Man With A Movie List

Director: Sergei Eisenstein Year: 1944 I have great admiration for Eisenstein's early films, and their distinct non-Western communalist style. His later films, with their integration of distinct characters, don't work quite as well for me.  It's hard at the beginning of this film to recognize which characters are important - since the camera moves back and forth quickly, with frequent dialogue meant to establish communal opinions, it takes a while for me at least to recognize the main leads. Combined with the often glacial pacing, this was a difficult watch for me. Nevertheless, the always excellent cinematography leads to a fever-dream atmosphere that I appreciated (it's a dangerous film to watch in an anxious state) and the characteristic symbolism makes it possible to follow on a subconscious level, even if it's not clear what's going on in terms of events. I am looking forward to Part II to get a better analysis.

Director: Otto Preminger Year: 1944 - Laura  continues some of the noir trends of the era, especially with its brick-wall male lead who calls women "dames", but it's probably more worthwhile for being the first fun mystery film on the list. None of the suspects have an ounce of subtlety, but the acting is strong, and it's hard not to like Dana Andrews as the gruff detective who can't stop playing his little baseball marble game. Clare and I had a lot of fun watching this, and it did keep us guessing.

Director: Billy Wilder Year: 1944 - This is the film that cemented the American noir tradition. Unlike the French films that came before it, American noirs seem a little de-fanged. They have great atmosphere, excellent acting (although none of the American leads, even Bogart, are in the same lead as Jean Gabin in my opinion), and exquisite pacing, but so far they're a bit colder and with less pathos. Double Indemnity  is a fun film, and Barbara Stanwyck knows how to underplay her character in the right ways. It's comfort food, despite the sexism baked in to the genre.