Drama dvds videos in Drama DVDs & Videos

Description:

The three films contained on the wittily titled ANATOMY 101 are SHOWGIRLS (1995), SEX AND THE TEENAGE MIND (2005), and THE GIRL NEXT DOOR (2004). Please see individual titles for synopsis information.

Description:

High school romance is difficult enough to navigate when both people are human. But for 17-year-old Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart, INTO THE WILD) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson, HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE), Edward's life as a vampire complicates things even more. At first, when Bella moves from sunny Phoenix to the rainiest corner of Washington State, she isn't sure where she fits in at her new high school. Then she meets Edward, an ethereal beauty of a boy whose unnatural speed and strength lead Bella to the conclusion that her new crush is one of the undead. Suddenly, Bella's boring life is transformed; she's surrounded by love and danger in equal parts, thanks to the hunger of Edward and others of his kind. TWILIGHT is based on the first book in the addictive series by author Stephenie Meyer. Director Catherine Hardwicke (THIRTEEN) certainly knows her audience, which is primarily the teenage girls who worship the book and its characters. There are plenty of swoonworthy shots of Pattinson's perfectly pale Edward, and his romance with Stewart's nicely acted Bella will cause many a sigh among the devoted fans. While TWILIGHT is primarily a love story in the ROMEO AND JULIET mold, there's also plenty of action and horror to be found. Blood flows (this is a vampire movie, after all), but the small amount of gore shouldn't be too much for the squeamish viewers--and it might even draw a boy or two to the screen. The film's record-breaking box office take alone is proof that the film's appeal isn't limited to screaming teen girls.

Description:

Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) and Nathan Scott (James Lafferty) are two half-brothers whose lives are brought together on the basketball court when they both end up playing for the same team in high school. The previously estranged twosome struggle to prove who is the better player on the court, and also face personal turmoil, most notably in the shape of Nathan's girlfriend, Peyton Sawyer (Hilarie Burton), whom they both lust after. The parental struggle that split the boy's upbringings also plays a major part in ONE TREE HILL, with Nathan's father, Dan (Paul Johansson) and Lucas' mother, Karen (Moira Kelly) bringing many unneeded complications into Nathan and Lucas's lives. The first season is included here in its entirety.

Description:

The ambitious miniseries adaptation of MacKinley Kantor's eponymous novel about the inmates of the notoriously overcrowded and brutal Andersonville, Georgia Confederate army prison at the height of the Civil War. Winner of an Emmy for director John Frankenheimer. Produced for TNT.

Description:

Natalie Wood was one of Hollywood's most charming child actresses--and, more rarely, one who blossomed effortlessly into adult roles. This collection presents some of Wood's most beloved films, selected from the latter half of her career. Included here are SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS, SEX AND THE SINGLE GIRL, INSIDE DAISY CLOVER, GYPSY (Deluxe Edition), BOMBERS B-52, and CASH MCCALL. Please see individual titles for complete synopsis information.

Description:

Terrence Malick returns to Hollywood after a two-decade hiatus with this adaptation of the classic WWII novel by James Jones. The story follows the efforts of an army platoon to capture the Japanese-controlled island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific Ocean, which will have a major effect on the outcome of the war. The members of C-for-Charlie Company are all fighting for different reasons: some to achieve glory, some to fight for democracy, and some simply to remain alive. They spend the quieter moments reflecting upon their existence, searching for meaning amid the senselessness of war. Malick's reputation as one of cinema's most brilliant directors, based on his masterworks BADLANDS and DAYS OF HEAVEN, enabled him to pull together one of the largest ensemble all-star casts in Hollywood history. The result is a sprawling epic that carries itself like a poem read in a dream, a feeling that is greatly enhanced by John Toll's floating camerawork and Hans Zimmer's haunting score. Rather than concentrating solely on the violence and destruction of war, Malick uses the situation to address philosophical questions such as man versus nature, war versus peace, and good versus evil. THE THIN RED LINE proves that after a 20-year layoff, Malick hasn't lost a step.

Description:

Based on a series of comics by underground cartoonist Robert Crumb, this X-rated animated film brings a cynical eye to the idealism of the 1960s. It's a world where black people are crows, cops are pigs, rabbis are lions, and cats--like New York University student Fritz (voiced by Skip Hinnant)--are substituted for guilt-ridden white guys who want to be poets but mainly smoke pot and engage in group sex. After a drug bust by a couple of bumbling pigs makes him an outlaw, Fritz sets fire to his NYU dorm and hits the road in search of self-discovery. The crazy cat steals a car, starts a race riot in Harlem, and ends up stuck outside San Francisco with a group of sadistic revolutionaries led by a junkie biker rabbit. Throughout these adventures, Fritz's pot-addled self-righteousness gradually gives way to a deeper understanding of life, but perhaps too late to extract himself from a terrorist plot. FRITZ THE CAT was director Ralph Bakshi's first feature, and it carries many of his future themes--ultra bleak urban landscapes, cynically guarded idealism, grotesque sexuality, and raucously over-the-top moments of violence.

Description:

Featuring spectacular special effects set amidst the backdrop of one of the most tragic events of the 20th century, James Cameron's award-winning TITANIC stands as one of the greatest Hollywood spectaculars of all time. Beginning with an undersea expedition in the 1990s, in which scuba divers are searching the sunken ship for lost relics, a painting of young Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) is found. This triggers a flashback to the young woman's story as it happened on the doomed Titanic. Rose is a daughter of privilege on her way to be married to an arrogant but wealthy young man (Billy Zane). Despairing, Rose finds herself falling in love with Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio), a carefree and poor young artist who is also aboard. When the great ship strikes an iceberg and begins to sink, Rose and Jack have only each other as their world falls apart around them. Director James Cameron spared no expense in bringing his simple yet powerful love story to life, building a 90% scale model of the ship, fussing over the tiniest details, and ultimately spending some $200 million dollars. A worldwide smash, TITANIC received fourteen Academy Award nominations and 11 wins, including Best Picture. Despite all the lavish sets and special effects, the film would be nothing without the emotional core provided by stars Winslet and DiCaprio, who give star making performances as the tragic young lovers.

Description:

The end is nigh in this apocalyptic disaster film that mixes Christian values, Mayan mythology, and scientific theories about polar shifts. When four strangers journey into Mexico in 2012, they are drawn into ancient mysteries that foretell the coming of the End Times.

Description:

Winning Best Picture is one of the greatest honors in cinema and this collection presents four classic films thus awarded by the Academy: CASABLANCA, GIGI, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, and MRS. MINIVER. Please see individual titles for complete synopsis information.

Description:

America's first supermodel Gia Carangi lives hard and dies young in the glamorous, excessive urban wilds of 1970s New York City. Adapted by Cristofer and novelist Jay McInerney from the biography "Thing of Beauty" by Stephen Fried. Made for HBO. Available in rated and unrated versions.

Description:

Taking viewers behind the sealed doors of the military, NCIS follows the workings of investigators at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Led by the wise Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), a crack investigator with no qualms about bending the rules to find his answers, the team takes on cases involving terrorism, murder, espionage, and international arms smuggling. Gibbs is aided by homicide detective Anthony Dinozzo (Michael Weatherly), forensic scientist Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette), medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard (David McCallum), computer expert Timothy McGee (Sean Murray), and department head Jennifer Shepard (Lauren Holly). This collection presents the first five seasons of the series.

Description:

What happens when a group of co-workers from the adult entertainment industry get together for a relaxing after hours party? Naturally the conversation soon turns to sex, but quite a few personal revelations unfold as the evening progresses, making for an entertaining and sometimes startling feature film.

Description:

A clever take on life in Appalachia, SPENCER'S MOUNTAIN is a warm film. Its examination of the rustic frontier family, the Spencers, is sometimes funny, sometimes morose, but always striking. Henry Fonda stars as the macho head of the family, Clay Spencer, a dedicated worker, and an even more dedicated drinker. As Clay breaks his back putting food on the Spencer table, his wife Olivia (Maureen O'Hara) holds down the fort. Things seem promising for the Spencer family. Clay and Grandpa Spencer (Donald Crisp) are designing a new home and their oldest son Clayboy (James MacArthur) is planning to go off to college. However when Clayboy starts a romance with the daughter of his father's employer, Clay's job is put on the line and the Spencers suffer a family crisis. SPENCER'S MOUNTAIN is the feature film that inspired the hit TV series, THE WALTONS. As always, director Delmer Daves breathes life into his cast. Henry Fonda's performance of Clay--the drinking, crass, hard-headed head of the family--bears a slight resemblance to his character, Norman, in ON GOLDEN POND.

Description:

Robert Altman's adaptation of Michael Tolkin's novel gives the notorious director a chance to address perhaps his greatest nemesis: the Hollywood studio system. Disguised as a thriller, the film assembles virtually every famous actor in Hollywood to create an exhilarating blend of real life and fiction. Tim Robbins plays Griffin Mill, a studio executive who begins to fear for his job when upstart Larry Levy's (Peter Gallagher) name becomes a hot topic on the lot. After receiving threatening postcards from an unidentified writer, Griffin tracks down David Kahane (Vincent D'Onofrio), who he thinks is the guilty party. The two argue, with disastrous results. Later, as Griffin struggles to keep his job while trying to distance himself from the law, he finds himself falling in love with Kahane's mysterious girlfriend (Greta Scacchi). THE PLAYER is a vicious satire that exposes the Hollywood industry as fraudulent, weak, and shallow. Altman's film also sends up both the noir genre and filmmaking technique, the latter notably in an extended opening shot which is a sprawling one-take that covers the studio's entire lot and features a series of hysterical pitches by actual screenwriters, including Buck Henry offering forth on his concept for THE GRADUATE 2. Bitter and electric, THE PLAYER ends on an ironic upbeat note that perfectly concludes a stellar picture.

Description:

For the follow-up to his dark crime thriller SEVEN, director David Fincher decided to remain in a film noir vein. The result is THE GAME, a fast-paced cinematic roller-coaster ride that stars Michael Douglas as Nicholas Van Orton, a joyless San Francisco investment banker who receives an unusual birthday present from his estranged younger brother, Conrad (Sean Penn). The gift enrolls Nicholas in CRS (Consumer Recreation Services), a company that designs elaborate real-life games for each specific participant. As the game begins, the reluctant Nicholas becomes the victim of a series of pranks that quickly turn malicious and dangerous. Stripped of his finances and convinced that he can trust no one, Nicholas realizes that this game may be an attempt to steal his fortune and leave him for dead. In a desperate bid to regain his life, Nicholas infiltrates CRS in order to uncover the secrets of the mysterious organization. Douglas is perfect playing the uptight businessman Nicholas, cleverly riffing on his Oscar-winning performance as the cold-blooded Gordon Gekko in WALL STREET. Fincher's Kafkaesque carnival show is an exercise in taut filmmaking that mischievously pulls a seemingly endless supply of rugs out from under both Nicholas and, even more impressive, the viewer.

Description:

When Deepa Mehta first began filming WATER in 2000, angry fundamentalist mobs burned her sets and threatened her life. The Indian government claimed it could not protect her, and the project had to wait four years before finally filming in Sri Lanka. Her film has raised the ire of extremists because it challenges the Hindu customs that dictate that widows, considered half-dead after the loss of their husbands, must be closeted in holy ashrams--a practice that still exists today. Set in the 1930s, the film tells the story of eight-year old Chuyia, whose husband dies before she even meets him. Her parents shave her head and whisk her away to a house of widows where the women sleep on the ground and beg in the streets to earn their puny portion of rice. Chuyia, feisty and resilient, comes into this world like a ray of light, and soon the women are rethinking their mute acceptance of their fate. Her closest friend and ally is the lovely Kalyani, and soon a forbidden romance begins to develop between Kalyani and Narayana, a young Brahmin man who, following the teachings of Gandhi, has denounced injustice. The film is sumptuously beautiful, Chuyia is utterly winsome, and despite the harsh social issues at its heart, it often feels light and lively: Chuyia and Kalyani play games and dance, Chuyia steals sweets for a dying old widow, the women dance and paint each other's faces during a color festival, and the Cinderella-story romance between Kalyani and Narayana shimmers with the promise of salvation and happiness. Mehta, however, knows it would be disingenuous to allow such an easy resolution to such a dire situation, and the final chapter of WATER takes a tragic turn.

Description:

A celebration of the life of Tejano princess Selena Quintanilla Perez, the rising star who was gunned down by the president of her own fan club in 1995. Amid the racial tensions and economic hardships of 1980's South Texas, the daughter of a Mexican immigrant (himself a failed doo-wop singer) grows up to be a sensation in the blossoming Tejano scene before meeting a tragic end. Light on insight, this biopic revels rather in Selena's on-stage achievements. Selena's father is credited as an executive producer to the film.

Description:

Picking up where the first season left off, Season Two of this popular night-time soap begins with Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) and Keith learning that the perennially villainous Dan Scott is in the hospital after a heart attack. Though neither Lucas nor Keith harbor warm feelings towards Dan, they decide that moving back home to Tree Hill is the right thing to do. Upon his return, Lucas is greeted warmly by newlyweds Nathan and Haley, but not so warmly by Payton and Brooke, who bonded over their shared hurt when Lucas took off without saying goodbye. Lucas is also met by a whole new school year filled with more angst and drama than the year before. There to stir things up even more are newcomer troublemakers Felix, his sister Anna, and a host of other characters. Highlights of the season include marital problems, new love attractions, drug addictions, blackmail, and the opening of a music club which showcases not only Haley's emerging musical talents but also those of real-life artists such as The Wreckers, Tyler Hilton (who also plays a minor on the show), and Jimmy Eat World.

Description:

Steven Soderbergh explodes onto the scene with this provocative, intelligent drama about infidelity and voyeurism. Ann Milaney (Andie MacDowell) lives in a comfortable Louisiana home with her lawyer husband, John (Peter Gallagher). She spends her days fretting over the insurmountable problems of the world and her own unfocused sense of melancholy. Although she doesn't know it, she has a good reason to be upset: John is having a torrid affair with her younger, more extroverted sister, Cynthia (the sexy Laura San Giacomo). When Graham Dalton (James Spader), an old college pal of John's, comes to visit, all three are momentarily distracted from personal problems and intrigues as they scrutinize the odd outsider. Ann soon discovers that Graham has some strange habits and problems of his own. Plagued by impotency since the calamitous breakup of his last relationship, the young drifter finds sexual gratification by videotaping women willing to talk about their sexual past and fantasies in front of the camera. A chain of attraction and jealousy develops as the four interconnect in several varied pairings, culminating with Ann's decision to become Graham's latest subject. Soderbergh's highly influential debut independent feature plays like a dangerous thriller that builds in tension until everyone's secrets are bitterly exposed.

Description:

After establishing himself as a master filmmaker, Roberto Rossellini departed briefly from his familiar milieu to create a series of historical dramas for television. These oft-overlooked projects--BLAISE PASCAL, THE AGE OF THE MEDICI, and CARTESIUS--capture some of the West?s most important minds and moments in all of their gritty details (in keeping with Realist tradition, Rossellini resists dressing up the past in exaggerated finery). Each of these historical programs is included here in full, along with commentary by Rossellini biographer Tag Gallagher.

Description:

This timeless Shakespeare tale of two star-crossed lovers has made it to the screen in numerous variations, but perhaps none rival director George Cukor's lavish 1936 production for sheer romantic will; producer Irving Thalberg appointed him for his well-known ability to weave elaborate productions and emotional story lines. Norma Shearer, Thalberg's wife, plays Juliet to Leslie Howard's Romeo. Both stars, at the height of their fame going into ROMEO AND JULIET (though neither was close to being an actual teenager), portray the achingly poignant young lovers whose families are sworn enemies in this classically beautiful Hollywood adaption. Striving for perfection, Thalberg hired literary consultants to ensure that the abridged screenplay would be faithful to the Bard's original lines. John Barrymore makes his presence felt as the boisterous Mercutio, Romeo's close friend. ROMEO AND JULIET was Cukor's, (originally a theater director) only Shakespeare adaptation, and his largest production up to that time. This well-crafted film garnered four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and a Best Actress nod for Norma Shearer.

Description:

LONDON: When his former girlfriend leaves for New York City to live with her new boyfriend, Syd (Chris Evans) decides to rudely interrupt her going-away party by turning up with a small mountain of cocaine and his drug dealer in tow. Most of the movie takes place in the bathroom at the party--where Syd entertains the guests and shares his drug stash with them. LONDON is a stark look at the effect love can have on a man. But there are a few twists and turns in store as the movie lurches toward a surprising conclusion. SPUN: Ross (Jason Schwartzman) is an addict badly in need of some speed. He pays a visit to his dealer, Spider Mike (John Leguizamo), where he encounters fellow "tweakers" Nikki (Brittany Murphy), a stripper named Frisbee (Patrick Fugit), a metalhead, and Cookie (Mena Suvari), Mike's girlfriend. But the trip turns into an odyssey when Mike can't find his stash. Nikki tells Ross that her boyfriend, a crazed cowboy known as the Cook (Mickey Rourke), can supply whatever he needs. The two of them visit the Cook at his motel lab, and Ross quickly gets his fix. Ross, however, is put into service as The Cook's errand boy and chauffeur, with only brief periods of freedom to check up on the stripper girlfriend he left tied to his bed back at his apartment. Ross's three days without sleep reach a feverish head when it becomes evident that two cops (Peter Stormare and Alexis Arquette) have raided Spider Mike's pad in search of the Cook. This relentlessly crude and graphic feature from Swedish music video director Jonas Ackerlund is not for the faint-of-heart. Lightening-fast edits, sexually explicit animation, Farrelly-Brothers-level rudeness, and a pervasive sense of nihilism swirl together to create a morally empty Los Angeles of seedy abodes and cinder block strip malls inhabited by corrupt cops and thrill-seeking lawbreakers. Set to a memorable score by Billy Corgan, Mickey Rourke's memorable turn paves the way for a game young cast.

Description:

All seven of the multitalented author's plays are featured here, including MADEA'S FAMILY REUNION, MADEA GOES TO JAIL, I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF, WHY DID I GET MARRIED?, MEET THE BROWNS, DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN, and MADEA'S CLASS REUNION.

Description:

THE SOPRANOS stars James Gandolfini in a career-making performance as Tony Soprano, a Mafia leader who is having trouble dealing with his mother and family and so starts to see a shrink. The terrific supporting cast features Edie Falco as Tony's conflicted wife, Carmela; Lorraine Bracco as Tony's put-upon psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi; Michael Imperioli as loose-cannon Christopher Moltisanti; Steven Van Zandt as Silvio, owner of the Bada-Bing; and the incomparable Nancy Marchand, in one of the great television performances, as Livia Soprano, Tony's conniving mother. This collection presents all six seasons of the groundbreaking show.

Description:

The third volume of the Boys Briefs series features a selection of stories focusing on homoerotic sexual awakenings. The eight shorts include CABALERNO, SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS, DAVID, BOYS GRAMMAR, LATCH KEY, LITTLE BOY BLUES, BETWEEN THE BOYS, and POSTMORTEM.

Description:

Canadian novelist Lucy Maud Montgomery has her ANNE OF GREEN GABLES novel brought to the screen in this three-part production. The first part of the story finds young Anne Shirley settling into her new life after arriving at the farm of her adoptive parents Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert. The second part of the tale finds Anne transforming from a bright young adolescent to a well-established teacher. The third and final part of the story sees Anne moving to New York with her husband Gilbert, and then back to Avonlea, where Gilbert becomes a soldier and goes missing during wartime.

Description:

This program contains four classic 1970s films -- all based on Broadway musicals or play. Films include: GALILEO, LOST IN THE STARS, PHILADELPHIA, HERE I COME!, and JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS. Please see individual titles for complete information.

Description:

This collection of innovative short films from longtime cult favorite independent director Dave Markey includes 20 odd, surreal (or as Markey prefers to call his style, "all-too-real"), and fascinating pieces, shot between 1974--when the filmmaker was 11 years old--and 2004. The surprisingly chilling "The Devil's Exorcist" is the first movie Markey ever directed, in response to his parents forbidding him from seeing THE EXORCIST, while 1980's "Summer Has Been Over For a Long Time" explored his burgeoning love of alternative music. That interest fueled many of his later, now-legendary experimental films and music videos; 1987's "Astro Turf" stars Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon, and Markey would later shoot the video for "I Love You Golden Blue," included here along with The Posies' "Ritchie Dagger's Crime" and Eyes Adrift's "Alaska." Determinedly low-budget, yet stylish, attention-grabbing, and often very funny, these pieces provide a terrific overview to Markey's unusual career.

Description:

Richard and Priscilla Parker (Kevin Kline and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) are an ordinary suburban couple whose lives are invaded and rocked by their fast-living, secret-bearing, new neighbors, Eddy and Kay Otis (played by Kevin Spacey and Rebecca Miller) in this psychological thriller with intriguing plot twists. The film is rife with themes of paranoid mayhem, manipulation and deception. Spacey, in one of his first feature roles, gives a showy but charismatic performance as the evil neighbor, creating a smooth and charming surface appeal worthy of an Alfred Hitchcock villain.