More is More
At a time of year that lends itself to over-indulgence, we offer a slate of films that take a "more is more" approach. Over-the-top, campy, and melodramatic, these films invite the viewer to embrace the excess and worry about the consequences in the morning.
One Hundred and One Nights
(Les Cent et Une Nuits de Simon Cinéma)
Centenarian Simon Cinema engages a young woman to tell him the stories of all the movies ever made.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, France • 1995
- Director Agnès Varda
- Cast Michel Piccoli, Marcello Mastroianni, Henri Garcin, Julie Gayet, Mathieu Demy, Emmanuel Salinger
- Genre Comedy, History, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel
Rouge
(胭脂扣)
The ghost of a courtesan who died in 1934 returns to Hong Kong fifty-three years later, seeking to reunite with the man she loved.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong • 1987
- Director Stanley Kwan
- Cast Anita Mui, Leslie Cheung, Alex Man, Emily Chu Bo-Yee, Irene Wan, Tam Sin-Hung
- Genre Drama, Fantasy, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel
Summer Night with Greek Profile, Almond Eyes and Scent of Basil
(Notte d'estate con profilo greco, occhi a mandorla e odore di basilico)
A charming billionaire kidnaps a criminal and locks him up in her private villa in Sardinia.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 1986
- Director Lina Wertmüller
- Cast Mariangela Melato, Michele Placido, Roberto Herlitzka, John Steiner, Arnaldo Ninchi
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Kanopy
The Legend of the Stardust Brothers
(星くず兄弟の伝説)
The story of a fictional New Wave duo manufactured by a devious music mogul, and their meteoric rise to fame.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1985
- Director Makoto Tezuka
- Cast Shingo Kubota, Kan Takagi, Kyôko Togawa, Issay, Kiyohiko Ozaki, Jun Togawa
- Genre Comedy, Music
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, FlixFling, Night Flight Plus, ARROW, Midnight Pulp, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Freevee
La Cage aux Folles
(La Cage aux folles)
Two gay men living in St. Tropez try to hide their homosexuality when their son's fiancée and her conservative parents come to visit.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Italy • 1978
- Director Édouard Molinaro
- Cast Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Serrault, Claire Maurier, Michel Galabru, Venantino Venantini, Rémi Laurent
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Pluto TV
That Obscure Object of Desire
(Cet obscur objet du désir)
In flashback, an aging man recounts his sexual frustrations when falling for his 19 year-old former chambermaid Conchita.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Spain • 1977
- Director Luis Buñuel
- Cast Carole Bouquet, Ángela Molina, Fernando Rey, Milena Vukotić, Julien Bertheau, André Weber
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Tommy
A psychosomatically deaf, mute, and blind boy becomes a master pinball player and the object of a religious cult.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 1975
- Director Ken Russell
- Cast Roger Daltrey, Oliver Reed, Ann-Margret, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner
- Genre Drama, Music
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand
Céline and Julie Go Boating
(Céline et Julie vont en bateau)
Brought together by chance, two young women playfully switch identities until the lines separating reality from fantasy begin to blur.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1974
- Director Jacques Rivette
- Cast Juliet Berto, Dominique Labourier, Bulle Ogier, Marie-France Pisier, Barbet Schroeder, Nathalie Asnar
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
- Available on Criterion Channel
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
(Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant)
Sex is the ultimate weapon.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- West Germany • 1972
- Director Rainer Werner Fassbinder
- Cast Margit Carstensen, Hanna Schygulla, Katrin Schaake, Eva Mattes, Gisela Fackeldey, Irm Hermann
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Amazon Video
Mr. Freedom
A pro-America superhero flies to France to prevent Communists from taking over.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1969
- Director William Klein
- Cast John Abbey, Delphine Seyrig, Philippe Noiret, Serge Gainsbourg, Catherine Rouvel, Jean-Claude Drouot
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
Branded to Kill
(殺しの烙印)
A rice-obsessed hit-man botches an assignment and is forced to play a cruel game of kill or be killed.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1967
- Director Seijun Suzuki
- Cast Jō Shishido, Kôji Nanbara, Isao Tamagawa, Annu Mari, Mariko Ogawa, Hiroshi Minami
- Genre Action, Crime
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
(Les parapluies de Cherbourg)
A film for all the young lovers of the world.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, West Germany • 1964
- Director Jacques Demy
- Cast Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon, Mireille Perrey, Marc Michel, Ellen Farner
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy