Meet John Doe (VHS)
Reporter Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) is fired from her job by an unscrupulous newspaper tycoon and retaliates by printing a fake suicide note to the editor signed by a fictional John Doe. The letter is picked up by the public as a rallying point, as Mr. Doe claimed to be so distraught by the problems of society that he`d rather end his own life in protest. But the tycoon uses the publicity as part of a secret plan, hiring a down-on-his-luck unemployed man (Gary Cooper) to impersonate Doe--establishing him as an American symbol and creating a new political movement in the process. Frank Capra`s endearing classic also stars the great character actors Walter Brennan and James Gleason.NR"
Director: Frank Capra
ACTORS: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Walter Brennan, James Gleason, Edward Arnold
Scarlet Street (DVD)
In this remake of Jean Renoir`s controversial 1931 film, LA CHIENNE, Christopher Cross (Edward G. Robinson), a quiet, staid cashier and dedicated Sunday painter, feels consumed by passion for the first time in his life when he meets pretty, manipulative Kitty. The two become involved, but Kitty is really in love with petty crook Johnny. She keeps Christopher around simply for his money. In order to impress his precious mistress, Cross embezzles funds from his employer. He doesn`t realize, however, that Kitty and Johnny are also getting rich on his paintings, which are becoming a huge success under Kitty`s name. When Christopher`s theft comes to light, he loses his job and his dignity. And when he seeks out Kitty for solace, he discovers her in Johnny`s embrace. The film explodes in its violent climax, and with it Lang creates perhaps his most chilling Film Noir work. The tightly structured story and the evocative paintings that lie symbolically at the center of the plot create a visual and psychological atmosphere of suspense, filled with double meanings and games of representation and appearance, all pointing toward a brutal final act, motivated by Cross` inner demons and repressed emotions.NR"
Director: Fritz Lang
ACTORS: Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea, Rosalind Ivan, Jess Barker
Tieta of Agreste (DVD)
A country girl who was once banished from her native village returns triumphantly to have secrets revealed that cause her to leave once more.NR"
Director: Carlos Diegues
ACTORS: Sonia Braga
Project Arms Vol. 2: Nice New Rattle (DVD)
Ryo Takatsuki lived the life of a regular high schooler until he woke up one morning to discover that his right arm had been mysteriously replaced with a powerful nano-machine driven weapon called ARMS . Suddenly thrust into the middle of a secret world full of nano-machines, cybernetic assassins, Ryo is the run from a shadowy collective determined to steal his powers by any means necessary. In these episodes, Ryo and his friends find that the Egrigori have redoubled their efforts to capture the ARMS, resulting in the kidnapping of Takeshi`s sister. Now, Ryo, Hayato, and Takeshi must rescue her from the clutches of two deadly androids known as the Chapel Twins who have taken over their high school.NR"
As Time Goes By - Complete Series 4 (DVD)
This collection of a full season of the beloved romance series AS TIME GOES BY includes the wedding between the ex-soldier and the nurse who fell in love. Forty years after a war tore them apart, lovers (Judi Dench and Geoffrey Pamer) reunite with the knowledge of what effects war has on the lives of people even indirectly involved. Ten episodes are included in this collection.NR"