riverofgiraffes's - Rented List

Show moreShow less

Featuring Marilyn Monroe's legendary rendition of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend", this fun musical comedy is a knockout. Marilyn and Jane Russell star as two showgirls who set sail on a luxury liner bound for France.

Hijinks on the high seas ensue as Lorelei (Monroe) and Dorothy (Russell) discover they're being tailed by a private detective hired by the father of Lorelei's landlocked boyfriend. By the time the ship reaches Paris, a missing diamond tiara lands the girls in hot water, but by following their hearts, they'll get out of trouble and on to the altar.

Show moreShow less

Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games.

Sixteen year-old Katniss Eyerdeen volunteers in her younger sister's place and must rely upon her sharp instincts when she's pitted against highly trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives. If she's ever to-return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Show moreShow less

The story follows teenagers Paul Baumer (Felix Kammerer) and his friends Albert and Muller, who voluntarily enlist in the German army, riding a wave of patriotic fervour that quickly dissipates once they face the brutal realities of life on the front.

Paul's preconceptions about the enemy and the rights and wrongs of the conflict soon crumble. However, amid the countdown to Armistice, Paul must carry on fighting until the end, with no purpose other than to satisfy the top brass' desire to end the war on a German offensive.

Show moreShow less

Deborah Kerr (in the performance of her career) plays the emotionally repressed vicar's daughter who takes up a job as a governess to two seemingly angelic orphans.

Gradually coming to believe that the children are possessed by the perverse spirits of their former governess and her sadistic lover, she begins to see manifestations of the ghosts prowling the huge gothic mansion of Bly House. Director Jack Clayton sustains a superbly haunting atmosphere throughout the film, and like James' original work, cleverly retains the ambiguity of wether the ghosts are real or the products of the governess's fevered imagination. Aided by Freddie Francis's exquisitely inventive and atmospheric CinemaScope photography, we, like the governess, are never quite sure what unspoken horrors are lurking beyond the edge of the frame and are kept guessing until the film's tragic conclusion.

Show moreShow less

Infamous womanizer Don Giovanni makes conquest after conquest, leaving seduced and abandoned women in his wake. When the ghost of the Commendatore he has killed appears he is given a final chance to change his philandering ways or face the terrors of hell.

Joseph Losey's hugely successful adaptation of Mozart's greatest opera features wonderful performances from an excellent cast and stunning cinematography.

Show moreShow less

Full of flash, style and grit, this raw tale of corruption and revenge features one of the most harrowing car chases ever caught on film and a shockingly explosive ending. Federal Agent Richard Chance (William Petersen) has a score to settle, and he's through playing by the rules.

Whether that means blackmailing a beautiful parolee, disobeying direct orders or hurtling the wrong way down a crowded freeway, he vows to take down a murderous counterfeiter (Willem Dafoe) by any means necessary. But as the stakes grow higher, will chance's obsession with vengeance ultimately destroy him?

Show moreShow less

Dustin Hoffman gives an unforgettable performance as Ratso Rizzo, a scrounging, sleazy small-time con man with big dreams. Jon Voight is magnificent as Joe Buck, the good-looking, naively charming Texan 'cowboy' who is convinced that he is the salvation of many lonely, love starved New York Women.

These two characters are drawn together in this powerful and compassionate film.

Show moreShow less

The "Pink Panther Diamond" is stolen with only one clue left behind - a white glove, the trademark of the world-renowned jewel thief The Phantom (Christopher Plummer). Believed to be retired, he immediately becomes the chief suspect on Inspector Clouseau's list.

Wanting to clear his name, The Phantom sets out to find the real thief and sends Clouseau bumbling along on a false trail. Inspector Clouseau's antics finally push his boss. Chief Inspector Dreyfus, over the edge and he sets out to murder Clouseau to be rid of him once and for all!

Show moreShow less

Bussotti is a master craftsman who creates a special violin for his unborn child, but when the child and his mother both die during childbirth Bussotti is obsessively compelled to finish making the instrument. So begins the story of The Red Violin.

As it travels across continents, cultures and centuries it continues to inspire passion and obsession in every life it touches.

Show moreShow less

In this romp, the hapless Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) is assigned to a high-profile murder case, where he finds himself falling, literally, for the prime suspect — a beautiful maid named Maria (Elke Sommer), whose talent for being in the wrong place at the wrong time almost rivals Clouseau's.

But as the body count grows higher, and Maria's criminal record grows longer, Clouseau will have to find the real culprit quickly...or his career will be fini!

From director-writer-producer Todd Field comes Tar, starring Cate Blanchett as the iconic musician, Lydia Tar. The film examines the changing nature of power, its impact and durability in our modern world.

Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams star as Max and Annie, whose weekly couples' game night gets kicked up a notch when Max's brother (Kyle Chandler) plans a murder mystery party that turns out to be more than they bargained for.

Show moreShow less

From writer-director Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) comes a unique film starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.

Although Padraic (Farrell) and CoIm (Gleeson) have been lifelong friends, they find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, bringing alarming consequences for both of them.

Show moreShow less

"Amadeus" triumphs as gripping human drama, sumptuous period epic, glorious celebration of the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It's 1781 and Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) is the competent court composer to Emperor Joseph II.

When Mozart (Tom Hulce) arrives at court, Salieri is horrified to discover that the godlike musical gifts he desires for himself have been bestowed on a bawdy, impish jokester. Mad with envy, he plots to destroy Mozart by any means. Perhaps, even murder.

Show moreShow less

An outstanding accomplishment in every way, this lavishly produced and critically acclaimed screen adaptation of the international stage sensation tells the life-affirming story of Tevye (Topol), a poor milkman whose love, pride and faith help him face the oppression of turn-of-the-century Tsarist

Russia. Nominated eight Academy Awards (1971), including Best Picture and Best Director and featuring such classic songs as "If I Were a Rich Man", "Matchmaker" and "Sunrise, Sunset", 'Fiddler on the Roof' is a universal story of hope, love and acceptance - a musical masterpiece.