Love them or hate them, biopics can vary enormously when they invariably focus on cultural "icons"...

In terms of atmosphere and tone it could have sprung from the hand of Alfred Hitchcock, with it's moodily lit interiors...

I knew of Claude Chabrol as a director of the French New Wave but had not watched any of his films upon to this point...

The film opens with a furious breakneck car chase through Paris as Fred is being pursued by the gangster's henchmen..

Controversial, daring, misogynistic, stylish and often deeply disturbing are the words that come to mind after watching the film.

Arrow's title is "100 Spook Stories" (Japanese: Yōkai Hyaku Monogatari) and it is variously titled depending upon the region..

Akira Kurosawa's 1948 film "Drunken Angel" marked the first of several collaborations with the actor Toshiro Mifune..

"La Haine" came up as highly recommended on Apple+ as a breakthrough film for its' director, Mathieu Kassovitz, and for the subject matter..

Launched with the hugely successful "Pollyanna", Mills soon found herself cast with top billing in a slew of Disney films..

The success of "Daimajin" resulted in it being the first in a trilogy, which are all available to view on the Apple TV streamer..

Zazie (Catherine Demongeot) herself is a bit of a disfunctional tearaway who wastes no time in trying to explore Paris herself...

However, this is really Sophia Loren's film and she is placed center-stage as a street smart young woman...

Varda used actors who would not normally be cast in Hollywood films and there really is a strong "Withnail & I" comedic vibe...

There are several of her films available on the streaming service including this Jack Lemmon vehicle...

Watching "Tove", a biopic on a formative part of the life of the children's author and creator of the "Moomins", Tove Jansson..

I would put it alongside "Lovers and Lollipops" and "The Thief" as examples of films that use the locations of late 1940's and 1950's N.Y..

I watched Marco Ferrari's 1973 film "La Grande Bouffe" (Eng: "The Blow-Out", though it translates more accurately as "The Big Feast")..

Plot-wise the film follows the same general trajectory as the 1954 film - Godzilla rises from the ocean depths...

As per usual, I watched these three films - all first-time viewings - out of chronological order...

The film opens with shots of modernist buildings in New York as a woman (Ursula Andress in a brown wig) is being pursued...