OK, so I have so much to catch up on...
1) The Garment Jungle (Robert Aldrich & Vincent Sherman, 1957): This was a cracking hard boiled film noir based in the New York fabrics industry. Some of it was pretty brutal for a a late 50's film! There was also a Three Stooges short called Rip, Sew and Stitch (Jules White, 1953) which has a similar set up, but with much funnier results.
2) Ugetsu (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953): This is one of those movies that appears on many film buff lists, so was greatful for the opportunity. It was a good film, but I think I watched it on a bad day as I found it kinda boring. I still gave it 4/5 because I could see why it was a great film and had I watched it on a more sympathetic day, I would've gotten more out of it.
3) The White Reindeer (Erik Blomberg, 1952): This is a wonderful, efficient daytime horror that feels more like a Grimm fairy tale. It is about a woman who turns into a murderous reindeer in order to punish awful men. It could've done with a bit of tightening, but the premise and the beautiful cinematography made it all worthwhile.
4) The Iron Rose (Jean Rollin, 1973): By now, i'm getting used to Rollin's pacing and this might be among my favourites (turns out it's one of the least liked films in his imperial phase!). It feels more like a stageplay as most of the film is between two lovers in a graveyard. Probably not the first Rollin i'd recommend, but I got more out of it than others.
5) A Snake of June (Shin'ya Tsukamoto, 2002): This was a pretty cool erotic drama with an interesting cold blue sheen (it could almost be a black and white film)! The story is about an amenable but passionless marriage where the wife is blackmailed to commit sexual acts in order to overcome her inhibitions. Quite an interesting premise; not top-tier Tsukamoto, but a good way to pass 77 minutes.
6) Sansho The Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1954): Of the two Mizoguchi films I watched, this one was much better. It was just as depressing, but seemed to move at a sprighter pace than Ugetsu. I'd love to watch more of his films, but they aren't very easy to find.
7) The Great White Silence (Herbert G. Ponting, 1924): This was an astonishing documentary of a British expedition to the North Pole about 1910 or so. I find silent films either are terrible or masterpieces, and it was incredible to see such beautiful imagery that prior to then was never seen. The use of colour was beautiful to the point I took photos during the film as I thought "this would make a great album cover!". One of the best documentaries i've ever seen!
8) Ewoks (Raymond Jafelice & Dale Schott, 1985): This was basically 2x4 episodes stictched together and you know what? It wasn't all that bad. I think I preferred 'Droids' better, but this wasn't the car crash I was expecting. Again, there's a charm to 1980's cartoons that I feel has been lost in modern day animation.
9) Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz (Yasunao Aoki, 1997): I have really gotten into Gundam in the last couple of years and I was very excited to watch Gundam Wing. I never saw it before, but I still put Ā£100 down for the mega boxset...and I was disappointed. I know Gundam is pretty hard to get into, but this was a very confusing show. It also really didn't help that most of the main characters were so fucking unlikeable. With most Gundam shows, they grow on you, but even 50 episodes in, I still thought if half the cast died, I wouldn't care. That said, "Endless Waltz" - set after the end of Gundam Wing - wasn't all that bad. I can't bring myself to watch it again though...
10) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Weine, 1920): This is another silent film I really ought to have watched many years ago...it was a great film and completely understand why it is such an important film in the history of cinema. I have to admit it was a little boring at times, but the set design and the atmosphere was wonderful 100 years on!
11) Lips of Blood (Jean Rollin, 1975): My final Rollin film for now and sadly this one wasn't so great. Every Rollin film is slow paced, so the strength of the film is down to atmosphere, setting and acting. Lips of Blood felt like a remix of other Rollin films and felt like it was going nowhere.
12) The Brood (David Cronenberg, 1979): This was a good horror film, but was expecting better from Cronenberg. It felt a bit slow in places, but I think that was down to my expectations. I think I am more fond of latter period Cronenberg, but I still think the atmosphere was good (and the body horror elements were suitably disgusting!)
13) Buena Vista Social Club (Wim Wenders, 1999): This is a cracking little documentary about a group of forgotten Cuban artists getting together to perform in America. I had the album and knew about this for years, but it's still great to see all these forgotten artists get a 2nd lease of life. It helps that the music is incredible too!
14) Sherlock Jr. (Buster Keaton, 1924): This 45 minute silent film is another wonderful Buster Keaton movie. The special effects are still inspiting almost a century on and would have happily had more. You can see a lot of films inspired by this one!
15) Tigerland (Joel Schumacher, 2000): Seeing as this was only a couple of years after 'Batman & Robin' I wasn't expecting much, but this was a genuine surprise. A Vietnam film set in a training camp, it evokes memories of 'Full Metal Jacket', but with less humour. It's a fairly grueling watch, but top acting really helps.
16 - 18) Pusher, With Blood On My Hands: Pusher II & I'm The Angel of Death: Pusher III (Nicolas Winding Refn 1996, 2004 & 2005): Refn's Pusher trilogy is a great watch. What I liked is that Pusher II and III focus on other characters introduced in the first film, but set later in life. All of them are grubby and tough to watch (A Refn trait), but the characters, story, plot and setting are all reasons to watch them. I can't decide which is the best; they all have their pros and cons!
19) Punishment Park (Peter Watkins, 1971): I watched 10 minutes of this about 8 years ago, but no more, so really appreciated the opportunity to see this properly. A mockumentary about various people arrested in Vietnam-era America, this film is absolutely terrifying in that the whole film consists of terrible people in power absuing various civilians for various 'crimes' and subjecting them to years in prison or 3 days in 'Punishment Park'. Without giving anything away, I felt grubby and dirty after finishing this and noticed certain parallels with right-wing politics in modern day life. An essential, but tough watch.
20) Death in the Garden (Luis Bunuel, 1956): The thought of Bunuel doing an adventure film a lĆ” 'The African Queen' sounds delicious on paper, but in reality, it wasn't as good as I hoped. It's still good, but a group of unlikable characters make it a tough watch. I think it's on me for unrealistic expectations.
21) Cruel Story of Youth (Nagisa Oshima, 1960): In this case, I know that Oshima's films are quite dark and miserable, but even I was shocked at how cruel this film was! Once I got over that, it was quite a gripping film that would never have been released in America at the time. There is a saturated look to the feel that is at odds with the dark characters, but I find it works quite well!
22) Labyrinth of Cinema (Nobuhiko Obayashi, 2019): I've only seen one of his films ("House" - a masterpiece), but learning this was his final film before his death meant I needed to watch it. It's 3 hours long, it's very hard to follow, there are so many Japanese subtitles, it's almost impossible to follow (lots of dialogue boxes), but man it was so gripping! It was a sugar rush of a film which is also paradoxically slow. It didn't need to be 3 hours long, but as a swansong, I will let such gripes go. A patient mind is needed for this film, but I found it beautiful in its weird little way.
23) The Lineup (Don Siegel, 1958): My final film in my (first) Columbia Noir boxset and a highlight of the entire set. Based on a radio and TV show, the film has little to do with either of those. After a slow opening, the film ramps up with tension and gripping set pieces. I love how dark these films are! The use of real life locations is a massive highilght. There was also the Three Stooges film Tricky Dicks (Jules White, 1953) which is another entertaining short.
24) Wild Man Blues (Barbara Jopple, 1997): A documentary of Woody Allen's tour with his jazz band in Europe. I actually had the pleasure of seeing him perform at the Royal Albert Hall a few years ago and whilst I went more for the thrill of seeing one of my favourite directors in person, his passion for New Orleans jazz is quite infectious. I can only put up with it in fits and bursts, but this documentary is great stuff; especially seeing his relationship with his wife.
25) When Harry Met Sally... (Rob Reiner, 1989): This is one of those films I feel I should've seen years ago, but never did. I'm ashamed I left it so long, because this was such a lovely film. It was cute, funny, sweet and with just enough acidic bite not to make it too sweet. I miss romantic comedies like this (and I have a massive hankering to watch Sleepless in Seattle again...)
26) God's Angry Man (Werner Herzog, 1980): A 40 minute documentary on a evangelist which is pretty gripping. It's scary that this sort of stuff seems so normal in America (this would never fly in England) and just seeing the man scream at the TV because not enough money was donated sent a chill down my spine.
27) Blonde Venus (Josef Von Sternberg, 1932): Not my favourite Sternberg-Dietrich film sadly. It seems a bit disjointed coming after the masterpiece that is 'Shanghai Express'. Still, some good bits here and there, but for a 90 minute film, felt longer than it was.
28) Psychomagic: A Healing Art (Alejandro Jodorosky, 2019): This was a tough one; this is a documentary based on Jodorowsky's rather extreme method of therapy which involves some interesting practices. One person might be asked to smash pumpkins with his family picture on, another was asked to paint a picture using the blood from her period. I found it a rather difficult watch despite being a big fan of Jodorowsky. The turning point came when a near 90 year old woman felt such depression she wished death on everybody. Jodorowsky's therapy involved her going to a tree in the park and offering water every day as a means of giving something back to the Earth. It was actually quite moving. Jodorowsky is a mad man and in a way, I *get* where he is coming from, but another person might find this documentary hard to stomach.
29) A Scene at the Sea (Takeshi Kitano, 1991): A 'U' rated Kitano film?! Good grief! This is about a couple of deaf mutes who wish to learn to surf. It's quite a beautiful film, but like many Kitano films, it can be tough to adapt to his slow pace. I wish I watched the film on a different day. I will give it another go!
30) Cobra Verde (Werner Herzog, 1987): My final Herzog film and one that I must admit I struggled with. It's a bit hard to explain this one. It wasn't a bad film by any stretch, I think I just wanted to finish this boxset that has been staring me in the face for the last 9 months and watching an obtuse film wasn't the best idea!
31) One From The Heart (Francis Ford Coppola, 1982): Coppola's folly! This is an odd one. I struggled with the rather unlikeable characters, but I fell in love with the set design, the Tom Waits soundtrack and the feel of it all. If the main characters were a bit more relatable, I'd even call this a minor masterpiece!
32) Audition (Takashi Miike, 1999) [RW]: I haven't seen this film in over a decade, but of course, the 'kiri kiri kiri' scene is forever etched in my memory. At the time, I found the pace offputting, but now I think it's an absolute masterstroke; 75% of the film is essentially a romantic drama and then it turns into full on horror. Even knowing what's going to happen, it's still incredibly nervewracking and I tip my hat to Miike for that!
33) Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku, 2000) [RW]: Another one I haven't seen for many years, but getting a 5-disc blu-ray edition, I couldn't put it in the backlog. I've never watched the original cut (only the extended edition), but my goodness; this is a film that gets better with age. Barely any scene is wasted; the editing is incredible. What I loved even more is that despite the premise and the violence, how funny and how sweet it is in places; you really care about (some) of the characters and want them to survive. An absolute masterpiece. I know the 2nd film is pretty crap, but i'm kinda looking forward to watching it again...