Rite Trecento... (1973)

It's the last night of summer 1962, and the teenagers of Modesto, California, want to have some fun before adult responsibilities close in. Fresh off The Godfather (1972), producer Francis Ford Coppola had the clout to get his friend George Lucas's project made, but only for $750,000 on a 28-day shooting schedule. Despite technical obstacles, and having to shoot at night, cinematographer Haskell Wexler gave the film the neon-lit aura that Lucas wanted, evoking the authentic look of a suburban strip to go with the authentic sound of rock-n-roll. Universal, which wanted to call the film Another Slow Night in Modesto, thought it was unreleasable. But Lucas' period detail, co-writers Willard Huyck's and Gloria Katz's realistic dialogue, and the film's nostalgia for the pre-Vietnam years apparently appealed to a 1973 audience embroiled in cultural chaos: American Graffiti became the third most popular movie of 1973 (after The Exorcist and The Sting), establishing the reputations of Lucas (whose next film would be Star Wars) and his young cast, and furthering the onset of soundtrack-driven, youth-oriented movies. Although the film helped spark 1970s nostalgia for the 1950s, nothing else would capture the flavor of the era with the same humorous candor and latent sense of foreboding.

The World at War (1973–74) is a 26-episode British television documentary series chronicling the events of the Second World War. At the time of its completion in 1973, it was, at a cost of £900,000, the most expensive factual series ever made. It was produced by Jeremy Isaacs, narrated by Laurence Olivier and included music composed by Carl Davis. The book The World at War written by Mark Arnold-Forster to accompany the TV series was released in 1973.

The World at War (1973–74) is a 26-episode British television documentary series chronicling the events of the Second World War. At the time of its completion in 1973, it was, at a cost of £900,000, the most expensive factual series ever made.[1] It was produced by Jeremy Isaacs, narrated by Laurence Olivier and included music composed by Carl Davis. The book The World at War written by Mark Arnold-Forster to accompany the TV series was released in 1973.

A young woman (Meiko Kaji), trained from childhood as an assassin and hell-bent on revenge for the murders of her father and brother and the rape of her mother, hacks and slashes her way to gory satisfaction in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Japan. Rampant with inventive violence and spectacularly choreographed swordplay, Toshiya Fujita’s pair of influential cult classics Lady Snowblood and Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance are bloody, beautiful extravaganzas composed of one elegant widescreen composition after another. The first Lady Snowblood was a major inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill saga, and both of Fujita’s films remain cornerstones of Asian action cinema.

Some of you might have already met this marvelous collection on DVD but for the first time in the web it is uploaded as separate avi's so that each cartoon is just 25 to 120 MB in size - pretty handy to download. The artists featured on the second volume of Image Entertainment and Jove Films' enchanting Masters of Russian Animation, in their decision to abandon the real world in favor of one over which they have complete control, knew full well the inherent power of images. Each of the twelve short films presented on the disc, spanning a broad range of styles and moods, is more astounding than the next. Unfettered by the laws of nature, the animator's vision is of the purest essence, limited only by the boundaries of their imagination (a lesson well learned by modern visionaries like Tim Burton and the Brothers Quay). Given the oppressive conditions under which these films were created – Russia has never been a bastion of free speech and unrestrained creativity – the decidedly upbeat message delivered by most of the shorts came as somewhat of a surprise. The overall picture painted is glaringly positive.

The next volumes are coming soon!!!

L’An 01 est à l’origine une bande-dessinée utopiste et écologiste de Gébé, publiée sous forme de série dès 1970 dans Politique Hebdo. En 1973, Jacques DOILLON en fait son premier film, avec la complicité d’Alain RESNAIS (pour la partie américaine) et de Jean ROUCH (pour la partie africaine). Une pléiade de jeunes comédiens, bientôt célèbres, y font leur première apparition à l’écran. Tout arrêter : arrêter de consommer, de produire, de travailler. Ce principe se répand comme une traînée de poudre, pour finalement mettre à bas l’organisation sociale existante. Partout dans le monde, de New-York à l’Afrique, la nouvelle se répand par les journaux. L’An 01 peut commencer…

La Planète sauvage est un film d'animation de science-fiction réalisé en 1973 par René Laloux sur un scénario écrit par René Laloux et Roland Topor d'après le roman Oms en série de Stefan Wul et coproduit par Les films Armorial (Paris), Le Service de la recherche ORTF (Paris) et le Československý Filmexport (Prague).
Les images du film sont créées à partir des dessins de Roland Topor dans les Studios d'Animation Jiří Trnka de Krátký Film à Prague.
Il obtient le Prix Spécial du jury à Cannes en 1973 et un Prix Saint-Michel à Bruxelles en 1974.
L'animation de La Planète sauvage est à base de découpages. Il s'agit du premier long métrage d'animation tourné par un réalisateur français (après les trois premiers courts métrages de Laloux : Les dents du singe en 1960, Les temps morts en 1964 et Les escargots en 1965) et d'une adaptation à la fois fidèle et poétique du roman de Stefan Wul.
Ceux qui ont vécu la sortie de ce film d'une grande poésie s'en souviennent comme d'un défi lancé aux cartoons américains, mais aussi comme un des premiers films d'animation adulte de l'époque. Représentant des humains ravalés au rang d'animaux domestiques des gigantesques Draags, Laloux met en scène une réflexion sur l'intelligence, la société, la politique et finalement sur la nature même de l'humanité