• Matthew Robbins – Dragonslayer (1981)

    1981-1990EpicFantasyMatthew RobbinsUSA

    A King has made a pact with a dragon where he sacrfices virgins to it, and the dragon leaves his kingdom alone. An old wizard, and his keen young apprentice volunteer to kill the dragon and attempt to save the next virgin in line, the King’s own daughter.Read More »

  • Georges Lautner – Les tontons flingueurs AKA Monsieur Gangster AKA Crooks In Clover (1963)

    1961-1970ComedyCrimeFranceGeorges Lautner

    In this action-packed slapstick comedy – a dying mob boss nicknamed “The Mexican” asks his old friend and ex-gangster, Fernand Naudin (Lino Ventura), to come out of retirement to take over the family businesses and protect his soon to be married daughter. The rival families take an exception to this and unleash their henchmen to take care of Naudin, but they get much more than they bargained for. After surviving their first onslaught, he declares war on the other families and their shady operations. The stellar cast includes Bernard Blier and Francis Blanche with great direction by Georges Lautner and writing by Michel Audiard. The writer, director and three leads reappeared the following year in the even more successful Spy vs. Spy comedy, The Great Spy Chase (Les Barbouzes).Read More »

  • Shûichi Okita – Kitsutsuki to ame AKA The Woodsman and the Rain (2011)

    2011-2020AsianComedyJapanShûichi Okita

    Synopsis:
    Rookie movie director Koichi and his crew travels to the mountain village of Yamamura to film his next movie. The villagers are eventually enlisted to help film the movie and, in particular, 60-year-old lumberjack Katsuhiko helps against his will.Read More »

  • Benoît Jacquot – Les adieux à la reine AKA Farewell, My Queen (2012)

    2011-2020Benoît JacquotDramaFrance

    Synopsis:
    In July 1789, the French Revolution is rumbling. Far from the turmoil, at the Château de Versailles, King Louis XVI, Queen Marie-Antoinette and their courtiers keep on living their usual carefree lives. But when the news of the storming of the Bastille reaches them, panic sets in and most of the aristocrats and their servants desert the sinking ship, leaving the Royal Family practically alone. Which is not the case of Sidonie Laborde, the Queen’s reader, a young woman, entirely devoted to her mistress; she will not give her up under any circumstances. What Sidonie does not know yet is that these are the last three days she will spend in the company of her beloved Queen…Read More »

  • Basil Dean – The Constant Nymph (1933)

    Drama1931-1940Basil DeanUnited Kingdom

    A married man leaves his wife for a teenage girl.

    The Constant Nymph is a 1933 British drama film directed by Basil Dean and Victoria Hopper, Brian Aherne and Leonora Corbett. It is an adaptation of the novel The Constant Nymph by Margaret Kennedy. Dean tried to persuade Novello to reprise his appearance from the 1928 silent version The Constant Nymph but was turned down and cast Aherne in the part instead.Read More »

  • Tony Gatlif – Transylvania (2006)

    2001-2010DramaFranceTony Gatlif

    Synopsis:
    Zingarina arrives in Transylavania, accompanied by her close friend Marie and her guide and interpreter Luminitsa. She is not there only to visit this region of Romania but to trace her lover Milan, a musician who has made her pregnant and who left her without a word of explanation. When she finds him back, he brutally rejects her and Zingarina is terribly upset. She leaves her two companions and having become a wreck she hardly survives by following a wandering little girl. Her destiny changes for the best when she meets Tchangalo, a traveling trader…Read More »

  • Martin Fric – Capkovy povidky AKA Capek’s Tales (1947)

    1941-1950ClassicsCrimeCzech RepublicMartin Fric

    Martin Fric composed several Karel Capek’s Tales in the form of story telling of train passengers. They include three tales from the book “Tales from One Pocket”: “Propuštěný” (Released), “Poslední soud” (The Last Judgment) and “Ukradený spis” (The Stolen Document); and two tales from the book “Tales from the Other Pocket”: “Balada o Juraji Čupovi” (Ballad about Juraj Cup) a “Případ s dítětem” (The Case of Baby).Read More »

  • Ferzan Ozpetek – Saturno contro AKA Saturn in Opposition (2007)

    2001-2010ComedyDramaFerzan ÖzpetekItalyQueer Cinema(s)

    The sympathetically drawn, unthreatening gay characters here are practically an advertisement for this hot political topic. Abroad, the film’s biggest selling point, as with “Steam: The Turkish Bath” and “Ignorant Fairies,” is its relaxed, modern approach to gay characters and lifestyle, unusual for an Italian film. The mix of straight and gay stories, though, should broaden its appeal to a slightly wider niche.Read More »

  • Claude Nuridsany & Marie Pérennou – Microcosmos: Le peuple de l’herbe AKA Microcosmos (1996)

    1991-2000Claude NuridsanyDocumentaryFranceMarie Pérennou

    Synopsis:
    “A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography…”

    Review:
    Children, being built nearer to the ground and having more time on their hands, are close observers of ants and spiders, caterpillars and butterflies. Adults tune them out; bugs are things you slap, swat, step on or spray. “Microcosmos” is an amazing film that allows us to peer deeply into the insect world and marvel at creatures we casually condemn to squishing. The makers of this film took three years to design their closeup cameras and magnifying lenses, and to photograph insects in such brilliant detail that if they were cars, we could read their city stickers.Read More »

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