“I don’t know why the Germans would want this God-forsaken place.” ‘The African Queen’, directed by John Huston in 1951, is an American adventure movie starring Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. Hepburn plays Rose Sayer, a Methodist missionary in German East Africa in the 1910s. When war breaks out, Sayer escapes her village after it…
Coffee and Cigarettes (1986, 1992, 2003)
“Well, Nikola Tesla invented fluorescent light. Without him we wouldn’t have alternating current, radio, television… x-ray technology… induction motors, particle beams, lasers; none of that would even exist if it weren’t for him.” ‘Coffee and Cigarettes’, directed by Jim Jarmusch between 1986 and 2003, is an American anthology film featuring eleven vignettes in which characters…
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
“Take a look at yourself here in a worn-out Mardi Gras outfit, rented for 50 cents from some rag-picker. And with a crazy crown on. Now what kind of a queen do you think you are? Do you know that I’ve been on to you from the start, and not once did you pull the…
La Strada (1954)
First published on ‘We Are Cult’ on the 15th of July 2017 In many respects, La Strada, directed by Federico Fellini in 1954, is a drama that sowed the seeds for the director’s later, extravagantly fantastical films, but one that equally has its own, very particular identity. The movie focuses on a circus strongman called…
Lola (1981)
First published on ‘We Are Cult’ on the 11th of July 2017 Lola, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder in 1981, takes place in 1957 in the small town of Coburg in Western Germany. The senior members of the town, including the head of police and the mayor, are all making money from the post-war reconstruction….
The Wrong Man (1956)
“This is Alfred Hitchcock speaking. In the past, I have given you many kinds of suspense pictures. But this time, I would like you to see a different one. The difference lies in the fact that this is a true story, every word of it. And yet it contains elements that are stranger than all…
On the Waterfront (1954)
“It wasn’t him, Charley, it was you. Remember that night in the Garden you came down to my dressing room and you said, “Kid, this ain’t your night. We’re going for the price on Wilson.” You remember that? “This ain’t your night”! My night! I coulda taken Wilson apart! So what happens? He gets the…
Morgiana (1972)
“Whatever we yell into this chasm will echo back to us, distorted and fragmented, and that will have to be our meaning” ‘Morgiana’, directed by Juraj Herz in 1972, is a Czech gothic horror movie starring Iva Janžurová in a dual role as twin sisters Klara and Viktoria. The film starts with the death of…
Dunkirk (2017)
“Commander Bolton: You can practically see it from here. Captain Winnant: What? Commander Bolton: Home.” ‘Dunkirk’, directed by Christopher Nolan in 2017, is a British and American war movie focusing on the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from mainland Europe in the summer of 1940. The film is divided into three narrative strands: the…
The Big Heat (1953)
“I guess a scar isn’t so bad. Not if it’s only on one side… I can always go through life sideways.” ‘The Big Heat’, directed by Fritz Lang in 1953, is an American crime drama starring Glenn Ford as Sergeant Dave Bannion, a police officer who becomes determined to bring down a network of organised…
Summer with Monika (1953)
“Monika, we have to make something real out of our lives. We’ll care for each other. I’ll study and get a decent job, so we can get married and have a nice house, you and me and the little one on its way.” ‘Summer with Monika’, directed by Ingmar Bergman in 1953, is a Swedish…
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
“Captain Bligh, you’ve told your story of mutiny on the Bounty, how men plotted against you, seized your ship, cast you adrift in an open boat, a great venture in science brought to nothing, two British ships lost. But there’s another story, Captain Bligh, of ten cocoanuts and two cheeses. A story of a man…
Kes (1969)
“Mere fodder for the mass media.” ‘Kes’, directed by Ken Loach in 1969, is a British drama starring David Bradley as Billy Casper, a school kid growing up in Barnsley. Casper is coming to the end of his time as a pupil and is expected to get a job once he has done with studies….
This is Spinal Tap (1984)
“We’re very lucky in the band in that we have two visionaries, David and Nigel, they’re like poets, like Shelley and Byron. They’re two distinct types of visionaries, it’s like fire and ice, basically. I feel my role in the band is to be somewhere in the middle of that, kind of like lukewarm water.”…
The Big Red One (1980)
“Saving that Kraut was the final joke of the whole goddamned war. I mean we had more in common with him than all our replacements who got killed whose names we never even knew. We’d all made it through we were alive. I’m gonna dedicate my book to those who shot but didn’t get shot,…
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
“I’m not taking him with me. I’m no good for him. I’m terrible with him. I have no patience. He’s better off without me.” ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’, directed by Robert Benton in 1979, is an American drama starring Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep as an estranged couple fighting over the custody of their seven year…
Baby Driver (2017)
“He had an accident when he was a kid. Still has a hum in the drum. Plays music to drown it out. And that’s what makes him the best.” ‘Baby Driver’, directed by Edgar Wright in 2017, is an American crime comedy drama. Ansel Elgort plays Baby, a young man whose parents were killed years…
Shaft (1971)
“Don’t you try to bullshit me, boy. We’re all on the hustle. I sell broads and dope and numbers. You sell crap, and blue sky. It’s all the same game.” ‘Shaft’, directed by Gordon Parks in 1971, is an American drama and one of the films that launch the ‘blaxploitation’ genre in the 1970s. Richard…
Point Blank (1967)
“Do you remember… when we met? The rain? You were a little drunk. So was I. You were funny when you were drunk. Strange. I don’t remember very much, but… suddenly… we were together. It was wonderful at first. I loved you. Then Mal happened. You talked a lot about Mal. Mal Reese. He was…
My Way Home (1965)
“There are few directors so akin to a choreographer. His cinema does not conform to narrative or psychological conventions, but opens other areas that are usually found in the screen musical. His films are elaborate ballets, emblematically tracing the movements in the fight for Hungarian independence and socialism. In these ritual dances of life and death…
‘Before Sunrise’ (1995), ‘Before Sunset’ (2004) and ‘Before Midnight’ (2013)
“I’m happy you’re saying that, because… I mean, I always feel like a freak, because I’m never able to move on like… this! You know. People just have an affair, or even entire relationships… they break up and they forget! They move on like they would have changed brand of cereals! I feel I was…
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
“What would I say to a hamburger? Boy. I’d take Mr. Hamburger by the hand and say, ‘Pal, I haven’t seen you for a long, long time.’” ‘I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang’, directed by Mervyn LeRoy in 1932, is a crime-drama starring Paul Muni as James Allen, a soldier returning from the…
Sholay (1975)
“You have a lot of strength left in your arms, don’t you? Remember what you said to me that day? ‘These aren’t arms, they’re your noose’. Look at you now, the noose has opened! You still have a lot of strength in your arms, don’t you? Give me your arms, Thakur.” ‘Sholay’, directed by Ramesh…
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
First published in the British Fantasy Journal. 17 (26-9). ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’, directed by David Yates in 2016, is a British and American fantasy movie, and a further instalment in the ‘Harry Potter’ film franchise. Eddie Redmayne plays Newt Scamander, a British wizard who arrives in New York City with a…
The Servant (1963)
“He may be a servant but he’s still a human being.” ‘The Servant’, directed by Joseph Losey and written by Harold Pinter in 1963, is a British social psychodrama starring Dirk Bogarde and James Fox. Fox plays Tony, an affluent Londoner who returns from abroad to a rundown house. He employs a valet called Barrett,…
Russian Ark (2002)
First published in the British Fantasy Journal. 16 (107-12). “I open my eyes and I see nothing. I only remember there was an accident. Everyone ran for safety as best they could. I just can’t remember what happened to me.” Russian Ark, directed by Alexander Sokurov in 2002, is a ghost story, albeit an elliptical…
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
“There’s nothing so different about them. After all, crime in only a left-handed form of human endeavor.”” ‘The Asphalt Jungle’, directed by John Huston in 1950, is an American film noir starring Sterling Hayden, Sam Jaffe and Jean Hagen. Jaffe plays Erwin “Doc” Riedenschneider, a newly released prisoner who builds a gang to steal jewellery….
Time of the Wolf (2003)
“For a director famous for his challenges to and provocations of his audience, this film, which of all Haneke’s work has received the most lukewarm if not negative critical response, is also the easiest for an audience to take — once you’ve looked past its forbidding apocalyptic scenario — for there’s a strong humanist premise…
The Phantom Carriage (1921)
“There is an old, old carriage… It is no ordinary driver who holds the reigns, for he’s in the service of a strict master named Death.” ‘The Phantom Carriage’, directed by Victor Sjöström in 1921, is a Swedish silent horror movie starring the director as David Holm, a drunkard who when knocked unconscious on New…
The Lady Vanishes (1938)
“Never mind, dear. Now if I were you I’d try to get a little sleep. It’ll make you feel quite well again! There’s a most intriguing acrostic in the Needlewoman. I’m going to try to finish it before you wake up.” ‘The Lady Vanishes’, directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1938, is a British thriller starring…
Film Ark 