Movies watched in 2021
Exactly what it says on the tin: these are movies I watched for the first time in 2021.
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- DirectorHoward HawksStarsMiriam HopkinsEdward G. RobinsonJoel McCreaMary Rutledge arrives from the East, finds her fiance dead, and goes to work at the roulette wheel of Louis Charnalis' Bella Donna, a rowdy gambling house in 1850s San Francisco.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsIsabel JeansFranklin DyallEric Bransby WilliamsA recently divorced woman hides her scandalous past from her new husband and his family.
- DirectorBill RobertsStarsBilly BletcherJohn McLeishWalt DisneyRather out of place at a swanky dog show, Pluto flirts with Fifi, a dainty Pekingese. The judge orders Mickey and Pluto to leave, but when a fire breaks out Pluto rescues Fifi and is proclaimed a hero.
- DirectorEdwin S. PorterA baker's assistant throws a handful of dough at a rat. The dough sticks to the side of a barrel and the assistant proceeds to sculpt the dough into various faces and shapes. There is some experimental use of stop motion.
- DirectorJames WilliamsonStarsMr. JamesMr. LepardFlorence WilliamsonThe titles tell us this film is based on an incident in the Boxer Rebellion. A man tries to defend a woman and a large house against Chinese attackers. They attack with swords, guns, and paddles. He's over-matched. What will become of the mission, its defenders, and its occupants?
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsTyrone PowerMarlene DietrichCharles LaughtonA veteran British barrister must defend his client in a murder trial that has surprise after surprise.
- DirectorEdwin S. PorterReveals the most important stages of life, through one couple.
- DirectorRoscoe 'Fatty' ArbuckleStarsRoscoe 'Fatty' ArbuckleBuster KeatonMolly MaloneBuster manages the store while Roscoe delivers the mail, taking time out for hide-and-seek with Molly. The constable, also interested in Molly, steals $300 while being observed by Buster.
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsChristopher PlummerKim RobertsAmanda SmithWith the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person he believes to be responsible for the death of his family in the death camp to kill him himself.
- DirectorErich von StroheimRichard BoleslawskiStarsGloria SwansonWalter ByronSeena OwenA convent girl is abducted and seduced by a prince before being sent off to a brothel in East Africa.
- DirectorAlan J. PakulaStarsWarren BeattyPaula PrentissWilliam DanielsAn ambitious reporter gets in way-over-his-head trouble while investigating a senator's assassination which leads to a vast conspiracy involving a multinational corporation behind every event in the world's headlines.
- DirectorTakashi YamazakiStarsKan'ichi KuritaKiyoshi KobayashiDaisuke NamikawaLupin III goes on a grand adventure to uncover the secrets of the Bresson Diary, which is tied to the legacy of his famous grandfather.
- A family of seven entertain themselves by putting on a pageant on Christmas Eve.
- DirectorLouis Aimé Augustin Le PrinceA frame sequence featuring a man walking around a corner.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsMarlene DietrichVictor McLaglenGustav von SeyffertitzThe Austrian Secret Service sends its most seductive agent to spy on the Russians.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsJames KirkwoodMarion LeonardAdele DeGardeA society couple, neglect their young daughter in favor of their social life. When the girl becomes seriously ill, the father realizes the errors of his ways and stays home with her, demanding his wife do likewise. She sneaks out to a dance and the child takes a turn for the worse. By the time she returns home the child is dead. After her husband leaves her, the mother realizes her selfishness and begs forgiveness at her daughter's grave.
- DirectorRobert KurtzmanStarsTammy LaurenAndrew DivoffAngus ScrimmA demonic djinn attempts to grant its owner three wishes, which will allow him to summon his brethren to Earth.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsMoira ShearerRobert RounsevilleLudmilla TchérinaA melancholy poet reflects on three women he loved and lost in the past: a mechanical performing doll, a Venetian courtesan, and the consumptive daughter of a celebrated composer.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsHenry B. WalthallFlorence BarkerW. Chrystie MillerBefore the revolution in France the nobility exercised a most despotic rule over the peasants, subjecting them to abject slavery. Not only did they suffer pecuniary oppression, but their humble households were invaded and defiled by the noble profligates. Henri Provost, a perfumer, receives a call from his landlord in quest of some perfume. During his visit this nobleman is attracted by Henri's pretty young wife. Her beauty so enthralls him that he, during her husband's absence, exercises his presumed rights, and invites, or rather commands her to attend his house fete. Here he dresses her in finery and promises to make a great lady of her, so that when her husband, who finding whither she had gone, bursts into the palace, she denies him. The heartbroken perfumer at first would return to the palace and in vengeance murder both his wife and the nobleman, but the old priest stays him, by showing him the crucifix, the emblem of Christian charity and making him swear he would never kill them. Indicating that vengeance belonged to God. Henri takes this oath and lives up to it. Some time later the peasants chafing under aristocratic tyranny revolt, with the perfumer a leader. The revolutionists invade the home of the nobleman, the occupants of which flee in panic. The nobleman himself, with the perfumer's wife, who is still with him, make their way to her former home, which she imagines is deserted. The perfumer enters, and upon meeting the guilty pair, sees his chance to wreak vengeance. He is about to run them through when the old priest again appears and shows him the crucifix, reminding him of his oath. He then waves back the mob, who haven't seen the nobleman, with the exclamation, "This is my wife." The mob dismissed, he takes the couple to an inner room where they exchange their finery for peasant's attire. Thus they leave to take their chances of evading intemperate revolutionists who are parading outside, devastating everything and destroying everybody aristocratic. What a bitter lesson she has been taught. Her covetousness has brought her only shame, terror, poverty and isolation.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsDorothy WestClara T. BracyHenry B. WalthallReliable authority states that nine million human lives were sacrificed through the zeal of fanatical reformers during the Christian epoch. Religious fanaticism was in most cases the cause, still there were many victimized to satisfy a personal grudge, and this Biograph subject shows how easily such a crime can be perpetrated. Play upon the minds of a superstitions people and you may lead them blindly to any end. In 1692 the agitation was so great in Salem, Mass., that many people lost their self-possession, some even believing themselves to be witches. On the other hand, a number of the inhabitants moved away fear of being accused of being witches. There are many relics of those days still in existence at Salem, and while conditions are such as to prevent our using the actual spots, yet many of the scenes of the picture are closely contiguous to them, our company of players making the trip there for the purpose. The story tells of the old mother and her child living on the sea coast, care free. The mother ekes a living telling fortunes and nursing the sick among the village folk. The girl we might term a child of the sea, as she spends most of her time among the wave-lashed rocks of the coast, scampering from jut to jut more resembling a sprite than a human. Off in the hills we find a trapper at the camp of Mohawk Indians, on his way to the sea, of which he had heard but never seen. A Mohawk brave volunteers to guide him to the great waters of the Atlantic leaving him there overwhelmed with awe at the grandeur of the spectacle. Here he meets the p pretty maiden and an attachment develops which later ripens into love, a betrothal resulting. As the girl reaches her home she is accosted by a hypocritical Puritan deacon, whose insulting advances she indignantly repulses. He in revenge goes to the other churchmen and accuses the girl and her mother of being witches. Proof sufficient to convince these narrow-minded fanatics is easy to obtain, for the fact of the old lady's care and curing the sick is known to all, hence they purposely construe her kindness to be witchcraft. The poor souls are seized and thrown into prison and later condemned by a prejudiced jury to be burned at the stake. As they are carried to the jail they are met by the trapper sweetheart, who learning of her pending danger, rushes off to enlist the aid of his Mohawk friends to rescue her from this awful fate. The mother is first to be made a victim and while she is suffering the injustice inflicted upon her the deacon visits the girl's cell and shows her from the window her mother's fate, with the hope of weakening her determination. She still repulses him and so is led forth to be victimized as was her mother. Meanwhile, her sweetheart has gotten his Mohawk friends and is rushing to the rescue, arriving just as the torch is put to the brushwood piled up around the girl. With a mad dash the Indians rush upon the scene, knocking down and scattering the fanatics and carrying the girl off before the Puritans realize what has taken place. In fact, it was done so quickly that some of the more superstitious thought she went up in smoke.
- DirectorOtis TurnerStarsKing BaggotViolet HornerWilliam Robert DalyGeorge, an "unathletic" young man, falls for Clarice, a healthy, athletically-inclined young woman. Unfortunately for George, a strapping, muscle-bound stud is also after Clarice, and she seems to prefer him to George. After reading an article by a female writer saying that women prefer the "caveman" type of man, George decides that if that what it takes to get Clarice, then that is what he will be.
- DirectorWilliam HumphreyStarsEarle WilliamsEdith StoreyWilliam HumphreyThe Jester falls in love with the Princess. The Princess cannot abide him and when he declares his love, she laughs derisively and points to the water of the fountain at which he is sitting, telling him to gaze into it and behold the reflection of his unattractive countenance. He recognizes the hopelessness of his suit, and when he discovers the Princess in tryst with the handsome young shepherd, the Jester is filled with jealous rage and at once notifies the King. The shepherd is arrested and brought to the King, who pronounces a sentence of death upon him. The Princess throws herself upon the neck of her lover and clings to him, while she implores her father to spare his life. The King's Jester is touched with remorse. He immediately sets about freeing the shepherd and helping the young couple to escape from the kingdom. He goes to the chamber of the Princess and tells her of his plans, then hastens with his dogs to the King's court, where he finds the young shepherd bound before being led to the scaffold. At once the Jester starts his pranks, putting his dog through many tricks and setting the whole court in roars of laughter, and entirely absorbing their attention. Passing behind the shepherd, he cuts his bonds and tells him to hasten forth into the garden, where he will find the Princess and two horses waiting for him and to make haste across the borders of the kingdom, while he holds the audience. Upon discovering the escape of the shepherd, all is excitement. Search is made for his whereabouts, but too late. The Princess and the shepherd are far beyond their reach.
- DirectorHarry SolterStarsFlorence LawrenceArthur V. JohnsonAlbert McGovernA mother unknowingly commits bigamy when her first husband, who was supposed to be dead, unexpectedly returns. She makes the ultimate sacrifice in order to preserve her innocent child's legitimacy.
- DirectorÉtienne ArnaudStarsAlec B. FrancisJulia StuartGuy OliverThis is the story of a great musician who tries out a popular ragtime classic with such telling effect that he nearly puts the entire neighborhood out of commission. Businessmen, laborers, pretty girls, domestics, tradesmen fall victims to the magic power of the melody with a droll effect which will almost take your audiences off their feet!
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsJ. Warren KerriganDot FarleyGeorge PeriolatLorenz Pedro, a Mexican half-breed, owns a small sheep ranch, and lives happily with his wife Marie and little daughter Lois. One exceedingly hot afternoon, Tom Flint, riding across the ranch looking for work is overcome by the heat, and Pedro, acting the part of a good Samaritan, takes him to his home, where Marie, through careful nursing, soon has him quite himself again. Pedro is out daily with his flock, leaving Marie and Flint together, offering an opportunity which Flint ungratefully takes advantage of, resulting in his completely winning Marie's love. Manuelito, Marie's father, is suspicious and comes upon them while Flint is declaring his love. He goes to Pedro in the field and tells what he has seen and heard. Hastening home he finds his wife in Flint's embrace, and in his great love for Marie bids Flint take her, but warns him his life shall pay the penalty should he ever find him shamefully abusing both mother and child. Manuelito sends a telegram to Pedro, who is working on a distant ranch, telling him of this abuse. Arriving home he comes upon Flint in the act of striking Marie, whose health having been undermined by ill treatment, at the sight of Pedro, falters for a moment, and falls dead at his feet. Flint is terror-stricken. At the point of a gun Pedro summarily marches him off to a high cliff overlooking the sea. Here Pedro tosses away his gun and a terrible hand-to-hand combat ensues, ending when Flint is thrown from the cliff to a watery grave. The death of Marie is avenged. A few days later little Lois prevents the grief-stricken Pedro from taking his own life, and clasping the little child in his arms, kneels in resignation by the mother's grave.
- DirectorDanny KoremStarsBilly HydrickJames HydrickLois HydrickProfessional magician Danny Korem speaks to purported telekinetic/martial arts instructor James Hydrick, who admits his powers are a sham.
- DirectorWilliam James CraftStarsW.E. LawrenceRuth RoyceLola ToddA story of an Indian girl's love for a white man. In this instance, the hero, although he loves a girl of his own race, agrees to marry the Indian girl in order to save his people from attack by the Indians. Believing he is not going to keep his bargain, the Indian girl incites her tribesmen to battle, but as they are about to attack she realizes he will be happier with the white girl, sacrifices her own love and causes the braves to desist from the attack.
- StarsJohn R. CumpsonCharles ArlingA man follows a woman into a spiritualist's parlor and experiences a seance. He decides to hold a do-it-yourself seance, with shocking results.
- DirectorMichael SchaackStarsUlrich TukurMario AdorfHelge SchneiderA cat must investigate brutal murders of other cats in a neighborhood he has moved into with his owner.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsRoddy PiperKeith DavidMeg FosterThey influence our decisions without us knowing it. They numb our senses without us feeling it. They control our lives without us realizing it. They live.
- DirectorMartin RosenJohn HubleyStarsJohn HurtRichard BriersRalph RichardsonHoping to escape destruction by human developers and save their community, a colony of rabbits, led by Hazel and Fiver, seek out a safe place to set up a new warren.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsRobert DuvallDonald PleasenceDon Pedro ColleyIn the 25th century, a time when people have designations instead of names, a man, THX 1138, and a woman, LUH 3417, rebel against their rigidly controlled society.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsDan NachtsheimJoy CarmichaelDavid MunsonWhile monitored and pursued, a man races to escape through a futuristic labyrinth.
- DirectorVincent ParonnaudMarjane SatrapiStarsChiara MastroianniCatherine DeneuveGena RowlandsA precocious and outspoken Iranian girl grows up during the Islamic Revolution.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsPriscilla LaneRobert CummingsOtto KrugerA young man accused of sabotage goes on the run to prove his innocence.
- DirectorIvan AksenchukStarsNina GulyaevaAnatoliy PapanovVladimir TroshinBased on the fairy tale by Andersen. A film about love and friendship. The little mermaid falls in love with a handsome prince and saves him from death. To be with him, the Little Mermaid loses her voice in exchange for a human form.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsRobert RedfordFaye DunawayCliff RobertsonA bookish CIA researcher in Manhattan finds all his co-workers dead, and must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can really trust.
- 19117mNot Rated7.1 (1.9K)ShortDirectorWinsor McCayJ. Stuart BlacktonStarsWinsor McCayJohn BunnyMaurice CostelloCartoon figures announce, via comic strip balloons, that they will move - and move they do, in a wildly exaggerated style.
- DirectorWinsor McCayStarsWinsor McCayA hungry mosquito spots and follows a man on his way home. The mosquito slips into the room where the man is sleeping, and gets ready for a meal. His first attempts startle the man and wake him up, but the mosquito is very persistent.
- DirectorWinsor McCayA female centaur (a creature half-human and half-horse) enters a clearing in the woods, and picks some flowers. She is soon met by a male centaur, and the two then romance each other. They then seek parental consent for their union.
- DirectorWinsor McCayCircus owner Flip entertains with balancing tricks and then tames an exotic beast.
- DirectorWinsor McCayAfter eating a cheese cake, a hobo falls asleep and dreams of a vaudeville show performed by bugs.
- DirectorVictor SavilleStarsVan HeflinLana TurnerDonna ReedA young man loved by two sisters becomes a naval officer and sails to New Zealand, where he drunkenly writes a marriage proposal to the wrong sister, profoundly affecting the life of the other.
- DirectorWalt DisneyStarsMargie GayAlice, at the beach with her cat, tries to solve a crossword puzzle, when Woodleg Pete, a ruthless collector of rare crossword puzzles, sees that Alice's one is missing in his collection. But while trying to steal it, he did not include Alice's cat in his calculation...
- DirectorEdwin S. PorterStarsAline BoydPhineas NairsJane StewartA well-dressed woman steals several items from a department store. Meanwhile, a poor woman with two small children steals a loaf of bread out of desperation, and she is quickly caught and arrested. In court, what penalty will each face?
- DirectorWalt DisneyHugh HarmanCarman MaxwellStarsVirginia DavisWalt DisneyHugh HarmanAlice visits an animation studio, where the animators show her various scenes on their drawing boards. A few of them: a cat dancing to a cat band; a mouse poking at a (live) cat until it moves; a couple mice boxing, while the animators crowd around cheering and acting as corner-men. That night, she dreams of taking a train to cartoon-land, where a red carpet reception awaits. She appears in live action. They have a welcoming parade, with Alice riding on an elephant. The cartoons dance for her, and she dances for them. Meanwhile, the lions break out of the zoo. The lions chase her into a hollow tree, then into a cave and down a rabbit hole. Finally, she jumps off a cliff and awakes back in her bed.
- DirectorRichard FranklinStarsAnthony PerkinsVera MilesMeg TillyAfter twenty-two years of psychiatric care, Norman Bates attempts to return to a life of solitude, but the specters of his crimes - and his mother - continue to haunt him.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraMinoru ChiakiAn aging Japanese industrialist becomes so fearful of nuclear war that it begins to take a toll on his life and family.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsSteve GuttenbergMickey RourkeKevin BaconA group of college-age buddies struggle with their imminent passage into adulthood in 1959 Baltimore.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsRay WinstoneCrispin GloverAngelina JolieThe warrior Beowulf must fight and defeat the monster Grendel, who is terrorizing Denmark, then Grendel's Mother, who begins killing out of revenge.
- DirectorNgai Choi LamStarsSiu-Wong FanMei Sheng FanKa-Kui HoRiki-Oh, a young man who has superhuman strength, is incarcerated in a private prison, where inmates are treated like slaves. He is forced to use his unstoppable form of martial arts to destroy the corrupt officials and their lackeys.
- DirectorWalt DisneyStarsLois HardwickAlice is dancing aboard her ship with a veritable zoo of a crew. Meanwhile, in the galley, the chef (a cat) is preparing food while his assistant, a mouse, is peeling potatoes. When the chef complains that they need eggs, the mouse is enlisted to retrieve them from the crow's nest. The birds there give him a rough time, but he's eventually able to capture one and strong-arm three eggs out of it. When he returns, though, he finds the chef now wants some milk, and so he's off to find the ship's goat, with similar comedic results.
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsHermann PichaRosa ValettiAndré MattoniA young man shows his millionaire grandfather a film based on Molière's Tartuffe, in order to expose the old man's hypocritical governess who covets his own inheritance.
- DirectorNikolay KhodataevZenon KomissarenkoYoury MerkulovA tale about Comrade Kominternov, the Red Army Warrior, who flew to Mars and vanquished all the capitalists on the planet. The film is a parody on the famous SF film "Aelita" from the same year.
- DirectorIrene StarewiczWladyslaw StarewiczStarsClaude DauphinRomain BouquetSylvain ItkineWhen Renard the Fox's mischievous pranks go too far, King Lion is forced to attempt to bring the trickster to justice.
- DirectorMike SmithPrincess Budu sleeps, and dreams. She dreams of whimsical fairies and a wicked, restless beastial spirit. Her dream is one unmoored from identity and self - perhaps she is the fairy, perhaps those other fairies are other persons also. Also moving through her dream, always recurring in her thoughts is her lover Prince Kamar. The beastial spirit desires Budu; Kamar desires Budu, and she only has eyes for Kamar. Through her dream she floats and fades across an Arabian fantasia of minarets and mosques. These flickering moments, fleeting snatches of slumbered thought, are filled with an intoxicating, ethereal beauty.
- DirectorSegundo de ChomónStarsJulienne MathieuA young woman passing through a cemetery at night is suddenly startled by a voice coming from one of the graves. She wishes to rush away, but the ghost appearing compels her to remain. He explains to the terrified girl that she must go to the kingdom of Satan and get a bottle of the Water of Life, which she must bring back to him. The girl consents to do as he desires and starts forth on her expedition after the precious fluid. She summons a lot of soldiers and friends to her aid, and we follow the whole army down into the bowels of the earth. Arriving at the gate of Satan's kingdom, they mount a chariot of fire and, arriving at the devil's palace, give fight to the demons mounting guard over their king, and after having defeated them rush into the palace. Now Satan, seeing his life in peril, disappears in a cloud of smoke, and thunder, and is seen again as he dashes through his vast domains gathering together his people, and while they await the conquering chariot another fight ensues. The devil is beaten again and the bottle of life is stolen by the leader of the victorious army, and they are all about to depart when a terrible explosion takes place and the chariot and its occupants are dashed to the ground. All are killed: but the brave woman who undertook the expedition, and she goes forth alone, meeting on her way dragons and vampires, who try to stop her progress towards earth. She defeats them all, however, and arriving at the ghost's grave raps on the marble slab, the ghost appears, drinks the water and is immediately transformed into a beautiful prince. The last scene of this interesting film shows the happy marriage of the once-deceased man and the beautiful and courageous bride.
- DirectorRob CohenStarsDennis QuaidSean ConneryDina MeyerThe last dragon and a disillusioned dragonslaying Knight must cooperate to stop an evil King, who was given partial immortality.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsGreta GarboClark GableJean HersholtFleeing her cruel uncle and an arranged marriage Susan Lenox falls in love with a kind stranger but circumstances force her to become a woman of easy virtue.