Description:

1958, Blue is just 17-years-old and lives on the road with her trumpet playing father and his companion, Heroin. When he needs a fix so bad, Blue has no choice but to find some. One of her father's old friends suggests how she can earn money. When her father finds out, he crashes the car and dies. Now, feeling broken hearted and lonely Blue succumbs to the life of a call girl.

Description:

It's Los Angeles, 1977, and adult film director Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) meets Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg), a well-endowed dishwasher in a nightclub. Jack recruits Eddie to be his newest star and Eddie, hungry for fame, quickly agrees, changing his name to Dirk Diggler. Soon Dirk is the hottest star in the porn industry, alongside Rollergirl (Heather Graham), a high school dropout who never removes her roller skates, and Amber Waves (Julianne Moore), the veteran star who pines for the son she's not allowed to visit. On the fringes, Little Bill (William H. Macy) fumes while his wife cheats on him in public, and Buck Swope (Don Cheadle) tries to escape the stigma of being a porn actor. The good times roll, but before long Dirk falls victim to the pressures of stardom and a drug habit that ruins his career while Jack struggles with porn's conversion from film to cheaper videotapes. Director Paul Thomas Anderson's breakthrough film is an exhilarating ride along the underbelly of the 1970s inspired by the films of Altman and Scorsese, featuring colorful camera work, a dynamic soundtrack, and excellent performances from the entire cast, most notably Reynolds in an Oscar-nominated comeback role.

Description:

Director David Lynch follows up 1984's DUNE with this electrifyingly original thriller. After returning to his hometown of Lumberton, North Carolina, in order to visit his sick father, Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) discovers a severed human ear in a vacant field. He befriends Sandy Williams (Laura Dern), the daughter of the detective assigned to the case, and uses her information to investigate the situation himself. This leads Jeffrey to Dorothy Valence (Isabella Rossellini), a sexy nightclub singer whose involvement with a raving psychopath named Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) begins to answer some important questions. Unfortunately, it also draws Jeffrey one step closer to Frank, a menacing figure who inhales from a nitrous-oxide tank and preaches the pleasures of drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. The film contains such a unique blend of comedy, drama, and suspense that the line between the three is blurred, making for an unsettling yet highly invigorating viewing experience. Lynch manages to create a world onscreen that is superficially normal but tinted with a weirdness that is all his own. It is this twisting of reality that makes BLUE VELVET an oddly familiar yet completely unique motion picture, featuring an unforgettable performance by Dennis Hopper.

Description:

BLUE LAGOON: Two youngsters are shipwrecked in the South Pacific and amid the breathtaking scenery they discover their own sexuality. Academy Award Nominations: Best Cinematography. RETURN TO THE BLUE LAGOON: In this sequel to the 1980 original, Richard and Emmeline, the two teens from the first film, and their infant son, set out to sea in a boat. The parents die, but the infant is rescued by a passing ship. Before long, plague breaks out on the ship, and a young woman and her infant daughter take the baby boy and wind up on the very same island where the boy was born. The days become years as three stranded castaways, make a life for themselves. When the woman dies, the two now grown children (Milla Jovovich and Brian Krause) must learn to cope. Their life together is blissful, but not without physical and emotional challenges.

Description:

Eight films starring the king of rock & roll, Elvis Presley, are featured on this collection. The titles included are: JAILHOUSE ROCK; VIVA LAS VEGAS; IT HAPPENED AT THE WORLD'S FAIR; KISSIN' COUSINS; GIRL HAPPY; LIVE A LITTLE, LOVE A LITTLE; ELVIS: THAT'S THE WAY IT IS; and THIS IS ELVIS. Please see individual titles for synopsis information.

Description:

Before it even appeared on the airwaves, NYPD BLUE was the television's most controversial show in 1993. The show broke new ground and, like its characters Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) and Detective John Kelly (David Caruso), it didn't play by the rules. Weaving nudity and foul language into storylines that tackled issues such as vigilante violence, homosexuality, and prostitution, the cop series became a huge hit with an audience who craved reality. This first season also includes FRIENDS star David Schwimmer in the recurring role of 4B, an unsteady mugging victim. Twenty-two episodes make up this explosive first season.

Description:

Fierce inner will and effortless charm are hallmarks of Sidney Poitier, one of Hollywood's most important actors. This collection presents EDGE OF THE CITY, SOMETHING OF VALUE, A WARM DECEMBER, and A PATCH OF BLUE. Please see individual titles for complete synopsis information.

Description:

Set among the white beaches and thunderous waves of Hawaii's North Shore, BLUE CRUSH is an adrenaline-drenched surf picture that boasts a star-making performance from Kate Bosworth. Bosworth is Anne Marie, a determined surfer who shares a beachside shack with her best friends Eden (Michelle Rodriguez) and Lena (Sanoe Lake), and younger sister Penny (Mika Boorem). Just days away from the infamous Rip Masters surfing contest, Anne Marie's life is thrown into turmoil. After being fired from her housekeeping job at a luxury resort hotel, she is courted by the hunky NFL quarterback Matt Tollman (Matthew Davis). As she tries to contain the wild emotions that are threatening to overwhelm her, Anne Marie tries to come to terms with a surfing accident from her past that nearly killed her. In order to survive the contest's deadly, crushing waves, Anne Marie must reach deep within herself to find the courage necessary to come out on top. With BLUE CRUSH, director John Stockwell gives the audience what they want: bikinis, music, romance, and surfing. His picture is graced with David Hennings' gorgeous photography, which captures the beauty and the excitement of the immensely popular sport.

Description:

Girl power rules in BLUE CRUSH, HONEY, and JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS. See individual titles for synopsis information.

Description:

Texas filmmaker Richard Linklater's lighthearted Western tells the true story of the Newton brothers, who are regarded as the most successful bank robbers in the history of the United States. The time is the early 1920s and the place is Texas. When Willis Newton (Matthew McConaughey) returns from a four-year stint in prison, he quickly falls into a life of bank robbing. Excited by the prospects of stealing even more money, he recruits his three brothers--the charming Jess (Ethan Hawke), the sensitive Joe (Skeet Ulrich), and the brutish Dock (Vincent D'Onofrio)--and ace safecracker Brentwood Glasscock (Dwight Yoakam) to help him ravage the country's banks, as long as no one gets hurt. Along the way, Willis meets and falls in love with Louise Brown (Julianna Margulies), a single mother living in Omaha. Eventually, greed gets the better of the gang and they set their sights on a federal train that is transporting three million dollars in cash and bonds. Unfortunately, the heist goes awry and the boys are threatened with jail time. Linklater's film is an affable and sweet affair, with a goodnatured tone that greatly mimics the Newton brothers themselves. Linklater alumni McConaughey and Hawke headline the all-star cast, while music by the Bad Livers keeps the atmosphere breezy throughout.

Description:

Two youngsters are shipwrecked in the South Pacific and amid the breathtaking scenery they discover their own sexuality. Academy Award Nominations: Best Cinematography.

Description:

A surprisingly thoughtful analysis of the Japanese pop icon phenomenon. Mima is an ex-pop idol who was worshipped by the masses before fashion dictated otherwise. In order to salvage her career, she decides to drop music and pursue acting. A soap opera role is offered but Mima's character is less clean cut than desired. Regardless, she agrees and events take a turn for the worse. She begins to feel reality slip. She discovers (imagines?) her identical twin, a mirror image that hasn't given up singing. Internet sites appear describing every intimate detail of her life and a figure stalks her from the shadows. Her friends and associates are threatened, and killed, as Mima descends into a dangerous world of paranoid delusion. She fears for her life and must unravel fact from illusion in order to stay alive.

Description:

Based on a novel by Anna Quindlen (ONE TRUE THING), BLACK AND BLUE is a dramatic story that examines the fear and cruelty that surrounds domestic abuse. Frannie Benedetto (Mary Stuart Masterson) and her son Robert have fled their former home and move into a new neighborhood far away, adopting new identities in an effort to normalize their lives. They are fleeing from Robert's father Bobby (Anthony LaPaglia), whose position as a respected police detective prevents them from reporting his abusive nature to the authorities. But just as Frannie and Robert have managed to settle into their new community, making friends and finding hope, Robert's curiosity about his father may create an opportunity for Bobby to track down his former family and make them pay for fleeing him. BLACK AND BLUE boasts a talented cast and was directed by television veteran Paul Shapiro.

Description:

BLUE SPRING: It's the last year of school and Kujo is elected the new boss of all the gangs in his high school. As the year progresses the disillusioned students become more and more violent as their school becomes a battlefield. Soon challenges to Kujo's authority are threatening the tenuous balance in the school. As graduation draws near, the students face nothing but violence and death. 9 SOULS: Critically acclaimed director Toshiaki Toyoda brings together an ensemble cast of particular distinction for this, his fourth feature--the prison-escape flick he always dreamed of making. Nine disparate criminals break out of jail and seek a stashed fortune, supposedly hidden away by a tenth soul left behind in prison; among their ranks they count Torakichi, the group's natural leader, who killed his own son; the elusive Michiru, who murdered his own father; Kazuma, a former biker who murdered four of his gang members; Inui, a bomb-crazy epileptic; Shiratori, a doctor who was put away for aiding suicides; the temperamental Ushiyama; former chinpira Shishido; pimp Kiyoshi; and porn entrepreneur Fujio. The film's first hour is comic, with the interactions between the characters highlighting the individuality of each, allowing the audience to get to know them intimately before switching to pure tragedy in the second half. After the group's original goal meets with disappointment, one by one they set out to pursue their individual peace in a solitary fashion, seeking the lost loved ones to whom they must come clean. Sadly, their efforts at atonement are often met with explosive disaster. Modeled on John Sturges' THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963), 9 SOULS seamlessly incorporates surrealist elements and fast pacing into its hip storyline, creating a daring, innovative drama that expands genre tropes to include a vast range of emotion.

Description:

World War II Morocco springs to life in Michael Curtiz's (THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, YANKEE DOODLE DANDY) classic love story. Colorful characters abound in Casablanca, a waiting room for Europeans trying to escape Hitler's war-torn Europe. Humphrey Bogart plays Richard "Rick" Blaine, a cynical but good-hearted American whose café is the gathering place for everyone from the French Police to the black market to the Nazis. When his long-lost love, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), surfaces in Casablanca with her Resistance leader husband, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), Rick is pulled into both a love triangle and a web of political intrigue. Ilsa and Victor need to escape from Casablanca, and Rick may be the only one who can help them. The question is, will he? Top-notch performances include Claude Rains as the chief of the French police and the major authority figure in Unoccupied France, Peter Lorre as the doomed Senor Ugarte, Sydney Greenstreet as Senor Ferrari, and Dooley Wilson as Rick's loyal friend and the café's pianist, Sam. The mesmerizing musical score, by Max Steiner, along with the well-structured plot, flawless acting, and unforgettable dialogue makes this one of the best films of all time.

Description:

World War II Morocco springs to life in Michael Curtiz's (THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, YANKEE DOODLE DANDY) classic love story. Colorful characters abound in Casablanca, a waiting room for Europeans trying to escape Hitler's war-torn Europe. Humphrey Bogart plays Richard "Rick" Blaine, a cynical but good-hearted American whose café is the gathering place for everyone from the French Police to the black market to the Nazis. When his long-lost love, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), surfaces in Casablanca with her Resistance leader husband, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), Rick is pulled into both a love triangle and a web of political intrigue. Ilsa and Victor need to escape from Casablanca, and Rick may be the only one who can help them. The question is, will he? Top-notch performances include Claude Rains as the chief of the French police and the major authority figure in Unoccupied France, Peter Lorre as the doomed Senor Ugarte, Sydney Greenstreet as Senor Ferrari, and Dooley Wilson as Rick's loyal friend and the café's pianist, Sam. The mesmerizing musical score, by Max Steiner, along with the well-structured plot, flawless acting, and unforgettable dialogue makes this one of the best films of all time.

Description:

When her father tries to placate a pair of crooked loan sharks with an enormous diamond on a short-term loan, Betsy Cummings (Joan Barclay) poses as a thief to keep them from running off with the goods. Her efforts to "steal" the diamond back, however, are thwarted by Jimmy Baxter (former Tarzan Herman Brix), who is unaware of her true identity. This 1937 film predates the similar Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole classic HOW TO STEAL A MILLION by almost 30 years.

Description:

The year is 1948, the place is Los Angeles, and Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins (Denzel Washington) is a black man who has just lost his job and is in dire need of money. So, despite having no experience as a private eye, Easy accepts an assignment from a seedy man (Tom Sizemore) to find the missing Daphne Monet (Jennifer Beals), the mistress of a powerful mayoral candidate. As Rawlins conducts his search, he unexpectedly becomes drawn into a complex racially-charged web of intrigue involving political machinations, double-crossings, blackmail, and mysterious deaths. With the aid of his trigger-happy friend Mouse (Don Cheadle), Easy must rely on his instincts and neophyte detective skills, not only to solve the case, but also to save his life. African-American director Carl Franklin (ONE FALSE MOVE) brings Walter Mosley's crime series to life with this dense thriller, aided greatly by Tak Fujimoto's sun-soaked photography and an electric soundtrack reflecting the music of the times. As Easy Rawlins, an everyman who finds himself an unwilling pawn in a dangerous game of mystery and murder, Washington delivers an intense performance. It is Don Cheadle, however, who steals the show, giving his hot-tempered Mouse a comic humanity that is at once menacing, hysterical, and unforgettable.

Description:

This double feature of Lifetime Original movies includes two adaptations of novels by romance author Nora Roberts: ANGELS FALL, starring Heather Locklear; and BLUE SMOKE, starring Alicia Witt. See individual titles for complete details.

Description:

In four devilish and delightful mysteries, David Suchet plays the role of Agatha Christie's fussy and brilliant Hercule Poirot. This release contains the following episodes: "The Mystery of the Blue Train," "Taken at the Flood," "After the Funeral," and "Cards on the Table."