archive1988

Film Archive 1988

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Adapted from Anton Chekhov's short stories, this film recounts the life of a poor Italian architect named Romano who marries Elisa, a wealthy Russian aristocrat. But on one of his frequent trips to a health spa in Russia, Romano meets Anna and they fall in love. Following her to her small hometown, he learns that Anna has wed another. Although he plans to come back for Anna, when Romano returns to Italy he finds that his wife's family has lost all its money. And instead of keeping his promise, he decides to remain with Elisa in her time of need.

LA BAMBA

LATENITE 010188

Rock 'n Roll biopic on the life of Ritchie Valens, a young Mexican/American whose talents as a rock and roll singer catapulted him from the obscurity of a farm laborer obsessed with music to stardom at the age of seventeen with a string of pop hits still popular today. Starring Lou Diamond Phillips as Ritchie and an excellent Esai Morales as his brother Bob, with whom he had a loving but tempestuous relationship.

HOPE AND GLORY

011588

Based upon director John Boorman's experiences as a young boy during World War II, HOPE AND GLORY stars Sebastian Rice-Edwards as Bill Rowen. Seen mostly from the nine-year-old boy's perspective, the film is uniquely astute in exploring the exhilarating effect that the bombing of his London suburb and the war's general tumult has on a young boy, at least temporarily. After bombing raids, Bill and his mates scavenge through the rubble of destroyed buildings, carrying off still-smoking shrapnel as booty. When the boy's school is leveled by the bombing, putting the local kids on permanent vacation, the Luftwaffe pilot is hero for a day. For Bill's harried mother, Grace (Sarah Miles), the war is less amusing. Not only is her husband away fighting, but the war's disorder has made her children more difficult to control, especially her teenage daughter, Sue (Geraldine Muir), whose burgeoning sexuality makes Grace nervous about arriving Canadian troops. Then one day, while the Rowens are out, their house is demolished by a bomb, and Bill begins to see the war a little differently. Boorman's superb re-creation of the London blitz is likely the best account of that experience on film. Through the accretion of a myriad of brilliantly observed details, he immerses the viewer in the reality of wartime London yet gives due weight to the subjective nature of that experience for each of the family members in a film that's flawlessly executed by all hands.

DIRTY DANCING

LATENITE 011588

Headstrong 17-year-old Baby Houseman hardly expects her family's usual summer vacation in the Catskills to be momentous. But then Baby spies Johnny Castle, the resort's dance instructor from the wrong side of the tracks. Johnny's facing a crisis: his dance partner and friend, Penny, is pregnant and has reluctantly decided to get an abortion. This leaves Johnny a solo act -- until Baby agrees to take Penny's place. She has to learn how to dance first, however, and as Johnny teaches her the choreography's sexy, seductive moves, the two fall in love.
But Baby's father believes that Johnny is the creep who got Penny pregnant, and he furiously orders Baby to end the relationship. Baby knows that Johnny's innocent -- and with her feisty idealism and his dance talent, the two will prove to Baby's father that their love is worth fighting for.

20th INTERNATIONAL TOURNEE OF ANIMATION

012288

no synopsis available

ROBOCOP

LATENITE 012288

Peter Weller stars in this urban sci-fi Western as Murphy, a good cop who literally gets shot to pieces while on duty and winds up reborn as a crime-fighting machine. An ambitious executive (Miguel Ferrer) at OCP, the corporation running the futuristic city of Detroit, fuses Murphy's torso with bulletproof steel limbs and rewires his brain with computer chips so he will have no will of his own. Murphy’s former partner (Nancy Allen) tries to help RoboCop remember his human past, but his circuitry blocks whatever dim memories remain. Luckily, a chance encounter with one of his killers wakes up the human essence in RoboCop, causing him to rebel against his programming and commence on a one-cyborg mission of vengeance that leads all the way to the top of OCP. This second English-language film by Dutch director Paul Verhoeven is unremittingly brutal, darkly comic, and filled with bits of clever satire and pathos. A special highlight is the hilariously incompetent ED-209, RoboCop's main rival in the department of automated law enforcement. Considered by many critics to be one of the best films of its genre, ROBOCOP was followed by several sequels and a 1994 TV series.

JEAN de FLORETTE

020588

The first of two parts of the classic Marcel Pagnol story set in southeast France in the mid 1920s. In a small provencal village, where water is scarce and the earth dry, only one piece of property possesses an underground spring to irrigate the soil--and the wily, greedy César (Yves Montand) will do anything to get hold of it. His dreams seem on the verge of coming true when the owner (with a little help from César) dies unexpectedly. But then Jean Cadoret (Gerard Depardieu), an outsider who inherits the farm, arrives with the intention of settling down and cultivating the land with his good-hearted wife Aimee (played by Depardieu's real wife, Elisabeth Depardieu) and young daughter Manon (Ernestine Mazurowna). Jean, a hunchback and sensitive dreamer, glories in his new life while César and his nephew Ugolin (Daniel Auteuil) secretly decide to stop up the spring so his plans will fail. The good-hearted Jean, too naive to imagine that anyone would sabotage him, struggles fruitlessly to make his garden bloom. His continual failure erodes his spirit, setting the stage for a tragedy with consequences for all. Director Claude Berri focuses a well-trained eye on the heart-stopping scenery of the rural provencal landscape in this beautifully filmed tragedy, establishing a farmer's reverence for his land and native soil. Gerard Depardieu delivers an unforgettable performance as the failed dreamer. Followed by Berri's MANON DES SOURCES (MANON OF THE SPRING).

SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME

LATENITE 020588

Ridley Scott's romantic thriller stars Mimi Rogers as ravishing New York socialite Claire Gregory and Tom Berenger as blue-collar police detective Mike Keegan. After Claire witnesses a high-profile murder, Mike is among the rotating group of detectives assigned to protect her.The simple, straightforward cop is awed both by Claire's beauty and by the endless rooms of her lavish apartment. A quiet attraction develops between the two, but neither of these otherwise committed people is willing to act on it. However, the detective's wife, Ellie (Lorraine Bracco), realizes what's happening and reacts accordingly. When Mike accompanies Claire to a museum benefit one evening, the killer, Joey Venza (Andreas Katsulas), confronts her in the ladies' room. He threatens to kill her if she identifies him in a police line-up the next day and then turns himself in to the police. Although she goes through with the identification, Venza is released on a technicality, and Claire nows needs protection more than ever. Bracco is wonderful as the cop's spirited wife.

MANON OF THE SPRING

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This sequel to 1986's JEAN DE FLORETTE stars Emmanuelle Beart as Manon (the daughter of JEAN DE FLORETTE's protagonist). Manon has grown up to become a beautiful woman, a shy and resourceful shepherdess who lives in relative seclusion from the townspeople of her provencal village, haunted by the tragic death of her father (played by Gerard Depardieu in part one). An outsider, like her father, Manon stays high up in the rugged hills preferring the company of her sheep to her nearby neighbors César (Yves Montand) and Ugolin (Daniel Auteuil). One fateful day, Manon discovers the real reason why her father's spring ran dry and comes up with a powerful revenge to exact on the men responsible for her father's downfall. Manon's action changes her life forever and uncovers long-hidden family secrets that powerfully affect the local villagers. This charming and poignant fable, based on Marcel Pagnol's classic story is a richly filmed tale of a small triumph over tragedy. Emmanuelle Beart's beauty radiates throughout the film, she delivers a subtle and captivating performance. Once again, director Claude Berri films with a sensitive eye for the wild beauty of the French countryside that perfectly compliments the seductive and earthy beauty of its nubile young star.

LIKE FATHER LIKE SON

LATENITE 021288

Typical high school senior Chris Hammond (Kirk Cameron) and his father (Dudley Moore), Jack, are about as close as they can get--but they're about to become even closer. When a freak accident causes them to switch bodies, they will learn more about each others lives than they ever expected!

THE BIG TOWN

LATENITE 021288

A country boy with a knack for throwing dice goes to big city Chicago to try his luck. He's on a winning streak until he falls in love with a married fan-dancer whose husband is a high roller and a killer. The boy soon finds himself rolling for his lady and his life.

PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES

LATENITE 021988

All Neal Page (Steve Martin) wants to do is make it home from a business trip in New York City and spend Thanksgiving with his family in Chicago. Instead, he finds himself rerouted from New York’s La Guardia Airport to Wichita, Kansas. With no other options, Neal decides to share a room in a fleabag hotel with Del Griffith (John Candy), a shower-curtain-ring salesman and fellow stranded traveler. Although Neal finds Del to be a buffoon, he just can’t seem to get away from him. To make matters worse, all their efforts to get back to Chicago fail as trains break down and rental cars catch on fire. Along the way they encounter crazy cabbies, redneck truck drivers, and oversexed bus passengers. John Hughes’s (SIXTEEN CANDLES, THE BREAKFAST CLUB) first film to feature adults after his success with teen films features fine performances from Martin and Candy. Kevin Bacon, who appeared in Hughes’s next film, SHE’S HAVING A BABY, makes a small but humorous appearance, as does Edie McClurg, known for her role as the high school secretary in FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF.

HEAVY METAL

LATENITE 021988

This unique collection of six animated stories combines science fiction with fantasy, horror, comedy, sex and rock music.
The segments include "Harry Canyon" and "Den." In the first, a New York City cab driver gets mixed up with a beautiful femme fatale. Although he's become so hardened that he keeps a death ray in his car to kill troublesome riders, he lets his guard down long enough to fall for his latest passenger... and it could cost him his life.
In "Den," a nerdy student travels to another planet and transforms into a macho stud with incredible strength. While fighting villains, beautiful women throw themselves at him.
Other stories in this anthology feature the exploits of a beautiful female warrior, pilots fighting off a creature from another world, and a Pentagon secretary who gets captured by an alien. There's also one off-the-wall segment played purely for comic effect.
The stories are all linked by sequences featuring a fiendish green meteorite that claims to be the cause of evil throughout the world.

FATAL ATTRACTION

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While his wife (Anne Archer) and daughter are out of town, successful attorney Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) has a one-night stand with Alex Forrest (Glenn Close), the publishing executive he has just met. He has no idea what he's getting into. Immediately after the encounter, Dan wants to put the experience behind him, but Alex refuses to let go of their relationship. Driven to madness by his rejection, she turns to violently harassing both Dan and his family. This terrifying morality play, which takes the consequences of infidelity to new heights of horror, became one of 1987's biggest box-office successes. Academy Award Nominations: 6, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress--Glenn Close, Best Supporting Actress--Anne Archer, Best (Adapted) Screenplay.

ANNA

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Anna, an aging Czech movie star, comes to NYC seeking stateside stardom, only to find herself begging for meager roles. She takes in fellow Czech Krystyna, a young, beautiful peasant girl, and begins teaching her the ins and outs of the acting profession. But soon, Anna realizes she may have made a grave mistake. For the clever Krystyna not only becomes a screen star overnight, she steals her mentor's boyfriend, and adopts Anna's traumatic past as her own...

PRINCE: SIGN 'O' THE TIMES

LATENITE 030488

Strangely enigmatic, charismatically compact, and always decked out in the most colorfully bizarre outfits, pop star Prince has an undeniable talent for both songwriting and performing. On SIGN O THE TIMES, he shows off the latter, giving a no-holds-barred performance at the Rotterdam Music Hall. With accompaniment from drummer Sheila E., the sexy Cat, and Sheena Easton, Prince performances huge hits like "Little Red Corvette" and "U Got The Look." In addition, short films which tie into each song are interspersed between the live footage.

SAMMY AND ROSIE GET LAID

031188

From the director and screenwriter who brought MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE to the screen comes another explosive, cinematically innovative look at gender, race, and politics in Thatcher-era London. London is burning--the streets are seething with political unrest and violent protest after a brutal racially motivated police killing. Sammy (Ayub Khan Din) and Rosie (Frances Barber) are a radical, sexually liberated couple living in London, whose lives are turned upside-down when Sammy's father, Rafi (Shashi Kapoor), a despotic politician escaping enemies in Pakistan, comes to visit. He does not look kindly upon Sammy and Rosie's open relationship, and is equally unhappy with the social changes Britain has undergone in his absence. Sammy and Rosie struggle to understand the outmoded politics of their new house guest as they spin out of control in London's chaos, taking daring lovers and chasing the truth about their own failing marriage. The film, directed by Stephen Frears, is a visually stunning and haunting look at the effect of the violence and racial tension on a group of Londoners, brought to life by Hanif Kureishi's insightful dialogue and keen sense of England's aching civil unrest.

FULL METAL JACKET

LATENITE 031188

In this riveting look at military life during the Vietnam conflict, Stanley Kubrick, who made the powerful antiwar classics PATHS OF GLORY (WWI) and DR. STRANGELOVE (the cold war), once again explores the behavior of men in battle. FULL METAL JACKET, adapted from Gustav Hasford's novel THE SHORT TIMERS, is broken down into two very different parts. The first half of the film focuses on the training of a squad of Marine grunts on Parris Island, and more specifically on the troubled relationship between the brutal drill sergeant (a frightening Lee Ermey) and an oafish misfit (a brilliant Vincent D'Onofrio) who just happens to be a sharpshooter. The first half ends with a devastating, unforgettable scene, leading into the second half, which takes the grunts to Hue City, the climactic battle of the 1968 Tet Offensive and the turning point of the Vietnam War. The story is told through the eyes of Private Joker (Matthew Modine), a cynical aspiring photojournalist who is soon forced to fight for his life and the lives of his fellow recruits. The sniper scene, which takes place amid bombed-out buildings (rather than in the familiar jungles), serves as a microcosm for the Vietnam War--as well as war in general. FULL METAL JACKET is an unrelenting, intelligent, and challenging examination of war told by a master filmmaker.

SLAMDANCE

LATENITE 031188

In director Wayne Wang's SLAM DANCE, C.C. Drood (Tom Hulce) is a cartoonist whose wacky sense of humor is good for his job but a disaster in his personal life. He’s divorced and behind at work, and he comes home to find his apartment has been ransacked. After a beating by a thug named Buddy (Don Opper) who demands something Drood knows nothing about, he goes to the police, only to discover he’s a suspect in a murder. Yolanda (Virginia Madsen), a beautiful, mysterious blonde whom he had an affair with, was killed. After setting up this Hitchcocklike plot--the common man thrown into a dangerous situation--the twists keep coming. The police are no help; they may even be part of a conspiracy against him. Drood's ex-wife, Helen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), with whom he’d like to get back together, doesn’t believe anything he says, and his best friend is even worse. When another dead body turns up, this one in his apartment, he decides that he must investigate for himself. Hulce, who starred as the even wackier Mozart in AMADEUS, has just the right amount of offbeat charm to draw the audience into the mystery.

PATTI ROCKS

031888

A low-life cad visits his pregnant girlfriend, accompanied by a pal, to convice her to have an abortion. The strong-willed girl has other plans. A quirky independent effort, which very nearly was given an NC-17 rating based solely on its vulgar and frankly sexual language. Featuring the cast of "Loose Ends."

LONELY PASSION OF JUDITH HEARNE

032588

Tragic story of a lonely, spinster piano teacher, living in 1950s Dublin, who mistakenly believes a local man who has returned from living in America, is interested in marrying her when, in reality, his interest is based solely on his belief that she has a large monetary inheritance.

BARFLY

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Based on a semiautobiographical short story by poet and screenwriter Charles Bukowksi and directed by Barbet Schroeder, BARFLY offers insight into the world of the alcoholic, where all that matters is the next drink. Henry Chinaski (Mickey Rourke) is a talented writer of prolific prose; unfortunately, he’s also a skid-row alcoholic with a violent temper. He picks fights nightly with Eddie (Frank Stallone), the bartender at the local watering hole the Golden Horn and lives in a seedy tenement, stealing food and trying to scrape together enough money for booze. Fellow alcoholic Willa Wilcox (Faye Dunaway) catches Henry’s eye at the bar one afternoon, and although she has a reputation for being unstable, the two embark on a relationship with each other and the bottle. Their liaison is full of drama, humor, and irrational behavior; it is put to the test when Henry meets Tully (Alice Krige), a rich, privileged literary editor who wants to publish his stories and save him from himself. The film features exceptional performances from Rourke and Dunaway as they portray the highs and lows that are part and parcel of alcoholism--as well as love.

EDDIE MURPHY: RAW

LATENITE 032588

Filmed live during two concerts at Madison Square Garden, Murphy is showcased in a series of uproarious celebrity impressions, observations on 80's lifestyle, remembrances of his childhood and much more.

HOUSEKEEPING

040188

Aunt Sylvie, an eccentric free-spirit who keeps crackers in her coat for imaginary children and takes a midday nap on the town square bench, returns to her hometown to care for her two orphaned nieces. When the townspeople decide Sylvie must clean up her act, it seems her fantasy world must end - but does it?

NEAR DARK

ATENITE 040188

A young cowboy is seduced by a new girl in town only to find out he has been kissed by a vampire. Slowly turning into a creature of the night, he is persuaded to join up with the girl and a roaming band of ghouls. But when his own father and sister become targets in the vampires' endless search for 'food,' he is forced to choose between loyalty to the vampires, or loyalty his own family. NEAR DARK is a stylish and brutal mixture of horror, western, and action conventions from director Kathryn Bigelow (STRANGE DAYS) that ranks among the best vampire movies ever made.

THE HIDDEN

LATENITE 040188

A diligent cop finally tracks down and arrests a businessman who has suddenly, inexplicably turned into a serial killer. Figuring that the case is closed, the policeman is surprised when a mysterious FBI agent becomes involved with the investigation. It soon appears that the perpetrator isn't quite what he seems to be... and even though he's near death, he's found a way to make sure that the killing doesn't stop.

HOPE AND GLORY

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THE DEAD

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John Huston's last film is a labor of love at several levels: an adaptation of perhaps one of the greatest pieces of English-language literature by one of Huston's favorite authors, James Joyce; a love letter to the land of his ancestors and the country where his children grew up; and the chance to work with his screenwriter son Tony and his actress daughter Anjelica. The film is delicate and unhurried, detailing a Christmas dinner at the house of two spinster musician sisters and their niece in turn-of-the-century Ireland, attended by friends and family. Among the visiting attendees are the sisters' nephew Gabriel Conroy and his wife Gretta. The evening's reminiscences bring up melancholy memories for Gretta concerning her first, long-lost love when she was a girl in rural Galway. Her recounting of this tragic love to Gabriel brings him to an epiphany: he learns the difference between mere existence and living. The all-Irish cast and careful period detail give the piece richness and gravity, and Donal McCann and Anjelica Huston are unforgettable as the Conroys.

DOGS IN SPACE

LATENITE 040888

A group of friends in late 1970s Melbourne enjoy their carefree lifestyle and thrive upon the experiences of "youth." Hanging out in clubs, trashing their pads, dying their hair, they know they will never have to conform to the larger world, never grow older, never die. In the hot Australian summer of 1978, the group will find out how wrong they are.

THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW

LATENITE 040888

Dennis Alan heads to Haiti in hopes of obtaining a mysterious potion that represses the nervous and respiratory systems without causing death; this draught would also scientifically explain the myth of the zombie. Once on Caribbean soil, however, Alan encounters powerful cults, government corruption and a poverty-stricken populace ready to revolt -- and he finds himself deeply seduced by voodoo, though his sense of logic cannot comprehend its mystical nature. But more earthly dangers lurk in the form of an evil magistrate and the local police, who do not hesitate to torture Alan when he defies their leader. In the end, Alan emerges from the experience radically changed, with the realization that Western notions of science cannot explain the many things he's witnessed in this world.

THE CURE IN ORANGE

LATENITE 041588

The Cure performs at a rock concert in France.

HOUSE OF GAMES

042288

David Mamet's directorial debut finds him exploring his abiding interest in deception and inviting his audience to be prepared for endless twists and turns. The film is a character study of Dr. Margaret Ford (Lindsay Crouse), a psychiatrist and best-selling author specializing in addictive behavior. During a therapy session, she discovers that a patient owes a $25,000 gambling debt. When she becomes involved on her patient's behalf, she enters an underworld populated with fascinating characters. Dr. Ford is both strong and vulnerable, and Crouse exploits this ambiguity in a powerful central performance. Joe Mantegna is also a presence as underworld denizen Mike. The strong overall acting and well-crafted plot pleased critics and proved to be at the heart of Mamet's future filmmaking successes.

SHOOT TO KILL

LATENITE 042288

A murderer is on the loose and it's up to big city officer Warren Stantin to chase the culprit into treacherous and mountainous backwoods territory before he can reach Canada. To do so, however, he'll need the help of near-hermit Jonathan Knox who knows the terrain. Feeling that Stantin hasn't got what it takes to go the route, Jonathan agrees only with reluctance -- until his girlfriend becomes one of the killer's hostages.

THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN

LATENITE 042288

Owen (Danny DeVito) is a friendless would-be mystery writer who has had all he can take. He would do anything to get rid of his overbearing momma (Anne Ramsey), whose howling voice and domineering attitude have pushed him to the absolute limit. He even strikes a deal with Larry (Billy Crystal), his writing teacher, to knock off his much-hated ex-wife, with the understanding that the instructor will reciprocate. Ramsey is so terrific in her role that the audience eventually roots for her to be killed. Danny DeVito directed this very dark, very funny comedy, which owes a big debt to the Alfred Hitchcock thriller STRANGERS ON A TRAIN.

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE

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John Frankenheimer's brilliant adaptation of Richard Condon's Cold-War satire, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE is the director's best film, both a coruscating thriller and a razor-sharp satire of political hysteria that captures the turbulent mood of the 1960s. Packed with sly details, such as the liberal senator "bleeding" milk when he's shot, the film demands repeated viewings.

FRANTIC

042988

Roman Polanski’s FRANTIC is an engaging thriller in the tradition of Alfred Hitchcock. Harrison Ford plays Richard Walker, an American heart surgeon vacationing with his wife, Sondra (Betty Buckley), in Paris, where he is to attend a medical convention. Sondra suddenly and unexpectedly disappears from the couple’s hotel room while Richard is taking a shower, and when she doesn’t return after several hours, he decides to report the incident. But neither the French police nor the U.S. embassy offers much help or even appears particularly interested in his dilemma. On the brink of despair, Walker decides to embark on an investigation himself, aided by Michelle (Emmanuelle Seigner), a carefree, seductive gamine who is also mixed up in the case, as he discovers after tracing back to her a mysterious piece of switched luggage that he suspects his wife’s kidnappers are after. When the mismatched duo finally succeed in tracking down the perpetrators, it becomes apparent that the stakes in this extortion scheme are far higher than they imagined. Ford, cast somewhat against type, gives a credible, low-key performance as the anxious Walker. Polanski also cowrote this suspenseful film, assigning the female lead to his young wife (Seigner).

GABY: A TRUE STORY

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Based on the life of Gaby Brimmer, a young woman severely disabled by cerebral palsy who is unable to speak or move--except for her left foot with which she communicates--yet overcomes her physical limitations and becomes a critically-acclaimed author. Academy Award Nominations: Best Supporting Actress--Norma Aleandro.

SIESTA

050688

The story of a woman's struggle to win back her ex-lover, told in a series of flashbacks that often alter time and reality. Claire is a skydiver who leaves her husband and travels to Spain to find her trainer/ex-boyfriend Augustine -- who is about to marry another woman. During Claire's five days in Spain, her life is turned upside-down, as she tries to win back Augustine, brawls with his fiancee, is befriended by two strange Brits, and encounters a very dangerous cab driver. Most importantly, Claire finds herself involved in a murder mystery. But did the crime really occur, or does it exist only in Claire's head?

RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD PART II

LATENITE 050688

It's gore galore in this sequel to (what else?) 1985's "Return of the Living Dead". Here, a poisonous gas is released from a container, and when it reaches the local graveyard, corpses start living the high life again. Blood, guts, and grey matter spew, as the brain-snackin' zombies wreak havoc upon the terrified townspeople.

SCHOOL DAZE

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With SCHOOL DAZE, writer-director Spike Lee examines the tensions, biases, and frustrations of middle-class black youth at a southern college campus. Lee combines musical and fantasy sequences with satirical scenes to tell this pointed story of two cousins who attend the same all-black university. Dap Dunlap (Laurence Fishburne) is the solemn and dedicated activist, while Half-Pint (Lee), his younger cousin, spends most of his time rushing the school's most popular fraternity while desperately trying to find romance. As the film follows the two young men attempting to achieve their disparate goals, it also examines intraracial conflict in a school divided into warring camps: the light-skinned Wannabees and the dark-skinned Jigaboos. Lee, using the college environment as a microcosm in which to further explore black intraracial conflicts--for example, the way different camps wear their hair--doesn’t forget that he’s an entertainer first and foremost. SCHOOL DAZE, taking its cue from ANIMAL HOUSE, pokes fun at fraternities and sororities, including a hysterical extended sequence on the rigors of hazing. Featuring a pulsating soundtrack and an appearance by go-go legends EU, Lee’s return to school is at once revealing and raucous.

HAIRSPRAY

LATENITE 051388

Baltimore, 1962. Ample, energetic teen Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake) wants nothing more than to get on hip local TV dance program THE CORNY COLLINS SHOW. When she finally gets her way, her lively dance moves and bubbly personality are met with unexpected popularity, along with the ire of a fellow dancer, scheming Amber Von Tussle (Colleen Fitzpatrick). Furthermore, when she witnesses firsthand the terrible state of race relations in Baltimore, Tracy becomes an outspoken advocate for the desegregation of THE CORNY COLLINS SHOW.

5 CORNERS

052088

A rapist gets out of jail and returns to his old neighborhood in the Bronx, setting off a series of events that bring together his victim, her boyfriend, a pacifist, two wise-cracking cops, an algebra teacher killed by an arrow and other assorted eccentrics.

D.O.A.

LATENITE 052088

Sleepwalking through the academia, an alcoholic professor spends more time drinking than grading papers or writing new novels. The once promising writer gets a wake up call when he discovers he has only a few days to live after being poisoned. With a perky co-ed, he is driven to find his killer.

AU REVOIR LES ENFANTS

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A French boarding school run by priests seems to be a haven from World War II until a new student arrives. He becomes the roommate of top student in his class. Rivals at first, the roommates form a bond and share a secret.

STAND AND DELIVER

052788

Jaime Escalante is a mathematics teacher in a school in a hispanic neighbourhood. Convinced that his students have potential, he adopts unconventional teaching methods to try and turn gang members and no-hopers into some of the country's top algebra and calculus students.

BAD DREAMS

LATENITE 052788

In the mid-'70s, a cult group called Unity Field commits mass suicide, but a young girl survives. After being in a coma for thirteen years she wakes up in a psyche ward, not remembering the incident. The psychiatrist tries to help her remember, but she begins seeing the leader of the cult talking to her from the grave, and the other members of her therapy group begin to commit suicide around her. Or is it suicide?

OFF LIMITS

LATENITE 052788

McGriff and Albaby are probably doing the worst law enforcement job in the world - they are plain clothes U.S. military policemen on duty in war-time Saigon. However, their job becomes even harder when they start investigating the serial killings of local prostitutes. Their prime suspect is high ranking U.S. Army officer which brings their lives in danger.

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM

LATENITE 060388

A new Disc Jockey is shipped from Crete to Vietnam to bring humor to Armed Forces Radio. He turns the studio on it's ear and becomes wildly popular with the troops but runs afoul of the middle management who think he isn't G.I. enough. While he is off the air, he tries to meet Vietnamese especially girls, and begins to have brushes with the real war that never appears on the radio.

WALL STREET

LATENITE 060388

Bud Fox is a Wall Street stockbroker with a strong desire to get to the top. Working for his firm during the day, he spends his spare time working an on angle with with to approach the high-powered, extremely successful (but ruthless) broker Gordon Gekko. He finally meets with Gekko, who explains to him his philosophy that "Greed is Good". Taking this advice and working closely with Gekko, Fox soon finds himself swept into a world of "yuppies", shady business deals, the "good life", fast money, and fast women; something which is at odds with his family and the way he was brought up.

THE MODERNS

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Nick Hart (Keith Carradine) is a struggling American artist who lives amongst the expatriate community in 1920s Paris. He spends most of his time drinking and socialising in local cafe's and pestering gallery owner Libby Valentin (Geneviève Bujold) to sell his paintings. He becomes involved in a plot by wealthy art patroness Nathalie de Ville (Geraldine Chaplin) to forge three paintings. This leads to several run-ins with American rubber magnate Bertram Stone (John Lone), who happens to be married to Hart's ex-wife Rachel (Linda Fiorentino).

COLORS

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After the events of the previous decade in Los Angeles, this 1988 film about L.A. street gangs as seen through the eyes of the LAPD represented a serious effort to throw some light on the appalling carnage of that world in which, for example, 400 gangbangers were killed in 1987, the year the film was in production. It stars Robert Duvall as Mike Hodges and Sean Penn as Danny McGavin, veteran/rookie cop partners attached to CRASH, the LAPD's gang-supression unit. Hodges has been working South Central for years and has the gangbangers' respect for his low-key, quid pro quo demeanor. Despite his partner's admonitions, McGavin wants to play Rambo, bringing the hammer down on gang members at every opportunity. Ultimately the rage that drives the younger man destroys his relationship with his girlfriend, Louisa Gomez (Maria Conchita Alonso), and raises questions as to whether he should even be allowed to wear a badge. While considerable attention is paid to the complicated rubrics of gang culture, the gangbangers remain shadowy, nearly anonymous figures, especially compared to later portrayals. COLORS is a solid film, featuring superb performances by Penn and Duvall, excellent photography by Haskell Wexler, and a killer soundtrack.

ABOVE THE LAW

LATENITE 061788

Nico is a tough and sexy cop who aims to take down the CIA. He's an expert agent trained in Vietnam. He has a master 6th degree black belt in aikido and family in the Mafia. He's a cop with an attitude and he's ready to explode. Steven Seagal's film debut.

THE LAST EMPEROR

062488

Although it is 160 minutes long and shot with breathtaking scope and sumptuousness, Bertolucci's film is a story about claustrophobia. Pu Yi, the Manchurian emperor of China who ascended the throne in 1908 at the age of three, is a prisoner in the palace he rules over. Outside, real power changes hands with each coup d'etat. Pu Yi grows to manhood, is tutored by a Westerner (Peter O'Toole), and marries a gorgeous princess (Joan Chen). However, the adult Pu Yi (John Lone) is destined for a communist reeducation camp when the war is over. From start to finish, Pu Yi is a passive antihero who can never come to grips with the idea that the absolute power conferred on him as a child was only a mirage. The mistakes Pu Yi made trying to realize that power, especially collaborating with the Japanese during the war, provide Bertolucci with the chance to explore his familiar theme of collaboration and its moral consequences (as he did in THE CONFORMIST and 1900). In the end, Pu Yi seems to have reached a kind of peace, and the terrible waste of a special man's life disappears into a drab, grey-clad Beijing.

SHAKEDOWN

LATENITE 062488

Based on a true story of a public defender whose drug-dealing client steadfastly claims an undercover cop tried to rob and kill him. The public defender and a non-conformist New York cop team up and find their investigation takes them in the direction of a sophisticated scam among police officers.

CHUCK BERRY: HAIL! HAIL! ROCK N' ROLL

LATENITE 062488

In director Taylor Hackford's earnest, attentive documentary, Chuck Berry the man is revealed through his own words and those of his friends and colleagues. With a mix of interviews, behind-the-scenes clips, and live concert footage, Hackford captures Berry's charismatic performances, his humor, and his uncompromising standards for himself. The film revolves around Berry's 60th birthday concert given in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, with guest appearances in the concert and the film by Etta James, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Robert Cray, Julian Lennon, and Linda Ronstadt. Other interviews include legendary musicians Bo Diddley, Little Richard, the Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis, as well as Bruce Springsteen, Roy Orbison, and John Lennon. A pioneer of the idea of singer as songwriter also, as well as a leader in the infancy of rock 'n' roll, Berry is shown as never before in this revealing, touching documentary.

LE GRAND CHEMIN

070188

A young boy, separated from his family for the summer, learns about love, sex, religion and death from the neighborhood tomboy.

BELLMAN AND TRUE

070188

In this tense British thriller, Hiller, a humble computer expert, and his young stepson get mixed up with a dangerous gang of bank robbers. The criminals hold them hostage and force Hiller to use his technical skills as a "bellman" (an expert at deceiving alarms) to help them on their next burglary.
After successfully completing the heist, the gang attempts to shake off the police, while Hiller desperately tries to free himself and his son from the crooks' clutches.

FUNNY FARM

LATENITE 070188

George Roy Hill's FUNNY FARM stars Chevy Chase as Andy Farmer, a big-city sportswriter. Since he and his wife, Elizabeth (Madolyn Smith), are fed up with the tensions of urban life, they decide to buy a house in the country where each of them will be able to work on their book projects in peace. Shortly after they've moved to a spacious farmhouse in a small New England village, Andy begins to realize that his dreams of bucolic nirvana are, in fact, delusions. First the birds sing too loudly, preventing him from concentrating on his work. Then he learns that there's a corpse buried in their garden, not to mention snakes in their lake. They have to make calls from the pay phone located in their kitchen, and the grasping townspeople seem to have their meters running 24/7. To make matters worse for Andy, who can't get started on his book, his wife has sold her children's book, with a squirrel protagonist named Andy, not long after moving into the new house. Hill has toned down Chase's broader mannerisms, adopting the tone of MR. BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE. The film is based on Jay Cronley's novel.

BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY

LATENITE 070188

The film adaptation of Jay McInerney's best-selling novel stars Michael J. Fox as yuppie New Yorker Jamie Conway, an aspiring writer whose life has fallen apart: His mother (Dianne Wiest) has died, and his model wife (Phoebe Cates) has just left him. Nightly, Jamie seeks solace in cocaine, alcohol, and the glittery nightclub scene, becoming completely immersed in the decadence and debauchery of 1980s upwardly mobile Manhattan. With the help of his hard-partying debutante friend, Tad (Kiefer Sutherland), Jamie can barely see straight, making it increasingly difficult to make his way to his unfulfilling job as a fact checker at a downtown lifestyle magazine. As Jamie becomes more and more consumed with his nightly routine and his own severe depression, he is fired from his job and forced to make a choice: either continue his downward spiral or examine his life--and change it for the better. BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY is a moving drama that colorfully explores the vivid era that writer Jay McInerney helped to immortalize. Fox shines, especially in a long monologue that is fascinating to watch.

STORMY MONDAY

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Writer-director Mike Figgis's remarkably understated first feature concerns a young man named Brendan (Sean Bean) who becomes involved in the seedy underworld politics of small Newcastle, England. Brendan takes a job at a local nightclub run by a man named Finney (Sting); he also meets Kate (Melanie Griffith), a cocktail waitress. Both Finney and Kate are struggling with an American business tycoon called Frank Cosmo (Tommy Lee Jones), who is trying to develop Newcastle at the expense of local businesses. Brendan's only half-knowledgeable involvement, the role of coincidence in shaping the ensuing action, the woman with a past--all the elements of film noir are at play here, accompanied by darkly lit streets and the reds and blues of nightclub neon. Figgis indulges his taste for jazz as well; he scored the film, and a jazz band even figures in the story. Bean and Griffith are believably entwined, but the standout in the cast is Sting, whose soulful Englishness is perfectly counterpoised with Jones's brash American bravado. In fact, STORMY MONDAY's interest in English culture versus American culture is an appropriate beginning for a director whose career would continue on both sides of the Atlantic.

SUSPECT

LATENITE 070888

Cher stars in this chilling courtroom thriller as Kathleen Riley, an exhausted Washington, D.C., public defender who is saddled with an impossible case: clearing accused murderer Carl Wayne Anderson (Liam Neeson), a deaf-mute vagrant Vietnam vet. A young clerk typist (Katie O'Hare) has been found dead, a Supreme Court Justice has taken his own life, and Anderson was found just footsteps away from the young woman's body. All the odds seem to be against Kathleen until one of the jurors, Eddie Sanger (Dennis Quaid), a seductive, if rather slippery, Washington lobbyist, decides to help her by searching for clues himself. Determined to prove the innocence of her wrongfully accused client, Kathleen accepts Eddie's help, forming a top-secret and very illegal partnership. In between bouts of snappy verbal sparring, the unlikely team uncovers a sinister conspiracy that puts both their lives in danger and reveals a highly unlikely suspect at the bottom of an extremely well hidden Washington scandal. Dennis Quaid and Cher are a seductive and witty team in director Peter Yates's entertaining murder mystery that combines cutthroat action with a stylish and imaginative puzzle of clues.

BEETLEJUICE

LATENITE 070888

In the surreal, wonderfully cartoon-like comedy BEETLEJUICE, a childless couple, Barbara and Adam (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin), move to the country only to be killed in a car accident while passing over a quaint covered bridge. Their ghosts return to their beloved Victorian home, and find the HANDBOOK FOR THE RECENTLY DECEASED, which not only lets them know they're dead, but comes in handy when they learn that they can continue to live in their house, even though a new family--from the land of the living--is moving in. The new owners, fresh from the city, are quite a strange group themselves, and include the overpowering hipster mom Delia (Catherine O'Hara), her pompous SoHo interior designer Otho (Glenn Shadix), her meek husband Charles (Jeffrey Jones), and their morose teenage daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder), who befriends the ghostly couple. Though the threesome attempt to scare Delia from ruining the house with redecoration and her unpleasant personality, their attempts fail. As a last resort, they call upon the services of the demented, terrifying, but hilarious "bioexorcist," "Beetlejuice" (Michael Keaton). Director Tim Burton scores big with witty site gags, incredible special effects and sets, and a unique ensemble of characters. BEETLEJUICE is a visually inventive and imaginative comedy taken to a uniquely grotesque and funny level by the manic performance of Michael Keaton in the title role.

BABETTE'S FEAST

071588

A pair of religious sisters, carrying out their late father's work, give shelter to a refugee from Paris. When she wins the French lottery, she rewards the sisters' kindness by preparing a memorial dinner for the dwindling religious community to celebrate the late vicar's 100th birthday. Academy Awards: Best Foreign Language Film.

MASQUERADE

LATENITE 071588

Olivia is confused, mourning over her mother's recent death, and very wealthy. A handsome, charming yacht captain, seemingly uninterested in her money, sweeps her off her feet and she thinks it could be a lasting love - if she lives long enough. Someone has devised a frightening conspiracy to rob Olivia of both her fortune and her life.

ARIA

072288

Producer Don Boyd brought together 10 of the world’s most revered directors in order to pay homage to the opera with this episodic feature. Each director was asked to choose an aria from an operatic work and create a short film inspired by the emotions and intensity of the music rather than merely re-creating the opera itself. True to form, the result is a bizarre, moving, and broad work of entertainment. Standouts include Charles Sturridge’s haunting LA VIRGINE DEGLI ANGELI, which follows a group of adolescents who steal a car and meet an early demise; Jean-Luc Godard’s ARMIDE, an abstract visual tour de force that incorporates nude females floating around bodybuilders in midworkout; Franc Roddam’s somber LIEBESTOD, which watches a young couple spending one last night in a Las Vegas hotel room; Derek Jarman’s nostalgic DEPUIS LE JOUR, a moving ode to a life well lived; and Ken Russell’s stimulating NESSUN DORMA, which breathes fresh life into the moment just before one dies. The directors use the works of their chosen composer--including Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Wagner, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Erich Korngold, Jean Philippe Rameau, Giacomo Puccini, Gustave Charpentier, and Ruggiero Leoncavallo--to tell stories about life, love, and loss as they feel it on a personal level, making ARIA more than just a sheer exercise in style.

THE PRESIDIO

LATENITE 072288

The investigation of a murder on the base of a 1,400-acre military compound in San Francisco reunites the base commander (Sean Connery) and one of his former officers (Mark Harmon), now a cop, who have no great love for each other. The situation escalates as the cop falls for the commander's daughter (Meg Ryan). Directed by Peter Hyams (THE MUSKETEER).

THE SEVENTH SIGN

LATENITE 072288

A pregnant woman suspects that her unborn child is the final sign in the approaching Apocalypse. With a young rabbinical student who is the only one to believe her, she must overcome evil and stop the first six signs.

POWAQQATSI

072988

Sequel to "Koyaanisqatsi" contrasting urban life with images of nature and Third World impressions. Musical score by Philip Glass.

ARTHUR 2: ON THE ROCKS

LATENITE 072988

Arthur returns, this time in a Park Avenue apartment, and tries to sober up. His wife finds she is infertile and wants to adopt a baby; but Arthur is unsuccessful at sobriety and he loses his home and money, and is thoroughly unsuited for any job.
Meanwhile, the father of the girl he stood up at the altar in the first film is trying to find a way to trick Arthur into marrying his daughter so that hec an access Arthur's $750 million fortune.

SUBWAY TO THE STARS

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A moody, noirish film that explores both personal loss and social disintegration in present-day Rio de Janeiro. After his girlfriend disappears with no explanation, saxophonist Vinicius scours the city's underworld in an attempt to find her. His pleas for help go unanswered by officials and the girl's parents, and his search becomes more desperate as Vinicius grows to understand the despair and hopelessness of the prostitutes, drug dealers and street people he encounters.
Acclaimed Brazilian musician and composer Gilberto Gil wrote the atmospheric, bluesy score.

RED HEAT

LATENITE 080588

Viktor, a narcotics kingpin in the USSR, leaves the country and heads for Chicago. Subsequently, Russia's brawniest (and sternest) officer follows him to the Windy City, where he teams up with a loud-mouthed American cop. Together the mismatched, culture-clashing, rule-breaking duo attempt to track down the nefarious Viktor.

081288

A New York playwright is summoned to Ireland to bury his father (his "Da"). While at his boyhood home, he encounters his father's spirit and relives memories both pleasant and not.

DIRTY HARRY: THE DEAD POOL

LATENITE 081288

Having made enough arrests to make him a celebrity, Dirty Harry is added to a film crew's "Dead Pool," a group of noted people the crew makes bets on as to who will die first. When a serial killer tries to expedite their demise, Harry realizes he's next. Thoughtful screenplay by vitamin champions and "Life Extensions" authors Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw.

THE KITCHEN TOTO

081988

In 1950 Kenya, as unrest against British Colonial rule is mounting, a Mau Mau youngster is sent to work as a servant in the household of the district police chief after his father is murdered. As the turmoil worsens, the boy must choose between the British who have shown him kindness and the Mau Mau terrorists who seek independence through bloodshed.

COLORS

LATENITE 081988

MONKEY SHINES

LATENITE 081988

Allan Mann’s (Jason Beghe) life is falling apart. It starts when he goes for an early morning jog, only to be hit by a truck and wake up as a paraplegic. While he’s learning to cope with his disability, his girlfriend (Janine Turner) leaves him for his surgeon. Allan becomes even more distraught when he assesses his life, which consists of an overly nurturing mother, an amphetamine-crazed best friend (John Pankow), and a permanent view from a wheelchair. However, things take a turn for the better for Allan when Ella enters his life. She is a capuchin monkey who has been trained to be his hands and help him to adapt to the new limits imposed on his body. Everything seems to be taking a turn for the better until Allan begins having violent dreams from Ella’s point of view in which she is doing harm to those close to him. He then begins to fear that she might not be just an everyday helper monkey but also homicidally possessive to boot.

WINGS OF DESIRE

082688

The sky over Wenders's war-scarred Berlin is full of gentle angels wearing trench coats who listen to the tortured thoughts of mortals and try to comfort them. One wishes to become mortal after falling in love with a beautiful trapeze artist. Peter Falk, as himself, assists in the transformation by explaining the simple joys of a human experience, such as the sublime combination of coffee and cigarettes. The result is a film that is simultaneously sentimental and cerebral.

ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW

LATENITE 082588

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW is a magical phenomenon unlike anything ever before seen onscreen. Borrowing largely from cinema's horror conventions, the film begins as an innocent young couple is stranded at the home of a mad scientist who is building the perfect man. The castle is filled with a most bizarre group of characters who worship their master, Dr. Frank-N-Furter, played magnificently by the fabulously sexy Tim Curry, in leather jacket, pearls, fishnet stockings, and heavy makeup. Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon) are forced to examine their own sexuality as the voluptuous doctor releases the hidden desires in each of them.

THE BLOB

LATENITE 082688

A strange gelatinous organism from space falls to Earth in the small American town of Arborville. The blob engulfs and eats dogs, then humans, then everything in sight as it grows larger and more harmful to the townspeople. The government gets involved, but are their motives in the best interest of the citizens? Hockey-haired rebel Brian (Kevin Dillon) and brave cheerleader Meg (Shawnee Smith) may be the only townspeople to uncover the secret to it all! The classic 1958 monster film gets a modern facelift in which the major difference is the grade of special effects on display. The plot remains essentially the same, with a dash of conspiracy and paranoia thrown in for good measure, but the blob--and the full-view digestion of its victims--is more frightening than ever.

BAGDAD CAFE

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It's just a greasy spoon and a rusty gas pump in the middle of the Mojave Desert, but to a mysterious, stranded Bavarian woman and a few mismatched regulars, the Bagdad Cafe becomes a magical piece of paradise. Academy Award Nominations: Best Song ("Calling You").

MONDO NEW YORK

LATENITE 090288

A tongue-in-cheek glimpse at New York's underground cabaret circuit, including performances by Joey Arias, Rick Aviles, Charlie Barnett, Joe Coleman, Ann Magnuson, Emilio Cubiero, Karen Finley, Dean Johnson, Phoebe Legere, Lydia Lunch, Frank Moore, Annie Sprinkle, John Sex, and Shannah Laumeister.

COMING TO AMERICA

LATENITE 090988

This fantastical fairy tale stars Eddie Murphy as Prince Akeem, a pampered African prince who is yearning to be self-sufficient in his extremely opulent society, where his every whim is catered to. When Akeem turns 21 he defies the wishes of his kingdom and refuses to marry the beautiful bride who has been chosen for him. Instead, he sets out for America to find true love with his trusty sidekick, Semmi (Arsenio Hall). Determined to appear common, the pair arrive in Queens, New York, and quickly have to adapt to a world where they are no longer royalty and can't seem to find a modern woman who suits the prince's tastes--until he meets Lisa McDowell (Shari Headley), the lovely daughter of Cleo McDowell (John Amos), who owns McDowell's restaurant, a fast-food restaurant suspiciously like McDonald's. Akeem and Semmi get jobs at McDowell's and set about charming the unsuspecting Lisa. As the romance blossoms, Akeem has an increasingly difficult time hiding his true identity, especially when his royal parents (James Earl Jones and Madge Sinclair) and their entourage arrive in New York, eager to return their only heir to Africa. John Landis's comedy is an intelligent, funny movie that shows off the myriad talent of Murphy and Hall.

WILLOW

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Based on a story by STAR WARS creator George Lucas, WILLOW is director Ron Howard's fantasy world of medieval adventure. WILLOW stars Val Kilmer as Madmartigan, a swashbuckling warrior, and Warwick Davis as the title character. In a mythical kingdom, the evil sorceress Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh) plots to kill all infants so that the newborn princess, Elora, will never take over the throne. But a midwife sets the baby adrift in a river, and she is rescued by Willow, a farmer in Nelwyn, a peaceful village of trolls, fairies, and little folk. Willow and Madmartigan begin a quest to deliver the baby from evil while being chased by Queen Bavmorda’s daughter, Sorsha (Joanne Whalley), sent to bring the baby back to Nockmaar. Director Howard benefited from his affiliation with George Lucas on the film--Lucas’s company, Industrial Light and Magic, contributed the Oscar-nominated special effects. Lucas, the executive producer of WILLOW, went on to create a series of books based on the world of WILLOW, the SHADOW WAR series.

SOMETHING WILD

LATENITE 091688

Melanie Griffith and Jeff Daniels star in this quirky road movie from director Jonathan Demme (MARRIED TO THE MOB, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS). Charlie Driggs (Daniels) is a timid New York investment broker who lets himself be abducted during his lunch hour by an attractive nut named Lulu (Griffith). While drunk, she drives him to a New Jersey hotel for some kinky sex and petty thievery, and later convinces him to accompany her to Pennsylvania and pose as her husband at her high school reunion. More misadventures ensue, and Charlie gradually finds himself loosening up and falling in love, but then the film makes a sudden left turn with the appearance of Ray (Ray Liotta), Lulu's real husband--a violent ex-convict. As the film's tone oscillates from lightheartedness to darkness, Demme's affection for his characters never wavers, and he keeps things moving with a jubilant soundtrack of global music and a roster of cameo appearances that include directors John Waters and John Sayles, and musicians the Feelies and Sister Carol. It's a comedy, it's a drama, it's a look at the pleasures and dangers of stepping outside the norm, in life and in film.

A HANDFUL OF DUST

092388

Tony and Brenda appear to have the perfect marriage, living on a Victorian country estate in the fashionable 1930s England. But when Tony invites the dashing, yet penniless young socialite John Beaver for a weekend stay, he unknowingly ignites a series of shattering events, including passion, infidelity, and death. Based on Evelyn Waugh's 1937 novel. Academy Award Nominations: Best Costume Design.

MARRIED TO THE MOB

LATENITE 092388

Michelle Pfeiffer established herself as an adept actress with this colorful comedy from director Jonathan Demme (SOMETHING WILD, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS). The wife of Mafia hitman Frank "Cucumber" De Marco (Alec Baldwin), the irrepressibly brassy Angela (Pfeiffer) finds herself unhappy with their shady lifestyle, and wants out. When Frank is murdered by mob boss Tony "The Tiger" Russo (Dean Stockwell), she uses the opportunity to move to New York, get a job and go straight. But as soon as she thinks she's out, Tony wants her as his next mistress. Tony's jealous wife (Mercedes Ruehl) threatens to kill her, and a master-of-disguise FBI agent (Mathew Modine) follows her every move, and then falls in love with her. Through all the colorful insanity, Demme keeps the action on target, and the emphasis on quirky characters. A game supporting cast includes: Joann Cusack, Oliver Platt, Tracey Walter, and Jamaican singer Sister Carol. Chris Isaak, Todd Solondz, "Grampa" Al Lewis, and David Johansen are some of the many cameos. Pricelessly gaudy costume designs and a spontaneous sense of fun help make this one of the classic comedies of the 1980's.

BIG BUSINESS

LATENITE 092588

Two pairs of identical twins are accidentally switched at birth and end up living very different lives. One pair grows up in bucolic Jupiter Hollow, while the other two are raised in New York City and become powerful business women.
The four eventually reunite in the monumental Plaza Hotel when they take opposite sides in a battle to control the future of the Moramax Corporation and tiny Jupiter Hollow. The rest of the film is fueled by the comedy generated by an extended series of misunderstandings based on two cases of mistaken identity. Double your pleasure; double your fun.

HEAVY METAL

LATENITE 093088

BULL DURHAM

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North Carolina's Durham Bulls have just acquired a hot new pitcher, "Nuke" LaLoosh, who has a Major League arm but Little League aim. The management has sent for veteran Minor League catcher Crash Davis to train the rookie and get him ready for the upcoming season. The team's biggest fan, an English professor at the local college, has a tradition of choosing one Bulls player each year to be her lover and baseball/poetry prodigy, and this year she must choose between two players that have caught her eye, the pitcher and the catcher. The two ball players bait each other on and off the field, compete for the woman's affections, and eventually, send the Bulls on a winning streak.

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE

LATENITE 1008888

From its opening shot of Malcolm McDowell staring with evil intent directly into the camera (which pulls back to reveal him drinking a glass of milk), Stanley Kubrick's brilliant CLOCKWORK ORANGE announces itself as a completely new kind of viewing experience. Banned in Britain for decades, the film, set in an unidentified future, overwhelms the senses with its almost comic depictions of rape and violence set to an upbeat classical and pop music score; its magnificent, colorful, futuristic set designs; and its utter determination to shock, frighten, and thoroughly entertain its audience. Kubrick based his chilling masterpiece on Anthony Burgess's culture-shaking novel about a young man, growing into adulthood, who has a bit of a problem with authority figures. (Interestingly, Burgess's stunning piece of fiction contains 21 chapters, but Kubrick ends his film after chapter 20.) When Alex (a career-defining performance by McDowell) and his droogs go out for a little bit of the old ultraviolence, he is caught and forced to undergo controversial treatment that will make it impossible for him to commit violent acts--but has severe side effects. Kubrick's film purposely confuses crime and punishment, cause and effect, hero and villain, irony and satire, filled with oxymoron and paradox, taking on science, politics, societal mores, education, sexual awakening, and parental responsibility all in a new language (both verbal and visual) that would change the cinema forever. No one who has seen it has ever been able to hear "Singin' in the Rain" or Ludwig van again in quite the same way.

PASCALI'S ISLAND

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Deception is the way of life on a lovely Aegean island, where a romantic triangle evolves between a spy for the decaying Turkish Empire, a British archaeologist and a sensuous expatriate.

SHAME

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A crusading feminist attorney hits the open road on a motorcycle, hoping temporarily to escape her stressful her life. When her cycle breaks down, she's forced to stops in a remote gas station for bike repairs and to wait a few days for parts. In this short time, she befriends the mechanic's daughter and discovers the girl has been raped. The withdrawn teenager is too terrified to come forward and charge her attackers. The concerned lawyer digs a little deeper and discovers that, because of one powerful man, the town protects a band of young men who continually terrorize and assault women.
Once the victim does name her rapists, her neighbors respond with hatred and accusations. But the attorney refuses to let her back down, and change grows out of her tragedy.

MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN

LATENITE 102188

Monty Python delivers a scathing, anarchic satire of both religion and Hollywood's depiction of all things biblical with their second--and tightest--full-length film. The setting is the Holy Land in 33 A.D., a time of poverty and chaos, with no shortage of messiahs, followers willing to believe in them, and exasperated Romans trying to impose some order. At the center of it all is Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman), a reluctant would-be messiah who rises to prominence as a result of a series of absurd and truly hilarious circumstances that parallel the life of Christ--providing ample opportunity for the entire ensemble (John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Chapman) to shine in multiple roles as they blaspheme and mock everyone and everything from ex-lepers, Pontius Pilate, and the art of haggling to crazy prophets, Roman centurions, and crucifixion.

COVER UP: BEHIND THE IRAN CONTRA AFFAIR

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This film uncovers the web of lies and deceit that TV could not tell. Among the substantiated charges: in 1980 George Bush sold arms to the Iranians; and, a secret society of modern-day pirates wages wars around the world profiting from sales of weapons, drugs and assassinations. Narrated by Elizabeth Montgomery with music by Pink Floyd and Ruben Blades.

BEETLEJUICE

LATENITE 102888

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4

LATENITE 103088

The fourth film and third sequel in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series.
To the horror of all, Freddy Krueger is apparently still alive and on another killing spree. But most horror-struck of all is Alice, a young, pregnant woman, who fears that Freddy is the father of her child.
Once again, good must do battle with evil, so Alice enlists the help of Freddy's victims from beyond the grave to help her in her quest to rid Elm Street of Freddy forever.

A WORLD APART

110488

Apartheid threatens to tear her from her 13-year-old daughter when the first white woman - a journalist - is arrested and put in solitary in 1963 for defying the South African government.

MIDNIGHT RUN

LATENITE 111188

Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin star in this hilarious action-packed blockbuster. Jack Walsh (De Niro) is a cynical ex-cop turned bounty hunter who is offered $100,000 to bring Jonathan "the Duke" Mardukas (Grodin) to justice. Jonathan is a sensitive accountant who embezzled from the mob, gave the money to charity, and jumped bail. Jack begins what he believes will be a relatively standard trip with his prisoner from New York to Los Angeles until he learns that Jonathan owes 15 million dollars to mobster Jimmy Serrano (Dennis Farina), who has put a hit out on the neurotic and wimpy accountant and will stop at nothing to capture the wanted man. To complicate matters, the FBI is also after the accountant to testify against the mob. The two unlikely partners suffer a hysterical trip via plane, train, and car as they attempt to outrun Jonathan's enemies, forced to endure many outrageous twists and turns as a bickering team. MIDNIGHT RUN features great comic timing and fast-pasted banter between Grodin and De Niro as they lead the chase, set to a fabulous soundtrack by Danny Elfman.

IMAGINE: JOHN LENNON

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This feature-film biography of the legendary rock musician includes previously unseen footage from Lennon's private archives, as well as interviews with his first wife Cynthia, second wife Yoko Ono and sons Julian and Sean. Narrated in Lennon's own voice, IMAGINE was taken from the 240 hours of personal film and video from the star's private collection. Directed by Andrew Solt (who is also responsible for the rockumentary THIS IS ELVIS,) this unique film gives fan a look at the enigmatic, innovative, and often changing pop revolutionary that is unavailable anywhere else.

DIE HARD

LATENITE 111888

One of the greatest action movies of the late eighties, DIE HARD, ushered in a new standard for action films. With the dissolution of the Cold War, both the stereotypical Russian threat (TOP GUN, RED DAWN) and the destructive egoist (OCTOPUSSY) became less fearful. With DIE HARD, director John McTiernan introduced Hollywood to a new type of villain: the terrorist entrepreneur. Alan Rickman stars as Hans Gruber, an relentless businessman whose lethal tactics achieve his goals. Unlike most 1980s film villains who committed globally dangerous acts for liberty, genocide, or megalomania, DIE HARD�s Gruber uses guns, explosives and cunning to storm the Takagi Corporation�s Christmas party and heist millions of dollars form the company. In addition, DIE HARD also saw the development of the clumsy or bad luck hero, John McClane (Bruce Willis) � a man in the wrong place at the wrong time who chooses to intervene. McClane overcomes incredible odds in attempting to foil Gruber�s plot. Action fans would see this misfit hero archetype again in UNDER SIEGE (Steven Segal) and THE PHANTOM MENACE (Jar Jar Binks). Although DIE HARD contains many action movie cliches (one-liners, pyrotechnics), it also broke new ground in its genre.

COCKTAIL

LATENITE 111888

Two bartenders at a busy Manhattan watering hole dream of someday owning their own bars. Their present lives consist of elaborate drink-mixing performances and sleeping with many of the female customers, until a fight over a woman causes the younger bartender to flee to Jamaica.
In Jamaica he finds true love with a vacationing waitress, but blows it when his materialist instincts get the better of him and he takes up with a wealthy, older, New York fashion designer. She brings him back to the city, where he lives as a kept man for a time, but realizing that love will make him happier than money, he seeks out the waitress, and tries to win her back.

BOYFRIENDS AND GIRLFRIENDS

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BOYFRIENDS AND GIRLFRIENDS, the sixth film in Eric Rohmer's Comedies and Proverbs series, is an amusing illustration of the proverb "Les amis de mes amies sont mes amis," or "The friends of my friends are my friends." The story focuses on two young women living in a quaint suburb of Paris called Clergy-Pontoise. Although the area--an architecturally sleek campus for young professionals replete with a caf�-filled central square, modern condominiums, and a beautiful man-made lake for windsurfing--is teeming with single people, neither woman is satisfied with her social life. Sharing lunch breaks and an occasional swim at the pool, L�a (Sophie Renoir) and Blanche (Emmanuelle Chaulet) become fast friends. That is, until they inadvertently become involved with each other's love interest. Blanche lusts after Alexandre (Fran�ois-Eric Gendron), a handsome and self-assured engineer who believes himself to be out of her league. But when L�a leaves town on summer vacation, Blanche finds herself quickly falling into an affair with L�a's live-in lover, Fabien (Eric Viellard). L�a, in the meantime, is trying to figure out a way to break up with Fabien, a task that's made easier when she begins to warm up to Alexandre. Consistent with Rohmer's portrayal of dreamy, self-reflective characters and calm, dialogue-intensive relationships, BOYFRIENDS AND GIRLFRIENDS easily captures the unsettled emotional energy of twentysomethings looking for love.

COMMISSAR

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During the Russian Civil War a tough Red Army commander's military career is disrupted by an unwanted pregnancy. Forced to stay with a poor Jewish family until her child is born, she comes face to face with the realities of different cultures and becomes transformed by the warmth and compassion of her hosts.

YOUNG GUNS

LATENITE 120288

British ranchowner John Tunstall (Terence Stamp) hires six young men to help him tend and guard his ranch. In addition he also teaches them to read and to be civilized, but soon Tunstall is murdered by a corrupt and ruthless competing cattle rancher. The six 'young guns' go seeking revenge and are erroneously branded outlaws by the law, until they can clear their names. The six young guns are played by Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Charlie Sheen, Dermot Mulroney and Casey Siemaszko.

A FISH CALLED WANDA

LATENITE 120288