——UPGRADED——
Harassed by the day, a man runs away in the evening from people and town. He crawls into his little room to sleep. The dream is bringing him the limitless and quiet spaces of solitude. At last, he is alone and free. But the solitude engenders the fear.
After a four-year absence, Johnny Shattuck returns home to find that ex-rustler Dean Cannary has his eyes on the Shattuck family farm. To force Johnny off the property, Cannary has fenced off a formerly accessible water hole. Unable to best Cannary through legal means, Johnny reluctant prepares for a one-on-one showdown.
Karl is a young Austrian boy growing up in the Tyrol. His authoritarian father is too busy to pay him much attention, and his mother is preoccupied with caring for her other children. Karl seeks the companionship of Rudi, his dog, but when a trader from the black market offers to buy Rudi, Karl’s father agrees. Hearing the news, Karl is horrified and decides to hide the dog. A compelling study of the warmth of youth and the deep-rooted need for love in many adults.
A record of the crucial Civil War period made up mostly of Mathew Brady’s original wet-plate photographs. Relates the story of the war, describing its causes, its battles, leaders, and its effect on the nation.
Ivory’s first, slightly intoxicated film (part of his MA thesis for the University of Southern California) is a documentary on the history of Venice as revealed through the work of some of the artists who have painted its architecture and citizens (from Gentile Bellini to Saul Steinberg).
Three women staying at a remote Welsh inn toss coins into a well wishing to improve their miserable lives. Along comes postman Evans to help them out and set them straight.
Concerned that his fiancée of five years will leave him if he can’t afford to marry, auto mechanic Max Rutgers and his friend Rocky Baker place all their faith in mutual pal Gus Harris getting his horse trainer license so that they can invest in a racehorse. When Gus flunks the trainer test again, the friends come up with a surprisingly successful gimmick to rob a bank and buy a horse — only to have to continue robbing banks to support it.
Prohibition-era nightclub crooner Joe E. Lewis has his career and nearly his life cut short when his throat is slashed as payback for leaving the employ of Chicago mob boss Georgie Parker. A broken alcoholic, Joe is brought back from the abyss by his faithful piano player, Austin Mack, who helps turn the former singer into a successful stand-up comedian. But Joe’s demons plague his romantic life even as he reaches new heights of success.
