Cybill's star shines bright in series 3

This sitcome just got better with each season and season 3 is one of the best! Cybill gets a starring rle in a rip off of X-Files called Lifeforms, Maryanne is at her most insane with her endless schemes on killing her ex husband 'Dr Dick', and the whole family each get a chance to really shine through.

A great series of a great 90's comedy. Highly remommended and roll on season 4!

Not just the Night Mail

Night Mail, which contains several other"shorts" as well as the title film, is a short collection of digitally remastered documentaries made in the 1930s and beyond concerning the travelling postal services on our railways. It is enjoyable to watch - you can almost smell the steam - and to listen to as well, with the characteristic clipped tones of documentary commentaries from the era. I wouldn't call it nostalgic as I wasn't born until the late 1950s, but it does make you feel somewhat wistful for a time when we took pride in our services like the railways and the mail, and importance was attached to them. Other shorts in the DVD depict related topics like the electrification of the Southern Railway.

Essential for fans

This 4 disc collection contains:

Weird weekends

Black nationalism
Head for the hills
Gangsta rap*
Porn*
South Africa
Swingers
Thai Brides
Wrestling*

When Louis met:

Jimmy*
Paul & Debbie
The Hamiltons*
Chris Eubank
Ann Widdecombe

Louis &
the Nazis
the Brothel

Louis's bits from TV Nation

*Previously available on The Best of Weird Weekends vol 1 & 2 dvds.

For anyone hard of hearing, English subtitles are included


When I first saw this for preorder I was overjoyed because I thought the collection would be complete. Alas it's missing a lot of great Louis Theroux episodes- some available on past dvds (Hypnosis, UFOs) but many unreleased (Infomercials, Off off broadway, Demolition derby, Louis & Michael Jackson...). Louis writes in the insert that he wanted to include"When Louis met Max Clifford" in the set but Simon Cowell refused to give legal permission. Fans like myself then, can only hope they release a 2nd volume in the near future and Simon finds his sense of humour and relents. Needless to say however that what is part of this collection is well worth the investment.

The back of the dvd box states that due to copyright there have been some edits made to some episodes but I can happily say that whatever edits were made aren't noticible overall. There do seem to be a couple of abrupt cuts in one or two episodes but I have no idea if that wasn't how they were originally broadcast.

Lazily the only extras in this collection are a very young looking Louis' reports from Michael Moore's old TV Nation show. At the very least they could have ported the extras from the previous Weird weekend dvds to this set. At most episode commentaries would have been a very welcome addition.

Regardless of all the could-have-beens if you're a Louis Theroux fan this is an essential purchase and I would also recommend getting his book/audiobook in which Louis revisits and follows up on many of the subjects featured in this collection.

Great study-pal to the books...

I have got all of Jan Fennell's books and now the DVD. I would definatly suggest having the books aswell because they add alot more meaning to the method (Amichien Bonding) than the DVD alone. This said however, it is wonderful to be able to see the method being applied to several dogs with various 'problems'. It also features Jan's son Tony, her English Springer Spaniels, her German Shepherd and her Utonagan (the ones that look like wolves). It is a nice insight to be able to see her dogs and how they behave.
A good DVD for anyone interested in learning more about Amichien Bonding and how it is applied. At an hour and a half long, it's comforting to know that it is split up into handy bite-size sections.
It also boasts an interview in the bonus material section.

A Fantastic Journey Through Britain's Past

In my opinion, as a professional TV producer and director and an avid film buff from 'down under', I can't fault this amazing 6-part series in any way. In a word it's FANTASTIC!

David Dimbleby in his watermelon pink shirt does a sterling job (as usual) with his friendly and informative on-camera-location presentations. The production values are first class with some of the most beautiful camerawork I've ever seen in any English or International TV documentary. Congratulations BBC, the aerial shots are mind-blowing. The music score is excellent too, and one would believe that a mammoth budget was spent on its composition, orchestration, and recording.

The complete series is presented in widescreen 1.85:1 (anamorphic) and is one of the best transfers I have seen in a long, long time, with sharp, clean images and glorious colour. I can heartily recommend this series to anyone who loves Britain and would relish a trip through Britain's past to savour its heritage buildings, its beautiful countryside, and its famous towns and cities. Enjoy!

"Excellent family movie in High Def!"

'March of the Penguins' is really a lovely little adventure, and one that far outclasses its dreaded"natural documentary" label. It can be as thrilling as any big-budget Hollywood spectacle, and twice as moving. Warner has produced another fine HD DVD release, with strong video and audio, and a slim but compelling set of supplements. This makes a wonderful companion piece to the studio's just-released 'Happy Feet' -- if you can get both as part of a package deal, don't hesitate to pick 'em both up.

great dvd

this is great. you need to watch this. my personal favorite is how he makes money from the bookies with loosing tickets. then when he tells one of them they are soooo shocked. definetly worth the watch

Awesome! George Harrison Sorely Missed!

Well what can I say, everyone before has said it all, brilliant performances by brilliant artists, performing brilliant songs from the late brilliant George Harrison may God rest his soul. Buy this and you will not complain.

The best Jesus film I know

Five years ago, I gave up going to church, but every Easter Sunday I like to watch The Miracle Maker. Every time I find it very moving.

They may be puppets but there's loads going on in their expressions and gestures. Doing a voiceover, could be just doing an voiceover, but these characters are given tremendous life and subtlety by the brilliant cast of actors. I loved Ralph Fiennes and Miranda Richardson's contributions.

The script provides an unusual perspective, and the story only covers aspects of Jesus's life, but there is much humour, warmth and insight. You get the idea of three-dimensional human beings struggling with their lives. The combination of animation and cartoon drawing adds more texture to the story, and the use of flashback is clever.

Watching Lazarus come out of his tomb in his bandages gave me new insight into the story, as did Pilate's worldly cynicism.

I really admire their ability to put genuine comedy into the story and they work towards a powerful statement of Christianity at the end, played out with Anne Dudley's Pie Jesu, which is worth watching the DVD for on its own.

I send a copy of it to all my godchildren.

scary,scary man!!!

Derren is brilliant once again.............if you have been to see him live this year like I did,then you will love this DVD,he is probably the scariest man alive!!!!
Brilliant,award winning stage show.

Rubbish

One sided rubbish, made advertantly contravercial in an attempt to make more money.

This"documentary" has been lampooned by most major scientific communities, including 2 of the scientists who appeared in it.

Anyone with a basic understanding of global warmings science will realise this is rubbish.

Dont encourage them by buying it.

The obsessional/delusional as objet trouvee

The love-it or hate-it responses of the Amazon viewership to Werner Herzog's Grizzly Man illustrate quite nicely the theory that art exists not wholly formed on the page, canvas or celluloid, but somewhere between the viewer and the"text". If you come to this film expecting a beautifully shot wild-life documentary and hoping for a picturesque education about bears and the Alaskan wilderness, you'll be sorely disappointed. The wildlife footage - some quite remarkable, notwithstanding - was shot by a paranoid loner on a handycam. You'll also have no-one to blame but yourself, since nothing about the film, even down to its name, let alone its maker, is suggestive for a moment that that's what it's about.

If, on the other hand, you come armed with some background knowledge about German director Werner Herzog and what he's about - not ordinarily a documentary maker as such, although some of his feature films have an almost documentary quality to them as studies in human obsession (not least his own) - your expectations will be quite different, and I dare say your reaction to Grizzly Man will be too.

Over forty years Herzog has obsessionally directed obsessional actors (Bruno S, Klaus Kinski) depicting obsessional/delusional figures (Kinski as a psychopathic conquistador Aguirre searching for El Dorado, a barmy opera nut Fitzcarraldo with a dream of bringing high art to the deepest recesses of the Amazon rainforest, and as the good Count in Nosferatu: The Vampyre; Bruno S as Kaspar Hauser, a man trapped from birth for 20 years in a windowless dungeon in rural Germany, or in Strozsek as a man resemblent of himself vainly trying to escape his condemning past by going to America), in obsessional ways (Aguirre and Fitzcarraldo both filmed on location; in Aguirre Herzog allegedly held Kinski at gunpoint to prevent him walking out; in Fitzcarraldo when the script called for a paddle steamer being pushed by hand over the crest from one valley to the next, Herzog required his cast to actually carry out the operation).

Seen in this context, Timothy Treadwell represents a sort of found-object sculpture for Herzog: you couldn't make this up, and for much of the documentary, Herzog is arranger, art director and chief contextualiser; providing background interview material only to back up his own view of the world, which he openly concedes is quite contrary to Treadwell's (such as Treadwell's was a coherent world-view: that's a moot point). So to complain that Herzog is distorting; contorting; contriving an outcome is also (to my mind) to miss the point. Yes, he is, just as Marcel Duchamp was contorting the true purpose of a urinal by inverting it, signing it, and entering it in an art exhibition. That's what artists do.

While it may be selectively edited, it is difficult, all the same, to conceive that what Herzog left out might negative the impression that Treadwell was an ignorant, paranoid, delusional burn-out, and that his most impressive achievement was not being eaten earlier.

Herzog is by no means completely unsympathetic to Treadwell, but he sees him not as a naturalist but a natural film-maker. Some of the footage - when Treadwell can keep his sorry face out of it - is quite extraordinary, and reminiscent of some of the German director's own impressionist output, as Herzog remarks. As he was director, cameraman and star, Treadwell often had no alternative but to leave the camera running, and Herzog draws our attention to it - the random play of rushes in blustery wind reminiscent of the opening scene from The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, which reflects on a ripe stand of barley in much the same way. And the final shot of the film, wherein we see Treadwell hiking away from the camera towards the perils of nature - bears, mountains, brewing inclement weather - is not unreminiscent of Bruno Ganz's departure into the Transylvanian mountains to confront the count in Nosferatu.

There are some aspects of the film I found less persuasive, and in particular Herzog's melodramatic decision to film himself listening, on earphones, to an audio-tape of Treadwell's actual death, then commending its possessor, a former girlfriend of Treadwell, to destroy it without listening. Herzog has managed to find a consistently weird cast of hangers on, ex lovers and Treadwell fans - and the oddest coroner I've ever seen - to backfill Treadwell's story - and while this does lend proceedings the unfortunate air of a Christopher Guest mockumentary, I expect it is no more than anyone would find if one poked around in remote Alaska long enough.

I loved this film. If you did, I would heartily recommend a look at Herzog's classic seventies output in particular featuring Klaus Kinski, which is anthologised in a pretty economical single edition: Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski: A Film Legacy

Olly Buxton

Four Fat DVD's!

Jennifer Paterson And Clarissa Dickson Wright star in this Set of 4 DVD'S of their entire cooking series 'Two Fat Ladies'.Politically incorrect (HOORAY)!! Jennifer and Clarissa take us into a world of fat on ham,bread spread with a lovely covering of butter,cooking with fresh fish straight from a fishing boat,chocolate pudding and anything else to eat that is now considered to be bad for you.Non conformists and Anti Vegetarians not only do Jennifer And Clarissa cook some lovely food but the Episodes are full of stories of their younger days (and Jennifer bursting into song).and at the same time mixing the food round in a mixing bowl with her hands and lovely red painted nails!! Many Great moments including when Clarissa tells Jennifer ''Donkey's are awfully randy creatures'',Jennifer tells her firmly but nicely ''oh they're sweet... they played a great part in the bible not to be mocked... think what happened on palm Sunday'' and Jennifer tells us all that Clarissa sat on her raspberry's and squashed them.! Jennifer and Clarissa relax at the end of each episode and talk about the lovely people they met and places they visited. (Jennifer relaxing, smoking her cigarette)!,If you love living in a politically correct England. this DVD is Definately NOT for you.Jennifer And Clarissa are in a long line of our lovely British Eccentrics,true to themselves (and others)! and full of plain common sense!.

Brilliant introduction to the world of Dinosaurs

I watched this series on TV when it came out and remembered it as an enjoyable documentary series with CGI dinosaurs and landscapes that looked very real. I recently wanted to get something that would interest my young children so I bought this DVD. My decision has turned out a very good one as"my brood" is completely hooked on dinosaurs and want to watch the series over and over again. It has also prompted me to read up more on some of the different species. There appears to be some controversy over size of the different dinosaurs, such as Liopleurodon, but that's not a really big deal for casual enthusiasts like myself. Therefore it is highly recommended for people of similar background in the subject.