DVDs I own

One of the most beautiful and romantic films ever made--Garbo is perfect and gives her best performance as the Lady of the Camillias and Robert Taylor gives a memorable performance as Armand Duval. A movie I can definitely watch over and over again...a must-see for Garbo and classic romance fans!

Arguably Chaplin's greatest silent, "City Lights" is a true masterpiece. With the universal message that love is blind, "City Lights" is a comedy that could make you cry (if you're the type--I personally never cry during movies).

Bette Davis and Anne Baxter shine in this classic tale of people and the things they will do to get famous--deceit, betrayal, blackmail, and sex. Nominated for the most Oscars in movie history, "All About Eve" is an irresistable classic that still rings true today.

Marlon Brando is excellent in the role that brought him back to fame. Based on Mario Puzo's book, "The Godfather" is a faithful adaptation that will satisfy the readers. But besides being a great adaptation, it is one of the top ten American films ever made due to its flawless cast, superb script, and brillant direction by Francis Ford Coppola. They sure don't make gangster movies like this one anymore.

Based on Tennesse William's play of the same name, "Streetcar" is one of the best American movies ever made. The whole cast gives stellar performances, especially Marlon Brando, and the story and script are excellently written. This was the movie that really got me into old movies...I have never been the same since.

"I can't give you anything but love, baby" sings Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant to a leopard on a roof. And I can't help but love this classic comedy, baby. Although the story is slightly unbelievable (how did the leopard get sent to New York?), the performances and humor are flawless.

A mesmerizing story of a highly dysfunctional royal family. Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn give solid gold performances; Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton give rather memorable ones as well. One of the best movies ever made!

The first Chaplin movie I saw---I have never been the same.

Although a delightful comedy, I would say that this is the feature-lenght film that Chaplin really started to clearly depict his views on society. For me, the major thing of man vs. machine was evocative of Mary Shelley's novel, FRANKENSTEIN. Dr. Frankenstein created the monster to help humanity, but ended by causing greater damage than anything else. As for "Modern Times", machines that are built with good intentions eventually lead to dehumanization of industy and society in general. Everyone loves a dollar and if it's cheaper to use machines that give greater output faster instead of expensive, slow human labor, why not use machines? As for the workers who lose their jobs, tough luck; you'll have to go somewhere else. Criticism of the government is included as well. Instead of finding some solution for aiding these misplaced people, the authorities spent more energy splitting up the poor Gamin's family and arresting her although she has done no wrong.

Hard-pressed, I'd say this is my favorite Chaplin movie along with "City Lights".

Carole Lombard gives a good performance as the dizzying, fast-talking socialite with more money than brains. William Powell gives a perfect balance with his usual witty, somewhat dry humor. One of the best screwball comedies out there!

Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger give grade A performances as the Philadelphian homicide expert and the racist Mississippi chief of police, respectively.

Legendary director Frank Capra delivers his best screwball comedy in "It Happened One Night." Although "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" is my favorite Capra movie, IHON is a close second. Clark Gable gives a good performance, but Claudette Colbert steals the show with her immaculate performance as the poor little rich girl who falls for a sarcastic newspaperman (Gable). For any fans of Gable, Colbert, Capra, or screwball comedies in general, I recommend "It Happened One Night"

Joan Fontaine was the only actress to win the Oscar from a Hitchcock movie and "Rebecca" certainly shows her talent. She is undeniably convincing as the naive, insecure young woman who falls in love with Maxmillian de Winter (Laurence Olivier), a handsome, older man that is haunted by the death of his previous wife, Rebecca. One of Hitchcock's best and certainly the best of his pre-war movies.

Gong Li became internationally famous on this brillant, but very Chinese movie. If you don't understand Chinese culture that well, you probably wouldn't enjoy this movie all that much. However, the story, performances, script, and direction are all sublime.

This is definitely one of the funniest movies ever! Barbara Stanwyck is brillant as the sexy con artist Jean Harrington who tries to seduce the superrich sucker, Charles Pike (Henry Fonda), but ends up falling for the sap! True, it's a bit predictable, but I was surprised that Henry Fonda could do comedy so well. Even though "Ball of Fire" and "The Lady Eve" are considered on the same level, "Eve" is a perfect blend of humor and sex appeal with a great story and top-notch performances. A real classic comedy!

Out of all the movies I've seen with Gary Cooper (which isn't very many, I guess), this is his best. He is utterly convincing as Longfellow Deeds, the naive man who inherits an enormous fortune and doesn't know what to do with it. Although it is a wonderful comedy, it also shows the dark side of America's Great Depression, especially when Deeds decides to use his money for the poor and is declared insane. It's one of Frank Capra's best movies and one of the best films ever made.

Named the funniest comedy in movie history, "Some Like It Hot" is a movie that I can never get tired of. I have a guarantee of a thousand laughs to whoever watches this movie. The only thing I didn't really like was the casting of Tony Curtis, but that's just me. However, Jack Lemmon totally steals the show and gives the movie its timeless pizazz.

The Master of Suspense directs a beautiful mystery about a detective (James Stewart) that falls in love with Madeleine (Kim Novak, in her best role), a beautiful but tormented woman that is possessed by a ghost. "Vertigo" has an excellent script and great performances. One of Hitchcock's best films--and one of the best films ever made!

Barbara Stanwyck gives a sensational performance as the horribly common but magnificently fine sacrificing mother.

One of the great melodramas, "Stella Dallas" is like a non-noirish "Mildred Pierce"--except her daughter isn't such a venomous little bitch. However, when the daughter elevates to higher society thanks to the money Stella was able to get from her philandering husband, she becomes ashamed of her mother after her rich friends unknowingly criticize Stella in front of her daughter. She's not as powdered-sugar sweet as one originally assumes her to be and I actually ended up disliking her somewhat. But of course, the whole thing is really Stanwyck's show and proof that she was one of the best actresses to ever grace the silver screen.

Not just a noir, it's THE noir. Must-see for any lovers of classic Hollywood films.

Anthony Perkins gives one of the best performances ever as Norman Bates, the seemingly innocent boy with a psychotic mother. People were actually afraid to talk to him after seeing "Psycho" because they thought he really was Norman. This is one of the best horror movies ever--not because it's gory (it's not, really), but because it is believable. A true classic and one of Hitchcock's best movies. I only wonder WHY Perkins was never nominated for an Oscar...but c'est la vie.

Susan Hayward was best-known for her gutsy and fiery portrayls of women on the edge, and "I'll Cry Tomorrow" is no exception. Hayward is mesmerizing in this biopic of alcoholic singer Lillian Roth. A must-see for Hayward fans.

This is so far from history that it could technically be considered a fantasy, but an excellent epic movie nonetheless. Peter O'Toole is superb...too bad he never won an Oscar.

A little-known Tennesse Williams classic that was considered wildly racy when it first came out and was condemned by the Catholic League of Decency, making it a sin to see this movie.


It's actually more of a comedy, in my opinion (or perhaps I just have a strange sense of humor), than any other of Tennesse Williams tales. The story goes like so; Baby Doll Meighan is the lawful wife of Archie Lee Meighan, but not in any other way. They formed an agreement that Archie Lee would not share the same bed with his wife until her 20th birthday and if Archie Lee made all the money he promised Baby Doll's father he would make. Archie Lee was in the cotton ginning business until Silva Vacarro came in with his monopoly and put everyone in the town out of business. Archie Lee decides to burn down Vacarro's gin. He does so and everyone knows it was him, but no one wants to help Vacarro as he impoverished the locals. Vacarro decides to make his own revenge--in the form of seducing Baby Doll. Indeed, for its time (and even for today, to some extent), the scenes between Baby Doll and Vacarro are rather...electrifying.


Fans of Tennesse Williams or whoever's just curious to see what racy was considered back in 1956 should enjoy this.

Rita's best and sexiest performance---by far her most "grown-up". Although the story doesn't make much sense, it doesn't seem to matter as Rita's chemistry with Glenn Ford burns up the screen and there are great one-liners, such as "Excuse me, but your husband is showing." when Ford interrupts Rita who is dancing with another man. A must-see for any Rita fans or film noir lovers.

Edward Norton gives a tremendous performance as Aaron/Roy and steals the movie under Richard Gere and Laura Linney's veteran (at the time) noses.

One of the most original films I've ever seen. Shocking, violent, sexual, but ultimately profound, I loved it.

Upon returning to Earth, the ship Nostromo is rerouted to answer an apparent S.O.S. on an unknown planet. Instead, the crew encounters a nest with hundreds of eggs. One of the eggs hatch and the alien inside attaches itself to the face of one of the members (hence the name "facehugger") and plants embryos in his body, causing horrible trouble for the crew.

"Alien" is definitely an entertaining film filled with suspense and superb special effects for its time. It's main agenda would be to criticize large corporations that care more about dollar signs than the people's lives. Nothing new, but it is presented in an original and immensely watchable way.

On a side note, there's also a bit of the warrior woman stereotype found in Ripley, but it's not overdone as we find in Valdez in "Aliens". Ripley cares for her crew members (as well as Jonesy, the cat), cries a couple of times, and is definitely terrified of the horrific alien, giving the character a much more realistic feel than the warrior woman. In addition, she bests the alien not due to her great power or strength, but (I felt) greatly due to luck, determination, and quick thinking on her part. Sigourney Weaver fit the bill perfectly and proved that men aren't the only survivors out there.

Modern sci-fi flicks don't get much better than this.