some may find this to be much ado about nothing, and comparisons to The Bridges of Madison County are inevitable, but Redfo! rd's directorial approach offers the kind of graceful stature,! tendern ess, and intelligence required to elevate the simple story. The film takes all the time it needs to let its characters heal and make their important decisions, and that alone makes it a refreshing alternative to the frantic pace of most big-studio productions. --Jeff Shannon

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