FLASH'S DVD HOLDINGS


Last update: March 2020

favorite actors/actresses (alphabetical):


HUMPHREY BOGART    


stand-in, 1937, leslie howard, joan blondell (e,d; d s.t.)
the enforcer, 1951, zero mostel, king donovan (e,d; d s.t.)
beat the devil, 1953, peter lorre (nothing to do in this one), robt. morley (steals the show), jennifer jones, gina lollobrigida, "falcon" parody; screenplay by truman capote & john huston (e only; no s.t.)
the caine mutiny, 1954, fred macmurray, jose ferrer, van heflin, eg marshall, lee marvin (e,f,g,i; many s.t.); bogart did not get an oscar, although nominated, because brando got it that year for "waterfront"; fred macmurray shines as the amiable coward
the desperate hours, 1955, fredrich march, gig young, whit bissell, wm. wyler (e,d,f,it,es; eu s.t.)--tense thriller: if everybody would just shut up & do as they're told, ...


CHARLES CHAPLIN    

       
Gold Rush, 1925
Modern Times, 1936
The Great Dictator, 1940


GARY COOPER   

   
a farewell to arms, 1932, helen hayes, hemingway, (2 oscars) (e only, no s.t.)
mr deeds goes to town, 1936, frank capra directed, (oscar)
meet john doe, 1941, barbara stanwck, walter brennan, frank capra (e only; e,es,f,g s.t.; cooper biography, frank capra biography)
for whom the bell tolls, 1943, ingrid bergman, hemingway, (oscar) (e; many s.t.)
high noon, 1952, grace kelly, lee van cleef, lloyd bridges, lon chaney, harry morgan, do not forsake me oh my darling, (4 oscars, cooper's second) (e,d)


BETTE DAVIS   


all about eve, 1950, bette davis, anne baxter, george sanders, hugh marlowe, mm, thelma ritter (6 oscars, 14 nominations); one of the 10 greatest films of all time (e; s.t. e + scand); fasten your seat belts--it's going to be a bumpy night!
hush, hush, sweet charlotte, 1964, bette davis, olivia de havilland, joseph cotton, mary astor, victor buono, george kennedy, agnes moorhead (e only; e s.t.) (davis and moorhead deserved oscars, but "mary poppins" took the whole ball of wax that year; davis had been nominated 2 years before "for whatever happened to baby jane?")
Death on the Nile, 1978, Peter Ustinov, Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, George Kennedy, Angela Lansbury, David Niven, Jack Warden (e,d,i; s.t d, it, port., turk)--hercule poirot again with too many suspects, steller cast, oscar for costumes


HENRY FONDA   


grapes of wrath, 1940, jane darwell, john carradine, ward bond, john ford (e,f,es,g,i; many s.t.) (2 oscars) story by steinbeck
my darling clementine, 1946, victor mature, linda darnell, tim holt, ward bond, walter brennan, john ford, prod. sam engel (engl only, engl s.t.; 2 complete versions)--under-rated hollywood classic in this genre
the wrong man, 1956, vera miles, anthony quayle, hitchcock dir. (e,d:s.t. e,d,f)--has an innocent man nothing to fear from the police?


HARRISON FORD   


indiana jones, raiders of the lost ark, 1981, harrison ford, karen allen, denholm elliot, john rhys-davies, first in the series of comic-book heroics & cliche villains; spielberg + lucas (e,d,f; s.t. same + scand.)
indiana jones & the temple of doom, 1984, harrison ford, kate capshaw, second in the series but a prequel to 'raiders'; (e,d,f; s.t. same + scand.)
indiana jones & the last crusade, 1989, harrison ford, sean connery, denholm elliot, john rhys-davies, river phoenix (as young indy), third in the series; (e,d,f; s.t. same + scand.)
witness, 1985, harrison ford in amish country, alexander godunov, peter weir
frantic, 1988, harrison ford, roman polanski (e,d,es; s.t. all eu)
Regarding Henry, 1991, Harrison Ford, Annette Bening (e,d,f,it,es; same s.t. plus many others); henry wakes up with amnesia and discovers he was an asshole
the fugitive, 1993, harrison ford, tommy lee jones, julianne moore (e,f,i; many s.t.)--has an innocent man nothing to fear from the police?
what lies beneath, 2000, harrison ford, michelle pfeiffer; did for the tub what "psycho" did for the shower


CLARK GABLE    

       
red dust, 1932, jean harlow as the vamp, mary astor as the lady who should be above all this but succumbs to gable's animal magnetism; dir victor fleming (e,es)--some commentators over at imdb complained that the movie is racist--DUH! the european colonial powers occupying indochina were racist; drop the political correctness crap and just enjoy the banter
it happened one night, 1934, frank capra, started "screwball comedy" genre, 5 oscars
mutiny on the bounty, 1935, charles laughton, franchot tone (oscar)
gone with the wind, 1939, vivian leigh, trevor howard--one of the 10 greatest films of all time, 8 oscars
mogambo, 1953, gable doing what gable did better than anyone else before, during, or since: ava gardner and grace kelly, john ford directed (remake of "red dust")--he can stare down gorillas and panthers and spear-wielding savages, but not the wimpy englishman
run silent, run deep, 1958, gable and lancaster, jack warden, don rickles, dir robt wise (star trek)-- (e,d, no s.t.)
it started in naples, 1960, sophia loren (e,f,d,it,es)--last film gable completed (see next film)
the misfits, 1961, mm, elli wallach, montgomery clift; mm & gable together for the first time; mm's last film, gable's last film; story written for mm by her then-husband, arthur miller; flawed but fascinating film which answered three burning questions: 1) could mm really act? Yes, but it killed her. 2) Could Gable play a modern hero with normal human dimensions and weaknesses? Yes, but it killed him. He dropped over dead on the set of a heart attack (the horse roping scene did it.) 3) Was Clift still pretty after his motorcycle wreck? No.
             


CARY GRANT   


bringing up baby, 1938, kate hepburn, howard hawks (engl only, no s.t.)
holiday, 1938, kate hepburn, george cukor (e,d,i,es, same s.t.)
his girl friday, 1940, rosalind russell, ralph bellamy, screwball comedy by howard hawks, (e,d; d s.t.)
philadelphia story, 1940, kate hepburn, james stewart
suspicion, 1941, joan fontaine, hitchcock
notorious, 1946, ingrid bergman, claude rains--hitchcock dir.
to catch a thief, 1955, grace kelly, hitchcock (oscar, cinematography) (e,f,d,i,es;eu s.t.)
an affair to remember, 1957, deborah kerr (engl. only; divers EU s.t.)--the box says: no sex, violence or bad language--could this be any good?
houseboat, 1958, sophia loren, werner klemperer (later commandant klink in that stupid 1960s tv show, brother of conductor otto kl.; at least his german accent is genuine) (e,f,d,it,es)
indiscreet, 1958, ingrid bergman
charade, 1963, audrey hepburn, james coburn, walter mathau


KATHARINE HEPBURN   


bringing up baby, 1938, cary grant, kate hepburn, howard hawks (engl only, no s.t.); pingpong dialog is nervy today, but "screwball comedy" then (cf "it happened one night")
holiday, 1938, cary grant, kate hepburn, george cukor (e,d,i,es, same s.t.)
philadelphia story, 1940, cary grant, katharine hepburn, james stewart
state of the union, 1948, spencer tracy, angela lansbury, van johnson, adolph menjou, margaret hamilton (the wicked witch of the west), frank capra (e only, e s.t.)
adam's rib, 1949, tracy and hepburn at their best-worst, george cukor
suddenly last summer, 1959, liz taylor, montgomery clift, tennessee williams/gore vidal (e,f,d,i,es, many s.t.)
guess who's coming to dinner, 1967, spencer tracy (last film), sidney poitier (e,f,d,i,es, many s.t.)
rooster cogburn, 1975, john wayne (e,f,d,i,es, many s.t.)


ALFRED HITCHCOCK   


the thirty nine steps, 1935, robt donat (engl. only, engl s.t.)
the lady vanishes, 1938, margaret lockwood, micheal redgrave (engl. only; no s.t.)
rebecca, 1940, laurence olivier, joan fontaine, (e only, no s.t.)
suspicion, 1941,
cary grant, joan fontaine
notorious, 1946, cary grant, ingrid bergman, claude rains (e,d)
rear window, 1954, james stewart, grace kelly (e,d; many s.t.)
the trouble with harry, 1955,
john forsythe, shirley maclane
to catch a thief, 1955, cary grant, grace kelly (oscar, cinematography) (e,f,d,i,es;eu s.t.)
the man who knew too much, 1956,
james stewert, doris day
the wrong man, 1956, henry fonda, vera miles, anthony quayle (e,d:s.t. e,d,f)--has an innocent man nothing to fear from the police?
vertigo, 1958, james stewart, kim novak
north by northwest, 1959, cary grant, james mason--the plane in the cornfield
psycho, 1960, anthony perkins, janet leigh (shower girl)
the birds, 1963, tippi hedron, suzanne pleshette, rod taylor, jessica tandy, story by daphne du maurier, filmed in Bodega Bay Calif (e,d; s.t. same + scand.)--not for ornithophobiacs!


DUSTIN HOFFMAN   


marathon man, 1976, dustin hoffman, roy schieder, lawrence olivier as the sadistic nazi dentist (e,d; s.t.e,d)
rainman, 1988, hoffman's riveting (oscar) performance as the autistic child-man, barry levinson dir., (4 oscars)
hook 1991, steven spielberg's very amerikanized version of peter pan, dustin hoffman (hook), robin williams (peter pan), bob hoskins, julia roberts (tinkerbell)(e,d,f; many s.t.)
sleepers, 1996, hoffman, robt. de niro, brad pitt, kevin bacon, barry levinson dir.
finding neverland, 2004, hoffman, julie christie, kate winslet, johnny depp, (story of the author of peter pan)


JACK NICHOLSON   


little shop of horrors, 1960, roger corman, jack nicholson's debut; clever idea (often redone, but this version is pretty dire)
the raven, 1963, vincent price (the most sonorous voice in cinema), boris karloff (as the evil wizard, scarabus), peter lorre, jack nicholson, dir by roger corman--black comedy (e,d,f,i)
one flew over the cuckoo's nest, 1975, ken kessey's novel; revolting character, compelling performance, 5 oscars
The Shining, 1980, Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers, dir Stanley Kubrick (e,d,es; s.t. e,d,es, others)
mars attacks, 1996, jack nicholson, glenn close, pierce brosnan, tom jones, rod steiger
as good as it gets, 1997, pathetic character, compelling performance
about schmidt, 2002, pathetic character, compelling performance
something's gotta give, 2003, diane keaton; jack's typical revolting character and compelling performance (has jack gotten type cast, or is he just being himself?)
the bucket list, 2007, jack nicholson, morgan freeman, rob reiner dir., things to do before you kick the bucket (e,d; same s.t.)


ROBT. REDFORD   


the sting, 1973, paul newman, robt redford, charles durning, (7 oscars) (e,d,f,it,es, many s.t.)
butch cassidy & the sundance kid, 1969, paul newman, robt redford, catherine ross, famous soundtrack by burt bacharach (e,d; s.t.e,d) (4 oscars)
ordinary people, 1980, donald sutherland, mary tyler moore, timothy hutton, judd hirsch, robt. redford dir., (e,d,f,i,es; s.t. eu, scand., turkish) (4 oscars, incl. best film, best dir.)--stellar performances, 3-hanky movie
out of africa, 1985, robt. redford, meryl streep, klaus maria brandauer, story by tania blixon (e,d; same s.t.), (7 oscars)
a river runs through it, 1992, brad pitt, robt. redford directed; gimme that old time fly fishing, oscar (cinematography)
the horse whisperer , 1998, robt. redford, kristin scott thomas, scarlett johansson, produced/directed by redford (e,d,es; eu + scand s.t.)


JAMES STEWART   


philadelphia story, 1940, cary grant, katharine hepburn, james stewart (oscar)
rear window, 1954, grace kelly, hitchcock (e,d; many s.t.)
the man who knew too much, 1956, doris day, hitchcock
vertigo, 1958, kim novak, hitchcock
the man who shot liberty valance, 1962, james stewart, john wayne, vera miles, lee marvin, andy devine, edmond o'brien, john carradine, woody strode, denver pyle, dir. john ford (e,fr,d,es, it; s.t. EU + many others)
         


ROBIN WILLIAMS   


awakenings, 1990, robin williams, robt de niro, max von sydow, based on the book by dr. oliver sachs, moving story based on real people and events (the final scene in the parking lot, however, is an utterly insipid hollywood afterthought to an otherwise splendid film), (e,d; s.t. d) (didn't win any oscars because 'dances with wolves' won everything that year)
dead again, 1991, kenneth branagh, derek jacobi, emma thompson, robin williams (e,d; s.t.e,d, others)
good will hunting, 1997, matt damon, ben afleck, gus van sant dir. (e,d; d s.t. forced)
insomnia, 2002, al pacino, hilary swank, robin is another creepy neurotic loner
one hour foto, 2002, robin is another, er ... getting type cast here
the final cut, 2004, weird future-world in which peoples' lives are recorded by implanted chips and later edited for replay (e,d; same s.t.)
night listener, 2006, sandra oh, toni collette, robin is taken for a ride by a psychotic loner (e,d); story/screenplay by armisted maupin

genres:


ANARCHO   


clockwork orange, 1971, stanley kubrick (e,d,es, may s.t.); big-budget anarcho
trainspotting, 1996, ewan mcgregor, it's such a perfect day! (e only; e s.t.); uk anarcho
trainspotting T2, 2017, ewan mcgregor, (e,d,it,turk; same s.t.)


DODAL BEKLOPPT / TOTALLY WONKY   


kentucky fried movie, 1977, john landis dir., satire of US tv (e,d,; no s.t.)
mars attacks, 1996, jack nicholson, glenn close, pierce brosnan, tom jones, rod steiger
austin powers, international man of mystery, 1997, mike myers, liz hurley, first in the trilogy (e,d)
austin powers, the spy who shagged me, 1999, mike myers, heather graham, second in the trilogy (e,d)--yeah, baby!
austin powers, goldthingy, 2002, mike myers, bouncey knowles, michael caine, michael york, robt wagner (e,d; same s,.t.); third in the austin powers series; spot the cameos in the opening credits
der schuh des manitu, 2001, bulli herbig & co. (austrian only)
traumschiff surprise, 2004, periode 1, michael bully herbig als die vulkinette (austrian only)


ANIMATION, KIDS   

   
betty boop, 1930, cult cartoons, one of the first talkies, 2 CD set
wizard of oz, 1939, judy garland, frank morgan, margaret hamilton (e,f,i; s.t. most eu) (2 oscars)--ignore that man behind the curtain! said to be the most-watched film of all time
fantasia, 1940, disney's timeless masterpiece, leopold stowkowshi conducts the sorcerer's apprentice, night on bald mountain, hippo ballerinas, etc. (e,nl,rus; e,nl,rus,latvian,lithuanian s.t.)--blue-ray + dvd
Bambi, 1942, Disney classic (e,d,it, turk; same s.t.)
the seventh voyage of sinbad, 1958, fabulous effects by ray harryhausen include the cyclops and the dragon (e,f,d,it,es: eu + arabic s.t.; extra features); the sorcerer (played by torin thatcher) is one of the best villains in movie history
the jungle book, 1967, animated disney version with voices of phil harris, sebastian cabot, george sanders, sterling holloway--memorable "bear necessities" song (e,d,gk; same s.t.--extra features)
Ariel The Little Mermaid, 1992, buddy hacket, rene auberjonois, reggae music, (e,f,nl; same s.t.); 2d dvd extras
Toy Story, 1995,disney/pixar, Tom Hanks Woody (voice), Tim Allen, Buzz Lightyear (voice), Don Rickles Mr. Potato Head (voice), music randy newman (e,d, turk; same s.t.)
ice age, animation, (english, turkish (yup, turkish), german)
shrek, i + ii animation,
monster inc, animation, disney (english, german, french, italian, spanish)
never ending story part 1, (german only)
never ending story part 2, (engl, german, others)
muppets from space, (e,d;many s.t.)
lassie, 1950s tv series, john provost, june lockhart (e,f; e,f,nl s.t.)
flipper, 1960s tv series season one (e,f; e,f,nl s.t.)
mary poppins, 1964, julie andrews, dick van dyke, ed wynn (5 oscars; the reason why "hush hush sweet charlotte" didn't win anything) (e,d; s.t. e,d,i,es, f)
oliver, oliver reed, musical adaptation of dicken's story oliver twist (6 oscars) (e,d,i,es; many s.t.)
die geschichte vom kleinen muck, 1956 former East-German production (d,e; s.t. es, f)
bridge to terabithia 2007, (engl, german)
hook 1991, steven spielberg's very amerikanized version of peter pan, dustin hoffman (hook), robin williams (peter pan), bob hoskins, julia roberts (tinkerbell), phil collins (e,d,f; many s.t.)
homeward bound, the incredible journey1993, based on the semi-true story of three pets who made it home--modern remake (e,fr,it,nl,port; e s.t.)
babe, 1995, james cromwell, the pig who thought he was a sheep dog (e,d,fr,it,es; same s.t.)--cute story
babe, pig in the city 1995, james cromwell, mickey rooney, the sequel (e,d,fr,it,es; same s.t.)
heidi, 2005, max von sydow, dianna rigg, geraldine chaplin (e,d;d s.t.)
momo, 1986, mario adorf, armin mueller-stahl, john huston, story by michael ende (never-ending story); a little orphan girl saves humanity from time robbers (d only)
peter and the wolf, 2007, animated version
shaun the sheep, 2007-2013, three volumes, from the people who brought you wallace and gromit (d titles, needs no language really)
horton hears a hu, 2008, animation, some famous voices in this animated version of the dr. seuss story (e,d; same s.t.)
the princess and the frog, 2009, disney redoes the story in cajun new orleans, (e,es; same s.t.) blue-ray + dvd
where the wild things are, 2009, inspired by the book by maurice sendak (9 sentences long!); (e,d,es; s.t. d,es,portugese)
barbie, a mermaid's tale, (e,d,turk)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, (2005) Johnny Depp (Willy Wonka), Helena Bonham Carter, James Fox, Christopher Lee, story by Roald Dahl (e,d; same s.t.) Tim Burton's remake of the 1971 Willy Wonka and The Choc Factory
The Lorax, (2012) voices of danny devito, taylor swift, betty white, based on dr. seuss'(e,d,turk)


HORSES


My Friend Flicka, (1943), Roddy McDowall, Preston Foster, Jeff Corey (e,d,it; s.t.e,d,it, swedish)
Black beauty, 1994 (e,fr,nl,it; divers s.t.); the horse is the star
Der Schwarze Hengst/Young Black Stalion, 2005 (d,e,it, turk); Disney
Ferien auf dem Reiterhof, 2014 (d); Dean Cain, Jordan Trovillion
Sarah & Summer, 2014 (d), Dean Cain, Christopher Atkins
Apassionata Europa Tour, 2015 (d,e,) box mit poster
The Very Best of Apassionata Europa Tour, 2016 (d,e,)
Frei wie der Wind, 2015 (d,e); Alexandra DeBarry
Wendy Der Film, 2017 (d), Jule Hermann, Jasmin Gerat
PferdeBox 5 Filme, (d,e) Cowgirls and Angel's 1+2, Flicka 1,2,3; unopened, new


BRITISH TV   


rumpole of the bailey, 1978, series 1, leo mckern's finest hour (e only)--she who must be obeyed!
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, 1979, Smiley's People, 1982, Alec Guinnesss, John le Carre (book and screenplay) (e only, same s.t.), BBC production complete box set--awfully slow
not the nine o'clock news, 1980s, rowan atkinson and co., season 1 (gerald the talking gorilla, constable savage, is the devil all bad?, etc.)
mr bean, 1989, rowan atkinson, complete 3 series (engl only; eu & scand. s.t.)
da ali g show, borat edition, 2000-2003, sacha baron cohen 'izzit cuz i is black?', 6 episodes: hunting, etiquette, cambridge, gym, guns, south, dating (e,d; e,d, s.t.)--suitable only in small doses


CLASSICS   

     
the sheik, 1922, rudolph valentino, adolphe menjou; (original silent with modern soundtrack)-
blood & sand, 1922, rudolph valentino; (original silent with modern soundtrack)--the most attractive man ever on the silver screen, women fans committed suicide when he died
platinum blonde, 1931, jean harlow, loretta young, frank capra; (e,d,i; s.t. e,d,gr,nl, i)
lost horizon, 1937, ronald coleman, jane wyatt, ed. everett horton, frank capra, shangri-la = tibet (e,f,g,i,es; many s.t.) (2 oscars)
wizard of oz, 1939, judy garland, frank morgan, margaret hamilton (e,f,i; s.t. most eu) (2 oscars)--ignore that man behind the curtain! said to be the most-watched film of all time
grapes of wrath, 1940, henry fonda, jane darwell, john carradine, ward bond, john ford (e,f,es,g,i; many s.t.) (2 oscars) story by steinbeck
to be or not to be, 1942, ernst lubitsch dir., carole lombard (mrs clark gable), jack benny, robt stack (e,d;s.t. e.d.f.i); a comedy about nazis? yes, and it works!
the picture of dorian gray, 1945, george sanders, donna reed, angela lansbury, peter lawford, story by oscar wilde (e,d)
oliver twist, 1948, alec guinness, david lean dir (e,d; d s.t.)
all about eve, 1950, bette davis, anne baxter, george sanders, hugh marlowe, mm, thelma ritter (6 oscars, 14 nominations); one of the 10 greatest films of all time (e; s.t. e + scand); fasten your seat belts--it's going to be a bumpy night!
the snows of kilimanjaro, 1952, gregory peck, ava gardner, susan hayward, leo g. carroll, hildegard knef, torin thatcher, based on hemingway; (e,d; no s.t.)
gentlemen prefer blondes, 1953, mm, jane russell, howard hawks; diamonds are a girl's best friend, (e,d,f,es,i; many s.t.)
from here to eternity, 1953, burt lancaster, montgomery clift, deborah kerr, donna reed, frank sinatra, earnest borgnine, (8 oscars)--I don't do war movies, but this is exceptional
roman holiday, 1953, gregory peck, audrey hepburn, eddie albert, dir wm. wyler (e,d,f,it,es; many s.t.); nominated for 10 oscars, hepburn got one of them (the film won 2 more for costume design and story)
the defiant ones, 1958, tony curtis, sydney poitier, stanley kramer dir., theodore bikel, lon chaney jr., king donovan, claude akins, whit bissell--fine cast of 50s american character actors (2 oscars: screenplay, cinematography); two escaped convicts, white and black, chained together, learn to get along in order to elude capture--probably curtis' most convincing dramatic role (e,d; s.t. e,d,es,i,f)
cat on a hot tin roof, 1958, paul newman, liz taylor, burl ives, tennessee williams--you just want to shake these people and scream at them 'wake up!'
the apartment, 1960, jack lemmon, shirley maclaine, fred macmurray, dir. billy wilder, (5 oscars) (e,d,f,it,es; same s.t. + scand.)
inherit the wind, 1960, spencer tracy (as clarence darrow), fredrick march (as wm. jennings bryan), gene kelly (as h.l. mencken), dick york (as scopes), harry morgan (judge), claud akins (preacher) (e,f,d,i,es; s.t. e,f,nl,greek,romanian)--gimme that old time religion!
breakfast at tiffany's, 1961, audrey hepburn, george peppard, blake edwards (e,f,d,i,es; many s.t.) (2 oscars)
the hustler, 1961, paul newman ('Fast Eddie), jackie gleeson (Minnesota Fats), george c. scott, piper laurie, jake lamotta (e,d,es; same s.t.)
to kill a mockingbird, 1962, gregory peck, robt duvall, wm. windom (e,f,d,i,es; many s.t.) (3 oscars)
lawrence of arabia, 1962, peter o'toole, alec guinness, omar sharif, anthony quinn, anthony quayle, jose ferrer, claude rains, and a cast of thousands, dir david lean, memorable soundtrack (e,es,d; e,es,d,arabic, dutch, czech, danish bulgarian s.t.); cinema in magnificent style, 7 oscars (best picture, cinematography, director, sound, music, art direction, editing)
irma la douce 1963, jack lemmon, shirley maclaine, billy wilder, oscar (best music)
dr. zhivago, 1965, omar sharif, julie christie, alex guinness, ralf richardson, rod steiger, klaus kinski, (5 oscars) (e,d; s.t. e,d)
in the heat of the night, 1967, sidney poitier, rod steiger, lee grant, (5 oscars) (e,d,es)
oliver, 1968, oliver reed, musical adaption of dicken's story oliver twist (5 oscars) (e,d,i,es; many s.t.)
the boys from brazil, 1978, laurence olivier, gregory peck, james mason, denholm elliot, steve guttenberg, sky dumont (e.d.; no s.t.)


MORE RECENT RELEASES   


the blue lagoon, 1980, two beautiful youths (brooke shields and chris atkins) romp through paradise; leo mckern adds acting to an otherwise adolescent movie; beautiful to watch
return to the blue lagoon, 1991, milla jovovich, brian krause--more pretty teenagers romping in paradise, no more story (e,d,f; eu s.t.)
frances, 1982, jessica lange (E only, scand. subtitles); we think you should have a lobotomy
the razor's edge, 1984, bill murray gets zen instead of the girl, catharine hicks, theresa russell, denholm elliott, story by somerset maugham (e,d,i,es; many, incl scand s.t.)
a passage to india, 1984, alec guinness, judy davis, peggy ashcroft, james fox, david lean dir [oliver twist, bridge on the river kwai, lawrence of arabia, doctor zhivago] (e,d; d s.t.)--story e.m. forrester: a naive young english woman has an uncanny experience in a cave with traumatic consequences for dr. aziz; lavish production, one of my very favorite films (2 oscars)
children of a lesser god, 1986, wm hurt, marlee maitlin (oscar), piper laurie (e,d,f,it, es; many s.t.); shouldn't this have been a silent movie?
driving miss daisy, 1989, morgan freeman, dan akroyd, jessica tandy (4 oscars) (e,d; d s.t.)
Regarding Henry, 1991, Harrison Ford, Annette Bening (e,d,f,it,es; same s.t. plus many others)
Cape Fear, (1991), Martin Scorsese dir, Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Joe Don Baker, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, Martin Balsam (e,d,fr,it,esp; many s.t.)--Mitchum & Peck starred in the 1962 version
orlando, 1992, tilda swinton, story by virginia woolf (D,E;s.t. D)
1492: conquest of paradise, 1992, gerard depardieu, signorey weaver, dir ridley scott--the natives get a raw deal (e,d)
strictly ballroom, 1992, baz luhrmann, scott & fran find love on the dance floor (e w/dk s.t.)
remains of the day, 1993, anthony hopkins, emma thompson, james fox (passage to india) christopher reeve (superman), hugh grant, tim piggot-smith (e,d,f,it,es; many s.t.)--tale of misplaced devotion
what's eating gilbert grape, 1993, johnny depp, leonardo dicaprio, john c reilly (e; e s.t.)--nothing ever happens in Endora (supposed to be Iowa but filmed in Texas)
forrest gump, 1994, tom hanks as the inadvertant hero, robin wright (later penn), sally field, (6 oscars); (e,d, cz; s.t. e,d, balkans, pl); life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get
The Shawshank Redemption, 1994, Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman (e,d,; same s.t.); has an innocent man nothing to fear from the police?
blue in the face, 1995, harvey keitel + everyone else out of work in hollywood that week
dead man walking, 1995, susan sarandon (oscar), sean penn (e,d; same s.t.); how hard is it to forgive? music direction Ry Cooder
the straight story, 1995, richard farnsworth, sissy spacek (e,d; d s.t.)--an old man drives across the Midwest on a lawnmower, the journey is the goal
the english patient, 1996, ralph fiennes, juliette binoche, willem dafoe, kristin scott thomas, two-hanky movie, 9 oscars
kundun, 1996, martin scorsese's fictionalized account of the dalai lama from youth until his flight into exile in 1959 (e,d; s.t.d)
amistad, 1997, morgan freeman, anthony hopkins, pete postlethwaite, (e,d; s.t. e,d, scand.)--life on a slave ship
elizabeth, 1998, cate blanchett, geoffrey rush, oscar (soundtrack)
finding forester, 2000, sean connery, gus van sant, mentor motif
billy elliot: I will dance, 2000, (e,d,pl; s.t. many), mentor motif
a beautiful mind, 2001, russel crowe, (4 oscars); we think you should have electroshocks
the shipping news, 2001, judi dench, kevin spacey, julianne moore, cate blanchett, pete postlethwaite (e,d; d s.t.)
Life or Something Like It, (2002), Angelina Jolie (age 25), Edward Burns, Stockard Channing (e,d; d,fr s.t.)--what would you do if you knew you had 7 days left?
far from heaven, 2002, julianne moore, dennis quaid--being gay was hell in the 50s
cold mountain, 2003, nicole kidman, renee zellweger (oscar), jude law--the American Civil War was hell
house of sand and fog, 2003, ben kingsley, jennifer connelly; powerful story of a clash of cultures (american and persian); a fool and a looser destroy a noble family (e,d: s.t. d only)
m. ibrahim and the flowers of the koran, 2003, omar sharif, mentor motif
Ladies in Lavender, 2004, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith (e,d; d s.t.)
hotel rwanda, 2004, nick nolte, story of civil courage in a time of civil unrest (e only, e s.t.)
the terminal, 2004, tom hanks, catherine zeta-jones, zoe saldana, dir spielberg; stranded at an airport (e,d; s.t. e,d,skand)
North Country, 2005, Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, Sissy Spacek (e,d,; same s.t.)--imagine you were Charlize Theron in a coal mine with 150 rutting stags; fictionalized account of the first successful class action sexual harassment suit in the U.S.
broken flowers, 2005, jim jarmusch dir, bill murray, sharon stone, jessica lange, tilda swinton--bill examines his past (e,d; d s.t.)
brokeback mountain, heath ledger, it took hollywood until 2005 to make a decent movie about male homosexual love; 3 oscars (e only; e s.t.)
Once, 2006, Glen Hansard, Marketa IrglovaĦ (e,d; d s.t.); hard times, love and music
all the king's men, 2006, sean penn, jude law, kate winslet, anthony hopkins (e,d; same s.t.); based on 1946 pulizer prize story and on the life of Louisianna gov. huey long
babel, 2006, brad pitt, cate blanchett; the lives of several families on 3 continents are curiously intertwined; filmed in multiple languages, hence the title (e,d; same s.t.)
the walker, 2006, woody harrelson, lauren bacall, lily tomlin, kristin scott thomas, moritz bleibtreu, willem dafoe; fine character study about a superficial man who finds his depth through crisis--"I am not naive, I am superficial" (e,d; d s.t.)
the lake house, 2006, keanu reeves, sandra bullock, christopher plummer; penpal lovers separated in time (interesting concept but incoherently filmed), good cast but insipid ending--the right ending was: he dies in her arms a second time, but the second time they both recognize who they were (e,d; same s.t.)
rendition (machtlos), 2007, alan arkin (bitpart), meryl streep (bit part), reese witherspoon, jake gyllenhaal; has an innocent man nothing to fear from the secret police? see "taxi to the dark side" for the real story here (e,d; same s.t.)
closing the ring, 2007, christopher plummer, shirley maclaine, pete postlethwaite, dir richard attenborough; youth, love, war, and loss in a tangled but good story (e,d; d s.t.)--two hankies
the visitor, 2007, thomas mccarthy dir., post-9/11 Amerika (e only; no s.t.)
I'm not there, 2007, christian bale, cate blanchett, richard gere, heath ledger, marcus carl franklin, ben whislaw, julianne moore, kris kristofferson (narrator), richie havens (e,d; same s.t.)--will the real bob dylan please sit down? five different actors and 1 actress portray different aspects of bob dylan's life; if you have to ask what it means, you missed the point. How does it feel?
there will be blood, 2007, daniel day lewis (oscar) (e,d,turk; same s.t.)
goodbye bafana, 2007, josef fiennes, dennis haystreet, dianne kruger (e,d; d s.t.)--nelson mandela in jail
no country for old men, 2007, tommy lee jones, coen bros., senselessly violent, 4 oscars (e,d,turk; same s.t.)
reservation road, 2007, joaquin phoenix, jennifer connelly, mark ruffalo, (e,d; same s.t.)--death and loss
Feast of Love, 2007, Morgan Freeman (e,d; d s.t.)
blindness, 2008, julianne moore, mark ruffalo, danny glover (e,d; s.t. d)
Skin (I), 2008, Sophie Okonedo, Terri Ann Eckstein, Bongani Masondo, on being black in SA (e,d,; d s.t.)
the reader, 2008, kate winslet, ralph fiennes, oscar--the past catches up w/ a former nazi (e,d; s.t. d)
seven pounds, 2008, will smith, how hard is it to forgive yourself? (e,d; e,d s.t.)(I don't get the title)
A Raisin in the Sun, (TV movie 2008), poverty, racism, and inner conflict in 1950s Chicago (e,d; same s.t.)
Precious (II), 2009, Mo'Nique, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz--Harlem, 1987, incest, 2 oscars (e,d; s.t. d)
The Soloist, 2009, Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr. (e,d,ru; e,d, east eu s.t.); a virtuoso hits hard times
Eat Pray Love, 2010, Julia Roberts, (e,d,t; same s.t.); mid-life crisis
Hereafter, 2010, matt damon, dir clint eastwood--death and loss (e,d,es; same s.t. + scand)
remember me, 2010, pierce brosnan (e,d; d s.t.); everything you do in life will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it--sophomoronic romance, until the last 10 minutes
the way, 2010, martin sheen (e only; e s.t.)--an old man walks across the mountains, the journey is the goal
Winter's Bone, 2010, Jennifer Lawrence--you don't want to know where dad is in the Ozarks (e,d; d s.t.)
The King's Speech, (2010), Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Derek Jacobi, Geoffrey Rush, 4 oscars (e,d.; d s.t.) blu-ray
the other woman, 2011, natalie portman (e,d; s.t. d)
we bought a zoo, 2011, matt damon, scarlett johansson (e,d,fr, it; s.t. e,d,fr,it, turk)
the help2011, emma stone, sissy spacek (e,d,it, turk; same s.t.)
the best exotic marigold hotel 2011, judy dench, tom wilkingson, bill nighy, magie smith, et al (e,; same s.t.)--everything that can go wrong retiring
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, (2011) engl remake of verblendung this time w/ Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Robin Wright (e,d; s.t. e,d,turk)--so you think your family was dysfunctional!


COMEDY   

       
stan laurel short films, (before he teamed up with oliver hardy): frauds and frenzies (1918, silent w/modern sound track) larry semon; snow hawk (1923, silent w/modern sound track); mandarin mix up (1924, silent w/modern sound track); dr. pickle and mr pryde (1924 silent w/modern sound track), parody of the John Barrymore version from 1920--probably the best one of this dvd
laurel & hardy, short films: come clean 1931, (e,d; d s.t.); blotto 1930; chickens come home 1931; love 'em and weep 1927 (silent with sound track; obligatory d s.t.); kill or cure 1921 (silent with sound track; obligatory d s.t.)
animal crackers 1930, monkey business 1931, horse feathers 1932, duck soup 1933, 4 marx bros (some e only, no s.t.; some many languages/s.t.)--I wouldn't join a club that would have me as a member
kind hearts and coronets, 1949, ealing comedy with alec guinness as all the relatives (english only, no subtitles); how to murder your relatives
the ladykillers, 1955, ealing comedy, alec guinness, peter sellars, herbert lom (e,d,i,es,dk, many more; e w/ d s.t.)
traffic, 1971, jacques tati (universally understandable)
those magnificent men in their flying machines, or how I flew from london to paris in 25 hours and 11 minutes, 1965, sarah miles, robt morley, terry thomas, and everybody else who was otherwise out of work that week at pinewood studios (e,d,f,i,es; most eu s.t.)
the fortune cookie, 1966 jack lemmon, walter mathau, (e,f,it,es,d; same s.t. - scand) oscar for mathau, dir billy wilder
bedazzled, 1967, dudley moore (the trampolining nun), peter cook (the devil)
casino royale, 1967, peter sellars, ursula andress, david niven, orson wells, woody allen, deborah kerr, joanna pettet, wm. holden, george raft, charles boyer, john huston dir. (e,f,d,i,es; s.t. e,d,dk, f,i,es etc.)
the odd couple, 1967, walter mathau, jack lemmon (e,f,d,i,es; s.t. same + scand.)
Young Frankenstein, (1974) Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder (Frankenstein's grandson), Peter Boyle (the monster), Marty Feldman (Igor), Teri Garr (Inga), Cloris Leachman (Fr. Bluecher), Gene Hackman (blind hermit) (e,d,es; same s.t.)
being there, 1979, peter sellars, shirely maclaine, melvyn douglas, (e,f,es; many s.t.)
the gods must be crazy, 1980, part 1 & 2, cult (engl, french, german)
Planes, Trains & Automobiles, 1987, Steve Martin, John Candy (e,d,f; s.t. e,d, east EU and Scand)
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad, (1988), Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalban, George Kennedy, O.J. Simpson (e.d.; many s.t.)
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear, (1991), same cast plus Robert Goulet (e.d.; many s.t.)
Naked Gun 33-1/3: The Final Insult, (1994), same cast as nr. one, plus Anna Nicole Smith (e.d.; many s.t.)--third in the trilogy
fish called wanda, 1989, john cleese, jamie lee curtis, michael palin, kevin kline (e,d,f,it,es; s.t. many eu)
grumpy old men, 1993, jack lemmon, walter matthau, burgess meredith, buck henry, daryl hannah, ann-margret (recorded from tv, e only, no s.t.)
grumpier old men, 1995, jack lemmon, walter matthau, daryl hannah, ann-margret, sophia loren (recorded from tv, e only, no s.t.)--even better than the first episode
Bringing Down the House, (2003), Steve Martin, Queen Latifah (e,d,it,turk; eu s.t.)
spanglish, 2004, tea leoni, cloris leachman, mexican au pair girl meets neurotic middle America (e,d; same s.t.)
kinky boots, 2005, northampton goes drag (e only)
bean, part 1(the movie 1997), part 2 (holiday 2007), rowan atkinson (e,d; s.t. same)


CULT   

   
reefer madness, 1936 propaganda film against marijuana which taught us how to do it in the 1970s
little shop of horrors, 1960, roger corman's low-buget black comedy w/jack nicholson
Dance of the Vampires, 1967, aka: Fearless Vampire Killers, Roman Polanski, Sharon Tate (e,d,es; strange mix of s.t.)--the mirror scene is famous and was done without digital tricks
night of the living dead, 1968, george romero dir on a shoe-string budget, staring nobody you'd remember; one of the scariest films ever made, the mother of all 'x of the living dead' copies and sequels (e,d)--"they're coming to get you, Barbara"
harold & maude, 1971, ruth gordon, bud cort--dark, very dark, but marvelous!
Dark Star, 1974, dir. john carpenter, low-budget absurdist sci-fi cult classic
picnic at hanging rock, 1975, peter weir, 'death in venice' in the outback
rocky horror picture show, 1975, tim curry, susan sarandon, meat loaf (e; e,d s.t.)-- weird, very weird
the blues bros., 1980, john belushi, dan akroyd, james brown, cab calloway, ray charles, aretha franklin, carrie fischer (e.d.; s.t. e,d,f,dk,es, other eu)--we're on a mission from god!
chariots of fire, 1981, music by vangelis, john gielgud, ian holm, cambridge boys at the paris olympics, (4 oscars)
amadeus, 1984, f. murray abraham (as salieri), tom hulce (as the infantile scatological genius), (8 oscars--though not for best original score, since none of the music was written originally for the film)
down by law, 1986, jim jarmusch, tom waits, roberto benigni, john lurie (E only; s.t.: d,nl,f); scream for ice cream!
the truman show, 1998, jim carrey (e,d, eastern eu languages); is this reality tv?
boondock saints, 1999, wm dafoe, billy connelly (e; mandatory scand. s.t.); violent, moronic, like pulp fiction--frauke liked it, I walked out in the middle
frida, 2002, little bohemia in mexico (e,d,i; same s.t.)


DOCUMENTARY   


Leonardo da Vinci, (e,es; es s.t.)
Fundamentals of Knife Disarming, Russian Martial arts how-to by Vladimir Vasiliev (e,f)
national geographic sharks
bbc deep blue (d,e; d s.t.)
bbc earth (d,e,ch; d s.t.) patrick stewart narrator
bbc the blue planet, david attenborough, box set (e only)
bbc planet earth, david attenborough, box set (e only)
bbc life, david attenborough, box set (e only)
Serengeti Circle of Life, (e,d)
hinduismus (d only)
500 nations, the story of the american indians (e,d)
die grosse stille, 2005, two hours in a carthusian monastery (french only, what there is of it; d s.t.)
the american dream, 130 advertisments and film clips from the 1950s and 60s.


DRAMA   


henry v, 1944, (battle of agincourt) laurence olivier
henry v, 1989, kenneth branagh, brian blessed [no setting other than "shout"], judi dench, ian holm, derek jacobi, emma thompson (engl only, no s.t.)
hamlet, 1948, laurence olivier, jean simmons, anthony quayle, peter cushing (engl. only), 4 oscards
hamlet, 1990, mel gibson, glenn close, alan bates, ian holm, helena bonham-carter (engl. only)
much ado about nothing, 1993, kenneth branagh, emma thompson (e only, no s.t.)
the tempest, 1998, peter fonda, john glover, (e,d; s.t. d only)--bizarre retelling of shakespeare in the American south during the civil war
the merchant of venice, 2004, al pacino as shylock, jeremy irons
The Bridge of San Luis Rey, 2004, F. Murray Abraham, Kathy Bates, Geraldine Chaplin, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Dominique Pinon (e,d; d s.t.)--5 peoples' lives and death are intertwined in 18th c. Peru


FANTASY / SURREAL    


wizard of oz, 1939, judy garland, frank morgan, (e,f,i; s.t. most eu) (2 oscars)--ignore that man behind the curtain!
the seventh voyage of sinbad, 1958, fabulous effects by ray harryhausen include the cyclops and the dragon (e,f,d,it,es: eu + arabic s.t.; extra features); the sorcerer (played by torin thatcher) is one of the best villains in movie history
jason and the argonauts (golden fleece), 1963, honor blackman as hera, fabulous effects by ray harryhausen (oscar in 1992 for his contribution to film-making history), (e,f,d,it,es; eu+many other s.t.)--the skeleton sword fight is unmatched
slaughterhouse 5, 1972, vonnegut's novel, michael sacks, valerie perrine, music glenn gould (e only; e s.t.)
robin & marian, 1976, sean connery, audrey hepburn, richard harris (lionheart), ian holm (king john), denholm elliot (will scarlet), ronnie barker (tuck)--splendid retelling of the tale with an ageing robin back from the crusades duelling to the death with his eternal nemesis, the sheriff of nottingham--terrific cast
time bandits, 1981, terry gilliam, sean connery, john cleese, ralph richardson
brazil, 1985, terry gilliam, robt de niro, ian holm, bob hoskins, michael palin--the system makes no errors, it is the error
ladyhawke, 1985, rutger hauer, michelle pfeiffer, matthew broderick, leo mckern (e; s.t. e, scand.)--lovers cursed to meet only for a few minutes at each sunset
quiet earth, 1986, (e,d; d s.t.)--where is everybody?
stadt der verlorenen kinder/Cite des enfants perdus 1995, ron perlman, dominique pinon, jean louis trintignant--oliver twist on acid (f,d; same s.t.)
the fifth element, 1997, bruce willis, ian holm, gary oldman, + wotsername the fashion model
pi, 1997, paranoic numerology, grainy psychotic-surreal b&w cinematography (e,d; d s.t.)
lord of the rings, 2001, part 1, three dwarfs fail to lose a ring
The Scorpion King, (2002), Dwayne Johnson The Rock, Kelly Hu (e.d.; e,d, hebrew s.t.)--sword and sorceress
die nibelungen (alternate titles: sword of xanten, ring of the nibelungs), 2004, benno fuermann, kristanna loken (if you find the nordic look sexy, this girl is it,) alicia witt, max von sydow (e,d; e,d s.t.); before Tolkien, before Wagner, there was Brunnhild & Siegfried, and the ring of gold
king arthur, 2005, kiera knightley (guinevere), clive owen (arthur), ray winstone (bors, formerly red scarlet in robin of sherwood), til schweiger (saxon prince) (e,d; s.t. e,d,f,it,es,)--uncensored version featuring kiera knightley's nipple
narnia, lion,witch,wardrobe 2005, tilda swinton (e, danish, norwegian, hindi; same s.t.)
Narnia Prince Caspian, 2008, part 2 of 3 (e,d,it, turk; s.t. same plus balkan)
lady in the water, 2006, dir. shyamalan (e,d; same s.t.); if you can believe that a girl is living at the bottom of your swimming pool, the rest of the story is pretty neat
the golden compass, 2007, nicole kidman, daniel craig, ian mckellen, christopher lee, kristin scott thomas, kathy bates, derek jacobi, sam elliot (e,d; same s.t.)--paganism is alive and well in the 21st century
10,000 B.C. 2008, hunter-gatherers vs. civilization (e,d,es,it; es,d,it s.t.) (more serious than when women had tails)
the imaginarium of doctor parnassus, 2009, christopher plummer, tom waits (the devil), heath ledger (died during production, role taken over by johnny depp, colin ferrell, and jude law), what happens when you give dir terry gilliam unlimited digital effects--wow!
Alice in Wonderland, 2010, Johnny Depp (mad hatter), Helena Bonham Carter (red queen), Anne Hathaway (white queen), Crispin Glover, Stephen Fry (cheshire cat voice), Alan Rickman (caterpillar voice), christopher Lee (Jabberwocky voice), dir tim burton (e,dutch,flemish; e s.t.)--hallucinogenic
mirror, mirror 2012, the other story of snow white, julia roberts, sean bean (e,d; d s.t.)


HORROR / SUPERNATURAL    

   
frankenstein, 1931, boris karloff, colin clive, (e,d; e,d,f s.t.)--it's alive!
frankenstein, 1994, robt de niro, kenneth branagh, ian holm, john cleese (improbably)
dracula, 1931, bela lugosi, dir tod browning (e,d; e,d,f, arabic, bulgarian, hebrew s.t.)--"I never drink...wine"
the mummy, 1932, boris karloff, (e,f,d,; same s.t. + arabic, bulgarian, hebrew)
dr. jekyl and mr hyde, 1932 fredric march
dr. jekyl and mr hyde, 1941 spencer tracy
the curse of frankenstein, 1957, peter cushing, christopher lee, (e,fr,d; s.t. EU + others)--the first of the cushing/lee hammer productions
the innocents, 1961, deborah kerr, based on "the turn of the screw" by henry james and probably the best film verison of it; haunting, as few other movies before or since (e only; same s.t.); screenplay by truman capote--a well-meaning governess is out of her depth when confronted by supernatural possession
The Fall of the House of Usher, 1960, dir Roger Corman, Vincent Price (e,d,f; same s.t.)
Pit and the Pendulum, 1961, dir Roger Corman, Vincent Price (e,f,d,it; eu s.t.)
The Masque of the Red Death, 1964, dir Roger Corman, Vincent Price, "And darkness and decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all."-- Poe (e,d,f,it, es; same s.t.)
Tales of Terror, 1962, dir Roger Corman, Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Basil Rathbone, Debra Paget; based on E. A. Poe stories: The Black Cat (The Cask of Amontillado), Morella, The Case of M. Valdemar (e,f,d,es; same s.t.)
the raven, 1963, vincent price (the most sonorous voice in cinema), boris karloff (as the evil wizard, scarabus), peter lorre, jack nicholson--dir roger corman, black comedy
Dance of the Vampires, 1967, aka: Fearless Vampire Killers, Roman Polanski, Sharon Tate (e,d,es; strange mix of s.t.)--the mirror scene is famous and was done without digital tricks, black comedy
night of the living dead, 1968, george romero dir on a shoe-string budget, staring nobody you'd remember; one of the scariest films ever made and the original of the 'x of the living dead' series of copies and sequels (e,d)--they eat the living, but they're dead so you can't kill 'em
rosemary's baby, 1968, mia farrow, ruth gordon, roman polanski (D,E, many subtitles)
the exorcist, 1973 (original), lee j cobb, max von sydow
The Shining, 1980, Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers, dir Stanley Kubrick (e,d,es; s.t. e,d,es, others)
the fog, 1980, john carpenter (dark star), janet leigh (shower girl), adrienne barbeau, jamie lee curtis, hal holbrook--leper-zombies coming at you! (e,d,i,e; many s.t.)
the blair witch project, 1999 (e,d)--amateurish; 3 dummies get lost and killed in the woods; be sure to watch the bogus making-of and bogus interviews, best part of the dvd actually
the gathering, 2003, christina ricci (e,d; same s.t.)--don't just stand there, do something!
The Village, 2004, dir M. Night Shyamalan, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver (e,d; e,d,f,it,es s.t.)--what's out there in the woods?
dark water, 2005, jennifer connelly, pete postlethwaite, (e,d,turkish; s.t. e,d,f,i,es)--the little girl upstairs is lost, will you be her mommy--forever?
Dream House, 2011, Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts, Rachel Weisz--the house remembers (e,d; s.t. e,d)


THRILLER / SUSPENSE (see also Hitchcock above)   


double indemnity, 1944, barbara stanwyck, fred macmurray, edw. g robinson, film noir by billy wilder, screenplay by raymond chandler--the perfect murder...almost
les diaboliques, 1955, simone signoret, vera clouzot, h g clouzot (f only; e s.t.)--the disappearing corpse
manchurian candidate, 1962, frank sinatra, janet leigh (shower girl), angela lansbury, john frankenheimer directed--the ticking human time-bomb (e,f,i,es; no s.t.)
hush, hush, sweet charlotte, 1964, bette davis, olivia de havilland, joseph cotton, mary astor, victor buono, george kennedy, agnes moorhead (e only; e s.t.) (davis and moorhead deserved oscars, but "mary poppins" took the whole ball of wax that year; davis had been nominated 2 years before "for whatever happened to baby jane?")
wait until dark, 1967, audrey hepburn, alan arkin, richard crenna, efrem zimbalist jr. (e,f,i; st. e,f,i)--there's a killer in the house, did the blind girl break the last light bulb?
The Boston Strangler, (1968) Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, George Kennedy, Jeff Corey, Sally Kellerman (e,d,f,es, it; EU s.t.)
murder on the orient express, 1974, hercule poirot (albert finney) with a stellar cast of suspects: ingrid bergman (oscar), lauren bacall, martin balsam, jaqueline bisset, sean connery, john gielgud, anthony perkins, vanessa redgrave, richard widmark, michael york, (e,d,es,it; d,es,it s.t.)
Death on the Nile, 1978, Peter Ustinov, Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, George Kennedy, Angela Lansbury, David Niven, Jack Warden (e,d,i; s.t d, it, port., turk)--hercule poirot again with too many suspects, steller cast, oscar for costumes
the thirty nine steps, 1978, (not the 1935 Hitchcock original; see above), john mills, robt powell
body heat, 1981, wm. hurt, kathleen turner, richard crenna, mickey rourke; the perfect murder requires the perfect fall guy; (e,d,es; eu s.t.)
witness, 1985 harrison ford in amish country, alexander godunov, peter weir
frantic, 1988 harrison ford, roman polanski (e,d,es; s.t. all eu)
dead again, 1991, kenneth branagh, derek jacobi, emma thompson, robin williams (e,d; s.t.e,d, others)
fraulein smillas gespur fuer schnee, 1997 (D only)--did the little boy fall or was he pushed?
the fugitive, 1993, harrison ford, tommy lee jones, julianne moore (e,f,i; many s.t.)--has an innocent man nothing to fear from the police?
what lies beneath, 2000, harrison ford, michelle pfeiffer--did for the tub what "psycho" did for the shower
vanilla sky, 2001 penelope cruz, camerdon diaz, kurt russell, tom cruise is a dip but wow ending
the tailor of panama, 2001, pierce brosnan (james bond self-parody), geoffrey rush, jamie lee curtis, story by john le carre (e,d,f; same s.t.)
Crime and Punishment, 2002, John Hurt, Vanessa Redgrave, Crispin Glover, Margot Kidder, Theodore Bikel, Ron Perlman, terrific cast, Dostoyevsky's classic novel (e,d)
birth, 2004, lauren bacall, nicole kidman (e,d)--a credulous obsessive young woman is seduced by a precosious obsessive 10-year old boy (lolita in reverse)
secret window, 2004, johnny depp, john turturro, maria bello (e,d; e,d, s.t.)
the statement, 2005, michael caine, tilda swinton, alan bates, charlotte rampling (e,d; same s.t.)--the past catches up w/ a former nazi collaborateur; stellar cast
flightplan, 2005, jody foster--the missing child in the airplane (e,d, turkish; s.t. e,d,fr,it,es, turk, arabic)
the good german, 2006, george clooney, cate blanchett (e,d,i; same s.t.)--modern film noir; 9 out of 10 for atmosphere
The Good Shepherd, 2006, Director: Robert De Niro, Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin, Robert De Niro, Keir Dullea (stanley kubrick's 2001), William Hurt, Timothy Hutton (ordinary people), Joe Pesci --join the CIA, travel to exotic countries, meet intersting people, and kill them (e,d,es; same s.t.); splendid cast, but story difficult to follow
der adler, 2006-2008, danish detective series aired on german tv zdf (d only), seasons 1,2,3 complete


JAMES BOND / INDIANA JONES & other impossible heroes & heroines

         
james bond, dr. no, 1962 sean connery, bernard lee as M, lois Maxwell as Monneypenny, ursula andress rising from the sea was justly famous; birth of the durable bond character (e,f; same s.t.)
james bond, from russia with love, 1962, sean connery, daniela bianchi as the bond girl, lotte lenya as the hideous rosa klebb, desmond llewelyn, bernard lee, lois maxwell (e,d; s.t. same)--good spy thriller before they got silly with gadgets and explosions, second bond film after Dr. No, famous john barry theme debut
james bond, goldfinger, 1964, sean connery, gert froebe, bernard lee, lois maxwell, shirely eaton as the golden girl, honor blackman as pussy galore (e,d; s.t.e,d)--the one with the famous car and oddjob the korean killer, third Bond film and still one of the very best
james bond, casino royale, 1967, peter sellars, ursula andress, david niven, orson wells, woody allen, deborah kerr, joanna pettet, wm. holden, george raft, charles boyer, john huston dir.--bond parody with the original bond girl ursula andress from Dr. No, (e,f,d,i,es; s.t. e,d,dk, f,i,es etc.)
james bond, on her majesty's secret service, 1969, george lazenby, dianna rigg, telly savalas, bernard lee, desmond llewelyn, lois maxwell (e,d; s.t.e,d)--the bond that time forgot, believable stunts, not so much gadgetry, much closer to ian fleming's actual character and story than any other bond film; good action skiing in the swiss alps
james bond, live and let die, 1973, roger moore, david hedison, jane seymour, yaphet kotto, tee hee (the man w/the mechanical arm), bernard lee, lois maxwell (e,d; s.t. same)--the one that gave voodoo a bad name, high-speed boat chase; a strange bond film (peculiar settings and dated costumes), but entertaining
james bond, the spy who loved me, 1977, roger moore, curt jurgens, richard kiel as jaws, barbara bach, desmond llewelyn, bernard lee, lois maxwell (e,d; s.t. same)--this one has the underwater car and grand villains
james bond, never say never again, 1983, sean connery, max von sydow, klaus maria brandauer, barbara carrera, kim basinger, rowan atkinson (e,d,f,it,es; s.t. same + scand)--a gracefully aging connery reprises the role he created and proves he can still do it (the roger moore episodes had gotten pretty dire by this time with tiresome humor, impossible stunts and superfluous gadgets; moore in octopussy came out the same year)
james bond, the living daylights, 1987, timothy dalton, joe don baker, john rhys-davies, desmond llewelyn, (e,d; s.t. same), + 2d dvd of special features--bond films got serious again after the moore episodes had drifted into self-parody
james bond, license to kill, 1989, timothy dalton, david hedison, desmond llewelyn (finally gets a part to play as Q), wayne newton (as the tv preacher), and carey lowell (my favorite bond girl) (e,d; s.t. same)--very dark and brooding for a bond film; this one has a real story line and a believable villain, a good solid thriller
james bond, golden eye, 1995, pierce brosnan, judi dench, sean bean, joe don baker, izabella scorupco, famke janssen (thunder thighs), desmond llewelyn (e,d,es; same s.t.), song by tina turner; bond is back!
james bond, the world is not enough, 1999, pierce brosnan, sophie marceau, judi dench, john cleese (ill-cast), desmond llewelyn (e,d; s.t.e,d); bond films revert to the moore-format: spectacle instead of story, now with digital effects
james bond, die another day, 2002, pierce brosnan, halle berry (e,d; same s.t.)--relentless action
james bond, casino royale, 2006, daniel craig as the 'pre-quel' rough-diamond bond, judi dench (e,d;e,d, turk s.t.), athletic, spider-man special effects; not to be confused with the 1967 version of casino royale w/ david niven
james bond, Quantum of Solace, 2008, Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, 22nd Bond movie (e,d, czech, turk; s.t. e,d, balkans)
james bond, skyfall, 2012, daniel craig's 3d, judi dench, ralph fiennes, albert finney, 2 oscars (song, editing)--probably the best bond film since goldfinger (e,d; same s.t.)

indiana jones, raiders of the lost ark, 1981, harrison ford, karen allen, denholm elliot, john rhys-davies, first in the series of comic-book heroics & cliche villains; (e,d,f; s.t. same + scand.)
indiana jones & the temple of doom, 1984, harrison ford, kate capshaw, second in the series but a prequel to 'raiders'; (e,d,f; s.t. same + scand.); roller coaster in the mine scene
indiana jones & the last crusade, 1989, harrison ford, sean connery, denholm elliot, john rhys-davies, river phoenix (as young indy), third in the series, nazis make convenient villains again; (e,d,f; s.t. same + scand.)

Romancing the Stone, 1984, Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito--jones-clone (e,d,es; same s.t.)
Mad Max, Thunderdome, 1985, Mel Gibson, Tina Turner--Bartertown, third in the series of post-apocalyptic visions; we don't need another hero (e,d,es; eu s.t.)

lara croft tomb raider, 2001, angelina jolie, jon voigt, daniel craig, lots of extras (3 dvd set) (e,d; same s.t.)
lara croft, tomb raider 2: cradle of life, 2003, second in the angelina jolie jones-clones series featuring til schweiger (e,d; d s.t.)--never mind the gaps in the story, we're watching how angelina stretches a shirt

Alexander, 2004, dir Oliver Stone, Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Plummer, Brian Blessed, (e,d; d s.t.)
Troy, 2004, Brad Pitt (Achilles), Orlando Bloom (Paris), Julian Glover (Triopas), Brian Cox (Agamemnon), Brendan Gleeson (Menelaus), Diane Kruger (the face that launched a thousand ships), Eric Bana (Hector), Peter O'Toole (Priam); Homer's Illiad (e,d; same s.t.; extra features DVD)
 
Connery was derided as a truck-driver early in his career, but for many years running was voted the sexist man alive.


SILLY ROMANCE   


What's Up, Doc?, 1972, Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, Madeline Kahn (e,d,f,es: eu s.t.)
all of me, 1984, steve martin & lily tomlin--two superb commedians, plus (the totally sexy) victoria tennant, carl reiner directed
L.A. story, 1991, steve martin, victoria tennant, woody harrelson, sarah jessica parker, imam, patrick stewart, the prophesying traffic sign (e,d,es; s.t. e,d,es,nl,port,turkish)
shopgirl, 2005, steve martin, clare danes, romance (e only; e s.t. only)
It's Complicated, 2009, Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin (e,d; s.t. e,d, turk)
meet the parents, 2000, part 1, robt de niro, ben stiller
something's gotta give, 2003, jack nicholson, diane keaton; jack's typical revolting character and compelling performance
Along Came Polly, (2004), Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Alec Baldwin (e,d; same s.t.)
Rumor Has It... 2005, dir rob reiner, jennifer aniston, kevin costner (quite the gentleman), shirley macLaine (quite the bitch) (e,d; same s.t.)
Love Happens, (2009), Jennifer Aniston, Aaron Eckhart, Martin Sheen (e,d; same s.t.)
Just Go with It, (2011), Jennifer Aniston, Adam Sandler, Nicole Kidman (e,d; e,d,turk s.t.)
the tourist, 2010, johnny depp, angelina jolie, timothy dalton, steven berkhoff, rufus sewell (e,d,f; same s.t.)


SCI FI   


flash gordon conquers the universe, 1940, buster krabbe, 3d and final series, 12 episodes, the show that started this genre
day the earth stood still, 2008, remake with keanu reeves, jennifer connelly, kathy bates, jaden smith, john cleese (e,d; same s.t.)--got really bad reviews
the thing (from another world), 1951, james arness, (e,d; d s.t.)--watch the skies!
the time machine, 1952, rod taylor, sebastian cabot, yvette mimeux, original george pal
the time machine, 2002, guy pearce (the modern remake was actually pretty good)
war of the worlds, 1953, original george pal (not the spielberg remake)
20,000 leagues under the sea, 1955, kirk douglas, james mason (as the tormented capt. nemo), peter lorre, story by jules verne (e,f,es; ei s.t.); lavish production, oscar for special effects & sets (by walt disney)
invasion of the body snatchers, 1956, kevin mccarthy, dana wynter, king donovan, sam peckinpaw (e only; e s.t.) the original b&w version (+ colorized version)--low-budget B-movie became a cult classic, allegory on cold-war hysteria and mccarthyism in america
the fly, 1958, david hedison, vincent price; (e only; weird s.t.)
the return of the fly, 1959, vincent price; (e only; weird s.t.)
the mysterious island, 1961, herbert lom, fabulous effects by ray harryhausen; (e, f,d,it,es; eu+many other s.t.)
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, 1961, Walter Pidgeon, Joan Fontaine, Barbara Eden (I dream of Jeannie), Peter Lorre, Michael Ansara (later played a Klingon in Star Trek), Frankie Avalon (every teenaged girl's dreamboat), (e,d,es; same s.t.)--the movie that spawned the tv show with richard basehart and david hedison
fahrenheit 451, 1966, francois truffaut, ray bradbury, julie christie (double role)
voyage to the planet of prehistoric women, 1968, dir. peter bogdanovich, mamie van doren--bad, really really bad
solaris, 1972, russian original by andrei tarkovsky (not the george clooney remake) (russian,partial e,f; s.t. r,e,d,f,es,it,sw,hebrew,jap,chinese)--spooky, visionary, the resurrections are the worst
Dark Star, 1974, dir. john carpenter, low-budget absurdist sci-fi cult classic
a boy and his dog, 1975, don johnson, jason robards, story by harlan ellison, (e,d)--cult vision of post WWIV earth, wow ending
signs, 2002, mel gibson, dir. shyamalan (e,d; s.t. e,d,f,i,es)--they're here and they're after us
ijon tichy, raumpilot 2011, vol.2; absurdist german tv series (d only; e s.t.)
prometheus, 2012, charlize theron, guy pearce, dir. ridley scott (blu-ray; e.d; same s.t.)--somebody spilled something and it got loose--I think it was us


WESTERN    

   
my darling clementine, 1946, henry fonda, victor mature, linda darnell, tim holt, ward bond, walter brennan, john ford, prod. sam engel (engl only, engl s.t.; 2 complete versions)--under-rated hollywood classic in this genre
johnny guitar, 1954, joan crawford, sterling hayden, ward bond, ernest borgnine, john carradine (e only; e s.t.)
rooster cogburn, 1975, john wayne, kate hepburn (e,f,d,i,es, many s.t.)
dead man, 1995, johnny depp, robt mitchum, iggy pop, john hurt, jim jarmusch, music neil young (e,d; s.t.d)--some are born to endless night
broken trail, 2006, robt. duvall & a cast of chinese girls (e only; e s.t.)


WOMEN'S TALES   


the french lieutenant's woman, 1981, meryl streep, jeremy irons, leo mckern (e, d, f, i, es; same s.t. + scand.); jeremy falls for meryl (twice)
the color purple, 1985, steven spielberg, danny glover, whoopi goldberg (golden globe award), oprah winfrey, alice walker's pulizer prize novel (e only; e s.t.)
thelma & louise, 1991, susan sarandan, geena davis, harvey keitel, brad pitt, ridley scott dir. (e,d,i,es,fr; eu s.t.); objectively headed for the grave, subjectively having the time of their lives
antonia's line, 1995, marleen gorris, oscar (best foreign)
one true thing, 1998, meryl streep, wm. hurt, renee zellweger
sense & sensibility, 1995, emma thompson, alan rickman, kate winslet, hugh gant (e,d,f) (oscar screenplay)
pride & prejudice, 2005, keira knightly, donald sutherland, judi dench, jane austen, (e,dk, lots of other weird ones; weird s.t.)
sous le sable, 2000, charlotte rampling, francois ozon
the hours, 2002, meryl streep, nicole kidman (oscar), julianne moore, miranda richardson, toni collette
notes on a scandal, 2006; judy dench, kate blanchett (e,d: same s.t.)
julie & julia, 2009, meryl streep, it's all about food (e,i: e, i, hindi, scand. s.t.)


FOREIGN   


the bicycle thieves, 1948, vittorio de sica (i only; e s.t.)--Italian neo-realism
rashomon, 1950, kurosawa (J, english subtitles); the reason the "best foreign film" category was created for the Oscars is no exaggeration; what is truth?
la cage aux folles, 1978, (birds of a feather) ugo tognazzi, michel serault, (f,e,d,it,es; same s.t. + scand)--faggotry was never funnier
babettes fest/feast, 1987, story by tania (karen) blixon (d only) (danish)
the unbearable lightness of being, 1988, Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche (e,d)--sex without commitment is bad
mari de la coiffeuse (the hairdresser's husband), 1990, (f only; e s.t.)
three colors, 1993-4, trilogy, juliette binoche, krzysztof kieslowski (f only; e s.t.)
Cite des enfants perdus/stadt der verlorenen kinder, 1995, (e,d) (french)--bizarre fantasy film
mifune, 1999, swedish/danish dogma film(#3) (scand; e s.t.)
tanguy, 2001, how to get rid of your son, (e,d) (french)
Fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain (the fabulous world of amelie), 2001, audrey tautou (d,f; same s.t.) (french); charming story
napoleon, 2002, gerard depardieu, john malkovitch, Isabella Rossellini (lavish french production; d only, no s.t. )
die zeit die bleibt, 2005, jeanne moreau, francois ozon (d,f; same s.t.)(french)
spiel der goetter, tibetan monks discover football (german, tibetan); charming story
brodre (brother), psychological study of what war does to sane people (melancolic danish)
elsker dig for evigt, doctor gets infatuated with girl (melancolic danish)
As It Is in Heaven, 2004, world famous musical prodigy returns to the village of his childhood to fulfill a dream--very scandinavian; (d,swedish; d s.t.)
adams aepfele, 2005, people with interlocking neuroses form a church group; you just want to shake them and scream "wake up!" (dk,d; d s.t.) --manic danish
siddartha, shashi kapoor, lovely photography & music, story by hermann hesse (e,d)
the island, 2006, guilt & sin in a russian monastery (russian w/e s.t.)
Ne le dis ˆ personne (kein sterbenswort, tell no one) 2006, Franois Cluzet, Kristin Scott Thomas--french production (f,d)
auf der anderen seite, 2007 (aka the other side of heaven), turkish/german/english; about a young man's widowed father's prostitute's daughter's lover ... (soundtrack: polyglot: d,turk.,e; d. s.t.)
verblendung, 2008, [see also The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo], stieg larsson, noumi raplace, michael nyquist (swedish, d; s.t. d)--pulling skeletons out of the family closet
verdammnis, 2008, stieg larsson, noumi raplace, michael nyquist (swedish, d; s.t. d)--pulling more skeletons out of the family closet--part two of a trology
Slumdog Millionaire, 2008, rags to riches in India (e,d; d s.t.)--8 oscars
bienvenue chez les ch'tis, 2008, (willkomen bei den ch'tis), (f,d; quasi-deutsch s.t.)--a postal director is transferred to a backwater where he learns the local dialect; cute story
afterwards, 2008, john malkovich--german-french-canadian production--malkovich is the messenger who sees other people's imminent demise and tries to prepare them for it (e,d; s.t.d)
disgrace, 2008, john malkovich--australian production--South African tale of injustice and contrition (e,d; s.t.d)
Detour, 2009, Marte Christensen, Sondre Krogtoft Larsen--norwegian production: horror thriller, live Internet snuff movie (norw, d; d s.t.)
Mother, 2009, (d, korean; d s.t.); character study of the neurotic relationship between an over-protective mother and her half-wit son; you just want to shake these people and scream at them either: 'wake up!' or 'shut up and go back to bed!'
Rien a declarer, 2010, (nichts zu verzollen), (f,d; same s.t.)--from the people who did bienvenue chez les ch'tis; this time it's the french-belgian customs border patrol
en familie, 2010, danish (d, danish; d s.t.)
le havre, 2011, andre wilms, kati outinen, dir aki kaurismaki, french (d,f,; no s.t.)--a shoe-shiner helps an african refugee get away, microscopic view of greater social issues, dramatic lighting
intouchables, 2011, francois cluzet, omar sy (d,f,; same s.t.)--french buddy film
amour (Liebe), 2012, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva--french production about getting old together, oscar (f,d; d s.t.)
Life of Pi, (2012), Suraj Sharma, Gerard Depardieu (e,d; e,d,turk s.t.)--4 oscars (visual effects)--boy & tiger meet God in a boat at sea


GERMANISTIK   

  
karl valentin, liesl karlstadt, short films: im photoatelier 1932, orchesterprobe 1933, im schallplattenladen 1933, der firmling 1934, die erbschaft 1936 (d only)--the german charles chaplin, in small doses only
mythos millionen, vw kaefer werbung (d only)
mythos porsche 356, that cute little german sports car (d only)
der Untergang, adolf's last hours in the bunker (d; e s.t.)
im toten winkel -- hitlers sekretaerin, traudl junge interview (d only)
commedian harmonists, keine sau interessiert sich
the pianist, roman polanski--the horror of nazism cannot be grasped much less filmed in full, but only in individual's stories; this was much better than spielberg's over-produced attempt in schindler's list
zug des lebens, polish village decides to deport itself to escape the nazis (d,f)
zug voegel, joachim kroel as the geek who knows the train schedules by heart (d only)
good bye lenin, mama wakes up from a coma and doesn't know the berlin wall came down in the meantime (saechsich only)
es geschah am hellichten tag, 1958, heinz ruehman, gert froebe, (german only) from a story by duerenmatt, remade as "the pledge" by sean penn starring jack nicholson (above)
der hauptmann von koepenick, 1956, heinz ruehmann (d only)--the revolt of the little man against a mindless bureaucracy
die feuerzangenbowle, 1943, heinz ruehmann (d only)--his most famous (if not most challenging) role, Pfeiffer mit drei f
die schweizer macher, 1978, walo luond, emil steinberger (mundart, d,fr,it; s.t. same plus e)--how to become swiss
herbstmilch, 1989, cinematic adaptation of the autobiography of Anna Wimschneider (D only)
7 zwerge, otto waalkes et al (d only)
loriot: pappa ante portas, 1991, vicco von bulow, evelyn hamann (d only)--the title is a play on "Hannibal ante portas" (Hannibal is at the gates!)
das wunder von bern, 2003 (e,d; d,e,f,es s.t.)--germany 1954, a boy and his soccer hero--billy elliot & chariots of fire rolled into one
die nibelungen, 2004, benno fuermann, kristanna loken, alicia witt, max von sydow (e,d; s.t. many); nordic myth of Brunnhild & Siegfried, and the ring of gold
vier minuten, 2006, monika bleibtreu, hannah herzsprung, (d only; e s.t.); dark and moving film about the relationship between an elderly piano teacher with a terrible secret and a rebellious self-destructive girl
die herbstzeitlosen, 2006; a little-old-lady film to warm the cockles of your heart--a widow opens a sexy-underwear shop in a very straight-laced Swiss village and causes a stir (schwitzeditsch; d s.t.)--released as "late bloomers" in english
Unter Bauern, 2009, veronica ferres, armin rohde (d only)--forget schindler's list, which was over-produced, over-dramatized, over-acted, and heavy-handed; this tale of civil courage in which plain folk shelter a family of jews from the nazis is much better, based on the memoir of marga spiegel (who appears in person in the dvd extras along with the farmer's wife who sheltered her family)
Giulias Verschwinden, 2009, Corinna Harfouch, Bruno Ganz, Stefan Kurt, story/screenplay by martin suter, (d only)--on getting old
Die Friseuse, 2010, Gabriela Maria Schmeide; ex-east berliner struggles with obesity and discrimination; IMDB panned it for being unfunny; it would be funny only to a native german ("german humor" is after all an oxymoron)(d only)
Small World, 2010, Gerard Depardieu, Alexandra Maria Lara, Francoise Fabian, story by Martin Suter (d,f,;d s.t.)
Der Verdingbub, (2012), swiss tale of kids separated from their families (swiss german,d,f,it; s.t. e,f)


MUSIC VIDEO   


song remains the same, 1976, led zeppelin live at madison square garden, a pioneering band not only musically, but also in producing this video of a gig over several nights; I saw them about a year before at kezar stadium in San Francisco, simply awesome band, the original stadium rockers (stairway to heaven etc.); the London gig in dec 2007 got good reviews, so apparently they can still do it; "power, mystery, and the hammer of God" --Jimmy Page
peter green, man of the world, documentary with interviews (carlos santana, john mayall, other band members and manager and producer), film clips, and music; the only white blues guitarist who BB King said "sends shivers down my spine", what a shame his productive period was so patchy, and if you don't know who peter green was (is) watch the movie, cuz you definitely know the band he formed (they outsold the beatles and the stones combined before he left the band ostensibly to 'find himself' but actually to come adrift); the interviews with green show the dull remnants of a mind ruined by LSD, electroshock, and who knows what other well-meant but ineffective therapies--a mind is a terrible thing to waste (e only; obligaory eu s.t)
john mayall & the bluesbreakers & friends, 70th birthday concert, liverpool 2003; featuring eric clapton, mick taylor, chris barber (trombone), buddy whittington, plus interview with john mayall--the blues doesn't get any better than this
mark knopfler, live 2006, avo session, basel (recorded from SF3 tv)
mark knopfler & emmy lou harris, real live roadrunning, 2006, I very nearly went to their concert in Zurich but they wanted an absurd price for tickets, and anyway I'd seen dire straights twice in germany for the 'on every street' tour, so I waited for the DVD of the 2006 tour
mark knopfler interview, nov 2007, aired on German NDR3 tv, includes live song "true love will never fade" from the album "kill to get crimson" (e badly mixed with d overdubbing)
jeff beck, performing this week live at ronnie scott's, 2009, with eric clapton (2 tracks), joss stone (vocals on "people get ready"), imogen heap (vocals on 2 tracks); one of the 3 seminal guitarists of his generation of white blues-rockers (the other two being clapton and page) and by far the most versatile of them; this concert shows his staggering range of rock (heavy as well as melodious), blues, boogie, gospel, jazz, john mcglaughlin, swamp funk, whale song, and you won't believe what this man can do with a bottle neck--terrific backing band (keyboardist and drummer from Sting's band), excellent recording and photography, that's robt. plant in the audience, plus long interview w/the man himself; clapton is master of his instrument--beck and the instrument are one



Shower Girl
this is the end