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Big Sleep, USA, 1946, Starring Humphrey Bogart,
Lauren Bacall. Directed by Howard Hawks. Raymond
Chandler's novel – so complex one murder never
even gets solved – becomes a triumph of film
noir style, replete with the hard-boiled dialogue,
treacherous women and gun-toting toughs the genre
demands, along with one of Bogie's two great private
eye roles.
The Bicycle Thief,
Italy, 1947, 90 min. Starring Lamberto Maggiorani,
Lianella Carell. Directed by Vittorio de Sica.
Heartbreaking story of poor out-of-work man who
finally gets a job, only to have the bicycle he
needs for it stolen on the first day. He and his
son walk the streets of Rome looking for it. Not
the first film of the Italian neo-realist movement,
but considered by many to be the ideal example
of it.
La Terra Trema,
Italy, 1948, 165 min. Narrated by Luchino Visconti.
Directed by Luchino Visconti. By constructing
a story and then having it played by people whose
lives actually reflected that story, Visconti
blurs the line between documentary and fiction
filmmaking. To watch the desperate struggle of
the poorer than poor Sicilian fisherfolk as they
try to survive is to receive one of the finest
educations in what neo-realism was all about.
Letter From an Unknown
Woman, USA, 1948, 86 min. Starring Joan
Fontaine, Louis Jourdan. Directed by Max Ophüls.
Bittersweet story of a woman who tries to connect with the love of her life over a long period of
time, despite the fact that he doesn't seem able
to remember her at all. Luxuriant romanticism
mixes poignantly with unforgettable drama.
The Third Man,
UK, 1949, 104 min. Starring Joseph Cotton, Alida
Valli, Trevor Howard, Orson Welles. Directed by
Carol Reed. Grahame Greene's novel of post-war
suspense is masterfully realized in this dark
tale of misplaced loyalty. Includes the famous
chase through the sewers of Vienna and Welles's
purportedly improvised "cuckoo clock"
speech.
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