The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.: The Complete Series

• Condition: New
• Format: DVD
• Box set; Closed-captioned; Color; Dolby; DVD; Subtitled; NTSC

Mud Creek, Texas, is about to get all shook up. When mysterious deaths plague the Shady Rest retirement home, it's up to an aging, cantankerous "Elvis" (Bruce Campbell) and a decrepitand black"JFK" (Ossie Davis) to defeat a 3,000-year-old-Egyptian mummy with a penchant for sucking human souls! Can the King show the world that he can still take care of business?Don Coscarelli directs and Bruce Campbell stars as the King of Camp in this intentionally over-the-top schlockfest. Bubba Ho-Tep is partially about Elvis Presley and partially about the title character, an Egyptian cowboy zombie, but mostly it is about camp. The movie is equal parts story and back story. We learn through narration and flashback how Elvis didn't really die, ending up instead in a rest home in East Texas with! JFK (played by Ossie Davis), who was dyed black and had his brain removed, presumably for reasons of national security. Campbell and Davis realize that something strange is going on when their rest-home compatriots start dropping off suspiciously. The whole movie leads up to a final showdown to the death with the Egyptian cowboy zombie who has been sucking the souls of their fellow residents because he thought no one would notice. The movie unfolds a bit slowly; it is, after all, a geriatrics-fight-Egyptian-cowboy-zombie movie. However, one wishes this self-conscious movie's pacing took its cue from the atypically fast-moving zombie instead of from the senior-citizen Elvis and JFK. In the end, though, Campbell is flawless as the aged King; his accent, intonations, glasses, and trademark karate are at the same time sincere and over the top. --Brian SaltzmanMud Creek, Texas, is about to get all shook up. When mysterious deaths plague the Shady Rest retirement ho! me, it's up to an aging, cantankerous "Elvis" (Bruce Campbell)! and a d ecrepitand black"JFK" (Ossie Davis) to defeat a 3,000-year-old-Egyptian mummy with a penchant for sucking human souls! Can the King show the world that he can still take care of business? Don Coscarelli directs and Bruce Campbell stars as the King of Camp in this intentionally over-the-top schlockfest. Bubba Ho-Tep is partially about Elvis Presley and partially about the title character, an Egyptian cowboy zombie, but mostly it is about camp. The movie is equal parts story and back story. We learn through narration and flashback how Elvis didn't really die, ending up instead in a rest home in East Texas with JFK (played by Ossie Davis), who was dyed black and had his brain removed, presumably for reasons of national security. Campbell and Davis realize that something strange is going on when their rest-home compatriots start dropping off suspiciously. The whole movie leads up to a final showdown to the death with the Egyptian cowboy zombie who has been sucking the sou! ls of their fellow residents because he thought no one would notice. The movie unfolds a bit slowly; it is, after all, a geriatrics-fight-Egyptian-cowboy-zombie movie. However, one wishes this self-conscious movie's pacing took its cue from the atypically fast-moving zombie instead of from the senior-citizen Elvis and JFK. In the end, though, Campbell is flawless as the aged King; his accent, intonations, glasses, and trademark karate are at the same time sincere and over the top. --Brian SaltzmanDon Coscarelli directs and Bruce Campbell stars as the King of Camp in this intentionally over-the-top schlockfest. Bubba Ho-Tep is partially about Elvis Presley and partially about the title character, an Egyptian cowboy zombie, but mostly it is about camp. The movie is equal parts story and back story. We learn through narration and flashback how Elvis didn't really die, ending up instead in a rest home in East Texas with JFK (played by Ossie Davis), who was dyed! black and had his brain removed, presumably for reasons of na! tional s ecurity. Campbell and Davis realize that something strange is going on when their rest-home compatriots start dropping off suspiciously. The whole movie leads up to a final showdown to the death with the Egyptian cowboy zombie who has been sucking the souls of their fellow residents because he thought no one would notice. The movie unfolds a bit slowly; it is, after all, a geriatrics-fight-Egyptian-cowboy-zombie movie. However, one wishes this self-conscious movie's pacing took its cue from the atypically fast-moving zombie instead of from the senior-citizen Elvis and JFK. In the end, though, Campbell is flawless as the aged King; his accent, intonations, glasses, and trademark karate are at the same time sincere and over the top. --Brian SaltzmanSomething evil is stirring in the small mining town of Gold Lick, and it's not happy. Guan-di, the Chinese protector of the dead with a strange affinity for bean curd, has been awakened by reckless teenagers, and now hi! s bloody crusade to wipe out the town's entire population can only be stopped by one man - Bruce Campbell (the guy who starred in all three Evil Dead movies and Bubba Ho-tep), B-move star and deadbeat ex-husband extraordinaire, who's recruited to be their unwitting savior. Thinking the whole scenario's a publicity prank, Bruce is distracted from his mission by a hot mom and fan boys aplenty-- but when our hero has to face off against a dark force more fearsome than a Hollywood agent, the laughs and screams start flying!

Includes Collectible 24-page MY NAME IS BRUCE comic book inside

Special Features:
-Feature-length commentary with director/actor Bruce Campbell and producer Mike Richardson
-Documentary: Heart of Dorkness The Making of My Name is Bruce
-Featurettes: Bruce On..., Beyond Inside the Cave: The Making of CaveAlien 2, Kif s Korner, Awkward Moments with Kif, Love Birds, Hard Truth News from Hollywood The Real Bruce Campbell
-CaveAlien 2 ! Trailer, My Name is Bruce Trailer
-Poster Art Gallery, Prop! s Art Ga llery, Photo GalleryCult film and TV star Bruce Campbell (Burn Notice) lampoons his own B-movie legacy with My Name is Bruce, an agreeably goofy horror-comedy which pits him--well, a version of him, anyway--against a malevolent Asian spirit in order to save a die-hard fan. Campbell also directed Bruce, and brings a loose, kitchen-sink vibe to the proceedings, which has teenager and die-hard Bruce Campbell fan Jeff (Taylor Sharp) kidnap his idol in order to save his small town from an ancient Chinese demon. Unfortunately, the movie Bruce Campbell is a broken-down, booze-swilling reprobate who lacks even an ounce of the insouciant charm of his screen persona in Evil Dead 2 or the Hercules series, and proves woefully inadequate in dispelling the monster. But as films ranging from Cat Ballou and My Favorite Year to Galaxy Quest and Three Amigos! have proven, the unwavering belief of a fan can bring out the h! ero in even the worst heel, and Bruce rises to the occasion in the picture's final third. Obviously, Bruce is slated towards fans of Campbell's eccentric screen c.v., and aficionados will undoubtedly appreciate the endless slew of nods to his previous films, as well as cameos by many of his co-stars, including Ted Raimi in multiple roles (one of which is a Chinese gentleman that gives Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany's a run for his money in the stereotype department). Campbell himself remains the movie's chief selling point; his knack for physical humor (read: self-abuse) and pulpy line readings have lost none of their charm, which does much to override some of the flick's flotilla of stale gags. Campbell's sense of humor is also given free reign on the commentary track, which he shares with producer Mike Richardson; the DVD, which comes with a 24-page comic book adaptation from Dark Horse, also includes an amusing making-of featurette, as well as a ! spoofy tell-all mockumentary on the "real" Bruce Campbell, and! a trail er for the atrocious film-within-a-film, Cavealien 2. -- Paul Gaita

Stills from My Name is Bruce (Click for larger image) Based on the Bram Stoker Award nominee short story by cult author Joe R. Lansdale, Bubba Ho-tep tells the "true" story of what really did become of Elvis Presley. We find Elvis (Bruce Campbell) as an elderly resident in an East Texas rest home, who switched identities with an Elvis impersonator years before his "death", then missed his chance to switch back. Elvis teams ! up with Jack (Ossie Davis), a fellow nursing home resident who thinks that he is actually President John F. Kennedy, and the two valiant old codgers sally forth to battle an evil Egyptian entity who has chosen their long-term care facility as his happy hunting grounds.The world's favorite western/sci-fi/comedy/action cult hit rides again! Here on 8 discs is the complete series about Brisco (Bruce Campbell), a tough-as-rawhide cowpoke, debonair ladies' man and Harvard-educated smarty-britches who roams from Frisco to Jalisco in pursuit of outlaws who killed his father...and in search of a mysterious orb possessing out-of-this world powers. Hot lead and cool anachronisms await Brisco as he and his sidekicks - including Comet, the intellectual equine who doesn't know he's a horse - fight for justice in the way, way, way-out West. Put your boots in your stirrups, your tongue in your cheek and join the fun. Let's play cowboys and aliens.

DVD Features:
Audio Comme! ntary
Documentary
Featurette
Oth! erDocumentaries:The History of Brisco County: A behind-the-scenes documentary with cast and creator.
Featurette:1.) "Tools of the Trade" - mini featurettes on special aspects of the show narrated by Bruce Campbell. 2.) "A Brisco County Writer's Room" - Roundtable discussion with the writers & producers fo Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
Other:1.) "A Reading From The Book of Bruce" 2.) "Brisco's Book of Coming Things" - interactive menu launching mini-featurettes about the signature references to futuristic elements of the show, narrated by Bruce Campbell.

A science fiction-Western and comedy-drama with echoes of The Wild Wild West and Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.: The Complete Series is uniquely entertaining. Anchored by the comically heroic style of likable B-movie actor Bruce Campbell, Adventures lasted one television season in 1993-94. But it left behind a full 27 episodes (inc! luding two two-part stories) full of classic TV Western production values and a running storyline that resembles The X-Files after awhile.

Campbell plays Brisco County Jr., a bounty hunter and son of a legendary U.S. marshal (R. Lee Ermey) gunned down by the villainous John Bly (Billy Drago) and his band of misfits. The younger Brisco is hired by a consortium of businessmen to protect their interests from the likes of Bly, and while he's dedicated to that cause, Brisco is also determined to avenge his father's murder. Helping him do a little of both is a fussy attorney, Socrates Poole (Christian Clemenson); a rival bounty hunter, Lord Bowler (Julius Carry); a wacky inventor, Professor Wickwire (John Astin); and a sultry saloon singer, Dixie (Kelly Rutherford). Rockets, mysterious orbs, and superhuman strength are some of the delightfully out-of-their-element phenomena that find themselves alongside more conventional cowpoke ingredients, including a horse so smar! t he can chew the ropes binding Brisco's hands. For the most p! art, the stories stand alone. But as the season progresses, a lot of things get weirder, albeit in a good way: the truth about Bly and his connection to a golden orb everyone wants, for example, are certainly unexpected. But the show is always dazzling, often satiric ("Oy!" Dixie exclaims when Brisco outlines the steps involved in stopping a runaway wagon they're trapped within), yet heartening in an old-fashioned way. Special features include Campbell's reading of a chapter about the series in his autobiography. --Tom Keogh

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Full Metal Jacket

• The story of an 18-year-old marine recruit named Private Joker - from his carnage-and-machismo boot camp to his climactic involvement in the heavy fighting in Hue during the 1968 Tet Offensive. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R Age: 085391163114 UPC: 085391163114 Manufacturer No: 116311

The story of an 18-year-old marine recruit named Private Joker - from his carnage-and-machismo boot camp to his climactic involvement in the heavy fighting in Hue during the 1968 Tet Offensive.Stanley Kubrick's 1987, penultimate film seemed to a lot of people to be contrived and out of touch with the '80s vogue for such intensely realistic portrayals of the Vietnam War as Platoon and The Deer Hunter. Certainly, Kubrick gave audiences plenty of reason to wonder why he made the film at all: essentially a two-part drama that begins on a Parris Island boot camp for rookie Marines a! nd abruptly switches to Vietnam (actually shot on sound stages and locations near London), Full Metal Jacket comes across as a series of self-contained chapters in a story whose logical and thematic development is oblique at best. Then again, much the same was said about Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, a masterwork both enthralled with and satiric about the future's role in the unfinished business of human evolution. In a way, Full Metal Jacket is the wholly grim counterpart of 2001. While the latter is a truly 1960s film, both wide-eyed and wary, about the intertwining of progress and isolation (ending in our redemption, finally, by death), Full Metal Jacket is a cynical, Reagan-era view of the 1960s' hunger for experience and consciousness that fulfilled itself in violence. Lee Ermey made film history as the Marine drill instructor whose ritualized debasement of men in the name of tribal uniformity creates its darkest angel in a murdero! us half-wit (Vincent D'Onofrio). Matthew Modine gives a smart ! and savv y performance as Private Joker, the clowning, military journalist who yearns to get away from the propaganda machine and know firsthand the horrific revelation of the front line. In Full Metal Jacket, depravity and fulfillment go hand in hand, and it's no wonder Kubrick kept his steely distance from the material to make the point. --Tom Keogh

The Window Facing Winter

• ISBN13: 9781930974371
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

A young working-class wife and mother unlocks a freedom within her heart that she never expected. Don't miss this critically-acclaimed, award-winning romance.The beautiful and wonderfully named Giovanna Mezzogiorno joins the list of soulful Italian actresses with Facing Windows, a pleasant cinematic fancy. Her character is a married Mom in an ordinary apartment, whose life is affected by two things: her fascination with the handsome man who lives across the courtyard, and the sudden arrival in her home of an elderly amnesiac (played by the late Massimo Girotti)--a well-dressed man found walking on the street, dazed and lost. Turkish-born director Ferzan Ozpetek (Steam: The Turkish Bath)! makes this simultaneously a slice of life and a vaguely fantastical situation. It probably all works out a little too neatly, but the unhurried pace and deep sympathy Ozpetek displays toward his main characters is refreshing. And when in doubt, he points the camera at the face of La Mezzogiorno, which solves all problems. --Robert HortonImport exclusive soundtrack to multi-national romantic drama, originally issued in 2003 & just released on DVD in the U.S., features the score by Gianfilippo Corticelli & one track, 'Gocce Di Memoria', performed by Giorgia. 17 tracks.Poetry. "In THE WINDOW FACING WINTER, the urgency of the beautiful andsometimes murderous urban landscape, set alongside the seductive, intricateoasis of the Japanese garden, renders possible a vision into 'sliver ofthe absolute.' With unflinching accuracy, LaFemina delivers a sacred, ifmomentary, world, laying bare its essential loneliness, its obstinatebeauty" --Robin Behn.

For Roseanna : Widescreen Edition

• Widescreen

This film centers on Marcello, a trattoria proprietor in an Italian village who will stop at nothing to make sure his beloved but ailing wife, Roseanna, realizes her dream of being buried at the local cemetary.Congratulations to director Paul Weiland for taking a stupid premise and creating a truly romantic look at marriage. Mercedes Ruehl is dying of a weak heart, and her husband, Jean Reno, hopes to keep his promise to bury her in their tiny Italian village, despite a lack of room in the cemetery. While he is trying to keep his friends and neighbors out of the local bone yard, she is quietly seeking candidates for his next wife. Many movies treat marriage as a death sentence. For Roseanna looks past daily bickering to the enduring love and warm companionship of well-matched lovers. Clearly defined characters, a disarming dénouement, and passionate performances transform t! he silly plot into a playful valentine. --Rochelle O'GormanCongratulations to director Paul Weiland for taking a stupid premise and creating a truly romantic look at marriage. Mercedes Ruehl is dying of a weak heart, and her husband, Jean Reno, hopes to keep his promise to bury her in their tiny Italian village, despite a lack of room in the cemetery. While he is trying to keep his friends and neighbors out of the local bone yard, she is quietly seeking candidates for his next wife. Many movies treat marriage as a death sentence. For Roseanna looks past daily bickering to the enduring love and warm companionship of well-matched lovers. Clearly defined characters, a disarming dénouement, and passionate performances transform the silly plot into a playful valentine. --Rochelle O'GormanBeautiful is a dangerous thing to be when one is unprotected.

For seven years, Abigail has been a slave in the Visibullis house. With a Hebrew mistress and a Rom! an master, she has always been more family than servant . . . ! until th eir son returns to Jerusalem after his years in Rome. Within a few months Jason has taken her to his bed and turned her world upsidedown. Maybe, given time, she can come to love him as he says he loves her. But how does she open her heart to the man who ruined her?

Israel's unrest finds a home in her bosom, but their rebellion tears apart her world. Death descends with Barabbas's sword, and Abigail is determined to be there when the criminal is punished. But when she ventures to the trial, Barabbas is not the one the crowd calls to crucify. Instead, it is the teacher her master and Jason had begun to follow, the man from Nazareth that some call the Son of God . . .

Born free, made a slave, married out of her bonds, Abigail never knows freedom until she feels the fire of a stray drop of blood from a Jewish carpenter. Disowned by Israel, despised by Rome, desired by all, she never knows love until she receives the smile of a stoic Roman noble.Beautiful is! a dangerous thing to be when one is unprotected.

For seven years, Abigail has been a slave in the Visibullis house. With a Hebrew mistress and a Roman master, she has always been more family than servant . . . until their son returns to Jerusalem after his years in Rome. Within a few months Jason has taken her to his bed and turned her world upsidedown. Maybe, given time, she can come to love him as he says he loves her. But how does she open her heart to the man who ruined her?

Israel's unrest finds a home in her bosom, but their rebellion tears apart her world. Death descends with Barabbas's sword, and Abigail is determined to be there when the criminal is punished. But when she ventures to the trial, Barabbas is not the one the crowd calls to crucify. Instead, it is the teacher her master and Jason had begun to follow, the man from Nazareth that some call the Son of God . . .

Born free, made a slave, married out of her bonds, Abigail never knows fre! edom until she feels the fire of a stray drop of blood from a ! Jewish c arpenter. Disowned by Israel, despised by Rome, desired by all, she never knows love until she receives the smile of a stoic Roman noble.How can she love the king of kings without forsaking her Lord of lords?

Kasia grew up in a poor Jewish home with more siblings than luxuries. But when a chance encounter forces her to the palace of Xerxes, she becomes a concubine to the richest man in the world. She alone, of all Xerxes' wives, loves the man beneath the crown. She alone, of all his wives, holds the heart of the king of kings.

Traveling with Xerxes through Europe as he mounts a war against Greece, Kasia knows enemies surround her, but they're not the Spartans or Athenians. The threat lies with those close to the king who hate her people. She determines to put her trust in Jehovahâ€"even if it costs her her marriage.

Years of prayers are answered when Kasia's childhood friend arrives at the palace after the war, but even as she determines to s! ee Esther crowned in place of the bloodthirsty former queen, she knows the true battle is far from over. How far will her enemies go to see her undone?

Combining the biblical account of Esther with Herodotus's Histories, Jewel of Persia is the story of a love that nearly destroys an empire . . . and the friendship that saves a nation.How can she love the king of kings without forsaking her Lord of lords?

Kasia grew up in a poor Jewish home with more siblings than luxuries. But when a chance encounter forces her to the palace of Xerxes, she becomes a concubine to the richest man in the world. She alone, of all Xerxes' wives, loves the man beneath the crown. She alone, of all his wives, holds the heart of the king of kings.

Traveling with Xerxes through Europe as he mounts a war against Greece, Kasia knows enemies surround her, but they're not the Spartans or Athenians. The threat lies with those close to the king who hate her people. She dete! rmines to put her trust in Jehovahâ€"even if it costs her her ! marriage .

Years of prayers are answered when Kasia's childhood friend arrives at the palace after the war, but even as she determines to see Esther crowned in place of the bloodthirsty former queen, she knows the true battle is far from over. How far will her enemies go to see her undone?

Combining the biblical account of Esther with Herodotus's Histories, Jewel of Persia is the story of a love that nearly destroys an empire . . . and the friendship that saves a nation.Congratulations to director Paul Weiland for taking a stupid premise and creating a truly romantic look at marriage. Mercedes Ruehl is dying of a weak heart, and her husband, Jean Reno, hopes to keep his promise to bury her in their tiny Italian village, despite a lack of room in the cemetery. While he is trying to keep his friends and neighbors out of the local bone yard, she is quietly seeking candidates for his next wife. Many movies treat marriage as a death sentence. For Roseanna looks past ! daily bickering to the enduring love and warm companionship of well-matched lovers. Clearly defined characters, a disarming dénouement, and passionate performances transform the silly plot into a playful valentine.

CliffsNotes on Wharton's The House of Mirth (Cliffsnotes Literature Guides)

• ISBN13: 9780764537165
• Condition: New
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ENDURING LITERATURE ILLUMINATED BY PRACTICAL SCHOLARSHIP

An incisive portrait of New York high society and the somber economics of marriage during the late nineteenth century, Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth tells the story of beguiling socialite Lily Bart’s ill-fated attempt to find happiness.

THIS ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES:

• A concise introduction that gives the reader important background information

• A chronology of the author’s life and work

• A timeline of significant events that provides the book’s historical context

• An outline of key themes and plot points to guide the reader’s own interpretations

• Detailed explanatory notes

•! Critical analysis and modern perspectives on the work

• Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction

• A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader’s experience

Simon & Schuster Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world’s finest books to their full potential."The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth," warns Ecclesiastes 7:4, and so does the novel by Edith Wharton that takes its title from this call to heed. New York at the turn of the century was a time of opulence and frivolity for those who could afford it. But for those who couldn't and yet wanted desperately to keep up with the whirlwind, like Wharton's charming Lily Bart, it was s! omething else altogether: a gilded cage rather than the Gild! ed Age.

One of Wharton's earliest descriptions of her heroine, in the library of her bachelor friend and sometime suitor Lawrence Selden, indicates that she appears "as though she were a captured dryad subdued to the conventions of the drawing room." Indeed, herein lies Lily's problem. She has, we're told, "been brought up to be ornamental," and yet her spirit is larger than what this ancillary role requires. By today's standards she would be nothing more than a mild rebel, but in the era into which Wharton drops her unmercifully, this tiny spark of character, combined with numerous assaults by vicious society women and bad luck, ultimately renders Lily persona non grata. Her own ambivalence about her position serves to open the door to disaster: several times she is on the verge of "good" marriage and squanders it at the last moment, unwilling to play by the rules of a society that produces, as she calls them, "poor, miserable, marriageable girls.

! Lily's rather violent tumble down the social ladder provides a thumbnail sketch of the general injustices of the upper classes (which, incidentally, Wharton never quite manages to condemn entirely, clearly believing that such life is cruel but without alternative). From her start as a beautiful woman at the height of her powers to her sad finale as a recently fired milliner's assistant addicted to sleeping drugs, Lily Bart is heroic, not least for her final admission of her own role in her downfall. "Once--twice--you gave me the chance to escape from my life and I refused it: refused it because I was a coward," she tells Selden as the book draws to a close. All manner of hideous socialite beasts--some of whose treatment by Wharton, such as the token social-climbing Jew, Simon Rosedale, date the book unfortunately--wander through the novel while Lily plummets. As her tale winds down to nothing more than the remnants of social grace and cold hard ca! sh, it's hard not to agree with Lily's own assessment of hers! elf: "I have tried hard--but life is difficult, and I am a very useless person. I can hardly be said to have an independent existence. I was just a screw or a cog in the great machine I called life, and when I dropped out of it I found I was of no use anywhere else." Nevertheless, it's even harder not to believe that she deserved better, which is why The House of Mirth remains so timely and so vital in spite of its crushing end and its unflattering portrait of what life offers up. --Melanie Rehak

The tragic fall of one of the most heartbreaking characters in American literature, a beautiful socialite who loses her footing in the savage social-climbing world of 19th century New York high society

 

Lily Bart has no fortune, but she possesses everything else she needs to make an excellent marriage: beauty, intelligence, a love of luxury, and an elegant skill in negotiating the hidden traps and false friends! of New York's high society. But time and again Lily cannot bring herself to make the final decisive move: to abandon her sense of self and a chance of love for the final soulless leap into a mercenary union. Her time is running out, and degradation awaits. Edith Wharton's masterful novel is a tragedy of money, morality, and missed opportunity.

Since its publication in 1905 The House of Mirth has commanded attention for the sharpness of Wharton's observations and the power of her style. A lucid, disturbing analysis of the stifling limitations imposed upon women of her generation, Wharton's tale of Lily Bart's search for a husband of position in New York Society, and betrayal of her own heart, transformed the traditional novel of manners into an arrestingly modern document of cultural anthropology. With incisive contemporary analysis, the introduction by a leading scholar of American literature updates this increasingly important work.This collect! ion was designed for optimal navigation on Kindle and other el! ectronic devices. It is indexed alphabetically, chronologically and by category, making it easier to access individual books, stories and poems. This collection offers lower price, the convenience of a one-time download, and it reduces the clutter in your digital library. All books included in this collection feature a hyperlinked table of contents and footnotes. The collection is complimented by an author biography. Table of Contents List of Works by Genre and TitleList of Works in Alphabetical OrderList of Works in Chronological OrderEdith Wharton Biography Novels:The Age of InnocenceThe Bunner SistersThe Custom of the CountryEthan FromeThe Fruit of the TreeThe Glimpses of the MoonThe House of MirthThe ReefSanctuarySummerThe TouchstoneThe Valley of Decision Non-Fiction:Fighting FranceIn Morocco Short Stories Collections:Crucial InstancesThe Descent of Man and Other StoriesThe Greater InclinationThe Hermit and the Wild WomanTales of Men and Ghosts Short Stories:AfterwardThe Angel a! t the GraveAutres TempsThe Best ManThe Blond BeastThe Bolted DoorThe ChoiceComing HomeThe Confessional"Copy" A DialogueA CowardA Cup of Cold WaterThe Daunt DianaThe DebtThe Descent of ManThe DilettanteThe Duchess at PrayerThe EyesExpiationFull CircleThe Fulness of LifeThe Hermit and the Wild WomanHis Father's SonThe House of The Dead HandIn TrustA JourneyKerfolThe Lady's Maid's BellThe Last AssetThe LegendThe LetterThe LettersThe Long RunMadame de TreymesThe Mission of JaneThe Moving FingerMrs. Manstey's ViewThe Muse's TragedyThe Other TwoThe PelicanThe PortraitThe Pot-BoilerThe PretextThe QuicksandThe ReckoningThe RecoveryThe RembrandtSouls BelatedThe Triumph of NightThe Twilight of the GodA Venetian Night's EntertainmentThe VerdictXingu Poetry:Artemis to Actaeon, and Other VersesBotticelli's Madonna in the LouvreThe SonnetThis collection was designed for optimal navigation on Kindle and other electronic devices. It is indexed alphabetically, chronologically and by categor! y, making it easier to access individual books, stories and po! ems. Thi s collection offers lower price, the convenience of a one-time download, and it reduces the clutter in your digital library. All books included in this collection feature a hyperlinked table of contents and footnotes. The collection is complimented by an author biography. Table of Contents List of Works by Genre and TitleList of Works in Alphabetical OrderList of Works in Chronological OrderEdith Wharton Biography Novels:The Age of InnocenceThe Bunner SistersThe Custom of the CountryEthan FromeThe Fruit of the TreeThe Glimpses of the MoonThe House of MirthThe ReefSanctuarySummerThe TouchstoneThe Valley of Decision Non-Fiction:Fighting FranceIn Morocco Short Stories Collections:Crucial InstancesThe Descent of Man and Other StoriesThe Greater InclinationThe Hermit and the Wild WomanTales of Men and Ghosts Short Stories:AfterwardThe Angel at the GraveAutres TempsThe Best ManThe Blond BeastThe Bolted DoorThe ChoiceComing HomeThe Confessional"Copy" A DialogueA CowardA Cup of Cold! WaterThe Daunt DianaThe DebtThe Descent of ManThe DilettanteThe Duchess at PrayerThe EyesExpiationFull CircleThe Fulness of LifeThe Hermit and the Wild WomanHis Father's SonThe House of The Dead HandIn TrustA JourneyKerfolThe Lady's Maid's BellThe Last AssetThe LegendThe LetterThe LettersThe Long RunMadame de TreymesThe Mission of JaneThe Moving FingerMrs. Manstey's ViewThe Muse's TragedyThe Other TwoThe PelicanThe PortraitThe Pot-BoilerThe PretextThe QuicksandThe ReckoningThe RecoveryThe RembrandtSouls BelatedThe Triumph of NightThe Twilight of the GodA Venetian Night's EntertainmentThe VerdictXingu Poetry:Artemis to Actaeon, and Other VersesBotticelli's Madonna in the LouvreThe SonnetThe original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background. The latest generation of titles in this series also feature glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format.

CliffsN! otes on The House of Mirth takes you into the waning years! of the Gilded Age and the moral bankruptcy of New York City's elite class. Edith Wharton's story of a woman â€" whose beauty causes men to desire to possess her and women to be jealous of her â€" reflects the complicated struggle of the individual against the social strictures of a powerful, and triumphant, moneyed class.

This concise supplement to the satirically critical The House of Mirth, helps you understand the overall structure of the novel, actions and motivations of the characters, and the social and cultural perspectives of the author. Features that help you study include

• Chapter-by-chapter summaries and commentaries
• A character map that outline key characteristics and relationships
• Insightful character analyses
• A critical essay about the opulence and emptiness of the Gilded Age
• A review section that tests your knowledge

Classic literature or modern modern-day treasure â€" you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from! CliffsNotes study guides.

Invictus

• Format: DVD
• Rating: PG-13
• Release Date: 5/18/10
• Run Time: 133 min
• Director: Clint Eastwood

A troubled young rugby player is given the choice between jail or playing for a rival team coached by a man known for building not only championship teams, but championship boys. Based on a true story, Forever Strong offers stand up and cheer sports drama combined with the consequences of a strong ethical code to achieve victory on and off the field'Try' is the inspirational journey of three American rugby players pursuing their dream of representing their country in the world's third most popular sporting event- the Rugby World Cup.

Their story of sacrifice will inspire the most hardened of cynics as you travel with them through many ups and downs as each player strives to become a `USA Eagle', a group of men who play the world's toughest brand of football trul! y for the pure love and respect of the game.

And despite representing the world's richest country while playing one of the globe's most popular sports, most will not earn a cent while competing against fully professional sides.

Dan Payne, a former amateur wrestler who came within seconds of realizing his Olympic dream, has one final chance to complete a pact he made with his brother to make the USA Rugby team and represent his country at the highest levels of sport.

Latu Paloka is an Iraq war veteran, whose best friend died in his arms after being ambushed while on patrol. His goal is to make the national squad in honor of his fallen friend and to give the military a much needed morale boost.

Jarvis Albury, a brilliant athlete and vivacious personality who always looks to the future despite his tough past, has turned down lucrative opportunities with other professional sports for the chance to compete on the sport's biggest internation! al stage.

But just as it appears likely they will fin! ally ach ieve their dream, fate deals a cruel hand and one will have to make the most difficult decision of his life.

`Try' reminds us all what true sport and sportsmanship were meant to be.

This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

Features include:

•MPAA Rating: PG-13
•Format: DVD
•Runtime: 113 minutes
If you get caught up in the sweaty fight scenes in Never Back Down--and, despite the formulaic plot, you very likely will--it will be due to the sheer kinetic pleasure of muscular bodies in motion. Jake (Tom Cruise look-alike Sean Faris, Yours, Mine, and Ours), full of anger after his father's death, starts to find a place for himself at his new Florida high school--until Ryan, the head of an underground mixed-martial arts (Cam Gigandet, The O.C.), picks Jake out as a prime opponent. After being trounced by Ryan in front of ever! yone in school, Jake begins training under the firm, moral guidance of a martial arts master with a hidden past (Djimon Hounsou, a long way from Blood Diamond, but still bringing his essential gravitas to the screen). Basically, Never Back Down boils down to a cross between The Karate Kid and Fight Club, minus the sociopolitical commentary. The story and characters are a bundle of featherweight cliches, but that won't stop the aggressively edited fight sequences from stoking a viewer's adrenaline. Also starring Amber Heard (All the Boys Love Mandy Lane) as the very blonde love interest, who (along with an abundance of girls in bikinis--'cause, y'know, it's Florida) is there to assure everyone that these handsome, chiseled boys are strictly heterosexual. --Bret FetzerAustralia released, PAL/Region 4 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ! ( Dolby DTS 5.1 ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEA! TURES: A namorphic Widescreen, Behind the scenes, Interactive Menu, Making Of, Photo Gallery, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Devised by committee, plotted by machine and acted on cruise control, "Forever Strong" stages an all-too-familiar teenage morality play on the churned earth of a high school rugby field in Salt Lake City. For Rick Penning (Sean Faris), that field is his arena to vent against a spineless mother (Julie Warner) and an angry coach and father (Neal McDonough). A belligerent player and all-round pill, Rick is in dire need of an attitude intervention. So when the time-honored convergence of beer, convertible and hot chick lands him in juvie, he is on the road to learning more than just how to clean a toilet and smuggle Vicodin. An After School Special that somehow sneaked into the multiplex, "Forever Strong" operates at the subbasement level of sports as therapy, smashing bodies and jerking tears at rigidly timed intervals. As Rick, under the moral tutelage of Coach Larry Ge! lwix (Gary Cole) and his former rivals, learns to replace drinking, drugs and women with prayer circles, community service and Maori chants, the virility of the scrum becomes a spiritual rite of passage. ...Forever StrongIn six years of coaching, Grant Taylor has never led his Shiloh Eagles to a winning season. After learning that he and his wife Brooke face infertility, Grant discovers that a group of fathers are secretly organizing to have him dismissed as head coach. Devastated by his circumstances, he cries out to God in desperation. When Grant receives a message from an unexpected visitor, he searches for a stronger purpose for his football team. He dares to challenge his players to believe God for the impossible on and off the field. When faced with unbelievable odds, the Eagles must step up to their greatest test of strength and courage.What does Nelson Mandela do after becoming president of South Africa? He rejects revenge, forgives oppressors who jailed him 27 year! s for his fight against apartheid and finds hope of national u! nity in an unlikely place: the rugby field. Clint Eastwood (named 2009's Best Director by the National Board of Review) directs an uplifting film about a team and a people inspired to greatness. Morgan Freeman (NBR's Best Actor Award winner and Oscar nominee for this role) is Mandela, who asks the national rugby team captain (Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominee Matt Damon) and his squad to do the impossible and win the World Cup. Prepare to be moved--and thrilled.After South Africa elected Nelson Mandela president, the racially divided country could've easily erupted into civil war. In Clint Eastwood's determinedly populist, yet heartfelt look back at that time, the director examines one of the more ingenious steps Mandela (Morgan Freeman in a performance of sly charm) took to prevent that from happening. Knowing that his country was set to host the Rugby World Cup in 1995, Mandela believed the national team could provide an example of reconciliation in action. Led by François Pien! aar (an unbelievably buff Matt Damon), the mostly white Springboks inspired devotion among Afrikaners and disgust among native Africans. Instead of changing their name or colors, Mandela encouraged them to win for the sake of their homeland. During the year leading up to the event, the team learns to work together as never before, just as Mandela's newly integrated security detail, a combination of cops and activists, finds a way to bridge their ideological differences. By the time of the big day, the poorly ranked Springboks are well equipped to hold their own against New Zealand's All Blacks (so named for their uniforms, not their racial composition). Drawing from John Carlin's Playing the Enemy, Anthony Peckham's script takes its title, Latin for "unconquerable," from a British poem Mandela held close to his heart during the 27 years he spent in prison. If Damon's accent is more convincing, Freeman serves as the film's heart--and as a timely reminder that reconcil! iation is never easy, but that it will always trump revenge. --Kath leen C. Fennessy