Columbia Classics: Volume 5

Description

Collection of six classic films produced by Columbia Pictures. In ‘All the King’s Men’ (1949) ambitious politician Willie Stark (Broderick Crawford) finds popularity as a reformer, but as his career takes off he gradually becomes corrupted by his newly-acquired power. In ‘On the Waterfront’ (1954) former boxer Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) becomes involved in corrupt dockside politics through his lawyer brother Charley (Rod Steiger), who works for gangster union boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb). When Terry witnesses the murder of a union worker by Johnny’s thugs, his conscience begins to trouble him. He meets the murder victim’s sister Edie (Eva Marie Saint) and learns from Father Barry (Karl Malden) that the dead man was about to expose Johnny’s illegal activities. Father Barry then tries to convince Terry to provide the evidence required to put Johnny behind bars. ‘A Man for All Seasons’ (1966) follows Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield) as he wrestles with his conscience when he is appointed Lord Chancellor of England by King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw). The King wants More’s support divorcing his first wife so that he can marry Anne Boleyn (Vanessa Redgrave). When More refuses and resigns from his office, he falls foul of a plot by Thomas Cromwell (Leo McKern) to remove him permanently. In ‘Toostie’ (1982) Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) is an unemployed actor with a reputation for being difficult. Desperate for work, Michael dresses up in drag in an attempt to land a part in a daytime soap opera. He succeeds and achieves instant fame as Dorothea Michaels. However, complications arise when he falls in love with Julie (Jessica Lange), a female cast member, while simultaneously having to fend off the amorous advances of Julie’s father and some of the male actors on the set. In ‘Age of Innocence’ (1993) Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis) is betrothed to May Welland (Winona Ryder), a sensible woman who befits his respectable social position. When May’s cousin, the beautiful and sophisticated Countess Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer) returns from Europe amidst a scandal, she provokes a passionate and uncontrollable love in Newland and he is torn between two possible futures. Finally, ‘Little Women’ (2019) is set in 1860s New England and follows the March sisters – Jo (Saoirse Ronan), Meg (Emma Watson), Amy (Florence Pugh) and Beth (Eliza Scanlen) – as they grow up in the aftermath of the American Civil War. With ambitions far beyond the hopes of her mother and aunt, Jo dreams of one day becoming a writer. Tired of the assumptions that all a woman is good for is marrying a man, she sets out to prove her worth and endeavours to encourage her sisters to do the same.