Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 18th, 2004
The folks at Criterion continue their quest to make every one of Fellini’s heirs millionaires with their release of I Vitelloni, the famed director’s second solo effort. This semi-autobiographical tale follows the lives of a group of young men who are on the verge of growing up and making something of their lives, but haven’t quite gotten there yet. Part American Pie, part About a Boy, and all Fellini, this film is an important addition to any foreign film collection.
The film garnered ...ritical acclaim upon its release, and even earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. I was personally surprised about how universal and timeless the themes of the film were. Many modern films deal with the same issues of escape from a small town and becoming something grand. Especially surprising were the comparisons that can easily be drawn with modern gangster movies and television shows such as The Soprano’s. The interaction between the friends in this film is uncannily similar to scenes of Tony Soprano and his crew sitting outside Satriale’s Pork Store.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 26th, 2003
At a time when the women’s liberation movement was picking up steam, Hollywood was changing the kinds of stories they told, and some of films most beloved personalities were aging and leaving the spotlight, the stars aligned perfectly for Stanley Donen to make the incredibly charming “Charade”. Both a send-up of James Bond films and a genuinely engaging mystery, “Charade” was the perfect film at the perfect time.
The story revolves around a young woman (played by the graceful and immensely likeable Audre... Hepburn) who finds that her husband has been murdered, and that the people who are responsible now want something from her… only she doesn’t know what it is. One man (played by the dashing Cary Grant) emerges to help her, but even he may not be who he appears. The whole mismatched crew rambles along together, in an attempt to discover what, and where, this elusive mystery item is... before it’s too late.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 26th, 2003
Revenge is the theme of what many people consider H.G. Clouzot’s finest film, the 1955 thriller “Diabolique”. This is the story of two women who want to kill the same man. One is his kind and gentle wife, and the other is his attractive but hard-hearted mistress. The two work together to end his life, devising a plan that comes to fruition surprisingly early in the film. What initially appears to be a film about the plotting of a murder turns into a film about something else… something more sinister and unexpected. A... the two realize that the man they mean to kill may not be dead after all, their dread and terror escalates, as does the tension on the screen.
Clouzot’s real life spouse, Vera Clouzot, plays the part of the mild mannered wife, and she does so superbly. I really cannot say enough about her performance in this film. She is reason enough to watch the film, but the engaging plot and thrilling finale make it even better. Criterion brings us a true classic of early French cinema, with “Diabolique”.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 15th, 2003
Film
The film starts out in a comic convention, where we are introduced to Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck) and Banky Edwards (Jason Lee), the co-creators of the smash hit book “Bluntman and Chronic.” Holden is an artist who feels trapped into his commercial success, afraid he’ll always be known as “the guy who invented Bluntman and Chronic.” His partner and best friend of 20 years, Banky, is justifiably unapologetic for their success; he likes having his name on something that everyone recognizes. It’s ...t this convention that Holden has his first encounter with the endearing Alyssa Jones. A week after the encounter, a phone call from their mutual friend and fellow author, Hooper, informs Holden that Alyssa has invited him to a bar in the city.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 2nd, 2003
Film
To film fans, the clause “Directed by Alfred Hitchcock” has almost become an adjective in and of itself. It has come to mean suspense created by using the viewer’s imagination and mind as a part of the film, first and foremost. These films didn’t have the freedom of CG, and consequently had to invent ways to achieve visual effects (Watch the documentary on Birds or Rear Window for example). Besides the lack of freedom of creation that digital filmmaking now provides, the filmmak...rs had to tip toe around the Hays code, not only restrictive on sex and sexual undertones, but also on content (as we learn in the featurettes here) and gore. The phrase, and the adjective that bears the director’s name, has grown to include a certain quality of characters and meticulous film crafting in every phase of the production. Rebecca, therefore, can rightfully be called “classic Hitchcock.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 2nd, 2003
Film
Jack, a pimp, ends up in prison when a competing pimp frames him for child prostitution. Zack, a down-on-his luck deejay, is there because an associate paid him a thousand dollars to drive a car across town, unaware of the contents of the trunk. In the same cell, they bemoan their situation: each man innocent of their crimes, but vaguely guilty of something, we’re never sure what. When a third man shows up, an Italian tourist named “Bob,” he seems to brighten the dour men as much as can ...e expected.. He’s also very up front with them: he isn’t innocent. He’s there because in a barroom fight, he killed a man with a pool ball. He accepts responsibility for his crime, and seems determined not to live in total misery. Even though he’s the only one who is admittedly guilty, Bob seems the most ‘essentially’ innocent of the three.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 1st, 2003
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas can be and has been described in many ways, but one of the things that this movie isn't is a Cheech and Chong road movie about a couple of whacky buddies on a drug binge in the city of sin. There’s no going to strip clubs, no hilarious misunderstandings that make one of them have to dress in drag and be involved in a stage show, in fact, there isn’t even any gambling. This movie is more accurately described as a scalding epitaph to the counterculture of the sixties, a re...ognition that the “Peace and Love” generation’s collective ideas about changing the world had largely failed. Fear and Loathing is a disdainful look in the rear view mirror at a generation's potential unfulfilled, lying on the side of the road embarrassed and worthless, like a 52 year old groupie trying to fit in with the youngsters, doing balloon hits at a Dead concert. In a more critical sense, I can describe it in a single word: overrated.
The movie has cultivated an impressively large cult following its release in the summer of 1998, and after three viewings, I can’t really put my finger on why. By design, it doesn’t follow any real solid narrative structure. We know we’re watching a couple of totally altered guys try to stumble their way through a weekend in Vegas, but their adventures basically include getting really high on something, freaking out somewhere, then returning to their trashed room to recover. Sure, some things actually happen; Azocar meets and has sex with a minor, Duke goes to the motorcycle race, meets some strange people, quits his assignment, there’s an ironic DA convention in town. None of these events are here to prop up a story structure; they’re true events, so they just sort of happen and move on. It’s never long before he’s just getting whacked out again and the story returns to its strange “stagnant wandering” roots. Usually, I’m pretty good at connecting with the European-style, open-ended, non-traditionally structured films, but this one just left me flat.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 28th, 2002
Film
Criterion has done it again! Along with Buena Vista, Criterion has transformed this flawlessly executed film into a masterpiece on DVD. For you Rushmore fans out there, you will absolutely love this film… I actually liked this film more then Rushmore. If you have not seen any works by Wes Anderson (director), you should really check this film out.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 3rd, 2002
Film
Fritz Lang became one of the earliest masters of filmmaking. Known mostly for such classic silents as Metropolis and Spies, Lang delivers a startling film definitely ahead of its time with M. This is also the very first film for the talented Peter Lorre who would later shine in Corman’s Poe series, and of course, along-side Bogart in The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. M is a disturbing film that constantly assaults the viewer with stark images of a city’s underworld life. Th... portrayal of a child serial killer was incredibly bold for the time and is unsettling even today when audiences are almost numb to horrific acts of violence on our movie screens.
