To quote Claude Reins in Deception , Bette Davis is"all eyes and talent," and both burn bright in six vintage films she made for Warner Bros. between 1939-46. Lesser known than her certified classics, these are not exactly best Bettes, but they are marvelously entertaining and a representative showcase for one of Hollywood's most enduring leading ladies. These eminently repeatable films put Davis (and viewers) through the ringer. Few actresses portrayed characters who suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune so grandly, so regally, so tragically, or so deservedly. <p/>As an ad for one of Davis' movies once famously proclaimed, when she was good, she was very good. When she was bad, she was terrific. Just check out John Huston's In This Our Life (1942), this sets unearthed treasure. Bette, flouncing like mad, jilts her fiancée, steals good sister Olivia de Havilland's husband, and promptly drives him to drink and suicide. And she's just getting warmed up! (You don't need Jeannine Basinger's informed commentary to debunk the tantalizing movie legend about a supposed cameo by members of the Matlese Falcon cast. Those gents at the bar look nothing like Bogie and company. But that is Walter, John's father, tending bar). Davis was also very good at being noble. In the prestige project, Watch on the Rhine (1943), based on Lillian Hellman's play and adapted for the screen by Dashiell Hammett, she is the steadfast wife to Paul Lukas, in his Oscar-winning role, as a"legendary figure of the underground movement," who carries on his fight against fascism in Washington, D.C. In The Old Maid (1939), based on the novel by Edith Wharton, Bette allows her cousin (Miriam Hopkins) to give her illegitimate child a respectable name, and, posing as the girl's unsuspecting aunt, must stand by while she grows up spoiled and"horrid." And in All This and Heaven Too (1940), she is a transplanted French schoolteacher who regales her initially scornful students with the true story behind her scandalous past. Deception is another ripping melodrama in which she stars as a pianist whose reunion with her lost love (Paul Henreid), a cellist is threatened by Rains as her arrogant and sadistic Svengali (who's responsible for those minks in her closet). Last but not least is The Great Lie, (1941), pitting Bette against Mary Astor, who won an Academy Award as the bitchy concert pianist whose son Bette is raising (long story, but it involves missing aviator George Brent, whom they both love). These films offer such they-don't-make-'em-like-this-anymore pleasures as lush, melodramatic scores by such masters as Max Steiner, hothouse emotions, quotable dialogue, and, of course, indelible character actors at their peak. These films are seen to their best advantage when viewed as part of each disc's bonus features that recreate an old fashioned"Night at the Movies".-- Donald Liebenson

United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Mono ), French ( Mono ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Box Set, Interactive Menu, Multi-DVD Set, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: The Woman Next Door (1981) Madame Jouve, the narrator, tells the tragedy of Bernard and Mathilde. Bernard was living happily with his wife Arlette and his son Thomas. One day, a couple, Philippe and Mathilde Bauchard, moves into the next house. This is the accidental reunion of Bernard and Mathilde, who had a passionate love affair years ago. The relationship revives... A somber study of human feelings. The 400 Blows (1959) For his feature-film debut, critic-turned-director François Truffaut drew inspiration from his own troubled childhood. The 400 Blows stars Jean-Pierre Léaud as Antoine Doinel, Truffaut's preteen alter ego. Misunderstood at home by his parents and tormented in school by his insensitive teacher (Guy Decomble), Antoine frequently runs away from both places. The boy finally quits school after being accused of plagiarism by his teacher. He steals a typewriter from his father (Albert Remy) to finance his plans to leave home. The father angrily turns Antoine over to the police, who lock the boy up with hardened criminals. A psychiatrist at a delinquency center probes Antoine's unhappiness, which he reveals in a fragmented series of monologues. Shoot the Pianist (1960) Charlie Kohler is a piano player in a bar. The waitress Lena is in love with him. One of Charlie's brother, Chico, a crook, takes refuge in the bar because he is chased by two gangsters, Momo and Ernest. We will discover that Charlie's real name is Edouard Saroyan, once a virtuose who g...François Truffaut Films 6-DVD Set ( La Femme d'à côté / Les 400 coups / Tirez sur le pianiste / Jules et Jim / Les Deux anglaises et le continent / Vivement dimanche! ) ( The Woman Next Door / The 400 Blows / Shoot the Pianist / Jules and J

THIS FEATURE LENGTH SPECIAL RUNS TO 91 MINUTES.

THIS FEATURE LENGTH SPECIAL RUNS TO 91 MINUTES.

John Waters expands the definition of female trouble in this mutant tribute to good-girl-gone-bad drive-in melodramas. The girl is, of course, cross-dressing cult icon Divine, Waters's plus-sized muse. Divine is at her most gleefully outrageous as teenage brat Dawn Davenport, who runs away from home and into a life of wanton hedonism all because she didn't get cha-cha heels for Christmas. Almost immediately she's molested by a sleazy motorcycle thug (also played by Divine--is this Waters's idea of"love thyself"?), but she doesn't let motherhood interfere with her plans of stardom and turns herself into an unlikely fashion statement in an apocalyptic fashion show. Waters's fourth feature, a follow-up to the midnight movie hit Pink Flamingos , is just as cinematically primitive and even more gleefully vulgar, right down to the electric climax of Dawn's road to everlasting fame. --Sean Axmaker

United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: LANGUAGES: Spanish ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Behind the scenes, Interactive Menu, Making Of, Photo Gallery, Scene Access, Storyboards, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: Celebrated Argentine director Lucia Puenzo (XXY) returns with a gripping tale of forbidden lesbian romance and a crime heist gone awry. Boasting beautiful cinematography and electrifying performances from its two female leads, The Fish Child is a film festival favourite that will take you on a journey you won't ever forget.Lala, a teenager from the most exclusive suburban neighborhood in Argentina is in love with the Guayi, the 20-year-old Payaguayan maid working at her place. They dream of living together in Paraguay, at the shores of lake Ypoá. Robbing every purse and wallet in the house to fulfill their dream, hiding the money in a shoe box. But when the box is full, it bursts, fueled by desire, jealousy and rage. This is the starting point that spurs the escape through the highway that connects the North of Buenos Aires with Paraguay. While Lala waits to be reunited with her lover in Ypoá by reconstructing her past (the mystery surrounding her pregnancy and the legend of a fish child who guides the drowned to the bottom of the lake), the Guayi is detained in a minors institute in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. She turns out to be hiding a crime from long ago.Special Features: Behind the Scenes, Picture Gallery.EXCLUSIVE TO AMAZON.CO.UK SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Malaga Spanish Film Festival, ...The Fish Child ( El niño pez )