Shichinin no samurai (1954)

Japanese master director Akira Kurosawa presents Seven Samurai, a 3.5 hour epic film set in 19th century rural Japan.

A peasant village is at the mercy of marauding seasonal thieves, so they hire people of great moral fibre (at least that is their intention) and military prowess to come and protect them.

I really enjoyed this film over 2 nights. The characters were colourful, flawed and unpredictable. The setting was thoroughly original and it was interesting just seeing agrarian Japan.

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The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

I didn't expect to be moved by such an old film that wouldn't be able to support a sci-fi flick with good enough visual effects. I was actually blown away by how much I enjoyed it against my low expectations. I had to watch it because the new 2008 one was in the mail.

A space craft lands in Washington DC. A humanoid alien emerges with a companion giant robot whose eyes can make weapons disappear. The robot is also indestructible. The alien wishes to meet with world leaders from every nation to discuss impending doom. Unfortunately, the world leaders have more important things to do.

Science fiction usually carry some moral weight upon its shoulders. In this case, the impending doom is that because earth has created nuclear weapons and because we continue to be violent with each other, we will ultimately destroy ourselves and our lovely planet.

Another important message in the film is to give voice to children and, women and science who have been traditionally marginalized in issues of war (men, passion/ideology and violence are usually too loud). This was the most impressive aspect of the film for me.

One hilarious part:

Dr. 1: He (the alien) made me feel like a 3rd class witch doctor.

Dr. 2: Have you got a light?

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Alice in Wonderland (1951)

This is a classic standard among Disney's animated features. The music is very old style and resembles the sound of ghosts saying "ooooo." For such an old film, the animation is tremendous!

What struck me as I watched this was that it truly reflected Lewis Carroll's deconstructed postmodern vision - everything is meaningless. 

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Rear Window (1954)

This is a terrifically structured thriller.  L.B. is stranded in his third story courtyard facing apartment after breaking his legs on a photograph reporting job. After observing his neighbours for days, he suspects that a woman has been murdered and he believes he knows who the killer is. L.B.'s beautiful girlfriend is eager to prove how adventurous she is in order to convince him that she is worthy of marriage. Hitchcock locks us in the room as well as we peep into others windows.

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Dial M for Murder (1954)

I got a couple dozen Hitchcock films and this is the first of these that I'm reviewing here. I didn't realize that I had seen the remake The Perfect Murder with Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Viggo Mortensen a few years ago.

Based on a play, Hitchcock shot it like a play almost entirely inside a London apartment - and really like a TV set where you never see the back wall. The camera moves gently and intrusively in long takes through the room letting the characters conceal their deception. And deception is the name of this game. First the adulterous couple, then the scheming murderers, then the police as they try to trap the murderers.

We watch in suspense as plans are foiled and as minutes roll in real time. I've got to add that Grace Kelly is quite the looker, I can see why she became the princess of Monaco.

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