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Beyond the Valley of the Dolls *** (1970) Dir: Russ Meyer. Not a
sequel, the bizarre characters and situations spoof nearly every film
genre – comedy, musical, horror, murder, sex and melodrama. Raunchy
psycho-delic extravaganza. Written by film critic Roger Ebert. 109 min.
[NC-17] Rent it Blue
Hawaii ** ½ (1961)
D: Norman Taurog. With Elvis Presley, Angela Lansbury. Ex-GI Presley
returns to Hawaii to work with tourist agency; Lansbury adds strength
to film as his mother. 101 min. Rent it Bringing Up Baby
**** (1938) Dir: Howard Hawks. With Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant.
Zany, fast-paced adaptation of Oscar Wilde story about heiress who sets
her sights on stuffy zoologist. She and her pet leopard "Baby" turn his
world upside down. Great farce! 102 min. BW Rent it Color Purple ***
½ (1985) D: Steven Spielberg. With Danny Glover, Whoopi
Goldberg. Based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, story
is a richly textured story of Celie, an uneducated woman living in
rural American South. Forced to marry a brutal man, and sharing her
grief only with God, she becomes transformed by the friendship of two
remarkable women. Golden Globe to Whoopi for Best Actress. 152 min.
[PG] Rent it Confidentially Yours *** (French, 1983) Dir: Francois Truffaut. With
Fanny Ardant, Jean-Louis Trintignant. Truffaut’s final film is tribute
to Hitchcock, the tale of a man falsely accused of murder. He hides in
his office, while secretary, who is secretly in love with him, must
prove his innocence. 110 min. BW Rent it Divorce Italian Style *** ½ (Italian, 1962) D: Pietro Germi. With Marcello
Mastroianni. Man approaching middle age tires of his fawning wife and
beings to turn his amorous attentions to his teenage cousin. In Italy,
divorce was out of the question, so his mind turns to murder – and he
can kill his wife with impunity if he can catch her cheating with her
lover… so he must find her one! Adult comedy sensation that won Oscar
for screenplay. 104 min. BW (Dubbed) Rent it Duck Soup ****
(1933) Dir: Leo McCarey. With the 4 Marx Brothers. A pointed political
satire, their funniest and most insane film – has many of their famous
sequences. 68 min. BW Rent it 400 Blows ****
(French, 1959) Dir: Francois Truffaut. With Jean-Pierre Leaud.
Truffaut’s first feature fillm, first of his semi-autobiographical
"Antoine Doinel" series, it is considered to be one of the most
influential films of adolescence, as 13-year-old Antoine turns to a
life of small-time crime to escape the neglect he receives at home and
the harsh criticism at school. 99 min. BW Rent it Glen or Glenda
(1953) D: Ed Wood, Jr. With Bela Lugosi. Autobio- graphical B flick by
Wood, starring himself as Glen, a transvestite who can’t decide how to
tell his fiancee he wants to wear her clothes. Wildly inept use of
stock footage, inane script writing, and campy Lugosi’s rambling are so
bad it’s hilarious. 61 min. Rent it Good Morning, Vietnam *** (1987) D: Barry Levinson. With Robin Williams. Manic
comedian Robin Williams shakes up 1965 Saigon as a irreverent,
non-conformist deejay who has been imported by the Army for an early
a.m. radio show. 121 min [R} Rent it I Was Stalin’s Bodyguard (Russian, 1990) D: Semeon Aranovitch. Controversial
documentary, weaving together first-hand testimony by Stalin’s last
surviving personal bodyguard with rare film footage, including Stalin’s
home movies. As involving as a thriller, and even more powerful since
it is all real. 73 min. Rent it Irma Vep ***
(French, 1996) D: Olivier Assayas. With Maggie Cheung. Hong Kong
superstar Cheung plays herself in keen, insightful satire of movie
industry, as she comes to Paris to star in a remake of the silent LES
VAMPIRES. Not speaking French, she finds herself with an aging director
suffering a breakdown when the production begins to fall apart. 96 min.
King Kong
****(1933) Dir: Merian Cooper. With Faye Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce
Cabot. All-time classic teems with memorable moments, especially the
giant gorilla’s lovestruck obsession with blonde starlet, his capture,
and the finale atop Empire State Building. Video includes a 25 min
behind-the-scenes documentary. 100 min. BW Rent it Lady Eve ***
½ (1941) Dir: Preston Sturges. With Barbara Stanwyck, Henry
Fonda. "Sinfully romantic" comedy, with the "lady" a calculating card
shark who fleeces passengers on transatlantic ocean liners. She gets
young millionaire to fall for her, but he is tipped off. Snappy plot,
great performances. 94 min. BW Rent it Lady with a Dog
*** (Russian, 1960) Dir: Josef Heifitz. From Anton Chekhov’s classic
short story. Story of bored middle-aged married banker from Moscow who
meets a young married woman while vacationing at Yalta. They drift into
an affair, which turns into true love, but conventions of society force
them to return to old lives. Over the years, they meet, but cannot
leave their pasts. 89 min. BW Rent it Last Butterfly
*** ½ (Czech-British, 1994) Dir: Karel Kachyna. With Tom
Courtenay, Brigitte Fossey. Haunting, powerful drama, with Courtenay as
actor and mime forced by the Germans to perform at Terezin, the
"showpiece" German concentration camp, to show how well the Nazis are
treating the imprisoned Jews. When he finds that the children in the
show are destined for the gas chamber, he gives the Nazis a show they
won’t forget. 106 min. Rent it Last Metro **
½ (French, 1980) Dir: Francois Truffaut. With Heinz Bennent,
Catherine Deneuve, Gerard Depardieu. Jewish director is forced to hide
in basement of theater during Nazi occupation, while his wife stars in
production. Romantic tensions rise as she and leading man begin to fall
in love. Meanwhile, pro-Nazi critic ensconces himself in theater. 131
min. Rent it Lethal
Weapon 4 ((1998) Dir:
Richard Donner. With Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pecsi, Jet Li.
Comedy action team returns, with wedding bells, ammo shells, explosive
laughter. 127 min. Rent it Lost Weekend ****
(1945) D: Billy Wilder. With Ray Milland, Jane Wyman. Best Picture of
1945 has lost none of its power in this uncom- promising look at the
devastating effects of alcoholism. Its stark realism was a landmark in
adult filmmaking in Hollywood. Milland also won Best Actor Oscar for
his portrayal of would-be writer on a self- destructive three-day
binge. 101 min. BW Rent it Love and Death on Long Island *** ½
(Canadian-British, 1997) Dir: Richard Kwietniowski. With John Hurt,
Jason Priestley. Buttoned-up British writer meets struggling B-movie
star, and launches his life on a bizarre path, with bittersweet
contrasts. Sharp and sophisticated comedy. 93 min. [PG-13] Rent it Love on the Run
*** (French, 1979) Dir: Francois Truffaut. With Jean-Pierre Leaud.
Truffaut’s fifth and final film of his semi-autobiographical "Antoine
Doinel" series, as Antoine is now in his 30s and divorced. Death of his
mother forces him to look into himself and confront his insecurities.
Includes clips and characters from previous "Doinel" films. 95 min. Rent it Ma vie en rose
*** ½ (French, 1997) Dir: Alain Berliner. Six-year old boy
believes he was meant to be a girl, and will grow up to marry the son
of his father’s boss. His innocent certainty causes intense reactions
of family, friends, and neighbors, and family loves and loyalties are
tested in face of suburban prejudice. Golden Globe Best Foreign Film.
88 min. [R] Magnificent Seven
*** ½ (1960) D: John Sturges. With Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen,
James Coburn. Enduring Western remake of SEVEN SAMURAI, about paid
gunslingers trying to roust out bandits in small Mexican town.
Memorable score. 126 min. Rent it Marie Baie des Anges (French, 1998) D: Manuel Pradal. Teen lovers living on the
edge of paradise to take refuge from harshness of their lives are soon
compelled into a spiral of crime. In a modern but deadly twist on
primal legend, they will pay a bloody sacrifice to angels of the sea.
90 min. Rent it Mask of Zorro
(1940) D: Rouben Mamoulian. With Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Basil
Rathbone. Swashbuckling remake of silent classic, with Power as the
dashing masked avenger who single- handedly saves LA from Spanish
despots. 96 min. BW Rent it Modern Times ****
(1936) Dir: Charlie Chaplin. With Paulette Goddard. Devastating satire
on industrial life. Chaplin used sound effects for the first time in
his film, and is the final appearance of his "Little Tramp" character.
Madcap comedy with Chaplin playing hapless factory worker who cracks
under strain of job and runs amok; unemployed, he meets young woman,
and they embark on misadventure-filled search for happiness. 87 min.
BW Rent it Monster **
(Italian, 1994) Dir: Roberto, Benigni. With Roberto Benigni, Michel
Blanc. Small- time nobody is mistaken for sex-crazed serial killer, and
gets deeper and deeper into trouble with the police. Lots of
burlesque-style jokes. 110 min. My Sex Life…Or How I Got into an Argument (French, 1996) Dir: Arnaud Desplechin.
Featuring an ensemble cast of France’s most promising young actors and
actresses, the film is a witty look at a group of 20-something grad
students trying to cope with love and life. Paul, a 29-year-old
profession is trying to complete his dissertation, breaks up with
girlfriend of 10 years, and finds himself in several simultaneous
relationships. 178 min. Rent it National Lampoon’s European Vacation * ½ (1985) D: Amy Heckerling. With Chevy
Chase, Beverly D’Angelo. Sequel to VACATION, with idiotic Chase and his
family stumbling through Europe. Misfire gags, but great fun with
situations travelers can relate to. 94 min. [PG] Rent it Night Train to Munich *** (British, 1940) Dir: Carol Reed. With Rex Harrison,
Margaret Lockwood, Paul Henreid. Taut thriller of a British agent
trying to rescue a Czech scientist who has escaped form the Gestapo. 93
min. BW Rent it Official Story
**** (Argentine, 1985) D: Luis Pienzo. Details the collapse of an
affluent Argentinian family, with the wife suspecting that her adopted
daughter may have been stolen from a family of "los desaparecidos" (the
disappeared ones). 110 min. Rent it On Golden Pond
*** (1981) D: Mark Rydell. With Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, Jane
Fonda. In his last feature, Fonda is brilliant as crochety retired
professor, angry at being 80 and losing his faculties. His devoted,
all-knowing wife Hepburn shares his summers at Maine lakefront home;
Jane plays his alienated daughter. Both Fonda and Hepburn won Oscars
for their fine performances. 109 min [PG] Rent it On the Beach ****
(1959) D: Stanley Kramer. With Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire,
Anthony Perkins. Screen version of Nevil Shute’s novel about the effect
of nuclear holocaust on group of people in Australia. Powerful antiwar
statement. 133 min. BW Rent it The Ox ***
(Swedish, 1991) D: Sven Nykvist. Based on actual events that took place
in Sweden in 1860s… a time of severe drought when many Swedes fled to
US to escape hunger and poverty. Here a man stays behind with his wife
and child and is driven to a brutally desperate act of betrayal. Oscar
nominee for Best Foreign Film. 93 min. Rent it Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959) D: Ed Wood, Jr. With Bela Lugosi. Double Golden
Turkey Award winner, perhaps "the worst picture and worst director in
the history of motion pictures," has become a popular cult classic.
It’s all here – the famous not-so-special effects as aliens in car hop
outfits invade Earth, raising an army of mindless cadavers, starring
the lady zombie, Vampira. Lugosi’s "swan song" (He died after two days
of filming, and was replaced by producer’s wife’s chiropractor) So
awful, it improves (so to speak) with each viewing. 79 min. BW Rent it Postman Always Rings Twice **** (1946) D: Tay Garnett. With Lana Turner, John Garfied,
Cecil Kellaway, Hume Cronyn. Bristling drama of lovers whose problems
just begin when they do away with her husband. 113 min. BW Rent it Qui etes-vous, Mr. Sorge? (French, 1961) D: Hans Otto Meissner. Fact-based docu-drama
presenting the case of Richard Sorge, a German journalist covering WW2
in Japan. Sorge was hanged as a Soviet spy in 1944, but opinions differ
about his alleged espionage activities. Film reenacts background
events, with Sorge being credited with warning Moscow that Germans
would invade but Japanese would not, allowing Soviets to concentrate on
defending Stalingrad. 130 min. BW Red Tent ***
(Italian-Russian, 1971) D: Mickail Kalatozov. With Sean Connery,
Claudia Cardinale, Peter Finch. Top-notch adventure saga, based on true
story of explorer Umberto Nobile, whose ill-fated 1928 expedition turns
into disaster, when his dirigible crashes in the Arctic. Survivors
huddle within their make- shift red canvas dwelling, battling the
elements. 121 min. Rush Hour (1998)
Dir: Brett Ratner. With Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker. Action film of tough
Hong Kong cop in LA trying to solve the kidnapping of a Chinese
diplomat’s daughter. But the FBI wants none of his help and recruits a
fast-talking LAPD detective to babysit him. Cultures clash, tempers
flare, and the result – an action comedy! [PG-13] Rent it The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming ** ½ (1966) D: Norman Jewison. With Carl
Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, Brian Keith, Jonathan Winters, Theodore Bikel.
When sight-seeing Soviet comman- der runs his submarine aground off New
England, the islanders think they are being invaded, and the Soviets
think they will be jailed. Alan Arkin’s film debut won a Golden Globe
Award. 126 min. Rent it The Shining **
(1980) Dir: Stanley Kubrick. With Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall,
Scatman Crothers. Unforgettable terror that envelops a family isolated
and snowbound in a huge resort hotel, as winter caretaker spirals
toward madness and murder. Based on Stephen King novel, the ultimate
ghost story. 142 min. [R] Rent it Shoot the Piano Player **** (French, 1960) Dir: Francois Truffaut. With Charles
Aznavour. An homage to the American gangster film, a brilliant
follow-up to 400 BLOWS. A former concert pianist who has given up his
fame, and is now playing in a run-down Parisian bar, befriends a
waitress who encourages him to resume his career. However, his gangster
brother begs him for help, and the pianist heads down a path of murder,
intrigue, and passion. 84 min. BW Rent it Shy People **
½ (1987) D: Andrei Konchalovsky. With Jill Clayburgh, Barbara
Hershey. NYC photo- journalist Diana comes to Louisiana bayous, with
her rebellious daughter, to write an article about her long-lost
relatives, and finds Ruth, a fierce, half-mad matriarch who has been
sheltering her brood of sons from the outside world. Their clash yields
a powerful secret. Filmed on location. 118 min. [R] Rent it Slaughterhouse-Five
*** (1972) Dir: Geroge Roy Hill. With Michael Sacks, Ron Leibman,
Valerine Perrine. Billy Pilgrim is ordinary in almost every way, expect
that he has come unstuck in time and jumps back and forth in his life
without control – from the planet Tralfamadore to World War II Belgium
to watching his own death in Philadelphia. 104 min. [R] Rent it Smoke
Signals (1998) Dir: Chris
Eyre. Bittersweet comedy, screenplay by Sherman Alexie. Unlikely young
pair from small town leave home on adventure of friendship and
discovery. Winner at Sundance Film Festival. 89 min. Rent it Sound of Music
*** ½ (1965) D: Robert Wise. With Julie Andrews, Christopher
Plummer. Blockbuster Rodgers & Hammerstein musical based on
Austria’s real-life Von Trapp family, who fled their homeland in 1938
to escape the Nazi occupation. Fine music, beautiful scenery. Oscars
for Best Picture, Director, Score. 174 min. Rent it Taste of Cherry
(Iranian, 1997) Dir: Abbas Kiarostami. An existential fable of a man
determined to commit suicide at nightfall; he seeks a living assistant
to check his hand-dug grave the next morning. If he is dead, the person
will fill the grave with dirt; otherwise, he will help him out of the
hole. In any case, he will be well rewarded. Each of his candidates
reacts differently, and each lends a new perspective on what it is that
makes life worth living. Cannes Film Festival Best Film. 95 min. Rent it Tree of Wooden Clogs *** (Italian, 1978) Dir: Ermanno Olmi. Film follows four
families through the seasons and lovingly portrays the events of their
lives, including the "minor" one of a young boy breaking one of his
clogs on the way home from school. His father must risk punishment by
cutting down one of his landlord’s trees to make a new pair. In the
face of severe punishment, the strength of the family leaves a lasting
impression. 185 min. Rent it True Grit ***
(1969) D: Henry Hathaway. With John Wayne, Glen Campbell, Robert
Duvall, Dennis Hopper. Film version of Charles Portis novel, about
over-the-hill marshal who helps a 14-year-old track down her father’s
killer. Rousing last half hour. Oscar to Wayne. 128 min. [G] Rent it Two English Girls
*** ½ (French, 1971) Dir: Francois Truffaut. With Jean-Pierre
Leaud. Darkly beautiful love story between one man and two sisters.
Sensitive and painful story of emotionally charged love triangle. 130
min. Rent it Ulysses’ Gaze ***
½ (Greek-French-Italian-British) D: Theo Angelopoulis. With
Harvey Keitel, Erland Josephson. Mystical film traces journey of
Greek-American director across the Balkans in search of several lost
reels of film shot by pioneers of cinema. Filled with stunning imagery,
film travels through war-torn Eastern Europe, an informed and
compassionate description of the scope of the conflict that is still
unraveling in the Balkan states. 173 min. Color and BW. Rent it Wilde ** ½
(British, 1998) Dir: Brian Gilbert. With Stephen Fry, Vanessa Redgrave.
Biopic of notorious poet and playwright Oscar Wilde, as he delves into
the taboo world of unrealized sexual desires. Falling under the spell
of dashing young Oxford student, Wilde cannot escape the inevitable
repercussions, leading to his 1895 sodomy trial and conviction. 115
min. [R] Wuthering Heights
** ½ (Mexican, 1953) D: Luis Bunuel. Cinema’s foremost
surrealist makes film of Bronte’s classic gothic novel, working on a
modest budge in Mexico. Daring symbolism and expressive images capture
the essence of the mad romance of the book, while weaving in director’s
personal views on death and morality, Freudian analysis and Romantic
excess. 90 min. BW Rent it |
