Author Archives: rarefilm

Der letzte Ritt nach Santa Cruz / The Last Ride to Santa Cruz (1964) Rolf Olsen, Edmund Purdom, Mario Adorf, Marianne Koch, Western

the-last-ride-to-santa-cruz-1964
Pedro Ortiz (Mario Adorf) is released from prison and returns soon to free a young man called Carlos (Thomas Fritsch). Together with Jose (Klaus Kinski) and Fernando (Sieghardt Rupp), they start a new gang for bank robbery and the usual things bandits do. They take Ortiz’ friend Juanita (Marisa Mell) and the servile piano player Woody (Walter Giller) with them. When former sheriff Kelly (Edmund Purdom) follows them, they take his wife Liz (Marianne Koch) and his young son for hostages.
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Deadline at Dawn (1946) Harold Clurman, Susan Hayward, Bill Williams, Paul Lukas, Film-Noir, Mystery, Romance

deadline-at-dawn-1946
Alex, a sailor on leave, recovers from a drink-induced blackout with a large sum of money belonging to Edna Bartelli, a b-girl who invited him home to “fix her radio.” He tries to return it with the reluctant aid of June Goth, a sweet but oh-so-tired dance hall girl; they find Edna murdered. Not quite sure he didn’t do it himself, Alex and June have four hours in the dead of night to find the real killer before his leave ends. Their quest brings them into contact with a sleazy kaleidoscope of minor characters; clues get more and more tangled…
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Stairway to Heaven (1946) Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, David Niven, Kim Hunter, Robert Coote, Drama, Fantasy, Comedy

stairway-to-heaven-1946
Returning to England from a bombing run in May 1945, flyer Peter Carter’s plane is damaged and his parachute ripped to shreds. He has his crew bail out safely, but figures it is curtains for himself. He gets on the radio, and talks to June, a young American woman working for the USAAF, and they are quite moved by each other’s voices. Then he jumps, preferring this to burning up with his plane. He wakes up in the surf. It was his time to die, but there was a mixup in heaven. They couldn’t find him in all that fog. By the time his “Conductor” catches up with him 20 hours later, Peter and June have met and fallen in love. This changes everything, and since it happened through no fault of his own, Peter figures that heaven owes him a second chance. Heaven agrees to a trial to decide his fate.
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Madhouse (1990) Tom Ropelewski, Richard Alexander, Kirstie Alley, John Larroquette, Comedy

madhouse-1990
Mark (John Larroquette) and Jessie (Kirstie Alley) get blindsided by an unexpected visit from Mark’s cousin, Fred (John Diehl), and his pregnant wife, Bernice (Jessica Lundy). The family reunion is suddenly extended from five days to six months after an accident renders Bernice bedridden, and Mark and Jessie’s life is slowly turned upside down by a seemingly never-ending stream of house guests, including Jessie’s neurotic sister (Alison La Placa) and her obnoxious son (Bradley Gregg).
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Caligula (1979) Tinto Brass, Malcolm McDowell, Peter O’Toole, Helen Mirren, Drama, History, Erotic

caligula
The rise and fall of the notorious Roman Emperor Caligula, showing the violent methods that he employs to gain the throne, and the subsequent insanity of his reign – he gives his horse political office and humiliates and executes anyone who even slightly displeases him. He also sleeps with his sister, organises elaborate orgies and embarks on a fruitless invasion of England before meeting an appropriate end.
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Histoire d’O / The Story of O (1975) [UNCUT 105min] Just Jaeckin, Corinne Cléry, Udo Kier, Anthony Steel, Erotic, Drama

histoire-do-1975
A story about an unorthodox relationship The Story of O is still a controversial film many have found to be scandalous, unbearably graphic. Its explicit narrative, as well as unconventional depiction of human desire, is certainly amongst the boldest in mainstream cinema. Not surprisingly, moralistic watchdogs have dismissed it time and time again as pornography.
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10 Rillington Place (1971) Richard Fleischer, Richard Attenborough, Judy Geeson, John Hurt, Biography, Crime, Drama

10 Rillington Place (Richard Fleischer, 1971)
A seemingly model citizen living in mid-century London, John Christie (Richard Attenborough) is actually a killer. Masquerading as a doctor, he convinces guileless women that he can cure whatever might ail them, and when they follow him to his home, he chokes them to death and buries them in a makeshift graveyard. Based on a series of real-life killings, the story follows John as he cons a pregnant bride (Judy Geeson) and wonders if he might have found a scapegoat in her husband (John Hurt).
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Shonen / Le Petit Garcon / Boy (1969) Nagisa Ôshima, Fumio Watanabe, Akiko Koyama, Tetsuo Abe, Drama

boy-1969
Based on real events reported in Japanese newspapers in 1966 “Boy” follows the title character, Toshio Omura, across Japan, as he is forced to participate in a dangerous scam to support his dysfunctional family. Toshio’s father, Takeo Omura, is an abusive, lazy veteran, who forces his wife, the boy’s stepmother, Takeko Tamiguchi, to feign being hit by cars in order to shake down the motorists. When his wife is unable to perform the scam, Toshio is enlisted…
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Tarzoon La Honte de la Jungle (1975) Picha, Boris Szulzinger, Bernard Dhéran, Georges Aminel, Arlette Thomas, Adventure, Animation, Comedy

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Dans sa caravane perchée dans les arbres, Tarzoon (Shame) coule des jours heureux en compagnie de June sa femme, et Flicka, son singe. Un brave garçon dont il n’y a rien à dire. Mais, non loin de là, vit la reine Bazonga, protégée dans son royaume souterrain par une armée de créatures phalliques, les Zombits. Prête à conquérir le monde, elle n’a qu’un souci : sa calvitie. Seule une greffe pourrait la sauver et, justement June a les cheveux qu’il lui faudrait…
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Never Gone (2016) Zhou Tuo Ru, Kris Wu, Yifei Liu, Shijia Jin, Drama, Romance

never-gone-2016
The story started in high school. Su Yunjin (Liu Yifei) is a struggling transfer student from a regional town, while rich heir Cheng Zheng (Kris Wu) is the star student who sits behind her. He fell in love with her and started to pursue her all the way through college, even though they studied and lived in different cities. Cheng Zheng was ultimately successful in pursuing Su Yunjin, who willed herself to follow her heart for once, even though she knew there would be many obstacles in their way. Soon, they were basking in happiness, and subsequently moved in together after university. However, reality caught up with them two years after graduation. Their vastly different personalities and disparate family background meant their relationship was unequal from the very beginning – their unspoken expectations of each other and all the misunderstandings that came with a mundane lifestyle caused them to part ways with each other.[3] A few years later, both of them establish successful careers, and end up living in the same neighborhood, thus meeting and getting entangled in each other’s lives again. They both try to move on with different relationships, but are unsuccessful. When Su Yunjin loses her mother to cancer, Cheng Zheng is the only one to comfort her, causing the former to rekindle their relationship.
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Death Takes a Holiday (1934) Mitchell Leisen, Fredric March, Evelyn Venable, Guy Standing, Drama, Fantasy, Romance

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Death decides to take a holiday from his usual business to see what it is like to be a mortal. Posing as Prince Sirki, he spends 3 days with Duke Lambert and his guests at his dukal estate. Several of the women are attracted to the mysterious prince, but shy away from him when they sense his true nature. But Grazia, the beautiful young woman whom the Duke thought was to marry his son, loves him even when she knows who he is.
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The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister (2010) James Kent, Maxine Peake, Anna Madeley, Susan Lynch, Biography, Drama, Romance

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In nineteenth century Yorkshire wealthy orphan Anne Lister lives with an aunt and uncle, anxious for her to marry well and blissfully – unaware that she is a lesbian. Anne is recording her thoughts and exploits in a coded diary. When her lover Mariana Belcombe makes a marriage of convenience to rich old Charles Lawton she feels betrayed and, although Mariana visits her,the relationship is going nowhere. Helped by old flame Tib she makes a play for innocent Miss Browne but sees she is barking up the wrong tree and diverts herself by renovating the family hall. A drunken Tib almost exposes her secret and scornful mine-owner Christopher Rawson, whose marriage proposal she rejects, tells her that her sexuality is a subject of local gossip….
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