Vangelis Movies

As co-produced by The Vatican, this deeply reverent documentary takes a long and fond look back at the life and accomplishments of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, née Karol Jozef Wojtyla (1920-2005). Director Pawel Pitera's strategy involves filtering John Paul's papacy through the eyes of Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, Wojtyla's right hand man and one of his closest friends. Michael York narrates; the title translates, literally, as "Birth Certificate." ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

The fourth film to chronicle the life of fourth-century B.C. ruler Alexander the Great, Oliver Stone's Alexander stars Colin Farrell as the titular Macedonian conqueror. The film follows the young king as he leads his forces on a bloody empirical conquest across the known world, taking large parts of Asia and the Middle East to amass a giant empire, all by the time he turned 25. Anthony Hopkins co-stars as Ptolemy I along with Rosario Dawson as Roxane, Angelina Jolie as Olympias, Jared Leto as Hephaistion, Val Kilmer as King Philip II, and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as Cassander. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

C.P. Cavafy (1863-1933) was a Greek poet who wrote exquisitely about his beloved cities, Alexandria and Constantinople, and about the beautiful, sexually available men who lived in them. Thanks to Lawrence Durrell's frequent favorable mention of him in his popular novels The Alexandria Quartet, Cavafy has become a figure of considerable literary interest outside of Greek and homosexual circles. Part biography, part fantasy, but very much in the spirit of the poet's work, this film begins in 1933 as a young literateur reads to Cavafy (Vassilis Diamandopoulos), lying abed in an Alexandrian hospital. Cavafy drifts away into memories from his life and the film takes up his story from childhood. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

A perverse, dark-humored comedy drama, Bitter Moon crosses the line into intentional camp more often than not in its tale of a kinky cripple Oscar (Peter Coyote) and his beautiful wife Mimi (Emmanuelle Seigner). Oscar ensnares a proper British man, Nigel (Hugh Grant) on an ocean-liner and makes him listen to the twisted tale of his relationship with Mimi (related in lengthy flashbacks) and how erotic obsession turned to homicidal hatred. Nigel is married to Fiona (Kristin Scott-Thomas), but is captivated by Mimi and listens to Oscar's grotesque stories because of his fascination. Naturally, the whole thing ends in tragedy, but it's wicked fun getting there, as director Roman Polanski paces the film quite well and the cast (particularly Coyote) is wonderful. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

In this spooky political thriller, the world seems on the brink of a nuclear holocaust when an old agreement between the Kremlin and the Vatican comes to light. It is an American tourist (at least he seems like a tourist) who exposes the potentially deadly "Third Solution," and now only one diplomat can save the world from destruction. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

One of the principles of tai chi is the planting of the lower body to the floor, allowing the upper body to flow smoothly. The Yang Short Form is a complex series of 37 movements which promote balance, relaxation, circulation, and the energizing of the chi, or life force. Tai Chi for Health Yang Short Form is one of the most complete, easy-to-follow guides to this ancient practice. Instructor Terence Dunn breaks down the workout into a brief introduction of the philosophy and health benefits of tai chi: a ten-minute warm-up, a 20-minute demonstration of the basic postures, an hour of step-by-step instruction of all of the postures, and finally, the video -- with a 15-minute Yang Short Form exhibition. This is a great choice for beginners. ~ Heather M. Fierst, Rovi

The sights and sounds of the dark continent come alive in Portrait of Africa. A visual safari, the one-hour documentary presents a breathtaking musical tour of the widely differing landscapes. Swayed by the rhythms of Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Miriam Makeba, the viewer is lifted high above the plains of the Serengeti to touch down on Mt. Kilimanjaro. Kenya unfolds to the beat of Vangelis. Lake Turkana seduces the camera with its wildly rugged coast. The settings play host to a cornucopia of the people and animals that inhabit this massive land. Portrait of Africa leaves a lasting impression of vast riches, wealth measured by the senses. ~ Sarah Ing, Rovi

In this sequel to 1987's Nosferatu the Vampire, Nosferatu (Klaus Kinski) is brought back to life by gypsies and shows his thanks by pushing an old lady out of a window onto a row of spikes. He seduces a local princess and battles a professor (Christopher Plummer) who is out to destroy him. Director Luigi Cozzi was brought in to finish the film when Kinski violently disagreed with original director Augustino Caminito and refused to be directed by him. ~ Brian Gusse, Rovi

While viewers watch a human egg being fertilized by a sperm, the narration in this documentary about biological life and death, and genetic engineering, explains what is happening on screen. Other segments, such as animals trying to survive in the wild, human sexuality, or the way the brain works, are interesting for their footage and perhaps a little less interesting for the narration. If director Ed Kong had lightened the voiceover with a bit of humor, the documentary would prove more vital to a wider range of people. At the same time, three different versions of the narration were made available to distributors, each with a different degree of censorship. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In yet another, standard feature-length film about life in the wilds -- the hinterlands and forests of Canada, South America, and Africa -- animals are shown in activities that sustain their lives and keep the cycle of regeneration turning. There are some informative and well-shot segments filmed in a variety of seasons and settings, but this series of sequences is strung together with no particular unifying factor. Quotes from Gustave Flaubert and Guy de Maupassant give an unusual literary dimension to the scenes. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

A blend of science fiction and noir detective fiction, Blade Runner (1982) was a box office and critical bust upon its initial exhibition, but its unique postmodern production design became hugely influential within the sci-fi genre, and the film gained a significant cult following that increased its stature. Harrison Ford stars as Rick Deckard, a retired cop in Los Angeles circa 2019. L.A. has become a pan-cultural dystopia of corporate advertising, pollution and flying automobiles, as well as replicants, human-like androids with short life spans built by the Tyrell Corporation for use in dangerous off-world colonization. Deckard's former job in the police department was as a talented blade runner, a euphemism for detectives that hunt down and assassinate rogue replicants. Called before his one-time superior (M. Emmett Walsh), Deckard is forced back into active duty. A quartet of replicants led by Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) has escaped and headed to Earth, killing several humans in the process. After meeting with the eccentric Eldon Tyrell (Joe Turkel), creator of the replicants, Deckard finds and eliminates Zhora (Joanna Cassidy), one of his targets. Attacked by another replicant, Leon (Brion James), Deckard is about to be killed when he's saved by Rachael (Sean Young), Tyrell's assistant and a replicant who's unaware of her true nature. In the meantime, Batty and his replicant pleasure model lover, Pris (Darryl Hannah) use a dying inventor, J.F. Sebastian (William Sanderson) to get close to Tyrell and murder him. Deckard tracks the pair to Sebastian's, where a bloody and violent final confrontation between Deckard and Batty takes place on a skyscraper rooftop high above the city. In 1992, Ridley Scott released a popular director's cut that removed Deckard's narration, added a dream sequence, and excised a happy ending imposed by the results of test screenings; these legendary behind-the-scenes battles were chronicled in a 1996 tome, Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner by Paul M. Sammon. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Laura Gemser headlines this campy sexploitation item, in which she plays The Divine One, the cruel yet charismatic leader of a bizarre religious cult. The Divine One presides over an endless assortment of bizarre orgies in which she guides her followers through a spectacular variety of erotic deviations. When not busy satisfying their sexual appetites, The Divine One and her security chief Dorian (Christian Anders) subject their minions to various tortures and plot ways to lure celebrities into the cult in a bid for greater power. Die Todesgoettin des Liebescamps was released in English-speaking territories as Divine Emmanuelle and Love Cult; the latter two titles were brought together for the film's North American DVD release. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The slow mental and emotional disintegration of the mother of an autistic child is the main theme of this evocative psychological drama by J.A. Salgot. Since incest and murder are also involved, this is not exactly a film for all audiences. Clara (Victoria Abril) is graphically shown giving birth and subsequently followed as she tries to cope with the ever-more obvious autism of her new son. She leads a normal life as a keypunch operator, but her son's affliction takes its toll. She experiments with illegal drugs, eventually loses her job, and slowly recedes into a shell that is almost as impenetrable as her son's. There seems to be no ordinary way out of her gradual decline, no solution to her problem that started long ago when she refused to give her son up to an institution. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi