A radical exception to the rule, King Vidor's "Our Daily Bread," faced the problem of unemployment head-on by dramatizing an experiment in cooperative farming that proposed pooling resources collectively as an alternative to individualistic competition for jobs. One of the earliest "creepy clown" movies, "He Who Gets Slapped" was the first film produced completely by the MGM studio, though not the first released. "H2O" is a cinematic tone poem to water in all its forms, using lovely images and editing techniques of movement, shading and texture to produce striking visual effects. The now-iconic title dance number is both ridiculous and infectious. Expanded essay by Ray Carney (PDF, 530KB), An expressive, sympathetic look at the everyday lives of young Mexican women who create ornamental papier mch fruits and vegetables, "Fake Fruit Factory" exemplifies filmmaker Chick Strand's unique style that deftly blends documentary, avant-garde and ethnographic techniques. Spielberg penned the original story, hand-selected director Richard Donner and hired Chris Columbus (who had written the 1983 "Gremlins") to do the offbeat screenplay. Are pets allowed at La Fonda On the Plaza? Like that film, "The Power and the Glory" presents a fragmented rags-to-riches tale of an American industrial magnate that begins with his death, in this case a suicide, and sensitively proceeds to produce a deeply affecting, morally ambivalent portrayal. From a budget of $50,000, the film grossed $20 million in its national debut. Expanded essay for "The Godfather" and "Godfather Part II" by Michael Sragow (PDF, 528KB), Bing Crosby won an Academy Award for playing a happy-go-lucky priest assigned to a rundown church heavily in debt. Billed at the beginning as "a film about the relative size of things in the universe," at the conclusion of its nine minutes, "Powers of Ten" has revealed the world simultaneously as both a very big and very small place. Expanded essay by Carrie Rickey (PDF, 697KB), Directed by its star Kevin Costner, "Dances with Wolves" disproved the contemporary reputation of Westerns as box office poison, and garnered critical success as well as financial, including nabbing the Best Picture Oscar. Partners in this painstaking effort included the National Telefilm Associates Inc., Fondazione Scuola Nazionale di Cinema, Cineteca Nazionale (Rome), British Film Institute, The Film Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Paramount and YCM Laboratories. The cast also includes Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd on their way to starring roles in the TV series "Taxi. View this film at National Film Preservation Foundation External. Expanded essay by Steve Massa (PDF, 502KB). The film's success not only reinvigorated interest in Valens' brief but notable musical legacy, it also brought the title tune back to the charts (in a cover version by Los Lobos) 28 years after its first appearance. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was frequently adapted to movies after 1900, but always with white actors in the lead roles until this version, said to be the first feature-length American film that starred a black actor. Harry Belafonte, who refused the part of Porgy, explained, "in this period of our social development, I doubt that it is healthy to expose certain images of the Negro. Nominated for nine Academy Awards, the film took home Oscars in several technical categories. She reasoned that because the majority of movie fans were women, "it follows that a member of the sex is best able to gauge their wants in the form of stories and plays." It's inspiring in a way." Expanded essay by David Kiehn (PDF, 281KB). Director D.W. Griffith's depiction of the Ku Klux Klan as heroes stirred controversy that continues to the present day. This brilliant and, at the time, controversial film fully established von Stroheim's reputation within the industry as a challenging and difficult-to-manage creative genius. In addition to Thomas, the film's cast also includes Dee Wallace, Drew Barrymore and Peter Coyote. In the depths of winter, Brown booked the film for two weeks in Wichita, Kansas where audiences lined up in the snow and sold out multiple screenings. The film features a script and cinematography by Charles Burnett. Expanded essay by Donna Ross (PDF, 1054KB), Two staples of 1960s cinemaevil organizations and the wasteland of suburbiacombine to drive this sinister tale about the perils of seeking a second chance, a life do-over. Additional artwork, Perhaps more than any other film comedian in the early days of movies, W.C. Fields is an acquired taste. "Shadow of a Doubt" is his most literal example of this theme, as a young girl named Charlie, portrayed by Teresa Wright, becomes terrified that her Uncle Charlie, with whom she has always been close, could be a serial killer. Bill Robinson, Lena Horne, Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, and the Nicholas Brothers sing and dance to standards from the American songbook such as the title tune, "Ain't Misbehavin'," "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," and "The Jumpin' Jive." Gripping action sequences and well-crafted humor made this film a huge hit and launched Willis as a major box-office star. Remaining behind, the grandson recounts memories to Peege and manages to connect emotionally with the lonely woman and bring a smile to her face. All goes as planned until an alert night watchman and a corrupt cop enter the picture. Now considered one of the greatest musicals ever filmed, it's filled with memorable songs, lavish routines and Kelly's fabulous song-and-dance number performed in the rain. Based on the hit play by Clare Boothe Luce, "The Women" explores the new options open to women with the possibility of divorce, following several intertwining paths to the courts in Reno. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn play husband and wife attorneys, each drawn to the same case of attempted murder. Inspired by Max Brand's novel of the same name, "Destry Rides Again" was Stewart's first western -- laced with comedy and musical numbers -- and helped revive the career of Marlene Dietrich. The German hydrogen-powered passenger zeppelin had been in operation since March 1936. The combination of magnificent production values and scenes filmed in spectacular New Zealand locations made this a must-see, particularly on wide screens in a cinema. Under director George Cukor, Garland returned to the screen after a four-year absence to star as an aspiring actress who is mentored by an alcoholic film star Norman Maine (James Mason) whose career is waning. A divorced father (Larry Fishburne) struggles to raise his son, Tre (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) in a world where violence is a fact of life. Expanded essay by Kyle Westphal (PDF, 275KB), John Schlesinger's gritty look at the seedy side of urban American life is frequently disturbing, but Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight's electric performances make it difficult to turn away. The footage was initially kept out of theaters, and not released for more than a month following Congressional Civil Liberty hearings in which the footage was presented as evidence that police used excessive force against the strikers. The film, which received an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, traces Harvey Milk's ascent from Bay Area businessman to political prominence as city supervisor and his 1978 assassination, which also claimed the life of San Francisco mayor George Moscone. The musical numbers performed by artists such as Anita O'Day, Mahalia Jackson, Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan, Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden are interspersed with scenes of Newport Harbor and yachts preparing for the America's Cup. More than just a portrait of contemporary black society, it's a story of cultural differences between parents and children of how individuals learn (or don't learn) from experience, and of how there should be no place for those who cause violence and strife. "Little Big Man" has been called an epic reinvented as a yarn, and the Western reimagined for a post-1960s audience, one already well-versed in the white hat-black hat tradition of the typical Hollywood Western saga. Ted Parmelee directed this animated short film adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's story of a murderer haunted by the sound of his victim's beating heart. Older sibling Linus (Humphrey Bogart) fears his brother's interest in Sabrina may derail David's upcoming marriage, the centerpiece of an advantageous corporate merger, so Linus jockeys to redirect Sabrina's affection away from David and toward himself. This film shows the aftermath of the 8.3 magnitude 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and the devastation resulting from the subsequent three-day fire that erupted amidst collapsed buildings and broken water mains. Busby Berkeley, who had just finished a long stint directing musicals at MGM and an earlier one at Warner Bros., directs and choreographs the film. The film is emotionally draining, and so realistic that it will be forever etched in the mind of any viewer. Tyree & Ben Walters, National Film Preservation Foundation - Blacksmithing Scene, Southern Methodist University Central University Libraries, This article by director Paul Schrader originally appeared in the Fall 1971 issue of "Cinema Magazine. "Fargo" received seven Academy Award nominations, and McDormand took home a statuette for Best Actress and the Coen Brothers earned another for Best Original Screenplay. The structure of the film contrasts the environments of home and war and how the three main characters are changed by the latter setting. A deranged preacher (Robert Mitchum) terrorizes two children in possession of stolen loot and eventually coming up against a saintly protector of runaway and abandoned children (Lillian Gish). The footage has become an essential visual record of World War II and a staple of documentary films. This documentary profiles the final year in the life of Fred Hampton, the 21-year old charismatic leader of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. 101-246) authorized domestic screening 12 years after release. Expanded essay by Michael Schlesinger (PDF, 477 KB). 'Broncho Billy' Anderson, the screen's first Western star, played several roles in the film, including a bandit and a train passenger. Film noir comes to Alabama in this ripped-from-the-headlines tale in a film based on notorious real-life 1954 events, Albert Patterson is an attorney trying to clean up his mob-controlled town Phenix City, aka "Sin City, U.S.A." and is killed while running for state attorney general. This film's appeal may lie in its reputation as "a haunted house movie in space." Most notable was Arnold Schwarzenegger's star-making performance as the mass-killing cyborg with a laconic sense of humor ("I'll be back"). Director Spike Lee first became interested in the story as a student at NYU when he read a 1983 New York Times Magazine article by Howell Raines. Alvin York who, in an Argonne Forest World War I battle, single-handedly captured more than 130 German soldiers. Directed by Robert Aldrich, Baby Jane recounts the tattered lives of two now aged former stars: the dominating Baby Jane (played by Bette Davis) and her disabled sister Blanche (played by Joan Crawford) as they live out their lives in a decaying mansion, loathing one another as Jane torments Blanche. The talents of Vincent Price, writer Richard Matheson, director Roger Corman and the legacy of Edgar Allan Poe combined in the first of American International Pictures' series of films that dominated horror on the screen in the 1960s. He meets a kindred spirit in carnival sharpshooter Peggy Cummins, who is equally disturbed -- but a lot smarter, and hence a lot more dangerous. Expanded essay by Chelsea Wessels (PDF, 367KB). "Parable" followed a filmmaking tradition that has not very often been recognized in general accounts of American film history. More Articles, Bette Davis won her second Academy Award for this William Wyler-directed classic. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times credited the success of this film to its "sharpness of verbal wit and the vigor of visual expression" and the ability of Sturges to temper "irony with pity." Actor Jimmy Stewart collaborated with director Anthony Mann on eight films during the 1950s. The next day, Elsa insists on joining up with the group so she can marry Billy at the mining town. Before gaining stardom a few years later in the TV series "Ugly Betty," 18-year-old America Ferrera made her film debut and gained notice from critics in this coming-of-age tale as an impossible-to-resist Latina teen trying to fulfill her dreams while navigating the transition to adulthood. This advocacy documentary about the Lincoln Brigade was shot during the Spanish Civil War to raise funds for bringing wounded American volunteers home. While on board, he meets a young immigrant woman (Edna Purviance), with whom he reunites later when both are struggling to make a life for themselves in their new home. The couple's summer idyll becomes complicated as Sara struggles to research the philosophical and religious meaning of ecstatic experience and to discover it for herself. The Smithsonian also has nine reels of film, comprising approximately two hours of footage. In 1982, Vincent Chin, a 27-year old Chinese American, was beaten to death with a baseball bat in Detroit by two white auto workers. The timing of this production was important due to the ages of the key witnesses and relatives and the need to refresh viewers' memories regarding a dark period in U.S. history. But as evil as Alex is, when he's caught and subjected to a type of state-sanctioned crime aversion therapy, his "treatment" turns out to be far more brutal than any of the crimes he's ever committed. Slow motion revealed surprising intricacy and grace. Often considered one of Chaplin's greatest films, "The Gold Rush" features many now-famous sequences, including Chaplin's "Oceana Roll" dance and the scene in which the Lone Prospector and his fellow prospector, Big Jim McKay (Mack Swain), are forced to eat a shoe to survive. How the film made it past the censors is something of a mystery, and today it comes across as fresh and daring as it did in the 1950s. "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" demonstrates why the Western genre, especially when reinvented by the acclaimed Robert Altman, endured in the 20th century as a useful model for critically examining the realities of contemporary American culture. Geeky misfit Jason Schwartzman tries to escape the stigma of being wildly unpopular at Rushmore Academy by becoming the king of extracurricular activities, nearly flunking out in the process. "Daughter of Shanghai" was more truly Wong's personal vehicle than any of her other films. He definitely upholds that reputation in the relentless crime drama "Point Blank." Director Charles Vidor capitalizes on the voyeuristic and sadomasochistic angles of film noirand who better to fetishize than Rita Hayworth, poured into a strapless black satin evening gown and elbow-length gloves, sashaying to "Put the Blame on Mame." Freddy Krueger (played by soon-to-be legend Robert Englund) is the burn-scarred ghost of a psychopathic child killer, now returned to haunt your dreams and take his revenge! Bara was promoted as "the woman with the most beautifully wicked face in the world" and became filmdom's quintessential "vamp," enticing male pillars of society to relinquish family, career, respectable society, and even life itself, while yearning to remain under her entrancing spell. This seminal music-festival film captures the culture of the time and performances from iconic musical talent. Acclaimed photojournalist Gordon Parks directed, produced, wrote, and composed the score of this adaptation of his 1963 semi-autobiographical novel. Gregg Toland's deep-focus cinematography deftly creates the moody, ethereal atmosphere of haunted love in a film acclaimed as one of cinema's great romances. Rossen and Sidney Carroll's adaptation of a Walter Tevis novel gets its gritty reality from the black-and-white cinematography by Eugen Shuftan, who won an Oscar for his work. Once you drove to either the lower or upper level of the garage, you are out of sight of these staff members. Named filmmaker of the decade in 2010 by Film Comment magazine, Dorsky creates his works to be projected at silent speed, between 17 and 20 frames per second instead of the usual 24 frames per second for sound film. Travolta graduated from a minor television presence to a superstar with this film. Through techniques ranging from slow and studied examinations of individual paper print images to probing experiments in manipulation of motion and light, Jacobs created a "structuralist film" masterpiece. A romance with a character portrayed by Eva Novak dominates one of the subplots of the story written and directed by former newspaper reporter Lynn Reynolds. Mann's screenplay, originally produced as a Playhouse 90 teleplay, makes "the value of a single human being" the defining societal value that legal systems must respect. Feminist at its heart, the film tells the story of a barrio woman (Antonia Hidalgo) who stands up to her abusive husband. Living in an invented past, Lou identifies with yesteryear's notorious gangsters and gets involved with sexy would-be croupier (Susan Sarandon) and her drug-dealing estranged husband. Expanded essay by Godfrey Cheshire (PDF, 733KB), Sponsored by an association of professional planners, "The City" premiered at the 1939 World's Fair in New York where its producers hoped to influence public opinion and public policy. In addition to portrayals on the big screen, the story also received new life on television and on Broadway. In his career, Julien Bryan, founder of the International Film Foundation, managed to amass a historical treasure trove of footage from foreign lands. Les Blank's hilarious and affectionate homage to "The Stinking Rose" delights slightly wacky devotees or alliumophiles. Decades after release, Pauline Kael reviewed the film: "Arguably, Buster Keaton's finest but amongst the Keaton riches can one be sure?" It has come to epitomize one of Hollywood's best attempts at horror fantasy. However, New York Times reviewers did not note much difference in the two versions. This hilarious New York University student film (with a cast including Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman in her film debut) was written and directed by Martin Brest who later went on to direct "Beverly Hills Cop," "Midnight Run," and "Scent of a Woman." Humorist Jean Shepherd narrates this memoir of growing up in Hammond, Ind., during the 1940s when his greatest ambition was to receive a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. Nicholson's and Fletcher's Academy-Award winning turns are bolstered by outstanding performances from Brad Dourif and Will Sampson as two of the more memorable inmates. The cast also includes Al Freeman, Jr., as Elijah Muhammad, Angela Bassett as Malcolm's wife Betty, and Lee himself as Shorty, a youthful Malcom's fellow small-time hood.
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