richard-1's - Rented List

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Perhaps the most stately of Fritz Lang's two-part epics, the five-hour Die Nibelungen (The Nibelungen) is a courageous and hallucinatory work, a film in which every single shot might alone endure as an exemplar of visual art.

Its extraordinary set-pieces, archetypal themes, and unrestrained ambition have proven an inspiration for nearly every fantasy cycle that has emerged on-screen since - from 'Star Wars' to 'The Lord of the Rings'. In Part One, 'Siegfried', the film's eponymous hero acquires the power of invincibility after slaying a dragon and bathing in the creature's blood. Later, an alliance through marriage between the hero and the royal clan of the Nibelungen turns treacherous, with Siegfried's sole weakness exploited. Adapted from the myth that served as the basis for Wagner's Ring cycle (though not an adaptation of the operas themselves), Lang's picture employs its own counterpoint through a systematic, viral series of deranged geometrical patterns and the arresting, kabuki-like quality of the actors' performances. The result is a film of startling expressionistic power, and a summit of Fritz Lang's artistry.

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Tom (Romain Duris) is an aspiring musician who plays seedy bars in the backstreets of Paris. The one thing tearing him away from his music is the example set by his father - a sleazy life of crime which Tom seems set to follow.

But when, by chance, he meets a friend of his concert pianist mother's, his musical ambitions are rekindled and he strives to make a better life for himself.

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'The Swimmer' takes place in an affluent Connecticut suburb, and for Ned Merrill (Burt Lancaster) it is where he confronts all of his dreams...and deceptions.

Burt Lancaster gives the best performance of his career as Ned the troubled suburbanite who one summer morning decides to "swim" home via the pools of his wealthy friends. Along the way he encounters several women from his past: a tempestuous teenage girl (Janet Landgard), teetering at the edge of adolescence and womanhood; his embittered ex-mistress (Janice Rule); and the sensual wife of an old friend (Kim Hunter). Ned's journey is one of embarrassments, humiliation and steamy passion. He passes from one scenario to another until he arrives home to an empty house...and to a startling self-revelation.

A middle-aged cop is assigned to tail a gangster's moll with his two partners, hoping she'll lead them to some $200,000 worth of stolen loot, but when the cop falls under the spell of the moll, falling in love with her, his honest ways become twisted and soon he plots with her to kill the gangster and take off with the money.

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George Hurstwood (Laurence Olivier) is a respectable family man of comfortable means. But he throws it all away for the love of Carrie.

Based on the Theodore Dreiser novel that publishers deemed "too immoral", William Wyler's 'Carrie' is a powerhouse of human passions transformed into soul-withering frailties. As Carrie (Jennifer Jones), the smalltown girl come to Chicago.

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Forget 'Prison Break' and 'The Green Mile' - this is life behind bars like you've never experienced it before. It's a world inhabited by memorable characters from beautiful young boys to hardened (sometimes literally), older men and a cat called Plato. 1970's Chile.

Jaime (Juan Carlos Maldonado) is sent to prison after the murder of his best friend, 'The Gypsy'. Young and good looking, he catches the eye of 'The Stud', an older, respected man who soon stakes his claim. Under the protection of 'The Stud', Jaime is dubbed 'The Prince', sparking animosity amongst other inmates. When 'The Prince' finds himself drawn to another prisoner, he learns that his protection comes at a price. Finding himself at the centre of prison politics, 'The Prince' is caught in a war between love and loyalty that threatens to plunge the whole prison into chaos. The film has some intoxicating elements of homoerotic fantasy in its depiction of prison life hut the brutality and violence that the inmates endure is never underplayed.

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Jerry (William H. Macy), a small-town Minnesota car salesman is bursting at the seams with debt... but he's got a plan. He's going to hire two thugs (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife in a scheme to collect a hefty ransom from his wealthy father-in-law.

It's going to be a snap and nobody's going to get hurt... until people start dying. Enter Police Chief Marge (Frances McDormand), a coffee-drinking, parka-wearing - and extremely pregnant -investigator who'll stop at nothing to get her man. And if you think her small-time investigative skills will give the crooks a run for their ransom... you betcha!

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"Tom and Viv" is the passionate, true and tragic love story of T.S. Eliot (Willem Dafoe), one of the greatest poets of the 20th Century, and his first wife, Vivienne (Miranda Richardson), a vivacious society beauty.

After a whirlwind courtship, resulting in a quick marriage, their relationship comes under great strain as Vivienne struggles to handle her health problems and, worse still, the dangerous medicines prescribed for her which combined to cause her erratic and eccentric behaviour. As Eliot's career soared, Vivienne's behaviour became increasingly difficult for him and her family to handle, leading them towards a terrible act of convenience and betrayal.

The game of conquest is underway. Anything goes when a predatory, wealthy widow (Glenn Close) challenges a notorious rake (John Malkovich) to seduce a beautiful young newlywed (Michelle Pfeiffer). But this time, a cardinal rule will be broken: two players will fall in love - with tragic results.

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Credited as the inventors of modern British satire, 'Not Only But Always...' charts the searing highs and lows of these two extraordinary and different comedians, whose careers and private lives often swung in just as uncontrolled and anarchic turns as their wit.

From their first meeting as Cambridge undergraduates in 1960, through their beginnings on 'Beyond the Fringe', the drama follows their infamous journey from the heady sixties, including their TV performances as the legendary Pete and Dud and Derek and Clive, up until Cook's death in 1995. Set across the decades the film covers a range of locations from Peter Cook's notorious Soho 'Establishment Club' and his founding of 'Private Eye' magazine to Dudley Moore's launch into Hollywood film.

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Veteran bounty hunter Max Borlund (Christoph Waltz) is deep into Mexico where he encounters professional gambler and outlaw Joe Cribbens (Willem Dafoe) - a sworn enemy he sent to prison years before.

Max is on a mission to find and return Rachel Kidd (Rachel Brosnahan), the wife of a wealthy businessman, who as the story is told to Max, has been abducted by Buffalo Soldier Elijah Jones (Brandon Scott). Max is ultimately faced with a showdown to save honor.

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Lily Savage is absolutely...the most exciting comedy star in showbiz! This extraordinary video, shot in London's glittering West-End in 1995, captures the outrageous brilliance of Lily Savage.

From Bob Downe's guest appearance as Christopher Dean, opposite Lily's Jayne Torvill, to Lily dancing in the chorus with the Tiller girls, the originality and excitement of Lily Savage's humour dominates this night of nights.

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Welcome to the world's most notorious slum: Rio de Janeiro's 'City of God'. A place where combat photographers fear to tread, where police rarely go, and residents are lucky if they live to the age of 20.

This is the true story of a young man who grew up on these streets and whose ambition as a photographer is our window in and ultimately may be his only way out.

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Alan Bennett is one of Britain's most popular and prolific authors and playwrights. He initially wrote for the stage, but found that with his observant eye for the absurdities of modern life and sharp ear for dialogue, his work transferred easily and effectively to the small screen.

This collection brings together many of Alan Bennett's previously unreleased BBC productions dating from 1972 through to 1994. It includes his first television play, 'A Day Out'; autobiographical pieces such as 'Dinner at Noon' and 'Portrait or Bust' and celebrated plays such as 'A Woman of No Importance', 'An Englishman Abroad' and 'A Question of Attribution'. The plays, each with a specially recorded introduction by Alan Bennett, feature a number of great British actors including Daniel Day Lewis, Alan Bates, Patricia Routledge, Janet McTeer, James Fox and Prunella Scales and number Richard Eyre, Stephen Frears and John Schlesinger among the directors.

Up to 1 million people in 22 countries carried out the unprovoked murder of well over 6 million innocent men, women and children. 99% of those responsible were never prosecuted; most were never even questioned. Why?