The best old films I saw in 2022
Eventually, I'll be making a list of my favorite newly released films that came out in 2022. But several major titles haven't made it to Chicago yet so I'm holding off on that. So for now, here is a list of the best old-but-new-to-me films I saw in 2022.
I've included where I saw these films, but keep in mind that this info is not necessarily up to date (since films leave the Criterion Channel all the time, or disappear from YouTube, etc.).
Il Bell'Antonio (1960, Mauro Bolognini, Italy) - I never cease to be amazed by how many great films were made in Italy from the 1940s through the 1970s. This satirical drama about Italian masculinity and Catholic sexual mores is one of them. It features a great performance by Marcello Mastroianni as a man who has the reputation of being a great lover but is, in fact, impotent. Pasolini worked on the script. - Criterion Channel
Blood and Black Lace (1964, Mario Bava, Italy) - A giallo classic, and my favorite Bava - Criterion Channel
The Blum Affair (1948, Erich Engel, East Germany) - Powerful "wrong man" noir that's a postwar reckoning with German anti-Semitism, directed by a Brecht collaborator. I have the DVD but it's also on YouTube
Buchanan Rides Alone (1958) and Comanche Station (1960) - Both of these are among the classic Randolph Scott/Budd Boetticher westerns - TCM and Criterion Channel
Chan Is Missing (1982, Wayne Wang) - Utterly charming and delightful neo-noir set in San Francisco’s Chinatown - Criterion Channel
Classe Tous Risques (1960, Claude Sautet, France) - Terrific French crime drama featuring an indelible performance by the great Lino Ventura - Criterion Channel
A Cottage on Dartmoor (1929, Anthony Asquith, UK) - A silent protonoir classic that deserves to be much better known - Vimeo
Deep Cover (1992, Bill Duke) - One of the very best neo-noirs. It's wild how underrated a director Bill Duke (The Killing Floor, A Rage in Harlem) continues to be - Criterion Channel
Destiny (1945, Reginald Le Borg, Julien Duvivier) - Saw this on the glorious big screen at the Music Box during Noir City Chicago. The part directed by Le Borg is banal but the part directed by Duvivier is extraordinary. This was made during Duvivier’s sojourn in Hollywood. I dream of the day we see a restored version, with Le Borg’s extraneous material removed and this title as one part of Duvivier's fine anthology film Flesh and Fantasy, as was originally intended.
Duelle (1976, Jacques Rivette, France) - Rivette's ultra-stylish fantasy-infused noir, which was inspired in part by Val Lewton's The Seventh Victim. God I loved this one. I'm surprised it doesn't have its own cult. Saw it at Doc Films but it's available on various streaming platforms.
Footprints on the Moon (1975, Luigi Bazzoni, Italy) - I adored this gorgeously mysterious classic giallo - YouTube
Hobson's Choice (1954, David Lean, UK) - Delightful romantic comedy with a feminist twist - TCM
Joan the Maid, Pts. I and II (1994, Jacques Rivette, France) - My favorite Joan of Arc film, because of its material detail and the moving way it humanizes the great saint. Saw it at Doc Films but it's on Tubi.
Le Pont du Nord (1981, Jacques Rivette, France) - One of my favorite Rivette films, it has a deeply melancholy "the 60s really are over, man" feel - bootleg DVD
The River's Edge (1957, Allan Dwan) - Terrific color noir - Criterion Channel
Shakedown (1950, Joseph Pevney) - Another excellent, nasty little noir. Pulls no punches and features two really interesting women's roles. - YouTube
Slap Shot (1977, George Roy Hill) - A rude and subversive comedy that's a lot of fun, and one of Paul Newman's best later career performances - various streaming services
So Ends Our Night (1941, John Cromwell) - Extraordinary anti-fascist drama with a great cast: Fredric March, Margaret Sullavan, Erich von Stroheim, and Glenn Ford in a performance that's probably his career best - YouTube
The Story of G.I. Joe (1945, William Wellman) - One of the great William Wellman's best films. Mitchum broke my heart in this one - YouTube
Victims of Sin (1951, Emilio Fernandez, Mexico) - A politically infused women's melodrama par excellence. There are so many great Mexican films from this era that deserve to be much better known - DVD, but if you speak Spanish it's on YouTube (without English subtitles)