Most Meaningful First Viewings and Re-Evaluations of 2013 Part 12: U To Z

Uncle (Adam Elliot, 1996)
I was expecting a compilation of short films from directors from around the world, the obscure to the acclaimed, to at least provide some gems, but this one in particular stood out, having never seen any else of Adam Elliot's, for how much of an emotional punch a claymation piece could be. With nothing sentimentalised, left absurd or sad as it is, it fully conveys emotions in only a few minutes.

Les Vampires (Louis Feuillade, 1915)
Probably the reason why I have fallen into love with the pulp of cinema so much. On the first viewing finding it difficult to grasp the full enrapturing nature of the film serial, the second viewing showed how a pulpy crime story can be art and almost surrealist when its presented in this way.

Vidas Secas (Nelson Pereira dos Santos, 1963)

Vixen! (Russ Meyer, 1968)
Thus proving softcore and politics can share a bed. In one of the previous entries for this series, I talked about the possibility of having found an area of American genre cinema that suits my niche, the kind that is unique and encourages me to search out for it more. It wouldn't be surprising that Russ Meyer would be one of the first people that would have to researched if I went further into this area of cinema, and it's not a surprise that seeing this film would encourage digging into his films further.

Viy (Georgi Kropachyov and Konstantin Yershov, 1967)

Walker (Ming-liang Tsai, 2012)

Wax, or the Discovery of Television Among the Bees (David Blair, 1991)

The White Dove (Frantisek Vlácil, 1960)/Josef Kilian (Pavel Jurácek and Jan Schmidt, 1963)

Wojciech Has
(The Noose (1958), The Saragossa Manuscript (1965), The Hour-Glass Sanatorium (1973)) 

A Woman After A Killer Butterfly (Ki-young Kim, 1978)

WWF Summerslam 1993 (1993)
Some might be surprised by this being on this list. Even as a self confessed pro wrestling fan, this is not a great ppv event. It's interesting to see what the early nineties was like, both wrestlers who would become very different in persona years later, and what the former World Wrestling Federation was like in a period seen as a drop in interest before "the Attitude Era" came about, where wrestlers like Steve Austin and Dwayne Johnson started becoming famous to even non-wrestling viewers. Probably the reason this is added to the list, but not as a positive but an odd lesson learnt from this that can be applied to anything in general, comes from the main event. The good American hero, riding in on his "Lex Express" of Americana, against the evil Japanese champion (actually a Samoan wrestler). The xenophobia was discomforting, putting me off instantly when it gets to the national anthems, but what stands out if that, for all the hero's pre-match hype, especially as he was an attempt to hastily replace Hulk Hogan, the crowd waving flags, images of American eagles and the such, he wins only because he knocks his opponent to the outside and the baddy cannot get back in. Championships cannot be won through count out victories, and the set-up of the challenge is that it's the only chance the hero can have to fight for that title. He would have another shot later in the former WWF's PPV history, but as the Americans celebrate, confetti in the colours of the American flag, hero on the shoulders of others, and the fact that he hasn't truly defeated the villain and taken the title from his is a perplexing case of self denial within a worked scenario. Even in a wrestling event, this for even someone who doesn't understand pro wrestling would still be a clear example of how you can blind yourself even though you've lost the actual war.

Z (Costa-Gavras, 1969)

Zu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain (Tsui Hawk, 1983)

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Images from the following sources:

http://iv1.lisimg.com/image/4161258/600full-uncle-screenshot.jpg

http://maciejrajk.eu/wp-content/uploads/file/Les_Vampires_1915_Wampiry.jpg

http://themadmovieguy.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/vidas-secas1.jpg

http://img11.nnm.me/2/2/d/9/a/fc6b2022aa6188cceb9b182beee.jpg

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http://www.videotapeswapshop.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/vlcsnap-2013-07-14-00h41m47s34.png

http://readwritehand.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/the-white-dove.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/auteurs_production/images/film/joseph-kilian/w448/joseph-kilian.jpg

http://ttltrash.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/tsm.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDDCkovEBvxCINNphwuZXDtGz3YP1LGl1OMnL7fxa2FtSFpJHZ1b9K1-_t63v2idYEPgVW37qK9bebFTXquANLpqAHAnnzv2sVSuEWHA47J04WhhsgGATiObHwuev5hyphenhyphenO7r7DNZgQrAu8/s1600/KB04.jpg

http://legacy.barstoolsports.com/_images/articles/2007/08/11/31.jpg

http://magazine.ufmalmo.se/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/z21.jpg

http://www.sensesofcinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Zu.jpeg