Drama

War and Peace (1956) King Vidor, Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer, Drama, Romance, War

War and Peace (King Vidor, 1956)
By 1812, Napoleon’s forces controlled much of Europe. Russia, one of the few countries still unconquered, prepares to face Napoleon’s troops together with Austria. Among the Russian soldiers are Count Nicholas Rostov and Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. Count Pierre Bezukhov, a friend of Andrei’s and self-styled intellectual who is not interested in fighting. Pierre’s life changes when his father dies, leaving him a vast inheritance. He is attracted to Natasha Rostov, Nicholas’s sister, but she is too young, so he gives in to baser desires and marries the shallow, manipulative Princess Helene. The marriage ends when Pierre discovers his wife’s true nature. Andrei is captured and later released by the French, and returns home only to watch his wife die in childbirth. Months later, Pierre and Andrei meet again. Andrei sees Natasha and falls in love, but his father will only permit the marriage if they postpone it for one year until Natasha turns 17.
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Thieves’ Highway (1949) Jules Dassin, Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese, Lee J. Cobb, Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller

Thieves' Highway (1949)
The soldier Nick Garcos returns back home from the war very happy with gifts for his parents Yanko and Parthena Garcos and money in his pocket to open a business and get married with his girlfriend Polly Faber. Out of blue, Nick realizes that his father lost both legs and Yanko, who was a truck driver, tells that he was cheated by the dealer Mike Figlia in the San Francisco’s market when he delivered a truckload of tomatoes and was not paid. He believes that his accident was provoked by Figlia’s gangsters. He also tells that he sold the truck to a driver named Ed Kinney that has not paid him. Nick meets Ed and tells that he will bring the truck back, but Ed proposes a deal with apples, where they may earn a great amount. Nick invests his savings in another truck and buys apples from a Polish farmer. They need to drive directly to the market in San Francisco without sleeping to keep the fruits fresh, but Ed’s truck has problem on its axle and Nick arrives first.
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Seven Thieves (1960) Henry Hathaway, Edward G. Robinson, Rod Steiger, Joan Collins, Crime, Drama

Seven Thieves (1960)
In Monte Carlo, Theo Wilkins recruits his young protégé Paul Mason – just released from prison – to help him rob the famous casino of $4 million. The plan is straightforward. On the night of the Governor’s Ball, Theo will create a distraction in the casino by having one of the team collapse requiring urgent medical attention. During that time Paul and another member of the crew will get the money from the vault. When the ambulance arrives, the money will leave with the sick man. The plan is a good one but not everyone will survive the robbery and no one will get rich from it.
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Cien / Shadow (1956) Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Zygmunt Kestowicz, Adolf Chronicki, Emil Karewicz, Action, Drama

Cien (Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 1956)
The plot consists of a Rashomon-like investigation into the life of a man found dead after having been hurled from a train. As security agents, policemen and a medical examiner begin to piece together his identity, three accounts emerge: one set during World War II, one in the immediate aftermath of the war and one in contemporary Poland. In each, the victim seems to have been a mysterious, ambiguous presence, of shifting loyalties and suspicious connections, who invariably set himself against the ruling powers of the time. Critics of the day attacked the film for its depiction of a world rife with secret agents and hidden enemies – a favorite Stalinist theme – yet the film seems rather to insist on how heroism or villainy are so often matters of point of view and timing.
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Une belle fille comme moi / A Gorgeous Bird Like Me (1972) François Truffaut, Bernadette Lafont, Claude Brasseur, Charles Denner, Comedy, Crime, Drama

Une belle fille comme moi AKA A Gorgeous Bird Like Me (1972)
Stanislas Previne is a young sociologist, preparing a thesis on criminal women. He chooses Camille Bliss as his subject of study and begins to visit her in prison for interviews. Camille became acquainted with trouble at a young age and justifies her actions by “fate-bets.” She is currently in prison for allegedly murdering one of her lovers. As she tells Stanislas of her life and love affairs, his interest in her grows to more than just professional. Can he resist her charm?
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