The Joke (DVD)
The title of this Czech satire derives from a bawdy postcard that is sent. The postcard is traced to a flirtatious and womanizing professor. His prankish postcard lands him in prison, sentenced to six years of hard labor. This comedy lampoons the lifestyle for Czechoslovakian residents during the Stalinist years of the 1950s. Based on a novel by Milan Kundera (THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING), who also assisted on the screenplay, the film is notable for being one of the few Czech films shot during the 1968 Prague Spring.NR"
Director: Jaromil Jires
ACTORS: Josef Somr, Jaroslava Obermaierova
Yo-Yo Ma - Inspired by Bach, Vol. 1: The Music Garden (Suite No. 1) & The Sound of The Carceri (Suite No. 2) (DVD)
The first two installments in the six-part YO-YO MA INSPIRED BY BACH series are two very different, totally innovative works. THE MUSIC GARDEN is a touching meeting of the journey narrative and classical music. Director Kevin McMahon films internationally renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma as he and brilliant landscape gardener Julie Moir Messervy travel America`s East Coast in search of a garden inspired by Bach. This takes place to the soundtrack of Yo-Yo Ma playing Bach`s Suite No.1 for Unaccompanied Cello. Part Two, THE SOUND OF CARCERI, features Bach`s Suite No. 2 for Unaccompanied Cello. Experimental director Francois Girard (who undertook another classical subject for his acclaimed 32 SHORT FILMS ABOUT GLENN GOULD) creates a visually stunning world inspired by the imaginative, dreamlike prison drawings of 1700`s Italian architect Piranesi. Meant to match the sounds of the Suite, this short music-art film received a 1998 Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects.NR"
Director: Kevin McMahon|Francois Girard
ACTORS: Yo-Yo Ma
La Cage Aux Folles (DVD)
The film title is the name of a nightclub run by a pair of homosexuals, one of whom has a son who wants to marry the daughter of a high official. His parents--gay nightclub owner Renato and effeminate transvestite Zaza--must meet his pompous and conservative in-laws. For the sake of their son, the gay couple decide not only to act straight, but to pose as husband and wife! On the night of the party however, insanity reigns when mom and dad fail to adhere to the straight and narrow. This French art house smash was remade in the US as THE BIRDCAGE. Academy Award Nominations: Best Director, Best (Adapted) Screenplay, Best Costume Design.R"
Director: Edouard Molinaro
ACTORS: Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Serrault
The Dead Zone - Series Pilot Episode (DVD)
After a near-fatal car wreck, Johnny Smith (Anthony Michael Hall, in a role played by Christopher Walken in David Cronenberg`s 1983 adaptation) is left in a coma for six years. When he awakens, he discovers that he has developed amazing psychic powers, allowing him to see into the life of anyone he happens to touch. Stephen King`s thrilling novel comes to life once again in this pilot episode for the television series.NR"
Director: Robert Lieberman
ACTORS: Anthony Michael Hall, David Ogden Stiers, Nicole de Boer, Chris Bruno, John L. Adams
Shark Attack 3: Megalodon (DVD)
Two marine biologists discover a giant shark`s tooth off the coast of Mexico, and their worst fears become reality--the tooth is that of Megalodon, a prehistoric shark with a 100 foot-wide bite. The creature was believed to be long-extinct, but when tourists start turning up in pieces, the authorities decide that a decisive plan of action is required.R"
Director: David Worth
