seen-1's - Rented List

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Few filmmakers have enjoyed a decade quite so diverse or quite so prolific as Rainer Werner Fassbinder did during the seventies.

Amid the likes of The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant and Fear Eats the Soul, it's easy to forget some of the lesser-known and more singular works, two of which are presented here.

Fox and His Friends (1975) is among the director's most personal works and the first to tackle homosexuality in a direct manner. Fassbinder himself plays Fox, a sweet working class soul whose relationship with wealthy industrialist Eugen, he discovers, is based almost wholly on his unexpected lottery win. When his money runs out, so does any affection, with tragic consequences.
Chinese Roulette (1976), set in an isolated house during a weekend break, is like Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None without the murders a tense psychodrama in which infidelities are revealed and families breakdown. At its centre is nouvelle vague icon Anna Karina, a rare outsider alongside the familiar Fassbinder faces.

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Watch with glee while schoolteacher (Kelly Curtis) becomes the target of a devil-worshipping sect...Soon her friends either disappear, become crazed zombie-like murderers or...get their heart ripped out Still beating.

Some even jerk back to life in an undead bloodletting frenzy! Is Jamie-Lee Curtis' pretty sister loosing her mind or has the devil come into her?

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Set in 1927 and starring the international sex symbol Brooke Shields, "Sahara" was a notorious flop for Golan and Globus, the bombastic barons behind Cannon, but has since gained a cult audience who appreciate its jetsetting locale and bizarre story of a woman disguising herself as a man to compete

in a hair raising car racing contest. With more peddle to the metal, edge of the seat madness than anyone could possibly ask for...

A darkness swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf the troupe's artistic director (Tilda Swinton), an ambitious young dancer (Dakota Johnson), and a grieving psychotherapist (Lutz Ebersdorf). Some will succumb to the nightmare. Others will finally wake up.

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Set in a five-story guesthouse in the middle of a Parisian working class neighbourhood, "Daybreak" opens on the top floor of the building with shouts and a gunshot. A door opens and the body of a man tumbles down the stairs.

As the police start to besiege the building and a crowd gathers, the killer, Francois (Jean Gabin), flees the crime scene and locks himself in his room. After failing to shoot their way into his room the police climb on top of the roof, and Francois, starts to recall previous events... His love for Frangoise (Jacqueline Laurent), the beautiful florist, and her love for Valentin (Jules Berry), the attractive dog trainer. Also starring the renowned Arletty as Clara, Valentin's assistant and suggested lover.

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Having learned the ways of the world being brought up in a brothel, street hustler Sweetback (Melvin Van Peebles) has earned his name through his legendary sexual prowess, cementing his reputation night after night to an audience of hopheads and hipsters hungry for spectacle.

One night on a routine cover-up job with two crooked cops, Sweetback watches a young black man get beaten within an inch of his life and decides to fight back. His action set in motion a journey through the dark heart of 1970s urban America still writhing in the flames of the race riots, encountering motorcycle gangs, back power militants, fascist public officials and a torrent of insatiable women every step of the way.

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The late, great Czech filmmaker Vera Chytilova followed her iconic film Daisies (1966) with the even more extraordinary Fruit of Paradise.

Examining issues of truth and lies, friendship and betrayals she creates, through a symbolic retelling of the Adam and Eve story, a ravishing tapestry of ideas, textures, and visual tropes set to composer Zdenek Liska's incredible score. As a result, Chytilova was condemned by the authorities for her 'vehicles of nihilism' and banned from filmmaking for several years. Acknowledged since as a key film of the Czech New Wave but unseen for many years, Fruit of Paradise is a cinematic tour de force by a group of artists working at the peak of their powers.

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Ben (Viggo Mortensen), a devoted father of six, dedicates himself to raising his children in an unconventional lifestyle that is far removed from society.

When they are forced to leave their self-created paradise and drive across the country to reunite with family, both Ben and his children find themselves mystified and intrigued by the outside world. As Ben is forced to question what it means to be a parent, his children begin to discover a new and extraordinary world that they never knew existed.

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Eric Binford lives for the big screen - he eats, breathes and dreams movies. But, one day, the mind of this young man takes a deranged and twisted turn for the worse and his obsession takes him one step too far.

Eric takes on the personas of his favourite movie characters such as the legendary Dracula, William Boyd and Cody jarret, violently stalking his prey in the form of his alter ego's.

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Pacing a vibrantly colored art studio celebrity novelist, artist and enfant-terribie Kyoko (Ami Tomite) terrorizes everyone around her, especially her eager-to-please assistant Noriko (Mariko Tsutsui), whom she sadistically (and quite literally) keeps on a leash.

Just as Kyoto's cruelty reaches its peak, however, the film takes an unexpected about-face that, in true Sono-style, breaks down cinematic barriers in order to tackle the subjects of art, misogyny and freedom with boundless energy and unbridled passion.

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The iconic Gerard Depardieu plays Mangin, a cop whose brutal method of investigation finds its obsessive outlet in an attempt to crack a Tunisian narcotics ring.

It is when Mangin enters into close acquaintance with the defiant Noria (expertly played by Sophie Marceau in one of her first screen roles) that the film proceeds to chart an unexpected, emotionally ambiguous course.

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The latest from the unique imagination of Peter Strickland, 'In Fabric' is a delirious retail nightmare that blends Euro-infused horror with absurdist dark humour, to ghostly effect.

Set against the backdrop of a busy winter sales period at a mysterious Thames Valley department store, the film follows the journey of a cursed artery-red dress as it passes from person to person with devastating consequences.

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Poor Jerome Littlefield (Jerry Lewis). He wants to be a doctor - but that's not exactly the perfect career choice when you're hopelessly squeamish.

So he settles for the job of orderly at the Whitestone Sanitarium, a career move that's guaranteed to keep the patients - and viewers - in stitches! The fun begins with Sammy Davis, Jr.'s rendition of the film's title song and continues as the bumbling Jerome, a one-man disaster area, triggers chaos every time he tries to lend a helping hand. From causing the patients more trauma to a high-speed ambulance chase, Lewis and his healthy does of comic mishaps are the perfect prescription for all that ails you.

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Move Over, Don Juan and Casanova - you've got competition from none other than Herbert H. Heebert. After being jilted by his gal, a depressed Herbert swears off romantic entanglements and is determined to live his life as a confirmed bachelor.

However, he then finds employment at a Hollywood boardinghouse for women - and the female residents go wild over the newly hired help! And that's when the hapless Herbert graduates from being a simple handyman to becoming The Ladies Man!

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When a poor little rich girl (Donna Butterworth) is suddenly orphaned, one of her six wacky uncles - all played by Jerry Lewis - will be selected as her guardian. The nine-year-old heiress can visit each one, and decide which uncle would be the ideal candidate to take her in.

But the selection process won't be easy - only one of the men is truly, genuinely sincere... and all the rest have their eyes on her $30 million inheritance!