ncobb-watched's - Rented List
-
La Notte (1961)The Night / La Nuit
Two of the giants of film-acting come together as a married couple living in crisis: Marcello Mastroianni and Jeanne Moreau. He is a renowned author and 'public intellectual'; she is 'the wife. ' Over the course of one day and the night into which it inevitably bleeds, the pair will come to re-examine their emotional bonds, and grapple with the question of whether love and communication are even possible in a world built out of profligate idylls and sexual hysteria. - Director:
- Michelangelo Antonioni
- Cast:
- Jeanne Moreau, Marcello Mastroianni, Monica Vitti
- Formats:
-
-
The Decameron (1970)Il Decameron
The first of Pasolini's colourful and highly erotic Trilogy of Life films based on famous story circles (to be followed by 'The Canterbury Tales' and 'Arabian Nights'), 'The Decameron' contains ten stories based on the fourteenth century works of Giovanni Boccaccio. Capturing the bawdy, earthy spirit of the original, the film romps through its tales of sex and death - of lusty nuns and priests, cuckolded husbands, murdered lovers and grave-robbers, with five of the stories linked by an artist, 'Giotto's pupil', played by Pasolini himself. - Director:
- Pier Paolo Pasolini
- Cast:
- Franco Citti, Ninetto Davoli, Jovan Jovanovic
- Formats:
-
-
Kaos (1984)Chaos
Mariagrazia's two favoured sons have emigrated to America and lost contact with her, whereas she refuses to acknowledge the one who stayed. On the first full moon after her wedding, Sidora (Enrica Maria Modugno) discovers the horrific truth about a husband that she barely knows. A large olive jar is broken, with awkward consequences for owner and repairer alike. A tiny village's inhabitants petition their landowner for the right to bury their dead respectfully. And Pirandello himself (Omero Antonutti) has a conversation with his long-dead mother. - Director:
- Paolo Taviani
- Cast:
- Margarita Lozano, Orazio Torrisi, Carlo Cartier
- Formats:
-
-
Athina Rachel Tsangari's acclaimed film tells the strange tale of Marina, a withdrawn young woman who lives with her ailing father in a Greek factory town. Finding the human species strange and repellent she keeps her distance, choosing to observe life through Sir David Attenborough's nature documentaries and the sexual education lessons she receives from her only friend. Bella. - Director:
- Athina Rachel Tsangari
- Cast:
- Ariane Labed, Yorgos Lanthimos, Vangelis Mourikis
- Formats:
-
-
"Suntan" is a coming of 'middle-age' film, from Greek filmmaker Argyris Papadimitropoulos, that celebrates the beauty and strength of the youthful body, while simultaneously embracing its inevitable decay. For middle-aged Kostis (Makis Papadimitriou), life has passed him by. As the newly appointed doctor of a tiny island, Kostis spends a dreary winter alone. By the time summer arrives, though, the island has turned into a thriving, wild vacation spot with nude beaches and crazy parties. When Kostis meets the beautiful and flirty Anna, he falls hard for her and goes out of his way to conquer and impress her. Before long, Kostis is spending nearly all of his time getting drunk, partying hard, and even making out with Anna (Elli Tringou). What starts as a rediscovery with his long-lost youth, though, slowly turns into an obsession as Kostis is willing to do whatever it takes to keep his Anna. The eternal Greek summer provides the perfect background for this extravagance of craving and everything that goes with it: flirting, casual sex, drugs, alcohol and pushing the boundaries to see how far your body can go. - Director:
- Argyris Papadimitropoulos
- Cast:
- Makis Papadimitriou, Elli Tringou, Dimi Hart
- Formats:
-
-
Nights of Cabiria (1957)Le Notti Di Cabiria
Welcome to a bittersweet world of episodic adventures and strange encounters. Welcome to a sordid, nocturnal world of ruthless, callous boyfriends and stray movie stars looking for seedy kicks. Welcome to the harsh, unforgiving streets of a crumbling Rome where hope can still prevail and dreams cradle the lost. Welcome to the world of Cabiria, a feisty, loud, outspoken and somewhat naïve prostitute waiting for a miracle, and one of the most unforgettable and endearing characters of European cinema. Eventually remade in Hollywood as 'Sweet Charity', 'Nights of Cabiria' is a often humorous, poignant, unflinching and vivid portrait of one woman's picaresque existence and her perseverance through adversity. Starring Fellini's wife, Giulietta Masina, as the irrepressible protagonist, 'Nights of Cabiria' marked Fellini's last foray into gritty neo-realism before venturing into the surreal satire and dream logic of 'La Dolce Vita' and 'Eight and a Half'. - Director:
- Federico Fellini
- Cast:
- Giulietta Masina, François Périer, Franca Marzi
- Formats:
-
-
A Man Escaped (1956)Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut
Based on the true story of Resistance fighter Andre Devigny, who was imprisoned and sentenced to death by the Nazis during the Second World War, the film reconstructs his actual cell at the Lyons fortress of Montluc, and follows his meticulous plans for escape. This totally involving and thrilling tale of courage and faith is all the more authentic for its use of non-professional actors and Bresson's spare style. - Director:
- Robert Bresson
- Cast:
- François Leterrier, Charles Le Clainche, Maurice Beerblock
- Formats:
-
-
The Leopard (1963)Il Gattopardo
Against a dramatic nineteenth-century backdrop of radical Italian Nationalism Luchino Visconti's masterful epic, 'The Leopard', follows the Sicilian Prince of Salina (Burt Lancaster) and his family as they adjust to the social turbulence of revolutionary times. Adapted from Tomasi di Lampedusa's esteemed novel of the same name, this is a tragicomic depiction of a class eclipsed by history. .. - Director:
- Luchino Visconti
- Cast:
- Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale
- Formats:
-
-
Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård and Emily Watson star in 'Chernobyl', the critically acclaimed five-part mini-series. On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukrainian SSSR suffered a massive explosion that released radioactive material across Belarus, Russia and Ukraine and as far as Scandinavia and Western Europe. Dramatising the true story of the 1986 nuclear accident, one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history, Chernobyl shines a light on the brave men and women who fought an unprecedented war against an invisible enemy, and who suffered and sacrificed, saving millions of lives, often at the cost of their own. - Director:
- Johan Renck
- Cast:
- Jessie Buckley, Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård
- Formats:
-
-
Francis, God's Jester (1950)Francesco Giullare di Dio
Roberto Rossellini and co-writer Federico Fellini lovingly render the very spirit of Franciscan teaching in this extraordinary fresh and simple film - largely unappreciated at the time of its release, but now regarded as one of his greatest. Shot in a neorealist manner with non-professional actors (including thirteen actual Franciscan monks) it avoids the pious cliches of haloed movie saints with an economy of expression and a touching, human quality. - Director:
- Roberto Rossellini
- Cast:
- Aldo Fabrizi, Gianfranco Bellini, Peparuolo
- Formats:
-
-
1892, New Mexico - legendary Army captain Joseph J. Blocker (Christian Bale) undertakes one final mission before retirement: escort Yellow Hawk (Wes Studi) - a dying Cheyenne war chief - and his family back to sacred tribal lands. After 20 years of violent struggle, this gesture of peace is as unthinkable as it is harrowing. Together they battle against a punishing landscape and the brutality of men alike, coming to the rescue of a young widow (Rosamund Pike) amidst the carnage of her murdered family. Two great warriors, once rivals across the battlefield, must learn to trust each other and find peace in an unforgiving land. A heroic odyssey of survival, 'Hostiles' becomes a story not about the miles travelled nor the battles fought, but the journey towards respect, reconciliation and forgiveness. - Director:
- Scott Cooper
- Cast:
- Scott Shepherd, Rosamund Pike, Ava Cooper
- Formats:
-
-
Salò o le 120 Giornate di Sodoma (1975)Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
Pasolini's final and most controversial film has been banned censored and reviled the world over since it's first release. The film is based on the Marquis de Sade's novel '120 Days of Sodom', with the setting transposed to Mussolini's miniature Fascist Republic of Salo, Italy in 1944. The film's content and imagery is extreme, and it retains the power to shock, repel and distress a quarter of a century on. 'Salo' remains a cinematic milestone - culturally significant, politically vital and visually stunning. - Director:
- Pier Paolo Pasolini
- Cast:
- Paolo Bonacelli, Giorgio Cataldi, Umberto Paolo Quintavalle
- Formats:
-
-
Fellini's Casanova (1976)Il Casanova di Federico Fellini
In an astonishing piece of screen acting, Donald Sutherland portrays Casanova in his waning days, engaging in various amorous and political adventures with an air of bored detachment as he travels through a disease-ridden Europe. Imbued with a romantic pessimism, the film debunks the myth of Casanova as a great lover and instead presents him as an ordinary man swept along by extraordinary circumstances. - Director:
- Federico Fellini
- Cast:
- Donald Sutherland, Tina Aumont, Cicely Browne
- Formats:
-
-
The Phoenician Scheme (2025)El esquema fenicio
Anatole "Zsa-zsa" Korda (Benicio del Toro) - ruthless, unscrupulous, one of the richest men in Europe - fights for his life in Wes Anderson's: 'The Phoenician Scheme'. During the final stages of a vast, decades-long, career-defining business project, Korda survives a sixth assassination attempt and must appoint a successor: his long-estranged daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton) - a nun. With personal tutor Bjorn (Michael Cera) in tow, the trio set off on a globetrotting adventure to achieve Korda's epic mission. - Director:
- Wes Anderson
- Cast:
- Benicio Del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera
- Formats:
-
-
Rififi (1955)Du rififi chez les hommes
Jean Servais is Tony le Stephanois, a master thief with a battered face and a tubercular cough, souvenirs of a recent stint in the pen. The ageing Tony is reluctant to return to a life of crime, but when he realizes his girlfriend has thrown him over for a rival gangster, he agrees to attempt one last job. Together with three collaborators – a young father, a boisterous Franco-Italian and a sentimental Milanese safecracker – Tony meticulously engineers his biggest heist yet: robbing the most heavily guarded jewelry store in Paris. - Director:
- Jules Dassin
- Cast:
- Jean Servais, Carl Möhner, Robert Manuel
- Formats:
-