Thursday, April 22, 2010

April DVD' and the End of VHS as we know it.

The VHS collection is dead and has been for a long time. We don't purchase them anymore and they don't make them. We have been adding some donations to replace lost damaged and worn out items but as of April we won't even be doing that. It's dead technology. However while I think I have a respectable DVD collection so far it is almost entirely general release movies. The non-fiction collection in DVD is awful. So before I begin to bulldoze the VHS collection into oblivion I think I better begin building it's DVD replacement. (I just hope DVD technology lasts long enough for that!) So this month's order is almost entirely Art and History, but there several of those cinematic gems I'm always looking for. Elevator to the Gallows the French masterpiece famous for the Miles Davis score, Best Foreign Language Film Koyla, Olivia de Havilland goes crazy in the Snake Pit, Blake Edwards little known comedy What did you do during the war Daddy? And for some stupid reason I only bought three seasons of Soap when they only made four! And of course I found another great noir The Naked Kiss (how could I not buy a noir called the Naked Kiss.)

Movies
Elevator to the Gallows Jeanne Moreau's breakout movie Director Louis Malle's Debut and a wonderful murder /suspense that was the forerunner of French New Wave. Oh and Miles Davis improvised the score!
Snake Pit A stunning performance of a women having a mental breakdown got Olivia de Havelland an Oscar nomination.
Koyla Okay it's a melodramatic Polish movie about a Middle aged Cellist taking care of a lost Russian boy but it did win an Oscar for best foreign film. How many cello movies are there?
A Midsummer Night's Dream I keep ordering this. but Shakespeare with Jimmy Cagney and Mickey Rooney? How can I resist?
Naked Kiss Director Samuel Fuller was pushing the envelope with no budget and no big name stars but it's now considered a noir classic with raw dark honest maturity.
What did you do during the War Daddy? Blake Edwards did the Pink Panther and Victor/Victoria This is lesser known but its got a great cast and plenty of laughs with James Coburn, Dick Shawn, Carrol O'Connor, and Henry Morgan.

Non-Fiction
All About Prints: 500 Years of Prints and Printmaking
Anatomy for Artists: Man in Motion
Anatomy for Artists: the Human Head
Ancient Mysteries: Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Art of Baroque Dance
Art of Mexico
Artists of the 20th Century: Salvador Dali
Bach: Cantatas
Basic Watercolor Techniques
Discovery of Art: Leonardo Da Vinci
Drawing a Portrait from Life
Drawing Step By Step
George Segal: American Still Life
Goya: Crazy Like a Genius
Great Epochs of European Art: Art of Ancient Greeks/ Art of Ancient Romans
Great Epochs of European Art: Early Christian and Byzantine Art, Romanes Art, and Gothic Art
How to Draw Comics from Script to Print
How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way
Impressionists: Monet
In Search of History: Egypt
In Search of History: Roman Roads
In Search of History: The Aztec Empire
In Search of History: The Knights Templar
In search of History: The Maya
In Search of History: The Pueblo Cliffdwellers
Jackson Pollock
Landmarks of Western Art
Michelangelo Artist and Man
Navajo Code Talkers
Pablo Picasso
Post Impressionists: Gauguin
Renoir
Rubens
Salem Witch Trials
Soap: the Complete Fourth Season
Techniques of Scott Robertson
Vermeer
Vincent Van Gogh: a Stroke of Genius
Watercolor for the Absolute Beginner

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