cyber monday alert -- all bbc video titles on sale at amazon!

It's the mother lode of costume drama, Doctor Who, mysteries and all sorts of BBC wonderfulness over at Amazon! All BBC DVDs and BluRay are on sale.

I am liking Cyber Monday...much better than that Black Friday nonsense.

the play's the thing!

I've been on a Hamlet kick this week. Found this. Funny stuff.

Now, check out a real version:

2009 Royal Shakespeare Company's very cool and engaging version with David Tennant as a quite bi-polar Hamlet and Patrick Stewart as a cold, cold Claudius. This was the same cast that performed the play at Stratford at the RSC; there is a few "company" feel to the production, even though it was filmed on location, not on stage. Really, really cool camera work. Not too modern to be weird, though. No liberties with the story, either. Stewart won an Olivier Award for his performance.

1996 lush and epic version with a brooding Kenneth Branaugh and regal Derek Jacobi; Kate Winslet is a beautiful and heartbroken Ophelia.

1990 version with Mel Gibson before he went off the deep end; Glenn Close, Alan Bates and Helena Bonham Carter

1948 with Laurence Olivier. Gold standard and classic, but honestly (please no tomatoes), the Branaugh and Tennant versions are so much more engaging, not because of the color but because of the emotional whiplash portrayed by the actors. Olivier is just so controlled.

Do yourself a favor and skip the Ethan Hawke version -- Denmark Corporation? Really???

HALLELUJAH!

Turn up the speakers....THIS IS AMAZING!!!!!!

Read about this Random Act of Culture, here.

gulliver's travels movie

Not quite accurate to the classic novel, but sure looks GREAT! Thanks to Ms. Enchanted Serenity of Period Films for posting this.