April DVD Spotlight: Library Staff Picks

We're changing it up for this month's DVD Spotlight.  Instead of the usual theme of a certain genre or national cinema, we're featuring favorites and recommendations of the Reeves Memorial Library staff, chosen from our extensive collection of DVDs and Blu-rays.  As you might expect, our picks are just as varied as the staff members who chose them, spanning the new and the old, the popular and the obscure, and just about every genre you can think of.

From our hearts to your screens, here are some of our selections:

Dirty Dancing (1987)

"When I first saw Dirty Dancing in high school, I was horrified that "Baby" fell for the much-older Johnny the Dance Instructor.  But that wasn't icky enough to keep me from in turn falling for the flick.  How can this classic have only 6.9 stars on IMDB.com?"

            -- Kelly Clever, Public Services Librarian

The Exorcist (1973)

"This is the most spine-chilling, terrifying movie ever made.  I was 12 years old when the movie debuted, the same age as Regan."

            -- Helene Ciarochi, Library Technician

Hamlet (1948)

"This classic film, directed by and starring Sir Laurence Olivier, won several Academy Awards in 1949--Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Black and White), and Best Costume Design (Black and White).  Olivier's interpretation and editing of the text was not without controversy, but the film is a showcase for this great actor at the height of his powers.  He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director, but did not win."

            -- Judith Koveleskie, Serials Librarian

Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)

"Our family's all-time, watch-over-and-over-again, feel-good film!  Richard Dreyfuss portrays a composer-turned-teacher, over the course of decades.  His life journey (along with his students' and family's) is inspiring.  The soundtrack is great, too!"

            -- Michelle Frye, Circulation Assistant

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

"This grand, operatic epic is a favorite of mine in more ways than one.  It's my all-time favorite western, it has my favorite musical score of any film (by the great Ennio Morricone), and it has my favorite opening scene in all of cinema.  Plus, it's got Henry Fonda cast against type as one of the all-time great movie villains."

            -- Adam Pellman, Cataloging/Acquisitions Librarian

Taxi Driver (1976)

"Try to imagine a time before Uber."

            -- David Stanley, Library Director

Stop by and check some out today, and maybe our favorites will become your favorites, too!

Throwback Thursday: Student Teachers

How are all of our student teachers holding up? Hopefully the classroom is everything you’ve hoped and dreamed!

The education program has long been a hallmark of Seton Hill. Today we’re sharing a couple of pictures of student teachers from years past.

Seton Hill student teachers, 1930’s:

And more student teachers, these ones from the 1950s:

Heading out to change the world!

We don’t know the identities of any of these students, so, as always, if you recognize someone, please let us know. Many thanks to Bill Black in the SHU Archives for the photos.

Throwback Thursday: Ready, Aim...

It’s probably no surprise that archery has had a place at Seton Hill over the years. What may surprise you is that sometimes it was an indoor sport.

As you could probably guess from the bowling balls in the foreground, these young ladies were practicing their target skills indoors. This shot was taken in 1953 at the bowling alley in Sullivan (for more information about that, check out a previous TBT post: http://shulibrary.blogspot.com/2017/02/throwback-thursday-indoor-recreation.html).

And here are four other aspiring archers a few years later (1961) in a more typical milieu:

Lois Mattel, Gidget Mahon, Ilona Hains and Anne Clement

Thanks to Bill Black in the SHU Archives for the photos and background info!

Spring Break Hours

SPRING BREAK HOURS

            March 11 – 12                                                            CLOSED

                                    March 13 – 17                                                            8:00 a.m.  -     4:50 p.m.

                                    March 18 – 19                                                           CLOSED

Throwback Thursday: Equestrian Sports

Equestrian sports have a long tradition at Seton Hill, though horseback riding used to also take place on a more informal basis. Many girls came from well-to-do families, and keeping a horse for recreational riding was common.

Here are some young ladies enjoying the fresh air on horseback in the 1930s:

Thirty years later (1962), we see a few more students hanging out with some equine company.

That’s a pretty tall horse!

Good luck to the ladies of the equestrian team! Give your hooved pals a carrot and a pat for me.

Students’ names were not noted in the Archives’ files. As always, if you recognize anyone, please let us know.

Throwback Thursday: A Century of Basketball

To celebrate March Madness, today’s Throwback Thursday takes a look at the Seton Hill basketball teams over the decades.

The school’s athletic teams weren’t always known as the Griffins; here’s a shot of the 1915 Alerts:

I’m wondering how our women’s basketball team would like to take to the court in those outfits today. They look a little… warm.

By 1960, the range of motion in the uniforms seems to have improved significantly, and we can see the old Sullivan gym in use:

The ‘89 team posed in street clothes.

And by 1998, things are looking much more familiar-- though we still didn’t have McKenna yet!

Good luck to you and your brackets.

Coaches’ and players’ names were not noted in the Archives’ files; if you recognize anyone, let us know!

March DVD Spotlight: Page to Screen

It's often said that the movie industry is lacking in original ideas for films, but you can't ignore the fact that countless great films have been based on books and plays, including this year's Oscar winner for Best Picture, Moonlight.  With this is mind, we're highlighting some of the numerous literary adaptations from our DVD collection all through the month of March.  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:

Adaptation (2002)

Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman struggled so much in adapting the best-selling non-fiction book The Orchid Thief that he wrote himself into the script.  The result is a wholly original look at the process of adaptation itself, with stellar performances from a cast that includes Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, and Nicolas Cage (as Kaufman and his fictional twin brother).

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 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 beloved 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!