“I know. I know you. I know you very well.”La carrière de Suzanne [Suzanne's Career] (Éric Rohmer, 1963)
Aug
13
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A woman reaches for a silver teapot. We only see her hand. DP: Daniel Lacambre.
– Suzanne
“I know. I know you. I know you very well.”La carrière de Suzanne [Suzanne's Career] (Éric Rohmer, 1963)
Aug
13
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A woman reaches for a silver teapot. We only see her hand. DP: Daniel Lacambre.
– Suzanne
“Eh, i sogni a volte insegnano male, Dùnya, perché la verità intera non è mai in un solo sogno, la verità intera è in molti sogni.” Il fiore delle mille e una notte [Arabian Nights] (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1974)
Aug
13
cerulean

The entrance of the Shah Mosque as seen in the film. The seven colours of the tile work are reflected in the extras' costumes. DP: Giuseppe Ruzzolini.
Cerulean, or blue: a building or structure*
One of the many exotic locations is the مسجد شاه, [Masjed-e Shah, or Shah Mosque] in Iran with its otherworldly blue and blue-adjacent tiles.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for August is not date-related but lists, for the most part, the colours of the rainbow.
…und deine Liebe auch [And Your Love Too] (Frank Vogel, 1962)
Aug
13
1961

Eva (Kati Székely). Someone offscreen lits her cigarette. DP: Günter Ost.
Three people must decide what to do on August 13, 1961, the day the Berlin Wall goes up.
“She'd discovered a small beach far from town, with crystal-clear water and pink sand. She loved that spot. The colors of nature were so beautiful, and there was no noise. She'd leave only when the sun did too.” Il deserto rosso [Red Desert] (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1964)
Aug
12
green

Valerio (Valerio Bartoleschi) and his mother Giuliana (Monica Vitti) in an arid industrial landscape. Giuliana wears a brilliant green coat, its shade between pea and moss, depending on the drabness of her surroundings. DP: Carlo Di Palma.
Green, in food or fashion*
– Giuliana
Antonioni's first film in colour beautifully utilises Vitti's brilliance – of her auburn hair, her porcelain teint, her vivid costumes (by Paola Carloni) – against the drab landscape.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for August is not date-related but lists, for the most part, the colours of the rainbow.
“You need more than luck in Shanghai.”The Lady from Shanghai (Orson Welles, 1947)
Aug
9

Elsa Bannister (Rita Hayworth) and husband Arthur Bannister (Everett Sloane) in the dizzying modernist finale. DP: Charles Lawton Jr..
– Elsa Bannister
Domenica d'agosto [Sunday in August] (Luciano Emmer, 1950)
Aug
7
1949

A little boy runs down a Roman street. Superimposed a calendar page: SUNDAY AUGUST 7 S. GAETANO THE SUN RISES AT 5:15 SUNSET AT 19:42 – CRESCENT MOON. “S. Gaetano” refers to Saint Cajetan, who's feast day is on August 7. DPs: Leonida Barboni, Ubaldo Marelli & Domenico Scala.
“Tell me the truth!” Ovoce stromů rajských jíme [We Eat the Fruit of the Trees of Paradise] (Věra Chytilová, 1970)
Aug
6
orange

Eva (Jitka Novákova) devouring oranges under a black umbrella (via). DP: Jaroslav Kučera.
Orange, food or fashion*
– choir
An allegorical, psychedelic retelling of Genesis 3 and the Fall of Man
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for August is not date-related but lists, for the most part, the colours of the rainbow.
“Life has its tricks. Its oddities.”La baie des anges [Bay of Angels] (Jacques Demy, 1963)
Aug
6
mercredi

The bank where Jean Fournier (Claude Mann) works. A wall calendar, slightly tilted, reads Août 6 Mercredi. DP: Jean Rabier.
– Jackie Demaistre
“Today is the first day of a life of sacrifice.” 地獄門 [Jigokumon / Gate of Hell] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1953)
Aug
4
orange

The shrine's torii as seen in the film. Vermilion contains mercury, which not only acts as a preservative but is also believed to ward off evil. DP: Kōhei Sugiyama.
Orange: a building or structure*
– Moritoo Endō
Partially filmed near the 厳島神社 (Itsukushima Shrine) with its striking vermilion torii.
Shot on Eastmancolor, relatively cheap and globally available, and influenced by Hollywood colour melodramas of the time, in particularly Rudolph Maté's Mississippi Gambler (1953) (source), and in its turn greatly influenced the implementation of colour in global cinema to come.
Jigokumon won two Academy Awards in 1955, for Best Costume Design and Best Foreign Language Film.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for August is not date-related but lists, for the most part, the colours of the rainbow.
黒蜥蜴 [Kurotokage / Kuro tokage / Black Lizard] (Kinji Fukasaku, 1968)
Aug
4

The Black Lizard (Akihiro Miwa) in embrace with Detective Akechi (Isao Kimura). DP: Hiroshi Dōwaki.