Blair Recommends: DVDs

Blair Recommends: DVDs

Sewickley Public Library staff member, Blair, has great recommendations! Whether it’s books she’s personally read, movies she’s watched, or rave reviews she’s noted from patrons – she collects lists of both popular and underrated materials you may have not yet checked out. We’re featuring these titles in a new series we’re calling “Blair Recommends.”  Up first: DVDs!


Foreign

Cover ImageAsh is the Purest White [2018]

In an industrial city in China, a young dancer named Qiao falls in love with a mobster named Bin. When a fight breaks out between rival gangs, Qiao uses a gun to protect Bin and is sent to prison for five years. When she is released, she seeks Qiao out to renew their relationship.

 


English Language

Cover ImageThe Public [2018]

An act of civil disobedience turns into a standoff with police when homeless people in Cincinnati take over the public library to seek shelter from the bitter cold.

 

 


Documentary

Cover ImageKen Burns American Lives

This collection presents seven episodes of Burns’ American Lives series, which delves into the biographies of historical figures whose accomplishments helped shape the fabric of America: Thomas Jefferson (1996), Lewis And Clark: The Journey of the Corps Of Discovery (1997), Frank Lloyd Wright (1998), Not For Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony (1999), Mark Twain (2001), Horatio’s Drive: America’s First Road Trip (2003), and Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise And Fall Of Jack Johnson (2004).

 


Cover ImageHondros [2017]

Photojournalist, Chris Hondros, sought to reconcile peerless beauty with unfathomable atrocity, and Greg Campbell’s film follows suit. Hondros covered every major world event from behind the scenes since the late 1990s. Greg Campbell’s documentary tells the untold stories of many of Hondros’s most iconic photographs.

 


Cover ImageLast Men in Aleppo [2015]

The year is 2015. Syria’s brutal civil war has been ravaging the country since the government responded with force to civil protests during the Arab Spring in 2011. Regime, Kurdish, ISIS and rebel forces all occupy various parts of the city of Aleppo in northwestern Syria. A volunteer group called the White Helmets provides emergency services to traumatized residents in the rebel-occupied areas of the city. A crucial part of their efforts is rescuing survivors: After air attacks reduce buildings to rubble, the men of the White Helmets dig through the debris and pull survivors to safety. They are nothing short of heroes. The White Helmets are the subject of Last Men in Aleppo, the searing documentary directed by Feras Fayyad that won the World Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.


Cover ImageThe Nightmare [2015]

What is so striking is the similarity of the stories. People describe lying in bed, awake, unable to move. There is a tingling sensation, like static, like nerve endings shorting out from overuse. People describe a feeling that something is approaching, from behind them, or towards them. Along with that approach comes an overwhelming sense of evil. Dark amorphous shadow figures appear, somewhat human-like, leaning over the person lying in bed, appearing at the door frame. Sometimes the dark figure wears a hat. Something terrible is going to happen and the person is unable to move or to react. This is the experience commonly known as “sleep paralysis” and is the subject of Rodney Ascher’s engaging horror-film-like documentary, “The Nightmare.”

LGBTQ+ Movies

LGBTQ+ Movies from Kanopy & Hoopla

Kanopy, the library’s newest streaming service, offers a wide variety LGBTQ+ themed feature films and documentaries including:

The surprise Oscar winner for Best Picture (2016), Moonlight  is a multi layered coming-of-age story, depicting the struggle of growing up black, gay, impoverished, and living with addiction. Tender, lyrical and raw, the movie portrays three chapters in a young black man’s life as he comes to terms with where he came from and who he is.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post tells the story of a young woman who is sent to gay conversion therapy center by her conservative guardians. Although subjected to dubious therapies there, she also finds a community of people like her. Based on the popular novel by Emily M Danforth, and winner of the U.S. Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018.

Wise Kids follows three childhood friends during the transitional summer after high school graduation. While preparing for their Baptist church’s passion play, one deals with a crisis of faith, another coming to terms with his sexuality, and the last with the fact her friends may make different choices than she expected.

Longtime partners Stella and Dot make a run to Canada to get married after Dot’s granddaughter places her in a nursing home due to her declining health. Along the way, the pair picks up a hitchhiker heading home to see his dying mother. Cloudburst poignantly explores the themes of aging and marriage equality with humor and grace.

A gay couple takes over the care of a teenage boy with Down’s Syndrome in the 1970s and provides a loving home. However, when authorities become aware of the situation, they are forced to prove to a biased system that they are fit custodians. Based on a true story, Any Day Now asks compelling questions about the true nature of love and family.

Vito is a compelling portrayal of prominent gay rights activist Vito Russo from the time of the Stonewall Riots in 1969 until his death from AIDS in 1990. Russo’s book The Celluloid Closet revealed that the way gay people were depicted in film exacerbated society’s biases against them. With archival footage and interviews, this documentary provides a history of gay rights in America during that time period.

Unlike much of the Western World, Russia has made few steps toward gay equality. Documentary Campaign of Hate shows the threats, verbal abuse, and violence that the Russian LGBTQ population endures. The passing of the 2013 “Gay Propaganda” law legitimizes the bias towards this community, and the film makes the case that the government does so for its own political gain.

Hoopla also offers movies and documentaries with LGBTQ+ themes, such as:

Charlize Theron won an Oscar for her portrayal of real life serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the docudrama Monster. The survivor of an abusive childhood, Aileen prostitutes herself to pay the bills for herself and her girlfriend. After killing a client in self defense, she finds that she has a taste for it.

Approximately 1% of the U.S. population identifies as asexual, or experiencing no sexual attraction. The documentary A(sexual) explores this unique sexual orientation, using interviews with researchers as well as people who identify as asexual.

In Other People, David has broken up with his boyfriend and his career isn’t going well, but he doesn’t want to burden his mother with the sad tale since she’s got an even bigger problem: terminal cancer.

The Freedom to Marry documentary focuses on the movement to make same-sex marriage the law of the land. It reveals the history of the movement and profiles key leaders as they present their case to the Supreme Court.

Being black, poor, and gay can be risky in more ways than one, so the young people in Check It banded together to form their own gang in inner-city Washington, DC. This documentary highlights the lives of several gang members as they try their hands at an unlikely way out of gang life: fashion.

With changing societal norms and advances in medicine, it has become possible to transition genders at a younger age. The documentary Growing up Trans reveals the struggles and choices that several young people and their families face as they do so.

Staff Picks: Best of 2018

As 2018 comes to a close, we wanted to look back on the great books and films that were released this year. Many big news sources like GQ, The Washington Post, and Publisher’s Weekly have announced their picks for the best of 2018, but how do these lists measure up to the favorites of our staff? Here are some of the Sewickley Library staff’s favorite books and movies from 2018!

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2019 Golden Globes: Award-Nominated Media at the Library

With awards season just around the corner, the first batch of award nominations are beginning to trickle in. The nominees for the 76th Golden Globe Awards were recently announced, which acknowledge the arts of both film and television. While many of the nominated works aren’t available yet to purchase, here is a list of the nominated movies and television series owned by the Sewickley Public Library!

If you’d like the full list of nominees, click here!

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New DVDs – July 2015

New Feature-Length Films, Foreign Films, and Classics

5 flights up
American sniperas
Blaze
Cut Bank
The last metro
Druid peak
Ex machina
Focus
Get hard
Goonies
Jupiter ascending
Jurassic Park ultimate trilogy
Kill me three times
King of hearts
Last knights
Longest ride
Maggie
Mr. Turner
Paul Blart, mall cop 2
Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Seeds of yesterday
Shoot the piano player
Stand up guys
The discreet charm of the bourgeoisie
While we’re young
Woman in gold
Yesterday, today and tomorrow

New Television Series

Bitten
House of cards. The complete third season
Incredible journey of Mary Bryant
Mystery science theater 3000 XXXIII.
The office. Season four
Witches of East End. Season 2.

New Non-Fiction DVDs

History of Christian theology
Masters of photography: learn photography from 12 National Geographi masters.
Maya to Aztec: ancient Mesoamerica revealed.
Moms Mabley

New DVDs – June 2015

New Feature-Length Films, Foreign Films, and Classics

Adventures of Priscilla, queen of the desert
American graffiti
Carlito’s way
Chappie
Clerks
Duff
Earth girls are easy
Focus
Forger
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
I love you to death
If there be thorns
Jupiter ascending
Kingsman, the secret service
Lazarus effect
McFarland, USA
Memento
Moulin Rouge
Of human bondage
Old fashioned
Project almanac
Relatos salvajes
Reservoir dogs
Run all night
Serena
SpongeBob movie, sponge out of water
Survivor
The French connection
Timbuktu
Unfinished business
Velvet goldmine
Wait until dark
Welcome to Me

New Television Series

Falling skies. Season 4
Graceland. The complete season 2
Justified. The complete final season (season 6)
The newsroom. The complete third season
Parks and recreation. Season seven
Pretty little liars. The complete fifth season
Ripper Street. Season three
Rizzoli & Isles. The complete fifth season
Teen wolf. Season 4
Transporter: the complete second season.
Two and a half men. The complete eleventh season
Two and a half men: the complete twelfth and final season
Workaholics. Season five.

New Non-Fiction DVDs

A midsummer night’s dream
Concerto inaugrale
Die Fledermaus
How Jesus became God
King Arthur: history and legend
Raising emotionally and socially healthy kids
Red army
The science of mindfulness: a research-based path to well-being
The skeptic’s guide to American history
The Wrecking Crew!
Through the wormhole. Season 5
Tosca
What remains

Movies Recently Added for March 2014

Take a look at a selection of movies Sewickley Public Library has recently added to its collection. Click the titles to view the item in the library catalog, where you may submit a request for pickup.

 

Fiction Films

 

DON JON – A New Jersey guy dedicated to his family, friends, and church, develops unrealistic expectations from watching porn and works to find happiness and intimacy with his potential true love. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, and Julianne Moore.

ELYSIUM – In the year 2154, the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth. A man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds. Starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster. Also available as a Blu-Ray.

ENOUGH SAID – A divorced woman who decides to pursue the man she’s interested in learns he’s her new friend’s ex-husband. Starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, and Catherine Keener.

FRUITVALE STATION – The purportedly true story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008. Starring Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, and Octavia Spencer.

IN A WORLD… – An underachieving voice coach finds herself competing in the movie trailer voice-over profession against her arrogant father and his protégé. Starring Lake Bell, Fred Melamed, and Michaela Watkins.

INSTRUCTIONS NOT INCLUDED – A man who has made a new life for himself and the daughter left on his doorstep 6 years ago finds his family threatened when the birth mother resurfaces. Starring Eugenio Derbez, Karla Souza, and Jessica Lindsey. In Spanish with English subtitles.

RUNNER RUNNER – When a poor college student who cracks an online poker game goes bust, he arranges a face-to-face with the man he thinks cheated him, a sly offshore entrepreneur. Starring Ben Affleck, Justin Timberlake, and Gemma Arterton. Also available as a Blu-Ray.

RUSH – The merciless 1970s rivalry between Formula One rivals James Hunt and Niki Lauda. Starring Daniel Brühl, Chris Hemsworth, and Olivia Wilde. Also available as a Blu-Ray.

SHORT TERM 12 – A 20-something supervising staff member of a residential treatment facility navigates the troubled waters of that world alongside her co-worker and longtime boyfriend. Starring Brie Larson, Frantz, Turner, and John Gallagher Jr.

 

Documentary Films

GOOD OL’ FREDA – A documentary in which Freda Kelly looks back at her career as lifelong secretary for The Beatles. Featuring Freda Kelly, Tony Barrow, and the Beatles (archive footage).

TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOM – Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we’ve had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead, until now. Featuring Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, and Lisa Fischer.

All synopses from the Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com).

Recently Added Films for January 2014

Click the links to find and request new fiction and nonfiction films at Sewickley Public Library.

FICTION

BARBARA – As punishment for applying for an exit visa from 1980s East Germany, a doctor working at a prestigious post in a Berlin is banished to a small country hospital. In German with English subtitles.

THE CONJURING – The Conjuring tells the true story of Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators, who were called to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in a secluded farmhouse. Forced to confront a powerful demonic entity, the Warrens find themselves caught in the most horrifying case of their lives. Also available as a Blue-Ray.

GETAWAY – Brent Magna is a burned-out race car driver who is thrust into a do-or-die mission behind the wheel when his wife is kidnapped. With Brent’s only ally being a young hacker, his one hope of saving his wife is to follow the orders of the mysterious voice who’s watching his every move through cameras mounted on the car Brent’s driving.

JOBS – This inspiring and entertaining film chronicles Jobs’ early days as a college dropout to his rise as the co-founder of Apple Computer, Inc. and forced retirement from the company. More than a decade later, Jobs returns and single-handedly sets a course that will turn the once-tiny startup into one of the world’s most valuable companies. His epic journey blazes a trail that changes technology–and the world–forever

MAN OF STEEL – A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind. Also available as a Blu-Ray.

RED 2 – Retired black-ops CIA agent Frank Moses rejoins his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing portable nuclear device. Also available as a Blu-Ray.

2 GUNS – DEA agent Bobby Trench and U.S. naval intelligence officer Marcus Stigman are working undercover for a narcotics business. After a distorted attempt to infiltrate the drug cartel, they soon learn the secret of their dubious affiliation.

THE UNINVITED – A pair of siblings from London purchases a surprisingly affordable, lonely cliff-top house in Cornwall, only to discover that it actually carries a ghostly price–and soon they’re caught up in a bizarre romantic triangle from beyond the grave.

WE’RE THE MILLERS – David is a pot dealer in need of a fake family to use as a cover story in order to smuggle drugs from Mexico into the U.S. He is in major debt with his supplier and is desperate for the money to pay him back. He hires a stripper to be his fake-wife; a runaway as his pretend daughter; and a goofy counterfeit son. Adventure ensues as this faux-family attempts to cross the border with the loot.

THE WOLVERINE – Summoned to Japan by an old acquaintance, Wolverine becomes embroiled in a conflict that forces him to confront his own demons.

THE WORLD’S END – Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from 20 years earlier unwittingly become humankind’s only hope for survival. Also available as a Blu-Ray.

 

NONFICTION

BLACKFISH – Examines the practice of keeping orca whales in captivity through the story of Tilikum, the notorious performing whale who, unlike any orca in the wild, has taken the lives of several people while in captivity.

THE BOOK OF MANNING – A father-and-son story written into the pages of football folklore, it can be argued that no family has had more influence on a sport than the Mannings.

 

French Films – Foreign Language DVDs at your Fingertips

L’age d’or – Using a melange of strange and unrelated images, this surrealistic film about two lovers who mock convention is a statement by Buñuel on the nature of the bourgeoisie, the Church and the police. Banned in France within two weeks of its release. NR

Almost Peaceful – Set immediately following World War II, the story follows a group of Jewish Parisians as they restart their lives. NR

Amélie from Montmartre – A whimsical, comedy-drama about a young French woman (Audrey Tautou) who makes it her mission to raise the spirits of several strangers in her neighborhood. R

And Now … Ladies and Gentlemen – A romantic drama about the love that grows between a British jewel thief (Jeremy Irons) and an ill, but glamorous French jazz singer in Morocco. PG13

Après Vous – A romantic comedy about a Parisian waiter’s random act of kindness in preventing a stranger from committing suicide, the insecure romantic he tries to rehabilitate, and the beautiful woman who comes between them. R

Avenue Montaigne – A young provincial woman who recently moved to Paris and makes a living as a waitress observes the lives of a classical pianist, an art collector, an actress and other famous clientele. NR

Babette’s Feast – A leisurely paced drama about French maid’s elaborate meal preparations for elderly employers in 1870s-era Denmark.  G

Balzac: a Life of Passion – The passionate life of the great French novelist, Honore de Balzac (Gerard Depardieu). NR

The Barbarian Invasions – It’s not easy for a narrow-minded professor to reconcile with his equally stubborn son. R

The Beat That My Heart Skipped – 28-year-old Tom seems destined to follow in his father’s footsteps as a Parisian property shark. But after a chance encounter with his late mother’s music agent, Tom believes that he can become a concert pianist like she was. NR

Beauty and the Beast  – Tells the fable of the kindly beast and the self-sacrificing beauty whose love releases the prince in him. NR

Betty Blue – Betty and Zorg are not your average French lovers. Together, they make life a magical fantasy in which absolutely anything can happen–until their dreams collide with reality. NR

Caché – A talk show host and his wife are living an ideal life until videotapes of them show up on their front porch. As the tapes get more and more personal, they start investigating who is behind it. R

The Chorus – When a kindly music teacher begins a new job at a boarding school that adheres to a code of utter strictness and discipline, he attempts to soften the approach, through both understanding and music. PG13

The Closet – A comedy about a nervous French accountant who spreads a rumor around that he’s gay in an effort to stave off being fired. R

Cyrano de Bergerac – The French romantic tragedy about the hapless, long-nosed romantic featuring Gerard Depardieu. PG

Diva – Cynthia Hawkins is the operatic superstar whose refusal to make a recording frustrates her adoring public. A young fan named Jules makes a secret tape and is stalked by thugs who plan to blackmail the diva. Jules also accidentally acquires a tape which tells of a top mobster’s role in an international sex and drug ring. He must escape the police chief, the cop’s henchmen and the bootleggers to keep both tapes safe, and to stay alive. R

Eight Women – A wealthy industrialist is found murdered in his home while his family gathers for the holiday season. Eight women are his potential murderers. R

Far Side of the Moon – After the death of his mother, a man tries to discover a meaning to his life, to the universe and to rebuild a relationship with the only family he has left: his brother. NR

The Girl from Paris – Sandrine (Mathilde Seigner) is a successful Parisienne who tires of her job and decides to buy an isolated farm. NR

God is Great and I’m Not – A whimsical romance about a French supermodel whose strict adherence to multiple religions frustrates her metaphysically lackadaisical boyfriend. NR

Le Grand Voyage  – A few weeks before his college entrance exams, Réda, a young man who lives in the south of France, finds himself obligated to drive his father to Mecca. NR

Happenstance – This winsome romantic comedy follows numerous Paris residents whose lives become intertwined through an increasingly complex set of circumstances. R

A Heart in Winter – Camille, a concert violinist, becomes intrigued by her lover’s business partner, Stephane. The love triangle that develops reveals the complexity and imperfection of the three characters. NR

The Horseman on the Roof – In 1832, an Italian revolutionary living in Provence is pursued by assassins. He takes refuge in a small town ravaged by a cholera epidemic, where he meets a mysterious and beautiful noblewoman. R

Intimate Strangers – Seeking psychiatric help, an enigmatic woman mistakes a financial planner for her new shrink. Touched by the heartfelt confessions of her problems, he does not have the heart to tell her that he is not a psychiatrist, which results in more sessions. R

It’s Easier for a Camel – When Federica was a young girl she fantasized about countless adventures that took her to the far side of the world. Now Federica’s daydreams can only provide a meager distraction from the realities of her life. NR

Jean de Florette – The story of Jean Cadoret, a man who inherits a farm from his mother and foolishly hopes to become a gentleman farmer. But even before he arrives, his powerful neighbor is plotting to steal his land. PG

Jet Lag – A romantic comedy about an encounter at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris between a worn-out  businessman on his way to a funeral and a troubled beautician on the run from her boyfriend. R

Joyeux Noël – Based on a true events, Joyeux Noel recreates one Christmas night during WWI when enemies were able to lay aside their differences in order to celebrate the holiday together. A.k.a. “Merry Christmas.” NR

Look at Me – Lolita, the daughter of a famous writer/publisher, tries in vain to get her self-centered father’s attention. When this fails, she begins to push away a young man who truly loves her. PG13

Love Me If You Dare – A couple of lifetime friends’ long-standing game of outrageous stunts interferes with their blossoming love for one another. R

Monsieur Ibrahim – Set in a working class neighborhood in 1960’s Paris, the film tells the unlikely friendship between an elderly Turkish grocer and a young Jewish boy. R

My Father’s Glory – The enchanting story of Marcel Pagnol’s childhood in the south of France, and a very special summer in the countryside of Provence when he was 11 years old. G

My Mother’s Castle – A young boy learns about life through outings to the Provence countryside with his family. PG

Persepolis – Follows the Islamic Revolution through the eyes of a precocious 9-year-old Iranian girl. PG13

Private Fears in Public Places – Six people all look for love despite typically having their romantic aspirations dashed at every turn. NR

Seaside – The stories of the residents of a small coastal town in Northern France whose livelihoods depend on the visiting summer tourists. NR

Seducing Dr. Lewis – A ragtag fishing community on a tiny, impoverished island must persuade a young Montreal-based doctor to live in their town in order to get a much-needed new factory. NR

The Son – A powerful minimalist drama tells the story of a carpenter who passes on his skills to troubled youths. Things intensify when it’s revealed that one of his students is connected to a painful event from the past. NR

Strayed – After the German occupation of Paris during World War II, a young widow flees the war-torn city with her two children and must rely on a mysterious young stranger in order to survive. NR

Swept from the Sea – A pair of beautiful outcasts falls in love, defying village prejudice, in this period romance. PG13

Three Colors = Trois Couleurs – Filmmaker Krzysztof Kielowski’s trilogy created for France’s bicentenial, the titles and the themes of the films come from the the colors of the French flag representing liberty, equality, and fraternity. R

To Be and to Have – At the center of this intimate and touching story is Georges Lopez – a remarkably devoted teacher responsible for nurturing a dozen children ages 3-11 in all their school subjects and life’s lessons. NR

The Triplets of Belleville – A French animation comedy about an old lady and her beloved pooch Bruno who team up with three eccentric female music-hall stars from the 1930s to rescue her grandson from the French mafia. PG13

The Valet – To avoid a messy divorce, a billionaire industrialist invents an outrageous lie and asks a valet parking attendant for help. PG13

La Vie en Rose – The tragic life story of French singer Edith Piaf. PG13

The Widow of Saint-Pierre – Waiting to be executed by guillotine, a convicted murderer is befriended by the wife of a respected local officer. R

New DVDs: TV Series, Nonfiction and Feature Length Films – August and September 2010

The Agatha Christie Hour: Set 1

Tales of romance and danger in the glittering 1920s and ’30s.  In these stories, lesser-known Christie heroes and heroines solve crimes of the heart as well as puzzling cases of larceny and murder. With just the right mix of danger and deception, romance and revenge, innocence and intrigue, these classic adaptations are Christie at her best, now on DVD for the first time. Not Rated

All About Eve

Writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s story about New York City theater life, with Bette Davis playing an aging Broadway diva who employs a starstruck fan (Anne Baxter) as her assistant, only to learn the woman is a conniving upstart. The classic film won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director (Mankiewicz), Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (George Sanders). (1950) Not Rated

Le Amiche

A female fashion designer (Eleonora Rossi Drago) who’s looking for a change of pace trades her apartment in Rome for a hotel in northern Italy, where she starts a new life as an employee in a Turin boutique. But will her fresh start be tainted by tragedy? Michelangelo Antonioni directs this classic melodrama based on an article by Cesare Pavese about the changing roles of Italian women. Italian dialogue, English subtitles. (1955) Not Rated

Botswana: In the Footsteps of the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency with Alexander McCall Smith

Join the author as he travels to the heart of Botswana, inspiration and location for his mystery series.

Breaking Bad: The Complete First Season

Diagnosed with cancer and given only two years left to live, high school chemistry teacher Walter (Bryan Cranston) attempts to secure his family’s financial future by teaming up with his former student, Jesse (Aaron Paul), to produce and distribute the illegal drug meth. As Walter slowly builds his empire, his wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn), grows suspicious of his erratic behavior, and the DEA starts searching for the area’s new drug kingpin. Not Rated

Breaking Bad: The Complete Second Season

Chemistry teacher-turned-meth dealer Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and his partner, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), climb higher in the drug game, which draws dangerous attention from competing cartels and imperils Walter’s DEA brother-in-law, Hank (Dean Norris). The sophomore season of this addictive drama also welcomes Bob Odenkirk to the cast as the unexpectedly sharp consigliere Saul Goodman. Not Rated

Brothers and Sisters: The Complete Third Season

Tireless matriarch Nora Walker (Sally Field) leads her affluent progeny through more triumphs, tragedies and surprises in this classy ABC soap opera. A whole new round of professional and personal dramas unfold for Justin (Dave Annable), Kitty (Calista Flockhart), Tommy (Balthazar Getty), Sarah (Rachel Griffiths), Julia (Sarah Jane Morris), Rebecca (Emily VanCamp) and Saul (Ron Rifkin). Not Rated

The Closer: The Complete Fourth Season

The Closer: The Complete Fifth Season

Georgia detective Brenda Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) transfers to the Los Angeles Police Department to head up the Major Crimes Division, where her Southern charm and well-honed interrogation skills help her elicit confessions from even the toughest criminals.

The Crucifer of Blood

Adapted from the Arthur Conan Doyle story The Sign of the Four. It depicts the character Irene St. Claire (Susannah Harker) hiring the detective Sherlock Holmes (Charleton Heston) to investigate the travails that her father and his three compatriots suffered over a pact made over a cursed treasure chest in colonial India during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. (1991) Not Rated

Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Seventh Season

The popular HBO sitcom returns for another round of neurotic fun in Season 7. Co-starring Jeff Garlin as Larry’s long-suffering friend and manager Jeff, the series follows the fictionalized adventures of the Seinfeld co-creator, who manages to screw up absolutely every situation he encounters. Rated TV-MA

Dexter: The Fourth Season

Miami forensics specialist Dexter Morgan (Golden Globe winner Michael C. Hall) has been so successful at keeping his secret life as a serial killer under wraps that no one — not even his newly minted wife, Rita (Julie Benz) — knows about his extracurricular activities. Dexter continues to count on the fact that nobody suspects him of murder. And then he commits it with reckless abandon. John Lithgow joins the fourth season in a Golden Globe-winning role. Not Rated

Doc Martin: Series Four

Harried and uncouth as ever, Dr. Martin Ellingham (Martin Clunes) continues to practice his personal brand of medicine on the eccentric residents of Portwenn, England, in Season 4 of the popular BBC comedy-drama series. After breaking his engagement to the village headmistress (Caroline Catz), the doctor hopes to trade the countryside for London, but multiple obstacles stand in his way — including some dire news from his ex-fiancée. Not Rated

Entourage: The Complete Fourth Season

Having fired his hard-charging agent (Jeremy Piven), it’s anyone’s guess what career choices up-and-coming actor Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) will make on the advice of his three buddies in the fourth season of this popular HBO comedy. Surrounded by his posse — Eric (Kevin Connolly), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and half-brother Johnny (Kevin Dillon) — Vince continues to navigate the shark-infested waters of Tinseltown. (2007)

Entourage: The Complete Fifth Season

HBO’s hit comedy is back for a fifth season, with movie star Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) steering his considerable posse through Tinseltown — a group that includes his brother, his friends from back home, his representatives and a cadre of beautiful women. (2008)

Entourage: The Complete Sixth Season

After a disastrous year capped off by the Smoke Jumpers debacle, Vince (Adrian Grenier) is poised to make a comeback — beginning with a starring role in Martin Scorsese’s next picture. Meanwhile, Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) might finally be getting lucky in love. Kevin Connolly, Kevin Dillon and Jeremy Piven co-star in the sixth season of this Golden Globe-winning comedy series about the unpredictability of the entertainment industry.

Everwood: The Complete Third Season

This season, love is in the clear mountain air of Everwood. Back from a troubled summer at Juilliard, Ephram commits himself to his music and to Amy. Andy wanted Everwood to be his family’s home. Now it may be just another place they used to live.(2004)

Gentleman’s Agreement

Enterprising reporter Phil Green (Gregory Peck), eager to blow the lid off anti-Semitism, accepts an assignment to pen a series of frank exposés for a progressive magazine. Looking for a new angle, Green poses as a Jew and soon endures the full spectrum of bigotry — from being denied a job and use of public facilities to his son suffering a beating. Little by little, the journalist comes to understand the cruel effects of prejudice. (1947)

George Gently: Series One

George Gently: Series Two

After the hit-and-run murder of his wife, London police officer George (Martin Shaw) moves to England’s North Country to find the killer. Feared by criminals and corrupt cops, George works closely with his partner, John (Lee Ingleby), to stop lawbreakers of all types. Set in 1960s Britain, this drama is based on Alan Hunter’s novels and features guest stars such as Richard Armitage, Phillip Davis and John Kavanagh.

Georgia O’Keeffe

Joan Allen stars as 20th-century painter Georgia O’Keeffe in this Golden Globe-nominated biopic that follows the artist’s tempestuous relationship with her lover and eventual husband, Alfred Steiglitz (Jeremy Irons), a New York photographer and art promoter. Though their marriage weathers long absences and extramarital affairs, O’Keeffe prefers solitude in New Mexico, where she creates her greatest work. Bob Balaban directs. Not Rated

Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise

Emmy Award winner Tom Selleck returns to the role of Jesse Stone, the troubled police chief of Paradise, Mass., in this third chapter of the crime-mystery series based on Robert B. Parker’s best-selling novels. As Stone obsesses on solving the murder of a teenage girl found floating in a local lake, he also works a deadly domestic violence case and faces a run-in with Boston mobsters that may lead to grave consequences. (2006) Not Rated

Jesse Stone: Night Passage

After being cut loose from the LAPD for heavy drinking, Jesse Stone (Tom Selleck) is hired as police chief of Paradise, Mass., an idyllic seaside town. But it doesn’t take long for Stone to uncover the dark side of Paradise. After launching an investigation into a routine domestic abuse complaint, Stone unearths the town’s disturbing and violent secrets. This made-for-television movie is based on the writings of Robert B. Parker. (2006) Not Rated

Jesse Stone: No Remorse

Tom Selleck takes a sixth turn as small-town Massachusetts police chief Jesse Stone, who combats crime as well as personal issues in the movie series based on the best-selling novels by Robert B. Parker. After he’s suspended from his job, Stone travels to Boston at the request of his friend Capt. Healey (Stephen McHattie) — the state homicide commander — to help solve a string of murders plaguing the city. Not Rated

Jesse Stone: Sea Change

Tom Selleck returns in an Emmy-nominated performance as Jesse Stone, a recovering alcoholic and chief of police in sleepy Paradise, Mass. In this installment, Stone’s investigation into a years-old rape case is stonewalled as the town tries to keep the incident quiet to minimize the effect on tourism. Mika Boorem, Kathy Baker, William Devane and William Sadler co-star in this adaptation of the novel by Robert B. Parker. (2007 Not Rated

Jesse Stone: Stone Cold

Adapted from a novel by Robert B. Parker, this made-for-TV drama stars Tom Selleck as Jesse Stone, a jaded Los Angeles detective who takes a job as the police chief of a quiet coastal town in Massachusetts. The hard-drinking Stone maintains a low profile, but when a corpse washes ashore and multiple assailants rape a high school student, the former big-city cop goes into action. Among the supporting cast are Mimi Rogers, Viola Davis and Stephen McHattie. (2005) Rated R

Jesse Stone: Thin Ice

Tom Selleck returns as Jesse Stone, police chief of sleepy Paradise, Mass., who lands in hot water with the town council when he gets tangled up in a shootout in Boston, during which a state police commander takes a bullet. Stone continues to push the council’s buttons — and risks his job — by firing a favored Paradise city employee and taking on a controversial missing-persons case. Kathy Baker and Camryn Manheim co-star. (2009) Not Rated

The Jewel in the Crown

The passionate, turbulent and controversial love affair between a British-raised Indian man and an Englishwoman during the waning years of the British Raj is portrayed in this Masterpiece Theatre miniseries based on Paul Scott’s novel The Raj Quartet. Spanning 14 episodes shot in exotic locales in India and England, this exquisite human epic received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series and a Golden Globe for Best Miniseries. (1984)

The Last Enemy

When his brother Michael dies, researcher Stephen Ezard (Benedict Cumberbatch) returns to England after years abroad. Searching for answers about Michael’s death, Ezard realizes that his homeland has transformed into a surveillance state. To complicate matters, Stephen falls for Michael’s enigmatic widow, Yasmin (Anamaria Marinca). Robert Carlyle co-stars in this gripping British miniseries set in the near future. Not rated (2008)

Lost: The Complete Sixth Season

The final season of this drama brings the series to a smashing climax that reveals the fate of the survivors of Oceanic’s flight 815, including Jack (Matthew Fox, in his first Emmy-nominated role) and the others who escaped the island once, only to return. But as Kate (Evangeline Lilly), Sawyer (Josh Holloway), Locke (Terry O’Quinn), Ben (Michael Emerson) and the rest play out their destinies, the island may yet refuse to yield all of its secrets. Rated TV-14

Maggie Smith at the BBC

This three-disc set celebrates four of Dame Maggie Smith’s leading roles for the BBC. The collection begins with two 1972 Plays of the Month, The Merchant of Venice and The Millionairess. . In Alan Bennett’s quietly devastating Bed Among the Lentils,  Smith portrays Susan, a deeply disillusioned vicar’s wife, and in Sir Richard Eyre’s intimate 1993 adaptation of Tennessee Williams’s Suddenly, Last Summer, she takes on Mrs. Venable, a grief-stricken mother. Rob Lowe, Richard E. Grant, and especially Natasha Richardson, as Venable’s niece Catherine, contribute strong work to this Great Performances production.

Marple: Series 5

Julia McKenzie returns for another season as Miss Marple, author Agatha Christie’s beloved amateur detective whose advanced age belies the cunning powers of observation and deduction that help her identify even the wiliest killers. This season, Miss Marple investigates the poisoning of a woman at a Hollywood party; the shooting of an Austrian nobleman at a posh English estate; and the curious case of a woman frightened to death by her wallpaper. Not Rated

McLeod’s Daughters: The Complete Eighth Season

The eighth and final season of this popular Australian television drama finds the daughters McLeod struggling to keep the family homestead afloat at Drovers Run amid an ever-changing climate of tragedy and uncertainty. As the action unfolds, Riley (Dustin Clare) is still missing in the aftermath of the Christmas accident, although Grace (Abi Tucker), Patrick (Luke Jacobz) and Tayler (Gillian Alexy) have miraculously survived.

Misery

Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) rescues her idol, romance novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan), after he crashes his car during a fierce blizzard. But when she finds out he plans to kill off the heroine in his next volume, Annie morphs from nurturing caregiver to sadistic jailer. In this tightly wound, suspenseful adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, Bates earns her Best Actress Oscar as a woman come undone in a claustrophobia-inducing house of horrors. Rated R (1990)

The Moonlight Mile

Susan Sarandon and Dustin Hoffman co-star as the grieving mother and father of a recently deceased girl who take in their daughter’s fiancé (Jake Gyllenhaal) because he’s the only living connection they have to their only child. Problems arise when the young man falls in love with a woman (Ellen Pompeo) whose boyfriend has gone missing, prompting his former in-laws-to-be to come to grips with the new relationship. (2002) Rated PG-13

The Murdoch Mysteries: Season 2

Progressive inspector William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) investigates unusual crimes in Victorian-era Toronto in the second season of this suspenseful series. Accompanied by his stalwart partner (Jonny Harris), Murdoch uses new scientific tools to solve mysteries. Also aided by talented pathologist Dr. Ogden (Helene Joy), Murdoch works cases involving Buffalo Bill Cody, a possible Jack the Ripper suspect, Harry Houdini, werewolves and a dinosaur.

Project Runway: The Complete Seventh Season

The design competition is fierce — and uncommonly fashionable — as the seventh season of this hit reality series unfolds, bringing the action back to New York City after a season away in sunny Los Angeles. The first challenge asks the designers to craft a look that truly represents them as a designer. Later on, they design their own printed fabric and create haute couture for the hottest, young models: children.

Raffles: The Complete Collection

A dashing aristocrat turns criminal in this classic British drama. Meet A.J. Raffles (Anthony Valentine), a gentleman of leisure and a first-class cricketer. But when he’s not dining at his club or taking wickets for England, he’s often engaged in his other favorite activity–relieving the wealthy of their riches. A master of accents and disguise, Raffles is assisted by his old school chum “Bunny” Manders (Christopher Strauli). Always eager but often bewildered, Bunny follows his friend into the most complex of predicaments and deadliest of situations, likely as not pursued by the dogged Inspector Mackenzie (Victor Carin) of Scotland Yard.  In each episode, the roguish Raffles and his intrepid companion set out to plunder the wealth of the aristocracy, stay out of the reach of the law, and revel in the thrill of the game.(1977) Not Rated

Rough Crossings

Tells the story of the struggle for freedom by thousands of African-American ex-slaves who fled Southern plantations to fight behind British lines in the American War of Independence. Follows their dream of a journey to freedom in bone-chilling Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone. Features the stories of Englishman John Clarkson, a passionate advocate of the abolition of slavery, and two African men, Thomas Peters and David George, who escaped slavery in a quest for freedom. Cast: Joseph Marcell, Stephen Campbell Moore, Leo Wringer. Not Rated (2007)

St. John in Exile

Dean Jones is mesmerizing in his portrayal of the apostle John at a pivotal point in history. It’s 96 A.D., and scores of Christians have been massacred all over the Roman Empire. John is the last living disciple of Jesus, but he’s an 86-year-old man who’s been forced to spend his remaining days imprisoned in a cave on Patmos. Despite this fact, he refuses to give up and subsequently changes the future path of humankind. (1988) Not Rated

Shall We Dance?

During his daily commute, likable but dejected Tokyo office worker Shohei (Koji Yakusho) sees a stunning woman in a dance studio. Taken with her, he enrolls in ballroom dance lessons at the studio, even though he risks losing face by taking part in what his society considers an improper activity for a man. Shohei quickly realizes, however, that he has a gift for dance and loves participating in it, much to the alarm of his wife and daughter.  Japanese dialogue, English Subtitles.  Rated PG (1995)

Shout

Set against the backdrop of the birth of rock ‘n’ roll, Shout stars John Travolta (Saturday Night Fever) in this coming-of-age musical. Jesse Tucker’s (James Walters) rebellious ways eventually land him in the Benedict Home for Boys in a sleepy Texas town in the ’50s. But when Jack Cabe (Travolta) breezes in as the new music teacher, he introduces Jesse and the boys to the fresh and dangerous new sounds of rock ‘n’ roll. Cabe encourages Jesse to redirect his emotions into music, and to trust his love for Sara (Heather Graham), the beautiful young daughter of the repressive headmaster (Richard Jordan).

Small Island

When Hortense (Naomie Harris) leaves her native island of Jamaica and lands in 1948 London, she dreams of making a better life for herself and expanding her social opportunities. Instead, she’s confronted with racism and life’s harsh realities. One of the harshest is her marriage of convenience to a man (David Oyelowo) she doesn’t love. John Alexander directs this Masterpeice Theatre televised adaptation of Andrea Levy’s award-winning novel. Not Rated (2009)

Spring 1941

After Germany invades Poland and the Nazis order the confinement of all local Jews in the ghetto, medical doctor Artur Planck (Joseph Fiennes) manages to flee with his family, seeking refuge at the farm of Emilia (Kelly Harrison), their former grocer. With the Planck family hiding in her attic, Emilia finds her feelings for the physician growing stronger than she wants, or can control — despite the dangers of the situation. Rated R

Sunrise

A tender story of betrayal and redemption when a farmer intends to drown his wife, so he can be with a seductive city woman. Cast: George O’Brien, Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingston. (1927) Not Rated

Surviving Picasso

Academy Awardwinner Anthony Hopkins gives a full-throttle performance as the acclaimed artist in this masterful movie told from the viewpoint of Picasso’s longtime mistress (Natascha McElhone) and mother of his children Claude and Paloma.  Rated R

That Darn Cat!

After a bank teller is kidnapped during a robbery, she manages to slip her wristwatch around a stray cat’s neck, hoping that the enterprising feline will lead rescuers to her location in this Disney family classic. Fortunately, the cat wanders into the home of Patti Randall (Hayley Mills), who recognizes the watch’s significance and pushes the FBI — headed by an allergic agent (Dean Jones) — into action. Rated G (1965)

Ugly Betty: The Complete Third Season

America Ferrera stars as Betty Suarez, a humble, plain but very determined 20-something whose quick wit and fearless attitude have helped her rise through the ranks of influential high-fashion rag Mode. In the fourth and final season of this Emmy-winning sitcom, Betty dives back into the treacherous waters of interoffice politics and fashion-world backstabbing, guided by her conviction that virtue can prevail over vanity. Not rated

Victor Borge: 100 Years of Music and Laughter

This unparalleled collection of Victor Borge’s funniest and most memorable skits contains such classic comedy bits as the timeless “Phonetic Punctuation,” “Inflationary Language,” “Autumn Leaves” with Robert Merrill, “The Opera Singer” with Marylyn Mulvey and more. Rare archival footage from the Borge family vault enhances this memorable retrospective. Rita Rudner narrates.

When You’re Strange: A Film about the Doors

Composed entirely of original footage from 1966-71, Tom DiCillo’s documentary about the Doors filters truth from myth, reveals new insight into Jim Morrison and his bandmates, and captures the essence of the iconic rock group and the era. DiCillo’s film pays tribute to the Doors and their music and to a generation’s struggle for individuality and authenticity during an unstable and transformative epoch in America. (2009) Rated R

Wind at My Back: The Complete First Season

Kevin Sullivan and Trudy Grant — creators of the acclaimed television miniseries “Anne of Green Gables” — deliver another family-centered period drama, this time set in the 1930s. In the show’s 13-episode first season, Honey Bailey (Cynthia Belliveau) struggles to keep her family together during the Great Depression, and her two sons (Dylan Provencher and Tyrone Savage) use their creativity to get her a birthday gift. (1996)

Wycliffe: Series Three

Along England’s picturesque Cornish coast, perceptive Det. Supt. Charles Wycliffe (Jack Shepherd) continues to collaborate with his trusted colleagues Kersey (Jimmy Yuill) and Lane (Helen Masters) in order to solve the surrounding region’s mysterious murder cases. Series 3 of this British police program finds Wycliffe’s team investigating treasure hunters, insurance swindlers and other clever criminals. Not Rated