Medium Cool (DVD)
One of the landmarks of independent film, as well as one of the primary celluloid artifacts of the 1960s, MEDIUM COOL (based on Thomas Couffer`s THE CONCRETE WILDERNESS) stars Robert Forster as John Cassellis, a television cameraman in Chicago. John is so proud of his detached professionalism that he and soundman Gus (Peter Bonerz) even go so far as to stop and film a car crash before calling an ambulance. However, after John films a protest by black activists about racism in the media, the film is seized by the FBI, and his resistance to handing over the footage gets him fired from his job at the television station. While idle, John becomes better acquainted with 13-year-old Harold (Harold Blankenship) and Harold`s mother, Eileen Horton (Verna Bloom), a West Virginia native whose husband is in Vietnam. As the 1968 convention approaches, John picks up a freelance assignment and is thrust headlong into the anarchy of the Chicago streets and the convention floor. His prized detachment falls away as he watches Mayor Daley`s cops clubbing unarmed protestors.
Shooting with handheld cameras, Wexler`s unerring eye moves seamlessly between the actors and the unplanned events exploding in front of them. His pitiless dissection of the media`s role in the shaping of reality spares no one. MEDIUM COOL remains one of the seminal films of the 1960s and 1970s.R"
Director: Haskell Wexler
ACTORS: Robert Forster, Verna Bloom, Marianna Hill, Peter Bonerz, Harold Blankenship
Chaplin The Collection: Volume 5 (DVD)
Includes Charlie Chaplin`s legendary early works: `Sunny Side` and `Hot Finish`.NR"
ACTORS: Charlie Chaplin
High Sierra (DVD)
A seminal gangster film that focused attention on Bogart and writer Huston. Bogart plays a violent criminal just released from prison who knows he`s got just one more job in him. An aging gang boss wants Bogart to lead a jewel heist at a resort. When he sees the inexperienced men he`ll be leading (and fends off the attentions of Lupino, the girlfriend of one of the thugs), Bogart suspects there will be trouble and there is when a cop is killed during the robbery. A manhunt drives Bogart to the highest peak in the High Sierras where he awaits death at the hands of the police. A gripping portrait of a desperate outlaw and a breakthrough for its creators.NR"
Director: Raoul Walsh
ACTORS: Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino, Alan Curtis, Arthur Kennedy, Joan Leslie
Bad Company (DVD)
A former CIA operative infiltrates a notorious corporate espionage organization and becomes involved with a beautiful member of the spy ring in an attempt to overthrow the head honcho. A murderous spy thriller.R"
Director: Damian Harris
ACTORS: Laurence Fishburne, Ellen Barkin, Frank Langella, Michael Beach, David Ogden Stiers
Michael Winslow Live (DVD)
The exciting and hilarious antics of actor/comedian Michael Winslow are finally captured for home viewing! Known universally as the `sound effects guy` from the seven POLICE ACADEMY movies, Winslow`s live show is akin more to a rock concert than a comedy show, with laser light shows and Winslow`s own catalog of over 10,000 sound effects that he can create with his voice. Winslow also creates classic impersonations and recreations of legendary rock singers such as Tina Turner, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix.NR"
Director: Rick Pamplin
