Dealhacker: The Top 50 DVDs And Blu-rays From JB Hi-Fi’s Epic Movie Sale

When it comes to movies and TV shows, physical media is definitely on its last legs. For traditionalists, this just means that prices have never been better! JB Hi-Fi is in the midst of a massive clearance sale with more than 350 DVDs and Blu-rays going for under $10. Here are 50 hand-picked titles that everybody should have in their collection. To make life easy, we’ve also included links to each deal.

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Call us old fashioned, but we think there’s still a place for DVDs and Blu-rays on a movie buff’s shelf. Whether you subscribe to Netflix, Stan, Presto, or all three, you simply won’t find every title that’s available at your local movie store. Then there are the commentary tracks, special features and (in the case of Blu-ray) superior resolution to sweeten the deal.

With that in mind, we’ve sifted through JB Hi-Fi’s 350-strong DVD clearance sale to bring you the best movies under $10, some of which aren’t available from streaming services in Australia. The discs run for between $9.95 and $7 apiece. Click on the links to go each deal. Happy shopping!

Kids

[Note: JB Hi-Fi is currently throwing a Buy-2-Get-1-Free deal on the below children’s DVDs. If you see two movies you like, you can add another to your basket for free.]

• Babe

  Academy Award winner and Best Picture nominee, Babe is the inspirational story of a shy Yorkshire piglet who doesn’t quite know his place in the world. But when Farmer Hoggett (James Cromwell) wins him at the county fair, Babe discovers that he can be anything he wants to be – even an award-winning sheepdog! With the help of a delightful assortment of barnyard friends, the heroic little pig is headed for the challenge of his life in this endearing and fun-filled tale the whole family will love.

• The Lego Movie

  The LEGO Movie, the first-ever, full-length theatrical LEGO adventure, directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller is an original 3D computer animated story that follows Emmet, an ordinary, rules-following, perfectly average LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. He is drafted into a fellowship of strangers on an epic quest to stop an evil tyrant, a journey for which Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously underprepared.

• Disney’s Robin Hood

  Retelling of the Robin Hood legend with animals for the characters. Robin Hood is an outlaw who starts to form a gang in Sherwood Forest to fight the injustices of the Sheriff of Nottingham, who levies unpayable taxes upon the people.

• Wallace & Gromit’s World Of Invention – Season 1

  “Wallace is concerned that there are fewer people inventing and making stuff these days so with the support of his devoted sidekick Gromit he has decided to make his own television series featuring a light-hearted and humorous look at real-life contraptions gadgets and inventions. Each show will contain filmed reports from around the world with Wallace providing the commentary featuring eccentric and weird inventors.”

• The Boxtrolls

  The Boxtrolls is a comedic fable that unfolds in Cheesebridge, a posh Victorian-era town obsessed with wealth, class and the stinkiest of fine cheeses. Beneath its charming cobblestone streets dwell the Boxtrolls, foul monsters who crawl out of the sewers at night and steal what the townspeople hold most dear: their children and their cheeses. At least that’s the legend residents have always believed. In truth, the Boxtrolls are an underground cavern-dwelling community of quirky and lovable oddballs who wear recycled cardboard boxes the way turtles wear their shells. The Boxtrolls have raised an orphaned human boy since infancy as one of their dumpster-diving and mechanical junk-collecting own. When the Boxtrolls are targeted by a villainous pest exterminator who is bent on eradicating them as his ticket to Cheesebridge society, the kind-hearted band of tinkerers must turn to their adopted charge and an adventurous rich girl to bridge two worlds amidst the winds of change – and cheese.

• The Aristocats

  “Share all the heart, humour and irresistible music with your family in this jazzy Special Edition! In the heart of Paris, a kind and eccentric millionairess wills her entire estate to Duchess, her high-society cat, and her three kittens. When her greedy, bumbling butler attempts the ultimate catnap caper, the rough-and-tumble alley cat Thomas O’Malley and his band of swingin’ jazz cats must save the day. It’s the purr-fect blend of comedy and adventure. This timeless treasure boasts remarkable picture and sound quality, fun-filled special features and memorable songs the whole family will enjoy.”

• Fern Gully 1 & 2

  There’s magic in the rainforest and it’s called FernGully! Deep in the heart of the forest awaits a paradise filled with tiny sprites, winged fairies and tree spirits who all live in joyful harmony. But when their home is threatened by humans, one courageous sprite gives her all to save it! Featuring the voice talents of an all-star cast – including Robin Williams, Tim Curry, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong – FernGully is a fantastical adventure into a world you’ll want to visit again and again!

• The Muppets

  Muppet domination continues with a hilarious new movie from Walt Disney Studios. Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Chris Cooper join everyone’s favorite Muppets and an all-star celebrity cast in a comic adventure for the whole family. While on vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world’s biggest Muppet fan, his brother Gary, and friend Mary uncover the diabolical plot of a greedy oil millionaire to destroy the Muppet Theater. Now, the Muppet-loving trio must reunite Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and their friends to stage the greatest Muppet telethon ever and save their beloved theater. The gang is back together again in a must-own movie full of irresistible music and family fun.

• Muppet Treasure Island (50th Anniversary)

  The muppets are back into action in another movie based on a novel written by Robert Louis Stevenson. Kermit the Frog and his colleagues go on a warfare against ruthless pirates. They also share their problem-solving journey on sea to rescue a treasure.

• The Great Muppet Caper

  Stop the presses! The crime of the century has occurred, and Kermit, Fozzie and Gonzo are out to crack the case in this song-filled, star-studded extravaganza directed by the legendary Jim Henson. Packed with music, remarkable production numbers and hilarious cameo performances (including John Cleese), this fully restored and remastered 50th Anniversary Edition of THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER is the wackiest story ever told!

• Mary Poppins

  Winner of five Academy Awards (1964), including Best Actress (Julie Andrews), Best Song (“Chim Chim Cher-ee”) and Best Special Visual Effects, Mary Poppins is a movie experience your family will enjoy over and over again. “Practically Perfect In Every Way” Mary Poppins flies out of the windy London skies and into the home of two mischievous children. With the help of a carefree chimney sweep named Bert (Dick Van Dyke), the spirited nanny turns every chore into a game and every day into a “Jolly Holiday.” Share the music, the magic, and the joy of Mary Poppins with a whole new generation.

• Smurfs Specials Collection

  Here they are, three apples tall and still fun for all! Join Handy, Hefty, Grouchy, Brainy, Lazy, Smurfette, Papa Smurf and all your other favourites as they bring you the greatest show on Smurf in this collection of smurfy episodes! In this special collection join your favourite blue buddies as they rescue two young children, and learn a little more about the true meaning of Christmas, save spring from Gargamel and his godfather Lord Balthazar, prevent the wedding of wood elves from being ruined and many more exciting adventures.

• Lilo & Stitch

  Get ready for the wildly original story about an independent little girl named Lilo and her adopted alien “puppy,” the mischievous Stitch, a runaway genetic experiment from a faraway planet. After crash-landing on Earth, Stitch wreaks havoc on the Hawaiian Islands, but he also learns about loyalty, friendship and ‘ohana, the Hawaiian tradition of family.

• Mulan

  Based on an ancient Chinese poem, the legend of Mulan beautifully unfolds in Disney’s 36th animated classic! Full of daring adventure, hilarious characters and inspiring music, this feature celebrates honour, courage and a young girl’s quest to be true to her own heart. Beautiful and clever Mulan proves her worth outside of her tradition-bound society when, disguised as “Ping,” she bravely takes her father’s place in the Imperial Army. Helped by her outrageously funny guardian dragon Mushu and a lucky cricketnamed Cri-Kee, Mulan strives to earn the respect of her fellow warriors and their handsome Captain Shang. A climactic battle atop the Imperial Palace is where her family’s honour and the fate of the Emperor and all of China rest in her hands!

• Donald’s Laugh Factory

  On June 9, 1934 , a web-footed wonder named Donald first waddled onto the screen. Since then, this hilarious hothead has made us roar with laughter every time his feathers get ruffled. Now you can enjoy Donald Duck’s funniest moments in this side splitting collection of classic cartoons.Tea For Two Hundred finds Donald enjoying the great outdoors – and pestering a line of ants. But the little guys get revenge by turning his picnic into a disaster. In No Sail, Donald and Goofy go out to sea in a coin-operated boat, and when they run out of nickels, they have to fend off hungry sharks! Six more treasures include Bee On Guard, Orphan’s Benefit, Donald Duck And The Gorilla, Trick Or Treat, Test Pilot Donald and Sleepy Time Donald. From the first frame to the last, DONALD’S LAUGH FACTORY is the place where nonstop fun is produced 365 days a year!

• Coraline

  From the Director of The Nightmare Before Christmas comes a visually stunning stop-motion animated feature like you’ve never seen before! Coraline Jones is bored in her new home until she finds a secret door that leads her into a world that’s just like her own…but better! But when this fantastical adventure turns dangerous and her “other” Mother tries to keep her forever, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness and bravery to get home. Critics are hailing Coraline as “A remarkable feat of imagination.” (Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times).

Drama

• Full Metal Jacket

  A two-segment look at the effect of the military mindset and war itself on Vietnam era Marines. The first half follows a group of recruits in basic training under the command of the punishing Sgt. Hartman. The second half shows one of those recruits, Joker, covering the war as a correspondent for Stars and Stripes, focusing on the Tet offensive.

• Downfall

  An Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film and a world wide success, Downfall looks at the last fortnight of Adolph Hitler’s life; his inner circle -Eva Braun, Joseph and Magda Goebbels, Himmler, Speer; and the chaos of a country coming apart at the seams. Shifting between the bizarre atmosphere in Hitler’s concrete bunker in April 1945 as the Allies advance on Berlin and the Third Reich crumbles, and with the hopeless war raging above as civilians and soldiers fight on the streets as the Soviet Army turns the city into a pile of rubble. Not so much a ‘Hitler’ movie. Downfall’s a portrait of a totalitarian machine’s spiritual and emotional collapse. Based on Two recent best sellers including ‘Until The Final Hour’, the personal account of Hirschbiegel’s recreation of a war torn Berlin is massive and convincing, including meticulous design and stunning cinematography. The acting is exemplary, and Bruno Ganz who plays Hitler, makes the role startlingly real, creating a believable tyrant – crazy, murderous and seductive, yet oozing a strange kindness to some that makes his deadly hateful rages all the more chilling.Downfall puts the dark past in the wild present tense, and makes it resonate anew. An extraordinarily gripping and important work. Downfall succeeds in saying so much not only about the horrors of the 20th century, but about human nature as well.

• The Joy Luck Club (Blu-ray)

  
  Experience the uplifting motion picture – produced by Academy Award winner Oliver Stone (Best Picture, 1986, Platoon) and based on the powerful best-selling novel The Joy Luck Club – for the first time on Blu-ray, featuring a new digital restoration with enhanced picture and sound. Revisit the inspirational story of four remarkable friends whose extraordinary lives are filled with joy and heartbreak. Their friendship reveals a mosaic of startling events that have shaped their lives and affects the hope they hold for their families. A favourite of fans and critics alike, this exceptional film is sure to entertain you from beginning to end!

• The Lives Of Others

  FlorianHenckel von Donnersmarck’sstunning directorial debut The Lives of Others is both an intense human drama and a political thriller, which examines life under the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). Set in East Germany in 1984, Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch -Black Book), one of the country’s most popular – and loyal -playwrights comes to be targeted by the Stasi precisely because he has neither said nor written anything suspicious

• Beaches (Blu-ray)

  
  Celebrate the power of everlasting friendship with Beaches – available for the first time on Blu-Ray, featuring a new digital restoration. Academy Award nominees Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey star in this funny and touching film from legendary director Garry Marshall. When the irrepressible C.C. Bloom and the shy and proper Hillary Whitney first meet under the boardwalk, all the 11-year-olds have in common is the need for a best friend. Worlds apart in lifestyle and location, their friendship ebbs and flows through a lifetime of highs and lows. From the boardwalk in Atlantic City to a beach house on the Pacific, Beaches will remind you what being a true friend really means. Relive every heartwarming moment on Blu-ray High Definition.

• Valkyrie (Blu-ray)

  In Nazi Germany during World War II, as the tide turned in favor of The Allies, a cadre of senior German officers and politicians desperately plot to topple the Nazi regime before the nation is crushed in a near-inevitable defeat. To this end, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, an Army officer convinced he must save Germany from Hitler, is recruited to mastermind a real plan. To do so, he arranges for the internal emergency measure, Operation: Valkyrie, to be changed to enable his fellows to seize control of Berlin after the assassination of the Fuhrer. However, even as the plan is put into action, a combination of bad luck and human failings conspire on their own to create a tragedy that would prolong the greater one gripping Europe.

• Match Point

  “The man who said “I’d rather be lucky than good” saw deeply into life. People are afraid to face how great a part of life is dependent on luck. It’s scary to think so much is out of one’s control. There are moments in a match when the ball hits the top of the net and for a split second it can either go forward or fall back. With a little luck it goes forward and you win. Or maybe it doesn’t and you lose.” A one-time tennis pro, Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) was used to falling just short in his life. But when he befriends Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode) and marries his sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer), the doors are opened to the kind of money and success that Chris had once only dreamed of. Chris should have settled for happiness, but he is torn by his attraction to Tom’s impossibly beautiful and sensual fiance, Nola (Scarlett Johansson). The attraction turns to an obsession that forces Chris to make a critical choice. Now everything in his life hinges on whether Chris falls short again… and whether or not his luck runs out. A drama about ambition and obsession, the seduction of wealth, and the often discordant relationship between love and sexual passion.

• Tigerland

  Colin Farrell (Phone Booth, Hart’s War) garnered a Best Actor Award from The Boston Society of Film Critics for his star-making performance in this riveting, action film from acclaimed director Joel Schumacher.Just released from the base stockade, brash, charismatic recruit Roland Bozz (Farrell) joins a platoon of young soldiers preparing to ship out to Vietnam. Bozz’s independence and outright defiance draws fire from his own men as well as commanding officers who can’t afford conflict in the middle of a war. But when the platton is sent to Tigerland, a hellish training ground that is the last stop before Vietnam, Bozz’s leadership and character bring his men together – triggering extraordinary consequences.

• Unbreakable (Blu-ray)

  Now more mind-shattering than ever on Blu-ray Disc?, Unbreakable stars Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson in a gripping supernatural thriller from master storyteller/filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense). After David Dunn emerges from a horrific train crash as the sole survivor – and without a single scratch on him – he meets a mysterious, unsettling stranger who believes comic book heroes walk the earth, and whose sinister, single-minded obsession will impact David’s life forever. Lose yourself in the haunting sights and sounds of this riveting tale, presented in the crystal clarity of high definition and spectacularly enhanced audio.

• Water For Elephants (Blu-ray)

  Academy Award Winners Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz join Robert Pattinson (The Twilight Saga) for this epic tale of forbidden love based on Sara Gruen’s acclaimed best seller. Against all odds, a veterinary student (Pattinson) and a beautiful circus performer from a bygone era (Witherspoon), meet and fall in love through their shared compassion for a special elephant. But their secret romance incurs the wrath of her dangerously volatile husband (Waltz).

• Life Of Pi

  Embark on the adventure of a lifetime in this visual masterpiece from two-time Oscar Winner Ang Lee, based on the best-selling novel. After a cataclysmic shipwreck, young Pi Patel finds himself stranded on a lifeboat with only one other survivor – a ferocious Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Bound by the need to survive, the two are cast on an epic journey that must be seen to be believed.

• The Last King Of Scotland (Blu-ray)

  This is Idi Amin’s incredible story as seen through the eyes of Nicholas Garrigan, a young Scotsman who becomes the volatile leader’s personal physician, due in part to Amin’s unexpected passion for Scottish culture – Amin even proclaims himself “The Last King of Scotland”. Seduced by Amin’s charisma and blinded by decadence, Garrigan’s dream life becomes a waking nightmare of betrayal and madness from which there is no escape.

Comedy

• Rushmore

  Love. Expulsion. Revolution. RUSHMORE is the story of a gifted, rebellious teenager named Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman), a 10th grader at elite Rushmore Academy. Editor of the school newspaper, captain or president of innumerable clubs and societies, Max is also one of the worst students in the school, and the threat of expulsion hangs permanently over his head. Max’s world is rocked when he falls for elegant 1st grade teacher Miss Cross (Olivia Williams), and he plans to erect an aquarium in her honor – then finds himself competing for her affections with his friend, steel tycoon Mr. Blume (Bill Murray), the wealthy father of two of his classmates.

• Amelie (Blu-ray)

  Bursting with imagination and having seen her share of tragedy and fantasy, Amile is not like the other girls. When she grows up she becomes a waitress in a Montmartre bar run by a former dancer. Amelie enjoys simple pleasures until she discovers that her goal in life is to help others. To that end, she invents all sorts of tricks that allow her to intervene incognito into other people’s lives, including an imbibing concierge and her hypochondriac neighbor. But Am lie’s most difficult case turns out to be Nino Quicampoix, a lonely sex shop employee who collects photos abandoned at coin-operated photobooths.

• Good Morning Vietnam

  Academy Award winner* Robin Williams shakes up 1965 Saigon in the role the critics agree he was born to play – irreverent, nonconformist deejay Adrian Cronauer. Imported by the Army for an early a.m. radio show, Cronauer blasts the formerly staid, sanitized airwaves with a constant barrage of rapid-fire humour and the hippest tunes from back home. The G.I.s love him – but the top brass is outraged! Riddled with sidesplitting comic bombshells and studded with hot ’60s hits, the film depicts Cronauer’s raucous Saigon adventures amid a world gone mad. GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM is a direct hit – the classic Robin Williams comedy! * 1997 Best Supporting Actor, Good Will Hunting.

• Platoon (Blu-ray)

  
  Chris (Charlie Sheen) is an infantryman whose loyalty is tested by two superior officers: Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe), a former hippie humanist who really cares about his men, and Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger), a moody, macho soldier who may have gone over to the dark side. The personalities of the two sergeants correspond to their combat drugs of choice–pot for Elias and booze for Barnes. Stone has become known for his sledgehammer visual style, but in this film it seems perfectly appropriate. His violent and disorienting images have a terrifying immediacy, a you-are-there quality that gives you a sense of how things may have felt to an infantryman in the jungles of Vietnam.

• Ed Wood (Blu-ray)

  Experience Tim Burton’s acclaimed, true-life story of the wackiest filmmaker in Hollywood history, Ed Wood, for the first time on Blu-ray – complete with an all-new digital restoration, featuring enhanced picture and sound. Celebrated actor Johnny Depp stars as the high-spirited director who never let terrible reviews or hostile studio executives derail his big-screen dreams. With an oddball collection of showbiz misfits, Ed takes the art of bad moviemaking to an all-time low! Bill Murray, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Academy Award winner Martin Landau (best supporting actor, 1994, Ed Wood) are hilarious in this warm and witty comedy. Relive every madcap moment like never before on Blu-ray!

• Bend It Like Beckham (Blu-ray)

  A comedy about bending the rules to reach your goal, Bend It Like Beckham explores the world of women’s football, from kick-abouts in the park to freekicks in the Final. Set in Hounslow, West London and Hamburg, the film follows two 18 year olds with their hearts set on a future in professional soccer. Heart-stopping talent doesn’t seem to be enough when your parents want you to hang up your football boots, find a nice boyfriend and learn to cook the perfect chapatti.

• The Royal Tenenbaums

  Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums is the richly tragicomic story of one unique family’s sudden, unexpected reunion. Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) and his wife Etheline (Angelica Huston) had three children – Chas (Ben Stiller), Ritchie (Luke Wilson) and Margot (Gwneth Paltrow), and then they separated. Chas started buying real estate in his early teens and seemed to have an almost preternatural understanding of international finance. Margot was a playwright and received a Braverman Grant of fifty thousand dollars in the ninth grade. Ritchie was a junior championship tennis player and won the US Nationals three years in a row.

• Enchanted

  A classic Disney animated fairy tale meets with the modern, live-action romantic comedy in Walt Disney Pictures’ Enchanted. Featuring an all-star cast, the film follows the beautiful princess Giselle (Amy Adams) as she is banished by an evil queen (Susan Sarandon) from her magical, musical animated land and finds herself in the gritty reality of the streets of modern-day Manhattan.Shocked by this strange new environment that doesn’t operate on a

• The Grand Budapest Hotel

  The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune — all against the back-drop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.

Action

• X-Men: Days Of Future Past

  The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. The beloved characters from the original “X-Men” film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from “X-Men: First Class,” in an epic battle that must change the past – to save our future.

• Iron Man

  Suit up for action with Robert Downey Jr. in the ultimate adventure movie you’ve been waiting for, Iron Man! When jet-setting genius-industrialist Tony Stark is captured in enemy territory, he builds a high-tech suit of amour to escape. Now, he’s on a mission to save the world as a hero who’s built, not born, to be unlike any other. Co-starring Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow. it’s a fantastic, high-flying journey!

• We Were Soldiers

  On Sunday November 14, 1965 at 10.48am, Lt. Col. Hal Moore and his regiment of 400 men touch down at Landing Zone X-ray in the Ia Drang Valley, a place in Vietnam know as “The Valley of Death”. They find themselves surrounded by roughly 2 000 North Vietnamese soldiers and the ensuing battle becomes one of the most savage in US history. Heroism, bravery, sacrifice, the butchery of battle, We Were Soldiers is a gruelling exploration of war with all its horrors, that can rightly take its place alongside war classics Apocalypse Now, Saving Private Ryan and Platoon.

• Letters From Iwo Jima (Blu-ray)

  Sixty-one years ago, US and Japanese armies met on Iwo Jima. Decades later, several hundred letters are unearthed from that stark island’s soil. The letters give faces and voices to the men who fought there, as well as the extraordinary general who led them. The Japanese soldiers are sent to Iwo Jima knowing that in all probability they will not come back. Among them are Saigo, a baker who wants only to live to see the face of his newborn daughter; Baron Nishi, an Olympic equestrian champion known around the world for his skill and his honor; Shimizu, a young former military policeman whose idealism has not yet been tested by war; and Lieutenant Ito, a strict military man who would rather accept suicide than surrender. Leading the defense is Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, whose travels in America have revealed to him the hopeless nature of the war but also given him strategic insight into how to take on the vast American armada streaming in from across the Pacific. With little defense other than sheer will and the volcanic rock of the island itself, Gen. Kuribayashi’s unprecedented tactics transform what was predicted to be a quick and bloody defeat into nearly 40 days of heroic and resourceful combat. Almost 7,000 American soldiers were killed on Iwo Jima; more than 20,000 Japanese troops perished. The black sands of Iwo Jima are stained with their blood, but their sacrifices, their struggles, their courage and their compassion live on in the letters they sent home.

• Enemy At The Gates

  Hailed for its epic scale and masterful battle sequences, this is Europe’s biggest and most expensive film production ever. Featuring an extraordinary cast bringing to life one of the most heroic and horrific struggles of World War II – the Battle for Stalingrad – a battle in which more than 1 million Russians lost their lives.

• The Thin Red Line

  As US soldiers land on the island of Guadalcanal, hoping to capture it from the Japanese, the job of venturing into the jungle falls to the ‘C for Charlie’ company and the troops are faced by both the enemy and struggles within their own camp. The war takes a heavy toll upon the young soldiers, leading them on a path of disillusion and possibly death.

• Memphis Belle

  Unabashedly sentimental, this war film was produced by David Putnam in partnership with Catherine Wyler, whose father William Wyler directed an acclaimed documentary about the real-life events depicted in the film. The ensemble cast is composed of ten young actors portraying the crew of the World War II B-17 bomber “Memphis Belle,” anticipating their twenty-fifth and last mission before they will be able to go home. Having won fame with their exemplary war record and amazing lack of casualties, they expect their final assignment to be a cakewalk, but instead they are ordered to bomb Dresden, a heavily defended German city that will mean almost certain loss of life. Led by their experienced captain, Dennis Dearborn (Matthew Modine), the crew shoulders its responsibility despite mounting fears, while their commanding officer (David Strathairn) and a public relations specialist (John Lithgow) wait anxiously for their return. Aboard the bomber, there’s friction between Dearborn and his disgruntled co-pilot Luke Sinclair (Tate Donovan), and between medical officer Val Kozlowski (Billy Zane) and the rest of the crew when it’s learned Val lied about his qualifications. Despite impressive technical credits and a popular Generation X cast, Memphis Belle (1990) was a box office disappointment, its enthusiastic patriotism considered a throwback to a bygone era of filmmaking.

• The Great Escape

  In 1943, the Germans opened Stalag Luft North, a maximum-security prisoner-of-war camp, designed to hold even the craftiest escape artists. In doing so, however, the Nazis unwittingly assembled the finest escape team in military history – brilliantly portrayed here by Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson and James Coburn – who worked on what became the largest prison breakout ever attempted. One of the most ingenious and suspenseful adventure films of all time, The Great Escape is a masterful collaboration between director John Sturges (The Magnificent Seven), screenwriters James Clavell (Shogun) and W.R. Burnett (Little Caesar), and composer Elmer Bernstein. Based on a true story, The Great Escape is epic entertainment that “entertains, captivates, thrills and stirs” (Variety).

• Braveheart

  Romance, intrigue, heroism and the desperate battle for nothing less than the freedom of Scotland. The story of William Wallace whose passion and courage united the Scottish people in the struggle against a ruthless English king over six hundred years ago, at the start of the fourteenth century.

• The Kingdom Of Heaven: Directors Cut (Blu-ray)

  
  It is the time of the Crusades during the Middle Ages – the world shaping 200-year collision between Europe and the East. A blacksmith named Balian has lost his family and nearly his faith. The religious wars raging in the far-off Holy Land seem remote to him, yet he is pulled into that immense drama. Amid the pageantry and intrigues of medieval Jerusalem he falls in love, grows into a leader, and ultimately uses all his courage and skill to defend the city against staggering odds. Destiny comes seeking Balian in the form of a great knight, Godfrey of Ibelin, a Crusader briefly home to France from fighting in the East. Revealing himself as Balian’s father, Godfrey shows him the true meaning of knighthood and takes him on a journey across continents to the fabled Holy City. In Jerusalem at that moment–between the Second and Third Crusades–a fragile peace prevails, through the efforts of its enlightened Christian king, Baldwin IV, aided by his advisor Tiberias, and the military restraint of the legendary Muslim leader Saladin. But Baldwin’s days are numbered, and strains of fanaticism, greed, and jealousy among the Crusaders threaten to shatter the truce. King Baldwin’s vision of peace–a kingdom of heaven–is shared by a handful of knights, including Godfrey of Ibelin, who swear to uphold it with their lives and honor. As Godfrey passes his sword to his son, he also passes on that sacred oath: to protect the helpless, safeguard the peace, and work toward harmony between religions and cultures, so that a kingdom of heaven can flourish on earth. Balian takes the sword and steps into history.

• Red Cliff

  In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale, led by the Prime Minister, himself. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance. Numerous battles of strength and wit ensued, both on land and on water, eventually culminating in the battle of Red Cliff. During the battle, two thousand ships were burned, and the course of Chinese history was changed forever.

• Lone Survivor

  Based on The New York Times bestselling true story of heroism, courage and survival, Lone Survivor tells the incredible tale of four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level al-Qaeda operative. The four men must make an impossible moral decision in the mountains of Afghanistan that leads them into an enemy ambush. As they confront unthinkable odds, the SEALs must find reserves of strength and resilience to fight to the finish.

Documentary

• Kokoda Frontline

  Renowned wartime news cameraman, Australia’s Damien Parer recorded the struggle amid great hardship and danger and successfully delivered the footage back to Australia. In September 1942, two movies were released based on Damien Parer’s war footage. “Kokoda Frontline” went on to win an Oscar for Best Documentary.

• Fahrenheit 9/11

  One of the most controversial and provocative films of the year, Fahrenheit 9/11 is Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore’s searing examination of the Bush administration’s actions in the wake of the tragic events of 9/11. With his characteristic humor and dogged commitment to uncovering the facts, Moore considers the presidency of George W. Bush and where it has led us. He looks at how – and why – Bush and his inner circle avoided pursuing the Saudi connection to 9/11, despite the fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis and Saudi money had funded Al Qaeda. Fahrenheit 9/11 shows us a nation kept in constant fear by FBI alerts and lulled into accepting a piece of legislation, the USA Patriot Act, that infringes on basic civil rights. It is in this atmosphere of confusion, suspicion and dread that the Bush Administration makes its headlong rush towards war in Iraq and Fahrenheit 9/11 takes us inside that war to tell the stories we haven’t heard, illustrating the awful human cost to U.S. soldiers and their families.