DVDpedia : Library : Title : #

Theatrical: 1959

Studio: Fairview Productions

Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror, Romance, Action, Thriller

Duration: 85

Summary: Two brothers, scientists Scott and Tony Nelson, develop an amplifier which enables a person to enter a 4th dimensional state, allowing him to pass through any object. Scott experiments on himself and discovers that each time he passes through something he ages rapidly. He begins killing people, sucking out their life energies and regaining his youth as a result. It falls to Tony and Scott's girlfriend, Linda, to try to put a stop to his murderous rampage.

Theatrical: 1973

Studio: ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMS INC.

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 104

Summary: Better known in the United States as "Five Fingers of Death", this spectacular mix of martial arts action and Western-style melodrama from the legendary Shaw Brothers Studios helped to light the fuse for the kung fu movie explosion in the early '70s. Indonesian actor Lo Lieh is the young acolyte caught up in a struggle between rival martial arts schools; after one villainous outfit murders several of Lieh's classmates with the help of hired killers, he trains to develop the invincible "Iron Palm" technique and defeat the opposing school. Korean director Chang-hwa Jeong delivers stunning (and very violent) action set pieces (set to a dizzying array of American library music cues, most notably Quincy Jones' theme to "Ironside") but also manages to create a compelling and dramatic sub-story about loyalty and honor. The result is a martial arts film that can be enjoyed by viewers who aren't fanatical about the genre and diehard kung fu heads alike. The widescreen DVD (which surpasses all previous VHS and DVD versions of the film) includes an interesting commentary track by Quentin Tarantino (who aided Dragon Dynasty in assembling its Shaw Brothers library) and critics Elvis Mitchell and David Chute, who discuss "King Boxer"'s appeal and thematic similarities to Hollywood product; Chute is also featured with critic Andy Klein in one of three short supplements about the film's production and history, with director Jeong and martial arts choreographer Liu Chia-Liang taking center stage for the others. " - Paul Gaita"

Theatrical: 1963

Studio: Criterion

Genre: Art House & International

Duration: 138

Summary: Federico Fellini's 1963 semi-autobiographical story about a worshipped filmmaker who has lost his inspiration is still a mesmerizing mystery tour that has been quoted (Woody Allen's "Stardust Memories", Paul Mazursky's "Alex in Wonderland") but never duplicated. Marcello Mastroianni plays Guido, a director trying to relax a bit in the wake of his latest hit. Besieged by people eager to work with him, however, he also struggles to find his next idea for a film. The combined pressures draw him within himself, where his recollections of significant events in his life and the many lovers he has left behind begin to haunt him. The marriage of Fellini's hyperreal imagery, dreamy sidebars, and the gravity of Guido's increasing guilt and self-awareness make this as much a deeply moving, soulful film as it is an electrifying spectacle. Mastroianni is wonderful in the lead, his woozy sensitivity to Guido's freefall both touching and charming--all the more so as the character becomes increasingly divorced from the celebrity hype that ultimately outpaces him. "--Tom Keogh"

Theatrical: 2001

Studio: Imagine Entertainment

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Duration: 42

Summary: In this concept drama, each season takes place within one 24 hour period. Day 1: Jack Bauer is the head of an elite team of CIA agents who uncover an assassination plot targeting Presidential nominee David Palmer. Meanwhile, Jack's strained marriage to his wife, Teri, is pushed to the brink by the sudden disappearance of their troubled teenage daughter. What will the next 24 hours hold?

Theatrical: 2002

Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entert.

Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Duration: 113

Summary: 正確には｢ゾンビ映画」ではないのでしょうが影響は明らか。

見る前はもっとシリアスなドラマかと思ってましたが(アメリカではアート系の作品扱いで公開されました）エンターティメント映画になっていてちょっと意外。

舞台はもろ、ロンドンだし、役者たちはよく言えば実力重視の配役、悪く言えば、｢地味」。

でもサスペンスのかもし出し方や恐怖描写などのテンポなどはいい意味でアメリカ映画的で退屈させない。

で、結果的にこれが悪くない。

アメリカのホラー映画の殆どが今や見かけだおしになってしまっている状況を考えると余計に評価したくなります。

少なくともストーリーはきちんと組立てられているし、何よりも作り手側の勢いの様なものが感じられるのが嬉しい。

英国映画と言えば｢文芸・古典」ジャンルの秀作が多かったのですが最近は本作の様な娯楽作品に注目作が多い「ディセント」や「ショーン・オブ・ザ・デッド」など。

日本ではイマイチ、ピンと来ませんが、アメリカではイギリス映画は「外国映画」扱いであることが多く、拡大公開されることはあまりなかったのが現状でした。

しかし「外国映画」でもエンタティメントとして通用する事が明らかになってきて状況は変わってきたようで、この作品もアメリカでは非メジャー系作品としては異例の大ヒットとなりました。



さて、この映画の中で描かれる無人状態のロンドンの街はインパクト大ですが、撮影は早朝に交通を遮断して行われたそうです。ふつうならタクシーやトラックのドライバーと揉めそうなものですが、交通整理係にはスター志望の美しい女性たちを雇ったそうで、非常にスムーズに撮影できたそうです。



ところで、本作、続編「２８週後･･･」が公開されます。

感染者を発狂させ凶暴化するウィルスの蔓延によって文明が崩壊して２８週間が過ぎ、沈静化したロンドンを再興すべく、生き残った人々が送り込まれてきます。

しかし戒厳下にある街で再び恐怖が目覚めて・・・という内容らしいです。

Theatrical: 1978

Studio: Shaw Brothers

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama

Duration: 115

Summary: The anti-Ching patriots, under the guidance of Ho Kuang-han, have secretly set up their base in Canton, disguised as school masters. During a brutal Manchu attack, Lui manages to escape and devotes himself to learning the martial arts in order to seek revenge. In a short period of time he masters the deadly use of his fists, feet and palms, along with such weapons as swords, sticks, and lances. With his learning complete, he takes on the Manchus.

Theatrical: 1935

Studio: Gaumont British Picture Corporation

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Duration: 86

Summary: Richard Hannay is a Canadian visitor to London. At the end of "Mr Memory"'s show in a music hall, he meets Annabella Smith who is running away from secret agents. He accepts to hide her in his flat, but in the night she is murdered. Fearing he could be accused on the girl's murder, Hannay goes on the run to break the spy ring.

Theatrical: 2005

Studio: Universal Pictures

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Duration: 116

Summary: Andy at the age of 40 still hasn't had sex. He lets his secret slip at a poker game with his buds from work. After the revealing all his friends are on a mission to help get him laid. Along the way Andy meets a nice mom: Trish who fall head over heels for each other.

Theatrical: 1982

Studio: Paramount

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 96

Summary: Before the action-oriented "buddy movie" formula settled into place in the 1980s and 1990s with the "Lethal Weapon" films, Walter Hill's "48 HRS." presented a much more irreverent and politically incorrect version of the genre. Eddie Murphy made an auspicious film debut alongside veteran Nick Nolte's consummate performance as a worn cop. Murphy plays a convict on a two-day furlough from prison to help capture his former partner (James Remar). The intense animosity between his character and Nolte's impatient detective is rude and violent--albeit in a comic way--and the film's racist and sexist banter is so ubiquitous that some viewers might be turned off. (This early, raw Murphy is not the Murphy of "The Nutty Professor".) Then again, sometimes deliberate overkill is funny in itself, which is certainly closer to Hill's intention. There are a couple of scenes for the ages in this film, especially Murphy's single-handed shutdown of the action in a redneck bar. "--Tom Keogh"

Theatrical:

Studio: Other Cinema

Genre:

Duration: 100

Summary: Far more entertaining than it conceivably should be, "The 70s Dimension" is a compilation of 1970s TV commercials and public service announcements scavenged from the dumpster behind a Portland TV station. Half the disc is devoted to these hilarious artifacts of media history. The other half has experimental filmmakers Matt McCormick, Thad Povey, and others twisting these raw materials into whimsical and psychedelic found-film shorts. While entertaining in their own right, these "remixed" films don't match the absurd beauty of the original material. The commercials themselves are a riot. One ad for Tab cola, clearly designed to exploit women's insecurities, claims that a woman who drinks tab will be able to keep in shape and be a "mind sticker" in her man's mind. In apparent reaction to consumer alarm over what goes into a hot dog, Oscar Mayer released a couple public service announcements praising the safety precautions that go into making a healthy weiner; in case you still harbored doubts, rest assured that men in lab coats and hard hats with incredibly serious expressions watched an assembly line. The budget for a commercial for the US Marine Corp apparently didn't provide for any footage of actual combat, but plenty for a muscle car and a woman in a bikini. If you were tempted to "shoot dope" in the '70s, a public service announcement by a member of the band Chicago surely would have rescued you from addiction. Those who watched TV in the '70s will wonder how they had ever been brainwashed into thinking these kinds of commercials represented anything in the neighborhood of reality. Viewers who came of age after the me-decade will find ample opportunity to ridicule the fashions, products, and media of generations that preceded them. "--Ryan Boudinot"

Theatrical: 2006

Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Genre: Action, Fantasy, War

Duration: 117

Summary: In the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian army in the mountain pass of Thermopylae. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks held back the enemy in one of the most famous last stands of history. Persian King Xerxes lead a Army of well over 100,000 (Persian king Xerxes before war has about 170,000 army) men to Greece and was confronted by 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians and other Slave soldiers. Xerxes waited for 10 days for King Leonidas to surrender or withdraw left with no options he moved. The battle lasted for about 3 days and after which all 300 Spartans were killed. The Spartan defeat was not the one expected, as a local shepherd, named Ephialtes, defected to the Persians and informed Xerxes of a separate path through Thermopylae, which the Persians could use to outflank the Greeks.

Theatrical: 2009

Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Duration: 95

Summary: After it looks as if she's left his life for good this time, Tom Hansen reflects back on the just over one year that he knew Summer Finn. Despite being physically average in almost every respect, Summer had always attracted the attention of men, Tom included. For Tom, it was love at first sight when she walked into the greeting card company where he worked, she the new administrative assistant. Soon, Tom knew that Summer was the woman with whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life. Although Summer did not believe in relationships or boyfriends - in her assertion, real life will always ultimately get in the way - Tom and Summer became more than just friends. Through the trials and tribulations of Tom and Summer's so-called relationship, Tom could always count on the advice of his two best friends, McKenzie and Paul. However, it is Tom's adolescent sister, Rachel, who is his voice of reason. After all is said and done, Tom is the one who ultimately has to make the choice to listen or not.

Theatrical: 1976

Studio: Produzioni Europee Associati (PEA)

Genre: Drama, History, Romance, War

Duration: 245

Summary: Set in Italy, the film follows the lives and interactions of two boys/men, one born a bastard of peasant stock (Depardieu), the other born to a land owner (de Niro). The drama spans from 1900 to about 1945, and focuses mainly on the rise of Fascism and the peasants' eventual reaction by supporting Communism, and how these events shape the destinies of the two main characters.

Theatrical:

Studio:

Genre:

Summary:

Theatrical: 1968

Studio: Warner Home Video

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 141

Summary: When Stanley Kubrick recruited Arthur C. Clarke to collaborate on "the proverbial intelligent science fiction film," it's a safe bet neither the maverick auteur nor the great science fiction writer knew they would virtually redefine the parameters of the cinema experience. A daring experiment in unconventional narrative inspired by Clarke's short story "The Sentinel," "2001" is a visual tone poem (barely 40 minutes of dialogue in a 139-minute film) that charts a phenomenal history of human evolution. From the dawn-of-man discovery of crude but deadly tools in the film's opening sequence to the journey of the spaceship "Discovery" and metaphysical birth of the "star child" at film's end, Kubrick's vision is meticulous and precise. In keeping with the director's underlying theme of dehumanization by technology, the notorious, seemingly omniscient computer HAL 9000 has more warmth and personality than the human astronauts it supposedly is serving. (The director also leaves the meaning of the black, rectangular alien monoliths open for discussion.) This theme, in part, is what makes "2001" a film like no other, though dated now that its postmillennial space exploration has proven optimistic compared to reality. Still, the film is timelessly provocative in its pioneering exploration of inner- and outer-space consciousness. With spectacular, painstakingly authentic special effects that have stood the test of time, Kubrick's film is nothing less than a cinematic milestone--puzzling, provocative, and perfect. "--Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical: 1984

Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Genre: Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Adventure

Duration: 116

Summary: 『カプリコン・1』のピーター・ハイアムズ監督がメガホンをとった、スタンリー・キューブリック監督の不朽の名作『2001年宇宙の旅』の続編である。原作はもちろん、前作と同じアーサー・C・クラーク。ディスカバリー号や1人生き残ったボーマン船長の行方、木星の周りをとりまいていた黒いモノリス（石版）、コンピューターHALの反乱の原因など、前作で未解決のままだった多くの謎を解き明かしてくれる、とっつきやすいSFドラマだ。2本続けて見ると、新たな感動を覚えるはず。
   出演は、『ジョーズ』のロイ・シャイダー、『トワイライトゾーン』のジョン・リスゴー、『エクスカリバー』のヘレン・ミレンなど、クセ者の演技巧者たちがそろっている。（伊藤文恵）

Theatrical: 1983

Studio: Les Films du Griffon

Genre: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi

Duration: 96

Summary: After a nuclear war, society breaks down into two groups, the evil Euraks and the rebel Federation. A mercenary named Parsifal is hired by the Federation to infiltrate New York City, which is controlled by the Euraks, to rescue the only fertile woman left on Earth.

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: Arte

Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi

Duration: 129

Summary: He was a writer. He thought he wrote about the future but it really was the past. In his novel, a mysterious train left for 2046 every once in a while. Everyone who went there had the same intention.....to recapture their lost memories. It was said that in 2046, nothing ever changed. Nobody knew for sure if it was true, because nobody who went there had ever come back- except for one. He was there. He chose to leave. He wanted to change.