Melo?
Serious Drama but with unrealistic, unbelievable or hard to believe aspects. Sometimes ludicrous often funny but not ‘comedy’. Phoney artificial “movie world” aspects can work to the film’s advantage: implausible soap opera plotting engenders character development and if an actor’s performance is affecting and true, sincere moving drama results despite the sentiment and cliche. (Occasionally cliche is embraced as a Brechtian distancing effect).
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- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsGeorge O'BrienJanet GaynorMargaret LivingstonA sophisticated city woman seduces a farmer and convinces him to murder his wife and join her in the city, but he ends up rekindling his romance with his wife when he changes his mind at the last moment.
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsCharles FarrellMary DuncanDavid TorrenceA Chicago waitress falls in love with a Minnesota farmer, and decides to face a life in the country.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsMitsuko YoshikawaAkio IsonoSumiko MizukuboTwo Geisha with a connection to a young man deal with life's hardships.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsHideko TakamineYûzô KayamaMitsuko KusabueAfter a bombing raid destroys the family store and her husband, Reiko rebuilds and runs the shop out of love stopped short by destruction.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsHideko TakamineTatsuya NakadaiMasayuki MoriA middle-aged bar hostess, constantly in debt, is faced with numerous social constraints and challenges posed to her by her family, customers and friends.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsYûzô KayamaYôko TsukasaMitsuko KusabueA man falls in love with the widow of a man he killed in a car accident. Eventually she falls in love with him in return.
- DirectorKinuyo TanakaStarsYumeji TsukiokaRyôji HayamaJunkichi OrimotoFumiko, mother of two children and wife of an unfaithful man who shows a low self esteem, shares her family life with her asleep vocation as a poetess. The beginning of her successful literary career coincides with her divorce and the development of a serious illness: a breast cancer, which leads her to lose her breasts. In the last stage of her life she meets a young journalist arrived from Tokyo, an admirer of her work, who want to write a story on her life. Both live a secret love history.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsGanjirô NakamuraMachiko KyôHaruko SugimuraThe head of a Japanese theatre troupe returns to a small coastal town where he left a son who thinks he is his uncle, and tries to make up for the lost time, but his current mistress grows jealous.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsRalph RichardsonTrevor HowardRobert MorleyA man occupies a position of trust with a merchant in an East Asian port. He's sacked after he's caught stealing, but he pretends to commit suicide, and a Captain he befriended agrees to take him to a secret trading post.
- DirectorMikhail KalatozovStarsTatyana SamoylovaAleksey BatalovVasiliy MerkurevVeronica plans a rendezvous with her lover, Boris, at the bank of river, only for him to be drafted into World War II shortly thereafter.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneYûzô KayamaTsutomu YamazakiIn 19th-century Japan, a rough-tempered yet charitable town doctor trains a young intern.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsRichard WidmarkLauren BacallCharles BoyerAt a private psychiatric clinic, the daily dramas and interactions between the doctors, nurses, administrators, benefactors and patients are accentuated by the personal and family crises of these individuals.
- DirectorJohn CassavetesStarsGena RowlandsJohn CassavetesBen GazzaraA renowned actress teeters on the edge of a breakdown as she counts down the days toward a big Broadway opening.
- DirectorEmilio FernándezStarsNinón SevillaTito JuncoRodolfo AcostaIn México City, a Cuban dancer from "Cabaret Changó" rescues a baby from a garbage can and decides to raise him, but her pachuco pimp gets in her way.
- DirectorLeos CaraxStarsJuliette BinocheDenis LavantKlaus-Michael GrüberAlex, who's homeless and addicted to alcohol, and Michèle, who's losing her sight, form a relationship while sleeping rough on Paris's Pont-Neuf bridge.
- DirectorYoussef ChahineFarouk BeloufaStarsMahmoud Al MelejiHuda SultanShukri SarhanFreed after spending 12 years in jail, a man's homecoming turns into a dark affair as his disillusion clashes with his family expectations.
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsBjörkCatherine DeneuveDavid MorseAn Eastern European US immigrant with a love for musicals has to cope with the gradual loss of her vision.
- DirectorLeos CaraxStarsAdam DriverMarion CotillardSimon HelbergA stand-up comedian and his opera singer wife have a two-year-old daughter with a surprising gift.
- DirectorLeos CaraxStarsGuillaume DepardieuYekaterina GolubevaCatherine DeneuveA young writer becomes intrigued with a mysterious dark-haired woman who claims to be his long-lost sister, starting an unusual relationship with her and prompting a downward spiral involving his domineering mother and lovely fiancée.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsPenélope CruzMilena SmitIsrael ElejaldeThe story of two mothers who bond in unexpected way after giving birth the same day.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsCecilia RothMarisa ParedesCandela PeñaA comedy-drama about a bereaved mother, and overwrought actress, her jealous lover, and a pregnant nun.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsMarisa ParedesJuan EchanoveCarme EliasLeo writes trashy romance novels under a pseudonym but as she struggles in her relationship with her husband, she finds her output becoming darker.
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsLeslie CheungMaggie CheungAndy LauA man tries to find out who his real mother is after the woman who raised him tells him the truth.
- DirectorHiromasa YonebayashiStarsSara TakatsukiKasumi ArimuraNanako MatsushimaAnna, a shy 12-year-old girl, is sent to spend time with her aunt and uncle who live in the countryside, where she meets Marnie. The two become best friends. But Anna gradually discovers that Marnie is not quite who she appears to be.
- DirectorAki KaurismäkiStarsJanne HyytiäinenMaria JärvenhelmiMaria HeiskanenIn Helsinki, a lonely night watchman is caught up in a series of misadventures with a femme fatale and a crooked businessman.
- DirectorShôgo FuruyaSatoshi KonStarsTôru EmoriYoshiaki UmegakiAya OkamotoOn Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.
- DirectorAki KaurismäkiStarsMarkku PeltolaKati OutinenAnnikki TähtiM arrives in Helsinki only to be viciously attacked by thugs and pronounced dead by medics. He revives but with no memory of his past or his identity. He rebuilds his life from scratch, but the past inevitably catches up with him.
- DirectorRainer Werner FassbinderStarsBrigitte MiraEl Hedi ben SalemBarbara ValentinA lonely widow meets a much younger Moroccan worker in a bar during a rainstorm. They fall in love, to their own surprise and to the outright shock of their families, colleagues, and drinking buddies.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsMinzhi WeiHuike ZhangZhenda Tian13-year old Wei Minzhi is the new substitute teacher of a mountain village school. She is told not to lose any of her pupils under any circumstances.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsRod SteigerJames CoburnRomolo ValliA low-life bandit and an I.R.A. explosives expert rebel against the government and become heroes of the Mexican Revolution.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsGong LiJingwu MaSaifei HeChina in the 1920s. After her father's death, Songlian is forced to marry the wealthy Master Chen. With three wives already, each living in a separate house, there is fierce competition for his attention and the privileges that are gained.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsYou GeGong LiBen NiuAfter Fugui and Jiazhen lose their personal fortunes, they raise a family and survive difficult cultural changes during 1940s to 1970s China.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsRobert De NiroJames WoodsElizabeth McGovernA former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsJohn MillsValerie HobsonTony WagerA humble orphan boy in 1810s Kent is given the opportunity to go to London and become a gentleman, with the help of an unknown benefactor.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsWendy HillerRoger LiveseyPamela BrownA young Englishwoman goes to the Hebrides to marry her older, wealthier fiancé. When the weather keeps them separated on different islands, she begins to have second thoughts.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsDavid NivenKim HunterRobert CooteA British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court, hoping to prolong his fledgling romance with an American girl.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsDeborah KerrDavid FarrarFlora RobsonA group of nuns struggle to establish a convent in the Himalayas, while isolation, extreme weather, altitude, and culture clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries mad.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsIsao NumasakiChieko NakakitaAtsushi WatanabeDuring a Sunday trip into war-ravaged Tokyo, despairing Yuzo and optimistic Masako look for work and lodging, as well as affordable entertainments to pass the time.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsAnton WalbrookMarius GoringMoira ShearerA young ballet dancer is torn between the man she loves and her pursuit to become a prima ballerina.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsYoshitaka ZushiKin SugaiToshiyuki TonomuraVarious tales in the lives of Tokyo slum dwellers, including a mentally deficient young man obsessed with driving his own commuter trolley.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsIrene DunneBarbara Bel GeddesOscar HomolkaA young writer recalls her ups and downs of growing up as one of four children to Norwegian immigrant parents in 1910s San Francisco.
- DirectorMax OphülsStarsJoan FontaineLouis JourdanMady ChristiansA pianist about to flee from a duel receives a letter from a woman he cannot remember, who may hold the key to his downfall.
- DirectorLuchino ViscontiStarsFarley GrangerAlida ValliMassimo GirottiAn Italian Countess is allied with Nationalists during the Italian-Austrian war of unification. However, she risks betraying their cause when she falls in love with an Austrian lieutenant.
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsIrene DunneJohn BolesGeorge MeekerA woman's love for and devotion to a married man results in her being relegated to the "back streets" of his life.
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsClaudette ColbertWarren WilliamRochelle HudsonA struggling widow and her daughter take in a Black housekeeper and her fair-skinned daughter; the two women start a successful business but face familial, identity, and racial issues along the way.
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsMargaret SullavanJohn BolesEdna May OliverA one-night fling during World War I results in a young girl getting pregnant. Years later, she meets him again. Now a successful businessman, he doesn't even remember her, but tries to seduce her.
- DirectorKing VidorStarsBarbara StanwyckJohn BolesAnne ShirleyA working-class woman is willing to do whatever it takes to give her daughter a socially promising future.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJoan CrawfordJack CarsonZachary ScottA hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.
- DirectorJean NegulescoStarsJoan CrawfordJohn GarfieldOscar LevantA classical musician from the slums is sidetracked by his love for a wealthy, neurotic socialite.
- DirectorMax OphülsStarsJames MasonJoan BennettGeraldine BrooksAfter discovering the dead body of her teenage daughter's lover, a housewife takes desperate measures to protect her family from scandal.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsBarbara StanwyckVan HeflinLizabeth ScottA man is reunited with his childhood friend and her husband who believes he knows the truth about the death of her rich aunt years earlier.
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsOlivia de HavillandJohn LundMary AndersonAn unwed mother, forced to give up her child to avoid scandal, follows her son's life from afar even as she prospers in business.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsJoan CrawfordDana AndrewsHenry FondaA commercial artist having an affair with a married attorney becomes involved with a returning soldier and must choose between the two.
- DirectorKing VidorStarsGary CooperPatricia NealRaymond MasseyAn uncompromising, visionary architect struggles to maintain his integrity and individualism despite personal, professional and economic pressures to conform to popular standards.
- DirectorKing VidorOtto BrowerWilliam DieterleStarsJennifer JonesJoseph CottenGregory PeckBeautiful, biracial Pearl Chavez becomes the ward of her dead father's first love and finds herself torn between two brothers, one good and the other bad.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsBarbara StanwyckWendell CoreyWalter HustonA firebrand heiress clashes with her tyrannical father, a cattle rancher who fancies himself a Napoleon, but their relationship turns ugly only when he finds himself a new woman.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsOlivia de HavillandMontgomery CliftRalph RichardsonA naive young woman falls for a handsome young man her emotionally abusive father suspects is only a fortune hunter.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsBarbara StanwyckRichard CarlsonLyle BettgerIn 1910, a wayward mother re-visits the family she deserted.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsBarbara StanwyckFred MacMurrayJoan BennettWhen a toy manufacturer feels ignored and unappreciated by his wife and children, he begins to rekindle a past love when a former employee comes back into his life.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsJack PalanceIda LupinoWendell CoreyHollywood actor Charles Castle is pressured by his studio boss into a criminal cover-up to protect his valuable career.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsJane WymanRock HudsonAgnes MooreheadAn upper-class widow falls in love with a much younger, down-to-earth nurseryman, much to the disapproval of her children and criticism of her country club peers.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsJames MasonBarbara RushWalter MatthauA seriously-ill schoolteacher becomes dependent on a "miracle" drug that begins to affect his sanity.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsDeborah KerrJohn KerrLeif EricksonA new senior at a boy's prep school, finds himself harassed by the machismo culture of his classmates and the unfeelingly behavior by his father, only being treated with decency by his roommate and with affection by the coach's wife.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsRock HudsonLauren BacallRobert StackAlcoholic playboy Kyle Hadley marries the woman secretly loved by his poor but hard-working best friend, who in turn is pursued by Kyle's nymphomaniac sister.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsFrank SinatraDean MartinShirley MacLaineA veteran returns home to deal with family secrets and small-town scandals.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsLana TurnerJohn GavinSandra DeeAn aspiring white actress takes in an African American widow whose mixed-race daughter is desperate to be seen as white.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsRobert MitchumEleanor ParkerGeorge PeppardDramatic story of the influential Hunnicutt family set in Texas during the late 1950s.
- DirectorRaj KapoorStarsNargisRaj KapoorPremnath MalhotraPran and Gopal fall in love with village girls while on a holiday. After returning home, Gopal continues to flirt with other girls. But Pran realizes that he has truly fallen in love.
- DirectorBimal RoyStarsDilip KumarSuchitra SenVyjayanthimalaThe scion of a wealthy landowner family turns to alcohol and self-pity and slowly self-destructs after class differences force him to break off his relationship with his childhood sweetheart.
- DirectorRaj KapoorStarsRaj KapoorNargisPrithviraj KapoorA poor young man named Raj joins a criminal gang to feed his mother. But when he falls in love with Rita, he decides to reform himself for her.
- DirectorGuru DuttStarsGuru DuttWaheeda RehmanMala SinhaVijay, a talented but indigent poet, struggles for love and recognition in this selfish world.
- DirectorAbrar AlviStarsMeena KumariGuru DuttRehman KhanA lowly servant, Bhootnath gets close to the wife of his employer and narrates her story through his eyes and perspective.
- DirectorRitwik GhatakStarsMadhavi MukherjeeBijon BhattacharyaAbhi BhattacharyaA man (Abhi Bhattacharya) opposes the love between his sister and the orphan (Satindra Bhattacharya) they adopted years earlier.
- DirectorGuru DuttStarsWaheeda RehmanGuru DuttKumari NaazSuresh Sinha, a famous director, discovers star potential in Shanti, a woman he stumbled into one rainy evening, and casts her as the lead in a film. In a twist of fate, Shanti becomes a superstar and Suresh faces a decline in his career.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsKinuyo TanakaShûji SanoChieko MurataA man returns from World War II to find his desperate wife had resorted to one night of prostitution to pay for their son's hospital bills.
- DirectorKamal AmrohiStarsAshok KumarMeena KumariRaaj KumarIn Lucknow at the turn of the century, a dancer and courtesan believes that her pure soul and body will enable her to find true love and honor.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsSetsuko HaraIneko ArimaChishû RyûTwo sisters find out the existence of their long-lost mother, but the younger cannot take the truth of being abandoned as a child.
- DirectorJohnnie ToStarsLouis KooAaron KwokCherrie YingA former Judo champion is given the chance to redeem himself after he befriends a competitor and an aspiring singer.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsMel FerrerJoan FontaineRobert RyanA woman's attempt to appear innocent and sweet clashes with her lover, who sees through her act, and the wealthy man she tries to trick into marrying her.
- DirectorClaude ChabrolStarsStéphane AudranMichel PiccoliClaude PiépluLucienne Delamare and Pierre Maury are having an affair. Lucienne's husband Paul is the mayor, and a French deputy. Pierre's wife Clotilde has been weak and sickly for years. Lucienne's husband holds no excitement for her, and he is always away in Paris on business. Pierre is now the vice-mayor, thanks to Paul. Lucienne and Pierre have a secret meeting spot by a lake along a country lane. Pierre's wife dies suddenly, by suicide the town gossips believe. Pierre confesses otherwise to Lucienne. Paul proposes a shady land deal which will "benefit the town", and wants Pierre's political support and collusion. Then Paul discovers proof of his wife's affair...
- DirectorRainer Werner FassbinderStarsMargit CarstensenKarlheinz BöhmBarbara ValentinAfter the death of her abusive father, the lonely librarian Martha marries an equally vile businessman - Helmut. The cruel and torturous nature of their relationship leads Martha to believe Helmut might be trying to kill her.
- DirectorRoberto GavaldónStarsMaría FélixArturo de CórdovaRosario GranadosA artist model who leads the ever hapless Arturo de Córdova away from the arms of his innocent, blue-eyed wife and down, down, down into the ecstatic depths of degradation which include a stop at seedy Panamanian nightclub.
- DirectorSalah AbouseifStarsFarid ShawqiOmar SharifAminah RizqAfter the death of the father, the family consisting of a mother and two young men and a girl themselves without a breadwinner finds, to begin each of them in the direction to a different path, to err on the older brother (Hassan) to work drug, and graduated (Hussein) East of the Police College, while working (Nafisa) prostitution without the knowledge family, to hide them from the fate of many surprises.
- DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsRosita QuintanaFernando SolerVíctor Manuel MendozaAn unstable young woman escapes from a reformatory for very, very wayward girls and deceptively finds shelter in the kind home of a frighteningly nice and decent family. Little by little, she causes unrest and discord among the members of the household, until they are virtually fighting with each other.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsAnn ToddTrevor HowardClaude RainsA woman meets a man whose love she rejected years ago.
- DirectorYasuzô MasumuraStarsAyako WakaoKeizô KawasakiKenji SugawaraYuko is sent to the coastal regions to be raised away from the rest of her sophisticated family where she finds out from her ill grandmother that she is actually the love child of her wealthy businessman father and his ex-secretary.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsGanjirô NakamuraSetsuko HaraYôko TsukasaThe family of an older man who runs a small sake brewery become concerned with his finances and his health after they discover him visiting an old mistress from his youth.
- DirectorHarry KellerStarsEsther WilliamsGeorge NaderJohn SaxonA beautiful teacher is protective of a high school boy who sexually harassed her, and later he becomes a murder suspect.
- DirectorGeorge KaczenderStarsArthur HillSharon AckerCharmion KingThe lives of a businessman and his family begin to spiral downward after he has an affair at an insurance convention.
- DirectorAnn HuiStarsLeon LaiChien-Lien WuAnita MuiIn 1930s Shanghai, a young office girl falls in love with a factory worker in the same company.
- DirectorAnn HuiStarsChow Yun-FatCora MiaoGerry BarnettA cynical playboy pursues an introverted divorcee in the decadence of Hong Kong on the eve of the 1941 Japanese invasion.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsJoan CrawfordCliff RobertsonVera MilesA lonely middle-aged woman meets a younger man, but their relationship is threatened after the man's troubled past reveals itself.
- DirectorSam WoodStarsJoan FontainePatric KnowlesHerbert MarshallAn Edwardian belle meets a rich bachelor, but what to do about her husband and her lover?
- DirectorGrigoriy ChukhrayStarsIzolda IzvitskayaOleg StrizhenovNikolay KryuchkovAn unexpected romance occurs for a female Red Army sniper and a White Army officer.