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'Playing Shakespeare' The Way The Pros Do It

Fresh Air

Playing Shakespeare, a 1984 series in which actors dissect some of the Bard's most famous works, shows how crucial an understanding of Shakespeare's language and versification are to conveying the meaning — and power — of his scenes.

'Playing Shakespeare' The Way The Pros Do It

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'Mad Men': Behaving Badly, And Loving Every Minute

Fresh Air

Martinis, misogyny and men behaving badly: AMC's drama series remembers an era's excesses in stunning style. The setting: a Manhattan ad agency, circa 1960. The first season has just been released on DVD.

'Mad Men': Behaving Badly, And Loving Every Minute

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Ernst Lubitsch's Comedic, Elegant Early Operettas

Fresh Air

The introduction of sound to movies left audiences hungry for "talkies" and paved the way for the early operettas of German-born Jewish film director Ernst Lubitsch. Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new DVD collection of Lubitsch's early works.

Ernst Lubitsch's Comedic, Elegant Early Operettas

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Review

Dylan in Performance: 'The Other Side of the Mirror'

Fresh Air

The Bob Dylan concert film The Other Side of the Mirror chronicles Dylan's performances at the Newport Folk Festival from 1963 to 1965. Critic Ed Ward has a review.

Dylan in Performance: 'The Other Side of the Mirror'

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From 1931, a Vintage 'Threepenny' on DVD

Fresh Air

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the new DVD of The Threepenny Opera. G.W. Pabst's 1931 film version of the Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weill musical, with Weill's wife Lotte Lenya as Jenny, is newly out from the Criterion Collection.

From 1931, a Vintage 'Threepenny' on DVD

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On DVD: 'Twin Peaks,' 'Seinfeld,' 'My So-Called Life'

Fresh Air

Fresh Air's TV critic looks at three lavish DVD box sets: David Lynch's deliciously eccentric Twin Peaks, the legendary '90s comedy Seinfeld, and the cult-classic teen drama My So-Called Life.

On DVD: 'Twin Peaks,' 'Seinfeld,' 'My So-Called Life'

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A Chorus of Movie Musicals Reprised on DVD

Fresh Air

Fresh Air's classical music critic reviews several vintage Hollywood musicals that have recently been released on DVD. Titles include The Pirate, Words and Music, Royal Wedding and The Gang's All Here.

A Chorus of Movie Musicals Reprised on DVD

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'Popeye' on DVD: It's Strong to the Finich

Fresh Air

Critic Milo Miles reviews the new four-DVD set, Popeye the Sailor 1933-1938. The animated series features the classic Popeye cartoons by the Fleischer Brothers studios. Miles calls the set a first-rate reissue.

'Popeye' on DVD: It's Strong to the Finich

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Devouring TV's Hits, Whole Seasons at a Time

Fresh Air

With the rise of the TV-series box set, more shows are earning fans who power through episodes one after another. Critic David Bianculli reviews two newly released sets: the debut seasons of Heroes and Friday Night Lights.

Devouring TV's Hits, Whole Seasons at a Time

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Rediscovering 'La Jetee' and 'Sans Soleil' on DVD

Fresh Air

Fresh Air's critic-at-large reviews a new DVD set featuring two masterpieces by French filmmaker Chris Marker: 1962's La Jetee and 1984's Sans Soleil. The first is a science-fiction story set in a post-apocalyptic Paris; the narrator of the brilliantly perceptive Sans Soleiltells viewers about the letters she's received from a globe-trotting friend; her monologue is accompanied by footage from around the world.

Rediscovering 'La Jetee' and 'Sans Soleil' on DVD

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Dylan, the Red Dog and the Real Summer of Love

Fresh Air

Rock historian Ed Ward reviews three recent DVDs: the deluxe edition of D.A. Pennebaker's Bob Dylan documentary Don't Look Back, a Dylan press conference released as Dylan Speaks, and Rockin' at the Red Dog, a documentary on an all-but-forgotten bar in Nevada.

Dylan, the Red Dog and the Real Summer of Love

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