A Tale of Two Cities (1958 Version with Dirk Bogarde)

During the French Revolution, French national Lucie Manette (Dorothy Tutin) meets and falls in love with Englishman Charles Darnay (Paul Guers). He is, however, hiding his true identity as a member of the French aristocratic Evrémonde family, whom he has denounced in private. The Marquis St. Evrémonde (Sir Christopher Lee) in particular was a cruel man. Those he wronged have vowed to see the end of the family line at any cost. Lucie's father Dr. Alexandre Manette (Stephen Murray) was imprisoned in the Bastille for eighteen years because of actions of the Marquis. Into their lives comes English barrister Sydney Carton (Sir Dirk Bogarde), who enjoys his alcohol to excess.

THIS IS THE SECOND VERSION OF THE CLASSIC BOOK BY CHARLES DICKENS, AFTER THE 1935 ONE WITH RONALD COLMAN.

Director
Ralph Thomas

Stars
Dirk Bogarde,Dorothy Tutin,Cecil Parker, Leo McKern, Christopher Lee, Ian Bannen, Donald Pleasence.

Subs: English and Spanish.
Link for the entire movie:  https://youtu.be/MKOrBKcSxF4

Copyright-protected content. The owner allows the content to be used on YouTube.

The Burmese Harp (Kon Ichikawa, 1956)

Mizushima is a soldier in the Japanese army in Burma in World War II. He's a good soldier and frequently plays his harp to entertain his fellow soldiers. When the war comes to an end, he is asked by the British to go into the mountains to try and convince a Japanese troop to surrender. Given only 30 minutes to convince them, Mizushima is unsuccessful - they would rather die with honor - and the British attack. Deeply affected by what has happened, he becomes a Buddhist monk, traveling the countryside burying the remains of Japanese soldiers. He is unable however to rejoin his brothers-in-arms.

Director
Kon Ichikawa

Stars
Rentarô Mikuni, Shôji Yasui, Tatsuya Mihashi

Oscar Nominated for Foreign Language Film in 1957

Subs: English, Spanish

YouTube channel link:  https://youtu.be/lyrRH-b9r5E

The Thirty Nine Steps (1978 Version)

THIS IS ANOTHER VERSION OF THE CLASSIC MADE BY HITCHCOCK. SOME SAY THIS IS THE SECOND BEST VERSION.

The year is 1914, and Richard Hannay (Robert Powell), a mining engineer who is visiting Britain for a short time before returning to South Africa, is shocked when one of his neighbors, Colonel Scudder (Sir John Mills), bursts into his room one night and tells him a story that Prussian sleeper Agents are planning to start World War I by murdering a visiting foreign Minister. However, Scudder is murdered, and Hannay is framed for the death by the sleepers. Fleeing to Scotland, Hannay attempts to clear his name and to stop the agents, with the aid of Alex Mackenzie (Karen Dotrice), but not only is he is chased by Chief Superintendent Lomas (Eric Porter) for Scudder's death, but by the agents, who are headed by Appleton (David Warner), who has managed to hide himself in a high-placed position in the British Government.

Director
Don Sharp

Stars
Robert Powell, David Warner, Eric Porter, John Mills

Subs: English. Resolution Quality: DVD Rip.

YouTube Link to my channel: https://youtu.be/18JupqR8Aoo


Blocked in American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Caribbean Netherlands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Haiti, Jamaica, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Micronesia, Montserrat, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Sint Maarten, St. Barthélemy, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Martin, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, U.S. Outlying Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands

The 39 Steps (2008) - TV Movie

Richard Hannay, a mining engineer on holiday from the African colonies, finds London socialite life terribly dull. Yet it's more than he bargained for when secret agent, Scudder, bursts into his room and entrusts him a coded notebook with map, concerning the impending start of World War I. In no time both German agents and the British law are chasing him, ruthlessly coveting the Roman numerals code, which Hannay believes he must crack himself. Masquerading as a liberal party pundit, Richard also gets stuck with parliamentary candidate Sir George Sinclair's sister Victoria. They must survive with the secrets and decide who they can trust and how to keep it from others.

Director
James Hawes

Stars
Rupert Penry-Jones, Lydia Leonard, David Haig

Subtititles: English

YouTube link:  https://youtu.be/FZ7hIEE1k_k

No copyright restrictions according to YouTube.

Cyrano De Bergerac (Jean-Paul Rappeneau, 1990)

Famed swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac is in love with his cousin Roxane. He has never expressed his love for her as he his large nose undermines his self-confidence. Then he finds a way to express his love to her, indirectly.

Director
Jean-Paul Rappeneau
Writers
Based on book by Edmond Rostand, Jean-Paul Rappeneau, Jean-Claude Carrière
Stars
Gérard Depardieu, Anne Brochet, Vincent Perez

Subs: English & Portuguese

YouTube link:  https://youtu.be/qg-TQE1AKbY

Copyright owner is blocking in these cuntries:
Andorra, Belgium, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, Guadeloupe, Luxembourg, Martinique, Mayotte, Monaco, New Caledonia, Réunion, St. Barthélemy, St. Martin, St. Pierre & Miquelon, Switzerland, Wallis & Futuna

Eyes Without A Face (Georges Franju, 1960)

Original title - Les yeux sans visage

After causing an accident that left his daughter Christiane severely disfigured, the brilliant surgeon Dr. Génessier works tirelessly to give the girl a new face. He does so, however, by kidnapping young women and attempting face transplants. He has been woefully unsuccessful to date. The doctor's world begins to collapse around him when his daughter realizes just what he has been doing.

Director
Georges Franju

Stars
Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli, Juliette Mayniel

Subs: English & Portuguese

YouTube Link:  https://youtu.be/YoLSMqhc3MA

Copyright owner is blocking in these territories
United Kingdom

We Still Kill the Old Way (Elio Petri, 1967)

Original title: A ciascuno il suo

Sicilia, late '60s. Two men are killed during a hunting party. The hurried inquiry indicates that it was a killing made for 'honor' reasons. Paolo Laurana is a leftist professor not convinced of the official truth and starts investigating by himself. He finds some help from a solicitor, Mr. Rosello. While investigating, he is fascinated by Luisa, the widow of one of the victims. But the reality is too different from what Laurana could imagine. Reality includes not only the mafia and corrupt politicians, but also Church connections. The reality is that there could be only one end for Laurana. It won't take long.

Director
Elio Petri

Stars
Gian Maria Volontè, Irene Papas, Gabriele Ferzetti

Subs: English
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/75UgDWZ0S2Q

It is the second film posted this week with Gian Maria Volontè and also with soundtrack by Luis Bacalov.
Copyright-protected content .The owner allows the content to be used on YouTube.

A Bullet For The General (Damiano Damiani, 1967)

In the rough years of the revolution in Mexico, the hardened bandit chief, El Chucho, is in need of arms, ammunition, and a much-sought-after machine gun to support the leader of the revolution, the rebel General, Elías. With this in mind, Chucho attacks a government supply train and gets an unforeseen assistance from Bill Tate--the American gringo in the impeccable suit--with whom will soon become friends. Now, Bill is truly indispensable to the gang, however, could he be hiding his true objective behind a boyish and calm face?

Director
Damiano Damiani

Stars
Gian Maria Volontè, Klaus Kinski, Martine Beswick and director Damiano Damiani doing a cameo as a journalist.

Beautiful soundtrack by Luis Bacalov.

YouTube link:  https://youtu.be/k2ic_L7CBCQ

Subtitles:  English, Portuguese, Spanish.

Partially blocked for viewers living in Brazil and United States.

If I Were You (Joan Carr-Wiggin, 2012)

Two women who meet by chance make a pact to fix their unhappy lives: they will each do what the other one says. But one has a secret: She knows her husband is sleeping with the younger woman. Madelyn's plan backfires when aspiring actress Lucy orders her to play King Lear in a very amateur production, with Lucy playing the Fool. Madelyn's life is transformed in unexpected ways as, like Lear, she struggles with matters of mortality and betrayal, loyalty, and love

Director & Writer Joan Carr-Wiggin

Stars
Marcia Gay Harden, Leonor Watling, Joseph Kell, Aidan Quinn.

Subtitles: English, Portuguese

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/3BCjnQxFLZs

Copyright-protected content found. The owner allows the content to be used on YouTube.

Amigo (John Sayles, 2010)

This is the 17th feature film from Academy Award-nominated writer-director John Sayles, stars legendary Filipino actor Joel Torre as Rafael, a village mayor caught in the murderous crossfire of the Philippine-American War. When U.S. troops occupy his village, Rafael comes under pressure from a tough-as-nails officer (Chris Cooper) to help the Americans in their hunt for Filipino guerilla fighters. But Rafael's brother (Ronnie Lazaro) is the head of the local guerillas, and considers anyone who cooperates with the Americans to be a traitor. Rafael quickly finds himself forced to make the impossible, potentially deadly decisions faced by ordinary civilians in an occupied country.

Director & Writer
John Sayles

Stars
Joel Torre, Chris Cooper, Garret Dillahunt

Subtitles: English only.

YouTube link:  https://youtu.be/dlEy0MQVV64

Copyright owner is blocking only in Canada

About Elly (Asghar Farhadi, 2009)

A group of former classmates of a University with their families plans to go for a picnic to the Caspian seashore where Sepideh, the organizer of the trip, invites Elly who is the Kindergarten teacher of her child to meet her other friend, Ahmad, returned from Germany. Elly hesitates to accept the invitation but later says ok. During the picnic a boy and Elly go missing.

Director
Asghar Farhadi

Writers
Asghar Farhadi, Azad Jafarian

Stars
Golshifteh Farahani, Shahab Hosseini, Taraneh Alidoosti

A France-Iran Production.
YouTube Link:  https://youtu.be/0QbuLiN4boU

Subtitles: English & Portuguese

Copyright-protected content. The owner allows the content to be used on YouTube.

Moonlighting (Jerzy Skolimowski, 1982)

A Polish contractor, Nowak, leads a group of workmen to London so they can provide cheap labor for a government official based there. Nowak (Irons) has to manage the project and the men as they encounter the tempations of the West and loneliness and separation from their families. Nowak is the only one of the group who speaks English, and he uses this as a tool over his team. When the unrest in Poland leads to a military takeover, Nowak is faced with a much more difficult situation than he expected.

Director & Writer
Jerzy Skolimowski

Stars
Jeremy Irons, Eugene Lipinski, Jiri Stanislav.

Music by Stanley Myers.

Subs: English & Portuguese

YouTube Link:  https://youtu.be/I7A5yu8B32g

Copyrighted & blocked in several countries, such as United Kindom and Brazil, but visible in the U.S.

Ulysses' Gaze (Theodoros Angelopoulos, 1995)

Having spent 35 years making films in the United States, Greek-American director 'A' returns to his homeland of Greece to attend a screening of his latest controversial film. From there, he sets out in search of three undeveloped film reels made at the turn of the century by a pair of pioneering Greek filmmakers, the Manaki Brothers. As 'A' embarks on a long Balkan quest to unearth the fabled footage and find his lost innocence, a dangerous, emotional journey from Athens to war-ravaged Sarajevo begins, unfolding the director's odyssey.

Director
Theodoros Angelopoulos

Stars
Harvey Keitel, Maia Morgenstern, Erland Josephson.

Subs: English & Portuguese

YouTube link:  https://youtu.be/_0Zs399JRjA

Copyright owner is blocking in these territories
Andorra, Belgium, Benin, British Virgin Islands, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo - Brazzaville, Congo - Kinshasa, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Guadeloupe, Guinea, Haiti, Laos, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Monaco, New Caledonia, Niger, Puerto Rico, Réunion, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Seychelles, St. Martin, St. Pierre & Miquelon, Switzerland, Togo, U.S. Outlying Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, United States, Vietnam, Wallis & Futun

Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession (Leonid Gaidai, 1973)

In early 1970's Moscow, scientist Shurik toils in his apartment trying to create a working time-machine. He is dedicated to the task, so dedicated he barely registers it when his wife leaves him. One day, Shurik successfully transports himself back to the time of Ivan The Terrible, taking with him a burglar and the superintendent of his building. While Shurik makes it back to the present, there is one problem: the other two are left in the 1500's and Ivan the Terrible has come home with him. So begins a raucous tale combining science-fiction, comedy and history: Leonid Gaidai 's 'Ivan Vasilievich Changes His Profession.' Director Leonid Gaidai Stars Yuriy Yakovlev, Leonid Kuravlyov, Aleksandr Demyanenko. Subs: English & Portuguese YouTube link: https://youtu.be/DECBMVjwcg4 Copyright-protected content. The owner allows the content to be used on YouTube.

Quartet (James Ivory, 1981)

In 1927 Paris, following the conviction of her art-dealer husband Stephan Zelli (Anthony Higgins) for theft for which he was handed a one-year prison sentence, Marya Zelli (Isabelle Adjani), originally from West India, moves in with her acquaintances, expatriate Brits H.J. (Sir Alan Bates) and Lois Heidler (Dame Maggie Smith). Marya knows that H.J. in particular has more in mind than just providing her lodging out of the goodness of his heart. From behind bars, Stephan encourages Marya to move in with them, not knowing H.J.'s intentions. Marya agrees in part because she, a foreigner, cannot get work and would become destitute otherwise. She learns that she is the latest in a long line of lodgers, and she also learns that H.J. and Lois' marriage is not all that it appears on the surface.

Director
James Ivory

Stars
Isabelle Adjani, Maggie Smith, Alan Bates, Anthony Higgins.

Subs: English only available.
Video Link:  https://youtu.be/4aoHDsHcr50

This film was posted some time ago on this blog but as YouTube removed my channel, the link was broken. This is a new link.

James Ivory´s movies are always charming. 

Copyright-protected content. The owner allows the content to be used on YouTube.

Medicine For Melancholy (Barry Jenkins, 2008)

Approximately twenty-four hours in Jo' and Micah's lives are presented. This phase of their story starts the morning after in the San Francisco loft apartment where they met at a party, they having embarked in what, if they both thought about it, was meant to be a one night stand, the non-thought as they were both drunk not even knowing each other's name at the time. Micah's obvious want to continue some sort of interaction with Jo' is met with a non-stated rebuff by Jo' in return in she finally admitting the sex a mistake on her part in she already being in a live-in relationship, her boyfriend currently out of town. Micah's continual pursuit of her eventually breaks down her defenses as they end up spending the day together getting to know each other. If there is a continuation of their story after this time may not only depend on her current relationship status, but their differing views of what it means, if anything at all, to be black living in San Francisco.

Director & Writer
Barry Jenkins

Stars
Wyatt Cenac, Tracey Heggins, John Thurgood

Subs: English.
YouTube link: https://youtu.be/D2F6PrwU2F0

Copyright owner is blocking in:
Andorra, Belgium, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Luxembourg, Martinique, Mayotte, Monaco, New Caledonia, Réunion, St. Barthélemy, St. Martin, St. Pierre & Miquelon, Switzerland, Wallis & Futuna

Murder In Coweta County (Gary Nelson, 1983), a TV Movie

In 1948, in rural Georgia, Coweta County is watched over by its legendary, indomitable Sheriff Lamar Potts (Johnny Cash). No felony had ever gone unsolved while Sheriff Potts was in charge. In the next county, though, there is a vast estate known as "The Kingdom." It's ruled by one man, John Wallace (Andy Griffith), whose power is absolute and beyond the law. But when Wallace chases one of his underlings to deliver ruthless punishment, he makes a critical mistake. He crosses over into Coweta County... Sheriff Potts' territory. This is the compelling true story of the man who ran the Kingdom, and the man who brought him down.

Director
Gary Nelson

Stars
Johnny Cash, Andy Griffith, Earl Hindman, Brent Jennings.

Subtitles: English.

YouTube link:  https://youtu.be/O4UVF1B6DnY

Voyeur (Alex van Warmerdam, 1986)

An extremely weird comedy revolving around the life of 31- year-old Abel, who has never left home (literally). After failing with doctors and psychiatrists, Abel's father Victor brings home Christine, a friend, in an attempt to teach Abel basic social skills. But Victor's wife Duif accuses him of having an affair, and in the ensuing row Abel is thrown out into the street. But help is at hand when he runs into kind-hearted stripper Zus - whose show Victor is obsessed with.

Director
Alex van Warmerdam

Writers
Otakar Votocek, Frans Weisz, Alex van Warmerdam

Stars
Alex van Warmerdam, Henri Garcin, Olga Zuiderhoek

Subs: English and Spanish.

YouTube link:  https://youtu.be/9RoeiPs6jxM

Copyright-protected content. The owner allows the content to be used on YouTube.

Willful Murder (Ken Kumai, 1981)

The president of the Japanese National Railways is found dead during a period in which train service is plagued by numerous layoffs, strikes and shutdowns. The government says that the president was murdered; the police claim it was a suicide. A quizzical reporter follows the case for years, but the basic question remains unanswered: was the victim killed by members of the burgeoning Communist movement in Japan, or was the death stage-managed by the authorities in hopes of discrediting the Communists? 

Original title: Nihon no atsui hibi bôsatsu: Shimoyama jiken

Director
Kei Kumai
Writers
Kimio Yada, Ryûzô Kikushima
Stars
Tatsuya Nakadai, Ichirô Nakatani, Yôko Asaji

Subs: English
YouTube link: https://youtu.be/iksiIZ0NAt4

Blind Spot - Die Reise nach Lyon - (Claudia von Alemann, 1981)

Elisabeth, a young German historian, goes to Lyon, France, to study the life of Flora Tristan, a feminist writer of the 19th century.

Director & Writer
Claudia von Alemann

Stars
Rebecca Pauly, Denise Péron, Jean Badin

Review of the movie by The New Yorker:

The first feature by the German director Claudia von Alemann, from 1981, is an intimate drama with a vast purview. It’s the story of a young West German scholar named Elisabeth (Rebecca Pauly), who, leaving her husband and her daughter behind, visits the French city of Lyon to do research about Flora Tristan, a feminist, a socialist activist, and a writer who organized workers there in 1844. Elisabeth’s project has an existential edge—she records sound at sites where Tristan worked and lived, in an effort to re-create her subject’s inner experience—as well as an intimate twist, involving her own romantic complications. Meanwhile, Elisabeth’s chance encounters, as with a café owner and an antiquarian bookseller, take a historical turn as she also inquires into the massacre of Jews in Lyon by Nazi occupiers during the Second World War. Elisabeth’s fascination with the embodiment of history is matched by von Alemann’s documentary-like vision, which makes daily life amid the city’s ancient buildings, tall stone staircases, and celebrated secret passageways reverberate with the passions and the horrors of the past.

Subs: Portuguese, Spanish and English.

YouTube  Link:  https://youtu.be/Q4P0_Dgmqww

Larisa 1980 - A Short Film

A loving film tribute to Russian filmmaker Larisa Shepitko, who died tragically in a car accident in 1979 at the age of 40. This documentary by her husband, Elem Klimov, includes excerpts from all of Shepitko's films, and her own voice is heard talking about her life and art.

Director

Elem Klimov

Stars

Elem Klimov, Valentin Rasputin, Stefaniya Stanyuta

YouTube Link:  https://youtu.be/9aLlWnSYIb8

Subtitles: English

Grown-Ups (Mike Leigh, 1980)

Dick and Mandy, a young working class couple, move into a council house in Canterbury, and find Mr. Butcher, one of their former teachers, living next door. Mandy's unmarried sister, Gloria, is constantly dropping in, and will not take any hints that the couple would prefer to be left alone, until her presence finally goads them to action.

Director & Writer 

   Mike Leigh

Stars:    

        Phil Davis, Lesley Manville, Brenda Blethyn

Episode 5 of Season 7 of BBC Playhouse TV

Subs: English.

YouTube link:  https://youtu.be/zAUVOfPoSj0

Copyright owner is blocking in the United Kingdom