• Luigi Zampa – Processo alla città aka The City Stands Trial (1952)

    1951-1960CrimeDramaItalyLuigi Zampa

    IMDB PLOT
    Turn-of-the-century Naples. Salvatore Ruotolo and his wife are murdered and their bodies are found in different locations. Since the evidence points to a crime by the Neapolitan crime organization, the Camorra, fear and corruption cause serious hindrances to the investigation by police authorities. In charge is a young and courageous judge who, using evidence discovered by chance, tries to reconstruct the story of the double murder. The plot that the judge must unravel is very complicated. Many people are questioned, even those apparently above suspicion. Deciding to get to the bottom of the matter, the judge keeps all the suspects under arrest, causing a backlash of public opinion.Read More »

  • Elia Kazan – Baby Doll (1956)

    Drama1951-1960ComedyElia KazanUSA

    Quote:
    A child bride holds her husband at bay while flirting with a sexy Italian farmer.

    When the film was released in 1956, it was enormously controversial for its extremely risqué subject matter. The Catholic Legion of Decency condemned the film for its “carnal suggestiveness”. Cardinal Francis J. Spellman condemned the film in a stunning attack from the pulpit of St. Patrick’s Cathedral two days before the film opened. He said that the film had been “responsibly judged to be evil in concept” and would “exert an immoral and corrupting influence on those who see it”. He exhorted all Catholics to refrain from patronizing the film “under pain of sin”. Cardinal Spellman’s condemnation of the film led to the Legion of Decency’s first-ever nationwide boycott of an American-made major studio film. All over the country, almost 20 million Catholics protested the film and picketed theaters that showed it. Read More »

  • Yôichi Takabayashi – Gaki zoshi AKA The Water Was So Clear (1973)

    1971-1980ArthouseDramaJapanYôichi Takabayashi

    Romance, rape, tension, repression and death: these are the quintessential themes explored in this dialogue-free Japanese black-and-white movie. A Buddhist priest rescues a homeless girl and brings her into his temple’s household. Soon she becomes an essential part of the place. One night she is raped by a young man who then becomes her lover. The priest happens on them one night as they make love before the temple shrine, and he becomes erotically obsessed.Read More »

  • Tetsutaro Murano – Oni no uta AKA Song of the Devil (1975)

    1971-1980DramaJapanTetsutaro Murano

    Synopsis
    Based in part on the life of the rakugo artist Beikyo Katsura the 2nd (1860-1904), Song of the Devil is a story about the pursuit for ultimate artistry. This film is based on the novel by Yoshikazu Fujimoto, a screenwriter-turned-novelist who was an apprentice to Yuzo Kawashima. The leading roles of Bakyo and Rokyu are performed by actual rakugo artists.

    Bakyo is a talented but unsuccessful rakugo artist. The very successful Rokyu wants to take Bakyo under his wings, but Bakyo refuses, claiming that Rokyu’s rakugo is compromised by the elements of kabuki. But Bakyo changes his mind and determines to learn (or steal) Rokyu’s craft and makes it his own.Read More »

  • Tonia Marketaki – Ioannis o viaios AKA John the Violent (1973)

    Drama1971-1980GreeceTonia Marketaki

    Plot synopsis
    At midnight, on a deserted Athenian street, a beautiful woman named Eleni Chalkia is fatally stabbed by a stranger, who immediately disappears into the shadows. The murderer is Ioannis Zachos (Manos Logiadis), a young man lacking in both mental and sexual stability, who lives out his erotic fantasies through purifying violence. He often fantasizes about killing beautiful women, in this way compensating for his deficient manhood and satisfying his passion for power. When he is arrested, he immediately confesses his crimes, which is a relief to the police, who have been accused of gross ineptitude by the press. During the trial that follows, the relentless question, “who is ultimately guilty? Man or society?” is again raised. Ioannis Zachos is not sentenced to time in prison because of his disturbed personality, but instead must spend the rest of his life in an institution for the criminally insane.Read More »

  • Bernardo Bertolucci – The Dreamers (2003)

    2001-2010ArthouseBernardo BertolucciDramaItalyThe Films of May '68

    Quote:
    Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Dreamers” is set in Paris in the spring of 1968, a tumultuous time of sexual experimentation and political revolt. The people have taken to the streets, but for attractive, enigmatic twins Isabelle and Theo and their American friend Matthew, the riotous events that will define their lives transpire inside–in the bath tub and on the hard kitchen floor, in bed and beneath the altar of a black and white pin-up of Marilyn Monroe tacked on to Theo’s bedroom wall.
    The story of three young cinephiles and sexual neophytes coming of age in Paris is captivating material. Based on the novel by Gilbert Adair, Bertolucci tells the story through the eyes of the outsider. Matthew (Michael Pitt), first meets the twins at the locked gates of the Cinematheque Français, where Isabelle (Eva Green) strikes the pose of a movie star while Bertolucci adds documentary footage of Jean-Pierre Léaud with a bull-horn and François Truffaut protesting the forced resignation of Henri Langois.Read More »

  • Spike Jonze – Beastie Boys Story (2020)

    2011-2020DocumentaryPerformanceSpike JonzeUSA

    Here’s a little story they’re about to tell… Mike Diamond and Adam Horovitz share the story of their band and 40 years of friendship in a live documentary experience directed by friend, collaborator, and their former grandfather, Spike Jonze.Read More »

  • José Rodriguez-Soltero – Dialogue with Che (1968)

    1961-1970DramaExperimentalJosé Rodriguez-SolteroUSA

    After Che Guevara’s execution, Experimental filmmaker José Rodríguez Soltero, parodies Hollywood portrayals of the revolutionary hero.

    In 1967, José Rodriguez Soltero made “Dialogue with Che” (1968), starring Venezuelan artist, actor, producer and dancer Rolando Peña as Che. Warhol superstar Taylor Mead is also featured, in the role of a CIA agent. “The film was partly underwritten by Andy Warhol, who gave a check to cover lab fees. “Dialogue…” was seldom shown in the States – it is entirely in Spanish – but had some life in the European screens.Read More »

  • Dino Risi – Teresa (1987)

    1981-1990ComedyDino RisiDramaItaly

    When Teresa’s husband dies she only inherits debts. In order to pay them she must assume her husband’s place as a truck driver.
    She will have to avoid the moves fellow male drivers make on her, for she is still a very attractive woman. While working, she begins a steamy love affair with an experienced driver that helped her with her new job. But the debts are too big and the truck owner demands her to marry him to settle them. Things will settle at the altar, but not in the expected way!Read More »

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