Thread has been dormant for more than a year, but eh, this is the place to post this stuff:
Top 5 movies I discovered in 2017
#5: Kuroneko
(1968, Kaneto Shinto, Japan, black and white)
Horror film about two women who after suffering and dying at the hand of a roaming band of soldiers, turn into cat-spirit seeking revenge on samurai…
#4: Adauchi
(1964, Tadashi Imai, Japan, black and white)
A samurai film very critical of the feodal honor system and of samurai mentality, showing through flashbacks how a poor samurai got himself involved in a doomed duel.
#3: The Manchurian Candidate
(1962, John Frankenheimer, US, black and white)
Psychological thriller and spy film about brain washing and mind control. Notable for co-starring Frank Sinatra.
#2: Arrival
(2016, Denis Villeneuve, US, color)
Science fiction thriller and drama, which I absolutely did not expect to like this much. This is the kind of film I wish Ridley Scott or Christopher Nolan were making.
#1: Sword of Doom
(1966, Kihachi Okamoto, Japan, black and white)
One of the most cruel and violent samurai films outthere; suffers a bit from a very abrupt ending and loose plot threads (the story was supposed to continue in a second film that was never made), but nonetheless worth the journey.