Shtikat Haarchion / Geheimsache Ghettofilm / A Film Unfinished (2010) DVD9

This film is the quest for the truth behind one of the most mysterious Nazi propaganda films ever shot in the Warsaw Ghetto. The film, which was shot just a short time before the deportation of the inhabitants of the ghetto, is a rough first draft of a silent film that juxtaposes meticulously staged scenes of Jews enjoying a life of luxury in the ghetto with other, chilling images that required no staging at all.

Ironically, after the war, filmmakers and museums used images from the film as objective illustrations of the narratives they had collected from witnesses and written documents. Few people were aware of the cynical manner in which these images were created and the true, yet inconceivable witness they bear. The cinematic deception was forgotten and the black and white images remain engraved in memory as historical truth.

This potent documentary uses a long-lost film reel to illustrate how the Nazis controlled images of Jewish life during World War II. Though the Nazis made a propaganda movie of contented Jews in the Warsaw ghetto, the missing spool exposes the truth. Director Yael Hersonski shows how the imagery was staged to distort historical knowledge and, with the aid of Jewish survivors' testimony, chronicles the horrifying reality of ghetto life.
Читать дальше...

Read more / Download movie Originally published at MovieWorld.ws

Sleeping Dogs (1977) Blu-Ray Arrow Academy

Having been dumped by his wife for another man, Smith drives off into the countryside, seeking to escape both his own heartbreak and the political upheaval that has turned New Zealand into a quasi fascist state, with leftist rebels battling a far right government. Smith wants no part of such violence, and when he finds a secluded small island with a reasonably priced rent, he thinks he's got it made.

One night, Smith observes a fire in the distance on the mainland, and the following morning a squad of cops arrive to arrest him, accusing him of being a terrorist and of killing a man in a bombing the previous night. Smith is thrown into a cell and left to rot for several days before being informed he is to be tried for treason, a charge which carries the death sentence, but he will be allowed to leave the country if he confesses to his role in the revolution. Smith refuses to offer a false confession and manages to escape on the way to the courthouse, becoming a wanted fugitive...

Director: Roger Donaldson
Cast: Sam Neill, Nevan Rowe, Ian Mune, Warren Oates
Country: New Zealand
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Читать дальше...

Read more / Download movie Originally published at MovieWorld.ws

Collection Daniel Kamwa: Pousse-pousse / Tricycle Man (1976), Notre fille / Our Daughter (1980), Boubou cravate (1972), Totor (1994), Le cercle des pouvoirs / Circle of Powers (1998) 4 x DVD

Daniel Kamwa was born in Nkongsamba, Cameroon in 1943 and later moved to Paris where he also studied cinema. He joined Peter Brook's comedy troupe as an actor in 1968 before leaving to work in theater, film and television. He directed his first short film, Boubou Cravate, in 1972, and his first feature in 1976: Pousse-Pousse, one of the most popular and successful films shown in francophone Africa at that time.

In 1981 he directed "Notre Fille", which won the prize for the best actor in Carthage in 1982, "Totor" (1994), which won the UNICEF Prize at Fespaco in 1995 and was selected for the Cannes junior section in 1995. He has also directed many documentaries as well as programs on black writers, "Videolire" (1990-91). He directed "Le Cercle des Pouvoirs" (1997).

4xDVD | NTSC | 420 mins | 19.6 Gb + 3% rec
Language: Francais
Subtitles: English
Genre: Comedy, Drama

Читать дальше...

Read more / Download movie Originally published at MovieWorld.ws

Boogie Nights (1997) DVD9, Blu-Ray

A film about the porn industry may seem shocking or offensive to some, but Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights is more than merely an expose on the exploits of porn. Boogie Nights is a colorful, emotional drama about the halcyon days of the industry and the real people within it.

The year is 1977. Nightclubs pulsate with the sounds of disco music, and men think tight pants and platform shoes are a killer combination. In a California club, 17-year-old dishwasher Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) dreams of joining this instant-thrill nirvana. He gets his chance when Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) makes him an offer he can't refuse: to be a star. He's talking about porno flicks, and he hears that Eddie is amply endowed for his line of business.

When Eddie joins Jack's production group, he becomes part of a bizarre but rather wonderful family, with Horner as the patriarch, porno actress Amber Waves (Julianne Moore) as the surrogate mother and Rollergirl (Heather Graham) as the sort-of sister. Changing his name to Dirk Diggby, Eddie becomes a rapid success. But the rise to fame has its costs, and soon Dirk finds himself sliding down the slippery slope of sex, drugs and violence...

Читать дальше...

Read more / Download movie Originally published at MovieWorld.ws

A Raisin in the Sun (1961) 2 x DVD and Blu-Ray Criterion Collection

The first filmed adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's landmark Broadway play, Daniel Petrie's A Raisin in the Sun (1961) still rings true for all the right and wrong reasons. It stars Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, and Claudia McNeil as three divided members of a Chicago family who'd love nothing more than to escape their cramped apartment...but they all have different ideas on how to do it. Their plans all come from the same source: a $10,000 life insurance check issued to matriarch Lena Younger (McNeil) after the recent death of her husband. Lena plans to put a down payment on a roomy house in the suburbs and send her daughter Beneatha (Diana Sands) to medical school. But her brash son Walter Lee (Poitier) has bigger ambitions: to invest all $10,000 in a liquor store with two friends and, hopefully, make a lot more money in the long run. Walter's wife Ruth (Dee), meanwhile, is trapped in the middle; she wants to support her husband, but his short temper and impatience have been straining their marriage in recent years. Their son Travis (Stephen Perry), who sleeps on the living room couch, rarely sees them fight but it's practically unavoidable.

Director: Daniel Petrie
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee
Country: USA
Genre: Drama
Читать дальше...

Read more / Download movie Originally published at MovieWorld.ws

Je suis le seigneur du chateau / I’m the King of the Castle (1989) DVD5, DVD9

After the death of his wife, Jean Breaud, decides to hire a maid for his son. Relatives recommend to him a Ms. Vernet and he decides that she will be an excellent choice. Ms. Vernet has a son of the same age as his own and he hopes that the boys will become playmates and friends. However things don't go as planned. Thomas (Breaud's son) is a spoiled and yet fragile rich kid. To him, Charles the son of the maid, is an intruder and he decides to make his life as miserable as possible. He develops a plan to get Charles and his mother out of his father's castle.
As the boys' feuding intensifies, they hardly notice the burgeoning romance between their two lonely parents...

It was the second film to be directed by Regis Wargnier, whose next feature, Indochine (1992) won him critical acclaim and a brace of awards, including an Oscar, a BAFTA, and five Cesars.

Director: Regis Wargnier
Cast: Jean Rochefort, Dominique Blanc, Regis Arpin, David Behar
Country: France
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Читать дальше...

Read more / Download movie Originally published at MovieWorld.ws

The Jericho Mile (1979) Blu-Ray and DVD5 Kino Lorber, DVD5

Michael Mann's debut feature is a story about striving for greatness even when there is no chance to succeed.
Larry (Peter Strauss) is serving a life sentence in Folsom Prison for murder -- a crime he freely admits to committing, prepared to serve out his time by attracting as little outside attention as possible. He focuses on running, circling around a makeshift track in the exercise yard, keeping to himself as he travels at impressive speeds, catching the attention of Dr. Bill (Geoffrey Lewis) and Warden Earl (Billy Green Bush). Sensing something special about Larry's endurance, prison officials bring in Coach Jerry (Ed Lauter) to help educate the inmate on the finer points of long- distance running, with plans to test his abilities against the pros, teasing a possible future in the Olympics if Larry decides to play along with the training peacefully. Larry is interested in the possibility of running his way out of Folsom, but his reputation needs work with officials, while his only friend, Stiles (Richard Lawson), is eager to hold his newborn daughter, getting caught up in prison gang business run by Dr. D (Brian Dennehy) and Cotton Crown (Roger E. Mosley) to win his shot at a family reunion.

Director: Michael Mann
Cast: Peter Strauss, Richard Lawson, Roger E. Mosley
Country: USA
Genre: Crime, Drama, Sport

Читать дальше...

Read more / Download movie Originally published at MovieWorld.ws