Narrow Margin (DVD)
A woman agrees to a blind date and ends up witnessing a murder. Now an unwilling witness, she is being stalked by two assassins and the Los Angeles district attorney determined to bring her back to testify. Starring Gene Hackman (THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS) and Anne Archer (FATAL ATTRACTION).R"
Director: Peter Hyams
ACTORS: Gene Hackman, Anne Archer, J.T. Walsh, M. Emmet Walsh, James B. Sikking
Indiscreet (DVD) Hollywood Classics Collection Divine silent-film star Gloria Swanson shines and even sings in her third-ever talkie as she tries to hide her questionable past from the man she truly loves by following the advice in his recently publish...
Divine silent-film star Gloria Swanson shines and even sings in her third-ever talkie as she tries to hide her questionable past from the man she truly loves by following the advice in his recently published book. Full of good intentions, Swanson creates chaos with her crazy schemes to save herself and her younger sister from a broken heart. The splendid Leo McCarey (DUCK SOUP, AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER) directed INDISCREET, with the marvelous Gregg Toland (CITIZEN KANE) as the director of photography.
NR"
Director: Leo McCarey
ACTORS: Gloria Swanson, Ben Lyon, Barbara Kent, Arthur Lake, Monroe Owsley
Citizen Kane (DVD) 2-Disc Set CITIZEN KANE is Orson Welles`s greatest achievement--and a landmark of cinema history. The story charts the rise and fall of a newspaper publisher whose wealth and power ultimately isolates him in his castle-like refuge. The...
CITIZEN KANE is Orson Welles`s greatest achievement--and a landmark of cinema history. The story charts the rise and fall of a newspaper publisher whose wealth and power ultimately isolates him in his castle-like refuge. The film`s protagonist, Charles Foster Kane, was based on a composite of Howard Hughes and William Randolph Hearst--so much so that Hearst tried to have the film suppressed. Every aspect of the production marked an advance in film language: the deep focus and deeply shadowed cinematography (from Gregg Toland); the discontinuous narrative, relying heavily on flashbacks and newsreel footage (propelled by a script largely written by Herman L. Mankiewicz); the innovative use of sound and score (sound by Bailey Fesler and James G. Stewart, music composed and conducted by Bernard Herrmann); and the ensemble acting forged in the fires of Welles`s Mercury Theatre (featuring the film debuts of, among others, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane, and Agnes Moorehead). Every moment of the film, every shot, has been choreographed to perfection. The film is essential viewing, quite possibly the greatest film ever made and, along with THE BIRTH OF A NATION, certainly the most influential.
PG"
Director: Orson Welles
The Last Minute (DVD) R-Rated Version LAST MINUTE is a dark comedy that exudes a well-defined feeling of outlandish exaggeration and startling truth in one smoothly paced motion. Directed by Stephen Norrington (BLADE) and set in London, it is the story of B...
LAST MINUTE is a dark comedy that exudes a well-defined feeling of outlandish exaggeration and startling truth in one smoothly paced motion. Directed by Stephen Norrington (BLADE) and set in London, it is the story of Billy Byrne (Max Beesley), a self-obsessed up-and-coming star. Working as an artist, Billy is on the verge of fame, with his girlfriend and his friends firmly behind him. However, when his moment of glory comes to an abrupt end, Byrne loses everything. Depressed and alone, he finds himself sinking into the spiraling depths of the London underworld, engulfed by a shady ring of crime in a network of tunnels underneath an old theater. Billy`s decisions along the way are influenced by a street-smart young girl, Anna (Emily Corrie in her feature film debut), and the horridly tainted leader of a gang of child thieves played by stage and screen actor Tom Bell. Adding to the cast, accomplished actor Jason Isaacs (THE PATRIOT, WINDTALKERS) puts forth a violent charisma as the film`s quirky villain, who has a propensity for busting into song. Fresh cinematography and Norrington`s hip personal style add to this satirical display of London`s highest and lowest lifestyles. THE LAST MINUTE is a small budget film that can easily contend with Hollywood`s finest productions.
R"
Director: Stephen Norrington
ACTORS: Max Beesley, Jason Isaacs, Emily Corrie, Ciaran McMenamin, Kate Ashfield
Crimes and Misdemeanors (DVD)
CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS is Woody Allen`s most mature, most profound film. Martin Landau plays Judah Rosenthal, a successful ophthalmologist having an affair with Dolores (Anjelica Huston), who is threatening to reveal their relationship unless Judah commits to her and leaves his wife. He admits his sin to Ben (Sam Waterston), a friend, a patient, and a learned rabbi who is losing his eyesight but not his faith. Judah turns to his brother Jack, who is connected to the mob and can make Dolores disappear. Allen plays Cliff Stern, a documentary filmmaker who accepts an assignment to film his pompous, successful brother-in-law, Lester (Alan Alda), a comedy star; both Cliff and Lester fall for Hallie Reed (Mia Farrow), a producer involved in the documentary. Allen the director brings all the characters together in a fabulous mix of comedy and drama, deceit and delight. CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS is a marvel of complexity, with fascinating, well-written characters; deep, complicated relationships; and thought-provoking examinations of religion, infidelity, morality, murder, comedy, and tragedy.PG-13"
Director: Woody Allen
ACTORS: Martin Landau, Anjelica Huston, Woody Allen, Joanna Gleason, Alan Alda
