USA

  • Henry King – Carousel (1956)

    Henry King1951-1960ComedyFilm BlancMusicalUSA

    Billy Bigelow has been dead for fifteen years, and now outside the pearly gates, he long waived his right to go back to Earth for a day. But he has heard that there is a problem with his family, namely his wife Julie Bigelow née Jordan and the child he never met, that problem with which he would now like to head back to Earth to assist in rectifying. Before he is allowed back to Earth, he has to get the OK from the gatekeeper, to who he tells his story… Immediately attracted to each other, he and Julie met when he worked as a carousel barker. Both stated to the other that they did not believe in love or marriage, but they did get married. Because the shrewish carousel owner, Mrs. Mullin, was attracted to Billy herself, and since she believed he was only of use as a barker if he was single to attract the young women to the carousel, she fired him. With no other job skills and unwilling to take just any job, Billy did not provide for Julie but rather lived off Julie’s Aunt Nettie. But Billy figured he could be the breadwinner through his association with a criminal lowlife named Jigger Craigin, which led to his death. In going back to Earth, Billy not only hopes to help his child, but “tell” Julie of his true feeling for her.Read More »

  • Christina Hornisher – Hollywood 90028 AKA Insanity (1973)

    Christina Hornisher1971-1980ExploitationHorrorUSAWomen Make Horror

    Mark, a young photographer, travels to Hollywood hoping to make it as a cameraman in the movie business. Unfortunately, the only jobs he can find are shooting porn “loops” for a sleazy producer. Depressed and increasingly delusional, he begins to take out his frustrations on pretty young women he meets–by strangling them.Read More »

  • Stephen Soucy – Merchant Ivory (2023)

    2021-2030DocumentaryStephen SoucyUSA

    Follows the history of the Merchant Ivory partnership, featuring interviews with James Ivory and close collaborators detailing and celebrating their experiences of being a part of the company.Read More »

  • Martin Ritt – Cross Creek (1983)

    Martin Ritt1981-1990DramaRomanceUSA

    Quote:
    In the 1930s, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings moves to Florida’s backwaters to write in peace. She feels bothered by affectionate men, editor and confused neighbors, but soon she connects and writes The Yearling, a classic of American literature.Read More »

  • John Ford – Sergeant Rutledge (1960)

    John Ford1951-1960CrimeUSAWestern

    Respected Black cavalry Sergeant Brax Rutledge stands court-martial for raping and killing a white woman and murdering her father, his superior officer.Read More »

  • Roy William Neill – Black Angel (1946)

    Roy William Neill1941-1950DramaFilm NoirUSA

    Synopsis:
    A falsely convicted man’s wife, Catherine (June Vincent), and an alcoholic composer and pianist, Martin (Dan Duryea), team up in an attempt to clear her husband of the murder of a blonde singer, Mavis Marlowe (Constance Dowling), who had been Martin’s wife. Their investigation leads them to face-to-face confrontations with a determined policeman, Captain Flood (Broderick Crawford), and a shifty nightclub owner, Mr. Marko (Peter Lorre), who Catherine and Martin suspect may be the real killer.Read More »

  • John Guillermin – The Towering Inferno (1974)

    John Guillermin1971-1980ActionArchitectureDramaUSA

    Plot: Doug Roberts, Architect, returns from a long vacation to find work nearly completed on his skyscraper. He goes to the party that night concerned he’s found that his wiring specifications have not been followed and that the building continues to develop short circuits. When the fire begins, Michael O’Halleran is the chief on duty as a series of daring rescues punctuate the terror of a building too tall to have a fire successfully fought from the ground.Read More »

  • Joyce Chopra – Joyce at 34 (1972)

    Joyce Chopra1971-1980DocumentaryUSA

    The film’s documentation of being new to parenting is candid. It begins with the filmmaker talking of her debilitation as a pregnant woman. The pregnancy feels endless. She wants to return to work. After giving birth, Joyce attempts to regain her position as a working filmmaker while also caring for her new baby. The changes to both her and her husband’s professional lives are remarkable and frustrating. The new parents love the baby, Sarah, but must recognize the limitations she puts on their careers. Joyce tries to edit her latest project with the baby on her lap, Sarah grasping for the film stock; her husband, Tom Cole, a writer, attempts a meeting with his editor during the baby’s feeding time.Read More »

  • Ralph Steiner – Mechanical Principles (1931)

    Ralph Steiner1931-1940ExperimentalUSA

    Quote:
    “The film presents a deceptively ‘open’ series of images of gears and pistons that transfer movement from vertical to rotary directions. Musical in its repetitive visual form, it now seems akin to Charles Sheeler’s paintings and photographs of railroad locomotive gears and wheels, a tribute to the machine age.” – Robert A. HallerRead More »

Back to top button