Close-Up (DVD)
With his use of non-actors and his loose use of documentary rules, Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami`s (TASTE OF CHERRY) films can often be characterized by asking whether what the viewer is seeing is reality or fiction. The film which perhaps most exemplifies this is CLOSE-UP, ostensibly a documentary about an impostor of another Iranian director, Mohsen Makhmalbaf (GABBEH; ONCE UPON A TIME, CINEMA). Kiarostami tells the story by asking questions from off-screen to those involved in the legal case, then having the participants play themselves in a re-enactment of the events which actually occurred. A masterwork, considered by many to be Kiarostami`s best.NR"
Director: Abbas Kiarostami
The Dreaming (DVD)
A psychological thriller that jumbles reality and fantasy in a chain of supernatural events that leads an attractive young doctor to uncover a place where ancient mysteries survive - and nightmares are real. Made in Australia.NR"
Director: Mario Andreacchio
Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (DVD) Fox War Classics While hiding from a Japanese military offensive on a desolate Pacific island, a Marine sergeant (Mitchum) and his only fellow survivor, an Irish Roman Catholic novitiate on a humanitarian mission (Kerr), search for foo...
While hiding from a Japanese military offensive on a desolate Pacific island, a Marine sergeant (Mitchum) and his only fellow survivor, an Irish Roman Catholic novitiate on a humanitarian mission (Kerr), search for food, engage in philosophical sparring, avoid sexual tension, and struggle to survive. Huston again pairs hardened hero with an indomitable woman (think African Queen) and lets the sparks fly. Academy Award Nominations: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress: Deborah Kerr.
NR"
Director: John Huston
ACTORS: Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum
The Killing Fields (DVD) Special Edition Roland Joffi`s unflinching drama recounts the true story of New York Times journalist Sidney Schanberg (Sam Waterston) and Cambodian journalist and translator Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor), who found themselves trapped in t...
Roland Joffi`s unflinching drama recounts the true story of New York Times journalist Sidney Schanberg (Sam Waterston) and Cambodian journalist and translator Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor), who found themselves trapped in the nightmare of the Khmer Rouge revolution in Cambodia. While stationed in Phnom Penh in the early 1970s, Schanberg and Pran become close friends and confidants, negotiating and writing many groundbreaking stories. When the ruling Lon Nol government is overthrown by the Khmer Rouge, the country is turned upside down--killing is common in the streets, and children become gun-toting informants. Schanberg is forced to flee the country, with his fellow American photographer Al Rockoff (John Malkovich) and British journalist Jon Swain (Julian Sands). Despite their exhaustive efforts to free Pran, they have no choice but to leave him behind. Pran is forced to endure excruciating agony at the Pol Pot death camps, where any shred of individuality or dissent is beaten out of the prisoners. After years of brutal torture, Pran manages to escape and begins a long odyssey to Thailand and the border refugee camps. As Pran struggles to stay alive, Schanberg endures life in New York wracked with guilt over the loss of his good friend, desperately attempting to locate him. This haunting drama is epic in its portrayal of a war-torn country devastated by mass genocide. Images of both great horror and beauty resonate with awesome power and honesty. Joffi`s first film features superb performances from a first-rate ensemble of actors, including Waterston, Sands, Malkovich, and Ngor in an Oscar-winning role.
R"
Director: Roland Joffi
ACTORS: Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, Craig T. Nelson, John Malkovich, Spalding Gray
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (DVD) 2-Disc Special Edition This classic Monty Python comedy, directed by Pythons Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones, is a hilarious send-up of the grim circumstances of the Middle Ages as told through the story of King Arthur and framed by a mo...
This classic Monty Python comedy, directed by Pythons Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones, is a hilarious send-up of the grim circumstances of the Middle Ages as told through the story of King Arthur and framed by a modern-day murder investigation. When the mythical king of the Britons leads his knights on a quest for the Holy Grail, they face a wide array of horrors, including a persistent Black Knight, a three-headed giant, a cadre of shrubbery-challenged knights, the perilous Castle Anthrax, a killer rabbit, a house of virgins, and a handful of rude Frenchmen.
In addition to the set pieces, the film also includes the same kind of surreal animation that Gilliam contributed to the television series. Throughout the irreverent adventures, the Python crew eschews realism in favor of anachronistic social satire, a recipe it later returned to in the 1979 biblical farce MONTY PYTHON`S LIFE OF BRIAN. Melding the ridiculous with the sublime, the film quickly inspired a cult following, generated a host of quotes, and even inspired a computer game 20 years after its release. The numerous songs and hysterical vignettes are sidesplittingly unforgettable.
PG"
Director: Terry Gilliam
ACTORS: Monty Python Cast, Connie Booth, Carol Cleveland, Bee Duffell, John Young
