Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

Your feminist or feminist-friendly film recommendations.

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
Home » Discuss » DU Groups » Women » Feminists Group Donate to DU
 
BlueIris Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Apr-05-07 04:32 PM
Original message
Your feminist or feminist-friendly film recommendations.
Edited on Thu Apr-05-07 04:33 PM by BlueIris
I'm catching up on my movie viewing right now.
Refresh | 0 Recommendations Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
mrreowwr_kittty Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Apr-05-07 06:06 PM
Response to Original message
1. Real Women Have Curves. n/t
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
efhmc Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-05-07 12:22 AM
Response to Reply #1
42. Saw the play many years ago in Houston. I thought that the movie was
watered down (Actually, to the point that I almost did not recognize it.) and had a lot less punch than the play. Still it was better than the standard fare from the mass media.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
femrap Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Apr-05-07 08:41 PM
Response to Original message
2. Can't go wrong with a second look
at 'Thelma & Louise.'

And I still love the old Katherine Hepburn flicks.

'My Second Career.' Is that right?
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
lizerdbits Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Apr-06-07 06:25 AM
Response to Reply #2
4. That reminds me
I need to order that "Thelma and Louise finishing school graduate" shirt from NOW. These recommendations are great, I keep meaning to sign up for netflix too and I will put them on my list.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
Morgana LaFey Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-08-07 07:21 PM
Response to Reply #2
5. Thelma & Louise is one of my all-time favorites
I love everything about it.

And I also really love Tootsie. Sadly, my mind stops with those.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
bliss_eternal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-15-07 07:59 PM
Response to Reply #5
8. I was very sad...
Edited on Sun Apr-15-07 08:28 PM by bliss_eternal
...that I didn't get the opportunity to see Thelma and Louise on the big screen, (in a theater). One of my teachers described the visceral discomfort of many of the men in the audience when she saw it. :) That had to be pretty cool!

Tootsie is a wonderful film. The transformation of Hoffman in the role is so interesting to watch.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
efhmc Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-05-07 12:24 AM
Response to Reply #8
43. I loved what Dustin Hoffman said about realizing that he was not pretty
as a woman and how sad that made him.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
Scout Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Apr-05-07 10:05 PM
Response to Original message
3. Whale Rider, Rabbit Proof Fence n/t
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
Chovexani Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-22-07 08:54 PM
Response to Reply #3
10. I love Whale Rider!
That was a heartwrenching film. Very moving. The cultural stuff was fascinating, too.

It reminded me a lot of Deep Wizardry, the second book in Diane Duane's Young Wizards series. Particularly the scene at the end with the whales.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
CrispyQ Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-03-07 11:56 AM
Response to Reply #10
41. I watched Whale Rider this weekend.
It was fantastic! The young girl was so good! I cried. I laughed. I shouted at the old grandfather who would let tradition get in the way of the best for his community. This movie is an example of why I always question tradition. Just because you've always done something some way doesn't mean it's the best way, or that things haven't changed & so your ways should change, too.

It was also the only movie of which I watched the extra features. I wanted to see how they did the whale scene.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
lizerdbits Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-21-07 08:04 PM
Response to Reply #3
29. Just got done with Rabbit Proof Fence
I enjoyed it and it reminded me of Where The Spirit Lives which I saw in a sociology class over 10 years ago. Similar story but Native Americans in Canada are shipped of to parochial school and decide to walk home but IIRC don't make it. It's just mind boggling to assume that non white native peoples MUST be 'civilized' into Christianity. How arrogant does one have to be? Oh, just like Republicans, that's how. I think Shirley Valentine is coming up on my queue just in time for the long weekend if I send this back tomorrow. :)
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-27-08 10:33 AM
Response to Reply #29
55. Where the Spirit Lives is excellent
and it doesn't end as sadly for everyone as you recall.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
CrispyQ Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-27-08 09:00 PM
Response to Reply #3
57. I made a list of many of the movies mentioned in this thread.
Haven't seen them all, but a good number of them. I told my husband we were having a feminist film festival. He's a good sport. "Rabbit Proof Fence" was his favorite. I like it alot, but I was very surprised that he did.

Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
SemperEadem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-15-07 11:59 AM
Response to Original message
6. Shirley Valentine
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
bliss_eternal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-15-07 07:55 PM
Response to Original message
7. Baghdad Cafe...
Edited on Sun Apr-15-07 07:57 PM by bliss_eternal
...though I'm probably one of the few that saw it as a feminist film. Why? One woman ditches her husband after an argument, ends up at a cafe in the desert. There she finds a woman (with a worthless husband) who has thrown him out.
There's an interesting assortment of characters at the Cafe, but the interesting aspects to the story involve these women and how their relationship evolves. Don't know why, but I always feel really happy after I watch this movie. :)

If you're at all interested in classic films, and the way women were portrayed in movies long, long ago--then you may want to check this out:

http://www.amazon.com/Complicated-Women-Power-Pre-Code-Hollywood/dp/0312284314

Late one night, I happened upon a documentary based on this book. I was blown away learning how women USED to be portrayed in Hollywood films, and rather sad. It's on my book wish list. Sometimes the documentary airs on Turner Classic Movies.

Here's an amazon list of some of the films, spoke of in the book and documentary:
http://www.amazon.com/8-week-course-pre-Code-film-women/lm/2X5I8M1MVIN76


Some you can find at your local video store. Some I found were available through Netflix. :hi:
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
iverglas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri May-18-07 01:50 PM
Response to Reply #7
24. aha!

I shoulda read your post first, shame on me. Because that's exactly what I was talking about in my post about Three on a Match -- which is right there on your list. ;)

Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
orleans Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-13-08 03:04 AM
Response to Reply #7
52. "i'm calling you"
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
bliss_eternal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-15-07 08:02 PM
Response to Original message
9. Nine to Five is one of my guilty pleasures...
something that if I see it on, I'll usually watch. ;)

I also LOVE Aliens. Something about Ellen Ripley blasting away those creatures just did it for me.
It kinda' cracks me up that women in sci fi are treated way better than in most conventional films.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
wicket Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-25-07 09:44 AM
Response to Reply #9
11. Nothing guilty about it!
I love that movie! :hi: :D
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
bliss_eternal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-01-07 05:08 AM
Response to Reply #11
14. Hi wicket...
:hi: Glad I'm not alone on that one!

Isn't it interesting that so many of the issues addressed in this film are still so relevant today? For example, women balancing work and motherhood, childcare, hostile corporate work environments, workplace sexism, the glass ceiling, etc., etc.

Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
Warpy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri May-04-07 12:12 PM
Response to Reply #9
20. My guilty pleasure is a twisted one
"The Women," a good play turned into a bad movie. The play featured a bunch of male-centered and male identified women, but there wasn't a single male in it. It's a sort of backhanded feminist play.

Another one is "Stage Door," featuring an all (female) star cast and set in a residence hotel for showbiz women. There's actual dialog and the male characters are in subordinate roles, as props.

I also saw "Bagdad Cafe" as a feminist film.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
iverglas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri May-18-07 12:09 PM
Response to Reply #20
23. when you said "The Women"
I first thought of "The Group" -- Mary McCarthy's great soap book turned into soap movie, with lots of women chewing the scenery. Candace Bergen's first, I think, as the ice queen.

"Stage Door" -- actually, there are huge numbers of 30s movies that are great in women terms. I can watch Bette Davis in anything. But all kinds of women who aren't remembered now. I liked "Three on a Match". Even if they aren't doing modern-day feministy things, it's just great to see movies that are about women and have women in them, and there's dialogue dialogue dialogue.

http://www.amazon.ca/Three-Match-Mervyn-LeRoy/dp/6302041104

Forgive me, but check out the cast (and I'd actually forgotten it was Bette Davis! just remember liking it enormously) -- the men play supporting roles. ;)
Virginia Davis as Mary Keaton as a Child
Anne Shirley as Vivian Revere as a Child
Betty Carse as Ruth Wescott as a child
Warren William as Robert Kirkwood
Humphrey Bogart as Harve
Edward Arnold as Ace
Herman Bing as Prof. Irving Finklestein
Dick Brandon as Horace
Spencer Charters as Street Cleaner
Mary Doran as Prisoner at Checkers Table
Glenda Farrell as Mrs. Black, Prisoner at Checkers Table
June Gittelson as Fat Prisoner
Selmer Jackson as Radio Announcer
Jack La Rue as Ace's Henchman
Sidney Miller as Willie Goldberg
Frank O'Connor as Telegraph Operator
Stanley Price as Ace's Henchman
Sheila Terry as Naomi, Kirkwood's Secretary
Joan Blondell as Mary Keaton, aka Mary Bernard
Ann Dvorak as Vivian Revere Kirkwood
Bette Davis as Ruth Wescott
Lyle Talbot as Michael Loftus
Allen Jenkins as Dick
Hardie Albright as Phil
Clara Blandick as Mrs. Keaton
Ann Brody as Mrs. Goldberg
Frankie Darro as Bobby
Patricia Ellis as Linda
Blanche Friderici as Miss Blazer
Hale Hamilton as Defense Attorney
Junior Johnson as Max
John Marston as Detective Randall
Grant Mitchell as Mr. Gilmore
Buster Phelps as Robert Kirkwood Jr.
Harry Seymour as Jerry Carter
Jack Webb as Boy in schoolyard

If three people light cigarettes from the same match, one will die soon, or at least that's how the old superstition had it. Three childhood friends (Joan Blondell, Bette Davis, Ann Dvorak) laugh it off as they all light up from the same match. Vivian (Dvorak) is married to a wealthy attorney (played by Warren William, in a sympathetic role for once). Bored and stifled in her life, she decides on a walk on the wild side; absconding with their 4-year-old son, she falls in with gangsters and takes a nosedive. Soon she's living the life of a slattern, hooked on cocaine and bootleg liquor, neglecting her son like he's so much excess baggage. Meanwhile her husband and friends are frantic to get the little boy back and set things right again. In this movie's 64-minute running time, director Mervyn LeRoy managed to include Depression-era social commentary, drugs, crime, sex, violence, and some surprisingly well-fleshed-out characterizations. The young Bette Davis is beautiful (even playing one scene in her lingerie), and Blondell and Dvorak are both great in their roles. Even more remarkable, though, is the number of future stars that can be spotted in Three on a Match: Lyle Talbot, a young Anne Shirley, Edward Arnold, and Humphrey Bogart in a great role as a menacing hood. This is entertaining fare that's still potent today in all its pre-censorship seediness.

Pull the curtains, get out the potato chips ...


Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
Morgana LaFey Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-01-07 05:42 PM
Response to Reply #23
35. The Group -- oh how I loved that movie
I don't think I've ever seen it since, and I'd love to.

Candace Bergen -- so stunningly beautiful -- but not so much ice queen as lesbian. In the film, when they all got together again, she had returned from Europe with a "companion." A little caricatured, but for that era quite a shock to see it in a film. Quite!
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
raccoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-25-07 10:17 AM
Response to Original message
12. Places in the Heart. nt
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
Beaverhausen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Apr-27-07 07:06 PM
Response to Original message
13. Crossing Delancy
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
bliss_eternal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-01-07 05:12 AM
Response to Reply #13
16. I've heard so many good things about this film...
...got to see it.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
iverglas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri May-18-07 11:58 AM
Response to Reply #13
22. and while we're talking about Cher

whom I love as an actor -- Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.

I just like stagey movies -- it's all in one set, if you don't count the mirror -- and twists, and I figured that twist out early on. ;)

Most Cher movies, actually, not that I'd count others among faves, they're just decent movies. One that never rolls around on TV is Mask. Good just for the Dead soundtrack.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
spooky3 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-30-07 10:20 AM
Response to Reply #22
39. I loved Mask
Cher was completely convincing in that - what a sad, sweet movie.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
efhmc Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-05-07 12:30 AM
Response to Reply #22
44. What does Cher have to do with "Crossing Delancy"?
Totally confused. How did Cher get into this post about this movie? (Crossing Delancy)
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
CrispyQ Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-25-07 12:23 PM
Response to Reply #13
47. I was so frustrated by the end of this movie, I hated it!!
What man -- or woman for that matter -- would wait out the main character's issues till they came around? Maybe some would, but I wouldn't. And the way she treated her friend. She introduced her to this man that she wasn't interested in, but when she changed her mind, there was no mention of how she treated her friend, or how she felt as an individual doing that to a friend. Ok, so, maybe, love conquers all. The friend is tossed beneath the bus, but that wasn't' addressed in this movie & I thought it was a sorry commentary that love rules all.

Does it? Does Love Rule All? Do all actions done in the name of love recuse all other actions?

Of all the movies on the list, this was my most disappointing. In my opinion, the least feminist.



Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
bliss_eternal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-01-07 05:10 AM
Response to Original message
15. Ruby in Paradise
starring Ashley Judd. Subtle but quietly powerful film.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
BlueIris Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-01-07 08:24 AM
Response to Reply #15
17. I LOVE that one. nt
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
bliss_eternal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-05-07 02:40 AM
Response to Reply #17
45. Having a hard time finding this one, lately...
...I may have to buy it, to watch it again.

Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
Marie26 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-01-07 04:18 PM
Response to Original message
18. North Country.
It's about one of the first sexual harrassment lawsuits; and I like how the movie follows the main character's progress from victimization to empowerment.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
IndyOp Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-03-07 08:52 PM
Response to Original message
19. Water.
...and anything else you can find by Deepa Mehta. It is available on Netflix.

Ms. Mehta brings us into the world of those girls and women unfortunate enough to have become widows before India´s independence. Our eyes and ears are those of Chuihya (Sarala), a seven-year-old widow sent to live in an ashram for widows. She encounters the vile head of the widows, Madhumati (Manorma), who exploits the residents. Shakuntala (Seema Biswas) is the only force that occasionally opposes Madhumati´s tyranny. Kalyani (Lisa Ray) is the beautiful young widow who befriends Chuhiya--she is also pimped by Madhumati and the eunuch Gulabi (Raghuveer Yadav). Ironically, she sent to work by crossing the Ganges. Narayan (John Abraham) is a follower of Gandhi who falls in love with Kalyani, regardless of her status as a widow.

Throughout Water, Mehta exposes the cruelties of Hinduism against widows. Chuhiya, in her ignorance, asks all the right questions like "Hum apne ghar kab jaayenge?" or "Aadmi vidhwaah kahan jaate hain? " It is not that Mehta is rejecting Hinduism as a respectable religion. She is merely raising the right questions--she is striving to empower those with the means to help those widows who, till this day, suffer in the same conditions described in the film. No religion is perfect. Each one has a dark past. Hinduism is no different. Whether these injustices are innate to the religion or a by-product of chauvinistic interpretation, one thing is clear: unleashing and relinquishing one of the skeletons in Hinduism´s closet will only enhance the quality of the religion.

Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
bliss_eternal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed May-09-07 06:25 PM
Response to Original message
21. While I take issue with
Edited on Wed May-09-07 06:30 PM by bliss_eternal
the representation of the military as a means toward female empowerment--:eyes:, I guess we could toss Private Benjamin into the hat, too. :shrug:...reluctantly at least.

I did appreciate that it showed a woman realizing how she'd allowed men to define her and run her life (her father, husbands, etc.). But it seems a contradiction in terms given that she finds independence and a sense of self through a male dominated, misogynistic institution (the Army).

Since the release of this film, we've all been made aware of the horrible sexism and abuse that women face in the military. So as much as I enjoy certain aspects of the film, it's always hard for me to reconcile myself to the way the military is represented and used in the film.

BUT I also realize the film was considered feminist and a BIG statement for women at the time of it's release, so I try to keep that in mind. ;)

I will grudgingly admit despite my other exceptions to the film, it is one of my guilty pleasures. The ending tickles me, and ALWAYS makes me smile.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
comtec Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-26-09 05:01 AM
Response to Reply #21
64. I'd Think GI Jane would be a better military movie than
Private Benjamin on the feminist scale.

But I agree, that it was a much larger leap for Goldie Hawn's character back in the 80's to do what she did.

It's good to see the rampant sexism in the military, even though imho in Private Benjamin it was seriously toned down.

Would I be allowed to also suggest 9-5 as a good feminist movie?
I know I certainly wish there were companies with (the end) policies shown in that movie around now.
proper part time jobs, in-building day care, etc - equal pay (god lord is that still far off =< )[br />
I'll go back to lurking now.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
Scout Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri May-18-07 01:53 PM
Response to Original message
25. Chaos
French film with subtitles ... at first, you won't (might not) think it is a very feminist or woman-friendly film, but give it some time.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
cedahlia Donating Member (883 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri May-18-07 03:35 PM
Response to Original message
26. I recently watched "Boys on the Side" again
That's a good one about the power of female friendships. I also like:

How to Make and American Quilt
Gas Food Lodging
Fried Green Tomatoes
Like Water for Chocolate
Freeway
Boys Don't Cry (it'll break your heart, though...beware.)

I'll add some more if I think of them!

Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
BlueIris Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat May-26-07 02:53 AM
Response to Reply #26
30. "She's a BLACK LESBIAN?!"
Edited on Sat May-26-07 03:00 AM by BlueIris
:-)

I love "Boys on the Side."

"Boys Don't Cry" took my tiny heart and shattered it into a thousand pieces. But it's still excellent.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
bliss_eternal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-06-07 08:14 PM
Response to Reply #26
32. Freeway rocks...!
Hysterically funny, great statements, I love the dark, retelling of Little Red Riding Hood--and I love that Red can kick ass! One of my all time favorite movies! :hi:
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
cedahlia Donating Member (883 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri May-18-07 04:02 PM
Response to Original message
27. Iron-Jawed Angels!
I just remembered that one. It's about Alice Paul and the women's suffrage movement. This movie should be required viewing for unappreciative, anti-feminist women. I was awed by the bravery, blood, sweat, and tears shed by Paul and her sisters. They fought for us so we wouldn't have to, and now you have all these women today who so proudly declare themselves "not a feminist!!!"...ugh. It's just a slap in the face of the tireless efforts of such brave women.

Well, ranting aside, I highly recommend checking out this movie! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
iverglas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat May-19-07 10:39 AM
Response to Original message
28. on turner classic movies *tonight* / Saturday
Edited on Sat May-19-07 10:49 AM by iverglas
Starting at 12:45 a.m. (Saturday midnight/Sunday morning; set the VCR)

How Green Was My Valley
- Bette Davis as a "spinster" school-teacher trying to improve the living conditions of Welsh coal miners, and getting her heart broke
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033729/plotsummary
(yes, as the review says, it's sentimental, but it's a damn good movie anyhow)

The Best Years of Our Lives
- WWII veterans return home to the US -- yes, it's kinda about men, but it's about relationships, and it's got Myrna Loy and Hoagy Carmichael, and it's directed by William Wyler; what more could you want?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036868/plotsummary
(interestingly, it notes a plot change from a veteran suffering from combat trauma to a physical disability instead)

Dark Victory
- Bette Davis being fine and noble (yes, the self-sacrificing woman, but it's about her) in the face of tragedy; six hankies for this one - I'll recite the closing lines for you, if you like. ;)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031210/plotsummary
(oh, and Bogie and Ronald Reagan are in it, too)

Nothing else good coming up that I saw.


Another couple I'd mention, that are not specifically women-oriented but are terrific.


My Man Godfrey
(1936 with Carole Lombard and William Powell, *not* 1957 with David Niven and June Allyson)
"Godfrey (William Powell) is "forgotten man" who is hired by a young, wealthy eccentric (Lombard) as the family's new butler. Godfey brings sanity a dose of reality to this spoiled rich family."
One of the all-time best movies -- and yup, more pre-code Depression social commentary.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031210/plotsummary

I Cover the Waterfront
Moral ambiguity -- real (pre-code) moral ambiguity, not Sopranos hip amorality. (Also "Racy pre-Code sexual situations".) And stunning black and white.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024151/plotsummary


I could just go on and on ...


Oh, and I will, on edit.

Dead End
"The Dead End Kids are introduced in their intricate East Side slum, overlooked by the apartments of the rich. Their antics, some funny, some vicious, alternate with subplots: unemployed architect Dave is torn between Drina, sweet but equally poor, and Kay, a rich man's mistress; ..." More absolutely stunning black and white -- the light and shadow in the dank open spaces in the tenements -- and Bogie, and class commentary ...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028773/plotsummary

-- and what I didn't know: co-written by Lillian Hellman -- which brings me to the one I forgot to mention earlier that I was thinking about this morning:

Watch on the Rhine
Hellman was black-listed (she wrote the stage script, hubby Daschell Hammett adapted for screen, I think). See why. Moral ambiguity in the fight against fascism pre-WWII. Actually, Hellman didn't leave much room for ambiguity; this is a fight fascism by any means necessary flick. And, of course, it's got Bette Davis. It's a stage play, not an actioner, and Davis's character is not the central one and is in fact a wee bit little-womanish, but the film is an all-time must-see for progressives in need of a bit of inspiration.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036515/plotsummary
(Actually, I recommend not reading the summary for this one; just find it, put it in the VCR and let it play. It's powerful stuff just to soak up.)






Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
iverglas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-30-07 03:50 PM
Response to Reply #28
34. Watch on the Rhine -- tonight (Saturday) 10 PM AMC
It's a don't miss, if you haven't seen it. Description and link in post above.

Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
geniph Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-31-07 04:51 PM
Response to Original message
31. Pan's Labyrinth rocks
especially for preadolescent girls. The female role models, for the most part, are strong. The heroine is a brave, resourceful, totally unprissy young girl (I dearly loved that she didn't squeal and flinch even when covered with mud and giant bugs), and one of the main characters is a female Resistance fighter. The mother is a more stereotypical downtrodden trophy wife, but even her story is used to make a moral point (her weak will and fear of living on her own expose her daughter to evil people, no matter what her actual motives are).

If I had a young daughter, I'd make sure to show her both this and Whale Rider - both have strong, unstereotyped, brave young girls as the main character.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
Chovexani Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-29-07 11:56 PM
Response to Reply #31
37. That movie was way too violent for me
And I'm hardly squeamish.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
bliss_eternal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-06-07 08:23 PM
Response to Original message
33. What about The Last Seduction...?
Edited on Wed Jun-06-07 08:34 PM by bliss_eternal
I'll be honest, the first time I viewed it I had very mixed feelings. At the time, I wasn't aware how conditioned I was in terms of the messages in films--the unsaid expectation that certain scenarios in films are resolved in certain ways. At the time, I even seem to have certain expectations regarding the way women are shown in film. Part of me was thrilled to see such a strong woman in a film. Another part of me was very uncomfortable with it, and at the time I wasn't sure why.

Upon viewing the film again later I saw it differently. I realized that I had changed. My views and feelings about the underlying messages about women in ordinairy Hollywood fare have changed. I had to admit this and consider WHY my initial impressions were what they were.

I'm reluctant to recommend it for our list on the basis of a woman being involved in criminal activity. LOL! But setting that aside, I can recognize that the film was a groundbreaking one in terms of allowing a woman to do everything men do in films and not be punished for it. Whether one agrees with this or not, isn't really the point. You don't have to like her acts (or agree with them) to see that the movie makes a feminist statement.

So, I'm adding it to our list here. ;)
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
bliss_eternal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-29-07 11:24 PM
Response to Original message
36. Kicking...
:kick:
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
Lilith Velkor Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-30-07 12:52 AM
Response to Original message
38. Tank Girl! n/t
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
BlueIris Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Dec-01-07 03:08 PM
Response to Original message
40. "Silkwood" (1983).
Can't believe that's the only feature film I could find about her.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
bliss_eternal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-05-07 02:43 AM
Response to Original message
46. Self delete.
Edited on Wed Dec-05-07 02:44 AM by bliss_eternal
Question answered above.
Sorry.

:hi:
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
A-Schwarzenegger Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-28-07 10:13 PM
Response to Original message
48. Look Both Ways.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
XanaDUer Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-30-07 06:12 PM
Response to Original message
49. 3 Women
1977 Robert Altman film.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
PassingFair Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-11-08 12:32 AM
Response to Original message
50. The ORIGINAL "Gloria"
Oh my God!

Gena Rowlands KICKED ASS in this movie.

One of my all-time FAVORITES!

Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-11-08 10:41 PM
Response to Original message
51. Strangers in Good Company
Canadian film from the 1980s.

A group of women from a senior center are stranded in the middle of nowhere when their bus breaks down. As they wait to be rescued and figure out how to eat and keep warm, they share their life stories. The stories are based on the actual experiences of the non-professional actresses.

A really wonderful film for anyone interested in women's issues or senior issues.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
AllieB Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-20-08 08:25 PM
Response to Original message
53. "My Brilliant Career" with Judy Davis and Sam Neill
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079596/

"The heroine, Sybylla (Davis), a headstrong girl growing up in early 20th century Australia, has the opportunity of marriage to a wealthy young man (Harry played by Neill) whom she loves, but rejects it in order to maintain her independence."
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
Annces Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-21-08 09:19 AM
Response to Original message
54. Hildegard
About Hildegard of Bingen, the nun from the 1100s. It is a religious movie, but she is magnificent. It is only 1 hour long.

I was thinking of Witches of Eastwick and Practical Magic, but those are actually about women trying to escape maniac men, so I don't know if that is actually really good feminist stuff. They are still trying to just survive.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
omega minimo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Aug-28-09 08:52 PM
Response to Reply #54
66. Where do you find Hildegard?
:hi:
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
lightningandsnow Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-27-08 12:23 PM
Response to Original message
56. Better Than Chocolate.
(No, I'm not saying all feminists are lesbians...but that movie was friggin' awesome.)
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
CrispyQ Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-26-09 05:07 PM
Response to Original message
58. "The Contender" with Joan Allen.
I'd seen it years ago but recently re-watched it. Excellent feminist film! The Laine Hanson character (Joan Allen) took a stand & never backed down no matter how hard they came at her. Highly recommended.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
BlueIris Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-27-09 08:02 PM
Response to Reply #58
59. I flove "The Contender." I actually own this one. Great film. nt
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
femrap Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-29-09 04:57 PM
Response to Original message
60. Revolutionary Road
w/ Kate Winslet and DiCaprio.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jul-09-09 03:54 PM
Response to Original message
61. Two Norwegian films
The Other Side of Sunday: A young girl being brought up in a conservative church in the 1960s. I liked it because coming of age stories are usually about adolescent boys, and this one was about an adolescent girl who has to make up her mind about what course her life will take.

Another, more recent Norwegian film that I saw was The Kautokeino Rebellion. It deals with the cultural clash between the ethnic Norwegians and the Sami (Lapp) people of Arctic Scandinavia in the 19th century. As with Native Americans in the same period, the Norwegians set up trading posts in the wilderness and tried to get the Sami addicted to alcohol.

The main character is a Sami woman who organizes a temperance movement and an alternative trading network that bypasses the Norwegian trading posts--and pays heavily in the end.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
ismnotwasm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-11-09 10:14 PM
Response to Original message
62. Well
I'm not a big movie fan so it's hard for me to think of anything. What I do like is always either cultish or plain stange. "Death Proof" by Quentin Tarentino, the second in the "Grindhouse" double feature-- has a completely satisfying ending to one fucked up serial killer. (Both are spoof horror movies, and can get quite gory) Tarentino portrays his off the wall characters- mostly females in this movie --with his usual surreal wackness.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
Manifestor_of_Light Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-18-09 05:36 PM
Response to Original message
63. Shoulder to Shoulder
A 1974 Masterpiece Theater series about suffragettes in England, the Pankhursts, Richard, Emmeline, Christabel and Sylvia. Scenes of riots, force-feeding violence in prison, hunger strikes, etc. I saw it on PBS in the U.S. originally in 1975. I was in college.


Clips with Patricia Quinn as Christabel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oGB3Df4JWg&feature=related


Trivia note:Patricia Quinn was Magenta in the Rocky Horror Picture Show. I believe she was also in "I, Claudius". :D

Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
comtec Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-26-09 05:06 AM
Response to Original message
65. Kill Bill?
just curious :)
I also just noticed how old this thread is.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
bliss_eternal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-30-09 01:29 AM
Response to Reply #65
68. well...
...i think it depends. i consider it feminist (to a degree) because it features a woman, kicking ass. (lol) the lead character is strong--she's a fighter, a warrior.

it was feminist (imo), of the lead character to choose to leave Bill, and a life as a contract killer--because she didn't want her (unborn) daughter, to be born into such a world.

BUT, i could also understand those that would say no.
considering the fact that it's basically a vengeance film. all too often, feminists are painted as "man haters" and it would be all too easy for someone to say that The Bride, hated men (she kills many dudes to get to her targets, and eventually to Bill).

so...again, :shrug: not so sure this one could be considered feminist, on a wide scale.

Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
comtec Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-31-09 06:46 AM
Response to Reply #68
70. I think her being dismissed as a misandrist can easily be refuted...
because of the genuine respect she shows several male characters - such as the sword maker.
And at the end it is obvious she still feels for Bill, even as she gives him the 5 palm exploding heart technique (god I love that name)

That and she kills females as 'easily' as males. (omfg a gun in the box of fruit loops LOL A Hello-kitty Katana? ROTFLMAO)

On the flip side she became an assassin because Bill seduced her to begin with.

However throughout the series, there are women who show imho, a good balance. They are strong and independent. Brutally lethal, but still feminine. They are women every ounce as capable killers as their male counter parts, perhaps more.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
omega minimo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Aug-28-09 08:56 PM
Response to Original message
67. Just saw "Seraphine"
A beautiful French film about the artist Seraphine de Senlis.



seraphine de senlis

Very atmospheric, some will find it slow, not much dialogue, inspiring, impassioned artist and nature lover...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1048171/
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
bliss_eternal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-30-09 01:30 AM
Response to Reply #67
69. sounds interesting...
...thanks for sharing about it. i'll have to add it to my list. :hi:
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view 
this author's profile Click to add 
this author to your buddy list Click to add 
this author to your Ignore list Sat May 04th 2024, 03:30 AM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » DU Groups » Women » Feminists Group Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC