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  • Raoul Walsh – The Naked and the Dead (1958)

    1951-1960Raoul WalshUSAWar
    The Naked and the Dead (1958)
    The Naked and the Dead (1958)

    Hal Erickson writes:
    Despite an ad campaign wherein RKO Radio congratulated itself for its “guts”, this long-delayed film version of Norman Mailer’s bestselling WW2 novel The Naked and the Dead still had to pull most of its punches (especially when it came to four-letter words). Aldo Ray heads the cast as sadistic sergeant Croft, who’d as soon kill one of his own men as he would the Japanese. Sensitive, moralistic Lieutenant Hearn (Cliff Robertson) tries to put a leash on Croft, but he’s ordered to keep out of the situation by psychotic General Cummings (Raymond Massey), who is convinced that soldiers will fight harder the more they hate their superiors.Read More »

  • E. Elias Merhige – Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

    1991-2000DramaE. Elias MerhigeHorrorUnited Kingdom
    Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
    Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

    F. W. Murnau (John Malkovich) is struggling to create his silent classic “Nosferatu” on location in Eastern Europe. The director is obsessed with making this the most authentic vampire movie ever. To that end, Murnau has employed a real vampire, Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe), explaining to the crew that he is the ultimate of that new breed, the “method actor” — trained by Stanislavsky himself. Schreck will appear only in character and only at night.Read More »

  • Douglas Sirk – Hitler’s Madman (1943)

    Douglas Sirk1941-1950DramaUSAWar
    Hitler's Madman (1943)
    Hitler’s Madman (1943)

    Synopsis:
    Somewhat fictionalized account of the destruction of the village of Lidice in Czechoslovakia and the events leading up to it. In 1942, the Allies parachuted a Czech resistance fighter into the area. He quickly reunites with his former girlfriend and many of the villagers who knew him from before the war. The Nazis are evil however and under the command of Reinhardt Heydrich rule the country with an iron fist, arbitrarily arresting innocents and charging them with fictitious crimes. When Heydrich is severely wounded in a roadside attack – he dies three days later – Henrich Himmler orders the destruction of Lidice. The men are herded into a church which is set aflame and the women are sent to concentration camps. The town itself is leveled.Read More »

  • Richard Fleischer – The Narrow Margin (1952)

    1951-1960250 Quintessential Film NoirsCrimeFilm NoirRichard FleischerUSA
    The Narrow Margin (1952)
    The Narrow Margin (1952)

    A Fortune If They Seal Her Lips!…A Bullet If They Fail!

    (Taken from IMDB) Plot-When a mobsters wife decides to testify against his evil deeds she goes undercover to avoid being killed. Now that he’s coming to trial she has to be escorted across country via train in order to testify. Cop Walter Brown and his partner are assigned the task, but the mob are on their trail.

    A great low budget film noir with one of the greats, Charles McGraw.Read More »

  • Herbert Wilcox – Lilacs in the Spring AKA Let’s Make Up (1954)

    Herbert Wilcox1951-1960ClassicsFantasyUSA
    Lilacs in the Spring (1954)
    Lilacs in the Spring (1954)

    Plot Summary:
    A young entertainer, Carole Beaumont (Anna Neagle), is wooed by actor-producer Charles King (David Farrar) but, uncertain of her feelings, she resists his attentions. During an air raid, a bomb explosion rocks the cafe and Carole is knocked unconscious. In her confused state, fantasies flash through her mind, and she seems to become Nell Gwyn of Old Drury, with Charles King looking very much like King Charles. Recovering, she is advised by her doctor to take a rest in the country and, there,another beau, Albert Gutman (Peter Graves), prompts his grandmother, Lady Drayton (Helen Haye), to invite Carole to their family home at Windsor. Read More »

  • Elisabeth Kapnist – Orson Welles, autopsie d’une légende AKA Orson Welles: Shadows and Light (2015)

    2011-2020DocumentaryElisabeth KapnistFrance
    Orson Welles, autopsie d'une légende (2015)
    Orson Welles, autopsie d’une légende (2015)

    Giant of cinema, the embodiment of creation, Orson Welles is the man who reinvents the film language at 24-years old. Who is hidding behind this impressive figure? This movie is a journey towards the man behind the legend. It drags us into the labyrinth with multiple mirrors that Welles erases and recreates at the mercy of his imagination.Read More »

  • Joshua Pikovsky & Jordan Tetewsky – Hannah Ha Ha (2022)

    Joshua Pikovsky2021-2030DramaJordan TetewskyUSA
    Hannah Ha Ha (2022)
    Hannah Ha Ha (2022)

    Hannah lives a content, hard-working life in the small town where she grew up. To her visiting older brother, she’s just wasting her time. As their Summer together winds down, Hannah gets what wasting time really means.Read More »

  • Robert Knights – Malcolm Bradbury’s The History Man (1980)

    Robert Knights1971-1980ClassicsTVUnited Kingdom
    Malcolm Bradbury's The History Man (1980)
    Malcolm Bradbury’s The History Man (1980)

    Quote:
    A thoroughly superb four-part comedy-drama series, The History Man is considered a pivotal literary and television work and one of the most fondly-remembered of all Malcolm Bradbury’s output.

    Bradbury had always prided himself on stories concerning, criticising and critiquing academic culture and the proliferation of “new” university campuses which were dotted across the United Kingdom at the time. The History Man featured one such “new” educational establishment, the University of Watermouth, as the platform for the tale of Barbara and Howard Kirk (Geraldine James and Anthony Sher), an exploration of their very modern marriage and considerably radical political views.Read More »

  • Avery Crounse – Eyes of Fire (1983)

    Avery Crounse1981-1990FantasyUSAWestern
    Eyes of Fire (1983)
    Eyes of Fire (1983)

    Quote:
    A preacher is accused of adultery, and he and his followers are chased out of town. They become stranded in an isolated forest, which is haunted by the spirits of long dead Native Americans.Read More »

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