For Liberty Lovers ‘We The Living’ Arrives on DVD

An extraordinary film just came out on DVD which couldn’t be more timely.  It’s about a fiercely outspoken, beautiful woman trapped in a country rapidly descending into socialism, with the government steadily ratcheting up control over all aspects of life.

No, it’s not The Ann Coulter Story.

The movie is We The Living, based on the Ayn Rand novel of the same title.  Rand said that We The Living “is as near to an autobiography as I will ever write.”

Conservatives and libertarians have long lamented the scarcity of movies that depict the evils of communism.  Let’s see, there’s Doctor Zhivago, The Killing Fields, The Lives of Others, and… and, well, now there’s We The Living — a long-lost classic filmed in 1942, and now available on DVD for the first time ever.

WTL takes place soon after the Bolshevik takeover of Russia (which Rand experienced as a young woman).  The stunning Alida Valli plays Kira, a fiery college student who detests the communists ruining her country.  (Valli is perhaps best known to American audiences for her indelible performances in The Third Man and The Paradine Case.) (more…)

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Tags: Alida Valli, Ayn Rand, Bolsheviks, Censorship, classic movies
Posted Oct 30th 2009 at 4:03 pm in Film, Politics, Reviews | 25336234 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/aleigh/2009/10/30/we-the-living-for-liberty-lovers-and-for-our-time/For+Liberty+Lovers+%27We+The+Living%27+Arrives+on+DVD2009-10-30+23%3A03%3A20Andrew+Leigh

‘Big’ Hollywood Kills RealDVD?

A while back, I authored a post here on Big Hollywood about the movie industry’s battle against RealDVD, an innovative technology that, if permitted to exist, would allow DVD owners to make personal “backup” copies of their movies, while simultaneously adding an encryption to discouraging piracy.

In September of 2008, calling it “StealDVD,” the big Hollywood (no pun intended) studios filed suit against RealDVD.

And this past Tuesday — as PC World wrote – RealDVD was dealt a “devastating blow” when U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel “granted a preliminary injunction against sale of RealDVD, pending a trial over copyright infringement.”

It’s too soon to know what will happen, but it appears the movie industry has the upper hand. But is it a victory they cannot afford to win? (more…)

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Tags: DVDs, priating, RealDVD, StealDVD
Posted Aug 17th 2009 at 6:52 am in News, Other | 20517819 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/kblackwell/2009/08/17/big-hollywood-kills-realdvd/%27Big%27+Hollywood+Kills+RealDVD%3F2009-08-17+13%3A52%3A42Ken+Blackwell

Hulu.com May Be Target of Antitrust Attack

As is sadly the case for all good things, the video website Hulu.com may well come under attack by the government, specifically in the form of antitrust action by the Obama administration.

Socialism’s great horde of media apologists has begun a strong drumbeat calling for the U.S. government to go after Hulu, the immensely and increasingly successful source of online streaming media content.

Cord Blomquist of the Competitive Enterprise Institute documents the socialists’ campaign for a government attack on Hulu in an excellent article at the Technology Liberation Front website. “Many media commentators are already using the kind of language we associate with past media antitrust cases,” Blomquist notes. (more…)

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Tags: antitrust, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Cord Blomquist, DVDs, Hulu
Posted May 11th 2009 at 7:09 am in Entertainment, News | 1300463 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/stkarnick/2009/05/11/hulucom-may-be-target-of-antitrust-attack/Hulu.com+May+Be+Target+of+Antitrust+Attack2009-05-11+14%3A09%3A52S.T.+Karnick

The Thought that Counts

I never imagined I’d say it, but I’m beginning to identify with Barack Obama.  I’m certainly not referring to his politics or his narcissism, but it seems that both of us really suck when it comes to gift giving. 

First, he gave Prime Minister Gordon Brown some DVDs that were incompatible with English electronics and then he gave Queen Elizabeth an iPod that contained his speeches.  Well, I hate to admit it, but I can empathize.  Shopping for a prime minister has got to be hard enough, but trying to shop for a woman who has her own country would give me the mother of all migraines.  Frankly, I’m surprised he didn’t just fall back on that old reliable.  When in doubt, I say, you can’t go wrong giving cash.  Which, by the way, seems to be one of the things, as opposed to bowling and speaking without a TelePrompter, at which the president seems to be quite adept.  And, best of all, the cash, unlike the iPod, would be a personal gift because the Queen’s picture would be on it. (more…)

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Tags: DVDs, G20, gift shopping, Gifts, Obama
Posted Apr 6th 2009 at 1:36 pm in News, Political Humor | 9834233 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bprelutsky/2009/04/06/the-thought-that-counts/The+Thought+that+Counts2009-04-06+20%3A36%3A44Burt+Prelutsky

The Perfect Gift

President and Michelle Obama have just visited the Queen of England.  Of course, such a State visit demands a gift befitting her royal status and our First Couple has deftly fulfilled that lofty obligation with something that so exemplifies the greatness of America, it surely made Her Royal Highness swoon with delight.  Yes, the Obama messianic magnanimity is not fettered by mere earthly limitations and the gift he presented her rivals in grandeur and thoughtfulness to the finest Faberge Egg.  It is exactly what the Queen has been dreaming of possessing from the moment she saw candidate Obama deliver his blindingly brilliant speech to the massed multitudes in Berlin. 

Ah yes… I can see it now… bedtime at Buckingham Palace…  The Queen emerges from her powder room after her nightly ablutions and gently pads across the oriental carpet in her pink, fuzzy slippers to the edge of her royal bed.  She calls to her maidservant, “Fatima, my dear, before I retire would you fetch me my video iPod?  Not the old one, but the new one I just got from Barry and Michelle.”  “Of course, your Highness,” she replies, quickly exiting the Royal Suite.  Moments later Fatima returns, reverently cradling the radiant object in her hands.  Tenderly taking it from her, the Queen puts in the royal iPod ear buds.  Then, Fatima helps her out of her slippers and into the massive bed, making sure that the goose-down pillows are properly fluffed.  Finally, Fatima places the Royal night-cap on the Queen’s head, and, as the Queen snuggles further into her down comforter, Fatima bids her a pleasant “Good night.”   (more…)

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Tags: Britain, DVDs, England, iPod, Obama
Posted Apr 2nd 2009 at 11:15 am in Political Humor | 9568644 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ebalogh/2009/04/02/the-perfect-gift/The+Perfect+Gift2009-04-02+18%3A15%3A26Endre+Balogh

Letterman = Uncool

Last week, I took a little bit of heat for calling David Letterman a hack (and also dashed any remaining hopes I had for ever appearing on his show).  Just in case there’s any doubt of my allegation, I present to you the following videos. Here’s a clip that ran on Wednesday June 11, 2008:

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 Now here’s a segment that ran just this past Wednesday, March 25, 2009 (Please note, that the man making his bracket picks, was far too busy to pay any attention to the stock market; and couldn’t find the time to shop for an appropriate gift for the British Prime Minister — or at least get DVDs that work in the UK):

(more…)

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Tags: British PM, David Letterman, DVDs, Late Night Comics, Obama
Posted Mar 31st 2009 at 10:41 am in News, Political Humor | 9149812 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/tslagle/2009/03/31/late-night-update/Letterman+%3D+Uncool2009-03-31+17%3A41%3A57Tim+Slagle