DVDs by Genre
Welcome to the DVDs by Genre guide!
Patron suggestions for the Mookini Library's feature film collection will be added to our wish list, provided they are award-winning, critically acclaimed, or considered innovative or excellent examples of a genre.
Following are short descriptions of a selection of Best Picture Academy Award winners, which we recommend for your viewing pleasure!
Best Picture Oscar Winners
It Happened One Night (1934) Screwball comedy. A rebellious young socialite on the run from her father goes hitchhiking with an unemployed news reporter tempted to make a buck on her story.
Gone With the Wind (1939) Romantic drama. Based on Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, this Civil War epic centers on the rise and fall and rise of a Southern belle’s fortunes on a plantation in Georgia.
Casablanca (1943) Romantic suspense. Former lovers are reunited during World War II when a couple fleeing the Nazis depend on a Moroccan nightclub owner to help them escape in one of the greatest films of all time.
Rebecca (1940) Gothic mystery. An early film by master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock, about a timid young woman whose marriage to a wealthy Englishman is overshadowed by the memories of his recently deceased wife.
Lost Weekend (1945) Drama. An alcoholic writer goes on a drinking binge in an edgy melodrama noted at the time for its stark realism; adapted from Charles Jackson’s novel.
All About Eve (1950) Drama. A Broadway star feels threatened by an ambitious young actress who presents herself as a fan, but then proceeds to insinuate herself into her idol’s life.
On the Waterfront (1954) Drama suspense. A dockworker challenges a mob-connected union boss after being double-crossed, in an acclaimed film based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning series of newspaper articles on organized crime in New York.
West Side Story (1961) Romantic musical. A modern musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet tells the story of star-crossed lovers torn apart by New York street gang violence and racism.
My Fair Lady (1964) Romantic musical. A poor English girl takes speech lessons from a professor bent on transforming her into a lady, in a legendary musical based on George Bernard Shaw’s book Pygmalion.
Midnight Cowboy (1969) Drama. An unlikely friendship develops between a naïve Texas cowboy and a small-time con man, both struggling to make it in New York City; based on James Leo Herlihy’s novel.
The Godfather I (1972) & II (1974) Crime drama. Francis Ford Coppola’s two-part epic about a New York Italian mob family set the standard for all mafia movies; based on Mario Puzo’s book.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) Drama. A gripping adaptation of Ken Kesey’s novel is set in a mental ward, where a rebellious prison transfer challenges the status quo and comes up against a tyrant nurse.
Annie Hall(1977) Romantic comedy. Prolific filmmaker Woody Allen’s semi-autobiographical masterpiece follows the charming but troubled relationship of a New York comedian and an aspiring singer.
Amadeus (1984) Biographical drama. The rivalry between 18th-century Austrian classical music composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri are dramatized in Peter Shaffer’s adaptation of his stage play.
American Beauty (1999) Dramedy. A suburban family unravels when the father becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter’s friend.
~~ descriptions compiled by Miriam Jacobson