Possession (1981)

 

Isabelle Adjani jumping rope along the Berlin Wall, while filming Andrzej Żuławski‘s Possession

New Acquisition: L'été meurtrier (1983)

 

Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979)

 

Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979)

 

Isabelle Adjani

Isabelle Adjani

(ph: Claude Azoulay)

Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979)

Count Dracula moves from Transylvania to Wismar, spreading the Black Plague across the land, and only a woman pure of heart can bring an end to his reign of horror.

From memory: Typical for Werner Herzog, this adaptation of the vampire tale is visually more than stunning and is darkly atmospheric, but slow-paced and a bit boring; Kinski, Adjani and Ganz are perfectly cast in their respective roles.

Halliwell*: "Despite the star's splendidly loathsome appearance, the overall is no improvement, and the colour in the English prints is quite dreadful."

Maltin***1/2: "Spooky, funny, reverent remake of F. W. Murnau's vampire masterpiece should please Dracula fans of all persuasions. Kinski is magnificent as the good Count, and Adjani's classic beauty is utilized to the hilt."

The Driver (1978)

A getaway driver becomes the latest assignment for a tenacious detective.

From memory:  Stylish, straightforward exercise in making a purified genre picture is indeed successful for what it strives to be, but nearly hollow in content; most memorable element, however, are the excellent car chase sequences.

Halliwell***+: "Deft and clever thriller that has been stripped of all redundancies and reduced to its core, of two obsessional men on different sides of the law locked in deadly conflict. It is a simple, spare story of bleak lives, brilliantly told."

Maltin***: "Tense throwback to the Hollywood film noir era...Oddball melodrama doesn't seem like much at the time, but has a way of staying with you afterwards.Great car chase sequences."

Isabelle Adjani

La Reine Margot (1994)

Isabelle Adjani

Isabelle Adjani

Bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabelle_Adjani

Diabolique (1996)

The wife and mistress of the sadistic dean of an exclusive prep school conspire to murder him.

Superfluous remake of Henri-Georges Clouzot's classic which proves that a star cast and adequate production don't necessarily result into a great movie.

Halliwell (no star): "An appalling remake of  Henri-Georges Clouzot's masterly Les Diaboliques; it is boring, badly made and miserably acted."

Maltin*1/2: "Top-notch cast founders in this amazingly monotonous (not to mention crude and embarassing) redo of the 1955 classic...This dreary film thoroughly trashes the memory of the original - and even the made-for-TV remakes!"

Possession (1981)

A woman starts exhibiting increasingly disturbing behavior after asking her husband for a divorce, but suspicions of infidelity soon give way to something much more sinister.

A feverish domestic drama turns into a surreal horror shocker with deliberately way-over-the-top performances; obviously meant as an allegory, but remains indecipherable.

Halliwell (no star): "Extraordinary horror movie pitched at a level of hysteria and, with its setting of a divided Berlin, no doubt is intended as an allegory, though of what, among the blood and gore, attitudinizing and demented performances, is anybody's guess."

Maltin*1/2: "Confusing drama of murder, horror, intrigue, though it's all attractively directed."