Perfectly Frank is a delightful stroll through the tunes of Frank Loesser, composer of songs for stage and screen. Cloris Leachman does a marvelous job here, as does Jonelle Allen and the rest of the cast, but be prepared also to be stunned by the smoldering and smart Vicki Frederick doing a fantastic take on The Boys in the Back Room, the tune made famous by Marlene Dietrich in Destry Rides Again. A must see for musical theatre fans!
Tag: 1980s
Filmed on location at La Plata, Castro’s former guerrilla headquarters- the first time any foreign film crew had been permitted there – the documentary examines the origins of Castro’s revolution, and its ultimate successes and failures. It places U.S.-Cuban relations within the context of history, dating back to the Spanish-American War in 1898. The documentary goes on to paint a canvas of everyday Cuban life. It contrasts the successes of Cuba – medical care, education and housing – with the often repressive political measures implemented by the Castro government. We hear from Cuban artists, State Department officials, exiled writers, and Fidel Castro himself.
Two cosmonauts arrive on a barren world and begin a clean-up operation. In the course of their duties, they revive the planet’s civilisation and discover the real reason for its devastation- thermonuclear war. Produced after the peak of tensions in the late Cold War, this animated short from Armenfilm reflects a muted optimism that humanity might- just- avoid total destruction. It also demonstrates the strength of animation under the Soviet system, where even the smaller state studios were capable of inventive but technically polished work.
Extended Play chronicles the misadventures of a teenage youth out for a summer afternoon of leisure fun, in a large suburban shopping mall. Failing numerous attempts to make points with the fairer sex, the young man directs his attention to the nearby amusement arcade where vicarious, but more accessible, thrills abound. Electric sounds of mock battles intermingled with laughter emanate from the mysterious depths. Like a moth attracted to a candle flame, our hero is irresistably drawn inside… and there, the adventure begins.
A middle-aged TV reporter goes to the inn of a small Swiss village to do a programme with a reclusive scientist, an expert on world food shortages. During this time, a local worker is killed in a road crash and the reporter becomes involved in uncovering the truth about his death.
A recent high school graduate is faced with two options, either go to a business school where his father wants him to go to, or get a full time job. However he decides to defy his father and go to Hawaii. Trouble is he has no money. Along the way he comes to understand his parents and eventually bonds with his father.
A puppy was born in Akita Prefecture and sent as a gift to Professor Ueno of Tokyo University. Although professor’s wife does not want keep the dog. Professor Ueno loves the puppy so much and names it Hachi. Professor goes to work by railways everyday. Hachi walks to Shibuya Station with Professor each morning and greets him in the evening, no matter what the weather is. One day, Professor Ueno has a stroke and passed away. His family sold the house and moved to another city, but Hachi keeps visiting the house and waiting at the Shibuya station, believing his master will return. Based on a true story of Hidesaburo Ueno and his Akita breed dog “Hachiko.”
A requiem for a Russian peasant woman, Maria Semionovna Voinova. The film is in two chapters. The first chapter consists of an impression of Maria Semionovna, scenes of the colours of summer time: hay–making, bathing in a river, work in the flax fields and a holiday in the Crimea. The second chapter, set nine years later, is in black and white and deals with how Maria Semionovna’s life ended. The mood is one of a sad and elegiac narration.