The 2006 limited-edition two-disc release of George Lucas's epic space fantasy Star Wars is not only the first time the movie has been officially available by itself on... read more

The 2006 limited-edition two-disc release of George Lucas's epic space fantasy Star Wars is not only the first time the movie has been officially available by itself on DVD. It marks the first-ever DVD release of Star Wars as it originally played in theaters in 1977. What does that mean exactly? Well, for starters, the initial title crawl proclaims that this is just Star Wars, not Episode IV, A New Hope. Second, the film is without the various "improvements" and enhancements Lucas added for the theatrical rerelease in 1997 as well as the DVD premiere in 2004. So no more critters and droids scurrying around the port of Mos Eisley when Luke and Obi-Wan Kenobi first arrive, no meetings between Han Solo and Jabba the Hut and between Luke and Biggs (extraneous scenes that were cut in 1977), no enhanced explosions during the final reel, and--most importantly to some fans--no more of Greedo shooting first in the bar. Instead Han is free to be the scoundrel and not even let Greedo squeeze off a shot.

What do you lose by watching the 1977 version? Dolby Digital 5.1 EX sound, for one thing (only 2.0 Surround here). Digital cleanup for another--Tatooine looks like it's been coated with an additional layer of sand cloud. Yes, it's true that fans who want better sound and picture can always watch the 2004 version of the movie also included in this set. But chances are good that they already picked up the trilogy edition of all three films, so their decision to buy the 2006 two-disc edition depends on how much they want the original film. The official LucasFilm stance is that this is an individual release of the 2004 version of Star Wars: Episode IV, A New Hope, and the 1977 version of the film is merely a "bonus feature." Common speculation is that the only reason the original versions are seeing the official light of day at all is to undercut the booming black market for the laserdisc version. Star Wars fans will have to decide for themselves if that's worth the purchase. --David Horiuchi (hide)

Do you know anyone who hasn't seen this movie? A box-office smash when released in 1993, this spectacular update of the popular 1960s TV series stars Harrison Ford... read more

Do you know anyone who hasn't seen this movie? A box-office smash when released in 1993, this spectacular update of the popular 1960s TV series stars Harrison Ford as a surgeon wrongly accused of the murder of his wife. He escapes from a prison transport bus (in one of the most spectacular stunt-action sequences ever filmed) and embarks on a frantic quest for the true killer's identity, while a tenacious U.S. marshal (Tommy Lee Jones, in an Oscar-winning role) remains hot on his trail. Director Andrew Davis hit the big time with this expert display of polished style and escalating suspense, but it's the antagonistic chemistry between Jones and Ford that keeps this thriller cooking to the very end. In roles that seem custom-fit to their screen personas, the two stars maintain a sharply human focus to the grand-scale manhunt, and the intelligent screenplay never resorts to convenient escapes or narrative shortcuts. Equally effective as a thriller and a character study, this is a Hollywood blockbuster that truly deserves its ongoing popularity. --Jeff Shannon (hide)

As with Star Wars, the George Lucas-produced Indiana Jones trilogy was not just a plaything for kids but an act of nostalgic affection toward a lost phenomenon: the... read more

As with Star Wars, the George Lucas-produced Indiana Jones trilogy was not just a plaything for kids but an act of nostalgic affection toward a lost phenomenon: the cliffhanging movie serials of the past. Episodic in structure and with fate hanging in the balance about every 10 minutes, the Jones features tapped into Lucas's extremely profitable Star Wars formula of modernizing the look and feel of an old, but popular, story model. Steven Spielberg directed all three films, which are set in the late 1930s and early '40s: the comic book-like Raiders of the Lost Ark, the spooky, Gunga Din-inspired Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and the cautious but entertaining Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Fans and critics disagree over the order of preference, some even finding the middle movie nearly repugnant in its violence. (Pro-Temple of Doom people, on the other hand, believe that film to be the most disarmingly creative and emotionally effective of the trio.) One thing's for sure: Harrison Ford's swaggering, two-fisted, self-effacing performance worked like a charm, and the art of cracking bullwhips was probably never quite the iconic activity it soon became after Raiders. Supporting players and costars were very much a part of the series, too--Karen Allen, Sean Connery (as Indie's dad), Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri, Denholm Elliot, River Phoenix, and John Rhys-Davies among them. Years have passed since the last film (another is supposedly in the works), but emerging film buffs can have the same fun their predecessors did picking out numerous references to Hollywood classics and B-movies of the past. --Tom Keogh (hide)

Single Disc From Star Wars Trilogy, 2004 release

Single Disc From Star Wars Trilogy, 2004 release (hide)

A good old-fashioned thriller that wears its Alfred Hitchcock pedigree proudly on its sleeve, What Lies Beneath stars Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer as picture-perfect married couple Norman... read more

A good old-fashioned thriller that wears its Alfred Hitchcock pedigree proudly on its sleeve, What Lies Beneath stars Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer as picture-perfect married couple Norman and Claire Spencer, who seem happy and content with a fabulous house, college-age daughter and still-active libidos. When said daughter heads off to college, Claire starts obsessing about her new neighbors, and becomes convinced that the moody husband killed the neurotic wife, and that the wife's ghost has a desperately important message for her. Yes, it's true, there is a ghost, and there is a message, but it has decidedly more personal--and life-threatening--implications for Claire and Norman. Suddenly, that car crash last year that Claire can barely remember and the circumstances surrounding it start falling into place, and Claire begins to realize Norman may have a secret.

Director Robert Zemeckis loads the first half of What Lies Beneath with humorous cheap thrills (the suddenly ringing phone, etc.) that poke fun at Claire's dilemma while simultaneously making you tense beyond belief. Between each goofy thrill, though, is one true one that will make you jump out of your seat, including a bathtub that keeps filling itself. And all the while, Zemeckis subtly telegraphs the fissures in the Spencers' marriage, slowly revealing that all is not well between these two. Yes, it's a blatant Hitchcock homage to movies such as Rear Window and Suspicion, but it's sleekly made, entertaining and engrossing. Ford does his stoic thing well (and looks great doing it), and Diana Scarwid provides a refreshingly lighthearted turn as Claire's best pal, but it's pretty much Pfeiffer's movie all the way, and she carries the film on her not-so-fragile shoulders. And the third act is a suspense tour de force, complete with a breathtaking sequence featuring Pfeiffer and that menacing bathtub. In a time of obvious horror films, What Lies Beneath is an intelligent, fun thrill ride that will leave you breathless. --Mark Englehart (hide)

We regret that this DVD is under certain restrictions that prohibit sales to customers who live outside the North American continent. If you do not live in the... read more

We regret that this DVD is under certain restrictions that prohibit sales to customers who live outside the North American continent. If you do not live in the United States or Canada, we will not be able to ship you this DVD. Thank you for understanding. (hide)

Let's see--he's been Han Solo in three films and Indiana Jones in three more. So why shouldn't Harrison Ford take on a new continuing character in Tom Clancy's... read more

Let's see--he's been Han Solo in three films and Indiana Jones in three more. So why shouldn't Harrison Ford take on a new continuing character in Tom Clancy's CIA analyst Jack Ryan? In this film, directed by Phillip Noyce, Ford picked up the baton when Alec Baldwin, who played Ryan in The Hunt for Red October, opted for a Broadway role instead. In this film, Ryan and his family are on vacation when Ryan saves a member of the British royal family from attack by Irish terrorists. The next thing he knows, the Ryan clan has been targeted by the same terrorists, who invade his Maryland home. The film can't shed all of Clancy's lumbering prose, or his techno-dweeb fascination with spy satellites and the like. But no one is better than Ford at righteous heroism--and Sean Bean makes a suitably snakey villain. --Marshall Fine (hide)

The 2006 limited-edition two-disc release of Return of the Jedi is not only the first time the movie has been officially available by itself on DVD. It marks... read more

The 2006 limited-edition two-disc release of Return of the Jedi is not only the first time the movie has been officially available by itself on DVD. It marks the first-ever DVD release of Jedi as it originally played in theaters in 1983. What does that mean exactly? The film is without the various "improvements" and enhancements George Lucas added for the theatrical rerelease in 1997 as well as the DVD premiere in 2004. So Sebastian Shaw reclaims his spot as the man behind Darth Vader's mask, and we don't see the otherworldly celebration (including the Gungans) at the end of the movie.

What do you lose by watching the 1983 version? Dolby Digital 5.1 EX sound, for one thing (only 2.0 Surround here), and digital cleanup. But for home-theater owners, the biggest frustration will be from the non-anamorphic picture. On a widescreen TV, an anamorphically enhanced (16x9) picture at a 2.35:1 aspect ratio will fill the screen with the exception of small black bars on the top and bottom. The original edition of Jedi, however, on a widescreen TV will have large black bars on the top, the bottom, and the sides unless you stretch the picture (and distort it in the process, especially considering the substandard picture quality). If you're watching on a standard square-shaped (4:3) TV, though, you won't notice a difference.

Yes, it's true that serious home-theater lovers who want spectacular sound and anamorphically enhanced picture can always watch the 2004 version of the movie also included in this set. But chances are good that they already picked up the trilogy edition of all three films, so their decision to buy the 2006 two-disc edition depends on how much they want the original film. The official LucasFilm stance is that this is an individual release of the 2004 version of Return of the Jedi, and the 1983 version of the film is merely a "bonus feature." Common speculation is that the only reason the original versions are seeing the official light of day at all is to undercut the booming black market for the laserdisc version. Star Wars fans will have to decide for themselves if that's worth the purchase. --David Horiuchi (hide)

You know that old dramatic principle of suspension of disbelief? You'll have to rely on it for this box-office smash, but you won't be disappointed. Harrison Ford plays... read more

You know that old dramatic principle of suspension of disbelief? You'll have to rely on it for this box-office smash, but you won't be disappointed. Harrison Ford plays a U.S. president who single-handedly employs his rigid antiterrorism policy when a band of Russian thugs hatch a mid-flight takeover of Air Force One. Gary Oldman, who chews the scenery as the lead terrorist, will shoot a hostage at the slightest provocation. Glenn Close plays the sternly pragmatic vice president who negotiates with Oldman from her Washington seat of power. If you can believe that the aircraft's pressurized cabin can sustain hundreds of rounds of machine-gun fire, you'll buy anything in this entertaining potboiler, especially thanks to Ford's stalwart heroics and some nifty special effects. Director Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot) keeps the action moving so fast you won't be sweating the details. Don't forget your parachute! --Jeff Shannon (hide)

When Samuel (Lukas Haas), a young Amish boy traveling with his mother Rachel (Kelly McGillis), witnesses the murder of a police officer in a public restroom, he and... read more

When Samuel (Lukas Haas), a young Amish boy traveling with his mother Rachel (Kelly McGillis), witnesses the murder of a police officer in a public restroom, he and his mother become the temporary wards of John Book (Harrison Ford), a detective who's been assigned to solve the crime. After suspect lineups and mug-shot books yield nothing, Samuel, in the most memorable scene of the film, recognizes the murderer as a narcotics agent whose picture he sees in the precinct. Once Book realizes that the police chief is in on it, too, he whisks Samuel and Rachel back home to Amish country, where he himself goes into hiding as a plain Amish man. The juxtaposition between the life of the Amish and the violence of inner-city police corruption work surprisingly well for the story, and Kelly McGillis as the falling in love widow gives an almost perfect performance. Directed by Peter Weir, the film is extremely successful in drawing the viewer into its world and, accordingly, is immensely entertaining. The only thing that mars its polish is the one-dimensional, almost cartoonish handling of the upper-echelon police corruption--a subtler, more realistic treatment of this aspect of the story would have rendered the film near perfect. --James McGrath (hide)

Harrrison Ford brings his reliable brand of focused intensity to Firewall, a family-in-peril thriller that fits Ford like a comfortable old sweater. The venerable action star is visibly... read more

Harrrison Ford brings his reliable brand of focused intensity to Firewall, a family-in-peril thriller that fits Ford like a comfortable old sweater. The venerable action star is visibly growing older now, but he's got a quiet, simmering quality here that perfectly suits his role as Jack Stanfield, Vice President of security at a large Seattle bank that's recently upgraded to a state-of-the-art computer security system (resulting in conspicuous Dell product placement throughout the film). Jack's the only one who can safely crack the system, so he's targeted by a would-be robber (Paul Bettany) whose jittery crew of thugs and hackers kidnaps Jack's wife (Sideways star Virginia Madsen), daughter, and young son, threatening to kill them if Jack doesn't transfer $100 million into the robber's secret offshore account. Like Bruce Willis in 2005's Hostage, Ford rises above the film's familiar generic trappings, and British director Richard Loncraine maintains a low-key escalation of tension that keeps Firewall on track toward a routine but satisfying conclusion. Supporting roles for Alan Arkin, Robert Forster and Robert Patrick add little to the film's turnabout plotting, but fans of Mary Lynn Rajskub (better known as ace computer nerd "Chloe" on the hit series 24) will enjoy her performance here as a loyal secretary who factors into Stanfield's bid to outsmart his captors. Firewall may not be an instant Ford classic like The Fugitive, but it's comparable to Ford's 2000 thriller What Lies Beneath in terms of overall intelligence and crowd-pleasing suspense. --Jeff Shannon (hide)

The third installment in the cinematic incarnation of Tom Clancy's CIA analyst Jack Ryan and the second starring Harrison Ford, this follow-up to Patriot Games is a more... read more

The third installment in the cinematic incarnation of Tom Clancy's CIA analyst Jack Ryan and the second starring Harrison Ford, this follow-up to Patriot Games is a more complex, rewarding, and bolder film than its predecessor. Ford returns as Ryan, this time embroiled in a failed White House bid to wipe out a Colombian drug cartel and cover up the mess. The script, by Clancy and John Milius (Red Dawn), has an air of true adventure about it as Ryan places himself in harm's way to extract covert soldiers abandoned in a Latin American jungle. There are a couple of remarkable set pieces expertly handled by Patriot Games director Phillip Noyce, especially a shocking scene involving an ambush on Ryan's car in an alley. The supporting cast is superb, including Willem Dafoe as the soldiers' leader, Henry Czerny as Ryan's enemy at the CIA, Joaquim de Almeida as a smooth-talking villain, Ann Magnuson as an unwitting confederate in international crime, and James Earl Jones as Ryan's dying boss. The DVD release has a widescreen presentation, theatrical trailer, closed captioning, optional French soundtrack, and optional Spanish subtitles. --Tom Keogh (hide)

Julia Ormond faced one of the great challenges of her career when she tried to re-create Audrey Hepburn's title role in the 1995 remake of 1954's Sabrina. Happily,... read more

Julia Ormond faced one of the great challenges of her career when she tried to re-create Audrey Hepburn's title role in the 1995 remake of 1954's Sabrina. Happily, Ormond performed admirably, and while she may not have the same gamine charm of Hepburn, she makes the role her own. In fact, her transformation from mousy girl to sophisticated young woman is actually more dramatic in this updated version. The basic plot is the same--chauffeur's daughter falls in love with the son of the rich household, only to be wooed away by the older brother for business purposes--but it has been entertainingly modernized: The head of the Larrabee household is the strong matriarch (Nancy Marchand); Sabrina goes to Paris to work with a photographer instead of going to cooking school (although that means the wonderful "new egg" scene of the original had to be ditched); David's (Greg Kinnear) character has been toned down and made more sympathetic; and Humphrey Bogart's revolutionary plastic has become the flattest TV screen ever made. Lauren Holly does a fine job playing Elizabeth Tyson, David's fiancée. If you watch this for its own worth--instead of comparing it to the original--this will prove to be a terrific lighthearted romantic comedy. --Jenny Brown (hide)

Get shot in the head and become a better person. This 1991 Mike Nichols (Wolf) film stars Harrison Ford as a big-shot cold-hearted lawyer who gets a bullet... read more

Get shot in the head and become a better person. This 1991 Mike Nichols (Wolf) film stars Harrison Ford as a big-shot cold-hearted lawyer who gets a bullet in his brain during a holdup. The film de-emphasizes the traumas of recovery to focus on the title character's personality change after the fact. The canny Ford gets to work from his full, familiar palette of arrogance to boyishness, and even builds Henry from top to bottom after the wounded fellow awakens with no memory. But this is a slow and unremarkable film from Nichols, its sentimentality eclipsing all else, most of all profound insight. --Tom Keogh (hide)

Melanie Griffith had a fling with stardom in this Mike Nichols comedy about an execut