Ace in the Hole - MatthewHunt

Cocksucker Blues
(Robert Frank, 1972)
Lacking as we do any filmed account of Led Zeppelin's US tours, CSB stands as the definitive
account of degenerate British rock bands on tour in the early-stadium rock era. Robert
Frank's crisp photography captures the Stones, junkie sidemen and sexually available
groupies in all their heedless, satanic splendour.
The Colour of Pomegranates
(Sergei Paradjanov, 1969)
Ostensibly a biography of Sayat Nova, the 18th-century Armenian poet and archbishop, this is
a biopic like no other. Paradjanov concocts a bizarre mosaic of religio-folk iconography, in
which farm animals wander freely. Soviet officialdom, unimpressed by its astounding beauty,
banned it.
Come and See
(Elem Klimov, 1985)
Among the innumerable horrors of the second world war, the savagery of the conflict in
German-occupied Byelorussia was among the most bestial, and Klimov bears witness to this
through the eyes of young partisan Alexei Kravchenko. An anti-war film with a vengeance, it
connects atrocities and scenes of compelling beauty.
The Company of Wolves
(Neil Jordan, 1984)
An adult fairytale, adapted from Angela Carter, positing Little Red Hiding Hood in a world
forested by Freudian symbols and gender issues, and fleshed out with some splendid humanto-wolf
transformations. The heroine's conclusion: the beast in man is as alluring as it is
dangerous.
Comrades
(Bill Douglas, 1987)
The last testament and only colour film of Bill Douglas, lost genius of poetic British realism,
memorialises the Tolpuddle Martyrs, 19th-century labour agitators transported for attempting
to unionise. This "Lanternist's Account" utilises many proto-cinematic tools, and a revelatory
increase in the aspect-ratio from 1.33:1 to 1.85:1 once the story reaches Australia.
Con Air
(Simon West, 1997)
Sure, it stars Nic Cage and was directed by Simon West, but real ownership of this movie lies
with producer Jerry Bruckheimer. There's no real story but that just leaves more room for
goofy character work - "make a move and the bunny gets it" - and great action sequences.
Big dumb fun, in the best possible way, as a good Bruckheimer should be.
The Conformist
(Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970)
Disturbing thriller based on Moravia's 1930s novel about a spineless Italian aristocrat
(creepily played by Jean-Louis Trintignant) who is sent to Paris while on his honeymoon to
assassinate his dissident ex-professor. Treachery, cowardice and sexual decadence have
never looked as dazzling as in this masterful baroque assembly of light, shadow, and camera
fluidity.
The Consequences of Love
(Paolo Sorrentino, 2004)
Italian cinema's bright hope masterfully stages a mystery in miniature: what is the story
behind a seemingly innocuous 50-year-old man who lives in a Swiss hotel and spends his
time solving chess problems? The director's elegant visual sense and Toni Servillo's supple
performance as the unfathomable resident give Sorrentino's second feature a sharp and
compelling shape.