Oz University
★ 7 · 1936 · 13m · Fantasy
This two-strip Technicolor record of the 1936 freshman pageant, acted out entirely by women, begins with Dorothy escorting the Wizard to the throne, assisted by Ojo, whereupon he looks in the Magic Picture on the University of Michigan, and the typed students complaining about school. The Wizard decides to bring them all to Oz, transforming them into Oz celebrities: Tippetarius, the Scarecrow, Nick Chopper, Tik-Tok, Old Mombi, Jinjur, Scraps, The Shaggy Man, Betsy Bobbin, and Jack Pumpkinhead. After a party and registration, it's on to class with Professor Wogglebug. When Tip and Jack carry him out of the classroom, he subjects them to a blue book exam, after which they wish to return to the U of M. The equivalent characters are not played by the same people, so there transformation, their "true self" appears behind them in the early scenes.
More Like This
Frankenstein
1910 · ★ 6.1
Frankenstein, a young medical student, trying to create the perfect human being, instead creates a misshapen monster. Made ill by what he has done, Frankenstein is comforted by his fiancée; but on his wedding night he is visited by the monster.
More info →
The Impossible Voyage
1904 · ★ 7.3
Using every known means of transportation, several savants from the Geographic Society undertake a journey through the Alps to the Sun which finishes under the sea.
More info →
A Trip to Mars
1918 · ★ 6.4
The navy captain Avanti Planetaros is inspired by his astronomer-father to travel through outer space to reach other worlds. He becomes an aviator and, along with the young scientist Dr. Krafft, the driving force behind the construction of a space-ship. Despite oppostion from the mocking Professor Dubius, Planetaros gathers a crew of fearless men and takes off. During the long voyage, the crew becomes restless; a mutiny is narrowly avoided. Finally, they reach Mars and discover that the planet is inhabited by people who have reached a higher stage of development, free of diseases, sorrow, violence, sexual urges, and the fear of death. Avanti falls in love with Marya, daughter of the Prince of Wisdom, the head of the Martians. Marya shares his feelings and decides to return with him in order to bring the wisdom of the Martians to the backward Earthlings. (stumfilm.dk)
More info →
A Daughter Of Destiny
1928 · ★ 6.4
Hanns Heinz Ewers' grim science-fiction novel Alraune has already been filmed twice when this version was assembled in 1928. In another of his "mad doctor" roles, Paul Wegener plays Professor Brinken, sociopathic scientist who combines the genes of an executed murderer with those of a prostitute. The result is a beautiful young woman named Alraune (Brigitte Helm), who is incapable of feeling any real emotions -- least of all guilt or regret. Upon attaining adulthood, Alraune sets about to seduce and destroy every male who crosses her path. Ultimately, Professor Brinken is hoist on his own petard when he falls hopelessly in love with Alraune himself. Alraune was remade in 1930, with Brigitte Helm repeating her role, and again in 1951, with Hildegarde Knef as the "heroine" and Erich von Stroheim as her misguided mentor.
More info →
The Golem: How He Came into the World
1920 · ★ 7
In 16th-century Prague, a rabbi creates the Golem - a giant creature made of clay. Using sorcery, he brings the creature to life in order to protect the Jews of Prague from persecution.
More info →
Aelita: Queen of Mars
1924 · ★ 6
A young man travels to Mars in a rocket ship, where he leads a popular uprising against the ruling group with the support of Queen Aelita, who has fallen in love with him after watching him through a telescope.
More info →The Alchemistic Suitcase
2009 · ★ 4.5
A nervous and unsettling young boy takes a mysterious old suitcase across London... to a twisted and surreal conclusion.
More info →
The Cave of the Silken Web
1927 · ★ 5.4
One of the earliest cinematic adaptation of Chinese classic novel Journey to the West. When seeking for food alone, Tang Xuanzang was kept prisoner by seven spider monsters who took the form of seven beautiful women. The Monkey King and the other two of Xuanzang's disciples managed to rescue him with the help of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva/Guanyin. They renounced the desire for lust and continued the quest for Buddhist Scriptures.
More info →
Wicked Flying Monkeys
2015 · ★ 5.7
Ozzy is an enthusiastic and friendly flying monkey, son of the legendary Goliath, the brave warrior. They serve Evilene - the wicked witch - just as the rest of their kin. But Ozzy is not happy about it and when Evilene's plans put Oz once again in peril, Ozzy reaches out to the Champions of Oz, three great friends (the Lion, the Scarecrow and the Tinman) with incredible qualities that have taken Emerald City to its maximum splendor.
More info →Maple Leaf Viewing
1899 · ★ 5.9
A reel of the Noh drama Momiji-gari, in which Danjuro Ichikawa played opposite Onoe Kikugoro V as an ogress who has disguised herself as the Princess Sarashina. Filmed by Shibata Tsunekichi in the open air on a windy day in November 1899, Danjuro would allow only the one take, so that when his fan blew away in mid-performance the scene had to stay. The film re-emerged at the Kikikan theatre in 1907 where it was a great success and inspired a wave of fiction filmmaking based on traditional Japanese narratives.
More info →
Dante's Inferno
1911 · ★ 6.5
A two-reel adaptation of Dante Alighieri's Inferno from the Divine Comedy by Helios Film. It is less well-known than the five-reel feature produced the same year by Milano Films, but it was released earlier in 1911.
More info →