Robert Drew’s journalistic style of documentary filmmaking is front and center in this 2-disc set of films focusing on the Kennedy administration. This Criterion Collection includes some insightful new supplemental features making The Kennedy Films of Robert Drew & Associates a landmark set for anyone interested in the first few years of the 1960s.

Primary is a look at the Wisconsin primary of 1960. The filmmakers followed John Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey as they stumped for votes at a time when primaries were not as important as they are today. And comparing the campaigns of that time with what is going on this year is like night and day. It was indeed a kinder, gentler time in politics. There were no swipes at the other candidates. Perhaps candidates today can take a lesson from this documentary. The full film is included as well as an edited down version.

Adventures on the New Frontier looks at how JFK conducted his days in the White House. This was filmed six weeks after he took office. The filmmakers used clips from the previous film, Primary, in this documentary to show how he got to where he was.

Crisis is a telling documentary focusing on the showdown in Alabama between the Kennedy administration and Governor George Wallace who did not want the university to integrate and admit Vivian Malone and James Hood. This film starts out with Robert Kennedy having breakfast at home with his children then switches to Wallace’s morning in the Governor’s mansion, showing that these two, while heading to a monumental event in history, were simply men who also had families and convictions. The film flips back and forth between the strategizing in Washington as to how to safely get the two students past Wallace to enter the school, and the situation in Alabama. It’s a fascinating look at this historic event.

Faces of November is a compilation of scenes from the days after the assassination. This is an emotional film which shows only snippets from these days with absolutely no commentary or narration.

The supplemental features are just as interesting and educational as the actual films. It’s pointed out that while in the Oval Office, the men always wore their jackets in deference to the office. In their private offices they wore ties. These are just two major differences between how those in power back in the twentieth century honored their commitment to the country. They were always thinking about the people and the fate of the nation, not their personal ambitions.

A look at the relationship between John and Robert Kennedy as well as the health of the president sheds light on the way the president handled his time in office.

There are plenty more insightful tidbits about the films, the filmmakers, and the events of the early 1960s, making this collection a new, fresh, updated way to learn about the life and times of President Kennedy and the situations in the world at that time.

The Kennedy Films of Robert Drew & Associates is available on DVD and on Blu-ray.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

Ingrid Bergman won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the 1956 movie Anastasia. The story takes place ten years after the Russian revolution when the Tsar and his family were all shot to death. But rumors persisted that one of his daughters, Anastasia, survived and escaped.

General Bounine (Yul Brynner) and his friends have been looking for a woman who could pass for the Princess Anastasia. They find Anna Koreff, aka Anna Anderson (Bergman) who has had some difficult times lately and at times has told people she is the missing princess.

They enlist her to be passed off as Anastasia, leading to a large financial compensation from the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna (Helen Hayes), Anastasia’s grandmother, if she acknowledges that Anna is indeed her granddaughter Anastasia. Anna is trained in how to behave as a princess and given lessons about the history of Anastasia. Anna is convinced she is Anastasia. But convincing her grandmother is another story.

Helen Hayes is just as enchanting in her role as is Bergman. She is the woman who desperately wants Anna to be her granddaughter. After meeting so many imposters, she feels this is really Anastasia. But she also tells her that if she is not, then she doesn’t want to know. Bringing Anastasia back is new hope for all the exiles and those loyal to the Tsar.

So, is Anna really Anastasia? She is so convincing. The relationship between Anna and the general is the culmination of her life as Anastasia.

The movie was filmed on location in France, Denmark, and England. It is based on the story of Anna Anderson who tried to pass herself off as Anastasia. As we know today, she was not the missing princess. DNA has proven that this woman was not Anastasia and the bodies of all the Romanovs were eventually found in Russia.

Alfred Newman was nominated for an Academy Award for the mesmerizing score.

Bonus features on the Twilight Time Blu-ray include the theme song sung by Pat Boone, which charted at #37 in 1957, the same year he had the #1 song from the movie April Love. There are also Movietone newsreels about the fame of the film and the awards won by the cast. This was the same year Yul Brynner starred as the King in the musical The King and I, a movie for which he took home the Oscar.

Anastasia is not rated. It is appropriate for ages 13 and up.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

The Disney Junior series Goldie & Bear is kind of a mash-up of several fairy tales. Goldie (Goldilocks) and Bear (Baby Bear) are best friends. Yes, she broke his chair when she first entered the house of the three bears, but since that time the two have become almost inseparable. This DVD includes 7 episodes (14 stories) from the popular series.

There are many fun stories on this DVD, including the one where Goldie decides to fix Bear’s chair for his birthday present. She enlists the help of the Three Little Pigs, but decides a chair of brick, one of sticks, and one of straw just aren’t what she wanted, and Bear is happy with the one she made herself.

In another story, Bear is told he is too little to do some of the things he wants to do. With the help of one of Jack’s magic beans (Jack and the Beanstalk), he grows to a giant size. But then he is too big for things. So in the end he and Goldie use their one wish (you’ll have to watch to find out how they get the wish) to reduce him to his normal size, where he knows he will grow up eventually. But why rush things? He’s perfect just like he is.

In another story the two friends help the Giant with his missing shoe, which was taken over by the lady with all the children. After all, it makes a great house for them!

And Goldie has always wanted to wear Red’s cape (Little Red Riding Hood), so she and Bear offer to take Red’s basket to her grandmother so Red can help Rapunzel with her hair. On the way they meet the Wolf who only wants to eat what is in the basket. He learns his lesson when they tell him they will gladly give him something to eat if he asks nicely and uses the magic word – which is “please.”

In yet another fun story Bear gets some magic red shoes that help him dance because he wants to go to the dance but doesn’t know how to dance.

There are plenty more stories that will entertain youngsters with some of the greatest fairy tale characters of all time. They each have a little lesson about life. With Goldie, Bear, Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Thumbelina, Pinocchio, the Three Little Pigs, Jack and Jill, the Frog, Humpty Dumpty, and others, this little group is a fun mix for everyone.

Included in the DVD box is a Playtime Fun Set, which has a picture to color, a maze, and decals to place on a cardboard scene so kids can make their own story using Goldie, Bear, Humpty Dumpty, The Three Little Pigs, Jack, Red Riding hood, and the Big Bad Wolf.

“Once upon a time…” just got a whole lot more enjoyable. With Goldie and Bear and all the fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters interacting, there is always something new and exciting going on.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

Only Angels Have Wings is a 1939 drama starring Cary Grant and Jean Arthur. It’s about the growing aviation profession, with Grant starring as Geoff Carter, a pilot who is trying to run an airline in a remote South American village.

Arthur plays Bonnie, a woman who falls for Carter even though he rebuffs her and insists he will not get involved with anyone. Carter is a tough man. When a pilot dies in a crash before their eyes, he and the others move on from their grief in the matter of minutes. After all, they cannot afford to wallow. They have a job to do and they know they might be the one to crash next. That’s the life they signed on for. But Bonnie is not one of them, at least in the beginning. She is taken aback by their attitudes and especially Carter’s.

Although she is supposed to return to the boat on which she came, Bonnie decides to stay in this remote wilderness. The village has some kind people and she wants to get to know Carter better, even though he insists she shouldn’t stay. Yes, there is an attraction between them and Bonnie thinks she can change his mind about getting close to a woman, but he doesn’t feel the same way. He is adamant that there is no room in his life for a serious relationship. After all, his job is risky and he lost one woman because of the dangers.

Rita Hayworth costars as Judy, Carter’s former girlfriend who left him because he was a pilot. Interestingly enough, she ended up marrying a pilot (Richard Barthelmess) and he becomes one of Carter’s pilots, which brings Judy back into the company of her former lover. This new turn of events makes Bonnie jealous, but things get even more complicated when injuries start plaguing the group, putting the remaining pilots in even more danger.

Director Howard Hawks loved making movies about pilots. Besides this one, Hawks’ aviation films include The Dawn Patrol, Calling Zero, and Air Force. During World War I Hawks joined the Army Air Corps. He enjoyed aviation and racing planes and cars. He was a risk-taker, something that was front and center in many of his films, including Only Angels Have Wings.

Bonus features on The Criterion Collection DVD include audio selections of an interview with Hawks by Peter Bogdanovich in which Hawks talks about the film and the cast, and casting Hayworth in the movie. There is also an interview with film critic David Thompson who discusses the movie and Hawks’ history. A featurette about Hawks and his aviation films show just how invested the director was in the aviation industry and his love of planes.

Only Angels Have Wings was nominated for two Academy Awards – for cinematography and special effects. It’s a deeply dramatic film and often slow-moving. It is a look at the commitment and sacrifices of the pilots who helped make aviation an everyday part of our lives. The movie from The Criterion Collection is also available on Blu-ray.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter