Not Without My Daughter

Two-time AcademyAward® Winner Sally Field (Best Actress in a Leading Roll for "Norma Ray" and "Places in the Heart) gives another powerful performance in the suspense thriller "Not Without My Daughter," a riveting true story of terror and escape. B

etty (Field) has come to the Middle East with her daughter and native-born husband Sayeed (Alfred Molina, "Species") for a visit with his family, but soon the horrible truth about their vacation surfaces: Betty's husband doesn't intend to bring his family back to America...ever. She may return, he says, but their daughter must stay. And he has centuries of local custom and the oppressive might of a police state behind him. As a stranger in a foreign land, Betty has no money, no friends and no rights. But she does have an unconquerable will. In a hostile, war-torn country, where even the slightest misstep can mean death, she makes a desperate bid to escape with her child. Her story, her courage and her ultimate triumph are unforgettable.

This film is age-restricted, so it cannot be embedded on external websites. It must be watched on YouTube itself. So, here’s a link to the film for you to watch it there.

The King's Speech

After the death of his father King George V (Michael Gambon) and the scandalous abdication of his brother King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce), Bertie (Colin Firth in his Academy Award® winning performance), who has suffered from a debilitating speech impediment all his life, is suddenly crowned King George VI of England.

With his country on the brink of war and in desperate need of a leader, his wife, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), arranges for her husband to see eccentric speech therapist Lionel Logue (Academy Award® Winner Geoffrey Rush).

Winner of 4 Academy Awards® including Best Picture, Best Director (Tom Hooper), Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor (Colin Firth), The King's Speech is an inspirational tale of one man's quest to find his voice, inspire his people, and rally the world.

Death in Venice by Luchino Visconti - Mahler Symphony No 5 | Reupload

Oct 26, 2023 | Mahler Symphony No 5 Adagietto

Death in Venice (Italian: Morte a Venezia) is a 1971 historical drama film directed and produced by Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti, adapted by Visconti and Nicola Badalucco from the 1912 novella of the same name by German author Thomas Mann.

It stars Dirk Bogarde as Gustav von Aschenbach and [the late] Björn Andrésen as Tadzio, with supporting roles played by Mark Burns, Marisa Berenson and Silvana Mangano.

It was filmed in Technicolor by Pasqualino De Santis, with a soundtrack featuring classical composers such as Gustav Mahler, Ludwig van Beethoven and Modest Mussorgsky.

It is the second part of Visconti's thematic "German Trilogy"—preceded by The Damned (1969) and followed by Ludwig (1973).

Another Country | Rupert Everett & Colin Firth | Full Film

Nov 12, 2023 | In this film adaptation of the Julian Mitchell play, classmates and fellow outcasts Guy Bennett (Rupert Everett) and Tommy Judd (Colin Firth) find comfort in friendship during the 1930s, at an elite British public school where conformity is the norm. Openly gay Bennett must deal with bullying and homophobia, while Judd struggles to reconcile the expectations of the establishment with his own Marxist beliefs when he is given the opportunity to become head boy.

Starring - Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Michael Jenn
Directed by - Marek Kanievska


WARNING: This film is unsuitable for children. – © Mark Alexander

Maurice (1987) — Hugh Grant, James Wilby | HD | Full Movie

Jan 6, 2024 | Maurice is a 1987 British romantic drama film directed by James Ivory, based on the 1971 novel Maurice by E. M. Forster.

The film stars James Wilby as Maurice, Hugh Grant as Clive, and Rupert Graves as Alec. The supporting cast includes Denholm Elliott as Dr Barry, Simon Callow as Mr Ducie, Billie Whitelaw as Mrs Hall, and Ben Kingsley as Lasker-Jones.


Nb: Sub-titles can be selected in multiple languages.

WARNING: This film is not suitable for children. – Mark

How Brokeback Mountain Changed America Forever

Dec 9, 2024 | Brokeback Mountain isn’t just a movie—it’s a cultural movement. In this episode of This Week in Queer History, we dives into the film’s social impact, how it transformed LGBTQ+ representation, and why its message still resonates. Saddle up and find out why these two cowboys forever changed cinema and our hearts.

Interview: ‘Sexuality Is as Individual as a Fingerprint’: Daniel Craig and Luca Guadagnino on Queer

THE GUARDIAN: n their feverish film, Craig plays a man embroiled in a drug-fuelled gay affair. He and director Guadagnino talk about love, ageing – and a forgotten sex act

There is no shortage of directors who have made movies about gay life only to then backtrack and claim they were not specifically gay stories after all: Tom Ford did it with A Single Man, William Friedkin with both Cruising and The Boys in the Band. Luca Guadagnino, the director of Call Me By Your Name and this year’s steamy tennis romcom Challengers, is not about to play that game. “It is the most gigantic gay film in history,” he says of his latest picture, for which he recreated 1950s Mexico City on 12 stages at the Cinecittà studios in Rome. “I don’t think there has ever been a bigger gay movie.” Then again, he doesn’t have much wriggle room: the film is called Queer.

His feverish adaptation of William S Burroughs’s novel, which was written in the early 1950s but not published until 1985, concerns an American expat, William Lee, who locks eyes with a young stranger across a crowded cockfight. This is Eugene Allerton, a clean-cut, blade-like presence, played by Drew Starkey. And who should star as Lee, the gauche, fumbling, sweaty goofball, but Daniel Craig? If No Time to Die hadn’t killed off James Bond, Queer would have done it in a trice. » | Ryan Gilbey | Wednesday, December 11, 2024

This was my review of Call Me By Your Name on Amazon on December 5, 2019:

Powerful and transformative, this wonderful movie is a celebration of love, a celebration of beauty in all its forms, a celebration of enlightened thinking, a celebration of the attraction of a summer in delightful, sunny Italy!

Timothée Chalamet (Elio) and Armie Hammer (Oliver) play their parts splendidly. In fact, all the actors do. Michael Stuhlbarg, the father, with his father-to-son talk towards the end of the film is a sensation; Amira Casar, who plays the part of Elio’s mother, plays her part flawlessly. The parents' acceptance of Elio’s sexuality is an object lesson in parenting perfection.

This superb film excites the senses! It electrifies you! It will probably change your perceptions, too. It has the power to shake a person out of his benightedness!

A celebration of the beauty of pure, gay love; this film shows us all how truly beautiful it can be, with all its joy and attendant pain. This is a love story, showing that love is love, no matter what form that love takes.

The movie will transport you back to the beautiful early 80s, when life was far less complicated. The attention to detail in the film is remarkable. When watching this film, you can feel Italy, feel the Eighties. Because of the filming techniques used, you feel that you are there in Italy along with the characters.

Having read many reviews, I know I am not alone in finding this film extremely moving. If you let it, it will touch something deep inside you, whether you are gay or straight.

The stunning beauty of this movie is what you get when the brilliance of an author such as André Aciman is married with the unbelievable skill of the screenwriter, James Ivory, and the creative genius of the film director, Luca Guadagnino. The result is a masterpiece!

This is a movie for those able to feel deeply. It is one of the finest films I have ever watched. Bravo to all concerned in its production!

Watching this moving film brought back fond memories of times that have past and evoked thoughts of what could have been. Truly touching! Don't miss it! But make sure you have a box of Kleenex to hand. You will surely need one. The movie is bewitching!

If you want to understand the attraction of gay love, this is the film for you! The discovery of a young man’s sexuality is tenderly and tastefully portrayed.

Watching this exquisite film is a not-to-be-missed experience.

© Mark Aleaander
All Rights Reserved

The Reintroduction of Daniel Craig

THE PROJECTIONIST
THE NEW YORK TIMES: His vulnerable performance in “Queer” may surprise fans of the former Bond star, but it’s a return to the sexually daring films he used to make.

A screenshot taken from this article in the New York Times. | Photograph by Thea Traff
In love, it can be terrifying to show all your cards, to make yourself vulnerable, to let your desire be fully seen. What is offered to another person without reservation can also be taken without recompense. Still, because we want to be loved, we risk it.

Maybe we don’t think much about that aspect of love, preferring to dwell — as most movies do — on all the moony, swoony parts. But that dangerous feeling of exposure is the central preoccupation of the new drama “Queer,” and it can’t be explored without a lead actor who is similarly willing to offer himself up.

Enter Daniel Craig, 56, our erstwhile James Bond on a bold new assignment.

In “Queer,” due Nov. 27 and adapted from a William S. Burroughs novel, Craig plays Lee, an American expat in midcentury Mexico City who becomes enamored with a coolly distant younger man, Allerton (Drew Starkey). Lee is undone by a desire that is reciprocated only in fits and starts, and watching Craig pine so vulnerably packs a pop-cultural punch: Once considered the very face of masculine cool, his visage is now soaked in flop sweat. » | Kyle Buchanan | Reporting from Hollywood, Calif. | Wednesday, November 20, 2024


Leer en español:

Daniel Craig explora el amor y las adicciones en ‘Queer’ : Su vulnerable interpretación en ‘Queer’ puede sorprender a los seguidores de la antigua estrella Bond, pero es un regreso a las películas sexualmente atrevidas que solía hacer. »

Not Without My Daughter : Meet the Real Betty Mahmoody, Played by Sally Field.

May 21, 2017 | This is an account of her experiences in 1984–86, when she left Alpena, Michigan to go to Iran with her husband and daughter for what she was promised would be a short visit. Once there, she and her daughter were held against their will. It was made into a 1991 film starring Sally Field as Betty.

Betty and her daughter became trapped in a nation that was largely hostile to Americans, a family hostile to her, and an abusive husband. According to the book, her husband separated her from her daughter for weeks on end. He also assaulted her and threatened to kill her if she tried to leave.

She eventually escaped with her daughter. The book details her 500-mile escape to Turkey through the snowy Iranian mountains and the help she received from many Iranians. Upon returning to America in 1986, Betty filed for divorce in the USA.

Jonathan Roumie : «Incarner le Christ a changé radicalement ma vie»

Oct 14, 2023 | La saison 3 de la série «The Chosen», qui met en scène les Évangiles, et qui comptabilise plus de 543 millions de vues dans le monde, est dévoilée en avant-première cette semaine au cinéma. Pour Jonathan Roumie, qui incarne Jésus de Nazareth, ce succès tient au fait que son personnage est éminemment contemporain et que chaque personnalité est décrite dans les textes.
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A Night to Remember | Full Movie in Color (1958)

Jan 9, 2022 | A Night to Remember is a 1958 British docudrama film based on the eponymous 1955 book by Walter Lord. The film and book recount the final night of RMS Titanic, which on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic and then sank in the early morning hours of Monday, 15 April 1912. Adapted by Eric Ambler and directed by Roy Ward Baker, the film stars Kenneth More as the ship's Second Officer Charles Lightoller and features Michael Goodliffe, Laurence Naismith, Kenneth Griffith, David McCallum and Tucker McGuire. It was filmed in the United Kingdom and tells the story of the sinking, portraying the main incidents and players in a documentary-style fashion with considerable attention to detail. The production team, supervised by producer William MacQuitty (who saw the original ship launched) used blueprints of the ship to create authentic sets, while Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall and ex-Cunard Commodore Harry Grattidge worked as technical advisors on the film. Its estimated budget of up to £600,000 (£13.1 million adjusted for inflation [2019]) was exceptional and made it the most expensive film ever made in Britain up to that time.

The World Premiere was on Thursday, 3 July 1958, at the Odeon Leicester Square. Titanic survivor Elizabeth Dowdell attended the American premiere in New York on Tuesday 16 December 1958. The film disappointed at the box office. However, it received critical acclaim and won the 1959 "Samuel Goldwyn International Award" for the UK at the Golden Globe Awards. The film has been described as "the definitive cinematic telling of the story." Among the many films about the Titanic, A Night to Remember is regarded highly by Titanic historians and survivors for its accuracy, despite its modest production values, compared with the Oscar-winning film Titanic (1997).

Peyton Place (1957). Full Movie.

Mar 27, 2022 | Drama, Romance | Director: Mark Robson | Cinematography by William C. Mellor | Cast: Lana Turner, Lee Philips, Lloyd Nolan, Arthur Kennedy, Russ Tamblyn and Terry Moore | Brief Synopsis: A peaceful New England town hides secrets and scandals.

How Peyton Place comforted this closeted teenager »

Kirstie Alley, Cheers and Look Who’s Talking Actor, Dies Aged 71

THE GUARDIAN: Actor’s family confirms she died shortly after being diagnosed with cancer, as her former co-stars including John Travolta pay tribute

The film and TV star Kirstie Alley, pictured in 2019. She has died aged 71. Photograph: Monica Almeida/Reuters
Kirstie Alley, the TV and film star known for her roles in Cheers, Veronica’s Closet and Look Who’s Talking, has died at the age of 71.

Alley’s death was confirmed on Monday night in a statement from her children, William “True” Stevenson and Lillie Price Stevenson, which was posted to her social media account. Her manager also separately confirmed her death.

Alley had recently been diagnosed with cancer, and was being treated at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Florida, her family revealed. » | Sian Cain | Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Kirstie Alley, Emmy-Winning ‘Cheers’ Actress, Dies at 71: She also starred in the NBC sitcom “Veronica’s Closet,” which aired from 1997 to 2000. »

MARTYR | شهيد - "I Have No One But You" - Peccadillo Pictures | Trailer

Watch Now On-Demand (UK) here.

Robert Redford Cutting a Dash in The Great Gatsby

Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby in the movie
Very many thanks to Getty Images (United Arab Emirates) for this superb image and flashback to a wonderful film/movie based on the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald’s tragic novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), set on Long Island during the Jazz Age. It’s the quintessential American success story of a man who rises from obscurity and poverty to immense wealth.

Céline Dion : My Heart Will Go On

Views on YouTube: 196,786,307

Barbra Streisand : The Way We Were

Dec 24, 2017 • Movie: The Way We Were (1973) | Views on YouTube: 4,288,701

'Boy Erased': Joel Edgerton & Garrard Conley on Portraying the Family in Gay Conversion-Therapy Drama

Oct 30, 2018 • Joel Edgerton and "Boy Erased" author Garrard Conley talk with Access about the film getting early Oscar buzz. Why do they feel Garrard's story of his experience with gay conversion therapy is especially important in today's political climate?

Call Me By Your Name - Official Trailer - Starring Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet

Aug 14, 2017 • Call Me By Your Name, the new film by Luca Guadagnino, is a sensual and transcendent tale of first love, based on the acclaimed novel by André Aciman.

It’s the summer of 1983 in the north of Italy, and Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet), a precocious 17- year-old American-Italian boy, spends his days in his family’s 17th century villa transcribing and playing classical music, reading, and flirting with his friend Marzia (Esther Garrel).

Elio enjoys a close relationship with his father (Michael Stuhlbarg), an eminent professor specializing in Greco-Roman culture, and his mother Annella (Amira Casar), a translator, who favor him with the fruits of high culture in a setting that overflows with natural delights. While Elio’s sophistication and intellectual gifts suggest he is already a fully-fledged adult, there is much that yet remains innocent and unformed about him, particularly about matters of the heart.

One day, Oliver (Armie Hammer), a charming American scholar working on his doctorate, arrives as the annual summer intern tasked with helping Elio’s father. Amid the sun-drenched splendor of the setting, Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire over the course of a summer that will alter their lives forever.

Armie Hammerbr /> Timothée Chalamet
Michael Stuhbarg
Amira Cesar
Esther Garrel


If you haven’t seen this film yet, you might want to watch it when you have some spare time over the Christmas holidays. I watched it at Christmastime two years ago. I stumbled upon the film by chance. I’m glad I did: I was spellbound by it! I watched it so many times. I lost count how many times in total!

It’s a lovely story; but more than that, it transports one back to a bygone age, a simpler age, when people led less complicated lives. There’s lots of smoking in it, too. Something you don’t see much these days. People actually did smoke a lot back then before people became politically correct and when the notion of secondhand smoke hadn’t been thought of.

But what is particularly enjoyable about this movie, in my opinion, is the fact that one feels as if one is actually in Italy along with the characters. It’s the way it’s been filmed, apparently. The ending of the film is also very good – it’s moving. Very moving!

I was particularly taken by the film because of its setting. It reminded me of the times I spent in Ticino many years ago, in a similar setting. Watching this film was, for me, like a trip down memory lane. Not because of the relationship, because I didn’t have a gay relationship in Ticino, but because of the ambience of the film.

Do yourselves a favour and try and watch it. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. – © Mark

Angelina Jolie ‘Saddened’ by ‘Ignorant’ Countries Banning Eternals over ‘Beautiful’ Gay Love

Angelina Jolie attends the The Eternals UK premiere. (Samir Hussein/WireImage)
PINK NEWS: Angelina Jolie has said she is “sad” for the “ignorant” countries that have banned Eternals reportedly over its gay content.

The new film, which sees gay tech maverick Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first same-sex kiss, has been quietly yanked across the conservative Gulf nations, per reports.

Angelina Jolie, who stars as Thena, a member of the celestial race of superhumans known as the Eternals, said she is “proud of Marvel” for “refusing to cut those scenes out”.

“I still don’t understand how we live in a world where there’s still [people who] would not see the family Phastos has and the beauty of that relationship and love,” Jolie, 46, told News.com.au.

“How anybody is angry about it, threatened by it, doesn’t approve or appreciate it is ignorant. » | Josh Milton | Friday, November 5, 2021

Angelina Jolie Is “Proud” Marvel Refused to Cut ‘Eternals’ Scenes Featuring Gay Hero for Gulf Nation Censors: The film was pulled from release in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait after Disney refused to make edits demanded by local censors. »