Instructional Media Center
Film Guide
Students, staff and faculty top 5 picks
Rebecca Gordon, Reed’s resident film expert. That’s why she gets 10.
10. Freaks - PN1995.9.C512 F743 2004 DVD
“One of us. One of us.” When the MGM studio executives who released this film saw it for themselves they denied ever having allowed it to be made. Marketed as a story “of forbidden love between a woman and a midget,” audiences expecting pre-Code salaciousness were unnerved by the presence of real circus freaks and a story that situated them on the side of angry, neglected humanity.
9. Eyes Without a Face/Les Yeux Sans Visage - PN1995.9.F67 Y94 2004 DVD
Classic French art-horror about a brilliant surgeon, Dr. Genessier, who, with help from his assistant, murders young women in repeated, failed attempts to surgically transplant their faces to the disfigured face of his own daughter Christine.
8. Man with the Movie Camera - PN1995.9.R8 M35 2003 DVD
Brilliant experiment. A cameraman slings a camera over his shoulder and takes motion pictures of Soviet citizens at work and at play, interacting with the machinery of modern life.
7. Land without Bread - DP302.H86 L35 1990z video
“Documentary” by Spanish Surrealist Buñuel about the impoverished people of Las Hurdes, a desolate region of Spain. Watch for the puff of smoke after the narrator says a goat “fell” off the cliff, providing meat for the poor hurdenses.
6. The Sweet Hereafter - PN1997 .S9448 1998 DVD
Devastating and subtle portrait of a small Canadian community wrenched by a schoolbus accident and its aftermath.
5. The Gospel According to St. Matthew - PN1995.9.R4 G37745 2007 DVD
An adaptation of the shortest gospel featuring Jesus Christ as a passionate, angry agitator by a master poet of the cinema who was himself a marxist-Catholic-homosexual-poet, and outsider.
4. Ikiru - PN1997 I38 2006 DVD
Story of Kanji Watanabe, a longtime bureaucrat who has spent his life doing nothing unconventional, until he learns he is dying of cancer and seeks some meaning in life.
3. Touch of Evil - PN1995.9.D4 T6835 2000 DVD
Considered the last film noir of the original cycle, and a perverse masterpiece. Welles plays Hank Quinlan, a corrupt police officer from a small American town just this side of the border. Features Charlton Heston as Miguel Vargas, a Mexican official in the Pan-American Narcotics Investigatory Committee (PANIC).
2. Hiroshima, mon amour - PN1995.9.F67 H57 2003 DVD
A French actress and a Japanese architect meet in Hiroshima and embark on an affair. Using flashbacks and amazing tracking shots, the woman tells of her experiences during the Second World War in France, where she fell in love with a German soldier during the occupation, and the consequences of that love when the war ended. And much more.
1. The Piano - PN1997 .P5356 1999 DVD
Part homage to the Brönte sisters, part fable, part post-colonial feminist screed. Ada, a willful mute woman from Scotland, and her daughter are sent to New Zealand where Ada’s father has arranged a marriage to an English settler. Ada depends on her piano for solace and self-expression, but her new husband sells it to their neighbor, George. Ada must make a bargain with George to retrieve her piano, which leads to horrific emotional violence. Changed the course of feminist film theory if not, sadly, filmmaking.
Ted Davee from AV, Reed’s resident filmmaker – in no particular order
#. Kind Hearts and Coronets - PN1995.9.C55 K563 2006 DVD
Incredibly dry, dark comedy. The best of the Ealing Studios releases. Alec Guiness plays 8 different characters.
#. Stalker - PG3476.S78835 P552 2000 DVD
A sci-fi movie that's not really sci-fi. My favorite Tarkovsky. Great, mesmerizing, and dream-like use of sounds and visuals.
#. Grand Illusion - PN1997 .G74 1999 DVD
Erich von Stroheim is brilliant as the over the top officer from a bygone era of gentlemen soldiers and officers. Great prison escape film.
#. Ikiru - PN1997 I38 2006 DVD
Very touching story about a man that finds out he has stomach cancer and realizes that his life has been a waste and that he has already been dead for years.
#. It's a Gift - PN1997 .I83 1998 video
Another comedy highlighting W.C. Fields distain of family life. I don't care what anyone says. I think it's one of the funniest movies ever.
Jim Holmes, IMC – “Nothing academic here. Pure entertainment!”
1. Harvey - PN1995.9.C55 H379 2000 DVD
Jimmy Stewart plays an alcoholic who's best friend is an invisible 6' rabbit. We all go through that phase at one time or another.
2. Hedwig and the Angry Inch - PN1995.9.M86 H439 2001 DVD
The best rock and roll musical ever. Long story short... botched sex change operation makes for great musical inspiration. The film will always be better than the stage version for the simple fact that Bob Mould played guitar on the recording sessions.
3. Repo Man - PN1997 .R476 2003 DVD
Moderately entertaining movie. Greatest punk rock soundtrack of all time. Seriously, here's the track listing - "Repo Man" Iggy Pop - "TV Party" Black Flag – "Institutionalized" Suicidal Tendencies - "Coup d'Etat" The Circle Jerks - "El Clavo y la Cruz" The Plugz - "Pablo Picasso" Burning Sensations – "Let's Have a War" Fear - "When the Shit Hits the Fan" The Circle Jerks - "Hombre Secreto (Secret Agent Man)" The Plugz [Spanish] – "Bad Man" Juicy Bananas - "Reel Ten" The Plugz.
4. Drugstore Cowboy - PN1997 .D78 1989 video
Portland's most famous director, Gus Van Sant, directs Portland's most infamous movie about a group of drug hustlers in the early 70s. Starring Matt Dillon, Kelley Lynch, and a young Heather Graham, and an old William Burroughs.
5. Boogie Nights - PN1997 .B659 2000 DVD
A relatively unknown director - Paul Thomas Anderson, age 26, put together one of the greatest ensemble casts in recent history. Even Marky Mark was good in this one. Best scene - firecrackers indoors, huge bags of cocaine, a gunfight and "Sister Christian" playing on a totally awesome mix tape. Another great soundtrack.
Rebecca Ok, student – Her top 5 includes exactly 9 or 10 films.
1. Cowboy Bebop - PN1995.9.J3 C69 2002 DVD
I don’t like anime, but I like Cowboy Bebop. Soundtrack is good. If I could be an anime character, I’d be Spike, for sure.
2. The Blue Hour - PN1995.9.G47 B5384 2001 DVD
Only randomly-picked-out German film I’ve ever really liked. The callboy is cute. The chick could do with a makeover or a replacement, but over all, good movie.
3. Strictly Ballroom - PN1997 .S8753 2002 DVD
Gaudy, Australian romance with ballroom dancing. Simply ridiculous and brilliant.
4. The Pianist - PN1997.2 .P53 2003 DVD
I’ve only seen this film once. Super good, but super depressing. I felt guilty eating for a week after viewing it. Occasionally I think about watching it again, but talk myself out of it due to aforementioned resulting guilt.
5. Mostly Martha - PN1995.9.C55 M683 2003 DVD
Drama about a German French chef. Generally good movie. The German sounds beautiful. Every time I watch this I wonder how it is she stays so goddamned skinny being around food all the time. Hollywood made an American version of this with Catherine Zeta-Jones. Don’t watch that shit.
5.1 In the Mood for Love - PN1995.9.C5 H83 2002 DVD
This was recommended by a date. I never finished it, but it led to good things. I’m sure it ends well.
5.2 Best of Youth - PN1995.9.H5 B478 2006 DVD
The longest film I’ve ever sat through. Good though. Diebold (or Wally, I don’t remember which) would recommend it as well.
5.3 Planet Earth - QB631 .P43 1986 video
This is the only documentary on here for a reason, and I don’t watch documentaries. Good for some before-bed not-reading activity. Watch the diaries at the end. They’ll make you feel weak and super-unhardcore.
5.4 Billy Eliot - PN1995.9.D26 B56 2000 video
It’s about a little boy who just wants to dance. Super cute. It goes into the social implications of dancing as well and why his family tends to be unsupportive. It plays with the issues of gender norms and self-determination in a small mining town. The strike scene is intense. However, we only have it on VHS, which is a bummer.
5.5 Harold and Maude - PN1995.9.C55 H3765 2000 DVD
For those with an odd sense of humor.
Brittany Taylor, student – “Judge away. These babies are solid gold”
1. Weekend - PN1995.9.F7 W445 2005 DVD
The longest traffic jam ever, cannibals, French people, the end of bourgeois society, all on a lovely drive through the countryside!
2. Planet Earth - B 631.2 .P536 2007 DVD
Best nature footage ever, sadly no Attenborough.
3. Jamon, Jamon - PN1995.9.S63 J35 2002 DVD
Everyone screws everyone and then there is a fight to the death using ham hocks as weapons.
4. 9 to 5 - PN1995.9.C55 A122 2001 DVD
Workin 9 to 5
What a way to make a livin
Barely gettin by
Its all takin
And no givin
They just use your mind
And they never give you credit
Its enough to drive you
Crazy if you let it
9 to 5, for service and devotion
You would think that i
Would deserve a fair promotion
Want to move ahead
But the boss wont seem to let me in
I swear sometimes that man is out to get me
Mmmmm...
5. Lucía y el sexo - Lucy and sex. - PN1995.9.S8 S49 2003 DVD
It’s Spanish.
Violet Ketskarova, alumna – destined to be Bulgaria’s next great filmmaker
1. Escaflowne - PN1995.9.J38 A54 2000 DVD
Anime series 26 ep. An ordinary high-school girl is suddenly transported to the planet Gaea, where she gets herself involved in a series of adventures, trying to help save a few kingdoms. Second best anime fantasy series after 12th Kingdom I've ever seen. A little bit of everything - battles, blood, princes, fantasy creatures, love, complicated relationships (more than you'd expect from a regular anime). Highly recommend it if you're into fantasy anime.
2. Dangerous Beauty - PN1995.9.H5 D36 1998 DVD
The true story of the woman, a poet and courtesan, who used looks, wit and seduction to defy the conventions of 16th century Venice. The film is entertaining, acting is good, production design is in the time-period. If you feel like an emotional 'love-vs.-reality' Saturday night, that's a good pick. A bit of a tear-jerker, but it's well done.
3. Please Save My Earth - PN1995.9.J38 P5 1994 DVD
Anime. 6 ep. story of a bunch of scientists on a Moon base who die and are reborn on Earth, only to remember that they predicted something terrible is about to happen to Earth. This is one of these anime series -- the more you watch it, the more you discover in it. Intellectually challenging, but worth the effort. And it's beautiful.
4. Mel Brooks' History of the World - PN1995.9.C6 H589 1999 DVD
History of the world by Mel Brooks - it's actual history. with a twist. Better than any Monty Python. Much better than almost any other parody. Purely funny.
5. Night Watch - on order
Russian modern fantasy. Pretty good. The powers of Light and Dark in opposition, as always, but the film is very artistic and it still makes sense. It's also very modern-Russian. For anyone interested in Sci Fi, or Russian culture.
Beka’s “Top Ten IMC Movies I’d recommend if I had seen them”
1. Little Shop of Horrors - PN1997 .L57 1987 video
I still haven’t actually seen this, but a friend whose taste I trust really likes it. It’s on VHS. For serious movie-viewers only.
2. Ma Vie en Rose - PN1995.9.F67 M9 1998 video
Movie about a little boy with gender issues. Why not?
3. FLCL. 1 - PN1995.9.J38 F66 2000 no.1 DVD
Also referred to as “Fooly Cooly.” Enough people have told me about this for me to be interested, but not so interested that I’d sit down and watch it. Like I said, I don’t really like anime. Maybe one day.
4. Regular Lovers - PN1995.9.F74 R458 2007 DVD
The cover is a black and white photo of an attractive bohemian-(in the sense of young people perhaps with some artistic tendencies whose lives are dictated by a sense of alienation and the only solace they have is perhaps that they share this)looking couple with the title in a kooky red font. Set in ‘60s France. I’d watch it if I didn’t have reading to do.
5. Todo sobre mi madre - PN1995.9.S8 T646 2000 DVD
I saw this in a video store with my mother when I was maybe ten. I wanted to watch it, but mi madre didn’t want to. Then again, her favorite thing is romantic comedies and action adventures with attractive leading men.
6. Whole - RC553 .W628 2003 DVD
The first sentence in the catalog summary reads, “A film about otherwise healthy people obsessed with becoming amputees.” Shit sounds fucked up. I may watch that tonight.
7. Jamon Jamon - PN1995.9.S63 J35 2002 DVD
Penelope Cruz and some dude are in the throes of passion on the cover. Why not, right? However, I read the back and apparently there’s some running theme in which food is used as a metaphor for sex or something. That turned me off, but if you’re the kind of person who thinks using a ham shank as a metaphor for breasts is entertaining, go ahead.
8. March of the Penguins - QL696.S473 .M37 2005 DVD
Everyone loved it. They raged. It sat on my floor for three weeks and then I brought it back. Like I said, I don’t do documentaries.
9. The Adjuster - PN1997 A4598 2001 DVD
It was on reserve for Rebecca Gordon’s class. Picking films is what she does.
10. Alley of the Trannyboys - PS3562.E335 A744 1998 video
The IMC has tranny porn! Amazing!
