Movies I'm Watching: Wings (1966)

The Criterion Collection streaming on Hulu Plus is a treasure. I don't watch the films available there as often as I should, but last night I randomly selected a Russian film called Wings (1966) that was a real treat. Beautifully filmed and acted. Storytelling at its best. Well worth the 84 minutes it runs. Made by Larisa Shepitko. Starring (if that's the right word—there is no Hollywood glitz here)—character actress Maya Bulgakova as a once-heroic Soviet fighter pilot now living a life of quiet desperation as a school principal.

Somehow, I found myself watching Hobson's Choice (1954) afterward—a beautifully restored print and another fine film. I noticed something funny in Hobson's Choice: a nuclear power plant cooling tower is visible in the background of one of the scenes. I've seen the film maybe five times and never noticed it before. The story is set in the age of the bustle—when the bustle was brand new in the world of feminine fashions—so, perhaps around 1870, long before nuclear reactors....

Photo from The Criterion Collection website.