
A rookie firefighter tries to earn the respect of his older brother and other firefighters while taking part in an investigation of a string of arson/murders. This detailed look into the duties and private lives of firemen naturally features widespread pyrotechnics and special effects.
Read More »
Author Archives: rarefilm
All the President’s Men (1976) Alan J. Pakula, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden, Biography, Drama, History

In the run-up to the 1972 elections, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward covers what seems to be a minor break-in at the Democratic Party National headquarters. He is surprised to find top lawyers already on the defense case, and the discovery of names and addresses of Republican fund organizers on the accused further arouses his suspicions. The editor of the Post is prepared to run with the story and assigns Woodward and Carl Bernstein to it. They find the trail leading higher and higher in the Republican Party, and eventually into the White House itself.
Read More »
Beat the Devil (1953) John Huston, Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, Gina Lollobrigida, Action, Adventure, Comedy

A quartet of international crooks – Peterson, O’Hara, Ross and Ravello – is stranded in Italy while their steamer is being repaired. With them are the Dannreuthers. The six are headed for Africa, presumably to sell vacuum cleaners but actually to buy land supposedly loaded with uranium. They are joined by others who apparently have similar designs.
Read More »
Stop Making Sense (1984) Jonathan Demme, David Byrne, Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, Documentary, Music

David Byrne walks onto the stage and does a solo “Psycho Killer.” Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz join him for two more songs. The crew is busy, still setting up. Then, three more musicians and two back-up singers join the band. Everybody sings, plays, harmonizes, dances, and runs. They change instruments and clothes. Bryne appears in the Big Suit. The backdrop is often black, but sometimes it displays words, images, or children’s drawings. The band cooks for 18 songs, the lyrics are clear, the house rocks. In this concert film, the Talking Heads hardly talk, don’t stop, and always make sense.
Read More »
The Fugitive (1993) Andrew Davis, Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward, Action, Adventure, Crime

Ford is prison escapee Dr. Richard Kimble, a Chicago surgeon falsely convicted of killing his wife and determined to prove his innocence by leading his pursuers to the one-armed man who actually committed the crime. Jones is Sam Gerard, an unrelenting bloodhound of a U.S. Marshal. They are hunted and hunter. And as directed by Andrew Davis, their nonstop chase has one exhilarating speed: all-out. So catch him if you can. And catch an 11-on-a-scale-of-10 train wreck (yes, the train is real), a plunge down a waterfall, a cat-and-mouse jaunt through a Chicago St. Patrick’s Day parade and much more. Better hurry. Kimble doesn’t stay in one place very long!
Read More »
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) John Ford, John Wayne, Joanne Dru, John Agar, Western

After Custer and the 7th Cavalry are wiped out by Indians, everyone expects the worst. Capt. Nathan Brittles is ordered out on patrol but he’s also required to take along Abby Allshard, wife of the Fort’s commanding officer, and her niece, the pretty Olivia Dandridge, who are being evacuated for their own safety. Brittles is only a few days away from retirement and Olivia has caught the eye of two of the young officers in the Company, Lt. Flint Cohill and 2nd Lt. Ross Pennell. She’s taken to wearing a yellow ribbon in her hair, a sign that she has a beau in the Cavalry, but refuses to say for whom she is wearing it.
Read More »
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) Nathan Juran, Kerwin Mathews, Kathryn Grant, Richard Eyer, Family, Fantasy, Action

Sailing to Baghdad after a narrow escape from the monster island of Colossa, the wedding plans of legendary hero Sinbad (Kerwin Mathews) and Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant) are spoiled by the scheming sorcerer Sokurah (Torin Thatcher). In return for his previous help with the cyclops on Colossa, Sokurah demands that Sinbad retrieve a lamp he lost on the island. When Sinbad refuses, the conjurer shrinks Parisa, forcing the sailor and his crew back to the high seas in order to save her.
Read More »
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) Terence Fisher, Peter Cushing, Veronica Carlson, Freddie Jones, Horror, Sci-Fi, Drama

Baron Frankenstein travels to a new town to meet Dr. Brandt, with whom he had hoped to collaborate. When he learns that Brandt is in a mental asylum he takes a room in a boarding house run by Anna, whose fiance, Karl, is a doctor who works at the asylum. Blackmailing Anna and Karl into helping him, Frankenstein kidnaps Brandt to learn his secrets.
Read More »
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974) Terence Fisher, Peter Cushing, Shane Briant, Madeline Smith, Horror

Last of the Hammer Frankenstein films, this one deals with the Baron hiding out in an insane asylum, so that he may continue his experiments with reanimating the dead, along with inmate Dr. Helder, who has been institutionalized for conducting such experiments.
Read More »
Ghulam (1998) Vikram Bhatt, Aamir Khan, Rani Mukerji, Rajit Kapoor, Crime, Drama, Thriller

Ghulam means a slave. Sidharth (Aamir Khan) is an amateur boxer who does not work, preferring to loaf about with friends. His older brother Jai (Rajit Kapoor) works with a gangster who rules the neighborhood, terrorizing merchants and demanding protection money. As a child Sidharth idolized his father, an ex-freedom fighter, whom he saw committing suicide in guilt after a visit from an old acquaintance. Sidharth meets a girl, Alisha (Rani Mukerji), who rides with a motorcycle gang, and Hari, a social worker. The film tells the story of Sidharth’s romance with Alisha and his reformation.
Read More »