Liam (DVD)
Originally produced for the B.B.C., director Stephen Frears masterfully crafts this poignant portrait of one family`s attempt to stay afloat in impoverished 1930s England. The political, religious, and economic strife of pre-Word War II Liverpool is seen through the eyes of Liam (Anthony Burrows), a seven-year-old living with Dad (Ian Hart) and Mam (Claire Hackett), and preparing himself for his First Communion. Dad is a deeply proud working class Catholic who labors tirelessly to feed his family, until he loses his job at the local shipyard. Desperate for money, Liam`s teenage sister Teresa (Megan Burns) is forced to take a job as a maid for the upper class Jewish owners of the shipyard while Mam relies on her religious beliefs for strength and comfort. As Liam questions his own religious identity and struggles with the concepts of sin and salvation, he watches his father slip into a stagnant and hateful rage fueled by his family`s poverty and loss of self-respect. This rage leads Dad to join a group of Fascists who blindly blame the local Jews for their own starvation, poverty, and powerlessness, as the threat of war looms on the horizon. Liam, portrayed with remarkable grace and ability by young Burrows, is a stuttering, charming, and naive antihero who embodies the profound innocence of children as they fight to comprehend the sometimes unfathomable actions of the adult world. This quiet ensemble piece highlights the actors, who deftly work together in a tale of simple realism which finds beauty in the daily routines and rituals of a family struggling to survive a daunting change.R"
Director: Stephen Frears
ACTORS: Anthony Burrows, Ian Hart, Anne Reid, Claire Hackett
Operation Pacific (DVD)
World War II serves as the backdrop for this undersea tale, which dramatizes the adventures and crises encountered by seamen aboard a naval submarine. At the center of this story is the continuing love affair between a naval officer (John Wayne) and a nurse (Patricia Neal) -- who are divorced from each other.NR"
Director: George Waggner
ACTORS: John Wayne, Patricia Neal, Ward Bond, Scott Forbes, Philip Carey
Martial Arts Action Pack (DVD)
This program features four vintage martial arts films, showcasing Bruce Lee."
ACTORS: Bruce Lee
Anna Karenina (VHS)
Vivien Leigh stars as Anna Karenina, a woman who leaves her socialite husband behind for a more exciting military officer. In search of a meaningful relationship as well as an exciting and more adventurous life, Anna goes through a string of emotions when she becomes the third party of a strenuous love triangle. From depression to happiness to near emotional destruction, she must learn to deal with the elements that surround her tragic existence."
Director: Julien Duvivier
ACTORS: Vivien Leigh, Ralph Richardson, Kieron Moore, Sally Ann Howes, Martita Hunt
The Fighter (DVD)
A down on his luck Vietnam veteran loses his job at the local mill. Desperate for money, he enters a local fighting competition and wins his first match. But as his commitment to winning more and more fights grows, so does the danger factor. Eventually, he must decide once and for all whether to step out of the ring forever or stay inside it and risk his life.PG-13"
Director: David Lowell Rich
