Lovely by Surprise (2007)

Highly RecommendedUSAFeature FilmWriter/Director: Kirt GunnCinematographer: Steve YedlinComposer: Shelby BryantCast: Carrie Preston, Michael Chernus, Austin Pendleton, Dallas Roberts, Reg Rogers, Kate Burton, Richard MasurGunn’s beautifully acted and distinctively shot Kaufmanesque debut, combining three intertwining narratives (a woman struggles to kill off the main protagonist of her novel, her characters struggle to exist in and out of their fictional world, and a doleful car salesman struggles to deal with the loss of his wife) is a funny,...

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A Night at the Opera (1935)

RecommendedUSAFeature FilmDirector: Sam WoodWriters: George S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind, James Kevin McGuinnessCinematographer: Merritt B. GerstadComposer: Herbert StothartCast: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Kitty Carlisle, Allan Jones, Walter King, Siegfried Rumann, Margaret Dumont, Edward Keane, Robert Emmett O'ConnorAlthough probably the best of their post-Paramount work, and an hilarious film by itself, this entertaining yet overlong movie,...

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L'Argent (1928)

RecommendedFranceFeature FilmOriginal Title: L'argentDirector: Marcel L'HerbierWriters: Arthur Bernède, Marcel L'Herbier, Émile ZolaCinematographers: Louis Berte, Jules Kruger, Jean LetortComposer: Jean-François Zygel (2008)Cast: Pierre Alcover, Marie Glory, Brigitte Helm, Henry Victor, Alfred AbelFeaturing a number of excellent performances – Alcover as an ill-dealing fat-cat, Glory as an angelic innocent, and Helm as a sexy femme fatale – L’Herbier’s...

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Sons of the Desert (1933)

Essential ViewingUSAShort Feature FilmDirector: William A. SeiterWriter: Frank CravenCinematographer: Kenneth PeachComposer: Marvin HatleyCast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Mae Busch, Dorothy Christy, Charley ChaseLaurel & Hardy’s finest feature (in fact, the only one of comparable quality to the best of their short works) – in which Ollie feigns illness in order for him and Stan to attend a convention of the eponymous lodge, in Chicago, whilst...

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Silence (1971)

RecommendedJapanFeature FilmOriginal Title: 沈黙Director: Shinoda MasahiroWriters: Endo Shusaku, Shinoda MasahiroCinematographer: Miyagawa KazuoComposer: Takemitsu TōruCast: David Lampson, Don Kenny, Matsuhashi Noboru, Kato Yoshi, Iwamatsu MakoShinoda’s film about humanism’s battle against the evils of religious fanaticism, religious persecution, and martyrdom - in which a pair of Portuguese Jesuit priests land on the shores of 17th century Japan, where Christianity is banned, attempting to spread the word of Jesus, but end up captured by the authorities...

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F for Fake (1974)

Highly RecommendedFrance/Iran/West GermanyFeature DocumentaryOriginal Title: ?: About FakesDirector: Orson WellesWriter: Orson Welles, Oja KodarCinematographer: François ReichenbachComposer: Michel LegrandFeaturing: Orson Welles, Oja Kodar, Elmyr de Hory, Clifford IrvingWelles’s final film is a documentary of and about fraud and fakery, taking a look at the art forger Elmyr de Hory, notorious biographer Clifford Irving, as well as at Welles himself,...

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Killer of Sheep (1977)

Highly RecommendedUSAFeature FilmWriter/Director/Cinematographer: Charles BurnettCast: Henry Gayle Sanders, Kaycee Moore, Charles Bracy, Angela Burnett, Eugene Cherry, Jack DrummondTaking an episodic view of everyday working class life in Los Angeles, portraying work (bleak), play (joyously authentic), and familial relationships (touchingly credible), Burnett’s ultra low budget feature debut, despite some slightly amateurish acting in some of the...

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The One-Line Review Presents “1000 Films from the First Century of Cinema that Every Self-Respecting Film-Buff Should See at Least Once”

Assassination (1964) Audition/Talent Competition (1964) Bande à Part (1964) Before the Revolution (1964) Black God, White Devil (1964) Charulata - The Lonely Wife (1964) Culloden (1964) Dog Star Man (1962-1964) Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) Gertrud (1964) The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964) A Hard Day's Night (1964) I Am Cuba (1964) The Killers (1964) Kwaidan (1964) Marnie (1964) My Fair Lady (1964) Onibaba ...

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The One-Line Review Presents “1000 Films from the First Century of Cinema that Every Self-Respecting Film-Buff Should See at Least Once”

I present a list, not of my own personal favourites, but a list of films that every serious filmlover should really see at least once. In fact, I rather disliked a number of films on the list, and many more were little more than diverting, but they are all films that have many admirers and/or have great historical or social value. And furthermore, I didn’t include many films that I admire greatly, simply because I am perhaps in the minority in doing so. That’s not to say that some subjectivity hasn’t crept in to my selection making, but for the...

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