greatest-ever-made's - Rented List
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The Last Metro (1980)Le Dernier Métro
In Nazi-occupied Paris Marion and her Jewish husband decide to conceal him in the very theatre that they own with the alibi that he has fled abroad. As he hides in the cellar from the Gestapo she must continue her job as lead actress in the play and take on her husband's job as director to hold up the facade. Meanwhile the German oppression continues to increase on both the characters' lives and the play itself. - Director:
- François Truffaut
- Cast:
- Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Jean Poiret
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Edward and Caroline (1951)Édouard et Caroline
Jacques Becker's dark, offbeat comedy about a failing marriage stars Daniel Gelin as Edouard, a poor pianist married to Caroline (Anne Vernon), a beautiful girl from a middle-class family. Caroline's uncle Claude (Jean Galland), a complete snob who looks down on Edouard like the rest of his family, invites the couple to a party at which he is expected to play for his supper in front of Claude's important friends. Add the fact that Claude's son Alain (Jacques Francois) is in love with Caroline and this evening is destined for disaster. - Director:
- Jacques Becker
- Cast:
- Daniel Gélin, Anne Vernon, Elina Labourdette
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The Marseillaise (1938)La Marseillaise
This long-forgotten gem in Renoir's canon is the director's only truly epic film. Made towards the end of France's left wing "Popular Front" government when Europe was on the brink of war, 'The Marseillaise' is a markedly political film about a country in flux. With an innovative new-reel style, the film follows a cross-section of people - from the citizens of Marseilles to Louis XVI - who are affected by the shifting political and social forces in the early days of the French revolution. - Director:
- Jean Renoir
- Cast:
- Lise Delamare, Louis Jouvet, Pierre Renoir
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Port of Shadows (1938)Le Quai Des Brumes
Jean (Jean Gabin), a deserter, arrives in Le Havre and looks for a shelter before leaving the French territory. Housed in a shed on the harbour, at the end of the docks, he meets an eccentric painter and a mysterious and beautiful girl called Nelly (Michèle Morgan)... From then on he will be trapped in a tragic destiny, in spite of his passion for Nelly and his will to live... - Director:
- Marcel Carné
- Cast:
- Jean Gabin, Michel Simon, Michèle Morgan
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The Iron Horse (1924)The Iron Trail
The Iron Horse was John Ford's 50th film and remains his most celebrated of the silent era. Its theme of enterprise and achievement, its open-air locations and setting in a vigorous and pioneering past proved just the subject to stimulate the young director's talent. The sheer scale of the film surpassed all other Westerns of the silent era, and established Ford as one of the leading directors in the industry. The film combines a conventional tale of double-dealing, vengeance and romance with a poetic sense of history, and an epic theme - uniting a nation by building a transcontinental railroad, and a great man's dream realised by the courage, skill and labour of ordinary folk. - Director:
- John Ford
- Cast:
- George O'Brien, Madge Bellamy, Charles Edward Bull
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From director Frank Borzage (Desire) comes 'Little Man, What Now?', a romantic drama starring Margaret Sullavan (The Shop Around the Corner) and Douglass Montgomery (Little Women). In depression-era Germany, Hans (Montgomery) and his pregnant wife Emma (Sullavan) - affectionately known as 'Lammchen' - struggle to keep their heads above water. Their situation is complicated when Hans' boss, who believes him to be a bachelor, demands that he marry his daughter. Based on the best-selling novel by Hans Fallada (Alone in Berlin) that has been adapted on numerous occasions in its native Germany, 'Little Man, What Now?' is a heart-rending tale of life on the margins. - Director:
- Frank Borzage
- Cast:
- Margaret Sullavan, Douglass Montgomery, Alan Hale
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L'Argent (1928)Money
Business tycoons Saccard and Gunderman lock horns when the former tries to raise capital for his faltering bank. To inflate his stock, Saccard concocts a duplicitous publicity stunt involving the unwitting aviator Hamelin and a flight across the Atlantic, much to the dismay of his wife Line. The Hamelins become pawns in a high-stakes chess game played out by unscrupulous speculators. - Director:
- Marcel L'Herbier
- Cast:
- Brigitte Helm, Marie Glory, Yvette Guilbert
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Lady with a Sword (1971)Feng Fei Fei
When her sister is attacked and murdered, swordswoman Feng Fei-fei (Lily Ho) knows just what to do - find the culprits and slice 'em up. But her righteous vengeance is compromised when she learns just who her target is: the man her parents have arranged for her to marry... Strikingly directed by Kao Pao-shu - notable as one of the few women who handled martial arts movies - 'Lady With a Sword' has an emotional power to match its outstanding fight scenes, as justice, family loyalties and inflexible tradition all collide. - Director:
- Pao-Shu Kao
- Cast:
- Lily Ho, James Nam, Hsieh Wang
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Harry Callahan is a tough, streetwise San Francisco cop whom they call Dirty Harry. In this action classic, you'll see why - and also why Clint Eastwood's reputation as a premier film star and movie maker is secure. A rooftop sniper (Andy Robinson) calling himself Scorpio has killed twice and holds the city ransom with the threat of killing again. Harry will nail him... one way or the other - no matter what the 'system' prescribes. Filming on location, director Don Siegel made the City by the Bay a vital part of 'Dirty Harry', a practice continued in its four sequels. The original remains one of the most gripping police thrillers ever made. - Director:
- Don Siegel
- Cast:
- Clint Eastwood, Andrew Robinson, Harry Guardino
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Sirk in Germany 1934-1935 (1935)Seine Durchlaucht, Herr Müller/ Das Mädchen vom Moorhof / Stützen der Gesellschaft
An undisputed master of melodrama, director Douglas Sirk is best known for the lavish, sweeping romances he made during the last decade of his career, including Magnificent Obsession. All That Heaven Allows. Written on the Wind and Imitation of Life. But by the time Sirk - born Hans Detlef Sierck - arrived in Hollywood, he had already made several films in his native Germany. The Masters Of Cinema series is honoured to present this collection of Sirk's earliest films, all of which established a blueprint for his later work: April Fool! (April! April!). The Girl from Marsh Croft (Das Madchen vom Moorhof) and Pillars of Society (Stiitzen der Gesellschaff). In Sirk's directorial debut - the comedy April Fool!-a businessman and shameless social climber. Julius Lampe (Erhard Siedel). is subjected to a cruel April Fools' Day prank when he is led to believe a noble prince (Albrecht Schoenhals) intends to personally inspect his pasta factory. Then, in Sirk's first melodrama The Girl from Marsh Croft, farmer Karsten Dittmar (Kurt Fischer-Fehling) falls in love with the disreputable young maid Helga Christmann (Hansi Knoteck) - much to the dismay of his Fiancee Gertrud Gerhart (Ellen Frank). Finally, in Pillars of Society, wealthy Norwegian shipbuilder Consul Karsten Bernick (Heinrich George) must face up to a lifetime of corruption and deceit when farmer Johann Tonnessen (Albrecht Schoenhals) returns to Norway after a twenty-year absence and discovers that Bernick has smeared his good name. Presented alongside Sirk's shorts Two Greyhounds (Zwei Windhunde). Three Times Before (DreimalFhe) and The Imaginary Invalid (Der eingebildeteKranke). these three features - all released in 1935 - showcase the burgeoning talents of a filmmaker who would go on to become one of the most important figures in the history of Hollywood cinema. Sirk's early works are presented here on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK from brand-new restorations by the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation. - Director:
- Douglas Sirk
- Cast:
- Erhard Siedel, Lina Carstens, Charlott Daudert
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Air of Paris (1954)L'air de Paris
1954 Paris, Victor Le Garrec, a former professional boxer, runs a gym and works hard to train young recruits to achieve the goals he wasn't able to reach during his professional career. He feels this is finally possible when he recognizes the potential in Andre Menard, a young railway worker. Victor offers to train him and André accepts willingly, although he soon realizes that Victor's wife Blanche (Arletty) is not happy with the arrangement. Andre's attention is soon drawn away from his training when he starts to have an affair with a wealthy young woman, Corinne (Marie Daems). In the end, he may have to choose between the woman he loves and his career as a world-class boxer... - Director:
- Marcel Carné
- Cast:
- Jean Gabin, Arletty, Roland Lesaffre
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Samantha Caine (Geena Davis), a suburban schoolteacher, suffers from amnesia. When her mysterious past begins to haunt her idyllic life, she sets out on a desperate search to discover her true identity. Aided by Mitch Henessey (Samuel L. Jackson), a dead-beat private detective, she follows a trail of clues into the middle of a terrorist conspiracy in the U.S. Intelligence community. They slowly learn that Caine is much more that a soft spoken teacher. Repressed from her memory is her former life as Charly Baltimore, a highly trained secret agent and killer .But Charly is slowly re-emerging, which spells trouble for the terrorists, and anybody else who gets in her way... - Director:
- Renny Harlin
- Cast:
- Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Yvonne Zima
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Throne of Blood (1957)Kumonosu-Jô / The Castle of the Spider's Web / Cobweb Castle / Spider Web Castle
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. - Director:
- Akira Kurosawa
- Cast:
- Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Isuzu Yamada
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Hotel Du Nord (1938)Hôtel du Nord / Hotel of the North / North Hotel
The Hotel du Nord is a family-run hotel on the edge of the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris. As the family is celebrating a first communion, a young couple checks in, planning a double suicide. Only one shot is fired, and the man, Pierre (Jean-Pierre Aumont), flees leaving his lover, Renee (Annabella), to die in the room. But, he leaves the gun behind and she survives. A series of convoluted affairs between hotel patrons and staff, as well as passion-fuelled travels across France, ensue - all to end the story in perfect symmetry. - Director:
- Marcel Carné
- Cast:
- Annabella, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Louis Jouvet
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Sanjuro (1962)Tsubaki Sanjûrô
'Sanjuro' was a film made in response to popular demand. The previous year Kurosawa had scored a huge critical and commercial hit for his own production company with Yojimbo, which introduced the character calling himself 'Sanjuro' (which means simply 'thirty years old'), the scruffy, mercenary, cynical ronin (masterless samurai) played by Toshiro Mifune. The public had taken this maverick figure to their hearts and demanded a sequel. Originally Kurosawa had planned to give the script to another director, Hiromichi Horikawa, but finally decided to take it on himself. - Director:
- Akira Kurosawa
- Cast:
- Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiju Kobayashi
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