What's happening in Bay Area cinema from March 31 to April 6? It's outer space with Star Trek: First Contact, The Empire Strikes Back, and best of all, 2001: A Space Odyssey. But down to earth, there's two new movies worth watching. In vintage cinema, Alfred Hitchcock can give you vertigo. There's also the most … Continue reading What’s Screening: March 31 – April 6
Month: March 2023
Ernst Lubitsch’s The Wildcat on Blu-ray
This is not one of Ernst Lubitsch's best works. In fact, without the beautiful and talented Pola Negri, and the very strange scenery, it would barely be worth watching. This German film was made and released in 1921. Negri plays the leader of a gang of very nice outlaws. She appears to the only woman … Continue reading Ernst Lubitsch’s The Wildcat on Blu-ray
What’s Screening: March 24 – 30
If you'd rather go to a Bay Area cinema than stay home, you can enjoy a comedy or two about problematic families. There's also some science fiction, two musicals from the '70s, the horrors of war, and the horrors of capitalism. Festivals & Series The Sonoma International closes Sunday The Berlin & Beyond Film Festival … Continue reading What’s Screening: March 24 – 30
What’s leaving Criterion at the end of March
At the end of every month, the Criterion Channel removes a selection of films from their catalogue. These ones will disappear on April 1. Full recommendations A Nosferatu (1922) Forget about sexy vampires; the first film version of Dracula doesn't have one. This unauthorized rip-off got the filmmakers in legal trouble, where Max Schreck played … Continue reading What’s leaving Criterion at the end of March
What’s Screening: March 17 – 23
The newsletter is kind of short this week. I've been under the weather. Festivals & Series Berlin & Beyond Film Festival closes Monday Sonoma International opens Wednesday Festival Recommendations: Berlin & Beyond A- The Forger (2022), Roxie, Thursday, 9:00pmCioma Schönhaus was an extraordinary forger. It's a useful job for a young Jewish man in Berlin during … Continue reading What’s Screening: March 17 – 23
Movies I’ve recently seen: The Watermelon Woman ֍ On Your Majesty’s Secret Service ֍ Police Story 3: Supercop ֍ Cleopatra
I've been under the weather, so I haven't written much lately. I enjoyed the Academy Awards. I was hoping that Women Talking would win – without much hope. But my second favorite, Everything Everywhere All at Once grabbed almost everything. And besides, Everything is just so much fun! A The Whale (2022) This is a … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: The Watermelon Woman ֍ On Your Majesty’s Secret Service ֍ Police Story 3: Supercop ֍ Cleopatra
What’s Screening: March 10 – 16
It's Oscar week, and at least eight Bay Area cinemas are projecting the ceremony onto their big screens. One theater is giving us a selection of Buster Keaton shorts from half a century. Aside from all that, there are excellent works by Hayao Miyazaki, Wim Wender, Christopher Guest, and Philip Kaufman. Festivals & Series Cinequest … Continue reading What’s Screening: March 10 – 16
Pre-Code Paramount on the Criterion Channel
As silent movies died and the talkies took over, movies became racier. The jokes got raunchier. The gowns were more revealing. And the bad girl could get the good guy – or maybe two good guys. This so-called "Pre-Code era" died in 1934, when the censors of the Production Code Administration took away much of the fun. … Continue reading Pre-Code Paramount on the Criterion Channel
Buster Keaton at the Criterion Channel
If you haven't experienced Buster Keaton, this is the time to discover the greatest physical comedian since the invention of cinema. He could take a fall like nobody else, But he was more than that. He was a complete auteur, with a sense of what made a good story, and the feel of where to … Continue reading Buster Keaton at the Criterion Channel
What’s Screening: March 3 – 9
Is this Jim Henson Week? Labyrinth is screening in four different Bay Area cinemas. And that's not the only movie screening starring David Bowie. There's also Peter O'Toole playing Errol Flynn. Among directors, there's Wim Wenders, Martha Coolidge, Nicolas Roeg, and two noirs directed by Ida Lupino - made at a time when woman directors … Continue reading What’s Screening: March 3 – 9
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