{"id":7961,"date":"2017-10-11T13:59:50","date_gmt":"2017-10-11T12:59:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/?p=7961"},"modified":"2017-10-11T14:00:56","modified_gmt":"2017-10-11T13:00:56","slug":"5-essential-world-cinema-films","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/2017\/10\/11\/5-essential-world-cinema-films\/","title":{"rendered":"5 essential World Cinema films"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I have written eighteen blogs (this one included) during my time as a writer for musicMagpie. Through them I have introduced you to countless forms of cinema from mainstream to the more outer limits (e.g. arthouse and experimental) and in a range of different languages. And it\u2019s the latter I wish to talk about in this one, as we count down five of the best films beyond the borders of the English speaking world.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll be traversing the globe, selecting the best films from each continent, so put your tray tables in the upright position and prepare for take-off.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>Breathless (1960)<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><b>Country:<\/b> France<br \/>\n<b>Director:<\/b> Jean-Luc Godard<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WCDEAu4R8hA\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>First of all, let\u2019s kick this list off with a film from the French New Wave, <em>Breathless<\/em> by Jean-Luc Godard.<\/p>\n<p>The story of the feature is that of a petty thief who impulsively murders a policeman and attempts to evade the authorities to Italy along with a young American journalism student.<\/p>\n<p>They say film critics can\u2019t be filmmakers, but the members of the French New Wave (Godard, Truffaut and Rivette to name but a few) have sure proven that statement redundant (not that it was much of a solid point in the first place).<\/p>\n<p>This film owes a lot to the works of 50s filmmaker Jean-Pierre Melville (<em>Rififi<\/em>, <em>Bob le Flambeur<\/em>) in that it pays homage to the Warner Bros gangster movies of the 30s, with numerous references to the Hollywood auteurs that members of the French New Wave frequently championed (in particular the original <em>Scarface<\/em> by Howard Hawks, especially in the ending of <em>Breathless<\/em>).<\/p>\n<p>In fact, towards the end of the sixties, filmmakers involved in the New Hollywood movement (in particular former critic turned director Peter Bogdanovich) began relying on the techniques introduced by the French New Wave (<em>Bonnie and Clyde<\/em> is one such example \u201d\u201c this and <em>Breathless<\/em> would make for quite a double bill).<\/p>\n<p>This is a film that seems almost made for cinephiles, featuring all kinds of experimental uses of the medium and featuring all kinds of Easter eggs only a film fan can spot.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/store.musicmagpie.co.uk\/products\/breathless-dvd-dvd\"><em><strong>Buy Breathless on the musicMagpie Store<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>Bicycle Thieves (1948)<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><b>Country:<\/b> Italy<br \/>\n<b>Director:<\/b> Vittorio de Sica<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oqib1EaY5G8\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>One of few films responsible for the creation of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (the others being the same director\u2019s <em>Shoeshine<\/em> and features from both France and Japan, one of which we will get to in a bit), <em>Bicycle Thieves<\/em> is one of the standouts of the Italian Neorealist movement of the mid-20<sup>th<\/sup> Century.<\/p>\n<p>The story focuses on an unemployed man and his son who set out on a voyage (both physically and mentally) across Rome in search of his stolen bicycle.<\/p>\n<p>Featuring the use of deep focus cinematography (following the likes of Jean Renoir, cinematographer Gregg Toland and Orson Welles), non-professional actors and believable plot threads, this film stands as something unique among other features at the time.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, Tim Robbins proposed a remake of the film in Robert Altman\u2019s <em>The Player<\/em> in which it would be Hollywood-ised (happy ending and all), but thank god that exists in the world of fiction. Right? *<em>Looks nervously at computer monitor<\/em>* Bonus points if you can spot future Spaghetti Western helmsman (then an unknown actor) Sergio Leone in one scene.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/store.musicmagpie.co.uk\/products\/maggioranibicyclethi\"><em>Buy Bicycle Thieves on the musicMagpie Store<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>Rashomon (1950)<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><b>Country:<\/b> Japan<br \/>\n<b>Director:<\/b> Akira Kurosawa<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xCZ9TguVOIA\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>I said we would get to one of the Japanese features responsible for the creation of the Foreign Language Film Oscar (back then just a special award), and here it is.<\/p>\n<p>The film that put Akira Kurosawa\u2019s name on the map and brought Japanese cinema in general to the attention of the outside world, it tells the story of a crime and its aftermath, told from three different perspectives.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone has paid homage to Kurosawa in one form or another, from George Lucas and Steven Spielberg to animator Gennady Tartakovsky (there\u2019s no surprise that traces of Kurosawa can be found all over <em>Samurai Jack<\/em>), and with <em>Rashomon<\/em>, it\u2019s not hard to see why.<\/p>\n<p>Firstly, this film contains all the hallmarks you would expect from a Kurosawa picture. From a period setting in feudal Japan and samurai to haunting ghost-like cinematography and an appearance from regular Toshiro Mifune (who was even sought after to play the roles of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader during the making of the original <em>Star Wars<\/em>), this set in motion what Kurosawa is most known for. But that\u2019s not to say that\u2019s all Kurosawa is associated with.<\/p>\n<p>While you\u2019re at it, also check out his contributions to the gangster film genre with <em>Drunken Angel<\/em> and <em>High and Low<\/em> and discover how we gave Kurosawa the story material for his movies and how he gave us his in return.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/store.musicmagpie.co.uk\/products\/rashomon-165caa96-81ed-41d0-9f83-56f265deeca3\"><em>Buy Rashomon on the musicMagpie Store<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>The Seventh Seal (1957)<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><b>Country:<\/b> Sweden<br \/>\n<b>Director:<\/b> Ingmar Bergman<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NtkFei4wRjE\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Yes, it was only a matter of time before Ingmar Bergman found his way onto the list.<\/p>\n<p>No foreign language film would be complete without at least one Bergman feature adorning it, so for the plain introductory basis of this list, I had to pick his most obvious one.<\/p>\n<p>The film follows a knight and his encounters with Death (this feature is where the iconic grim reaper design became popular) through a plague infested country.<\/p>\n<p>This is the film where Bergman began to get into his own, through deep philosophies on mankind (see the game of chess) and haunting religious imagery and cinematography. It also has the added bonus of being a very unflinching look at the period in history where religious fundamentalism was at its height during an oncoming disaster (see the flagellation scene).<\/p>\n<p>But on a more light-hearted note, you could also watch this together with <em>Monty Python and the Holy Grail<\/em> (there are traces of Bergman parody there \u201d\u201c especially the plague-infested England) and Woody Allen\u2019s comedic send-up of Bergman <em>Love and Death<\/em> (including a parody of the character of Death itself).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/store.musicmagpie.co.uk\/products\/the-seventh-seal-blu-ray-1957\"><strong><em>Buy The Seventh Seal on the musicMagpie Store<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>Pan&#8217;s Labyrinth (2006)<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><b>Country:<\/b> Mexico<br \/>\n<b>Director:<\/b> Guillermo Del Toro<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EqYiSlkvRuw\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Now you may think I may have included Guillermo del Toro\u2019s most acclaimed feature of his career in celebration of the massive praise being heaped upon <em>The Shape of Water<\/em>, well that\u2019s one of the reasons but follow along and you may find rich reward.<\/p>\n<p>A young girl is sent away to live with her pregnant mother and sadistic military captain stepfather during the uprising of the Spanish Marquis, where she comes across a fantasy world and is put through numerous trials across the two worlds.<\/p>\n<p>Now don\u2019t be fooled by the fact that it comes across as a fairy tale because, in case the \u201d\u02dc15\u2019 certificate on the DVD case hasn\u2019t already told you, Disney this is not. What we get is Guillermo del Toro dissecting the notion of fairy tale and blurring the lines between what is real and fantasy, as if the main character is merely using this world as a means of escape from the conflict around her.<\/p>\n<p>The film\u2019s quasi-fantasy setting also allows del Toro to do what he does best, come up with the most creative creature designs you will ever see (as he\u2019s done in the likes of <em>Cronos<\/em>, <em>Blade II<\/em> and the <em>Hellboy<\/em> movies). The stand-outs in this department would have to be the faun Pan and the hand-eyed, bloodthirsty Pale Man (both played by del Toro regular Doug Jones).<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, this film (like so many others recommended in the past) also makes a good double feature with another del Toro directed Spanish Civil War genre film (this one being a horror) <em>The Devil\u2019s Backbone<\/em>, so get purchasing and enjoy.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/store.musicmagpie.co.uk\/products\/pan-s-labyrinth-blu-ray-2006\"><em>Buy Pan&#8217;s Labyrinth on the musicMagpie Store<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><b>Honourable mentions:<\/b> <em>8 \u00bd <\/em>(Federico Fellini, 1963, Italy), <em>The Battle of Algiers<\/em> (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966, Italy\/Algeria), <em>Farewell My Concubine<\/em> (Chen Kaige, 1993, China), <em>Memories of Underdevelopment<\/em> (Tom\u00c3\u00a1s Guti\u00c3\u00a9rrez Alea, 1968, Cuba), <em>Man of Marble<\/em> and <em>Man of Iron<\/em> (Andrzej Wadja, 1977 and 1981, Poland), <em>All About My Mother<\/em> (Pedro Almodovar, 1999, Spain), <em>Uzak<\/em> (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2002, Turkey)<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>We\u2019re not done yet. Stay tuned for part two\u201d\u00a6<\/p>\n<p>You can find all of the films in this post, as well as thousands more fantastic films from across the globe, on the musicMagpie Store at incredible prices. <a href=\"http:\/\/store.musicmagpie.co.uk\/category\/film-and-tv\/genre\/world-cinema\/?&amp;utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=essential-cinema\">Shop our World Cinema range today<\/a>, pick up a few classic movies and get FREE delivery with every order. Why wouldn&#8217;t you?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/store.musicmagpie.co.uk\/category\/film-and-tv\/genre\/world-cinema\/?&amp;utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=essential-cinema\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5210\" src=\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/SHOP-NOW.png\" alt=\"SHOP NOW\" width=\"299\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I have written eighteen blogs (this one included) during my time as a writer for musicMagpie. Through them I have introduced you to countless forms of cinema from mainstream to the more outer limits (e.g. arthouse and experimental) and in a range of different languages. And it\u2019s the latter I &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":7963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[1886,1574,1945],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7961"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7961"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7964,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7961\/revisions\/7964"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}