• Bruce Conner – Ten Second Film (1965)

    USA1961-1970Bruce ConnerExperimental
    Ten Second Film (1965)
    Ten Second Film (1965)

    Quote:
    When Conner was commissioned to design the poster for the 1965 New York Film Festival he constructed TEN SECOND FILM, which he intended to act as its television commercial and to precede the film programs in the theater. It was a public ‘Leader’ in that it was composed, like the poster, of a series of ten strips of film (each 24 frames long) of count-down leader, seen as fundamental heraldry of motion picture exhibition. The leaders of the Festival, however, felt it was too risky to submit the public to this secret image of their heritage.” – Anthony ReveauxRead More »

  • Dominik Graf – Der Rote Kakadu aka The Red Cockatoo (2006)

    Dominik Graf2001-2010DramaGermanyRomance
    Der rote Kakadu (2006)
    Der rote Kakadu (2006)

    Quote:
    Rock ‘n’ roll comes to Germany just ahead of the Berlin Wall in “The Red Cockatoo.” Stylish period piece is weighed down by a too-familiar love triangle, generating nostalgia for a difficult time not nearly as successfully as clear predecessor “Good Bye Lenin!”

    Unlike helmer Wolfgang Becker’s “Good Bye Lenin!,” “Cockatoo” will work best for those with some knowledge of the early days of the German Democratic Republic and tension generated by the Wall throughout the country.Read More »

  • Sang-soo Im – Chunyudleui Jeonyuksiksah aka Girls Night Out (1998)

    Sang-soo Im1991-2000DramaSouth Korea
    Chunyudleui Jeonyuksiksah (1998)
    Chunyudleui Jeonyuksiksah (1998)

    Quote:
    “Girls’ Night Out” is the rather unfortunate translation of a title which couples the phonologically-similar terms for “Ladies'” and “Dinner Party”. It was written and directed by first-time director Lim Sang-Soo (not to be confused with Hong Sang-Soo, who directed The Power of Kangwon Province). The film, together with An Affair, opened at the Pusan Film Festival and had its general release during Chusok weekend in September (a major weekend for film releases).Read More »

  • Ingemo Engström & Gerhard Theuring – Fluchtweg nach Marseille AKA Escape Route to Marseilles (1977)

    Ingemo Engström1971-1980ArthouseDocumentaryGerhard TheuringGermany
    Fluchtweg nach Marseille (1977)
    Fluchtweg nach Marseille (1977)

    Documentary in two parts that blends dramatized reconstructions, personal reminisces and newsreel footage to tell the story of the flight of German refugees through occupied France to Marseille in 1940.

    Quote:
    Anna Segher’s novel Transit (1944) is the leitmotif of this film essay on German exiles in France and their escape to the South after Hitler marched into Paris. But Fluchtweg nach Marseille is neither adaptation nor documentary: actors recite and react to passages from the novel. Eyewitnesses speak. Documents from the Nazi era are contrasted with images of places and landscapes in which the settings of persecution and escape come back to haunt both the filmmakers and us. This is a search for evidence that interweaves facts, personal recollections, and both literary and visual reflections.
    -Anke HahnRead More »

  • Sam Green & Bill Siegel – The Weather Underground (2002)

    Sam Green2001-2010Bill SiegelDocumentaryPoliticsUSA
    The Weather Underground (2002)
    The Weather Underground (2002)

    Quote:
    In the late 1960s and early 1970s polarization of American political situation was becoming acute, with the Vietnam War abroad and civil rights at home being the most pressing issues. For the youth political movement, seemingly ineffectual methods of peaceful protest and resistance led to the rise of a faction that wanted a more extreme approach that the government could not ignore. One particular group, the Weather Underground, attempted to team up with the Black Panthers to violently confront the US government. They began with participation in street riots, and escalated their efforts to include the bombing of specific targets associated with the government or local power structures. Through archival footage and interviews of participants on both sides of this conflict, this film covers the Weather Underground’s campaign of violence through this period, the FBI’s strategies and tactics to apprehend them (including some deemed unethical or illegal), until changing times and disillusionment brought their activities to an end.Read More »

  • Andrey Chernykh – Avstriyskoe pole AKA Austrian Field (1991)

    1991-2000Andrey ChernykhArthouseDramaUSSR
    Avstriyskoe pole (1991)
    Avstriyskoe pole (1991)

    The action takes place in a strange world of human relationships and broken relationships. And, perhaps best of all it focuses a person who is blind from birth. The film – the story of his dramatic love of a beautiful young woman.Read More »

  • Edward Dmytryk – Obsession AKA The Hidden Room (1949)

    Edward Dmytryk1941-1950Film NoirUSA
    Obsession (1949)
    Obsession (1949)

    Plot Synopsis by Hal Erickson
    Blacklisted in Hollywood, director Edward Dmytryk managed to find work in England. Dmytryk’s Obsession is based on Alec Coppel’s suspense play A Man About a Dog. Ignoring such niceties as subtlety and restraint, Robert Newton stars as Dr. Clive Riordan, the insanely jealous husband of Storm Riordan (Sally Gray). Not content with merely murdering Storm’s American lover Bill Kronin (Phil Brown), Riordan chains up the poor fellow in a deserted building. His reasoning: should the police accuse Riordan of Kronin’s murder, the doctor can always produce the live victim, who is blindfolded and has no idea who his captor is. Once the investigation into the man’s disappearance has subsided, Riordan intends to kill his victim and dispose of the body in an acid bath (something like this actually did take place in London in the postwar years). But the doctor is unaware that his wife’s pet dog has also been locked up with the helpless Kronin. Obsession was released in the U.S. as The Hidden Room.Read More »

  • Josef von Sternberg & Arthur Rosson – Underworld (1927)

    Josef von Sternberg1921-1930Arthur RossonCrimeSilentUSA
    Underworld (1927)
    Underworld (1927)

    Boisterous gangster kingpin ‘Bull’ Weed rehabilitates the down-and-out ‘Rolls Royce’ Wensel, a former lawyer who has fallen into alcoholism. The two become confidants, with Rolls Royce’s intelligence aiding Weed’s schemes, but complications arise when Rolls Royce falls for Weed’s girlfriend ‘Feathers’ McCoy.

    Adding to Weed’s troubles are attempts by a rival gangster, ‘Buck’ Mulligan, to muscle in on his territory. Their antagonism climaxes with Weed killing Mulligan and he is imprisoned, awaiting a death sentence. Rolls Royce devises an escape plan, but he and Feathers face a dilemma, wondering if they should elope together and leave Bull Weed to his fate.Read More »

  • Ari Folman – The Congress AKA Kenes Ha-Atidanim (2013)

    Ari Folman2011-2020AnimationIsraelSci-Fi
    The Congress (2013)
    The Congress (2013)

    Quote:
    Robin Wright plays an aging actress with a reputation for being fickle and unreliable, so much so that nobody is willing to offer her any roles anymore. She agrees to sell the movie rights to her digital image to Miramount Studios in exchange for a hefty sum and the promise to never act again. After her body is digitally scanned, the studio will be able to make movies starring her using only computer-generated characters.Read More »

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