Memories of the Olympic Summer of 1952

Holger Harrivirta, 1954, 50 minutes

Unusually frank narration.

Olympia

Leni Riefenstahl, 1938, 226 minutes

Monumental.

Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis

Walter Ruttmann, 1927, 65 minutes

A retrospective poignancy.

The House on Telegraph Hill

Robert Wise, 1951, 93 minutes

Effectively creepy.

Unfriended

Leo Gabriadze, 2014, 83 minutes

Well-executed concept.

Safe in Hell

William Wellman, 1931, 73 minutes

Daring.

52 Pick-Up

John Frankenheimer, 1986, 111 minutes

Rock-solid brutal noir.

The Daytrippers

Greg Mottola, 1996, 87 minutes

Warm and big-hearted.

Jerichow

Christian Petzold, 2008, 90 minutes

Austere take on noir classic.

Our Town

Sam Wood, 1940, 90 minutes

Wholesomely sentimental.

High Anxiety

Mel Brooks, 1977, 94 minutes

Has paled.

Pale Rider

Clint Eastwood, 1985, 116 minutes

Superbly scripted and photographed.

Godland

Hlynur Pálmason, 2022, 142 minutes

Gorgeous reticence.

After Hours

Martin Scorsese, 1985, 97 minutes

Super Griffin Dunne perf.

The Awakening

Mike Newell, 1980, 101 minutes

Leaden.

1984

Michael Radford, 1984, 110 minutes

Cold and faithful.

Devil in a Blue Dress

Carl Franklin, 1995, 102 minutes

Vibrant.

White Zombie

Victor Halperin, 1932, 67 minutes

DNF. Lethargic.

Orpheus

Jean Cocteau, 1950, 95 minutes

Strained.

Slap Shot

George Roy Hill, 1977, 122 minutes

Death of a Salesman on ice, with laughs.

Albert Brooks: Defending My Life

Rob Reiner, 2023, 88 minutes

Hagiography I can live with.

Agatha

Michael Apted, 1979, 98 minutes

Sharp script and perfs.

The Holdovers

Alexander Payne, 2023, 133 minutes

Pleasant.

Back Street

John M. Stahl, 1932, 93 minutes

Sensitive Irene Dunne perf.

Mark of the Vampire

Tod Browning, 1935, 60 minutes

Some nice Browning touches.

Johnny Guitar

Nicholas Ray, 1954, 110 minutes

Killer perfs from Crawford and McCambridge.

Rancho Notorious

Fritz Lang, 1952, 89 minutes

Bizarre.

Corazón Azul

Miguel Coyula, 2021, 103 minutes

Densely visual and overwhelming. A work of genius.

Chameleon Street

Wendell B. Harris Jr., 1989, 94 minutes

Original and disturbing.

Phoenix

Christian Petzold, 2014, 100 minutes

Fantastic payoff; annoying getting there.