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Orson Welles directed and stars in THE STRANGER, a tense black-and-white thriller that Welles made for maverick producer Sam Spiegel. Welles portrays Charles Rankin, a respected academic at a prominent Connecticut college. He seems to have the perfect life: a beautiful new wife, Mary (Loretta Young); and a charming home in a small town that holds him in high esteem. Enter Mr. Wilson (Edward G. Robinson), a detective on the hunt for Nazi war criminal Franz Kindler. The appearance of Mr. Wilson threatens to reveal that underneath this idyllic veneer is a secret that could tear everything apart.Although many of Welles`s most interesting scenes wound up on the cutting-room floor when producer Sam Speagle reedited the film, THE STRANGER is still a multilayered, complex, and fascinating film. The scenes between Welles and Robinson are intellectually gripping, leading up to the stylized, shocking conclusion. As with so many of Welles`s films, he was unhappy with the final result, but the viewer won`t be. It would be most interesting to see the film as Welles intended it to be, but in the meantime, this version of THE STRANGER is a marvel of wonder.
Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005.
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A burglar becomes a cold-blooded cop killer and is hunted down on the streets of Los Angeles. The men in blue manage to track their suspect down into the bowels of the city--the labyrinth sewer system. Noir veteran Anthony Mann, though uncredited, co-directed the film. Well-done and supposedly an inspiration for Jack Webb's Dragnet TV series.DVD Features:Region 0Keep CaseFull Frame - 1.33
Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005.
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Covers the period from 1960 to 1974; Produced and released in 1995.Using a nonchronological narrative style a la CITIZEN KANE (from which he quotes), director Oliver Stone explores former president Richard Nixon's strict Quaker upbringing, his nascent political strivings in law school, and his strangely self-effacing courtship of his wife, Pat (played by Joan Allen). The contradictions in his character are revealed early, in the vicious campaign against Helen Gahagan Douglas and the oddly masochistic Checkers speech. His defeat at the hands of the hated and envied John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election, followed by the loss of the 1962 California gubernatorial race, seem to signal the end of his career. Yet, although wholly lacking in charisma, Nixon remains a brilliant political operator,seizing the opportunity provided by the backlash against the antiwar movementto take the presidency in 1968. It is only when safely in office, running far ahead in the polls for the 1972 presidential election, that his growing paranoia comes to full flower, triggering the Watergate scandal.Surprisingly, Stone evinces considerable compassion as he gives us a Nixon of tragic stature and nearly Shakespearean dimension in this powerfully moving film. The star-studded cast, including Ed Harris and James Woods, complements Hopkins's extraordinary performance.DVD Features:Region 1 EncodingKeep CaseInteractive Menus
Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005.
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James Onedin is a poor shopkeeper who decides to start his own shipping line, despite the fact that his own sister already owns one with her husband. Eventually Onedin becomes one of England's top shippers, and his desire for wealth and power only increase. This popular drama appeared on the BBC in the 1970s and was filmed around the world with genuine tall ships. This is the second set in the series.DVD Features:Region 0Keep CaseFull Frame - 1.33
Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005.
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In 1964, when three civil-rights workers, two white and one black, mysteriously disappear while driving through Mississippi, two FBI agents, Ward (Willem Dafoe) and Anderson (Gene Hackman), are sent in to investigate. While Ward is young and by the book, Anderson is a seasoned southerner comfortable with the Byzantine (and, to Ward, morally ambiguous) ways of his region. Together they sift through a variety of leads and come up empty-handed--until the town sheriff's wife (Frances McDormand) steps forward and reveals some surprising information. In order to solve the case, the two contrasting agents must not only overcome the hostility of the local authorities and the black community but contend with their own differences as well.A fictionalized account of one of the landmarks in the civil-rights movement, MISSISSIPPI BURNING is a swift and powerful film. Director Alan Parker, continuing his investigation of human cruelty (begun explosively in his harrowing 1978 film MIDNIGHT EXPRESS), crafts a historically poignant film that fingers the monstrosities of a virulent strain of racial intolerance in America. Dafoe and Hackman are convincing as they investigate the disappearance of the civil-rights workers and unravel the grisly web of obfuscation around a scandalous, cancerous truth very near the heart of a nation.DVD Features:Region 0Snap CaseLetterboxed - 1.85Single Side - Single LayerAudio: Dolby Surround - EnglishAdditional Release Material: Audio Commentary - 1. Alan Parker - Director Trailers - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer
Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005.
For personal use only.
All rights reserved.