The Duellists

Seven Samurai

April 1954 •Japanese

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

Voevoda

January 2017 •Bulgarian

At the end of the 18th century in Bulgaria under Ottoman slavery, a young woman leaves home and family to become leader of a guerrilla gang.

Velvet Goldmine

August 1998 •English

Almost a decade since larger-than-life glam-rock enigma Brian Slade disappeared from public eye, an investigative journalist is on assignment to uncover the truth behind his former idol.

The First Great Train Robbery

December 1978 •English

In Victorian England, a master criminal makes elaborate plans to steal a shipment of gold from a moving train.

The Steppe

March 1962 •Italian

Based on a Anton Chekhov short story, this slight tale has some good moments as the drama of a young boy's journey unfolds. The lad comes from peasant stock, and one day his family decides it would be best for him to go live with his uncle in the city. The only problem is that the city is all the way across the Russian steppes, and at this time in history, that arduous journey could only be undertaken by horse and carriage. Reminiscent of the American pioneer wagon trains heading West, the tale lacks any attacks from hostile forces but is filled with charming vignettes. In one part of the journey, the boy comes across some fishermen along a river, harpooning their catch for the day. In another segment, he is entertained when some folk dancers do a lively show. But in general, it is too long and unmomentous a journey to hold attention well for nearly two hours.

The Arsonist’s Daughter

December 1923 •Czech

Ursula

January 1961 •English

Young Ursula plays in a tree and ruins her fancy dress. Her elderly mother teaches her a cruel lesson about whether things can ever be mended; what Ursula learns about how to behave may not be what her mother intended.

Little Big Man

December 1970 •English

Jack Crabb, looking back from extreme old age, tells of his life being raised by Indians and fighting with General Custer.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

May 2007 •English

Beginning just after the bloody Sioux victory over General Custer at Little Big Horn, the story is told through two unique perspectives: Charles Eastman, a young, white-educated Sioux doctor held up as living proof of the alleged success of assimilation, and Sitting Bull the proud Lakota chief whose tribe won the American Indians’ last major victory at Little Big Horn.

Fitzcarraldo

March 1982 •German

Fitzcarraldo is a dreamer who plans to build an opera house in Iquitos, in the Peruvian Amazon, so, in order to finance his project, he embarks on an epic adventure to collect rubber, a very profitable product, in a remote and unexplored region of the rainforest.

The White Dawn

July 1974 •English

In 1896, three survivors of a whaling ship-wreck in the Canadian Arctic are saved and adopted by an Eskimo tribe but frictions arise when the three start misbehaving.

Popel

January 1969 •Czech

Mary Reilly

February 1996 •English

A housemaid falls in love with Dr. Jekyll and his darkly mysterious counterpart, Mr. Hyde.

Tisíc podpisov za obžalovaného

January 1964 •Slovak

Kidnapped

May 2023 •Italian

The story of Edgardo Mortara, a young Jewish boy living in Bologna, Italy, who in 1858, after being secretly baptized, was forcibly taken from his family to be raised as a Christian. His parents’ struggle to free their son became part of a larger political battle that pitted the papacy against forces of democracy and Italian unification.

Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti

September 2017 •French

In 1891, the French painter Paul Gauguin leaves Paris and travels to Tahiti to renew his art as a free man, far from the European artistic conventionalism. On his journey of discovery, he faces solitude and disease, but he also knows the beauty of wild nature and the love of Tehura, a young native girl who becomes his wife and model.

Posel úsvitu

September 1951 •Czech

A biographical film about a Czech mechanic and designer who was the first in the Czech lands to construct a steam car.

Tess

October 1979 •English

A strong-willed peasant girl is sent by her father to the estate of some local aristocrats to capitalize on a rumor that their families are from the same line, but is left traumatised from her experiences.

Pelle the Conqueror

December 1987 •Danish

In the late 19th century, two Swedish emigrants, Lasse Karlsson and his son Pelle, arrive on the Danish island of Bornholm hoping to find work on a farm and save enough money to travel to the United States of America.

The Count of Monte Cristo

January 2002 •English

Edmond Dantés's life and plans to marry the beautiful Mercedes are shattered when his best friend, Fernand, deceives him. After spending 13 miserable years in prison, Dantés escapes with the help of a fellow inmate and plots his revenge, cleverly insinuating himself into the French nobility.