Francis, a young man, recalls in his memory the horrible experiences he and his fiancée Jane recently went through. It is the annual fair in Holstenwall. Francis and his friend Alan visit The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, an exhibit where the mysterious doctor shows the somnambulist Cesare, and awakens him for some moments from his death-like sleep. When Alan asks Cesare about his future, Cesare answers that he will die before dawn. The next morning Alan is found dead. Francis suspects Cesare of being the murderer, and starts spying on him and Dr. Caligari. The following night Cesare is going to stab Jane in her bed, but softens when he sees the beautiful woman, and instead of committing another murder, he abducts her. Read More »
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Robert Wiene – Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari AKA The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Germany1911-1920HorrorRobert WieneSilentWeimar Republic cinema -
Nina Agadzhanova & Lev Kuleshov – Dva-Buldi-dva aka Two-Buldi-Two (1929)
Drama1921-1930Lev KuleshovNina AgadzhanovaSilentUSSR“A father and son, both clowns, are to perform together for the first time, but the civil war separates them, and the elder Buldy, tempted for a moment to acquiesce to the White forces, casts his lot with the revolution. At the climax Buldy Jr. escapes the Whites thanks to flashy trampoline and trapeze acrobatics; the gaping enemy soldiers forget to shoot. Even Kuleshov’s more naturalistic films show flashes of kinetic, stylized acting. A partisan listens to a boy while draping himself over a door. A Bolshevik official answers the phone by reaching across his chest, twisting his body so the unused arm can hike itself up, right-angled, to the chair.”
by David BordwellRead More » -
Emilio Ghione – I topi grigi (1918) (HD)
1911-1920CrimeEmilio GhioneItalySilentQuote:
I topi grigi, an eight-part serial produced by Tiber Film in Rome, is part of the complex saga of Za la Mort, an apache and outlaw who was the protagonist of 12 films, four serials, three novels and various theatrical shows created between 1914 and 1930 by Emilio Ghione (1879-1930).
Thanks to his alter ego Za, Ghione would eventually become a genuinely popular star. On one hand he incarnated the role of fearless hero and was the emblem of muscular masculinity. On the other he was also a natural performer in the role of a dandy in several melodramas set in the salons of the decadent, contemporary nobility – a setting reflecting the D’Annunzio-inspired atmosphere of the period.Read More » -
Agnès Varda – Oncle Yanco AKA Uncle Yanco (1967) (HD)
1961-1970Agnès VardaDocumentaryFranceShort FilmQuote:
While in San Francisco for the promotion of her last film in October 1967, Agnès Varda, tipped by her friend Tom Luddy, gets to know a relative she had never heard of before, Jean Varda, nicknamed “Yanco”. This hitherto unknown uncle lives on a boat in Sausalito, is a painter, has adopted a hippie lifestyle and loves life. The meeting is a very happy one.Read More » -
Sergio Bergonzelli – Joy (1983)
1981-1990CanadaDramaEroticaSergio BergonzelliBased on the scandalous memoirs of a pseudonymous French model Joy Laurey.Read More »
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Beatriz Flores Silva – En la puta vida AKA In This Tricky Life (2001)
2001-2010Beatriz Flores SilvaComedyDramaUruguayQuote:
Montevideo, Uruguay. In this comedic drama, Elisa, 27, dreams of opening her own hairdressing salon in one of the rich districts of the Uruguayan capital. A bit of a rebel, one day Elisa moves out of her mother’s house with her two children and breaks up with Garcia, her boss and lover who has infuriated her by not wanting to get married. So, in the space of twenty-four hours, Elisa finds herself without a roof over her head, without a man, without a job and without money. Her best friend Loulou finds her a job – in the brothel run by Dona Jacqueline. And without really being aware of it, Elisa slides into prostitution, which leads her to Barcelona. She falls in love, she is exploited, she gets involved in transvestite gang wars, and meanwhile just dreams of earning enough money for her little beauty salon back home.Read More » -
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea – Cartas del parque AKA Letters from the Park (1988)
1981-1990ArgentinaDramaRomanceTomás Gutiérrez AleaMatanzas, Cuba, 1913. Two young people who are in love communicate through letters written by penman. When the young man leaves town, to become a pilot, the girl discovers she is really in love with the one who wrote the letters.Read More »
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Jeremy Weisfeld – Deep Crates 2: Documentary Film Dedicated to Beatdiggin’ Culture [+Extras] (2007)
Documentary2001-2010CanadaJeremy WeisfeldQuote:
Deep Crates 2 documents the history behind diggin’ for samples and creating beats. The 2nd Deep Crates DVD installment takes you back to the origins of sampling records with some of the culture’s founding pioneers. Worldwide diggin’ spots are exposed from the USA to Canada to Japan. From first impressions, Deep Crates 2 appears to be a step up from the crude shooting and editing of the original Deep Crates. With a shorter list of featured producers, one can expect longer interviews with more potency. Features in studio footage and exclusive anecdotes from some of the most famous crate diggers on earth.Read More » -
Robert Smithson – Spiral Jetty (1970)
1961-1970ArchitectureDocumentaryExperimentalRobert SmithsonUSAStanding apart along the northeast shore of the Great Salt Lake is a huge earthworks project, boulders and potholes, clinging brine and mirrored sky, which the film documents, as it moves back geologically to dinosaur history.Read More »