Azmi, Shabana

City of Joy

In the best performance of his career Swayze stars as Max Lowe a disillusioned surgeon who travels to India after a young patient dies on the operating table. But Lowe's determination to quit medicine is challenged when he meets a committed British nurse who runs a free clinic in Calcutta's most dangerous neighborhood. And when her clinic - and the livelihood of her neighbors - is threatened by the brutal local "godfather" Max teaches the impoverished Indians the strength of their own unity.System Requirements:Running Time: 134 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG-13 UPC: 043396037052 Manufacturer No: 03705

Fire

Son of the Pink Panther

Blake Edwards, looking for some way to resurrect the Pink Panther series after the death of Peter Sellers, hit upon the idea of creating an illegitimate son for him (with Claudia Cardinale, who starred in the original film in 1963, returning as the mother). Edwards's most useful notion was casting Italian comic Roberto Benigni as the junior Clouseau. Benigni is a walking sight gag, capable of turning dross to gossamer with his sheer physical skill. Unfortunately, he's no Rumpelstiltskin--his powers only go so far--and there's too much straw for him to spin it all into gold; indeed, he gets buried, despite an energetic performance, in a limp plot about the search for a kidnapped princess. --Marshall Fine

The eighth and last entry in Blake Edwards's long-running series SON OF THE PINK PANTHER stars Roberto Benigni (LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL) as the illegitimate son of the benighted Inspector Clouseau. Princess Yasmin a member of the royal family of Lugash is kidnapped while on vacation in France by terrorist Hans (Robert Davi) who demands a $100 million ransom and Chief of Police Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) is called in to handle the case. Hans makes the mistake of being involved in a crash with Jacques Gambrelli the bumbling illegitimate son of Clouseau who manages to catch sight of the princess. Gambrelli also crashes into Dreyfus who manifests his familiar Tourette's symptoms after meeting the son of the man who so often pushed him to the brink of insanity. After confirming his identity the police chief sends Gambrelli on what he hopes will be a suicidal mission to find the princess in Lugash. Begnini is charming as the heir to the legacy of ineptitude.System Requirements:Running Time: 93 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG UPC: 027616930217 Manufacturer No: 1009053

The Chess Players

Written, composed, and directed by Indian master Satyajit Ray (Pather Panchali), The Chess Players presents a stylized world in which the landed gentry lounge about, endlessly pulling on hookahs and engaging in the "king of games." Outside their gilded doors, the order that allows them this luxury--let alone their marriages--is crumbling. They couldn't be more oblivious. As the narrator notes, "Mr. Meer and Mr. Mirza are only playing at warfare. Their armies are pieces of ivory. Their battlefield: a piece of cloth." Set in 1856 Lucknow, the noblemen (Saeed Jaffrey and Sanjeev Kumar) are situated in one of the few Indian territories not ruled by Britain's East India Company. The British, meanwhile, are also playing a game of chess, and equally oblivious Oudh ruler Nawab Wajid Ali Shah (Amjad Khan) is the king they intend to capture. Forthright General Outram (Sir Richard Attenborough, Ghandi), assisted by the more culturally erudite Captain Weston (Tom Alter), is the man charged with the task. It shouldn't be difficult: Like Meer and Mirza, Wajid would prefer to relax--to write poetry, to fly kites--rather than to rule. Along the way, Oudh will fall, but the chess will continue. Based on a story by Munshi Premchand, The Chess Players was Ray's most elaborate production. It was also his first in Hindi (with English) and its frames are filled with music, dance, opulent pageantry, and humorous banter--even a lively animated sequence. Behind the attractive façade, however, lies a lament for lost opportunities. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

The Bengali Night (La nuit bengali)

Hugh Grant (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jone's Diary) stars as a British engineer who becomes entangled in a forbidden romance with his Indian employer's eldest daughter. As their passion ignites, the East-meets-West clash of cultures leads to surprising and tragic consequences. Based on a true story, the film beautifully captures the magic and mystery of India. The accomplished cast includes John Hurt (Elephant Man, Midnight Express) and Shabana Azmi, one of India's greatest film stars

Waterborne

Are we prepared for the next attack? When a suspected bio-terrorist attack contaminates L.A.'s water supply the city is cast into turmoil.Three interwoven stories show how far people will go to ensure their own survival. A Sikh storeowner and her son become victims of racial discrimination. Two-college students attempt to flea the increasingly chaotic atmosphere and in doing so test the limits of their friendship. A duo of National Guardsmen is forced to confront issues of patriotism as they become upholders of the peace during a citywide crisis. These three sets of relationships violently collide in a climactic finale that will forever change the lives of all involved.With outstanding performances and a stark original score by the band Dredg WATERBORNE is a gripping exploration of the effects of fear on society and on the individual.DVD Features:Widescreen FormatBehind the ScenesInterviewsInteractive MenusScene SelectionCast BiosTrailer and Optional Spanish SubtitlesSystem Requirements:Running Time 85 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLERS UPC: 039414520620 Manufacturer No: MTI2062DVD

Masoom

Khamosh

A film unit goes to Pahalgaon for shooting. Intrigues, rivalries pressures, expoliatation among the staff result in the murder of a girl artiste. But effort is made to give it the colour of a suicide and not of murder. The brother of the deceased, a captian in the army who visits Pahalgaon at her behest is taken as a C.I.D. Inspector. He solves the mystery of his sister's death and sees that the culprits are prosecuted.

Ankur

Amar Akbar Anthony