Svengali (DVD)
In SVENGALI, John Barrymore reprises the stage role that garnered him critical acclaim. Svengali is a masterful and menacing hypnotist, bearded and unkempt, who draws a young woman, Trilby, into his lair. She has worked as a nude model for many artists and now, cajoled by Svengali`s manipulative gift, she leaves behind her family in order to pursue a singing career on the concert circuit. What Trilby does not know, however, is that she can perform only upon the hypnotist`s command. Svengali and Trilby are pursued by a young artist who, like Svengali, is madly in love with Trilby.
Director Archie Mayo`s SVENGALI was the first sound version of this chilling tale, and remains the best. Marian Marsh is tantalizing as Svengali`s unwitting victim, but the powerhouse performance belongs to John Barrymore, who was widely considered the greatest living American actor at the time of SVENGALI`s release. Barrymore`s performance in the title role stands among his very best efforts.NR"
Director: Archie Mayo
ACTORS: John Barrymore, Marian Marsh, Donald Crisp, Carmel Myers, Lumsden Hare
Sweet Evil (DVD)
An infertile couple hires a young, proper, and altogether loveable woman to carry their embryo. But the young surrogate mother has ideas of her own--darker ideas like revenge--and soon what should have been an occasion for celebration turns into a festival of terror.R"
Director: Rene Eram
ACTORS: Bridgette Wilson, Peter Boyle, Scott Cohen
Return of Sherlock Holmes, The - The Hound of the Baskervilles (DVD)
As an escaped killer roams the fog-shrouded moors, Holmes and Watson attempt to shine a light on the ancient family curse of the Baskervilles. Based on the novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.NR"
ACTORS: Jeremy Brett, Edward Hardwicke
Journey to Kafiristan (DVD)
This film festival award-winner is the true story of writer Annemarie Schwartzenbach (Jeanette Hain) and her experience with sexual self-discovery in 1939. On a trip to Afghanistan from Geneva, Switzerland, she encounters the likes of an ethnologist named Ella Maillart (Nina Petri). Together, the two professionals embark on a road trip filled with romance, sexual awakening, and erotism during a time when such emotions were very down-played and forbidden. Winner of the Best Film award at the Locarno Film Festival.NR"
Love Letters (VHS)
The death of a former lover (Laura Linney)--with whom he only kept in contact with through written correspondence--forces a U.S. Senator (Steven Weber) to look back on his relationship with her. They met as children, and he was forced to leave her behind for his strong political ambition while she chose to live the life of a struggling artist. This adaptation of A.R. Guerney`s stage play was directed for television by Hollywood legend Stanley Donen (SINGIN` IN THE RAIN).PG-13"
Director: Stanley Donen
ACTORS: Laura Linney, Steven Weber, Emily Hampshire
