john-t's - Rented List

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Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson bring to life the untold true story about the origins of one of the most treasured Disney classics of all time. John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) directs this acclaimed film, which reveals the surprising backstory behind the making of Mary Poppins.

Determined to fulfill a promise to his daughters, Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) tries for twenty years to obtain the rights to author P. L. Travers' (Emma Thompson) beloved book. Armed with his iconic creative vision, Walt pulls out all the stops, but the uncompromising Travers won't budge. Only when he reaches into his own complicated childhood does Walt discover the truth about the ghosts that haunt Travers, and together, they set Mary Poppins free!

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On the brink of Civil War, King Henry IV (John Gielgud) attempts to consolidate his reign while fretting with unease over his son's seeming neglect of his royal duties.

Hal (Keith Baxter), the young Prince, openly consorts with Sir John Falstaff (Orson Welles) and his company of "Diana's foresters, Gentlemen of the shade, Minions of the moon". Hal's friendship with the fat knight substitutes for his estrangement from his father. Both Falstaff and the King are old and tired; both rely on Hal for comfort in their final years, while the young Prince, the future Henry V, nurtures his own ambitions.

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A thousand years after a great war, a seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind is one of the only areas which remains populated.

Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaa, the people of the Valley are engaged in a constant struggle with powerful insects called ohmu, who guard a poisonous jungle that is spreading across the Earth. Nausicaa and her brave companions, together with the people of the Valley, strive to restore the bond between humanity and the earth.

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A genuine lost gem of 7o's American cinema, 'The Iceman Cometh' has rarely been seen since 1973. This is one of the definitive film translations of a stage play.

Eugene O'Neill's masterpiece is often referred to as the greatest work of 20th century American theatre, centring on a crowd of wastrels, misfits, anarchists, alcoholics, whores and barflies, drinking away their troubles, and making grandiose plans. When Hickey arrives, for his yearly drunken bender to celebrate landlord Harry Hope's birthday, each character's dreams and aspirations melt away with a heartbreaking poignancy, exposing the human need for illusion and fantasy as an antidote to self-delusion and despair.

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When career thief Gaston Monescu (Herbert Marshall) meets glamorous pickpocket Lily (Miriam Hopkins), their love soon takes on a professional dimension as they initiate a plot to rob beautiful perfume magnate Mariette Colet (Kay Francis).

But as Gaston gets ever closer to his intended prey, his romantic confusion, as well as the threat that his past will catch up with him, throws their plan into jeopardy.

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Academy Award nominee Ian McKellen takes on the iconic role of Detective Sherlock Holmes. In 1947, the world famous sleuth has retired to a remote Sussex farmhouse, living in relative anonymity with only his housekeeper Mrs Munro and her young son Roger for company.

Cantankerous, demanding and frustrated with the mis-representation of him in Watson's best-selling novels, he diverts his attention to an unsolved case. As the mystery deepens, Sherlock tries desperately to recall the events of 30 years ago that ultimately led to his retirement.

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Directed by Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Chuck Workman, 'Magician' explores the artistic and private life of Orson Welles, taking the viewer on a wild journey through his accomplished career in theatre and radio, and in film and television - both in Hollywood and in Europe.

Featuring new interviews with Welles authorities including Simon Callow and Peter Bogdanovich, and illustrated with a wealth of archival material and film extracts, Magician reveals a pioneering, uncompromising artist who, although misunderstood in his own time, is now rightfully lauded as a master of his art.

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Frederick Wiseman, master documentarian, takes the audience behind the scenes of a British institution, on a journey to the heart of a museum inhabited by masterpieces of Western art from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.

National Gallery is the portrait of a place, its way of working and relations with the world, its staff and public, and its paintings.

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Film recounts the adventures of Gustave H., a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars; and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.

The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting; a raging battle for an enormous family fortune; a desperate chase on motorcycles, trains, sleds, and skis; and the sweetest confection of a love affair - all against the backdrop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.

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Set in Japan during World War II, the film focuses on Seita and his little sister Setsuko. After their mother is killed in an air raid, and with their father serving in the navy, they are forced to fight for survival in the devastated Japanese countryside.

Food and shelter are scarce, and even their own relatives are too concerned with their own survival. All they have is each other and their belief that life must carry on.

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A mysterious nanny, who secretly took over 100,000 photographs that were hidden in storage lockers and discovered decades later, is now considered among the twentieth century's greatest photographers.

Maier's strange and riveting life and art are revealed through never-before-seen photographs, films and interviews with dozens who thought they knew her.

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Acclaimed director Steve James (Hoop Dreams) and executive producers Martin Scorsese (The Departed) and Steven Zaillian (Moneyball) present "Life Itself", a documentary film that recounts the inspiring and entertaining life of world-renowned film critic and social commentator Roger Ebert - a story

that is by turns personal, funny, painful, and transcendent. Based on his bestselling memoir of the same name, "Life Itself", explores the legacy of Roger Ebert's life, from his Pulitzer Prize-winning film criticism at the Chicago Sun-Times to becoming one of the most influential cultural voices in America.

Ruined aristocrat John Barry more. Terminally ill clerk Lionel Barrymore. Ruthless tycoon Wallace Beery. Scheming stenographer Joan Crawford. And disillusioned ballerina Greta Garbo. Teaming them was a masterstroke whose success fostered more star-packed extravaganzas.

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Forget James Bond...and step into the real, dour and chilling world of spies and counterspies.

Oscar nominee Richard Burton is the burnt-out British agent who refuses to "come in from the cold" to take a desk job - but instead launches into the most dangerous assignment of his career, stalking East German agent (and Golden Globe winner) Oskar Werner. John Le Carre's best-selling novel provides the basis for this breathtaking thriller of espionage, intrigue, crosses and double-crosses.

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Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller) is an ambitious young jazz drummer, in pursuit of rising to the top of his elite music conservatory. Terence Fletcher (J.K.

Simmons), an instructor known for his terrifying teaching methods, discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into the top jazz ensemble, forever changing the young man's life. But Andrew's passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into obsession, as his ruthless teacher pushes him to the brink of his ability and his sanity.