Robert Donat is great in this adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's classic novel. He is the wrongly imprisoned "Edmond Dantes", an honest sailor sent to live out his life on a prison island, never to return. He tunnels, and as luck would have it, rather than the sea he discovers another long-term inmate the "Abbé Faria" (OP Heggie), an elderly priest who refused to divulge to the authorities the whereabouts of the legendary treasure of "Monte Cristo". Dying, the man reveals that secret to "Edmond", who cleverly manages to substitute his body for the old man's corpse upon his death, and who is now lobbed into the sea - only to be rescued, discover the treasure and set upon his path of retribution on those who committed him to his life of torture. His vengeance is perfectly measured. He uses their own foibles - their greed, vanity and lust for power to cleverly allow them to manoeuvre themselves into the eyes of the public, and ultimately of justice. His former love "Mercedes" (Elssa Landi), thinking him dead, had gone on to marry one of the perpetrators and borne him the young "Raymond" (Louis Calhern) who might just remind "Dantes" of the humanity he has long abandoned as his search for revenge became an obsession, and perhaps offer him some opportunity for redemption. The production is lavish and grim as the scenarios demand; the supporting cast play well, and the story is an epitome of man's inhumanity to his fellows. The dialogue is a touch wordy, Rowland V Lee could have remembered a little better that we could see a lot of what he allowed the characters to describe to us, but that said it is well paced and looks great almost 90 years after it was released. For my money, the best of any of the screen versions of this author's exciting stories.
After their caravan is attacked and their respective families butchered by Arab marauders, teenagers David and Sarah flee across the desert. But the desert is filled with danger from the elements, animals and the unwholesome appetite of the Jackal, a sheik who wants Sarah for himself. However, the desert also holds temptation and love. David and Sarah hide out in an oasis and build a life for themselves, discovering each other in new ways.
Stage director Frank Castorf “might have been born to direct From the House of the Dead” (Opera Today). His gritty, visually striking adaptation brings bold modern and postmodern touches to Janáček’s masterwork without ever overshadowing the intense forward momentum of the music, conducted to dramatic perfection by Simone Young and sung by an all-star cast in Munich. Janáček adapted Dostoevsky for this powerfully compelling opera set in a Siberian prison camp, full of starkly contrasting moods and motifs, unusual in its episodic structure. The last opera Janáček ever composed, its third act was on his desk when he died in 1928; attempts by his students to “complete” his orchestration have largely fallen away over the decades in favor of the original version. Despite the grimness of the setting and the brutality of several characters, the composer’s compassion shines through in tender moments, movingly illustrating his motto for the work: “in every creature, a spark of God.”
North Africa, World War II. British soldiers on the brink of collapse push beyond endurance to struggle up a brutal incline. It's not a military objective. It's The Hill, a manmade instrument of torture, a tower of sand seared by a white-hot sun. And the troops' tormentors are not the enemy, but their own comrades-at-arms.
An ex-police officer witnesses the brutal murder of his wife & son and now seeks revenge on the mobster responsible for the murders.
Dumped by her fiance just two months before their wedding, comic strip writer Sophie hatches an elaborate plan to get her Jeff back and punish the movie star, Joanna, who seduced him away. She finds herself a partner, Gordon, an ex-lover of Joanna's. The two start on a comic adventure full of laughs and tears, aided by Sophie's two best friends, Lucy and Lily. At the eve of her success, Sophie suddenly faced of having to chose between a repentant Jeff and Gordon who has fallen for her.
In this rousing sequel to Kickboxer, Tong Po broods about his defeat at the hands of Kurt Sloan. Po and his managers resort to drastic measures to goad Kurt's brother into the ring for a rematch.
A gangster escapes jail and quickly makes plans to continue his criminal ways elsewhere, but a determined inspector is closing in.