In Pictures

New Videos | New Feature Films | Other News

New Videos

The JVC/Smithsonian Folkways Video Anthology of Music and Dance of the Americas (Film 781.620097 J989 2005 DVD) - JVC and Smithsonian Folkways have partnered to produce this six DVD set that extends and supplements the original 30 volume set by adding music from both North and South America.  A booklet is available for each DVD, as well.

The JVC/Smithsonian Folkways Video Anthology of Music and Dance of Africa (Film 781.620096 J989 2005 DVD) - JVC and Smithsonian Folkways have partnered to produce this three DVD set that extends and supplements the original 30 volume set by adding music from eleven countries in Africa.  A booklet is available for each DVD, as well.

Die Zauberflote (Film 782.1 Z193 2003 DVD) - Film of a 2003 performance of Mozart's opera The Magic Flute at the Royal Opera House with Simon Keenlyside and Dorthea Roschmann in the lead roles.

Die Zauberflote (Film782.1 Z192 1991 2000 DVD) - The 1991 Metropolitan Opera House production of Mozart's The Magic Flute starring Kathleen Battle.

The Allen Brain Atlas: A Quantum Leap in Neurological Research (Film 573.8619353 A1532 2007 DVD) - This NewsHour program looks at the Allen Brain Atlas, an interactive 3-D map of gene expression in the mouse brain.

Craft in America (Film 745.5 C8425 2007 DVD) - PBS look at the craft movement, particularly its history and impact, in the United States.

Swing State Ohio: A Journey to the Heartland of a Divided Nation (Film 324.973 Sw64 2006 DVD) - Looks at the electoral process by looking at the 2004 campaign in Ohio, a diverse state with 20 electoral votes.  It also serves as a reminder why Ohio will again likely play a key role in the election of a new president.

Unforgotten: Twenty-Five Years after Willowbrook (Film 362.4 Un29 2002 DVD) - Looks at the impact on patients and families twenty five years after Geraldo Rivera exposed conditions at Willowbrook, a New York school for those with developmental disabilities.

Touch the Sound: A Sound Journey with Evelyn Glennie (Film 362.42092 G4878t 2006 DVD) - Explores the intersection of sound, sight, and touch by focusing on award-winning percussionist Evelyn Glennie, who is also deaf.

In Whose Honor? (Film 306.483 In18 1997 DVD) - A look at the use of Native American nicknames and mascots in sports.

Hoop Dreams (Film 796.32362 H7661 2005 DVD) - Classic documentary that follows two inner-city young men as they chase their dream of professional basketball.

The Heart of the Game (Film 796.3236208 H33515 2007 DVD) - Follows in the footsteps of Hoop Dreams by following the Roosevelt Roughriders (Seattle, WA, not Kent, OH) girls' basketball team over the course of six seasons.

Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq (Film 956.704433 Al48 2007 DVD) - An HBO documentary that looks at ten soldiers who have been severely disabled while fighting in Iraq.  The title refers to the day they narrowly escaped death in Iraq.  

Pickles, Inc.: Arab-Israeli Women Launch a Business (Film 338.6420882 P587 2005 DVD) - The story of eight Arab widows living in the Galilean village of Tamra, who, in 2003, started a business - The Azka Pickle Cooperative - seeking financial independence for themselves and their children.

Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion (Film 951.505 T433 2004 DVD) - A look at Tibet behind the scenes based on ten years of research and nine journeys to Tibet, India, and Nepal.

Vietnam: A Television History (Film 959.7043 V6784 1983 2004 DVD) - Part of the PBS series The American Experience, this four-disc set provides a history of the Vietnam War.

Art 21: Art in the Twenty-First Century (Film 709.7309051 Ar751 2007 DVD v.4) - The fourth season of the PBS series on contemporary art.

The Art of Quilting (Film 746.46 Ar756 2007 DVD) - Explores the techniques and artistry in American quilts and quilt making.

2000 Miles North (Film 325.77166 T9308 2006 DVD) - Done as a graduate school project at Kent State University, this documentary looks at illegal Guatemalan immigrants in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, and how the immigrants adapt to small town Ohio and how small town Ohio adapts to them.

The Lobotomist (Film 617.481 L7861 2008 DVD) - A look at the use of lobotomies and Dr. Walter Freeman, who pioneered the operation.

Toddlerhood: Physical and Cognitive Development (Film 155.4 D4922 v. 17 2003 DVD) - A look at how walking initiates the toddler stage and the mental and physical changes that come during that stage.
 

New Feature Films

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Feature Film H2498 2007 DVD) - Two-disc special edition of the fifth Harry Potter film.

Lady Sings the Blues (Feature Film L128 1972 2005 DVD) - Diana Ross stars in this film version of the life of blues singer Billie Holiday.

She's Gotta Have It (Feature Film Sh5911986 2008 DVD) - Nola Darling (Tracy Camila Johns) tries to decide which, if any, of the guys she is dating has "it," in Spike Lee's first feature film from 1986.

Silent Fall (Feature Film Si330 1994 2000 DVD) - An autistic nine-year old is the only witness to his parents brutal murders with his memory closed inside him.  Richard Dreyfuss, Linda Hamilton, and John Lithgow star.

Mozart and the Whale (Feature Film M877 2006 DVD) - Josh Hartnett and Radha Mitchell star in this romance between two people with Asperger's Syndrome.

K-Pax (Feature Film K1 2002 DVD) - Jeff Bridges stars as a jaded psychiatrist who is challenged by a patient (Kevin Spacey), who claims to be from planet K-Pax.

Benny and Joon (Feature Film B4399 1993 2001 DVD) - A mentally ill woman (played by Mary Stuart Masterson) falls for a eccentric young man (played by Johnny Depp - now there's a surprise!) much to the chagrin of her strict older brother (Aidan Quinn) who cares for her.

Persuasion (Feature Film P4329 1971 2004 DVD) - Originally a BBC miniseries, Ann Fairbanks and Bryan Marshall star in this adaptation of the Jane Austen novel.

Rory O'Shea Was Here (Feature Film R699 2005 DVD) - Crippled Rory O'Shea (James McAvoy) moves into a residential institution and has an immediate impact on the other residents, especially Michael (Steven Robinson), who suffers from cerebral palsy.

Tomorrow's Children (Feature Film T598 1934 2005 DVD) - A 1935 film that looks at the issue of forced sterilization.

African Queen (Feature Film Af838 1951 1997 VHS) - Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart star in this movie version of the C. S. Forester novel set in German East Africa during World War I.

Becoming Jane (Feature Film B3898 2008 DVD) - Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy star in this big screen version of the life of Jane Austen.

No Country for Old Men (Feature Film N6596 2008 DVD) - Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin star in the 2007 Academy Award Best Film winner.  Adapted by the Coen brothers from the novel by Cormac McCarthy.

Capote (Feature Film C1734 2006 DVD) - Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as Truman Capote in this film based on the relationship between the author of In Cold Blood and one of the killers.

Rome: The Complete First Season (Feature Film R6641 2006 DVD v.1) - The first season, originally aired in 2005-2006 on HBO, on six discs as the Republic begins to disintegrate.

Rome: The Complete Second Season (Feature Film R 6641 2007 DVD v. 2) - The second and final season of the HBO series on five discs and continuing the story of season 1, above.

The Jane Austen Book Club (Feature Film J253 2008 DVD) - A group of six friends, five of whom are Jane Austen fans, meet to distract themselves from losses in their lives.  Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman, Jimmy Smits, and Lynn Redgrave star.

Camp (Feature Film C1501 2004 DVD) - Fame meets a summer camp comedy in this movie about Camp Ovation, a summer camp for budding actors, dancers, and musicians.

Becket (Feature Film B3888 1964 2007 DVD) - Richard Burton (as Thomas Becket) and Peter O'Toole (Henry) in the story of the conflict between old friends when Becket, as Archbishop of Canterbury, openly opposes Henry II.

The Fountain (Feature Film F8255 2006 DVD) - A man takes off through space and time to challenge death.  Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz star.

Love in the Time of Cholera (Feature Film L9414 2008 DVD) - Javier Bardem, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, and Benjamin Bratt star in this big-screen adaptation of the Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel.

Peter Pan (Feature Film P4416 2003 DVD) - Neither the Disney animation nor a filming of the Broadway production, but a new film version starring Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter, and Olivia Williams.

Shattered Glass (Feature Film Sh251 2004 DVD) - Hayden Christensen stars as Stephen Glass in this biographical drama that looks at a popular writer for publications such as Rolling Stone and The New Republic whose career comes to a sudden halt.
 

Other News

Format Wars - With Toshiba's February announcement that it would cease producing HD DVD players and recorders in March, Blu-ray has won the latest format war (you remember VHS vs. Beta, don't you?).  Both formats were designed for high definition and increased picture quality.  So, when will the library begin buying Blu-ray rather than the current DVD format?  Not anytime soon given the lack of players and high def TVs on campus necessary to take full advantage of the new format.  We will continue to monitor the situation and I expect at some point the library will begin to shift formats.

In Pictures Goes Monthly -  When I began this newsletter, I opted for bi-monthly publication thinking the library would never acquire sufficient numbers of videos to justify monthly publication.  OK, I was wrong!  The collection continues to grow at a rapid pace so starting next fall, In Pictures will be published monthly.  I hope shorter lists of titles will make it easier to read and make it more useful. So until then, have a good summer!