David Lean's epic romance set against the turbulant backdrop of the Russian revolution. One man's struggle for moral political and personal survival amidst the complex web of intrigue and tangled loyalties that accompanied the fall of the Tsar.
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HEAVEN'S GATE (1980)
Certification18 Our Rating
Internationally acclaimed, but one of the biggest and most expensive box-office flops in movie history. As the rich cattle barons legally kill the poor immigrant farmers who have taken to illegal rustling to feed their starving families, the local law can only uneasily enforce what has become a mockery, or lapse into alcoholism. Moral compromise on a national scale is in question here and the US media hated this film. A portrayal of the problems faced by the first European immigrants in the Wyom
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ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
CertificationPG Our Rating
Winner of 8 Oscars, this is the story of a misfit who challenges the power of the tough New York Longshoremen's Union. Steiger plays his brother, caught between divided loyalties, and Eve Marie Saint plays the woman he falls in love with. Highly recommended viewing despite its political premises. NB the special pleading on behalf of informers, deriving presumably from the fact that Kazan and Schulberg named names during the McCarthy witch-hunts.
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THE CRANES ARE FLYING (1957)
CertificationPG Our Rating
Set during WW2; Veronica is madly in love with her fiancé, Boris, who departs for the front to do his patriotic duty. The story unravels to depict a poignant portrayal of blameless individuals doing their best to survive the travails of tragedy and hardship in the face of such an all consuming conflict. The compelling narrative is complemented by stunning black and white cinematography and the film deservedly won the Cannes Palme d'Or in 1958, reintroducing Soviet cinema to the Western world.
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