ectonplasm's - Rented List

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In the Autumn of 1939, Heinrich Harrer (Brad Pitt) and Peter Aufschnaiter (David Thewlis) set out to climb Nanga Parbat, one of the highest peaks in the Himalayas.

The self-centred Harrer, whose sole preoccupation was the achievement of fame and glory, would experience an emotional awakening on his fantastic journey that would take him from the heights of conquest to the depths of internment in a British prisoner of war camp, then from escape and a harrowing two year trek through the Himalayas, to the mysterious Tibetan city of Lhasa. As a stranger in a strange land which few westerners have ever visited, Harrer befriends the young Dalai Lama, and tutors the religious leader in the ways of the Western world.

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It's full steam ahead with Marlene Dietrich as the mesmerising Shanghai Lilly in this exotic high drama directed by Josef Von Sternberg. After being jilted by Captain Donal Harvey (Clive Brook), Lily gains a reputation as notorious adventuress.

Things heat up when the former lovers are reunited on a train en route to Shanghai. They share accommodation with a motley group of international passengers, including a dubious merchant who unsuccessfully propositions Lily. When the train is overtaken by Chinese rebels, Captain Harvey is held hostage and the merchant turns out to be the rebels' leader. So Lily strikes a tantalising bargain in order to save the man she never stopped loving.

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It is the 7th century and in Mecca, where powerful leaders are in conflict with Mohammad who attacks the many injustices their way of life produces - slavery, drunkenness and cruelty. Mohammad claims to have seen a vision of the Angel Gabriel and calls to the people of Mecca to worship one God only.

After a revelation from God, Mohammad agrees to take arms against Mecca and at the Wells of Bedr the inexperienced Moslem troops are victorious. However, at the Battle of Uhud they are beaten. They accept a ten year truce, so that they can continue to spread the word of God. Mohammad is the prophet...The Messenger of God.

Harrison Ford returns to the role of the legendary hero archaeologist, Indiana Jones, for this highly anticipated final instalment of the iconic franchise - a big, globe-trotting, rip-roaring adventure!

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In a secluded village in the Italian Alps, an unlikely brotherhood forms between two young boys: Pietro (Luca Marinelli / Andrea Palma / Lupo Barbiero), a boy from the city, and Bruno (Alessandro Borghi / Cristiano Sassella / Francesco Palombelli), who has only ever known life in the mountains.

Over the years Bruno remains faithful to his home while Pietro aspires to greater heights, but as decades pass and lives unfold, their paths ultimately lead them back to where they first met - and back to each other. Set against a truly magnificent Italian landscape, 'The Eight Mountains' is a profoundly moving portrait of a lifelong friendship.

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It is 19th Century Europe and Captain Harry Flashman (Malcolm McDowell) is a gutless bully who seeks admission into European high society.

Seeing a chance to promote their own menacing political schemes devious Otto von Bismarck (Oliver Reed) and Rudi Von Sternberg (Alan Bates) convince Flashman to disguise himself as a Prussian noble so that he can marry a gorgeous duchess (Britt Ekland). However, the hoax is discovered, and Flashman flees the continent, experiencing one calamity after another as well as some of history's most significant events in this hilarious romp that might just make you laugh instead of marvel at the next comic book 'hero' you encounter!

A little lost alien, three million light years away from home. A lonely ten-year old boy willing to take him home. Two lives changed by a timeless adventure and a friendship that knows no earthly bounds.

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One June day in 1815, two titans of war, Napoleon (Rod Steiger) and Wellington (Christopher Plummer), faced each other in one of history's greatest clash of arms.

Amid the roar of cannon, the thunder of horses and the rattle of muskets, 140,000 men fought over a bloody field in Belgium at a place called - Waterloo.

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This heroic tale chronicles the courageous exploits of the Robinson family after they are shipwrecked on a deserted island. Using teamwork and ingenuity, they skillfully overcome the obstacles of nature and transform their new home into a "civilised" community.

But the ultimate challenge lies ahead when a band of cutthroat pirates threaten to destroy the Robinsons' makeshift paradise.

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Experience the breathtaking global phenomenon that has captivated audiences around the world. Written for the screen and directed by Christopher Nolan, 'Oppenheimer' thrusts audiences into the mind of physicist J.

Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), whose landmark work on the Manhattan Project created the first atomic bomb.

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El Cid, Bronstons epic movie masterpiece, is a tribute to one of history's greatest legends.

This dazzling spectacle, with a cast of thousands, fills the screen with action and romance - from knights in armour jousting on horseback to massive battles on sea and land, where columns of warriors stretch across the horizon. At the centre of this powerful motion picture is Charlton Heston in the role he was born to play the immortal El Cid. Heston is the Spanish warrior with the vision to be just and the courage to be merciful, whose love and devotion to the radiant Chimene (Sophia Loren) knows no bounds.

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Written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker David 0. Russell comes an original crime epic about three close friends who find themselves at the centre of one of the most shocking secret plots in American history.

Based on facts that meet fiction, the film stars Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, with Rami Malek and Robert De Niro.

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Roger Livesey brilliantly portrays a British officer, Clive Candy, through the trials and tribulations of three wars, three lovers and a lifelong friendship across enemy lines. During the Boer War, candy is sent to Berlin to trap a German spy.

There he befriends a German officer, Theo (Anton Walbrook), who marries the girl (Deborah Kerr) Candy is in love with. During the First World War, Candy marries a girl who resembles his lost love and helps Theo - now a POW - to get repatriated. Candy comes back in the Second World War as Brigadier General and once again encounters Theo. On joining a Home Guard exercise, Candy is captured, however, and the two are forced to either aid or betray each other.

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Director Ken Russell's 'Mahler' is a dazzling depiction of Gustav Mahler's tormented life. The blend of history and psychological analysis produces a fascinating study of art and sensuality.

The film takes place on a single train ride, in which the sickly, aged composer Gustav Mahler (Robert Powell) and his wife, Alma (Georgina Hale), confront the reasons behind their faltered marriage and dying love. Flashbacks and sequences chronicle his turbulent and dysfunctional family life as a child, his discovery of solace in the 'natural' world, his brother's suicide, his conversion from Judaism to Catholicism, his rocky marriage and the death of his young children. Revel in Mahler's stirring music, the exquisite cinematography and lavish sets.

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After a lavish dinner party in a stately mansion, the guests find themselves mysteriously unable to leave the room.

As the days pass the elaborate pretences and facades that they've built up by virtue of their position in society collapse completely as they become reduced to living like animals to survive.