furnivk's - Rented List

A recovering alcoholic (Maurice Ronet) decides to commit suicide. He spends 24 hours wandering through Paris and visiting old friends, hoping to find some meaning to life and a reason to go on living.

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Deborah Kerr (in the performance of her career) plays the emotionally repressed vicar's daughter who takes up a job as a governess to two seemingly angelic orphans.

Gradually coming to believe that the children are possessed by the perverse spirits of their former governess and her sadistic lover, she begins to see manifestations of the ghosts prowling the huge gothic mansion of Bly House. Director Jack Clayton sustains a superbly haunting atmosphere throughout the film, and like James' original work, cleverly retains the ambiguity of wether the ghosts are real or the products of the governess's fevered imagination. Aided by Freddie Francis's exquisitely inventive and atmospheric CinemaScope photography, we, like the governess, are never quite sure what unspoken horrors are lurking beyond the edge of the frame and are kept guessing until the film's tragic conclusion.

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The screeching strings, the plunging knife, the slow zoom out from a lifeless eyeball: in 1960, Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho' changed film history forever with its taboo-shattering shower scene.

With 78 camera set-ups and 52 edits over the course of three minutes, 'Psycho' redefined screen violence, set the stage for decades of slasher films to come, and introduced a new element of danger to the movie-going experience. Aided by a roster of filmmakers, critics, and fans - including Guillermo del Toro, Bret Easton Ellis, Jamie Lee Curtis, Eli Roth, and Peter Bogdanovich - director Alexandre O. Philippe pulls back the curtain on the making and influence of this cinematic game changer, breaking it down frame by frame and unpacking Hitchcock's dense web of allusions and double meanings. The result is an enthralling piece of cinematic detective work that's nirvana for film buffs.

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"Killer of Sheep" is an undisputed masterpiece of African-American filmmaking and one of the most poetic, perceptive dramas ever made about family and community.

This acclaimed tale of a disillusioned slaughterhouse worker - and the solace to be found in the simplest moments of life - is tender, witty, and affectionate. With lovely neorealist photography - capturing the long, hot days of 1970s Los Angeles - and a gorgeous blues soundtrack (Dinah Washington, Paul Robeson and Little Walter all feature) the film has a quiet emotional power.

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In the remote Westfjords of Iceland, a lady hangs herself inside a church. Her strange death leads to an investigation into a number of similar cases in the region.

To his horror Freyr (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson), the new psychiatrist in town, discovers that the deceased woman was obsessed with the disappearance of his 7-year-old son who went missing without a trace three years before. Across the bay in an abandoned village, three city dwellers are restoring an old house when supernatural and inexplicable events start to occur. It becomes clear that the answer to both of these mysteries lie with the mysterious disappearance of a boy 60 years earlier.

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Relentless edge-of-your-seat suspense, jaw-dropping, high-octane action and a powerful love story combine in what has been hailed by many critics as the best film of the year. 'Tell No One' follows one man's frantic race against time when his tragic past is suddenly and unexpectedly unearthed. Dr.

Alex Beck (François Cluzet) is left unconscious after his wife, and childhood sweetheart, Margot (Marie-Josée Croze) is brutally murdered. 8 years on and still unaware of the truth, Alex receives an anonymous e-mail. Clicking on the link he sees a woman's face in a crowd - Margot's face...But before this can sink in, Alex is thrown headlong into a deadly chase - running from both the Police and a team of killers who will stop at nothing to keep the truth hidden.

Adapted from Voltaire and the book by Hugh Wheeler. The historic concert that preceded Bernstein's only recording of Candide. Videotaped at the Barbican Centre, London, 13 December 1989.

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A group of tourists gather on a whale watching vessel in Iceland anticipating the trip of a lifetime.

When a freak accident leaves the captain of their boat mortally wounded, a small group of tourists are forced to seek refuge on a passing former whaling vessel manned by a family of 'Fishbillies' with a psychotic score to settle. With whaling no longer on the agenda, the tourists become the helpless prey aboard a ship that is set to sail on a sea of blood.

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Director Ken Loach's gritty account of a young London woman (Carol White) trying to cope in squalor while her husband (John Bindon) is in jail.

Clutching at any slight chance of happiness, she Has a promiscuous relationship with his best friend (Terence Stamp) which in turn leads to heart-breaking consequences. 'Poor Cow' is a poignant, controversial slice of raw social realism and, in true Loach style, is an imaginative exploration of the thin line separating fiction and real-life.

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While holidaying in Berlin, Australian photojournalist Clare (Teresa Palmer) meets Andi (Max Riemelt), a charismatic local man and there is an instant attraction between them.

But what initially appears to be the start of romance suddenly takes an unexpected and sinister turn when Clare wakes up the following morning to discover Andi has left for work and locked her in his apartment. An easy mistake to make, of course, except Andi has no intention of letting her go again. Ever.

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The fifth and undeniably most accessible of French auteur Eric Rohmer's Moral Tales, Claire's Knee concerns Jerome (Jean-Claude Brialy), an affianced diplomat who bumps into successful novelist and old flame Aurora (Aurora Cornu) whilst holidaying by the picturesque Lac d'Annecy.

In search of inspiration, Aurora persuades Jerome to indulge in a little flirtation with Laura (Beatrice Romand), the sprightly teenage daughter of an acquaintance. However, events take a more serious turn when the diplomat finds himself falling for Laura's luminous half-sister Claire (Laurence de Managhan). Struggling to suppress his desires, Jerome decides to channel his energies into one simple act, a gentle caress of Claire's knee.

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Sophia (Catherine Walker) is grief-stricken and overwhelmed with sadness since the untimely death of her child.

In a desperate attempt to achieve some form of closure, she reaches out to Solomon (Steve Oram), an occultist with experience in an ancient invocation ritual that Sophia believes will allow her to make contact with her deceased child. Locked away in a remote country house, the pair undergo a long and arduous ritual, risking both their mental and physical safety as they attempt to access a world beyond their understanding. But when Solomon finds out that Sophia has not been truthful about her wish, a greater danger threatens them. In the dark, they find that they are no longer alone in the house. They are now in the world of real angels, and real demons.

Paul Exben (Romain Duris) is a success story - a great job, a glamorous wife and two wonderful sons. Except that this is not the life he has been dreaming of. A moment of madness is going to change his life, forcing him to assume a new identity that will enable him to live the life he always wanted...

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Shot on free locations with actors drawn from Sayles' Eastern Slope Playhouse, the film is an affectionately observed ensemble drama that deals with the annual reunion of several college friends.

Formerly hound by the shared moral and political activism of 1960's campus life the group have all chosen different paths since graduation but, despite the shifts in time and the changing nature of their relationships, remain linked by a shared experience and common humanity. Displaying a rare willingness to focus on the concerns of the thirty-something generation whose values were all but dismissed by Reagan-era America, the film's bittersweet acuity arises from Sayles' intelligent, ironic dialogue and avoidance of sentimentality. Made pre-Sundance, it was screened at various American festivals before being commercially released in a grass roots fashion. A critical and commercial success, the film revitalised the American independent film and established Sayles as an urgent, political voice.