riverofgiraffes's - Rented List
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Blithe Spirit (1945)Noel Coward's 'Blithe Spirit'
Rex Harrison plays novelist Charles Condomine who is plagued by the ghost of his sexy first wife Elvira (Kay Hammond). Second wife Ruth (Constance Cummings) doesn't believe him and brings in eccentric medium madam Arcati (A hilarious performance by Margaret Rutherford) to get proof. Lean and Coward's third screen collaboration (after 'In Which We Serve' and 'This Happy Breed' and Before 'Brief Encounter') is a sophisticated and witty delight. - Director:
- David Lean
- Cast:
- Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, Kay Hammond
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Porco Rosso (1992)Kurenai no buta
In the 1920s Adriatic Sea, only one pilot rules the skies: Porco Rosso, a talented pilot who, due to a magic spell, has been transformed into a pig. Porco leads a solitary life as a pilot for hire protecting airships from marauding pilots, resting on his private island and visiting his friend, the beautiful hotel-owner Gina. But when a hot-headed American pilot arrives looking to make a name for himself by shooting down The Crimson Pig, Porco enlists the help of a feisty teenage airplane engineer to get his beat up plane into shape for the big fight. - Director:
- Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast:
- Shûichirô Moriyama, Tokiko Katô, Sanshi Katsura
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Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)The Far Side of the World
When "Lucky" Jack Aubrey's (Russell Crowe) ship is suddenly attacked by a superior enemy, despite heavy damage to the ship and much of his crew injured. Aubrey sets sail in a high-stakes exhilarating chase to intercept and capture their foe. It's a mission that can decide the fate of a nation - or destroy him and his crew. - Director:
- Peter Weir
- Cast:
- Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, Billy Boyd
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An innocent man on the run. A beautiful icy blonde. A fast-moving cross-country pursuit. A chaotic world where no one is ever what they seem. 'The 39 Steps' set the template for Hitchcock's classic suspense thrillers. John Buchan's very loosely adapted story begins when Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) picks up the exotic 'Annabella Smith' at a music hall. The next morning he discovers she's been killed and finds himself in the frame for her murder. Way ahead of its time in terms of its pace, black comedy and the sexual chemistry between the charismatic leads (particularly when Carroll removes her stockings while handcuffed to Donat), 'The 39 Steps' is among Hitch's finest and has been voted into the BFI's Top Five Favorite British Films. - Director:
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Cast:
- Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim
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Based on Jacques Offenbach's opera of the stories of romantic poet E.T.A. Hoffmann. "The Tales of Hoffmann" gave close collaborators Michael Powell and Emeric Bressburger another opportunity to eschew realism and celebrate artifice and creativity. In "Black Narcissus", Powell had worked closely with composer Brian Easdale to create an extended sequence in which sound and image were intimately intert wined. The ballet sequences of "The Red Shoes" offered an obvious arena into which to continue this experiment, culminating in "The Tales of Hoffmann", in which the entire film is shaped by Offenbach's score, given a rousing rendition by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of the legendary Sir Thomas Beecham. The choreography, courtesy of Jane Ashton is equally inspired, resulting in a charming fantasy that's a triumph of design and a sumptuous feast for the senses. - Director:
- Michael Powell
- Cast:
- Moira Shearer, Robert Rounseville, Ludmilla Tchérina
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The City of Lost Children (1995)La cité des enfants perdus
'The City of Lost Children' is a dazzling fantasy adventure from Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, creators of 'Delicatessen'. They bring their surreal vision to the story of Krank (Daniel Emilfork), a tormented scientist who sets about kidnapping local children in order to steal their dreams and so reverse his accelerated ageing process. When Krank's henchmen kidnap his brother, local fisherman and former circus strongman One sets out on a journey to Krank's nightmarish laboratory, accompanied by Miette (Judith Vittet), an orphan girl who has her own. - Director:
- Marc Caro
- Cast:
- Jean-Louis Trintignant, Ron Perlman, Daniel Emilfork
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Recently orphaned Mary Yellan (Maureen O'Hara in her first major film role) arrives at Jamaica Inn from Ireland to live with her aunt. Unaware that it serves as the headquarters for a murderous gang responsible for shipwrecks along the Cornish coast, she soon finds herself embroiled in backstabbing, conspiracy and villainy presided over by the local squire, Sir Humphrey Pengallan (Charles Laughton). - Director:
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Cast:
- Maureen O'Hara, Robert Newton, Charles Laughton
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Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora's family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life, in this heartrending modern romance. - Director:
- Celine Song
- Cast:
- Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro
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Rebecca (1940)Rebeca, una mujer inolvidable
Whilst on holiday, young timid ladies companion (Joan Fontaine) meets handsome and wealthy widower Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier) whose wife Rebecca has recently died in a boating accident. The two fall in love and marry. However, her joy is short lived when she returns to the de Winter estate and soon discovers that Rebecca still has a strange, unearthly hold over everyone there. - Director:
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Cast:
- Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders
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Night Moves (1975)The Dark Tower
L.A. detective Harry Moseby (Gene Hackman) has problems. Missing persons and bedroom stakeouts are no match for his glory days as a pro-football player. His wife is having a not-so-secret affair. And while sorting things out, he takes on the case of a runaway teenager that may be a lot more than he can handle. - Director:
- Arthur Penn
- Cast:
- Gene Hackman, Neil Brooks Cunningham, Michael Ebert
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"Labyrinth" is a major fantasy feature film with a cast of incredible creatures created by The Jim Henson Creature Shop, and produced by Star Wars director George Lucas. Starring rock legend David Bowie, who performs five original songs, Labyrinth is the perfect family film combining music, adventure, comedy and fantasy. Frustrated with baby-sitting on yet another weekend night, Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) - a teenager with a active imagination - summons the Goblins from her favourite book, "Labyrinth", to take her baby step-brother away. When little Toby (Toby Froud) actually disappears, Sarah must follow him into the world of the fairy tale to rescue him, in hope that their loyalty isn't just another illusion in a place where nothing is as it seems! - Director:
- Jim Henson
- Cast:
- David Bowie, Brian Henson, Jennifer Connelly
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State of Grace (1990)Estado de gracia
A decade after leaving his old Irish-American neighbourhood, Terry Noonan is welcomed back to New York's Hell's Kitchen. A one-time street tough, Terry is now an undercover police officer targeting the head of the old gang, crime boss Frankie Flannery. As he rekindles old friendships to get closer to his target, loyalties are questioned, tension escalates and the old neighbourhood is ready to explode. - Director:
- Phil Joanou
- Cast:
- Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Gary Oldman
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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
- Formats:
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Wings of Desire (1987)Der Himmel über Berlin / The Sky Above Berlin / The Sky Over Berlin
The sky over Wenders' war-scarred Berlin is full of gentle, trenchcoated angels who listen to the tortured thoughts of mortals and try to comfort them. One, Damiel, (Bruno Ganz) wishes to become mortal after falling in love with a beautiful trapeze artist, Marion (Solveig Dommartin). Peter Falk, as himself, assists in the transformation by explaining the simple joys of a human experience. - Director:
- Wim Wenders
- Cast:
- Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander
- Formats:
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Mr. Klein (1976)Monsieur Klein
Paris, January 1942 - art dealer Robert Klein (Alain Delon) is making a killing. For this loyal Frenchman the Nazi occupation is a unique business opportunity. He stands to profit from the Jewish people's misfortune, as they sell their possessions in a hurry to leave the country. But when a Jewish newspaper turns up on Klein's doorstep, his comfortable life begins to unravel. It seems there is another Robert Klein, a suspected Jewish Resistance fighter, who is content to live in the shadows and let his namesake take the fall. As Klein's investigation of his double progresses, the mood shifts from Hitchcock to Kafka and proving his innocence becomes less important than confronting his doppelgänger... - Director:
- Joseph Losey
- Cast:
- Alain Delon, Jean Topart, Jeanne Moreau
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