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'" z Uam Neesen (center) In the title role of "Schindler's
Ust," Steven Spielberg's moving Ho!aC3!ist drama.
"SCHINDLER'S UST"
"THE TEN COMMANDMENTS"
You'll notice that Steven Spielberg hasn't said any­
thing publicly about "The Passion of the Christ" or
the Holocaust-denying comments of Mel Gibson and
his dad. Perhaps it's because Spielberg said every­
thing he possibly could with this penetrating, shatter­
ing 1993 drama ($26.98, Universal) about Oskar
Schindler and the Jews he helped save during World
War II. But talk about heavenly timing! Cecil B. De­
Mille's 1956 kitschy joy of an epic "The Ten Com­
mandments" ($19.99, Paramount) couldn't have come
out at a better time.
THE CHAPUN COllECTION: VOLUME lWO
It·s impossibl e to fault the terrific presentation of
these movies. Still, just like Volume One, this is a
mixed bag, albeit a bargain ($99.92, Warner Bros.).
"The Circus," "City Lights" and "The Kid" are essen­
tials, with "The Chaplin Revue" a grab-bag of shorts
made for First National (which sounds like a bank).
But "A Woman of Paris," "A King in New York" and
UMonsieur Verdoux" are mere curiosities in compari­
son. And the only reason to watch Richard Schlck­
el's unrevealing documentary "Charlie: The Life and
Art of Charles Chaplin" is to see the clips.
liTHE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW": SWOt. THREE
"The Dick Van Dyke Show" continues to get the
loving treatment that all great shows deserve with
this third-season set ($69.99, Image). It includes more
great extras (including a complete episode of "The
Danny Thomas Show" with Morey Amsterdam ), and
one great moment after another -especially Laura
(Mary Tyler Moore) mortified over a nude drawing
of her appearing in an art gallery and the classic sea­
son opener in willch Rob is convinced they've
brought the wrong baby home from the hospital.
"TO SERVE THEM ALL MY DAYS"
This delightful13-part miniseries from 1980 ($79.99,
Acorn) is virtually the model for every show that
aired on "Masterpiece Theatre." It's set in a British
boarding school between the wars, has a sterling cast,
a modest budget, and a propensity for dramatic plot
twists that would shame a daytime soap. Adapted by
the terrific Andrew Davies from a beloved novel, it
tells the warm. touching story of a poor Welsh coal
miner's son who overcomes shellshoek to fall in love
with the elite school Bamfylde.
Also out:
Clive Owen -as good a pick as any for the next
James Bond -in the absorbing 2000 crime flick
"Croupier" ($19.99, Image); "NIona Lisa Smile"
gives both a1l-girl schools and chick flicks a bad
name; "Starsky & Hutch:" Season One ($49.95. Co­
lumbia TriStar), the cop show that spawned the
amusing new movie starring Ben Stiller and Owen
Wilson; "Futuram a" Vol. 3 ($49.98, Fox) is the sci-fi
spoofs best season and if enough people buy it, they
might revive the show; U.K. drama "The Second
Coming" ($24.98, Shout) intelligently a.nd intrigu
ingly imagines how people would react ifJesus came
back; the original 1979 zombie nick/anti-capi,alist di­
atribe "Dawn of the Dead" ($19.98, Anchor Bay)
comes out just in time for the remake.
Out next week:
Sean Penn's other marvelous performance from
2003 in "21 Grams"; the boldly unconvention al '705
TV show "Kung Fu"; and the Swedish idea of big TV
fun, lngmar Bergman's "Scenes From a l\'Ia.rriage."