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9
the first duty of life is to live
If you feel a deep interest in John Frankenheimer and set up a DVD collection , you need three indispensable works from this versatile filmmaker dating from his decade glory : the sixties . They are " the Mandchurian Candidate " ( 1962 ) the template for the political film based on suspicion and conspiracy . " Seconds ...
582,429
1,219,578
92,603
9
The feast of life
This movie came aside as a shock in the eighties . Far from trends , that is to say in the heart of sincere creativity , Babettes gaestebud stands as one of the finest movies of its time . Stephane Audran , the wonderful actress of her ex-husband Claude Chabrol's greatest achievements ( le boucher , la rupture , les no...
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9
Last but not least .
This is Lang's final movie in America . He was to make another two-part movie in Germany but the latter can easily be dismissed compare to'beyond a reasonable doubt " . Prologue : an execution scene , filmed with an absolute intelligence : instead of focusing on the condemned person , the camera searches those who watc...
583,370
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9
take the time to relax yourself a little with this little pearl
In 1999 Sofia Coppola made a breakthrough in the landscape of North-American cinema with " the Virgin Suicides " in which she walled up 5 lovely female teenagers in silence due to their severe parents and notably their mother . 4 years later , Francis Ford's daughter moves to Tokyo in Japan but keeps the theme of lonel...
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10
Happiness is a misfortune you cannot see .
La foire aux chimères is a jewel , a sparkling diamond . It would deserve one hundred comments , and that would not be enough . Pierre Chenal was a film noir director who made moderately successful movies before the war : " l'alibi " which featured Von Stroheim too and his first version of " the postman always rings ...
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10
So little time to love , so much time to die .
Ballada o soldate has one of the most poignant sequences of all war movies : when the mother holds only for a few minutes , her dear boy in her arms , it's impossible to hold back your tears . I saw the movie for the first time thirty years ago and I have never forgotten it . Far from politics , " ballada o soldate "...
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10
when in Rome
When in Rome , do as Romans do . When you've gotten nothing to lose , when you're so broke you couldn't even buy a crust of bread , all that's left for you is the amphitheatre . There , a lot of rich and wealthy people will relish , watching you sweat , struggle and suffer . Horace McCoy's novel was not cheapened , its...
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10
The final hole was a manhole .
Immediate background : Jacques Becker was dying when he filmed " le trou , and he made it his legacy ; it's the tragedy of man caught on the web of life - an admirable metaphor shows two wardens feeding a spider in the undergrounds with a fly - , and anyway unable to escape from the final death . The first thing to bea...
583,319
1,219,578
405,159
10
long live Clint Eastwood !
Hardly one year after the shady " Mystic River " ( 2003 ) , " grandad " Clint Eastwood changes mood and perseveres with " Million Dollar Baby " ( 2004 ) , an unusual film about women's boxing which presents none sign of quieting down from the former cowboy and " dirty Harry " . He once said about his movies that they h...
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10
French beauty at its best
Jacques Demy is a French maker who is famous for his musicals such as " les parapluies de Cherbourg " or " les demoiselles de Rochefort " . For this movie , he chose to adapt a fairy tale written by Charles Perrault during the seventeenth century and he wisely chose . This movie is a real treat , an absolute enchantmen...
583,800
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10
You're naive , Lady Margaret !
Waterloo Bridge is one of my ten favorite melodramas , in the same league as " imitation of life " , " magnificent obsession " ( 2 versions each ) or " to each his own " . I'd always thought that " That Lady Hamilton " was Leigh's third best performance ( after " GWTW " and " a streetcar named desire " ) but I've got...
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10
my heart will go on . . .
One of the monuments of the cinema which won 11 Oscars in Hollywood in 1998 , a huge success ( well deserved ) all over the world . The revelation of two actors until then virtually unknown . This is James Cameron ' masterpiece . He chose to relate the tragedy of the Titanic that took place on the 12th of April 1912 , ...
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10
The bishop blesses the dogs .
La Vie de Plaisir , like " Le Corbeau " , was deemed infamous and banned after the Liberation . The censorship was ruthless and dumb . Albert Valentin would never get over it and , after two more movies , became a writer , sometimes lost in sword and sandal material . However , during the war , he was one of the most...
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10
Ballerinas , Victoria , and the Loch Ness monster .
They are all here in Wilder's most underrated movie . On the site , people complain about the editing , but you cannot put the blame on the director : his three-hour work was boiled down to a two-hour digest . What remains is splendid indeed : magnificence of the film sets - Trauner's work , he who elaborated those of ...
583,765
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10
No secret to conceal !
Like the singer's own movie , " Renaldo and Clara " , " no direction home " is a very looong movie ( 210 min ) ; there the comparison ends : you do not need the fast forward button here ; every minute of Scorcese ' s movie is absorbing ; it might be the best movie dealing with rock ever made . Although it only covers D...
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And a time to praise . . .
Yes a time to praise Douglas Sirk , this magnificent director , too often forgotten ! This movie is arguably his masterpiece . He used to work in Germany before making a career in the USA , and this war that tore apart his adoptive homeland would necessary urge him to express his pacifism . So , he adapted Erich Maria ...
582,424
1,219,578
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10
I saw the future of French cinema and its name is François Ozon !
A movie launched in 2002 , " 8 femmes " was the establishing movie for François Ozon . Through his movies , from his medium-length film " See the Sea " ( 1997 ) to " 8 women " ( 2002 ) to " the criminal lovers " ( 1999 ) , he developed his own style based on surprise . In short , his aim is to surprise the spectator . ...
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10
Admirable
The last pictures of " three comrades " indicated that " they " were fighting in town " little man what now ? " had already depicted a society about to explode . " The mortal storm " concludes the tragedy . " The mortal storm " is the hard rain that's gonna fall . It is superior to the two aforementioned works which we...
584,329
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48,104
10
Everybody's celebrating ! And Duvivier's triumphing one more time !
What can I say of " La Fête à Henriette " ? It's stating the obvious to say that Julien Duvivier was one of the most inventive directors of the French cinema . He almost never looked back , pushing his experiments forward for most of the films he made . " La Fete à Henriette " did not come out of the blue : it's the so...
583,788
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10
Shock corridor in the cuckoo's nest .
I would not label this movie " nouvelle vague " because it would be pejorative to describe that way a movie so harrowing , so disturbing , so madly beautiful . Georges Franju ' s hero is a sane young man , absolutely normal , he's a misfit only for his bourgeois father and the latter's desire for respectability . Sure ...
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10
La Tête Contre Les Murs
After his shorts , Georges Franju made three classics : " La Tête Contre Les Murs " " Les Yeux Sans Visage " and this one . " Therèse Desqueyroux " , based on a celebrated novel by François Mauriac ( the writer wrote the screenplay of the film ) strongly recalls Franju's first masterpiece " La Tete Contre Les Murs " . ...
582,593
1,219,578
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10
A salty dog
The second half of the thirties was the moment when the French cinema was at its best ! Only the Nouvelle Vague aficionados will disagree , more power to them but boy If I could , I ' d find the mathematical formula which would prove me right . Take Robert Siodmak : " Mollenard " is probably his French masterpiece , th...
582,708
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10
Bunuel's towering achievement .
Bunuel's career was one of the most sensational you could dream of . At least ten of his movies are among my favorites and ten others are not far behind . Once he said : " when I was young and I was watching the sky and saying : " it's beautiful up there and there's nothing ; now , I simply say : " it's beautiful " Ath...
585,261
1,219,578
41,634
10
Nothing is dirty when we love each other . . . . .
Manon might well be Clouzot's masterpiece , surpassing even " diabolique " " le salaire de la peur " or " le corbeau " . It's an adaptation of " l'histoire de Manon Lescault et du chevalier des Grieux " by L'Abbé Prévost , a novel from the XVIIIth century , but never mind . When HGC Clouzot takes a novel , he makes i...
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10
Among the very best .
In Boileau-Narcejac's French novel " D'Entre les Morts " = from among the Dead " ) , the revelation only comes in the last pages , but Hitchcock lets the cat out of the bag long before the end . Boileau-Narcejac's novel is a pure detective story , but the Master wanted more : the movie already outdistances the book in ...
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10
when dreams and nightmares collide . . .
My God ! " Requiem for a Dream " ( 2000 ) , what a movie ! It's always difficult to write reviews about perfect movies but I'm going to try . First , there are three adjectives which come to my mind to describe this movie and they're the ones which everyone thinks of : powerful , harrowing and heart-breaking and certai...
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10
Reading History through individual destinies .
The first thing you meet when you study fascism is ostracism : because this " philosophy " is a fake one , there's a need to use scapegoats to assess the " thought " . Ettore Scola's movie , probably his masterpiece , focuses on the outcasts , the scapegoats of the regime . Of the historical event ( Hitler and Mussolin...
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10
Film noir extraordinaire !
This Duvivier gem is the definitive proof that the FRench cinema was not moribund in the late fifties . Julien Duvivier , the master of the film noir French style ( " Pepe le Moko " was a strong influence on the American film noir ) , outdoes himself and gives his last masterpiece . " Voici le temps des assassins " out...
585,270
1,219,578
55,018
10
The influence of " the innocents " . . . . .
. . . . in the field of fantasy and horror movies is incalculable and is only equaled in significance by that of Robert Wise's " the haunting " . Amenabar's excellent " the others " is the best example , but I could mention almost every good fantasy work ( = which does not rely on special effects ) which was to follow ...
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1,219,578
39,615
10
They all lived in a narrow submarine .
Among all René Clément ' s movies dealing with WW2 ( " jeux interdits " " la père tranquille " " Paris brûle-t-il ? " . . . ) " les maudits " is simply the best . It might possibly be also Clement's best and I hope many comments will join mine soon . Nazis are escaping from Germany in 1945 now that the writing's on the...
582,434
1,219,578
62,622
10
Absolute masterpiece
On a scale from 1 to 10 , a ten would not be enough for such a masterwork . 1968 was the definitive landmark for sci-fi movies . So innovative was the screenplay , so devastating were the pictures , so haunting was the score that Kubrik's movie took our breath away , mesmerizing us , turning us into creatures in raptur...
583,704
1,219,578
43,511
10
The most Christian movie ever .
Europa 51 may be the best of all the Bergman / Rosselini collaborations of the fifties , outshining such works as " Viaggio in Italia " or " Stromboli , terra de dio " . There are two worlds in this god almighty universe : the one in which time is only a quiet river , and the one in which time is killing you . Irène ...
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56,937
10
A tragedy , not a soap opera .
I have always thought it was one of the most underrated Hollywood epics . First of all , it's only partially an epic : most of the scenes are intimate , generally two characters who are constantly tearing each other apart . Joseph L . Mankiewicz , one of the most intelligent director of his time , rewrote the dialogue ...
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35,823
10
Patience and resignation / Impatience and rebellion .
SPOILERS SPOILERS " Douce " is one of the absolute peaks of the French cinema during the Occupation . Sixty years later , its strength is still intact , its beauty fascinating . Probably Claude Autant-Lara ' s masterpiece , it's a work every movie buff must see , particularly the ones who love Max Ophuls's or Joseph L ...
584,877
1,219,578
39,661
10
The miracle worker
It's the second time I've seen " Nightmare Alley " and I still consider it Goulding's best of all his movies I've ever seen . Tyrone Power gives perhaps his greatest performance ever . As great when he plays a handsome miracle worker as when he portrays a human wreck . The screenplay is absorbing from start to finish ....
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10
the four hundred " yawns " to the power of 1000
This is Maurice Pialat's debut movie and François Truffuat offered him to produce his first effort . Not only because he was at the time a seasoned filmmaker ( a dozen of films so far for a man who was 36 years old whereas Pialat shot his first film when he was 42 ! ) but because the topic could only please him . Indee...
582,777
1,219,578
43,338
10
Evil carnival
Fifty years later , Billy Wilder's tour de force has worn so well it should be considered the finest movie dealing with the media , topping " network " for instance . The world described here is so depressing , so disheartening that it takes drama to new limits . Not only Tatum is evil , but so are the miner's wife and...
585,299
1,219,578
10,307
10
Living with war / let's impeach the president ( and the profiteers ) Neil Young in 2006
The first thing to bear in mind is that there are actually two movies , the 1919 silent film - and its watered-down editing of the twenties - and the 1937 talkie which is ( and is not ) a remake . The silent version was filmed when the war was just over , using real pictures of that slaughter . That was first intended ...
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10
De Havilland's legacy . . . .
. . . to all young actresses who want to learn about their job : watch Mrs De Havilland whose performances are close to perfection ; an actress who did not think twice when it came to make herself look ugly . And the rest of the cast is admirable too : Monty Clift was perhaps the most gifted actor of his generation and...
583,147
1,219,578
74,400
10
Space and time .
. In France , when the movie was released , a lot of critics snubbed it , putting disparagement on it , because it could not hold a candle to Buzzati's masterpiece . But as Jean Cocteau said , critics judge art works , and they don't know they are judged by them ! Valerio Zurlini and his producer-star Jacques Perrin we...
584,234
1,219,578
206,569
10
Tales of the Civil War .
Although it was made during the Nouvelle Vague days , it's not Nouvelle Vague stuff . It's simply FRench cinema , when it is at its most inventive , its most moving , its most beautiful . If you do not like Jean-Luc Godard , if Eric Rohmer makes you yawn your head off , and if you think that Jacques Rivette makes movie...
583,749
1,219,578
47,597
10
Tower , beware . . .
This is a very rare movie , very rare on the screens and it deserves to be brought out of oblivion . Adapting Alexandre Dumas , Abel Gance did fifty years ago what Patrice Chéreau would do - with questionable results - in the nineties with " la reine Margot " itself a remake of a Jean Dreville film , which was released...
582,695
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10
Thou shalt not kill .
France , early sixties : the Algerian war is coming to an end but not before 1962 ; pacifist Louis Lecoin is on a hunger strike in order to get the status of conscientious objector for all men who refuse to make war . The general de Gaulle will finally agree , but only when the war is over . A voice rises ; it does not...
584,500
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37,635
10
Expect the unexpected !
A collective work , " dead of night " is to be ranked as one of the finest fantasy and horror movies ever done . Its screenplay is so brilliant it contains the seeds of yet-to-come movies . Two great films which recall sometimes " dead of night " , Maurice Tourneur's " La Main du diable " and Julien Duvivier's " Flesh ...
582,712
1,219,578
37,674
10
The best French movie of all time .
This is not legend . This is fact . And anybody who would not have seen it could not claim to know the French cinema , had he even seen the whole Godard filmography . Those were the occupation years . " Les visiteurs du soir " which preceded " children of paradise " took place in the MIddle Ages , it was an alibi . Dit...
585,162
1,219,578
18,379
10
I work in a sewer . . .
. . . but I live near the stars . Another sublime work by John Borzage , one of the greatest directors America has ever had . Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor were the romantic couple of that era . Both were able to transcend the limitations they were working under , that is to say , to convey any emotion without using...
583,986
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434,166
10
Let there be light !
Is there anyone more important in the history of cinema than the Lumière bros ? If there is , I want to know his name right now ! Without them . . . . The pictures are all by Louis Lumière , the editing by Marc Allégret who made pleasant films , although not as exciting as those of his brother Yves . Marc Allégret was ...
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1,219,578
57,129
10
The one and only .
Yes , the one and only ; beware of remakes like the eponymous title and plagiarisms like the 1975 appalling version featuring Pamela Franklin and Roddy McDowall . It ' s gothic horror's peak , with superb performances , particularly Julie Harris , wonderful , marvelous actress , who would have deserved a more glorious ...
585,230
1,219,578
24,115
10
He gave everything . . . .
. . . and took nothing for himself . . . . This Aline McMahon's last line will haunt you long after watching this extremely moving work by William Wellman who was , along Frank Borzage , America's finest director of the early talkies . Both were fighting for the dignity of men , both made movies which - it's all over n...
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1,219,578
60,538
10
Harrowing , extremely beautiful .
Childhood is in the center of Comencini's work . " Incompreso " sees him going at a peak of true emotion and aesthetic refinement . Comencini is one of the greatest directors Italy has ever known even if he remains in the shadow for so many cine buffs . If you have the chance to see " incompreso " do not miss his other...
583,392
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20,475
10
The modern melodrama was born .
The melodrama we would love with Stahl's and Sirk's works was born with Pabst . We are far from DW Griffith's " orphans in the storm " ! Although implausible , this film has realist accents and Pabst's directing takes our breath away . And what a beautiful last line : " Nobody's lost when there's a little love ! " Melo...
582,703
1,219,578
29,706
10
Duvivier le magnifique .
While Godard and co were still in diapers , Duvivier , Renoir and Carné were inventing the best French cinema that had ever been . I would trade you all M . " A bout de soufflé " filmography for " un carnet de bal " Leonard Maltin gives a four stars rating to this 1937 movie , and all we can do is approve of his judgme...
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230,600
10
to rank among the 5 best movies made in 2001
And all the other voices said : change your mind , you're always wrong ( the Cure , Other Voices , Faith , 1981 ) . A few years ago , Alejandro Amenabar's third movie was prominent in the top 250 of IMDb . But today , it isn't there any more . That's really unfair . It largely deserved its place and to occupy it as l...
583,199
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10
Chabrol's predecessor .
First of all , there is a detective story : " légitime défense " by Belgian Stanislas André Steeman whose " l'assassin habite au 21 " Clouzot had already transferred to the screen in 1942 , with Pierre Fresnay and the same actress Suzy Delair . Steeman complained about Clouzot's adaptation for both movies . The movie f...
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10
dancing on a volcano . . .
Jean Renoir is often considered as one of the masters of French cinema of the thirties . He surprised in the diversity of the genres he tackled during that era : literary adaptation ( Madame Bovary , 1933 ) , entertaining comedy ( Boudu Sauvé Des Eaux , 1932 ) or political manifestation ( la Marseillaise , 1937 ) . Per...
583,787
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43,014
10
Greatness Boulevard .
Generally considered as Wilder's peak , it lives up to its reputation . Fifty years later , it remains the best movie about movie world , not only hollywoodian . One hundred times plagiarized , never surpassed . First of all , there ' s the Swanson / Von Stroheim couple . He directed her in the famous " Queen Kelly " (...
583,820
1,219,578
18,192
10
Gance is the French word for Griffith . . . .
I'm the first French user to write about the best French movie of the silent era . Even a poster from Slovenia wrote about it ( he or she had a French relative ) . But no French . Part of the reason can be found in the fact that it has become almost impossible for the French to see Gance's work in its native land ; my ...
584,831
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327,056
10
to rank among the 5 best movies made in 2003
Let's say it straight away : before " Mystic River " ( 2003 ) , Clint Eastwood's last works had left me a little unsatisfied ; particularly " Blood Work " ( 2002 ) , a watchable thriller with a certain charm but without great originality . But the following year , with " Mystic River " , he made a sensational comeback ...
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10
A movie of redemption .
This Murnau work comes from the end of the silent era , and the miracle is that it needs nothing : it has everything . There are hardly a dozen of subtitles for a ninety - minute movie , and that's enough . The rest is the actors'sublime performances and Murnau's flawless directing . George O ' Brien and Janet Gaynor d...
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10
Sublime film noir , sublime Widmark !
SPOILERS How sublime ! This is without a doubt , Jules Dassin's towering achievement . Had he only made this work , his name would deserve to be remembered forever . Richard Widmark will leave you on the edge of your seat ! How can an actor be so good ? Just compare him to Today's stars . Widmark's performance is one o...
583,663
1,219,578
22,787
10
I say it again : horror is timeless .
The precedent user wrote that he saw old men crying while watching this film . Such is the strength of these pictures . Raymond Bernard's movie compares favorably with " All quiet on the western front " ( Lewis Milestone ) " Westfront 1918 " ( Pabst ) or even more recent works such as " paths of glory " . Bernard ' s a...
582,778
1,219,578
62,185
10
Reflection in greatness
First of all , this movie is an accurate rendition of MCCullers'novel . In France it's regarded as a " ciné-club " work , like " barefoot comtessa " or " the big carnival " . Reflections ' main topic is not perversity or sexual obsession , it's incommunicability . All these people live together , cut off from the world...
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10
The other side of the mirror .
Theresa Wright's character universe is cosy , harmless and safe . Her family is prepossessing . In a nutshell , her little town is some kind of paradise on earth where evil can't reach . Enter Uncle Charlie . See how Hitchcock introduces him : when the train enters the station , a black smoke signals an impending threa...
584,923
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253,474
10
Spilzman ? What a beautiful name for a pianist . . .
In March 2003 , Roman Polanski's " the Pianist " ( 2002 ) pocketed three Oscars including best actor ( Adrien Brody ) and best director ( Roman Polanski ) . One month earlier , the ceremony of the French Oscars showered the movie with praise by attributing to it and his author similar prizes . Earlier in May 2002 , the...
584,120
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69,281
10
Joe's puppet theater
The beginning and the end of the movie take place on a stage : a mortal feud between two characters , played by two splendid actors , directed by one of the giant of American cinema . It's hard to speak of the screenplay without spoiling the suspense , the action-packed story , the surprises waiting for you every step ...
582,557
1,219,578
31,503
10
Abel Gance is a titan .
Titan is the right word for a director who is the French equivalent of a David Wark Griffith . He borrowed from Zola his famous sentence " I accuse ! " which comes from the Dreyfuss affair . ( people should try to see William Dieterle's " life of Emile Zola " which focuses on it ) . " J'accuse " is one of the most conv...
583,009
1,219,578
31,514
10
Before the flood .
That was one of the last French masterpieces of the thirties just before the war . Marcel Carné was accused of pessimism and the movie was quickly forbidden by the military censorship that used to say in 1940 : " if we've lost the war , blame it on " Quai des Brumes " " ( Carné's precedent movie . The director answered...
584,248
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36,244
10
Timeless .
Shall we call this western ? This is so moving , so harrowing and so tragic it would be a sacrilege . With a running time of 75 min , William Wellmann's work runs the whole gamut of emotions : hatred , contempt , madness , despair , indifference , you name it . Besides , the script is wonderfully written , depicting wi...
582,388
1,219,578
53,291
10
Some like the fanfares d'amour hot .
In the thirties , Billy Wilder used to work in France , where he made his first film " mauvaise graine " , with Danielle Darrieux in 1934 . The following year , Richard Pottier made his " fanfare d'amour " . So Wilder probably heard about it . Here's a short summary of " fanfare d'amour " : Two comedians in dire strait...
583,595
1,219,578
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10
A modern fable .
The cast for this fable is fabulous : two great American actors , Joseph Cotten and Bette Davis , two great Italian ones : Alberto Sordi and Silvana Mangano . Pepino and Antonia , two Italian proles are waiting , every summer , for " the old lady " , a wealthy and disabled American in order to fleece her . How ? By pla...
583,514
1,219,578
74,888
10
A film for the humiliated ones .
Claude Miller's most important work is today stronger than it was in 1976 . It's a must , the French cinema at its most ambitious , at its deepest , at its best . And nothing intellectual , nothing to do with the nouvelle vague pretentiousness , " la meilleure façon de marcher " is accessible to all those who have eyes...
585,420
1,219,578
38,109
10
Amnesia , Freud and Dali .
Could this one be the most underrated of all Hitchcock's American movies / What ? only 7 . 6 ? And however , you've got plenty of movies for the price of one ! Come on , wake up , and give this triumph its due ! 1 . It's a mystery movie : Peck suffers from amnesia , he may or may not be a criminal , only snatches of me...
583,140
1,219,578
137,523
10
The things you own ends up owning you .
What's fascinating in David Fincher's work , is that it seems we deal with an auteur . He created his own universe , a nocturnal and filthy one , and a bit misogynous too : it's glaring in this movie ; outside Bonham-Carter-made look ugly and dressed as a 1977 punk - , only a black woman has a line to say . Almost ever...
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74,916
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Delon's lost great performance , Losey's lost masterpiece .
CONTAINS SPOILERSA doctor's office . A woman stands here in the nude . He's no longer a doctor but a vet , examining the scared patient as if she's a cow . " She might belong to those inferior races . A dubious case . " He mumbles to his nurse . " Monsieur Klein " is rarely mentioned when they praise Joseph Losey . It ...
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What a lovely war !
In America , this film is underrated . In my native France , it's praised by intellectuals , and it's part of what we call " ciné-club movies " . In high school , this very year , my son studied passages from the book as well as scenes from the movie . Trumbo's movie might be the strongest condemnation of war that had ...
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The French fifties were great !
It has been often mooted that the Nouvelle Vague was the Second Coming , saving French cinema from tediousness , routine , ennui , mediocrity , you name it . So on the site n+x comments on Godard and co , and only one on this Duvivier jewel . It's when one sees such marvels one realizes all that the New Wave has depriv...
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The greatest French director ?
Some will say Renoir . Some will say Carné . Some will say Clouzot . Some will say . . yuk . . Godard . . I will say Duvivier . His career spans half a century , from the silent era to the sixties , full of detours and retreats . But when he broke through - and his epiphanies were many and various , ( there are masterp...
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If you love someone deep enough , anything is possible .
The fifties will remain Minnelli's heyday . During this decade , there are at least four masterpieces in his filmography : " lust for life " , " tea and sympathy " , " some came running " , and definitely the crème de la crème of his musicals " Brigadoon " . " Brigadoon " is perfection itself , and only " singing in th...
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Don't look back .
Tennessee Williams is perhaps America's finest playwright of the last ( ! ) century . He used to say he did not like Mankiewicz's treatment of his work . But in my humble opinion , it ranks along with kazan's " streetcar named desire " and Brooks ' " cat on a hot tin roof " as the peak of M . Lanier's adaptations . Fir...
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A genesis
With " David Golder " , Duvivier the great director , the master of the darker side of the human soul was born . It contained the seeds of all that would be developed afterward . Harry-Baur gives a powerful performance of a wealthy Jewish businessman ; he is so good that the actresses seem mediocre by comparison . Davi...
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twilight of the gods
Probably Duvivier's pre-war peak . His pessimism reaches here such unbelievable heights that we're brooding all along the movie and long after having seen it . The subject is a depressing one : some kind of " sunset boulevard " of the theater . Located in an old people's home for actors and actresses , most of them sho...
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A saint is a nuisance to live with at home .
Viridiana is a sequel to " Nazarin " ( not meant pejoratively ) : both want to be saints , both are compelled to leave religion ( Viridiana is raped by her uncle and cannot become a nun ) . Both will be laïc saints . So Viridiana takes on a bunch of beggars in her home , and tries to educate them by putting them to w...
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French thriller
French thrillers always feature a strong social background : see Claude Chabrol's movies for instance . Such is the case with " Diabolique " . In , say , " Vertigo " ( which , like " Diabolique , was inspired by a Boileau-Narcejac novel ) , the social background is nowhere to be seen ; that doesn't prevent Hitchcock ' ...
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A true story
This austere , black and white movie might be Truffaut's peak . Recalling sometimes , in its spirit , Penn's " miracle worker " , the work suffuses with humanism , belief in dignity of man . The child , for Truffaut , is a frail human being , who needs ( and deserves ) education . Hence , some critics called " wild chi...
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it's hard to be a saint in the country
Alongside the biggest artistic achievements in French cinema of the fifties such as Henri-Georges Clouzot's " Les Diaboliques " ( 1955 ) or Julien Duvivier's " Voici Le Temps Des Assassins " ( 1956 ) , one has to reserve a first-class place for Robert Bresson's third long-feature film where he proves that Georges Berna...
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I want to die . . .
Last year and at the dawn of 2006 , Alejandro Amenabar's fourth film garnered prestigious prizes all over the world . It collected at least 50 rewards ! I can only agree with these rewards . It is perhaps proof positive that the versatile Amenabar is more than ever a filmmaker to follow very closely . An inkling one ha...
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When my ship comes in .
Restored with a very nice score , " the crowd " hasn't aged a bit . The topic is as relevant today as it was in 1928 . Do have a look at the first pictures of " the apartment " ( 1960 ) or the last ones of " working girl " ( 1988 ) and you'll know what I mean . John Sims tries to beat the crowd , this crowd that follow...
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Dedicated to you Oystein . . . .
. . . you who love the French culture and without whom I could not have written these comments on Duvivier's earlier films which I had not seen for years . " Maria Chapdelaine " is Canadian , you're going to tell me . But Duvivier almost treated Hémon's book as a musical . And all the songs we can hear are part ( with ...
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A fabulous quartet .
First scene : the camera searches the house , a luxury one , we hear a clock ticking . And then Agnes , in her bed , sleeping peacefully . We watch her awakening , we see her face grimace with pain . The respite is over : cancer is always here , stalking her . Visually , it's harrowing . With Agnes , to help her cope w...
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Christian-Jaque's swansong .
Christian-Jaque was a good director , who gave some of the great films of the French cinema : " les disparus de Saint-Agil " ( 1938 ) " l'assassinat du père noel " ( 1942 ) " boule de suif " ( 1945 ) and " un revenant " ( 1946 ) . From 1950 onwards , he slowly but inexorably degenerated into mediocrity ( with the excep...
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From the fairy tale to Cocteau .
In France , the fairy tale " La Belle et la Bête " is a classic by Madame Leprince de Beaumont . Try to read it if you haven't because you will realize that although Cocteau adapted the story , he took it to new limits , he dramatically expanded the scope , and most of all , he wiped out an obsolete grating moral . Mrs...
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We are all little men ( and women ) .
Peace and tolerance are the hero's favorite words . " Little man what now " was the first part of the trilogy which encompassed " three comrades " and would culminate in " the mortal storm " . The three movies featured the same star ( Margaret Sullavan ) and depicted life in Germany before WW2 . " Little man " - althou...
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King Huston
This movie seems to have been made by a young man . It took the adventure genre to its peak ( it was to be cheapened by Spielberg in the eighties with I . Jones and co ) . The screenplay is marvelous , now funny , now dramatic , now parodic , now epic . John Huston runs the whole gamut of emotion , suspense and humor ....
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the Life of Jesus ( 1997 ) and " Humanity " ( 1999 ) solidify Bruno Dumont as a genuine author
the Life of Jesus ( 1997 ) , Bruno Dumont's previous movie ended with the murder of an Arab teenager . " Humanity " ( 1999 ) starts where " the Life of Jesus " ended : with the rape and the murder of a little girl in the same small town : Bailleul . Obviously , police is on the alert to launch an investigation and tr...
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You know old trees just grow stronger . . . .
. . . Old rivers grow wider every dayBut old people just grow lonesomeJohn Prine , " Hello in there " . My favorite MacCarey drama , better , IMHO , than his beloved works such as " Going my way " " the bells of St Mary's " " An Affair to remember " . Its influence was important in Europa , notably in France ( René All...
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automatic for the monster
The concert " Roadmovie " was filmed and recorded during R . E . M . ' s three final gigs of the Monster tour in November 1995 in Atlanta , Georgia , the band's native state . A very testing trek punctuated with serious incidents like the drummer Bill Berry's aneurysm in Lausanne , Switzerland or the bassist Mike Mills...
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I don't even see how the kids could get a kick out of this movie
The Haunted Mansion , I REALLY WISH THEY WOULD GET OFF THE DISNEY RIDE MOVIES ! " Pirates of the Carrobean " was a great movie , they can't keep going . They couldn't expect this movie , if that's what you call it , to get the same reaction . Eddie Murphy has lost his touch beyond all measures . The whole story is ve...
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Was it just me , or did anyone else feel like they were watching a Kraft cheese commercial ?
I swear at the beginning with the parents , I felt like they were just smiling too much and it looked like they were just going to say cliché ' things like " Oh , you kids ! " or " That's coming out of your allowance " while smiling at the camera on cue . Now , granted , this is a movie for kids , but I think we are st...
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I hated this movie
Ah , The Glass House , this is the movie I've tried to forget , I got dragged to the movie theater with my friends to see this , I just knew that I wasn't going to get into it . I feel bad because I always say to people even if you have a gut feeling that a movie is going to be bad , just try to have an open mind and e...
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The best part is when he taped the head's mouth shut
I just loved watching it though and having fun with it's total badness of a film . I saw this film through the helpful sarcasm of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and I have the DVD . If you flip the to the other side of the DVD , they show the actual movie , so I gave it a chance . Seriously , folks this is grilled cheese...