Nijinsky - DVD

For nine years, life for Ellis French (Jeremy Pope) consisted of shelters and the streets after he came out to his conservative corrections guard mother (Gabrielle Union) at 16. Enlisting in the Marines as a means of proving himself, the rigors of boot camp became that much more amplified as he tried to keep the truth of his sexuality under guard. Documentarian Elegance Bratton drew on his own life experience for this powerful narrative bow; Bokeem Woodbine, Raúl Castillo co-star. 100 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack English.

Nijinsky is a fascinating film that chronicles the lives, the loves, and the madness of ballet's legendary and mercurial star Vaslav Nijinsky (George de la Pena). Onstage, Nijinsky, the most celebrated dancer of the early 20th century, was in flawless control. Offstage, he was in turmoil, torn between the beautiful ballerina he married and the domineering mentor he loved. Alan Bates plays Sergei Diaghilev, Nijinsky's mentor and lover who's the impresario and founder of Ballets Russes. The increasing tension between these powerful egos, exacerbated by homosexual desire and jealousy, becomes triangular when the young ballerina Romola de Pulsky (Leslie Browne) determinedly attempts to draw the mentally unstable Nijinsky away from Diaghilev. Jeremy Irons made his film debut as a choreographer for the ballet company. Directed by Herbert Ross (The Turning Point).

Self-doubting psychiatrist Martin Dysart (Richard Burton) was court-appointed to examine Alan Strang (Peter Firth), a 17-year-old stableboy who willfully blinded a half-dozen horses. As the doctor determinedly picks at his subject's lifelong fixation with the animals, and strict religious upbringing, he'll find a stunning interconnection. Shattering, emotion-packed adaptation of Peter Shaffer's award-winning play co-stars Joan Plowright, Colin Blakely, Jenny Agutter; directed by Sidney Lumet. 138 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack English