A.K.A. Serial Killer (1969)

Directed by Masao Adachi
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

A narrator describes the bland facts regarding a young Japanese man who obtained a gun and killed four people. He lived here, he moved there, he got a job, he quit it, etc. The camera peers down depressing back alleys, crowded streets and train stations, small towns overrun by western commercialization (Coke signs are a favorite) and the presence of the American military (the gun was stolen from a Navy serviceman). This works to a point, rather obviously pointing out how the environment influenced the killer. However, it feels like a poorly shot tourist travelogue. We never see the supposed "killer" or any of his victims. Instead, the camera is obsessed with trains, boats, airplanes, bicycles and any other form of transportation. The narration could have been about anything and it would not have mattered. To make matters worse, it is set to a completely inappropriate free jazz soundtrack.

Austeria (1982)

Directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

In the opening days of WWI, an innkeeper shelters fellow Jews who are fleeing the invading Cossacks. At first only a few trickle in, including a family whose teenage daughter has been killed. They reverentially keep her corpse in a back room. Later, a sect of Hasidic Jews and their Rebbe seek shelter. They can barely restrain themselves from breaking out in traditional songs and dances, much to the consternation of the innkeeper who thinks it is not only dangerous but disrespectful to the recently deceased girl. The Cossacks eventually ransack the nearby town and many leave to try to help. The Hasidic Jews, meanwhile, decide to bathe in a nearby river.... An odd film that takes place mostly inside the inn, giving it the feel of a play. It is occasionally interrupted by dream sequences and of course the dancing and singing of the Hasidic sect, which can be overbearing and feels a little stereotyped.

Princess Iron Fan (1941)

Princess Iron Fan DVD

Directed by Wan Guchan and Wan Laiming
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

A fiery mountain in a remote Chinese valley results in drought and other hardships for the local peasants. A monkey king, a pig monk and a stuttering human monk are sent by a spiritual leader to retrieve a magic palm leaf which will extinguish the fire and bring rain. The trio have an assortment of magic powers with which to complete their task, most notably the ability to morph into other animals. They travel to the castle of the princess who has the leaf, but must defeat her husband, the Demon Bull King, who protects her. The first animated feature film from China was influenced by Disney's Snow White and the Fleischer Brother's Popeye and Betty Boop cartoons, including rather strange follow-the-bouncing-ball sing-along segments. It tries to incorporate some eastern religion and politics, unfortunately becoming preachy during those times. The animation is crude, mostly traced rotoscope, but still worth a look for animation buffs.

Blazing Saddles (1974)

Blazing Saddles 40th Anniversary (BD) [Blu-ray]

Warner Bros.
Directed by Mel Brooks
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Warner Bros.)

A corrupt attorney general plans to buy cheap land in a dusty western town when the railroad announces it will be coming through. He sends an inept gang of western stereotypes to scare the townspeople away, but instead they demand that the governor, who is in on the deal with the attorney general, send a sheriff to protect them. He sends convict Cleavon Little, a black man, who is met with incredulity and threats. However, with the help of alcoholic gunslinger Gene Wilder, he surprises everyone with his ingenuity in fighting for the town. Satiric western throws in every gag imaginable, including some interesting fourth wall theatrics, but its crude humor too often resorts to racism and sexism. As a result, it hasn't aged well and makes for an uncomfortable viewing experience for most modern audiences.

The End of the World (1916)

Fotorama (Denmark)
Directed by August Blom
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

A Danish astronomer discovers a comet and predicts it will strike the Earth and cause a disaster. A stockbroker conspires with a politician and newspaper publisher to manipulate the stock market. On the fatal day, the wealthy attend a play while the common people stage a revolution. A few survive to start over. The primitive special effects actually hold up quite well today. Fireworks and flares depict the meteor showers, and actual floods and burned out buildings stand in for the devastation. It often looks more like a European city suffering from the effects of WWI (ongoing at the time) than a worldwide disaster, for which it is an obvious metaphor.

Datai (1966)

Wakamatsu Production (Japan)
Directed by Masao Adachi
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

A gynecologist decides the answer to the problem of unwanted pregnancies is an artificial placenta. He creates one in the back room of his clinic, then uses the living fetus from one of his patients to see if it works. The whole story is told in flashback, since he ends up in jail when the authorities discover it. A poor excuse for an exploitation flick, complete with real human birth footage, sex education diagrams and young women getting naked for their procedures. Classical music tries but fails to give it an air of respectability.

Mongo's Back in Town (1971)

Mongo's Back In Town DVD

CBS
Directed by Marvin Chomsky
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, CBS/Create Space)

Joe Don Baker is a hit man hired by his brother to kill a rival gang member. He gets involved with runaway teen Sally Field, hoping to make it big in LA but finding herself abused instead. Telly Savalas is a police detective hot on his trail, looking and acting very much like his Kojak character which was still 2 years away. Moodily photographed, very often in driving (if faked) rain, accompanied by a downbeat, synthesizer soundtrack; an effective combination especially considering this was made for TV. Joe Don Baker alone would be enough to give it a look, but also features Martin Sheen and Anne Francis in supporting roles!

Heaven and Earth Magic (1962)

Directed by Harry Smith
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Cut-out animated photographs of objects and people, arranged and re-arranged in endless possibilities. Dental instruments pop up with regularity, as do cats, dogs, a watermelon, a skeleton, an umbrella, well, you get the idea. Watching all of the various combinations becomes a bit hypnotic after awhile, but with no plot, no soundtrack (only sound effects as random as the objects) and no characters with which to gain some kind of grounding, it's simply a collection of random objects.

A Spring for the Thirsty (1965)

Directed by Yuri Ilyenko
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Past and present blur for an elderly man in rural Russia. He remembers his young wife, his children and his military service in the war. Many events take place around a well on his property, drawing people from miles around. He builds a coffin and begins to sleep in it, tired of life. A pregnant relative visits, completing the cycle of life and death. It is beautifully filmed in black and white on expansive landscapes. However, lacks a coherent plot, and other than the old man, characters are underdeveloped.

Personel (1975)

Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

A young man gets a job as a tailor at a state run theater. He works with the laborers backstage, but secretly wishes he was with the artists rehearsing for the next production. One day a lead actor berates one of the other tailors about his costume in front of everyone on stage. The laborers meet and discuss what to do about it at a rambunctious meeting. Later, he is called into the ornate office of an executive and asked to lie about the details of his friends confrontation. Uneasy mix of political allegory and backstage drama from the famous Polish director is one of his earliest dramas. It was made for TV, which might explain the attempt to veil the politics. The end result is rather talky and unsatisfying, but still worth a look for Kieslowski fans.

La Salamander (1971)

Forum Films (France)
Directed by Alain Tanner
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

A writer and his friend decide to make a screenplay based on a real life incident they hear about. A young woman is accused of shooting her uncle, but she claims it was an accident. They befriend her with the intention of interviewing her, but become entranced by her beauty and rebellious lifestyle. Interesting character study carried almost completely by Bulle Ogier as the young woman, just don't expect much in the way of plot.

Charles, Dead or Alive (1969)

New Yorker Films
Directed by Alain Tanner
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

A successful businessman suffering a mid life crisis holes up anonymously in a Geneva motel room. After a few days his family reports him missing. He spends his time sleeping and getting drunk. He befriends a young couple in a cafe and they drive to their remote country house. They invite him to stay awhile and helps paint signs and cooks for them. His teenage daughter occasionally visits and she talks about her involvement with local political activists. His family eventually catches up to him and he is taken away to a mental hospital. Talky and politically dated, but still manages to address the timeless themes of the value and meaning of life in the modern world.

End of the Road (1970)

End Of The Road DVD

Allied Artists
Directed by Aram Avakian
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Warner Bros.)

New college grad Stacy Keach has a "catatonic episode" on a railway station platform. Outrageous "doctor" James Earl Jones taunts him out of his stupor, then supervises his "recovery" at his asylum. He is subjected to visual and aural sensory overload in a special room. After regaining some semblance of sanity, he takes a job teaching English at a local college. He is befriended by another professor and his wife, with whom he becomes involved in an adulterous affair. She becomes pregnant and demands an abortion, performed by his former psychiatrist, leading to tragedy. Cult item broke many Hollywood barriers, for better or worse, including a long, graphic abortion. However, it succeeds in capturing the feel of the times, both intellectually and emotionally, which few films can claim.

Red Heroine (1929)

Directed by Yimin Wen
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

A woman agrees to become the concubine of an invading army's leader when he falsely arrests her father for treason. She eventually escapes and with the help of her brother, a wandering hermit and a flying superhero-woman takes revenge. Pure escapist entertainment overcomes a confusing plot and absolutely horrible English inter-titles. Raised to another level entirely by a modern soundtrack by the Devil Music Ensemble perfectly synched to the on-screen action. Originally part of a longer serial, apparently now lost.

The War Wagon (1967)

The War Wagon (Blu-ray + DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet)

Universal Pictures
Directed by Burt Kennedy
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Universal)

Rancher John Wayne, just released from prison for a crime he didn't commit, returns to his dusty western town where he plans to rob the man who framed him. He gets help from gunslinger Kirk Douglas, in a delicious nasty role complete with leather shirt, and wisecracking Indian Howard Keel. Their target is a converted stagecoach, complete with a Gatling gun and steel frame and guarded by about dozen men on horseback, loaded with bags of gold dust. It doesn't go as planned. Fairly predictable western, loaded down with dated 60s sexism. John Wayne appears to be going through the motions in one of his most forgettable roles.

It Happened Here (1965)

It Happened Here DVD

Lopert Pictures
Directed by Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

In an alternative history, the Nazi's win WWII and occupy England. There is an active underground resistance, but one nurse decides to make the best of the situation and takes a job as a "black shirt" and works for the regime. She is subject to intense propaganda and eventually buys into it. While visiting some old friends she reluctantly agrees to help them with an injured resistance member. Her superiors find out and transfer her to a "hospital" where forced euthanasia is used on immigrants. She protests but is arrested and joins the resistance. A low budget helps gives this an authentic, documentary feel, replicated newsreels are especially effective, but the acting, mostly amateurs, suffers.

Black Snow (1965)

Kokuei Company (Japan)
Directed by Tatsuji Takechi
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

A teenager works as a "houseboy" at a hotel/brothel for American GI's. He gets involved with local gangsters and murders one of the brothel's customers whom he had spied on earlier with his mother (one of the prostitutes). He steals a gun, which becomes a sort of sexual crutch. He falls in love with a virginal local girl and seduces her in a public cinema. Later, he uses the gun to commit matricide. He is arrested and executed by firing squad. Controversial film landed the director in Japan's first obscenity trial, but he was acquitted. It has lost some of its punch today, but still a virile piece of post WWII anti-Americanism.

Killer by Night (1972)

Killer By Night DVD

CBS
Directed by Bernard McEveety
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, CBS/CreateSpace)

Robert Wagner is a doctor tasked with trying to stop a diphtheria epidemic from getting out of control. He butts heads with police captain Greg Morris, who is more concerned about a series of robberies that has resulted in the deaths of some of his officers. The two plot lines converge when it turns out a homeless man with homicidal tendencies is also "patient zero" in the diphtheria epidemic. Potentially interesting mix of genres, disaster and police procedural, too often succumbs to TV-movie cliches, especially in the time consuming romantic subplot between Wagner and co-worker Diane Baker, but still manages to be engaging.

The Doll (1962)

Film AB Corona (Sweden)
Directed by Arne Mattsson
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Night watchman Per Oscarsson steals a mannequin from a department store and takes it back to his small boardinghouse room. He dotes on it, sleeps with it and talks to it, all in an effort to relieve his overpowering loneliness. Soon, he imagines that it comes to life. At first she is devoted totally to him but over time starts to make demands. His talking while supposedly alone gets the attention of others in the house. Virtuoso performance by Oscarsson overcomes unusual subject matter. Gio Petre is convincing as the living doll.

A Lovely Way to Die (1968)

Kirk Douglas: The Centennial Collection DVD

Universal Pictures
Directed by David Lowell Rich
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Universal)

Police detective Kirk Douglas takes a job as bodyguard to wealthy beauty Sylva Koscina. When she is accused of killing her much older husband, Kirk thinks she is guilty. He manages to seduce her one night anyway and she convinces him of her innocence. He uses his detective skills to help her prove it. Some dated psychedelic dancing and Sylva's omnipresent figure provide most of the entertainment.

The Master Touch (1972)

The Master Touch DVD

National General Pictures
Directed by Michele Lupo
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

Safe cracker Kirk Douglas, fresh out of prison, is recruited by his old boss for one more big heist. Douglas, reluctant at first, decides the payout is worth the risk, but only if he does it his way. He recruits amateurs, including his girlfriend and a trapeze artist, to help him. There is a good car chase through the streets of Berlin. The break-in takes up the final half hour or so and there is an unexpected plot twist. Very good of its kind, but in desperate need of a full restoration and rescue from the public domain.

For Love or Money (1963)

Kirk Douglas: The Centennial Collection DVD

Universal-International
Directed by Michael Gordon
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Universal)

Lawyer Kirk Douglas his promised a large sum of money if he can arrange the marriages of the three daughters of a wealthy client to the men of her choice. Kirk, something of a playboy, finds himself in a series of compromising situations with the three beauties. He falls in love with the oldest, Mitzi Gaynor, while still trying to set her up with his best friend to fulfill the contract. It's a silly, predictable, dated 60s sex comedy, notable mainly for its cast, including future Catwoman Julie Newmar, here a health food/physical fitness nut.