Night of the Living Dead (1968)

A low-budget zombie flick that wasn't suppose to turn out to be anything, ended up being one the most revolutionary films in the horror genre. Night Of The Living Dead was a huge success, and is the film that made zombie films a respectable genre. As most horror films, Night Of The Living Dead was harshly criticised when originally released, but overtime has gained worldwide acclaim. George A. Romero dubut film was only the beginning of a lifelong career of zombie films. Night Of The Living Dead was the film that gained both Romero, and zombie films great popularity. Romero has spent the rest of his career making more Dead films, and making sure zombie films keep their popularity.

Shock Corridor (1963)

Shock Corridor is one of those ironic cases where an older film is hurt by just how new it was when initially released. Released in 1963. Samuel Fuller produced, directed, and wrote the film which allowed him to have complete creative freedom -- he takes full advantage of that freedom. There is not a consistent plot to cling to, causing it to be a headache to follow. But what Fuller achieves that still remains fresh, and powerfully unsettling nearly 40 years later is how he portrays insanity and how it is created.

The Virgin Spring (1960)

Rating: 4/4

The story is extremely simple: A beautiful virgin girl named Karin (Birgitta Valberg) is on her way to take candles to her church but before she gets to church she is raped and murdered by two herdsmen (Axel Duberg and Tor Isedal) with their younger brother (Ove Porath) and Karin's pregnant foster sister, Ingeri (Gunnel Lindblom), as their horrified audience. Ensuing is Karin's father Tore's (Max von Sydow) vengeance. To have any real discussion about Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring and not go into detail about its plot is a near impossible task; the real brilliance lies in how Bergman makes such a simple story a shocking and powerful work of beauty.

Peeping Tom (1960)

Rating: 4/4

While doing some research on Michael Powell's controversial experimental horror film, Peeping Tom (1960), I realized that this here is one of those timeless films that can be interpreted in endless ways, making it a film lover's delight. Director Martin Scorsese says that it is like Federico Fellini's 8 1/2 because it says everything that can be said about filmmaking and the process of dealing with a film, this film being a violating experience. I can imagine there being groups of film students talking for hours about all the different things going on in this film, all the conflicting themes and visual tricks that creating such a shocking atmosphere. And isn't that why we love films? Well if you ask a modern audience the answers will be much more reserved, but there will always be that group who is always looking for those deeper meanings in every film.

Army of Shadows (1969)

Rating: 4/4

Through Army of Shadows, Jean-Pierre Melville takes the mystique of French Resistance during World War II and shows it for what it really was. Opening in October of 1942 and ending a year later. During that year, we follow various members of the French Resistance as we get a very exclusive inside look at their missions and all the risk and terror that comes with fighting against Nazi-occupation at a time when Germany was still in control of much of Europe. Melville does not glamorize their duties, there are no elaborate heists or professional looking killings. A rescue attempt that has the build-up to compare with the heist scene from his style-drive crime-drama, Le Cercle Rouge (1970), quickly evaporates with a sequence of events that is very tragic and real.

Le Doulos (1962)

Rating: 3.5/4

"One has to choose. To lie...Or to die" and that little tagline perfectly describes both the plot and characters of Jean-Pierre Melville's twisty crime-drama, Le Doulos. Here is a dialogue-driven film that goes by American film noir tendencies with a deceptive charm. Melville never fails at creating characters with irresistible suave that nullifies just about all of their flaws. Sometimes Melville has put more of his effort into the slick, effortlessly cool look of his films than into the stories that they tell. Jean-Luc Godard did the same thing in his debut film Breathless (1960), but if it wasn't for them putting so much of his time and effort into the look and visual style of those films from the early 60s, the French New Wave just wouldn't have been the same.