In this drama, David Rosen and his wife Becky have lived in the same Coney Island neighborhood for nearly all their married life. But the area is not what it used to be, and a gang leader named Strut has decided to make Coney Island his new turf. Strut begins shaking down the merchants in the area, demanding payment for “protection” and using violence to deal with anyone who gets in his way. David refuses to give Strut protection money for the restaurant he owns, and as a result his diner is soon firebombed, while many of his neighbors are attacked and his synagogue is desecrated. (from IMDb)

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https://nitro.download/view/2B3BA17385D7C07/Boardwalk.1979.720p.BluRay.AVC-mfcorrea.mkv

Language(s):English
Subtitles:English (HoH)

The post Stephen Verona – Boardwalk (1979) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Plot:
Among the most masterful matchups of actor and role in screen history is this stirring film of Robert E. Sherwood’s beloved play taking a thoroughly human look at the early years of our 16th President, with all his frailties and strength of character. Best Actor Oscar nominee* Raymond Massey (who originated the role on stage) wonderfully plays the future Great Emancipator in a chronicle of his backwoods childhood through his first romance with Ann Rutledge (Mary Howard) to his phenomenal rise to President Elect, besting the great orator Stephen Douglas (Gene Lockhart). Ruth Gordon also does memorable work as driven, ambitious Mary Todd Lincoln, whose vision of Abe’s leadership destiny will not be denied by anyone – including her often reticent husband. There’s also no denying the enduring emotional power of this simple, magnificent movie. From Warner Brothers!

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https://nitroflare.com/view/40394598C56FB33/Abe.Lincoln.in.Illinois.1940.DVDRip.x264.mkv

Language(s):English
Subtitles:None

The post John Cromwell – Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Quote:
Not-so-grieving widow Claire Marrable is horrified to hear that her supposedly wealthy husband has apparently left her penniless. But, being a practical (and resourceful) type, she hits on a scheme to keep her in the comfort to which she wishes to become accustomed. Relocating to the Arizona desert, she hires elderly housekeepers with no known relatives (but tidy nest eggs) and sends them to their rewards a bit sooner than they planned. And their remains become mulch for the widow’s growing garden as each is buried under a quickly flourishing sapling. This later entry in the “horror hag” sweepstakes features absolutely wonderful performances from Geraldine Page, who has a high old time as the haughty, demented and thoroughly relentless Mrs. Marrable, and Ruth Gordon, as Alice Dimmock, her new housekeeper, who isn’t quite what she seems to be. On the sidelines are Rosemary Forsyth, herself a (young) widow with a nephew, Robert Fuller as Miss Gordon’s nephew, and Joan Huntington as the scheming wife of Page’s nephew. With a cast made up of widows and nephews, how scary can “Aunt Alice” be? Not very. But it’s a delicious black comedy which allows Page and Gordon the opportunity to give the performances of their lives. There’s also a neat cameo from Mildred Dunnock (“Death Of A Salesman”) as the luckless servant who precedes Miss Gordon. One of the best “Grand Guignol” films ever made!

2.45GB | 1 h 41 min | 1024×552 | mkv

https://nitro.download/view/06BCD2B3497B52D/Lee_H._Katzin_&_Bernard_Girard_-_(1969)_What_Ever_Happened_to_Aunt_Alice.mkv

Language(s):English
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The post Lee H. Katzin & Bernard Girard – What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Quote:
Cinematically, Harold And Maude is a child of the Seventies. A film about death and disillusionment jarringly complete with a sunny Cat Stevens soundtrack, on the surface it is about pushing boundaries and definitions (not least in the kind humour allowed to be depicted on screen). However, it’s also a film about being true to yourself and following your own path.

Harold (Bud Cort) is unusually preoccupied with death. He’s coming of age in a world of wealth and privilege, and not interested in any of it. He’d rather attend the funerals of strangers and fake his own suicide in increasingly theatrical ways. At one funeral, he meets Maude (Ruth Gordon). She also regularly attends funerals of strangers. She also steals cars, liberates canaries from pet shops and is easily old enough to be his grandmother. Naturally, the two become close.

The movie is directed by free spirit Hal Ashby. You can sense his off-kilter, detached but wise and gentle voice throughout the movie. There is a facetious tone, but it’s loveably cheeky; in one scene Harold appears to set himself alight to avoid a date (set up by his mother) with a sorority girl. The girl runs out the room screaming, nearly knocking over an unscathed Harold making a surprise entrance. His mother is disgusted; Harold looks sardonically into the camera, to the sound of another Cat Stevens song.

However, it’s not this tone, but rather Harold’s developing connection with Maude that proves to be the real backbone of the movie. Maude’s uniqueness, whether she’s defying a parade of authority figures, or regaling Harold with stories about her renegade past, intrigues and disgusts Harold in equal measure. Most importantly, it gives him something to live for. His previous pleasures mostly derived from annoying his mother and staging his macabre faux-suicide spectacles.

Wisely, Ashby keeps the portrayal of the relationship’s details coy. There is implication in these 90 minutes, but it’s buried within, and between, the twosome’s antics. However, one of the challenges (and rewards) of the movie is not deciphering what exactly happens between the two. It’s not important. It’s watching, and emotionally investing in, the bonding of these two lost souls. It’s something that they want to do; it’s their secret and their world.

The most important message the film has is follow your heart, no matter how weird other people think you are for doing so. Although the way the film says this may not be to everybody’s taste (the potent cocktail of black comedy and anti-authoritarian, and sometimes anti-war, sentiments may strike some as less irreverent than tasteless; the nature of the central relationship may also put some people off), there is no doubting the singularity of Ashby’s movie. Although he would go on to make his calling card (the sublime Being There), he would never make a film so unusual, and destined for cult status. And that is why it’s so easy to fall in love with Harold and Maude.

+Audio commentary by Hal Ashby biographer Nick Dawson and producer Charles B. Mulvehill

1.48GB | 1h 32m | 1024×554 | mkv

https://nitro.download/view/18CAADD07723756/Hal_Ashby_-_(1971)_Harold_and_Maude.mkv

Language(s):English
Subtitles:English

The post Hal Ashby – Harold and Maude (1971) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Quote:
A young couple move into an apartment, only to be surrounded by peculiar neighbors and occurrences. When the wife becomes mysteriously pregnant, paranoia over the safety of her unborn child begins to control her life.

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https://nitro.download/view/96065F62FB9DEF2/Roman_Polanski_-_(1968)_Rosemary’s_Baby.mkv

Language:English
Subtitles:English

The post Roman Polanski – Rosemary’s Baby (1968) first appeared on Cinema of the World.