Risky Business

Risky Business, 1983, directed by American filmmaker Paul Brickman

Joel Goodson (Tom Cruise) is an average high school student from the north shore of Chicago whose parents leave town for the first time leaving him in charge of the house. At the encouragement of his best friend Miles (Curtis Armstrong), Joel raids the liquor cabinet, joyrides is father’s Porsche and has an encounter with a call girl, Lana (Rebecca De Mornay). After Lana leaves her manager, Guido (Joe Pantoliano) and Joel accidentally drives his father’s car into Lake Michigan, they both join forces to turn his suburban home in to a bordello for one night, hosting all of Joel’s acquaintances and friends.

This debut feature by director Paul Brickman resembles a teen film masked in satire and fantasy. Like The Graduate before it, Risky Business contemplates teenage expectation, coming of age and the anxieties that come with love, lust and life. With a soundtrack by Tangerine Dream and cinematography by Bruce Surtees, Brickman creates a mood and atmosphere where dreams become reality when individuals are pushed to make them so. Shot on location in Chicago, Illinois, Risky Business features songs by Phil Collins, Prince, Muddy Waters and of course, Bob Seger.

Bleu

Bleu, 1993, directed by Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski

Julie (Juliette Binoche), survives a devastating car accident, but her husband, a famous, nationally renowned composer, and her young daughter do not. She severs all ties with her friends and family, vowing to never "feel love" again. However, as the days and months go by, Julie finds herself surrounded by people and situations that prevent her from forgetting her past. She is haunted by her husbands music and her daughters' memory until she realizes that life and death surround her at all times and until she finds the peace within herself, she will never be free.

Blue is part one of Kieslowski's "Trois Couleurs" trilogy, based around the French Revolutionary ideals, Liberté, égalité, fraternité (Liberty, equality, fraternity). Blue won Best Film, Best Cinematography (Sławomir Idziak) and Juliette Binoche won Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival; the Cesar Award for Best Actress (Juliette Binoche) Best Sound and Best Film Editing and the Goya Award for Best European Film all in 1993.

Saboteur

Saboteur, 1942, directed by British filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock

Aircraft plant worker Barry Kane (Robert Cummings) is wrongfully accused of sabotage that also resulted in the death of his best friend. As fugitive on the run, he "befriends" Pat Martin (Priscilla Lane) who woefully agrees to help. Determined to find the terrorist responsible for the fire (Norman Lloyd), Kane navigates through a series of events (jumping off a bridge to escape the FBI and an encounter with a circus freak show among them) in order to uncover a conspriacy against the United States, and of course, in true Hitchcockian form, also fall in love in the process.

One of Alfred Hitchcock's most overlooked films (his first success in the United States), Saboteur was shot on location in California, Utah and New York City. As always, Hitchcock's signature sytle of suspense, action and humor are on display, including one of the most famous climatic final scenes in cinema history.

Blow Up

Blow Up, 1966, directed by Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni
Set in 1960's swinging London, Thomas (David Hemming) is a famous photographer, making his living off deceiving the homless and shooting beautiful fashion models in designer clothes (Jane Birkin makes a cameo as one of the models). After walking through the park, Thomas photographs a couple. Upon developing the film and enlarging it several times over, he discovers that he may in fact have captured what he believes to be a murder. Blow Up features a soundtrack by Herbie Hancock,images photographerd by the legendary cinematographer Carlo Di Palma and an appearance by the British band The Yardbirds. It also won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival 1967 and contains wonderful location shooting of London circa 1960's.

The Getaway

The Getaway, 1972, directed by American filmmaker Sam Peckinpah
Doc McCoy (Steve McQueen) is released from prison with the help of his wife, Carol (the gorgeous Ali MacGraw), on the condition that he knock off a bank for a cooked politician, Banyon (Ben Johnson). Things don't go according to plan and soon Doc and Carol are being persued by the cops, Banyon's thugs and their accomplice in the caper, Rudy (the creepy Al Lettieri). Shot in-sequence and on location in Texas, director Peckinpah's masterful knack for depicting action, suspense and violence and McQueen and MacGraw's chemistry make "The Getaway" an American cinematic classic in the spirit of Bonnie and Clyde.

Point Blank

Point Blank, 1967, directed by British filmmaker John Boorman.
Walker (Lee Marvin) is doubled-crossed and left for dead on Alcatraz Island by best friend Reese (John Vernon) and his wife Lynne (Sharon Acker) for $93,000. He survives and heads to Los Angeles in search of his money and revenge. With the help of his wife's sister, Chris (the stunning and wonderful Angie Dickenson), Walker breaks down layer by layer each member of the "Organization" in search of retribution. Employing editing techniques and narrative shifts such as flashbacks, flashforwards and dialogue voiceover, as well as a kaleidoscopic color scheme in wide-angle scope, Boorman creates a stunning masterpiece of gangster cinema as art.

La Passion de Jeanne D'Arc

The Passion of Joan of Arc, 1928, directed by Danish filmmaker Carl Theodor Dreyer.
Captured on account of heresy, Joan of Arc (Maria Falconetti in her only film appearance ever) is placed on trial, convicted and is to be burned at the stake. Joan was steadfast in her belief that she was asked by God to fight for France and defeat England. She dressed in men's clothes, cut her hair short, refuesed to leave the battlefield when injured and as a result and was made a political example for doing so. Regarded as one of the first "art films" ever, Dreyer used close-ups and a documentary style approach...in some circles, "La Passion de Jeanne D'Arc" is considered by some to be THE greatest film of all time.