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 ...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
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 ...
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...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 5th, 2002
Synopsis
Ingrid Bergman is a psychoanalyst and, according to her male colleagues, a cold fish. Thischanges when Gregory Peck shows up as the new head of the psychiatric institution. The onlyproblem is, Peck is not who he says he is. In fact, he doesn’t even know who he really is.Bergman is determined to help him find out, but meanwhile, the man whose identity Peck hasassumed is missing, perhaps murdered... The psychoanalysis in the film is pure hokum, and theplot’s contrivances are ...
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.
“The Tenenbaum kids were all once child prodigies, despite growing up with an ineffective father. Determined to make things ...
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...
