Mercury Video Picks
• Doctor Zhivago (1965)--Director David Lean's melodramatic masterpiece is a snowy meditation on the loneliness and isolation that winter can evoke. Set in Russia before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution, the story centers on Zhivago's life as a doctor, a soldier and a lover. Omar Sharif, Julie Christie and Geraldine Chaplin are so farking beautiful, they actually compete with the gorgeously barren and cold landscape in which the film is set. I swear after you watch this, you'll be convinced there is snow outside your windows...
• Storm of the Century (1999)--A huge kick-ass blizzard is headed toward a remote island off the coast of Maine, and with it, a strange man with supernatural powers. Come to exact revenge on those who have done wrong, the man spouts the same advice again and again: "Give me what I want and I will go away." Originally shown as a mini-series on ABC, the film sports some great special effects and an engaging story. This was the first of many endeavors written expressly for TV by horror-meister Stephen King and is available on video and DVD.
• Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)--Ethan Hawke stars in this finely crafted, moody, and beautifully atmospheric period piece set in a Washington state fishing village after WWII. A white fisherman has turned up dead in his own net and the prime suspect is his Japanese-American neighbor, who has long since held a grudge against his family. Based on the best-selling novel by David Guterson, director Scott Hicks (Shine) tells the story using sparse and simplistic images. The snowy dreamlike Northwest scenery made me think I should probably move up north if I really want to make snow angels any time soon. BRIAN BRAIT
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