Indiscreet
by Stanley Donen
from Republic Pictures
Christian Dior really ought to be considered one of the stars of Indiscreet, director Stanley Donen's consummately glamorous, altogether grown-up love story. The magnificent 1950s "New Look" gowns Dior designed for Ingrid Bergman, herself at the peak of sophistication and loveliness, are a high point of the film's chic, cosmopolitan mise en scène. Bergman plays Anne Kalman, a celebrated actress who's "the envy of everyone who knows her," yet is bored and lonely. Then she meets suave diplomat Philip Adams (Cary Grant), her match in every way: looks, charm, elegance--the works. The electricity is palpable between them and neither makes any attempt to hide that fact. When Anne learns that Philip is an expert on international finance, she's bold enough to crack: "I'm crazy about hard currency."
It's the very maturity of the romance between Anne and Philip that makes this movie so exhilarating, so romantic, and so affecting. When people fall in love at "a certain age" it's much more poignant; much more is at stake. (The film has a truly surprising plot twist, which throws everything into chaos.) The two "sadder but wiser" stars Bergman and Grant had certainly seen their share of love and heartbreak by this time in their lives, and it shows. (Grant was on the third of his five marriages; Bergman's career had already survived the scandal of her adulterous affair with Roberto Rossellini.) It's fascinating to watch them both, knowing what we know of their personal lives: to see Bergman's Anne throw caution to the wind to commit an "indiscretion" with a married man; to observe Grant/Philip's distinct ambivalence about the institution of marriage. It's a case of picture-perfect casting. --Laura Mirsky
Romance is in the air when a dashing diplomat (Cary Grant) is introduced to a beautiful and famous actress (Ingrid Bergman). The fact that he's married doesn't stop the loves truck pair from falling into a passionate affair. But it turns out that the actress isn't the only one with a talent for role-playing -- her married lover is actually a single playboy with no intentions of settling down. When his secret is revealed she decides to give her Romeo a taste of his own medicine and discovers it's just what the love doctor ordered.System Requirements:Running Time: 102 Minutes Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/CLASSIC Rating: NR UPC: 017153120479 Manufacturer No: 12047
Mrs. Dalloway
Vanessa Redgrave glows from within as the heroine of this superb adaptation of Virginia Woolf's novel. As Clarissa Dalloway prepares to host a sumptuous party, her mind wanders back to a summer in her youth, when she was courted by an eager young man--a young man whose much older self will come to the very party she's preparing. Mrs. Dalloway moves fluidly between the past and the present, exploring the shifts in perspective and understanding with an unsentimental but graceful eye. What's most stunning is the remarkable interplay between the younger and older actors, who truly seem to be different versions of the same character (the young Clarissa is played by Natascha McElhone). Beautifully directed by Marleen Gorris (Antonia's Line), the movie also features Rupert Graves as a shell-shocked soldier who crosses Clarissa's path. --Bret Fetzer
All Passion Spent
by Martyn Friend
from Acorn Media
The acclaimed BBC adaptation of Vita Sackville-West's beloved novel starring Dame Wendy Hiller
Dame Wendy Hiller delivers a delicately nuanced performance in Vita Sackville-West's classic story of emerging feminist identity in post-Victorian England.
"When can one please oneself if not in old age?" asks 85-year-old Lady Slane (Hiller), who frees herself from society's expectations upon the death of her politically prominent husband. To the shock of her children, who seem more concerned with the disposition of the estate than with their mother's happiness, the widow retreats to a cottage in the Hampstead countryside to rediscover herself.
Nominated for four BAFTA Awards (including best drama series and best actress), this BBC production brings Sackville-West's best-known novel to the screen with all its emotional complexity, intellectual vigor, and profound feeling.
P.D. James - Cover Her Face
by John Davies
from KOCH VISION
Roy Marsden returns as Scotland Yard's Adam Dalgliesh in a richly plotted mystery from P.D. James. Dalgliesh and his team are investigating an international drug ring when a major player turns up dead. The only witness, pretty single mother Sally Jupp, turns out to have some dark secrets of her own. Cover Her Face is an immensely entertaining mystery. The characters lead rich emotional lives, it seems like all of them and none of them could have done it, and the solution is genuinely satisfying. As is always the case in this series, the cast is excellent and Roy Marsden is a standout. His Dalgliesh is a beautifully subtle blend of cold manipulation and a poet's humanity. DVD special features includes career and awards highlights for author P.D. James, a biography of Roy Marsden, and information about the gorgeous old house used in the production. --Ali Davis
A complex web of lies, murder, international drug trafficking and passion.
Scotland Yard's Adam Dalgliesh is called in to investigate the murder of a drug dealer found strangled in the basement of a respectable London book club. His key witness in the case turns out to beautiful young single mother, Sally Jupp, on a day visit to London to "introduce" her eight-week-old son to former employers and co-workers at the book club.
The investigation switches back and forth between the urban drug scene, where one detective has already been killed, and the country residence of the socially conscious Maxie family, where the recently employed young woman has made more enemies than friends.
As mysterious deaths pile up, Dalgliesh is immersed in a sea of suspects, aggressive, evasive answers and deeply hidden motives.