Top Picks: 'Beauty and the Beast,' Farm Aid, 'Ondine,' and more recommendations
Burns on baseball
Ken Burns, documentarian extraordinaire, is back with a follow-up to his groundbreaking series on the nation's pastime. His latest installment is a four-part series called "The Tenth Inning." It covers the past 20 years and highlights developments that transformed the game: the crippling 1994 strike, the increasing dominance of Latino and Asian players, skyrocketing profits, the rise of a new Yankee dynasty, the Red Sox' World Series victory, and the revelations about performance-enhancing drugs. Airs on PBS Sept. 28 and 29 at 8 p.m.
The Power of Myth
The masterly PBS series "Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth with Bill Moyers," packed with wisdom, wit, and wonder, arrives on DVD Sept. 21 from Athena. Listen and learn from the professor who gave George Lucas the impetus for his "Star Wars" films and created a storytelling bible for the entire entertainment industry just by distilling and presenting the timeless themes and fundamentals of humanity's quest to fully experience life. Bonus features include a talk with Lucas and new interviews with Joseph Campbell himself.
Beauty restored
Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," the newly restored animated classic, returns to the big screen Sept. 29 and Oct. 2 in a singalong event. For participating theaters, go to fathomevents.com.
Not too late for 'Summertime'
Summer may just be over, but "Summertime" is back in a wondrous new recording. On Sept. 21, Sony Masterworks releases a new recording of the George Gershwin classic "Porgy and Bess," honoring the 75th anniversary of the opera's debut on Broadway. The performance was recorded live at the Graz Festival in Austria in 2009.
A modern-day fairy tale
Colin Farrell, in the best performance of his career, plays Syracuse, a feisty fisherman and a loner who is separated from his wife and distanced from his 10-year-old daughter. When he pulls up in his fishing net a beautiful, near-drowned young woman, he imagines she is Ondine, a mythical water creature, and that his fortunes will change. Irish writer-director Neil Jordan takes us on a rhapsodic ride in "Ondine," out on DVD Sept. 21.
Farm Aid at 25
Good music goes hand in hand with good food as the Farm Aid all-day music festival celebrates its silver anniversary. DirecTV will air the Oct. 2 event live from Miller Park in Milwaukee. Artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, and Dave Matthews will host the annual concert to raise funds for Farm Aid's work with family farmers and to "inspire people to choose family farm food." Tune in – join the movement by going to farmaid.org.
