May 24 2026

1959 – Ben Hur

It’s one of those definitions of an Epic – a sprawling story, about the life of the hero and all the trials he has to go through to fulfill his mission. It was directed by William Wyler (hi again, after Roman Holiday), produced by Sam Zimbalist (15 million dollar gamble paying off wonderfully) and starring Charlton Heston in the main role as Judah Ben Hur. It won 11 Academy Awards, the most before Titanic and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King matched it. I rented it on Apple TV for 3.99 Eur.

One of the big reasons I love movies is the love my parents had for them. We were one of the first families to get a VCR and would drive to the only Video Store in Town. As a small child, it was an easy Sunday activity to go to the theaters and once we got cable, we would often watch movies with my dad from breakfast to 3pm, when we would be hungry for lunch. Yeah, so many movies discovered with my dad. As you know, there was no Video on Demand and they became lazy going to the Video Store, since movie channels showed them 24/7. However, you had to be lucky to sort of stumble into one movie beginning and there was no curations, so there was a lot of crap, often.

Yet, I look fondly at those Sundays, me watching stuff, I probably shouldn’t have. Just recently I was having a debate about The Color of Money being a good movie, actually! Who did I watch it with? My billiard playing dad. Obscure stuff, which I still love, like Moon Over Parador making fun of dictatorships in Latin America, but also cinephile stuff like Cinema Paradiso, which he would endlessly comment over. One Sunday that I still remember fondly is when we watched Spartacus, I immediately rolled my eyes at him, complaining that we shouldn’t watch these old, long movies and asking why we couldn’t watch a comedy. He just said calmly that this is supposed to be good and this is what we were going to watch today, and man, did I love it. I always loved movies I didn’t fully understand as a kid; they gave me room to grow and keep asking questions.

That movie and many Epics like it, are often what we watch them for – taking us to faraway places, times and cultures. And since I loved Spartacus that much, I figured I fill that gap in my filmography and watch another Epic of that time – one that is mostly known for the chariot scene, its long runtime, the many Academy Awards it won and the many extras the movie employed (8000). I did not know it also involved Jesus in a big way, so was a bit surprised my mom told me it’s more of an Easter movie when I told her I was watching it (now I get it).

Man, it did not disappoint. The chariot scene was awesome, of course, but more than that, the way he navigates the circumstances, Also impressive the scenery from Jerusalem, to the ships, to Nazareth, to grand Rome. The way the friendship between Messala and Judah deteriorates to hatred – the major gay energy in their first scene together, apparently wanted by the screenwriter Gore Vidal unbeknownst to Charlton Heston. The way leprosy was depicted. And of course, the major theme of how you find peace in yourself after your life has been filled with revenge.

I was afraid of the runtime, of course, and I did have to stop a few times along the way. But that was, because we have guests this weekend and not because the movie was boring. The music was a bit corny (especially that 50s choir style at the end of the movie), well, compared to the similar Gladiator, but when I see how far we have come in comparison to The Adventures of Robin Hood, this is miles above. Some of the costumes look cheap, but that doesn’t distract from the movie (I’m looking at you The Odyssey criticism by just looking at costumes). Charlton Heston was not a savory character, especially with his politics later in life, but here he plays the role he is supposed to superbly. Somebody recently said to me that she can’t really watch movies like Indiana Jones or similar anymore, what with the male hero prancing around and letting everybody know he is the “male hero of the movie.” I disagree; the escapism is exactly the point.

All in all, well deserved of its many Academy Awards and even though it’s not a perfect movie, it’s super entertaining and its mission to transport us away from our modern worries for a few hours is accomplished well!

May 10 2026

1958 – Elevator to the Gallows (Ascenseur pour l’échafaud)

1958 – Elevator to the Gallows

It’s a French crime thriller directed by Louis Malle. Technically, it’s not Nouvelle Vague (French New Wave), which is more rooted in the early 60s, but it lies in this transition, borrowing elements from American movies, like the film noir aspects, but adding in the meandering elements of French cinema, like the amazing soundtrack from Miles Davis (who spent a few years in Paris, and always saw the city as a creative hub for his career). It stars Jeanne Moreau as Florence Carala, the wife of a prominent arms dealer, and Maurice Ronet as Julien Tavernier, her lover and husband’s murderer, whose whole plot unravels when he becomes trapped in an elevator. I rented it on Amazon Video for 3.99 Eur.

There’s an old saying attributed to Bill Gates that says “We overestimate how much things change in 2 years and underestimate how much the change in 10”. When you are living through a decade, you hardly notice the changes, yet when you look back at pictures from yourself in the 90s, it is distinct from pictures in the 2000s or 2010s. Add in to that the music, or even different smells to enhance your memory and suddenly that decade feels so distinct and so separated from your life today, even though it is so familiar and was important in shaping you to what you are today.

The same thing happens to me even in decades where I wasn’t even alive, perhaps even more so, since the elements of style are really the only things that you have to anchor yourself to that time. And so it happens in this movie that through the style elements—the fashion, the smoking, the functional furniture, the changing style of the cars, but most importantly the jazz music score—you feel transported to late 50s, early 60s Paris. I swear, I could smell the stench of those cigarillos they smoke at the motel, or the wood of the pencils being sharpened, even Louis’s leather jacket.

I have been too afraid of tackling French New Wave cinema, apprehensive that I won’t understand its allusions to art, its sensuality, etc. So I thought that I would first watch something that still had enough American influence and a crime mystery to overcome that. Little did I know that the straightforward series of misunderstandings that make up the story is somewhat its weakest part, and the sensual, feeling, artsy stuff was the best (so cool, really so cool).

I also liked how understatedly funny and cynical the movie was at the same time. The jolly German tourist making fun of the adventures the French have gone on since WWII—Algeria, Indochina—acts as a biting commentary against those getting rich off these wars. Or the woman searching for her lover on the streets of Paris; it looks so sensual, so sexy when the rain is falling and you don’t know whether it’s tears or rain running down her face. But then you realize the irony that she is going from a sandwich shop, to a normal bar, to a gambling parlor, and lastly landing in an underground bar—every station a further step down in Parisian society. When she finally arrives arrested at the police station, nobody can quite fathom she is the rich wife of a man of tremendous standing in society.

But of course, the score is what is best about the movie and places it into the pantheon of groundbreaking cinema. I am by no means jazz’s biggest fan, but for this movie it was perfect, making it simply smooth and cool. Funny how that is; sometimes the biggest factors in squarely placing our memories into a specific time and place are not images, but smells and sounds. This movie did that perfectly.

Apr 26 2026

1957 – Paths of Glory

It’s an American anti-war film, directed by Stanley Kubrick when he was just 28 years old (wow). The screenplay he co-wrote with Calder Willingham and Jim Thompson is adapted from the 1935 novel of the same name, which in turn is based on the true Souain corporals affair that happened during WWI. The film mainly stars Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax, the commanding officer of soldiers who refuse to continue to act out a suicide attack. I watched it on YouTube (free in Germany) here.

Is it even possible to make an anti-war film? That was the question media commentator Broey Deschanel asked herself in this video essay in a reaction to Alex Garland’s Warfare from last year. It’s supposed to be gritty, raw and show war exactly how it is, and in doing so critique its pointlessness. The essay goes on to cite many more examples, e.g. All Quiet on the Western Front or Platoon, but argues that war from the soldier’s point of view always comes with a caveat, with a point of view, there may be deceit on how these soldiers came to war, but never 100% innocence. Only movies like Grave of the Fireflies can truly be anti-war, since they depict the consequences of war on children.

Fair point, but this movie is pretty damning in its critique, especially for an almost 70-year-old movie. When I started watching it, with the typical trench warfare scenes we are accustomed to and which are marvelously depicted in 1917, for example, I thought it was going to be the typical “war is hell” type of story. I wondered why the prologue with the two generals was there in the beginning, it didn’t seem anti-war at all.

But then around a third of the movie in, it dawns on you that it’s not about the horrible trench fighting at all, but an indictment of the rulers at the top. They treat battles like pieces on a board, casualties are rattled off as percentages to be moved around – all before they go back to their civilized parties and gatherings. If some inconvenience is discovered it gets buried under legalese or the offended party gets bought off with a promotion. All the while the simple soldier is just fodder, where your fate is decided by the (un)luck of the draw quite literally.

I liked this movie so much. So quiet in its portrayal of injustice, yet so adept at simply showing it. Add to that an amazing battle scene, where a part of a company is seen storming onto the barbed wire battlefield, most soldiers knowing it is a suicide mission, a mistake, with the chances of success slim at best. The desperation of the three soldiers, who are chosen for all the wrong reasons to take the fall for the blunder of the general is also shocking to see. That Kubrick guy has a bright future ahead of him, but even this, his first so-called masterpiece is really that!

Add to that the nagging discomfort that it is based on true events – a French general really did order his artillery to fire on his own trenches after demoralized soldiers refused to leave them and he ordered the execution of seemingly random soldiers of the company resulting in the death by firing squad of four of them (in the movie it’s three). Only 2 hours later would their sentences have been commuted and 19 years later they were fully exonerated. The whole ordeal changed the way military courts were held in France. And this movie was banned in Switzerland and France until the 70s. It shows you how even 40 years later, the establishment would rather get rid of uncomfortable situations than address the mistakes made by the senior commanders and upper class rulers.

So is it a truly 100% anti-war film as the thesis above proclaimed there aren’t any? No, it valorizes the soldier too much to be truly that, but it’s quite effective otherwise and in that I commend it!

Apr 12 2026

1956 – The Searchers

It’s an American epic Western directed by John Ford and written by Frank Nugent based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It stars John Wayne as Ethan Edwards and Jeffrey Hunter as his adopted nephew Martin Pawley as they spend years searching for their abducted niece / sister. It was shot on VistaVision and processed by Technicolor making the landscape of Monument Valley really stand out for this movie. I rented it on Apple TV for 3.99 Eur.

Look, I have never been a fan of Westerns. It’s probably unfair to them, because I never gave them a chance, but already as a kid, I had no interest in playing “cowboys and indians”. By now, similar to Superhero / comic book movies, I have seen a few, but by far not many, especially none of the classics of Sergio Leone and/or Clint Eastwood. And often it is, because revered stuff, I just find boring: the stoic hero, spouting wisdoms like “that’s the way of life” or the hours of scenery on horseback. I recently came across this critique of Yellowstone by SkipIntro. Oh, my guy, I don’t even care about the conservative bend, I just found it boring, even though everybody was raving about it. The treatment of Beth was so problematic, it’s like that girl that says: “hey, I wasn’t groomed, I CHOSE to sleep this much older guy when I was 15”. I saw like 3-4 episodes and turned it off.

Anyway, perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps there is something I am missing in these Westerns. Perhaps, now that I am a bit older myself, I will understand “the old ways”, finally get what John Wayne was all about. I already missed Stagecoach (see my 1939 post on how I seem to have missed most iconic movies of that year), but perhaps this movie, that some say is the greatest Western of all time, will do?

So what are the themes here? A confederate soldier Ethan Edwards comes to his brother and big family in Texas. The going is tough and many have given up making a living out in the land there. There are some other families, like some Swedish immigrants (the Jorgensens), who are good friends with the Edwards family. They have also adopted an orphan, half white, half comanche named Martin Pawley. Already in this introduction, you are made to think that these families are more righteous, because they are out here living the hard life. Add to that the threat of the Indians, who are mad that the white man is taking their land away and murdering their people. And that is exactly what happens; while the men are out on a distraction, the Indians raid the Edwards farm, burn it, kill the parents and son and kidnap their two daughters. The elder is raped and killed quickly, but the younger Debbie is taken by the chief ‘Scar’.

So begins a 7 year search by Ethan and the adopted son Martin to find Debbie. By the time they finally find a 15-year old Debbie, she has assimilated and doesn’t want to go home at first. Here is where the other theme of the movie comes in – the deep-seated hatred of Ethan of the Indians. His racism is so big that he considers murdering his own niece, because she is tainted in his head. But it’s a constant struggle. For example, in the beginning he is barely capable of talking to “half-breed” Martin, but by the end he leaves him everything he owns in his will.

You are not supposed to root for the jerk that is Ethan. He is a wanderer and self-righteous asshole. First, he remains unapologetic Confederate, even wearing the coat 3 years after the war has ended (who goes to their family only 3 years after?). Also, even in the very beginning, you see there is something going on between him and his sister-in-law. And that is before he goes on his 7-year search. But Martin isn’t without blame either – he leaves the girl he is supposedly in love with and only writes her one letter in 5 years. In that sense, it makes it super hard to be on the side of the two: a bigoted prick and a sexist idiot. Apparently that is wanted by the director and it is what gets the conversation going.

And I get that, people are complicated and you can’t go through life with a 2020s lens and I can also do nuance. But the treatment the movie makes of Look (an Indian woman Martin betroths by mistake) is not one bit funny, but super tragic. In that sense, it seems that Ford went out of his way to explain the racism and circumstances of violence between the Whites and the Indians, that he conveniently forgot about the whole sexism thing, which doesn’t get a nuanced take.

Unfortunately that means that I am still not enamoured with Westerns. Very entertaining watch, but not easy and it left me mostly angry (maybe if movies are supposed to elicit emotions out of you, perhaps it was successful). The scenery is great, especially for 1956, the cinematography and action scenes are amazing. But I have to mention my favorite movie of all time Thelma and Louise again and how they drive through Monument Valley, which is most of the scenery here. I’d rather have the modern setting, than the brooding cowboy.

Mar 29 2026

1955 – The Night of the Hunter

It’s an American Southern-Gothic thriller, at times a horror film set during the Depression. It was directed by Charles Laughton in his only feature win (go out on top, I guess). Its screenplay was written by James Agee based on the same-named book by Davis Grubb, which itself was inspired by the serial killer Harry Powers (“The Bluebeard of Quiet Dell”) who was hanged in 1932. It stars Robert Mitchum as the preacher Harry Powell, Shelley Winters as Willa Harper, the woman he is misleading and features a great child performance by Billy Chapin as John Harper. I saw it on YouTube in their collection of free movies here (this seems to be new, but I don’t know if it is just for Germany).

In Berlin there is the legend of the “Hauptmann von Köpenick“. This was an ordinary shoemaker, who in 1906 dressed up as a military captain with a stolen uniform. He was able to convince a whole company of soldiers to accompany him to arrest the mayor of the town of Köpenick (incorporated into Berlin in 1920) and managed to rob the city treasury. There’s a whole secondary motive in that he wanted to get identification, because he was banished from the city, but that was never achieved, I think. On the way to the arrest he bought the soldiers beers and managed to rile them up against the innocent mayor. In fact, according to legend, many other officers joined them along the way on their crusade against the mayor. He wasn’t caught in the original coup, only 10 days later, because he had bragged to some of his friends about pulling this off.

The story has a mixed resonance in Germany. On the one hand, it is seen as a genius move. Nobody was actually harmed and it is seen more as a prank than an actual crime. In fact, he was later pardoned less than 2 years later by the Kaiser and he made some extra cash posing for postcards in his fake uniform until World War I. The 1956 movie with Heinz Rühmann also has a very satirical tone (though there is some biting critique described below in there). Even today, you find statues of the captain all around Köpenick and he’s mostly seen with red cheeks and a smile.

However, the legend also tells of a cautionary tale of blindly following a figure of authority. Especially after World War II, Germans had to reckon that “just following orders” is not actually a valid excuse and that figures of authority may be wrong or that some of them are not to be trusted. It is this legacy that is still alive in Berlin today as the Berliner Ensemble just started a series of monologues on the “Hauptmann von Köpenick“.

It’s this theme that this 1955 movie picks up. A con man, impersonating a preacher is a serial killer that steals the money of widows. It is not clear how many he has killed (6 or 12) by the time he arrives along the Ohio River in the midst of the Depression. In jail he meets a man sentenced to death in a robbery that left two dead, but the $10,000 he stole never appeared. After the hanging he befriends the widow and even marries her in the quest to find the money. The eldest son, who had to swear never to tell anybody where the money is, sees right through him, but he fails to convince anybody else. How could you doubt such a nice preacher that delivers such eloquent sermons out of nowhere?!?!?

And it’s the oozing charisma of Robert Mitchum that really draws you in. He manages to manipulate the mother into feeling guilty that she was the one who killed her husband, because she asked him for worldly possessions. Even when she finally accepts that her son was telling the truth, she first starts praying, so strong is the brainwashing the fake preacher did. Add to that the cinematography that Charles Laughton used throughout the movie, his explicit inspiration from German expressionism of the 1920s and it makes for a truly haunting movie. I kept thinking about certain scenes for hours, not because they were overly deep, but because they were so eerie. For example, there is a shot of a car on the bottom of the river with seaweed around it that is truly haunting, like a ghost. Or a shot where Harry Powell is framed against a bright background on a horse, inescapable, humming a melody that makes him so scary.

It’s a downright tragedy that the movie bombed and Charles Laughton saw himself as a failure and never directed or produced anything again. One and done with a masterpiece, I guess! The movie is over 70 years old and there are some dated resolutions, like the ending. But even there, it features a traumatic response by the son that wasn’t typical in movies of that time, so I can’t fully fault the resolution. It’s truly a great movie with some great performances, even the kids acted well, which was a novelty at the time. I can thoroughly recommend this thriller!