About this product: He was a 17th century Einstein, who reduced nature’s chaos to a single set of laws and revolutionized the thinking and outlook of his age. But in the midst of his astonishing breakthroughs in physics, optics, and calculus, Isaac Newton was also searching out hidden meanings in the Bible and pursuing the covert art of alchemy, or the changing of base metals into gold.
With vivid docudrama scenes starring Scott Handy (Henry VIII) as Newton, NOVA recreates the unique climate of late 17th-century England, where a newfound fascination with science and mathematics coexisted with extreme views on religious doctrine. Unknown to most, Newton shared both obsessions.
Besides revealing his secretive and vindictive personality, this NOVA special shows how he made the bold intellectual leaps that transformed science, such as the universal law of gravitation. Newton’s Dark Secrets also recreates one of Newton’s little-known alchemical experiments using his secret recipes, which have only recently been deciphered. With these lively glimpses of a brilliant and obsessive mind, NOVA explores how Newton became the giant on whose shoulders all later scientists would find a place to stand.
Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators; a link to the NOVA Web site; scene selections; closed captions; and described video for the visually impaired.
On one DVD5 disc. Region coding: All regions. Audio: Dolby stereo. Screen format: Letterboxed.
About this product: It is not possible to conduct a course in the history of mathematics or science without an in-depth study of the life and work of Isaac Newton. Generally considered to be the greatest scientist of all time, his work in mathematics alone would have placed him in the upper tier of scientific figures. His life largely consisted of two distinct parts, the years where he was withdrawn and unwilling to publish followed by those where he was an icon and readily destroyed his rivals. Given the short amount of time, the coverage in the tape is impressive. While not spending an inordinate amount of time on his personality, the producers of the tape impart a sound sense of what he was like. Arguably the smartest person who has ever lived, he was socially inept and it is rumored that he only laughed once in his life. Despite that genius and his early years of intellectual reclusion, he also proved to be a superb organizer. Many biographers of Newton tend to ignore his work at the royal mint, where he took an inefficient process for producing coins and turned it into a producer of coinage that all had confidence in. That part of his life is covered in this tape, showing Newton to be one of the first modern CEOs. The role that stable coinage played in the industrial revolution is not to be underestimated and Newton is the person most responsible for creating it in Britain. Like so many great historical figures, there was an inflection point in Newton's life. Being small and sickly, he was bullied in his early years at school. All that changed when he physically stood up to the bully and after that event, threw himself into his schoolwork, rapidly outdistancing all his classmates and even the teachers. His talent was so overwhelming that his professor resigned so that Newton could be given his position. This tape should be in every academic library and part of the curriculum in all courses in the history of math or science. It presents all sides of Newton, from the reclusive genius who could barely speak to people to the popular, ruthless icon who did not hesitate to destroy his rivals.
Published in Mathematics and Computer Education, reprinted with permission.
About this product: The Newton Boys were the most successful bank robbers in the history of the United States. They never killed anyone, never snitched, and only robbed banks (just bigger thieves, in their opinion), until their final deal, which was a botched train robbery for $3 million. Engagingly played by Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, Skeet Ulrich, and Vincent D'Onofrio, the Boys don't have the kind of flaws of more brutal criminals that make for more volatile dramas. The film ambles along in a leisurely way to tell its story of the Newtons' bank-robbing career, with an ever-present air of reverent Americana. This may make some viewers impatient, and cause a glow in others. It seems like a departure for director Richard Linklater (Slacker, Dazed and Confused)--a costumer to be sure, but Linklater's deliberately amiable pace perfectly balances the Boys' personalities. You may wander into this movie and feel right at home. The golden-hued cinematography of Peter James (Driving Miss Daisy) adds a level of comfort that makes everything warm-like. The end credits intercut archival footage of two of the real-life Newton boys toward the end of their lives, one from a 1980 appearance with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. --Jim Gay
About this product: From "If Not for You" to "Physical," from Grease to Xanadu, from her successful battle against breast cancer to her support of numerous environmental causes, Olivia Newton-John has had a long, fruitful, and impressive career, as Live at the Sydney Opera House, a good-looking, great-sounding, beautifully performed concert recorded in 2006, will testify. Born in 1948, Newton-John is one of those singers who these days would be known as a diva, were it not for the fact that her musical style and overall manner are too self-effacing for so presumptuous a term. And while her voice is a bit less pristine these days than when she came on the scene with a series of country-flavored singles in the '70s, what little she's lost in purity is balanced by an increase in soul; she'll never be Etta James, but once she warms up, she hits the high notes with ease and sings with considerable power and confidence. What's more, though she's usually categorized as an adult contemporary artist, in the course of this career-spanning, 27-song set (backed by a first-rate band and the full Sydney Symphony Orchestra), she reveals herself to be at ease with a variety of styles, ranging from the aforementioned country ("Let Me Be There," "Please Mr. Please," and a rousing version of Dolly Parton's "Jolene") through soft pop ("I Honestly Love You," "Have You Never Been Mellow"), the movie hits (two from Xanadu and three from Grease), an electronically re-created duet with the late Peter Allen ("Tenterfield Saddler"), and even a creditable go at the torch standard "Cry Me a River." There are no DVD bonus features, but between-songs bits find Newton-John, daughter Chloe Lattanzi, and members of the band providing a tourist's eye view of Sydney. --Sam Graham
About this product: This film has been newly released on the Arthaus label distributed by Naxos. The original film was made in 1988 it was previously released on DVD by Image This is a basic transfer of the film. It has not been restored and does appear grainy in parts. That said, here is my review:
More than a documentary about this world famous photographer, best known for his fashion photos and nude photos of women in unusual and erotic positions, this is a series of "living photos", as we follow Newton as he shoots these models and the photos come to life. The narrator gives us the basic facts and the rest consists of interviews with Newton, who definitely has a big ego but can be very funny as well, along with his wife and his models, both famous (Candace Bergen and Catherine Deneuve) and not. WE don't learn about his growing up years - that would have been nice - but, rather, on his life during his productive, and lucrative, years. He refers to his high fee often.
The film is rather long - at 100 minutes - but there's such beauty in the women he shoots that you don't mind. You won't learn anything about photography here, nor much about Newton's background, but you won't be bored. You will experience pop culture in Monte Carlo and Los Angeles (his two homes) in the 80s as you follow him to his favorite haunts.
If you like Newton's photographs, and especially if you enjoy great black and white photographs of nude females, you will definitely like this film. Though not perfect, its worth seeking out in this new release.
About this product: Olivia Newton-John: Video Gold 1 kicks off its anthology of 19 music videos with three shorts spun from Newton-John's 1979 Totally Hot album. "Deeper Than the Night," "A Little More Love," and "Totally Hot," all directed by Alan Metter, are buoyant mini-productions. The first two are anchored by scenes of Newton-John singing in the studio and posing for publicity shots, the last video more playful as the smashing blonde turns heads on the street and dances with a hunky fellow cast as a shutterbug. The next 13 shorts, amazingly, were originally included on the video collection Physical; 10 of those are tied to tracks on Newton-John's 1981 album of the same name. (Among the other three is a post-Grease take on Newton-John's hit from that movie, "Hopelessly Devoted to You." Unfortunately, it doesn't work as a sincere performance by a mature woman, as presented here. It's hard not to hear the song, instead, as intended: A schoolgirl's sigh from a nostalgic comedy.)
Of the Physical-based (the album, that is) material, the famous video of the same name still looks clever, with Newton-John playing a sleek, aerobics devotee inspiring a lot of chubby men to exercise by jumping on them, talking into their ears, etc. A surreal streak runs through a few shorts, especially "Recovery," in which the singer rides a horse through a desert, encounters a cage full of men in tuxedoes (what a warm shoot that must have been), and wanders through a painting. The final three performances, all live and all from the Olivia in Concert video, feature some of Newton-John's best material, including the country-flavored hits "Let Me Be There" and "If You Love Me, Let Me Know." --Tom Keogh
About this product: With the Van Gogh, Dolittle, and other Baby programs under their belts, the tots who follow Julie Aigner-Clark's Baby Einstein series will sidle up to Baby Newton expecting a similar exploration of building blocks to brilliance, but this time there's a wrinkle or two. Animation makes its first appearance, and parents steeped in keep-it-simple culture may object to the springy "I Know My Shapes" song, a departure from classical-only video predecessors. Otherwise, the tried-and-true genius launchers of titles past pop up anew--Vivaldi floats through each of five shape segments, and clever puppet shows play quickly and infrequently enough to captivate the under-2 crowd. Plus, talk about well rounded: Clark covers the bases, showing off triangular sails drifting toward the sunset one second and geometric patterns the next. Play it for a departure from skill-building standbys like pop-up books and plastic sorters for ages 1 to 3. --Tammy La Gorce
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