Anything Goes! - musical with Donald O'Connor - Robert Lewis - 1956

Do you like the music of Cole Porter?

Apur Sansar (1959) - Satyajit Ray

Click on link to see the film:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHCc2LVGNWQ

Shadows - John Cassavetes - 1959

Marnie by Hitchcock 1964

So what is Marnie's big secret?

What are the motives of Mark Rutland to 'save' her?

It's a film about redemption and romance...at the same time. Rutland's combination of lust and compassion is really thought-provoking.

The quality of this video isn't that great....sorry...I was able to watch and follow it nonetheless...

The Seven-Ups 1973 Philip D'Antoni

So what I think is interesting about this D'Antoni film, and what some sociology/film student should write about some day, is how these types of cop films might have changed America's orientation toward cops.

In the early 70s cops in the USA did not have the best reputations. In 1968 the whole world saw ignorant, aggressive cops beating defenseless students protesting the Vietnam War in Chicago.

But suddenly in the early 70s you get a slew of 'good cop' films.

The formula seemed the same in each. You did not see cops who interfaced with the general public and who might kill a black man for selling cigarettes on the streets or who might beat up a hapless student.  Hollywood depicted cops who interfaced with the really really bad guys - so bad everyone could agree they were bad guys.

This made the cops good guys.

People didn't notice these were specially trained, higher level cops, these cops began to stand in for the normal cops who had helped destroy the reputation of all cops.

These days, with sentiment angling away from cops again, it might be interesting to see how Hollywood reacts.  Will it unleash a whole new slew of good cop films? Or will it begin to portray cops in a more realistic and less idealized manner?

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly 1966 Sergio Leone

There are only two kinds of people in this world...

12 Angry Men 1957 Sidney Lumet

One man with integrity sways an apathetic group...

To Catch a Thief by Hitchcock 1955 - Cary Grant / Grace Kelly

This film really highlights what I like the most about Hitchcock films - there's lots of lots of subtle social criticism and observations through his films that are somewhat peripheral to the plot but fit into the plot nonetheless.

For instance I enjoyed the Cary Grant character's veiled attack against the insurance industry - calling it a collection of gamblers. The fact that many of the characters in the film fought in the recent world war is referenced a great deal as well and the characters themselves seem ambivalent as to whether they were heroes or butchers.

A restaurateur states, at one point, that he runs his kitchen the way he ran his resistance unit during the war and that the processes are similar - cutting, chopping, killing...

So the backgrounds of Hitchcock films are very rich with thought-provoking elements.

The problem with this version of the film I am putting here is that there is a commercial every 8 minutes. You can cancel the commercial after 5 seconds, however.