ALL ADULT XXX TITLES are just $3 OR LESS!
ALL VHS TITLES are just $1 OR LESS!

We can’t show you any examples of the XXX titles* for sale but a quick perusal of the shelves revealed a wide selection of choices, the majority of which feature copious nudity, what the MPAA might call “pervasive sexuality” and a variety of “adult situations.” You’ll find all of them upstairs in our Sexploitation room.

Here are a few choice titles we found on the Used VHS shelves in the section adjacent to the front doors. Just look for the water cooler.

BANZAI RUNNER starring Dean Stockwell

The fast lane was the only lane, easy women, dangerous men, exotic cars, How far will they go?

POWER YOGA STRENGTH FOR BEGINNERS hosted by the awesome Rodney Yee.

Focus. Vitalize. Define.

RAISING ARIZONA starring Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter and jammies with Yodas & s**t on ‘em.

A film you should own on every available format

DEBBIE GIBSON: LIVE IN CONCERT from the “Out Of The Blue” Tour

The shoulder pads, bicycle shorts & hat transport you back instantly to the late 80s! Don't judge, there's probably a picture somewhere of you wearing something equally dated

Stop by soon for the best selection. Those  sale prices again:

ALL ADULT XXX TITLES: $3 OR LESS
ALL VHS TITLES: $1 OR LESS

Happy September, everyone!

*You must be 18 or older to peruse the Sexploitation room and purchase Adult titles

RED RIDING TRILOGY *—A trio of films, set in 1974, 1980 and 1983 respectfully, follow the grim search for a Yorkshire serial killer. Local film critic  Sean Axmaker says, “The three films that make up the Red Riding Trilogy (IFC), adapted by a quartet of novels by David Peace, are individually among the best films I’ve seen in 2010. Together, they are a remarkable work.” (read more of his review here). SALE

HARRY BROWN—Michael Caine is an ex-Marine who deals out some violent vigilante justice to the drug dealers of London.

FOR MY WIFE…—After the sudden tragic death of her wife Kate, Charlene Strong faced discrimination that spurred her to take action. This moving documentary chronicles her fight to pass our state’s domestic partnership laws and her contribution to the national equality movement.

CINEVARDAPHOTO—Agnes Varda (The Gleaners and I) presents a set of films focus on the power of photography. The DVD also includes six of her short films.  Read more about it over on Sean Axmaker’s site.. In lieu of a trailer, here’s a recent BBC interview.  SALE

OSS 117: LOST IN RIO—Master spy Hubert Bonissuer de la Bath’s latest mission takes him to South America for more comedic exploits and investigations. It’s the sequel to SIFF’s 2006 Golden Space Needle winner OSS 117: Cairo-Nest of Spies (available for rent in the France section).  SALE

WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO?—Tyler Perry’s latest ensemble exploration of relationship issues also stars Jill Scott, Janet Jackson and Black Dynamite star Michael Jai White.

A QUIET LITTLE MARRIAGE—An indie tale of love, marriage and making a family.

HOUSE: SEASON 6 *—The ballad of Dr. House continues…

SONS OF ANARCHY: SEASON 2 *—This show about an outlaw motorcycle club is slowly becoming a staff favorite.

PARENTHOOD: SEASON 1—Wasn’t there already a TV show based on the Ron Howard movie? This one’s probably much better because it has Lauren Graham & Peter Krause.

VAMPIRE DIARIES: SEASON 1 *—You can’t go wrong with the combination of vampires and teenagers in love. This one stars Steve McQueen’s grandson/Piranha 3-D star Steven McQueen. The DVD includes unaired scenes, commentaries, featurettes & a gag reel.

MARMADUKE—In his feature film debut, the mute canine star of the classic comic strip gains Owen Wilson’s voice, a feline sidekick and surprising agility.

NEW VIDEO GAMES

Dead Space (PS3)
Gunblade NY & LA Machineguns (Wii)
Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)
Metroid: Other M (Wii)
Pirates Plundarrr (Wii)
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (Wii)
Resistance: Fall of Man (PS3)
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (PS3)

Mafia II (PS3 & Xbox)

NEW BLU-RAY: FORMAT OF THE FUTURE

Death Note Collection
DOA: Dead or Alive
Edge of The World
Heroes Two
Pixies: Live-Acoustic & Electric
Zed & Two Noughts

Evil Dead –The Blu-ray features new commentary with Sam Raimi & Bruce Campbell   SALE

ANIME NEW RELEASES

Bleach Vol. 31—The Arrancar
Legends of the Dark King: Complete (Blu-ray!)

FAMILY NEW RELEASES

Ben 10: Alien Force Vol. 8
Curious George Goes to a Birthday Party
Curious George Makes New Friends!
Flipper (TV): Season 2 Discs 1-4 & 5-8
Madeline’s Halloween & other Spooky Stories
Sea Prince and the Fire Child
Sesame Street: Being Green/Love The Earth
Sesame Street: Bert and Ernie’s Great Adventures
Sesame Street: P Is For Princess
Wordgirl: Earth Day Girl

NEW TV ON DVD

Anyone But Me: Season 1
Capone Investment: 6 Episodes
Highway Patrol: Season 1
My Boys: Seasons 2 & 3
NCIS: Los Angeles—Season 1
Once An Eagle –The epic 1976 mini-series that follows career soldiers Sam Elliott and Cliff Potts from WWI on to Vietnam.
Thriller (1960): Seasons 1 & 2

Flash Forward: Complete Series

NEW IMPORTS & FOREIGN FILMS

Black Ransom (2010)—Hong Kong
The Bridge (1959)—Germany
Car Trouble (1985)—UK
Crackie (2009)—Canada
Cumbia Callera (2008)—Mexico
Day In The Death of Joe Egg (1970)(PAL Code 2)—UK
Deliverance (1981)(PAL Code 2)—India, directed by Satyajit Ray
Down Terrace (2007)(PAL Code 2)—UK
Empire of Silver (2010)(Code 2)—China
Enemy of the People (1969)(PAL Code 2)— India, directed by Satyajit Ray
53 Winter Days (2009)(PAL Code 2)—Spain
French Film (2008)—UK
Gallants (2010)—Hong Kong
Greed of Man (1992)—Hong Kong
Home and The World (1984)(PAL Code 2)— India, directed by Satyajit Ray
Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary?(1952)(Blu-ray & PAL DVD)–UK
Kakera-A Piece of Your Life (2010)(PAL Code 2)—Japan
Kurbaan (2009)—India
Lebanon: A Soldier’s Journey (2009)(PAL Code 2)—Lebanon
Love in a Puff (2010)—Hong Kong
Loving Memory (1969)(Blu-ray & PAL DVD)—UK
Master of Tai Chi (2008)—Hong Kong
Monga (2010)(Code 3)—Taiwan
Once a Gangster (2010)—Hong Kong
Other Woman (2008)—Canada
Picasso & Braque Go To The Movies (2008)(PAL Code 4)—How did early films influence Picasso & Braque’s work? Please allow Julien Schnabel and Martin Scorsese explain.
7 Dwarves—The Wood Is Not Enough (2007)(PAL Code 2)—Germany
7 Soles (2009)—Mexico
Spring Fever (2009)—China
Steaming (1986)(PAL Code 2)—UK
Waiting Room (2007)—UK
Well Done Abba! (2005)—India
Yesterday’s Enemies (1959)(PAL Code 2)—UK

Dakan (1997)—This film from Guinea is one of the first from West Africa to deal with homosexuality.

9^th Company: Collector’s Edition (2005)—Russia’s blockbuster film about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Going Postal (2009)(PAL Code 2)—A new adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s novel

NEW FROM THE WARNER ARCHIVE

Give Me Your Heart (1936)—“Classic Hollywood offers another compassionate melodrama of the heart in his tale of a woman who loves unwisely, flees her past and finds new love…only to have the past cast its shadow on her happiness. Kay Francis plays Belinda Warren, the trusting plaything of a titled Englishman (Patric Knowles) with an invalid wife. Belinda gives birth to their child, and then lets her caddish lover adopt the baby. Later she marries a good man (George Brent), but the memory of her lost child haunts her, threatening to tear her marriage apart.”

Goose and the Gander (1935)—“When Georgiana Summers learns that the peroxide man-eater who stole her husband is planning a romantic weekend with a new love, she hatches a giddy plot to expose the rendezvous and win back her ex. But will she be so busy trying to regain old love that she won’t notice the man-eater’s latest conquest is her own Mr. Right? In a marital romp that tosses a pair of jewel thieves and chi-chi California resort settings into the merry mix, Kay Francis and George Brent prove again why they made such an attractive screen duo.”

House on 56^th Street (1933)—“Floradora girl Peggy Martin has found a life she could only dream about. She’s in love – real love – with a handsome man about town (Gene Raymond) who adores her. They marry and upon returning from a honeymoon cruise, Peggy finds he’s purchased a breathtaking mansion in the nicest part of town. But times and fortunes will change, both for Peggy and her beloved 56th Street home. Kay Francis, queen of triple-hankie weepies, portrays Peggy in a brisk, decades-spanning melodrama that links the big turns of her life to the fading glory of her home.”

It’s A Small World (1950)—“Adult, pint-sized Harry (Paul Dale) longs to be part of the big world. But more often than not, that world mocks him as an oddity or exploits his eagerness to be acknowledged for what he really is: a living, breathing man with normal feelings and desires. This celluloid plea for acceptance, which features Will Geer (The Waltons) and noir icon Steve Brodie (Bodyguard, Out of the Past) among the supporting players, comes from a perhaps unexpected source. William Castle – known later for creating clever ways to hype his House on Haunted Hill, 13 Ghosts and other cult faves – directs and co-writes.”

Living on Velvet (1935)—“Kay Francis tries to get George Brent’s head out of the clouds in this high-flying romance directed by two-time Academy Award® winner Frank Borzage and co-starring Warren William. Ever since the plane he was piloting crashed and killed his parents and sister, aviator Terry Parker (Brent) refuses to take life seriously. So when he woos and weds glamorous socialite Ann Prentiss (Francis), his irresponsible behavior soon forces his new bride to realize their marriage may be like Terry himself, living on borrowed time.”

Oil For the Lamps of China (1935)—“Hester Adams weds Stephen Chase, but she’ll soon discover he already has a wife. He’s married to his job with Atlantis Oil, acting as the company’s roving man in China as it taps into a burgeoning market. Based on a bestseller and directed by Mervyn LeRoy, Oil for the Lamps of China follows Chase (Pat O’Brien) as he obeys the dictates of the corporate hierarchy. He’ll betray a friend. Abandon his wife in childbirth to attend to a business emergency. Sacrifice one life and risk his own to protect a trifling amount of Atlantis’s wealth.”

Saadia (1953)—“Directed by Albert Lewin (The Picture of Dorian Gray, Pandora and the Flying Dutchman) and shot in exotic North African locales, the story follows an Arab prince (Cornel Wilde) and a French doctor (Mel Ferrer), both in love with Saadia (Rita Gam) and both endangered by their love. Will Saadia bring doom to the men or can she break free of the witch’s thrall?”

Santiago (1956)—“Alan Ladd delivers the goods in an explosive tale of revolution and greed, directed by action ace Gordon Douglas. Desperate for arms in their fight against Spain, Cuban partisans agree to double the price if American gunrunner Cash Adams (Ladd) smuggles a boatload of weapons to their Santiago hideout. Forced into an uneasy alliance with an old enemy (Lloyd Nolan) and a sexy freedom fighter (Helen of Troy’s Rossana Podesta), Adams must battle his way through naval blockades, dense jungles and heavily guarded passes to convey the munitions to a remote mountain outpost where the rebels and payment await.”

The Sellout (1952)—“Respected newspaperman Haven D. Allridge (Walter Pidgeon) goes after the vicious petty Napoleon who holds a small town in his corrupt grasp. In the midst of his campaign to expose the crook, Allridge suddenly skips town. Is he a sellout, or has his crusade led him into a sinister trap?”

Stranded (1935)—“A world of girders and cable – that’s where Mack Hale works, supervising the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. In its shadow is a world of hopes and fears. That’s where Lynn Palmer works, aiding travelers stranded in an unforgiving city during the depths of the Depression. In this fast-paced romantic drama directed by two-time Academy Award® winner Frank Borzage, Kay Francis and George Brent portray a young couple threatened by gangsters eager to muscle in on the construction payroll.”

Tomorrow is Another Day (1951)—“From out of the film noir shadows comes Tomorrow Is Another Day, a frank and forceful tale of fugitive lovers in an unforgiving world.” It stars Steve Cochran and Ruth Roman.

NEW DOCUMENTARIES, MUSIC & OTHER NON-FICTION FARE

I Think We’re Alone Now—A profile of two people obsessed with 80s pop sensation Tiffany.

Leonard Cohen: Bird on a Wire—Director Tony Palmer follows Cohen on his 1972 tour

Alien Time Machine—“Join Eerie Investigations’, Karen Frandsen, as she explores the mysterious experiences of author, Terry Le Riche Walters. Terry’s personal accounts of alien visitations, abductions and spiritual prophecies from other dimensions are profound and riveting. See the world’s only real Time Machine built using alien technology. Featuring exclusive footage of the machine and a group of researchers gathered to discuss its use and the bizarre technology behind it. Uncover dramatic insights into the fabric of reality itself and will keep you up at night wondering about what’s ‘real’ and what isn’t.”

Breakfast Special—“ This Breakfast Special is a celebration of going out for breakfast! It’s French toast in a diner, lobster hash at a grand hotel, and something called ‘loco moco’ on the big island of Hawai’i. It’s risotto in Ohio, Scotch eggs in Oregon, congee or ‘jook’ in San Francisco, and breakfast with a Cuban touch in Florida. It’s grits and gumbo in Georgia and a place to take your pooch in Portland. This documentary is part travelogue, part food show, and part portrait of America as explained and enjoyed by people who get up early and find good food. Warning: This program may make you hungry and inspire you to go out for breakfast.”

DMC World DJ Champion Final 2009–DJs from around the world gather to scratch it out for the title.

Explorer: Discovering Peru—“This fascinating two-part feature length program provides a fresh perspective on the many amazing wonders that can only be found in this remarkable part of the world. The ancient Nazca Lines, the Paracas Trident, the Megaliths of Marcahuasi, the summit of Machu Picchu, the hand carved Ica Stones, the strange Paracas Skulls, and a vast network of underground tunnel systems are explored and filmed here for the first time.”

Get Lamp: A Documentary About Adventures in Text

Gurdjieff in Egypt: Origin of Esoteric Knowledge—“What is the sense and significance of life on Earth, and human life in particular? This is the question which impelled G. I. Gurdjieff’s search for the origin of esoteric knowledge. Gurdjieff believed that the esoteric knowledge of ancient civilizations contained the answer to his question and so set out to find its origin. Gurdjieff in Egypt follows Gurdjieff’s search for pre-sand Egypt beginning with the Sphinx and Great Pyramid, to Thebes and the Temple in Man and Karnak, to the Valley of the Kings, the Temples of Edfu and Abu Simbel, and into Ethiopia where he unexpectedly discovers the origin of the ancient teaching of The Fourth Way.”

History of Scotland—“Ten thought-provoking episodes bring a fresh perspective to Scotland’s past and challenges many o the perceived notions of Scottish history. With stunning, BAFTA winning cinematography and mesmerizing narrative the series tells of battles and allegiances, political intrigue and religious conflict.”

Men Get Depression—“Men Get Depression is a one hour documentary that explores the corrosive effect of depression on the self, relationships and careers through the intimate profiles of real men including a former NFL Quarterback, a Fortune 100 CEO, an Iraq War veteran and others. It features revealing scenes of psychotherapy, interviews with therapists, and offers commentary by leading medical authorities on the causes, symptoms and treatments of depression.”

Mysteries & Myths of the 20^th Century Volumes 1-5—Covers everything from Mata Hari and The Red Baron to Glenn Miller and Chernobyl. Kinda sounds like this song…

National Geographic: Glacier National Park—“Explore the backcountry of this scenic region’s pristine forests, alpine meadows, rugged mountains, and spectacular lakes to discover a dramatic transformation and witness a defiant new environment as it emerges.”

Rio Breaks: A Story About Surfing and Survival—“Set against the volatile and dangerous world of Rio de Janeiro’s massive favelas, Justin Mitchell and Vince Medeiros’ documentary tells the story of two surf-obsessed best friends, 13-year-old Fabio and 12-year-old Naamã. The pair live in Rio’s Favela do Pavão, which is controlled by one of the city’s most dangerous drug gangs. However, their attention is focused on the waves of Rio’s Arpoador Beach and on a coming surfing event that may further their goal of becoming professionals and escaping the world of the gangs.”

Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black and White—“Setting the Record Straight is a unique view of the religious and moral heritage of black Americans, with an emphasis on the untold yet significant stories from our rich political history. The material presented is ground-breaking and revolutionary, leaving viewers amazed and inspired.”

Sprawling From Grace—“The car has been the embodiment of the Western dream for years, but with more than 250 million cars and trucks on the road we have now become slaves to this freedom. How can we reverse the ravages of the suburban sprawl? As global competition for energy resources continues with China and India raising the stakes of the energy crisis, it becomes increasingly important to re-examine our energy policies… from energy sources, to city planning, and public transportation.” The DVD also includes Reds So Green and Green Nirvana.

Water Wars—A documentary about the global fight to control the world’s water, narrated by Martin Sheen.

Who Killed Nancy?—“ On October 12th, 1978, Nancy Spungen, girlfriend to Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious, was found dead at the Chelsea Hotel in New York. Sid was quickly accused of murder. Six months later he died of a heroin overdose and the case was closed. Per Sid’s mother’s request, Alan G. Parker set out on a journey to discover Who Killed Nancy. Through conducting 182 interviews, re-examining NYPD evidence, and gathering a thorough understanding of the zeitgeist of those times, Parker delivers a compelling and moving documentary.”

…AND MORE MOVIES

Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela—“ Raquela, a Filipino transsexual prostitute, dreams of moving to Paris and escaping her lifestyle. To make her wishes come true, she starts working in Internet porn where she quickly becomes a star.”

Betrayed: A Story of Three Women—“It’s a typical day for Joan Bixler (Swoosie Kurtz, TV’s Pushing Daisies) until she returns home to a shock–her college-aged daughter, Dana, making love to the husband of her best friend, Amanda (Meredith Baxter). In a single moment, years of friendship and bond between mother and daughter are hopelessly shattered. Joan banishes Dana from her home and Amanda leaves her unfaithful husband, but when they need each other most, the best friends are driven apart by rage and guilt…unless they can gather the strength from within to forgive each other.”

Body/Antibody—“Kip Polyard (Robert Gomes) suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder and hasn’t left his rent-controlled Manhattan apartment in 10 months. When Celine (Leslie Kendall), a beautiful young woman, moves in next door, Kip finds himself in an unlikely romance. But trouble arrives in paradise when Celine’s ex-boyfriend Andy (Frank Deal) shows up.” It also features Deborah “Debbie” Gibson as a social worker.

Brainjacked—A runaway discovers a sinister plot to, “Drill the brain, Command the mind, Control the World.” It’s from the producers of Herschell Gordon Lewis’ The Uh-Oh! Show.

The Collective (2008)—“Tyler Clarke is on the red eye to New York City. Two Days ago she received a cryptic voice mail from her sister, asking for help. But she didn’t say why. And now that Tyler has arrived, Jessica is nowhere to be found. In order to find out what has happened, Tyler must delve into a world of darkness and lies, the underbelly of a spiritually depraved community living in a deconsecrated cathedral. They call themselves ‘The Collective’ and Jessica is one of them. Tyler is faced with the ultimate question, is she ready to risk her own life to save her sister?”

Crash Course (2001)—“Terry Stone (Meredith Baxter, TV’s Family Ties) and her husband Geoff answer an early-morning phone call to learn that their son, Andrew, has been rushed to the hospital after being injured in an automobile accident. They arrive at the emergency room and are told that Andrew has suffered severe head injuries and may never fully recover. Andrew, a college honors student with a bright future, was a passenger in a car that was hit by a young man with a history of drunken driving. Terry watches for many months as her son struggles to hold on to life, and then as he starts to regain the steps of his life back. She is not about to let the driver with a drunken driving history use his family’s influence and wealth to escape his justified punishment. But for Andrew, retribution and sympathy are not what he is seeking. His passion is to recapture his lost past, his once promising future, and the person he once was.”

Dangerous Evidence: The Lori Jackson Story—“Desperate to bring closure to the high-profile rape case of a Marine’s wife, the military justice system convicted Lindsay Scott, who, despite no evidence against him, was charged with the crime. What they didn’t know is that civil rights activist Lori Jackson (Lynn Whitfield in an NAACP Image Award nominated performance) would single-handedly lead a daring charge against them and free an innocent man. Dangerous Evidence: The Lori Jackson Story is an unforgettable tour-de-force about the power of one–and just how far you can go when you refuse to fail.”

Dive From Clausen’s Pier—“Just as Carrie (Michelle Trachtenberg) comes to the difficult realization that she’s no longer in love with Mike, her childhood sweetheart and fiance, a tragic diving accident leaves him paralyzed. Confused, Carrie makes a rash decision to escape her small town life and heads to New York City to rendezvous with a mysterious older man she just met. Amid the craziness of Manhattan, Carrie attempts to figure out once and for all where she belongs in the world.”

From The Dead of Night—“In this chilling thriller of the supernatural, fashion designer Joanna (Emmy® Award winner Lindsay Wagner) experiences a strange, surreal vision during a close encounter with death. Shortly after, an uncanny string of freak accidents threaten Joanna’s life over and over again. Terrified, Joanna refuses to believe she’s the victim of sadistic coincidence and enlists the help of her former flame and anthropology professor, Peter (Bruce Boxleitner, Gods and Generals). The two discover a haunting premise…and unless she can figure out a way to survive more bizarre attacks on her life, Joanna’s time on Earth is short.”

Girls on the Road—“Two wild teenage girls, Debbie (Kathleen Cody) and Karen (Dianne Hull, Fifth Floor, Aloha Bobby and Rose)  hit the road for some freedom, boys, and unexpected danger in this 1973 drive-in classic! The girls pick up a handsome Vietnam veteran (Michael Ontkean, Twin Peaks, Slap Shot, Maid to Order) who is still troubled from his time at war, but is trying his best to fit in. They all end up at a hippie encounter session run by John (Ralph Waite,The Waltons, The Bodyguard) in a peaceful village by the ocean. It’s all fun and games until the girls discover that a serial killer is murdering girls.”

Goodbye Baby—“When Melissa Brooks discovers she can’t afford college, she moves to New York City and gets a job as a waitress at a comedy club. Over the coming days and weeks, Melissa tries to raise the nerve to get on stage to delve into comedy, all the while watching and learning from other professional comics including Donnell Rawlings (Chappelle’s Show), Kevin Corrigan (The Departed) and Sal The Stockbroker Governale (Howard Stern). Melissa finds herself in front of the toughest crowds in the country and to make matters worse, becomes involved in a complicated love triangle while finally dealing with the dark secrets from her past.”

Hannah Free—“Starring multi-award winner Sharon Gless (Burn Notice, Queer as Folk, Cagney & Lacey) in a tremendous performance, Hannah Free tells the moving story of the lifelong love affair between two very different women. Weaving between past and present, the story reveals how they maintained their love affair despite a marriage, a world war, infidelity, and family denial. Additional actors include Maureen Gallagher, Ann Hagemann, Kelli Strickland, Taylor Miller (All My Children) and Jacqui Jackson.”

Inherit the Wind (1999)—“Jack Lemmon and George C. Scott star in this remake of the dramatization of the 1925 Scopes ‘monkey trial’, in which a schoolmaster is tried for teaching the theory of evolution.”

It’s a Free World—“After losing her job at a recruitment agency, Angie decides, with the help of her flatmate, to set up her own illegal agency for immigrant workers in Britain. However, Angie’s greed soon starts to surface. As with Bread and Roses acclaimed director Ken Loach focuses on labour issues and the exploitation of immigrant workers. This improvised, slice of life drama sees Loach continue his dedication to social realism…”

Just Another Day—“Jamie Hector (The Wire, Heroes) is Young Eastie, a struggling rapper who dreams of getting a record deal through the legendary A-Maze (Wood Harris, The Wire, Remember the Titans). But connecting with his hero is going to be tougher than he thinks. Even though A-Maze is at the top of the ladder, his star is falling — and he’s getting desperate to hang on. Featuring top rap artists Trick Daddy, Lil Scrappy, Ja Rule and Petey Pablo, Just Another Day takes a compelling, true-to-life look at the brutal ups and downs of the cutthroat hip-hop business.”

Kids in America—“When Holden Donovan finds himself expelled for criticizing school policy, he enlists a diverse group of rebellious classmates to take a stand. With a hilarious brand of activism, Holden leads the fight against power hungry Principal Weller and the forces of high school hypocrisy. Based on true stories, Kids in America boasts an impressive cast of established stars and hot new talent in a powerfully funny film that the teenager in everyone can relate to.” Some of those stars are Julie Bowen (Modern Family), Gregory Smith, Adam Arkin, and Nicole Richie.

Long Way Home (2001)—“A Long Way Home is the story of a family’s journey from the scars of abuse to the warmth of unconditional love. When Jack (Robert Urich), whose abuse ripped his family apart, attempts to return home, his wife Carol (Meredith Baxter) and daughter Samantha struggle to forgive the man who betrayed them. Carol must look deep within her past to find what it will take to bring her family back together. And deep beneath their wounds, Carol and Jack’s family may still share a love that is powerful enough to withstand the past.”

Mermaid Chair—“Take a journey of mystery, passion and self-discovery with Academy Award-winning actress Kim Basinger in a powerful story based on the bestseller The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd.”

Monamour—“Tinto Brass’ latest Monamour is the love-story of a Venetian girl and a Frenchman in the beautiful city of Mantua. Dario, her husband is too busy to notice his wives sexual drifting, when her adultery ‘born out of neglect and frustration’ starts on the day she meets a tall dark stranger in a museum. An intoxicating mix of lies, betrayal and fantasy follows Marta into her personal diary where every emotion and passion is recorded.”

Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated

Point of Terror (1971)—“Demons long locked in the depths of the mind come out to destroy the weak and the believing!”

Pornography: A Thriller—“This intriguing thriller weaves together three different but curiously related stories centering on the mysterious disappearance of quintessential boy-next-door porn star Mark Anton.”

Preacher’s Kid—“Family, faith and music: small-town girl Angie King leaves the first two behind to pursue a dream of singing stardom. LeToya Luckett of the original Destiny’s Child makes her movie breakthrough in this inspiring tale bursting with music (including performances by Luckett and co-star/R&B hitmaker Durrell “Tank” Babbs) and talent.”

Tormented (2009)—“A sexy, scary high school horror movie that smells like teen spirit…with a hint of rotting flesh! From classrooms and cafeterias, to school ties and pool parties, teenage traumas full of promise, pimples and panic get a terrifying makeover as the best days of your lives become your worst nightmare.”

23 Paces To Baker Street—“Van Johnson plays a blind playwright living in London in this crackling mystery, overhearing distressing conversation that puts him on the trail of a missing child. Unable to obtain effective help from law enforcement, the writer strikes out on his own, assisted by his butler and a former girlfriend.”

Two Worlds of Jennie Logan—“Lindsay Wagner stars in this romantic drama filled with plot twists and suspense. Hoping to repair their marriage, Jennie Logan (Wagner) and her husband (Alan Feinstein) move into a beautiful Victorian manor. When Jennie tries on an antique dress she finds in the attic, she is transported back one hundred years, where she meets the house’s previous owner, David (Marc Singer). As her feelings for David grow, it becomes clear that Jennie is not only torn between two men and two times, but she also faces danger in both worlds.”

Uppercut Man—“Bob (Daniel Greene) tries desperately to make a living as a professional boxer, but the mean streets of New York are tough and deadly. One night he helps a girl who’s been mugged by a vicious gang and soon finds himself hooked with the seedy underbelly of the fixed fighting of the city. Stubborn and proud, Bob wants to succeed on his own terms. He refuses to fix a fight and becomes a target for the mob. A late classic by maestro Sergio Martino, this impressive film stars Hollywood legend Ernest Borgnine and Italian screen veteran Giuliano Gemma.”

Watercolors (2008)—“When Danny arrives at the opening of his first exhibition, his erotic paintings trigger memories of his first love, Carter, a troubled athlete, whose depression and self-denial led to suicide. Starring Tye Olson and Karen Black.”

What If God Were The Sun?—“Lacey Chabert and Gena Rowlands star in a poignant tale of faith, hope, love and loss, based in part on the novel by acclaimed medium John Edward.”

Women’s Studies –”Women’s Studies is the story of a pregnant grad student and her friends who are held captive at a women’s academy that’s actually a cult of feminists bent on the enslavement of men. A look at groupthink, women’s issues, and how blind belief in a one-sided dogma can create a terrorist.”

Why Am I Doing This?—Anthony Montgomery, Sheetal Sheth, and Buffy’s Emma Caufield ask themselves that very question as they chase the Hollywood dream…

1. Louie Bluie

2. Dexter: Season 4

3. Max Headroom

4. IP Man 2

5. Josef Von Sternberg: 3 Silent Classics

6. Kick-Ass

7. Daffy Duck: Looney Tunes Super Stars

8. Kick-Ass BluRay

9. Crumb BluRay

10. L’Enfance Nue

11. IP Man

12. Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends: Season 4

13. The Good, The Bad, The Weird

14. Crumb

15. Piranha

16. The Room

Three Silent Classics by Josef Von Sternberg (Criterion)

Josef von Sternberg is the great stylist of the thirties, a Hollywood maverick with a taste for visual exoticism and baroque flourishes (which prompted David Thomson to dub him “the first poet of underground cinema”). That’s the cliché, anyway, based largely on his collaborations with Marlene Dietrich, a tremendous body of work that charts the evolution of the director into increasing narrative abstraction and emotional dislocation. But step back into his silent work and you’ll find a storyteller of unparalleled talent and one of the great directors of silent cinema. The three films in Criterion’s magnificent box set Three Silent Classics by Josef Von Sternberg may be all the evidence we have to this era (most of his silent films are lost and his directorial debut, the 1925 The Salvation Hunters, is unavailable on home video, though clips are included in the set supplements) but they are more than enough to show his mastery of the medium and the rapid evolution of his style, both a visual sculptor and as a cinematic storyteller. The “von” of his name (an affectation that didn’t originate with him but one he embraced who-heartedly) suggests an a European émigré and technically that’s accurate—he was born in Vienna and came the United State an early age—but Sternberg is an American, with European tastes perhaps but an American storytelling sensibility.

These films also showcase his often overlooked genius as a director of actors. While Sternberg fills the frame with light and shadow and layers of texture, he strips the performances down to the elemental base, their entire approach to life in their faces, their walk, the way they lean in for a comment or drop their eyes when they catch another’s gaze. In such carefully orchestrated performances, the smallest gestures, a lift of an eyebrow, a shift in body language communicates everything.

Underworld (1927), his third feature, has been called both the original gangster film and the proto-gangster film. And while it doesn’t look or play much like the films that blasted through the throes of the early sound era—Bull Weed (George Bancroft), the (anti-)hero of this piece, is no gangleader but a solo artist pulling heists with nothing but brazen confidence—this atmospheric classic certainly created some of the conventions and even images that were taken up in the sound era. Bull Weed staring up at the neon sign “The City Is Yours” and the gangland ball in the middle of the film, with thugs in tuxedos and streamers coating the floor, are echoed in Howard Hawks’ Scarface (1932), which was also scripted by Ben Hecht (Sternberg rewrote Hecht’s story to the point that Hecht disavowed the script… until it won an Oscar). That’s where it really anticipates the classic gangster story: the underworld network of criminals, the attitude, and especially the cast of street thugs in society dress, appropriating the dress of the upper class while twisting the manners and mores into a warped reflection of high society.

But Underworld is no rise and fall tale of a street hood with Tommy gun and a Shakespearean story arc but a nocturnal fantasy of the urban criminal underworld, in part informed by Hecht’s references to real Chicago crime history (the murder of a rival gangster in a flower shop is right out of Capone’s rise) but transformed into a tale of loyalty and love in a violent world. Bancroft plays Bull as a self-made criminal legend and his street thug manners are on display throughout, crude and rough (you can practically hear the guffaws as he opens his mouth to laugh like a braying donkey) but also staunchly protective of his friends and a man with the courage of his convictions. The film opens in the middle of heist, which Sternberg presents in a montage so precise and informative and efficient that it communicates everything we need to know about the crime and Bull’s talents as a robber. His character is outlined in the next few scenes when he grabs a street drunk who witnesses his escape and takes him up to his hide-out. Clive Brook (later to reappear in Sternberg’s Shanghai Express) is all soused elegance and rumpled dignity as Rolls Royce Wensel, who may be a bum but is no squealer. It’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship—Bull’s confidence in this drop-out inspires him to clean up and dry out and Wensel returns the favor by with his unflagging loyalty, to the point that he denies his attraction to Bull’s girl, the elegant jazz baby Feathers (Evelyn Brent).

Aside from the quintessentially Sternbergian textures of the party scene—the streamers littering the tables and floors and filling the screen like nets—it’s a film that strips detail from the imagery in most scenes. The opening nighttime robbery is on a street swept clear of crowds, cars and debris, with two figures are alone in a deserted set that carries the silence of the night in its imagery. There’s not an extraneous object in Bull’s apartment or a prop that isn’t used in the basement bar, where the stray feather that floats down from the entrance, announcing the arrival of Feathers, commands all the attention on the screen. The performances are similarly stripped down to the essentials, even Bancroft, whose rowdy play in public is contrasted by his control in private. By contrast, Brook is reserved, a man who has seen most everything and gotten drunk to forget but can’t. Where Bancroft’s emotions pour out of his entire body, Brook holds himself in check at all times, his every move deliberate and measured. He bows ever so simply to offer his thanks and his respect and he just barely cracks a smile to signal his affirmation and appreciation. And then there is Evelyn Brent as Feathers, a woman whose outward being is as much a performance as any Dietrich character, but in her case it’s a carefully constructed show of nonchalant confidence and apathy. In this world, to let your emotions slip is to make yourself vulnerable and these are all survivors. So much is communicated in the gazes (both direct and averted) from one character or another but it’s the austerity of the performances and the mask-like faces that conceal emotions behind a stony resolve that gives them such power.

Evelyn Brent was a veteran of dozens of low-budget features but no star when she was cast. Sternberg brought out a strength and a poise (not to mention a bumped-around beauty that starts out hard and brassy and softens over the course of her story) that would make any modern audience think she’s a top-rank star of the era. On the strength of this and of The Last Command (1928), she should have been.

The Last Command was Sternberg’s promotion, in light of the unanticipated success of Underworld and his uncredited assignments “salvaging” such troubled productions as It (1927) and Children of Divorce (1927), on which he reportedly reshot a significant part of the picture, and editing down the work of another obsessive maverick, Erich von Stroheim’s The Wedding March (1928). It came with a bigger budget and a bona-fide international superstar, German actor Emil Jannings, cast as a frail, broken old émigré with a palsied nod reduced to extra work in Hollywood but once the proud and arrogant leader of the Czar’s armies. In the conventions of Hollywood melodrama, it wasn’t the loss to the Bolsheviks that broke Sergius Alexander. It was love, as the flashbacks reveal.

In classic Sternberg style, the entire film appears to be created in the studio, exteriors and interiors. Sergius at the studio gates shows only throngs of desperate men pushing against the bars of a gate, as much of an establishing shot as we’re going to get. Sternberg and his set designer, the great art director Hans Drier, present the dream factory of Hollywood as just another assembly line in sets that suggest realism in carefully controlled details. For the scenes in Russia, however, this backstage “realism” gives way to expressionist exaggeration and exotic flourish: a snow-covered town created at what must be half-scale, the better to make the lines of soldiers marching down streets and pouring out of arriving trains look like armies massing at the frontier.

Down this street (really no wider than an alley) arrives Grand Duke Sergius Alexander in a command car that looks like a millionaire’s limousine, Jannings is all aristocratic dignity and privilege, impeccably dressed and groomed, his appearance as carefully sculpted as his manner. He gives off an arrogance of power in his very carriage, a sharp contrast to the broken, humiliated old man in the framing sequence that he’s channeled from The Last Laugh. It’s a commanding and very effective theatricality that earned Jannings the first Academy Award for Best Actor and ostentatious a performance you’ll find in these silents, standing in contrast to the restraint, the masked glances and still stares of William Powell and especially Evelyn Brent, but it’s more than just old school skills versus modern film acting. Sternberg uses the contrast to differentiate the sides of the battle, emphasize the class difference and create a dynamic of old Europe and new. When we first see Powell, he’s the director in the framing sequence choosing his ideal face for the Russian General and finding it in Jannings’ Sergius Alexander, and he’s as dapper and crisply American as can be, with changes of expression writ small and body language intimate. Even Brent feels more American than European in her scenes in 1917 Russia, concealing all her feelings and emotions behind a hard mask.

Sternberg doesn’t deify or sentimentalize Czarist Russia (the Czar himself is presented as a capricious fool, oblivious to the demands and realities of war while he struts through meaningless inspections playing commander in chief) but the film has little respect for the “revolutionists,” who are portrayed either drunken mobs or scheming backroom plotters. Yet in Powell and Brent Sterberg finds dignity and drive, people motivated by a cause. And in Brent, Sternberg offers a sleek, modern actress, her tragedy radiating from within rather than worn like a costume, her emotional truth communicated in what she doesn’t show, in the way she doesn’t do follow expectations. When those glaring eyes that have witnessed so much suffering drop, it’s not just the softening of resolve in the face of unexpected affection for her enemy, it’s guilt in her betrayal of her mission. The jewels and furs and lavish wardrobe that adorn her in the company of Sergius are like the scarlet letter of her treason. Love doesn’t conquer all here, it conquers the lovers.

The Docks of New York (1928) is the simplest, most delicately visualized and most perfect film of the set, a turn-of-the-century bowery answer to Sunrise, with a romantic idealism fighting its way out of hard-scrabble lives and resigned characters of the waterfront culture. Where Sunrise is a European inflected American fairy tale, Docks is an American romance of bruised lives told with exquisite grace from a script as simple as a fable and as resonant as a novel.

The first image of Bill (George Bancroft), a brawny stoker shoveling coal in the bowels of a steam ship, is a veritable painting in action: the eternal laborer at work, outlined by the fires of the furnace like some abstract portrait of muscle and effort blackened with soot and sweat. The film follows his escape brief escape from this state, a night of shore leave where he plans to add to the gallery of beauties tattooed across his body and scribbled in chalk across the commons, and the hope he brings to rumpled beauty Mae (Betty Compson), who he saves from drowning (suicide attempt most likely, though never explicitly confirmed) and coaxes back to life by the sheer force of his will and his live-for-the-day philosophy, which is what allows him to marry her in the barroom where he shows her how he lives.

No one takes the marriage seriously, Bill least of all (he has no marriage license and his promise to get one “First thing in the morning” is accepted with the same conviction with which he gave it), but waterfront missionary Hymn Book Harry (Gustav von Seyffertitz) looks at the hurt and need in Mae’s eyes and brings a dignity and gravity to what was a parody of a sacred ceremony, hushing the rowdy bar and even bringing a shuffling discomfort to Bill as he repeats vows he never intended to keep. O’Brien moves like he owns the world, deliberate, strong and direct, worrying about no one but himself, but in this moment he is acutely aware of just how much his actions will reverberate in the life of this girl.

But Mae is no naïf. Both pessimistic and the biggest optimist in the film, her belief in this fantasy is willful and temporary, using this game to escape her sorrow at least for the moment. When Mae promise “I’ll be a good wife, Bill,” it’s not out of belief that this is a real marriage, but an offer made without any real expectations. The dissolve to morning, with Bill quietly getting dressed to sidle out before Mae wakes up, is perhaps the least hidden announcement of sex in silent movie history, and his final gesture—leaving a chunk of his pay on her table like a he’s paying off a hooker—should be the final blow of reality upon the fantasy marriage. But circumstances, including a beautifully staged murder seen (signaled by startled pigeons and two puffs of smoke that drift over the window), bring them back for the morning after talk Bill tried to avoid, a beautifully modulated scene with another lovely and evocative effect (a POV shot that clouds over as the viewer tears up), and that tender scene sets up the perfect end of the film.

This the film where Sternberg really perfected his sculpting of screen space in depth through light, shadow, scrims, smoke and fog, but it’s also his most evocative direction of actors. Bancroft is more measured and restrained than in Underworld but no less direct; his Bill is a man who acts upon his impulses with no reflection or restraint. He’ll grab a beer from a nearby patron because he’s thirsty, knock the guy flat when he makes a fuss, and then pick him up with brotherly concern and hand the beer back without blinking. Betty Compson makes Mae yet another of Sternberg’s magnificent women, a bruised romantic who has learned not to give in to her dreams, but continues to dream regardless, and under her rag doll looks is a young woman who has been kicked around, body and soul, so long that she hasn’t much hope left. It’s another performance in the eyes and body language, from the resigned posture recovering from her near-drowning to the bar girl affectation she puts on to distract Bill from yet another fight and play his date. Watching Compson’s Mae slip back and forth from the practiced poses of fawning bar girl and adoring date to little girl lost both afraid and eager to give in to Bill’s sweet talk and put her hope on line once more is what gives the film its heart. Watching them blur together gives it its soul.

The three-disc box set presents each disc in a separate paperboard digipak and each film is offered with two scores. Robert Israel contributes dramatic compilation scores for small combo and small orchestra, very satisfying and the closest to an “authentic” score that the set offers (the original scores no longer exist but Israel consulted cue sheets) for each film. The Alloy Orchestra offers original compositions for Underworld (both moodier and jauntier than Israel’s) and The Last Command, and Donald Sosin creates a lovely score for piano and voice (soprano Joanna Seaton) for The Docks of New York, including an original lyric that serves as Mae’s theme.

Visual essays, a relatively recent form of DVD supplement that combines lecture, documentary and commentary (the earliest I recall was Janet Bergstrom on Murnau’s lost film Four Devils, presented on the Sunrise DVD), have become some of the most interesting and richly informative contributions to DVDs. The two essays on this collection are of the same high caliber we’ve come to expect, and far more interesting and informative than the large majority of documentaries and featurettes that are regularly attached to such special editions. Janet Bergstrom’s 36-minute “Underworld: How It Came to Be” chronicles Sternberg’s early career and explores the way he shaped Underworld through production details (film clips, production stills and art) and film analysis. If Bergsrtom is the creator and grand dame of the visual essay, Tag Gallagher is the master poet of the form. His 35-minute “Von Sternberg till ‘29″ explores his visual style through all three films with perceptive observations and a critical analyses that are as poetic as they are probing. “Smoke photographs wonderfully and brings alive the dense space between the camera and the model,” he remarks in a sequence that conpares the meaning of cigarettes through each film. “Life itself seems passing. Similarly, light and shadow wakes up the meaningless blankness of walls and doors. So does mist.”

Also features an archival 40-minute interview with Josef von Sternberg conducted in 1968 for Swedish television, where the director is articulate and intent, very relaxed and seemingly forthcoming about his early career. Also includes a 96-page booklet with essays on each film, Ben Hecht’s original story for “Underworld” and an excerpt from Sternberg’s autobiography on working with Emil Jannings.

Originally published on seanax.com and Parallax View, republished by permission of the author.

Each film is available for rent under its title in the New Release section. We also have the collection for sale in the store and online. And to see more movies by Josef Von Sternberg, visit his shelf in our Director’s section.

Spencer & John then move on to Centurion’s writer/director Neil Marshall.  He’s also responsible for Dog Soliders (a great werewolf movie made when they were considered scary and not hot) and horrific cave claustrophobia of  The Descent (which Spencer would prefer be on our Best of the Decade list). Apparently in the future he’ll be working on a film with Sam Raimi called Burst 3-D, in which “something is causing people to explode.”  Count us in.

They end the episode with their powerhouse DVD picks of the week:

Look for Spencer & John filming up in our Action/Adventure/War enclave.