Crime

  • Hugo del Carril – Más allá del olvido AKA Beyond Oblivion (1956)

    1951-1960ArgentinaCrimeDramaHugo del Carril

    Quote:
    Más allá del olvido (Beyond Oblivion) is one of the best films made in Argentina and the best Hugo del Carril directed. Based on the novel Bruges-la-Morte by Georges Rodenbach, this melodrama tells the story of Fernando (del Carril) that cannot get over the premature death of his beloved wife Blanca, so he decides to embark on an extended trip to Paris. There, he meets Monica (Laura Hidalgo), in every way an exact duplicate of his late wife, except that she’s a brazen woman of the streets. No matter; Fernando is soon hopelessly in love and intent on bringing her back home and making her into the woman she’s supposed to be; for her part, Monica imagines that she may have stumbled upon a very good deal.Read More »

  • Jerry Hopper – Naked Alibi (1954)

    USA1951-1960CrimeFilm NoirJerry Hopper

    Questioned as a murder suspect, solid (but drunk) citizen Al Willis attacks his police questioners, is beaten, and swears vengeance against them. Next night, Lieut. Parks is murdered; Willis is the only suspect in the eyes of tough Chief Conroy, who pursues him doggedly despite lack of evidence. The obsessed Conroy is dismissed from the force, but continues to harass Willis, who flees to a sleazy town on the Mexican border. Of course, Conroy follows. But which is crazy, Conroy or Willis? Written by Rod CrawfordRead More »

  • Barbet Schroeder – Tricheurs AKA Cheaters (1984) (HD)

    1981-1990Barbet SchroederCrimeFranceRomance

    Swaying between pleasure and despair, Elric throws himself into his pathological passion for the casino. Meeting Suzie could have saved him, but the young woman also sinks into gambling hell. The couple then start getting involved in the fearsome world of professional cheaters…Read More »

  • Yoshishige Yoshida – Nihon dasshutsu aka Escape from Japan (1964)

    1961-1970CrimeDramaJapanYoshishige Yoshida

    Quote:
    ‘Escape from Japan’ chronicles the misadventures of Tatsuo Ihara, a small-time criminal who dreams of seeking his fortune away from Japan. Timed to coincide with the Tokyo Olympiad and released on July 4, Escape From Japan can be safely assumed to have something to say about Japan’s place in the world and its relations with the U.S. in particular. It also proves less an imitation than a black-comic send-up of the sort of sordid crime stories that Seijun Suzuki and others specialized in.Read More »

  • Juliusz Machulski – Vabank II, czyli riposta AKA Point of No Return (1985)

    1981-1990ComedyCrimeJuliusz MachulskiPoland

    In this sequel to the hit comedy Vabank, Poland’s most popular screen actor (Jan Machulski) returns as legendary bandit Kwinto. When the suave thief’s long-time enemy Kramer escapes from prison to get even, Kwinto calls upon his old gang to meet the threat. Set in the 1930s, the sequel features Kwinto and the gang matching wits against everyone from crooked bank managers to Nazi border guards.Read More »

  • Juliusz Machulski – Vabank (1981)

    1981-1990ComedyCrimeJuliusz MachulskiPoland

    Set in Warsaw in 1930’s. After six years in jail, framed for bank robbery by an accomplice, the legendary Kwinto has only revenge on his mind. He is a safecracker in the old style, a thief with a sense of pride and loyalty. Upon leaving the jail he learns that his friend with whom he played in the jazz band has been murdered by the same guy – now a bank president – who sent him to prison. Kramer hopes to keep Kwinto’s mouth shut by paying him off, but at the same time he hires a paid gun to kill him. Meanwhile, some young, petty crooks hearing that Kwinto is free want to join forces with him for a job. Kwinto, employing a retired professional and two young admirers, pulls his last job to get even with Kramer…Read More »

  • Penelope Spheeris – The Boys Next Door (1985)

    Drama1981-1990CrimePenelope SpheerisUSA

    When Bo and Roy, 18-year-olds fresh from school and seemingly normal, decide to hit LA for one last fling before settling into factory jobs, neither they nor the audience are prepared for their sudden descent into committing a series of brutal, apparently motiveless murders. Whereas Spheeris’ The Wild Side was weakened by sentimentalising its disaffected punk heroes, her second feature presents a tougher and more balanced view of teen violence; while we’re allowed a glimmer of understanding into the murderers’ feelings, we never indulge them with misplaced sympathies: these boys are monsters.Read More »

  • Emilio Ghione – I topi grigi (1918) (HD)

    1911-1920CrimeEmilio GhioneItalySilent

    Quote:
    I topi grigi, an eight-part serial produced by Tiber Film in Rome, is part of the complex saga of Za la Mort, an apache and outlaw who was the protagonist of 12 films, four serials, three novels and various theatrical shows created between 1914 and 1930 by Emilio Ghione (1879-1930).
    Thanks to his alter ego Za, Ghione would eventually become a genuinely popular star. On one hand he incarnated the role of fearless hero and was the emblem of muscular masculinity. On the other he was also a natural performer in the role of a dandy in several melodramas set in the salons of the decadent, contemporary nobility – a setting reflecting the D’Annunzio-inspired atmosphere of the period.Read More »

  • Bertrand Blier – Buffet froid (1979)

    1971-1980Bertrand BlierComedyCrimeFrance

    Black comedy about solitude and dishumanization of the modern world, through the adventures of three men. First introduced is Alphonse Tram, an unemployed young man. His only neighbour is the police chief-inspector Morvandieu. Then a third man appears : he is Alphonse’s wife’s murderer… Bizarre and unreal.Read More »

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