Neal, Patricia

Breakfast at Tiffany's (Special Aniversary Collector's Edition)

No film better utilizes Audrey Hepburn's flighty charm and svelte beauty than this romantic adaptation of Truman Capote's novella. Hepburn's urban sophisticate Holly Golightly, an enchanting neurotic living off the gifts of gentlemen, is a bewitching figure in designer dresses and costume jewelry. George Peppard is her upstairs neighbor, a struggling writer and "kept" man financed by a steely older woman (Patricia Neal). His growing friendship with the lonely Holly soon turns to love and threatens the delicate balance of both of their compromised lives. Taking liberties with Capote's bittersweet story, director Blake Edwards and screenwriter George Axelrod turn New York into a city of lovers and create a poignant portrait of Holly, a frustrated romantic with a secret past and a hidden vulnerability. Composer Henry Mancini earned Oscars for the hit song "Moon River" and his tastefully romantic score. The only sour note in the whole film is Mickey Rooney's demeaning performance as the apartment's Japanese manager, an offensively overdone stereotype even in 1961. The rest of the film has weathered the decades well. Edwards's elegant yet light touch, Axelrod's generous screenplay, and Hepburn's mix of knowing experience and naiveté combine to create one of the great screen romances and a refined slice of high society bohemian chic. --Sean Axmaker

Winner of two Oscars®, the romantic comedy that sparkles like diamonds! From the opening strains of Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer's haunting, Oscar®-winning song "Moon River," you'll once again be under the alluring spell of that madcap, carefree New York playgirl known as Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) in this 24-carat romantic comedy based of Truman Capote's best-selling novella. George Peppard is the struggling and "sponsored" young writer who finds himself swept into Holly's dizzying, delightfully unstructured lifestyle as she determinedly scours Manhattan for a suitable millionaire to marry. The sparkling special features on this Anniversary Edition DVD only add to the luster of director Blake Edwards' timeless film classic. Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen, Martin Balsam and Mickey Rooney co-star; Mancini won an additional Academy Award® for his enthralling musical score.

The Day the Earth Stood Still

A hallmark of the science fiction genre as well as a wry commentary on the political climate of the 1950s, The Day the Earth Stood Still is a sci-fi movie less concerned with special effects than with a social parable. A spacecraft lands in Washington, D.C., carrying a humanoid messenger from another world (Michael Rennie) imparting a warning to the people of Earth to cease their violent behavior. But panic ensues as the messenger lands and is shot by a nervous soldier. His large robot companion destroys the Capitol as the messenger escapes the confines of the hospital. He moves in with a family as a boarder and blends into society to observe the full range of the human experience. Director Robert Wise (West Side Story) not only provides one of the most recognizable icons of the science fiction world in his depiction of the massive robot loyal to his master, but he avoids the obvious camp elements of the story to create a quiet and observant story highlighting both the good and the bad in human nature. --Robert Lane

The Day The Earth Stood Still depicts the arrival of an alien dignitary, Klaatu (Michael Rennie), who has come to earth with his deadly robot, Gort (Lock Martin), to deliver the message that earthlings must stop warring among themselves--or else. After being shot at by military guards, Klaatu is brought to a Washington, D.C. hospital, where he begs a sympathetic but frank Major White (Robert Osterloh) to gather all the world's leaders so he can tell them more specifically what he has come to warn them about. Losing patience, Klaatu slips into the human world, adapting a false identity and living at a boarding house where he meets a smart woman with a conscience and her inquisitive son. Both mother and son soon find themselves embroiled in the complex mystery of Klaatu, his message and the government's witch hunt for the alien.

The Homecoming: A Christmas Story

A true television classic, The Homecoming was the second movie (after 1963's Spencer's Mountain) based on Earl Hamner's autobiographical writings about love, pride, faith, and survival in rural America during the Great Depression. The Homecoming introduced the Walton family, a 1930s mountain clan living a hardscrabble existence that forces patriarch John Walton (Andrew Duggan) to seek work, far from home, in the city. When John fails to return home, as promised, on Christmas Eve, his iron-willed wife Olivia (Patricia Neal) keeps a lid on their children's worry. Oldest son John-Boy (Richard Thomas), who privately dreams of becoming a writer but worries about disappointing his parents, is dispatched to find his dad. Graceful yet harder-edged than the subsequent TV series The Waltons (which recast several characters and ran for nine years), The Homecoming reveals, albeit understatedly, much about the pain of poverty even as the family draws strength and closeness through endurance. --Tom Keogh

In Harm's Way

Otto Preminger's sprawling World War II drama packs a lot into its 165 minutes, beginning with the attack on Pearl Harbor (which Preminger re-creates in amazing detail) and ending a couple of years later with America's return to the South Pacific in force. John Wayne and Kirk Douglas star as a career naval captain and his self-pitying commander in the peacetime navy who are thrust into battle when Pearl Harbor is bombed while they are on maneuvers. Minutes into WWII, they are already scapegoated and demoted by the embarrassed military brass. Wayne romances a WAVE nurse (Patricia Neal) and attempts a reconciliation with his estranged, spoiled son (Brandon de Wilde) while Douglas sinks into the bottle after the death of his cheating wife until the American fleet rebuilds and calls upon Wayne to lead one of the initial invasion forces. Henry Fonda makes a brief but commanding appearance as the fleet admiral. Burgess Meredith is a former writer turned witty commander, Dana Andrews a showy but indecisive admiral, and Stanley Holloway a genial Australian scout working with the American invasion forces. Tom Tryon and Paula Prentiss play newlyweds torn apart by the war, and also appearing are Franchot Tone, Carroll O'Conner, Slim Pickens, George Kennedy, Bruce Cabot, and Larry Hagman, among many, many more. Loyal Griggs's handsome black-and-white photography is topped only by Saul Bass's impressive closing credits sequence, a rising cascade of crashing waves and rough surf reportedly paced to mirror the dramatic rhythm of the film. --Sean Axmaker

The Fountainhead

Exhibiting a darker edge to his hero persona, the strapping Gary Cooper has the (Frank Lloyd) Wright stuff as architect Harold Roark, a "fool visionary" who refuses to conform his artistic ideas to popular taste. His inflexibility makes enemies out of a tabloid architecture critic and a tycoon (Raymond Massey), who proclaims, "All men can be bought... there are no men of integrity." Keating (Kent Smith), a former classmate, urges Roark to take "the middle of the road so it's sure to please everybody." But Roark will not compromise, and when one of his building designs is radically altered without his consent, he resorts to drastic measures. Adapted for the screen by Ayn Rand from her towering and controversial bestseller, The Fountainhead is about as subtle as that phallic drill Roark wields so impressively, which catches the frenzied eye of the formidable Dominique Francon (Patricia Neal in her film debut). She recognizes Roark's nobility, but fears he has no chance "in a world where beauty, genius and greatness have no chance." Rand did little to dilute her polemics for the screen, resulting in melodramatic scenes that border on high camp, such as Roark and Francon's rather sexually charged discussion about limestone. Rand practiced what she preached. According to a bonus featurette about the making of the film, she refused to trim Roark's then-unprecedented six-minute courtroom speech in which he defends his actions. Even for those who don't adhere to her philosophy, The Fountainhead does offer something rarely seen on screens these days, a man of unshakable principles. And Hollywood could sure note Rand's object lesson about the perils of mediocrity and catering to "the mob." For Cooper fans, The Fountainhead is an essential addition to your DVD library. --Donald Liebenson

Based on the novel by philosopher Ayn Rand this is the story of architect Howard Roark. An idealist Roark believes he can balance his values with the needs of society. His mentor disagrees - encouraging him to compromise his integrity rather than suffer for his artistic goals.Running Time: 112 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 012569571624 Manufacturer No: 65716

All Quiet on the Western Front

Taken from the novel by Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front is a devastating portrait by Delbert Mann (Desire Under the Elms, Marty) of a small group of German soldiers throughout the World War I.

The star-studded cast is headed by Richard Thomas (The Waltons) as Paul Baumer, and includes such award-winning actors as Ernest Borgnine, Ian Holm, and Patricia Neal. As both narrator and star, Thomas occasionally seems to reincarnate his familiar John-Boy persona, but creates a character that has many more levels than that television alter ego. Watching Paul as he watches all of his high school buddies die is a highly emotional experience. He returns to his home a different person, conflicted in his feelings about the Army and war, evolving from an idealistic schoolboy to a fearful and humble veteran.

The scenery and costuming in this period piece are well done, and surely contributed to its winning the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Made for TV. Also contributing to the greatness of the film are the exceptional cinematography and special effects that, while realistically gruesome, truly emphasize the horrors of war. --Zachary Lively

A devastating story of war and a generation destroyed. In 1914 a group of German schoolboys idealistic and inflamed with youthful patriotism set off to fight in the "glorious" war. During their brutal basic training disenchantment begins; then boarding a train for the front they see the wounded being rushed back to hospitals. They begin to grasp the grim reality of war.On their first night in action they come under heavy attack. In the trenches they begin to fall. Their youth is stripped away by the violence and the boys become as sullen as veterans.When Paul (Richard Thomas) shoots a Frenchman and watches him die he realizes the futility of the war. Wounded he returns home to a different world a place where he cannot fit in. Sent back into battle he meets destiny on a day when the German High Command Communiqu states simply All Quiet On The Western Front.System Requirements: Running Time 131 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R UPC: 017153124484 Manufacturer No: 12448

A Face in the Crowd

Discovered by Marcia Jeffries Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes is a homespun hobo who's about to become famous. But as usual more fame leads to more power and more power leads to more corruption. The film also features many celebrities appearing as themselves (Burl Ives Mike Wallace Betty Furness Bennett Cerf Faye Emerson Walter Winchell and others).Running Time: 125 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 085393352622

More timely now, perhaps, than when it was first released in 1957, Elia Kazan's overheated political melodrama explores the dangerous manipulative power of pop culture. It exposes the underside of Capra-corn populism, as exemplified in the optimistic fable of grassroots punditry Meet John Doe. In Kazan's account, scripted by Budd Schulberg, the common-man pontificator (Andy Griffith) is no Gary Cooper-style aw-shucks paragon. Promoted to national fame as a folksy TV idol by radio producer Patricia Neal, Griffith's Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes turns out to be a megalomaniacal rat bastard. The film turns apocalyptic as Rhodes exploits his power to sway the masses, helping to elect a reactionary presidential candidate. The parodies of television commercials and opinion polling were cutting edge in their day (Face in the Crowd was the Network of the Eisenhower era), and there are some startling, near-documentary sequences shot on location in Arkansas. An extraordinary supporting cast (led by Walter Matthau and Lee Remick) helps keep the energy level high, even when the satire turns shrill and unpersuasive in the final reel. There's an interesting parallel in Tim Robbins's snide pseudodocumentary Bob Roberts: both these pictures have almost as much contempt for the lemmings in the audience as for the manipulative monsters who herd them over the cliff. --David Chute

Hud

Based on a Larry McMurtry novel, this Martin Ritt film was a testament to the sex appeal of the young Paul Newman. Playing the title character--a total rotter who, by the end of the film, has double-crossed or screwed over everyone he knows, including his hard-working father and brother--Newman turns him into an intriguing antihero. Things are tough on the ranch and Hud's dad (Melvyn Douglas) needs help, but Hud is too busy looking out for number one, even as things fall apart. And guess who's going to land on his feet? Beautiful black-and-white cinematography by James Wong Howe won an Oscar, as did performances by Douglas and Patricia Neal. --Marshall Fine

Ghost Story

Upon its release in 1981, John Irvin's version of Peter Straub's bestselling horror novel was deemed one of the worst adaptations that the genre had ever produced. Now it's available on DVD, and for the first time in widescreen presentation, and not much has changed. It's still a nearly unwatchable dud. Fred Astaire, John Houseman, Melvyn Douglas, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. play old friends, members of the self-created Chowder Society, who get together and tell ghost tales. The scariest story of all, however, is the one they never speak to each other. Fifty years ago, the four men accidentally killed a young woman, and now she's back (with much less meat on her bones) and seeking vengeance. Sound chilling? Well, in Straub's hands it was, and the novel remains the author's finest achievement. Irvin, however, distills Staub's rich characterizations, gradual tension, and creepy atmosphere, and replaces them with aging golden oldies (only Houseman appears to be having any fun) hamming it up and hokey special-effect shots of a rotting corpse. The film moves about as quickly as its ancient cast could during a relay race. The whole thing has arthritis. --Dave McCoy

Heidi

Originally made as a two-part TV miniseries, this umpteenth adaptation of Johann Spyri's novel is exceptionally easy on the eyes. Jason Robards plays the grumpy grandfather who tends for the orphaned Swiss girl. Jane Seymour chews up the scenery as the governess to a spoiled, rich city girl whom Heidi is forced to visit. The adults think the invalid Klara (Lexi Randall) needs companionship, but wise old grandpa knows she needs good mountain air and independence. Noley Thornton is sweet enough in the title role and Robards's performance provides depth. This Disney production brings little to the story, but is worth watching for its stunning Alpine vistas. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Heidi, the dispossessed orphan who wants only to love and be loved, ends up charming her embittered grandfather and falling in love with the beautiful mountain he calls home. Heidi is soon uprooted and sent to Frankfurt where she befriends a young girl confined to a wheelchair. But the big city drains Heidi's spirit, and she must struggle with her memory of life in the Alps. In time, she follows her heart and finds a miracle. Starring Jason Robards and Jane Seymour, HEIDI is a triumph of love, friendship, and forgiveness that will capture everyone's heart.