The Long, Long Trailer (1954)
Who said nostalgia ain’t what it used to be? Obviously, someone who hasn’t spent three hours with Lucille Ball and Paul Whiteman in two movies from the thrilling days of yesteryear: The Long, Long Trailer (1954) and The King of Jazz (1930). The former is slapstick-in-a-Winnebago, while the latter is. . . well. . […]
The Grey Fox (1982)
“[Bill] Miner and his men, posing as prospectors, fled south on foot, with $17 and a bottle of kidney pills, pursued by a large posse, [Mounties from Calgary], and the B.C. Provincial Police.” First, a caveat. Although this month’s review has nothing to do with Clint Eastwood, those of you out there who have either: […]
Black Narcissus (1947)
Servant: “How do I know what nuns eat!?” The Old General: “Do you see that crate? Sausages. They will eat sausages. Europeans eat sausages wherever they go.” Nuns in the Himalayas! Now there’s a somewhat unusual premise for a mainstream English film from the 40’s. Sounds more like an ad for something Ed Wood Jr. […]
Ed Wood (1994)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E__AoONUh6g “This is the one. This is the one I’ll be remembered for.”— Ed Wood commenting on his film Plan 9 From Outer Space “Inspector Clay’s dead. Murdered. And somebody’s responsible! “Future events like these will affect you in the future! ” —from Plan 9 From Outer Space It’s not a big list. I’m talking […]
A Story of Women (1988)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKTOzzkT27c&has_verified=1 Creeps or heroes. This is my theory about why there are so few powerful roles for women in Hollywood films. Henry Ford offered the American public any car as long as it was black, and the Hollywood Dream Machine inherited the same magnanimous spirit. Any character, as long as they’re black or white. Works […]
Winter Light (1963)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ6_0KlpK6I “I had a faint hope that it wasn’t all imagination, dreams, lies.” Tomas the priest in Winter Light Let’s get spiritual. Or rather, let’s look at a powerful, little film which does so. I know it’s the wrong time of the year to be reviewing a movie with a title like Winter Light, […]
Nashville (1975)
“My life would make a damn good country song.”-D. Fritts “He who controls rhythm/controls”-Charlcs Olson (both quoted in Nick Tosche’s Country) A Woodstock for the mid-1970s? In Tennessee? It’s hard to find single films which capture the essence of an entire era the way director Michael Wadleigh’s Oscar- winning documentary did for that 1970 mother […]
Shakespeare Wallah (1965)
Things are usually fascinating on the border lands. Borders between countries breed strange fusions of languages, twilight and dawn are freighted with metaphor and inklings of magic, and solid matter shades into metaphysics at the quantum level. Director James Ivory’s Shakespeare Wallah (1965), one of the many interesting films now available at the Riondel Market, […]
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
“Reservoir (medical): A population which is chronically infested with the causative agent of a disease and can infect other populations.” —from the Oxford English Dictionary. Spent any time in prison lately? No? Well, I can do something about that. Or rather, director Quentin Tarantino can. His film Reservoir Dogs (1992) isn’t a movie. It’s Judgment […]
The Black Stallion (1979)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ciqg9Ti_psE Carroll Ballard’s first feature film, The Black Stallion (1979), is a lot like Jane Campion’s more recent The Piano, but without the sex. A good thing, too, since it would be a terrible waste if any parents had qualms about making The Black Stallion a family tradition. This is one of the very, […]