David Strathairn

Having been abandoned by her father and neglected by her overworked mother, young Meg turns to her English teacher for solace and inspiration. But the safety of what begins as a mentoring friendship turns increasingly complex and ambiguous in this powerful tale of sex and betrayal.

Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States, tells his personal stories about more than thirty years of fighting for social change, from teaching at Spelman College to recent protests against war. A former bombardier in World War II, Zinn emerged in the civil rights movement as a powerful voice for justice. Although he's a fierce critic, he gives us reason to hope that by learning from history and engaging politically, we can...

One of the most significant and far-reaching events in U. S. history, the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 sharpened and brought to a head a number of crucial questions concerning slavery, states' rights, the legal status of blacks, and the effects of the Dred Scott decision. The debates were held as part of the campaign for the Illinois senatorial seat, pitting the two-term incumbent, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, against the lesser-known Abraham Lincoln,...

A compilation of classic tales by great American writers performed by terrific actors, with a lineup including Pulitzer Prize winners, National Book Award winners, and PEN Award winners.

Sigourney Weaver stars as a school nurse who faces the scorn of her community after a friend's child suffers an accident on her property. With Julianne Moore and Chloe Sevigny.

In the tradition of American classics, Walkaway Joe is the story of an unlikely friendship between a young boy searching for his father, and a wandering loner hiding from his past. In each other they experience the power of a second chance, and a shot at redemption.

Even though Simon Birch is the smallest kid in town, deep down he knows that he was born to do something big! He's on a constant search to discover his destiny, but somehow manages to find nothing but trouble!

Oscar® winner Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs) and recent Oscar® nominee Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson) star in this taut courtroom thriller directed by Gregory Hoblit (Primal Fear) and written by Daniel Pyne (The Manchurian Candidate). Young district attorney Willy Beachum (Gosling) is a on his way to the top with only one last case standing in his way: a mysterious engineer (Hopkins) found innocent on a technicality of his wife's (Embeth...

James Franco delivers a career defining performance as poet Allen Ginsberg. Through his search for personal and creative expression, Ginsberg writes HOWL, and must contend with attorney Jake Ehrlich (Jon Hamm) during HOWL’S bizarre obscenity trial.

Jessica Lange and Halle Berry give performances of uncommon poignancy and depth. Lange plays an adoptive mother who gives an abandoned child a new chance at life. Berry, in a remarkable portrayal heralded as her dramatic breakthrough, is the birth mother who cleans up her life and sets out to reclaim the child. Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) portrays her firebrand attorney.