The Big Sleep
Making lists is an activity moviegoers are fond of. Every year, the same ritual: compilation of the ten best films, with comparative analyses, debates, heated discussions. But what about the ultimate list of the most outstanding films in the history of cinema? That is to say, those films that must be seen, those that have forever transformed the art of cinema, but also our way of seeing a culture, of understanding the world as well as our own lives? This program aims to tackle this challenge with nearly eighty films, produced between 1916 and 1960, while waiting for your lists!
Detective Philip Marlowe is hired to prevent blackmail attempts against a rich family. But the story is much more complex than it seems. Based on the novel by Raymond Chandler.
Howard Hawks
Born into a family of industrialists, Howard Hawks made his debut in Hollywood as a prop maker following a chance meeting with Victor Fleming during a car race. After a hiatus as an Air Force instructor during World War I, he returned to the movies as soon as he could. After working as a screenwriter, he switched to directing in the mid-1920s and successfully made the transition from silent to talkies, including detective films and aviation stories based on his own experience. From the 1930s to the 1960s, Hawks seized the typical genres of Hollywood cinema to sign some of the most representative masterpieces: including the gangster film (Scarface), screwball comedy (Bringing Up Baby), film noir (The Big Sleep), the musical (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) or the western (Rio Bravo).