mervyn-verstellung's - Favourites List

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An intense and bizarre study of obsession that is by turns lyrical and disconcerting, Duffer (1971) tells the deranged story of a teenage boy torn between the womanly charms of a kindly prostitute, and the relentless, sadistic attentions of an older man.

The Moon Over the Alley (1975), from the writer-director team behind Duffer, explores the problems of the multicultural residents in a Notting Hill boarding house. Dark and disturbing, yet dreamlike and tender, this astonishing film includes surreal musical numbers by the award-winning composer of Hair, Galt MacDermot.

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After Negan brutally forces Rick and the group to bend to his will, Rick finally understands that Negan cannot be reasoned with and that they must prepare to go to war.

Victory will require more than just the supplies and numbers in Alexandria, and in the pursuit of more weapons, food and new fighters, Rick and the group will be tested like never before. Alexandria and their new allies will need to band together and rise up against Negan and his army, but nothing can prepare them for the all-out battle that awaits them.

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Alejandra (Ruth Ramos) is a housewife, raising two boys with husband Angel (Jesús Meza) in a small city. Her brother Fabian (Eden Villavicencio) works as a nurse in a local hospital. Their provincial lives are upset with the arrival of the mysterious Veronica (Simone Bucio).

Sex and love can be fragile in certain regions where strong family values, hypocrisy, homophobia, and male chauvinism exist. Veronica convinces them that in the nearby woods, inside an isolated cabin, dwells something not of this world that could be the answer to all of their problems. Something whose force they cannot resist and with whom they must make peace or suffer its wrath.

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One of the great lost masterpieces of Japanese animation. "Belladonna of Sadness" is a mad, swirling, psychedelic light-show of medieval tarot-card imagery with horned demons, haunted forests and La Belle Dame Sans Merci with J.R.R. Tolkien influences.

The last film in the Animerama trilogy produced by the godfather of Japanese anime and manga, Osamu Tezuka and directed by his longtime collaborator Eiichi Yamamoto (Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion), 'Belladonna' unfolds as a series of spectacular still watercolor paintings that bleed and twist together. A young woman, Jeanne (voiced by Aiko Nagayama) is assaulted by the local lord on her wedding night. To take revenge, she makes a pact with the Devil himself (voiced by Tatsuya Nakadai, from Akira Kurosawa's 'Ran') who appears as a sprite and transforms her into a black-robed vision of madness and desire. Extremely transgressive, 'Belladonna' is fueled by a mind-blowing Japanese psych rock soundtrack by noted avant-garde jazz composer Masahiko Satoh.

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One of the 20th century’s most important singers, Shirley Collins stood at the epicentre of the folk music scene during the 1960's and ‘70’s. However, she lost her voice in mysterious circumstances, and retired from musical life.

This documentary explores the story behind the icon, and chronicles Shirley’s battle at the grand old age of 80, to rediscover that voice she lost so many years previously. Here is a film about loss and redemption. A film about sacrifice, healing and rebirth. A film which suggests that, during these turbulent, untethered times, we might just need Shirley Collins now more than ever.

Tracklisting:
1. All I Ever Wanted - Shirley Collins
2. Calvary Hill - Shirley Collins
3. Got on My Travelling Shoes - Ishman Williams and The Williams Singers
4. Do You Want Me to Start, Alan - Shirley Collins
5. I Never Will Marry - Texas Gladden
6. Come on Boys. Let's Go to the Ball - Sid Hemphill and Lucius Smith
7. A Rich Irish Lady - Horton Barker
8. The Poor Drowned Sailor - Ian Kearey
9. Pharoah - Sidney Hemphill Carter
10. I Used to Could Sing - Shirley Collins
11. Outtake (London 1959) - Shirley Collins
12. There's Never Been a Merry England - Shirley Collins
13. Seeds of Love - Andy Hemsley and Hastings Jack in the Green
14. Calvary - N.J Brothers and The United Sacred Harp Musical Ass.
15. Make Lulu Behave Herself - Lucius Smith
16. Single Girl, Married Girl - Ruby Vass
17. I Can't Really Forget Them - Shirley Collins
18. Sally Anne - George Stoneman
19. The Cloud House/Cyclobe - Michael J. York and Ossian Brown
20. Missa Humana - Dolly Collins
21. Wondrous Love - Shirley Collins

Based on the true story of Miss Shepherd (Maggie Smith), a woman of uncertain origins "temporarily" parks her van in Alan Bennett's (Alex Jennings) London driveway and proceeds to live there for 15 years. What begins as a begrudged favour becomes a relationship that will change both their lives.

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Chihiro, a headstrong 10-year-old girl, is unhappy that her family are moving house and that she will have to make new friends. As they make their way to the new home, Chihiro's father takes a detour to explore a mysterious tunnel in the woods.

On the other side is what seems to be a deserted theme park but is in fact a ghostly town. Unwittingly, they have strayed into the Land of the Spirits, a world of dreamlike scenery inhabited by ancient gods and magical beings, ruled over by the sorceress, Yubaba. With her parents held captive and Yubaba set on enslaving them forever, Chihiro must use all her energy to survive in this strange new place. With the help of Haku, a brave young spirit, she is forced to overcome her Pears and join an epic battle for her family's freedom.

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Kate Mercer (Charlotte Rampling) is planning a party to celebrate her 45th wedding anniversary. One week before the celebration, however, a letter arrives for her husband, Geoff (Tom Courtenay), containing news that reawakens troubling and long-hidden memories.

Though Kate continues to prepare for the anniversary, she becomes increasingly concerned by Geoff's preoccupation with the letter and the ensuing revelations about his past. By the time the party comes round, there may not be a marriage left to celebrate.

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Touko Laaksonen (Pekka Strang), a decorated officer, returns home after a harrowing and heroic experience serving his country in World War II, but life in Finland during peacetime proves equally distressing.

He finds postwar Helsinki rampant with persecution, and men around him even being pressured to marry women and have children. Touko finds refuge in his liberating art, specialising in homoerotic drawings of muscular men, free of inhabitations. His work - made famous by his signature 'Tom of Finland' - became the emblem of a generation of men and fanned the flames of a gay revolution.

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Chris (Tom Meeten) is a homicide detective called to London to investigate a strange double murder. Both victims appear to have continued moving towards their assailant despite multiple gunshots to the face and chest.

On a hunch, and with the help of an old colleague - and former girlfriend - Chris decides to go undercover as a patient to investigate the suspect's psychotherapist, the mysterious Alexander Morland (Geoffrey McGivern), who has a taste for the occult...

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A quarter century after revolutionizing television, 'Twin Peaks' returns. Expanding the world you thought you knew, this limited event series takes you places wonderful, strange and farther out.

This collection includes all 18 parts of the Showtime series, plus a wealth of exclusive, behind-the-scenes special features that will show you what's behind the "red curtain" and the making of this extraordinary television event.

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In a small German town in 1919, Anna (Paula Beer) repeatedly visits the grave of her fiance, Frantz (Anton von Lucke), who was killed in battle during World War I. One day she spies a mysterious young Frenchman Adrien (Pierre Niney), also laying flowers at the grave.

She enquires about his business there and he explains he was a friend of Frantz. The pair become increasingly close and Anna becomes more and more intrigued by Adrien's history with her fiance. Long buried secrets are revealed that will illuminate unknown areas of their past lives and impact their future ones in a wearied and battle-scarred Europe. At once graceful and gripping, 'Frantz' is an intimate and timely exploration of healing and forgiveness across European borders.

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The story unfolds on land, sea and air, as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk with enemy troops closing in. RAF Spitfires engage the enemy in the skies above the Channel, trying to protect the defenseless men below.

Meanwhile, hundreds of small boats manned by both military and civilians are mounting a desperate rescue effort, risking their lives in a race against time to save even a fraction of their army.

In 1980s Perth, Australia, a depraved couple are abducting and murdering young women. When seventeen-year-old Vicki Maloney (Ashleigh Cummings) accepts a ride from the duo late one night, she finds herself catapulted into a nightmare beyond her imagining.

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In rural Sweden around the turn of the century, three sisters reside in a vast manor house with their housekeeper. Agnes (Harriet Andersson) lives out the last days of her life in pain, hoping for companionship and affection.

Surrounded by her sisters, Karin (Ingrid Thulin) and Maria (Liv Ullmann), Agnes takes comfort in the fact that her remaining time can be spent with those close to her. However, dissatisfaction in their day-to-day-lives, and the estrangement that they feel from one another, causes the sisters to become increasingly self-absorbed.