
Cabaret
Bob Fosse
124 minutes

(#51)
Theatrical: 1972
Studio: ABC Pictures
Genre: Drama
Writer: Joe Masteroff, John Van Druten, Christopher Isherwood, Jay Presson Allen
Date Added: 02 Feb 2008
Cabaret
Bob Fosse
124 minutes

(#51)

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Comments: The Award-Winning Smash Hit Musical [UK Video]
Summary: Sally Bowles, an American singer in 1930s Berlin, fall in love with bi-sexual Brian. They are both then seduced by Max, a rich playboy. Sally becomes pregnant, and Brian offers to marry her... All the characters are linked by the Kit-Kat club, a nightspot where Sally sings.


Calendar Girls
Nigel Cole
108 minutes

(#52)
Theatrical: 2003
Studio: Harbour Pictures
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Tim Firth, Juliette Towhidi
Date Added: 02 Feb 2008
Calendar Girls
Nigel Cole
108 minutes

(#52)

Sound: DTS
Comments: They dropped everything for a good cause.
Summary: Calendar Girls is about the women of the Rylstone Women's Institute in North Yorkshire. This Women's Group produces a calendar each year based around scenes of the Yorkshire dales. In 1999, one of the ladies husbands became ill with leukemia. He would say that if the ladies planted Sunflowers, he'd make sure he'd get better so he could see them. Unfortunately, he didn't pull through and in order to raise funds for Leukemia research the women decided to make an alternative calendar of themselves in the nude hoping to sell a few hundred copies around their villages. This calendar in fact became a worldwide sensation, out-selling even those of Britney Spears and Cindy Crawford.


Caligula
Tinto Brass
98 minutes

(#53)
Theatrical: 1979
Studio: Instantvision
Genre: Erotic
Writer: Gore Vidal, Bob Guccione, Giancarlo Lui, Franco Rossellini
Date Added: 22 Dec 2007
Caligula
Tinto Brass
98 minutes

(#53)

Sound: Mono
Comments: What would you have done if you had been given absolute power of life and death over everybody else in the whole world?
Summary: The rise and fall of the notorious Roman Emperor Caligula, showing the violent methods that he employs to gain the throne, and the subsequent insanity of his reign - he gives his horse political office and humiliates and executes anyone who even slightly displeases him. He also sleeps with his sister, organises elaborate orgies and embarks on a fruitless invasion of England before meeting an appropriate end. There are various versions of the film, ranging from the heavily- truncated 90-minute version to the legendary 160-minute hardcore version which leaves nothing to the imagination (though the hardcore scenes were inserted later and do not involve the main cast members).


A Canterbury Tale
Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
124 minutes

(#54)
Theatrical: 1944
Studio: Archers, The
Genre: Drama
Writer: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Date Added: 03 Feb 2008
A Canterbury Tale
Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
124 minutes

(#54)

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Comments: Four modern pilgrims in a story of today - yet away from war.
Summary: A 'Land Girl', an American GI, and a British soldier find themselves together in a small Kent town on the road to Canterbury. The town is being plagued by a mysterious "glue-man", who pours glue on the hair of girls dating soldiers after dark. The three attempt to track him down, and begin to have suspicions of the local magistrate, an eccentric figure with a strange, mystical vision of the history of England in general and Canterbury in particular.


Capricorn One
Peter Hyams
123 minutes

(#55)
Theatrical: 1978
Studio: Associated General Films
Genre: Drama
Writer: Peter Hyams
Date Added: 02 Feb 2008
Capricorn One
Peter Hyams
123 minutes

(#55)

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: Spanish
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Comments: The mission was a sham. The murders were real.
Summary: Classic conspiracy tale about the first manned mission to Mars. All appears to be going well until the astronauts are pulled off the ship just before launch by shadowy government types and whisked off to a film studio in the desert. It transpires that the space vehicle has a major defect which NASA just daren't admit. At the studio, over a course of months, the astronauts are forced to act out the journey and the landing to trick the world into believing they have made the trip. Meanwhile, a Journalist (played by Gould) is getting suspicious and every clue he uncovers seems to result in an attempt on his life! The astronauts are just about to splashdown when a further twist to the tale occurs, leaving them with no choice but to try and escape...


The Cars That Ate Paris
Peter Weir
91 minutes

(#56)
Theatrical: 1974
Studio: Australian Film Development Corporation, The
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Peter Weir, Keith Gow, Piers Davies
Date Added: 03 Feb 2008
The Cars That Ate Paris
Peter Weir
91 minutes

(#56)

Sound: Mono
Comments: They run on blood.
Summary: A small town in rural Australia (Paris) makes its living by causing car accidents and salvaging any valuables from the wrecks. Into this town come brothers Arthur and George. George is killed when the Parisians cause their car to crash, but Arthur survives and is brought into the community as an orderly at the hospital. But Paris is not problem free. Not only do the Parisians have to be careful of outsiders (such as insurance investigators), but they also have to cope with the young people of the town who are dissatisfied with the status quo.


Casablanca
Michael Curtiz
98 minutes

(#57)
Theatrical: 1942
Studio: Warner Home Video
Genre: Drama
Writer: Murray Burnett, Joan Alison, Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch, Casey Robinson
Date Added: 26 Dec 2007
Casablanca
Michael Curtiz
98 minutes

(#57)

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French, Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Italian, Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Arabic, Romanian, Bulgarian
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Comments: Mysterious City of Sin and Intrigue !
Summary: A truly perfect movie, the 1942 Casablanca still wows viewers today, and for good reason. Its unique story of a love triangle set against terribly high stakes in the war against a monster is sophisticated instead of outlandish, intriguing instead of garish. Humphrey Bogart plays the allegedly apolitical club owner in unoccupied French territory that is nevertheless crawling with Nazis; Ingrid Bergman is the lover who mysteriously deserted him in Paris; and Paul Heinreid is her heroic, slightly bewildered husband. Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Conrad Veidt are among what may be the best supporting cast in the history of Hollywood films. This is certainly among the most spirited and ennobling movies ever made.--Tom Keogh


Casino Royale
Martin Campbell
144 minutes

(#58)
Theatrical: 2006
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Genre: Drama
Writer: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Paul Haggis, Ian Fleming
Date Added: 26 Dec 2007
Casino Royale
Martin Campbell
144 minutes

(#58)

Sound: SDDS
Comments: Everyone has a past. Every legend has a beginning. On November 17th, discover how James...became Bond.
Summary: The most successful invigoration of a cinematic franchise since Batman Begins, Casino Royale offers a new Bond identity. Based on the Ian Fleming novel that introduced Agent 007 into a Cold War world, Casino Royale is the most brutal and viscerally exciting James Bond film since Sean Connery left Her Majesty's Secret Service. Meet the new Bond; not the same as the old Bond. Daniel Craig gives a galvanising performance as the freshly minted double-0 agent. Suave, yes, but also a "blunt instrument," reckless and possessed with an ego that compromises his judgment during his first mission to root out the mastermind behind an operation that funds international terrorists. In classic Bond film tradition, his global itinerary takes him to far-flung locales, including Uganda, Madagascar, the Bahamas (that's more like it) and Montenegro, where he is pitted against his nemesis in a poker game, with hundreds of millions in the pot. The stakes get even higher when Bond lets down his armour by falling in love with Vesper (Eva Green), the ravishing banker's representative fronting him the money.
For longtime fans of the franchise, Casino Royale offers some retro kicks. Bond wins his iconic Aston Martin at the gaming table, and when a bartender asks if he wants his martini "shaken or stirred," he disdainfully replies, "Do I look like I give a damn?". There's no Moneypenny or "Q," but Dame Judi Dench is back as the exasperated M who, one senses, admires Bond's "bloody cheek." A Bond film is only as good as its villain, and Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre, who weeps blood, is a sinister dandy. From its punishing violence and virtuoso action sequences to its romance, Casino Royale is a Bond film that, in the words of one character, 'makes you feel it', particularly during an excruciating torture sequence. Double-0s, Bond observes early on, "have a short life expectancy". But with Craig, there is new life in the old franchise yet, as well as genuine anticipation for the next one when, at last, the signature James Bond theme kicks in following the best last line ever in any Bond film. To quote Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin, "now I know what I've been faking all these years". --Donald Liebenson


Catch Me If You Can
Steven Spielberg
135 minutes

(#59)
Theatrical: 2002
Studio: Universal Pictures Video
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Jeff Nathanson, Frank Abagnale Jr., Stan Redding
Date Added: 13 Jan 2008
Catch Me If You Can
Steven Spielberg
135 minutes

(#59)

Languages: English, DTS 6.1 ES; English, Dolby Digital 5.1; English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French, Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Comments: The true story of a real fake.
Summary: A lot less momentous in subject matter than most recent Steven Spielberg films, Catch Me If You Can is the "inspired by a true story" tale of Frank Abagnale Jr (Leonardo di Caprio), a mature-looking teenager who spent the 1960s as an odd type of conman: passing himself off as an airline pilot to get free flights, holding down a job as supervisor of an ER team, and even passing a bar exam after only two weeks' study, all the while dealing in forged cheques. As his illicit earnings spiral up above four million dollars, Frank is dogged by FBI agent Hanratty (Tom Hanks), a plodder who begins to have a relationship with his quarry--the boy politely telephones him every Christmas to catch up.
It may have a Spielbergian running time (two hours and 20 minutes) and boast big stars usually found only in thumping epics, but it's basically a breezy character piece with tactful shots of melancholy amid the high-flying, no-harm-done criminality. DiCaprio does his best screen work as the compulsive impersonator, turning his rather vague presence to his advantage as he slips into his various roles, and the typical Spielberg fathers-and-sons theme is delicately played in the kid's scenes with his real (Christopher Walken) and surrogate dads. It's a pleasure to find that Spielberg can play it light without sacrificing depth. Set in the pastel 1960s, with James Bond and vintage Flash comics for context, the film has smart patter, a terrific mod-look credits animation and John Williams' most finger-snappin' score in decades. --Kim Newman


Catch-22
Mike Nichols
122 minutes

(#60)
Theatrical: 1970
Studio: Filmways Productions
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Joseph Heller, Buck Henry
Date Added: 02 Feb 2008
Catch-22
Mike Nichols
122 minutes

(#60)

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 5.1; English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French, Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Commentary by director Mike Nichols and filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, Unknown
Subtitles: English
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Summary: A bombardier in World War II tries desperately to escape the insanity of the war. However, sometimes insanity is the only sane way cope with a crazy situation. Catch-22 is a parody of a "military mentality" and of a bureaucratic society in general.


Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
Tim Burton
110 minutes

(#61)
Theatrical: 2005
Studio: Warner Home Video
Genre: Fantasy
Writer: Roald Dahl, John August
Date Added: 26 Dec 2007
Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
Tim Burton
110 minutes

(#61)

Sound: Sonix
Comments: Oompa-Loompas are crazy for Coco-Beans
Summary: Director Tim Burton's take on Roald Dahl's classic story is undeniably more faithful to the source material than the 1975 musical retelling of the same story. His Charlie & The Chocolate Factory is also a slightly darker, visually inventive film, and is ultimately a tasty treat that the whole family can enjoy.
Filling the coat of Willy Wonka is frequent Burton collaborator Johnny Depp--the pair have previously worked together on the likes of Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood and Sleepy Hollow--and what fun he clearly had. His Wonka is a kooky, isolated figure, extremely distrusting and clearly uncomfortable around the children who win a golden ticket to look round his factory. Burton invests time in his main character, giving him a rounded back story that pays dividends, and while some will inevitably prefer Gene Wilder's edgier take on the same role all those years ago, Depp nonetheless is on strong form. The cast around him also perform well, particularly Freddie Highmore in the title role.
The story is as you'll likely remember it, with five children given the chance to visit Willy Wonka's mysterious chocolate factory. And what a visual treat that factory is, bursting with colour and vibrancy. Along the way, they encounter chocolate lakes, industrious squirrels and the infamous oompa loompas, and truthfully, it's fun to be along for the ride.
Is it better than that aforementioned 1975 version? Actually, it's just different. Each film will no doubt have its legion of fans, but the bottom line here is that Roald Dahl's classic has provided the source for an enjoyable, well pitched movie with plenty of rewatch value. Now if only they'd go and film Charlie & The Great Glass Elevator…--Simon Brew


Chicago
Rob Marshall
113 minutes

(#62)
Theatrical: 2002
Studio: The Producers Circle Co.
Genre: Musical
Writer: Maurine Dallas Watkins, Bob Fosse, Fred Ebb, Bill Condon
Date Added: 02 Feb 2008
Chicago
Rob Marshall
113 minutes

(#62)

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 5.1; English, DTS; French; Commentary by director Rob Marshall and screenwriter Bill Condon, Unknown
Subtitles: Spanish
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Comments: With the right song and dance, you can get away with murder.
Summary: Murderesses Velma Kelly (a chanteuse and tease who killed her husband and sister after finding them in bed together)and Roxie Hart (who killed her boyfriend when she discovered he wasn't going to make her a star) find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago.


Chicken Run
Peter Lord Nick Park
81 minutes

(#63)
Theatrical: 2000
Studio: Pathe Distribution
Genre: Animation
Writer: Peter Lord, Nick Park, Karey Kirkpatrick, Kelly Asbury, Mark Burton, Cody Cameron, Randy Cartwright, Brenda Chapman, Jurgen Gross, Vicky Jenson, Robert Koo, Serguei Kouchnerov, Damian Neary, John O'Farrell, Simon Wells, Catherine Yuh
Date Added: 22 Dec 2007
Chicken Run
Peter Lord Nick Park
81 minutes

(#63)

Languages: English, DTS; English, Dolby Digital 5.1; English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Commentary by directors Nick Park and Peter Lord, Unknown
Subtitles: English
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Comments: This Ain't No Chick Flick!
Summary: As warming as a nice cup of tea on a cloudy day, Chicken Run is that charming singularity, a commercially successful British family movie that has near-universal appeal without compromising its inherent British pluckiness (that will be the first and last poultry-pun in this review). It invites us into the Plasticine-world of Tweedy's farm, a far-from-free-range egg factory ruled with an axe of iron by greedy Mrs.Tweedy. One intrepid chicken, Ginger (voiced by Julia Sawalha) sets her sights on breaking out the whole flock, a cast of beautifully individuated chicken characters including ditsy Babs (voiced by Jane Horrocks), matronly Bunty (Imelda Staunton) and practical-minded Mac (Lynn Ferguson). Each effort is thwarted, and Ginger repeatedly reaps a spell in the coal bunker for her troubles, prompting the first of many allusions to The Great Escape, one of several World War II films name-checked throughout. (Grown-ups will have a ball playing Spot-the-Allusion Game here.) When an American rooster named Rocky (Mel Gibson) literally drops in from the air, the hens are set all a-flutter with excitement thinking he'll help teach them to fly away at last. But Rocky is not all he seems.
Although the action sags just a fraction around the 40-minute mark, it's the set pieces that really lift this into the realm of cartoon genius: the montage of inept flying attempts, Rocky and Ginger's narrow escape from Mrs Tweedy's new pie machine (an horrific contraption of chomping steel and industrial menace) and the magnificent, soaring climax. Despite the fact British animators (such as the directors, Nick Park and Peter Lord, themselves) regularly scoop Oscars for their short films, our record in full-feature length cartoons has been scrappy at best. There have been a few highlights--Animal Farm (1955), The Yellow Submarine (1968), Watership Down (1978)--and, er, that's about it really, unless you count The Magic Roundabout: Dougal and the Blue Cat. ChickenRun, made by the Aardman production house who produced the delightful Wallace and Gromit shorts among many other treats, has proved that Britain can compete with the most calculated, merchandised and screen-tested Disney production and win. --Leslie Felperin


Children of Dune
Greg Yaitanes
235 minutes

(#64)
Theatrical: 2003
Studio: Blixa Film Produktion GmbH & Co. KG
Genre: Drama
Writer: Frank Herbert, John Harrison
Date Added: 02 Feb 2008
Children of Dune
Greg Yaitanes
235 minutes

(#64)

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 5.1; English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Comments: Born to rule an empire. Destined to tear it apart.
Summary:


Citizen Kane
Orson Welles
119 minutes

(#65)
Theatrical: 1941
Studio: Mercury Productions
Genre: Drama
Writer: Herman J. Mankiewicz, Orson Welles
Date Added: 18 Feb 2008
Citizen Kane
Orson Welles
119 minutes

(#65)

Sound: Mono
Comments: 365 days in the making - and every minute of it an exciting NEW thrill for you !
Summary: Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" is widely considered to be the greatest film to ever come out of Hollywood. The film is basically about a group of reporters who are trying to decipher the last word ever spoke by Charles Foster Kane, the millionaire newspaper tycoon: "Rosebud." The film begins with a news reel detailing Kane's life for the masses, and then from there, we are shown flashbacks from Kane's life. As the reporters investigate further, the viewers see a display of a fascinating man's rise to fame, and how he eventually fell off the "top of the world."


City of Lost Children
Jean-Pierre Jeunet Marc Caro
108 minutes

(#66)
Theatrical: 1995
Studio: Entertainment in Video
Genre: Fantasy
Writer: Gilles Adrien, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro, Guillaume Laurant
Date Added: 22 Dec 2007
City of Lost Children
Jean-Pierre Jeunet Marc Caro
108 minutes

(#66)

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Commentary by Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Actor Ron Perlman, Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Comments: Where happily ever after is just a dream.
Summary: The fantastic visions of Belgian film-makers Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet find full fruition in this fairy tale for adults. Evoking utopias and dystopias from Brazil to Peter Pan, Caro and Jeunet create a vivid but menacing fantasy city in a perpetually twilight world. In this rough port town lives circus strongman One (Ron Perlman), who wanders the alleys and waterfront dives looking for his little brother, snatched from him by a mysterious gang preying upon the children of the town. Rising from the harbour is an enigmatic castle where lives the evil scientist Krank (Daniel Emilfork), who has lost the ability to dream and robs the nocturnal visions of the children he kidnaps, but receives only mad nightmares from the lonely cherubs. Other wild characters include the Fagin-like Octopus--Siamese twin sisters who control a small gang of runaways-turned-thieves--Krank's six cloned henchmen (all played by the memorable Dominique Pinon from Delicatessen), and a giant brain floating in an aquarium (voiced by Jean-Louis Trintignant). Caro and Jeunet are kindred souls to Terry Gilliam (who is a vocal fan), creating imaginative flights of fancy built of equal parts delight and dread, which seem to be painted on the screen in rich, dreamy colours. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com


Clockwise
Christopher Morahan
96 minutes

(#67)
Theatrical: 1986
Studio: Canal+ Image UK
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Michael Frayn
Date Added: 02 Feb 2008
Clockwise
Christopher Morahan
96 minutes

(#67)

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Comments: If you've ever been late... you'll know what this film is all about!
Summary: Brian Stimpson is the headmaster of a comprehensive (high) school in England. He sets himself, his staff and pupils very high standards. On the way to a conference at which he is to talk, all manner of disasters strike.


A Clockwork Orange
Stanley Kubrick
136 minutes

(#68)
Theatrical: 1971
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Genre: Thriller
Writer: Anthony Burgess, Stanley Kubrick
Date Added: 02 Feb 2008
A Clockwork Orange
Stanley Kubrick
136 minutes

(#68)

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Sound: Mono
Comments: Being the adventures of a young man ... who couldn't resist pretty girls ... or a bit of the old ultra-violence ... went to jail, was re-conditioned ... and came out a different young man ... or was he ?
Summary: In a futuristic Britain, a gang of teenagers go on the rampage every night, beating and raping helpless victims. After one of the boys quells an uprising in the gang, they knock him out and leave him for the police to find. He agrees to try "aversion therapy" to shorten his jail sentence. When he is eventually let out, he hates violence, but the rest of his gang members are still after him.


Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Steven Spielberg
137 minutes

(#69)
Theatrical: 1977
Studio: Columbia Pictures Corporation
Genre: Adventure
Writer: Hal Barwood, Jerry Belson, John Hill, Matthew Robbins, Steven Spielberg
Date Added: 02 Feb 2008
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Steven Spielberg
137 minutes

(#69)

Sound: Dolby
Comments: Close Encounter of the First Kind - Sighting of a UFO. Close Encounter of the Second Kind - Physical Evidence. Close Encounter of the Third Kind - Contact. WE ARE NOT ALONE
Summary: Roy Neary sets out to investigate a power outage when his truck stalls and he is bathed in light from above. After this, strange visions and five musical notes keep running through his mind. Will he find the meaning of the visions, and who - or what - placed them in his mind ?


The Commitments
Alan Parker
118 minutes

(#70)
Theatrical: 1991
Studio: Beacon Communications
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Roddy Doyle, Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais
Date Added: 02 Feb 2008
The Commitments
Alan Parker
118 minutes

(#70)

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 5.1; French, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Commentary by director Alan Parker, Unknown
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Comments: They Had Absolutely Nothing. But They Were Willing To Risk It All.
Summary: Jimmy Rabbitte, che vive di piccoli espedienti in un quartiere proletario di Dublino, si e' messo in testa di organizzare una band musicale per rinverdire i fasti del rythm&blues e del soul. Grazie ad un annuncio sul giornale, Rabbitte comincia a selezionare giovani dal lavoro precario ma pieni di talento: Dean, Fay, Outspan, l'occhialuto Steven , Clifford, Deco, il ciccione senza buone maniere ma con una grande voce, Billy il batterista e Joey "The lips", un bizzarro e maturo anziano suonatore di tromba che si vanta di aver suonato con famosi soul-singers. Aggrega anche Natalie, Imelda e Bernie, tre grintose ragazze, ottime coriste e molto sexy. Procuratisi a credito la strumentazione, cominciano le prove, massacranti, che impegnano tutti. Si inizia a suonare in pubblico, in capannoni e feste sociali: il gruppo sembra pervaso dal fuoco della musica e dell'ambizione. La band, pur se dilettantesca e provinciale, sembra lanciata verso il vertice e finisce invece nel fallimento: dissapori, piccole gelosie e contrasti umani ed artistici, sfaldano il gruppo. Il sogno di Jimmy evapora nel nulla e quel grande patrimonio di energia e bravura che poteva fruttare quattrini e successo siPL: disperde nel nulla.


The Company of Wolves
Neil Jordan
92 minutes

(#71)
Theatrical: 1984
Studio: Henstooth Video
Genre: Fantasy
Writer: Neil Jordan, Angela Carter
Date Added: 22 Dec 2007
The Company of Wolves
Neil Jordan
92 minutes

(#71)

Sound: Dolby
Comments: Within the forests are strangers lying in wait for innocents . . . who stray from the path! [Australia Theatrical]
Summary: A bag full of symbolic folklore about werewolves, or, rather, their sexual connotation. Granny tells her granddaughter Rosaleen strange, disturbing tales about innocent maidens falling in love with handsome, heavily eyebrowed strangers with a smoldering look in their eyes; about sudden disappearances of spouses when the moon is round & the wolves are howling in the woods; about babies found inside stork eggs, in a stork nest high up a tree; etc., etc. Of course the story of Little Red Ridinghood is also present, with a very handsome he-wolf! (And of course this he-wolf consumes Grandmother, but 'consumes' Little Red Ridinghood). All the stories are somehow reducible to loss of innocence, and fear of/hunger for (a newly acquired sense of) sexuality; their Freudian character is mirrored in their dreamlike shapes. This movie is not really a horror movie; it's more a multiple tale about growing up into adolescence.


The Constant Gardener
Fernando Meirelles
129 minutes

(#72)
Theatrical: 2005
Studio: Universal Pictures UK
Genre: Thriller
Writer: John le Carré, Jeffrey Caine
Date Added: 05 Jan 2008
The Constant Gardener
Fernando Meirelles
129 minutes

(#72)

Sound: DTS
Comments: Love. At any cost.
Summary: The Constant Gardener is the kind of thriller that hasn't been seen since the 1970s: Smart, politically complex, cinematically adventurous, genuinely thrilling and even heartbreaking. Mild diplomat Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes, The English Patient, Schindler's List) has a loose cannon of a wife named Tessa (Rachel Weisz, The Shape of Things, The Mummy), who's digging into the dirty doings of a major pharmaceutical company in Kenya. Her brutal murder forces Justin to continue her investigation down some deadly avenues.
This simple plot description doesn't capture the rich texture and slippery, sinuous movement of The Constant Gardener, superbly directed by Fernando Meirelles (Oscar-nominated for his first film, City of God). Shifting back and forth in time, the movie skillfully captures the engaging romance between Justin and Tessa (Fiennes shows considerably more chemistry with Weisz than he had with Jennifer Lopez in Maid in Manhattan) and builds a vivid, gripping, and all-too-justified paranoia. And on top of it all, the movie is beautiful, due to both its incredible shots of the African landscape (which at times is haunting and unearthly) and the gorgeous cinematography. Featuring an all-around excellent cast, including Bill Nighy (Love Actually), Pete Postlethwaite (In the Name of the Father), and Danny Huston (Silver City).--Bret Fetzer


Constantine
Francis Lawrence
121 minutes

(#73)
Theatrical: 2005
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Genre: Fantasy
Writer: Jamie Delano, Garth Ennis, Kevin Brodbin, Frank A. Cappello
Date Added: 02 Feb 2008
Constantine
Francis Lawrence
121 minutes

(#73)

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish, Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Comments: Hell wants him. Heaven won't take him. Earth needs him.
Summary: The story of irreverent supernatural detective John Constantine, who has literally been to Hell and back. When Constantine teams up with skeptical policewoman Angela Dodson to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister, their investigation takes them through the world of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles. Caught in a catastrophic series of otherworldly events, the two become inextricably involved and seek to find their own peace at whatever cost.


The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover
Peter Greenaway
119 minutes

(#74)
Theatrical: 1990
Studio: Universal Pictures UK
Genre: Fantasy
Writer: Peter Greenaway
Date Added: 22 Dec 2007
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover
Peter Greenaway
119 minutes

(#74)

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Comments: Lust...Murder...Dessert. Bon Appetit!
Summary: The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover is both adored and detested for its combination of sumptuous beauty and revolting decadence. Few directors polarise audiences in the same way as Peter Greenaway, a filmmaker as influenced by Jacobean revenge tragedy and 17th-century painting as by the French New Wave. A vile, gluttonous thief (Michael Gambon) spews hate and abuse at a restaurant run by a stoic French cook (Richard Bohringer), but under the thief's nose his wife (the ever-sensuous Helen Mirren) conducts an affair with a bookish lover (Alan Howard). Clothing (by avant-garde designer Jean-Paul Gaultier) changes colour as the characters move from room to room. Nudity, torture, rotting meat, and Tim Roth at his sleaziest all contribute the atmosphere of decay and excess. Not for everyone, but for some, essential. --Bret Fetzer


Corpse Bride
Tim Burton Mike Johnson
74 minutes

(#75)
Theatrical: 2005
Studio: Warner Home Video
Genre: Animation
Writer: Tim Burton, Carlos Grangel, John August, Caroline Thompson, Pamela Pettler
Date Added: 26 Dec 2007
Corpse Bride
Tim Burton Mike Johnson
74 minutes

(#75)

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 5.1 EX; English, Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish, Dolby Digital 5.1; French, Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Comments: Loving You Is Like Loving The Dead
Summary: Who else but Tim Burton could make Corpse Bride, a necrophiliac's delight that's fun for the whole family? Returning to the richly imaginative realm of stop-motion animation--after previous successes with The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, Burton, with codirector Mike Johnson, invites us to visit the dour, ashen, and drearily Victorian mansions of the living, where young Victor Van Dort, voiced by Johnny Depp, is bequeathed to wed the lovely Victoria.
But the wedding rehearsal goes sour and, in the kind of Goth-eerie forest that only exists in Burton-land, Victor suddenly finds himself accidentally married to the Corpse Bride, voiced by Helena Bonham Carter, a blue-tinted, half-skeletal beauty with a loquacious maggot installed behind one prone-to-popping eyeball.
This being a Burton creation, the underworld of the dead is a lively and colorful place indeed, and Danny Elfman's songs and score make it even livelier, presenting Victor with quite a dilemma: Should he return above-ground to Victoria, or remain devoted to his corpse bride? At a brisk 76 minutes, Burton's graveyard whimsy never wears out its welcome, and the voice casting is superbly matched the film's gloriously amusing character design, guaranteed to yield a wealth of gruesome toys and action figures for many Halloweens to come. --Jeff Shannon


Cronos
Guillermo del Toro
94 minutes

(#76)
Theatrical: 1993
Studio: CNCAIMC
Genre: Drama
Writer: Guillermo del Toro
Date Added: 03 Feb 2008
Cronos
Guillermo del Toro
94 minutes

(#76)

Sound: Dolby
Summary: In 1535, an alchemist builds an extraordinary mechanism encapsulated into a small golden device. The invention, designed to convey eternal life to its owner, survives its maker until 1997 when it shows up to an antiquarian. Fascinated with the strange device, Gris (Luppi) doesn't note that there's more than one person looking for it. The promise of eternal life has become an obsession to old and sick Mr. De la Guardia (Brook). He and his nephew (Perlman) will do anything to get the "Chronos Invention".


The Crying Game
Neil Jordan
107 minutes

(#77)
Theatrical: 1992
Studio: MGM Entertainment
Genre: Drama
Writer: Neil Jordan
Date Added: 26 Dec 2007
The Crying Game
Neil Jordan
107 minutes

(#77)

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Comments: Play At Your Own Risk.
Summary: An IRA film with a difference, Neil Jordan's The Crying Game takes the Anglo-Irish conflict as the starting point for a thoughtful, often poignant and sometimes humorous examination of gender and identity. Stephen Rea is the IRA volunteer who befriends a kidnapped British soldier (the gauche but likeable Forest Whitaker), then takes the questions of loyalty and instinct (the "frog and scorpion" fable) with him to London, where he falls for the dead man's girlfriend (the appealing Jaye Davidson). Love and terrorism are fused in a violent and suspenseful denouement, where truth manifests itself in an unexpected yet meaningful way.
Miranda Richardson and Adrian Dunbar are persuasive as the IRA agents, and there are excellent cameos from Jim Broadbent as an East End barman and Tony Slattery as a property shark, all making the most of Jordan's stylish, Academy Award-winning script. Anne (Art of Noise) Dudley contributes a moodily atmospheric score, with three versions of "When a Man Loves a Woman" to point up the gender issue.
On the DVD:The Crying Game comes to disc with a widescreen picture that reproduces adequately for an early 90s film. The soundtrack, though, has real presence. There are subtitles in English and Russian(!), though the theatrical trailer is hardly a major bonus. An interview or a commentary with Jordan, discussing the motivation behind the project, would really have benefited a film which cuts across genres so successfully as this. --Richard Whitehouse

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