Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (1978) DVD9 and Blu-Ray

A housewife prepares dinner one evening in the kitchen when suddenly a large tomato emerges from the plughole of the sink and leaps for her. When the police arrive to find her dead, they think that she has blood on her, but the detective in charge discovers differently - it's really tomato juice. From all over America reports are coming in of tomatoes attacking innocent people, but the government want to keep it quiet and deliberately sit on the stories. The Press Secretary Jim Richardson (George Wilson) attends a meeting of the military top brass to decide what to do, but with more and more attacks taking place, the situation is getting quickly out of control...

BD25 + DVD9 | 1080p AVC, NTSC | 01:23:13 | 21.9 Gb + 7.65 Gb
Language: English
Subtitles: none

Director: John De Bello
Cast: David Miller, George Wilson, Sharon Taylor
Country: USA
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Horror, Musical, Sci-Fi
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Errors of Youth / Oshibki yunosti / Ошибки юности (1978 – 1987) DVD5

No relation to the French "Erreur de Jeunesse", the Russian "Errors of Youth" was 10 years in the making. Filmmaker Boris Frumin began the project in 1979, but the Soviet government found the film too close to reality for public consumption. A relaxing of censorship towards the end of the 1980s enabled Frumin to complete his film and enter it in several international festivals.

In Frumin's words, "The Errors of Youth was an effort to speak about a young man, Dimitry Gurianov, a representative of his generation who can't find his place in life. The hypocrisy of the army, the boring life of the countryside, the hard work and constant drunkenness in the north, plus misadventures with women bring him to Leningrad, where he becomes part of the 'black market' scene. We tried to be truthful to the spirit and atmosphere of the 70s in Russia. The film was banned because it was found to be too close to 'real life.'"

DVD5 | PAL 4:3 | 01:22:59 | 4.27 Gb + 3% rec
Language: Russian
Subtitles: English
Genre: Drama

Director: Boris Frumin
Cast: Stanislav Zhdanko, Nina Arkhipova, Lidiya Dorotenko, Nikolay Karachentsov, Marina Neyolova, Natalya Varley
Country: Soviet Union
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Eclipse Series 45: Claude Autant-Lara Four Romantic Escapes from Occupied France: Lettres d’amour (1942), Le mariage de Chiffon (1942), Douce (1943), Sylvie et le fantome (1946) 4 x DVD9 Criterion Collection

During the Nazi Occupation, French director Claude Autant-Lara reeled off a series of box-office hits that struck a chord with audiences eager for a romantic escape from desperate times. He extended his commercial success through the post-war years, but then suddenly found himself under attack from an unexpected source.

Francois Truffaut's now-famous 1954 critique of "A Certain Tendency" in French cinema primarily targeted screenwriters Jean Aurenche and Pierre Bost for their staid literary adaptations, but since they wrote many of Autant-Lara's most successful films (including all the films in this set) the director took heavy collateral damage and increasingly found his work marginalized as an exemplar of the dreaded "tradition of quality." This new four-film box set from Eclipse suggests that the scorn was mostly unwarranted, and that a concerted critical effort at latter-day redemption is equally unnecessary.

Each film in the Claude Autant-Lara: Four Romantic Escapes from Occupied France Eclipse series stars actress Odette Joyeux; in three of them she plays ingenues. With her large eyes and the posture Joyeux assumes in these roles, the actress, in her mid-twenties at the time, is almost believable as a teenager.

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Spione / Spies (1928) DVD9, Blu-Ray Eureka! Masters of Cinema

Spione is a spy thriller (if the English title didn't make that obvious) with a labyrinthine plot. Basically a spy ring headed by the evil Haghi (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) is causing chaos at the government's secret service. Important documents have been stolen, dignitaries have been assassinated and double agents are springing up all over the place. Next on Haghi's list of crimes is to get his hands on a peace treaty to be signed between Japan and the UK, in the hope that he can use it to trigger another world war. The only man that can stop him is agent 326 (Willy Fritsch). Haghi is always one step ahead though and sends the cunning Russian spy Sonya (Gerda Maurus) to seduce him and lead him down a dark path. A spanner is put in the works however when Sonya and 326 fall in love.

If you think this all sounds a bit like a James Bond movie you wouldn't be too far from the truth. Although less obviously groundbreaking as some of Lang's more famous titles, Spione is clearly a huge influence on the spy thriller subgenre.

Director: Fritz Lang
Cast: Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Gerda Maurus, Willy Fritsch
Country: Germany
Genre: Romance, Thriller
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Matt Houston (1982–1985) 15 x DVD9 The Complete Collection

Texas millionaire oil magnate and former college football star Matlock "Matt" Houston, the son of an even richer oil baron, now operates out of Los Angeles after a falling out with his father. Living high atop his personal skyscraper in Hell-A, Matt pilots his own helicopter back and forth from his city penthouse to his huge ranch spread out in the Valley. Besieged by his beautiful female staff for decisions on his endless business ventures, the fabulously wealthy Houston would much rather shoe a horse, or rustle up a mess of chili - or solve a baffling crime - than worry about what company he bought that day. Because you see, Matt Houston is an amateur detective, too - and a damn good one - who utilizes his vast fortune and endless connections to solve cases, for which he's never paid (because who needs a buck with that bank account?). Naturally, he is always surrounded by beautiful women!

15xDVD9 | NTSC 4:3 | 3150 minutes | 99.6 Gb + 3% rec
Language: English
Subtitles: none
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Creator: Lawrence Gordon
Cast: Lee Horsley, Pamela Hensley, Lincoln Kilpatrick
Country: USA
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Monsoon Wedding (2001) 2 x DVD9 and Blu-Ray Criterion Collection

Like all of Mira Nair's feature films, Monsoon Wedding is a multi-layered text, open to multiple readings, and accessible from multiple vantage points. Regardless of how one approaches the film, or what one finds their eyes and ears drifting to on different viewings, new insights and rewards are sure to present themselves.

In Monsoon Wedding, its monsoon season in New Delhi as family and friends gather to celebrate the arranged marriage of Aditi (Vasundhara Das) and Hermant (Parvin Dabas). As Aditi's father Lalit (Naseeruddin Shah) fusses over the wedding arrangements, family and friends arrive from around the globe; Australia, The United States, Dubai. Modern India and its ancient customs collide and the humid temperatures of New Delhi during the monsoons aren't the only things on the rise. Passions heat up, but all is not as it seems in this celebratory scene. Just as the monsoons excavate sediments, so does this gathering stir up secrets of the past and surprising passions.

Director: Mira Nair
Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shah
Country: India, USA, Italy, Germany, France, UK
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
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The Prisoner (1967-1968) The Complete Series

Before Twin Peaks and The X-Files, Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner was the definitive cult sci-fi/suspense show, and while its influence may have diminished its impact to some, many of us still find it to be one of, if not the, most enthralling televisions shows in the history of the format.

The story revolves around a man referred to only as Number Six, a former 'agent' who resigns only to wake up in a strange village somewhere on the coast where the inhabitants are referred to not by their names but by their numbers. Number Six refuses to conform and as such runs afoul of Number Two, the man in charge of the Village who wants to know why he resigned and wants to get the information out of his head. As such, Number Six wants nothing more than to escape so that he can go back to London, reclaim the identity that was taken from him, and live his life on his own terms but the Village has measures set in place to prevent that from happening and as the series unfolds it becomes obvious that there is a much larger conspiracy at work.

Full of pop art psychedelic imagery and fantastic compositions, The Prisoner was a show filled with completely surprising plot twists as one man fought against a system he couldn't see or understand to regain his identity. Number Six could trust no one while Number Two would stop at nothing to get the information out of his head.
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All That Heaven Allows (1955) 2 x DVD9 and Blu-Ray Criterion Collection

For over twenty years Douglas Sirk made great films that combined the cinematic elements of high art with the schmaltzy elements of soap operas. His color films have an ironic glossy facade that comment on the emptiness and vanity of the Eisenhower era upper classes. All That Heaven Allows, made in 1955, is one of the simplest but most accomplished films made in Hollywood in the 1950's.

Wyman playing Cary Scott, a well-to-do widow with two college-age children and a dull social life at the country club. The emptiness at the heart of her existence is filled when she meets Ron Kirby, the young gardener–turned–tree farmer who prunes the trees that line her all-American suburban yard — and then comes back to court her. This simple love story is disrupted by the vicious snobbery of her children and high-society acquaintances.

BD50 + 2xDVD9 | 1080p AVC, NTSC | 01:28:53 | 46.2 Gb + 13.8 Gb
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Genre: Drama, Romance

Director: Douglas Sirk
Cast: Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Agnes Moorehead
Country: USA
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Acht Stunden sind keinTag – Eine Familienserie / Eight Hours are Not a Day: A Family Series / Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day (1972) 3 x Blu-Ray Arrow Academy Limited Edition

The interlocking stories of blue collar workers in 1970s Germany as they confront issues of the day, such as the unfairness of the work power structure, making ends meet and facing Germany's changing social mores.

The five feature-length episodes that aired each had millions of viewers, and their subject matter was fashioned with a wide audience in mind. They take place in Cologne. At the center of the series is the romantic union of a young, skilled factory technician named Jochen (Gottfried John) and a newspaper assistant named Marion (Hanna Schygulla).

3xBD50 | 1080i AVC | 478 minutes | 129 Gb + 3% rec
Language: Deutsch
Subtitles: English
Genre: Drama

Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Cast: Gottfried John, Hanna Schygulla, Luise Ullrich
Country: West Germany
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Buena Vista Social Club (1999) 2 x DVD9 and Blu-Ray Criterion Collection

Long before current heartthrob Ricky Martin or even Latino star Selena were making waves, a group of talented musicians were creating wonderful music along the shores and in the capital of pre-Castro Cuba. All but since forgotten, many of them, including the likes of singers Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo, guitarist Compay Segundo, pianist Ruben Gonzalez and several others were brought together in 1997 by acclaimed producer and musician Ry Cooder to record an album, "The Buena Vista Social Club". Some of the long-lived performers on the recording hadn't played their instruments for more than ten years.

In this relaxed and entertaining documentary directed by Wim Wenders, the same group gathers to record a solo album featuring vocalist Ibrahim Ferrer whom Cooder has lionized as "the Cuban Nat King Cole." Among the colorful musicians profiled are 90-year-old guitarist Compay Segundo gifted pianist Ruben Gonzalez, and versatile singer Manuel Licea. They talk about their childhood and how they came to become musicians.

The high points in the documentary are the highlights of the Buena Vista Social Club performing shows in Amsterdam and at New York's Carnegie Hall in 1998. This delightful film is a tribute to cross-cultural cooperation and the variety of Cuban music.
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The Dumb Girl of Portici (1916), The Immortal Swan (1935) 2 x Blu-Ray

The Dumb Girl of Portici was director Lois Weber's most magnificent epic, the first film of its kind directed by a woman and the celebrated dancer Anna Pavlova's one moment of screen immortality. Based on a French opera, it tells a lovelorn story against the somewhat reality-based backdrop of Italian peasants fighting Spanish rule. Pavlova is Fenella, a mute resident of a fishermens' village in Naples, who is seduced and abandoned by the son of the Viceroy of Naples before he marries a Spanish princess. This drama is overwhelmed by the anger of the villagers at their oppression as they riot and attempt to defeat the Spaniards.

When the film was made, it was the most expensive that Universal had undertaken (not to mention the most elaborate production directed by a woman), earning it a footnote in cinematic history that, unfortunately, did not prevent it from falling into obscurity.

People who feel cheated that Pavlova doesn't dance much in The Dumb Girl of Portici will delight in a parcel of extras that feature mostly dance. A 48-minute short, "The Immortal Swan", is a 1935 documentary tribute filmed not long after Pavlova's death that depicts the star dancing, including her most famous solo, "The Dying Swan".
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Neuf Tours / Nine Turns (2007) DVD5

A special key has to be turned nine times to deactivate a PNM2 landmine. This rotation requires total concentration because all it takes is the slightest mistake to cause an explosion. Director Olivier Zabat approaches the explosive theme of his remarkable film essay with a similar intensity. Nine short stories about things that at first glance seem different, such as Thai boxing, landmines, fishing, the discovery of a new beast of prey and an eye injury, are all linked by the fundamental experience of a person exposed to violence in its various forms. The individual slices of reality resonate within themselves and merge with each other like an elaborate jigsaw, in which each part is crucial. Nine Turns is a film that lies on the boundary between cinematic experimentation and careful social research. It was created by using images from some of the director' s previous films.

DVD5 | PAL 4:3 | 01:29:13 | 4.16 Gb + 3% rec
Language: English-Francais
Subtitles: English, Francais (both hardcoded)
Genre: Documentary

Director: Olivier Zabat
Country: France
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