What To Watch Tonight

Three more movie recommendations. All available for instant view on Netflix.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) –
Your silent recommendation for this round is a classic, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Yes, it’s maybe the seminal early Expressionist film, and yes, it’s an important milestone in film history. But more importantly, it’s just so interesting. The twisted, asymmetrical visuals are sort of proto-Burtonesque, and some shots are haunting in how long they stick with you.

The plot has to do with a carnival and a somnambulist, insanity and murder. But really, if you’re into films like, say, Inception, you really need to check out the story in this film and shiver at how prescient it was. I may rewatch this one myself. Also, it’s only 72 minutes, so if you’ve got other things to do, it’s less than 2 episodes of most television dramas – without commercials.

The Third Man (1949) –
Literally one of my very favorite movies. The Third Man never gets old for me. I love its cinematography, and its screenplay, and its kicky little zither theme. I love Joseph Cotton as the protagonist who doesn’t know to quit, and I love the post-war Vienna setting.

It’s based on a Graham Greene novel, and follows Cotton as an unemployed novelist who finds out his friend Harry Lime died under mysterious circumstances. In grand movie tradition, the novelist just has to know what really happened, despite people telling him he might be better off not knowing. Enjoy your first viewing; it’s a movie I’d dearly love to be able to see again for the first time.

Excalibur (1981) –
Though I saw Camelot first, this remains my seminal childhood version of the Arthurian legend. (Funny, because it’s a fairly hard R in both sex and violence, but… whatever.) It’s full of 80s bling and Wagner and very hammy performances from actors great and small.

Highlights include: Gabriel Byre’s Uther, who takes Ygraine while wearing his full plate, and in front of tiny!Morgan. Liam Neeson as a very blustery Gawain. Patrick Stewart. Helen Mirren. And more fog than you can shake a stick at. It may not be a very good movie, but a fun riff on the Camelot legend.

What to Watch Tonight

Three movies available to stream instantly on Netflix.

The Cat and the Canary (1927) –
This is a silent film, so be warned if silents aren’t your thing. But really do consider checking this out. I saw it almost by chance on Turner Classic Movies a few years ago, and loved it. The heirs to a fortune have to spend the night in their dead benefactor’s house; the woman first in line to inherit must be declared of sound mind or she won’t get the money. This is all well and good and just mildly creepy until the family’s lawyer turns up dead and a lunatic escapes from a nearby asylum. (As they do.)

This movie has all kinds of things going for it. It mixes German Expressionism with humor – no, really, it does – and it plays into several solid tropes. The people locked in a mansion together, the maniac on the loose, men trying to manipulate a woman into believing (or having others believe) that she’s crazy… it’s kind of fabulous. The filming is also really impressive for ’27. Very enjoyable.

Murder on the Orient Express (1974) –
The most high-profile film adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel is star-studded in the most classic sense. Everyone is either a high profile movie star (Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Anthony Perkins) or at the very least someone who looks dead familiar (Martin Balsam, Richard Widmark). Albert Finney plays Poirot, and while he will always be Tom Jones in my head, Finney does a great job with the part.

Though the pacing could be better, the film captures the fun who-dunnit feeling of the classic locked room mystery that, for me, is what Christie does best. It is a bit over-acted and broad, but that suits the piece, and it’s a very fun use of a couple hours. It’s self-aware enough not to be pompous, with a solid enough story to keep you hooked.

Ugetsu (1953) –
This Japanese film is perhaps one of the most atmospheric movies I’ve ever seen. My strongest memories of seeing it the first time are of fog and mist weaving in and out of scenes; things dissolve in front of you, and then the scene dissolves in the cinematic sense as well. It’s considered a classic of Japanese cinema, and Kenji Mizoguchi’s direction is masterful.

The movie is based on several short stories, but are framed by two peasants from a farming village. They flee their homes in the late 16th century, as an army sweeps through and subsequently find themselves caught up in all sorts of intrigue and… well, I hesitate to say adventures, but perhaps “events.” The film moves relatively slowly, but takes its time with both the viewer’s gaze and character developments. There’s also a nice supernatural overtone that makes it feel like a story told at a campfire, or late at night. A beautiful film.