A few more movies that I've seen recently. A The Graduate (1967), FilmStruck I've seen this classic romantic comedy many times, but this recent viewing brought me new respect for the picture. The revolutionary staging and camerawork wasn't just art for art's sake; it sets the mood and heightens the characters. Consider the opening credits, with … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen
Category: Action Movies
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly all look pretty good on new Blu-ray
Sergio Leone's masterpiece - without doubt the greatest western shot entirely in Europe - gets a near Criterion treatment (without the Criterion price tag) in a two-disc Blu-ray set containing two versions of the film and a massive collection of extras. An Italian epic set during the American Civil War, The Good, the Bad, and … Continue reading The Good, the Bad and the Ugly all look pretty good on new Blu-ray
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Dunkirk, Night Nurse, The End of the Ottoman Empire, & All the President’s Men
A Dunkirk (2017), AMC Metreon IMAX You've probably already read wonderful things about the big, new war film, and you probably already know something about the famous evacuation. So I'll just focus on story construction. The film cuts back and forth between three stories. One is about a soldier trying desperately to get off the beach. … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Dunkirk, Night Nurse, The End of the Ottoman Empire, & All the President’s Men
A+ List: Seven Samurai on the big screen
Sunday night, I saw one of cinema's greatest masterpieces, The Seven Samurai, at the Pacific Film Archive. It was the first time I'd seen it on the big screen in maybe 35 years. Which isn't to say that I hadn't seen it plenty of times at home. I've owned this epic on Laserdisc, DVD, a … Continue reading A+ List: Seven Samurai on the big screen
A+ List: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Also Ran & Rashomon)
In late January, I revisited Raiders of the Lost Ark, and discovered that it didn't really belong in my A+ List of all-time greats. Thursday night, I revisited that series' second sequel, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It has been my favorite in the series since I saw it in first run. With a … Continue reading A+ List: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Also Ran & Rashomon)
Taking Raiders of the Lost Ark off my A+ List
Tuesday night, I revisited Raiders of the Lost Ark, with the intention of writing it up for my A+ list of all-time favorite classic films. But as I watched it again for the umpteenth time, I couldn't help feeling that I didn't quite like it as much as I used to. Which isn't to say that … Continue reading Taking Raiders of the Lost Ark off my A+ List
Mifune and The Handmaiden at the Mill Valley Film Festival
Quick notes on two films screening at the Mill Valley Film Festival. Both films have one more screening at the festival, and both will soon get a theatrical release. Mifune: The Last Samurai I caught this documentary at the Lark Friday night. Director Steven Okazaki introduced the film, describing his first Mifune experience: The Seven … Continue reading Mifune and The Handmaiden at the Mill Valley Film Festival
