An eclectic collection of a dozen movies on DVD, with a little something for everyone. By way of background, I am a huge film fan. Over the past two decades I've amassed an embarrassingly large library of films on DVD and Blu-ray. I went into the stacks and picked out an eclectic collection of films: some classics, some art films, some animations, and some just good entertainment. All are in New or "Like New" condition and will play on any U.S. DVD player. The movies I've assembled here are:
i. Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Audrey Hepburn's finest film and a truly great romantic comedy. The score, by Henry Mancini, won an Oscar as did the Mancini-Johnny Mercer song, "Moon River."
ii. Chico & Rita (2010), a beautiful animated film from Spain, nominated for an Oscar. The story: Cuba, 1948. Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and romantic desire unites them, but their journey - in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero - brings heartache and torment. From Havana to New York, Paris, Hollywood and Las Vegas, two passionate individuals battle impossible odds to unite in music and love. In Spanish, with English subtitles
iii. The Conversation (1974), directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman. This is one of the great suspense films of the century. It left me chilled when I first saw it and it remains one of my favorite films.
iv. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). This is the original film (not the more recent and unnecessary remake), directed by Robert Wise. This is a True Classic, with a timeless message.
v. Ed Wood (1994), one the earlier collaborations of director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp, who plays the title character, "a high spirited movie man . . . who takes the art of bad movie-making to a new low." Bill Murray, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette and Martin Landau co-star.
vi. Ghost Town (2008), a comedy starring Ricky Gervais as a dentist who (after a botched operation in which he briefly flatlines) can see and talk with the ghosts around us - and they all want him to help. This one is just good fun, with a solid supporting cast.
vii. Good Will Hunting (1997). This was Ben Affleck's and Matt Damon's break-out film, which they co-wrote and starred in (with Robin Williams and Minnie Driver in supporting roles). The film received 9 Academy Award nominations, with two wins (Williams for Supporting Actor and Affleck and Damon or Original Screenplay).
viii. The Incredible Adventures of Wallace & Gromit, a collection of the three short films that established Nick Park as a genius of Claymation. The set includes, "A Grand Day Out" (1989), "The Wrong Trousers" (1993), and "A Close Shave" (1995).
ix. M (1931), a chilling suspense film by the great Fritz Lang and starring Peter Lorre. This movie, from the earliest days of "talkies", is a template for all psychological thrillers that followed in. In German, with English subtitles.
x. Nurse Betty (2000), a quirky and funny film starring Renee Zellweger in the title role, with Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock as the hit men pursuing her across the US after she witnessed them murdering her husband.
xi. Raise the Red Lantern (1991), a moving drama set in 1920s China about a young woman who, lacking other options, agrees to become the fourth wife of a wealthy Chinese businessman. In Mandarin, with English subtitles, this is a truly wonderful film.
xii. Secondhand Lions (2003), a delightful coming-of-age story of a boy (played by Haley Joel Osment, four years after his starring role in "The Sixth Sense") whose mother dumps him off with his aging, crotchety uncles (brilliantly portrayed by Michael Caine and Robert Duvall). This is a great film, and is one that I have often gifted to friends who have pre-teen children (especially those with boys - though every one of my four daughters loved this film as well).