mervyn-verstellung's - Rented List
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From acclaimed filmmaker Terence Davies, 'A Quiet Passion' is a powerful study of' 19th Century poet Emily Dickinson that features a stunning performance from Cynthia Nixon. Spanning a rebellious schoolgirl youth to her later years as a reclusive writer, Davies elegantly explores the hopes, dreams and desires of a woman who wrote some of the most important poems in American literature that still resonate today. - Director:
- Terence Davies
- Cast:
- Cynthia Nixon, Jennifer Ehle, Duncan Duff
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Based on the classic novel by Lewis Grassic Gibbon and brought to life by master director Terence Davies, 'Sunset Song' is an intimate epic of hope, tragedy and love at the dawning of the Great War. Set in the rural community of Kinraddie, Sunset Song is driven by the young heroine Chris and her intense passion for life, for the unsettled Ewan and for the unforgiving land. As the approaching war brings the modern world to bear on the rural community, Chris must endure against the hardships of rural Scottish life and draw strength from this ancient land. - Director:
- Terence Davies
- Cast:
- Peter Mullan, Agyness Deyn, Kevin Guthrie
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Jules and Jim (1962)Jules et Jim
Spanning two decades at the start of the 20th century, "Jules and Jim" follows the lives of two inseparable friends - timid German, Jules (Oskar Werner), and gregarious Parisian, Jim (Henri Serre) - and their shared love of the beautiful, capricious Catherine, played in mesmerising, luminous style by Jeanne Moreau. Overcoming the destructive rift of World War I the trio create a new life for themselves, away from the structures imposed by society. But as the idyllic menage a trois begins to succumb to jealousy and rivalry their idealised existence finds itself slowly buckling under pressure. Frequently hailed as one of the greatest films ever made, "Jules and Jim" is a dazzling, boldly original tale of love, friendship and the vagaries of history that combines romance, comedy and tragedy in breathtaking, near-perfect dramatic harmony. - Director:
- François Truffaut
- Cast:
- Michel Subor, Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner
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Images (1972)Robert Altman's Images
Originally conceived in the mid-sixties, 'Images' concerns a pregnant children's author (Susannah York) whose husband (Rene Auberjonois) may or may not be having an affair. While holidaying in Ireland, her mental state becomes increasingly unstable resulting in paranoia, hallucinations and visions of a doppelgänger. - Director:
- Robert Altman
- Cast:
- Susannah York, Rene Auberjonois, Marcel Bozzuffi
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Earthquake (2016)Zemletryasenie
On December 7th 1988 Armenia was hit by a massive earthquake that claimed the lives of 25,000 people and destroyed several cities. On the day of the quake, two men arrive in their home town only to be caught up in the terrible events and must work together to rescue as many people as they can before the aftershocks hit. 'Earthquake' is a thrilling true story about loss, survival and the courage ordinary people can show under extraordinary circumstances. - Director:
- Sarik Andreasyan
- Cast:
- Konstantin Lavronenko, Mariya Mironova, Viktor Stepanyan
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Celia (1989)Celia: Child of Terror
Set in mid-1950's Australia, with the fear of Communism in the air and the country's farmlands overrun by a plague of rabbits, the film depicts a long, hot summer seen through the eyes and over-active imagination of nine year old Celia (Rebecca Smart). Shaken by the death of her beloved grandmother, Celia finds herself adrift between the cruel games and rituals of childhood and the incomprehensible world of grown-ups. With monstrous creatures stalking her dreams by night, those imagined terrors blur by day with the banal brutality of the adult world leading to tragic and shocking consequences. - Director:
- Ann Turner
- Cast:
- Rebecca Smart, Don Kinsey, Dan Webb
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The Painted Veil (2006)Al otro lado del mundo
Based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham, The Painted Veil is a love story set in the 1920s that tells the story of a young English couple, Walter (Edward Norton), a middle class doctor and Kitty (Naomi Watts), an upper-class woman, who get married for the wrong reasons and relocate to Shanghai, where she falls in love with someone else. When he uncovers her infidelity, in an act of vengeance, he accepts a job in a remote village in China ravaged by a deadly epidemic, and takes her along. Their journey brings meaning to their relationship and gives them purpose in one of the most remote and beautiful places on earth. - Director:
- John Curran
- Cast:
- Naomi Watts, Hélène Cardona, Edward Norton
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Non-Fiction (2018)Doubles Vies
An affair between actress Selena's (Juliette Binoche) and writer Leonard (Vincent Macaigne) is nearly discovered among their close friends in Leonard's thinly veiled autobiographical novel. Fortunately for them, Alain (Guillaume Canet), both Selena's husband and Leonard's publisher rejects the book and remains seemingly oblivious to the whole ordeal, maybe because he's having his own affair as well' But eventually, the group must confront their double lives in a comedy of art, affairs and midlife crises. - Director:
- Olivier Assayas
- Cast:
- Guillaume Canet, Juliette Binoche, Vincent Macaigne
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Yella (2007)Йелла
Following a near-death experience, Yella (Nina Hoss) flees her eastern German hometown, failed marriage and broken dreams to start over again in Hanover. By chance she finds work with ambitious and determined young executive Philipp (Devid Striesow) and enters a ruthless world of big business and cut-throat boardroom deals for which she finds her looks, quick wits and icy demeanor major assets. But just as Yella seems poised to fully realise her ambitions, she finds herself haunted by truths from the past that threaten to destroy her new life. - Director:
- Christian Petzold
- Cast:
- Nina Hoss, Devid Striesow, Hinnerk Schönemann
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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood visits 1969 Los Angeles, where everything is changing, as TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) make their way around an industry they hardly recognize anymore. The ninth film from the writer-director features a large ensemble cast and multiple storylines in a tribute to the final moments of Hollywood's golden age. - Director:
- Quentin Tarantino
- Cast:
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie
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An eye-opening exploration of the occult, Malcolm Leigh's X-rated quasi-documentary 'Legend of the Witches' (1970) is an imaginative depiction of pagan rituals as they were supposedly practised at the dawn of the downer decade. Sharing the secrets of initiation into a coven, divination, ritual scrying, the casting of a 'death spell' and a chilling black mass, it also visits Boscastle's incredible Museum of Witchcraft, celebrates Britain's pagan heritage and pays tribute to the perennial power of the witch. Part mondo movie, part counter-cultural artefact, 'Secret Rites' (1971) is a side-step towards documentary territory by notorious exploitation stalwart Derek Ford that purports to lift the veil on witchcraft-as-lifestyle-choice in 1970's Notting Hill. Mystery band 'The Spindle' provide psychedelic sounds while groovy hairdresser and tentative occultist Penny is initiated into the coven of Alex Sanders, who features prominently in both films. - Director:
- Derek Ford
- Cast:
- Penny Beeching, Guy Standeven, Shirley Harmer
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Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Paul Zindel, Paul Newman's second film as director stars his wife Joanne Woodward as an abusive, over-bearing mother raising her two daughters, Matilda and Ruth (Nell Potts and Roberta Wallach), in an atmosphere of bitterness and hatred. 'The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds' is a powerful, searingly unsentimental and ultimately transformative drama, with a trio of towering performances from the three female leads at its core. - Director:
- Paul Newman
- Cast:
- Joanne Woodward, Nell Potts, Roberta Wallach
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Gwen (2018)The Dark Outside
In the stark beauty of 19th Century Snowdonia a young girl Gwen (Eleanor Worthington-Cox), tries desperately to hold her home together. Struggling with her mother's mysterious illness, her father's absence and a ruthless mining company encroaching on their land, a growing darkness begins to take grip of her home, and the suspicious local community turns on Gwen and her family. - Director:
- William McGregor
- Cast:
- Maxine Peake, Richard Harrington, Eleanor Worthington-Cox
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In the Courtyard (2014)Dans La Cour
40-year-old musician Antoine (Gustave Kervern) suddenly decides to end his career. After several days' aimless wandering, he is hired as the caretaker of an old residential building in Paris. Mathilde (Catherine Deneuve) is a recently retired resident, generous-spirited and deeply involved with the management company of the building. After she discovers a crack in her living room wall, her worry gradually turns to panic - what if the building were to collapse? Slowly, Antoine develops a fondness for this woman he is afraid will slip into madness. Through a confusion of misfires and anxiety, the two develop an awkward friendship, funny yet solid, which might just get them through this difficult patch... - Director:
- Pierre Salvadori
- Cast:
- Catherine Deneuve, Adeline Moreau, Gustave Kervern
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For over 30 years the Children's Film Foundation produced quality entertainment for young audiences, employing the cream of British filmmaking talent. Newly transferred from the best available elements held in the BFI National Archive, these much-loved and fondly remembered films finally return to the screen after many years out of distribution in this specially curated video release from the BFI.
Johnny on the Run (1953), a superb early work by illustrious British director Lewis Gilbert (You Only Live Twice, Educating Rita, Alfie), follows orphaned Polish refugee Janek who runs into trouble in the shape of two scheming thieves. Starring Sydney Tafler (Carue Her Name with Pride, The Spy Who Loved Me) as a cunning spiv, and featuring an appearance from John Laurie (The 39 Steps, Dad's Army), Johnny on the Run is an action-packed adventure with a remarkable performance from its young lead.
Hide and Seek (1972) stars a teenage Gary Kemp (The Krays) as do-gooding Chris, who becomes entangled with a borstal escapee known locally as the Deptford Dodger. With friend Bev, Chris traces the ungrateful Dodger's disreputable dad. With Roy Dotrice and Robin Askwith in supporting roles, this thriller is among the best of the Foundation's 1970s output.
In Terry on the Fence (1985), when our 11-year-old protagonist runs away from home he only intends to put the wind up his parents. But a gang of older bullies, led by tough-nut Les, soon draw him into their daunting world of break-ins and stolen goods. Based on the book by author Bernard Ashley, Terry on the Fence goes far beyond the concept of goodies and baddies, to the ambiguity at the heart of Terry's moral dilemma.- Director:
- Lewis Gilbert
- Cast:
- Eugeniusz Chylek, Sydney Tafler, Michael Balfour
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