USA | 1925 | b&w | 72 mins | dir. Rupert Julian, with Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry, Arthur Carewe | cert. PG | silent

This silent movie, produced in 1925, recounts the tale of a mysterious phantom who haunts the Opera of Paris. He threatens a famous lyric singer, Carlotta, forcing her to give up her role to an unknown rival, Christine Daaé. Eventually, Christine meets the masked phantom in the catacombs, where he resides. This adaptation of the Gaston Leroux novel is considered a classic horror film.

 

UK | 1965 | b&w | 104 mins | dir. Roman Polanski, with Catherine Deneuve, Yvonne Furneaux, John Fraser | cert. 18 | in English

Left alone in a Kensington flat, a young girl (Catherine Deneuve) sees her fantasies and nightmares take on a tangible form. A compulsive story of the disintegration of the mind, Repulsion is a visceral horror movie and a study of loneliness and alienation.

 

France | 1992 | col | 115 mins | dir. Alain Corneau, with Gérard Depardieu, Guillaume Depardieu, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Anne Brochet, Michel Bouquet | cert. PG | in French with English subtitles

For all his success as court composer at Versailles, the aged Martin Marais acknowledges the spiritual emptiness of his music. Lost in memories, he recalls another master of the viola da gamba, Monsieur de Sainte Colombe, whose magnificient, melancholy compositions and reclusive lifestyle, away from the tempting glamours of Paris, were inspired by an undying love for his late wife. This admirable tale of passion was showered with prizes, including seven César Awards and the prestigious Prix Louis Delluc.

Il Gattopardo

Italy | 1963 | col | 205 mins | dir. Luchino Visconti, with Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon, Paolo Stoppa | cert. PG | in Italian with English subtitles

Lampedusa's novel, chronicling the decline of the Sicilian aristocracy and the rise of the bourgeoisie in the Italian risorgimento, is given a somptuous treatment in Visconti's ambitious exemplar of historical film.

Plein Soleil

France/Italy | 1960 | col | 118 mins | dir. René Clément, with Alain Delon, Maurice Ronet, Marie Laforêt | cert. 15 | in French with English subtitles

In this first adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley, Clément's camera celebrates the dangerous beauty of Delon as charismatic sociopath Tom Ripley playing out a game of murder and double bluff against stunning Mediterranean landscapes.