Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 28th, 2003
Casablanca. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. The Big Sleep. TheMaltese Falcon. To Have and Have Not. All legendary titles, all among the very bestmovies Hollywood has ever made. Terrific adventures and mysteries, the fit together as acollection in fascinating ways, beyond simply having Bogart as the lead. To Have and HaveNot is structurally very much like a more upbeat version of Casablanca. TheMaltese Falcon is frequently held up as the first film no...r, and The Big Sleep comefrom the peak of the noir period. To Have and Have Not and The Big Sleep alsogive us the incredible screen chemistry of Bogart and Bacall. The former film is Bacall’s filmdebut, and her arrival has the same effect as the Hindenburg’s at Lakehurst, NJ: she doesn’t justlight up the screen, she incinerates it. If you love movies at all, you owe it to yourself to see allof these films. Again, and again, and again.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 26th, 2003
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 20th, 2003
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 20th, 2003
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 18th, 2003
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 10th, 2003
Ray Harryhausen and Ray Bradbury, along with Famous Monster Forry Ackerman, have been friends since childhood. It’s no wonder that when Harryhausen was given his first chance to completely control a production that he would turn to his boyhood friend who happened to become one of the world’s best known science fiction writers. Actually, the original production team had already fashioned a script based on Bradbury’s short story without giving credit to the writer. Both Rays created an iconic creature. The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms would go on to represent an entire genre of 1950’s monster movies. The climatic rollercoaster scene is one of the genre’s best moments. For me it ranks right there with the Empire State Building climax in King Kong, ironically created by Harryhausen’s mentor.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 3rd, 2003
Willis O’Brien, the f/x magician behind King Kong and The Lost World, had always wanted to do a cowboys and dinosaurs film. It is no surprise that his prodigy Ray Harryhausen would accomplish the task. Using some of O’Brien’s design ideas, Harryhausen credibly put these two film icons together with mixed results. The script is certainly not the best Harryhausen had to work with. More Bronco Billy than Jurassic Park, this is more an entertaining film than anything to be taken seriously. James Franciscus does a fine job of playing to the f/x.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 29th, 2003
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 21st, 2003
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 16th, 2003
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