
When their daughter is abducted and taken for ransom by a gang of serial kidnappers, a young doctor and his wife find themselves held hostage while a 24-hour plan to extort their money is set into motion. Now, with time running out and the health of their asthmatic daughter at serious risk, they find themselves in a life-and-death race against the clock as the “perfect crime” begins spiraling towards an unthinkable, terrifying and deadly conclusion.
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Author Archives: rarefilm
Possessed (1931) Clarence Brown, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Wallace Ford, Drama, Romance

Marion is a factory worker who hopes to trade the assembly line, for a beautiful penthouse apartment. Mark Whitney, a wealthy and influential lawyer can make her dreams come true, but there is only one problem, he will give her everything but a marriage proposal. Will this affair ever lead to marriage?
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Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends (1985) Bruce Ricker, Tony Bennett, Anthony Hopkins, Christina Aguilera, Documentary, Biography, Music

Archival footage, live performances, and interviews conducted by none other than Clint Eastwood depict the life and career of Tony Bennett.
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Kid Glove Killer (1942) Fred Zinnemann, Van Heflin, Marsha Hunt, Lee Bowman, Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

First feature film from director Fred Zinneman is a snappy little “B” feature that features Van Heflin as the head of a city crime lab who solves the murder of the town mayor by analyzing evidence from the crime.
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Cauldron of Blood (1970) Santos Alcocer, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Boris Karloff, Viveca Lindfors, Horror, Mystery

A blind sculptor works on his magnum opus unaware that the skeletons he has been using for armatures are the remains of the victims of his evil wife and that he is the next target.
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The Bus (2012) Damon Ristau, Documentary

A look at the history, evolution and cultural significance of the VW Bus
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The Jazz Singer (1980) Richard Fleischer, Laurence Olivier, Neil Diamond, Lucie Arnaz, Drama, Music, Romance

Neil Diamond stars in this motion picture as Yussel Rabinovitch, a young Jewish cantor who strives to make a career outside the synagogue in popular music as Jess Robin. Against the wishes of his rigid father and his loving wife, Yussel travels from New York City to Los Angeles to play his music. Swept up by the excitement, he meets a spunky manager who believes in his talent and shares his dream. He grows apart from his family, and becomes confused about what he should ultimately do with his life.
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Frenzy (1972) Alfred Hitchcock, Jon Finch, Barry Foster, Alec McCowen, Thriller

London is terrorised by a vicious sex killer known as the neck tie murderer. Following the brutal slaying of his ex-wife, down-on-his-luck Richard Blaney is suspected by the police of being the killer. He goes on the run, determined to prove his innocence.
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Blow Out (1981) Brian De Palma, John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Mystery, Thriller

In the enthralling Blow Out, brilliantly crafted by Brian De Palma, John Travolta gives one of his greatest performances, as a movie sound-effects man who believes he has accidentally recorded a political assassination. He enlists the help of a possible eyewitness to the crime (Nancy Allen), who may be in danger herself, to uncover the truth. With its jolting stylistic flourishes, intricate plot, profoundly felt characterizations, and gritty evocation of early-1980s Philadelphia, Blow Out is an American paranoia thriller unlike any other, as well as a devilish reflection on moviemaking.
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RKO 281: The Battle Over Citizen Kane (1999) Benjamin Ross, Liev Schreiber, James Cromwell, Melanie Griffith, Biography, Drama

Coming to Hollywood as a celebrated boy genius featuring a spectacular career arc in New York including his radio hoax War of the Worlds, Orson Welles is stymied on the subject for his first film. After a dinner party at Hearst Castle, during which he has a verbal altercation with William Randolph Hearst, Welles decides to do a movie about Hearst. It takes him some time to convince co-writer Herman J. Mankiewicz and the studio, but Welles eventually gets the script and the green light, keeping the subject very hush-hush with the press. The movie is about an aging newspaper publisher who controlled his enemies as ruthlessly as he controlled his friends; and whose mistress was destined for fame. When a rough cut is screened, Hearst gets wind of the movie’s theme and begins a campaign to see that it is not only never publicly screened, but destroyed.
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