Directed by John Huston The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is wonderfully ugly. In it three men set out to hit it rich mining for gold. Rather quickly they find what they're looking for, but the challenge then becomes keeping it. They must deal with forces from outside and forces from within, and in the end … Continue reading The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
postwar
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Directed by Tay Garnett It seems there were a lot of unhappy marriages in postwar America, one in which the woman married too young to an older man who could promise financial security and little more. It's these types of marriages, at least cinematically-speaking, that lead to the Double Indemnity-esque murder plots, where the conspirators finally … Continue reading The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
The Iron Giant (1999)
Directed by Brad Bird The Iron Giant lands in tiny Rockwell, Maine. It's a fishing village, and the intimacy of such a small town allows for a good microcosm of America at the time as a whole. The story takes place in 1957, a time smothered in post World War II paranoia, but our perspective … Continue reading The Iron Giant (1999)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Directed by Don Siegel In the first scene of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, we look inquisitively at a panic-stricken doctor, Miles (Kevin McCarthy), who claims that there have been a series of strange events. He is surrounded by those who doubt whatever story it is he’s about to tell, even as they are quite … Continue reading Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Scandal (1950)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa Have you seen Glengarry Glen Ross? It's that sales movie where Alec Baldwin delivers that "always be closing" speech about hitting your numbers. From my experience the quote is often taken out of context. This is one hell of a motivated guy, but the people whom he's speaking to, the main … Continue reading Scandal (1950)
No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa No Regrets for Our Youth is a coming of age story about Yukie (Setsuko Hara), a young college student who transcends the initial melodramatic love triangle and turns into a selfless, honorable, otherwise anonymous member of the community. The film covers over a decade in her life and charts the work of … Continue reading No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)
One Wonderful Sunday (1947)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa Two young lovers look through an open house in Tokyo. With only 35 yen between them, Yuzo doesn't understand why his girlfriend, Masako, bothers pretending they could ever afford a place like this. Yuzo:"We have to face reality to survive in a world like this." Masako: "This is the kind of … Continue reading One Wonderful Sunday (1947)
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