MY LIBRARY

1935 film directed by Willi Forst

Before he became cult director Douglas Sirk, Detlef Sierck cut his teeth on such lavish European star vehicles as Das Hofkonzert (The Court Concert). Marta Eggerth is cast as Christine, a young singer who aspires to find out who her father was. Her odyssey brings her to the court of a mythical kingdom, where she is romanced by handsome lieutenant Walter (Johannes Heesters). He is warned not to lose his heart to a "commoner," but all turns out all right when King Serenissimus (Otto Tressler) turns out to be Christine's long-lost daddy. Hofkonzert was designed as a comeback for Marta Eggerth, whose star had eclipsed by the mid-1930s.

France in the 15th Century: The country is marked by the wars with England and internal power struggles. King Charles sees himself powerless against the state. As emerges from the people suddenly a young woman named Johanna, who claimed that the Archangel Gabriel to be appointed, to save France. First of all doubt the king in their words, but he remembers that the people through this "help of God" is gaining new courage. With the slogan "God and the Virgin!" pulls the revivified victorious army into battle against the English-Burgundian alliance. After Johanna King Charles is crowned at Reims, there breaks the plague over the country in. Now Johanna all the blame on the disaster: God would punish believe in the country for that a heretic; if Johanna were actual a holy, she would deal also with the plague. The waning faith weakens France, England is again on the rise. But Johanna is executed as a witch. Only years later annulled the verdict of the Holy and Johanna explained.

A grieving husband tries to uncover the truth behind his wife's suicide, leading him to discover a tragic tale of infidelity and redemption.

The Italian mountaineer Carel wants to be the first man to stand on the top of the Matterhorn. Since the climb is very difficult, he agrees to try it together with the British mountaineer Whymper. But due to an intrigue this agreement is dropped and the two man try it on the same day with two different teams and then disaster strikes.

Lamenting Thebian women are waiting for the men to come back from war. God Jupiter is attracted to one of them: Alkmene. He goes to earth and tries to seduce her as himself: an old man. Failing in this, he disguises himself as Amphitryon (Alkemene's husband) and tries again. Next morning Amphitryon and his men come back from war; he suspects adultery and wants a divorce. Jupiter's wife Juno now also comes to earth and clears things up.

A 1943 German drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst based on the life of Philippus von Hohenheim (Paracelsus). The film is one of several big nazi era productions with main characters regarded as propaganda-parables to Adolf Hitler (see also Ohm Krüger and Der grosse König).

A 19th-century London cabaret singer is deported to prison in Australia. Her crime? Taking the blame when her lover bounces checks.

Franz Biberkopf has served four years in prison. His return to normal life is not successful.

After completing work on the British musical Invitation to the Waltz, Lillian Harvey returned to her adopted country of Germany to star in the comedy-with-music Glueckskinder (Children of Fortune). Harvey plays Ann Garden, an unemployed actress who ends up in night court on a loitering charge. Here she meets Gil Taylor (Willy Fritsch), a struggling songwriter temporarily employed as a court reporter. Hoping to keep her out of jail, Gil impulsively tells the judge that he's engaged to Ann -- whereupon the judge, equally impulsively, marries the couple on the spot! After this inauspicious start, Ann and Gil embark upon a rocky (but tuneful) whirlwind romance.

Shortly after being demobilized, Georges Duroy becomes aware of his power over women in the arms of Rachel, a young singer. Thanks to his good looks and his charming manners and his unabashed cynicism he will rapidly rise to the top by courtesy of women women (Mme Walter, Clotilde, Madeleine), from journalist to member of Parliament to cabinet minister. But it is also the fair sex that will cause his fall in the end.

1975 film directed by Dario Argento

1948 film by Akira Kurosawa

A woman stuck in a stale marriage struggles to raise her children and manage her secret drug habit. But when winter comes to her small town, her balancing act begins to come crashing down.

A cinematic version of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's adaptation of Bram Stoker's gothic novel Dracula. Filmed in a style reminiscent of silent Expressionist cinema of the early 20th century (complete with intertitles and monochrome photography), it uses dance to tell the story of a sinister but intriguing immigrant who preys upon young English women.

A young woman escapes from a mental hospital during the chaos of a nearby multiple-car accident. She is mistaken for a shock victim and is driven to her sister's house by a rescue volunteer. Then the real story begins... Written by Daniel Yates

When Nicole, a young copy-shop employee, is hired to translate an ancient Chinese manuscript, she soon finds that the document has strange powers that little by little begin to exert an eerie influence over her life.

The ghosts of a middle-aged woman and a precocious little girl help an unwed jazz musician and a bar dancer reverse their bad fortune.

1971 film by Pier Paolo Pasolini

A giant stone statue comes to life to protect the residents of a small town against the depradations of an evil warlord.