It’s a city that’s larger than life. A city without limits. A glittering mecca of excess and forbidden desires. Discover the fascinating story of this fabled destination and the people who created it. From the mobsters who made Vegas into their version of American Dream to the tycoons of today’s family mega-resorts, this is the ultimate insider’s tour of America’s neon oasis. Illuminating interviews with luminaries like Alan King, Wayne Newton and Debbie Reynolds, writer Nick Pileggi, entrepreneur Steve Wynn and Howard Hughes frontman Robert Mayheu offer a unique, unvarnished look at the fabled city, while never-before-seen footage opens a window to its tumultuous past.
rarefilmm | The Cave of Forgotten Films Posts
Set in 17th century Norway, The Witch Hunt tells the story of a woman who returns to her hometown after a failed marriage; she is regarded as a witch due to her use of herbal medicine and love affair and gets ostracized. With the cold somber long takes, the film examines how women are isolated in a patriarchy, condemning the fear imposed upon women by history and power. The Witch Hunt put Breien together with Chantal Akerman among the most important female directors in the history of European cinema. The film won Special Mention for Historical Reconstruction and Best Actress at the 1981 Venice Film Festival.
The touching portrayal of a young mother (and dance student) who travels to California after the death of her husband. In order to pay the bills she takes up burlesque dancing. To her dismay, the club she works at is sold to new owners who transform it into a hardcore strip club, where the dancers must bare all. Reluctantly, she performs. Unfortunately, a photographer hired by her father-in-law is in the audience, who snaps some naughty pics of her performing. He uses these to try and get custody of his grandson.
A young, impressionable communist Hugo is sent to kill a rogue party chairman, Hoederer, who slowly manipulates Hugo into working for him, but Hugo’s flirty wife Jessica will prove the downfall of them both.
Paul and Paula have had bad experiences with love: Paul is financially well off but has lost all affection for his wife, and Paula leads a troublesome life raising two children on her own. They meet and discover a strong passion for each other. Life seems like a dream when they’re together – but their short flights from the burdens of reality are once and again interrupted by Paul’s ties to family and career.
A naive Canadian barber who knows US popular culture inside and out meets a flamboyant roadie who needs someone to drive her and her “brother’s” corpse to New Orleans. Chaos ensues after the barber agrees to drive her, the corpse, and the drugs stashed within all the way.
The rise, fall, and rebirth of Christian Hosoi, the young man who helped skateboarding re-emerge as a major cultural influence in the 1980s. The inventive skater and businessman was incarcerated in 2000 for trafficking controlled substances across state lines, and since his parole in 2004, the Born-Again Christian has dedicated his life to being a good father and positive influence on the sport.
In the first part of the film, two young women live together and create their own eccentric adventures, transforming their (always rainy) everyday environment into an enchanted playground, full of pop-musical sequences and synchronized tooth brushing performances. As the second half of the film shifts to both deeper psychological themes and a more meta-filmic playfulness, Yaguchi develops a bewitchingly melancholic atmosphere of unpredictability.