Posted by Sarah

All are welcome to attend the first of the Summer Term’s screening and discussion sessions which will take place on the 8th of May in Jarman 7, from 5pm to 7pm.

We will be showing Love on the Dole (John Baxter, 1941) 99 mins

John Baxter’s film starred Deborah Kerr and Clifford Evans (see picture above) and was based on Walter Greenwood’s 1933 novel of the same name. Set in the north of England during the Great Depression, the plot concerns unemployment and poverty amongst the working classes.

Due to its subject matter, the novel was not permitted to be filmed by the British Board of Film Censors until 1941. Its realistic approach to social problems prefigures the Social Realism British films of the 1960s.

The intersection (or perhaps inherent contradiction) of realism and melodrama will provide a focus for our discussion, while the matter of class is also an important one for us to consider.

Do join us for this critically acclaimed piece of British film history.

Posted by Sarah

In the Summer Term the Melodrama Research Group will be meeting on a weekly basis.  As well as providing more screening slots (and excitingly a read-through of a script), some of these slots are 3 hours long to allow for longer films and more in-depth discussion.

More information on each event will be posted in due course. Do get in touch (sp458@kent.ac.uk) if you have a film (or indeed radio play, novella, TV show etc) you would like the group to discuss.

The current, provisional, timetable for the Summer Term:

8^th May, Jarman 7, 5-7 pm. We will screen Love on the Dole (John Baxter, 1941)

15^th May, Jarman 7, 5-7pm. Film To Be Confirmed.

22^nd May, Jarman 7, 4-7pm. Katerina will be introducing Poltergeist (Tobe Hooper, 1982)

29^th May, Jarman 7, 4-7 pm. Keeley will introduce her film choice: Happy Together (Wong Kar Wai, 1997)

5^th June, Jarman 7, 5-7pm. Jane will organise us for a read-through of a script.

12^th June, Jarman 7, 4-7pm. Frances will introduce a film of her choice.

Posted by Sarah

Here are some links to websites with Gaslight-related information. Leave a comment or email me on sp458@kent.ac.uk if there are any others you would like to include.

The Theatricalia website offers some information on British theatrical productions of the play: http://theatricalia.com/play/3dc/gas-light/production/7jd . More specifically check out a 1939 British production http://theatricalia.com/play/48d/gaslight which, according to the Internet Movie Database, was recorded ‘live’ on one occasion, the film of which still exists http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0263371/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Information on Broadway productions is available here: http://www.ibdb.com/show.php?id=1587

The play was also revived more recently in the West End of London. What’s On Stage reviews the 2007 version: http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E8821181895690

For theatre context, do visit the University of Kent Library’s Special Collections (http://www.kent.ac.uk/library/specialcollections/index.html) where searches for East Lynne and Gas Light provide information on other productions, and you can also trace some of stage actress Diana Wynyard’s career.

Jane particularly drew our attention to the Pettingell Collection which includes material relating to the noted stage actor who played the dogged ex-policeman:  http://www.kent.ac.uk/library/specialcollections/theatre/pettingell/index.html

In terms of the currency of the play in the 1940s, Lies mentioned the Jack Benny spoof from 1945. Follow the link for Benny imitating Boyer, and Bergman happily sending up the film: http://retro-otr.com/2012/10/jack-benny-gaslight-451014/

A US radio version appeared a little later in 1953. You can listen to it here: http://archive.org/details/BestPlays1952-1953

Posted by Sarah

Discussion of Gaslight began with similarities and differences between the UK and US versions which allowed the analysis of melodrama at a very specific textual level; this included comments on characterisation, plotting, direction and performance; we also spoke about Guy Barefoot’s piece which compared the two films and the original play. Do log in to leave your comments, or email me on sp458@kent.ac.uk.

The largest part of our discussion focused on similarities and differences between the UK (1940, Thorold Dickinson) and US (1944, George Cukor) versions. Changes to the names of the two main protagonists were immediately obvious: Bella Mallen (Diana Wynyard) becomes Paula Alquist (Ingrid Bergman) while Paul Mallen (Anton Walbrook) is Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer) in the later version. Character changes also occurred at a less surface level. The concerned cousin Vincent Ullswater (Robert Newton) and determined ex-policeman B.G. Rough (Frank Pettingell, providing much of the film’s comic relief) of the UK version are amalgamated into the detective Brian Cameron, played by Joseph Cotten in the Hollywood film.  The comedy function of Rough’s ex-policeman is displaced onto nosy neighbour Miss Thwaites (Dame May Whitty) in Cukor’s version. This allows for the Hollywood film to retain some of its British flavour with the employment of the well-known British character actress.

The creation of the Brian Cameron character was thought to be connected to Hollywood’s concern with portraying romantic relationships.  Cotten’s character is younger than Pettingell’s, and provides a potential love interest for Paula. Hollywood’s focus on romance was also thought to be a reason for the fact Cukor’s film spends a fair bit of time recounting the courtship of the married couple, while the British film does not. Dickinson’s film begins with the murder of the aunt, and then skips forward to the arrival of the married couple twenty years later.

Characters’ motivations were felt to be less convincing in the earlier film. The victim is the husband’s elderly Aunt rather than the wife’s younger more glamorous aunt. This meant that the husband has less reason to drive his wife mad. Bella also seemed to be more easily victimised – when asked to betray her husband she stated the fact that he had already betrayed her was ‘different’ –   while Paula was more willing to stand her ground.  This was noted especially as in the Hollywood version the heroine suffers doubly: she loses not just her husband’s love and very nearly her mind, but also her beloved Aunt.  This difference in the heroines’ behaviour might have been because of the shifts in ambiguity. In the earlier film the husband’s menacing behaviour was quickly established while the 1944 version kept us guessing for a lot longer.  The ambiguity in Dickinson’s film lay in Bella’s character at the very end. Bergman played the scene, in which she brandishes a knife at her tied up husband and states she is not doing so, in the certainty we knew that she was toying with her husband. However, Wynyard seems very genuinely on the brink of madness. Lingering close up shots of Walbrook’s face led us to wonder if she was indeed going to stab him, or perhaps even cut him free.

Cukor’s film was more insidious, driven by psychology, any included many stylistic flourishes. The later film included several shadowy and painstakingly composed shots. The earlier version’s main gestures to style were the superimposition of Bella’s face on her clockwork music box which she starts to drown out the noisy footsteps above her. Also appearing towards the end of the film is the canted frame which coincides with the increased concern with hysteria. Indeed it was noted that while the British version told the story in a straightforward, possibly workmanlike manner, which was more plot driven, the American film appeared more polished, paced, with its elements better integrated. Things were told rather than shown, and if shown done so quickly, in Dickinson’s film, and there was less character evolution.

Arguably the British film’s approach chimes more with melodramatic sensationalism. It is interesting that while the UK film made it onto to our long list of melodramas, the US film did not (http://blogs.kent.ac.uk/melodramaresearchgroup/2013/03/03/unmissable-melodramas-the-long-list/ ). The Hollywood version’s genre is described as mystery, its subgenre psychological by the American Film Institute Catalog: http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=1552.  Are these differences between the two films therefore related to what melodrama is (its relationship to the sensational) and what it is not? Or should both (or neither!) films be considered melodramas. Does the fact that Bergman’s character arguably experiences more suffering than Wynyard’s qualify the Hollywood version as melodrama?

Although the British film was much shorter and seemed more direct, there were some scenes which seemed unnecessary in terms of plot. There is a fairly long scene in which higher class children play in the park, while street urchins are seen outside the gates. As well as pointing to Bella’s childless status, and thereby linking her hysteria more closely to her gender, this comments on the British pre-occupation with issues of class. This was also the case for the extended musical hall visit in which the husband and the maid, Nancy, sat in the balcony with the hoi polloi below them in the stalls. This may well have also been a gesture to the film’s stage origins.

Guy Barefoot’s piece on the recreation of the Victorian in the twentieth century prompted some interesting discussion. This was largely related to melodrama more broadly. We considered the apparent contradiction between the resurgence of melodrama, and the recreation of the Victorian era, and the fact this was on the whole negative: the period was one of ‘darkness and fear’ (p. 95). Barefoot’s quoting of Christine Gledhill’s assertion that melodrama became more popular in America than Europe (p. 95 from Home is Where the Heart Is  BFI, 1994, p. 25) and the fact that a return to the Victorian and to melodrama occurred in the 1940s (p. 101)(well-represented by the success of Gas Light in the theatre and on the screen) were also useful. These led us to ponder just when and where melodrama was popular, both in the theatre and the cinema and what insights such knowledge would provide.

Posted by Sarah

All are welcome to attend the sixth and last of this term’s melodrama screening and discussion sessions which will take place on the 3rd of April in Jarman 7, from 5pm to 7pm.

We will be showing Gaslight (Thorold Dickinson, 1940) 84 mins

At the last session we watched the 1944 Hollywood remake of this film. As well as a broad consideration of melodrama, and the two film versions’  similarities and differences, we hope to discuss Guy Barefoot’s “East Lynne to Gas Light: Hollywood, Melodrama and Twentieth-Century Notions of the Victorian” in Jacky Bratton, Jim Cook and Christine Gledhill (eds), Melodrama: Stage, Picture, Screen (BFI, 1994): 94-105. Email me on sp458@kent.ac.uk if you would like access to the chapter.

Do join us for the screening of this British classic.

Posted by Sarah

All are welcome to attend the fifth of this term’s melodrama screening sessions which will take place on the 20th of March in Jarman 7, from 5pm to 7pm.

We will be showing Gaslight (George Cukor, 1944) 114 mins

This is the Hollywood remake, with Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman (see above!), of the British film of the same title produced in 1940. The earlier film (which we will be watching at the next session on the 3rd of April) was directed by Thorold Dickinson and starred Anton Walbrook and Diana Wynyard. The British film was itself based on Patrick Hamilton’s 1938 play Gas Light (known as Angel Street in the US).

It is especially apt that our first screening of a direct adaptation of a stage play should be of a theatrical production which was so influential it gave rise to the term ‘Gaslighting’. This meant  “a form of psychological abuse in which false information is presented to the victim with the intent of making him/her doubt his/her own memory and perception”. Set in 1880 fog-bound London Gas Light  tells the story of a married couple: a husband with a secret, and a terrified wife…

Watching the two film versions of the same stage play will hopefully enlighten us as to some similarities and differences between British and Hollywood film as well as some insights into melodrama more generally.

Do come along to watch this Hollywood classic. Due to the film’s length discussion will take place after watching the (much shorter- 84 mins) British version at the next session – the 3rd of April. We will begin the film promptly at 5 (technology permitting!)

Posted by Sarah

Discussion prompted by the screening of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1938) touched on several areas:  the definition of melodrama (especially the use of music and the theme of suffering); early film melodrama; stage melodrama; the relationship between animation, realism and melodrama. Do leave comments or email me at sp458@kent.ac.uk to add your thoughts.

Music played a more significant role in Snow White than the other films the group has watched so far.It also worked in an especially interesting way, given the fact that the term ‘melodrama’ means drama with music. While there were instances of dramatic music accompanying moments of increased tension, at times the music was upbeat even though the themes were dark. This is evident especially at the film’s beginning when the cheerful music belies the tale of ‘Once Upon a Time’ woe the open book is relating to us. It was generally thought that this was likely to be related to Disney’s need to reassure the audience that all would end happily.

This constant presence of light amidst the darkness was seen to relate to the theme of suffering, which often plays a central part in melodramas. In Snow White the suffering is largely restricted to the arguably less central characters: the dwarfs and the woodland creatures who are distraught when it is thought Snow White has died. Snow White herself is chirpy throughout. Although she enters dressed in rags she is happy with her lot. It is only the threat on her life and her subsequent terrifying walk through the woods which stirs up emotions of fear. This was perhaps partly due to the animation style for the different characters. While the dwarfs and the Evil Queen/Old Pedlar Woman were shown to be remarkably expressive, Snow White’s face appeared less animated.

It was also remarked upon that Snow White’s dark hair might oppose the usual representation of virginal purity associated with blondness. The scene in which the dwarfs and woodland creatures ride to Snow White’s rescue especially highlighted this. It was noted that there were similarities between this and D.W. Griffiths’ Birth of a Nation   (1915) in which the rescuers race to save the blond and virginal Lillian Gish.

However late Victorian stage melodrama focused on blond villains and dark-haired heroes and heroines so it is possible that Snow White was drawing on earlier stage productions. The links to stage melodrama were found to be especially interesting.  While Snow White is an unusual heroine for a film melodrama (and probably even stage melodrama), her evil stepmother, the villainous queen, contains the traits often associated with melodrama, especially its archetypes. Her theatrical gestures and swishing of her cloak or cape seemed very in keeping with general ideas of the villain in melodrama. As is her ability to dupe the hero (in this case heroine) with ease. Such archetypes formed the basis of such traditions as pantomime, fairy tales and melodramas but it was thought that the particular way in which they were used was important. Although pantomime and melodrama can share a use of comic relief characters (such as the dwarfs in Snow White) its focus on the sensational sets it apart. In Snow White the sensational was emphasised particularly in terms of atmosphere – thunder and lightning etc.

A broader point that the very nature of animation and that of staging had important similarities was also raised. Arguably both are less able to work in several dimensions, with characters generally populating the foreground. The dramatic closing of curtains and the Old Pedlar Woman’s appearance framed by a window in which she appears to almost address the audience (see the picture advertising the screening) also linked the film to theatrical productions.

The importance of the fact Snow White is an animated film was also related to the notion that melodrama is anti-realism in nature (see Christine Gledhill in Home is Where the Heart Is (1987)). The distancing from reality arguably achieved by animation would seem to suggest that animation with its ability for exaggeration is well suited to depicting melodrama. This might be an interesting area to explore further, perhaps especially in relation to Disney.

Many thanks to Ann-Marie for selecting a wonderful film which led to so much fruitful discussion.

Posted by Sarah

Here is Ann-Marie’s introduction to the screening of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Hand, 1938) 83 mins.

Disney’s first feature, based on the Grimm’s fairytale, took an enormous four years and a half to complete, and even then Walt was not happy, later re-touching the shimmering problem of the Prince. Known in the trade press as his ‘folly’  it became one of the biggest success stories of 1938 and redefined animation. Disney encountered many problems regarding how to bring realism to the screen, and later resolved this by adding depth to two-dimension with the multiplane camera. However, his real concern  was how to give a character a real personality and appear alive on the screen. A gag a minute would no longer work for a feature film like it had his shorts.  Disney’s solution was to use popular film elements such as menace, love and comedy to invoke emotional investment. Terri Martin Wright in her article ‘Romancing the Tale: Walt Disney’s Adaptation of the Grimm’s “Snow White”’ claims this film is really a romantic comedy, and whilst this claim has some merit, the film appears to be closer to a melodrama by definition.

This film is reminiscent of Victorian stage melodrama due to its focus on love and murder, after all ‘trouble was the proper business of the melodrama.’[1]. However, what seems most notable is the use of archetypes similar to that of both fairytale and stage. The Queen, voiced by stage actress Lucille LaVerne, is the best example of a villain. She swings her cape; enlarges her eyes in moments of distaste; dramatically closes curtains; skulks in the shadows; has a pet crow which she terrorizes, and most of all is vain and sadistic. In contrast Snow White is the epitome of the virginal girl, and the Prince (although he lacks any real personality) could be said to represent all the basic elements one would expect in the heroine’s love interest.

In the Victorian melodramas, (and perhaps melodramas in general) when ‘the play [was] getting too sad, […] it had to be relieved.’ [2] This is where the dwarfs play a role. The suffering of Snow White is contrasted with the gags supplied by them, specifically Dopey. The dwarfs are sturdy characters, and as we witness their affection for Snow White, our own grows. There are no complications, hidden meanings or disguises, they are the audiences’ comfort.

According to Harper’s Monthly Magazine Victorians would applaud at the sentiment of a woman standing by her man. Although this idea continued throughout the following century it is interesting that Disney feature films would focus on this need for true love through adversity, usually caused by a villain rather than purely circumstance. The last act in Victorian stage melodrama  would wind-up in a way to make everyone happy, not unlike this particular Grimm fairytale. However, unlike the rushed Grimm ending, Disney’s Snow White seeks to show us not only her happiness, but also allows us to see all the happy dwarfs one last time to secure our need for total happiness.

Weak animation at the beginning and the end makes it seem more like a fairytale as it is ‘artificial and removed from reality.’[3] Snow White and the Queen’s features both seem less defined than that of the animals and dwarfs. This adds to the fantastical nature of the film, but also that of intense emotions shown by body language, for example, the Queen’s dramatic closing of the curtains.

Disney has been blasted for its mixed messages, for instance, ‘all people are valued, but really only lively, fun people are valued.’ [4]Whilst Disney films do mix messages the attempt at moral guidance remains inherent. Thus, from its archetypes; its plot; comic relief; heightened music; song to express heightened emotion; emotional (arguably Victorian)sentiment;  exaggerated body movements; pathos; menace and comedy we can see clear traits of melodrama. However, above all, let us bask in the ‘moral glow of melodrama.’[5]

Further reading on Disney:

Barrier, Micheal, Hollywood Cartoons, American Animation in its Golden Age, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999)

Gabler, Neal, Walt Disney, The Biography, (London: Aurum Press, 2008)

Ward, Annalee R., Mouse Morality, The Rhetoric of Disney Animated Film, (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002)

Wells, Paul, Animation and America, (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2002)

Disney and the Romantic Comedy:

Terri Martin Wright (1997), ‘Romancing the Tale: Walt Disney’s Adaptation of the Grimms’ “Snow White”’, Journal of Popular Film and Television, 25:3, 98-108

Victorian Melodrama:

Stephen Leacock, ‘The Drama as I see it’, Harper’s Monthly Magazine, 290-306

Posted by Sarah, on Ann-Marie’s behalf

Steve Neale’s article ‘Melo Talk’ attempts to look at how the term melodrama was used in the trade press. Neale’s sources include Film Daily, Hollywood Reporter, Motion Picture Herald and Variety, yet it seems his use is selective. He states that the term melodrama is ‘rather rare in reviews of women’s films,’[1] for instance, films such as Dark Victory. The analysis is often limited by his reliance on review pages in trade papers, whereas he could have benefited to look at the categorizing pages such as the release chart. This is the case with Dark Victory. Neale informs us that Variety reviews it as an “intense drama,”[2] and thus leads us to infer that woman’s pictures, and this in particular, was not categorized as a melodrama. However, Motion Picture Herald does in fact claim it to be a melodrama (CLICK HERE FOR PDF:Motion Picture Herald 25th February 1939). Thus, is Neale being selective by relying on reviews, or selecting what suits his analysis?

He concludes that ‘the trade press clearly recognized [melodramas as] the adventure film, the thriller, the horror film, the war film and the western.’[3] This is questionable due to the status and categorizing of Dark Victory as a melodrama. Thus, further research is needed to clarify whether the majority were treated in the same manner as Dark Victory.

Posted by Sarah

This is the longer list of suggested unmissable melodramas. Do email me on sp458@kent.ac.uk or log in to leave your comments. Are there any here that should have made the top 50 and didn’t? Or perhaps you think some of the films listed below should not be considered melodramas at all…..

1. A Free Soul (Clarence Brown, 1931)
2. A Matter of Life and Death (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1946)
3. A Place In The Sun (George Stevens, 1951)
4. A Star is Born (George Cukor, 1954)
5. A Summer Place (Delmer Daves, 1959)
6. All I Desire (Douglas Sirk, 1953)
7. All that Heaven Allows (Douglas Sirk, 1956)
8. All This and Heaven Too (Anatole Litvak, 1940)
9. Angela’s Ashes (Alan Parker, 1999)
10. Anna Karenina (Clarence Brown, 1935)
11. Asoka (Santosh Sivan, 2001)
12. Autumn Leaves (Robert Aldrich, 1956)
13. Autumn Sonata (Ingmar Bergman, 1978)
14. Baby Doll (Elia Kazan, 1956)
15. Baby Face (Alfred E Green, 1933)
16. Back Street (John M Stahl, 1932)
17. Beaches (Garry Marshall, 1988)
18. Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)
19. Beyond the Forest (King Vidor, 1949)
20. Beyond the Rocks (Sam Wood, 1922)
21. Bigger Than Life (Nicholas Ray, 1956)
22. Black Narcissus (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1947)
23. Blanche Fury (Marc Allegret, 1948)
24. Blonde Venus (Josef von Sternberg, 1932)
25. Brief Encounter (David Lean, 1945)
26. Broken Blossoms (D. W. Griffiths, 1919)
27. By Love Possessed (John Sturgess, 1961)
28. Camille (George Cukor, 1936)
29. Caravan (Arthur Crabtree, 1946)
30. Carousel (Henry King, 1956)
31. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Richard Brooks, 1958)
32. Caught (Max Ophuls, 1948)
33. City Lights (Charles Chaplin, 1931)
34. Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (Robert Altman, 1983)
35. Cries and Whispers (Ingmar Bergman, 1972)
36. Dance with a Stranger (Mike Newell, 1985
37. Dancer in the Dark (Lars Von Trier, 2000)
38. Dangerous Liaisons (Stephen Frears, 1988)
39. Dark Victory (Edmund Goulding, 1939)
40. David Copperfield (George Cukor, 1935)
41. Dead Poets’ Society (Peter Weir, 1989)
42. Death in Venice (Luchino Visconti, 1971)
43. Deception (Irving Rapper, 1947)
44. Desert Hearts (Donna Deitch, 1985)
45. Devdas (Bimal Roy, 1955)
46. Devdas (Sanjay Leela Bhansali, 2002)
47. Distant Voices, Still Lives (Terence Davies, 1988)
48. Dr. Zhivago (David Lean, 1965)
49. Drums Along the Mohawk (John Ford, 1939)
50. Duel in the Sun (King Vidor, 1946)
51. East of Eden (Elia Kazan, 1955)
52. Él (This Strange Passion) (Luis Bunuel, 1953)
53. El Amor Brujo (Carlos Saura, 1986)
54. Fanny by Gaslight (Anthony Asquith, 1944)
55. Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes, 2002)
56. Farewell My Concubine (Kaige Chen, 1993)
57. Fear Eats the Soul (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974)
58. Festen (Thomas Vinterberg, 1998)
59. Flame in the Streets (Roy Ward Baker, 1961)
60. Flesh and the Devil (Clarence Brown, 1926)
61. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle-Stop Cafe (Jon Avnet, 1991)
62. Gaslight (Thorold Dickinson, 1940)
63. Giant (George Stevens, 1956)
64. Gladiator (Ridley Scott, 2000)
65. Gone to Earth (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1950)
66. Gone With the Wind (Victor Flemming, 1939)
67. Good Time Girl (David MacDonald, 1948)
68. Greed (Erich von Stroheim, 1923)
69. Guilt is My Shadow (Roy Kellino, 1950)
70. Happy Together (Wong Kar Wai, 1997)
71. Hindle Wakes (Victor Saville, 1930)
72. Hold Your Man (Sam Wood, 1933)
73. Home From the Hill (Vincente Minnelli, 1960)
74. Humoresque (Jean Negulesco, 1947)
75. I See a Dark Stranger (Frank Launder, 1946)
76. I Want to Live! (Robert Mann, 1958)
77. I’ll Cry Tomorrow (Daniel Mann, 1955)
78. Imitation of Life (Douglas Sirk, 1959)
79. In Which We Serve (Noel Coward & David Lean, 1942)
80. Interlude (Douglas Sirk, 1957)
81. Io sono l’amore/I Am Love (Luca Guadagnino, 2009)
82. It Always Rains on Sunday (Robert Hamer, 1947)
83. It’s a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1947)
84. Jane Eyre (Robert Stevenson, 1943)
85. Jassy (Bernard Knowles, 1947)
86. Jezebel (William Wyler, 1938)
87. Johnny Belinda (Jean Negulesco, 1948)
88. Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1953)
89. Julia (Fred Zinnemann, 1977)
90. Juno and the Peacock (Alfred Hitchcock, 1930)
91. Kabhi Kabhie (Yash Chopra, 1976)
92. King’s Row (Sam Wood, 1941)
93. Kiss of the Spider Woman (Hector Babenco, 1985)
94. L’Innocente (Luchino Visconti, 1976)
95. Lady of the Night (Monta Bell, 1925)
96. Leave Her To Heaven (John M. Stahl, 1945)
97. London Belongs to Me (Sidney Gilliat, 1948)
98. Longtime Companion (Norman Rene, 1990)
99. Love is a Many Splendoured Thing (Henry King, 1955)
100. Love Story (Leslie Arliss, 1944)
101. Love Story (Arthur Hiller, 1970)
102. Madame Bovary (Vincente Minelli, 1949)
103. Madame X (David Lowell Rich, 1965)
104. Madonna of the Seven Moons (Arthur Crabtree, 1944)
105. Magnificent Obsession (Douglas Sirk, 1954)
106. Mandy (Alexander Mackendrick, 1952)
107. María Candelaria (Emilio Fernández, 1943)
108. Marjorie Morningstar (Irving Rapper, 1957)
109. Marnie (Alfred Hitchcock, 1964)
110. Mater Doloroso (Abel Gance, 1917,)
111. Maurice (James Ivory, 1987)
112. Meet Me in St. Louis (Vincente Minnelli, 1944)
113. Mere Mehboob (Harnam Singh Rawail, 1963)
114. Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945)
115. Millions Like Us (Launder & Gilliat, 1943)
116. Mommie Dearest (Frank Perry, 1981)
117. Mother India (Mehboob Khan, 1957)
118. Mrs Miniver (William Wyler, 1942)
119. No Regrets for Our Youth (Akira Kurosawa, 1946)
120. Now Voyager (Irving Rapper 1942)
121. Nuts (Martin Ritt, 1987)
122. Oliver Twist (Frank LLoyd, 1922)
123. On Golden Pond (Mark Rydall, 1981)
124. Only Yesterday (John Stahl, 1933)
125. Ordinary People (Robert Redford, 1980)
126. Orphans of the Storm (D. W. Griffiths, 1921)
127. Ossessione (Luchino Visconti, 1943)
128. Pakeezah (Kamal Amrohi, 1971)
129. Parrish (Delmer Daves, 1961)
130. Partir/Leaving (Catherine Corsini, 2009)
131. Penthouse (W.S. Van Dyke, 1933)
132. Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966)
133. Peyton Place (Mark Robson, 1957)
134. Piccadilly (Ewald André Dupont, 1929)
135. Picnic (Joshua Logan, 1955)
136. Places in the Heart (Robert Benton, 1984)
137. Polyester (John Waters, 1981)
138. Possessed (Curtis Bernhardt, 1947)
139. Quai Des Brumes (Marcel Carné, 1938)
140. Raise the Red Lantern (Yimou Zhang, 1991)
141. Rancho Notorious (Fritz Lang, 1952)
142. Random Harvest (Mervyn Le Roy, 1942)
143. Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, 1955)
144. Remains of the Day (James Ivory, 1993)
145. River of No Return (Otto Preminger, 1954)
146. Rocky (John G. Avildsen, 1976)
147. Sabotage (Alfred Hitchcock, 1936)
148. Safe In Hell (William A Wellman, 1931)
149. Salmonberries (Percy Adlon, 1991)
150. Scarlet Pages (Ray Enright, 1930)
151. Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
152. Séance on a Wet Afternoon (Bryan Forbes, 1964)
153. Secrets and Lies (Mike Leigh, 1996)
154. Senso (Luchino Visconti, 1954)
155. Shane (George Stevens, 1953)
156. Shanghai Triad (Yimou Zhang, 1995)
157. Sholay (Ramesh Sippy, 1975)
158. Since You Went Away (John Cromwell, 1944)
159. Some Came Running (Vincente Minnelli, 1958)
160. Spellbound (Alfred Hitchcock, 1945)
161. Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939)
162. Stella Dallas (King Vidor, 1936)
163. Suddenly Last Summer (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1959)
164. Sunrise (F. W. Murnau, 1927)
165. Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950)
166. Tea and Sympathy (Vincente Minnelli, 1956)
167. Temptress Moon (Kaige Chen, 1996)
168. Tender Comrade (Edward Dmytryk, 1943)
169. Terms of Endearment (James L. Brooks, 1983)
170. That Hamilton Woman (Alexander Korda, 1941)
171. The Best of Everything (Jean Negulesco, 1959)
172. The Big Parade (King Vidor, 1925)
173. The Bitter Tea of General Yen (Frank Capra, 1933)
174. The Blue Lamp (Basil Dearden, 1950)
175. The Bridges of Madison County (Clint Eastwood, 1995)
176. The Champ (Franco Zeffirelli, 1979)
177. The Cobweb (Vincente Minnelli, 1955)
178. The Color Purple (Steven Spielberg)
179. The Crowd (King Vidor, 1928)
180. The Damned Don’t Cry! (Vincent Sherman, 1950)
181. The Divorceé (Robert Z Leonard, 1930)
182. The Flower of my Secret (Pedro Almodovar, 1995)
183. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Rex Ingram, 1921)
184. The Go-Between (Joseph Losey, 1971)
185. The Goddess (Wu Yonggang, 1934)
186. The Hours (Stephen Daldry, 2002)
187. The House of Trent (Norman Walker, 1933)
188. The Innocents (Jack Clayton, 1961)
189. The Killing of Sister George (Robert Aldrich, 1968)
190. The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (Jack Clayton, 1987)
191. The Man in Grey (Leslie Arliss, 1943)
192. The Men (Fred Zinneman, 1950)
193. The Merchant of Four Seasons (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1972)
194. The Old Maid (Edmund Goudling, 1939)
195. The Passion of Anna (Ingmar Bergman, 1969)
196. The Passionate Friends (David Lean, 1949)
197. The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (Michael Curtiz, 1939)
198. The Reckless Moment (Max Ophuls, 1949)
199. The Return of Carol Deane (Arthur B Woods, 1938)
200. The Sheik (George Melford, 1921)
201. The Singer Not The Song (Roy Ward Baker, 1961)
202. The Spanish Gardener (Philip Leacock, 1956)
203. The Stray Bullet (Yu Hyun-mok, 1960)
204. The Tarnished Angels (Douglas Sirk, 1958)
205. The Way We Were (Sydney Pollack, 1973)
206. The Wicked Lady (Leslie Arliss, 1945)
207. The Wind (Victor Sjorstrom, 1928)
208. There’s Always Tomorrow (Douglas Sirk, 1956)
209. They Were Sisters (Arthur Crabtree, 1945)
210. Thirteen Women (George Archainbaud, 1932)
211. To Each His Own (Mitchell Leisen, 1946)
212. To Live (Yimou Zhang, 1994)
213. Torch Song Trilogy (Paul Bogart, 1988)
214. Tormento (Raffaello Matarazzo, 1950)
215. Umrao Jaan (Muzaffar Ali, 1981)
216. Victim (Basil Dearden, 1961)
217. Watch on the Rhine (Herman Shulmin, 1943)
218. Waterloo Bridge (Mervyn LeRoy, 1940)
219. Way Down East (D. W. Griffiths, 1920)
220. West Side Story (Robert Wise, 1961)
221. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Mike Nichols, 1966)
222. Written on the Wind (Douglas Sirk, 1956)
223. Wuthering Heights (William Wyler, 1939)
224. Yanks (John Schlesinger, 1979)
225. Yield to the Night (J. Lee Thompson, 1956)