The protagonist (Rudolf Hrusinsky) is a dull, fat, shy government clerk indulging in voyuerism and ego fantasies. In love with another clerk (Kveta Fiolova), he is urged on in his pursuit by a commiserate executive. The story is told in a flashback sequence as the cuckolded Hrusinsky attempts suicide by gassing himself in his bathtub. The “Murder” of the title is not a murder as such, rather the murder that Hrusinsky remembers planning upon discovering his wife’s unfaithfulness with his supposed friend and advisor. Both plots failing in his mind, he loses himself in fantastic reveries of his funeral and of hypocritical mourners. ‘ Deciding (perhaps) that this is not the way out either, he gives up the attempt and imagines a life of reconciliation and eventual affluence.
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Crime
Supermarkt (1974) Roland Klick, Charly Wierczejewski, Eva Mattes, Michael Degen, Action, Crime, Drama
18-year old Willi is living on the street – there are no goals in his life. There, he meets several people, helping but also cheating him. When he finally meets Monica, he realizes that there are people out there whose lives are even more desperate than his. So he’s trying to help her (and him) by planning a great robbery on a supermarket’s money transporter.
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Dead Reckoning (1947) John Cromwell, Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott, Morris Carnovsky, Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Rip Murdock and Johnny Darke are en route to Washington when Johnny disappears and then turns up dead. Rip learns that Johnny had been accused of murder and sets out to find out what he can. He falls in love with Coral whose husband Johnny is supposed to have killed.
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Pickpocket (1959) Robert Bresson, Martin LaSalle, Marika Green, Jean Pélégri, Crime, Drama
Michel takes up picking pockets as a hobby, and is arrested almost immediately, giving him the chance to reflect on the morality of crime. After his release, though, his mother dies, and he rejects the support of friends Jeanne and Jacques in favour of returning to pickpocketing (after taking lessons from an expert), because he realises that it’s the only way he can express himself…
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Crime Without Passion (1934) Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur, Claude Rains, Margo, Whitney Bourne, Crime, Drama
Prominent lawyer shoots unfaithful girlfriend during quarrel, has to establish alibi.
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The Accused (1988) Jonathan Kaplan, Kelly McGillis, Jodie Foster, Bernie Coulson, Drama, Crime
After a young woman suffers a brutal rape in a bar one night, a prosecutor assists in bringing the perpetrators to justice, including the ones who encouraged and cheered on the attack.
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Underworld Beauty (1958) Seijun Suzuki, Michitarô Mizushima, Mari Shiraki, Shinsuke Ashida, Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
The moment he’s released from prison, the honorable gangster Miyamoto recovers the stolen diamonds he had stashed before getting pinched. When he returns to his haunt to make good by friend who took a bullet for him, he is diverted by the greedy boss Oyane and his insatiable taste for Miyamoto’s precious stones. Replete with film noir style, “Underworld Beauty” is one of Suzuki’s best nods to the American gangster genre.
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Seijo densetsu / No More God, No More Love (1985) Tôru Murakawa, Hiromi Gô, Shima Iwashita, Miyuki Ono, Crime, Drama, Romance
Released after seven years in prison, an inveterate thug goes from strength to ruthless strength as he makes his way through a succession of dubious jobs, illegal schemes, and brutal romances.
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Elephant (2003) Gus Van Sant, Elias McConnell, Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, Crime, Drama, Thriller
A day in the lives of a group of average teenage high school students. The film follows every character and shows their daily routines. However two of the students plan to do something that the student body won’t forget.
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L’arme à gauche / The Dictator’s Guns (1965) Claude Sautet, Lino Ventura, Sylva Koscina, Leo Gordon, Crime, Drama
Jacques Cournot, a freelance skipper, is hired by Mr Hendrix in Santo Domingo, first of all to advise him regarding the acquisition of a sailing boat. After a thorough inspection of a prospective vessel, the “Dragoon”, Cournot reports his positive appraisal to Mr Hendrix and initiates the negotiations with Mrs Osborne, the owner of the craft. Barely a couple of days later, Cournot finds himself in a bind as the police questions him about the exact kind of cruise he was supposed to organize for his principal. For the “Dragoon” is gone; Mr Hendrix has disappeared; Mrs Osborne is not aware of any deal; and the corpses of mysterious individuals, victims of a violent death, are found on the beaches of Santo Domingo.
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Married to the Mob (1988) Jonathan Demme, Michelle Pfeiffer, Alec Baldwin, Paul Lazar, Comedy, Crime, Romance
Angela deMarco is unhappily married to high Mafia member Frank deMarco. When Frank is killed, Angela takes the opportunity to break free of the Mafia world entirely and start a new life. But Frank’s boss, Tony Russo, begins to court the unresponsive Angela. The FBI begins surveillance on her, thinking her to be his new mistress. FBI agent Mike Downey goes undercover as Angela’s neighbor, but soon finds himself attracted to Angela himself.
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10 Rillington Place (1971) Richard Fleischer, Richard Attenborough, Judy Geeson, John Hurt, Biography, Crime, Drama
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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Policewomen (1974) Lee Frost, Sondra Currie, Tony Young, Phil Hoover, Action, Crime
A lady cop infiltrates an all-female criminal gang.
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Nihon jokyo-den: makka na dokyo-bana / Brave Red Flower of the North (1970) Yasuo Furuhata, Sumiko Fuji, Ken Takakura, Shingo Yamashiro, Action, Crime
An exciting tale of action on the distant northern island of Hokkaido around the beginning of the 20th Century starring two of the biggest names in Yakuza film history, Fuji Junko and Takakura Ken. Since the death of death of her father, Yuki who has traveled from her home in the southernmost part of Japan must fight corrupt local officials seeking to fill her late father’s post. As her life is in danger a mysterious rifleman, played by Takakura Ken watches from the shadows. Can she finish the work her dear departed father started in an untamed land?
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The Thin Man Goes Home (1945) Richard Thorpe, William Powell, Myrna Loy, Lucile Watson, Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Nick and Nora head to Nick’s hometown of Sycamore Springs to spend some time with his parents. His father, a prominent local physician, was always a bit disappointed with Nick’s choice of profession in particular and his lifestyle in general. With Nick’s arrival however the towns folk, including several of the local criminal element, are convinced that he must be there on a case despite his protestations that he’s just there for rest and relaxation. When someone is shot dead on his doorstep however, Nick finds himself working on a case whether he wants to or not.
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