Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger • 1947 • United Kingdom
This explosive work about the conflict between the spirit and the flesh is the epitome of the sensuous style of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. A group of nuns, played by some of Britain's finest actresses, including Deborah Kerr, Kathleen Byron, and Flora Robson, struggle to establish a convent in the Himalayas, while isolation, extreme weather, altitude, and culture clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries mad. A darkly grand film that won Oscars for Alfred Junge's art direction and Jack Cardiff's cinematography, Black Narcissus is one of the greatest achievements by two of cinema's true visionaries.
Directed by Luis García Berlanga • 1961 • Spain
In a small Spanish town, a group of old ladies decide to celebrate Christmas Eve with a 'Sit a poor man at your table' dinner: each wealthy household of the town will have a homeless person dining with them that night. The celebrations also include...
Directed by Jacques Demy • 1964 • France
An angelically beautiful Catherine Deneuve was launched to stardom by this dazzling musical heart-tugger from Jacques Demy. She plays an umbrella-shop owner's delicate daughter, glowing with first love for a handsome garage mechanic, played by Nino Castel...
Directed by Eric Rohmer • 1969 • France
In the brilliantly accomplished centerpiece of Rohmer's Moral Tales series, Jean-Louis Trintignant plays Jean-Louis, one of the great conflicted figures of sixties cinema. A pious Catholic engineer in his early thirties, he lives by a strict moral code i...
