We here at Reel Time (er…that is, me) are proud to present a new column which every week will highlight five good older films that you may have missed.

Duck, You Sucker (1972) (Sergio Leone)
Duck, You Sucker was the great Sergio Leone’s (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Once Upon a Time in the West) penultimate film, and his last film that can be categorized as a “Spaghetti Western.” For years it existed on these shores only in a heavily edited version re-titled A Fistful of Dynamite (an obvious cash-in on Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars), and was unseen by all but Leone’s most loyal fans. Only recently has it been re-released on DVD in an excellent restored edition from MGM.
Duck, You Sucker stars James Coburn as an Irish dynamite expert who becomes entangled with a despicable Mexican bandit played by Rod Steiger (yes, Rod Steiger). Together, they unwittingly become involved in the Mexican Revolution. It isn’t quite top-grade Leone, but Steiger and Coburn are both terrific, and Ennio Morricone delivers his strangest and most audacious musical score in a Leone film, which is saying a lot. It’s very entertaining in the highly stylized, epic-on-a-budget way that was distinctly Leone.

Scenes from a Marriage (1973) (Ingmar Bergman)
The recent death of Ingmar Bergman was a tragedy to anyone who really appreciates film. Some of his movies are admittedly easier to admire than to like, but at his best, Bergman was undeniably one of the greatest filmmakers who ever lived.
Scenes from a Marriage is my favourite Bergman film. Erland Josephson and Liv Ullman play a seemingly happy couple whose marriage ends when he suddenly announces his intention to live with his younger mistress. Through the rest of the film, we see Josephson and Ullman reunite several times to try to sort out their emotions.
Josephson and Ullman give monumental performances, and Bergman’s direction is brilliant (notice how he uses close-ups to increase tension). Few films are this wise about the mysteries of love and affection, and almost none are more powerful.
(I also highly recommend Bergman’s under-appreciated 2003 sequel, Saraband).

Hard-Boiled (1992) (John Woo)
There are action movies, and then there is Hard-Boiled, director John Woo’s final Hong Kong production to date. Chow Yun-fat plays a tough-as-nails cop named Tequila who forms an alliance with a mild-mannered undercover officer (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) who has infiltrated the Hong Kong Triads. Their investigation ultimately leads to a hospital where the Triads have hidden an enormous weapons cache.
What follows is an extended action sequence that occupies most of the movie’s second half and is, quite simply, incredible. Pound for pound, this film may have more and better-crafted action than any film you have ever seen. No exaggeration: this is the only movie that has ever made me sweat.
Hard-Boiled exists in an out-of-print DVD from the Criterion Collection, but it has just been released on a two-disc set from “Dragon Dynasty,” the Weinstein Company’s Asian film division, which contains a bounty of extras, including a knowledgeable commentary from Asian film expert Bey Logan. If an action movie is what you’re after, I couldn’t recommend this more highly.

Bubba Ho-Tep (2003) (Don Coscarelli)
Bubba Ho-Tep imagines that Elvis Presley did not die, but traded places with an impersonator. He currently resides in a small Texas rest home, which is also the home of John F. Kennedy. Together, they must defeat a mummy who has been swallowing the souls of their fellow seniors.
If that premise isn’t enough to convince you to give this a shot, how about the fact that Elvis is played by the great Bruce Campbell, and that JFK is played by…wait for it…Ossie Davis. Yes, that Ossie Davis.
Despite its bonkers premise, Bubba Ho-Tep is actually a genuinely touching film about regret and redemption. Davis and especially Campbell (who really should have received an Oscar nomination) play their parts with strict sincerity and surprising feeling. In fact, director Don Coscarelli plays this bizarre material completely straight, and the result is a film that is funny, atmospheric, and occasionally moving. I swear.

Eros (2004) (Wong Kar-wai, Steven Soderbergh, Michelangelo Antonioni)
This three-part omnibus film, in which three of the world’s most renowned directors offered up their interpretation of the concept of eroticism, received almost no attention during its short theatrical release, and little more on DVD. I remember seeing it reviewed on Ebert and Roeper, and the two critics (who, incidentally, awarded it “Two thumbs up”) were surprised that the distributor, Warner Independent Pictures, didn’t bother to supply them with any film clips.
Much of its bad rap is because of the late Michelangelo Antonioni, whose segment, The Dangerous Thread of Things, is, to put it mildly, not among his best work. (If you want to see Antonioni, I recommend The Passenger).
But the other two segments, by Wong Kar-wai and Steven Soderbergh, are well worth the price of a rental. Wong is my favourite living director, and his highly atmospheric and downright sexy contribution, The Hand, is further proof that the man is a genius. Soderbergh’s Equilibrium is an amusing little skit that accomplishes the near-impossible task of putting Robert Downey Jr. and Alan Arkin together and making them funny, not annoying. Overall, this is an interesting film, and is worthy of more acclaim that it has received.

COMING SOON: A review of Mr. Bean’s Holiday; Fall Movie Preview