New to Rent By Mail for March 12 2024

BORSALINO (1970)

Two years before The Godfather and three years before The Sting, there was Borsalino, a wildly entertaining period-set gangster movie that brought together two icons of French cinema, Jean-Paul Belmondo (Breathless) and Alain Delon (Le Samourai).

Marseille, 1930: small-time gangster Roch Siffredi (Delon) is released from prison and finds his former girlfriend Lola (Catherine Rouvel, Picnic on the Grass) has moved on and is now with Francois Capella (Belmondo), another petty crook. Initially at odds, the two men form a partnership that will see them rise through the ranks of organised crime in Marseille. But how far will they go in their pursuit of power and what price will they be forced to pay? (BLU-RAY)

DO THE RIGHT THING (1989)

It's the hottest day of the summer. You can do nothing, you can do something, or you can...Do the Right Thing. Directed by visionary filmmaker and Academy Award winner Spike Lee, Do the Right Thing is one of the most thought-provoking and groundbreaking films of its time. The controversial story centers around one scorching inner-city day, when racial tensions reach the boiling point in a tough Brooklyn neighborhood. (BLU-RAY and 4K ULTRA HD)

CARLITO'S WAY (1993)

Academy Award winner Al Pacino reunites with his Scarface director Brian De Palma for this tough-minded thriller about a gangster looking for salvation down the mean streets of 1970s New York City. Gangster Carlito Brigante (Pacino) gets released early from prison thanks to the work of his lawyer, Kleinfeld (Sean Penn, Milk). Vowing to go straight, Carlito nonetheless finds dangers waiting for him in the outside world. As Carlito works toward redemption, Kleinfeld sinks into cocaine-fueled corruption. When Kleinfeld crosses the mob, Carlito gets caught in the crossfire and has to face a hard choice: remain loyal to the friend who freed him or protect a new life with the woman he loves (Penelope Ann Miller, The Relic). With enemies closing in from all sides, Carlito must find his way before it's too late. (BLU-RAY and 4K ULTRA HD)

DOOM GENERATION (1995)

Headed home after a wild night at a Los Angeles club, young lovers Jordan White (James Duval) and Amy Blue (Rose McGowan) pick up a dangerously handsome drifter named Xavier Red (Johnathon Schaech). Jordan doesn't see a problem with offering Xavier a quick ride, but his acid-tongued girlfriend thinks he's a creep. When Xavier inadvertently kills a convenience store clerk, they are forced to go on the run, traversing a bizarre and ultra-violent America. Somehow, every random thug, drive-thru operator, and neo-Nazi they encounter seem to recognize Amy as a past fling or alter ego, adding to the already explosive sexual tension brimming among the renegade trio. (BLU-RAY)

LA BAMBA (1987) (Criterion Collection)

The brief but incandescent life of rock-and-roll trailblazer Ritchie Valens is immortalized in this enthralling biopic from another Mexican American icon, Luis Valdez, the father of Chicano cinema. With sweetness and swagger, Lou Diamond Phillips embodies the 1950s California teenager who, forged by his fiercely supportive mother (Rosana DeSoto) and rebellious brother (Esai Morales), rises from his farm-working roots to chart-topping fame in the early days of rock—until one fateful night that haunts music history. Propelled by a hip-shaking soundtrack featuring Los Lobos and Carlos Santana, La Bamba captures the electric vitality of an artist who bridged cultures to create his own American dream. (BLU-RAY)