King and Country (1964): World War I Blogathon
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This post is a part of the fantastic World War I in Classic Film blogathon hosted by the always intriguing Movies Silently and Silent-ology – go read the other excellent posts! One of the great—and somewhat overlooked—films about World War I was originally made for television in Britai read more
Peter Lorre’s Dr. Gogol in Mad Love (1935): The Great Villain Blogathon
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Like most movie watchers of my generation, I probably first saw the actual Peter Lorre in “Casablanca” (1942). He doesn’t have a lot of screen time, but he’s hard to forget. My first exposure to Peter Lorre, however, and perhaps also like a lot of folks my generation, was th read more
Tuesday’s Sunday Random Roundup, October 1, 2013 (3)
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The zombies made me miss the Roundup last week. But now we have an actual developing story…perhaps even a scandal of sorts. So there’s no actual Roundup here, unless you think of it as a Roundup of one thing. I should make it clear that I have not yet read either Doherty’s or Urwan read more
AFI Fest 2014: “Réalité” and “Alléluia”
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I’m not sure why every screening at the AFI’s annual Fest isn’t packed, regardless of the day or time. It’s FREE. F.R.E.E. I have a ticket to see Sophia freakin’ Loren honored at a screening of Marriage Italian Style (1964, Vittorio de Sica). Technically, it’s a read more
The Expedient Exaggerations of “North by Northwest”
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“North by Northwest” (1959) ticks off a lot of Hitchcock’s favorite boxes. And yet, it seems always to have lingered in the shadow of “Vertigo” (1958). “Vertigo” is amazing, of course, but deeply disturbing. (Bonus points for casting All-American Nice Guy Jimmy read more
Bluebeard in Black and White: Fritz Lang’s “Secret Beyond the Door” (3)
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This is my contribution to the Fairy Tale Blogathon hosted by the always-fascinating Movies Silently. Check out more of the posts there! Let me start this post about Secret Beyond the Door by blaming the enchanting Angela Carter. Carter (1940 – 1992) wrote some of my favorite books, including The read more
Bound by Flesh (3)
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Bound by Flesh, a 2012 documentary directed by Leslie Zemeckis (married to Robert Z.), is about the Hilton twins. Violet and Daisy were the most successful vaudeville act in their day—which is saying quite a lot. In 1908, Violet and Daisy were born conjoined and sold—yes, sold—by their mother read more
Tyrone Power Lurches Down “Nightmare Alley”
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An odd but now well-regarded film noir, with A-list stars and production staff, and a larger-than-normal budget, “Nightmare Alley” is based on William Lindsay Gresham’s squalid 1946 novel. In an attempt to move away from his usual roles as a romantic lead and adventurer, Tyrone Power bou read more
AFI Fest 2014: Takashi Miike’s Over Your Dead Body
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Day Four: Takashi Miike’s Over Your Dead Body (2014) I had a ticket to “Song of the Sea,” the new animated film by Tomm Moore (“The Secret of Kells,” 2009) but couldn’t make it. I’m looking forward to seeing it, albeit on a much smaller screen, when it come read more
The “Austere Wickedness”* of Alain Delon in “Purple Noon”
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My husband refers to Alain Delon as “farcically good-looking,” and, really, Delon is so good-looking, it’s practically an insult. He was a mere 25 when he made “Plein Soleil” (known in English as “Purple Noon” for no good reason I can find) with director René Clément. read more
“The Conformist” (1970) dir. Bernardo Bertolucci
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Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Conformist (1970) is another movie I’ve been meaning to watch for ages and ages, another one of the films I know I should see. Unlike a lot of the great films one should see, this is one I immediately wanted to watch again. The Conformist is certainly a great film, a beauti read more
AFI Fest 2014: Villa Touma (Suha Arraf)
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Day Five: Suha Arraf’s Villa Touma (2014) In the spirit of recent posts at Krell Laboratories (“Rethinking the American Canon”) and Girls Do Film (“A Realisation…and a New Year Resolution”) on the paucity of work by women directors, and in the less lofty spirit read more
Army of Shadows (L’armée des ombres, 1969), Part 1: Snoopathon
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Once again, I seem to have chosen the one of the least typical examples of the genre for a genre-based blogathon. “L’armée des ombres” (“Army of Shadows”), Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1969 film about a small group of French Resistance fighters during World War II, is undeniably a spy film. And read more
“Cactus Flower” (1969): An Unexpected Gem
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Unexpected gem: “Cactus Flower,” directed by Gene Saks, viewed thanks to Turner Classic Movies. Saks, who also directed “Barefoot in the Park” (1967) and “The Odd Couple” (1968), worked a fair amount with writer/producer Neil Simon. More recently, he played Woody read more
SBIFF 2015: “Second Chance” (2014) & “Confession” (2014)
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Taiwanese film number two of the festival was the frothy “Second Chance,” directed by Wen-yen Kung. Okay, maybe not frothy exactly, but definitely bubbly. “Second Chance” is (I assume) one of the only action movies about pool. Yes, that kind of pool, where you stand around read more
New series – A Random Weekly Roundup (3)
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I’m going to try a regular Sunday series: a weekly roundup of interesting movie tidbits–essays, posts, news, etcetera. I’ll keep it short this week, with three items. First up, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, second time around. Here’s the trailer for Ben Stiller’s new read more
Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife (1938): A Brackett-Wilder Collaboration
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A contribution to the Billy Wilder Blogathon, hosted by Once upon a screen… and Outspoken & Freckled. Brackett, reclining, and Wilder hard at work on something awesome. Ernst Lubitsch’s 1938 comedy “Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife,” starring Claudette Colbert and Gary Cooper, read more
Aelita, Queen of Mars (1924): Russia in Classic Film Blogathon
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You will never get my fabulous headgear! Never! (Yuliya Solnetseva as Aelita) Well, it’s some kind of thing. As a portrait of the early Soviet state, “Aelita: Queen of Mars” (1924) is fascinating. As a film, less so. What makes it interesting is probably also what makes it not a gr read more
Sunday Random Roundup for August 18, 2013 (3)
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Welcome back, dear readers, for this week’s edition of the Sunday Random Roundup. Big Films in Other Places Remember last week’s rant about the state of film distribution in the U.S.? Well, here’s some potentially good news: Local films seem to be outdoing Hollywood “blockbus read more