Rancho Notorious (1952) Directed by Fritz Lang | VIDEO (ISO)

Synopsis :
The original title for Rancho Notorious was Chuck-a-Luck, which is also the title of the soundtrack ballad (written by Ken Darby) which unifies the plotline, à la High Noon. Frontiersman Vern Haskell (Arthur Kennedy) wanders throughout the West in search of the man who robbed and murdered his fiancée. He is told that he'll probably find the culprits at Chuck-a-Luck, a combination horse ranch and criminal hideout overseen by saloon chanteuse Altar Keane (Marlene Dietrich). To gain entrance to Chuck-a-Luck, Haskell poses as an escaped prisoner. Keane warns him that the ranch has only one rule: "Don't ask questions." Still, he has ways of finding things out. Haskell is compelled to keep up his charade when the dirty denizens of Chuck-a-Luck plan a big bank holdup, but this has the result of exposing the killer of his girl. Director Fritz Lang had a rough time with RKO head Howard R. Hughes, who insisted upon making changes in the film that might have hurt it irreparably. The biggest argument centered over the title; Hughes complained that no one overseas would understand the meaning of Chuck-a-Luck, whereupon Lang riposted sarcastically that "I'm sure that everyone will understand Rancho Notorious." One of the principal villains was Lloyd Gough, but you'd never know it from the opening titles; Hughes, incensed that Gough had refused to testify at the HUAC "witch hunt," ordered that the blacklisted Gough's name be removed from the credits. Hal Erickson
Title : Rancho Notorious (1952)
Directed by Fritz Lang
Duration : 89 min.
Subtitles : English, Portuguese
Audio in English
Genres : Western, Drama, Romance, Action, Adventure
Countries : United States

Late Spring (Banshun, 1949) Directed by Yasujiro Ozu | VIDEO (ISO)

Synopsis :
Veteran Japanese writer/director Yasujiro Ozu's second postwar production was 1949's Late Spring or Banshun. Chisu Ryu plays another of Ozu's realistic middle-class types, this time a widower with a marriageable daughter. Not wishing to see the girl resign herself to spinsterhood, Ryu pretends that he himself is about to be married. The game plan is to convince the daughter that they'll be no room for her at home, thus forcing her to seek comfort and joy elsewhere. What makes this homey little domestic episode work is the rapport between Chisu Ryu and Setsuko Hara, who plays the daughter. Late Spring is no facile Hollywood farce; we like these people, believe in them, and wish them the best. Hal Erickson
Title : Late Spring (1949)
Original Title : Banshun
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu
Duration : 107 min.
Subtitles : English, Portuguese
Card in Japanese
Genres :  Drama
Countries : Japan
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Les Cousins (1959) Directed by Claude Chabrol | VIDEO (ISO)

Synopsis :
This was the first of several films that would win international awards for French New Wave director Claude Chabrol. His aloof, innovative approach to the simple story says as much as the plot itself in which two cousins symbolize polar opposites. Charles (Gerard Blain ) is the cousin from the provinces with "bourgeois" values. His steadfast determination unfortunately does not help him pass exams or at first, succeed with women. Paul (Jean-Claude Brialy) is the urbane, rather debauched and decadent cousin who appears to conquer all. Appearances can be deceiving as they soon discover when Charles falls for Paul's friend Florence (Juliette Mayniel) -- and tragedy waits in the wings. Eleanor Mannikka
Title : Les Cousins (1959)
Directed by Claude Chabrol
Duration : 112 min.
Subtitles : Portuguese
Audio in French
Genres :  Drama, Romance
Extras : Biography and filmography of Claude Chabrol
Countries : France

Manon (1949) Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot | VIDEO (ISO)

Synopsis :
Updated from Abbe Prevost's Manon Lescaut, this non-operatic version of the familiar tale stars Cecile Aubrey in the title role. Accused of collaborating with the Nazis during WW II, Manon Lescaut is rescued by Robert Desgrieux (Michel Auclair). Safely ensconced in Paris with Robert, Manon falls victim to the machinations of her dishonest brother Leon (Serge Reggiani). Once more Robert comes to her rescue then takes his love with him to Palestine. Director Henri-Georges Clouzot departs most radically from the Prevost original in the closing scenes, which concentrate on a group of Jewish war refugees. Obviously under the influence of American film noir, Clouzot takes great delight in concentrating on society's castaways in Manon. Hal Erickson
Title : Manon (1949)
Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot
Duration : 110 min.
Subtitles : English, Portuguese
Audio in French
Genres : Drama, Action, Adventure, Thriller
Countries : France

Ashes and Diamonds (Popiól i diament, 1958) Directed by Andrzej Wajda | VIDEO (ISO)

Synopsis :
This is the last film in the trilogy that began Andrzej Wajda's career as a director. Preceding this wartime drama are Pokolenie (1955) and Kanal (1957). Once again, Wajda presents a strong anti-war statement, this time in the personae of two men who are given orders on the last day of World War II in Poland to murder a leading communist. The orders come from the part of the resistance that opposes the new communist regime. One of Wajda's favorite performers and a friend, Zbigniew Cybulski, plays the man who eventually pulls the trigger and kills the communist leader -- and the results are not what he expected. In 1959, Popiol I Diament won in competition at the British Academy Awards and at the Venice Film Festival. Eleanor Mannikka
Title :  Ashes and Diamonds (1958)  
Original title : Popiól i diament
Directed by Andrzej Wajda
Duration : 105 min.
Subtitles : English, Portuguese
Audio in Polish
Genres : Drama, War, Romance
Extras : Biography, Posters & more  ...
Countries : Poland