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(0)RetroFilm Archive (Firm)
Description
"Uncle Tom's Cabin," Harriet Beecher's Stowe's 1852 novel about the evils of slavery, was one of the most famous, and most effective, works of political melodrama ever. This silent version was made 50 years after the Civil War, and is said to be the first American movie to star an African-American actor. In 2012, it was selected for preservation by the United States National Film Registry because of its artistic and historic importance. Directed by...
2) Part 1
Description
The story of The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy begins when a 6-foot ape descendant named Arthur Dent is saved from the destruction of planet Earth thanks to Ford Prefect, who is in fact from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betlegeuse, and not from Guildford as Arthur had first thought.
3) Part 5
Description
Arthur, Ford, Trillian and Zaphod travel in time by way of an exploding computer to Milliways, the Restaurant at the end of the Universe. Here people can enjoy a good meal while watching the end of all things. They soon discover that Marvin has been waiting for them for 5376000 million years. The paranoid android has taken a job parking spaceships, and Zaphod once again feels the need to swipe himself a new ride.
Description
This famous melodrama stars Van Johnson as Charles Willis, a journalist attempting to win back custody of his child. Much of the film is devoted to flashbacks focusing on Willis's disastrous relationship with his deceased wife, a wealthy heiress. The story is based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic short story Babylon Revisited, with a few crucial details changed--for example, the film is set in the years after World War II, rather than between the...
Description
"The Three Sisters," often considered Anton Chekhov's greatest play, is seen here in a landmark 1965 production. The screen performance was directed by Paul Bogart, but was based on the theater production directed by the great Lee Strasberg, famous for his "Method" style. This long and unusually complete production was highly controversial in its time. Starring Geraldine Page as Olga, Kim Stanley as Masha, Sandy Dennis as Irina, and Shelley Winters...
Description
This 1945 adaption one of Agatha Christie's finest novels won the Golden Leopard prize at the Locarno International Film Festival. The story begins with several strangers being summoned to a remote island. One by one they begin to die, until only two are left. Starring Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston, Judith Anderson, Roland Young, Louis Hayward, June Duprez, and Mischa Auer. Directed by René Clair. (97 minutes)
Description
This famous 1948 adaptation of Tolstoy's unforgettable novel stars Vivien Leigh as Anna, the wife and mother who falls tragically in love with the dashing Count Vronsky. Starring Vivien Leigh, Kieron Moore, Ralph Richardson, Marie Lohr, Niall MacGinnis, and Helen Haye. Directed by Julien Duvivier. The famous playwright Jean Anouilh adapted the screenplay.
Description
Anthony Asquith directed this famous adaptation of Oscar Wilde's classic play about romance and mistaken identify. Michael Redgrave and Michael Denison star as two wealthy Victorian dandies, and Edith Evans adds a legendary performance as the formidable Lady Bracknell. According to the film magazine "Variety": "All the charm and glossy humor of Oscar Wilde's classic comedy emerges faithfully." Also starring Dorothy Tutin as Cecily and Margaret Rutherford...
9) Nosferatu
Description
This silent vampire film, a landmark of German Expressionism, is known for its fidelity to its source, Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. Made in 1922, it is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential horror movies ever made. Directed by F. W. Murnau. (80 minutes)
10) Part 4
Description
Deep down inside the planet Magrathea, coastline designer Slartibartfast is working on Earth, mark II. It seems the previous version was destroyed just before it managed to complete it's purpose. Arthur Dent, being the last human survivor to leave Earth (Trillian doesn't count), may hold the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything.
11) Faust
Description
This classic 1926 silent film is one of the landmark expressions of the Faust legend. It is based most strongly on Goethe's 1808 play Faust. Faust is a good and learned man, but succumbs to the temptation to sell his soul to Satan's underling Mephisto in exchange for youth and earthly pleasure. In the end he manages to resist his fate. Directed by F.W. Murnau
12) Brighton Rock
Description
This classic adaptation of Graham Greene's 1938 novel stars a memorable Richard Attenborough as Pinkie, a teenage gangster who pretends to fall in love with an innocent girl. The film is known as one of the finest, and darkest, achievements of 1940s film noir. Also starring Carol Marsh as Rose, William Hartnell as Dallow, and Hermione Baddeley as Ida. Directed by John Boulting; produced by Roy Boulting.
13) Part 6
Description
Zaphod has stolen Disaster Area's Stuntship which is about to plunge into a sun to form the climax to one of their typically loud concerts. Marvin is chosen to sacrifice himself by teleporting the others off the ship. It is at this point that Trillian and Zaphod disappear from the story, while Arthur and Ford end up on Golgafrincham Arkship B, heading straight for Earth.
14) An Ideal Husband
Description
This outstanding adaptation of one of Oscar Wilde's major plays was directed by Alexander Korda. It stars Hugh Williams as a honorable politician whose long-ago sins come back to haunt him. Wilde's dialogue is brilliant throughout. Also starring Paulette Goddard, Michael Wilding, and Diana Wynyard. (168 minutes)
16) The Iron Mask
Description
This 1929 adaptation of Alexander Dumas's The Man in the Iron Mask was Douglas Fairbanks's last silent film. It follows the heroic D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers in through one of their most famous adventures. Directed by Allan Dwan.
Description
This 1975 science-fiction thriller, based on Harlan Ellison's classic short story, failed commercially but has become a cult classic. It tells the story of a young man in a post-apocalyptic landscape who survives with the help of a telepathic dog. The film's iconic final line, a shocking and memorable pun, was an addition to the screenplay that Ellison hated. The film won the 1976 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. Starring Don Johnson as...
Description
This star-studded 1970 feature film production of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar was the first full-color adaptation of the play. It tells the famous story of Caesar's assassination and the subsequent struggle between his friend and protege Marc Antony and the anti-Caesar conspirators, led by Brutus and Cassius. Charlton Heston stars as Marc Antony, as he did in a previous 1950 film. Jason Robards's understated performance as Brutus proved controversial....
19) The Winslow Boy
Description
This 1948 adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play tells of a father's struggle to clear his son's name after he is accused of theft at the Royal Naval College. The film was commercially very successful and was nominated for a BAFTA United Nations award (for a film embodying one or more of the principles of the UN charter). Starring Robert Donat, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Margaret Leighton, and Basil Radford. Directed by Anthony Asquith.
20) The Seagull
Description
This Soviet adaptation of Anton Chekhov's classic play--his first real success in the theater--provides an outstanding look at a Russian production of Russia's most famous playwright. Directed by Yuliy Karasik. Starring Alla Demidova as Irina Arkadina, Vladimir Chetverikov as Konstantin Treplev, Yuriy Yakovlev as Boris Trigorin and Lyudmila Saveleva as Nina Zarechnaya. The play's title in Russian in "Chayka."