Sixteen Candles
(1984/Hughes)
Really enjoying Hughes mid 80's films. While this is clearly the one going for the cheapest laughs, and Hughes displays little of his more mature storytelling abilities, both director and star Molly Ringwald have some standout moments. Anthony Michael Hall outdoes himself as well. One thing I don't get is how this film is rated PG. Nudity, language, alcohol. Beats me. Very enjoyable overall.

Night Mail
(1936/Watt & Wright)
A well-made early documentary telling the story of a special mail-delivery train that operates in England and Scotland. We watched this film in class mainly to explore the idea of using narration to make up for the lack of quality sound work. Watt & Wright use the "Voice of God" style narration; an authoritative, unopinionated booming voice that spouts the many modern technological facets of the special train. The most entertaining part though was the seemingly-random inclusion of a performance of a train rhyme by the stern-voiced narrator, almost sung, almost rapped.

Land Without Bread
(1932/Buñuel)
Narration plays a much more vital role here, with virtually no dialogue, and it's interesting that here, the narrator sometimes refers to things that "we" saw, inferring he was part of a travelling group visiting this country. This documentary focuses on the people of a remote Spanish town living in abject poverty, plagued with disease and famine, many of whom are stricken with deformities. Buñuel chooses to have running triumphant trumpet music playing in the background throughout, an interesting choice, but one that sharply contradicts with the images of graphic animal deaths, along with the matter-of-fact treatment of human suffering, elements that make the film particularly disturbing. Even worse was the fact I read afterwards, revealing that Buñuel himself dictated the torture and murder of several animals to get the shots he wanted.