Yearly Roundup – 1931
Posted by martinteller on September 6, 2012
The Cream of the Crop
The one film from 1931 that I’m especially enthusiastic about is Mario Peixoto’s Limite. It almost made my top 100 but I didn’t get around to locating a decent copy for a rewatch. Perhaps next year. A haunting and enigmatic film that really struck a chord with me. I would buy this on Blu-Ray (or heck, even DVD) in a heartbeat.
Slightly Less Creamy, But Still Tasty
M is rightfully a classic, a groundbreaking work in early sound cinema. Speaking of Fritz Lang, many people are familiar with his noir Scarlet Street, but less well-known is Renoir’s earlier take on the same story: the lurid and witty La Chienne. I always make a point of bringing it up when anyone mentions the noir remake (which is grand in its own way). Murnau’s swan song Tabu is one of my favorites by him, beautiful and poetic with a strong story. The “Fanny trilogy” kicks off with Marius, and a mighty fine kickoff it is. And it’s a hell of a year for Rene Clair, who contributes two superb musical comedies: A nous la liberté and Le Million.
Varying Degrees of Like
The 3 Penny Opera
Dishonored
Entuziazm
Flunky, Work Hard!
Frankenstein
Kameradschaft
Madchen in Uniform
Night Nurse
The Smiling Lieutenant
Taris
Tokyo Chorus
Varying Degrees of Hate
none!
Some Notable Films In The Middle
City Lights
Dracula
Little Caesar
Monkey Business
The Public Enemy
Uncharted Territory
Bad Girl, Blonde Crazy, The Champ, Cimarron, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Front Page, The Maltese Falcon, Mata Hari, Platinum Blonde, Rich and Strange, Safe in Hell, The Skin Game, Street Scene
Steve Kimes said
Interesting that one of your “middle” movies, I just posted as one of my “must see” movies: http://bloggingmoviesrus.blogspot.com/2012/08/film-buff-essentials-6-10-fb-101-part-4.html
Of course, most of these films I haven’t seen.
martinteller said
I knew before I clicked the link which one it would be. I mean, I’d already read your post a couple days ago, but I would have known anyway. Yes, I’m afraid I’m just not a Chaplin person.
JamDenTel said
How does one even go about seeing LIMITE? I’d love to see it, based in no small part upon your raving.
martinteller said
There are unofficial copies floating around the interwebs
Danny said
Okay, I’m tracking down Limite now thanks to you. I just watched the fantastic Safe in Hell this week, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one of my favorite films, so I recommend you get to them!
martinteller said
Jekyll was already on my watchlist. I wasn’t even aware of Safe in Hell until I put together this post, but I’ll add it to the (ever-growing!) list. Thanks Danny!