The Center offers the following resources for most languages:
- Digital audio.
- Video programs.
- Web based activities.
- Films on VHS and DVD.
- Home borrowing of audio CDs for students registered in specific language courses.
Resources
Foreign Languages/Films
Title: Beijing Bicycle
Call ID: DVCH 805
Wang Xiaoshuai. Mandarin (English subtitles). 113 mins. 2002.
Persistence pays off for country boy Guei (Cui Lin) when he lands a coveted job as a bicycle messenger on the teeming streets of Beijing.
The silver mountain bike he now rides will be his -once he earns 600 yuan. But just as he makes his final payment, the bicycle is stolen! On the other side of the town, Beijing schoolboy Jian (Lee Bing) longs for a bicycle so he can ride around with his girlfriend Qin (Zhou Xun). Tired of banking on his father's empty promises, he steals a sum of money and buys a used bicycle -the bicycle that once belonged to Guei. After endless searching, Guei finally tracks down his bicycle -but there are complications. A tug-of-war breaks out with Jian. Then, they try working out a compromise. But the bargain they make takes them to an unexpected journey -a voyage of self-discovery that neither one of them will ever forget
Title: The Blue Kite
Call ID: VCH 303
Tian Zhuangzhuang. Mandarin (English subtitles). 138mins. 1994.
Banned by the Chinese government, The Blue Kite provides a unique window into contemporary Chinese life and politics.
During the Cultural Revolution in China a man called Teitou, his family and his friends all experience the political and social upheavals that shook continent. This scathing indictment of life under Chairman Mao was banned along with the filmmaker.
Title: C'est La Vie Mon Cheri
Call ID: DVCH 801
Lee/Universe Laser and Video Co., LTD. Chinese (English subtitles)
Title: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Call ID: VCH 307
Ang Lee. Chinese (English Subtitles). 120 minutes.
Two master warriors (Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh) are faced with their greatest challenge when the treasured Green Destiny sword is stolen.
A young aristocrat (Zhang Zly) prepares for an arranged marriage, but soons reveals her superior fighting talkents and her deeply romantic past. As each warrior battles for justice, they come face to face witht their worst enemy - and the inescapable, enduring power of love
Title: Crows & Sparrows
Call ID: VCH 306
Zheng Junli. Mandarin (English subtitles). 108 mins. 1940.
The most renowned of China's social films of the 1940s, Crows and Sparrows is hailed by film historian Jay Leyda as "a milestone in Chinese film history."
Capping the richly creative period of pre-revolutionary Chinese cinema, the film is also a landmark in Neo-Realism (a major movement within European cinema of the era). A greedy landlord tries to sell off his Shanghai boarding house and emigrate to Taiwan in advance of the expected Communist takeover. His tenants (including a teacher and his family, a peddler, a clerk, and some students) struggle valiantly to keep their homes, triumphing when the landlord is forced to flee the approaching Red Army.
Title: Eat Drink Man Woman
Call ID: DVCH 802
Ang Lee. Mandarin (English, French & Spanish subtitles). 124 mins. 1994.
Trouble is cooking for widower and master chef Chu (Sihung Lung) who's about to discover that no matter how dazzling and delicious his culinary creations might be they're no match for the libidinous whims of his three daughters.
A master in the kitchen, Chu is at a loss when it comes to the ingredients of being a father. Every Sunday, he whips up a delicacy of dishes for his ungrateful daughters, who are so self-consumed that they don't see his attempt at showing them love -gastronomically. So, as relationships sour and communications break down. Chu concocts a sure-fire recipe that will bring his family back together: He creates his own love affair to rival his daughter's affections!
Title: Farewell My Concubine
Call ID: VCH 302
Chen Kaige. Chinese (English subtitles). 157 mins. 1993.
This complex story of passion and political intrigue won the Best Film Award at Cannes and is an ambitious historical epic of China in the 20th Century.
It follows the enduring and is an ambitious historical epic of China in the 20th Century. It follows the enduring friendship between two opera stars in old Beijing. As they prosper, the political upheavals of war and revolutions take their toll. When a young prostitute threatens their professional and personal union, it becomes just one of many trials which test the enduring strength of art and love that bind these two men.
Title: Hong Kong 1941
Call ID: DVCH 800
Lueng Po Chi. Chinese (English subtitles). 97 mins. 1993.
International sensation Chow Yun Fat (John Woo's The Killer and Hard-Boiled, The Replacement Killers) and Cecilia Yip star in this compelling romance drama set in war-torn Hong Kong, on the eve of the Japanese invasion in 1941.
After arriving from the North, Chow befriends a local coolie (Alex Man). Their friendship is tested when they both fall in love with a terminally ill girl (Yip) whom Chow saved from the streets. In the end, one of them will make the ultimate sacrifice.
Title: In the Mood for Love
Call ID: DVCH 806 A
Wong Kar-wai. Cantonese & Shanghainese (English subtitles). 98 mins. 2000.
Hong Kong, 1962: Chow Mo-wan and Su Li-zhen move into neighboring apartments on the same day.
Their encounters are polite and formal -until a discovery about their respective spouses sparks an intimate bond. At once delicately mannered and visually stunning. Wong Kar-wai's IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE is a masterful evocation of romantic longing and fleeting moments of time.
Title: In the Mood for Love (Documentary)
Call ID: DVCH 806 B
Wong Kar-wai. Cantonese & Shanghainese (English subtitles). 98 mins. 2000.
Wong Kar-wai's documentary of the making of the film. Interviews with Wong Kar-wai.
Toronto International Film Festival press conference with stars Maggie Cheung Man-yuk &Tony Leung Chiu-wai. Essay by film scholar Gina Marchetti illuminating the movie's unique setting. Trailers, TV spots, electronic press kit & promotional concepts. Photo gallery. Biographies of key cast & crew.
Title: The Joy Luck Club
Call ID: VENG 331
Wayne Wang. English. 139 mins. 1993.
The stories of four women and their mothers are interwoven in this moving tale of exile, loss and new beginnings. Amy Tan's novel The Joy Luck Club is well realized in this careful adaptation certain to touch everyone.
Title: Ju-Dou
Call ID: DVCH 809
JU-DOU Zhang Yimou. Chin & Eng (Eng Subtitles). 94 mins.
A dark, sensual, and visually sumptuous drama, Ju Dou centers on the title character (Gong Li), the wife of a wealthy silk dyer in 1920s China.
Forced into marriage, Ju Dou is repeatdly mistreated and tortured by her husband for failing to bear him an heir, even though he is infertile. Her sufferiing attracts the sympathy of her husband's younger, kinder nephew, and the two begin a secret affair that could lead to tragic consequences
Title: Ju-Dou
Call ID: VCH 300
Zhang Yimou. Mandarin (English subtitles). 98 min. 1990.
They were destined, if not doomed, to be together. She was the mill owner's battered bride. He was his overworked nephew.
Out of their plight grew a profound and powerful secret love. Their hearts were free, but only murder could free the lovers from the tyranny of the mill owner. Or could it?
Title: The Last Emperor
Call ID: VENG 301
Bernardo Bertolucci. English. 164 mins. 1987.
He was crowned Lord of 10,000 years. Son of Heaven. The supreme ruler of half the world's population. He was three years old.
Thus begins the extraordinary true story of Pu Yi, who, in 1908, toddled to the Imperial Dragon Throne to become China's last emperor. Wealthy has-been at 6, deposed playboy at 19, puppet, prisoner, and finally, a palace gardener: it's an epic adventure, beginning to end. With John Lone as the emperor who fell from grace. Peter O'Toole, his kindly Scottish tutor. And the lovely Joan Chen as his perfect empress, later ruined by opium.
Title: To Live
Call ID: DVCH 807
Zhang Yimou. Mandarin Chinese (English Subtitles) 133 mins. 1994.
If To Live's, as Roger Ebert says, "conceals a universe," then watching this engrossing, exhilarating and extravagant film surely reveals one.
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize and Best Actor awards at the Cannes Film Festival, this epic film from China's most renowned director, Zhang Yimou (Oscar nominee for Ju Dou and Raised the Red Lantern), unveils a world worthy of "a Chinese Gone With the Wind" (The New York Observer)! Set against four decades of Chinese political turmoil, To Live follows the lives of one couple, Fugui and Jiazhen (Ge-You and Gong-Li), as they struggle to survive their own changing station within the upheaval. As the years go by, bringing bizarre twists, tragic loses…and profound hope, Fugui and his.
Title: To Live
Call ID: VCH 304
Zhang Yimou Chinese (English subtitles). 133 mins. 1994.
Set against four decades of Chinese political turmoil, To Live follows the lives of one couple, Fugui and Jiazhen as they struggle to survive their own changing station either the upheaval.
When Fugui gables away his family's fortune and loses their home, he is left with nothing but a trunkful of puppets by which to make his living. But his ability to entertain with the puppets lands him at first in the company of the nationalist army...and then the Red army. Banned in its home country for its devastating look at Chinese life, To Live is a must-see film.
Title: The Road Home
Call ID: DVCH 803
Zhang Yimou. Mandarin (English, French subtitles). 89 mins. 2000.
From the award-winning director of such acclaimed films as Raise the Red lantern and Fu Dou comes a romantic drama whose story is as beautiful as the cinematography.
The Road home will take you on an unforgettable journey filled with romance, culture and tradition. When his father dies, Luo Yusheng returns from the city to his childhood village where his father was the much-revered local teacher. But what begins as a short trip to bury his father becomes much more when he learns his mother wants a traditional burial for her beloved husband. She wants to have him carried by foot, honoring the belief that a body returned this way will never forget the road home. As Yusheng enlists the men needed to fulfill her wishes, the story of his parents' love affair unfolds. In the days of arranged marriages, he learns theirs was the first based on love.
Title: Shaolin Soccer
Call ID: DVCH 808
Stephen Chow. Chinese (English Subtitles). 112 mins. 2001.
In a fight against the gangsters, Sing who is watched by a previous soccer star Fung fights his way out to show his powerful martial arts kicking skills.
Sing is persuaded to form a soccer team together with his Shaolin comrades for the National Soccer Tournament. With Fung as their coach, Sing and his teammates' talents for Kung Fu are unleashed in the soccer field... Donated by Neil Hong.
Title: Shower
Call ID: DVCH 804
Zhang Yang. Mandarin (English, Spanish & French subtitles). 94 mins. 2000.
When successful businessman Da Ming is summoned by his younger brother to come home to his father's old -style bathhouse in Beijin, he can't wait to return to his fast-paced modern life.
But time amongst the crazy cast of characters that frequent the bathhouse give him a new appreciation for traditional old ways. When a tragic event causes sudden change, Da Ming must choose between the prosperous life he's made for himself and his responsibility to his family and his heritage.
Title: Spring Festival
Call ID: VCH 305
Jian-Zhong Huang. 100 mins.
This film portrays the reunion of a contemporary rural Northern Chinese family, the Chengs, for the New Year's festivities. As the five adult Cheng children arrive in turn at the family home, each with a spouse or lover in tow, the mix of problems, frustrations, and longings thickens.
Spring Festival evocatively depicts inter-generational tensions, sibling rivalries, and the waning of traditional cultural practices in a fast-changing society.
Title: Yellow EarthPlaceholder
Call ID: VCH 301
Chen Kaige: Mandarin (English subtitles). 89 mins. 1984.
A striking collaboration between two Fifth Generation Chinese filmmakers, director Chen Kaige (Farewell My Concubine) and Zhang Yimou (Raise The Red Lantern) who photographed the film in deep stylized colors.
Set in spring 1939, a young soldier researching folk songs enters a small community and gets emotionally entangled with an old man, his 14 year old daughter and his younger son. The film's conflict is set up by the younger woman's attraction to the soldier. With Xue Bai, Wang Xueqi, Tan Tuo and Liu Qiang.
Title: 400 Blows
Call ID: VFR 315
Francois Truffaut: French (English subtitles) 99 mins. 1959.
One of the landmarks of cinema, which introduced the character of Antoine Doinel, played by Jean-Pierre Leaud, to the world, as the 12 year old boy left to his own devices in an indifferent adult world. An uncompromising film, winner of innumerable awards.
Title: Alberto Expre$$
Call ID: VIT 338
Arthur Jeffe: Italian & French (English subtitles) 92 mins. 1992.
Every family has its own funny little traditions, but Alberto's takes quirkiness to the most hilarious extreme. In Alberto's family the children must pay their parents back every cent spent on their rearing; and the debt must be completely repaid before the children start a family of their own.
Unfortunately, Alberto is 40 and flat broke. If he can't come up with a big chunk of change to repay his father in a hurry, he's going to have to figure out a way to return his about-to-be-born baby. Taking the train to his father's home to seek mercy, Alberto is struck with an idea. Why not beg, borrow, and, steal his way to financial fitness? A wickedly funny comedy about families, finances and the kindness of strangers.
Title: Allonsanfan
Call ID: VIT 310
P&V Taviani:Italian (English subtitles) 115 mins. 1984.
One of the great films by the brothers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani (Night of Shooting Stars), Alonsanfan stars Marcello Mastroianni in a comic masterpiece, making use of bravura lightning and color schemes. Set after Napoleon has fallen in 1816, the film features Mastroianni as a disillusioned Jacobin aristocrat released from prison and torn between his revolutionary ideals and comfortable lifestyle. With Laura Betti, Lea Massari.
Title: Alphaville
Call ID: VFR 316
Jean-Luc Godard: French (English subtitles) 100 mins. 1965.
Eddie Constantine is Lemmy Caution, inter-galactic private eye, in his bravure mix of comic strip, science fiction and film noir in what is ultimately a new style of cinema, in which form and content are identical. Lemmy sets out to dispose of diabolical scientist Leonard Von Braun (a.k.a. Leonard Nosferatu) for Alphaville, the futuristic city run by an electronic brain, where love has been banished. A film in which poetry mixes freely with pulp to create a new dimension, a new cinematic reality.
Title: Amelie
Call ID: DVFR 813 A
Jean-Marc Deschamps: French (English subtitles) 122 mins. 2001
This magical comedy met overwhelming acclaim nationwide. A painfully shy waitress working at a tiny Paris café, Amélie makes a surprising discovery and sees her life drastically changed for the better. From then on, Amélie dedicates herself to helping others find happiness & in the most delightfully unexpected ways. But will she have the courage to do for herself what she has done for others?
Title: Artemisia
Call ID: DVFR 829
Agnes Merlet: French (English subtitles) 96 mins. 1998
A widely acclaimed critical favorite honored with a Golden Globe nomination as Best Foreign Film, Artemisia is the highly provocative true story of a young woman whose bold pursuit of artistic freedom and physival desire threatened the elite powers of her time.
Artemisia Gentileschi, the beautiful and talented daughter of one of Italy's greatest painters, is forbidden to fully pursue her own passion for painting. When she convinces a renonwned and unconventional artist to tutor her, however, he not only liberates her in the world of art...but initiates her into the treacherous world of sex and love! Following the controversy of a theatrical release that saw the original NC-17 rating overturned on appeal, Miramax Films is proud to present this important and powerful motion picture complete and unedited!
Title: Artemisia
Call ID: VFR 380
Agnes Merlet: French (English subtitles) 96 mins. 1998.
A widely acclaimed critical favorite honored with a Golden Globe nomination as Best Foreign Film, Artemisia is the highly provocative true story of a young woman whose bold pursuit of artistic freedom and physical desire threatened the elite powers of her time.
Artemisia Gentileschi, the beautiful and talented daughter of one of Italy's greatest painters, is forbidden to fully pursue her own passion for painting. When she convinces a renowned and unconventional artist to tutor her, however, he not only liberates her in the world of art... but initiates her into the treacherous world of sex and love! Following the controversy of a theatrical release the saw the original NC-17 rating overturned on appeal, Miramax Films is proud to present this important and powerful motion picture complete and unedited!
Title: L'Atalante
Call ID: VFR 363
JEAN VIGO: French (English subtitles)87 mins. 1934.
Black and White. The high water mark of French realism, set on a barge plying the Seine. A young barge captain and his bride live on a barge with the eccentric Pere Jules (Michel Simon).
With Boris Kauffman's cinematography, which evokes Paris and the Seine with the luminosity of Atget or Cartier-Bresson, and everyday life full of magical moments like Pere Jules ''museum' of exotic marvels and the husband's underwater vision of his lost bride. 'may be the greatest film ever made' (Georgia Brown, the village voice).Initially cut by seven minutes, this version is the fully restored 89 minute cut.
Title: L'Auberge Espagnole
Call ID: DVFR 814
Cedric Klapisch. French (English & Spanish Subtitles) 132 mins. 2003.
Xavier (Romain Duris) is a straight-laced French college senior who moves to Barcelona as part of a student exchange program, much to the dismay of his beautiful girlfriend Martine (Audrey Tautou). But sharing cramped quarters with students from all over Europe quickly leads to multi-cultural.
Title: Au Revoir les Enfants
Call ID: VFR 317
Louis Malle: French (English subtitles) 103 mins. 1988.
Louis Malle returns to the days of German occupation during World War II to recount the story of the friendship between two school boys, one Jewish and the other Catholic. A winner of many awards, including Best Picture in France.
Title: The Barbarian Invasions
Call ID: DVFR 818
DENYS ARCAND. French (English Subtitles) 99 mins. 2003.
Academy Award winner for best foreign language film, The Barbarian Invasions is a provocative look at the many ties that bind a group of friends and lovers! It's not easy for a narrow-minded professor (Rémy Girard) to reconcile with his equally stubborn son.
But soon, father and son find themselves gathering with their wide and colorful circle of family and friends to confront their differences, confess their secrets and celebrate life! Winner of the Best Actress (Marie-Josée Croze) and best Screenplay awards at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, this outstanding motion picture has been hailed by critics everywhere as one of the year's best!
Title: Barsoum's Special Tape
Call ID: VFR 400
Barsoum's special tape
Title: Barsoum's Special Video
Call ID: VFR 401
Barsoum's special tape
Title: Battle of Algiers (La Bataille D'Alger)
Call ID: VFR 319
Gillo Pontecorvo: French (English subtitles) 125 mins. 1966.
Internationally acclaimed, the staggering news-reel-like authenticity of the staged street riots and vital performances of the actors give Battle of Algiers a unique dramatic impact on this detailing of the Algerian revolt against the French. (La Bataille d'Alger)
Title: Battle of Algiers
Call ID: DVFR 815 A
Gillo Pontecorvo: French & Arabic (English Subtitles) 121 mins. 1966.
One of the most influential political films in history, Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers (La bataille d'Alger) vividly recreates a key year in the tumultuous Algerian struggle for independence from the occupying French in the 1950s.
As violence escalates on both sides, children shoot soldiers at point-blank range, women plant bombs in cafés, and French soldiers resort to torture to break the will of the insurgents. Shot in the streets of Algiers in documentary style, the film is a case study in modern warfare, with its terrorist attacks and the brutal techniques used to combat them. The Criterion Collection is proud to present Gillo Pontecorvo's tour de force-a film with astonishing relevance today.
-New high-definition digital transfer, enhanced for widescreen televisions
-Production gallery
-Theatrical and re-release trailers
-New and improved English subtitle translation;
[collapsible]
-New high-definition digital transfer, enhanced for widescreen televisions
-Production gallery
-Theatrical and re-release trailers
-New and improved English subtitle translation;
[collapsible]
Title: Battle of Algiers (Documentary)
Call ID: DVFR 815 B
Gillo Pontercorvo: English. 105 mins.
Disc Two: Pontecorvo and the film.[collapsible]
- Gillo Pontecorvo: The Dictatorship of Truth (1992):a37minutes documentary, narrated by literary critic Edward Said.
- Exclusive 51-minute documentary on the making of The Battle of Algiers, featuring new interviews with the director, cinematographer, composer, editor, actors, and film historians.
- Five Directors (17 mins. 2004): Spike Lee, Mira Nair, Julian Schnabel, Steven Soderbergh, and Oliver Stone on the film's influence, style, and importance.
Title: Battle of Algiers (Documentary)
Call ID: DVFR 815 C
Gillo Pontecorvo: English. 180 mins.
Disc Three: The Film and History.
- Remembering History (69 mins. 2004): an exclusive documentary that reconstructs the Algerian experience of the battle for independence, featuring interviews with historians and revolutionaries, including military leader Saadi Yacef.
- "États d'armes" (2002): a 28-minute documentary excerpt featuring senior French military officers recalling the use of torture and execution to combat the rebellion.
- The Battle of Algiers: A Case Study (25 mins., 2004): Richard A. Clarke, former national counter-terrorism coordinator and author of Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror, discusses the film's relevance with Michael A Sheenan, former State Department coordinator for counter-terrorism, in a conversation moderated by Christopher E. Isham, chief of investigative projects for ABC News. -Gillo Pontecorvo's Return to Algiers (58 mins., 1992): the filmmaker revisits the Algerians people after three decades of independence.
Title: Beaumarchais the Scoundrel
Call ID: VFR 365
Edouard Molinaro: French (English subtitles). 100 mins. 1997.
From the award-winning director of the smash hit LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (The Birdcage) comes this playful romp matching the witticism of Ridicule and the splendor of Amadeus. Fabrice Luchini shines as the legendary French playwright Pierre- Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (The Marriage of Figaro).
An artist whose work influenced the likes of Mozart snide Rossini, Beaumarchais the Scoundrel was one of history's most extraordinary figures: inventor, playwright, diplomat, playboy, Royal spy for King Louis XV, an emissary of the colonial attacks against Britain during the American Revolution. Love affairs, scandals, and espionage fill director Edouard Molinaro's hilarious, yet elegant and richly detailed period piece exploring the years 1774-1784 an explosive period in Beaumarchais' unprecedented life.
Title: Beauty and the Beast
Call ID: VFR 308
Jean Cocteau: French (English subtitles) B&W. 93 mins. 1946.
Jean Cocteau's superb adaptation of Marie Leprince de Beaumont's dark fairy tale is ferociously inventive and stylized depiction of erotic obsession, about a young woman's discovery of a ravaged soul beneath a monstrous beast.
With Jean Marais, Josette Day and Marcel Andre. Cinematography by Henri Alekan. 'A sensuously fascinating film, the visual progression of the fable into a dream-world casts its unpredictable spell' (Bosley Crowther).
Title: Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bete)
Call ID: DVFR 810
Jean Cocteau: French (English subtitles) B&W. 93 mins. 1946.
Once upon a time, in a world of magic and wonder, the true love of a beautiful girl finally dispelled the torment of a feral but gentle-hearted beast. Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bete) is a landmark feat of cinematic fantasy in which master filmmaker Jean Cocteau conjures spectacular visions of enchantment, desire, and death that have never been equaled. The Criterion Collection proudly presents the original film version of Mme. Leprince e Beaumont's fairy-tale masterpiece in a newly restored special edition.
Title: La Bete Humaine
Call ID: VFR 388
Jean Renoir: French (English subtitles). 75 mins. 1938
A dark and threatening mood is set throughout this movie by master film director Jean Renoir. How far will the train engineer (gabin) go for his lover.
Title: Blue
Call ID: VFR 343
Krysztof Kieslowski: French (English subtitles). 98 mins. 1993.
Praised as one of the top films of the year by critics and audiences alike, this stylish and provocative mystery delivers captivating performances and stunning imagery! Sexy star Juliette Binoche (1997 Oscar winner/ The English Patient) is a young woman left devastated by the unexpected death of her husband and child.
She retreats from the world around her, but soon reluctantly drawn into an ever-widening web of lies and passion as the dark, secret life of her husband begins to unravel. With each startling discovery and heart-stopping surprise, Blue is sure to entertain you from beginning to end!
Title: Le Boucher
Call ID: VFR 314
Claude Chabrol: French (English subtitles). 90 mins. 1969.
A first rate psychological thriller from Claude Chabrol about the evolving relationship of a beautiful school teacher and a serial murderer. ' In Chabrol's films, the relationships are plotted with mathematical precision that does not rule out surprising developments' (Roy Armes). With Stepahne Audran, Antonio Passallia, Mario Beccaria and Pasquale Ferone.
Title: Le Bourgeouis Gentilhomme
Call ID: VFR 303
La Comedie Francaise: French (English subtitles). 97 mins. 1958.
The classic by Moliere played by the Comedie francaise.
Title: Camille Claudel
Call ID: VFR 323
Bruno Nuytten: French (English subtitles). 159 mins. 1989
Intense performances by Isabelle Adjani and Gerard Depardieu add fire to this adaptation of the family authorized 'biography' of overlooked sculptress Camille Claudel. After years of living with master sculptor Auguste Rodin (Depardieu) as pupil and lover, Claudel fell into a paranoid depression when he left her. Her disapproving family had her committed to a mental institution, where she wasted away for the remaining thirty years of her life. Adjani won a Cesar for her performance in this tragic story.
Title: The Chambermaid on the Titanic
Call ID: VFR 377
Bigas Luna: French (English subtitles). 96 mins. 1998.
In the tradition of Like Water For Chocolate and IL Postino, THE CHAMBERMAID ON THE TITANIC is a mystical and unpredictable fable full of mad passion and unbearable sensuality. Once again, Horty (Olivier Maritnez) is the winner of the annual trial of strength organized by the foundry where he works. This year his prize is extraordinary: a round-trip ticket to Southampton, England to watch the Titanic leave on its maiden voyage. In his Southampton hotel room Horty is approached by Marie, a stunning chambermaid due to board the Titanic the next day. Believing in Maire's hard luck story of having no place to spend the night, Horty apprehensively agrees to share his room with the beautiful stranger Returning home to his wife, Horty's recount of the night he met Marie will change his life forever as the magical tale of his forbidden romance transforms all those who hear it. Donated by Prof. Cecile Insdorf, Dept. of Romance Languages, May 2000.
Title: Chaos
Call ID: DVFR 819
Coline Serreau: French (English subtitles). 109 mins.
This is a rousing and daring tale combining aspects of pulse-pounding melodrama with loopy battle-of-the-sexes comedy. Hélène and Paul, a bourgeois couple, are rushing to a dinner engagement when they see Malika, a young prostitute being chased by three men.
As the thugs attack the woman, Paul immediately rolls up the windows and speeds off. Full of remorse, Hélène tracks down Malika in the hospital. As Hélène nurses Malika through her recovery, she realizes that her life has been changed forever. She can never return to her selfish husband and son. Malika tells Hélène a shocking story. She ran away from her family after her father sold her to an Algerian businessman. Homeless, living on the streets, she was turned into a sex slave by a vicious criminal organization. In the tense final act, Hélène joins forces with Malika in an elaborate and daring scheme to double-cross her pimps and get both her freedom and her revenge.
Title: The Charterhouse of Parma
Call ID: VFR 360
Louis Salou Coedel: French (English subtitles). B&W. 165 mins. 1948
Fabrice Del Dongo (Gerard Philipe), a young archbishop of Parma, falls in love and wishes to break his vows to the church. His aunt, the Countess of Sanseverina, in love with Fabrice herself, will stop at nothing to further his celibate career. A wonderful portrait of Italian court life during the early 1800's, full of intrigue, ambition, duels and passionate crimes. An action/adventure film that will transport you back to an era of romantic love where honor and virtue were worth dying for.
Title: Children of Paradise
Call ID: VFR 313
Marcel Carne: French (English subtitles). 189 mins. 1943-1945
Set in the 1840's, when pantomime and melodrama were at height on Paris' famed theater street, le Boulevard du Crime, Marcel Carne's delicate yet elaborate portrait of the authors and thieves who made the Boulevard their home has all the passion, the intelligence and authority of a truly great work of art.
Title: Chocolat
Call ID: VFR 312
Denis Claire: French (English subtitles). 105 mins. 1988.
Claire Denis takes the viewer on an emotional and strikingly visual memory trip back to the colonial Africa of her youth. In her directorial debut, she spins an engaging tale of a small white girl growing up in Cameroon on the isolated compound of her French official father and her lonely gorgeous mother. With Giulia Boschi, Issach de Bankole, Francois Cluzet and Cecille Ducasse.
Title: The City of Lost Children
Call ID: DVFR 823
Jeunet ∓ Caro: French (English subtitles). 112 mins. 1995.
A gutsy little girl and a sentimental strongman (Ron Perlman) join hearts and hands to save a small boy's dreams from a madman's master plan. Phenomenal French duo Jeunet & Caro ('Delicatessen') deliver a fantastically-twisted fairy tale chock-full of curious characters, spectacular stunts and unforgettable visuals.
Title: Claire's Knee
Call ID: VFR 318
Eric Rohmer's most popular work, a vibrant luscious comedy which focuses on the temptations of a diplomat who visits his childhood home just before he married to a woman with whom he has lived for six years. Charming and sunny sex comedy. With Jean-Claude Brialy and Lawrence de Monaghan.
Title: Un Coeur En Hiver
Call ID: VFR 340
Claude Sutet: French (English subtitles). 100 mins.1991.
Claude Sautet's 13th feature is loosely based on Lermontov's novel 'A Hero of our Time'. Two violin makers (Daniel Auteuil and Andre Dusollier) are affected when a beautiful violinist enters their lives.
The film addresses the question of whether Auteuil is able to reconcile his cold rigid nature with his deep emotional attraction to Beart. With Elizabeth Bourgine, Myriam Boyer, Brigitte Catillon and Maurice Garrel as a brilliant music teacher.
Title: Colonel Chabert
Call ID: VFR 352
Yves Angelo: French (English subtitles). 111 mins. 1992.
Gerard Depardieu stars as the returning war hero who is not supposed to return. Now he faces another battle at home to claim that which is rightfully his. Honore de Balzac's novel is treated to a lush production.
Title: Contempt
Call ID: VFR 392
Jean-Luc Godard: French (English subtitles). 102 mins. 1963
A young French dramatist living in Rome accepts an assignment to write a screenplay for an American film producer. Suddenly, and for seemingly no reason, his wife begins to regard him with utter contempt. He pleads for an explanation, but one is not given.
Declaring simply that she no longer loves him. They are invited to stay at the producer's villa in Capri during the filming of the movie. Once there, the film's director and the writer immediately disagree on the approach to the film... An epic, romantic adventure... or an intimate psychological drama drawing from the legend of Ulysses' Penelope and Penelope's suitors - paralleling the couple's conflict. An affair ensues between the producer and the writer's wife; and when the outraged husband confronts her, she admits she stopped loving him because she felt he was pushing her into the affair to further his own career... he was no longer a man! She decides to leave her husband and return to Rome with the producer, but something quite unexpected happens…
Title: Contempt (Le Mepris)
DVFR 812 A
Jean-Luc Godard: French (English subtitles). 104 mins. 1963
Jean-Luc Godard's subversive foray into commercial filmmaking is a start-studded cinemascope epic. Contempt (Le Mepris) starts Michel Piccoli as a screenwriter torn between the demands of a proud European Director (played by legendary director Fritz Lang) , a crude and arrogant American producer (Jack Palance), and his disillusioned wife, Camille (Brigette Bardot) as he attempts to doctor the script for a new film version of The Odyssey.
The Criterion collection is proud to present this brilliant study of marital breakdown, artistic compromise, and the cinematic process in a new special edition.
Title: Contempt (Le Merpis)
DVFR 812 B
Documentary. Jean-Luc Godard. French (English subtitles). 104 mins. 1963.
Title: Contre Vents Contre Marées
Call ID: DVFR 828
Pat Mire presente par Zachary Richard. French 80 minutes. Against the Tide is the epic story of one of the most celebrated and misunderstood ethnic communities in North America. Ravaged by bloody religious wars, French farmers left Western France in the 17th century to establish a new homeland in the wilderness of what today is Nova Scotia.
After a brutal deportation by the British, (ethnic cleansing in contemporary parlance) the ancestors of the Cajun people were able to end their exile and reunite their families in Louisiana. Through the years, the Cajun people have maintained their identy and language in spite of the overwhelming pressure of Americanization.
Title: The Counterfeiters
Call ID: DVGE 808
Stefan Ruzowitzky: German, French ( Eng,Fre,Spa Subtls). 99 Mins.
The Counterfeiters tells the true story of Solomon Sorowitsch ( Karl Markovics), a swindler who made a name for himself as a Berlin's "King of the Counterfeiters. However, his life of women and easy money is cut short when he is arrested and placed in a Nazi concentration camp.
With the German army on the verge of bankruptcy, Sorowitsch makes a sobering deal with his captors: in exchange for a comfortable bed, good food and fair treatment, Sorowitsch, along with the other hand-picked specialist, must counterfeit bank notes to fund the Nazi war effort. If he does as they say, he lives another day. If he rebels, he faces the same fate as the rest of camp's prisoners. But if he lives, will he be able to live with himself?
Title: Coup de Torchon
Call ID: DVFR 833
Bertrand Tavernier: French (English subtitles). 128 Mins.
An inspired rendering of Jim Thompson's pulp novel pop.1280, Bertrand Tavernier's coup de torchon (which means clean slate) deaftly transplants the story of an innempt police chief-turned-heartless killer and his scrappy mistress from the American south to French West Africa.
Featuring pitch perfect performances by Philippe Noiret and Isabelle Huppert, this striking neo-noir straddles the line between violence and lyricism with dark humor and visual elegance, perfectly captured by Criterion's glorious new anamorphic transfer.
Title: Cyrano de Bergerac
Call ID: VFR 354
Jean-Paul Rappeneau: French (English subtitles). 138 mins. 1990.
Gerard Depardieu is magnificent as poetic soldier with the prominent proboscis. Based on the classic play by Rostand in which a 17th century swordsman proves inarticulate only when it comes to expressing his love for his cousin Roxanne face to face. Packed with pageantry, poetry and robust performances. With Anne Brochet, Jacques Weber, and some 2000 extras.
Title: Danton
Call ID: VFR 301
Andrzej Wajda: French (English subtitles). 143 mins. 1982.
'Brilliant filmmaking - a controlled tumult of painterly compositions and sensational performances, one of the most gripping revolutionary thrillers I've ever seen' wrote Andrew Sarris in The Village Voice of Wajda's historical epic of the French Revolution, with implications to modern day Poland.
Title: Danton
Call ID: DVFR 328A
Andrzej Wajda: French (English subtitles). 136 Mins.
Gerard Depardieu and Wojciech Pszoniak star in Andrzej Wajda's powerful, intimate depiction of the ideological clash between the earthy man of the people Georges Danton and the icy Jacobin extremist Maximilien Robespierre, both key figures of the French Revolution.
By drawing parallels with the Polish Solidarity movement, which was being quashed by the government as the film went into production, Wajda drags history into the present. Meticulous and fiery, Danton has been hailed as one of the greatest films ever made about the Terror.
Title: Danton
Call ID: DVFR 328B
Andrzej Wajda: French (English subtitles). 136 Mins.
The Supplements.
Title: A Day in the Country
Call ID: VFR 320
Jean Renoir: French (English subtitles) B&W. 40 mins. 1936.
Based on story by Guy de Maupassant: 'an innocent girl comes of age in Jean Renoir'sshort film. This lyrical tragedy rates with Renoir's greatest. Visually it captures the impressionist period' (Pauline Kael).
Title: Diabolique
Call ID: DVFR 805
Criterion Collection. French (English subtitles) B&W. 116 mins. 1954.
An Acknowledged influence on PSYCHO, Henrigeofges Clouzot's Horror classic is the Story of a sadistic headmaster who brutalizes his fragile wife and his headstrong mistress. The two women murder him and dump his body in a swimming pool; when the pool is drained, no corpse is found. Criterion presents Diabolique in a new digital transfer.
Title: La Discrete
Call ID: VFR 369
Christian Vincent: French (English subtitles). 96 mins. 1990.
A sophisticated tale of seduction and romance, La Discrete, begins when Antoine, a would-be novelist, finds his latest girlfriend has dropped him before he has had the chance to break up with her. Reeling from this blow to his pride, Antoine vows to take revenge on women-he will seduce and abandon a woman at random, and then publish a diary of the affair.
Catherine as his victim, Antoine gets much more than he bargained for. The bookstores and cafes of Paris' Left Bank have never looked more beautiful than in this truly remarkable first film from director Christian Vincent. La Discrete also introduces Judith Henry, who won France's Best New Actress award for her powerful and subtle performance. Donated by Prof. Cecile Insdorf, Dept. of Romance Languages, May 2000.
Title: The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Call ID: VFR 330
Luis Bunuel: French (English subtitles). 100 mins. 1972.
An all-star French cast assembles for a diner party, but whenever they try to eat, something happens to interrupt them. Bunuel brilliantly mixes biting social satire with bold surrealistic invention as the dinner party serves to lampoon such targets as diplomats, wealthy socialites socialites and even radical terrorists.
Title: Diva
Call ID: VFR 326
Jean- Jacques Beneix: French (English subtitles). 123 mins. 1981.
A breathtaking series of visual images in this stylish romantic thriller; at the heart of the film is an opera-intoxicated 18-year old mail carrier who becomes unwittingly entangled in a web of murder, intrigue and passion.
Title: The Earrings of Madame de...
Call ID: DVFR 827
Max Ophuls: French ( English Subtitles) B&W. 100 mins. 1953.
The Earrings of Madame de. . . Is an emotionally profound, cinematographically adventurous tale of false opulence and tragic romance.
When the aristrocratic woman known as Madame de ( The extraordinary Danielle Darrieux) sold her earrings, unbeknownst to her husband ( Charles Boyer) , in order to pay personal debts, she sets off a chain reaction, to financial and carnal consequences of which can only end in despair.
Title: The Earrings of Madame de...
Call ID: VFR 384
Max Ophuls: French (English subtitles) B&W. 105 mins. 1953.
A spoiled socialite (Darrieux) married to a general (Boyer), flirts with an amorous diplomat (Di Sica). As the affair escalates, the glittering shallowness of their privileged existence plunges into disaster, as all three risk everything for love and honor.
The crowning masterpiece of virtuoso Ophuls (LA RONDE, LOLA MONTES, LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN), this dazzling experience in cinematic style ripens from a soufflé of social satire into a profoundly moving romantic tragedy. With a complexity worthy of the music of Mozart and the novels of Stendhal, Ophuls explores the consequences of passion as a projection of personality, creating an elaborately artificial world now gone forever, and animating it with timeless emotions.
Title: East/West (Est/Ouest)
Call ID: DVRU 801
Réges Warnier: French/Russian (English subtitles). 125 mins. 1993.
From the director of Academy Award -winning Indochine comes another highly acclaimed film. Academy Award -nominated (1999) for Best Foreign Language film, EAST/WEST (EST/OUEST) is a wonderfully imagined film that follows the plight of a young couple and their child as they choose to go back to the Soviet Union in 1946.
At the end of the war, Stalin invited Russians who fled the country to return. The talented young doctor Alexei Golovine (Oleg Menchikov), accompanied by his French bride the beautiful Marie (Sandrine Bonnaire) and their son, optimistically returns to the Soviet Union. Their arrival is a rude one. Interrogations are followed by the grim reality of post-war Soviet Union: shared apartments, suspicious neighbors and lack of privacy. Marie soon starts to rebel against the circumstances, but her husband finds that his talents are needed and appreciated by the authorities, so he starts to get ahead. Marie meets up with a touring French actress (Catherine Deneuve), and soon faces a terrifying choice: to leave her husband and child for freedom, or stay and confront a grim future.
Title: Egalite for All
Call ID: DVENG 804
Noland Walker: English (Color & B&W). 60 minutes.
It was the only successful slave insurrection in history. It grasped the full meaning of French Revolutionary ideas and used them to create the world's first black republic. It elevated a former slave, Toussaint Louverture, to such intrnational fame that admirers ranked him on par with George Washington.
It was the Haitian Revolution, a movement of admirable aspirations..and appalling destruction. Vaguely remembered today, the Haitian Revolution of 1791-1804 traumatized planters in the American South and inspired U.S. slaves. EGALITE FOR ALL explores this history through music, voodoo ritual, powerful recreations, and insightful writers and historians.
Title: Les Enfants Terribles
Call ID: VFR 386
Jean Cocteau: French (English subtitles) B&W. 100 mins. 1949.
Two seemingly disparate filmmakers - Jean-Pierre Melville, best known for his dark black-and-white ventures into the criminal underworld, and Jean Cocteau, the poet of the mythical underworld- come together to bring Cocteau's celebrated play of love, death and incest to the screen.
Paul (Edouard Dermithe) not only shares his untidy single room with his sister Elisabeth (Nicole Stephane), but these two teens also share an unhealthy obsession for each other. Outside forces compel them to face their attraction and leads them to tragedy.
Title: Entre Nous
Call ID: DVFR 802
Diane Kurys: French French (English subtitles) 112 mins. 1983
Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, Entre Nous beautifully captures the rare friendship between two married women trying to find the courage to defy the social rules of their time in order to escape their unfulfilling lives.
Their friendship blossoms over the years as each faces a succession of crises that greatly alter their lives. Written and directed by Diane Kurys (Peppermint Soda) who was inspired by her own parent's relationship and the woman that came between them.
Title: L'Esquive
Call ID: DVFR 831
Abdellatif Kechiche: French ( English Subtitles). 120 Mins. 2003.
Abdelkrim, nicknamed krimo, fifteen years old, lives in a housing project in the suburbs of Paris. He goes through his boring mundane life with his best friend, Eric, and their group of friends.
Its spring and Krimo falls under the spell of his classmate Lydia, a lively, chatterbox and mischievous young girl. He takes the risk to act in a school play by Marivaux to attract her attention.
Title: The Eternal Return
Call ID: VFR 306
Jean Delannoy: French (English subtitles). 112 mins. 1943.
Jean Delanoy's modernized version of the legend of Tristan and Isolde.
An enormous commercial success during the worst days of the German occupation of France, the film is based on a script by Jean Cocteau, and is the tragic love story of two friends, Patrice and his Uncle Marc, who share a deep friendship. When Patrice falls on love with Marc's wife Nathalie, the loyalty he feels for his Uncle prevents him from telling her of his love, only to find that she returns it.
Title: Exiles
Call ID: DVFR 822
Tony Gatlif: French (English Subtitles). 104 mins.
Romain Duris and Lubna Azabal give charismatic and sensual lead performances as Zano and Naima, a bohemian Parisian couple, who impulsively set off for Algeria.
In the classic road movie tradition, international award- winning director Tony Gatlif (Latcho Drom) evocatively charts the young couple's odyssey though memorable encounters and indelible images of foreign landscapes. The vibrant soundtrack propels "Exiles" with its fusion of percussive contemporary music and mesmerizing traditional ethnic rhythms that reconnect the couple with their lost heritage
Title: La Femme Nikita
Call ID: VFR 350
Luc Besson: French (English subtitles). 117 mins. 1991.
A stylish punk thriller from director Luc Besson, in which a French street junkie (anne Parillaud) is arrested and threatened with life imprisonment. She is then allowed to leave if she agrees to go to work for the French secret police as an assassin. This suspenseful film is highlighted by Besson's stylishly decorous visual composition and innate sense of dramatic pacing.
Title: Germinal
Call ID: VFR 351
Patrick Bordier: French (English subtitles). 166 mins. 1993.
Gerard Depardieu stars in this sweeping film based on Emile Zola's masterful novel. A simple but honest and charismatic miner takes on a heroic quest for justice that leads him and his entire community to a fateful end. This tale of unforgivable wrongs stirs the soul.
Title: Gervaise
Call ID: VFR 341
Rene Clement: French (English subtitles). 121 mins. 1956.
A perfect example of a polished adaptation of a novel, this one, L'Assommoir by Emile Zola. Gervaise is a young woman whose husband becomes an alcoholic after an accident. Notable for a marvelous reconstruction of 19th century Paris.
Title: La Guerre Est Finie
Call ID: VFR 311
Alain Resnais: French (English subtitles). 120 mins. 1966.
This great film by Alain Resnais, scripted by Jorge Semprun, stars Yves Montand, Genevieve Bujold, Ingrid Thulin and Michel Piccoli. Resnais shifts between reality and Montand's mental states in an incisive portrait of an aging Spanish revolutionary exile who is imprisoned by his past as he confronts the failure of his ideas. Resnais explores Montand's insecurities through his relationships with two very different women (Thulin and Bujold)
Title: Hate (La Haine)
Call ID: VFR 353
Mathieu Kassovitz: French (English subtitles). 95 mins. 1996.
Maybe you think you've seen it before: Three racially divergent boys in the hood bang heads with the riot police in a housing project where drugs, violence and hatred are facts of life. Nothing new here, except that this hood is just outside Paris. The issues in this bonfire of a movie transcend geographical barriers to speak a universal language of unrest.
Title: Hiroshima Mon Amour
Call ID: VFR 309
Alain Resnais: French (English subtitles) 90 mins. 1959
From the beginning, in which the love-making of a French actress (Emanuelle Riva) and a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) is inter-cut with newsreel footage of Hiroshima's atomic holocaust and its aftermath, to the couple's painful walk through the reconstructed city, Resnais' film recaptures both the pain and the richness of the war.
Title: Hiroshima Mon Amour
Call ID: DVFR 816
Alain Resnais: French (English Subtitles) B&W. 90 mins. 1959.
A cornerstone of French cinema, Alain Resnais' first feature is one of the most influential films of all time.
A French actress (Emmanuelle Riva) and a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) engage in a brief, intense affair in postwar Hiroshima, their consuming fascination impelling them to exorcise their own scarred memories of love and suffering. Utilizing an innovative flashback structure and an Academy Award-nominated screenplay by novelist Marguerite Duras, Resnais delicately weaves past and present, personal pain and public aguish, in this moody masterwork. .
Title: Immigrant Memories
Call ID: VFR 379 A
Yamina Benguigui: French (English Subtitles). 1997. Part 1.
The Fathers. In this now classic three-part documentary on Maghrebian immigration to France, Yamina Benguigui weaves together narratives from three different times. She begins by focusing on the first wave of immigrants to France after WW II, male laborers recruited to provide a temporary workforce.
In the second and third parts she chronicles its changing nature, by focusing on the wives who came to join their husbands, and then on the children who were born in France. Through extensive interviews with both immigrants and politicians, interspersed with historical footage, Benguigui's film has been a major contribution to the study of immigration in modern France.
Title: Immigrant Memories
Call ID: VFR 379 B
Yamina Benguigui: French (English Subtitles). 1997. Part 2.
The Mothers. In this now classic three-part documentary on Maghrebian immigration to France, Yamina Benguigui weaves together narratives from three different times. She begins by focusing on the first wave of immigrants to France after WWII, male laborers recruited to provide a temporary workforce.
In the second and third parts, she chronicles its changing nature, by focusing on the wives who came to join their husbands, and then on the children who were born in France. Through extensive interviews with both immigrants and politicians, interspersed with historical footage, Benguigui's film has been a major contribution to the study of immigration in modern France.
Title: Immigrant Memories
Call ID: VFR 379 C
Yamina Benguigui: French (English Subtitles) 1997. Part 3.
The Children. In this now classic three-part documentary on Maghrebian immigration to France, Yamina Benguigui weaves together narratives from three different times. She begins by focusing on the first wave of immigrants to France WW II, male laborers recruited to provide a temporary workforce.
In the second and third parts, she chronicles its changing nature, by focusing on the wives who came to join their husbands, and then on the children who were born in France. Through extensive interviews with both immigrants and politicians, interspersed with historical footage, Benguigui's film has been a major contribution to the study of immigration in modern France.
Title: Inch' Allah Dimanche
Call ID: DVFR 824
Yamima Benguigui: French and Arabic (English Subtitles). 98 Mins.
French/Algerian director Yamina Benguigui bring us a passionate immigrant story of a woman struggling against old traditions. Zouina leaves her homeland with her three children to join her husband in France, where he's been living for the past ten years.
In a land and culture foreign to her, Zouina struggles against her mother in-law's tyrannical hand and her husband 's distrustful bitterness in an attempt to adjust to her life in exile.
Title: Indochine
Call ID: VFR 335
Regis Wagner: French (English subtitles). 156 mins. 1992.
Regis Wagnier's epic is set during the French occupation of South-East Asia in the 1930's. Catherine Deneuve plays a plantation owner who searches for her adopted Vietnamese daughter Camille (Linh Dan Pham) after the young woman falls in love and becomes a communist revolutionary.
This intimate and tautly scripted work interweaves layers of deep affection with stirring historical details of 30's French Indochina' (Toronto Festivals of Festivals). Winner of the 1992 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Title: Irma Vep
Call ID: DVFR 800
Oliver Assayas: French (English subtitles). 96 mins. 1996.
Vidal chooses Cheung to play Irma Vep, the leader of a band of jewel thieves. Arriving in Paris unable to speak a word of French, Cheung finds herself stuck in the middle of a stressful situation when the production begins to fall apart and Vidal suffers a nervous breakdown.
Title: J'ai Faim, J'ai Froid (I'm Hungry, I'm Cold) / Saute Ma Ville / Hotel Monterey
Call ID: VFR 385
Chantal Akerman: French (English subtitles). 82 mins. 1984.
AKERMANIA-SHORTER WORKS SHORTER WORKS by Chantal Akerman. "J'AI FAIM, J'AI FROID (I'M HUNGRY, I'M COLD) " Two young Belgian girls run away from home in Brussels.
They spend a day and a evening in Paris looking for food and love, with comic and poignant results. Stars Maria de Medeiros (Henry & June) "SAUTE MA VILLE" Belgium/1968/ A young woman (Akerman) comes home to her apartment in Brussels, where she cooks pasta and seals herself in with duct tape. The story end with a bang. Akerman's first film made at the age of 18. "HOTEL MONTEREY" USA/1972/Color A stark, silent look at a N.Y. pension hotel.
Title: Jean de Florette
Call ID: VFR 304
Claude Berri: French (English subtitles). 122 mins. 1987.
A marvelous tale of greed and intolerance from the novel by Marcel Pagnol about a city hunchback who inherits a valuable piece of property in rural France only to have his efforts thwarted by the villainy of his venal neighbor. With Gerard Depardieu, Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil, Elisabeth Depardieu and Ernestine Mazurownas as little Manon.
Title: Le Jour Se Lève
Call ID: VFR 364
Marcel Carne's: French (English subtitle) B&W. 88 mins. 1939.
Jean Gabin gives a flawless performance as a tough romantic who barricades himself in his apartment after committing a crime of passion.
Released just months before the German Occupation, Le Jour Se Leve (Daybreak) is a stunning example of French poetic realism accentuated by rich, expressionistic sets; highly detailed, reoccurring objects; and simplistic dialogue. Through and intense musical score and exact balancing of characters, Marcel Carne projects a powerfully persuasive vision of a world in which love is inevitably crushed by the blind forces of evil. A remarkable cinematic achievement from the director- writer team responsible for the legendary Children of Paradise
Title: The Lady and the Duke
Call ID: DVFR 809
Erick Rohmer: French (English and Spanish subtitles). 129 mins. 2001.
The Lady and the Duke is a suspenseful, visually opulent story based on a true story about an unusual friendship during a dangerous time.
From highly acclaimed master director Eric Rohmer (Tales of Four Seasons) starring exceptional talents Lucy Russell 9Following) and Jean-Claude Dreyfus (Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children). Beautiful aristocrat Grace Elliott enjoys her comfortable upper-middle class life and warm friendship with her former lover the Duke of Orleans, until the turbulent French Revolution of the 1790s frighteningly begins. Their friendship unravels as Grace risks her life taking a fugitive against the Duke's wishes. Soon, Grace urges the Duke not to make a horrifying decision. But ultimately she's unable to prevent several bloody fates -including the possibility of her own.
Title: The Little Thief
Call ID: VFR 349
Claude Miller: French (English subtitles). 100 mins. 1989.
The story of a female teenage delinquent in France who was reformed by the power of the photographic image. Based on a treatment never filmed by the late director Francois Truffaut and completed by Claude Miller. Story mirrors 400 Blows in tone and subject matter.
Title: Lola Montes
Call ID: VFR 347
Max Ophuls: French & German (English subtitles). 110 mins. 1955.
Ophuls' opulent biography of the famous 19th-century courtesan whose adventures and love affairs with King Ludwig I, Liszt and student are told in flashback from a circus ring by the ring master, Peter Ustinov. Brilliant use of color and cinemascope, breath taking shots and camera movements; Ophuls conjures up a sublime work that is pure cinema.
Title: Love After Love
Call ID: VFR 387
Diane Kurys: French (English subtitles). 104 mins. 1992.
Spanning a year in the life of Lola (Isabelle Huppert), a novelist famous for turning her life into fiction, we follow her loves and the loves of her loves. It is the story of how the 70's generation is dealing with the 90's and the contradiction, often comic, between what we expect of romance and the need from love.
Title: Lumumba
Call ID: DVFR 811
Roul Peck: French (English subtitles). 115 mins. 2002.
Made in the tradition of such true-life political thrillers as MALCOM X and JFK, Raoul Peck's award-winning LUMUMBA is a gripping epic that dramatizes for the first time the rise and fall of legendary African leader Patrice Lumumba.
When the Congo declared its independence from Belgium in the 1960, the 36-year-old, self-educated Lumumba became the first Prime Minister of the newly independent state. Called "the politico of the bush" by journalists of the day, he became a lightning rod of Cold War politics as his vision of a united Africa gained him powerful enemies in Belgium and the U.S. Lumumba would last just months in office before being brutally assassinated. Strikingly photographed in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Belgium as civil war.
Title: Madame Bovary
Call ID: DVFR 817
Claude Chabrol: French (English & French Subtitles). 143 mins. 1991.
Isabelle Huppert is "ravishingly erotic" (Newsday) as Madame Bovary in acclaimed director Claude Chabrol's masterful adaptation of Gustave Flaubert's novel.
An uncompromising portrait of a woman desperate to escape her bourgeois life, Madame Bovary is a "triumphant [and] provocative" (Rolling Stone) tale of passion and destruction. The beautiful and fiercely Emma Bovary (Huppert) is trapped in a loveless marriage with a small-town physician (Jean Francois Balmer). Possessed for a hunger for life and love, Emma pursues scandalous affairs with passionate abandon. But when her equally spending triggers a financial crisis, she must gain control over her behavior before she completely destroys the lives of those around her.
Title: Madame Bovary
Call ID: VFR 381
Claude Chabrol: French (English subtitles). 1991.
It's a mixed blessing, but Claude Chabrol's 1991 adaptation of Madame Bovary can at least claim a proper French pedigree in its fidelity to Flaubert's literary classic, it's certainly more faithful than Madame herself, played here with icy determination by Isabelle Huppert.
Frustrated, repressed, and desperate for any opportunity to break free of her numbing marital bondage, the wife of Dr. Bovary finds her chance in the affections of Rodolphe Boulanger (Christophe Malavoy), but she is too shallow and too selfish to sense his lack of commitment. And as Flaubert's tale unfolds (along with Chabrol's dryly accurate interpretation), Emma Bovary finds herself caught in a snare of her own design. This tragedy of self-absorption--a universal study of indulgence, ignominy, and fatal discontent--should prove potent for anyone who feels the oppression of an unhappy marriage, but it's also a compelling study of boredom as an internal phenomenon. Huppert conveys exasperation, passion and self-destruction in equal measure, yet she barely alters passive, blank expression; her performance is too cold to ignite the resonant themes of Flaubert's novel. All in all, one wonders if Chabrol--seemingly uneasy with costume drama--is being too respectful of Flaubert at the cost of his own directorial mastery. This is a prestigious and worthwhile adaptation, but like one of Dr. Bovary's patients, it's being bled to the point of paleness and fainting. The result is a literate film that's "good for you," even though it may not be entirely good. --Jeff Shannon
Title: Madame Bovary
Call ID: VFR 307
Jean Renoir: French (English subtitles) B&W. 102 mins. 1934.
Jean Renoir's French version of Flaubert's great novel stars Valentine Tessier 'as an anomalous creature, half swan, half goose. This large woman is not at all what one expects, yet she's surprisingly effective. The sunlight and the spaciousness emphasize Emma's loneliness; she's a middle class woman with an ample figure, drifting along on romantic daydreams.' (Pauline Kael). With Pierre Renoir, Jean's brother, as Charles Bovary, Max Dearly as M. Homais.
Title: Madame Rosa
Call ID: VFR 329
Moshe Mizrahi: French (English subtitles). 104 mins. 1977.
Madame Rosa is an aging Jewish prostitute who earns her living raising other prostitutes' children when they can no longer tend to them.
Simone Signoret gives a riveting performance performance as the ailing Holocaust survivor turned prostitute, whose spirit is renewed by her love for an Arab boy abandoned in her care. Their enduring relationship makes this a truly unique and touching love story. With Simone Signoret, Sammy Ben Youb and Claude Dauphin.
Title: Manon of the Spring
Call ID: VFR 305
Claude Berri: French with English subtitles. 113 mins. 1987.
Companion film to JEAN De Florette. Emanuelle Beart is the grown-up, revenge seeking daughter of the kindly hunchback who was destroyed by the greed of his neighbors. Yves Montand and his nephew Daniel Auteuil learn the awful truth of their villainy in the conclusion of a classic tale of misinformation and retribution. From the novel by Pagnol.
Title: Marius and Jeannette
Call ID: VFR 368
Robert Guediguian: French (English subtitles). 102 mins. 1996.
In a small port outside of Marseilles, an animated circle of friends and neighbors join to share in the funny, colorful and off-beat love story of Marius and Jeanette. This quirky romantic comedy is a lyrical and mature chronicle about listening to the music of the heart. Donated by Prof. Cecile Insdorf, Dept. of Romance Languages, May 2000.
Title: Masculin / Feminin
Call ID: VFR 321
Jean-Luc Godard: French (English subtitles). 103 mins. 1966.
A film about Marx and Coca Cola directed by the child of Brecht and Hollywood.
Two young lovers attempt to communicate throughout 15 discontinuous, contrapuntal vignettes. Dancing between precision and improvisation, this is one of Godard's most complex films, representing both a search for tenderness and a disheartening foray into the Sex War. With Jean Pierre Leaud, Chantal Goya, and Catherine Isabelle Duport. Donated by Prof. Cecile Insdorf, Dept. of Romance Languages, May 2000.
Title: The Milky Way (La Voie Lactée)
Call ID: VFR 302
Luis Bunuel: French (English subtitles). 105 mins. 1969.
Luis Bunuel's outrageous and very funny satire on the Catholic Church and church ritual, and a road movie in its own right. Two tramps on a pilgrimage encounter the Devil, the Virgin Mary, and different arguments about catholic doctrine.
Title: Moliere - Le Misanthrope
Call ID: VFR 378
Duc/Andry: French. 100 mins.
In this hilarious and ironic story, Alceste, a sincere and ingenuous man, finds himself at odds with the artificial and hypocritical milieu of the 17th century royal court.
Unfortunately, he falls in love with Celimene, a fashionable young beauty whose coquetry makes her the perfect product of her society. Mistaking her flirtation for an expression of true love, Alceste makes a bid for marriage, only to discover that a clutch of other courtiers have done the same thing. Realizing at last that Celimene's love is a chimera, he determines to live alone, far from the machinations of country life.
Title: Mondo
Call ID: VFR 383
Tony Gatlif: French (English subtitles). 80 mins. 1994.
Homeless in a paradisiacal world of sun and sea, no one knows where Mondo comes from. A gypsy boyof about 10, he appears one day on the streets of Nice, France with an irresistible smile and the question, "Would you like to adopt me?"
Hiding from the police while introducing himself to complete strangers, Mondo makes many friends: The Magician, who takes him on as his assistant, Thi-Chin, a Vietnamese woman who offers him shelter, Giordan, a fisherman who teaches him to read with letters drawn on beach stones and Dadi, a veteran of the streets, who is often a companion. Although hardships exist for him, Mondo reveals the sheer beauty of life on earth, a beauty he brings to those he meets as well... until one day he disappears again.
Title: Mon Oncle d'Amerique
Call ID: VFR 390
Alain Resnais: French ( English Subtitles). 123 mins. 1980.
Three lives, three ambitions…Jean, Rene, Janine: two men and a woman from different generations and different backgrounds, whose paths meet at a crisis point in mid-life.
Faced with disappointment and frustration, all three muse about a legendary "Uncle in America", a guardian angel who gives them their hearts' desires and tells them exactly what they want to hear. From Alain Resnais, one of France's most acclaimed directors, comes a fascinating story about the roots of human behavior.
Title: Monsieur Ibrahim
Call ID: DVFR 821
François Dupeyron: French (English Subtitles). 95 mins.
Monsieur Ibrahim is an elderly widower who owns a grocery store in a shabby, working-class section of Paris.
His life takes on new meaning when he befriends Momo, a lonely teenage boy (Pierre Boulanger). In Ibrahim, Momo finds the father he never had, a patient man infused with kindness and a wisdom that he freely shares. And Momo awakens within Ibrahim a taste for grand adventure, which takes them on a journey that will change their lives forever.
Title: Monsieur Lazhar
Call ID: DVFR 830
Philippe Falardeau. French (English subtitles). 94 Mins. 2012.
Monsieur Lazhar tells the moving and poignant story of a Montreal middle school class shaken by the death of their well-liked teacher, and the 55-year-old Algerian immigrant who offers his services as a substitute teacher and aids the process of collective healing.
Title: My Father's Glory
Call ID: VFR 339
Yves Robert: French (English subtitles). 110 mins. 1991.
An 11-year old boy spends an enchanting summer in the rugged French country side with his family. The experience becomes a turning point in his young life and cements his relationship with his father. From the novel by Marcel Pagnol, a gorgeous film starring Philippe Caubere and Nathalie Roussel.
Title: My Life to Live
Call ID: VFR 391
Jean-Luc Godard: French (English Subtitles). 85 mins. 1962.
My Life To Live is a meditation on the nature of existence. It contemplates the soul of its heroine, living her life in the cafes, streets, and hotel rooms which make up her world.
The film has thriller -novelette basis-the story of Nana, a girl who leaves her husband and child , turns to casual prostitution, meets a pimp and becomes a professional and tries to quit because she falls in love. My Life To Live is arranged into a series of haphazard incidents. It is one of Godard's most richly paradoxical works and perhaps the most beautifully designed of all his films.
Title: My Mother's Castle
Call ID: VFR 336
Yves Robert: French (English subtitles). 117 mins. 1991.
In the companion film to My Father's Glory, a boy continues his love affair with the wild country of southern France. Through frequent family visits to their summer home, he learns to love and understand his mother's true nature. The heartfelt conclusion to the story by Marcel Pagnol.
Title: Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud
Call ID: VFR 376
Claude Sautet: French (English subtitles). 103 mins. 1995.
Renowned director Claude Sautet reunites with his UN COEUR EN HIVER star Ennanuelle Beart in this engaging romance of longing and denial, reminiscent of Krzysztof Kieslowski's RED.
The stunning Beart plays Nelly, a disheartened young Parisian with marriage and financial troubles. Introduced to the wealthy Arnaud by a mutual friend, Nelly agrees to assist him in his memoirs. The unlikely couple initially develop a playful flirtation: Arnaud is immediately captivated by Nelly's radiant beauty and Nelly by Arnaud's brusque air of dignity and sophistication. This budding relationship is threatened when Nelly becomes involved with Arnaud's charming editor (Jean-Hughes Anglade of LA FEMME NIKITA and KILLING ZOE ). What follows is a succession of near-misses and might-have-beens that frame the hesitations and sudden pleasures of unexpected love. NELLY AND MONSIEUR ARNAUD features brilliantly nuanced performances from Beart (MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, MANON OF THE SPRING, LA BELLE NOISEUSE) and Serrault (LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, DIABOLIQUE) in this poignant love story where the greatest emotions are often revealed only through glances and gestures. Donated by Prof. Cecile Insdorf, Dept. of Romance Languages, May 2000.
Title: The Nun (La Religiese)
Call ID: VFR 359
Jacques Rivette's: French (English subtitles). 155 mins. 1966.
Originally banned by the French government, acclaimed French New Wave director Jacques Rivette's adaptation of Diderot's classic 18th century novel explores with poetic simplicity the moving tale of a 16 year old girl who is forced by her mother to enter a convent.
Suzanne, played by the exceptional Anna Karina, is persuaded by a kind Mother Superior soon dies and Suzanne meets with the rigors and abuses of her harsh successor. Her desperate attempts at freedom land her first in another convent, and then finally, though with tragic ends, in the outside world. Despite the controversy over its release, THE NUN is less and indictment of religious order than a condemnation of the repressiveness of the 18th Century society- a society in which women had two choices addictated by their families: marriage or the convent.
Title: Orpheus (Orphee)
Call ID: VFR 355
Jean Cocteau: French (English subtitles) B&W. 86 mins. 1949.
Crafted by one of this century's most revered artists, Orpheus is a film whose beauty defies description. The viewer stands transfixed in a world where fantasy is as tangible as reality. This dazzling centerpiece to Cocteau's Orphic trilogy (Blood of a Poet, The Testament of Orpheus) is perhaps his greatest work. Venice Film Festival, Best Direction; La Critique International, Grand Prix.
Title: Overseas (Outremer)
Call ID: VFR 382
Brigitte Roüan: French (English subtitles). 96 mins. 1992.
This stunning Cannes award-winning film features three beautiful sisters caught in a whirlwind of dramatic social change.
The lush and privileged life of French colonial Algeria creates for them an oasis in the center of a harsh desert while revolution erupts around them. The movie presents the sisters' stories from three distinct perspectives -each more graphically revealing the startling truth about events that will forever alter their lives. Overseas is a film of sensual beauty and Mediterranean passion.
Title: Paris Belongs to Us
Call ID: VFR 327
Jacques Rivette: French (English subtitles). 138 mins. 1958-60.
Shot on weekends, with no money and no sets, with actors donating their time and Chabrol providing left-over film stock, this film concerns a group of amateurs who come together in Paris to stage a performance of Shakespeare's Pericles.
But sexual and political tensions develop, the composer dies, the producer kills himself, and a fascist conspiracy seems to be lurking in the background. The result of Rivette's two year struggle is a work of total originality and inventiveness, of amazing depth and independence of vision.
Title: Phedre
Call ID: VFR 362
Peierre Jordan: French (English subtitles). 92 mins. 1984.
According to Greek legend, Theseus returned from war with the Minoans on Crete to become king of Athens and took Phedre, the daughter of the vanquished King Minos to be his wife.
Phedre fell in love with the King's son, Hippolyte, but he did not return the love, prefering one his own age. Phedre caused her husband, the King, to be wrongly jealous of his son and prayed to Neptune to destroy him. When Hippolyte was in fact killed after fighting a sea monster, Phedre killed herself in remorse. Starting with this basic legend, Jean Racine, the dramatist considers 'the most French of French writers', adapted the story for the stage in 1677. His pure Alexandrine verse, realistically portraying the characters, has lead to a continuing appreciation of his works. Marie Bell, thought of so highly by the contemporary French author and statesmen Malraux, possesses a classic background in keeping with the purity of the legend and tradition of the French adaptation. A member of the Comedie Francaise since 1928, she began her film career in 1924 and was a remarkably a well-preserved 68 years old when she undertook the portrayal of this tragic figure. Her decoration for valor in the French Underground during the war was the Legion of Honor, awarded by General DeGualle himself. Phedre therefore, comes with a French pedigree as authentic as the Eiffel Tower. A powerful film of human emotion in the style of a classic Greek tragedy. Cinema for the intellect indeed.
Title: Pickpocket
Call ID: VFR 373
Robert Bresson: French (English subtitles). B&W 75 mins. 1959.
Robert Bresson's masterpiece is a magnificent drama about a thief: his techniques, motives and secret existence.
Loosely based on Dostoevsky's CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, it tells the compelling story of an insignificant man who drifts into crime. Michel, a melancholy and sensitive young man, is moved by an irresistible compulsion and begins stealing at the racetrack and on the subway. He develops a methodical study of the black art of pick- pocketing, associating with other thieves and practicing his techniques with others. When he provokes a sympathetic police investigator who had been following his movements, Michel flees from Paris. Returning several years later, he finds redemption and love in Jeanne, a young woman who once cared for his mother. -Donated by Prof. Cecile Insdorf, Dept. of Romance Languages, May 2000.
Title: Pierrot Le Fou
Call ID: DVFR 804
Jean-Luc Godard: French (English subtitles). 110 mins. 1965.
Hailed as Jean-Luc Godard's most popular film since Breathless, Pierrot Le Fou, captures the 60's French cool that only Godard could create.
After attending a mindless party full of shallow chatter, Ferdinard feels his mundane world is closing in on him. Desperately wanting to escape, he finds himself in the arms of another woman. Unaware that Marianna's dark past still haunts her, they take off for the pictures South of France. What proceeds is a roller coaster ride filled worth passion, desperation and regret as these two lovers meet their final fate.
Title: Le Plaisir
Call ID: VFR 348
Max Ophuls: French B&W (English subtitles). 94 mins. 1952.
Max Ophuls' ironic, humorous trilogy of De Maupassant short stories stars some of France's greatest stars.
The three tales are Le Masque, in which an old man rediscovers his youth by wearing a mask; La Maison Tellier, in which a group of prostitutes go on an annual holiday trip to the country; and La Modele, in which an artist who makes mistresses out of his models marries one when she cripples herself while trying to commit suicide.
Title: Police
Call ID: VFR 374
Maurice Pialat: French (English subtitles). 113 mins. 1985.
Gerard Depardieu (GREEN CARD) stars as a tough romantic cop living on the edge in Maurice Pialat's exciting crime drama POLICE.
While investigating a North African drug ring, he falls in love with a sullen, voluptuous suspect and struggles to reconcile his personal ethics with his growing passion for her. As this dark love story unwinds, it becomes clear that good and evil, cops and crooks not only coexist but are intimately engaged in a deadly embrace. Donated by Prof. Cecile Insdorf, Dept. of Romance Languages, May 2000.
Title: La Promesse
Call ID: VFR 366
Luc & Jean-Pierre Dardenne: French (English subtitles). 93 mins. 1996.
Hailed by critics everywhere as one of the top ten films of the year, The Promise, is the extraordinary story of a boy's ascendance to grace.
Under the conscienceless guidance of his father (Olivier Gourmet as Roger), fifteen-year old Igor appears destined to a life of petty crime. All changes, however, when Igor delivers an uncompromising promise to Hamidou -an immigrant who while working illegally for Roger accidentally falls to his death. As Roger scrambles to cover-up the accident, Igor suddenly finds himself torn between his loyalty to Roger and the agreement he made with Hamidou. Suspicious of Roger's motivation and intimately drawn to the heart of his promise, Igor must choose between his love for his father and the demands of his awakening conscience.
Donated by Prof. Cecile Insdorf, Dept. of Romance Languages, May 2000.
Donated by Prof. Cecile Insdorf, Dept. of Romance Languages, May 2000.
Title: Queen Margot
Call ID: VFR 344
Patrice Chereau: French (English subtitles). 144 mins. 1994.
Winner of five Cesar Awards, Patrice Chereau's stylish, realistic adaptation of Alexander Duma's tale is set during the Catholic Protestant wars of 16th-century France.
Isabelle Adjani plays Margot, the unwilling daughter of Catherine de Medici (Virna Lisi in a Cannes Festival-winning role), who is married to Protestant leader King Henry of Navarre (Daniel Auteuil). In the film Chereau creates a non-stop series of betrayals, intrigues, plots, poisonings, love affairs and executions as Margot falls for a common soldier (Vincent Perez).
Title: Red
Call ID: VFR 333
Krysztof Kieslowski: French (English subtitles). 99 mins. 1994.
Kieslowski's striking conclusion of this Three Colors trilogy stars Irene Jacob as a model, separated from her lover, who is brought by accident into the life of the aging Jean-Louis Trintignant, retired judge and electronic peeping Tom. As Irene slowly uncovers her lover's secret life, she discovers that her own past is inevitably linked to her destiny. With Jean- Pierre Lorit and Frederique Feder.
Title: The Red and the Black
Call ID: VFR 337
Claude Autant-Lara: French (English subtitles) 134 mins.1957.
Stendhal's The Red and The Black stands a landmark in international literature, initiating the psychological realism that dominated the 19th century novel. Director Claude Lara's faithful screen adaptation, preserving much of Stendhal's original dialogue, has received international acclaim of its own.
The struggle of ambitious, amoral Julien Sorel to rise within the rigid social order of post-Napoleontic France is a story brought vividly to life in this spectacular production. With Gerard Philippe, Danielle Darieux.
Title: Rendevous in Paris
Call ID: VFR 372
Eric Rohmer: French (English Subtitles). 100 mins. 1995.
A witty, enchanting comedy about the complications of love, Rendezvous In Paris follows three young couples as they face the vanities, cruelties and deceptions of their romantic entanglements.
Through the picturesque cafes and parks of springtime Paris, New Wave master Eric Rohmer (Boyfriends and Girlfriends, Pauline at the Beach) once again displays his unique take on the follies and treacheries of the human heart. Donated by Prof. Cecile Insdorf, Dept. of Romance Languages, May 2000.
Title: The Return of Martin Guerre
Call ID: VFR 338
Daniel Vigne: French (English subtitles). 123 mins. 1982.
Dramatization of an extraordinary imposture that took place in the 16th century and became a legend; the husband leaves his family and years later, returns. He re-integrates himself into family and community, but then serious doubts spring up about his identity. Is he the real Martin Guerre? With Gerard Depardieu, Nathalie Baye.
Title: Ridicule
Call ID: DVFR 826
Patrice Leconte: French (English Subtitles). 103 mins.
Nominated for an Academy Award (Best Foreign Language Film,1996 and honored by critics as of the Year's 10 Best Motion Pictures, RIDICULE is an exceptionally entertaining tale of passion and deceit!
In a desperate quest to save his hometown, a young man quickly learns that a sharp wit is the key to open any door in the Versailles court of Louis XVI! But his mission is complicated when he finds himself locked in a dangerous triangle with two very seductive ladies: a sophisticated older woman who can help him... and an innocent young beauty with nothing to offer but her love! Wickedly funny humor and outstanding performances highlight this must-see triumph!
Title: La Ronde
Call ID: VFR 393
Max Ophuls: French (English subtitles). 97 mins. B&W 1950.
Set in dimly lit parlors and boudoirs, Max Ophuls' wonderfully wicked film pulls the viewer onto a carousel of romance. In ten timeless sketches adapted from Arthur Schnitzler's play Reigen a charming corss section of society persues passion in turn-of-the-century Vienna.
Leading a glittering international cast, Antoo Walbrook (The Red Shoes acts as the ringmaster who smoothly ties the humorously risqué tales together. The film's merry-go-round feel, heightened by Ophuls' legendary camera movements and Oscar Straus' waltzes, comments exquisitely on the fleeing nature of physical love. Once deemed "immoral" by U.S. critics. La Ronde is a delightful satire on sexual behavior.
Title: Russian Dolls
Call ID: DVFR 825
Cédric Klapisch: French (English subtitles). 129 Mins.
Title: Scarlet and Black - Part 1
Call ID: VENG 345 A
Ben Bolt: English. 208 mins. 2000.
Handsome, brilliant and ambitious, Julien Sorel is a man of affairs in every sense. Determined to fulfill his lust for power and wealth, he believes that if one is to rise in society that the route no longer lies in the Army (the `scarlet') but rather in the Church (the `black').
An irresistible story of love, politics and manners. Julien is sent by his mentor, Father Chelan, to work as a tutor for the children of the influential Monsieur De Renal. Julien is loved by the children and household, however, it is the love shown to him by Madame De Renal which has the most bearing upon his stay with the family and life thereafter.
Title: Scarlet and Black - Part 2
Call ID: VENG 345 B
Ben Bolt: English. 208 mins. 2000.
Handdsome, brilliant and ambitious, Julien Sorel, is a man of affairs in every sense. Determined to fulfill his lust for power and wealth, he believes that if one is to rise in society that the route no longer lies in the Army (the `scarlet') but rather in the Church (the `black').
An irresistible story of love, politics and manners. Julien is sent by his mentor, Father Chelan, to work as a tutor for the children of the influential Monsiuer De Renal. Julien is loved by the children and household, however, it is the love shown to him by Madame De Renal which has the most bearing upon his stay with the family and life thereafter.
Title: A Single Girl
Call ID: DVFR 806
Philippe Carcassonne: French (English subtitles). 90 mins. 1996.
This intimate drama shows a day in the life of a young Parisian woman named Valerie played by Virginie Ledoyen (The Beach). Before her first day at work as a room service waitress at a four star hotel, Valerie reveals to her boyfriend, Remi (Benoit Magimel) that she is four weeks pregnant. Shot in real time, we follow Valerie around as she meditates on the paths of human nature she crosses, sometimes comic, sometimes hostile, which lead her to make important decisions about her future.
Title: Sitcom
Call ID: VFR 371
Francois Ozon: French (English subtitles). 80 mins. 1997.
I'll never forget the day my father brought it home. I mean, I can understand Mom's distaste for such a pet, however domesticated it was, but who could have ever suspected such unbound horror from this cute little animal.
Through its gaze my younger brother found the courage to declare his homosexuality to our family - whether he believed it to be true or not. At first this didn't seem to cause much concern, until my mother tried to 'convert' him back by forcing her own sexual impulses on him. I, on the other hand, ended up a suicidal paraplegic dominatrix who tried to seduce my father before his twisted admiration for the rat changed him too, literally. Donated by Prof. Cecile Insdorf, Dept. of Romance Languages, May 2000.
Title: The Sorrow and the Pity
Call ID: VENG 340
Marcel Ophuls: English, 260 minutes.
Marcel Ophuls' monumental documental covering the German occupation of France during World War II. Through poignant interviews and stark newsreel footage, Ophuls creates a sense of living history. 'A magnificent epic on the themes of collaboration and assistance. There's nothing comparable to [it]' (Pauline Kael).
Title: The Story of Adele H
Call ID: VFR 325
Francois Truffaut: French (English subtitles). 97 mins. 1975.
In 1863, the beautiful young daughter of the world-famous writer Victor Hugo crosses the Atlantic in desperate pursuit of the man she believes is her fiancé, her lover, her destiny. For months and years she waits for him, throws herself in his path. Finally, her intensity gives way to madness. Truffaut called this film an autopsy of passion.
Title: Sugar Cane Valley (La Rue Cases-Negres)
Call ID: VFR 328
Euzan Palcy: French (English subtitles). 107 mins. 1985.
Euzan Palcy's lyrical village drama set in French-occupied 1930s Martinique. The story examines the relationship of a determined, impoverished 11-year-old and his equally difficult and shrewd grandmother, who sacrifices everything for the boy's happiness. With Darling Legitimus, Gary Cadenat, Routa Seck and Joby Bernabe.
Title: A Sunday in the Country
Call ID: VFR 357
Bertrand Tavernier: French (English subtitles). 94 mins. 1984.
Alive with the subtle brush strokes of an artist at the top of his form, Bertrand Tavernier's acclaimed A Sunday In The Country is a lovingly photographed and exquisitely acted portrait of French family life on the brink of World War 1.The film was one of the major works to seal Tavernier's reputation in the United States, along with THE CLOCKMAKER, COUP DE TORCHON, 'ROUND MIDNIGHT and more recently CAPITAINE CONAN. Kino is proud to present it here in a letter-boxed, newly remastered version.
Title: The Swindle
Call ID: VFR 367
Claude Chabrol: French (English subtitles). 105 mins. 1997.
Mysterious relationships, suspenseful double-crosses, vicious gangsters and deft humor fill this witty and elegantly woven tale of intrigue. Victor and Betty have established a very comfortable life together as two small-time con artists who specialize in bilking ordinary people out of their money.
For year, Victor's well-planned scams have managed to keep them out of trouble. Betty's growing desire for the less mundane begins to threaten their success. Bettyreveals that, for the past year, she has been secretly wooing the perfect target -a handsome executive (Maurice) who also works as a courier for money- laundering mobsters. Using the prospect of millions to lure Victor into her con, Betty arranges what she thinks is the perfect shakedown. Playing both men against one another each other, she initiates a tricky three-cornered game of double-cross that leads from a Swiss resort to a Caribbean island, where the stakes get higher and the game turns into more than she bargained for. Donated by Prof. Cecile Insdorf, Dept. of Romance Languages, May 2000.
Title: La Symphonie Pastorale
Call ID: VFR 334
Jean Delannoy: French (English subtitles). 105 mins. 1946.
This sensitive adaptation of Andre Gide's introspective novel is precisely constructed, brilliantly acted, and beautifully photographed.
Set in a mountain village, the emotionally complex story follows the spiritual growth and decline of its two lead characters, a well-meaning pastor and the blind orphan he takes into his home. Initially, the minister is guided by Christian principles to raise the orphan, Gertrude, with fatherly love, but as she grows into a beautiful woman, he is driven by a passion that destroys the happiness of his wife and son. With Michele Morgan and Pierre Blanchar. Black and white.
Title: Tartuffe
Call ID: VFR 361
Gerard Depardieu: French (English subtitles). 135 mins. 1984.
In his first directorial effort, Gerard Depardieu (GREEN CARD, UNDER THE SUN OFSATAN, CYRANO) breaths new life into Moliere's masterpiece about religious and sexual hypocrisy.
Inspired by a stage production directed by Jacques Lassalle of the Theater National de Strasburg, Depardieu takes bold chances, underscoring Moliere's satiric wit, poetic language and profound comic insights into human greed and delusion. Events unfold when a rich merchant falls under the spell of a charismatic religious zealot. Gerard Depardieu's TARUFFE is a powerful manipulator, charming his way into the merchant's household, making passes at the master's wife and wreaking havoc with his daughter's engagement party. Pushed to their limits, the entire family conspires to expose the impostor. Gerard Depardieu stars with a dazzling cast, including his wife, Elisabeth and renowned classical actor, Francois Perier.
Title: The Taste of Others
Call ID: VFR 389
Agnès Jaoui: French (English Subtitles). 112 mins. 2000.
Fun, sexy and richly rewarding, The Taste of Others earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Foreign Language Film (2000)!
The lives and loves of several completely opposite men and women artfully intersect in what becomes a delightfully funny web of romantic entanglements! While negotiating differences in wealth and status, style and taste, this vivid collection of characters mix and match in outrageously volatile combinations! Internationally acclaimed for its sexy comic sophistication-expect the unexpected from this uncommonly entertaining motion picture!
Title: That Obscure Object of Desire
Call ID: VFR 324
Luis Bunuel: French (English subtitles). 104 mins. 1977.
Afinal masterpiece from Bunuel, in which he uses two actresses playing one role to illustrate the unfathomable nature of sexual obsession. Fernando Rey stars. Nominated for Two Academy Awards, including Best Foreign Film.
Title: Three Lives and Only One Death
Call ID: VFR 375
Raoul Ruiz: French (English subtitles). 123 mins. 1997.
Marcello MastroianniI stars as Banker/Armsdealer Luc Allamand in a surrealistic shell game during which the primary players remain a mystery to each other.
Fitting together the pieces to this clever puzzle, Luc's tangled life takes us on a dynamic journey through the live of his adversaries: Mateo Strano, a traveling salesman who leaves home for a pack of cigarettes and returns to his wife twenty-years later; Pat Vickers, a world famous professor of Negative Anthropology who chooses to moonlight as a homeless panhandler while his lover (Anna Galiena as Tania) splits her time running a large corporation with her need to explore eroticism as a high class call girl; and an opulent butler whose manipulation of Luc's daughter (Chiara MastroianniI) will lead to the games tragic conclusion in a small French cafe. In the tradition of a Nathaniel Hawthorne novel with a hint of Bunuel and Borges, Raoul Ruiz's fairy tale mixes comedy and suspense in this fictional examination of man- kind's capacity to host a multitude of identities. Donated by Prof. Cecile Insdorf, Dept. of Romance Languages, May 2000.
Title: Three Men and a Cradle
Call ID: VFR 346
Coline Serreau: French (English subtitles). 106 mins. 1985
One of the funniest French films in recent years, an unlikely story of three confirmed bachelors who receive a six-month-old roommate. This little bundle of joy can turn into a big bundle of trouble, and chaos of a hilarious kind ensues.
Title: To Be and to Have
Call ID: DVFR 820
French (English Subtitles). 104 mins.
France's highest grossing documentary of all times is an intimate and touching portrait of life inside an one-room schoolhouse in a rural French Village and one of the most emotionally gratifying films about teaching ever made.
At the center of the story, and now an international celebrity, is George López -a remarkably devoted teacher responsible for nurturing a dozen children ages 3-11 in all their school subjects and life lessons-. Whether mediating fights flipping omelets, or discussing a father's illness with a trouble student, López upholds a firm, but gentle paternal approach. This incredible film demonstrates how a teacher, if well trained, dedicated and sensitive to a child's educational and emotional needs, can hugely influence a generation of children at their most critical time of development.
Title: Two English Girls
Call ID: DVFR 808
Francois Truffaut: French (English subtitles). 130 mins. 1971.
A darkly beautiful love story centering around one man's (Jean-Pierre Léaud) romantic affairs with two sisters (Kika Markham and Stacey Tendeter). Anne (Markham) originally intends Claude (Léaud) to fall in love with her younger sister Muriel (Tendeter). However, when Anne starts developing feelings for Claude, complications between the three arise. Based on a novel by Henri-Pierre Roché (Jules and Jim), Two English Girls explores the sensitive and painful story of an emotionally charged love triangle.
Title: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Call ID: DVFR 803
Catherine Deneuve: French (English subtitles). 91 mins. 1990.
A long unseen triumph in cinematic beauty, Jacques Demy's 1964 Cannes Film Festival Grand Prize Winner is available for the first time in this digitally remastered fully restored version.
Dazzling sets brought to life by revolutionary use of color and music by Academy Award winner Micheal Legrand's classic unforgettable soundtrack (every word of dialogue id sung!), make this bittersweet love story one of the most beautiful films of all time. Catherine Deneuve stars in this ageless fairytale of doomed love. The restoration, long thought to you as a loving tribute by Denny's widow, filmmaker Agnes Varda. Composer Micheal Legrand produced the new Dolby stereo mixing.
Title: Under the Roofs of Paris
Call ID: VFR 322
Rene Clair: French (English subtitles). 87 mins. 1930.
Clair's poetic exploration of Parisian life evokes characters' follies with shabby little garrets, cobblestoned streets, bistros, boudoirs and jails, all recreated within the studio. Also notable is Clair's adventuresome use of music.
Title: The Wanderer
Call ID: VFR 345
Jean-Gabriel Albicocco: French (English subtitles). 108 mins. 1967.
Alain Fournier's classic novel, Le Grand Meaulnes, is interpreted by Albicocco with fantastic imaginary and stunning color-in a remarkable recreation of a child's memories and examination of his transition from romantic, idealistic youth to clear-eyed adult. With Jean Blaise and Brigitte Fossey.
Title: When the Cat's Away
Call ID: VFR 356
Cedric Klapisch: French (English subtitles). 91 mins. 1997.
WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY is a purr-fect romantic comedy about a beautiful girl, her missing pet and her search for true love in Paris. Featuring a dazzling Parisian backdrop and a hip, acid-jazz soundtrack, When The Cat's Away is 'wonderfully funny, and touching and unforgettable!
Title: White
Call ID: VFR 332
Krysztof Kieslowski: French And Polish (English subtitles). 92 mins. 1993.
The second part of Kieslowski's Blue-White-Red trilogy, based on the concepts of the French tri-color. A Polish man's life disintegrates when his new French bride deserts him after only six months. Forced to begin anew, he returns to Poland and plans a clever scheme of revenge against her. July Delpy is great as the young wife.
Title: Aguirre: The Wrath of God
Call ID: VGE 301
Werner Herzog: German (English subtitles). 94 mins. 1973.
In the mid-1500's, a large Spanish expedition searching for the mythical lost city of Eldorado detached an advance party to explore a tributary of the Amazon; They never returned.
Werner Herzog expanded this obscure historical incident into a spectacularly horrifying chronicle of imperialism gone amok. Klaus Kinski delivers a magnificent performance as Don Lope de Aguirre, a power-driven lunatic who dreams of stealing an entire continent.
Title: Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
Call ID: VGE 304
Rainer Werner Fassbinder: German (English subtitles). 94 mins. 1974.
Fisbinder draws on the formula of the classic American tear-jerker to tell the outrageous, touching story of a bumpy love affair between a German floorwasher and an inarticulate Arab mechanic.
Ali:Fear Eats The Soul is a moving romance, a perverse social comedy, and a biting drama. With his warm humanism and cool irony, Fassbinder is able to create art from material that in the hands of most directors would never transcend soap opera.
Title: The American Soldier
Call ID: VGE 318
Rainer Werner Fassbinder. German (English Subtitles). 80 mins. 1970.
Fisbinder's version of the Hollywood gangster film pays homage to movie greats Humphrey Bogart, Sam Fuller, and Orson Welles to name few.
The story centers on Ricky, a Charismatic hit man who always wears a gun bulging from his shoulder holster, sports a soft fedora hat and white double-breasted suit, and drinks Ballantine scotch straight from the bottle. Recently returned from Vietnamized America, Ricky carries out his assigned murders without knowledge or emotion. The amazing final shoot-out is probably the most startling of Fassbinder's patented off-beat endings.
Title: The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant
Call ID: VGE 317
Rainer W Fassbinder. German ( English Subtitles). 124 mins. 1972.
Cisidered among Fassbinder's most controversial films, The Bitter Tears Of Petra Von Kant reaches new levels of stylization, outrageousness and surprise.
The story deals with the shifting power relationships among three women: a successful fashion designer, her contented assistant, and sultry model. Accompanied by the music of Verdi and The Platters, dressed in an incredible melange of glitter and C.B. DeMille, these women act out a super-charged melodrama of passion.
Title: The Blue Angel
Call ID: VGE 302
Joseph Van Sternberg: German (English subtitles). 98 mins. 1930.
This ever fascinating 1930 film classic made Marlene Dietrich an international star.
Sitting on a chair huskily singing 'Falling In Love Again', in top hat, black stockings, bare thighs, clutching her knee, she encapsulates an age and impulse of German cinema. Professor Unrat, finely characterized by Emil Jannings, has a humdrum existence of an English teacher, until he becomes infatuated with a cabaret singer, Lola. He marries her, and his life plummets into a furious downward spiral.
Title: Das Boot
Call ID: VGE 306
Wolfgang Petersen: German (English subtitles). 150 mins. 1981.
The most expensive, most succesful motion picture in the history of German cinema, this gripping tale follows the daring patrol of U-96, one of the famed German U-boats known as the gray wolves.
Prowling the North Atlantic, they challenged the British Navy at every turn. The crew aboard the U-96 is graphically portrayed in a desperate life-and-death struggle, coping with endless hours of claustrophobic boredom at sea, which quickly gives way to terror when confronting the enemy. Relentlessly under attack, the U-96 is forced to unheard depths, the creaking hull threatening to collapse and crush the panicked sailors. The Boat delivers an amazingly accurate account of Germany's elite U-boat crewmen, as it deliberately hammers away the tragic waste of war.
Title: Das Boot the Director's Cut
Call ID: DVGE 801
Wolfgang Petersen. German (English, Spanish, French subtitles). 209 mins. 1985.
This is director Wolfgang Petersen's ultimate version of one of the most critically acclaimed war movies of all time. An all-new restoration with over one hour of additional footage and a completely new stereo soundtrack that delivers the theatrical experience to your home...this is DAS BOOT: THE DIRCECTOR'S CUT!
Title: The Edukators
Call ID: DVGE 806
Hans Weingartner. German (English Subtitles). 130 mins.
Three activists cobble together a kidnapping plot after they encounter a businessman in his home.
Berlin student Jule is hoplessly indebted due to an accident she caused, uninsuredly hitting a rich bussinessman's limousine. Evicted from her flat she moves in with her boyfriend Peter and soon learns that Peter and his flatmate, Jan, are breaking into luxurious mansions at night. Instead of stealing or vandalizing, though, they carefully and ornately rearrange furniture and valulables and leave obscure messages. Jule convinces Jan, who has a crush on her, to pay a visit to the villa of her creditor. Donated by: Prof. Gita Rajan
Title: Effi Briest
Call ID: VGE 305
Rainer Werner Fassbinder: German (English subtitles). 135 mins. 1974.
The most famous 19th century German novel, Theodor Fontane's Effi Briest holds a position in its own country comparable to that of Madame Bovary in France.
Effi Briest is a radiant beauty, a vivaciuos blend of naivete and intelligence, forthrightness and willful self-interest. She is married when very young to a much older Prussian diplomat and carried away to a remote Baltic port where she drifts into a brief, passionless affair with a local womanizer. The ful effects are only felt six years later, in a chilling manifestation of the Prussian legal code. Fassbinder's faithful. penetrating adaptation of the novel and the intensity of his visual style make Effi Briest teh director's most classical and elegant film.
Title: Europa Europa
Call ID: VGE 310
Agnieszka Holland: German and Russian (English subtitles). 115 mins. 1991.
This film took America by storm: Agnieszka Holland's powerful, moving stiry of a courageous German Jewish teenager who survived WW II by concealing his living as a Nazi during seven harrowing years through three countries. Based on a true identity and story; a film which changes almost everyone who sees it.
Title: Good Bye Lenin
Call ID: DVGE 804
Wolfgang Becker: German (English Subtitles). 121 mins. 2003.
Winer of six prestigious European Film Awards, including Best Picture and 2004 Golden Globe nominee for best Foreign Language Film, this coming-of- age adventure blends the fall of Communism with the salient emotions of a family's love.
"Destined to become one of Germany's biggest international hits," (BBC Films), GOOD BYE, LENIN! Is a beautiful introduction to a whole new, free world. In 1989, Christiane Kerner has lost her husband and is completely devoted to the Socialist East German state. A heart attack leaves in a coma, and when she awakens eight months later, the Berlin Wall has fallen and it's a whole new world. To protect her from the shock, her son Alex hatches a plan to keep her in the dark. It's easy.. all he has to do is turn back the hands of time.
Title: Heart of Glass
Call ID: VGE 311
Werner Herzog: German (English subtitles). 93 mins. 1974.
Winer Herzog's films are characterized by their willingness to go off the deep end, but Heart Of Glass goes deeper then usual.
During the filming Herzog hypnotized his actors in order to helps convey what the director describes as 'an atmosphere of hallucianation, of prophecy and of the visionary.' Set in the pre-industrial past, the story tells of a German village that loses the secret of making its unique Ruby glass. The townspeople turn to madness, murder, and magic in a desperate effort to recover the pure ingredient they lost. A mixture of mysticism, apocalyptic grandeur and incredibly photographed vision that begin and end the film make this possibly the most breathtaking film of Herzog's career.
Title: The Lives of Others
Call ID: DVGE 809
Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck: German (Eng, Fre, Spa Subtitiles) 138 Mins.
Before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, East Germany's population was closely monitored by the State Secret Police or Stasi.
Only a few citizens above suspicion, like renowned pro-Socialist playwright Georg Dreyman, were permitted to lead private lives. But when a corrupt government official falls for Georg's stunning actress-girlfriend, Christa, an ambitious Stasi policeman is ordered to bug the writer's apartment to gain incriminating evidence against the rival. Now, what the officer discovers is about to dramatically change their lives as well as his…
Title: Lola Montes
Call ID: VFR347
Max Ophuls: French & German (English subtitles) 110 mins. 1955
Oiuls' opulent biography of the famous 19th-century courtesan whose adventures and love affairs with King Ludwig I, Liszt and student are told in flashback from a circus ring by the ringmaster, Peter Ustinov. With brilliant use of color and cinemascope, breathtaking shots, and camera movements; Ophuls conjures up a sublime work that is pure cinema.
Title: M
Call ID: DVGE 800
Fritz Lang: German (English subtitles) B&W, 110 mins. 1931
Behind every great suspense thriller lurks the shadow of M. In this, Fritz Lang's first sound film, Peter Lorre delivers a haunting performance as the cinema's first serial killer, a whistling pedophile hunted by the police and brought to trial by the forces of the Berlin underworld. Grieg's "Peer Gynt Suite" will never sound the same.
Title: Maedchen In Uniform
Call ID: VGE 303
Leontine Sagan: German (English subtitles) 87 mins. 1931.
Legendary film from the German post-expressionism period, extremely daring for this time in suggesting lesbianism in the story of a young girl who is choked by the authoritarian boarding school she attends.
Title: Men
Call ID: VGE 313
Doris Dorrie: German (English subtitles) 99 mins. 1985.
Dorrie's runaway hit of a screwball comedy about a businessman (Heiner Lauterbach) who discovers his wife is having an affair with a Bohemian artist. Disguised as the artist's roommate, Lauterbach watches, waits, and plots a strange reversal on the unsuspecting.
Title: The Merchant of Four Seasons
Call ID: VGE 319
Rainer W. Fassbinder: German ( English Subtitles) 86 mins. 1972.
The Merchant Of Four Seasons represents a climax in Fassbinder's prolific filmmaking career.
Fassbinder perfectly blends the audacious experimentalism of naturalistic melodrama that marked much of his later work. In this film Hans, a fruit peddler, watches his unexceptional life disintegrate. Seduced and rejected to the point of nervous breakdown, Hans drinks himself to death as he toasts his loved ones at the dinner table. The story sounds like a slice-of-life gone slightly amok, but the treatment is everything: a virtuoso balance of soap opera, social comedy, irony, politics, farce, and brilliant ensemble acting.
Title: The Mystery of Kaspar Hauser
Call ID: VGE 314
Werner Herzog: German (English subtitles). 110 mins. 1975.
In 1828, a young man appeared in the town square of Nuremberg, his origins unknown, having apparently been kept in solitary confinement all his life; five years later he was murdered by an unidentified assailant.
Kaspar's brief, enigmatic destiny becomes a powerful metaphor for life in Werner Herzog's vision of the extreme edges of existence. Former mental patient Bruno S. delivers a sympathetic and powerful performance.
Title: Nach Funf Im Urwald Hans-Christian Schmid
Call ID: VGE 315
German. 93 mins.
Title: The Nasty Girl
Call ID: VGE 307
Michael Verhoeven: German (English subtitles). 94 mins. 1990.
In this provocative comedy, Sonja is the Nasty Girl, a young girl whose digging for the truth gets her burried in the cover-up.
A school project inspires Sonja to investigate her town's past- a subject which seems to upset her neighbors- and Sonja's search soon falls wayside. Marriage to her childhood sweetheart, the schoolteacher whom she seduced, proves a distraction, but not for long. Sonja soon discovers that her small town has some big secrets. Letterbox format.
Title: The Princess and the Warrior
Call ID: DVGE 802
Tom Tykwer: German (English, French, Spanish & Portuguese subtitles). 133 mins. 2001.
Fim the director (Tom Tykwer) and star (Franka Potente) of the internationally acclaimed, fast-paced smash hit Run Lola Run comes a starling fresh and compelling romantic drama that will leave you breathless.
When shy, beautiful nurse Sissi is the victim of a horrible car accident, a handsome small-time criminal miraculously saves her life. When she recovers, Sissi sets out to find him and discovers a violent man with a conflicted past and dangerous future. Soon, the two meet again in the middle of a deadly bank robbery, and Sissi realizes her fate is pre-destined. Or is it?
Title: Rosenstrasse
Call ID: DVGE 805
Margarethe Von Trotta: German (English Subtitles). 136 mins. 2003.
In the cold Berlin winter of 1943, hundreds of women stood, and waited, in defiance of the Nazis While countless Jews were being sent to concentration camps for execution.
Jewish husbands of Aryan wives suffered a different fate; they were separated from their families and imprisoned in a factory on a street named Rosenstrasse. On that street these women stood in protest, in the name of love until they were reunited with their men. This is the striking story of ROSENSTRASSE: where the power of the human will stands inconquerable for hope, dignity and love.
Title: Run Lola Run
Call ID: DVGE 807
Tom Tywker: German (English & French). 81 mins.
A thrilling post-MTV,roller-coaster ride, RUN LOLA RUN is the internationally acclaimed sensation about to start-crossed lovers who have only minutes to change the course of their lives.
Time is running out for Lola (Franka Potente). She 's just received a frantic phone call from her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu), who's lost a small fortune belonging to his mobster boss. If Lola doesn't replace the money in twenty minutes, Manni will surely suffer severe consequences.
Title: Ship of Fools
Call ID: VENG 330
Stanley Kramer: English 149 mins. 1965.
Based on Katherine Anne Porter's acclaimed novel, the interlocking stories tell of passengers on a ship sailing from Mexico to pre-Hitler Germany. With Simone Signoret, Michael Dunn, Vivien Leigh, Lee Marvin and others.
Title: The Sorrow and the Pity
Call ID: VENG 340
Marcel Ophuls: English. 260 mins.
Marcek Ophuls' monumental documental covering the German occupation of France during World War II. Through poignant interviews and stark newsreel footage, Ophuls creates a sense of living history. 'A magnificent epic on the themes of collaboration and assistance. There's nothing comparable to [it]' (Pauline Kael).
Title: Stalag 17
Call ID: VENG 353
Billy Wilder: English. 120 mins.
Black comedy and suspenseful action inside a German POW camp during World War II – a setting that was later borrowed for the TV sitcom Hogan’s Heroes.
The great director Billy Wilder adapted the hit stage play, applying his own wicked sense of humor to the apparently bleak subject matter. William Holden plays an antisocial grouse amid a gang of wisecracking though indomitable American prisoners. Because of his bitter cynicism, Holden is suspected by the others of being an informer to the Germans, an accusation he must deal with in his own craft way. Holden won the 1953 Best Actor for Stalag 17. Very much his equal, however, is Otto Preminger, an accomplished director himself, who plays the strict, sneering cam commandant.
Title: The Three Penny Opera
Call ID: VGE 309
G. W. Pabst: German (English subtitles). 113 mins. 1931.
Bertholt Brecht's masterpiece based on John Gay's The Beggar's Opera with Weil's haunting score is considered ven more vivid on screen than it was on stage.
This curous musical fantasy of crime and sex in the Soho underworld of the 1890's was the second film to be directed by G.W. Pabst, who made suer that the notable sets were accurate and visibly dazzling. The stunning photography was in the hands of the most talented cameraman of the day-Fritz Wagner. Movie in Black and White.
Title: The Tin Drum
Call ID: VGE 300
Volker Schlondorff: German (English subtitles). 142 mins. 1979.
Adapted from the internationally acclaimed novel by Gunter grass, The Tin Drum is an intellectually challenging, visually stunning parable of modern society in violent transition, as narrated by Oskar Matzerath, one of the most unforgettably unique heroes of our time.
Oskar is born, clear-headed and open-eyed, into a world he never made and he hates what he sees.At three, he has already had enough. 'I decided' he narrates from the top of his long, dangerous flight of stairs, 'to call a halt to it. To stop growing there and then, and remain a three year old, alone, once and for all'. So Oskar plunges head first into the strange and surreal fate which awaits him- and for the next two terrible decades of feast and famine, fascism and slaughter, he remains frozen in size.
Title: Triumph Of The Will
Call ID: DVGE 803
Leni Riefenstahl: German (English Subtitles) B & W. 120 mins. 1935.
Riefenstahl's classic piece of historical filmmaking, filmed during the 1934 Nazi Party Rally in Nuremberg, Germany, is considered by many to be one of the most important and controversial films ever made.
The film, realized by Paul Joseph Goebbles, Hitler's Riech Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, was created to influence all of Germany to support the "power" of the Nazi Party. All during World War II in every Theatre in Germany, either part or all of Triumph Of The Will was shown. Founded entirely by the N.S.D.A.P (the Nazi Party), Hitler Hired the young actress/director Leni Riefenstahl to direct. Money was unlimeted, so Riefenstahl was eating, sleeping in the editing room with hundreds and thousands of feet of the film for several months. All of the shots in TRIUMPH are carefully constructed. Sets were specially built to accommodate cameras and Hitler was filmed separately from the crowds so Riefenstahl could edit together a film that would manipulate imagery and seduce the mind. An Historically significant and, at times, horrifyingly manipulative exercise in propaganda for the Nazi regime,Triumph of the Will continues to be controversial over sixty years after its original release. This historical document has been unavailable in Germany for many decades and Leni Riefenstahl Has since come under fire for her personal relationship with Adolph Hitler, spending her life in the shadow of collaborating with the Nazi Party.
Title: Wings of Desire
Call ID: VGE 308
Wim Wenders: German (English subtitles) 110 mins. 1988.
Daniel, played by Bruno Ganz, is the angel who has grown tired and frustrated at his inability to affect people's lives.
When he falls in love with a beautiful trapeze artist, he decides to leave the heavens and enter the mortal world. With incredible cinematography by Henri Alekan, Wings of Desire is one of the rare movies of the past decade that actually stretch break and reform the boundaries of the medium.
Title: Why Does Herr R. Run Amok
Call ID: VGE 316
Rainer W. Fassbinder: German ( English Subtitles) 86 mins. 1969.
One of Fassbinder's most provocative and notorious films, Why Does Herr R.Run Amok?
Examines a peculiarly modern phenomenon- the plain, ordinary, next-door neighbor mass murderer. Herr R. is a bland, content, likeable guy. His family, his job, his hobbies, everything about Herr R. seems perfectly normal. Until one night, when he calmly picks up a lamp and bludgeons to death his wife, son, and a visiting neighbor. Combining cinema-verite style and his own trademark dark humor, Fassbinder pitilessly record the tiniest details of Herr R.'s day to day life. Bit by ordinary bit the film builds to a point of unbearable tension, so that Herr R.'s act becomes frighteningly inevitable.
Title: The Band's Visit
Call ID: DVHE 810
Eran Kolirin: Heb, Eng, Ara (Eng Subtitles) 87 mins
A fading Egyptian police band arrives in Israel to play at the Arab Cultural Center.
When they take the wrong bus, the band members find themselves in a desolate Israeli village. With no other option than to spend the night with the local townspeople, the two distinctly different cultures realize the universal bonds of love, music, and life. Set against a breathtaking desert landscape, this cross-cultural comedy proves that getting lost is sometimes.
Title: Beaufort
Call ID: DVHE 801
Joseph Cedar: Hebrew (English Subtitles) 126 mins.
After 18 years dug into a heavily fortified mountain deep in occupied Lebanon, the last Israeli soldiers enduring constant bombardment at the site of the ancient crusader stronghold called Beaufort receive orders to abandon their posts, detonate the warren of bunkers in which they've tenuously clung to life and victory, and come home.
Amid redoubled shelling from Hezbollah, the fort's brash, impossibly young commander Liraz (Oshri Cohen) struggles to keep himself and his men safe from a faceless enemy that would turn withdrawal into massacre, and transform a just cause into a lost cause.
Title: Beyond the Walls
Call ID: VHE 300
Uri Barbash: Hebrew (English subtitles) 103 mins. 1994.
The struggle between Arabs and Jews is one of the most well-documented and tragic issues of our day.
Beyond The Walls places this conflict squarely within the confines of an overcrowded Israeli prison, where hatred simmers and contrasting ideologies come into intense, sharp focus.
Title: Checkpoint
Call ID: DVHE 808
Yoav Shamir: Hebrew (English Subtitles) 80 mins.
Over three million Palestinians live in The West Bank and Gaza Strip, which has been under Israeli military authority since 1967.
Israeli director Yoav Shamir documents the impact of the enforced boundaries known as "checkpoints"on the Israeli border guards drafted to monitor them and the Palestinian citizens who must pass through them daily. Shot in a cimena verite style, a style of documentary filmmaking that stresses unbiased realism, the film shows these anonymous, one-time encounters between both sides and the lasting political, social, and cultural effects. Checkpoint gives a chilling look at the destructive impact on both societies.
Title: Encounter Point
Call ID: DVHE 807
Ronit Avni: Heb (Eng, Spa, Ara, Heb, Fre, Porg, Subtitles) 92min.
Just when the world is losing hope about the possibility of resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict comes Encounter Point.
Created by a Palestinian, Israeli, North and South American team. Encounter Point moves beyond sensational and dogmatic imagery to tell the story of an Israeli settler, a Palestinian ex-prisoner, a bereaved Israeli mother and a wounded Palestinian bereaved brother who risk their safety and public standing to press for an end to conflict. They are at the vanguard of a movement to push Palestinian and Israeli societies to a tipping point, forging a new consensus for nonviolence and peace. Perhaps years from now, their actions will be recognized as a catalyst for constructive change in the region. Encounter Point is a film about hope, true courage and implicity about the silence of journalists and politicians who pay little attention to vital grassroots peace efforts.
Title: The Garden of the Finzi-Continis
Call ID: VIT 301
Vittorio De Sica: Italian (English subtitles) 90 mins. 1971.
A haunting love story set amidst the beauty and turbulent political passions of prewar Italy.
Academy Award winner in 1971 for Best Foreign Film. With Dominique Sanda and Lino Cappoliccio.
Title: The House on Chelouche Street
Call ID: VHE 301
Moshe Mizrahi: Hebrew (English subtitles) 111 mins.1973.
Clara has brought her entire family to 'the promised land...
' with dreams of a better life.[collapsible]Opportunities are rare, however, and the best she can do is a job cleaning houses. Her son Sami is only 15, but he takes work in a machine shop to help his widowed mother provide for them all. His experiences become the focal point of the film, making this an engrossing coming-of-age drama. His unwitting encounter with a labor walkout and an affair with a woman ten years older throw Sami headlong into the adult.
Title: Kadosh
Call ID: DVHE 809
Amos Gitai: Hebrew (English Subtitles) 117 mins.
Set in the Mea Sherim quarter of Jerusalem, an enclave of the ultra Orthodox, KADOSH explores a hermetic world almost never seen on the screen.
Here for ten years the pious Rivka (Yael Abecassis) has devoted herself to her husband Meir (Yoram Hattab), but their marriage remains childless. Presumed barren, she is rejected by her community, which prizes children above all else. The story that follows relates the harrowing fate of Rivka, and also her beloved sister Malka (Meital Barda) in love with a young man who has fled the community to lead a secular life.
Title: Late Summer Blues
Call ID: VHE 302
Renen Schorr: Hebrew (English subtitles) 101 mins.1987.
Late Summer Blues opened the 1987 Jerusalem Film Festival to unanimous acclaim.
Set in 1970 during the War of Attrition at the Suez Cana, director Renen Schorr's triumphant first feature chronicles events in the lives of seven Israeli students during the summer following high school graduation- a summer clouded by their impending induction into the army. A universal story of life under war's shadow, Late Summer Blues celebrates the innocence and idealism of youth while offering a grim reminder of the tragedy of war.
Title: Life is Beautiful
Call ID: VIT 354
Roberto Benigni: Italian (English subtitles) 116 mins. 1998
An inspired motion picture, Life is Beautiful, was nominated for seven Academy Awards winning five Oscars including one for Best Actor Roberto Benigni.
In this extraordinary tale, Guido (Benigni) - a charming but bumbling waiter who's gifted with a colorful imagination and an irresistible sense of humor - has won the heart of the woman he loves and created a beautiful life for his young family. But then, that life is threatened by World War II ...and Guido must rely on those very same strengths to save his beloved wife and son from an unthinkable fate! Honored with an overwhelming level of critical acclaim, this truly exceptional, utterly unique achievement will lift your spirits and capture your heart.
Title: Newland
Call ID: DVHE 811
Orna Ben-Dor Niv: Hebrew & Polish (Eng Subtitles) 107 mins.
Leaving the devastation of World War II behind them, a little girl and her brother travel from Europe to Israel in search of family, hope and future.
Placed in a refugee camp upon arrival, they are confronted by a world of colorful characters whose intrigues both terrify and tantalize. They are immediately forced to face the difficult realities of a new land.
Title: The Policeman
Call ID: DVHE 805
Efraim Kishon: Hebrew (English Subtitles) 87 mins.
When this soft-hearted cop threatens retirement, the crooks won't let him leave!
Constable Abraham Azulai (Shaike Ophir) is kind- too kind. His love for his fellow man is equaled only by his unmatched loyalty to his 20-year employer- the Jaffa Police Force. But being a nice guy doesn't make a good cop: Azulai feels bad for small-time crooks and lets them off the hook. He even pays for the speeding tickets he issues. Naturally, the police department celebrates when Azulai's contract nears its end. But the criminals of Jaffa know that without the bumbling veteran on the force, their whole operation could go up in flames. Their solution? To design a perfect crime for Azulai to solve, prove his worth and keep his job. If only he were competent enough to crack it!
Title: Schindler's List
VENG 323
Steven Spielberg: English 197 mins. 1993
This Academy Award winning film tells the story of Oskar Schindler, who saved hundreds of Jews from certain death in Nazi-dominated Europe.
Adapted from Thomas Keneally's novel and starring Ben Kingsley, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes.
Title: Shiv'a
Call ID: VHE 303
Dina Zvi-Riklis: Hebrew (English subtitles) 50 mins. 1996
Title: Tehilim...
Call ID: DVHE 803
Raphael Nadjari: Hebrew (English Subtitles) 95 mins.
In contemporary Jerusalem, an average middle class Jewish family balances the rituals of family, friends, religion and workaday life.[collapsible]But when middle-aged father and husband Eli (Shmuel Vilozni) unaccountably vanishes after a fluke car accident, the ensuing legal and emotional crisis gradually immerses Eli's spouse and two young sons in a muted real-life nightmare redefining the boundaries of everything they know, love and believe. While wife Alma (Limor Goldstein) navigates a bureaucratic maze of social services and paperwork, elder son Menachem (Michael Moshonov- Late Marriage) has his fragile faith and elusive adolescent peace of mind shaken to the core.
Title: Time of Favor
Call ID: DVHE 804
Joseph Cedar: Hebrew (English Subtitles) 101 mins.
A highly respected soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces, Menachem (Aki Avni) is also a devout student of controversial West Bank settlement leader Rabbi Meltzer (Assi Dayan).
Despite the army's doubts and the Israeli Secret Service's suspicions, Menachem receives permission to lead an army unit made up of his fellow students from Rabbi Meltzer's West Bank Yeshiva. Rabbi Meltzer's star pupil and Menachem's best friend, Pini (Edan Alterman), gladly accepts the Rabbi's invitation to court his beautiful, headstrong daughter, Michal (Tinkerbell). But Michal, suffocated by settlement life and repulsed by her father's expectations, is drawn not to Pini's religious devotion but to Menachem's quiet strength. As the Rabbi's agenda, the Army's control and Pini's desperation all build to a boil, Menachem and Michal's secret passion threaten to destroy more than just their reputations. A violent scheme to blow up the Temple Mount soon puts all their allegiances to the test.
Title: Turn Left At the End of the World
Call ID: DVHE 800
Nesher Avi: Hebrew & English (Eng & Heb Subtitles) 108 mins.
Jewish cultures from around the world clash in the 1960s when two immigrant families-one from Morocco and the other from India- become neighbors in a tiny Israeli village in the Negev Desert.
With only poverty and devotion to their homelands in common, they are brought together by the unlikely friendship of their daughters: sultry Moroccan Nicole (Neta Garty) and thoughtful Indian Sara (Liraz Charchi). The women's youth and lust for freedom overcome cultural prejudices. For these two communities and two friends, the toad to harmony is full of twists and turns both humorous and heartwarming.
Title: Ushpizin
Call ID: DVHE 806
Gidi Dar: Hebrew ( English & Spanish Subtitles) 92 mins.
Powerful, touching and amusing, Ushpizin (Guests) is a heartwarming and soul-stirring film.
Big-hearted Moshe Bellanga (Shuli Rand) is down on his luck, so he and his loving wife Malli (Michal Bat-Sheva Rand) pray passionately for a miracle. Their prayers are answered...in the form of a large sum of money that mysteriously lands on their doorstep. But the great "gift" leads to the arrival of two uninvited ushpizin, and Moshe and Malli are left wondering... have they found God's favor or is this just a test of their devotion?
Title: Waltz With Bashir
Call ID: DVHE 812
Ari Folman: Hebrew and English (Eng Subtitles) 90 mins.
Inspired by actual events, Waltz with Bashir chronicles one man's descent into his own half-forgotten past.
Filmmaker Ari Folman, an Israeli veteran of the First Lebanon War, encounters an old friend suffering from nightmares of the conflict. Ari begins to wonder why his own memories are full of gaps. In an effort to uncover the truth, he reconnects with old friends and dares to confront the horrors of war.
Title: Yossi and Jagger
Call ID: DVHE 802
Eytan Fox: Hebrew (English Subtitles) 71 mins.
Yossi is a serious and strong-featured commander…Jagger is his free-spirited and boyishly handsome charge...They are both soldiers in the Israeli army, and they are in love...Based on a true story, YOSSI & JAGGER portrays their secret love, set in a remote army base along the Israeli-Lebanese border. In a time of strife and uncertainty, Yossi and Jagger find hope in their unforgettable and emotionally charged romance.
Title: 8 1/2
Call ID: VIT 305
Federico Fellini: Italian (English subtitles) B&W, 138 Mins. 1963.
Fellini's great autobiographical masterpiece, the loose portrayal of a film director during the course of making a film and finding himself trapped by his fears and insecurities.
With Marcello Mastroianni.
Title: 1900
Call ID: VENG 310
Bernardo Bertolucci: English 510 Mins. 1976
Bernardo Bertolucci's opus,a sweeping epic achievement which chronicles the rise of Fascism and Socialism in Italy through the interlocking stories of family generations.
The stellar cast includes Robert De Niro and Gerard Depardieu as two friends torn apart by political upheavals in their country, Dominique Sanda, Stefania Sandrelli, Donald Sutherland and Alberto Grimaldi. A work of massive scope, brilliance and power, Pauline Kael said 'Bertolucci is trying to make a people's film by drawing on the mythology of the movies, as if it were a collective memory. 1900 is a romantic movie-goer's version of the class struggle- a love poem for the movies as well as for the life of those who live communally on the land'.
Title: Accatone (The Scrounger)
Call ID: DVIT 821
Pier Paolo Pasolini:Italian ( English Subtitles) B&W, 116 Mins.
Based on one of the filmmaker/poet's novels, this story of a pimp, his friends, his enemies and his girls is realism at her earliest.
It is brutal, realistic, unsentimental and bustling with life.
Title: Accatone (The Scrounger)
Call ID: VIT 359
Pier Paola Pasolini: Italian (English Subtitiles) B&W, 116 Mins.
The first of Pier Paolo Pasolini's highly acclaimed films, and the winner of numerous film festival prizes, Accatone uses a talented cast to present a vivid picture of the Roman slums.
Based on one of the filmmaker/poet's novels, this story of a pimp, his friends, his enemies and his girls is realism at its earthiest. It is brutal, realistic, unsentimental and bustling with life. Particularly effective the use of each Bach on the soundtrack which provides ironic counterpoint to the world of pimps, prostitutes and street fighters.
Title: Alberto Expre$$
Call ID: VIT 338
Arthur Joffe: Italian & French (English subtitles) 92 Mins. 1992.
Every family has its own funny little traditions, but Alberto's takes quirkiness to the most hilarious extreme.
In Alberto's family the children must pay their parents back every cent spent on their rearing; and the debt must be completely repaid before the children start a family of their own. Unfortunately, Alberto is 40 and flat broke. If he can't come up with a big chunk of change to repay his father in a hurry, he's going to have to figure out a way to return his about-to-be-born baby. Taking the train to his father's home to seek mercy, Alberto is struck with an idea. Why not beg, borrow, and, steal his way to financial fitness? A wickedly funny comedy about families, finances and the kindness of strangers.
Title: Allonsanfan
Call ID: VIT 310
P&V Taviani: Italian (English subtitles) 115 Mins. 1984.
One of the great films by the brothers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani (Night of Shooting Stars), Alonsanfan stars Marcello Mastroianni in a comic masterpiece, making use of bravura lightning and color schemes.
Set after Napoleon has fallen in 1816, the film features Mastroianni as a disillusioned Jacobin aristocrat released from prison and torn between his revolutionary ideals and comfortable lifestyle. With Laura Betti, Lea Massari.
Title: Amarcord
Call ID: VIT 330
Federico Fellini: Italian (English subtitles) 127 Mins. 1974
A film which breathes freedom -a nostalgic, fantastic and funny reminiscence of growing up in Fellini's home town of Rimini-made, Fellini said, to finish with youth and tenderness.
Against the comic background are sets of indelible characters and an omnipresent Fascist state. Amarcord breathlessly shifts between the melodramatic, the intimate and the burlesque in what is a deeply personal, shared vision. The images -a peacock flying through the snow, a child on his way to school who encounters cows that the early-morning fog has transformed into monsters-are like icons; unforgettable.
Title: Le Amiche (The Girlfriends)
Call ID: DVIT 815
Michelangelo Antonioni: Italian (English Subtitles) 99 Mins.
Academy Award -winning director Michelangelo Antonioni explores women's evolving role in society and the conflict between love and career in this engrossing drama.
Clelia, a beautiful young woman who lands her dream job in a glamorous Italian fashion house soon finds herself plunged into a cruel world of phony, shallow people. She joins a rich, snobbish circle of friends, but becomes increasingly disturbed by their spitefulness and insincerity. Clelia finds the only honesty in her life in the pure love offered by Carlo, a young, socially impoverished assistant architect. But is it enough?
Title: Artemisia
Call ID: DVFR 829
Agnes Merlet: French (English Subtitles) 96 Mins. 1998.
Artemisia is the higly provocative true story of a young woman whose bold pursuit of artistic freedom and physical desire threatened the elite powers of her time!
Artemisia Gentileschi, the beautiful and talented daughter of one of Italy's greatest painters, is forbidden to fully pursue her own passion for painting. When she convinces a renowned and unconventional artist to tutor her,
however, he not only liberates her in the world of art..but initiates her into the treacherous world of sex and
however, he not only liberates her in the world of art..but initiates her into the treacherous world of sex and
Title: Artemisia
Call ID: VFR 380
Agnes Merlet: French (English subtitles) 96 Mins. 1998.
A widely acclaimed critical favorite honored with a Golden Globe nomination as Best Foreign Film, Artemisia is the highly provocative true story of a young woman whose bold pursuit of artistic freedom and physical desire threatened the elite powers of her time.
Artemisia Gentileschi, the beautiful and talented daughter of one of Italy's greatest painters, is forbidden to fully pursue her own passion for painting. When she convinces a renowned and unconventional artist to tutor her, however, he not only liberates her in the world of art... but initiates her into the treacherous world of sex and love! Following the controversy of a theatrical release that saw the original NC-17 rating overturned on appeal, Miramax Films is proud to present this important and powerful motion picture complete and unedited!
Title: Before the Revolution
Call ID: VIT 358
Bernando Bertolucci: Italian ( English Subtitles)110 Mins. 1962.
Bernando Bertolucci made Before The Revolution when he was only 22 years old. A volatile mixture of styles, romantic and anti-romantic at the same time, it has lost little of its power to exhilarate and surprise.
The plot is loosely derived from Stendhal's 'The Charterhouse of Parma': a young man flirts intellectually with communism and incestuously with his young aunt. But eventually he realizes that, for him, life will always be " before the revolution." In defining his hero's "nostalgia for the present," Bertolucci produced a major statement on the state of mind of the sixties, as well as a timelessly lyrical affirmation of youth's rites of passage through love and politics.
Title: Il Bell'Antonio
Call ID: VIT 339
Mauro Bolognini: Italian (English subtitles) 101 mins. 1960
To every red-blooded woman in Sicily, there is no man so virile, so desirable so sensually inviting as Antonio Mangano (Marcelo Mastroianni).
At the urging of his family, he relinquishes his bachelorhood to the alluring Barbara Puglisi (Claudia Cardinale), unloosing an ominous secret that threatens to spoil the young couple's wedded bliss: 'Il Bell' Antonio' is no Don Giovanni. The fires rumored to rage in his loins are but cooling embers. This revelation scandalizes the entire town of Catania and sends each set of in-laws into panicked crusades to defend their family's honor.
Title: The Bicycle Thief (Ladri di Biciclette)
Call ID: DVIT 806
Vittorio De Sica: Italian (English subtitles) B&W, 89 Mins. 1972.
THE BICYCLE THIEF is about a man, a worker, who must have a bike in order to work at his job.
He is desperate, pawns everything to regain his machine, goes to work, has the thing stolen from him while his back is turned, and then goes on a search through Rome to find it.
Title: Il Bidone
Call ID: VIT 303
Federico Fellini: Italian (English subtitles) B&W, 92 Mins. 1955.
Academy Award winner Broderick Crawford has the best role of his career as Augusto, the ringleader of a trio of petty con men who impersonate priests and swindle peasants by appealing to their greed.
Constantly humiliated by his life, Augusto suffers a crisis of conscience that only leads him to disaster in a shattering climax. Il Bidone forms the middle panel of his trilogy including La Strada and Nights of Cabiria.
Title: Bread and Chocolate
Call ID: VIT 347
Franco Brusati's: Italian (English subtitles) 109 Mins. 1974.
Nino Manfredi is marvelous in this uproarious comedy about an Italian immigrant working odd jobs in prosperous Switzerland and trying desperately to fit in.
Though his work becomes increasingly degrading, he tenaciously refuses to give up and go home. Like Chaplin's beloved tramp, this hapless Everyman is eternally rejected, yet ever-hopeful.
Title: Bread and Tulips
Call ID: DVIT 807
Silvio Soldini: Italian (English subtitles) 116 Mins. 2000.
Rosalba's life is about to change. When the busy housewife (Licia Maglietta) is accidentally left behind while on vacation with her family, she decides to take a holiday on her own in ravishing Venice.
Charmed by the city and her new-found freedom, she extends her stay, finding a job in a flower shop, renting a room from a wistful waiter (Bruno Ganz) whom she befriends, and rediscovering her love playing the accordion. But her solo sojourn does not sit well with her tyrannical husband (Antonio Catania), who recruits an amateur detective (Giuseppe Battiston) to bring his wife back home. Will Rosalba return to her old life or embrace the exciting possibilities of a new one?
Title: Bread and Tulips
Call ID: VIT 357
Silvio Soldini: Italian (English subtitles) 116 Mins. 2000.
Rosalba's life is about to change. When the busy housewife (Licia Maglietta) is accidentally left behind while on vacation with her family, she decides to take a holiday on her own in ravishing Venice.
Charmed by the city and her newfound freedom, she extends her stay, finding a job in a flower shop, renting a room from a wistful waiter (Bruno Ganz) whom she befriends, and rediscovering her love playing the accordion. But her solo sojourn does not sit well with her tyrannical husband (Antonio Catania), who recruits an amateur detective (Giuseppe Battiston) to bring his wife back home. Will Rosalba return to her old life or embrace the exciting possibilities of a new one?
Title: Caro Diario
Call ID: VIT 313
Nanni Moretti: Italian (English subtitles) 100 Mins. 1994.
Award-winning Italian director Nanni Moretti stars as himself in his whimsical comedy about a man who takes off on his motorcycle across Italy in search of the true meaning of life.
Packed with fascinating scenery, an eclectic soundtrack and a special appearance by Jennifer Beals, the story reveals telling insights into the lives of everyday people. Along with his TV addicted friend, Moretti hops on a boat that takes them to the mystical, secluded islands of the blue Mediterranean. Querying everyone they meet, they soon discover that the journey of life itself is the answer... or is it the question..?
Title: The Children are Watching Us
Call ID: VIT 326
Vittorio De Sica: Italian (English subtitles) 85 Mins. 1944.
With his fifth film, Vittorio de Sica surprised everyone by turning into a vicious critic of society.
The film, set among the bourgeoisie, focuses on a marital triangle. The mother of a four-year old boy leaves her husband for another man. The husband, unable to stand the humiliation, commits suicide. The boy, lonely and unwanted, is sent to an orphanage. The script was written by six scenarists, including Cesare Zavattini, who, through the film, emerged as a driving force in Italian cinema for many years to come.
Title: Christ Stopped at Eboli (Cristo Si E Fermato a Eboli)
Call ID: DVIT 809
Francesco Rosi: Italian (English subtitles) 145 Mins. 1979.
This award winning adaption of Carlo Levi's classic, is the story of Carlo Levi, a political exile banished to a village in the south of Italy in 1935 for his anti fascist writings.
It is the story of Levi's experiences in an alien world of poverty and quiet, where he discovers that human values are stronger than values of state.
Title: Christ Stopped at Eboli (Cristo Si E Fermato a Eboli)
Call ID: VIT 308
Francesco Rosi: Italian (English subtitles) 119 Mins. 1979.
This award winning adaption of Carlo Levi's classic, is the story of Carlo Levi, a political exile banished to a village in the south of Italy in 1935 for his anti fascist writings.
It is the story of Levi's experiences in an alien world of poverty and quiet, where he discovers that human values are stronger than values of state.
Title: Ciao, Proffesore
Call ID: VIT 329
Cecchi Gori: Italian (English subtitles) 91 Mins. 1993.
This brilliant comedy details the outrageous clash between a strict, no-nonsense teacher and his class of rambunctious, street-smart children.
Ultimately it's the teacher who ends up learning more about life from his charges than the other way round.
Title: Cinema Paradiso
Call ID: VIT 300
Guiseppe Tornatore: Italian (English subtitles) 121 Mins. 1989.
An affectionate salute to the magic of the movies and the individuals who spent their lives in the projection booth.
This Italian film received an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Philippe Noiret stars as Alfredo, the projectionist for a small Sicilian movie palace, who opens up new worlds for one very inquisitive child. With Jacques Perrin, Salvatore Cascio, Pupella Maggio, and Marco Leonardi.
Title: The Conformist
Call ID: VENG 346
Bernardo Bertolucci: English Dubbed Version 1970
. Jean-Louis Trintignant plays a rising young follower of Mussolini who must assassinate his former professor, now in political exile, to demonstrate his loyalty to the Fascist state.
Bertolucci's breakthrough film makes total use of the medium to seduce us with gilded images of a decadent society. He equates the rise of Italian fascism with the psychosexual life of his protagonist for whom conformity becomes an obsession after a traumatic homosexual experience in his youth.
Title: The Decameron
Call ID: DVIT 818
Pier Paolo Pasolini:Italian (English Subtitles) 111 Mins. 1970.
Legendary Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini delivers nine exuberant tales in this "earthly, genuinely ribald and spicy" (Variety) film.
Based on Boccaccio's timeless classic - and the first in Pasolini's "Trilogy of Life" series - "The Decameron" is an uproariously "irreverent romp" (Variety) that's "positively jubilant in its naughtiness" (Films and Filming)! Lusty nuns who perform sexual "miracles," a cheating wife with a head for business, a dying con artist attempting a heavenly swindle, young lovers caught with their pants down, a servant who loses his head for love and a gullible farmer who tries to turn his wife into a mare. These are just some of the stories Pasolini vividly brings to life!
Title: The Decameron
Call ID: VIT 321
Pier Paolo Pasolini: Italian (English subtitles) 116 Mins. 1970
The first part of Pasolini's trilogy, based on the ribald tales of Boccaccio, which deal with human sensuality and artistic creation.
Pasolini has refashioned the 100 tales into a collection of 11 sketches that is at the same time erotic, political, humorous and autobiographical. Pasolini himself appears in the role of the painter Giotto, and continues to use non-professional actors, because, he said, he was fed up with the traditional cinema's 'false language of realism'.
Title: Divorce Italian Style
Call ID: VIT 331
Pietro Germi: Italian (English subtitles) 104 Mins. 1962
The adult comedy sensation that started it all.
Marcello Mastroianni is a Sicilian nobleman who, tiring of his fatuous and fawning wife, begins directing his attentions toward his teenage cousin. In an attempt to end his problems once and for all, he devises a plan to catch his wife cheating so he can kill her...but first he must find her a lover!
Title: La Dolce Vita
Call ID: VIT 314
Federico Fellini: Italian (English subtitles) B&W, 178 Mins. 1961.
A landmark of cinematic social comment', wrote one critic about Fellini's journey through a decadent Rome.
Banned by the Church in many countries, the sensationalism of the film often obscured its serious intent. La Dolce Vita follows a society journalist (Mastroianni) through the nightmarish world in which emotions have been destroyed by surface realities, moral conventions and unresolved guilt.
Title: Everybody's Fine
Call ID: VIT 311
Guiseppe Tornatore: Italian (English subtitles) 115 Mins. 1990
The Oscar winning director of Cinema Paradiso teams up with Italy's greatest actor in a bitter sweet story of a father's quest to reunite his five grown children.
Marcello Mastroianni plays an elderly widower whose happiness is restored each year with a reunion of the whole family at his seaside home in Naples. This year he decides to surprise his children by touring Italy and finding out how the younger half lives.
Title: The Eyes, The Mouths
Call ID: VIT 323
Marco Bellocchio: Italian (English subtitles) 100 Mins. 1982.
A critically acclaimed tour de force; Lou Castel returns to his home to a family traumatized by suicide and unraveling at the seams in a film which re-established Bellochio as major world talent.
With stunning performances from Castel, Angela Molina and Emanuelle Riva.
Title: The Family
Call ID: VIT 302
Ettore Scola: Italian (English subtitles) 128 Mins. 1986.
Nominated for Best Foreign Film, this Ettore Scola drama about 80 years in the life of a middle class family in Rome has absolutely nothing to do with the Charles Bronson movie of the same name.
Vittorio Gassman heads an abundant cast of Italian actors that include Stefania Sandrelli and Ricki Tognazzi. Also non-Italian actors like Fanny Ardent and Philippe Noiret. A note of interest: the camera never leaves the house.
Title: The Fiances (I Fidanzati)
Call ID: VIT 341
Ermanno Olmi: Italian (English subtitles) B&W, 84 Mins.
Ermanno Olmi's brilliant second feature is the simple story of a young man from Milan who takes a welding job in Sicily which takes him away from his fiancée, because he thinks the separation will be good for their relationship.
But loneliness and the strange environment make him turn back to her. Olmi's deep humanism is evident in his moving depiction of the lives of simple people, played by non-professionals. One of the truly great Italian films of the 60's.
Title: Fiorile
Call ID: VIT 320
P & V Taviani: Italian (English subtitles) 118 Mins. 1993.
From the creators of Night of the Shooting stars and Padre Padrone comes an extraordinary epic tale of intrigue, betrayal and murder.
The Benedetti family has been haunted by a curse for generations. Now, on a long drive to visit their grandfather, Luigi Benedetti tells his children the mysterious and magical story of their ancestors - from a young French soldier who sacrifices his life for a beautiful Italian peasant girl, to a sister's ultimate act of vengeance. Breathtaking in scope and vision, Fiorile is a provocative tale of forbidden love, passion and deadly romance.
Title: Fish Soup
Call ID: VIT 340
Fiorella Infascelli: Italian (English subtitles) 107 Mins. 1992
. A magical, funny and intimate view of a young girl's growing up, set against a tangled web of family relationships in Tuscany, Fish Soup is an endearing film and a brilliant accomplishment by director Fiorella Infascelli.
Set between the 1950s and late '70s against the beauty of the Tuscan seaside, Fish Soup offers small sketches of family behavior and psychology, from gatherings to complicated relationships, with a light but indelible touch. Narrating with a rare balance of frankness, naturalness and tenderness, Fiorella Infascelli reveals a Chekhovian understanding of family relationships as we follow the development of Isabella (Chiara Caselli) and her relationship with her father (Philippe Noiret) and family.
Title: The Garden of the Finzi-Continis
Call ID: VIT 301
Vittorio De Sica: Italian (English subtitles) 90 Mins. 1971.
A haunting love story set amidst the beauty and turbulent political passions of prewar Italy.
Academy Award winner in 1971 for Best Foreign Film. With Dominique Sanda and Lino Cappoliccio.
Title: Il Gattopardo
Call ID: DVIT 812 A
Luchino Visconti: Italian (English Subtitles) 185 Mins. 1963.
Luchino Visconti's The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) is an epic on the grandest possible scale.
The film recreates, with nostalgia, drama, and opulence, the tumultuous years of Italy's Risorgimento-when the aristocracy lost its grip and the middle classes rose and formed a unified, democratic Italy. Burt Lancaster stars as the Asian prince watching his culture and fortune wane in the face of a new generation, represented by his upstart nephew (Alain Delon) and his beautiful fiancee (Claudia Cardinale). Awarded the Palme d'Or at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival, The Leopard translates Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's novel, and the history it recounts, into a truly cinematic masterpiece.
Title: Il Gattopardo
Call ID: DVIT 812 B
Luchino Visconti: Italian. 190 Mins.
Part II. Winner of the Palme d'Or in Cannes, Il Gattopardo is one of greatest masterpieces of Italian Cinema.
Title: Il Gattopardo
Call ID: VIT 324 A
Luchino Visconti: Italian. 190 Mins.
Winner of the Palme d'Or in Cannes, Ill Gattopardo is one of the greatest masterpieces of Italian Cinema.
Title: Il Gattopardo
Call ID: VIT 324 B
Luchino Visconti: Italian. 190 Mins.
Winner of the Palme d'Or in Cannes, Ill Gattopardo is one of the greatest masterpieces of Italian Cinema.
Title: Il Giorno Della Civetta
Call ID: VIT 344
Il Meglio Del Cinema. Italian.
Un omicidiomisterioso e Bellodi, il capitano dei Caradinieri, sa che i vicini di casa non dicono la verita.
Le sue indagini provocano altre due omicidi. Bellodi sa che Don Mariano Arena ne e coinvolto, ma non riesce a provare la sua colpa... Un capolavoro cinematografico di Damiano Damiani dall'onomino libro di Leonardo Scia
Title: The Gospel According to St. Matthew
Call ID: VIT 312
Pier Paolo Pasolini: Italian (English subtitles) 142 Mins. 1964.
Non-actors, rugged Italian landscapes and towns, cinema-verite techniques, expressive close-ups are some of the elements of Pasolini's moving sacred and mythic epic.
His Christ is anguished, determined, a peripatetic preacher against the afflictions of social injustice, whose miracles are matter-of-fact.
Title: Hawks and the Sparrows
Call ID: VIT 322
Pier Paolo Pasolini: Italian (English subtitles) 88 Mins. 1964.
A wildly comic fable, with great Italian stone-faced clown Toto playing Everyman and Ninetto Davoli, his good-natured but empty headed son.
Pasolini uses a comic crow, which philosophizes amusingly and pointedly about the passing scene, as a counterpoint to the performers, representing humanity, as they progress down the road of life. The result is a major Pasolini film and a powerful tragic fable which shows two delightful innocents caught, like many Italians, between Church and Marxism.
Title: Heaven Touches Brooklyn in July
Call ID: VENG 401
Tony de Nonno: English. 57 Mins.
In HEAVEN TOUCHES BROOKLYN IN JULY, internationally acclaimed documentary filmmaker Tony de Nonno takes audiences on an enlightening 1,600 year old journey by interweaving film footage spanning the 20th century with warm and passionate interviews of Italian American men, women and children from five to ninety-five- who are transporting this awe-inspiring tradition into the 21st century.
Title: Henry IV
Call ID: DVIT 808
Marco Bellocchio: Italian (English subtitles) 84 Mins. 1984.
Marcello Mastroianni (8 1/2, LA DOLCE VITA) delivers one of his finest performances in HENRY IV, a breathtakingly powerful adaptation of the play by Luigi Pirandello.
Claudia Cardinale co-stars in the film gorgeously directed by Marco Bellocchio. A playful musical score is provided by Astor Piazzola ("the single most important figure in the history of tango' -ALL MUSIC GUIDE") .
Mastroianni stars as a modern aristocrat. After he falls off his horse, he believes himself to be Henry IV, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. For Years, everyone around him adapts to this fantasy. They create a separate world -a sort of unending Renaissance Fair where everyone dresses up and calls each other by names ripped from the history books. Then, one day, some old friends try to cure "Henry".
Mastroianni stars as a modern aristocrat. After he falls off his horse, he believes himself to be Henry IV, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. For Years, everyone around him adapts to this fantasy. They create a separate world -a sort of unending Renaissance Fair where everyone dresses up and calls each other by names ripped from the history books. Then, one day, some old friends try to cure "Henry".
Title: His Secret Life
Call ID: DVIT 810
Ferzano Ozpetek: Italian & Turkish (English subtitles) 106 Mins. 2002.
His Secret Life is a captivating, sexy drama about a married couple's extraordinary secret.
Antonia and her husband Massimo have been happily married for the better part of 20 years when a sudden and tragic accident kills Massimo. While going through her husband's possessions, Antonia discovers that her beloved Massimo has had a "secret life" for the last seven years.
Antonia begins to search for any information leading to the secret mistress of Massimo's only to discover that his secret lover was a man, a very handsome young man named Michele, played by Stefano Accorsi (of the highly acclaimed films, The Son's Room and The Last Kiss). This spiritual journey leads Antonia to a new world of love, friendship and sexuality. From the ashes of her old life, grows a new set of family and friends and Antonia develops into the "free"woman she has always dreamed of becoming. His Secret Life is the powerful conclusion to the erotic trilogy that Ferzan Ozpetek started with Steam: The Turkish Bath and Harem.
Antonia begins to search for any information leading to the secret mistress of Massimo's only to discover that his secret lover was a man, a very handsome young man named Michele, played by Stefano Accorsi (of the highly acclaimed films, The Son's Room and The Last Kiss). This spiritual journey leads Antonia to a new world of love, friendship and sexuality. From the ashes of her old life, grows a new set of family and friends and Antonia develops into the "free"woman she has always dreamed of becoming. His Secret Life is the powerful conclusion to the erotic trilogy that Ferzan Ozpetek started with Steam: The Turkish Bath and Harem.
Title: I'm Not Scared
Call ID: DVIT 814
Gabriele Salvatores: Italian (English and Spanish Subtitles) 101 Mins.
No one can be trusted and everyone's a suspect when a shocking secret is revealed in this hypnotic suspense thriller from the acclaimed director of the Academy Award.
For 10-years-old Michele, the familiar routines of childhood in his idyllic southern Italian village are about to be shattered by his chance discovery of an unspeakable crime! Soon beyond the point of no return, Michael will risk everything to expose the truth… only to learn that those he depends on the most may have the most to hide! This award-winning story of innocence and evil will have you riveted throughout culminating in its stunning conclusion!
Title: The Innocent (L'Innocente)
Call ID: DVIT 819
Luchino Visconti: Italian ( English Subtitles) 124 Mins.
Visconti's last film is an elegant drama depicting a wealthy Italian aristocrat ( Giancarco Gianinni) who, becoming bored with his apparently timid wife ( Laura Antonelli), neglects her for his more exciting mistress ( Jenniffer O'Neill).
On finding that his wife is having a torrid affair of her own, his unable to accept the situation and cannot accept the sexual double standards he portrays.
Title: The Innocent (L'Innocente)
Call ID: VIT 315
Luchino Visconti: Italian (English subtitles) 125 Mins. 1976.
An elegant, visually beautiful exploration of the constraints of marriage and its disintegration. Featuring a remarkably sensuous performance by Laura Antonelli, and an equally strong performance by Giancarlo Giannini.
'The Innocent is one of Visconti's most beautiful films' (Vincent Canby).
Title: Johnny Stecchino
Call ID: VIT 356
Cerami & Benigni: Italian (English subtitles) 100 Mins. 1992.
The Marx Brothers meet the Godfather in this hilarious tale of mistaken identity that proves there's nothing organized about organized crime.
Part Charlie Chaplin, part Peter Sellers, Roberto Benigni is Italy's number one box office sensation. Benigni (Night On Earth, Son Of The pink Panther) stars as Dante, a naïve bus driver who's a dead-ringer for Johnny's Toothpick, a notorious mafioso on the lam and under the gun. When the beautiful Maria, Johnny's drop-dead gorgeous wife accidentally discovers her husband's twin, she schemes to switch the two men. Outrageous and hysterical, Johnny Stecchino is "one of the best comedies in years!"
Title: The Last Kiss
Call ID: DVIT 813
Gabriele Muccino: Italian (English and other languages Subtitles) 118 Mins.
With its breezy look at the battle of the sexes, this stylish comedy has generated critical acclaim everywhere!
A wife, a child, a house… it all seems like too much responsibility for a guy who's afraid to grow up! But Carlo is not alone. All of his buddies are suffering with their own growing pains and none of them seem to be ready to settle down without a fight! As the romantic entanglements tighten, this amusingly self-centered group of guys will keep you entertained as they struggle to learn the complicated lessons of life and love!
Title: The Leopard (Il Gattopardo)
Call ID: DVENG 802
Luchino Visconti: English. 185 Mins. 1963.
Luchino Visconti's The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) is an epic on the grandest possible scale.
The film recreates, with nostalgia, drama, and opulence, the tumultuous years of Italy's Risorgimento-when the aristocracy lost its grip and the middle classes rose and formed a unified, democratic Italy. Burt Lancaster stars as the Asian prince watching his culture and fortune wane in the face of a new generation, represented by his upstart nephew (Alain Delon) and his beautiful fiancee (Claudia Cardinale). Awarded the Palme d'Or at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival, The Leopard translates Giuseppe.
Title: Life is Beautiful
Call ID: VIT 354
Roberto Benigni: Italian (English subtitles) 116 Mins. 1998
An inspired motion picture, Life is Beautiful, was nominated for seven Academy Awards - winning five Oscars including one for Best Actor Roberto Benigni.
In this extraordinary tale, Guido (Benigni) - a charming but bumbling waiter who's gifted with a colorful imagination and an irresistible sense of humor - has won the heart of the woman he loves and created a beautiful life for his young family. But then, that life is threatened by World War II ...and Guido must rely on those very same strengths to save his beloved wife and son from an unthinkable fate! Honored with an overwhelming level of critical acclaim, this truly exceptional, utterly unique achievement will lift your spirits and capture your heart.
Title: Mamma Roma
Call ID: DVIT 811 A
Pier Paolo Pasolini: Italian (English Subtitles) B&w, 110 Mins.1962.
Anna Magnani gives a terrific performance in the title role of this key film.
It was Pasolini's second feature but it is rarely seen. The story revolves around a former prostitute. Played by Magnani, who gets a new chance for a different life. She does her best to help her son, Ettore, get ahead. He is mesmerized, however, by the evils of the big city, so she makes one last attempt to get him a respectable job.
Title: Mamma Roma
Call ID: DVIT 811 B
Documentary- Pier Paolo Pasolini: Italian (English Subtitles) 93 Mins.
Pier Paolo Pasolini (1995), a 58-minute documentary by filmmaker Ivo Barnabo Micheli covering the career of the controversial artist.
La Ricotta (1963), a 35-minute film by Pasolini starring Orson Welles as a director who sets out to make a film about the Passion of Jesus.
Title: Mamma Roma
Call ID: VIT 348
Pier Paolo Pasolini: Italian ( English Subtitles) B&W, 110 Mins .1962.
Anna Magnani gives a terrific performance in the title role of this key film.
It was Pasolini's second feature but it is rarely seen. The story revolves around a former prostitute. Played by Magnani, who gets a new chance for a different life. She does her best to help her son, Ettore, get ahead. He is mermerized, however, by the evils of the big city, so she makes one last attempt to get him a respectable job. Italian with English Subtitles.
Title: A Man in Love
Call ID: VENG 349
This "impassioned and complex" (The Hollywood Reporter) tale stars Peter Coyote (Jagged Edge) as a married actor with a roving eye whose desires, on and off screen, merge when he falls for his luminous leading lady (The Player's Greta Scacchi).
Acclaimed European writer/director Diane Kurys (Oscar-nominated Entre Nous) creates (with co-writer Israel Horovitz) a work of "passion, courage and intelligence" (Los Angeles Times) that translates into Leonard Maltin calls a "sensual full-blooded romance." Steve Elliott (Coyote) is an actor who immerses himself in a part, both body and soul. This makes for great acting, but on occasion, the line separating reality and movie-making can get blurry -especially when it comes to love. When Steve meets Jane Steiner (Scacchi), his gorgeous young co-star on a film shoot in Italy, sparks instantly ignite as they "explore" their characters and surrender to unbridled passion. But the affair gets complicated when Steve's suspicious wife (True Lies' Jamie Lee Curtis) arrives on the scene, forcing him to make some difficult and heartfelt choices about the two women he loves. Set against the exquisite locations of Rome, Paris, and Tuscany, with a sweeping romantic score by Academy Award winner Georges Delerue, A Man in Love is "gloriously erotic and compelling" (Michael Medved, "Sneak Previews")
Title: Mediterraneo
Call ID: VIT 307
Gabriele Salvatores: Italian (English subtitles) 90 Mins. 1991
. Celebrated as one of the finest and most acclaimed films of the year 1991, Academy Award winner Mediterraneo is delightfully sexy comedy. After a group of misfit Italian sailors invade a remote Greek island they soon become stranded, and then ultimately forgotten, by the Italian navy. The sailors quickly learn they've invaded paradise, and that on this magical island, where enemies become friends, anything can happen.[/collapsible]
Title: The Miracle
Call ID: VIT 306
Roberto Rossellini: Italian (English subtitles) B&W, 45 Mins. 1948
. Brief, sensual and controversial film from Rosselini (source for a 1952 Supreme Court case of censorship) starring Anna Magnani as a peasant woman who is convinced she is pregnant with a new Christ child. Based on a story by Frederico Fellini, who appears.[/collapsible]
Title: Miracle in Rome
Call ID: VSP 305
Lisandro Duque Naranjo: Spanish (English subtitles) 76 Mins. 1988.
Called 'a small miracle by itself' by The New York Times, it tells the story of Margarito Duarte, a man whose seven year old daughter dies suddenly.
Upon visiting her grave twelve years later, Margarito finds his daughter's body just as he has left it. His fellow townspeople call it a miracle, but the town bishop wants the girl reburied. Based by an original story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who also co-wrote the screenplay.
Title: The Night of the Shooting Stars
Call ID: VIT 316
P & V Taviani: Italian (English subtitles) 107 Mins. 1982.
Winner of the Cannes film festival and other awards, set on the night of the feast of San Lorenzo, during the last days of World War II, the film recalls the night from her childhood in a beautiful tapestry of fact, myth, and wartime memory that moves effortlessly in a universal story of human joy and sadness under duress at a particular moment in history.
Title: La Noia
Call ID: VIT 345
Damiano Damiani. Italian. Dino vive nell'ozio piu completo, a fianco della bella Cecilia. II tradimento di lei, dopo varie vicessitudini, lo portera persino a tentre il suicido.
Title: Open City
Call ID: VIT 317
Roberto Rossellini: Italian (English subtitles) B&W, 105 Mins. 1945.
A beautiful video master, transferred from a new negative, of this key film of Italian Neo- Realism, shot largely during the Nazi occupation of Rome.
Two resistance leaders, one a communist, the other a priest, work toward weakening the German occupation. The cumulative power of Rossellini's feeling for his subject was translated into a visual intensity that makes the picture sometimes almost impossible to watch. With a great performance by Anna Magnani.
Title: Open Doors
Call ID: VIT 332
Gianni Amelio: Italian (English subtitles) 109 Mins. 1989.
Gian Maria Volonte starts as a conscientious judge assigned to a notorious murder case in Palermo during the reign of Mussolini.
He believes there is more to the story than the self-confessed killer of three is willing to admit -and boy, is he right. Starring Ennio Fantastichini, Renzo Giovampietro and Renato Carpentieri. This rewarding, thoughtful drama was nominated for an Oscar as Best Foreign Language Film.
Title: Orchestra Rehearsal
Call ID: DVIT 802
Federico Fellini: Italian (English subtitles) 72 Mins. 1979
Orchestra Rehearsal a controversial, yet comical film directed by five-time Academy Award winner Federico Fellini (La Strada, 8 1/2, La Dolce Vita) is available on video for the first time featuring music composed by Academy Award winner Nino Rota (The Godfather Trilogy).
Fellini's film, which created sparks at its premiere in 1979, depicts the turmoil of Italian society through events that take place during a rehearsal gathering set in a 13th century.
Title: Ossessione
Call ID: DVIT 816
Luchino Visconti: Italian (English Subtitles) 135 Mins
Passion turns deadly when beautiful but frustrated Giovanna ( Deep Red's Clara Calamai) finds herself helplessly drawn to Gino (Last Tango in Paris 's Massino Girotti), a handsome drifter stay at her inn.
Repose by her husband, Giovanni begs Gino to rid her of the unappreciative spouse and help her to collect his hefty insurance premium, the solution to all their problems. The course of cold-blooded murder never runs smoothly, however, and soon the lovers are trapped in a downward spiral of deception, jealousy and cruel fate. Internationally acclaimed director Luchino Visconti ignited a stormy religious and political scandal in Italy with the release of this film.
Title: Padre Padrone
Call ID: DVIT 803
Paolo and Vittorio Taviani: Italian (English subtitles) 117 Mins. 1997.
This powerful true tale of one boy's struggle out of isolation and silence is perfectly captured on film by the renowned Taviani brother's, Paolo and Vittorio (Night Sun; Good Morning, Babylon).
Based on the autobiography by Gavino Ledda, who at the age of six was taken from school into the mountains where his father enslaved him as a shepherd. Gavino eventually broke free discovering the outside world and his own identity within it.
Title: Paisan
Call ID: VIT 350
Roberto Rossellini: Italian (English subtitles) B&W 115 Mins. 1946.
Roberto Rossellini continues his exploration of ultimate tragedies of war in this collection of six studies.
The death of a woman who warns an American patrol, the theft of a soldier's boots and his understanding when he sees the squalid conditions of Naples, the death of resistance fighters, and the monastery with prayers for redemption. Another masterpiece from Italy's great film maker, Paisan was nominated for an academy award for best story and screenplay.
Title: Picolo Mondo Antico
Call ID: VIT 325
Mario Soldati: Italian. 107 Mins.
Title: Il Postino (The Postman)
Call ID: DVIT 805
Michael Radford. Italian (English subtitles) 108 Mins. 1995.
Cheered by critics and audiences everywhere, Il Postino-The Postman is the record-breaking Academy Award-winning romantic comedy that delivers heartfelt laughs!
Mario is a bumbling mailman who's madly in love with the most beautiful woman in town...and who's too shy to tell her how he feels. But when a world-famous poet - Pablo Neruda - unexpectedly moves into town, Mario is inspired. With Neruda's help, he finds the right words to win the woman's heart. This unforgettably funny comedy proves that passion...with some artful deception...can win the most improbable love! Original in Cliff's office
Title: Red Desert
Call ID: VIT 318
Michelangelo Antioni: Italian (English subtitles) 120 Mins. 1964.
Antonioni's masterpiece, with the great Monica Vitti playing the neurotic young woman married to an engineer in the industrial wasteland of northern Italy, searching in vain for meaning in life.
Antonioni's first film in color-and what color! One of the most important films of last half of the century.
Title: The Seduction of Mimi
Call ID: DVIT 800
Fox Lorber: Italian (English subtitles) 89 Mins. 1972
This sexy political farce helped bring international fame to director Lina Wertmüller (Seven Beauties), Giancarlo Giannini (Swept Away, Love & Anarchy) stars as Mimi, a Sicilian laborer, whose decision not to vote for the Mafia's candidate in a local election results in him losing his job, his wife and his home.
The predicaments that arise throw Mimi's life into a pile of comical complexities as all his energies surge into defending his honor -an obsession that has horrendous but hilarious consequences. Due to its popularity, The Seduction of Mimi was Americanized into the 1977 Richard Pryor hit Which Way Is Up?
Title: Sostiene Pereira
Call ID: VIT 349
Roberto Fainza: Italian. 109 Mins. 1995
Tratto dall'omonimo romanzo di Antonio Tabucchi il film e ambiantato nel 1938 a Lisbona, durante la violenta ascesa politica del dittatore Salazar.
ereira, oscuro giornalista della pagina culturale del 'Lisboa', consuma pigramente le sue giornate tra la routine del lavoro e i ricordi del passate, disinteressandosi dei gravi eventi plotici che stanno scuotendo il Portogallo e l'Europa intera. L'incontro con due giovani sovversivi, Monteiro Rossi e Marta e con il dottor Cardoso, uno stravagante medico filosofo, costringono Pereira a mettere in discussione il suo modo di pensare e di vivere. L'assassinio di Monteiro da parte dei sicari di Salazar, spinge finalmente Pereira a trovare il coraggion di lasciare la sua vita tranquilla per iniziare a combattere per la liberta. Il personaio di Pereira, con il suo indolente e ironico fatalisom, e risultato a tal punto di identificazione che ha dato vita ad una interpretazione di rara intensita.
Title: Sperduti Nel Buio
Call ID: VIT 334
Camillo Mastrocinque: Italian. 1947.
Interpreti : Vittorio De Sica, Fiorella Betti.
In una Napoli affascinante di inizio secolo un guappo tiene inschiavitu' una povera ragazza e scoperto che questa e' figlia naturale di un nobile, tenta di ricattare il genitore. Il malvivente viene arestato e la ragazza , rimasta sola, viene aiutata da un suonatore ambulantecieco, che fatalmente s'innamora silenziosamente di lei. Dopo varie peripezie il suonatore ambulante dovra' rassegnarsi alla perdita della ragazza amata che andra' felicemente sposa ad un marinaio.
Title: Station
Call ID: VIT 337
Sergio Rubini: Italian (English subtitles) 92 Mins. 1990
In the romantic tradition of great European film, a man and a woman are mysteriously drawn together by a force greater than themselves.
She is cool and sophisticated, yet vulnerable after leaving a fiancé who treated her only as an object. He is young and ordinary, and devoted to his mundane job as stationmaster. On a stormy night, she waits anxiously inside his station for the dawn train. At first he is only an object. Then little by little, the clockwork rhythms of his presence begin to seduce her. Within the tiny station, a sly intensity temporarily derails inhibitions and makes fantasy the first stop on the line.
Title: La Strada
Call ID: DVIT 820 A
Federico Fellini: Italian ( English Subtitles) B&W, 108 Mins. 1954.
Gesomina is sold by her mother into the employ of Zampano ( Anthony Quinn), a brutal traveling strongman.
They join up with traveling circus where Zampano encounters his old rival, tightrope artist the Fool ( Richard Basehart).
Title: La Strada
Call ID: DVIT 820 B
Federico Fellini: Italian (English Subtitles) B&W, 108 Mins. 1954. Documentary.
Title: La Strada
Call ID: VIT 309
Federico Fellini: Italian (English subtitles) B&W, 107 Mins. 1954.
One of Fellini's most poetic and powerful films, the story of a tragic wife, played by Giulietta Masina, who is sold to traveling show strongman Anthony Quinn.
Her love for him is not returned until too late.
Title: Swept Away
Call ID: DVIT 801
Fox Lorber: Italian (English subtitles) 116 Mins. 1974.
Set against the backdrop of the beautiful Mediterranean, Swept Away is Lina Wertmuller's controversial film about sex, love, politics and role reversals.
Raffaella, a rich and stunning capitalist, particularly enjoys tormenting Gennarino, a Communist deckhand who works on her husband's yacht. Stranded on a deserted island, Gennarino reverses roles and become master over Raffaella. She finds herself submitting to her new role culminating in a dramatic climax when they are rescued and must determine if their love can survive the harsh realities of civilization.
Title: Tempo di Uccidere (Time to Kill)
Call ID: VIT 346
Giuliano Montaldo: Italian. 110 Mins. 1990
E queata l'Africa per il tenente Enrico Silvesrti, inviato in Etiopia nel 1936
ma Silvestri scope anche il tascino piu outentico del continente, la sua natura inaspettatamente rigogaliosa, le sue donne fiere. Silvestri si trova ad affrontare condizioni imperviste, incontri la lebra. E que lo porta a una fuga disperata, ad uno smarrimento da animate braccato, ma alla fine tutto pare ricomporsi.... 'il soldato italiano sognava un'Africa convenzionale, con altri paimizi, banane,donne che danzano (...) invece trova una terra uguale alla sua, piu ingrata anzi...'
Title: La Terra Trema
Call ID: DVIT 817
Luchino Visconti: Italian & Sicilian ( English Subtitles). 154 Mins.
This wrenching study of a family struggling to overcome poverty and find happiness against the backdrop of Sicily's fishing community remains one of the most powerful example of European filmmaking.
Real-life Sicilian residents portray the villagers, whose lifes undergo dramatic changes when they plot to overthrow the tyranny of wholesalers depriving them of a decent living. Meanwhile, the parents and their children experience love, laughter, and friendship, finding a sense of community and optimism, even against the grimmest odds. Hailed as a " powerful, lyrical, neorealist classic", LA TERRA TREMA is the second haunting film from groundbreaking director Luchino Visconti, who earned the 1948 Special Prize at the Venice Film Festival for this gritty application of documentary techniques to a universal story of hopes and dreams.
Title: Three Brothers
Call ID: VIT 355
Francesco Rosi: Italian (English subtitles) 113 Mins. 1981.
One of the most powerful Italian films, Francesco Rosi's riveting feature about the lives and dreams of three brothers re-united in their small home town was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The three brothers -Philippe Noriet, Michele Placido, and Vittorio Mezzogiorno, each in a masterful performance- are summoned home by their father. Here, in the sunlight of the Italina countryside, they face their connection to each other and to themselves, in a film that is at once beautiful, full of humanity, and emotionally shattering.
Title: Time of Indifference
Call ID: VENG 344
Francesco Maselli: English. B&W, 84 Mins. 1964.
Rod Steiger, Claudia Cardinale, Shelley Winters, Paulette Goddard.
Compelling drama from an Alberto Moravia story about the disintegration and decay in a wealthy Italian family during the 1920's. Fine performances particularly by Steiger and Cardinale.
Title: Time to Kill (Tempo di Uccidere)
Call ID: DVENG 808
Giuliano Montaldo: English. 97 Mins. 1990.
While stationed in Africa during 1935 Italo-Abyssinian War, Lieutenant Enrico Silvestri (Nicholas Cage), a soldier in Mussolini's army, leaves camp in search of a dentist to relieve his toothache pain.
A shortcut through the jungle leads Silvestri to a hidden oasis and Mariam (Patrice-Flora Praxo), a beautiful Ethopian girl. Overcome by violent lust, Silvestri attacks the young woman, but in the aftermath of the assult, the two form an unexpected bond. Startled by hyenas during the night, Silvestri fires his pistol into the darkness, but a stray bullet ricochets off the wall of a cave, mortally wounding the sleeping Mariam. Driven by panic and fear, Silvestri attempts to cover up his crime, but tormented by guilt and the chilling discovery that he may have contracted leprosy from the dead woman, Silvestri begins a desperate journey in search of atonement and salvation.
Title: Il Toro
Call ID: VIT 333
Carlo Mazzacurati: Italian, 108 Mins. 1994
Con Diego Abatantuono 'Per rabbia, per bisogno e speranza, un inserviente ruba Corinto, prezioso toro da riproduzione artificiale.......... 1994
Title: Toto' Al Giro D'Italia
Call ID: VIT 336
Mario Mattoli: Italian. B&W, 77 Mins. 1949
Comedy Toto' s'innamora perdutamente di una collega della giuria e la chiede in moglie...... Lo sposera' solo se sara' vincitore nel Giro d'Italia.
Title: Tripoli (Bel Suol D'Amore)
Call ID: VIT 335
Ferruccio Cerio: Italian. 67 Mins. 1954
Con: Alberto Sordi Flash back nella guerra di Libia, nell'eta' di Giolitti, per educarci all'amor di patria .
Title: Truce
Call ID: VENG 341
Francesco Rosi. English. 117 Mins.
Award-winning director Martin Scorsese presents an epic, true story that was cheered by moviegoers and critics alike.
Acclaimed actor John Turturro (He Got Game, Rounders) delivers a powerful performance as a man whose life is changed forever by World War II. His incredible adventure begins after the war ends and he embarks on a thousand-mile journey back home to Italy. Along the way, he faces great odds...but rediscovers the simple joys of life that the war threatened to destroy forever- friendship, love, laughter, and, most important of all, a sense of hope. This motion picture masterpiece promises to sit your soul and touch your heart -don't miss it!
Title: Two Women
Call ID: DVIT 804
Ponti & De Sica: Italian (English subtitles) B&W, 93 Mins. 1960.
Realistic heart-wrenching story of an Italian widow who along with her young 13 year old daughter are raped by Allied Moroccan soldiers during W.W. II. Intensely moving performance by Sophia Loren deservedly won her an Oscar for Best Actress.
Title: Two Women
Call ID: VIT 304
Ponti & De Sica: Italian (English subtitles) B&W, 99 Mins. 1960.
Sophia Loren won an Academy Award for her portrayal of a mother ravaged by war as she and her 13- year old daughter become the focus of attack by retreating German soldiers.
A heartwrenching film- one of the best - by Vittorio de Sica.
Title: Viaggio Del Nuovo Cinema Italiano
Call ID: VIT 351
M. Continanza & P. Diadori: Italian
Movie consists of clips from various Italian Language Films in the followin order:1.- IL LADRO DI BAMBINI.
Di Gianni Amelio. 2.- L'AMORE MOLESTO. Di Mario Martone. 3.- IL PORTABORSE. Di Daniele Luchetti. 4.- UN'ANIMA DIVISA IN DUE. Di Silvio Soldini. 5.- IL GRANDE COCOMERO. Di Francesco Archibugi. 6.- IL TORO. Di Carlo Mazzacurati. 7.-JOHNNY STECCHINO. Di Roberto Benigni. 8.- NEL CONTINENTE NERO. Di Marco Risi. 9.- BELLE AL BAR. Di Alessandro Benvenuti. 10.- MEDITERRANEO. Di Gabriele Salvatores. 11.- NUOVO CINEMA PARADISO. Di Giuseppe Tornatore. 12.- LA SCORTE. Di Ricky Tognazzi. 13.- VERSO SUD. Di Pasquale Pozzessere. 14.- LADRI DI SAPONETTE. Di Maurizio Nichetti.
Title: I Vitelloni (The Young and The Passionate)
Call ID: VIT 328
Federico Fellini: Italian (English subtitles) B&W, 104 Mins. 1953.
The young and the restless men in a small town on the Adriatic are, each in his own way, discontent.
They spend their time pursuing diversion and girls, vaguely dreaming impossible pipe dreams. This brilliant, acid-sharp look at a generation nevertheless reveals Fellini's affection for his characters. The film 'is the story of adolescents who cannot see anything more in life than satisfying their animal desires, sleeping, eating, fornication. I was trying to say there is something more, there is always more. Life must have meaning beyond the animal.'
Title: The White Sheik
Call ID: VIT 327
Federico Fellini: Italian (English subtitles) 86 Mins. 1952.
When a provincial couple go to Rome for their honeymoon, the bride sneaks off to the movie set where her idol, the White Sheik, is making a film.
Title: Woman of Rome
VIT 353
Luigi Zampa: Italian (English subtitles) B&W, 95 Mins. 1956.
Gina Lollabrigida plays a girl of easy virtue in this film which also stars Daniel Gelin, Franco Fabrizi and Raymond Pellegrin.
Title: Ghost in the Shell
Call ID: DVJP 800
Mamoru Oshii': Japanese (English subtitles). 30 Mins. 1995.
Mamoru Oshii’s futuristic animated masterpiece, Ghost in the Shell, is the perfect film to experience on Digital Video Disk.
Ghost in the Shell took the world by storm in 1996, introducing a new wave of Japanese animation through its mesmerizing cinematic expression. A movie that questions our own human existence in the fast-paced world of the information age, this remarkable, award-winner, cyber-tech thriller has gone on to become one of the leading Japanese animation films of all time.
Title: Golden Demon
Call ID: VJP 302
Koji Shima: Japanese (English subtitles). 91 Mins. 1953.
This spectacular film explores the destructive effect of wealth on today’s society. Kan-ichi, an orphan with no money loses Myia, the woman he loves, when her parents arrange a marriage to a rich playboy.
Distraught and bitter at his rejection, Kan-ichi vows never to become vulnerable again. Blaming the Golden Demon for his loss, he devotes himself to the pursuit of great wealth, soon developing the reputation as a ruthless moneylender. When Myia’s loveless marriage breaks up, she searches out her once-lover only to find that his new found property has changed him.
Title: Grave of the Fireflies
Call ID: DVJP 804 A
Isao Takahata: Japanese (English Subtitles). 88 Mins. 1992.
In the aftermath of a World War II bombing, two orphaned children struggle to survive in the Japanese countryside.
To Seita and his four-year-old sister, the helplessness and indifference of their countrymen is even more painful than the enemy raids. Through desperation, hunger and grief, these children’s lives are as heartbreakingly fragile as their spirit and love is inspiring. Grave of the Fireflies is a tale of the true tragedy of war.
Title: Grave of the Fireflies
Call ID: DVJP 804 B
Isao Takahata: English. 71 Mins. 1992.
Interviews & Documentary
-Interviews with director Isao Takahata and author Akiyuki Nosaka
-Interview: Film Critic Roger Ebert
-Author Biography: Akiyuki Nosaka
-Director Biography: Isao Takahata
-Historical Perspective: Commentary by Professor Theodore E. Cook &
Professor Haruko Taya Cook
-Video Restoration Documentary
-Bonus Storyboards
-Trailers
-Original Japanese Theatrical Trailer
-Art Gallery
-U.S. Trailer
Title: Himatsuri
Call ID: VJP 301
Mitsuo Yanagimachi: Japanese (English subtitles). 120 Mins. 1985.
Based on actual events, the setting is an exemplary village of old Japan. When a developer comes to this fishing community to propose a tourist park, only the lumberjack Tatsuo opposes him.
At once nature’s mystic voice and amorous despoiler, Tatsuo embodies the spiritual link to nature that the community must sacrifice in order to prosper. Tatsuo’s decisive moment comes during the annual Fire Festival, a celebration that is said to go back two thousand years.
Title: Hiroshima Mon Amour
Call ID: VFR 309
Alain Resnais: French (English subtitles). 90 Mins. 1959.
From the beginning, in which the love-making of a French actress (Emanuelle Riva) and a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) is inter-cut with newsreel footage of Hiroshima's atomic holocaust and its aftermath, to the couple's painful walk through the reconstructed city, Resnais' film recaptures both the pain and the richness of the war.
Title: Ran
Call ID: DVJP 802
Kira Kurosawa: Japanese (English subtitles). 160 Mins. 1985.
Akira Kurosawa’s brilliantly conceived re-telling of Shakespeare’s King Lear magically mixes Japanese history, Shakespeare’s plot and Kurusawa’s own feelings about loyalty in the epic masterpiece, RAN. Set in 16th century Japan, an aging ruler, Lord Hidetora (Tatsuya Nakadai), announces his intention to dive his land equally among his three sons.
This decision to step down unleashes a power struggle between the three, when Hidetora falls prey to the false flattery bestowed upon him by two older sons and banishes the youngest when he speaks the truth. The ruthless betrayal ultimately drives Hidetora insane, destroying his entire family and kingdom. Deep human emotion and out-standing acting combine to create one of the most acclaimed foreign films of all time.
Title: Returner
Call ID: DVJP 805
Takashi Yamazaki: Japanese (Chinese and English Subtitles). 117 Mins. 2002.
Miyamoto, an orphan, a “Returner” – a solitary killer-for-hire. In a mission he comes across Mizoguchi, a big brother in the black market, who killed Miyamoto’s childhood best friend.
A gun fight starts, Mizoguchi slips away as Miyamoto mistakenly shoots a young girl Milly, who comes from the future. Staying alive, Milly gets Miyamoto involved in her mission, a must-complete in only 2 days and for one more reason they don’t know – Mizoguchi. Donated by Neil Hong.
Title: Rikisha-Man
Call ID: VJP 300
Iroshi Inagaki: Japanese (English subtitles). 105 Mins. 1958.
A classic film of unrequited love, starring Toshiro Mifune as a feisty rikisha puller who helps raise a young boy after the father has died, loving the boy’s mother from a distance that class cannot cross. Winner of the Venice Film Festival Grand Prize.
Title: Seven Samurai (Part I)
Call ID: DVJP 803 A
Akira Kurosawa: Japanese (optional English subtitles) B&W. 103 Mins. 1954.
A desperate village hires seven samurai to protect it from marauders in this crown jewel of Japanese cinema.
No other film so seamlessly weaves philosophy and entertainment, delicate human emotions and relentless action. Featuring Japan’s legendary star, the great Toshiro Mifune, Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai is an inspired epic, a triumph of art, and an unforgettable three-hour ride.
Title: Seven Samurai (Part II)
Call ID: DVJP 803 B
Akira Kurosawa: Japanese (English Subtitles). 104 Mins. 1954.
One of the most bleoved movie epics of all time, Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) tells the story of a sixteenth-century village whose desperate inhabitants hire seven out-of-work warriors to protect them from invading bandits.
This three-hour ride-featuring legendary actors Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura- seamlessly weaves philosophy and entertainment, delicate human emotions and relentless action into a rich, evocative, and unforgettable tale of courage and hope.
Title: Seven Samurai (Part I & II)
Call ID: VJP 305 A&B
Akira Kurosawa: Japanese (English Subtitles). 208 Mins. 1954.
Seven Samurai -an extraordinary tale of adventure, romance, humor, and suspense- has been hailed by critics worldwide as on of the best films of all time. Set in 16th-century Japan, the plot revolves around seven mercenaries hired to defend a peasant community against marauding bandits.
When the samurai arrive, a spectacular series of battles begins. Kurosawa’s innovative use of slow motion, a rapidly motion camera, and long-lens photography captures the ferocious conflict. But this is far more than a stupendous action film; Kurosawa’s classic is also remembered for its timeless themes of personal bravery and the indomitability of the human spirit.
Title: Shall We Dance?
Call ID: VJP 304
Masayuki Suo: Japanese (English subtitles). 119 Mins.
The irresistible comedy treat that has critics and audiences cheering all across America. A middle-aged workaholic’s incredibly dull life takes a funny turn when he signs up for a ballroom dance teacher. But when he finally muscles up the nerve for lessons, he winds up with a different instructor and her colorfully eccentric class of beginners. And now he’ll have to sleep lightly.
Title: Tamporo
Call ID: VJP 303
Juzo Itami: Japanese (English subtitles) 114 Mins. 1987.
One of the funniest, most enjoyable satirical comedies is this treasure of a movie the plot of which, loosely, concerns the quest for the perfect Japanese noodle.
Title: Blind Chance / Przypadek
Call ID: VPOL 300
Krzysztof Kieslowski:Polish (English subtitiles) 118 mins. 1989.
Title: The Conductor
Call ID: VPOL 301
Andrzej Wajda. Polish (English Subtitles) 101 mins. 1979.
In new York Jan Lasocki, a famous émigré conductor, meets Marta, a visiting musician who is also daughter of his first love.
Nostalgic and homesick for Poland after 50 years abroad, he returns to conduct a local orchestra in Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony; the same orchestra he began his career with years ago. Conducting in Poland however, is not what Jan had dreamed, and the concert becomes mired in government schemes to milk the political advantages of his return. Academy-Award winner John Gielgud (Prospero’s Books, Arthur, Chariots of Fire) gives a triumphant performance in Wajda’s deeply-felt tribute to artistic commitment and integrity under political pressure.
Title: Newland
Call ID: DVHE 811
Orna Ben-Dor Niv. Hebrew & Polish (Eng Subtitles) 107 mins.
Leaving the devastation of World War II behind them, a little girl and her brother travel from Europe to Israel in search of family, hope and future. Placed in a refugee camp upon arrival, they are confronted by a world of colorful characters whose intrigues both terrify and tantalize. They are immediately forced to face the difficult realities of a new land.
Title: White
Call ID: VFR 332
Krysztof Kieslowski: French And Polish (English subtitles) 92 mins. 1993.
The second part of Kieslowski’s Blue-White-Red trilogy, based on the concepts of the French tri-color. A Polish man’s life disintegrates when his new French bride deserts him after only six months. Forced to begin anew, he returns to Poland and plans a clever scheme of revenge against her. July Delpy is great as the young wife.
Title: Andrei Rublev
Call ID: DVRU 800
Andrei Tarkovsky: Russian (English subtitles). 205 mins. 1973.
Immediately suppressed by the Soviets in 1966, Andrei Tarkovsky’s epic masterpiece is a sweeping medieval tale of Russia’s greatest icon painter.
Too experimental, too frightening, too violent, and too political complicated to be released officially, Andrei Rublev existed only in shortened, censored versions until the criterion collection created this complete 205-minute director’s cut special edition.
Title: Andrei Rublev
Call ID: VRU 306
Andrei Tarkovsky: Russian (English subtitles). 185 mins. 1966.
The dazzling and harrowing tale of the fifteenth-century icon painter who survives the cruelties of medieval Russia to create works of art.
As bloody tartar raids, religious brutality, and pagan rites work to quell Rublev’s desires and needs, he undertakes a spiritual Odyssey that affirm man’s ability to transcend adversity. This restored director’s cut is presented in letterbox format.
Title: The Anna Akhmatova File
Call ID: VRU 309
Semeon Aranovitch: Russian (English Subtitles). 65 Mins. 1989.
A moving portrait of the extraordinary Soviet poet, Anna Akhmatova.
Although her work was banned and went unpublished for 17 years, her poem ‘Requiem’ became the underground anthem for the millions who suffered under Stalin. This film whichses Akhmatova’s diaries for contemporaries-Boris Pasternak, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Mikhail Sostchenko.
Title: Anna Karenina (Part I)
Call ID: DVRU 807
Aleksandr Zarkhi: Russian.(English Subtitles). 77 Mins.
The melodrama centers around a tragic story of love and infidelity, the destiny of a woman who irrevocably changes her life for the sake of a passion.
Anna Karenina finds it impossible to renounce her feelings for the loved one. She rejects the morals of society and tries to defend her right to love. Her husband bars Anna from her son, her acquaintances turn their back on her.
Title: Anna Karenina (Part II)
Call ID: DVRU 807 B
Aleksandr Zarkhi: Russian. (English Subtitles). 77 Mins.
The melodrama centers around a tragic story of love and infidelity, the destiny of a woman who irrevocably changes her life for the sake of a passion.
Anna Karenina finds it impossible to renounce her feelings for the loved one. She rejects the morals of society and tries to defend her right to love. Her husband bars Anna from her son, her acquaintances turn their back on her.
Title: Autumn Marathon
Call ID: VRU 321
Georgi Daneliya: Russian (English Subtitles). 94 Mins.
Andrey Pavlovich Buzykin, who makes a living by teaching at an institute and translating English literature, is cheating on his wife.
Buzykin’s main problem is that he’s a kind man with a weak character. The lies he is telling his wife all the time are inconvincing, but he never has the courage to tell her the truth. His lover, Alla, is aware of his family life, but gets offended when, for example, he cannot meet her so that he doesn’t come home late, or when he doesn’t want to go home in a new jacket she gives him to avoid having to explain to his wife. Alla and Nina, Andrei’s wife, both leave him, forgive him, and return to him at the same time, and Andrei continues with this kind of life, full of suffering and deceit. Finally, both women are so fed up with his lies that they don’t believe him even when he is telling the truth…
Title: Baltazar’s Feasts / The Night with Stalin
Call ID: DVRU 810
Yury Kara: Russian (English Subtitles). 83. Mins.
The film is based on one a chapters from Fazil Iskander’s epic <<Sandro from the Village of Chegem>>.[collapisble]It tells a story about one feast of Josef Stalin and his closest entourage. Sandro from the village of Chegen appeared as an Abkhaz folk dancing performer at this feast. This routine performance turned into a nightmare after the returned home as the purges of artists who attended the feast were about to being.[/collapsible]
Title: Black & White
Call ID: VENG 343
Boris Frumin: English. 96 Mins.
Black & White is the story of Lisa, a young Soviet emigré studying medicine in Manhattan, Roy, an African American building superintendent on New York’s Lower Eastside, and the bond that they form from living on the edges of Manhattan.
Filled with an assortment of fringe artists, disenfranchised immigrants, diamond dealers and sexual surrogates, the film is ultimately about breaking down the barriers between people. Directed by Russian emigré filmmaker Boris Frumin (Errors of Youth, Viva Castro!), Black and White is a poignant and riveting story of love and the quest for freedom and identity.
Title: Black Ice / Gololiod
Call ID: DVRU 809
Mikhail Brashinsky: Russian (English Subtitles). 70 Mins.
Surrealistic melodrama. Sergey Ivanov is a handsome, self confident, gay.
Victoria Tolstoganova leaves somebody all the time. He thinks that he knows everything about himself. She joins unequal battle with an opponent. He wants to be left alone. They haven’t met yet and nobody knows what this meeting can lead to. WARNING: This film contains some explicit scenes of homosexual nature
Title: Bless the Woman / Blagoslovite
Call ID: DVRU 815
Stanislav Govorukhin: Russian. 114 Mins.
This love drama is about the fate of a young woman, who maintains her love for a not-so-young officer through harsh years of war. Before making a film I always ask myself: what my spectators, those whom I love, would like, what would give them vital forces, what would evoke their kind and noble feelings.
This is intuition, therefore I tried to create a film, where my beloved spectators would find everything they need. This film will give them support, will inspire them, will lend wings to them, will cause them shed a tear, – said director Stanislav Govorukhin
Title: Brother
Call ID: VRU 322
Aleksei Balabanov: Russian. 96 mins.
In “Brother”, Sergei Bodrov Jr. (the son of the director of Prisoner of the Mountains, in which he also stars) plays Danila, a pale young man from the provinces returning home from his military service.
He brings nothing with him but an instinctive skill for violence–which he demonstrates when he wanders through a movie set and casually beats up the goons who have been sent to run him off. Heading for St. Petersburg, Danila hooks up with his admired older brother Viktor, now a highly paid hit man. When Viktor farms out a job to Danila, and the younger brother proves to be the greater talent. He goes into business for himself, acquiring new clothes and a new mistress. But with new success comes new enemies; Danila learns to watch his back.
Title: Burnt By the Sun
Call ID: VRU 308
Nikita Mikhalkov: Russian (English subtitles). 134 mins. 199.
Nikita Mikhalkov directs and stars as Colonel Serguei Kotov, a hero of the Revolution who is spending the summer in the country with his young daughter (Mikhalkov’s real-life daughter), his wife and her eccentric family.
But when his wife childhood love suddenly appears, the idyllic summer day takes a surprising turn. A Lyrical film filled with beauty and warmth, Burn By The Sun is also an indelible account of a man dedicated to family and fatherland, cruelly destroyed by political paranoia. ‘Visually sumptuous, intellectually stimulating, extraordinarily acted, the movie will burn itself into your memory forever.’
Title: Check-up on the Roads
Call ID: VRU 319
Aleksei German:Russian. 92 mins.
A partisan detachment commanded by lieutenant Ivan Lokotkov, a former countryside militiaman, operates in one of the north-west areas of Russia occupied by fascists.
Partisans are starving, the villages around are destroyed. The commander decides to seize a fascist trainload of food at the railway junction every meter of which is being guarded. Lazarev, a former policeman, who collaborated with fascists but began to feel strong remorse promised to carry out the operation. But can he be trusted? The film with the original title Happy New Year Operation was shelved immediately after shooting and opened up for the public show in 1985.
Title: Circus
Call ID: VRU 316
Grigoriy Alexandrov. Russian. 89 mins.
A Soviet musical comedy about an American circus artist who has a black baby; having suffered from racism in the United States, she discovers that the only way and place she can find happiness is among the Soviet people.
Happy citizens of all nationalities — in a film made at the beginning of the Great Purge period. A somewhat silly film with a strong message, although twisted when considering historical context. Probably the most famous of the Stalinist musical comedies.
Title: The Court of Honour
Call ID: VRU 315
Abraham Room. Russian. 100 mins.
Losev, a Soviet scientist, being in America in scientific mission, neglected the interests of his native land and published in the USA an unfinished work of his collegues, considering it as <>.
But his false patriotism was exposed and punished…Donated by: Prof. Emil Draitser
Title: The Cranes Are Flying
Call ID: VRU 310
Mikhail Kalatozov Russian with English subtitles. 95 mins. 1996.
A film that marked a radical opening for Soviet cinema; the lighthearted, romantic, lyrical story of a beautiful young girl (Tatiana Samoliova) caught up in the horrors of war.
When her fiancé (Alexei Batalov) goes off to war, she marries a man whom she does not love and who raped her, is evacuated to Siberia, and after the war, learns of her fiancé’s death. But she refuses to believe it and waits for his return. A great international success which won the Gran Prix at Cannes.
Title: Diamond Arm
Call ID: DVRU 803
(THE) Leonid Gaiday Russian (English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese, Hebrew, Swedish, Chinese & Arabic Subtitles) 100 mins. 1968.
The plot of this eccentric comedy is based on a newspaper article, found by script co-writer Yakov Kostyukovsky, about the arrest on the Italian border of a criminal who had hidden “gold and diamonds” in the plaster cast.
The movie became the absolute box-office leader of 1969 in the Soviet Union. The thrilling adventures of Semyon Gorbunkov, a modest economist, accompanied by a swindler named Count, have captivated several generations of moviegoers.
Title: East/West (Est/Ouest)
Call ID: DVRU 801
Réges Warnier. French/Russian (English subtitles). 125 mins. 1993.
From the director of Academy Award -winning Indochine comes another highly acclaimed film.
Academy Award -nominated (1999) for Best Foreign Language film, EAST/WEST (EST/OUEST) is a wonderfully imagined film that follows the plight of a young couple and their child as they choose to go back to the Soviet Union in 1946. At the end of the war, Stalin invited Russians who fled the country to return. The talented young doctor Alexei Golovine (Oleg Menchikov), accompanied by his French bride the beautiful Marie (Sandrine Bonnaire) and their son, optimistically returns to the Soviet Union. Their arrival is a rude one. Interrogations are followed by the grim reality of post-war Soviet Union: shared apartments, suspicious neighbors and lack of privacy. Marie soon starts to rebel against the circumstances, but her husband finds that his talents are needed and appreciated by the authorities, so he starts to get ahead. Marie meets up with a touring French actress (Catherine Deneuve), and soon faces a terrifying choice: to leave her husband and child for freedom, or stay and confront a grim future.
Title: The Errors of Youth
Call ID: VRU 311
Boris Frumin Russian w/ English subtitles. 87 mins.
The Errors of Youth was banned in 1979 because it was found to be too close to ‘real’ life in the former Soviet Union.
Its director, Boris Frumin, emigrated to the U.S.A., leaving the unfinished The Errors of Youth behind. In a historic gesture, he was invited back to Leningrad 11 years later and asked to complete the film. The Errors of Youth is a complex and affecting portrait of a young man adrift in a society of diminished expectations and compromise. Dmitri Gurianov (Stanislav Zhdanko) is a Red Army conscript stationed at a Black Sea resort. Leaving behind the humiliations of army life, he chooses a high-paying construction job in Siberia. He starts a love affair with a beautiful, enigmatic co-worker, but they split over the question of parenthood. Dmitri moves to Leningrad and drifts into a life among black marketeers and a marriage of expediency. The Errors of Youth is a remarkable, moving portrait of an entire generation – riveting and profound.
Title: Father Frost
Call ID: DVRU 805
Alexander Row. Russian (English subtitles). 110 mins.
This musical, beautiful costumed film is based on popular Russian fairy tales.
Once upon a time there lived a nice, sweet girl, Nastenka. She lived with her wicked stepmother who made poor Nastenka work very hard. In the same land there lived a fine young fellow, Ivan, who fell in love with Nastenka, but he bragged too much and was turned into a bear. The nasty stepmother wanted her own ugly daughter, Marfoushka, to marry a rich man and decided to send beautiful Nastenka to the winter forest for her to freeze.
Title: Freeze, Die Come to Life
Call ID: VRU 304
Vitaly Kanevski: Russian (English subtitles). 105 mins. 1989.
A brilliant Soviet film about the brutal conditions of life in and around Stalinist labor camps as seen through the eyes of two remarkable children.
This first feature by Vitaly Kanevski, who also wrote the screenplay and co-produced the film, is based on some of his own experiences during the eight years he spent growing up outside such a camp. With Pavel Nazarov, Dinara Drukarova, Yelena Popova. Awarded the Camera d’Or for the Best Film at Cannes.
Title: The Inspector General
Call ID: VRU 301
Vladimir Petrov: Russian (English subtitles). 130 mins. 1954.
Gogol’s famous play, performed by members of the Moscow Art Theatre, filmed by Vladimir Petrov.
Gogol’s work is a satire of provincial corruption in Czarist Russia. An entire town mistakes an illiterate worker for the Czar’s Inspector General, and the corrupt officials panic as they believe the man has come to check up on them.
Title: The Irony of Fate
Call ID: DVRU 806
Eldar Ryazanov. RUSSIAN (ENG, FRE, SPA, & GER SUBTITLES). 185 MINS.
This is lyrical comedy about four friends going to the sauna, as their annual tradition was, and so much ” heat” that the character of Andrey Myagkov ended up at the same apartment in the same street with the same furniture, but in Leningrad, where he unexpectedly interferes with the wife of its lady-owner.
Title: The Lady with the Dog
Call ID: DVRU 822
Iosif Heifitz. Russian (English Subtitles) B&W. 89 mins. 1960.
A faithful adaptation from the short story by Chekhov, THE LADY WITH THE DOG is a forgotten masterpiece of the Soviet cinema.
Told with little dialogue and minimal action, this romantic drama is a bittersweet portrait of a doomed love affair between Dmitry, a bank official, and Anna, a well-to-do young woman. The two fall in love while on vacation in Yalta, but because each is already married they can only one another once a year.
Title: Magnetic Storms (Magnitniye Buri)
Call ID: DVRU 812
Vadim Addrashitov. Russian (English Subtitles). 93 mins.
A modern provincial city with a big metallurgical factory.
Authorities divide property in the offices; workers fight each other in the workshops. Valera is in the middle of the events. Each fight brings a loss: he loses the apartment, then his close friend, and at the last the wife abandons him… During the one of the terrible episodes he was rescued by Marina. At the end when the collision with owners was successfully settled Valera finds new love and tries to start a new life…
Title: The Man with the Movie Camera
Call ID: VRU 313
DZIGA VERTOV. RUSSIAN.
This playful film is at once a documentary of the day on the life of the Soviet Union, a document of the filming of said documentary, and a depiction of an audience watching the film.
Even the editing of the film was documented. We often see the cameraman who is purportedly making the film, but we rarely, if ever, see the footage he seems to be in the act of shooting.
Title: Meeting on the Elbe
Call ID: VRU 320
Grigoriy Alexandrov. Russian 98 mins.
In the first months after World War II, Russian and American forces are stationed in a fictional Altenstadt in Germany.
In the Soviet part German workers under Soviet guidance reconstruct the industry, in the American part of the city night clubs and casinos flourish, while generals and capitalists are obsessively hunting for the optical patents of a scholar, sympathetic towards the Soviets, who is elected a major of the city. When the patents are stolen, the mayor believes that his Soviet friend, the commandant, betrayed him and leaves for the American party of the city. Yet as the misunderstanding becomes obvious, he returns and resumes his duties. A parallel line of the narrative introduces an American female spy, trying to smuggle a Nazi war criminal out to America.
Title: Mirror
Call ID: VRU 317
Andrei Tarkovsky. Russian 102 mins.
Tarkovsky’s looking glass is not merely cracked but shattered, and we see the jagged, jumbled reflections of its shards, images of the director’s childhood mixed with fragments of his adult life–a child’s wartime exile, a mother’s experience with political terror, the breakup of a marriage, life in a country home–all intermingled with slow motion dream sequences and stark newsreel. An essential film whose puzzles provide the key to this intense filmmaker’s other works.
Title: Mom Got Married (Mama Visla Zamuzh)
Call ID: DVRU 817
Vitaly Melnikov. Russian (English Subtitles). 85 mins.
Zina separated from her son Borka’s father ages ago and pretty much brought him up by herself. Now, the son has grown into a man –yet another man, Viktor, is also entering Zina’s life. How will the son respond to the possibility of new stepfather?
Title: Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears
Call ID: DVRU 823
Vladimir Menshov. Russian (English Subtitles). 150 Mins.
MOSCOW DOES NOT BELIEVE IN TEARS is Vladimir Menshov”s enchanting drama of three women struggling to establish themselves in Russia’s huge and often impersonal capital city.
Liudmilla, Katerina and Antonina seem to have little in common, but are bound by a deep friendship and the shared dream that in Moscow they will somehow find happiness. Moscow follows their resourceful pursuit of professional and domestic bliss in 1958, then skips forward twenty years to see just how many of their dreams have come true.
Title: Moscow Parade
Call ID: VRU 305
Ivan Dijkhovichny: Russian (English Subtitles). 103 mins.1993.
Ute Lemper stars in this, the first post-Soviet film about the Stalin Era. In 1939, she is a young aristocrat married to a hateful chief of the secret police.
His forces have murdered her family but she takes advantage of her marriage to enjoy all the luxuries her present life style allows. When she meets a mysterious man and learns of his plans to paint a horse black, her life is thrown in a whirlwind of change.
Title: Moving
Call ID: DVRU 818
Alexandre Petrov. Russian 104 mins.
Sacha is a journalist. He is running after scandalous relationships that not only are giving him money but very often troubles.
Gouriev is also chasing women, but the one he would really want to seduce is resisting him and his wife is always waiting for him alone in their house. By chance, Gouriev learns that one of his old friends, recently coming from a trip is about to run into serious troubles because of his latest affair. Gouriev is trying to avoid the drama, but it is already too late. When one cannot stop himself, the only way out is to run faster, so fast that you only have one chance to catch yourself.
Title: The Overcoat
Call ID: VRU 302
Alexei Batalov: Russian (English subtitles). 73 min. 1959.
Roland Bykov delivers a moving performance as the poor degraded clerk in 18th century Russia in this version of Nikolai Gogol’s famous short story.
Expressionistic in tone, but with a strong dose of realism- it is a commendable adaption of the story.
Title: Russian Dolls
Call ID: DVFR 825
Cédric Klapisch. French (English Subtitles). 129 mins.
Xavier is back! We find him five years after L’AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE- he is now thirty years old.
An aspiring novelist, his greatest achievement is a co-credit on an over-the-top TV soap, and his romantic life is equally disappointing. He has one meaningless romantic encounter after another and lines up a confusing series of drops related to writing – he’s a little messed up…the chance meeting could be the answer to both his career and love life, but Xavier’s lack of direction (and willpower) threatens to turn his good fortune into ultimate heartbreak.
Title: The Russian Issue
Call ID: VRU 318
Mikhail Romm. Russian. 91 mins.
Screen version of the play of the same name by K. Simonov. USA.
The year of 1946. Garry Smith, a gifted American journalist, was to write a critical book about Russia ordered by an editor of prestigious newspaper for huge royalty. For the prepayment he and his fiancée Jessy purchase a house, furnishings and a car by installments. But Smith lives Russia and writes about it truthfully and sincerely. It turns into a drama for him loses his job, property and the woman he loves. But Garry Smith is not broken, he travels around America and tells the truth about USSR.
Title: The Sea Gull
Call ID: VRU 303
Alexei Batalov: Russian (English subtitles). 99 mins.1971.
A sensitive exquisitely acted version of Checkov’s great play, set in provincial Russia, a penetrating study of the languid melancholia of the residents of an isolated country estate.
With Alla Demidova, Lyudmila Saveleyva, Yuri Yakovlev.
Title: Secret Mission
Call ID: VRU 323
Mikhail Romm. Russian. 84 mins.
January of 1945. Senator Allen and Garvy from Strategic Information Bureau come to Himmler from America.
They make a plan to capture Europe and get their hands on the patents of German industrial enterprises. Our intelligence officers Marta and Dementev obtain necessary information and frustrate the plot.
Title: Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
Call ID: VRU 307
Sergei Parajanov: Ukrainian (English subtitles). 99 mins. 1984.
Based on a Georgian legend, the first feature completed by Sergei Paradjanov after being released from prison.
The tale hangs on the self sacrifice of a young man who agrees to be bricked up in a fortress wall in order to make it impregnable against invaders. Paradjanov divides his film into a series of tableaux, once again using minimal dialog and searing imagery in a film of surreal almost hypnotic power.
Title: Siberiade
Call ID: VRU 314 A&B
ANDREI MIKHALKOV-KONCHALOVSKY. Russian (English subtitles). 206 mins.
The story about a very small god-forgotten village in Siberia reflects the history of Russia from the beginning of the century till the early 80s.
Three generations try to find the land of happiness and to give it to the people. One builds the road through taiga to the star over horizon, the second ‘build communism’ and the third searches for oil. The oil is found but the destruction of the old cemetery and everything the people of the village cared for followed to get the ‘black treasure’ of Siberia.
Title: Strike
Call ID: VRU 324
Sergei Eisenstein. Russian (English Subtitles) B&W. 94 minutes.
Sergei Eisenstein’s Strike (Stachka) is a dazzling and inventive film that blends political metaphor with radical technique as it dramatizes the genesis and violent consequences of a workers’ revolt.
A cinematic endeavor that applies some of the tactics of the avant-garde theatre group Proletkult, Strike combines radical theatrical conceits with constructivist graphics and filmic experiments to achieve its idealistic aim. Yet STRIKE is anything but a cold experiment in film structure.
Title: The Stroll (Progulka)
Call ID: DVRU 811
Alexei Uchitel. Russian (English Subtitles). 90 mins.
A modern romantic story, which happened to three young men in the center of St. Petersburg.
They found a young cute girl in the street. But she turns out to be quite different. Having made the main character fall in love with her, she knows foul intentions to his best friend. It takes only an hour and a half…
Title: Viva Castro!
Call ID: VRU 312
Boris Frumin. Russian w/ English subtitles. 82 mins.
One of the best Russian films of the 1990’s, Viva Castro! is set in a small Russian town in 1965.
At this time Fidel Castro was as important for the Russian people as Elvis Presley was for the Americans,’ says the director, Boris Frumin, who returned to Russia after 16 years of exile in America to make this film. Young Kolya is in love with his singing teacher; but his life isn’t easy. His father skips town after stealing some coins from a museum and his mother is sent to a labor camp as punishment. When the father returns a year later, Kolya becomes involved with the pretty young woman hired to nurse him. Viva Castro! is a remarkable coming-of-age story which ‘shows real life in all its inexplicable mixture of farce and tragedy, cruelty, comedy and romance.’
Title: Viy (Spirit of Evil)
Call ID: DVRU 804
Georgi Kropachyov. Russian (English & French Subtitles). 78 mins. 2000.
This very eerie and stylish Russian horror film went largely unseen for decades. With this video release it should earn a loyal following.
Based on a story by Nikolai Gogol, the movie follows a young theology student whose faith is tested when he meets the devil’s emissary, “..stunning, with a rich color palette worthy of Mario Bava.. Moments of pure cinema here raise the hairs on the back of your neck” (R.L. Strong, Cornucopia of Film). Alexander Ptushko was responsible for the eye-catching visual effects.
Title: The Wedding
Call ID: DVRU 819
Pavel Lungin. Russian (English Subtitles). 114 mins.
The beautiful Tanya returns to her small mining town after supposedly working as a model in Moscow.
She decides to marry her shy school sweetheart Mishka, who works in the mine. The miners finally receive some pay, but Mishka still ends up with no money to buy his bride a gift. Mishka’s poor working-class family all help to put on a fine wedding with copious amounts of vodka even though they are suspicious of Tanya’s occupation in Moscow, and of her connection with her Mafia ex-boyfriend Borodin.
Title: White Sun of the Desert
Call ID: DVRU 802
(THE) Vladimir Motyl Russian (English, French & Arabic Subtitles). 85 mins. 1969.
This “Middle-Eastern”, or rather a Central-Asian action film about the Red Army fighting the counter-revolutionary robber bands has become not only a cult movie, but also one of the favorites for several generations of viewers.
With Russian cosmonauts, it is a tradition to view this film before going to outer space. The film’s success paved the way for a genre of national “Eastern”. A demobbed soldier, Fyodor Sukhov, is making his way through the desert to his home village. The band of the brutal Abdulla intended to kill his women rather than let them go free. Sukhov’s mate, a young soldier Petrukha, dies at the hand of Abdulla.
Title: Aguirre: The Wrath of God
Call ID: VGE 301
Werner Herzog: German (English subtitles) 94 mins. 1973
In the mid-1500's, a large Spanish expedition searching for the mythical lost city of Eldorado detached an advance party to explore a tributary of the Amazon; They never returned.
Werner Herzog expanded this obscure historical incident into a spectacularly horrifying chronicle of imperialism gone amok. Klaus Kinski delivers a magnificent performance as Don Lope de Aguirre, a power-driven lunatic who dreams of stealing an entire continent.
Title: All About My Mother
Call ID: DVSP 801
Pedro Almodovar. Spanish (English and French subtitles) 102 mins. 1999
Donated by Prof. Cecile Insdorf, Dept. of Romance Languages, May 2000.
Internationally acclaimed writer/director Pedro Almodovar delivers his finest film yet, a poignant masterpiece of unconditional love, survival and redemption. Manuela is the perfect mother. A hard-working nurse, she's built a comfortable life for herself and her teenage son, an aspiring writer. But when tragedy strikes and her beloved child is killed in a car accident, her world crumbles. The heartbroken woman learns her son's final wish was to know of his father - the man she abandoned when she was pregnant 18 years earlier. Returning to Barcelona in search of him, Manuela overcomes her grief and becomes caregiver to a colorful extended family: a pregnant nun, a transvestite prostitute, and two troubled actresses. With riveting performances, unforgettable characters and creative plot twists, this touching screwball melodrama is 'An absolute stunner. A funny, touching and vital film marks a career peak for Almodovar!' - Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE
Title: Alsino and the Condor
Call ID: VSP 300
Miguel Littin: Spanish (English subtitles) 89 mins. 1986
Set in present day Central America, 'Alsino and the Condor' is the first fictional feature ever made in Nicaragua.
It has been widely acclaimed for its honest depiction of the clash between Central American governments and Sandinista rebels. It is the story of a boy's dream of flying above the madness of the world around him. It is about his fantasies, his courage, and above all, it is about the human spirit soaring to freedom.
Title: Amores Perros
Call ID: DVSP 807
Alejandro González Iñárritu. Spanish (English & French subtitles) 153 mins. 2000.
Three lives become inextricably linked in the wake of a terrible car crash.
A young punk stumbles into the sinister underground world of dog fighting; an injured supermodel's pooch disappears into the apartment's floorboards; and an ex-radical turned hit man rescues a gun-shot Rotweiler. Discover why Amores Perrosis the best reviewed film of the year.
Title: And The Earth Did Not Swallow Him
Call ID: VENG 339
Severo Perez: English 99 mins. 1994
This is a haunting and powerful film about a young Mexican-America boy's coming of age amid the poverty and adversity he and his family face as migrant farm workers in the 1950s.
Twelve -year-old Marcos hides under a house, recalling the fragmented, painful memories of his family's transient life the year before. A series of moving and simultaneously disturbing episodes unfold into a poignant story of inner-strength and human values vs. blind faith. After seen innocent workers die in the fields, his family nearly killed by heat exhaustion, and the atrocities committed by the couple in whose care he is entrusted, Marcos has little faith left in the superstitions which rule his family's life-and is willing to make a deal with the devil to change his destiny.
Title: Ay, Carmela
Call ID: VSP 327
Carlos Saura: Spanish (English subtitles) 105 mins.1991.
In Spain,1938, the country is torn apart by Civil War between the Republicans and Franco's fascist forces.
Carmela and Paulino are Republicans and traveling entertainers who innocently make a wrong turn one night and end up prisoners of the Fascists. They are about to be executed along with a town full of Republican prisoners, when they are discovered by a young theatre-loving Lieutenant. He persuades the army to let them stage a show to entertain the troops, and Paulino agrees in order to save his and Carmela's life, but she is unaware of his betrayal.
Title: The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez
Call ID: VENG 348
Moctesuma Esperanza. English. 105 mins. 1983
It is 1901, and two Texas cultures -the Anglo and the Mexican- live side by side in a state of tension and fear.
On June 12 Gregorio Cortez (Edward Olmos), a young Mexican family man shoots and kills a sheriff in self-defense. For the next 11 days, he eludes an inflamed posse of 600 Texas Rangers in a 450 mile chase across Texas. His manhunt captures the nation's interest, and his eventual trial is tainted by the extreme emotions of the country. To some Cortez becomes an instant folk-hero; to most others, however, he is considered a very dangerous criminal. It takes 12 years to learn the truth. Donated by Prof. Alicia Ramos; Dept. of Romance Languages.
Title: Before Night Falls
Call ID: DVSP 828
Julian Schnabel. Spanish (English Subtitles ) 133 minutes.
Julian Schnabel (Basquiat) directs this incredible journey through the life and work of the late Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas.
Victimized by a government that banned his books and jailed him for a crime he didn't commit, Reinaldo endured unspeakable persecution in a courageous stand against censorship and oppression. Without a country but not without integrity, he fled to America where he continued to fight for personal expression and produced a stirring body of work. Featuring a dual performance by Johnny Depp, Before Night Falls is a tribute to the liberating power of art.. and one man's undying passion for life.
Title: Belle Epoque
Call ID: DVSP 813
Fernando Trueba. Spanish (English Subtitles) 110 mins.
This is the irresistible story of Fernando, a handsome young Spanish Civil War deserter, who befriends a free-thinking artist.
Fernando finds himself in a romantic dilemma when the artist's four beautiful daughters return to the country home. Which woman should he romance? The answer is hilariously simple, as Fernando is seduced instead, by each of the high-spirited sisters. BELLE EPOQUE is a rollicking sensual romp celebrating newfound sexual freedom for women. A delicious blend of humor and passion that captured the Oscar (1993) for Best Foreign Language Film.
Title: Between Pancho Villa and a Naked Woman
Call ID: VSP 347
Berman & Tardan. Spanish (English subtitles) 100 mins. 1995
A funny and thoughtful look at the changing nature of gender roles, Entre Pancho Villa y una Mujer Desnuda (Between Pancho Villa and a Naked Woman) follows a couple with amusingly different ideas about what makes for a healthy, intimate relationship.
Concerned that the years are passing her by, Gina looks for a commitment from her longtime boyfriend Adrian. Angered by his refusal to marry, and fed up with his sexist attitudes, she takes a younger and more sensitive man as her lover. Adrian, however, will not surrender his woman or his antiquated ways of thinking. Channeling the spirit of Pancho Villa himself, he tries to fully embrace his machismo and win back the passion of Gina. Entre Pancho Villa y una Mujer Desnuda is a bright, intelligent romantic comedy , with sparkling performances from Diana Bracho as Gina, Arturo Rios as Adrian, and Jesús Ochoa, who won Mexico's Silver Ariel for Best Supporting Actor for his winning performance as the ghost of Pancho Villa.
Title: Bitter Sugar
Call ID: VSP 342
Leon Ichaso Spanish (English subtitles) 102 mins. 1996
Donated by Prof. Cecile Insdorf, Dept. of Romance Languages, May 2000.
A visceral, energizing look at contemporary Cuba, BITTER SUGAR is an impassioned love story set against the political and economic tensions of Havana. Gustavo, an idealistic youth Communist with a glorified vision of Castro's regime, falls in love with Yolanda, a disenchanted dancer who longs to escape to Miami. However, Gustavo learns that love alone cannot sustain them in a city about to erupt and slowly awakens to the devastation around him. His rebellious musician brother injects himself with the AIDS virus in civil protest; his father realizes that he will earn more money as a barroom pianist in a tourist hotel than as a doctor. Filled with an intoxicating Latin beat and rapid camera movements, director Leon Ischaso (El Super, Sugar Hill, Miami Vice) weaves a blazing tale of romantic and political passions amid the ruins of the Cuban Revolution.
Title: Bizet's Carmen
Call ID: DVSP 834
Francesco Rosi: French (English & Spanish subtitles) 136 mins.
Set in the sun-scorched city of Seville, Bizet's Carmen stars Placido Domingo and Julia Mignes Johnson in posssibly the most stunning portrayal ever of the world's most popular opera.
An untamed gypsy siren-Carmen-captures the heart of straight-laced army corporal Don Jose inspiring him to desertion fromnispost, his family and his honor.But when another suitor-the dashing toreador, Escamillo-steals Carmen's affections, Don Jose is filled with a reckless rage that threatens the future of all three.With both soldier and bullfighter unwilling to relinquish his claim to her, a deadly duel of jealousy builds, fueled by the unbridled passion of their beloved Carmen.
Title: Black River
Call ID: VSP 332
Atahualpa Lichy: Spanish (English subtitles) 116 mins. 1990
Atahualpa Lichy's remarkable Black River bursts onto the screen with all the splendor and majesty of the far reaches of the Venezuelan Amazon, where absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The year is 1912, and a new governor and his ambitious wife (Angela Molina) successfully confront the brutal local chief. However, the cruel and decadent era they usher in is one of gambling, prostitution and economic exploitation. Frank Ramirez plays the head of security who grabs control, only to initiate a regime of austerity and restriction as madness buries good intentions. The landscape is pure Garcia Marquez, and the stakes are high as the Spanish begin to exploit and rule the inner coastal regions of the river.
Title: Blood Wedding
Call ID: VSP 303
Carlos Saura: Spanish (English subtitles) 71 mins. 1981
A flamenco ballet version of Federico Garcia Lorca's classic, from the director of Carmen.
The climax of this dramatic story is a duel to the death between the bridegroom and the bride's former lover. Featuring choreographer Antonio Gades, former director of the National Ballet of Spain. Music by Emilio de Diego.
Title: Boquitas Pintadas (Painted Lips)
Call ID: VSP 329
Torre Nilsson: Spanish ( English subtitles) 120 min. 1974
Lies, double personalities, and the evil pettiness of life in a small town converge in Leopoldo Torre Nilsson's brilliant adaptation of a novel by Manuel Puig.
Nene, a married woman with two children, receives news that her childhood sweetheart, Juan Carlos, has died. She gradually pieces together a complex mosaic of his life. What emerges is a brilliant, acid-sharp portrait of a man driven by fear into a life of self-deception.
Title: Buena Vista Social Club
Call ID: DVSP 802
Wenders. Spanish (English subtitles) 105 mins. 1999
"The Buena Vista Social Club," guitarist Ry Cooder's celebrated album featuring the recently rediscovered talents of Cuba's foremost folk musicians, sold millions of copies and earned an Grammy award.
Now, Cooder teams up with acclaimed director Wim Wenders to reveal the astonishing life stories, vibrant personalities, and unforgettable music of the brilliantly talented but long overlooked performers, who collaborated on this now legendary recording period. From the crumbling barrios of their native Havana, to their triumphant, sold out concerts in Amsterdam and New York City's Carnegie Hall, it's an unforgettable, deeply emotional journey into the passion, pride and humanity of the artist whose music sparked a world wide musical phenomenon!
Title: El Burlador de Sevilla
Call ID: VSP 340
Tirso de Molina. Spanish. 2 hours. 1988
A superb production of Tirso's most famous work, the play that introduced the theme of Don Juan into European literature. An RTVE production.
Title: Butterfly
Call ID: DVSP 808
José Luis Cuerda. Spanish (English subtitles) 94 mins.
Acclaimed by critics and featuring legendary star Fernando Fernán Gómez (All About My Mother), Butterfly is a heartwarming tale about a young boy growing up in a small Spanish town.
Moncho is timid and fearful as he starts school for the first time. But with the nurturing guidance of his kind and devoted teacher, Don Gregorio (Fernán Gómez), a world of possibilities begins to open up for young Moncho. As the school year comes to a close, however, civil war begins sweeping across the county, forcing the boy's family and community to choose between the fight for freedom and the threat of persecution! An amazing story of family and friendship during a time of extreme conflict- you're sure to enjoy this magical motion picture!
Title: Cabeza de Vaca
Call ID: VSP 326
Nicolas Echevarria. Spanish (English subtitles) 110 mins. 1993
In 1528, a Spanish expedition founders off the coast of Florida-600 lives lost.
One survivor, Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, roams across the American continent searching for his Spanish comrades. Instead he discovers the Iguase, an ancient Indian tribe. Over the next eight years, Cabeza de Vaca learns their mystical and mysterious culture, becoming a healer-and a leader. But soon this new world collides with the old world as Spanish conquistadors seek to enslave the Indians, and Cabeza de Vaca must confront his own people and his past.
Title: Camila
Call ID: VSP 304
Maria Luisa Bemberg: Spanish (English subtitles) 105 mins. 1984
A young Catholic socialite from Buenos Aires falls in love and runs away with a young Jesuit Priest.
The two find temporary happiness in a small provincial village, but eventually they are recognized and ultimately condemned to death without a trial.
Title: La Celestina
Call ID: DVSP 817
Gerardo Vera. Spanish (English Subtitles) 155 mins.
Calisto is a young knight who has fallen madly in love with a beautiful maiden, Melibea (Penélope Cruz).
Failing in his endeavors to win her over, Calisto is prompted by his unscrupulous servant, Sempronio, to seek the help of Celestina. Calisto's other servant Parmeno, tries to dissuade his master from resorting to the old witch who Parmeno knows all about from past experiences. However, Calisto sees Celestina as his last hope for love and happiness and so pays her to work her magic on Melibea, which she duly does. The young knight and the beautiful maiden are soon happy lovers, but not for long...
Title: La Ciudad y los Perros
Call ID: VSP 317
Francisco J. Lombardi: Spanish (English subtitles) 135 mins. 1985
Four angry cadets, who have formed an inner circle in an attempt to beat the system and ward off the boredom and stifling confinement of the military academy, set off a chain of events that starts with a theft and leads to murder and suicide.
First published in 1962, 'La Ciudad Y Los Perros' (The Time of the Hero)was written by the Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa, who has become a leading author of Latin-American literature. The same year the book won the Biblioteca Breve Prize, an award given to the best work of fiction in the Spanish language.
Title: Cria!
Call ID: VSP 301
Carlos Saura: Spanish (English subtitles) 115 mins. 1977
A beautifully acted haunting film-Ana, played by Ana Torrent, is the nine year old heroine who has an uncanny talent for observing scenes not meant for her eyes.
Carlos Saura fashions a film about the darker side of childhood, about superstition, knowledge and loss of innocence.
Title: The Crime of Padre Amaro (El Crimen del Padre Amaro)
Call ID: DVSP 805
Carlos Carrera. Spanish (English, French subtitles) 119 mins. 2003.
A recently ordained priest (Bernal) is sent to help an aging priest run a small parish church in rural Mexico.
Upon arriving at his new post, he meets a beautiful young woman with a religious passion that borders on obsession. Quickly, her passion for faith becomes helplessly entangled in a growing attraction to the new priest. But when the handsome priest crosses the line that separates temptation from sin, he finds himself torn between the divine and the carnal, the righteous and the unjust.
Title: Danzon
Call ID: VSP 311
Maria Novaro: Spanish (English subtitles) 103 mins. 1991
This sensual,exuberant work by the gifted Mexican director Maria Novaro tells the story of Julia (Maria Rojo), a 40-year old telephone operator and single mother whose emotional life consists of ballroom dancing.
When her dancing partner disappears, Julia undertakes a grueling odyssey to locate him. Her search takes her on an extraordinary inner voyage.
Title: Death and the Maiden (La Muerte y la Concella)
Call ID: DVENG 806
Roman Polanski English ( Spanish Subtitles) 103 Mins. 1995
Paulina Escobar is the housewife to a prominent lawyer in an unnamed South American country just out of a dictatorship.
One day a storm forces her husband to ride home with a neighbor. That chance encounter brings up demons from her past, as she is convinced that the neighbor (Dr. Miranda) was part of the old fascist regime that tortured and raped her, while blindfolded. Paulina takes him captive to determine the truth. Paulina is torn between her psychological repressions and somber memory, Gerardo is torn between his wife and the law, and Dr. Miranda is forced to endure captivity while husband and wife seek out the uncertain truth about the clouded past.
Title: Demons in the Garden
Call ID: VSP 344
Manuel Gutierrez Aragon's Spanish (English subtitles) 100 mins.
In post-Civil War Spain, a family achieves economic success in the black market while currying favor with the regime.
The younger son goes off to Madrid to serve Franco, deserting a pregnant cousin who's treated as a servant by his ambitious mother. (He's also the lover of his brother's bride.) The child grows up spoiled and manipulative, as all three women vie for influence over him.
Title: Don Juan, My Love
Call ID: VSP 350
Antonio Mercero . Spanish ( 96 Mins). 1990
According to Spanish legend, every All Souls Eve, the ghost of the legendary lover Don Juan Tenorio rises up from purgatory to walk the earth in hopes of doing the single good deed necessary for him to be freed from limbo.
Unfortunately, though Don Juan has risen 450 times since his death, he has yet to succeed. This Spanish comedy begins on the last day of October 1990 and chronicles the great lover's latest try.
Title: Don Quijote de la Mancha
Call ID: VSP 341
(CERVANTES) Rafael Gil. Spanish. 2hours 15 mins. B&W. 1947
Alonso Quijano, enloquecido por la lectura de caballeria, abandona su aldea en busca de aventuras.
Se hace armar caballero en una venta que el cree ser castillo. Tras el encuentro con unos mercaderes, regresa apaleado. Segunda salida en compañia de Sancho Panza, que le sirve de escudero. Aventura de los molinos de viento, del vizcaino y de los rebaños; manteamiento de Sancho; yelmo de Mambrino, y unos galeotes que pagan con pedradas su libertad. Sierra Morena, la venta y a su casa encerrado en una jaula tirada por bueyes. Tercera salida. El Bachiller Sanson Carrasco le anima a ello. Marcha al Toboso, donde Sancho inventa el encantamiento de Dulcinea. Parten amo y criado para Barcelona, donde Sanson Carrasco, bajo al aspecto de Caballero de la Blanca Luna, le desafia y le vence, obligandole a retornar a su aldea. Llega Don Quijote enfermo, Dios le devuelve la razón y tiene una cristiana muerte, renegando de la locura a que le llevaron los libros de caballeria.
Title: Don Segundo Sombra
Call ID: VSP 343
Ricardo Guiraldes. Spanish (English subtitles) 110 mins.
Based on the novel of the same name, Don Segundo Sombra narrates the story of Fabio Caceres as he grows into adulthood.
Don Segundo Sombra, an old 'gaucho', is his mentor and model: he teaches him moral and human values through his behavior, his stories and his example. Considered the foremost example of 'gaucho' literature in prose, Don Segundo Sombra is Ricardo Guiraldes (1926) major novel.
Title: Erendira
Call ID: VSP 307
Ruy Guerra: Spanish (English subtitles) 103 mins. 1983
Based on a section of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 'One Hundred Years of Solitude', Erendira is an erotic black comedy laden with sexual fantasy, surreal pranks and political allegory.
Erendira is a teenage girl exploited as a sexual slave by her greedy grandmother.
Title: Even the Rain
Call ID: DVSP 831
Iciar Bollain: Spanish (English subtitles) 103 mins. 2010.
Idealistic filmmaker (Gael Garcia Bernal,The Motorcycle Diaries)and his cynical producer Costa (Luis Tosar,The Limits of Control)arrive in Bolivia to make a revionist film about Christopher Columbus' conquest of the Americas.
But as filming commences, the local citizens begin to riot in protest against a multi-national corporation that is taking control of their water supply. With the film shoot in jeopardy, both men find their convictions shaken. Inspired by the real-life Water Wars in Bolivia in the year 2000,Even the Rainexplores the lasting effects of Spanish imperialism, still resonating some 500 years later in the continued struggle of indigenous people against oppression and exploitation.
Title: The Exterminating Angel
Call ID: VSP 334
Luis Bunuel Spanish (English subtitles) 93 mins. 1962
The invited guests at an elegant dinner party find they are unable to leave at the end of the evening-a mysterious force compels them to stay.
After several days the veneer of civility wears thin. Hunger and thirst set in and the distinguished 'guests' rip open walls to get at water pipes, build fires using the host's furniture and dine on sheep which have inexplicably wandered into their strange prison.
Title: The Fable of the Beautiful Pigeon Fancier
Call ID: VSP 319
Ruy Guerra: Spanish (English subtitles) 73 mins. 1988
Based on a fragment from his novel 'Love in the Time of Cholera', The Fable of the Beautiful Pigeon Fancier was conceived and co-written by Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Re-teaming Garcia Marquez with director Ruy Guerra (who began his career as an actor, starring in Werner Herzog's masterpiece 'Aguirre'), with whom he'd collaborated on the earlier Erendira, the fable tells the story of Orestes, a wealthy factory owner who falls madly in love with a married pigeon breeder.
Title: The Flower of My Secret
Call ID: DVSP 823
PEDRO ALMODOVAR. Spanish (English Subtitles) 103 mins.
A rambling comedy about a romance novelist (Marisa Paredes) whose crumbling marriage has left her depressed and unable to work.
At a low point, she writes a scathing indictment of her own books (which are penned under another name), with no one realizing critic and author are one and the same. Almodóvar (Law of Desire) has the start of a great idea here, and for once, he's direct about his sympathy for a character. But nothing else about "The flower of My Secret" is so clear. Despite its unusual allegiance to the straightforward "women's films" of the 1950s, this movie blows it by becoming needlessly complicated over extraneous junk, forcing one to grope in the dark for Almodóvar's point.
Title: Frida
Call ID: DVENG 807 A
Paul Leduc. English 108 Mins.
Filmaker Paul Leduc has created a new form of artistic biography, a film that matches the famous description of Frida Kahlo and her art: "a bomb disguised as a butterfly."
Fusing politics, painting and passion as daringly as Frida did in both art and life, Leduc mixes poetic invention with revealing fact to provide dramatic and cinematic insight into his subject beyond the capacity of criticism or documentary.
Title: Frida
Call ID: DVENG 807 B
Paul Leduc. English 108 Mins.
Filmaker Paul Leduc has created a new form of artistic biography, a film that matches the famous description of Frida Kahlo and her art: "a bomb disguised as a butterfly."
Fusing politics, painting and passion as daringly as Frida did in both art and life, Leduc mixes poetic invention with revealing fact to provide dramatic and cinematic insight into his subject beyond the capacity of criticism or documentary.
Title: From Mambo to Hip-Hop: A South Bronx Tale
Call ID: DVENG 805
Henry Chalfant. English with Spanish subtitles. 56 minutes.
There's a postage stamp of urban sidewalk known by people of a certain age for having burned to the ground.
A more recent generation knows it as the place where hip hop was born. An older generation remembers the time that this turf nurtured the hot New York latin music sound that came to be known as salsa. From Mambo To Hip Hop: A South Bronx Tale is an hour-long documentary that tells a story about the creative life of the South Bronx, beginning with the Puerto Rican migration and the adoption of Cuban rhythms to create the New York salsa sound; continuing with the fires that destroyed the neighborhood but not the creative spirit of its people; chronicling the rise of hip hop from the ashes; and ending with reflections on the power of the neighborhood's music to ensure the survival of several generations of its residents, and, in the process, take the world's pop culture by storm.
Title: Fuenteovejuna (Part 1)
Call ID: VSP 338 A
Lope de Vega Spanish (Parts 1 & 2) 2hrs 22mins. 1993
The greatest Spanish work of the Siglo de Oro is here presented as a feature film that painstakingly and lovingly re-creates the medieval world of Lope's play.
Spain's greatest actors are cast in this joyous production. An RTVE production.
Title: Fuenteovejuna (Part 2)
Call ID: VSP 338 B
Lope de Vega Spanish (Parts 1 & 2) 2hrs 22mins. 1993
The greatest Spanish work of the Siglo de Oro is here presented as a feature film that painstakingly and lovingly re-creates the medieval world of Lope's play.
Spain's greatest actors are cast in this joyous production. An RTVE production.
Title: Funny Dirty Little War
Call ID: VSP 312
Hector Olivera: Spanish (English subtitles) 80 mins. 1983
An important film from Hector Olivera, the story is a parable of events in Peronist Argentina.
The film is a comedy about rightist Peronists who plot to oust the leftist mayor of the town. But the mayor refuses to budge, and 'a funny dirty little war' ensues. Federico Luppi is brilliant as the mayor.
Title: The Grandfather
Call ID: DVSP 803
Nickel Odeon. Spanish (English subtitles) 146 mins. 1998
Nominated for an Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film, The Grandfather is a deeply compelling tale of love, honor and secrecy!
When news of his son's death returns proud, old Count Albrit home to Spain after years abroad, he's pleased to meet his charming young granddaughters. But he also carries the burden of a newly discovered family secret: one of the girls is not his son's daughter... and therefore not his true heir! Starring original cast members from the Oscar -winning Spanish film sensation All About My Mother -you'll be inescapably drawn into this powerful story as the determined Count sets out to discover which granddaughter is worthy of his love and name!
Title: The Grandfather
Call ID: VSP 353
Jose Luis Garci. Spanish (English Subtitles) 146 Mins. 1998
Nominated for an Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film, The Grandfather is a deeply compelling tale of love, honor and secrecy!
When news of his son's death returns proud, old Count Albrit home to Spain after years abroad, he's pleased to meet his charming young granddaughters. But he also carries the burden of a newly discovered family secret: one of the girls is not his son's daughter... and therefore not his true heir! Starring original cast members from the Oscar -winning Spanish film sensation All About My Mother -you'll be inescapably drawn into this powerful story as the determined Count sets out to discover which granddaughter is worthy of his love and name!
Title: The Green Wall
Call ID: VSP 316
Armando Robles Godoy: Spanish (English subtitles) 110 mins. 1970
A breakthrough film from South America, The Green Wall is based on Armando Robles Godoy's own experiences of homesteading in the Peruvian jungle.
Title: The House of Bernarda Alba
Call ID: DVSP 815
Mario Camus. Spanish (English Subtitles) 103 mins.
Based on the play by renowned Spanish author Federico García Lorca, THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA is the story of a cold-blooded provincial widow and her five adult daughters.
Bernarda (Irene Gutiérrez Caba) rules her wealthy household with an iron fist, forbidding her daughters to socialize with, let alone marry, the local people she considers their social inferiors. After the death of their father, Bernarda locks her daughters in the house for an eight-year mourning period, acquiescing only to the courtship of her eldest, Angustias (Enriqueta Carballeira), by Pepe el Romano, a mysterious nobleman who arrives on horseback each evening. Because Pepe is the only eligible bachelor in town, the younger sisters fall in love with him as well. Hardest hit is Adela (Ana Belén), the beauty of the family. Her illicit romance with Pepe has tragic consequences for the entire family. Beautifully shot and acted, the film conveys both the claustrophobia and beauty found in this sequestered household.
Title: I, The Worst of All
Call ID: VSP 324
Maria Luisa Bemberg: Spanish (English subtitles) 107 mins.
Assumpta Serna stars as the brilliant and beautiful poet Sister Juana Ines de la Cruz in this magnificent portrayal of 17th Century Mexico.
In order to pursue her love of writing, Juana enters the convent and gains international renown. When the Inquisition comes, the local Vicereine (Dominique Sanda) becomes Juana's protectress and erotic muse, and soon begins a thrilling romance of startling passion and intensity.
Title: Il Postino (The Postman)
Call ID: DVIT 805
Michael Radford Italian (English subtitles) 108 mins. 1995
Cheered by critics and audiences everywhere, Il Postino-The Postman is the record-breaking Academy Award-winning romantic comedy that delivers heartfelt laughs!
Mario is a bumbling mailman who's madly in love with the most beautiful woman in town...and who's too shy to tell her how he feels. But when a world-famous poet - Pablo Neruda - unexpectedly moves into town, Mario is inspired. With Neruda's help, he finds the right words to win the woman's heart. This unforgettably funny comedy proves that passion...with some artful deception... can win the most improbable love!
Title: Johnny 100 Pesos
Call ID: VSP 333
Gustavo Graef-Marino: Spanish (English Subtitles) 95 Mins. 1993
Based on a true story that enthralled an entire country.
Johnny 100 Pesos is an explosive thriller that tells the story of a misguided teenager who commits his first armed robbery with four small-time criminals. Their surefire plan immediately goes wrong and escalates into a hostage situation. In true tabloid style, the standoff with the police turns into a media circus when the local press gets wind of the situation forcing the whole country to become involved and turning Johnny into a reluctant celebrity.
Title: Julio Y Su Angel
Call ID: VSP 337
Jorge Cervera. Spanish (English subtitles) 98 mins. 1996
Julio and his Angel is the tender story of an orphan child, looking for his guardian angel.
Julio finds his Angel after living through some new, bitter and surprising experiences. It's a magical movie from Mexico, with its folklorist music from Veracruz. This movie has a positive message for the whole family. Julio y su Angel es la tierna historia de un niño huerfano que va en busca de su Angel de la Guarda y lo encuentra... Sienta con el pequeno Julio y los demas niños huerfanos el rigor de la vida en el orfanatorio y del bruto, Pablo, que los obliga a trabajar en la tortillería de la señora Zapata.... Escape con Julio donde al regresar a su pueblo se une a una pandilla de niños de la calle... Inspírese con su fe en Dios, quien le manda su Angel de la Guarda. Vea la magia de la noche tormentosa, cuando aparece su Angel en la forma de un viejo cascarrabias mexicano... Comience con ellos la encantadora aventura de sus de sus vidas... Explore la cueva escondida de Angel... Recorra las praderas y bosques del paraiso tropical donde Angel le enseña a Julio los valores de la vida, el trabajo, la familia y la amistad... Festeje con la gente del pueblo de Coatepec la Celebracion del Dia de los Muertos y saboree el delicioso Mole en la Fiesta tipica organizada por el padre Cristobal... Julio y su Angel tiene como fondo musical la música folklórica de Veracruz y y es una película mágica que le dejara un mensaje positivo que toda la familia disfrutara.
Title: Kika
Call ID: VSP 328
Pedro Almodovar: Spanish (English subtitles) 109 mins.1994.
Kika is a make-up artist who lives with her lover, Ramon, a photographer specializing in women's lingerie.
Kika and Ramon have a maid, Juanita, who is madly in love with Kika. Kika has a best friend, Amparo, a hairdresser who betrays her every chance she gets. Kika has also an enemy, Andrea Scarface, host of a tabloid reality show that broadcasts in 'fierce exclusivity' images of the most hair-raising events. So far so good, but enter Nicholas (Peter Coyote), Ramon's step-father, who likes to seduce Kika from time to time, and Pablo, Juanita's brother, an ex-porno star who has just escaped from jail, and things start to get a little strange in the outrageously sexy world of Kika.
Title: Letters from the Park
Call ID: VSP 314
Tomas Gutierrez Alea: Spanish (English subtitles) 85 mins. 1988
Echoing the tale of Cyrano de Bergerac, this film unfolds as two shy young lovers enlist the help of a local poet to write passionate letters to each other.
But soon the woman becomes the object of the poet's affection, and are all faced with a perplexing dilemma in this sweet and surprising romance. Letters from the Park vividly brings to the screen the popular story from Garcia Marquez' best selling novel, 'Love in the Time of Cholera'.
Title: Like Water for Chocolate
Call ID: VSP 331
Alfonso Arau: Spanish (English subtitles)105 min.1992.
Based on the best-selling book now, experience for yourself the erotic tale of forbidden love that seduced both critics and audiences nation wide!
Tita and Pedro are passionately in love. But their love is forbidden by ancient family tradition. To be near Tita, Pedro marries her sister. And Tita, as the family cook, expresses her passion for Pedro through preparing delectable dishes. Now, in Tita's kitchen, ordinary spices become a recipe for passion. Her creations bring on tears of longing, heated desire or chronic pain -while Tita and Pedro wait for the moment to fulfill their most hidden pleasures!
Title: Like Water for Chocolate
Call ID: DVSP 811
Alfonso Arau. Spanish (English Subtitles) 105 mins. 1992
Based on the best-selling book- now, experience for yourself the erotic tale of forbidden love that seduced both critics and audiences nationwide!
Tita and Pedro are passionately in love. But their love is forbidden by an ancient family tradition. To be near Tita, Pedro marries her sister. And Tita, as the family cook, expresses her passion for Pedro by preparing delectable dishes. Now, in Tita's kitchen, ordinary spices become a recipe for passion. Her creations bring on tears of longing, heated desire or chronic pain-while Tita and Pedro wait for the moment to fulfill their most hidden pleasures!
Title: Live Flesh
Call ID: DVSP 809
Pedro Almodovar Spanish (English & French Subtitles) 101mins. 1997
From critically acclaimed, erotically candid writer/director Pedro Almodovar (Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down; Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) comes a raw, seductive tale "brimming with lust, betrayal and murder" (Rolling Stone).
Based on a novel by British mystery writer Ruth Rendell, Live Flesh is "superbly acted, strikingly photographed and just plain terrific" (USA Today). When naïve lovestruck Victor (Liberto Rabal) attempts to seduce beautiful and wealthy but strung-out junky junkie Elena (Francesca Neri), all he gets for his trouble is a one-way, six-year ticket to prison, where he concentrates on strengthening his mind, his body…and his desire for vengeance on the man that put him there. After his release, Victor crosses paths with Elena, who is as beautiful as ever since she cleaned up her act. Still madly in love with her, victor will stop at nothing to win her over even if it means revenge-- for Elena has married David (Javier Bardem), the cop who sent him to prison!
Title: Macu, The Policeman's Wife
Call ID: VSP 346
Solveig Hoogesteijn Spanish (English subtitles) 90 mins. 1987
Based on a real-life, highly sensationalized murder case, this extremely well-made and compelling film tells the story of Ismael Ramírez, a middle-aged police captain, and his teenage bride, Macu.
Much of the story is narrated by Macu in flashbacks. Ismael begins to fancy Macu when she is eight years old. Her mother approves of the relationship, knowing the privileges to be gained from having a member of the police force in the family. When Macu is eleven, the two are married and have two children. Years later, Macu falls in love with Simón, an adolescent her own age. The nineteen-year-old Macu attempts to piece together the fragments of her eight-year marriage. But the final blow comes when she discovers that her husband has killed her lover and "disappeared" two of his friends. The obsessive intensity with which the press, the police, and the neighbors blame Macu for the disappearances only serves to highlight the injustice inherent in a social system that assumes wives are the sexual property of their husbands. Donated by the Romance Language Department, Hunter College.
Title: Maria Full of Grace
Call ID: DVSP 812
Joshua Marston. Spanish (English and French Subtitles) 101 mins. 2004.
Winner of the Dramatic Audience Award at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and two major awards at the 2004 Berlin Film Festival, Joshua Marston's MARIA FULL OF GRACE introduces us to a determined young woman whose desire for a brighter future leads her into a world of unimaginable danger.
Maria Alvares (Catalina Sandino Moreno), a bright, spirited 17 year old, lives with three generations of her family in a cramped house in rural Columbia. Desperate to leave her job stripping torns from flowers in a rose plantation, Maria accepts a lucrative offer to transport packets of heroin-which she must swallow-to the United States. The ruthless world of international drug trafficking proves to be more than Maria bargained for as she becomes ultimately entangled with both drug cartels and immigration officials. The dramatic thriller builds toward a conclusion so powerful and revealing it could only be based on a thousand true stories.
Title: Martin Fierro
Call ID: VSP 345
Hernandez. Spanish. 60 mins. 1994
This, the Argentine epic, celebrates the free-spirited mestizo cowboy of the pampas, a man of few possessions beyond his pride and his guitar.
This RTVE production provides a stunning rendition of the poem, which is both the narrative of one man and the story of a nation and a culture. Donated by the Dept. of Romance Languages -Oct. 2000.
Title: Matador
Call ID: DVSP 821
PEDRO ALMODOVAR. Spanish (English Subtitles) 102 mins.
The famous, retired bullfighter, Diego Montes owns and operates a school for bullfighters.
Forced into retirement due to severe and permanent injuries sustained during his last bullfight, Diego now trains young men and women. One of Diego's students -- a young man named Angel-- is more than a little obsessed with his famous teacher. Angel is a bit strange. He lives at home with his unpleasant, domineering mother and spies on Diego's beautiful girlfriend --a model named Eva. Angel is played by a baby-faced Antonio Banderas. The police begin investigating several murder of young men, and several mysterious disappearances of young women, and attention is focused on the bullfighting school. Soon Angel is the prime suspect, and he's ready to confess to anything. A beautiful lawyer named Maria decides to defends Angel. Maria is another fan of Diego's, and she is a very dangerous woman. Carmen Maura stars as Angel's protective psychologist. This early Almódovar film includes elements of the supernatural throughout the plot. The supernatural explains the unspoken connections between characters.
Title: Memories of Under Development
Call ID: VSP 321
Tomas Gutierrez Alea: Spanish (Englishsubtitles) 97 mins. 1968
A breakthrough Cuban film, the first Cuban film to be released in the U.S.
Set in the 1960's, the film centers on a Europeanized Cuban intellectual, too idealistic (or lazy) to leave Miami, but decadent to fit into the new Cuban society. The film is remarkable demonstration that artistic subtlety, political commitment, and superior entertainment need not to be incompatible.
Title: The Milk of Sorrow
Call ID: DVSP 829
Claudia Llosa. Spanish and Quechua ( English Subtitles) 94Mins. 2009.
Fausta (Magaly Solier) suffers from " The Milk of Sorrow", an illness transmitted through mother's milk by women who've been raped during Peru's Civil Wars.
Stricken with the fear that she's contracted the illness from her mother's breast milk-- Fausta goes to extreme lenghts to protect her own sexuality and safety. After her mother's sudden death, she finds herself compelled to embark on a frightening journey for re-awakening freedom and wholeness.
Title: Miracle in Rome
Call ID: VSP 305
Lisandro Duque Naranjo: Spanish (English subtitles) 76 mins.1988.
Called 'a small miracle by itself' by The New York Times, it tells the story of Margarito Duarte, a man whose seven year old daughter dies suddenly.
Upon visiting her grave twelve years later, Margarito finds his daughter's body just as he has left it. His fellow townspeople call it a miracle, but the town bishop wants the girl reburied. Based by an original story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who also co-wrote the screenplay.
Title: The Motorcylces Diaries
Call ID: DVSP 816
Walter Salles.Spanish (English subtitles) 127 mins.
Based on a true life story, The Motorcycles Diaries is an inspiring and thrilling adventure that traces the youthful origins of a revolutionary spirit.
The film follows two daring friends, Ernesto "Che" Guevara and Alberto Granado, who hope on the back of a beat-up motorcycle for a breathtaking and exciting road trip across Latin America.
Title: El Norte (The North)
Call ID: DVSP 827 A
Gregory Nava. Spa & Eng (Eng Subtitles) 140 minutes.
Brother and sister Enrique and Rosa flee persecution at home in Guatemala and journey north, through Mexico and on to the United States, with the dream of starting a new life.
It's a story that happens every day, but until Gregory Nava's groundbreaking El Norte, the personal travails of immigrants crossing the border to America had never been shown in the movies with such urgent humanism.
Title: El Norte (The North)
Call ID: DVSP 827 B
Gregory Nava. Supplementary (English).
Title: El Norte (The North)
Call ID: VSP 348
Gregory Nava. Spanish (English subtitles) 141 mins. 1984
Beginning in the remote mountain jungles of Guatemala, awash with the lushness of colors of the nature and the rainbow colors of the Mayans, this highly-acclaimed drama about a brother and sister seeking a better life centers on two young Indians.
When their father is killed by government soldiers and their mother taken away, they set out for the "promised land" to the north-El Norte. It is a perilous journey fraught with dangers. Tijuana is a dismal shantytown inhabited by many people who are ready to cheat and kill for their meager possessions. To cross the U.S. border, they must brave a treacherous rat-infested sewage tunnel. And when they finally reach Los Angeles their trials are not over yet, for they are "illegals" sub-merged in an alien culture. A stunningly photographed, powerfully acted, moving story, EL NORTE is a deft blend of drama and dream imagery hailed as "an enormously special film, a work of great sophistication that.. has the truth, the magic of a piece of folk art." A master VHS donated by CUNY Council. Spring 2003.
Title: Nueba Yol
Call ID: DVSP 819
This charming film about disappointment, triumph and the American dream broke all box office records in the Dominican Republic.
When Balbuena (Luisito Marti) moves from Santo Domingo to New York ("Nueba Yol" in Dominican slang) hoping to make a fortune, he is in for a harsh disappointment, but finds the inner resources to succeed and find love in this land of crime, betrayal, and strict labor laws. Nueba Yol's well-placed plot and endearing characters provide a solid foundation for the deeper, more thought-provoking issues it raises. The film addresses not only immigration and crime but also the more universal themes of dreams, disappointment and triumph.
Title: Nueba Yol
Call ID: VSP 335
Luisito Marti Spanish (English subtitles) 120 mins. 1995
Nueba Yol documents a hapless immigrant's daily struggles in a strange country, devoid of the comforts of his native customs, language and culture.
Es la divertida historia de Balbuena (Luisito Marti), un pobre diablo que dia a dia lucha por sobrevivir en una sociedad que no le ofrece muchas alternativas. Un dia escucho a su amigo Fellito (Raul Carbonell) decir 'llegar a Nueba Yol es como llegar a la gloria...' Fellito convencio a Balbuena de que hipotecara su casita y asi comprar la visa que haria realidad su maspreciado anhelo. LLEGAR A NUEVA YORK. Un inesperado amor toma a Balbuena, por asalto. El aeropuerto Kennedy sirvio de escenario a tan fortuito encuentro. Y como suele verse en las novelas de amor todo sucedio de forma accidental. Balbuena y Nancy (Caridad Ravelo) iniciaron una hermosa historia de amor que mas adelante se interrumpe. Nancy Martinez habia preparado su retirada definitiva a la Republica Dominicana. No paso mucho tiempo para que Balbuena comenzara a ver sus espectativas de una mejor vida derrumbarse ante sus narices.
Title: The Official Story
Call ID: DVSP 800
Fox Lorber Spanish (English subtitles) 110 mins. 1985
The Official Story, details the collapse of an affluent Argentinian family.
Alicia, the wife of a successful businessman, faces the ultimate challenge when she begins to suspect that her adopted daughter may have been stolen from a family of 'los desaparecidos'(the disappeared ones). Determined to find out the truth, Alicia risks everything-even at the cost of her own family.
Title: The Official Story
Call ID: VSP 306
Luis Puenzo: Spanish (English subtitles) 112 mins. 1985
Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1985 this powerful Argentinean feature is the true story of a comfortable middle-class couple and their adopted daughter.
As the film progresses, the couple gradually begins to suspect that their daughter may be one of the many Argentinean children separated from their parents as they are detained and tortured and given away. The wife's journey of self-discovery reveals the horrors of themilitary dictatorship in Argentina.
Title: Oriane
Call ID: VSP 325
Fina Torres. Spanish (English subtitles) 88 mins. (1991).
This important historical milestone in Latin American cinema is a gorgeous and lush romance/mystery which flows like a poem with a taut and touching story of remembrance of things past.
Marie returns to her aunt Oriane's rundown house in the Venezuelan jungle where she spent summers as a child. The house brings back memories as she sorts through old cupboards and comes upon a special, jewelry box that's filled with pictures, love letters and mementos from her aunt's life. The film dissolves into a flashback about an emotionally turbulent summer that Marie spent at the house when her adolescent sexual curiosity led to a surprising encounter. Oriane earned the Camera d'Or at Cannes, the Grand Prize at the Cartagena Festival, Colombia, the Bronze Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival.
Title: Pan's Labyrinth
Call ID: DVSP 824 A
Guillermo Del Toro. Spanish [ English & Spanish Subtitles] 119 Mins. 2006.
From Acclaimed director Guillermo Del Toro ( Blade II, HellBoy) comes a dark fantasy/thriller about a young girl.
She enters a nysterious labyrinth and finds herself at the center of the ferocious battle between Good and Evil.
Title: Pan's Labyrinth (Documentary)
Call ID: DVSP 824 B
Guillermo Del Toro. Spanish [English & Spanish Subtitles] 119 Mins. 2006
Title: La Plaza Del Diamante
Call ID: VSP 323
Francesc Betriu: Spanish (English subtitles) 112 mins. 1981
A family's life is shattered by the tragic reality of a civil war.
Two characters with opposite temperaments, brought together by a passionate love, learn to know and respect each other through years of facing the many problems of married life. She, docile and sensitive, becomes aware of the challenges of being a woman. He, domineering, yet childish, will need the cruel experience of a war to mature. A moving love story told through the hidden strengths of small domestic details from a nostalgic and powerful point of view.
Title: Portrait of Teresa
Call ID: VSP 318
Pastor Vega: Spanish (English subtitles) 103 mins. 1979
One of the key Cuban films shot in a fluid style, the film focuses on the stubborn survival of deeply ingrained traditions of machismo and sexism in post-revolutionary society.
Teresa, a housewife, incurs the displeasure of her husband because of her involvement in political and cultural groups. Perhaps the most controversial film to be released in the U.S.
Title: Romero
Call ID: VENG 321
John Duigan: English 105 min. 1989
Raul Julia gives a compelling performance as the Archbishop of El Salvador, who was murdered for his ability to stir the masses into thoughts of political reform.
Oscar Romero was a kind but apolitical churchman until his eyes were opened a he became a powerful voice of the people. With Richard Jorgan, Eddie Velez, Tony Plana, Harrold Hould and Ana Alicia. A riveting historical lesson from Paulist Pictures.
Title: Secret in their Eyes
Call ID: DVSP 830
Juan Jose Campanella: Spanish/French (English, French Subtitles) 129 mins.
Recently retired criminal court investigator Benjamin (Ricardo Darin) decides to write a novel based on a twenty-five-year-old unresolved rape and murder case which still haunts him.
Sharing his plans with Irene ( Soledad Villamil), the beautiful judge and former colleague he has secretly been in love with for years, Benjamin's initial involvement with the case is shown through flashbacks, as he sets out to identify the murderer. But Benjamin's search for the truth will put him at the center of a judicial nightmare, as the mistery of the heinous crime continues to unfold in the present, testing the limits of a man seeking justice and personal fulfillment at last.
Title: The Roots
Call ID: VSP 315
Benito Alazraki: Spanish (English subtitles) 85 mins. 1958
This compilation of four short stories by Francisco Gonzales produced by Manuel Barbachano (Torero!), won the international film critics awards at Cannes.
Includes The Cows, Our Lady, The One-Eyed Boy and The Filly. Movie in Black and White.
Title: The Sea Inside
Call ID: DVSP 818
Alejandro Amenábar. Spanish (English Subtitles) 125 mins.
Based on the profoundly moving true story that captured the world's attention, The Sea Inside is about Spaniard Ramón Sampedro (played by Oscar nominee Javier Bardem), who fought a 30-year campaign to win the right to end his life with dignity.
The story also explores Ramón relationships with two women and his ability to inspire them through his gift of love. A truly joyous experience that celebrates the nature of freedom and love, and the mystery and beauty of life.
Title: The Spirit of the Beehive
Call ID: DVSP 833 A
Victor Erice. Spanish (English Subtitles) 99 Mins. 1973
In a small Castilian village in 1940, in the wake of the country's devastating civil war, six-year-old Ana attends a traveling movie show of Frankenstein and becomes possessed by the memory of it.
Produced as Franco's long regime was nearing its end, The Spirit of the Beehive is a bewitching portrait of a child's haunted inner life and one of the most visually arresting movies ever made.
Title: The Spirit of the Beehive
Call ID: DVSP 833 B
Victor Erice. Spanish (English Subtitles) 12 mins.
Title: The Spirit of the Beehive
Call ID: VSP 308
Victor Erice: Spanish (English subtitles) 95 mins. 1973
A landmark Spanish film by Victor Erice, featuring the remarkable Ana Torrent in the story of two little girls growing up after the Spanish Civil War in the countryside.
The hypnotic spellbinding nature of the film is a rare achievement by cinema as Erice evokes a deep poetry of childhood in a portrait of isolation.
Title: Strawberry & Chocolate
Call ID: DVSP 810
Tomas Gutierrez Alea Spanish (English Subtitles) 104 mins.1994.
Robert Redford and Miramax Films proudly present Strawberry and Chocolate, the irresistible comedy treat that's received outstanding critical acclaim!
Meet David-a naïve young college kid who's out on his own for the very first time. With the help of two extraordinary new friends, David soon learns everything there is to know about the things that aren't taught in school! Diego is the writer who teaches him about the passion of life and Nancy is the woman who teaches him about the passion of love!
Nominated for the Academy Award as Best Foreign Language film in 1994, Strawberry and Chocolate is a deliciously fun-filled celebration of life at its entertaining best!
Nominated for the Academy Award as Best Foreign Language film in 1994, Strawberry and Chocolate is a deliciously fun-filled celebration of life at its entertaining best!
Title: Talk to Her
Call ID: DVSP 804
Pedro Almodovar Spanish (English, French subtitles) 114 mins. 2002.
TALK TO HER is the surprising, altogether original and quietly moving story of the spoken and unspoken bonds that unite the lives and loves of two couples.
Two men (Benigno and Marco) almost meet while watching a dance performance, but their lives are irrevocably entwined by fate. They meet later at a private clinic where Benigno is the caregiver for Alicia, a beautiful dance student who lies in a coma. Marco is there to visit his girlfriend Lydia, a famous matador also rendered and motionless. As the men wage vigil over the women they love, the story unfolds in flashback and flashforward as the lives of the four are further entwined and their relationships move toward a surprising condusion.
Title: Taxi Para Tres
Call ID: DVSP 814
Orlando Lübbert. Spanish (English Subtitles) 89 mins.
This Chilean black comedy tell the tale of local taxi drivers Ulises, who unsuspectedly joins the group of thugs responsible for holding him up.
With dreams of making fast money, he begins heading down the wrong path, driving to rich neighborhoods and becoming involved in a series of bungle burglaries. After being thwarted many times by a swift police force, Ulises and the thugs take refuge at his house where his daughter Javiera also lives. The situation becomes too much to handle when his new friends begin trespassing on him and his young offspring. Whatever he decides to do from this point on is guaranteed to pose more problems than expected.
Title: Tierra
Call ID: DVSP 832
Julio Medem. Spanish (English Subtitles) 122 Mins.1996.
An electric metaphysical melodrama played out across the desolate vineyards of an unnamed region of Spain.
Called in to fumigate the land after the plague of woodlice imparts a distinctive, earthy taste to the wine, Angel (Carmelo Gomez) tries vainly to keep body and soul together even as he falls in love with demure, unhappily married Angela (Emma Suarez) and in lust with the highly sexed Mari (Silked): women reflective of his own split personality. Is he really insane or is he really connected to the cosmos? Allegorical, absurd, but riven with palpable anguish, 'Tierra' probes, teases, and provokes.
Title: La Tigra
Call ID: VSP 309
Camilia Luzuriaga: Spanish (English subtitles) 80 mins. 1990
Based on the novella by Jose de la Cuadra, this Ecuadorian feature looks at female identity through the eyes of Latin American machismo culture.
The Tigress is the myth of woman: beautiful, sexual, powerful and revered. This film may be the best visual equivalent of literary 'magical realism' ever filmed and was awarded The Best Film Prize at the 1990 Cartagena Film Festival.
Title: Tristana
Call ID: VSP 330
Luis Bunuel: Spanish ( English subtitles) 98 min.1970.
Beautifully photographed in Toledo Spain, the story is splendidly acted by Catherine Deneuve an Fernando Rey.
Rey is Don Lope, a liberated but hypocritical aristocrat who seduces his beautiful young ward, Tristana (Deneuve). Given the opportunity she flees with her lover (Franco Nero, Camelot), but illness forces her to return and later, marry Don Lope. The result is a tense union in which Tristana slowly gains the upper hand.
Title: A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings
Call ID: VSP 322
Fernando Birri: Spanish (English subtitles) 90 mins. 1988
Magical realism and comic confusion blend in a startling film about visions and expectations.
Amid the debris of a Columbian cyclone lands an old man with enormous wings, whose seemingly miraculous anatomy attracts the curious and devout from around the world. Silent and disheveled, this fantastic 'creature' is housed in a chicken coop as his host and the onlookers wait for the heavenly message- which turns out to be a very mixed blessing. Original story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez who also co-wrote the screenplay.
Title: La Vida es Sueño
Call ID: VSP 339
Calderon de la Barca. Spanish. 74mins. B&W. 1994
The Spanish classic, performed in the classic Spanish style - beautifully spoken and clear to the ear.
With Julio Nunez as Segismundo and a first-rate supporting cast. An RTVE production.
Title: Volver
Call ID: DVSP 822
Pedro Almodóvar. Spanish (English Subtitles) 121 mins.
Raimunda (Cruz) and her sister Sole lost their parents in a tragic fire years ago… or did they?
Superstitious villages claim that the girls' departed mother, Irene (Maura), has been seen wandering around their Aunt Paula's home. When Irene appears to Sole, she explains that she has returned to set right her daughters' trouble lives and reveal shocking secrets that will impact everyone! Raimunda has "female troubles" of her own, least of which is a corpse in the freezer! Winner of numerous film festival and critic's awards, VOLVER is a hilarious tale of love, loss and forgiveness.
Title: What Have I Done to Deserve This
Call ID: DVSP 825
Pedro Almodovar. Spanish (English Subtitles) 97 minutes
Gloria (Carmen Maura) is a cleaning woman and housewife who is addicted to amphetamines.
She lives in a crowded apartment with her miserable taxi driving husband (who once forged Hitler's diaries), her two teen sons- one who is selling drugs, the other sleeps with older men, and her crazy mother-in-law who keeps a pet lizard. Driven by despair, Gloria sells off one of her sons, accidentally kills her husband and sets into motion a nightmarish chain of events in Pedro Almodovar's absurdist black comedy.
Title: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Call ID: DVSP 820
PEDRO ALMODOVAR. Spanish (English Subtitles) 85 mins.
Pepa is having a crisis. Her Lover is leaving her and now her doctor tells her she is pregnant.
Her best friend may be wanted by the police for her association with a terrorists. And now her lover's psychotic wife is knocking at the door. Can she catch up with her lover, protect her friend, arrange a new romance for her lover's son, dodge the police, and disarm her lover's wife in time to foil an international terrorist plot? Well… maybe after she serves her guests some gazpacho. This is certainly comedy at its most sophisticated, splashed with social satire and spangled with a touch of symbolism for those inclined to seek it.
Title: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Call ID: VSP 310
Pedro Almodovar: Spanish (English subtitles) 98 mins. 1988
The latest wacky comedy from Pedro Almodovar once again stars Carmen Maura, his perennial leading lady.
She plays a popular Spanish actress driven to distraction when her lover leaves her for another woman. She knows she can talk him out of leaving only if she can talk directly to him and not deal with the answering machine. A comedy of errors ensues that involve a drugged pitcher of gazpacho, Shiite terrorists and a mental patient who left the asylum too soon.
Title: The Young and the Damned (Los Olvidados)
Call ID: VSP 320
Luis Bunuel: Spanish (English subtitles) 81 mins. 1950
A milestone of filmmaking: Bunuel's great film looks at the lives of young people growing up in the slums of Mexico.
And particularly at the desperately inevitable process by which an older, more corrupt gang leader, Jacob hounds and destroys the younger, more innocent Pedro, before being destroyed himself.
Title: Y Tu Mama Tambien
Call ID: DVSP 806
Alfonso Cuarón. Spanish (English subtitles) 105 mins. 2001.
Julio and Tenoch are two teens ruled by raging hormones and a mission to consume exotic substances.
But one summer, the boys learn more about life than they bargain for when they set off on wild cross-country trip with seductive, 28-year-old Luisa. Both boys taste forbidden fruit as Luisa schools them in the finer points of passion, but will their mutual desire for her destroy their friendship forever?
Title: Y Tu Mama Tambien
Call ID: VPS 351
Alfonso Cuaron. Spanish (English Subtitles) 105 minutes
Julio and Tenoch are two teens ruled by raging hormones and a mission to consume exotic substances.
But one summer, the boys learn more about life than they bargain for when they set off on wild cross-country trip with seductive, 28-year-old Luisa. Both boys taste forbidden fruit as Luisa schools them in the finer points of passion, but will their mutual desire for her destroy their friendship forever?