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3 fine DVDs you might find entertaining
My Turn
Charlie Langdon
How such an enormous crowd was fed and sheltered without outbreaks of violence was miraculous.
- Charlie Langdon
•Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music. 1969. Warner Brothers. Michael Wadleigh. Documentary. 225 minutes. In English.
This DVD captures all the thrills and outstanding musical acts of the 1969 concert. Those on stage included Joan Baez, Canned Heat, Joe Cocker, Country Joe and the Fish, Arlo Guthrie, Janis Joplin, Santana and the Jefferson Airplane.
More than 200,000 young people attended the upstate New York festival. There has been nothing like it before or since. How such an enormous crowd was fed and sheltered without outbreaks of violence was miraculous.
Director Wadleigh and his associates somehow kept everything under control. And although paid admissions were minimal, the film of the event drew millions of viewers and won an Academy Award.
A reporter asked Wadleigh how much the event cost to stage. He replied "a fortune." Then the reporter asked how will you know if it's a success?
"If it works," Wadleigh said. And, of course, it worked.
•Beyond Rangoon. 2006. Warner Brothers. Directed by John Boorman. 99 minutes. In English.
Patricia Arquette portrays Dr. Laura Bowman, who has recently lost her husband, as well as her young son, and takes a journey to Myanmar (formerly Burma). While there, she becomes separated from her group and their guide. At the same time, she loses her passport and cannot prove that she's an American tourist.
While out on the street, she witnesses a parade protesting the repressive government. She even comes face to face with Myanmar's heroine and Nobel Prize winner An San Sue She. A riot ensues and soldiers begin shooting the protesters.
Bowman is rescued by an aged Burmese professor, who has friends all over the country. He tells her that they must get her out of the country.
For the next few weeks, they avoid capture while working their way up country toward Thailand and safety.
The swift action and narrow escapes should keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
•In Good Company. 2004. Universal Pictures. Paul Weitz director.110 minutes. In English.
Dan Foreman (Dennis Quaid) is a loving father and a top executive in a sales company that has just been sold to a new owner. All at once, he finds that his new boss is an ambitious and somewhat ruthless young man, Carter Duryea (Topher Grace) half his age. To further complicate matters, he soon discovers that his new boss is dating his daughter (Scarlett Johannson).
Turmoil, along with many laughs, follow as Dan tries to protect his daughter, save his job, and - hopefully - get rid of his boss.
"In Good Company" is an entertaining comedy and, of course, all's well that ends well.
Charlie Langdon is the Herald's senior critic. He can be reached at langdons@gobrainstorm.net.
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