No horror movie can come close to the fear, dread, and dark hatreds of Ingmar Bergman's great chamber drama, Cries and Whispers. To watch it is to face the end of a slow and painful death by cancer. But that's not all. This film, centered around four women and set almost entirely in one house, … Continue reading Death and families: Bergman’s Cries and Whispers (Blu-ray review)
Category: A+ List
Die Hard: Even Better on the Big Screen
Sunday afternoon, I finally saw Die Hard in a movie theater. And not just any movie theater, but the Castro. I've liked this movie for a long time. But between the big screen, the powerful sound system, and the enthusiastic audience, it was a whole new experience. And a great experience. I used to give … Continue reading Die Hard: Even Better on the Big Screen
Thoughts on The Bicycle Thief
If you want to understand Italian neorealism, the desperation of poverty, or simply the power of cinema, you have to see Vittorio De Sica's masterpiece, The Bicycle Thief (AKA Bicycle Thieves or Ladri di biciclette). You'll find it deservedly on any short list of great motion pictures. This film pits the desperately poor against the … Continue reading Thoughts on The Bicycle Thief
The American Dream turns into a nightmare, and a great American film needs to be seen
A young man comes to New York, dreaming of success and wealth. But reality refuses to live up to his dreams--perhaps because he dreams too much-- in King Vidor's 1928 masterpiece, The Crowd. Told with daring photography, real locations, surreal sets, and subtle pantomime, The Crowd brings you through dizzying joy and wrenching tragedy as … Continue reading The American Dream turns into a nightmare, and a great American film needs to be seen
Comic Perfection: My Blu-ray Review of City Lights
A great comedy seamlessly mixes a good story, an intelligent observation on the human condition, and a lot of laughs. Everything works together, and only on the third or fourth viewing do you become aware of how the filmmakers balanced all these ingredients, so that the gags and the emotional reality compliment each other instead … Continue reading Comic Perfection: My Blu-ray Review of City Lights
Wait 20 Years, and Then You Can Call a Groundhog Day a Classic
It's Groundhog Day! I repeat: It's Groundhog Day! The movie Groundhog Day first played to paying audiences 20 years ago today. I saw it soon after the release, and fell instantly in love with it. But only now, 20 years later, am I willing to give it my highest rating: A+. I don't give that … Continue reading Wait 20 Years, and Then You Can Call a Groundhog Day a Classic
Blu-ray Review: Children of Paradise
The one great black and white sound epic, Marcel Carné's and Jacques Prévert's love letter to France and to the theater, draws you in like a miracle. And why not? The movie's very existence is a miracle. How could they shoot a grand story on such a lavish scale during the last months of the … Continue reading Blu-ray Review: Children of Paradise
Children of Paradise
Something struck me as I watched Children of Paradise Saturday at the Castro. The main characters are, at heart, all extraordinarily selfish. Even when expressing deep and undying love, they're thinking only of their own needs and desires. They want to own the object of their adoration, but they don't see that object as a … Continue reading Children of Paradise
Blu-ray Review: Annie Hall
There are romantic comedies, and then there's Annie Hall. It's about a romance, and it's definitely a comedy, but Woody Allen's masterpiece works so far outside the genre that it feels like something entirely different. Annie Hall tracks a very realistic relationship--mostly in chronological order. We watch as up-and-coming standup comic Alvy Singer (Allen) and … Continue reading Blu-ray Review: Annie Hall
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