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Bible - DVD |
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Bible - VHS |
Kundun
(1997) DVD
In
chronicling the life of the
14th Dalai Lama, Kundun defies conventional narrative in favor of an
episodic
approach, presenting a sequential flow of events from the life of the
young
leader of Buddhist Tibet. From the moment he is recognized as the
reincarnation
of the 13th Dalai Lama in 1937 to his exile from Tibet in the wake of
China's
invasion, the Dalai Lama is seen as an enlightened spiritual
figurehead.
This gives the film its tone of serenity and reverence but denies us
the
privilege of admiring the Dalai Lama as a fascinating human character.
There's a sense of mild detachment between the film and its audience,
but
its visual richness offers ample compensation. In close collaboration
with
cinematographer Roger Deakins, Scorsese filmed Kundun with great
pageantry
and ritual, and meticulous attention to details of costume, color, and
the casting of actual Buddhist monks in the scenes at the Dalai Lama's
palace. Certain images will linger in the memory for a long time, such
as the Dalai Lama's nightmarish vision of standing among hundreds of
dead
monks, their lives sacrificed in pacifist defiance of Chinese
aggression.
--Jeff Shannon
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Christianity-The
First Two Thousand Years DVD
The
four-part set features Ossie
Davis and Ruby Dee, whose unusual but pleasant voices will be well
known
to viewers of A&E's TV series Mysteries of the Bible. Like the TV
series,
Christianity: The First Thousand Years is marked by thorough
scholarship,
including interviews with many highly regarded scholars such as Pagels.
Snippets of these interviews are interspersed with photography from the
Holy Land and some reenactments, leading to an informative and
revealing
exploration of the early church.
--Erik J. Macki
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The
Seventh Sign (1988) DVD
An
unusual plot helps to sustain
the suspense in this thriller which draws heavily from religious
prophecies
both real and Hollywood based. The three central characters played by
Demi
Moore, Jurgen Prochnow and Peter Friedman interact in a mystery that
goes
back to the early Roman times. While the action proceeds in the
present,
we witness flashbacks that graduallly reveal the complex
interrelationship
of these characters. Overriding all is the question;"Will you die for
him?" |
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