fmj's - Rented List

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Barbara Stanwyck plays a nightclub singer whose snappy street slang attracts the attention of bookish encyclopaedia editor Gary Cooper and his aged bachelor colleagues who devote their lives to compiling the perfect encyclopeadia.

At first, their interest in her is strictly professional, but she soon charms the old men into letting her hide from the police (and her gangster boyfriend) in their mansion, Initially, she resents her forced stay, but after a while she falls for the charm of bookworm Cooper, and makes him realise there is more to life than books.

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Recently retired, Harold Fry is well into his 60s and content to fade quietly into the background of life.

Harold's life with his wife Maureen is uneventful and their marriage frozen, due to an unspeakable conflict relating to the absence of their son, until one day, Harold learns his old friend Queenie is dying. He sets off to the post office to send her a letter and decides to keep walking: all the way to her hospice, 450 miles away.

Jean Smart stars as a legendary Las Vegas comedian who is forced to hire an ambitious young writer (Hannah Einbinder). These two talented comedic voices from different generations form an unlikely bond in this new comedy.

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Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield), England's Roman Catholic Chancellor, is forced into a difficult position when corrupt King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw) demands his approval to divorce his wife and marry his mistress.

Torn between his conscience and duty to the crown, Sir Thomas chooses to say nothing, sparking the rage of the king. What unfolds is a battle of wills packed with palace intrigue, political brinkmanship and the fate of man, church and country. In the end, his silence spoke loudest of all.

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In a remote Costa Rican village, Clara (Wendy Chinchilla Araya), believed to possess divine healing powers, lives under the repressive care of her pious elderly mother.

Clara seeks solace in the natural world until the fragile balance of her life is unexpectedly disrupted by a powerful sexual awakening, stirred by the arrival of her young niece's handsome boyfriend. Desire ignites a dangerously unstoppable force that leads Clara to a hitherto unexplored world of discovery and self-determination.

A fictionalised account of the rise of Emperor Constantine (Cornel Wilde) and how he established the notion of religious tolerance throughout the Roman Empire. This, coupled with his adoption of Christianity, allowed this previously small and persecuted religion to sweep across Europe.

This Oscar-nominated film has the legendary Cary Grant as a government attorney who can't seem to shake his bad fortune. Living on a houseboat, widowed and left with three unruly kids, he hires Sophia Loren as a governess. The magnetic Loren and the charming Grant add up to a cheeky, urbane comedy.

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Leonard is an attractive but troubled young man living with his parents in suburban Brooklyn when two women enter his life.

The lovely but ordinary daughter of his father’s new business partner and his beautiful but volatile neighbour trapped in a destructive affair, whose passion helps to reignite his lust for life.

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A powerful and romantic tale of a second chance at love and the power of redemption. When the right person comes along, anything can happen. After becoming concerned about her father Howard (James Cosmo), Grace (Catherine Walker) hires a caretaker in the form of Annie (Brid Brennan).

As a result of his reclusive nature, Howard initially rejects any help from Annie, but gradually the pair begin to bond, and Howard re-considers opening his heart to love and to be loved once more.

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Marking a new chapter in the history of one of the world's greatest films, the release of Abel Gance's "Napoleon" is the culmination of a project spanning 50 years.

Digitally restored by the BFI National Archive and Academy Award-winning film historian Kevin Brownlow, this cinematic triumph is available to experience on video for the very first time. Originally conceived by Gance as the first of six films about Napoleon, this five-and-a-half-hour epic features full-scale historical recreations of episodes from his personal and political life, that see Bonaparte overcome fierce rivals and political machinations to seal his imperial destiny. Utilising a number of groundbreaking cinematic techniques, 'Napoleon' is accompanied by Carl Davis' monumental score, and offers one of the most thrilling experiences in the entire the history of film.

Bette Davis's bravura, moving-but-never-morbid performance as Judith Traherne, a dying heiress determined to find happiness in her few remaining months, remains a three-hankie classic.

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Bette Davis plays estranged identical twins. Unmarried Edith has no money, no future. Widow Margaret has fabulous wealth - all because of marriage to the man she stole from Edith years ago. Out of long-festering revenge. Edith kills Margaret and takes her place.

But new friends and surroundings, a snoopy cop (Karl Malden) who was Edith's beau and the arrival of Margaret's secret lover (Peter Lawford) may expose her masquerade.

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Six years after exploding to stardom in Of Human Bondage, Bette Davis equaled that excitement with another W. Somerset Maugham role as an adulteress using her sexual wiles to escape a murder conviction in The Letter.

The film throbs with sultry tension thanks to Davis, an impeccable supporting cast, atmospheric cinematography and the artistry of three-time Academy Award winner* William Wyler, Davis' director on Jezebel and The Little Foxes.

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Charlton Heston stars as Brad Braden, the diehard circus manager who lives and breathes to keep the show rolling. With the Big Top about to hit rock bottom, Braden hires The Great Sebastian (Cornel Wilde), a daring trapeze legend, to revitalize the circus.

His arrival sparks the rivalry and admiration of Holly (Betty Hutton), Braden's girlfriend and trapese star. After a death-defying battle to regain her place in the centre ring, Holly soon finds herself torn between the love of workaholic Brad and the brazen Sebastain. Add to the mix a flirtatious elephant trainer, racketeers and a lovable clown (James Stewart) with a secret past, and every character becomes a tough act to follow.

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Mick Haller (Matthew Mcconaughey) is a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back of his Lincoln Towncar.

Having spent most of his career defending petty gutter-variety criminals, he unexpectedly lands the case of a lifetime: defending a rich Beverly Hills realtor (Ryan Phillippe) who is accused of attempted rape and murder. However, what appears in the beginning to be straightforward case with a big money pay-off swiftly develops into a deadly match between two masters of manipulation.