Ace in the Hole - MatthewHunt

America, but this presiding archness, against the bare stage, produces super-invigorating
drama.
La Dolce Vita
(Federico Fellini, 1960)
Fellini's grand statement on the emptiness at the heart of the Italian postwar economic
miracle has become one of the era's defining films: ravishing to look at, filled with iconic faces
and places, and brilliantly modulated for every minute of its three-hour running time. Rarely
has spiritual desolation appeared so enticing.
Don't Look Back
(DA Pennebaker, 1967)
Legend-building portrait of a 23-year-old Bob Dylan hitting London for a pivotal UK tour. His
bemused reactions to the fusty British press's painfully unhip questioning are priceless, and
there's also Joan Baez, that iconic Subterranean Homesick Blues card-flipping clip, and
plenty of signs that show, yeah, he really was pretty special.
Don't Look Now
(Nicolas Roeg, 1973)
A small figure in a red coat making its way along narrow passageways and foggy canals is
just one of the memorable gothic motifs that make up this elliptical horror, adapted from a
story by Daphne du Maurier. Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland star as the couple
mourning the death of their daughter in a sinister, wintry Venice.
Donnie Brasco
(Mike Newell, 1997)
What Unforgiven is to the western, Donnie Brasco is to mafia flicks: carefully demythologising
Mob rituals and prising open the sordid emotional realities of criminal life. Johnny Depp, as an
FBI mole, adds another solid notch to his early-career gallery of misfits, and Pacino, the
washed-up small-timer who tutors him, shows what he can do when he keeps the sluice gates
closed.
Donnie Darko
(Richard Kelly, 2001)
Afforded the status of instant cult classic by the Generation Y audience it appealed to, Donnie
Darko blends the small-town nostalgia of vintage Spielberg with 1980s teen-movie tropes to
create a dark, sci-fi-inspired puzzle. A giant rabbit of the apocalypse, a resurrected Patrick
Swayze and Drew Barrymore, and Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal in their first roles of note, all
add to its staying power.
Double Indemnity
(Billy Wilder, 1944)
Beware the insurance man with wise cracks on his lips and murder in his heart. But pity the
sucker if Barbara Stanwyck answers the door. From James M Cain's novella, this is the film
that made Billy Wilder and gave a working definition for "hard-boiled". An everyday story of
love, lust and friendship - that three-card trick.
Dougal and the Blue Cat
(Serge Danot, 1970)
Feature-length extension of the Magic Roundabout universe, which ups the psychedelic ante
with a full-scale bad trip for Dougal - a room full of sugar. Why can't Florence, Zebedee, Dylan
and the others see that newcomer Buxton is a malevolent addition to the garden? After he
turns everything blue overnight, it's up to the grumpy furball to try and save the day. Eric
Thompson's reworking of the French original may have been adopted as a stoner classic, but
it's also a thoughtful, cautionary tale for kids.
Le Doulos
(Jean-Pierre Melville, 1962)