#17. Twelfth Night (1996)

Storyline: Brother and sister Viola and Sebastian, who are not only very close but look a great deal alike, are in a shipwreck, and both think the other dead. When she lands in a foreign country, Viola dresses as her brother and adopts the name Cesario, becoming a trusted friend and confidante to the Count Orsino. Orsino is madly in love with the lady Olivia, who is in mourning due to her brother's recent death, which she uses as an excuse to avoid seeing the count, whom she does not love. He sends Cesario to do his wooing, and Olivia falls in love with the disguised maiden. Things get more complicated in this bittersweet Shakespeare comedy when a moronic nobleman, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and a self-important servant, Malvolio, get caught up in the schemes of Olivia's uncle, the obese, alcoholic Sir Toby, who leads each to believe Olivia loves him. As well, Sebastian surfaces in the area, and of course there is Feste, the wise fool, around to keep everything in perspective and to marvel, like we the audience, at the amazing things happening all around.—Gary Dickerson <slug@mail.utexas.edu>

Plot Keywords: twin, brother, duke, lady, uncle, servant, charming ...

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#18. Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Storyline: After a beautiful princess, Aurora, is born in to royalty everyone gathers to exchange gifts. Everything is perfectly fine until an unwanted guest appears, Maleficent. Maleficent casts a spell on the young princess and announces that she will die by pricking her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel on the evening of her 16th birthday. Fortunately, one of the good fairies, Merryweather, changes the spell so Aurora will fall asleep, and that the only way to wake her from her sleep is true love's kiss. Finally the day comes.

Plot Keywords: princess, prince, fairy, villain, witch, dreamy, endearing ...

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#20. Colonel Wolodyjowski (1969)

Storyline: In 1668 the Ottoman Empire decides to attack and invade the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth which is one of the few major European powers to still stand in the destructive path of the Ottomans.Having recently retired to a monastery,Polish Colonel Michael Wolodyjowski is no longer in active duty.However,the Polish king,Jan Sobieski knows that Colonel Wolodyjowski is an able commander and sends for him,recalling him to active duty.Joining his old comrades in arms,including the English noble Ketling Hassling of Elgin, Colonel Wolodyjowski takes command of the Polish defenses on the Eastern Frontier.He prepares for the arrival of the invading Ottoman armies and Tatar Hordes and waits.The fate of Christian Europe lies in his hands.—nufs68

Plot Keywords: colonel, soldier, invader, orphan, love interest, monk, thrilling ...

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#22. The Black Pirate (1926)

Storyline: A nobleman vows to avenge the death of his father at the hands of pirates. To this end he infiltrates the pirate band. Acting in character he is instrumental in the capture of a ship, but things are complicated when he finds that there is a young woman on board whom he wishes to protect from the threat of rape.—David Chappell <David.Chappell@mail.trincoll.edu>

Plot Keywords: nobleman, princess, pirate, father, airy, engaging, gripping ...

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#23. The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)

Storyline: D'Artagnan and the musketeers are the only ones who know of the existence of a twin brother, and Fouquet uses his influence to keep everyone silenced. The main story was changed by portraying Louis XIV as selfish, cruel, and incompetent, and Philippe the kind-hearted brother who is raised by D'Artagnan and the musketeers and does not even know that he has an identical twin. When the truth is discovered, Louis XIV has Philippe imprisoned with the iron mask placed on him, hoping that Philippe's beard will grow inside the mask and eventually strangle him.—Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}

Plot Keywords: d'artagnan, princess, twin, rousing, thrilling, melodramatic, paris ...

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#24. Rembrandt (1936)

Storyline: This character study joins the painter at the height of his fame in 1642, when his adored wife suddenly dies and his work takes a dark, sardonic turn that offends his patrons. By 1656, he is bankrupt but consoles himself with the company of pretty maid Hendrickje, whom he's unable to marry. Their relationship brings ostracism but also some measure of happiness. The final scenes find him in his last year, 1669, physically enfeebled but his spirit undimmed.—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: housekeeper, maid, beggar, charming, engaging, tender, holland ...

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#25. Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Storyline: Will Shakespeare is a known but struggling poet, playwright and actor who not only has sold his next play to both Philip Henslow and Richard Burbidge but now faces a far more difficult problem: he is bereft of ideas and has yet to begin writing. He is in search of his muse, the woman who will inspire him but all attempts fail him until he meets the beautiful Viola de Lesseps. She loves the theatre and would like nothing more than to take to the stage but is forbidden from doing so as only men can be actors. She is also a great admirer of Shakespeare's works. Dressing as a man and going by the name of Thomas Kent, she auditions and is ideal for a part in his next play. Shakespeare soon sees through her disguise and they begin a love affair, one they know cannot end happily for them as he is already married and she has been promised to the dour Lord Wessex. As the company rehearses his new play, Will and Viola's love is transferred to the written page leading to the masterpiece that is ...

Plot Keywords: william shakespeare, love interest, actress, queen, amusing, inspiring, engaging ...

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#26. The Four Musketeers (1975)

Storyline: D'Artagnan has become a Musketeer. Protestants hold La Rochelle, and the Queen loves Buckingham, who'll soon send ships to support the rebels. Richelieu enlists Rochefort to kidnap Constance, the Queen's go-between and D'Artagnan's love. The Cardinal uses the wily, amoral Milady de Winter to distract D'Artagnan. But soon, she is D'Artagnan's sworn enemy, and she has an unfortunate history with Athos as well. Milady goes to England to dispatch Buckingham; the Musketeers fight the rebels. Milady, with Rochefort's help, then turns to her personal agenda. Can D'Artagnan save Constance, defeat Rochefort, slip de Winter's ire, and stay free of the Cardinal? All for one, one for all.—<jhailey@hotmail.com>

Plot Keywords: musketeer, queen, love interest, villain, townspeople, noblewoman, thrilling ...

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#27. The Iron Mask (1929)

Storyline: King Louis XIII of France is thrilled to have born to him a son - an heir to the throne. But when the queen delivers a twin, Cardinal Richelieu sees the second son as a potential for revolution, and has him sent off to Spain to be raised in secret to ensure a peaceful future for France. Alas, keeping the secret means sending Constance, lover of D'Artagnan, off to a convent. D'Artagnan hears of this and rallies the Musketeers in a bid to rescue her. Unfortunately, Richelieu out-smarts the Musketeers and banishes them forever. Richelieu enlists D'Artagnan to look after and protect the young prince. Meanwhile, de Rochefort learns of the twins and Richelieu's plans, and kidnaps the twin, raising him in secret. Many years later, with Richelieu dead and the young prince crowned King Louis XIV, Rochefort launches his plan. The king is kidnapped, replaced with his twin, put in an iron mask so as not to be recognized, and led off to a remote castle to be held prisoner. Louis XIV is able to alert D'Artagnan, who realizes that only his friends Athos, Porthos, and Aramis can help him, so he reunites the Musketeers to derail Rochefort's nefarious plot but at a heavy toll.—Theron Trowbridge <Tmonk@concentric.net>

Plot Keywords: musketeer, count, d'artagnan, king, twin, love interest, spirited ...

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#28. Don Juan (1926)

Storyline: If there was one thing that Don Juan de Marana learned from his father Don Jose, it was that women gave you three things - life, disillusionment and death. In his father's case it was his wife, Donna Isobel, and Donna Elvira who supplied the latter. Don Juan settled in Rome after attending the University of Pisa. Rome was run by the tyrannical Borgia family consisting of Caesar, Lucrezia and the Count Donati. Juan has his way with and was pursued by many women, but it is the one that he could not have that haunts him. It will be for her that he suffers the wrath of Borgia for ignoring Lucrezia and then killing Count Donati in a duel. For Adriana, they will both be condemned to death in the prison on the river Tigre.—Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>

Plot Keywords: playboy, girl, father, count, don juan, passionate, spirited ...

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#29. With Fire & Sword (1999)

Storyline: In 1648 a Cossack rebellion in the Ukraine threatens the sovereignty of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth over the Cossack nation. The Cossack rebellion also known as the Khmelnytsky Uprising is pitting the Cossack nation and its Crimean Tatar allies against the forces sent by the Polish king John II Casimir. Polish Colonel Michal Wolodyjowski is leading a squadron of Polish cavalry.Traitors,assassins and spies are everywhere. Against the backdrop of the uprising, a Polish knight Skrzetuski and a Cossack leader Bohun fall in love with the same young beautiful woman, Helena. Their rivalry becomes the symbol of Polish-Ukrainian struggle.—nufs68

Plot Keywords: soldier, love interest, fiancé, aunt, friend, brash, striking ...

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#30. Valmont (1989)

Storyline: Set in Baroque France, a scheming widow and her lover make a bet regarding the corruption of a recently married woman. The lover, Valmont, bets that he can seduce her, even though she is an honorable woman. If he wins, he can have his lover to do as he will. However, in the process of seducing the married woman, Valmont falls in love. Based on the same novel as "Dangerous Liaisons."

Plot Keywords: widow, lover, ruler, aristocrat, emotional, passionate, sultry ...

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