• Jim Sharman – The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

    Jim Sharman1971-1980HorrorMusicalQueer Cinema(s)USA
    The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

    Quote:
    The shining textbook example of a film so bad it’s good, writer/director Jim Sharman’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show owns an absolutely unique place in film history, loosely considered the longest-running film of all time. This bawdy and cut-rate Frankenstein story became the definition of “cult classic” when theaters worldwide began offering midnight screenings (a tradition that continues today), attracting legions of decked-out fans to shout lines and throw rice at the screen, often while live performers acted out the plot. The film was quickly enveloped in kitsch, and since has become a well-known phenomenon frequently re-created on-stage, partly on the strength of such gonzo (and overtly sexual) musical numbers as “The Time Warp” and “Sweet Transvestite.”Read More »

  • Mauro Bolognini – La viaccia AKA The Lovemakers (1961)

    Mauro Bolognini1961-1970DramaItaly
    La viaccia (1961)
    La viaccia (1961)

    The original Italian is La Viaccia (the name of the family farm which motivates the plot). The death of a wealthy patriarch in 1885 sets off an interfamily power struggle. Son Ferdinando buys out his other relatives in order to gain full control over the dead man’s property. But Ferdinando’s country-bumpkin nephew Amerigo holds out. Amerigo’s stance is weakened when he heads for the city and meets prostitute Bianca. To support her in the manner in which she is accustomed, Amerigo steals from his uncle. Disgraced in the eyes of his family, Amerigo decides to stay near his beloved Bianca by becoming a bouncer in her brothel.Read More »

  • Piero Messina – L’attesa AKA The Wait (2015)

    Piero Messina2011-2020DramaItaly
    L'attesa (2015)
    L’attesa (2015)

    A mother unexpectedly meets her son’s fiancée at a villa in Sicily and gets to know her as she waits for her son to arrive.Read More »

  • George Manupelli – Cry Dr. Chicago (1971)

    1971-1980CultExperimentalGeorge ManupelliUSA
    Cry Dr. Chicago (1971)
    Cry Dr. Chicago (1971)

    The Chicago films do not use actors. Instead, the main characters are played by major avant garde talents from other creative fields. Dr. Chicago is played by renowned composer Alvin Lucier whose stream-of-consciousness soliloquies in the films are punctuated by his ferocious stutter. Painter and performance artist Mary Ashley, a primary member of the legendary ONCE Group, smolders throughout as Chicago’s girlfriend, Sheila Marie.Read More »

  • Ishmael Bernal – Relasyon (1982)

    Ishmael Bernal1981-1990DramaPhilippines
    Relasyon (1982)
    Relasyon (1982)

    Quote:
    In a time when the concept of divorce does not exist, much less imagined possible, we find Marilou (Vilma Santos), a planetarium guide who decides to pursue an affair with Emil (Christopher De Leon), a college teacher separated from his wife. They seem perfect for each other and soon decide to move in together.

    Their once happy affair turns sour as Marilou slowly discovers the real Emil – a chauvinistic, domineering, and emotionally abusive man who dictates everything to her: from how she should act and manage her life to the most inconsequential details of running their house. They soon find themselves in an on-again, off-again relationship, with Marilou going as far as laying a let’s-meet-only-three-times-a- week rule to protect herself.Read More »

  • Arturo Castro Godoy – Aire (2018)

    2011-2020ArgentinaArturo Castro GodoyDrama
    Aire (2018)
    Aire (2018)

    Lucia is a single parent to a child with Asperger’s. She has a minimum wage job and a very difficult relationship with her mother, but she thinks she can deal with everything on her own. On that day she receives an urgent call form the school: her son hit his head and she needs to pick him up. She anxiously makes her way to the school but when she gets there they tell her that he’s been moved to the hospital. With this development her barely put together life shatters into a thousand pieces. Without being able to calm down and control her asthma attack Lucia must cross the city in her quest to find Mateo. But she will only be able find him if she surrenders control and lets goRead More »

  • Emir Kusturica – Otac na sluzbenom putu AKA When Father Was Away on Business (1985)

    Emir Kusturica1981-1990DramaYugoslavia
    Otac na sluzbenom putu (1985)
    Otac na sluzbenom putu (1985)

    Tito’s break-up with Stalin in 1948 marked the beginning of not only confusing, but also very dangerous years for many hard-core Yugoslav communists. A careless remark about the newspaper cartoon is enough for Mesha to join many arrested unfortunates. His family is now forced to cope with the situation and wait for his release from prison. The story is told from the perspective of Malik, his young son who believes the mother’s story about father being “away on business”.Read More »

  • Arne Mattsson – Ljuvlig är sommarnatten (1961)

    Arne Mattsson1961-1970CrimeMysteryNordic NoirSweden
    Ljuvlig är sommarnatten (1961)
    Ljuvlig är sommarnatten (1961)

    A young woman just about to be married disappears somewhere between the hair salon and the church.
    The sleepy summer town is all abuzz with the news – the whats, the whys and the whoms.
    A visiting police detective is put in charge of the investigation.

    Soon the truth starts creeping out from the murky corners of countryside town life.Read More »

  • Kazuaki Kiriya – Goemon (2009)

    Kazuaki Kiriya2001-2010ActionAsianJapan
    Goemon (2009)
    Goemon (2009)

    Based on a Japanese folk legend that echoes the tale of Robin Hood, this ninja thriller follows the exploits of Goemon Ishikawa (Yôsuke Eguchi), who leaves his fighting clan after its chief…Read More »

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