Ace in the Hole - MatthewHunt

Howards End
(James Ivory, 1992)
Oscar-blessed class agonising courtesy of Forsterphiles Merchant Ivory. Edwardian England
is painted in sumptuous tones and serves as the setting for an inter-class entanglement as
the faux-boho Schlegels befriend and challenge the worst excesses of the wealthy Wilcoxes,
while subjecting the struggling Basts to their philanthropic urges.
Hud
(Martin Ritt, 1963)
The first great Larry McMurtry movie (The Last Picture Show being the second), Paul
Newman's finest work, and Martin Ritt's best movie, this tale of an aging Texas cattle baron
(Melvyn Douglas) and his treacherous bad-seed elder son (Newman) benefits from striking
cinematography by James Wong Howe, and Patricia Neal's Oscar-winning performance.
Hukkle
(Gyorgy Palfi, 2002)
Originally a film-school graduation project, Hukkle has real originality. An intimate swoop
through the human and animal occupants of a Hungarian village in which a poisoner may be
at work, Palfi's gimlet eye for offbeat detail and earthy sense of humour unite these rural
denizens into a captivating visual jig.
The Hustler
(Robert Rossen, 1961)
Rossen's first movie after the blacklist, and his finest, with Newman's poolhall wizard slowly
destroyed by the corruption of his manager George C Scott (then on the most fertile run of his
career), by love, and by his own fatal arrogance.
I Know Where I'm Going!
(Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1945)
Powell and Pressburger in their pomp, this begins as a ripping yarn/love story about an
ambitious young woman (Wendy Hiller) out to marry money. Once she arrives in the Scottish
Highlands for her nuptials and the fog draws in, the film-makers bring lyricism and a mystical
undertow to their storytelling. If Compton Mackenzie had collaborated with Isaac Bashevis
Singer, this is what they might have come up with.
I Walked With a Zombie
(Jacques Tourneur, 1943)
That fantastic title doesn't really give away that this is in fact a variant on Jane Eyre - with an
added voodoo element. It relies on atmospherics rather than cheap jump scares, the creepy
nocturnal walks across a shadowy plantation can still chill to the bone if you're in the right
mood.
I Was a Male War Bride
(Howard Hawks, 1949)
A late flowering of the screwball comedy genre, featuring a sparkling combination of Cary
Grant and Ann Sheridan. In postwar occupied Germany, he's a suave French officer, she's a
bright-as-military-brass US lieutenant, and it requires hilarious tactics - such as Grant in drag -
and a barrage of jokes before the pair can unite their forces.
The Ice Storm
(Ang Lee, 1997)
Insightful adaptation of Rick Moody's novel set in 1970s suburbia. The subtly observed action
shows two families adrift in a world of Watergate corruption and sexual experimentation.
Tobey Maguire excels as the teenager observing the frailties of estranged parents Kevin Kline
and Joan Allen, but Christina Ricci steals the film as his super bright, sexually predatory
sister.