POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 23, 2016

A melodrama in cinemascope, a burlesque that leaves you speechless, a collegial comedy, a revenge thriller, an academic documentary... Every year at the Lumière festival, there is a wide array of films to satisfy any taste, even the most unmentionable. Below is a look at five films from the 2016 lineup that caused -or could have caused- a sensation at the neighborhood movie theater.

The Way of the Dragon by Bruce Lee (1972)

If you must see a single Bruce Lee movie, this is it. Simply put, The Way of the Dragon finds Lee at the top of his physical and choreographic form, in the role of a Hong Konger in Rome helping a restaurant defend itself against racketeering mobsters. Minimal dialogue (typical of the filmography of the martial arts legend) serves as a pretext for a succession of strong and swift moves, owing as much to the context (often hurried, with crooks dressed in 70s getup) as to Bruce Lee's then-awareness of his own talent and charisma. It is no coincidence then, that Lee takes on many roles (for the first and only time in his too-short career) as the movie's producer, screenwriter, director, and, it goes to follow… lead actor. That aside, it is also the only film where the paragon of invincibility, Chuck Norris, gets a royal thrashing (at the Roman Coliseum, to boot)!

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls by Russ Meyer (1970)

From Vixen! to Supervixens, the musical melodrama reinforced Russ Meyer's reputation as an "inflated" filmmaker and figurehead of sexploitation. In Beyond the Valley of the Dolls ("doll" here a slang term for dolophine, which affects the libido), we follow the misadventures of an all-female rock trio, on a mission to get ahold of an inheritance. Along the way, they experience (literally) orgiastic concerts, managerial rivalries, heavy drug use… it's a chance for the lover-boy of the big-busted ladies to satisfy his joyfully lusty inclinations, but even more pointedly, to engage in an irreverent satire of show business. The flick lives on in popular culture, referenced by Michael Meyers as Austin Powers and by Brix Smith of The Fall.

Voyage to the End of the Universe by Jindrich Polák (1968)

In space no one can hear you scream (even in Czech). No one can hear you clawing with admiration either, at this groundbreaking, influential film. Seminal in its aesthetic flawlessness - beautifully contrasting black and white, borne of special effects ahead of their time (the views of space alone are worth visiting) - "Ikarie XB1" is equally seminal for its content. After all, the film is less a space opera than a huit-clos, questioning the morality of the 48 scientists aboard the eponymous cruiser, destination Alpha Centauri. It is thus no surprise to learn that, like Andrei Tarkosvki's Solaris, the movie is based on a novel by Polish author Stanislaw Lem, the master of science-fiction with a human dimension. In any case, many filmmakers, from Stanley Kubrick (2001) to Danny Boyle (Sunshine), have propelled vessels toward the outer world in the wake of this space odyssey.

Deadlier than the Male by Ralph Thomas (1967)

Make no mistake, these amusing angels are not there to supplant the authorities, but to give them a hard time. The fierce creatures in question are indeed killers whose determination is matched only by the candor of their criminal techniques - and the pleasure that their figures suggest, most of the time outlined by a simple bikini. Fortunately, one man will rise up against the operation: Hugh Drummond, insurance broker by day (!), investigator by night and, in fact, a self-effacing twist on the "Bond-like" prototype of the British spy. A gem of "pulp" fiction, courtesy of converted editor, Ralph Thomas.

Wolf by Mike Nichols (1994)

Though missing from the Universal Monsters lineup, Wolf is not entirely absent from the festival program. We're referring to the werewolf of the very folkloric variety, played by Jack Nicholson, a specialist par excellence of impulsive personality roles (The Shining, One Flew Over a Cuckoo's Nest), based on a tailor-made script by his friend Jim Harrison. More specifically, based on a nightmare (a wolf he has run over bites him) so convincing, that the novelist believes upon waking to be infused with werewolf characteristics. In the movie, it is a publisher who is likewise contaminated... Wolf provides the opportunity for Mike Nichols to spin a fascinating, almost Taoist tale, expressing the duality of the world and humankind.