Blackmail for Beginners

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

July 1953 •English

Lorelei Lee is a beautiful showgirl engaged to be married to the wealthy Gus Esmond, much to the disapproval of Gus' rich father, Esmond Sr., who thinks that Lorelei is just after his money. When Lorelei goes on a cruise accompanied only by her best friend, Dorothy Shaw, Esmond Sr. hires Ernie Malone, a private detective, to follow her and report any questionable behavior that would disqualify her from the marriage.

A History of Violence

September 2005 •English

An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father commits a seemingly self-defense murder at his diner.

Dirty Dancing

August 1987 •English

Expecting the usual tedium that accompanies a summer in the Catskills with her family, 17-year-old Frances 'Baby' Houseman is surprised to find herself stepping into the shoes of a professional hoofer—and unexpectedly falling in love.

Kunstgriff

January 2002 •German

Kunstgriff is a brilliantly filmed black and white short film. Andre F. Nebe gives proof of his storytelling abilities in this 6 minute film.

Snatch

September 2000 •English

Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookies, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers, and supposedly Jewish jewellers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond.

Policewoman

May 2000 •German

A young police woman is faced with the difficulties between her responsibilities at work and her personal responsibilities.

Willenbrock

March 2005 •German

Second-hand car sales man Willenbrock has everything that he could ever wish for. He is married, has two lovers, a cottage in the German city Grünen, and a BMW. Yet one day while at his cottage he gets mugged and his life is drastically changed. Little by little the world he once felt safe in falls apart around him.

The Big Sleep

August 1946 •English

Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.

Heat

December 1995 •English

Obsessive master thief Neil McCauley leads a top-notch crew on various daring heists throughout Los Angeles while determined detective Vincent Hanna pursues him without rest. Each man recognizes and respects the ability and the dedication of the other even though they are aware their cat-and-mouse game may end in violence.

The Man Who Would Be King

December 1975 •English

Tired of life as soldiers, Peachy Carnehan and Danny Dravot travel to the isolated land of Kafiristan, where they are ultimately embraced by the people and revered as rulers. After a series of misunderstandings, the natives come to believe that Dravot is a god, but he and Carnehan can't keep up their deception forever.

Sleuth

December 1972 •English

A man who loves games and theater invites his wife's lover to meet him, setting up a battle of wits with potentially deadly results.

Breaking and Entering

December 2006 •English

Set in a blighted, inner-city neighbourhood of London, Breaking and Entering examines an affair which unfolds between a successful British landscape architect and Amira, a Bosnian woman – the mother of a troubled teen son – who was widowed by the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Notes on a Scandal

December 2006 •English

A veteran high school teacher befriends a younger art teacher, who is having an affair with one of her 15-year-old students. However, her intentions with this new "friend" also go well beyond platonic friendship.

Gloomy Sunday

October 1999 •German

Budapest in the thirties. The restaurant owner Laszlo hires the pianist András to play in his restaurant. Both men fall in love with the beautiful waitress Ilona who inspires András to his only composition. His song of Gloomy Sunday is, at first, loved and then feared, for its melancholic melody triggers off a chain of suicides. The fragile balance of the erotic ménage à trois is sent off kilter when the German Hans goes and falls in love with Ilona as well.

Young Fugitives

June 1938 •English

A young man befriends the last surviving Civil War veteran, intending to rob him of $50,000.

El atraco

February 2004 •Spanish

Dancer in the Dark

September 2000 •English

Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life gets too difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.

Parole Girl

March 1933 •English

A woman convicted of fraud aims to take her revenge on the man who put her inside after being released on parole.

Entrapment

April 1999 •English

Two thieves, who travel in elegant circles, try to outsmart each other and, in the process, end up falling in love.

Marlowe

September 1969 •English

Mysterious Orfamay Quest hires Los Angeles private investigator Philip Marlowe to find her missing brother. Though the job seems simple enough, it leads Marlowe into the underbelly of the city, turning up leads who are murdered with ice picks, exotic dancers, blackmailed television stars and self-preserving gangsters. Soon, Marlowe's life is on the line right along with his case.