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The Old Grey Whistle Test 2
Television Bob Harris (VI), Anne Nightingale, Rory Gallagher, Dave Hepworth, Van Morrison, Andy Kershaw, Eric Clapton, Mark Ellen, Ian Whitcomb
In some ways "The Old Grey Whistle Test Volume 2" is more interesting than its predecessor, as it covers the show's enjoyably uncomfortable period of transition from beard-rock to punk/new wave. Hence, the music ranges across the likes of Loggins and Messina (the frightful "The House at Pooh Corner"), the Who, Judee Sill, Argent (doing "God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You", which all "Bill and Ted" fans probably think is a Kiss original), Roy Harper, the Adverts, the Undertones (not playing "Teenage Kicks", sadly), Patti Smith and Siouxie and the Banshees. There's also some arty stuff that doesn't really fit into either camp, including Kevin Ayers and Roxy Music at their uncommercially weirdest. There are a few nicely revelatory moments, too, such as the realisation that Thomas Dolby's "Hyperactive" was in fact a nu-jazz masterpiece born 20 years too soon and that Robbie Williams should cover Aztec Camera's wonderful "Walk Out to Winter" immediately. This is an enjoyable and diverse collection of music from a fairly fraught period in the history of more-or-less popular music, so it's good to be reminded just how much good stuff was actually happening amidst the melée.
On the DVD: "The Old Grey Whistle Test 2" comes on only one disc (the first was a two-disc set), but you still get 30 or so excellent tracks plus all the trimmings, so that's hardly a fault. The layout features the same kind of horribly overdesigned menus as its predecessor: there's no obvious chapter sub-menu, believe it or not; instead, you have to access individual tracks through the artists' gallery in the extras section! Aargh! Other extras include contributor profiles, additional linking material and the wonderful "Old Grey Squirrel Test" animation, which mere words would only spoil for those who have yet to see it. "--Roger Thomas"

Oliver Twist
Ben Kingsley, Jamie Foreman, Barney Clark, Harry Eden, Leanne Rowe, Edward Hardwicke, Mark Strong, Ian McNeice
If Charles Dickens were alive to see Roman Polanski's faithful adaptation of "Oliver Twist", he'd probably give it his stamp of approval. David Lean's celebrated 1948 version of the Dickens classic and Carol Reed's Oscar-winning 1968 musical are more entertaining in some ways, but Polanski's rendition is both painstakingly authentic (with superb cinematography and production design) and deeply rooted in the emotional context of the story. Both Polanski and Dickens had personal experiences similar to those of young Oliver (played here by Barney Clark)--Polanski in the Nazi-occupied ghettos of Poland during World War II, and Dickens during his hard-scrabble youth in Victorian London--and this spiritual kinship lends a certain gravitas to the tale of a tenacious orphan who escaped from indentured servitude in London society and is taken in by Fagin (Ben Kingsley) and his streetwise gang of pickpockets.
As the evil Bill Sykes, who exploits Oliver for his own nefarious needs, Jamie Foreman is no match for Oliver Reed (in the '68 musical) in terms of frightening menace, but even here, Polanski's direction hews closer to Dickens, while the screenplay by Ronald Harwood (who also wrote Polanski's "The Pianist") necessarily trims away subplots and characters for the sake of narrative economy. All in all, this Oliver Twist" rises above most previous versions, and with the benefit of Kingsley's nuanced performance, Polanski arrives at a compassionate conclusion that captures the essence of Dickens' novel in a way that viewers of all ages will appreciate for many years to come.-- "Jeff Shannon"

Open Your Eyes
World Cinema Eduardo Noriega, Penélope Cruz, Chete Lera, Fele Martínez, Najwa Nimri Alejandro Amenábar
"Open Your Eyes" ("Abre Los Ojos") is a film that may give anyone who has seen Tom Cruise's "Vanilla Sky" (2001) "déjà vu". Indeed, the Hollywood version is an inferior remake of this superb Spanish original. The plots of the two movies are virtually the same--Penelope Cruz even plays the same role in both--but here everything is done with rather more European subtlety and intelligence. It's also easy to see how the part of a good-looking urban playboy whose life is thrown into crisis must have appealed to Cruise, as Eduardo Noriega's star turn here seems a tailor-made template for the American superstar.
After a car accident, which leaves Noriega's character seriously disfigured, he finds himself in an almost literal nightmare charged with murder and beset by a memory so unreliable the very identity of the people around him shifts. Like the novels of Christopher Priest--particularly "The Affirmation" and "The Glamour"--this is a tale with strong science-fictional appeal, about the nature of personality, memory and identity. Powerfully written, scored and directed by Alejandro Amanabar ("The Others"), "Open Your Eyes" is a delirious, erotic and stylish thriller whose recursive ending provides its own sequel. It's the best head-trip this side of "Memento" and definitely not to be confused with Tom Cruise's similarly titled "Eyes Wide Shut".
On the DVD: "Open Your Eyes" on DVD has no features of any kind, with the film presented in the original Spanish with large, easy-to-read yellow subtitles imposed directly onto the print itself and no option to turn them off. The sound is good, well-balanced stereo and the picture--presented non-anamorphically at 1.77:1--is clear, detailed and mostly lacking in grain. --"Gary S Dalkin"

Outer Limits: The Original Series - Season 2
Science Fiction & Fantasy Outer Limits Kenneth Johnson
When aliens come to Earth to ask for our help, a few suspicious humans discover their horrific true intentions and prepare to resist.

Outer Limits: The Original Series 1963-1964
Science Fiction & Fantasy Outer Limits
Contains the following episodes:
Galaxy Being, Hundred Days of the Dragon, The Architects of Fear, The Man with the Power, Sixth Finger, The Man Who Was Never Born, O.B.I.T., Human Factor, Corpus Earthling, Nightmare, It Crawled Out of the Woodwork, The Borderland, Tourist Attraction, The Zanti Misfits, The Mice, Controlled Experiment, Don't Open Until Doomsday, ZZZZZZ, The Invisibles, The Bellero Shield, Children of the Spider County, Specimen: Unknown, Second Chance, Moonstone, The Mutant, The Guests, Fun and Games, The Special One, A Feasibility Study, Production & Decay of Strange Particles, The Chameleon, and The Forms of Things Unknown.

System Requirements:
Running time: 1642 minutes Copyright MGM 2003

Format: DVD MOVIE



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