EFC II #228 – The Haunting (1963)

The Epic Film Challenge II
#228 – The Haunting (1963)
Dir. Robert Wise
Starring: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Russ Tamblyn, Richard Johnson, Lois Maxwell

The two hundred and twenty-eighth installment of the Epic Film Challenge II, Robert Wise’s spooky haunted house thriller, The Haunting.

Recorded in January 2018.

Is it a film you must see before you die?

Luke: Yes, it’s an excellent haunted house movie that stands quite comfortably head and shoulders above others I’ve seen. Inventive, psychological, very impressive.

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EFC II #227 – Project A Part II (1987)

The Epic Film Challenge II
#227 – Project A Part II (1987)
Dir. Jackie Chan
Starring: Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Bill Tung, Rosamund Kwan, David Lam, Carina Lau, Ray Lui

The two hundred and twenty-seventh installment of the Epic Film Challenge II, Jackie Chan’s jaw dropping action classic, Project A Part II.

Recorded in December 2017.

Is it a film you must see before you die?

Connie: Yeah, it’s great.

Luke: Yeah, it’s an incredible action film, so enjoyable.

 

EFC II #226 – Ran (1985)

The Epic Film Challenge II
#226 – Ran (1985)
Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Mieko Harada, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu, Yoshiko Miyazaki, Mansai Nomura, Hisashi Igawa, Peter

The two hundred and twenty-sixth installment of the Epic Film Challenge II, Akira Kurosawa’s final epic, the monumental in scope and tragic in tone, Ran.

Recorded in November 2017.

Oscar Wins: Best Costume Design (Emi Wada)

Is it a film you must see before you die?

Luke: Yes, absolutely, one of the best war films ever made.

EFC II #225 – Dersu Uzala (1975)

The Epic Film Challenge II
#225 – Dersu Uzala (1975)
Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Maksim Munzuk, Yuriy Solomin, Mikhail Bychkov, Vladimir Khrulev, V. Lastochkin, Svetlana Danilchenko

The two hundred and twenty-fifth installment of the Epic Film Challenge II, Akira Kurosawa’s Russian epic, set in the Siberian wilderness, Dersu Uzala.

Recorded in November 2017.

Oscar Wins: Best Foreign Language Film (Akira Kurosawa)

Is it a film you must see before you die?

Luke: For my money, yes, I loved this film so much. A wonderful friendship forged through epic journeys through the harsh wilderness of Siberia.

EFC II #221 – In the Realm of the Sense (1976)

The Epic Film Challenge II
#221 – In the Realm of the Senses (1976)
Dir. Nagisa Oshima
Starring: Eiko Matsuda, Tatsuya Fuji, Aoi Nakajima, Yasuko Matsui, Meika Seri, Kanae Kobayashi, Taiji Tonoyama

The two hundred and twenty-first installment of the Epic Film Challenge II, Nagisa Oshima’s highly controversial, In the Realm of the Senses.

Recorded in November 2017.

Is it a film you must see before you die?

Luke: For me, no. It’s highly controversial because of its unsimulated sex scenes, and while I hated those, it was ultimately just a hard film to sit through with unlikeable characters.

EFC II #224 – Taste of Cherry (1997)

The Epic Film Challenge II
#224 – Taste of Cherry (1997)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
Starring: Homayoun Ershadi, Abdolrahman Bagheri, Afshin Khorshid Bakhtiari, Safar Ali Moradi, Mir Hossein Noori

The two hundred and twenty-fourth installment of the Epic Film Challenge II, Abbas Kiarostami’s contemplative film about a man considering his mortality as he drives around the countryside, Taste of Cherry.

Recorded in November 2017.

Is it a film you must see before you die?

Luke: Yes, but it’s a shaky yes, I think this film can hit a lot of people in a very powerful way, but it’s all on the viewer after all… I thought it was great and inspires profound questioning.

EFC II #223 – Through the Olive Trees (1994)

The Epic Film Challenge II
#223 – Through the Olive Trees (1994)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
Starring: Mohamad Ali Keshavarz, Farhad Kheradmand, Zarifeh Shiva, Hossein Rezai, Tahereh Ladanian, Hocine Redai

The two hundred and twenty-third installment of the Epic Film Challenge II, Abbas Kiarostami’s unique film about the shooting of a single scene in a movie and the drama surrounded its production, Through the Olive Trees.

Recorded in November 2017.

Is it a film you must see before you die?

Luke: Yes, it’s quite unique and I loved the concept of focusing on the shooting of one scene in a film being the back drop to a quiet romantic drama.

EFC II #222 – Close-Up (1990)

The Epic Film Challenge II
#222 – Close-Up (1990)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
Starring: Hossein Sabzian, Abolfazl Ahankhah, Mehrdad Ahankhah, Monoochehr Ahankhah, Mahrokh Ahankhah, Haj Ali Reza Ahmadi, Hossain Farazmand, Hooshang Shamaei, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Abbas Kiarostami

The two hundred and twenty-second installment of the Epic Film Challenge II, Abbas Kiarostami’s documentary drama that blends the lines of truth and fiction, Close-Up.

Recorded in November 2017.

Is it a film you must see before you die?

Luke: Yes, undoubtedly, such a unique and captivating film that challenges what a film can even be.

 

EFC II #220 – The Ballad of Narayama (1983)

The Epic Film Challenge II
#220 – The Ballad of Narayama (1983)
Dir. Shōhei Imamura
Starring: Ken Ogata, Sumiko Sakamoto, Tonpei Hidari, Aki Takejo, Shoichi Ozawa, Fujio Tokita, Sanshō Shinsui, Seiji Kurasaki

The two hundred and twentieth installment of the Epic Film Challenge II, Shōhei Imamura’s gripping and impressive version of The Ballad of Narayama.

Recorded in November 2017.

Is it a film you must see before you die?

Luke: Yes, it’s a haunting film, though I definitely feel like the 1958 film is the superior one and should probably be in the book over the 1983 version.

EFC II #219 – Tampopo (1985)

The Epic Film Challenge II
#219 – Tampopo (1985)
Dir. Juzo Itami
Starring: Nobuko Miyamoto, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kōji Yakusho, Ken Watanabe, Rikiya Yasuoka, Kinzō Sakura, Yoshi Katō

The two hundred and nineteenth installment of the Epic Film Challenge II, Juzo Itami’s weird and wonderful “ramen Western,” Tampopo.

Recorded in November 2017.

Luke: Absolutely, it was hilarious and unique.