Haven’t seen a great deal of non-American thirties films, I’m afraid [though I could come up with tons of ones which I want to see (Haha,)] but here are some less-obvious choices that I’ve liked:
Philips-Radio (Joris Ivens, 1931)
La Nuit du Carrefour (Jean Renoir, 1932)
Nieuwe Gronden (Joris Ivens, 1933)
Aerograd (Aleksandr Dovzhenko, 1935)
Toni (Jean Renoir, 1935)
Les Perles de la Couronne (Sacha Guitry, 1937)
The Spanish Earth (Joris Ivens, 1937) [Technically American-financed.]
I’d like to see more of Anthony Asquith’s films from the 30’s. I’ve only seen Pygmalion and would recommend it.
Since I’ve been watching a good deal of Ozu lately, I would highly recommend “I Was Born, But…” from 1932, as well as “A Story of Floating Weeds” from 1934 and “The Only Son” from 1936.
Of course there are also the major classics like “L’Age d’Or,” “M,” “L’Atalante,” “Grand Illusion,” “The Rules of the Game,” etc. if you haven’t seen those already.
Also do yourself a favor and watch F.W. Murnau’s last film, “Tabu: A Story of the South Seas,” a totally underrated masterpiece.
i recommend mizoguchi’s sisters of the gion (1936) and story of the late chrysanthemums (1939). also sadao yamanaka’s tange sazen and the million ryo pot (1935) and humanity and paper balloons (1937). and of course hitchcock’s wonderful british films the man who knew too much (1934), the 39 steps (1935), sabotage (1936) and the lady vanishes (1938) but you’ve probably seen those already xD
Heinosuke Gosho’s Burden of Life
a few other renoirs not mentioned:
Boudu Saved from Drowning
A Day in the Country
La bête humaine
also:
Pépé le Moko
Children in the Wind
The Masseurs and a Woman
Le jour se lève
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
Que Viva Mexico
Yeah, saw Boudu Saved from Drowning a month or so ago. Not really my style of comedy, but an amazing performance.
Ok there’s about two films here I haven’t seen. Am I the only Abel Gance fan?
ha i knew u were gonna come back and say something like that
My faves that haven’t been mentioned yet
1930: Prix de Beaute (Alfredo Genina), The Blood of a Poet (Jean Cocteau), Walk Cheerfully (Yasujiro Ozu), and Salt for Svanetia (Mikhail Kalotozov)
1931: Kameradschaft (G. W. Pabst)
1932: Vampyr (Carl Theodor Dreyer)
1933: Passing Fancy (Yasujiro Ozu), Deserter (Vsevolod Pudovkin), The Moving Picture Fight of the Fox and the Possum (Ikuo Oishi), and Misery in the Borinage (Joris Ivens and Henri Storck)
1934: The Goddess (Wu Yonggang), The Private Life of Don Juan (Alexander Korda), and The Mascot (Ladislaw Starewicz)
1935: Wife, Be Like a Rose (Mikio Naruse), Legong: Dance of the Virgins (Henri de la Falaise), The Deformation of the Setting Sun (Joseph Leclerc), and Princess Tam Tam (Edmond Greville)
1936: Things to Come (William Cameron Menzies), Rainbow Dance (Len Lye), Near the Blue Sea (Boris Barnet), A Day in the Country (Jean Renoir), Osaka Elegy (Kenji Mizoguchi), and Seven Sinners (Albert de Corville)
1937: The Edge of the World (Michael Powell), Crossroads (Shen Xiling), and Street Angel (Yuan Mu-jih)
1938: La Bete Humaine (Jean Renoir), Alexander Nevsky (Sergei Eisenstein), and Olympia (Leni Riefenstahl)
1939: The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (Kenji Mizoguchi)
If you’re not already with Shimizu, see his ’30s films included in the Travels with Hiroshi Shimizu Eclipse set—Japanese Girls at the Harbor (1933), Mr. Thank You (1936), and The Masseurs and a Woman (1938).
Renoir:
Boudu Saved from Drowning
rime of M. Lange
Toni
Grand Illusion
La Bete Humaine
Rules of the Game
Ozu:
I Was Born But
Story of Floating Weeds
Tokyo Chorus
Lang:
M
Murnau:
City Girl
Tabu
Von Sternberg:
The Blue Angel
Mizoguchi:
Sisters of the Gion
Deyer:
Vampyr
Eisenstein:
Alexander Nevsky
Also fabby-wabby:
Triumph of the Will (1935, Riefenstahl)
The Threepenny Opera (1931, Pabst)
Port of Shadows (1938, Carne)
Hotel du Nord (1938, Carne)
Liebelei (1933, Ophuls)
La chienne (1931, Renoir)
Port of Shadows (1938) – Marcel Carné
Louise (1939) – Abel Gance
Daybreak (1939) – Marcel Carné
Mauvaise Graine – (1934) Billy Wilder
Kameradschaft – 1931 – GW Pabst
The aforementioned films by Ozu, Vigo, Lang, Renoir, Hitch, Cocteau, and Dreyer all have my seal of approval.
wpqx
I’ve seen a lot, some of you may know this, the rest of you just take my word for it. Anyways I’ve been looking through the films I’ve seen from the 30s and have for many years had an obsession with pre-code Hollywood movies. Point is a large majority of the films I’ve seen from this awesome cinematic decade have been just that, pre-code Hollywood films. So in an effort to broaden my cultural pallet, as well as anyone else’s who cares to profit by the suggestions made here, I’m asking you to give me a brief list (or massive depending on your preference) of your favorite films of the 30s made outside the US.
PS films from 1935-1939 preferred, but all are welcome.