The Treasures from the Archive strand of the London Film Festival showcases restored classics that are as good as, if not better than, the many new films.

Eve (1962)

The 128-minute version of Eve that was shown at the festival (assembled from a variety of prints around Europe) may be the closest audiences will get seeing director Joseph Losey's original version of the film. Playing like a more acidic version of Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960), Eve concerns a writer named Tyvian Jones (Stanley Baker), who is attending the Venice Film Festival, and who falls for the enigmatic Eve (Jeanne Moreau), with disastrous consequences.

Eve is gradually revealed a cold-hearted woman, a film noir-like temptress who lures Tyvian (who thinks he's in control but is actually out of his depth) to his doom. Tyvian may act tough, but he is gradually revealed to be a weak willed romantic, and as the film goes on, both his machismo and writing talent are called into question.

Losey employs a series of brilliantly choreographed long takes to slowly draw the audience into the characters and the story. The extended takes mimic the behaviour of the two main characters, who are people that seem to amble aimlessly around Italy and are marking time until moving on.

Blind Husbands (1919)

Premiering at the festival in a recently discovered 90-minute version, Blind Husbands is the feature directorial debut of famed director Erich von Stroheim. The story concerns Eric von Steuben (von Stroheim), an Austrian Officer who pursues and attempts to seduce the wife of an American doctor while holidaying in Austria.

The story sounds like a straightforward melodrama, but the film is more than simply a sentimental love story. Von Stroheim ensures that there are moments of pathos (the doctor's wife enviously noting a young couple whoa re enamoured with each other), and humour (a group of children mockingly march behind von Steuben's back) scattered throughout the film.

Von Stroheim's strong directorial hand is apparent throughout the film, which features a number of memorable images that linger in the mind. These images include von Steuben's disembodied hand pointing an accusing finger at the American wife in her dream, the wife playing piano alone and isolated against a black background, and a hiking party journeying to a mountain cabin and shrouded in mist.

The Barker (1928)

Released in Hollywood as silent films were changing to talkies, The Barker is a part sound, mostly silent comedy drama, and a prime example of the expressive possibilities of silent and sound film. Like The Jazz Singer (1927) before it, the subject matter of The Barker makes it a perfect film to showcase the then-revolutionary possibilities that sound had to offer, centring as it does on a story involving a man's expertise with his voice (barking) to draw a crowd to a carnival.

The story focuses on a carnival barker called Nifty (Milton Sills) who tries to dissuade his educated but naïve son, Chris (Douglas Fairbanks Jr) from pursuing a carnival career, as Nifty looks upon 'barking' as a lowly profession. Complications ensue when Chris joins the carnival and Nifty's envious mistress Carrie (Betty Compson) persuades a worldly performer named Lou (Dorothy MacKaill) to seduce Chris.

The filmmakers use sound and image in inventive ways in a number of sequences. These include a shot from Chris's point-of-view (through a hole in a tent) as he looks at Carrie doing a hula dance for some carnival patrons, Chris and Lou wandering among an orchard full of blossoming trees, and a frenzied 360-degree spin from Nifty's point-of-view as he passes out at a fairground (mimicking a spinning carousel, the music of which plays as he whirls around).

Killer of Sheep (1977)

A tale of a community in general and one family in particular, this portrait of 1970s LA ghetto and the black community who live there is both a frank at poverty in America and a moving portrait of people trying to survive. The film focuses on Stan (Henry G. Sanders); both his life at home with his wife (Kaycee Moore) and time at work in a slaughterhouse.

Stan is a kind-hearted man trying to make a better life for himself and his family, but who is trapped in poverty and depressed by his circumstances. The film starts with Stan berating his son and telling the boy that he is now a man, and much of the film concerns the type of macho behaviour that men are expected follow. With the help of his wife (a level-headed woman, and a calming influence on him) Stan avoids violence (except for the violence carried out in his job) and lives the best life that he can.

In editing, music, composition and naturalistic performances, this is an American film from the 1970s that is as good as the greats like The Godfather (1972) and Taxi Driver (1976), but which has been unjustly overlooked. Killer of Sheep is like a less fatalistic Mean Streets (1973), but this world does not crush its protagonists: it dashes their hopes but it doesn't dampen their spirits. Burnett's compassionate, funny and empathic film is an example of highly skilled, acutely observed and humanistic filmmaking.

The Strange One (1957)

The Strange One showcases a charismatic debut performance from Ben Gazzara and is also the striking directorial debut of director Jack Garfein. Set in a southern US military college, this is a story about the use and abuse of power, with Gazzara playing DeParis, a cadet who seems to rule over his college, bullying the other cadets around him, and flouting military rules and traditions.

The opening shots of the cadets retiring to their quarters at night immediately tell us what to expect: barred gates are closed, a bugle is played and the cadets are checked to see if they are in their rooms (and there are bars over the windows). This college is a strictly disciplined, closed-in world from which there seems to be no escape or relief. But the film shows that it's not necessarily the institution which is corrupt; it's people like DeParis that are then problem, because they exploit the workings of the institution to their advantage.

In addition to the excellent Gazzara (who shows that while DeParis's individualism is admirable, it is used to selfish ends to bully instead of leading), the entire ensemble of actors is strong. The other actors include George Peppard (in his first film role) as a conscience-stricken freshman cadet and Pat Hingle playing one of DeParis's friends, who gradually realises how objectionable DeParis is.

Tonight and Every Night (1945)

This restored musical concerns a troupe of stage performers in London during World War II, and features the luminous Rita Hayworth in glorious Technicolor. The film is inspired by the true story of the Windmill theatre, a venue that carried on performing plays during the blitz in World War II (a story that was also recently told in Mrs Henderson Presents, 2005).

The musical numbers include an audition set piece with a dance set to music on various radio stations – including a speech by Hitler – and the title song, with people in a black and white newsreel film seeming to step out of the film, onto the stage, and into the vibrant real world of colour. There's also an extended music hall-like xylophone performance, which is a comedy scene full of visual and aural gags.

The blitz-era London presented here is so clearly artificial and stylised – with studio bound sets standing in for London streets and rooftops – that it almost looks like a dream world. While crafted as an uplifting film, Tonight and Every Night has a bittersweet ending, which is surprising considering that this wartime film was meant to be a moral boosting crowd-pleaser.

Jimmy the Gent (1934)

Cagney is Jimmy, a shady businessman who tries to seek out heirs and connect them with fortunes they have been left. But a rival businessman with a more respectful reputation is getting the best clients, and Jimmy wants to emulate him. Jimmy also has a past relationship with Bette Davis, who plays the secretary of this rival firm.

As Jimmy, Cagney is a human tornado, dashing around scenes and verbally jousting with his co-stars throughout. The film whizzes along at a lightning pace, with cast members trading witty, barbed dialogue, and the story barrelling along with fast cuts and whip pans. Cagney and Davis are perfect foils for each other, and both stars look like they're having a blast throughout. There's a Midnight Run (1988) feel to this crafty caper and con movie, as Cagney and company race against time to secure a huge share of a major inheritance.

Jimmy the Gent has fun mocking the media's morbid fascination with huge inheritances, with a montage showing a series of rich men who are all killed in accidents at the start of the film, and their unclaimed fortunes making the headlines. The film also pokes fun at the ludicrous opulence of Cagney's rival (who offers endless cups tea to clients), and at Cagney's aspirations to be similarly refined.