Re: Movie Thread: Grab Some Popcorn, Enjoy The Show
Criterion Collection watched last week:
Made in U.S.A, Jean-Luc Godard (1966)
Difficult film to understand unless you’re in the know and clued in to Godard’s allusions to various things literary, political, geographic, and filmic. Follows the colorfully dressed and lovely Anna Karina as she investigates various crimes and criminal elements related to various gangsters. Nicely filmed, but tricky to comprehend.
Le samourï, Jean-Pierre Melville (1967)
Good French crime film!
Cul-de-sac, Roman Polanski (1966)
Very good English language dark-comedy film from Polanski. Character driven with the American, Lionel Strander, Brit, Donald Pleasence, and the French actress Françoise Dorléac. Interesting coastal/tidal setting on the English northeast coast.
Mouchette, Robert Bresson (1967) *
Dark drama of a young girl, within an impoverished and challenged family, trying to make sense of growing up in a small French community.
Branded to Kill or Koroshi no rakuin, Seijun Suzuki (1967) *
Hodgepodge Japanese organized crime/thriller that follows a contract killer (the popular Joe Shishido) as he tries to keep his sanity while figuring out who’s after him.
Playtime, Jacques Tati (1967) *
Tati’s look at contemporary life and work with Tati in the reoccurring role as Monsieur Hurlot. Comic satire on modern mores, business practices, social settings and conveniences. Built the entire set for the film, which apparently left him broke and took him three years to film.
The Fireman’s Ball or Horí, má panenko, Milos Forman (1967) *
Veiled satire on the communist system as a group of fireman try to honor their ageing former chairman. Disaster strikes in a number of different ways as the fireman attempt to keep things from totally falling and “burning” apart.
Belle de jour, Luis Buñuel (1967) *
The lovely Catherine Deneuve stars a woman confused about her sexuality and how she should deal with the uncertainty. Because of her past history frigidity develops, and her fantasy life is absorbed by sadomasochism. Is becoming a high class call girl the answer?