Swerve (2012)

Actors: John Diehl (actor), Michael Chieffo (actor), Beth Grant (actress), Charles Robinson (actor), Puja Mohindra (actress), Sumiko Braun (actress), Djilali Rez-Kallah (actor), Hugo Armstrong (actor), Zach Horton (writer), Zach Horton (director), Zach Horton (producer), Maria-Elena Laas (actress), John Zderko (actor), James McCarthy (actor), Carryl Lynn (actress),

Plot: In a future post-apocalyptic California, the new frontier is a vast nano-contaminated Zone cut off from the all-connected Grid and the ceaseless flows of bodies and information outside its borders. Only the insane or criminal would venture into this low-tech, body-corroding backwater: that's what Kaja has been told. But when her best and only friend Adelle disappears, apparently kidnapped and taken to the Zone by an anti-nanotech revolutionary group, Kaja is forced to enter this bizarre and alien world. There, where even fundamental matter and individual identity are up for grabs, as a virtual assassination team moves in for the kill, anti-technology cultists plot a takeover, and a mad cyberscientist prepares a vast mind-harvesting experiment, Adelle will begin to suspect that her entire brain is an elaborate organic computer program... But what, exactly, does it do?

Keywords: california, cyberpunk, nanotechnology, one-word-title, philosophy, post-apocalypse, post-humanism, virtuality
Genres: Sci-Fi,

Without Limits (1998)

Actors: Robert Towne (director), Kyle Cooper (miscellaneous crew), Jonathan Sanger (producer), Jeremy Sisto (actor), Robert Towne (writer), Robert K. Lambert (editor), Matthew Lillard (actor), Tom Cruise (producer), William Friedkin (actor), Dean Norris (actor), William Mapother (actor), Donald Sutherland (actor), Billy Crudup (actor), Tim Monich (miscellaneous crew), Randy Miller (composer),

Plot: The film follows the life of famous 1970s runner Steve Prefontaine from his youth days in Oregon to the University of Oregon where he worked with the legendary coach Bill Bowerman, later to Olympics in Munich and his early death at 24 in a car crash.

Keywords: airplane, american-flag, applause, archive-footage, athlete, athletic-field, athletics, auto-accident, bar, bartender
Genres: Biography, Drama, Sport,
Taglines: Pre-The Way he Competed...The Way he Lives his Life PRE. The way he competed. The way he lived his life. Believe in yourself.

Quotes:

Steve Prefontaine: I don't want to win unless I know I've done my best, and the only way I know how to do that is to run out front, flat out until I have nothing left. Winning any other way is chicken-shit.

Steve Prefontaine: I'd like to work it out so that at the end, it's a pure guts race. If it is, I'm the only one who can win it.

Steve Prefontaine: I can endure more pain than anyone you've ever met. That's why I can beat anyone I've ever met.

Steve Prefontaine: Bill, has it ever occurred to you that there's such a thing as overcoaching?::Bill Bowerman: Yeah... I'm against it.

Mary Marckx: You ran great in Munich.::Steve Prefontaine: No, Viren ran great, I was fourth.

Bill Bowerman: Know what your problem is, Pre? Vanity!::Steve Prefontaine: Vanity?::Bill Bowerman: Yes, vanity, Pre! Your belief that you have no talent is the ultimate vanity. If you have no talent then you have no limits, it's all an act of will. Your heart can probably pump more blood than anyone else's on earth, and that takes talent. The bones in your feet are so strong, it'd take a sledgehammer to break 'em. Be thankful for your limits, Pre, they're about as limitless as they get in this life.

Mary Marckx: Do you believe in God?::Steve Prefontaine: I believe in myself.

Bill Bowerman: All my life, man and boy, I've operated under the assumption that the main idea in running was to win the race. Naturally, when I became a coach I tried to teach people how to do that. Tried to teach Pre how to do that. Tried like hell to teach Pre to do that. And Pre taught me. Taught me I was wrong. Pre, you see, was troubled by knowing that a mediocre effort can win a race and a magnificent effort can lose one. Winning a race wouldn't necessarily demand that he give it everything he had from start to finish. He never ran any other way. I tried to get him to, God knows I tried... but... Pre was stubborn. He insisted on holding himself to a higher standard than victory. 'A race is a work of art'; that's what he said, that's what he believed and he was out to make it one every step of the way.::Bill Bowerman: Of course he wanted to win. Those who saw him compete and those who competed against him were never in any doubt how much he wanted to win. But how he won mattered to him more. Pre thought I was a hard case. But he finally got it through my head that the real purpose of running isn't to win a race. It's to test to the limits of the human heart. That he did... Nobody did it more often. Nobody did it better.

Steve Prefontaine: It's the hardest thing in the world to believe in something, if you do it's a miracle.

Steve Prefontaine: You know me Bill, I've always been sort of an Adidas freak.

Phar Lap (1983)

Actors: Tim Robertson (actor), Jo Weeks (miscellaneous crew), Martin Vaughan (actor), Vincent Ball (actor), Simon Wincer (director), Judy Morris (actress), David Williamson (writer), Ron Leibman (actor), Gia Carides (actress), Randall Berger (actor), Les Foxcroft (actor), Bruce Rowland (composer), Terry Gill (actor), Cliff Ellen (actor), John Stanton (actor),

Plot: Phar Lap, the legendary Australian racing horse, is as well-known today for his mysterious death as for his fabulous accomplishments in life. Beginning at the end, the film flashes back to the day that Phar Lap, despite his lack of pedigree, is purchased on impulse by trainer Harry Telford. Phar Lap loses his first races, but Telford's faith in the animal is unshakable. Suddenly the horse becomes a winner, thanks to the love and diligence of stableboy Tommy Woodcock. American-promoter Dave Davis arranges for Phar Lap to be entered in several top races, where his "long shot" status results in heavy losses for the professional gamblers. Just after winning an important race in Mexico, Phar Lap collapses and dies; though the film never comes out and says as much, it is assumed that the horse was "murdered" by the gambling interests.

Keywords: 1920s, 1930s, american-abroad, animal, animal-name-in-title, anonymous-telephone-call, apology, australia, bicycle, binoculars
Genres: Biography, Drama, Family, History, Sport,
Taglines: Hero To A Nation When they learned he couldn't be beaten, they knew he had to be stopped. He was the long shot...heard 'round the world. When he beat the odds, they changed the rules. When he broke the records, they weighed him down. But he had one thing on his side...the faith of a boy. Together they lived a legend that inspired a nation and won the heart of the world. The Legend Remains

See How She Runs (1978)

Actors: Joanne Woodward (actress), Mickey Jones (actor), Barnard Hughes (actor), John Considine (actor), Jimmie Haskell (composer), Tom Kemp (actor), Richard T. Heffron (director), Gary Griffin (editor), Michael Currie (actor), George Englund (producer), Norman Merrill (actor), James Houghton (actor), Annette Miller (actress), Frank Dolan (actor), John Blood (actor),

Genres: Drama, Sport,

Heroes (1977)

Actors: David Foster (producer), Peter J. Silbermann (miscellaneous crew), Harrison Ford (actor), Stuart Margolin (actor), Sally Field (actress), Al Cerullo (miscellaneous crew), Henry Winkler (actor), James W. Gavin (actor), John Cassavetes (actor), Michael Cavanaugh (actor), Dennis Burkley (actor), Val Avery (actor), Tony Burton (actor), Lawrence Turman (producer), Doris Grau (miscellaneous crew),

Plot: It's 4 years since Jack is back from Vietnam, but he still has nightmares. In a bus on his way to California he meets Carol, who just left her fiancée - only 4 days before their wedding, allegedly just for a few days of vacation. Jack happily tells her about his plans to set up a worm farm for fishing baits together with four of his Vietnam ex-comrades. Although he gets on her nerves at the beginning, she starts to care. When one after the other of his friends steps out and Jack looses his optimism, Carol remains as the last support that keeps him from despair.

Keywords: bar-fight, hitchhiking, post-war, psychological-drama, race-car, road-trip, robbery, vietnam, vietnam-veteran, worm-farm
Genres: Comedy, Drama,
Taglines: Finding the one you love... is finding yourself.

Quotes:

Carol Bell: I was against the war. I protested it!::Jack Dunne: And I fought it.

Carol Bell: [cheers wildly, as Jack's race ends]::Ken Boyd: He didn't win.::Carol Bell: I know, but at least he didn't get killed!

Carol Bell: [observing a men's urinal for the first time] Men are weird.

The Wild Chase (1965)

Actors: Mel Blanc (actor), Mel Blanc (actor), Mel Blanc (actor), Mel Blanc (actor), Paul Julian (actor), David H. DePatie (producer), Friz Freleng (producer), William Lava (composer), Friz Freleng (director), Hawley Pratt (director), Lee Gunther (editor),

Plot: Ever wonder who was the fastest Road Runner or Speedy Gonzales? This cartoon aimed to answer that all-important question between two of Warner Brothers' speediest characters. Of course, the race (set in an American desert) wouldn't be interesting without Wile E. Coyote or Sylvester trying to nab the bird and mouse. Both the hard-luck coyote and the puddy tat use a variety of tactics to grap their respective dinners, all which (of course) fail. In the end, Wile E. and Sylvester use a supersonic jet to pass their prey at the finish line (and "win" the race), but their vehicle quickly careens over the cliff. The poor puddy tat fall down over the cliff, just like Wile E. has so many times.

Keywords: merrie-melodies, reference-to-speedy-gonzales, road-runner, road-runner-the-character, sylvester-the-cat, wile-e-coyote
Genres: Animation, Comedy, Family, Short,

Billie (1965)

Actors: Don Weis (director), Adrienne Fazan (editor), Charles Lane (actor), Don Weis (producer), Jim Backus (actor), Dominic Frontiere (composer), Peter Lawford (producer), Richard Deacon (actor), Harlan Warde (actor), Michael Fox (actor), Robert Banas (actor), Chuck Hamilton (actor), Joe Ploski (actor), David Winters (miscellaneous crew), Patty Duke (actress),

Plot: Fifteen year old tomboy Billie Carol, the younger of two daughters of Harding mayoral candidate Howard G. Carol and his wife Agnes Carol, is naturally athletic. She attributes her speed to being able to hear what she calls "the beat": music she hears in her head, speeding up that music which makes her go faster in whatever activity. She catches the eye of her high school's track and field coach, the school which only has a boys' track and field team which she is asked to join. Her father encourages her to do so despite he having recently made a campaign speech to a group of young women on his stance that women should not compete with men. This dichotomy causes a problem in his campaign. Another potential problem in the campaign is some unknown information about his older daughter, twenty year old Jean, who is home from school and who he still sees as his little girl. Billie, on the other hand, is often viewed by Howard as the son he never had, which often causes problems in his relationship with her. But Billie has other problems, especially in her relationship with Mike Benson, a student new to school and an aspiring decathlete. Mike and Billie like each other in a boy/girl sense - her first case of young love - but does not know how to reconcile that feeling with Mike wanting her to be a girl first and a track star second.

Keywords: adolescence, ambition, based-on-play, battle-of-the-sexes, boyfriend-girlfriend-relationship, calvinism, character-name-in-title, coming-of-age, family-relationships, father-daughter-relationship
Genres: Comedy, Family, Musical, Romance, Sport,
Taglines: Billie's Got the Beat!

Quotes:

Howard G. Carol: In dealing with women, a man must shun reason and logic.

Raintree County (1957)

Actors: Christopher Riordan (actor), DeForest Kelley (actor), Lee Marvin (actor), Burt Mustin (actor), William Challee (actor), Walter Abel (actor), Frank Mills (actor), James Griffith (actor), Jack Daly (actor), Oliver Blake (actor), Tom Drake (actor), Michael Dugan (actor), John Eldredge (actor), Robert Foulk (actor), Robert Stevenson (actor),

Plot: An abolitionist John Wickliff Shawnessy drifts away from his high school sweetheart Nell Gaither and enters into a passionate love affair with a wealthy New Orleans belle Susanna Drake but is tricked into marrying her when she falsely tells him that she is pregnant. But even after Susanna tells him the truth his still stays with her out of love. But John soon learns that Susanna is hiding a dark secret which leads her into madness. This madness causes Susanna to flee to the South during the Civil War taking their son with her. John leaves home and enlisting in the Northern Army as his only means to pursue Susanna.

Keywords: 70mm-film, american-civil-war, based-on-novel, civil-war, faked-pregnancy, love, love-triangle, marriage, melodrama, mental-illness
Genres: Drama, Romance,
Taglines: In The Great Tradition Of Civil War Romance

Quotes:

Prof. Jerusalem Webster Stiles: [to the photographer, who has just taken the graduating class portrait] Mr. Sterling, you have made us immortal.

Ellen Shawnessy: Did you ever hear your father's sermon on the evils of tobacco? Ends with a regular poem: "Some do it chew, and some do it smoke, while some it up their noses do poke."::John Wickliff Shawnessy: I do all three at the same time.

Prof. Jerusalem Webster Stiles: Greatness? Ha! If that great philosopher, Socrates, were living today, he'd be reduced to sitting on a cracker barrel, chewing tobacco. That's what America does for greatness.

T.D. Shawnessy: [to Flash, who is drinking beer in public] Flash Perkins, don't you know that your body is the temple of the spirit, and you defile and pollute it with that Devil's brew you have there?::Orville 'Flash' Perkins: [Nonchalantly] Why, if you say so, pappy...::T.D. Shawnessy: Why don't you come 'round to our next temperance rally. Come 'round and take the Total Abstinence Pledge.::Orville 'Flash' Perkins: Why, pappy, I'll take that pledge right now.::T.D. Shawnessy: Orville, we want men to take that pledge only when they're sober.::Orville 'Flash' Perkins: But if they're sober, what's the point in havin' them take the pledge? [Everybody laughs]

Prof. Jerusalem Webster Stiles: [Referring to the fact that Mr. Gray, an old man, has managed to marry Lydia, a beautiful young woman] How in the entire realm of plausibility did that chilly January win such a blithesome May?

Man in crowd: [the professor is putting money on a footrace between Flash and Johnny] That there's gold!::Prof. Jerusalem Webster Stiles: My yearly stipend as a teacher. A molder of young minds.::Man in crowd: Fifty dollars!::Prof. Jerusalem Webster Stiles: It's not much, but neither are the minds I mold.

Susanna Drake: That 4th of July race... what happens when you win?::John Wickliff Shawnessy: Well, according to a friend of mine, if I win, a beautiful girl will place a garland of oak leaves on my sun-colored locks.::Susanna Drake: I'd like to be that girl.::John Wickliff Shawnessy: Maybe it can be arranged?::Susanna Drake: Oh, it can be arranged, all right. *I'll* arrange it.

Prof. Jerusalem Webster Stiles: [On the back of the train, leaving town in a hurry] Goodbye, dear friend. Remember me as a man who loves Raintree County, but just happens to loathe most of the people in it.

Susanna Drake: Johnny, I had to come back. I'm going to have a baby.

John Wickliff Shawnessy: [On the riverboat with Susanna, visiting the South for the first time] You were right, Mrs. Shawnessy, I like your river. I really do. It even smells good.::Susanna Drake: I knew that you'd understand it. Which is more than most Yankees do. Now, that's something I don't understand. 'Cause all you have to do is go South once and you LOVE it!::John Wickliff Shawnessy: Well, to us Yankees, the South is not too easy to understand... You ever read "Uncle Tom's Cabin"?::Susanna Drake: [Shocked] "Uncle Tom's Cabin"? Phoo... I haven't married an abolitionist, have I?::John Wickliff Shawnessy: That is the skeleton in my closet.::Susanna Drake: Now, you mustn't joke about it.::Susanna Drake: [Arranging a vast collection of dolls on her bed] Anyway, there's worse things than being an abolitionist.::John Wickliff Shawnessy: Like what?::Susanna Drake: Like having Negro blood in you. Isn't it funny? Just one little teeny drop and a person's all Negro. A person can't always tell, either.

Checkers (1937)

Actors: Ivan Miller (actor), George Chandler (actor), Tom McGuire (actor), Spencer Charters (actor), Stuart Erwin (actor), Francis Ford (actor), Lon Chaney Jr. (actor), Stanley Andrews (actor), Howard C. Hickman (actor), Sid Jordan (actor), Edward Keane (actor), Paul Kruger (actor), Wilfred Lucas (actor), Wilbur Mack (actor), Vester Pegg (actor),

Genres: Drama,

Roadhouse Queen (1933)

Actors: Ben Alexander (actor), Ernie Alexander (actor), Joe Bordeaux (actor), Betty Mack (actress), Mack Sennett (producer), Felix Adler (writer), Clyde Bruckman (writer), Jefferson Moffitt (writer), John A. Waldron (writer), Leslie Pearce (director), Walter Catlett (actor), Richard Cramer (actor), Tom Dempsey (actor), Bobby Dunn (actor), Arthur Housman (actor),

Genres: Comedy, Short,