• Werner Herzog – Stroszek [+commentary] (1977)

    1971-1980ArthouseDramaGermanyWerner Herzog

    Quote:
    In Berlin, an alcoholic man, recently released from prison, joins his elderly friend and a prostitute in a determined dream to leave Germany and seek a better life in Wisconsin.

    Quote:
    Who else but Werner Herzog would make a film about a retarded ex-prisoner, a little old man and a prostitute, who leave Germany to begin a new life in a house trailer in Wisconsin? Who else would shoot the film in the hometown of Ed Gein, the murderer who inspired “Psycho” (1960)? Who else would cast all the local roles with locals? Who else would end the movie with a policeman radioing, “We’ve got a truck on fire, can’t find the switch to turn the ski lift off, and can’t stop the dancing chicken. Send an electrician.”Read More »

  • Patrice Chéreau – Intimacy (2001)

    2001-2010DramaFrancePatrice Chéreau

    Quote:
    Jay, a failed musician, walked out of his family and now earns a living as head bartender in a trendy London pub. Every Wednesday afternoon a woman comes to his house for graphic, almost wordless, sex. One day Jay follows her and finds out about the rest of her life (and that her name is Claire). This eventually disrupts their relationship.Read More »

  • Michael Curtiz – Doctor X (1932)

    1931-1940ClassicsHorrorMichael CurtizUSA

    A monster lurks as New York newspaperman Lee Taylor investigates one of the “Moon Killer” murders, in which the victims are strangled, cannibalized and surgically incised under the light of the full moon. The trail leads to the cliffside mansion of Dr. Xavier, where the doctor and his colleagues conduct a strange experiment.Read More »

  • Marco Bellocchio – Enrico IV (1984)

    1981-1990ItalyMarco BellocchioPolitics

    The story begins at a medieval dressing party. A man, dressed as the King Enrico IV, falls from his horse and hits his head. This causes him serious lesions and gets insane, believing he is really the KingRead More »

  • August Blom – Ekspeditricen AKA In the Prime of Life (1911)

    1911-1920August BlomDenmarkDramaScandinavian Silent CinemaSilent

    Yay! Another Danish silent melodrama. Actually, this is a particularly superior example. The Danish Film Institute’s website, from which this copy comes, descrbes it thusly:

    Quote:
    A wealthy young man, Edgar, sees a shopgirl, Ellen, and is immediately attracted to her. He buys her flowers. They meet next Sunday and, presumably, often thereafter. Three months later Ellen is pregnant. The couple decide to marry, and Edgar tells his mother. His father convinces him not to marry Ellen and sends him away to visit friends in the country. The daughter of the family he visits, Lily, gets him to write to Ellen when she finds out about her. Edgar’s fahter, however, has convinced Ellen’s former employer, to whom the letters have been sent, to turn them over to him. When Edgar gets no reply from Ellen, he secretly returns to the city. Read More »

  • Semsudin Radoncic – Zavjera (2020)

    2011-2020DocumentaryMontenegroSemsudin Radoncic

    On its way to joining NATO, the small nation of Montenegro got in the way of the great state of Russia. Moscow agents plan to stage a coup in Mediterranean country on the day of the parliamentary elections. The goal is to remove the pro-Western prime minister and install pro-Russian rule. But an insider, a “small man” with an awakened conscience, afraid the conspiracy will cost many lives, decides to change the course of history.Read More »

  • Jonas Kærup Hjort – Den Næstsidste AKA The Penultimate (2020)

    2011-2020ArthouseDenmarkDramaJonas Kærup Hjort

    A Kafkaesque tale of an insignificant Water Inspector who arrives at a giant remote building in order to register the residents’ water meters. Before he knows of it, he finds himself trapped inside the building facing an impenetrable maze of obstacles. In his attempt to escape, perception of reality, the rational, and the remnants of his human existence is turned upside down.Read More »

  • Melvin Frank – A Touch of Class (1973)

    1971-1980ComedyMelvin FrankRomanceUnited Kingdom

    IMDb wrote:
    Romantic comedy about a pair of clandestine lovers in a London-Spain tryst.

    WarnerBros wrote:
    They thought it would be a simple fling. Instead, they got flung. Being free and easy proves neither free nor easy for already-married Steve and divorced Vickie when they fall in love.Read More »

  • Jûzô Itami – Marusa no onna AKA A Taxing Woman (1987)

    1981-1990ComedyCrimeJapanJûzô Itami

    Synopsis:
    Ace tax investigator Ryoko Itakura (Nobuko Miyamoto) sets her sights on the mysterious and philandering Hideki Gondo (Tsutomu Yamazaki), a suspected millionaire who owns a thriving chain of seedy hourly hotels. For years, Gondo has succeeded at hiding the true extent of his assets from the Japanese authorities. As the government investigation progresses, Itakura and Gondo find themselves locked in a battle of wits — one further complicated by their growing affections for each other.Read More »

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