Feature Films and Documentaries
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Salsa
Jeremy Marr. 1 VHS cassette: color. Documentary, English.
"Salsa refers not only to hot sauce but hot music -the exuberant dance music of Latino communities in New York and other cities in Eastern United States as well as Puerto Rico and Cuba. Over the past twenty- five years, Salsa has profoundly influenced jazz and pop music, even as it gave a focal point for a colorful, distinctively Latin way of walking, talking and dancing. From the barrios of New York City to the roots-culture of the Caribbean, "Salsa" captures Latin music in all its joy, vitality and improvisational brilliance. Highlights include performances, interviews, and recording sessions with such stars as Celia Cruz, Tio Puente, Reuben Blades, Charlie Palmieri, Ray Barretto, and many more!" (from the video jacket)
Salsa, la pelicula
Boaz Davidson. 1 VHS cassette (96 mins.): color. Spanish, subtitles, Feature film. USA, 1988. Actors: Robby Rosa, Rodney Harvey.
"En una escapada nocturna después de su trabajo como mecánico, el joven Rico (Robby Rosa) está en su verdadero ambiente: la exuberancia desenfrenada del club de salsa "La Luna," en el Este de Los Angeles. Su sueño es, que él y su novia se conviertan en "El Rey y la Reina de Salsa," por lo que Rico concentra todas sus energías para ganar el muy rivalizado concurso de Gran Salsa de "La Luna." Pero, cuando la bella duena del club se hace el propósito de que Rico sea su pareja de baile, el ritmo se vuelve acalorado." (from the video jacket)
Sanjoaninas na Terceira
Sergio Lago. 1 VHS cassette (60 mins.): color. Portuguese, no subtitles. Documentary, 1995.
"As Festas Sanjoaninas são actualmente um dos mais importantes e esperados festejos da liha Terceira, no Arquipélago dos Açores. Durante uma semana, o povo da Terceira e também das outras ilhas do arquipélago, réune-se nas praças e nas ruas de cicade para celebrar apresentação de cantorias, folclore, grupos de foliões, cantores populares, touradas á corda e touradas de praça. Isto sem falar nas procissões em homenagem a Espíritu Santo e nas Marchas de São João. Este video, preparado pela equipa de PBN, reúne o melhor das Festas Sanjoaninas, com toda a riqueza e tradionalismo típicos da cultura da llha Terceira." (from the video jacket)
Sartre by himself / Sartre par lui-même: Parts 1 and 2
Alexandre Astruc and Michel Contat. 2 VHS cassettes : color. Part 1 (95 mins.), Part 2 (102 mins.) French with English subtitles, Documentary. USA, 1976.
"Very rarely do we have the opportunity to have an intimate encounter with one of the most influential writers of our century. 'Sartre by Himself' provides an in-depth look at the existentialist philosopher and author of Being and Nothingness, Nausea, and numerous works of criticism, philosophy, and fiction. Interviewed by Alexandre Astruc, author of the celebrated essay on camera-style and Michel Contat, Sartre speaks eloquently about his life and writings, his efforts on behalf of the French Resistance, his public opposition to the Algerian and Vietnam Wars, and his views on feminism. The film offers a conversational feast for anyone with an interest in 20th century philosophy, the intellectual ferment of post-war Paris or the vibrant personalities of Sartre and his long-time companion Simone de Beauvoir." (from the video jacket)
Savage capitalism see Capitalismo selvagem.
Savoniha: A Siberian old believer see Where the eagles fly.
School of Assassins
Maryknoll World Productions. 1 VHS cassette (18 mins.): color. English, Documentary U.S.A., 1995 "Narrated by Susan Sarandon" 1995 Academy Award Nominee
"Did you know that U.S. taxpayers foot the bill for a school on U.S. soil which has graduated some of the worst human rights violators in the hemisphere? Since it was established in 1946, the United States Army School of the Americas has trained thousands of Latin American and Caribbean soldiers. Among them, we learn in this exposé, are the former dictators of Argentina, Bolivia, Honduras and Panama. Using rarely- seen footage, the program shows how officers who study at the school are responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people -- including Archbishop Romero of El Salvador. The camera reveals the hidden world of the School of the Americas, and the work of church people, activists and members of Congress to close it down." (from the video jacket)
Schreckliche mädchen, Das (The Nasty Girl)
Micheal Verhoeven. 1 VHS cassette (94 mins.): color. German with English subtitles. West Germany ,1990.
"In this provocative comedy, Sonja (Lena Stolze) is "The Nasty Girl", a young girl whose digging for the truth gets her buried in the cover-up. A school project inspires Sonja to investigate her town's past -- a subject which seems to upset her neighbors -- and Sonja's research soon falls by the wayside. Marriage to he childhood sweetheart, the schoolteacher whom she seduced, proves a distraction, but not for long. Sonja soon discovers that her small town has some big secrets -- secrets the town wants left that way..." (from the video jacket)
Second Heimat: Chronicle of a generation
Edgar Reitz. 13 VHS cassettes (120 mins. each): color. German, French, English with English subtitles. Germany, 1992.
"The longest movie ever produced -- a mesmerizing, 26-hour chronicle of an entire generation from the director of Heimat. Second Heimat focuses on the experiences of a young classical musician and composer named Hermann Simon who moves from his small village to Munich to find a new life and, a second home. Second Heimat alternates between black and white and color as it encompasses the turbulence of the 1960's: 'Reitz's feeling for period and milieu are so good and his characters so rich and appealing one feels one could climb inside this movie and stay a long, long while.' (Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader) "Called 'ambitious,' 'mesmerizing,' 'a grand wallow of a movie experience,' 'memorable,' 'heartbreaking,' 'haunting,' and consistently praised as a masterpiece, The Second Heimat 'forms, with its predecessor Heimat, a magnificent, nearly unprecedented 'film novel': a portrait of Germany in the 20th Century with few equals in either film or literature... That Reitz is able to sustain growth and tension, inexorable flow and translucent clarity through the entire vast length, and hold audiences rapt... seems something of a miracle. The Heimat films are epic in scope, but also personal and semiautobiographical, a formidable mix of intimacy and power... Anyone who sees this great, over-flowing film novel will enter into a whole breathing, pulsing world; rich, teeming and unforgettable, the movie experience of a lifetime.' (Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune)" (from the video jacket).
Secrets of Lost Empires: Inca
NOVA. 1 VHS cassette (60 mins.): color. English, Documentary. USA, 1997.
"Did they do it with mirrors? That is one of the more bizarre explanations NOVA looks into while trying to reconstruct the mysterious building techniques of the Inca, the remarkable civilization who ruled the Peruvian Andes 500 years ago. The Incas had...no arch, no wheel, no codified mathmatics, marvels one anthropologist. They couldn't even write. So how did they erect their magnificant, earthquake-enduring citadels in the clouds--without mortar, iron tools, or draft animals, out of huge blocks of interlocking stone? Follow a diverse team of experts as the chip away at some theories, using only traditional tools available to the Incas centuries ago. Hundreds of villagers join in the effor to haul these unwieldy blocks, across water and steep terrain, armed with long ropes--and collective muscle power. The Incas also built breathtaking suspension bridges out of grass, an art still known to a handful of Andean villagers today. Watch how (in an astonishing three days!) blades of grass are harvested, twisted into strands, and braided into the cables of a 100-foot gossamer-like bridge, swaying high above a raging river--but sturdy enough for even the queasiest NOVA researcher to walk across."
Semaine Sanglante, La (The Bloody Week)
1 VHS cassette (52 mins.): color. French, Feature film. France, 1991.
"Paris in 1870 was a city of stark contrasts: Napoleon III and his empress Eugenie ruled over a splendid court; the Universal Exhibition was celebrating the miracles of the Machine Age; Baron haussmann, redesigning Paris to create avenues splendid both for the vista and for the effective firing of cannons, had unleashed a speculative fever in Parisian real estate; and the poor, squeezed by industrialization, were squeezed beyond the point of no return when they were forced by higher rents to vacate their living quarters. This program shows the conditions that gave rise to the Commune of Paris, the Communards, and the indescribably brutal manner in which the rest of France put an end to the Blood Week of the Commune."
Semana Santa en Espana, La
1 VHS cassette (24 mins.): color. Spanish with English subtitles, Feature film. Mexico.
Señor muy viejo con unas alas enormes, Un (A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings)
Fernando Birri. 1 VHS cassette (90 min.): color. Spanish with English subtitles, Feature film. Spain, 1988. Actors: Daisy Granados, Asdrubal Melendez, Luis Alberto Ramirez, Fernando Birri.
"Magical realism and comic confusion blen in a startling film about visions and expectations. Amid the debris of a Columbian cyclone lands A very old man with enormous wings whose seemingly miraculous anatomy attracts the curious and devout from around the world. Silent and disheveled, this fantastical "creature" is housed in a chicken coop as his hosts and the onlookers wait for his heavenly message which turns out to be a very mixed blessing." Shoot the piano player = Tirez sur le pianiste / François Truffaut. 1 VHS cassette (84'): BW. French with English subtitles, Feature film. France, 1956. Actors: Charles Aznavour.
Seville: Jewel of Andalusia
1 VHS cassette (46 mins.): color. Spanish with subtitles in English, Feature film. Mexico, 1994.
"Seville's ancient streets bear the imprint of the multitude of peoples and cultures that have called this city home: Roman's, Visigoths, Muslims, Jews and Christians. Explore the Roman ruins of Italica, the lush Moorish palace of the Alcazar, the delicate beauty of Santa Cruz--the one-time center of Seville's Jewish population--and the city landmark, La Giralda. Marvel at Seville's breathtaking Cathedral (the biggest Gothic building in the world) whose centruy of construction was launched with the cry, 'Let's build a church that will make the people think it is the work of madmen!' Examine the stunning detail of the Cathedral's enormous altarpiece, the tomb of Christopher Columbus and the artistic masterpieces of painter Bartolome Murillo."
Shadow you soon will be, A see Sombra ya pronto seras, Una.
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
Sergei Parajanov. 1 VHS cassette (99 mins.): color. Ukrainian with English subtitles, Feature film. USSR, 1964.
"...(T)he tragic tale of star-crossed lovers seperated by a family feud. Sergei Parajanov, a persecuted filmmaker whose subequent works were banned, interweaves dazzlimg visual imagery with a hypnotic musical score to tell the heartbraking story of Ivan and Marichka, whose love blooms, only to brutally die, in the remote Carpathian Mountains of medieval Russia."
Sheer Madness
Margarethe Von Trotta. 1 VHS cassette: color. German with English subtitles, Feature film. Germany, 1985. Actors: Hanna Schygulla, Angela Winkler, Peter Striebeck.
"Director Margarethe Von Trotte weaves a wondrously compelling tale of friendship and feminism around the relationship between two seemingly opposite women. Olga is a professor of women's literature, Ruth is a gifted and extremely reticent artist who is desperately fearful of the outside world. From their first meeting, they share a warmth and understanding that transcends the outside world. Stunningly acted, 'Sheer madness' may be the powerful of von Trotta's works to date." (from the video jacket)
Shtetl
Frontline, WGBH. 2 VHS cassettes (180 mins.): color. English, Documentary. USA, 1996.
"On November 8, 1942, Nazi soldiers rounded up the Jews living in a shtetl, a small village, in Bransk, Poland, and ordered the town's farmers to provide horse wagons to transport them to a nearby train station. Within twenty-four hours, 2,2500 Jews from Bransk died in Treblinka's gas chambers. Their shtetl died with them. 'Frontline' embarks on a 3 hour quest to uncover the true story of Jewish life in Bransk, before and after the war. Starting as a pilgrimage by a Holocaust survivor from Bransk touncover his roots, the quest is joined by a young Polish Gentile historian from Bransk who is also driven to discover the mystery of the lost Jewish community. A haunting account of the tragedy and its legacy emerges as townspeople from Branks and Polish-Americans, both Jew and Gentile, share their photographs and stories. Today in Bransk, there are no Jews and many residents choose to forget. Interviews in America with immigrants from Bransk create a vivid portrait of a lost community and continuing conflict over who should take responsibility. An unusual and important film, Shtetl is a universal tale of Jews and those who lived around them, and the controversy over the consequences of their tragic history." (from the video jacket)
Siete Locos, Los (The Seven Madmen)
Leopoldo Torre Nilsson. 1 VHS cassette (120 mins.): color. Spanish with English subtitles, Feature film. Argentina, 1972.
"The cinematic adaptation of The Seven Madmen is based on two novels by Robert Arlt. The Seven Madmen and Los Lanzallamas. Erdosain, a cultured young inventor in a precarious economic state, is abandoned by his wife. Now alone, Erdosain falls into a seemingly inescapable, consuming depression. Imprisioned by his misery, the young man becomes involved with a terrorist group whose goal is to take power by force. The leader of the gang is Alberto Lezin, 'El Astologo', who has a capricious and arbitrary vision of justice. The methods that he proposes to put an end to corruption and venality cause him to drag his gange, identified as The Seven Madmenn, toward a chaotic and apocalyptic end."
Simone de Beauvoir
Malka Ribowska and Josée Dayan. 1 VHS cassette (110 mins.): color. French with English subtitles, Documentary. France, 1982.
"Feminist, writer, political activist, the full range of Simone de Beauvoir's fascinating life is captured in this insightful documentary portrait. The film gives viewers a unique opportunity to get to know the brilliant author of The Second Sex and The Prime of Life as she speaks candidly about her relationship with Sartre, her friendship with Camus, the evolution of her political views her sympathy with the student revolution of 1968, as well as her views on feminism, abortion, sexual fidelity, aging, and death. Skillfully interwoven with de Beauvoir's commentary are photographs and archival footage of events -- both personal and political--that have shaped her thinking." (from the video jacket)
Small change see Argent de poche, L'.
Sissi
Ernst Marischka. 1 VHS cassette (101 mins.): color. German, no subtitles, Feature Film. Austria, 1955. Actors: Romy Schneider, Karlheinz Bohm.
"Der junge österreichische Kaiser Franz Joseph sol heiraten. Die Richtige Braut hat ihm Erzherzogin Sophie, seine Mutter schon ausgesucht. Ihre Wahl fiel auf ihre hübsche Nichte, die bayerische Prinzessin Nené, und sie organisiert ein Treffen der beiden in Bad Ischl, das durch eine Verlobung gekrönt werden sol. Herzogin Ludovika fährt mit Nené und ihrer jüngeren Tochter Sissi nach Ischl. In Ischl nimmt die sechzehnjährige Sissi ihr Angelzeug und geht zum Fischen. Dort, am Fluß, sieht sie der junge Kaiser und ist entzückt von der Natürlichkeit und Schönheit des Mädchens, ohne allerdings zu wissen, wer sie ist. Bei einem heimlichen Jagdausflug erzählt er ihr traurig von seiner geplanten Verlobung mit Nené und gibt ihr zu erkennen, daß er sich in sie verliebt hat. Auch Sissi ist der Kaiser nicht gleichgültig, aber sie will das Glück ihrer Schwester nicht zerstören und läuft weg. Beim nächsten Souper hat Franz Joseph hat nur noch Augen für sie und verkündet nach dem Souper seine Verlobung -- mit der bayerischen Prinzessin Sissi. Die Erzherzogin ist entsetzt, doch Franz Joseph heiratet mit großer Pracht seine Sissi." (from the video jacket)
**Smiling Madame Beudet, The (1922), and The Seashell and the Clergyman (1928)
Germaine Dulac. 1 VHS cassette (60 mins.): B&W. French title cards only.
Sonho Sem Fim
Lauro Escorel Filho. 1 VHS cassette (93 mins.): color. Portuguese.
"O cinema brasileiro também tem seus heróis. O gaúcho Eduardo Abelim, um desses heróis, inspirou o primeiro longa-metragem de Eduardo Escorel Filho, o talentoso diretor de fotografia responsável, entre otras, pelas imagens de 'Lúcio Flávio, O Passageiro da Agonia', 'Bye Bye Brasil', 'Eles não Usam Black-tie' e 'Eu Sei Que Vou te Amar'. É com esse talento que 'Sonho sem Fim' recria a vida e os filmes de Eduardo Abelim, um genial aventureiro que, entre outras peripécias, fazia acrobacias em automóveis para promover seus filmes. Dava consultas e aulas sobre ocultismo. E chegou até a participar, como documentarista, da Revolução de 30. Com uma belíssima reconstituição de época, na música e nos cenários, e um elenco privilegiado, o filme conta a louca trajetória dessa singular personalidade bradileira. Mais que um filme sobra a paixão do cinema, 'Sonho sem Fim' é uma elegia da persistência, da aventura e da coragem de inventar.Assisti-lo é participar dessa aventura."
Solaris
Andrei Tarkovsky. 2 VHS cassettes (167 mins.): color. Russian with English subtitles, Feature film. USSR, 1971.
"A science fiction cult classic, Solaris is a mesmerizing and poetic masterpiece that can be viewed in its original and unedited entirety. From a futuristic orbiting space station come reports of strange behavior and unexplained hallucinations from the cosmonauts who inhabit it. The mind bending images and altered consciousness surrounding Solaris seem to emanate form the planet itself as it communicates with its visitors. The surreal and intriguing images create a psychological thriller unlike any other movie you've ever experienced." (from the video jacket)
Sombra ya pronto seras, Una (A Shadow you soon will be)
Hector Olivera. 1 VHS cassette (105 mins.): color. Spanish with English subtitles, Feature film. Argentina, 1989. Actors: Miguel Angel Sola, Pepe Soriano, Alicia Bruzzo, Luis Brandoni.
"Based on the novel by Osvaldo Soriano, 'A Shadow' is an allegory of contemporary Argentine society. The film follows a computer programmer (Miguel Angel Sola) who, after his train breaks down, takes towandering aimlessly through remote regions of La Pampa, Viedma and Carhué. He meets a succession of equally lost souls, including a globe-trottin gambler, a circus owner whose performers left him 'because the whole country was a circus' and a tarot card reader with large gaps in her knowledge of the futre. Director Hector Olivera depicts a directionless society whose denizens have lost the will to work. As the computer programer says, 'I didn't know where I was headed, but at least I wanted to understand my way of travelling.'" (from the video jacket)
Songs of the Gauchos
BBC. 1 VHS cassette (54 mins.): color. Documentary, English. England, 1998.
"The very word, gaucho, conjures up romantic images of Argentina's cowboys chasing wildly across the pampas, twirling and tossing their traditional bolas. In this program we meet several colorful gauchos who train horses and sing songs of freedom and loneliness -- reflections of a vagabond lifestyle." (from the video jacket)
Song of Brazil
Jean Manzon. 1 VHS cassette (83 mins.): color. English, Documentary.
Soviet secret archives: Red Army Chronicles. Vol I
Castle Communications PLC. 1 VHS cassette (52 mins.): color and B&W. English, Documentary, 1992.
"Empowered by Lenin and created by Trotsky, The Red Army became one of the Soviet's most powerful forces. Witness Stalin's infamous purges of tens of thousands of his military officers, ruthless Civil War battle- field clashes between The Red Army and White Russian troops, bloody conquests in Manchuria, and the devastating loss of 70,000 troops in the Finnish war where the exposure of weaknesses in Soviet military performance prompted Hitler's attack on the USSR.series was created alongside respected Soviet historians and contains dazzling rare and never-before-seen footage." (from the video jacket)
Soviet secret archives: Red Aviator Chronicles. Vol. I
Castle Communications PLC. 1 VHS cassette (52 mins.): color and B&W. English, Documentary, 1992.
"Rare and never-before-seen footage of the 11-2 (a plane that flew so low the dust and snow it churned up acted as camouflage), dog fights over Stalingrad between German Messerschmitts and YaK-9s, and the infamous Maxim Gorky, a 42 ton behemoth with a 200 foot wingspread are but a small portion of this ground-breaking video. Witness Russia's emergence into aviation from its first full-scale airplane in 1882 through WW-II where it destroyed 57,000 German aircraft. This is one of the most important series on Soviet history ever produced." (from the video jacket)
Soviet secret archives: Red Navy Chronicles
Castle Communications PLC. 1 VHS cassette (52 mins.): color and B&W. English, Documentary, 1992.
"In 1834 Russia invented the first metal submarine, their first step in becoming one of the world's greatest naval powers. Witness the amazing 1928 rescue of Umberto Novella nad his expedition by Russian seamen aboard the icebreaker Krasid; dramatic footage of the Chalouskin as walls of ice crush and sink its metal hull; battles with the mighty Japanese armada; and the introduction of nuclear submarines and their powerful cousins, the aircraft carrier. Called one of the greatest documentary series created this decade, Soviet Secret Archives' rare and never-before-seen footage is amazing to watch." (from the video jacket)
Spain: Everything Under the Sun
International Video Network. 1 VHS cassette (50 mins.): color. English. Documentary. London, 1988.
"Come with us to sunny Spain, land of bullfights, flamenco, and 2,000 years of history. Begin in Madrid's Royal Palace and see the paintings of Velazquez and El Greco, then go on to the Prado for Goya. Stroll through the oldest part of the city, to the Plaza Mayor and the restaurant Botin, where Hemingway dined. Take an excursion to Avila, the walled 11th century home of Saint Teresa. Continue on to the Alcazar at Segovia; Toledo and the famed caathedral; Cordoba and its gypsy caves. Savor the exotic flavor of Granada, center of Moorish Spain, and pause in the Alhambra, where nightingales sing in the gardens. Soak up sun along the Costa del Sol and then complete your tour in Barcelona, Spain's second city.
Spain
Films for the Humanities and Sciences. 1 VHS cassette (30 mins.): color. English, Documentary. Gt. Brit., 1997. "A BBC Production"
"The days of the conquistadors have long since passed, but in many ways Spain remains locked within its glorious history, a slave to tradition. This program searches for the modern face of Spain by examining its social and economic progress, or lack of it, since Franco. Main topics include the Spanish Civil War, the failed rise of the middle class, and the illusion of Spain as a prosperous nation. Also examined are Spain's myriad ethnic traditions; politics; Catholicism; family tradition; urbanization; Spanish duende (soul); the South as a clisché for all of spain; and general apathy of the Spanish people toward change."
Spanish History...A Continent Conquered
International Video Network. English, Documentary, 1997.
**Spanish TV commercials
Gessler Publishing Co. 1 VHS cassette (42 mins.): color. Volume I of II
Spiders (Die Spinnen)
Fritz Lang. 1 VHS cassettes (137 mins.): B&W / color tinted. Silent with English title cards, Feature Film. Germany, 1919. Actors: Carl de Vogy, Ressel, Lil Dagover.
"'Spiders (Die Spinnen)' by Fritz Lang is considered by many to be the real beginning of the golden age of the German silent film. For those familiar with Lang as a giant of the cinema, this third feature already evidences some of the unique characterizations and themes which resurface in his later works such as Dr. Mabuse, Metropolis, M, Fury and The Big Heat. Spiders is an adventure story about an organized band of criminals who scheme to dominate the world. Although planned as a serial, only the first two parts were completed. Combining a labyrinth of plots with actual exotic locations, Lang succeeded in creating a highly entertaining pair of films which were replete with Inca treasures, human sacrifices and hairbreadth escapes. Long considered a lost film, Spiders was reconstructed over a three year period by film historians David & Kimberly Shepard using original German censorship records and Lang's own instructions for color tinting. The film had its first American showing in 1979." (from the video jacket)
The Spirit of Samba: Black Music of Brazil
1 VHS cassette. English, Documentary. USA, 1990.
"The Carnival in Rio has catapulted Brazilian samba to prominence around the world as the ultimate mix of exuberance, sensuality and tradition. And the Brazilian music has profoundly influenced all kinds of musicians around the world, specially the jazz artists. along with that samba, bissa nova and other Brazilian styles have made an impact on the international pop scene. Amazingly enough, these styles represent only a small portion of the dazzling kaleidoscope of music found in Brazil.Spirit of samba is a thrilling tour of Brazil, ranging from the risky forays into the hilltop ghettos of rio to behind the scene looks at samba schools in preparation for carnival, a trip to the culturally rich, African rooted bahia region reveals a whole other realm of Brazilian culture. You encounter such major Brazilian stars as Gilberto Gil, Milton Naschinmento and chico barque in conversation and performance-intimate glimpses of major artists which makes spirit of samba an especially rewarding experience."
The Star Maker seeUomo delle stelle, L'.
Stelinhe
Marta Luz. 1VHS cassette (111 mins.): color. Portuguese, no subtitles, Feature Film.
Storia di ragazzi e di ragazze
Pupi Avati. 1 VHS cassette (92 mins.): color. Italian with English subtitles, Feature film. Italy, 1991. Actors: Davide Benchini, Lucrezia Lante della Rovere.
"The story of boys and girls is a sumptuous feast of wine, food, sex and celebration. An intoxicating mix of friends and families meet to celebrate an engagement over a banquet that fondly recalls the endless meal in Babette's Feast. Between the twenty delicious courses and flowing wine, the guests loosen their belts as well as their tongues spilling family secrets and revealing romantic intrigues. Even the maid gets caught between courses in a lusty tryst that leaves her flushed and rumpled when she serves the next dish. The Story of Boys and Girls is a feast for lovers that will whet your appetite." (from the video jacket)
Story of Adele H, The (L'histoire d'Adele H)
François Truffaut. 1 VHS cassette (97 mins.): color. French with English subtitles, Feature film. France, 1975.
"Love is my religion,' the young woman wrote in her diary. The god of that religion was a British lieutenant in Nova Scotia in 1863 -- a soldier who wanted nothing to do with the woman who adored him. François Truffaut directs and Isabelle Adjani stars in the staggeringly powerful The Story of Adele H. The "H" stands for Hugo and, like her famed father Victor Hugo, Adele had a gift for writing. However, she wrote in code, creating a secret diary. Only in modern times was the diary deciphered, revealing the true-life story of Adele's obsessive quest to make the soldier love her..." (from the video jacket).
Story of Fausta, The
Bertheruno Barreto. 1VHS cassette (90 mins.): color. Portuguese with English subtitles. Feature film, 1988. Actors: Betty Faria, Daniel Filho, Brendão Filho.
"Betty Faria (The Rising Star, Bye Bye Brazil, Out of My Way) stars as Fausta, a quirky cleaning lady whose sexy swinging hips open the door to a more comfortable life. When an old widower breaks the ice and buys Fausta perfume and a drink., she sees a way out of both her dead-end marriage and the shanty town that traps her. The bawdy sitcom hilarity of Fausta and her relationships are infused with a deeper message in the film's starting conclusion." (from the video jacket)
Story of Qiu Ju, The
Zhang Yimou. 1 VHS cassette (100 mins.): color. Chinese with English subtitles, Feature film. China, 1992.
"Acclaimed director Zhang Yimou follow his back-to-back Oscar - nominations for JuDou and Raise the Red lantern with this award-winning story of one woman's comic and quixotic quest for justice. Chinese star Gong Li...gives a luminous performance as Qiu Ju, a stoic peasant woman who demands an apology when her husband is kicked in the groin by the village Chief. But the Chief is a proud man who refuses to apologize, sending Qiu Ju on a futile trek through the complicated Chinese court system. From her small village to a nearby city and finally to the large and impersonal district court, hers is a universal battle against bureaucracy and indifference. Winner of Best Picture and Best Actress at the Venice film festival, THE STORY OF QIU JU is "funny, touching, surprising, provocative, and entertaining every step of the way." (from the video jacket)
Story of Xinghua, The
Yin Li, 1993. (89 mins.): color, 1 VHS cassette. Chinese with English subtitles.
"Meet Xinghua. Obedient servant. Compliant wife. Her husband's submissive possession. Bound by ancient traditions, she dutifully accepts a loveless marriage and endures her husband's cruelty. Until inescapable passion draws her into a dangerous and forbidden love affair which unleashes her senses...and releases her to dream of the unimaginable: freedom. Set in an exotic world where yesterday and tomorrow are on a non-stop collision course, this critically acclaimed drama of adultery and its aftermath was chosen as an Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival, and joins Farewell, My Concubine and Raise the Red Lantern as a masterpiece of modern Chinese filmmaking." (from the video jacket)
Super, El (The Super)
Leon Ichaso and Orlando Jimenez-Leal. 1 VHS cassette (80 mins.): color. Spanish with English subtitles, Feature film. USA, 1979. Actors: Raymundo Hidalgo-Gato, Zully Montero, Reynaldo Medina, Elizabeth Peña.
"A humorous and touching view of Cuban exiles living in a basement apartment during a snowy winter in New York, 'El Super' o, a superintendent who dreams of his warm and friendly homeland and stubbornly refuses to assimilate into the new culture. Surrounded by his friends and family, all of whom are struggling to adapt to their new home, he encounters life's most familiar and ordinary irritations. 'El Super' is remarkable for its sense of real people and the human experience." (from the video jacket)
Super Cities: Barcelona see Barcelona.
Super Cities: Madrid see Madrid.
Susana
Luis Buñuel. 1 VHS cassette (86 mins.): BW. Spanish with English subtitles, Feature film. Mexico, 1950. Actors: Fernando Soler, Rosita Quintana, Victor Manuel Mendoza.
"An incorrigibly delinquent girl escapes from prison and hides out on a plantation, where she becomes a steamy, scheming temptress, running wild with her sexual favors and turning its orderly domestic live into frenzied chaos."
Suspiria
Dario Argento. 1 VHS cassette (100 mins.): color. English, Feature film. Italy. Actors: Jessica Harper, Joan Bennett.
"Considered by many to be one of the most terrifying and stylized horror films of our time, SUSPIRIA, is a sure bet to keep you glued to the edge of your seat with all the lights on. Jessica Harper (MY FAVORITE YEAR, STARDUST MEMORIES & PENNIES FROM HEAVEN) stars as Susy Banyon, an American student who has enrolled in a German dance academy. On the very night she arrives, two of the students are brutally murdered in a scene likened to the shower murder in PSYCHO. It soon becomes apparent that this is only the begining of what is perhaps the most terrifying nightmare ever created on film." (from the video jacket)
Swept away (by an unusual destiny in the blue sea of August) see Travolti da un insolito.
NOTE: ** indicates does not circulate.
