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Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
By plunging one unfaithful husband into the depths of an erotic cult and traversing a hazy underworld of dreams in Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick eerily reveals those depraved, shadowy figures that live inside us all, and the invisible power they hold over our minds, societies, and humanity.
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Strike (1925)
Much like factory workers uniting in organised rebellion against their exploitative managers, Sergei Eisenstein lets revolutionary formal purpose drive every editing choice in Strike, building symphonic set pieces out of montages that possess a brisk, mathematical precision.
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The Quiet Man (1952)
The craggy mountains, verdant pastures, and mossy stone walls of rural Ireland burst with vibrant effervescence in The Quiet Man, where John Ford sets breathtaking backdrops for the return of one American immigrant to his old family farm, as well as the ensuing drama which results from his courtship of the local bully’s sister.
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The Substance (2024)
The black-market drug which reverts users to their younger selves is an appealing prospect in The Substance, though its side effects reveal a horrifying underside to such desires, seeing Coralie Fargeat compose a disturbing allegory for the physical deterioration of our ageing bodies and the destructive self-loathing which comes with it.
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Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes may not possess the rich character work of the other prequels, yet Wes Ball’s development of this majestic, tribal world through the legacy of its ancestors is admirable, examining splintered ideological factions that exploit sacred doctrine for their own selfish purposes.
