默片
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari
8.9 (270 ratings) director: 罗伯特·维内 actor: Werner Krauß / 康拉德·维特
other title: 卡里加里博士的小屋 / Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari
Francis, a young man, recalls in his memory the horrible experiences he and his fiancée Jane recently went through. Francis and his friend Alan visit The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, an exhibit where the mysterious doctor shows the somnambulist Cesare, and awakens him for some moments from his death-like sleep.
Twilight Dancing (2008) Douban
5.7 (7 ratings) director: 书亚 / 高天 actor: 刘兆铭 / 成泰燊
other title: 车逝
郝岩冰(成泰燊 饰)的妻子无故失踪,距今已有八年之久,这些年间,痛苦的男人一直将自己关在红色的房车里,默默的等待着不知如今身在何处的妻子再度出现。在一条危险的公路上,郝岩冰遇见了神秘的女孩美美(王珞丹 饰),麻木而又冷静的她似乎不知道危险为何物。
原来,美美亦有着曲折和离奇的身世。从刚一出生起,她便要忍受常人无法理解的肉体和精神上的双重痛苦。长久以来,美美都暗恋着修车厂的老板达叔(刘兆铭 饰),然而这段感情注定将不会有任何的结果。美美搭上了郝岩冰的房车,惊讶的发现这辆车能够缓解她的痛苦,与此同时,她还发现,达叔守口如瓶的秘密和眼前的男人有着千丝万缕的关联。
Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (1927)
Berlin – Die Sinfonie der Großstadt
8.4 (43 ratings) director: 沃尔特·鲁特曼 actor: 保罗·冯·兴登堡
other title: Berlin, die Symphonie der Großstadt / Berlin, symphonie d'une grande ville
A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.
An Interesting Story (1904) WikiData IMDb TMDB Douban
An Interesting Story
7.6 (5 ratings) director: James Williamson
other title: 一个有趣的故事 / 趣事
The adventures of an inattentive man. He's at his kitchen table, reading. A woman brings his hat and points to the clock. He continues reading and pours coffee into his hat. He leaves, still reading, trips over a servant who's on her hands and knees cleaning the walk. He walks through jump-roping girls, runs into a mule, walks into the only other person on an empty street, and then walks into the path of a steamroller. Two cyclists approach his flattened body. Out come their air pumps, and soon our genial hero has set off again, nose in his book.
The Dancing Pig (1907) WikiData IMDb TMDB Douban
Le cochon danseur
6.8 (48 ratings) director: Millard Mercury actor: Magasa
other title: 跳舞的猪 / Le cochon danseur
A pig dressed in fancy clothes flirts with a pretty girl, but she humiliates him and tears off his suit; she then makes him dance for her affections
The Thief (1952) Douban
The Thief
director: 拉塞尔·劳斯 actor: 雷·米兰德 / 马丁·加贝尔
other title:
A telephone rings in the dark—three times, pauses, then rings three times again. A fully-clothed figure lights a cigarette before rising from bed, dons a raincoat, then sets out into the night. Another figure emerges from the shadows, lights a cigarette, then discards a crumpled cigarette pack, which the first picks up and carries home. Back in his room, the first man places the refuse on his desk, paces apprehensively about his apartment before he finally removes the inner foil and examines it. After letting what it reveals sink in, he sets it on fire, and a cold look comes over his face...
Thus begins The Thief, a 1952 cold war, espionage thriller—unique in that it is completely without dialogue—directed by Russell Rouse, and produced by Clarence Greene, who co-wrote the screenplay. Allan Fields (Ray Milland) is an award-winning nuclear scientist working at the Atomic Energy Commission research laboratory. He is also a spy, photographing top secret documents, then relaying the miniature film canisters back through an elaborate network to enemy agents in Egypt. His signal is the telephone, and his liaison outlines his assignments through instructions on his cigarette refuse, with nary a word spoken. It is a dangerous business, and one that creates many close calls—too close for comfort. When one of his assignments goes awry, the FBI begins to close in, and the race is on to leave the country before he is caught.
The Thief has all the trappings of classic noir. Produced at the height of the "Red Scare," the film manages to maintain a constant state of tension, relying heavily on reaction shots and Herschel Burke Gilbert's riveting musical score. The cinematography heightens the effect, utilizing lighting and camera angles to convey the unspoken. Milland, who won an Oscar® for his role in Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend, carries the part off to perfection, letting the audience read his character's thoughts solely through facial expression and body language. The direction also fools the audience into anticipating dialogue, then cleverly avoiding it. Only the Oscar®-nominated score and sound effects break the silence.
This is a fascinating use of visuals to tell a story, and a gripping suspense film, which held my interest throughout, and aside from one sequence where Fields' conscience begins to plague him, the narrative is fairly straight forward, without much in the way of gimmickry. Avoid the back cover text because it gives away the ending, which was the only part that didn't really work for this reviewer. For those interested in cold war-era film noir, this is certainly worth a look, if for no other reason than its uniqueness.
The Last Battle (1983) WikiData IMDb TMDB Douban
Le dernier combat
8.0 (11 ratings) director: 吕克·贝松 actor: 皮埃尔·若利韦 / 让·布伊兹
other title: 最后决战 / Le dernier combat
The plot explores the devastation of civilization and issues of brutality, hostility and isolation. Pierre Jolivet stars as the main character (identified only as "The Man" in the end credits) who is menaced by "The Brute" (played by Jean Reno) on his journey through a world filled by people rendered nearly mute by some unknown incident.