Wayland Library Movie Picks - Classics

Series

Formats:

Description

A vivid, visceral Macbeth adaptation, directed by Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai), sets Shakespeare's definitive tale of ambition and duplicity in a ghostly, fog-enshrouded landscape in feudal Japan. The film fuses classical Western tragedy with formal elements taken from Noh Theater to create an unforgettable cinematic experience.

2) La strada

Series

Essential art house

Formats:

Blu-ray, DVD or VCD

Description

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Directed by Federico Fellini, the story of a fragile girl who falls in love with a brutal circus performer she was sold to by her mother.

3) The desperate hours

Description

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Harrowing story about an escaped convict who breaks into a suburban home and takes a family hostage.

4) Harakiri =: Seppuku

Series

Criterion collection volume 302

Description

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Peace in 17th-century Japan causes the Shogunate's breakup of warrior clans, throwing thousands of samurai out of work and into poverty. An honorable end to such fate under the samurai code is ritual suicide, or hara-kiri.

5) They shoot horses, don't they?

Series

MGM DVD

Formats:

Blu-ray, DVD or VCD

Description

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In the midst of the Depression, an entire generation sought out the dance marathon as a means of survival. Gig Young won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as the contest promoter.

6) Sansho the bailiff

Series

Criterion collection volume 386

Description

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When an idealistic governor disobeys the reigning feudal lord, he is cast into exile, his wife and children left to fend for themselves and eventually wrenched apart by vicious slave drivers.

7) The treasure of the Sierra Madre

Description

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Two down-and-out Americans in Mexico meet a grizzled old prospector who piques their interest with stories of his gold-hunting experiences. The Americans gather a stake and set off with the old prospector in search of fortune.

8) To kill a mockingbird

Series

Legacy's rhythm and soul

Description

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Gregory Peck plays a southern lawyer who defends a black man accused of rape in this film version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The way in which it captures a time, a place, and above all, a mood, makes this film a masterpiece.