The Devils (1971)

Painful depiction of the destruction of an innocent man for control of a town - the perversion of religion to the service of one power-hungry man; the destructiveness of sexual repression; a cauldron of mass hysteria whipped up to seduce an entire town to self-destruction. Ken Russell¹s film adaptation of John Whiting¹s play/Aldous Huxley¹s novel is a shrill, but somewhat excessive and interesting film. The last 20 minutes, the inexorable march to Father Grendier¹s (a pitch perfect Oliver Reed) excruciating death is quite arresting.

The mostly black and white town of Loudon is juxtaposed with the bright colours of the King¹s court. Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave) fantasises about passionate encounters with Grandier in gorgeous sepia. Derek Jarman¹s set design is frankly stunning.

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Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951)

The sirens in Greek mythology sing their enchanting songs and lead mariners to their doom. And so Pandora Reynolds (Ava Gardner), in the Spanish Coastal town of Esperanza, effortlessly inciting men to great acts of self-destruction for her love. Pandora, herself, immune to their passion.

The measure of love is what one is willing to give up for it.

Hendrick Van der Zee, the Flying Dutchman (James Mason) arrives, his chance
to wander among men every seven years. The curse placed upon can only be
broken by the love of a woman who is willing to die for him. Pandora loves
him so much she is willing to die for him. He loves her so much he is
willing to give up his salvation for her. Wild passion, sacrifice, reincarnation, eternal love, that which transcends death, rendered in glorious Technicolor.

The Blue Angel: (193?)

This Josef Von Sternberg film, based on Heinrich Mann's novel PROFESSOR UNRAT, made Marlene Dietrich a star and began a tumultuous relationship between star and director that spanned Sternberg's most creative period. The film stars Emil Jannings as Dr. Immanuel Rath, a provincial prep school teacher who becomes incensed when he learns his boys have become infatuated with Lola Lola (Dietrich), a cabaret singer. Heading to the Blue Angel, a nightclub, to catch his pupils, Rath instead becomes bewitched by the sensuous Lola himself, beginning an obsession that drives him to the depths of despair. Visionary, haunting, and emotionally unrelenting, THE BLUE ANGEL stands as Sternberg's crowning achievement. Filmed in both German and English simultaneously, this is the German version, which is considered superior to its English language counterpart.