Staff Picks
Deep Dive Into Film
- Allison T.
- Thursday, January 03, 2019
Collection
As many DVD distributors cut back on releases of older films, Olive Films, a theatrical and home video distributor, offers first-rate editions of films long unavailable.
Alice's Restaurant
Published in 2015
A free-flowing, freewheeling, counter-culture comedy set during the turbulent 60's adapted from Guthrie's musical monologue Alice's Restaurant Massacre. Guthrie portrays the embodiment of America's youth, a young man who sees his life beginning to unravel through psychedelic drug -fueled haze, as he and his friends (and the plot) spin toward an explosive conclusion.
Amazing Grace
Published in 2015
Grace Teasdale Grimes, a Baltimore, Maryland widow, discovers that the local mayoral election is a front for pilfering funds from their neighborhood by the incumbent mayor and his cronies. Stirred to activism, Grace, with the aid of her neighbors, rallies the community to thwart the self-serving politicians in this rollicking comedy.
American Ninja 2 the Confrontation
Published in 2016
The sequel to the highly successful martial arts extravaganza American Ninja. Joining Joe, the American Ninja, is Curtis Jackson who, like Joe, is promoted to the Army Rangers and sent on a mission to the Caribbean in search of missing Marines. Quicker than you can say déja vu, Joe and Curtis are battling scientifically engineered Super Ninjas in an attempt to bring down a dreaded drug lord known as The Lion.
American Ninja 3
Blood Hunt
Published in 2016
With the aid of Curtis Jackson, Davidson battles "The Cobra," a maniacal terrorist experimenting with biological warfare and an army of genetically-cloned ninjas led by Chan Lee.
American Ninja 4 the Annihilation
Published in 2016
Teamed with CIA operative Sean Davidson, Joe Armstrong is out to help foil the plans of Mulgrew, a terrorist hell-bent on annihilating New York City.
At First Sight
Published in 2015
In the midst of a desperately needed vacation, cynical Manhattanite Amy Benic (Mira Sorvino) meets blind massage therapist Virgil Adamson (Val Kilmer). Fascinated by his independence and seduced by his positivity, Benic falls for him hard. As their relationship deepens, the two plan to leave the tiny resort town Adamson knows by touch for the hustle and bustle of New York City, where Benic suggests he undergo a cutting-edge medical procedure that could repair his sense of sight.
Baby It's You
Published in 2015
Set it 1966 New Jersey, middle-class high school senior Jill finds herself inexplicably drawn to suave, blue collar bad boy known as 'The Sheik'.
Beach Blanket Bingo
Published in 2015
When a publicity stunt to promote the singing career of Sugar Kane balloons out of control, the gang are pulled into the ensuing comic adventures.
Beat Street
Published in 2016
Three friends who dream of breaking out of their South Bronx existence find a ray of hope in the form of a local composer/choreographer, who takes interest in their individual talents.
Betrayed
Published in 2016
Cathy Weaver, FBI agent, goes undercover to investigate Gary Simmons, a Vietnam vet and a suspect in the murder of a local radio personality. As she becomes romantically interested in Simmons, Weaver uncovers a right-wing extremist group armed for murder.
Blanche
Published in 2017
An elderly noble baron and his much younger bride welcome a visiting King and his handsome page, Bartolomeo to their castle, which sets in motion accusations of disloyalty and marital infidelity, turning what should be a fairytale into a nightmare.
Blue Sky
Published in 2015
Uprooting his family after being assigned to a remote testing facility in Alabama, nuclear engineer Hank Marshall is faced with a moral decision as an opponent of the atmospheric tests he's asked to complete. Adding to an already volatile situation is Hank's sultry and unstable wife, Carly, whose flirtatious nature begins to erode their relationship and bring unwanted attention to the situation.
A Bucket of Blood
Published in 2018
Walter Paisley accidentally kills his landlady's cat and covers the body in plaster to hide the evidence. Recognized as a brilliant sculptor, Walter finds himself resorting to the same methods to produce new work, and soon people start mysteriously disappearing.
Carrington
Published in 2016
Story of the relationship between painter Dora Carrington and author Lytton Strachey in a World War One England countryside. Although platonic due to Strachey's homosexuality, the relationship was nevertheless a complicated one.
Coffy
Published in 2015
A beautiful woman feigns drug addiction to discover and destroy the evil dealers responsible for her sister's death.
Cooley High
Published in 2015
Set in the 1960s, a slice-of-life tale of high school students coping with the challenges of everyday life growing up in the Chicago housing projects.
Daniel
Published in 2015
A fictionalized account of the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg case. Daniel Isaacson, an anti-war activist whose parents, branded as spies, were put to death by the U.S. government. Believing that his parents were wrongly convicted and executed, Daniel sets out to clear their name.
The Delinquents
Published in 2017
A young man is drawn into a potentially deadly friendship when he inadvertently becomes involved with the wrong crowd. Naivete will lead Scotty and his girlfriend Janice into dangerous waters when their adolescent fun escalates into robbery, assault, and kidnapping.
Dracula in Vegas
Published in 2017
A young German vampire arrives in Las Vegas to attend the University of Nevada and to terrorize the city, but falls in love with a coed.
Eat Drink Man Woman
Published in 2015
A charming study of love, family, and tradition about a father learning to deal with his daughters becoming women.
Five on the Black Hand Side
Published in 2018
In the Brooks family, Papa may rule with an iron fist ... but Mama's about to slap him down with her open hand! Tired of being told what to do and when to do it, she goes to war! Swapping her old housedress for army-green duds and combing her tidily coiffed head into a ceiling-scraping 'fro, she takes to the roof on strike ... until her browbeating, penny-pinching, gas-passing husband agrees to meet her bill of rights!
For Us, the Living the Medgar Evers Story
Published in 2015
Medgar Evers was a former insurance salesman turned field secretary for the NAACP, and who was instrumental in organizing boycotts against discriminating southern white merchants and the desegregation of the University of Mississippi.
Foxy Brown
Published in 2015
A woman goes undercover as a hooker to avenge her brother and boyfriend's deaths at the hands of the mob.
Friday Foster
Published in 2015
Friday Foster is a young women working as a photojournalist, when she uncovers an assassination conspiracy against Black politicians.
Gang Related
Published in 2016
Corrupted detectives framed an innocent man for the murder of an undercover DEA agent.
High Noon
Published in 2016
Will Kane is a marshal who stands alone to defend a town of cowardly citizens against a gang of killers out for revenge. Engaged in the fight of his lifetime, Kane stands to lose everything when the clock strikes noon, his friends, his honor, and his Quaker bride.
A Home of Our Own
Published in 2016
When her family falls on hard times, hardworking mother and widow Frances Lacey decides it's time for a fresh start, so she and her six children pull up stakes in Los Angeles and move to rural Idaho.
Hope and Glory
Published in 2018
The autobiographical film is a nostalgic and gently comic remembrance of England during the turbulent Blitz as seen through the eyes of ten-year-old Billy Rohan. While the beauty of the aircrafts and tanks holds endless wonders for the young boy, others know all too well the destruction they bring. Navigating difficult times are mother Grace, who finds herself head of the household when her husband is drafted; Billy's sister, Dawn, whose romance and pregnancy with the dashing Canadian airman.
How to Murder Your Wife
Published in 2015
Regretting his decision to propose marriage to a woman who pops out of a cake at his friend's bachelor party, cartoonist Stanley Ford asks for a divorce. Unfortunately, his new Italian-only speaking bride will have none of it, and soon takes over his house and his life. Seeing no way out, he uses his cartoon strip to live out his inner, darker thoughts on solving the problem.
J'accuse
Published in 2016
After serving in WWI, Jean recoils with such horror that he renounces love and personal pleasure to immerse himself in scientific research, seeking a machine to prevent war. The government subverts his discovery. In desperation Jean summons the ghosts of the war from the graves and fields of France to give silent, accusing protest.
Joe
Published in 2018
Joe Curran is the titular everyman and unabashed hippie-hater. Joe, who equates hippies with everything un-American, finds a kindred spirit in Bill Compton, an advertising executive who makes Joe's acquaintance at a neighborhood bar, boasting that he killed a drug-dealing hippie. Bill, pressed for facts by the intrigued Joe, recants saying that he was merely joking. However, when a news report confirms the incident, vigilante justice akin to Taxi Driver is set in motion.
John Ford, Dreaming the Quiet Man
Published in 2015
Explores director John Ford and his twenty year struggle to bring the 1952 romantic comedy-drama film, The quiet man, to the big screen. Includes interviews with film notables who share the impact the film has had on their lives and careers as well as never-before-seen home movies documenting the cast and crew's time filming in Ireland.
John Sturges' the Hallelujah Trail
Published in 2018
Under the watchful eye of its owner Frank Wallingham, the Wallingham Freighting Company is bound for Denver with forty wagons of whiskey to quench the town's thirst. But there are others who have plans of their own for the load of libations including temperance leader Cora Templeton Massingale, who wants it destroyed, the Sioux Indians who want it for themselves, ditto the Denver citizens militia, as well as the Irish teamsters hired as wagon drivers. Fearing that the shipment may not reach its destination, Colonel Thaddeus Gearhart assigns Captain Paul Slater to safeguard the cargo, unaware that Slater's fiancée Louise - who also happens to be the Colonel's daughter - has fallen under the powerful spell of Cora's temperance message.
Johnny Be Good
Published in 2015
Scrawny and short, high school quarterback Johnny Walker is America's most unlikely football prospect. Johnny finds himself in the enviable position of being courted by the country's top football recruiters. However, he's torn between waiting for a top offer with big bucks, egged on by his best friend Leo or joining his girlfriend, Georgia at a college where he can pursue a well-rounded education.
Johnny Guitar
Published in 2016
Vienna is a saloon owner with a sordid past. Persecuted by the townspeople, Vienna must protect her life and property when a lynch mob led by her sexually repressed rival, Emma Small, attempts to frame her for a string of robberies she did not commit. Enter Johnny Guitar, a guitar-strumming ex-gunfighter, who oncewas, and perhaps still is, in love with Vienna.
King the Martin Luther King Story
Published in 2015
Tracing the story of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr's rise from his early years as a Baptist minister in Memphis to his assassination in 1968, is riveting storytelling of the highest order, combining first-rate performances with spiritual, political and social themes that remain as relevant today as they were in the era portrayed.
The Madness of King George
Published in 2017
In the late eighteenth century, King George suddenly takes ill in both his body and his head. This starts a round of backstabbing in the English court, as his son, the Prince of Wales, tries to take the throne for himself.
Mermaids
Published in 2018
Rachel Flax is the eccentric matriarch of the Flax family that includes daughters Charlotte, an awkward, quirky teen torn between her personal devotion to becoming a nun and her longing for romance, and Kat, a nine-year-old whose interest in swimming may be a result of an inherited gene from Rachel₂s one-night stand with an Olympic contender.
The Night They Raided Minsky's
Published in 2015
When an innocent amish girl with dreams of becoming a dancer leaves her Pennsylvania home for the big city of New York, she could never have imagined where it would lead.
Odds Against Tomorrow
Published in 2018
One hundred and fifty thousand dollars, ready for the taking. It's too much to resist for Earl Slater, a bigoted ex-con slumming through life with a patronizing girlfriend, an obliging neighbor and zero expectations. He agrees to be part of a bank job planned by former cop Burke. Until, that is, he finds out one of his partners will be a black man. Earl's desperate need for cash, however, leads him to reconsider. For the job only, he'll put his racism aside ... until moments away from the score, hatred erupts.
The Quiet Man
Published in 2016
A weary American ex-boxer returns to the Irish hamlet of his childhood and tries to take a spirited lass as his wife, despite the strenuous objections of her brawling brother. Nominated for 7 Academy Awards and winner of 2, including Best Director.
Return to Me
Published in 2015
Bob's happy marriage is shattered when his wife, Elizabeth, suddenly dies in a tragic accident. At the time, Grace begins to rebuild her life after receiving a heart transplant. Through fate, their lives constantly intertwine.
Roller Boogie
Published in 2015
Can a classical flautist and a roller skating dude find true love and happiness in the California sun while boogying on skates to 70's disco tunes?
The Savage Innocents
Published in 2017
An Eskimo, Inuk, who has had little contact with white men, accidentally kills a missionary and finds himself being pursued by the police.
Serial
Published in 2016
Depicts a year in the life of a group of residents of California's Marin County.
Shag the Movie
Published in 2017
Carson McBride, who's counting down the days until her wedding, and Melaina Buller, the capricious daughter of a preacher, will sneak away from home along with friends Caroline Carmichael and Luanne Clatterbuck for big time fun and 'shag' dancing on the south coast. Through romantic entanglements, broken hearts and some of life's hard truths, these friends are in it for the long haul.
The Shanghai Story
Published in 2015
This follows the intersecting lives of Western expatriates who are held in confinement by the communist Chinese government. Dr. Dan Maynard is a physician determined to uphold the hippocratic oath, without bending to the will of his heartless captors.
Some Kind of Hero
Published in 2015
A Vietnam vet returns home from a prisoner of war camp and is greeted as a hero, but is quickly forgotten and soon discovers how tough survival is in his own country.
Soul Plane
Published in 2015
Forget the train and get on the plane. With a $100 million dollar settlement in his pocket from an airline that, among other things, lost his dog mid-flight, Nashawn Wade decides to start his own airline that specifically caters to African-Americans and hip-hop artists. You'll be in for the flight of your life with a crew that includes an acrophobic captain; an overly aggressive security guard; plus a passenger who sets up a mini-casino/strip club on the plane.
Stay Hungry
Published in 2017
A syndicate wants to buy a whole district and rebuild it. The only one not selling is a gym called 'Olympic', where Mr. Austria trains. They send in someone to buy it, but he starts to like the people and falls in love with Mr. Austria's friend.
The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry
Published in 2015
An aging bachelor in a small New England town, Harry Quincey finds love when a New York fashion designer visits the fabric mill where Harry works. But Harry's long-overdue chance at happiness is thwarted by his neurotic sister Lettie, who uses her physical ailments as a means of controlling her kind-hearted brother. When Harry proves himself serious about leaving the family home, Lettie goes to shocking extremes to keep him under her thumb.
Stranger at My Door
Published in 2015
After carrying out a brazen bank robbery, gunfighter Clay Anderson finds safe haven in the home of soft-spoken minister Hollis Jarret, his beautiful wife Peg and their son. Hollis extends to Clay every hospitality and gives him every chance at redemption, despite the undeniable sexual attraction that is clearly forming between Peg and the gunman.
Strategic Air Command
Published in 2016
A successful player for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team attempts to balance domestic life, service to God and country after suddenly becoming active for the U.S Air Force and being promoted to commanding a B-36 bomber crew.
Street Smart
Published in 2015
A New York magazine reporter on the verge of losing his job, Jonathan Fisher fabricates a story about prostitution that reignites his career and brings unwanted attention to a powerful pimp, Fast Black. The police, believing the story is true, feel they are closer to putting the notorious pimp behind bars. As pressure mounts for Fisher to reveal the identity of the lead in his story, he's unaware that Fast Black has plans of his own for the writer who's jeopardized his business.
Teachers
Published in 2015
A satirical, dramatic and often comic look at the life of the modern day teacher. Alex Jurel, a once idealistic high school teacher now burned out by the system. With a lawsuit filed by an illiterate student, the recipient of a passing grade and diploma, Alex is surprised to learn that the lawyer assigned to handle the case turns out to be Alex₂s former star pupil.
The Thing with Two Heads
Published in 2015
A rich white bigot is dying and hatches a plan to put his head on another body. But when his health starts deteriorating rapidly, his doctor has to put his head on the first available body: a black man from death row.
Try and Get Me!
Published in 2016
Out of work family man Howard Tyler's life begins to spin out of control when he's sucked in by the deranged and cold-as-ice Jerry Slocum. When their petty robberies yield insufficient payoff, they concoct a kidnapping plot that turns tragic.
The Undesirable
Published in 2016
A silent film about a woman who is told by her father on his deathbed, that he is really her uncle and that her mother is in prison for killing her real father. Alone and not knowing her mother's fate, Betty travels to the city in search of work. There she finds employment as a maid in the house of a wealthy couple and their dashing son Nick, with whom she falls in love. When Betty is fired from her position after being unjustly accused of theft, an ironic twist of fate propels the story forward with the sudden appearance of her mother Sarah, presumed dead but recently released from prison and on a quest of her own to find her daughter.
The Wild Angels
Published in 2015
"The action is set in motion when a bike is stolen from the Hells Angels. An epic chase to retrieve the bike ensues as the bikers spread fear and trembling wherever they ride"--Container.
Woman They Almost Lynched
Published in 2015
In the waning years of the Civil War, the secluded Ozark community of Border City prides itself on its neutrality. But the town quickly becomes a convenient refuge for such violent renegades as Charles Quantrill, Jesse and Frank James, and Cole Younger. Into this lawless town comes the innocent Sally Maris, whose brother runs the local saloon. When her brother dies in a gunfight over Quantrill's wife, Kate, Sally takes over the Lead Dollar Saloon and braces herself for a showdown.