Eastern Condors (DVD) Import EASTERN CONDORS is director Sammo Hung`s high-energy version of THE DIRTY DOZEN. To win their freedom, a group of hardened Asian convicts agree to go on a suicidal mission to Vietnam and destroy an abandoned ammunitions dump bef...
EASTERN CONDORS is director Sammo Hung`s high-energy version of THE DIRTY DOZEN. To win their freedom, a group of hardened Asian convicts agree to go on a suicidal mission to Vietnam and destroy an abandoned ammunitions dump before the Vietcong discovers it. Along the way, the men run into a trio of female freedom fighters and a freewheeling martial artist named Rat, played by Hung`s Peking Opera brother, Yuen Biao. The film borrows liberally from other Vietnam war movies (the Russian roulette scene from THE DEER HUNTER, for instance), but there are plenty of imaginative turns, including an instance when Hung uses leaves as deadly projectiles. As is typical in Hung`s films, the action choreography is fluid and energetic. Hung`s wife, Joyce Godenzi, plays one of the Cambodian guerrillas, Oscar-winner Haing S. Ngor (THE KILLING FIELDS) appears as a mentally deranged peasant, and Yuen Wah (Hung`s and Biao`s other stage brother) gives a quirky performance as the relentless commander of the Vietcong forces.
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Director: Sammo Hung
The Initiation (DVD)
Daphne Zuniga stars in this slasher movie as Kelly, a young woman who has been plagued by nightmares of a burning man her entire life. Upon entering college, she pledges a sorority that forces them to perform an initiation night prank. With several of her friends, she breaks into a store and unfortunately discovers that it is impossible to exit from the building after it is entered illegally. Trapped in a new nightmare, Kelly must fight for survival when a madman begins killing her pledge sisters one by one.NR"
Director: Larry Stewart
ACTORS: Vera Miles, Daphne Zuniga, Clu Gulager, James Read, Hunter Tylo
The Shop on Main Street (DVD) Criterion Collection In World War II Slovakia, an easygoing carpenter, Tono (Jozef Krsner) is pressured to move up in the world by his ostentatious wife and fascist brother-in-law. He takes the job of Aryan comptroller in a button sh...
In World War II Slovakia, an easygoing carpenter, Tono (Jozef Krsner) is pressured to move up in the world by his ostentatious wife and fascist brother-in-law. He takes the job of Aryan comptroller in a button shop owned by an aging Jewess, Rosalie (Ida Kaminska) who barely seems aware that there is a war unraveling the solidarity of the small town. Tono works as Rosalie`s assistant and they develop a touching and sometimes funny friendship. When the deportations to the concentration camps take place, Rosalie is somehow overlooked. Against the warnings of his wife, Tono protects Rosalie from the next roundup, but not without tragic consequences.
Like Jiri Menzel`s CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS and Milos Forman`s LOVES OF A BLONDE, Kadar`s film emerged from a movement of unconventional artistic filmmaking called the Czech New Wave (1963-1968). THE SHOP ON MAIN STREET was the first Czechoslovakian film to win the Best Foreign Film Academy Award has become one of the most acclaimed and cherished films of the 1960s. Kadar mixes documentary and fiction techniques to create a subtle style that is tragically realistic yet softly dreamlike. The capricious Kaminska was nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award and Krsner gives an impassioned performance that is unforgettable.
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Director: Jan Kadar|Elmar Klos
ACTORS: Jozef Kroner, Ida Kaminska, Hana Slivkova, Elmar Klos
Slaughter Hotel (DVD)
Klaus Kinski stars in this Italian exploitation classic as Dr. Francis Clay, the head doctor at an asylum that houses suicidal and mentally disturbed women. Hired by a wealthy socialite who is herself a patient, Dr. Clay tries desperately to cure his female charges. However, when a cloaked killer begins brutally murdering the asylum`s patients, Dr. Clay finds himself among the suspects. Featuring a healthy amount of both nudity and gore along with Kinski`s creepy performance, SLAUGHTER HOTEL is a thoroughly enjoyable cult movie.NR"
Director: Fernando Di Leo
ACTORS: Klaus Kinski, Rosalba Neri, Margaret Lee
Frank Sinatra - Singing at his Best (DVD)
Frank Sinatra was inarguably one of the world`s greatest singers, and he generously possessed a keen appreciation for the lyricists and composers who helped him fashion his trademark vocal style. Sinatra was at his best when interpreting the work of the great American songwriters who wrote the words and crafted the melodies of the songs he so magically sang. This DVD features the Chairman of the Board lending his inimitable vocal talents to the works of Hoagy Carmichael, Irving Berlin, Oscar Hammerstein, and many others in a fascinating collection of 11 songs from 1943-1959. Tracks include I`ve Got the World on a String, Fly Me to the Moon, My Romance, and many more.NR"
