Film Archive 1994
| TRUE ROMANCE |
| 010794 |
 |
| When inexperienced call girl Alabama Whitman (Patricia Arquette) is paid to seduce comic-book-nerd and Elvis fanatic Clarence Worley (Christian Slater), she doesn’t expect to fall for him. But these two lost souls seem to be made for each other and quickly pledge their love, marrying at Detroit's city hall. Clarence discovers some newfound bravado and attempts to retrieve Alabama’s possessions from her pimp, Drexl (Gary Oldman), who isn’t exactly eager to let Alabama go. Fleeing Drexl's apartment, Clarence not only leaves a trail of bodies, but also inadvertently mistakes a suitcase of uncut cocaine for one with his wife’s clothing, and the chase is on. The unlikely newlyweds head for Los Angeles hoping to sell the cocaine and make enough money to leave the country. Unfortunately, they also have to contend with the mob, yuppie drug dealers and the police. Michael Rapaport is amusing as Clarence’s best friend who lives with Floyd, a stoner played by Brad Pitt. A sedate Dennis Hopper appears as Clarence’s father, who ultimately faces off with mob boss Vincenzo Coccotti (Christopher Walken). Director Tony Scott (CRIMSON TIDE, ENEMY OF THE STATE) does justice to the violence and quirkiness of Quentin Tarantino’s second feature film script. |
| BARAKA |
| 011494 |
|
| From Nepal to Kenya, from Australia to Brazil, people try to cope with the changes that have altered their landscape, crowding them together and speeding up daily life. The film shows us these alienated people, but also images of traditions--whirling dervishes and Tibetan monks--that offer different, peaceful ways of existence. Shot in 70mm in 24 countries, this awesome musical and visual montage in the tradition of KOYAANISQATSI expresses the global existence of nature and man in the broadest sensory terms. |
| RUBY IN PARADISE |
| 011194 |
|
| A coming-of-age story about a young woman who flees her Tennessee home to start anew in a small tourist town in Florida. Once there, she finds a job, an apartment and a boyfriend, but her newly stable world is threatened when the boss's son takes a shine to her -- and won't take no for an answer. |
| FATAL INSTINCT |
| 012894 |
|
| A spoof on the popular erotic thriller genre of films by director Reiner who brought us "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" and "The Jerk." Armand Assante assumes the role of the rugged antihero as he attempts to defend a sexy client who has been accused of murder. |
| HOUSEHOLD SAINTS |
| 020494 |
|
| Director Nancy Savoca’s (TRUE LOVE, DOGFIGHT) third film traces the lives of three generations of Italian-American women. In post-World War II New York, Joseph Santangelo (Vincent D’Onofrio) wins Catherine Falconetti (Tracey Ullman) when her father, Lino (Victor Argo), bets her in a pinochle game. To Lino’s surprise, Santangelo takes the bet seriously. Santangelo’s hyperreligious and superstitious mother, Carmela (Judith Malina)--who makes the best sausages around--disapproves of mousy Catherine and is appalled by her cooking. Nevertheless, Catherine and Joseph marry and eventually are blessed with a daughter, Teresa. Even as a child Teresa is a religious zealot, praying for the good of the world and for miracles. As a teenager, Teresa’s (Lili Taylor) devotion borders on fanaticism as she seeks to find the pure and the good in the monotony of performing everyday chores in the tradition of her patron saint. Teresa’s boyfriend (Michael Imperioli) and her parents grow increasingly alarmed by her obsessive behavior and aspirations of sainthood. Based on Francine Prose’s novel of the same name, Savoca’s film is an intelligent look at family, religion, and food in Italian-American culture. |
| CARLITO'S WAY |
| 020494 |
|
| Notorious Puerto Rican heroin dealer Carlito Brigante (Al Pacino) is released from jail on a technicality thanks to the manipulations of his sleazy lawyer buddy (Sean Penn). All he wants is to keep his nose clean and earn enough money to start a business in the Bahamas--and maybe rekindle romance with his old flame, played by Penelope Ann Miller. Instead he finds himself back in trouble as a result of old-world codes of honor and misguided loyalties. It all takes place in 1975 Manhattan, in and around a nightclub Carlito manages, so there's plenty of classic disco music pulsing on the soundtrack. John Leguizamo plays one of the younger generation of hoodlums out to prove something. Viggo Mortensen and Luis Guzmán star as a couple of Carlito’s buddies from the old days. Brian De Palma, who directed Pacino a decade earlier in SCARFACE, makes this seem almost like that film’s sequel. As expected, there's plenty of elaborate tracking shots and suspenseful set pieces, most memorably a pulse-pounding chase through Grand Central Station. It’s adapted from two novels by New York Supreme Court Judge Edwin Torres based on his childhood in East Harlem. |
| THE SUMMER HOUSE |
| 021194 |
|
| Margaret, a young woman who lives with her mother in the London suburb of Croydon, has been coerced into marrying Syl, the 40-year-old mama's boy who lives next door to her. Although she despises Syl, she has no intention of backing out of the engagement. However, a visit from her mother's eccentric old college roommate, Lili, could change all that. Immediately sizing up the situation, the unconventional Lili determines to prevent Margaret from ruining her life by marrying this cloddish fool. So Lili hatches a rather surprising plan to stop the ceremony.... |
| SEX IS... |
| 021194 |
|
Marc Huestis edits interviews with 15 men, including himself, around a set of topics starting with "what is sex?" The men are gay, living in or near San Francisco. They talk about their first sexual experiences, the gay scene in San Francisco in the late 1970s, the pall cast by AIDS, the safe-sex movement, getting into serious relationships, the illness and death of partners, pornography, S/M and pain, race and stereotypes, personal fantasies, and bliss. Huestis has a thesis, that sex is going to be with us, so how best do we embrace it? His 15 subjects, archival footage, clips from porn films, and close-up looks at men loving men flesh out various answers. |
| BAD BEHAVIOUR |
| 021894 |
|
| A family uses a strong sense of humor to deal with the everyday chaos of family, friends and work. |
| THE ADDAMS FAMILY |
| 021894 |
|
| When long-lost Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd) reappears after 25 years in the Bermuda Triangle, Morticia (Anjelica Huston) and Gomez (Raul Julia) ecstatically begin plans for a celebration that will wake the dead. Meanwhile, an evil lawyer is plotting ways to get at the ghoulish family’s fortunes--which are stashed somewhere within a secret vault inside the family mansion. Only the Addams’s daughter, Wednesday, played by the brilliant and stunningly stoic Christina Ricci, and the Addams’s detached hand servant, Thing, suspect that something rotten is afoot. But can they prove anything before the vault is found and the Addams family is plunged into poverty? THE ADDAMS FAMILY is not only the cartoon and television family’s film premiere but is also the directorial debut of talented cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld. It has a winningly dark sense of humor that manages to be both lighthearted and macabre. |
| SNAPPER |
| 022594 |
|
| Based on the second of Irish writer Roddy Doyle's "Barrytown" trilogy, which includes THE COMMITMENTS and THE VAN, THE SNAPPER is a warmly comic look at a close-knit Irish family faced with a pregnant, unmarried daughter. Young Sharon Curley (Tina Kellegher) is going to have a baby--and if that isn't bad enough, she adamantly refuses to name the father. As rumors about his identity run wild, the small town goes into a gossip frenzy, testing long-term friendships and loyalties. But through it all, the Curleys stand together, ready to welcome the new member of their family with love. The film, featuring spectacular character acting by Colm Meaney as Dessie Curley, Sharon's baffled and ultimately caring father, is a superb slice of working class Irish life full of heartaches and pints at the local pub. The vibrant and eccentric characters are brought to life by the realistic and heartfelt dialogue of writer Roddy Doyle's authentic Irish ear and the solid direction Stephen Frears. |
| THREE MUSKETEERS |
| 022594 |
|
| The Musketeers, 16th Century defenders of the French monarch, have just been disbanded by the duplicitous Cardinal Richelieu. Now only three of them remain--Athos, Prothos and Aramis--to stand in the way of Richelieu who's plotting to overthrow the young King and assume the throne. Barely post-pubescent, His Royal Highness is extremely vulnerable to Richelieu's elaborate political machinations; but fortunately, D'Artagnan, a young man longing to join forces with the Musketeers, happens along. D'Artagnan's worldly idealism and reverence for the Musketeers infuses the trio with a renewed sense of importance as they unite one for all and all for one. The classic adventure tale updated, with soundtrack music by Sting, Bryan Adams and Rod Stewart. |
| 6 DEGREES OF SEPARATION |
| 030494 |
|
| Fifth Avenue socialite Ouisa Kittredge (Stockard Channing) and her purveyor of high-art husband Flan (Donald Sutherland), are pedigree parents of "two at Harvard and one at Groton." But the privileged insular world inhabited by the Kittredge family, as well as their public status as distinguished arbiters of culture, makes them easy prey for a consummate con-artist like Paul (Will Smith). One night, he mysteriously shows up at their front door - injured and bleeding- claiming to be Sidney Poitier's son and a close college crony of the Kittredges' Ivy League progeny. Impressing Ouisa and Flan with his articulate literary expositions, Paul proves to be a sharp-witted, learned young man with epicurean taste and surprising culinary skill. His highbrow facade is so charmingly persuasive, Paul soon has the Kittredges loaning him money, putting him up for the night and taking satisfaction in his appraisal of their posh lifestyle. Much to the Kittredge's shock Paul is revealed to be a highly persuasive con-man, who has charmed his way into many upper-crust homes along the upper East side with his wit and insider knowledge. As Paul's plot unravels he becomes an urban legend of the upper crust, a witty anecdote to banter about at cocktail parties. However, he has a profound effect on the many individuals who encounter him, linking them in their shared experience. This film version of John Guare's highly successful stage play features remarkable ensemble acting and incredibly witty dialogue with an insider's ear for the excesses and delights of upper crust Manhattan. |
| DAZED AND CONFUSED |
| 030494 latenite |
|
| Richard Linklater's DAZED AND CONFUSED takes a hysterical, nostalgic cross-clique look at high school social development. On the last day of school in May 1976, students at a suburban Texas high school wait, lackadaisically, for classes to end. The restless almost-seniors--an eclectic group of stone-heads, fraternal jocks, and snobby sorority girls--can't wait to haze the incoming freshman, an annual event as harrowing for freshman boys as it is humiliating for girls. Amidst this teenage wasteland of drugs, partying, and rock and roll is football star Pink (Jason London), who saves scrawny pre-frosh Mitch (Wiley Wiggins) from being paddled to oblivion by upper-classmates. But Pink has his own battles: he's struggling over the head coach's demand that football players sign a pledge to abstain from sex and all psychoactive substances. When a wild end-of-the-year party is cancelled, the students end up congregating at a beer-blast in the back woods, organized by aging hang-about Wooderson (Matthew McConaughey). In the same way that George Lucas assembled a cast of fresh young faces for AMERICAN GRAFFITI, Linklater here creates an unforgettable cast of characters that are immediately familiar to anyone who has ever been through high school. |
| COOL RUNNINGS |
| 030494 latenite |
|
| When a fellow competitor trips Derice at an Olympic qualifying track meet, Derice fails to acquire the final points necessary to get to the summer games. To make matters worse, the local board refuses to reinstate Derice. But there's still way for him to make it to the Olympics. After learning about a wacky American bobsledder living in Jamaica -- who had years earlier attempted to recruit Derice's father for a Jamaican bobsled team -- Derice's competitive spirit is renewed. Realizing that bobsledding may be his golden opportunity, he drafts his go-cart driving buddy Sanka, and talks Winter Olympian Irv Blitzer into coaching this offbeat team. Blitzer whips the dedicated athletes into bobsledding shape despite the total absence of snow. Together they're the weirdest outfit at Calgary -- but no one's more fun at the winter games. |
| THE WAR ROOM |
| 031194 |
|
| THE WAR ROOM takes us inside Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign and the exciting, topsy-turvy race that proved to be one of the most memorable in U.S. history and came to define American political discourse for the 1990s. Director D.A. Pennebaker provides a personal, up-close view of the two principals: campaign managers James Carville and George Stephanopoulos as they try to stay on top of the exploding maelstrom of events--from scandalous, personal smear tactics (Gennifer Flowers) to the rise of quixotic spoiler Ross Perot. With remarkable confidence and media-saavy, they maintain order and forward momentum by steering public discourse away from negative issues of character and draft-dodging and back to the focus of their candidate's policies. They also create convincing catchphrases (It's the Economy, Stupid!) and keep the perspective on domestic issues tailormade to benefit Clinton. THE WAR ROOM is a harrowing emotional roller coaster of unfolding drama and suspense, loaded with historic significance and personal intimacy. |
| THE PELICAN BRIEF |
| 031194 |
|
| In Alan J. Pakula's (KLUTE) thriller THE PELICAN BRIEF Julia Roberts plays Tulane University law student Darby Shaw. After the consecutive murders of two Supreme Court Justices, she becomes intrigued with the case and assembles a brief on her theory of who committed the murders. However, things start to get tricky when those who’ve read her brief turn up as corpses, which prompts her to enlist help from Washington Herald reporter Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington). Their further gathering of evidence to prove her hypothesis only results in moving their names up on the hit-list. Replete with cameo roles by high-profile actors such as playwright Sam Shepard (TRUE WEST) as the law professor with whom Shaw has an affair, this box office hit closely follows popular novelist John Grisham’s (THE FIRM) best-selling book. The film's themes are in line with late director Pakula's abiding interest in conspiracy drama, a topic explored in many of his best films such as ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN and THE PARALLAX VIEW. |
| FAR AWAY, SO CLOSE |
| 031894 |
|
| In this sequel to "Wings of Desire," the angel Cassiel, who watches over humanity with pity, sympathy and love, gives up his wings in order to understand how humans feel and think. As he wanders through the troubled city of Berlin, experiencing the new sensations of his earthly body, Cassiel becomes involved in a complex series of events having to do with former Nazis, smuggled weapons and long-lost relatives. |
| TOMBSTONE |
| 031894 |
|
| Arizona, 1879. Legendary Dodge City marshall Wyatt Earp, his wife Mattie and his brothers Virgil and Morgan just rode into Tombstone. These veteran frontiersmen hope to open a small business and settle into a quiet life. But they get more than they bargained for: Tombstone is a lawless municipality inhabited by a bunch of carousing locals. To make matters worse, the entire village is victimized by a gang of infamous outlaws. Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan may be the only formidable force around to confront them head-on. |
| BLUE |
| 032594 |
|
| Derek Jarman's final film is a musically embroiled reflection on his life and his rapidly deteriorating physical condition. While battling AIDS and his corresponding loss of sight, Jarman daringly created a film like no other. Set against a pulsing and unwavering blue screen, BLUE is alternately a metaphor for physical and spiritual blindness and an homage to French painter Yves Klein. Jarman's memories, narrative sketches, and philosophies are read by himself and various artists in voice-overs set to a stirring score by Simon Fisher Turner. Void of visual imagery, Jarman plays with an over-developed sense of sound, highlighting the poetic lull of the spoken narrative--chimes and church bells ring, the washer and dryer at his home powerfully thump like monsters, painfully reminding the viewer that the narrator no longer perceives the visual world. Jarman's deeply visual sense of memory, peppered by darkly comic cynicism and dreamy romanticism, is left to linger over the rich blue screen. This final film serves as a pièce de résistance for the controversial maverick filmmaker whose work consistently confronted issues affecting the gay community with a uniquely stylish beauty and unwavering bravado. |
| THE PIANO |
| 032594 |
|
| This controversially erotic film from New Zealand established screenwriter-director Jane Campion as a universally recognized talent. Holly Hunter stars as Ada, a mute 19th-century woman sent to New Zealand in an arranged marriage with a patriarchal landowner (Sam Neill). She brings along her daughter, Flora (Anna Paquin), and tries to also bring her beloved piano, much to the consternation of her new husband, who abandons the piano on a beach. Artistically and emotionally frustrated, Ada finds herself experiencing an erotic awakening when Baines (Harvey Keitel), an illiterate settler covered with Maori tattoos, rescues her piano, buys it from her husband, then strikes a strange bargain with Ada that gradually leads to her sexual awakening--and to an explosive confrontation. |
| SUGARHILL |
| 032594 latenite |
|
Hardened, uncomprimising drug dealer Roemello Skuggs decides to quit his scumbag profession so he may start a new life with his girlfriend. However, he soon learns getting out is nowhere near as easy as getting in, as everything gradually builds up to end in tragedy. |
| SIRENS |
| 040194 |
|
| A liberal Australian artist, Norman Lindsay (Sam Neill) angers an Anglican bishop and Sydney's religious establishment when he paints an erotic portrait that finds its way into an major exhibition. When Anthony Campion (Hugh Grant), a young British minister, and his wife, Estella (Tara Fitzgerald), take an Australian parish, they are asked to stop at the Bohemian artist's estate to try and dissuade him from taking part in the exhibition. Upon their arrival at the bacchanalian studios the young couple become drawn into the seductive world of the Lindsay family and their provocative models who are, ironically, posing for a portrait of the mythological Greek sirens who lured men to their doom. The sensuous models Sheela (Elle Macpherson), Giddy (Portia De Rossi), and Pru (Kate Fischer) captivate the very proper Estella and lead her on a journey of sexual awakening amidst the erotically charged, guilt-free environment. Estella struggles to make her husband comprehend her newfound sexuality as they become profoundly affected by the free-spririted artist and his followers. |
| FEARLESS |
| 040194 latenite |
|
| San Francisco architect and family man Max Klein survives the plane crash that kills his best friend and undergoes a mystical transformation. Having overcome not only his fear of flying, but his fear of death, Max emerges from the crash in a blissed, beatific state -- and finds himself no longer able to engage in normal life. Convinced of his own messianic powers, Max pours all his energies into helping a young Hispanic mother who lost her baby in the crash overcome her grief and crippling guilt. In the process he grows further and further away from his devoted wife and young son until he risks losing them -- and himself -- all together. |
| COUSIN, COUSINE |
| 040294 |
|
| During the chaos of a large wedding replete with drunken relatives, two cousins by marriage develop an attraction for one another. One cousin has a piggish adulterer for a husband, and the other is burdened with a hyperactive, over-sensitive wife. Dissatified with their marriages and thier nutty families, they surprise everyone by running away together. |
| BARAKA |
| 040894 latenite |
|
| From Nepal to Kenya, from Australia to Brazil, people try to cope with the changes that have altered their landscape, crowding them together and speeding up daily life. The film shows us these alienated people, but also images of traditions--whirling dervishes and Tibetan monks--that offer different, peaceful ways of existence. Shot in 70mm in 24 countries, this awesome musical and visual montage in the tradition of KOYAANISQATSI expresses the global existence of nature and man in the broadest sensory terms. |
| TWENTY BUCKS |
| 040894 |
|
| The film follows the path of a $20 bill on its travels from person to person. Among the colorful characters who get their hands on the money: a thief, a stripper and a grandmother. |
| FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL |
| 040994 |
|
| Charles (Hugh Grant) is a confirmed British bachelor with a colorful romantic background who meets the perfect woman, Carrie (Andie MacDowell), at a friend's wedding. However, Charles's hopes of romance are dashed when Carrie announces she must return to America the next morning. The two continue to cross paths at other people's weddings, never finding each other at a time when both are single. As all of Charles's friends find love, he's left wondering if he will ever be the one going to the altar. |
| 24th INTL. TOURNEE OF ANIMATION |
| 042294 |
|
| A collection of award-winning animated shorts. |
| REALITY BITES |
| 042994 |
|
| Lelaina Pierce (Winona Ryder) faces life after college, using a video documentary about her confused and drifting friends to advance her ambitions in the entertainment industry. When a video executive (Ben Stiller, also making his directorial debut) becomes romantically interested in her, she is forced to choose between her slacker boyfriend (Ethan Hawke) and the big cruel world of adulthood lurking ahead. |
| BELLE EPOQUE |
| 042994 |
|
| Spain, 1931. The monarchy is ending, and the army and church reign supreme over Spanish life. In this tumultuous world, Fernando, a young soldier, decides to desert the army in hopes of finding a more pleasant way to live. And when he takes refuge with Manolo, a farmer. When the farmer's four beautiful daughters arrive, each uses her own unique charms to seduce the willing--though exhausted--soldier. Academy Awards: Best Foreign Film. |
| LEGEND OF FONG |
| 050694 |
|
| A blockbuster biopic immortalizing 18th century Chinese folk hero Fong Sai Yuk, a Han loyalist whose love for the Manchu governor's daughter gets him into plenty of hot water. Fortunately, he's a master of the Invincible Magic Fist, and his nimble kung-fu fighting mom is along to help out. |
| SEX AND ZEN |
| 051394 |
|
| A man marries a beautiful wife, but decides to go out and experience as many sexual conquests as possible, with unusual and often hilarious results. Meanwhile, his wife is forced to enter a brothel and work as a prostitute. After a series of adventures, the couple is reunited. An international hit featuring a funny plot and lots of eroticism. |
| RED ROCK WEST |
| 052094 |
|
| Michael is on his way to Wyoming in a vintage Cadillac, where he's been promised a good steady job. But before reaching his destination, he finds himself in the town of Red Rock, where he's mistaken for a hired assassin by Wayne, a bartender plotting to kill his wife. Wayne flaunts a lucrative offer in Michael's face, which the down-and-out Michael can't resist; he accepts the money and goes along with the plan. Michael meets Wayne's wife face-to-face, but when she doubles the original offer, Michael leaves town. Just to be on the safe side, however, he leaves the sheriff a note explaining everything. On the road again, he crashes into another motorist. When the police arrive, Michael discovers Wayne is the local sheriff. Before it's all over, he's got to clear his name, come up with the money, and get out of Red Rock, which is a lot harder than it sounds. John Dahl's noir black comedy is an absolute joy to watch. |
| DIALOGUES WITH MADWOMEN |
| 052794 |
|
| The material for this film focuses not only the conditions for women in mental institutions, but the societal situations that drive them to near insanity because of the the mistreatment and manipulation from the male patriarchy. It's often not an easy film to watch. It successfully intercuts the fascinating and often moving interviews with interesting stock footage that visually makes its' points and is often accompanied by a haunting, melancholy score. Look for it on PBS. Tragically, I don't think it's on video. |
| ACE VENTURA: PET DETECTIVE |
| 060394 |
|
| Pet detective Ace Ventura may be a clumsy, bumbling fool, but he always gets the job done. His latest assignment: to recover the Miami Dolphins' mascot, a.k.a. Snowflake. Poor little Snowflake has been dolphin-napped -- but luckily, Ace is on the case. |
| BITTER MOON |
| 061094 |
|
| On a cruise to Istanbul in celebration of their seventh wedding anniversary, uptight British couple Nigel (Hugh Grant) and Fiona (Kristin Scott Thomas) encounter American expatriate Oscar (Peter Coyote), a wheelchair-bound unpublished novelist traveling with his young French wife, Mimi (Emmanuelle Seigner). Nigel is immediately drawn to the sexy but distant Mimi, and Oscar, sensing the other man’s fascination with his wife, takes him aside to recount in exhibitionistic detail the sordid tale of their once-passionate love affair, which gradually deteriorated into a series of increasingly sadistic and degrading sex games. In flashback scenes, it soon becomes clear that the self-serving Oscar represents the corrosive element in the couple’s relationship--though the tables will eventually be turned. BITTER MOON provides several jarring twists, the last of which is especially unexpected, and no one escapes unscathed from this titillating yet excruciating menage-à-quatre. Polanski’s erotic melodrama received mixed reviews but earned ardent praise from fans who appreciated the filmmaker’s return to the themes (first treated in 1962’s KNIFE IN THE WATER) of dark sexuality and thinly veiled violence in intimate relationships. |
| LITTLE BUDDHA |
| 061094 |
|
| A Tibetan monk known as Lama Norbu (Ying Ruocheng), living in exile in Bhutan, is searching for the reincarnation of his teacher, Lama Dorje. His quest takes him to Seattle, where signs indicate that a boy named Jesse may be the lama. Bernardo Bertolucci 's tale is less hermetically sealed than THE LAST EMPEROR or THE SHELTERING SKY; cultures collide when we meet the boy's American parents (Bridget Fonda and actor/singer Chris Isaak), who are understandably skeptical about Lama Norbu's excitement. Ultimately, Jesse and his father are curious enough to travel to Nepal and Bhutan (as did Bertolucci's crew), where other candidates have been identified. Throughout the film, Bertolucci cuts to episodes in the life of Siddhartha (Keanu Reeves), whose voyage of discovery 2,500 years ago led to his enlightenment as the Buddha. Bertolucci shoots Siddhartha's journey in rich reds and golds, while the scenes in Seattle--where the Americans seem morose and lost--are muted in cool blue. LITTLE BUDDHA is an intimate story in which an ancient system of belief holds its own in the modern world. |
| SUTURE |
| 061094 |
|
| When Clay Arlington's father is murdered, his estranged half-brother Vincent becomes the most likely suspect. Eager to throw the police off his trail, Vincent invites Clay to visit him soon after the funeral, then secretly plants a bomb in the car Clay is to drive. Vincent has put his own identification in Clay's wallet, so police will think that he's the one who has died in the explosion. However, Clay survives the bombing, and plastic surgeons reconstruct his face and body from pictures of Vincent. Suffering from amnesia, Clay, readily accepts his new identity. As the police tighten their circle of evidence around Vincent, memories of Clay's own life come flashing back. SUTURE is an unusual thriller in which the two identical "brothers" are played by a black actor and a white actor, making Clay's quest for his own identity even more strange and ironic. |
| JAMON, JAMON |
| 061794 |
|
| A romantic farce that mocks Spanish social conventions and class relations. Conchita, the status-conscious wife of a wealthy factory owner, is none too happy to hear that her ne'er-do-well son is bedding the luscious Silvia, daughter of the town prostitute -- especially as the girl's mother once had an affair with Conchita's husband. So Conchita concocts a scheme to end the relationship: she hires Raúl, the town hunk, to seduce Silvia. But even the best-laid plans can go awry, and a comic roundelay begins when Raúl actually falls for Silvia and Conchita falls for Raúl. It's not long before Raúl is bedding both women... and a confrontation is on its way. Winner of the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival. |
| THREESOME |
| 061794 |
|
| Thanks to Alex's boyish-sounding name and a computer error, the university housing office mistakes her for a male student and assigns her to a men's suite. Since life has given her lemons, Alex is going to make lemonade. Shortly after moving into her dorm room she develops a sexual longing for handsome, brainy suite-mate Eddy. But super-hunk Stuart, Alex's other suite-mate, has been trying to seduce her. Things really get complicated when Eddy begins to experience a sexual awakening, and discovers he's attracted to Stuart. Before long the whole affair is so messy, the threesome will have to find some way to resolve their lust filled triangle in order to maintain their friendship. |
| THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ALLEN GINSBERG |
| 061794 |
|
| Profile of the enduring Beat poet Allen Ginsberg -- covering his youth in New Jersey, his college years at Columbia (where he established the Beat literary scene with William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac), his political activism in the 1960s and 1970s, his relationship with poet Peter Orlovsky, and present status as poetry sage and professor. A highlight of the film is Ginsberg reading his masterpieces "Howl" and Kaddish." |
| ROMEO IS BLEEDING |
| 061794 |
|
| Jack Grimaldi, one of New York's "finest," is working on the Organized Task Force. He's determined to meet his ship when it comes in but in the meantime he'll settle for fat tips from the mob. Grimaldi -- as duplicitous in his love-life as he is in his profession -- leaves his faithful but impatient wife at home while he spends "quality-time" with his mistress Sheri. But everything changes when he meets sultry Russian mobstress Mona Demarkov -- recently apprehended for killing Federal agents and government witnesses. When Mona's made Grimaldi's responsibility, the beautiful seductress places him in some compromising positions. |
| SCENT OF GREEN PAPAYA |
| 062494 |
|
| Set in the period between the fall of French control and the rise of American aggression, the story of a poor rural girl in Saigon focuses on a privileged family trapped in grief. 10-year-old Mui comes to work as a maid but becomes a substitute daughter in a family that has lost its only girl child. The young servant brings hope to the mother and grandmother as she grows in the home. After the ne'er-do-well father runs away for the third time with the family's fortune, they fall on hard times; eventually, her mistress is forced to sell Mui. Now a woman, Mui goes to the home of a new master whom she has loved quietly since a child. Unable to speak her desire, she shows her affection in every service she performs for him. Eventually, they cross the boundary between servant and employer and love one another. |
| THE NAKED GUN 33 1/3: THE FINAL INSULT |
| 062494 |
|
| Lt. Frank Drebin has finally retired. Now that he's settled down and married goofy Jane Spencer, he plans to lead a quiet life. But before long, Frank's old buddies talk him into joining the force again. This time the bumbling buffoon will go undercover and live among terrorists. Soon he'll be snooping carelessly, sleuthing unwarily and stooping more servilely than ever before. |
| HIGHWAY PATROLMAN |
| 070194 |
|
| More surreal south-of-the-border fare from anarchist auteur Alex Cox. This deceptively linear film tells the story of Pedro Rojas, a simple man working in an incredibly corrupt system (the film's fictional Mexican Highway Patrol). As the film progresses, the unreality of Pedro’s "beat" in the desert combines with various woman troubles to pull his life tighter and tighter into a spiral of desperation and crime. |
| WIDOW'S PEAK |
| 070194 |
|
| A quaint Irish town is set buzzing when a sexy, secretive stranger arrives, seducing the men and manipulating the women in this comic murder-mystery. |
| BAD GIRLS |
| 070194 |
|
| The open frontier was the land of opportunity for many cowboys and landowners; for women, though, the West held only two choices: marriage or prostitution. But an outlaw, a widowed farmer, a loner horsewoman and a displaced Southern lady find themselves out of options when one of them faces the hangman -- and they're forced to break out of tradition and carve their own justice out of manmade laws. A corrupt sheriff and a cunning thief stand between the quartet and their dreams of freedom -- but they won't stand in the way for long. |
| ON DEADLY GROUND |
| 070894 |
|
| Action hero Steven Seagal makes his directorial debut with this ecologically-sensitive thriller set in the wilds of Alaska. When maverick firefighter Forrest Taft discovers that his employer, Aegis Oil Company, is doing nasty things to the environment, he joins forces with the local Inuit tribe to save their land. Regarded by the Inuits as a warrior messiah, Taft is, in fact, an ex-CIA operative who has squirreled away enough weapons to liquidate a small country. He's a man of honor, of course, who kills only out of necessity -- and Aegis' corporate goons provide him with plenty of reasons to pull the trigger. |
| THE WONDERFUL, HORRIBLE LIFE OF LENI RIEFEUSTAHL |
| 070894 |
|
| An amazing documentary about an incredible woman, this film traces Leni Riefenstahl's life from her beginnings as a German action movie starlet through her career as film director on such Nazi epics as "Triumph of the Will" and "Olympia" and beyond. The 91-year-old subject, hailed as the greatest woman filmmaker ever, remains fiercely private about her controversial relationship with Hitler and the Nazis. |
| GERMINAL |
| 071594 |
|
| GERMINAL is a lavish adaptation of Emile Zola's social reformist 1884 epic novel about striking coal miners in the Le Voreux mines. Gerard Depardieu stars as Maheu, a simple miner who struggles with his wife Maheude (Miou-Miou) and their seven children to keep from starving while toiling in the grim and deadly mines of Le Voreux. The Maheu family live in great hardship, beginning work in the pits of the mines as small children and continuing to work until elderly and crippled. When Etienne Lantier (played by French singer Renaud II), a Belgian outsider, comes to town looking for work, he is befriended by Maheu and hired alongside the hard-working family. A literate and sensitive thinker, Etienne begins to speak of social change and the grave injustice of the coal mines and eventually convinces Maheu to help him organize a miner's union and a subsequent strike. Ultimately, Maheu and Etienne lead the local peasants in a violent revolt against the wealthy owners of the mine who live in great decadence and finery. |
| SERIAL MOM |
| 071594 |
|
| Happy homemaker Beverly Sutphin (Kathleen Turner) has a charmed life--a beautiful suburban home, a successful dentist husband (Sam Waterston), and two normal teenagers, Misty (Ricki Lake) and Chip (Matthew Lillard). But she also has a good deal of underlying rage waiting to escape....Just be sure to follow her rules: Be polite to your neighbor, always recycle, rewind your videotapes, and never, ever wear white shoes after Labor Day. When one of her son's teachers speaks disparagingly of the boy at a parent-teacher conference, Bev runs the instructor over in the school parking lot. Suddenly she has an insatiable taste for murder. Six homicides later, the cops get wise to her crimes, which are committed with weapons ranging from a leg of lamb to a fireplace poker. A media frenzy ensues, turning an unrepentant Beverly into a media celebrity. |
| BACKBEAT |
| 071594 |
|
| A reconstruction of the legendary British rock group's early days, before the advent of Beatlemania and world-wide fame. The story focuses on the turbulent and exciting period that the Beatles' spent in Hamburg, Germany in 1960-62, when they played in a series of rough-and-tumble dives and came into contact with cutting-edge artists. Among them was photographer Astrid Kirchherr, who helped shape the group's image, and with whom both John Lennon and former Beatle Stu Sutcliffe fell in love. Ultimately, Sutcliffe left the group, making way for the success of one of the greatest phenomena in rock music history. |
| THE CROW |
| 071594 |
|
| Legend goes that crows ferry the dead across to their resting place. However if the death demands revenge then the crows will assist the avenging souls. On the eve of his wedding, Eric Draven and his fiancee are attacked by criminals, she is viciously assaulted and both are murdered. Draven, once a loving man, returns to the nightmarish city. With the crow as Charon, Draven steps out of the night as a killer instead of a victim. Exploiting his undead ability to heal quickly, he delivers murderous justice with both glee and bitterness to each criminal who snuffed out his life on the brink of happiness. |
| YOU SO CRAZY |
| 072294 |
|
| Martin Lawrence performs his frequently off-color stand-up comedy routine at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Majestic Theatre. Tackling adult themes and current affairs in a style all his own, this video is definitely not for children. Playing it up for an enthusiastic, sold-out crowd, Lawrence is at his raunchiest and most hilarious. |
| THIRGY TWO SHORT FILMS ABOUT GLENN GOULD |
| 072294 |
|
| A unique look at the life of celebrated pianist Glenn Gould, this film operates as a collage of 32 vignettes designed to paint the overall picture of the man, his life, and his work. The film won four Canadian Genie Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. |
| WHITE |
| 072994 |
|
| Part two in Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's THREE COLORS astounding trilogy, WHITE represents Equality (of Liberty and Fraternity) in the French flag and the French national motto. Karol (Zbigniew Zamachowski), a sweet but awkward Polish hairdresser, has just lost everything in a bitter divorce settlement--his cold-hearted French wife, Dominique (Julie Delpy) having taken their home, credit cards, and business. The poor Karol finds himself stranded in Paris, speaking very little French; once he returns to his native Poland, his luck changes for the better. He manages to make a small fortune and a name for himself. Although he's moved up in the world, he still thinks about his former life with Dominique, and it is his memories, good and bad, that lead him to stage his disappearance, and which initiate an unusual chain of events. WHITE is a more lighthearted and leisurely affair than BLUE or RED, adding a well-rounded dimension to the trilogy. Kieslowski and Krzysztof Piesiwicz’s script thrusts the characters into odd predicaments, and then ingeniously backs off to tell the tale of Karol’s revenge, succeeding in laying enough emotional groundwork to justify Karol’s sincere change of heart. |
| GO FISH |
| 080594 |
|
| GO FISH is a witty, smart, and sensual romantic comedy about the trials and tribulations of a circle of lesbian career women and their girlfriends. When the young and fun-loving Max (co-screenwriter Guinevere Turner, AMERICAN PSYCHO) meets the frumpy and older, but sweet and shy Ely (V.S. Brodie) for the first time, it's hardly love at first sight. But with a little help from their matchmaking friends, the two women just may live happily ever after. This raw but sweet look at modern lesbian relationships made waves at several film fests and manages to channel its limited visibly limited budget into a funny, heartfelt tale of opposites attracting. |
| DESTINATION MOON |
| 080594 |
|
| A science-based fantasy about the first successful trip to the moon. After years of scientific endeavors, a ship ascends into the heavens. Once free of Earth's atmosphere, the astronauts contend with the dangers of equipment failure and the joys of zero gravity. But tension mounts when the men discover once on the moon, they may not be able to leave again. |
| BLOWN AWAY |
| 081294 |
|
| An escaped Irish political prisoner and explosives expert terrorizes the city of Boston. A bomb squad expert and former friend of the mad bomber has to stop his vengeful rampage before his family and the whole city are...Blown Away. |
| NAKED IN N.Y. |
| 081294 |
|
| A generation X/twentysomething film that looks at the twin demands of commitment and career. A would-be playwright and his girlfriend try to deal with love, work and New York City as they make their way in the world. |
| THE SHADOW |
| 081294 |
|
| A moody and atmospheric crime film, inspired by a popular radio show that ran for over 25 years. In another, better time, crime boss Lamont Cranston, using the name Ying Ko, ruled Tibet's underworld. Then someone slashed him with a strange and powerful weapon, changing Cranston forever, both physically and psychically. Now, he lurks in the shadows of Manhattan, battling gangsters -- including one particularly evil man who has followed him from Tibet. |
| THE WEDDING BANQUET |
| 081994 |
|
| Gao Wai-Tung (Winston Chao) lives the good life: He runs a successful real-estate business in New York and has a wonderful relationship with his lover, Simon (Mitchell Lichtenstein). The only problem is that his elderly parents in Taiwan don't know he's gay--and they're pushing him to get married and present them with a grandchild. So, with Simon's approval, Wai-Tung strikes a bargain with Wei-Wei (May Chin), a charming young Chinese woman who is one of his tenants. If she'll marry him, he'll help her get a green card so she can stay in the United States. The charade culiminates in an elaborate Chinese banquet that no one will soon forget. |
| THE ENDLESS SUMMER 2 |
| 081994 |
|
| Documentary/sequel to the 1966 box office hit. This time director Brown follows two California dudes (O'Connell and Weaver), as they surf at locations all over the world (literally) in search of the "perfect wave". |
| BARCELONA |
| 082694 |
|
| Ted, a stiffnecked American sales representative living in post-Franco Barcelona, has grown accustomed to his conservative lifestyle. But his daily routine -- including a recent vow not to date attractive women -- is turned upside-down when his more sociable cousin Fred, a Navy lieutenant, moves in with him and refuses to leave. But rising political tensions and anti-American sentiment force these bickering boys to bond. So Fred and Ted, obsessed with women, make the best of adverse circumstances and agree to participate in the city's disco driven night-life. Maybe somewhere along the way, Fred can help his bible-quoting cousin let go of puritanical inhibitions. |
| WOLF |
| 082694 |
|
| The deposed editor-in-chief of an old, distinguished publishing firm, recently taken over by a multi-millionaire, corporate raider, is bitten by a wolf on a lonely stretch of road in Vermont the night of a full moon. As he slowly watches himself metamorphose into something lupine, he discovers that he has been betrayed by his most promising protege, his wife of 16 years has been unfaithful, and that he has fallen in love with the raider's beautiful, headstrong daughter. What follows is a series of grisly events that reaches a bloody and horrifying climax. |
| MI VIDA LOCA |
| 082694 |
|
| MI VIDA LOCA is a compelling look at a microcosm of East L.A.’s Echo Park. Writer and director Allison Anders (GAS FOOD LODGING) lived in the neighborhood for many years with her daughter, inspiring her to make this film about life in a Latina girl gang. The film is sympathetic to these young women, presenting their stories honestly and with a visual flair that the subjects themselves would probably appreciate. The stories are told as a series of vignettes with different narrators, each with his or her perspective on the events portrayed. This approach allows the characters the opportunity to explain their actions, giving the audience a better understanding of behavior they might otherwise easily condemn. The key players are Mousie (Seidy Lopez) and Sad Girl (Angel Aviles), best friends who let local drug dealer Ernesto (Jacob Vargas) come between them. The film is a wonderfully realized slice-of-life: sometimes tragic, sometimes funny, and, despite its seemingly incongruously elegeiac tone, with a strong ring of truth. |
| SURVIVING THE GAME |
| 082694 |
|
| Six sportsmen, ranging from an ex-CIA agent to a Wall Street tycoon, ask the homeless and penniless Mason to lead them on a hunting expedition through the Pacific Northwest. However, the moment the men are isolated in the wild country, and their high-powered guns are loaded, Mason immediately becomes their prey in a vicious and twisted game of man versus man. |
| I LOVE TROUBLE |
| 090294 |
|
| A romantic-comedy-thriller set amidst Chicago's newspaper trade, this star vehicle pits an established news writer against a beautiful cub reporter from a rival paper. When a story each is after turns dangerous, they put aside their differences to get to the bottom of a lethal miasma of corporate corruption and murder. |
| AIRHEADS |
| 090294 |
|
| Chazz (Brendan Fraser), Pip (Adam Sandler), and Rex (Steve Buscemi) are the Lone Rangers, a heavy metal rock group that's going nowhere fast. Tired of playing lame gigs and trying to win over record executives, the band heads to its local radio station in a desperate attempt to have its demo played. Unfortunately, things go awry when toy guns are pulled out and mistaken for real ones in the heat of the moment, forcing the band to hold the station’s employees hostage. Surrounded by the police and thousands of rock & roll fans who have flocked to the station, the boys become unlikely heroes, a voice for those who choose not to conform to corporate America. A little lighter than Michael Lehmann’s dark comedy directorial debut HEATHERS, this film offers plenty of physical comedy from Michael Richards and Chris Farley as well as humorous performances from the boys in the band, Michael McKean as the station manager, and Joe Mantegna as DJ Ian the Shark. Live performances by White Zombie and the Galactic Cowboys set the tone for the film, which also boasts an impressive soundtrack. |
| CRIME STORY |
| 090994 |
|
| Global action superstar Jackie Chan shoots-em-up as a roguish special agent teamed with a crusty veteran cop to rescue a kidnapped business magnate. When he suspects that his partner may be involved in the abduction, Chan strikes out on his own to crack the case. A serious action drama based on a true story. |
| PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT |
| 090994 |
|
| Three cabaret drag queens trek across Australia's outback in an unreliable bus christened Priscilla in this highly acclaimed comedy. When they break down in the middle of nowhere, the colorful trio does what they do best--they put on a show! Academy Award: Best Costume Design (Lizzy Gardiner and Tim Chappel). |
| THE HUDSUCKER PROXY |
| 091694 |
|
| THE HUDSUCKER PROXY opens with a spectacular shot of snow falling over a beautiful city; the camera pans in slowly over the rooftops until it comes upon the Hudsucker Industries building, with a huge clock about to ring in the New Year--and a man about to jump to his death. The rest of this hilarious Coen brothers film tells in flashback the fascinating tale of Norville Barnes and what brought him to that ledge. |
| EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN |
| 091694 |
|
| Every Sunday, venerable chef Chu (Sihung Lung) prepares an elaborate dinner for his three lovely daughters. Despite Chu's exotic dishes, the family barely nibbles at the food. The listless mealtime ritual mirrors the foursome's general lack of appetite for life: Chu has lost his sense of taste, and his daughters just want to go on with their separate, lonely lives. But something new is cooking that is about to spice up everyone's existence, and three marriages and a funeral later, the Chu family will learn to embrace life's unpredictabilty. The third and final film in director Ang Lee's Father Knows Best trilogy, EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN is laugh-out-loud funny in its depiction of the foibles of the contemporary Taiwanese family. Whenever one of the characters utters "I have an announcement," be prepared for ensuing hilarity. The film also movingly captures the complexities of modern life, the inevitability of change, and the necessity for Zen-like balance. Lee himself seems to have absorbed the film's central message. After this film, he began to take on a variety of projects, boldly covering vastly different subjects such as 18th-century England, the New Age 1970s, and the Civil War. |
| THE COLOR OF NIGHT |
| 092394 |
|
| When one of psychologist Bill Capa's patients loses control, he's so overcome with guilt that he must leave the Big Apple. He moves to sunny California to live with Dr. Moore, a colleague with whom he shares an ostentatious Malibu home equipped with a pool and a Mercedes. But when Moore is murdered, Capa's got to solve the crime by interviewing loonies, especially beautiful, manipulative and neurotic women, similar to those he'd abandoned in Manhattan. |
| KIKA |
| 092394 |
|
| Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar spins out enough frenetic material for four normal movies in this penetrating satire. Peter Coyote costars as Nicholas, an American writer living in Spain whose wife has killed herself, and whose stepson, Ramon (Alex Casanova), is obsessive and narcoleptic. Ramon's ex-girlfriend, Andrea "Scarface" Garacortada is a TV show host for a program that could be called "Spain's Most Violent Home Videos." Played by Spanish star Victoria Abril, Andrea is seductive, manipulative, and will stop at nothing to get a story, spending most of the movie with a camera strapped to the top of her head. Then there is Kika (Verónica Forqué), a flighty make-up artist in love with Nicholas but engaged to Ramon. When the sexually superhuman brother of Kika’s lesbian maid (Rossy De Palma) rapes Kika in a very bizarre scene, this somehow causes all the links to come together, as the footage of the rape ends up on Andrea's show, and sinister secrets come out from all directions. With topics ranging from motherhoood to serial killers, this is a sexy, insane work from the great Almodóvar and deserves discovery by brave-hearted American audiences. |
| SEX, DRUGS AND DEMOCRACY |
| 093094 |
|
| A thought-provoking glimpse at the laissez-faire social policies predominant in Holland, such as official tolerance of marijuana consumption, public sex education, acceptance of euthanasia, gay marriage, and a fully legalized sex industry, and the relationship between these policies and the nation's low rates of HIV infection, teen pregnancy, and other problems. |
| BLANKMAN |
| 093094 |
|
| Darryl (Damon Wayons) is a geeky inventor with a superhero fixation who lives with his grandmother. When his encouraging grandmother is shot by a mob boss who is trying to sway a mayoral election, Darryl decides to do something about crime in his fictional city of Metro, Illinois--so he dons special underwear and his grandmother's housecoat and turns himself into a superhero--sort of. He has no name and no special powers, but he's all for truth, justice and the American way! |
| MAVERICK |
| 100794 |
|
| Bret Maverick, that charming, amoral gambler of TV fame, is back, and still wreaking comic havoc wherever he goes. Maverick's out to compete in the Three Rivers Poker Championship, but he's got one small problem: he still needs another three grand for the entrance fee. Soon he's donning disguises, fighting Indians and holding up hooligans... doing anything he must to get that cash. |
| FEAR OF BLACK HAT |
| 100794 |
|
| Filmmaker Nina Blackburn takes her camera and follows popular rap group, NWH (Niggaz with Hats). The band's 3 members explain their philosophy and reminisce about their many experiences -- which include run-ins with right-wing zealots, battles with rival rappers and the manipulations of greedy groupies.A mock-u-mentary of the rap scene following one fictitious band called NWH (Niggaz' With Hats). |
| SPEED |
| 101494 |
|
| A mad bomber with a vendetta against a young cop plants a bomb on a bus in L.A. The hero, with the help of a beautiful passenger, must diffuse the explosive device which is set to detonate if the bus slows to under 50 miles per hour. Academy Award Nominations: 3, including Best Film Editing. Academy Awards: 2, including Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing. |
| TOO OUTRAGEOUS ANIMATION |
| 101494 |
|
| no info available at this time. |
| CIAO, PROFESSORE! |
| 101494 |
|
| In this charming comedy, Marco Sperelli (Paolo Villagio), a divorced teacher from upper-class northern Italy, takes an assignment to teach a group of street-smart southern Italian village kids. He finds that to teach the children, he first must find them and bring them to school. When the children's rough life forces him to drop his no-nonsense approach, he finds that the kids have as much to teach him as he does them. |
| CRONOS |
| 102894 |
|
| A strange object, the "Cronos device," has been found inside the statue of an angel in an antique store. While the dealer, Jesus Gris, is holding the device, it springs open and its metallic legs pierces his flesh. Once "bitten," he develops a craving for human blood, and his body grows more and more youthful with each drink. As the addiction spreads through his body, he realizes he desires the blood of his innocent granddaughter. In horror, he sacrifices himself, and destroys the Cronos, for love. |
| SPANKING THE MONKEY |
| 110494 |
|
| The debut feature from writer-director David O. Russell tells the darkly comic story of a young pre-med student's nearly unbearable summer vacation. When Ray Aibelli's promiscuous father orders him to stay home for the summer and care for his mother, who recently broke her leg, he misses out on an incredibly important internship. As Ray struggles with the realization that he’s wasting his summer doing nothing at home, he must contend with an endless string of seemingly insurmountable circumstances, including a failed brief relationship with a young high school student. Things reach their boiling point when Ray and his mother get drunk one night, leading to an incestuous encounter that pushes him over the edge. Humiliated, depressed, and downtrodden, Ray decides to commit suicide to end his troubles forever. |
| THE MASK |
| 110494 |
|
| Boring bank account officer Stanley Ipkiss -- your average pushover nice guy -- is tired of kowtowing to his know-nothing boss and being rejected by attractive women. But just before he decides to end it all, Stanley's transformed from spineless accountant to jiving zoot-suited hellion when he discovers the super-human powers of an ancient wooden mask he finds floating in the river. With the mask, Stanley's got the courage to do everything he's ever dreamed of, including woo blond bombshell Tina Carlyle, a torchy singer at the swanky nightclub Coco Bongo. Too bad Tina's caught up with mobster Dorian Tyrel, a brutal villain planning to rob Stanley's bank and take over the city. Now it's up to Stanley to rid the besieged metropolis of Tyrel. |
| NATURAL BORN KILLERS |
| 110494 |
|
| Oliver Stone's over-the-top satire on America's worshipful fascination with tabloid criminals stars Woody Harrelson as Mickey Knox and Juliette Lewis as girlfriend-wife Mallory Wilson. Commencing with the dual murder of Mallory's sexually abusive father (Rodney Dangerfield) and grossly negligent mother (Edie McClurg), the anomic couple take off on a three-week killing spree across the country, telling everyone who they are so that they get the credit for their crimes. The media are immediately enthralled with the couple, especially Wayne Gale (Robert Downey Jr.), the bloodthirsty host of a tabloid TV show who follows their every move. By the time they're finally arrested, they've become such huge media stars that the cops treat them more like celebrities than criminals. Even the maniacal limelight-hogging warden of the Batongaville State Prison, Dwight McClusky (Tommy Lee Jones), is in awe. Stone pulls out all the stops in the prison riot, as the unwitting Gale becomes an unwilling participant in his own broadcast of the event. Again the director switches from film to video, from color to black and white, from sitcom parody to newsreel parody, and from one film stock to another, hoping to jar the audience out of its complacency with visual hyperbole. |
| WHERE THE RIVERS FLOW NORTH |
| 110494 |
|
| An old Vermont logdriver and his Native American wife stubbornly hold onto their land during the Depression as the government tries to buy them out. This independent film was widely celebrated by critics. Based on a novel by Howard Frank Mosher. |
| KILLING ZOE |
| 111194 |
|
| Zed's a safe-cracking ex-con who's just deplaned in Paris where he and his childhood crony, Eric, are going to mastermind a huge Bastille Day heist. Before his scheduled rendezvous with Eric, Zed spends $200 for a night with Zoe, an angelic, nymph-like prostitute. But their post-coital morning is rudely interrupted by the arrival of Zed's partner in crime, who treats Zoe like a disposable plastic doll. On Bastille Day eve, Zed finally realizes his French connection doesn't believe in advance planning. Instead, Eric and his fraternity of drug-addicted pinheads initiate a non-stop, pre-heist round of drinking, heroin-shooting and pill-popping. From the look of things, they may never pull this robbery off. |
| NOSTRADAMUS |
| 111194 |
|
| Historical, dramatic biography of the 16th century doctor, visionary, and philosopher who prophesied the fate of public figures centuries into the future, as well as foretelling historic events in the 19th century. |
| BULLETS OVER BROADWAY |
| 111894 |
|
| David Shayne (John Cusack, in performance his character that of a young Woody Allen) is an idealistic young playwright whose life (and play) is about to be turned upside down as it heads toward Broadway. In order to gain financing for GOD OF OUR FATHERS, Shayne agrees to hire Olive Neal (a wonderfully high-squeaking Jennifer Tilly), the actress/girlfriend of Nick Valenti, a potential backer--who also happens to be a gangster. Unfortunately, the lass proves to be not only talent-free but ditzy to boot, a hindrance since she is supposed to play a psychiatrist. But Cheech, Olive's hoodlum bodyguard, proves to be more intuitive artistically than anyone would suspect, as his contributions improve not only Olive's performance but the quality of the flailing play as well. Meanwhile, Shayne must contend with an odd assortment of actors, including the neurotic Eden Brent, with her omnipresent, yapping dog; the pompous Warner Purcell, a corset-wearing overeater; and haughty leading lady Helen Sinclair (a fabulous Dianne Wiest), the aging, boozing diva with whom Shayne begins a romance. The laughs keep coming like rapid machine-gun fire in this riotous Woody Allen farce. |
| EROTIQUE |
| 111894 |
|
| In order to turn the tables on the male-dominated genre of erotica, three women filmmakers came together to present this triptych of sexually-charged, disparate vignettes. Lizzie Borden's LET’S TALK ABOUT SEX concerns Rosie (Kamala Lopez-Dawson), a budding Latino actress, who takes a job at a phone sex company in order to pay the bills. When she finds a sympathetic customer in Dr. Robert Stern (Bryan Cranston), a dangerously intense phone relationship commences, culminating in a face-to-face meeting between the two. Monika Treut's TABOO PARLOR, set in Hamburg, finds a lesbian couple (played by Priscilla Barnes and Camilla Soeberg) bringing an attractive man (Michael Carr) home for the novelty value. But before he can fully comprehend their true intentions, the role reversal has taken place and he has become the tortured victim. Clara Law’s WONTON SOUP follows a distraught Hong Kong man, Adrian (Tim Lounibos), who is determined to win the affections of Ann (Hayley Man) by rekindling their spent passions with a series of outrageously hysterical aphrodisiac recipes. At turns brutal, erotic, and comical, EROTIQUE is a refreshing burst of female-flavored sensuality from three world-renowned directors. (NOTE: Most video releases carry a fourth vignette, Ana Maria Magalhaes’s FINAL CALL.) |
| CLERKS |
| 112594 |
|
| Made for less than the cost of an SUV, Kevin Smith's first film finds 22-year-old Quick Stop clerk Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) called into work on his precious day off. There he is besieged by customers ranging from the agitated to the insane, not to mention Randal (Jeff Anderson), the clerk from the video store next door whose commitment to service is made clear when he observes, "This job would be great if it wasn't for the f@&%!#* customers." Dante's love life is a shambles, and the situation at the store goes from bad to worse, but he and Randal are never so beleaguered that they can't find time to discuss why the destruction of the Death Star in RETURN OF THE JEDI may have been morally dubious (uninvolved contractors were probably aboard). In fact, it was the clerks' clever dialogue, saturated with pop-culture references, that elevated CLERKS to cult-hit status among Generation-Xers and transformed Kevin Smith from film school dropout to indie auteur. Smith himself plays Silent Bob, while Jason Mewes plays Jay, his drug-dealing other half. Together the duo provide added comic relief, continuity, and wisdom in each of the the director's films. |
| TERMINAL VELOCITY |
| 120294 |
|
| When a parachute school is shut down because a beautiful student's chute fails to open, the hotshot instructor freefalls into a pool of intrigue. He discovers the accident was a set-up and the woman, a former KGB agent on the run from the new Russian Mafia, is alive and well--for now. |
| OLEANNA |
| 120294 |
|
| Indicative of the fears of the decade that produced it but also dramatizing the eternal miscommunication between the sexes, OLEANNA is the first of his own plays to be directed for the screen by David Mamet. The film version retains the play's unity of place as well as its cast of two, but these limitations produce a claustrophobia that suits the subject matter perfectly. The plot is set in motion by a simple student-teacher conference between student Carol (Debra Eisenstadt) and John (William H. Macy), her professor. The two talk, interrupt, move around, see something of each other's private life, and then the conference ends; but soon the details of this meeting are under the closest scrutiny. In its aftermath, Mamet shows that sexual harassment is a complicated affair, hinging on different perspectives, motivations, and desires. His rapid-fire, compact dialogue is a natural for a story in which language is so much at issue. Ultimately, OLEANNA never gives an easy answer--no wonder it had theatergoers and moviegoers arguing in the aisles. |
| CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER |
| 120294 |
|
| Patriotic American Jack Ryan's (Harrison Ford) just been promoted to Deputy Director of Intelligence for the CIA. But before he can adjust to the demands of his position as advisor to the President, Jack's got to investigate a massacre that took the lives of several dignitaries. Probing relentlessly, Jack uncovers the disturbing truth about criminal activities involving an international drug cartel and a close friend of the United States President. Based on Tom Clancy's bestselling novel. Academy Award Nominations: 2. |
| TIME COP |
| 120994 |
|
| In the year 2004 a corrupt politician is secretly using a time travel device to manipulate history and financial markets and eliminate any who get in his way. When a cop catches on to his scheme he must go back in time and catch him before he and his wife are murdered. Produced by Sam Raimi and based on the comic books by Mike Richardson and Mark Verheiden. |
| TRUE LIES |
| 120994 |
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| Secret agent Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a busy man; when he's not saving the world from terrorists, he's under cover as a boring computer salesman, juggling the everyday needs of his wife, Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), and his daughter. While Harry and his partner, Gib (Tom Arnold), work to stop a gang of international terrorists from getting their hands on missing nuclear weapons, Helen, feeling neglected, begins a covert affair with a sleazy used car salesman pretending to be a spy. When Harry finds out, he decides to give Helen a lesson in spy games, which backfires when the couple is kidnapped and stuck in the middle of an international terrorist crisis. Director James Cameron topped his previous spectaculars with this action-comedy extravaganza (the most expensive film ever made before TITANIC), featuring amazing stunts and special effects. Actual Harrier jets were hired from the U.S Air Force for their sequence, while production dangled from a skyscraper over the streets of Miami for the amazing climax. TRUE LIES is based on a 1991 French spy comedy entitled LA TOTALE! (Translation: THE JACKPOT). |
| WHAT HAPPENED WAS... |
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| A pair of office acquaintances--an earthy executive assistant from Long Island and a Harvard-educated paralegal--get together for a first date at the woman's apartment. Awkward silences and quiet tension mark their evening as they unexpectedly reveal more about themselves than they ever thought possible. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival. |
| QUIZ SHOW |
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| Based on the book by Richard N. Goodwin, this Robert Redford film tells the true story behind the great quiz show scandal of 1959. As television becomes more popular throughout the 1950s, quiz shows follow suit, attracting compulsive viewers who cheer for the brilliant, intellectual contestants--America’s best and brightest. Herbert Stempel (John Turturro) may be unattractive and abrasive, but in 1959 he is the reigning champion of the game show TWENTY-ONE. When ratings begin to slip, the network decides that it’s time to bring in a more appealing champion and bribes Stempel to answer incorrectly and purposely lose to Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes), a handsome WASP professor who eventually achieves celebrity status and incredible wealth. Feeling bitter and betrayed, Stempel accuses the producers of feeding answers to the quiz show winners, prompting a congressional investigation. As the scandal grows, a different portrait of America emerges--one that shatters the nation's illusion of perfection so prevalent in the 1950s. Rob Morrow stars as Dick Goodwin, the investigator who labors tirelessly to establish the truth and simultaneously develops a respectful friendship with the subject of the investigation, Van Doren. |
| THE SPECIALIST |
| 121694 |
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| The incendiary combination of Sharon Stone and Sylvester Stallone add to the fireworks of this film; a tale of revenge and murder set against the neon backdrop of Miami. As a child, May Munro watched in horror as her family was brutally murdered in a contract hit by three Cuban gangsters, led by the reptilian Tomas Leon. Now an adult, she is hell-bent on avenging her parents' death. She tries to hire Ray Quick, a bomb specialist with a noble heart and "a past" to do the job. This leads to complications as Quick must confront his ex-CIA partner, the malicious Ned Trent, who now works for the Leon family. But as Quick and Munro work together to settle their respective scores, explosions of a different sort begin to ignite. |
| CARO DIARIO |
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| Nanni Moretti's CARO DIARIO (DEAR DIARY) consists of three charming autobiographical vignettes that intertwine to make this insightful, witty, and wistful film. In the first, "On My Vespa," Moretti zooms around Rome on his moped exploring the landscape, visiting friends and going to the cinema. "Islands" takes Moretti and his friend Gerardo to the island of Salina, where loads of children run free and Gerardo discovers the joys of TV. "Doctors" depicts the frustrations caused by science, medicine and ineffectual doctors. Although each story creates a visual and verbal atmosphere of despair, an undercurrent of humor exists, and through the laughter, hope emerges. |
| THE CLIENT |
| 121694 |
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| In this taut legal drama a trailer park kid witnesses the suicide of a mob lawyer and is pursued by authorities trying to find out if he knows anything. In an attempt to protect himself, the 11 year-old hires a feisty female attorney who takes up his case and develops a bond with him. Based on the novel by John Grisham. Academy Award Nominations: Best Actress--Susan Sarandon. |
| HEAVENLY CREATURES |
| 122394 |
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| HEAVENLY CREATURES represented a departure of sorts for horror director Peter Jackson and was the first film to earn him widespread critical acclaim. Jackson both co-wrote and co-produced the picture, which is based on an actual 1954 murder case. The two protagonists, New Zealand schoolgirls Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, first meet when Juliet (Kate Winslet in her silver-screen debut) is introduced to Pauline’s class as a new student. Pauline (Melanie Lynskey), an introvert who feels misunderstood by her family and peers, is instantly smitten with the sophisticated and self-confident newcomer, and the girls become best friends. |
| READY TO WEAR |
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| Robert Altman delivers another sprawling satire with READY TO WEAR, this time focusing his lens on the tightly knit, pretentious fashion industry. After a popular fashion leader dies during the most important industry gathering of the year in Paris, the question that it might have been murder creates chaos amongst the gathered participants and viewers. Affected parties include his widow, who uses this opportunity to rekindle an old relationship; the dead man's mistress, a designer who is forced to sell out to a Texas boot tycoon; three magazine editors, who all have their eyes on the same photographer; two American reporters whose affair keeps them in bed throughout the gathering; and two aging Roman lovers who are reuniting after many years. The film’s many revolving characters and stories collide at the climax, an all-nude fashion show that stuns and excites the crowd. Altman’s comedy boasts one of his most star-studded casts, and actors who are playing fictional characters intermingle with popular designers and models who play themselves. This fresh mixing of fiction and reality recalls the director’s thrilling THE PLAYER, and the multi-layered story, the masterful NASHVILLE. Standout performances include the late Marcello Mastroianni, Sophia Loren, Tim Robbins, Julia Roberts, Tracey Ullman, and a hysterical Kim Basinger. |
| STARGATE |
| 123094 |
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| In this visually creative space adventure from the team that would go on to give the world INDEPENDENCE DAY and GODZILLA, a timid, glasses-wearing Egyptologist (Spader) uncovers an ancient portal to another planet and is dispatched there forthwith--along with blundering, clodfooted government troops (led by Russell). The downtrodden populace they encounter, ruled by godlike, androgynous King Ra (Davidson, in his first role after becoming a star in THE CRYING GAME), must be led to literacy and freedom; Ra must be defeated; the intellectual must find his machismo; our boys must return to Earth. |