Life in small town Wisconsin. Selma and Arnold, aged 7 and 5, pal around together between their two farms. Selma has a newborn calf that her father gave to her which she named ‘Elizabeth’. Nels is the editor of the Fuller Junction Spectator and the kids just call him ‘editor’. Viola is the new school teacher from the big city. While Nels wants to marry Viola, Viola does not want to live in a small quiet, nothing happening town. The biggest news is that Faraassen has built a new barn.
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Author Archives: rarefilm
Bouzkachi, le chant des steppes / Bouzkachi The Chant of Steppes (2009) Jacques Debs, Ali Choriev, Stasys Eidrigevicius, Dilbar Gunayeva, Drama, Documentary
The Chant of Steppes builds on a love triangle. Mohabat likes two men but she can not make the right choice and decides to marry the one who wins the bouzkachi contest. A poet and an artist have to cross mountains and steppes to engage in a noisy and dusty contest of horsemen in order to gain the hand and the heart of the beautiful Mohabat. The rules of the traditional Oriental game called bouzkachi are strict – a team of riders has to get the headless carcass of a ram clear of the other players to win the contest.
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Austeria / The Inn (1982) Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Franciszek Pieczka, Wojciech Pszoniak, Jan Szurmiej, Drama, War
Austeria takes place during the opening days of World War I, in the Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia. Tag (Franciszek Pieczka) is a Jewish innkeeper whose inn (austeria means inn in the local Polish dialect) is located near the border with Russia. War has broken out and local civilians are fleeing the advancing Russian Army, and several groups of refugees have taken shelter in Tag’s inn for the night. A group of Hassidic jews from the neighboring village arrive, followed by an Austrian baroness on and a Hungarian hussar cut off from his unit…
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Aoi numa no onna / Blue Lake Woman (1986) Akio Jissôji, Kotobuki Hananomoto, Janet Hatta, Saburô Shinoda, Horror
Blue Lake Woman tells the story of Nagare, a painter who wanted to commit a lover’s suicide with Mizue, the wife of his friend and patron Takigawa. Growing afraid at the last moment, he doesn’t go through with it – but Mizue sinks to the bottom of Blue Lake. Some time later, Nagare follows an invitation by Takigawa, who claims to have forgiven everything. To Nagare’s shock, Takigawa’s new wife, Ameko, looks exactly like Mizue. While staying as Takigawa’s guest, Nagare becomes haunted by Mizue’s ghost, who wants to be reunited with him at the bottom of Blue Lake…
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The Gold Ghost (1934) Charles Lamont, Buster Keaton, Warren Hymer, Dorothy Dix, Western, Comedy, Short
Dumped by his fiancé, a young man (Buster Keaton) drives from Boston out West determined to start a new life. He winds up in the middle of Nevada in a ghost town called Vulture City, where he appoints himself sheriff.
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The Invisible Man (1933) James Whale, Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, William Harrigan, Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Working in Dr. Cranley’s laboratory, scientist Jack Griffin was always given the latitude to conduct some of his own experiments. His sudden departure, however, has Cranley’s daughter Flora worried about him. Griffin has taken a room at the nearby Lion’s Head Inn, hoping to reverse an experiment he conducted on himself that made him invisible. Unfortunately, the drug he used has also warped his mind, making him aggressive and dangerous. He’s prepared to do whatever it takes to restore his appearance, and several will die in the process.
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The Navigator (1924) Donald Crisp, Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Frederick Vroom, Action, Comedy, Romance, Classics
Rollo decides to marry his sweetheart Betsy and sail to Honolulu. When she rejects him he decides to go alone but boards the wrong ship, the “Navigator” owned by Betsy’s father. Unaware of this, Betsy boards the ship to look for her father. whom spies capture before cutting the ship loose. It drifts out to sea with the two socialites each unaware of there being anyone else on board.
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5 Shaolin Masters / 5 Masters of Death (1974) Cheh Chang, David Chiang, Lung Ti, Sheng Fu, Action, Drama
The story is simple (Shaolin vs. Manchu traitors), but the effect was anything but, as the screen’s most charismatic action actors team with a legendary director and revered choreographers (Liu Chia-liang and brother Liu Chia-yung) for scenes of unparalleled power.
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They Were Not Divided (1950) Terence Young, Edward Underdown, Ralph Clanton, Helen Cherry, War
This wartime drama recounts the training process of the British Tank Corps. The story concentrates on two recruits: Englishman Philip (Edward Underdown) and American David (Ralph Clanton). After a grueling training period and a long, frustratingly uneventful encampment on British soil, Philip and David are shipped to the Front. Both men have a rendezvous with destiny during the German offensive at Ardennes. R.S.M. Brittain etches a chilling portrayal of a merciless drill sergeant, while the splendidly mustached Michael Trubshawe is equally effective as a by-the-book major. Since there must be a romantic subplot, it is fortunate indeed that the heroes’ ladies are played by two charming and talented actresses, Helen Cherry and Stella Andrews.
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The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) Henry King, Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward, Ava Gardner, Adventure, Drama, Romance, War
As writer Harry Street lays gravely wounded from an African hunting accident he feverishly reflects on what he perceives as his failures at love and writing. Through his delirium he recalls his one true love Cynthia Green who he lost by his obsession for roaming the world in search of stories for his novels. Though she is dead Cynthia continues to haunt Street’s thoughts. In spite of one successful novel after another, Street feels he has compromised his talent to ensure the success of his books, making him a failure in his eyes. His neglected wife Helen tends to his wounds, listens to his ranting, endures his talk of lost loves, and tries to restore in him the will to fight his illness until help arrives. Her devotion to him makes him finally realize that he is not a failure. With his realization of a chance for love and happiness with Helen, he regains his will to live.
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