A blog for those who love dogs, old movies, nostalgia, wit and wisdom from women, and other fun stuff.

Max’s Best Blu-ray and DVD Picks, September 2012

Hi, I’m Max. best friend of Walt Oleksy (waltmax@comcast.net), and I review new DVD and Blu-ray releases each month. We don’t care for most of the new stuff out of Hollywood. We’ve seen more than enough thrillers, car chases, men and women in their birthday suits, and comedies the critics say are “hilarious” but which just aren’t funny unless you’re two years old (I’m nine and my master admits to being “over thirty-nine.” We don’t watch anything with vampires in it, except the original “Dracula.” We like movies that tell a good story and maybe we learn something from it. We figure you can read about the new so-called blockbuster films everywhere else, so we look for flicks that are worth seeing but get little publicity and are not seen in most mall theaters.
 
Everyone’s so busy these days, I keep my recommendations brief.  Here goes for what I think you’ll like on DVD this month.

Best Picks of the Month

Two award-winning foreign films from the Middle East that have a lot of meat on their bones to chew on.

A SEPARATION

Winner of the Academy Award last spring for the best foreign language film, from Iran, it is a compelling drama about the break-up of a marriage. A frightened wife wants to leave war-torn Iran with her husband and their daughter for a safer, better life in America.  She sues for divorce when he refuses to leave his father, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Her efforts fail so she goes to live with her parents, but the daughter decides to stay with her father. The husband hires a young woman to help with his father, but she betrays him.  The Wall Street Journal called it “A world class masterpiece” and Roger Ebert said it was “the best picture of the year.”  A powerful, intelligent film, rated PG-13 for mature material, on DVD from Sony Pictures Classics in Persian with English subtitles.

FOOTNOTE

This drama from Israel was nominated for best foreign language film last spring. It is the story about a very competitive relationship between a father and son, both of whom have dedicated their lives to being Talmudic scholars. The father is a stubborn purist who fears the establishment and has never been recognized for his work. His son is an up-and-coming star in the field who feeds on praise, endlessly seeking recognition.  One day the tables turn and the father learns he is to be awarded the Israel Prize the highest honor for scholarship, and his need for validation comes out. The son is thrilled for his father, but must choose between advancement in his own career and his relationship with his father. Their needs become a classic tale of love and respect between father and son. Rated PG for some strong language, nudity, mature subject. The DVD from Sony Pictures Classics is in Hebrew with English subtitles.

Also recommended:

SILENCED

From farther East in Korea, a highly praised true story of one man’s courageous battle for social justice.  Based on the book Dogani which created outrage across South Korea, it is a story of child abuse that continue to plague activists today.  A widower begins teaching at a school for deaf children and learns of horrific child abuse there.  With the aid of an activist he puts his job on the line by challenging the establishment covering up the crimes.  Their efforts led to a widespread public outcry which gave only minor sentences to the guilty but national laws were put into effect to protect children from abusers. The DVD is from CJ Entertainment America, in Korean with English subtitles.  For those 18 and older.

COUNTRY DIARY OF AN EDWARDIAN LADY

A 12-part dramatization of Edith Holdern’s acclaimed book, a series of episodes following twelve months in the year 1906 in England in which she writes about life and nature, with water colors from the Nature Notes in her book.  It’s a wonderful step back to a kinder, gentler age.  A 4 DVD boxed set from BFS Entertainment.

For excitement lovers

INAPPROPRIATE ADULT

Based on true events, the story of British serial killer Fred West and a woman who becomes his “appropriate adult,” a person assigned to assist vulnerable adults facing serious charges.  He hides facts from the police but she threatens to turn her back on him unless he tells her the truth.  That leads to more than she thought she would learn.  Dominic West and Emily Watson star in the tense drama on DVD from Inception Media Group.  It’s British, so the emphasis is more on character and motive than visualizing the mayhem.

VILE

How about that title for a thriller?  A group of strangers finds themselves imprisoned in a house.  Not knowing why they’re there or who is keeping them there, they watch a videotape advising them there is a way out.  How far will they follow the harrowing rules so they can exit alive?  A strong Agatha Christie-type drama from Inception Media Group.

Documentaries/Specials

AT HOME WITH THE GEORGIANS

A look back to the 17th century in England with prize-winning author Amanda Vickery, from private diaries, intimate letters, and artifacts of the age.  Her writings provided some background for the novels of Jane Austen, so the 3-DVD set from BFS entertainment is of special interest to the legions of Austen fans.

1950s TV CLASSICS

Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Dinah Shore, Ed Sullivan, Red Skelton and others of “the golden age of television” return to provide laughs in this three-DVD collection. More than 8 hours of laughs that show great television comedy used to be. From Film Chest.

THE MUSICAL BRAIN

Does music make us smarter? Why are certain songs so important to us? Daniel Levitin’s book, This Is Your Brain on Music, is now on DVD. Singing superstar Sting put his own musical brain to test to find out how various types of music affect him on an emotional and physical level. He and other famous musicians tell about the power if music in heir lives. As see on PBS Television, the hour-long DVD is from PBS Distribution.

JOHN LEGUIZAMO: Tales from a Ghetto Klown

The popular Colombian-born actor and playwright examines his struggle to mount his latest one-man Broadway show, “Ghetto Klown,” and then take it on the road, even performing it in Spanish in his native country. The hour-long DVD, as seen on PBS Television, is from PBS Distribution.

MARIACHI  HIGH

A documentary about a year in the life of “Mariachi Halcon,” champion high school mariachis band from Zapata, Texas. Mariachi music is showcased at its most glorious by these talented 24 young Mexican-American teenagers.  Roger Ebert gave it a rave review. The hour-long DVD, as seen on PBS Television, is from PBS Distribution.

FRONTLINE: Endgame – AIDS in Black America.

A terrific exploration of one of the nation’s most urgent, preventable health crises. Personal stories from those afflicted as well as basketball great Magic Johnson and civil rights pioneer Julian Bond and others bring to light this tragedy. The two-hour documentary tells how, from the earliest day, prejudice, silence, and stigma allowed the virus to spread deep into the black community. The two-hour-long DVD, as seen on PBS Television, is from PBS Distribution.

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: Death and the Civil War

This Rick Burns documentary tells of the horrific death toll in the American Civil War when some 750,000 people died, nearly 2.5 percent of the population, in four years fro, 1861-1865.  Effects of the death toll continue to ripple to this day. In today’s numbers, the toll would be seven million. Not a pleasant subject, but  necessary in reflecting on the war that divided he nation, then united it. The 90-minute DVD, as seen on PBS Television, is from PBS Distribution.

THE FRENCH CHEF: Julia Child’s French Classics

The beloved Julia in six episodes from her groundbreaking 1960s television cooking series, to celebrate what would have been her 100^th birthday last month. The stand-up culinary comic shows how to make everything from French onion soup, Coq au vin, to French crepes.  The 3-hour DVD, as seen on PBS Television, is from PBS Distribution.  “Bon Appetit.”

AMERICAN MASTERS: The Day Carl Sandburg Died

The life and legacy of one of America’s most loved poets and writers a “spokesman for the people.”  The documentary provides a new in-depth portrait of the man who also was an American folk song collector and singer, children’s storyteller, novelist, historian, political organizer-activist, and author of the monumental six-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln who was a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner for his poetry. The 84-minute DVD biography, as seen on PBS Television, is from PBS Distribution. 

“I’M CAROLYN PARKER: The Good, the Mad, and the Beautiful”

A documentary about the woman who was a leader in he rebuilding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The black Catholic church activist focused her attention on rebuilding the city’s devastated black community, documented  over five years by Jonathan Demme, director of “The Silence of the Lambs.” The 90-minute DVD biography, as seen on PBS Television, is from PBS Distribution. 

STORY OF WALES

Thirty thousand years of Welsh history and heroes are covered in this documentary, from prehistoric times to the modern nation.

Dramatic reconstructions and narration by BBC newscaster Huw Edwards being it all to life in a 3-DVD boxed set from BFS Entertainment.

See you at the same fire hydrant next month.

Max’s Best DVD and Bu-ray Picks -- May, 2012

Many of the top nominees and winning films of the last Oscars are now on DVD and Blu-ray, and there are some really good ones worth seeing.  Here are my picks for the best of them so far released:

THE IRON LADY

Meryl Streep is amazing as Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. She disappears into the role, looking, speaking, and acting like her. Besides her great best actress Oscar winning performance, it’s a very interesting story about a woman who dedicates her life to public service while still being married and a mother. On DVD and Blu-ray from Anchor Bay Entertainment.

WAR HORSE

A very moving film about a British horse who becomes one of the million horses who served on the battlefields of Europe in World War I. I wasn’t expecting to see so much war action, but it’s there and very realistically shows the horrors of war, any war, and their impact on those who fought in them.  The DVD and Blu-ray from Disney and Touchstone Pictures.

J. EDGAR

Leonardo Di Caprio plays the FB.I. chief from young man to old in this very interesting  biography that portrays Hoover as a man who loved his country and served it tirelessly for more than 40 years under eight Presidents, but we are left with wondering how much of his reputation can be relied on as being true. But then, we can wonder as much about any person in public life. The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, gives us food for thought, and that is perhaps its greatest value. Hoover had two dogs, which says something good in itself. The Blu-ray and DVD from Warnr Bros.

WE BOUGHT A ZOO

I thought this would be another Doctor Doolittle but it’s more than that, it’s about a man’s devotion to animals which helps fill the hole in him after the death of his wife.  And it’s also a story about the coming together of an estranged father and son. Matt Damon does an excellent job as a man who risks everything to create a zoo for himself, his kids, his neighbors, and the animals. The DVD and Blu-ray is from 20^th Century Fox.

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

Marilyn Monroe had her problems making the film THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL opposite Sir Lawrence Olivier in 1957, and this movie tells what happened during a week of filming in London. It’s told by a young writer who managed to work on the production and become a close friend of Marilyn’s, and perhaps her only friend during the shooting.  Michelle Williams is excellent as Marilyn, Eddie Redmayne as the young man who befriends her, and Kenneth Branagh as Olivier.  On Blu-ray and DVD from Anchr Bay Entertainment.

ANONYMOUS

This film makes the case that William Shakespeare did not write the plays we believe he did, but instead a British nobleman wrote them because in those long-ago days it would have been socially unacceptable if a high-ranking member of society stooped to writing plays. Most Shakespeare scholars reject the premise of this film but it makes for very interesting speculation and the re-creation of the period is wonderful.   The DVD and Blu-ray is from Sony Pictures.

ADVENTURES OF TINTIN

The beloved British comic strip comes to astonishing life thanks to computer graphics.  The boy detective and his adorable dog (aren’t we all?) get into adventures including an amazing pirate sequence with warring sailing ships. Lots of action and fun for kids. The DVD and Blu-ray is from Sony Pictures.

Also recommended this month on DVD:

SHARPE’S SERIES

That British rogue, sergeant and sometimes lieutenant Charles Sharpe (Sean Bean) takes on all missions and battles to defeat his country’s enemies in the Napoleonic Wars.  Based on the best-selling adventure novels of Bernard Cromwell, the Sharpes series was seen on PBS Television, has been available on DVD and now the series has been released in restored Blu-ray in a set of seven discs.  A real feast for the eyes, the Sharpes series is high adventure of a rare high standard and just plain fun.  And some adventures feature future stars including Jamie Bamber, James Purefoy, and Daniel Craig.  From BFS Entertainment.

THE RUNAWAY

Alan Cumming (host of Masterpiece Mystery on PBS Television) stars in this drama about young friends who first meet in gangland London in 1966 and again ten years later in the seedy East London and Soho district.  Critics say it’s “Gritty, strong stuff” and “Vintage gangster drama.”  And it’s way above most of the crime movies that are coming out of Hollywood these days.  On two DVDs from BFS Entertainment.

JULES VERNE’S MYSTERIOUS ISLAND

On DVD from Blue Apple Entertainment.  Se4t during the U.S. Civil War, five Northern prisoners of war escape in a hot air balloon that strong winds take them over the ocean wherethey are marooned on a desert island inhabited by pirates and prehistoric beasts.  The island’s longest resident, Captain Nemo helps them to escape back to their own country.  A very good remake of the 1961 British film. On DVD only  from Blue Apple Entertainment.

THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD

A PBS television Masterpiece Classic film of Charles Dickens’ last and unfinished novel.  He wrote until he died the next day., leaving its ending a mystery.  It’s a real good mystery, a dark tale more sinister than anything Dickens had written,  and is being released as a tribue to his 200^th birthday.  It will keep you guessing about what happened to young Mr. Drood.  On Blu-ray and DVD from PBS Distribution.

Oldie on DVD

THE STRANG LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS

Barbara Stanwyck, my master’s favorite actress (mine is Lassie), played a femme fatale like few others, such as in this 1946 black and white film noir restored to look as good as any new release.  She keeps Van Heflin and Kirk Douglas (in his film debut) guessing as to whether she’s going to kiss or kill them.  Frog-throated Lizabeth Scott also co-stars.  In a combo Blu-ray and DVD pack from Film Chest and Cinema Classics. 

For kids and puppies

LANCELOT LINK: SECRET CHIMP

The delightful classic live-action television series for kids (1970-1972) stars some chimpanzees as spies who get into almost as many adventures as James Bond. All 17 episodes of the TV series have been restored in a 3-disc set from Film Chest and Cinema Classics. It’s lots of fun for kids and some of the proceeds go to animals through the Wildlife Way station in Los Angeles.

Documentaries

NOVA: SECRETS OF THE SUN

Even us dogs take a lot of things for granted, one of them being our nearest planet.  I didn’t know, and bet you didn’t either, that the sun contains all but 99.9 percent of the matter in our solar system and gives off hot plasma at nearly a million miles an hour.  No wonder the sidewalk feels hot under my paws in summer.  Scientists consider the sun to be one of the most amazing physics laboratories in the universe.  The fascinating hour-long documentary shown recently on PBS Television is now on Blu-ray and DVD from PBS Distribution. 

INSIDE NATURE’S GIANTS: GREAT WHITE SHARK

I never go in the water when sharks are around and for good reason. They are one of the most feared predators in the oceans.  This exciting documentary goes beyond the outside of the sharks we see and explores their anatomy and tells how they work .  The hour-long documentary shown recently on PBS Television is on DVD from PBS Distribution.

FRONTLINE: INSIDE JAPAN’S NUCLER MELTDOWN

The Fukushima earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011 and caused a nuclear plant disaster is studied in this very interesting documentary.  It contains rear film taken inside the plant and eyewitness interviews.  Workers at the stricken plant and owners of homes around it tell how they made frantic and dangerous efforts to stay alive.  The exciting hour-long documentary seen on PBS Television is on DVD from PBS Distribution.  It’s really one to see and talk about.

INSIDE NATURE’S GIANTS: BIG CATS

They don’t mean the pussy cats we dogs like to chase, but lions and tigers.  The documentary shows how they move, bite, and how the species differ from each other.  I’m all for the living in the wild, but I’m sure glad none of them are in my neighborhood.  The hour-long DVD is from PBS Distribution. 

SEVEN WONDERS OF THE BUDDHIST WORLD

This is a rare armchair way to learn about Buddhism through its most spectacular monuments built by Buddhists around the world, from India to Thailand, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Cambodia and other exotic locations.  Bettany Hughes takes us on the journey that is both spiritual and architectural.  As seen on PBS Television, the 74-minute documentary is on Blu-ray and DVD from PBS Distribution.

AMERICA EXPERIENCE: GRAND COULEE DAM

You can get a college education from this terrific PBS Television series about American people past and present and various places that made or are making history.  The one focuses on the dam built during the 1930s Great Depression that made the western deserts bloom, put many people to work and provided a cheap and environmentally friendly source of power to a vast region.  But it wasn’t easy to build or popular with a lot of people. The 90 minute DVD is from PBS Distribution.

AMERICAN MASTERS: MARGARET MITCHELL:

AMERICAN REBEL

The author of Gone With the Wind is profiled in this installment of the wonderful PBS Television series.  Most people know of her only for writing the famous novel that was made into perhaps the greatest American movie ever made.  But she was more than a writer, she was a pioneering newspaper reporter and writer, women’s rights atavist, and supporter of liberation causes for African Americans.  Tragically, she died at the age of 48, having been hit by a car while crossing the street.  Friends said she never looked before did that, so let me urge everyone young or old to look both ways.  Dogs, too.  The hour-long documentary is on DVD from PBS Distribution.

TITANIC AND ME

This is a very worthy addition to the media attention to the 100^th anniversary of the tragic sinking of the Titanic in 1912.  Descendants of passengers and crew share their stories of the disaster.  The 50 minute documentary seen on PBS Television is on DVD from PBS Distribution.

TITANIC’S FINAL MYSTERY

Another excellent documentary about the Titanic, this focuses on how modern technology has raised new questions about what really happened the night the “unsinkable” ship sank when it hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage from England to New York in 1912.  It’s no joke to say this is a chilling documentary, on both Blu-ray and DVD from PBS Distribution. 

RACING DREAMS

I didn’t know it, and you may not either but NASCAR racing is the second most popular sport in America.  This documentary tells why millions of people go to the car races and focuses especially on two boys and a girl aged 11 to 13 and their supercharged cars and ambitions. They fearlessly race extreme go-carts at speeds up to 70 mph to win trophies or just for the thrill of it.  On a 90-minute-long DVD and Blu-ray from PBS Distribution.

NOVA: CRACKING THE GENETIC CODE

If you scratch a dog, what do you get?  Maybe fleas.  Scratch a human and you get DNA a genetic code that tells how every part of them is built, through scientific research of three billion chemical letters.  Okay, so I don’t understand about the genetic code, and if you don’t either, this is an easy way to find out about it.  The hour-long DVD is from PBS Distribution.  Anyone interested in science will love this one and it makes a great school science class project.

NATURE: RIVER OF NO RETURN

A river in the Idaho wilderness called the Frank Church, named after the U.S. Senator is one of the wildest in the world.  Set in a 2.5 million-acre wilderness of deep canyons and mountain forests, it s home for lots of wildlife including wolves.  We learn about it all by following a newly wed  young couple on a year-long honeymoon that started off as a romantic adventure but ended up changing their lives.  The hour-long DVD and Blu-ray is from PBS Distribution.

OZ AND JAMES’  BIG WINE ADVENTURE -- CALIFORNIA

Oz Clarke continues to try to educate James May (of the “Top Gear” British television series) about budget wines under $20.  They take an hilarious eight-week tour of California vineyards traveling in a luxurious Monaco RV.  It’s four hours of vintage entertainment (pardon the pun) on two DVDs from BFS Entertainment.   

STORYCORPS: ANIMATED SHORTS

Everyone can use some good news, and this is a program of ten stories culled from the archives of the American Folklore Center at the Library of Congress.  Some are recollections of the past, some are about people surviving handicaps, may of them heartwarming and inspirational.  The DVD is only a half hour but a lot is packed into it, from PBS Distribution.

ART21: ART IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: SEASON 6

The sixth season of the Peabody award-winning series showcases some of today’s most acclaimed artists who show and tell about their work in relation to our fast-changing world.  The artists come from all over the globe, from Manhattan and Nigeria to Beijing to Brazil.   The four hour program seen on PBS Television is on DVD from PBS Distribution. 

YOGA FOR THE REST OF US:

EASY YOGA FOR EASING PAIN WITH PEGGY CAPPY

The poplar yoga exercise guru shows how the ancient discipline can help the millions who suffer from arthritis or those who are injured from work, sports, or age.  Peggy Cappy shows and tells how gentle yoga movements can relieve joint pain.  As seen on PBS Television, the 70-minute DVD is from PBS Distribution.

See you all at the same fire hydrant next month.

 

Max’s Picks July 2011

My best picks of the month:

OF GODS AND MEN

This is another excellent film you may not know about. It is based upon the true story of the faith and courage of a brotherhood of eight French Christian monks in a mountain monastery in North Africa whose lives were endangered when a crew of foreign workers was massacred by Islamic extremists during the Algerian Civil War of the 1990s. They had been living harmoniously with their Muslim brothers, but when the insurgents arrive they are conflicted as to whether to flee or stay and try to fulfill their spiritual mission and also continue to provide medical care and other services for the Muslims. It won the Grand Prix at the 1010 Cannes Film Festival and was named the Best Foreign Language Film from the National Board of Review. Richard Corliss, Time Magazine critic, called it “A luminous tale of faith and heroism,” and Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal said it is “Nothing less than sublime.” The film stars Lambert Wilson and Michael Lonsdale, available on a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack from Sony Pictures Home International. Extras include how the film was made.

Max’s rating: Two paws up and lots of “Woo woo’s!”

WINTER IN WARTIME

In a wintry village in Nazi-occupied Holland in 1945, a thirteen-year-old girl becomes involved in the resistance movement when she aids a British paratrooper. This leads to danger and also worries about who she can trust in the village. It’s excellent World War II drama based on the book by Jan Terlouw, produced by Isabella Films, with a stand-out performance by Martijn Lakemeier. In a Blu-ray and DVD combo pack from Sony Pictures Entertainment. Extras include a featurette on the making of the movie.

We agree with the Hollywood Reporter’s review: “Superb filmmaking, beautifully crafted,” and Rex Reed in the New York Observer who said “Haunting, a powerful and touching film.” Treat yourself and see it.

Also recommended:

A WOMAN’S GUIDE TO ADULTERY

Now that I have your attention with that title, I’ll explain that it’s a new British movie. Theresa Russell plays a university photography student who falls for her lecturer, played by that always watchable Sean Bean.

Based on the novel by Carol Cleweon, it also stars Adrian Dunbar and Amanda Donahue, from Hartswood Productions for Carlton Television. Seen on BBC Television, it’s sexual but not X-rated material and adults will probably enjoy it.

The DVD is from BFS Entertainment.

JUST WILLIAM

My master and I really enjoyed this family film about an 11-year-old boy who tries but can’t seem to stop causing mischief. Daniel Roche is perfectly cast as William, leader of a bunch of pals called “The Outlaws” in England in the 1950s. Based on humorous stories by Richmal Crompton, it’s excellent family entertainment from BBC Television and BFS Entertainment.

LAND GIRLS, SERIES 2

Further adventures of British women on the rural homefront during World War II. Sophie Ward and Liam Garrigan star in this delightful second series from the popular BBC Television shows. The the-two DVD set is from BFS Entertainment.

THE STREET, SEASON 2

The second installment of the award-winning British television drama series recalls life among working-class families on a street in Manchester, northern England.

Stories involve crime, poverty, drug and alcohol addiction, unemployment, to keep viewers engaged. Seen on BBC Television, the DVD is from BFS Entertainment.

A GOLDEN OLDIE: CENTENNIAL

You may have missed the DVD set of CENTENNIAL, a fantastic television mini-series seen on NBC in late 1978 and early 1979. The DVDs came out in 2008 from Warner Bros. Television and Turner Program Services. It’s an engrossing saga of history of the American West from the mid 18^th century in what became Colorado to the 1970s, based on the novel by James A. Michener. A galaxy of stars mainly from television include Robert Conrad, Richard Chamberlain, Gregory Harrison, Lois Nettleton, Lynn Redgrave, David Janssen, and many others, with a truly memorable performance by Barbara Carrera as an Indian woman whose life touched many of the people in the story. It’s long, at 26 hours, in 12 episodes on 6 DVDs, but well worth spending some evenings with. It’s truly an epic and we learn a lot about pioneer-Indian relations, among other aspects of America’s growth from then to now. It’s something the entire family could watch together and discuss.

GOLDEN OLDIE ON BLU-RAY

Not really a classic but very entertaining, NIGHT FLIGHT, this 1933 “thriller” stars some of the top actors at MGM that year: John and Lionel Barrymore, Helen Hayes, Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Robert Montgomery in a drama about the mail going through at a South American airline, bad weather or not. Although it has its share of drama and adventure, it finds its place in movie history mainly because it was the first time a film’s producer put his name on the movie. Movie historian Jay Robert Nash says David O. Selznick took the honor, after its real producer, Irving Thalberg, declined it (as was to be his habit), whether out of modesty or he didn’t think that much of the movie, we’ll never know. It’s worth seeing, but there are other movies in the MGM archives worth the Blu-ray treatment. One of them is THE SEARCH with Montgomery Clift trying to help a war orphan find his mother in Berlin after World War II. An ignored true classic still only available on VHS tape.

Documentaries

NATURE: BEARS OF THE LAST FRONTIER

Bear ecologist Chris Morgan takes us on a 3,000-mile motorcycle journey deep into the wilds of Alaska to document the lives of three bear species –- black bears, grizzly bears, and the mighty polar bear. All are endangered because of human encroachment into their habitats and also from global warming. As seen on Public Television, it’s a wonderful three-hour adventure on DVD but even better on even sharper Blu-ray in this combo set of two DVDs from PBS Distribution.

FRONTLINE: KILL/CAPTURE

The U.S. military strike targeting Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters that killed Osama Bin Laden was one of America’s best kept secrets. After a six-month investigation, the PBS series Frontline gives a full report on the mission.

Gen. David Petraeus and his senior commanders are interviewed about the raid and answer the question of whether such raids will help end the war in Afghanistan.

From PBS Distribution.

CHRONICLE OF THE THIRD REICH

Many movies aren’t as engrossing as this four-hour documentary about Nazi Germany’s Third Reich which began in 1933 and ended in 1945 with the end of World War II in Europe. It marks the 65^th anniversary of the downfall of Adolf Hitler’s regime, using some previously unpublished films. Historian Michael Kloft, aided by three other historians, describes the politics, day-to-day life, the war years, and the crimes of the Nazi state. This is important history to know about and remember, from Spiegel TV and PBS Television Distribution.

IRENE SENDLER, IN THE NAME OF THEIR MOTHERS

A compelling documentary about the Polish social worker who helped rescue more than 2,500 Jewish children from the Nazi Gestapo during World War II. She did it by forging identification papers and placing the children in Catholic safe houses and orphanages in Warsaw and the Polish countryside. Ms. Sendler was interviewed about the experience when she was in her 90s, but she still vividly recalled them, including her brush with death in a Gestapo prison and harassment in post-war Communist Poland. Fascinating, exciting, from 2B Productions, KQED Presents, and PBS Television Distribution.

REMOTE CONTROL WAR

A revealing documentary on how ongoing campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan comprise the world’s first robotic war. When the U.S. invaded Iraq ten years ago there were almost no remote control weapons, but that has since grown to 7,000 robots in the air and 12,000 on the ground. Some 43 other countries also now are using robots in combat. This documentary surveys the present and future of robotic warfare, from today’s CIA drone strikes to the next generation of armed autonomous robot swarms, killer robots that are about to change our world. From SaskFilm,

Canadian Television, and PBS Television Distribution.

LETHAL LANDSCAPES

Soldier artists at the Defense Information School at Fort Meade, Maryland, are trained to paint, sketch, and draw the intense moments of battle. This documentary introduces several combat artists who tell their experiences in conflicts from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, and how they illustrated them. Fascinating first-hand reports on the battlefronts today, from MPT and PBS Television Distribution.

BAD BLOOD: a Cautionary Tale

A report on how a miracle treatment for hemophilia in the 1960s became instead an agent of death. Derived from human blood, the treatment transformed the often fatal genetic disease into a treatable chronic condition. But using it infected 10,000 with HIV and 15,000 with hepatitis before it was pulled from the market in 1954, having caused the worst medical disaster in U.S. history. The documentary takes a look at six families impacted by the tragedy, and the doctors, nurses, and scientists who cared for them.

From PBS Television Distribution.

OUTBACK PELICANS

Surprisingly, the Australian Outback, the driest place on the driest continent on the planet, has some water birds.

Once every ten years or so, rains flood into dried-up river beds and create an oasis in the scorching heart of the desert where 100,000 pelicans arrive for a fantastic gathering, coming from coasts and harbors, and give birth during the short wet spell. A fascinating Nature documentary from Cabnon, WNET Org. 13, and PBS Television Distribution. In both DVD and Blu-ray formats, but see it in crystal-sharp Blu-ray if you can.

SURVIVORS OF THE FIRESTORM

Bush fires that ravaged the state of Victoria in Australia in February 2009 incinerated more than a million acres of land including vital mountain ash forest ecosystems. Kangaroos, koala bears, wombats, wallabies, endangered possums, lizards, and many bird species and fish were overcome by the flames. Millions of them died, but survivors were nursed back to health at wildlife hospitals and showed a remarkable ability to bounce back to health. The hour-long documentary is from Nature, Canon, WNET Television, and PBS Television Distribution.

JOURNEY OF THE BONESETTER’S DAUGHTER

Opera lovers are treated to this documentary that follows the creation of the San Francisco Opera’s production of the opera, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, based on Amy Tan’s best-selling novel. The behind-the-scenes hour-long documentary brings together artists from China and the U.S. to tell about the opera, a story about the difficult but unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters, inspired by Tan’s own family history. The DVD is from KQED, Art Works, and PBS Television Distribution.

FRONTLINE: FOOTBALL HIGH

My master sometimes stops on our walks and we watch school boys playing football. Ouch! Some of them really look like they get hurt. How safe are boys playing high school football? This hour-long Frontline-PBS documentary looks at the safety and other factors in high school football. The special reports on a school where two plays collapsed from heatstroke last year while practicing during one of the hottest summers on record and suffered extensive damage to their internal organs. One died, the other survived. At another school, 60,000 players suffered concussions each year. A report of special interest to parents, coaches, and players, from PBS Distribution.

SAVING THE OCEAN; SHARK REEF AND THE SACRED ISLAND

A PBS Television documentary on environmental dangers in the oceans, focusing on sharks around the world and also the fishing threats to the Sacred Island of Pemba, part of Zanzibar in East Africa. Two starting episodes of a new series, SAVING THE OCEAN, reporting on marine environmental dangers. The DVD is from PBS Distribution.

CRAFT IN AMERICA: MESSAGES

How many craft artists express personal and political ideas to tell a story, prove a point, or bring attention to issues. A Wisconsin glass artist explores the symbolism of 17^th century still-life to show the fragility in nature. A New Mexican artist uses authentic materials to combine historic religious subject matter with contemporary culture. A Baltimore bead artist uses bead and quilting to focus on issues such as race and stereotyping. A New Orleans sculptor created a series of wall panels that document the destruction after Hurricane Katrina. Through craft, messages help us to gain a greater understanding of our nation’s complex heritage. From PBS Distribution.

TYPEFACE

Typography is a seldom explored form of art. This documentary explores graphic design and how old and new techniques are converging. It tells of artists from the Midwest who meet in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, to attend printmaking workshops one weekend each month and utilize both traditional techniques and modern design in their work. The DVD is from PBS Distribution.

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: THE DUEL

The American Revolution was over, but a war was not ended between two leading politicians of the time. The most famous duel in American history is recalled in this documentary between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr on the morning of July 11, 1804. From first-person documents, interviews with historians, and historical re-enactments,

the duel tells of the bitterness between the two political giants, Hamilton one of the framers of the U.S. Constitution, and Burr, a rival for political power.

Another excellent entry in the American Experience series seen on PBS Television, the hour-long DVD is from PBS Distribution.

NEW YORK STREET GAMES

Before there was television, computers, video games, the Internet, and Facebook and Twitter, boys and girls like my master played non-electric games in the streets. This delightful documentary takes a look back at those “kinder, gentler days” on New York’s streets in early to mid years of the 1900s. Celebrities, politicians, businessmen, and average New Yorkers recall their childhoods playing games such as Spaldeen, Stoopball, Tingoleavio, Skully, and others, played with everything at hand from a ball to a broomstick. The 90-minute DVD comes with a booklet with rules for 13 of the most popular games. It’s a real hoot back in time from PBS Distribution.

FRONTLINE: WIKISECRETS

If you want to know about how the biggest government-political breach in American history happened, this is the DVD for you. PBS Television’s Frontline examines the hoopla in “Wikisecrets: Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, and Wikileaks.” The hour-long documentary reports on the leaking of more than a half million classified documents on the Wikiuleaks Internet website, and includes interviews with Assange and Manning’s father. Manning, a U.S. Army intelligence analyst, has been charged with handing over the classified documents to Assange who released them on the Wikileak Internet website. A very important DVD documentary from PBS Distribution.

NOVA: POWER SURGE

The PBS science series examines whether new technology can defeat global warming in this hour-long documentary. Included are what roles coal and nuclear energy may play in solving the environmental problems they create. From PBS Distribution.

SECRETS OF THE DEAD: World’s Biggest Bomb

A documentary about the race between the United States and Soviet scientists to build and detonate the world’s largest bomb. The U.S. won the race on March 1, 1954 when it exploded its first hydrogen bomb, in an operation known as “Castle Bravo,” at Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific. It’s still America’s biggest bomb, although concentration then shifted on smaller, more precise bombs. But the Soviet Union continued building massive devices capable of destroying entire cities. Their efforts reached their peak on October 30, 1961 when they exploded the “Tsar” above the north European island of Novaya Zemlya. The 50-megaton bomb was equal to ten times the entire amount of explosives used in World War II. The hour-long DVD about the super bomb race is from PBS Distribution.

AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN: Season 11

The most-watched cooking show on public television, it just keeps going and is always a good way to learn new recipes worth cooking up. Christopher Kimball and kitchen helpers show how they make some of their favorites from Cook’s Illustrated magazine. The dishes include indoor pulled pork, simple pot roast, bread pudding, and Chicago-style deep dish pizza (I love it when my master gives me a little of the crust). A boxed set of 4 DVDs from PBS Distribution.

3 KEYS TO HEART HEALTH

Dr. Lori Mosca, professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center and a leading preventive cardiologist, offers practical steps to preventing heart disease. She addresses her advice to women because it is the number one killer of women, but the keys also apply to men. She answers common questions about heart disease and gives a prescription for exercise and nutrition. Healthy viewing from PBS Distribution.

MUSIC OF THE 70s

If your master remembers the songs “Nobody Does it Better,” “You Light Up My Life,” and “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head,” he or she will probably love this new DVD of some of the favorite songs of the 1970s. It’s called MARVIN HAMLISH PRESENTS THE 70s, THE WAY WE WERE. The award-winning composer and conductor hosts this television special bringing together on-stage for the first time the singers who made the songs favorites. A companion to the DVD is a CD that includes bonus songs. From PBS Distribution.

That’s all, folks. See you at the same fire hydrant next month. And if you want to social network with me, I’m not on Facebook or Twitter (I’m a more independent dog than that), email me at waltmax@comcast.net.)