Johnny depp in Drama DVDs & Videos

Description:

Bizarre, whimsical, and touching scenes mark WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE. Johnny Depp is Gilbert, the eldest brother in a large family of a very large (morbidly obese, actually) mother (Darlene Cates) who hasn't left the house since her husband committed suicide years before. Leonardo DiCaprio, who received an Academy Award nomination for his role, is Arnie, Gilbert's retarded teenage brother who needs constant supervision (he's often found scaling the town water tower). Caring, passive Gilbert is burdened beyond reason, living a dead-end life in a dying small town, stocking shelves at a grocery store whose business being taken over by the new mall supermarket. Gilbert's best friends (Crispin Glover and John C. Reilly) see their futures in the form of undertaker and Burger Barn owner, and Gilbert's other social life is taken up with a random affair with a frustrated and reckless housewife (Mary Steenburgen). Everyone needs the constantly patient Gilbert, whose future seems equally grim until well-traveled, straightforward Becky (Juliette Lewis) and her nonconformist grandmother (Penelope Branning) come to town. Their camper is in need of repair, so Becky stays long enough to actually have an effect on Gilbert, making his new life spiral in wild ways. Based on the novel by Peter Hedges (who also wrote the screenplay), WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE is quirky, irresistible, and endearingly eccentric without being a freak show.

Description:

Before unconventional leading man Johnny Depp brought quirk to the forefront in his monumental Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, he was lining the fringes of Hollywood with performances as memorable as they are diverse. The Way of the Depp is celebrated with this triple feature of Tim Burton's enchanting fable EDWARD SCISSORHANDS; the Hughes Brothers' lurid horror-crime mystery FROM HELL; and BENNY & JOON, a whimsical ode to Buster Keaton and mental illness. See individual titles for complete details.

Description:

Most people know the story of Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up. Director Marc Forster's (MONSTER'S BALL) FINDING NEVERLAND delves deeper, depicting a fictionalized account of the family and events that inspired the classic tale. At the turn of the 20th Century, Scottish playwright J.M. Barrie's (Johnny Depp) latest play in London has flopped almost as badly as his marriage to stature-seeking Mary (Radha Mitchell). During one of his frequent excursions to the park with his dog, Barrie meets four young boys and their recently widowed mother, Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet). Soon Barrie becomes a frequent playmate to the children, using the boys' imagination to take them on fanciful adventures. He also becomes a friend and confidante to the overwhelmed Sylvia, much to the dismay of her overbearing mother (Julie Christie). Barrie's active imagination and interaction with the family inspires "Peter Pan," a play that celebrates the child in everyone and the importance of believing in fantasies and miracles. A droll and amusing Dustin Hoffman appears as American Charles Frohman, Barrie's producer. The film also features young Freddie Highmore as Peter Llewelyn Davies, the inspiration for Barrie's title character.

Description:

George Jung (Johnny Depp) doesn't want to live like his father (Ray Liotta)--always short of money and constantly berated by his mother (Rachel Griffiths). So he sets off for California to live on the beach, where he finds he can make a living selling drugs. Soon George's drug dealing business expands into shipping drugs across the country. Needing a bigger supply of drugs, he travels to Columbia and meets Pablo Escobar (Cliff Curtis). Before long, George becomes the biggest trafficker of cocaine in the United States. In BLOW, director Ted Demme and scriptwriters Nick Cassevetes and David McKenna chart George's strange course into a world of girls and sun, drugs and fun. It's all so easy until events change George's life forever. Depp gives one of his best performances as George, instilling the character with a complicated mixture of emotions. For the supporting roles, Demme's eccentric casting includes German actress Franka Potente as George's girlfriend; Spanish actress Penélope Cruz as his wife; Australian actress Rachel Griffiths (who in real life is five years younger than Depp) as his withering mother; and Paul Reubens (in an excellent performance) as a hairdresser-cum-drug dealer.

Description:

In the same vein as EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, Tim Burton continues to combine wholesome comedy and creepy horror with this tale of a mild-mannered Victorian gentleman, Victor (Johnny Depp), who accidentally marries a mysterious corpse bride (Helena Bonham-Carter) instead of his intended, Victoria (Emily Watson). Victor soon discovers that the Land of the Dead holds more fun than frights and begins to fall in love with his innocent bride. Meanwhile, Victoria has been drawn into a scam of a marriage and may not escape with her life. As time runs out for everyone, can there be a resolution in which everyone gets what he or she deserves? Building on their past productive relationship (EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, ED WOOD), Tim Burton and Johnny Depp create a colorful riot of a film that revives the increasingly rare method of stop-motion animation. Over the period of 10 years that Burton worked to complete the film, new techniques were created to speed the process, including a new way to change the character models' facial expressions by using gears in their heads. Of particular note is the lilting score by Danny Elfman, another longtime Burton collaborator. Fun for adults and children, CORPSE BRIDE is another welcome walk through Tim Burton's twisted mind.

Description:

Writer/Director Sally Potter's ambitious historic romance THE MAN WHO CRIED is an epic war drama laced with moral parable and bolstered by lush sets and costumes. The story begins familiarly enough--a young Russian Jewish girl is displaced just before World War II and separated from her family--but Potter has woven around the character of Suzie (Christina Ricci) a labyrinth of color, dance, ethnic music, and culture that transcends a typical or cliched war-time drama. By the use of an eclectic, but brilliant, cast, the complex set of choices made by the characters--all outsiders on some level--help to convey the desperation and strength in each of their situations. In particular, there is Suzie, who was raised in a proper English household after fleeing her homeland. Withdrawn, silently tormented, she longs to find her father (Oleg Yankovsky) who fled to America to find a better life for their family. Poetically, Suzie finds a singing voice to express who she is, traveling to Paris where she becomes part of the Moulin Rouge set. It is here--amidst the glamour and impending doom of Paris in the 1930s--that she meets Lola (an almost unrecognizable Cate Blanchett), a fascinating, sophistocated woman who guides Suzie but loses her own identity in a relationship with a rich singer (John Turturro). Suzie also finds love in the arms of the gypsy Cesar (Johnny Depp), but when the Nazis invade the city, everything must change. In this elegant and moving film, Potter has turned the Paris of today into the Paris of the 1930s, staging many incredible scenes, one in which the Place de la Concorde is actually completely emptied of cars and people.

Description:

In PLATOON, Oliver Stone draws on his experience as an infantryman in Vietnam to convey the brutality of guerrilla warfare: the heat of the jungle, the brushes with such wildlife as snakes and leeches, and, most powerfully, the presence of the unseen enemy. Charlie Sheen stars as Chris, a raw recruit, or "new meat," who serves as the film's narrator. At first he wilts under the rigorous conditions of jungle life, freezes up in a fire fight, and wonders whether he'll be able to survive. But he gradually adapts and, as time goes by, begins to see that the platoon is divided into two groups. One consists of lifers, juicers, and subintelligent whites, the other of blacks and heads. Sgt. Barnes, a combat-loving burnout (Tom Berenger), is the informal leader of the lifers, and Sgt. Elias, a free spirit (Willem Dafoe), leads the latter group. When the platoon takes some gruesome losses, an enraged Barnes kills some Vietnamese and orders the burning of their village, outraging the temporarily absent Elias. As the conflict between these two reaches its tragic climax, Chris must decide what he really values. Widely regarded as one of the finest war films ever made, PLATOON reflects not only the United States' division over Vietnam but the timeless truths of battle: terror, disorientation, exhilaration, and horrible loss.

Description:

An antidote to the sunny period pieces adopted from Jane Austen, which feature impeccably coiffed aristocracy engage in the witty banter of drawing room dramas and culminate in a most delightful denouement, THE LIBERTINE highlights the underbelly of the Britocracy of centuries past. Adapted from the play by Stephen Jeffreys, the plot follows the dastardly debauchery of the Earl of Rochester (a mischievous Johnny Depp). A hedonist who makes Oscar Wilde seem moralistic, the Earl spent his days and nights in beds, brothels, and bars, awakening from drunken blackouts only to stumble to the nearest whorehouse. Yet this ravishing rake was also possessed of a predilection for poetry, and turned his escapades into acid-tongued witticisms that pepper this frisky film. Directed by first-timer Laurence Dunmore, the historical film picks up in 1678, when the Earl returns to London at the behest of King Charles II (magnetically played by John Malkovich, who starred in the play when it was staged at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre). With his young wife in tow, our rake immediately immerses himself into a litany of transgressions. When he meets a prostitute and burgeoning actress named Elizabeth Barry (Samantha Morton), he obsessively takes her under his wing, crafting her into an acclaimed stage starlet and eventually bedding her. What follows is a spiral--upward, downward, and sideways--through the city's pleasure palaces, culminating in a quasi-tragic, quasi-relieving denouement. Melding the naughty energy of his PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN character with the brooding darkness of his wearied detective in FROM HELL, Depp gives a pitch-perfect performance that carries the film, eliciting strange sympathy for such a despicable devil. The score, by the award-winning composer Michael Nyman, adds even further moodiness and dramatic edge to the story.

Description:

In PLATOON, Oliver Stone draws on his experience as an infantryman in Vietnam to convey the brutality of guerrilla warfare: the heat of the jungle, the brushes with such wildlife as snakes and leeches, and, most powerfully, the presence of the unseen enemy. Charlie Sheen stars as Chris, a raw recruit, or "new meat," who serves as the film's narrator. At first he wilts under the rigorous conditions of jungle life, freezes up in a fire fight, and wonders whether he'll be able to survive. But he gradually adapts and, as time goes by, begins to see that the platoon is divided into two groups. One consists of lifers, juicers, and subintelligent whites, the other of blacks and heads. Sgt. Barnes, a combat-loving burnout (Tom Berenger), is the informal leader of the lifers, and Sgt. Elias, a free spirit (Willem Dafoe), leads the latter group. When the platoon takes some gruesome losses, an enraged Barnes kills some Vietnamese and orders the burning of their village, outraging the temporarily absent Elias. As the conflict between these two reaches its tragic climax, Chris must decide what he really values. Widely regarded as one of the finest war films ever made, PLATOON reflects not only the United States' division over Vietnam but the timeless truths of battle: terror, disorientation, exhilaration, and horrible loss.

Description:

Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp) is an FBI mole who integrates himself into the Mafia pecking order by posing as "jewel man" Donnie Brasco. He finds his loyalties divided when Lefty Ruggiero, a jaded hit man, takes him on as a protégé and places real trust in him. The two men form a friendship--and a criminal partnership--that jeopardizes Brasco's mission and obscures the boundaries between the law and the underworld. The film is based on the autobiography DONNIE BRASCO, MY UNDERCOVER LIFE IN THE MAFIA by former undercover agent Joseph D. Pistone. Directed by Mike Newell (FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL) and also starring Bruno Kirby (THE FRESHMAN, THIS IS SPINAL TAP), Michael Madsen (RESERVOIR DOGS) and Anne Heche (WAG THE DOG).

Description:

The life of Reinaldo Arenas, an exiled Cuban homosexual writer, is chronicled in an adaptation of his memoir BEFORE NIGHT FALLS, directed by Julian Schnabel (BASQUIAT). Javier Bardem (in an Oscar-nominated performance) portrays Arenas as he journeys from poverty to university to the sexual revolution and homosexual subculture in Havana to persecution and imprisonment under the policies of Fidel Castro for being both gay and a writer. Despite the harsh conditions of prison, the courageous Arenas continued not only to write but also to publish his works abroad. Ultimately, he was allowed to leave Cuba for America, but there he faced new struggles as a man without a country battling AIDS. Schnabel's beautifully filmed sophomore directorial effort captures the essence of Cuba during the revolution. Johnny Depp is featured in the dual supporting roles of the cross-dressing prison inmate, Bon Bon, and the brutal officer, Lieutenant Victor. A well-disguised Sean Penn appears as Cuco Sanchez. Olivier Martinez as Lázaro Gómez Carillo and Andrea Di Stefano as Pepe Malas deliver standout performances. The film received accolades at the 2000 Venice and Toronto Film Festivals.

Description:

George Jung (Johnny Depp) doesn't want to live like his father (Ray Liotta)--always short of money and constantly berated by his mother (Rachel Griffiths). So he sets off for California to live on the beach, where he finds he can make a living selling drugs. Soon George's drug dealing business expands into shipping drugs across the country. Needing a bigger supply of drugs, he travels to Columbia and meets Pablo Escobar (Cliff Curtis). Before long, George becomes the biggest trafficker of cocaine in the United States. In BLOW, director Ted Demme and scriptwriters Nick Cassevetes and David McKenna chart George's strange course into a world of girls and sun, drugs and fun. It's all so easy until events change George's life forever. Depp gives one of his best performances as George, instilling the character with a complicated mixture of emotions. For the supporting roles, Demme's eccentric casting includes German actress Franka Potente as George's girlfriend; Spanish actress Penélope Cruz as his wife; Australian actress Rachel Griffiths (who in real life is five years younger than Depp) as his withering mother; and Paul Reubens (in an excellent performance) as a hairdresser-cum-drug dealer.

Description:

In the same vein as EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, Tim Burton continues to combine wholesome comedy and creepy horror with this tale of a mild-mannered Victorian gentleman, Victor (Johnny Depp), who accidentally marries a mysterious corpse bride (Helena Bonham-Carter) instead of his intended, Victoria (Emily Watson). Victor soon discovers that the Land of the Dead holds more fun than frights and begins to fall in love with his innocent bride. Meanwhile, Victoria has been drawn into a scam of a marriage and may not escape with her life. As time runs out for everyone, can there be a resolution in which everyone gets what he or she deserves? Building on their past productive relationship (EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, ED WOOD), Tim Burton and Johnny Depp create a colorful riot of a film that revives the increasingly rare method of stop-motion animation. Over the period of 10 years that Burton worked to complete the film, new techniques were created to speed the process, including a new way to change the character models' facial expressions by using gears in their heads. Of particular note is the lilting score by Danny Elfman, another longtime Burton collaborator. Fun for adults and children, CORPSE BRIDE is another welcome walk through Tim Burton's twisted mind.

Description:

Most people know the story of Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up. Director Marc Forster's (MONSTER'S BALL) FINDING NEVERLAND delves deeper, depicting a fictionalized account of the family and events that inspired the classic tale. At the turn of the 20th Century, Scottish playwright J.M. Barrie's (Johnny Depp) latest play in London has flopped almost as badly as his marriage to stature-seeking Mary (Radha Mitchell). During one of his frequent excursions to the park with his dog, Barrie meets four young boys and their recently widowed mother, Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet). Soon Barrie becomes a frequent playmate to the children, using the boys' imagination to take them on fanciful adventures. He also becomes a friend and confidante to the overwhelmed Sylvia, much to the dismay of her overbearing mother (Julie Christie). Barrie's active imagination and interaction with the family inspires "Peter Pan," a play that celebrates the child in everyone and the importance of believing in fantasies and miracles. A droll and amusing Dustin Hoffman appears as American Charles Frohman, Barrie's producer. The film also features young Freddie Highmore as Peter Llewelyn Davies, the inspiration for Barrie's title character.

Description:

The popular TV series 21 JUMP STREET was the springboard for Johnny Depp's career and a major influence on 1980s teen culture. It paved the way for other gritty yet glamorous depictions of adolescent life, such as BEVERLY HILLS 90210. Officer Tom Hanson (Depp) and his band of agents fight crime from the schools to keep them safe from corrupt influences. This first season has guest appearances by notable actors Jason Priestley, Josh Brolin, Sherilyn Fenn, and Blair Underwood.

Description:

Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp) is an FBI mole who integrates himself into the Mafia pecking order by posing as "jewel man" Donnie Brasco. He finds his loyalties divided when Lefty Ruggiero, a jaded hit man, takes him on as a protégé and places real trust in him. The two men form a friendship--and a criminal partnership--that jeopardizes Brasco's mission and obscures the boundaries between the law and the underworld. The film is based on the autobiography DONNIE BRASCO, MY UNDERCOVER LIFE IN THE MAFIA by former undercover agent Joseph D. Pistone. Directed by Mike Newell (FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL) and also starring Bruno Kirby (THE FRESHMAN, THIS IS SPINAL TAP), Michael Madsen (RESERVOIR DOGS) and Anne Heche (WAG THE DOG).

Description:

Created by legendary television producer Stephen J. Cannell (THE A-TEAM, HUNTER), 21 JUMP STREET took a MOD SQUAD-like premise and used it to explore complex issues that faced teenagers and young adults. A group of young police officers are chosen to join a specialized team to go undercover in high schools and colleges. Their goal is to stop criminals early in their careers, before they're entangled in a life of illegality. With a cast headed by Johnny Depp, 21 JUMP STREET never shied away from presenting storylines with controversial topics, although never in an exploitative way. THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON collects 20 episodes of the series, and introduces the character of Dennis Booker (Richard Grieco). Guest stars include famous faces like Bridget Fonda, Larenz Tate, Mario Van Peebles, and many more.

Description:

Johnny Depp headlined a cast of talented young actors on 21 JUMP STREET, the first major hit show for the Fox network. Created by Stephen J. Cannell (THE A-TEAM, HUNTER, SILK STALKINGS), the show was envisioned as an update on the premise of THE MOD SQUAD. A group of youthful police officers join a special undercover unit that has them pose as high school and college students in order to stop young criminals before their behavior grows worse. The show sparked some controversy during its early years because it did not shy away from presenting serious and sometimes unsavory material, but never in an exploitative manner. THE SECOND SEASON collection contains all 22 episodes, which feature guest stars such as Pauly Shore, Shannon Tweed, and Brad Pitt, all before they were famous.

Description:

Created by legendary television producer Stephen J. Cannell (THE A-TEAM, HUNTER), 21 JUMP STREET took a MOD SQUAD-like premise and used it to explore complex issues facing teenagers and young adults. A group of young police officers is chosen to join a specialized team to go undercover in high schools and colleges. Their goal is to stop criminals early in their careers, before they're entangled in a life of illegality. With a cast headed by heartthrob Johnny Depp, 21 JUMP STREET never shied away from presenting storylines with controversial topics, although never in an exploitative way. The fifth and final season contains 23 episodes from the eventful show, as well as three episodes created for season four but aired during season five, including Depp's last episode, the controversial "Blackout." In this season, the team is made up of Doug Penhall (Peter Deluise), Captain Fuller (Steven Williams), Judy Hoffs (Holly Robinson Peete), and newcomers Tony 'Mac" McMann (Michael Bendetti) and Joey Penhall (Michael DeLuise).

Description:

Based on a Stephen King novella, the psychological thriller SECRET WINDOW is reminiscent of an Alfred Hitchcock film. Eccentric author Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp) finds his life spiraling out of control. With a drinking problem and a cigarette habit he can't shake, Mort can barely function when his wife (Maria Bello) leaves him and he abandons his work. In the midst of his anguish, a deranged man, John Shooter, (John Turturro) appears at Mort's New York cabin, claiming that Mort has plagiarized one of his stories. As his wife pushes Mort to finalize their divorce and Shooter systematically destroys his life, he struggles to restore order to an increasingly insane situation. Playing off of Turturro who is superb as the crazed, Gothic Shooter, Johnny Depp shines in his role with a quirky, brilliant performance. The mannerisms he brings to Mort, such as a problem with a clenched jaw, makes the author's descent into madness compelling and believable. With an emphasis on character study over special effects, the chills provided by this film rely on skilled acting and evoke thrillers of earlier generations like PSYCHO and STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, including a shocking twist of an ending.

Description:

In the same vein as EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, Tim Burton continues to combine wholesome comedy and creepy horror with this tale of a mild-mannered Victorian gentleman, Victor (Johnny Depp), who accidentally marries a mysterious corpse bride (Helena Bonham-Carter) instead of his intended, Victoria (Emily Watson). Victor soon discovers that the Land of the Dead holds more fun than frights and begins to fall in love with his innocent bride. Meanwhile, Victoria has been drawn into a scam of a marriage and may not escape with her life. As time runs out for everyone, can there be a resolution in which everyone gets what he or she deserves? Building on their past productive relationship (EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, ED WOOD), Tim Burton and Johnny Depp create a colorful riot of a film that revives the increasingly rare method of stop-motion animation. Over the period of 10 years that Burton worked to complete the film, new techniques were created to speed the process, including a new way to change the character models' facial expressions by using gears in their heads. Of particular note is the lilting score by Danny Elfman, another longtime Burton collaborator. Fun for adults and children, CORPSE BRIDE is another welcome walk through Tim Burton's twisted mind.

Description:

Most people know the story of Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up. Director Marc Forster's (MONSTER'S BALL) FINDING NEVERLAND delves deeper, depicting a fictionalized account of the family and events that inspired the classic tale. At the turn of the 20th Century, Scottish playwright J.M. Barrie's (Johnny Depp) latest play in London has flopped almost as badly as his marriage to stature-seeking Mary (Radha Mitchell). During one of his frequent excursions to the park with his dog, Barrie meets four young boys and their recently widowed mother, Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet). Soon Barrie becomes a frequent playmate to the children, using the boys' imagination to take them on fanciful adventures. He also becomes a friend and confidante to the overwhelmed Sylvia, much to the dismay of her overbearing mother (Julie Christie). Barrie's active imagination and interaction with the family inspires "Peter Pan," a play that celebrates the child in everyone and the importance of believing in fantasies and miracles. A droll and amusing Dustin Hoffman appears as American Charles Frohman, Barrie's producer. The film also features young Freddie Highmore as Peter Llewelyn Davies, the inspiration for Barrie's title character.

Description:

Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp) is an FBI mole who integrates himself into the Mafia pecking order by posing as "jewel man" Donnie Brasco. He finds his loyalties divided when Lefty Ruggiero, a jaded hit man, takes him on as a protégé and places real trust in him. The two men form a friendship--and a criminal partnership--that jeopardizes Brasco's mission and obscures the boundaries between the law and the underworld. The film is based on the autobiography DONNIE BRASCO, MY UNDERCOVER LIFE IN THE MAFIA by former undercover agent Joseph D. Pistone. Directed by Mike Newell (FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL) and also starring Bruno Kirby (THE FRESHMAN, THIS IS SPINAL TAP), Michael Madsen (RESERVOIR DOGS) and Anne Heche (WAG THE DOG).

Description:

Based on a Stephen King novella, the psychological thriller SECRET WINDOW is reminiscent of an Alfred Hitchcock film. Eccentric author Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp) finds his life spiraling out of control. With a drinking problem and a cigarette habit he can't shake, Mort can barely function when his wife (Maria Bello) leaves him and he abandons his work. In the midst of his anguish, a deranged man, John Shooter, (John Turturro) appears at Mort's New York cabin, claiming that Mort has plagiarized one of his stories. As his wife pushes Mort to finalize their divorce and Shooter systematically destroys his life, he struggles to restore order to an increasingly insane situation. Playing off of Turturro who is superb as the crazed, Gothic Shooter, Johnny Depp shines in his role with a quirky, brilliant performance. The mannerisms he brings to Mort, such as a problem with a clenched jaw, makes the author's descent into madness compelling and believable. With an emphasis on character study over special effects, the chills provided by this film rely on skilled acting and evoke thrillers of earlier generations like PSYCHO and STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, including a shocking twist of an ending.

Description:

BUGSY: 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 downtrodden 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. SNATCH: A wild and tangled crime adventure involving gangsters, Irish gypsies, and a dog that can't stop swallowing things, SNATCH is both hilarious and action-packed. Jewel thief Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) is in London en route to New York, where he will deliver an 86-karat diamond to his boss, Avi (Dennis Farina). A compulsive gambler, Franky is tempted into an illegal boxing scam, becoming the unwitting suspect in a robbery committed by bumbling pawnshop owners Vinny (Robbie Gee), Sol (Lennie James), and their oafish driver, Tyrone (Ade). Meanwhile, novice boxing promoter Turkish (Jason Statham) and his dim-witted partner, Tommy (Stephen Graham), move into the "big time" with twisted crime boss Brick Top (Alan Ford) and Mickey, a mumbling, unhinged Irish gypsy boxer (Brad Pitt). Thrown into the proceedings are killers Bullet Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones) and Boris the Blade (Rade Sherbedgia). A stylized work with a gritty urban soundtrack and a cast of intricately developed characters, SNATCH delivers superb and witty dialogue while depicting one of the more zany, complex diamond heists ever portrayed in film. DONNIE BRASCO: Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp) is an FBI mole who integrates himself into the Mafia pecking order by posing as "jewel man" Donnie Brasco. He finds his loyalties divided when Lefty Ruggiero, a jaded hit man, takes him on as a protégé and places real trust in him. The two men form a friendship--and a criminal partnership--that jeopardizes Brasco's mission and obscures the boundaries between the law and the underworld. The film is based on the autobiography DONNIE BRASCO, MY UNDERCOVER LIFE IN THE MAFIA by former undercover agent Joseph D. Pistone. Directed by Mike Newell (FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL) and also starring Bruno Kirby (THE FRESHMAN, THIS IS SPINAL TAP), Michael Madsen (RESERVOIR DOGS) and Anne Heche (WAG THE DOG). THE AMERICAN GANGSTER: From prohibition of alcohol to gambling and prostitution, this program examines the illegal businesses that made the first generation of American gangsters powerful and prosperous.

Description:

Created by legendary television producer Stephen J. Cannell (THE A-TEAM, HUNTER), 21 JUMP STREET took a MOD SQUAD-like premise and used it to explore complex issues facing teenagers and young adults. A group of young police officers is chosen to join a specialized team to go undercover in high schools and colleges. Their goal is to stop criminals early in their careers, before they're entangled in a life of illegality. With a cast headed by Johnny Depp, 21 JUMP STREET never shied away from presenting storylines with controversial topics (episodes included here address rape and capital punishment), although never in an exploitative way. The fourth season contains 26 episodes from the eventful show, which saw the cast saying goodbye to familiar faces Tom Hanson (Depp) and Harry Ioki (Dustin Nguyen). The show also features Steven Williams playing Captain Fuller, alongside a roster of guest stars such as Sherilyn Fenn (TWIN PEAKS), Shannen Doherty, Rosie Perez, Vince Vaughn, Thomas Hayden Church, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and others.

Description:

It is the late 1950s, but it might as well be the late 1850s in a small French town where everyone behaves as they should (supposedly), and attends church regularly. When a strong North wind blows through town, it brings the vivacious and mysterious Vianne (Juliette Binoche) and her young daughter Anouk (Victoire Thivisol). Vianne is soon the talk of the town: an unwed mother who declines to go to church and opens up a chocolate shop in the midst of Lent. Her good-natured, honorable personality and psychic ability (she can predict what kind of sweets best suit each person, and magically cures each of them of their particular maladies) make her as irresistible as her delectable treats. However, Vianne and her daughter are resented by the conservative mayor, the Comte de Reynaud (Alfred Molina), and by the pious Caroline (Carrie-Anne Moss), who has disowned her own spirited mother (Judi Dench, who plays Vianne's landlady), refusing the elderly woman access to her beloved grandson.This touching fairy tale, based on the novel by Joanne Harris, was filmed on location in rural France. An intelligent, exquisitely filmed fable that deals with the idea of 20th Century paganism rising up against a closed-minded church and a persevering aristocracy, CHOCOLAT is enjoyable, romantic, and entertaining, with affecting performances by both its stars and its supporting actors (Lena Olin and Johnny Depp.)

Description:

In PLATOON, Oliver Stone draws on his experience as an infantryman in Vietnam to convey the brutality of guerrilla warfare: the heat of the jungle, the brushes with such wildlife as snakes and leeches, and, most powerfully, the presence of the unseen enemy. Charlie Sheen stars as Chris, a raw recruit, or "new meat," who serves as the film's narrator. At first he wilts under the rigorous conditions of jungle life, freezes up in a fire fight, and wonders whether he'll be able to survive. But he gradually adapts and, as time goes by, begins to see that the platoon is divided into two groups. One consists of lifers, juicers, and subintelligent whites, the other of blacks and heads. Sgt. Barnes, a combat-loving burnout (Tom Berenger), is the informal leader of the lifers, and Sgt. Elias, a free spirit (Willem Dafoe), leads the latter group. When the platoon takes some gruesome losses, an enraged Barnes kills some Vietnamese and orders the burning of their village, outraging the temporarily absent Elias. As the conflict between these two reaches its tragic climax, Chris must decide what he really values. Widely regarded as one of the finest war films ever made, PLATOON reflects not only the United States' division over Vietnam but the timeless truths of battle: terror, disorientation, exhilaration, and horrible loss.

Description:

In PLATOON, Oliver Stone draws on his experience as an infantryman in Vietnam to convey the brutality of guerrilla warfare: the heat of the jungle, the brushes with such wildlife as snakes and leeches, and, most powerfully, the presence of the unseen enemy. Charlie Sheen stars as Chris, a raw recruit, or "new meat," who serves as the film's narrator. At first he wilts under the rigorous conditions of jungle life, freezes up in a fire fight, and wonders whether he'll be able to survive. But he gradually adapts and, as time goes by, begins to see that the platoon is divided into two groups. One consists of lifers, juicers, and subintelligent whites, the other of blacks and heads. Sgt. Barnes, a combat-loving burnout (Tom Berenger), is the informal leader of the lifers, and Sgt. Elias, a free spirit (Willem Dafoe), leads the latter group. When the platoon takes some gruesome losses, an enraged Barnes kills some Vietnamese and orders the burning of their village, outraging the temporarily absent Elias. As the conflict between these two reaches its tragic climax, Chris must decide what he really values. Widely regarded as one of the finest war films ever made, PLATOON reflects not only the United States' division over Vietnam but the timeless truths of battle: terror, disorientation, exhilaration, and horrible loss.

Description:

Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp) is an FBI mole who integrates himself into the Mafia pecking order by posing as "jewel man" Donnie Brasco. He finds his loyalties divided when Lefty Ruggiero, a jaded hit man, takes him on as a protégé and places real trust in him. The two men form a friendship--and a criminal partnership--that jeopardizes Brasco's mission and obscures the boundaries between the law and the underworld. The film is based on the autobiography DONNIE BRASCO, MY UNDERCOVER LIFE IN THE MAFIA by former undercover agent Joseph D. Pistone. Directed by Mike Newell (FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL) and also starring Bruno Kirby (THE FRESHMAN, THIS IS SPINAL TAP), Michael Madsen (RESERVOIR DOGS) and Anne Heche (WAG THE DOG).