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BEFORE the censors cracked down in mid-1934, Hollywood unleashed a flood of sexy, taboo-busting movies to lure audiences during the Great Depression. Six elusive titles -- most have never been shown on TV -- turn up in "The Pre-Code Hollywood Collection," out tomorrow, which vividly shows just how far the financially struggling studios were willing to push the envelope. Paramount especially seems to have gone out of its way to flout the Production Code Administration (PCA), whose myriad prohibitions weren't seriously enforced until Catholic groups threatened a boycott.

I never imagined I’d say it, but I’m beginning to identify with Barack Obama. I’m certainly not referring to his politics or his narcissism, but it seems that both of us really suck when it comes to gift giving. First, he gave Prime Minister Gordon Brown some DVDs that were incompatible with English electronics, and then he gave Queen Elizabeth an iPod that contained his speeches. Well, I hate to admit it, but I can empathize. Shopping for a prime minister has got to be hard enough, but trying to shop for a woman who has her own country would...

Poor old Gordon Brown. While he was being savaged in Strasbourg, the Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd was getting a terribly thoughtful present from President Barack Obama - a rare original printing of sheet music, the "Anacreontic Song", by John Smith, known these days as the "Star Spangled Banner". This was, as the Aussie press was not slow to point out, in stark contrast to "the lousy gift of DVDs Obama gave Brown" during his recent visit. Rudd had given Obama a personally signed and inscribed copy of Thomas Keneally's biography of Abraham Lincoln. Not bad, but not quite as...

A few years back, it emerged that US Senator Ted Stevens had been given an iPod by his daughter, and it had changed the way he saw the RIAA and the measures for which it lobbied. It's always seemed to me that once politicians -- at least those not beholden to the entertainment industry -- experienced the stupidity and frustration of the locks and controls that groups like the RIAA and MPAA put on content and want backed up by law, they'd realize they were little more than attempts to frustrate consumers and prop up outmoded business models. Maybe the...

Confirmed: DVDs that Obama gave Gordon Brown are the wrong format posted at 4:50 pm on March 19, 2009 by Allahpundit Send to a Friend | Share on Facebook | printer-friendly Via Media Blog, one final cringeworthy indignity from the gifts that keep on giving. Until now I thought Obama’s team had spent about five minutes brainstorming on what to get Brown. I was wrong. It was more like two minutes. What’s that term The One’s been using for his foreign policy? Ah, right. “Smart power.” Alas, when the PM settled down to begin watching them the other night, he...

One gets the vision of top level security men, clad in their black suits and matching sunglasses, earpieces in place, scanning the aisles from left to right as Obama rolls up his sleeves and gets elbow-deep in the ‘2 for $11’ DVD bin at Wal-mart.

British press aghast at 'cheap' Obama giftMarch 07, 2009 British newspapers are upset over what they see as rude treatment given to Prime Minister Gordon Brown by U.S. President Barack Obama this week, observers say. The London dailies criticized Obama's treatment of Brown during his state visit to Washington this week on several fronts, including alleged cheap gift-giving, the New York Daily News reported Saturday. President Obama has been rudeness personified toward Britain, The Daily Telegraph wrote Friday. His handling of the visit of the prime minister, Gordon Brown, to Washington was appalling. The main point of contention was an...

You can see the entire video in one video, and you can now purchase the DVD of the entire Rush CPAC speech at: http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=284357-3&showVid=true I just purchased it, since I rank this speech right up there with Reagan’s conservative speeches/writings. Maybe you can show this video/speech at rallies/tea parties, etc. Get the word out about how conservatism works for Americans. Tommy Miami, FL

Movie Studios Offer Consumers Win-Win Way to go Blu-ray By Jim Bray February 14, 2009 It looks as if there may be an outbreak of consumer-friendly common sense coming from a couple of the big Hollywood studios. This particular anomaly is a way to help people transition to the Blu-ray format by marketing "combination" disc packages that include both DVD and BD versions, so those who don't yet have a Blu-ray player (which is most people) can watch their favorite titles on DVD now, with the BD version waiting patiently in the package for the day when they do eventually...

AN old skeleton has emerged from Jane Fonda's closet to remind us of her traitorous embrace of the North Vietnamese, which got her dubbed "Hanoi Jane." Docudrama Films is re leasing on DVD a long-suppressed documentary called "FTA," a k a "[Bleep] the Army," which chroni cles the anti-war shows Fonda staged in front of GIs. The flick opened in theaters in 1972 the same week she flew to Hanoi and encouraged the Vietnamese com munists to fight "American impe rialists."

Of the Globe Award winners; Which SHOULD be seen on the Big Screen of a theater? Which will play as well on DVD?

There is no Hollywood ending in sight in 2009 for the entertainment industry, which along with the rest of the nation is experiencing its worst economic slump in decades. The fallout from declining local TV ad revenue, weakening DVD sales and diminishing sources of film financing will continue to pound Los Angeles' signature industry, which employs more than 200,000 people and pumps an estimated $20 billion to $30 billion into the local economy. Many expect that will trigger further layoffs at the studios, networks, independent production outfits and other media companies on top of the thousands of job losses that...

Pop culture is finally hitting the eject button on the VHS tape, the once-ubiquitous home-video format that will finish this month as a creaky ghost of Christmas past. After three decades of steady if unspectacular service, the spinning wheels of the home-entertainment stalwart are slowing to a halt at retail outlets. On a crisp Friday morning in October, the final truckload of VHS tapes rolled out of a Palm Harbor, Fla., warehouse run by Ryan J. Kugler, the last major supplier of the tapes. "It's dead, this is it, this is the last Christmas, without a doubt," said Kugler, 34,...

a weakening economy this holiday season, there are signs that many of the discounts will stick around through the end of the year. That means shoppers seeking a TV could have several extra weeks of lower-than-usual prices to find the right deal. The Black Friday discounts will be even heftier, according to estimates. A 32-inch LCD TV will be discounted 54% to an estimated $399 in limited quantities on Black Friday from an average $875 in October, according to iSuppli. If those prices don't spur sales over Thanksgiving weekend, Ms. Patel says, many of the discounts will continue in December....

Insiders are telling me that end-of-year stats regarding DVD sales of 2008's major movie titles are looking like a disaster areas. The guesstimates are that even blockbuster titles like Iron Man and Hancock will be down 30%. Interesting that studios which earlier claimed their film biz was near-recession proof are now blaming the economy rather than new digital media delivery options.

Every USA Church, Synagogue Gets Militant Islam DVD Over 325,000 rabbis and pastors Last update: 12:01 a.m. EDT Oct. 20, 2008 VISTA, Calif., Oct 20, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Over 325,000 rabbis, priests and pastors in every Jewish and Christian congregation in America just received the award-winning documentary Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West on DVD, according to the publisher of a new periodical for clerical leaders, The Judeo-Christian View, which included the film inside the first issue. .......... Although juxtaposing Bible passages with the two senators' policies, the multiracial signers of Dozier's new periodical reject "bigotry...

Keep in mind, the Jews are not allowed to express an opinion in this election, especially if they (Allah forbid) offend Muslims. From CNN. The hourlong film on DVD, "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West," was made by Israeli filmmaker Raphael Shore and shows disturbing, sometimes violent images. Rima Barakat Sinclair, who is Muslim and a Republican, was so angry she called her local lawmakers in Denver. Video Watch voters reaction to the DVD » "It is riddled not only with misleading facts but outright fabrication," said Barakat Sinclair. In September, some 28 million of the "Obsession" DVD's...

I have more than one dvd creating program on my computer. I purchased Nero a couple of years back to create slideshows with our photography, but it constantly seizes up and dies, and I have to start over. Does anyone have a suggestion for a freeware program that's easy to use and would allow me to add music? Does anyone know anything about Slideshow GUI? I downloaded a trial version of Pro Show Gold, and it's VERY easy to use - it's just that our main business is construction related, and well, you know....

Macho Putin in yet ANOTHER display of masculinity as he releases 'Let's learn judo with Vladimir' DVD By Mail Foreign Service Last updated at 5:51 PM on 07th October 2008 First we saw him shirtless while fishing. Then he was pictured at the wheel of a massive racing truck and shooting a tiger in the Siberian forest with a tranquiliser. He has also appeared operating a train, sailing on a submarine and co-piloting a fighter jet. Now Vladimir Putin - the world's most manly leader - has released yet another display of his own masculinity: a DVD entitled 'Let's learn...

Abdiamar Bare, 21, walks up to the nondescript mosque in Greeley for noon prayers and pauses a moment to talk about his faith. He is asked by a visitor if he's seen the DVD "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West." No, he says. He's asked if the principles of Islam allow other religions to coexist with it. "Every religion is the same. No religion is better than another religion," Bare says. "I believe in Islam. I like my religion, and I don't want it to interfere with other religions." Bare is one of about 120 Muslim workers recently fired...