i-done-watched-these's - Rented List

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In a future where Earth is covered with water, the human race struggles to survive on dilapidated boats and makeshift floating cities called atolls. But some still cling to legends of a mythical place called "Dryland".

Seeking clues to its whereabouts, the evil Deacon (Dennis Hopper) attacks the atoll which houses young Enola (Tina Majorino) and her adoptive mother Helen (Jeanne Tripplehorn). When a mysterious drifter/adventurer known as the Mariner (Kevin Costner) is caught up in their struggle, he finds himself catapulted into an explosive war of good vs. evil with the open sea as his battlefield. Only later will he discover Enola's wondrous secret - a revelation that may change the destiny of all mankind.

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French cinema master Robert Bresson brings his trademark cinematic minimalism to this powerful re-telling of the story of Joan of Arc.

Adapted from historical records of the trial and featuring a remarkable cast of non-professional actors, led by Florence Carrez in the title role, the film relays Joan's relentless interrogation and persecution by her captors in a direct, almost documentary-like manner. Bresson transforms Joan's oppression and human suffering into an unforgettable testament to her purity and spiritual liberation. The final images of the charred remains of the stake are among the most horrifying and moving in all cinema.

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Uttam Kumar plays a famous Bengali movie star who boards a train to travel to an award ceremony. En route he meets a young journalist (Sharmila Tagore) who is unimpressed by his egotism and celebrity, but decides to interview him.

As a rapport develops between them, the film star reveals rather more of his inner self than he intends and is ultimately compelled to re-evaluate his life.

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It tells four stories revolving around particular taboos (virginity, female masturbation, bloodlust, incest), each delving further back in time, as if to suggest that the same issues recur constantly throughout human history and in all walks of life, whether it s Lucrezia Borgia (Florence Bellamy)

or Erzsébet Báthory (Paloma Picasso in her only screen role) or the anonymous teenagers of the earlier episodes.

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Albert, the owner of a small and tawdry circus, arrives at a small town where he attempts to effect a reconciliation with his wife Agda whom he left for the circus many years previous.

She refuses to resume the marriage whilst Albert's lover, Anne, upset at Albert's rejection of her, has a humiliating affair with an actor, Frans. During a performance given by the circus, Frans begins to taunt Albert and, enraged, challenges him to a fight during which he is severely beaten. Deciding that suicide is his only escape he tries to take his own life but fails. As the circus leaves town, the ill-fated couple find themselves reluctantly and miserably committed to each other.

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In the 1840's, acclaimed self-taught palaeontologist Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) works alone on the wild and brutal Southern English coastline of Lyme Regis.

The days of her famed discoveries behind her, she now hunts for common fossils to sell to rich tourists to support herself and her ailing widowed mother. When one such tourist, Roderick Murchison (James McArdle), arrives in Lyme on the first leg of a European tour, he entrusts Mary with the care of his young wife Charlotte (Saoirse Ronan), who is recuperating from a personal tragedy. Mary, whose life is a daily struggle on the poverty line, cannot afford to turn him down but, proud and relentlessly passionate about her work, she clashes with her unwanted guest. They are two women from utterly different worlds. Yet despite the chasm between their social spheres and personalities, Mary and Charlotte discover they can each offer what the other has been searching for: the realisation that they are not alone. It is the beginning of a passionate and all-consuming love affair that will defy all social bounds and alter the course of both lives irrevocably.

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Carfree artist Erik Vonk lives a life of excess. Existing according to his own rules, he pursues women with an almost predatory glee. But everything changes when he meets the beautiful and sexually voracious Olga. Caught in a whirlwind of intense erotic pleasure, the couple decide to marry.

Soon, however, events take an unforeseen and tragic turn, and Erik is left facing the most difficult choice of his life.

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When Kris Kelvin (Donatas Banionis) is sent on a mission to the Solaris Space Station, he is confronted with a skeleton crew who are psychologically unstable due to the presence of what they call "visitors". Kris soon begins to encounter his own visitor - his late wife.

Taunting him with illusory compassion, Kris must choose whether to cling to reality or submit to the planet's gift of a lost love regained.

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In a magnificent performance. Tatsuya Nakadai stars as Hanshiro Tsugumo. a masterless down-and-out samurai who enters the manor of Lord lyi. requesting to commit ritual suicide on his property.

Suspected of simply fishing for charity, Hanshiro is told the gruesome tale of the last samurai who made the same request - but Hanshiro will not be moved...

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As the Black Death continues to wipe out the population of Europe, knight Antonius Block (Max von Sydow) returns from the Crusades, disillusioned and worn. When suddenly Death (Bengt Ekerot) appears before him, he asks for the chance to live, proposing a game of chess to decide his fate.

The knight takes his squire, a troupe of traveling players and a deaf and dumb girl under his protection as the game is played out. One by one Death exacts his toll, and it is up to Block to stall his opponent for as long as possible if he is to help save the lives of those he is trying to protect. All the while, the villages and towns about them fall further into ruin and religion takes a stranglehold on those desperate for a means of survival.

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Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) a naive writer of pulp westerns, arrives in Vienna to meet his old friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles) but finds that Lime has apparently been killed in a suspicious accident.

Martins, too, curious for his own good, hears contradictory stories about the circumstances of Limes' death and as witnesses disappear he finds himself chased by unknown assailants. Complicating matters are the sardonic Major Calloway (Trevor Howard), head of the British forces, and Limes' stage actress mistress, Anna (Alida Valli). Will Martin's curiosity lead him to discover things about his old friend that he'd rather not know?

This spectacular adventure pits Godzilla, the world's most famous monster, against malevolent creatures that, bolstered by humanity's scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.

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A constant fixture in critics' polls, Yasujiro Ozu's most enduring masterpiece, 'Tokyo Story', is a beautifully nuanced exploration of filial duty, expectation and regret.

From the simple tale of an elderly husband and wife's visit to Tokyo to see their grown-up children, Ozu draws a compelling contrast between the measured dignity of age and the hurried insensitivity of a younger generation.

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In 16th century Japan a poor village is raided every year by a group of bandits until, driven to the brink of starvation, the villagers decide to hire professional warriors to protect them. With only three meager meals a day to offer as payment, their request seems an impossible one.

A simple plot, flawlessly executed - 'Seven Samurai' combines comedy, pathos, memorable characters, gripping tension and some of the finest action scenes ever filmed.

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When college nostalgia inspires a group of middle-aged businessmen to match-make for the widow - played with measured dignity by Setsuko Hara (Tokyo Story) - of one of their friends and her daughter, they have no idea of the strife their careless interference will cause.

Late Autumn's examination of familial upheaval moves effortlessly from comedy to pathos and is amongst the finest of legendary director Yasujiro Ozu's post-war films.