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James Stewart, at his warmest and most avuncular, plays the bandleader who rocketed to fame during the swing era. The Glenn Miller Story may be a whitewashed version of Miller’s life, but it certainly is a pleasant example of the feel-good Hollywood biopic, with the usual conventions: early struggles, loyal wife (June Allyson at her chirpiest), personal sacrifice–Miller joins the Army when war breaks out, although he doesn’t have to–and ultimate tragedy. All the Glenn Miller classics filling the soundtrack make the film pretty easy to take, too: “Moonlight Serenade,” “A String of Pearls,” “Chattanooga Choo-Choo.” Miller plays the great “In the Mood” with his military band during a World War II air-raid warning. Pure corn, but it works. Director Anthony Mann, better known for his superb series of hard-bitten fifties westerns with Stewart, keeps the story moving gently and gracefully. A hot jazz interlude features Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa. –Robert Horton

The Glenn Miller Story

• The Privileged Planet
• Unlocking the Mystery of Life
• Icons of Evolution

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These three critically acclaimed films are at the heart of a debate that is sweeping the nation. Is Darwinian evolution an accurate scientific explanation of the origin of the universe? Or is the true source of life and the cosmos an intelligent, purposeful designer?

Through computer animation and interviews with leading scientists and scholars, Unlocking the Mystery of Life, Icons of Evolution and The Privileged Planet answer these questions as never before.

Unlocking the Mystery of Life 3-DVD Set

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Basil Fawlty, as created and performed by John Cleese, is the rudest, most boorish, most hilariously obnoxious man on the face of the planet. What a natural for a TV sitcom! His screen wife, Sybil (Prunella Scales), put it best in the episode “The Psychiatrist”: “You’re either crawling all over them, licking their boots, or spitting poison at them like some Benzedrine puff adder.” He mockingly replies, “Just trying to enjoy myself, dear.” With his gangly frame and contortionist abilities, Cleese brilliantly punctuates Basil’s outrageous faux pas with absurd gymnastics and turns Three Stooges-style pokes and kicks into a slapstick ballet. Scales’s Sybil is the genial but obliviously chatty voice of reason and Andrew Sachs mangles the English language as the Spanish bellhop Manuel, whose struggles with simple directions results in comic lunacy reminiscent of Robert Benigni. After a six-episode run in 1975, Cleese and cowriter and costar Connie Booth (who plays Polly, the maid all too often pulled into Basil’s ridiculous plans) reunited the cast in 1979 for another six episodes without missing a punch line. The four-volume collection contains all 12 shows, interspersed with interview segments featuring Cleese discussing the genesis of the series and anecdotes about the individual episodes. Remember to watch the opening credits of each show to spot the creative misspellings on the hotel sign (my favorite: “Fatty Owls”). –Sean Axmaker

Fawlty Towers – The Complete Collection