Valerio Zurlini Box Set: The Early Masterpieces - Violent Summer/Girl With A Suitcase DVD

Valerio Zurlini Box Set: The Early Masterpieces - Violent Summer/Girl With A Suitcase movie This visually breathtaking film from New Wave director Eric Rohmer uses hand-painted sets that depict 18th-century Paris, the English lady's home, and the surrounding countryside with a vivid effect that looks like a realist oil painting brought to life. Set in the mid-1700s during the French Revolution, THE LADY AND THE DUKE tracks the profound friendship between Grace Elliot (Lucy Russell), an English woman who lives in Paris and insists on staying there throughout the war, and The Duke of Orleans (Jean-Claude Dreyfus), the cousin of Louis XVI and Grace's former lover. Russell (FOLLOWING) gives a superb performance as the headstrong, political, beautiful, and daring Grace Elliot, whose real-life memoirs inspired Rohmer to make the film. Dreyfus (DELICATESSEN) plays her perfect counterpart--powerful and unwavering, yet charming, caring, and honest. As each scene of the film magically bleeds into the next, the painterly backdrops make it difficult to discern 3-D objects such as chairs from the trompe l'oiel flat painted sets. Characters enter or exit with shocking life as the camera matches them to the color and texture of the painting. Majestic black horses that pull carriages over the "cobblestone" streets shimmer with velveteen realness. Meanwhile, tension brought on by the war adds strain to the friendship between the lady and the duke, and as the audience endures the fall of the Bastille, the September Massacres, and the finally, the king's execution, they are captivated, entertained, and historically nourished.

Valerio Zurlini Box Set: The Early Masterpieces - Violent Summer/Girl With A Suitcase film A writer has a torrid relationship with a femme fatale in ONE FALSE STEP. The shady lady, who could be the stuff of the author's imagination, introduces him to the pleasures of vice and crime. In the tradition of THE LAST SEDUCTION and SOMETHING WILD, ONE FALSE STEP features a wild woman of questionable values who influences a mild mannered man. Standard Screen; Soundtrack English

Valerio Zurlini Box Set: The Early Masterpieces - Violent Summer/Girl With A Suitcase review HOME TOWN STORY: Jeffrey Lynn stars in HOME TOWN STORY (1951) as a recently defeated state legislature candidate, who takes a job at a newspaper in order to fight powerful and corrupt companies who sabotaged his campaign. Though the movie's acting and story are solid, it's best known today for the alluring presence of a young Marilyn Monroe in a supporting role. TWO WOMEN: In Vittorio De Sica's TWO WOMEN, Cesira (Sophia Loren) and her young daughter (Eleonora Brown) leave Rome for the comfort of the Italian hills, hoping to remain safe during WWII. When the Allied troops start moving north, Cesira and her daughter feel secure enough to head back to Rome, but tragedy ensues when they encounter a group of Moroccan soldiers. Sultry Sophia Loren dominates this dark drama in a role that won her an Oscar for Best Actress. Standard Screen; Soundtrack English

Valerio Zurlini Box Set: The Early Masterpieces - Violent Summer/Girl With A Suitcase DVD for sale 15 MINUTES: Set in a tabloid world of murder and mayhem, 15 MINUTES is a fast-paced, electrifying thriller that takes on modern America's tawdry fascination with crime. Arson investigator Jordy Warsaw (Edward Burns) tags along with celebrity cop Eddie Flemming (Robert DeNiro) to investigate a double murder committed by a pair of Eastern European criminals, Emil and Oleg, who have come to America seeking money owed them by an old partner. As the crimes continue, the duo decide to escape prosecution by videotaping their crimes (Oleg dubs himself "Frank Capra"), an act that seems so crazy that it would allow them to plead insanity. With this scheme as a safeguard, they then plan to make millions by selling their footage to a sleazy journalist (Kelsey Grammar). But as the brutality of the crimes intensifies, Eddie and Jordy are pushed to the limits of the law and beyond in their search for justice. SLEEPERS: Tommy, John, Michael, and Shakes are four young teenage punks growing up in the streets of Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen in the mid-1960s. When these four friends pull a prank that that goes awry, they find themselves serving time at the Wilkinson School for Boys, where they are repeatedly and sadistically violated and tortured by four guards--the most menacing being Noles, portrayed by Kevin Bacon. Fifteen years later, the foursome is still dealing with the emotional repercussions of their abuse. Tommy (Billy Crudup) and John (Ron Eldard) have become common criminals, and when they spot Noles in a local watering hole they can't pass up the chance for revenge. It's up to Shakes (Jason Patric), a low-profile newspaper employee, and Michael (Brad Pitt), a lawyer with the district attorney's office, to save their friends while keeping the details of their tortured childhoods secret. Dustin Hoffman appears as Danny Snyder, and Robert De Niro stars as Father Bobby, the local neighborhood priest who is as comfortable on the streets or in a bar as he is behind the pulpit. Based on the allegedly true story by Lorenzo Carcaterra, the film is directed by Barry Levinson (DINER, RAIN MAN). SWORDFISH: Star John Travolta revisits the grinning villain territory he explored in BROKEN ARROW and FACE/OFF with this stylish, supercharged techno-thriller. He plays Gabriel, a charismatic, fast-living mystery man who, with help from his right-hand woman, Ginger (Halle Berry), recruits ex-con and former master hacker Stan (Hugh Jackman) to aid in a plan to steal billions from a secret government bank account. Stan reluctantly agrees to help in order to finance the legal battle for custody of his young daughter (Camryn Grimes). Meanwhile an FBI computer crimes specialist (Don Cheadle) is determined to find out what's about to go down, and plans to use Stan to find out.

Valerio Zurlini Box Set: The Early Masterpieces - Violent Summer/Girl With A Suitcase video A New England schoolteacher, Prudence Bell (Suzanne Pleshett), heads for the eternal city of Rome after being chastised by school administrators for encouraging her students to read a novel they considered to be too racy. Once in Rome, she searches for romance and gets more than she bargains for. Prudence is torn between Don (Troy Donahue), a handsome young student, and the sagely older Roberto (Rosanno Brazzi). Unable to make up her mind, she seeks out advice from Lyda (Angie Dickinson), a glamorous older woman. ROME ADVENTURE is everything its title promises. Featuring the golden causeways and sweeping fountains of Rome, it is a heartfelt film. Director Delmer Daves masterfully scripted the film, set to a moving score by composer Max Steiner. ROME ADVENTURE is an essential 1960s romantic classic. NTSC/Region 0. Troy Donahue, Angie Dickinson and Suzanne Pleshette star in this 1962 film directed by Delmer Daves and based on the novel by Irving Fineman. Rome Adventure tells the store of Prudence, a former teacher, who moves to Italy and takes a job at a small bookstore in Rome, where she meets Don, who has just split with his girlfriend. They decide to take a tour of Italy together and romance starts to bloom.

Valerio Zurlini Box Set: The Early Masterpieces - Violent Summer/Girl With A Suitcase film The true story of R.J.R. Nabisco CEO F. Ross Johnson's attempted leveraged buyout of the company. Johnson and Henry Kravis, lbo master, lock horns in this capitalist battle royalle. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the stock market--the '80s are back. The president of a major tobacco company decides to buy the company himself, but a bidding war ensues as other companies make their own offers.

Valerio Zurlini Box Set: The Early Masterpieces - Violent Summer/Girl With A Suitcase review Six adventures with TV sleuth Inspector Morse (John Thaw) and his sidekick Sergeant Lewis (Kevin Whately) are contained on this collection. "The Daughters of Cain" - A story laced with suicide and drugs has Inspector Morse and Sgt. Lewis plunged back into Oxford's academic world investigating a retired university fellow's murder. "Death is Now My Neighbour" - Inspector Morse and Sgt. Lewis investigate a double homicide that takes them into the world of academic politics. "The Wench is Dead" - Inspector Morse is intrigued by a 19th-century investigation and trial account he happens across. He begins to unearth clues that point to the innocence of the three men hanged for the crime. "The Remorseful Day" - The popular and long-running INSPECTOR MORSE series comes to and end with this, an adaptation of author Colin Dexter's final novel. When a housewife is brutally murdered, Morse's superior decides the detective is not up to the case. A year later, new evidence comes into light and Morse comes back to learn the truth, but his health may still be a cause of concern. "The Story of Morse" - This documentary on the Morse phenomenon traces the evolution of the show, from its initial conception to its status as one of the most popular shows on British television. Standard Screen; Soundtrack English

Valerio Zurlini Box Set: The Early Masterpieces - Violent Summer/Girl With A Suitcase DVD for sale Award-winning Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami (A TASTE OF CHERRY, THROUGH THE OLIVE TREES) goes for a meditative change of pace with FIVE: DEDICATED TO OZU, a gorgeous work set on the shores of Galicia in Spain. The 74-minute film consists of five pieces, all focusing on the ocean, with no camera movement (save for one brief pan) and only natural sound (except for short musical interludes linking the sections). The first piece centers on a chunk of driftwood on the shore as the waves slowly approach it, threatening its existence. For the second section, Kiarostami sets his camera up behind the boardwalk, with the beach in the distance, as people make their way in and out of camera range. The third part is back on the sand, watching a group of stray dogs interact, forming their own private society. Next, a parade of ducks come quacking one way, then the other, adding comic relief to the contemplative setting. And finally, the last scene is a nighttime opera of nature, as frogs and other animals make noise as the moon tries to peer through the clouds, a rainstorm approaches, and the water in a pond glistens. Made in 2003, the unusual film is a mesmerizing masterpiece of simplicity dedicated to the 100th birthday of the great Japanese writer-director Yasujiro Ozu, who attempted to capture real life in such moving family portraits as TOKYO STORY, A STORY OF FLOATING WEEDS, and EARLY SPRING. Kiarostami's slow-paced, minimalist arthouse film offers a poetic take on the unfolding cycle of nature. Filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami pays homage to Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu, whose spare but evocative style has been a major influence on Kiarostami's work. Canny and sublime, the 74 minute film is comprised of 5 long, apparently single takes of a beach on the Caspian Sea, all focusing on the ocean, comprised of virtually no camera movement and enveloped in rapturous natural sound.

Valerio Zurlini Box Set: The Early Masterpieces - Violent Summer/Girl With A Suitcase movie Standard Screen; Soundtrack English