Posts Tagged ‘DVD’
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
South Africa is justifiably in the headlines today as it commemorates the twentieth anniversary of the joyous day when Nelson Mandela was released from Victor Verster prison, giving the world huge optimism for the future. South African Boer, Rian Malan, journalist, author and anti-apartheid campaigner embarks on what turns out to be one of the last ‘grand old’ steam trains in a dying fascist regime across this beautiful country to find the Lost City, a playground for the privileged white rich. Malan observes for those ‘lucky enough to be white’ in the apartheid regime life could be a good , but not for much longer. He finds a country ‘teeming with incendiaries’ on the ‘brink of anarchy’. This mesmeric overview of South African history is poetically haunting, and has a melancholic end-of-the- line feel. According to Malan, in these last days of Apartheid, the polarisation of white fascists and Black Power eroded the middle ground of liberalism. 44 journalists had been attacked the week he took the train. Dated electronic rave music soundtracks this poignant travel documentary, but also the far superior indigenous music, harkening to a more optimistic time.
Malan followed the footsteps of Gandhi, who like Mandela, helped to overthrow an oppressive, white colonial regime. After being thrown off a train for being Asian, Gandhi founded a commune based on Tolstoy and Ruskinian values to change the course of history. Malan narrates the dirty history of British imperialism capturing gold mines and establishing concentration camps, and encounters empty trains, the despair of white South Africans, beautiful scenery, sun and stone, demonstrations, shootings, nervousness, boredom, lonely bars, deserted stations, soothsayers, striking schoolchildren, and the divisive barriers of the Afrikaan and Zulu languages separating white and black.
In one of many sardonic quips, laid-back Malan observes: ‘It was Saturday night and there were better things to do than breathe teargas’ when a demonstration attracted few supporters. Railways that had once employed 300,000 people before deregulation was being systematically ‘dismembered’ by a lack of passengers, freight, even station closures; hindering Malan’s journey and forcing him to hitch-hike across the rugged sun-scorched landscape.
There are many programmes about Apartheid in the library and they are all worth viewing – I should know, I’ve seen them all! This DVD is available at: 968.06 gre in the off air collection situated on the ground floor of the University Library.
Q. When and where was South Africa’s first railway line established?
Tags: apartheid, Boer, British imperialism, Cape Town, DVD, Gandhi, great railway journeys, journalism, Nelson Mandela, Off-Air Collection, Rian Malan, South Africa, University Library
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Friday, February 5th, 2010
A historical epic about love, war, survival, ruthlessness, loss and inequality: Gone with the Wind is a classic. Released in 1939 and based on the 1936 novel by American author Margaret Mitchell.
The year is 1861, and America is on the brink of civil war. But for headstrong Georgia teenager Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh), impending war isn’t nearly as important as the fact that the man she loves, Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), has just announced his engagement to his shy, gentle cousin, Melanie Hamilton (Olivia de Havilland). Scarlett’s father (Thomas Mitchell), a self-made Irish immigrant, tries to teach her that Tara, the family plantation, offers something more enduring than human love, but Scarlett can only think of her broken heart. To add insult to injury, a cocky scoundrel named Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) has witnessed Ashley giving her the brush-off. But then the war is on and nothing will ever be the same for her—or the South.
Through the years of war and Reconstruction that follow, Scarlett’s fortunes fall and rise, as she struggles to endure the upheaval of her world and to win Ashley away from Melanie—even as she and Melanie forge an unlikely friendship. In these tumultuous years, the only constants are Rhett Butler, who sees through all Scarlett’s pretenses to recognize that they are two of a kind, and Tara, which Scarlett comes to love as herself.
Gone with the Wind received 10 Oscars and has consistently been voted in the top 10 greatest movies. Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to win (and be nominated for) an Oscar for her supporting role as Scarlett’s strict but faithful housemaid, Mammy. A film of firsts, screenwriter Sidney Howard received an Oscar posthumously for his script.
If you’d like to watch Gone with the Wind yourself then head over to 813.52 mit in the DVD Off-air recordings on the Ground Floor of the University Library.
Q. Clark Gable was initially reluctant to play Rhett Butler. In the end. what made him agree to the role?
Tags: American Civil War, Clark Gable, DVD, DVD review, Gone with the Wind, Katie Marsh, Leslie Howard, Margaret Mitchell, Olivia de Havilland, Oscar, Sidney Howard, Thomas Mitchell, Vivien Leigh
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Thursday, December 17th, 2009
“I’m dreaming of a White Christmas, just like the ones I used to know…” You can’t help but notice a warm fuzzy feeling inside when you hear the opening lines of this famous Christmas song. Michael Kurtiz’s classic Christmas film has been viewed by millions every December for the last 55 years. You can’t help but sing along with the songs, tap your feet to the music and shed a little tear when Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) save a man’s business and bring his friends together for Christmas.
Wallace and Davis leave the Army after World War II and form a top song-and-dance act. Davis plays matchmaker and introduces Wallace to a pair of beautiful sisters Betty and Judy who also have a song-and-dance act. After helping the sisters out when they get into a sport of bother, Wallace and Davis find themselves on a train travelling to a Vermont lodge where the sisters are booked to perform over Christmas. On their arrival they discover that the owner of the lodge is non other but their former commander, General Waverly (Dean Jagger), and that his business is suffering due to the lack of snow. On hearing his predicament the four performers decide to help the General. What follows is nearly two hours of incredibly well choreographed dances and songs and a heart warming story about comradeship and love, culminating in the performance of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.”
White Christmas was the first feature length film to be filmed in widescreen VistaVision and Technicolor and also used the new Perspecta directional sound system. However, it was not the film to debut the title song. Holiday Inn, produced 12 years earlier premiered Berlin’s song and was made famous by Crosby, spending 11 weeks at the top of the Billboard charts in 1942. Crosby, however, never saw his role in the success of the song as important, claiming that anyone could sing it. I’m sure that many listeners and viewers of the film would disagree.
If you’re feeling in a Christmassy mood then you can borrow White Christmas from the University Library, Find it at 791.4372 whi on the ground floor in the off-air DVD collection.
Q1. This famous person is a relative of one of the main stars of White Christmas and shares the same surname. Name the star of White Christmas and their relative.
Q2. Which Saint ensured that the fir tree was used to symbolise Christmas and the Christian faith?
No cheating. No Google. No Wikipedia.
Tags: Bing Crosby, Bob Wallace, Christmas, Danny Kaye, DVD, Holiday Inn, Irving Berlin, Michael Kurtiz, Phil Davis, Vera Ellen, White Christmas
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Thursday, December 10th, 2009
Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction. Anyone interested in global politics and the current Iraq Inquiry should watch this illuminating documentary about a failed coup d’état in Equatorial Guinea. Did you know that under UK law it is an offence to discuss the overthrow of a government? This film sheds light on the future of oil politics and a lot more besides.
The tiny African country dramatically turned into the latest arena in a contest between the West and China over natural resources in a new scramble for Africa in the West’s plunder for resources. Previously dismissed as ‘a dot on the coast of West Africa’, Equatorial Guinea’s possession of ‘untold amounts of oil and gas’ gained the avaricious advances of the West once the Gulf War ended. In future the US could obtain a quarter of its imported oil from West Africa in a shift from its dependence on Islamic oil. Extraordinarily, China offered to build the country a new capital city in exchange for oil contracts. As a former Spanish country, Equatorial Guinea met the US criteria of possessing a ‘staggering’ amount of oil and a Christian heritage; albeit with a dictator who is seen as a ‘miniature God’ ruthlessly dispatching political opponents and even arresting people for wearing glasses.
Enter profiteering ex-Etonian Simon Mann, working for a South African paramilitary firm clinically entitled Executive Outcomes. The undoubted impetus of an attempted regime change to depose President Teodoro Obiang, was money; not even masquerading as a humanitarian mission to save innocent people from a dictator, but access to ‘a fabulous amount of oil’. In return for successful regime change, Mann would have received $15 million and a cut of overseas investments. When the bungling plot failed, Mann, along with fifteen of his accomplices, was arrested before being sentenced to 34 years and 4 months. He was suspiciously released on ‘humanitarian grounds’ after only serving a year in the notorious Black Beach prison.
The claims in the ‘too many people knew’ documentary are astonishing. The US, South African, the UK, Spanish, and Zimbabwean governments were aware of the plot. Allegedly, Spain had promised automatic recognition following a successful coup d’état. It was even discussed at Chatham House!
Facts about this coup d’état are frankly bizarre, such as Mann leading a paltry force of 64 mercenaries to achieve regime change. Mark Thatcher and Simon Mann were neighbours in South Africa, and they went on a safari holiday with Mark’s mother. The former, allegedly ‘part of the management team’ paid $350,000 towards the coup, as well as supplying a helicopter. Following Mark’s arrest, his mother, the erstwhile Prime Minister, paid his bail of three million rand.
The tacit support of western governments backfired – following the failed coup d’état, China stepped into the vacuum and agreed oil contracts with the Obiang dictatorship. The outcome, the film concludes, was that China gained a foothold on Africa’s oil, usurping the U.S. Yet the poignant contrast between the subject matter (exploitation) and the beautiful African music is telling; persuading the viewer that the continent has more to offer than its resources.
Available for loan at 966.5 sim in the DVD collection on the ground floor of the University Library.
Q. When and where was the first commercial oil well drilled?
Tags: African music, Black Beach prison, China, DVD, DVD collection, Equatorial Guinea, Eton, Iraq Inquiry, Margaret Thatcher, Mark Thatcher, Oil, regime change, SAS, Scramble for Africa, Simon Mann, South Africa, US, West Africa
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Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
At the age of 13, I wanted to be Elizabeth Bennett (Jennifer Ehle) and marry Mr. Darcy (Colin Firth). Why? Because I obsessively watched Andrew Davies fantastic adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice every Sunday night for 6 weeks on BBC1. Fourteen years later, after viewing the series again, I still want to be Lizzy and I’d marry Colin Firth whatever role he plays.
Pride & Prejudice follows the life of Elizabeth Bennett as she deals with matters of marriage, morals, upbringing and education in an aristocratic society. Producer Sue Birtwistle and Director Simon Langton bring the story and characters to life and not only deliver a fresh, lively story but change the way in which the BBC approach and produce future classic novel adaptations. The dialogue of the characters rarely differs from that of the book but Davies cleverly employs various techniques to overcome the inherent difficulties with adapting a classic book for a television series aimed at a modern audience.
If I consult my battered copy of The Making of Pride and Prejudice by Sue Entwistle and Susie Conklin, which I religiously carried around with me whilst my parents dutifully drove me to the many filming locations, it informs me that the adaptation took 18 months to make; that each episode cost £1 million to produce; was filmed in 24 locations; that costume designer Dinah Collin made most of the costumes herself and composer Carl Davis wrote the original score.
Pride & Prejudice, along with the 1995 and 1996 releases of Sense and Sensibility, Emma and Persuasion sparked a Jane Austen hysteria in the world of literature, kickstarted the career of Colin Firth and inspired Helen Fielding to write the hugely successful Bridget Jone’s Diary.
October is the perfect time of year to curl up on the sofa when the nights draw in and you feel like something comforting to watch. So, head over to 823.7 aus in the off air DVD collection on the ground floor of the University Library. If you feel inspired to read the book then you will find it on the 2nd floor of the University Library at 823.7 aus or, even easier, search the library catagloue for the ebook and read it online.
Q. Which actor/actress who stars in the adaptation is actually related to Jane Austen?
Tags: colin firth, DVD, e-books, GCW University Library, jane austen, library, off-air, pride and prejudice, University Library
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Monday, October 5th, 2009
Did you know that we have a great collection of films on DVD? They are all available for you to borrow from our collection on the ground floor of the GCW University Library.
Every week (well, nearly every week), we post a ‘DVD of the week’ review on this Library & LR news blog. Each review relates to a film in our collection (there’s a movie-trivia quiz every week, too).
Here’s a selection of recent films we’ve written about :
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Tags: Brayford, DVD, DVD collection, film & television, GCW, Lincoln, quizzes
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Monday, September 28th, 2009
The quickest and easiest way to locate books in the GCW University Library or Learning Resources Centres is to use the library catalogue.
Our catalogue is the best way of finding books and journals, e-books, DVDs and other library materials for your course. It’s easy to use (and there’s also an online step-through guide to finding the books you need).
The library catalogue can be accessed on and off campus:
On campus
Click on the library catalogue icon on the computer desktop: 
In addition to this, the University Library and Hull and Riseholme Learning Resources Centres have computers where the library catalogue can be accessed without the need to log on to a computer.
Off campus
Go to – www.library.lincoln.ac.uk
Tags: books, DVD, e-books, finding information, HiP, journals, library catalogue, online step-through guide, OPAC, University Library, www.library.lincoln.ac.uk
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Friday, September 18th, 2009
Aghanistan undeniably dominates the news headlines at the moment with vote rigging allegations, a resurgent Taliban, escalating casualties and roadside bombings. Yet anyone may, mistakenly, overlook the magnificent cultural history this country offers to the intrepid explorer. English historian Arnold Toynbee wonderfully coined Afghanistan as the “roundabout of the Ancient World”. This documentary captures the incredible lengths people go to protect their cultural heritage. Architectural historian Dan Cruickshank travels in the footsteps of Robert Byron’s incomparable The Road to Oxiana by (written 1933-34) and treks through a war-torn country recently invaded by ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’ by U.S forces in October 2001 as a response to September 11th. Braving mined roads and armed checkpoints to enter the Taliban heartland, Cruickshank laments the destruction of a rich cultural heritage in modern-day Afghanistan, seeking out the country’s architectural treasures, amidst profound human misery. Cruickshank muses over a shattered Buddha image as the ‘face of patient suffering’. He finds 11th and 12th century Minarets, frescos, destroyed ancient pillars, Bactrian gold (‘comparable to the great treasure of Tutankhamen’), and the destruction of giant Buddha’s built in the 3rd and 4th centuries (180 feet high and 125 feet high respectively) detonated by six truck loads of explosives. One of the most poignant moments is when Cruickshank climbs to the top of the tallest niche where the biggest Buddha (‘one of the world’s most sacred images’) used to stand to become ‘one of the most moving moments ever’.
Recommended to anyone who wishes to look beyond the tabloid headlines and discover the rich heritage of a wonderful country. It is available at 720.8581 DAN in the off air collection situated on the ground floor of the University Library.
Q. Which Macedonian conqueror first recorded Afghanistan?
Tags: Afghanistan, ancient history, Architectural historian, Arnold Toynbee, Bactria, Bactrian Gold, Buddhism, Buddhist art, cultural heritage, Dan Cruickshank, DVD, film & television, historian, journalism, Kabul, Omnibus, Robert Byron, Taliban, United States, University Library
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Friday, May 29th, 2009
As someone who was ardently against the Harry Potter books and films I am now very proud to call myself a hypocrite.
The first three Harry Potter films are probably the best of the heptalogy (or should that be octology since the film makers have decided to split the final book in two?). The actors haven’t grown older than their characters and the plots are short and simple enough to fit into three 2 hour films. Based on J.K. Rowling’s best selling books, the films revolve around an orphan called Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe ) who discovers that he is a wizard. When Harry was a baby, his parents were murdered by the world’s most dangerous wizard Voldemort, yet he survived and brought about Voldemort’s demise. Of course Voldemort isn’t really dead and Harry finds himself fighting the evil wizard and his supporters including a shifty looking teacher (Snape played by Alan Rickman), a giant serpent and a mass murderer.
These may sound like a basic, magical, good versus evil, children’s films but believe me they’re not. The friendships that Harry makes with Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) and the relationship he forms with his school’s Headmaster, Dumbledore (Richard Harris and Michael Gambon) make these films real and gives them substance.
Forget what you’ve read, what people have told you and what you’ve seen and give them a go! If you don’t get hooked on the films then I bet, if nothing else, they’ll inspire you to read the books (which as a Librarian, I implore you to do anyway!).
These three Harry Potter films are available to borrow from the University Library and can be found at 791.4372 har. You can find the first book at 823.914 row.
Right, now to test your knowledge of the films, answer this:
Q. What popular team sport does Harry play and what position does he play in?
Tags: Alan Rickman, Daniel Radcliffe, DVD, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, Katie Robertson, Michael Gambon, off-air, review, Richard Harris, University Library
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Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
A classic black comedy from the famous Ealing studios.
When a gang of thieves decide to take lodgings in the home of an ageing spinster whilst they plan their next ‘job’ (a security van robbery at Kings Cross), they get more than they could ever have dreamt of in the form of Octagarian Mrs Louisa Wilberforce (Katie Johnson).
Led by Professor Marcus (Alec Guinness), the gang pretend to be an amateur string quartet musical group renting the room space for practice, thus also carrying empty musical instrument cases everywhere with them to maintain the deception.
After the robbery has been achieved, the game is given away when One-Round (Danny Green) accidently gets his cello case full of money trapped in the doorway as they are leaving the house. He attempts to pull it free only for the bank notes to fall all over the porch. Mrs Wilberforce realises the truth and informs Marcus that she intends to report them to the police. The gang realise that she must therefore be eliminated, and this is where the fun really begins…
Being such a kindly old lady, no one wants to do the dirty deed and the gang end up drawing matches. The Major (Cecil Parker) loses but attempts to make a run with the stash. Bickering and fighting breaks out amongst the gang whilst Mrs Wilberforce peacefully sleeps through it all.
The result being that the criminals end up killing each other, which they have no qualms about, but find it impossible to kill a sweet old lady. The final twist to the tale is heart warming and a joy to watch in the best British Comedy tradition…
Brimming with classic scenes and excellent performances from all involved, the Ladykillers remains one of Ealing’s finest comedies and is worthy of several viewings just to appreciate the intricate weavings of the BAFTA award winning script by William Rose.
Available to take home today in the ground floor of the library and shelved at 791.4372 LAD.
Q. Which famous British Comedian has a cameo role as fruit seller?
Written by Martin Osborne
Tags: Alec Guinness, Alex Guinness, BAFTA award, bank, Cecil Parker, Comedian, Danny Green, DVD, Ealing studios, Katie Johnson, Louisa Wilberforce, Martin Osborne, Peter Sellers, Professor, William Rose
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