Classics

  • Bill Hays – The Serpent Son [The Oresteia] (1979)

    1971-1980Bill HaysClassicsTVUnited Kingdom
    The Serpent Son [The Oresteia] (1979)
    The Serpent Son [The Oresteia] (1979)

    This trilogy was broadcast in three weekly instalments as Agamemnon, Grave Gifts (the production’s title for Choephoroi, the play also known as Libation Bearers) and Furies (the production’s title for Eumenides). The three plays went out at 9.25pm on BBC2 on Wednesday nights (95, 85, and 75 mins respectively). The trilogy was followed by a half-hour ‘sophisticated modern comedy’ in the style of the ancient satyr play which traditionally followed tragic trilogies: Raphael and McLeish’s Of Mycenae and Men—which follows the reunion of Helen (Diana Dors) and Menelaus (Freddie Jones) after the fall of Troy—was directed by Hugh David.Read More »

  • Kurt Früh – Dällebach Kari (1970)

    Kurt Früh1961-1970ClassicsDramaSwitzerland
    Dällebach Kari (1970)
    Dällebach Kari (1970)

    Probably Früh’s most unique work: an elliptical sort-of-biopic about Karl Tellenbach, a barber from Bern, who was known in the whole city for his strange, unhinged jokes. Also, a dark, desperate film about alcoholism and loneliness. In a way, DÄLLEBACH KARI sees an old master discovering modernism – indeed, today the film is thought of as an important part of the New Swiss Cinema. At the same time, the film might be seen as a reflection of Früh’s own personal and artistic struggles.Read More »

  • Albert Lamorisse – Le Ballon rouge AKA The Red Balloon (1956)

    1951-1960Albert LamorisseClassicsFantasyFrance
    Le Ballon rouge (1956)
    Le Ballon rouge (1956)

    PLOT: A red balloon with a mind of its own follows a little boy around the streets of Paris.Read More »

  • Herbert Wilcox – Lilacs in the Spring AKA Let’s Make Up (1954)

    Herbert Wilcox1951-1960ClassicsFantasyUSA
    Lilacs in the Spring (1954)
    Lilacs in the Spring (1954)

    Plot Summary:
    A young entertainer, Carole Beaumont (Anna Neagle), is wooed by actor-producer Charles King (David Farrar) but, uncertain of her feelings, she resists his attentions. During an air raid, a bomb explosion rocks the cafe and Carole is knocked unconscious. In her confused state, fantasies flash through her mind, and she seems to become Nell Gwyn of Old Drury, with Charles King looking very much like King Charles. Recovering, she is advised by her doctor to take a rest in the country and, there,another beau, Albert Gutman (Peter Graves), prompts his grandmother, Lady Drayton (Helen Haye), to invite Carole to their family home at Windsor. Read More »

  • Robert Knights – Malcolm Bradbury’s The History Man (1980)

    Robert Knights1971-1980ClassicsTVUnited Kingdom
    Malcolm Bradbury's The History Man (1980)
    Malcolm Bradbury’s The History Man (1980)

    Quote:
    A thoroughly superb four-part comedy-drama series, The History Man is considered a pivotal literary and television work and one of the most fondly-remembered of all Malcolm Bradbury’s output.

    Bradbury had always prided himself on stories concerning, criticising and critiquing academic culture and the proliferation of “new” university campuses which were dotted across the United Kingdom at the time. The History Man featured one such “new” educational establishment, the University of Watermouth, as the platform for the tale of Barbara and Howard Kirk (Geraldine James and Anthony Sher), an exploration of their very modern marriage and considerably radical political views.Read More »

  • Jerry Lewis – The Patsy (1964)

    1961-1970ClassicsComedyJerry LewisUSA
    The Patsy (1964)
    The Patsy (1964)

    When a star comedian dies, rather than letting anyone know, his comedy writers decide to find and teach an unknown to fill his shoes for a big show the comedian had been scheduled for. But the man they choose – bellboy, Stanley Belt – can’t do anything right, and time’s running out.Read More »

  • John Boorman – I Dreamt I Woke Up (1991)

    1991-2000ClassicsDocumentaryIrelandJohn Boorman
    I Dreamt I Woke Up (1991)
    I Dreamt I Woke Up (1991)

    Another in the series The Director’s Place.

    Filmmaker John Boorman pulls an “8 1/2”-and a good one-in I Dreamt I Woke Up. In this rambling reflection on Boorman’s life and career, the director appears as himself, while John Hurt shows up as his alter ego. Boorman’s son Charley plays “The Green Man,” a far-from-veiled reference to his starring appearance in his dad’s The Emerald Forest. And Janet McTeer rounds out the cast as an “everywoman”, essaying all sorts of hallucinatory roles. Short (1944) and bittersweet, I Dreamt I Woke Up was filmed in County Wicklow, Ireland; it was first shown in the US at the Telluride Film Festival ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie GuideRead More »

  • Franco Zeffirelli – Hamlet (1990)

    1981-1990ClassicsDramaFranco ZeffirelliUSAWilliam Shakespeare
    Hamlet (1990)
    Hamlet (1990)

    Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, finds out that his uncle Claudius killed his father to obtain the throne, and plans revenge.Read More »

  • Kamal El Sheikh – Hayat ou maut (1955)

    1951-1960ClassicsEgyptKamal El-ShaikhThriller
    Hayat ou maut (1955)
    Hayat ou maut (1955)

    Life or Death (Arabic: Hayat ou maut‎) is a 1955 Egyptian film directed by Kamal El Sheikh. It was entered into the 1955 Cannes Film Festival.

    IMDB:
    A man with cardiac problems, had heart attack and sent his daughter to get the medicine from the drug store, however the pharmacist discovers that he sent the wrong medication, he cooperates with the police to stop a disaster.Read More »

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