If you like Mad Men you might want to check out the movies below…

Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The show is broadcast on the American cable network AMC and is produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007 and completed its third season on November 8, 2009. Season 4 premiered on July 25, 2010.

Mad Men is set in the 1960s, initially at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency on Madison Avenue in New York City, and later at the newly created firm of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. The show centers on Don Draper (Jon Hamm), creative director at Sterling Cooper and a founding partner at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, as well as in his life, both in and out of the office. As such, it regularly depicts the changing mores of 1960s America.

Mad Men has received critical acclaim, particularly for its historical authenticity and visual style, and has won multiple awards, including nine Emmys and four Golden Globes. It is the first basic cable series to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, winning in 2008 and 2009.

Far From Heaven

If you like Mad Men you might like “Far From Heaven” the 2002 film nominated for 4 Academy Awards

Maverick director Todd Haynes embraces the look and feel of classic Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s in this period drama. Cathy Whitaker (Julianne Moore) and her husband, Frank (Dennis Quaid), are a seemingly perfect couple; living in a handsome suburban neighborhood in Hartford, CT, in 1957, Cathy and Frank have a beautiful home and two happy, healthy children, while Frank pursues a successful career in sales and Cathy cares for the home. But Cathy has begun to sense something isn’t quite right in her marriage, as Frank begins working late, spending less time with her, and seems cold and distant. One day, Cathy visits Frank’s work and discovers something she never expected — her husband is kissing a man. At Cathy’s urging, Frank undergoes psychotherapy, but as she tries to keep up a brave face, the emotional trauma takes a great toll on her, and she finds there are very few people she can talk with. Cathy strikes up a friendship with Raymond Deagan (Dennis Haysbert), an African-American gardener who works for the Whitakers, and as she discovers how intelligent and compassionate Raymond is, she finds herself drawn to him. However, Hartford is in many ways still a small town, and when Mona (Celia Weston) sees Cathy and Raymond alone together, it sets off a wave of vicious gossip that threatens to make the Whitakers’ many secrets public knowledge. Far from Heaven premiered at the 2002 Venice Film Festival, where Julianne Moore‘s performance won the prize for Best Actress and she also won an Academy Award nomination for this performance.

The Apartment

You might also like “The Apartment” – Best Picture Academy Award winner from 1960

Widely regarded as a comedy in 1960, The Apartment seems more melancholy with each passing year. Jack Lemmon plays C.C. Baxter, a go-getting office worker who loans his tiny apartment to his philandering superiors for their romantic trysts. He runs into trouble when he finds himself sharing a girlfriend (Shirley MacLaine) with his callous boss (Fred MacMurray). Director/co-writer Billy Wilder claimed that the idea for The Apartment stemmed from a short scene in the 1945 romantic drama Brief Encounter in which the illicit lovers (Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson) arrange a rendezvous in a third person’s apartment. Wilder was intrigued about what sort of person would willingly vacate his residence to allow virtual strangers a playing field for hanky panky. His answer to that question wound up winning 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. The Apartment was adapted by Neil Simon and Burt Bacharach into the 1969 Broadway musical Promises, Promises

Abe Schwartz

Missing Video Stores

By Abe Schwartz (indie filmmaker. copywriter. marketer. LA resident.)

FROM THE HUFFINGTON POST

Posted: August 11, 2010 03:15 PM

I don’t consider myself “old school”, though if given the opportunity to play Donkey Kong Country on Super NES, I’d be more excited to do that than play just about whatever on XBOX 360. I miss the MTV from the early 90′s that played The State and Beavis & Butthead, though I’m excited the latter’s making a return. I miss the prevalence of PEZ at convenience stores and supermarkets, and I’ve been coming to grips with the undeniable fact that video stores are on their collective death bed.
I miss driving (or walking) to local video stores. I miss seeing which new releases are up on the shelves, inspecting the various cases, and reading the descriptions on the back. I miss talking to the employees who seem cool and seeing what they recommend, as well as other people browsing the store. I miss waiting in (usually short) lines and seeing what other people are renting or returning at the time. I miss the mediocre, overpriced popcorn, candy, and sodas lining the shelves near the registers. I miss the display advertising. I even miss the race to return movies before being penalized with a late fee.

When I was younger, it was a weekend tradition to go to West Coast Video and rent movies. I’d always go with my Dad, often with my sister, Mom, and usually one of our friends would tag along, too. It was a great escape from the monotony of the school week, and I loved the selection and excitement of knowing I’d be seeing something new. When on my own, I’d usually rent whichever new release comedies looked best. If I was with friends, I could easily be swayed to action, horror, or just about anything that wasn’t an old musical. As I grew older, my palette expanded, and nothing was off limits, though I’d usually gravitate towards comedies, dramas, and documentaries. (Still the case.)

I love watching movies, and doing so has contributed to a large part of who I am today — a pop culture obsessed copywriter/filmmaker. I’ve tried NetFlix and Blockbuster Online, though when I want to watch something, I want to watch it right away — not wait several days for the DVD to arrive. NetFlix Watch Instantly seems to be the model for the future, but it’s not fully evolved yet. Same goes for the still-limited selection of cable and satellite TV’s on-demand services.

We’re not living in a fully on-demand culture until I can turn on my TV or portable device, type in Big, and after wading through Big Love and Big Fish, I see a young Tom Hanks singing “Shimmy, shimmy, cocoa pop.” I truly miss the immediate access and selection offered at video stores. As far as the social interaction element goes, you really can talk to people about movies just about anywhere — both in person and online. And for finding out what’s what about any movie, Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb are amazing resources that weren’t readily available to us when video stores were in their heyday.

Feeling I wasn’t the only one waxing nostalgic about video stores, (and that I could use some help to round out this article), I threw the question out to some friends on Facebook and Twitter – “What do you miss most about video stores?”:

“I miss the experience of browsing the aisles and rediscovering old movies that I haven’t seen in years.” – Sara K.
“It’s different when you are physically there surrounded by all the DVDs/films and when you browse virtually over Netflix or something. It’s like seeing your friend personally vs. chatting with him/her over Facebook chat.” – Jimmy S.
“The ‘be kind, please rewind’ stickers. People really made an effort to rewind for the next person. I don’t think I ever got a tape that wasn’t rewound.” – Chris B.
“I miss preparing for a snow storm or bad weather by going to the video store and stocking up. It was another essential, like bottled water and milk.” – Sophie S.
“The unspoken relationship forged between yourself and the unseen staff member with great taste. If you couldn’t find anything, there was always that one guy’s top picks that pulled out a winner.” – Stephen L.
“The excitement of walking into blockbuster (no joke). That feeling of unlimited possibility, that you were going to find a gem on the shelves. The smell of the VHS tape…I think I’m getting ahead of myself. I guess what I’m saying is THE RITUAL. Part of their slogan was really true, that you’re guaranteed to “go home happy.” – Aviva K.
“Theaters were much harder to get into movies that we weren’t allowed to see. However, at the local Blockbuster, I could walk down there at 13 and rent Chasing Amy, Boogie Nights and Flesh Gordon Meets The Cosmic Cheerleaders without question.” – Spencer S.
“I miss the extremely knowledgeable film-buff staff at independent video stores, like TLA Video in Bryn Mawr, PA. You go in and describe a dimly remembered scene you saw ten years ago, like people trying to talk over a jet engine, and immediately they know it’s Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, have it in 3 formats, and recommend Kusturica if you also like Buñuel.” – Evan D.
“I miss browsing… and hearing great recommendations from clerks who were even bigger film geeks than I. That was a little different than the computerized ‘You will like’ at Netflix.” – Tom P.
“I miss the social aspect of video stores when picking out a title. The banter, negotiation, and ultimately the compromise.” – Nathan E.
“I miss VHS tapes. You didnt have to hold them like precious diamonds. Vintage is always better.” – Anquisha H.
“The shady adult section.” – Chris C.
How about you? What do you miss? Or have you moved on entirely to a digital movie browsing experience? Feel free to leave comments.

Follow Abe Schwartz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AbeSchwartz

Bonnie’s Pick: Still Crazy

“I really love this movie. It’s written by the same writers that scripted “The Commitments” another of my favorites. It’s obvious they really understand all aspects of the world of rock and roll.”

Bonnie

Directed by Brian Gibson
Rated “R”
Starring: Stephen Rea, Bill Nighy, Timothy Spall, Billy Connolly, Bruce Robinson

Still Crazy is a film that looks back at the “rock band” era of the 1970s. Brian Gibson, who has directed musical biographies on Josephine Baker and Tina Turner, sets his narrative on a rock group, Strange Fruit, who are attempting a comeback twenty years after a bolt of lightening literally ended their career in the late 1970′s. When keyboard player Tony (Stephan Rea) runs into the son of their old festival promoter, he gets the idea he could perhaps bring the aging musicians together for a revival. He goes off to search for Karen (Juliet Aubre), the band’s Girl Friday and often the butt of their various ego trips. Karen, who now lives alone with her daughter, thinks it’s a great idea and they set off to locate the other members. Beano (Timothy Spall), the drummer, has barricaded himself away in a trailer in his mother’s garden for fear of being caught by the taxman. Ray (Bill Nighy), the lead singer, lives in a luxurious country house (beyond his means) with his second wife; he’s still in the music business and has released a solo record. Les (Jimmy Nail), a great bass guitarist, is happily married, and his only regret is that his music never found the following he would have liked. As for ex-roadie Hughie (Billy Connolly), the Fruits were always his boys, and he’s ready to give up his stall at Camden market and follow the dream. He would also love to see guitarist Brian again, but Brian is nowhere to be found. Karen decides to hire a much younger musician, Luke, to replace him. The re-formed band go to Holland to play a few clubs on a warm-up tour. However, the youngest member of the band is stealing the show, particularly with the members of the opposite sex. Despite efforts to stay calm and professional, the band is falling into the old routine of bickering day by day as they get close to the big reunion concert. Still Crazy was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and screened as part of the Panorama during the 49th International Berlin Film Festival, 1999.

Lynda’s Pick: In America

Lynda

Directed by Jim Sheridan
Rated PG-13
Starring: Paddy Considine, Samantha Morton, Djimon Hounsou

After chronicling various chapters of Irish history in such films as In the Name of the Father and The Field, writer/director Jim Sheridan turns his lens upon his own family’s experiences immigrating to the United States in the aptly titled In America. The loosely autobiographical script centers on Johnny (Paddy Considine), a young actor sneaking his wife, Sarah (Samantha Morton), and daughters, Christy and Ariel (real-life sisters Sarah and Emma Bolger, respectively), over the Canadian border in the hopes of jump-starting his career in New York City. They soon find that America is not the land of boundless opportunity, however, as they move into a dank, dilapidated apartment building populated by drug dealers, transients, and thugs. Johnny doesn’t snag auditions as easily as he may have hoped, and he and Sarah are forced to take meager jobs after spending their savings on food, rent, and utilities. Still in grief over the untimely death of their toddler son back in Ireland, the couple find their relationship further strained by the pressures of life in the city. Little by little, however, things begin to look up for the fiercely protective family unit, especially when they befriend an eccentric artist neighbor named Mateo (Djimon Hounsou). In America saw its world premiere at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival and played to enthusiastic crowds at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival before its theatrical release in the fall of that year.

Brent’s Pick: In Bruges

Brent

Directed by Martin McDonagh
Rated “R”
Starring: Colin Farrel, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes

Having just carried out a particularly difficult hit in London, two hitmen seek shelter in Bruges, Belgium, only to find their views on life and death permanently altered by their interactions with the locals, the tourists, and a film crew. Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes star in an action comedy from director Martin McDonagh.

Brent’s Pick:

Brent

The United States of Leland

Rated R
Directed by Matthew Ryan Hoge
Starring Don Cheadle, Ryan Gosling, Kevin Spacey

When a quiet suburban boy commits a brutal crime, the seemingly serene façade of stability that surrounds him comes crashing down to earth in this chilling and thought-provoking release from Paramount Pictures.

Maggie’s Pick: The Pledge

Maggie

Rated R

Directed by Sean Penn

Starring Jack Nicholson, Robin Wright-Penn, Patricia Clarkson

Sean Penn directed this tense drama of loyalty, honor, and obsession, based on a novel by Friedrich Durrenmatt. Jerry Black (Jack Nicholson) is a veteran police detective who lives and works in a small Nevada town. On the day of his retirement, it falls to Jerry to handle an especially unpleasant assignment — a seven-year-old girl has been brutally murdered, and Jerry has to check out the crime scene, and then tell the girl’s parents the awful news. Jerry begins to investigate the case on his own time, over the objections of his former boss. Before long, Jerry’s personal investigation has taken over his life, and he uncovers evidence that suggests the girl’s murder was just one in a series of killings involving young girls and a mysterious man called “the Wizard.” The Pledge’s stellar supporting cast includes Vanessa Redgrave, Helen Mirren, Harry Dean Stanton, and Mickey Rourke.

Bonnie’s Pick: A Face in the Crowd

Bonnie

Directed by Elia Kazan
Not Rated
Starring: Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, Walter Mathau, Lee Remick
This film is as relevant today as it was in 1957 when it was first released. A Face in the Crowd was one of the first intelligent attempts to examine the impact of mass media on average citizens. If you’ve ever heard MSNBC commentator, Keith Olbermann, call Fox News guy Glen Beck, Lonesome Rhodes – well, this is where that reference originated. Andy Griffith makes a spectacular film debut in this searing drama as Lonesome Rhodes, a philosophical country-western singer discovered in a tanktown jail by radio talent scout Patricia Neal and her assistant Walter Matthau. They decide that Rhodes is worthy of a radio spot, but the unforeseen result is that the gangly, aw-shucks entertainer becomes an overnight sensation not simply on radio but, thereafter, on television. As he ascends to stardom, Rhodes attracts fans, sponsors and endorsements by the carload, and soon he is the most powerful and influential entertainer on the airwaves. Beloved by his audience, Rhodes reveals himself to his intimates as a scheming, power-hungry manipulator, with Machiavellian political aspirations. He uses everyone around him, coldly discarding anyone who might impede his climb to the top.

Henrietta’s Picks: Bagdad Cafe

Henrietta

Directed by Percy Adlon
Rated PG
Starring: CCH Pounder, Marianne Sagebrecht, Jack Palance, Christine Kaufmann
Released in 1987, this West German film is set in the California Desert. A husband-and-wife pair of Bavarian tourists become stranded when their car breaks down; after a quarrel, the wife, Marianne Sagebrecht, gathers her luggage and stalks off. She stops at the Bagdad Cafe, a fleapit truckstop run by outspoken C.C.H. Pounder, who is also having husband problems. The Cafe has become a magnet for some of truly odd character: temperamental Hispanic cook George Aguilar, tattoo artist Christine Kaufmann, and onetime Hollywood set designer Jack Palance. Despite obvious personality differences, Sagebrecht and Pounder become friends. Bagdad Cafe was later adapted into a short-lived American sitcom starring Jean Stapleton and Whoopi Goldberg.

Yesterday Girl

Directed by Alexander Kluge

Starring Alexandra Kluge, Gunther Mack

Re-Released: May 25, 2010

Anita flees her home in East Germany for its democratic cousin to the west. But life on the other side proves as challenging as it was in the Communist Republic–and often just as oppressive. Released in 1966, the darkly comic YESTERDAY GIRL was a groundbreaking film in postwar German cinema, winning a Special Jury Prize at the 1966 Venice Film Festival.

The Class

Directed by Laurent Cantent

Rated PG13

Starring: Francois Begaudeau, Franck Keita

At a tough inner-city middle school in Paris, a dedicated teacher name Mr. Marin begins the new term. Taking on a class comprised of a melting pot of modern day French society, he pushes and prods his pupils while striving to gain their respect. And as each side challenges the other over issues both academic and personal, Mr. Marin and his students are about to get an education they’ll never forget. French and English audio tracks.

12

Directed by Nikita Mikalkov

Rated PG13

Starring: Sergei Makovetsky

A loose remake of 12 Angry Men, this version is set in contemporary Moscow where 12 very different men must unanimously decide the fate of a young Chechen accused of murdering his step-father, a Russian army officer. Consigned to a makeshift jury room in a school gymnasium, one by one each man takes center stage to confront, connect, and confess while the accused awaits a verdict and revisits his heartbreaking journey through war in flashbacks.

Schultz Gets The Blues

Directed by Michael Schorr

Rated PG

Starring: Horst Krause, Ursula Schuckt

Shultze is a retired miner who plans on spending the rest of his life playing polkas on his accordian. But one day he hears American blues and decides to check out the roots of this exciting music at its source – New Orleans.

Ethan Coen

Joel Coen

The Coen Brothers have built a reputation as two of the most visionary and idiosyncratic filmmakers of the late 20th century. Combining thoughtful eccentricity, wry humor, arch irony, and often brutal violence, the films of the Coen brothers have become synonymous with a style of filmmaking that pays tribute to classic American movie genres — especially film noir — while sustaining a firmly postmodern feel. Beginning with Blood Simple, their brutal, stylish 1984 debut, the brothers have amassed a body of work that has established them as two of the most compelling figures in American and world cinemas.

Coen Brothers Films Available at Flying Petito Sisters Video

A Serious Man

No Country for Old Men

Intolerable Cruelty

Burn After Reading

The Man Who Wasn’t There

O Brother Where Art Thou

The Big Lebowski

Fargo

Raising Arizona

Blood Simple

We the Living

The Banned, Lost, Rediscovered: Ayn Rand’s We the Living Lives on!

It was made illegally, suppressed by a hostile government, cheered and honored, then banned at the height of its success and forgotten for decades. But, today, the film version of Ayn Rand’s WE THE LIVING is back on the screen. The story behind the making of WE THE LIVING, in Italy, in 1942, is almost as interesting as the movie itself.

Goffredo Alessandrini, one of Italy’s leading directors had been searching for a drama of epic proportions, and WE THE LIVING, a recent best-seller in war-torn Italy, fit the bill perfectly. The struggle of a young woman to live her own life despite being trapped in a state-controlled society, was a story that moviegoers could easily relate to in Facist-run Italy. But Rand’s novel was considered a political hot potato by Fascist authorities in Rome and was approved for filming only via the personal intervention of the son of dictator Benito Mussolini. Alessandrini and his young associate director, Anton Majano, knew that while WE THE LIVING touched on volitile political issues, they hoped they would be safe from repercussions because of the story’s harshly negative portrayal of Communist Russia –Italy’s wartime enemy.

Scalera Films, the studio that was producing the film, was considered by some to be the best, most efficient producing company that ever existed in Italy. Ordinarily, the first order of business would be for Scalera to secure the movie rights from Ayn Rand. But with the war on, negotiations with an American author were out of the question. The solution was simple, but certainly not elegant. They stole it.

“It was actually a cheat and a fraud,” said Majano many years later. “Because of the war we couldn’t buy the rights. The Fascist Ministry of Culture set up a special law, as far as negotiations for rights, copyrights, or anything else, with enemy countries: Do what you have to do. Do the film, take the book, use it, we’ll worry about it later.”

So WE THE LIVING, a story that Ayn Rand described “as close to an autobiography as I will ever write,” was put into production in early 1942 without permission from the author and without compensation to her – without even her knowledge.

Cast in the leading roles were three of Italy’s top box-offices attractions: 38-year-old Fosco Giachetti, a star of such magnitude that his casting was unquestioned, in the role of Andrei.

21-vear-old Alida Valli, already a major star in Italy, won the coveted role of Kira. And 22-year-old Rossano Brazzi, in only his second movie, played Leo.

As WE THE LIVING got underway in early 1942, location permits were just about impossible to get because of the war. So every thing was built from scratch on the Scalera Films sound stages. Crowded Red Square, a deserted garden, a ship’s deck, a train station, even a snow covered street scene with horse-drawn sleigh – every set was a painstaking recreation by scenic artists, designers, and special effects technicians. Authenticity was enhanced by the fact that the production designers were Russian-born.

During the filming, the Fascist Ministry of Culture made the first of several efforts to suppress WE THE LIVING. One morning an official showed up on the set. “He said there was to be a screening that night, at nine o’clock, at the Ministry, and they wanted to see everything that had been shot so far”, Majano remembers. “We rushed to the editing room and spent all day cutting out the dangerous scenes – all the anti-Fascist scenes – for that screening. That night it looked like an inquisition. They kept asking, ‘Is that all there is? Is that it?”

The movie opened in Rome and was a huge box-office success. But before long, the film came to be viewed as a sly indictment of the Mussolini regime. In addition, the portrayal of an intelligent, sexually independent heroine, groundbreaking for its time, was viewed as controversial. The film was banned by the Italian government and ordered to be destroyed. But Massimo Ferrara, the studio chief for Scalera Films, hid the original negatives with a trusted friend and sent the negatives of another Scalera production to authorities for destruction! After the war, efforts to rerelease the film were ended when Rand declined to grant the necessary literary rights. By the early 1950′s Scalera Films had gone out of business and We the living had dropped from sight.

Rediscovery

Although Ayn Rand’s novel WE THE LIVING had been a best seller for over 40 years, virtually no one in America knew of the existence of the film version made in Italy. In the 1960′s Erika and Henry Mark Holzer began representing Ayn Rand. As their professional relationship developed into a personal friendship, she told them that there was an Italian motion picture version of the novel that had disappeared after a brief theatrical run in Italy.

The Holzers decided to find the film. They began to query official Italian agencies, to no avail. The search went on and ended in the summer of 1968 when it was discovered that two Romans representing a business entity that owned dozens of vintage Italian films, had in their possession the original film, which was made In two parts, titled NOI VIVI and ADDIO KIRA.

The technical quality of the film was excellent. Using the original nitrate negatives, the Hoizers had duplicate negatives made on safety film.

World Premiere

The new version of WE THE LIVING received its world premiere at the Telluride Film festival in Colorado in 1986—the first public showing of the film outside of Italy since World War II. Soon after, it was released in theaters throughout the US, Canada, and overseas, garnering rave reviews. New York Newsday said “WE THE LIVING” qualifies in every respect as film treasure “one of the best movies of the year”; “Hugely entertaining” wrote the Los Angeles Times; and Sneak Previews called it “An amazing piece of cinema — I think you will fall under the spell of this film.”