Category: DVD lists

Lists of items on different topics chosen by our librarians – if you’re after just the new material, visit our Recent Picks. The lists on this page may feature older items that we love or that fit a topic…

New DVDs at Te Awe

Mark

Here are some new movies & TV Shows recently added to our collection and available at our CBD Te Awe Library and selected Branch locations.

New Movies:
Photograph
“A struggling street photographer in Mumbai, pressured to marry by his grandmother, convinces a shy stranger to pose as his fiancée. The pair develop a connection that transforms them in ways they could not expect.” (Catalogue)

 

 

Why didn’t they ask Evans?
“During a round of golf on a cliff-top course in Wales, Bobby Jones discovers a man lying gravely injured on the rocks below. His last words, “Why didn’t they ask Evans?,” leads Bobby and his friend on a quest to find out what happened to the man.” (Catalogue)

 

 

A White, White Day
“The powerful new film by Hlynur Plmason centres on a grieving police officer in rural Iceland (Ingvar E. Sigursson) who turns his vengeful sights on a neighbour he suspects may have had an affair with his now-deceased wife.” (Catalogue)

 

 

New TV Shows:
Shakespeare & Hathaway : private investigators. Season one.
“Private inspector Frank Hathaway has always worked alone. But Frank isn’t doing so well. He’s out of shape and low on cash. Frank needs a partner. Frank needs ex-hairdresser and people-person Lu. He just doesn’t know it yet. The two eventually join forces and form a highly unlikely and hugely entertaining detecting duo. Frank and Lu quickly discover that all is not as peaceful as it seems in their pretty theatre town. The mayor is murdered, vengeful lovers stalk the streets and a magician’s trick fatally misfires. Welcome to Stratford-upon-Avon, where low life criminals get caught up in deliciously high drama.” (Catalogue)

Ray Donovan. Season seven.
“While Ray makes progress in therapy, there are dangers from the past that require the Ray Donovan of old. Between NYC mayor Ed Feratti, an unrelenting NYPD officer hunting for the truth and clients old and new, Ray struggles to find the balance between fixing for clients and fixing himself. And when Feratti’s corruption brings a piece of Mickey’s past back to New York, Ray is forced to seek answers to long-buried questions.” (Catalogue)

 

Occupied. Series 3.
“A new parliamentary election is due, and the campaign reignites old conflicts between the Norwegians. Seeing himself as the liberator of Norway, interim Prime Minister Jesper Berg is confident of winning the election. But the public is divided. Who are the real liberation heroes? How should traitors be treated? How will relations with Russia develop? And has Russia actually withdrawn from Norway? To complicate matters, Jesper is confronted by a group of young eco-scientists desperate to remind him of his original reason for entering into politics: His deep commitment to clean energy. Ambassador to Norway, Sidorova is torn between her wish to start a new life in Norway and her loyalty to Russia. Security Services Director Hans Martin Djupvik investigates the assassination of former Prime Minister Anita Rygh. And Bente takes her daughter to Moscow to escape the prosecution of traitors.” (Catalogue)

Homecoming. Season one.
“Good intentions. Erratic bosses. Mounting paranoia. Unforeseen consequences spiralling out of control. Heidi (Julia Roberts) works at Homecoming, a facility helping soldiers transition to civilian life. Years later she has started a new life, when the Department of Defense questions why she left Homecoming. Heidi soon realises there’s a whole other story behind the one she’s been telling herself.” (Catalogue)

 

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. Season two.
“In the second season after tracking a potentially suspicious shipment of illegal arms in the Venezuelan jungle, CIA Officer Jack Ryan heads down to South America to investigate. As Jack’s investigation threatens to uncover a far-reaching conspiracy, the President of Venezuela launches a counter-attack that hits home for Jack, leading him and his fellow operatives on a global mission spanning the United States, UK, Russia, and Venezuela to unravel the President’s nefarious plot.” (Catalogue)

His dark materials. The complete first season.
“A young girl is destined to liberate her world from the grip of the Magisterium, which represses people’s ties to magic and their animal spirits known as daemons.” (Catalogue)

 

 

The boys. Season 1.
“The Boys is an irreverent take on what happens when superheroes – as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and as revered as gods – abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. It is the powerless against the superpowerful as The Boys embark on a heroic quest to expose the truth about “The Seven” and their formidable Vought backing.” (Catalogue)

 

Belgravia. Season one.
“On the eve of the Battle of Waterloo, two young lovers forge a legacy that will create scandal for generations to come. Years later, when the humble Trenchards (Tamsin Greig and Philip Gleinster) move to Belgravia, they find themselves mixing with the venerated Brockenhursts (Harriet Walter and Tom Wilkinson). The families share a history that threatens inheritances and reputations and there are those who would do anything to ensure secrets remain buried. Pride and loyalty will be tested as forbidden love blossoms amongst the rivalry and lives hang in the balance.” (Catalogue)

Good girls. Season two.
“Good Girls Season 2 opens with Beth (Christina Hendricks) dealing with her failed plan to get Rio (Manny Montana) arrested, while evidence about their crimes end up on Agent Turner’s (James Lesure) desk. Throughout the season, Ruby (Retta) and Beth deal with the new status of their relationships with their husbands Stan (Reno Wilson) and Dean (Matthew Lillard), now aware of their secret criminal life; meanwhile, Annie (Mae Whitman) and her daughter have a hard time getting along. However, with the threat of a conviction looming over them, they can’t afford to make any mistakes with any of their activities.” (Catalogue)

Striking out. Complete series one & two.
“Tara Rafferty is a high-flying solicitor living an apparently charmed existence with her good-looking law-partner fiancé Eric. But when she discovers Eric is cheating on her with a colleague, she decides to go it alone and start her own law firm.” (Catalogue)

 

 

New Amsterdam. Season two
“Inspired by the oldest public hospital in America, this unique medical drama follows the brilliant and charming Dr. Max Goodwin, the institution’s newest medical director, who sets out to tear up the bureaucracy and provide exceptional care. How can he help? Not taking “no” for an answer. Dr. Goodwin must disrupt the status quo and prove he will stop at nothing to breathe new life into this understaffed, underfunded, and underappreciated hospital.” (Catalogue)

Elementary. The final season
“Having lied and confessed to a murder he did not commit in order to protect Watson, Holmes moves back home to London in order to avoid jail time, so Watson follows.” (Catalogue)

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on…”

Neil

We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.

― William Shakespeare, The Tempest

Ever since the Bard put quill to parchment he has inspired artists from every artistic sphere and from every point in time.  The richness, complexity and universality of his characters, coupled with the variety of locations and plots, give rise to an almost endless resource of inspiration to draw from.

The fictional world is no exception, just recently Maggie O’Farrell’s remarkable, extraordinary and profound novel about the death of Shakespeare’s son Hamnet was released. There is a rich seam of other novels that are connected to Shakespeare or his works in some way or another. From Margaret Atwood’s Hag-seed,  to Jane Smiley’s re-imagining of King Lear A thousand Acres.

So we thought it would be an interesting idea to highlight just a few of the books and films that we like  that draw direct inspiration from the bard’s works. Enjoy!


Hamnet / O’Farrell, Maggie
“Warwickshire in the 1580s. Agnes is a woman as feared as she is sought after for her unusual gifts. She settles with her husband in Henley street, Stratford, and has three children: a daughter, Susanna, and then twins, Hamnet and Judith. The boy, Hamnet, dies in 1596, aged eleven. Four years or so later, the husband writes a play called Hamlet. ” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Hag-seed : The tempest retold / Atwood, Margaret
“It’s got a thunderstorm in it. And revenge. Definitely revenge.’ Felix is at the top of his game as Artistic Director of the Makeshiweg Theatre Festival. His productions have amazed and confounded. Now he’s staging a Tempest like no other: not only will it boost his reputation, it will heal emotional wounds. Or that was the plan. Instead, after an act of unforeseen treachery, Felix is living in exile in a backwoods hovel, haunted by memories of his beloved lost daughter, Miranda. And also brewing revenge.” (Catalogue)

Miranda and Caliban / Carey, Jacqueline
“A lovely girl grows up in isolation where her father, a powerful magus, has spirited them to in order to keep them safe.We all know the tale of Prospero’s quest for revenge, but what of Miranda? Or Caliban, the so-called savage Prospero chained to his will?In this incredible retelling of the fantastical tale, Jacqueline Carey shows listeners the other side of the coin-the dutiful and tenderhearted Miranda, who loves her father but is terribly lonely. And Caliban, the strange and feral boy Prospero has bewitched to serve him. .” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Another radical re imagining of the Tempest is the fifties science fiction classic film Forbidden Planet available as part of our essential viewing collection. 

Forbidden planet [videorecording]
” A dutiful robot named Robby speaks 188 languages. An underground lair offers evidence of an advanced civilization. But among Altair-4’s many wonders, none is greater or more deadly than the human mind.” ( Adapted from Catalogue)

Macbeth / Nesbø, Jo
” Set in the 1970s in a run-down, rainy industrial town, Jo Nesbo’s Macbeth centers around a police force struggling to shed an incessant drug problem. Duncan, chief of police, is idealistic and visionary, a dream to the townspeople but a nightmare for criminals. The drug trade is ruled by two drug lords, one of who is a  master of manipulation named Hecate has connections with the highest in power, and plans to use them to get his way. ” (Catalogue)

Macbeth
“This visually stunning film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s famous play, which focuses on a Scottish lord named Macbeth (Michael Fassbender) and his power-hungry wife (Marion Cotillard). After Macbeth hears a prophecy that he will become the king of Scotland, he becomes fixated on taking throne and decides to murder the current king to do so. Elizabeth Debicki, Sean Harris, David Thewlis, and Jack Reynor co-star. Directed by Justin Kurzel .” (Adapted from Catalogue)

A thousand acres : a novel / Smiley, Jane
“This powerful twentieth-century reimagining of Shakespeare’s King Lear centers on a wealthy Iowa farmer who decides to divide his farm among his three daughters. When the youngest objects, she is cut out of his will, which sets in motion a chain of events that brings dark truths to light. Ambitiously conceived and stunningly written, A Thousand Acres spins the most fundamental themes of truth, justice, love, and pride into a universally acclaimed masterpiece.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

There is also Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s classic retelling of King Lear set in 16th century  Ran. 


Ran [videorecording]
“In 16th century Japan, an aging ruler attempts to divide his kingdom among his three sons, who turn against each other and betray their father, triggering events that ultimately shatter the kingdom, destroy the family, and drive their father insane.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Or  how about Gnomeo & Juliet  for a fun lighthearted, irreverent  introduction to the  Bard’s work ?


Gnomeo & Juliet [videorecording]
“Caught up in a feud between neighbors, Gnomeo and Juliet must overcome as many obstacles as their namesakes. But with flamboyant pink flamingoes and epic lawnmower races, can this young couple find lasting happiness?” (Catalogue)

And finally in this very small selection of Shakespeare inspired books and films how about Star Wars retold in a Shakespearean style ?

William Shakespeare’s Star Wars : verily, a new hope / Doescher, Ian
“Return once more to a galaxy far, far away with this sublime retelling of George Lucas’s epic Star Wars in the style of the immortal Bard of Avon. The saga of a wise (Jedi) knight and an evil (Sith) lord, of a beautiful princess held captive and a young hero coming of age, Star Wars abounds with all the valor and villainy of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. ” (Catalogue)