1971-1980

BACKGROUND
Sikkim is a 1971 Indian documentary about the nation of Sikkim, directed by Satyajit Ray. The documentary was commissioned by the Chogyal (King) of Sikkim at a time when he felt the sovereignty of Sikkim was under threat from both China and India. Ray’s documentary is about the sovereignty of Sikkim. The film was banned by the government of India, when Sikkim merged with India in 1975. In 2000, the copyright of the film was transferred to the Art and Culture Trust of Sikkim. The ban was finally lifted by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in September 2010. In November 2010 the director of the Kolkata film festival stated that upon filming the documentary for the first time, he received an injunction from the court of Sikkim again banning the film.Read More »

Wenders explained that the experience of directing this, his second film, was the usual one which occurs with a new director. It is much more difficult and much less successful. One of the biggest problems is that the interior shots were finished first (Normally exteriors are shot first). These were shot at a studio in Cologne. If you notice in the interior shots, the landscape outside the windows does not appear. The windows were covered with a variant of the rice paper you see in traditional Japanese homes. This was done because they did not know what the outside would look like. Care also had to be taken with not showing the environment outside the doors of interior shots. Read More »

Synopsis

Hirak Rajar Deshe is the second movie of the Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne series directed by Satyajit Ray. An unique aspect of the film is that most of the dialogues exchanged by the protagonists of the film are rhyming. Satyajit Ray was initially apprehensive whether this approach would be liked by people as it was a novel one but it was a great success.Read More »

The late filmmaker Leo Hurwitz created this documentary tribute to his deceased wife Peggy Lawson by mixing both actual footage of historical events, clips from his own films, and personal remembrances of her life. Lawson was a partner in Hurwitz’s cinematic endeavors and shared his commitment to political and social change. Hurwitz brings up images from the Great Depression, from the persecution of union organizers and laborers in the 1930s, through his blacklisting in the ’50s, and the demonstrations against the Vietnam War in the following decade. These years of turbulence are contrasted with scenes from nature, images of Lawson, and attempts to convey what she meant to him. These two aspects — private and public — are woven together to form the main theme of this very personal documentary, winner of an International Film Critics prize. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie GuideRead More »

In 1971, Motor Racing fan Roman Polanski spent a weekend with world champion driver
Jackie Stewart as he attempted to win the Monaco Grand Prix. Polanski was given intimate
access to Stewart’s world for three days, both on the track and off. The result is an
extraordinarily rare glimpse into the life of a gifted athlete at the height of his powers. Forty
years on, Polanski and Stewart meet once again. In a remarkable post-script, they discuss
the sport, both past and present, with a unique and unmatched perspective.Read More »

Synopsis:

Shyamalendu (Barun Chanda) is a successful executive at a fan company where he is expecting a promotion shortly. His life revolves around his work and socialising with colleagues along with his wife, Dolan (Paromita Chaudhuri). His sister-in-law, Tutul (Sharmila Tagore) comes to stay with them for a few days. She is given a tour of the life they lead – in restaurants, beauty parlours, clubs and race courses.Read More »

IMDB:
Each person makes a sex-related word on a scrabble board and then some of the participants enact it. Finally Marilyn Jess makes the word ‘partouze’ and there is an orgy.Read More »

Quote:
The Director of a large anonymous corporation (uncredited Duvall) asks surveillance expert Harry Caul (improbably pacamac-ed hero, Hackman) to record a young couple’s private conversation. The film opens with Caul and assistants (including John Cazale) endeavouring to capture the said exchange in a busy square with an assortment of concealed mics.Read More »

A Piece of Sky is a 1980 Soviet comedy film directed by Henrik Malyan, based on Vahan Totovents’s story “Light Blue Flowers”. It is a societal critique told through the love story between Torik, a shy outcast janitor, and Anjel, a prostitute.Read More »