Drama - Movies

Lianna

Drama

John Sayles second feature, Lianna, is about a woman who finds herself starting life over after coming out of the closet as a lesbian. Lianna (Linda Griffiths) is married to Dick Massey (Jon De Vries), a charismatic English professor who also teaches film classes, and has two children Spencer (Jesse Solomon) and Theda (Jessica Wight MacDonald). Lianna's life is a succession of domestic errands and boring faculty parties, however her heaviest cross to bear is dealing with her waning marriage to Dick. They married when Lianna was still an undergraduate, and the domineering style that works well for Dick in the classroom is beginning to wear thin at home. In addition, Lianna often finds herself consoling her children after they have been verbally one-upped by their father. In order to find intellectual stimulus, Lianna takes a college extension child-psychology course taught by Ruth (Jane Hallaren). When Lianna catches Dick having an affair with a young coed, she finds comfort and eventually true love in the arms of Ruth. However, this comes with a price as everything in her life is turned upside down.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Drama

Gregory Peck won an Oscar® for his brilliant performance as the Southern lawyer who defends a black man accused of rape in this film version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The way in which it captures a time, a place, and above all, a mood, makes this film a masterpiece. The setting is a dusty Southern town during the Depression. A white woman accuses a black man of rape. Though he is obviously innocent, the outcome of his trial is such a foregone conclusion that no lawyer will step forward to defend him – except Peck, the town's most distinguished citizen. His compassionate defense costs him many friendships but earns him the respect and admiration of his two motherless children.

Anna Lucasta

Drama

When wild child Anna Lucasta (Kitt) is banished from the family home by her self-righteous father, she falls into a life of prostitution and into the arms of street-wise sailor Danny Johnson (Davis). But after Anna shocks them all by finally finding true love with a well-heeled young suitor, her unforgiving father sets a vengeful plan in motion to remind his daughter of her sordid past and destroy her future forever!

The Lucky Ones

Drama

Three soldiers -- Colee (McAdams), T.K. (Pena) and Cheaver (Robbins) -- return from the Iraq War, after suffering injuries, and learn that life has moved on without them. They end up on an unexpected road trip across the U.S., with Colee on a mission to bring her boyfriend's guitar back to his family because he saved her life, T.K. seeking confidence to face his wife after a shrapnel injury threatens his sexual function, and middle-aged Cheaver planning to hit the casinos in a desperate effort to pay for his son's college tuition.

Summer of Sam

Drama

It didn't get any hotter than the summer of 1977 in New York City. As temperatures soared well into the hundreds for endless days, the city was seared by its own heat, sweat and energy. With the unrelenting swelter, things started to change in the city and it made everybody a little tense and crazy. Looters poured into the streets as a blackout plunged New York into darkness and fear; a mysterious psychopath began gunning down strangers in the night at random. With trademark virtuosity, filmmaker Spike Lee goes into the throbbing heart of the Bronx during this unbelievable summer to paint a portrait that is both intimate and panoramic. John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino and Jennifer Esposito lead an ensemble cast in "Summer of Sam," which chronicles how Son of Sam's plague of terror disintegrated a neighborhood, turned friends against each other and transformed trust into dread. The summer of 1977 turned into the SUMMER OF SAM.

Juice

Drama

Cinematographer Ernest R. Dickerson directed and co-wrote this crime drama about a group of friends who get involved in a robbery. Bishop (Tupac Shakur), Q (Omar Epps), Raheem (Khalil Kain), and Steel (Jermaine Hopkins) are four Harlem friends who spend their days skipping school, getting in fights, and casually shoplifting. The only member of the group who has plans for the future is Q, who dreams of becoming a deejay. But one day Bishop happens to see James Cagney in White Heat and the film inspires him to buy a gun. His plan is to rob a corner store and split the money. Everyone goes along with the plan except for Q, who is competing that night in a deejay contest. At the club, Q is a rousing success, but he spies the stern faces of his friends through the cheering crowd and realizes that he has to go along with the robbery, which goes completely wrong.

Mo' Better Blues

Drama

Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington gives a riveting performance in Spike Lee's breathtaking film on music and love. Talented trumpeter Bleek Gilliam (Washington) is obsessed by his music and indecisiveness about his girlfriends Indigo (Joie Lee) and Clarke (Cynda Williams). But when he is forced to come to the aid of his manager and childhood friend (Spike Lee), Bleek finds his world more fragile that he ever imagined. Stunning cinematography, a rousing score and superlative performances come together in this unforgettable feast for the senses.

Hell Up In Harlem

Drama

A pure action tale with a comic book flavor, this sequel to the hit Black Caesar downplays the gritty drama of that film. The story begins when an assassination attempt plotted by crooked District Attorney DiAngelo (Gerald Gordon) fails. With the help of his estranged father Papa Gibbs (Julius Harris), crime lord Tommy Gibbs (Fred Williamson) escapes badly wounded. Papa joins his son's criminal organization in an attempt to fight back when DiAngelo's thugs try to kill him. This move doesn’t go over well with Gibb's top henchman Zach (Tony King) though. Zach with the help of DiAngelo, secretly plots against Tommy and Papa as they build up their criminal empire. He also pins the murder of Helen (Gloria Hendry), Tommy's traitorous ex-wife, on Papa in an attempt to drive a wedge between them. Papa takes over when Tommy gives up his New York crime operation and runs off to California. After Zach kills Papa in a fist fight Tommy returns to settle the score with him and DiAngelo.

Ophelia

Drama

One of the world's greatest dramas is turned on its head through a bold and new perspective in OPHELIA. Set in medieval Denmark and spoken in a modern tongue with a poetic twist, it recalibrates the classic Shakespearean tragedy of 'Hamlet' so that its unspoken, complex heroine may share her own story. As a rebellious and motherless child, Ophelia (Daisy Ridley) is taken into Elsinore Castle by Queen Gerturde (Naomi Watts) as one of her most trusted ladies-in-waiting. Soon enough, Ophelia captures the affections of the young Prince Hamlet. A passionate romance kindles between the two in secret as the kingdom is on the brink of war amidst its own political intrigue and betrayal. When Hamlet's father is murdered and the prince's wits begin to unravel into an insatiable quest for vengeance, Ophelia sharply navigates the rules of power in Denmark all while struggling to choose between her true love and her own life.

Fear Strikes Out

Drama

When the record book closed on Boston Red Sox outfielder Jimmy Piersall's career, it showed 17 seasons in the major leagues and an impressive lifetime batting average of .272. But before he racked up those numbers, Piersall faced a foe much tougher that a 90-m.p.h. fastball: mental illness. Anthony Perkins stars as Piersall in this powerful true story. Fear Strikes Out also marks the filmmaking debut of Alan J. Pakula and Robert Mulligan, the team whose credits include To Kill A Mockingbird. From top to bottom, the film fields a stellar lineup of talent. And the result is a drama of unflinching force and effectiveness.

Dancers (1987)

Drama

World-renowned dance prodigy Mikhail Baryshnikov stars in this romantic drama as Tony Sergoyev, the director of a ballet company in Southern Italy which is in the midst of setting up a performance of “Giselle,” a famous French opera by Adolphe Adam.

My Beautiful Laundrette

Drama

Two London youths, one a Pakastani, the other a white punk, meet after several years apart. Together they accept a business proposition from the Pakistani's uncle to open a laundromat. They re-vamp it into a video and neon palace rivaling some of the New York clubs. These friends also become lovers, learning about class, sex and life.

Legends of the Fall

Drama

1994 Oscar® winner: Best Cinematography. Based on the novella by Jim Harrison, this sweeping romantic epic is about the Ludlow brothers--two men (Brad Pitt, Aidan Quinn) in love with the same woman (Julia Ormond). Also starring Anthony Hopkins. Directed by Edward Zwick (The Siege). Screenplay by Susan Shilliday and Bill Wittliff.

Annapolis

Drama

Filled with intense action, Annapolis is an inspirational tale of courage and honor that will keep you riveted. As hard as it is to get into the most elite military academy in the country, surviving behind its walls is beyond belief. Young Jake Huard (James Franco) has always known he has what it takes to make the grade. But once inside, everything Jake thought he knew is challenged in ways he never could have imagined. Standing between him and his lifelong ambition of becoming an officer in the U.S. Navy is his company commander -- Midshipman Lt. Cole (Tyrese Gibson), a relentless and merciless battle-seasoned Marine. Thrilling and exhilarating, Annapolis reaffirms the power of believing in your dreams.

Tetro

Drama

Fresh-faced and naive, 17-year-old Bennie (Alden Ehrenreich) arrives in Buenos Aires to search for his older brother who has been missing for more than a decade. The family had emigrated from Italy to Argentina, but with the great musical success of their father Carlo (Klaus Maria Brandauer), an acclaimed symphony conductor, the family moved from Argentina to New York. When Bennie finds his brother, the volatile and melancholy poet Tetro (Vincent Gallo), he is not at all what Bennie expected. In the course of staying with Tetro and his girlfriend Miranda (Maribel Verdú), the two brothers grapple with the haunting experiences of their shared past in this widely acclaimed film by legendary director Francis Ford Coppola.

Compulsion

Drama

Compulsion, a deeply moving psychological courtroom drama, is one of several re-tellings of the infamous 1924 Leopold and Loeb killings. Artie Straus is the sadistic leader of the duo, and Judd Steiner is Straus' introverted counterpart. Both boys -- gay lovers -- are the products of affluent, privileged upbringings, and both consider themselves above conventional structures of morality. Exercising their overwhelming feelings of superiority, the two students decide to kill a young boy. Rather than repenting for their crime, Steiner and Straus then set out to further the experiment by lending aid to the authorities. Inevitably, the duo is captured and prosecuted for the murder. Defense attorney Jonathan Wilk steps in and attempts to save the boys from execution, despite never receiving any explanation from the young culprits of their crime.

Thirteen Days

Drama

Kevin Costner stars in this inside look at how the Kennedy Administration responded to the discovery of offensive Soviet weapons in Cuba, and the pressurized tug-of-war that ensued between the US and the USSR during the thirteen days of the missile crisis.

8 Seconds

Drama

Professional bull-riding. The roughest, most dangerous, most grueling competitive sport. Life or death ... victory or defeat ... decided atop a 2,000 pound bull in 8 Seconds. This riveting drama based on the life of Rodeo World Champion Lane Frost (Luke Perry -- TV's "John From Cincinnati," TV's "Beverly Hills, 90210") tells the story of his dreams, ambition, perseverance, and sacrifice that lead to an Oklahoma boy's meteoric rise to fame as a champion bull-rider before his rough and tumble life is tragically cut short. To stay atop a bucking bull, holding on with just one hand, takes equal parts skill, courage, luck and determination from those willing to risk all for the ultimate thrill in 8 Seconds. Co-starring Stephen Baldwin ("The Usual Suspects," "The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas") and Emmy Award-nominee Cynthia Geary (TV's "Northern Exposure," "Smoke Signals").

The Remains of the Day

Drama

Oscar®-winners Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs) and Emma Thompson (Howards End) reunite with the acclaimed Merchant Ivory filmmaking team for this extraordinary and moving story of blind devotion and repressed love. Hopkins stars as Stevens, the perfect English butler - an ideal carried by him to fanatical lengths - as he serves his master, Lord Darlington, beautifully played by James Fox (The Servant). Darlington, like many other members of the British establishment in the 1930s, is duped by the Nazis into trying to establish a rapport between themselves and the British government. Thompson stars as the estate's housekeeper, a high-spirited, strong-minded young woman who watches the goings-on upstairs with horror. Despite her apprehensions, she and Stevens gradually fall in love, though neither will admit it, and only give vent to their charged feelings via fierce arguments. Marvelously acted by a supporting cast that includes Christopher Reeve and Hugh Grant.

The Rain People

Drama

Stifled by her marriage, a pregnant young woman (Shirley Knight) journeys across the United States. In her travels she bonds deeply with a brain-damaged former football player (James Caan)-who now has the mental capacity and the innocence of a child--and explores offbeat, sometimes dangerous intimate encounters in this early work by director Francis Ford Coppola and also starring Robert Duvall.

Drama Movies