Documentary DVDs

Interviews and profiles Robert S. McNamara, former Secretary of Defense under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War.
Genre: Documentary
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 1-MAY-2007
Media Type: DVD

Academy AwardÂ(r)-winner* Errol Morris broke new ground with the "riveting" (LA Weekly) film that dramatically reenacts the crime scene and investigation of a police officer's murder in Dallas. So powerful and convincing that it helped free an innocent man from prison, The Thin Blue Line is "one of the finest documentary features ever made" (Boxoffice). On November 28, 1976, when drifter Randall Dale Adams was picked up by teenage runaway David Harris, his fate was sealed. That night, a police officer was shot in cold blood. And though all the facts pointed to Harris, a sociopath with a lengthy rap sheet, Adams was convicted of capital murder. Was Adamsguilty? And if not, can Morris unlock the secrets of this baffling case? *2003: Documentary Feature, The Fog of War (with Michael Williams)

Errol Morris examines the incidents of abuse and torture of suspected terrorists at the hands of U.S. forces at the Abu Ghraib prison.

Fire up the pickup and head down to this backwater town with "one of America's strangest and most brilliant documentary filmmakers" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)! OscarÂ(r)-winning*director Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line) presents a pastiche of fascinating interviews with the weird and wonderful people of Vernon, Florida, in this "amusing portrait" (Variety) of oddball Americana! For the inhabitants of this Southern town, there's no place like home for the rest of us, there's no place like Vernon, Florida! From the passionate turkey-hunter to the peculiar pet collector, each member of this motley crew has a story to tell. And in the masterful hands of Morris, their obsessions and eccentricities reveal the heart and soul of an unabashedly unique slice of the American pie! *2003: Documentary Feature, Fog of War (with Michael Williams)

Hailed by Roger Ebert as "one of America's strangest and most brilliant documentary filmmakers" (Chicago Sun-Times), Errol Morris (The Fog of War) brings his unrivalled talents to the small screen for a stylized series of intimate interviews with a unique and fascinating array of people. With the aid of his "Interrotron" – an innovative camera device Morris invented to maintain merciless eye contact with his subjects – the Oscar®-winning* director puts his odd assortment of eclectic characters and atypical topics under the microscope to produce "revelatory, whip-smart television" (Baltimore City Paper).

From Academy Award®-winning* director Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line) comes this acclaimed film about success and failure in the grave business of animal interment. "Memorable, moving and poignant" (Channel 4 Film), Gates of Heaven is "so rich and thought-provoking it stays in your mind for tantalizing days" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times). When financial hardship forces California's Foothill Pet Cemetery to close its pearly gates, its dearly departedloved ones are relocated to the nearby Bubbling Well Pet Memorial Park. During this tense transition, filmmaker Morris meets a collection of eccentric cemetery operators and anguished animal-lovers and elicits a meditation on love and loneliness that's "strange, chilling [and] appallingly funny" (Newsweek). *2003: Documentary Feature, Fog of War (with Michael Williams)

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 05/13/2008 Run time: 82 minutes Rating: Pg

Errol Morris examines the incidents of abuse and torture of suspected terrorists at the hands of U.S. forces at the Abu Ghraib prison.

The Fog of War, the movie that finally won Errol Morris the best documentary Oscar, is a spellbinder. Morris interviews Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, and finds a uniquely unsettling viewpoint on much of 20th-century American history. Employing a ton of archival material, including LBJ's fascinating taped conversations from the Oval Office, Morris probes the reasons behind the U.S. commitment to the Vietnam War--and finds a depressingly inconsistent policy. McNamara himself emerges as--well, not exactly apologetic, but clearly haunted by the what-ifs of Vietnam. He also mulls the bombing of Japan in World War II and the Cuban Missile Crisis, raising more questions than he answers. The Fog of War has the usual inexorable Morris momentum, aided by an uneasy Philip Glass score. This movie provides a glimpse inside government. It also encourages skepticism about same. --Robert Horton

For the first time on DVD, take a provocative look at world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking and his theories on life and the universe in this thoughtful program based on the best-selling book of the same name. Interspersed with anecdotes about his climb to the top of the world's scientific ladder, the man many consider the world's leading analytical mind explains his ideas about the origins and destiny of the universe, fate, time and the existence of God. A professor at the University of Cambridge where he holds the same chair that Sir Isaac Newton held 300 years ago Hawking has become one of the few serious scientists with mainstream appeal and enjoys a popular reputation for illustrating complex problems and supreme questions in a clear, entertaining manner. Documentarian Errol Morris has a knack for finding the fascinating quirks of his subjects, and this brings Stephen Hawking's book A Brief History of Time to sparkling life. Through interviews with family and colleagues of the brilliant theoretical physicist, as well as Hawking's own synthesized readings and reminiscences, we learn of his early life, his struggle with the degenerative disease ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), and his wide-ranging contributions to our knowledge of time, black holes, and the origin of the universe. The science is never downplayed; between Hawking's prose and Morris's visual wizardry, important concepts such as entropy and singularities jump from the screen in memorable vignettes. (Hawking believes a truly universal theory of physics will be understood by "scientists, philosophers, and just ordinary people.") Philip Glass's music, subdued and minimal, balances the alternately somber and hilarious moods of the film. The viewer is left with a sense of awe at the joyous spirit of a man trapped in the world of the mind, occasionally letting the rest of us in on his discoveries. --Rob Lightner