Ditmas Park, Brooklyn. A young Orthodox woman, ROCHEL MESHENBERG, is about to begin her first year as a special education teacher at the local public school. She is also about to embark on what her father and mother call the “most exciting time of her life” – the process of finding a husband via the time-tested method of using a “shadchen,” or matchmaker.Read More »
USA
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Diane Crespo & Stefan C. Schaefer – Arranged (2007)
2001-2010ComedyDiane Crespo and Stefan C. SchaeferDramaUSA -
Ralph Murphy – The Notorious Sophie Lang (1934)
1931-1940CrimeDramaRalph MurphyUSAAfter an extended stay in England, Sophie Lang returns to America. She is beautiful, sophisticated–and a notorious jewel thief. A New York police detective who’s been trying to nail her finally comes up with what seems a foolproof scheme–to catch her off guard by having her fall for a handsome and suave jewel thief who happens to be in the U.S. traveling under an assumed nameRead More »
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Howard Hawks & Richard Rosson – Scarface (1932)
USA1931-1940ClassicsCrimeHoward HawksHoward Hawks and Richard RossonPlot Synopsis [AMG]
Completed in mid-1930, Scarface, based on Armitage Trail’s novel of the same name, might have been the first of the great talkie gangster flicks, but it was held up for release until after that honor was jointly usurped by Little Caesar and Public Enemy. Paul Muni stars as prohibition-era mobster Tony Camonte, a character obviously patterned on Al Capone (whose nickname was “Scarface”). The homicidal Camonte ruthlessly wrests control of the bootlegging racket from his boss, Johnny Lovo (Osgood Perkins), and claims Lovo’s mistress, Poppy (Karen Morley), in the bargain. But while Poppy satisfies him sexually, Tony has a soft spot in his heart only for his sister Cesca (Ann Dvorak). The film’s finale is one of the longest and bloodiest of the 1930s, maintaining suspense and concern for the characters involved even though Muni has deliberately done nothing to make Tony likeable to audience.Read More » -
Vincent Sherman – Goodbye, My Fancy (1951)
USA1951-1960ComedyRomanceVincent ShermanPlot: Congresswoman Agatha Reed returns to her alma mater for homecoming, although she’s more interested in renewing her romance with an old flame who’s now the college president. Their attempts at rekindling any sparks are thwarted by the arrival of another rival for her affections and the showing of her controversial film which could put her former beau’s job in jeopardy. Written by Daniel Bubbeo Read More »
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Delmer Daves – 3:10 to Yuma (1957)
USA1951-1960ClassicsDelmer DavesWesternSYNOPSIS:
Dan Evans is a farmer struggling to hold onto his land and livelihood during a severe drought. He finds a financial solution for himself and his family when he is offered a large sum of money to secretly escort Ben Wade, the captured leader of an outlaw gang, to a nearby town and place him on board a train that will carry him to trial in Yuma. The two men hole up in a hotel near the station where the smooth-talking Wade tries to mentally and emotionally manipulate his captor into letting him go. Meanwhile, Wade’s gang is fast approaching the town where a final showdown between Evans and the outlaws is imminent.Read More » -
Stanley Kramer – The Defiant Ones (1958)
1951-1960AdventureStanley KramerUSAJoker Jackson and Noah Cullen are two convicts on a chain gang who hate each other. After a truck prison accident, they flee and are pursued by the police. While they’re chained, the two are dependent on one another. When they eventually get rid of their chains, their hostility has been changed into fellowship and respect.Read More »
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Godfrey Reggio – Koyaanisqatsi (1983)
1981-1990ArchitectureDocumentaryGodfrey ReggioUSAIMDB Review:
Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi is a film with no actors, no storyline, and no dialogue. The only things we see during the experimental documentary’s 87 minutes are natural landscapes, images of cities, and real people going about their regular lives. Yet from the very beginning, when we see the title of the film appear in blood-red characters and hear the voice of a bass soloist chanting the title like an incantation, it is difficult not to be swept away in captivation.Read More » -
William Wyler – A House Divided (1931)
1931-1940DramaUSAWilliam WylerIn a small Pacific village, a widowed fisherman marries a girl young enough to be his daughter. Complications ensue when the new wife falls in love with her husband’s son.
Creaky but interesting melodrama powered by Walter Huston’s performance as a brute and a dynamite action ending. Although Wyler’s direction is not as sure as it would be later, it is interesting to note that, for the most accomplished studio director of all time, a man said to operate without a style of his own, a lot of images that show up in his later films (particularly WUTHERING HEIGHTS and THE LITTLE FOXES) also show up here.Read More »
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Arvid E. Gillstrom – The Hero (1917)
1911-1920Arvid E. GillstromComedySilentUSA
Plot: Another silent comedy with Billy aka Charley and very young Oliver Hardy. Rare movie!Read More »







