Foreign Classics

Bernardo Bertolucci's 255-minute 1900 was a gargantuan undertaking, requiring the resources of three European countries and a trio of American movie studios. Set in the Italian town of Parma, the film's continuity backtracks from Liberation Day in 1945 to the occasion of composer/patriot Giuseppe Verdi's death in 1901. We follow the lives of two men born on that day in 1901, who grow up to be Alfredo Berlinghieti (Robert De Niro) and Olmo Dalco (Gérard Depardieu). Wealthy Alfredo sinks into dissipation, while poverty-stricken Olmo becomes a firebrand labor leader and communist. After WWI, Alfredo is allowed to peacefully retain his land holdings by playing nice with the burgeoning fascists; Olmo, on the other hand, engages in a long-standing battle against the minions of Mussolini. The two protagonists are reunited when Alfredo returns to Parma to preside over Olmo's trial for "political crimes." Co-star Burt Lancaster is cast as Alfredo's wealthy grandfather, who hates to see the old values buried beneath the social travails of the 20th century. Many American prints of 1900 were shortened to 243 minutes, rendering the story hard to follow at times. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Anne Boleyn(Henny Porten) is coveted by King Henry VIII (Emil Jannings) when he tires of Queen Katherine. The ruler desires an heir to the throne, and Katherine has not provided one. Henry goes against the wishes of the pope, divorces Katherine, and forms the Church of England. Sir Henry Norris (Paul Hartmann) is her jealous boyfriend who leaves when he suspects Anne and the King of having an affair. A spectacular crowd scene is the marriage of Anne and Henry at the Cathedral and the sumptuous festivities that followed. Henry's attentions turn to Lady Seymour after Anne bears the child that would be Queen Elizabeth. Boleyn is tortured and confesses to infidelity before being sentenced to death by the pompous monarch. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Chen Haw directs Chang Hung Lear, Kam Lung, and Pan Yin Zie in the Hong Kong action film The Bone Crushing Kid. Sung is a young man who is ambitious to make his name in a theatrical troupe. The leader of the troupe is unimpressed with Sung. Sung responds by studying kung fu and becoming more aggressive in his attempts to be the best. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

This upbeat adventure tells a lively tale -- devoid of sex and violence -- that the whole family can enjoy. The fairy-tale begins as the beautiful Ana abruptly changes her mind about marriage while standing at the alter of a Caracas church, and boards a flight to Paris carrying only a small suitcase and her favorite poster of Maria Callas. She ends up in a tiny apartment filled with other illegal South American immigrants, one of whom is the strong-willed, self-absorbed video artist Celeste. Ana, who dreams of becoming a famous singer like Callas, soon begins studying voice with an aged Russian gentleman. In another part of town, a filmmaker searches the city for a singer to assume the lead in his forthcoming film version of Rossini's "Cinderella." Ana is at a cafe one day when a gay waiter uses his psychic powers to predict that great things will happen to her. Ana then makes friends with a moody psychiatrist. Behind it all, an African sorcerer works potent magic of his own. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Instead of simply traveling to eastern Siberia to collect a modern art collection willed to him by a forgotten uncle, Daniel (Jerome Koenig), who runs an art gallery in Paris, decides (for reasons which are never explained) to bring a ten-foot long hand along with him. It is perhaps a portion of a huge sculpture of a golem (an artifical being dicussed in Jewish legends). Thus, instead of flying to Vladivostok, he rents a truck in St. Petersburg and drives across Russia. Along the way, he drops hints about a short-lived experiment in social engineering: Birobidjian, an autonomous region created in Siberia in 1928 especially for Jews. Hanna Schygulla, who starred in the first film of this trilogy, also makes a brief appearance in this, the second. Sam Fuller, a pet of the European filmmaking community, also makes a brief appearance. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This animated Japanese film is a dark, adult-oriented thriller. A peace treaty between the Earth and the Black World, a parallel universe of spider-like aliens is coming to an end. Two cops, Taki, a human male, and Maki, a female alien, are assigned to protect a diplomat who will help secure another treaty. A radical group of aliens from the Black World are out to assassinate the diplomat and prevent the treaty; only the bond that forms between the two cops can save the Earth from destruction. Sex is strongly associated with violence in many graphic scenes; although this is intended to play a symbolic role, this theme is used excessively. The story is effective, but the film is definitely not for children or anyone easily offended.
~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide

Jackie Chan returns to his adventuring Indiana Jones-esque Asian Hawk character with this rollicking action-adventure yarn. In this go-around, Jackie (aka the Asian Hawk) is looking for 240 tons of gold stolen by the Nazis and buried beneath the Sahara. Along the way, he teams up with a stuck-up archeologist named Ada (Carol Cheng), a Japanese tourist named Momoko (Shoko Ikeda), and Elsa (Eva Cobo De Garcia), the granddaughter of the Nazi captain who originally hid the booty. Opposing them is various groups of blackguards and mercenaries along with Adolf (Aldo Sanbrell) -- the last surviving soldier from the original company -- who is hell-bent on getting the gold himself. Soon, two of Jackie's companions find themselves sold into slavery while Jackie battles the baddies in a massive WWII-era wind tunnel. This film ran 100 percent over Chan's already lavish -- by Hong Kong standards -- budget, making it one of the most expensive films that industry has ever produced. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Internationally famed action star Jackie Chan tones down his usual martial arts pyrotechnics for a more traditionally dramatic role in this police drama. Crime Story finds Chan portraying a Hong Kong police detective, an honest cop guilt-ridden over his participation in a recent shoot-out. He is absolved of wrong-doing by the force, however, and assigned to protect a major real estate developer. Despite Chan's best efforts, though, the man under his care is soon kidnapped. The criminals demand millions in payment from the developer's wife, and Chan takes it upon himself to try and foil their plot and rescue the developer. His job is made more difficult by the fact that his new partner on the case, an esteemed detective, is secretly in cahoots with the criminals. Though there are a number of martial arts sequences near the film's climax, much of the action is more typical of Hollywood than Hong Kong, consisting of shoot-outs, explosions, and extended car chases. The ample amount of blood and the overall gritty tone combines with Chan's restrained performance to create a darker experience than most other Chan films familiar to American audiences. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Beth (Judith Godreche) is nearly an adult and has lived a fairly grim and unenchanting life. This is mirrored in her attraction to the similarly grim life and morose works of Arthur Rimbaud, about which she has become a quite noteworthy student. She lives at home with her mother and a younger brother. Her mother is the mistress of a wealthy man they have been taught to call "uncle," and he has paid for their apartment all these years. Now that Beth is a lovely woman in her own right, "uncle" has indicated that he would like to transfer his attentions to her, which it not something that is agreeable to her. Meanwhile, her teen-aged boyfriend has begun making unreasonable demands on her, and she is trying to break up with him. In the three days covered by this drama, Beth's life is transformed. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Fritz Lang's classic early talkie crime melodrama is set in 1931 Berlin. The police are anxious to capture an elusive child murderer (Peter Lorre), and they begin rounding up every criminal in town. The underworld leaders decide to take the heat off their activities by catching the child killer themselves. Once the killer is fingered, he is marked with the letter "M" chalked on his back. He is tracked down and captured by the combined forces of the Berlin criminal community, who put him on trial for his life in a kangaroo court. The killer pleads for mercy, whining that he can't control his homicidal instincts. The police close in and rescue the killer from the underworld so that he can stand trial again in "respectable" circumstances. Some prints of the film end with a caution to the audience to watch after their children more carefully. Filmed in Germany, M was the film that solidified Fritz Lang's reputation with American audiences, and it also made a star out of Peter Lorre (previously a specialist in comedy roles!). M was remade by Hollywood in 1951, with David Wayne giving a serviceable performance as the killer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The diva of the title is a famous black opera singer (Wilhelmina Wiggins-Fernandez) who steadfastly refuses to be recorded. The singer is idolized by young French mail-carrier Jules (Frederic Andrei), who sneaks a tape recorder into the theater and records her performance. This is witnessed by a pair of Taiwanese criminals, who unlike Andrei wish to profit from the bootlegged recording. They begin to pursue the boy, as do a couple of home-grown hooligans who believe that Jules is in possession of some murder evidence. The serpentine plot leads to a warm friendship between Jules and the reclusive diva - and to a brilliantly photographed (by Philipe Rousselot) motorcycle chase through the subway tunnels of Paris. Diva marked the directorial debut of Jean-Jacques Beineix, whose obvious fondness for the more esoteric techniques of the Nouvelle Vague never impedes his willingness to simply entertain his audiences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Shag is a beach flick set in 1963. The years have passed, but the old Where the Boys Are formula holds firm: Four attractive young lasses head for the surf and sand of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, looking for guys. Phoebe Cates is about to be married, so her three pals seek out a final affair d'amour on her behalf before she is lost to the world forever. The cast is fascinating for its family ties: Bridget Fonda is the daughter of Peter Fonda, Page Hannah the sister of Darryl Hannah, and Tyrone Power III is the son of you-know-who. Filmed in 1988, Shag was released that year in Europe, then offered to American audiences one year later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Anthropologist Dr. Brockton (Joan Crawford) believes she has discovered the missing link in this flat science fiction drama. The creature is found in a cave and brought to her laboratory to undergo tests for her research. The hairy beast with the face of a monkey loves classical music and hates rock & roll. When one of the slack-jawed yokels opens his cage, he escapes and goes on a killing rampage as he tries to return to his cave. In a gentle moment with a little girl, the beast shows a tender side that recalls a scene from Frankenstein. Soon troops are called in, despite Brockton's protest to entomb the creature by dynamiting the entrance to the cave. This was the last film for Joan Crawford, an inglorious way to end a legendary film career. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide