Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 13th, 2006
Synopsis
Jane Fonda plays Lilliam Hellman. She is living in a beach house with Dashiel Hammett (Jason Robards), struggling with a play (The Children’s Hour, though the film is ridiculously coy about mentioning its title). She is also worried about her childhood friend Julia (Vanessa Redgrave), who is caught up in the struggle with the rising tide of fascism in 1930s Europe. Hellman loses contact with Julia, but on a trip to Europe in the wake of her play’s success, she is contacted by friends ...f Julia’s, asking her to take on the risky job of transporting bribes to Hitler’s Berlin.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 8th, 2006
Synopsis
Though they span a mere five years of his career, these are some of Cary Grant’s best films. They are also among the directors’ best films. Viewers wanting to see comedy from Hollywood’s Gold Age at its best and most sophisticated will be amply rewarded by spending a few evenings with this collection.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 5th, 2006
Synopsis
Knowing that Stormy Weather is the title of a song that helped vault Lena Horne (The Wiz) into celebrity fandom, I had very little other ideas about her. But the cool thing that I discovered while watching the film is that, for the age of this film, it’s better than anyone would possibly think.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 28th, 2006
Obviously, the idea of making a film about mixing races in 1949 was a topic that was quite taboo. Nobody can fault Pinky for being groundbreaking in its subject matter. However, this is the very definition of a timely film. Being viewed almost 60 years later, it comes across as silly, almost like a midnight viewing of Refer Madness. Just as the kids in Reefer are obviously not under the spell of some horrible mind-altering herb, so Jeanne Crain is about as convincingly “colored” as Bill Gates on ...now skis. Not only does she not have a single black feature, but her very mannerisms betray her, making her a figurative outcast even among the other black characters in the film.
This is not a film that would change the mind of any pre-existing racist, as it is just too absurd for rational thought. No, this is most certainly not To Kill A Mockingbird. Sure, Kazan went on to direct some amazing films, such as A Streetcar Named Desire, On The Waterfront and East of Eden, but Pinky was clearly just a warm-up to his later directorial achievements.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 28th, 2006
Last year, Warner Brothers put out a great ten-disc set of all of the Hitchcock films in their catalog. While not the ultimate Hitchcock collection, it was still an excellent representation of the Master's work, including many films that have received a well-deserved second look as a result of their inclusion in the set. It was especially rewarding to be given the opportunity to see Montgomery Clift's amazing portrayal of a Priest caught in the middle of a murder scandal in I Confess.
Not to be outdo...e, Universal has now decided to showcase its Hitchcock films as well. After all, nobody can out-Hitchcock Universal's deep catalog, and they hit back hard at Warner's with a staggering fifteen disc set of their own. While the WB set set is well worth purchasing, as the saying goes, "if you only buy one Hitchcock boxed set this year... make Universal's The Masterpiece Collection be it." These are the classics. The films that Hitch is known for. The hit list is as follows; Saboteur, Rear Window, Psycho, Vertigo, The Birds, Rope, Shadow of a Doubt, Marnie, Frenzy, The Trouble With Harry, Family Plot, Torn Curtain, Topaz and The Man Who Knew Too Much. While pieces like Topaz and The Trouble With Harry may not be well known films, there is no denying the important place in cinema history that so many of the others possess. This is an instant film school in a box, and thanks to packaging multiple discs in each case, Universal has kept the cost relatively low. If you order through Amazon, this set can be picked up for about $6 per film, and that doesn't even include the book or the bonus disc.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 9th, 2006
I think that the studio knew they had a problem with Godsend before it was released in theaters. Sometimes a film can look like a great idea on paper, but the final product is just a mess. The thing is, after the studio has invested millions in a bad property, they have to try to recoup the money somehow. In the case of Godsend, the strategy was to put a well made trailer for the property on every Lions Gate DVD product for months and months. In this way, the studio hoped to build up enough word-of-mouth through minimal promotion to have a big opening weekend; big enough to make back some of the film's budget before the word got out about how bad the thing was.
The plot sounds great. A married couple (Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) have a wonderful son, but he is tragically killed when he is eight years old. Enter Robert De Niro as a doctor who has had a miracle breakthrough in the field of cloning. After some convincing, the three parties enter into an agreement to clone the couples deceased son. The boy is a perfect duplicate of the original until he reaches the age of eight, at which the original child died. That's when the crazy comes out.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 8th, 2006
Synopsis
Lenny Baker is a young Jewish lad (based on writer/director Paul Mazurksy himself) who dreams of being an actor. The time is the early 1950s, and Baker moves from Brooklyn to Greenwhich village to make a name for himself. Every conceivable element of Beat life in the Village is present, and Baker encounters all sorts of characters (including a young Christopher Walken and Jeff Goldblum). He must also deal with complications in his relationship with girlfriend Ellen Greene, and his domineerin... mother (Shelly Winters).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 7th, 2006
The Bad Sleep Well reminded me a lot of The Godfather. Both films begin with a large wedding, where the story behind the wedding is more fascinating than the event itself. Both films are also about corruption, what it means to be loyal, and what happens if you do favors for the wrong people. The Bad Sleep Well is particularly meaningful to our modern society, as instead of the subject of the film being gangsters, the focus is on the new heavies on the block... corrupt corporate heads. In the wake of the scandals at Tyco, Worldcom, Enron and others, this 1963 film carries new weight for American audiences.
Kurosowa was famous for his samurai films, and this modern film still carries some of those same themes. The Lords have moved from the countryside to the boardroom, but the pressure to perform and protect the organization at all costs remains. Those warriors in the support roles are compelled to defend the actions of the corporation even with their own lives, if it comes to that. This film is part film noir, part corporate drama, and yes, part samurai film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 6th, 2006
Synopsis
Welcome to Vince Lombardi High School, where new principal Mary Woronov (coming on like a cross between Miss Jean Brodie and Ilsa) is determined to stomp the student body into submission. In order to do this, she wants to banish rock music. Her chief antagonist is PJ Soles, a huge fan of the Ramones, and she eventually enlists the band itself to help defeat Woronov and her fascistic hall monitors.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 30th, 2005
Synopsis
David Carradine headlines yet another Roger Corman-produced action comedy. Here he’s the good seller of moonshine, up against the bad seller of same, who also happens to be the fater of Carradine’s girlfriend (Kate Jackson). Daddy is in bed with the mob, and is cheerfully selling rotgut on the streets (some of which as been fermenting in a tank with a car battery – blechhh). A battle for supremacy ensues, complete with many boat and car chases and plenty of fisticuffs.
