<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/musicman.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>When conman Harold Hill (Robert Preston) arrives in River City, he intends to employ his usual scam of equipping and training a boys marching band and then getting out of dodge as fast as he can. Things go awry when he falls in love with the town librarian (Shirley Jones) and inadvertently enriching the town with a love of music.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/godfather1.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Based on the novel by Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola's <i>The Godfather</i> is one of the greatest films of all time. Widely considered the best sequel of all time, <i>Part II</i> went on to win six Oscars, including Best Picture. The films chronicles the lives of the Corleone family from the rise of Vito (Marlon Brando and Robert DeNiro) as a young criminal to the struggles of Michael (Al Pacino) to legitimize the family business after taking over for his father.
At the age of 50, after a decade's absence from the stage, Michael Jackson was in the process of crafting an entirely new concert experience. His only audience was a small group of technicians and dancers who watched him create a show that would have marked his return to the stage. Fortunately, Jackson had a team of videographers on hand recording the proceedings for his personal archive and as original film content for the show. Sadly, on June 25theight days before the first dress rehearsalhe passed away due to an overdose of Propofol administered by his physician.
This Is It gives us a glimpse of what would have been an astounding concert experience, and the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack exhibits clarity that I've never heard from his masterful music. Here are a few scenes to check out, but virtually every song is demo-worthy.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/fame.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>The High School of Performing Arts in New York City was created in 1947 by Franklin J. Keller offering music and speech programs along with traditional trade skills. Promising seven classes a day and a hot lunch, the school trains teenage musicians, actors, and dancers who have dreams of making it big except some dreams will be shattered along the way.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/atonementbd.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT><i>When a young girl catches her sister in a passionate embrace with a childhood friend, her jealousy drives her to tell a lie that will change the course of their lives forever. </i>
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/pridebd.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>During the Georgian period in England the Bennet family is in dire financial shape. Mr. Bennet (Donald Sutherland) has five daughters and an overbearing wife (Brenda Blethyn), but if the old man keels over, the family estate passes to a distant cousin and the girls would be at his mercy. In order to have a better grasp on her future, Mrs. Bennet prepares her daughter to marry into suitable families with one requirement—money. However, when Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) comes to town for the summer things may not go according to plan.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/bourne1.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>After being pulled from the sea with two bullets in his back, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) awakens on a fishing boat with no memory of his involvement in a top-secret, black-ops arm of the CIA called Treadstone. The only clue to his identity is the number of a Swiss safe-deposit box in which he discovers an array of passports, weapons, and cash. As he struggles to unlock the secret of his own identity, Bourne has to deal with his past in order to ensure his own future.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/boogienights.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>During the 1970s, the San Fernando Vally in Southern California became the porn capital of the world. It’s here that Eddie Adams, aka Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg), enters the industry seduced by the glamour and has the ultimate tool to become a superstar. Under the tutelage of porn director Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) and his extended “family,” Eddie wants to elevate the industry from smut to an art form.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/smokinaces.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Magician turned gangster Buddy “Aces” Israel (Jeremy Piven) is in a load of trouble by turning states evidence against the mob. When the jilted mob boss finds out he’s holding-up in Lake Tahoe, he offers a $1 million bounty on his head and every lowlife thug is out to earn a quick buck and it’s up to a couple of FBI agents to try and protect their key witness before one of the fortune seekers hits pay dirt.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/simpsons20.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>When <i>The Simpsons</i> first appeared on "The Tracey Ullman Show" in 1987 I doubt anyone would have thought it would win 25 Emmy awards, become the longest-running American sitcom, and eventually surpass <i>Gunsmoke</i> as the longest running primetime series with over 450 episodes.