Details About the Movies

Since there are 81 movies to watch and I'll probably watch more than one a week some weeks (some of these movies are quite short!)- I'm just going to put short reviews here for each of the movies. But first, I'm checking to make sure every movie is at the library, and posting the blibs offered in the item descriptions.

Summaries are provided by the King County Library System. Additional info from Wikipedia:

Again- an exclamation point at the end (following the production co. and year)means that I have seen it.--- btw, I found one that I previously missed- TWENTY down, EIGHTY to go @.@

2000s (ALL at library)

* Finding Nemo directed by Andrew Stanton (Disney, 2004)!
The fretful Marlin and his young son Nemo become separated from each other in the Great Barrier Reef. Nemo, a clown fish, is unexpectedly taken from his home and thrust into a fish tank in a dentist's office overlooking Sydney Harbor. Buoyed by the companionship of a friendly fish named Dory, Malin embarks on a dangerous trek and finds himself the unlikely hero
NOTES: Ah, Finding Nemo. One of my favorite films- so much humor, so much drama, so much random crap. And by "crap" I mean "treasurous non-sequitors". Ellen Degeneres makes my heart sing, so how could I not love this film? Heck, I enjoyed Mr. Wrong because of her!

* City of God directed by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund (Independent, 2001)
The world's most notorious slum, Rio de Janeiro's City of God, where combat photographers and police rarely go. The true story of a young man who grew up on these streets and whose ambition as a photographer is our window in and his only way out.

* Talk to Her directed by Pedro Almodóvar (Sony Pictures Classics, 2002)!
In a private clinic Barco and Benigno strike up a friendship while caring for comatose women.
NOTE: After reading the summary, I actually HAVE seen this and HATED it. Ugh! Ick! I get icky goosebumps on reflection. It is very interesting but icky. Am shivering up in disgust at what one of the characters does.

* The Lord of the Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson (New Line Cinema, 2001-2003)!
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-Earth still it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell, by chance, into the hands of the Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. On his eleventy-first birthday, Bilbo disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin, Frodo, the Ruling Ring, and a perilous quest: to journey across Middle-Earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom.
NOTES: I could never get into the books, but the movies, for the most part, were quite entertaining. The last one dragged insanely at the end, but they were all pretty enjoyable. I liked the action of the second film a great deal and the plot development of the initial picture. The last one was certainly my least favorite- not enough action or story, and way too much end!

* Kandahar directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf (Independent, 2001)
Nafas, an Afghan-born Canadian journalist, returns to her homeland in a desperate attempt to reach her sister, who, overcome with grief after being injured by a landmine and her despair over the Taliban's oppression of women, has vowed that she will commit suicide at the time of the next solar eclipse, only three days away.

1990s (ALL at library)

* Ulysses' Gaze directed by Theo Angelopoulos (Roissy Films, 1995)
Traces the journey of a Greek-American director across the Balkans in search of several lost reels of film shot by the Manakia Brothers, who were pioneers of cinema in that part of the world.

* Chungking Express directed by Wong Kar Wai (Miramax Films, 1994)
The story of lives and loves of the people who come into a fast food place.

* Drunken Master II directed by Lau Kar-Leung (Miramax Films, 1994)
A sinister profiteer is illegally exporting Chinese treasures overseas, and it's up to Wong Fei-Hung (Chan) to put a stop to it.

* Pulp Fiction directed by Quentin Tarantino (Miramax Films, 1994)!
Clever, dark film that tells 4 separate stories that are gradually brought together. Involved are two low-rent hit men, their boss and his sexy wife, a prizefighter and a pair of desperate robbers.
NOTES: I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this film. It was my first Tarantino, and has been followed by many more. Not really that violent, though it certainly earns the R-rating. Interesting twist of stories, and HUGELY unexpected plot directions.

* Farewell My Concubine directed by Chen Kaige (Miramax Films, 1993)!
Story that spans more than 50 years in the lives of two men at the Peking Opera, friends since childhood, and the woman who comes between them. Also an absorbing drama of the period in Chinese history from the warlord era through the Cultural Revolution.
NOTES: I have this movie and have read the book. It is extremely sad, though the movie has a MUCH different ending from the book. There really are a lot of films that cover similar stories- artists during the Cultural Revolution and how they were screwed over even before and after. Don't expect anything happy to happen- these sort of films just can't be written that way. To Live is pretty much the same movie with different characters (theme-wise I mean and both star Gong Li.

* Schindler's List directed by Steven Spielberg (Universal Pictures, 1993)!
The story of Oskar Schindler, a member of the Nazi party, womanizer, and war profiteer, who saved the lives of more than 1100 Jews during World War II.
NOTES: Technically, I missed the last ten minutes, but I saw enough to know what happened. I will assume the war ended in those last ten minutes and everyone was grateful to Oskar. Obviously, one of the saddest films ever and I cried the whole time. Some beautiful imagery and metaphors.

* Léolo directed by Jean-Claude Lauzon (Independent, 1992)
Léolo Lozone, a twelve-year old dreamer, uses his imagination to escape the realities around him through writing.

* Unforgiven directed by Clint Eastwood (Warner Bros., 1992)!
Two retired, down-on-their luck outlaws pick up their guns one last time to collect a bounty offered by the vengeful prostitutes of the remote Wyoming town of Big Whiskey.
NOTES: I really don't like westerns and this one made me sad. The only character I liked died terribly. Which is common in this kind of film :( Didn't actually see ALL of it, but 80% including the beginning and the end, so I'm counting it! Couldn't handle watching it again!

* Goodfellas directed by Martin Scorsese (Warner Bros., 1990)
Details the rise and fall of Henry Hill, a Brooklyn kid who grows up idolizing the "wise guys" from his neighborhood. He begins hanging around the mobsters and doing odd jobs until he gains the notice of local chieftain Paulie Cicero. In his teens, Hill distinguishes himself as a "stand-up guy" by choosing jail time over ratting on his accomplices. From that moment on, he is a part of the family. Along with his partner Tommy, he rises through the ranks to become Paulie's lieutenant. Soon he finds himself the target of both the feds and the mobsters.

* Miller's Crossing directed by Joel Coen (20th Century Fox, 1990)
During prohibition two gangland bosses struggle for control over a city, with one of the boss's lieutenants caught in the middle.



1980s (No Nayagan v.v)

* The Decalogue directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski (Independent, 1989)
Secretly ten movies O.o one and two:Segments 1 and 2 of ten films loosely based on the Ten Commandments. Dekalog 1: A story of the trust and affection between a father and his son (53 min.). Dekalog 2: A lonely elderly hospital consultant is asked by a patient's wife to predict her husband's chances of survival as she is pregnant by another man (57).

* Nayagan directed by Mani Ratnam (Sujatha Films, 1987)
From Wiki:Nayagan is based on The Godfather and real-life Bombay underworld don - Varada or Varadarajan Mudaliar, and sympathetically depicts the struggle of South Indians living in Bombay (now Mumbai). Nayagan has been called "The Godfather" of Tamil cinema. NOT AVAILABLE AT LIBRARY- SIGH!

* Wings of Desire directed by Wim Wenders (MGM, 1987)
Based on poems by Rainer Maria Rilke.

* The Fly directed by David Cronenberg (20th Century Fox, 1986)
Experimental scientist Andre Delambre attempts to transfer matter through space, using himself as the test subject. But things go horrifically wrong when a common housefly buzzes into the machine, resulting in two grotesque man-fly hybrids. Now, with the head of a fly and a wing in place of one of his arms, Andre desperately hopes that he, his wife Helene and his brother Francois can capture the other mutant - the human-headed, one-armed fly - in hopes of reversing the experiment.

* The Singing Detective directed by Jon Amiel (BBC TV, 1986)
The hallucinations of a mystery writer stricken with a crippling skin disorder interweave memories of his past with a plot casting him in the role of a suave sleuth who croons with a big band.

* Brazil directed by Terry Gilliam (Universal Pictures, 1985)
A daydreaming bureaucrat becomes involved with an underground superhero and a beautiful mysterious woman and becomes the tragic victim of his own romantic illusions.

* The Purple Rose of Cairo directed by Woody Allen (Orion Pictures, 1985)
Cecilia is a poor waitress at a New Jersey diner who goes to the movies to escape the realities of life. Her favorite is "The purple rose of Cairo", whose leading man, Tom Baxter, decides to leave the screen to be with Cecilia.

* Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott (Warner Bros., 1982)!
Los Angeles, 2019: Rick Deckard of the LAPD's Blade Runner unit prowls the steel & microchip jungle of the 21st century. His job is to track down and eliminate assumed humanoids known as 'replicants.' Replicants were declared illegal after a bloody mutiny on an Off-World Colony, and are to be terminated upon detection. He wants to get out of the force, but is drawn back in when 6 "skin jobs," the slang for replicants, hijack a ship back to Earth. The city that Deckard must search for his prey is a huge, sprawling, bleak vision of the future.
NOTES: While the premise and sci fi goodies make me giggle, I did not enjoy this film overall. It was a little hard to follow (I did not get a lot of what it tells me in the summary), and the suspense didn't have long enough to build up, though there was enough time for endless droning! Sorry...

* E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial directed by Steven Spielberg (Universal Studios, 1982)!
A story of an alien stranded on Earth and his relationship with a young boy.
NOTES: This movie is so funny when you see it as an adult! It used to be very scary, but now I can appreciate the crazy screaming children and candy-eating alien. It also kinda makes me think of how people actually might react to a UFO landing in a ruraler area.

* Berlin Alexanderplatz directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder (TeleCulture, 1980)
Story of Franz Biberkof, a former transportation worker. When we first see Franz, he has just been released from prison where he has served four years for an irrational act of violence. He returns to his Berlin neighborhood resolved to go straight but forces in his environment, the influences of his cronies, the grinding poverty, the decay of society overwhelm him and he begins his duel with fate.

* Mon oncle d'Amérique directed by Alain Resnais (New World Pictures, 1980)
Jean, René, Janine: two men and a woman from different generations and different backgrounds, whose paths meet at a crisis point in mid-life, faced with disappointment and frustration, all three muse about a legendary "uncle in America", a guardian angel who gives them their hearts' desires and tells them exactly what they want to hear.
WATCHED: 9/24/09
NOTES: Dude, the description for this film is way off- the two men don't even meet! And by "muse about a legendary 'uncle,'" the summarizer means that each character at some point mentions an uncle in the US- just mentions, mind you. The uncle never appears and isn't a main plot point. The film was more comparing animal behavior to human behavior and theorizing that, because humans cannot act upon their animal urges of rage, they instead attack themselves inwardly (and by "they" I mean "we"- am not a god, so far as I know...), resulting in health problems, emotional breakdowns, and suicide/attempted suicide. Fascinating film but it SCREAMS to be redone. I would love to see some editing.

* Raging Bull directed by Martin Scorsese (United Artists, 1980)
From Wiki- though it is at the library:
...a middleweight boxer whose sadomasochistic rage, sexual jealousy, and animalistic appetite exceeded the boundaries of the prizefight ring, and destroyed his relationship with his wife and family.



1970s (ALL at the library!)

* Star Wars directed by George Lucas (20th Century Fox, 1977)!
Princess Leia is captured and held hostage by the evil Imperial forces in their effort to take over the galactic Empire. Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and two robots (R2-D2 and C-3PO) work together to rescue the princess and restore justice in the Empire.
NOTES: Well... Star Wars. I've only seen the fist one a few times, but it's a great start? I prefer Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but this one was also quite sci fi-ly enjoyable ^_^? Nothing you can say about the classics, eh? Because Star Wars is more classic than Sherlock Jr????

* Taxi Driver directed by Martin Scorsese (Columbia Pictures, 1976)
A New York cab driver becomes obsessed with a young prostitute and wages a one-person war to clean up the world.

* Barry Lyndon directed by Stanley Kubrick (Warner Bros., 1975)
The rise and fall of a young 18th century Irishman bent on achieving fame and fortune, mainly by marriage.

* Chinatown directed by Roman Polanski (Paramount Pictures, 1974)
Los Angeles private eye Jake Gittes is approached by a mysterious woman who wishes to have her husband investigated. As the case unfolds, though, he discovers it to be much more complex and dangerous than he had expected, involving politics, powerful men, and terrible family secrets.

* Day for Night directed by François Truffaut (Independent, 1973)
A motion picture director encounters problems while filming a love story in this satire on movie-making.

* The Godfather and The Godfather Part II directed by Francis Ford Coppola (Paramount Pictures, 1972, 1974)!
Godfather-Focuses on the Corleone family's rise and near fall from power, and the passage of rites from father to son.
Part II- Two stories are told in this sequel to The godfather: the roots and rise of a young Don Vito and the ascension of Michael as the new Don.
NOTES: Haven't actually seen the second part, but I'll do that too. The first one was, well, The Godfather. Pretty exciting stuff! What else can be said? Go to the matresses?

* Aguirre, the Wrath of God directed by Werner Herzog (Independent, 1972)
A band of Spanish conquistadors, led by Pizarro, go up the Amazon in search of gold. As the soldiers battle starvation, Indians, the forces of nature, and each other, Don Lope de Aguirre (the self-styled "Wrath of God") is consumed by visions of conquering all of South America and leads a revolt, but Aguirre's megalomania turns the expedition into a death trip.

* The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie directed by Luis Buñuel (Independent, 1972)
An upper-class sextet sits down to dinner but never eats, their attempts continually thwarted by a vaudevillian mixture of events both actual and imagined.

* A Touch of Zen directed by King Hu (Independent, 1971)
Ku, an artist and aspiring teacher in a small village, becomes involved with a woman on the run from a local politician. Takes place in the Ming dynasty, China.


1960s (ALL available at library!)

* Once Upon a Time in the West directed by Sergio Leone (Paramount, 1968)
A story of a vicious villain coldly wiping out an entire family and leaving another man to be falsely accused of the slaughter.

* Bonnie and Clyde directed by Arthur Penn (Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, 1967)
Adrift in the Depression-era Southwest, young Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker turn to the adventurous life of crime and soon become tough, psychotic bank robbers.

* Mouchette directed by Robert Bresson (UGC, 1967)
One of the most searing portraits of human desperation ever put on film, Mouchette is about a teenage girl who must deal with tragic events and a broken family.

* Closely Watched Trains directed by Jiří Menzel (Ústřední půjčovna filmů, 1966)
Comedy-drama about a young trainmaster employed in a tiny station during World War II. He becomes involved in a plot to blow up a German ammunition train, but when the plan backfires, he is forced to commit the ultimate act of courage.

* The Good, the Bad and the Ugly directed by Sergio Leone (United Artists, 1966)
Three men seek a hidden cache of $200,00 and with greed as their sole motivation, they let nothing--not even warring factions in a civil war stand in their way.

* Persona directed by Ingmar Bergman (United Artists, 1966)
A famous actress is stricken with psychosomatic dumbness and is placed under a nurse's care in an isolated house, where the two gradually assume each other's personalities.

* Bande à part directed by Jean-Luc Godard (Independent, 1964)
Two bumbling burglars plan a robbery with a young woman they just met. Problems begin immediately when they both fall for the girl and the plan goes haywire. The jewel-heist plot is merely a jumping off point for Godard's fast-paced mix of fantasy and spoof of Hollywood crime films.

* Dr. Strangelove directed by Stanley Kubrick (Columbia Pictures, 1964)!
A satire in which the President and his military advisors struggle ineptly to avert a holocaust after a psychotic Air Force general launches a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union.
WATCHED: 9/19/2009
NOTES: While I will admit I preferred the similarly-themed, similarly-acted (Peter Sellers in multiple roles again) The Mouse that Roared to Dr. Strangelove, I did enjoy this film quite a lot as well. This film certainly had wittier one-liners and better imagery (Stanley Kubrick, for goodness sake!), though wasn't amusing all the way through as The Mouse that Roared. "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the war room." General "Buck" Turgidson: Sir, you can't let him [the Russian ambassador] in here. He'll see everything. He'll see the big board!

* A Hard Day's Night directed by Richard Lester (United Artists, 1964)
A spoof of "Beatlemania" portraying a frantic 36 hours in the lives of the rock group.

* Charade directed by Stanley Donen (Universal Pictures, 1963)
Comedy-mystery set in Paris about a young widow who, with the help of a handsome stranger, is trying to find the fortune her dead husband secreted away. At the same time, she's being pursued by a trio of thugs seeking for the same fortune.

* 8½ directed by Federico Fellini (Independent, 1963)
Fellini's autobiographical film about a famous film director who loses his inspiration in the midst of making a film.

* Lawrence of Arabia directed by David Lean (Columbia Pictures, 1962)
T.E. Lawrence helped unify the Arab tribes against the Turks during World War I, but he also set in motion a chain of events that even he would be powerless to stop, events that would shape Arab-Western relations for generations to come.

* The Manchurian Candidate directed by John Frankenheimer (United Artists, 1962)!
A U.S. Army platoon, captured in the Korean conflict, is whisked to Manchuria for three nightmarish days of experimental drug-and-hypnosis-induced conditioning that transforms the men into human time bombs.
NOTES: What a trippy film! I felt like I was drunk the whole time. Terrifying and political, this movie is honestly unique from any other. I did not expect the ending, though I was sure I had no idea where the plot was moving the entire time. Creepy transitions between past and present, as well. Can't BELIEVE they did a remake.

* Yojimbo directed by Akira Kurosawa (Toho Company Ltd., 1961)
In the year 1860, a wandering samurai-for-hire turns the war between two clans fighting for control of a small town to his own advantage. It is a satire on greed, violence, paranoia and human weakness.

* Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock (Paramount Pictures, 1960)!
Horror melodrama in which a woman disappears after spending the night in an isolated motel which adjoins an eerie Victorian mansion, inhabited by a disturbed young man and his mother.
NOTES: What can I saw about this film? Despite some cheezy old-fashioned effects, the film is, well, effective. Terrifying and suspenseful, with a great twist, even if you already know it!


1950s (ALL at the library- Huzzah!)

* The 400 Blows directed by François Truffaut (Cocinor, 1959)
Sensitively recreating the trials of Truffaut's own childhood, portraying aloof parents, oppressive teachers, petty crime, and a friendship that would last a lifetime.

* Some Like It Hot directed by Billy Wilder (United Artists, 1959)!
Two unemployed musicians accidentally witness the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, after which they flee to Miami disguised as female musicians.
NOTES: One of my favorite films, this comedy is SO ahead of it's time! With hints of a homosexual relationship manifesting and two male leads in drag, what's NOT to love? As a bonus, you have an amazing cast, including the gorgeous Ms. Monroe, and great music! A good time, to be sure.

* Pyaasa directed by Guru Dutt (Independent, 1957)
Director Guru Dutt also stars as Vijay, a poet so unsuccessful that his brothers sell his poems as scrap paper.

* Sweet Smell of Success directed by Alexander Mackendrick (United Artists, 1957)
Drama about ruthless New York columnist J.J. Hunsecker and a smarmy press agent who'll do anything to curry his favor.

* Invasion of the Body Snatchers directed by Don Siegel (Allied Artists Pictures Corporation, 1956)
A doctor returns from vacation to find several people in town with odd delusions that persons they know well are no longer who they appear to be. He comes to the realization that people are being replaced by plant invaders from space and he must warn the rest of the world.

* The Searchers directed by John Ford (Warner Bros., 1956)
A Civil War veteran spends five years on the trail of a Comanche raiding party that kidnapped his dead brother's daughters. Breathtaking scenery gives a picture of frontier families separated by miles of emptiness.

* The Apu Trilogy directed by Satyajit Ray (Edward Harrison, 1955, 1956, 1959)
- Pather Panchali:
A poor Bengali family survives in a village but wider horizons tempt the father. The protection of family members' reputations, the relationship of the family group to an elderly 'aunt', and first confrontations with death contribute to the early development of the boy Apu. His father's dreams prevail over the objections of his mother so that at the end of the film the family moves to the big city of Benares.
-Aparajito: 1920, Harihar with wife Sarbajaya and 10 year old son Apu has moved to the holy city of Banaras. Harihar earns a meager living by reciting religious scriptures. Tragedy strikes when Harihar fall ill with fever and collapses at the riverbank and dies soon after. The mother Sarbajaya decides to relocate to her uncle's village where Apu resumes his education at the local school. Apu, now sixteen wins a scholarship and departs for Calcutta, leaving his mother alone. It breaks Sarbajaya's heart, but she relents. Engulfed in city life-studying during the day and working in a printing press at night, Apu grows distant from his mother. His visits get shorter as the time passes. This emotional distance unnoticed by the growing Apu, hurts Sarbajaya deeply. On a night sparkling with dancing fireflies, Sarbajaya dies. Apu comes back to an empty house. He grieves for his mother, but soon finds strength to leave the village for the last time, to carry on with his new life in the city...
-World of Apu: Third film in the "Apu trilogy" this tells of Apu's life as a struggling writer. He becomes a bridegroom at a wedding where he was to have been a guest, in order to save face for the bride when the intended groom goes insane before the wedding. A brief idyllic marriage follows, ending when his wife dies in childbirth. Apu spends years aimlessly wandering to try to come to terms with his life and finally comes to reclaim the son he rejected at his birth.

* Smiles of a Summer Night directed by Ingmar Bergman (Independent, 1955)
Eight characters become four couples while vacationing at a country estate.

* On the Waterfront directed by Elia Kazan (Columbia Pictures, 1954)
Ex-fighter Terry Malloy, who could have been a contender, works as a longshoreman amid corruption on the New Jersey docks.

* Tokyo Story directed by Yasujiro Ozu (Shochiku, 1953)
When an aging couple journeys to visit with their adult children and family they find they are an intrusion on the younger generation's life style.

* Ugetsu directed by Kenji Mizoguchi (Daiei, 1953)
In sixteenth century Japan a village potter and his brother-in-law set out for the city to seek their fortunes in the spoils of war. Their neglected wives suffer the bitter consequences of their husbands' ambition as one is murdered by soldiers and the other is raped and becomes a prostitute.

* Ikiru directed by Akira Kurosawa (Toho, 1952)
Discovering that he is in the terminal stages of cancer, a clerk spends his last months in search of the meaning to life. After his pursuit of pleasure has failed, he finds self-realization in bringing about the building of a children's playground in the slums and dies quiety fulfilled.

* Singin' in the Rain directed by Stanley Donen (MGM, 1952)!
Musical parody of Hollywood's frantic transition to the "talkies" during the late twenties.
NOTES: Oh, what's not to like? Great music, fun story line, and love! It's pretty hard not to get pulled in with such well-known songs as the eponymous "Singin' in the Rain" and" Good Mornin'"! Just a fun film- a bit fluffy, but it is a musical, so I forgive it ^__^

* Umberto D. directed by Vittorio De Sica (Dear Film, 1952)
Realistic study of an elderly man living alone on a meager pension determined to retain his dignity to the end and to hold on to his dog, the only thing he loves, and loves him.

* A Streetcar Named Desire directed by Elia Kazan (Warner Bros., 1951)
After being exiled from her hometown of Auriol, Mississippi for seducing a seventeen-year-old boy at the school where she taught English, Blanche DuBois arrives unexpectedly at the New Orleans home of her pregnant sister Stella Kowalski and her Stella's husband Stanley. Stanley, both repulsed by and attracted to Blanche, discovers that she has mortgaged property left to both sisters and spent all the money. He sets about discovering everything else he can about her past, and tension between Blanche and Stanley is further intensified when Blanche begins dating one of Stanley's poker buddies.

* In a Lonely Place directed by Nicholas Ray (Columbia Pictures, 1950)
A hotheaded Hollywood screenwriter, questioned for murder, is drawn to his neighbor when she confirms his alibi. His volatile nature eventually threatens to destroy their one last chance for real love.


1940s (ALL at the library- huzzah!)

* Kind Hearts and Coronets directed by Robert Hamer (General Film Distributors, 1949)
Black comedy about a castoff member of a titled family who decides to eliminate all his relatives.

* White Heat directed by Raoul Walsh (Warner Bros., 1949)
In his last role as a heartless gangster, James Cagney embarks on the prison break of a lifetime in this chilling tale that features one of the most riveting finales in movie history.

* Out of the Past directed by Jacques Tourneur (RKO Radio Pictures, 1947)
Former private detective Jeff Baily is trying to lead a quiet life, but his past comes back to haunt him and he finds himself framed for murder.

* It's a Wonderful Life directed by Frank Capra (RKO Radio Pictures, 1946)
George Bailey, a desperate and suicidal man, is visited by a guardian angel who shows him how important he has been to those around him in his life.

* Notorious directed by Alfred Hitchcock (RKO Radio Pictures, 1946)
A beautiful woman with a tainted past is enlisted by American agent Devlin to spy on a ring of Nazis in post-war Rio. Her espionage work becomes life-threatening after she marries the most debonair of the Nazi ring, Alex. Only Devlin can rescue her, but to do so he must face his role in her desperate situation and acknowledge that he's loved her all along.

* Children of Paradise directed by Marcel Carné (Independent, 1945)
Drama about the theater and the individuals that made the stage their life. Includes the love story of four men for one woman.

* Detour directed by Edgar G. Ulmer (Producers Releasing Corporation, 1945)
Hitchhiking nightclub performer runs into trouble with a mysterious death and a blackmailing woman.

* Double Indemnity directed by Billy Wilder (Paramount Pictures, 1944)
Walter Neff is a smooth talking insurance salesman who meets the very attractive Phyllis Dietrichson when he calls to renew her husband's automobile policy. The couple are immediately drawn to each other and have an affair. They scheme together to murder Phyllis' husband for life insurance money with a double indemnity clause. Unfortunately, all does not go as planned. Barton Keyes is the wily insurance investigator who must sort things out.

* Meet Me in St. Louis directed by Vincente Minnelli (MGM, 1944)
Story of a family at the 1903 World's Fair.

* Casablanca directed by Michael Curtiz (Warner Brothers, 1942)!
In World War II Morocco, seething with European refugees desperate for passage to neutral Lisbon, only a world-weary and bitter nightclub owner can help his former lover and her Resistance-hero husband escape from the Nazis.
NOTES: Well, I saw it a long time ago and I didn't really understand it. I know the big lines and the basic premise, the ending, I suppose, but not much else. I didn't know where Morocco was at the time- I thought they were in South America for some reason ^^* I was probably ten, so no judging!

* Citizen Kane directed by Orson Welles (RKO Radio Pictures, 1941)
The life and character of newspaper tycoon Charled Foster Kane are reconstructed by a newspaper reporter interviewing Kane's friends and associates as he tries to decipher the meaning of Kane's dying word.

* The Lady Eve directed by Preston Sturges (Independent, 1941)
Comedy about a young woman, a calculating card shark who fleeces passengers on ocean liners. She meets an ingenuous young millionaire and decides he'll be her next victim.

* His Girl Friday directed by Howard Hawks (Columbia Pictures, 1940)
An unscrupulous newspaper editor uses every dirty trick in the book to keep his ace reporter/ex-wife from retiring and remarrying in this twist on The Front Page.
WATCHED: 9/20/09
NOTES: Kind of hard to follow with all that rapid-fire dialogue, but an amusing tale nonetheless with an underlying message that people rarely change. Of course, Cary Grant was cute as pie, but I'd much rather see him in Father Goose or That Touch of Mink.

* Pinocchio directed by Bill Roberts (Walt Disney, 1940)!
Woodcarver Geppetto has pets Figaro the cat and Cleo the fish. He has just made a little wooden puppet called Pinocchio. Wishing upon a star before he goes to bed, Geppetto wishes that Pinocchio would become a real boy. As Geppetto sleeps, the Blue Fairy arrives and partially grants his wish. Pinocchio can come to life, but he must prove himself worthy before becoming a real boy. He will require some guidance, and Jiminy Cricket agrees to act as his conscience. After some unfortunate incidents, Pinocchio finds himself in trouble. The Blue Fairy appears. Pinocchio lies to her and his nose grows. He is forgiven, but warned not to lie again.
NOTES: Well, I saw it as a kid, but I didn't like it. It's kinda scary! And it didn't keep me from lying- not one bit!

* The Shop Around the Corner directed by Ernst Lubitsch (MGM, 1940)
The setting is pre-World War II Budapest. Bickering co-workers in a gift shop don't realize they're lonelyhearts penpals.


1930s (No The Crime of Monsieur Lange v.v)

* Ninotchka directed by Ernst Lubitsch (MGM, 1939)!
Garbo plays a dour, severe Soviet official who comes to Paris on business involving the sale of some czarist jewels. But soon business turns to pleasure as she discovers the special magic of Paris and finds herself succumbing to the charms of a suave Frenchman named Leon D'Algout (Melvyn Douglas). The plot bubbles merrily as Ninotchka chooses between romance and duty--and must even confront a rival for Leon's affection in the exiled Grand Duchess Swana (Ina Claire).
Notes: What fun and funny film! Greta Garbo is sooo sexy and I love how the lady playing the Grand Dutchess speaks an English with no accent. Full of cute quips and a sweet romance. "A Russian! I love Russians! Comrade, I've been fascinated by your five-year plan for the last fifteen years." ^_____^ "The last mass trials were a great success. There are going to be fewer but better Russians." "Hello! Comrade Kasabian? No, I am sorry. He hasn't been with us for six months. He was called back to Russia and was investigated. You can get further details from his widow."

* Olympia, Parts 1 and 2 directed by Leni Riefenstahl (Independent, 1938)
A sports/documentary coverage of the 1936 Olympics, held in Berlin. Made at the specific request of Adolph Hitler this documentary was directed by the Third Reich film director Leni Riefenstahl.

* The Awful Truth directed by Leo McCarey (Columbia, 1937)
A separated couple sabotages each other's love affairs while waiting for their divorce decree to become final.

* Camille directed by George Cukor (MGM, 1936)
Life in 1847 Paris is as spirited as champagne and as unforgiving as the gray morning after. In gambling dens and lavish soirees, men of means exert their wills and women turned courtesans exult in pleasure. One such woman is Marguerite Gautier (Greta Garbo), the Camille of this sumptuous romance tale based on the enduring Alexandre Dumas story.

* The Crime of Monsieur Lange directed by Jean Renoir (Independent, 1936)
UNAVAILABLE AT THE LIBRARY!!! SOB! From Wiki:
Imbued with the spirit of the left-wing political movement, Popular Front, which would have a major political victory that year, the film chronicles the story of M. Lange (René Lefèvre), a mild-mannered clerk at a publishing company who dreams of writing Western stories. He gets his chance when Batala (Jules Berry), the salacious head of the company, fakes his own death and the abandoned workers decide to form a cooperative.

* Dodsworth directed by William Wyler (United Artists, 1936)
A middle-aged American retires and he and his wife go to Europe where they find a new set of values and relationships.

* Swing Time directed by George Stevens (RKO, 1936)
Fred Astaire plays a gambler intent on raising $25,000 in New York in order to marry his fiance back home. Romantic complications occur when he meets dancing teacher, Ginger Rogers. Memorable songs include "The Way you look tonight" which won an Academy Award.


* Bride of Frankenstein directed by James Whale (Universal Pictures, 1935)
Baron Frankenstein is blackmailed by Dr. Praetorious into reviving his monster and building a mate for it.

* It's a Gift directed by Norman Z. McLeod (Independent, 1934)
From Wiki, though the film IS available at the library on a set:
Considered by many to be Fields' best and funniest film, it concerns the trials and tribulations of a grocery store owner as he battles a shrewish wife, an incompetent assistant, and assorted annoying children, customers, and salesmen.

* Baby Face directed by Alfred E. Green (Warner Bros., 1933)
Baby-faced Barbara Stanwyck sleeps her way up the corporate ladder in a New York bank, not caring who gets hurt.

* King Kong directed by Merian C. Cooper (RKO Radio Pictures, Inc., 1933)
Carl Denham is a filmmaker and entrepreneur who leads an expedition to Skull Island. The island is a place where time has stood still. The natives pay homage to the one whom they revere as "Kong", and who is, indeed, king of the island. Denham, together with his beautiful starlet, Ann Darrow, and the crew of the ship, investigate the strange ritual being performed on the island by its native population. Ann finds herself captured by the natives and is to become the bride of the mysterious "Kong." The ship's first mate, Jack Driscoll, who is in love with Ann, manages to rescue her from the clutches of "Kong". Denham then arranges to capture the creature, whom he calls "King Kong" and takes him back to New York.

* City Lights directed by Charlie Chaplin (United Artists, 1931)
A tramp wins the love of a blind flower girl and attempts to obtain money from a millionaire to help her regain her sight.


1920s (ALL are at the library- huzzah!)

* Man with a Movie Camera directed by Dziga Vertov (VUFKU, 1929)
A dawn-to-dusk view of the Soviet Union which offers a montage of urban Russian life, showing the people of the city at work and at play, and the machines that endlessly whirl to keep the metropolis alive.

* The Crowd directed by King Vidor (MGM, 1928)
Drama presenting the plight of workaday men and women in urban America.

* The Last Command directed by Josef von Sternberg (Paramount Pictures, 1928)
A Czarist general, displaced from his Russian homeland, finds himself in a Hollywood boarding house awaiting the degrading call to work as a movie extra.

* Metropolis directed by Fritz Lang (Universum Film A.G., 1927)
The story of a 21st century city run by a "super trustee" and his collaborators who live in a paradise-like garden. Workers are totally enslaved by machines and condemned to live underground. In the midst of this misery, a young woman, Maria, arises and attempts to inspire the workers to throw off their oppressors.

* Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans directed by F. W. Murnau (Fox Film Corporation, 1927)
The story of a young farmer who comes near murdering his wife, only to love her more in the end.
WATCHED:9/24/09
NOTES: Another film that really could've used some better editing- this film drags in the middle while the beginning and end are extremely intense. Not that this much damages the film, to be honest, because it is so well-filmed and acted that you put up with it. A lot actually happens though the plot summary does tell most of it- there's also the fact that the farmer has an AFFAIR, which is the reason for the "attempted" murder. Anyway, this movie was extremely romantic and, apart from the farmer having some severe anger-management issues, almost perfect. This is a silent film, mind you, with almost an entire hour playing straight in the middle without any caption- but you forget it is silent, which is some of the magic.

* Sherlock, Jr. directed by Buster Keaton (Metro Pictures Corporation, 1924)!
Dramatizes the uproarious exploits of a meek theater projectionist turned amateur sleuth.
Notes: What's not to love about Buster Keaton? He gets the girl some wildflowers, the other guy gets her a dozen roses, he gets the girl a chocolate bar, the other guy gets her a box. And he's accused of stealing a watch, to boot! Don't worry- this is Buster Keaton, and everything's gold in the end ^____^ fun slapstick along the way.