Drama

  • Luis Buñuel – Susana aka The Devil and the Flesh (1951)

    1951-1960DramaLuis BuñuelMexico

    Susana (Susana, demonio y carne or The Devil and the Flesh) is a 1951 film directed by Luis Buñuel. It is the story of a girl of questionable mental stability who escapes from incarceration and ends up at a plantation where she disrupts a working family’s daily routines and chemistry.Read More »

  • Yasuzô Masumura – Kono ko no nanatsu no oiwai ni AKA For My Daughter’s 7th Birthday (1982)

    1981-1990AsianDramaJapanYasuzô Masumura

    The film is Yasuzo Masumura’s last feature film, based on Mio Saito’s novel which wons him a Seishi Yokomizo Award, shot by Setsuo Kobayashi, principle cinematographers of such Kon Ichikawa & Yasuzo Masumura classics as Fires on the Plain, An Actor’s Revenge, Being Two Isn’t Easy, Ten Dark Women, A Wife Confesses, Red Angel, Blind Beast, Manji, Black Express… (Indeed I think he’s responsible for the look (for example, the tight framing & deep focus) of these films). The film also boasts a fabulous cast, including Tetsuro Tamba, who seems uncredited.Read More »

  • Robert Rossen – All the King’s Men (1949) (HD)

    1941-1950DramaFilm NoirRobert RossenUSA

    The rise and fall of a corrupt politician, who makes his friends richer and retains power by dint of a populist appeal.Read More »

  • Steven Schachter – The Water Engine (1992)

    1991-2000DramaSteven SchachterUSA

    Plot summary:
    Key themes that provide an important backdrop for the film are the Great Depression, a sense of political and social unrest with the related issue of the powerful vs. the weak, and a sense that the country is entering an age of science that will bring great wonders to all. Lang (Macy), a drill press operator in a huge, ominous factory, cares for his blind sister (LuPone) and the two of them dream of a way to a better life with his water engine. The film is about hopes and dreams against the reality of the Depression and powerful forces.Read More »

  • Henri Decoin – Battement de coeur AKA Beating Heart (1940) (HD)

    1931-1940ComedyDramaFranceHenri Decoin

    Director Henri Decoin and actress Danielle Darrieux made many fine films together (Le Domino vert, Abus de confiance, La Vérité sur Bébé Donge), but few are as charming and funny as the romantic comedy Battement de coeur. Thanks to its prestigious cast, witty dialogue and abundance of comic situations, this fifth Decoin-Darrieux offering is a delight. It was also the last film they made together before their divorce the following year, although they remained friends afterwards and worked together on four subsequent films.Read More »

  • Valerio Zurlini – Estate violenta aka Violent Summer (1959) (HD)

    1951-1960DramaItalyValerio Zurlini

    At the height of World War II in fascist Italy, spoiled young Carlo Caremoli enjoys a beach vacation with his friends, oblivious to world events due to the protection provided by his father, Ettore. When Carlo meets older widow and mother Roberta Parmesan, he is smitten despite her reluctance to get involved. Carlo persists, and just as he and Roberta find happiness, the brutal reality of the war crashes in upon them.Read More »

  • Michael Schultz – Cooley High (1975)

    1971-1980ComedyDramaMichael SchultzUSA

    Quote:
    Set in the 1960s, Cooley High is a slice-of-life tale of high school students coping with the challenges of every day life growing up in the Chicago housing projects. “Preach” (Glynn Turman) and “Cochise” (Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs) are two black high school students, and best friends, who see their lives irrevocably changed by circumstances in the dramatic-comedy Cooley High.Read More »

  • Rustem Abdrashev – Podarok Stalinu AKA The Gift to Stalin (2008)

    2001-2010DramaKazakhstanRustem Abdrashev

    A Jewish child deported to Kazakhstan is saved and adopted by Kasym, an old Kazakh railway-man. Kasym gives him a Kazakh name, Sabyr, that in Kazakh language means humble. The child grows up in the small Kazakh village along with other deportees Vera, a traitor’s wife, and Ezhik a Polish doctor. The Soviet militia harasses the poor peasants and Vera suffered the harassment of a bully cop: Bulgabi. Finally Vera accepts the marriage proposal of Ezhik but the jealous Bulgabi tries to prevent the marriage. The result is a fight in which Ezhik shoots himself accidentally. The old Kasym decides that Sabyr is now old enough to go to seek his real parents. At the end Sabyr, now an adult, decides to return to the village, but the village no longer exists because it was destroyed by a Soviet nuclear test.Read More »

  • Luigi Comencini – La ragazza di Bube AKA Bebo’s Girl (1964)

    1961-1970DramaItalyLuigi Comencini

    Quote:
    The film is an excellent showcase for the talented and gorgeous Claudia Cardinale. She is the very soul of this movie and if you are a fan of hers you’ll not be disappointed. The movie was directed by Luigi Comencini, generally associated with the comedy Italian style. In this case, a post war romantic drama, he was successful in capturing the mood of that time and the poignant sentimental conflict in the soul of her leading lady Claudia Cardinale.Read More »

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