rob-1's - Rented List

Show moreShow less

Antony Sher stars in 'The History Man', the BBC's critically acclaimed four-part drama series based on Malcolm Bradbury's savagely satirical novel of seventies campus life. Sher plays the moustachio'd Howard Kirk, left-wing Marxist, promiscuous womaniser and bully.

An ambitious sociology lecturer, he delights in stirring up revolutionary feelings at the University of Watermouth, manipulating students, colleagues and lovers alike to further his career. The supporting cast features Geraldine James as Kirk's equally open minded but disenchanted wife; Paul Brooke as his hapless friend Henry; with Miriam Margolyes and Michael Hordern among his teaching colleagues. Adapted by Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher Hampton, Bradbury's scathing novel is 'one of the most influential of the 1970s' (Guardian). Legendary British actor Antony Sher shot to stardom for his unforgettable portrayal of the libidinous and ruthless Kirk in this biting satire of the permissive society, now hailed as a classic series and a faithful adaptation of a seminal novel.

Show moreShow less

A superb ensemble cast falls in for action in Stanley Kubrick's brilliant saga about the Vietnam War and the dehumanizing process that turns people into trained killers.

Joker (Matthew Modine), Animal Mother (Adam Baldwin), Gomer (Vincent D'Onofrio), Eightball (Dorian Harewood), Cowboy (Arliss Howard) and more - all are plunged into a boot-camp hell pitbulled by a leatherlung D.I. (Lee Ermey) who views the would-be devil dogs as grunts, maggots or something less. The action is savage, the story unsparing, the dialogue spiked with scathing humor. 'Full Metal Jacket', from its rigors of basic training to its nightmare of combat in Hue City, scores a cinematic direct hit.

Show moreShow less

What connects us? Is it our relationships? Proximity? Love, hate, confusion? What draws us together or keeps us apart? In this groundbreaking work, director Robert Altman poses answers to these questions by intricately intertwining the stories of legendary writer Raymond Carver.

'Short Cuts' burst onto the scene in 1993 and set the stage for an entirely new way of thinking about storytelling that has been fully comprehended and embraced by modern filmmakers in recent years. Winning a special award for its ensemble cast at the 1994 Golden Globes, Short Cuts features a seemingly endless dream cast. Never before and not since its release has a single film captured the range of human emotions and interactions like Short Cuts has. You're invited to experience the countless moments that make up these characters' lives at a time and in a place where death is never far away and life is on the tip of everybody's tongue.

Show moreShow less

Director William Wyler's suspense classic marks the only time cinema giants Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March worked together. And the result is everything you'd expect: taut, terrifying and terrific.

Bogart plays an escaped con who has nothing to lose. March is a suburban Everyman who has everything to lose - his family is held hostage by Bogart. As 'The Desperate Hours' tick by, the two men square off in a battle of wills and cunning that tightens into an unforgettable, fear-drenched finale.

Show moreShow less

The story unfolds on land, sea and air, as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk with enemy troops closing in. RAF Spitfires engage the enemy in the skies above the Channel, trying to protect the defenseless men below.

Meanwhile, hundreds of small boats manned by both military and civilians are mounting a desperate rescue effort, risking their lives in a race against time to save even a fraction of their army.

Show moreShow less

Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) is determined to avenge her father's blood by capturing Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), the man who shot and killed him for two pieces of gold. Just fourteen, she enlists the help of Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) a one-eyed, trigger-happy U.S.

Marshal with an affinity for drinking, and hardened Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) to track the fleeing Chaney. Despite their differences, their ruthless determination leads them on a perilous adventure that can only have one outcome: retribution.

Show moreShow less

Satan's son is all grown up. And he's not playing around anymore. Damien Thorn (Sam Neill) appears to be a benign corporate benefactor, but as the U.S Ambassador to England he fulfils a terrifying biblical prophecy and faces his own potential demise. Thus begins his most destructive rampage yet.

This story of modern-day Armageddon will keep you riveted until its shocking end!

Show moreShow less

Neither Adolf Hitler nor the Germany of 1939 exploded onto the world stage fully formed. Both evolved. Both were running from the failures in their past. Both were looking for someone to blame. Together they entered into a macabre dance to find security and a stronger identity.

Whipped into a frenzied fear inflamed by the "Hitler-roar" Germany happily surrendered its voice to one man. Adolf Hitler came to power aided by the silence of people who could have spoken out, but did not.

Show moreShow less

Music was his passion. Survival was his masterpiece. Based on a true story from the acclaimed Bafta and Academy Award winning director Roman Polanski. They were degraded, they were hoarded up and they were sent to die.

A brave few fought back, but one man would not be beaten, would not be taken and would stay and hide. Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody), a brilliant Polish pianist, a Jew, escapes deportation. Forced to live in the heart of the Warsaw ghetto, he shares the suffering, the humiliation and the struggles, and manages to escape and hide in the ruins of the capital.

Show moreShow less

Laura (Joanne Froggatt) is a smart and dedicated teacher, not long out of a relationship and unsure about getting back on the dating scene. Andrew (Ioan Gruffudd) is a renowned surgeon whose son is a pupil at Laura's school.

An initial attraction leads to a date, but neither fully realises the far-reaching consequences that their meeting will have on each other or their families. Truth and consequences go hand in hand in a tense and gripping thriller that examines both sides of a relationship and both sides of the truth. Are there really two sides to every story? 'Liar' explores the devastating cost of deceit on both the couple and their friends and family, as secrets and lies are laid bare...

Action-adventure superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger bursts through the screen as a larger-than-life movie hero in this nonstop adventure from acclaimed director John McTiernan.

Show moreShow less

Berlin, 1945. In the Fuhrerbunker, the last hiding place of the man who unleashed a reign of terror across Europe, it is Adolf Hitler's 56th birthday.

As the Allied troops close in on the doomed city, Nazi leaders headed by Martin Bormann, Goebbels and Keitel celebrate the Fuhrer's birthday - knowing it will be his last. But even as Allied guns pound Berlin to ruins, Hitler still plots, brooding over maps, moving non-existent armies. Finally he accepts the inevitable, goes through a marriage ceremony with Eva Braun, dedicates his last will and takes a pistol from a drawer. It is left to Goebbels to tell the last of his followers "The Furher is dead- the heart of Germany has ceased to beat". Sir Alec Guinness gives a masterly performance as the demented Hitler in this faithful re-creation of the last days of the German leader's life.

Show moreShow less

Three chilling words, spoken repeatedly by a sadistic exiled Nazi war criminal (Laurence Olivier), become a nightmare catchphrase for Thomas "Babe" Levy (Dustin Hoffman), a Manhattan graduate student who is innocently swept into a deadly international conspiracy involving a renegade U.S.

government agent and a fortune in stolen diamonds. Director John Schlesinger builds terror and suspense in this thrilling adaptation of William Goldman's best-selling novel. The film's acclaimed cast also includes Roy Scheider, William Devane and Marthe Keller; Olivier garnered a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination' for his terrifyingly unforgettable role of Christian Szell, a former concentration camp dentist.

Show moreShow less

The ultimate movie about the New York cult of class, this rich and challenging cinematic treat is both a laugh-out-loud comedy and a biting social commentary about the separation between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots'.

Will Smith gives a mightily impressive debut and Donald Sutherland and Oscar nominated* Stockard Channing are brilliant in a story that's all the more amazing... .because it's true! Posing as the son of Sidney Poitier, "Paul" (Smith) deftly penetrates the world of art-dealing urbanites Ouisa and Flan Kittredge (Channing and Sutherland). But as Paul's web of dropped names and near fame begins to unravel, he provides his hosts with much more than just the ultimate cocktail party anecdote - he sets in motion a series of events that will alter the course of their lives forever.

Show moreShow less

It is the Cold War. The world stands on the brink of nuclear catastrophe as tensions simmer between the US and the Soviet Union. When a US bomber is accidentally ordered to drop a nuclear bomb on Moscow, it looks as if the fateful decision for all-out war will be taken by both sides.

Having past the point of no return, Colonel Jack Grady (George Clooney) pilots his bomber into Soviet territory, refusing to yield to verbal commands to turn back. The U.S. President (Richard Dreyfuss) and his young interpreter Buck (Noah Wyle) plunge into a crisis of split second decision-making in order to avert disaster.