Thrift Picks Part 2
🎞️ Hypocrites (1915)
Synopsis: A radical silent film from director Lois Weber, Hypocrites uses allegory and nudity to expose religious and societal double standards.
Fun Fact: One of the first American films to depict full frontal nudity (symbolic, not erotic), it caused major controversy but cemented Weber as a pioneer of early cinema.
🎞️ Eleanor’s Catch (Short Film, 1916)
Synopsis: A lesser-known silent short in which a young woman outsmarts criminals with unexpected bravery and wit.
Fun Fact: Likely a lost or fragmentary film, it’s associated with the early work of female filmmakers or actresses exploring themes of female agency—though details remain scarce due to its obscurity.
🎞️ Waterloo Bridge (1931)
Synopsis: During WWI, a down-on-her-luck chorus girl falls for a soldier, hiding her descent into sex work as they dream of a future together.
Fun Fact: This pre-Code version is much grittier than its 1940 remake; it was long thought lost until rediscovered in the 1970s.
🎞️ Red-Headed Woman (1932)
Synopsis: Jean Harlow stars as a cunning secretary who uses her sexuality to climb the social ladder in this spicy pre-Code comedy.
Fun Fact: Banned in the UK upon release, the film was so provocative it helped inspire the stricter enforcement of the Hays Code just a few years later.
🎞️ Baby Face (1933)
Synopsis: Barbara Stanwyck plays a woman who sleeps her way up the corporate ladder, armed with Nietzschean philosophy and a fierce will to survive.
Fun Fact: Long censored, the uncut version wasn’t rediscovered until 2004 in the Library of Congress. It’s now considered one of the boldest pre-Code films ever made.
🎞️ I Am Waiting (1957)
Synopsis: A former boxer meets a desperate nightclub singer on the run from gangsters, and together they seek redemption in postwar Japan.
Fun Fact: Part of the Nikkatsu Noir wave, this moody Japanese crime drama helped launch Yujiro Ishihara’s stardom and revitalized the noir genre in Japan.
🎞️ Auntie Mame (1958)
Synopsis: When young Patrick is orphaned, he’s sent to live with his wildly eccentric Auntie Mame, whose motto is “Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!”
Fun Fact: Rosalind Russell originated the role on Broadway and carried her tour-de-force performance into this beloved film adaptation—earning an Oscar nomination.
🎞️ Sabita Knife (1969)
Synopsis: A grim noir tale from Japan’s Nikkatsu studio, where a man drawn into a criminal underworld must confront his own violent tendencies.
Fun Fact: Part of Eclipse Series 17: Nikkatsu Noir by Criterion, the film is often overshadowed by its companions but showcases the genre’s stylistic peak in Japan.
Thrifts Picks Part 3
🎞️ La Dolce Vita (1960)
Synopsis: A disillusioned journalist drifts through Rome’s decadent nightlife in search of meaning, love, and something real beneath the glamour.
Fun Fact: Federico Fellini’s masterpiece coined the term paparazzi, inspired by the character Paparazzo—an invasive tabloid photographer.
🎞️ Take Aim at the Police Van (1960)
Synopsis: After a prison transport ambush, a suspended guard turns detective, unraveling a conspiracy that crosses into noir, sex work, and corporate corruption.
Fun Fact: Directed by Seijun Suzuki before his more avant-garde fame, this early film shows flashes of the style that would make him a cult favorite.
🎞️ Zatoichi the Fugitive (1963)
Synopsis: In his fourth outing, the blind swordsman Zatoichi becomes entangled in clan warfare and personal vendettas while fending off bounty hunters.
Fun Fact: This film marked a turning point, deepening Zatoichi’s backstory and emotional complexity—making the series more than just samurai action.
🎞️ Cruel Gun Story (1964)
Synopsis: A recently paroled man is blackmailed into leading a heist but finds himself double-crossed in a tight, brutal noir about fate and betrayal.
Fun Fact: This Nikkatsu Noir entry is a fan favorite thanks to its Western-inspired action scenes and raw pacing—think The Asphalt Jungle in Japan.
🎞️ A Colt Is My Passport (1967)
Synopsis: A hitman on the run after a botched job must outsmart rival gangs in this cool, jazz-scored noir-western hybrid from Nikkatsu.
Fun Fact: Its stylized final shootout—set in a barren landfill—foreshadowed the visual flair of directors like John Woo and Quentin Tarantino.
🎞️ The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
Synopsis: A Confederate farmer turned fugitive seeks revenge and redemption across the post-Civil War frontier in Clint Eastwood’s revisionist Western.
Fun Fact: This was the first film Eastwood directed after firing original director Philip Kaufman—a decision that led to the creation of the Directors Guild’s “Kaufman Rule.”
🎞️ Powaqqatsi (1988)
Synopsis: The second in Godfrey Reggio’s Qatsi Trilogy, this hypnotic visual essay explores how modernization disrupts traditional cultures, particularly in the Global South.
Fun Fact: Philip Glass’s powerful score plays a more foregrounded role here than in Koyaanisqatsi, blending folk instrumentation with minimalist rhythm.
🎞️ Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Synopsis: Francis Ford Coppola’s lush, operatic take on the vampire legend blends Gothic horror with tragic romance, starring Gary Oldman as a sensual, sorrowful Dracula.
Fun Fact: Coppola banned CGI during production—every effect was achieved in-camera, using 19th-century techniques and elaborate stagecraft.
🎞️ Ed Wood (1994)
Synopsis: A loving biopic of Hollywood’s most infamous B-movie director, celebrating his passion and eccentricity despite constant failure.
Fun Fact: Shot in black-and-white, this Tim Burton film won two Oscars—including one for Martin Landau’s uncanny portrayal of Bela Lugosi.
Thrift Picks Part 4
🎞️ Tea with Mussolini (1999)
Synopsis: A group of British expatriate women in Florence navigate love, loss, and loyalty during the rise of fascism and WWII.
Fun Fact: The story is semi-autobiographical, inspired by director Franco Zeffirelli’s childhood and the women who helped raise him—including a character played by Judi Dench.
🎞️ Sex and Lucía (Lucía y el sexo, 2001)
Synopsis: A woman flees to a remote island after the mysterious disappearance of her lover, unraveling their tangled past in this sensual, nonlinear Spanish drama.
Fun Fact: Directed by Julio Medem, the film became a cult favorite for its poetic blend of eroticism, metafiction, and memory.
🎞️ Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Synopsis: A slacker tries to win back his ex and survive the zombie apocalypse—with beer in hand—in this clever British horror-comedy.
Fun Fact: Edgar Wright’s breakout hit kicked off the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy and revitalized zombie films with its blend of heart, laughs, and gore.
🎞️ On a Clear Day (2005)
Synopsis: After being laid off, a working-class Scottish man sets out to swim the English Channel, confronting grief, masculinity, and second chances.
Fun Fact: The film was praised for its quiet strength and features early performances from future stars like Benedict Wong and Peter Mullan.
🎞️ The Wild Blue Yonder (2005)
Synopsis: Werner Herzog fuses found NASA footage, underwater exploration, and Brad Dourif’s monologue as an alien traveler to craft a haunting sci-fi essay film.
Fun Fact: Though fictional, it uses real footage from Antarctica and space missions—blurring the line between documentary and surrealist cinema.
🎞️ Fast & Furious (2009)
Synopsis: Dom and Brian reunite to take down a heroin cartel, revving the franchise into high-octane, globe-trotting territory.
Fun Fact: This fourth entry rebooted the franchise’s tone and continuity, and was the first to bring back the original cast since the 2001 debut.
🎞️ Skin Deep (Aus meiner Haut, 2022)
Synopsis: A couple with a fragile relationship travels to a remote island offering a ritual where participants temporarily swap bodies. Leyla and Tristan’s bond is tested when Leyla thrives in another’s body while Tristan struggles—raising haunting questions about identity, gender, love, and whether the body or soul defines us .
Fun Fact: The film won the Queer Lion at the 2022 Venice Film Festival and has been praised as “an introspective psychological drama about veiled body dysmorphia and the topic of gender identity”.
🎞️ Starring Jerry as Himself (2023)
Synopsis: In this inventive documentary-drama hybrid, an elderly Chinese-American man is recruited by the police to go undercover—or so he believes.
Fun Fact: Directed by his real-life son, the film uses reenactments to explore identity, aging, and how stories are told—blurring truth and performance with heart.
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