Resnais and Stroheim at the Pacific Film Archive

July 26, 2015July 26, 2015 ~ Lincoln Spector

Friday night, I attended two very different screenings at the Pacific Film Archive. The first, Alain Resnais' Hiroshima mon amour, is a widely-acknowledged masterpiece. The other, Erich von Stroheim's Queen Kelly, is the uncompleted final work of great but controversial filmmaker. It was my first experience seeing either film. Hiroshima mon amour Why did it … Continue reading Resnais and Stroheim at the Pacific Film Archive

The A+ List: Five Easy Pieces

July 25, 2015April 1, 2019 ~ Lincoln Spector

Bob Dupea (Jack Nicholson) doesn't play well with others. A blue-collar worker on an oil rig near Los Angeles (such things existed then), he's moody and difficult. He treats Rayette, his live-in waitress girlfriend (Karen Black) horribly. He has one good friend, but he lashes out at him, as well. As we discover reasonably early … Continue reading The A+ List: Five Easy Pieces

Dough and Opening night at the SF Jewish film festival

July 24, 2015July 29, 2015 ~ Lincoln Spector ~ 1 Comment

I attended opening night of the SF Jewish Film Festival at the Castro last night. It was, for the most part, an enjoyable evening. Although it did start with the inevitable reserved seating problem. The whole front half of the theater was cordoned off for VIPs. Luckily, I convinced a volunteer usher that as press, … Continue reading Dough and Opening night at the SF Jewish film festival

Yet another great American film list–and like the others, mostly about white people

July 23, 2015July 23, 2015 ~ Lincoln Spector

We've got yet another all-time greatest films list. So what's different about this one? It's a list of American films, but it's not an American list. It comes from the BBC, and was created through a survey of film critics from around the world (and yes, Yankee critics were allowed to submit their opinions). Of … Continue reading Yet another great American film list–and like the others, mostly about white people

Miracle Mile: A quirky romantic comedy thriller about the ultimate disaster. My Blu-ray review

July 22, 2015July 19, 2015 ~ Lincoln Spector

I usually review Blu-rays of well-loved classics. This time, I'm covering a little-known film you've probably never heard of. But it should be a well-loved classic. Miracle Mile starts as a quirky, one-of-a-kind romantic comedy. Harry (Anthony Edwards) woos Julie (Mare Winningham)--in a science museum--with his wit and his slide trombone. He meets her grandparents. … Continue reading Miracle Mile: A quirky romantic comedy thriller about the ultimate disaster. My Blu-ray review

Technicolor experiences at the Pacific Film Archive

July 21, 2015July 21, 2015 ~ Lincoln Spector

Over the last few days, I've attended two separate three-strip Technicolor screenings at the Pacific Film Archive, each projected in a very different way. The first, Jean Renior's The River, was screened pretty much as the original audiences saw it in 1951. The second, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's The Tales of Hoffmann, was presented … Continue reading Technicolor experiences at the Pacific Film Archive

Solaris at the Pacific Film Archive

July 18, 2015July 17, 2015 ~ Lincoln Spector

The plot of Andrei Tarkovsky's science fiction film Solaris could easily work as a Star Trek episode. Captain Kirk (or Picard) visits a troubled space station orbiting a strange, ocean-covered planet. The ocean appears to be sentient, and it's playing tricks on minds of the human visitors, driving them mad. But no Star Trek episode … Continue reading Solaris at the Pacific Film Archive