August 15, 2005

Movies for puzzlers.

Eric Berlin is making a list of movies for puzzle lovers. For example, "Memento" – one of my very favorites.

I've got one: "The Draughtsman's Contract." An artist contracts with a rich woman to make 12 drawings of her estate and to bestow sexual favors on her while her husband is away. Mysterious objects appear in the scenes he's drawing – a ladder, a pair of boots – and these raise questions about whether the husband has been murdered. I saw this film when it came out in the 80s and can't remember at all how the plot was tied up, but I do remember that it was quite elaborate and clever. It's also beautifully filmed.

Help Berlin add to his list.

7 comments:

Eric said...

Whoops -- bad link to my post. It's actually here.

Eric

Ann Althouse said...

Sorry, Eric. I've fixed it.

Unknown said...

I love The Draughtsman's Contract. Another good one by Greenaway is Drowning by Numbers (a sort of numbering game/puzzle).

knox said...

Gosford Park

Troy said...

"The Game" with Michael Douglas and Sean Penn from the late 1990s.

"Dark City" is a puzzle-ish movie

"Pi" by Darren Aronofsky (sp.?) -- perhaps not

Susan said...

Yes, definately The Sixth Sense as well as The Sting and The Usual Suspects, all personal favs. Maybe Body Heat, too, but I think its really just a good mystery, not necessarily a "puzzle". The list of really excellent puzzlers is kind of short isn't it? Too bad, because I find them the most satisfying kind of movie to sit through.

Anonymous said...

Well, Sin City is a mystery, sort of. I have yet to figure out who Nancy is. But maybe I just dozed off...