• Bohdan Poreba – Droga na zachód AKA Road to the West (1961)

    1961-1970Bohdan PorebaDramaPolandWar

    Quote:
    During the last days of WWII, an old railroad worker and his assistant guide a train liaded with explosives to the Western front. The journey is a perilous trek through rough terrain, occupied by ruthless German soldiers, desparate deserters, and dangerous gangs seeking easy money.Read More »

  • Albertina Carri – La rabia AKA Anger (2008)

    2001-2010Albertina CarriArgentinaArthouseDrama

    Quote:
    Life in the Argentine pampas is nasty, brutish and short, judging by the intense, compelling drama “La Rabia.” Impressive if challenging-to-watch work by helmer Albertina Carri (“Los rubios,” “Geminis”) observes adultery, violence and animal slaughter largely through the eyes of two disturbed children, while use of jagged animation and luminous landscape shots transmutes the base material into something more sublime. “La Rabia” is certain to sweep through fests, but could have trouble finding distribution in some territories due to unfaked deaths of various animals which, per opening credits, “lived and died as they naturally would.”Read More »

  • Werner Herzog – Glocken aus der Tiefe AKA Bells from the Deep (1993)

    1991-2000ArthouseDocumentaryGermanyWerner Herzog

    Quote:
    Bells From The Deep is a fabulous look at the faith and superstitions of human beings living in Russia and Siberia. Herzog quietly observes his subjects and never appears obtrusive. The camera of Jorg Schmit-Reitwen (Heart of Glass, Kaspar Hauser) captures many incredible moments as Herzog and crew move from one subject to another with grace and wonder. Herzog never questions or dissects his subjects rituals or beliefs, rather observes and embraces them for all they are.Read More »

  • John Paddy Carstairs – Sleeping Car to Trieste (1948)

    1941-1950CrimeJohn Paddy CarstairsThrillerUnited Kingdom

    Synopsis:
    Espionage agents Valya (Jean Kent) and Zurta (Albert Lieven) break into an embassy in Paris to steal a diary filled with crucial political secrets. The spies pass the diary on to accomplice Karl (Bonar Colleano) — who then double crosses them, fleeing on the Orient Express to sell it abroad. The agents go after Karl to regain the diary, and a police inspector pursues the agents — while on the train, an unfaithful couple, a writer and a bird-watcher become unwitting participants in the drama.Read More »

  • Roy William Neill – The Scarlet Claw (1944)

    1941-1950CrimeMysteryRoy William NeillUSA

    Quote:
    When a gentlewoman is found dead with her throat torn out, the villagers blame a supernatural monster. But Sherlock Holmes, who gets drawn into the case from nearby Quebec, suspects a human murderer.Read More »

  • Alan Bridges – The Shooting Party (1985)

    1981-1990Alan BridgesDramaUnited Kingdom

    Quote:
    At last, the British film classic The Shooting Party receives the digital restoration that does justice to its sweeping vistas and heartbreaking snapshots of an era in its death throes. Set in 1913 England, on the brink of what would be the war to end all wars, the film focuses on an assortment of upper-crust acquaintances who gather for a weekend of hunting and society niceties (billiards, cards, draping oneself in jewels the evening after stomping around all day in the muck). Presiding over the festivities is a masterful James Mason as Sir Randolph Nettleby, a sort of benevolent dictator of his breathtaking estate, as his family and friends dip in and out of the action, adhering to the strict code of class conduct for all of their affairs–sport, self-advancement, illicit love.Read More »

  • Albert Boadella & Mercè Vilaret – La odisea (1976)

    1971-1980Albert BoadellaEpicMercè VilaretSpain

    A little-known Spanish take on Homer’s Odyssey.Read More »

  • Hun Jang – Ui-hyeong-je AKA Secret Reunion (2010)

    2001-2010ActionHun JangSouth KoreaThriller

    Synopsis:
    A North Korean killer known as “Shadow” is sent to assassinate an important dissident who found refuge in Seoul. He is helped by two sleeping agents: Son Tae-soon as look-out, and Song Ji-won, an elite fighter. The North Koreans have not counted with Lee Han-gyoo, from the South Korean National Intelligence Service, who has been tracking them and closes in with his men. Han-gyoo has not counted with the North Koreans’ skill and ruthlessness. True to his reputation, “Shadow” disappears. Ji-won manages to escape, but cannot return to his country, where he is suspected to be a traitor, nor defect, for this means certain death for his wife and daughter who remained in North Korea. Discredited, Han-gyoo is fired from the NIS. Several years later, Ji-won and Han-gyoo meet unexpectedly, and pick up their confrontation — but not quite from where they left it off.Read More »

  • Harry Lachman – Dead Men Tell (1941)

    1941-1950Harry LachmanMysteryThrillerUSA

    Just as elderly Miss Nodbury is ready to leave on a treasure hunt for a family fortune she is scared to death by the ghost of a pirate ancestor. Charlie Chan investigates the rest of the clan.

    A treasure map in four pieces, the ghost of a hanged pirate, a talking parrot, and a shipful of red herrings complicate Charlie’s search for a murderer on board a treasure cruise.Read More »

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