Cronos (1993) Guillermo del Toro’s first gothic masterpiece studies the relationship between a grandfather and his granddaughter through a surreal allegory about immortality and the limits of life on earth. Federico Luppi gives a stunning performance as the elderly antiques dealer who discovers a treasure that rejuvenates his blood and turns him younger. But there … More Cronos (1993)
Multiple Maniacs (1970) Not for the squeamish, CRITERION has just released a beautifully reconstructed edition of John Waters’ transgressively offensive home movie, featuring all the freaks he could find in 1969. This is a film created to shock and offend everybody, and still works today. Harris Glenn Milstead cross-dresses as the savagely murderous Divine, … More Multiple Maniacs (1970)
King of Hearts (1966) Alan Bates stars as a Scottish WWI ornithalography specialist mistaken for a munitions expert who is sent into a small provincial French village of Marville to disarm a booby trap rigged by retreating Germans. only to accidentally release inmates from the local mental asylum who assume identities of the absent … More King of Hearts (1966)
Gold (1934) Brigitte Helm speaks! For ten minutes, she vamps in a science fiction film about corporate espionage made during the early Nazi period and directed by Karl Hartl. The ghost of the UFA’s great Metropolis lurks everywhere. John Wills (Michael Bohnen) is the villain, a British billionaire driven by greed to control world … More GOLD (1934)
Agantuk [The Stranger] (1991) Based on his children’s story, “The Guest,” Satyajit Ray directs Utpal Dutt, “known for his decades of work in Bengali theater,” as Manomohan Mitra, who claims to be a long lost uncle, requesting hospitality from a middle class couple in Kolkata. Although skeptical, they let him into their home. This … More Agantuk [The Stranger] (1991)
Green Slime (1968) Director’s Kinji Fukasaku’s pop art interiors and space ships are filled not only with grade-B actors, but also with monsters that reproduce wildly into “an army of rubbery-looking goblins.” Their resemblance to R2-D2 remains uncanny. Ivan Reiner wrote and produced this story about a space station, Gamma 3, infected by these alien … More Green Slime (1968)
Frida (2002) “In the aftermath of the Mexican Revolution, the country’s artists forged a new painterly vocabulary, which fused European modernism with local folkloric traditions, and became a global phenomenon.” After years of problems getting this screenplay produced, Julie Taymor was hired to direct this biopic based on a biography of Frida Kahlo. Selma Hayek … More Frida (2002)
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) Luis Buñuel collaborates with screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière to define ‘haute bourgeoisie‘ as the inability to finish a meal without being interrupted. Minor characters recount dreams and memories; the bourgeoisie deal cocaine, commit adultery, and invite terrorism; what’s real all depends on who is dreaming whom. Propriety and its … More The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
Sugar Cane Alley (1983) Euzhan Palcy directed this adaptation of Joseph Zobel’s novel Black Shack Alley that takes place in rural Martinique during the 1930’s. The film centers on a young boy, José, and his grandmother. Ma’Tine, as they struggle to rise in the world. The actress, Darling Légitimus, 76 years old, won multiple … More Sugar Cane Alley (1983)
Myra Breckinridge (1970) Granted full control over this adaptation of Gore Vidal’s vicious satire, Michael Sarne made a “degradation” film, a 70s genre where famous actors degrade themselves by playing the parts assigned. Caught between the resurrected body of Mae West and the sexy Raquel Welsh, Sarne lost control. Rex Reed said afterwards, “This was … More Myra Breckinridge (1970)
