This version of Jean-Luc Godard's 1968 One Plus One caused a legendary confrontation at a film festival when the director became infuriated at his producer's decision to attach the Rolling Stones' completed song "Sympathy for the Devil" at the film's end. Godard's own original plan had been to make a film of the Stones' construction of the tune in rehearsal, and intercut that with a story line about a white revolutionary who becomes suicidal when her lover embraces black separatism. Production problems caused Godard to give up that idea and just allow scenes to fall where they would, allowing viewers to construct the film in their own minds. Be that as it may, this slightly shorter and more commercial producer's cut does not lack in satisfaction by closing things out with the song as Stones fans know it. Overall, the film is a bewildering affair, and that's not at all a bad thing: one's orientation is whatever one makes of Godard's enthralling mess here. Even if a viewer is just interested in seeing the Stones at their peak and at work on their brilliant 1968 album Beggars Banquet, this is a highly rewarding experience. Astute watchers and listeners will note that in an early take of the song, Mick Jagger sings the lyric, "I shouted out, 'Who killed Kennedy?'/When after all, it was you and me. " Later, with no mention of a particularly tragic 1968 event in American politics, Jagger has revised the line to "I shouted out, 'Who killed the Kennedys?'" Talk about a startling moment. -Tom Keogh.

Shot on location in Italy, this fascinating documentary tells the story of the greatest Italian opera composer of his day, author of the most popular of all comic operas, The Barber of Seville, a wealthy, successful, prolific composer, who, at the age of 37, suddenly gave up writing for the stage. The programme asks why this happened: it explores the myth of Rossini's personality - bon viveur, man of the world, dilettante which he did as much as anyone else to create; it celebrates the music he wrote for the stage, for church, for singers and chamber groups, through film of the places in which he lived and worked, photographs, stage designs, his own voice and those of his contemporaries. It traces his life, set against the backdrop of the historical events taking place in Italy and through extensive performance excerpts from all his best-known operas as well as less famous works. Voice of Rossini: BRIAN BLESSEDVoice of Stendhal: TIMOTHY BATESONFeaturing:JOAN SUTHERLANDCECILIA BARTOLIJOHN RAWNSLEYMARIA EWINGDELLA JONESALBERTO RINALDIMAX-RENE COSOTTICLAUDIO DESDERIANNA CATERINA ANTONACCIKATHLEEN KUHLMANNExcerpts from: La Cambiale di MatrimonioLa Scala di SetaIl Signor BruschinoTancrediL Italiana in AlgieriElisabetta, Regina d InghilterraIl Barbiere di SivigliaMessa di GloriaLa CenerentolaOverture: La Gazza LadraSemiramideOverture: Il Viaggio a ReimsGuillaume TellStabat MaterPetite Messe Solennelle.

This survey of Italian cinema by Martin Scorsese is a worthwhile follow-up to his 1995 documentary A Personal Journey Through American Movies. Packed with insight and film clips, Voyage covers Italian cinema from World War II through the early '60s, the time that the young Scorsese watched these films before starting his career. The heart of the documentary is the Neo-Realism movement-not the lightest of genres, but Scorsese's passion helps considerably. He introduces us to his family and Sicilian ancestors via photos and home movies allowing us to understand how powerfully these films affected him and his family. He talks about how he saw the films, often through inferior prints on television, and calls out details to observe. The filmmaker spends upwards of 15 minutes on a single film, with the bulk of the history centering on five powerhouse directors: Roberto Rossellini (Open City), Vittorio De Sica (The Bicycle Thief), Luchino Visconti (Senso), Federico Fellini (8-1/2), and Michelangelo Antonioni(L'Avventura). Scorsese's four-hour-plus survey should come with a college credit for film history. He examines the major films but also spends time on films that may be hard to find on home video (at least at this time): Rossellini's six-part Paisan, a heart-breaking look at the last days of the war; De Sica's episodic The Gold of Naples; Fellini's atypical I Vitelloni, which was a major influence on Scorsese's own Mean Streets; Antonioni's Eclipse with its radical ending; and Rossellini's Voyage to Italy, an examination of a marriage that failed worldwide as a film but was a touchstone for the French New Wave movement. The final results are not as accessible as Personal Journey but, at worst, a viewer will have working knowledge of more than 20 Italian films (and be able to cheat their way through a discussion). At best, these are four hours that will end too soon and leave you hungry to view these films that have fueled Scorsese's cinematic vision. [+]

When artist Keith Haring died in February 1980 of AIDS, he left behind an astonishing artistic legacy. In his 31 years, Haring went from being an anonymous graffiti artist who drew chalk figures on New York City subway posters, to being called the successor to Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. This revealing profile of Haring's work and world view contains interviews with gallery owners and friends including actor Dennis Hopper.

He was the most American of artists and the most artistic of Americans one man later said so American in fact that he is almost invisible to us. ANDY WARHOL a riveting and often deeply moving film portrait of the most famous and famously controversial artist of the second half of the twentieth century is the first to explore the complete spectrum of Warhol's astonishing artistic output stretching across five decades from the late 1940's to his untimely death in 1987. Combining powerful on-camera interviews and rare still and motion picture footage it is also the first to put Warhol himself his humble family background and formative experiences in Pittsburgh and his crucial apprenticeship as a commercial artist in New York back into the presentation of his life. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating: NR UPC: 841887051828 Manufacturer No: 705182 Ric Burns' Andy Warhol is a four-hour pop-culture extravaganza that will retool what you think you know about the famed and oft-parodied soup-can painter. Delving deep into Andy's impoverished upbringing in Pittsburgh, the greatest success of Burns' film is its ability to delve deep behind the façade of Andy Warhol, Pop Celebrity. Featuring interviews with an array of confidants from art dealers to artists (but, alas, no Lou Reed), Burns' film portrays an extremely insecure man who lived with his mother through much of the Factory years and constantly seeked a measure of fame akin to the Hollywood starlets whose photographs he tore out of the pages of Depression-era movie mags. Andy Warhol succeeded in achieving that fame, and along the way redefined how we think of art and culture. This film may very well redefine what you think of the man. - Kristian St. [+]

Can an effective episode of Classic Albums be produced when its subject's creator has been dead for more than a quarter century? Perhaps surprisingly, the answer is yes. With Experience members Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, additional musicians on the order of Steve Winwood and Dave Mason, manager Chas Chandler, and engineer Eddie Kramer telling much of the story, Jimi Hendrix still stands front and center in this hourlong examination of the making of his most ambitious release, the 1968 double LP Electric Ladyland. The series's usual centerpiece (isolating parts of the multitrack tapes to illuminate the whole) is invaluable not only in demonstrating Hendrix's genius for building performances in the studio, but, by extension, implying how the music coming out of his head reflected his heart. The result is possibly the most moving documentary about Hendrix, and certainly one whose rare bits of film (such as a promotional clip for "Burning of the Midnight Lamp") make it even more invaluable. -Rickey Wright Released in 1968, Electric Ladyland represented a watershed in the flourishing career of Jimi Hendrix, and today is recognised as one of rock music's landmark albums. The album features some of Hendrix's most notable recordings, including Crosstown Traffic, Voodoo Chile, and a cover of Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower. This classic album features archive film footage and interviews with many of those who were there for the ride: Producer Eddie Kramer, Noel Redding, Mitch Mitchell, Steve Winwood, and Chas Chandler. Track Listing: 1. Burning Of The Midnight Lamp 2. All Along The Watchtower 3. [+]

Man has constructed many remarkable monuments, but only one can be seen from space. The Great Wall of China remains the most soaring architectural achievement of the Chinese people -but it's not the only one, as this entertaining and informative program reveals. Highlights include dazzling graphic re-creations of a Chinese village from seven thousand years ago, the terracotta army of the First Chinese Emperor and Beijing's Forbidden City. Features superb 3D graphics, State-of-the-art computer generated animation, all new location footage, and expert commentary and analyses.

The complete, video biography of rock 'n' roll legend Buddy Holly, produced and hosted by Paul McCartney. This entertaining and enlightening show is the most definitive biography of Buddy Holly ever assembled, featuring interviews with members of The Crickets and many of Buddy Holly's family and friends who knew him best. Includes rare performances and Paul McCartney performs several of Buddy Holly's songs.

Blu-ray high def version of the best-selling documentary. "Helvetica" is the feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design, and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface, which celebrated its 50th birthday in 2007, as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. It went on to be one of the top grossing documentary films of 2007.

Featuring two full-length documentaries, this special edition DVD grants the viewer unfettered access into the mind and artistic philosophy of one of the greatest living legends in architecture: I. M. Pei. Pei's childhood, education, and experiences reveal a life dedicated to the mystery and poetry of structural geometry in First Person Singular, while The Museum on the Mountain tells the intriguing story of the conception, design, and building of Japan's majestic Miho Museum in the mountains near Kyoto. The disc also features a project archive with detailed photos, drawings, and descriptions of twenty I. M. Pei structures.

England's The Who are consistently rated as one of the Top Five rock bands of all time. Their visceral anthems of youth and rebellion helped define the rock and roll movement as a sort of protest against middle-class mediocrity and their music attitude and style have had an incalculable effect on popular culture. WHO'S BETTER WHO'S BEST is a compilation of footage - live studio and candid - of the rock band celebrating in 1988 its 25th year in existence. Format: DVD AUDIO Genre: MUSIC DVD/CONCERTS UPC: 602498435144 Manufacturer No: DVDB000792309.

Jerry Garcia was famous as the visionary behind the Grateful Dead, but his musical tastes were broad, and he found a rewarding partnership with mandolinist David Grisman, whose distinctive "Dawg" style fused jazz with bluegrass. At its best, Grateful Dawg celebrates the easy friendship and truly inspired musicianship of Garcia and Grisman through grainy home-movie footage with surprisingly crisp sound. As one of the film's commentators says, Grisman made Garcia tighter as a musician, while Garcia made Grisman looser, and where they met they created an infectious, rootsy style they called Grateful Dawg. The film's many highlights include instrumental versions of "Dawg Waltz," "Shady Grove," and "Arabia," as well as splendid footage from Garcia and Grisman's days in Old & in the Way. The talking heads inserted ham-handedly between and over performances, unfortunately, become repetitious and, finally, downright annoying. But Garcia and Grisman fans will still enjoy the glimpse at a rare musical alchemy. -Anne Hurley.

The Art of the Piano is a feature-length, 106-minute documentary that presents in refreshingly straightforward fashion a portrait of 20th-century piano playing. The format is simple: short segments on virtually all of the great pianists who have ever been captured on film, augmented by extracts from interviews, sometimes with the pianists themselves, or with later conductors and musicians of international stature, including specially filmed contributions from Daniel Barenboim, Sir Colin Davis, Evgeny Kissin, Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, and Tamás Vásáry. The narration by John Tusa offers an overview of piano music through the century, though the heart of the film is the great quantity of rare archive historic footage, with extracts from performances by Gould, Horowitz, Paderwski, Rachmaninoff, Richter, Rubinstein, and many others. The interviews are short, but offer considerable insight, while the film of so many revered pianists brought together is a literal eye-opener, especially for those who have previously only known these masters from LP and CD. This is, like the companion program The Art of Singing, as close to definitive as a single film can get, even going so far as to include footage from the "silent" era with sound from corresponding recordings. -Gary S. Dalkin, Amazon. co. uk.

Peter Gabriel has long been revered for his great songwriting, cinematic soundscapes, riveting concerts, and groundbreaking videos. Is it any surprise, then, that Play: The Videos is a music DVD for the ages? Nope. But that doesn't make it any less thrilling to watch-or to listen to. Gabriel has assembled and polished an evening-filling 26 clips, all of them collaborations with innovative visual artists and directors like Stephen Johnson, Matt Mahurin, Francois Vogel, and Sean Penn. From the 1977 promo for "Modern Love" to 2003's "Growing Up" and much between, it's all here, and most viewers will be pleasantly surprised to find more than a couple videos they missed along the way. The focus is explicitly on conceptual pieces, the lone visual exception being a 2004 live rendition of "Games Without Frontiers" among the extras. Gabriel says in an accompanying essay that "music can stand more repetition than video and music together. " Play gives us something extra in light of that: fresh 5. 1 surround mixes in both Dolby Digital and DTS 96/24 for every track, with Gabriel/U2 production vet Daniel Lanois at the helm for most songs. (You'll get standard DTS sound from DTS-capable DVD players and, even better, lossless high-resolution audio from a DTS 96/24-compatible player. [+]

In 1990 in the early morning hours after St. Patrick s day thieves disguised as policemen gained access into Boston s Isabella Stewart Gardner museum and successfully executed the largest art heist in modern history. Among the thirteen priceless works stolen was Vermeer's The Concert one of only 35 of the masters surviving works. To date not a single work has been recovered. Stolen is a full exploration of this unusual crime and the fascinating disparate characters involved: from the 19th century Grand Dame Isabella Gardner to the 17th century Dutch masters to a 21st century terrorist organization with a penchant for stealing Vermeers. At the heart of the film is the unlikely hero Harold Smith the renowned art detective. Stolen follows Mr. Smith as he pursues the mystery of the stolen works. Despite his lifetime battle with skin cancer the cunning and witty Smith has made this case his personal obsession working with what hope remains. With Mr. [+]