True Drama: The River Niger /The Snows of Kilimanjaro [DVD]

THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO: In this 1952 blockbuster penned by famed novelist Ernest Hemingway, we find writer Harry Street (Gregory Peck) lying seriously injured from a safari accident. At an African camp at the base of majestic Mt Kilimanjaro, Helen (Susan Hayward), Harry's girlfriend, tends to his injuries as he suffers wracking waves of delirium. Harry swims in and out of consciousness, consumed with memories and regrets. In a series of flashbacks we witness Harry's relentless pursuit of wealth and fame, which ultimately caused him to lose the love of his life, Cynthia Greene (Ava Gardner), who has since passed away, leaving Harry to lament over her haunting memory. Now Harry is so caught up in the past, he is blind to the love and devotion of the woman who so tenderly cares for him. As the writer grapples with his misgivings, he is in danger of losing his will to live and thus, the opportunity to redeem his wasted life by letting go of regret and appreciating what he has: Helen. THE RIVER NIGER: An all-star cast peforms in this film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning off Broadway hit play. In this gripping, intimate look at the life in the ghetto, Johnny Williams (James Earl Jones) is a house painter that moonlights as a poet, struggling to financially and emotionally support his cancer-ridden wife Mattie (Cicely Tyson). But times are tough and the poverty-troubled streets are ven tougher, and it tkaes every ounce of Johnny's love and courage for the couple to make it through their strife, finding redemption in The River Niger.