4v291o

A British satire of capitalism brought the extremes of absurdity through the lack of narrative structure for a plethora of gags between Peter Sellers, the bored billionaire, and Ringo Starr, the newly adopted son of Sellers, coming out of poverty. The screenplay comes from the novel by Terry Southern, who takes a subversive view of society and the politics of the time, which is evident in many of his other projects. The main song throughout is written by Paul McCartney, and lends to the chaotic and anarchic nature of the film, harkening back to The Beatles' own films. This is a film that pushes against conventions across all understandings of society and culture.

A dark comedy about a friend (Ben Schwartz) who has to retrieve his dead friend's body in Mexico and bring it back home, but there are many issues getting it back. The structure of the story is the five stages of grief and how love through time will help heal, even with the confusing ing exposition of this story.

A detective story set in 1970s Malibu with the blend of hippie free love with the big money celebrities that captures the layered nature of the city, with its problems. The film follows Philip Marlowe (Elliot Gould) trying to figure out his friend's suicide, but with many different turns and attitudes. The film also stars Nina Van Pallandt and Sterling Hayden. The cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond captures the pulpy nights of mystery and the cartoonish brightness of the day's ocean, while the music by John Williams fosters the mysterious characters that change the tone of the narrative being told to highlight the genre. Violent, snappy, and methodical.

A crime film noir about a magazine editor (Ray Milland) who needs to get away with his family, but his overbearing boss (Charles Laughton) entangles him in a murder mystery and police hunt because of a cover-up. The film uses flashbacks and voiceover in the beginning to establish the trouble that the main character has found himself in, and while there is no clear femme fatale in the female cast, Laughton does hold himself as the sinister person. The performances are accentuated by the mobile camera and stark lighting that heightens the mystery and anxiety of the chase and detective work. The final demise, down the elevator shaft, proves to be a gruesome climax and resolution for this film.

A French drama film about a theater and the management during the year of German occupation and Jewish persecution, but centered around the new responsibilities of Marion Steiner (Catherine Deneuve). She is hiding her famous director husband, Lucas Steiner (Heinz Bennent), in the cellar while also hiding romantic feelings with the actor Bernard Granger (Gérard Depardieu). The film features the fear and impact that WWII had in , but in a manner that sees how it affects the citizens and arts, with a little bit on the Jewish citizens, since it focuses predominantly on the show and romance. The film is bookended with a narrator giving the fates of the characters, with somewhat humour delivery, and has a nice ending compared to many films depicting this era. The cinematography captures the warmth and vibrancy of the theater, costumes, and specialized lighting to capture the characters in this constructed, yet historical world.

A familial melodramatic comedy about a Jewish family fighting and bickering through relationships, and then the idea of mortality. There is a lot that is going on, but that is the craziness of life. The film features Micklin Silver's focus on the collective, with the layered familial problems, and the traumas of the Jewish experience, especially with intermarriage and friendships that shake the core of faith and humanity. Starring Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, Mark Ruffalo, and many others to add to the fun chaos. This is a touching story about love and the bonds that are formed sometimes from these relationships.

A film noir about fast love and murderous aspirations for the money between Joan Crawford, Jack Palance, and Gloria Grahame. The film features wonderful black and white cinematography that captures the shadows of human despair and fear for life, while also having each frame and shot have some meaning towards the trajectory of the narrative. The film has the usual features of the noir, but it features a female hero in Crawford, a playwright, who falls in love after firing Palance, an actor, from her play, and his intentions are not pure. Much of the film occurs on Crawford's face, with conversations being played back and having her reaction capture the emotional arch and transformations that the characters will be going through. Chilling film with great direction and performances.

A Holocaust film about the Jewish prisoners who were responsible for processing, luring, cleaning, and cremating the bodies that came into the death camps and gas chambers. This is based on a play by Nelson, and focuses on taking humanity to its extreme limits and how people try to survive and resist to the last moments. There are many murders of all types throughout the film, thus making this a challenging film to watch because of the details of each episode. The characters ranged from men to women to adults to children; however, no one was safe from the terrors of the Nazis. There are some point-of-view shots that belong to the surviving child who gives the final "eulogy" about the body leaving earth through the fire and smoke with all the other victims. This choice of narrator provides an unsettling perspective of the atrocities and horrors of these camps from a first-person view. The film stars David Arquette, Harvey Keitel (as a head Nazi), Steve Buscemi, Michael Stuhlbarg, Allan Corduner, Mira Sorvino, Natasha Lyonne, and many more prisoners and guards. The sense of survival creeps into the humanism of the performances and characters.

A buddy film of two old friends, played by Daniel London and Will Oldham, who go on a hiking trip. The film juxtaposes civilization with the constant noise and worry about the politics that run our lives with the tranquility and transcendental moments of nature. The sound design captures the flitting and ephemeral sense of nature and the impact that it has on calming the human body and nervous system, especially matched with the lingering camera on the surroundings and the human soul releasing all of its stress. The streets of the city versus the peacefulness of the hot spring spa in the woods.

The friendship and masculinity are brought to their limits, though not with much resistance, but within the wilderness, with the release of feelings and frustrations. The film captures the foggy and cloudy skies of the Pacific Northwest as a limitation to happiness, which the forest and hike are able to provide to the weary travelers. This film thinks, contemplates, and accepts the world and life as it is.

A prison film that focuses on the collective experience of individuals connected by the racketeering of cigarettes, but has the community at the center of these problems. The film features John Heard, James Remar, Mike Kellin, and Thomas G. Waites, just to name a few of the men that personify the troubled masculinity that was rampant during the New Hollywood, except in this variation, they are all suffering like their neighbor.

The film was produced by Joan Micklin Silver and captures the Jewish-like experience and narrative lens that many of her films seemed to deal with, while also showcasing many new film talents in the making. The whole film takes place in the prison with realistic relationships and conflicts, violent and non-violent, in the lifecycle of this life.

A Hong Kong romance that defies the logic of cinematic linearity and time by constantly moving through days and moments that make up the in-between of the two heart-broken cops with similar badge numbers who meet Faye (Faye Wong), who likes to listen to The Mamas and Papas on repeat and place herself in thier lives without thier full knowledge. The cinematography by Christopher Doyle captures the neon glow of the city nights while imitating the psyche of the characters with fragmented persistence of vision. The editing demonstrates the parallel editing and many match cuts that bridge the time to create ellipses within the story. This also makes the switching of romantic suitor a bit confusing, which is saved with the importance and centering of the costumes. This is a cute love story with the freedom and dexterity that 1990s cinema brought forth, especially moving into a digital, non-linear cinematic world.

A Nazi criminal search in a small American town led by Edward G. Robinson to hunt down one of the master architects of murdering Jewish people, and oddly named Charles, with Orson Welles. The film features footage from the various death and concentration camps in a manner to show the atrocities of the Nazis, even if they are disguised through respectable characters, they still must be punished. The deep focus cinematography, while not as dominant as in Welles' previous two films, presents the multilayered narratives and motives that are going on through the town. This is a typical post-WWII film that celebrates American victory and ideology of democracy, while showcasing the flawed and dehumanizing nature of the Nazis by the ways of humans and animals.

A convoluted and layered film noir starring Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth, with short blonde hair, as the femme fatale, in a web of lies and murder. The film begins with an innovative narration that cuts in and out with the diegetic dialogue before following the actions of the film. The ending takes place in a funhouse of mirrors, which complicates and expands the perspectives of the characters, all of them having a multitude of revenges and plots, thus becoming a surreal shootout. Everything that occurs eventually is turned upside down, and the genres, procedural, courtroom, and melodrama, are subverted to the audience's expectations.

One of Chaplin's first predominantly dramatic films, which he did not star in, rather he gave his leading lady, Marie (Edna Purviance), the spotlight to showcase her acting abilities, especially as they were not as young. The film is silent and features wonderful narrative tricks that make the decision for Marie to leave for Paris emotionally fraught, while the ending portrays her as a moral figure. The emotions and humanism that Chaplin is known for are threaded throughout the picture, and the writing keeps the philosophical tone about life that Chaplin would use in his silent and spoken films. There is a strong psychological lens that the characters are placed in front of, which gives them dimension through their actions and reactions, which is sometimes more effective than speaking.

A costume drama starring Cybil Shepard and Barry Brown, taking place in Europe with American characters. The role of Daisy, played by Shepard, captures the frenetic and ditzy free-spirited young lady who flirts and projects a false opulence, set against the extremely detailed settings of the high society parties and characters. The constant clashing of European and American values and personas captures the tone and the frantic nature of the film. The characters also round out the wonderful performances with Cloris Leachman, Mildred Natwick, Eileen Brennan, and James McMurtry as the annoying, bratty brother. The film is based on the Henry James novel of the same name and the energy of European naivety.

A film noir and moral dilemma film about a racketeer hustling money from two men with a fishing boat, but the reach begins to go into the family. This is a story that gives a real-life tone that the rise of fascism is a real threat to the American dream and life. The cinematography by James Wong Howe captures the sinister nature of these dealings. The film stars Ida Lupino, John Garfield, Thomas Mitchell, and John Qualen. The ending awards the men and kills off the threat, where everyone surrounding these events was happy to lose the trouble and problems of extortion.

A chamber drama that deals with the secret Nazi meeting to discuss the "Final Solution" of what to do with the Jews that remain in Europe. The film stars Stanley Tucci, Kenneth Branagh, Colin Firth, and many others who are deciding the fates of millions over jokes, morals, and a buffet lunch. The severity of these decisions is played with a nonchalance, which provides a chilling tone to this brief meeting. The endings show the fates of these players, but also show the cleaning and burning of the lunch and namecards, in an act of resistance against allowing their ideologies to live on.

A two-reeler of Chaplin dreaming of his heroics in World War I against the German Kaiser's army. The film is funny with a lot of gags, as expected from Chaplin, and the representation of the Germans would later be noted by the Nazis as Chaplin's attack against the intelligence and appearence of them, which was not helped with their constant articulation of Chaplin's Jewishness. This became a film that defied and inadvertently the rise of Adolf Hitler. The film stars the usual company.

One of the first Hollywood films, produced by MGM (since it stars many of the contract players) that deals with the problems of the Jewish people in before the war, but without ever explicitly mentioning the word, "Jewish", and by grouping many people of ethnic and philosophical difference as "non-Aryan".

The film stars Jimmy Stewart and Frank Morgan, both of whom are persecuted by the Nazis, their own friends and family, who become infatuated with Hitler's rise to power. The shift of the characters comes back in the end, after some fatal consequences of filling out orders, in the form of memories. These memories are voice-overs from earlier in the picture set against the location in the house where they were said during a different time, before the radicalization, but also bring into question who is projecting these memories and whether we align with their perspective. In this case, the memories come from the hurting Nazi stepson and friend, but he is a major antagonist, and also allowed for his step-father to be sent to a concentration camp.

The representation of the camps, while not much, still captures the inhumane and fatal nature of the treatment of people. This is a tough film to watch, yet it remains an important document of how people change so swiftly under misaligned ideology.

A historical drama about the rise and corruption of humanity by the Nazis and the economic situation that caused the problems through the story of a war criminal on trial, while the witnesses of his past testify against his malaligned ideology. The film operates in flashbacks with the characters at different stages of their lives in Poland, which builds up the structure of the personal history on film. There is a gruesome murder of Jews who were being placed in cattle cars, before the Rabbi had one last plea and prayer for fighting, but the outcome is extremely grim. The filmmkaers did not hold back on the atrocities that were committed by the Nazis, and showing the blame they placed on the Jews, especially for this Hollywood production, which typically strayed away from the explicit and Jewish nature of the war. Wonderful performances of humanity and godliness in search for retribution of the countless victims of the Nazis.

A German documentary about the career and process of Joan Micklin Silver and the ways that these films were produced. The show goes through starting with her time at the Educational Programming Company, then the self-produced with her husband, Raphael Silver, Hester Street, with interviews with Carol Kane. We go through her inspirations and what it means to do research for the ethnic film. The documentary also interviews Amy Robinson, Marc Metcalf, and Griffin Dunne, all three of whom produced some of her later projects. This was an engaging and informative film, and I am interested in diving deeper into it to look at the importance of Judaism in the process.

Love is not on the surface, yet the songs bring out the human, good or evil, from deep within and let it shine. The person holds the ability to love. This is a beautifully crafted film and captures the fantasy of Disney wonderfully.

An animated telling of the fantasy about finding love through the aesthetics and digging deeper for the person within. The film features amazing art and a mixture of digital animation to expand and bring dimension to the performance spaces. The songs by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken bring the Broadway bravado and narrative structure to this story, thus giving it a strong emotional experience and a product that is very relatable through generations.

Sometimes you have to watch a movie to feel something deep within you, and this was exactly that. To take pride and control in one's life is what should be taken away from this. ROAR! (I apologize for the cringe).

An animated Disney film that tells the story of Hamlet through the personification of lions and Pride Lands animals. The colors and setting are highlighted by the use of watercolors, and the fantastical moments use expressionistic colors and lighting to show the striking emotions within the image. Tim Rice and Elton John wrote the songs, while Hans Zimmer composed the score. This production was considered the "B" team, opposed to Pocahontas, though this has become a cultural landmark with much more fervor. The narrative and use of popular culture within the humor blend the imagination and morals with the animated compositions and characters.

A collective buddy film about a group of newspaper writers in a collective publication, which is getting bought out by a large communication corporation. The film is filled with various narrative plots for the characters that intermingle, yet ultimately allow for transformation through their collective experiences and friendship, which lends to the Jewish narrative that is forming through Micklin Silver's work. This is a highly politicized film in this setting, focusing on capitalism versus socialism. The film stars John Heard, Jeff Goldblum, Michael J. Pollard, and many more. The performances and the way that they are captured give the grittiness of the narrative, with the spectacle of the changing studio outputs, which are fluid, bright, and clear.

A character-driven film about Wanda (Barbara Loden), who is constantly dominated and manipulated within a male-patriarchal society with neurotic and anxious men. In other words, a female-oriented New Hollywood film fits with all of the anxieties and desperation that appear during this era, even though it takes place in the Rust Belt for the simplicity of the characters and setting.

Wanda is roped and deceived into love by Mr. Dennis (Michael Higgins), who plans on robbing a bank. The film demonstrates the role of women, and the low-budget aesthetic lends to the reality that the method acting brings to the feel and experience of the film. This film was written and directed by Loden and features a small crew, thus using inventive camera techniques to accomplish in-car scenes. The performance is filled with experience and heartache, with constant conflicts and reactions. This is Loden's sole directorial feature, but sets women's lived experience at the sole of the narrative and acting.

As I was eating lunch, Stagecoach was playing on the 24/7 stream on the Criterion Channel, which inadvertently extended my lunch longer than it was intended to be.

While this is not a new film for me, during this screening, I was taken aback by the politics that came to the surface through the characters' performances and the surrounding New Deal policies happening during the height of the depression era. In the film, The Civil War hostilities and morals are present in the ways that the stagecoach becomes a confined stage for these conflicts to boil over. The beauty of John Ford's direction and choice of camera placements is that the juxtaposition of the interior chamber drama is accentuated by the vast open space that is brimming with danger. In both spaces, the stakes are high, and everyone is uncomfortable.

I am always taken aback by the blocking and pacing of the characters in relation to their political, economic, and class status. In every way, this Western depicts the frontier mythology, an American construction of exploration and conquering the wilderness, but it also holds Marxist and Socialist sentiments. This film is constantly at odds in every manner possible, but strung together with great action and the hope for survival.

There are some films that make me want to pick up a camera and just capture the world...this is one of them. Simplicity in the production allows for complexity in the finished product.

A French short film about the morals and lies that come from wanting a fur coat from an infidelity encounter with a lover. The film is predicated on the idea of playing chess as a strategy to be in a relationship, especially one where the lies become the downfall of reaching the goals. The film centers around the female experience in a manner that moves in and out of the narrative, which is prototypical of the French New Wave. Rivette and Claude Chabrol wrote this film, which features appearances by Godard and Truffaut, and deals with the freedom that the cinema provides the characters' morals and ethics.

A HBO comedy special featuring Brett Goldstein, who made many jokes about the differences between American and British culture.

A comedy where the old friends come together to attend a funeral, where this film infuses plenty of Jewish anxiety and skepticism into the characters and events. The film features many philosophical monologues, since they are all writers, within dream-like sequences of the mind. This is on top of the sequences of the car driving around New York, capturing the city and the chaos of this little car. Starring George Segal, Jack Warden, Joseph Wiseman, Sorrell Brooke, and Godfrey Cambridge.

A German romantic film about finding the strength to walk away and the interesting situations that you might find happiness and love, even if it challenges the family structure, specifically with the child and the parent. The film stars Naomi Kruass in an empowering and realistic role, as nothing that is glamorized or made up, but rather a woman trying to better herself in the world.

Pain should be experienced, and that is exactly what watching this movie is like. Every emotion and reaction that the characters express, regardless of the cancer, was so human and focused on the power of love to give strength and resilience. I knew what I was getting myself into starting this film, but I did not expect the journey that my mind, body, and soul were about to undertake. Every emotion and memory was brought back, which is a testament to the film, but I also do not always need to feel my pain. Sometimes the cinematic escape is uncomfortable, and this film is exactly that...beautiful, lovely, and an ephemeral memory.

A romance drama about finding your soulmate while battling cancer. The film stars Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Laura Dern, Sam Trammell, Nat Wolff, and Willem Dafoe. This is a film about dealing with the grief and acceptance of death, but also briefly looks at the emotional impact on the parents through these events.

Sometimes love, or the idea of love, is like this.

A romantic comedy that features a non-linear narrative to show the highs and lows of the relationship between Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Summer (Zooey Deschanel). The film changes how love is perceived as fate, but rather as a string of complicated human reactions and emotions that are not always reciprocated in the same feelings or forms. There are many aesthetic flourishes throughout the film to represent the reality and timeline that these characters are living in, or the fantasy that is playing constantly through their minds.

Nonetheless, this is an inventive way to showcase the romantic fatalism of a generation. The music and dance sequence demonstrates the manic moments of the films, while the darker diatribes present the depressive situations, thus leaning into the physiologically framed style of filmmaking in a digital (filmmaking) world.

A pulpy police and FBI procedural following the string of crimes and terrorism by a rogue group of White Supremacists led by Bob Mathews (Nicholas Hoult), followed by FBI Terry Husk (Jude Law) and Jamie Bowen (Tye Sheridan). The film takes place in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest and captures the landscapes that represent the beauty that houses the heinous and despicable ideologies of these terrorists. There is solid action and suspense throughout, and a strong uneasiness from the prominance of the Nazi and radical propaganda strewn throughout.

An independent film about the intersections of feminism and the impact on women through pornography by men in high positions of power. The film is captured in New York City through grainy film stock and captures the raw perversions experienced by women in this version of Times Square.

"You want a good life? It's not complicated. Tell the girl you love that you love her. And tell the truth to everyone whenever you can." - John Lennon

A jukebox musical and romantic drama about imposter syndrome, finding love in a digital world, and creating nostalgia by bringing in classic music into the modern world, in this case, The Beatles. The film stars Himish Patel, Joel Fry, Kate McKinnon, Ed Sheeran, and Lily James. The film deals with stardom and fame, after a freak accident where nobody in the world knows the band, but it does not include drugs, sex, or alcohol (in copious amounts). It is like the nice side of fame, expunging the fact that drugs and alcohol were written under those influences. This is a feel-good movie from Universal Pictures. The acting and performances were entertaining and enchanting.

A familial melodrama that takes place on a search and trip to New York City for a spouse gone astray, but the family is a bunch of characters. The film stars Parker Posey, Liev Schreiber, Stanley Tucci, Hope Davis, Anne Meara (in a wonderfully annoying and overbearing mother role), and Pat McNamara. Each of the characters plays with the deadpan dialogue and humor, except for the over-the-top mother. The film deals with family secrets, the hypocrisies of the intellectuals versus the working class, and the drama that drives love and lust. The cinematography and locations capture the texture of New York City compared to Long Island.

I've listened to Billy Joel's "Vienna" at least a trillion times, and watching it in this film has never made me cry so much. I love how the lyrics of human experience fit so well and take on a strong meaning when paired with Jenna's despair. The ending transitions and resolution had the surprise and charm that make anyone's heart swell with love and iration.

A romantic comedy and coming of age film about Jenna (Jennifer Garner), who wishes to be older, and when she tries to piece those years in between together, she realizes that her path did not bring her happiness. The fantasy element of time travel provides a magical quality and chemistry with the other characters, played by Mark Ruffalo and Judy Greer. The soundtrack is phenomenal and captures the 1970s and 1980s upbringing of the characters, who have trouble growing up. The small details shine with the characters and how they develop and change.

In of character development and changes, it is interesting that Matt (Mark Ruffalo) used the photochemical film stock when he took the photos of the yearbook redesign, but when they get married in the end, after the timeline and character changes, he pulls out a digital camera. This is a small detail that I thought was meaningful to the characters and how they were able to move forward and progess with the times and happiness together, though it makes me wonder if he then changed his dreams and hobbies.

A New Hollywood mixture with the Czech New Wave stylizations of narrative and cutting between actions to provide an ephemeral mood to the depressing story and characters. The film follows Morris Mishkin (Zero Mostel), who is taking care of his ailing wife, played by the Yiddish actress Ida Kaminska (the shopowner and Jewish widow from The Shop on Main Street), and is questioning life until he is met by the recently donned angel Levine (Harry Belafonte), a Black Jew. The film deals with the question of what makes a man and how we can find meaning in life and love, though the ending is heartbreaking in such a sweet manner, showing life and the uncertainty of reaching for what you think you want. The film also stars Gloria Foster, and this comes from an adaptation of a Bernard Malamud story. This film shows the questioning of faith and love in the in-between life and death.

This is a heartbreaking film that slowly peels back the shutters of the relationships, ways of thinking about society, and the traditions that people hold surrounding the Jewish community during the Holocaust, and those who could only watch them all die. The traumas of everyone affected by the Nazis in this town are on display through various stages of helplessness or ignorance.

A Czechoslovakian human drama about a poor man (Josef Kroner), played with desperation, greif, and anxiety, who is gifted the rights to a Jewish-owned business as the Aryan prospect to control the old Jewish lady (Idá Kaminská), in such a beautifully human role set in Jewish tradition, who is oblivious to the entering of the Nazis and race laws coming into effect. The film deals with the second-hand problems associated with the persecution of the Jews and how it also affects the non-Jewish population, especially those who were helping or working with the community. The beautiful black and white cinematography captures the grit, dirt, and sweat of the environment that is countered with the dreamlike heaven space/framing that is over-exposed and angelic.

The characters and acting are heartbreaking, especially as the narrative continues through with the realizations that the Jewish people are being lied to and rounded up like cattle on the Sabbath. This falls into the category of Holocaust era film, or one that deals with the memories of these traumas, but through the experience of those surrounding the community and second-hand involvement that is neither benign nor malignant. There are so many layers to the performance, political, social, and moral understandings that it needs multiple screenings and discussions.

In many ways this begins a conversation about the role of the bystander and how they benefitted from tradgedy.

A silent short film about loss, grief, and the burial of the past through beautiful sweeping cinematography that showcases the spaces and body through cinematic choreography. This is further emphasized by the various editing tricks and transitions that emphasize the blocking on the character. This was produced at Pittsburgh Filmmakers.

I’ve always liked Matthew McConaughey, but now I totally get it! Charm!

There are so many lines to quote in this film, and I loved every single one. I was entranced with the characters, but like Andie (Kate Hudson) mentions and subsequently caught me in the act with Sleepless in Seattle, I was just imagining someone else and how much fun this would have been to be Benjamin (Matthew McConaughey). If they ever do a stage production, live every night, of this film, then I will volunteer to play this part. Nevertheless, the romantic comedy is so much fun because we can imagine whoever we want in the roles, and everything remains so relatable. The damage creates the heart.

A romantic comedy about two people who fall in love under the guise of falling in love and losing the relationship, both insincere with the outcome, yet the love solidifies through all of the comedic parlays. The film stars Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, Adam Goldberg, Bebe Neuwirth, and Robert Klein (with a cameo by Marvin Hamlisch, who is interesting from their time working on Their Playing My Song on Broadway). The narrative and chemistry are absolutely infectious through all of the situations they go through, in the amount of love that brims from this film.

The water is so scary, especially when Bruce is lurking and waiting for his next meal. Everything from the clear cinematography, layered blocking, narrative simplicity, character cohesiveness, and thrilling editing makes this a seminal film in Hollywood filmmaking, and a clear transition in style and business models for the American film industry from the New Hollywood (becoming codified once again). The fear comes through in the lack of seeing and anticipation that the music, by John Williams, provides to the sensations of the experience.

The acting from Roy Schider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw also demonstrates a return to articulation of masculinity, strength, and adventure back into the Hollywood hero. Also, Mr. Robinson (from The Graduate (1967) (Murray Hamilton) plays the Mayor in this film, a sort of bookend of the New Hollywood in the pitiful contempt that we have for his character.

It is a trick-shot film in the magical tradition that Méliès brought to the abilities of cinema's storytelling through inventive edits and mise-en-scene, transforming reality into the farce of movement. This spectacle has some layered meanings about society and the role of the police, as comedic and humorous, with the trick being disassembled through the process of uncovering the film like a magic trick, although the technical innovations remain the key to the experience.

In his second feature, which Coppola directed and wrote, he brings the 1950s sex comedy to new perversions and interventions of the 1960s. This included drugs and free-love ideology within the values of marriage and the control of the parents over the child. In many ways, there is a common theme of degeneration concerning morals and ethics when it comes to relationships within the New Hollywood era, especially concerning the lonely male who is trying to find his way into love and desperate connection. The film deals with the setting of New York as the site of these societal, cultural, and generational transformations in the glitzy and sleazy lights of the city.

A New York black comedy and satire about the state of degeneration within the city through the increase of violence, the desensitization of gore, the lack of spirit and religion among the youth, and the senseless society that has become within these cities. The film stars Elliot Gould, Marcia Rodd, Vincent Gardenia, and Alan Arkin and features Donald Sutherland as the bribed and hip Priest. The film ends in a freeze frame of the parents, all of who act odd among their children. This film is absurd in the quest to find out why society does not care for the basics of humanity within a world that is focused on the Vietnam War and political uncertainty, thus layering this criticism.

The expressions of love boil to the surface and come through in the many quirks, dances, and fits of aggression. The film begins with the crash, or big bang, expanding Barry's (Adam Sandler) world and heart. The use of color might also be an expression and visualization of the inner workings of the mind trying to make sense of the world and people around him. The whole film revolves around Barry's anxieties and internal tribulations, which constantly blossom due to his desperation and love. The avant-garde and repetitious music, especially within a theater space, captures the whirlwind and syncopation of the heart and the fear of losing out on the wonders of life.

Produced while blacklisted from Hollywood and based in England, Losey directed a stunning psycho-sexual thriller that shows the devolution of man through Dirk Bogarde and James Fox, who play with the roles and status of the class. The film is photographed with incredible dexterity, through many mirrored surfaces adding multiplicity to the characterizations, and thoughtful blocking that is highlighted by the camera movements, giving dimension to the scenes and characters' relationships with one another. The relationships begin as professional and quickly turn sexual and homoerotic, with the final form being the complete annihilation of companionship. Harold Pinter writes the film to add to the layered dialogue and reactions of the men.

A South Korean exploration of the rich and poor and how the poor try to maintain their infiltration into the wealthy sphere. The film shares similar ideologies as High and Low (1963) about the above-ground rich and underground (pretty much) poor. The film meticulously shows deception and the turning of ideologies into murder. The film jumps from serious to humorous sensibilities quickly, but the film brings in a bunch of political jabs at North Korea and other economic issues. The sound design captures the characters within the fixed space dependent on the placement of the camera. This is an unnerving film experience that crosses culture and language.

It is a documentary about life and the people who are associated with Liza Minnelli, who had to create these relationships with collaborators, who she considered family and lovers, in order to reinvent herself from her mother. The film uses many interviews with Liza, Michael Feinstein, Ben Vereen, Mia Farrow, Darren Criss, and more.

A mystery who-dun-it narrative that brings many characters together to piece together a double murder for it to be a questioning of the role of the police in society and how the newspaper media portrays the innocent and guilty in the line of duty. The film also has an intermission of sorts that stops the action and directly addresses the audience to guess who the murderer is with a stylized minute as if they were reading the book. A fun and thrilling film with a humorous McGuffin.

Notes for each entry are forthcoming and more entries will be added in the coming days!

This list features films that I have had strong emotional reactions from. I always return to these when I really need to feel something strong (some of these are very once in a while for their potency).

• Fiddler on the Roof

  Everything about the film, show, music, and Traditions will make me inconsolable for days and weeks.

• The Green Mile

  This film had me constantly ugly crying through the whole film, afterward, and just at the thought of it. I did not expect this to be so emotionally charged that this needs to be dissected to uncover how they made me hurt from crying.

• High School Musical 3: Senior Year

  I finally watched this the year after graduation, and I had a whole late-night existential crisis. "Together, together, together everyone."

• Les Misérables: 25th Anniversary in Concert
• Les Misérables
• The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall
• The Phantom of the Opera
• Maurice
• Holes
• The Graduate

...plus 11 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

These films are on deck to be requested through Interlibrary Loan for the physical Blu-Ray or DVD. This list will continually change, grow, and shrink as long as I get to watch them!

• The Tales of Hoffmann
• Sunday Bloody Sunday
• The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians
• The Damned
• The Fugitive
• The Pride and the ion
• Heroic Times

• The Broadway Melody
• The Love Parade
• Sunny Side Up
• King of Jazz
• Le Million
• Love Me Tonight
• 42nd Street
• Top Hat
• Show Boat
• Swing Time

...plus 40 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

The following films constitute my 4K, Blu-Ray, or DVD archive that I own through The Criterion Collection, Kino Lorber, Arrow Video, Vinegar Syndrome, and various Partner Labels. This does not include my entire collection but rather a hopefully growing piece of it.

• 12 Angry Men

  The Criterion Collection - Blu-ray

• 8½

  The Criterion Collection - Blu-ray

• The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother

  Kino Lorber - Blu-ray

• An American Werewolf in London

  Arrow Video - Blu-ray

• Barton Fink

  Kino Lorber - Blu-ray

• Being John Malkovich

  The Criterion Collection - Blu-ray

• The Body of My Enemy

  Kino Lorber - Blu-ray

• The Breakfast Club

  The Criterion Collection - Blu-ray

• Citizen Kane

  The Criterion Collection - 4K - Blu-ray

• The Creeping Garden

  Arrow Video - Blu-ray/DVD/CD

...plus 50 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

From the compilation film showcasing future MGM movies.

• Rhino!
• 7 Faces of Dr. Lao
• A Global Affair
• The Americanization of Emily
• Night Must Fall
• Of Human Bondage
• Mail Order Bride
• Viva Las Vegas
• Looking for Love
• Honeymoon Hotel

...plus 3 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

These films have been hanging on the walls of the TV Production studio. I can only assume that there is some relevance to this collection, but only screening and signifying might bring it now.

• Flags of Our Fathers
• Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
• Star Wars
• Hitchcock
• Paycheck
• Mean Girls
• Twisted
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• Black Hawk Down
• Titanica

...plus 17 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.