Catherine BreillatIn the 1950's, Bluebeard was the favourite tale of good little girls, one of whom is Catherine, who loves to frighten her older sister Marie-Anne by reading this fairy tale to her until she starts to cry. Catherine also puts herself in the fairy tale by becoming Princess Marie-Catherine, Bluebeard's last wife, the one who escapes the fate of all those he hanged before her because she is the virgin princess that the ogre cannot make up his mind to kill. This hesitation will doom him, and allow the virgin to get the head of the giant.
Richard FleischerBased on the hugely successful novel by Kyle Onstott, Mandingo takes the audience beyond the sentimentalized South of other films with uncompromising honesty and realism to show the true brutalizing nature of slavery, which made victims of both owner and slave. Heavyweight boxer Ken Norton makes his screen debut in the title role, with Perry King (Possession of Joel Delaney) as his white owner, friend, and eventual nemesis.
Peter HowittNoah's life is one of success - and excess. Everything - drink, drugs, girls, that Noah can get his hands on he wolfs down with an insatiable hunger. But he is running towards a brick wall - alcoholism and drug addiction have him firmly in their grasp. With the help of good friends, Ray and Kirstin, Noah attempts to right his ship and when fate sends him a guardian angel in the shape of beautiful cellist Clare, Noah tries even harder to shift his focus from self abuse to self preservation and onto the road to selflessness... and that is when Mother Nature deals him the cruellest blow of all. Based on the critically acclaimed novel by Stuart Browne, Dangerous Parking is a rollercoaster ride filled with love, pain, humour and compassion.
Victor EriceA sensitive seven-year-old girl living in 1940 in a small Spanish village is traumatized after viewing the movie "Frankenstein" and drifts into her own fantasy world.
Clint EastwoodAcademy Award-winning director Clint Eastwood ("Letters from Iwo Jima," "Flags of Our Fathers"), a well-known, long-standing jazz aficionado, delivers a compassionate portrait of jazz visionary Charlie "Yardbird" Parker. Eastwood, who won a Golden Globe for Best Director for this film, also paints a vivid portrait of the jazz world in all its complexity. Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winner Forest Whitaker ("The Last King of Scotland," "Phone Booth"), as Parker, provides a multifaceted performance that helps provide an understanding of the man's genius, and tragedy. Co-starring Diane Venora ("The Insider," "Heat"), who along with Whitaker was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in this picture, Bill Cobbs ("Night at the Museum," "The Hudsucker Proxy"), John Witherspoon (the "Friday" movie series, TV's "The Wayans Bros.") and Tony Cox ("Bad Santa," "Epic Movie"). This music-driven film was an Academy Award-winner for Best Sound.
Alexis Dos SantosAlexis Dos Santos' vivid, seductive second feature UNMADE BEDS is a lyrical tale of two solitary expats crossing paths in the cosmopolitan art-rock milieu of a sprawling East London squat. Axl (Fernando Tielve) arrives in the UK to look for his long lost father and instead is adopted by the bohemian Mike and Hannah who introduce him to gigs in English pubs and free spirit living. Vera (Deborah Francois) is a Belgian heartbreaker who strikes up a charming romance with X Ray Man until a failed meeting sets her on a quest to recapture traces of time they spent together by taking polaroids. An idiosyncratic and atmospheric anti-romance, Unmade Beds has screened competitively in 2009 at the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals and at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Featuring music from Plaster of Paris, (We Are) Performance and Tindersticks as well as many more, Unmade Beds is this year's coolest paean to good music, bad hangovers and lost love.
Guillermo del ToroFrom acclaimed Mexican horror maestro Guillermo del Toro (Mimic, Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy) comes The Devil's Backbone, a truly terrifying spine-tingler combining state of the art special effects with towering performances from a combination of Latin Legends (Frederico Luppi, Cronos, and Marisa Paredes, All About My Mother) and rising stars (Eduardo Noriega, Open Your Eyes). A deliciously dark horror, The Devil's Backbone tells the tale of a remote Spanish orphanage during the final days of the Spanish Civil War whose young inhabitants are brutally terrorised by Santi, a decomposing spirit who stalks the building's dark decaying hallways. But, as the film builds to a grisly, explosive finale, the children learn the true story of Santi's death and rise up to vow a deadly vengeance on his vicious murderer. Produced by Academy Award Winner Pedro Almodóvar (All About My Mother) and brilliantly shot for maximum suspense by leading cinematographer Guillermo Navarro (Jackie Brown), The Dev
Albert SerraAlbert Serra's new film, is an adaptation of the Duc de Saint-Simon's memoirs, starring Jean-Pierre Léaud as the Sun-King. Shot in rich colour with extraordinary lighting, Jean-Pierre Léaud, in his costume, hair and poses, fully embodies the last few days of the longest serving king of France, who, with his seventy two years in power, changed the face of the monarchy and of France.
Ethem CetintasRay Winstone stars in this powerful British drama as a loving father forced to confront uncomfortable truths about his grown up daughter.
Michael CurtizAcademy Award-winner Joan Crawford (Mildred Pierce, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?) stars as a dancer in a traveling circus. Stranded in a corrupt Southern town, she becomes involved with two men, a weakling who betrays her and a corrupt political boss. She is eventually framed for murder by a crooked sheriff, played by Oscar-nominee Sydney Greenstreet (Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon). Co-starring Zachary Scott (Cass Timberlane) and David Brian (How the West Was Won). Directed by Academy Award-winner Michael Curtiz (Casablanca, Yankee Doodle Dandy) and produced by Oscar-winner Jerry Wald (Mildred Pierce, Peyton Place).
Irwin WinklerFrom Paris to Venice to Broadway to Hollywood, the lives of Cole (Kline) and Linda (Ashley Judd) Porter were never less than glamorous and wildly unconventional. Though Cole's thirst for life strained their marriage, Linda never stopped being his muse, inspiring some of the greatest songs of the twentieth century.
Michelangelo AntonioniL’Eclisse was the final film in Antonioni’s informal trilogy on contemporary malaise (following L’Avventura and La Notte), a series of films that redefined the concept of narrative cinema. Filmed in sumptuous black and white, and full of scenes of lush, strange beauty, it tells the story of Vittoria (the beautiful Monica Vitti - Red Desert), a young woman who leaves her older lover (Francisco Rabal - Viridiana), then drifts into a relationship with a confident, ambitious young stockbroker (Alain Delon – Le Cercle Rouge). But this base narrative is the starting point for much, much more, including an analysis of the city as a place of estrangement and alienation and an implicit critique of colonialism. Using the architecture of Rome - old and new - as a backdrop for this doomed affair, Antonioni achieves the apotheosis of his style in this return to the theme that preoccupied him the most: the difficulty of forming true connections amidst the meaninglessness of the modern world.
Sean PennSet against the devastating backdrop of war-torn Liberia, The Last Face centers on a love affair between Dr. Miguel Leon (Academy Award winner, Javier Bardem), a relief-aid doctor, and Dr. Wren Petersen (Academy Award winner, Charlize Theron), the director of an international aid organization. Directed by two-time Academy Award winner Sean Penn.
Lars von Trier In Germany in 1945 darkness is overshadowing the conquered and destroyed country. Leo Kessler, an American of German descent arrives in Postwar Germany and gets a job at the Zentropa Train Line, which is owned by the Nazi sympathizer, Max Hartmann
Simon LangtonIn czarist Russia, a young woman sacrifices everything she holds dear when she falls in love with the dashing Count Vronsky. Granted a divorce by her wealthy but emotionally deadened husband on the condition she can never see her son again, Anna runs off to join her beloved Count. Based on Tolstoy's classic novel.
James VanderbiltNewsroom drama detailing the 2004 CBS 60 Minutes report investigating then-President George W. Bush's military service, and the subsequent firestorm of criticism that cost anchor Dan Rather and producer Mary Mapes their careers.
Florence Ayisi & Kim LonginottoKumba Town, Cameroon is overseen by the progressive female partnership of prosecutor Vera Ngassa and court president Beatrice Ntuba, who together help women to speak out and fight back against assumptions of patriarchal privilege in modern-day Africa. The film focuses on the cases of Sonita, a young girl who accuses a neighbour of rape; Manka a six-year-old who has beaten with a coat-hanger; and Amina, a wife seeking divorce from her abusive husband. All three are given the sort of support that extends beyond legal advice and becomes a crucial act of empowerment.
Robert BentonWinner of 5 Academy Awards, Kramer vs. Kramer is a ground- breaking drama about the heartbreak of divorce and the struggle between work and family. Young husband and father Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman) loves his family - and his job, which is where he spends most of his time. When he returns home late one evening from work, his wife Joanna (Meryl Streep) confronts him and then leaves him, forcing Ted to become the sole caregiver to their six-year-old son. Now, Ted must learn to be a father while balancing the demands of his high-pressure career. But just as Ted adapts to his new role and begins to feel like a fulfilled parent, Joanna returns. And now she wants her son back.
Lola DoillonA woman (Kristin Scott Thomas) cautiously emerges from a decrepit, remote house and returns to her home and work, telling everyone she knows that she has been on holiday and that everything is normal. But it is clear to all that she harbours a dark, disturbing secret that she doesn’t intend to share - until one day the tension becomes too much and she decides to reveal the shocking truth… An intense and claustrophobic erotic thriller, In Your Hands is a stunning, complex examination of the dangerous, passionate relationship between victim and aggressor, captive and jailer.
John BadhamOscar-winner Richard Dreyfuss ("Mr. Holland's Opus," "Stakeout") stars as a sculptor who becomes paralyzed after an auto accident and fights the hospital administration for the right to die. Starring Oscar-nominee, John Cassavetes ("Rosemary's Baby," "The Dirty Dozen") and Golden Globe, Oscar and Emmy-winner Christine Lahti (TV's "Chicago Hope," "The Executioner's Song"). Provocative black comedy based on Reginald Rose's successful Broadway play. Directed by John Badham ("Drop Zone," "Nick of Time," "Saturday Night Fever").
Radley MetzgerA mind-bending classic of erotic cinema, The Lickerish Quartet brings us a rich jaded couple and their grown-up son - bored after a night watching pornography - visiting a travelling stunt show, the star of which bears a striking similarity to the woman in the sex film they just saw. Invited back to the castle for a drink, she soon becomes embroiled in a night of bizarre carnality, fantasy fulfilment and highly charged love games. Hailing from a time when erotic cinema was embraced by the mainstream, The Lickerish Quartet is a dream-like fantasy of liberated love and questing eroticism which blurs the boundaries between staid reality and the surreal realms of unbridled sexual fantasy. Directed by the groundbreaking sometime pornographer Radley Metzger, The Lickerish Quartet takes us back in time to an era when nudity was a novelty and sexual explicitness felt like a revolution.
UnknownNominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy® Award, AMORES PERROS features three stories that converge as the characters are catapulted into dramatic and unforeseen circumstances in the wake of a terrible car crash. From Mexico City's mean streets to its posh high-rises, no one is exempt from destiny.
Mark RomanekAn alienated photo-Finisher's obsession with a seemingly ordinary family culminates in his bizarre confrontation with an unfaithful father.
Pawel PawlikowskiA passionate love story between two people of different backgrounds and temperaments, who are fatefully mismatched, set against the background of the Cold War in the 1950s in Poland, Berlin, Yugoslavia and Paris.
Lone ScherfigIts 1961 and attractive, bright 16-year-old schoolgirl, Jenny (Mulligan) is poised on the brink of womanhood, dreaming of a rarefied, Gauloise-scented existence as she sings along to Juliette Greco in her Twickenham bedroom. Stifled by the tedium of adolescent routine, Jenny cant wait for adult life to begin. Meanwhile, shes a diligent student, excelling in every subject except the Latin that her father is convinced will land her a place at Oxford University where she is dreaming of going. On a rainy day no different to all the others, her suburban life is upended by the arrival of an unsuitable suitor, 30-ish David (Sarsgaard). Urbane and witty, David instantly unseats Jennys stammering schoolboy admirer, Graham (Beard). To her frank amazement, he even manages to charm her conservative parents Jack (Molina) and Marjorie (Seymour) and effortlessly overcomes any instinctive objections to their daughters older, Jewish suitor. Very quickly, David introduces Jenny to a glittering new world
Bill PaxtonFrom Walt Disney Pictures comes The Greatest Game Ever Played . . . the crowd-pleasing underdog epic that's based on an inspirational true story! Young amateur golfer Francis Ouimet has nothing but talent and a seemingly impossible dream to challenge the world's greatest player, his idol Harry Vardon. Soon, with the help of his spunky 10-year-old caddy Eddie, Francis boldly breaks down all barriers with a thrilling display of unrivaled drive, skill, and heart . . . and challenges the golf pro for the U.S. Open Championship!
Dominic SavageA passionate love story Love + Hate tackles the conflicting emotions that explode when a white boy falls in love with a Muslim girl. Bound by conflicting loyalties to friends and family, the young lovers find themselves caught in the crossfire between faith and feeling, tradition and instinct, love and hate.
Tony BillKathy Bates is Frances Lacey, mother of six, left alone to provide for the family after her husband dies. Hoping to steer the kids away from the hazards on the streets of Los Angeles, she packs the brood up in the family car and heads out to find a new place to live. When Frances spots the unfinished frame of a house owned by a lonely Japanese man, she cuts a deal with him to get the house in exchange for chores done by the family. Despite the trappings of poverty and the miseries that accompany financial uncertainty, Frances refuses to allow herself or her children to wallow in self-pity and instead forges ahead teaching them valuable life lessons.
Emmanuel FinkielIn 1944 Nazi-occupied France, young Marguerite Duras is a talented writer and an active Resistance member with her husband Robert Antelme. When he is deported by the Gestapo, she dives into a desperate struggle to get him back. She develops a chilling relationship with local Vichy collaborator Rabier and takes terrible risks to save Robert, playing a cat-and-mouse of unpredictable meetings all over Paris. Does he really want to help her? Or is he trying to dig up information about the anti-Nazi underground? Then comes the end of the war and the return of camp victims, an excruciating period for her, a long and silent agony after the chaos of the Liberation of Paris. But she continues to wait, bound to the torment of absence even beyond hope and love.
Danny LernerA fortune of priceless diamonds lies in a wreck at the bottom of the ocean. Unfortunately it is also the breeding ground for deadly Great White sharks. Only one man knows the truth when a group of divers are viciously attacked while searching for the lost treasure. Now the sharks have a taste for human flesh, and are hunting for swimmers at the nearby holiday resort. The local mayor refuses to shut the beach, and the slaughter will continue until someone believes him.
Nick CassavetesThey grew up together in the suburbs of L.A., living their own version of the American dream, with every day a blur of partying and looking for the next thrill. Johnny (Emile Hirsch, Lords of Dogtown) is the leader in their sordid world of drugs, greed, power and privilege. But when he is double-crossed by another dealer, things quickly begin to spiral out of control, and an impulsive kidnapping leads to a shocking conclusion. Justin Timberlake (Edison), Sharon Stone (Bobby) and Bruce Willis (Lucky Number Sleven) co-star in this powerful and controversial film.
Joshua SinclairThe true story of Edith Stein, a German Jewish philosopher and feminist who converted to Christianity and became a nun, and died in Auschwitz to became Saint and Martyr, the Patron of Europe with the name Saint Theresa Benedicta of the Cross.
Sam MendesKevin Spacey plays Lester Burnham, a man in his mid-40s going through an intense midlife crisis; he's grown cynical and is convinced that he has no reason to go on. Lester's relationship with his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) is not a warm one; while on the surface Carolyn strives to present the image that she's in full control of her life, inside she feels empty and desperate. Their teenage daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is constantly depressed, lacking in self-esteem, and convinced that she's unattractive. Her problems aren't helped by her best friend Angela (Mena Suvari), an aspiring model who is quite beautiful and believes that that alone makes her a worthwhile person. Jane isn't the only one who has noticed that Angela is attractive: Lester has fallen into uncontrollable lust for her, and she becomes part of his drastic plan to change his body and change his life. Meanwhile, next door, Colonel Fitts (Chris Cooper) has spent a lifetime in the Marine Corps and can understand and toler
Morgan MatthewsA young maths genius sees logic thwarted by one truly baffling equation: love. Teenage maths prodigy Nathan (Asa Butterfield) struggles when it comes to building relationships with other people, not least with his mother, Julie (Sally Hawkins). In a world difficult to comprehend, he finds comfort in numbers. And when Nathan is taken under the wing of unconventional and anarchic teacher, Mr. Humphreys (Rafe Spall), the pair forge an unusual friendship. Eventually, Nathan’s talents win him a place on the UK National team at the International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO) and the team travel to a training camp in Taiwan, under the supervision of squad leader Richard (Eddie Marsan). In unfamiliar surroundings, Nathan is confronted by a series of unexpected challenges — not least the unfamiliar feelings he begins to experience for his Chinese counterpart, the beautiful Zhang Mei (Jo Yang), feelings that develop when the young mathematicians return to England for the IMO, held at Trinity Co
Francois TruffautFrom the time of their meeting in 1912, two men, Jules and Jim, share a close friendship. Shortly before the First World War, Jules marries Catherine (Jeanne Moreau), a wilful young woman the two men have befriended, but, after the war has ended, his relationship with her deteriorates rapidly. When Jim comes to stay with the couple and their daughter, he begins a relationship of his own with Catherine, having been urged to do so by Jules, who hopes that if his wife is involved with his friend she will not leave him.
Roger MichellA picture-postcard afternoon in the countryside ends in tragedy as Joe and Claire witness a ballooning incident. Bound together by their experience, fellow witness Jed becomes obsessed with Joe, stalking him and becoming ever more threatening.
Kimberly PeirceAfter serving his tour of duty in Iraq, a young American soldier who is ordered to return to the front lines as part of the military's controversial stop-loss opts instead to go AWOL in a thought-provoking military drama directed by Kimberly Peirce and starring Ryan Phillippe.
Paprika SteenAftermath, from Paprika Steen (Festen), continues the trend of brilliant Scandinavian film and television. Starring Sofie Gråbøl (The Killing) and Mikael Birkkjær (The Killing II) this drama from the writer of Perfect Sense tells the story of Britt and Claes, a couple in their mid-thirties who have lost their only child in a car accident. They struggle in separate ways; Britt cannot talk about it, Claes can hardly talk about anything else. Britt buries herself in her job as a social worker and gets involved with a young single mother and her baby, far exceeding the bounds of professional interest. Claes is unable to function at work and is sent home on leave. He does not tell Britt, but starts spending his days stalking the woman who ran their daughter over. Aftermath is a vivid, intense, award winning drama, boasting stunning performances from the talented cast.
David LynchA languorous, lyrical gem from David Lynch. Based on a true story, it follows Alvin Straight as he travels 350 miles on a lawnmower to visit his sick brother.
Wim WendersAngered by the American government's response to the events of 11 September 2001, LAND OF PLENTY is one of Wim Wenders' most impassioned films, starring Oscar nominee Michelle Williams.
John BonitoWWE champion John Cena dominates the big screen as Marine John Triton. Wherever there's danger, Triton is usually smack dab in the middle of it, and he doesn't play by rules! After he's unwillingly discharged from Iraq, Triton's beautiful wife Kate (Kelly Carlson) is kidnapped by merciless jewel thieves led by a vicious killer (Robert Patrick)! Now, Triton must fight to save her, utilizing his most powerful weapon - himself!
Brian De PalmaDirected by the award-winning Brian De Palma (Scarface, The Untouchables, Carlitos Way) Redacted focuses on the daily lives of a squadron of bitter, restless American soldiers stationed at the Samarra checkpoint, Iraq, and the incidents leading up to one of the most brutal war crimes since the 2003 invasion. A fictionalised account of true events, Redacted has become one of the most notorious and controversial war films ever made. Having left American audiences stunned and critics in uproar - some even accusing the director of treason - the film is a must-watch for its graphic, violent and unflinching portrayal of the modern battlefield with one of the most shocking endings ever seen in cinema.
Guy GreenA middle-aged woman (Ingrid Bergman) is the wife of a university professor (Fritz Weaver) who is on sabbatical. She meets Cade (Anthony Quinn), a farmer, a mechanic, a handyman; he is uncomplicated, brimming with vitality and the opposite of her husband. Their affair is brief and cascading and when her husband's sabbatical is over, the woman is beset by conflict.
John MaddenElizabeth Sloane (Jessica Chastain– Zero Dark Thirty) is the most sought-after, formidable and ruthless lobbyist in D.C.But when she takes on the all-powerful pro-gun movement she finds herself at the centre of a terrifying battle and must decide if she’s willing to make sacrifices greater than she ever imagined - or will winning come at too high a price?
Stephen Daldry & Scott RudinThe Hours chronicles a day in the life of three very different individuals, all of whom share the feeling that they have been living their lives for someone else. Virginia Woolf lives in a suburb of London in the 1920s as she struggles to begin writing her first great novel, Mrs. Dalloway, while also attempting to overcome the mental illness that threatens to engulf her. Laura Brown, a young wife and mother in post-World War II Los Angeles, is reading Mrs. Dalloway, and is so deeply affected by it that she begins to question the life she has chosen for herself. Finally, Clarissa Vaughan is a modern-day Mrs. Dalloway in contemporary New York, planning a party for her friend and former lover who is slowly losing his fight with AIDS. Three women, separated by a span of nearly 80 years, find themselves weathering similar crises, all linked by a single work of literature.
Bart FreundlichIsabel (Michelle Williams) has devoted her life to running an orphanage in a Kolkata slum. With funds running dry, she lands uncomfortably in the sights of a possible benefactor, Theresa Young (Julianne Moore), a multi-millionaire media mogul. Theresa's life couldn't appear to be more perfect. But appearances are only skin deep, and the two women have more in common than meets the eye.
Jon S. BairdThe film follows how a Jamaican orphan baby, adopted by an elderly white couple in 1950's London, changed from being the most feared hooligan in the country to Britain’s best selling black author. Cass grows up in a time before political correctness and as a young child, is forced to endure racist bullying on a daily basis. One fateful day the pent up years of anger surfaced in an explosive burst of violence and from then on, Cass decides he will never be bullied again. As a boyhood fan of West Ham United, Cass rises through the ranks to become the leader of their hooligan gang, The Intercity Firm (The ICF). After serving the first long-term prison sentence for football related violence, Cass is released and falls in love with Elaine. He tries to change his life, but his violent past eventually catches up with him, culminating with Cass being shot three times at point blank range. He is left with the terrible dilemma; to seek vengeance as the street has taught him, or to renounce his
Lewis MilestoneRelive the drama, conflict and power of one of the most influential anti-war films ever made - All Quiet on the Western Front. Universal's first Best Picture Academy Award® winner is now available in its original glory completely restored by the Library of Congress. Follow a group of idealistic young men as they join the German Army during World War I and are assigned to the Western Front, where their patriotism is destroyed by the harsh realities of combat. The hard-hitting, timeless masterpiece returns with stunning visual enhancement to its deserving place in film history! "****! Time hasn't dimmed its power, or poignancy, one bit." (Leonard Maltin)
John IrvinThe men of Bravo Company are facing a battle that's all uphill… up Hamburger Hill. Fourteen war-weary soldiers are battling for a mud-covered mound of earth so named because it chews up soldiers like chopped meat. They are fighting for their country, their fellow soldiers and their lives. War is hell, but this is worse. Hamburger Hill tells it the way it was, the way it really was. It's a raw, gritty and totally unrelenting dramatic depiction of one of the fiercest battles of America's bloodiest war. This happened. Hamburger Hill - war at its worst, men at their best.
Clint EastwoodDuring his lifetime, J. Edgar Hoover would rise to be the most powerful man in America. As head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for nearly 50 years, he would stop at nothing to protect his country. Through eight presidents and three wars, Hoover waged battle against threats both real and perceived, often bending the rules to keep his countrymen safe. His methods were at once ruthless and heroic, with the admiration of the world his most coveted, if ever elusive, prize. Hoover was a man who placed great value on secrets-particularly those of others-and was not afraid to use that information to exert authority over the leading figures in the nation. Understanding that knowledge is power and fear poses opportunity, he used both to gain unprecedented influence and to build a reputation that was both formidable and untouchable.
Wim WendersWith his outsider's view of America, Wim Wenders transforms PARIS, TEXAS into a haunting tale of loss, redemption and the ties that bind families together, and is arguably Wenders' greatest achievement. Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton) walks out of the desert after four years, to the amazement of his brother, Walt (Dean Stockwell). Reunited with Hunter (Hunter Carson), his seven-year-old son, Travis decides that they should search for his ex-wife (Nastassja Kinski) so that they can be a family once again. Beautifully shot by Robbie Müller, Sam Shepard's beguilingly simple story is stunningly realised by Wenders, whose stark imagery is accompanied by Ry Cooder's acclaimed score. Winner of the Palme d'Or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival and the Best Director prize at BAFTA in 1985, PARIS, TEXAS is rightly regarded as one of the artistic triumphs of contemporary world cinema.
Aigars GraubaA year has passed since the official end to the hostilities of World War I, yet the Latvian capital still finds itself under threat from a renegade German unit positioned just outside the city. In this rousing dramatization of one of the most important dates in the Latvian battle for independence, we watch as a team of loyal and impassioned Latvian volunteers collide with a better-trained, better-equipped force of German and Russian mercenaries in their fierce battle for freedom.
Roger CormanA young television director being divorced by his wife decides to turn on to LSD. With his bearded friend as guide, they cop the drug from Dennis Hopper and return to a split-level apartment. The director experiences visions of sex, death, dancing girls, witches, a torture chamber, etc. Written by Jack Nicholson and directed by Roger Corman.
Atom EgoyanADORATION speaks to our connections---with each other, with our family history, with technology and with the modern world. Sabine (ARSINÉE KHANJIAN), a high school French teacher, gives her class a translation exercise based on a real news story about a terrorist who plants a bomb in the airline luggage of his pregnant girlfriend. The assignment has a profound effect on one student, Simon (DEVON BOSTICK), who is being brought up by Tom, his uncle (SCOTT SPEEDMAN). In the course of translating, Simon re-imagines that the news item is his own family's story, with the terrorist standing in for his father. Years ago, Simon's father (NOAM JENKINS) crashed the family car, killing both himself and his wife (RACHEL BLANCHARD), making Simon an orphan. Simon has always been led to believe by his grandfather Morris that the accident was intentional. Encouraged by Sabine to pretend that what starts out as a drama exercise is in fact true, Simon reads his version to the class. In essence, he has c
Michael AptedAgatha Christie is generally considered the Queen of Crime Fiction. Her novels, stories and plays bamboozle legions of murder aficionados with complex plotting and dazzling denouements. But no mystery she ever wrote surpassed the one she lived. This tantalizing tale posits what may have happened to the famed writer during her real-life 11-day disappearance in 1926. Dustin Hoffman plays a brash American journalist who tries his own hand at sleuthing when he sets out the find the missing novelist (Vanessa Redgrave), a shy, introspective woman whose marriage to a war hero (Timothy Dalton) has foundered. What really happened? The world doesn't know and Dame Agatha never told. But as suspensefully directed by Michael Apted (Coal Miner's Daughter, Gorky Park), Agatha offers a spellbinding solution.
Corneliu PorumboiuNot everything is as it seems for Cristi, a policeman who plays both sides of the law. Embarking with the beautiful Gilda on a high-stakes heist, both will have to navigate the twists and turns of corruption, treachery and deception.
Lasse HallströmNominated for two Academy Awards (Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay), My Life as a Dog has become a perennial arthouse favourite. A bittersweet portrait of growing up in Sweden in the late 1950s, the film continues to speak to audiences more than 30 years after its release.
Based on Reidar Jönsson’s autobiographical novel, My Life as a Dog focuses on Ingemar (a remarkable performance from 11-year-old Anton Glanzelius), who is sent to the country to live with his uncle. An escape from his turbulent home life – and his terminally ill mother – the rural town brings adventure, eccentricity, growing pains, and friendship with tomboy Saga (Melinda Kinnaman, Modus).
Directed by Lasse Hallström, the success of My Life as a Dog brought him international recognition. Previously best-known for his collaborations with ABBA, having been responsible for most of their music videos as well as ABBA: The Movie, Hallström would soon pursue a Hollywood career, his later films includ
Andy WolkWorkaholic lawyer Robert Layton didn’t know he needed a miracle until it happened. But when it did, it transformed his life and opened both his eyes and heart to a totally new world and made him realise what matters most in life. The heart-warming and often heart-breaking story of how this happened is told in The Christmas Shoes, a delightful ‘festive season’ drama for all the family. One day in a small American town, the rear door of a delivery van flies open, and out tumbles a box containing a pair of pretty, embroidered shoes. Is this just another unremarkable, everyday event – or a small miracle? The shoes are picked up by Robert Layton (Rob Lowe), and start a chain of events that will have a profound effect on the lives of several people in this close-knit community.
James BridgesTravolta stars as a Rolling Stone reporter covering two hot stories. One concerns a businessman arrested on drug charges and the other is about a health club which Travolta believes is a singles bar. The aerobics instructor grants him an interview only after being assured that he is doing a glowing report of her club.
George ClooneyDuring the frantic days before a heavily contested presidential primary, up and coming campaign press secretary Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) battles for Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney) in the race to win the Democratic presidential nomination. When the opposing candidate’s campaign manager (Paul Giamatti) offers Stephen a job on his staff, Stephen neglects to inform his campaign manager (Philip Seymour Hoffman). As his silence is revealed, Stephen uncovers a dirty personal secret that could sink Morris' political career. Written and directed by Academy Award winner George Clooney and also starring Marisaa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright and Evan Rachel Wood, The Ides of March is sharp, quick witted and an intense tale of sex, ambition, betrayal and revenge.
Alejandro González IñárrituIn Babel, a tragic incident involving an American couple in Morocco sparks a chain of events for four families in different countries throughout the world. In the struggle to overcome isolation, fear, and displacement, each character discovers that it is family that ultimately provides solace. In the remote sands of the Moroccan desert, a rifle shot rings out - detonating a chain of events that will link an American tourist couple's frantic struggle to survive, two Moroccan boys involved in an accidental crime, a nanny illegally crossing into Mexico with two American children and a Japanese teen rebel whose father is sought by the police in Tokyo. Separated by clashing cultures and sprawling distances, each of these four disparate groups of people are nevertheless hurtling towards a shared destiny of isolation and grief. In the course of just a few days, they will each face the dizzying sensation of becoming profoundly lost - lost in the desert, lost to the world, lost to themselves -
Jean-Stéphane SauvaireLiving in Bangkok, where he fights bare-knuckle in the local gyms, heroin addict Billy Moore (Joe Cole) is arrested and sent to Klong Prem jail for selling drugs. There, unable to speak the language, it's a matter of daily survival, as he is forced to live in unimaginable, unsanitary conditions, forever fearful of beatings from guards and other prisoners. It's only when Billy takes up Muay Thai boxing that he is able to see a way out of this hellish environment.
Richard LoncraineBrimstone and Treacle centres around the heavily troubled Bates family. The marriage between Mr. and Mrs. Bates is rocky, and both are suffering under the strain of caring for their mute, handicapped daughter Pattie. When Martin, a mysterious stranger arrives, they welcome him as a surrogate member of the family, especially pleased by his eagerness to help care for Pattie. Martin, however, is not all he appears to be. Potter uses the archetypal scenario of the supernatural visitor to explore the ambiguities of good and evil, as some of Martin's demonic acts have unexpectedly positive effects.
Atom EgoyanZev Guttman (Christopher Plummer), receives a mysterious package from his close friend Max (Martin Landau), containing a stack of money and a letter detailing a shocking plan. Both Zev and Max were prisoners in Auschwitz, and the same sadistic guard was responsible for the death of both their families - a guard who, immediately after the war, escaped Germany and has been living in the U.S. ever since under an assumed identity. Along with a wheelchair-bound Max, Zev will embark on a cross-continental road-trip to bring justice once and for all to the man who destroyed both their lives. From director Atom Egoyan and with an incredible lead performance from Christopher Plummer as the frail but unstoppable Zev, Remember is a thrillingly fast-paced revenge story.
Gary FlederPreeminent New York psychiatrist Dr. Nathan Conrad (Michael Douglas) has a successful Upper West Side practice, a beautiful wife and a charming daughter. But when Nathan's daughter is kidnapped by ruthless thieves, he must somehow unlock a six-digit number locked away in a psychiatric patient's troubled mind. With his daughter's captors watching his every move, Nathan is trapped in a nightmare even he could never have envisioned.
Zalman KingSet in the late 50's, Blue, the daughter of a jazz musician is left homeless and penniless when her father dies in a heroine-induced auto accident. To make ends meet, she works as a prostitute for a high-class madame with society's elite as her clientele. Blue falls in love with a young boy, but is unable to reveal the truth about her life and occupation. She leaves the brothel and goes back to high school to be with her sweetheart, but the truth of her past surfaces and threatens their relationship.
Benh ZeitlinFaced with both her hot-tempered father's fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle community and unleash ancient beasts, Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love to survive.
François OzonIsabelle (Marine Vacth) is on summer vacation in the South of France when she takes up a desultory relationship with Felix (Lucas Prisor), a hunky German tourist. He is neither her emotional nor her intellectual equal. We watch her give up her virginity to him, only to cast him aside without a care days later. We next meet Isabelle in the fall, back in Paris, where we discover that she's set up a website to accept appointments from johns she will meet for sex in chic hotel rooms. She is a cool professional. But this does not mean she's immune to the effects of the sexual whims of and occasional rough treatment from men. It is only with one regular client that she allows herself to experience any pleasure. That is until the unthinkable happens and she's forced to deal with the consequences of her decisions. Presented over the course of four seasons, the mood of each characterised by a distinctive song, Ozon's film provides an unprejudiced glimpse into the adolescent female psyche. While
John MiliusTrue-life story of gangster John Dillinger. His violent life of crime made headline news in the thirties, as he robbed banks across the midwest. A folk hero of sorts, Dillinger was caught in a whirl of machine guns, fast cars and beautiful women. But it came to a bloody end in 1934 when the FBI gunned him down.
Agnès VardaJACQUOT DE NANTES tells the story of a child and his obsession of pursuing his dream to become a filmmaker. How he buys his first camera, shoots his first amateur film, which marks the beginning of one of the most prestigious careers of any French director, Jacques Demy.
Ursula MeierSimon (Kacey Mottet Klein) lives with his older sister (Léa Seydoux) in a housing complex below a luxury Swiss ski resort. With his sister drifting in and out of jobs and relationships, twelve-year-old Simon takes on the responsibility of providing for the two of them. Every day, he takes the lift up to the opulent ski world above, stealing equipment from rich tourists to resell to the local kids down in the valley. He is able to keep their little family afloat with his small-time hustles and his sister is thankful for the money he brings in. But, when Simon partners with a crooked British seasonal worker, he begins to lose his boundaries, affecting his relationship with his sister and plummeting him into dangerous territory.
UnknownHumphrey Bogart, lauréat* d’un Oscar®, joue dans l’une de ses performances les plus mémorables en tant qu’Eddie Willis, un journaliste sportif qui uni ses forces avec un promoteur de boxe corrompu nommé Benko (Rod Steiger). Ensemble, ils complotent afin de duper Toro Moreno (Mike Lane), un géant maladroit de sept pieds ainsi que le public afin que tous pensent que Moreno a une chance de remporter le titre de poids lourd. À travers une série de combats minutieusement arrangés, Toro croit qu’il est un concurrent hors pair. Il verra ses rêves, et son énorme corps, brisés lorsqu’il se fera battre brutalement dans un vrai combat avec le champion poids lourd. Jersey Joe Walcott fait une apparition en tant qu’entraîneur de Moreno avec l’ancien boxeur Max Baer comme champion poids lourd. The Harder They Fall est un film intrigant et fidèle aux classiques de Bogart.
Catherine LinstrumBrutalised and traumatised young girl, Emma, and her mother are on the run. Finding refuge in an isolated retreat, where a nuclear power station looms. As Emma builds a relationship with an enigmatic boy, she begins to break away from the protection of her mother and is forced to navigate a hostile world alone. A tense and haunting tale of a toxic family with a dangerous past.
Daniel RobyInspired by true events, 'Target Number One' tells the shocking story of an innocent young man, Daniel, (Antoine Olivier Pilon), thrown into a Thai prison with a 100-year sentence for his involvement in a botched drug deal. His conviction grabs the attention of investigative journalist, Victor (Josh Hartnett), who, left unconvinced by the case, decides to take matters into his own hands. Unbeknown that he has a national scandal at his fingertips, when disturbing details of police corruption emerge, Victor has to play a dangerous game to expose the twisted truth and fight for Daniel's freedom.
John GuillerminDoug Roberts, architect, returns from a long vacation to find work nearly completed on his skyscraper. He goes to the party that
night concerned he's found that his wiring specifications have not been followed and that the building continues to develop short
circuits. When the fire begins, Michael O'Hallorhan is the chief on duty as a series of daring rescues punctuate the terror as a
building too tall to have a fire successfully fought from the ground burns.
Ivan TverdovskyMiddle-aged zoo worker Natasha still lives with her mother in a small coastal town. She is stuck and it seems that life has no surprises for her until one day… She grows a tail and turns her life around.
Martín DeusLorenzo is a quiet teenager who lives with his parents and his younger brother in a small city in the Argentinean Patagonia. One day, a family friend's son named Caíto moves south and settles in at Lorenzo's home. His family is going through difficult times and can't give much care to him. Caíto is very shy and hardly speaks. Lorenzo is supposed to help him feel at home. They become friends. They spend great amounts of time together. Although Lorenzo doesn't like sports, he puts up with Caíto's fascination for mountain biking. They share deep conversations too. They can be very different but they come to understand each other. It won't be long until everybody at home realizes Caíto is a difficult case. After a couple of days, Lorenzo's parents feel they've had enough. But then, Caíto makes a big confession to Lorenzo. He tells him the true reason why he was forced to leave his house. After that, Lorenzo takes charge of him so that his parents let him stay. He now has a secret to h
David AnspaughA classic tale of redemption, this film features a volatile coach and a former star player-turned alcoholic leading a small-town basketball team on an improbable run to the Indiana high school championship game. Coach Norman Dale encounters several hurdles in his path: a feisty teacher determined to keep the best player from going out for the team, a town chock full of second-guessing fathers, and a group of undisciplined athletes. Story inspired by the Milan (Indiana) Indians' state title of 1954. Nominated for two Oscars and hailed by Sports Illustrated and ESPN as one of the best sports movies of all time, this triumphant tale of a high school basketball team's long-shot attempt to win the state features "fast-break cinematography” that catches the pace of the game.
Jon AvnetDr. Alan Stone (Richard Gere) has found Jesus -- three times. Stone is a psychiatrist charged with providing treatment to three different paranoid schizophrenic patients who all believe that they are Jesus Christ (Peter Dinklage, Bradley Whitford, Walton Goggins). Stone brings the trio together, confronts them with their conflicting claims and coaxes them into forging a unique support group. As these men grapple with Stone's affront to their beliefs, they inch closer to seeing themselves in a new light. Starring an incredible multi-award-winning cast and produced by the team behind Black Swan and Lion, State of Mind is based on a fascinating true psychological study told in the book "The Three Christs of Ypsilanti".
Corneliu PorumboiuIn this blackly humorous police drama, a cop suffers from a crisis of conscience when he is assigned to gather evidence against a college student dabbling with soft drugs. Arguing for leniency to be shown towards what he regards as youthful irresponsibility, he finds his superiors have a very different interpretation of morality and the law. A blackly humorous and intelligent satire of bureaucracy, Police, Adjective is the acclaimed new film from the director of the award-winning 12:08 East of Bucharest.
Bruce McDonaldDirector Bruce McDonald explores life in a Northern Ontario Native reservation. This Canadian drama based on a book by W.P. Kinsella, examines the tension between Native Canadians and Anglos in Canada from a Native perspective. Silas Crow, who lives on a Northern Ontario reserve, wants to take a mechanic's course in Toronto with his friend Frank Fencepost. But before he can enroll, the teen must write a short narrative describing his home. The film is a series of alternatively poignant vignettes from Crow's narrative.
Uberto Pasolini'Still Life' is a poignant tale of life, love and the afterlife. Meticulous and organised to the point of obsession, John May (Eddie Marsan) is a council worker charged with finding the next of kin of those who have died alone. When his department is downsized, John must up his efforts on his final case, taking him on a liberating journey that allows him to start living life at last.
Geoffrey WrightFrom acclaimed director Geoffrey Wright (Romper Stomper) comes this contemporary take on the Shakespeare classic. Set in the violent criminal underworld of Melbourne, Australia, the story follows Macbeth (Sam Worthington), a loyal henchman to his crime boss, Duncan. Macbeth is told he will one day assume great power and driven by this prophecy he plots with his wife to kill his boss and gain control of the organisation. But Macbeth knows that to maintain power he must remain ruthless, and with his remaining enemies uniting in a bid to destroy him, the end is bound to be bloody. Destined to do for the Scottish play what Baz Luhrmann did for Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth is a sexy, all action, guns blazing ride of awesome proportions!
Roger MichellAcademy Award nominee Peter O’Toole (2006 Best Actor) leads a powerful cast to deliver a charming and poignant portrayal of Maurice, an aging veteran actor who becomes absolutely taken with Jessie – the grandniece of his closest friend. When Maurice tries to soften the petulant and provincial young girl with the benefit ofhis wisdom and London culture, their give-and-take surprises both Maurice and Jessie as they discover what they don’t know about themselves.
Robert AldrichAttack is based on the play by Norman Brooks, The Fragile Fox. This searing war film is a powerful indictment against a military system which protects even its most incompetent of officers. Eddie Albert plays a posturing but hopelessly inept infantry captain, whose misdeeds are taken to heart by his officers. Jack Palance has promised to kill Albert if he makes another strategic mistake. Albert does just that when he leads Palance's troop into a bad situation in which Albert will never regret.
Peter WeirIn an age defined by crew cuts, sport coats, and cheerless conformity, he not only broke the mold ... he reinvented it. Academy Award® winner Robin Williams (Best Supporting Actor, GOOD WILL HUNTING, 1997) delivers an extraordinary performance in one of the most compelling motion pictures of all time. Williams stars as English professor John Keating, a passionate iconoclast who changes his students' lives forever when he challenges them to live life to the fullest and "Carpe Diem" -- seize the day! Keating's unconventional approach meets with irrepressible enthusiasm from his students, but the faculty at staid, exclusive Welton Academy prep school is, to put it mildly, not amused.
Bharat NalluriSet in glamorous 1930s London, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a Cinderella story for grown-ups. When dowdy middle-aged governess Guinevere Pettigrew loses her latest job, her luck appears to have run out. Desperate for employment, she shows up at the plush flat of Delysia Lafosse, a glamorous nightclub singer whose desire for celebrity is only eclipsed by her interest in men. Delysia immediately calls on her new “social secretary” to help her juggle her numerous suitors. Finding herself catapulted into the dizzying social whirl of London’s high society, every dream that Pettigrew had given up on becomes reality for 24 hours.
Paul SchraderFrom Golden Globe® Nominee Director Paul Schrader* (Taxi Driver, American Gigolo, Affliction), FIRST REFORMED is a brooding, thriller-drama centred around Ernst Toller (Academy Award® Nominee Ethan Hawke**), a troubled priest of a small, historical church in upstate New York, who starts to spiral out of control after a soul-shaking encounter with Mary (Amanda Seyfried) and her husband Michael, an unstable environmental activist. Consumed by thoughts that the world is in danger and motivated by the church’s lack of action, Toller embarks on a perilous self-assigned undertaking with the hope that he may finally restore the faith and purpose he’s been longing for in his mission to right the wrongs done to so many.
Walerian BorowczykAlthough it has much in common with Walerian Borowczyk’s earlier work, Immoral Tales marks the point where his reputation as an arty pornographer began, and was sexually explicit enough to have caused problems with the censors on its original UK release. It tells four stories revolving around particular taboos (virginity, female masturbation, bloodlust, incest), each delving further back in time, as if to suggest that the same issues recur constantly throughout human history and in all walks of life, whether it’s Lucrezia Borgia (Florence Bellamy) or Erzsébet Báthory (Paloma Picasso in her only screen role) or the anonymous teenagers of the earlier episodes.This high-definition restoration by Argos Films is being released on Blu-ray with English subtitles for the first time. The film is presented in its original five-part conception, including the short film The True Story of the Beast of Gévaudan that was later expanded into Borowczyk’s later feature The Beast.
Vivienne DeCourcyDare to be Wild follows Mary Reynolds' journey from naive, impressionable country girl to passionate, pioneering trend-setter landscape designer. Along the way, she falls hopelessly in love with charismatic British botanist Christy Collard who has the unique ability to realise her wild ideas. She needs his eclectic team of unconventional botanists and artisans, the Green Angels, to build her untested, wild design at the Chelsea Flower Show in only three weeks. Christy is immune to her charms, as he is consumed by his mission to prove he can make the Ethiopian desert bloom again. In a desperate attempt to get Christy's support, Mary travels to the Ethiopian Highlands where Christy is building a forest park. There, she must earn his respect, which is no small task. Her skill and commitment to his cause gradually win him over. As the Green Angels begin their work in the intensively competitive, but establishment atmosphere of Chelsea, Mary struggles to overcome natural and man-made obstac
David Gordon GreenA Bolivian presidential candidate failing badly in the polls enlists the firepower of an elite American management team, led by the deeply damaged, but still brilliant strategist "Calamity" Jane Bodine (Bullock). In self-imposed retirement following a scandal that earned her nickname and rocked her to her core, Jane is coaxed back into the game for the chance to beat her professional nemesis, the loathsome Pat Candy (Thornton), now coaching the opposition. But as Candy zeroes in on every vulnerability-both on and off the campaign trail-Jane is plunged into a personal crisis as intense as the one her team exploits nationally to boost their numbers. Dramatic, rapid-fire and laced with satire, Our Brand is Crisis reveals the cynical machinations and private battles of world-class political consultants for whom nothing is sacred and winning is all that matters.
Albert HughesAn epic adventure set in the last Ice Age. Europe, 20,000 years ago. While on his first hunt with his tribe’s most elite group, a young man is injured and left for dead. Awakening to find himself broken and alone -- he must learn to survive and navigate the harsh and unforgiving wilderness. Reluctantly taming a lone wolf abandoned by its pack, the pair learn to rely on each other and become unlikely allies, enduring countless dangers and overwhelming odds in order to find their way home before the deadly winter arrives.
Martin ScorseseHoward Hughes was a wily industrialist, glamorous movie producer, and unstoppable American innovator, but thought of himself first and foremost as an aviator. This spectacular epic focuses on the most prolific period in his life: the mid-1920s through the 1940s -- a time of brilliant aeronautical invention, turbulent love affairs and savage corporate battles. Prepare for the ride of a lifetime.
Roger SpottiswoodeBased on the true life story and international best-selling book, A Street Cat Named Bob is a moving and uplifting film that will touch the heart of everyone. When London busker and recovering drug addict James Bowen finds injured ginger street cat Bob in his sheltered accommodation, he has no idea just how much his life is about to change.
UnknownAkeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer), from south Los Angeles, has a talent for words. In spite of the objections of her mother Wanda (Angela Bassett), Keke enters a spelling contest. Her gift takes her to compete in the National Spelling Bee, the most famous competition of its kind in the world. On the way, she is helped by a forthright, mysterious teacher, Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne) and a cast of colorful characters from the community.
Sam WoodSix-time Oscar-nominated romantic classic about a staid schoolmaster whose heart is thawed by a beautiful young woman. Robert Donat ("The 39 Steps") received an Oscar for his moving performance. Oscar-winner Greer Garson ("Mrs. Miniver," "Madame Curie") received an Oscar-nomination as the woman who steals his heart. Co-starring Paul Henreid ("Casablanca"). Recently selected by the prestigious American Film Institute as one of the greatest American films of all time and added Arthur Chipping to its' list of 50 Greatest Heroes.
Ericson CoreInvincible is the inspiring true story of Vince Papale, an ordinary guy who, against extraordinary odds, gets a one-in-a-gazillion shot at living every sports fan's wildest fantasy. Like the city he lives in and his beloved hometown NFL team, the down-and-out Vince (Mark Walhberg, The Italian Job) has seen better days. But then the Philadelphia Eagles' new coach Dick Vermeil (Greg Kinnear, Little Miss Sunshine) calls an unprecedented open tryout, and the 30-year-old bartender who never played college ball makes the cut. Now Vince needs every bit of his gritty, never-say-die attitude and enormous heart to survive in the high-stakes world of professional football. Heartfelt and triumphant, and filled with body-slamming NFL football action, Invincible will have you on your feet cheering for the scrappy underdog who helped his team rediscover its winning spirit, and in the process rallied a city when it needed it most.