Focus

Starring:William H. Macy, Laura Dern, David Paymer, Meat Loaf, Kay Hawtrey, Michael Copeman, Kenneth Welsh, Joseph Ziegler, Arlene Meadows, Peter Oldring, Robert McCarrol, Shaun Austin-Olsen, Kevin Jubinville, B.J. McQueen, Conrad Bergschneider, Brad Austin, David Blacker, Beatriz Pizano, Rick Braggins, Rodger Barton
Director: Neal Slavin
Studio: Paramount
Product Type: DVD
Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Neal Slavin's surreal adaptation of Arthur Miller's 1945 novel Focus is as didactic as it is genuinely harrowing. Written as an illumination of the rampant anti-Semitism that Miller experienced as a young man in wartime New York, the film is a suffocating fable of the perils of conformism, which repeatedly corners the viewer into wondering what he or she would do in Lawrence Newman's shoes. Set near the end of World War II, Focus posits a grim, nightmarish outcome to the end of the war where patriotism has eroded into xenophobia and growing paranoia.
The Union Crusaders, following the inflammatory rhetoric of a nationally broadcast radio preacher, have begun to openly blame the Jews for the war and threaten all non-gentiles with bodily harm. As the meekly protestant Newman (William H. Macy)--recently demoted at work because his new glasses make him look "too Jewish"--soon becomes a target in his own home, he is forced to open his eyes to the hatred surging throughout the city and his own past silences and collaborations. While the script is relentlessly one-dimensional in its message, strong performances by Macy, Laura Dern (as Newman's leftist love interest), and Meat Loaf (as Newman's menacing neighbor) deliver anxiety and fear presciently reflective of today's climate. --Fionn Meade
Average customer rating:
- Strength
- Breathtaking Scenery!
- Superb documentary, inspirational
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Dancing the Bear
Director: Chris Lott , and Bill Bradbury
Manufacturer: Soul Focus Productions
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- The Runner: Extreme UltraRunner David Horton
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ASIN: B000QSIZGM |
Product Description
The ancient tradition of long distance trail running continues in modern times, stripped of its mythology but still potent as a transformative event.
The Bear 100-Mile Endurance Run is the backdrop for the story of two women and their emotional journey through southern Idaho's Bear River Mountain Range. Pushing their bodies to the limit, they strive to accomplish the impossible, to run 100 miles of wild mountain trails in less than 35 hours.
Customer Reviews:
Strength.......2007-06-04
Most people would never find the strength it takes to run a 100 mile race up and down mountains in a lifetime. I'm not a long distance runner / ultra-runner, but I do enjoy running. This film let me know what it would take to compete in such an intense endeavour. This documentary takes place in the beautiful Northen Utah mountains. The movie has interviws, and it cuts to the chase about what it takes to run the Bear. It covers the entire race, from early morning until the next. If you're a long distance runner that competes / or a jogger that wonders what it might take to be one, than this film is for you. It's the type of film one would expect to come across at a Banff Film Festival.
Deffinitley a worthwhile short film.
Breathtaking Scenery!.......2007-05-17
The landscape in this movie is breathtaking to watch. The brilliant colors and the cold nights really puts the viewer in the shoes of the runners. The runners themselves also have a great charisma and energy and makes this movie wonderful to watch. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys nature.
Superb documentary, inspirational.......2007-05-16
As a marathoner and occasional trail-runner, I found this documentary to be both informative and inspiring. I never knew what goes on during these grueling 100-mile ultra running events, but "Dancing the Bear" took me into the hearts and minds of both the runners and the race itself. It captures both the highs and the lows of running, both the serenity and the bruised feet, both the exaltation of finishing and mid-race mind games. Cool soundtrack too. I recommend this movie for not just trail runners, but road runners and non-runners as well, as it demystifies much of what makes runners "tick".
Average customer rating:
- Deeply disturbing
- i wonder what klink & schultz were up to ...
- sad but good film
- Surreal Film about another victim from Hollywood Babylon
- A tragic tale of one mans addiction...
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Auto Focus
Starring: Greg Kinnear , Willem Dafoe , Rita Wilson , Maria Bello , and Ron Leibman
Director: Paul Schrader
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
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ASIN: B000087F7Q
Release Date: 2003-03-18 |
Amazon.com
Auto Focus captures the scandalous private life of Bob Crane, star of the German P.O.W. camp sitcom Hogan's Heroes. Greg Kinnear plays the affable comic actor, who nursed an obsession with sex--pornography, strippers, swinging, domination, and especially the videotaping of his own sexual exploits. His behavior led to the downfall of two marriages and enmeshed Crane in a strangely symbiotic relationship with a video equipment salesman named John Carpenter (Willem Dafoe); Carpenter provided the technology, and Crane (through the power of his fame) provided the girls. Their friendship ultimately wore thin and may have led to Crane's gruesome death. Auto Focus is a lot like an episode of Behind the Music, but with sex in the place of the usual downfall-causing drugs; though elegantly filmed, it doesn't delve too deeply into Crane's joy, and so never gets a genuine feel for his pain either. --Bret Fetzer
Customer Reviews:
Deeply disturbing.......2007-05-22
When I took a trip to see my relatives recently, I noticed with some interest my grandfather's fascination with old television programs. He doesn't get around as much as he once did, so he spends a lot of time parked in front of the television set watching shows on DVD. He has quite a collection. During the time I was there, he played "Hogan's Heroes" on a perpetual loop. I haven't seen the series in years, and most of the shows hold up pretty well. Colonel Klink's endless confusion still garners a few guffaws, Sergeant Schultz still knows nothing, and the prisoners led by the indomitable Colonel Hogan as played by Bob Crane still make the Germans look like buffoons. Of course, anyone with knowledge about Bob Crane's extracurricular activities can't really watch the show without looking for clues to the man's real nature. I'm not sure whether my grandfather knew what Bob Crane did when he wasn't filming episodes of "Hogan's Heroes". And you know what? I couldn't bring myself to tell him that the show he loves so much starred a man with a serious sexual addiction. I'm definitely NOT going to send him a copy of "Auto Focus".
This movie, helmed by veteran Hollywood director Paul Schrader, examines the schizophrenic life of Bob Crane without flinching away from all the unpleasantness. We see little to worry about in the first part of the film. We learn that Crane (Greg Kinnear) has a lot going for him. He owns a wonderful home, complete with swimming pool, and has a beautiful wife named Anne (Rita Wilson). Moreover, he's got a lot of children that seem to make him happy. Our hero also has a great job as a popular disc jockey at a Los Angeles radio station. His work brings in a lot of stars who like the publicity Crane gives them. They also like Crane as a person. What's not to like? Our man comes across as one of the most affable people you would ever want to meet. He's charming to a fault, a charm that eventually helps him attain the lead role in a new television series about Allied prisoners in a German POW camp. Thus was born "Hogan's Heroes," a show that went on to make Bob Crane a star and a household name. We see his ascendancy to fame and fortune in great detail here.
Alas, behind the good looks and the outgoing personality, Bob Crane harbored terrible secrets. We see hints of his addiction in the first part of the film, when his gigs as a drummer in various Los Angeles nightclubs give him access to numerous beautiful women. Still, he doesn't seem out of the ordinary--a lot of guys would cheat on their wives a couple of times given the opportunity. It's when Crane meets John Carpenter (Willem Dafoe), an electronics salesman, that his problems seem to escalate. Carpenter, a real sleaze with a craving for the celebrity lifestyle he can never have, homes in on Crane like a missile. He shows Bob a new device called a video camera, and before too long both men start prowling around town looking for women they can film during their various exploits. The two men, helped greatly by Crane's status as a television star, soon amass hundreds of videos. Women like going to bed with a star, and Crane is only too happy to oblige them. But when "Hogan's Heroes" goes off the air, when his personal relationships start to tank, the only thing left in our hero's life is his sick relationship with John Carpenter. Disaster will inevitably follow.
"Auto Focus" is an amazingly grim film for mainstream Hollywood. What we see here isn't pretty, not by a long shot. You only need to witness the scene between Dafoe and Kinnear, the one discussing the placement of a certain finger, to know that you're walking through a film that refuses to play nice. Watching Bob Crane deteriorate into a zombie whose only function in life revolves around sexual conquest is disturbing in the extreme, almost as disturbing as a place like Hollywood making a movie taking someone with a sexual addiction to task. Hollywood? C'mon! Half the people living there are Bob Cranes, and the other half are the ones sleeping with them. Aside from that little problem, the movie works on a number of levels. One, the acting is excellent. Willem Dafoe turns in a great performance as the scuzzy John Carpenter, and Greg Kinnear practically morphs into the deeply troubled Crane. The two had great chemistry together, and their descent into total immorality was never less than totally believable. Two, I got a kick out of the scenes recreating "Hogan's Heroes". Kurt Fuller playing Werner Klemperer playing Colonel Klink did an incredible job! Three, and finally, I thought the film did an amazing job recreating 1960s and 1970s Los Angeles.
Expect a DVD packed with extra features. The "Auto Focus" disc contains three commentary tracks. One has Willem Dafoe and Greg Kinnear, another one features director Schrader, and the third has the writer and producers commenting on the film. You'll get plenty of information about all aspects of the movie if you listen to these three tracks. Good stuff! Other supplements include five deleted scenes with optional commentary from Schrader, a making of featurette, and a documentary about the death of Bob Crane called "Murder in Scottsdale". This last extra is a must see, as it offers up lots of information about the actor's horrific murder in an Arizona hotel and the subsequent investigations into who committed the crime. If you're in the mood for a movie that likes to walk on the dark side, pick up a copy of "Auto Focus". You'll never look at "Hogan's Heroes" the same way again.
i wonder what klink & schultz were up to ..........2007-03-21
a wonderfully bizarre take on the rise & fall of actor bob crane, a straight-laced suburbanite who is besotted with sexual perversity. in watching reruns of "hogans heroes" these days, its easy to see the truth beneath the leering lechery of colonel hogan (btw, the recreations of the tv series are dead-on perfect), and greg kinnear continues his unsung career as one of the best actors in hollywood, in a role on a par with sam rockwells take on chuck barris in "confessionsof a dangerous mind". the movie might have been improved by a bit of judicious editing, but it captures a slice of time perfectly.
sad but good film.......2007-02-12
filmed very well,well written but a sad film but also a very good film thank you
Surreal Film about another victim from Hollywood Babylon .......2007-01-24
The film is nearly accurate.What the film does not show is why the Scottsdale DA dropped the air-tight case.I would not be surprised if a powerful Hollywood friend of his underling John Carpentier,had pressured the DA to drop the case.The evidence was overwhelming against the sleazeball dixie dreg,John Carpenter.So why drop the case? The Japanese camera equipment was the very first pricey prototype imported ,dealing with home recordings and home video.Kung-fu icon ,Bruce Lee , also bought one of the first models,from John Carpentier.Was John Carpentier involved in 'snuff films' and asian drug dealing?There are many questions still unresolved and may have been taken to their graves.Excellent film,nevertheless.
A tragic tale of one mans addiction..........2006-12-13
I wasn't expecting too much when I picked up `Auto Focus'. It had received less that admirable reviews and sported a cast that included the dreadful William Dafoe, but I was pleased to see that, Dafoe aside, there really wasn't too much about this biopic I didn't like. I didn't know anything about Bob Crane (Greg Kinnear) except that he was Hogan from `Hogan's Heroes', a show I loved as a kid. This film of course exposes his lust for adult entertainment, showing his slow but steady decline into practice that pushed him out of two marriages and away from his very own children.
Kinnear is brilliant here, truly capturing the essence that was this man with enough smug sarcasm and delightful screen presence that he seems a natural. As was brought out by `The New Yorker', Defoe is maybe `too' creepy here to be believable, I mean who would want to be around this guy let alone sleep with him? Maria Bello and Rita Wilson are wonderful as his two wives, Maria giving a much needed boost to the second half of this film.
Crane's story is one to be told, of how something as natural as sex could turn ugly and Kinnear does so much justice to the role it's sad that he wasn't recognized more for it. I think too many people saw this as camp when in actuality it was a very serious side of reality for this man. While it's not for younger viewers and does contain some explicit footage, `Auto Focus' tells the story of a man we all could know because what brought him down was the same thing that all of us enjoy!
Average customer rating:
- New Zealand colonial wars film that had its own "wars".
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River Queen [Import]
Starring: Samantha Morton , Kiefer Sutherland , Cliff Curtis , Temuera Morrison , and Anton Lesser
Director: Vincent Ward
Manufacturer: Focus Filmes
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ASIN: B000LC52GY
Release Date: 2007-01-23 |
Customer Reviews:
New Zealand colonial wars film that had its own "wars"........2007-01-13
This historical drama, set in 1860s New Zealand, focuses on the Whanganui River valley
and an Irish settler's seven year effort in trying to find her son, kidnapped by his Maori grandfather.
All this while colonials and Maori are engaged in guerrilla-style warfare. This is probably Vincent Ward's
best film to date and probably the best Maori themed film yet made. The settings and photography
alone are worth viewing, even though the film is not perfect. I was left with the feeling that some further
improvements were needed with editing. But given the many production problems, there may have been
some filming needs that were not fulfilled. Very much worth experiencing.
Average customer rating:
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Your Child: Essentials of Discipline
Starring: James Dobson
Manufacturer: Focus on the Family Publishing
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ASIN: 1589973623 |
Book Description
For over 25 years, Focus on the Family has been offering Bible-based insights to parents. That first generation of parents impacted countless lives by parenting with principle. Those families and the culture they lived in have changed; new tools are needed for sharing important encouragement with a new generation of parents. Introducing Your Child Video Seminar, a comprehensive DVD series that tackles topics vital to 21stcentury parents. Essentials of Discipline is first in this new series that offers advice every family can apply. Now with the Home Edition, parents can experience these dvds at their own pace, in the comfort of their own home. As they view and discuss the Essentials of Discipline, parents will gain the practical understanding they need to feel confident in their ability to handle discipline in a positive way.
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Historic Dust Bowl Films DVD Series: Disc One: The Plow That Broke The Plains (1936) & Rain For The Earth (1937) Which Focus On Dust Bowl Farming History
Manufacturer: Quality Information Publishers Inc.
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- Table of Contents:
- (1) The Plow That Broke The Plains (1936) - 25 minutes
- (2) Rain For The Earth (Incomplete ~ No Ending) (1937) - 10 minutes
- (3) Farmers War Against Dust; Fight To Save Wheat Crops (1937) - 1 ½ minutes
ASIN: B000IGC7WA |
Product Description
The Dust Bowl is an important piece of American history that had many contributing factors, such as The Great Depression, poor farming practices, and the promise of wealth. Farmers moved to the Midwest in search of arable land and set up huge wheat and grain farms. Things worked out fine for a few years, but eventually the lack of water resources and the overworking of the field led the entire region to be dominated by large clouds of dust or dust storms. Almost all of the pioneer farmers, despite aid from the US government, were forced to migrate from the Great Plains of the Midwest. Table of Contents: (1) The Plow That Broke The Plains (1936) - This film is part of the 1999 National Film Registry of "artistically, culturally, and socially significant" films. It takes a realistic look at how farming in the Midwest turned the land into an uninhabitable cloud of dust, later coined "The Dust Bowl" 25 minutes (2) Rain For The Earth (Incomplete ~ No Ending) (1937) - Discusses the desperation that the drying land caused the Dust Bowl farmers and their families and the US government's failed attempts to help them maintain their farms - 10 minutes (3) Farmers War Against Dust; Fight To Save Wheat Crops (1937) - Newsreel footage of the farmers struggle against dust in the Midwest sponsored by an engine company who claims that their new engine and well drilling system will save the farmers of the Midwest 1 ½ minutes
Average customer rating:
- Title is perfect!
- Poor movie on a serious subject
- Great Film
- "Focus" Out of Focus
- Set in wartime, but still a message for our time
|
Focus
Starring: William H. Macy , Laura Dern , David Paymer , Meat Loaf , and Kay Hawtrey
Director: Neal Slavin
Manufacturer: Paramount
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ASIN: B00005V1XK
Release Date: 2002-03-19 |
Amazon.com
Neal Slavin's surreal adaptation of Arthur Miller's 1945 novel Focus is as didactic as it is genuinely harrowing. Written as an illumination of the rampant anti-Semitism that Miller experienced as a young man in wartime New York, the film is a suffocating fable of the perils of conformism, which repeatedly corners the viewer into wondering what he or she would do in Lawrence Newman's shoes. Set near the end of World War II, Focus posits a grim, nightmarish outcome to the end of the war where patriotism has eroded into xenophobia and growing paranoia.
The Union Crusaders, following the inflammatory rhetoric of a nationally broadcast radio preacher, have begun to openly blame the Jews for the war and threaten all non-gentiles with bodily harm. As the meekly protestant Newman (William H. Macy)--recently demoted at work because his new glasses make him look "too Jewish"--soon becomes a target in his own home, he is forced to open his eyes to the hatred surging throughout the city and his own past silences and collaborations. While the script is relentlessly one-dimensional in its message, strong performances by Macy, Laura Dern (as Newman's leftist love interest), and Meat Loaf (as Newman's menacing neighbor) deliver anxiety and fear presciently reflective of today's climate. --Fionn Meade
Customer Reviews:
Title is perfect!.......2007-03-11
Mr. Newman needs a new pair of glasses to focus his faltering vision. However, this also brings into focus the ugliness of what's really going on around him in his neighborhood. The title of the movie is perfect. With the new glasses, Newman looks more 'Jewish' and soon experiences all the bigotry first hand in this WWII setting. Now that he has a bitter taste of what it's like to be turned away from jobs, harassed at home and beaten up on the street, will he continue to ignore the truth, or are his eyes and mind fully opened? Great performances by Laura Dern, William H. Macy and singer/actor 'Meat Loaf Aday'.
Chrissy K. McVay - Author
Poor movie on a serious subject.......2007-01-19
Let me first start with the obvious: antisemitism has been a serious problem throughout history, present in many societies and causing the deaths of million of Jews. That said, the problem with this movie is that it views the United States - probably the most welcoming society ever to Jews outside of Israel - as a not very different place from Nazi Germany. Set in 1943, the movie is about a Christian man (William H. Macy) who gets confused with a Jew after he starts wearing glasses!. A number of very nasty things happen to him after that (he loses his job and he is unable to find a new one, the neighbors won't talk to him, all ending up in a violent confrontation). From one of Arthur Miller's self pitying, patronizing novels, the sort that gave liberalism a bad name.
Great Film.......2006-10-21
This is a great film in that it takes on a never-ending issue of racism -
done wonderfully by Wm Macy, Laura Dern and others. Arthur Miller's ideas were presented beautifully; bringing out self-searching feelings in all of us. Another example that a film can be great without car-chases, bombs, and the typical needless krap of Hollywood. It is what a film should be: plot, good acting, and the effect of deep thought both inside yourself and of the "bigger picture" in life.
"Focus" Out of Focus.......2005-08-30
I don't wish to trash a movie with its heart in the right place, but giving it even three stars is a stretch, as this particular presentation was a rather hokey one. Penned by Arthur Miller, "Focus" may well be an excellent novel (can't say for sure; have not read it), but as produced and directed by Neal Slavin, 'focus' is precisely what this movie lacks. It tries to take on too much, straining credibility in the process. For example, the whirlwind romance and subsequent marriage of main character Larry Newman (William H. Macy) is totally beyond belief. Perhaps instead Newman and his wife (Laura Dern) should have been introduced as a married couple from the beginning, freeing up more time to 'focus' on Finkelstein (David Paymer), who was about the only character in this production who wasn't a caricature. It is he who asks the probing questions which the movie strains but fails to answer.
Meanwhile, Newman is no hero. Not until the victim dies some weeks or months later is he willing to take the minimal step of contacting the police, even as he witnessed the crime in progress from the beginning. Macy is always a good choice for portaying the meek, milquetoast types, but Newman is over-the-top, making him therefore much more a part of the problem than the solution, and consequently not a sympathetic character. It is this kind of wimpyness which allows the prevalence of Pack Mentality to become so treacherous in the first place; more dangerous even than the initial hatred(s) which incite it to begin with. There will always be scumbuckets among us; it is only when they are able to seduce others and frighten away the rest that they become a major threat.
But the average person with an intact brain realizes this, one would think. Or not? Viewers who say things like "this was different, because it made me think" make me wonder how they spend most of the rest of their waking hours, if NOT thinking is the 'norm'. Now THAT is scary indeed!
Set in wartime, but still a message for our time.......2005-04-02
Larry Newman, played by William Macy, lives a quiet and well-ordered life in New York towards the end of WWII. He works as a personnel man, lives with his mother, and has not gotten married because he's "too busy working and paying for (his) house". Suddenly his world falls apart when he witnesses the beating of a young Puerto Rican girl by a neighbor, and is demoted in his job because he has new glasses which make him "look Jewish". He meets and marries a young woman who is often mistaken for being Jewish and thus opens himself up for attack by the Union Crusaders, one of whom is his next-door neighbor, Fred. From a quiet beginning, the movie moves quickly to violence and hatred, and a man caught in the middle of it all. William Macy does a convincing job of showing the transformation of a shy man who doesn't want to become involved to one who is not afraid to stand up for his beliefs.
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Adventures in Odyssey: Shadow of Doubt
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson Publi
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Similar Items:
- Adventures in Odyssey: Star Quest
- Adventures in Odyssey: The Knight Travellers
- Adventures in Odyssey: Someone To Watch Over Me
- Adventures in Odyssey: Go West Young Man
- Adventures In Odyssey: In Harms Way & Baby Daze
ASIN: 1400304008
Release Date: 2004-06-03 |
Book Description
None of Dylan's adventures in the Imagination Station could prepare him for the unexpected adventure that lies before him! As Dylan and Jesse journey through an amazing, imaginary safari, a glitch in the computer program causes a premature end to the adventure. When Dylan goes back in to retrieve a forgotten backpack, all goes awry as he is thrown into a series of bizarre events that would even have the inventor, himself, scratching his head. Can Dylan outrun the relentless enemy? Will he ever find his way out of the winding labyrinth? You'll hang on the edge of your seat throughout this rousing tale of faith, courage, and mystery.
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Tara Road (2005)
Starring: Brenda Fricker , and Ruby Wax
Director: Gillies MacKinnon
Manufacturer: Focus Filmes
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Product Features:
ASIN: B000R2RL9Y |
Product Description
Tara Road - Aprendendendo a Viver (2005)
- Two women -- one American, one Irish -- swap houses and alter the course of their lives
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Adventures in Odyssey: Star Quest
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson Publisher
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- Adventures in Odyssey: The Knight Travellers
- Adventures in Odyssey: Shadow of Doubt
- Adventures in Odyssey: Someone To Watch Over Me
- Adventures in Odyssey: Go West Young Man
- Adventures in Odyssey: Stanger Among Us
ASIN: 1400304016
Release Date: 2004-06-03 |
Book Description
Come along for the ride in this high-flying sci-fi adventure when Dylan and his buddy Sal learn that their favorite TV show, "Star Quest," is filming in Odyssey. When Whit builds an enormous robot for the episode, Dylan and Sal are determined to get in on the lights, camera and action. But our heroes boldly go where no man has gone before when they discover this robot has a mind of his own. The sky's the limit in this thrilling voyage with a valuable lesson.
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The Trial
Starring: William Chappell , Raoul Delfosse , Suzanne Flon , Arnoldo Foa , and Jess Hahn
Director: Orson Welles
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Similar Items:
- The Conformist (Extended Edition)
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ASIN: B000C6NP9U
Release Date: 2006-02-07 |
Description
Adapted from Frank Kafka's novel, "Le Proces," "The Trial" stars Anthony Perkins as Joseph K., an innocent victim charged with an unnamed crime. Masterfully directed by Welles - who sets a riveting, maddening and brilliantly disturbing pace - this rarely seen 1963 gem has long been a cult classic.
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Robocop: Prime Directives - Resurrection
Cracker - Brotherly Love / Best Boys
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