Jonathan Rosenbaum's Additional Essential Films
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- DirectorErich von StroheimStarsSam De GrasseFrancelia BillingtonErich von StroheimAn Austrian officer sets out to seduce a neglected young wife.
- DirectorViking EggelingA tilted figure, consisting largely of right angles at the beginning, grows by accretion, with the addition of short straight lines and curves which sprout from the existing design. The figure vanishes and the process begins again with a new pattern, each cycle lasting one or two seconds. The complete figures are drawn in a vaguely Art Deco style and could be said to resemble any number of things, an ear, a harp, panpipes, a grand piano with trombones, and so on, only highly stylized. The tone is playful and hypnotic.
- DirectorMerian C. CooperErnest B. SchoedsackStarsFay WrayRobert ArmstrongBruce CabotA film crew goes to a tropical island for a location shoot, where they capture a colossal ape who takes a shine to their blonde starlet, and bring him back to New York City.
- DirectorBoris BarnetStarsYelena KuzminaMikhail ZharovNikolay BogolyubovOutskirts is an internationally renowned masterpiece of early sound cinema. In a remote Russian village during World War I, colorful and nuanced characters experience divided loyalties: family loyalty vs. personal desire, nationalism vs. transcendent humanism.
- DirectorGrigoriy AleksandrovStarsLeonid UtyosovLyubov OrlovaMariya StrelkovaA musically talented shepherd gets his big chance when he is mistaken for a famous conductor.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaAlice BradyMarjorie WeaverA fictionalized account of the early life of the American president as a young lawyer facing his greatest court case.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsGene TierneyWalter HustonVictor MatureIn Shanghai, dragon lady 'Mother' Gin Sling operates a gambling house for wealthy patrons but she clashes with influential land developer Sir Guy Charteris who wants to put her out of business.
- DirectorRené ClairStarsFredric MarchVeronica LakeRobert BenchleyA beautiful 17th-century witch returns to life to plague politician Wallace Wooley, descendant of her persecutor.
- DirectorMarcel L'HerbierStarsFernand GraveyMicheline PresleSaturnin FabreDenis is distracted: he's studying all day for philosophy exams and working all night at the flower market; plus, whenever he closes his eyes, he dreams of a mysterious woman in white. His girlfriend Nina is annoyed at him for his inattention, so she steps out behind his back with a friend of his. One night, while napping at the flower mart, he pursues the mystery woman in what he thinks is a dream, and finds himself with her in a restaurant with her father and her fiancé, then on to a magic shop, the Louvre, a nightclub, and a mental asylum. During the night, he discovers a plot against her, and still believing it's a dream, goes to great lengths to try to save her.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsEric PortmanSheila SimDennis PriceThree modern-day pilgrims investigate a bizarre crime in a small town while on their way to Canterbury.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsDana AndrewsBrian DonlevySusan HaywardBusinessman Logan Stuart is torn between his love of two very different women in 1850's Oregon and his loyalty to a compulsive gambler friend who goes over the line.
- DirectorPreston SturgesStarsRex HarrisonLinda DarnellRudy ValleeA man dreams of revenge when he suspects his wife is unfaithful.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsHaruko SugimuraKen UeharaSadako SawamuraWhat is the life of a Geisha like once her beauty has faded and she has retired? Kin has saved her money, and has become a wealthy money-lender, spending her days cold-heartedly collecting debts. Even her best friends, Tomi, Nobu, and Tamae, who were her fellow Geisha, are now indebted to her. For all of them, the glamor of their young lives has passed; Tomi and Tamae have children, but their children have disappointed them. Kin has two former lovers who still pursue her; one she wants to see, and the other she doesn't. But even the one she remembers fondly, when he shows up, proves to be a disappointment.Late Chrysanthemus (Mikio Naruse)
- DirectorJack WebbStarsJack WebbJanet LeighEdmond O'BrienIn 1927, a Kansas City, Missouri cornet player and his band perform nightly at a seedy speakeasy until a racketeer tries to extort them in exchange for protection.
- DirectorJuan Antonio BardemStarsBetsy BlairJosé SuárezYves MassardA couple of friends decide to have a good time and play a trick on an unmarried woman. Therefore one of them has to pretend to fall in love with her.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsCurd JürgensPeter UstinovO.E. HasseShort of cash for his private clinic, a French psychiatrist accepts money from a NATO Intelligence agent to shelter a defecting Soviet-bloc scientist but enemy spies are closing-in.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsFrancisco ReigueraAkim TamiroffPepe MediavillaThe story of a Spanish gentlemen gone mad and his dim-witted squire Sancho Panza, who set forth on a journey to right wrongs and accomplish good deeds in the name of chivalry.Movie Theater Sequence from Unfinished film. Rosenbaum hates Franco's version
- DirectorRitwik GhatakStarsSupriya ChoudhuryAbanish BanerjeeAnil ChatterjeeA highly critical look at the role of "progressive" art and artists in a changing society.
- DirectorJack SmithStarsFrancis FrancineSheila BickJoel MarkmanAn experimental film that features graphic sexual imagery, an earthquake, and a lipstick commercial.
- DirectorEbrahim GolestanTHIS IS A MAINLY VISUAL DOCUMENTARY WITH SOME NARRATION -- No plot-line to spoil so NO SPOILERS, just descriptions and commentary. JEWELS GALORE!. Rubies, Diamonds, Emeralds, and GOLD GOLD GOLD.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJeanne MoreauMargaret RutherfordWhen King Henry IV ascends to the throne, his heir, the Prince of Wales, is befriended by Sir John Falstaff, an old, overweight, fun-loving habitual liar. Through Falstaff's eyes we see the reign of King Henry IV and the rise of Henry V.
- DirectorSergei ParajanovStarsTengiz ArchvadzeVladimir ArtmanAlexandr KotchekovA short from Sergei Parajanov, edited from this banned film's screen tests, noted by Mikhail Vartanov as the origin of the groundbreaking cinematic language materialized in the masterpiece The Color of Pomegranates (1969).
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsLino VenturaPaul MeurisseJean-Pierre CasselAn account of underground resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied France.
- DirectorPere PortabellaStarsChristopher LeeJeannine MestreMiguel BilbatúaAbsurdist protest movie set in Francoist Spain.
- DirectorAndré DelvauxStarsAnna KarinaMathieu CarrièreRoger Van HoolIn 1917, the First World War is raging. Julien is from Luxembourg, so instead of having to go to war he studies piano in Paris. One day his friend Jacques, also a musician and now a fighter pilot on the front, invites him to spend a few days in his family's empty house in Bray. The housekeeper, a beautiful but mute woman lets Julien in, but his friend is late and he is obliged to wait. In the meantime, he starts reminiscing of the pre-war days spent with his friend and Jacques' girlfriend Odile.
- DirectorWinterfilm CollectiveStarsRusty SachsJoe BangertScott ShimabukuroFor three days in 1971, former US soldiers who were in Vietnam testify in Detroit about their war experiences. Nearly 30 speak, describing atrocities personally committed or witnessed, telling of inaccurate body counts, and recounting the process of destroying a village. The atrocities are casual, seem routine, and are sanctioned or committed by officers. Images from the war illustrate the testimony; there's a side discussion among veterans about racism and a couple of interviews about the soldiers' self-realization. The testimony appears in the US Congressional Record on April 6 and 7, 1971. A "winter soldier" contrasts with Paine's "summer soldier and sunshine patriot."
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsJohn HustonOja KodarPeter BogdanovichAt a media-swamped party to celebrate his 70th birthday and screen his avant-garde film-in-progress, a legendary but jaded Hollywood director is faced both with voracious fans and unsettling questions about what became of his lead actor.
- DirectorPere PortabellaStarsCarme EliasFrancisco GuijarJordi DauderA female professor, a writer, and an orchestra conductor -three characters, two couples- attend a grand literary cocktail party. The writer has just won the prize for his book "Warsaw Bridge". The winner answers the journalist's questions one after another, but he is unable to come up with a synthesis of the plot of his book. They will simply have to read it.
- DirectorYervant GianikianAngela Ricci LucchiCollection of images of human and environmental disaster from former Yugoslav con-materials and images, testimony that restores existing vital values that could not be there. Created from private films shot between the 1920s and 1940s.
- DirectorManoel de OliveiraStarsJorge TrêpaRicardo TrêpaMaria de MedeirosThe city of Porto viewed by the intimate eye of Manoel de Oliveira.
- DirectorYoussef ChahineStarsLatifaAhmad BedairAhmad WafiqDrama about Malak, a rich and famous singing star who, when her husband leaves her, takes up with the younger, handsome Lamei. What Malak can't see - but her family can - is that Lamei is only after her money.
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsBill MurrayTom WaitsRoberto BenigniA series of vignettes that all have coffee and cigarettes in common.
- DirectorMark AchbarJennifer AbbottStarsMikela JayRob BeckwermertChristopher GoraDocumentary that looks at the concept of the corporation throughout recent history up to its present-day dominance.
- DirectorAlain ResnaisStarsSabine AzémaIsabelle NantyAudrey TautouA romantic musical story having the vibes both France and USA.
- DirectorGuy MaddinStarsIsabella RosselliniMark McKinneyMaria de MedeirosA musical of sorts set in Winnipeg during the Great Depression, where a beer baroness organizes a contest to find the saddest music in the world. Musicians from around the world descend on the city to try and win the $25,000 prize.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEthan HawkeJulie DelpyVernon DobtcheffNine years after Jesse and Celine first met, they encounter each other again on the French leg of Jesse's book tour.
- DirectorZhuangzhuang TianStarsKuirong WangDelamu ¨C Tibetan for "Peace Angel". Since ancient times, China's two primary land routes connecting it to the outside world have been the Silk Road in the north, and Tea Horse-Road in the south. The mountain village of Bingzhongluo-Tibetan for "Village of Tibetans" is located on the high plateau of western Yunnan Province, at the foot of Gaoligong Mountain. Traveling along the Nujiang River, one can reach the southern Tibetan border town of Chawalong-Tibetan for "Valley of Dry Heat." But with no roads connecting the two places, since ancient times the transport of all goods and supplies has relied entirely on horse caravans. The journey of more than 90 kilometers zigzags through high mountain slopes, dense forests, gorges and wastelands. Year-round caravans have plied the Tea-Horse Road, traversing the Hengduan Mountains, packing tea, salt, grains and other provisions. Traveling upstream along the Three Rivers, the route reaches Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, India and Western Asia, ultimately linking to Europe. Traveling downstream along the Three Rivers, the route reaches Southeast Asia and the South Pacific. Created more than two thousand years ago, the Tea-Horse Road is the highest and most perilous of the world's ancient routes, and to this day still show vibrant signs of life. This film is a record of the Tea-Horse Road, the caravans of the Nujiang River Valley, and the aboriginal peoples who live there -- Mm. Ding who has a family with 15 members speaking 6 languages, a pastor who was jailed for 15 years for his believing, a 104 years old lady who walks through 3 centuries, a village head whose wife run away, a caravan who shares one wife with his elder brother, a young lama in the Buddhist temple who feels lonely sometimes, a 82 years old caravan leader whose story is a legend of the Tibetan caravans¡
- DirectorJames BenningAn experimental film portraying different skies in very long takes.
- DirectorZhangke JiaStarsTao ZhaoTaishen ChengJue JingAn exploration on the impact of urbanization and globalization on a traditional culture.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsChieko BaishôTakuya KimuraTatsuya GashûinWhen an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.
- StarsGilles KepelWilliam KristolMelvin GoodmanA series of three documentaries about the use of fear for political gain.
- DirectorKen JacobsStarsJack SmithJerry SimsGib TaylorStar Spangled to Death is a 2004 experimental film directed by Ken Jacobs, consisting almost entirely of archive footage, depicting the history of the United States in film.
- DirectorSally PotterStarsJoan AllenSimon AbkarianSam NeillIn this film, told almost entirely in iambic pentameter, She is a scientist in a loveless marriage to Anthony, a devious politician. He is a Lebanese doctor in self-imposed exile, working as a chef in a London restaurant. They meet at a banquet and fall into a carefree, passionate relationship. But the contempt He perceives as a Muslim immigrant to the UK causes him to break up with She, offering little in the way of explanation, and return to his homeland. She drags his reasons out of him little by little and tries to sympathize. Keenly feeling the loss of his love, She flies to Havana to sort things out on the beach and in the cabarets. She sends him a ticket, but harbors no illusions that He will join her in this Caribbean melting pot.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsViggo MortensenMaria BelloEd HarrisA mild-mannered man becomes a local hero through an act of violence, which sets off repercussions that will shake his family to its very core.
- DirectorSarah PolleyStarsJulie ChristieMichael MurphyGordon PinsentA man coping with the institutionalization of his wife because of Alzheimer's disease faces an epiphany when she transfers her affections to another man, Aubrey, a wheelchair-bound mute who also is a patient at the nursing home.
- DirectorAbderrahmane SissakoStarsAïssa MaïgaTiécoura TraoréMaimouna Hélène DiarraBamako. Melé is a bar singer, her husband Chaka is out of work and the couple is on the verge of breaking up... In the courtyard of the house they share with other families, a trial court has been set up. African civil society spokesmen have taken proceedings against the World Bank and the IMF whom they blame for Africa's woes... Amidst the pleas and the testimonies, life goes on in the courtyard. Chaka does not seem to be concerned by this novel Africa's desire to fight for its rights...
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsCarice van HoutenSebastian KochThom HoffmanIn the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, a Jewish singer infiltrates the regional Gestapo headquarters for the Dutch resistance.
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsAtom EgoyanArsinée KhanjianHome video documentary on director Atom Egoyan and his wife, Arsinée Khanjian's visit to her home city of Beirut, Lebanon.
- DirectorAlain ResnaisStarsSabine AzémaIsabelle CarréLaura MoranteIn Paris, six people all look for love, despite typically having their romantic aspirations dashed at every turn.
- DirectorKaren MoncrieffStarsToni ColletteBrittany MurphyMarcia Gay HardenThe clues to a young woman's death come together as the lives of seemingly unrelated people begin to intersect.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsVin DieselPeter DinklageRon SilverIn the late 1980s, a low level gangster named Jackie DiNorscio defends himself in court in what became the longest criminal trial in American judicial history.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsKarolina GruszkaKrzysztof MajchrzakGrace ZabriskieAs an actress begins to adopt the persona of her character in a film, her world becomes nightmarish and surreal.
- DirectorJafar PanahiStarsSima Mobarak-ShahiShayesteh IraniAyda SadeqiThe struggle of women in a country that excludes them from entering stadiums.
- DirectorGarin NugrohoStarsMartinus MirotoEko SupriyantoArtika Sari DeviThe story of the performer of Javanese Ramayana human wayang. They are the spouses who lives in a village by selling earthenware products. Conflicts arrived as the husband is going bankrupt and the wife start to looking for another love.
- DirectorZhangke JiaStarsTao ZhaoZhou LanSanming HanA town in Fengjie county is gradually being demolished and flooded to make way for the Three Gorges Dam. A man and woman visit the town to locate their estranged spouses, and become witness to the societal changes.
- 2006–20075 epsTV-MA8.5 (4.8K)TV Mini Series89MetascoreStarsDarleen AsevedoJay AsevedoShelton Shakespear AlexanderAn examination of the U.S. government's response to Hurricane Katrina.
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsChristian BaleCate BlanchettHeath LedgerRuminations on the life of Bob Dylan, where six characters embody a different aspect of the musician's life and work.
- DirectorAmit DuttaStarsChandra Shekhar DuttaAn experimental film which combines folk tales and dreams with vivid images and sounds from nature.
- DirectorLee Chang-dongStarsJeon Do-yeonSong Kang-hoLee Dong-yongA woman moves to the town where her dead husband was born. As she tries to fit in, another tragic event overturns her life.
- DirectorPere PortabellaStarsChristian AtanasiuFéodor AtkineGeorge-Christoph BillerBlending historical reconstruction with very loosely linked 'dramatic' scenes and documentary sequences, the film constitutes a playful, painterly sequence of variations on the argument that Johann Sebastian changed the way the world hears thanks to his extraordinary ear for harmony.
- StarsJohn NashRobert SpitzerJerome WakefieldThe many ways in which Western notions of personal and political freedom are changing in the 21st Century are explored in this three-part documentary from writer and filmmaker Adam Curtis.