About this product: The Bakhtiari people of western Iran annually embark on an astounding migration that takes a half-million people, their livestock, and all their possessions across 200 miles of intensely difficult mountains. And this is no simple stroll: the Zagros Mountains, which must be crossed to reach the summer pastures, are as tall as the Alps. This documentary, which was shot on film in the 1970s, focuses on one particular tribesman whose words, translated into English and read by the actor James Mason, tell the timeless story of the great migration. The photography is often spectacular, and the widescreen format is well suited to the sweeping mountain panoramas (though there's no denying the footage would look much more imposing on the big screen). The film moves at a slow pace, and though it can lag, in fairness it should be noted that the pacing does fit in with the rhythms of these rugged mountain people. The tribesman relates the traditional rituals of life for the Bakhtiari, from how they tend their animals to their elaborate wedding feasts, and over the course of the film the tribe's unique mountain culture emerges. Though a viewer may wonder how (or if) the migration has changed in present-day Iran, this film is the original production of 1976 and offers no update. --Robert J. McNamara
About this product: Last Stand of the 300 is an interesting 90-minute documentary from the History Channel explaining the details of the ancient Spartans' showdown with the Persian army at the battle of Thermopylae. It's long been a fascinating subject, but it hit popular culture in a big way with the 2007 feature film 300, based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller. Last Stand of the 300 helps explain the background behind the battle as well as many of the details not covered in the movie, including how the Ionian Revolt and the famed battle of Marathon led to Themopylae, the naval front led by Thermistocles, and what happened afterward. Numerous scholars and authors (including the writers of Gates of Fire and Empires at War) explain the rigorous Spartan training, military strategy, the Oracle at Delphi, the Persian technological advantage, different kinds of weaponry and vessels (the Spartan hoplon, dory, and xiphos, and the trireme), and how one of Miller's famous lines came from Herodotus ("Then we shall have our battle in the shade"). The maps are extremely helpful for showing how the geography affected the battle (one detour would have cost the Persians an extra two years of travel time), but the reenactments look kind of simple compared to the extremely stylized feature film. --David Horiuchi
About this product: Xerxes is one of Handel's rare ventures into comedy, a parody of the amorous complexities, heroic posturing, and overwrought emotions of opera seria. The story is set in the Persian Empire around 475 B.C., and its central character, Emperor Xerxes I, is historic, though the story is emphatically not. It is a tangled plot, with a resemblance to many other baroque plots, except that it is not taken seriously. Xerxes and his brother Arsamene are both in love with the same woman, Romilda. She is in love with Arsamene, as is her sister Atalanta. The plot gets even more complicated when a love letter from Arsamene to Romilda falls into Atalanta's hands. In addition, Xerxes has been betrothed to Amastre but has rejected her. She comes on, intent on revenge and disguised as a man--a fact that may confuse viewers of this production because the role of Xerxes, composed for a castrato, is sung by a woman.
Nicholas Hytner's staging not only accepts the plot's underlying absurdities, it revels in them and pushes them up to and beyond any logical conclusion. The opera is translated visually into postmodernism, as its text (originally in Italian) is translated into English. The sets and costumes evoke London society in Handel's lifetime, but there are also items from the ancient Persian Empire, most notably a giant green animal statue. The chorus and supernumeraries are made up to look like statues. The music includes some of Handel's best work, Sir Charles Mackerras conducts the modern-instrument orchestra with exemplary style, and the singers give dramatically effective performances. But this production stands or falls essentially on its visuals. Baroque purists and those who do not like nontraditional staging will prefer the BMG audio recording on period instruments sung in Italian and conducted by Nicholas McGegan. --Joe McLellan
About this product: The Djanbazian Dance Company, recent recipient of the 2007 Lester Horton Dance Award For "Outstanding Achievement Company", offers an enticing and delightful collection of traditional and folk stage dances. The Djanbazian Dance Company brings you the vibrant colors, music and poetry of Persia to your home. This multi-media DVD production incorporating Anna Djanbazian's exceptional choreography with beautiful excerpts from "Rumi: Path to Enlightenment" and takes you on a joyful journey with dances symbolizing the rituals, ceremonies and customs throughout the different provinces of Iran.
About this product: The story of this extraordinary man who forged the greatest empire the world has ever seen continues to fascinate us. His youth, military genius and personal heroism inspired fighting men to follow him to the ends of the earth. He sacked cities, destroyed armies, toppled dynasties and acquired enormous wealth. When he died at age 32, he was worshipped as a god.
"The Real Alexander The Great" uses dramatic battle recreations and 3-D computer graphics to provide new perspectives on the life and legacy of Alexander the Great, along with the disintegration of his Empire.
About this product: Once upon a time, when you were six years old, and your parents used to tell you "bedtime stories." Somehow those stories became twisted in your dreams, and you sometimes had the worst nightmares about haunted heroes, fire-eating witches and bloodsucking werewolves who ate children for breakfast. Remember? Well, hold on to your popcorn, because your favorite nightmares come to life in a horror/fantasy salute to the age-old bedtime story ritual. Travel on a mysterious journey to a medieval world populated by blood-crazed witches, evil experiments and captive maidens. Then from the catacombs and dark caverns of medieval Europe you plunge into modern suburbia and the frolicsome adventures of a nubile lady jogger tracked by a savage werewolf. Finally, sensuality becomes macabre black comedy on the trail of three escaped mental patients who share a country house with a daffy murderess. Pray you can sleep again!
Join Rania, Sohaila, Louchia and Marina and enjoy the mystical world of bellydance.
Bellydance is over five thousand years old, with roots extending out through many of the ancient cultures: India, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Persia, and the mid-East. These dances have origin in ritual/tribal dances, temple dances, social dances, exercises to prepare women for childbirth, and dances of victory. Throughout the many countries, cities, towns and villages that have the dance as part of their culture, one can see stylistic nuances in both the dance and costuming that mark the style of that region. This why we chose to present you with several different styles of bellydance in this program: Egyptian Dance, Traditional Cabaret Style, Persian Dance, and Persian Banderi Dance. We have additionally added some modern versions of the dance, which are non-traditional, yet quite popular.
Bellydance movements are natural to a woman's muscle and skeletal structure, and even the leg and foot movements are predominantly low-impact. Many people believe that this dance is the first and purest form of dance, since it naturally evolved with civilization, and can be performed by anyone, regardless of their age or body type. This is also why bellydance is so popular as an exercise form.
Many of the movements involve isolating different areas of the body, and moving them sinuously in opposition to each other. Other important qualities of bellydance movement involve percussive hip accents, and fast, vibrating movements called Shimmies.
An experienced and well-trained bellydancer will combine all these qualities with such mastery that her dance is captivating, leaving her audience amazed at her skill and control.
Special Features
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound - Interactive Full Motion Menus - Chapter Selections
About this product: The lives and loves of four feisty African-American women, and their male friend, form the hit formula for this long-running sitcom. Golden Brooks, Jill Jones, Traci Ellis Ross, and Persia White play the foursome navigating the sometimes choppy waters of life in Los Angeles. Joan (Ross) succeeds in her career as a lawyer, but she struggles to find that same success in love. Surrounding her is her independent assistant, Maya (Brooks); intelligent but flighty roommate, Lynn (White); and man-crazy friend, Toni (Jones). And while William (Reggie Hayes) spends a lot of his time with the girls, he still hasn't learned everything there is to know about women. This collection presents the fifth season of this irreverent and heartwarming comedy.
About this product: Professor Dennis Burke (Peter Coyote) wrote a sizzling erotic novel called Red Letters 20 years ago--but since then, his wife died from a protracted illness, and he's been fired from a job because of an affair with a student. So he's grateful to be given a second chance at a small California college where he lectures on Hawthorne... only all his students are more interested in Burke's writing than Hawthorne's. Burke starts receiving letters for the former resident of his apartment, letters that are from a woman in prison named Lydia (Nastassja Kinski of Your Friends and Neighbors) with a 30-year sentence for murder. Burke writes back, and their correspondence takes a turn for the intimate when she asks him to visit her. Burke isn't sure what he's getting into, and his life is only further complicated when the daughter of the college dean (Fairuza Balk, The Craft) starts making advances. Suddenly Lydia has escaped, his best friend (Jeremy Piven, Very Bad Things) is arrested for hacking into the prison computer system, and the dean suspects Burke of trifling with his daughter. Red Letters has all the makings of a classic Hitchcock film: a hapless hero who thinks he's smarter than he is, an unpredictable femme fatale, snaky plot twists, and an all-around excellent cast (also including Ernie Hudson from Ghostbusters and Udo Kier from My Own Private Idaho and The Kingdom). The movie loses focus at the very end, but until then it's a smart, well-written, subtle, and unpredictable film that actually gives its characters some depth and grit. Even the more implausible moments are fun and engaging. Well worth checking out. --Bret Fetzer
About this product: Like Sex & the City, Living Single, and Friends, Girlfriends focuses on a group of best pals whose lives are forever intertwined, for better or for worse. On the first season of Girlfriends--which aired during 2000-2001--we are introduced to a comely group of women. There's Joan (Tracee Ellis Ross, daughter of Diana Ross), a sensible attorney who's unlucky in love; her sassy assistant Maya (Golden Brooks); Joan's happy-go-lucky roommate Lynn (Persia White); and their man-eating friend Toni (Jill Marie Jones). That the women are African American is incidental, because their stories are universal. The adore each other, but each is seeking love and validation, not that the two necessarily go hand in hand. While their escapades lead to many laughs, the writers include enough poignant moments that the show has some heart. Even when Toni goes on a date with Joan's ex--a major violation amongst any group of girlfriends--the women manage to work their issues out in a way that is realistic enough to be recognizable, but comedic enough that we laugh at their antics. The four-disc set includes all 22 episodes from its debut season, including "Never a Bridesmaid," in which Joan and Maya collaborate to coordinate a wedding together. Executive produced by Kelsey Grammer (Frasier, Cheers), the sitcom is smart and well cast. There is genuine chemistry between the four leads, and Reggie Hayes has wonderful comic timing as their much-put upon best male friend William. Ross, who shares her mother's fine-boned beauty, proves to be deceptively good with physical comedy. That she is gorgeous is lost on Joan, who in real life would be working her looks to her utmost advantage. More than just girlfriends, Joan, Maya, Lynn, and Toni are great friends. --Jae-Ha Kim
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