Carmen, a sultry woman, seduces a young soldier, Joe, in order to avoid imprisonment. However, when she leaves Joe for another man, he seeks revenge.

There’s no sexier pairing in the history of black cinema than Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte. She died tragically young but this performance sees her at her best – vivacious, talented, full of agency and power - Catharine Des Forges

Dorothy Dandridge as Carmen Jones stands right at the top of my list. No compet find out more...

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Delphine and Solange are twins, whose mother owns a cafe around which most of the action takes place, living in the seaside resort of Rochefort. One is a dancer the other a musician and both hope to further themselves and move on from the town. But both fall in love, Delphine with a sailor on shore leave and Solange with an American composer. "The Young Girls of Rochefort" is a lush homage to the heyday of Hollywood musicals, highly enjoyable with wonderful songs, dance and awesome pastel-shaded find out more...

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs might be Japanese filmmaker Mikio Naruse's finest hour, a delicate, devastating study of a woman, Keiko, played heartbreakingly by Hideko Takamine, who works as a bar hostess in Tokyo's very modern post-war Ginza district. Sly, resourceful, but trapped, Keiko comes to embody the conflicts and struggles of a woman trying to establish her independence in a male-dominated society. A profoundly moving masterpiece. find out more...