1950s

A sharp, smart script glows through an incandescent cast in All About Eve, a wonderful drama about an aging stage actress and the adoring fan who will do anything to be her. Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, and particularly George Sanders all give top notch performances. The film has elements of noir (it's the same year as Sunset Blvd and has some overlapping themes) but is a more buoyant drama. The screenplay is full of little gems - double meaning, foreshadowing, euphemism. I suspect multiple viewings will reveal more nuances. That's not to say the picture is particularly subtle - it's just broadly entertaining and satisfying with great characters.

One of the greatest of all war movies and my favorite Kubrick film of those I've seen. Kirk Douglas gives a stirring performance and the whole thing is pretty much pitch perfect. Nothing is wasted, and the way it is shot puts you right in the action, whether that be on the battlefield, in the courtroom, or in front of a firing squad.

A classic, claustrophobic suspense film. I easily related to Jeffries.

What a third act! What has to this point been a relatively straightforward (though very good) mystery/courtroom drama spins out of control towards a conclusion that you'll never believe. In all actuality I kind of wish it had ended one twist earlier, which would have led to perhaps a more sobering ending, but I can't complain too much. I loved Laughton in this from the first scene and he's great all the way through, though the film wouldn't have worked without Marlene Dietrich as the titular witness. This movie still looks beautiful today and thrills almost every bit as much as imagine it did in 1957. In the top half of Billy Wilder's exceptional filmography.

Great movie, long but exceptionally well-paced with class performances by Alec Guinness and William Holden (along with supporters). I have to admit I was worried about this after thinking Lawrence of Arabia was not very interesting but it seems to be the exception for Lean rather than the rule.

Brilliantly shot and directed - no surprise from the talent behind Citizen Kane. The opening sequence, done in a single crane shot, is masterful and sets the anticipation high for the rest of the film. The winding plot is a little hard to pull out of all the curious, overlapping dialog which gets a bit tiring as the film goes on. The overall pacing, though, is excellent. I didn't care about all the pieces but the two leads' (Heston and Welles) rivalry and divergent methods for justice are interesting enough to pull us through.

I've always been a little cold on Kubrick - I'm impartial to some of his career defining works (2001, Dr Strangelove) and hold others in contempt (A Clockwork Orange). This one, though, I liked. A great noir/heist film with jumpy chronology and startling violence for its time - an obvious influence on a slew of other more modern genre pieces. Like a robbery, it's well-planned, gets in and out fast, and has a foregone yet somehow surprising (and sudden) ending.

Wonderfully tense and gritty but seems to go on and on. The ending is likely to provoke a whole range of reactions: mine was laughter.

One of the best westerns (no pun inntended) I've seen. Brisk, tense, to-the-point, with a great cast and a signature look. Never succumbs to talkiness and the stark cinematography is a perfect compliment to this man-against-the-world story.

Not as tense or engaging as some other classic film noir, but notable for its use of the criminals' perspective and its influence on other films. For a similar (but better) picture inspired in part by this one, check out Kubrick's The Killing.

The third Kurosawa I've seen and I think I'm finally starting to understand his films (at least a little bit). I almost think of this as a Japanese "It's a Wonderful Life." A melodramatic tale about a dying man who decides he has to do something with his life before his disease takes it. Indulgent partying and a young girlfriend fail to satisfy before he decides he will use the soul-sucking job he's wasted away at for 30 years to do his last good deed. There are some big surprises in the story structure and sympathetic performances, not to mention strong visuals and reflections on life, family and bureaucracy. Unfortunately the film drags at points, mostly in the final act when there isn't enough story to fill the hour. Still, the universal themes make this a fairly accessible movie and it's my favorite Kurosawa so far.

Rat! There's a rat in the baby's room!

Not sure how I feel about this movie, except to say that it's been censored almost to the point of

Technically it's just about perfect. I love the way the camera moves, and the way the boy is flawed by sympathetic. We start out by looking at him much the way the teacher does, but as we start to see how things unfold we grow to realize his predicament is partially his fault but is exacerbated by his circumstances. Nothing particularly exciting happens - it's a bit low key for me to get really enthused about it - but the ending, while initially baffling, makes more sense as I think about it. Still, this is the kind of movie I respect but don't love.

Rich movie, very influential, and fairly heavy. Not nearly as off-putting as you'd imagine it to be, The Seventh Seal has interesting characters who hold different views on life, death and God. Some wish to believe, some have faded into cynicism, some follow rote religion, and others just try to get by - but all are followed by the one eventuality they can't escape: death. Early in the movie it seemed very staged, and I wasn't sure about the quality of the production. As it went on those concerns faded and the careful photography and script took center stage. Not probably something I'll be running back to see again any time soon, but with all its symbols and layers this movie will likely deserve another viewing.

Good movie, but a lot of the comic elements don't really work. They're a clash of tone with the more sober aspects of the story. It's a similar problem to the one that plagued The Great Escape, though this movie is shorter and William Holden plays a much better and more believable character than Steve McQueen. Stalag 17 is well paced and has some exciting "ah-ha!" moments, especially near the end.

Wasn't a big fan of this one. Giulietta Masina is great - she IS this movie. Every emotion is clearly conveyed on her expressive, doll-like face. She's like a silent film star born after her time, and finds a place here in this somewhat solemn road movie. Basically a girl is sold into slavery and develops Stockholm Syndrome. There are moments of joy and sorrow but not much that really sticks out.

Seen it, it's been forever though.