Classic, Vintage Old Movies beginning with "B" part 2 of 3 Review

Classic, Great, Vintage Films to remember, to savor, that are worth seeing perhaps move than once!!!  

When that lastest NEW release you came to get, or hasn't been returned to Netflix yet, consider one of these  B movies...  actually these aren't B movies, as in cheap second features but Movies that begin with the letter B , of course you probably know that already.   And if one of those B movies did sneak in onto the list, it's that rare B movie that was quite good and worth seeing.    Here's the list:

 B movies... no not lesser or cheaper.. but b as in better.. as in Best movies beginning with the letter B.... Enjoy.

(part 3 of 3)

B

Band of Outsiders (1964) Director Jean-Luc Godard

Anna Karina is the woman who hires two petty criminals to rip off her aunt. Godard creates a fascinating film that allows him opportunity to comment on Hollywood, melodramas, and film in this sometimes interesting, and often humorous story. It is one of the easiest Godard films for American audiences to like.

Battleship Potemkin (1925 - Russian) aka Potemkin

You might have heard about this film being one of those good-for-you films that folks taking film history classes must sit through. It's just 65 minutes long and it still has the power to enthrall an audience. Sergei Eisenstein created several masterpieces in Russia, this was his finest. Do you remember that famous scene in Brian DePalma's Untouchables that occurs on the steps? He stole that sequence outright from this film. It was an homage to the film. He had borrowed from it not quite as directly for the climax of Carlito's Way as well. Many others have as well. The Odessa steps sequence is one of the most famous, most thrilling in all of movie history. See it in the context it was made to be viewed in. Find a good copy of this film and watch it... soon.


BATMAN RETURNS 1992 Directed by Tim Burton

Burton demanded and got almost complete control over his sequel to BATMAN. (He had to hastily re-shoot the ending to his first Batman-which showed.) The result was an extremely dark summer blockbuster that alternately disturbed, delighted and disgusted audiences. Michelle Pfeiffer's Cat Woman was sexy and easy to watch, but Danny DeVito's Penguin was genuinely disturbing and it was believable this was an evil creature who rose from the sewers of Gotham City. Michael Keaton made a good brooding Batman-even if his Bruce Wayne was a bit dull. The script had some great lines and also smart political and social satire as well. The tone and images are more important than plot logistics. The action scenes are only so-so (Burton can't direct action scenes if his life depended on it). It is however a fascinating vision and twist on the comic book hero genre. Many understandably missed the audience pleasing bravura performance that Jack Nicholson brought to the first one Batman as Joker, but this is a far better film.

Belle de Jour (1967), aka Beauty of the Day, France/Italy, directed by Luis Bunuel

Maybe this is the one Bunuel film you've heard about and possibly even seen. Catherine Deneuve is in her cold as Ice blonde stage as she explores being an afternoon prostitute while her dull but handsome doctor husband is busy performing surgeries. It's chic sado-masochism and the subversion of Bunuel creating a controversial film that once had people talking quite a bit. Most of us are too jaded to be shocked by this one anymore, but it's a well made worthwhile film

La Belle et la Bete (1946), aka Beauty and the Beast, France, directed by Jean Cocteau

Part fairy tale, part Gothic horror, Jean Cocteau's movie is often described as poetry on celluloid. So many people have borrowed bits and pieces from this film even if you have never seen this timeless masterpiece (and it is a masterpiece) you will have déjà vu many many times while watching it. Jean Marais is the beast who imprisons Josettette Day as Beauty in his enchanted castle. It's magical, erotic and unforgettable. You will be mesmerized.

Beware of a Holy W-hore (1971) Director Rainier Werner Fassbinder

This imaginative, inventive, sometimes abstract film is a cousin to Godard's Contempt and Felini's 8 ½. A German film crew on location in Sorrento, Italy are waiting for finances to arrive for the film they are trying to make. They drink, argue, and have sex in this sometimes indulgent, almost always fascinating, and honest film. Fassbinder's themes are here and he has some interesting characters to talk through with his many voices.

THE BIG COMBO 1955 Director Joseph H. Lewis

Lewis made a few superior film noir pictures (Gun Crazy in 1949 for instance) including this very tough and at times brutal story about a gangster's ex-girlfriend, Jean Wallace, who helps a cop,( Cornell Wilde), get to the gangster (Richard Conte) to smash a crime syndicate. Good support from Brian Donlevy, Earl Holliman, Lee Van Cleef and Helen Walker. Infamous for its torture scenes (not Reservoir Dogs...but hey it was 1955!!!).

The Big Parade (1925) Directed by King Vidor

Some of the most realistic battle scenes every put on film (for the time) are found in this exciting World War 1 film. It features John Gilbert as the hero and Renee Adoree as the memorable heroine. They are lovers torn apart by World War 1. It's an intense and still powerful film. (Comin' up at TMC May 2009)

The Big Sleep (1946) Director Howard Hawks

The best Raymond Chandler adaptation ever put on film gives us Humphrey Bogart as private eye Phillip Marlow who has been hired to protect a young woman (sometimes from herself) and in the process falls in love with her older sister (Bacall) while he uncovers corruption and murder. It's at times confusing and overly-complicated but with the a witty script by William Faulkner (!!!), Jules Furhman and Leigh Brackett and the charismatic unforgettable performances by Bogart, Bacall, Bob Steele, Elisha Cook Jr. Peggy Knudsen, John Ridgely, Regis Toomey, Martha Vickers and others you won't care. You'll get the restored ending and the original theatrical one on the recent DVD. It raised the bar forever on the detective film genre. Most have copied it, few have come close.

 Part 3  on the way.....