This little clip is from the documentary “Heart of Darkness”, a behind the scenes look at Francis Ford Coppola during the production of Apocalypse Now. Coppola notes his excitement over “new 8mm cameras” and how they’re going to revolutionize filmmaking and enable everyone to make movies.

Yet this hasn’t happened. Not with 8mm cameras. Not with video recorders. Not with DV camcorders. Not with DLSRs. It will never happen no matter how affordable and accessible the technology gets. Because Coppola forgot one important detail: it doesn’t matter what camera you’re shooting on, if you don’t have a story to tell, it’s useless. You are no more an “artist” if you shoot a shitty story on the Red Epic than on your iPhone. You’re still a shitty storyteller.

Oh, the folks at the History Channel, always sending over new and exciting bits. And today they may well have topped themselves with the Vietnam in HD package, a copy of which they sent over for us to review.

Vietnam in HD is, pretty much, what the box says: the Vietnam War, in HD. It is, in fact, nearly indistinguishable from WWII In HD, which we just reviewed out here not too long ago. It’s made precisely the same way, with footage taken from home movies and the like and then updated in HD with a smattering of big names delivering narration. It’s about the same general concept, just a different time…but at the same time, there’s so much different between there and there, with different lines of thought, different priorities, and a different way of life.

The good part about this is that it’s going to be very, very inclusive. You’ll have some excellent stretches describing the buildup, and then a whole lot devoted to the war itself. Of course, some will say that the Navy and the Air Force are given short shrift here, but considering that this was primarily a jungle war, it’s pretty safe to say just why. There’s plenty here about Operation Rolling Thunder, though, so you’ve got a healthy chunk of the air war.

And indeed, there are plenty of big names involved in the narration here; names like Dean Cain, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Blair Underwood and James Marsden all make appearances as we get a deeply in-depth look at one of the most controversial military actions of the 20th century.

Basically, you’ll know pretty much going in just whether or not this will be any value for you or not. If you have any interest at all in the Vietnam War, or you enjoyed History’s earlier release of WWII In HD, then you should be in great company right here. This is prime candy for the war buff out there, and I’ll give fair odds that this is going to be showing up in some history classes in high schools, maybe even colleges, before it’s all said and done.

The Screenhead Ten Scale, meanwhile, gives Vietnam in HD a well-worthwhile eight out of ten. This may not be quite as extensive as the earlier WWII In HD, but it will more than definitely do the job. If you’re looking for a shot of incredibly in-depth war history, then you’ve got everything you need, and then some, right here.

Impressively prolific studio Lions Gate brings us another set of terrific titles to make up the multi-review this week, and the block this week is made up of three they’ve sent out for us: Mob Rules, From Prada To Nada, and KJB.

Mob Rules gives us a dose of dramatic action, as we go out to London. A pair of felons with a penchant for Shakespeare find themselves out for revenge in a bid to get back the money they should have received from a job gone wrong years prior. And said felons have a plan to get it all back that’s going to take them from London to America and points beyond.

While there is both plenty of action and drama in Mob Rules, there’s an interesting sense of humor running throughout that crops up at unexpected points and gives a distinct note of surprise that’s very welcome. Think of this like a slightly gritty, slightly urban, slightly downsized, and very, very English version of Ocean’s 11. The end result is still very watchable, and brings together a lot of interesting and largely dissimilar (but surprisingly interrelated) plot points that make this one unexpectedly deep.

From Prada To Nada, meanwhile, takes us out to California, where a couple of Beverly Hills princesses have been living it up on Daddy’s fortune. But when Daddy’s fortune goes the way of the dodo, the duo finds themselves staying with their aunt. And in the process, they get exposed to a whole new side of life. Will the experience make them better people? Or will it break them just as much as it broke Daddy?

If this one is giving off a Simple Life with Paris and Nicole kind of vibe to you, then rest assured, you’re not alone. However, considering that this is actually a strange kind of Latino version of Sense and Sensibility (complete with mariachi band at a man’s funeral), it’s going to be a little deeper than you might think. Okay, it’s going to be a lot deeper than you might think. It’s actually a reasonable facsimile, though it’s been a while since I last read Sense and Sensibility. Fair warning, though: it will spend a good chunk of time being a total downer, but then, so did pretty much everything Jane Austen ever wrote. Still though, it’s surprisingly engrossing stuff, and you’ll likely get a kick out of it, especially if you have a literary bent.

Lastly we’ve got KJB, which here is an acronym for the King James Bible. And this is the story of how it came to be. For those of you not familiar, the story of the King James Bible is actually a deep and complex tale that’s jammed to the gills with intrigue and just a little suspense to round out the whole package. See, a lot of people had a vested interest in keeping the King James Bible out of a lot of people’s hands, and this is going to give you at least some of the story behind that.

I say some, of course, because this is actually a Dove Family Film selection. That basically means that you’re not going to get the whole story out of this, but you’ll get quite a bit of it, anyway. And considering the kind of performances put up here, you should be reasonably happy with the final outcome. Want a shot of history that doesn’t come from the History Channel for a change? Like religious history? Then you’ll be in excellent company with this one.

So there you go, another three fine Lions Gate titles; each have their ups and downs, and each one will cater toward a specific interest, but each will be worthwhile in its own way. You’ve got plenty of great options out there, and keep it right here for plenty more to come!

The powers that be are calling The Elephant in the Living Room too big of a movie to ignore. I guess they are right because in the documentary we see a five hundred pound African lion attacking cars on a freeway, a sixteen foot Burmese Python in a restaurant parking lot and a panther running loose in a residential neighborhood.

With that said, we picked our winner of this extraordinary and award winning documentary.  Charlie Kusers, who says, “I would love to see this movie, sounds great!”

The Elephant in the Living Room takes viewers on a journey deep inside the controversial subculture where the most dangerous animals on earth are kept as common household pets. Director Michael Webber follows Tim Harrison, a leading authority and the man responsible for the rescue and capture of “domesticated” exotic animals, as he works through the flood of calls he receives of dangerous predators roaming the inner-city and nearby suburbs. Tim deals with a ten-foot alligator walking through the streets of a mid-western town, a gaboon viper lurking in a garage and countless other sightings of cougars, tigers, lions, bears and reptiles.

The lives of two men intersect in the midst of this extraordinary film that brings light to the world of exotic pets. One, Tim Harrison, a police officer whose friend was killed by an exotic pet, and the other, Terry Brumfield, a man who is overcoming depression through a close connection with his pet African lion. Winner of five BEST DOCUMENTARY awards, The Elephant in the Living Room delivers the emotional story with exclusive interviews and never before seen footage of this highly controversial topic.

The folks out at Lions Gate sent out a copy of the Bratz 3-Movie Collection, for some reason, and I consider it a point of professional integrity to tackle whatever’s sent my way. And as such, I tuck into this very, very niche product with predictable results. The Bratz 3-Movie Collection is comprised of three movies–much as the title suggests–and we’ll be tackling each in this week’s multi-review.

First we kick off with the first such Bratz movie ever–Bratz: Starrin & Stylin. More about that title in a minute. This one follows a group of girls who have been best friends for a long time. And just before their prom, they’ve been hit with an unexpected assignment on the topic of self expression, and with their prom coming up, this assignment promises to make their lives very difficult, at least until they discover that their primary mode of self-expression also fits into prom clothes, which is handy to say the least.

Never mind that the characters aren’t just in the Uncanny Valley, they’re sufficiently in it to own a time share. It’s the plot of this one that gets me. It’s reasonably acceptable–nothing particularly wrong with it–but it’s a pretty weak plot all the same. I mean, we’re talking about four girls who are trying to complete an assignment in high school. What’s the sequel, they go to the grocery store to buy a chocolate bar? Oh, no, wait! In the next one they mow the lawn! Actually, the next one in the series will make up for the first’s frightening lack of vision, but will replace a lack of vision with a lack of plausibility.

Bratz: Rock Angels brings us back to Bratz turf, where now they’ve started a fashion magazine. And with that, they set out to get backstage at a rock concert and deliver the first post-concert report, thus drawing much-needed attention to their fledgling publication. But when the concert proves impossible to get into, the Bratz are going to have to carry out a little inventiveness to save the day.

This one is actually worse in terms of plot. See, I’m supposed to actually believe that a bunch of teenage girls started a fashion magazine? Really? Where did they get that kind of cash? And while this is a startup magazine–outlandish enough in its own right–now we’re supposed to believe that that their twenty minute old magazine is sufficient to get them backstage at what is said to be a fairly major rock show? And then, when they find out that they can’t get backstage (and not because no one takes a magazine started by four teenage girls yesterday seriously, either), they start a band on the spot just to pull it off. There are more holes in this movie’s plot than a block of Swiss cheese at a shooting range.

Lastly, we have Bratz: Genie Magic, which this time takes us out to meet a new friend of the Bratz girls, Katia. Katia’s got some reality-warping powers, though she’s been using them with a faux-government agency under her father’s supervision. But straining at the bit, what with being the only teenage girl in an environment full of scientists and secret evil geniuses causes her to snap and run off. Now with reality being warped in a whole different direction, the Bratz girls will have to work, once again, together in a bid to ensure the survival of the very earth.

And now we top off the sheer bizarre with this one, the one that requires us to accept magic. Well, it’s bizarre, sure enough, but at least this one lacks the plot holes thanks to the ever popular “a wizard did it” excuse, though it’ll actually be a genie involved. When you introduce magic into the plot, you’re pretty much wide open to do whatever the hell you want vis-a-vis the narrative, logic be quite thoroughly damned. After all, who is anyone, even me, to say, hey, wait a minute–wizards / genies / goblins / whatever can’t do that! You can’t. No one can. It’s the best cheat ever, and because they used it, it lowers them a notch in my book, if such a thing were even possible.

And there you have it…three preposterous titles that I wouldn’t let within a country mile of my house if not for professional reasons. Granted, if you’re a twelve year old girl, you’ll probably get a kick out it. Maybe you’ll even find them inspirational. But for anyone else? They’re just not going to fly. The series gets progressively worse the farther in it goes, and considering how low the whole thing started out at, well, there’s nothing quite like watching a movie series not only find the bottom of the barrel, but promptly decide to exercise its substantial “girl power” to start digging.

The powers that be are calling The Elephant in the Living Room too big of a movie to ignore. I guess they are right because in the documentary we see a five hundred pound African lion attacking cars on a freeway, a sixteen foot Burmese Python in a restaurant parking lot and a panther running loose in a residential neighborhood.

The Elephant in the Living Room takes viewers on a journey deep inside the controversial subculture where the most dangerous animals on earth are kept as common household pets. Director Michael Webber follows Tim Harrison, a leading authority and the man responsible for the rescue and capture of “domesticated” exotic animals, as he works through the flood of calls he receives of dangerous predators roaming the inner-city and nearby suburbs. Tim deals with a ten-foot alligator walking through the streets of a mid-western town, a gaboon viper lurking in a garage and countless other sightings of cougars, tigers, lions, bears and reptiles.

The lives of two men intersect in the midst of this extraordinary film that brings light to the world of exotic pets. One, Tim Harrison, a police officer whose friend was killed by an exotic pet, and the other, Terry Brumfield, a man who is overcoming depression through a close connection with his pet African lion. Winner of five BEST DOCUMENTARY awards, The Elephant in the Living Room delivers the emotional story with exclusive interviews and never before seen footage of this highly controversial topic.

Screenhead has one copy to giveaway. To enter the giveaway post your name and we will pick the winner November 21, 2011.

U.S. Residents Only

One of the grandest traditions in all of Discovery Channel, one of the only good reasons to actually have cable any more, is Shark Week. And seeing as we’ve just left behind another season of Shark Week, it’s always good to get caught up in case there was anything you missed. The folks out at Discovery sent out a copy of Shark Week: Restless Fury to help us get reacquainted, and if you like sharks, you’ll be all over this one.

Shark Week: Restless Fury sets us up with a variety of shark-themed programs spread over two discs, including a best-of disc with some bonus features. You’ll also get a set of individual shows featuring sharks from various angles and under various premises, including a shark filmed in ultra slow motion, a series of stories from survivors of shark attacks, and a whole sequence devoted to surviving a shark attack hosted by a former Special Forces operative. Whether you’re interested in what sharks look like or what kind of damage they can do, you’re going to be pretty well covered here…as long as you like sharks.

Basically, no matter what your particular interest in sharks, you’re almost certain to be covered here. They’ve covered the waterfront with this small selection of shark fare. Basically, if you’re looking for an introduction to Shark Week (or, parenthetically, looking to introduce someone else to Shark Week), then you’re going to have most everything you need right here to show off the full range of Shark Week phenomena. And considering that this sucker’s got two discs and a total run time of three hundred eighty seven minutes, you’ll want to have a good chunk of a week (well, okay, only about five percent of a week) available anyway to get through all of this.

And naturally, some of this will be better than other parts. But no matter what, if you’re not into sharks, you’re going to be caught somewhat flat-footed here, because that’s all this is about. They’ve even got it stamped on the front. But still, Shark Week is some of Discovery’s best stuff, and should be judged accordingly.

The Screenhead Ten Scale gives Shark Week: Restless Fury a seven out of ten for providing a great selection of Shark Week fare. Some of it is better than others, of course, but most of it will still be very much worth your time. Admittedly, you’ll have to be into sharks to enjoy it, but still–most of it is sufficiently exciting to be interesting.

The Travel Channel, perhaps one of the last worthwhile reasons to actually subscribe to cable, has long had a tradition of showing off great “pig-out” restaurants, places where the food is big and the mystique bigger. And thanks to their new series, Man Vs. Food (which they sent out a copy of for review), they’ll give us a great look at some big names and some big entrees from all over the United States.

Man Vs. Food Season Three hooks us up with Adam Richman, dogged foodie who’s going all over the United States in search of a great meal. He’ll meet the staff, the patrons, and then eventually, the food. But it’s not about a dinner with Adam Richman–oh no. He’ll be taking on some big name food challenges–not the least of which is Phoenix, Arizona’s hollow-roll sliders special (a five pound platter of tiny sandwiches comprised of beef brisket and a potato pancake, backed up by an order of onion strings meant to be eaten in a half hour)–and see if he can manage to get his name into some record books…or at least local legends.

Obviously, the big draw here is for anyone who likes food. It’s not just about the food challenges, either. You’ll also see some truly preposterous stuff like the Big Unit at Alice Cooperstown, a twenty two inch hot dog served inside an entire French baguette (that’s a loaf of bread, for those of you what don’t…parlez…) and then topped off with a variety of toppings including chili and cheese. Then things get weirder and often bigger from there, breakfast, lunch and dinner alike.

And if you came for the chance to see big food, then you can stay for the chance to watch some guy take on said food. He won’t always win, but he’ll always put on a good show.

It’s amazing to see all these different giant foods, whether or not Adam’s in a competition with it, and seeing just what all is out there is exciting in its own right. Granted, you may not necessary be interested in big food, and you won’t get very far with this, so if you like the niche, then it’s certainly one to watch.

The Screenhead Ten Scale gives Man Vs. Food Season Three an eight out of ten–it’s great stuff if you enjoy the niche, and considering I do, I definitely enjoyed it. Whether you’ll enjoy it or not will depend on your fondness for food, but if you like to eat and see different foods, well, you’ll be very, very happy here indeed.

The folks out at the History Channel sent over a chunk of American history that’s pretty much one of the biggest there is. It’s called Lee & Grant, and for Civil War buffs, there’s not going to be a whole lot bigger than that. But as it will turn out, these two titans of American military action will have a whole lot more going on than you might have expected.

Lee & Grant won’t be focusing so much on the Civil War as a whole, but rather on the two commanders of the Union and Confederate armies. Their early lives, their educations, their religious perspectives, and suchlike will be brought up, interspersed between each other. The differences between the two are surprisingly stark, and will be explored throughout the presentation.

They’re going to go into some truly incredible detail on this one, though you can pretty much expect that from most anything the History Channel brings out. It’s actually very surprising; as a regular reader of Harry Turtledove and a frequent student since the eighties, well, I think I’ve heard a lot about the Civil War, and there were plenty of things I never heard of here.

There are also a series of graphic sequences, displaying both maps and troop movements across said maps, showing you what was going on in the major battlefields of history. Plus, there’s even some truly top-notch narration by Jonathan Frakes, as well as a series of short commentaries by a variety of experts in the field.

Obviously, if you don’t have any interest in the Civil War, then most of this will be lost on you and you probably won’t have any interest in getting your hands on it any which way. But if you do have that interest, if you do follow the only civil war the United States has ever had (which is why the capital letters and the word “the” comes into play in conjunction with it so often), then you’re definitely going to enjoy this. As an educational tool, it will be impressive, and if high school history classes aren’t using this in some way then, frankly, I say they’re missing out. Still though, for most folks, Lee & Grant may not be sufficient enough to compel a watching.

The Screenhead Ten Scale gives Lee & Grant a seven out of ten–while it’s  a very niche product the History Channel has put on, and won’t be for everyone, those who do give this one a run will find a very orderly, very well put together piece of surprisingly watchable documentary-style television on DVD.

If the economy is getting you down, and the staycation concept is starting to wear a little thin for you, then be of good cheer, world traveler in the making, for I have a treat for you. The folks out at Acorn Media sent out a copy of the Visions of Europe box set, and if you want to really show the power of a home theater system, and its ultimate value, then you must have a copy of this.

Visions of Europe is a massive travelogue of a different sort. While many travelogues would subject you to a chipper, cheerful host (Samantha Brown, I’m looking at you) who can get a little annoying at times as they walk throughout the various places they wish to show. But Visions of Europe takes a whole different path, instead going by helicopter with a faceless narrator who takes you to all the great sights of a variety of European lands.

Set to some absolutely unbelievable music, and treating us to some breathtaking scenery, Visions of Europe is, quite literally, the next best thing to being there, as you get to see all the great tourist attractions, as well as a variety of other sights, from an angle precious few people get to see it from: above.

You will see magnificent sights with Visions of Europe, but you will also learn a great number of things about a variety of different places. You’ll learn about the history and the current culture of major cities, but also lesser known places like Lipara and Bavaria, among literally a host of others.

And just in case the learning and the beauty aren’t sufficient for you, then there’s another good reason to have this one around, and that’s as a showpiece for your home theater system. If you want to see just how potent your hardware is, you put this on. And when you can hear each octave of the classical and popular scores, and see each ocean wave ripple and leaf wave in a passing breeze, you know you’ve got some serious home theater gear that will utterly destroy anything the theater can bring out.

Admittedly, if you’re not interested in seeing the great cities of Europe and the relevant sights, then this will bore you to tears. But as a show of beauty, as an educational device, even as the new measure by which your home theater quality can assert itself, Visions of Europe will serve so many purposes it’s hard not to like it.

The Screenhead Ten Scale gives Visions of Europe a full ten out of ten for managing to do so much in one six blu-ray set. It’s thoroughly amazing stuff, and if you have any interest in seeing the amazing sights Europe has to offer, then this is the place to start looking.