cinemadiso's - Mid-20th-Century Best Films Vol. 3 List

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The numbers speak volumes: 100,000 costumes, 8,000 extras, 300 sets and a staggering budget in its day the largest in movie history. Ben-Hur's creators made it the best, the greatest Biblical-era epic ever.

Charlton Heston brings a muscular physical and moral presence to the role of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish nobleman in Palestine whose heroic odyssey includes enslavement by the Romans, a bold escape from an embattled slave gallery, vengeance against his tormentors with Jesus Christ. Heston's charismatic performance brought him the Best Actor Oscar; the winner as 1959's Best Picture with the legendary William Wyler earning his third Best Director trophy, the film won a total 11 Academy Awards - a tally unequaled until 1977's Titanic set sail.

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A tall, handsome 'preacher' - his knuckles eerily tattooed with 'love' and 'hate' - roams the countryside, spreading the gospel...and leaving a trail of murdered women in his wake.

To Reverend Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum), the work of the Lord has more to do with condemning souls than saving them, especially when his own interests are involved. Now his sights are set on $10,000 - and two little children are the only ones who know where it is. 'Chill...dren!' the preacher croons to the terrified boy and girl hiding in the cold, dark cellar...innocent young lambs who refuse to be led astray.

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In 16th century Japan, amidst the pandemonium of civil war, potter Genjuro (Mori Masayuki) and samurai-aspirant Tobei (Ozawa Sakae) set out with their wives in search of wealth and military glory, respectively.

Two parallel tales ensue when the men are lured from their wives: Genjuro by the ghostly charm of Lady Wakasa (Kyo Machiko); Tobei by the dream of military glory.

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13-year-old Antoine (Jean-Pierre Leaud) can't seem to do anything right. His dysfunctional parents yell at him, his spiteful schoolteacher picks on him and luck just never goes his way.

Despite his efforts at patience, one day it all becomes too much and Antoine throws in the towel, choosing to take his chances on the Paris streets. At times joyous and at others bitterly hard, his new life brings a newfound freedom - one that Antoine will follow up to its painful, poignant and beautiful conclusion...

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When ex-con Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden) says he has a plan to make a killing, everybody want to be in on the action. Especially when the plan is to steal $2 million in a racetrack robbery scheme in which "no one will get hurt".

But despite all their careful plotting, Clay and his men have overlooked on thing: Sherry Peatty (Marie Windsor), a money-hungry, double-crossing dame who's planning to make a financial killing of her own...even if she has to wipe out Clay's entire gang to do it!

During World War II, a group of G.I.'s are thrown together in the notorious German prison camp Stalag 17. For the most part, they spend their time scheming ways to help each other escape. But when two prisoners are killed in an escape attempt, it becomes obvious that there is a spy among them.

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A powerful film about a ruthless journalist and an unscrupulous press agent who'll do anything to achieve success, this fascinating, compelling story crackles with taut direction and whiplash dialogue.

Bristling with vivid performances by Curtis and Lancaster, this gutsy expose of big-city corruption is a timeless classic that cuts deep and sends a chilling message. It's late at night in the steamy, neon-lit streets of New York's Times Square, and everything's buzzing with nervous energy. But press agent Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) is oblivious to the whirlwind of street vendors, call girls and con men bustling around him as he nervously waits for the early edition of The Globe. Whose career did gossip columnist J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) launch today… and whose did he destroy?

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A virtuoso James Stewart plays a small-town Michigan lawyer who takes on a difficult case: the defense of a young army lieutenant (Ben Gazzara) accused of murdering a local tavern owner who he believes raped his wife (Lee Remick).

This gripping envelope-pusher, the most popular film by Hollywood provocateur Otto Preminger, was groundbreaking for the frankness of its discussion of sex - but more than anything else, it is a striking depiction of the power of words. Featuring an outstanding supporting cast - with a young George C. Scott as a fiery prosecutor and the legendary attorney Joseph N. Welch as the judge - and an influential score by Duke Ellington...

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Kurosawa's transposition of Shakespeare's Macbeth to sixteenth century Japan is immensely successful in capturing the spirit of the original. A truly remarkable film combining beauty and terror to produce a mood of haunting power.

'Throne of Blood' also shows Kurosawa's familiar mastery of atmosphere, action and the savagery of war.

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Former tennis pro Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) hatches a cunning plot to get rid of his socialite wife, Margot (Grace Kelly), when he discovers that she has been having an affair with author Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings).

Wendice blackmails a corrupt former schoolmate into murdering her, but the man bungles the job, and Margot, having killed her would-be assailant in self-defence, then finds herself under suspicion of premeditated murder...

In the middle of the Second World War, Alyosha (Vladimir Ivashov) is commended for destroying two German tanks. Rather than take a medal, he requests a four-day pass to visit his mother. The film is about this journey and the life enhancing encounters therein.

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It is towards the end of World War II. After invading an island in the Philippines, Japanese servicemen meet fierce counter-offensive from the locals and the allied forces. It's just a matter of time before the few survivors are wiped out.

Tamura (Shin'ya Tsukamoto) is abandoned by both his platoon and the mobile hospital. Traipsing through the jungle past the dead and dying, he reunites with two men from his unit who hunt for what they call "monkey meat". Weakened by hunger, illness and fatigue, Tamura looks ready to be reclassified from human to simian.

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The story of the fragile sentimentalism of a former prostitute who visits her sister only to be taunted mercilessly by her childish brother-in-law.

A Streetcar Named Desire: The Original Director's Version is the Elia Kazan/ Tennessee Williams film moviegoers would have seen had not Legion of Decency censorship occurred at the last time. It features three minutes of previously unseen footage underscoring, among other things, the sexual tension between Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh) and Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando), and Stella Kowalski's (Kim Hunter) passion for husband Stanley.

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Winner of the 1952 Venice Film Festival silver lion award, Kenji Mizoguchi's tragic tale, set in the 17th Century, of a young noblewoman's fall from grace established his reputation as one of Japan's greatest directors.

Kinuyo Tanaka stars as O-Haru, a beautiful courtesan who surrenders to her passion for a commoner, played by Toshiro Mifune. As punishment, she and her parents are banished into exile where O-Haru desperately attempts to escape her past. A compelling and powerful critique of feudal Japan as seen through the eyes of a woman, 'The Life of O-Haru' portrays the human dramas and historical settings with unflinching realism and atmospheric detail, demonstrating Mizoguchi's complete mastery of the medium.

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This landmark film by the virtuosic Mikhail Kalatozov was heralded as a revelation in the post-Stalin Soviet Union and the international cinema community alike.

It tells the story of Veronica (Tatiana Samoilova) and Boris (Alexei Batalov), a couple who are blissfully in love until World War II tears them apart. With Boris at the front, Veronica must try to ward off spiritual numbness and defend herself from the increasingly forceful advances of her beau's draft-dodging cousin.