Movies
Not quite as bad as I'd feared. And that was truly a bit of a surprise, as the film pretty much followed the exact outline I'd imagined. There's a lot (and I mean a lot) of talking here, which generally doesn't bode well for classic films, but somehow the drama was quite gripping. Melville is a successful lawyer, but he hides a dark secret. He is a closeted gay and his former partner is being blackmailed with a picture that shows them both in a compromising situation. Melville is married to the daughter of a judge and is about to receive a big promotion, so the picture puts him in a tricky situation. The performances aren't all that great and the plot is pretty simplistic, but even then the film does get pretty tense towards the end. I probably would've liked it better if I cared more about purely narrative films, as a whole I still think it was pretty basic and dull, but at least some scenes did get to me.Read all
An early horror anthology. I say horror, but the film is mostly a mystery, with lots and lots of dialogue, sometimes regarding supernatural phenomena. I can see how this setup could've been quite influential, but by modern standards, it's a pretty dull collection of supernatural stories. An architect drives out to the countryside to work on a home. Once there, he recognizes the place and the people present as part of a recurring dream he has had. He tells them about his dream, but not everyone is willing to believe him. The others have some mysterious stories of their own to share though. Dialogue-driven, like so many other films of its time. It's the opposite of what I look for in a film, so it's no surprise this didn't really do it for me. The performances weren't great either, and the stories were pretty underwhelming. The anthology-like setup did mean there was enough happening to keep me occupied at least.Read all