Centennial Vols 1-12 [VHS]
- EMBRYO - AND MAN CREATED WOMAN (DVD MOVIE)
Bonus Material: Beautiful women turned into monsters (and vice versa!) has been a popular theme in horror and science fict! ion movies. Usually the spawn of mad science (other times, ancient curses), these tales give a new twist to the concept of Beauty and the Beast. Here is a selection of original theatrical trailers and film clips from movies on the subject of naturally beautiful women created by unnatural means. Features the transformation sequence of the robot into a woman's guise in METROPOLIS, mad scientists turning panthers and apes into women and back again, FRANKENSTEIN-wrought damsels made from spare parts, and beauties conjured up by computer nerds. Also included are two versions of THE CAT PE0PLE stories, with females turned felines! A fabulous film fest of fantastic femmes fatales! Approx. 25 minutesA remarkably ambitious and engrossing project, this 1978 television miniseries ran 26-and-a-half hours, cost a then-enormous $25 million, and involved 4 directors, 5 cinematographers, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 speaking parts. Based on James Michener's panoramic bestselle! r about the settling of the American West--as reflected in the! history of a fictional town called Centennial, Colorado--the story begins in the late 18th century and ends with a typical 20th century conflict over land usage. Centennial, however, largely concentrates on various memorable frontiersmen, trappers, Indians, ranchers, cowboys, and farmers from long ago. Richard Chamberlain shines as the pioneer Alexander McKeag, Robert Conrad does some of his best work as French-Canadian Pasquinel, and performances by Alex Karras, Chad Everett, Sally Kellerman, Raymond Burr, Richard Crenna, David Janssen, and Dennis Weaver effectively add to a tapestry of adventure, tragedy, violence, and dubious Western progress. Produced at a time when TV networks were in the throes of acknowledging America's history of racial injustice, the program paints a starkly villainous portrait of opportunists exploiting and destroying Indians in the name of manifest destiny. While the project's great length might make one wary of diving in, Centennia! l is the sort of carefully paced drama that makes one care about the intertwined destinies of unique characters and how they illuminate America's past. --Tom Keogh