ClassicsFor sheer pageantry and spectacle, few motion pictures can claim to equal the splendor of Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 remake of his epic “The Ten Commandments”. Filmed in Egypt and the Sinai with one of the biggest sets ever constructed for a motion picture, this version tells the story of the life of Moses (Charlton Heston), once favoured in the Pharaoh’s (Yul Brynner) household, who turned his back on a privileged life to lead his people to freedom. With a rare on-screen introduction by Cecil B. DeMille himself.
ClassicsA cornerstone of the horror film, F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu: A Symphiny of Horror is resurrected in an HD edition mastered from the acclaimed 35mm restoration by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung. Backed by an orchestral performance of Hans Erdmann’s 1922 score, this edition offers unprecedented visual clarity and historical faithfulness to the original release version. An unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Nosferatu remains to many viewers the most unsettling vampire film ever made, and its bald, spidery vampire, personified by the diabolical Max Schreck, continues to spawn imitations in the realm of contemporary cinema.
ClassicsSteven Spielberg directs this riotous farce depicting the hysteria of a cross section of Los Angeles citizens following the bombing of Pear Harbor. The film is loosely based on a true event in which a Japanese submarine surfaced off the California coast, setting off a brief wave of panic.
ClassicsA battle of gigantic proportions is looming in the neon underground of New York City. The armies of the night number 100,000; they outnumber the police 5 to 1; and tonight they're after the Warriors—a street gang blamed unfairly for a rival gang leader's death. This contemporary action-adventure story takes place at night, underground, in the sub-culture of gang warfare that rages from Coney Island to Manhattan to the Bronx. Members of the Warriors fight for their lives, seek to survive in the urban jungle and learn the meaning of loyalty. This intense and stylized film is a dazzling achievement for cinematographer Andrew Laszlo.
ClassicsAbsolute power corrupts in 'Caligula: The Ultimate Cut', an extensive reconstruction of the notorious 1980 spectacle. Shadowed by the murder of his family, Caligula (Malcolm McDowell) eliminates his devious adoptive grandfather (Peter O’Toole) and seizes control of the Roman Empire alongside his wife Caesonia (Helen Mirren) before descending into a spiral of depravity, destruction, and madness.
ClassicsJo Stockton can only get to Paris to meet with the beatnik founder of "empathicalism" (a idea that implores you to "put yourself into others shoes" in order to 'empathize' with them) if she agrees to model a line of ultra-chic fashions for photographer Dick Avery. Paris provides the backdrop for this blend of Gershwin music and Givenchy fashion.
ClassicsIn Sydney Pollack's critically acclaimed suspense-thriller, Robert Redford (SPY GAME) stars as CIA Agent Joe Turner. Code name: Condor. When his entire office is massacred, Turner goes on the run from his enemies…and his so-called allies. After reporting the murders to his superiors, the organization wants to bring Condor in – but somebody is trying to take him out. In his frantic hunt for answers, and in a desperate run for his life, Turner abducts photographer Kathy Hale) Faye Dunaway, THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR), eventually seducing her into helping him. Every twist leads Condor to the end of his nerves…and will take you to the edge of your seat. With nowhere to turn and no one to trust, Turner realizes his most dangerous enemy may be closer than he ever feared. And as he zeroes in on the truth, he discovers there are some secrets people would kill to keep.
ClassicsIn an acclaimed, Oscar nominated performance, Rod Steiger portrays Sol, the embittered survivor of a Nazi death camp, now a Harlem pawnbroker. He harshly condemns his clientele as the dregs of society, and ridicules his idealistic assistant, Ortiz. But when Ortiz risks his life for Sol, he finally learns a lesson about hope and humanity. Directed by Sidney Lumet (Serpico, Murder on the Orient Express), and featuring a music score by Quincy Jones.
ClassicsHud Bannon (Newman) is a young Texas rancher who lives with his cattleman father Homer (Melvyn Douglas) and his hero-worshipping nephew Lon (Brandon DeWilde). Hud is an amoral, cold-hearted creature; his father, who holds Hud responsible for the death of his other son, tries to imbue Lon with a sense of decency and responsibility to others, but Lon is devoted to Hud and isn't inclined to listen. When hoof-and-mouth disease shows up in one of the elder Bannon's cows, Hud is all for selling the herd before the government inspectors find out. But Homer orders the cattle destroyed (the film's most harrowing sequence), driving an even deeper wedge between himself and Hud. Finally, Hud steps over the line by attempting to rape Alma (Patricia Neal), the earthy but warm-hearted housekeeper. Paul Newman was so repellantly brilliant as an unregenerate heel that his Oscar nomination for Hud was a foregone conclusion. Although Newman lost the Oscar to Sidney Poitier in Lilies of the Field, Oscars
ClassicsCary Grant plays John Robie, reformed jewel thief who was once known as The Cat, in this suspenseful Alfred Hitchcock classic thriller. Robie is suspected of a new rash of gem thefts in the luxury hotels of the French Riviera, and he must set out to clear himself. Meeting pampered heiress Frances (Grace Kelly), he sees a chance to bait the mysterious thief with her mother's (Jessie Royce Landis) fabulous jewels. His plan backfires, however, but Frances, who believes him guilty, proves her love by helping him escape. In a spine-tingling climax, the real criminal is exposed.
ClassicsGloria Swanson, as Norma Desmond, an aging silent-film queen, and William Holden, as the struggling young screenwriter who is held in thrall by her madness, created two of the screen's most memorable characters in "Sunset Boulevard." Winner of three Academy Awards®, director Billy Wilder's powerful orchestration of the bizarre tale is a true cinematic classic. From the unforgettable opening sequence -- a body found floating in a decayed mansion's swimming pool -- through the inevitable unfolding of tragic destiny, "Sunset Boulevard" is the definitive statement on the dark and desperate side of Hollywood. Erich von Stroheim as Desmond's discoverer, ex-husband and butler, and Nancy Olson as the bright spot amidst unrelenting ominousness, are equally celebrated for their masterful performances.
ClassicsMartin Scorsese Presents Republic Rediscovered—over 20 rarely seen films from the storied Republic Pictures library, restored and remastered by Paramount and personally curated by Martin Scorsese. The Quiet Man is an essential, Oscar winning John Ford film featuring John Wayne as a retired boxer who makes a pilgrimage to his home village in Ireland. He meets his match in a spirited young woman, only to find himself confronted by her belligerent brother and the town’s strict customs. In 2002, the film made AFI’s list of one hundred greatest love stories.
ClassicsThe year is 1936. Orphaned Addie Loggins (Tatum O'Neal, in her film debut) is left in the care of unethical traveling Bible salesman Moses Pray (Ryan O'Neal, Tatum's dad), who may or may not be her father. En route to Addie's relatives, Moses learns that the 9-year-old is quite a handful: she smokes, cusses, and is almost as devious and manipulative as he is. They join forces as swindlers, working together so well that Addie is averse to breaking up the team — which is one reason that she sabotages the romance between Moses and good-time gal Trixie Delight (Madeline Kahn). Later, while attempting to square a $200 debt that Addie claims he owes her, Moses runs afoul of of a bootlegger (John Hillerman) and is nearly beaten to death by the criminal's twin-brother sheriff. Painfully pulling himself together, Moses gets Addie to her relatives, whereupon she adamantly refuses to leave his side. Photographed in black-and-white by Laszlo Kovacs, the film was made largely on location in Kansa
ClassicsIn 1970, John Wayne earned an Academy Award for his larger-than-life performance as the drunken, uncouth and totally fearless one-eyed U.S. Marshall, Rooster Cogburn. The cantankerous Rooster is hired by a headstrong young girl (Kim Darby) to find the man who murdered her father and fled with the family savings. When Cogburn's employer insists on accompanying the old gunfighter, sparks fly. And the situation goes from troubled to disastrous when the inexperienced Texas Ranger (Glen Campbell) joins the party. Laughter and tears punctuate the wild action in this extraordinary Western which features performances by Robert Duvall and Strother Martin.
ClassicsFrank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh and Angela Lansbury star in this political suspense classic about the drug-hypnosis-induced behavior that transforms a U.S. Army hero into a human time bomb.
ClassicsSet in a richly exaggerated 17th-century England, Peter Greenaway’s sumptuous and sensuously charged brainteaser catapulted him to the forefront of international art cinema. Adorned with intricate wordplay, extravagant costumes and opulent photography, Greenaway’s first narrative feature weaves a labyrinthine mystery around the maxim “draw what you see, not what you know.” An aristocratic wife (Janet Suzman) commissions a young, cocksure draughtsman (Anthony Higgins) to sketch her husband’s property while he is away—in exchange for a fee, room and board, and one sexual favor for each of the twelve drawings. As the draughtsman becomes more entrenched in the devious schemings in this seemingly idyllic country home, curious details emerge in his drawings that may reveal a murder. Bolstered by a majestic score by then-newcomer Michael Nyman and stunning cinematography by Curtis Clark that suggests Greenaway has the elements at his beck and call, 'The Draughtsman’s Contract' i
ClassicsBeginning before the Nativity and extending though the Crucifixion and Resurrection, "Jesus of Nazareth" brings to life all the majesty and sweeping drama of the life of Jesus (portrayed here by Robert Powell) as told in the Gospels. A star-studded cast featuring Michael York, Sir Laurence Olivier, James Earl Jones, Anne Bancroft, Olivia Hussey, Rod Steiger and Anthony Quinn, adds depth and humanity to the roles of the saints, sinners and ordinary people who walked in the footsteps of the Lord. The film provides the setting and background for the birth, childhood, baptism, teaching, and many miracles of the Messiah, culminating in the Divine Resurrection. Directed by Oscar(R) nominee Franco Zeffirelli ("Romeo&Juliet", "The Champ", "Jane Eyre", "Endless Love") and acclaimed by critics and religious leaders worldwide, "Jesus of Nazareth" tells the greatest of all stories with tremendous emotion and splendor.
ClassicsJohn Ford won the Best Director Oscar® and Jane Darwell won for Best Actress in this masterful film adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel that was nominated for seven Academy Awards® in all, including Best Picture. Henry Fonda stars as Tom Joad, the father of a migrant family of farmers who leave the Oklahoma dust bowl for the promised land of California, only to face new and daunting challenges.
ClassicsThe U.S.S. Sea Tiger is on it's last legs until the submarine captain and his ingenious (if slightly unethical) supply officer scavenge the parts and supplies needed to get their dry-dock sub back into WWII action. However, a bevy of beautiful nurses comes aboard, causing hijinks in the hot pink sub. The inimitable pairing of Grant and Curtis, as the irascible captain and his sleazy subordinate, make the film a true classic.
ClassicsA riveting psychological thriller that investigates the nature of truth and the meaning of justice, Rashomon is widely considered one of the greatest films ever made. Four people give different accounts of a man’s murder and the rape of his wife, which director Akira Kurosawa presents with striking imagery and an ingenious use of flashbacks. This eloquent masterwork and international sensation revolutionized film language and introduced Japanese cinema—and a commanding new star by the name of Toshiro Mifune—to the Western world.
ClassicsCary Grant stars in one of his funniest roles as a boozy beachcomber sitting out WWII in peace - until the Allies recruit him to be a lookout on the South Pacific isle. During an enemy attack, he answers a distress call and discovers a beautiful French schoolmarm (Leslie Caron) and her seven girl students. And so begins a hilarious battle of the sexes between a messy American, a prim Mademoiselle, and seven mischievous little girls. Who will win is anybody's guess, but you can be sure that Father Goose delivers plenty of romantic fun and adventure along the way.
ClassicsIn his directorial debut, Peter Bogdanovich weaves two disparate story lines into a terrifying moment of confrontation. In seemingly unrelated events, aging horror film star Orlok (Boris Karloff) announces his retirement, and an apparently average young man (Tim Kelly) accumulates an arsenal of rifles and handguns. As the pace quickens, Kelly turns into a murderous sniper, showing up at a drive-in theater where Orlok is making his final personal appearance.
ClassicsIn 1920, one brilliant movie jolted the postwar masses and catapulted the movement known as German Expressionism into film history. That movie was The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, a plunge into the mind of insanity that severs all ties with the rational world. Director Robert Wiene and a visionary team of designers crafted a nightmare realm in which light, shadow and substance are abstracted, a world in which a demented doctor and a carnival sleepwalker perpetrate a series of ghastly murders in a small community. This authoritative edition of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a 4K restoration scanned from the (mostly) preserved camera negative at the German Federal Film Archive.
ClassicsSomething evil has taken possession of the small town of Santa Mira, California. Hysterical people accuse their loved ones of being emotionless impostors; of not being themselves. At first, Dr. Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) tries to convince them they're wrong…but they’re not. Plant-like extraterrestrials have invaded Earth, replicating the villagers in giant seed "pods" and taking possession of their souls while they sleep. Soon the entire town is overwhelmed by the inhuman horror, but it won't stop there. In a terrifying race for his life, Dr. Bennell escapes to warn the world of the deadly invasion of the pod people! Remade in both 1978 and 1997, this chilling combination of extraterrestrial terror and anti-conformity paranoia is considered one of the great cult classics of the genre.
ClassicsIn the first of a trilogy of movies about Elisabeth "Sissi" of Austria, the young vibrant princess catches the eye of her sister's fiancé, Emperor Franz Josef.
ClassicsFrank Sinatra plays the free-swinging playboy Alan Baker, who introduces his hero-worshipping younger brother Buddy (Tony Bill) to the delights of high living in this adaption of Neil Simon's Broadway comedy about a Jewish family in New York City.
ClassicsYongho (Sul Kyung-gu) stares down an oncoming train as twenty years of his life flash before his eyes. Proceeding to move backward in time, Lee’ Chang-dong's acclaimed second directorial feature rewinds the protagonist's loss of humanity - from his fraught, self-hating middle age through his callow teens. The moments in between these events, as seen through the lens of Yongho’s oppressive struggles, mirror South Korea’s traumatic political history during the late 20th century. An official selection of the Directors' Fortnight selection in Cannes and winner of the Special Prize of the Jury at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Peppermint Candy "is a powerful work of Korean New Wave cinema that elegizes a generation of marginalized people with “quiet, heartbreaking power” (The New York Times).
ClassicsBased on the life of Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser whom almost single-handily cleaned up his small town of crime and corruption, but at a personal cost of his family life and nearly his own life.
ClassicsSet against the stifling conformity of pre-World War I English society, E.M. Forster’s Maurice is a story of coming to terms with one’s sexuality and identity in the face of disapproval and misunderstanding.
ClassicsIn 1944, with Paris on the verge of Liberation by the allies, Adolph Hitler ordered that the City of Light be blown up and burned to the ground. General Dietrich Von Choltitz, after much rumination, decided that he didn't want to go down in history as the man who destroyed Paris. His refusal to follow Hitler's orders would make him a pariah in Germany for the rest of his life; nor was his gesture ever rewarded by the Allies. From this very human story in the midst of one of the most inhuman conflicts in history grew the screenplay (by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola) of the all-star, internationally produced Is Paris Burning? Whereas the earlier The Longest Day was able to support a castful of celebrities and brief subplot vignettes, Is Paris Burning? seems more weighted down than weighty. Still, a modern audience will have fun playing "spot the star" throughout the film, especially when those spotted stars include the likes of Gert Frobe (as Choltitz), Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain De
ClassicsThis is the program that started it all, and became the top VHS tape of all time. This program will give you total body aerobic, strength, and flexibility workout, while building and maintaining cardiovascular health. Includes both the Beginner's and Advanced Workouts, as seen on the original VHS tape and RCA Videodisc.
ClassicsElvis Presley stars as Mike Windgren, a former trapeze artist who's suffered from vertigo ever since accidentally dropping his partner during a performance. Working as a lifeguard/entertainer at an Acapulco resort, Mike falls in love with social director Margarita Dauphine (Ursula Andress). With her help, he overcomes his fear of heights in a spectacular high-dive finale. Presley songs featured include "Vino, Dinero y Amor," "Marguerita," "Bossa Nova Baby" and the title tune.
ClassicsHatari! is Swahili for "danger"—and also the word for action, adventure and broad comedy in this two-fisted Howard Hawks effort. John Wayne stars as the head of a daring Tanganyka-based group which captures wild animals on behalf of the world's zoos. Hardy Kruger, Gérard Blain and Red Buttons are members of Wayne's men-only contingent, all of whom are reduced to jello when the curvaceous Elsa Martinelli enters the scene. In tried and true Howard Hawks fashion, Martinelli quickly becomes "one of the guys," though Wayne apparently can't say two words to her without sparking an argument. The second half of this amazingly long film concerns the care and maintenance of a baby elephant; the barely credible finale is devoted to a comic pachyderm stampede down an urban African street, ending literally at the foot of Martinelli's bed. The other scene worth mentioning involves comedy-relief Red Buttons' efforts to create a fireworks-powered animal trap. Not to be taken seriously for a minute,
ClassicsWhen a star comedian dies, his comedy team, decides to train a nobody to fill the shoes of the Star in a big TV show (a Patsy). But the man they choose, bellboy Stanley Belt, can't do anything right. The big TV show is getting closer, and Stanley gets worse all the time.
ClassicsThe second in a trilogy of movies about Elisabeth "Sissi" of Austria, the film chronicles the married life of the young empress as she tries to adjust to formal and strict life in the palace and an overbearing mother-in-law.
ClassicsIn the tradition of grand animated classics, Disney's 11th animated masterpiece, THE ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD AND MR. TOAD, presents two unforgettable children's classics. Through award-winning (Golden Globe, Best Cinematography, 1950) Disney animation wizardry, THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS and THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW come together in one fabulous adventure -- in its original theatrical format. Hang on for a wild motorcar ride with J. Thaddeus Toad as he drives his friends Mole, Rat and Angus MacBadger into a worried frenzy! Then meet the spindly Ichabod Crane, who dreams of sweeping beautiful Katrina Van Tassel off her feet, despite opposition from town bully Brom Bones, who also has his eye on Katrina. The comic rivalry introduces Ichabod to the legend of the Headless Horseman, resulting in a heart-thumping climax! Wonderfully narrated by Basil Rathbone and Bing Crosby, THE ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD AND MR. TOAD brims with high-spirited adventure, brilliant animation and captivating music yo
ClassicsCelebrate the 50th anniversary of the intergalactic cult classic starring Jane Fonda! Barbarella is an interstellar space-traveler who crash lands on the planet Lythion in the year 40,000. Encountering trouble everywhere she goes, Barbarella uses every asset and every man at her disposal, to complete her mission to seek out and stop the evil Durand Durand. Whether she is wrestling with Black Guards, the evil Queen, or the angel Pygar (John Phillip Law) she just can't seem to avoid losing at least a part of her skin-tight space suit!
ClassicsEd Wood's cult classic has been hailed as the worst film of all time, but it's one of the most hilariously entertaining movies you'll ever see. Aliens from outer space reanimate the Earth's dead in an attempt to save the human race. With string-powered flying saucers, laughable dialogue, shrewd alien logic and “priceless” special effects, they can't go wrong. Or can they? (Hint: They do.) Plan 9 is a movie so beautifully bad, it's great. Now you can watch it in color for the first time!
ClassicsBased on the acclaimed first novel by Richard Price (The Night Of), Philip Kaufman's The Wanderers follows the exploits of the eponymous Italian-American gang in the Bronx in 1963, just before the country underwent profound change. Part comedy and part drama, the film is an evocative and thrilling look back at a more innocent time. The cult classic features a jukebox full of golden oldies and a young cast of up and comers including Ken Wahl (Wiseguy), Karen Allen (Raiders of the Lost Ark), and Linda Manz (Days of Heaven)! Cinematography by Michael Chapman (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull). Co-starring John Friedrich, Toni Kalem, Alan Rosenberg, Jim Youngs, Tony Ganios, Dolph Sweet, Michael Wright, Val Avery, Olympia Dukakis and Erland van Lidth de Jeude. New 2K restoration!
ClassicsAlmost 19-year-old Marius feels himself in a rut in Marseille, his life planned for him by his cafe'-owning father, and he longs for the sea. The night before he is to leave on a 5-year voyage, Fanny, a girl he grew up with, reveals that she is in love with him, and he discovers that he is in love with her. He must choose between an exciting life at sea, and a boring life with the woman he loves. And Fanny must choose between keeping the man she loves, and letting him live the life he seems to want.
ClassicsAlain Delon was at his most impossibly beautiful when Purple Noon (Plein soleil) was released and made him an instant star. This ripe, colorful adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s vicious novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, directed by the versatile René Clément, stars Delon as Tom Ripley, a duplicitous American charmer in Rome on a mission to bring his privileged, devil-may-care acquaintance Philippe Greenleaf (Maurice Ronet) back to the United States; what initially seems to be a carefree tale of friendship soon morphs into a thrilling saga of seduction, identity theft, and murder. Featuring gorgeous on-location photography in coastal Italy, Purple Noon is crafted with a light touch that allows it to be suspenseful and erotic at once, while giving Delon the role of a lifetime.
ClassicsNew York City, 1980s. A struggling, deadbeat musician named Julius has fallen on hard times. With no guitar, band or paying gigs, he cooks up a get-rich-quick scheme – to find the legendary, yet elusive guitar-maker Elmore Silk. Considered one of the greatest luthiers in the business, Silk’s disappearance from the scene has only made his work more coveted by musicians and executives looking to make a buck off his name. Julius agrees to track the man down and sets out on the road. Meant to be a simple journey upstate, Julius stumbles down a long, winding road full of dead-ends and wrong turns towards an eventual revelatory conclusion in the Canadian wilderness. One of the great cult classics of the 1980s and starring character actors Kevin J O’Conner and Harris Yulin, the supporting cast features real-life music legends Tom Waits, Leon Redbone, Joe Strummer, Dr. John, David Johansen and more. “A wry, laid-back Heart of Darkness" (Chicago Reader), Candy Mountain combines the keen
ClassicsShot in New York City in late 1980 and early ’81, the ambling, freewheeling Downtown 81 follows Jean through the city’s still-untamed streets, incidentally picking up the incredible diversity of cultural activity then happening in NYC, from Jean’s street art to early hip-hop to the variety of musicians participating in the so-called “No Wave” avant-garde music scene. As Jean passes through a string of legendary New York venues—the Rock Lounge, the Peppermint Lounge, and the Mudd Club—we observe live performances by the likes of Kid Creole and the Coconuts and James White and the Blacks. Down and out, his band’s equipment stolen, Jean prepares to bed down for the night in an alleyway before encountering a fairy princess (Debbie Harry) who changes his fortunes, and sends him off to a prosperous future.
ClassicsAfter decades in prison, stagecoach robber Bill Miner (Richard Farnsworth, The Straight Story, Tom Horn) emerges in 1901 a free man without a place in 20th-century society. Times have changed, but in the face of all these changes, neither his good-humored patience nor his joy of life has abandoned him. With the vigor of a teenager, Miner sees a screening of one of the first films, The Great Train Robbery, and is inspired to once again do what he does best. Filmed with the beautiful Pacific Northwest as a backdrop, The Grey Fox is a rare and touching yarn exploring and unravelling a greatly likeable and unlikely hero. Beautifully shot by Frank Tidy (The Duellists) and wonderfully directed by Phillip Borsos (The Mean Season), The Grey Fox is a richly satisfying film experience considered by most as one of the greatest Canadian films of all time.
ClassicsThe second and final collaboration of actress Louise Brooks and director G.W. Pabst (Pandora’s Box), DIARY OF A LOST GIRL is a provocative adaptation of Margarethe Böhme’s notorious novel, in which the naive daughter of a middle class pharmacist is seduced by her father’s assistant, only to be disowned and sent to a repressive home for wayward girls. She escapes, searches for her child, and ends-up in a high-class brothel, only to turn the tables on the society which had abused her. It’s another tour-de-force performance by Brooks, whom silent film historian Kevin Brownlow calls an “actress of brilliance, a luminescent personality and a beauty unparalleled in screen history.
ClassicsThe lives and routines of the puritanical Wentworth family are upended by the not-so-welcome arrival of their European cousins to New England one particularly golden autumn. Lee Remnick shines as the snooty and calculating Eugenia, a Baroness whose marriage to a German prince is on the fritz—meanwhile her dapper brother Felix has his eye on one of the Wentworth daughters. Exploring the social and moral clashes between The New World and the Continent, the first of Merchant Ivory’s Henry James triptych features a witty screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, while the BAFTA-nominated production design and Oscar-nominated costumes solidified the lavish (and impeccably researched) period trappings Merchant Ivory became famous for. Cohen Film Collection is proud to present a new restoration of this classic adaptation.
ClassicsHumphrey Bogart plays one of his rare comedy roles in this jaunty excursion about three convicts - Joseph (Bogart), Albert (Aldo Ray) and Jules (Peter Ustinov) - who are plotting their escape from Devil's Island. Fate intervenes when they hide out with kindly, but inept Felix (Leo G. Carroll) and his family. Felix manages a store for his arrogant cousin Andre (Basil Rathbone), who makes the fatal mistake of stealing Albert's pet, a poisonous snake. After resolving Felix's problems, the convicts return to prison, convinced that the world is much too wicked. Based on the play by Albert Husson.
ClassicsAviation and sports come together in Strategic Air Command.This 1955 American film is starring James Stewart and June Allyson, and is directed by Anthony Mann. Robert "Dutch" Holland (James Stewart) is a professional baseball player with the St. Louis Cardinals. As a former B-29 bomber pilot during World War II, he is also an officer on inactive status in the United States Air Force Reserve. During spring training in St. Petersburg, Florida, he is recalled to active duty for 21 months.
ClassicsStanley’s a bellboy at the popular Fountainbleau Hotel in Miami Beach, quietly performing his duties with the occasional blunder. Then one day, a big star of the screen resembling the bumbling bellboy, arrives at the hotel. In this comedy classic (the directorial debut of Jerry Lewis) not a single word of dialogue is spoken by the main character until the very end of the film, paying a brilliant tribute to the silent clowns of early cinema.
ClassicsUnder the spell of a wandering charlatan named Starbuck, a lonely ranch girl blossoms into full womanhood. Katharine Hepburn garnered an Oscar nomination as the "believably plain yet magnetically beautiful" tomboy rancher, with Burt Lancaster brilliantly cast in the role of the smooth-talking con man who sells his rainmaking "powers" to unsuspecting, drought-ridden Western towns. Playwright N. Richard Nash meticulously enlarges his hit Broadway play to the big screen without losing any of the earthy, gut-wrenching emotions or the sheer, hilarious fun. The result is a genuinely appealing and beautifully executed romance. A must-see for Hepburn fans!
ClassicsOne man claimed the land. Two men claimed the woman who lived there. Elizabeth Taylor, Peter Finch, and Dana Andrews star in this action-packed drama set in Ceylon. Taylor plays a newlywed who accompanies Finch to his sprawling tea plantation called Elephant Walk...and falls for overseer Andrews. But this love triangle is soon dwarfed by other events. A cholera epidemic breaks out, drought blights the land and herds of thirst-maddened elephants devastate the plantation in a thundering stampede. This famed sequence is a triumph of moviemaking. The palatial "bungalow" is reduced to rubble as onrushing elephants pound across polished floors, rip walls from their foundations and knock over kerosene drums to ignite a terrifying inferno. You have to see it to believe it!
ClassicsIrish merchant seaman Murphy (Peter O'Toole) is the sole survivor of a World War II German U-boat attack in tropical waters. Picked up by a French oil engineer, he is taken to a native village hospital. Upon recovering, he learns about a downed seaplane which he repairs and learns to fly. His plan: a personal vengeance on the submarine by destroying it with homemade Molotov cocktails. Murphy is drawn into a relentless struggle against the German boat; it is his private war.
ClassicsMarlon Brando plays x-GI, Ken, who has become paralyzed as a result of the war. After fighting through an intense battle with depression following his injuries, Ken soon focusses on his physical therapy and eventually believes that he may gain the use of his limbs back! After falling in love and marrying the woman of his dreams, problems arise that puts Ken right back into the hospital!
ClassicsFleeing from a murder charge, nightclub singer Larry Todd (Dean Martin) and his friend Myron Mertz (Jerry Lewis) find gangsters and ghosts on a spooky Caribbean island, newly inherited by heiress Mary Carroll (Lizabeth Scott).
ClassicsTurn comedian Jerry Lewis loose inside the gates of a motion picture studio as THE ERRAND BOY and the result is unrestrained pandemonium. Hired to be the eyes and ears of a Hollywood mogul at Paramutual Pictures, Morty S. Tashman (Lewis), under the guise of studio mail clerk, is to roam the lot and then report back to the boss with any questionable or dishonest activities. But virtually all of the shenanigans and escapades Morty uncovers are ones of his own doing! From soundstage to back lot to front office, Morty innocently manages to become a one-man wrecking crew that leaves the giant entertainment company in a complete shambles. Lights, camera, calamity!
ClassicsA Civil War tale based on the exploits of the notorious outlaw William Quantrill. A courageous sheriff stands up to Quantrill and his band of guerrillas pillaging the countryside in Civil War-torn Kansas, and stops the cut-throat raids across both Union and Confederate lines.
ClassicsHaving just moved from Beijing, elderly tai chi master Mr. Chu (Sihung Lung) struggles to adjust to life in New York, living with his Americanized son Alex (Ye-tong Wang). Chu immediately butts heads with his put-upon white daughter-in-law, Martha (Deb Snyder), a writer who seems to blame him for her own paralyzing inability to focus. But when Chu begins teaching tai chi at a local school, his desire to make a meaningful connection comes to fruition in the most unexpected of ways. PUSHING HANDS is the debut film from Oscar-winning director Ang Lee, forming the first chapter in his "Father Knows Best" trilogy, which depicts the tensions between the traditional Confucian values of the older generation and the realities of modern life. Co-written by collaborator James Schamus, PUSHING HANDS was selected by the 1992 Berlin International Film Festival and won three Golden Horse Awards, paving the way for Lee's worldwide success with films such as CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and BROKEBACK
ClassicsSanta Claus goes on a covert mission to rescue hostages with the aid of a fairy princess and a couple of automatic weapon toting child soldiers. Kris Kringle nearly gets devoured by an alligator. Simon, our hero, nearly gets devoured by the ogre, in this great Christmas classic!
ClassicsIn Cecil B. DeMille’s Academy Award®-winning film, we step behind the scenes of the circus…in all its majesty and mystery. Charlton Heston stars as Brad Braden, the diehard circus manager who lives and breathes to keep the show rolling. With the Big Top about to hit rock bottom, Braden hires The Great Sebastian (Cornel Wilde), a daring trapeze legend, to revitalize the circus. His arrival sparks the rivalry and admiration of Holly (Betty Hutton), Braden’s girlfriend and trapeze star. After a death-defying battle to regain her place in the center ring, Holly soon finds herself torn between the love of workaholic Brad and the brazen Sebastian. Add to the mix a flirtatious elephant trainer, racketeers and a lovable clown (James Stewart) with a secret past, and every character becomes a tough act to follow.
ClassicsJean Cocteau’s sublime adaptation of Mme. Leprince de Beaumont’s fairy-tale masterpiece—in which the pure love of a beautiful girl melts the heart of a feral but gentle beast—is a landmark of motion picture fantasy, with unforgettably romantic performances by Jean Marais and Josette Day. The spectacular visions of enchantment, desire, and death in Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête) have become timeless icons of cinematic wonder.
ClassicsWar and Peace is a commendable attempt to boil down Tolstoy's long, difficult novel into 208 minutes' screen time. In recreating the the social and personal upheavals attending Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia, $6 million was shelled out by coproducers Carlo Ponti, Dino de Laurentiis and Paramount Pictures. Some of the panoramic battle sequences are so expertly handled by second-unit director Mario Soldati that they appear to be Technicolor-and-Vistavision newsreel footage of the actual events. Still, the film falters dramatically, principally because of a lumpy script and King Vidor's surprisingly lustreless direction. In addition, the casting is wildly consistent: for example, while Audrey Hepburn is flawless as Natasha, Henry Fonda is far too "Yankeefied" as the introspective Pierre. Proving too long and unwieldy for most audiences, War and Peace died at the box office; far more successful was the epic, scrupulously faithful 1968 version, filmed in the Soviet Union.
ClassicsWings is the first film to win the Academy Award® for Best Picture. Featuring a meticulous restoration and a newly recorded soundtrack based on the original score. This timeless story of love and loss follows two men who go to war and the girl they leave behind. Popular Twenties “It” girl Clara Bow stars with Richard Arlen, Charles “Buddy” Rogers and Gary Cooper in a legendary cameo appearance.
ClassicsDuring World War I, Scottish soldier Private Plumpick is sent on a mission to a village in the French countryside to disarm a bomb set by the retreating German army. Plumpick encounters a strange town occupied by the former residents of the local psychiatric hospital who escaped after the villagers deserted. Assuming roles like Bishop, Duke, barber, and circus ringmaster, they warmly accept the visitor as their King of Hearts. With his reconnaissance and bomb-defusing mission looming, Plumpick starts to prefer the acceptance of the insane locals over the insanity of the war raging outside. Since its debut, King of Hearts has become a worldwide cult favorite and stands out as one of de Broca’s most memorable films.
ClassicsJack Nicholson returns as private eye Jake Gittes in this atmospheric Chinatown follow-up that's hit upon "the elusive sequel formula for somehow enhancing a great original" (Mike Clark, USA Today). Much has changed since we last saw Jake. The war has come and gone; 1948 Los Angeles teems with optimism and fast bucks. But there's one thing Jake knows hasn't changed: "Nine times out of ten, if you follow the money you will get to the truth." And that's the trail he follows when a routine case of marital hanky panky explodes into a murder that's tied to a grab for oil--and to Jake's own past.
ClassicsCohen Film Collection introduces this Buster Keaton classic. Set during the Civil War and based on a true incident, the film is also an authentic-looking period piece that brings the scope and realism of Matthew Brady-like images to brilliant life. Keaton portrays engineer Johnnie Gray, rejected by the Confederate Army and thought a coward by his girlfriend (Marion Mack). When a band of Union soldiers penetrate Confederate lines to steal his locomotive, Johnnie Gray sets off in pursuit. Seven of the film’s eight reels are devoted to the chase, featuring hilarious comedy and amazing stunts performed by Keaton himself.
ClassicsBased on the all-time favorite novel by Anna Sewell, Black Beauty is a lyrical tale of the friendship and understanding between a young boy and his colt. Joe Evans (Mark Lester) and Black Beauty are parted and before their reunion, Beauty passes from owner to owner as a race horse, circus performer, military steed in India, and a worker for a coal merchant. Black Beauty is a passionate argument for the humane treatment of animals, as well as outstanding family entertainment.
ClassicsSuperstar Barbra Streisand headlines this magical musical directed by Vincente Minnelli, adapted from the Alan Jay Lerner Broadway show. Chain-smoking kooky Daisy consults psychiatrist Chabot to help her stop smoking, only to discover she has amazing ESP powers. While under hypnosis, she reveals her former life as Melinda, an 1840 English coquette. What follows is a comedy/drama/fantasy love triangle unlike any other.
ClassicsWilliam Holden portrays a screenwriter with a script deadline in three days. When he asks secretary Audrey Hepburn to help concoct ideas, she acts out a potpourri of preposterous plots. Beautifully shot on location in Paris by famed cinematographer Claude Renoir.
ClassicsMan on a Swing, purportedly based on a true case, is a puzzling crime thriller concerning a clairvoyant who helps find a murderer. After a murder is committed, supposed clairvoyant Franklin Wills goes to police Chief Lee Tucker (Cliff Robertson) and gives him details of the crime that he has seen in visions. The details are startlingly correct and could only have been known to the killer. Tucker, not convinced that Wills is indeed clairvoyant, begins to suspect him of the murder. Joel Grey gives an outstanding, scene-stealing performance, giving Wills both menace and a surprising vulnerability.
ClassicsDiscovering that a ventriloquist (Danny Kaye) is travelling to Zurich, a spy ring hides plans for a deadly secret weapon in his dummies' heads. When a second spy ring learns of the secret plans in his possession, they descend upon his hotelroom. The result is two dead agents, and Jerry is blamed. Hunted through London as the "Red-Headed Ripper", Jerry flees both police and spies. Eventually, the ringleader of the spies is apprehended by Jerry who is hailed a hero and is free to marry his beautiful lady psychiatrist Ilse Nordstrom (Mai Zetterling).
ClassicsTwo worthy Academy Award® nominees from 1950's Sunset Boulevard – actor William Holden and director Billy Wilder – reteamed three years later for the gripping World War II drama, Stalag 17. The result was another Best Director nomination for Wilder (his fourth), and the elusive Best Actor Oscar® for Holden. Holden portrays the jaded, scheming Sergeant J.J. Sefton, a prisoner at the notorious German prison camp, who spends his days dreaming up rackets and trading with the Germans for special privileges. But when two prisoners are killed in an escape attempt, it becomes obvious that there is a spy among the prisoners. Is it Sefton? Famed producer/director Otto Preminger tackles a rare acting role as the camp's commandant; actor Robert Strauss won a Supporting Actor nomination for his role as "Animal."
ClassicsFollowing 24 characters through 5 days in the country music capital, Robert Altman's 1975 epic presents a complexly textured portrayal (and critique) of American obsessions with celebrity and power. Among the various stars, aspirants, hangers-on, observers, and media folk are politically ambitious country icon and his fragile star protegée, a self-absorbed rock star who woos a lonely married gospel singer, a talentless waitress painfully humiliated at her first singing gig, a runaway wife with dreams of stardom, and a campaign guru who is trying to organize a concert rally for an unseen presidential candidate. Featuring the award winning song, “I’m Easy,” Nashville is regarded one of the greatest American films ever made.
ClassicsBefore FAME, PINK FLOYD: THE WALL, THE COMMITMENTS, and EVITA, acclaimed director Alan Parker redefined the movie musical with his first feature length film. Set in 1929 New York City, BUGSY MALONE captures a flashy world of would-be hoodlums, showgirls, and dreamers—all portrayed by child actors. As Tallulah, the sassy girlfriend of the owner of Fat Sam's Grand Slam Speakeasy, future superstar Jodie Foster leads a talented cast. Parker’s sharp script, combined with the music and lyrics of Paul Williams (PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE) makes for an irresistible satire that’s truly one-of-a-kind.
ClassicsAcclaimed director George Stevens’ legendary rendition of the quintessential Western myth earned six Academy Award® nominations, and made Shane one of the classics of the American cinema. The story brings Alan Ladd, a drifter and retired gunfighter, to the assistance of a homestead family terrorized by a wealthy cattleman and his hired gun (Jack Palance). In fighting the last decisive battle, Shane sees the end of his own way of life. Mysterious, moody and atmospheric, the film is enhanced by the intense performances of its splendid cast.
ClassicsFresh out of prison, Hong Jong-du (Sul Kyung-gu) finds an unlikely soulmate in Gong-ju (Moon So-ri), the daughter of the victim of the hit-and-run accident for which he went to jail. Wheelchair-bound and suffering from severe cerebral palsy, Gong-ju is kept cloistered in a cheap apartment by her brother, whose only concern is the government assistance she receives. Over a series of clandestine meetings, the two begin an improbable relationship that defies the judgment and cruelty of the world around them. Winner of the Silver Lion for Best Director and Best Young Actress at the Venice Film Festival, Lee Chang-dong's "Oasis" is a “brave film” that “shows two people who find any relationship almost impossible, and yet find a way to make theirs work” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times).
ClassicsCelebrating fifty years, this brazen and wild social satire is relevant as ever. Rich, bored Peter Sellers adopts street vagrant Ringo Starr as his son and they set out to prove a theory: people will do anything for money.
ClassicsThe magnificent enduring Biblical tale of the mighty Samson, whose power was curtailed by the scheming Delilah. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
ClassicsA cave collapse in New Mexico traps a man, and all eyes turn toward the tragedy... including those of Charles "Chuck" Tatum (Kirk Douglas), a washed-up newspaper reporter who sees the incident as a ticket back to his former days at the top of the journalism heap. As the media circus begins to swirl around the trapped man's plight, Tatum takes command of the situation, embellishing the unfolding drama and prolonging the rescue effort … while feeding stories to the nation's reporters clamoring to cover the event. Celebrated director Billy Wilder (SUNSET BOULEVARD)mixes gritty cynicism with a superb cast in this powerful, fascinating study of the dark side of the human soul.
ClassicsKind-hearted Mija (Yun Jung-hee) is tasked with raising her troubled teenage grandson, Jong-wook, while her daughter works in far-off Busan. In denial that her abilities as a caregiver are threatened by the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, Mija begins to study poetry writing at the local cultural center. At first she finds inspiration in the beauty of the natural world, but then, when Jong-wook is mired in a shocking scandal, Mija taps into newfound depths of disappointment and pain. Winner of the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and Best Screenplay at Cannes, Lee Chang-dong's "Poetry" is a “tour de force” that presents an “extraordinary vision of human empathy” (The New York Times).
ClassicsScreen favorite Meryl Streep received an Academy Award® for her portrayal of Sophie Zawistowska in this penetrating drama set in post-World War II Brooklyn. Kevin Kline plays her all-consuming lover, Nathan. The story revolves around Sophie's struggle as a Polish-Catholic immigrant in the United States who had survived a Nazi concentration camp. The lovers' drama unfolds through the observations of a friend and would-be writer, Stingo (Peter MacNicol). As the trio grows closer, Stingo uncovers the hidden truths that they each harbor, resulting in “a fine, absorbing, wonderfully acted, heartbreaking movie” (Roger Ebert).
ClassicsThe original take-off cult classic from the highly successful team of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker (Airplane, The Naked Gun), this“uproariously funny [film]” (TV Guide) launched a thousand laughs and serves as a precursor to the raunch-fests of the ‘80s and the blockbuster success of the Farrelly Brothers films. Directed by the legendary John Landis (Animal House, The Blues Brothers), The Kentucky Fried Movie features alewd, loosely connected collection of skits that spoof blaxploitation films, news shows, porno movies, TV commercials, kung fu flicks and more! Including well-known stars such as Bill Bixby, Donald Sutherland, Tony Dow, George Lazenby and Henry Gibson, this one-of-a-kind film features over 22 gut-bustingly hilarious segments including: "Cleopatra Schwartz", "The Wonderful World Of Sex", "Catholic High School Girls In Trouble", "A Fistful Of Yen" and more! The Kentucky Fried Movie – uncensored, uncut and unapologetic!
ClassicsRepressed desires, sultry women, sweltering weather and a handsome new stranger in town... this is playwright Tennessee Williams at his very best. Depression-era Dodson, Mississippi, is particularly devastated with the arrival of Owen Legate (Robert Redford), a railroad official with a pocketful of pink slips for the rail yard employees. Natalie Wood is captivating as Alva Starr, the coquettish town flirt with plenty of big plans but nowhere to go... until Legate appears on her doorstep. Their ensuing affair enrages Alva's distant, uncaring mother (Kate Reid)—and ignites a town's revenge. Masterfully directed by Sydney Pollack (The Way We Were, Out of Africa, The Firm) and co-written for the screen by Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather trilogy), This Property Is Condemned sizzles with unbridled passion and fiery emotion.
ClassicsJerry Lewis directed, co-wrote and starred in this riotously funny movie that set a new standard for screen comedy and inspired the hit remake. Lewis plays a timid, nearsighted chemistry teacher who discovers a magical potion that can transform him into a suave and handsome Romeo. The Jekyll and Hyde game works well enough until the concoction starts to wear off at the most embarrassing times, and the professor begins to suffer hilarious symptoms of his personality split. Co-starring Stella Stevens.
ClassicsMartin Scorsese Presents REPUBLIC REDISCOVERED—over 20 rarely seen films from the storied Republic Pictures library, restored and remastered by Paramount and personally curated by Martin Scorsese. In Johnny Guitar a gambling house operator seeks control of a town as an archrival sets out to force her out of town. The timely arrival of Johnny Guitar thwarts the dark plans, but does not prevent a showdown between the women. The Library of Congress selected this cult classic for preservation in the National Film Registry. From acclaimed director Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without A Cause).
ClassicsThe year was 1960. A payola scandal shocks the music world. Movie fans are introduced to glorious Smell-O-Vision. The 50-star flag is adopted. And in G.I. Blues, Elvis adopts an on-screen persona he knows well in real life – a singin' G.I. in West Germany. Eager to open a stateside nightclub after his hitch in khakis, he takes part in a wager to raise the dough he needs. The bet: he can melt the iceberg heart of a willowy dancer (Juliet Prowse). But all bets may be off when real love intervenes...
ClassicsMartin Scorsese Presents REPUBLIC REDISCOVERED—over 20 rarely seen films from the storied Republic Pictures library, restored and remastered by Paramount and personally curated by Martin Scorsese. In Hell’s Half Acre the titular notorious quarter of Honolulu, Hawaii serves as a background to a complex tale of transgression and redemption. Wendell Corey is a reformed racketeer whose past catches up with him when his lover shoots and kills one of his former partners in crime.
ClassicsIn 1890s N.Y.C., a Jewish immigrant (Steven Keats) has assimilated seamlessly into the American community... until his wife from back home (Carol Kane) arrives on his doorstep. A new restoration of this beloved indie classic about what it is to become an American from director Joan Micklin Silver. Starring Carol Kane in her Academy Award nominated role.
ClassicsA pregnant wanderer is involved in a train crash and assumes a dead girl's identity. When a man who discovers her true identity blackmails her, she decides to kill him. Based on a novel by William Irish.
ClassicsThe best moments from the most comical duo in film history: Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy! This compilation features some of the funniest scenes from the comedies that made this pair into household names. See Stan and Ollie sing “Good Ole’ Summertime” in the freezing winter weather, watch them bumble their way through a hostile jail takeover, and be witness as hijinks ensue when Stan and Ollie’s twin brothers, Bert and Alf, unknowingly come to town. Legend Films is proud to present these classic moments in comedy, now restored and presented in color for the very first time!
