| |  In This Issue:June 2009What's New on DVDDear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)Documentary. Blood-curdling/Intense/Moving. Color. 98 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Kurt Kuenne. Riveting, shocking, and heart-achingly poignant, Kuenne's "Dear Zachary" burrows into an almost unbearably bleak and complicated murder case that is part true crime, part thriller, and part ... Read More > | |  |
I Served the King of England (2007)Drama/Foreign. Offbeat/Witty. Color. 120 mins. Rated R. Directed By Jiri Menzel. Starring Ivan Barnev and Julia Jentsch. The justly celebrated Czech New Wave pioneer ("Closely Watched Trains") Jiri Menzel brings his characteristic mix of dark humor and absurdist fantasy to this buoyant story of social climbing in ... Read More > | |  |
I've Loved You So Long (2208)Drama/Foreign. Intense/Moving. Color. 117 mins. Rated PG-13. Directed By Philippe Claudel. Starring and Kristin Scott Thomas. Claudel's intelligent, exquisitely directed drama handles the central mystery of Juliette's crime with such graceful restraint that the shock of its revelation earns every bit of the director's ... Read More > | |  |
Let the Right One In (2008)Drama/Foreign/Horror/Science Fiction. Spine-tingling. Color. 114 mins. Rated R. Directed By Tomas Alfredson. Starring Kare Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson. With subtle, moving brilliance, Tomas Alfredson turns the immortal vampire genre inside out with "Let the Right One In," an ingenious teen romance/fright flick whose emotional depth and resonance is ... Read More > | |  |
Milk (2008)Drama. Intense/Moving. Color. 128 mins. Rated R. Directed By Gus Van Sant. Starring Sean Pean, Emile Hirsch, James Franco and Diego Luna. Gus Van Sant's triumphant biopic on the slain gay activist Harvey Milk captures the charisma, humor, and passionate humanism of this groundbreaking politician, whose legacy is timelier than ever in ... Read More > | |  |
Mongol (2007)Action/Adventure/Foreign. Fast-paced/Intense. Color. 126 mins. Rated R. Directed By Sergei Bodrov. Starring Tadanobu Asano and Honglei Sun. Stunning production design, breath-stealing landscapes, and loads of horse-heaving battle sequences outfit Bodrov's thrilling widescreen epic, which turns Genghis Khan's early life into a screen ... Read More > | |  |
Simon of the Desert (1965)Drama/Foreign. Brainy/Offbeat/Witty. Black & White. 45 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Luis Bunuel. Starring Claudio Brook and Silvia Pinal. Bunuel's concise, sharply cynical "Simon" finds the world-renowned Spanish surrealist filmmaker in a characteristic mode: mocking Christianity and the institution of religion with absolutely savage ... Read More > | |  |
Young @ Heart (2007)Documentary/Musicals. Moving/Tuneful/Wholesome. Color. 107 mins. Rated PG. Directed By Stephen Walker. You won't be able to peel your eyes (or ears) from Walker's Young @ Heart, a fond tribute to a one-of-a-kind elderly ensemble whose concerts at home and abroad, especially in Europe, have made them ... Read More > | |  |
Theme of the Month: Father Dearest As we salute fathers far and wide this Sunday, why not pop in some first-rate DVD titles that examine the distinct challenges of fatherhood, and how various dads rise to the occasion or, for a host of reasons, fall short. Boyz 'N the Hood (1991)Drama. Intense/Moving. Color. 112 mins. Rated R. Directed By John Singleton. Starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., Laurence Fishburne, Ice Cube and Angela Bassett. Singleton's urgent, moving drama deals head-on with a raft of tough subjects - the allure of thug life, inner-city poverty, racism - without losing its virtuous heart or universal appeal. Fishburne ... Read More > | |  |
East of Eden (1955)Drama. Intense/Moving/Scenic. Color. 115 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Elia Kazan. Starring James Dean, Burl Ives and Julie Harris. Another '50s Kazan landmark, "Eden" boasts vibrant color and atmosphere, top-flight performances and a dazzling screenplay adapted from the Steinbeck novel by Paul Osborn. Oscar-nominated Dean, ... Read More > | |  |
Father of the Bride (1950)Family/Comedy. Witty/Wholesome. Black & White. 106 mins. Rated R. Directed By Vincente Minnelli. Starring Spencer Tracy, Elizabeth Taylor and Joan Bennett. A buoyant, big-hearted MGM comedy featuring the wry comedic talent of Spencer Tracy, Minnelli's romp provided the original template for an idea that's been imitated countless times (as in 2000's ... Read More > | |  |
House of Strangers (1949)Mystery/Suspense. Spine-tingling. Black & White. 101 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Starring Edward G. Robinson and Susan Hayward. Joseph L. Mankiewicz's scorching tale of a destructive family vendetta is a stylish, well-conceived outing. Though screenplay credit went to Philip Yordan, Mankiewicz's inspired touch is ... Read More > | |  |
In the Name of the Father (1992)Drama. Moving/Intense. Color. 133 mins. Rated R. Directed By Jim Sheridan. Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Pete Postlethwaite and Emma Thompson. Jim Sheridan's searing political docudrama is a worthy modern successor to Carol Reed's "Odd Man Out". Day-Lewis and Postlethwaite give gut-wrenching turns as the angry son and his bewildered father, ... Read More > | |  |
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)Drama. Moving. Color. 105 mins. Rated PG. Directed By Robert Benton. Starring Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep. In 1979, Hoffman hit a career high-point with director Benton's near-flawless marital drama, depicting the dissolution of a marriage with unerring sensitivity. Touching performances from all ... Read More > | |  |
Ran (1985)Drama/Foreign Language. Intense/Brainy. Color. 160 mins. Rated R. Directed By Akira Kurosawa. Starring Daisuke Ryu and Tatsuya Nakadai. Kurosawa's late-career triumph is a vibrant, colorful epic, its drama magnified by an awesome visual sweep encompassing both period pageantry and setting. Shakespeare's fundamental themes of ... Read More > | |  |
The Bicycle Thief (1948)Foreign Language/Drama. Moving/Intense. Black & White. 90 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Vittorio De Sica. Starring Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola and Lianella Carell. "Thief" still packs a wallop, portraying poverty's heartless capacity to rob a father of the thing an impressionable son needs to see most his basic dignity. Authentic location shooting all around ... Read More > | |  |
To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)Drama/Family/Cornerstone Titles. Intense/Moving. Black & White. 129 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Robert Mulligan. Starring Gregory Peck and Robert Duvall. A film that speaks volumes about ignorance and racial intolerance in our country's recent past, this is also a perceptive study of the relationship between two children and their single-parent ... Read More > | |  |
When Father Was Away On Business (1985)Foreign Language/Drama. Intense/Moving. Color. 135 mins. Rated R. Directed By Emir Kusturica. Starring Moreno De Bartolli and Miki Manojlovic. Director Kusturica's triumph evocatively portrays a challenging time and place, and against this grim backdrop, goes on to paint a warmer portrait of childhood innocence and imagination, as the ... Read More > | |  |
Spotlight
Starting June 20th John will be the online host of PBS Station , WNET's, "Reel 13" discussion and blog following the Reel 13 broadcast of classic and indie featured movies at 9 pm on Saturday nights.
June 1st John leads a discussion with actor Matthew Broderick following a screening of "1918" and a celebration of playwright and screenwriter, Horton Foote at a private club in New York City.
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