Title Creatorsort icon Date Era City Country Emotional Sum (Sense of Life or emotional World View) Theme
Chocolat Director: Lasse Hallstrom 2000 United Kingdom

Pleasure is good; religion and conventional thinking is bad.

Follow your dream and disregard convention.

Dangerous Beauty Director: Marshall Herskovitz 1998 United States

The world is a horrible split of conventional marital morality vs. honest but promiscuous morality. The way to live requires one sacrifice one's body for one's soul.

  1. The importance of accepting your own rules for living, your own morality.
  2. The grim metaphysical conflict for a Venetian woman of being a slave to a husband or a free woman requiring sexual work.
Chariots of Fire Director: Hugh Hudson 1981 1971-1990 United Kingdom

A complete feeling of openness of the world to greatness of your own choosing.

Life is achievement.

Greystoke Director: Hugh Hudson 1984 1971-1990 United Kingdom

Life is Loss -- life is grim and culture is grim and the jungle is grim. All is grim.

The other important feature of the film emotionally is that Tarzan has been crippled by his circumstances of being brought up in the jungle -- he cannot live as a man, so the great tragedy of the story is that he has to return to the jungle, which is below primitive -- it is an isolated hell in which death is at every corner, and at best the companionship of apes. Given that the story partly portrays civilized men as brutes who relish killing animals, perhaps the emotional intent is to make the choice to return to the jungle as positive, but for this reviewer it is unutterably tragic and ugly.

Loss, Loss, Loss. Man as metaphysically alien from human culture.

Rembrandt Director: Korda Alexander 1936 1931-1950 United Kingdom

Life is hard as an independent spirit, and wealth will elude you, but you will be happy, after a fashion.

Rashomon Director: Akira Kurosawa 1950 1931-1950 Japan

The world is terrible and full of disasters and mankind is awful and pathetic.

Objectivity is a myth -- everyone sees a different reality, a different "story".

Romeo + Juliet Director: Baz Luhrmann 1996 1991-2010 United States

Tragedy is central to life.

Romantic Love is doomed and we don't control our own lives.

Ruggles of Red Gap Director: Leo McCarey 1935 1931-1950 United States

Happiness and fulfillment is in yourself.

Personal declaration of independence from servitude

Die Hard Director: John McTiernan 1988 July 15 United States

The way to beat evil is to give no quarter, no compromise. Life is hard, but fighting for the right is rewarded.

Giving up in life is not an option.

Vitus Director: Fredi Murer 2006

If you have the will, you can find the way to live the way you want.

Living your life your own way is the only right way.

Fame Director: Alan Parker 1980 1971-1990 New York United States

Life is hard, but you can succeed, and it is worth it and exhilarating.

Go after your heart's desire.

Enemy Below, The Director: Dick Powell 1957 1951-1970 United States

War is deadly and destructive for all parties.

American President Director: Rob Reiner 1995 1991-2010 Washington, D.C. United States

Romance is fun, funny and important.

A Few Good Men Director: Rob Reiner 1992 1991-2010 United States

Justice should be fought for, needs to be fought for and can be fragile.

Commitment to a moral code is central to a good man's life.

Wall-E Director: Andrew Stanton 2008 1991-2010 Hollywood United States

The world is garbage, and more garbage and humans have destroyed the earth, because of their wanton consumerism.

Mankind is a blight on the universe, and only cute robots (as opposed to evil robots) can save the earth from human degradation.

Wall Street Director: Oliver Stone 1987 1971-1990 United States

There are bad people in power who use ordinary people as pawns in their endless pursuit of money. Those who are not ruthless are sheep to be slaughtered by the rich and powerful. Greed is bad.

Financiers are amoral money-grubbing backstabbers, i.e., desire for money corrupts

High Noon Director: Fred Zinnemann 1952 1951-1970 United States

There is palpable evil in the world. There is heroism in the face of evil in the world. The movie is full of fear and foreboding and betrayal.

Civil Society is the ideal, and worth fighting for. Doing what is right is the right way to live. Don't let the evil bastards win. The theme is expressed repeatedly in the movie via the contrast of the Marshall who grimly faces the need to do what he lives for, despite the death facing him, vs. the mealy mouthed town folk, many of which who won't fight for their civil society, and vs. the deputy marshall who portrays the sellout who will give into evil force in order to "get along".

Head of a Bearded Man Domenichino: 1625c 1600s New York United States

Pensive, worried, detached qualities of humanity

Worry is the way of the world.

Horse Seen from Behind Draftsman: Andrea Boscoli 1587c 1500s United States

Not much except perhaps stylistic -- confident, strong drafting style, and a vibrant, alive, horse.

Senso-ju Temple at Asakusa Hiroshige: 1840s c 1800s Tokyo Japan

Pure, simple, quiet tranquility.

Blue Steps of Naumkeag Landscape Designer: Fletcher Steele 1937-39 1900 - 1950 Stockbridge, MA United States

elegance and grace

The man-made enhances nature -- it is what makes nature beautiful

La Grande Nevrose Loysel, Jacques: c.1896 1800s Paris France

The dynamic female body is beautiful and exciting. Although it may not explicitly suggest it, the nude and its tense position could be felt as erotic.

An animated female body is a vessel of perfection.

Of Human Bondage Maugham, W. Somerset: 1915 1900 - 1950 United Kingdom

Life is a fearful gray spread of actions and in-actions without genuine values. We are all deformed in mind or spirit and should accept convention as demanded by those around us.

Man's life is outside his control. Conventionality is the final ideal.

Tzena Tzena Tzena Miron - Parish: 1941 1900s Israel

Joyous celebration

Joyous celebration

Riace Bronze A Myron?: c.460 BCE 500 BCE - 1 CE Greece

Man is strong and indomitable

Intelligence, Pride, Strength = Man