Andrei Rublev (1969) Russian production about a 15th-century monk (Anatoli
Solonitzine) who perseveres in painting icons and other religious art despite
the civil disruptions and cruel turmoil of his times. Director Andrei
Tarkovsky visualizes brilliantly the story of a devout man seeking through his
art to find the transcendent in the savagery of the Tartar invasions and the
unfeeling brutality of Russian nobles. Subtitles. Stylized historical
violence. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-II -- adults and
adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (Fox
Lorber, $79.95)
Babette's Feast (1988) Screen version of a story by Isak Dinesen, set in a
rugged fishing village in 1871 Denmark, shows the impact of a French
housekeeper (Stephane Audran) on two pious sisters who carry on their late
father's work as pastor of a dwindling religious flock. Danish director
Gabriel Axel's understated but finely detailed work centers on the preparation
and consumption of an exquisite Gallic meal, a sensuous labor of love which
has a healing effect on the austere sect and the Frenchwoman who prepared it.
Subtitles. Cerebral treatment. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification
is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America
rating is G -- general audiences.
(Orion, $19.98)
Ben-Hur (1959) Director William Wyler's classic Hollywood epic follows the
Jewish prince of the title (Charlton Heston) after he's betrayed by his
boyhood Roman friend (Stephen Boyd) and subjected to much misery until finally
achieving retribution for all his suffering. The narrative's conventional
melodrama is transformed by the grand scale of its spectacle, especially the
chariot race, and by the stirring performances of its principals who manage to
overcome the story's cliches and stereotypes. The U.S. Catholic Conference
classification is A-I -- general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of
America rating is G -- general audiences.
(MGM/UA, $29.98)
The Flowers of St. Francis (1950) Remarkable Italian production about the
beginnings of the Franciscan Order as its founder sets the example of
humility, simplicity and obedience for his first followers at Portiuncula, a
little chapel near Assisi, from which they depart into the world to preach
peace. Directed by Roberto Rossellini from a script co-written with Federico
Fellini, the movie's form is as simple and sincere as the subject of the
narrative which relates a series of little incidents realistically, yet with
an infectious sense of joy marvellously conveyed by an anonymous cast of monks
from a Roman monastery. Subtitles. The U.S. Catholic Conference
classification is A-I -- general patronage. Not rated by the Motion Picture
Association of America.
(Facets Multimedia, $34.95)
Francesco (1989) Overwrought Italian production portrays St. Francis of
Assisi (Mickey Rourke) as a spiritual agitator challenging the accepted values
of his 13th-century contemporaries by embracing a life of utter poverty and
simplicity. Director Liliana Cavani builds an elaborate picture of the
period's social injustices but fails to evoke any convincing sense of
religious conviction from Rourke's embarrassingly vacuous performance.
English-language version. Occasional scenes of violence, desperate poverty
and brief nudity. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III --
adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents
are strongly cautioned that some material may be inappropriate for children
under 13. (Hemdale, $89.95)
The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1966) Straight-forward Italian
dramatization of the evangelist's account of the life of Jesus and His message
of salvation succeeds exceptionally well in placing the viewer within the
Gospel events, avoiding the artificiality of most biblical movie epics.
Director Pier Paolo Pasolini is completely faithful to the text while
employing the visual imagination necessary for his realistic interpretation.
Subtitles. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-I -- general
patronage. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (Water
Bearer, $24.95)
La Passion de Notre Seigneur Jesus-Christ (1905) Though better known for
one-reel crime melodramas, movie pioneer Ferdinand Zecca (1863-1947) also
produced this two-reel (c. 30 minutes) dramatization of Christ's Passion.
Distributed by Pathe, France's leading motion picture company, it was
reportedly quite popular in its time and was notable, according to film
historian Georges Sadoul, for its "rudimentary" camera movements. (Not
available on video)
A Man for All Seasons (1966) Engrossing drama of the last seven years in the
life of Thomas More, Henry VIII's chancellor, who met a martyr's death rather
than compromise his conscience during a period of religious turmoil. Robert
Bolt's script is masterfully directed by Fred Zinnemann, with a standout
performance by Paul Scofield in the title role, among other notable
performances from a uniformly fine cast. The historical dramatization
achieves an authentic human dimension that makes its 16th-century events more
accessible and its issues more universal. Profoundly entertaining but
heavy-going for children. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-I
-- general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is G
-- general audiences. (Columbia TriStar, $19.95)
The Mission (1986) In the 1750s, the large and prosperous Jesuit Indian
missions were divided between Spain and Portugal. In dramatizing these
events, Robert Bolt's screenplay focuses not on the religous but on the
sociopolitical dimension of the colonial era and its injustices. The epic
production is visually splendid but Roland Joffe's direction is erratic and
bogs down in contrasting a nonviolent priest (Jeremy Irons) and one (Robert De
Niro) who leads the Indians against a colonial army. Although dramatically
flawed, the work recalls a past that provides a context for current Latin
American struggles. Some violence and ethnographic nudity. The U.S. Catholic
Conference classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association
of America rating is PG -- parental guidance suggested. (Warner, $19.98)
Monsieur Vincent (1947) Lucid, moving account of St. Vincent de Paul's work
among the poor and the oppressed in 17th-century France, from his first labors
in a plague-ravaged village and his appeals to the conscience of the
aristocracy to the founding of an order devoted to charitable works and his
death in 1660. Director Maurice Cloche portrays the poverty of the times and
the cruelty of the regime in starkly convincing fashion, providing a solid
historical framework within which Pierre Fresnay's performance in the title
role shines with a warm compassion and spiritual intensity which most viewers
will find irresistably compelling. Subtitles. High on the list of great
religious movies. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-I --
general patronage. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.
(Nostalgia, $29.95)
Nazarin (1958) Mexican story set in 1905 when a young priest comes into
disfavor with his inflexible religious superiors, the civil authorities and
even the poor among whom he tries to live a life of simplicity, poverty and
charity. Though director Luis Bunuel's work is not very optimistic about the
possibility of idealism winning over the world, it's not critical of religion,
only pious hypocrisy. Subtitles. Perplexing themes. The U.S. Catholic
Conference classification is A-III -- adults. Not rated by the Motion Picture
Association of America. (Connoisseur, $69.95)
Ordet (1954) Challenging Danish production about different kinds of faith and
various sorts of miracles, one of which restores a dead woman to life.
Directed by Carl Dreyer, the austere narrative centers on a farming family
troubled by the madness of a son (Preben Lerdorff Rye) who believes he is
Jesus Christ until, regaining his balance, his faith in God achieves the
miracle which brings the story to a positive though less than convincing
conclusion some may find disappointingly ambiguous. Mature themes. The U.S.
Catholic Conference classification is A-III -- adults.
Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (Nostalgia, $24.95)
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) Silent screen masterpiece portraying the
heresy trial, confession, recantation and execution of the Maid of Orleans
(Maria Falconetti) in a performance of such emotional power that it still
stands as the most convincing portrayal of spirituality on celluloid.
Directed by Carl Dreyer, the work is essentially the interior epic of a soul,
consisting largely of close-ups of Joan's face and those of her interrogators
accomplished in a fashion which is never static as the camera explores the
inner struggle between human frailities and spiritual strength. Some
duplicitous churchmen, medicinal bloodletting and a restrained torture scene.
The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents.
Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (Nostalgia, $29.95)
The Sacrifice (1986) Swedish production in which a group of adults and a
child pass through a night of confusion and fear, including portents of a
nuclear-devastated landscape. Director Andrei Tarkovsky's murky religious
allegory about an aging writer's bargaining with God to save others relies
upon long silences, ritualized dialogue and beautiful but static photography.
Subtitles. A very personal film about love and compassion, the effect is
strangely cold and distant. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is
A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG --
parental guidance suggested. (Pacific Arts, $29.95)
Therese (1986) French dramatization of the life of St. Therese de Lisieux
from age 15 when she joined a cloistered convent of Carmelite nuns to her
death there 9 years later of tuberculosis. Director Alain Cavalier's
impressionistic account of the young woman (luminously portrayed by Catherine
Mouchet) who found personal joy, spiritual liberation and the sanctity of
selfless simplicity within the restrictive traditions of an austere religious
community will challenge contemporary viewers and confound some. The young
may find its picture of 19th-century religious life more confusing than
inspiring. Dubbed in English. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is
A-III -- adults. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.
(Palisades Home Video, 1-800-989-8576, $39.95)
Au Revoir les Enfants (1988) When the Gestapo discover that a priest has
hidden three Jewish youths in a Catholic boys' school, he and the boys are
arrested and deported to concentration camps. French writer-producer-director
Louis Malle re-creates a painful memory from his own youth in a restrained,
humbling, well-acted dramatization of a boy's firsthand experience of the
Holocaust. Subtitles. Some rough language. The U.S. Catholic Conference
classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture
Association of America rating is PG -- parental guidance suggested. (Orion,
$19.98)
The Bicycle Thief (1949) Simple yet compelling study in desperation as a
worker (Lamberto Maggiorani) must find his stolen bicycle or lose his new job.
Ignored by the police and others, the man and his young son (Enzo Staiola)
search the streets for it until, in despair, he himself tries to steal a
bicycle. Scripted by Cesare Zavattini and directed by Vittorio De Sica, the
result is an engrossing picture of the human realities of life on the edge of
poverty, shot on the streets of Rome with a cast of non-professionals that
brought a new realism to the postwar screen and a new emotional honesty to the
stories it told. Subtitles. Some earthy references. The U.S. Catholic
Conference classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. Not rated by the
Motion Picture Association of America. (Nostalgia Family, $69.95)
The Burmese Harp (1956) Badly wounded in Burma at the end of World War II, a
Japanese soldier (Shoji Yasui) is nursed back to health by a Buddhist monk,
then devotes himself to searching the jungle battlefields for the abandoned
remains of dead soldiers to give them a decent burial. Directed by Kon
Ichikawa, the Japanese production takes a strong anti-war stance through a
series of flashbacks to the horrors of battle, but uses hauntingly poetic
imagery to convey the main theme of life's value and the need to atone for its
loss. Subtitles. Wartime violence. The U.S. Catholic Conference
classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion
Picture Association of America. (Connoisseur, $29.95)
Chariots of Fire (1981) Two young Englishmen (Ben Cross and Ian Charleson)
overcome quite different obstacles to win gold medals at the Paris Olympics of
1924. One is a Jew determined to beat the anti-Semitic establishment at its
own game and the other is a devout Scot who runs for the glory of God.
Directed by Hugh Hudson, it is a richly entertaining and highly inspiring
movie for the whole family. Several coarse words. The U.S. Catholic
Conference classification is A-I -- general patronage. The Motion Picture
Association of America rating is PG -- parental guidance suggested. (Warner,
$19.98)
Decalogue (1988) Produced for Polish television, this series of ten hour-long
programs explores the contemporary meaning of the Ten Commandments as seen in
the lives of various residents of a drab Warsaw apartment complex. Directed
by Krzysztof Kieslowski, none of the stories is religious though all grapple
with moral conflicts arising from ordinary situations and relationships which
most viewers will not see as being at all foreign to them. Subtitles. Mature
themes. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III -- adults. Not
rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (Not available on video)
Dersu Uzala (1978) Russian production about the friendship that grows between
a turn-of-the-century explorer in Siberia and his guide, an aging Tungus
hunter whose name gives the film its title. Japanese director Akira Kurosawa
concentrates on evoking the vast remoteness of the Siberian wilderness, a
world the Russian finds forbidding but one in which the hunter is perfectly at
home. Subtitles. Finely acted, beautifully photographed, it is an admiring
portrait of a man living in harmony with nature and with his fellow hunters.
The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-I -- general patronage. The
Motion Picture Association of America rating is G -- general audiences.
(Sultan, $29.98)
Gandhi (1982) Superb portrait of India's great political and spiritual leader
comes to life in Ben Kingsley's authoritative yet sensitive performance.
Director Richard Attenborough's epic-scale production re-creates Gandhi's life
and times, especially his use of non-violence and hunger strikes to bring
together the diverse peoples of India and unify them as a nation. Though its
scenes of violence are not for children, the movie's vision of justice and
peace is for everyone else, especially young people. The U.S. Catholic
Conference classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion
Picture Association of America rating is PG -- parental guidance suggested.
(Columbia TriStar, $29.95)
Intolerance (1916) D.W. Griffith's epic masterpiece intercuts four stories of
injustice -- the fall of Babylon, the Crucifixion, the St. Bartholomew's Day
massacre and a contemporary American story of an innocent man sentenced to
death. The movie develops parallel action in each of the stories, though
centered principally on the tale of an impoverished couple whose wife tries to
save her husband from being unjustly hung and the Assyrian conquest of Babylon
which is presented on an epic scale. Though complex in narrative structure,
each story is connected to the others by the simple image of a woman rocking a
cradle, a device dropped as the tempo increases in the conclusion of the
stories. The movie's brilliance in concept, execution and editing is still
impressive, dated only by its florid titles and melodramatic
characterizations. Stylized violence, sexual references and a few flashes of
nudity. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III -- adults. Not
rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (Kino, $29.95)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) Seasonal favorite about the joys and trials of a
good man (James Stewart) who, facing financial ruin on the eve of Christmas,
contemplates suicide until his guardian angel (Henry Travers) shows him how
meaningful his life has been to those around him. Director Frank Capra's
unabashedly sentimental picture of mainstream American life is bolstered by a
superb cast (including Lionel Barrymore as a conniving banker) and a wealth of
good feelings about such commonplace virtues as hard work and helping one's
neighbor. Young children may find the story's dark moments unsettling. The
U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents.
Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (Republic, 45th
Anniversary Edition, $19.98)
On the Waterfront (1954) Classic labor film about a punched-out boxer (Marlon
Brando) who, despite the machinations of his shifty brother (Rod Steiger) and
with some encouragement from the woman (Eva Marie Saint) he loves as well as a
waterfront priest (Karl Malden), decides to stand up to the criminal boss (Lee
J. Cobb) of a corrupt union of dock workers. Budd Schulberg's fact-based
script is directed by Elia Kazan with stand-out performances and a gritty
realism grounded in a working-class milieu, abetted by Leonard Bernstein's
rousing score and Boris Kauffman's atmospheric photography. Much menace and
some violence. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-II -- adults
and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.
(Columbia TriStar, $19.95)
Open City (1945) Composite picture of the resistance movement in
German-occupied Rome focusing on an underground leader (Marcello Pagliero)
hidden by a widow (Anna Magnani) until he's betrayed to the Gestapo, then
tortured and executed along with a partisan priest (Aldo Fabrizi). Director
Roberto Rossellini began filming while German troops were still in the city
and the result has a documentary quality giving a sense of immediacy to the
period portrayal of events by a cast whose naturalistic acting captures the
fervor and determination of diverse social types united in their opposition to
fascism. Subtitles. Wartime violence and some intense torture scenes. The
U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III -- adults. Not rated by the
Motion Picture Association of America. (Kino, $24.95)
Schindler's List (1993) Sobering account of an opportunistic German
businesssman (Liam Neeson) out to make his fortune by exploiting Jewish labor
in occupied Poland but the increasing barbarism of Nazi racial policies and
the sadistic perversions of the local commandant (Ralph Fiennes) cause him to
risk his life trying to save the Jews in his employ. Director Steven
Spielberg restages this Holocaust story on an epic scale that gives horrifying
dimension to one man's attempt to save some innocent lives, though providing
little insight in the German's moral transformation or the individual lives of
his Jewish workers. Realistically graphic treatment of an infamous historical
period and its crimes against humanity, a few discreet sexual scenes and
occasional rough language. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is
A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R --
restricted. (MCA/Universal, $29.98)
The Seventh Seal (1956) Intense medieval morality tale about a disillusioned
knight (Max Von Sydow) returning from the Crusades to a plague-ravaged land
where he forestalls Death (Bengt Ekerot) by wagering his life on a game of
chess during the course of which he saves a traveling player named Joseph
(Nils Poppe), his wife Mary (Bibi Andersson) and their infant son. Swedish
director Ingmar Bergman convincingly re-creates the religious context of the
Middle Ages but the knight's quest to find meaning in a world of physical
suffering and spiritual emptiness is more directly related to the contemporary
search for life's meaning in our own age of doubt and uncertainty. Subtitles.
Recurring images of death, some stylized violence and instances of religious
fanaticism. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III -- adults.
Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (Video Dimensions,
$19.95)
The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978) Quiet, richly textured Italian drama about
the lives of four peasant families who work as tenant farmers on a Lombardy
estate at the end of the last century. Beginning with the fall harvest and
ending with the spring planting, the movie depicts the everyday life of rural
people who endure with human dignity in spite of the oppressive system which
exploits their labor. Written, photographed and directed by Ermanno Olmi,
this is a loving portrait of ordinary life in an age of social injustice.
Some tense scenes. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-II --
adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of
America. (Fox/Lorber, $79.95)
Wild Strawberries (1958) During the day on which he is to be awarded an
honorary degree from a nearby university, a 78-year-old retired scholar
(Victor Sjostrom in a masterful performance) is visited with dreams and
reveries about his past life, especially his failures and disappointments in
personal relationships. Swedish director Ingmar Bergman brilliantly develops
the man's interior journey from pangs of regret and anxiety to a refreshing
sense of peace and reconciliation summed up in blissful images of his happy
youth. One of the great films about aging that touches universal chords in
mature viewers. English subtitles. The U.S. Catholic Conference
classification is A-III -- adults. Not rated by the Motion Picture
Association of America. (Connoisseur, $29.95)
Citizen Kane (1941) When a Hearst-like newspaper tycoon (Orson Welles) dies,
a reporter (William Alland) interviews the man's former associates (Joseph
Cotton and Everett Sloane among them) and wives (Ruth Warrick and Dorothy
Comingore) in an effort to pin down the essence of the contradictory,
larger-than-life millionaire by discovering the meaning of his dying word,
"Rosebud." Also co-written (with Herman J. Mankiewicz), produced and directed
by Welles, the movie is a landmark in American cinema, notable both for its
superb use of film technique and its intriguing story of a man who came from
nothing, acquired fame and fortune but died without the love he sought.
Marital infidelity. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-II --
adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of
America. (Turner, 50th Anniversary Edition includes a 30-minute documentary
on the movie, $19.98)
8 1/2 (1963) With both career and marriage in chaos, an Italian movie
director (Marcello Mastroianni) protects his overgrown ego by retreating into
surreal memories of the past and wild fantasies about the present. Director
Federico Fellini has some self-indulgent fun with his profession,
semibiographical events from his youth and themes from his movies while taking
viewers on a journey through the rich, at times bizarre, imagination of an
artist whose attempts to cope with the demands of the real world are resolved
in a final flood of optimism as the director joins with all his characters in
a human carousel of life. Subtitles. Ambiguous treatment of mature themes.
The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-IV -- adults, with
reservations. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.
(Vestron, $69.95)
Fantasia (1940) Walt Disney's only excursion into the world of the fine arts
presents eight selections of classical music, including Dukas' "Sorcerer's
Apprentice" with Mickey Mouse and a bucket brigade of brooms, Stravinsky's
"Rite of Spring" with its massive, earthbound images and the macabre vision of
Musorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain." Using different approaches and
animation styles for each piece of music as performed by the Philadelphia
Orchestra under conductor Leopold Stokowski, the imaginative work was not only
Disney's most ambitious undertaking but it remains an enjoyably creative
introduction to fine music, especially for youngsters. The U.S. Catholic
Conference classification is A-I -- general patronage. The Motion Picture
Association of America rating is G -- general audiences. (Disney, $24.99)
Grand Illusion (1937) Shot down during World War I, a French aristocrat
(Pierre Fresnay) is treated as a brother officer by the German aristocrat
(Erich von Stroheim) commanding the prisoner-of-war camp, then makes use of
his special status to distract attention while two fellow prisoners (Jean
Gabin and Dalio) make good their escape to Switzerland. Directed by Jean
Renoir, the picture of life in the camp is rich in narrative incident and
human detail, neatly supporting a theme dealing with the end of the
aristocratic ideal of chivalry and its replacement by mass armies of commoners
with no desire for war. Subtitles. Some ribald humor and tense situations.
The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents.
Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (Home Vision,
$29.95)
La Strada (1956) Two-bit circus strongman (Anthony Quinn) adds a
simple-minded peasant (Giulietta Masina) to his act, treating her badly until
a tragic encounter with a bantering acrobat (Richard Basehart) who tries to
help her. Italian director Federico Fellini's somber picture of lost souls on
the backroads of life has its emotional center in Masina's Chaplinesque
performance as the poor waif struggling to keep her spirit from being crushed
by the brute she serves. Subtitles. Some stylized violence and brutalizing
conditions of life. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III --
adults. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (Sultan,
$29.98)
The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) British comedy classic in which a timid bank
employee (Alec Guinness) concocts a scheme to hijack a shipment of gold
bullion with the aid of professional crooks (Sidney James and Alfie Bass),
then melt it down in the foundry of an accomodating sculptor (Stanley
Holloway) and recast it as Eifel Tower souvenirs for export to Paris.
Scripted by T.E.B. Clarke and directed by Charles Crichton, the
tongue-in-cheek depiction of a perfect crime has one hilarious flaw after
another, culminating in a wild police chase through London and a neat twist
ending in South America. Comic crime caper and mild menace. The U.S.
Catholic Conference classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. Not
rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (HBO, $19.98)
The Leopard (1963) Historical drama set against the background of Garibaldi's
1860 invasion of Sicily where the prince (Burt Lancaster) of an old
aristocratic family refuses to adapt to revolutionary times despite the
marriage of his more egalitarian nephew (Alain Delon) to the daughter of a
wealthy ex-peasant. Directed by Luchino Visconti from the novel by Giuseppe
Di Lampedusa, the result captures a fascinating period of social, political
and economic change in a family saga filled with nostalgia for a past, more
elegant age. Subtitles. Mature themes. The U.S. Catholic Conference
classification is A-III -- adults. Not rated by the Motion Picture
Association of America. (Not available on video)
Little Women (1933) Lovingly sentimental but firmly crafted adaptation of
Louisa May Alcott's story of four New England girls cared for by their mother
while their father is soldiering in the Civil War. Director George Cukor
depicts the joys and woes of the loving March family household with warmth and
sincerity, but most memorable is the ensemble performance of a remarkable cast
headed by Katharine Hepburn as serious-minded Jo, Joan Bennett as vain Amy,
Frances Dee as prosaic Meg, Jean Parker as waifish Beth and Spring Byington as
the girls' beloved Marmee. Prime family fare. The U.S. Catholic Conference
classification is A-I -- general patronage. Not rated by the Motion Picture
Association of America. (MGM/UA, $14.98)
Metropolis (1926) Silent classic of a future society ruled by an aristocracy
living in luxury above ground while the workers suffer miserably underground,
comforted only by the religious faith of a young woman (Brigitte Helm) in
whose likeness a sinister scientist (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) fashions a robot
inciting the workers to rebel but all ends in reconciliation. Directed by
Fritz Lang, the story's melodramatic turns and woolly finale may be dated but
not its vivid pictorial sense, grandly expressionistic decor and theme of
social justice. Bleak picture of exploited workers, stylized violence and
some sexual innuendo. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-II --
adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of
America. (Nostalgia, $16.95)
Modern Times (1936) Charlie Chaplin's insightful fable of man versus machine
centers in the artificiality of industrialized society and the anxieties
caused by the Depression as Charlie dances his way through the hazards of an
assembly line job. A model of silent comedic technique and refined slapstick
humor, the movie marks the last appearance of the Little Tramp character as
Charlie takes his final walk down the long empty road, this time in the
company of Paulette Goddard who adds an element of freshness to the plot's
old-fashioned romance. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-I --
general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is G --
general audiences. (CBS/Fox, $19.98).
Napoleon (1927) Epic silent chronicle of Napoleon Bonaparte (Albert
Dieudonne) from his student days at a military academy through his rise as an
officer during the Revolution and Reign of Terror until ending in 1796 when
the Directory puts him in command of the army invading Italy. Directed by
Abel Gance, the episodic narrative is heavily melodramatic, yet the sheer
exhuberance of the actors and the monumental staging of the action carry
viewers along in richly visual experience made memorable by Gance's innovative
use of portable cameras and triple screens. This reconstructed print runs 235
minutes, with music composed by Carmine Coppola. Stylized violence and brief
sexual innuendo. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-II --
adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of
America. (MCA/Universal, $29.95)
Nosferatu (1922) Silent horror classic loosely based on Bram Stoker's novel,
"Dracula," centers on the vampire count (Max Schreck) who leaves his sinister
castle in the Carpathian mountains to sail on a doomed ship bringing him to
1838 Bremen where his dark deeds are undone by a brave young woman and the
first light of dawn. Directed by F.W. Murnau, the German production is most
notable for its eerie portrayal of the vampire in images which seem to
personify evil and dread in a movie even more remarkable for having been
filmed mostly on location rather than in the controlled confines of a studio.
Stylized violence and menace. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is
A-II -- adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association
of America. (Nostalgia, $19.95)
Stagecoach (1939) In this Western classic, a cowboy (John Wayne) wanted by
the law on trumped-up charges joins an odd assortment of passengers (Claire
Trevor, Thomas Mitchell, Donald Meek, John Carradine and others) on the stage
to Lordsburg in the midst of an Apache uprising. Directed by John Ford, the
characters are a microcosm of frontier types, each of whom has a different
reason for the journey whose dangers are played out against the majestic
vistas of Monument Valley, with a brilliantly staged Indian attack and a final
showdown on the streets of Lordsburg that brings the story to a rousing
finish. Stylized violence. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is
A-II -- adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association
of America. (Warner, $19.98)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Director Stanley Kubrick's epic work,
co-written with Arthur C. Clarke, is both science fiction and metaphysical
poetry using an unconventional mixture of visuals and music to bridge
humanity's reconstructed past, identifiable present and projected future, all
tied together by the recurring image of a monolith as symbol of a superhuman
existence. The central narrative follows the struggle of two astronauts (Keir
Dullea and Gary Lockwood) to wrest control of their spacecraft from HAL, a
talking computer (voice of Douglas Rain), on a half-billion-mile trip to
Jupiter and the unknown. For young people and imaginative adults but too
long, deep and intense for children. The U.S. Catholic Conference
classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture
Association of America rating is G -- general audiences. (MGM/UA, $19.98)
The Wizard of Oz (1939) Dorothy rides her cyclone to the magic land over the
rainbow in director Victor Fleming's classic that skyrocketed Judy Garland's
career and has given generations of families prime entertainment again and
again. The 50th anniversary edition has 17 minutes of material not included
in the original release. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-II
-- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating
is G -- general audiences. (MGM/UA, $24.98)
