Listmania!
A Thinking Person's Film Entertainment
By an Amazon.com customer
Russian Ark (Sub) [VHS]Russian Ark (Sub) [VHS]
Buy used from: $2.04
A filmaker's plea for modern Russia not to jettison its heritage. Cleverly modeled after Dante.
Lilies of the Field [VHS]Lilies of the Field [VHS]
Buy used from: $2.99
German nuns living in the Southwest need help building a church and meet a wandering black handyman.
The ApostleThe Apostle
Buy new: $11.49 / Used from: $5.87
Robert Duvall gives an amazing performance. There are so many wonderful themes in this movie but the greatest is that of grace working through imperfect humanity.
Mark Twain - A Film Directed by Ken Burns [VHS]Mark Twain - A Film Directed by Ken Burns [VHS]
Buy used from: $4.94
The definitive history of this extraordinary writer. Not a dull moment.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Boxed Set Collection)The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Boxed Set Collection)
Buy new: $48.99 / Used from: $32.39
For some time, I wouldn't watch these episodes. I figured that no one could beat Basil Rathbone. Wrong!
84 Charing Cross Road [VHS]84 Charing Cross Road [VHS]
Buy used from: $1.99
The charming, true story of a transatlantic friendship and love of books.
Fantasia (Walt Disney's Masterpiece) [VHS]Fantasia (Walt Disney's Masterpiece) [VHS]
Buy used from: $0.01
A moving pallette on which Disney artists painted many great images, setting them to some of the greatest orchestral works ever composed.
To Sleep With Anger [VHS]To Sleep With Anger [VHS]
Buy used from: $4.98
A great example of Aristotle's "vicious man": one who knowingly does evil. The story centers around a family that barely preserves harmony when it receives a visit from this man.
Samurai Jack - Season 1Samurai Jack - Season 1
Buy new: $18.49 / Used from: $11.00
A visually delighful animated series finally issued on DVD. Don't miss this smart, weird, amusing and often subtle epic of a lone warrior's quest.
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner [VHS]Guess Who's Coming to Dinner [VHS]
Buy used from: $1.94
A wry look at race relations.
Patton [VHS]Patton [VHS]
Buy used from: $0.24
An endlessly interesting profile of one of the most intelligent and controversial modern military leaders.
One Two Three [VHS]One Two Three [VHS]
Buy used from: $1.43
Billy Wilder's witty film about capitalism, communism, and love. James Cagney plays a Coca Cola exec living in Berlin who becomes embroiled in the Cold War mishaps of two sweethearts.
The Professional [VHS]The Professional [VHS]
Buy used from: $0.75
A man who cares about nothing is forced to care for an orphaned neighbour girl and to risk his life for her.
Pride and Prejudice - The Special Edition (A&E, 1996)Pride and Prejudice - The Special Edition (A&E, 1996)
Buy new: $19.99 / Used from: $14.95
A great novel turned into one of the greatest films.
Bright Young ThingsBright Young Things
Buy new: $24.99 / Used from: $1.37
Based on Waugh's "Vile Bodies", this Stephen Fry film is very skillfully executed. A satire about the dawning disillusion of a group of extroverts and pleasure-seekers.
The Harder They Fall [VHS]The Harder They Fall [VHS]
Buy used from: $5.00
Bogart's swan song. A great movie about corruption in professional sports.
Lord of War (Widescreen)Lord of War (Widescreen)
Buy new: $13.49 / Used from: $0.92
What a performance! Nicholas Cage is a man who finds that he cannot burn both ends of his candle and who will risk everything for the life he wants to live.
Longitude [VHS]Longitude [VHS]
Buy used from: $4.49
A dual, time-spanning quest for the secret to exact navigation. Gambon plays the man who invented the device and Jeremy Irons is the man who restored it to working condition centuries later.
LongfordLongford
Buy new: $14.98 / Used from: $0.66
Biopic about a devout British politician--the father of Dame Antonia Fraser--who worked for the rehabilitation of a woman sentenced to life for murder. Is she sincere? Can even the worst sins still be forgiven? What will his crusade cost him? Jim Broadbent delives a sympathetic portrayal of Lord Longford, a man who was ahead of his time regarding the idea of prison reform.
Kind Hearts and Coronets - Criterion CollectionKind Hearts and Coronets - Criterion Collection
Buy new: $35.99 / Used from: $12.98
A black comedy about class envy.
Two Fat LadiesTwo Fat Ladies
Buy new: $49.99 / Used from: $41.92
Who would have ever thought a cooking show could be so stimulating? Full of personal anecdotes, travel, and folk history, these shows will delight.
The Virgin Spring - Criterion CollectionThe Virgin Spring - Criterion Collection
Buy new: $31.99 / Used from: $22.95
Ingmar Bergman's brilliant rendering of a famous medieval legend. One of the most accurate portrayals of that era.
The Prize Winner of Defiance, OhioThe Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio
Buy new: $26.99 / Used from: $0.89
Based on a true story about a woman who manages to support her family by entering contests.
IdiocracyIdiocracy
Buy new: $8.99 / Used from: $4.27
A government experiment in cryogenics is shut down but the two dimwits who volunteered were never thawed out, until centuries later. The future they awaken to is one in which they are considered geniuses. Cutting edge satire from the man who brought us "Office Space". The future envisioned is unfortunately too believable.
The TrialThe Trial
Buy used from: $35.00
A profile of life in a nightmarish bureaucratic state.
Expelled: No Intelligence AllowedExpelled: No Intelligence Allowed
Buy new: $16.99 / Used from: $1.09
Ben Stein's witty survey of some very wild views articulated by "mainstream" scholars.
Civilisation: The Complete SeriesCivilisation: The Complete Series
Buy new: $56.99 / Used from: $54.52
Sir Kenneth Clark's masterful survey of art and culture.
Bleak HouseBleak House
Buy new: $29.99 / Used from: $18.99
The original was wonderful but this new adaptation is superior. Regardless, either contain the essence of Dickens' great work about the culture of litigation.
Brideshead Revisited (25th Anniversary Collector's Edition)Brideshead Revisited (25th Anniversary Collector's Edition)
Buy new: $44.99 / Used from: $33.79
Waugh's classic profile of an artistic/leisure class (and a more sophisticated Europe) that has now disappeared.