Sayonara (DVD)
Marlon Brando is an American serviceman on leave in Japan during the Korean War who discovers that his long-distance relationship with his fiancee has faltered. He soon finds that he has fallen in love with a Japanese entertainer (Miko Taka), despite the policies and standards set by the American government. Based on James Michener`s best-selling novel.NR"
Director: Joshua Logan
ACTORS: Marlon Brando, James Garner, Ricardo Montalban, Red Buttons, Miyoshi Umeki
Interview with the Assassin (DVD)
To many people, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy remains one of the greatest mysteries in American history. Did Lee Harvey Oswald act alone? Was he a scapegoat in a conspiratorial plot? Could a second shooter have been responsible for JFK`s death? Neil Burger`s documentary-style directorial debut tackles these oft asked questions through the story of Ron Kobeleski (Dylan Haggerty), an out-of-work cameraman who becomes entangled in conspiracy theories when approached by his older, evasive neighbor, Walter Ohlinger (Raymond J. Barry), who wants to confess to an old crime. Walter claims to have been the second shooter in the JFK assassination, the man whose bullet actually killed the president. Ron pursues Walter`s story with gusto, seeking the evidence needed to prove Walter`s claim. As the two men travel around the country in search of the proof that Walter insists exists, Ron begins to debate whether or not this increasingly unstable man is telling the truth or is just plain crazy. Barry is believably menacing as the former Marine who may be responsible for one of the most pivotal events in American history. And Haggerty`s portrayal of an ordinary man who is thrust into an extraordinary story is both subtle and convincing.NR"
Director: Neil Burger
ACTORS: Raymond J. Barry, Dylan Haggerty, Renee Faia, Kelsey Kemper, Dennis J. Lau
An Everlasting Piece (DVD)
Barbers Colm (Barry McEvoy) and George (Brian F. OByrne) think they`ve hit the big time when they take over the only existing Northern Ireland hairpiece franchise from a Bible-toting lunatic (Billy Connolly) who has been admitted to the asylum in which they work. As a Catholic and a Protestant working together, Colm and George think that they`ll be able to serve bald men of both ilks, and will have the market conquered. But selling toupees isn`t as easy as they think. To make matters worse, they have to contend with deadbeats, the IRA, the British Army, and, worst of all, a competitor--Toupee or Not Toupee--that threatens their exclusivity agreement. When their wig supplier pits Colm and George--who`ve deemed themselves The Piece People--against Toupee or Not Toupee to see who can sell the most hairpieces and win the Northern Ireland franchise, the race is on for clients. Bronagh (Anna Friel), Colm`s feisty girlfriend, develops a creative sales plan that leads to both political and moral decisions for the partners. Despite its humor, Barry McEvoy`s script incorporates the tensions felt between Catholics and Protestants in the 1980s. Barry Levinson`s direction evokes the spirit and nostalgia of his Baltimore trilogy, which includes DINER, AVALON, and TIN MEN.R"
Director: Barry Levinson
ACTORS: Barry McEvoy, Brian F. O`Byrne, Billy Connolly, Anna Friel
My First DVD (DVD)
Start the collection early with this presentation, a collection of lullabies, nursery rhymes, and animation. Combining four short children`s favorites, this compilation provides cute and educational entertainment for developing minds. Included are Rhymin` Time with Phylicia Rashad offering hip representations of nursery rhymes, Storytime in which Arlo Guthrie tells eleven classic short stories, Singing Time which features Judy Collins singing Ernest Troost arrangements of popular kids` songs, and Bedtime in which Collins and a 14-piece orchestra lull children to sleep with beautiful songs.NR"
ACTORS: Phylicia Rashad, Arlo Guthrie, Judy Collins
Citizen Kane (DVD) Gold Edition Box Set; Includes RKO 281 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...
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
