The mask of satan

Bava's first film with Barbara Steel as the vampire/witch is really quite silly, but very nicely shot. The English dub is actually quite distrating.

Summer of Sam

A good spike Lee film, set in NYC in 76 and 77, with the Son Of Sam killer as the backround, and identity as one of the themes, with Adrain Brody as a punk. Good music.

L'amour c'est gai, l'amour c'est triste

Jean-Daniel Pollet goes back to filming Claude Melki in 1968, as a shy loser and naive tailor, with a sister, bernadette lafont who is a part time prostitute, and Chantal Goya a lost girl in Paris, on the verge of suicide, Jean-Pierre Marielle is the funny pimp. So it is funny and it is sad.

La Haine

Actually a pretty good film, and I guess a pretty accurate of life in the projects, with youth with no future, living in boredom and angst and fighting the cops. Kassovitz is fairly annoying in the commentary, but obvioulsy very proud of being on Criterion, not that I'm jealous.

Rabid dogs

Mario Bava's last film is very strange and very unlike Bava and his trademark bright colours. A very dark, nihilistic thriller which takes place mostly in a car on autostradas around Rome, with 3 crazed killers who have done a heist and have taken 2 hostages and a sick child. The endind is very surprising, the chase is the corn field is very well filmed.

The girl who knew too much

Last black and white film from Mario Bava, filmed in Rome, is an efficient early giallo, nicely directed.

Kill, baby kill

Not the best Mario Bava by far, sets in a very gothis village suffering from a big malediction, and visited by some very bad actors. Bava's landmark primary colour lighting is here but the story is pretty weak,

Les anges du péché

Robert Bresson's first feature film is fantastic, visually stunning and greatly choregraphed, but all the nuns helps to make striking compositions.

Diva

Almost a classic early 80s French film, the story is a bit phony and dialogues weak, good casting and visually great, Bohringer's black loft is very cool, thanks to Hilton McConnico, and lots of great vintage electronics (Nagra, Nakamichi, etc).

Nonhosonno

A kind of return to form for rgento in 2000, with this modern giallo with a blasting score by Goblin. It is quite scary, and the mureder scenes are very violent, but not as classy as his classic giallos.

Viridiana

Bunuel came back to Soain, and made Viridiana, and not a surprised it was banned and seen as shocking by the church. Most of the Bunuel's obsessions are present,, with some great close ups of feet and shoes, etc.

Somebody up there likes me

Paul New man plays Rocky Graziana is this biopic directed by Robert Wise, obviously an influence on Martin Scorcese. Newman is quite good at the end, and becomes a champ despite all his troubles.

Reds

Stunningly photographed by Storaro, not a surprise it failed commercially as it's over 3 hours and about a communist who dies at the end. Interesting historically and politically if not hugely entertaining.

The left handed gun

Arthur Penn's first film, with Newman as Billy the kid, looks quite gritty in black and white. I found Newman annoying.

The Young Philadelphians

Another great film from Vincent Sherman, with Paul Newman and a great cast in this deep melodrama, about social classes, power, seduction, betrayal, mariage, etc. Based on a popular bestseller, but hugely entertaining and superbly crafted.

The world

Jia Zhangke films a bunch of disorientated Chinese people lost in a new world of capitalism made in China, in this sureal theme park. Slow and meditative, made me fall asleep bur very good nonetheless.

La Bidonata

A rare Luciano Ercoli film, as it was never properly released. Not a surprised as it's a very bad crime/comedy film, which fails on all front.

Lady in the water

Shamalyan is very creative, adapting a fairytale he invented for his kids. Hard to believe but quite taking, with nice photography from Chris Doyle and good characters.