DISTANT VOICES, STILL LIVES

Written and directed by Terence Davies

Angela Walsh
Lorraine Ashbourne
Dean Williams
Freda Dowie
Pete Postlethwaite

Premiere date: September 11, 1988 (Toronto Film Festival)
PG-13

In 1940s England, a radically dysfunctional family must endure the casual and overt cruelties of the bull-necked father. The ongoing abuse takes its toll in the form of failed marriages and misguided attempts at seeking security outside the family unit. As was the case with his earlier short subject trilogy (The Children, Madonna and Child, Death and Transfiguration), director Terence Davies based much of the material on his own life, combining rheumy-eyed cynicism with soft-edged nostalgia.

Toronto International Film Festival

International Critics' Prize

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Cannes Film Festival

FIPRESCI Prize

DANGEROUS LIAISONS

Screenplay by Christopher Hampton (based on his play)
Directed by Stephen Frears

Glenn Close
John Malkovich
Michelle Pfeiffer
Uma Thurman
Swoosie Kurtz

Premiere date: December 16, 1988
R

In order to get revenge on a man who jilted her, the wicked Marquise de Merteuil persuades a former lover, the rakish Vicomte de Valmont, to deflower the man's virginal young fiancee. Valmont agrees, but presents the Marquise with his own challenge: if he succeeds in seducing a virtuous young wife known for her unshakable fidelity, Madame de Tourvel, the Marquise must grant Valmont a night in bed. The cold-blooded twosome proceed gleefully with their heartless scheme against the stunning backdrop of aristocratic France, displaying high stakes sexual gamesmanship and deceitful cunning. When the Valmont succeeds in seducing the virtuous Madame de Tourvel, the pair unexpectantly realize they have fallen in love, tragically defying the rules of the inhuman game, much to the horror of the cruel Marquise de Merteuil.

7 Academy Award Nominations, 3 Wins
Best Picture
Best Actress - Glenn Close
Best Supporting Actress - Michelle Pfeiffer
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Art Direction
Best Costume Design
Best Original Score

WITHNAIL AND I

Written and directed by Bruce Robinson

Paul McGann
Richard E. Grant

Premiere date: June 19, 1987
R

Two unemployed and unemployable actors, Withnail and Marwood, are fed up with damp, cold, piles of washing-up, mad drug dealers and psychotic Irishmen. They decide to leave their squalid Camden flat for an idyllic holiday in the countryside, courtesy of Withnail's Uncle Monty's country cottage. But when they get there, it rains non-stop, there's no food, and their basic survival skills turn out to be somewhat limited. Matters are not helped by the arrival of Uncle Monty, who shows an uncomfortably keen interest in Marwood.