Herb Alpert Movies
- 2007
- Add A Very Special Christmas: The 20th Anniversary Video Collection to QueueAdd A Very Special Christmas: The 20th Anniversary Video Collection to top of Queue
The 'Very Special Christmas' albums began appearing in the late 1980s. A series of yuletide-themed compilations that featured contemporary rock stars performing beloved Christmas songs (some secular, some not) the albums were recorded and issued to raise money for the Special Olympics. Volume One emerged in 1989, and by the holiday season of 2001-2, four sequels had been produced and issued. Now, the home video release A Very Special Christmas compiles some of the most memorable music videos and live performances of songs from those initial albums, with additional renditions of holiday tunes culled from the 1998 and 2000 Christmas at the White House specials. Performers include Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, Wyclef Jean, Tracy Chapman, Jon Bon Jovi and many others. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Run-D.M.C., U2, (more)
- 1997
- NR
- Add Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters to QueueAdd Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters to top of Queue
Karen and Richard Carpenter were the cornerstones of one of the most enduring pop music acts of the 1970s, the Carpenters. This video program takes an in-depth look at their career, from their earliest performances in high school to Karen's tragic death. Features extensive interviews with Richard Carpenter and many musicians who worked with the duo, including Herb Alpert and Burt Bacharach. Also includes clips from their many TV appearances, including such songs as "(They Long to Be) Close to You," "We've Only Just Begun," "Rainy Days and Mondays," and "Goodbye to Love." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1992
- Add Waylon Jennings: Renegade. Outlaw. Legend. to QueueAdd Waylon Jennings: Renegade. Outlaw. Legend. to top of Queue
A documentary that covers the life of country legend Waylon Jennings, from his beginnings to his breakthrough in the '70s. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1961
Director Tony Richardson adapted the screenplay of A Taste of Honey from the "kitchen sink" stage play by Shelagh Delaney. Rita Tushingham plays a working-class British teenager, living with her drink-sodden, libertine mother Dora Bryan. Denied affection by her selfish mother, Tushingham is pushed further in the background when Bryan impulsively marries her latest boyfriend Robert Stephens. The girl takes a job at a shoe store, then moves in with her kindly homosexual employer Murray Melvin. The two lost souls live in harmony until Tushingham becomes pregnant after a casual affair with black sailor Paul Danquah. Melvin comes to the rescue by offering to look after the baby. This relatively blissful state of affairs is short-lived; before long, Tushingham's hateful mother, having been kicked out by Stephens, descends upon her daughter and her "family," with all her debilitating emotional baggage intact. A poignant denouement caps this riveting slice-of-life drama. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dora Bryan, Rita Tushingham, (more)
Based on the Holy Scriptures, with additional dialogue by several other hands, The Ten Commandments was the last film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The story relates the life of Moses, from the time he was discovered in the bullrushes as an infant by the pharoah's daughter, to his long, hard struggle to free the Hebrews from their slavery at the hands of the Egyptians. Moses (Charlton Heston) starts out "in solid" as Pharoah's adopted son (and a whiz at designing pyramids, dispensing such construction-site advice as "Blood makes poor mortar"), but when he discovers his true Hebrew heritage, he attempts to make life easier for his people. Banished by his jealous half-brother Rameses (Yul Brynner), Moses returns fully bearded to Pharoah's court, warning that he's had a message from God and that the Egyptians had better free the Hebrews post-haste if they know what's good for them. Only after the Deadly Plagues have decimated Egypt does Rameses give in. As the Hebrews reach the Red Sea, they discover that Rameses has gone back on his word and plans to have them all killed. But Moses rescues his people with a little Divine legerdemain by parting the Seas. Later, Moses is again confronted by God on Mt. Sinai, who delivers unto him the Ten Commandments. Meanwhile, the Hebrews, led by the duplicitous Dathan (Edward G. Robinson), are forgetting their religion and behaving like libertines. "Where's your Moses now?" brays Dathan in the manner of a Lower East Side gangster. He soon finds out. DeMille's The Ten Commandments may not be the most subtle and sophisticated entertainment ever concocted, but it tells its story with a clarity and vitality that few Biblical scholars have ever been able to duplicate. It is very likely the most eventful 219 minutes ever recorded to film--and who's to say that Nefertiri (Anne Baxter) didn't make speeches like, "Oh, Moses, Moses, you splendid, stubborn, adorable fool"? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, (more)
