griggs's - Rented List

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The story of the fragile sentimentalism of a former prostitute who visits her sister only to be taunted mercilessly by her childish brother-in-law.

A Streetcar Named Desire: The Original Director's Version is the Elia Kazan/ Tennessee Williams film moviegoers would have seen had not Legion of Decency censorship occurred at the last time. It features three minutes of previously unseen footage underscoring, among other things, the sexual tension between Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh) and Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando), and Stella Kowalski's (Kim Hunter) passion for husband Stanley.

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Taking place over five days in the nation's music capital Nashville, Tennessee, the film follows two-dozen characters struggling for fulfilment, both personal and professional, amongst a backdrop of country and gospel musicians, outsider political campaigning, and the peripheries of life inbetween,

building from one encounter at a time to create a wide-ranging tapestry of rich drama and human comedy.

Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray), naive insurance man. Falls for the seductive charms of his beautiful client Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) Together they plot to get rid of her dull husband and collect on the "double indemnity" life policy.

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Ben (Nicolas Cage) is an alcoholic whose life is falling apart. He goes to Las Vegas where the bars never close, to drink himself to death. There, he meets Sera (Elisabeth Shue), a hooker, and asks her back to his motel. An extraordinary love affair develops between them.

Ben promises to never ask Sera to give up prostitution and Sera vows never to ask Ben to stop drinking. But as Ben deteriorates, Sera breaks her vow and begs him to see a doctor. Ben leaves. Apart and alone, their lives quickly go downhill. They can no longer live without each other. At a cheap motel, the lovers are re-united as their affair reaches a painful but beautiful climax...

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Take two legendary co-stars, a rip-roaring boys own story, a fearless director and an eventful location shoot in Zaire and Uganda and you get 'The African Queen' - the best loved of all adventure movies.

During World War One, a hard drinking river trader (Humphrey Bogart) and a prim missionary (Katharine Hepburn) are forced to take a hazardous river expedition together, encountering tropical hazards, nefarious German officers and a surprising romance.

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After establishing a fine reputation in British television drama, Stephen Poliakoff directed his first feature film in 1987.

A mystery wrapped in conspiracy and secrets, 'Hidden City' tells the story of James Richards (Charles Dance), a writer sucked into a search for a lost piece of film by Sharon Newton (Cassie Stewart), a video librarian. What they stumble upon are cover-ups, tense searches and possible danger. With the help of Witold Stoks' excellent cinematography, Poliakoff has crafted a rich look into London's dark history, with disused tram-tunnels and long-forgotten subterranean chambers serving as the backdrop to explore the depths of the British preoccupation with secrecy. Featuring a cast of stellar British talent including Richard E Grant and Bill Paterson, Stephen Poliakoff's rarely seen directorial debut is a stylish thriller ripe for rediscovery.

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This is the film that catapulted Sylvester Stallone into the international spotlight and launched one of the most successful series of films in movie history, This is the story of a loser, a two bit boxer from Philadelphia, who gets a second chance in life by being offered an impossible shot at the

heavyweight title. Stallone's performance is as powerful as his character's punches in the ring. This is one of the most exciting action movies you will ever see. Rocky is the simple story of a man whom fate chooses for a shot at glory in what has otherwise been an ordinary life. And while this subject matter is nothing new, it was unusual for Hollywood to release an old-fashioned 'feel-good' movie in the seventies, a decade whose films were mostly unconventional in attitude and anti-establishment in tone. Rocky is, of course, a fairy tale, but by grounding its characters in an everyday reality, the filmmakers were able to make them seem real and alive. And making the major contribution to that sense of reality was Sylvester Stallone, an out-of-work actor/writer whose faith in himself took him from utter obscurity to world-wide fame and fortune virtually overnight.....

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Wrongly accused city banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) arrives at Shawshank Prison in 1947 after receiving a double life sentence for the brutal murders of his wife and her lover. He discovers that when they send you to Shawshank for life...that's exactly what they take.

His quiet strength slowly earns him the respect and friendship of the prison fixer Red (Morgan Freeman). He also becomes popular with the warden and prison guards, as he is able to use his banking experience to help the corrupt officials amass fortunes. But Andy's seemingly stoic acceptance of his unjust imprisonment hides a fierce determination for freedom and provides a unique chance to change his fate.

Eastwood and Morgan Freeman play retired outlaws who pick up their guns one last time to collect a bounty. Richard Harris is an ill-fated killer-for-hire. And Hackman is a lawman of sly charm...and chilling brutality

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Classic romantic comedy starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart. Wealthy Philadelphia socialite Tracy Lord (Hepburn) is set to marry the politician and businessman George Kittredge (John Howard), but her wedding plans are complicated by the arrival of her irresponsible ex-husband C.

K. Dexter Haven (Grant), with magazine reporter Macauley Connor (Stewart) and photographer Liz Imbrie (Ruth Hussey) in tow. Tracy resolves to give them a story they will never forget but finds herself re-evaluating her life choices in the process.

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"The Perverts Guide to Cinema" is a film about cinema itself with close readings of some of the most intriguing and celebrated films in cinema history.

Serving as guide is the charismatic Slovenian philosopher and psychoanalyst Slavoj Žižek, who delves into the hidden language of cinema uncovering what movies can tell us about ourselves. Structured in three parts. The Pervert's Guide To Cinema offers an introduction to Zižek's ideas on fantasy, reality, sexuality, subjectivity, form and desire. In a striking visual leap, director Sophie Fiennes immerses Žižek into the scenes he discusses. Whether he is unravelling the films of David Lynch, or overturning everything you thought you knew about Hitchcock, Žižek illuminates the screen with his passion, intellect and unfailing sense of humour.

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Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) first met in their twenties in 'Before Sunrise'; Reunited in their thirties in 'Before Sunset'; and, now, in director Richard Linklater's amazing 'Before Midnight', they face the past, present and future; family, romance and love.

Now on a writer's retreat in Greece, the couple looks for a night of passion, but instead their idyllic night turns into a test of their relationship and a discussion of what the future holds for them.

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Is there someone who lingers in your memory - someone who makes you wonder what might have been? Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy make magic again, reprising their 'Before Sunrise' roles of Jesse and Celine and reuniting with director Richard Linklater (School of Rock) in this engaging tale of love and

renewal. When Jesse and Celine first met in the mid 90's, their few hours together in Vienna were spontaneous and life-altering. Nine years later, lightning strikes twice. They unexpectedly meet in Paris...and have only one fading afternoon to decide if they should share their tomorrows. Smart, witty, real and unfolding largely in real time to heighten its immediacy, 'Before Sunset' glows with the moments that are every heart's greatest adventure.

James Stewart, Jean Arthur and Claude Rains star in this award-winning 1939 classic about an idealistic, small-town politician who heads to Washington and suddenly finds himself single-handedly battling ruthless politicians out to destroy him.

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In this outstanding psychological and political thriller, we get a fascinating insight into the lengths and depths that the East European government went to in order to keep tabs on the lives of its population in 80's.

When cold and brutal official Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe) is given the task of spying on acclaimed playwright Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) and his actress girlfriend, he relishes the task, knowing that if he uncovers subversive behaviour he will gain favor with his boss. But the longer he listens in on the couple, their friendships, passions and ideas, the more he realises that his own life and the harsh political regime are lacking in color and joy in many respects. Slowly he begins to doubt morality of is job and politics. As the lines between orders and compassion become blurred, Wiesler becomes more involved with his subject, walking a dangerous path between his duty and his new found reality.