ANNA KARENINA (1948)

Directed by Julien Duvivier

Stefan (Hugh Dempster) and Dolly Oblonsky (Mary Kerridge) have had a little spat and Stefan has asked his sister, Anna Karenina (Vivien Leigh), to come down to Moscow to help mend the rift. Anna's companion on the train from St. Petersburg is Countess Vronsky (Helen Haye) who is met at the Moscow station by her son and it's love at first sight when he sets eyes upon Anna. Back in St. Petersburg they keep running into each other at parties. Since she has a husband, Alexei (Ralph Richardson) and small son, they must be very discreet if they are going to see each other alone.

No Academy Award Nominations

DVD Special Features:

None

SAYONARA (1957)

Directed by Joshua Logan

Film based on James A. Michener's novel of defiant desire. American servicemen stationed in Japan during the Korean War fall in love and marry Japanese nationals despite harsh paperwork impediments and orders to the contrary.

Nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Sound and Best Art/Set Decoration

Won 4, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Art/Set Decoration and Best Sound

In her film debut, Miyoshi Umeki was the first Asian to win an Academy Award

The second Asian actor who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor was Haing S. Ngor (THE KILLING FIELDS) 1984

Others who have been nominated are:

Sessue Hayakawa, Best Supporting Actor - THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957)
Mako Iwamatsu, Best Supporting Actor - THE SAND PEBBLES (1966)
Ken Watanabe, Best Supporting Actor - THE LAST SAMURAI (2004)

DVD Special Features:

None

FAR FROM HEAVEN (2002)

Directed by Todd Haynes

Cathy (Julianne Moore) is the perfect 1950s housewife, living the perfect 1950s life: healthy kids, successful husband, social prominence. Then one night she surprises her husband Frank (Dennis Quaid) kissing another man, and her tidy world starts spinning out of control. In her confusion and grief, she finds consolation in the friendship of their African-American gardener, Raymond (Dennis Haysbert) - a socially taboo relationship that leads to the further disintegration of life as she knew it. Despite Cathy and Frank's struggle to keep their marriage afloat, the reality of his homosexuality and her feelings for Raymond open a painful, if more honest, chapter in their lives.

Nominated 4 Academy Awards including Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Original Score

Julianne Moore was a double nominee in 2002, she was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress (The Hours)


DVD Special Features:

Feature Length Commentary by Director, Todd Haynes

The Making of Far From Heaven

A Filmmaker's Experience with Julianne Moore and Todd Haynes

Anatomy of a Scene Featurette

THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)

WINNER OF THE ACADEMY AWARD FOR BEST PICTURE

Directed by William Wyler

Three American servicemen return home to Boone City after the war, to find their lives irrevocably changed by their military experience. Homer Parrish (Harold Russell) has lost his hands, and has become distant from his fiancee and family as he struggles to overcome his disability.
Al Stephenson (Fredric March) returns to a family which has grown and changed during his three years away. And Fred Derry (Dana Andrews) finds himself stuck in a lousy job and a loveless marriage, while at the same time falling in love with Al's daughter (Theresa Wright). Together, the three must find a way to come to terms with their experiences and pick up the pieces, lest wartime turn out to be "the best years of their lives"

Nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Writing (Screenplay) Best Music (Dramatic or Comedy Score), Best Film Editing and Best Sound Recording

Won 7, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Writing (Screenplay), Best Music(Dramatic or Comedy Score) and Best Film Editing

One Honorary Academy Award was given to Harold Russell, for bringing hope to veterans through his appearance in the film

DVD Special Features:

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S (1961)

Directed by Blake Edwards

Based on Truman Capote's novella, this is the story of a young, jet- setting woman, Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) in New York City who meets a young man, (Paul "Fred" Varjak) when he moves into her apartment building. He is being kept by a wealthy, older woman, 2-E (Patricial Neal) but wants to be a writer. She is working as a high-priced escort and searching for a rich, older man to marry.

The opening scene has her window-shopping at Tiffany's at six in the morning, after being up all night on a date

Nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Song, Best Art/Set
Decoration (Colour) and Best Music (Dramatic or Comedy) Score

Won 2, Best Music (Dramatic or Comedy) Score and Best Original Song

DVD Special Features:

None

MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)

WINNER OF THE ACADEMY AWARD FOR BEST PICTURE

Directed by John Schlesinger

A "cowboy," Joe Buck (Jon Voight), moves to New York City from Texas to make his fortune as a hustler servicing rich Park Avenue women. Shortly after arriving, he is hustled by homeless con man Ratzo Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), who had said he would manage him for a $20 fee. Bent on getting his money back, Buck finds the rapidly deteriorating Rizzo, ends up feeling sorry for him, and moving into Rizzo's room in an abandoned building to care for him. The two remain hopeful of striking it rich with Rizzo managing Buck's career, but it soon becomes obvious that they are no match for the urban jungle

Nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor x 2, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing

Won 3, Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay

The only X-rated film ever to win a Best Picture Oscar.

The film was rated X upon its original release in 1969, but the unrestricted use of that rating by pornographic filmmakers caused the rating to quickly become associated with hardcore films. Because of the stigma that developed around the X rating in the ratings system's early years (many cinemas refused to run X films, and many newspapers would not run ads for them), the film was given a new R rating in 1971, without having anything changed or removed.

This was the first film to have been released with an X rating to be shown on prime time network television but film's rating had been changed to R by the time of the film's television premiere.

Andy Warhol was originally scheduled to appear in the Factory sequence. His appearance was cancelled when he was shot by Valerie Solanis.

DVD Special Features:

THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA (1937)

WINNER OF THE ACADEMY AWARD FOR BEST PICTURE

Directed by William Dieterle

A biopic of the life of Emile Zola (Paul Muni). Starting in Paris in 1862 it deals, among other events, with the Dreyfus Affair and anti-semitism in France. Captain Alfred Dreyfus was unjustly court martialed and sent to Devil's Island accused of betraying his country by disclosing military secrets.

Nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Writing (Screenplay), Best Art Direction, Best Assistant Director, Best Music (Score), Best Sound and Best Writing (Original Story)

Won 3, Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor and Best Writing (Screenplay)

DVD Special Features:

3 Vintage Vault Treasures:
Dramatic Short - The Little Diplomat
Musical Short - Romance Road
Cartoon Short - Ain't We Got Fun