I knew this was going to happen. In fact, I am writing this the night before Oscar nominations are announced, after just having seen The Artist. I was upset about this movie from the first trailer I saw. My father mentioned to me that they had made a new silent movie, and as I watched the trailer, read more
Alfred Hitchcock was a one-note director. Not in a bad way; he wasn’t called the “master of suspense” for nothing. Hitchcock was an amazing director, cinematographer, casting director. He worked with the same actors over and over on his films (Cary Grant, Kim Novak, Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly), read more
The 1931 version of Frankenstein features ? as The Monster, an actor we now know as Boris Karloff. This monster movie is representative of the time it was made in, aesthetically and theatrically. The acting style looks almost foreign to us today, and the cinematography, without modern camera equipm read more
I’m starting a new series on supporting actors in classic films. That face you see in the background, that cop who arrests the villain, or that voice you know you’ve heard before: the supporting actor. To kick off the series, I’ve chosen a more well-known second fiddle: Paul Henreid. Henreid is read more
Gigi is credited as the last of MGM’s traditional movie musicals. It was made during the golden age of the movie musical, and its director, Vincente Minelli, was already established as the king. Leslie Caron, the star of the film, had convinced Gene Kelly to cast her in An American in Paris in 1951 read more
I love jazz. My dad will chalk it up to making me listen to smooth jazz on Sunday afternoons, which is partly true. I love classic trumpet jazz of Miles Davis. 40’s jazz from old movies. So when there’s a great classic movie with a jazz score, I’m over the moon. Young Man with a Horn was one such read more
I saw a review with the tagline “War Horse, or Bore Horse?” which was interesting because the article listed below raved about the “beautifully filmed live-action film.” Having seen the stage version, at Lincoln Center, this past fall, I was eager to see the film, especially directed by Steven read more
