Tag Archives: 80s

Aug 12 2014
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Movies, Pop Culture, Television

‘Sho’ Nuff

Epic ‘80s TV miniseries comes to Blu-ray loaded with bonus features

Shogun

Shogun

DVD $85 (CBS Home Entertainment & Paramount Home Media Distribution)

 

Now re-mastered in hi-def and released for the first time on Blu-ray, this award-winning TV three-part mini-series, based on the bestselling James Clavell novel, captivated viewers over five nights in 1980 with the exploits of a 17th century British navigator (Richard Chamberlain) shipwrecked off the coast of Japan and caught up in a deadly, epic struggle of love and war in the land of the rising sun. Almost two hours of bonus features include a 13-part making-of documentary, which detail the intricacies, controversies and complications of filming the entire production in Japan, and commentary by the director.

 

—Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine

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Apr 30 2014
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Books, History, Pop Culture, Television

British Invasion

Recalling the ’80s ‘new wave’ of bands from across the sea

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Mad World

By Lori Majewski & Jonathan Bernstein

Softcover, 320 pages, $19.95 / Kindle edition $9.99 (Abrams)

 

If you came of age the ’80s, you remember the impact of British “new wave,” as MTV introduced America to the sights and sounds of the synth pop, goth, industrial, electro and punk-alt-rock combinations that came from across the sea—and helped to define a generation. This sprawling, photo-packing oral history, featuring interviews with members of Tears For Fears (the title comes from one of their tunes) Duran Duran, Adam and the Ants, INXS, Simple Minds, A-ha, The Waitresses, Bow Wow Wow and many more acts of the decade, all talking about their music and their time in the spotlight, casts an entertaining, insightful retro glow on one of pop music’s most colorful, anything-goes eras.

 

—Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine

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Apr 23 2014
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DVDs, Television

The Heat on the ‘Hill’

A royal roundup of the classic ’80s TV series

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Hill Street Blues: The Complete Series

DVD, $199.99 (Shout! Factory)

 

In the early 1980s, there were no smarter, sharper cops on TV than the ones who worked the metropolitan beat of Hill Street, the ones who began each day hearing the encouraging words of Sgt. Esterhaus (Michael Conrad) telling them to “Be careful out there.” This superb, first-time roundup of all 144 acclaimed episodes, which received 26 Emmy Awards during its seven-year network run, includes a bounty of bonus content, including the original 1981 pilot episode, a 24-page commemorative book, commentary by some of the show’s outstanding ensemble cast, writers and creators, and on-set gags and practical jokes.

—Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine

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Jan 17 2014
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Pop Culture, Television

Defensive Tackle

Perry Mason returns to the job in box set of TV movies

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Perry Mason Movie Collection

DVD ($58.99, Paramount Home Video)

When the TV courtroom closed in 1966 after nine contentious seasons, Hollywood’s unflappable defense attorney went on hiatus for actor Raymond Burr to guest-star in other TV shows and movies, and even play another attorney in Ironsides (1967-75). But he eventually returned to the role that made him famous. A bit more grizzled than he was back in the black-and-white days, Perry nonetheless still has the stuff as he represent his former secretary (Barbara Hale) when she’s accused of murder (!) and digs into five other keep-you-guessing, cloak-and-dagger cases in this roundup of full-length TV movies from the mid-’80s.

—Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine

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