• Charles Walters – Lili (1953)

    1951-1960Charles WaltersDramaMusicalUSA

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    Plot:
    Members of a circus troupe “adopt” Lili Daurier when she finds herself stranded in a strange town. The magician who first comes to her rescue already has romantic entanglements and thinks of her as a little girl. Who can she turn to but the puppets, singing to them her troubles, forgetting that there are puppeteers. A crowd gathers around Lili as she sings. The circus has a new act. She now has a job. Will she get her heart’s desire? Read More »

  • Joe D’Amato – Emanuelle In America (1977)

    1971-1980EroticaExploitationItalyJoe D'Amato

    Description: An American journalist travels throughout the world in search of a good story by joining a modern-day harem and traveling to Venice to see what really goes on at diplomatic parties. While trying to expose a corrupt government official, Emanuelle stumbles upon a group that uses kidnapped girls to make and sell snuff films. A brush with death leaves Emanuelle wondering if it is perhaps time to hang up her camera for goodRead More »

  • Seijun Suzuki – Tôkyô nagaremono AKA Tokyo Drifter (1966)

    1961-1970CrimeDramaJapanSeijun Suzuki

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    Quote:
    Tokyo Drifter stands with Branded to Kill as one of the best-known and most acclaimed films of Seijun Suzuki, one of Japan’s most talented maverick directors. A colorful riot of an action drama, Tokyo Drifter, like many of Suzuki’s films, transforms a standard gangster film plot into a vehicle for his own loopy brand of filmmaking, featuring gorgeous cinematography, unconventional storytelling techniques, and a dark sense of humor. This particular example centers on Tetsu, a yakuza member who, when his gang is disbanded, remains loyal to his boss and attempts to go straight. This is no easy task, however, as the yakuza are determined to get him back into the life — or kill him if he refuses. The pressure soon forces Tetsu to go on the road, becoming the “Tokyo drifter” of the title, but even this is not enough to prevent his past from violently catching up with him. The film’s choreographed action and vibrant color palette make the frequent action sequences, including one of the most raucous barroom brawls ever put on film, seem almost like musical numbers, resulting in a spectacularly entertaining and truly original take on the gangster drama.Read More »

  • Maroun Bagdadi – Les petites guerres AKA Little Wars (1982)

    1981-1990DramaLebanonMaroun BagdadiWar

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    Lebanon, 1975. How Talal, an affluent young man becomes a warlord; how Soraya, the girl he leaves behind, tries to help him in abducting a businessman; how Nabil, a press photographer deals drugs under the cover of the civil war and poses as the hero he aspires to be but is not at all…Read More »

  • Pierre Coulibeuf – Les guerriers de la beauté (2003)

    2001-2010ArthouseFrancePerformancePierre Coulibeuf

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    This film sprang from an encounter between French film-maker Pierre Coulibeuf and Flemish choreographer Jan Fabre. The choreographer re-created his own world and offered Coulibeuf a phantasmagoria based on his theatrical and choreographic inventions. The resulting film is a labyrinth with multiple entrances, where an unlikely Ariane in wedding gown guides and misleads the viewer in a strange world marked by metamorphosis, multiple personalities, conflicting drives, parody, ritual, surreality…Read More »

  • Helke Sander – Dazlak – Skinhead (1997)

    1991-2000ArthouseDramaGermanyHelke Sander

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    road movie in which a racist skinhead is stuck in a car with a  black guy
    by german feminist film maker Helke Sander

    “Schwarz, weiß, doof!” – Mit diesem Spruch sagt die vorlaute Göre Jenny, was sie von ihren beiden ungewollten Mitreisenden hält. Einer davon ist der Skinhead “Dazlak”. Jenny las ihn vom Strassengraben auf, nachdem er sein Auto gegen einen Baum gesetzt hatte. zum “Dank” kotzt die Glatze den Rolls Royce ihres Chefs voll und demoliert die Scheinwerfer. Ein übler Zeitgenosse, jedenfalls auf den ersten Blick und für Leute, die sich selbst für “etwas Besseres” halten.
    Unterwegs verstaut Jenny noch den farbigen Anhalter Kola auf dem Rücksitz, der sich in seiner Haut nicht gerade wohl fühlt neben dem vermeintlichen “Ausländerhasser”.
    Genügend Sprengstoff also für eine turbulente Reise, die 24 Stunden später für Überraschungen sorgt und so manches Missverständnis korrigiert…Read More »

  • Ingmar Bergman – Scener ur ett äktenskap AKA Scenes from a Marriage [TV Version] (1973)

    1971-1980ArthouseIngmar BergmanSwedenTV

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    Marianne (Liv Ullmann) and Johan (Erland Josephson) always seemed like the perfect couple. But when Johan suddenly leaves Marianne for another woman, they are forced to confront the disintegration of their marriage. Shot in intense, intimate close-ups by master cinematographer Sven Nykvist, the film chronicles ten years of turmoil and love that bind the couple despite their divorce and subsequent marriages. Flawless acting and dialogue portray the brutal pain and uplifting peace that accompany a lifetime of loving. Originally conceived as a six-part miniseries for Swedish television, The Criterion Collection is proud to present not only the U.S. theatrical version, but also, for the first time on video in the U.S., Ingmar Bergman’s original 5-hour television version of Scenes From a Marriage.Read More »

  • Robert Ellis Miller – The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968)

    1961-1970DramaRobert Ellis MillerUSA

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    When deaf mute Singer moves to a small city to be near his only friend confined in a hospital, he grows attached to his landlady’s sensitive 16-year-old daughter.Read More »

  • Grigori Kozintsev – Gamlet AKA Hamlet [+extras] (1964)

    1961-1970ArthouseDramaGrigori KozintsevUSSRWilliam Shakespeare

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    Synopsis:

    A screen adaptation of William Shakespeare’s tragedy.
    The somber Elsinore Castle that keeps secrets of many a crime is looming over the rocky coastline. Prince Hamlet once again puts the question: “To be, or not to be?” He is the first thinker in the line of warriors, a poet and a philosopher, a character so close to future generations. In the utterly corrupted kingdom, a lone hero is bound to take up arms to avenge his father’s death. This film became a champion among Lenfilm Studio’s prize-winning motion pictures – 23 awards in four years. The musical score was written by the great Russian composer Dmitry Shostakovich.Read More »

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