Bullitt (DVD)
In one of his most memorable roles, Steve McQueen stars as Detective Frank Bullitt, a hard-driving, tough-as-nails San Francisco cop. Bullitt has just received what sounds like a routine assignment: keep a star witness out of sight and out of danger for 48 hours, then deliver him to the courtroom on Monday morning. But before the night is out, the witness will lie dying of shotgun wounds, and Bullitt, a no-glitter, all-guts cop, won`t rest until he nabs the gunmen and the elusive underworld kingpin who hired them.
From opening shot to closing shootout, Peter Yates`s edge-of-the seat thriller is packed with authentic touches, from on-location San Francisco filming and believably crisp dialogue to uncompromisingly detailed police, hospital, and morgue procedures. The most memorable scene is BULLITT`s celebrated car chase. McQueen, an expert automobile and motorcycle racer, does his own stunt driving as he propels his high-performance Mustang GT around and over San Francisco`s fabled hills at speeds up to 115 miles an hour. The film is based on Robert L. Pike`s book, MUTE WITNESS.PG"
Director: Peter Yates
ACTORS: Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset, Don Gordon, Robert Duvall
Meet John Doe (DVD)
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
Big Fish (VHS)
In Tim Burton`s family film BIG FISH, a wonderful storyteller named Edward Bloom (Albert Finney), who lives in a small town in Alabama, recounts tall tales of his wild worldly adventures. These are shown in flashback with Ewan McGregor playing the young Bloom. Wonderful special effects and vibrant colors that pop off the screen make this Burton film a much sunnier experience than his macabre gems EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and BEETLEJUICE. Yet his signature quirky artistry is unmistakable, and the movie benefits from crisp production values and a loveable, bizarre cast of characters. Told through a series of vignettes, Bloom`s stories involve a witch, a giant, a haunted forest, and yes, a big fish. A self-described small-town hero, Bloom explains how he left home at 18 determined to experience anything and everything life could dish out. He worked for the circus, took on daring assignments as WWII soldier, and rambled across the country as a zany traveling salesman. Utterly unbelievable yet magical and delightful, Bloom`s stories just don`t translate to his son Will (Billy Crudup) who wants to know his dad`s true life story. But little by little--through increasingly outlandish tales at which Will cannot resist smirking--the two begin to understand each other, and Bloom weaves his stories into their genealogical fabric.PG-13"
Director: Tim Burton
ACTORS: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman
Piqero (DVD)
Miguel Piqero was a New York City poet and playwright who wrote what he knew: a world of stabbing, shooting and dying. This gritty, non-linear biographical film presents Piqero`s dark charisma and even darker life in all it`s angry glory. A junkie, a drug dealer, and a thief, Piqero (played by Benjamin Bratt) spent time in SIng-SIng prison, an experience which was the basis of his most famous play, SHORT EYES, which won the Tony award in 1974. Piqero also pioneered the spoken-word poetry (the forebearer to rap and hip-hop) of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, which he helped found.
Mixing digital video in color with 16mm film in black and white, the film creates a convincingly harsh and lively portrait of life on the mean streets of Lower East Side Manhattan in the 1970s and `80s. There were a number of people in Piqero`s life who recognized his genius and tried to save him from self-destruction: his mother (Rita Moreno), theater impresario Joseph Papp (Mandy Patinkin), and his longtime girlfriend (Talisa Soto). But the allure of crime and drugs won him over, and Piqero finally crashed and burned, dying young in 1988. This film is a passionate tribute to a passionate artist who remains an important Puerto Rican-American icon.R"
Director: Leon Ichaso
The Prince and the Showgirl (DVD)
Laurence Olivier is the Carpathian prince visiting England for the coronation of George V. Marilyn Monroe is Elsie Marina, an American actress doing a musical review at a nearby theater. When an old flame of the prince`s turns out to be Elsie`s boss at the theater, their paths cross--and Elsie`s determined not to let them uncross. After the prince confirms her worst fear--that he`s interested only in a quick seduction--she nonetheless finds herself falling for him. As his mother-in-law takes a shine to Elsie, she finds herself attending every official function of the coronation--to the chagrin of the prince and her jealous boss. The crusty prince must decide whether to let love into his duty-bound life, and Elsie must decide if happily-ever-after ever really comes true. Olivier shines in his dour, bumbling straight-man role, while Monroe is at her charming, luminous, naive best.NR"
Director: Laurence Olivier
ACTORS: Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier, Sybil Thorndike, Jeremy Spenser, Esmond Knight
