Be Still

Description

Be Still is an extraordinary film that demonstrates contemplative reflection as a vital part of our everyday lives and as a remedy for the ills of the frenzied, fast-paced modern world. Featuring interviews with some of today's most highly respected authors, educators, and ministers, Be Still examines the importance of silent, reflective prayer as a way to truly be open to receiving God's guidance. This remarkable film also features a useful "how to" section that shows how contemplative prayer can be used by anyone at anytime to better one's life and reaffirm that which is truly important.

Customer Reviews:

Enlightening.......2007-09-13

I thought it was a movie and was, at first, disappointed. But after I played the video I was pleasently surprised how thought and spirtually provoking it was. It will definitely give you something to think about and ponder. I liked it!

not what you think.......2007-05-17

This was anticipated to be an informative Dvd on being still in the face of God but is a documentery of interviews with highly respected ministries and just was not what I anticipated it to be

Great DVD to own.......2007-05-13

I love this DVD it is just a must have. I love it, I love it

Be still and know that I am God.......2007-03-26

Excellent! I stumbled across this looking for something else and so glad I did. Very thought provoking. Every Christian and non Chirstian alike should watch this.

C. Davis

Amazing!.......2007-02-20

This is a most wonderful experience of deep spiritual thinking and practical application. Highly recommended for anyone on a spiritual path.

Reflections: The Definitive Performances 1964-1969

Average customer rating:

How-to video for cabaret queens and cross-dressers
excellent!
EXCELENTE COMPILACION
I LOVED IT!!!
Take the Trip...it's worth it!

Reflections: The Definitive Performances 1964-1969
Starring: The Supremes
Manufacturer: Motown
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000JMKIAQ
Release Date: 2006-12-05

Description

Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard (and her replacement Cindy Birdsong) conquered the charts and then the world through their TV appearances. Their looks, their charm and of course their great hits burst from the screen and won over even the harshest critics. Now the fans can have it all over again -- the original "Dreamgirls" doing their thing unlike any group before or since. The Supremes: Reflections, produced for UMe by Historic Films, is an extraordinary DVD collection -- their greatest hits on video in any form for the first time. Included are not only the classic appearances from the Ed Sullivan Show and Hullaballo, but incredible rare footage not seen since first aired more than 40 years ago. As a fabulous bonus, a click of the sub-title button will also reveal entertaining and revealing trivia about each clip.

Then there's the DVD extras, the icing on the cake: additional rare clips of "Baby Love" and "Stop! In The Name Of Love," early footage of the trio doing their first top 40 hit, and uncut footage from the documentary Anatomy Of Pop that includes an interview with Berry Gordy. As with all other UMe/Motown DVD collections, all audio has been significantly upgraded; where the group has lip-synced to the record, you'll now hear remastered stereo right from the Motown vault.

1. Where Did Our Love Go (The Steve Allen Show, September 24, 1964)
2. Baby Love (Shivaree, 1965)
3. Come See About Me (Teen Town, February 1965)
4. Stop! In The Name Of Love (Murray The K - It's What's Happening!, June 28, 1965)
5. Back In My Arms Again (Mike Douglas Show, November 3, 1965)
6. Nothing But Heartaches (Hullaballoo, September 13, 1965)
7. I Hear A Symphony (Mike Douglas Show, November 3, 1965)
8. My World Is Empty Without You (Anatomy Of Pop - The Music Explosion, 1965)
9. You Can't Hurry Love (The Ed Sullivan Show, September 25, 1966)*
10. You Keep Me Hanging On (Promotional Film, 1966)
11. Love Is Here And Now Your Gone (The Andy Williams Show, January 22, 1967)
12. The Happening (Live In Stockholm/Swedish TV, April 20,1968)
13. Reflections (The Tennessee Ernie Ford Special, December 3, 1967)
14. In And Out Of Love (Live In Stockholm/Swedish TV, April 20th, 1968)
15. Love Child (The Ed Sullivan Show, September 29, 1968)
16. Someday We'll Be Together (The Hollywood Palace, October 18, 1969)

DVD Extras
1. Baby Love (Top Of The Pops, October 15, 1964)
2.Stop! In The Name Of Love (Shivaree, 1965)
3. When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes (The Supremes In Carr'e, Amsterdam, October 14, 1964)
4. My World Is Empty Without You (Original Clip w/ Narration, Anatomy Of Pop, 1965)

Customer Reviews:

How-to video for cabaret queens and cross-dressers.......2007-09-08

Dreamgirl? Watching Diana Ross in these videos was a creepy experience for this reviewer. No wonder she's always been a sensation with cabaret queens, transvestites, homosexuals, and pre-op cross-dressers. With her absurd make-up, exaggerated hairstyles, over-the-top girlishness, campy feminine fluttering, affected singing voice, gooey bug eyes, dainty dance moves and ridiculous sense of self-drama, she comes off as a female female-impersonator, if such a thing exists. It doesn't help that she has the scrawny build of a 12-year-old male adolescent. The whole effect is just plain weird. More watchable are the other Supremes, especially Mary Wilson. But as the Supremes hit Number One with a bullet, it became Diana's show and the other ladies were increasingly shunted to the background. (Or pushed back there by diva Diana, if the 1983 Motown reunion was any indication.) The shrill, simplistic songs don't hold up especially well either, including later "message songs" like Love Child. These tunes were some of the more soulless efforts from Motown's writing stable. We all love Motown in the 1960s. But I'd rather have a video compilation of the some of the more authentic second-tier acts--Martha And The Vandellas, for example.

excellent!.......2007-09-07

i loved the efficiency in which it was delivered and the 'staying in touch' with the customer, notifying when it would be delivered, or if there would be a delay due to shortages, etc. all this is appreciated.

EXCELENTE COMPILACION.......2007-08-31

Excelente, DVD remasterizado y audio digitalizado,una joya para tener.
Una reseña de Supremes por casi toda su carrera artistica. Con el plus de haber canciones que fueron digitalmente hechas "A Capella". Este DVD no puede faltar, es una muy buena inversión.

I LOVED IT!!!.......2007-08-16

I am a very nostalgic person and this DVD is a smorgasbord of memories. It is very good in quality, both video and sound. I have played it several times and it never gets old, especially to see how the Supremes matured in their stage presence as we go from 1965 to 1969. If you are a Supremes fan then you need to purchase this item. It would be really great if someone would do a DVD of all the Supremes performances on just The Ed Sullivan Show since they appeared at least 20 times on that show alone. You cannot go wrong with this DVD.

Take the Trip...it's worth it!.......2007-07-12

You won't believe the hair dos! These women had it going on....during such a tumultuous rebellious era (the 60's) to come out swinging....got to give em props! No guts, no glory and they did it with style and originality and they didn't have to be high on POT to pull it off. Diana, "puttin the D in Diva", summed it up at the BET awards show...gotta get some CLASS! Take a hint Britney!

Average customer rating:

This story has been told before...
Tragic Life, Fantastic Music
The True Genius of Townes
townes van zandt - be here to love me
Be Here to Love Me

Townes Van Zandt - Be Here to Love Me
Starring: Steve Shelley , Emmylou Harris , Kris Kristofferson , Guy Clark (III) , and Willie Nelson
Director: Margaret Brown (II)
Manufacturer: Palm Pictures / Umvd
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000CNF80W
Release Date: 2006-03-14

Amazon.com

You might have never heard of Townes Van Zandt. You might not even know his songs. But this Texan's music was profoundly influential on his peers--so much so that some of the folks interviewed for Be Here to Love Me, a documentary about Van Zandt's work and difficult life, call him one of the best songwriters, maybe even the best, in American history. That's a stretch, but there's no doubting the man's talent; his two best-known tunes, "Pancho and Lefty" (popularized by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard) and "If I Needed You" (a beautiful Emmylou Harris-Don Williams duet), by themselves guarantee him a spot in a few Halls of Fame. But the Van Zandt chronicled in director Margaret Brown's 100-minute film was his own worst enemy. Born in 1944, he was a troubled young man who played Russian roulette for kicks, deliberately fell off a fourth-floor balcony, and was placed in a mental home, where shock treatments robbed him of significant parts of his memory and personality. Married three times, he was also wedded to the bottle, which ultimately destroyed him (he died of a heart attack in 1997). Be Here to Love Me details these events through various interviews with Van Zandt himself, as well as Nelson, Harris, Steve Earle, Nanci Griffith, and other notables. But whereas a fellow tippler like singer Guy Clark fondly remembers the good times, Van Zandt's family tells a different story: "Bummer," replies one ex-wife when asked to describe living with him, while his eldest son, JT, betrays a good deal of bitterness about a dad who couldn't control his own life, wasn't much of a family man, and died young and unfulfilled. DVD extras include several Van Zandt performances (in addition to clips throughout the main program), which is a good thing; were it not for his soulful, affecting songs, there wouldn't be a lot to admire about this guy. --Sam Graham

Description

As a musician, Townes Van Zandt was legendary - perhaps one of the greatest who ever lived, inspiring artists from Bob Dylan to Norah Jones to Steve Earle. As a man, a husband, and a father his life was as tragic and as beautiful as the songs he wrote. Townes was an enigma to his family, pinned between a deep longing for home and the nomadic lifestyle that was necessary for his livelihood. Director Margaret Brown's Be Here To Love Me is an artful, expertly directed portrait of both of these sides of Van Zandt and ultimately serves as an insightful look at the sacrifices, challenges, and consequences faced in pursuit of a dream. Haunting and lyrical, Be Here To Love Me combines emotional interviews with friends and family with never seen footage of Townes Van Zandt.

Customer Reviews:

This story has been told before..........2007-09-06

Van Gogh, Hank Williams, Janis Joplin, Townes Van Zandt. Why are the greatest artists often so disturbed and self-destructive? I saw Townes play live once or twice around 1971 in Austin, and although I later became a music publisher and saw hundreds of singer-songwriters perform, I always rated Townes the best. He was young, happy, funny, chatty, and rolled out tunes that were captivating , stunning, hilarious, amazing. In the restroom with a grin on my face, the hippy next to me said, "Are you digging Townes?" Yeah, I was digging Townes. 25 years rolled by and I wondered what ever happened to him. I heard some of his songs on the radio but I never saw him play live again. Rumors had it that he had an alcohol problem, and when he died his friends didn't seem surprised. Another 10 years later, I saw this film on the Sundance channel and it broke my heart. If you were expecting a concert, well, go live your life a while and then come back, because it's not so much about music or even about Townes, it's about all of us and what it means to be human and our need to be connected to others, and about mental illness, and how lucky we are to survive each day, and how badly we need people like Townes to inspire us and show us the truth.

Tragic Life, Fantastic Music.......2007-05-30

I drank a beer with him in 1975 in Bolder, CO.

The True Genius of Townes.......2007-04-11

Sadly we have very little on tape of this magnificent Texas artist. But you should rejoice that this small sampling of his genius is here for you to love. Townes bled onto the page of his songwriting. He gave his life completely to the task of providing humanity a glimpse into the heart of a true "bluesman". His careful study of blues great Lightnin' Hopkins, for one, and knowledge of music history and study of well known poets gave considerable weight to his endeavor to bring these mediums together. He practiced daily to breathe new life into this brew of personal interests which formed onto the page and shine a light into the dark corners our hearts. Never mind personal faults, for we all have them. He lived in pain and wrote songs that resurrect the spirit. His love of life is characterized in his lyrics but he could not restore his own while searching for the poet's words and heartfelt melodies. You will want to visit with Townes again and again for as many reasons as you can imagine.

townes van zandt - be here to love me.......2007-03-09

Not what I expected...
I assumed that it was a concert. I should have looked at it closer...

Be Here to Love Me.......2006-11-10

Excellent DVD on Townes Van Zandt. Highly recommend to people who enjoy Townes music.

Average customer rating:

great music
Why have we never heard of Larry Jon Wilson?
A musical vision fulfilled - Townes Van Zandt and friends
Diverse crew of pickers/rare footage/some better than others
the best music film ever made!

Heartworn Highways
Starring: Various Artists
Manufacturer: Snapper UK
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00080CPMS
Release Date: 2005-05-10

Product Description

HEARTWORN HIGHWAYS (HEARTWORN HIGHWAYS)

Customer Reviews:

great music.......2007-08-13

I enjoyed the dvd a lot. though i have seen there was supposed to be a 22 page booklet i believe when sold elsewheres. This did not come with my dvd. I sure would have enjoyed the booklet.

Why have we never heard of Larry Jon Wilson?.......2007-05-25

I really enjoyed this movie. Several Guy Clark songs, John Hiatt and Steve Earle in much younger days, Charlie Daniels back before he censored references to the noxious weed from his songs, Townes Van Zandt, Rex Bell, and a hysterically funny song introduction by Gamble Rodgers. Also a clip of David Allan Coe driving his bus to and then playing at a prison in Tennessee. The high points for me were the song "Alabama Highway" by Steve Young, and a song called "Ohoopee River Bottomland" by a man named Larry Jon Wilson.

According to the sparse information available on the internet, Larry Jon Wilson was one of the "outlaw" genre progressive country musicians in the mid-1970's. His style reminds one of Tony Joe White ("Polk Salad Annie"), and it is apparent from the clip here that he is an excellent singer, songwriter, and guitar player. Being a fan of that music, I am shocked that watching this DVD was the first time I had heard of him. He later hosted a show on PBS called "Georgia Backroads" and I found a couple of references to recent shows. I guess fate and luck play a huge role in determining a musician's success. It seems a shame that a man of such talent did not recieve greater acclaim.

Great "candid" footage of Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, and others sitting around a dining table, with an unreal number of assorted bottles in various stages of emptiness, trading songs. We mortals are truly lightweights. At any rate, if you are interested in songwriting, these artists, or early to mid-70's progressive country music, you will enjoy this DVD immensely. And if you hear of any Larry Jon Wilson cd's for sale, let me know.

Dick LeMasters

A musical vision fulfilled - Townes Van Zandt and friends.......2006-08-02

I was stunned by this movie. I learned of it and purchased it in 2003. For various reasons it remains for me the best, most emotional movie I have seen about musicians and their music. The producer chose well: He found the songwriters that shaped country and rock for the next 30 years: Townes Van Zandt, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Guy Clark, Steve Young, John Hiatt, Charlie Daniels and a tribute to the late Skinny Dennis, immortalized in Guy Clark's "LA Freeway." I wish David Allen Coe had been left out, but no film is perfect.
The songwriters are shown at their best and worst: a drunken, funny TVZ falls into a rabbit hole and Silent Night is rendered by fine musicians too drunk to remember the lyrics.

This movie was made when I was a poor student and musician with a small circle of talented friends in Tampa at the University of South Florida. The difference is that most of my friends and I got straight jobs [we still tried to make a difference] but these musicians changed the world, just a little.
I married the singer/Business major I met at USF and divorced 30 years later. I still play guitar, write and record at home and dream of making it in music - but mostly I learn songs written by artists like those in this movie and try to understand the magic they have that still captures me.
When TVZ sang 'Waiting around to die' he brought tears to the eyes of his 70+ blacksmith neighbor, while Cindy comforts him. It was magical. TVZ does a "medley of my hit" and sings "Pancho and Lefty," and Rodney Crowell sang "Bluebird Wine," both covered by Emmylou. Steve Young's "Alabama Highways" was wonderful too. It was a look into my past - and the past and future of the intelligent, emotional music I love best.

Diverse crew of pickers/rare footage/some better than others.......2006-07-13

This DVD starts strong with Guy Clarke down in (I'm presuming) his basement in the mid-70's pickin' and singin' "LA Freeway", as the opening credits roll; I'm very partial to Guy and Townes Van Zandt (2 of the major stars that are followed around) so insofar as their parts of the DVD, it's a no brainer 5 stars from my perspective. Some very intimate moments with Townes Van Zandt, as he's picking ("Waitin' 'Round to Die" in particular) and other times just horsing around with friends and, of course, a bottle of whiskey.... I'm not too fond of David Alan Coe being on this DVD alongside those, as I think his divisive lyrics speak for themselves (and i'm not referring only to the line in 'If that Ain't Country' but, rather, some pretty pathetic stuff from his 1982 "Underground Album"). In addition to my disliking David Alan Coe's racial leanings, the parts where he is involved just don't seem to "fit". Maybe if you're a David Alan Coe fan (and I DO understand not all D.A. Coe fans share his views regarding what all has come out of his mind, onto a piece of paper and out of his mouth) then you will really enjoy those parts of 'Heartworn Highways'. Charlie Daniels as well doesn't seem to fit but, to be fair, I (Spike) can't just 'mold' this DVD into my own perfect cast -- it is what it is! I'm sure the Coe fans and C.D Band fans and all probably wonder what the hell those hippies are doin' in there, from the other side've the coin. A young Steve Earle, Larry Jon Wilson, Gamble Rogers, Rodney Crowell and more all pop in and out to add some spice.... some interesting interviews and footage of just regular folk also contribute to 'Heartworn Highways' and, if you can just appreciate the DVD for what it is, scattered and all, then it's worth a buy. I don't regret owning it, and pop it in every couple years to watch again --- maybe pickin' my six string or "lookin at my watch" (Cash, 1994) during the times I'm not as interested....

the best music film ever made!.......2006-02-23

Extraordinary performances by singer songwriters who revolutionized country music beautifully captured at the time it was happening. It's like visiting, living with these folks in Nashville and Austin in the 1970's.
An hour of bonus material that is just as good as the movie!
20 year old Steve Earle does a couple of great songs he never recorded elsewhere!
It's an amazing DVD altogether!

Average customer rating:

Blind Spot
excellent, but too short
A unusual perspective that not often presented.
Making Evil Work - Otherwise Good People Become Obtuse
clearing her conscience

Blind Spot - Hitler's Secretary
Starring: Traudl Junge
Director: Othmar Schmiderer , and André Heller
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
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ASIN: B0000CABBT
Release Date: 2003-10-28

Description

An interview with Traudl Junge, one of Adolf Hitler's private secretaries from 1942 through the collapse of the Nazi regime, in which she tells it all. 2003 National Theatrical Release.

Customer Reviews:

Blind Spot.......2007-07-18

With so many excellent films concerning Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, few have transfixed me as much as "Blind Spot." This feature needs no graphic wartime footage to deliver its impact. Instead, the camera stays focused on Ms. Junge, who, in her early twenties as the war raged, was completely naive in her political outlook (or so she claims). This film is made more poignant in that Ms. Junge died shortly after production was completed, giving us the feeling that in these interviews, she is working to expiate a lifetime of guilt, one born of ignorance, or perhaps more accurately, a suppression of horrific reality. This makes a perfect double feature with the outstanding narrative film "Downfall", in which her character is featured prominently.

excellent, but too short.......2007-07-03

An amazing piece of history, but it needs to be longer. Also, the dissolves are an annoying distraction, but it was difficult to complain when one realizes the pricelessness of it all.

A unusual perspective that not often presented........2007-04-01

Extremely poignant.
A unusual perspective that is not often presented.
This is a powerful look into the inside private life of Adolph Hitler, not the man he presented to the public eye.
It is also the story of a woman who found her self unexpectedly in his employ and shelter from the reality of the rest of the world, her enlightenment to his atrocities and her survival and coming to terms with what weighed heavily on her, believing that while she was at the time unaware of his innate evil, she had contributed to his crimes too. VERY eye opening.
I have watched this at least 5 times and learn something new every-time.

Making Evil Work - Otherwise Good People Become Obtuse.......2007-02-05

Traudl Junge appears pleasant, well-adjusted, and thoughtful in her old age. Dying on the day that the film won awards in Europe this movie is her final statement. But, the interviewers where horrible. They never asked the key questions, rather they just allowed her to remember events and talk for almost an hour about the final days in the Berlin Bunker.

As a historical record, it's invaluable. But, as an insight into the human workings of Nazism, there is unfortunately nothing new here. Nazism and fascism in general can only function on such a large scale as it did in Germany when otherwise thoughtful people like Ms. Junge choose to create a "blind spot" so that the truth won't get through.

Traudl Junge was Hitler's secretary from 42-45. It is hard to fathom that she knew nothing about anything, acknowledging only one moment when DER JUDEN were discussed with Hitler. Imagine the scene: Frau Von Schirach comes to the Berghof and tells Hitler to his face that what is being done to the Jews is horrible. She is of course dismissed. Traudl Junge's assertion that she was unaware of the horrors that her boss and her colleagues were perpetrating is difficult to accept, just as Albert Speer's similar assetions are difficult to believe (especially since armaments production and concentration camps that supported such production fell under his authority as armaments minister). It seems that more than being embarrassed for being such a thoughtless automaton and servant of the modern devil and the greatest force of evil in the world in the last one hundred years, Junge seems embarrassed that she had created such a hole of fakery and self-deception around herself.

I've not read her book, and am not certain that I will. But it is a failure on the part of the interviewers to not ask her more questions. I heard only one or two questions, the rest of the entire film was Traudl talking about her experiences. More of a reminiscence than an insightful examination of her past, this movie is an addition to the historical record.

The insights that Junge must have had as a human being working so closely with Hitler and his cronies and sycophants were mainly lost in the movie. One almost feels badly for Ms. Junge, but not quite.
Recommended with reservations.

clearing her conscience.......2007-01-25

When Traudl Junge was twenty-two she was chosen, she recalls, "by complete coincidence and chance" from a typing competition to become Hitler's secretary from 1942-1945. Later in life, she became deeply disturbed about how she could have participated in the Nazi horror at such close quarters and remained so apolitical. In a brutal catharsis of self-analysis, she describes her "blind spot" as remaining so oblivious to the obvious. Clearly wanting to unburden herself and to speak publically for the first time, she gave ten hours of interviews at the age of 81, just months before she died. This film has almost no cinematic style or technique. Junge sits in her modest Munich apartment, a camera is put on her, and she delivers a ninety-minute, somewhat rambling soliloquy on what it was like to be Hitler's secretary. There is little ethical or war time insight; the fascinating part, in fact, is how banal she describes Hitler --his dog, his diet, his kindly paternalism, daily lunches and dinners with him, etc. More than half of her remarks cover Hitler's last few days in his Berlin bunker, where he eventually committed suicide and his body was burned. This fascinating film could have been so much better if a savvy interviewer had plied her with questions. In German with English subtitles.

The Marlon Brando Collection (Julius Caesar / Mutiny on the Bounty 1962 / Reflections in a Golden Eye / The Teahouse of the August Moon / The Formula )

Average customer rating:

it's great !..
The costume/period dramas are the best of the lot!
Mixed Bag
Easily one of the nicest collections to come out lately.....
Excellent choice

The Marlon Brando Collection (Julius Caesar / Mutiny on the Bounty 1962 / Reflections in a Golden Eye / The Teahouse of the August Moon / The Formula )
Starring: Marlon Brando , James Mason , John Gielgud , Louis Calhern , and Edmond O'Brien
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz , Carol Reed , and Lewis Milestone
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000HWZ4ES
Release Date: 2006-11-07

Amazon.com

As this five-film box set vividly demonstrates, Marlon Brando was, at least in the beginning of his legendary career, not one to rest on his laurels or emerging mythic status. Spanning 1953 to 1980, this collection gathers some of his most challenging and offbeat performances. Some naysayers doubted Brando, he of the Method and mumbles, could do Shakespeare justice, but he acquits himself impressively as Mark Antony in Joseph Mankiewicz's stellar adaptation of Julius Caesar. Though now dicey from a PC standpoint, Brando, unlike Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany's, rises above grotesque caricature as a wily Japanese interpreter in The Teahouse of the August Moon, one of his rare forays into comedy. In Mutiny on the Bounty, Brando daringly portrays Fletcher Christian so foppish that he makes Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow look like Errol Flynn in The Sea Hawk. John Huston's Reflections in a Golden Eye teams Brando with another screen icon, Elizabeth Taylor, in a nasty piece of Southern gothic about sordid doings on a military base. Brando portrays a latent homosexual fixated on young soldier Robert Forrter, who has a penchant for naked horseback riding and sneaking into Taylor's room while she sleeps to fondle her clothing.

Only The Formula, a still timely, yet confusing conspiracy thriller about synthetic fuel, is dispensable, although Brando is compelling to watch in his few scenes opposite fellow Oscar-holdout, George C. Scott. More entertaining than the film is the lively audio commentary with director John Avildson and screenwriter Steve Shagan. Suffice to say, they have little good to say about Scott, disgraced former studio head David Begelman, and, of all people, Christopher Lambert, who would star in another film that Shagan wrote. The Julius Caesar disc contains an excellent bonus, "The Rise of Two Legends," in which Laurence Fishburne refers to Shakespeare as "the Aaron Spelling of his day," and Dennis Hopper praises Brando for taking "the act out of acting." Mutiny is given the two-disc "Special Edition" treatment with a bounty of extras. Most concern the construction of the ship for the film, but we do get the original prologue and epilogue that were excised before the film's release and then restored for its 1967 television broadcast, and not seen since. The Teahouse disc contains an entertaining vintage featurette that follows cast and crew to Japan, while Reflections offers raw on-location footage. All five films are making their domestic DVD debuts. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews:

it's great !.........2007-06-08

Amazon is great !..I like it very much !..Thanks !..

The costume/period dramas are the best of the lot!.......2007-02-26

"Mutiny on the Bounty," though noted for Brando's controversial interpretation of the Fletcher Christian role, has to be one of the best-looking, best scored, and most exciting historical dramas ever filmed. Brando's acting is fine, even with the foppish demeanor, and he is matched by the equally good Trevor Howard as the domineering Captain Bligh, Richard Harris, Hugh Griffith, and Percy Herbert as respective crewman. Polynesian actress, Tarita, is exquisite as the native girl smitten by Christian and veteran Frank Silvera is also on hand in the many of his "ethnic" roles as a Tahitian interpreter.

The extras on the disc are short and interesting for the film buff and the casual fan.

Brando gets to show that he can do Shakespeare with the best of 'em as he tackles the role of Mark Antony in "Julius Caesar." His delivery of the legendary soliloquy is stunning, showing the power that this man had in his youth. The film also benefits from a superlative main cast, including James Mason, Greer Garson, Deborah Kerr, Edmond O'Brien, and Sir John Gielgud, as well as able support from a gallery of familiar character actors (John Hoyt, John Doucette, George Macready, and Alan Napier). Miklos Rozsa supplies a magnificent score, foreshadowing his Oscar-winning music for "Ben-Hur," a few years away.

"Reflections in a Golden Eye" is a strange film and Brando's southern "accent" is a bit forced and the story itself is not interesting enough to warrant repeat viewing.

"The Formula" is a thriller that doesn't. Even the scenes between Oscar-winners Brando and Scott don't spark any flames.

And "Teahouse of the August Moon" is an embarrassment to all parties concerned, languishing in a swamp of stereotypes.

Mixed Bag.......2007-02-16

I purchased the set for Reflections, Mutiny, and Caesar so I am not disappointed. However Teahouse is an
unwatchable embarrassment. It may have worked on stage, however on film it is torture, and Brando as an Asian is beyond the limits of credulity. Abysmal was a capital A.

Easily one of the nicest collections to come out lately............2007-02-16

"The Marlon Brando" collection is quite easily one of the best collections
to come out recently (and there have been many). We all have our favorites, and I have mine. I would buy this just to get "Teahouse of
the August Moon" and "Julius Ceasar". And, "Teahouse" is far and away my
favorite. Mr Brando plays an interpreter on Okinawa, working for the US
Army...along with a fantastic supporting cast. Every one of these films
is worthy and shows the range of Mr. Brando's abilities. I would say "You
Can't Go Wrong". Then, you might want to add "Sayonnara"...which is lavish, dated, and sad...but well worth watching...and it will round
out your collection. I am a big fan of the "Teahouse of the August Moon"
and "Guys and Dolls" Brando...and I tend to keep quite a distance from
"The Wild One" Brando. I would add that whatever your tastes, Mr Brando probably has something of interest to share with you, so go for it.

Excellent choice.......2007-02-13

We thing know everything about Brando, but it's not true : "The Teahouse" as some hilarous scenes, with an atonishing Glenn Ford and a unrecognizable Brando...and for me, "Julius Caesar" is a must and a curiosity in DVD. Great interest in all.

Average customer rating:

This isn't a bad movie at all...
Overcooked Southern Gothic
Finally on DVD
Sad, Surreal, Tedious. (And a Ridiculous, Stupid Final Scene)
"Have you ever been collared and dragged out into the street and thrashed by a naked woman?"

Reflections In A Golden Eye

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ASIN: B000KHI2FS

Product Description

Official Warner Brother Release

Customer Reviews:

This isn't a bad movie at all..........2007-09-13

I actually liked this one better than most Elizabeth Taylor movies. This is definitely worth watching. Taylor plays a cheating wife to Marlon Brando's character, and she's cheating with his buddy, played by Brian Keith. Julie Harris is Keith's wife whom everyone sees as "crazy". Taylor and Brando brawl a couple of times, and Keith is indifferent to Harris's troubled mind. Robert Forster is the creepy character who's strangely in the center of this film. He sneaks into Taylor's room and watches her sleep, he spies on her, and he rides a horse naked; he also lounges around naked in the woods. The ending is one you suspect will happen the way it does.

This is a fine Southern gothic movie; the only problem I have with it is understanding what Brando is saying; the jokes about his unintelligible speech are true. But if you like creepy, perverted movies without all-out vulgarity, this is one you don't want to miss. I would watch it again.

Overcooked Southern Gothic.......2007-08-23

John Huston's Reflections in a Golden Eye is like Tennessee Williams rewritten by the Monty Python team for Russ Meyer and directed by Stanley Kubrick as a contractual obligation, with dialogue filled with non sequiters and surreal flights of fantasy, increasingly absurd situations and relationships, all shot with a sepia-tinted color scheme that takes the title way too literally and a solemn, detached look that's worryingly close to implying we're meant to take this all very, very seriously. At other times it's as if Huston decided that the only way to approach such ripe material was to send it up, with Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor competing to see who can come up with tha mows rhidicluss Sahffan accsunt, Marlon drowning any hope of a decent performance in a sea of mannerisms while Liz gives a magnificent display of bad acting inbetween sticking her behind in the air as often as possible as the slut on a hot tin roof.

A tale of stolen spoons, over-zealous yard clearance, horsewhips, repressed desires, murderous passions and a tragic failure to communicate set in an army base where all the square pegs are expected to fit into round holes, it piles absurdity on absurdity as voyeuristic private Robert Forster sneaks into Liz's bedroom to watch her sleep and sniff her clothes, but it's Marlon who really has the hots for him after seeing him riding bareback and naked. But then you know that things are screwed when Julie Harris is the most normal character, and she's performed an act of self-mutilation with the garden shears ("She's alright. She's just neurotic") and is planning on leaving her husband to run a prawn boat with her ballet-dancing peacock-painting Rachmaninov-obsessed Filipino manservant Anacleto who dreams of boots full of squirming baby mice (Zorro David, dubbed by Bond movie regular Robert Rietty). Traditionally you'd say that it will all end badly, but for anyone without a taste for absurd southern Gothic that goes for the beginning and middle as well.

Warners DVD offers a 2.35:1 widescreen transfer with the original golden tint that was used for the film's first engagements and rapidly withdrawn, but not the more natural colour transfer that was most viewers are familiar with. In addition to much mute black and white home movie footage of the shoot, the original theatrical trailer is also included.

Finally on DVD.......2007-08-11

I am going to direct you to a review in the out-of-print "Bad Movies We Love" (seek it out and maybe they will reissue it) as the penultimate statement about this laugh-out-loud classic. Elizabeth Taylor is married to hopelessly buttoned-up repressed Marlon Brando (in this case BrandMo, complete with Greek statue porn and slatherings of "rejuvinating cream"), but boinking Brian Keith, who is married to Julie Harris, who had cut her own nipples off with garden shears (!) in reaction to I forget what, but who is served and entertained by her best friend/servant/companion Anacleto, the only person who understands her (completely understandable) desire to get away from this lot of repressed loonies and retire to a prawn trawler. In the midst of this rolls in hot, hunky (and often nude) Robert Forster, who only wants to ride a horse. Since half the rest of the cast wants to be ridden by him, that presents a problem. I won't give anymore away, only to write that this feels like it was something that would have been earth-shattering if it was released in say, 1957. Ten year later we are thinking this could have gone a lot further and not ended up as the rather dried up affair it is.

Plus side? Elizabeth is gorgeous, and nearly peels it all off. Robert Forster is gorgeous, and does peel it all off, and runs around in army drag when he's not nekkid. Grr.

Downside? Nearly everything else in this unending overlong fever-dream snooze-fest. If there was any interest in filming anything by Carson McCullers, this killed it

Sad, Surreal, Tedious. (And a Ridiculous, Stupid Final Scene).......2007-06-14

If you sit through this strange film to the ending (you should be rewarded for stamina), you are treated to the stupidest camera work you could imagine. It is laughable. The last scene is the dramatic high point, but the director and cinematographer abolutely ruin a moment that could have been decent. If you've seen it, you may agree. It practically screams motion sickness. What a cheap trick.

As for the film itself, it is bizarre. There are a handful of characters who are all in one way or another sad or pathetic or deranged. Marlon Brando gurgles and mumbles his way through the movie (where did he ever get that affectation, that strange manner of speaking? He was fine in "Streetcar"). Anyway, he plays a closeted military school instructor married to a silly, shrill, vapid broad played by Elizabeth Taylor. She gives me the impression of a washed up and [..] Scarlett O'Hara. We are not told how these two opposites ever got together. Maybe they lost a bet. She refers to him as Prissy, and he calls her a slattern. Both correct, I might add.

Brando's character is silently obsessed with one of the young military men (who is stalking Brando's wife quietly); Taylor is involved secretly with their friend (Brian Keith), whose depressed wife (Julie Harris) is recovering from a miscarriage and a depression in which she mutilated herself.

A highlight of the film is Julie Harris' Filipino houseboy Anacleto: softspoken, flamboyant, odd, and oh so dramatic. His scenes are fascinating and comical.

The movie originally was filmed with some odd gold wash that permeates it, but this was removed when audiences didn't care for it. I've seen that version and the second (regular Technicolor); I prefer the latter. To paint everything in a light amber hue is tedious, no matter what John Huston was going for. The movie's surreal enough without the tint.
When I think of the cast in this film, sadly, they are wasted. Even megastars can't save the heavy, boring material. Yes, Taylor and Brando are good (they are great actors, no doubt). But these characters aren't likeable people, any of them.
Sadly, Reflections in a Golden Eye does not give us much to like. I'd skip it. You're not missing much of anything.

"Have you ever been collared and dragged out into the street and thrashed by a naked woman?".......2007-02-24

John Huston's REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE, adapted from the acclaimed novel by Carson McCullers, is a bizarre film indeed. The main draw, of course, is the pairing of the two greatest actors in screen history, Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor. How odd, then, that the film itself overshadows them! The film is set at a military post: Brando is Major Penderton, who fights his own secret homosexuality; Taylor is his nymphomaniac wife, Leonora, who is having an affair with Lt. Colonel Langdon (Brian Keith). Langdon's wife, Alice (Julie Harris), recently had a failed pregnancy, after which she cut off her nipples with garden shears. And Robert Forster makes his film debut as a young enlisted man who enjoys riding horses naked and who observes the curious interactions of the Pendertons.

Sound odd? Believe me, it is. To add to the weirdness, director Huston printed the film with a golden tint, which adds a sort of nautious quality to the whole thing. Brando and Taylor are the glue that holds the film together. Taylor is a delight, but Brando gives a somewhat lacking performance. Forster, however, is great, as is Harris and Zorro David as her wacky Asian servant. As I haven't read the novel on which the film is based, I can't comment on how faithful the film is nor on which is better, but I fully intend to read the novel after viewing the film. It isn't bad, in fact it's far from it, but it's not really good either. In the end, it's a film one won't necessarily regret seeing, but it seems like a waste of Brando's talent, and that really detracts from the film, but if you've a taste for the bizarre, give it a shot.

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an artist and AIDS

Nureyev: Dancing Through Darkness
Starring: Dancing Through Darkness
Manufacturer: Kultur Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0002VGTZM
Release Date: 2004-10-26

Description

This program tells the compelling and hitherto untold story of Nureyev's last years. It is a documentry about one man's creative vision, a genius trapped in a dying body. Above all, it shows one man's desperate struggle to transcend the confines of mortality, doing what he loved most - dancing.

Customer Reviews:

an artist and AIDS.......2005-04-15

The subjects of artists and AIDS has never been discussed enough. How do creative minds deal with the fact that their bodies are deteriorating? How do artists handle a public that may want to know about their health more than their work? Does an incurable illness spur creativity or hamper it? These are all questions that have not been answered enough.

When Newsweek had a cover story on AIDS and the arts, they showed Nureyev on the cover. They barely touched the gay issue and stated that Nureyev never spoke out much about his illness. Either in the article or in comments to the editor, a close confidante said that Nureyev feared that someone would sue him for infecting them, as Rock Hudson's ex-lover did. However, here, those who know Nureyev speak openly about his gay identity and HIV status. The owner of the bathhouse he frequented even participated in an interview.

This documentary features men and women equally talking about the Nureyev they knew. Discrimination against the HIV-positive is only hinted at here. But one does get to see many people, of all genders and sexualities, supporting Nureyev and not giving a care about his illness, even though he died during tense years of prejudice against PWAs. This work show people talking about Nureyev and barely shows any clips of the dancer speaking for himself; this may disappoint his hardcore fans.

I wish this film had put Nureyev in context more. Like Martina Navratolova (sp?), he is an Eastern European who defected. Did many gays and lesbians do this or only the famous one? Were other HIV-positive ballet dancers treated well like Nureyev or did his celebrity make him an exception? This film show Nureyev gaunt, but unlike footage in "Black Is/Black Ain't" where one sees Bill T. Jones' lover Arnie dancing and coughing, you never see Nureyev physically struggling here.

Unlike most documentaries, this one actually had foreign language subtitles. This was helpful at times because many of the interviewees had poor English skills. This work is not subtitled in Russian, Nureyev's mother tongue. Because more and more Russians are moving to the United States, that would have been helpful to those viewers and I wish the DVD makers had thought about that.

Average customer rating:

Childish sometimes
Simply Amazing! Christina at Her Best!
Excelent
Proof that Christina is not just a plan to make money!!!!!
my reflection

Christina Aguilera - My Reflection
Starring: Christina Aguilera , Brian McKnight , Dr. John , and Bow Wow
Director: Paul Hunter , and Lawrence Jordan (II)
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00005IA82
Release Date: 2001-06-05

Amazon.com

Christina Aguilera's My Reflection is a mirror that shows where the teen-pop diva's going (toward grown-up diva-dom as an R&B star) and where she's been (showcasing her navel on a dance-infused tour). Aguilera's first concert video, a repackaging of a slick special that aired on ABC-TV in 2000, shows what this "girl" really wants is to move beyond the bouncy R&B-flavored pop she's known for. Her cheeky hits ("Genie in a Bottle," "Come On Over, Baby," "What a Girl Wants") are followed by songs from Mi Reflejo, her Spanish-language album, and My Kind of Christmas, her holiday release. She has sweet duets with R&B legend Dr. John on "Merry Christmas, Baby" and balladeer Brian McKnight on "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," and shares the stage with rapper Lil' Bow Wow (weird, but it works) on "So Emotional" and "Christmas Time." (Quick behind-the-scenes interviews from MTV's Diary punctuate the concert.) Despite her inability to resist over-the-top vocal histrionics, Aguilera's range is impressive, whether she's performing a spirited rendition of Free's 1970 hit "All Right Now" or belting out Etta James's 1961 classic "At Last," after giving the blues singer a heartfelt tribute. --Valerie J. Nelson

Customer Reviews:

Childish sometimes.......2006-01-15

But still very good.

I bought this DVD just some days ago and it amazed me.

Christina gives an entertaining show where she both sings and dances, and doesn't lypsinch at all.

The fast songs are catchy and the low ones are beautifully sung, with strong emotions and the usual powerful voice of Christina.

Christina can sing, Christina can dance, Christina can entertain us, she may not be the bestest artist of our generation, but she is surely underrated and deserves a lot of credits.

Maybe her look and especially her hair were not that good, but well a singer is supposed to sing in the first place and I didn't really care about what she looked like.

Simply Amazing! Christina at Her Best!.......2005-09-13

This Christmas Special is a must have if you're a Christina fan or if you think shes untalented give it a look to see just how talented she really is.

Not only does Christina sing her hit songs, "Genie in a Bottle," "What a Girl Wants," and "I Turn To You," she also sings some Christmas classics also on her christmas album, My Kind of Christmas.

Christina also sings some songs that aren't on her cds like "Climb Every Mountain," from The Sound of Music, one of Christina's favorite movies. Also included: "Alright Now," and Etta James' "At Last."

The Christmas songs she sings are "Merry Christmas Baby," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," and her song "Christmas Time," which is new on her Christmas cd, My Kind of Christmas.

Not only does Christina sing in english but she sings two of her Spanish songs "Contigo En La Distanica," and "Falsas Espernazas."

Special Guests: Lil Bow Wow, Brian McKnight, and Dr. John

Christina nails all of the songs on this dvd, its absolutely amazing, defenitely worth a watch and better then her previous dvd Genie Gets Her Wish.

Excelent.......2005-08-22

For a real fan of Christina Aguilera is pretty good we enjoy it a lot is awesome and by the way Amazon is perfect store to find anything you need wherever you are!

Proof that Christina is not just a plan to make money!!!!!.......2005-05-16

First I must praise Christina for giving such a adrenaline filled show that left all smiling and cheering.
Christina when she started was labeled a pop princess.Guess what she was for a time,but soon she would evolve to a beautiful,soulful singer who was not afraid to let her voice be heard.This concert shows her transformation.
It starts with a beautiful ballad that was inserted in the disney movie Mullan.This song is a reflection of her voice and if you ask me Reflection was the song that led up to her future project of Stripped.It shocked me when the back up dancers suddenly came out on stage when a feel of Arabic music was played to back up Genie in a Bottle.Christina danced a little and sang high vocals.The costume change was awesome!Next was another chart topper Come On Over Baby.Dancing here and there while singing.I was surprised when I heard that instrumental.Christina really danced in this part since she wasn't singing or vocalizing.Then she started rapping the next part.All in all this just a taste of the first three songs.
This DVD is of high quality.It also contains four music videos.Another reason I love this DVD and think all Christina fans should own it is because the diversity of the styles of music Christina likes and performs.Like does pop dance influenced songs that make you wanna dance.Or those blues influenced ballads that show of Christina's vocals.Or the aggresiveness of Alright Now.
All in all this is a must own for any Christina Aguilera fan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating:100/10
Also recommended Stripped Live In The UK.

my reflection.......2005-01-20

this dvd is one of the best dvds in my collection. it showcases xtinas first concert lives and features some of her biggest hits from her albums my kind of christmas, christina aguilera and my reflecjo. during the concert there is piano playing, good vocals and dancing and geat outfits. it also has a duet with lil bow wow.
Concert track listing

Reflection: Nice slow song with slow vocals a great start to the concert. i rate it 5/5

Genie in a bottle: a remixed version with fanstastic daNCING FROM xtina and her dancers. 5/5

Come on over baby: more dancing plus a remixed version. 5/5

What a girl wants: Remixed version with confetti and more dancing and fantastic outfit change. 5/5

So emtional: the only song xtinsa performs from herself titled album that isnt a video. featuring bow wow and confetti which falls from the sky. 5/5

I Turn to You: slow song. 5/5

At Last: a cover of eda james song but is not on any xtinas albums. 3/5

Contigo En La Distancia: a spanish slow song. 2/5

Climb every mountain: a cover off another artist. 3/5

Falsas Esperanzas: A spanish xtina video clip with catchy tunes and great moves. 5/5

Alright now: Another cover off another artist. 2/5

mERRY CHRISTMAS BABY: featuring dr. john from xtinas xmas album.
2/5

Have yourself a merry little xmas: from her xmas album. strong vocals. 4/5

Christmas time: The last song from the concert. Great outfit and dance featuring lil bow wow fantastic finish. 5/5

the dvd also has 4 of christina aguileras music videos including the spanish versions of Genie in a bottle, come on over and i turn to you and the christmas song. thanx for reading my review and i look forward to reading yours.

Average customer rating:

An Athletic Abused Career

White Palms (Ws Sub)
Starring: Andor Lukats , Gheorghe Dinica , Oana Pellea , Miklos Zoltan Hajdu , and Orion Radies
Director: Szabolcs Hajdu
Manufacturer: Strand Releasing
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B000TXP53K
Release Date: 2007-09-11

Product Description

Having suffered as a boy under a brutal Communist-era coach, champion Hungarian gymnast Miklos moves to Canada years later in search of a new start, only to find himself unwittingly perpetuating the very same cycle of abuse among his own pupils. Redemption appears in the unlikely form of Kyle, a troubled, young Canadian teen with the potential to become a world champion. The friendship and rivalry between teacher and student each played by actual gymnasts (one, Kyle Shewfelt, an Olympic medallist) forms the basis of this gripping, resonant sports drama. Beautifully shot and edited, effortlessly evoking its respective time-periods, and through them, the clash of different cultures and values, WHITE PALMS made its international premiere in Directors Fortnight at Cannes.

Customer Reviews:

An Athletic Abused Career.......2007-09-02

"White Palms"

An Athletic Abused Career

Amos Lassen

Coming soon from Strand Releasing is a beautiful Hungarian film. "White Palms" about a professional gymnast who has a promising career but whose life is taken over by the Hungarian government. Because Dongo had been raised with the utmost care and the prospect of entering the world of athletics, he had nowhere to turn when the government fell. His only alternative was to take a teaching position out of the country, in Canada.
This is a touching movie about an athlete trying to face his talent, his environment and his own faults. This is not a movie about sports, it is about life and we learn that in order for one to face his faults is to go on to the next challenge and try once more. Dongo had been trained from childhood to become an athlete and it is easy to see how his personality was formed. His childhood trainings were cruel, his family situation was not good and he grew up in a socialist environment. We follow him and his challenges through his childhood in Hungary and then as a young adult in Canada where he trains a whole new generation and then tries his own luck again. Once you are caught up in the action you will not be able to relax again until long after the film has ended.
The movie shows in depth the traditions in both the East and the West for the training of athletes. The movie is based upon autobiographical elements involving the brother of director Szabolcs Hajdu and his brother also stars in the film. The film brings us an idea of what a gold medal gymnast must go through when he is trained under a brutal government regime and then later has to adapt to a very different way of life in the free world. As a boy Dongo received little mercy when he was at the hands of his trainer suffering physical abuse for the slightest infraction of a rule. His parents were both authoritarian and distant and they forced their son to perform at every opportunity. One day when he arrived late for practice he decided to run away rather than face chastisement.
During the sequences shot in Canada we are also made aware of the shortcomings of Western culture. Because there was no means of discipline for unruly students, teachers were forced to deal with rudeness and laziness. When Dongo made friends with another young athlete, he got the opportunity to look at the world differently and begins to find himself.
The movie is extremely tense and that tension is skillfully built into the plot of the film. The use of real gymnasts gives the movie a feel of reality and it is in effect part documentary and part drama. Isolation is emphasized by the use of color. The movie is filled with emotion and the contrasts of the eastern world and the western world are dynamic in every aspect.
I found one scene to be extremely moving. When Dongo as a grown instructor strikes a young Canadian athlete he is training, everything seems to fall into place. The reaction of the child's' parents makes a very strong statement.
The effort and detail capturing child abuse and then conveying it to the audience is what makes this film so special and a movie that must be seen.

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