Disability Studies

"An early frost" by Aidan Quinn et al. A drama about the tragic effects of the fatal disease AIDS on an average American family.

"As good as it gets" by James L Brooks (Director) et al. Melvin Udall is an obsessive-compulsive novelist with Manhattan's meanest mouth. But when his gay neighbor Simon is hospitalized, Melvin is forced to babysit Simon's dog. And that unexpected act of kindness-- along with waitress Carol Connelly-- helps put Melvin back in the human race.

"Awakenings" by Steven Zaillian et al. Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams) is a shy research physician who uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease. The awakening of the first patient proves a rebirth for the doctor, too, as the patient reveals life's simple but sweet pleasures to the introverted doctor. Encouraged by Leonard's stunning recovery, Sayer administers the drug to other patients.

"The blues brothers" by Robert K Weiss et al. Jake and Elwood Blues, two hoodlum brothers searching for redemption, set out to locate and reenlist the members of their defunct rhythm and blues band in order to raise some honest money.

"Born on the 4th of July" by Jill Shalvis et al. These guys have it all--on the battlefield and in the bedroom... Friendly Fire by Jill Shalvis Permanently injured on a black-ops mission, Cord Madden is furious at the world. Then Lexi McGowen reappears in his life to nurse him back to health. Little does he guess that she's about to reveal a whole new world to him, one touch at a time.... The Prodigal by Rhonda Nelson When Rorie Beddingfield meets up with her first love, Chase Harrison, she realizes there's no better time to find out what she's been missing. And wow--she's been missing a lot! Still, she's thoroughly enjoying making up for lost time. But can she tame the battered heart of this wounded warrior...without losing hers? Packing Heat by Karen Foley Megan O'Connell's letters were the only thing that kept U.S. Marine sniper Matt Talbot sane while he was overseas. And now that he's home, he intends to get to know Megan much better. Too bad a lot of other people have the same idea. Only it's him they can't seem to get enough of....

"Children of a lesser god" by Hesper Anderson Love story about an idealistic special education teacher and a headstrong deaf student.

"De eso no se habla" ("I don’t want to talk about it") by Marcello Mastroianni A sophisticated world traveller retires to a small town and is drawn to a much younger woman. The smartest, most talented woman in town, she is in many ways a perfect match for him. But, because she is a dwarf, she has been sheltered by her overprotective mother from the realities of life.

"Dom durakov" ("House of fools") by Andrei Konchalovsky Psychiatric patients become entrenched in the Chechen War after the staff split to find them a safer hospital. Soldiers take over the asylum, and then, a young female patient falls in love with soldier, which leaves her boyfriend in a lurch.

"The Elephant Man" by David Lynch Based on the true story of John Merrick, whose deformities made him a kind of living curio in Victorian England.

"Falling angels" by Miranda Richardson A story of three sisters coming of age in a wildly dysfunctional family in the 1960s.

"Forrest Gump" by Robert Zemeckis et al. Through three turbulent decades, Forrest, a simple man with a low I.Q., rides a tide of events that whisks him from physical disability to football stardom, from Vietnam hero to shrimp tycoon, from White House honors to the arms of his one true love.

"Freaks" by Tod Browning et al. The side-show freaks have created their own unified community within the carnival. When the beautiful trapeze artist married one of the freaks for his money, and then plots to kill him, the enraged freaks defend their friend and take gruesome revenge on their betrayers, transforming the aerialist into the most hideous side-show attraction of all.

"The hunchback of Notre Dame" by William Dieterle In 15th century France, a hunchback who lives in the bell tower of Notre Dame Cathedral saves a gypsy girl from her persecutors.

"Leaving Las Vegas" by Mike Figgis The screenplay of an award-winning film featuring the stark romance between a man hell-bent on drinking himself to death and a tough-as-nails prostitute who plies her trade among the luxury hotels of Las Vegas. Together they find a haven of tenderness in a world governed by money and greed.

"The miracle worker" by William Gibson A dramatization of the story about the struggle of a Boston teacher, Annie Sullivan, to communicate with and teach the deaf, blind, and mute child, Helen Keller.

"Mask" by Martin Starger The true story of Rocky Dennis, a personable young man who has craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, a fatal disease which causes hideous facial disfigurement. Rocky is the son of biker Rusty and he is accepted without question by his mom's boyfriends and her cycle buddies, but treated with pity and disgust by much of the outside world. The local high school principal doesn't want to enroll Rocky, but Rusty fights for her son's rights. Rocky eventually falls in love with Diana, a blind girl who cannot see his deformity and is entranced by the boy's kindness and compassion.

"Passion fish" by Mary McDonnell et al. A handicapped ex-soap opera star and her nurse explore the murkier aspects of men, romance, and family in the Louisiana bayou.

"Philadelphia" by Ron Nyswaner et al. Story of two competing lawyers who join together to sue a prestigious Philadelphia law firm when the firm fires one of them because he has AIDS.

"One flew over the cuckoo's nest" by Saul Zaentz et al.

"Rain man" by Barry Morrow et al. A self-involved young man is shocked to discover that his millionaire father left most of his estate to an unknown beneficiary. The man tracks down said beneficiary, who turns out to be his brother and an autistic savant.

"Scent of a woman" by Al Pacino et al. Hoping to earn extra money, an innocent and reserved scholarship student at an exclusive prep school agrees to look after a blind, retired Lieutenant Colonel, who takes him off for a wild weekend in New York City.

"Xiang hun nü" ("Woman sesame oil maker") by China Century Entertainment (Firm) et al. Xiang is a capable and business-minded Chinese woman who runs a successful oil-making joint venture with the Japanese. But she is also unhappy and distressed with her drunken husband and mentally handicapped son. She is determined to change all this by keeping her own secret lover and buying a young wife for her son.

"X-Men" by Bryan Singer et al. A war is brewing between those with special powers ("mutants") and the rest of humanity -- and the only ones who can save the humans from certain destruction are a special group of mutants - the "X-Men." (Based on the comic series).

"The waterdance" by Eric Stoltz et al. A talented young writer is permanently paralyzed in a hiking accident and must graduate from a physical rehabilitation center in order to return to the "real" world.

"Whose life is it anyway?" by John Badham et al. Raises the question of a person's right to death with a story about a paralyzed automobile victim who wishes to be permitted to die rather than be kept alive by mechanical means while his doctor maintains it is his professional duty to maintain life.

"Wait until dark" by Terence Young et al. A photographer unwittingly smuggles a doll stuffed with heroin into New York City. His recently blinded wife, alone in their apartment, is first terrorized by hired crooks, and then by the psychopathic Roat, in search of the doll.

"A woman under the influence" by John Cassavetes et al. A drama detailing the emotional breakdown of a suburban housewife and how her family struggles to save her from herself.

"Village of the damned" by David Himmelstein One quiet afternoon, every living thing in the English village of Midwich falls into a deep sleep. Several months later, all of the women discover that they are pregnant. The resulting children all have the same blonde hair, are extremely intelligent, and are capable of controlling others with their mind.