At Last the 1948 Show; Do Not Adjust Your Set

At Last the 1948 Show; Do Not Adjust Your Set
DVD Reviews: They may not be well known Stateside, but these two 1967 skeins played a key role in the development of British sketch comedy. Monty Python, Terry Jones explains in one of the bonus interviews, "was really 'Do Not Adjust Your Set' meets 'At Last the 1948 Show.'" "Monty Python's Flying Circus" would essentially combine the styles honed by Eric Idle, Jones and Michael Palin in "Do Not" (fast-paced sketches, singing, music, plenty of slapstick, pun wordplay) with the preoccupations and attitudes of "1948's" John Cleese and Graham Chapman (ridiculing authority, surreal juxtaposition, silly names).

The Complete Thin Man Collection
DVD Reviews: In one of the bonus features, W.S. Van Dyke tells radio listeners he decided to adapt Dashiell Hammett's novel because of the quick-witted relationship between the sleuthing married couple. But Warners' collection makes it clear William Powell and Myrna Loy turned Nick and Nora Charles into film's favorite wisecracking drunks and gave the movie life beyond the novel.

8 Charged in Illegal Release of 'Star Wars' (AP)
AP - Eight Californians were charged Tuesday with involvement in the illegal release of "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith" before the movie appeared in theaters.

Review: 'History of Violence' a Must-See (AP)

AP - The less you know about "A History of Violence" before you see it — and you really should see it — the better. And yet there's so much to say, it's hard not to want to ramble on.