Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (DVD) @ discount dvd online store
Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (DVD) 2-Disc Set Includes both parts of Fritz Lang`s Masterpiece! PART 1: Fritz Lang deftly evokes the soiled and shoddy world of crime-infested and inflation-racked post World War I Berlin in the first episode of his masterpiece, DR. MABUSE...
Includes both parts of Fritz Lang`s Masterpiece! PART 1: Fritz Lang deftly evokes the soiled and shoddy world of crime-infested and inflation-racked post World War I Berlin in the first episode of his masterpiece, DR. MABUSE THE GAMBLER, PART I. Using special effects, extremely complex editing, fade outs, animation techniques and superimpositions, Lang took the lessons he learned in the supernatural films of German expressionism and applied them to this epic story of the underside of Germany. Employing his supreme powers of disguise and hypnosis, Mabuse surrounds himself with loyal servants and criminal henchmen who assassinate his rivals, manipulate the stock market and seduce wealthy citizens out of their riches. In a seedy underground cabaret, Mabuse, with the help of beautiful dancer Cara Carozza, hypnotizes a bored, wealthy man named Hull. After losing large sums of money to a disguised Mabuse, Hull is warned by police detective Wenk that he has been the victim of a master criminal. Hull ignores the warning as he has been seduced by Cara into thinking it was an honest game. Meanwhile, Wenk solicits the assistance of rich Countess Told in his endless attempts to capture Mabuse and his gang. When Cara is arrested, Mabuse retaliates by kidnapping Countess Told and eluding Wenk and the police once again. PART 2: The dark and mystical adventure of criminal mastermind Dr. Mabuse careens towards its stylized climax in the final episode, which is subtitled THE INFERNO. Part two delves further into Mabuse`s maniacal manipulation and dastardly forays into illegal business, as he holds the wealthy Countess Told against her will and conspires against her husband by posing as a psychiatrist. Elaborate costumes and sets--as well as special effects and editing techniques that were well ahead of their time--lend DR. MABUSE DER SPIELER PART II an air of doom and mystery, as Detective Wenk follows Mabuse`s wild goose chase further into the underworld of Berlin. Unable to convinc
NR"
Director: Fritz Lang
ACTORS: Rudolf Klein-Rogge
Seven Samurai (DVD) Criterion Collection Set in 16th Century Japan, Akira Kurosawa`s epic SEVEN SAMURAI follows the plight of a defenseless farming village that lives in constant fear of marauding bandits. The farmers know that when their crops are harves...
Set in 16th Century Japan, Akira Kurosawa`s epic SEVEN SAMURAI follows the plight of a defenseless farming village that lives in constant fear of marauding bandits. The farmers know that when their crops are harvested, the thugs will attack, so four men go to town in hopes of employing samurai to fight for them. However, the poor villagers can merely offer payment in the form of shelter and a daily bowl of rice, and initially only Kambei (Takashi Shimura), a brave elder samurai, and his eager young apprentice, Katsushiro (Isao Kimura), take up their cause. Encountering various nomadic warriors on the streets, they slowly put together his team of swordsmen, recruiting Shichiroji (Daisuke Katt), Gorobei (Yoshio Inaba), Heihachi (Minoru Chiaki), and Kyuzo (Seiji Miyaguchi). Finally, Kikuchiyo (Toshirt Mifune), a scruffy wanderer who has been trailing them, completes the small band of ronin. However, upon reaching the village, the samurai learn that the farmers fear them as much the enemy. Despite the tensions, Kambei and his men slowly train the peasants to defend their village. Eventually the warriors launch a preemptive strike against the bandits, and begin a series of intense conflicts that culminates in a rain-soaked final battle--without a doubt, one of the most stunning sequences in cinema history.
Widely considered to be the greatest Japanese film ever made, Kurosawa`s SEVEN SAMURAI is also credited with pioneering the modern action movie. This notion is especially evident in thrilling scenes such as Kambei`s rescue of a kidnapped child, Kyuzo`s duel, and Kikuchiyo`s intensive theft of an enemy gun. Although the film clocks in at more than three hours, the story remains consistently engaging and slowly heightens the tension while providing action, drama, comic relief, and character development. Gleefully running amuck, Mifune gives one of his most renowned performances, imbuing the often comical Kikuchiyo with a surprising streak of melancholy and introsp
NR"
Director: Akira Kurosawa
The Calling (DVD)
A Satanic thriller in the vein of ROSEMARY`S BABY, THE CALLING tells the chilling story of a human woman who realizes that the child she gave birth to during a strange, dreamlike event is actually the child of Satan. Put on earth in order to wreak havoc and bring the evil of her father to the world, this seemingly cute young girl is actually a vessel for the greatest darkness in the world.PG"
ACTORS: Laura Harris, Nick Brimble, Richard Lintern
Extreme Crisis (DVD)
A group of Japanese terrorists whose cult leader has been arrested plant a bomb to destroy Hong Kong with the aim of having him released and two unlikely police officers are sent to save the city.NR"
Director: Bruce Law
ACTORS: Julian Cheung, Shu Kei, Theresa Lee
Cheerleader Massacre (DVD)
At an average American high school, a psychotic killer has taken a special interest in the beautiful young girls of the pom-pom squad---and it`s an interest that could render all of them dead. B-movie master Jim Wynorski carries on in the vein of SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE and SLUMBER PARTY MASSACER II.R"
Director: Jim Wynorski
