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Top Picks: BBC America's murder mystery 'Broadchurch,' CDs from world music label Putumayo, and more

The iPad app The Guardian of Imagination lets kids give a world its color, the Starz show 'The White Queen' tracks the players in the wars between the houses of York and Lancaster, and more top picks.

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Starz
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Anker Productions
  • By Staff

Sculpture of sound

Don’t miss a new chance to see a very serious but fully delightful look at music from the dozens of career musicians who speak from their hearts and souls about their art. Music From The Inside Out – a documentary collaboration between musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Daniel Anker – was filmed over five years on three continents. It originally opened in 2005 to critical raves, and now is being digitally rereleased in early August by Cinedigm. It will be available on iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Xbox, Playstation, and Google/YouTube. The soundtrack is an eclectic mix of classical, jazz, bluegrass, salsa, and world music. For more info, visit www.MFTIO.com.

Imagine a world

There was once a world that had lost all its color because its people stopped imagining. Young readers can help return this land to its former glory through the iPhone and iPad app The Guardian of Imagination. As you flip through this “storybook,” think creatively. Playing with the interactive illustrations can reveal secrets, games, coloring pages, and the key to unlock the next story.

Musical travels

If a tight budget has you on a staycation, new world music from Putumayo might satisfy your wanderlust. We particularly like Vintage France with sultry and swinging chansons from the early 1900s, and the gentle, colorful rhythms of Women of Brazil. So turn up the music the next time you dine under the stars in the backyard and you won’t be sorry you stayed home. 

Beach mystery

BBC America’s Broadchurch, airing on iTV, is full-on “accent TV,” meaning not just easy-for-Americans-to-understand pronunciation but also working-class accents that make close listening a must if you want to catch the details in this murder mystery. Set in the seaside town of Dorset, England, after the death of a young boy, the show slowly works its way through the lives of the town’s population as the police stumble their way to answers. It debuts Aug. 7.

She picked them

What do Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Bette Midler, John Travolta, James Dean, Robert Redford, and Christopher Walken have in common? They were all plucked out of obscurity by Marion Dougherty – a legend in the world of film casting. She put Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight together in “Midnight Cowboy,” and broke racial stereotypes with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the “Lethal Weapon” series. Casting By featuring Ms. Dougherty debuts on HBO Aug. 5. 

Queenly power

Now that costume dramas with meaty historical backdrops are all the rage these days on cable, Starz is launching the latest worthy competitor, The White Queen. The tale is based on a popular book series, and tracks three queens through the era framed by the bloody wars between the houses of York and Lancaster. Viewers beware: Scenes with nudity and lusty grappling romp through the series as the kings and queens make war at home and on the battlefields.

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