Director/Tfh Guru Allan Arkush discusses his favorite year in film, 1975, with Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Rules of the Game (1939)
Le Boucher (1970)
Last Year At Marienbad (1961)
Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982)
Topaz (1969)
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)
Hollywood Boulevard (1976) – Jon Davison’s trailer commentary
The Innocents (1961) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary
The Earrings of Madame De… (1953)
Rope (1948) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary
Make Way For Tomorrow (1937)
The Awful Truth (1937) – Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Duck Soup (1933) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Going My Way (1944)
Nashville (1975) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Dan Perri’s trailer commentary
M*A*S*H (1970)
Shampoo (1975) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Bonnie And Clyde (1967) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Nada Gang (1975)
Get Crazy (1983) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Night Moves (1975) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Dog Day Afternoon (1975) – Katt Shea’s trailer...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Rules of the Game (1939)
Le Boucher (1970)
Last Year At Marienbad (1961)
Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982)
Topaz (1969)
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)
Hollywood Boulevard (1976) – Jon Davison’s trailer commentary
The Innocents (1961) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary
The Earrings of Madame De… (1953)
Rope (1948) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary
Make Way For Tomorrow (1937)
The Awful Truth (1937) – Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Duck Soup (1933) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Going My Way (1944)
Nashville (1975) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Dan Perri’s trailer commentary
M*A*S*H (1970)
Shampoo (1975) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Bonnie And Clyde (1967) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Nada Gang (1975)
Get Crazy (1983) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Night Moves (1975) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Dog Day Afternoon (1975) – Katt Shea’s trailer...
- 9/20/2022
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
This remarkable black comedy is often listed as a horror film yet it has more nervous laughs than shivers. It’s a solid idea: cruelly marginalized old folks get madder than hell and just won’t take it any more. Or maybe they simply go nuts. The cast of ‘over seventies’ playing over eighty is just marvelous, and one murderous little pixie is a delight: Paula Trueman. Things do become absurd but the universally-understood premise stays firm. . . we’ll all be there sooner or later. “A Murder A Day Keeps the Landlord Away.”
Homebodies
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1974 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date November 2, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Peter Brocco, Frances Fuller, William Hansen, Ruth McDevitt, Paula Trueman, Ian Wolfe, Linda Marsh, Douglas Fowley, Kenneth Tobey, Wesley Lau.
Cinematography: Isasdore Mankovsky
Art Director: John Retsek
Film Editor: Peter Parasheles
Original Music: Bernardo Segáll
Written by Larry Yust, Bennett Sims,...
Homebodies
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1974 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date November 2, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Peter Brocco, Frances Fuller, William Hansen, Ruth McDevitt, Paula Trueman, Ian Wolfe, Linda Marsh, Douglas Fowley, Kenneth Tobey, Wesley Lau.
Cinematography: Isasdore Mankovsky
Art Director: John Retsek
Film Editor: Peter Parasheles
Original Music: Bernardo Segáll
Written by Larry Yust, Bennett Sims,...
- 12/11/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This remarkable little black comedy is often listed as a horror film yet it has more nervous laughs than shivers. It’s a solid idea: cruelly maginalized old folks get madder than hell and just won’t take it any more. Or maybe more accurately, they simply go nuts. The cast of ‘over seventies’ playing over eighty is just marvelous, and one murderous little pixie is a delight: Paula Trueman. Things do become absurd but the universally-understood premise stays firm. . . we’ll all be there sooner or later. “A Murder A Day Keeps the Landlord Away.”
Homebodies
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1974 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date November 2, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Peter Brocco, Frances Fuller, William Hansen, Ruth McDevitt, Paula Trueman, Ian Wolfe, Linda Marsh, Douglas Fowley, Kenneth Tobey, Wesley Lau.
Cinematography: Isasdore Mankovsky
Art Director: John Retsek
Film Editor: Peter Parasheles
Original Music: Bernardo Segáll
Written by Larry Yust,...
Homebodies
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1974 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date November 2, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Peter Brocco, Frances Fuller, William Hansen, Ruth McDevitt, Paula Trueman, Ian Wolfe, Linda Marsh, Douglas Fowley, Kenneth Tobey, Wesley Lau.
Cinematography: Isasdore Mankovsky
Art Director: John Retsek
Film Editor: Peter Parasheles
Original Music: Bernardo Segáll
Written by Larry Yust,...
- 12/11/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
We're revisiting 1937 this month leading up to the next Supporting Actress Smackdown. As always Nick Taylor will suggest a few alternates to Oscar's ballot.
We begin 1937 with Fay Bainter, the third-ever winner of the Supporting Actress Oscar for Jezebel in 1938 (you may have heard about it last year!) in Leo McCarey’s Make Way for Tomorrow. McCarey viewed the film as his greatest achievement, to the point that when he received his Best Director Oscar for The Awful Truth the same year Make Way for Tomorrow earned no nominations, he opened his acceptance speech by saying he won for the wrong movie. We can discuss the considerable merits of both films about couples splitting up and staying together, along with how brilliantly they showcase McCarey’s skills with tone, blocking, performance shaping, scene construction, as well as its enduring legacy in films like Tokyo Story and Love is Strange. Bainter...
We begin 1937 with Fay Bainter, the third-ever winner of the Supporting Actress Oscar for Jezebel in 1938 (you may have heard about it last year!) in Leo McCarey’s Make Way for Tomorrow. McCarey viewed the film as his greatest achievement, to the point that when he received his Best Director Oscar for The Awful Truth the same year Make Way for Tomorrow earned no nominations, he opened his acceptance speech by saying he won for the wrong movie. We can discuss the considerable merits of both films about couples splitting up and staying together, along with how brilliantly they showcase McCarey’s skills with tone, blocking, performance shaping, scene construction, as well as its enduring legacy in films like Tokyo Story and Love is Strange. Bainter...
- 9/16/2021
- by Nick Taylor
- FilmExperience
by Cláudio Alves
"Thanks, but you gave it to me for the wrong picture."
Those were Leo McCarey's words upon winning the Best Director Oscar of 1937. His victory was for the screwball classic The Awful Truth, though the filmmaker would have preferred if the honor had been bestowed upon another of his films. In 1937, McCarey not only directed one of Old Hollywood's most beloved comedies, but he also helmed one of its most devastating tearjerkers. According to Orson Welles, Make Way for Tomorrow could make a stone cry…...
"Thanks, but you gave it to me for the wrong picture."
Those were Leo McCarey's words upon winning the Best Director Oscar of 1937. His victory was for the screwball classic The Awful Truth, though the filmmaker would have preferred if the honor had been bestowed upon another of his films. In 1937, McCarey not only directed one of Old Hollywood's most beloved comedies, but he also helmed one of its most devastating tearjerkers. According to Orson Welles, Make Way for Tomorrow could make a stone cry…...
- 12/3/2020
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
The November 2020 lineup for The Criterion Channel has been unveiled, toplined by a Claire Denis retrospective, including the brand-new restoration of Beau travail, along with Chocolat, No Fear, No Die, Nenette and Boni, Towards Mathilde, 35 Shots of Rum, and White Material.
There will also be a series celebrating 30 years of The Film Foundation, featuring a new interview with Martin Scorsese by Ari Aster, as well as a number of their most essential restorations, including films by Jia Zhangke, Ritwik Ghatak, Luchino Visconti, Shirley Clarke, Med Hondo, and more.
There’s also David Lynch’s new restoration of The Elephant Man, retrospectives dedicated to Ngozi Onwurah, Nadav Lapid, and Terence Nance, a new edition of the series Queersighted titled Queer Fear, featuring a new conversation between series programmer Michael Koresky and filmmaker and critic Farihah Zaman, and much more.
See the lineup below and learn more on the official site.
There will also be a series celebrating 30 years of The Film Foundation, featuring a new interview with Martin Scorsese by Ari Aster, as well as a number of their most essential restorations, including films by Jia Zhangke, Ritwik Ghatak, Luchino Visconti, Shirley Clarke, Med Hondo, and more.
There’s also David Lynch’s new restoration of The Elephant Man, retrospectives dedicated to Ngozi Onwurah, Nadav Lapid, and Terence Nance, a new edition of the series Queersighted titled Queer Fear, featuring a new conversation between series programmer Michael Koresky and filmmaker and critic Farihah Zaman, and much more.
See the lineup below and learn more on the official site.
- 10/27/2020
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
One of America’s favorite holiday movies plays strangely today, and despite being one of the most popular pictures of its year, really should have disturbed people when it was new as well. Director Leo McCarey and his glowing stars Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman do remarkable work, and the show has its heart in the right place… but the values built into the story are painfully wrong-headed. We don’t expect ’40s films to adhere to today’s so-called enlightened PC values, but some of the attitudes in this one make us want to throw things at the screen. Taken from a beautifully remastered new restoration, Olive’s Signature Edition is flawless.
The Bells of St. Mary’s
Blu-ray
Olive Signature
1945 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 126 min. / Street Date November 26, 2019 / available through the Olive Signature website / 39.95
Starring: Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman, Henry Travers, William Gargan, Ruth Donnelly, Joan Carroll, Martha Sleeper,...
The Bells of St. Mary’s
Blu-ray
Olive Signature
1945 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 126 min. / Street Date November 26, 2019 / available through the Olive Signature website / 39.95
Starring: Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman, Henry Travers, William Gargan, Ruth Donnelly, Joan Carroll, Martha Sleeper,...
- 11/26/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Pearl S. Buck and Leo McCarey give it to ya straight: Red China is Bad. This strange mix of Cold War truth-telling and mawkish, ethics-challenged church sentiment may have meant well, but it overstates everything. A top-flight cast works hard to make it compelling: William Holden, France Nuyen and in his last film, Clifton Webb.
Satan Never Sleeps
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1962 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 125 min./ Street Date , 2019 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: William Holden, Clifton Webb, France Nuyen, Athene Seyler, Martin Benson, Weaver Lee, Burt Kwouk.
Cinematography: Oswald Morris
Film Editor: Gordon Pilkington
Original Music: Richard Rodney Bennett
Written by Claude Binyon from the novel The China Story by Pearl S. Buck
Produced and Directed by Leo McCarey
Leo McCarey’s film career followed quite a strange trajectory. A master of Laurel & Hardy classics, and an absolute king of sophisticated comedy in the 1930s, his cooperative method...
Satan Never Sleeps
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1962 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 125 min./ Street Date , 2019 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: William Holden, Clifton Webb, France Nuyen, Athene Seyler, Martin Benson, Weaver Lee, Burt Kwouk.
Cinematography: Oswald Morris
Film Editor: Gordon Pilkington
Original Music: Richard Rodney Bennett
Written by Claude Binyon from the novel The China Story by Pearl S. Buck
Produced and Directed by Leo McCarey
Leo McCarey’s film career followed quite a strange trajectory. A master of Laurel & Hardy classics, and an absolute king of sophisticated comedy in the 1930s, his cooperative method...
- 1/19/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Bad Girl (1931) is a meaningless title because there's no bad girl in it, but visitors to the Museum of Modern Art's upcoming retrospective "William Fox Presents" (May 18 - June 5) will experience a rare pleasure when they're able to see this Frank Borzage pre-Coder, adapted from a novel and play by Vina Delmar, who later wrote The Awful Truth and Make Way for Tomorrow.Borzage is a master of sentiment so sincere it transcends the maudlin and attains a sublime Hollywood romanticism. Delmar can be more cynical, but her dry wit by no means cancels out her director's warmth. And they have three stars who prove very pure transmitters of these auteurs' joint world-view.It's a boy-meets-girl story, or actually more of a girl-meets-boy one (the end credits identify the main characters simply as "The Girl" and "The Boy). Like other Borzage pre-Codes such as Living on Velvet and Man's Castle,...
- 5/9/2018
- MUBI
Since any New York City cinephile has a nearly suffocating wealth of theatrical options, we figured it’d be best to compile some of the more worthwhile repertory showings into one handy list. Displayed below are a few of the city’s most reliable theaters and links to screenings of their weekend offerings — films you’re not likely to see in a theater again anytime soon, and many of which are, also, on 35mm. If you have a chance to attend any of these, we’re of the mind that it’s time extremely well-spent.
Anthology Film Archives
The annual “Valentine’s Day Massacre” offers films by Pialat, Elaine May, Albert Brooks, and Zulawski.
Dziga Vertov features screen.
Film Society of Lincoln Center
An Andrzej Wajda series begins running this weekend.
BAMcinématek
The very bracing double bill of Make Way for Tomorrow and Tokyo Story screens throughout the weekend.
The...
Anthology Film Archives
The annual “Valentine’s Day Massacre” offers films by Pialat, Elaine May, Albert Brooks, and Zulawski.
Dziga Vertov features screen.
Film Society of Lincoln Center
An Andrzej Wajda series begins running this weekend.
BAMcinématek
The very bracing double bill of Make Way for Tomorrow and Tokyo Story screens throughout the weekend.
The...
- 2/10/2017
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Close-Up is a column that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Leo McCarey's The Awful Truth (1937) is showing February 13 - March 15, 2017 in the United Kingdom in the series The Rom Com Variations.Leo McCarey’s 1937 screwball classic The Awful Truth is the epitome of a sub-genre dubbed by philosopher Stanley Cavell the “comedy of remarriage.” In the film, husband and wife Jerry and Lucy Warriner (Cary Grant and Irene Dunne) succumb to their marital suspicions and embark on an easier-said-than-done divorce. He returns home from an unspecified dalliance, complete with fake Florida tan (ever the gentleman, he bronzes so as to save Lucy the embarrassment of getting asked why her husband looks pale after spending time in the sun), but upon his arrival, Lucy herself is nowhere to be found. She must be with her Aunt Patsy, Jerry assures his guests, that is until Aunt Patsy (Cecil Cunningham) shows up sans niece.
- 2/9/2017
- MUBI
Since any New York cinephile has a nearly suffocating wealth of theatrical options, we figured it’d be best to compile some of the more worthwhile repertory showings into one handy list. Displayed below are a few of the city’s most reliable theaters and links to screenings of their weekend offerings — films you’re not likely to see in a theater again anytime soon, and many of which are, also, on 35mm. If you have a chance to attend any of these, we’re of the mind that it’s time extremely well-spent.
Metrograph
The “Cassavetes/Rowlands” series ends on a real high note.
This Saturday, Dead Man plays with Jim Jarmusch and Chris Eyre in-person. It also screens on Sunday as part of “Native to America,” a series that brings the latter’s Smoke Signals on the same day.
Lucio Fulci‘s A Cat in the Brain screens on Saturday.
Metrograph
The “Cassavetes/Rowlands” series ends on a real high note.
This Saturday, Dead Man plays with Jim Jarmusch and Chris Eyre in-person. It also screens on Sunday as part of “Native to America,” a series that brings the latter’s Smoke Signals on the same day.
Lucio Fulci‘s A Cat in the Brain screens on Saturday.
- 7/22/2016
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
The marvelous season of Leo McCarey films at New York's Museum of Modern Art features a few real rarities and a whole passel of acknowledged classics: features like Duck Soup and Make Way for Tomorrow and hilarious shorts programs featuring Laurel & Hardy, Charley Chase and others. Perhaps the rarest item is Part Time Wife, a 1930 rehearsal for the greatness of The Awful Truth, complete with Airedale, but only slightly less obscure is late-career entry Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! (1958), a strange quasi-satire which folds together several late-fifties concerns without actually addressing them or working out what it is, or what it's for.Whether it's actually true that right-wingers can't do satirical comedy, McCarey certainly lost the fire that made Duck Soup so truly anarchic during the years when he moved away from comedy to make beloved, sentimental and sincere dramas. Returning to broad comedy is something many of his fan probably wished he would do,...
- 7/21/2016
- MUBI
My guest for this month is Christa Mrgan, and she’s joined me to discuss the film I chose for her, the 1962 Japanese drama film An Autumn Afternoon. You can follow the show on Twitter @cinemagadfly.
Show notes:
This was the last film that Yasujirō Ozu made, after a career that started in the silent era His most famous is probably Tokyo Story, but he made 53 others, 19 of which are considered lost Christa’s husband is Neven Mrgan who was a guest on this podcast as well Chishū Ryū, who plays the lead here, was in 32 of Ozu’s 54 films Manga, J-pop, and Sushi are all examples of prominent cultural exports from Japan Toyko Story is based on Make Way For Tomorrow, a depression era film by Leo McCarey that touches on a lot of Ozu-type themes No one knows who wrote Caro mio ben, but it was probably Tommaso Giordani Before this podcast,...
Show notes:
This was the last film that Yasujirō Ozu made, after a career that started in the silent era His most famous is probably Tokyo Story, but he made 53 others, 19 of which are considered lost Christa’s husband is Neven Mrgan who was a guest on this podcast as well Chishū Ryū, who plays the lead here, was in 32 of Ozu’s 54 films Manga, J-pop, and Sushi are all examples of prominent cultural exports from Japan Toyko Story is based on Make Way For Tomorrow, a depression era film by Leo McCarey that touches on a lot of Ozu-type themes No one knows who wrote Caro mio ben, but it was probably Tommaso Giordani Before this podcast,...
- 7/18/2016
- by Arik Devens
- CriterionCast
In this special episode of Off The Shelf, Ryan and Brian take a look at the best DVD and Blu-ray 2015.
Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.
Follow-Up Ryan buys the Ernest and Celestine Blu-ray from Plain Archive Ultra HD Blu-ray Pre-orders Live, March 1st release: Fox, Sony, WB, Shout! and now Lionsgate Curzon Tarkovsky Ryan’s Top 10 List of 2015 Classics from the Van Beuren Studio (Thunderbean Animation) Thunderbirds: The Complete Series (Timeless Media Group / Shout! Factory) The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (Arrow UK) Twice Upon A Time (Warner Archive Collection) Journey to the Center of the Earth (Twilight Time) Watership Down (The Criterion Collection) Walt Disney Animation Studios: Short Films Collection (Disney) 3-D Rarities (Flicker Alley) Spartacus: Restored Edition (Universal) The Apu Trilogy (The Criterion Collection)
Honorable mentions:
Arrow Video: Kiju Yoshida: Love + Anarchism, The Train, The Criterion Collection: The Fisher King, Moonrise Kingdom...
Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.
Follow-Up Ryan buys the Ernest and Celestine Blu-ray from Plain Archive Ultra HD Blu-ray Pre-orders Live, March 1st release: Fox, Sony, WB, Shout! and now Lionsgate Curzon Tarkovsky Ryan’s Top 10 List of 2015 Classics from the Van Beuren Studio (Thunderbean Animation) Thunderbirds: The Complete Series (Timeless Media Group / Shout! Factory) The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (Arrow UK) Twice Upon A Time (Warner Archive Collection) Journey to the Center of the Earth (Twilight Time) Watership Down (The Criterion Collection) Walt Disney Animation Studios: Short Films Collection (Disney) 3-D Rarities (Flicker Alley) Spartacus: Restored Edition (Universal) The Apu Trilogy (The Criterion Collection)
Honorable mentions:
Arrow Video: Kiju Yoshida: Love + Anarchism, The Train, The Criterion Collection: The Fisher King, Moonrise Kingdom...
- 1/13/2016
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
The Barnes & Noble sale may have ended a couple of weeks ago, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t still buy some Criterion Collection releases for 50% off. Best Buy is currently having a 50% off sale on a number of Criterion releases, and Amazon has begun to match their prices.
Thanks to everyone for supporting our site by buying through our affiliate links.
A note on Amazon deals, for those curious: sometimes third party sellers will suddenly appear as the main purchasing option on a product page, even though Amazon will sell it directly from themselves for the sale price that we have listed. If the sale price doesn’t show up, click on the “new” options, and look for Amazon’s listing.
I’ll keep this list updated throughout the week, as new deals are found, and others expire. If you find something that’s wrong, a broken link or price difference,...
Thanks to everyone for supporting our site by buying through our affiliate links.
A note on Amazon deals, for those curious: sometimes third party sellers will suddenly appear as the main purchasing option on a product page, even though Amazon will sell it directly from themselves for the sale price that we have listed. If the sale price doesn’t show up, click on the “new” options, and look for Amazon’s listing.
I’ll keep this list updated throughout the week, as new deals are found, and others expire. If you find something that’s wrong, a broken link or price difference,...
- 12/17/2015
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Is the media suddenly realizing that there are people who were born before 1945 who are still very much alive? And that there's a whole bunch of them? According to the 2010 census, if I read Wikipedia correctly, the figure clocks in at 28,282,721.
No wonder Netflix is streaming Grace and Frankie, which stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as two septuagenarians who discover their spouses are gay and in love. The first episode ends with the discarded gals drinking a peyote mixture and tripping the light fantastic around a campfire.
Vicious, being aired on ITV and PBS, features Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi as a pair of elderly, lovingly bickering homosexuals in their seventies whose pet hound is semi-comatose. (Season 2 premieres this summer.)
And this past Sunday morning, Wnyc.FM rebroadcast a 2012 interview with Jane Gross, blogger of "The New Old Age" and author of A Bittersweet Season: Caring for Our Aging Parents --and Ourselves.
No wonder Netflix is streaming Grace and Frankie, which stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as two septuagenarians who discover their spouses are gay and in love. The first episode ends with the discarded gals drinking a peyote mixture and tripping the light fantastic around a campfire.
Vicious, being aired on ITV and PBS, features Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi as a pair of elderly, lovingly bickering homosexuals in their seventies whose pet hound is semi-comatose. (Season 2 premieres this summer.)
And this past Sunday morning, Wnyc.FM rebroadcast a 2012 interview with Jane Gross, blogger of "The New Old Age" and author of A Bittersweet Season: Caring for Our Aging Parents --and Ourselves.
- 5/14/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
One can’t ignore a certain irony that Leo McCarey, director of one of the most irrefutably sorrowful motion pictures with 1937’s Make Way For Tomorrow, was actually well renowned for his comedic ventures, like that same year’s The Awful Truth or the most beloved of the Marx Brothers films with Duck Soup (1933). In the decades since its release, the film has recently come to be recognized for its influence on several filmmakers, including Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story (1953) and Ira Sachs’ Love is Strange (2014). Filmed during the Great Depression, yet without specific references to the significant economic downturn, the film has a timeless resonance that feels particularly fitting for our contemporary existence.
Though not cemented in Western culture, there’s a particular tendency for this depiction to transpire within the landscape of white, capitalistic peoples and their insistence on stuffing their elders into nursing home facilities. The film...
Though not cemented in Western culture, there’s a particular tendency for this depiction to transpire within the landscape of white, capitalistic peoples and their insistence on stuffing their elders into nursing home facilities. The film...
- 5/12/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Blackhat What an ugly week for new DVD and Blu-ray releases. It's hard to even take it seriously, but at the top of the heap (only because it's the first one I'm writing about) is Michael Mann's supremely disappointing Blackhat. Some people attempted to make excuses for this attempted mess of a cyber thriller, but if you're interested in my take, click here.
Mortdecai I skipped this one and I feel no shame in doing so. In fact, that's all I'm going to say about it.
Still Alice Okay, now this isn't a bad film, I guess I just get frustrated every time I see it mentioned because Julianne Moore did not deliver the best female performance last year and yet, here we are, Oscar winner Julianne Mooore... because "it was her time".
The Cobbler I could have sworn this had already been released, but I guess I was wrong.
Mortdecai I skipped this one and I feel no shame in doing so. In fact, that's all I'm going to say about it.
Still Alice Okay, now this isn't a bad film, I guess I just get frustrated every time I see it mentioned because Julianne Moore did not deliver the best female performance last year and yet, here we are, Oscar winner Julianne Mooore... because "it was her time".
The Cobbler I could have sworn this had already been released, but I guess I was wrong.
- 5/12/2015
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
A dazzling lineup of six dramas has been assembled for the Criterion Collection's May 2015 slate. Along with works from classic filmmakers and actors, special features in the set (Blu-ray only) include interviews with Peter Bogdanovich, Bernardo Bertolucci, Wim Wenders and many more. Booking individual titles begins in mid-April, and Criterion will release the films for general purchase in mid-May. Synopses below are courtesy of Criterion. "Make Way for Tomorrow" "Make Way for Tomorrow," by Leo McCarey ("An Affair to Remember"), is one of the great unsung Hollywood masterpieces, an enormously moving Depression-era depiction of the frustrations of family, aging, and the generation gap. Beulah Bondi ("It's a Wonderful Life") and Victor Moore ("Swing Time") headline a cast of incomparable character actors, starring as an elderly couple who must move in with their grown children after the bank takes their home, yet end up separated and...
- 2/18/2015
- by David Canfield
- Indiewire
Throughout the summer, an admin on the r/movies subreddit has been leading Reddit users in a poll of the best movies from every year for the last 100 years called 100 Years of Yearly Cinema. The poll concluded three days ago, and the list of every movie from 1914 to 2013 has been published today.
Users were asked to nominate films from a given year and up-vote their favorite nominees. The full list includes the outright winner along with the first two runners-up from each year. The list is mostly a predictable assortment of IMDb favorites and certified classics, but a few surprise gems have also risen to the top of the crust, including the early experimental documentary Man With a Movie Camera in 1929, Abel Gance’s J’Accuse! in 1919, the Fred Astaire film Top Hat over Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps in 1935, and Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing over John Ford’s...
Users were asked to nominate films from a given year and up-vote their favorite nominees. The full list includes the outright winner along with the first two runners-up from each year. The list is mostly a predictable assortment of IMDb favorites and certified classics, but a few surprise gems have also risen to the top of the crust, including the early experimental documentary Man With a Movie Camera in 1929, Abel Gance’s J’Accuse! in 1919, the Fred Astaire film Top Hat over Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps in 1935, and Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing over John Ford’s...
- 9/2/2014
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
Main Street during The Telluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival seemingly appears overnight against the gorgeous backdrop of rugged mountains. It lasts just four days but in fact it takes more than a month of intensive labor to transform the elementary school, high school, hockey rink, library, the park in the middle of town and a masonic temple into theaters. Now in its 41st year,up until recently this hallowed Labor Day weekend event has long been a quiet fixture on the festival circuit. As most of the festival world knows, the escalating word of mouth about the quality of Telluride’s unofficial premieres caused the Toronto International Film Festival to issue an ultimatum to those hoping to land choice spots in the fall line-up: if you choose to screen at Telluride first, your film will be pushed back on Tiff’s slate. Realistically- Toronto has little to fear from Telluride besides buzz.
The Telluride Film Festival seemingly appears overnight against the gorgeous backdrop of rugged mountains. It lasts just four days but in fact it takes more than a month of intensive labor to transform the elementary school, high school, hockey rink, library, the park in the middle of town and a masonic temple into theaters. Now in its 41st year,up until recently this hallowed Labor Day weekend event has long been a quiet fixture on the festival circuit. As most of the festival world knows, the escalating word of mouth about the quality of Telluride’s unofficial premieres caused the Toronto International Film Festival to issue an ultimatum to those hoping to land choice spots in the fall line-up: if you choose to screen at Telluride first, your film will be pushed back on Tiff’s slate. Realistically- Toronto has little to fear from Telluride besides buzz.
- 8/26/2014
- by Lane Scarberry
- SoundOnSight
Before watching the latest movie by writer/director Ira Sachs, I realized that I'd never seen any of his previous work. After watching Love Is Strange, however, I resolved to see everything he's ever made. My initial impression was that Love Is Strange was aping a classic. Indeed, the premise is remarkably similar to Make Way for Tomorrow, Leo McCarey's 1937 drama, which follows the travails of a longtime married couple who fall on hard times and must separate in order to live with their children. It's intended to be a temporary arrangement, but, as anyone who has ever dealt with aging parents can testify, it quickly becomes a hardship for the children. Much the same fate befalls Ben (John Lithgow) and George (Alfred Molina), a...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 8/21/2014
- Screen Anarchy
Alfred Molina and John Lithgow in “Love Is Strange”
Love Is Strange
Directed by Ira Sachs
Written by Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias
USA/France, 2014
So intertwined are Ben (John Lithgow) and George’s (Alfred Molina) lives in Ira Sachs’ new movie Love Is Strange that everything is completely changed by the absence of one another. Uncannily reminiscent of Leo McCarey’s depression era film Make Way for Tomorrow about an elderly couple forced to live apart by bankruptcy, Love Is Strange echoes that story in many ways but adds modern relevance by making the couple gay and the cause of their separation rooted in homophobic discrimination. At the cost of plausibility it lamentably shoots itself in the foot so that it can stay located in Manhattan but through virtue of the talent on hand it is still able to create piteous moments of longing for a hard won happily...
Love Is Strange
Directed by Ira Sachs
Written by Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias
USA/France, 2014
So intertwined are Ben (John Lithgow) and George’s (Alfred Molina) lives in Ira Sachs’ new movie Love Is Strange that everything is completely changed by the absence of one another. Uncannily reminiscent of Leo McCarey’s depression era film Make Way for Tomorrow about an elderly couple forced to live apart by bankruptcy, Love Is Strange echoes that story in many ways but adds modern relevance by making the couple gay and the cause of their separation rooted in homophobic discrimination. At the cost of plausibility it lamentably shoots itself in the foot so that it can stay located in Manhattan but through virtue of the talent on hand it is still able to create piteous moments of longing for a hard won happily...
- 3/11/2014
- by Lane Scarberry
- SoundOnSight
Tokyo Story
Written by Yasujiro Ozu and Kogo Noda
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu
Japan, 1953
December 12 marks 110 years since the birth of the great Japanese master Yasujiro Ozu (and 50 years to the date since his death). So what better way to commemorate the occasion than to revisit what is widely seen as his masterpiece among masterpieces, Tokyo Story, out now on a 3-disc dual format Blu-ray/DVD from The Criterion Collection? There have been few filmmakers treated as well by Criterion as Ozu, with more than a dozen titles available either as standalone discs or as part of a set. This latest edition of Tokyo Story, an update on their DVD release from 2003, is no exception.
The film looks spectacular in its new digital restoration, the sharpness making even more clear the attention to detail Ozu devoted to his compositions; sides, foregrounds, and backgrounds are all layered with authentic texture and...
Written by Yasujiro Ozu and Kogo Noda
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu
Japan, 1953
December 12 marks 110 years since the birth of the great Japanese master Yasujiro Ozu (and 50 years to the date since his death). So what better way to commemorate the occasion than to revisit what is widely seen as his masterpiece among masterpieces, Tokyo Story, out now on a 3-disc dual format Blu-ray/DVD from The Criterion Collection? There have been few filmmakers treated as well by Criterion as Ozu, with more than a dozen titles available either as standalone discs or as part of a set. This latest edition of Tokyo Story, an update on their DVD release from 2003, is no exception.
The film looks spectacular in its new digital restoration, the sharpness making even more clear the attention to detail Ozu devoted to his compositions; sides, foregrounds, and backgrounds are all layered with authentic texture and...
- 11/29/2013
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
Every Labor Day weekend, cinephiles journey out to a small town nestled in a remote corner of southwest Colorado’s San Juan mountain range for the Telluride Film Festival. Production staff are hard at work building state-of-the-art theaters for more than a month before the event and readying for a sudden influx of dedicated filmgoers. Veteran pass holders, staff, and volunteers make the trip largely out of faith in the festival’s superb programming that’s famously kept completely secret up until the day before it begins. The shroud of mystery, the breathtaking scenery of a box canyon and the fact that there are no press lines, competitions, or paparazzi lend a sanctified awe to this complete cinematic immersion. Venturing deep into uncharted storytelling territory with old or new friends make the cost of getting out here and the intensive labor involved with putting it all together worth it each and every time.
- 8/25/2013
- by Lane Scarberry
- SoundOnSight
For one night only, two of the world’s most celebrated songwriters and composers will take to the stage for “Richard M. Sherman and Alan Menken: The Disney Songbook.” The concert will take place at the D23 Expo 2013 at the Anaheim Convention Center in the D23 Expo Arena on Saturday, August 10.
Together Sherman and Menken have won a combined 10 Academy Awards for their work with Disney, and have composed music and songs for more than three dozen Disney feature films, over two dozen Disney Park attractions and half a dozen Disney musicals on Broadway.
“I can’t express how excited I am that my esteemed friend Alan Menken and I will be sharing the same bill for the very first time,” said Sherman. “Alan is an incredible talent, and I know we’re both thrilled to be performing for Disney’s most ardent fans—they’re the best and...
Together Sherman and Menken have won a combined 10 Academy Awards for their work with Disney, and have composed music and songs for more than three dozen Disney feature films, over two dozen Disney Park attractions and half a dozen Disney musicals on Broadway.
“I can’t express how excited I am that my esteemed friend Alan Menken and I will be sharing the same bill for the very first time,” said Sherman. “Alan is an incredible talent, and I know we’re both thrilled to be performing for Disney’s most ardent fans—they’re the best and...
- 5/23/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
I've mentioned before how several years ago I created a list using Roger Ebert's Great Movies, Oscar Best Picture winners, IMDb's Top 250, etc. and began going through them doing my best to see as many of the films on these lists that I had not seen as I possibly could to up my film I.Q. Well, someone has gone through the exhaustive effort to take all of the films Roger Ebert wrote about in his three "Great Movies" books, all of which are compiled on his website and added them to a Letterbxd list and I've added that list below. I'm not positive every movie on his list is here, but by my count there are 363 different titles listed (more if you count the trilogies, the Up docs and Decalogue) and of those 363, I have personally seen 229 and have added an * next to those I've seen. Clearly I have some work to do,...
- 4/10/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
I've mentioned before how several years ago I created a list using Roger Ebert's Great Movies, Oscar Best Picture winners, IMDb's Top 250, etc. and began going through them doing my best to see as many of the films on these lists that I had not seen as I possibly could to up my film I.Q. Well, someone has gone through the exhaustive effort to take all of the films Roger Ebert wrote about in his three "Great Movies" books, all of which are compiled on his website and added them to a Letterbxd list and I've added that list below. I'm not positive every movie on his list is here, but by my count there are 362 different titles listed (more if you count the trilogies and Decalogue) and of those 362, I have personally seen 229 and have added an * next to those I've seen. Clearly I have some work to do,...
- 4/10/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Since Disney acquired Marvel back in 2009 for $4 billion (no big deal), many theme park aficionados have been wondering when the super-powered characters would finally make their way into the Disney theme parks (in some kind of permanent or semi-permanent way). Well, it looks like the time is now, with Tony Stark himself popping up at both stateside theme parks just in time for the release of Disney's "Iron Man 3." Synergy! Starting April 13, Disneyland's Innoventions will host "Iron Man Tech Presented by Stark Industries," which will include a Tony Stark's Hall of Armor exhibit, a big hit at last year's San Diego Comic Con. Additionally, the Iron Man Tech exhibit will offer theme park guests a chance to "virtually suit up" in a simulation that lets them fire "repulsor blasts" –- just like Iron Man! This will undoubtedly prove to be a phenomenally popular addition to Innoventions, which is kind...
- 4/1/2013
- by Drew Taylor
- Moviefone
During a year when Indian Cinema is celebrating 100 years since the first moving picture was made, it is unfortunate that we have to report recent news regarding DVDs of old Hindi films. According to a leading Indian newspaper, a number of distributors have decided not to renew licences which permit them to sell films which released during the golden era of the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Keta Maru, who is producer of Shemaroo Movies, explained to the Indian press why DVDs of old Hindi films are not being renewed. “Stores are not ready to stock, or display old DVDs as their sales have gone down dramatically. Producers expect the same amount we paid them earlier, and are not willing to consider the fact that online availability of films has led to DVD sales heading south. Hence, we haven’t renewed a majority of the contracts. Regrettably, most movies will not...
- 3/17/2013
- by Bodrul Chaudhury
- Bollyspice
Amour
Directed by: Michael Haneke
Cast: Emmanuelle Riva, Jean-Louis Trintignant
Running Time: 2 hrs 7 mins
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: January 11, 2013 (Chicago)
Plot: An elderly couple’s love is tested when the wife (Riva) suffers a stroke and requires the constant care of her husband (Trintignant).
Who’S It For? Amour isn’t brooding, but it is slow. Most of all, it can best be appreciated by those who have a mature understanding of the most important bonds within a relationship.
Overall
In her now Oscar-nominated performance, Riva (who once starred in lauded foreign classic Hiroshima, Mon Amour) provides a turn that is equally as physical as Naomi Watts’ also nominated portrayal in The Impossible. Throughout this performance, we watch Riva physically fade away. Riva spends much of the time stationary, her physical requirements constantly reduced, not to mention her waning ability to interact through dialogue with her husband. And yet,...
Directed by: Michael Haneke
Cast: Emmanuelle Riva, Jean-Louis Trintignant
Running Time: 2 hrs 7 mins
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: January 11, 2013 (Chicago)
Plot: An elderly couple’s love is tested when the wife (Riva) suffers a stroke and requires the constant care of her husband (Trintignant).
Who’S It For? Amour isn’t brooding, but it is slow. Most of all, it can best be appreciated by those who have a mature understanding of the most important bonds within a relationship.
Overall
In her now Oscar-nominated performance, Riva (who once starred in lauded foreign classic Hiroshima, Mon Amour) provides a turn that is equally as physical as Naomi Watts’ also nominated portrayal in The Impossible. Throughout this performance, we watch Riva physically fade away. Riva spends much of the time stationary, her physical requirements constantly reduced, not to mention her waning ability to interact through dialogue with her husband. And yet,...
- 1/15/2013
- by Nick Allen
- The Scorecard Review
By Joey Magidson
Film Contributor
***
It’s no secret that the average age of an Academy member is up there. The running joke of the ceremony, in fact, is that the Oscars are solely voted on by older white men — while that’s not completely true, it’s not far off, either.
Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Times did an exposé of sorts that revealed just how much of the Academy is in this particular bracket. The piece found that Oscar voters are overwhelmingly white and male, with the average age of an Academy member at around 62 years old.
This begs the question of how voters deal with films that speak directly to them. Michael Haneke’s Amour will certainly be a litmus test of sorts this year in regard to this potential bias. The subject matter is admittedly tough, though, which complicates things a bit.
If the Academy...
Film Contributor
***
It’s no secret that the average age of an Academy member is up there. The running joke of the ceremony, in fact, is that the Oscars are solely voted on by older white men — while that’s not completely true, it’s not far off, either.
Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Times did an exposé of sorts that revealed just how much of the Academy is in this particular bracket. The piece found that Oscar voters are overwhelmingly white and male, with the average age of an Academy member at around 62 years old.
This begs the question of how voters deal with films that speak directly to them. Michael Haneke’s Amour will certainly be a litmus test of sorts this year in regard to this potential bias. The subject matter is admittedly tough, though, which complicates things a bit.
If the Academy...
- 12/24/2012
- by Joey Magidson
- Scott Feinberg
Good or indeed great films about older couples seem to be something of a rarity, but there are those unique films that tackle the subject with elegance and intelligence. Masterpieces such as Make Way for Tomorrow and Tokyo Story immediately come to mind and Michael Haneke’s latest, Amour, now earns a place alongside those very special films.
Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmualle Riva) are the ageing couple at the centre of this particular story, which begins with a dark coda revealing the bleak direction that we are heading towards. A crushing reminder of what, in a way, we are perhaps all heading towards in life.
Despite this opening, which of course effects the way in which we then view the proceedings, as soon as the film then flashes backwards to a starting point it is almost impossible to imagine this grim end for this lively, sweet and witty couple.
Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmualle Riva) are the ageing couple at the centre of this particular story, which begins with a dark coda revealing the bleak direction that we are heading towards. A crushing reminder of what, in a way, we are perhaps all heading towards in life.
Despite this opening, which of course effects the way in which we then view the proceedings, as soon as the film then flashes backwards to a starting point it is almost impossible to imagine this grim end for this lively, sweet and witty couple.
- 10/10/2012
- by Craig Skinner
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
There was plenty of discussion across the movie blogosphere following last week's announcement that Vertigo had dethroned Citizen Kane as the greatest film of all time according to Sight & Sound's decennial poll. In addition to revealing the top 50 as determined by critics, they also provided a top 10 based on a separate poll for directors only. In the print version of the magazine, they have taken it a step further by reprinting some of the individual top 10 lists from the filmmakers who participated, and we now have some of them here for your perusal. Among them, we have lists from legends like Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Quentin Tarantino, but there are also some unexpected newcomers who took part including Richard Ayoade (Submarine), Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know) and Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene). Some of these lists aren't all that surprising (both Quentin Tarantino...
- 8/6/2012
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
Stale Popcorn awww. our friend Glenn held a Titanic Oscar.
Guardian fun old interview with Helena Bonham Carter from her first film The Lady Jane (1986)
The Mary Sue new Dr. Horrible Sing-Along films this summer? Maybe.
Prometheus the full second trailer. Not doing a "yes no maybe so" because we already covered this one.
Tom Shone is not looking forward to Prometheus and here's why.
ioncinema Laurence Anyways trailer (in French) and posters. I love Xavier Dolan so I'm excited for this on principle if not quite in actuality.
Telegraph Tim Robey on George Clooney's arrest.
Movie|Line takes a different approach with the 9 most handsomely stoic photos of Clooney from the Sudan event.
In Contention Christopher Plummer in Barrymore... his stage triumph is going big screen this fall.
Antagony & Ecstacy is doing a 1930s week with fine pieces on Leo McCarey (Make Way For Tomorrow) and early horror...
Guardian fun old interview with Helena Bonham Carter from her first film The Lady Jane (1986)
The Mary Sue new Dr. Horrible Sing-Along films this summer? Maybe.
Prometheus the full second trailer. Not doing a "yes no maybe so" because we already covered this one.
Tom Shone is not looking forward to Prometheus and here's why.
ioncinema Laurence Anyways trailer (in French) and posters. I love Xavier Dolan so I'm excited for this on principle if not quite in actuality.
Telegraph Tim Robey on George Clooney's arrest.
Movie|Line takes a different approach with the 9 most handsomely stoic photos of Clooney from the Sudan event.
In Contention Christopher Plummer in Barrymore... his stage triumph is going big screen this fall.
Antagony & Ecstacy is doing a 1930s week with fine pieces on Leo McCarey (Make Way For Tomorrow) and early horror...
- 3/18/2012
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Charley Chase is, I suppose, fated to remain outside the first rank of silent comics, and that's probably fair enough: leading the second rank is no disgrace, especially in a field containing authentic geniuses like Chaplin and Keaton. The problem is simply one of amnesia: a lot of people, even among hardcore cinephiles, simply don't have time for anything outside the elite circle of the very best. That's understandable: life is short and film history is both long and broad, but if you're missing Chase you're missing some serious hysteria in your life.
What should help the Chase case is his work with Leo McCarey, an auteur whose star is on the rise, thanks to the availability (at last!) of melancholy masterpiece Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) and the Timeless Classic status of Duck Soup, The Awful Truth and several others. With a bit of scrounging around, official releases can be...
What should help the Chase case is his work with Leo McCarey, an auteur whose star is on the rise, thanks to the availability (at last!) of melancholy masterpiece Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) and the Timeless Classic status of Duck Soup, The Awful Truth and several others. With a bit of scrounging around, official releases can be...
- 3/1/2012
- MUBI
Eureka Entertainment have announced their slate of releases for the first half of 2012 with seven exciting new titles on the horizon, including absolute classic films from Billy Wilder and Alfred Hitchcock making their debut on Blu-ray via the Masters of Cinema label.
Wilder’s iconic film noir Double Indemnity and Alfred Hitchcock’s experimental and claustrophobic thriller Lifeboat top the list of releases, two of the very best films of 1944. Wilder’s follow-up drama The Lost Weekend, released just one year later and featuring Ray Milland’s memorable Oscar-winning performance as an alcoholic New York writer, is also coming to Blu-ray. It’s a timely release as the film was recently included in the National Film Registry.
Another hugely notable release is Islands of Lost Souls (1932), the Charles Laughton starring adaptation of the H.G. Wells science fiction tale which will be released for the first time in the UK, coming on Duel Format Blu-ray.
Wilder’s iconic film noir Double Indemnity and Alfred Hitchcock’s experimental and claustrophobic thriller Lifeboat top the list of releases, two of the very best films of 1944. Wilder’s follow-up drama The Lost Weekend, released just one year later and featuring Ray Milland’s memorable Oscar-winning performance as an alcoholic New York writer, is also coming to Blu-ray. It’s a timely release as the film was recently included in the National Film Registry.
Another hugely notable release is Islands of Lost Souls (1932), the Charles Laughton starring adaptation of the H.G. Wells science fiction tale which will be released for the first time in the UK, coming on Duel Format Blu-ray.
- 1/24/2012
- by Matt Holmes
- Obsessed with Film
Nostalgia fuels the Walt Disney brand. No one can deny this, and when the various movies, TV shows, CDs, toys, and attractions under the Disney umbrella work, it’s not a bad thing. Nostalgia is why I go to the Disney theme parks at least once a year. Nostalgia seeps out of every orifice, every pore, every rock, and every tree of Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Nostalgia is why the company is able to sell products of every kind to people who passed their literal childhoods long ago. As I’ve said before and will say again, the best that Disney has to offer is awakening our inner child.
But nostalgia is a precarious, often dangerous thing to utilize in entertainment. Our memories of watching various movies, for instance, is steeped in nostalgia. When, a week ago, news broke that Nike was selling a limited number of sneakers meant...
But nostalgia is a precarious, often dangerous thing to utilize in entertainment. Our memories of watching various movies, for instance, is steeped in nostalgia. When, a week ago, news broke that Nike was selling a limited number of sneakers meant...
- 1/6/2012
- by Josh Spiegel
- SoundOnSight
Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer in Leo McCarey's Love Affair Leo McCarey on TCM: Going My Way, Duck Soup, Love Affair, Make Way For Tomorrow Leo McCarey's Love Affair (1939) is now mostly forgotten, whereas its 1957 remake (also by McCarey), An Affair to Remember, remains a romance classic. In the original, in place of Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr we have Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne as the star-crossed lovers. Boyer would become a fantastic dramatic actor in later years (e.g., Max Ophüls' Madame De…), but here he's just Hollywood's boring version of the "suave continental." Irene Dunne, on the other hand, was one of the best actresses of the '30s and '40s. She's fine in Love Affair, though it's not one of her greatest performances. (Warren Beatty and Annette Bening starred in a widely panned 1994 remake, that also featured Katharine Hepburn in the role played...
- 12/26/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Bing Crosby, Gene Lockhart, Barry Fitzgerald, Going My Way Leo McCarey is Turner Classic Movies' Director of the Evening this Christmas. Considering that McCarey was an ardent Catholic, TCM has made a quite appropriate choice. Unfortunately, McCarey's anti-Red My Son John — despite the fact that the Bible plays a prominent role in that film — hasn't been included on the TCM film roster. Instead, TCM watchers will have the chance to check out Going My Way, Make Way for Tomorrow, Duck Soup, The Milky Way, Love Affair, and Once Upon a Honeymoon. The year Billy Wilder's film noir classic Double Indemnity was nominated for Best Picture — and Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat, Vincente Minnelli's Meet Me in St. Louis, and Otto Preminger's Laura weren't — McCarey's sappy, feel-good Going My Way was chosen as the Best Picture of 1944 by enough members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
- 12/26/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Robert here w/ Distant Relatives, exploring the connections between one classic and one contemporary film.
Like your dear old Ma and Pa
Since it's Thanksgiving week and many of us are spending time with family, an activity that pop culture tell us should leave us mostly frustrated and annoyed, I thought I'd present an entry that might get us thinking about our parents or grandparents. It's the film Errol Morris has dubbed "the most depressing movie ever made, providing reassurance that everything will definitely end badly" and one if its close descendants. Films about aging people are a rare breed. Hollywood doesn't much care for stories about anyone over the age of thirty-five. When on rare occassion it does, they're almost definitely stories about "old people" whose defining characteristic is that they're old. If they're romances, they're about old people coming together and finding love. There's a cute "even grandma...
Like your dear old Ma and Pa
Since it's Thanksgiving week and many of us are spending time with family, an activity that pop culture tell us should leave us mostly frustrated and annoyed, I thought I'd present an entry that might get us thinking about our parents or grandparents. It's the film Errol Morris has dubbed "the most depressing movie ever made, providing reassurance that everything will definitely end badly" and one if its close descendants. Films about aging people are a rare breed. Hollywood doesn't much care for stories about anyone over the age of thirty-five. When on rare occassion it does, they're almost definitely stories about "old people" whose defining characteristic is that they're old. If they're romances, they're about old people coming together and finding love. There's a cute "even grandma...
- 11/25/2011
- by Robert
- FilmExperience
Beulah Bondi in Leo McCarey's Make Way for Tomorrow Make Way For Tomorrow Review Part I What's good about Make Way for Tomorrow are the brilliant performances, especially by Beulah Bondi, Fay Bainter, and Victor Moore. The intelligent screenplay by Viña Delmar, based on Josephine Lawrence's novel, and Helen Leary and Nolan Leary's play, oftentimes feels realistic. Leo McCarey, for his part, directs the proceedings with an ample amount of humor; not the belly-laugh kind, but as a droll observation about the clash of generations. So what's not to like in Make Way for Tomorrow? Well, the two elderly characters are still active an [...]...
- 5/17/2011
- by Danny Fortune
- Alt Film Guide
Make Way For Tomorrow (1937) Direction: Leo McCarey Cast: Victor Moore, Beulah Bondi, Fay Bainter, Thomas Mitchell, Porter Hall, Barbara Read, Elisabeth Risdon, Maurice Moscovitch, Minna Gombell, Louise Beavers Screenplay: Viña Delmar; from Josephine Lawrence's novel, and Helen Leary and Nolan Leary's play Recommended with Reservations Beulah Bondi, Victor Moore, Make Way for Tomorrow The main conflict in Leo McCarey's Make Way for Tomorrow revolves around an elderly couple, Barkley and Lucy Cooper (Victor Moore and Beulah Bondi), who lose their home and are forced to move in with their adult children. The sons and daughters hesitate, then reluctantly agree to house the couple. [...]...
- 5/17/2011
- by Danny Fortune
- Alt Film Guide
[From the Editor: I'm publishing this Mother's Day list tonight, before the holiday, so that readers will have the opportunity to head out to their local video store, and get these films before their Sunday viewing. That is assuming, of course, that you still have a local video store. I'll link to the Hulu Plus / Netflix pages under the films. I'm also linking the covers to their corresponding Amazon pages. Don't forget, many of them are still on sale right now!]
Mother’s Day weekend, besides being one of those pleasant harbingers of spring and typically the occasion for a time of family togetherness, can also be a bit of an awkward time for your typical film geek. Sure, some of us have awesome moms and we enjoy the opportunity to let her know just how wonderful and special she is to us. But let’s admit it, parental relationships also create their share of awkwardness and tension. Even though none of us came into this world by any other route than through our mother, things happen along the way in that pivotal mother-child attachment that tend to complicate the situation going forward.
So even though today is an occasion to celebrate all those wonderful characteristics about Mom that we love and appreciate so much, there’s always more to the story. Let’s take a stroll through a few of the many moods of Motherhood,...
Mother’s Day weekend, besides being one of those pleasant harbingers of spring and typically the occasion for a time of family togetherness, can also be a bit of an awkward time for your typical film geek. Sure, some of us have awesome moms and we enjoy the opportunity to let her know just how wonderful and special she is to us. But let’s admit it, parental relationships also create their share of awkwardness and tension. Even though none of us came into this world by any other route than through our mother, things happen along the way in that pivotal mother-child attachment that tend to complicate the situation going forward.
So even though today is an occasion to celebrate all those wonderful characteristics about Mom that we love and appreciate so much, there’s always more to the story. Let’s take a stroll through a few of the many moods of Motherhood,...
- 5/8/2011
- by David Blakeslee
- CriterionCast
I can get everything Martin Lawrence has done and little Kubrick. The format of the home-cinema revolution seems lost
"Should I see it in the cinema or wait for the DVD?" That fairly loaded question is easily the most popular one people ask me about new films. I used to unequivocally answer that cinema was the best way to see any film, but these days, factoring in the high ticket cost, generally inconsiderate behaviour of audiences and the impressive quality of home cinema setups, I'm more than likely to amend it to "or possibly the Blu-ray".
When Blu-ray Discs (BDs for short) hit the market a few years back, it looked as if the format was intended to replace DVDs. I liked the unknown, frontier-territory aspect of releases, how random the titles were, as if they were at the beginning of the DVD revolution. For instance, you could get almost...
"Should I see it in the cinema or wait for the DVD?" That fairly loaded question is easily the most popular one people ask me about new films. I used to unequivocally answer that cinema was the best way to see any film, but these days, factoring in the high ticket cost, generally inconsiderate behaviour of audiences and the impressive quality of home cinema setups, I'm more than likely to amend it to "or possibly the Blu-ray".
When Blu-ray Discs (BDs for short) hit the market a few years back, it looked as if the format was intended to replace DVDs. I liked the unknown, frontier-territory aspect of releases, how random the titles were, as if they were at the beginning of the DVD revolution. For instance, you could get almost...
- 4/13/2011
- by Phelim O'Neill
- The Guardian - Film News
Right up until the end of the Production Code era of filmmaking in 1930’s Hollywood, the various studios churned out stories that pushed the boundaries of transgression for audiences everywhere. These films may seem more than a little tame today, but what these films did for the time cannot be overstated. Women were allowed to have fun, without having to be punished afterwards for it. They could be unashamedly free with their sexuality. These films looked at their promiscuity as a concrete normality; not as something that in any way needed to be fixed. The early thirties in studio filmmaking is a special and thoroughly fun era. In another Warner Archives DVD release, Finishing School, released in 1934, mere months before the Code began to be enforced, is just one example of the many forgotten or overlooked films from that era.
With such an extraordinarily large number of films being released by studios each year,...
With such an extraordinarily large number of films being released by studios each year,...
- 4/7/2011
- by Catherine Stebbins
- CriterionCast
Here's a fantastic video created by Ian Albinson that gives us a brief history of the art of the movie title design. The video presentation was made for the SXSW Excellence in Title Design competition screening.
A Brief History of Title Design from Ian Albinson on Vimeo.
Here's the list of movie title shown:
Intolerance, Phantom Of The Opera, King Kong, Modern Times, My Man Godfrey, Make Way For Tomorrow, Citizen Kane, The Maltese Falcon, Gun Crazy, The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre, Lady In The Lake, Fallen Angel, The Thing, Singing In The Rain, The Man With The Golden Arm, Anatomy Of A Murder, Psycho, North By Northwest, Vertigo, Grand Prix, To Kill A Mockingbird, Dr. No, The Pink Panther, Goldfinger, Dr. Strangelove, Bullitt, Barbarella, Soylent Green, Mean Streets, Star Wars, Saturday Night Fever, Superman, Alien, Raging Bull, The Terminator, Brazil, The Untouchables, Do The Right Thing, Forrest Gump,...
A Brief History of Title Design from Ian Albinson on Vimeo.
Here's the list of movie title shown:
Intolerance, Phantom Of The Opera, King Kong, Modern Times, My Man Godfrey, Make Way For Tomorrow, Citizen Kane, The Maltese Falcon, Gun Crazy, The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre, Lady In The Lake, Fallen Angel, The Thing, Singing In The Rain, The Man With The Golden Arm, Anatomy Of A Murder, Psycho, North By Northwest, Vertigo, Grand Prix, To Kill A Mockingbird, Dr. No, The Pink Panther, Goldfinger, Dr. Strangelove, Bullitt, Barbarella, Soylent Green, Mean Streets, Star Wars, Saturday Night Fever, Superman, Alien, Raging Bull, The Terminator, Brazil, The Untouchables, Do The Right Thing, Forrest Gump,...
- 3/16/2011
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
Put together to compete in the SXSW Title Design Competition, Ian Albinson has edited a large mix of some of the greatest film and television titles ever made. Slashfilm reports that the websites mission is:
A compendium and leading web resource of film and television title design from around the world. We honor the artists who design excellent title sequences. We discuss and display their work with a desire to foster more of it, via stills and video links, interviews, creator notes, and user comments.
It is a wonderful video, full of amazing titles, many of which I had forgotten about. The song featured is Ghostwriter by RJD2. You can view the video as well as a list of all the titles featured in their order below.
-
-
-
A Brief History of Title Design from Ian Albinson on Vimeo.
Titles Featured:
Intolerance, Phantom of the Opera, King Kong,...
A compendium and leading web resource of film and television title design from around the world. We honor the artists who design excellent title sequences. We discuss and display their work with a desire to foster more of it, via stills and video links, interviews, creator notes, and user comments.
It is a wonderful video, full of amazing titles, many of which I had forgotten about. The song featured is Ghostwriter by RJD2. You can view the video as well as a list of all the titles featured in their order below.
-
-
-
A Brief History of Title Design from Ian Albinson on Vimeo.
Titles Featured:
Intolerance, Phantom of the Opera, King Kong,...
- 3/16/2011
- by Yiannis Cove
- SoundOnSight
As part of the screening put together in relation to the SXSW Title Design Competition [1], Ian Albinson [2] from the website The Art of the Title Sequence [3] put together a nice two and a half minute compendium of excellent film titles. (That features an occasional piece of television, too.) For any long-time film lover, this little video will probably elicit quite a few responses simply on the strength of the title cards on display. I queued several films to re-watch after exposure to just a few seconds of their titles. Check out the collection after the jump. This isn't an in-depth study of title design. Rather, it is a simple reminder that, holy crap, the breadth and variety of film title design can be simply breathtaking. If nothing else, this might just be a good pointer to check out the website The Art of the Title Sequence, which has some more...
- 3/16/2011
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.