Drama Classics

When an heiress to a major hotel chain is abducted by sex traffickers, her assistant races to the rescue. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A talented young boxer with Golden Gloves aspirations must turn over a new leaf following a stint in jail if he ever hopes to reach his true potential, and win the championship title. In a world where second chances are hard to come by, this struggling pugilist will have to wage the fight of a lifetime before he even sets foot into the ring. Danny Trejo, Steven Bauer, and Oscar Torre star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A man tasked with watching the troubled younger brother of a prominent gay porn producer gradually begins falling for his handsome young charge. When the stars of a major gay porn company have a little down time, they like to unwind in Luna Park - a luxurious apartment building with all of the creature comforts. The building is owned by actress-turned-producer Alexia, and managed by her mute younger brother Christi, who has taken to peeping on the guests. When Christi gets caught in the act, Alexis recruits her assistant Maxwell to clean up the mess. In time, Maxwell and Christie develop a powerful romantic bond, a bond that is soon threatened by some dark secrets in Alexia's distant past. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Two estranged sisters come together to save their aging mother's failing floral business in this uplifting family drama starring Kristy Swanson and Alberta Mayne. Growing up, driven Terri (Swanson) never got along with her starry-eyed sister Mandy (Mayne). All the while, their loving parents struggled to keep the family's failing floral business afloat. But when tragedy strikes, Terri and Mandy realize that without their help their mother will soon be out of business. Determined not to let her down in her time of need, the two sisters who never got along attempt to put their differences aside for long enough to get the business thriving again. Along the way, they learn that when your family is by your side, anything is possible. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A privileged, free-spirited young girl tries to adapt to life in a strict boarding school in this charming, critically acclaimed children's fantasy. Adapting a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, also the author of The Secret Garden, the film shifts the story's setting to World War I. 10 year-old Sara Crewe (Liesel Matthews) has been left in a respected New York City boarding school while her British father heads overseas to fight. Filled with wild stories and a playful attitude, the unconventional Sara becomes popular amongst her classmates but quickly comes into conflict with the harsh headmistress, Miss Minchin (Eleanor Bron), who attempts to quash the child's individuality. The young girl's situation takes a serious turn for the worse when she unexpectedly receives word of her father's death, and, suddenly impoverished, is forced into life as a servant. Treated as a lesser class of person by her former companions, Sara instead befriends her fellow servants and turns to the power of imagination in order to maintain hope for the future. In addition to changing the story's setting, screenwriters Richard LaGravenese and Elizabeth Chandler add a layer of Indian mythology to the tale, allowing director Alfonso Cuaron the chance to punctuate the riches-to-rags fable with a series of lush, imaginative fantasy sequences. Though A Little Princess had difficulty attracting audiences during its initial run, its visual splendor and touching storytelling were praised by many critics, several of whom proclaimed the film one of the best family-oriented productions of its time. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

This production presents the complete text of A Streetcar Named Desire, the 1947 Tennessee Williams masterpiece. The story centers on the destruction of a lonely Mississippi widow, Blanche DuBois (Jessica Lange), by her brutally outspoken brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski (Alec Baldwin). The play begins when Blanche arrives in New Orleans from Laurel, Mississippi, at the squalid apartment of her pregnant sister, Stella, and Stella's husband, Kowalski. After announcing that she is on leave from a teaching position, Blanche discloses that creditors have expropriated the family estate, Belle Reve. Consequently, sister Stella will never receive a penny of her share in the property. Skeptical, Stanley angrily demands documented proof of the property loss. Blanche provides it. The lingering animosity from this incident then builds relentlessly over several months. To protect herself from Stanley and his crude working-class world, Blanche cocoons herself in a delusional world of Old South ideals. She is ever the aristocratic belle. Truculent Stanley, however, seizes every opportunity to bullyrag dainty Blanche. He despises her elegant ways, her put-on airs. In turn, she shudders at his rudeness and vulgarity. But deep in her lonely soul--deep in the instinctual id that drove her to promiscuity in Laurel--she harbors a perverse attraction for Stanley. Her mental state, meanwhile, verges on insanity; one day her prince will come, an Old South cavalier with a gleaming sword. When Stanley's friend Mitch woos her, Stanley sabotages the romance after digging into Blanche's past and tattling to Mitch about her affairs. Stella goes into labor and gives birth. When proud papa Stanley returns from the hospital, Blanche is swilling liquor. Stanley gulps a few and rapes Blanche. She then steps across the border between the real and the unreal as the play draws to a conclusion. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi

Two children from a working-class family in New York struggle to understand the story of God versus Lucifer as they try to deal with a mentally ill mother in this intense, realistic, spiritual drama. Angela is ten-years-old and has visions of angels. She spends much of her time trying to comprehend the tale of God and Lucifer. She also tries to protect her baby sister, six-year-old, Ellie by cautioning her to stay clean and good lest the Devil take her away. Ellie and Angela have been moved several times in their life. Their father, Andrew, is a hard worker; their mother, Mae, is becoming increasingly mentally ill. The children frequently witness her outbursts, but can do nothing to stop her sad descent. Sometimes Angela spies on them as they make love. After Mae is finally placed in an institution the girls must spend many hours on their own. At one point they assist their pregnant sitter when her water breaks. At another they manage to get away from a child molester at a carnival. In the final scene, Angela decides to baptize herself in the river and finally finds the transformation she sought. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Childhood dance lessons lead to the journey of a lifetime in this touching tale of friendship from director Ryu Murakami. Upon learning that the man who inspired her passion for Latin dance is currently living in New York City, Kyoko (Saki Takaoka) opts to purchase a plane ticket and depart from Japan to visit her old friend. Dismayed to discover upon her arrival that her old friend, Jose (Carlos Osorio), has developed a devastating case of AIDS and cannot even recognize her, sympathetic Kyoko offers to drive her dying friend to his home in Florida. Soon, the unlikely duo is embarking on an unforgettable journey that will define a lifetime for one and forever change the heart of another. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Based on Richard Price's grim best-seller, and directed by Spike Lee from a screenplay co-written with Price, Clockers takes the structure of a police procedural to build a chilling portrait of despair, hope, and the unanswered problem of black-on-black crime in an urban housing project. The film's haunting themes are vividly visualized during the opening credits, which run over police photos of dead young black men, shot and sprawled on sidewalks, in streets, and hanging over fences. Strike (Mekhi Phifer) is a 19-year-old African-American "clocker" -- the lowest link on the drug dealing chain -- who hangs around park benches and street corners selling small amounts of druges at all hours of the day. Strike drinks chocolate milk to soothe an ulcer and plays with model trains in his apartment, dreaming of a way out of his dead-end life. Drug kingpin Rodney (Delroy Lindo) asks Strike to kill another clocker, Darryl, for skimming money, saying that this will be Strike's ticket to a higher post in Rodney's organization. Darryl is indeed shot, and suspicion immediately falls on Strike, but a weary cop named Rocco Klein (Harvey Keitel) thinks there's more to the case. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

Tim Robbins' second directorial effort (after the political satire Bob Roberts) was this drama based on a true story, which explores the issue of capital punishment. Sister Helen Prejean (Susan Sarandon) is a nun and teacher living in rural Louisiana. One day, she receives a letter from Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn), who is scheduled to be executed soon for the rape and murder of two teenagers. After meeting Matthew, Sister Helen agrees to serve as spiritual counselor and see what she can do to stay the execution. However, Matthew's claims of innocence seem shaky at best, and it's clear he's a reprehensible, amoral racist. When it becomes obvious that Matthew's sentence will be carried out, Sister Helen offers what comfort she can to Matthew, but also tries to guide him to an open admission of the extent of his crimes and an acceptance of divine forgiveness, telling him "I want the last face you see to be the face of love." Susan Sarandon won an Oscar for her performance as Sister Prejean, and Sean Penn was similarly nominated for Best Actor as Matthew. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Polish filmmaker Jerzy Lukaszewicz directs the religious drama Faustina, based on the real life of Sister Mary Faustina, born Helena Kowalska in 1905 as the third of ten children. Even as a child, she had experienced visions of Jesus Christ, which would continue throughout her life. In 1925, she joined the Polish convents of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and took the name Sister Mary Faustina. This film features dramatized stories from her life, based on actual writings from her spiritual journals and personal diaries. Faustina died of tuberculosis in 1938, was beatified as a saint in 1993, and canonized in 2000 by Pope John Paul II. Starring Dorota Segda and Danuta Szaflarska, Faustina won Best Feature at the Catholic Film Festival in 1995. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

With the help of his right-hand man, TV John, police constable Hamish Macbeth (Robert Carlyle) keeps the peace in Lochdubh's mean streets in his own idiosyncratic way, with little regard for police regulations and every intention of avoiding promotion. Promotion would mean leaving his police home, the wild, beautiful Scottish countryside, and Wee Jock, his beloved West Highland terrier. So the less his superior officers in Inverness know of his policing activities, the better.

The first full season of Homicide: Life on the Street (in its third year on the ABC prime-time schedule) features a new addition to the Baltimore PD homicide unit: night-shift commander Megan Russert (Isabella Hofmann), whose blunt manner rubs everyone -- especially her day-shift counterpart, Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) -- the wrong way. Among the season's various story arcs: Det. Beau Felton (Daniel Baldwin) and his wife separate, whereupon she takes the kids and goes into hiding; detectives Munch (Richard Belzer) and Lewis (Clark Johnson) decide to open their own bar, with some behind-the-scenes help (and hindrance) from their young colleague Bayliss (Kyle Secor); and the entire division goes on an all-out search for the elusive "white glove killer." In other developments, the cops find out what happened to their former co-worker Crossetti, who had completely vanished from sight at the end of season two; Det. Pembleton (Andre Braugher) considers resigning when he thinks he has been made the patsy in a high-profile coverup; and Felton, Howard (Melissa Leo), and Bolander (Ned Beatty) are seriously injured in a botched arrest -- for which Giardello may have to take the fall. Additionally, several guest stars dot the Baltimore landscape, including NBC newsman Tim Russert, and, in a crossover with the NBC series Law & Order, Chris Noth in his familiar role as NYPD detective Mike Logan. As the season draws to a close, Russert is suddenly and unexpectedly promoted, and Pembleton's family is placed in jeopardy by a vengeance-seeking psycho. ~ Rovi