zolacolor's - Rented List

Featurete is a surreal, comic vision of modern life in which the director's much-loved character, Monsieur Hulot - accompanied by a cast of tourists and well-heeled Parisians - turns unintentional anarchist when set loose in an unrecognisable Paris of steel skyscrapers, chrome-plated shopping malls and futuristic night spots.

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The film that brought Jacques Tati international acclaim also launched his on-screen alter ego: the courteous, well-meaning, eternally accident-prone Monsieur Hulot with whom Tati would from now on be inseparably associated.

As with Jour de fete, Vacances is set in a sleepy French coastal resort which is seasonally disrupted by holidaymakers in energetic pursuit of fun. At the centre of the chaos is the eccentric Hulot, struggling at all times to maintain appearances, but somehow entirely divorced from his immediate surroundings. There is little plot in Tati's beautifully orchestrated 'ballet' of comic action: it's a series of incidents, a seamless succession of gently studies of human absurdity.

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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.

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The London Nobody Knows

Based on Geoffrey Fletcher’s book, this captivating documentary exposes the real London of the swinging sixties. Turning its back on familiar sights, the film explores the hidden details of a crumbling metropolis. With James Mason as our Guide, we are led on an tour of the weird and wonderful pockets of London from abandoned music-halls to egg breaking factories.

The London Nobody Knows paints a fascinating picture of London as a city where there is joy and wonder to be found at every turn. A compelling portrait of a bygone era, The London Nobody Knows is a unique piece of film history.

Les Bicyclettes de Belsize

An enchanting musical love story about a young man who falls for a model after seeing her picture and then takes to the streets on his bicycle to find her...

Directed by Douglas Hickox (Sitting Target), this cult favourite is a long-lost classic of the swinging sixties. An evocative, dreamlike trip though leafy London, Les Bicyclettes de Belsize stars sixties bombshell Judy Huxtable (the one-time wife of comedian Peter Cook) and boasts an outstanding soundtrack. Shot in North London in 1968, the film perfectly captures the fashions, verve and innocence of the time

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Anouk Aimee gives her defining performance as Cecile, a cabaret performer and single mother. Taking the stage name Lola, she entrances Roland (Marc Michel), a young drifter. A friend of Lola since childhood, he yearnsfor herto return his affections but she pines for her husband's return.

In the present, she disports with an American sailor named Frankie (Alan Scott), who in turn is the object of a young girl's affections. The girl's name, like Lola's, is Cecile (Annie Dupeyroux). Set in Nantes overthe span of a few days, this story of love stories crossing paths, of life teeming with co-incidences and missed chances conveys the spirit of the early French New Wave and the cinema of Max Ophuls, to whom Demy also dedicates the film.

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George Bailey (James Stewart) has spent his entire life in the small town of Bedford Falls.

Despite his yearning to see the world, George has always sacrificed his personal ambitions for the sake of his family and the local community, settling down to marry his childhood sweetheart, Mary (Donna Reed), and raise a family. However, when a huge amount of money goes missing from the savings and loans company he panics and finds himself preparing to commit suicide. However, he is shown the error of this idea by Clarence (Henry Travers), an angel who has been sent to Earth in order to earn his wings. To this end, Clarence shows George just how badly Bedford Falls and its residents would have turned out had he never been born.

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Two dogs, Snitter and Rowf, escape from a research institute and go on the run after being deliberately infected with a deadly virus.

As they pose a threat to the human population, the two dogs are hunted down whilst searching for their original owner and a place where they no longer have to suffer human cruelty.

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Sophies life is thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome-yet-mysterious wizard named Howl.

Subsequently transformed into a 90-year-old woman by the wicked Witch of the Waste, she embarks on an incredible odyssey to lift the curse, and finds refuge in Howl's magical moving castle.

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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.

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It's witch meets world, as teenage Kiki chooses to live on her own in a new town, using her magical powers to get by. But Kiki is poor with potions and second-rate at spells - instead, she sets up a courier service, using her broomstick to deliver everything from pies to pets.

At first with only her sarcastic cat Jiji for company, she soon discovers that she has more friends than she ever thought possible.

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"Better Man" is based on the true story of the meteoric rise, dramatic fall and remarkable resurgence of Robbie Williams, one of the UK's bestselling artists of all time.

Under the visionary direction of Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) and with stunning visual effects created by the Academy Award winning team at Weta FX (Avatar, The Lord of the Rings), the film is uniquely told from Robbie's perspective, capturing his signature wit and indomitable spirit. It follows Robbie's journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of 'Take That', through to his unparalleled achievement as a record-breaking solo artist - all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring.

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The year is 2027: The world's youngest person has just died at 18, and humankind is facing its own extinction. In a society torn apart by violence and warring sects, children of men follows Theo (Clive Owen) as he becomes an unlikely champion of earth's Survival.

One women represents the planet's Last Remaining Hope - When her safety is threatened, Theo is forced to protect her from certain peril.

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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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Orphan Pazu's life is changed when one day the beautiful Sheeta literally falls out of the sky. Round her neck she wears a glowing crystal, a relic of the mighty Levitation Stones that once kept ancient cities floating in the air.

Caught up in a race between sky pirates and sinister government agents, Pazu (voice of Mayumi Tanaka) and Sheeta (voice of Keiko Yokozawa) go in search of Laputa, the last of the fabled castles in the sky. Hayao Miyazaki's homage to Jules Verne and Jonathan Swift, 'Castle in the Sky' was the first feature film from the now legendary Studio Ghibli. Combining the Japanese master director's twin obsessions of eco-thriller and aerial escapades, its combination of a treasure hunt and a fight against evil make for an unforgettable adventure.

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While their mother recovers from an illness, Satsuki and her little sister Mei (voiced in English by Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning) get away from it all in an idyllic rural retreat.

Far from the bustle of the city, they discover a mysterious place of spirits and magic, and the friendship of the Totoro woodland creatures.
Conceived as a family film devoid of conflict and suffused with the carefree pleasures of the summertime, My Neighbour Totoro sees Hayao Miyazaki create a parable of friendship and imagination populated with unforgettable characters. A universal classic for all generations, My Neighbour Totoro shows Japanese animation's famous Studio Ghibli at its very best, and is an elegy to two ever-fading miracles: the fairytale world of childhood and the disappearing countryside.