Home » All Products "Incident at Oglala" Details  Incident at Oglala - The Leonard Peltier Story; (DVD); ‘PG’ Rating; 90 minutes; In 1975, armed FBI agents illegally entered the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Gun fire Erupted a Native American and two FBI agents fell dead. After the largest manhunt in FBI history, three men were apprehended only one, Leonard Peltier, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. This is his story. From the very beginning, Peltier’s case has been dogged with controversy. Were the charges trumped up? Was the evidence falsified? Were witnesses pressured to change their testimony? Many people, including some of today s greatest legal minds, believe that Peltier is an innocent man. Twelve years ago, Robert Redford visited Leonard Peltier in prison. Today, after years of struggle with the FBI and the prison system, he and director Michael Apted (Guerillas in the Mist, Coal Miner s Daughter) are able to present incident at Oglala a riveting examination of the case and the real story of what may be one of the most outrageous abuses of justice in American history. Price: $20.00 "Into the West" Details  Into the West (DVD); Not Rated; 552 minutes- 4 discs Spanning 65 years and several generations, Into the West succeeds as an ambitious compendium of authentic American history. Originally broadcast in the summer of 2005 as a six-part miniseries on TNT, it's the kind of well-intentioned epic that can't possibly satisfy everyone, and some critics complained that it covers too much territory, with characters functioning more as archetypes than full-blooded human beings. Criticisms aside, Into the West admirably achieves the goal of executive producer Steven Spielberg, who envisioned this expansive project as an accurate and corrective history lesson with long-term educational value. Placing important emphasis on the Native American perspective, it follows the Lakota Indians as they are gradually overwhelmed by the white man's irrevocable westward expansion. As conceived by playwright/screenwriter William Mastrosimone, the drama uses two primary symbols--the wagon wheel and the Lakota medicine wheel--to join the Lakota story with that of the Wheelers, a Virginia family of wheelwrights who witness many of the 19th century's pivotal historical milestones. From the pioneering explorations of mountain men in 1825 to the tragic massacre of downtrodden Lakota at Wounded Knee in 1891, these parallel storylines encompass migrating wagon trains, the California Gold Rush, construction of the transcontinental railroad, the violence of Quantrill's Raiders, and much, much more. Through it all, Into the West preserves Lakota customs and language (accompanied by English subtitles) with unprecedented authenticity. In showing how Native cultures were systematically oppressed by the white man's westward capitalism, this tragic tale is inevitably heartbreaking, although it ends on a hopeful note of cultural preservation. Some violent content from the original TNT broadcast has been edited for this DVD release to better accommodate classroom viewing, but Into the West still qualifies as essential viewing for anyone seeking an inclusive dramatization of truthful American history, as opposed to the wildly inaccurate and woefully biased accounts that dominated for decades. With different directors for all six parts, the miniseries is remarkably consistent in tone and vision, its outstanding production values matched by the excellence of a prestigious and well-chosen cast including Irene Bedard (who gives the standout performance in a half-white/half-Lakota role spanning decades), Keri Russell, Skeet Ulrich, Balthazar Getty, Matthew Modine, Graham Greene, Wes Studi, Beau Bridges, Sean Astin, Lance Henriksen, Rachael Leigh Cook, Keith Carradine, and others too numerous to mention. They all contribute to a heartfelt tapestry of bicultural history, both tragic and inspiring, and impressive enough to make its flaws easily forgiven. DVD features A standard making-of documentary covers all aspects of the production of Into the West, with a brief introductory comment by Steven Spielberg. The "Communication Gap" featurette explores the challenge of translating dialogue into authentically spoken Lakota language. Also included is a survey (with interview clips) of the large cast; the original TNT promo trailer; and a music video of the miniseries-inspired song "World on Fire," combining Into the West footage with a performance by Sarah McLachlan and Robbie Robertson. Product Description Experience one of the most definitive and triumphant chapters in American history by journeying Into the West with this powerful 4-disc DVD set. Presented by TNT in association with DreamWorks Television and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, this 12-TV-hour event contains all 6 timeless episodes of the action-packed mini-series and boasts an entire disc of exclusive bonus features. Chronicling the struggles, heartache and conquests of two inspiring families, Into the West captures the hopes and perseverance of both the explorers who risked everything to fulfill their dreams and the land's indigenous people forced to watch their way of life disappear. Featuring an ensemble cast of Hollywood's brightest stars, including Beau Bridges, Graham Greene, Matthew Modine and Keri Russell, Into the West is an American Dream saga that Entertainment Weekly calls "epic in scope and cast." Price: $70.00 "Lakota Woman" Details  Not Rated; (DVD); 113 minutes; Screen autobiography of Mary Crow Dog, a woman who survived childhood abuse, endured intra-tribal politics and became an eyewitness to the 1973 siege at Wounded Knee. 113 minutes Not Rated Price: $20.00 "Last of his Tribe" Details  The Last of His Tribe (DVD) ‘PG-13” Rating; 90 minutes; "Last of his Tribe" is a satisfying, sweet, & good, (if not great) movie. It is the simplified (& slightly fictionalized) account of the last Yana Indian nicknamed, "Ishi" by A. Kroeber (an early anthropologist at University at Berkley). It accurately portrays Kroeber's struggle to keep empirical distance from his subject as his love & friendship grew for this stoic, kind, and generous man. It is based upon the (second-hand account) book written by Kroeber's second wife Theodora (also an Anthropologist) over a decade after the events. A. Kroeber never published anything about Ishi- and even quit Anthropology for a few years after Ishi's death, so distraught was he over his friend's death, and the perception that they had killed him by working him too hard (Ishi died of tuberculosis 3 months into Sapir's linguistic analysis). The film is sensitively acted by experts (Jon Voight, Graham Greene, David Ogden Stiers). The sets & details are reasonably accurate , but even when they could translate Ishi's stories, songs, & explanations literally, they could often not make sense of them- lacking the cultural background knowledge & the Yahi's conception of the universe/ time. The film takes some unnecessary liberties with the story (**No mention of translators E. Sapir or Indian S. Botwi** Ishi was more involved with the community- playing with local children, dating, etc.** what stunned Ishi most was crowds- he had never seen more than about 60 people together in his life** Dr. Pope was one of Ishi's main advocates/friends & not weird & insensitive ** Kroeber was able to go on sabbatical in Europe [not work at a NY museum] b/c Sapir was working with Ishi. Price: $15.00 "Last of the Dogmen" Details  Last of the Dogmen (DVD) "PG" Rating; 118 minutes Last of the Dogmen is a very moving and magical film. Tom Berenger plays a Montana bounty hunter who helps an anthropologist (Barbara Hershey) search for the descendants of a Cheyenne tribe who disappeared in the 1870s. What the two find in a remote mountain stretch is an entire community of Cheyenne who have kept themselves cut off from the modern world. A Dances with Wolves parallel emerges as the white outsiders gradually fit in, but Last of the Dogmen stands up just fine without comparison to any other films. As in Kevin Costner's Oscar-winning movie, however, there are ways in which this film captures a similar sense of yearning, mystery, and loss. Price: $20.00 "Little Big Man" Details  Little Big Man; (DVD); ‘PG-13’ Rating; 139 minutes; Jack Crabb is the only white survivor of the Battle of Little Big Horn and the centenarian shares his story in this picaresque fable of the Old West. In Arthur Penn's adaptation of Thomas Berger's novel, Dustin Hoffman plays Jack from teen years into old age in a bravura performance. And Jack's story is a fantastic one: captured by Indians as a boy, reared as an Indian, shuttling back and forth between the white and Indian worlds. In the process, he befriends everyone from Wild Bill Hickock to George Armstrong Custer and is a gunslinger, a snake-oil salesman, and an Army scout. This is a solid blend of comedy and tragedy, with a strong statement to make about America's treatment of Native Americans without sermonizing. A terrific cast includes Faye Dunaway, Martin Balsam, and Richard Mulligan. But this show is all Hoffman's. --Marshall Fine Price: $20.00 "Now and Forever" Details  Now and Forever; (DVD); ‘R’ Rating; 105 minutes; "Now and Forever" is a small film with incredible beauty and depth, and if it has flaws, they are well overridden by its strengths. The plot concerns two young people whose destinies are interwoven: John, who is part of the Cree Nation (and whose tribal name means "he who stands both here and there"), and Angela, the girl he loves from the moment he sees her, when they meet as teenagers. Angela's one desire is to escape from her mother and the small town they live in, and this leads her down destructive paths, and John's desire and purpose in life is to protect her. The cast is excellent: Adam Beach is fantastic as John; he is strong and handsome, and has a charisma that fills the screen, and as Angela, Mia Kirchner has a mix of "fighting spirit" and vulnerability that is perfect for the part. Theresa Russell gives yet another marvelous performance as Angela's mother, the town slut, who warns her daughter by saying "it gets easier and easier to do it for less." One of the best features of this film is the presence of Gordon Tootoosis as John's father, Ghost Fox. He is the vision elder of the tribe, and is full of wisdom and knowledge, and Tootoosis is superb in the part. Filling out the central cast is the "dark spirit" of the plot, T. J. Bolt, played with a nice slice of slime by Gabriel Olds. Directed with good pacing by Bob Clark, well written by Bill Boyle, and with a lovely score by Paul Zaza, this low-budget film exceeds expectations. Filmed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, "Now and Forever" is much more than a fantasy romance, it has a heart of truth that few films achieve, and stands up to many viewings. Price: $20.00 "Our Spirits Don't Speak Eaglish" Details  Our Spirits Don't Speak English-Indian Boarding School; (DVD) 'G' Rating; 80 minutes Our Spirits Don't Speak English: Indian Boarding School is a DVD documentary of the true-life stories of Native American children who were forcibly taken from their homes and families and educated in boarding schools, as part of a governmental policy to "kill the Indian and spare the man". From 1869 through the late 1960's, more than 100,000 Native Americans had been compelled to attend Indian Boarding School. Our Spirits Don't Speak English tells of growing up in a harsh world of strict rules, where speaking tribal languages was severely punished. A vivid reminder that America, land of the free, was not so free for some of its citizens until relatively recently in its history. Price: $30.00 "PowWow Highway" Details  (DVD); 91 minutes; Rated R; “Powwow Highway” is a classic Native American movie that has been out of production for quite a few years and is now available in DVD viewing format. Movie Summary: For the Northern Cheyenne tribe of Lame Deer, Montana, the American Dream has taken a grim detour. Here, Buddy Red Bow (A. Martinez) is a committed activist battling a suspicious land-grab. Philbert Bono (Gary Farmer) is serene spiritual warrior guided by sacred visions. But when Buddy’s estranged sister is framed and jailed in New Mexico, the two men take Philbert’s rust-wrecked ’64 Buick ‘war pony’ on a road trip that makes some very unexpected stops along the way. A light hearted look at the serious subject of Native Americans on the reservation, poor housing, bad job conditions, and non allowance of tribal cultures and history. A ‘must have’ title for everyone’s collection of movie selections. Price: $50.00 "Running Brave" Details  PG Rated; (DVD); 106 minutes; The inspiring story of Billy Mills the American Indian that overcame adversity to go on to win the 10000 meter long distance race in the Tokyo Olympics. Price: $15.00 « Previous | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10... | Next »