“The cinema is an invention without any future.” ― Louis Lumière
On the excellent movie site ‘The Dissolve’ I was recently reading an article that observed that the advent of multiple ‘special edition’ Blu-Ray versions of blockbuster films doesn’t have the impact of fans of the film buying all the versions; instead it has the opposite effect of making people wait to purchase until the inevitable […]
Read More DVD & Blu-Ray special features – who needs them?Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt has its 70th anniversary this year. It was probably the most prominent of his films that I had never seen before, and I took care of that last night. I learned that it was Hitchcock’s favorite of his films. His daughter thinks it was because he took an idyllic […]
Read More Hitchcock: Shadow of a DoubtIt’s time for my annual look back 50 years at the films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. For the year 1962, I noted something interesting: All five films nominated were also among the top ten earners in box office. I haven’t checked, but I doubt that happens often; it would be unthinkable today, as […]
Read More 1962: The Trick Is Not MindingDirected by Rudolph Mate, D.O.A., from 1950, is one of the classics of the film genre, a film ahead of its time that put off some early reviewers. It begins with one the greatest hooks in film history: a long tracking shot of a man, from behind, walking through police headquarters. He enters the door […]
Read More Film Noir: D.O.A.Throughout the ’70s, Francois Truffaut attained a revered not-so-elder statesman position in world cinema. He directed films that won an Oscar and several Cesars. He also permanently broke with his former colleague and friend Jean-Luc Godard. Truffaut was a lover of Hollywood films down to his bones, and chose to work in that style, while […]
Read More Truffaut: The American NightFrancois Truffaut’s first film, The 400 Blows, featured a young actor named Jean-Pierre Leaud as Antoine Doinel, a 14-year-old boy who seeks to escape his horrible family life. The end of the movie is a freeze-frame of Antoine, as he reaches the sea, but faces uncertainty in his life ahead. Despite that ending, Truffaut and […]
Read More Truffaut: The Adventures of Antoine DoinelThis post will be concerned with Francois Truffaut’s career from 1965 to 1970, absent the Antoine Doinel pictures, which will be discussed in a future post. Based on DVD availability, that includes Fahrenheit 451, Mississippi Mermaid, and The Wild Child. Fahrenheit 451 was Truffaut’s first film in color, and his only film in English (he […]
Read More Truffaut: Mid-CareerOver the next couple of weeks I’ll be looking at the films of Francois Truffaut. I’ve already written about his debut film, The 400 Blows, I’ll cover all of his films that I can. A shocking number of his films, including The Soft Skin, The Bride Wore Black, Small Change, and his last two films, […]
Read More Truffaut: The Crest of the WaveForty years ago this month The Godfather was released. It had been delayed from a 1971 release, accounting for the unusual opening date (but back then there was less strategy in releasing films for optimal box office). Based on a best-selling book by Mario Puzo, the film quickly became a sensation. I remember a Bob […]
Read More The GodfatherHere is my fifth annual look at the films of 50 years ago, highlighting those that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. Longer reviews are available on my blog, Go-Go-Rama. 1961 was the year John F. Kennedy implored us to “ask what we could do for our country,” Yuri Gagarin became the first human […]
Read More 1961: When You’re a JetOne of the greatest comedies of all time, Sullivan’s Travels was released 70 years ago this month. Despite that ripe old age, the film still makes me laugh, and is still relevant. Written and directed by Preston Sturges, who revolutionized the American movie comedy, it tells the story of a film director (Joel McCrea), who […]
Read More Sullivan’s TravelsJean Vigo made only one feature film, another that was about forty minutes long, and two documentary shorts. Nonetheless, he is considered one of the most important directors in French cinema, and inspired no less than New Wave directors Francois Truffaut and Eric Rohmer. Criterion has put out a two-disc set of his entire oeuvre. […]
Read More The Films of Jean VigoA minor masterpiece, The Set-Up was directed by Robert Wise and released in 1949, and is part of my series on the best of film noir. Instead of the protagonist being a private detective, he is a boxer, but it still has all the necessary requirements of the genre. It remains one of the best […]
Read More Film Noir: The Set-UpAfter Horrible Bosses besmirched the memory of Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train, I felt the need to see it again. It’s a good time for it, as the film turns 60 this summer, and it still seems as fresh as ever. I haven’t seen all of Hitchcock’s films (an unofficial tally comes up with […]
Read More Hitchcock: Strangers on a TrainPerhaps my favorite type of film is what has come to be known as film noir. The problem is, no one has really come up with a definitive definition of film noir, and some don’t even think it’s a genre–there are gangster noirs, mystery noirs, caper noirs, even Western noirs. When the Hollywood directors were […]
Read More Film Noir: Detour
Gone Elsewhere 