Maison d'Être Philosophy Bookstore

Existentialist
Film Festival

Films to stimulate thought – whether provocative dramas, or
documentaries on abstract matters – containing existentialist philosophy.

Be sure also to visit our
Philosophy Film Festival
and the
Existentialism Page

"Being  There"  [1979]

Perhaps Peter Sellers's best performance, earning him an Oscar nomination. This subtle black comedy is straight-faced commentary on politics, media, and celeb- rity in media-savvy America – strangely compelling and thought-provoking. Both movie & book brilliantly depict the precarious nature of power and influence. Directed by Hal Ashby, written by Jerzy Kosinski & Robert C. Jones; co-starring Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas & Jack Warden; won Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, BAFTA for screenplay Warner Video color DVD [2/2002] for $15.99 Warner Video color VHS [2/2002] for $13.74 full credits from IMDb • theme music [2min:06sec] 11"x17" black & purple movie poster available at AllPosters.com

novel by Jerzy N. Kosinski [1970] Grove Press 8¼x5½ pb [9/99] for $8.80

"Bobby Deerfield"
[Columbia Pictures Sept 1977]

Based on the novel "Heaven Has No Favorites" by Erich Maria Remarque. The tale of an emotionally-remote racecar driver who falls in love with a woman who is terminally ill. Directed by Sydney Pollack; adaptation by Alvin Sargent; starring Al Pacino, Marthe Keller & Anny Duperey Warner color VHS [1/94] for $14.99 full credits from IMDb Novel by Erich Maria Remarque [1961] Ballantine 8¼x5¼ pb [6/98] out of print/used Harcourt hardcover [6/61] out of print/used

"Breathless"
aka 'A Bout de Souffle' [France 1960, USA Feb 1961]

One of the films that began the French 'Nouvelle Vague' [New Wave] movement, the story of a small-time crook who finds love (maybe) when his life is at its most dangerous point. This triumph of cinema noir reveals the truth behind our truths, thru the lives in the movie that are contaminated by American movies and avant garde posing. The viewer is left uncertain where truth may indeed exist. (The 1983 English-language color remake is only half as good as the original.)

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard, written by Jean-Luc Godard & François Truffaut [1932-84]; starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg & Jean-Pierre Melville Fox/Lorber b&w DVD w/Engl. subtitles [11/2001] for $21.49 Timeless Video b&w VHS w/Engl. subtitles [7/94] for $14.99 full credits from IMDb 27"x40" 'A Bout de Souffle' poster from Amazon for $19.99

"Catch-22"  [Filmways/Paramount June 1970]

Based on the best-selling Joseph Heller novel. Captain Yossarian (Alan Arkin) tries desperately to get grounded so he will not have to fly any more bombing missions over Hitler's Europe: anyone who goes to war is crazy, but if he asks to be grounded for being crazy, then he's not crazy anymore and he has to keep flying – catch 22. A gut-wrenching satire.

	Directed by Mike Nichols; screenplay by Buck Henry; all-star cast including Orson Welles; listed on Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 Novels (10/2005) Paramount color VHS [8/2001] for $9.95 Paramount widescreen DVD [5/2001] for $17.99 full credits from IMDb
	novel by Joseph Heller [1961] Scribner 8x5¼ pb [9/96] for $9.60 S&S Classic 9½x6¾ hardcover [10/99] for $18.20 DH Audio ABR [3/99] out of print/used BooksOnTape audio [1980] out of print/used
	"Closing Time: A Novel" [1994] the sequel to 'Catch-22' Scribner 9x5¾ pb [9/95] for $10.40 S&S 9½x6½ hardcover [10/94] out of print/used S&S ABR audio [11/94] out of print/used BooksOnTape audio [1/94] out of print/used

"Cross  of  Iron"  [Avco/EMI 1976]

Death, horror & futility – an anti-war film from the German Army point of view, as they retreat from the debacle of Stalingrad. And do not miss the very last freeze-frame, which is what makes Peckinpah's only war movie an existential masterpiece. Directed by Sam Peckinpah, adapted from Willi Heinrich's novel "The Willing Flesh"; starring James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, James Mason & David Warner Hen's Tooth Video color VHS [10/98] for $29.99 Hen's Tooth Video color DVD [2/2000] for $25.49 full credits from IMDb novel by Willi Heinrich Noontide hardcover [5/88] out of print/used Bantam pb [3/81] out of print/used

"Cutter's  Way"  [United Artists 1981]

The poetic cinematography, the acting, and the music are superb. The murder mystery is merely background for the existential mess of life in post-Vietnam America and the savagely heroic resolution in the last frame. Directed by Ivan Passer, starring Jeff Bridges [Cutter], John Heard [Bone], Lisa Eichhorn, Ann Dusenberry & Stephen Elliott; music by Jack Nitzsche MGM/UA color VHS [6/91] for $19.98 MGM/UA widescreen DVD [7/2001] for $17.98 full credits from IMDb based on the novel "Cutter & Bone" [1976] by Newton Thornburg Serpents Tail 7¾x5 pb [7/2001] for $11.20

"Easy  Rider"  [Columbia Pictures 1969]

Two long-haired bikers cross America and meet unusual people, including a drunken lawyer played by Jack Nicholson. Co-written & directed by Dennis Hopper; co-written by Peter Fonda & Terry Southern; starring Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson & Karen Black; Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor [JN] & Best Original Script; added to National Film Registry (1998) Columbia/TriStar 35th Anniv DVD [9/2004] 2 disks for $23.96 Columbia/TriStar DVD [3/2004] for $11.21 Columbia/TriStar VHS [10/99] out of stock/used Columbia/TriStar widescreen VHS [3/2000] out of stock/used Hip-O remastered soundtrack CD [3/2004] 2 disks for $26.99 MCA soundtrack CD [6/2000] for $9.98 full credits from IMDb novelization: NAL pb [12/69] out of print/used screenplay: BFI pb [11/96] out of print/used

U.K. fansite
purchase 'Easy Rider' posters at AllPosters.com

"Electra  Glide  In  Blue"
[United Artists August 1973]

An Arizona motorcycle cop is promoted to Homicide and is confronted with his illusions about himself and his community. (Incidentally a visual feast by cinematographer Conrad Hall.) Directed by James William Guercio; written by Robert Boris & Rupert Hitzig; starring Robert Blake, Billy Green Bush, Mitch Ryan, Elisha Cook Jr. & Royal Dano M.G.M. widescreen color DVD [3/2005] for $12.99 MGM color VHS [9/98] out of stock/used full credits from IMDb

"Falling  Down"  [Regency/Warner Feb 1993]

A divorced engineer loses his job and then enroute to his daughter's birthday party encounters further setbacks, turns psychotic and marches across Los Angeles shooting and smashing anyone who crosses him. The only possible end for such a tale is tragedy. Directed by Joel Schumacher; starring Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall, Barbara Hershey, Tuesday Weld, Rachel Ticotin & Frederic Forrest Warner color VHS [3/96] for $9.94 Warner widescreen DVD [8/2000] for $13.48 full credits from IMDb

"Fitzcarraldo"  [Germany 1982]

click to enlarge

Look at the video/poster image: I love this film for the Sisyphus aspect – in order to make the film, Wenders & crew had to repeat the accomplishment of hauling a real steamboat up a real mountain slope with real ropes and chains and real indigenous laborers, far from civilization in a steaming South American jungle – while making a 35mm feature film, and on a budget! Directed by Werner Herzog; starring Klaus Kinski & Claudia Cardinale Anchor Bay widescreen color VHS [10/99] for $14.99 Anchor Bay widescreen color DVD [11/99] for $31.48 full credits from IMDb "Fitzcarraldo: The Original Story" [1983] by Werner Herzog Fjord Press pb [1/83] out of print/used

"Burden of Dreams" The Making of Fitzcarraldo" docufilm by Les Blank
Criterion color DVD [5/2005] for $35.99
Flowers Films & Video color VHS [5/92] out of prodn/used
full credits from IMDb
"Burden of Dreams: Screenplay, Journals, Reviews, Photographs" [1984] by Les Blank
North Atlantic Books 9x6¼ pb [9/84] out of print/used
North Atlantic Books hardcover [9/84] out of print/used

"Flight From Death: The Quest For Immortality"
[indep 2003 tv special]

Co-produced, co-written & directed by Patrick Shen; narrated by Gabriel Byrne; based on the works of Ernest Becker [1925-74] Go-Kart color DVD [9/2005] out of stock/rare full credits at IMDb • official movie site

"The  Last  Wave"  [Australia 1977]

An Australian lawyer (Richard Chamberlain) investigates a murder and collides with raw nature and the mysterious culture of the Aborigines, fulfilling his destiny in a haunting apocalyptic climax. Directed by Peter Weir, co-starring Olivia Hamnett & David Gulpilil Home Vision color VHS [11/2001] for $19.95 Rhino color VHS [10/92] for $19.95 Home Vision color DVD [11/2001] for $25.49 full credits from IMDb

"The  Mechanic"
[Chartoff-Winkler/U.A. Nov 1972]

An aging professional assassin who is ready to retire is pressured to take on and train an apprentice, who may not be exactly what he seems. Directed by Michael Winner; script by Lewis John Carlino; starring Charles Bronson, Jan-Michael Vincent, Keenan Wynn, Jill Ireland & Frank DeKova M.G.M. color DVD [10/2002] for $13.01 M.G.M./U.A. color VHS [2/93] out of stock/used full credits from IMDb

"The  Passenger"
aka "Professione: Reporter" [M.G.M. April 1975]

A bored television reporter on location in Africa switches identity with a dead man. He moves on with the man's passport, luggage, and appointment schedule, expecting a life more exciting than his own. Things seem to improve when he meets a sexy young woman, but this new life soon delivers more than he can handle. Co-written & directed by Michelangelo Antonioni; starring Jack Nicholson, Maria Schneider, Jenny Runacre & Ian Hendry Sony color DVD [4/2006] for $17.49 Warner color VHS [8/90] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb

"The Plague" aka 'La Peste' [1992]

	Writer/director Luis Puenzo; starring William Hurt, Sandrine Bonnaire, Robert Duvall & Raul Julia Lions Gate/Artisan color VHS [10/94] out of prodn/used full credits from IMdb
	1947 novel by Albert Camus; translation by Stuart Gilbert Vintage 8x5 pb [5/91] for $10.80 French original: NTC/Contemporary pb [6/47] for $8.95

"Vanishing Point" [Fox 1971]

Anti-hero Kowalski (Barry Newman) bets that he can drive a new Dodge Challenger from Denver to San Francisco in 15 hours. This existential car-chase proceeds to its inevitable conclusion – just like life (to the existentialist). Directed by Richard C. Sarafian; co-starring Cleavon Little, Dean Jagger & Victoria Medlin Fox Video widescreen DVD [2/2004] for $10.49 Fox Video color VHS [1/99] out of stock/used full credits from IMDb

Visit Our Other Online Film Festival Pages
Ayn Rand Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Films Noir Festival at BlackHat Mystery Bookstore
Human Rights Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Oscar-Winning Western Movies Page at 'Readers of the Purple Sage'
Philosophy Film Festival at Maison d'Être Philosophy Bookstore
Pirate Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Political Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Railroad Film Festival at Spirit of America
Samurai Films at Magic Lantern
'Shakespeare On Film' at Magic Lantern
War [& Anti-War] Film Festival Pages at Magic Lantern
Western Movies Film Festival at 'Readers of the Purple Sage'
... and others on the Online Film Festivals Index Page

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