The Magician -- Ingmar Bergman
Jules et Jim -- Francois Truffaut
The Seven Samurai -- Akira Kurosawa
Ballad of a Soldier -- Grigori Chukrai
Les Enfant du Paradis -- Marcel Carne
That Man from Rio -- Philippe de Broca
I just saw "Run Lola Run" (German) on Bravo channel. I have to add it to my list of foreign favorites. It was delightfully stylish, clever and maintained a heart-thumping pace from beginning to end.
Z (Greece) - an oldie, to be sure, but my very favorite foreign film still
Those flicks from Bagdhad showing happy liberated Iraqis
Trainspotting is my #1 foreign film
Try THE WAGES OF FEAR, and RIFIFI, both are French films.
THE WAGES OF FEAR is 2hours and 20minutes of pure nail biting tennsion.
RIFIFI concerns an ingenious robbery which is carried out in total silence, for nearly 30 minutes, so dont think there is anything wrong with either your video or dvd equipment.
My favourite director is the Japanese master Kenji Mizoguchi.
Films;
1.Sansho the Bailiff (Mizoguchi, 1954)
2.Andrei Rublev (Tarkovsky, 1969)
3.Mirror (Tarkovsky, 1974)
4.La Regle du Jeu (Renoir, 1939)
5.Celine and Julie go Boating (Rivette, 1974)
6.Maborosi (Kore-eda, 1995)
7.The Green Ray (Rohmer, 1986)
8.Alice in the Cities (Wenders, 1974)
9.L'Avventura (Antonioni, 1960)
10.Story of the Late Chrysanthemums (Mizoguchi, 1939)
11.Seven Samurai (Kurosawa, 1954)
12.Tokyo Story (Ozu, 1953)
13.Abraham Valley (Oliveira, 1993)
14.The Colour of Pomegranates (Paradjanov, 1969)
15.Tales of the Taira Clan (Mizoguchi, 1955)
16.The Double Life of Veronique (Kieslowski, 1991)
17.Pather Panchali (Ray, 1955)
18.Late Spring (Ozu, 1949)
19.Pierrot le Fou (Godard, 1965)
20.L'Atalante (Vigo, 1934)
21.Eternity and a Day (Angelopoulos, 1998)
22.Spirit of the Beehive (Erice, 1973)
23.8 1/2 (Fellini, 1963)
24.Metropolis (Lang, 1927)
25.A Day in the Country (Renoir, 1936)
26.Orphée (Cocteau, 1949)
27.Ugetsu Monogatari (Mizoguchi, 1953)
I'm afraid they don't make em like they used to.
Interesting selections from all. Farmerman reminded me of "The Gods Must be Crazy" - a wonderful film. Kenji reminded me of "Pather Panchali" - its been a long time since I saw that one.
A few great ones not yet mentioned here are
Pandora's Box (silent - Germany)
Black Orpheus - (France, Brasil)
The Gadfly (Russian - mostly for the wonderful music by Shostakovich)
There was also a French film version of Stendahl's "Le Rouge et Noir" done in the early '60s. Very good, but I don't recall the director.
Does anyone here remember the seven hour Soviet version of "War and Peace"? A bit overproduced, but far superior to any of the western versions.
Yes, i used to have the War and Peace video, about 10 years back. Approaching halfway through i was convinced i was watching one of the handful of very greatest films, but by the time of the third huge (magnificently handled) battle i started to flag. Still, it takes extraordinary care and pains to translate the book effectively and is definitely worth seeing- but as you say, it somehow feels almost overdone. The director Bondarchuk had it in for Andrei Tarkovsky (more of an independent spirit) and apparently scuppered his chances of the Cannes Palme d'Or in 83. Yet Bondarchuk's daughter had played a major part in Tarkovsky's earlier Solaris.
I saw the complete Russian version of "War and Peace" on the old LA "Z" Channel. It was an experience but I'd truthfully rather pop in the DVD of the TV miniseries "Peter the Great" again than try and watch it again. I enjoy the Prokofiev opera which I do have on video.
I have two CD's with the Shostokovitch music for "The Gadfly" and always enjoy listening to it.
Here's a link to the 1961 TV movie version of the Stendahl masterwork:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0188184/
and a 1998 TV movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137320/
Unfortunately, neither is available on DVD.
I have both a tape and a DVD of the Soviet version of War and Peace. Good for occasional revisits, but at widely separated intervals. Interesting comment about the portrayal of Andreii in the film. His character as rendered was but a hollow version of Tolstoy, and perhaps Kenji has the key to why.
Would like very much to find a copy of Le Rouge et Noir if it becomes available. I'm also waiting for someone to make a Film out of "The Charterhouse of Parma". Wonderful characters, but perhaps too much internal action for modern cinema.
If I'm not mistaken Masterpiece Theater did a turn of the century spy piece series about 12 years ago, "Reilly, Ace of Spys" that used Shostakovich's Gadfly themes for its own.
You are correct -- they used several pieces by Shostokovitch and Prokofiev for the 'Reilly, Ace of Spies" series. If you've never seen "Peter the Great," it would be one I'd recommend to anyone.
I have not seen it, but I am interested. Who and when?
BTW, even with the historical inaccuracies in "Peter the Great" are overshadowed by the dramatic flow and storytelling. What few changes were made are almost entirely understandable being like all historical dramas an interpretation of the events taken from contradictory sources.
The Zatoichi Series
The Hanzo Razor Series
La Feme Neikita
Valerie's Week of Wonders
Run Lola, Run
Le Cite de Les Enfants Perdus
Amelie
Might be true of the "Passion..." as well. Tell that to Hobit. he seems quite twisted up.
Tell me more, please, about the Peter the Great film to which you referred. Who and when? I would like to see it.
(I also dimly remember an old silent film "Alexander Nevsky" with unforgettable, highly styilized scenes of the Teutonic Knights charging across western Russia & Poland.)
Two British films stand out for me. "Billy Elliott" and "Saving Grace."
Billy's final triumph as a principal ballet dancer has become one of my favorite movie endings.
Don't know them eoe. Tell me more.
You made me recall another favorite. Soon after the classic "Red Shoes" the (then) Sadler Welles Ballet dis a film version of Offenbach's opera "Tales of Hoffman". Wonderful fantasy, color, production and of course music.
There's no overwhelming dramatic flow or storytelling in "Passion" unless you consider mercilessly beating, marching and nailing to a cross (with the aid of ropes) a man who is turned into a tenderized flank steak as such. That's nearly the entire movie, george.
The score to "Alexander Nevksy" was by Prokofiev and many years back, Andre Previn conducted a new recording and performed live in L.A. with the film shown directly behind the orchestra. A memorable experience. This film is by Sergei Eisenstein who also directed "Ivan the Terrible," "Then Days That Shook the World" and "Battleship Potemkin," all cinematic masterpieces.
Thanks LW, I will look them up. When did the "Peter the Great" version to which you referred come out?
Allright goddammit I will go see "The Passion..."
