Playing Shakespeare DVD With Dench, Kingsley, McKellen, Stewart Released 6/2

DVDs Realeased 6/2:

Playing Shakespeare (Home Video Debut) - Royal Shakespeare Company's John Barton's intimate acting workshop featuring nine master classes on Shakespearean performance with 21 of Britain's finest actors, including Oscar® winners Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love, Casino Royale), Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Schindler's List), and Peggy Ashcroft (A Passage to India), Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings, Gods and Monsters), Patrick Stewart (X-Men), and David Suchet (Agatha Christie's Poirot). The enlightening series aired on PBS in the mid-1980s and its companion book remains a popular acting guide to this day. Bonus features include a 20-page viewer's guide, among several others. The New York Times called it, "A rewarding experience for anybody even remotely interested in theater. For actors everywhere, it is required watching."

The Adventure of English (Home Video Debut) - A captivating documentary series tracing the life story of a remarkable language. Telling how English became a global language, this 8-part series features location footage, rare manuscripts, linguistic experts, and fascinating etymologies to chart the growth of English, its encounters with other languages, its history, and its far-ranging influence. Respected author and broadcaster Melvyn Bragg and a host of experts explore the vibrant 1,500-year history of the English language. How did it grow from a relatively insignificant Germanic dialect to become the premier language of culture, commerce, and diplomacy around the globe? The answer involves bloody conquest, political intrigue, and plenty of creativity.

Every Picture Tells a Story (Home Video Debut) - Explore the secrets behind some of the world's most famous paintings with art history that's provocative, enlightening, and entertaining. Works by da Vinci, Botticelli, Rembrandt, Giorgione, Caravaggio, and van Eyck take on new and deeper meanings in this lively, engaging eight-part series. Bonus features include a 20-page viewer's guide. With his characteristic wit, noted U.K. art critic Waldemar Januszczak turns his educated eye to eight masterpieces of European painting. Why did Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa capture the world's imagination? How did Manet shock French society with his Le déjeuner sur l'herbe ("Luncheon on the Grass")? From New York City to Paris to Rome, Januszczak searches out the art experts, literary and artistic allusions, and historical records-not to mention juicy gossip-to expose long-held secrets within the gilded frames.

Building on the success of the Acorn and Acacia brands, Acorn Media Group, a leading independent global media company, announces the launch of its third branded line, Athena, a new home video brand for consumers interested in lifelong learning through documentary programming. Athena will provide a rich and enjoyable learning experience through high quality, informative, non-fiction programming on DVD. Athena joins Acorn Media Group's other rapidly growing branded home video lines: Acorn, specializing in British television programming, and Acacia, a line of original health & wellness programming.

Athena's DVD sets are available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn at (888) 870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.