A woman destroys her civil-servant husban by adultery during Hitler's rise in Germany.
From
memory: Congenial adaptation of the Oskar Maria Graf novel meticulously
dissects petty bourgeois society and ideology at a time just before the
Nazi takeover of the country; an intense melodrama with excellent cast
from Fassbinder's actors troupe.
Maltin**1/2: "Studied, stylized look...Some telling moments, and fine performances, but awfully slow going."
A mogul merrily funds terrorists to boost his computer sales, by
panicking West German government and industry c. 1980, as the third
generation of Western European left-wing activists forms, after
crippling of the violent Red Army Faction.
From memory memory: Stylish and dark satire clearly has the director's signature, but the attempt to ridicule both the RAF terrorists as spoilt brats and its victims as manipulative profiteers annihilates any political sting.
Halliwell (no star): "Realistic melodrama, curiously muted in its satire and its anger, watchable more as an entertainment than as a polemic."
Maltin***1/2: "Pitch-black comedy...Superb ensemble cast in one of Fassbinder's best films."
In Switzerland, German singer Willie falls in love with Jewish composer,
Robert, who offers resistance to the Nazis by helping refugees.
From memory: Fassbinder's attempt to make a big movie production is meticulously produced, but the result is a dubious combination of old-fashioned melodrama with the director's usual idiosyncrasies.
Halliwell*: "Curious mixture of melodrama and satire which doesn't really work but is always lively to watch."
Maltin**1/2: ""Second-rate Fassbinder about third-rate cabaret singer...Intriguing subject matter is pretentiously handled.
The Nazis set up a secret base on the dark side of the moon in 1945 where they hide out and plan to return to power in 2018.
Steampunk satire is deliberately not political correct, but the humor is patchy; good special effects and visuals, though.
Maltin***: "Flamboyant premise and lavish special effects would seem to promise a colorful melodrama, but it's really a wry satire on U.S. ambitions and failings. The female president is clearly meant to represent a certain former Alaskan governor. Goes on too long, but still amusing, entertaining, and definitely novel."
Oilman Jan is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his
return, feels guilty; even more, when Jan urges her to have sex with
another.
Immensely intense and depressingly realistic drama investigating issues of compassion, love, faith and innocence; Emily Watson's performance is spectacular.
Halliwell****: "A remarkable and striking film, though in some ways a dislikeable one. It has a raw, emotional power rarely encountered on film, owing its soulful and guileless central performance and the restlessly casual, close-up camerawork; but its theme, an apparent celebration of self-sacrifice through sexual degradation, is often unlovely and hard to take."
Maltin***1/2: "Extraordinary story...A bold, often unsettling examination of love and faith, given immediacy and power by von Trier's documentarylike approach and Robby Müller's faded visual scheme, which root the miraculous in the everyday world. Watson, in her film debut, is unforgettable in the lead role."
An American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to
realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series
of grisly murders.
Quintessential Dario Argento masterpiece is all style, atmosphere and dread over plot with a slew of set pieces often copied ever since.
Halliwell**: "Psycho meets The Exorcist, with no holds barred: a genuinely scary thriller with gaudy visuals and a screaming sound track. A pyrotechnic display for those who can take it."
Maltin***: "Terrifying tale...Often dumb plot is enriched and overcome by brilliant camerawork, atmosphere, music score and performance..."
A list of agents and collaborators, hidden by the Nazis in an Austrian
lake in 1945, is sought after by various interested parties during the
Cold War.
Lacklustre spy thriller with awkward political implications wasting a good cast.
Halliwell (no star): "Turgid, routine action thriller with attractive locations."
Maltin*!/2: "Terrible film version of Helen MacInnes' best-seller...."
The beautiful O is taken by her boyfriend, Rene, to a bizarre retreat, where she is trained in bondage and sexual perversion.
"True love" presented as the result of a sexist master/slave relationship, the movie tells its story in aestheticized erotic sequences without any comprehensible development.
Inspired by a true crime, a man begins to experience mystifying events that lead him to slay his mother with a sword.
Stylized investigation of a crime that avoids offering a simple explanation.
On renewed viewing: A great Werner Herzog movie that delves deep into its story and deliberately irritates by acknowledging and emphasizing the complexity of its topic.
Maltin**: "Genuinely odd film is ambitious but only intermittently successful, as it leaves too many unanswered questions about its characters...Given the film's general weirdness, it's no surprise that David Lynch is an executive producer."
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