The Take (2004)

There is a now a new section in the genres list of "current affairs". This is to include the many recent public licence documentaries that have been made and are about analysing the past and present and proposals for the future. Already Zeitgeist and Home will be found under that category. This one, The Take, I have watched and recommend it to show how the capitalist system can be replaced.

In suburban Buenos Aires, thirty unemployed auto-parts workers walk into their idle factory, roll out sleeping mats, and refuse to leave. All they want is to re-start the silent machines. With The Take, director Avi Lewis, one of Canada's most outspoken journalists, and writer Naomi Klein, author of the international bestseller No Logo, champion a radical economic manifesto for the 21st century. But what shines through in the film is the simple drama of workers' lives and their struggle: the demand for dignity and the searing injustice of dignity denied. http://thetake.org/

IMDB page 7.4/10

Panorama Ephemera (2004)

This is something a bit different for you...
Panorama Ephemera is a collage of sequences drawn from a wide variety of ephemeral (industrial, advertising, educational and amateur) films, touring the conflicted landscapes of twentieth-century America. The films' often-skewed visions construct an American history filled with horror and hope, unreeling in familiar and unexpected ways.
It focuses on familiar and mythical activities and images in America (1626-1978). Many creatures and substances that we hardly notice because we feel so used to them take centre stage, including pigs, corn, water, telephones, fire, and rice. At first resembling a compilation, it soon reveals itself as a journey through the American landscape over time, and the story begins to emerge between the sequences.
The film consists of 64 self-contained film sequences ranging from 5 seconds to 4 minutes in length arranged into a narrative. Unlike many films made using archival footage, it's primarily a combination of sequences rather than a collage of individual shots. Rick Prelinger (film maker)

IMDB page 6.6/10

His Girl Friday (1940)

Hilarious romantic comedy starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. Russell is rough and tumble reporter looking to get out of the news racket by marrying and becoming a house wife after her divorce from newspaper publisher Grant. Just when she is about to leave town with her husband-to-be the still lovesick Grant drafts her to cover one final breaking news sensation.
Nb: There is a slight audio sync problem in the first couple minutes of the film. It is present on the source medium and is very brief.

IMDB page 8.1/10

Happy Go Lovely (1951)

B.G. Bruno, a rich bachelor, the head of a successful greeting-card company in Scotland. An American troupe visiting Edinburgh wants to produce a musical in town but has trouble getting backers. Bruno meets several of the leading ladies of the show; through a misunderstanding he doesn't correct they think that he's a newspaper reporter. He falls in love with one of the women, who reciprocates; he grows more lively and friendly, to the surprise of his employees.
David Niven; Vera-Ellen; Cesar Romero

IMDB page 6.2/10

Dressed to Kill (1946)

A.k.a 'Sherlock Holmes in Dressed To Kill', this features Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes. A set of cheap music boxes that people are willing to kill for puts Sherlock Holmes on the case.

IMDB page 6.9/10

The Vagabond (1916)

Charlie Chaplins 53rd Film Released July 10 1916

The Vagabond was a silent film by Charlie Chaplin and his third film with Mutual Films. Released in 1916, it co-starred Edna Purviance, Eric Campbell, Leo White and Lloyd Bacon. This film echoed Chaplin's work on The Tramp, with more drama mixed in with comedy. The story begins with Charlie, playing music to raise money, and instead finds the abused girl (played by Edna) living in a gypsy camp. As in The Tramp, he works on finding a way to help her.

IMDB page 7/10

The Goat (1921)

This is a highly rated short silent comedy by Buster Keaton.
Dumb luck sets some policemen on his trail -- after a series of innovative escapes, he gets mistaken for a murderer with a price on his head, which means the people that aren't chasing him are fleeing from him.

IMDB page 7.9/10