THE CHAIN
Every film we show in The Chain is somehow connected to the previous one screened – sort of like
a perpetual double bill.
After each screening the audience votes between three films linked to the one they’ve just watched to decide what we will show in a fortnight's time.
This is the chain so far:
The Player (Robert Altman, 1992)
Hollywood given the Altman treatment.
Link: Films referenced in The Player
Choices: Bicycle Thieves, Sunset Boulevard, Touch of Evil
& the winner was…
Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, 1948)
A father and son trawl post-war Rome in search of a lost bicycle.
Links: Bicycles, fly-posters, family ties
Choices: Breaking Away, Gilda, Paper Moon
& the winner was…
Paper Moon (Peter Bogdanovich, 1973)
A father and daughter con their way through Depression-era America.
Link: The Art of The Con
Choices: The Color of Money, The Grifters, House of Games
& the winner was…
The Grifters (Stephen Frears, 1990)
Three professional con-artists tear themselves apart as family loyalty goes badly awry
Link: Bad Muthas
Choices: Animal Kingdom, Psycho, White Heat
& the winner was…
White Heat (Raoul Walsh, 1949)
Unhinged gangster with mother-complex leads predictably ill-fated heist on chemical plant.
Link: Psychotic Egos
Choices: Aguirre, Wrath of God, Sweet Smell of Success, Throne of Blood
& the winner was…
Sweet Smell of Success (Alexander Mackendrick, 1957)
Press agent and Broadway columnist sweat it out in seedy 1950s New York
Link: New York-set films directed by Brits
Choices: Midnight Cowboy, Saturday Night Fever, Shame
& the winner was…
Midnight Cowboy (John Schlesinger, 1969)
Country-boy with dreams of making it as a hustler moves to the Big Apple
Link: Odd Couples
Choices: Harold and Maude, Midnight Run, The Odd Couple
& the winner was…
Harold and Maude (Hal Ashby, 1971)
Troubled teenager begins touching relationship with a lively septuagenarian
Link: Commercial Flops
Choices: King of Comedy, Night of the Hunter, Peeping Tom
& the winner was…
The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese, 1983)
Would-be comedian becomes obsessed with talk-show host.
Link: TV Fame
Choices: To Die For, Tootsie, The Truman Show
& the winner was…
Tootsie (Sydney Pollack, 1982)
Dustin Hoffman is Michael Dorsey is Dorothy Michaels
Link: Transformation
Choices: La Belle et La Bette, Orlando, Zelig
& the winner was…
Zelig (Woody Allen, 1983)
Human chameleon just wants to be loved.
Link: Freaks
Choices: The Elephant Man, The Enigma of Kaspa Hauser, Freaks
& the winner was…
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (Werner Herzog, 1974)
Feral man introduced to 19th Century German society
Link: Untrained actors
Choices: Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fish Tank, Pickpocket
& the winner was…
Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959)
Light-fingered existential angst.
Link: Übermensches
Choices: Naked, Rope, Taxi Driver
& the winner was...
Rope (Alfred Hitchcock, 1948)
Murder as an intellectual exercise.
Link: Adaptations from plays.
Choices: Glengarry Glen Ross, A Streetcar Named Desire, A Taste of Honey
& the winner was...
Glengarry Glen Ross (James Foley, 1982)
Always. Be. Closing.
Link: Sweaty desperation.
Choices: Fargo, The Long Good Friday, The Maltese Falcon
& the winner was...
The Long Good Friday (John Mackenzie, 1980)
'Ands Across The Ocean!
Link: The Special Relationship.
Choices: An American Werewolf in London, Local Hero, A Matter of Life and Death
& the winner was...
Local Hero (Bill Foysyth, 1983)
US oil tycoon sets sights Scottish beach
Link: Strangers in a Strange (Scot)Land
Choices: Brigadoon, I Know Where I'm Going!, The Wicker Man
& the winner was...
Brigadoon (Vincente Minnelli, 1954)
American tourists stumble across miraculous highland village
Link: Fantasy Worlds
Choices: Alice, Being John Malkovich, Heavenly Creatures
& the winner was...
Heavenly Creatures (Peter Jackson, 1992)
Vivid adolescent fantasy gets out of hand
Link: Fatal Friendships
Choices: Badlands, Dog Day Afternoon, Prick Up Your Ears
& the winner was...
Prick Up Your Ears (Stephen Frears, 1987)
The brilliant life and brutal death of British playwrite, Joe Orton
Link: Dramatist, dramatize Thyself!
Choices: Barton Fink, Bullets Over Broadway, In A Lonely Place
& the winner was...
In A Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, 1950)
Hollywood Hack Linked To Hatcheck Girl Murder!
Link: Them Next Door
Choices: 10 Rillington Place, Arlington Road, Rosemary's Baby
& the winner was...
10 Rillington Place (Richard Fleischer, 1971)
True-life story of serial killer John Christie
Link: Capital Punishment
Choices: Capote, M, Paths of Glory
& the winner was...
Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 1957)
Glory-seeking general sends troops on an impossible mission
Link: The Great War
Choices: The African Queen, La Grande Illusion, The Shooting Party
& the winner was...
The Shooting Party (Alan Bridges, 1985)
The calm before the storm
Link: Weekends
Choices: Lift to the Scaffold, Lost Weekend, Stardust Memories
& the winner was...
Lift to the Scaffold (Louis Malle, 1958)
Miles Davis-scored French Noir
Link: Slumming Soundtrackers
Choices: Night on Earth, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, The Virgin Suicides
& the winner was...
Night On Earth (Jim Jarmusch,1991)
"TAXI!"
Link: It Happened One Night
Choices: After Hours, American Graffiti, Night of the Living Dead
& the winner was...
American Graffiti (George Lucas, 1973)
Summer's here and the time is right / we're going racing in the streets
Link: Let Us Put Away Childish Things
Choices: 400 Blows, Blue Velvet, Wish You Were Here
& the winner was...
400 Blows (Francois Truffaut, 1959)
Why you little...
Link: They Fuck You Up
Choices: Back to the Future, Capturing the Friedmans, Kind Hearts and Coronets
& the winner was...
Capturing the Friedmans (Andrew Jarecki, 2003)
Homemovie Hell
Link: All This Filming Isn't Healthy
Choices: Autofocus, Peeping Tom, Sex, Lies and Videotape
& the winner was...
Peeping Tom (Michael Powell, 1960)
Have camera will kill...
Link: Here Comes The Sixties!
Choices: A Hard Day's Night, Saturday Night, Sunday Morning, The Servant
& the winner was...
The Servant (Joseph Losey, 1963)
Class War Gets Sexy
Link: YOU'VE RUINED ME!!!
Choices: The Blue Angel, The Last Seduction, Throne of Blood
& the winner was...
The Blue Angel (Josef von Sternberg, 1931)
Elderly professor loses all dignity for cabaret star
Link: Nightclubbin'
Choices: Cabaret, Le Samourai, Some Like It Hot
& the winner was...
Cabaret (Bob Fosse, 1972)
Berlin dances on the brink
Link: Post-War Berlin
Choices: Goodbye, Lenin!, One, Two, Three, Wings of Desire
& the winner was...
Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, 1981)
Angels watching over West Berlin
Link: Angels
Choices: All That Jazz, Heaven Can Wait, A Matter of Life and Death
& the winner was...
All That Jazz (Bob Fosse, 1979)
It's Show-Time!
Link: Directors & Their Semi-Autobiographical Films
Choices: Bad Education, Long Day Closes, Mean Streets
& the winner was...
Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese, 1973)
"Jap adapters?"
Link: Low-Level Mobsters
Choices: Altlantic City, Donnie Brasco, The Friends of Eddie Coyle
& the winner was...
Atlantic City (Louise Malle, 1980)
Never-was has-been makes last grab for glory!
Link: One Last Roll of the Dice
Choices: The Color of Money, The Shootist, Sunset Blvd
& the winner was...
The Shootist (Don Siegal, 1976)
Aging legend just wants to die with dignity
Link: When They Were Young...
Choices: The Big Sleep, Mr Smith Goes to Washington, Stagecoach
& the winner was...
The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks, 1946)
"The Picture They Were Born For!"
Link: Dicks in Flicks
Choices: Chinatown, The Long Goodbye, Vertigo
& the winner was...
Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)
"Forget it, Jake..."
Link: H20
Choices: Jean de Florette, The Man Who Fell To Earth, The Swimmer
& the winner was...
The Swimmer (Frank Perry/ Sydney Pollack, 1968)
Middle-aged suburbanite swims home via the pools of his neighbours
Link: Truth & Lies
Choices: 12 Angry Men, Citizen Kane, Rashomon
& the winner was...
Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950)
What happened here, then?
Link: Mysteries!
Choices: Les Diaboliques, The Third Man, The Vanishing
& the winner was...
The Vanishing (George Sluizer, 1988)
An inexplicable disappearance leads to years of searching
Link: Obsessions
Choices: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Conversation, Pi
& the winner was...
The Conversation (Francis Ford Copolla, 1974)
Surveillance expert suffers crisis of conscience
Link: Big Brother Is Watching You
Choices: 1984, All the President's Men, The Lives of Others
& the winner was...
The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006)
Surveillance expert suffers crisis of conscience
Link: Cold War Allegories
Choices: High Noon, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, On the Waterfront
& the winner was...
On The Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954)
Union corruption & sibling rivalry
Link: Brothers
Choices: The King of Marvin Gardens, Meantime, Raging Bull
& the winner was...
The King of Marvin Gardens (Bob Rafelson, 1972)
Two brothers try to get rich quick in Atlantic City
Link: Ill-fated business ventures
Choices: McCabe & Mrs Miller, The Producers, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
& the winner was...
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (John Huston, 1948)
American desperados go a-prospectin'
Link: GOLD!
Choices: Aguirre, Wrath of God, The Gold Rush, The Lavender Hill Mob
& the winner was...
Aguirre, Wrath of God (Werner Herzog, 1972)
Oh, El Doraaaaaaado?
Link: Messing About on the River
Choices: L'Atalante, The Night of the Hunter, Young Adam
& the winner was...
Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)
Evil preacher terrorises family
Link: Southern Gothic
Choices: The Beguiled, Southern Comfort, A Streetcar Named Desire
& the winner was...
A Streetcar Named Desire (Elia Kazan, 1951)
Ageing Southern Belle is tormented into madness by brutish brother-in-law
Link: Pyschosexual Breakdowns
Choices: Black Narcissus, Death in Venice, Repulsion
& the winner was...
Repulsion (Roman Polanski, 1965)
Horrors of the past haunt introverted loner
Link: English-Speaking Débuts of European Directors
Choices: Pretty Baby, Taking Off, Sunrise
& the winner was...
Taking Off (Milos Forman, 1971)
Middle-class suburbanites lose daughter to Greenwich Village long-hairs
Link: Hollywood's Take on the Counter-Culture
Choices: Bonnie & Clyde, Dark Star, M*A*S*H
& the winner was...
Dark Star (John Carpenter, 1974)
We're, like, far out, man
Link: Rough Diamond Débuts
Choices: Blood Simple, Targets, Who's That Knocking At My Door?
& the winner was...
Blood Simple (Joel & Ethan Coen, 1984)
D.I.V.O.R.C.E, neo-noir style...
Link: Unhappily Marrieds
Choices: The Awful Truth, Les Diaboliques, Husbands & Wives
& the winner was...
Les Diaboliques (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955)
D.I.V.O.R.C.E. a la film noir...
Link: Private Schools
Choices: If..., Rushmore, Suspiria
& the winner was...
Rushmore (Wes Anderson, 1998)
The kid's a trier...
Link: Child Prodigies/ Precocious Brats
Choices: The Innocents, Leon, Spellbound
& the winner was...
Leon (Luc Besson, 1994)
Professional killer-cum-amateur child-minder
Link: Assassins
Choices: The Conformist, The Day of the Jackal, Le Samouraï
& the winner was...
The Conformist (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970)
Upper-class prof becomes fascist stooge
Link: Exploited by Fascism
Choices: The Counterfeiters, Mephisto, The Remains of the Day
& the winner was...
The Counterfeiters (Stefan Ruzowtzki, 2007)
Nazi's plan to forge the British Pound
Link: Based on a non-fiction book
Choices: All The President's Men, The French Connection, Moneyball
& the winner was...
All the President's Men (Alan J Pakula, 1976)
Forget it, Carl, it's Watergate!
Link: I'm gonna get the papers, get the papers
Choices: Ace in the Hole, Citizen Kane, His Girl Friday
& the winner was...
Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder, 1951)
WASHED-UP HACK IN SHAM STORY SHOCK!
Link: Wilder!
Choices: The Lost Weekend, One, Two, Three!, Some Like it Hot, Sunset Blvd.
& the winner was...
One, Two, Three (Billy Wilder, 1961)
Teenage daughter of US industrialist falls for German card-carrying Commie
Link: Is She Really Going Out With Him?
Choices: Badlands, La Belle et la Bête, The Purple Rose of Cairo
& the winner was...
Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973)
I saw her standin' / on her front lawn
Link: Stone-Cold Classic Debuts
Choices: A Bout de Souffle, The Maltese Falcon, This Is Spinal Tap
& the winner was...
The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941)
The stuff dreams are made of...
Link: Some Other Stuff
Choices: Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Red Shoes, Winchester '73
& the winner was...
The Red Shoes (Powell & Pressburger, 1948)
Put on your red shoes and dance the blues...
Link: Quiet: Genius at Work!
Choices: The Rebel, Sweet and Lowdown, Wonder Boys
& the winner was...
Sweet and Lowdown (Woody Allen, 1999)
The life & loves of a jazz guitarist
Link: Woody!
Choices: Bullets Over Broadway, Husbands & Wives, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Stardust Memories
& the winner was...
Husbands & Wives ( Woody Allen , 1992)
The end of a beautiful relationship
Link: Blood On The Reels
Choices: Lady from Shanghai, Shampoo, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
& the winner was...
Lady From Shanghai (Orson Welles, 1947)
Pulp B-Movie Noir Welles-style!
Link: We're going to need a bigger yacht...
Choices: All Is Lost, The Knife in the Water, Plein Soleil
& the winner was...
Plein Soleil (René Clément, France, 1960)
Talented Monsieur Rippley
Link: Identity Theft
Choices: Gattaca, Heaven Can Wait, The Passenger
& the winner was...
The Passenger (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1975)
Jaded war correspondent trades in one life for another
Link: Rip it up & start again
Choices: Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More, The Lavender Hill Mob, Stroszek
& the winner was...
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (Martin Scorsese, 1974)
Widowed Waitress's Lust for Fame!
Link: Sons & Mothers
Choices: Animal Kingdom, Mamma Roma, Le Souffle au Coeur
& the winner was...
Animal Kingdom (David Michôd, Australia, 2010)
GoodCobbas
Link: Tugs o' War
Choices: His Girl Friday, The Lost Weekend, Sexy Beast
& the winner was...
Sexy Beast (Jonathan Glazer, UK, 2000)
Rude awakenings on the Costa del Crime
Link: One. Last. Job.
Choices: The Killing, Rififi, The Unforgiven
& the winner was...
The Killing (Stanley Kubrick, US, 1955)
A fail-safe racetrack heist. Hubris-ahoy!
Link: Non-linear narratives
Choices: Bad Timing, The Mirror, Two for the Road
& the winner was...
Two For The Road (Stanley Donen, UK, 1967)
A marriage remembered via motoring holidays in France
Link: On The Road!
Choices: The Last Detail, Sullivan's Travels, Wild Strawberries
& the winner was...
Sullivan's Travels (Preston Sturges, US, 1941)
Hollywood director goes slummin'
Link: Hollywood on Hollywood
Choices: The Bad & the Beautiful, Barton Fink, Sunset Blvd.
& the winner was...
Sunset Blvd. (Billy Wilder, US, 1950)
Faded star on the comeback trail
Link: Do call it a comeback!
Choices: The Color of Money, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, Wonder Boys
& the winner was...
Wonder Boys (Curtis Hanson, US, 2000)
That difficult second novel...
Link: BOB!
Choices: Don't Look Back, I'm Not There, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
& the winner was...
I'm Not There (Todd Haynes, US, 2007)
That thin wild mercury film
Link: It's a biopic, Jim, but not as we know it
Choices: 32 Short Films about Glenn Gould, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, Of Time & the City
& the winner was...
Of Time and the City (Terence Davies, UK, 2008)
"We are being gathered in at gloaming..."
Link: Tel!
Choices: The Deep Blue Sea, The House of Mirth, The Long Day Closes
& the winner was...
The House of Mirth (Terence Davies, UK, 2000)
How do you solve a problem like Lily?
Link: Unconventional Wisdom
Choices: Frances Ha, Mahanagar, A Taste of Honey
& the winner was...
Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach, US, 2012)
"Undatable".
Link: Directors & their muses
Choices: Gloria, Manhattan, Raging Bull
& the winner was...
Gloria (John Cassavetes, US, 1980)
On the lam in NYC
Link: Reluctant Guardians
Choices: Bringing Up Baby, The Last Detail, The Steel Helmet
& the winner was...
The Steel Helmet (Sam Fuller, US, 1951)
Hey! This Buddhist temple looks like a good place to hide...
Link: UNDER SIEGE!!!
Choices: Assault on Precinct 13, The Birds, Night of the Living Dead
& the winner was...
Assault on Precinct 13 (John Carpenter, US, 1976)
Street-gang declares WAR!
Link: Street Fightin' Gangs
Choices: The Firm, Los Olvidados, The Warriors,
& the winner was...
Los Olvidados (The Forgotten Ones) (Luis Buñuel, Mexico, 1950)
It's hard to be a saint in the city...
Link: Role-models
Choices: The Last Picture Show, Meantime, Rebel Without a Cause
& the winner was...
Meantime (Mike Leigh, UK, 1984)
It's hard to be a saint in the city...
Link: Made-for-TV
Choices: Duel, The Last Seduction, The Naked Civil Servant
& the winner was...
The Last Seduction (John Dahl, USA, 1994)
She's a femme fatale...
Link: Here they come...
Choices: Double Indemnity, The Killers, Out of the Past
& the winner was...
Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, USA, 1944)
Murder she said!
Link: No more Mr. Nice Guy/Gal
Choices: Fight Club, M, Rear Window
& the winner was...
M (Fritz Lang, Germany, 1931)
Unsolved child murders cause civil disquiet in Weimar Berlin.
Link: Something Rotten in the state of Denmark...
Choices: Do The Right Thing, The Masque of the Red Death, The White Ribbon
& the winner was...
The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, Germany, 2009)
An old man recalls a series of unexplained events from his past
Link: ...They do things differently there
Choices: The Go-Between, The Mirror, Wild Strawberries
& the winner was...
The Mirror (Andrei Tarkovsky, Russia, 1975)
An old man recalls a series of unexplained events from his past
Link: Dream dream dream...
Choices: Billy Liar, Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Spellbound
& the winner was...
Billy Liar (John Schlesinger, UK, 1963)
"But do you think you've made the right decision this time?"
Link: British New Wave
Choices: Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, A Taste of Honey, This Sporting Life
& the winner was...
A Taste of Honey (Tony Richardson, UK, 1961)
"The dream has gone but the baby is real..."
Link: Some girls' mothers are bigger than other girls' mothers...
Choices: Autumn Sonata, Grey Gardens, Imitation of Life
& the winner was...
Grey Gardens (Maysles Brothers, USA, 1975)
Eccentric mother & daughter documented
Link: More eccentrics documented
Choices: Crumb, The Grizzly Man, The Jazz Baroness
& the winner was...
The Jazz Baroness (Hannah Rothschild, UK, 2009)
British heiress's love for High Priest of Bebop, Thelonious Monk
Link: JAZZ!
Choices: All Night Long, Round Midnight, Young Man With A Horn
& the winner was...
Young Man With A Horn (Michael Curtiz, USA, 1950)
Kirk blows hard.
Link: KIRK!
Choices: The Bad and The Beautiful, Lonely are The Brave, Seven Days in May
& the winner was...
Seven Days in May (John Frankenheimer, USA, 1964)
Cold War hots up
Link: Nukes
Choices: Dr Strangelove, Hiroshima Mon Amour, When the Wind Blows
& the winner was...
Hiroshima Mon Amour (Alain Resnais, France, 1959)
Love after the bomb
Link: Ships in the Night...
Choices: Before Sunrise, Roman Holiday, Shakespeare Wallah
& the winner was...
Shakespeare Wallah (James Ivory, UK, 1965)
A family of actors tour India to dwindling returns
Link: Shakey!
Choices: The Dresser, Theatre of Blood, To Be Or Not To Be
& the winner was...
To Be Or Not To Be (Ernst Lubitsch, USA, 1942)
A troupe of Polish actors struggle against the Nazis
Link: German Emigres
Choices: The Heiress, The Killers, Scarlet Street
& the winner was...
The Heiress (William Wyler, USA, 1949)
A spot of the ol' melodram' down Washington Square way...
Link: Old New York
Choices: The Age of Innocence, Hester Street, Park Row
& the winner was...
Hester Street (Joan Micklin Silver, USA, 1975)
An everday tale of Jewish immigrant folk...
Link: Coming to America
Choices: Stranger Than Paradise, Stroszek, The Visitor
& the winner was...
The Visitor (Tom McCarthy, USA, 2007)
Lonely widowed professor finds new friends
Link: Widowers
Choices: Late Spring, Rebecca, Wild Strawberries
& the winner was...
Late Spring (Yasujirō Ozu, Japan, 1949)
Widower attempts to marry off his only daughter
Link: Tokyo!
Choices: Akira, Godzilla, Stray Dog
& the winner was...
Stray Dog (Akira Kurosawa, Japan, 1949)
A cop loses his gun in post-War Tokyo
Link: Heatwave!
Choices: Do The Right Thing, Dog Day Afternoon, Rear Window
& the winner was...
Do The Right Thing (Spike Lee, US, 1989)
Race relations reach boiling point
Link: Race Relations
Choices: Chocolat, The Landlord, Sapphire
& the winner was...
Sapphire (Basil Dearden, UK, 1959)
Hampstead Heath Whodunnit?
Link: North London
Choices: Amy, High Hopes, The Ladykillers
& the winner was...
High Hopes (Mike Leigh, UK, 1988)
"I'll put a tie on the day they machine gun the royal family"
Link: Class Clashes
Choices: Blue Collar, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover ,The Rules of the Game
& the winner was...
The Rules of the Game (Jean Renoir, France, 1939)
Les Upstairs et les Downstairs
Link: Inauspicious Receptions
Choices: Bringing Up Baby, Citizen Kane, Vertigo
& the winner was...
Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, USA, 1939)
Mild-mannered palaeontologist WLTA free-spirited heiress (pref no pets)
Link: Neo-SCREWBALL!
Choices: Flirting with Disaster, Raising Arizona, What's Up Doc?
& the winner was...
What's Up, Doc? (Peter Bogdanovich, USA, 1971)
Mild-mannered palaeontologist WLTA free-spirited heiress (pref no pets)
Link: Homages
Choices: L'Appartament, Far From Heaven, Stardust Memories
& the winner was...
L’Appartement (Gilles Momouni, France, 1996)
An old flame sparks off new obsessions
Link: Old Flames
Choices: Casablanca, The Hired Hand, Paris, Texas
& the winner was...
Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, USA, 1984)
An amnesiac drifter returns to the world
Link: Texas!
Choices: Days of Heaven, Hud, Lone Star
& the winner was...
Lone Star (John Sayles, USA, 1996)
Small town sheriff uncovers dark family secret
Link: Family Secrets
Choices: Festen, Ida, Secrets and Lies
& the winner was...
Festen (Thomas Vinterberg, Denmark, 1998)
A family celebration goes awry
Link: P.A.R.T.Y.
Choices: The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The Masque of the Red Death, Grosse Pointe Blank
& the winner was...
The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Luis Buñuel, France, 1972)
Surrealism scuppers supper
Link: Surrealism-A-Go-Go
Choices: Mulholland Drive, Orphée, Possession
& the winner was...
Possession (Andrzej Żuławski, France-Germany, 1981)
Surrealism scuppers marriage
Link: BANNED IN THE UK!
Choices: Freaks, Panic in Needle Park, Shock Corridor
& the winner was...
Shock Corridor (Sam Fuller, USA, 1963)
Reporter Goes Undercover For Pulitzer Glory!
Link: You Don't Need To Be Mad To Work Here But...
Choices: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Spellbound, Titicut Follies
& the winner was...
Spellbound (Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1945)
When they met...it was moidor. (And psychiatry.)
Link: What's My Name?
Choices: Desperately Seeking Susan, Mr Arkadin, The Man Without a Past
& the winner was...
The Man Without a Past (Aki Kaurismäki, Finland, 2002)
Life on the Edge (of Helsinki)
Link: Finland, Finland, Finland!
Choices: White Reindeer, Steam of Life, The Worthless
& the winner was...
The White Reindeer (Erik Blomberg, Finland, 1952)
Fifties Finnish Hoofy Horror
Link: Fairy Stories
Choices: La Belle et la Bête, Company of Wolves, Prince Achmed
& the winner was...
La Belle et la Bête (Jean Cocteau, France, 1946)
La Beauty and La Beast!
Link: Punching Above One's Weight
Choices: Bedazzled, Cyrano de Bergerac, Gregory's Girl
& the winner was...
Gregory's Girl (Bill Forsyth, UK, 1981)
Laddie luvs Lassie
Link: Teenage Angst
Choices: Ghost World, The Last Picture Show, Rebel Without a Cause
& the winner was...
The Last Picture Show (Peter Bogdanovich, USA, 1971)
Cold, Cold Hearts in Small Town, Texas
Link: 50's Small Towns, USA
Choices: Bad Day at Black Rock, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Long Hot Summer
& the winner was...
The Long, Hot Summer (Martin Ritt, USA, 1958)
Drifter smoulders in Small Town, USA
Link: Amalgamations
Choices: Jesus' Son, Mishima, Tales of Hoffmann
& the winner was...
Jesus' Son (Alison Maclean, USA, 1999)
Coz when the smack begins to flow...
Link: Too Much Junky Business
Choices: Drugstore Cowboy, The Man With The Golden Arm, The Panic In Needle Park
& the winner was...
The Panic In Needle Park (Jerry Schatzberg, USA, 1971)
...I really don't care anymore.
Link: You Can Call Him Al
Choices: Dog Day Afternoon, Scarecrow, Serpico
& the winner was...
Serpico (Sidney Lumet, USA, 1973)
Al goes deep undercover
Link: Corruption
Choices: Blue Collar, Death in Venice, Mephisto
& the winner was...
Mephisto (István Szabó, Hungary, 1981)
Actor sells soul to the Nazis for fame, fame fatal fame
Link: Hey Diddly Dee / An Actor's Life For Me!
Choices: All About Eve, Floating Weeds, Persona
& the winner was...
Persona (Ingmar Bergman, Sweden, 1966)
Nurse cares for mute actress; does enough talking for both of them.
Link: Personality Crisis!
Choices: 3 Women, Mulholland Drive, Performance
& the winner was...
3 Women (Robert Altman, USA, 1977)
Strange pair of physical therapists begin even stranger relationship
Link: Outside The Canon
Choices: Mr Arkadin, Saint Jack, Small Back Room
& the winner was...
Saint Jack (Peter Bogdanovich, USA, 1979)
Ex-pat pimp dreams big
Link: Ex-pat!
Choices: Casablanca, The Heart of the Matter, Wages of Fear
& the winner was...
The Heart of the Matter (George More O'Ferrall, UK, 1953)
Catholic copper wracked with guilt over affair
Link: Greeneland!
Choices: The Fallen Idol, This Gun for Hire, Ministry of Fear
& the winner was...
Ministry of Fear (Fritz Lang, USA, 1944)
Wrong man fingered by Nazis
Link: Kafkaesque!
Choices: Brazil, Seconds, The Trial
& the winner was...
The Trial (Orson Welles, France/West Germany/Italy, 1962)
Orson does Franz
Link: Orson!
Choices: Chimes at Midnight, F for Fake, The Magnificent Ambersons
& the winner was...
Chimes at Midnight (Orson Welles, Spain/Switzerland, 1965)
Wellesy does Shaky
Link: Shaky!
Choices: King Lear, Macbeth, Prospero's Books
& the winner was...
Prospero's Books (Peter Greenaway, UK, 1991)
Arthouse Tempest. May contain nuts.
Link: "Now our revels all are ended..."
Choices: Gosford Park, The Masque of the Red Death, The Music Room
& the winner was...
Jalsaghar (The Music Room) (Satyajit Ray, India, 1958)
Ageing aristro hosts party
Link: Music Lovers
Choices: 24 Hour Party People, The Phantom of the Opera, Saturday Night Fever
& the winner was...
24 Hour Party People (Michael Winterbottom, UK, 2002)
Pills, Thrills & Unsustainable Business Models
Link: "Manchester, so much to answer for..."
Choices: Hell Is A City, Hobson's Choice, Raining Stones
& the winner was...
Raining Stones (Ken Loach, UK, 1993)
Some girls’ dresses are more expensive than other girls’ dresses
Link: “I was looking for a job / and then I found a job…”
Choices: Days of Heaven, Grapes of Wrath, Stroszek
& the winner was...
Stroszek (Werner Herzog, Germany, 1977)
Coming to … Wisconsin?
Link: Motley Crews
Choices: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, A Canterbury Tale, The Misfits
& the winner was…
The Misfits (John Huston, USA, 1961)
Swansongs A-Go-Go
Link: More Swansongs
Choices: 1984, Autumn Sonata, The Harder They Fall
& the winner was…
Autumn Sonata (Ingmar Bergman, Sweden, 1978)
Mother & Daughter Reunion
Link: Pianists
Choices: The Beat That My Heart Skipped, The Piano Teacher, Thirty-Two Short Films About Glen Gould
& the winner was…
The Beat That My Heart Skipped (Jacques Audiard, France, 2005)
Charismatic young thug just wants to tickle the ivories
Link: Crime vs Respectability
Choices: Ashes & Diamonds, The Harder They Come, Who’s That Knocking At My Door?
& the winner was…
Ashes and Diamonds (Andrzej Wajda, Poland, 1958)
Last day of WWII and One Last Job to do…
Link: Political Assassinations
Choices: The Day of The Jackal, Love and Death, The Manchurian Candidate
& the winner was…
The Manchurian Candidate (John Frankenheimer, USA, 1962)
Anyone for cards?
Link: Mind control!
Choices: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Gaslight, Martha Marcy May Marlene
& the winner was…
Gaslight (George Cukor, USA, 1944)
He’s driving me crazy!
Link: Bad Husbands
Choices: Charulata (The Lonely Wife), Drowning By Numbers, The Purple Rose of Cairo
& the winner was…
Charulata (The Lonely Wife) (Satyajit Ray, India, 1964)
Idle hands n all that…
Link: Ray!
Choices: Devi (The Goddess), Mahanagar (The Big City), Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road)
& the winner was…
Mahanagar (The Big City) (Satyajit Ray, India, 1963)
Housewife finds making ends meet more fun than she’d anticipated
Link: It’s a New Thing!
Choices: Being There, Love and Death on Long Island, Room at the Top
& the winner was…
Love and Death on Long Island (Richard Kwietniowski, UK/Canada, 1997)
Housewife finds making ends meet more fun than she’d anticipated
Link: Obscure objects of desire
Choices: Death in Venice, King Kong, Lolita
& the winner was…
Lolita (Stanley Kubrick, UK/USA, 1962)
“Light of my life, fire of my loins…”
Link: How Did They Make A Film Out Of…?
Choices: A Cock and Bull Story, Despair, Naked Lunch
& the winner was…
Despair (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, West Germany/France, 1978)
“Hell shall never parole Hermann”
Link: Doubles
Choices: The Great Dictator, Lost Highway, Vertigo
& the winner was…
Lost Highway (David Lynch, USA, 1996)
Lynch par excellence
Link: Proto-Lynch!
Choices: Laura, Written on the Wind, The Wizard of Oz
& the winner was…
Laura (Otto Preminger, USA, 1944)
Detective falls for murder victim
Link: Obsessive Investigations
Choices: The Big Combo, The Pledge, The Third Man
& the winner was…
The Pledge (Sean Penn, USA, 2000)
Detective keeps on keeping on
Link: Behind The Camera Actors
Choices: Drive, He Said, Lady Bird, Quiz Show
& the winner was…
Quiz Show (Robert Redford, USA, 1994)
It’s A Fix!
Link: Behind The Scene US TV
Choices: Bamboozled, Network, The Truman Show
& the winner was…
Bamboozled (Spike Lee, USA, 2000)
America Loves The Minstrel Show
Link: Contemporary satires on race
Choices: Dear White People, Get Out, Sorry To Bother You
& the winner was…
Sorry To Bother You (Boots Riley, USA, 2018)
Telemarketer’s fast-track to success
Link: Bad Workplaces
Choices: 9-5, Being John Malkovich, Christie Malry’s Own Double-Entry
& the winner was…
Christie Malry's Own Double-Entry (Paul Tickell, UK, 2000)
Accountant’s fast-track to revenge
Link: Indie Pop Soundtrackers
Choices: Pi, The Proposition, White Material
& the winner was…
White Material (Claire Denis, France, 2009)
Tenacious plantation-owner sticks to her guns
Link: Tenacious heroines
Choices: Johnny Guitar, The Ladykillers, The Passion of Saint Joan
& the winner was…
The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer, France, 1928)
It’s blasphemy they say!
Link: Shhhh!
Choices: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Crowd, The Lodger
& the winner was…
The Crowd (King Vidor, USA, 1928)
It’s hard to live in the city
Link: It’s Hard to Live in the Ciry
Choices: The Landlord, Saturday Night Fever, Shadows
& the winner was…
The Landlord (Hal Ashby, USA, 1970)
WASPy goes a-slummin’
Link: HAL!
Choices: Bound for Glory, Coming Home, Shampoo
& the winner was…
Bound for Glory (Hal Ashby, USA, 1976)
Woody goes a-strummin’
Link: The Great Depression
Choices: The Grapes of Wrath, Miller’s Crossing, The Purple Rose of Cairo
& the winner was…
Miller’s Crossing (Joel & Ethan Coen, USA, 1990)
Wiseguys fall out over dame
Link: “We coulda been anything we wanted to be…”
Choices: The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Goodfellas, The Public Enemy
& the winner was…
The Public Enemy (William A. Wellman, USA, 1931)
Pre-Code Classic
Link: Pre-Code Classics
Choices: Baby Face, Freaks, Trouble in Paradise
& the winner was…
Baby Face (Alfred E Green, USA, 1933)
Gold digger goes prospectin’
Link: Sex Sells! Who’s Buyin’?
Choices: The Draughtsman’s Contract, Entertaining Mr Sloane, To Die For
& the winner was…
Entertaining Mr Sloane (Douglas Hickox, UK, 1970)
Joe Orton’s stage debut gets big screen treatment
Link: From Stage to Screen (60s Style)
Choices: Beyond the Fringe, The Caretaker, The Killing of Sister George
& the winner was…
Beyond The Fringe (Duncan Wood, UK, 1964)
Cook! Moore! Bennett! Miller!
Link: Beyond Beyond The Fringe
Choices: Alice in Wonderlan, Bedazzled, The Madness of King George
& the winner was…
Bedazzled (Stanley Donen, UK, 1967)
Satan swings like a pendulum do
Link: Faust!
Choices: The Devil and Daniel Webster, Faust, Legend Faust
& the winner was…
Faust (F.W. Murnau, Weimar Republic, 1926)
Silent Classic
Link: Pre-emigration emigres
Choices: Destiny, Madam Dubarry, People on a Sunday
& the winner was…
People on a Sunday (Robert Siodmak & Edgar G. Ulmer, Germany, 1930)
Silent Classic
Link: Weekenders!
Choices: Gosford Park; It Always Rains on Sunday; Little Fugitive
& the winner was…
Little Fugitive (Ray Ashley, Morris Engel & Ruth Orkin, USA, 1953)
US Indie Classic
Link: Brooklyn
Choices: Dog Day Afternoon, Smoke, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
& the winner was…
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Elia Kazan, USA, 1945)
Kazan’s Debut Feature
Link: Rough Diamond Debuts
Choices: Eraserhead, Fear and Desire, Who’s That Knocking At My Door?
& the winner was…
Who’s That Knocking At My Door? (Martin Scorsese, USA, 1967)
Young Italian American Struggles With Catholic Guilt And All That
Link: Catholicism
Choices: The Devils, Diary of a Country Priest, Rome, Open City
& the winner was…
Rome, Open City (Roberto Rossellini, Italy, 1945)
Sympathetic priest assists resistance in Nazi occupied Rome
Link: Italian Neorealism
Choices: Bitter Rice, Ossessione, Umberto D
& the winner was…
Umberto D (Vittorio De Sica, Italy, 1942)
An elderly man and his dog struggle to survive on his government pension.
Link: Mature Leads
Choices: The Friends of Eddie Coyle, The Lady Killers, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
& the winner was…
The Friends of Eddie Coyle (Peter Yates, USA, 1973)
A small-time hood considers snitching on his Bostonian ‘friends’ to avoid jail time.
Link: Boston!
Choices: The Bostonians, The Departed, The Verdict
& the winner was…
The Verdict (Sidney Lumet, USA, 1982)
A washed-up lawyer makes last grab at redemption.
Link: Late-Newman
Choices: Buffalo Bill & The Indians, The Color of Money, Nobody’s Fool
& the winner was…
Nobody's Fool (Robert Benton, USA, 1994
Small town wastrel reassess life.
Link: “When you’re growin’ up in a small town…”
Choices: Blue Velvet, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Stranger
& the winner was…
The Stranger (Orson Welles, USA, 1946)
Nazi War Criminal on the lam in Small Town USA
Link: False identies
Choices: Gattaca, The Return of Martin Guerre, Seconds
& the winner was…
Gattaca (Andrew Nichol, USA, 1997)
Genetically inferior man dreams of space travel
Link: Off-Screen Romances
Choices: The Getaway, To Have and Have Not, Woman of the Year
& the winner was…
Woman of the Year (George Stevens, USA, 1942)
READ ALL ABOUT IT! TRACY & HEPBURN FALL IN LOVE!
Link: Print Media
Choices: All the President’s Men, Almost Famous, Deadline USA,
& the winner was…
Deadline USA (Richard Brooks, USA, 1952)
Bogey fights to save newspaper
Link: Last Will & Testament
Choices: The Grand Budapest Hotel, Hell or High Water, Incendies
& the winner was…
Hell or High Water (David Mackenzie, USA, 2016)
Brothers rob banks
Link: Neo-Westerns
Choices: Brokeback Mountain, The Rider, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
& the winner was…
The Rider (Chloe Zhao, USA, 2017)
Rodeo rider in recovery
Link: Blending fact and fiction
Choices: The Exiles, F for Fake, The Firemen’s Ball,
& the winner was…
The Firemen’s Ball (Milos Foreman, Czechoslovakia, 1967)
The leaving do from Hell / Piss-up in a Brewery
Link: 24 hrs
Choices: The Connection, Dazed and Confused, Odd Man Out
& the winner was…
Odd Man Out (Carol Reed, UK, 1947)
On the lam in Belfast
Link: Belfast!
Choices: The Boxer, Good Vibrations, I Am Belfast
& the winner was…
The Boxer (Jim Sheridan, US/Ireland, 1997)
Fighting for peace in Northern Ireland
Link: Boxers!
Choices: Fat City, Raging Bull, The Set-Up
& the winner was…
The Set-Up (Robert Wise, US, 1941)
To throw or not to throw…
Link: Poetry adaptations
Choices: Jabberwocky, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Raven
& the winner was…
The Raven (Roger Corman, USA, 1963)
Rival wizards go spell-to-spell!
Link: Rivalries!
Choices: The Duellists, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
& the winner was…
The Duellists (Ridley Scott, UK, 1977)
”Have at you, sir!”
Link: Adapted from a short story
Choices: The Holy Man, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Rear Window
& the winner was…
Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, UK, 1954)
Convalescent Spies on Neighbours
Link: Hitchcocky!
Choices: Perfect Blue, Phoenix, Stoker
& the winner was
Stoker (Park Chan-wook, USA, 2013)
”Say hello to your uncle Charlie…”
Link: Dysfunctional Families
Choices: The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Magnificent Ambersons, The Royal Tenenbaums
& the winner was…
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Yorgos Lanthimos, USA, 2017)
Unbalanced Boy Seeks Revenge
Link: Revenge!
Choices: Cape Fear, Dead Man’s Shoes, Lady Snowblood
& the winner was…
Lady Snowblood (Toshiya Fujita, Japan, 1973)
Daughter seekes gory revenge for parents’ murder
Link: Notebook Out Tarantino!
Choices: Charlie Varrick, City On Fire, Foxy Brown
& the winner was…
Charlie Varrick (Don Siegal, USA, 1973)
Bank Heist Goes South Pretty Damn Fast
Link: Matthau!
Choices: The Bad News Bears, The Fortune Cookie, A New Leaf
& the winner was…
The Fortune Cookie (Billy Wilder, USA, 1966)
The Start of a Beautiful Relationship
Link: Cinematic Double Acts
Choices: Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, Annie Hall, The Thin Man
& the winner was…
The Thin Man (W. S. Van Dyke, USA, 1934)
Retired P.I. Not As Retired As First He Thought
Link: Dicks in Flicks
Choices: Harper, The Long Goodbye, Vertigo
& the winner was…
Harper (Jack Smight, USA, 1966)
Paul Newman stars in William Goldman’s debut
Link: Goldman!
Choices: Marathon Man, Misery, The Stepford Wives
& the winner was…
The Stepford Wives (Bryan Forbes, USA, 1975)
Something’s rotten in the state of Stepford
Link: Just Because You’re Paranoid…
Choices: Get Out, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, They Live
& the winner was…
They Live (John Carpenter, USA, 1988)
Something’s rotten in the state of THE WORLD!
Link: Media Manipulation!
Choices: Face in the Crowd, Network, Wag the Dog
& the winner was…
A Face in the Crowd (Elia Kazan, USA, 1957)
Nobody becomes Somebody
Link: Kazan!
Choices: East of Eden, Splendour in the Grass, Wild River
& the winner was…
Wild River (Elia Kazan, USA, 1960)
Git Off Ma Land!
Link: Water!
Choices: The Ballad of Cable Hogue, Chinatown, The Man Who Fell To Earth
& the winner was…
Chinatown (Roman Polanski, USA, 1974)
And Stay Away From My Water!
Link: Directors In Other Directors’ Films
Choices: La Grande Illusion, ‘Round Midnight, The Third Man
& the winner was…
Round Midnight (Bertrand Tavernier, USA/France, 1986)
Jazz legend in Paris
Link: JAZZ!
Choices: All Night Long, The Connection, Mo’ Better Blues
& the winner was…
Mo’ Better Blues (Spike Lee, USA, 1990)
Professional rivalry on the bandstand
Link: Denzel!
Choices: Devil in a Blue Dress, Mississippi Masala, Training Day
& the winner was…
Devil in a Blue Dress (Carl Franklin, USA, 1995)
A lady vanishes
Link: The lady vanishes!
Choices: Bunny Lake is Missing, Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Vanishing
& the winner was…
The Vanishing (George Sluizer, Netherlands, 1988)
A lady vanishes
Link: Obsessions!
Choices: Death in Venice, Pi, Take Shelter
& the winner was…
Take Shelter (Jeff Nichols, USA, 2011)
The End is Nigh! Anyone???
Link: Relationships in Crisis!
Choices: Happy Together, Husbands and Wives, Prick Up Your Ears
& the winner was….
Happy Together (Wong Kar-Wai, China, 1997)
On n off n back on again.
Link: You Hum It & I’ll Film It
Choices: Mystery Train, Sea of Love, That’ll Be The Day
& the winner was….
Mystery Train (Jim Jarmusch, USA, 1989)
I’m considerin’ a move to Memphis…
Link: Hotels
Choices: Don’t Bother to Knock, Hotel du Nord, Seperate Tables
& the winner was….
Don't Bother to Knock (Roy Ward Baker, USA, 1952)
Early Monroe
Link: Lesser Seen Monroes
Choices: Clash by Night, Niagara, The Prince and the Showgirl
& the winner was….
Niagara (Henry Hathaway, USA, 1953)
Honeymoon Noir
Link: Honeymoons!
Choices: The Black Cat, Touch of Evil, The White Sheik
& the winner was….
The White Sheik (Federico Fellini, Italy, 1952)
Honeymooners hit Rome
Link: Obsessive Fandom
Choices: The King of Comedy, Misery, The Purple Rose of Cairo
& the winner was….
The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese, USA, 1982)
”Hello! Rupert Pupkin!”
Link: Stand-Ups
Choices: Annie Hall, The Big Sick, Lenny
& the winner was….
Lenny (Bob Fosse, USA, 1974)
”Lenny Bruce is dead…”
Link: Heroin.
Choices: The Connection, Drugstore Cowboy, Heaven Knows What
& the winner was….
Drugstore Cowboy (Gus Van Sant, USA, 1989)
Cop, Shoot, Cop
Link: Writers’ cameos
Choices: Bunny Lake is Missing, Day for Night, Saboteur
& the winner was….
Bunny Lake is Missing (Otto Preminger, UK/USA, 1965)
Child lost in Swingin’ London Town
Link: Americans in London
Choices: An American Werewolf in London, Dont Look Back, Foreign Correspondent
& the winner was….
Foreign Correspondant (Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1940)
Read all about it! International spy ring uncovered!
Link: Spies Like These…
Choices: Dishonored, Spione, The Spy in Black
& the winner was….
Dishonored (Josef von Sternberg, USA, 1931
Josef & Marlene!
Link: Great Director-Actor Partnerships
Choices: Aquirre, Wrath of God, The Music Room, Yojimbo
& the winner was…
Yojimbo (Akira Kurosawa, Japan, 1961)
Mysterious stranger rolls into town, stirs up trouble
Link: I’m New Here
Choices: Local Hero, Naked, Red Rock West
& the winner was…
Red Rock West (John Dahl, USA, 1993)
Drifter mistaken for hired killer
Link: Mistaken Identity!
Choices: Galaxy Quest, The Life of Brian, Three Amigos!
& the winner was…
Three Amigos! (John Landis, USA, 1986)
Trio of washed-up actors mistaken for heroic cowboys
Link: Washed-Up Actors!
Choices: The Artist, The Dresser, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane
& the winner was…
The Dresser (Peter Yates, UK, 1983)
Shakespearean great faces final curtain
Link: Toxic Male Relationships
Choices: California Split, Prick Up Your Ears, Sweet Smell of Success
& the winner was…
Prick Up Your Ears (Stephen Frears, UK, 1987)
The rise and fall of Joe Orton & Kenneth Halliwell
Link: Iconoclastic Writers
Choices: Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, Naked Lunch, Wilde
& the winner was…
Wilde (Brian Gilbert, UK, 1997)
The rise and fall of Oscar Wilde
Link: Wilde!
Choices: An Ideal Husband, The Importance of Being Earnest, Salomé
& the winner was…
An Ideal Husband (Oliver Parker, UK, 1999)
A face from the past threatens the future…
Link: A Face From The Past!
Choices: Casablanca, The Coward, It Always Rains on Sunday
& the winner was…
The Coward (Kapurush) (Satyjit Ray, India, 1965)
A broken down car leads to a romantic reunion…
Link: Ray!
Choices: The Chess Players, The Hero, Pather Panchali
& the winner was…
The Chess Players (Shatranj Ke Khilari) (Satyajit Ray, India, 1977)
Chessin’ while Avadh gets annexed
Link: Chess!
Choices: Bobby Fischer Against the World, The Dark Horse, The Seventh Seal
& the winner was…
The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman, Sweden, 1957)
Knight takes Death!
Link: Plague!
Choices: Death in Venice, Masque of the Red Death, Panic in the Streets
& the winner was…
Panic in the Streets (Elia Kazan, USA, 1950)
Knight takes Death!
Link: Race Against Time!
Choices: Escape from New York, High Noon, Seven Chances
& the winner was…
High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, USA, 1952)
Sheriff struggles to raise to posse!
Link: Small Town Law n Order!
Choices: Cop Land, Fargo, In the Heat of the Night
& the winner was…
In the Heat of the Night (Norman Jewison, USA, 1967)
They call me Mr Tibbs!
Link: Class of ‘67
Choices: Bonnie & Clyde, The Graduate, Who’s That Knocking At My Door
& the winner was…
Who's That Knocking At My Door (Martin Scorsese, USA, 1967)
They call me Mr Tibbs!
Link: Under the Influence!
Choices: I Vitelloni, On the Waterfront, Shadows
& the winner was…
Shadows (John Cassavetes, USA, 1959)
Race-relations in Beat-era NYC
Link: Cassavetes!
Choices: The Killers, Mikey and Nicky, Rosemary’s Baby
& the winner was…
Rosemary’s Baby (Roman Polanski, USA, 1968)
Just because you’re paranoid it doesn’t mean you’re not living next door to WITCHES!
Link: Spooky 60s
Choices: Eyes Without a Face, Peeping Tom, Psycho
& the winner was…
Peeping Tom (Michael Powell, UK, 1960)
All this filming isn’t healthy…
Link: Voyeurz!
Choices: Autofocus, Sex, Lies & Videotape, Three Colours: Red
& the winner was…
Three Colours: Red (Krzysztof Kieslowski, France, 1994)
Just because you’re paranoid it doesn’t mean you’re not living next door to WITCHES!
Link: More colours red
Choices: Amélie, In the Mood for Love, The Red Shoes
& the winner was…
In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai, Hong Kong / France, 2001)
Love thy neighour!
Link: Starring Maggie Cheung
Choices: Hero, Irma Vep, Police Stort
& the winner was…
Hero (Yimou Zhang, Hong Kong/China, 2002)
Who’s killin’ the king?
Link: Wuxia!
Choices: Dragon Inn, Last Hurrah for Chivalry, Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain
& the winner was…
Last Hurrah for Chivalry (John Woo, Hong Kong/China, 1979)
Who’s tellin’ the truth?
Link: Deception!
Choices: Double Indemnity, Reservoir Dogs, Seconds
Seconds (John Frankenheimer, USA, 1966)
Who’s this guy?
Link: Ennui!
Choices: Lost in Translation, Stardust Memories, The Swimmer
& the winner was…
The Swimmer (Frank Perry/Sydney Pollock, USA, 1968)
Swimmin’ Home…
Link: Adapted from a short story
Choices: The Fallen Idol, The Fly, The Killers
& the winner was…
The Fallen Idol (Carol Reed, UK, 1948)
Did the butler do it???
Link: Through the eyes of a child…
Choices: The Go-Between, Pather Panchali, Radio Days
& the winner was…
Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray, India, 1955)
Apu starts here!
Link: Stone-Cold-Classic Debuts
Choices: Eraserhead, Reservoir Dogs, Sexy Beast
& the winner was…
Eraserhead (David Lynch, USA, 1977)
Happy Families
Link: Lynchian!
Choices: Being John Malcovich, Delicatessen, Under the Skin
& the winner was…
Being John Malcovich (Spike Jonze, USA, 1999)
Everyone wants to be Malcovich!
Link: Body Swops!
Choices: All of Me, Here Comes Mr Jordan,
& the winner was…
Here Comes Mr Jordan (Alexander Hall, USA, 1941)
Celestial cock up creates problems…
Link: Angels!
Choices: All that Jazz, Wings of Desire
& the winner was…
Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, Germany, 1987)
Angel falls for trapeze artist
Link: Circuses!
Choices: Something Wicked This Way Comes, Trapeze,
& the winner was…
Trapeze (Carol Reed, USA, 1956)
Who’ll catch who???
Link: Love triangles!
Choices: Hannah and Her Sisters,
& the winner was…
The Philadelphia Story (George Cukor, USA, 1940)
Who’ll have who???
Link: Hepburn!
Choices: African Queen,
& the winner was…
The Lion in Winter (Anthony Harvey, UK/USA, 1968)
King’s Kristmas Krackers!
Link: English Kings
Choices: Edward II, The Madness of King George, The Private Life of Henry VII
& the winner was…
The Private Life of Henry VIII (Alexander Korda, UK, 1933)
What Henry Did…
Link: Bad Husbands
Choices: Dial M for Murder, Fargo, The Purple Rose of Cairo
& the winner was…
The Purple Rose of Cairo (Woody Allen, USA, 1984)
Unhappy Wife Finds New Love On-Screen
Link: Allen in the 80s
Choices: Broadway Danny Rose, Hannah & Her Sisters, Stardust Memories
& the winner was…
Stardust Memories (Woody Allen, USA, 1980)
Meta-Woody
Link: Makin’ Movies
Choices: All That Jazz, Day for Night, Shadow of the Vampire
& the winner was…
Day for Night (François Truffaut, France/Itay, 1973)
Meta-Truffaut
Link: Truffaut!
Choices: 400 Blows, Jules et Jim, Shoot the Piano Player
Shoot the Piano Player (François Truffaut, France, 1960)
Everyone’s a critic!
Link: Lousy Luck & Fatal Flaws!
Choices: Fargo, McCabe and Mrs Miller, Uncut Gems
& the winner was…
McCabe and Mrs Miller (Robert Altman, USA, 1971)
When they met… it was moider!
Link: I’m New Here…
Choices: Naked, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Under the Skin
& the winner was…
Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer, UK, 2013)
Earth Men Are Easy
Link: THEY’RE HERE!
Choices: The Day the Earth Stood Still, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Quatermass and the Pit
& the winner was…
Quatermass and the Pit (Roy Ward Baker, UK, 1967)
Central Line Extension at Hobbs End Delayed
Link: Hammer!
Choices: Devil Rides Out, Hell is a City, Hound of the Baskervilles
& the winner was…
Hell is a City (Val Guest, UK, 1960)
Manc Noir!
Link: Brit Noir!
Choices: Pool of London, Night and the City, Small Back Room
& the winner was…
Pool of London (Basil Dearden, UK, 1951)
Shore Leave o Crime
Link: Hello, Sailor!
Choices: Lady from Shanghai, Night Tide, On the Town
& the winner was…
Night Tide (Curtis Harrington, USA, 1961)
Sailor-boy meets Mer-maid
Link: Hopper!
Choices: Easy Rider, Rebel Without a Cause, True Romance
& the winner was…
Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, USA, 1951)
Troubled teen struggles to fit in
Link: Troubled Teens!
Choices: La Haine, If…, Mustang
& the winner was…
Mustang (Deniz Gamze Ergüven, France/Germany/Turkey, 2015)
Sisters struggle for autonomy under patriarchal boot
Link: Sisters! Sisters!
Choices: Cries & Whispers, Hannah & Her Sisters, Our Little Sister
And the winner was…
Our Little Sister (Koreeda Hirokazu, Japan, 2015)
Sisters meet half-sister
Link: Koreeda!
Choices: After Life, Maborosi, Shoplifters
And the winner was…
Shoplifters (Koreeda Hirokazu, Japan, 2018)
Makeshift family struggle to make ends meet…
Link: On the margins!
Choices: Days of Heaven, Heaven Knows What, Naked
And the winner was…
Heaven Knows What (Josh & Benny Safdie, USA, 2014)
Junky business in the Big Apple
Link: Sibling directors
Choices: Barton Fink, Bound, Salesman
And the winner was…
Bound (The Wachowskis, USA, 1996)
Young lovers decide to steal from the mob
Link: Stealin’ from the mob!
Choices: The Killers, The Sting, True Romance
And the winner was…
True Romance (Tony Scott, USA, 1992)
Young lovers accidentally steal from the mob
Link: Talent borrows, genius steals!
Choices: Badlands, Play It Again, Sam, Taxi Driver
And the winner was…
Play it Again, Sam (Herbert Ross, USA, 1972)
Unlucky in love loser turns to Bogey for advice
Link: Bogey!
Choices: Casablanca, In a Lonely Place, The Maltese Falcon
And the winner was…
The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, USA, 1941)
The search for the stuff dreams are made of…
Link: Obscure objects of desire!
Choices: Help!, The Red Shoes, Winchester ‘73
And the winner was…
The Red Shoes (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, UK, 1948)
Put on your red shoes & dance the blues…
Link: Dance! Dance! Dance!
Choices: All That Jazz, Dance, Girl, Dance, Saturday Night Fever
And the winner was…
Saturday Night Fever (John Badham, USA, 1977)
Put on your white suit & dance the blues…
Link: Killer soundtracks!
Choices: Dazed and Confused, Lost in Translation, Trainspotting
And the winner was…
Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater, USA, 1993)
School’s OUT!
Link: The Happiest Days of Your Life!
Choices: Gregory’s Girl, If…, The Wave
And the winner was…
The Wave (Dennis Gansel, Germany, 2008)
Fascism 101
Link: Fictional Fascism!
Choices: 1984, Childhood of a Leader, The Great Dictator
And the winner was…
The Childhood of a Leader (Brady Corbet, USA, 2015)
Spare the rod n spoil the child (approx)
Link: Rotten Kidz!
Choices: The Innocents, The Omen, The Village of the Damned
And the winner was…
The Innocents (Jack Clayton, UK, 1960)
Naive Governess is out of her depth
Link: Henry James
Choices: The Bostonians, Daisy Miller, The Heiress
And the winner was…
Daisy Miller (Peter Bogdanovich, USA, 1974)
American beauty breaks hearts across Europe
Link: Americans in Europe
Choices: An American Werewolf in London, Before Sunrise, Local Hero
And the winner was…
Local Hero (Bill Forsyth, UK, 1983)
American tycoon has designs on Scottish villahge
Link: Small Scottish Communities!
Choices: The Edge of the World, The Outrun, Whisky Galore!
And the winner was…
The Outrun (Nora Fingscheidt, UK/Germany, 2024)
Recovering alcolholic returns to her childhood home
Link: Alcoholism
Choices: The Legend of the Holy Drinker, The Lost Weekend, The Small Back Room
And the winner was…
The Legend of the Holy Drinker (Ermanno Olmi, Italy, 1989)
Alcoholic homeless guy struggles to repay a debt
Link: Homelessness
Choices: Boudu Saved from Drowning, My Man Godfrey, Scarecrow
And the winner was…
Scarecrow (Jerry Schatzberg, USA, 1973)
Two homeless guys struggle to realise their dreams
Link: Lesser Seen New Hollywood Classics!
Choices: California Split, Rancho Deluxe, Saint Jack
And the winner was…
California Split (Robert Altman, USA, 1974)
Gamblers gonna gamble
Link: TBD
Choices: TBD
And the winner was…