Mona Lisa is a 1986 British neo-noir crime drama film about an ex-convict who becomes entangled in the dangerous life of a high-class call girl. The film was written by Neil Jordan and David Leland, and directed by Jordan. It was produced by HandMade Films and stars Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, and Michael Caine.
Lady Sings the Blues is a 1972 American biographical musical drama film directed by Sidney J. Furie about jazz singer Billie Holiday, loosely based on her 1956 autobiography which, in turn, took its title from Holiday's song. It was produced by Motown Productions for Paramount Pictures. Diana Ross, in her feature film debut, portrayed Holiday, alongside a cast including Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, James T. Callahan, and Scatman Crothers. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards in 1973, including Best Actress in a Leading Role for Diana Ross.
About Schmidt is a 2002 American comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Alexander Payne and starring Jack Nicholson in the title role. The film also stars Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, and Kathy Bates. It is loosely based on the 1996 novel of the same title by Louis Begley. After it was released in theaters by New Line Cinema on December 13, 2002, the film enjoyed both critical and commercial success, earning $105.8 million on a $30 million budget.
Short Cuts is a 1993 American comedy-drama film, directed by Robert Altman. Filmed from a screenplay by Altman and Frank Barhydt, it is inspired by nine short stories and a poem by Raymond Carver. The film has a Los Angeles setting, which is substituted for the Pacific Northwest backdrop of Carver's stories. Short Cuts traces the actions of 22 principal characters, both in parallel and at occasional loose points of connection. The role of chance and luck is central to the film, and many of the stories concern death and infidelity.
The Heartbreak Kid is a 1972 American romantic black comedy film directed by Elaine May and written by Neil Simon, starring Charles Grodin, Cybill Shepherd, Jeannie Berlin, Audra Lindley, Eddie Albert, and Doris Roberts. It is based on the short story "A Change of Plan", written by Bruce Jay Friedman and first published in Esquire in 1966.
Spider is a 2002 psychological thriller film produced and directed by David Cronenberg and based on the 1990 novel of the same name by Patrick McGrath, who also wrote the screenplay.
Daniel Mannix Petrie was a Canadian film, television, and stage director who worked in Canada, Hollywood, and the United Kingdom; known for directing grounded human dramas often dealing with taboo subject matter. He was one of several Canadian-born expatriate filmmakers, including Norman Jewison and Sidney J. Furie, to find critical and commercial success overseas in the 1960s due to the limited opportunities in the Canadian film industry at the time. He was the patriarch of the Petrie filmmaking family, with four of his children all working in the film industry.
Goin' Down the Road is a 1970 Canadian drama film directed by Donald Shebib, co-written by William Fruet and Donald Shebib. It tells the story of two young men who decide to leave the Maritimes, where jobs and fulfilling lives are hard to find, for the excitement and perceived riches of Toronto. It stars Doug McGrath, Paul Bradley, Jayne Eastwood and Cayle Chernin. Despite the small production budget, the movie is generally regarded as one of the best and most influential Canadian films of all time and has received considerable critical acclaim for its writing, directing and acting.
Hester Street is a 1975 drama film based on Abraham Cahan's 1896 novella Yekl: A Tale of the New York Ghetto, and was adapted and directed by Joan Micklin Silver. The film stars Steven Keats and Carol Kane, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.
The Iceman Cometh is a 1973 American drama film directed by John Frankenheimer. The screenplay, written by Thomas Quinn Curtiss, is based on Eugene O'Neill's 1946 play of the same name. The film was produced by Ely Landau for the American Film Theatre, which from 1973 to 1975 presented thirteen film adaptations of noted plays.
Doug McGrath is a Canadian actor whose most notable role was that of "Peter" in the acclaimed Canadian film Goin' Down the Road (1970) and its sequel Down the Road Again (2011). He also played in acclaimed Canadian films Wedding in White (1972), The Hard Part Begins (1973), the original Black Christmas (1974), Russian Roulette (1975) and Coming Out Alive (1980). He had a supporting role as a gym teacher in the cult comedy Porky's (1981), and also played roles in The Escape Artist (1982), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), the Australian comedy The Return of Captain Invincible (1983), Always (1989) and Ghosts of Mars (2001).
Postcards from the Edge is a 1990 American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Carrie Fisher is based on her 1987 semi-autobiographical novel of the same title. The film stars Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, and Dennis Quaid.
Doris Petrie was a Canadian film and television actress, best known for her roles in the William Fruet films Wedding in White (1972) and Funeral Home (1980); and also the television series High Hopes, in which she played Meg Chapman.
William Fruet is a Canadian film and television director, playwright and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut with the drama Wedding in White (1972), based on a play he had also written. The film won Best Picture at the Canadian Film Awards in 1973.
Slipstream is a Canadian drama film, released in 1973. Directed by David Acomba and written by William Fruet, it won the Canadian Film Award for Best Feature Film at the 25th Canadian Film Awards in 1973.
The 9th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 6 and September 15, 1984. The festival introduced Perspective Canada programme, devoted to Canadian films. The festival screened 225 feature films and more than half of them were Canadian films.
Sam & Me is a 1991 Indo-Canadian drama film directed by Deepa Mehta and written by Ranjit Chowdhry, who also stars in the film with Peter Boretski and Om Puri. The film went on to win an honourable mention at the Cannes Film Festival.
Réjeanne Padovani is a Canadian drama film from Quebec, written and directed by Denys Arcand and released in 1973. It was his second narrative feature film as a director, but the first for which he was also the screenwriter alongside novelist Jacques Benoît.
The Olden Days Coat is a Canadian television film, directed by Bruce Pittman and broadcast by CBC Television in 1981. A Christmas-themed family film adapted from a short story by Margaret Laurence, it stars Megan Follows as Sal, a young girl who is upset that the recent death of her grandfather has prevented her family from celebrating Christmas normally, but who learns the true meaning of the season after she finds an old coat belonging to her grandmother which transports her back in time when she puts it on.
A Married Couple is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Allan King and released in 1969. The film is a cinema vérité portrait of Billy and Antoinette Edwards, a married couple living in Toronto, Ontario.
