In This Issue:

December 2009

What's New on DVD

Food, Inc. (2008)

Documentary. Brainy/Intense.
Color. 91 mins. Rated PG. Directed By Robert Kenner.
Bani-Etemad's compelling story of misery and striving among Iran's urban working class has the redemptive, purgative power of classical tragedy, focusing on the trials of a matriarch fatigued ... Read More >
 

Food, Inc. (2008)

Documentary. Brainy/Intense.
Color. 91 mins. Rated PG. Directed By Robert Kenner.
E. coli outbreaks, obesity, and soaring rates of diabetes are just some of the health ills we face in the U.S., but these ailments are almost certainly connected to the toxins and hormones that are ... Read More >
 

Forbidden Planet (1956)

Family/Horror/Science Fiction. Spine-tingling/Wholesome.
Color. 98 mins. Rated G. Directed By Fred M. Wilcox. Starring Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon and Anne Francis.
Famed as much for its original electronic-music score as for its highly imaginative, dystopian vision of the future, Wilcox's stunningly re-mastered sci-fi adventure might be most fondly remembered ... Read More >
 

Forbidden Planet (1956)

Family/Horror/Science Fiction. Spine-tingling/Wholesome.
Color. 98 mins. Rated G. Directed By Fred M. Wilcox. Starring Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon and Anne Francis.
Tom McCarthy ("The Station Agent"), a fine actor himself, directs this subtle, compelling drama with assurance, making the story of one man's loneliness take on larger social issues that ... Read More >
 

Le Jour Se Leve (1939)

Drama/Foreign. Intense/Spine-tingling.
Black & White. 93 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Marcel Carne. Starring Jean Gabin, Jules Berry, Jacqueline Laurent and Arletty.
Perhaps the finest collaboration between Marcel Carne and screenwriter Jacques Prevert, this poetic story of sexual obsession finds an ordinary foundry worker driven mad by a no-account lothario ... Read More >
 

Le Jour Se Leve (1939)

Drama/Foreign. Intense/Spine-tingling.
Black & White. 93 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Marcel Carne. Starring Jean Gabin, Jules Berry, Jacqueline Laurent and Arletty.
Presented in twelve discrete chapters, Godard's exquisitely shot "My Life to Live" is an homage to Danish beauty Karina, his wife at the time, a clever treatise on film aesthetics, and an extended ... Read More >
 

Mirush (2007)

Drama/Foreign. Intense/Moving/Spine-tingling.
Color. 100 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Marius Holst. Starring Enrico Lo Verso and Nazif Muarremi.
Holst gracefully orchestrates this unusual father-son drama, tracing the conflict between a boy's desire for emotional security and paternal guidance and the reality of the deeply flawed man (a ... Read More >
 

Mirush (2007)

Drama/Foreign. Intense/Moving/Spine-tingling.
Color. 100 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Marius Holst. Starring Enrico Lo Verso and Nazif Muarremi.
Holst gracefully orchestrates this unusual father-son drama, tracing the conflict between a boy's desire for emotional security and paternal guidance and the reality of the deeply flawed man (a ... Read More >
 

Silent Light (2007)

Drama/Foreign. Intense/Moving/Scenic.
Color. 136 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Carlos Reygadas. Starring Cornelio Wall Fehr, Maria Pankratz and Miriam Toews.
The strain between ultra-traditional faith and carnal desire, betrayal and grace gets a subtle, but powerful reworking in "Silent Light," the mesmerizing third feature by Mexican auteur Carlos ... Read More >
 

Silent Light (2007)

Drama/Foreign. Intense/Moving/Scenic.
Color. 136 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Carlos Reygadas. Starring Cornelio Wall Fehr, Maria Pankratz and Miriam Toews.
The strain between ultra-traditional faith and carnal desire, betrayal and grace gets a subtle, but powerful reworking in "Silent Light," the mesmerizing third feature by Mexican auteur Carlos ... Read More >
 

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Family/Musicals. Tuneful/Wholesome.
Animated. 83 mins. Rated G. Directed By William Cottrell and David Hand. Starring Harry Stockwell and Adriana Caselotti.
Despite the dominance today of Pixar-grade computer- generated imagery, Disney's hand-animated original version of "Snow White," released in the Depression era (audiences ate it up), remains ... Read More >
 

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Family/Musicals. Tuneful/Wholesome.
Animated. 83 mins. Rated G. Directed By William Cottrell and David Hand. Starring Harry Stockwell and Adriana Caselotti.
Despite the dominance today of Pixar-grade computer- generated imagery, Disney's hand-animated original version of "Snow White," released in the Depression era (audiences ate it up), remains ... Read More >
 

The Busby Berkeley Collection, Volume One, 1933 - 1935 (1933)

Longer Films/Film Series/Collections/Musicals. Scenic/Tuneful.
Color. 400 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Lloyd Bacon, Ray Enright, Mervyn LeRoy and Busby Berkeley. Starring Warner Baxter, Dick Powell, James Cagney, Ruby Keeler and Joan Blondell.
Warner's hit musical "42nd Street" spawned a wildly successful franchise of glittering follow-ups, with the common ingredients Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler (except for the last picture), and the ... Read More >
 

The Busby Berkeley Collection, Volume One, 1933 - 1935 (1933)

Longer Films/Film Series/Collections/Musicals. Scenic/Tuneful.
Color. 400 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Lloyd Bacon, Ray Enright, Mervyn LeRoy and Busby Berkeley. Starring Warner Baxter, Dick Powell, James Cagney, Ruby Keeler and Joan Blondell.
Warner's hit musical "42nd Street" spawned a wildly successful franchise of glittering follow-ups, with the common ingredients Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler (except for the last picture), and the ... Read More >
 

The Country Teacher (2008)

Drama/Foreign. Moving/Scenic.
Color. 113 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Bohdan Slama. Starring Pavel Liska and Zuzana Bydzovska.
Czech director Bohdan Slama's gently rendered, bittersweet drama tells the story of a science educator troubled with uncertainty about his sexual orientation. Petr spends his days teaching students ... Read More >
 

The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)

Action/Adventure/Drama. Intense/Spine-tingling.
Color. 102 mins. Rated R. Directed By Peter Yates. Starring Robert Mitchum and Peter Boyle.
Peter Yates's grim, ultra-realistic crime drama provided Mitchum with his finest late career role. His Eddie confronts a frightening future, but all this hulking shell of a man feels is tired. Noone ... Read More >
 

The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)

Action/Adventure/Drama. Intense/Spine-tingling.
Color. 102 mins. Rated R. Directed By Peter Yates. Starring Robert Mitchum and Peter Boyle.
Peter Yates's grim, ultra-realistic crime drama provided Mitchum with his finest late career role. His Eddie confronts a frightening future, but all this hulking shell of a man feels is tired. Noone ... Read More >
 

The Human Condition (1961)

Drama/Foreign/Longer Films/Film Series/Collections. Brainy/Intense/Moving/Spine-tingling.
Black & White. 574 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Masaki Kobayashi . Starring Tatsuya Nakadai and Michiyo Aratama.
One of cinema's most profound meditations on war and disillusionment, Kobayashi's grand, 10-hour epic (originally released as three installments) ranks with the best of Kurosawa for the ... Read More >
 

The Human Condition (1961)

Drama/Foreign/Longer Films/Film Series/Collections. Brainy/Intense/Moving/Spine-tingling.
Black & White. 574 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Masaki Kobayashi. Starring Tatsuya Nakadai and Michiyo Aratama.
... Read More >
 

Tulpan (2008)

Comedy/Drama/Foreign. Offbeat/Scenic.
Color. 100 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Sergey Dvortsevoy. Starring Askhat Kuchinchirekov and Ondasynbesikbasov.
Who knew life in a yurt could be so much fun? Shot in the arid, forbidding region of southern Kazakhstan, Dvortsevoy's endearingly loony "Tulpan" is a brilliant mix of gentle comedy, docu-realism, ... Read More >
 

Tulpan (2008)

Comedy/Drama/Foreign. Offbeat/Scenic.
Color. 100 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Sergey Dvortsevoy. Starring Askhat Kuchinchirekov and Ondasynbesikbasov.
Who knew life in a yurt could be so much fun? Shot in the arid, forbidding region of southern Kazakhstan, Dvortsevoy's endearingly loony "Tulpan" is a brilliant mix of gentle comedy, docu-realism, ... Read More >
 

Theme of the Month: Movies that Keep on Giving

For our December selection we focus on movies about giving or helping others which reflect the true spirit of the season. Here are ten titles that reinforce what it means to be human and how often the best gift, is giving to others. Happy Holidays!

Black Narcissus (1947)

Drama. Scenic/Brainy.
Black & White. 101 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Emeric Pressburger. Starring David Farrar and Deborah Kerr.
Another great success for "Red Shoes" helmers Powell-Pressburger, "Narcissus" is an absorbing, finely acted British melodrama about the secular problems facing a new mother superior ... Read More >
 

Black Narcissus (1947)

Drama. Scenic/Brainy.
Black & White. 101 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Emeric Pressburger. Starring David Farrar and Deborah Kerr.
Another great success for "Red Shoes" helmers Powell-Pressburger, "Narcissus" is an absorbing, finely acted British melodrama about the secular problems facing a new mother superior ... Read More >
 

Driving Miss Daisy (1990)

Comedy/Drama. Moving/Witty.
Color. 99 mins. Rated PG. Directed By Bruce Beresford. Starring Morgan Freeman, Dan Ackroyd and Jessica Tandy.
A grand adaptation of Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer Prize–winning play, "Miss Daisy" succeeds largely on the strong acting merits of its two leads: stage veteran Tandy and the gentle, self-effacing Freeman. ... Read More >
 

Driving Miss Daisy (1990)

Comedy/Drama. Moving/Witty.
Color. 99 mins. Rated PG. Directed By Bruce Beresford. Starring Morgan Freeman, Dan Ackroyd and Jessica Tandy.
A grand adaptation of Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer Prize–winning play, "Miss Daisy" succeeds largely on the strong acting merits of its two leads: stage veteran Tandy and the gentle, self-effacing Freeman. ... Read More >
 

Matewan (1987)

Drama. Scenic/Intense.
Color. 132 mins. Rated PG-13. Directed By John Sayles. Starring Chris Cooper and James Earl Jones.
One of the best films of the 1980s, John Sayles's evocative "Matewan" takes us back to the 1920s, and the primitive, perilous lives of coal miners in West Virginia. Flavorful, meticulous ... Read More >
 

Matewan (1987)

Drama. Scenic/Intense.
Color. 132 mins. Rated PG-13. Directed By John Sayles. Starring Chris Cooper and James Earl Jones.
One of the best films of the 1980s, John Sayles's evocative "Matewan" takes us back to the 1920s, and the primitive, perilous lives of coal miners in West Virginia. Flavorful, meticulous ... Read More >
 

Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936)

Comedy. Wholesome/Witty.
Black & White. 115 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Frank Capra. Starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur.
Quintessential Capra charmer is one of Cooper's most appealing comic forays, as his plain-talking homespun personification of rural America out-foxes all those smug and greedy city-slickers. Arthur ... Read More >
 

Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936)

Comedy. Wholesome/Witty.
Black & White. 115 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Frank Capra. Starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur.
Quintessential Capra charmer is one of Cooper's most appealing comic forays, as his plain-talking homespun personification of rural America out-foxes all those smug and greedy city-slickers. Arthur ... Read More >
 

Norma Rae (1979)

Drama. Moving.
Color. 117 mins. Rated PG. Directed By Martin Ritt. Starring Beau Bridges and Sally Field.
The diminutive but plucky Field, who got her start playing Gidget on television, achieved breakout movie stardom with her assured, Oscar-winning performance as Norma Rae, who evolves from pliant ... Read More >
 

Norma Rae (1979)

Drama. Moving.
Color. 117 mins. Rated PG. Directed By Martin Ritt. Starring Beau Bridges and Sally Field.
The diminutive but plucky Field, who got her start playing Gidget on television, achieved breakout movie stardom with her assured, Oscar-winning performance as Norma Rae, who evolves from pliant ... Read More >
 

Pollyanna (1960)

Family. Wholesome/Witty/Moving/Scenic.
Color. 134 mins. Rated G. Directed By David Swift. Starring and Jane Wyman.
Colorful, delightful Disney fare boasts a first-rate cast, including veterans Wyman (who's excellent), Karl Malden, Agnes Moorehead, Donald Crisp, and Adolphe Menjou, but young Mills (in her ... Read More >
 

Pollyanna (1960)

Family. Wholesome/Witty/Moving/Scenic.
Color. 134 mins. Rated G. Directed By David Swift. Starring and Jane Wyman.
Colorful, delightful Disney fare boasts a first-rate cast, including veterans Wyman (who's excellent), Karl Malden, Agnes Moorehead, Donald Crisp, and Adolphe Menjou, but young Mills (in her ... Read More >
 

The Bishop's Wife (1947)

Family. Moving/Wholesome/Witty.
Black & White. 109 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Henry Koster. Starring Cary Grant, David Niven and Loretta Young.
Nominated for Best Film at the 1947 Oscars, Henry Koster's sweet, thoroughly charming "Bishop's Wife" was a big crowd-pleaser in its day, and has since become one of our more cherished holiday films. ... Read More >
 

The Bishop's Wife (1947)

Family. Moving/Wholesome/Witty.
Black & White. 109 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Henry Koster. Starring Cary Grant, David Niven and Loretta Young.
Nominated for Best Film at the 1947 Oscars, Henry Koster's sweet, thoroughly charming "Bishop's Wife" was a big crowd-pleaser in its day, and has since become one of our more cherished holiday films. ... Read More >
 

The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)

Drama. Intense/Moving.
Black & White. 180 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By George Stevens. Starring Joseph Schildkraut and Millie Perkins.
One of the finest postwar films to deal with the human drama of the Holocaust, Stevens's tense, heartfelt adaptation of the popular stage play was based on the real-life Frank's own diaries. ... Read More >
 

The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)

Drama. Intense/Moving.
Black & White. 180 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By George Stevens. Starring Joseph Schildkraut and Millie Perkins.
One of the finest postwar films to deal with the human drama of the Holocaust, Stevens's tense, heartfelt adaptation of the popular stage play was based on the real-life Frank's own diaries. ... Read More >
 

The Miracle Worker (1962)

Drama. Moving/Wholesome/Intense.
Color. 107 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Arthur Penn. Starring and Anne Bancroft.
Adapted from the hit Broadway play which the leads also starred in, director Arthur Penn preserves two incredible performances (both Oscar nominated) and one amazing story for posterity. Lean and ... Read More >
 

The Miracle Worker (1962)

Drama. Moving/Wholesome/Intense.
Color. 107 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Arthur Penn. Starring and Anne Bancroft.
Adapted from the hit Broadway play which the leads also starred in, director Arthur Penn preserves two incredible performances (both Oscar nominated) and one amazing story for posterity. Lean and ... Read More >
 

The Straight Story (1999)

Drama. Moving/Wholesome.
Color. 112 mins. Rated G. Directed By David Lynch. Starring Richard Farnsworth and Sissy Spacek.
Director David Lynch is atypically restrained in rendering this heartwarming story, one you might not believe if it weren't true. Oscar-nominated Farnsworth gets the role of his career, inhabiting ... Read More >
 

The Straight Story (1999)

Drama. Moving/Wholesome.
Color. 112 mins. Rated G. Directed By David Lynch. Starring Richard Farnsworth and Sissy Spacek.
Director David Lynch is atypically restrained in rendering this heartwarming story, one you might not believe if it weren't true. Oscar-nominated Farnsworth gets the role of his career, inhabiting ... Read More >
 

Spotlight

• Saturday, December 5th John hosts a screening of "Tellement Proches" a new French comedy at The French Institute Alliance Francaise, 55 East 59th Street in New York City. For tickets go to www.infrenchwithenglishsubtitles.org

• On December 10th John introduces a screening of the 1951 classic "Scrooge" with a tribute to the film's star, Alistair Sim at a private club in New York.