This is part of my continuing series looking back on films from the years before I began this blog. The ten films below are unranked and listed in no particular order. Enjoy.
Aparajito - The second film of Satyajit Ray's "Apu" trilogy follows the young hero through his transitional years, from childhood to young adulthood. There are major changes in his life, starting with the family's move from their rural village to a major city. New opportunities take Apu to Kolkata, and on the path to a bright future, but this requires a separation from his remaining family. Every step of his growth and maturation is realized beautifully, balancing the excitement of advancement with the sting of loss.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Paranoia, social commentary, and some good old fashioned monster moviemaking help set this sci-fi horror classic apart from its contemporaries. The effects work is fairly rudimentary, and the ending loses its nerve - the wraparound sequences are infuriating - but I still get a thrill watching Kevin McCarthy deliver his final impassioned warnings straight into the camera. The film is so simple, but hits a nerve in the best way. Stay on guard, or the pod people will be after you next!
The Killing - One last heist goes horribly wrong, and in the hands of Stanley Kubrick this results in some fabulous sequences of tension, suspense, action, and tragedy. This, more than any other film, helped to get the ball rolling on Kubick's reputation as a great filmmaker. He was able to achieve so much with a modest budget and resources, including the staging of complicated sequences like the iconic finale. And this, more than any other of his features, reflects Kubrick's roots in documentary and industrial film.
A Man Escaped - I have my reservations about Robert Bresson, but he knew how to put together an excellent thriller. "A Man Escaped" is an extremely minimalist, simple film about a member of the French Resistance, Fontaine, who is captured by the Nazis. In depicting his attempts to escape, Bresson focuses on the psychological struggle of Fontaine to maintain his nerve as the situation becomes more tense. The severity and directness of Bresson's style proves to be a great match for the material.
The Ten Commandments - And on the opposite end of spectrum, we have the grandiose spectacle of Cecil B. DeMille's epic about the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. Between Charlton Heston and Yul Brenner taking turns chewing scenery, the opulent production design, and the parting of the Red Sea, this was Hollywood filmmaking at its most Hollywood. Its four hour length and shameless stunt casting feel oddly quaint in this day and age, and I admit that it's become something of a guilty pleasure.
Bigger Than Life - This Nicholas Ray melodrama goes in directions I wasn't expecting. It examines the life of a man played by James Mason experiencing a serious health scare, but also an oddly subversive examination of the American nuclear family. It's more disturbing than frightening when Mason's mild-mannered schoolteacher starts to go off the rails and turn on his family, and unusually incisive in the way that it draws attention to the toxic nature of masculinity as it's often portrayed in film.
The Burmese Harp - I appreciate "The Burmese Harp" for being an out-and-out Buddhist film. Our hero is a Japanese soldier in Burma at the end of WWII, who discovers his spiritual side while trying to help his fellow soldiers through the aftermath of Japan's defeat. It's starkly antiwar in its portrayal of man's inhumanity to man, though not as brutal as Kon's later "Fires on the Plain." There's a beauty and a lyricism to the film that is so appealing, especially the images of the monks and the war-torn landscapes.
The Searchers - The most iconic John Wayne film and the most iconic John Ford western. Though made in the classic era, "The Searchers" reflects a more complicated view of the American frontier than most of the films of its time. Likewise, Wayne's Ethan Edwards is a more complex figure who finds himself an outsider at the end of the film. "The Searchers" is designed to be an action spectacle, and some of the production values are a little suspect, but the deeper themes and thoughtful story still resonate.
Street of Shame - Kenji Mizoguchi's last film returns to one of his favorite subjects - the plight of women in Japan. Here, he looks in on the life of several women in a brothel, trying to make ends meet. He humanizes and sympathizes with his subjects, examining their different motivations and personalities. Like Mikio Naruse's "Flowing," which came out the same year, the film presents a candid, critical look at the social mores of post-war Japan, and the lack of opportunities for women to find better situations.
The Red Balloon - One of the great cinematic flights of fantasy is this beautiful short film about a boy and a red balloon. Camera and editing tricks give the balloon its own inner life and will, and capture a child's eye view of the world. Director Albert Lamorisse had his own children act in the short, which might be why it has such a personal, intimate feel. The use of color, the dearth of dialogue, and the poetic ending all give this the feel of a modern fairy tale - and one that could only work on film.
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