The Concert for New York City took place at New York's Madison Square Gardens six weeks after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. As presented here, with about five hours of musical performances and celebrity cameos, it was a frequently awkward affair: the traditional fatuous jollity of American show business ceremonies is not, perhaps, the ideal medium for articulating the feelings engendered by the kind of tragedy America had just suffered. It is often evident--and actually quite endearingly so--that the film and television stars who appear here feel somewhat foolish accepting applause while standing alongside the members of New York's Police and Fire departments who take the stage to offer brief tributes to fallen comrades (it would be nice, but naïve, to believe that September 11 caused our celebrity-obsessed culture to redraft its parameters of heroism). The performances captured here are mostly pretty good, though David Bowie's opening, with an eerie and affecting take on Paul Simon's "America", followed by a rumbustious "Heroes", sets a standard not subsequently matched. The short films by New York directors are also worth seeing, especially Kevin Smith's daringly funny New Jersey perspective (the concert's only other overt attempts at humour misfire woefully--especially the toe-curling George W Bush impersonator). However, the concert is principally of interest as a document of a moment in history, rather than as a musical artefact. All of what America felt, for better and for worse, in the immediate wake of September 11, is on view here: sorrow, defiance, pride and, as Richard Gere famously discovered when he suggested that perhaps there were more constructive responses than carpet-bombing Third World basket-cases, anger. On the DVD: The Concert for New York Cityhas a viewing option which screens out everything except the musical performances. Sound is available in Dolby 5.1 Surround and PCM Stereo. --Andrew Mueller
Over one hundred years ago a serial murderer stalked the streets of London. Innocent women were murdered by his knife. No suspects were convicted. Dozens of theories about the killings have evolved but none have been conclusive. To this day the identity of the killer has never been determined. In this event hosted by Peter Ustinov a team of world-renowned forensic scientists and criminologists from top agencies including the F.B.I. and Scotland Yard comes together to use state-of-the-art criminal investigation techniques to finally uncover The Secret Identity Of Jack The Ripper! With vivid re-enactments of the original witness testimonies the panel of experts revisit the evidence and profile the suspects. Who got away with the most infamous serial crime of the 19th Century?
A detailed gripping Crimewatch investigation into the mysteries of these heinous 19th century crimes. To coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Jack The Ripper killings a respected team of world-renowned forensic scientists criminologists and Ripper-ologists (including forensic pathologist Dr. William Eckert the Curator of Scotland Yard's Black Museum William Waddell FBI Special Agents Roy Hazelwood and John Douglas Queen's Counsel Ann Mallalieu Donald Rumbelow and Martin Fido) were gathered together for a live news-making television event with one purpose: to uncover The Secret Identity of Jack The Ripper. Presented by Peter Ustinov this documentary employs state-of-the-art methods of criminal analysis developed by the F.B.I. constructs vivid re-enactments of the crimes and presents profiles of each of the prime suspects as the experts attempt to positively identify Jack the Ripper.
In 1888 a string of innocent women were viciously murdered by a serial killer. No witnesses were found.No suspects were convicted. The real identity of the killer has never been determined. In this 2 hour investigation presented by peter Ustinov a team of world renowned forensic scientists and criminologists investigate the murders. Using state of the art methods of criminal analysis developed by the F.B.I. with vivid re-enhancements of the crimes and profiles of each suspect the experts will attempt to positively identity JACK THE RIPPER.
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