March DVD Spotlight: Selections from the National Film Registry

The National Film Preservation Board was established in 1988 to "ensure the survival, conservation and increased public availability of America's film heritage" (NFPB website).  One of the program's most important roles includes advising the Library of Congress in its annual selection of 25 films to be added to the National Film Registry.  With hundreds of films dating back to 1891 in the Registry, it's no surprise that Reeves Memorial Library's extensive DVD collection includes well over 100 of these landmark works of American cinema.  From silent classics like The Gold Rush (1925) and The General (1926), to modern masterpieces like Fargo (1996) and The Dark Knight (2008), our March DVD display includes only a portion of Registry titles in our collection, but there's something for everyone.

Featured titles include:

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Stanley Kubrick's monumental science fiction epic is a challenging, beautiful work of cinematic art that still inspires awe 50 years after its release.

The Big Lebowski (1998)
The Coen brothers' goofy cult classic, a noir-tinged comic caper about a lazy, Southern California stoner who gets sucked into a kidnapping plot after being mistaken for a millionaire with the same name, has inspired hordes of devotees over the past two decades.

Citizen Kane (1941)
Still possibly the best film ever made, Orson Welles's groundbreaking and hugely influential portrait of a newspaper tycoon's rise and fall is a dazzlingly complex American masterpiece.

The Godfather (1972)
Far more than just a simple gangster film, Francis Ford Coppola's great mafia epic is both a sweeping family saga and an incisive examination of the corrupting influence of power.

The Hitch-Hiker (1953)

This unsettling film noir from pioneering female director Ida Lupino follows two Americans on a fishing trip in Mexico, where they pick up a hitchhiker who turns out to be a psychopathic serial killer.

A League of Their Own (1992)

Batter up!  Penny Marshall directs this winning sports comedy about the World War II-era All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

Malcolm X (1992)
Spike Lee's stylish, sprawling biopic about the influential civil rights leader gives the great Denzel Washington the lead role of a lifetime.

Shadows (1959)
Maverick filmmaker John Cassavetes's exploration of interracial romance and sibling relationships is a landmark work of American independent film.

Singin' in the Rain (1952)
This glorious ode to Hollywood moviemaking, set during the transition from silent to sound film, remains the high-water mark of the American musical.

Stop by the library today and check one out!

February DVD Spotlight: Romantic Films

Another Valentine's Day is nearly upon us, so there's no better time to highlight some of the many romantic films in the Reeves Memorial Library DVD collection.  All through the month of February, we're featuring the best in silver screen romance, from classics like Casablanca (1942) and West Side Story (1961), to contemporary favorites like Titanic (1997), The Wedding Singer (1998) and Pride & Prejudice (2005).

Other featured titles include:

Brief Encounter (1945)
This classic British tearjerker tells the story of a housewife and a married doctor who meet in a railway station cafe and fall deeply in love, even though they know their love is impossible.

Bull Durham (1988)
Sports and romance meld perfectly in this hilarious film about an aging minor league catcher who is brought in to "mature" a young pitching prospect, and who falls for a local baseball groupie.

Her (2013)
In this fascinating glimpse at humans' relationship with technology, a lonely, recently-divorced writer falls in love with his artificially intelligent operating system.

In the Mood for Love (2000)
This gorgeous, swooningly romantic period drama, directed by the great Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai, chronicles the relationship between two neighbors who realize their spouses are having an extramarital affair.

The Princess Bride (1987)
This cheeky, beloved fairy tale movie has it all: true love, giants, pirates, kidnapping, sword fighting, deception, revenge, rescues, and, yes, kissing.

Sweet Land (2005)
In this underseen gem, a young German mail order bride travels to post-WWI Minnesota to marry a Norwegian immigrant farmer, and the two fall in love as they struggle to overcome prejudice and injustice.

Trouble in Paradise (1932)
A mischievous, sophisticated romantic comedy about a thief and a pickpocket who fall in love, then scheme to rob a beautiful perfume company executive.

Check one out today, and watch it with someone special.

November DVD Spotlight: Musicals and Music Films

This month, we're shining our spotlight on movies that celebrate song and dance in a variety of different ways.  We've included traditional musicals like West Side Story (1961) and The Sound of Music (1965) alongside more recent genre staples like Rent (2005), but we've also featured movies that, while they are not musicals, focus on music as part of their central story.  There's Christopher Guest's hilarious folk music-centric mockumentary A Mighty Wind (2003), and Jean Renoir's lush Technicolor masterpiece French Cancan (1955).

Other featured titles include:

Copying Beethoven (2006)

Ed Harris gives a commanding lead performance in this fictional account of the last years in the life of Ludwig van Beethoven, as he mentors a promising young composition student.

The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001)

Notoriously twisted Japanese director Takashi Miike's darkly comic musical has been billed as "The Sound of Music meets Dawn of the Dead."

Sholay (1975)

This Bollywood classic has everything: it's a western, a love story, a buddy comedy, a revenge film, an action epic, and, of course, a musical.

Singin' in the Rain (1952)

One of the best films ever made, this love story set against the backdrop of Hollywood's transition from silent movies to "talkies" is so much more than just that iconic shot of Gene Kelly hanging off a lamppost.

Sita Sings the Blues (2008)

This animated reinterpretation of the Indian epic Ramayana is set to the 1920s jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw.

The Smiling Lieutenant (1931)

An early sound-era Hollywood musical from the great director Ernst Lubitsch, this charming romantic comedy features Maurice Chevalier as a military officer caught up in a love triangle with a musician and a princess.

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

There's no place like home, as you'll learn from this perennial classic about Kansas farm girl Dorothy, who is magically transported to the land of Oz.

Stop by the library and check one out today!

September-October DVD Spotlight: Horror Movies

 Although it's still technically summer, the Halloween candy displays are already popping up in stores across the country.  That means it's unofficially horror movie season!  Once again, we're taking two full months to spotlight the many horror films in our DVD collection.  If chills and thrills are your thing, Reeves Memorial Library has got you covered.  We've got horror movies about all manner of things that go bump in the night, from vampires and zombies to mutant animals and murderous aliens.  Not to mention the scariest monster of all: humankind.

Featured titles include:

Audition (1999)

This cringe-inducing Japanese film, surely one of the most disturbing movies ever made, is both an extremely unsettling piece of revenge horror and a surprisingly affecting examination of loneliness.

The Exorcist (1973)

This horror classic, about a possessed teenage girl, is considered by many to be the scariest movie ever made.

Get Out (2017)
Jordan Peele's acclaimed hit, about a young African-American man's nightmarish weekend visit to his white girlfriend's parents' house, is the perfect combination of slowly-escalating unease, disturbing horror, and brilliant social commentary.

Nosferatu (1922)

This silent, expressionistic adaptation of the Dracula story features some of the most haunting imagery in all of cinema.

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

With equal parts horror and humor, this wildly entertaining film tells the story of a slacker who tries to win back his ex-girlfriend amid the chaos of a zombie apocalypse.

The Thing (1982)
Tension and paranoia abound in John Carpenter's gory horror classic, about an Antarctic research station that comes under attack by a shapeshifting alien.

Stop by the library and check one out today ... if you dare.

April DVD Spotlight: Oscar Winners

With the 2021 Academy Awards ceremony scheduled to take place on April 25th, it's a perfect time for our latest DVD display: Oscar winners!  We've got beloved classic Best Picture winners like Casablanca (1942) and The Godfather (1972), as well as more recent winners such as 12 Years a Slave (2013) and Spotlight (2015).  Whether you like comedy or drama, romance or suspense, American cinema or foreign films, we've got an award winner for every movie lover.

Other featured titles include:

Adaptation (2002)
Nicolas Cage plays identical twin brothers, one of whom is struggling to adapt an acclaimed non-fiction book into a screenplay, in this surreal comic masterpiece, which earned Chris Cooper a well-deserved Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

The Departed (2006)
This Boston-set crime epic, about an undercover cop who infiltrates the Irish-American mob, only to discover that said mob may have a mole within the state police, took home the Academy Award for Best Picture, and gave Martin Scorsese his first Best Director Oscar.

Fargo (1996)
Frances McDormand won the first of her two Best Actress statuettes for her endearing portrayal of pregnant Minnesota police chief Marge Gunderson, whose investigation of a roadside murder puts her on the trail of a group of inept kidnappers.

Get Out (2017)
This acclaimed social horror film, about a young African-American man's increasingly unsettling weekend visit to his white girlfriend's parents' house, made writer-director Jordan Peele the first African American to win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Jack Nicholson gives an Oscar-winning performance as a rebellious mental ward inmate in this beloved Best Picture winner, which also earned Louise Fletcher the Best Actress award for her turn as the villainous Nurse Ratched.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
This acclaimed horror-thriller, about a young FBI cadet who interviews a notorious serial killer as part of an effort to catch another murderer, features Oscar-winning lead performances by Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins.

Titanic (1997)
This Best Picture-winning box office smash, about an aristocratic young woman who falls in love with a poor artist aboard the doomed ocean liner, won a staggering 11 Oscars.

Stop by the library and check one out today!

March DVD Display: New Hollywood

This month's library DVD display will focus on "New Hollywood," a period from the mid-1960s through the end of the 1970s when the classical Hollywood studio system was upended by a new generation of filmmakers and actors whose style and methods would bring American cinema to new artistic and commercial heights.  This was the era when influential directors like Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Altman, and Brian De Palma launched their careers, and when actors and actresses like Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, and Jack Nicholson became the new class of Hollywood stars.  From generation-defining touchstones like The Graduate and Bonnie and Clyde to beloved classics like The Exorcist and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, we've got a wide selection of films from this hugely important era in American cinema.

Other featured titles include:

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)

Ellen Burstyn shines in her Oscar-winning performance as the titular Alice, a single mother who begins to reassess her relationships as she pursues her dream of becoming a singer.

Apocalypse Now (1979)
Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam War opus, about an Army officer sent deep into the jungle to terminate a rogue colonel, remains the ultimate cinematic statement about the madness of war.

The Godfather (1972)
Far more than just a simple gangster film, Francis Ford Coppola's great mafia epic is both a sweeping family saga and an incisive examination of the corrupting influence of power.

McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
This offbeat, melancholy western follows a charismatic gambler and businessman who partners with a professional madam to establish a brothel in a burgeoning Pacific Northwest town, only to run afoul of a greedy mining corporation.

The King of Marvin Gardens (1972)

Jack Nicholson gives a superbly understated performance as a radio personality who gets sucked into his lowlife brother's get-rich-quick scheme in Atlantic City.

Point Blank (1967)

In this stylish, underseen late-60s classic, Lee Marvin plays a career criminal out for revenge (and his share of the loot) after being gunned down and left for dead following an underworld heist.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

In this brash, gritty masterpiece, Walter Matthau plays a wisecracking New York City transit cop who works to stop a gang of armed men who have hijacked a subway train.  Featuring a super-groovy, all-timer of a musical score by David Shire.

Stop by the library and check one out today!

February DVD Display: Romantic Films

With Valentine's Day nearly upon us, it's a good time to highlight some of the many romantic films in the Reeves Memorial Library DVD collection.  All through the month of February, we're featuring the best in silver screen romance, from classics like Casablanca (1942) and West Side Story (1961), to contemporary favorites like Titanic (1997), The Wedding Singer (1998) and Pride & Prejudice (2005).

Other featured titles include:

Brief Encounter (1945)
This classic British tearjerker tells the story of a housewife and a married doctor who meet in a railway station cafe and fall deeply in love, even though they know their love is impossible.

Bull Durham (1988)
Sports and romance meld perfectly in this hilarious film about an aging minor league catcher who is brought in to "mature" a young pitching prospect, and who falls for a local baseball groupie.

Her (2013)
In this fascinating glimpse at humans' relationship with technology, a lonely, recently-divorced writer falls in love with his artificially intelligent operating system.

In the Mood for Love (2000)
This gorgeous, swooningly romantic period drama, directed by the great Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai, chronicles the relationship between two neighbors who realize their spouses are having an extramarital affair.

The Princess Bride (1987)
This cheeky, beloved fairy tale movie has it all: true love, giants, pirates, kidnapping, sword fighting, deception, revenge, rescues, and, yes, kissing.

Sweet Land (2005)
In this underseen gem, a young German mail order bride travels to post-WWI Minnesota to marry a Norwegian immigrant farmer, and the two fall in love as they struggle to overcome prejudice and injustice.

Trouble in Paradise (1932)
A mischievous, sophisticated romantic comedy about a thief and a pickpocket who fall in love, then scheme to rob a beautiful perfume company executive.

Check one out today, and watch it with someone special.

November DVD Spotlight: German Cinema

All through the month of November, we're spotlighting the work of German filmmakers from our DVD collection.  The expressionistic work of German directors like Fritz Lang and F. W. Murnau represented the artistic peak of the silent film era, and after decades of relative stagnancy brought on by the Third Reich and the aftermath of World War II, German filmmaking saw a major resurgence with the New German Cinema movement beginning in the late 1960s, when influential directors like Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder began to leave their mark on world cinema.  We've got numerous films from both eras of German filmmaking, as well as more contemporary films from the younger generation of German directors.

Featured titles include:

Das Boot (1981)

This tense, claustrophobic epic follows the crew of a German submarine during World War II.

Downfall (2004)

Bruno Ganz gives a magnetic performance as an increasingly unhinged Adolf Hitler in this chronicle of his last days in the bunker, told from the point of view of his secretary Gertraud Junge.  This film is the source of the clip used to make all those hilarious parody videos of Hitler ranting about everything from falling for an email scam to learning that President Obama has been re-elected.

Fitzcarraldo (1982)

Werner Herzog's masterful portrait of obsession follows a wealthy European who will stop at nothing to build his own personal opera house in the remote Peruvian jungle.

The Lives of Others (2006)

An Oscar-winning historical thriller about an East German police surveillance expert who is tasked with spying on a playwright and his girlfriend, only to find himself drawn into their lives and sympathetic to their plight.

Metropolis (1927)

Fritz Lang's visionary dystopian masterpiece depicts a future in which the rich live a utopian life of luxury, while the poor working class toils underground to keep the city's machinery running.

Nosferatu (1922)

This silent, expressionistic adaptation of the Dracula story features some of the most haunting imagery in all of cinema.

Pandora's Box (1929)

Jazz Age icon Louise Brooks stars in this silent classic, about an amoral young woman who inspires lust and violence in those around her.

Phoenix (2014)

In this engrossing, noir-tinged drama, a disfigured Auschwitz survivor undergoes facial reconstruction surgery, then returns to Berlin to find her gentile husband, who may or may not have betrayed her to the Nazis.

Stop by the library and check one out today!

September-October DVD Spotlight: Horror Movies

It's only September, and while it may still feel like summer outside, it's already Halloween in the heart of every scary movie fan.  So we're taking two full months to spotlight some of the many horror films in our DVD collection.  If you're in the mood for chills and thrills, Reeves Memorial Library has got you covered.  We've got horror movies about all manner of things that go bump in the night, from vampires and zombies to mutant animals and murderous aliens.  And let's not forget the scariest monster of all, humankind.

Featured titles include:

Audition (1999)

This cringe-inducing Japanese film, surely one of the most disturbing movies ever made, is both an extremely unsettling piece of revenge horror and a surprisingly affecting examination of loneliness.

The Exorcist (1973)

This horror classic, about a possessed teenage girl, is considered by many to be the scariest movie ever made.

Get Out (2017)
Jordan Peele's acclaimed hit, about a young African-American man's nightmarish weekend visit to his white girlfriend's parents' house, is the perfect combination of slowly-escalating unease, disturbing horror, and brilliant social commentary.

Nosferatu (1922)

This silent, expressionistic adaptation of the Dracula story features some of the most haunting imagery in all of cinema.

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

With equal parts horror and humor, this wildly entertaining film tells the story of a slacker who tries to win back his ex-girlfriend amid the chaos of a zombie apocalypse.

The Thing (1982)
Tension and paranoia abound in John Carpenter's gory horror classic, about an Antarctic research station that comes under attack by a shapeshifting alien.

Stop by the library and check one out today ... if you dare.

March DVD Spotlight: Page to Screen

For this month's new DVD display, we're taking our inspiration from Seton Hill professor Dr. Michael Arnzen, who's currently teaching a course called "Adaptation: From Print to Screen."  Through the end of March, we'll be highlighting some of the numerous literary adaptations from our DVD collection.  We've got classic and contemporary gems based on novels (There Will Be Blood, A Clockwork Orange), plays (Hamlet, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), and even comic books (American Splendor).

Featured titles include:

Beauty and the Beast (1946)

This gorgeous and inventive French telling of the classic romantic fable is pure cinematic magic, featuring incredible make-up, set design, and special effects that bring the Beast's castle to vivid life.

Jackie Brown (1997)

Quentin Tarantino's adaptation of the great Elmore Leonard's novel Rum Punch, about a middle-aged flight attendant caught between a gun runner and two federal agents, is at once a taut, funny crime thriller, a nuanced, character-driven romance, and an homage to the 70s-era blaxploitation films that launched the career of the film's star, Pam Grier.  It's a perfect pairing of filmmaker and source material, and makes you wish Tarantino would try his hand at adaptations more often.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

In this Oscar-winning classic, Jack Nicholson gives a towering central performance as R.P. McMurphy, a psychiatric ward patient whose rebellious nature pits him against the oppressive head nurse, Miss Ratched.

The Princess Bride (1987)
Rob Reiner's beloved adaptation of the William Goldman novel has everything: humor, pirates, sword fighting, kidnapping, torture, true love, a giant, and a killer MLT sandwich recipe.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

This adaptation of a Stephen King novella, about the friendship that develops between two inmates in a Maine prison, is one of the best and most popular films of the past few decades.

Throne of Blood (1957)

The great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa adapted a number of works from western literature for his films, and Throne of Blood, a retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth, may be the best of the bunch.  Set in feudal Japan, the film tells the story of a samurai lord who murders his master and usurps his power in fulfillment of a witch's prophecy.

Check one out today!

February DVD Spotlight: Films for Black History Month

In honor of Black History Month, Reeves Memorial Library is highlighting films about the African-American experience all through the month of February.  We've got historical films like the slave revolt legal drama Amistad (1997), and masterful documentaries on the civil rights era such as Eyes on the Prize (1987) and A Time for Justice (1994).  In addition, we're featuring notable films about African-American figures from the fields of music, education, business, and sports, as well as films directed by African-American filmmakers such as Spike Lee and Byron Hurt.

Featured titles include:

Ali (2001)
With a towering, Oscar-nominated lead performance from Will Smith, this biopic captures the intelligence, ferocity, charisma, and larger-than-life persona that made boxer Muhammad Ali "The Greatest."

Get Out (2017)
Jordan Peele's acclaimed hit, about a young African-American man's nightmarish weekend visit to his white girlfriend's parents' house, is the perfect combination of slowly-escalating unease, disturbing horror, and brilliant social commentary.

Hoop Dreams (1994)
This sprawling, documentary look at the lives of two African-American boys from inner city Chicago, as they pursue their shared dream of playing professional basketball, reveals much about the American dream and the lives of America's underprivileged communities.

Malcolm X (1992)
From writer-director Spike Lee comes this dynamic and monumental telling of the life of civil rights leader Malcolm X, featuring a powerful central performance by Denzel Washington.

Satchmo (1989)
A reverent and endearing non-fiction look at the life of legendary jazz musician Louis Armstrong, featuring never-before-seen home movies and nightclub footage from the 1930s.

Slavery and the Making of America (2005)
This four-part PBS program, narrated by Morgan Freeman, examines the history of slavery in the United States and the role it played in shaping the new country's development.

Check one out today!

November DVD Spotlight: The Holocaust on Film

All through the month of November, we'll be spotlighting films about the Holocaust in our DVD display.  Along with our extensive special collection of Holocaust and genocide studies books, our holdings include dozens of films spanning a variety of Holocaust-related topics.  From documentaries like Paper Clips (2004) and A Film Unfinished (2010), to narrative feature films like Schindler's List (1993) and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008), these films tell a range of stories about this tragic chapter in human history.

Other featured titles include:

Denial (2016)
This riveting legal drama tells the true story of historian and author Deborah Lipstadt, who was forced to prove in court that the Holocaust actually happened after being sued for libel by Holocaust denier David Irving.

Europa Europa (1990)
The true story of Saloman Perel, a Jewish boy who avoided the concentration camps by hiding in plain sight and eventually joining the Hitler Youth.

Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000)
This Oscar-winning documentary relates the story of 10,000 children saved from the Nazis and placed with foster parents and hostels in Great Britain at the outbreak of World War II.

The Pianist (2002)
A powerful and harrowing story of survival, this Oscar-winning film stars Adrien Brody as Polish Jew Wladyslaw Szpilman, a brilliant pianist who managed to escape the Nazis and hide out in the ruins of Warsaw.

Shoah (1985)
This chilling, 9 1/2-hour long examination of the Holocaust is not only a brilliant, monumental piece of filmmaking, but an important historical work and a revealing oral history as well.

Son of Saul (2015)
Stylistically daring and intimate in scope, this Auschwitz-set drama follows a member of the Sonderkommandos, the group of Jews forced to assist the Nazis by working in the crematoriums, as he tries to secretly bury the body of a young boy he takes to be his son.

October DVD Spotlight: Horror Movies

Another October is upon us, and that means it's scary movie season!  If you're in the mood for chills and thrills, Reeves Memorial Library has got you covered.  We've got horror movies about all manner of things that go bump in the night, from vampires and zombies to mutant animals and murderous aliens.  And let's not forget the scariest monster of all, humankind.

Featured titles include:

Audition (1999)

This cringe-inducing Japanese film, surely one of the most disturbing movies ever made, is both an extremely unsettling piece of revenge horror and a surprisingly affecting examination of loneliness.

The Exorcist (1973)

This horror classic, about a possessed teenage girl, is considered by many to be the scariest movie ever made.

Get Out (2017)
Jordan Peele's acclaimed hit, about a young African-American man's nightmarish weekend visit to his white girlfriend's parents' house, is the perfect combination of slowly-escalating unease, disturbing horror, and brilliant social commentary.

Nosferatu (1922)

This silent, expressionistic adaptation of the Dracula story features some of the most haunting imagery in all of cinema.

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

With equal parts horror and humor, this wildly entertaining film tells the story of a slacker who tries to win back his ex-girlfriend amid the chaos of a zombie apocalypse.

The Thing (1982)
Tension and paranoia abound in John Carpenter's gory horror classic, about an Antarctic research station that comes under attack by a shapeshifting alien.

Stop by the library and check one out today ... if you dare.

September DVD Spotlight: Film Noir

As a new academic year begins here at Seton Hill, our students have bright, late-summer days and even brighter futures to look forward to, but we're taking a path toward gloom and darkness instead, with our first DVD display of the year: film noir.  One of the most celebrated of American film genres, film noir gained prominence in the 1940s and 1950s, as a certain style of crime films became commonplace in Hollywood during and after World War II.  Often characterized by a stark, shadowy lighting scheme, and a cynical preoccupation with fate, it's a genre that has proven influential up through the modern era.  We've got classic early examples like the proto-noir The Maltese Falcon (1941), Scarlet Street (1945), and The Set-Up (1949), as well as more recent neo-noirs like the Coen brothers' great directorial debut, Blood Simple (1984), and Christopher Nolan's breakout Memento (2001).

Other featured titles include:

The Big Combo (1955)
Director Joseph H. Lewis teamed with the great film noir cinematographer John Alton to make this superb crime drama, about a police lieutenant working to bring down a crime syndicate.

Crossfire (1947)
Three Roberts (Mitchum, Young, and Ryan) headline this pointed film about a police investigation into the brutal murder of a Jewish man by an American soldier during World War II.

Detour (1945)
This ultra-low-budget gem, about a drifter who becomes embroiled in blackmail and murder, is one of the film noir genre's most memorable meditations on fate and chance.  This film is available as part of the library's 5 Film Noir Killer Classics box set.

On Dangerous Ground (1952)
This quintessential film noir stars Robert Ryan as a cop who travels to the country to solve a brutal murder, only to fall in love with the suspect's blind sister.

Out of the Past (1947)
Cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca helped establish the archetypal look of film noir with his work on this film, about a former private detective whose past comes back to haunt him. Jane Greer gives an iconic performance in one of the genre's great femme fatale roles.

Touch of Evil (1958)
One of cinema's great opening shots starts off this classic noir, about corruption and murder in a seedy border town.  Orson Welles directs, and also stars as the villainous Police Captain Hank Quinlan.

Take a walk on the dark side, and check one out at the library today!

April DVD Spotlight: The Cinema of China and Hong Kong

For this month's DVD spotlight, we're heading across the globe to celebrate the cinematic output of China and Hong Kong.  While both mainland China and the former British colony of Hong Kong had distinctive film industries for much of the 20th century, it was only in recent decades that films from these industries gained international prominence.  The energy and style of directors like John Woo, Tsui Hark, and Wong Kar-Wai led to a boom in popularity among Hong Kong films in the 1980s and 1990s, while at the same time China's "Fifth Generation" of directors, such as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, drew global acclaim for their work.  We've got a wide variety of films from this period and later, spanning a range of genres.

Featured titles include:

Chungking Express (1994)
A pair of intertwined love stories unfold against the backdrop of a bustling Hong Kong shopping center in this celebrated gem from Wong Kar-Wai.

Farewell My Concubine (1993)
This exquisite historical drama follows two orphans who spend their lives as performers in the Peking Opera.

Hard Boiled (1992)
A die-hard Hong Kong cop teams up with an undercover agent to bring down a mob of smugglers in John Woo's influential shoot-'em-up classic, arguably the best action film ever made.

In the Mood for Love (2000)
This gorgeous, swooningly romantic period drama, directed by the great Wong Kar-Wai, chronicles the relationship between two neighbors who realize their spouses are having an extramarital affair.

Infernal Affairs (2002)
In this stylish thriller that inspired the Oscar-winning gangster film The Departed, a cat-and-mouse game ensues when an undercover cop infiltrates the mob, only to discover that the mob may have a mole within the police.

Shower (1999)
In this winning comedy, a successful businessman returns home and develops a new appreciation for the traditional bath house run by his family.

To Live (1994)
This sweeping historical epic, from acclaimed director Zhang Yimou, depicts a family's struggle to survive across four decades of tumult and social change in 20th-century China.

Stop by the library and check one out today!

March DVD Spotlight: Comedies

We're looking to tickle your funny bone with our newest DVD display!  All through the month of March, we're highlighting the comedy films in our collection.  We've got something for every sense of humor, from witty Hollywood classics like His Girl Friday (1940) and Ninotchka (1939), to hilarious modern crowd-pleasers like Groundhog Day (1993) and The Wedding Singer (1998).  If you enjoy British humor, you might check out the hysterically funny crime caper A Fish Called Wanda (1988).  Whether you like romantic comedies, action comedies (we're looking at you, Hot Fuzz (2007)), or dark comedies, we've got you covered.

Featured titles include:

Adaptation (2002)
Nicolas Cage plays identical twin brothers, one of whom is struggling to adapt an acclaimed non-fiction book into a screenplay, in this surreal comic masterpiece.

The Big Lebowski (1998)
The Coen brothers' goofy cult classic, a noir-tinged comic caper about a lazy, Southern California stoner who gets sucked into a kidnapping plot after being mistaken for a millionaire with the same name, has inspired hordes of devotees over the past two decades.

Bull Durham (1988)
Sports, romance, and comedy meld perfectly in this film about an aging minor league catcher who is brought in to "mature" a young pitching prospect, and who falls for a local baseball groupie.

The Firemen's Ball (1967)
This Czech satire chronicles a local firemen's ball where everything goes hilariously wrong, from an ill-fated beauty pageant to a lottery in which all the prizes have been stolen.

Heathers (1988)
This blistering teen satire, about a high school girl who teams up with a sociopathic fellow student to murder the members of a snobby clique, makes Mean Girls look like a Hallmark movie.  But, we also have:

Mean Girls (2004)
A smart, hilarious comedy about a formerly home-schooled teen who struggles to navigate the social landscape of her new high school.

Trouble in Paradise (1932)
A mischievous, sophisticated romantic comedy about a thief and a pickpocket who fall in love, then scheme to rob a beautiful perfume company executive.

Waiting for Guffman (1996)
Nobody does mockumentary comedy better than writer/director Christopher Guest, and this film, about a small-town amateur theatre troupe putting on a musical to celebrate the town's 150th anniversary, may be his funniest film.

Stop by the library and check one out today!

January-February DVD Spotlight: Oscar Winners

With the announcement of the 2019 Academy Award nominations earlier today, it's a perfect time for our latest DVD display: Oscar Winners!  We've got beloved classic Best Picture winners like Casablanca (1942) and The Godfather (1972), as well as more recent winners such as 12 Years a Slave (2013) and Spotlight (2015).  Whether you like comedy or drama, romance or suspense, we've got something for every movie lover.

Other featured titles include:

Adaptation (2002)
Nicolas Cage plays identical twin brothers, one of whom is struggling to adapt an acclaimed non-fiction book into a screenplay, in this surreal comic masterpiece, which earned Chris Cooper a well-deserved Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

The Departed (2006)
This Boston-set crime epic, about an undercover cop who infiltrates the Irish-American mob, only to discover that said mob may have a mole within the state police, took home the Academy Award for Best Picture, and gave Martin Scorsese his first Best Director Oscar.

Fargo (1996)
Frances McDormand won the first of her two Best Actress statuettes for her endearing portrayal of pregnant Minnesota police chief Marge Gunderson, whose investigation of a roadside murder puts her on the trail of a group of inept kidnappers.

Get Out (2017)
This acclaimed social horror film, about a young African-American man's increasingly unsettling weekend visit to his white girlfriend's parents' house, made writer-director Jordan Peele the first African American to win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Jack Nicholson gives an Oscar-winning performance as a rebellious mental ward inmate in this beloved Best Picture winner, which also earned Louise Fletcher the Best Actress award for her turn as the villainous Nurse Ratched.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
This acclaimed horror-thriller, about a young FBI cadet who interviews a notorious serial killer as part of an effort to catch another killer, features Oscar-winning lead performances by Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins.

Titanic (1997)
This Best Picture-winning box office smash, about an aristocratic young woman who falls in love with a poor artist aboard the doomed ocean liner, won a staggering 11 Oscars.

Stop by the library and check one out today!

November DVD Spotlight: The Criterion Collection

Although streaming services have become the go-to movie watching platform for many people, there are still companies devoted to producing high-quality releases of Blu-rays and DVDs, and many of these companies have cultivated large and loyal customer bases.  This is certainly true of The Criterion Collection, a company whose beautifully-designed cover art, extensive supplements, and gorgeous restoration work have made their releases of important classic and contemporary films the pinnacle of Blu-ray and DVD quality.  Reeves Memorial Library's collection includes over 140 Criterion releases, such as undisputed classics like Grand Illusion (1937) and Seven Samurai (1954), and modern masterworks like Hoop Dreams (1994) and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001).  All through the month of November, our display will highlight a selection of our Criterion offerings.  Featured titles include:

Amarcord (1973)
Federico Fellini's semi-autobiographical film is a loving, vibrant portrait of life in a small Italian town in the 1930s.

Brazil (1985)
This darkly comic surrealist masterpiece, from the mind of visionary director Terry Gilliam, presents a nightmarish dystopian world where technology and bureaucracy reign supreme.

Crumb (1994)
This biographical portrait of legendary underground artist Robert Crumb and his eccentric family is a revealing look at his life and provocative work.

Les Diaboliques (1955)
This classic French thriller centers on the murder of a sadistic boarding school headmaster by his mistreated wife and mistress.

High and Low (1963)
The great Akira Kurosawa directed this masterful crime thriller, about a wealthy businessman who must decide whether to pay a ransom when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped in mistake for his own.

In the Mood for Love (2000)
This gorgeous, swooningly romantic period drama, directed by the great Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai, chronicles the relationship between two neighbors who realize their spouses are having an extramarital affair.

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
This vivid dramatization of the trial and execution of Joan of Arc is one of the true masterpieces of the silent era, featuring an all-time great lead performance by Renee Falconetti.

The Red Shoes (1948)
In what may be the most gorgeous color film ever made, a ballerina becomes torn between her love for a young composer and her devotion to her career and the demands of an uncompromising ballet impresario.

Stop by the library and check one out today!

October DVD Spotlight: Horror Films

October is almost here, and that means it's horror movie season!  If you're looking for thrills and chills, Reeves Memorial Library has got you covered.  We've got scary movies about all manner of things that go bump in the night, from vampires and zombies to mutant animals and murderous aliens.  And let's not forget the scariest monster of all, humankind.

Featured titles include:

Audition (1999)

This cringe-inducing Japanese film, surely one of the most disturbing movies ever made, is both an extremely unsettling piece of revenge horror and a surprisingly affecting examination of loneliness.

The Exorcist (1973)

This horror classic, about a possessed teenage girl, is considered by many to be the scariest movie ever made.

Get Out (2017)
Jordan Peele's acclaimed hit, about a young African-American man's nightmarish weekend visit to his white girlfriend's parents' house, is the perfect combination of slowly-escalating unease, disturbing horror, and brilliant social commentary.

Nosferatu (1922)

This silent, expressionistic adaptation of the Dracula story features some of the most haunting imagery in all of cinema.

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

With equal parts horror and humor, this wildly entertaining film tells the story of a slacker who tries to win back his ex-girlfriend amid the chaos a zombie apocalypse.

The Thing (1982)
Tension and paranoia abound in John Carpenter's gory horror classic, about an Antarctic research station that comes under attack by a shapeshifting alien.

Stop by the library and check one out today ... if you dare.

August-September DVD Spotlight: The AFI Top 100

From now until the end of September, Reeves Memorial Library is spotlighting those films in our collection that have been included in the American Film Institute's 2007 list of the 100 greatest American films of all time.  This display was inspired by the recently-launched podcast Unspooled, in which co-hosts Amy Nicholson and Paul Scheer watch and discuss one film from the AFI list each week.  We've got nearly half of the titles on the list, including the film taking the top spot, Orson Welles's Citizen Kane (1941).  From undisputed classics like Casablanca (1942) and Singin' in the Rain (1952), to modern favorites like The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and The Sixth Sense (1999), there's something for everyone in this month's display.

Other featured titles include:

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Stanley Kubrick's monumental science fiction epic is a challenging, beautiful work of cinematic art that still inspires awe 50 years after its release.

The Godfather (1972)
Far more than just a simple gangster film, Francis Ford Coppola's great mafia epic is both a sweeping family saga and an incisive examination of the corrupting influence of power.

High Noon (1952)
Gary Cooper gives an Oscar-winning lead performance in this suspenseful classic, about a retiring marshal who must face a gang of vengeful outlaws on his own after being abandoned by his cowardly fellow townspeople.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Steven Spielberg's influential, grittily realistic World War II film, about a small group of American soldiers on a rescue mission behind enemy lines, is both a grisly reminder of the horrors of war and a moving testament to the honor and courage of those who have given their lives fighting for freedom.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Oscar-winner Jodie Foster plays a young FBI cadet who must seek help from imprisoned cannibal murderer Hannibal Lecter in order to catch another serial killer.

The Wizard of Oz (1939)
This perennial favorite follows Kansas farm girl Dorothy, who must find her way back home after being magically transported to the land of Oz, where she and her new friends must defeat the evil Wicked Witch of the West.

Stop by the library and check one out today!