Vautier, a wealthy surgeon in his fifties, falls in love with Hélène, a young woman from a modest background. He allows her to have a string of short-lived lovers – but when Jean Trapeau, an old boyfriend, resurfaces, things get complicated.Read More »
The Palace, a world-renowned hotel in St. Moritz, is preparing for the winter season under the guidance of its beautiful lady manager. In this hive buzz Staub, the old waiter, his daughter, the telephone operator, Fredy, the playboy kitchen porter who is very much in demand by lonely female customers, the chambermaids Speranza, Fredy’s fiancée, and Emilie, who lives with her young boy, the sommelier Loosli and many others who are all valiantly doing their work. All these people are upset one day when a robbery is discovered in room 126.Read More »
A 1989 British drama film adapted for the screen and directed by Kenneth Branagh, based on William Shakespeare’s play of the same name about Henry V of England. The film stars Branagh in the title role with Paul Scofield, Derek Jacobi, Ian Holm, Emma Thompson, Alec McCowen, Judi Dench, Robbie Coltrane, Brian Blessed, and Christian Bale in supporting roles.
The film received worldwide critical acclaim and has been widely considered one of the best Shakespeare film adaptations ever made. For her work on the film, Phyllis Dalton won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design and Kenneth Branagh, in his directorial debut, received Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Best Director.Read More »
Set in 19th Century New England, the story follows the whaling ship Pequod and its crew. Leading them is Captain Ahab, who was almost killed by the “great white whale,” Moby-Dick. Now he is out for revenge. With the crew that has joined him, Ahab is out to destroy the huge mammal, but soon he learns that his obsession with vengeance is so great that he cannot turn back, eventually leading to the death of him and all save his newest able seaman, Ishmael.Read More »
Synopsis:
One of the most admired Danish films of all time, Bjarne Henning-Jensen’s Ditte Menneskebarn is the story of a poor girl born out of wedlock (Jette Kehlet plays the child Ditte, then Tove Maës) whose mother (Karen Lykkehus) is an abusive adulterer who nearly kills her eldest daughter. Ditte grows up with her grandmother (wonderfully played by Karen Poulsen), but is ill equipped to later fend for herself as a maid on a large farm. Impregnated and abandoned by the weak-willed son of the house (Preben Neergaard), Ditte, just like her mother, will have to face the future as a social outcast. The original novel was by Martin Andersen Nexø (Pelle the Conqueror), a writer who used a very broad pencil indeed. The American reviewers (who saw the film in 1950 sans several scenes of a nude Maës) certainly thought so, dismissing the film as mere melodrama. Some of the performances are difficult to take for a modern audience, but, overall, the film still has the power to move.
— Hans J. Wollstein (allmovie.com)Read More »
“Çirkin Kral” is the film which gave Yılmaz Guney his legendary nickname, “the ugly king”. As a copy of cheap Hollywood action/thrillers “Çirkin Kral” imitates the clichés of the genre but also provides a local and Turkish tone too, thanks to Yılmaz Guney’s anti-hero character and his co-star, Tuncel Kurtiz. A classic and very rare movie from the unforgettable director of fantastic and thriller movies.Read More »
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Banned in Spain and denounced by the Vatican, Luis Buñuel’s irreverent vision of life as a beggar’s banquet is regarded by many as his masterpiece. In it, novice nun Viridiana does her utmost to maintain her Catholic principles, but her lecherous uncle and a motley assemblage of paupers force her to confront the limits of her idealism. Winner of the Palme d’or at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival, Viridiana is as audacious today as ever.Read More »
Two clubmen discuss the occult, introducing three weird tales: 1) Plain, bitter Henrietta secretly loves law student Michael. Then on Mardi Gras night, a mysterious stranger gives her a mask of beauty that she must return at midnight. 2) At a party, palmist Podgers makes uncannily accurate predictions, later telling skeptic Marshal Tyler that he will murder someone. The notion obsesses Tyler, with ironic consequences. 3) High wire artist Gaspar dreams of falling, then loses his nerve. He recognizes Joan from his dreams, and falls for her. Will any of his dreams, involving Joan and disaster, come true?Read More »
There’s no place like home:even with four children,the Uemura family is able to live
a modest but happy life in their cramped, rented flat. The parents support the two elder daughters’ artistic ambitions to the best of their ability, using all the means at their disposal to make it possible for Tomoko to paint and Nobuko to sing in a choir.
There is much rejoicing when the father is honoured for 25 years of service at his
company and awarded a cash prize to boot. Yet the family must make the painful discovery that joy and sorrow are often not far apart: not only does recognition as a painter continue to elude Tomoko, the Uemuras also learn that they will have to leave their home.
One of Tomoko’s paintings finally restores their lost happiness.Read More »