1970s

Synopsis:
In this 1976 character study by Czech director Frantisek Vlacil, a stout middle-aged physician whose marriage has come apart (Rudolf Hrusinsky) establishes a practice in a small town. Gradually he’s drawn into the lives of his patients—a childless couple, a pregnant girl with a stern mother, the son of a duck farmer—and each relationship reveals a bit more about him and the idyllic but insular community. Vlacil is hardly known for his light touch, but the film’s austere look and elegiac chamber music, at times Bressonian in their severity, convey the doctor’s quest for fulfillment and peace of mind. Hrusinsky, who was blacklisted in Czechoslovakia for his anticommunist stance, ennobles his role by underplaying it.Read More »

A portrait of small-town oppressiveness in the Philippines, made during the Marcos government’s imposition of martial law. Lino Brocka’s 1974 film tells of two social outcasts struggling to survive the hypocritical condemnation of their fellow villagers; the tone ranges from comedy to tragedy to documentary observation of village rituals.Read More »

When the young would-be artist Tino arrives in Venice to live at the house of his uncle while he studies art, he soon discovers that his Austrian/Venetian uncle’s house is packed with mystery — there are abandoned rooms from which strange sounds emanate. Eventually, he is told that his uncle’s insane brother is being kept in rooms on the top floor, and only Uncle Fabio (who is seldom home) is permitted to visit them. However, youth and curiosity impel him onward to even more discoveries.Read More »

Paolo and Vittorio Taviani first garnered critical attention with this adaptation of Gavino Ledda’s autobiography, winning both the Golden Palm and the Critics Prize at Cannes in 1977. Gavino’s father pulls him out of elementary school at the age of 6 to force him into the life of a Sardinian shepherd, often severely beating him. Yet Gavino’s illiteracy spurs him on to eventually earn a university degree on Sardinian dialects. And it’s his journey from the cruel, solitary, animal world of shepherding under the yoke of his tyrant Padre, to that of a writer and a linguist that forms the body of this tale. But more, it’s a showcase for the talents of the Taviani brothers, whose style keeps us distant from their subject, like a child watching an ant colony.Read More »

Without question one of the true classics of hardcore, Through the Looking Glass is yet another perfect example (like Café Flesh or even Thundercrack) of how porn can be used to craft and/or embellish a film so it works as erotica as well as a legitimate movie. Also released in a highly successful ‘R’ rated version, without the hardcore sex, “Glass” is a genuinely engaging and nightmarish supernatural/possession story with some superbly crafted sequences. The film is just alive with decadence and taboo, eroticism and depravity.

The effective music score, of harpsichord ditties and female harmonies, is co-credited to Harry Manfredini of all people, who would go on to do the classic Friday the 13th score. And this period sounding music works perfectly in highlighting the decadence of the movie…one of the most powerful and unusual hardcore films ever to be produced, and as such is nothing less but essential viewing for any fan of Exploitation, and extreme Underground cinema.” – Beardyfreak.comRead More »

Quote:
In his book Images, Ingmar Bergman has written: “All my films can be thought of in terms of black and white, except for Cries and Whispers. In the screenplay it says that red represents the interior of the soul. When I was a child, I imagined the soul to be a dragon, a shadow floating in the air like blue smoke – a huge winged creature, half bird, half fish. But inside the dragon, everything was red.”

Certainly, Cries and Whispers marks the most sophisticated use of color in Bergman’s long career. It was only in 1963 that he turned, somewhat reluctantly, to color for All These Women, and even after that he continued to opt for black and white in such critical films as Persona, Hour of the Wolf, and Shame. With Cries and Whispers, however, Bergman for once – by his own admission – wants the work to be regarded in chromatic terms.Read More »

SYNOPSIS:
Widely considered to be one of the greatest erotic films ever made, “The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann” is the first hard core film made by legendary director Radley Metzger, under the alias “Henry Paris”.

Made in the golden era of ‘porno chic’ and released in 1974, it was instantly acclaimed as a breakthrough achievement – its witty screenplay, stunning cinematography, and expert direction showing for the first time that an adult film really could approach the level of a mainstream Hollywood film. Set in 1970s Manhattan, the plot follows a private detective (Eric Edwards) employed by Mr. Mann (Alan Marlow) to investigate the sexual infidelities of his wife, Pamela (Barbara Bourbon). Supporting roles are played by the cream of New York adult film stars including Jamie Gillis, Georgina Spelvin, Marc Stevens, Sonny Landham and Darby Lloyd Raines.Read More »

Laura Gemser stars as Emanuelle in one of Joe D’Amato’s better ‘Black Emanuelle’ films, EMANUELLE: PERCHE’ VIOLENZA ALLE DONNE? aka THE DEGRADATION OF EMANUELLE. Released around the world cut to pieces this DVD is Uncut and Widescreen. Emanuelle travels the world once again on a crusading mission to report on the abuse and degradation of women at the hands of male-dominated organizations. At her first stop in India she meets up with George Eastman who plays a guru who has discovered the secret of prolonged sexual pleasure. While at the temple she also meets gorgeous Brigitte Petronio and it’s not too long before both are ‘enjoying’ each other’s company.Read More »

Here are some reviews:
from N.Y. times:
Although it is inspired by Old Testament law, “I Love You Rosa,” the Israeli-made nominee for an Oscar that arrived at the Little Carnegie yesterday, happily doesn’t exude the mustiness of a period piece. Despite a slow, measured pace and a soap opera note or two, this gentle but perceptive examination of a decidedly unusual affair that happens to be set in Jerusalem of the eighteen-eighties is as sentimental as genuine love and as up to date as the women’s liberation movement.

In dealing largely with an 11-year-old Jewish boy’s love for his young, widowed sister-in-law, Moshe Mizrahi, writer-director, sticks to his theme and avoids religious or distaff proseletyzing. He is a refreshingly professional craftsman who allows a viewer his own judgments.Read More »