Tag: Morality
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RISKY BUSINESS
“Risky Business” is a sharp and stylish coming-of-age satire directed and written by Paul Brickman, released in 1983. Set in the affluent suburbs of Chicago, the film combines dark comedy, eroticism, and social commentary while exploring themes of teenage rebellion, capitalism, and moral awakening in Reagan-era America. Notably, it launched Tom Cruise’s career, famously featuring…
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PERMISSIVE (NSFW)
“Permissive” is a gritty and downbeat British drama from 1970, directed by Lindsay Shonteff and written by Suzanne Mercer, one of the few female screenwriters active in the late 1960s counterculture film scene. Set against the backdrop of London’s early 1970s rock culture, the film offers an unflinching, melancholic look at groupie culture, moral disillusionment,…
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THERE WILL BE BLOOD
“There Will Be Blood” is a 2007 sweeping American epic, written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The film explores the ruthless rise of capitalism, the rise of faith, and moral decline at the turn of the 20th century. At its center is Daniel Plainview, portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis—an ambitious, self-made oil prospector. His insatiable…
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NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
“No Country for Old Men,” a 2007 neo-Western crime thriller written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, is adapted from Cormac McCarthy’s 2005 novel. The film serves as a stark and violent meditation on themes of fate, morality, and the collapse of traditional values in the modern American West. Set in West Texas in…
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TOUCH OF EVIL
“Touch of Evil” is a classic film noir from 1958, directed by Orson Welles, who also stars alongside Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Marlene Dietrich, and Akim Tamiroff. It is often regarded as one of the last significant works of the classic noir era, celebrated for its striking cinematography, morally complex characters, and innovative opening tracking…
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HAPPINESS
“Happiness” is a 1998 darkly comedic and deeply unsettling ensemble film written and directed by Todd Solondz (Welcome to the Dollshouse, Storytelling). It interweaves the lives of several characters from suburban New Jersey who are searching for fulfillment. The film’s tone shifts between satire, tragedy, and taboo, exploring themes of alienation, sexual frustration, family dysfunction,…
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HEAT
“Heat,” the 1995 film written and directed by Michael Mann, is a Los Angeles-set crime thriller that explores the parallel lives of a meticulous career thief (Neil McCauley, played by Robert De Niro) and a relentless LAPD robbery-homicide detective (Vincent Hanna, played by Al Pacino). Both men are at the top of their professions, driven…
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THE FOG (80)
“The Fog” is a 1980 supernatural horror film directed by John Carpenter and co-written by Carpenter and Debra Hill. The story takes place in the small coastal town of Antonio Bay, California, as it prepares to celebrate its centennial anniversary. As the town gets ready for the festivities, a mysterious, glowing fog rolls in from…
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TESS
“Tess” is Roman Polanski’s 1979, emotionally devastating adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s 1891 novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles. The film tells the tragic story of a young peasant woman whose life is shaped—and ultimately destroyed—by the social injustices and moral hypocrisies of Victorian England. The film is divided into three distinct acts, chronicling Tess’s life, starting…
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A PÁTY JEZDEC JE STRACH aka AND THE FIFTH HORSEMAN IS FEAR
“a pátý jezdec je Strach,” aka “And the Fifth Horseman Is Fear,” directed by Zbyněk Brynych, is a 1965 Czechoslovak psychological drama set during the Nazi occupation of Prague. It is a chilling, surreal, and Kafkaesque meditation on totalitarianism, internalized terror, and the dehumanization of individuals under a regime of fear. Rather than depicting overt…
The Other Cinema 