cato's - Rented List
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Mysterious and likeable Londoner Ray has recently been released from a psychiatric hospital into the care of his over-protective brother. Things start well with Ray working for his brother and living his new life to the hit. But when Ray falls head over heels in love with Laura, an unpredictable Glaswegian, and stops taking his medication, things start to spiral out of control. - Director:
- Simon Cellan Jones
- Cast:
- Daniel Craig, David Morrissey, Kelly MacDonald
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Double bill of USA classics.
Shockproof (1949)Having served a five year stretch in prison for her part in a murder, Jenny Marsh (Patricia Knight) is released into the custody of parole officer Griff Marat (Cornel Wilde), who offers her the prospect of a new life with his support. One of the conditions of Jenny's parole is that she no longer sees her former boyfriend, Harry Wesson (John Baragrey), a gambler and crook for whom she was willing to go to jail. Still in love with Wesson, Jenny feels bound to continue seeing him, in spite of Marat's warnings that she risks going straight back to prison. Jenny soon finds herself torn between her former lover and Marat, who shows her nothing but kindness and respect. When Wesson threatens to tell Marat of her promise to escape with him, Jenny shoots him in a moment of madness. Unable to turn Jenny over to the police, Marat decides to help her escape across the state border. In doing so, he knows that he himself has become an outlaw. But it is too late to turn back.
Scandal Sheet (1952)
Broderick Crawford plays tabloid editor Mark Chapman, whose burgeoning success is threatened by the arrival of his wife Charlotte (Rosemary DeCamp), whom he deserted 20 years earlier. Hoping to keep Charlotte's mouth shut, Chapman accidentally kills her. He does his best to cover his tracks, but his best is none too good, and another murder follows. Meanwhile, Chapman's star reporter Steve McCleary (John Derek) is busy investigating the still-unsolved murder of Charlotte. Though Steve holds no grudge against his boss, the same cannot be said of feature writer Julie Allison (Donna Reed), who resents Chapman's sensationalist methods. Slowly but surely, the noose tightens around Chapman's neck, thanks to the diligence of McCleary and, indirectly, the inquiries of Julie.- Director:
- Douglas Sirk
- Cast:
- Cornel Wilde, Patricia Knight, John Baragrey
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There are two sides to every story...this is both of them. With Melinda and Melinda, Woody Allen is back to his best. This smart, playful comedy is spun out over a Manhattan dinner table combining two engaging stories, one tragic and the other comic, in the vein of Crimes and Misdemeanours and Sliding Doors. Centered on a female character named Melinda and played by the exquisite Radha Mitchell (Finding Neverland) and an outstanding ensemble cast headed by the comedic genius Will Ferrell (Anchorman). Melinda and Melinda examines the eternal question of the fragility of love and romance. - Director:
- Woody Allen
- Cast:
- Will Ferrell, Vinessa Shaw, Chiwetel Ejiofor
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In the Fog (2012)V Tumane
Set in German-occupied Belarus in 1942, the interplay of people and events slowly bind the characters into a trap: Sushenya has apparently collaborated with the Germans and is taken off into the woods by two partisans. Through flashbacks the truth, and the moral complexities behind it, is gradually revealed. - Director:
- Sergey Loznitsa
- Cast:
- Vladimir Svirskiy, Vladislav Abashin, Sergey Kolesov
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Charles Burnett, one of America's most highly regarded independent filmmakers, wrote and directed this domestic drama about a black middle-class family living in South Central Los Angeles. However, there are no gangs, no guns, no drugs but instead a lyrical story that draws on folklore and the supernatural. Family tensions are already simmering when Harry (Danny Glover) arrives to visit his old friends. He exudes an easy charm, knows secrets past and present and is soon installed in the heart of the family. However, as his stay lengthens, so does he begin to cast an ever more malevolent spell, provoking turmoil, setting son against son, reviving past hatreds, and inflicting a mysterious illness. Glover delivers a career-topping performance as the garrulous family fiend, full of hidden menace, effortlessly evoking nostalgia and horror in the same breath. As ever, Burnett provides a wonderful music track featuring gospel, blues and jazz and a cameo from the legendary Jimmy Weatherspoon. - Director:
- Charles Burnett
- Cast:
- Danny Glover, Paul Butler, DeVaughn Nixon
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A contemporary caper set in L.A. about an odd con-artist couple, Rodrigo (Diego Luna) a rookie conman desperate for money to help his family, and Richard (John C. Reilly) the seasoned pro who wants to get rich in any way possible. When they come across one of the most valuable pieces of currency in U.S. history, they're suddenly stuck together in the con of their lives. All they have to do is sell it, which is where the real problems begin. The one person who can help them, hates them - Richard's long suffering sister (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Luckily there is an antique currency collector in town (Peter Mullan), but nothing is ever that easy...In this twisty tale, can you tell who's conning who? - Director:
- Gregory Jacobs
- Cast:
- John C. Reilly, Diego Luna, Maggie Gyllenhaal
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Katie Tippel (1975)Keetje Tippel
In an attempt to escape the poverty of their lives in a small Dutch town, Katie and her family move to Amsterdam. Here they hope to find a better life and benefit from the wealth they anticipate finding. However, when they discover the squalor and sexual degradation all around them, their illusions become shattered. Soon Katie is forced into prostitution, and becomes the mistress of a well-to-do banker (Rutger Hauer) who instructs her in the ways of the turn-of-the-century upper class. - Director:
- Paul Verhoeven
- Cast:
- Monique Van De Ven, Rutger Hauer, Andrea Domburg
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L'Avventura (1960)The Adventure
The plot concerns a yachting trip by a small group of jaded socialites, including Sandro (Gabriele Ferzetti), an aging architect who sold out for easy money long ago, his mistress Anna (Lea Massari), and her friend Claudia (Monica Vitti), who doesn't fit in with the wealthy jet-setters' dissolute ethics. When Anna disappears during a tour of a volcanic island, Claudia initially blames Sandro's emotionally barren behavior toward her. As they search the island, however, Claudia and Sandro grow closer and - when it is apparent that Anna is gone forever - become lovers. Unfortunately, Sandro cannot find anything decent inside himself and betrays Claudia with a local prostitute. Caught in the act, Sandro has a heartrending breakdown on a desolate beach, but Claudia silently forgives him. - Director:
- Michelangelo Antonioni
- Cast:
- Gabriele Ferzetti, Monica Vitti, Lea Massari
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Kalyani (Nutan) was an unusual prisoner - young, innocent-looking, well behaved and ever willing to help everyone. How did such a girl commit a crime to get here? Everyone is curious, but no one knows her past - not even Devendra (Dharamendra) a jail doctor who had fallen in love with her. Disregarding the social stigma he confesses his love for her and proposes to her. But Kalyani hadn't even responded. A string of events bring to light the story of Kalyani and a tragic past of broken promises - broken hearts and now Kalyani once again finds herself at the cross roads of life. Her choices are Devendra - who offers her a life of fulfilment and promise or Bikash - who gave her a past full of disillusionment and a broken promises. - Director:
- Bimal Roy
- Cast:
- Ashok Kumar, Nutan, Dharmendra
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Is it more important that the best man wins; or that the wrong man is kept out of office? It's convention time in 1964 and intellectual front-runner William Russell (Henry Fonda) finds himself pitted against down-to-earth Senator Joe Cantwell (Cliff Robertson). This nomination is crucial for securing the Presidency, but while Cantwell is ready to do anything to achieve his ambition, Russell sees himself as a man of principle. Both men crucially need to win over the support of the ailing President to succeed, and as the stakes climb higher, each team has a call to make on just how dirty they are prepared to fight. This fast paced, witty political drama poses a wealth of important questions, still relevant to the political world of today. - Director:
- Franklin J. Schaffner
- Cast:
- Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Edie Adams
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The President is on the couch. His analyst is the on run. He's groovy. He's suave. He's sex-crazed. He's renowned New York psychiatrist Sidney Schaefer (James Coburn), the top man in his field, who's just been given some startling news - he's been chosen to be the President's personal analyst! But when the spy games and the stress that come with the job psych him out, the increasingly paranoid shrink goes into hiding...only to discover an international cadre of ruthless spies are out to kidnap him for his inside information - if his own spy agencies don't kill him first! - Director:
- Theodore J. Flicker
- Cast:
- James Coburn, Godfrey Cambridge, Severn Darden
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In a Better World (2010)Hævnen
From a war-torn refugee camp to the deceptively idyllic Danish countryside, two fragile worlds are inextricably linked by conflict and violence. Anton is a doctor whose work bridges the divide between these two dramatically contrasted lands and who must confront an unavoidable moral dilemma. His son Elias, the victim of school bullies, forms a friendship with the troubled Christian, but this soon transforms into a dangerous alliance. - Director:
- Susanne Bier
- Cast:
- Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Markus Rygaard
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Strike (1925)Stachka
Taking an historical event from 1912, Eisenstein marries the new Soviet propaganda ideals of the heroic worker with his own theories of avant garde art. Following the suicide of a sacked factory worker, his colleagues hold a peaceful strike, but their bosses retaliate with savage force. Capturing the brutality with power and immediacy, Eisenstein's visuals move from the slaughter of cattle to the butchery of the Cossack army, simultaneously inventing and breaking cinematic rules. - Director:
- Sergei Eisenstein
- Cast:
- Maxim Shtraukh, Anatoli Kuznetsov, Grigori Alexandrov
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Stage Fright (1950)Alfred Hitchcock's Stage Fright
Jane Wyman plays drama student Eve Gill, who tries to clear a friend (Richard Todd) being framed for murder by becoming the maid of flamboyant stage star Charlotte Inwood (Marlene Dietrich). Filming in his native England, Hitchcock merrily juggles elements of humour and whodunit and puts a game ensemble (Alastair Sim, Sybil Thorndike, Joyce Grenfell, Kay Walsh and daughter Patricia Hitchcock) through its paces. No one turns a theatre into a bastion of dread like Hitchcock and 'Stage Fright' is proof positive. - Director:
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Cast:
- Marlene Dietrich, Jane Wyman, Richard Todd
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John J. Bramble (Franchot Tone), the sole survivor of a British tank crew, makes his way to a desolate town where he is given refuge by a hotel owner (Akim Tamiroff) and a French chambermaid (Anne Baxter) as they prepare to receive General Erwin Rommel (Erich Von Stroheim) and his German staff. Posing as a hotel waiter, Bramble attempts to infiltrate Rommel's inner circle and report their battle plans to the Allies... - Director:
- Billy Wilder
- Cast:
- Franchot Tone, Anne Baxter, Akim Tamiroff
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