Author Archives: rarefilm

Tsirk / Circus (1936) Grigori Aleksandrov, Isidor Simkov, Lyubov Orlova, Evgeniya Melnikova, Vladimir Volodin, Comedy, Musical

Tsirk (1936)
Circus tells the story of an American named Marion who is banished from the US because a black man impregnates her. Marion escapes to Russia to start a new life in the circus and joins up with lustful, anti-Russian ringmaster who happens to be in love with her. The ringmaster knows her secret about the black baby and threatens to reveal it unless she marries him. The problem is that Marion has fallen in love with a Russian acrobat and later out of sheer jealousy, the ringmaster reveals the identity of the woman’s child in front of the circus audience.
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The Candidate (1972) Michael Ritchie, Robert Redford, Peter Boyle, Melvyn Douglas, Comedy, Drama

The Candidate (1972)
Californian lawyer Bill McKay fights for the little man. His charisma and integrity get him noticed by the Democratic Party machine and he is persuaded to run for the Senate against an apparently unassailable incumbent. It’s agreed he can handle it his own way, on his own terms. But once he’s in the race and his prospects begin to improve, the deal starts to change.
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The Hot Rock (1972) Peter Yates, Robert Redford, George Segal, Ron Leibman, Action, Comedy, Crime

The Hot Rock (1972)
Dr. Amusa approaches Dortmunder about a valuable gem in a museum that is of great signifigance to his people in Africa, stolen during colonial times. Dortmunder assembles a crack team of cat burglars and hatches an elaborate plan for stealing the gem. Despite their care and experience, circumstances and plain bad luck keep the gem just out of their reach.
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Partir / Leaving (2009) Catherine Corsini, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sergi López, Yvan Attal, Drama, Romance

Partir (2009)
Suzanne is a well to do married woman and mother in the south of France. Her idle bourgeois lifestyle gets her down and she decides to go back to work as a physiotherapist. Her husband agrees to fix up a consulting room for her in their backyard. When Suzanne and the man hired to do the building meet, the mutual attraction is sudden and violent. Suzanne decides to give up everything and live this all engulfing passion to the fullest.
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Nacktschnecken / Slugs (2004) Michael Glawogger, Raimund Wallisch, Michael Ostrowski, Pia Hierzegger, Comedy, Drama, Erotic

COVER
Three college dropouts trying to make ends meet in Graz, Austria. One day they get the ultimate job offer: to shoot an amateur porn video. It sounds like good money, sexual adventure, and just plain fun. Despite a few initial difficulties, the three friends develop an almost fierce ambition to achieve their goal. But love, embarrassment, and technical difficulties get in the way.
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Soft Beds, Hard Battles (1974) Roy Boulting, Peter Sellers, Lila Kedrova, Curd Jürgens, Comedy

Soft Beds, Hard Battles (1974)
In this comedy, set during the Nazi occupation of France, Peter Sellers plays most major male parts, so he stars in nearly every scene, always bumbling in inspector Clouseau-style. As British Major Robinson he is hidden in Madame Grenier’s Parisian brothel, right under the nose of the Nazi clients, such as Gestapo agent Herr Schroeder (again him). As Général Latour he leads the French resistance, which includes the brothel madam -made a colonel in charge of her sexy ‘troops’- and a priest, and is joined by young US diplomat Alan Cassidy. As Japanese imperial Prince Kyoto he becomes a target for the resistance in a monastery on his way to Hitler (again him). At the end he decorates the heroes as French president.
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Rich and Famous (1981) George Cukor, Jacqueline Bisset, Candice Bergen, David Selby, Drama

Rich and Famous (1981)
Liz and Merry Noel become friends as college roommates and their friendship endures over the years. Liz becomes a respected “serious” novelist. Merry Noel marries, has a daughter and writes, too: “trash” fiction which becomes enormously successful. Their story begins in college and jumps ahead some years at a time to show their relationship with each other and those in their orbits as they grow and mature.
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History Is Made at Night (1937) Frank Borzage, Charles Boyer, Jean Arthur, Leo Carrillo, Drama, Romance

History Is Made at Night (1937)
The obsessive and jealous shipowner Bruce Vail does not accept the divorce his wife Irene Vail achieved in London, and he hires his driver Michael Browsky to forge adultery with Irene in Paris to make the decree null. However, she is rescued by the headwaiter Paul Dumond, who punches Michael and locks Bruce and his private eyes in a locker, and they spend a wonderful night together in the restaurant Chateau Bleu, where Paul and his best friend Chef Cesare work, and they fall in love for each other. Meanwhile, Bruce kills Michael and blackmails Irene, blaming Paul and forcing her to return with him to New York. But Paul does not give up on Irene, and moves to New York with Cesare trying to find her love.
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