DVDpedia : Library : Title : G

Theatrical: 1999

Studio: DreamWorks

Genre: Comedy

Duration: 102

Summary: You don't have to be a "Star Trek" fan to enjoy "Galaxy Quest", but it certainly helps. A knowingly affectionate tribute to "Trek" and any other science fiction TV series of the 1960s and beyond, this crowd-pleasing comedy offers in-jokes at warp speed, hitting the bull's-eye for anyone who knows that: (1) the starship captain always removes his shirt to display his manly physique; (2) any crew member not in the regular cast is dead meat; and (3) the heroes always stop the doomsday clock with one second to spare. So it is with Commander Taggart (Tim Allen) and the stalwart crew of the NSEA Protector, whose intergalactic exploits on TV have now been reduced to a dreary cycle of fan conventions and promotional appearances. That's when the Thermians arrive, begging to be saved from Sarris, the reptilian villain who threatens to destroy their home planet.
Can actors rise to the challenge and play their roles for real? The Thermians are counting on it, having studied the "historical documents" of the "Galaxy Quest" TV show, and their hero worship (not to mention their taste for Monte Cristo sandwiches) is ultimately proven worthy, with the help of some Galaxy geeks on planet Earth. And while "Galaxy Quest" serves up great special effects and impressive Stan Winston creatures, director Dean Parisot (Home Fries) is never condescending, lending warm acceptance to this gentle send-up of sci-fi TV and the phenomenon of fandom. Best of all is the splendid cast, including Sigourney Weaver as buxom blonde Gwen DeMarco; Alan Rickman as frustrated thespian Alexander Dane; Tony Shalhoub as dimwit Fred Kwan; Daryl Mitchell as former child-star Tommy Webber; and Enrico Colantoni as Thermian leader Mathesar, whose sing-song voice is a comedic coup de grâce. --"Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com"

Theatrical: 1950

Studio: Digiview Productions

Genre: Television

Duration: 75

Summary: THREE GREAT CLASSIC EPISODES 1. Free Trip to Hawaii 2. Income Tax Man 3. Beverly Hills Uplift Society

Theatrical: 2001

Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)

Genre: Art House & International

Duration: 111

Summary: If you've ever felt alienated by the world around you, "Ghost World" will offer laughter, tears, and reassurance that you are definitely not alone. Adapted by Daniel Clowes and "Crumb" director Terry Zwigoff from Clowes's acclaimed graphic novel, the movie spends summer vacation with high school graduates Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlet Johansson). They inflict little tortures on the denizens of urban sprawl, wielding scathing irony as a defense against a "ghost world" full of pop-cultural lemmings and uncertain futures. But when Enid picks a 40-ish vintage-record collector (Steve Buscemi) as the target of her latest cruel prank, she finds herself unexpectedly attracted to him ("he's the opposite of everything I completely hate") and is forced to confront her own crushing loneliness. This combination of deadpan sarcasm and deeply compassionate humanity makes "Ghost World" a rare and delicate comedy, with an ambiguous ending that suggests tragedy or hope, depending on your own point of view. "--Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical: 1982

Studio: AcornMedia

Genre: Musicals & Performing Arts

Duration: 1140

Summary: The "Master Collection" includes 10 Gilbert and Sullivan operettas produced for British television. The Opera World series (1982) is the only comprehensive Gilbert and Sullivan series on video. It comprises 12 G&S works (if you cheat and count "Cox and Box", written by Sullivan without Gilbert), including, for some titles, the only available version. ("Cox and Box" and the one-act farce "Trial by Jury", their first collaboration, are not part of this set.) In terms of quality, the series is uneven. There are some treasures, but some productions have a disconsolate penny-pinching look, and a few need more rehearsal. The casts are a blend of Broadway singers, British and American comedians, and D'Oyly Carte veterans, with stars including Vincent Price ("Ruddigore"), Joel Grey ("The Yeomen of the Guard"), and singer-songwriter Peter Allen ("The Pirates of Penzance"). Frequent standout performers include Keith Michell, Clive Revill, Kate Flowers, and Anne Collins, who shines as a procession of unloved older women.
Of the series, the standouts are "Ruddigore", a trifle of a ghost story set to gorgeous music, and "The Sorcerer", a buoyant tale of a magic potion that causes a whole village to fall in love with the wrong people; "Iolanthe" (a House of Lords satire mixed with ethereal fantasy), "The Gondoliers" (with Sullivan's Italianate, most radiant score), and "Princess Ida" (a satire of higher education for women set in an Arthurian kingdom) are also well worth seeing. The others--"The Pirates of Penzance", "The Mikado", "H.M.S. Pinafore", "Patience", and "The Yeomen of the Guard"--are less satisfying. "--David Olivenbaum"

Theatrical: 1987

Studio: A&E Home Video

Genre: Comedy

Duration: 130

Summary: Jonathan Miller set his well-known production of "The Mikado", staged for the English National Opera, in a British seaside resort of the 1920s. The result, complete with a chorus of gentlemen of Japan as cartoon-like British peers, emphatically underscores the Englishness of the satire. The occasional non sequiturs, like a bunch of gentry dressed for Ascot and singing in Japanese, are loonily fun, and no more absurd than the fantasyland Japan that Gilbert and Sullivan invented. The time frame, though, seems little more than an excuse for a smart black-and-white production design.
The show's main calling card is Eric Idle as Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner. Unfortunately, his star turn of a performance, like the production as a whole, is not as funny as it should be. There are loads of comic ideas, some of them effective (bellboys parading through the hotel lobby with "No flirting" signs), some dubious (Ko-Ko delivering a 1980s-updated "little list" song at a press conference), some worked beyond their shelf life (insanely posh accents). This video recording of a 1987 performance could have been better made; the chorus, badly miked, sounds as if it is far off-stage. The actors' heavy makeup and heavy mugging are reminders that the production wasn't originally created for the camera. Such staginess may take some getting used to, but it fits in nicely with the aggressive fakery characteristic of G&S. This revisionist "Mikado" is probably best after you've experienced more straightforward approaches. "--David Olivenbaum"

Theatrical:

Studio: BBC Warner

Genre: Comedy

Duration: 636

Summary: Originally telecast in the 1970s, "Good Neighbors" is the wonderful 1970s Britcom about an upper-middle-class couple who relinquish consumerism and turn their cozy suburban London home into a self-sufficient farm. Tom (Richard Briers) and Barbara (Felicity Kendal) Good trade in one version of the good life for an impoverished other--an old tractor instead of a car, a goat instead of a purebred pup--to the continuing consternation of their best friends and executive-salaried neighbors, Jerry (Paul Eddington) and Margot (Penelope Keith) Ledbetter. Among the episodes contained in the first three series are "Pig's Lib," in which Margot covertly seeks help from the local residents' association to stop Tom's plans for keeping pigs; "Just My Bill," in which Tom and Barbara face the rare problem of a harvest surplus that has to go somewhere; "Mutiny," in which poor Jerry is caught in a crossfire of obligations to both his boss and bossy Margot; "Going to Pot," in which the Goods come close to abandoning their self-sufficiency ethic when Tom proves a profitable craftsman at the potter's wheel; "The Happy Event," in which the birth of new livestock is wonderful news for the Goods but a sore point with the Ledbetters; and "The Last Posh Frock," featuring Barbara at the end of her rope when her last nice dress gets torn. As always, the series' concept ultimately takes a back seat to the lovely chemistry among four outstanding actors, and story lines that wisely emphasize relationships. Fans of British television would do well to look into "Good Neighbors". "--Tom Keogh"

Theatrical: 2006

Studio: BBC Warner

Genre: Television

Duration: 260

Summary: Better known as "The Good Life" in its native England, the much-beloved 1970s Britcom "Good Neighbors" wrapped up its delightful run during a fourth season, which was capped by a visit from Queen Elizabeth herself. Led by the incomparable Richard Briers ("Monarch of the Glen"), the perfect cast of "Good Neighbors" continues the story of Tom (Briers) and Barbara (Felicity Kendal) Good, a middle-class, suburban couple who gave up their jobs, possessions, and creature comforts (such as electricity) to promote "self-sufficiency." Turning their gardens into farmland, the pair raise pigs, goats, and chickens, grow their own produce, and even take a whack at making their own clothes. Their neighbors and best friends, Jerry (Paul Eddington) and Margo (Penelope Keith) Leadbetter, remain mystified at the Goods' embrace of hard living and are themselves fully committed to luxury and (especially in Margo's case) rubbing elbows with aristocracy.
"Good Neighbors: The Complete Series 4" includes eight choice episodes, including "Away from It All," in which Tom and Barbara take a small vacation from their threadbare life, nervously leaving their agrarian routines in Jerry and Margo's inexperienced hands. "Our Speaker Today" concerns a distraction for Barbara when she becomes a popular guest lecturer to different groups, speaking on the subject of self-sufficiency. Neither she nor Tom is particularly enthusiastic about the endeavor, especially when Barbara is invited to speak to a crowd of libidinous, misfit teen boys. "Anniversary" is the memorable show that more or less ended the series with a crisis faced by Barbara and Tom, but "When I'm 65" is the official closer here. For good reason: the episode celebrates the enormous popularity of the series in Britain with a visit to the show's set by the queen. It's a little startling but unique to see. "--Tom Keogh"

Theatrical: 1981

Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay

Genre: Comedy

Duration: 2122

Summary: The 2006 Saturn Award winner for Best Retro TV Show on DVD just got better with this 13 disc set that includes all 43 episodes of the hit show plus a full size cape iron on transfer logo and a replica of the suit instruction manual with working lights. It's everything you need to be your own Greatest American Hero!System Requirements:Run Time: 2122 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 013131444995 Manufacturer No: DV14449

Theatrical: 1955

Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)

Genre: Musicals & Performing Arts

Duration: 150

Summary: Joseph Mankiewicz's brightly stylized film of Frank Loesser's classic musical (based on the stories of Damon Runyon) casts the criminal underworld as a harmless fantasy in this whimsical vision of the Big Apple. Nonsingers Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons acquit themselves fine in the lead roles as high-rolling gambler Sky Masterson and Salvation Army missionary Sarah Brown. It's odd casting, to say the least. Frank Sinatra, who plays the good old reliable Nathan Detroit (who runs "the oldest established permanent floating crap game in New York") is left with novelty tunes while husky Brando delivers the love songs and hits, including "Luck Be a Lady." But in the context of the colorful dialogue and comically affected speech patterns (a giddy gangster-speak straight out of Runyon's breezy stories) the song performances aren't the least out of place. Stubby Kaye, reprising his role as Nicely Nicely from the Broadway run, practically steals the show in his few scenes and his show-stopping solo "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat." The film is overlong at two and a half hours and somewhat stagily confined in the stylized, studio-bound sets--perhaps the mark of a director who had never helmed a musical before--but a terrific cast of eccentrics and Michael Kidd's high-energy choreography gives the film a memorable and enchanting character. "--Sean Axmaker"