DVD & Blu-rays Released December 2, 2003

Tuesday, December 2

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl PG-13

Aboard the Black Pearl, infamous pirate Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) attacks the city of Port Royal and kidnaps a governor's daughter, Elizabeth (Keira Knightley). Barbossa then sets sail with his hostage toward a secret hideaway, hoping to lift an ancient curse by sacrificing her and returning a once-plundered treasure. Elizabeth's childhood friend Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) meets an eccentric seaman, Jack Sparrow, who reveals that the Black Pearl was formerly his ship, until Barbossa committed mutiny. Together, they assemble a ragtag crew and commandeer a British vessel, hoping to chase down and free both Elizabeth and Sparrow's Pearl. Following after them is the British military, led by Elizabeth's would-be fiancé, Commodore Norrington (Jack Davenport).
Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Keira Knightley, Stuart Beattie, Terry Rossio, Lee Arenberg, Jack Davenport, Gore Verbinski
Action Adventure Fantasy Mystery

The Cuckoo PG-13

September 1944. Several days before Finland, an ally of Nazi Germany, pulls out of World War II, Veiko, (Ville Haapasalo) a lone Finnish sniper, is turned on by his compatriots for a being a pacifist and, in their eyes, a reluctant fighter. As a punishment, the young man is placed in shackles, nailed to a heavy rock and forced to wear a German uniform, knowing full well that Russian soldiers have orders to shoot Germans on sight, without accepting surrender. Veiko is thus left to die in a remote Lapland forest, with nothing but a few supplies and his wits. Days pass, and after several failed attempts, he succeeds in freeing himself and heads for safety, shackles still attached. While trying to escape, Veiko witnesses the following through his rifle's telescope: Ivan, a captain in the Russian army accused of anti-Soviet correspondence, is being held prisoner by the Soviet Military secret police. En route to his court martial, Russian planes accidentally bomb the vehicle carrying the disgraced captain, killing the driver and his guard. Not far away is Anni (Anni-Kristiina Juuso), a Lapp reindeer farmer whose husband was drafted into the war by the Finnish authorities four years earlier, never to return. Hungry and alone, the young and resourceful widow locates the bodies of Ivan and his captors while foraging for food. As she begins to bury the dead, Anni discovers that Ivan is still alive, but seriously hurt. She carries him to her wooden hut and nurses him back to health. Meanwhile, Veiko, in search of tools to remove his shackles, stumbles upon Anni's farm. Thus World War II creates the unlikeliest of bonds (between three different people, from three different cultures, speaking three different languages.) Comic, and sometimes tragic, misunderstandings soon arise, resulting in a passionate, and very human, three-way relationship. Unable to communicate with the others and unaware that the war between the USSR and Finland is over, Ivan is convinced that Veiko is a German soldier gone astray; to Ivan, the German uniform the Finnish soldier was forced to wear is further proof. But Veiko is unaware of Ivan's hatred and just wants to cut off his shackles, return home and put the war behind him. Yet, to avoid falling into enemy hands, Veiko opts to stay on Anni's farm for temporary safety. The earthy and sensuous Anni, who has not been with a man in four years, could not be more delighted with her good fortune, language barrier be damned. For Anni, Veiko and Ivan are not enemies, but just men. An uncommon and touching bond develops, as the three unlikely souls begin a domestic routine of hunting and gathering in preparation for the long Lap winter. The two men do what they can to contribute to Anni's well being: Veiko builds a sauna and Ivan picks mushrooms... but their war is not over.
Sergei Selyanov, Anni-Christina Juuso, Ville Haapasalo, Viktor Bychkov, Aleksei Kashnikov, Mikhail Korobochkin
Drama War Comedy

Tuesday, December 2