Lafayette College Library

Cold Comfort Farm (1995; Kate Beckinsale)

Irene couldn't warm to the Stella Gibbons novel, but she loved this film adaptation. With its mad Starkadder clan and their indefatigable cousin Flora, it's a perfect parody of the English country novel (or in this case film). Ian McKellen turns in a star performance as the sermonizing patriarch of the clan.

Shakespeare Retold (2005)

Irene was delighted to find some of her favorite young British performers well-cast in this clever set of works Retold using contemporary situations and language. Personal favorites include "The Taming of the Shrew" and "Much Ado About Nothing". Shakespeare has never been more fun!   

October 2010

Night Train to Munich (1940)

September 2010

Litte Jerusalem / Le Petite Jerusalem (2005)

In preparation for the campus showing of Le Chant des Mariées (The Wedding Song) on October 13, Irene sat down with director Karin Albou's first film, the acclaimed La Petite Jerusalem. Set in an orthodox Jewish enclave in Paris, the film portrays the lives of Tunisian sisters discovering aspects of their sexuality: one the Orthodox wife of a cheating husband; the other a college student grappling with her faith and her attraction to a Muslim man. Irene's melodrama alert went off when she read this film description, but she was pleasantly surprised that La Petite Jerusalem manages to be philosophical and erotic all at once.

August 2010

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962; John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart; dir. by John Ford)

July 2010

I Know Where I'm Going (1945)

June 2010

A Heart in winter /Cœur en hiver (1992)

May 2010

This gun for hire (1942; Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake)

April 2010

Quay of the Goldsmiths / Quai des orfèvres (1948)

March 2010

Last Days of Disco (1998; Chloë Sevigny, Kate Beckinsale, Chris Eigeman)

While others were watching the Olympics, Irene decided to take a trip back to the 80s, and what a trip it was! In part of what's become known as the "yuppie trilogy," director Whit Stillman follows a group of friends in their early 20s as they try to make their way in New York, dancing, drinking, socializing, and philosophizing (e.g., see the scene where the group deconstructs The Lady and the Tramp). When, near the end of the film, one character says, "Disco will never be over. It will always live in our minds and hearts." Irene found herself shouting, "Amen, brother!"

February 2010

Zero Hour (1957)

"Our survival hinges on one thing--finding someone who not only can fly this plane, but didn't have fish for dinner." Sound familiar? Irene was thrilled to find that much of the plot and dialog in the classic comedy Airplane! was taken from this 1957 drama, written by best-selling king of crisis Arthur Hailey. For maximum effect, Irene suggests watching Airplane! (also in the Skillman collection) first, followed by Zero Hour. This title is part of a larger series of , which includes 11 other titles falling in the Terrorized Travelers, Women in Peril, Sci-fi Thrillers, or Historical Epics genres.

High Noon (1952; Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly)