New Videos - September 2006
On DVD:
Balseros - DVD TAC-718
The heartrending yet triumphant account of seven Cuban refugees who risked everything in pursuit of the American Dream. Follows a lively group of rafters, many of whom were detained at the Guantanamo naval base before being allowed onto American soil.
Depuis qu'Otar est parti - DVD TAC-719
A family portrait of three generations of Georgian women in the city of Tbilisi . Eka obsesses over her physician son Otar, while the other two attempt to deal as best they can with Eka's burning desire to see him. A poignant, bittersweet story.
The Jacques Cousteau Odyssey - DVD TAC-721 v. 1-6
This set includes all 12 episodes from the TV series The Cousteau Odyssey, which covers multiple Cousteau explorations including shipwrecks, mystery islands, the Nile River , and more.
Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant-Garde Film 1894-1941 - DVD TAC-722 v. 1-7
A collection of films including early silents with musical accompaniment that present the broadest possible spectrum of experimental films produced between the 1890's to 1940's. Includes explanatory information as to technique, style and concepts.
Gates of Heaven - DVD TAC-723
When a pet cemetery in California is forced to close its gates, its dearly departed must be moved to a neighboring cemetery. This begins a strange journey involving eccentric cemetery operators and anguished animal lovers.
The Thin Blue Line - DVD TAC-724
Errol Morris sets out to prove that a convicted hitchhiker did not kill a Dallas policeman in 1976 - and that the lowlife that fingered him did. Based on a true story.
Vernon , Florida - DVD TAC-725
Fire up the pickup and head down to this bizarre backwater town with Errol Morris, as he presents a pastiche of fascinating interviews with the weird and wonderful people of Vernon, Florida.
Pin Chip (3-Iron) - DVD TAC-726
When a mysterious drifter breaks into a mansion, he discovers a lonely, beautiful woman trapped in an abusive marriage. When she escapes on the back of his motorcycle, their romantic adventures are just beginning.
The Boys of Baraka - DVD TAC-727
Follows a group of 12-year-old boys from the most violent ghettos of Baltimore to the Baraka School , an experimental boarding school in rural Kenya , where children live by strict guidelines, yet are given the freedom to grow.
The Agronomist - DVD TAC-728
Tells the story of Haitian national hero, journalist, and freedom fighter Jean Dominique, whom Demme first met and filmed in 1986. As owner and operator of his nation's oldest and only free radio station, Dominique was frequently at odds with his country's various repressive governments and spent much of the 80's and early 90's in exile in New York, where Demme continued to interview him over the years. Dominique fought tirelessly against his country's overwhelming injustice, oppression, and poverty, but it was his shocking and still-unsolved assassination in April of 2000 that gave the director the impetus to assemble more than a decade's worth of material into a celebration of this dynamic man's life and legacy.
Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst - DVD TAC-729
On February 4, 1974 , college student Patty Hearst (granddaughter of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst), was kidnapped from her apartment by a terrorist group calling itself the Symbionese Liberation Army. The SLA , seeking to foment a violent uprising within America 's working class, forced the Hearst family to donate millions of dollars in food to the poor. But two months after her kidnapping, Patty emerged in public as Tania, an armed member of the SLA who helped her captors to rob a bank. Director Robert Stone uses rare and previously unseen archive footage as well as interviews with former SLA members to explain " America 's first encounter with modern media-driven political terrorism."
Sunset Story - DVD TAC-730
Sunset Story is a funny and intimate documentary that will make you think differently about growing old. It tells the story of Irja (81) and Lucille (95), two friends at a rest home for retired radicals. As they attend demonstrations, register their fellow residents to vote and debate everything under the sun, Irja and Lucille's verve and humor delight us. Sunset Story doesn't shy away from the sadness of old age; it reveals two elderly women's lives in an unusually authentic and surprisingly moving way.
West 47 th Street - DVD TAC-731
This documentary provides an unprecedented window on the lives of mentally ill people. It is set at Fountain House, a rehabilitation program for people with serious mental illness located in New York City 's Hell's Kitchen.
The Hitch-hiker - DVD TAC-732
The only true 'film noir' ever directed by a woman, this tour de force thriller ... is a classic, tension-packed, three-way dance of death about two middle-class American homebodies (Edmond O'Brien and Frank Lovejoy) on vacation in Mexico on a long-awaited fishing trip. Suddenly their car and their very lives are commandeered by [a] psychopathic serial killer ... [A] fascinating character-study.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - DVD TAC-733
Adam, the eldest of seven brothers, goes to town to get a wife. He convinces Milly to marry him that same day. They return to his backwoods home. Only then does Milly discover that Adam has six other brothers all living with him in his cabin. Milly sets out to reform the uncouth siblings, who are anxious to get wives of their own. Then, after reading a story, Adam develops an idea that will create the solution to his brothers' loneliness - kidnap the women they want!
Busting Out - DVD TAC-734
A disarmingly honest and intimate exploration of our society's fascination with women's breasts. Directors Strickwerda and Spellman Smith unflinchingly examine the good, the bad and the ugly sides of this American icon, delving into the history and politics of breast obsession in the U.S. From breast-crazy men shouting 'Flash those racks!' to the fears of breast cancer and the disparate attitudes of cultures worldwide, the directors leave no stone unturned in their quest to demystify the American breast.
Point of Attack - DVD TAC-735
Looks at the U.S. government's policy since September 11, 2001 towards immigrants from Middle Eastern and South Asian countries that are predominantly Muslim. Charges that the compulsory registration of men from these countries and the mass detention and deportation of Muslim immigrants are discriminatory actions based on religion.
Theologians Under Hitler - DVD TAC-736
This film, based upon ground-breaking research, introduces the viewer to three of the greatest Christian scholars of the twentieth century, Paul Althaus, Emanuel Hirsch and Gerhard Kittel, men who were also outspoken supporters of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.
Animals Gone Wild - DVD TAC-737
"Animals Behaving Badly" looks at the adaptation of certain wild animals to human encroachment on their habitats. "The Good, the Bad, and the Grizzly" discusses the success of grizzly repopulation and its impact on the people who live in grizzly territory.
Good Night, and Good Luck - DVD TAC-738
Takes place in the 1950's America , during the early days of broadcast journalism. It chronicles the real-life conflict between television newsman Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee. With a desire to report the facts and enlighten the public, Murrow, and his dedicated staff - headed by his producer Fred Friendly and Joe Wershba in the CBS newsroom - defy corporate and sponsorship pressures to examine the lies and scaremongering tactics perpetrated by McCarthy during his communist 'witch-hunts'. A very public feud develops when the Senator responds by accusing the anchor of being a communist. In this climate of fear and reprisal, the CBS crew carries on and their tenacity will prove historic and monumental.
Sideways - DVD TAC-739
Miles is a divorced man and a failed writer who teaches junior high English. He decides to take his best friend, somewhat famous actor Jack, on a weeklong drive through California 's wine country. There they explore their failures and question their relationships.
Seabiscuit - DVD TAC-740
Based on a true story. A half-blind ex-prizefighter and mustang breaker team up with a millionaire and his rough-hewn, undersized horse, Seabiscuit. The men bring Seabiscuit to incredible heights, helping to turn a long shot into a legend. Eventually, Seabiscuit earns Horse of the Year honors in 1938.
Capote - DVD TAC-741
In 1959, Truman Capote was a popular writer for The New Yorker. He learns about the horrific and senseless murder of a family of four in Halcomb , Kansas . Inspired by the story, Capote and his partner, Harper Lee, travel to the town to do research for an article. However, as Capote digs deeper into the story, he is inspired to expand the project into what would be his greatest work, "In Cold Blood." He arranges extensive interviews with the prisoners, especially with Perry Smith. However, his feelings of compassion for Perry conflicts with his need for closure for his book which only an execution can provide. That conflict and the mixed motives for both interviewer and subject make for a troubling experience that would produce a literary account that would redefine modern non-fiction.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World - DVD TAC-742
During the Napoleonic Wars, a British frigate, the HMS Surprise, and the larger French warship, Acheron, stalk each other off of the coast of South America . Lucky Jack, as he is referred to by his crew, is well regarded by his men, who trust him implicitly, even after the first devastating battle and an apparent personal vendetta against the French captain. The ship's surgeon balances the violence of his chosen life with the quiet demeanor of the scientist. He is the captain's friend and confidant, the two frequently playing violin and cello duets together.
Traffic - DVD TAC-743
Presents a mix of interrelated stories: a Mexican policeman finds himself and his partner caught in an often deadly web of corruption; a pair of DEA agents work undercover in a sordid and dangerous part of San Diego; a wealthy drug baron living in upscale, suburban America is arrested and learns how quickly his unknowing and pampered wife takes over his business; and the U.S. President's new drug czar must deal with his increasingly drug-addicted teenage daughter.
A Beautiful Mind - DVD TAC-744
Dramatic biography of John Nash, a mathematical genius, who made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a painful and harrowing journey of self-discovery. After many years of struggle, he eventually triumphed over his schizophrenia, and finally, late in life, received the Nobel Prize.
Chocolat (2000) - DVD TAC-745
When a single mother and her young daughter move to rural France and open a chocolate shop - with Sunday hours - across the street from the local church, they are met with some resistance from the rigidly moral community. But as soon as the townspeople discover their delicious products, their attitudes begin to change.
The Hours - DVD TAC-746
In 1929, Virginia Woolf is starting to write her novel, 'Mrs. Dalloway, ' under the care of doctors and family. In 1951, Laura Brown is planning for her husband's birthday, but is preoccupied with reading Woolf's novel. In 2001, Clarissa Vaughn is planning an award party for her friend, an author dying of AIDS. Taking place over one day, all three stories are interconnected with the novel: one is writing it, one is reading it, and one is living it.
American Beauty - DVD TAC-747
An emotionally & spiritually comatose suburban man decides "to hell with it all" and reverts to living as he did when he was happiest--as a carefree teenager. His desperately uptight wife and sullen daughter can only look on as he quits his corporate job to become a burger flipper, starts getting high with a strange new neighbor (whose parents are even stranger) and lusts after a pouty blonde teenager--his daughter's best friend.
Gangs of New York - DVD TAC-748
In 1846, waves of Irish immigrants poured into the New York neighborhood of Five Points. "Billy the Butcher" bands his fellow "Native Americans" into a gang to take on the Irish gang "The Dead Rabbits," organized by Priest Vallon. After a bloody clash Vallon is dead and his son ends up in a brutal reform school. In 1862, that boy returns to seek vengeance against the man that killed his father.
The Green Mile - DVD TAC-749
Death Row guards at a penitentiary, in the 1930's, have a moral dilemma with their job when they discover one of their prisoners, a convicted murderer, has a special gift.
Why We Fight - DVD TAC-750
Explores a half-century of U.S. foreign policy from World War II to the Iraq War, revealing how, as Dwight Eisenhower had warned in his 1961 Farewell Address, political and corporate interests have become alarmingly entangled in the business of war. On a deeper level, what emerges is a portrait of a nation in transition--drifting dangerously far from her founding principles toward a more imperial and uncertain future.
Munich - DVD TAC-752
It's the 1972 Olympics and PLO terrorists have just kidnapped and murdered 11 Israeli athletes. After the tragic incident is over and several of the terrorists have gone free, the Israeli government of Golda Meir recruits Avner to lead a team of undercover agents to hunt down those responsible throughout Europe, and eliminate them one-by-one. It is physically and emotionally messy work, and conflicts between Avner and his team's handler, Ephraim, over information Avner doesn't want to provide only make things harder. Soon the work starts to take its toll on Avner, especially as it becomes clear that Avner is being hunted in return, and that his family's safety may be in jeopardy.
