SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Some sections of my annual gift guides are more labors of love than others. This is one of those from-the-heart collections where I've either watched, read, or otherwise consumed or am desperately trying to find the time to watch, read, or consume.
I know from a distance that some of the selections appear a little "basic film critic," but I've loved The Criterion Collection since buying "The Killer" and "Hard Boiled" when they were first released on DVD and have relied on their selections for my cinematic education when there was no one else to guide me. And then there is A24, a studio that I've loved since 2013 (even if I don't always love the movies) for their willingness to champion titles that no one else would even consider making.
Starring Marcel
Marcel the Shell Heavy Metal Figurine
A collaboration with our friends at Craighill, the Marcel the Shell Figurine is the perfect paperweight for all your tiny papers.
Marcel the Shell Blu-ray
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On comes with an 80-page interior booklet inside a 5.5" x 6.75" slipcase. Choice of Standard Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray.
Marcel the Shell Pin
The mollusk with the most, now in pin form. Designed by Jen Lewis. 7/8" x 3/4" hard enamel pin.
A24
A24 Enamel Pin Collection
Pictured: Toni Scream, Michelle Multiverse, Flo Scream, Baby Ada, Green Knight,Brain Dead x A24
Auditor of the Month Trophy Candle
Straight from the desk of Deirdre Beaubeirdre comes an unorthodox multi-sensory experience in 3D candle form. Handmade in New York by our friends at Joya with a hint of dryer sheet scent.
A24 Screenplay Books
The first collection from A24 Books celebrates the singular vision and unbridled artistry of these noted writer-directors, showcasing how they saw their films through from script to screen. Pictured: Ex Machina. The Witch. Moonlight. Hereditary. 20th Century Women.
Minari Song Reader
First in the Song Reader series from A24, Emile Mosseri's Minari score gets the visual treatment in this illustrated 9x12" box set. Featuring 16 sewn booklets of sheet music and lyrics alongside original watercolor illustrations by Ping Zhu, the set comes in a foiled chipboard slipcase and includes a composer statement from Mosseri.
The Green Knight: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game
An original tabletop roleplaying game inspired by David Lowery's fantasy film The Green Knight. A Quest For Honor Starter Set includes: Game Master's Guide (with Rules of Play, Official Encounters, and A24 Bonus Quests), Map of the Realm, 5 character sheets, and 20-sided die.
The Souvenir Double Feature Blu-ray Set
The Souvenir & The Souvenir Part II are presented here as they were meant to be seen: together. The set includes an 80-page interior booklet and two Standard Blu-ray discs inside a 5.5" x 6.75" slipcase.
Lamb
The first in a new line of A24 Blu-rays, Lamb includes an 80-page interior booklet and disc inside a 5.5" x 6.75" slipcase. Choice of Standard Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray.
Midsommar Director's Cut: Collector's Edition
Ari Aster's 171-minute Director's Cut will look as crisp on your bookshelf as it does on your screen. isc comes enclosed in a clothbound, Hårga-yellow slipcase, accompanied by an illustrated 62-page booklet featuring original artworks from the film by Ragnar Persson and a foreword by Martin Scorsese. Choice of Standard Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD.
The Last Black Man in San Francisco: Collector's Edition
Special collector’s edition of Joe Talbot’s debut feature The Last Black Man In San Francisco. Featuring cover artwork by Tajh Rust and a 62-page interior booklet, the gold foil-stamped discpak comes enclosed in a wicotex-covered slipcase.
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection Bag Assortment
Pictured: Agnès Varda Tote Bag, Criterion Canvas Bag
The Criterion Collection Shirt Assortment
Pictured: Black, Aqua, Red, Asphalt, Berry, Olive, Gold, Navy, Pink
The Criterion Collection Genre Shirt Assortment
Pictured: Horror, Pre-Code
The Criterion Collection Postcards
34-page book of Criterion postcards, collect them all! Pictured: Volume 6, Volume 5
Janus & The Criterion Collection Mugs
Criterion Beach Towel
Be your own Criterion cover!
The Criterion Collection Caps
Pictured: Baseball, Knit, Janus Knit
Eve's Bayou
“The summer I killed my father, I was ten years old . . .” So begins Kasi Lemmons’s spellbinding feature debut, an evocative journey into the maze of memory, steeped in fragrant southern-gothic atmosphere. In 1960s Louisiana, a young girl (Jurnee Smollett) sees her well-to-do family unravel in the wake of the infidelities of her charming father (Samuel L. Jackson)—setting in motion a series of deceptions and betrayals that will upend her world and challenge her understanding of reality.
Three Films by Mai Zetterling
A fearlessly transgressive, long-overlooked pioneer of feminist cinema, the Swedish actor turned director Mai Zetterling ruffled the feathers of the patriarchal establishment with a string of bracingly modern, sexually frank, and politically incendiary films focused on female agency and the turbulent state of twentieth-century Europe. Her ability to render subjective psychological states with startling immediacy is on display in these three taboo-shattering works from the 1960s, featuring some of Swedish cinema’s most iconic stars. With their audacious narrative structures, their elaborate use of symbolism, and their willingness to delve into the most fraught realms of human experience, these are models of adventurous, passionately engaged filmmaking.
Michael Haneke: Trilogy
One of contemporary cinema’s most original, provocative, and uncompromising filmmakers, Austrian auteur Michael Haneke dares viewers to stare into the void of modern existence. With his first three theatrical features, The Seventh Continent, Benny’s Video, and 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance—a trilogy depicting a coldly bureaucratic society in which genuine human relationships have been supplanted by a deep-seated collective malaise—Haneke established the rigorous visual style and unsettling themes that would recur throughout his work. Exploring the relationship among consumerism, violence, mass media, and contemporary alienation, these brilliant, relentlessly probing films open up profound questions about the world in which we live while refusing the false comfort of easy answers.
Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project
Established by Martin Scorsese in 2007, The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project has maintained a fierce commitment to preserving and presenting masterpieces from around the globe, with a growing roster of dozens of restorations that have introduced moviegoers to often overlooked areas of cinema history. This collector’s set gathers six important works, from Angola (Sambizanga), Argentina (Prisioneros de la tierra), Iran (Chess of the Wind), Cameroon (Muna moto), Hungary (Two Girls on the Street), and India (Kalpana). Each title is an essential contribution to the art form and a window onto a filmmaking tradition that international audiences previously had limited opportunities to experience. Pictured: Number 4
The Infernal Affairs Trilogy
The Hong Kong crime drama was jolted to new life with the release of the Infernal Affairs trilogy, a bracing, explosively stylish critical and commercial triumph that introduced a dazzling level of narrative and thematic complexity to the genre with its gripping saga of two rival moles—played by superstars Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Andy Lau Tak-wah—who navigate slippery moral choices as they move between the intersecting territories of Hong Kong’s police force and its criminal underworld. Set during the uncertainty of the city-state’s handover from Britain to China and steeped in Buddhist philosophy, these ingeniously crafted tales of self-deception and betrayal mirror Hong Kong’s own fractured identity and the psychic schisms of life in a postcolonial purgatory.
Malcolm X
One of the most electrifying heroes of the twentieth century receives an appropriately sweeping screen biopic, rich in both historical insight and propulsive cinematic style, courtesy of visionary director Spike Lee. Built around an extraordinary performance from Denzel Washington, Malcolm X draws on the iconic civil rights leader’s autobiography to trace his journey of empowerment, from a childhood riven by white-supremacist violence to a life of petty crime to his conversion to Islam and rebirth as a fearless fighter for Black liberation, whose courage and eloquence inspired oppressed communities the world over.
Lost Highway
“We’ve met before, haven’t we?” A mesmerizing meditation on the mysterious nature of identity, Lost Highway, David Lynch’s seventh feature film, is one of the filmmaker’s most potent cinematic dreamscapes. Starring Patricia Arquette and Bill Pullman, the film expands the horizons of the medium, taking its audience on a journey through the unknown and the unknowable. As this postmodern noir detours into the realm of science fiction, it becomes apparent that the only certainty is uncertainty.
The Power of the Dog
Jane Campion returns to the kind of mythic frontier landscape—pulsating with both freedom and menace—that she previously traversed in The Piano in order to plumb the masculine psyche in The Power of the Dog, set against the desolate plains of 1920s Montana and adapted by the filmmaker from Thomas Savage’s novel. After a sensitive widow (Kirsten Dunst) and her enigmatic, fiercely loving son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) move in with her gentle new husband (Jesse Plemons), a tense battle of wills plays out between them and his brutish brother (Benedict Cumberbatch), whose frightening volatility conceals a secret torment, and whose capacity for tenderness, once reawakened, may offer him redemption or spell his destruction.
In the Mood for Love
Hong Kong, 1962: Chow Mo-Wan (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) and Su Li-Zhen (Maggie Cheung Man Yuk) move into neighboring apartments on the same day. Their encounters are formal and polite—until a discovery about their spouses creates an intimate bond between them. At once delicately mannered and visually extravagant, Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love is a masterful evocation of romantic longing and fleeting moments.
Sound of Metal
In Sound of Metal, a tale of sound, fury, and self-discovery, Riz Ahmed delivers an intensely committed performance as the volatile Ruben, who has found new purpose as a drummer in a noise-metal duo, playing blistering live shows with his singer girlfriend, Lou (Olivia Cooke). When Ruben suddenly loses much of his hearing, he is launched on a profound odyssey—through denial, anger, grief, and, gradually, acceptance—as he comes to understand what it means to live as a deaf person and to discover deafness as not a disability but a rich culture and community.
Columbia Classics Collection: Volume 3 4K
Six classic films with unforgettable performances. Experience these landmark films from Columbia Pictures like never before, now fully remastered and debuting on 4K Ultra HD. With movies that fearlessly portray the scope of human emotion and actors that memorably embody iconic characters — and with hours of special features and an exclusive 80-page book with unique insights and production detail about each of the included films — this third volume of the Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection is truly the best way to watch these treasured cinematic favorites Limited Edition set includes exclusive 4K UHDversions of It Happened One Night , From Here to Eternity, To Sir with Love, The Last Picture Show, Annie, As Good as It Gets
The Architecture of Suspense: The Built World in the Films of Alfred Hitchco*ck by Christine Madrid French. Foreword by Alan Hess
The inimitable, haunting films of Alfred Hitchco*ck took place in settings, both exterior and interior, that deeply impacted our experiences of his most unforgettable works. From the enclosed spaces of Rope and Rear Window to the wide-open expanses of North by Northwest, the physical worlds inhabited by desperate characters are a crucial element in our perception of the Hitchco*ckian universe. As Christine Madrid French reveals in this original and indispensable book, Hitchco*ck’s relation to the built world was informed by an intense engagement with location and architectural form—in an era marked by modernism’s advance—fueled by some of the most creative midcentury designers in film.
The Alfred Hitchco*ck Classics Collection Vol 2 4K
Alfred Hitchco*ck, the Master of Suspense, directed some of the most exciting and memorable films in cinema history. The Alfred Hitchco*ck Classics Collection features five films from the acclaimed director's illustrious career, including Saboteur, Shadow of a Doubt, The Trouble with Harry, Marnie, and Family Plot in stunning 4K. resolution.
Sex and Lucia: Unrated Director's Cut
Lucía is a young waitress in Madrid, who seeks refuge on a quiet, secluded Mediterranean island after the loss of her longtime boyfriend. Amidst the fresh air, dazzling sun, and glistening deep blue water, Lucía begins to piece together the dark corners of her past relationship. Enthralling on every level, Sex and Lucia is a stirring love story that dazzles with its labyrinthine plot, breathtaking cinematography and erotic passion.
Casablanca: 80th Anniversary Edition 4K UHD
he winner of three Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, Casablanca was directed by Michael Curtiz (Captain Blood, Mildred Pierce, White Christmas) from a screenplay by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, and Howard Koch. The screenplay is based on "Everybody Comes to Rick's", an unproduced stage play by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison.
To Kill a Mockingbird: 60th Anniversary Edition 4K UHD
Experience one of the most significant milestones in film history like never before with To Kill a Mockingbird. Gregory Peck stars as courageous Southern lawyer Atticus Finch—the Academy Award-winning performance hailed by the American Film Institute as the Greatest Movie Hero of All Time. Based on Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize winning novel about innocence, strength and conviction and nominated for eight Academy Awards, this beloved classic includes hours of unforgettable bonus features.
Saturday Night Fever4K UHD
From John Travolta's electrifying Oscar-nominated performance to the unforgettable dancing, SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER is nothing less than a movie sensation. Featuring a bonus Blu-ray with the Director's Cut, as well as hours of extensive special features.
Pulp Fiction 4K UHD
Writer and director Quentin Tarantino delivered one of the most influential films of the 1990s with the critically acclaimed contemporary classic PULP FICTION. Now, for the first time ever, fans can experience the groundbreaking and wildly entertaining tour de force on 4K Blu-ray.
Fatal Attraction 4K UHD
This box-office smash was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director (Adrian Lyne - Indecent Proposal, Flashdance). Michael Douglas plays Dan Gallagher, a New York attorney who has a tryst with seductive Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) while his wife (Anne Archer) is away. Dan later shrugs off the affair as a mistake and considers it over. But Alex won't be ignored. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever... even if it means destroying Dan's family to keep him.
Happening
Anne is a bright young student with a promising future ahead of her. When she falls pregnant in 1960s France, where abortion is illegal, she resolves to act, no matter the risk.
Official Competition
Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas star as two egomaniacs commissioned by a millionaire to make a movie together in this sharp comedy skewering wealth, art, and pride.
Phantom of the Open
The story of Maurice Flitcroft (Mark Rylance), a dreamer and unrelenting optimist who managed to gain entry to The British Open Golf Championship Qualifying in 1976 and subsequently shot the worst round in Open history, becoming a folk hero in the process.
Mr. Malcolm's List
In 19th century London, humble vicar's daughter Selina Dalton (Freida Pinto) was thrilled-initially-to be viewed as a marriage prospect by the wealthy and handsome Jeremy Malcolm (Sope Dirisu). As she comes to learn the arrogant longtime bachelor's impossibly exacting requirements for a bride, however, she sets some ground rules of her own. Zawe Ashton, Theo James, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Ashley Park also star; Suzanne Allain adapted her novel for the screen.
Amsterdam
Written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker David O. Russell comes an original crime epic about three close friends who find themselves at the center of one of the most shocking secret plots in American history. Based on facts that meet fiction, the film stars Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, with Rami Malek and Robert de Niro.
Vortex
As they go through their day in their Paris apartment, the long-loving existence of an elderly couple-a film critic (Dario Argento) and a retired psychiatrist (Françoise Lebrun)-is shown via split screen to be bearing the strain of her slow submission to dementia, his struggles with her care as well as his own health issues, and the impact on their already-troubled adult son (Alex Lutz) as he tries to help them cope. Gaspar Noé's remarkable rumination also stars Kylian Dheret.
Adieu Godard
A small Indian village: an old man is addicted to watching p*rnography with his friends. One fine day, he accidentally brings home a DVD with a Godard film inside it. Attracted by the newness of the film, he starts renting all of Godard’s oeuvre, leading him and his friends to attempt to organize a Godard film festival in their village.
Unidentified
A small city in Northern Romania: despite growing debts and a complicated personal life, police detective Florin Iespas is determined to solve a hard case that no one else seems to care about. Ordered to put down the file, the cop continues his off-the-record investigations, soon turning up a strong lead for two hotel fires that resulted in several deaths.
Hinterland
The year is 1920. The Austro-Hungarian Empire has fallen and what remains has devolved into social unrest and political turmoil. Peter Perg, a soldier of the Great War, returns to Vienna only to realize the place he once called home is now unfamiliar to him. Having spent years as a prisoner of war, Perg is disillusioned by this strange, new city distorted by the nightmares of war. His world is further upended when a gruesome series of murders targeting veterans begins to unfold.
Queen of Glory
Sarah Obeng (Nana Mensah, Netflix’s “The Chair“), a doctoral student at Columbia University, is weeks away from following her very married boyfriend to Ohio when her mother suddenly passes away. Her inheritance? King of Glory, a small Christian bookstore serving a Ghanaian immigrant community in the Bronx.
Focus Features
Vengeance
Vengeance, the directorial debut from writer and star B.J. Novak ("The Office"), is a darkly comic thriller about Ben, a journalist and podcaster who travels from New York City to West Texas to investigate the death of a girl he was hooking up with. With an ensemble cast that includes Issa Rae, Ashton Kutcher, and Dove Cameron.
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. is a satirical comedy starring Regina Hall as Trinitie Childs - the proud first lady of a Southern Baptist megachurch, who together with her husband Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown), once served a congregation in the tens of thousands. But after a scandal forces their church to temporarily close, Trinitie and Lee-Curtis must reopen their church and rebuild their congregation to make the biggest comeback that commodified religion has ever seen.
Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul. x Jide Osifeso T-Shirt
God don’t like ugly. This special edition collaboration with Jide Osifeso is printed on 100% ringspun cotton. Preshrunk and soft-washed with a 1" ribbed collar for a relaxed, unisex fit.
Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul. X Coloring Pins Pin Set
Shake it for the Lord—but make it fashion. This limited collaboration with Coloring Pins features four (4) lapel pins. Three (3) hard enamel and one (1) soft enamel logo pin. Each set is fitted on a Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul.-inspired backing card.
The Northman
From visionary director Robert Eggers comes The Northman, an action-filled epic that follows a young Viking prince on his quest to avenge his father's murder.
The Northman: Call to the Gods by Simon Abrams
Compiled from fascinating interviews with the cast and crew, inspiring storyboards, exclusive behind-the-scenes photographs—including the director’s own firsthand account of his creative processes in writing and directing—The Northman: A Call to the Gods explores the cold and forbidding world of the Vikings, their customs, traditions, and relentless thirst for battle and vengeance that inspired Eggers to write this compelling Norse saga.
The Northman T-Shirt
Conquer your fate with this The Northman inspired tee. Screen printed on a pre-shrunk, 100% ring spun cotton with a relaxed unisex fit.
Downton Abbey: A New Era
he much anticipated cinematic return of Downton Abbey follows the Crawleys and their staff as they welcome a movie crew and their glamorous stars to Downton for the filming of a new silent movie, while other members of the family go on a grand adventure to a villa in the south of France to uncover a mystery about the Dowager Countess and her past. With a screenplay by Julian Fellowes and starring the original cast alongside exciting new additions, Downton Abbey: A New Era is packed full of exuberant moments, excitement and humor, tears of joy and sadness and new beginnings for all your favorite characters.
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris tells a humorously heartwarming tale about a London housecleaner Ada Harris (Lesley Manville) who thinks her lonely life might turn around if she can become the owner of a Christian Dior gown. Saying goodbye to friends like Archie (Jason Isaacs) won't be easy, and neither will be winning over elite people in Paris from Madame Colbert (Isabelle Huppert) to idealistic accountant André (Lucas Bravo). But Ada's irrepressible charm just might end up saving the whole House of Dior in this uplifting story of how an ordinary woman becomes an extraordinary inspiration by daring to follow her dreams.
The Outfit
From the Academy Award-winning writer of The Imitation Game (Graham Moore) comes The Outfit, a gripping and masterful thriller in which an expert tailor (Academy Award winner Mark Rylance) must outwit a dangerous group of mobsters in order to survive a fateful night.
Kino Lorber
Neptune Frost
The film takes place in the hilltops of Burundi, where a group of escaped coltan miners form an anti-colonialist computer hacker collective. From their camp in an otherworldly e-waste dump, they attempt a takeover of the authoritarian regime exploiting the region's natural resources – and its people. When an intersex runaway and an escaped coltan miner find each other through cosmic forces, their connection sparks glitches within the greater divine circuitry.
Murina
On a remote island along Croatia’s Adriatic coast, 17-year-old Julija spends her days diving for eel with her domineering father Ante and watching other teens party on a nearby yacht. Julija bristles at Ante’s heavy handed cruelty and resents her mother Nela’s passivity. She longs for independence but is unsure how to achieve it, until the arrival of the rich and mysterious Javier seems to offer a way out.
Hit the Road
Hit the Road takes the tradition of the Iranian road-trip movie and adds unexpected twists and turns. It follows a family of four – two middle-aged parents and their sons, one a taciturn adult, the other a ebullient six-year-old – as they drive across the Iranian countryside.
Hold Me Tight
In Hold Me Tight, Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread, Bergman Island) gives another riveting performance as Clarisse, a woman on the run from her family for reasons that aren’t immediately clear. This virtuosic, daringly fluid portrait of a woman in crisis alternates between Clarisse’s adventures on the road and scenes of her abandoned husband Marc (Arieh Worthalter) as he struggles to take care of their children at home.
Paths of Glory 4K UHD
Safe in a picturesque chateau behind WWI front lines, the French General Staff passes down a direct order to Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas, Lonely Are the Brave): take the Ant Hill at any cost. A blatant suicide mission, the attack is doomed to failure. Covering up their fatal blunder, the generals order the arrest of three innocent soldiers, charging them with cowardice and mutiny.
Touch of Evil 4K UHD
Directed by Hollywood legend Orson Welles, Touch of Evil is a film noir masterpiece whose Hollywood backstory is as unforgettable as the movie itself. Starring Charlton Heston (The Big Country, Ben-Hur), Janet Leigh (The Manchurian Candidate, Psycho) and Welles himself, this dark portrait of corruption and morally compromised obsessions tells the story of a crooked police chief who frames a Mexican youth as part of an intricate criminal plot.
In Bruges 4K UHD
From the visionary mind of Academy Award winner Martin McDonagh (Seven Psychopaths, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) comes this wildly entertaining mix of dark comedy and crime thriller. Colin Farrell (Miami Vice) and Brendan Gleeson (The General) give career-best performances as Irish hitmen Ray and Ken, who have been ordered to cool their heels in the storybook city of Bruges (it’s in Belgium) after finishing a big job. But since hitmen make the worst tourists, they soon find themselves in a life-and-death struggle of comic proportions against one very angry crime boss (a foul-mouthed Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel).
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 4K UHD
From acclaimed writer Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich) and visionary director Michel Gondry (The Science of Sleep) comes Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a sci-fi love story starring Jim Carrey (Man on the Moon) and Kate Winslet (Titanic). Joel is stunned to discover that his girlfriend, Clementine, has had their tumultuous relationship erased from her mind. Out of desperation, he contacts the inventor of the process, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak, to get the same treatment. But as his memories of Clementine begin to fade, Joel suddenly realizes how much he still loves her.
For a Few Dollars More 4K UHD
Screen legends Clint Eastwood (High Plains Drifter) and Lee Van Cleef (Death Rides a Horse) co-star as two rival bounty hunters who join forces to bring murderous bandit El Indio (Gian Maria Volontè, Lucky Luciano) and his vicious gang of criminals to justice. But all is not as it seems in this explosive second installment of Sergio Leone’s legendary “Man with No Name” trilogy
Cohen Media Group
The Good Boss
Academy Award Winner Javier Bardem stars as Blanco, proprietor of Basculas Blanco, a Spanish company producing industrial scales in a provincial Spanish town, which awaits the imminent visit from a committee that will decide if they merit a local Business Excellence award: everything has to be perfect when the time comes. Working against the clock, Blanco pulls out all the stops to address and resolve issues with his employees, crossing every imaginable line in the process.
Felix and Lola / Love Street: Two Films Directed by Patrice Leconte
Felix and Lola: Bumper car operator Felix (Philippe Torreton) falls in love with Lola (Charlotte Gainsbourg) one night as she rides the cars round and round, alone. He’s touched by the sadness in her eyes. When she vanishes, he discovers that she’s tied to a mysterious past – a past that he will have to confront. How far will he go to set her free?
Love Street: In 1945 Paris, the Oriental Palace brothel is about to be closed down. Marion (Laetitia Casta) is one of the Palace’s prostitutes, but she dreams of a singing career. Petit Louis (Patrick Timsit) was raised in brothels and is the Palace’s handyman. He is madly in love with Marion, but knows she will never be his, so he tries to make her dreams of another life come true.
On the Yard / A Walk on the Moon: Two Films Directed by Raphael D. Silver
On the Yard: Landing himself in a state penitentiary, Juleson (John Heard), a bookish con artist, fails to adjust to the intricate social order of the prison system. Juleson’s independent way of thinking does little to impress his fellow inmates and runs him afoul of Chilly (Thomas Waites), the leader of one of the most powerful gangs in the prison. Facing a group of cold-blooded killers on his own, Juleson discovers firsthand what individualism can bring to a loner behind bars.
A Walk on the Moon: Summer 1969. The Apollo 11 mission brought the first human to set foot on the moon and with it a renewed sense of optimism that anything is possible, while on a farm in upstate New York, Woodstock would become an icon of the power of the counterculture’s influence on America and the world. It’s against this backdrop that the story of an idealistic Peace Corps volunteer named Everett Jones (played by Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble regular Kevin Anderson) assigned to a remote Colombian village is set. When he arrives, he is confused by the cynical attitude of his predecessor (Terry Kinney, Steppenwolf co-founder) and the apathy the villagers seem to hold toward him.
Monsieur Hire
A young girl is brutally murdered. The prime suspect is a cold and reclusive man who is obsessed with his beautiful neighbor. He spends his nights watching her through his window, but when she discovers that she is being spied on, she becomes the aggressor in an erotically charged relationship that leads to a deadly game of cat-and-mouse.
The Ballad of the Sad Café
Oscar-winners Vanessa Redgrave, Keith Carradine, and Rod Steiger star in this adaptation of the Carson McCullers novella and the Edward Albee play adapted from it. Merchant Ivory veteran Simon Callow’s only turn as a director is a twisted Southern Gothic dark comedy set in a small rural town in the deep South. Redgrave plays Miss Amelia, the eccentric proprietor of the town’s only cafe and, more importantly to her grip on the townsfolk, the proprietor of a secret moonshine still. Her domineering hold on the town is threatened when two strangers appear with a claim on her past.
A Fish in the Bathtub
In their first film appearance together, real-life husband and wife comedy team Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara star as a couple who have been driving each other crazy for 40 years. Retired and depressed, former shop owner Sam (Stiller) is getting on Molly’s (Meara) last nerve. When he refuses to move the pet carp he’s keeping in their bathroom, Molly leaves him and moves in with her son, Joel (played by Mark Ruffalo), who’s dealing with marital problems of his own. The result is a laugh-out-loud comedy about the trials and tribulations of marriage and family life - and how to stay in love through it all.
Going Places
In this controversial and notorious buddy film, director Bertrand Blier (GET OUT YOUR HANDKERCHIEFS) created what critic Pauline Kael described as “an explosively funny erotic farce – both a celebration and a satire of men’s daydreams.” Gerard Depardieu (in the role that would make him an international star) and Patrick Dewaere portray Jean-Claude and Pierrot, two amoral drifters who travel the French countryside committing petty crimes and harassing the women they encounter, including Miou-Miou, Jeanne Moreau, and, in an early role, Isabelle Huppert.
