The 1950s--the decade when movies went wide and advertised casts of thousands--also saw three great films that took place at a single location and shot on a single set. Alfred Hitchcock did it brilliantly in Rear Window, Kurosawa pulled it off in The Lower Depths, and Sidney Lumet, for his very first film, triumphed in … Continue reading Blu-ray Review: 12 Angry Men

It was meant to be Ingmar Berman's last film (although he ended up making another), his final statement about life, the theater, and the place of humanity in a possibly Godless universe. It's unquestionably his most magical, one of his least grim, and in my opinion, one of his best. He also made two versions … Continue reading Blu-ray Review: Fanny and Alexander

After his two great action comedies (Yojimbo and Sanjuro) and before his last black and white historical epic (Red Beard), Akira Kurosawa made one of the best crime thrillers of the 1960’s. Now Criterion brings a high-definition copy into your home. Toshiro Mifune (who else?) stars as a successful businessman who thinks he’s off the … Continue reading Blu-ray Review: High and Low

I’d be hard-pressed to think of another film that’s anything like Jean Cocteau’s post-war fantasy. It’s a fairytale, told with a charming and often naïve innocence, and contains absolutely no objectionable-for-children content. But its slow pace and quiet magic never panders to unsophisticated viewers. About 30 years ago I saw a very young audience sit … Continue reading Blu-ray Review: Beauty and the Beast (1946 version)

“Raymond Shaw is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life.” All the men who served under him in Korea say so. Which is odd because the guy is a cold, self-righteous jerk. Maybe it has something to do with the way they seem to be on autopilot when … Continue reading Blu-ray Review: The Manchurian Candidate (original, 1962 version)