Harvey keitel in Drama DVDs & Videos

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In fairly short order, Brad Pitt became one of the biggest, most poised stars in Hollywood history. Revisit two of the movies that helped kick-start his popularity, Ridley Scott's feminist classic THELMA AND LOUISE and Dominic Sena's challenging crime-thriller KALIFORNIA, before watching him revel in it alongside Angelina Jolie in MR. & MRS. SMITH. See individual titles for complete details.

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Fed up with her boyfriend (Michael Madsen), live-wire Arkansas waitress Louise Sawyer (Susan Sarandon) persuades her friend Thelma Dickinson (Geena Davis), a naive housewife burdened with a negligent, sexist husband (Christopher McDonald), to hit the road with her for a weekend of freedom. One of their first stops is a bar where the women relax, dance, and flirt with some of the locals. But the situation turns ugly when one man (Timothy Carhart) follows Thelma to the parking lot and attempts to rape her, causing Louise to shoot and accidentally kill him. Convinced that the police will never believe their version of the incident, the women take off, now fugitives from the law. Emboldened by recent events, Thelma picks up studly young cowboy J.D. (Brad Pitt) in Oklahoma and enjoys a one-night stand that leads to even more trouble. Director Ridley Scott's infamous feminist road movie ranks among the best films of the 1990s. Along with BLADE RUNNER and ALIEN, the film is one of Scott's finest works, largely because of Callie Khourie's vivid, brilliantly idiosyncratic script, wonderful performances from the two leads, and Adrian's Biddle's crisp photography of the American Southwest.

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In the idyllic bedroom community of Garrison, New Jersey, a community of NYPD officers takes refuge away from the big city's troubles while still enjoying all the kickbacks, cover-ups, and mob-owned banking privileges from across the river. But the code of silence is tested when an off-duty, drunk rookie cop from their ranks wrongfully kills two black men and the local sheriff begins to investigate. COP LAND is an ambitious ensemble drama notable for eliciting a strong performance (and a 40-lb weight gain) from Sylvester Stallone.

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In this sequel to the 1995 mobster comedy GET SHORTY, John Travolta returns as Chili Palmer, a smooth-talking loanshark turned successful movie producer. But he's tired of the film industry, and so he sets his sights on the music business, teaming up with music producer Edie (Uma Thurman)--the widow of a recently murdered colleague. Seeing great potential in an up-and-coming singer named Linda Moon (Christina Milian), Chili makes it his goal to rescue the young talent from her sleazy manager Raji (Vince Vaughn), and make her a star. But it doesn't take long for Chili to realize that in the music industry, not everybody plays by the rules. Combining organized crime and record label know-how as they infiltrate the music industry, Chili and Edie (Thurman) must free Moon from her contract with Raji and record label exec Nick Carr (Harvey Keitel), while fending off the Russian mafia and a whole slew of enemies, played by Cedric the Entertainer, and Andre Benjamin (of OutKast), among others. Director F. Gary Gray casts The Rock against type as Raji's flamboyant, aspiring-actor bodyguard, Elliot. In fact, the film's most humorous scene might be when Elliot breaks into Edie's home in order to show Chili a monologue from the film BRING IT ON. Overall, the film's tone is a self-referential one, established in the first five minutes by Chili's complaints over the nature of sequels and the PG-13 rating system itself. From here on out, the film's humor becomes more and more dependent on the audiences knowledge of all things pop culture, with a dance scene between Travolta and Thurman recalling their memorable pairing in PULP FICTION.

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Five groundbreaking films from prolific filmmaker Spike Lee come together in this collection. Starring such heavyweights as Rosie Perez, Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, and John Turturro in career-defining roles, the films include CROOKLYN, DO THE RIGHT THING, CLOCKERS, JUNGLE FEVER, and MO' BETTER BLUES. See individual titles for descriptions.

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RESERVOIR DOGS: Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut is a brutally funny, supercharged introduction to his supremely distinct cinematic vision, which was later to become one of the most mimicked styles of the 1990s. Mastermind Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) assembles a crew of top-notch criminals to pull off a jewelry store heist. As the film opens it becomes immediately clear that the plan backfired, forcing the survivors, who have gathered at an abandoned warehouse, to figure out if one of them is, in fact, a police informer. The crew--Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), an aged veteran; Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), a wounded newcomer; Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), a psychopathic parolee; Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), a bickering weasel; and Nice Guy Eddie (Chris Penn), Joe's son--begin to unravel as the pressure becomes too much for them to handle. When Joe arrives, the truth becomes clear in a vicious Mexican standoff. BAD LIEUTENANT: Harvey Keitel stars as a nameless New York cop, hopelessly addicted to drugs, gambling, and sex, in this intense, hallucinatory portrait of sin and redemption by Abel Ferrara. The film follows the lieutenant as he makes his way to various crime scenes, concerned only with taking bets from his fellow cops on the outcome of the ongoing National League playoffs. As his bad decisions drive him deeper into debt, his life becomes a surreal hell, with a constant intake of crack, coke, heroin, and booze eroding what remains of his sanity. An investigation into the rape of a nun (Frankie Thorn) leads to his spiritual breakdown at the church crime scene, where he sees Jesus and the road to his salvation. This gutsy, highly original tale is one of Ferrara's most perfectly realized films and a pinnacle in the career of Keitel, whose performance transcends the screen in its sheer bravery.

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Writer-director Quentin Tarantino revisits the seedier side of Los Angeles--following 1992's RESERVOIR DOGS--with this funny, violent, tongue-in-cheek tribute to the less "classic" side of filmmaking--the potboilers and capers, the Blaxploitation flicks and gangster movies. The film interweaves three tales, told in a circular, fractured manner, which only fully connect by the time the final credits roll. The first story focuses on Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson), two hit men on duty for "the big boss," Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), whose gorgeous wife, Mia (Uma Thurman), takes a liking to Vincent. In the second, a down-and-out pugilist (Bruce Willis), who is ordered to take a fall, decides that there's more money in doing the opposite. The final chapter follows a pair of lovers (Amanda Plummer and Tim Roth) as they prepare to hold up a diner. Tarantino wears his cinematic influences proudly, bringing them to life in the ironically hip, self-referential 1990s. The result is a work that changed the face of independent cinema forever, making it a legitimate player in the Hollywood mainstream. The all-star cast steps into their roles with obvious glee, and Tarantino once again uses his soundtrack to up the "cool" ante yet another notch, making for a motion picture event that has worked its way into our national vernacular.

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Former video store clerk Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut, RESERVOIR DOGS, is a brutally funny, supercharged introduction to his supremely distinct cinematic vision, which was later to become one of the most mimicked styles of the 1990s. Mastermind Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) assembles a crew of top-notch criminals to pull off a jewelry store heist. As the film opens it becomes immediately clear that the plan backfired, forcing the survivors, who have gathered at an abandoned warehouse, to figure out if one of them is, in fact, a police informer. The crew--Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), an aged veteran; Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), a wounded newcomer; Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), a psychopathic parolee; Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), a bickering weasel; and Nice Guy Eddie (Chris Penn), Joe's son--begin to unravel as the pressure becomes too much for them to handle. When Joe arrives, the truth becomes clear in a vicious Mexican standoff. Tarantino takes liberally from Hong Kong action flicks, most notably Ringo Lam's CITY ON FIRE, but his ultra-hip ?70s soundtrack and hysterical pop culture dialogue make the film seem wholly original and new. Taking a cue from the French New Wave--most notably Jean-Luc Godard--RESERVOIR DOGS remains one of the decade's most influential motion pictures.

Description:

Former video store clerk Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut, RESERVOIR DOGS, is a brutally funny, supercharged introduction to his supremely distinct cinematic vision, which was later to become one of the most mimicked styles of the 1990s. Mastermind Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) assembles a crew of top-notch criminals to pull off a jewelry store heist. As the film opens it becomes immediately clear that the plan backfired, forcing the survivors, who have gathered at an abandoned warehouse, to figure out if one of them is, in fact, a police informer. The crew--Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), an aged veteran; Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), a wounded newcomer; Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), a psychopathic parolee; Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), a bickering weasel; and Nice Guy Eddie (Chris Penn), Joe's son--begin to unravel as the pressure becomes too much for them to handle. When Joe arrives, the truth becomes clear in a vicious Mexican standoff. Tarantino takes liberally from Hong Kong action flicks, most notably Ringo Lam's CITY ON FIRE, but his ultra-hip ?70s soundtrack and hysterical pop culture dialogue make the film seem wholly original and new. Taking a cue from the French New Wave--most notably Jean-Luc Godard--RESERVOIR DOGS remains one of the decade's most influential motion pictures.

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When two young English cousins claim to have captured fairies on film, their photographs attract the attention of legendary skeptic Harry Houdini (Harvey Keitel) and legendary dreamer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Peter O'Toole). But are the fairies real, or are they simply the wistful projections of the two lonely girls, whose fragile spirits have been crushed by the death of a brother and the loss of a father in World War I? Based on a true case from 1917 in which the girls' photos turned out to be a hoax, but rendered with an infectious fanciful spirit that equivocates on the existence of magical creatures.

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Martin Scorsese's electrifying drama tells the story of Charlie (Harvey Keitel), a charming 27-year-old who is supported by his devoutly Catholic mother. He spends his days wandering the streets of New York City and nights hanging out drinking with his good friend Johnny Boy (the terrifyingly brilliant Robert De Niro), a loose cannon that can't seem to escape trouble. Charlie's extreme affability makes him the middle man between his mob-tied uncle Giovanni (Cesare Danova) and various clients, as well as between Johnny Boy and Michael (Richard Romanus), a bookie who has become fed up with Johnny Boy's constant debt dodging. As the city's San Gennaro Festival takes over the streets of Little Italy, Michael seeks revenge on Johnny Boy once and for all. MEAN STREETS is the film in which Scorsese blossomed into one of the world's most ferociously distinct visionaries, a vision which has, for better or worse, become one of the most mimicked in the history of modern cinema. While his usage of a nostalgic pop music soundtrack, long one-takes and handheld cameras, and brutally realistic performances, spawned a generation of imitators, MEAN STREETS proves that while others may try to imitate, there is only one original. MEAN STREETS is a work of sheer cinematic bravado.

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After stunning audiences with his ferociously personal, gritty depictions of masculinity in WHO'S THAT KNOCKING AT MY DOOR? (1968) and MEAN STREETS (1973), Martin Scorsese bade farewell to his native New York City in order to direct this delightfully bittersweet portrait of an unflappable single mother. The Oscar-winning Ellen Burstyn is flat-out marvelous as Alice Hyatt, a newly widowed woman who hopes to fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming a singer. Fleeing her small New Mexico town with her 11-year-old son, Tommy (the hilariously spunky Alfred Lutter), Alice promises not to stop until they reach her hometown of Monterey, California. But after a near disaster in Phoenix (compliments of the fiery Harvey Keitel), the pair settles in Tucson, where Alice grudgingly takes a job as a waitress. It's there where she meets the irresistible David (Kris Kristofferson), a warmhearted customer who won't take no for an answer. At the same time, Tommy befriends Audrey (Jodie Foster), a young tomboy with a mischievous streak. Scorsese's realistic modern fairytale (as evidenced by the film's opening ode to THE WIZARD OF OZ) breathes with a hard-edged tenderness that is a wonder to behold. Robert Getchell's script deftly balances comedy and drama, as well as reality and fantasy, creating a distinctive tone that has inspired numerous imitators (TUMBLEWEEDS, ANYWHERE BUT HERE). ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE is that rare gift, a film that reflects the era in which it was shot but never feels dated.

Description:

Former video store clerk Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut, RESERVOIR DOGS, is a brutally funny, supercharged introduction to his supremely distinct cinematic vision, which was later to become one of the most mimicked styles of the 1990s. Mastermind Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) assembles a crew of top-notch criminals to pull off a jewelry store heist. As the film opens it becomes immediately clear that the plan backfired, forcing the survivors, who have gathered at an abandoned warehouse, to figure out if one of them is, in fact, a police informer. The crew--Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), an aged veteran; Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), a wounded newcomer; Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), a psychopathic parolee; Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), a bickering weasel; and Nice Guy Eddie (Chris Penn), Joe's son--begin to unravel as the pressure becomes too much for them to handle. When Joe arrives, the truth becomes clear in a vicious Mexican standoff. Tarantino takes liberally from Hong Kong action flicks, most notably Ringo Lam's CITY ON FIRE, but his ultra-hip ?70s soundtrack and hysterical pop culture dialogue make the film seem wholly original and new. Taking a cue from the French New Wave--most notably Jean-Luc Godard--RESERVOIR DOGS remains one of the decade's most influential motion pictures.

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Faithful to the conventions of the World War II genre, Mostow's (BREAKDOWN) submarine thriller pays earnest homage to the pluck and determination of ordinary people forced to overcome extraordinary odds. The mostly young and inexperienced crew of the S-33 is deployed on a top secret, high-priority mission to intercept a disabled German u-boat (the titular U-571) and capture the ship's encryption system--the Enigma--in order to crack the Nazi's communication codes and hasten an allied victory in the North Atlantic. Racing against a German rescue effort, the S-33 stages a daring raid on the U-571. But after capturing the U-571, the Americans find themselves its prisoner as they must pilot the leaky, disabled vessel through hostile enemy waters. McConaughey (EDTV, DAZED AND CONFUSED) leads a strong cast (Keitel - HOLY SMOKE, Paxton - A SIMPLE PLAN) in this fast-paced, tense, submarine adventure.

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In this sequel to the 1995 mobster comedy GET SHORTY, John Travolta returns as Chili Palmer, a smooth-talking loanshark turned successful movie producer. But he's tired of the film industry, and so he sets his sights on the music business, teaming up with music producer Edie (Uma Thurman)--the widow of a recently murdered colleague. Seeing great potential in an up-and-coming singer named Linda Moon (Christina Milian), Chili makes it his goal to rescue the young talent from her sleazy manager Raji (Vince Vaughn), and make her a star. But it doesn't take long for Chili to realize that in the music industry, not everybody plays by the rules. Combining organized crime and record label know-how as they infiltrate the music industry, Chili and Edie (Thurman) must free Moon from her contract with Raji and record label exec Nick Carr (Harvey Keitel), while fending off the Russian mafia and a whole slew of enemies, played by Cedric the Entertainer, and Andre Benjamin (of OutKast), among others. Director F. Gary Gray casts The Rock against type as Raji's flamboyant, aspiring-actor bodyguard, Elliot. In fact, the film's most humorous scene might be when Elliot breaks into Edie's home in order to show Chili a monologue from the film BRING IT ON. Overall, the film's tone is a self-referential one, established in the first five minutes by Chili's complaints over the nature of sequels and the PG-13 rating system itself. From here on out, the film's humor becomes more and more dependent on the audiences knowledge of all things pop culture, with a dance scene between Travolta and Thurman recalling their memorable pairing in PULP FICTION.

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When jazzman Izzy Maurer (Harvey Keitel) gets shot and loses his left lung, he is forced to face the future without his saxophone, without the music that was his life. When he stumbles over a dead man in an alley and brings home a briefcase, the small rock he finds inside it changes everything. The glowing, floating stone has a power that overwhelms Izzy and Celia (Mira Sorvino), leading them through a series of events over which they seemingly have no control. Novelist Paul Auster's first solo directing effort (he previously codirected BLUE IN THE FACE with Wayne Wang) is a moving character study of a group of fascinating individuals trying to survive life in New York City. The fine cast features stellar performances by the boldly understated Keitel as well as Sorvino, Gina Gershon, Mandy Patinkin, Willem Dafoe, and Vanessa Redgrave, as a former star actress turned director.

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Directed by Barry Levinson, BUGSY tells the true story of legendary New York mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel. Visiting Hollywood "on business," the reckless and volatile Bugsy is drawn to Tinseltown and the glamour of the movies. Leaving his wife and kids in Scarsdale indefinitely, the womanizing Bugsy spends his time on movie lots and at Hollywood extravaganzas, contemplating his own potential stardom. But soon he falls hard for strong-willed actress Virginia Hill (Annette Bening), who isn't content with mistress status. A road trip to a down-trodden joint in the Nevada desert in a town called Las Vegas leads Bugsy to dream of building a world-class casino and turning the town into a moneymaker. Together Bugsy and Virginia--with backing from the mob--start building The Flamingo hotel and casino, hoping that legal gambling and five-star entertainment will entice the masses and rake in big bucks.

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This crackling political thriller follows a determined historian, Muriel Colber (Saffron Burrows), as she delves into the case of a disappeared Basque nationalist, Jesus de Galindez. As her research takes her from Spain to the Dominican Republic--sinking deeper into a shadowy world of intrigue and conspiracy--she is trailed by a CIA agent (Harvey Keitel) who will stop at nothing to silence her...

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Director Abel Ferrara followed up the triumph of BAD LIEUTENANT with this quasi-autobiographical film. Harvey Keitel stars as Eddie Israel, a director whose current project, MOTHER OF MIRRORS, seems parallel his own life (which in turn parallels Ferrara's). The film-within-a-film stars Sarah Jennings (Madonna) and Francis Burns (James Russo) as a married couple whose shared life of cocaine, booze, and group sex has come to an end now that she has renounced her past in favor of God. Drinking heavily and snorting coke to get into his role, Francis finds the violent behavior of his character is taking over his reality, as he starts abusing Sarah off the set as well as on. Eddie meanwhile starts his own affair with Sarah, leading to confrontation with his wife (played by Nancy Ferrara, Abel's real-life wife) and his own moral dissolution. Shot on a variety of film stocks, this search for spiritual redemption--drenched in violence, drugs, and sex--makes for a heavy viewing experience. Regardless of opinion about the film itself, there is no denying the sheer bravery of this unflinching mirror of Ferrara's own life and art.

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Virginia Hill was a Hollywood socialite who hosted numerous parties in her stunning Hollywood home in the 1950s. Everything she was, everything she had, though, belonged to the Mafia. This 1974 biographical drama stars Dyan Cannon as the gangster moll who became a powerful player in the development of Las Vegas. Harvey Keitel plays Bugsy Siegel, whose love affair with Hill causes much conflict when debts are piling up in the creation of Siegel's vision of a desert oasis of gambling and entertainment.

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Demi Moore stars in this suspenseful, atmospheric thriller as Cynthia, a middle class New Jersey woman who gets involved in murder. Harvey Keitel plays a detective who grills Cynthia for a videotaped confession and the bulk of the movie progresses in a series of flashbacks that accompany Cynthia's testimony. Bruce Willis plays James Urbanski, the violent, drug-addict husband of Cynthia's friend Joyce (Glenne Headly) who is murdered one fateful evening at a nearby Feast of San Gennarro festival. Lots of Jersey Italian-style yelling and screaming goes on in the aftermath, with goodfella Frank Vincent in the cast, along with Karen Shallo, Crystal Field, and John Pankow as Cynthia's sullen real estate agent husband. There's also betrayals, threats, and a twist ending. Director Alan Rudolph captures the local New Jersey flavor beautifully and imbues the proceedings with depth via rich photography and use of slow motion and quick cuts. Willis is particulalry good, in a disturbing sort of way, in this, his first collaboration with future ex-wife Moore.

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A hard-hitting story about the new breed of London gangsters growing powerful in the era of drug prohibition. Harvey Keitel (RESERVOIR DOGS) stars as a tough New York City policeman dealing with tough British thugs and criminals.

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CBS took a bold move when they staged FAIL SAFE live on network TV in April 2000. The story follows a pilot (played by George Clooney) who is about to drop nuclear missiles on Russia. Unfortunately Clooney's character is unaware that the entire mission has been ordered by mistake, leaving the American president (played by Richard Dreyfus) faced with some tough decisions. The program was based on a novel by Harvey Wheeler and Eugene Burdick and is directed by the acclaimed Stephen Frears (THE QUEEN). FAIL SAFE was originally adapted for the big screen in 1964 by Sidney Lumet.

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Toward the end of shooting SMOKE, director Wayne Wang, screenwriter Paul Auster, and, seemingly, the entire crew were having such a good time that they approached producers Harvey and Bob Weinstein for more money to continue shooting the mostly improvised BLUE IN THE FACE. Not all the actors could return to Auggie Wren's cigar shop, but they were replaced by some well-known stars making cameo appearances. Lily Tomlin plays a strange man in search of Belgian waffles, Michael J. Fox appears as an equally odd man conducting a bizarre survey, Madonna delivers a singing telegram, and Roseanne does a dramatic scene as the wife of the shop's owner. What plot there is concerns the owner's desire to close the cigar store and rent the space to a vegetarian restaurant. In a documentary style, there are interviews with Brooklyn residents, archival footage of the demolition of Ebbets Field, and other attempts to show the look and feel of life in Brooklyn. In spite of the star appearances, it's the nonactors who provide much of the genuine warmth and easy improvisation as thinly veiled characters. A man with unusual glasses (musician Lou Reed), looking right into the camera, explains why he loves Brooklyn and feels nervous in Stockholm. Bob (filmmaker Jim Jarmusch) comes in to smoke his last cigarette with Auggie; he then demonstrates how one can always tell who the bad guys are in the movies because they invariably hold their cigarettes in a strange manner. As in SMOKE, Harvey Keitel holds the whole ensemble together with his touching portrayal of Auggie, a kind of Brooklyn everyman.

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Acting fireworks are on display as Robert DeNiro and Meryl Streep play Frank Raftis and Molly Gilmore, two everyday people who meet by chance on a commuter train bound for New York and fall desperately in love--despite the fact that they are both married. The stellar supporting cast includes Diane Wiest (HANNAH AND HER SISTERS) and Jane Kaczmarek (TV's MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE). De Niro and Streep previously starred together in THE DEER HUNTER (1978).

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A remote Italian island is the location for this thriller. Harvey Keitel plays an FBI agent investigating the murder of an informant who supplied vital information about the Mafia.

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In 1990, novelist Paul Auster was asked to contribute a Christmas story to the New York Times. The resulting piece, "Auggie Wren's Christmas Story," forms the basis for his screenplay for SMOKE. Directed by Wayne Wang and set in a Brooklyn cigar store, Auster expanded the story to include four other characters whose lives intertwine with Auggie Wren's. As Auggie, the manager of the store that serves as a neighborhood meeting place, Harvey Keitel gives a restrained, mellow performance. The other characters, Paul (William Hurt), a blocked writer; Rashid (Harold Perrineau Jr.), a troubled youth; Ruby (Stockard Channing), Auggie's former lover; and Cyrus (Forest Whitaker), Rashid's long-lost father, form a web of relationships over a few summer days. Auster, who had previously adapted his novel THE MUSIC OF CHANCE into a taut script, here exhibits a loose, almost improvisational style as he lets his characters simply talk about their lives. Wang eschews the big, somewhat melodramatic style he used in THE JOY LUCK CLUB for relaxed, natural direction that allows the actors, who are all terrific, to project an everyday realism seldom seen in American movies. The actual Christmas story appears at the end in a beautiful black-and-white montage, accompanied by a bittersweet Tom Waits song.

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Writer-director-actor Tim Blake Nelson presents THE GREY ZONE, a relentlessly bleak drama that uses one of history's most incomprehensible calamities to address the ultimate question of human survival. Based in large part on Miklos Nyiszli's book, AUSCHWITZ: A DOCTOR'S EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT, THE GREY ZONE is set in the nightmarish world of Auschwitz in the 1940s. The film tells the brutal tale of the twelfth Sonderkommando unit, Jewish prisoners who were granted a few extra months of life in return for their services in helping with the genocide of their people. While organizing a revolt against the Nazis, a group of Sonderkommandos (played with ferocious intensity by David Arquette, Daniel Benzali, David Chandler, and Steve Buscemi) discover a young girl who has somehow managed to survive the gas chamber. Risking their lives, they team up with a fellow Jew, Doctor Nyiszli (Allan Corduner), to revive the fragile youngster and redeem themselves in the process. Nelson's excruciating drama is all the more unsettling for its unflinching honesty. By placing his characters in a world suffused with death, he creates an unbearable scenario where every decision determines the fate of dozens, if not hundreds, of innocent lives. THE GREY ZONE also features deeply impassioned performances by Harvey Keitel, Mira Sorvino, and Natasha Lyonne.

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Martin Scorsese's intense film, a hallmark of 1970s filmmaking, graphically depicts the tragic consequences of urban alienation when a New York City taxi driver goes on a murderous rampage against the pitiable denizens inhabiting the city's underbelly. For psychotic, pistol-packing Vietnam vet Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), New York City seems like a circle of hell. Driving his cab each night through the bleak Manhattan streets, Bickle observes with fanatical loathing the sleazy lowlifes who comprise most of his fares. By day he haunts the porno theaters of 42nd Street, taking his cues from the violent vision of life portrayed in these movies. As badly as Travis wants to connect with the people around him--including Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), a lovely blonde campaign worker, and Iris (Jodie Foster), a prepubescent prostitute he tries to save--his attempts are thwarted and his pent-up rage grows, turning him into a Mohawk-wearing walking time bomb. Scorcese fills Paul Schrader's screenplay with a tragic realism, brilliantly capturing the muck and grime of New York City. De Niro, playing the fragile hero, steps so deep inside his role that the results are deeply frightening. Bernard Herrmann's haunting score--which turned out to be his last--completes the urban nightmare.

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The two 1990s-era gems in this prestigious double feature prove that, when it comes to writing Oscar-winning cinema, take-charge female leads get the job done. Included here are Ridley Scott's feminist road movie THELMA & LOUISE and the Coen Brothers' subversive comedy-thriller FARGO. Please see individual titles for synopsis information.