The Tempest, the last of William Shakespeare's great plays, was adapted for the screen for the first time by Derek Jarman in 1979. Among the most visionary of modern film artists, Jarman, who died of AIDS in 1994, at age 52, was one of the first directors -- outside of the porno circuit -- to present openly gay material in feature-length films. Shot on location at the ancient and ghostly Stoneleigh Abbey, The Tempest tells the story of Prospero, the magician, who lives with his nubile daughter on an enchanted island and punishes his enemies when they are shipwrecked there. It's a study of sexual and political power in the guise of a fairy tale. Jarman presents Shakespeare's intricate comedy of magic and revenge in a form that is at once faithful to the spirit of the play and an original... Less

Collated from film collector and historian Raymond Rohauer's private library, and featuring over five hours of footage, AVANT-GARDE 2: EXPERIMENTAL CINEMA FROM 1928-1954 presents an astounding collection of short films. The set includes the sexually charged "Geography of the Body" by Willard Maas, a suggestive montage of mechanical contraptions in motion; "The Cage," a silent surrealist film by Sidney Peterson, based on ocular symbolism; and "The Fall of the House of Usher" by James Watson and Melville Webber, an adaptation of Edgar Alan Poe's story featuring Cubist sets. The collection also features four films by Stan Brakhage, including his first movie INTERIM, shot in 1952, as well as works by Gregory J. Markopoulos, Jean Mitry, Paul Lenigerman, Marie Menken, and Dimitri Kirsanoff... Less

October / Oktyabr (COLLECTORS EDITION) 1928 This Collectors Edition has been digitally restored to improve picture and sound quality without degrading the look and feel of this historic example of early cinema. MOVIE DESCRIPTION Commissioned by the Soviet government, October, was filmed to commemorate the ten year anniversary of the 1917 October Revolution. Filmed in documentary style, it depicts events starting with the end of the monarchy in February 1917 through the Revolution in October. When the Soviet government commissioned two movies to be made about the October Revolution, Sergei Eisenstein was chosen to head up one due to his enormous success with The Battleship Potemkin. Eisenstein used more of his ground-breaking film techniques to pull the viewer into the movie... Less

(Double Bass and Piano). By Paul Ramsier. Double Bass. Boosey & Hawkes Chamber Music. Boosey & Hawkes #M051360161. Published by Boosey & Hawkes

Buster Keaton plays the whimpy son of 'Steamboat Bill' Canfield, a salty tugboat captain, in this silent classic. The younger Bill spends most of his time trying to live up to his father's tough expectations. Then, to make matters worse, he falls in love with the daughter of the old man's fiercest rival--only to end up coming to everyone's rescue in the movie's heroic ending. Contains one of the most famous (and dangerous) scenes in silent film history--that of Keaton escaping the crush of a collapsing building when he happens to stand in the same exact spot as the window frame.This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

An exciting aviation-thrills serial from late silent era. 1928 was the last year when silent films dominated the market, and this aviation-based action serial from Pathe was one of the studio's last. Some pieces are no longer extant (half of chapters 3&6, all of 7, 8, and 9, and the beginning of the 10th and final chapter), but the beginning and end are there as well as enough to follow the action adequately. An inventor has created a silencer/muffler for planes to silence any engine sounds, and the bad guys are out to steal the invention and put it to evil use. Frank Clarke, a real-life aviator whose other film credits seem to be all aviation- related, stars as the hero who also romances the scientist's daughter. The aviation stunts and photography are impressive as is the location... Less

The silent cinema was America's first modern entertainment industry, a complex social, cultural, and technological phenomenon that swept the country in the early years of the twentieth century. Richard Koszarski examines the underlying structures that made the silent-movie era work, from the operations of eastern bankers to the problems of neighborhood theater musicians. He offers a new perspective on the development of this major new industry and art form and the public's response to it.

An LAPD cop finds himself caught in the middle of a vicious love triangle as Christmas approaches, and a zombie outbreak throws the city into chaos. The lights are strung and the presents are under the tree, but when the living dead rise, the holidays turn into a living hell. It's bad timing for LAPD Officer Frank Talbot. His partner and his wife have fallen in love, and he was just about to leave them both behind when the world changed forever. Now he's got no other choice but to fight alongside them. Just when it seems as if the situation couldn't get any worse, Officer Talbot learns that cornered lovers can be far more dangerous than the living dead.

Filmed on location in Tahiti, WHITE SHADOWS IN THE SOUTH SEAS was originally intended as a project for famed documentary filmmaker Robert Flaherty, whose NANOOK OF THE NORTH had cleaned up at the boxoffice. At first given complete artistic control, Flaherty began faltering in terms of keeping cast and crew organized; even worse, he moved too slowly to suit his parent studio MGM. More and more directorial authority was relegated to Flaherty's assistant, the phenominally fast W. S. "Woody" Van Dyke. Frustrated, Flaherty resigned (some reports claim that he fell ill and was taken off the project), and the film became solely the responsibility of Van Dyke. Despite the wails from the pro-Flaherty camp about "compromise" and "bastardization", the finished WHITE SHADOWS IN THE SOUTH SEAS is a... Less

SILENT MOVIE is director Mel Brooks's comic tribute to the golden days of the silent screen. A movie within a movie SILENT MOVIE stars Brooks as Mel Funn a filmmaker who has seen better days--for one thing he's just come out of a bout with the bottle. When his best friends Marty Feldman and Dom DeLuise rescue him from despair and convince him to make another attempt at moviemaking Mel comes up with an idea--a silent picture. Alas this is the 1970s and in order to get backing from wacky frazzled studio chief Sid Caesar the three pals have to get lots of celebrities to agree to be in their silent picture. SILENT MOVIE is in fact silent and all the celebrities play themselves or parodies of themselves. Funny warm and packed with sight gags galore the film evokes the days of Chaplin Keaton... Less