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Well, I finally got through this monster of a box set four months after buying it. I was already familiar with a couple of the films but hadn't even heard of many of the others since most were made in the generation preceding mine. One can argue over what could have been included and what could have been omitted, but remember that this is a collection put together from its stable of films by the company that distributed them and is not intended to be someone's idea of the fifty "best ever". At any rate, the distributor tries hard for geographical dispersion so that no foreign countries that are important to film-making during the period covered are left out.
I like most of the movies in the set. Indeed, there is only one I really dislike and that is the corny Importance of Being Earnest. The rest at least had something to like about them even if they were not really to my taste. Pandora's Box, Summertime, and the White Sheik are in that category as are Brief Encounter and Fallen Idol. Then you have Alexander Nevsky which is great on costuming and spectacle but quite bombastic and often cartoonish in its Manichean worldview.
Before buying the set, I was already familiar with and enjoyed Ashes and Diamonds, Black Orpheus, The Seventh Seal and The Third Man. Knowing the quality of those made it easier to take the financial plunge purchase of the Essential Art House box set requires.
Here are the fifteen I think are the best of the ones I hadn't seen before:
1)Ballad of a Soldier: A beautifully told story of a WWII Russian soldier as he struggles to get home to see his mother and then back to his unit before his pass expires. Finds romantic interest on the way and there is always something conspiring to delay him and keep him from his goal. An excellent, well-acted Soviet-era film devoid of clumsy propaganda.
2)Beauty and the Beast-Funny I never saw this as a kid, but its a great fairy tale that shows Jean Cocteau at his best and most accessible.
3)Fires On the Plain-A great WWII story through the eyes of the Japanese.
4)Fists In the Pocket-Nihilistic worldview may have shocked audiences at the time, but today its old hat. Still, a powerfully told and acted tale of evil and greed.
5)The Grand Illusion-Damned by the Nazis, probably because of a German woman's dalliance with an escaped French POW, and because of its anti-militaristic overtones, this film thankfully survived the war and remains one of the finest war movies I've seen.
6)Haxan-An excellent early film about witches, witchcraft, and what happened to those accused of practicing witchcraft through the ages. Quite hilarious at times, but also thought-provoking.
7)Kind Hearts and Coronets-The title itself would never have attracted me but the movie turned out to be one of the best. An excellent tale of a greedy and scheming minor nobleman who eliminates those ahead of him in the line of succession one by one so that he can claim not only his fief, but the fortune he thinks is the birthright he has been wrongly denied. Complete with love triangles and packed with humor. The unexpected ending is most delicious.
8)Knife in the Water-A taut story of machismo and infidelty. Here one sees the budding genius of Roman Polanski.
9)Le Jour Se Leve-Jean Gabin's acting makes this murder/suicide drama a must see.
10)M Hulot's Holiday-French comedy at its best. The clumsy protagonist always leaves some kind of mess in his wake, but the film never degenerates into mere slapstick.
11)Miss Julie-An impetuous Swedish noblewoman doesn't seem to know her place and thus earns the disdain of those who work the estate on which she lives. An excellent storyline, a tragedy really, and first-rate costuming.
12)Pepe Le Moko-Here's Jean Gabin again, as a wanted petty criminal who is beloved in the rabbit warren of the Algiers casbah in which he hides. Quite the womanizer, only a woman could induce him to leave it and when he finally does, it proves to be his undoing. Gabin always acts with much passion and is a perfect fit in the role of the protagonist.
13)Rules of the Game-A sharp, but indirect attack on the debauchery and hypocrisy of the French upper class. Word has it that they did not like the film, but you will.
14)The Wages of Fear-One of the most intense films I have seen. The gnawing fear of immolation felt by the drivers who took on the dangerous job of transporting a cargo of volatile nitroglycerine over primitive Venezuelan backroads affects the viewer as well. Lots of nail-biting moments and the end, though tragic, is almost fitting. Plenty of subtle social commentary about corporate morality and duplicity interspersed with the taut action.
15)The Virgin Spring-A great Bergman film that is more than just a medieval tale. In it are many questions about religion, superstition, the woman's role in society, and the frictions that arise as a society transforms itself from a pagan one to a Christian one. Great period costumes and the acting of Max von Sydow and Co. make this a must-see.
I was nearly tempted to give this a five star rating, but there are a couple of detracting factors which should be mentioned. One is the subtitling on the non-English films. On some it is adequate, on others it is practically non-existent. Often what one character says might be partially translated while what the other says is ignored completely. Its a common problem, and not just with this set. You just have to watch closely and take things in context. Another is the lack of extras. Even some films I buy for ten dollars have extras, so price comparison with Criterion sets is a red herring. Lastly, while the accompanying book is quite elegant, there is a lot of useful information about most movies left out which is annoying mostly because Janus cut short the usual trail of credits from many of the films.
Overall, however, I would say that my money was well-spent. If you like serious cinema, particularly foreign cinema, then you can't go wrong with this! The price has risen and fallen here many times. Watch for a bargain, then go for it.
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