SFU FYI: Free films (use responsibly)
Sean Trembath, The Peak
I have an insatiable appetite for movies. On average, I watch at least one a day. Unfortunately, I am also rather broke. There are times, particularly toward the end of a semester, where the cost of renting five to seven movies a week becomes a bit of an issue. It was during one such time that I was first directed by a friend toward the Media Collection in the W.A.C. Bennett Library.
The Media Collection is tucked away on the fifth floor, surrounded on three sides by the ocean of print that comprises the upper half of the library. Inside, it houses a pretty wide array of audio and visual media. On the visual side of the coin, there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 VHS tapes and closer to 100 DVDs available to be taken out for up to three days. This fluctuates based on how much of the collection is being used for classes during the semester.
The number of titles available gradually rises with each passing semester. Basically, any time a professor needs a particular CD or film for a class it gets added to the Media Collection. This method of collection has led to an unpredictable mix of titles.
The last time I visited the Media Collection, I picked up four DVDs. They should give you a taste of the variety to be found there.
First off was Easy Rider (1969), Dennis Hopper's classic counter-culture road movie. One would be hard pressed to find a better representation of the '60s culture of drugs, pseudo-politics, and rock and roll than Wyatt (Peter Fonda) and Billy's (Hopper) winding journey from Los Angeles to New Orleans.
Kurt & Courtney (1998) was very controversial when it was released, with many theatres refusing to show it at all. It's a documentary by British filmmaker Nick Broomfield, who went on to score another art-house hit with the film Biggie & Tupac (2002). Kurt & Courtney is an exploration of the circumstances surrounding the death of Kurt Cobain. It presents a convincing counterargument to the popular notion that Kurt committed suicide.
Broomfield's style is familiar to anyone who has seen a Michael Moore film. Although he relies less on cheap jokes than Moore, we see Broomfield as he ventures around interrogating people. He is a character within his own film, and part of the appeal of the documentary is the feeling one gets of being there alongside him as he makes various discoveries.
Bonnie and Clyde (1967) is considered by many to be one of the most important films of the '60s. It is a somewhat sensational depiction of the eponymous bankrobbing duo who terrorised the southern United States in the '30s. What is particularly interesting about the film is its use of violence in a much more realistic fashion than was customary during the time. The deaths in Bonnie and Clyde are not heroic, but ugly and painful. The film was nominated for 10 Oscars, and won two of them.
Deviating from the buddy film genre, I rounded off my selection with The Office: The Complete First Series (2001). The Office is a British comedy series that was first aired on BBC Two in 2001. If this is your type of show, you've probably already heard of it. It employs a type of humour that can be described no more clearly than "British." If this appeals to you, get your hands on this series as quickly as possible.
I am not trying to amaze you with my taste. My point is that although there is a somewhat limited number of films available, the selection is interesting enough to merit a look during that two-hour break you have between lecture and tutorial. There are classic Charlie Chaplin movies alongside Ginger Snaps 2, a Canadian werewolf movie set in a heroin rehab centre. Not in the mood for Renoir's classic The Rules of the Game? Go with the Mel Brooks farce Robin Hood: Men in Tights.
There is something there you will enjoy. I guarantee it. Oh yeah, and by the way, it's free. So long as you return them on time, that is.