General Discussion : MOM October 2010

[Hopscotch]

Street Angel (1928)
Art/Acclaimed Category



Plot Synopsis: In Naples, where prostitutes can pay their rent, Angela is sentenced to a year in the workhouse when she tries to steal (while streetwalking) to pay for medicine for her dying mother. She escapes and is hidden by a circus, where she's a natural talent and meets Gino, a painter. When she breaks her ankle in a fall, her career ends. What can she and Gino do? He wants to go to Naples, but the law may still be looking for her, and Gino doesn't know about her past.

Directed By: Frank Borzage
Written By: H.H. Caldwell, Katherine Hilliker
Starring: Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, Alberto Rabagliati, Cino Conti, Guido Trento, Henry Armetta
Criticker Reception: 12 ratings; avg tier 8.42
Availability: Netflix

IMDB Review Excerpt: One of three famous late silent movies starring Janet Gaynor (the others were "Sunrise" and "Seventh Heaven"), it's an ultra-romantic melodrama with enormous power. Frank Borzage, a specialist in this kind of film, pulls out all the stops to make this seem almost like an other-worldly fable; the story is painted in broad brush strokes, and the plot has a few echoes of "Les Miserables." (cygnus58)

[Hopscotch]

Lack of availability and a mistake by me has disqualified it from MOM status.

Streetsweeper (2007)
Art/Acclaimed Category



Plot Synopsis: The streetsweeper is a loner who finds poetry in the ordinary... The Streetsweeper is a languid off-beat 75 minute feature film. A portrait of an urban Australian landscape as seen through the keen eyes of an eccentric pedestrian: inspired by the great "street films" of Antonioni, Godard, Jarmusch, Kiarostami, Linklater, Tati, Vertov & Wenders.

Directed By: Neil Mansfield
Written By: Marin Mimica, Neil Mansfield
Starring: Marin Mimica
Criticker Reception: 4 ratings; avg tier 8.25
Availability: N/A

IMDB Review Exceprt: I saw this film at the Cinewest at Sydney Olympic Park in the flexiff 2002-2020 film festival. I was the only one in the audience. The setup for this film festival was not the greatest with the picture being projected off the screen, lights not being able to be turned off and the sound being played through some computer speakers. This was unfortunate because the look of this film is amazing. I loved so many of the shots in this film; the look of them was incredible. The composition and aesthetics of the shots were awesome. The film was also very enjoyable because I could recognise locations throughout the film. I thought the cinematography was great and had a gritty feel to it which i liked. (dreadlocks1407)

[Hopscotch]

100 Monsters (1968)
B-Movie/Niche Genre Category



Plot Synopsis: A crooked Shrine Magistrate and a greedy developer scheme to evict residents from an apartment building and demolish the adjoining shrine, forcing the townspeople into submission. When the apartment owner attempts to reclaim the property, he is murdered, and a masterless samurai with deep secrets steps into the fray. The situation in the human world is definitely awry, and as in the past, the Yokai (Spirit Monsters) must take action to correct the wrongs.

Directed By: Kimiyoshi Yasuda
Written By: Tetsuro Yoshida
Starring: Jun Hamamura, Shozo Nanbu, Miwa Takada, Jun Fujimaki, Mikiko Tsubouchi, Ryutaro Gomi, Yoshio Yoshida, Takashi Kanda, Shinobu Araki, Masaru Hiraizumi, Tatsuo Hananuno, Shozo Hayashiya
Criticker Reception: 4 ratings; avg tier 6.75
Availability: Netflix

IMDB Review Excerpt: This is one of the three great Japanese Yokai movies that ADV has released. All the monsters in it are based on Japanese folklore and traditional art. It isn't as silly as "Spook Warfare" (Yôkai daisensô), which was more of a kids comedy, but it is still a lot of fun and has some genuinely creepy moments. The plot is about a wicked developer who is brutally trying to drive people out of an apartment building and destroy a nearby shrine. Of course this makes the the Yokai monsters angry and they retaliate. Movies like this are almost as much about the monsters though as the plot. Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters has some funny monsters and great costumes for a 60's Japanese monster flick. I recommend it. (incrediblemeltingman)

[Hopscotch]

The Short Films

Experiments in the Revival of Organisms (1940)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap1co5ZZHYE
Criticker Reception: 4 ratings; avg tier 8
Directed By: D.I. Yashin


Jammin' The Blues (1944)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzBLMvFIoHM&feature=related
Criticker Reception: 9 ratings; avg tier 8
Directed By: Gjon Mili


Sirene (1968)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZTfPegmGQU
Criticker Reception: 6 ratings; avg tier 7.33
Directed By: Raoul Servais

[KGB]

Anybody has an idea where the three feature films can be seen other than Netflix?

[Hopscotch]

Anybody has an idea where the three feature films can be seen other than Netflix?

Yes! I forgot I was going to ask. If somebody knows please post it.

[TheDenizen]

Anybody has an idea where the three feature films can be seen other than Netflix?

Do you torrent? I downloaded 100 Monsters from cinemageddon.net last week (they have all 3 films of the Yokai monsters series)....doing some searching reveals they have Street Angel available as well. No luck on Streetsweeper, though.

[KGB]

Anybody has an idea where the three feature films can be seen other than Netflix?

Do you torrent? I downloaded 100 Monsters from cinemageddon.net last week (they have all 3 films of the Yokai monsters series)....doing some searching reveals they have Street Angel available as well. No luck on Streetsweeper, though.

Sweet, I just managed to sign up on Cinemageddon. Demonoid is no good when it comes to films, but this place looks awesome.

[TheDenizen]

I've pimped that website in so many places, but it really is the shit if you like cult cinema. They specialize in foreign, bizarre, and obscure titles...but also have a big collection of Pre-Code Hollywood stuff as well. Enjoy.

[KGB]

I've pimped that website in so many places, but it really is the shit if you like cult cinema. They specialize in foreign, bizarre, and obscure titles...but also have a big collection of Pre-Code Hollywood stuff as well. Enjoy.

I just found the 'Only the Strong' OST, I should be kissing your feet by now. Although on a more related note, 'Street Angel' has no seeds and I'm not sure I'll even be able to watch some of these. Maybe next month availability should be made a priority.