Occhipinti, Andrea

The Sea Inside

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film of 2004, The Sea Inside is a life-affirming film about a man who wishes to die. That may seem like a massive contradiction, but in the hands of director Alejandro Amenábar (Open Your Eyes, The Others) and actor Javier Bardem (Before Night Falls), this fact-based Spanish drama concerns the final days of Ramón Sampedro, the quadriplegic poet who waged a controversial campaign for his right to die. He was denied this right for 30 years, and ultimately arranged for his own assisted suicide, but this remarkable film--and Bardem's keenly intelligent performance--examines the hotly-debated issue of assisted suicide with admirable depth and humanity, just as Sampedro did until his death in 1998. For Sampedro, death was preferable to severe paralysis (he even refused to use a wheelchair), but the film does not suggest a "disposable" attitude toward disability. Instead, it's a thoughtful meditation on life and love as gifts to be cherished, and a challenging drama that begs each viewer to examine their own personal beliefs about what makes life worth living. You may not agree with Sampedro and his ultimate denial of life, but The Sea Inside will urge you to ponder how you would react under similar circumstances, and that makes it a profoundly meaningful film. --Jeff Shannon

Academy Award nominee Javier Bardem (Before Night Falls) delivers a powerful and sensitive portrayal of a quadriplegic who fights to win the right to end his life with dignity. Based on a true story.

DVD Features:Audio Commentary:Director CommentaryDeleted Scenes:Documentaries:"A trip to The Sea Inside" Making-ofStoryboards:Theatrical Trailer:

Bolero

Bolero, directed by Bo Derek's husband John, comes billed as "a masterpiece of erotic adventure" (the original theatrical trailer included on this disc is almost worth the price of the DVD). Derek stars as "Mac," who, after "so many years of being so very, very proper," is determined to lose her maidenhood. After a comically disastrous episode with a sheik, she catches the eye of a matador, but their affair takes a frustrating turn after he suffers an inconvenient accident in the ring. As many observers note throughout the film, Derek just may have been "the most beautiful woman in all the world," and for some, that is enough. The fact that she is clearly more comfortable with her equine costars than she is with the rest of the human cast (including--good Lord--George Kennedy as her chauffeur and confidant) is just another of her endearing charms. But for Derek's less patient fans, Amazon.com presents this timed-out guide to the "good parts," or, to be less PC, the scenes in which the ravishing Ms. Derek appears in various stages of undress: 5:00; 20:57; 59:12; 1:28:36; and 1:38:48. But really, for connoisseurs of bad movies, it's all good, from the curious credits ("Love scenes scored by Elmer Bernstein") to the ludicrous dialogue ("I want ecstasy... right now"). Bolero may not be a 10, but as a cinematic debacle of Showgirls proportions, it is a must-own "20." --Donald Liebenson

Upon graduating from school in Britain, the wealthy Ayre "Mac" McGillvary (Bo Derek) hungers for more education in the art of love! Journeying to Morocco, she meets a handsome sheik, but alas, he falls asleep while seducing her. A hot-blooded matador in Spain does not disappoint, however. Unlocking her deepest desires, her world-class lover gives her a lesson in ecstasy she¹ll never forget.

The New York Ripper

New York City:
It's A Nice Place To Visit, But You Wouldn't Want To Die There!

A blade-wielding psychopath is on the loose, turning The Big Apple bright red with the blood of beautiful young women. As NYPD detectives follow the trail of butchery from the decks of the Staten Island Ferry to the sex shows of Times Square, each brutal murder becomes a sadistic taunt. In the city that never sleeps, he's the killer that can't be stopped!

Written and directed by acclaimed horror maestro Lucio Fulci (ZOMBIE, CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD) and filmed on location in the mean streets of New York City, THE NEW YORK RIPPER is one of Fulci's most savage and controversial thrillers and is presented here completely uncut and uncensored.

EXTRAS:
Theatrical Trailer
Lucio Fulci Bio

The Bible - Jeremiah

Jeremiah tells the story of the prophet who abandons his family and the woman he loves in order to relay God's message in Jerusalem. Although he is persecuted and branded as a traitor for warning others of the destruction of the Holy City he continues fearlessly with his mission. When his prophecy is fulfilled he experiences first-hand Jerusalem's destruction by the Babylonians.System Requirements: Running Time 96 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 031398745723 Manufacturer No: VM7457D

The overwhelming conclusion of this 94-minute movie is that being a prophet is tough. Jeremiah (Patrick Dempsey) is repeatedly imprisoned and beaten, dropped into a muddy well face first, and forced to witness the stabbing death of his fiancée. And all for repeating messages from God, most of them urging the Judeans to submit to Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar (Klaus Maria Brandauer). Dempsey gives an earnest performance, ably assisted by a strong supporting cast. Writer-director Harry Winer spends the first part of the film on Jeremiah's formative years of visions, moving on to his contentious relationship with King Zedekiah, who ultimately--and tragically--listened to his general (Oliver Reed) rather than the prophet. This bleak film ends with the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians and Jeremiah's self-comforting thought that the city will rise again. Parents should be aware of some disturbing violence: in addition to Jeremiah's fiancée's murder, Zedekiah sees his sons fatally stabbed before he is killed. --Kimberly Heinrichs

Conquest

Miranda

The Lucio Fulci Collection Volume 2 (Manhattan Baby/The New York Ripper)

The New York Ripper

Italian shock maven Lucio Fulci directed this effort, undoubtedly one of his seediest and most offensive films. A serial killer prowls the streets of New York, preying strictly on women and butchering them in the most sadistic ways (usually starting at the crotch). The cops are always several steps behind the killer, who uses a Donald Duck voice to taunt them (and his prospective victims) over the phone. It's all pretty misogynistic, violent, and brutal, and adds up to an unsavory viewing experience. That said, the plot hangs together fairly well (better than in much of the giallo genre), and Fulci's camera work and editing are topnotch. The director's sense of color and shot composition are in line with much of contemporaries Dario Argento and Mario Bava's work (the color red in particular dominates much of the movie). As with Argento's work, an unassuming woman, caught up in circumstances, turns out to be the film's heroine. Also, it's interesting that both in this film and in Don't Torture a Duckling, Fulci uses Donald Duck as a sort of bizarre totem of shattered innocence and tragedy. Still, Fulci uses his camera here in such a leering, lascivious way that it reinforces the film's oppressive sleaziness and sadism. Fans of Italian horror won't be disappointed with The New York Ripper, but be advised that the movie's overriding unpleasantness makes it an acquired taste at best. --Jerry Renshaw

Amor de Hombre

A comedic celebration of the relationship between Esperanza, a lively, just turned 40 schoolteacher in Madrid whose social life is filled with gay male friends, but not one straight man to share her lonely bed! Her best friend Ramon is a lawyer, whose success with men is unsurpassed! A tender and funny tale about the intense relationship that can develop between a straight woman and a gay man.

A Blade in the Dark/Macabre