Tuesday, January 27, 2009

1956

Alexander the Great (1956)
The Ambassador's Daughter (1956)
Anastasia (1956)
Anything Goes (1956)
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
Attack (1956)
Autumn Leaves (1956)
Baby Doll (1956)
The Bad Seed (1956)
Bandido (1956)
Bang the Drum Slowly (TV)(1956)
The Best Things in Life are Free (1956)
Between Heaven and Hell (1956)
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
Bhowani Junction (1956)
Bigger Than Life (1956)
The Boss (1956)
The Brave One (1956)
Bundle of Joy (1956)
Bus Stop (1956)
Carousel (1956)
The Catered Affair (1956)
The Conqueror (1956)
The Court Jester (1956)
The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)
The Creeping Unknown (1956)
Dance with Me, Henry (1956)
D-Day, the Sizth of June (1956)
Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956)
The Eddy Duchin Story (1956)
The Fastest Gun Alive (1956)
Forbidden Planet (1956)
Friendly Persuasion (1956)
Giant (1956)
The Girl Can't Help It (1956)
Godzilla – King of the Monsters (1956)
The Great Locomotive Chase (1956)
The Harder They Fall (1956)
High Society (1956)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
It Conquered the World (1956)
Jubal (1956)
Julie (1956)
The Killer is Loose (1956)
The Killing (1956)
The King and I (1956)
A Kiss Before Dying (1956)
The Ladykillers (1956)
La Strada (1956)
Love Me Tender (1956)
Lust for Life (1956)
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
Man in the Vault (1956)
The Man Who Never Was (1956)
Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956)
Moby Dick (1956)
The Mole People (1956)
The Mountain (1956)
The Mystery of Picasso (1956)
Nightfall (1956)
The Opposite Sex (1956)
Our Miss Brooks (1956)
Patterns (1956)
The Power and the Prize (1956)
The Proud and the Profane (1956)
The Rack (1956)
The Rainmaker (1956)
Ransom! (1956)
Requiem for a Heavyweight (TV)(1956)
The Red Balloon (1956)
Richard III (1956)
Rock Around the Clock (1956)
Rock, Rock, Rock! (1956)
Run for the Sun (1956)
The Searchers (1956)
Seven Men from Now (1956)
Seven Samurai (1956)
Shake, Rattle, and Rock (1956)
The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956)
Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)
Stagecoach to Fury (1956)
The Swan (1956)
Tea and Sympathy (1956)
The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956)
Teenage Rebel (1956)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
These Wilder Years (1956)
Three Violent People (1956)
Time Without Pity (1956)
Trapeze (1956)
Umberto D. (1956)
War and Peace (1956)
While the City Sleeps (1956)
Written on the Wind (1956)
X the Unknown (1956)

(November 2008 - February 2009) - This year offered a lot of solid entertainment with the release of some pretty epic films. The sheer fun of Around the World in 80 Days makes it hard to dislike. Giant is a marvelously large-scale classic with James Dean's final performance at its center. Perhaps the biggest of all is The Ten Commandments with its awesome special effects. Smaller films also made quite an impact with Umberto D. being an excellent, moving Italian gem. The best of the year is the equally small heist thriller The Killing. It's very rare for me to want to rewatch a movie so quickly after seeing it and this early Stanley Kubrick film really made me consider doing so.

Top 10 - Around the World in 80 Days, The Court Jester, Friendly Persuasion, Giant, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Killing, The Searchers, Seven Samurai, The Ten Commandments, Umberto D.

Also Seen - The Iron Petticoat (1956) C+Night and Fog (1956) A-