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簪 [Kanzashi / Ornamental Hairpin] (Hiroshi Shimizu, 1941)
Jul
24
relaxation
Men relaxing at a roten-buro, an outdoor onsen. DP: Suketarō Inokai.
Someone goes to a spa, beach, or retreat*
“There’s something almost poetic about finding a hairpin in the bath. It’s like the sole of my foot has been pierced by poetry.”
Relaxing at an onsen, a soldier steps on the titular kanzashi. Now injured with too much time on his hands, he and his fellow nosy patrons go out looking for its owner.
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The Killers (Robert Siodmak, 1946)
Jul
20
1940
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The July 21 headline. DP: Elwood Bredell.
“Don't ask a dying man to lie his soul into Hell.”
– Lt. Sam Lubinsky
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D.O.A. [Dead on Arrival] (Rudolph Maté, 1949)
Jul
18
A man's hand signs a car rental contract dated July 18. DP: Ernest Laszlo.
“You knew who I was when I came here today. But you were surprised to see me alive, weren't you? But I'm not alive, Mrs. Philips. Sure, I can stand here and talk to you. I can breathe and I can move. But I'm not alive. Because I did take that poison, and nothing can save me.”
– Frank Bigelow
The Life Magazine displayed at the San Francisco newspaper stand where Frank Bigelow stops is the issue of September 12, 1949, with Yugoslavia's leader Marshal Josip Broz Tito on the cover.
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野良犬 [Nora inu / Stray Dog] (Akira Kurosawa, 1949)
Jul
14
Someone enjoys a drink or beverage*
“On the bus, the air was so thick, he felt woozy. A wailing infant shook with tears and the woman beside him reeked with the stink of cheap perfume.”
– narrator
On a sweltering summer day, Detective's Murakami's Colt gets stolen on a crowded bus. He must delve deep into the sticky sweaty seedy underbelly of Tokyo to retrieve it.
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Black Friday (Arthur Lubin, 1940)
Jun
13
DP: Elwood Bredell.
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El gran calavera [The Great Madcap] (Luis Buñuel, 1949)
May
31
Lobbycard. DP: Ezequiel Carrasco.
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My Name Is Julia Ross (Joseph H. Lewis, 1945)
May
5
Nina Foch as Julia Ross… or is she… Julia's lying on a made bed, looking over her shoulder at two middle-aged men and an elderly woman standing in the doorway to her room. DP: Burnett Guffey.
– You haven't forgotten us again, have you, Marion?
– You know perfectly well I'm Julia Ross!
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Krakatit (Otakar Vávra, 1948)
Apr
26
International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day
A man on a darkened, concrete runway, running towards a man-made structure, a mirage. DP: Václav Hanuš.
With the experience of yet another world war, and two devastating applications of science biggest terror, Karel Čapek's 1922 novel Krakatit [“Krakatoa”] anticipated and moulded the decades to come.
And R.U.R. is now, just around the corner.
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Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)
Apr
24
Devlin (Cary Grant) and Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman). DP: Ted Tetzlaff.
And January 9.
“Dry your eyes, baby; it's out of character.”
– Devlin
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Ladri di biciclette [The Bicycle Thieves] (Vittorio De Sica, 1948)
Apr
11
National Cheese Fondue Day
Bruno (Enzo Staiola) eating mozzarella. DP: Carlo Montuori.
“Do you fancy a pizza? Come on, then! Come on, let's go! What the hell. We might as well go out in style. What's the point in worrying about it all?”
– Antonio Ricci