Bah Humbug

One of the most recognizable and re-adapted stories is A Christmas Carol, the 1843 classic by Charles Dickens.  This time of  year at the library, one of our patrons asking for A Christmas Carol might be overwhelmed by the response they get.  There have been hundreds of adaptations and variations over the years.   Are you looking for a book?  a movie?  a TV show?  a stage production? animated? comedy? drama? There are so many ways to enjoy this Dickens classic, let’s run through a few that you can request from the library.

In Print

Let’s start with the basics.  Many different printings and adaptations have published Dickens’ original text. These include picture books and abridged versions for younger audiences.  But if you really want to go back to the original source and get a sense of Dickens mind in 1843 you should check-out A Christmas Carol: The Original Manuscript Edition.  This printing includes detailed emendations, deletions, and insertions in Dickens’s own hand.

On Stage

A Christmas Carol went to the stage almost immediately after being published.  In 1844 Edward Stirling staged A Christmas Carol; or, Past, Present, and Future, running 40 nights in London.  That year eight different theater companies in London staged their own version of the Dickens classic.

Composer Alan Menken wrote the songs for the musical A Christmas Carol, which was performed at Madison Square Garden from 1994-2003 during the holiday season.  It was later staged at the Lyceum Theater in London.  You can check-out a song book with the music and lyrics from the live performance Madison Square Garden Presents A Christmas Carol. The musical was also adapted into a 2005 Made for TV movie in NBC which starred Kelsey Grammer as Scrooge.  Check out the DVD today!

 

 

In Film

The very first live action movie version of A Christmas Carol was a 1901 silent, black and white film called Scrooge, or, Marley’s Ghost. Patrick Stewart did his best Scrooge in 1999.  George C Scott did his best bah hum bug in 1984.   But the “classic” 1951 version of A Christmas Carol starring Alastair Sim seems the be the most well revered and revisited live action adaptation.  But everyone has their favorite!

 

Animation

If you grew up in the 60s you might remember a Christmas 1962 special on NBC called Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol. Even if you didn’t grow up in the 60s you can still check out the DVD version from the library. Tim Curry and Whoopi Goldberg led an all-star voice cast of the 1997 production by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment – reviews were mixed.  In 2009 a Disney digitally animated version of A Christmas Carol with a powerhouse performance by Jim Carrey hit the theaters. But my personal favorite in the animation category has to be Mickey’s Christmas Carol from 1983.

 

 

 

 

Voice

Over the years this Christmas classic has been performed by some pretty well known voice performers for radio and audiobook.  This radio play can be found at your local library: A Christmas Carol by Shane Salk. CBS Radio Network aired their production of A Christmas Carol, starring Lionel Barrymore, starting in 1934. That’s the same Lionel Barrymore who plays Mr. Potter in It’s a Wonderful Live. The radio production ran every year until 1953.  This 1938 recording starring Barrymore and Orson Welles comes from Youtube.

 

Merry Christmas to all!

Dustin, SPL

 

Family Friendly Christmas Movies

Family Friendly Christmas Movies

‘Tis the season for some holiday movie viewing parties with the whole family! Check out these family-friendly titles from our DVD collection.


The Apartment

A man tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue.

Arthur Christmas

Santa’s (Jim Broadbent’s) clumsy son Arthur (James McAvoy) sets out on a mission with Grandsanta (Bill Nighy) to give out a present they misplaced to a young girl in less than two hours.

The Bishop’s Wife

A debonair angel comes to Earth to help an Episcopalian bishop and his wife in their quest to raise money for the new church.

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Depressed at the commercialism he sees around him, Charlie Brown tries to find a deeper meaning to Christmas.

A Christmas Angel in the House

After years of trying for a baby and failing, the prayers of a despairing couple are answered when a wise young boy miraculously arrives on their doorstep.

A Christmas Carol

An old bitter miser who rationalizes his uncaring nature learns real compassion when three spirits visit him on Christmas Eve. [Also available as sound recording narrated by multi-talented voice over artist, Sir Jim Dale.]

A Christmas Story

A Christmas classic! In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie attempts to convince his parents, his teacher and Santa that a Red Ryder BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.

Christmas with the Kranks

With their daughter, Blair, away, Luther and Nora Krank decide to skip Christmas all together until she decides to come home, causing an uproar when they have to celebrate it at the last minute.

Chronicles of Narnia

C.S. Lewis’s tale of four children trapped in an unearthed land called Narnia. In order to go back home, they must face dark forces and beasts. [Also available as sound recording]

Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas

On the outskirts of Whoville lives a green, revenge-seeking Grinch who plans to ruin Christmas for all of the citizens of the town.

Edward Scissorhands

An artificial man, who was incompletely constructed and has scissors for hands, leads a solitary life. Then one day, a suburban lady meets him and introduces him to her world.

Elf

After discovering he is a human, a man raised as an elf at the North Pole decides to travel to New York City to locate his real father.

Frosty the Snowman

A magic hat brings a snowman to life, but makes him the target of people who want his magical powers.

Frozen

When the newly crowned Queen Elsa accidentally uses her power to turn things into ice to curse her home in infinite winter, her sister Anna teams up with a mountain man, his playful reindeer, and a snowman to change the weather condition.

The Grinch

A grumpy Grinch (Benedict Cumberbatch) plots to ruin Christmas for the village of Whoville.

The Holiday

Two women troubled with guy-problems swap homes in each other’s countries, where they each meet a local guy and fall in love.

Home Alone

An eight-year-old troublemaker must protect his house from a pair of burglars when he is accidentally left home alone by his family during Christmas vacation.

It’s a Wonderful Life

An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.

Joyeux Noel

In December 1914, an unofficial Christmas truce on the Western Front allows soldiers from opposing sides of the First World War to gain insight into each other’s way of life. [foreign]

Little Women

Jo March reflects back on her life, telling the story of the beloved March sisters, four young women determined to live life on their own terms in post-Civil War America.

Love Actually

Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.

A Madea Christmas

Madea dispenses her unique form of holiday spirit on rural town when she’s coaxed into helping a friend pay her daughter a surprise visit in the country for Christmas.

Meet Me in St. Louis

Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.

Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas

Mickey and his friends star in 3 heartwarming stories of Christmas past.

Miracle on 34th Street

When a nice old man who claims to be Santa Claus is institutionalized as insane, a young lawyer decides to defend him by arguing in court that he is the real thing.

Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol

This musical adaptation of the classic tale by Charles Dickens stars Magoo as the cold-hearted old miser, Ebenezer Scrooge. [Available on “Original Christmas Classics” DVD along with “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and other adapted classics.]

A Muppet Christmas Carol

The Muppet characters tell their version of the classic tale of an old and bitter miser’s redemption on Christmas Eve.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

The Griswold family’s plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster.

Noel

Five New Yorkers come together on Christmas Eve – all seeking a miracle.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

A man must struggle to travel home for the holidays with a lovable oaf of a shower curtain ring salesman as his only companion.

Polar Express

On Christmas Eve, a young boy embarks on a magical adventure to the North Pole on the Polar Express, while learning about friendship, bravery, and the spirit of Christmas.

Prancer

A farm girl nurses a wounded reindeer she believes is one of Santa’s, hoping to bring it back to health in time for Christmas. Her holiday spirit inspires those around her, something her disheartened father is having trouble understanding.

Rise of the Guardians

When the evil spirit Pitch launches an assault on Earth, the Immortal Guardians team up to protect the innocence of children all around the world. [Available on “Dreamworks Ultimate Holiday Collection” DVD]

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

A misfit reindeer and his friends look for a place that will accept them.

The Santa Clause

When a man inadvertently makes Santa fall off of his roof on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place.

Scrooged

A selfish, cynical television executive is haunted by three spirits bearing lessons on Christmas Eve.

Serendipity

A couple search for each other years after the night they first met, fell in love, and separated, convinced that one day they’d end up together.

The Shop Around the Corner

Two employees at a gift shop can barely stand each other, without realizing that they are falling in love through the post as each other’s anonymous pen pal.

Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas

Jack Skellington, king of Halloweentown, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas home causes confusion.

While You were Sleeping

A hopelessly romantic Chicago Transit Authority token collector is mistaken for the fiancée of a coma patient.

White Christmas

A successful song-and-dance team become romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding general.

You’ve Got Mail

Two business rivals who despise each other in real life unwittingly fall in love over the Internet.

Memorial Movies: War Films to Check Out for Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day, previously known as Decoration Day, is widely thought to have begun after the Civil War as a means of remembering fallen soldiers. Over the years, the holiday has evolved, and is now widely considered the beginning of summer vacation. However, the holiday’s true meaning remains the remembrance and honoring of those who have died in the United States Armed Forces. In honor of those who have lost their lives protecting their country, here are a collection of films that offer tribute to these soldiers, and give an important glimpse into our past.

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From Screen to Page: Six Great Books Based on Movies

In a time where almost every new movie seems to be based on a book or some other form of source material, a particular refrain has grown common among readers everywhere: “the book was better.” But there are still rare scenarios in which a movie is turned into a book after its release, often as an adaptation of the screenplay.

These adaptations are not always good, and are often ignored by literature fans due to their Hollywood connections. However, some novelizations have managed to rise above this stereotype, with some even becoming equally as famous as the films that spawned them. Here are six books based on movies that are actually worth the read.

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Looking for a Good Mystery to Watch?

Check out this list of recommended titles from one of our librarians!

Films

The Bourne Identity (2002) Found with two bullets in his back, Jason Bourne discovers that he has the skills of a very dangerous man and no memory of his violent past. Racing to unlock his secret identity, he discovers that he’s an elite government agent that his government no longer trusts.

ClueClue (1985) Who killed Mr. Boddy? Was it Colonel Mustard in the study with the gun? Miss Scarlet in the billiard room with the rope? Or was it Wadsworth the butler?

Dial M for Murder (1954) A man devises a plan to murder his wife for her money.

Flypaper (2011) A nervous bank customer has a crush on beautiful teller. They and the other staff and customers become hostages when two very different groups of crooks hit the bank simultaneously. When people begin mysteriously dying one by one, everyone involved begins to wonder if there’s someone else in the bank up to no good.

Locker 13 (2014) An anthology feature film comprised of five vignettes. Each story is connected by a mysterious locker 13.

The Maltese Falcon (1941) Detective Sam Spade goes in search of a priceless statuette after the death of his partner.

Memento (2000) An intricate crime story about a man who has lost his short term memory due to a rare brain disorder. Now he is out to catch his wife’s murderer, whose identity he cannot ever know for sure. The more he tries to figure out what is true and real, the more he sinks deeper into a multi-layered abyss of uncertainty and surprises.

Murder by Decree (2003) Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson conduct a gruesome and dangerous search through London’s squalid east end for the legendary Jack the Ripper. They soon discover that he is no ordinary murderer, but one with influential and determined friends.

Non-Stop (2014)  During a transatlantic flight from New York City to London, Non-StopU.S. Air Marshal Bill Marks receives a series of cryptic text messages threatening to kill a passenger every 20 minutes unless $150 million is transferred into an off-shore account. With lives of hundreds of passengers hanging in the balance, Marks must use every nuance of his training to uncover the killer traveling on the aircraft.

Out of the Furnace (2014)  When Rodney Baze mysteriously disappears and law enforcement doesn’t follow through fast enough, his older brother, Russell, takes matters into his own hands to find justice.

Reach Me (2014) A motivational book written by a mysterious man quickly gains popularity, inspiring a group of people that includes a journalist, his editor, a former inmate, a hip-hop mogul, an actor and an undercover cop to re-evaluate their choices and decisions by confronting their fears in hopes of creating more positive lives.

Restless (2015)  Haunted by the death of her brother at the hands of fascist thugs, Russian émigré Eva is recruited to be a British secret agent by a shadowy figure. After proving her merit in the field, she is sent on the most dangerous mission of her life. She must use any means necessary to manipulate the American press and draw the States into World War II.

Sherlock Holmes (2009) After finally catching serial killer and occult ‘sorcerer’ Lord Blackwood, legendary sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson can close yet another successful case. After his execution, Blackwood mysteriously returns from the grave and resumes his killing spree, Holmes must take up the hunt once again.

A Time to Kill (1996) A murder trial brings a small Mississippi town’s racial tension to the flashpoint. Amid a frenzy of activist marches, Klan terror, media clamor and brutal riots, an unseasoned but idealistic young attorney mounts a stirring courtroom battle for justice.

The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947) A psychopathic artist paints his wives as angels of death before poisoning them.

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The Usual Suspects
(1995) Police investigating an exploded boat on a San Pedro pier discover the only survivors are a severely burned Hungarian terrorist and Roger Kint, a crippled con-man. Reluctantly, Kint explains what happened. His story begins six weeks earlier with five criminals being dragged in by police desperate for suspects in a truck highjacking, and ends with the possible identification of a criminal mastermind.

Vertigo (1958) Scottie Ferguson, a recently retired San Francisco police detective, is hired to shadow a rich shipbuilder’s tragically suicidal wife. After he saves her from drowning in the San Francisco Bay, Scottie’s interest in the beautiful but icy blonde shifts from business to romance. But when tragedy strikes again, Scottie must overcome the vertigo that haunts his dreams in order to unravel the secrets of the past and find the key to his future.

A Walk Among the Tombstones (2015) Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.

 

 

Television Series

PoirotAgatha Christie’s Poirot (1990 -) With the his razor-sharp mind and the aid of the affabel Captain Hastings, Poirot unravels the thorniest cases without mussing a hair of his famously sculpted mustache.

Grantchester (2014) It’s 1953 and Sidney Chambers is vicar of Grantchester, a village just outside Cambridge, England. Sidney’s is a quiet life. He tends to his flock, keeps up with his jazz collection, and does his best to contain his passion for beautiful heiress Amanda Kendall. But when one of his parishioners dies in suspicious circumstances, Sidney quickly finds that people confide things in a parish priest that they would never tell police.

Murder on the Home Front (2014) During the London Blitz of 1940, people live life in the moment–and criminals use the blackout and devastation to hide their darkest activities. As the Luftwaffe drop their bombs, people below are literally getting away with murder.Sherlock

Murdoch Mysteries (2009 -) In the 1890’s, Detective William Murdoch adopts modern techniques like ‘finger marks’ and forensics to track Toronto’s most sinister killers. Though derided by his skeptical boss, Murdoch finds friends and allies in a lovely pathologist and an eager-to-learn constable.

Sherlock (2010) Offers a contemporary take on Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic tales.

A Touch of Frost (1992 -) Detective Inspector Jack Frost is a policeman with a knack for trouble. In the dreary town of Denton, he approaches each case with his characteristic wit and sense of moral justice.

 

New DVDs – July 2015

New Feature-Length Films, Foreign Films, and Classics

5 flights up
American sniperas
Blaze
Cut Bank
The last metro
Druid peak
Ex machina
Focus
Get hard
Goonies
Jupiter ascending
Jurassic Park ultimate trilogy
Kill me three times
King of hearts
Last knights
Longest ride
Maggie
Mr. Turner
Paul Blart, mall cop 2
Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Seeds of yesterday
Shoot the piano player
Stand up guys
The discreet charm of the bourgeoisie
While we’re young
Woman in gold
Yesterday, today and tomorrow

New Television Series

Bitten
House of cards. The complete third season
Incredible journey of Mary Bryant
Mystery science theater 3000 XXXIII.
The office. Season four
Witches of East End. Season 2.

New Non-Fiction DVDs

History of Christian theology
Masters of photography: learn photography from 12 National Geographi masters.
Maya to Aztec: ancient Mesoamerica revealed.
Moms Mabley

New DVDs – June 2015

New Feature-Length Films, Foreign Films, and Classics

Adventures of Priscilla, queen of the desert
American graffiti
Carlito’s way
Chappie
Clerks
Duff
Earth girls are easy
Focus
Forger
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
I love you to death
If there be thorns
Jupiter ascending
Kingsman, the secret service
Lazarus effect
McFarland, USA
Memento
Moulin Rouge
Of human bondage
Old fashioned
Project almanac
Relatos salvajes
Reservoir dogs
Run all night
Serena
SpongeBob movie, sponge out of water
Survivor
The French connection
Timbuktu
Unfinished business
Velvet goldmine
Wait until dark
Welcome to Me

New Television Series

Falling skies. Season 4
Graceland. The complete season 2
Justified. The complete final season (season 6)
The newsroom. The complete third season
Parks and recreation. Season seven
Pretty little liars. The complete fifth season
Ripper Street. Season three
Rizzoli & Isles. The complete fifth season
Teen wolf. Season 4
Transporter: the complete second season.
Two and a half men. The complete eleventh season
Two and a half men: the complete twelfth and final season
Workaholics. Season five.

New Non-Fiction DVDs

A midsummer night’s dream
Concerto inaugrale
Die Fledermaus
How Jesus became God
King Arthur: history and legend
Raising emotionally and socially healthy kids
Red army
The science of mindfulness: a research-based path to well-being
The skeptic’s guide to American history
The Wrecking Crew!
Through the wormhole. Season 5
Tosca
What remains

It’s Cold Outside…Warm up with These DVDs

To see if the item is available, click on the title.

The Bishop’s Wife – Cary Grant stars as an angel who materializes in answer to the prayers of a harried young bishop, David Niven. Niven’s efforts to raise money for a new cathedral have endangered his marriage to beautiful Loretta Young. Grand hopes to end the problems plaguing the family, but instead the bishop’s neglected wife becomes infatuated with him. (NR, 109min, 1947.)

Blossoms in the Dust– To Edna Gladney, founder of the Texas Children’s home and Aid Society, every abandoned child deserves the miracle of a loving home. Edna’s devotion echoes today as she declares, “There are no illegitimate babies– only illegitimate parents.” (NR, 100min, 1941.)

Classic Christmas favorites: 10 Holiday Favorites– Dr.Seuss’ How the Grinch stole Christmas — Leprechauns’ Christmas gold — Pinocchio’s Christmas — Stingiest man in town — Extra Goodies: Making animation and bringing it to life; Dr. Seuss and the Grinch – From Whoville to Hollywood ; Songs in the key of Grinch ; making-of featurette and pencil test — Year without a Santa Claus deluxe edition — Rudolph’s shiny new year — Nestor, the long-eared Christmas donkey — Extra Goodies: We are Santa’s Elves featurette ; Stop motion 101 featurette — Frosty’s winter wonderland — T’was the night before Christmas — Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July. (NR, 393min, 2008.)

A Charlie Brown Christmas – ‘Tis the season to be jolly, but Charlie Brown, feeling that the Christmas message is lost amid all the seasonal glitter, has the blues. Join the Peanuts gang as they discover for themselves the true meaning of Christmas. (NR, 48min, 1965.)

A Christmas Story – Ralphie, a nine-year-old boy in 1940s Indiana, dreams of receiving a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas but encounters resistance at every turn when he makes his wish known. (PG, 98min, 1983.)

Deck the Halls – Two neighbors in a small New England town go to war when one of them decides to decorate his house with so many Christmas lights that they are visible from space. The neighborhood is turned upside down as the families try to discover the true meaning of Christmas. (PG, 95min, 2006.)

Elf – A human baby accidentally ends up at the North Pole and grows up among the elf community. Buddy, as he comes to be known, knows that he’s “special”. When he’s 30, Buddy learns from Santa that he’s really a human. He decides to go in search of his father, to find out where he belongs. He walks to Manhattan, and is immediately run over by a cab. His father at first rejects him and Buddy ends up in a department store where other elves are working. But all the while, things are looking bad for Santa Claus. When Santa crashes his sleigh in Central Park, it’s Buddy’s moment to shine. (PG, 97min, 2003.)

Four Christmases – Every Christmas, Brad and Kate escape divorced parents and exasperating relatives by getting on a plane. But this year, heavy fog shuts down the airport, forcing the couple to celebrate Christmas with four sets of relatives. (PG-13, 88min, 2009.)

Fred Claus – Fred Claus has lived in his little brother’s shadow for most of his life. Fred is in jail and Nicholas has to bail him out on the condition he come to the North Pole and repay his debt. (PG, 115min, 2008.)

Gremlins (Blu-Ray) – When a young bank teller inadvertently breaks the rules of Mogwai care, his new pet Gizmo multiplies into a bevy of mischievous brothers, who soon morph into malevolent scaly creatures. (PG, 106min, 1984.)

Holiday – Amanda lives in Los Angeles and is a movie trailer editor. Iris lives in Surrey, England and is a journalist. The two live five thousand miles apart and have never met, but are dealing with the same problem: men. They both come upon a website that advocates home exchange and the two swap houses for two weeks at Christmas, both with a goal to forget their troubled love lives. Love ends up finding them anyways. (PG-13, 136min, 2006.)

Home Alone – An eight-year-old boy is left home alone on Christmas, and has to defend his home against two bumbling burglars.(PG, 103min, 1990.)

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York – Kevin McCallister is ready to turn the Big Apple into his own playground. The notorious Wet Bandits, still smarting from their last encounter with Kevin, are plotting a huge holiday heist in New York. Kevin’s ready to welcome them with a battery of booby traps that the bumbling bandits will never forget. (PG, 120min, 1992.)

How the Grinch stole Christmas! (Classic Animated Tale) OR How the Grinch stole Christmas! (Jim Carrey Version) – Presents the tale of the mean-spirited Grinch and his attempts to steal the Christmas celebration of Who-ville.

It’s a Wonderful Life – An angel helps a compassionate but despairingly frustrated businessman by showing what life would had been like if he never existed. A Christmas classic. Features both the black and white and the colorized version. (NR, 130min, 1946.)

Lethal Weapon – The story of two Vietnam-vets-turned-cops who have just one thing in common: both hate to work with partners. But their partnership becomes the key to survival when a murder investigation leads to war with a heroin ring. (R, 117min, 1987.)

Love Actually – It’s all about love and holiday cheer in London. The Prime Minister is smitten with his caterer; a widower’s young son nurses the ultimate schoolboy crush; a writer falls for his Portuguese housekeeper; a devoted wife and mother copes with her potentially unfaithful husband; and a lovelorn American is desperately attracted to a colleague. (R, 135min, 2004.)

Meet Me in St. Louis – Story of a family at the 1903 World’s Fair. (NR, 113min, 1944.)

Miracle on 34th Street – In this Oscar-winning classic, a Macy’s Department Store Santa who insists his name is Kris Kringle teaches everyone a lesson in love, faith and the value of imagination. (NR, 97min, 1947.)

Muppet Christmas Carol – Miser Ebenezer Scrooge learns the true meaning of Christmas and reforms his heartless and money-grubbing ways after being visited on Christmas Eve by four ghosts. Anniversary edition. (G, 89min, 1992.)

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – Christmas is the perfect season for Clark Griswold and his family. Clark’s a disaster waiting to happen. You have to see it to believe it. There are 25,000 lights on the Griswold rooftop. An exploding turkey. And a house full of relatives. (PG-13, 97min, 1989.)

Nothing Like the Holidays – For the first time in years the entire Rodriguez clan comes home to Chicago to celebrate Christmas where traditions will be celebrated. During the course of this eventful week they will celebrate one member’s safe return from Iraq, secrets will be revealed, old resentments forgotten, each family member will learn something about themselves and each other, and the healing power of laughter will work its magic. (PG-13, 98min, 2008.)

Polar Express – When a doubting young boy takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe. (G, 100min, 2004)

The Santa Clause – Scott is distressed to learn that his ex-wife and her husband have informed his son, Charlie, that there is no Santa Claus. While a sullen Charlie visits his dad on Christmas Eve, a noise on the roof brings them outside. It turns out that there is a Santa after all, and Scott has just accidentally killed him. Because of “the Santa clause,” Scott inherits the job of Santa. As the next year passes, Scott rapidly gains weight, grows a white beard and meets the elf Bernard. Charlie’s stepdad becomes concerned about Scott and forces him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. (PG, 97min, 2002.)

The Santa Clause 2 – Scott Calvin has been Santa Claus for the past eight years, and his elves consider him the best ever. But Santa’s world is turned upside down when his son gets on the naughty list, and if Scott doesn’t marry soon, he’ll stop being Santa forever. (G, 104min, 2003.)

The Santa Clause 3 – With another Christmas season fast approaching, Santa Claus/Scott Calvin is feeling even more pressure. Mrs. Claus is expecting a little Claus. She is also longing for the company of some “tall people.” So Scott agrees to let her parents visit as long as they believe that they’re really in Canada rather than at the North Pole. (G, 92min, 2007.)

This Christmas  – For the first time in years, the entire Whitfield clan has come home to spend the Christmas holiday with their mother and her boyfriend. Each has brought plenty of baggage along with them. As the lights are hung and the tree is trimmed, secrets are revealed and ties are tested, but eventually they rediscover and celebrate the wonderful gift of family. (PG-13, 119min, 2007.)

Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas – Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown, decides to give Santa Claus the year off and take over Christmas — and the holiday will never be the same. (PG, 76min, 1993.)

Trading Places – he lives of an upper class commodities broker and a homeless street hustler cross paths when they are unknowingly made part of an elaborate bet by two rich brothers. (R, 116min, 1983.)

New DVDs: TV Series and Feature Length Films – May 2009

Affairs of the Heart

Romantic tales from the late Victorian high society of love and loss. These unfold from the country houses of England to the drawing rooms of New York, from the palazzos of Venice to the art studios of London. Scoundrels and schemers collide with ingénues and admirers in the terribly intricate affairs of the heart. Cast: Lynn Farleigh, Anna Calder-Marshall, Margaret Tyzack, Diana Rigg, Rosalind Ayres, Gayle Hunnicutt, Pamela Brown, Faith Brook, Anton Rodgers. Based on works by Henry James. (1974) Not Rated

Bernadette

In February of 1858, at the Massabielle grotto, 14-year old Bernadette, sees a light she later distinguishes as a beautiful young woman. The girl converses with the woman over the next few months. Crowds follow her and people are cured by the waters from a spring Bernadette has cleared. Secular authorities are threatened by the popular gatherings and subject the girl to police inquiry and medical review.  Cast: Sydney Penny, Roland Lesaffre and Michele Simonnet. Shot on location in France, this is the film that was chosen to be shown daily at the shrine in Lourdes. Not Rated

Berkeley Square

Three young nannies grow to be close friends as they manage the unpredictable road to love and happiness in the posh world of turn-of-the-century, upper-crust London. Cast: Clare Wilkie, Victoria Smurfit, Tabitha Wady. A BBC-TV production. (1998) Not Rated

Big Love: The Complete First Season

A polygamist and independent businessman lives in Salt Lake CIty with his three wives and seven children. He faces many challenges in meeting the emotional, romantic, and financial needs of his wives. Cast: Bill Paxton, Bruce Dern, Chloe Sevigny, Harry Dean Stanton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Ginnifer Goodwin. Originally broadcast on HBO in 2006. Rating: TV-MA.

Big Love: The Complete Second Season

Season two finds the modern-day polygamist Bill Henrickson and his three wives struggling to pick up the pieces after first wife Barb’s outing at the Beehive Mother of the Year Ceremony. Second wife Nicki, learning that it was her father, Roman Grant, Prophet of the Fundamentalist Juniper Creek compound, who betrayed them, battles conflicting family loyalties. And third wife Margene, newly pregnant, fights for a bigger piece of the family pie with an eye toward bringing a new wife and confidante into the fold. Cast: Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny, Ginnifer Goodwin, Amanda Seyfried, Douglas Smith, Shawn Doyle, Melora Walters, Joel McKinnon Miller, Daveigh Chase, Jolean Wejbe, Grace Zabriskie, Matt Ross, Harry Dean Stanton. Originally broadcast on HBO in 2007.  Rating: TV-MA.

Brown Is the New Green: George Lopez and the American Dream

This PBS film examining how efforts to profit from Hispanic American culture have contributed to the shaping of its contemporary identity. The documentary’s focal point is comedian George Lopez, an icon and advocate for Hispanic Americans’ move into the mainstream. Features conversations with members of the Hispanic American youth market. Also includes interviews with Lopez and other Hispanic Americans. Not Rated

City Lights

A tramp wins the love of a blind flower girl and attempts to obtain money from a millionaire to help her regain her sight. Cast: Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers, Allan Garcia, Hank Mann. Originally released as a motion picture in 1931. Rated G

Crazy Mama

A celebration of ’50s America, following three women and the men they pick up on an absurd crime spree. Cast: Cloris Leachman, Stuart Whitman, Ann Sothern, Jim Backus, Tisha Sterling, Donny Most, Linda Purl, Bryan Englund, Merie Earle. (1975) Rated PG

Down from the Mountain

A documentary about the musical artists who performed the songs in the Coen Brothers’ film O Brother, Where Art Thou? Performers include: The Cox family, Fairfield four, Emmylou Harris, John Hartford, Chris Thomas King, Alison Krauss, David Rawlings, Gillian Welch, Ralph Stanley, The Whites. (2000) Rated G

Ellis Island

In this History Channel documentary narrated by Mandy Patinkin, immigrants of every ethnic background recall their extraordinary adventures, historians explore the sometimes insensitive national policies, and the Ellis Island Oral History Project reveals what the immigration experience was actually like. Features rare photographs and film. Not Rated

Heroes: Season Two

Season Two finds Hiro (Masi Oka) transported to 17th-century Japan and surrounded by samurai warriors — just in time for a solar eclipse. Can he fight his way back to the 21st century? Cast: Hayden Panettiere, Jack Coleman, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Masi Oka, James Kyson Lee, Milo Ventimiglia, Greg Grunberg, Ali Larter, Adrian Pasdar, Zachary Quinto. Originally broadcast by NBC during the 2007 season. Not Rated.

Hill Street Blues: The Complete First Season

Follow the lives of cops at an urban police station, from the traffic cops to the police chief himself, as they hit the streets of the city. Originally broadcast on television during the Winter 1981 season. Cast: Daniel J. Travanti, Barbara Babcock, Taurean Blacque, Michael Clohessy, Jon Cypher, Charles Haid, Veronica Hamel, Mimi Kuzyk, Kiel Martin, Michael Conrad, Robert Hirschfeld, Barbara Bosson. Not rated.

Hill Street Blues: The Complete Second Season

A very realistic view into the lives of the dedicated cops and detectives of an urban police station. Originally broadcast on television during the 1981-1982 season. Created by Steven Bochco. Cast Daniel J. Travanti, Veronica Hamel, Bruce Weitz, Charles Haid, Betty Thomas, James Sikking. Not rated.

How I Met Your Mother: Season Three

Thirty-year-old Ted is still looking for Miss Right, but his road to domestic bliss is improbably paved with punk rock girls, tattoos, adult video expos and an epic St. Patrick’s Day bender. Meanwhile, as Marshall and Lily adjust to the quirks of married life, the outrageously incorrigible Barney commits a major violation of “The Bro Code.” Cast: Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan, Neil Patrick Harris, Cobie Smulders. Originally broadcast on television during the 2007-2008 season.  TV rating: G

In Treatment

Paul is a therapist who exhibits great insight and confidence when treating his patients. But Paul suffers crippling insecurities and is counseled by his own therapist, Gina. Adding to his list of growing concerns, his wife, Kate, who is overcome with feelings of neglect and resents competing for his attention. Paul’s patients undergoing treatment include: a young doctor who is in love with Paul; a Navy pilot who is reevaluating his life after a failed mission in Iraq; a teenage gymnast with suicidal tendencies; and a passionate couple who are troubled in all other areas of their lives. Cast: Gabriel Byrne, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Forbes, Melissa George, Blair Underwood, Mia Wasikowska, John Charles, Embeth Davidtz. Originally broadcast on HBO in 2008. TV-MA

The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice

On a deadly mission to recover the historic Judas Chalice, Flynn is saved by—and falls in love with—Simone, a dazzling French woman who harbors a terrifying secret. Cast: Noah Wyle, Bruce Davison, Stana Katic, Jane Curtin, Bob Newhart.  Based on characters created by David Titcher. Not Rated

Lion of the Desert

In the war waged by Bedouin patriots to combat Benito Mussolini’s Italian colonization in Libya, Omar Mukhtar, the Bedouin resistance guerrilla leader, has committed himself to a war that cannot be won in his lifetime. Cast: Oliver Reed, Anthony Quinn, Rod Steiger, John Gielgud, Irene Papas. (1979) Rated PG

Master of the Game

Sydney Sheldon’s lavish international saga spans a century and focuses on the Blackwell family’s rise to wealth, from 1890s South Africa where the family’s fortune is made in diamonds to the primary story of iron-willed Kate Blackwell, the driven, power-hungry head of the family’s embattled corporate empire. Cast: Fernando Allende, Dyan Cannon, David Birney, Harry Hamlin, Leslie Caron. (1984) Not Rated

Nashville

This Robert Altman film interweaves the stories of 24 characters over 5 days during a political rally in the capital of country music. Cast: Henry Gibson, Lily Tomlin, Ronee Blakley, Keith Carradine, Geraldine Chaplin, Barbara Harris, Karen Black. (1975) Rated R

The Passion of Bernadette

The saint of Lourdes enters the convent and endures various trials. Through it all, Bernadette trusts in God and remembers the Virgin Mary’s words to her: “I cannot promise you happiness in this life, only the next.” Based on actual testimony taken from the canonization investigation. Cast: Sydney Penny, Emmanuelle Riva, Catherine de Seynes, Malka Ribowska. (1989) Sequel to: Bernadette. Not Rated

The Riches: Season 2

The Malloys are consummate con artists who are posing as a wealthy suburban family. They are stealing the American dream, but their elaborate ruse may be stealing their very souls. Facing near-certain detection, the family is torn asunder as Dahlia and the children hit the open road, and embattled patriarch Wayne remains in Eden Falls, desperately scheming to pull off one last impossible con. Cast: Eddie Izzard, Minnie Driver, Shannon Marie Woodward, Noel Fisher, Aidan Mitchell, Todd Stashwick, Gregg Henry. Originally broadcast on television in 2008. Not rated.

Shane

A drifter and retired gunfighter assists a homestead family terrorized by an aging cattleman and his hired gun. Cast: Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon De Wilde, Jack Palance, Ben Johnson, Edgar Buchanan. (1952) Not Rated

Shirley Valentine

An English housewife, bored with her life, goes on a vacation with a friend to Greece and finds that there’s more to life than just dishes and laundry when she has a fling with a handsome man. Cast: Pauline Collins, Tom Conti, Julia McKenzie, Alison Steadman, Joanna Lumley, Sylvia Syms, Bernard Hill, George Costigan, Anna Keaveney, Tracie Bennett. (1989) Rated R

Sister Wendy: The Complete Collection

A collection of Sister Wendy’s art programs. Sister Wendy travels to museums in England and Europe and discusses some of the world’s finest art. Contents: Sister Wendy’s Story of Painting, Sister Wendy’s Grand Tour, Sister Wendy’s Odyssey, and Sister Wendy’s Pains of Glass. Hosted by Wendy Beckett. Originally produced for television broadcast in 1992-1996. Not Rated

Some Like It Hot

When two unemployed musicians accidentally witness the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, they trade in their union suits for flapper frocks and flee to Miami disguised as female musicians in an all-girl jazz band. Cast: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, Pat O’Brien, Joe E. Brown.  (1959)  Not Rated

Sunset Boulevard

The story of an aging film queen who prepares for her grand comeback to stardom. Cast: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson, Cecil B. DeMille, Hedda Hopper. (1950) Not Rated

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Season One

Sarah and her son John, tired of running from the agents sent from the future to kill them, try to stop the formation of the agency in the present, with the help of a girl with a mysterious link to the future. Cast: Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, Richard T. Jones. Based on the world created in the motion picture written by James Cameron and William Wisher. Not rated.

Weeds: Season One

After her husband’s unexpected death and subsequent financial woes, suburban mom Nancy Botwin embraces a new profession: the neighborhood pot dealer. As it seems like everyone secretly wants what she’s selling, even city councilman Doug Wilson, Nancy is faced with keeping her family life in check and her enterprise a secret from her best friend/PTA president, Celia Hodes. Cast: Mary-Louise Parker, Kevin Nealon, Elizabeth Perkins, Romany Malco, Tonye Patano. Originally broadcast on the Showtime Channel in 2005.  Rated TV-MA

Weeds: Season Two

Nancy Botwin is a soccer mom who had to learn how to deal – pot, that is – after the death of her husband. Now, her business is a hit. But keeping up with the neighbors in this suburban utopia isn’t easy. She is joined up with a few of her closest friends, and together they face life’s ups and downs – because even in paradise, nobody’s perfect. Cast: Mary-Louise Parker, Elizabeth Perkins, Kevin Nealon, Romany Malco, Hunter Parrish, Alexander Gould, Andy Milder, Justin Kirk.  Originally broadcast on Showtime television in 2006.  Rated TV-MA

Weeds: Season Three

America’s favorite pot-dealing, single soccer mom, Nancy Botwin, is more addictive than ever in the third season. But, when an offbeat way to make ends meet grows into a mini-empire, the mother of all dealers finds she may be in over her head –and on the verge of taking everyone one else with her. Cast: Mary-Louise Parker, Elizabeth Perkins, Kevin Nealon, Romany Malco, Hunter Parrish, Alexander Gould, Andy Milder, Justin Kirk. Originally broadcast on Showtime in 2007. Rated TV-MA

The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd

When Lizzie Holroyd falls in love with another man, she wishes her boorish husband dead, a wish that comes horribly true. Cast: Zoë Wanamaker, Stephen Dillane, and Colin Firth.  Originally broadcast on BBC Television in 1988.  Not Rated

Wuthering Heights

Set against the stark beauty of the English moor, the mysterious gypsy boy Heathcliff, who has been adopted by the Earnshaw family, discovers his soul mate in his stepsister Cathy. As a man unable to have the love of his life, he seeks vengeance against anyone who comes between them. Cast: Tom Hardy, Charlotte Riley, Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Lancashire, Burn Gorman, Rosalind Halstead. Based on the novel by Emily Brontë. Originally released as a television motion picture in 2008. Not rated.

New DVDs: TV Series and Feature Films – March 2009

All Creatures Great & Small: The Complete Series 3 Collection

The BBC-TV series, based on the books by James Herriot, continues the story of a Yorkshire veterinarian in a country practice. Cast: Robert Hardy, Christopher Timothy, Peter Davison, Carol Drinkwater. (1979-1980)

The Big Bang Theory: The Complete First Season

Physicists Leonard and Sheldon understand everything from the inescapable gravitational pull of a black hole to the intricate structure of the atom. But take those atoms and assemble them into a woman, and their comprehension comes to a grinding halt. And when Penny, a woman with all those atoms in all the right places, moves in across the hall, Leonard and Sheldon’s universe begins to expand in ways they never could have imagined. Cast: Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar. Originally broadcast on television during the 2007-2008 season.   Not Rated

The Biggest Loser Workout: Weight Loss Yoga

Viewers can get with the program and achieve pound-shedding results in just 6-8 weeks with the transforming power of yoga with instructor, Bob Harper.

Bill Maher: The Decider Live!

In an all-new solo HBO comedy special, Bill Maher offers his candid opinions on a wide range of social and political issues including sex, drugs, Iraq, immigrantion, President Bush, and much more.  Rating: TVMA

Catch-22

The story of a group of fliers in the Mediterranean during World War II. Cast: Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin, Art Garfunkel, Jack Gilford, Buck Henry, Bob Newhart, Anthony Perkins, Paula Prentiss, Martin Sheen, Jon Voight, Orson Welles. Based on the novel by Joseph Heller. (1970) Rated R

Facing the Giants

A high school football coach with a history of losing games faces not only the pressures from a group of fathers wanting him fired, but also the possibility that his wife can never have children. Only after an unexpected visitor challenges him to trust in the power of faith does he find the strength to persevere. Cast: James Blackwell, Bailey Cave, Shannen Fields, Tracy Goode, Alex Kendrick, Jim McBride, Jason McLeod, Mark Richt. (2006) Rated PG

Hedda Gabler

In this classic from Henrik Ibsen, Hedda has just come back from her honeymoon, married to boring but reliable academic George Tesman. Refusing to tie herself down in life and name, Hedda is banking on George being appointed a professorship to secure a better life for the young couple. However, the arrival of cleaned up ex-lover Eilert threatens to destroy everything. Cast: Ingrid Bergman, Michael Regrave, Ralph Richardson, Trevor Howard, Dilys Hamlett, Ursula Jeans. Originally produced for television in 1962.  Not rated.

Lovejoy: The Complete Season Two

Season two continues the adventures of Lovejoy, who careens through another assortment of close shaves with his right-hand man Tinkerdill and scrappy sidekick Eric. Things get off to a rough start when Lovejoy is wrongly convicted of dealing in stolen goods, but that is just a small change in plans. When he emerges from prison, Lovejoy will have his hands full dealing with disappearing bridegrooms, cursed Inca statues, secretive artists and a divine tea bowl. But first, he’ll have to find the blackguard that nearly beat him at his own game. Cast: Ian McShane, Phyllis Logan, Dudley Sutton, Chris Jury. (1991) Not Rated

Lovejoy: The Complete Season Three

The world’s quirkiest crime-solving antiques hero is back! Much to Lovejoy’s annoyance, he’s not the only one on a never-ending quest for wealth and valuables. However, while he proves unstoppable in the face of sinister Italians, vengeful customers and even Eric’s vintage motorbikes, can he manage to escape the snares of love? Cast: Ian McShane, Phyllis Logan, Dudley Sutton, Chris Jury. (1992) Not Rated.

MI-5: Volume 6

Having survived the bombing of the Thames Barrier, Adam and Ros recover to find London facing an even greater threat. While attempting to thwart an attack that could jeopardize a historic peace accord, the team unwittingly unleashes a deadly virus. Cast: Rupert Penry-Jones, Peter Firth, Hermione Norris, Miranda Raison, Raza Jaffrey. Originally broadcast by BBC1 in 2007. Not rated

The Murdoch Mysteries Movie Collection

Set in the 1890s, the sophisticated and sly Detective William Murdoch (Peter Outerbridge) investigates murders against the seedy backdrop of a debauched world where no one trusts the police and everyone seems sinister.  Considered a CSI in the 1890s, Murdoch Mysteries are gripping thrillers based on Maureen Jennings s bestselling mystery novels about a cop years ahead of his time. Cast: Peter Outerbridge, Keeley Hawes, Colm Meaney. (2008) Not Rated

Oliver Twist

This gripping tale of Charles Dickens’ classic remains faithful to the spirit of the novel while delivering a modern, thrilling, tragic, and occasionally comic edge. Cast: Timothy Spall, William Miller, Adam Arnold, Tom Hardy, Sophie Okonedo, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Edward Fox, Anna Massey, Morven Christie, Sarah Lancashire, Gregor Fisher, Rob Brydon, John Sessions. A BBC-TV and WGBH 2007 production.  Not rated.

This American Life Season: Season 1

Join host Ira Glass and his company, as they bring a different theme to life each week, in the format of the popular Chicago radio show by the same name.  Based on the radio program on NPR.  Originally broadcast as a television program on Showtime in 2007.  Not rated.

This American Life: Season 2

Join host Ira Glass and his company, as they bring a different theme to life each week, in the format of the popular Chicago radio show by the same name.  Based on the radio program on NPR.  Segments originally produced in 2008.  Not Rated.

To the Manor Born: The Complete Collection

This BBC TV series from 1979-1980, follows the hilarious misadventures of the uppercrust but impoverished Audrey Forbes-Hamilton, once Lady of Grantley Manor, and Richard Devere, the mysterious “common” millionaire who buys her ancestral Estate. Penelope Keith, Peter Bowles, Angela Thorne. The Included in the collection is the 2007 Silver Anniversary Special, which fast-forwards 25 years to Audrey and Richard’s plans for their silver-anniversary celebration.

The Winds of War

Set against the backdrop of world events that led to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Naval officer, Victor “Pug” Henry, and his family learn to navigate the waters of dangerous times in the late 1930s. While Germany expands and proceeds to seize several border countries, Italy attempts to establish a Fascist Colonial Empire under Mussolini and Japan prepares for a major battle with China. Meanwhile, the Henry clan finds itself drawn into the center of the conflict as they deal with the drama, romance, tragedy and heroism that lead to America’s involvement in World War II. Cast Robert Mitchum, Ali MacGraw, Jan-Michael Vincent, John Houseman, Polly Bergen, Lisa Eilbacher, David Dukes, Victoria Tennant, Topol. Originally aired as a television mini series in 1983. Based on the novel by Herman Wouk.  Not rated.