Daily Archives: September 3, 2016

The Glass Key (1942) Stuart Heisler, Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Brian Donlevy, Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

The Glass Key (1942)
In this slick updating of Dashiell Hammet’s crime novel, political boss Paul Madvig (Brian Donlevy) falls for reform politician Ralph Henry’s attractive daughter Janet (Veronica Lake), despite the caution of his best friend, Ed Beaumont (Alan Ladd). Paul’s efforts to disassociate himself from the criminal underworld backfire, however, when he is accused of murdering Janet’s disreputable brother, and a casino owner Paul had offended sends his sadistic thugs after Ed in revenge.
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Le défroqué / The Unfrocked One (1954) Léo Joannon, Pierre Fresnay, Pierre Trabaud, Nicole Stéphane, Drama

Le defroque (1954)
Pierre Fresnay plays the title character in Le Defroque (The Defrocked One). Cast out by his church, former priest Maurice (Fresnay) delights in mocking the traditions and credos of Catholicism. Even so, young Gerard (Pierre Trabaud) becomes convinced that Maurice has never truly lost his calling. Becoming a priest himself, Gerard devotes his life to bringing Maurice back into the fold. Things don’t turn out quite as Gerard hopes, however; he has not reckoned with the possibility that Maurice may have been driven into insanity by his raging self-hatred.
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Inugami (2001) Masato Harada, Yûki Amami, Atsuro Watabe, Eugene Harada, Thriller, Fantasy, Drama

Inugami (2001)
Akira, a teacher from Tokyo, has just arrived in a small rural town to begin his new job. Soon after arriving, he meets, and begins to fall for, Miki, a papermaker and part of a large and unusual family. When he learns of an ancient legend that the family carries the curse of the Inugami, or Dog God, he brushes it off as silly superstition. After a series of mysterious deaths, however, the townspeople begin to grow restless, and Akira must confront the truth about Miki and her family.
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Kwaidan (1964) Masaki Kobayashi, Rentarô Mikuni, Michiyo Aratama, Misako Watanabe, Art-house, Fantasy, Horror

Kwaidan (1964)
After more than a decade of sober political dramas and socially minded period pieces, the great Japanese director Masaki Kobayashi shifted gears dramatically for this rapturously stylized quartet of ghost stories. Featuring colorfully surreal sets and luminous cinematography, these haunting tales of demonic comeuppance and spiritual trials, adapted from writer Lafcadio Hearn’s collections of Japanese folklore, are existentially frightening and meticulously crafted.
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Nu Guo – In the Name of the Mother (2014) Documentary

Nu Guo - In the Name of the Mother (2014)
In China, in the foothills of the Himalayas, a non-violent egalitarian society has for millennia offered proof that a harmonious and peaceful life is still possible. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations the Mosuo were recognized as a “model society”. On what basis does this community of about 50,000 people function? Above all, for how much longer can it resist the pressures of a market economy engendered by strategically organized mass tourism? In a landscape of outstanding beauty, encounters and testimonies draw us closer to the traditional values cherished by this ethnic group confronted by a crucial challenge: how to safeguard the essence of its identity from destruction and not succumb, as have so many other societies, to the impact of unconstrained globalization.
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The World of Suzie Wong (1960) Richard Quine, William Holden, Nancy Kwan, Sylvia Syms, Drama, Romance

The World of Suzie Wong (1960)
Robert Lomax, tired of working in an office, wants to be an artist. So he moves to Hong Kong to try his hand at painting. Finding a cheap hotel, he checks in, only to find it’s used by prostitutes and their “dates” they meet in the bar downstairs. Since he never picks up any of the ladies, they all want to know more about him. Eventually, he does hire one to model for him… and soon falls in love. However, since he’s on a limited budget, he can’t afford her exclusively, but doesn’t want to “share” her with anyone else.
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