Oliver stone in Drama DVDs & Videos

Description:

The two commanding performances on display in this double feature of Oscar winners come with a lesson: no matter what the context, positions of power can breed corruption. Included here are WALL STREET, starring Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko, and THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND, starring Forrest Whitaker as Idi Amin. See individual titles for complete details.

Description:

Oliver Stone's hard-hitting look at the adrenaline-fueled world of pro football stars Al Pacino as Miama Sharks coach Tony D'Amato. Having just lost his star quarterback, Jack Rooney (Dennis Quaid), he's forced to use the erratic Willie Beamen (Jamie Foxx) off the bench, hoping he can resuscitate his team, which is floundering on the field and in attendance figures. If not, Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz), the team's new owner, may be drop-kicking him to a new destination.

Description:

Oliver Stone's over-the-top satire on America's worshipful fascination with tabloid criminals stars Woody Harrelson as Mickey Knox and Juliette Lewis as girlfriend-wife Mallory Wilson. Commencing with the dual murder of Mallory's sexually abusive father (Rodney Dangerfield) and grossly negligent mother (Edie McClurg), the anomic couple take off on a three-week killing spree across the country, telling everyone who they are so that they get the credit for their crimes. The media are immediately enthralled with the couple, especially Wayne Gale (Robert Downey Jr.), the bloodthirsty host of a tabloid TV show who follows their every move. By the time they're finally arrested, they've become such huge media stars that the cops treat them more like celebrities than criminals. Even the maniacal limelight-hogging warden of the Batongaville State Prison, Dwight McClusky (Tommy Lee Jones), is in awe. Stone pulls out all the stops in the prison riot, as the unwitting Gale becomes an unwilling participant in his own broadcast of the event. Again the director switches from film to video, from color to black and white, from sitcom parody to newsreel parody, and from one film stock to another, hoping to jar the audience out of its complacency with visual hyperbole.

Description:

This collection includes ANY GIVEN SUNDAY (Director's Cut), BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY, THE DOORS, JFK, NATURAL BORN KILLERS, OLIVER STONE'S AMERICA, and WALL STREET. See individual titles for details.

Description:

This collection includes ten features and one special bonus from director Oliver Stone. ANY GIVEN SUNDAY (Director's Cut), BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY, THE DOORS, HEAVEN AND EARTH, JFK, NATURAL BORN KILLERS, NIXON, OLIVER STONE'S AMERICA, TALK RADIO, U-TURN, and WALL STREET. See individual titles for details.

Description:

Oliver Stone's hard-hitting look at the adrenaline-fueled world of pro football stars Al Pacino as Miama Sharks coach Tony D'Amato. Having just lost his star quarterback, Jack Rooney (Dennis Quaid), he's forced to use the erratic Willie Beamen (Jamie Foxx) off the bench, hoping he can resuscitate his team, which is floundering on the field and in attendance figures. If not, Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz), the team's new owner, may be drop-kicking him to a new destination.

Description:

Oliver Stone's hard-hitting look at the adrenaline-fueled world of pro football stars Al Pacino as Miama Sharks coach Tony D'Amato. Having just lost his star quarterback, Jack Rooney (Dennis Quaid), he's forced to use the erratic Willie Beamen (Jamie Foxx) off the bench, hoping he can resuscitate his team, which is floundering on the field and in attendance figures. If not, Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz), the team's new owner, may be drop-kicking him to a new destination.

Description:

Covers the period from 1965-1971; Produced and released in 1991. Val Kilmer stars as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's electrifying profile of the Doors, which takes the group from its inception to its demise with the death of the "Lizard King" in a Paris hotel room in 1971. In the early days of the group's formation, Morrison is at his most benign; he's just a guy hanging out at the beach writing poetry. But soon the Doors' fame begins to spread--with Morrison as the focus of attention. Capable of an eerily correct vocal imitation of Morrison, Kilmer makes manifest the talent and charisma, as well as the confusion and despair, of the complex man who was the focal point of the group. As Morrisson's drug consumption and erratic behavior increase exponentially, the rest of the band--Ray Manzarek (Kyle McLachalan), John Densmore (Kevin Dillon), and Robby Krieger (Frank Whaley)--begins to grow tired of his late arrivals, the increasing number of cancellations, and the drunken recording sessions requiring infinite retakes. But no one can help Morrison as he spirals downward into an inferno of drugs, alcohol, public obscenity, and depression, bringing the music to an untimely close. Stone's intimate familiarity with SoCal in the 1960s provides the film with a high degree of surface verisimilitude, though the film is as much a tribute to the enduring power of the Doors' music as it is a cautionary tale about the perils of both celebrity and substance abuse.

Description:

In this final film of his Vietnam trilogy, Oliver Stone turns his cameras away from the experience of the American combatants to focus on the devastating effect of the war on the Vietnamese people. Starring Hiep Thi Le as Phung Le Ly, it recounts the epic journey of her life, which began in an idyllic village in Central Vietnam living as her people had lived for thousands of years. When the war broke out, she was plunged into a maelstom, trapped between the forces of North and South. Separated from her family, Le Ly was imprisoned by the South Vietnamese, who used an assortment of tactics on her, including electric shock treatment, and upon release from prison, she was raped by a vicious gang of Viet Cong. After escaping to Saigon, she becomes pregnant by an employer and is fired. She turns to prostitution to survive, until Steve Butler (Tommy Lee Jones), an American Special Forces officer, impulsively asks her to marry him and return to America with him. She agrees to marry him and moves with him to San Diego but finds that, after a life in the military, he has a more difficult time adapting to life in the U.S. than she does. HEAVEN AND EARTH is a profoundly moving saga of resiliency in the face of unspeakable suffering.

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:

Oliver Stone's first overtly political film, SALVADOR is a passionate protest against the savagery unleashed by fascist thugs in El Salvador during the early 1980s with the complicity of the U.S. government. It stars James Woods as combat photojournalist Richard Boyle, an erratic, cynical character with a taste for all things chemical. Hearing rumors of war, he and Dr. Rock (Jim Belushi), another free spirit, head for El Salvador by car. After viewing a right-wing officer's collection of severed ears and photographing a corpse-strewn garbage dump with ace photographer John Cassady (John Savage), Boyle realizes that the situation is much worse than advertised in the American press. He recognizes familiar faces among the ubiquitous U.S. military brass and CIA personnel from his stint in Vietnam, but they're predictably reluctant to discuss the reasons for their presence, especially with the outrageous Boyle. As the journalist becomes involved with a Salvadoran native named Maria (Elpedia Carrillo) and observes the selfless dedication of his humanitarian worker friend Cathy (Cindy Gibb), compassion and outrage slowly begin to replace his cynicism. When Boyle swears to the dying Cassady that he'll get his crucial photos out of the country, he realizes that he must also try to get Maria out before she too becomes a statistic. Woods gives a brilliantly incendiary seriocomic performance in this wild, lacerating, and bitterly observant film.

Description:

Covers the period from 1965-1971; Produced and released in 1991. Val Kilmer stars as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's electrifying profile of the Doors, which takes the group from its inception to its demise with the death of the "Lizard King" in a Paris hotel room in 1971. In the early days of the group's formation, Morrison is at his most benign; he's just a guy hanging out at the beach writing poetry. But soon the Doors' fame begins to spread--with Morrison as the focus of attention. Capable of an eerily correct vocal imitation of Morrison, Kilmer makes manifest the talent and charisma, as well as the confusion and despair, of the complex man who was the focal point of the group. As Morrisson's drug consumption and erratic behavior increase exponentially, the rest of the band--Ray Manzarek (Kyle McLachalan), John Densmore (Kevin Dillon), and Robby Krieger (Frank Whaley)--begins to grow tired of his late arrivals, the increasing number of cancellations, and the drunken recording sessions requiring infinite retakes. But no one can help Morrison as he spirals downward into an inferno of drugs, alcohol, public obscenity, and depression, bringing the music to an untimely close. Stone's intimate familiarity with SoCal in the 1960s provides the film with a high degree of surface verisimilitude, though the film is as much a tribute to the enduring power of the Doors' music as it is a cautionary tale about the perils of both celebrity and substance abuse.

Description:

One might expect sparks to fly when one of America's most controversial filmmakers decides to take on America's most controversial president. Oliver Stone's biopic of George W. Bush, however, is rather gentle on the president; and, while the film clearly paints Dubya as a fool and makes no excuses for the debacle that has been his presidency, it does offer a surprisingly sympathetic character study of the man behind the chaos. Told in a series of flashbacks that play as his greatest hits, W. portrays Bush (Josh Brolin) as a privileged yet decidedly lost soul. Stone makes light humor of the president's frequent malapropisms and complete lack of intellectual curiosity, but he places the dramatic focus on Bush's desperate attempts to get respect and acceptance from his father. While Bush's backstory and psychology make for relatively interesting drama, his place in history has nonetheless been formed entirely by his eight years as president. In this area, Stone's film offers almost nothing new; however, what W. lacks in revelations and insight, it makes up for with some wonderful performances. The supporting cast--which includes Ellen Burstyn (as Barbara Bush), Richard Dreyfuss (as Dick Cheney), James Cromwell (George H. W. Bush), and Jeffery Wright (as Colin Powell)--all offer nuanced performances that perfectly balance impersonation with genuinely evocative acting. Elizabeth Banks is both sympathetic and understandable as Laura Bush, presenting a woman who stands by her man not simply out of loyalty but also out of love. Brolin must also be given credit for a performance that deftly avoids parody in favor of something born from a true actor. In the end W. is a somewhat unremarkable film, yet its very existence is shocking; in that respect, it almost perfectly mirrors George W. Bush and his rise to power.

Description:

Oliver Stone opened fire on the greed decade of the 1980s with this morality tale set on Wall Street. It stars Charlie Sheen as Bud Fox, an ambitious rookie stockbroker from a blue-collar background who is mesmerized by Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), a Mephistophelean superbroker who specializes in corporate takeovers. Despite his initial resistance to Bud's entreaties, Gekko finally takes on the eager beaver as his protégé, schooling him in the kind of slash-and-burn maneuvers that have taken Gekko to the top. This style is far more attractive to Fox than the more prosaic but principled approach to investing preached by veteran Lou Mannheim (Hal Holbrook). And, at first, it's impossible to dispute his preference; as Bud's life moves into the fast lane, he quickly acquires an upscale apartment and a girlfriend to match, interior designer Darien (Darryl Hannah). But when Gekko demands that Bud not only break the law but directly undermine his union-leader father, Carl (Martin Sheen), and jeopardize the jobs and lives of his friends and family, he realizes that the cost of success might be more than he's willing to pay. WALL STREET is a riveting, testosterone-fueled tour of the Street's upper echelons, featuring standout performances by Michael Douglas and Martin Sheen.

Description:

Oliver Stone's over-the-top satire on America's worshipful fascination with tabloid criminals stars Woody Harrelson as Mickey Knox and Juliette Lewis as girlfriend-wife Mallory Wilson. Commencing with the dual murder of Mallory's sexually abusive father (Rodney Dangerfield) and grossly negligent mother (Edie McClurg), the anomic couple take off on a three-week killing spree across the country, telling everyone who they are so that they get the credit for their crimes. The media are immediately enthralled with the couple, especially Wayne Gale (Robert Downey Jr.), the bloodthirsty host of a tabloid TV show who follows their every move. By the time they're finally arrested, they've become such huge media stars that the cops treat them more like celebrities than criminals. Even the maniacal limelight-hogging warden of the Batongaville State Prison, Dwight McClusky (Tommy Lee Jones), is in awe. Stone pulls out all the stops in the prison riot, as the unwitting Gale becomes an unwilling participant in his own broadcast of the event. Again the director switches from film to video, from color to black and white, from sitcom parody to newsreel parody, and from one film stock to another, hoping to jar the audience out of its complacency with visual hyperbole.

Description:

One might expect sparks to fly when one of America's most controversial filmmakers decides to take on America's most controversial president. Oliver Stone's biopic of George W. Bush, however, is rather gentle on the president; and, while the film clearly paints Dubya as a fool and makes no excuses for the debacle that has been his presidency, it does offer a surprisingly sympathetic character study of the man behind the chaos. Told in a series of flashbacks that play as his greatest hits, W. portrays Bush (Josh Brolin) as a privileged yet decidedly lost soul. Stone makes light humor of the president's frequent malapropisms and complete lack of intellectual curiosity, but he places the dramatic focus on Bush's desperate attempts to get respect and acceptance from his father. While Bush's backstory and psychology make for relatively interesting drama, his place in history has nonetheless been formed entirely by his eight years as president. In this area, Stone's film offers almost nothing new; however, what W. lacks in revelations and insight, it makes up for with some wonderful performances. The supporting cast--which includes Ellen Burstyn (as Barbara Bush), Richard Dreyfuss (as Dick Cheney), James Cromwell (George H. W. Bush), and Jeffery Wright (as Colin Powell)--all offer nuanced performances that perfectly balance impersonation with genuinely evocative acting. Elizabeth Banks is both sympathetic and understandable as Laura Bush, presenting a woman who stands by her man not simply out of loyalty but also out of love. Brolin must also be given credit for a performance that deftly avoids parody in favor of something born from a true actor. In the end W. is a somewhat unremarkable film, yet its very existence is shocking; in that respect, it almost perfectly mirrors George W. Bush and his rise to power.

Description:

The events of September 11 left an indelible mark on most Americans, and certainly on those in the New York City area. Yet as fresh as the images seem, it's easy to forget the actual grit, sacrifice, and uncertainty of that day. Director Oliver Stone captures the essence of 9/11 by focusing on the true story of two Port Authority Police Department officers who were trapped beneath the wreckage of the fallen World Trade Center. Veteran officer Sergeant John McLoughlin (Nicholas Cage) and his team, including rookie Will Jimeno (Michael Pena) are gathering equipment to enter the burning Twin Towers when the concourse comes crashing down around them. Twenty feet below the surface, pinned by debris and unable to reach anyone by radio, the officers must rely on their own will--and on each other--to survive. Above ground, their families watch the towers fall, uncertain whether or not McLoughlin and Jimeno are there, since they are normally assigned to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Like so many that day, Donna McLoughlin (Maria Bello) and Allison Jimeno (Maggie Gyllenhaal) wait for news at home surrounded by their families, fearing the worst and praying for the best. Stone's film depicts the horror and heartbreak of the victims, survivors, and their families with an understated, subtle touch. From the ash and dust covering everyone and everything to the dazed expressions of the workers leaving the towers to the steaming twisted metal remains of the World Trade Center, attention to detail is exceedingly realistic. Rather than being political or sensationalistic, this is a film about everyday heroes--men and women doing their best in the face of an unspeakable event. It may be just one story of many from September 11, but it represents the efforts, emotions, and reactions of so many on that fateful day.

Description:

Oliver Stone opened fire on the greed decade of the 1980s with this morality tale set on Wall Street. It stars Charlie Sheen as Bud Fox, an ambitious rookie stockbroker from a blue-collar background who is mesmerized by Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), a Mephistophelean superbroker who specializes in corporate takeovers. Despite his initial resistance to Bud's entreaties, Gekko finally takes on the eager beaver as his protégé, schooling him in the kind of slash-and-burn maneuvers that have taken Gekko to the top. This style is far more attractive to Fox than the more prosaic but principled approach to investing preached by veteran Lou Mannheim (Hal Holbrook). And, at first, it's impossible to dispute his preference; as Bud's life moves into the fast lane, he quickly acquires an upscale apartment and a girlfriend to match, interior designer Darien (Darryl Hannah). But when Gekko demands that Bud not only break the law but directly undermine his union-leader father, Carl (Martin Sheen), and jeopardize the jobs and lives of his friends and family, he realizes that the cost of success might be more than he's willing to pay. WALL STREET is a riveting, testosterone-fueled tour of the Street's upper echelons, featuring standout performances by Michael Douglas and Martin Sheen.

Description:

Oliver Stone's self-proclaimed "countermyth," JFK mocks the doubtful veracity of the Warren Commission's findings on the Kennedy assassination and summarizes some of the myriad theories that have been proposed in its contest. Focusing on the investigation by New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) into the activities of the FBI and other government agencies as well as their attempted cover-ups, Stone weaves fact and speculation into a compelling argument for the reopening of the case files. Garrison begins to investigate local links to the assassination, including Clay Shaw (Tommy Lee Jones), David Ferrie (Joe Pesci), Guy Bannister (Ed Asner), Perry Russo (Kevin Bacon), and Lee Harvey Oswald (Gary Oldman). When the accounts of Ferrie, Russo, and others almost invariably diverge from the FBI versions of events, Garrison begins to suspect a cover-up. Widening his net, he interviews many of the original assassination witnesses and again finds little that coincides with the government's record. Combining interviews with an analysis of the physical evidence, Garrison's team posits the existence of a conspiracy to kill the president. A mysterious Col. X (Donald Sutherland) implies the orchestration of the conspiracy at the highest levels of government, and Garrison is ready to go to trial. Stone deploys video, different film stocks shot at varying speeds, and a dizzying style of montage while harnessing the talents of a large and extraordinary cast to create a film of undeniable power and excitement.

Description:

Using a nonchronological narrative style à la CITIZEN KANE (from which he quotes), director Oliver Stone explores former president Richard Nixon's strict Quaker upbringing, his nascent political strivings in law school, and his strangely self-effacing courtship of his wife, Pat (played by Joan Allen). The contradictions in his character are revealed early, in the vicious campaign against Helen Gahagan Douglas and the oddly masochistic Checkers speech. His defeat at the hands of the hated and envied John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election, followed by the loss of the 1962 California gubernatorial race, seem to signal the end of his career. Yet, although wholly lacking in charisma, Nixon remains a brilliant political operator, seizing the opportunity provided by the backlash against the antiwar movement to take the presidency in 1968. It is only when safely in office, running far ahead in the polls for the 1972 presidential election, that his growing paranoia comes to full flower, triggering the Watergate scandal. Surprisingly, Stone evinces considerable compassion as he gives us a Nixon of tragic stature and nearly Shakespearean dimension in this powerfully moving film. The star-studded cast, including Ed Harris and James Woods, complements Hopkins's extraordinary performance.

Description:

The events of September 11 left an indelible mark on most Americans, and certainly on those in the New York City area. Yet as fresh as the images seem, it's easy to forget the actual grit, sacrifice, and uncertainty of that day. Director Oliver Stone captures the essence of 9/11 by focusing on the true story of two Port Authority Police Department officers who were trapped beneath the wreckage of the fallen World Trade Center. Veteran officer Sergeant John McLoughlin (Nicholas Cage) and his team, including rookie Will Jimeno (Michael Pena) are gathering equipment to enter the burning Twin Towers when the concourse comes crashing down around them. Twenty feet below the surface, pinned by debris and unable to reach anyone by radio, the officers must rely on their own will--and on each other--to survive. Above ground, their families watch the towers fall, uncertain whether or not McLoughlin and Jimeno are there, since they are normally assigned to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Like so many that day, Donna McLoughlin (Maria Bello) and Allison Jimeno (Maggie Gyllenhaal) wait for news at home surrounded by their families, fearing the worst and praying for the best. Stone's film depicts the horror and heartbreak of the victims, survivors, and their families with an understated, subtle touch. From the ash and dust covering everyone and everything to the dazed expressions of the workers leaving the towers to the steaming twisted metal remains of the World Trade Center, attention to detail is exceedingly realistic. Rather than being political or sensationalistic, this is a film about everyday heroes--men and women doing their best in the face of an unspeakable event. It may be just one story of many from September 11, but it represents the efforts, emotions, and reactions of so many on that fateful day.

Description:

The events of September 11 left an indelible mark on most Americans, and certainly on those in the New York City area. Yet as fresh as the images seem, it's easy to forget the actual grit, sacrifice, and uncertainty of that day. Director Oliver Stone captures the essence of 9/11 by focusing on the true story of two Port Authority Police Department officers who were trapped beneath the wreckage of the fallen World Trade Center. Veteran officer Sergeant John McLoughlin (Nicholas Cage) and his team, including rookie Will Jimeno (Michael Pena) are gathering equipment to enter the burning Twin Towers when the concourse comes crashing down around them. Twenty feet below the surface, pinned by debris and unable to reach anyone by radio, the officers must rely on their own will--and on each other--to survive. Above ground, their families watch the towers fall, uncertain whether or not McLoughlin and Jimeno are there, since they are normally assigned to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Like so many that day, Donna McLoughlin (Maria Bello) and Allison Jimeno (Maggie Gyllenhaal) wait for news at home surrounded by their families, fearing the worst and praying for the best. Stone's film depicts the horror and heartbreak of the victims, survivors, and their families with an understated, subtle touch. From the ash and dust covering everyone and everything to the dazed expressions of the workers leaving the towers to the steaming twisted metal remains of the World Trade Center, attention to detail is exceedingly realistic. Rather than being political or sensationalistic, this is a film about everyday heroes--men and women doing their best in the face of an unspeakable event. It may be just one story of many from September 11, but it represents the efforts, emotions, and reactions of so many on that fateful day.

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:

Covers the period from 1965-1971; Produced and released in 1991. Val Kilmer stars as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's electrifying profile of the Doors, which takes the group from its inception to its demise with the death of the "Lizard King" in a Paris hotel room in 1971. In the early days of the group's formation, Morrison is at his most benign; he's just a guy hanging out at the beach writing poetry. But soon the Doors' fame begins to spread--with Morrison as the focus of attention. Capable of an eerily correct vocal imitation of Morrison, Kilmer makes manifest the talent and charisma, as well as the confusion and despair, of the complex man who was the focal point of the group. As Morrisson's drug consumption and erratic behavior increase exponentially, the rest of the band--Ray Manzarek (Kyle McLachalan), John Densmore (Kevin Dillon), and Robby Krieger (Frank Whaley)--begins to grow tired of his late arrivals, the increasing number of cancellations, and the drunken recording sessions requiring infinite retakes. But no one can help Morrison as he spirals downward into an inferno of drugs, alcohol, public obscenity, and depression, bringing the music to an untimely close. Stone's intimate familiarity with SoCal in the 1960s provides the film with a high degree of surface verisimilitude, though the film is as much a tribute to the enduring power of the Doors' music as it is a cautionary tale about the perils of both celebrity and substance abuse.

Description:

Three movies with historical themes are included in this collection. The titles featured are PLATOON, WINDTALKERS, and DANCES WITH WOLVES. Please see individual titles for synopsis information.

Description:

This set of award-winning films features the following: THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, PLATOON, ROCKY, and DANCES WITH WOLVES. See individual titles for descriptions.

Description:

One might expect sparks to fly when one of America's most controversial filmmakers decides to take on America's most controversial president. Oliver Stone's biopic of George W. Bush, however, is rather gentle on the president; and, while the film clearly paints Dubya as a fool and makes no excuses for the debacle that has been his presidency, it does offer a surprisingly sympathetic character study of the man behind the chaos. Told in a series of flashbacks that play as his greatest hits, W. portrays Bush (Josh Brolin) as a privileged yet decidedly lost soul. Stone makes light humor of the president's frequent malapropisms and complete lack of intellectual curiosity, but he places the dramatic focus on Bush's desperate attempts to get respect and acceptance from his father. While Bush's backstory and psychology make for relatively interesting drama, his place in history has nonetheless been formed entirely by his eight years as president. In this area, Stone's film offers almost nothing new; however, what W. lacks in revelations and insight, it makes up for with some wonderful performances. The supporting cast--which includes Ellen Burstyn (as Barbara Bush), Richard Dreyfuss (as Dick Cheney), James Cromwell (George H. W. Bush), and Jeffery Wright (as Colin Powell)--all offer nuanced performances that perfectly balance impersonation with genuinely evocative acting. Elizabeth Banks is both sympathetic and understandable as Laura Bush, presenting a woman who stands by her man not simply out of loyalty but also out of love. Brolin must also be given credit for a performance that deftly avoids parody in favor of something born from a true actor. In the end W. is a somewhat unremarkable film, yet its very existence is shocking; in that respect, it almost perfectly mirrors George W. Bush and his rise to power.

Description:

Using a nonchronological narrative style à la CITIZEN KANE (from which he quotes), director Oliver Stone explores former president Richard Nixon's strict Quaker upbringing, his nascent political strivings in law school, and his strangely self-effacing courtship of his wife, Pat (played by Joan Allen). The contradictions in his character are revealed early, in the vicious campaign against Helen Gahagan Douglas and the oddly masochistic Checkers speech. His defeat at the hands of the hated and envied John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election, followed by the loss of the 1962 California gubernatorial race, seem to signal the end of his career. Yet, although wholly lacking in charisma, Nixon remains a brilliant political operator, seizing the opportunity provided by the backlash against the antiwar movement to take the presidency in 1968. It is only when safely in office, running far ahead in the polls for the 1972 presidential election, that his growing paranoia comes to full flower, triggering the Watergate scandal. Surprisingly, Stone evinces considerable compassion as he gives us a Nixon of tragic stature and nearly Shakespearean dimension in this powerfully moving film. The star-studded cast, including Ed Harris and James Woods, complements Hopkins's extraordinary performance.

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DON'T SAY A WORD: When psychiatrist Nathan Conrad discovers that his daughter has been kidnapped, the only way he can get her back is to pry critical information from the mind of a seriously disturbed teenager with a secret stuck deep in a blocked memory. The Conrads are the prototypical happy family: Nathan, a successful doctor (Michael Douglas); his loving wife, Aggie (Famke Janssen), who is bedridden with a broken leg suffered in a skiing accident; and eight-year-old Jessie (Skye McCole Bartusiak), an extremely intelligent and well-loved young girl. But late one night Jessie is abducted and used as collateral for a dangerous group of men who will stop at nothing to recover a stolen ten-million-dollar jewel. Gary Fleder (KISS THE GIRLS) has crafted an excellent thriller shot on the streets of New York City, getting help from a fine supporting cast, including Oliver Platt as one of Dr. Conrad's medical colleagues, Jennifer Esposito as a cop out to get to the bottom of a series of unexplained murders, and Sean Bean as a violent criminal who will kill anyone who gets in his way. But this is Douglas's movie, starring as a loving family man and dedicated doctor who has to compromise his ethics in order to save his daughter's life and free a teenager from a dangerous psychosis. WALL STREET: Oliver Stone opened fire on the greed decade of the 1980s with this morality tale set on Wall Street. It stars Charlie Sheen as Bud Fox, an ambitious rookie stockbroker from a blue-collar background who is mesmerized by Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), a Mephistophelean superbroker who specializes in corporate takeovers. Despite his initial resistance to Bud's entreaties, Gekko finally takes on the eager beaver as his protégé, schooling him in the kind of slash-and-burn maneuvers that have taken Gekko to the top. This style is far more attractive to Fox than the more prosaic but principled approach to investing preached by veteran Lou Mannheim (Hal Holbrook). And, at first, it's impossible to dispute his preference; as Bud's life moves into the fast lane, he quickly acquires an upscale apartment and a girlfriend to match, interior designer Darien (Darryl Hannah). But when Gekko demands that Bud not only break the law but directly undermine his union-leader father, Carl (Martin Sheen), and jeopardize the jobs and lives of his friends and family, he realizes that the cost of success might be more than he's willing to pay. WALL STREET is a riveting, testosterone-fueled tour of the Street's upper echelons, featuring standout performances by Michael Douglas and Martin Sheen. WAR OF THE ROSES: Danny DeVito directs this black comedy about a long-married couple in the throes of divorce at the height of the materialistic 1980s, and his second feature far surpasses his first effort, THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN, in style, substance, and comic impact. Barbara and Oliver Rose were the perfect couple: he was a prominent Washington lawyer, she had a wildly successful catering business, they had a great house, great art, great cars and great kids. But when Barbara begins to wonder about life without Oliver, she likes what she sees and sues for divorce; unfortunately, neither of them likes the prospect of life without their opulent home, and war is waged to determine who will keep it. The pair become increasingly outlandish in their battle tactics, moving from cunning to cruel to outright surreal, and DeVito's camera echoes this mood with its unorthodox angles and movement. DeVito himself narrates the action as Oliver Rose's lawyer, and Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas prove once again their chemistry as a passionately antagonistic couple (ROMANCING THE STONE, JEWEL OF THE NILE).

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Oliver Stone's self-proclaimed "countermyth," JFK mocks the doubtful veracity of the Warren Commission's findings on the Kennedy assassination and summarizes some of the myriad theories that have been proposed in its contest. Focusing on the investigation by New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) into the activities of the FBI and other government agencies as well as their attempted cover-ups, Stone weaves fact and speculation into a compelling argument for the reopening of the case files. Garrison begins to investigate local links to the assassination, including Clay Shaw (Tommy Lee Jones), David Ferrie (Joe Pesci), Guy Bannister (Ed Asner), Perry Russo (Kevin Bacon), and Lee Harvey Oswald (Gary Oldman). When the accounts of Ferrie, Russo, and others almost invariably diverge from the FBI versions of events, Garrison begins to suspect a cover-up. Widening his net, he interviews many of the original assassination witnesses and again finds little that coincides with the government's record. Combining interviews with an analysis of the physical evidence, Garrison's team posits the existence of a conspiracy to kill the president. A mysterious Col. X (Donald Sutherland) implies the orchestration of the conspiracy at the highest levels of government, and Garrison is ready to go to trial. Stone deploys video, different film stocks shot at varying speeds, and a dizzying style of montage while harnessing the talents of a large and extraordinary cast to create a film of undeniable power and excitement.