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- DirectorCarl Theodor DreyerStarsJulian WestMaurice SchutzRena MandelA drifter obsessed with the supernatural stumbles upon an inn where a severely ill adolescent girl is slowly becoming a vampire.Personally, I think I'm underrating Danish cinema, with a particular example being this long overlooked horror classic. It's extremely old, making the special effects even more remarkable, yet relying on intertitles and books to tell much of the story. From the cast, the sole interest is Sybille Schmitz, the would-be inspiration of Veronika Voss.
- DirectorAndrzej WajdaStarsTadeusz LomnickiUrszula ModrzynskaTadeusz JanczarStory of youth during the German occupation of Poland in World War II who come to adulthood through love and adversity.
- DirectorAndrzej WajdaStarsTeresa IzewskaTadeusz JanczarWienczyslaw GlinskiIn 1944, during the Warsaw uprising against the Nazis, Polish Lieutenant Zadra and his resistance fighters use Warsaw's sewer system to escape the German encirclement.
- DirectorRené ClémentStarsAlain DelonMaurice RonetMarie LaforêtTom Ripley is a talented mimic, moocher, forger and all-around criminal improviser; but there's more to Tom Ripley than even he can guess.The first cinematic take on the story later interpreted by Minghella with Damon, Law, and Paltrow is not as recognizable but is very comparable. Pre-Godfather Nino Rota's score is still mesmerizing.
- DirectorMichael PowellStarsKarlheinz BöhmAnna MasseyMoira ShearerA young man murders women, using a movie camera to film their dying expressions of terror.Given its premise and content, it is quite surprising this movie came out the same year my dad was born. The cast is brilliant, Karlheinz Bohm as well in spite of his German accent.
- DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsSilvia PinalFrancisco RabalFernando ReyViridiana, a young nun about to take her final vows, pays a visit to her widowed uncle at the request of her Mother Superior.While this of all Bunuel's films won the Palme d'Or, Viridiana is not as personally appealing, perhaps for its protagonist who tries but does not succeed in doing well, preceding many of Von Trier's heroines. Many moments such as the Ave Maria bring forth Bunuel's familiar surrealism.
- DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsSilvia PinalJacqueline AndereEnrique RambalThe guests at an upper-class dinner party find themselves unable to leave.My personal introduction to Bunuel, in part due to the opera.
- DirectorPier Paolo PasoliniStarsAnna MagnaniEttore GarofoloFranco CittiAn ex-prostitute reunites with her son, but an extortion scheme threatens her aspirations for a decent life.As Pasolini is at odds with Argento my favorite Italian director, his 1962 feature is at odds with others my favorite Italian movie. Anna Magnani leads a very fine cast who embody their characters. Rustichelli's music fits the varying environments of Rome.
- DirectorAntonio PietrangeliStarsSandra MiloFrançois PérierMario AdorfTwenty-four hours in the life of Pina and Adolfo. The story of a 36-year-old woman and the flashbacks that show the pair's lives and fills in some details of their other relationships.I didn't think much good about this film when I saw it. I was hoping for some good Mario Adorf comedy, but he's in a really minor role. The movie primarily centers on Sandra Milo and Francois Perier, introducing me to faces I would recognize again in 8 1/2, and Z and Le Samourai respectively. The movie may also be worth it for many comedic scenes such as the singing parrot.
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsBrigitte BardotJack PalanceMichel PiccoliA French writer's marriage deteriorates while working on Fritz Lang's version of "The Odyssey", as his wife accuses him of using her to court favor with the film's brash American producer.
- DirectorMario BavaStarsCameron MitchellEva BartokThomas ReinerA masked, shadowy killer brutally murders the models of a scandalous fashion house in Rome.Arguably the first giallo film, it has to grow like my later favorite Deep Red. Asides from Mitchell for his many other films and Bartok for The Crimson Pirate, the cast is otherwise unrecognizable. What drives this movie are the influential murders and film making with its lush colors.
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsJean-Paul BelmondoAnna KarinaGraziella GalvaniPierrot escapes his boring society and travels from Paris to the Mediterranean Sea with Marianne, a girl chased by hit-men from Algeria. They lead an unorthodox life, always on the run.
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsEddie ConstantineAnna KarinaAkim TamiroffA U.S. secret agent is sent to the distant space city of Alphaville where he must find a missing person and free the city from its tyrannical ruler.Godard's take on science fiction was my introduction to the director, particularly considering this film's similarity to Fassbinder's later World on a Wire (contemporary city and fashion doubling for the future, romance, Eddie Constantine).
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsJean-Pierre LéaudChantal GoyaMarlène JobertA romance between young Parisians, shown through a series of vignettes.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsAlain DelonFrançois PérierNathalie DelonAfter professional hitman Jef Costello is seen by witnesses his efforts to provide himself an alibi drive him further into a corner.One of the most influential entries on this list, with apparent followers such as Drive and personal suggestions like Clockers. Compared to Sukowa's role in Europa, Delon makes the perfect emotionless performance, fully fitting his character.
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsTony MusanteSuzy KendallEnrico Maria SalernoAn American expatriate in Rome attempts to unmask a serial killer he witnessed in the act of an attempted murder - and is now hunting him and his girlfriend.For the interest I had in Goblin's soundtracks for Deep Red and Suspiria, THIS was my first Dario Argento movie, and it is not a bad choice. Admittedly, many elements make this movie more comedic than it ought to be, though it makes for a very enjoyable film. Mario Adorf's scene is probably my favorite cameo of all.
- DirectorHarry KümelStarsDelphine SeyrigJohn KarlenDanielle OuimetWhile passing through a vacation resort, a newlywed couple encounters a mysterious, strikingly beautiful countess and her aide.What is often called an adult vampire movie is light on eroticism and scares, yet it is somehow compelling beyond its flaws to be a horror favorite. The cast is quite good, even if Delphine Seyrig and John Karlen are the only two recognizable outside of the flick. Francois De Roubaix's soundtrack deserves mention.
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsDavid HemmingsDaria NicolodiGabriele LaviaA jazz pianist and a wisecracking journalist are pulled into a complex web of mystery after the former witnesses the brutal murder of a psychic.On first viewing, I did not think much of Deep Red, other than it begin a horror-oriented remake of The Crystal Plumage. Now, with nine watches, it is one of my most watched films recently. David Hemmings leads a very good cast of diverse characters. The murder scenes are quite scary and thrilling. And Goblin's soundtrack, if not quite as distinct as Suspiria, could not be substituted for any better accompaniment.
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiStarsJerzy StuhrMalgorzata ZabkowskaEwa PokasAn ordinary factory worker buys a camera on the occasion of the birth of his child. The authorities order him to make documentaries about the factory's success. But his endeavor to be truthful leads him to opposition against censorship.Kieslowski's sophomore is often considered his critical breakthrough, even if he didn't expand beyond his native Poland until the late 1980s. Lead by Jerzy Stuhr, it can be seen as an often subtly humorous yet well-defined breakdown in a man's life through a single camera, yet also a tribute to cinema with cameos from his contemporaries and subtle homages.
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiStarsBoguslaw LindaTadeusz LomnickiZbigniew ZapasiewiczWitek runs after a train. Three variations follow on how such a seemingly banal incident could influence the rest of Witek's life.At first, I didn't have that great of an opinion of Blind Chance. It takes a few watches to understand what is going on. At first, it was confusing with the very beginning, when you have the main character Witek screaming, then followed by various characters speaking directly to the camera before even being introduced. Apart from the central train scene and its direct consequences, it's hard to understand in full what Witek does. In the end, it is a superb relatable experience about how our lives head in different directions all the times and brings forth the themes which define Kieslowski's style, in this and his other films.
- DirectorAndrzej WajdaStarsGérard DepardieuWojciech PszoniakAnne AlvaroIn 1793, as the Terror begins in France, Georges Danton, a champion-of-the-people, returns to clash against Maximilien Robespierre and his extremist party.
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiStarsGrazyna SzapolowskaMaria PakulnisAleksander BardiniThe wife of the recently deceased lawyer tries to cope with grief after his loss and to keep his last case going in court.No End is even more Kieslowski's lost love tragedy, its story of a widow veiling only slightly the hopelessness in martial law Poland.
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiStarsMiroslaw BakaKrzysztof GlobiszJan TesarzA soon-to-be lawyer crosses his path with a taxi driver and a young sinister man.With this longer adaptation of Dekalog 5, Kieslowski goes horror. This is about as haunting as those films about murder get. The acquired taste of Kieslowski is only joined by this to make this a hard watch. Nonetheless, the performances, and the sheer eerieness makes this one of Kieslowski's greatest accomplishments.
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiStarsGrazyna SzapolowskaOlaf LubaszenkoStefania IwinskaA naive inexperienced young man spies on a woman who lives across the courtyard, and falls in love with her. He starts using tricks which he hopes will lead to them meeting.Dekalog 6's film version is arguably my favorite of Kieslowski. As Killing saw Kieslowski go horror, Love sees Kieslowski turn Rear Window into a love story.
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsBarbara SukowaJean-Marc BarrUdo KierJust after World War II, an American takes a railway job in Germany, but finds his position politically sensitive with various people trying to use him.Von Trier's critical breakout - if before Breaking The Waves - is for me one of my most personally arguable films. The cast is great, all but the one element that alone brought me to the film. Barbara Sukowa is an excellent actress, but I still wonder how her character came out stale. All due respect to Von Sydow, the second-person narration seems like Von Trier is working overload to get to the cusp of his Dogma style. The art style though overall is brilliant, sometimes even prophesying Wes Anderson in my opinion. Perhaps if I consider the similarities with Rodriguez's Sin City, I might understand Europa as another neo-noir masterpiece.
- DirectorRobert RodriguezStarsRose McGowanFreddy RodríguezJosh BrolinAfter an experimental bio-weapon is released, turning thousands into zombie-like creatures, it's up to a rag-tag group of survivors to stop the infected and those behind its release.The first of the two Grindhouse movies, Planet Terror is Rodriguez's deal. If slightly overshadowed by Death Proof, it boasts the similar pros in laughs and scares as a more bonafide horror film, though combo-ed with a quite recognizable cast.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsKurt RussellZoë BellRosario DawsonTwo separate sets of voluptuous women are stalked at different times by a scarred stuntman who uses his "death proof" cars to execute his murderous plans.Tarantino calls this his worst film, you can accept the man's opinion. But although I've seen yet few of his films, I must say I love this film. The Argento rip and split-diopter shot are the two most personally recognizable homages but make the movie for me.