Israel Celebrates 60th Birthday

On May 14, 1948 David Ben-Gurion proclaims the new state of Israel. Hours later, five Arab countries attacked. Check out this interesting newsreel of the historic event as Israel celebrates its 60th birthday today, May 14, 2008.

Berlin May 12, 1949

On May 12th, 1949 the blockade of Berlin finally came to an end. What blockade? In June of 1948, Soviet forces cut off every road into West Berlin, completely knocking off supplies to a city of over 2 1/2 million people. So to help, each day supplies were airlifted into Berlin to help keep the folks alive. After almost a year, the blockade finally ended on May 12, 1949. And this kind of difficulty was status quo for Berlin for several decades on end.

We thought we provide an an interesting historical insight into the great city of Berlin, and compile a listing of films and videos related to Berlin during this period on the twentieth century. We have many videos related to World War One and Germany (La Grande Illusion, here, or here), but our focus today is on Berlin. Let's begin with a classic Fritz Lang film titled M, starring Peter Lorre. Set in Berlin, the film tells a terrific and horrific story of how the criminal underworld sets out to capture a sick whacko who is killing innocent children. The film was made in 1931. Next up, check out the 1936 Berlin Olympics and watch Jesse Owens victory in the 100m dash upset the host of the Berlin games, Adolf Hitler. And on to the 1940s, where Berlin was the HQ of the Nazis during WWII. Another interesting set of short videos can be found for a search of the Berlin Wall. A good film of that era is Fritz Lang's 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse, made in 1960. On the night November 9, 1989 - the Berlin Wall was finally attacked by the people and on its way down for good. Or so we hope.

Battle of the Battles

For reasons that are a mystery to me, a lot of movies are either about war, or set in a war torn environment. And war is nothing short of terrible. No argument. But what were the best war movies at you can watch at LikeTelevision? Well here the list. The Battle of the Battles.

10) The Battle of San Pietro Written, directed and narrated by John Huston, which means, yes - this is a good film.

9) The Battle of Midway This battle was the turning point for dominance on the sea in World War II. Admiral Bull Halsey, interesting fellow.

8) The Battle of Britain Starring Winston Churchill and our brave friends the Brits.

7) Forbidden Games - This is the story of some orphaned children in WWII France. Very powerful movie. also known as Jeux Interdits, the French title.

6) Battleship Potemkin - Sergei Eisenstein's landmark film set during the Russian revolution.

5) Throne of Blood Imagine a film that combines Japanese master Akira Kurosawa and Shakespeare's Macbeth. The final fight scene in the end is required viewing. The soldiers decide to kill their leader in lieu of facing the battle w/ the fast approaching enemy. About a thousand arrows are fired from everywhere to finish the job. One of the greatest pieces of film ever.

4) Samurai II Duel At Ichijoji Temple Hiroshi Inagaki 's epic trilogy of Musashi Miyamoto, Japan's greatest Samurai warrior. In part 2, everyone wants to knock him off the top, so they challenge him, and lose. The best scene is in a rice paddy field, where he defeats about 100 people who are trying to get him. And because of the difficult footing in the rice paddys, the battle is totally believable.

3) La Grande Illusion Jean Renoir's amazing film about the futility of war.

2) The Battle of Algiers I think this film is fascinating, and hard to watch. It provides a frightening insight on today's war on terror and how war is seldom an answer for fighting hate and terror.

1) Seven Samurai Akira Kurosawa 's 3 1/2 story about a group of Samurai and Ronin (Samurai who have no master or Lord) that join up with some frightened villagers to defend their turf against bandits. Lots of exciting battles, and the final battle is something you just have to experience after watching the whole movie. Totally worth your time.

Charles Dickens' David Copperfield

Check out the newest addition to the movie library at LikeTelevision™, Charles Dickens' David Copperfield. The film features a very impressive cast of British acting legends, including Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Michael Redgrave, Richard Attenborough, and Edith Evans to name a few of the biggest names.

In the film, David Copperfield goes through many triumphs and tragedies on his life's journey in a series of flashbacks and reflections of what the heck happened during the course of his eventful life. Eventually, he gains a deeper understanding that love has more to do with compassion than passion and physical beauty. And that to attain true love, it takes a great deal of courage and strength.

More Classic Monk TV Shows

For all you folks who enjoy Tony Shaloub as Adrian Monk, the brilliant obsessive-compulsive sleuth from San Francisco, well Come on Down, as Bob Barker used to say. We got three cool episodes for you. The first suggestion is titled, Mr. Monk goes to a Rock Concert. Monk at a concert? huh? Yep, funny episode. The next offering is called Mr. Monk Goes to the Dentist and it's a hygene nightmare for Adrian. Mr Monk hates dentists (typical anti-Dentite, like Jerry Sienfeld), but he has to investigate in the dentist's office where the crime took place. (sure, we have more dentist videos). The final episode is titled, Mr Monk and the Big Game. Monk is a women's basketball coach and he is hoping with all his might that he might win a trophy. Just one, please!

Ollie Johnston, Last of the Nine Men

Ollie Johnston, the last of Disney's nine men, died April 14, 2008 at the age of 95. (NYT Obit)

Back in the day, when FDR called the nine Supreme Court Justices his nine men, Walt Disney, as a joke called his top nine animators his Nine Men. The group included Marc Davis, Milt Kahl, Les Clark, Eric Larsen, Ward Kimball, Woolie Reitherman, Frank Thomas, John Lounsbery, and of course Ollie Johnston. Here's more on the Disney's Nine Men.

All the Disney greats we remember - Snow White, Bambi and on and on. Thank the nine men. If you want to see a terrific example of Ollie Johnston's animation work, watch Susie the Little Blue Coupe. Narrated by Sterling Holloway, the voice of Winnie the Pooh.

TV Classics about the Tax Man

Time to serve up some TV comedy classics about the tax man. First place goes to Granny, who is ready to shoot the revenue man since he might also wanna mess with her still by the cement pond that makes her Spring Tonic. The episode is called Jed Pays His Taxes. Now imagine the I.R.S. has a worst nightmare, what would that person be like. Well look no further - I think Grace Allen would win this prize. Check out 2 hilarious episodes where Gracie's spacey intellect get the best of The Tax Man and the Property Tax Assessor.

You might also want to check out the Frank Random preview of My Man Godfrey, where Eugene Pallette laments that his family spends 50% of his income while the federal government want 60% for taxes. One final tax video concerns Al Capone, who went to jail for tax evasion.

Ooops, we forgot to mention this yesterday - but April 14th is the day the Titanic sunk after it hit an iceberg. Make sure you check out the One Step Beyond episode about the Titanic called the Night of April 14th. We offer that episode with 2 other episodes as a DVD iso download to subscribers or a la carte. But no worries TV fans, the Flash and Real streams are free to watch.