This film is part of Rentals
The Pendulum, The Pit and Hope
Švankmajer's second adaptation of the work of Edgar Allan Poe, in which a prisoner is forced to undergo trials of torture.
Director: Jan Svankmajer
Overview
In this black and white and overwhelmingly tactile universe, a faceless and impersonal inquisitor approaches a trapped man. Although the film is clearly set in the distant past, at the time of production (1983) the Czech authorities assumed it to be a direct attack on the regime resulting in a ban.
See also Jan Švankmajer's other short films, The Ossuary, The Fall of the House of Usher and The Castle of Otranto.
Related
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2022 108 mins Director: Pierre Földes
Impressive and captivating animated adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s short stories.
Times For Times For
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1970 80 mins Silent Director: Stephen Dwoskin
Four characters go through a series of deeply emotional, psychedelic, sensual, sexual encounters, evoking the times and textures of the 1960s underground.
Estuary Estuary
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1980 49 mins Director: Chris Welsby
Tides rise and fall and the landscape twists around the camera.
Chicken Run Chicken Run
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2000 84 mins Director: Peter Lord and Nick Park
Mel Gibson’s Rocky the rooster helps the chickens escape from fascistic farmers in Aardman Animations first foray into feature films.
Belle Belle
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2021 122 mins Director: Mamoru Hosoda
High-school student Suzu finds her voice in an incredible virtual world that allows everyday people to become extraordinary.
Flee Flee
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2021 83 mins Director: Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at Sundance Film Festival, Flee is a testament to friendship, family and acceptance.
The Elephant Man The Elephant Man
Biopic 1980 124 mins Director: David Lynch
David Lynch's moving true-life tale of the severely deformed Joseph Merrick and his rescue from the hell of a Victorian circus sideshow.
Dracula (1958) Dracula (1958)
Horror 1958 82 mins Director: Terence Fisher
Hammer's 1958 version of Stoker's Gothic novel was the most exciting to date, boasting lavish costumes and sets, a vibrant score and red, red blood.
The Mummy The Mummy
Horror 1959 88 mins Director: Terence Fisher
Classic Hammer horror of a reanimated ancient Egyptian mummy, who returns from his tomb to seek vengeance on its desecrators.
The Curse of Frankenstein The Curse of Frankenstein
Horror 1957 83 mins Director: Terence Fisher
Meddling with nature has devastating consequences in Hammer's first Gothic horror, a visceral take on Mary Shelley's novel.
The Limehouse Golem The Limehouse Golem
Thriller 2017 109 mins Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Bill Nighy plays the arch detective investigating a series of grisly murders around the music halls of Victorian London, in this pungent Gothic mystery.
Possum Possum
Horror 2018 85 mins Director: Matthew Holness
"Can you spy him deep within? Little Possum. Black as sin." The reliably deranged Sean Harris is plagued by an evil puppet in this dark, brooding fable from Matthew Holness.
The Fall of the House of Usher The Fall of the House of Usher
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1982 16 mins Director: Jan Svankmajer
The first of Švankmajer's 'tactile experiments', chosen partly because the title was on an official list of 'approved' texts. In this version there are no humans, just a glimpse of a live raven as the camera roams around an eerie derelict house.
Four Daughters Four Daughters
Drama-documentary 2023 103 mins Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
The mother-daughter relationship is explored to cathartic effect in this complex and poignant hybrid documentary about a woman and her missing daughters.
Her Last Affaire Her Last Affaire
Drama 1936 68 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell's 'society drama’ involving suspicion, clandestine romance and presumed murder, and glorious comic double-act from Googie Withers and John Lurie.
She Will She Will
Thriller 2021 96 mins Director: Charlotte Colbert
In Charlotte Colbert’s strikingly gothic film, an ageing actor recovering from a mastectomy taps into a mysterious power at a remote Scottish retreat.
Rynox Rynox
Crime 1932 46 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell’s earliest existing film is a twisty thriller crafted with a bold visual style that is unmistakeably influenced by Fritz Lang.
Hotel Splendide Hotel Splendide
Comedy 1932 53 mins Director: Michael Powell
Music hall veteran Jerry Verno stars as a lowly clerk who gets more than he bargained for when he inherits a hotel, in Michael Powell's charming comedy.
The Night of the Party The Night of the Party
Crime 1934 61 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell’s fun stage adaptation about a murder at a society party, with characterful performances from its fine ensemble cast.