Posts Tagged ‘19th-century’

Sense and Sensibility (1995)

Friday, September 14th, 2007
Genres: Comedy | Drama | Romance
Countries: UK | USA
Actors: Fleet, James | Wilkinson, Tom | Walter, Harriet | Winslet, Kate | Thompson, Emma | Jones, Gemma | Grant, Hugh | François, Emilie | Spriggs, Elizabeth | Hardy, Robert | Brimble, Ian | Amyes, Isabelle | Rickman, Alan | Wise, Greg | John, Alexander
Directors: Ang Lee
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When Mr. Dashwood dies, he must leave the bulk of his estate to the son by his first marriage, which leaves his second wife and three daughters (Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret) in straitened circumstances. They are taken in by a kindly cousin, but their lack of fortune affects the marriageability of both practical Elinor and romantic Marianne. When Elinor forms an attachment for the wealthy Edward Ferrars, his family disapproves and separates them. And though Mrs. Jennings tries to match the worthy (and rich) Colonel Brandon to her, Marianne finds the dashing and fiery Willoughby more to her taste. Both relationships are sorely tried. But this is a romance, and through the hardships and heartbreak, true love and a happy ending will find their way for both the sister who is all sense and the one who is all sensibility.

War and Peace (1956)

Sunday, May 6th, 2007
Genres: Drama | History | Romance | War
Countries: Italy | USA
Actors: Hepburn, Audrey | Fonda, Henry | Ferrer, Mel | Gassman, Vittorio | Lom, Herbert | Homolka, Oskar | Ekberg, Anita | Dantine, Helmut | Carminati, Tullio | Jones, Barry | Vitale, Milly | Seidl, Lea | Ferrero, Anna-Maria | Lawson, Wilfrid | Britt, May
Directors: Vidor, King
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At the beginning of the 19th century, Napoleon’s forces controlled much of Europe. In Russia, one of the few countries still unconquered, the army prepares to face Napoleon’s troops in Austria. Among the soldiers are Nicholas Rostov (Jeremy Brett) and Prince Andrei Bolkonsky (Mel Ferrer). Pierre Bezukhov (Henry Fonda), a friend of Andrei’s and self-styled intellectual who “knows what’s right but still does wrong,” is not interested in fighting. Pierre’s life changes when his father dies, leaving him a vast inheritance. He is attracted to Natasha Rostov (Audrey Hepburn), Nicholas’s sister, but gives in to baser desires and marries the shallow, materialistic Princess Helene (Anita Ekberg). The marriage quickly ends when Pierre discovers his wife’s true nature. Andrei is captured and later released by the French, and returns home only to watch his wife die in childbirth. During a visit to the country months later, Pierre and Andrei meet again. Andrei sees Natasha and falls in love, but his father will only permit the marriage if they postpone it for one year. While Andrei is away in Poland on a military mission, Natasha is drawn to Anatole Kuragin (Vittorio Gassmann), a scoundrel and libertine. Pierre tells Natasha of Anatole’s past before she can elope with him. Napoleon (Herbert Lom) invades Russia. Pierre visits Andrei on the eve of the battle, and observes the battle that follows. Traumatized by the carnage, he vows to kill Napoleon himself.

Corpse Bride (2005)

Saturday, March 17th, 2007
Genres: Animation | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Musical | Romance
Countries: UK | USA
Actors: Depp, Johnny | Bonham Carter, Helena | Watson, Emily | Ullman, Tracey | Whitehouse, Paul | Lumley, Joanna | Finney, Albert | Grant, Richard E. | Lee, Christopher | Gough, Michael | Horrocks, Jane | Reitel, Enn | Roy, Deep | Elfman, Danny | Ballantyne, Stephen
Directors: Burton, Tim | Johnson, Mike
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Blue-tinted, eye-ball-popping, maggot-infested beauty Emily (Bonham Carter) has become known as the Corpse Bride after waiting for her fiancé where the couple planned to rendezvous before getting hitched. When her groom arrives, he kills her, and she rests in the ground to wait for her soul mate, whether he knows he is the Corpse Bride’s groom or not. It’s a cold dark night, the moon is full, the stars are bright and the forest is a little bit creepy. Wandering through the black mangled trees, Victor (Depp) just can’t memorize his wedding vows. Victor’s hesitance towards marriage causes him to jumble the words. Two prominent families have arranged their children to be married in order to overcome financial difficulties. As the objects of betrothal, Victor and Victoria (Watson) met for the first time the night before their wedding. It only makes sense that Victor, a groom with cold feet, would have trouble remembering tedious wedding vows. Thus Victor ends up in the dark forest ringing his hands and muttering his vows, the vows that the Corpse Bride hears, bringing her out of the grave. Victor suddenly finds himself married to another woman, a voluptuous bombshell bride who also happens to be dead. Whisked away to the Land of the Dead, Victor finds out that living amongst corpses is not as easy as it seems. Heads easily loose their owners and eyes never seem to stay in their sockets, an adjustment that Victor seems reluctant to accept. Once taken into the Land of the Dead, it is nearly impossible to return, causing Victor to choose between risking Victoria’s life or giving up his own.

Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

Monday, February 12th, 2007
Genres: Drama | Fantasy | Horror
Countries: USA
Actors: Cruise, Tom | Pitt, Brad | Dunst, Kirsten | Rea, Stephen | Banderas, Antonio | Slater, Christian | McCollam, Virginia | McConnell, John | Seelig, Mike | Logan, Bellina | Newton, Thandie | Ové, Indra | McCrory, Helen | Owen, Lyla Hay | Scharfstein, Lee E.
Directors: Jordan, Neil
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It hadn’t even been a year since a plantation owner named Louis had lost his wife, and now he had lost his will to live. A vampire named Lestat takes a liking to Louis and offers him the chance to become a creature of the night: a vampire. Louis accepts, and Lestat drains Louis’ mortal blood and then replaces it with his own turning Louis into a vampire. Louis must learn from Lestat the ways of the vampire.

Last Samurai, The (2003)

Thursday, February 1st, 2007
Genres: Action | Adventure | Drama | War
Countries: Japan | New Zealand | USA
Actors: Shin Koyamada | Watanabe, Ken | Cruise, Tom | Atherton, William | Lindberg, Chad | Godshall Sr., Ray | Connolly, Billy | Goldwyn, Tony | Harada, Masato | Odate, Masashi | Koyama, John | Spall, Timothy | Nakamura, Shichinosuke | Igawa, Togo | Nikaido, Satoshi | Wada, Shintaro
Directors: Zwick, Edward
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In the 1870s, Captain Nathan Algren, a cynical veteran of the American Civil war who will work for anyone, is hired by Americans who want lucrative contracts with the Emperor of Japan to train the peasant conscripts for the first standing imperial army in modern warfare using firearms. The imperial Omura cabinet’s first priority is to repress a rebellion of traditionalist Samurai -hereditary warriors- who remain devoted to the sacred dynasty but reject the Westernizing policy and even refuse firearms. Yet when his ill-prepared superior force sets out too soon, their panic allows the sword-wielding samurai to crush them. Badly wounded Algren’s courageous stand makes the samurai leader Katsumoto spare his life; once nursed to health he learns to know and respect the old Japanese way, and participates as advisor in Katsumoto’s failed attempt to save the Bushido tradition, but Omura gets repressive laws enacted- he must now choose to honor his loyalty to one of the embittered sides when the conflict returns to the battlefield…