Library

Languages: English (Original Language) Spanish (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Divorced toy company executive Scott Calvin (Tim Allen of Home Improvement and the Toy Story movies) is pleased to have his son Charlie for Christmas, though the boy himself isn't happy about it. But when Santa Claus accidentally topples off the roof of the house and falls with a thud in the snow, Scott finds himself taking the merry old elf's place and earning new respect in his son's eyes. When the night ends, the reindeer take them to the north pole, and Scott discovers that by donning the fabled red suit, he's inadvertently agreed to become the next Santa Claus. The next morning he wakes up in his own bed and thinks it's all a dream--only Charlie remembers it with crystal clarity. Scott now has to deal with his suspicious ex-wife (Wendy Crewson, Air Force One) and her psychiatrist boyfriend (Judge Reinhold, Beverly Hills Cop), who both think he's playing tricks with Charlie's mind, and also with his own out-of-control body, which is putting on weight and growing a prodigious beard. The Santa Clause probably won't supplant It's a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street as anyone's favorite holiday film, but it's an enjoyable, straightforward family film, anchored by the affable charisma of Allen. --Bret Fetzer

Languages: English (Original Language)

Summary: Like many of the clips that make up the bulk of its content, the Saturday Night Live 25th Anniversary special suffers from that malady specific to almost every SNL sketch: it starts out brilliantly, loses steam about halfway through, then slowly but gamely limps to the finish line with occasional spurts of humor. This special (which actually marks the show's 24th anniversary, but never you mind about those small details!) gathered almost all of the Saturday Night Live alumni--well, the funny ones, anyway--for a celebration of the show's entrenchment in the cultural landscape. It's basically an occasion to show a lot of clips, ranging in time from the Coneheads to Mary Katherine Gallagher, put together in a sprightly, rapid-pace manner and interspersed with occasional live audience-interaction bits. An hysterically funny Bill Murray kicks things off as a lounge singer at an Indian reservation casino who hobnobs with the celebrity audience members; Tom Hanks, a fave guest host, offers up a lively Q&A session (with a dryly funny Christopher Walken, among others); and Billy Crystal revives his Fernando persona to great effect. Dan Aykroyd, Laraine Newman, and Steve Martin provide the best cast tribute, warmly remembering John Belushi while wryly offering up memorabilia for online auction, and Jan Hooks introduces a heartfelt short film featuring her and the late Phil Hartman. Other cast members, with the notable absence of Eddie Murphy and the surprise appearance of Norm MacDonald, pop up for various intros of clips--some are funny (Dennis Miller), some are not (Adam Sandler), some are obviously uncomfortable (David Spade), but at about the halfway mark it all starts to wear on you, like most tribute shows. Still, the stable of classic skits (including a surprisingly strong showing from the current cast) make this worth sticking around for. And at least this time, unlike during the live broadcasts, you can fast-forward through the unfunny parts. --Mark Englehart

Languages: English (Original Language)

Summary: The opening sequence of this video, a lively and hilarious parody of a contentious Ross Perot press conference, immediately makes one wonder whether the public, when recalling Perot's 1992 presidential campaign, remembers Perot himself or Dana Carvey's dead-on impression of the eccentric billionaire. From his position as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, Carvey's skill as an impressionist was a national sensation, and this video captures him at his best, doing his Perot, his President George Bush (with the trademark fractured syntax and oddly disconnected hand gestures), and a devastating Carsenio, a diabolical amalgam of Johnny Carson and Arsenio Hall. Besides the great impressions, The Best of Dana Carvey also offers sketches featuring the insufferably conceited weightlifters Hans and Franz, Wayne (Mike Myers) and Garth of "Wayne's World," and of course the Church Lady (who does her bizarre stiff-backed dance, rips into a mean drum solo, and of course makes her perennial sarcastic comment, "Isn't that special?"). Some sketches, such as one featuring the misbegotten character Massive Head Wound Harry, may make you wonder how it wound up on this tape, but for the most part this is very impressive collection of Carvey's best work. --Robert J. McNamara

Languages: English (Original Language)

Summary: Perhaps one of the greatest lights ever to shine on late-night television, Eddie Murphy has gone on to well-deserved international superstardom. Check out his earliest television work on Saturday Night Live: The Best of Eddie Murphy, a collection of his greatest roles, from Gumby to Stevie Wonder to Buckwheat. Of course, some would argue that his best role was as himself, and there is plenty of evidence for that--many of the skits feature Murphy au naturel and the opening sequence is taken from his monologue when he returned to the show triumphantly after leaving for Hollywood. Exploring the world around him and finding laughs everywhere, Murphy can take a simple idea (such as the "James Brown Hot Tub Party") and run wild with it, leaving the audience hysterically begging for more. You don't have to be a fan to enjoy this collection, but odds are you'll be one by the time you're finished. --Rob Lightner

Languages: English (Original Language)

Summary: Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 05/25/2004 Run time: 83 minutes

Languages: English (Original Language)

Summary: No other person has been a guest on Saturday Night Live as many times as the inimitable Steve Martin, which is what makes SNL's Best of Steve Martin compilation the finest of the series. This collection gives us not only clips of some of the show's funniest moments, but also a sense of how the show has evolved from the 1970s. Earlier monologues were rougher, less staged, but absolutely out of control in the best way, as Martin is given free rein to unleash his "happy feet," play the banjo, and generally explore his zaniness. The earliest clip dates from 1976 and the latest from the mid-'90s, showcasing the program's greatest players throughout the seasons--Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Mike Meyers, Dana Carvey, Nora Dunn, David Spade, Jon Lovitz. The beloved classics are here, from "King Tut," with complete Egyptian regalia, to the arrow through the head to, of course, a "wild and crazy guy." Not enough for you? Well, "excuuuuuuse me." Also included are the Coneheads at home (with Martin playing a hapless IRS agent), "Jeopardy 1999," "Common Knowledge" (one of the wittiest SNL sketches ever), and ads for "Rise" and for "Steve Martin's Penis Cream." This collection will satisfy longtime SNL fans and is a great way to show newer fans what comedy is really about. --Jenny Brown

Languages: English (Original Language)

Summary: Will ferrell dominated snl with characters as different as craig the cheerleader and president george w. Bush. Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 05/22/2007

Languages: English (Original Language)

Summary: Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 05/22/2007 Run time: 79 minutes

Languages: English (Original Language)

Summary: Youll see opera man cajun man canteen boy gap girl and many other original characters created by superstar adam sandler. Includes guests alec baldwin courtney cox david duchovny and shannon doherty plus snl regulars chris farley david spade and rob schneider. Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 12/20/2005 Rating: Ur

Languages: English (Original Language)

Summary: Save the Last Dance enjoyed a profitable release in early 2001, with box-office earnings that exceeded anyone's expectations. Its performance illustrates the staying power of a formulaic movie that avoids the pitfalls and clichés that would otherwise render it forgettable. Since there's nothing new here, you'll appreciate the original quirks in a character-based plot that's just around the corner from Flashdance, and just as familiar. Sara (Julia Stiles) gave up a promising ballet career when her mother was killed while rushing to attend her daughter's crucial audition to Juilliard; Sara blames herself for the accident, and at her new, mostly African American high school in Chicago, she's uncertain of her future.

Derek (Sean Patrick Thomas) has no such doubts; his own future is bright, and his attraction to Sara is immediate; they connect (predictably), and Sara's dormant funk emerges, with Derek's coaching, as she learns hip-hop dancing in a local club. Obligatory subplots are equally routine: Derek's sister (Kerry Washington) is a single mom struggling with her child's absentee father; Derek's best friend (Fredro Starr) feels trapped in his gangsta lifestyle; and Sara's once-estranged father (Terry Kinney) is doing his best to correct past mistakes. Within the confines of this standard follow-your-dream drama, director Thomas Carter capitalizes on a script that allows these characters to be real, intelligent, and thoughtful about their lives and their futures. It's obvious that Stiles's dancing was intercut with that of a professional double, but that illusion hardly matters when the rest of the movie's so earnestly positive and genuine. --Jeff Shannon

Languages: English (Original Language) English (Subtitled)

Sound: AC-3

Summary: When Steven Spielberg was an adolescent, his first home movie was a backyard war film. When he toured Europe with Duel in his 20s, he saw old men crumble in front of headstones at Omaha Beach. That image became the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan, his film of a mission following the D-day invasion that many have called the most realistic--and maybe the best--war film ever. With 1998 production standards, Spielberg has been able to create a stunning, unparalleled view of war as hell. We are at Omaha Beach as troops are slaughtered by Germans yet overcome the almost insurmountable odds.

A stalwart Tom Hanks plays Captain Miller, a soldier's soldier, who takes a small band of troops behind enemy lines to retrieve a private whose three brothers have recently been killed in action. It's a public relations move for the Army, but it has historical precedent dating back to the Civil War. Some critics of the film have labeled the central characters stereotypes. If that is so, this movie gives stereotypes a good name: Tom Sizemore as the deft sergeant, Edward Burns as the hotheaded Private Reiben, Barry Pepper as the religious sniper, Adam Goldberg as the lone Jew, Vin Diesel as the oversize Private Caparzo, Giovanni Ribisi as the soulful medic, and Jeremy Davies, who as a meek corporal gives the film its most memorable performance.

The movie is as heavy and realistic as Spielberg's Oscar-winning Schindler's List, but it's more kinetic. Spielberg and his ace technicians (the film won five Oscars: editing (Michael Kahn), cinematography (Janusz Kaminski), sound, sound effects, and directing) deliver battle sequences that wash over the eyes and hit the gut. The violence is extreme but never gratuitous. The final battle, a dizzying display of gusto, empathy, and chaos, leads to a profound repose. Saving Private Ryan touches us deeper than Schindler because it succinctly links the past with how we should feel today. It's the film Spielberg was destined to make. --Doug Thomas

Languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese

Sound: AC-3

Summary: When Steven Spielberg was an adolescent, his first home movie was a backyard war film. When he toured Europe with Duel in his 20s, he saw old men crumble in front of headstones at Omaha Beach. That image became the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan, his film of a mission following the D-day invasion that many have called the most realistic--and maybe the best--war film ever. With 1998 production standards, Spielberg has been able to create a stunning, unparalleled view of war as hell. We are at Omaha Beach as troops are slaughtered by Germans yet overcome the almost insurmountable odds. A stalwart Tom Hanks plays Captain Miller, a soldier's soldier, who takes a small band of troops behind enemy lines to retrieve a private whose three brothers have recently been killed in action. It's a public relations move for the Army, but it has historical precedent dating back to the Civil War. Some critics of the film have labeled the central characters stereotypes. If that is so, this movie gives stereotypes a good name: Tom Sizemore as the deft sergeant, Edward Burns as the hotheaded Private Reiben, Barry Pepper as the religious sniper, Adam Goldberg as the lone Jew, Vin Diesel as the oversize Private Caparzo, Giovanni Ribisi as the soulful medic, and Jeremy Davies, who as a meek corporal gives the film its most memorable performance. The movie is as heavy and realistic as Spielberg's Oscar-winning Schindler's List, but it's more kinetic. Spielberg and his ace technicians (the film won five Oscars: editing (Michael Kahn), cinematography (Janusz Kaminski), sound, sound effects, and directing) deliver battle sequences that wash over the eyes and hit the gut. The violence is extreme but never gratuitous. The final battle, a dizzying display of gusto, empathy, and chaos, leads to a profound repose. Saving Private Ryan touches us deeper than Schindler because it succinctly links the past with how we should feel today. It's the film Spielberg was destined to make. --Doug Thomas

Summary:

Languages: English (Original Language)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Better than your average sequel, Shanghai Knights almost defies the law of diminishing returns. Lacking the freshness of Shanghai Noon, it compensates with a looser, disposable plot that plays to the strengths of costars Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson. It's 1887, and odd-couple heroes Chon Wang (Chan) and Roy O'Bannon (Wilson) are in London to retrieve the Imperial Seal of China, stolen by an English lord (Aidan Gillen) who killed Wang's father in his quest for the British throne. Wang's lithe and lovely sister (Fann Wong) joins the battle with high-kicking force, appealing to Roy's roguish charm and surfer-dude anachronisms. While Chan continues his transition to safer stunts and good-natured homage to Buster Keaton, Gene Kelly, and other Hollywood legends, Wilson indulges the party vibe to good effect, maintaining the anything-goes approach that allows silly encounters with Jack the Ripper, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and a Dickensian urchin named Charlie Chaplin. (Chaplin wasn't born until 1889, but if the filmmakers didn't care, why should you?) --Jeff Shannon

Languages: English (Original Language) French (Original Language)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Culture collide when a chinese imperial guard and a bumbling outlaw team up in this action-packed comedy western. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 05/11/2007 Starring: Jackie Chan Lucy Lu Run time: 110 minutes Rating: Pg13

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: Spanish, French

Sound: AC-3

Summary: British horror/comedy "Shaun of the Dead" is a scream in all senses of the word. Brain-hungry zombies shamble through the streets of London, but all unambitious electronics salesman Shaun (Simon Pegg) cares about is his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield), who just dumped him. With the help of his slacker roommate Ed (Nick Frost), Shaun fights his way across town to rescue Liz, but the petty concerns of life keep getting in the way: When they're trying to use vinyl records to decapitate a pair of zombies, Shaun and Ed bicker about which bands deserve preservation--New Order they keep, but Sade becomes a lethal frisbee. Many zombie movies are comedies by accident, but "Shaun of the Dead" is deliberately and brilliantly funny, while still delivering a few delicious jolts of fear. Also featuring the stealthy comic presence of Bill Nighy ("Love Actually") and some familar faces from "The Office". "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English (Original Language) Spanish (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Terror overwhelms a family isolated and snowbound in a huge resort hotel with a macabre history of violence. A perversely beautiful psycholgically stunning experience with eerie special effects and haunting performances. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 09/14/2004 Starring: Jack Nicholson Shelley Duvall Run time: 144 minutes Rating: R Director: Stanley Kubrick

Languages: English (Original Language) English (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 05/21/2002 Run time: 93 minutes Rating: Pg

Languages: English (Original Language)

Summary: The lovably ugly green ogre returns with his green bride and furry, hooved friend in Shrek 2. The newlywed Shrek and Princess Fiona are invited to Fiona's former kingdom, Far Far Away, to have the marriage blessed by Fiona's parents--which Shrek thinks is a bad, bad idea, and he's proved right: The parents are horrified by their daughter's transformation into an ogress, a fairy godmother wants her son Prince Charming to win Fiona, and a feline assassin is hired to get Shrek out of the way. The computer animation is more detailed than ever, but it's the acting that make the comedy work--in addition to the return of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz, Shrek 2 features the flexible voices of Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins), John Cleese (Monty Python's Flying Circus), Antonio Banderas (Desperado), and Jennifer Saunders (Absolutely Fabulous) as the gleefully wicked fairy godmother. --Bret Fetzer

Languages: English (Original Language)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: This B movie with noble aspirations is the work of a gifted filmmaker whose storytelling falls short of his considerable stylistic flair. While addressing crises of faith in the framework of an alien-invasion thriller, M. Night Shyamalan (in his follow-up to The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable) favors atmospheric tension over explanatory plotting. He injects subtle humor into expertly spooky scenes, but the story suffers from too many lapses in logic. The film's faults are greatly compensated by the performance of Mel Gibson as a widower whose own crisis of faith coincides with the appearance of mysterious crop circles in his Pennsylvania cornfield... and hundreds of UFOs around the globe. With his brother (Joaquin Phoenix) and two young children (Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin), the lapsed minister perceives this phenomenal occurrence as a series of signs and portents, while Shyamalan pursues a spookfest with War of the Worlds overtones. It's effective to a point, but vaguely hollow at its core. --Jeff Shannon

Languages: English (Original Language) Spanish (Subtitled)

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Based on Thomas Harris's novel, this terrifying film by Jonathan Demme really only contains a couple of genuinely shocking moments (one involving an autopsy, the other a prison break). The rest of the film is a splatter-free visual and psychological descent into the hell of madness, redeemed astonishingly by an unlikely connection between a monster and a haunted young woman. Anthony Hopkins is extraordinary as the cannibalistic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter, virtually entombed in a subterranean prison for the criminally insane. At the behest of the FBI, agent-in-training Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) approaches Lecter, requesting his insights into the identity and methods of a serial killer named Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine). In exchange, Lecter demands the right to penetrate Starling's most painful memories, creating a bizarre but palpable intimacy that liberates them both under separate but equally horrific circumstances. Demme, a filmmaker with a uniquely populist vision (Melvin and Howard, Something Wild), also spent his early years making pulp for Roger Corman (Caged Heat), and he hasn't forgotten the significance of tone, atmosphere, and the unsettling nature of a crudely effective close-up. Much of the film, in fact, consists of actors staring straight into the camera (usually from Clarice's point of view), making every bridge between one set of eyes to another seem terribly dangerous. --Tom Keogh

Languages: English (Original Language) English (Subtitled) Spanish (Subtitled) English (Dubbed) French (Dubbed) Spanish (Dubbed)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Studio: Tcfhe/mgm Release Date: 02/05/2008

Languages: English (Original Language) French (Original Language) English (Subtitled)

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Malcolm crowe is a dedicated child psychologist who faces his greatest challenge when he meets a young boy who lives in a world populated by ghosts. Paralyzed by fear the boy claims to be tormented by ghosts who demand his help from their otherworldly pain. Crowe may be the boys only hope. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 06/06/2006 Starring: Bruce Willis Olivia Williams Run time: 107 minutes Rating: Pg13

Languages: English (Original Language) English (Subtitled) Spanish (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Studio: New Line Home Video Release Date: 11/11/2008 Run time: 106 minutes Rating: R

Languages: English (Original Language)

Summary: Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 05/22/2007

Languages: English (Original Language)

Summary: Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 05/22/2007

Languages: English (Original Language)

Summary: Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 02/06/2007

Languages: English (Original Language) French (Original Language) English (Subtitled) Spanish (Subtitled)

Summary: Los angeles police department cop jack travens luck is put to the ultimate test when a mad bomber terrorizes the city and takes a personal interest in jack. He has rigged a city bus to explode if the speed falls below 50 mph. Jack must rescue the passengers and an attractive substitute driver. Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 08/14/2001 Starring: Keanu Reeves Sandra Bullock Run time: 115 minutes Rating: R Director: Jan De Bont

Languages: English (Original Language) English (Subtitled) Spanish (Subtitled) French (Subtitled)

Summary: At the bottom of the pacific deepest fears come true. An elite underwater team explores the mysteries and menace of an eerie spacecraft that plunged into the ocean 300 years ago. Bonus: behind-the-scenes documentary shaping the sphere: the art of the visual effects supervisor. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 02/08/2005 Starring: Dustin Hoffman Samuel L. Jackson Run time: 135 minutes Rating: R Director: Barry Levinson

Languages: English (Original Language)

Summary: Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 12/20/2005

Languages: English (Original Language)

Summary: Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 01/22/2008

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese

Sound: AC-3

Summary: J.J. Abrams' 2009 feature film was billed as "not your father's Star Trek," but your father will probably love it anyway. And what's not to love? It has enough action, emotional impact, humor, and sheer fun for any moviegoer, and Trekkers will enjoy plenty of insider references and a cast that seems ideally suited to portray the characters we know they'll become later. Both a prequel and a reboot, Star Trek introduces us to James T. Kirk (Chris Pine of The Princess Diaries 2), a sharp but aimless young man who's prodded by a Starfleet captain, Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood), to enlist and make a difference. At the Academy, Kirk runs afoul of a Vulcan commander named Spock (Zachary Quinto of Heroes), but their conflict has to take a back seat when Starfleet, including its new ship, the Enterprise, has to answer an emergency call from Vulcan. What follows is a stirring tale of genocide and revenge launched by a Romulan (Eric Bana) with a particular interest in Spock, and we get to see the familiar crew come together, including McCoy (Karl Urban), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Sulu (John Cho), Chekhov (Anton Yelchin), and Scottie (Simon Pegg).
The action and visuals make for a spectacular Big-Screen Movie, though the plot by Abrams and his writers, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (who worked together on Transformers and with Abrams on Alias and Mission Impossible III), and his producers (fellow Losties Damon Lindeloff and Bryan Burk) can be a bit of a mind-bender (no surprise there for Lost fans). Hardcore fans with a bone to pick may find faults, but resistance is futile when you can watch Kirk take on the Kobayashi Maru scenario or hear McCoy bark, "Damnit, man, I'm a doctor, not a physicist!" An appearance by Leonard Nimoy and hearing the late Majel Barrett Roddenberry as the voice of the computer simply sweeten the pot. Now comes the hard part: waiting for some sequels to this terrific prequel. --David Horiuchi

Stills from Star Trek (Click for larger image)

Languages: English (Original Language) French (Original Language) English (Subtitled) Spanish (Subtitled)

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Even-numbered Star Trek movies tend to be better, and First Contact (#8 in the popular movie series) is no exception--an intelligently handled plot involving the galaxy-conquering Borg and their attempt to invade Earth's past, alter history, and "assimilate" the entire human race. Time travel, a dazzling new Enterprise, and capable direction by Next Generation alumnus Jonathan Frakes makes this one rank with the best of the bunch. Capt. Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his able crew travel back in time to Earth in the year 2063, where they hope to ensure that the inventor of warp drive (played by James Cromwell) will successfully carry out his pioneering warp-drive flight and precipitate Earth's "first contact" with an alien race. A seductive Borg queen (Alice Krige) holds Lt. Data (Brent Spiner) hostage in an effort to sabotage the Federation's preservation of history, and the captive android finds himself tempted by the queen's tantalizing sins of the flesh! Sharply conceived to fit snugly into the burgeoning Star Trek chronology, First Contact leads to a surprise revelation that marks an important historical chapter in the ongoing mission "to boldly go where no one has gone before." --Jeff Shannon

Languages: English (Original Language) English (Subtitled) Spanish (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: They call themselves the borg - a half-organic half-machine collective and they are headed to earth with a devious plan to alter history. Picards last encounter with the borg almost killed him. Now he wants vengeance. But how far will he go to get it? Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 05/01/2007 Starring: Patrick Stewart Brent Spiner Run time: 111 minutes Rating: Pg13

Languages: English (Original Language) French (Original Language) English (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Star Trek fans were decidedly mixed in their reactions to this, the ninth big-screen feature in Paramount's lucrative Trek franchise, but die-hard loyalists will appreciate the way this Next Generation adventure rekindles the spirit of the original Trek TV series while combining a tolerable dose of New-Agey philosophy with a lighthearted plot for the TNG cast. This time out, Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his executive crew must transport to a Shangri-la-like planet to see why their android crewmate Data (Brent Spiner) has run amuck in a village full of peaceful Ba'ku artisans who--thanks to their planet's "metaphasic radiation"--haven't aged in 309 years.

It turns out there's a conspiracy afoot, masterminded by the devious, gruesomely aged Ru'afo (F. Murray Abraham, hamming it up under makeup resembling a cosmetic surgeon's worst nightmare), who's in cahoots with a renegade Starfleet admiral (Anthony Zerbe, in one of his final screen roles). They covet the fountain-of-youth power of the Ba'ku planet, but because their takeover plan violates Starfleet's Prime Directive of noninterference, it's up to Picard and crew to stop the scheme. Along the way, they all benefit from the metaphasic effect, which manifests itself as Worf's puberty (visible as a conspicuous case of Klingon acne), Picard's youthful romance with a Ba'ku woman (the lovely Donna Murphy), the touching though temporary return of Geordi's natural eyesight, and a moment when Troi asks Dr. Crusher if she's noticed that her "boobs are firming up."

Some fans scoffed at these humorous asides, but they're what make this Trek film as entertaining as it is slightly disappointing. Without the laughs (including Data's rousing excerpt from Gilbert & Sullivan's HMS Pinafore), this is a pretty routine entry in the franchise, with no real surprises, a number of plot holes, and the overall appearance of a big-budget TV episode. As costar and director, Jonathan Frakes proves a capable carrier of the Star Trek flame--and it's nice to see women in their 40s portrayed as smart and sexy--but while this is surely an adequate Trek adventure, it doesn't quite rank with the best in the series. --Jeff Shannon

Languages: English (Original Language) French (Original Language) English (Subtitled)

Summary: The sacrifice of a beloved character is just one of many highlights in Nemesis, the 10th feature in the lucrative Star Trek franchise. Enigmatically billed as the beginning of "A Generation's Final Journey," this richly plotted Next Generation adventure maintains the "even number rule" regarding Trek's feature quality, and it's one of the best in the series. It hits its brisk stride when Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his Enterprise-E crew encounter Shinzon (Tom Hardy), a younger clone of Picard, rejected by the Romulans as the human weapon of an abandoned conspiracy. Raised on the nocturnal Romulan sister planet Remus, Shinzon now plots revenge against Romulus and Earth but needs Picard's blood to carry out his scheme. A wedding, a childlike "duplicate" Data named B-4 (Brent Spiner), spectacular space battles, and uncommon acts of valor make this a tautly-paced action thriller, poised to pass the franchise (but not quite yet) to a new generation of Starfleet personnel. Die-hard Trekkers will not be disappointed. --Jeff Shannon

Languages: English (Original Language) English (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: When a destructive space entity is spotted approaching earth admiral kirk resumes command of the starship enterprise in order to intercept examine and hopefully stop it. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 05/01/2007 Starring: Stephen Collins Leonard Nimoy Run time: 1430 minutes Rating: Pg Director: Robert Wise

Languages: English (Original Language) English (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: This second volume of episodes on DVD from the original Star Trek includes the popular and sexy "Mudd's Women," which introduces the character of interstellar huckster and fugitive Harry Mudd (Roger C. Carmel, later to return in another classic episode, "I, Mudd"). The Enterprise beams aboard Harry and three beautiful and scantily clad women whom the con man is carrying as cargo. The transport damages the starship, forcing Captain Kirk (William Shatner) to take a detour to a mining world for a supply of dilithium crystals. Harry uses the women as bait to get the miners to help him flee from the authorities--but a revelation about his liberal use of an attraction-enhancement drug adds a twist to things. This clever and novel installment in the series grafted the unlikely element of a petty, colorful crook onto a science fiction show, an obvious forerunner of Deep Space Nine's inclusion of Quark among its own major characters.

Also in this volume is another outstanding episode, "The Enemy Within." Written by renowned novelist-screenwriter Richard Matheson (The Incredible Shrinking Man), the story proposes a transporter malfunction that results in Captain Kirk being divided into two versions of himself, one aggressive and brutal, the other sensitive and good. Essentially, the personality mix that makes Kirk an effective leader and balanced man is scattered like so many marbles, and the result is one captain running around mauling women and wreaking havoc while the other is frightened and indecisive. The production is very effectively done, and Shatner's performance is among his most interesting. --Tom Keogh

Languages: English (Original Language)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Volume 8 in the DVD series of original Star Trek episodes includes the fascinating two-part drama "The Menagerie." As if guided by the frugal wisdom of schlockmeister producer-director Roger Corman, Trek creator Gene Roddenberry found a clever way of using, instead of losing, extensive and costly footage from the then-unseen, discarded Star Trek pilot, "The Cage." Roddenberry's solution was to integrate pieces of "The Cage" into a whole new story context, and the surprisingly moving result was "The Menagerie." First, a bit of background: "The Cage" starred film actor Jeffrey Hunter (King of Kings, The Searchers) as Christopher Pike, the original captain of the Enterprise. Among Hunter's costars was Leonard Nimoy as Science Officer Spock, who eventually carried over, of course, into the reconfigured series starring William Shatner. Rather than write off "The Cage," Roddenberry conceived of a story line in which Captain Pike would re-appear on the show in a badly disfigured, paralyzed, and mute form--the result of a terrible accident in which the character saved a number of lives but took a pounding in the process. In "The Menagerie," Spock hijacks the Enterprise to transport Pike to a secret destination. During court-martial proceedings for this crime, Spock's defense is presented via archival footage of an old, pre-Kirk mission aboard the Enterprise. That footage, of course, is a re-edited "The Cage." A must-see for Star Trek fans, "The Menagerie" is a stellar example of Roddenberry thinking on his feet. --Tom Keogh

Languages: English (Original Language) English (Unknown) English (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Volume 12 in the classic Star Trek series on DVD begins with "Space Seed," which introduced Khan Noonien Singh (a viperlike Ricardo Montalban) to Trek lore. The trouble begins when Kirk & crew discovers a derelict ship and its crew of 70 supermen aboard, all in suspended animation. Led by Khan, these strange people turn out to be the product of genetic experimentation in the 1990s and instigators of a so-called Eugenics War, i.e., the Third World War on Earth often mentioned on various Trek programs. Though displaced from his more violent time and place, Khan quickly overcomes his disorientation and shifts into conqueror mode, quickly overtaking the Enterprise with the aid of a comely Federation historian who is swooning at his feet. As any Trek fan knows, "Space Seed" inspired Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, regarded by many as the best of the Trek feature films.

"A Taste of Armageddon" is one of classic Trek's occasional, obvious metaphors for the absurdity of the then-cold war between East and West. Gene Lyons stars as a Federation ambassador named Fox, who boards the Enterprise to reach the planet Eminiar VII, where he hopes to negotiate a peace treaty with the inhabitants. Instead the crew of the Enterprise gets caught in the middle of an interplanetary war between Eminiar and neighboring planet Vendikar. The twist is that the war is being fought on computers, and compliant residents of those "destroyed" areas obediently report to disintegration chambers, where their "virtual" death is made literal. When the Enterprise is "hit" in one of these simulations, both the warlords of Eminiar VII and Ambassador Fox fully expect Capt. Kirk & crew to report to the disintegration center. The feisty Kirk has other plans, of course. And while the madness of this controlled armageddon makes a suitably surreal satire of the arms race in the 1960s, the story also evoked the endless, daily reports of body counts during the Vietnam war, with no resolution in sight. Aside from its parable aspect, however, the episode gave Kirk one of his earliest and most compelling scenes of Kirkian preachiness in a bold monologue about peace, reportedly written and rewritten numerous times by series producer and indispensable creative hand, Gene L. Coon. --Tom Keogh

Languages: English (Subtitled) English (Original Language)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Of all the Star Trek original series DVDs, Volume 14 will surely remain one of the most popular, for it offers the first-ever appearance of Klingons (in "Errand of Mercy") and the episode many fans consider the finest of all "classic Trek" adventures.

In "Errand of Mercy," war between the Klingons and the Federation is imminent, and it's up to Captain Kirk (William Shatner) to persuade the peaceful, agrarian planet Organia to sign on with the good guys before the Klingons overwhelm the place. Organia is in a strategically valuable position for whichever warring side claims it first, but the Organians don't seem to care. Kirk and First Officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy) make an awfully good pitch for Federation protection, but Organian leaders reject the offer as a tacit invitation to violence, taking little heed of a Klingon invasion and earning the enmity of both Kirk and Klingon Commander Kor (John Colicos). Essentially a Cold War satire disguised as a Federation-Klingon showdown, "Errand of Mercy" is the brainchild of producer-writer Gene L. Coon, who makes a wonderfully convincing case for the absurdity of each side's claim to moral superiority. Highlights include the Butch-and-Sundance banter between Kirk and Spock as they form a two-man Resistance movement. The episode is directed by John Newland, best known as the host of the supernatural television series, One Step Beyond.

"The City on the Edge of Forever" begins with a medical accident that leaves Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) a paranoid madman. Leaping through a time portal to Earth's Great Depression of the 1930s, McCoy causes disastrous changes to history, forcing Kirk and Spock to follow him and undo whatever disruptive action he took centuries before. There, Kirk meets a kindly social worker, Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), with whom he falls in love before realizing her fate is the key to a restored future. A shattering drama, "City" brings out the best in the cast and production teams, looking like a feature film that found its way onto television. The background on this show is equally compelling and sometimes hysterically funny, beginning with a highly fanciful script by Harlan Ellison (including a scene with cast members riding a carousel that passes in and out the side of a mountain) that was either rewritten by series creator Gene Roddenberry or producer Gene L. Coon, depending on who's telling the story. Ironically, Ellison's original version won a Writer's Guild award while the revision captured a Hugo, but the real prize is the episode itself. --Tom Keogh

Languages: English (Original Language) English (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: "Mirror, Mirror"
When their mission to secure a mineral trade ends in failure, a freak ion storm catches Kirk, McCoy, Uhura, and Scotty in mid-beam-up and sends them to a parallel dimension where Federation leaders are as ruthless as the Klingons, and Star Fleet promotions are attained by assassination. They find themselves on an alternate Enterprise, peopled with evil counterparts to the people they know (all attired in glittery, glam-rock uniforms), including most famously an evil, goateed Spock whom Kirk must convince to overthrow the empire. Kirk and his landing party try to fit in with this crew of villains who are threatening with annihilation the planet where the mineral trade went sour, while searching for a way back to their world and fending off assassination attempts. Mirror, Mirror achieves the best of what Star Trek is capable, which is to say space opera brought to a high pitch by melodrama. Everyone appears to be having great fun turning their characters to the dark side, especially George Takei, whose evil Sulu beams when making his assassination attempt against Captain Kirk, and Leonard Nimoy, who makes Spock's shift from the meditative logician to the ruthless goateed one seem, well, quite logical. This episode in particular fueled popular culture in such a way that in some circles it is now impossible to sport a goatee without being called "the evil Spock." The story of the evil Spock is continued in the Deep Space Nine episode Crossover. --Jim Gay

"The Deadly Years"
While on the planet Gamma Hydra IV, Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scotty are infected with an unknown disease that causes premature aging. The only member of the party unaffected is Chekov (Walter Koenig), who becomes McCoy's guinea pig while searching for a cure back on the Enterprise. A nifty idea with some poignant overtones, the story by David P. Harmon startles a viewer with the sight of these familiar folks rapidly graying, wrinkling, weakening, and suffering memory loss. At the same time, Harmon is careful to age each character as a unique individual. Kirk slows down more than the longer-lived Spock, while McCoy remains mentally keen, if physically brittle. As for poor Scotty, well...

The dramatic subtext in "The Deadly Years" concerns the perennial conflict over when and how to decide that someone has become too old to execute crucial responsibilities. In that sense, this episode feels constantly relevant and uniquely entertaining: let's just say some of these actors play "old" a little better than others. (Director Joseph Pevney has reported that there was a lot of conflict over who was stealing old-guy moves from whom.) With all this going on, one might not notice that guest star Charles Drake is a truly familiar face, having been cast in The Maltese Falcon and Now, Voyager. --Tom Keogh

Languages: English (Original Language) English (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: "I, Mudd"
Lovable scoundrel Harry Mudd (Roger C. Carmel) returns following his debut appearance in the first-season episode "Mudd's Women," this time as the leader of a race of helpful (and leggy) androids. Mudd tries to take control of the Enterprise, but soon finds that the androids have plans of their own. This is one of Trek's few purely comic episodes, and it hits a nice level of whimsy as Kirk and the crew fight android efficiency with good old human illogic. "I, Mudd" also sets a benchmark achievement for the Star Trek design crew: It called not just for beautiful women in revealing costumes, but for beautiful twins in revealing costumes. Truly a tough one to top, cheesily foreshadowing the "Fembots" of Austin Powers infamy. --Ali Davis

"The Trouble with Tribbles"
It's time to face one of the great questions of the television age: Is "The Trouble with Tribbles" really as good as everyone thinks it is? You bet. While the story might be a little slower than many of us remember, the episode is deservedly beloved for writer David Gerrold's witty, mildly acerbic script, and the way the cast took to heightened comic possibilities against network resistance. (Heavens! Comedy on a science fiction show?) Stanley Adams is delightful as the huckster Cyrano Jones, who gives a trilling furball called a tribble to Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), who brings it aboard the Enterprise and watches it reproduce... and reproduce... and reproduce. Soon, hundreds of tribbles are in every part of the ship, making Captain Kirk (William Shatner), already grouchy about guarding a mere grain shipment from Klingons, even grouchier. There's no question that Gerrold made a major contribution to Trek culture with this show, setting a tone that Star Trek has visited again and again, including the feature film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and sundry episodes of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. --Tom Keogh

Languages: English (Original Language) English (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: "The Enterprise Incident"
An overwrought, highly-stressed Captain Kirk blunders into Romulan space and finds the Enterprise surrounded by enemy vessels, all equipped with strategically valuable cloaking technology. Along with Spock, Kirk is invited to meet with the Romulan commander (Joanne Linville) to discuss the situation, leading to a crisis when the captain suffers a breakdown following Spock's apparent betrayal. Written by story editor Dorothy Fontana (who was unhappy with the final results) and directed by John Meredyth Lucas (who briefly took the producing reins from Gene L. Coon during season two), the episode has a colorful espionage angle, but depends heavily on an improbable romance between Spock and Linville's character. Still, there are things to savor here, especially Kirk's one-and-only appearance with Vulcan/Romulan pointed ears. --Tom Keogh

"And the Children Shall Lead"
The Enterprise arrives at a distant research outpost to find all the adults dead and their children eerily cheerful. No sooner are they aboard the ship than the children begin taking over, using strange powers bestowed on them by a malevolent "friendly angel." The kids make for an engagingly creepy episode as they alter the crew's perceptions to play on their worst fears, all with angelic smiles on their faces. Kirk's stiff-necked nature is well played against the manic playfulness of the kids, and legendary attorney Melvin Belli (who enjoyed a moderately busy acting career in the late '60s) does an interesting turn as the smooth-talking angel. --Jeff Shannon

Languages: English (Original Language) English (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: "The Savage Curtain"
Perhaps best known as the episode in which Abraham Lincoln is seen, rather absurdly, floating through space in a big ol' presidential chair, "The Savage Curtain" is one of those death-match shows in which a busybody alien wants to witness true human(oid) mettle in an arranged battle. Lincoln asks Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) to accompany him to a planet where Excalbians have organized a fight between good (Kirk's party plus a Vulcan icon) and evil (Genghis Khan, Kahless the founder of the Klingon Empire, and two guys you never heard of). The derivative, obvious story was half-written by Gene Roddenberry and dumped on another writer, Arthur Heinemann, after Roddenberry pulled back from Star Trek in its third season. Heinemann added some interesting moral underpinnings, but this is one of those instances in which a good television show seems to be mimicking itself. On the plus side, the show gives Sulu (George Takei) a rare opportunity to command the Enterprise bridge--experience that surely served him well later as a Starfleet captain in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. --Tom Keogh

"All Our Yesterdays"
The Enterprise prepares for the evacuation of doomed planet Sarpeidon, but Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) find that all inhabitants have left via a time-travel device that has sent them to different periods of their own choosing. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy accidentally pass through the device, with the captain landing in the middle of an 18th-century-style witch-hunt while Spock and McCoy travel back 6,000 years to the Ice Age. The script, by UCLA librarian and spec writer Jean Lisette Aroeste (who also wrote "Is There in Truth No Beauty?" for the original series), gives the episode a special charge with its dual story lines set in the past. The dramatic weight of the story, however, is clearly with Spock, who regresses into the savage emotions of his prehistoric ancestors--eating meat, choosing another transportee (Mariette Hartley) as a mate, and nearly killing McCoy when the good doctor insults him. This is a favorite among some Trekkers, made all the more enjoyable by the anxious, White Rabbit-like performance of Ian Wolfe as a Sarpeidon librarian in charge of the time-travel facility. --Tom Keogh

Languages: English (Original Language) English (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: "Turnabout," Ep.79 - A female scientist, jealous of Kirk's career, uses an ancient alien device to trade places with him and take command of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The series' final episode! "The Cage," Ep.99 (B&W and color) - The two versions of Star Trek's rarely seen pilot star Jeffrey Hunter as captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise. On an earlier voyage of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise, Kirk's predecessor Captain Christopher Pike tries to rescue an Earth crew that disappeared eighteen years earlier. But it's a trap! Pike is imprisoned in a zoo-like cage and studied by a mysterious higher life-form. "The Cage" Ep.99 was reconstructed with black-and-white footage from Gene Roddenberry's work print and color footage from "The Menagerie" Ep.16. "The Cage" Ep.1 (Color) - This episode includes the long-lost color footage (believed to have been destroyed) from Gene Roddenberry's pilot episode. 185 minutes.

Languages: English (Original Language) French (Original Language) English (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 07/11/2000 Run time: 112 minutes Rating: Pg

Languages: English (Original Language) French (Original Language) English (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: You didn't think Mr. Spock was really dead, did you? When Spock's casket landed on the surface of the Genesis planet at the end of Star Trek II, we had already been told that Genesis had the power to bring "life from lifelessness." So it's no surprise that this energetic but somewhat hokey sequel gives Spock a new lease on life, beginning with his rebirth and rapid growth as the Genesis planet literally shakes itself apart in a series of tumultuous geological spasms. As Kirk is getting to know his estranged son (Merritt Butrick), he must also do battle with the fiendish Klingon Kruge (Christopher Lloyd), who is determined to seize the power of Genesis from the Federation. Meanwhile, the regenerated Spock returns to his home planet, and Star Trek III gains considerable interest by exploring the ceremonial (and, of course, highly logical) traditions of Vulcan society. The movie's a minor disappointment compared to Star Trek II, but it's a--well, logical--sequel that successfully restores Spock (and first-time film director Leonard Nimoy) to the phenomenal Trek franchise...as if he were ever really gone. With Kirk's willful destruction of the U.S.S. Enterprise and Robin Curtis replacing the departing Kirstie Alley as Vulcan Lt. Saavik, this was clearly a transitional film in the series, clearing the way for the highly popular Star Trek IV. --Jeff Shannon

Languages: English (Original Language) French (Original Language) English (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Widely considered the best movie in the "classic Trek" series of feature films, Star Trek IV returns to one of the favorite themes of the original TV series--time travel--to bring Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Uhura, and Chekov from the 23rd century to present-day San Francisco. In their own time, the Starfleet heroes encounter an alien probe emitting a mysterious message--a message delivered in the song of the now-extinct Earth species of humpback whales. Failure to respond to the probe will result in Earth's destruction, so Kirk and company time-travel to 20th-century Earth--in their captured Klingon starship--to transport a humpback whale to the future in an effort to peacefully communicate with the alien probe. The plot sounds somewhat absurd in description, but as executed by returning director Leonard Nimoy, this turned out to be a crowd-pleasing adventure, filled with humor and lively interaction among the favorite Star Trek characters. Catherine Hicks (from TV's 7th Heaven) plays the 20th-century whale expert who is finally convinced of Kirk's and Spock's benevolent intentions. With ample comedy taken from the clash of future heroes with 20th-century urban realities, Star Trek IV was a box-office smash, satisfying mainstream audiences and hardcore Trek fans alike. --Jeff Shannon

Languages: English (Original Language) French (Original Language)

Summary: Movie critic Roger Ebert summed it up very succinctly: "Of all of the Star Trek movies, this is the worst." Subsequent films in the popular series have done nothing to disprove this opinion; we can be grateful that they've all been significantly better since this film was released in 1989. After Leonard Nimoy scored hits with Star Trek III and IV, William Shatner used his contractual clout (and bruised ego) to assume directorial duties on this mission, in which a rebellious Vulcan (Laurence Luckinbill) kidnaps Federation officials in his overzealous quest for the supreme source of creation. That's right, you heard it correctly: Star Trek V is about a crazy Vulcan's search for God. By the time Kirk, Spock, and their Federation cohorts are taken to the Great Barrier of the galaxy, this journey to "the final future" has gone from an embarrassing prologue to an absurd conclusion, with a lot of creaky plotting in between. Of course, die-hard Trekkies will still allow this movie into their video collections; but they'll only watch it when nobody else is looking. After this humbling experience, Shatner wisely relinquished the director's chair to Star Trek II's Nicholas Meyer. --Jeff Shannon

Languages: English (Original Language) French (Original Language) English (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: The crews of the enterprise and the excelsior must stop a plot to prevent a peace treaty between the klingon empire and the federation. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 05/01/2007 Starring: William Shatner Mark Lenard Run time: 113 minutes Rating: Pg Director: Nicholas Meyer

Languages: English (Original Language)

Summary:

Languages: English (Original Language) French (Original Language) Spanish (Subtitled)

Sound: AC-3

Summary: There were only two ways for "classic Trek" cast members to appear in a movie with the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation: either Capt. Kirk and his contemporaries would have to be very, very old, or there would be some time travel involved in the plot. Since geriatric heroes aren't very exciting (despite a welcomed cameo appearance by the aged Dr. McCoy), Star Trek: Generations unites Capt. Kirk (William Shatner) and Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) in a time-jumping race to stop a madman's quest for heavenly contentment. When a mysterious energy coil called the Nexus nearly destroys the newly christened U.S.S. Enterprise-B, the just-retired Capt. Kirk is lost and presumed dead. But he's actually been happily trapped in the timeless purgatory of the Nexus--an idyllic state of being described by the mystical Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) as "pure joy." Picard must convince Kirk to leave this artificial comfort zone and confront Dr. Soran (Malcolm McDowell), the madman who will threaten billions of lives to be reunited with the addictive pleasure of the Nexus. With subplots involving the android Data's unpredictable "emotion chip" and the spectacular crash-landing of the starship Enterprise, this crossover movie not only satisfied Trek fans, but it also gave them something they'd never had to confront before: the heroic and truly final death of a beloved Star Trek character. Passing the torch to the Next Generation with dignity and entertaining adventure, the movie isn't going to please everyone with its somewhat hokey plot, but it still ranks as a worthy big-screen launch for Picard and his stalwart crew. --Jeff Shannon

Languages: English (Original Language) Spanish (Original Language) English (Subtitled) French (Dubbed)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 11/01/2005 Run time: 387 minutes Rating: Pg

Languages: English (Original Language) English (Subtitled)

Sound: AC-3

Summary: This 2005 three-disc edition of George Lucas's Star Wars Trilogy is basically the same set as the 2004 edition minus the bonus fourth disc. That means you get the three original films--A New Hope (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983)--in their brilliant-looking and -sounding DVD glory. That means you also get both the changes that were made for the 1997 special-edition versions as well as the revisions that were made for the films' DVD debut, including Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker) being added to a scene in Jedi, Ian McDiarmid (the Emperor) replacing Clive Revill with slightly revised lines in Empire, and Temuera Morrison rerecording Boba Fett's minimal dialogue, plus some other small details.

The discs don't qualify as bare-bones because they do include the commentary tracks recorded by Lucas, Ben Burtt (sound design), Dennis Muren (visual effects), and Carrie Fisher (Leia), plus Irvin Kershner added for The Empire Strikes Back. But what you lose is the fourth disc's 150-minute documentary Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy, the three substantial featurettes ("The Characters of Star Wars," "The Birth of the Lightsaber," and "The Force Is with Them: The Legacy of Star Wars"), the Xbox sampler, the no-longer-exciting Episode III preview, and other odds and ends. Star Wars aficionados will certainly stick with the four-disc set, but casual fans might be satisfied with this lower-priced version. --David Horiuchi

Languages: English (Original Language) Spanish (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 10/09/2008

Languages: English (Original Language)

Summary:

Languages: English (Original Language) French (Original Language) English (Subtitled)

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Ben affleck stars as cia agent jack ryan in a race against time to stop terrorists who plan to ignite a war between the u.S. And russia by detonating a nuclear bomb at the super bowl. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 02/13/2007 Starring: Ben Affleck James Cromwell Run time: 123 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Phil Alden Robinson

Languages: English (Original Language) English (Subtitled) French (Subtitled) Spanish (Subtitled) Spanish (Dubbed)

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 09/23/2008 Run time: 85 minutes Rating: Pg