News

DVD Playhouse—July 2011

By Allen Gardner

The Music Room (Criterion) Satyajit Ray’s 1958 masterpiece looks at the life of a fallen aristocrat as a metaphor for an India that is not only becoming Westernized, but modernized technologically and culturally beyond recognition. When the beloved music room, where he has hosted lavish concerts in the past, starts falling into disrepair as attendance drops steadily, the man realizes his way of life is vanishing. Stunningly shot in black & white, one of Ray’s finest works. Bonuses: Documentary on Ray from 1984 by Shyam Benegal; Interviews with Ray biographer Andrew Robinson and filmmaker Mira Nair; Excerpt from 1981 roundtable discussion between Ray, critic Michael Ciment, director Claude Sautet. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Full screen. Dolby 1.0 mono.

Beauty And The Beast (Criterion) Jean Cocteau’s sublime adaptation of the classic fairy tale become a beloved classic upon its 1946 release, and hasn’t faded since.

There you are, all curled up on the sofa, holding a mug of hot cocoa with one hand, knitting an unsightly reindeer sweater with the other. Your tree is twinkling, your fireplace is glowing, and your neighbors are caroling semi-competently on your snow-dusted lawn. Is there anything that could make this scene more festive? You bet your sweet chestnuts there is. The holidays aren’t officially the holidays until we gorge ourselves on the buffet of new Christmas TV movies served up around this time of year. Are they corny? Like an Iowa farm. Predictable? You can set your watch...

There you are, all curled up on the sofa, holding a mug of hot cocoa with one hand, knitting an unsightly reindeer sweater with the other. Your tree is twinkling, your fireplace is glowing, and your neighbors are caroling semi-competently on your snow-dusted lawn. Is there anything that could make this scene more festive? You bet your sweet chestnuts there is. The holidays aren’t officially the holidays until we gorge ourselves on the buffet of new Christmas TV-movies served up around this time of year. Are they corny? Like an Iowa farm. Predictable? You can set your watch to...

By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith

HollywoodNews.com: Making Lifetime’s “Reviving Ophelia” movie that airs Monday (10/11) came as a much-appreciated lift for Jane Kaczmarek. The actress, who reigned for seven years as authoritarian mom Lois on “Malcolm in the Middle” — and for 17 as half of one of Hollywood’s favorite couples with ex-husband Bradley Whitford — admits, “It was a tough year. My husband filed for divorce. It was a very sad year.”

Many in the industry thought of the Whitfords as a great couple. “So did I,” she says. “I never thought I’d be single again.”

The divorce came in tandem with the disappointing cancellation of Steven Bochco’s ”Raising the Bar,” in which she played a judge, after two seasons.

“Reviving Ophelia” represents “the first time I’ve worked since all of this happened. My manager liked the idea of getting me in front of a camera again,...

Mary Pipher's best selling novel Reviving Ophelia is now a Lifetime movie. It tells the story of two teenage girls, one of whom is physically abused by her boyfriend. The reactions of the two girls to this abuse make up the basic plot of the film. Le Ann (Kim Dickens) and Marie (Jane Kaczmarek) are sisters. Le Ann is divorced while Marie is happily married. They both have adolescent daughters, Kelli (Carleigh Beverly) and Elizabeth (Rebecca Williams), who in the past have been best friends. Lately, however, Elizabeth's boyfriend Mark (Nick Thurston) has come between them. Mark is domineering, jealous and suspicious but Elizabeth overlooks all of this because she loves him. It is only when he becomes physically abusive that she begins to have concerns. Even then she blames herself for having provoked him. The film is right on target when it...

The Hallmark Channel has already started gearing up for Christmas with their holiday movie lineup and the network is adding a new film to the list. Golden Globe nominee Jennifer Beals is starring in Hallmark's "The Night Before the Night Before Christmas" on November 20.

Christmas is headed for an early demise after the lead Elf in the North Pole accidentally unleashes Christmas a day too soon and Santa's onboard navigation crashes St. Nick at the house of the Fox family in the middle of Suburbia.

Santa is left with a bad case of amnesia, and it's up to the family to help Santa save Christmas, while also remembering what the holidays are all about if Christmas is to get back on track across the world. Beals stars alongside Rick Roberts, Gage Munroe and Rebecca Williams.

Viewers can catch the world premiere of Hallmark Network's "The Night Before the Night Before...