• Fritz Lang – You and Me (1938)

    Fritz Lang1931-1940CrimeDramaUSA

    Quote:
    An altruistic department-store owner hires ex-convicts in order to give them a second chance at life. Unfortunately, one of the convicts he hires recruits two of his fellow ex-convicts in a plan to rob the store.Read More »

  • Carlos Sorin – El Camino de San Diego AKA The Road of San Diego (2006)

    Carlos Sorin2001-2010ArgentinaComedyDrama

    A young Argentine learns that soccer star Diego Maradona is ailing in a Buenos Aires hospital, and resolves to bring him a tree root he’s discovered.Read More »

  • Vladimir Legoshin – Beleet parus odinokiy AKA The Lonely White Sail (1937)

    1931-1940ComedyDramaUSSRVladimir Legoshin

    Mentioned in Henri Langlois: Phantom of the Cinematheque:
    Throughout the Occupation, Langlois remained active and naturally kept on showing films in this theater, the Museum of Mankind Theater, at great risk. A week or two after war broke out, when Germany declared war on the USSR, he showed us there the film The Lonely White Sail, about the sailors’ revolt that Eisenstein had depicted in Battleship Potemkin. When it ended, the crowd was mute with admiration. And someone said (maybe it was me), ‘Now that screen stands for freedom!'” – Jean RouchRead More »

  • Mimmo Verdesca – Alida (2021)

    2021-2030DocumentaryItalyMimmo Verdesca

    Alida Valli is one of the most famous and beloved actresses of the 20th-century, a true legend, and a national treasure. Mimmo Verdesca tells her the extraordinary life through the words of her letters and diaries, read by Giovanna Mezzogiorno, and exclusive testimonies of eminent protagonists of Italian and international cinema and theatre.

    ‘Alida’ is a gem for many reasons: and the director proves his ability as a storyteller. He takes you on a fascinating journey that allows you to get to know the artist and the woman as well. And the latter is a captivating discovery.Read More »

  • Delmer Daves – Pride of the Marines (1945)

    Delmer Daves1941-1950DramaUSAWar

    Quote:
    Pride of the Marines is a stirring, powerful, hard-hitting World War II drama. Actually, it’s probably more accurate to say it’s a post-War drama, as the real meat of the picture concerns a wounded soldier’s return to civilian life. While Pride is undeniably patriotic, it also is not afraid to ask some serious, hard questions or to present war as less than a grand adventure. It really features only one battle sequence, which lasts some ten minutes; it’s an amazing, gripping sequence, but it doesn’t glorify battle as many similar films do. The men involved are fighting for their lives, and they react exactly as people really do react in such a situation. Similarly, the discussion about what life will be like when they return home dares to present the possibility that things will not be all roses, a rather bold suggestion for a 1945 film. Finally, the anguish, torment, and bitterness that the lead character experiences is striking and affecting. Read More »

  • Jesús Franco – Bahía blanca (1985)

    1981-1990CultJesus FrancoSpainThriller

    Bahia Blanca is an obscure but beautifully atmospheric thriller shot on the Spanish coast. Part crime, part character study, and all Franco… (MondoDigital)Read More »

  • Pupi Avati – Tutti defunti… tranne i morti (1977)

    Pupi Avati1971-1980ComedyGialloItaly

    Quote:
    A bizarre but heavy-handed giallo spoof whose overall effect is extremely uneven, it features a plethora of eccentric characters: inept detective, diminutive hero, a cross-eyed psycho and a dwarf (actually a man in drag!) for servants – plus a mad combo of relatives including a matriarch suffering from dementia, her cowboy of a second husband, her sex-crazed retard son who has to be frequently restrained via electro-shock therapy, another son who’s also a ‘little man’ (played by Bob Tonelli, one of the film’s own financiers!), etc. Both the hero and the detective overstate their masculinity – the former swaggers incessantly, while the latter is frequently caught with his pants down; the lovely and lively heroine is played by Francesca Marciano (an IMDb reviewer)Read More »

  • James W. Horne – The Shadow (1940)

    James W. Horne1931-1940AdventureCrimeUSA

    The Shadow battles a villain known as The Black Tiger, who has the power to make himself invisible and is trying to take over the world with his death ray.Read More »

  • Aleksandar Petrovic – Skupljaci perja AKA I Even Met Happy Gypsies (1967)

    Aleksandar Petrovic1961-1970ArthouseDramaYugoslavia

    Plain of Vojvodina, Serbia, where many Gypsies live. Married to a woman much older than him with whom he has already had many children, Bora is often absent. His job as a feather worker takes him from village to village. On the road, he falls in love with Tissa, a young, vagabond and wild Gypsy on the run. Her brutal and possessive father-in-law Mirta makes a wedding proposal to a young Gypsy, hoping to keep her close to him. But Tissa rejects her young husband and, unbeknownst to everyone, leaves with Bora in the mountains to get married by a monk. But very quickly, Tissa gets bored and runs away again, decided to join Belgrade…Read More »

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