THE VALLEY OF GWANGI
1969, Warner Bros., 96 min, USA, Dir: James O’Connolly

One of Ray Harryhausen’s most rarely screened gems, GWANGI stars James Franciscus as a brash young cowboy who stumbles across a hidden valley teaming with prehistoric life. Trouble ensues when Franciscus captures one of the lost dinosaurs and tries to exhibit it in a traveling circus. Co-starring Richard Carlson, Gila Golan, Laurence Naismith.


HAMLET (2000)
2000, Park Circus/Miramax, 112 min, USA, Dir: Michael Almereyda

Transposing some of theater’s most famous soliloquies to Blockbuster Video stores and high-rise apartments, this powerful adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic play is set among the corporate elite of Manhattan. Here the title character (a fine Ethan Hawke), the son of a murdered Wall Street CEO, employs a student film to “catch the conscience” of his father’s killer and exact revenge. The all-star supporting cast includes Kyle MacLachlan, Julia Stiles, Liev Schreiber, Sam Shepard and Bill Murray. “The director's rigorous trimming has a boldness and vivacity that makes this version exhilarating while leaving Shakespeare's language and intent intact.” – Elvis Mitchell, The New York Times


PALE FLOWER
KAWAITA HANA
1962, Shochiku Co., 96 min, Japan, Dir: Masahiro Shinoda

One of the greatest yakuza films ever made, a gorgeous, obsessive blend of Jean-Pierre Melville and GUN CRAZY. Emotionless killer Ryo Ikebe gets out of prison and heads straight for the gambling parlors – where he runs into thrill-seeking Mariko Kaga, looking like Audrey Hepburn’s twisted sister. Together the two drag-race across the Tokyo underworld, accompanied by composer Toru Takemitsu's amazing gangster score.


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