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The adjuster. 1993, orig. 1992. 1 videodisc (102 min.). Off-beat comedy about an insurance adjuster who gets a bit too involved with his work by manipulating and bedding his desperate clients. Directed by Atom Egoyan. DVD 9639
Agnes of God. 2002, orig. 1985. 1 videodisc (90 min.). When, at an isolated convent, the infant of a young nun is found strangled, a court-appointed psychiatrist must decide if the devout but troubled girl is fit to stand trial. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 6843
The apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. 2007, orig. 1999. 1 videodisc (121 min.). The story of a young man in the Montreal Jewish ghetto of the 1940s who works and schemes his way out of the clutter and poverty of his surroundings. In his search to be "somebody," he uses those around him and resorts to lying and cheating yet he remains a sympathetic character. Directed by Ted Kotcheff. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 10777
Ararat. 2003. 2 videodiscs (115 min.). Edward, a veteran filmmaker of Armenian descent, is in Toronto shooting a film about the Siege of Van, which lead to the genocide of over a million Armenian people at the hands of Turkish troops. Raffi has been sent to Turkey to shoot background footage for the film. Raffi's mother Ani, an author and historian, is also involved in the project as a consultant. As Raffi attempts to re-enter Canada with cans of exposed film, he's detained by David, a suspicious customs official who has his own tenuous link to the film. Directed by Atom Egoyan. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 1475
Atanarjuat, the fast runner. 2002. 2 videodiscs (172 min.). Evil in the form of an unknown shaman divides a small community of Inuit. Twenty years later, two brothers emerge to challenge the evil order: Amaqjuag, the Strong One, and Atanarjuat, the Fast Runner. Atanarjuat wins the hand of the lovely Atuat away from the boastful son of the camp leader, Oki, who vows to get even. Oki ambushes the brothers in their sleep, killing Amaqjuaq, as Atanarjuat miraculously escapes running naked over the spring sea ice. Directed by Zacharias Kunuk. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 476
August the first. Film Movement series. 2008. 1 videodisc (81 min.). The morning of Tunde's graduation party things have already begun to unravel. Tunde has managed to alienate his sister, Simisola. His older brother, Ade, persistently plagues him with criticism, and their mother has started drinking again. Unbeknownst to most, Tunde has orchestrated the return of his long estranged father, resurrecting unresolved family anguish against the backdrop of Tunde's celebration. Includes the short film "Tell us the truth Josephine" / directed by Valerie Buhagiar (Canada, 16 min.) HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 4083
Away from her. 2007. 1 videodisc (110 min.). Fiona and Grant are an Ontario couple who have been married for over 40 years. During the twilight of their years, Grant is forced to face the fact that Fiona's 'forgetfulness' actually is Alzheimer's. After Fiona wanders away and is found, the decision is made for her to go into a nursing home. For the first time in their relationship, they are forced to undergo a separation since this is the nursing home 'no-vistors, ' first 30 days policy of a patient's stay. When Grant visits Fiona after the orientation period, he is devastated to find out that not only has she seemingly forgotten him, but she has transferred her affections to another man. As the distance between husband and wife grows, Grant must draw upon his love for Fiona to perform an act of self-sacrifice in order to ensure her happiness. Directed by Sarah Polley. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 5103
Beefcake. 2000. 1 videodisc (93 min.). Inspired by a true story, Beefcake illuminates the 1950's world of male-physique magazines. The story centers on queer cult photographer entrepreneur Robert Henry Mizer and his Athletic Model Guild. Directed by Thom Fitzgerald. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 4652
Belleville rendez-vous = Triplets of Belleville. 2004. 1 videodisc (81 min.). A bicyclist is kidnapped from the Tour de France by mysterious gangsters; his grandmother travels to the city of Belleville (which has a sardonic version of the Statue of Liberty in its harbor), where she tracks him down with the help of a musical trio gone to seed, the Belleville Triplets. Directed by Sylvain Chomet. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 1225
Better than chocolate. 1999. 1 videodisc (102 min.). Free-spirited Maggie meets the woman of her dreams just hours before her mother Lila and brother Paul move in with her. Directed by Anne Wheeler. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 4346
Black robe. 1998, orig. 1991. 1 videodisc (101 min.). In the 17th century, Father Laforgue, a young Jesuit priest, is assigned to go up river into the Canadian wilderness to convert the Huron Indians. His young aide and translator, Daniel, falls in love with Annuka, the daughter of the Algonquin chief. Torn between his own desires and ideals of the priesthood, Laforgue's faith is tested, and his life and the outcome of the mission imperiled, as the expedition faces the elements and hostile Indians. Directed by Bruce Beresford. DVD 189
Bombay calling. 2006. 1 videodisc (71 min.). "Kas Lalani's flight touches down in Bombay. His cell phone is ringing off the hook. The CEO of a small British outsourcing firm, he is working hard to cash in on the global gold rush of telemarketing jobs from the West. Bombay provides him with access to well-educated, English-speaking youths eager to get ahead and willing to sacrifice almost anything to do it. For their efforts, they are paid more money than their parents ever dreamed of earning. And they spend it, frequenting a new brand of all-night discos that cater to their unusual office hours. In Bombay Calling, filmmakers Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal dive into this bustling world of late nights, long hours and hard partying. The result is a compelling insider's look at youth culture in India, and a growing number of young people who choose to follow the American dream...Indian style"--NFB web site. DVD 3697
Brand upon the brain! The Criterion collection. 2008, orig. 2006. 1 videodisc (99 min.). This eerie excursion into the Gothic recesses of Guy Maddin's mad, imaginary childhood is a nightmare set in a lighthouse on grim Notch Island, where fictional protagonist Maddin was raised by an ironfisted, puritanical mother. Special features included. This eerie excursion into the Gothic recesses of Maddin's mad, imaginary childhood is a nightmare set in a lighthouse on grim Notch Island, where fictional protagonist Maddin was raised by an ironfisted, puritanical mother. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 4638
The brood. 2003, orig. 1979. 1 videodisc (92 min.). Frank Carveth finds himself faced with a terrible predicament. His wife is in an institution suffering from mental illness, yet her therapy does not seem to be working. The institute's director refuses to reveal the nature of the therapy he is using to treat her. Before Frank can learn more, a series of bizarre murders rock the city-- victims of vengeful, murderous creatures that destroy anything that gets in their way. Directed by David Cronenberg. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 1400
C.R.A.Z.Y. 2007. 1 videodisc (127 min.). One of five brothers, Zachary begins life on a charmed note: born in Montreal on Christmas, he almost dies but miraculously pulls through. His hard-working father seems to favor him. That is until his dad detects there's something a little queer about the boy. Indeed, Zac shows even more queer signs come adolescence, aping David Bowie's glam looks and sexually experimenting with a boy from the neighborhood. Ultimately, dad's conservative, macho values force Zac to repress his sexuality, which develops into a destructive rage. Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 4599
Cafe de flore. 2012. 1 videodisc (120 min.). In 2011, Antoine has a girlfriend, Rose, and is raising two daughters. However, Rose is not Antoine's first love, and he's still infatuated with his ex-wife Carole, the mother of his children. Carole hopes he'll someday return to her, though despite his feelings there's little evidence to suggest he will. In 1969, Jacqueline is a single mother raising a seven-year-old son with Down Syndrome who is not expected to live past 25. We learn that Jacqueline and Carole share a special connection. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 10372
Calendar. The essential Egoyan. 2000. 1 videodisc (73 min.). A mean-spirited, self-absorbed Canadian-Armenian photographer is hired to take pictures of Armenian historical churches for a calendar. He takes his wife along as a translator, and as they traverse the sites chosen for the calendar with the Armenian guide, their relationship begins to unravel. The photographer returns to Canada with his images, but without his wife, who has gradually felt drawn to her ethnic roots and has fallen in love with the guide. Directed by Atom Egoyan. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 6092
Careful. 2000, orig. 1992. 1 videodisc (160 min.). The Alpine village of Tolzbad is a hotbed of repressed desires, Oedipal angst, and sibling rivalry. When a young man's incestuous dream is added to the equation, a calamity of suicides, ghostly visions, forbidden romances and murder occurs. Directed by Guy Maddin. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 206
Chacun son cinéma ou ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s'éteint et que le film commence. 2007. 1 videodisc (117 min.). A collective film of 33 shorts directed by different directors about their feeling about Cinema. Includes David Cronenberg’s At the suicide of the last Jew in the world in the last cinema of the world and Atom Egoyan’s Artaud double bill. DVD 4320
Childstar. 2005. 1 videodisc (98 min.). Taylor Burns is the world's most famous child actor, thanks to his work on a popular sitcom. Life is perfect in a sitcom world, but in the real world, his parents are divorcing, and his 13th birthday approaches along with pimples and voice changes. Directed by Don McKellar. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 1544
Come on children. Criterion Collection: The actuality dramas of Allan King: Eclipse, series 24. 2010, orig. 1973. 1 videodisc (95 min.). Filmed in the early 1970s, Come on children presents an experiment in which ten teenagers aged thirteen to nineteen (including a young Alex Lifeson of the rock band Rush) leave home and school to live together on a farm. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 9888
Le confessionnal. 2004, orig. 1995. 1 videodisc (101 min.). Pierre Lamontagne returns to Quebec after three years in China for his father's funeral to find that his adopted brother is missing. This disappearance sets up a parallel story as the film moves back to 1950's. Quebec was the location for Alfred Hitchcock's "I Confess" and Lepage used that film as a theme as he weaves an intricate path through two stories. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 6326
Congorama. 2006. 1 videodisc (105 min.). An eccentric Belgian inventor learns that he is adopted and travels to rural Québec to find his birth family. While there, he meets a man driving an electric car. They get into an accident that changes their lives and the future of the automobile industry. Directed by Philippe Faladeau. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 4408
The corporation. 2005. 2 videodiscs (145 min.). The Corporation charts the spectacular rise of the corporation as a dramatic, pervasive presence in our everyday lives. With a deft mix of HOME USE COLLECTIONmor, visual panache and seriousness, this documentary is a timely, entertaining critique of global conglomerates. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 1260
Cowards bend the knee / The blue hands. 2003. 1 videodisc (60 min.). "Adapted from a ten-part peephole installation, 'Cowards bend the knee' is a jam-packed with enough kinetically photographed action to seem like a never-ending cliffhanger. In this twisted and poisoned wish fulfillment, the mythomaniacal Maddin casts 'himself' as a hockey sniper made lily-livered by mother and daughter femme fatales, and resurrects his father as the team's radio broadcaster and his own romantic antagonist." -- from container. Directed by Guy Maddin. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 1488
Crash. 1998. 1 videodisc (90 min). James Ballard, a bored film director, explores a psycho-sexual link between sex and car crashes. James and his wife, Catherine, are taken with telling each other about their extramarital exploits. Then James is involved in a car crash that kills the husband of Dr. Helen Remington and seriously injures Helen and James. While recuperating from their injuries, Helen and James discover the erotic thrill they experience from car-crashes. This eventually brings them into contact with Vaughan, a "scientist" and Gabrielle, the "mascot" for a sexual subculture of car-crash/erotica enthusiasts. Directed by David Cronenberg. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 510
Cube. 1998. 1 videodisc (90 min.). Six ordinary strangers awaken to find themselves in a seemingly endless maze of interlocking cubical chambers armed with lethal booby traps. Without food or water, they have only a few days to live. None of them knows how or why they've been imprisoned, but soon discover that each possesses a skill that could contribute to their escape. As they work together to extricate themselves from their claustrophobic cell, one thing becomes painfully clear- unless they learn to cooperate to solve the secrets of this deadly trap, none of them has very long to live. Directed by Vicenzo Natali. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 6101
Cube II Hypercube. 2002. 1 videodisc (94 min.) Eight strangers wake up in a bizarre cube with no recollection of how they got there and no idea of how to get out. They soon discover that they’re in a peculiar dimension where the laws of physics don’t apply and they must unravel the secrets of the "hypercube" in order to survive. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 6102
Cube Zero. 2004. 1 videodisc (97 min.) A new group of unwilling participants frantically move through an ominous construct of cube-shaped rooms. Each room holds the threat of hideously inventive and painful death. Finding the real exit, however, may not offer the the freedom one seeks. Prequel to Cube (1997). HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 6103
Dance me outside. Cinema Collection. 2008, orig. 1994. 1 videodisc (91 min.). Film looks at the relationships between Anglos and Indians on the Kidiabinessee Reservation in Northern Ontario from the point of view of the Indians. When an Indian girl is brutally murdered by a white hooligan, he goes virtually unpunished. Shocked by the murder, four teenagers find their friendships put to the test as their struggle to become men and women becomes entangled with a fight for justice. Directed by Bruce McDonald. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 11053
Dead ringers. Criterion collection. 1998, orig. 1988. 1 videodisc (115 min.). The story of identical twin gynecologists -- suave Elliot and sensitive Beverly, opposite sides of one personality -- who share the same practice, the same apartment, and the same women. Then one special woman enters their lives. The twins, their bizarre bond threatened for the first time, descend into a whirlpool of sexual confusion, drugs and madness. Directed by David Cronenberg. DVD 65
The dead zone. 1995, orig. 1983. 1 videodisc (104 min.). One fateful night, Johnny Smith smashes head-on into an enormous truck and is left in a coma for five years When he awakens, he discovers that his youth, his career and his fiancee, Sara, have all been lost. But Johnny has gained something--extraordinary psychic powers allowing him to see visions of the past, present and future. He seeks seclusion, but a decision must be made -- should he use his powers to change the future of mankind? Directed by David Cronenberg. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 10760
The decline of the American empire. 2004, orig. 1986. 1 videodisc (ca. 102 min.). Four university teachers gather to prepare a dinner. Remy is a married man, Claude a homosexual, Pierre has a girlfriend and Alain is a bachelor. Amongst them, they discuss sex, the female body and their affairs with them. Their dinner guests Louis, Dominique, Diane and Danielle are waiting at a health gym. They also discuss sex, the female body and, naturally, men. Later in the evening they meet and have dinner where candid conversations are brought out at the dinner table, where more revelations, confrontation - and sex - begin. Directed by Denys Arcand. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 1220
Double happiness. 2007. 1 videodisc (87 min.). Jade must choose between family and personal happiness. Her parents want her to marry a successful Chinese man and she wants to make her own decisions. When she falls in love with a white university student, the façade of the perfect Chinese daughter begins to crack. A story about pursuing your dreams while living up to everybody else's. Directed by Mina Shum. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 5787
Dracula : Pages from a virgin's diary. 2004. 1 videodisc (75 min.). A melodrama, with some dancing, based on the Dracula story. Color film done as if black and white, with some purple or sepia tints. Directed by Guy Maddin. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 901
Earth. International cinema. 2003, orig. 1999. 1 videodisc (101 min.). A romantic drama set in 1947 in Lahore before India and Pakistan became independent, where Hindu, Sikh, Parsee, and Muslim share a peaceful co-existence. Events are seen from the point of view of eight-year-old Lenny, a girl from an affluent Parsee family. Lenny's nanny, Shantya, is involved with the Muslim Masseur. When a train of Muslims arrives at the local depot and all the passengers are found murdered, the various sects turn against each other, and the city is soon aflame. Directed by Deepa Mehta. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 4675
Eastern promises. 2007. 1 videodisc (101 min.). Russian-born Nikolai Luzhin is a driver for one of London's most notorious organized crime families of Eastern European origin. The family itself is part of the Vory V Zakone criminal brotherhood. Semyon heads the syndicate and is the proprietor of a plush Trans-Siberian restaurant. But his friendliness at the restaurant masks a cold and brutal core. Fortunes are tested by Semyon's volatile son and enforcer, Kirill. But Nikolai's carefully maintained existence is jarred once he crosses paths at Christmastime with Anna Khitrova, a midwife at a North London hospital. Anna is deeply affected by the death of a teenager while giving birth to a baby. Anna resolves to try and trace the baby's lineage and relatives. The girl has a personal diary, but it is written in Russian. Anna's Russian-born uncle urges caution. Anna accidentally unleashed the full fury of the Vory. With Semyon and Kirill closing ranks and Anna pressing her inquiries, Nikolai unexpectedly finds his loyalties divided. Hanging in the balance is a harrowing chain of murder, deceit, and retribution. Directed by David Cronenberg. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 3665
Edward Burtynsky manufactured landscapes. 2007. 1 videodisc (90 min.). Follows photographer Edward Burtynsky as he travels through China photographing the effects of that country's massive industrial revolution. DVD 3406
L'ennemi public no 1 = Public enemy number 1. Mesrine saga: pt. 2. 2011. 1 videodisc (134 min.). In the climactic second part of the Mesrine saga, Jacques Mesrine is back in France after his brazen assault on the maximum-security prison from which he daringly escaped. Once again in police custody and facing stern justice for his crime, 'the man of a thousand faces' escapes directly from the courtroom after kidnapping the judge at gunpoint. The life of Jacques comes once and for all to a full bloody circle. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 8342
The essential Egoyan. The essential Egoyan. 2005. 4 videodiscs (385 min.). Four films and three early short films by Atom Egoyan. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 6901-6903
Existenz. 1999. 1 videodisc (97 min.). During the first closed-door demonstration of a new virtual reality game called "eXistenZ," the system's designer, Allegra Geller, is violently attacked by a crazed assassin intent on killing her and destroying her creation. Forced to flee into hiding, Allegra enlists a novice security guard to help her in testing the damaged system -- by convincing him to join her inside the game where their world's real-life dangers begin to merge with the fantasy of the game. Directed by David Cronenberg. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 79
Exotica. Miramax classics. 1999, orig. 1994. 1 videodisc (104 min.). At look at the world within the strip club "Exotica" and the relationships of those that frequent it. Christina is an erotic table dancer at the club whose act is introduced by the deejay Eric who was once her lover. Francis is a government auditor who is obsessed with Christina. Thomas, who is gay, owns a pet store but also is a smuggler who is being investigated by Francis. Directed by Atom Egoyan. DVD 5998
Family viewing / Next of kin. The essential Egoyan. 2001. 2 videodiscs (158 min.). Family viewing (orig. 1987), a stepson leaves home after starting an affair with his stepmother. And to complicate matters, his girlfriend is a telephone sex operator whose services his father uses. -- Next of kin (orig. 1984), a young man having problems with his family undergoes video-therapy with his domineering parents. At the clinic, he comes across the videotapes of an Armenian family who gave their son up for adoption 20 years ago. He then pretends to be their long lost son and is instantly accepted. Directed by Atom Egoyan. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 6093
Fast company. 2004, orig. 1979. 2 videodiscs (93 min.). Low budget drag racing melodrama following a champion driver as he deals with the pressure of competition, corrupt sponsors and relationships. Lonnie 'Lucky Man' Johnson (Smith) is a champion driver on the North American drag racing circuit. Although successful, Johnson keeps pushing both himself and his car to the limit. While experimenting with a supercharged engine, he crashes and his corrupt sponsor (Saxon) tries to take advantage of this situation in order to control Johnson and force him to give up the dragster. Directed by David Cronenberg. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 1398
Felicia's journey. 1999. 1 videodisc (116 min.). Joseph Hilditch, an eccentric chef, befriends a young woman, Felicia, who has come to town searching for her boyfriend. She is attracted to the seemingly harmless and extremely helpful Hilditch, trusting him and entering his life, only to discover too late that she is not the first woman that he has taken in. Directed by Atom Egoyan. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 178
Festival express. 2004, orig. 1970. 2 videodiscs (89 min.). In 1970, such names as Janis Joplin, The Band, and the Grateful Dead traveled by a customized train for five days to Toronto, Winnipeg, and Calgary for a mega-concert at each stop. The entire experience was filmed both on-stage and off but the footage was locked away, until now. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 8114
Fierce light when spirit meets action. 2009. 1 videodisc (95 min.). "A discourse narrated by the filmmaker, in which racism, civil rights, and basic human rights are explored. The film seeks to determine the causes and motivation of activists and protesters, declaring that this motivation is essentially a shared force." HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 10571
Fire. 2000, orig. 1996. 1 videodisc (108 min.). Banned in India, this film was the first to confront lesbianism in that country. Radha Kapur (Azmi) is in a barren, arranged marriage to an amateur swami who seeks enlightenment through celibacy. Her life takes an irresistible turn when Mundu (Chowdhry), her beautiful young sister-in-law, seeks to free herself from the confines of her own loveless marriage and they find solace and love in each other's arms. Directed by Deepa Mehta. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 184
The Fly. 2005, orig. 1986. 2 videodiscs (95 min.). Seth Brundle is a brilliant but eccentric scientist who attempts to woo investigative journalist Veronica Quaife by offering her a scoop on his latest research in the field of matter transportation, which against all the expectations of the scientific establishment have proved successful. Up to a point. Brundle thinks he has ironed out the last problem when he successfully transports a living creature, but when he attempts to teleport himself a fly enters one of the transmission booths, and Brundle finds he is a changed man. Directed by David Cronenberg. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 1505