The Keys to the House (DVD)
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The Keys to the House (DVD)
Taking to some difficult material with a sublimely delicate touch, Italian director Gianni Amelio offers a personal cinematic treatise on mental illness, physical disability, and child abandonment in THE KEYS TO THE HOUSE. Gianni (Kim Rossi Stuart) is a father who removed himself from the child rearing process when his mentally and physically challenged son, Paolo (Andrea Rossi), was born. Paolo's mother died giving birth, so a kindly couple picked up the reigns and raised him under trying circumstances. Fifteen years later, a guilt-stricken Gianni gets back in touch with his son, offering to accompany him on a trip to a hospital in Berlin. Paolo cautiously agrees to the trip with his father, but the reunion is awkward for both parties. The level of care Paolo requires is problematic for Gianni, while Paolo seizes the opportunity to unleash some pent up anger he's kept simmering beneath the surface for the previous 15 years. But a chance meeting at the hospital between Gianni and a fellow parent of a disabled child, Nicole (Charlotte Rampling), presents the beleaguered father with a lifeline. Offering helpful advice, Nicole's words provide Gianni with the glue needed to mend his fractious relationship with Paolo. But as Amelio's film reaches its conclusion, some surprising revelations threaten to undo all of Gianni's attempts at reconciliation.Presenting some well-considered musings on the difficult relationship between the disabled and their able-bodied counterparts, THE KEYS TO THE HOUSE triumphs by offering some rarely afforded screen time to an oft-neglected section of the community. Director Amelio treats his subject matter with the dignity and respect it deserves, always treading carefully so as not to condescend, and ultimately offering a cogent statement that lingers long in the mind after the final credits roll.
Drama
Mean Creek (DVD)
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Mean Creek (DVD)
Director Jacob Estes's feature film debut is a remarkably accomplished coming of age drama about death and consequences. When overweight, emotionally troubled George (Josh Peck) beats up a smaller kid named Sam (Rory Culkin) one time too many, his older brother Rocky (Trevor Morgan) and Rocky's wrong-side-of-the-tracks pal (Scott Mechlowicz) decide to teach George a lesson. Along with their friend Clyde (Ryan Kelley)--who was once the brunt of George's violence himself--they bring George on a boat trip with a cruel prank in mind. Sam brings his love interest, Milly (Carly Schroeder), who tries to stop the plan when she decides George is a nice guy after all. Tragic things happen nonetheless with the slow, languid rhythm of life in a small Oregon town. Along the way, Estes manages to capture many fine moments of poetic realism like the stillness of the forest around the river, the swirling eddies along the shore, a snail crawling along a leaf, and a drowning video camera. Cinematographer Sharone Meir uses color filters and washed-out film stock to make everything glow with faded colors like old family photographs. The dialogue feels natural and the acting is precise; Estes obviously loves his cast and allows plenty of time and space for their characters to breathe, think, and be the confused kids they're meant to be.DVD Features:Region 1Keep CaseWidescreen - 16.9Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround - English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround - FrenchAdditional Release Material: Audio Commentary - 1. Jacob Aaron Estes - Director, CastInteractive Features:
Scene AccessText/Image Galleries: Storyboards
Drama
Winter Solstice (DVD)
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Winter Solstice (DVD)
IN THEATRES: APRIL 8, 2005In this solemn family film about three men sharing a broken household, Jim (Anthony LaPaglia) stars as a father just trying to keep it all together. His sons Pete and Gabe (Mark Webber and Aaron Stanford) resent him, unable to escape the memory of their late mother. Change comes in the form of a sunny housesitter (Allison Janney) who romances Jim, making it okay for Gabe to set out on his own and for Pete to rely on his dad as he struggles with some deep-seated rebellion issues.This film screened in New York City's Tribeca Film Festival in 2004.
Drama
Sunshine (DVD)
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Sunshine (DVD)
Director Istvan Szabo's SUNSHINE is an epic tale that follows the Polish family the Sonnenscheins through five generations spanning more than 100 years, from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s, exploring the history, politics, world wars, social diaspora, and economic shifts that influence and change them during that period.Beginning with Emmanuel Sonnenschein, who builds a business around the family product (a Taste of Sunshine tonic), the film follows the lineage from his son Ignaz (Ralph Fiennes), a political conservative loyal to the Hungarian Republic, to Ignaz's son Adam (also played by Fiennes), an olympic fencer who is victimized by the Nazi genocide, to Adam's son Ivan (Fiennes again), a member of the Hungarian communist regime who manages to divorce himself from it and be free. Through these transitions, it is Valerie (played by both Jennifer Ehle and her real-life mother, Rosemary Harris), the cousin and wife of Ignaz, who becomes mother to Adam and grandmother to Ivan, supplying moral support, a family backbone, and photographs: a signature snapshot technique is used in the film to round out each major chapter or event. A beautiful film with easy transitions, dramatic scenery and costumes, and admirable performances, SUNSHINE's themes of family, history, and Hungarian pride resonate far beyond the big screen.DVD Features:Region 1Keep CaseAnamorphic Widescreen - 1.85Single Side - Dual LayerAudio: Dolby Digital 5.1 - English Dolby Digital 2.0 - EnglishAdditional Release Material: Trailers - 1.Original Theatrical Trailer
Drama
Conviction (DVD)
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Conviction (DVD)
Carl Upchurch (Omar Epps) grew up in a Philadelphia ghetto and spent most of his young adulthood landing in and out of jail. While in prison, a compassionate teacher helped the inmate turn his life around through education and religion, inspiring Upchurch to reach out and help other troubled youth. In the early 1990s he became a crusader for peace among inner-city gangs, organizing the first-ever national gang summit which resulted in remarkable truces between deadly rivals. This stirring, inspirational film is based on Upchurch's autobiography CONVICTED IN THE WOMB.DVD Features:Region 1Keep CaseFull Frame - 1.33Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0 - English
Drama
Hollywood Confidential (DVD)
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Hollywood Confidential (DVD)
After quitting the force, an LAPD detective funnels his know-how into a private detective business, dabbling in the hush-hush hijinks of the amoral Hollywood glitterati. Made for television.DVD Features:Region 1 EncodingKeep CaseInteractive MenusScene Selection
Drama
Two of Us (DVD)
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Two of Us (DVD)
In 1976, Paul McCartney reportedly paid a New York visit to his estranged friend and songwriting partner, John Lennon, in an attempt renew their friendship. This touching, fictionalized account of that meeting imagines what may have transpired between these two key musical figures. Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg (who directed the Beatles film LET IT BE), TWO OF US features strong performances by Aidan Quinn and Jared Harris as McCartney and Lennon, respectively.DVD Features:Region 1Keep CaseFull ScreenAudio: Dolby Digital Stereo - EnglishInteractive Features: Interactive Menus Scene Selection
Drama
The Parallax View (DVD)
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The Parallax View (DVD)
Of the three films that make up director Alan J. Pakula's paranoid trilogy (KLUTE, ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, and THE PARALLAX VIEW), the latter most strongly conveys paranoia. A stylish suspense-thriller, THE PARALLAX VIEW mirrors thepolitical distrust Americans began to feel during the period following the Kennedy assassination and the Vietnam War, culminating in the Watergate conspiracy. The film stars Warren Beatty as investigative journalist Joe Frady, whose former girlfriend and colleague Lee Carter (Paula Prentiss) witnesses the assassination of a US Senator at the Seattle Space Needle. A government report declares it the work of a lone gunman, but when eyewitnesses begin showing up dead, Carter is convinced that a wider conspiracy is at work. Probing deeper, Frady uncovers the operations of the Parallax Corporation, which recruits social misfits and uses mind control techniques to turn them into assassins. In keeping with classic 1970s film, the storyis a suspenseful, well-acted thriller with a surprise ending that will resound with the viewer long after the credits start rolling.DVD Features:Region 1Keep CaseAnamorphic WidescreenAudio: Dolby Digital Mono - English Dolby Digital Mono - FrenchAdditional Release Material: Trailers - 1. Original TheatricalInteractive Features: Interactive Menus Scene Selection
Drama
Damaged Care (DVD)
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Damaged Care (DVD)
Laura Dern stars as Linda Peeno in this true story of one woman's war against the negligence of medical insurance companies. Peeno, a doctor, finds herself monitoring the work of her fellow healthcare professionals, who have been told by their superiors to cut corners in their treatment of patients. As this begins to take its toll on her, she finds that she can no longer sit back as patients are given insufficient care.DVD Features:Region 1Keep CaseFull ScreenAudio: Dolby Digital Stereo - EnglishInteractive Features: Interactive Menus Scene Selection
Drama
Triumph of Love (DVD)
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Triumph of Love (DVD)
Mira Sorvino plays a cross-dressing princess who falls madly in love with a young, inexperienced scholar in this adaptation of the 18th Century Marivaux play. His rationalist philosopher guardian Hemocrates (Ben Kingsley) has raised handsome Agis (Jay Rodan) to hate women, so the princess disguises herself as a man and crashes their secluded villa. What follows is an all out assault of seduction, as she finds herself wooing both Hemocrates and his spinster sister Leontine (Fiona Shaw) in effort to pursue her true quarry Agis, who is also the true heir to her throne.Sorvino is wonderful in the lead, changing genders and suitors with the agility of a classic screwball heroine while still conveying sensitivity and warmth. Shaw and Kingsley shine as the stodgy siblings who find their lives upheaved by her fervent wooing. Unusual touches, like fourth wall glimpses of an audience, jump cut editing, and electric guitar (courtesy of Pink Floyd's David Gilmour), ensure the material transcends its art house-period piece roots. Director Clare Peploe adapted the script with her husband, Bernardo Bertolucci (LAST TANGO IN PARIS, STEALING BEAUTY), who also produced. It was filmed in Tuscany.DVD Features:Region 1Keep CaseWidescreenAudio: Dolby Digital 5.1 - English Dolby Digital 2.0 - EnglishInteractive Features: Interactive Menus Scene Selection
Drama
Focus (DVD)
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Focus (DVD)
Set during World War II, FOCUS is based on Arthur Miller's first published novel. It is the story of Lawrence Newman (William H. Macy), a man who has settled into a relatively anonymous life. He lives with his mother, has held the same job for twenty years, and rarely strays from his daily routine. He even witnesses a woman being attacked outside his window and remains silent, despite a criminal investigation. His life changes significantly, though, when he gets a new pair of glasses that make him look Jewish. He suddenly loses his job and realizes he is under heavy scrutiny from his Brooklyn neighbors. His search for new employment leads him to Gertrude (Laura Dern), a woman whose Jewish features kept him from hiring her at his previous firm. They fall madly in love, despite the contrast in their personalities: Gertrude is outspoken while Lawrence is more shadowy. Her physical features cause even more conflict with his neighbors and soon Lawrence must choose between standing up to them or finding a way to fit in, while grappling with his own bigotry and fears. Photographer and first-time director Neal Slavin makes expert use of color to give the film great visual depth. This moving, subtle work is enhanced by an outstanding ensemble cast, including David Paymer and Meat Loaf Aday.DVD Features:Region 1Keep CaseAnamorphic WidescreenAudio: Dolby Digital 5.1 - English Dolby Surround - EnglishAdditional Release Material: FeaturetteInteractive Features: Scene Access Interactive Menus
Drama
The Hunter (DVD)
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The Hunter (DVD)
Steve McQueen's last movie is a fitting tribute to his memorable talent. He portrays real-life bounty hunter Ralph Papa Thorson, who made a long career out of apprehending more than 5,000 criminals and bail jumpers. Thorson's tough antics (featuring a few memorable car chases) are tempered by his touching relationship with his pregnant wife Dotty (Kathryn Harrold).DVD Features:Region 1 EncodingKeep CaseWidescreen AnamorphicAudio: Dolby Digital Mono - EnglishAdditional Release Material: Trailer - 1. Original TheatricalInteractive Features: Interactive Menus Scene Selection
Drama