Help me spend some winnings

[davidross]

I am now the owner of “The room that poker built”, as my wife like to call it. I have filled my basement rec room with a high definition Sony widescreen TV, my first DVD player and a home theatre system. No matter what happens now, I have something to show for all those late nights playing cards on the internet.

Now I want some help building a DVD library. I have 4 kids (15, 12, 9,7) and have bought the latest kids movies (Shrek, Ice Age, Lilo and Stich, Monsters Inc). I bought The Lord of the Rings Directors cut, the last two Star Wars movies, and my favorite movie of all time Rob Roy. But my favorite DVD of them all is The Last Waltz that I got in a discount bin and watched last weekend. I had heard the music before, but had never seen the movie. For anyone who doesn’t know it’s the last performance given by the Band in San Fransisco in 1976. Special guests included Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters and many more. It’s an eclectic mix of country, folk and rock music, and if you’re anywhere within 10 years of my age (43) and haven’t seen it I recommend it highly. How strange it was to have my kids telling us to turn the music down (It’s usually the other way around) as the windows shook all through the house.

So please recommend some DVD’s that would make a nice permanent addition to the library. Movies need to have some visual or audio reason for purchase, otherwise I just rent them. Music suggestions would be greatly appreciated, I have my eye on the Eagles “Hell freezes over” show, and the re-release of the Beatles “Hard Days Night”.

[Inthacup]

You're in luck. Yesterday I was at cnet.com and they had an article about this very thing:
cnet dvd review (http://electronics.cnet.com/electronics/0-6342366-8-20556254-1.html?tag=st.re.9870989.fs.6342366-8-20556254-1)

I don't necessarily agree with all of these, but if you're looking for movies due to their exception audio or video features, this is a good starting point. I watched Almost Famous the other day, and was blown away by the way it sounded on my home theater(especially the concert scenes).

[Clarkmeister]

"Help me spend some winnings "

Move somewhere warm.

[davidross]

Thanks, I may have to win a little more first. Besides I couldn’t handle a place that doesn’t understand hockey or curling.

[HDPM]

I read Clarkmeister's post in the hope of seeing a link to some Miko Lee DVDs. Instead I get move somewhere warm. WTF? /forums/images/icons/mad.gif

[Phat Mack]

Movies need to have some visual or audio reason for purchase

My first choice would be Sign 'O the Times, but only if you're a Prince fan.

[LondonBroil]

These are just a couple of dvd's that everyone who owns a dvd player should have...

The Matrix - No explanation needed. I always assumed this was the first dvd anybody bought.
Gladiator - Superb soundtrack
Rounders
Sopranos season's 1-3 (is season 4 out yet?)

[brad]

i dont think theyve started shooting season 4 sopranos yet.

[HDPM]

No, season 4 is done, they were supposed to start on season 5 soon but there is a big lawsuit over gandolphini's salary. Season 4 not out on dvd yet I don't think. We don't have HBO so didn't watch, but we got addicted to the dvd's. It's cool to watch them straight through instead of just getting one episode a week or whatever. They better resolve the contract dispute is all I can say.

[brad]

oops i guess youre right. how did most recent season (4) end again?

maybe i missed a whole season.

[HDPM]

Dunno, didn't see it. That's why I need the DVD's!

[Jimbo]

HDPM here is a synopsis of the final episode of season 4 from hbo.com

I have no choice but to declare a mistrial."

With the possible exception of "Hi, I'm Angie Dickinson and here's my phone number," those are the nine sweetest words Junior Soprano could ever hope to hear. And ironically, after months of complicated - and expensive - legal maneuvers, Junior ultimately gained his freedom the old-fashioned way: by threatening one of the jurors.

Junior's not the only member of the Soprano family getting a new lease on life. Fresh out of rehab, Christopher is clean and sober, with "strengths I have that I didn't even know I had." He's going to need those strengths, because Tony and Johnny Sack have taken on a huge project: eliminating Carmine. Eager to usurp the old don, Johnny offers Tony some attractive financial inducements to help him. So Tony instructs Christopher to get it done.

With Christopher managing the Carmine project, Tony can focus on domestic matters. Carmela has been sick and depressed, and Tony decides to snap her out of it by buying a house at the shore. "It's for the family," he tells her. Genuinely touched, Carmela begins to come out of her funk - until she gets a phone call from Tony's old goomara, Irina. "Tony loves me," Irina sobs, "If it wasn't for his kids, you would be out on street."

When Tony gets home, his golf clubs have been thrown onto the driveway and Carmela is fully prepared to do the same to him. "You've made a fool of me for years with these whores," she screams, "And now it's come into our home?!" All of Tony's usual tactics to mollify her are useless. He ends up moving into another part of the house, sleeping - or trying to - alone, on an inflatable bed.

The air mattress and his disintegrating marriage aren't the only things keeping Tony awake nights. Uncomfortable with the plan to kill Carmine, Tony phones Christopher and calls it off, explaining, "Our friend's a little too quick to hand off the ball." When Tony breaks the news to Johnny, the New York under boss is furious. "John," Tony says, "I still consider you a dear, dear friend." It's clear, however, that those feelings aren't reciprocated.

But, by far, Tony's most endangered relationship is with Carmela. The season ends with Tony moving out of their home and into a hotel. Where he goes from there remains to be seen.

[brad]

oh yeah thx.

seems like show peaked season 3 sometime

[Chris Alger]

This is a little obscure, but you can find 7 episodes on DVD (one collection) to a little-known BBC TV series called "The Sandbaggers." It's dated and the production values are antique (videotaped), but the acting is great and the dialogue is still ahead of its time. It's about the internal workings of MI-6, the UK's foreign covert ops group, but in addition to the James Bond stuff there's a consistent thread of bureaucratic infighting and backstabbing where hardly any of the main characters come off looking good. Top notch, and you won't find it on TV.

[Glenn]

DVD's you should buy:

Terminator 2: Ultimate Edition--has 3 versions of the movies. Way cooler than this Matrix crap.

The Abyss: Special Edition--has the original cut which has a completely different and more complete ending than the theatrical release.

Apocalypse Now

DVD's you might want to buy:

Bandits: Not the Bruce Willis movie, the rock musical German women in prison movie. Not for everyone, but it does rely a lot on sight and sound.

Mulholland Drive: It is easy to watch over and over since it doesn't make sense the first 10000 times.

What Dreams May Come: People either love or hate this movie but it is pretty visually spectacular at times.

The Seventh Seal: Bergman's classic is one of the most beautifully shot movies of all time. However it is black and white and subtitled so it might be too John Cole for some people.

[John Cole]

David,

Let me recommend a few "small" movies that I really enjoyed for a few reasons, and also a couple others. The "small" movies are also great family movies, I think.

October Sky is a wonderful film about how the Sputnik launch inspires a group of West Virginia high school boys to work on their own rockets.

Also, one of America's great directors, John Sayles, made a fine movie based on Irish legend call The Secret of Roan Inish. You might also enjoy Sayles' commentary.

I can't recommend highly enough two films by Carroll Ballard, Fly Away Home, based on a true story, and Never Cry Wolf, based on Farley Mowatt's classic. Both movies are a bit sentimental, but they are brilliantly photographed and kids should love them. Make sure to get the widescreen editions.

Last, Bil Forsyth's film Local Hero is one of my favorite comedies of all time. It features a loving performance by Burt Lancaster and is set in Scotland, in the "gloaming." It's a magical, beautiful film and deserves to be much more widely known. (It might not go over too well with the younger kids, though.)

Last, you should have Citizen Kane, Lawrence of Arabia, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, and, what the hell, for good horror movies, The Evil Dead series.

Note: these are not "John Cole" films as Glenn has put it. /forums/images/icons/grin.gif

[davidross]

Thanks John,

I am always looking for something the whole family can watch. I will try a couple of them.

[ohkanada]

Curling /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

Being from Winnipeg I curled from age 9 or 10. When I moved to the states I stopped curling but after moving to Washington State, I actually curled for 2 years. The 73 mile drive was too much and finally stopped. Now that I am in TX, there does not appear to be much curling,although the Ice storm we had a few weeks ago made a beautiful curling rink on ALL the roads.

Ken Poklitar

[davidross]

Thanks, that page is great. I must be on the right track, I already own 5 of them and I have rented two others (I rneted K19 this weekend after reading this review). I will try to see the others in the weeks to come.

[BruceZ]

The Gin Blossoms have a live DVD called Just South of Nowhere made in 2002 upon reuniting the band for a new tour. I haven't seen this DVD, but I own the albums New Miserable Experience and Congratulations I'm Sorry. I play them over and over and never tire of them, they are brilliant. I'm not a big alternative rock guy, but a lot of people I talk to have never even heard of this band, though they may have heard their most popular hits Hey Jealousy, Follow You Down, and Allison Road. I don't understand why they aren't mega-popular. The rest of their music is equally outstanding, and has received top ratings by critics. A couple of my favorites are Until I Fall Away and Not Only Numb; they're so good it's scary. Sadly, shortly after the release of New Miserable Experience, their lead guitarist and band founder Doug Hopkins committed suicide after being let go by the band for excessive alcohol abuse. The band broke up in 1997, but got back together for a tour in 2002.

Also, Fleetwood Mac has an album of original material coming out April 15th called Say You Will. I previewed the new track Peacekeeper, and of course it's great.