Feature Films and Documentaries

 

8 1/2 | A | TOP

- 8 1/2 -
Federico Fellini. 1 VHS cassette (138 mins.): color. Italian with English subtitles, Feature film. Italy, Actors: Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimee, Sandra Milo, Rosella Falk, Barbara Steele.
"Federico Fellini's great comic fantasy is the most influential picture of the last quarter of a century. No other film has been more closely associated with a director and his style or with the genre of autobiographical filmmaking. Fellini casts Marcello Mastroianni as Guido, a movie director, who is unable to find inspiration to begin a new production, even though he is at the peak of his career. Hounded by his wife, mistress, relatives and even his own crew, Guido escapes from the pressures of reality and retreats to the safety of his personal fantasies. It is here, in these fantasies, that Guido finds himself and the true meaning of life." (from the video jacket)

8 1/2 | A | TOP

- A -
Abre los ojos
Alejandro Amenábar. 1 Region 1 DVD (117 mins.) : widescreen : color. Spanish with English subtitles, Feature film. Spain, France, Italy, 1997. Actors: Eduardo Noriega, Penélope Cruz. Cat. no. 12159.

"In this steamy, intriguingly complex, psychological thriller the line between reality and fantasy is hopelessly blurred. César tries to make sense of his life after a car crash leaves his once-handsome face grotesquely disfigured. After he is placed into a psychiatric penitentiary for a murder he doesn't remember committing, César's only hope is to delve into the depths of his subconscious mind where the answer to ending his living nightmare lies in his dreams." (from the DVD case)

Acts of Faith: Jewish Civilization in Spain
Films for the Humanities. 1VHS cassette (50 mins.) : color. English, Documentary. USA, 1995.

"Many Latinos in the American Southwest wear amulets and perform certain practices different from their fellow Latino Catholics -- and are discovering only now, to their great amazement, that they are descended from Jews who chose conversion rather than death at the time of the great expulsion from Spain in 1492. This program looks at remnants of what was once the great Jewish civilization in Spain: the artifacts, which were Christianized or destroyed, and the people, many of whom continued to practice elements of the religion and folklore of Judaism and for most of whom the memory of Jewishness has long since been extinguished." (from the video jacket)

Africa to America to Paris: The migration of Black Writers
1 VHS(53 mins). Color. French with English subtitle.France.1998.

The Age of Beauty see Belle Epoque
"This program traces the path of African-American literature from the shores of the U.S. to the Left Bank of Paris at the end of World War II through the late 1960sThe program provides context by first exploring the New Orleans salon poetry of Desdunes and discussing the historic suppression of black activists in the U.S. After the Harlem Renaissance, and increasingly hostile climate drove writers James Baldwin and Richard Wright to Paris, where liberal racial attitudes allowed for greater artistic expression. This program traces their lives in France through remembrances of fellow artists and readings from their diaries and works.This program traces the path of African-American literature from the shores of the U.S. to the Left Bank of Paris at the end of World War II through the late 1960s. The program provides context by first exploring the New Orleans salon poetry of Desdunes and discussing the historic suppression of black activists in the U.S. After the Harlem Renaissance, and increasingly hostile climate drove writers James Baldwin and Richard Wright to Paris, where liberal racial attitudes allowed for greater artistic expression. This program traces their lives in France through remembrances of fellow artists and readings from their diaries and works."

Albero degli zoccoli, L'
Ermanno Olmi. 2 VHS cassettes (185 mins.) : color. Italian with English subtitles, Feature film. Italy, 1978. Actors: Luigi Omghi, Francesca Moriggi, Omar Brignoll and Antonio Ferrari.

"The Tree of Wooden Clogs is the touching and beautiful story of a small community of peasants in Italy near the turn of the century. follows four families through the seasons and lovingly portrays the events of their lives, from the momentous -- marriage and birth -- to the minor -- a small but pivotal incident where a young boy breaks one of his clogs on the way home from school. In order for his son to continue his education, the boy's father must risk punishment by cutting down one of his landlord's trees to make a new pair of clogs. Though the punishment is severe, the feeling we are left with is that this united family will not be shaken and that life goes on in spite of hardship. There is, amongst these people, an acceptance of what life has to offer, an appreciation of the simple daily majesty of nature. Their love of life and land is inspiring and their strength leaves a lasting imnpression." (from the video jacket)

Alexander Nevsky
Sergei Eisenstein. 1 VHS cassette (112 mins.) : B&W. Russian with English subtitles, Feature film. USSR, 1938. Actors: Nikolai Cherkassov, Nikolai Okhlopkov, Andrei Abrikosov, Dmitri Orlov.

"The first sound film by one of the medium's greatest creative giants, Sergei Eisenstein's 'Alexander Nevsky' has profoundly influenced generations of directors from John Ford to George Lucas -- particularly with its breathtaking battle scenes. Commissioned by Stalin in 1938 to create 'a patriotic weapon' to stir Soviet sentiment against a threatened invasion by Germany, Eisenstein turned to the legen of the 13th century Russian prince who defeated an army of marauding Teutonic Knights during a titanic clash on the frozen Lake Peipus. A towering historical epic matched in passion and grandeur by Sergei Prokofiev's equally famous score, 'Alexander Nevsky' has long outlived its original propagandistic purpose to become an acknowledged classic of the world cinema." (from the video jacket).

Allseitig reduzierte persönlichkeit -- redupers--, Die (All-round Reduced Personality)
Helke Sander. 1 VHS cassette (98 mins.) : color. Feature Film. Actors: Helke Sander, Joachim Baumann, Frank Burckner, Eva Gagel, Ulrich Gressieker, Beate Kopp. German with English subtitles. Germany, 1977.

"A key work of the new German cinema, Helke Sander's film is a justly celebrated portrait of Edda, a free-lance photojournalist and a look at the divided city of Berlin -- a wryly funny but serious commentary on contemporary life. Sander, a leading figure of the women's movement in Germany, is the film's writer, director, and star. In the role of Edda, Sander has a hard time making ends meet to support herself and her daughter, and is forced to photograph boring functions while really wanting to take socially significant pictures, As she struggle to realize herself as an artist and a woman, Sander bravely portrays Edda as an individual straddling multiple worlds-- work, womanhood, motherhood, East, West, capitalism, and socialism." (from the video jacket)

Amarcord
Federico Fellini. 1 VHS cassette (127 mins.) : color. Italian with English subtitles, Feature film. Italy, 1974.

"One of Federico Fellini's most accessible and popular works, Amarcord also ranks as one of the most honored foreign films of the '70s. Through the story of Titta, a boy on the brink of manhood, Fellini looks back on his own youth with affection and humor. This ode to the past recalls the time, the place, and especially the people: Titta's bickering parents, the egotistical theater owner, and the town's sexy beautician. Brilliant cinematography and Nino Rota's wonderful score make their lives appear as a dreamlike memory. Intertwining scenes of stunning beauty with hilarious vulgarity, Fellini portrays the tender and silly diversions of a small Italian coastal village of the 1930's." (from the video jacket)

Amazonia: Voices from the rainforest
Glenn Switkes and Monti Aguirre. 1 VHS cassette (69 mins.) : color. Spanish with English subtitle, Documentary. Mexico.

"For the last 500 years the native people of the Amazon forest have defended their homeland against an invasion that has brought the mass extinction of over 700 tribes and the destruction of the rich rain forests in which they live. 'Amazonia' gives voice to these native people, as well as the riverine dwellers, rubber tappers, and small farmers, all of whom depend upon the rain forests along the Amazon River. 'Amazonia' is a uniquely crafted film, blending vivid first-person accounts of the struggle for survival in the forests with stunning cinematography, a wondrous animation sequence, and an original music score by famed Brazilian composer Egberto Gismonti." (from the video jacket)

Amélie
Jean-Pierre Jeunet. 2 Region 1 DVDs (122 mins.) : widescreen : color. French with English subtitles. France, 2001. Actors: Audrey Tatou, Mathieu Kassovitz. ISBN 0-7888-3621-8.

"Nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Original Screenplay, this magical comedy met overwhelming acclaim nationwide! A painfully shy waitress working at a tiny Paris café, Amélie makes a surprising discovery and sees her life drastically changed for the better! From then on, Amélie dedicates herself to helping others find happiness...in the most delightfully unexpected ways! But will she have the courage to do for herself what she has done for others?" (from the DVD case)

Americas
WGBH. 10 VHS cassettes (each cassette contains a 60 min. episode). English, Documentary. USA, 1993.

• The Garden of Forking Paths: Dilemmas of National Development (Argentina)
• Capital Sins: Authoritarianism and Democratization (Brazil)
• Continent on the Move: Migration and Urbanization (Mexico)
• Mirrors of the Heart: Race and Identity (Bolivia, Haiti, the Dominican Republic)
• In Women's Hands: The Changing Roles of Women (Chile)
• Miracles Are Not Enough: Continuity and Change in Religion (Brazil, Nicaragua)
• Builders of Images: Latin American Cultural Identity (Puerto Rico, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina)
• Get Up, Stand Up: Problems of Sovereignty (Colombia, Jamaica, Panama)
• Fire in the Mind: Revolutions and Revolutionaries (El Salvador, Peru, Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua)
• The Latina American and Caribbean Presence in the U.S. (Southern California, Miami, New York City)

"The people of South and Central America and the Caribbean reflect on their lives, their history and societies in 'Americas'. This intimate look at contemporary Latin America examines issues confronting the entire region by focusing on individual communities. Campesinos, city dwellers, artists, government officials, revolutionaries and others bring forth the multi-layered diversity ofthe region." (from the video jacket)

Amor Bandido
Bruno Barreto. 1VHS cassette (90 min.): color. Portuguese with English subtitles, Feature film. Brazil, 1981.Actors: Paulo Gracindo, Cristina Ache, Paulo Guarniero.

"Amor Bandido is the turbulent story of crime and doomed romance set in the tawdry underworld of Rio. Someone is robbing and murdering the cab drivers of the city and the chief of detectives on the case can do nothing to stop it. Meanwhile, he frequents the local Copacabana strip-joint where his estranged, prostitute daughter works, in the hopes of mending their relationship. The drama mounts when his worlds become inextricably linked. The daughter, played by the sultry Cristine Ache, is torn between defiance of her father and loyalty to her lover and is forced to make decisions that bring this tense, passionate film to a conclusion that would do Bonnie and Clyde proud." (from the video jacket)

Amor e traicão
Pedro Camargo. 1 VHS cassette (104 mins.) ; color. Portuguese with English subtitles, Feature film. Brazil, 1982. Actors: Jofre Soares Claudia Ohana.

Amores perros
Alejandro González Iñárritu. 1 DVD (153 mins.) : color. Spanish with English and French subtitles. French Language track. Actors: Emilio Echevarría, Gael Garcia Bernal, Goya Toledo, Álvaro Guerrero, Vanessa Bauche, Jorege Salinas.

"Three lives become inextricably linked int he wake of a terrrible car crash: a young punk tumbles into the sinister underground world of dog fighting; an injured supermodel's pooch disappears into the apartemnt's floorboards; and an ex-radical turned hit man rescues a gun-shot Rotweiler." (from the DVD jacket)

Angst essen Seele auf. (Ali: Fear Eats the Soul)
Rainer Werner Fassbinder. 1 VHS cassette (94 mins.) : color. German with English subtitles, Feature Film. Germany 1974. Actors: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Brigitte Mira, El Hedi Ben Salem, Barbara Valentin, Irm Hermann.

"Fassbinder draws on the formula of the classic American tear-jerker to tell the outrageous, touching story of a bumpy love affair between a German floorwasher and an inarticulate Arabmechanic. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul is a moving romance, a perverse social comedy, and a biting drama. With his warm humanism and cool irony, Fassbinder is able to create art from material that in the hands of most directors would never transcend soap opera." (from the video jacket)

Anna Akhmatova File,The
Semeon Aranovitch.1VHS.65 mins.Color.Russian with English subtitle.USSR.1989.

"More than a simple portrait of the major 20th century poet, The Anna Akhmatova File is the moving and powerful examination of a violent century. In this documentary drama- more engaginig than if it had been fiction- a sensitive, lyrical and much loved poet, Anna Akhmatova, stands up to the brutal oppression of Josef Stalin. Through extraordinary interviews and rare film footage and Photographs, filimmaker Semeon Aranovitch examines the soul of a contradictory age in which Akhmatova- whose work went unpublished for 17 years- became the conscience of a generation. Her poem 'Requiem' became the underground anthem for the millions who suffered under Stalin." (from the video jacket)

Ardilla roja, La. (The Red Squirrel)
Julio Medem. 1 VHS cassette (104 mins.) : color. Spanish with English subtitles, Feature film. Spain, 1993. Actors: Emma Suarez, Nancho Novo, Maria Barranco.

"Jota, a troubled former pop star (Nancho Novo), is the sole witness to the crash of a motorcycle ridden by a young woman (Emma Suarez). After learning of the woman's amnesia Jota pretends to be her lover, naming her Lisa and creating a fictitious life for her. 'The Red Squirrel' mixes offbeat humor and spectacular visual style in its investigation fo female identity, as man attempts to unravel the mystery of the opposite sex." (from the video jacket)

Argent de poche, L'.(Pocket Change)
François Truffaut. 1 VHS cassette (105 min.) : color. French with English subtitles, Feature film. France, 1976.

Argentina: Land of Natural Wonder
Video Visits. 1 VHS cassette (51 min.):color. English, Documentary.

"Spanish for 'silver,' this is surely a land of natural wealth and beauty. From Tierra del Fuego, the country's southernmost region, to Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in the western hemisphere, this collection of terrains and climates is among the most diverse anywhere, equalled only by the variety of animals and ocean life found in and around them. Venture to the Patagonia plains, where the "gaucho," the 18th century Argentinean cowboy, still rides herd. The Andes offer majestic, snow-capped peaks and tropical rain forests; the beaches of Mar del Plata are worldwide favorites and Perito Moreno is the world's only growing glacier. And you haven't lived until you've tangoed away an evening in Buenos Aires."

Artîculos de Costumbre (José de Larra)
Radiotelevisión Española and Films for the Humanities and Sciences. 1 VHS cassette: color. Spanish with no English subtitles. Spain, ?.

"Writers of the nineteenth century took particular pleasure in painting verbal portraits of quaint people and places: costumbrismo was the peculiarly Spanish manifestation of this style. José de Larra was the primary exponent of costumbrismo, writing articles that combined the techniques of costumbrist description with the slightly disengaged and sardonic view of the sophisticated madrileño. Larra's best work, here brought to tantilizing life, provides us with a first-hand view of Madrid in the last century." (from the video jacket)

Austeria (The Inn)
Jerzy Kawalerowicz. 1 VHS cassette. (110 mins.): color. Polish with English subtitles, Feature film. Poland, 1982.

"On the first day of World War I, a group of Jews flee from the Cossack army in Polish Galicia and finds itself trapped overnight in a border inn. Relationships develop, love affairs are snatched, the religious pray. The director combines his gifts for intimate psychological drama with his penchant for history to re-create a vivid picture of a recently vanished world. Full of warmth and vitality, it caputres the Jewish sense of humor which seems, uniquely, to draw inspiration from disaster." (from the video jacket)

Au revoir les enfants (Goodbye, Children)
Louis Malle. 1 VHS cassette (104 min.) : color. French with English subtitles, Feature film. France-W. Germany, 1987. Actors: Gaspard Manesse Raphael Fejtö, Francine Racette.

"From acclaimed filmmaker Louis Malle comes this moving, autobiographical account of a boy's first friendship -- and his discovery of the real world. Set in a Catholic boarding school during the German occupation of France, this is the powerful story of Julien Quentin, a sensitive, headstrong 12-year-old boy who befriends the new student in his class. The boy -Jean Bonnet -- seems different from the others. But Julien is intrigued and the two begin a shaky friendship that grows as they share common experiences. Then one day, by accident, Julien makes a frightening discovery about his new-found friend. He learns of the secret surrounding his identity. A secret that will soon be revealed to the Gestapo and will change the young boys' lives forever. . ." (from the video jacket).

Azores: The Enchanted Islands
Sérgio Lago. 1 VHS cassette : color. English, Documentary.

"Located in the middle of the Atlantic, between Lisbon and New York, the archipelago of the Azores is one of the preferred destinations of travelers searching for tranquility, nature, and a pollution-free environment. America's love affair with these islands has made it a popular destination during the summer months. Azoreans open their arms and hearts to the world traveller, attracted to the islands by a diversity of water sports, hiking trails, historical monuments, cultural events, flowers and fauna. Azores: The Enchanted Islands is the result of work done by PBN Productions during a summer season, filled with sunshine and almost daily festivals. This video is indispensible for all those interested in discovering new places and appreciating the poetry and simplicity of a unique culture whose roots, it is said, to the lost civilizations of Atlantis. English version narrated by Emmy Award-winner Mario Machado." (from the video jacket)

NOTE: ** indicates does not circulate.