Terrific films on DVD & video ... Any suggestions?

Hmm well I´d have to guide you to the Digging The Sixties thread.
I have no VCR but I do frequent an art house cinema on a regular basis.

Central do Brasil (Central Station)

If you liked Chinatown, rent "The Two Jakes" I believe it was a sequel.

I bought Band of Brothers on DVD and very much enjoyed it, though I am a fan of history.

I could watch "Usual Suspects" every day.

"Central Station," one of my favorites foreign films from recent years, so I second Craven's pick. Ditto "The Usual Suspects," a tour de force of unbriddled and evocative performances -- even when you already know the surprise ending. I do agree about "Surviving Picasso" being a film that's not easy to survive in its pedantic, slowly paced expose of Picasso's already well known dark personality, although Anthony Hopkins turns in another excellent performance even though you expect him to come up with a Hannibal Lector come back line.

Of recent films just coming onto DVD:

"Signs"
"The Good Girl"
"The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys"
Fritz Lang's 1924 5 hour epic "Die Nebelungen"
"The King of Comedy" (another Scorcese/DeNiro classic)
"Back to the Future: Complete Trilogy"
"Minority Report"

and I can't overemphasize what will may be the best Oscar for foreign language film, "Y Tu Mama Tambien."

You might look in on the Ebert Great Movies threads for classics, going back on this forum for twelve titles. It gives you several viewpoints on A2Ker's response to these films.

lightwizard, even if I liked Y tu mamá también very much (almost as much as the international critics) it will not win an Oscar.

The film is from 2001 and was not selected that year to represent either Mexico or Spain. A very bad choice.

For the 2002 Oscars, Mexico presents The Crime of Father Amaro and Spain presents Los lunes, al sol .


BTW, I agree with you about Surviving Picasso. A let down.


msolga, what about some classics?
Their videos are usually cheaper.

Craven & Lightwizard

Haven't seen Central Station yet, but after both your recommendations will definitely look for it. Thanks. I'll look up some reviews too. Will also check out your other suggestions, L.w.

dable

I didn't know there was a sequel to Chinatown! (I'm by no means an expert in this field ... Just know what I like! ) I'm fascinated ... The same characters & location? (minus Fay D, of course!).. Hmmm, some more searching for reviews.

hebba

Yes, some great 60s films out there ... I think the msolga "vintage fave rave" period is the 70s. So many great films from that time! My all time favourite is The Conformist. Marvelous! Rating: : 6 out of of 5!

fbaezer

Yes, classics, any good films! Right now I'm pretty much housebound - looking after an injured cat ( ) so I'm thinking maybe Zorba tonight?
BTW the price of hiring I've quoted is quite reasonable : Oz dollars are worth a little more than half US dollars.
Tell more about Y tu mamá también if you have a minute ... Sorry, I'm totally ignorant on that one!

ps ... Obviously I meant Last Tango above, not Last Tang!!!

Cinama Paradiso
Unbrellas of Cherbourg
Lawerence of Arabia

Y tu mamá también (And Your Mother, Too , directed by Alfonso Cuarón:

Road coming-of-age movie. Two horny Mexican teenagers (that's pleonastic), one rich and the other middle-class, get a chance to take an Spanish young, recently deceited, woman to a beautiful beach they don't even know it exists. They both try to get under her skirt, and find out a lot of things they didn't expect or suspect.

It's funny, it's realistic enough, and it's sometimes raw.

Joanne D

Thanks for those suggestions. I recently tried to watch Lawrence of Arabia on video & gave up. It was like watching a movie on a band aid! definitely one for the big screen!

fbaezer

Thank you for such a quick response. I LOVE coming of age films! I take it this is a fairly recent one? On video? (I don't own a DVD player, dammit!) Anyway, it sounds good! Speaking of coming of age films: Have you ever seen My Life As A Dog? Delightful, funny & very sad at times.

Mitt liv son hund is a delightful movie, msolga. I found the tomboy character particularly lovable.

Y tu mamá también was released theatrically in Mexico, Latin America, Spain, the US, Canada, France, Italy and Turkey in 2001.
It hit the commercial US cinemas and was distributed worldwide in 2002.
But I guess Oz is far far away. It may reach in 2003.

It's on the VHS market (NTSC) since 2001.
The DVD edition (also NTSC) is from 2002.

fbaezer


Yes, she was wonderful, I agree. As were so many of the other actors.

A funny story: I think I might have ruined that film ( My Life As A Dog) for others when I saw it - First the young boy had his beloved dog given away & was lied to about it ... THEN, that awful scene when he finally realized his mother was dead. It broke my heart, & for the only time I can ever remember doing it, I sobbed & sobbed VERY LOUDLY ... Then got the hiccups!!! I'm surprised I wasn't asked to leave!

And now you've given away some spoilers

fbaezer

Whoops!

Watched Zorba again a couple of nights ago .... & was totally mesmerized by it: Beautiful black & white, terrific story & quite a lot that I'd forgotten about since my last viewing, years ago ...
What struck me (again & very strongly) was the harshness & cruelty of the place, the struggle of the locals to survive & the treatment of "foreigners" or outsiders. It quite took my breath away! The scene in which the beautiful, lonely widow succumbs to the Alan Bates character was so tender & moving, the the consequences of her decision truly shocking & frightening ...
And Zorba, himself: What a character, what an enlightened attitude to life! I was particularly moved by his compassion for women, his desire to never hurt them, even if this meant lying or "stretching the truth" to protect them. The scene where the ancient, grim peasant women sit & wait for the old foreign woman to die just about made my hair stand on end! The pathos of the woman's situation & Zorba's determination to protect her till her life ended was one of the most gripping & moving moments I have ever experienced on film.
I'm still thinking about it.
Have any of you seen it again recently? It's well worth it!

I'm late to the party, but here's some more



Network - one of my favorite movies from the seventies

The Thin Man, or its sequels - saw these films for the first time a couple of years ago and loved them - William Powell and Myrna Loy are one of the best film pairings ever, I think

Bread and Tulips - a very nice film that a reviewer on IMDb calls "an Italian Educating Rita"

Manhattan Murder Mystery - if you want some more Woody Allen light

A Little Romance - this is a sweet coming of age story set in Paris, but in English, starring Sir Laurence Olivier and a young Diane Lane.

Music of the Heart - I didn't like this movie so much as the documentary it was based on, Small Wonders, which is also on the Music of the Heart DVD. Its one of my favorite documentaries, moving and inspiring.

Thanks, for those suggestions, LarryBS

I'm familiar with most of them, accept Music of the Heart. I'll see if I can find some information about it on the internet. Now, I could certainly cope with another viewing of The Thin Man & Network! (I seem to be having a summer of revisiting old favourites ... Amazing how much you forget!) A Little Romance sounds nice ... Black & white, I take it?

The Tao of Steve.

The Ref.

If you're a Kevin Spacey fan, try:

The Usual Suspects
American Beauty
The Shipping News

I saw the Two Jakes some years ago and was deeply disappointed. Nowhere near as good as Chinatown, IMO. Try LA Confidential, instead.

blacksmithn

I watched American Beauty again a short time ago & like it much better than the first time. Maybe I was more relaxed & critical the last time? I've been meaning to see The Shipping News for a while. Thanks for reminding me.
Haven't heard of the Tao of Steve before ... Any extra information if you have a minute?

Tao of Steve is about a portly slob who despite his shortcomings manages to get girl after girl, thanks to his invented philosophy which he calls the Tao of Steve-- sort of rules for snagging women-- and it works... until he falls in love. I thought it was a charming and amusing little movie.

I finally saw American Beauty on cable and I was prepared to hate it, assuming that a) something so acclaimed couldn't be very good and b) judging from the ad campaign, it was a movie about pedophilia or, at least, statutory rape. Boy, was I wrong! I've seen it several times since then and find myself liking it better each time.

You might also like "Life as a House" with Kevin Kline, about a dying architect reconnecting with his troubled son and family as he builds his final project.