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Ascenseur pour l'échafaud [Elevator to the Gallows] (Louis Malle, 1958)
Jun
18
International Panic Day
M Tavernier (Maurice Ronet) seated in an elevator, calmly smoking. Around him several items speak of less calm moments. DP: Henri Decaë.
“Have you seen Mr Tavernier tonight?”
Julien Tavernier has a plan about how to run off with his boss' wife. There's just this one snag. No time to panic, c'est cool c'est cool.
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Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder, 1951)
Jun
17
A man holds up the first newspaper reporting on Leo Minosa's faith, dated June 17. The headline blares ANCIENT CURSE ENTOMBS MAN. DP: Charles Lang.
“It's a good story today. Tomorrow, they'll wrap a fish in it.”
– Charles Tatum
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The Diary of an Unknown Soldier (Peter Watkins, 1959)
Jun
14
Army Day
That glance. Any soldier at any time. DP: Peter Watkins.
A [favourite] soldier in film for Army Day (USA). I can not in all seriousness link to any official website in fear of throwing up, so please follow along here
“That’s how I will probably die, left like a poor old rag on the battlefield. When you know this is going to happen to you, your body suddenly becomes something terribly precious to you. This flesh, soft and warm is yours; a personal belonging not to be discarded like an awful piece of meat. You find yourself thinking about this, realizing what a wonderful thing your body is, and what an awful and wrong thing it is to maltreat it.”
Watkins takes the anonymous slaughter of the masses on the battlefield inside, into the body and mind of a young soldier.
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Bob le flambeur [Bob the Gambler] (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1956)
Jun
13
frites
Anne (Isabelle Corey), a cute blonde with a beret, eats a fry (French, obviously) while giving us a side glance. It's all very proto-Vague. DP: Henri Decaë.
– I saw you the other morning, eating frites.
– I like frites.
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Bob le flambeur [Bob the Gambler] (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1956)
Jun
13
Friday
Bob (Roger Duchesne) at the tables, gambling. DP: Henri Decaë.
“I'd even lose at hopscotch these days.”
– Bob Montagné
Bob gambles, and always wins. But then he starts losing. Not just games, also his friends.
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Black Widow (Nunnally Johnson, 1954)
Jun
6
Carlotta 'Lottie' Mari (Ginger Rogers) reaching out to Nancy 'Nanny' Ordway's (Peggy Ann Garner). DP: Charles G. Clarke.
– Were you drunk when you did these?
– A little.
– They're very good.
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Riot in Cell Block 11 (Don Siegel, 1954)
June
5
1920
Inmate James V. Dunn's (Neville Brand) file. He's born on June 5, 1920 and incarcerated in Willows State Prison on August 4, 1950. Somehow he's 32 year's old. DP: Russell Harlan.
And August 4.
“You're either in or out. OK?”
– James V. Dunn
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Compulsion (Richard Fleischer, 1959)
May
16
Straus (Bradford Dillman) with Steiner (Dean Stockwell) behind the wheel. They're beaming. DP: William C. Mellor.
“Murder's nothing. It's just a simple experience. Murder and rape? Do you know what beauty there is in evil?”
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পথের পাঁচালী [Pather Panchali / Apu 1: Song of the Little Road] (Satyajit Ray, 1955)
May
10
Stamp Out Hunger
Hands exchange food through a worn-out window. DP: Subrata Mitra.
“Those who came before have passed on. And I'm left behind. A penniless beggar. Not a cowrie to my name. Look, my purse is empty… Lord, the day is done and evening falls. Ferry me across to the other shore…”
– Indir Thakrun, singing
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Летят журавли [Letyat zhuravli / The Cranes Are Flying] (Mikhail Kalatozov, 1957)
May
8
VE Day
A young woman standing in what was a room in a building, looks out over the ruins of a city. A broken lampshade and a grandfather's clock whisper of other times. DP: Sergey Urusevskiy.
A non-battlefield war movie on VE Day. It had to be a Soviet film, on this date. Thank you, Russia.
“Time will pass. Towns and villages will be rebuilt. Our wounds will heal. But our fierce hatred of war will never diminish.”
– Stepan
When the cranes fly over Moscow, a young couple learns about the war. Now separated, one day, when it is over, if, they'll reunite
