The Rough Guide to Media Movies
The Rough Guide to Cult Movies is my rough guide to DVD hunting. Here are the recommended movies listed under “Media” that newsreaders, cynical provincial correspondents and despondents should watch:
Ace In the Hole (1951) directed by Billy Wilder and starring Kirk Douglas and Jan Sterling. Douglas is washed-up reporter Charles Tatum who milked the story of a man trapped in a cave.
The Agronomist (2003) directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jean Dominique. Yes, this is the docu on Dominique, the Haitian broadcaster assassinated in 2000. This is the journalist who defied the big guns of Haiti. 'Any doubt? Not the shadow of the doubt. Not a shadow. I am sure. I am positive. Jonathan, you cannot kill the truth. You cannot kill justice. You cannot kill what we are fighting for. Participation of the citizens through the community business' That's the agronomist for you.
All The President’s Men (1976) directed by Alan Pakula and starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Washington Post’s dynamic duo who brought down Richard Nixon’s administration.
Citizen Kane (1941) The best movie according to AFI. From Rough Guide, I learned about the new term, “emotional chronology.”
Disparen a Matar (1992) directed by Carlos Azpurua starring Amalia Diaz and Jean Carlo Simancas. This is about Venezuelan politics. In this political thriller, an entire neighborhood in a poor section of Caracas has been subjected to a house-to-house, room-to-room search by the police. Why? Because poor people are criminals, and if they're not, they're in no position to protest. It's a chance to make some arrests and close some cases. Plus, it is a surefire cure for police boredom. Fun, too. In this case, it winds up being lethal fun, when the police fearlessly shoot an unarmed man in front of his mother. Like many other powerless people in similar situations, she is prepared to accept what has happened, but when she learns that the police have told the press that he was a ferocious criminal it is more than she can stand. She tells her story to a reporter, who gets the story investigated. This prompts the police to murder a witness and attempt to silence the boy's mother and the reporter. Azpurua also directed Almanecio de Golpe about his country’s military coup in 1992.
La Dolce Vita (1960) directed by Fellini. This is where paparazzi came from. Robert Altman said this movie changed his life. Maybe it will do the same to you, too.
My Favourite Year (1982) directed by Richard Benjamin. Mrk Linn-Baker as a young TV writer babysitting Peter O’Toole as an aging movie star.
Network (1976) directed by Sidney Lumet with Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and William Holden.
Shock Corridor (1963) directed by Sam Fuller. A newspaper reporter (Peter Breck) fakes madness to enter an asylum to win a Pulitzer and indeed became mad.
Talk Radio (1988) Oliver Stone directing Eric Bogosian.
Tout Va Bien (1972) directed by Jean Luc Godard with Jane Fonda as TV reporter and Yves Montand as her producer. A Marxist movie? A Marxist parody?
The Truman Show (1998)
Ace In the Hole (1951) directed by Billy Wilder and starring Kirk Douglas and Jan Sterling. Douglas is washed-up reporter Charles Tatum who milked the story of a man trapped in a cave.
The Agronomist (2003) directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jean Dominique. Yes, this is the docu on Dominique, the Haitian broadcaster assassinated in 2000. This is the journalist who defied the big guns of Haiti. 'Any doubt? Not the shadow of the doubt. Not a shadow. I am sure. I am positive. Jonathan, you cannot kill the truth. You cannot kill justice. You cannot kill what we are fighting for. Participation of the citizens through the community business' That's the agronomist for you. All The President’s Men (1976) directed by Alan Pakula and starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Washington Post’s dynamic duo who brought down Richard Nixon’s administration.
Citizen Kane (1941) The best movie according to AFI. From Rough Guide, I learned about the new term, “emotional chronology.”
Disparen a Matar (1992) directed by Carlos Azpurua starring Amalia Diaz and Jean Carlo Simancas. This is about Venezuelan politics. In this political thriller, an entire neighborhood in a poor section of Caracas has been subjected to a house-to-house, room-to-room search by the police. Why? Because poor people are criminals, and if they're not, they're in no position to protest. It's a chance to make some arrests and close some cases. Plus, it is a surefire cure for police boredom. Fun, too. In this case, it winds up being lethal fun, when the police fearlessly shoot an unarmed man in front of his mother. Like many other powerless people in similar situations, she is prepared to accept what has happened, but when she learns that the police have told the press that he was a ferocious criminal it is more than she can stand. She tells her story to a reporter, who gets the story investigated. This prompts the police to murder a witness and attempt to silence the boy's mother and the reporter. Azpurua also directed Almanecio de Golpe about his country’s military coup in 1992.La Dolce Vita (1960) directed by Fellini. This is where paparazzi came from. Robert Altman said this movie changed his life. Maybe it will do the same to you, too.
My Favourite Year (1982) directed by Richard Benjamin. Mrk Linn-Baker as a young TV writer babysitting Peter O’Toole as an aging movie star.
Network (1976) directed by Sidney Lumet with Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and William Holden.
Shock Corridor (1963) directed by Sam Fuller. A newspaper reporter (Peter Breck) fakes madness to enter an asylum to win a Pulitzer and indeed became mad.
Talk Radio (1988) Oliver Stone directing Eric Bogosian.
Tout Va Bien (1972) directed by Jean Luc Godard with Jane Fonda as TV reporter and Yves Montand as her producer. A Marxist movie? A Marxist parody? The Truman Show (1998)
posted by Unknown at 12:42 PM
2 Comments:
Hi Frank
You may want to also pick up the Scarecrow Movie Guide as another reference if you're in a DVD buying mood.
http://www.scarecrow.com/sales/item.asp?ProductID=002928
Scarecrow has built it's reputation as a Seattle institution by amassing an impressive collection of DVDs and VHS tapes. Their collection of motion pictures are given a brief description in the film guide. The book is also divided into different subgenres so that you could easily peruse that psychotronic horror musical you've always wondered about.
youre so right!!!!
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