The 400 Blows (Les quatre cents coups)

Release Year: 1959

Director: François Truffaut

Review: A masterpiece of the 'coming of age' genre and a landmark film in the French New Wave by director François Truffaut.  'The 400 Blows' is an absolutely captivating tale of a troubled youth who is misunderstood by adults and written off as delinquent.  While the title is a direct translation, a more accurate interpretation would be 'to raise hell'.  It is a semi-autobiographical film, drawing many parallels to Truffaut's own childhood, and is an intensely personal film.
 
By all regards Antoine Doinel(Jean-Pierre Léaud), is a troubled youth, continually flouting authority and is always caught red handed.  And yet, there is a sense of tough luck.  What he is doing is nothing more than a boy struggling with adolescence, and desperately trying to get attention which he is repeatedly denied.  Antoine is the one always getting caught, snowballing into him getting a reputation which then leads to more serious offenses.  Léaud is wonderful in the role, giving a sense of loneliness and yearning for compassion.  His longing looks directly into the camera are forceful, and make you feel for this lost child.

'The 400 Blows' is an impressive film, and one that conveys the angst and troubles of a young man perhaps better than any other film.  From the beautiful shots of Antoine roaming around Paris, to the iconic climatic scene, it is a tender, heartfelt, look at adolescence and a fantastic film.
Rating: 4.5/5

Some Like It Hot

Release Year: 1959

Director: Billy Wilder

Review: A screwball romantic comedy which serves more to show the comedic talents of the two stars then anything else.  Set in the prohibition era, two struggling musicians, played by Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, accidentally witness a mob massacre.  To escape the mob, and to make some money, the duo take the only way out of town, cross dressing and taking a job in an all female band, where one of them inevitably falls in love with the singer named Sugar(Marilyn Monroe).    Directed by Billy Wilder, 'Some Like It Hot' is still manages to be funny and provocative today, fifty years later.
 
At the core of why this movie is still endearing are the rich performances.  Curtis and Lemmon are so natural, slipping in and out of their woman roles that its almost off putting.  They manage to be sincere, while always hysterical.  Helping in the comedy department is a great comedic performance by Joe E. Brown, playing the part of a desperate millionaire.  Every time he is on screen he steals the spotlight with his goofy persona.  Marilyn Monroe really makes the film however.  Above all else, this is a sex comedy.  You can't help but be mesmerized by Monroe every time she is on screen.  She's appealing today as she was when the movie was released.  Every scene she is in she is captivating and holds this screwball comedy together with her seductive performance.  There are some holes in the film.  The entire mob plot seemed completely unnecessary and really brought the film down whenever it focused on it.  Also, being a screwball the slapstick humor could be a bit thick at times, inciting more than a few groans.  Despite this, it remains a funny, lighthearted film, full of fantastic character acting.
Rating: 4/5

Ben-Hur

Release Year: 1959
Review: An epic if there ever was one. I can appreciate the ambition of the film making, but this isn't a film that has held up well over time. Rather than feeling sprawling and immersing, the epic felt rather drab. Scenes were dragged out and full of campy acting. The religious story might inspire some, but it was lost on me. Despite these qualms there is a lot of good to be had in this film. The lessons learned by Judah Ben-Hur should be what every person, religious or not, benefits from. If you have the energy and the patience, then this is a solid morality tale if nothing else.
Rating: 3/5