My 150 Favorite Movies - #23

Raise the Red Lantern (1991)

Set in China in the 1920's, Raise the Red Lantern stars the beautiful Chinese actress Li Gong as Songlian who is forced to marry the Lord of a powerful family. She must compete for his attention with his three other wives. One of the most beautiful and compelling films ever made, it was banned for a time in China in the early 1990's. Nominated for a Best Foreign Film Oscar, it won the BAFTA, New York Film Critics Circle, and the National Board of Review for Best Foreign Language Film.

My 150 Favorite Movies - #24

Tootsie (1982)

I have already written about Tootsie here.

My 150 Favorite Movies - #25

Betrayal (1983)

The pedigree of this movie has few equals. Starring Jeremy Irons, Ben Kingsley and Patricia Hodge, the story is of a woman who has an affair with her husband's best friend, told from the husband's point of view. Based on the semi-autobiographical play by Harold Pinter, the conceit is that the entire story unfolds in reverse chronological order. Pinter adapted his own play for the screen, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay based on material from another medium. In his review of the film, Roger Ebert stated, "the Betrayal structure strips away all artifice. It shows, heartlessly, that the very capacity for love itself is sometimes based on betraying not only other loved ones, but even ourselves."