Videotape/DVD Collections: Entertainment Video
From
comedy to drama, thousands of new entertainment videos are produced
each year.
When choosing
videos, it’s sometimes helpful to learn more about the genre.
In 1998, the American Film Institute (AFI) came up with AFI's
100 Years...100 Movies, their listing of the best films of the
last century. They also developed lists for particular genres such
as comedies and
thrillers.
You may
or may
not
agree with
their
selections, but these lists are helpful as you explore the options.
AFI identified Citizen Kane, Casablanca, The Godfather, Gone with the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, The Wizard of Oz, The Graduate, On the Waterfront, Schindler's List, and Singin' in the Rain as their top 10.
Let's explore some
of the categories you'll want to consider as you select videos.
Action & Adventure. Whether you're a fan of disasters, mystery, martial arts, superheroes, or thrillers, you can find many popular films in this category. Although several new films are released every week, some classics like The Great Escape, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Rambo remain popular. Buddy movies like Thelma and Louise, Up in Smoke, Lethal Weapon, and Charlie's Angels are a fun combination. Some movies such as X-Men and Spiderman are based on popular comic books.
Spies, cops, and heroes are all an important part of action films. Some focus more on action, while others emphasize plot. Some movies like French Connection, The Usual Suspects, LA Confidential, and Top Gun stand up well over time. Others such as The Fugitive, The Day of the Jackal, and The Bourne Identity are remade and updated. Some patrons may want to watch the original and remake side by side. Check out AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains list.
Series such as Dirty
Harry, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, and the Mummy
show cover a range of action. James Bond films have been popular since
the 1960s. Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan was so popular, that producers have
brought him back
with a younger leading man. From Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator
or Vin Diesel in XXX, each generation finds their own action
heroes.
Fires (Backdraft & Towering Inferno), earthquakes (Earthquake), tornadoes (Twister), volcanoes (Dante's Peak), shark attacks (Jaws), boat wrecks (The Poseidon Adventure), threats of pestilence (Outbreak), and plane crash (Airport) disaster movies remain popular.
Action and adventure is often combined with other areas. For example, historical romances such as The English Patient, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Titanic also have action elements. Comic adventures are always popular from Kelly's Heroes and Smokey and the Bandit to Romancing the Stone and Rush Hour.
Thrillers and horrors
can make you jump. I'll never forget seeing Jack Nicholson in The
Shining.
Popular series include Friday the 13th, Halloween, and Nightmare
on Elm Street. Psycho, Jaws, The Exorcist, North by Northwest,
Rear Window, and Silence of the Lambs are on the AFI's
list of AFI's
100 Years...100 Thrills. Recent thrillers include Hannibal and The
Others.
Animated. Finding Nemo is the most popular of a number of recent animated films that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. Chicken Run, Toy Story, Monsters Inc, A Bug's Life, Ice Age, Shrek, and Lilo and Stitch are others.
Although Disney classics such as The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast will always be popular, other companies such as Dreamworks and Pixar are gaining appeal. When purchasing for the library, keep in mind that many Disney films are only released for a short time.
As you select animated
works, be careful. Some of the comic-type videos are intended for adults.
For example, some anime and manga have violent and sexual situations.
Children's. Harry Potter is a great book series and the film versions entertain people of all ages. Look for other children's books that became movies such as Tuck Everlasting.
Some videos are geared specifically for young audiences. For example, Mary-Kate and Ashley are only two of the many popular teenage stars producing direct to video productions.
The 1960s and 70s gave viewers lots of children's classics including Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Annie, and others.
Many series are popular with kids including Back to the Future and the Muppet movies. Spy Kids is a new adventure series for kids.
Animal films such as Babe, The Black Stallion, Homeward Bound - The Incredible Journey, and The Bear are also popular with all ages.
Many television
programs are available in video format such as Spongebob Squarepants,
Barney, Dragon's Tales, Franklin, Bob the Builder, Rugrats, Clifford,
and Blue's Clues.
Christian. Some movies don't fit nicely into categories. For example, the Left Behind videos are specifically geared to Christians and often dubbed "Christian Entertainment". The VeggieTale videos and movies are children's movies with a Christian theme.
Some mainstream movies have Christian themes such as Jesus of Nazareth, The Ten Commandments, and Disney's The Prince of Egypt.
Comedy. From romantic comedies to slap-stick, there are many different types of comedies. Nora Ephron has become known as the queen of the romantic comedy with hits like You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, and When Harry Met Sally...
Classics of comedy
include Some Like It Hot, Tootsie, Dr. Strangelove, Annie Hall,
and Duck Soup. Peter Sellers was hot in the 1960s with
the Pink Panther movies. The popularity of comedies continued
in the 1970s and 80s with Blazing Saddles, A Fish Called Wanda,
Animal House, Beetlejuice, Caddyshack, MASH, Fast Times at Ridgemont
High, Ghostbusers, The Jerk, and Young Frankenstein.
The Coen brothers came along in the late 80s with hits like Raising
Arizona, Fargo (Darkcomedy), and O Brother, Where
Art Thou? Recently,
There's Something About Mary, Shakespeare in Love, As
Good as it Gets, Meet the Parents and Austin Powers
were popular.
The Graduate, Tootsie, American Graffiti, Forrest Gump, Good Morning, Vietnam bridge the drama-comedy fence.
Cult.
Cult films have a large following of devoted viewers. Cult classics
run the gambit of categories. Rocky Horror Picture Show, Pink Floyd
- The Wall, Blade Runner, A Clockwork Orange, Easy Rider, Repo Man,
This is Spinal Tap, and all the Monty Python movies are
examples.
Drama. A Beautiful Mind, Good Will Hunting, In the Bedroom, Erin Brockovich, American Beauty, and Monster's Ball are recent dramas.
Chinatown, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, Scarface, Goodfellas, To Kill a Mockingbird, Rocky, and The Grapes of Wrath are a few classic dramas to consider.
Some people like
dramas in a particular category. For example, sports fans enjoy The
Rookie, Field of Dreams, Remember the Titans, Chariots of Fire, Hoosiers,
and Rudy.
Romantic classics include An Affair to Remember, Gone with the Wind, The Way We Were, Doctor Zhivago, Love Story, and Casablanca. Check out the AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions list.
Gladiator, Apollo 13, Braveheart, Dances with Wolves, Last of the Mohicans, Pride and Prejudice, The Patriot, Pearl Harbor, Titantic, Platoon, and Saving Private Ryan are just a few of the popular historical dramas. Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge on the River Kwai, Ben Hur,Apocalypse Now, Patton, Godfather is a classic favorite. Recent history includes Black Hawk Down.
Although few new
movies are being made, westerns are still popular in libraries.
"Spaghetti"
Westerns like They Call Me Trinity and The Good, the Bad,
and the Ugly are timeless. John Wayne and Clint Eastwood collections
arealways a hit. Classic Western movies include Shane, Stagecoach,
Magnificent Seven, Silverado, Quigley Down Under, Butch
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, High Noon, Lonesome Dove, and Cat
Ballou.
Recent westerns include The Quick and the Dead, Geronimo, Tombstone,
and Unforgiven.
Foreign. Like documentaries, foreign films such as Like Water for Chocolate and Life Is Beautiful are often not available in local video stores. Oneadvantage to DVD is the multiple audio and captioning options.
A good selection
of films from South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia can provide breadth
to your video collection. For example, consider some Asian classics
such as Seven Samurai, Ran, and Farewell My Concubine.
Think about developing a collection of award-winning international films that might not be found at the local video store. Read the off-site article, Foreign Films on Video at the Library, by Christine Hall to see how Edmonton Public Library advertised their foreign films. For example, Amelie is an award-winning French film and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is from Hong Kong.
Music
and Musicals.The musical is back! Moulin Rouge
became a cult hit in less than a year. Chicago followed last
year to become a giant hit!. Add to these new hits some classics such
as the Rodgers and Hammerstein collection. Sound
of Music, West Side Story, 
Oliver,
and Oklahoma are examples from the 1950s and 60s. Fiddler
on the Roof, Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell, and The Wiz
are from the 1970s.
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Gilbert & Sullivan works should also be considered. You can find performance videos on topics including ballet, broadway, opera, and others.
In addition to musicals, you can also find concerts, movie videos, and biographies. Queens, Eagles, and U2 videos are a few examples.
Some movies with music bridge several categories. For example, where do you put The Blue Brothers, Footloose, Saturday Night Fever, and Flashdance?
Science
Fiction. The Matrix and the Lord of the Rings series
have made science fiction and fantasy mainstream. From Star
Wars
and Star Trek to Jurassic Park, series like
Men in Black and Alien are always popular in science
fiction.
It's important to have a mixture of classics with newer films. For example, The War of the Worlds, Forbidden Planet, Logan's Run, Conan the Barbarian, Planet of the Apes, ET, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Escape from New York, The Stand, Blade Runner, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Dune, Mad Max, Total Recall, and Terminator.
Many science fiction movies such as Minority Report focus on issues that span time and place.
Seasonal.
What would Christmas be like without It's a Wonderful World
and The Christmas Story? Rudolph
the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, How the Grinch Stole Christmas,
and the Little Drummer Boy are a few examples of holiday
classics. Modern classics include National Lampoon's Christmas
Vacation and The
Santa Clause.
Valentine's Day is another time for videos such as Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown, or Clifford Be My Big Red Valentine.
The Peanuts holiday collection includes Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Halloween.
Collections.
Beside the genres, some people like to explore the actors, directors,
or other people involved with video productions. For example,
you might
have a collection of Alfred Hitchcock or Steven Spielberg movies. Someone
might organize a John Wayne, Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Meg Ryan,
or Harrison Ford week. Check out AFI's
100 Years...100 Stars for classic ideas.
Schools. School library media specialists need to analyze the curriculum and look for popular movies that could be used as an integral part of teaching. Historical drama is a logical connection, but other films might provide a context for learning about other topics. For example, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest can be used in psychology classes and Grapes of Wrath in English and Social Studies.
Controversial Film Use in School. Recently some high school teachers have used the Martin Scorcese film, Gangs of New York, in their classrooms.
Why or why not use this Scorcese's film in a high school classroom?
What, if any special considerations would have to be made? What alternatives
should be
considered? Could you use this in any community's school?
Explore Related Websites:
Five Points:
New York's Irish Working Class in the 1850s (Documentary film)
Gangs
of New York from ClassBrain (Includes lesson
plan)
Gangs of New York by Frances Carle (Asbury)
Gangs of New York:
The Errors from Virtual NY City
Five Points Site
Real
Gangs of New York from HIstory Television
Explore Other Film Lists
- 1,000 Best Films of all Times by Piero Scaruffi
- ArtsForge's List of Top 100 Films
- Greatest Films by Tim Dirks from Filmsite
- Vatican Best Films List (1995) from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops