O (Two-Disc Special Edition)

• DVD Details: Actors: Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles, Josh Hartnett, Andrew Keegan, Rain Phoenix
• Directors: Tim Blake Nelson
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC. Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1; Number of discs: 2; Studio: Lions Gate
• DVD Release Date: February 19, 2002; Run Time: 95 minutes

Sara (Julia Stiles) wants to be a ballerina, but her dreams are cut short by the sudden death of her mother. She moves in with her father (Terry Kinney), who she has not seen for a long time, in Chicago, mainly in the ghetto. She gets transferred to a new school where she is the only white girl there. Her life takes a turn for the better when she is friends with Chenille (Kerry Washington). Later, she falls in love with Chenille's brother, Derek (Sean Patrick Thomas).Save the Last Dance! enjoyed a profitable release in early 2001, with box-office earnings that exceeded anyone's expectations. Its performance illustrates the staying power of a formulaic movie that avoids the pitfalls and clichés that would otherwise render it forgettable. Since there's nothing new here, you'll appreciate the original quirks in a character-based plot that's just around the corner from Flashdance, and just as familiar. Sara (Julia Stiles) gave up a promising ballet career when her mother was killed while rushing to attend her daughter's crucial audition to Juilliard; Sara blames herself for the accident, and at her new, mostly African American high school in Chicago, she's uncertain of her future.

Derek (Sean Patrick Thomas) has no such doubts; his own future is bright, and his attraction to Sara is immediate; they connect (predictably), and Sara's dormant funk emerges, with Derek's coaching, as she learns hip-hop dancing in a local club. Obligatory subplots are e! qually routine: Derek's sister (Kerry Washington) is a single ! mom stru ggling with her child's absentee father; Derek's best friend (Fredro Starr) feels trapped in his gangsta lifestyle; and Sara's once-estranged father (Terry Kinney) is doing his best to correct past mistakes. Within the confines of this standard follow-your-dream drama, director Thomas Carter capitalizes on a script that allows these characters to be real, intelligent, and thoughtful about their lives and their futures. It's obvious that Stiles's dancing was intercut with that of a professional double, but that illusion hardly matters when the rest of the movie's so earnestly positive and genuine. --Jeff Shannon Julia Stiles (MONA LISA SMILE) and Academy Award(R) winner Shirley MacLaine (1983 Best Actress, TERMS OF ENDEARMENT) star in CAROLINA, the endearing romantic comedy about a young woman (Stiles) trying to escape the eccentric ways of her wacky Southern family and meet the man of her dreams -- a nice, normal available guy. Finding him appears easier said than don! e until she meets a handsome and debonair Englishman. Will Carolina's dream turn into a nightmare when she introduces her perfect guy to her less-than-perfect family? And what will her best friend Albert have to say? As funny and charming as SWEET HOME ALABAMA, this Southern belle is sure to sweep you off your ever-loving feet.WHEN A PRE-MED STUDENT MEETS A HANDSOME PRINCE, SHE MUST DECIDE BETWEEN FOLLOWING HER HEART AND FOLLOWING HER DREAM.The classic girlhood fantasy of marrying a handsome prince is given a surprisingly realistic and subtle treatment in The Prince and Me. A pre-med student at the University of Wisconsin named Paige (Julia Stiles, 10 Things I Hate About You, Mona Lisa Smile) collides with a lazy, presumptuous exchange student named Eddie (Luke Mably, 28 Days Later) and, after a prickly beginning, falls in love with him--only to discover that Eddie is Edvard, the Crown Prince of Denmark. The scenario is pure wish-fulfillment, but! director Martha Coolidge (Valley Girl, Rambling Ros! e) n ot only takes a closer look at what royal life is really like, she also takes the time to turn these fantasy roles into characters that have more than two dimensions. It's still a romantic comedy aimed at teenagers, but within the genre's parameters, the movie has a strong visual style and what might be called depth. --Bret FetzerO - DELUXE EDITION - DVD MovieWhen you compare O to William Shakespeare's Othello, you'll realize just how well this modern adaptation really works. Shakespeare's tragedy transfers nicely to the film's contemporary private school setting, where Othello is now Odin (Mekhi Phifer), star of the basketball team and the school's only African American student. Desdemona is Desi (Julia Stiles), the dean's daughter and Odin's girlfriend, and Iago is Hugo (Josh Hartnett), the coach's steroid-shooting son, who jealously plants seeds of doubt that fester in Odin's mind, leading them all to a tragically violent fate. As directed by Tim Blak! e Nelson (who played the dimwit Delmar in O Brother, Where Art Thou?), this is a clever and serious interpretation of Shakespeare that, sadly, was shelved for two years when its distributor balked at potential comparisons to the Columbine massacre. Such fears were pointless; this well-acted film delivers an anti-violence message that younger viewers will readily appreciate. --Jeff Shannon

Read more »