Even Alfred Hitchcock never mastered that delicate balance between comedy and suspense as perfectly as silent comedian Harold Lloyd. Learning his craft carefully and consciously, he discovered that scaring the audience put them in an emotional pressure cooker, intensifying their reaction to a good gag. When the two effects were mixed expertly, by someone who … Continue reading Nail-biting Laughter: My Blu-ray review of Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last!
Category: Home Theater
Blu-ray Review: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
What's expected of a career military man? And what's expected of a human being? These questions are at the heart of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's epic masterpiece, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. Made in London at the height of World War II, it follows the 40-year career of Clive Candy (later Clive … Continue reading Blu-ray Review: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Blu-ray Review: Brazil
George Orwell might have created something like Brazil if he had had a sense of humor. But since he didn't (at least not any that shows up in his work), the task was left to Terry Gilliam to create this absurd, dark, tragic, yet hilarious look into a dystopian world of bureaucracy gone mad. A … Continue reading Blu-ray Review: Brazil
Blu-ray Review: Rashomon
As I watched Criterion's beautiful new Blu-ray edition of Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon, I noticed how patterns of three ripple through this masterpiece. You have, of course, the love triangle (well, more like a lust and violence triangle) that centers the story. But you also have the three men under the Rashomon gate. And the three … Continue reading Blu-ray Review: Rashomon
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
On David Pogue, Piracy, and the Call for Making Movies Available Online Immediately
Last week, tech journalist David Pogue wrote a piece for the Scientific American calling for the Hollywood studios and the MPAA to make new movies available for streaming and downloads as soon as they open in theaters.Streaming movies offers instant gratification: no waiting, no driving—plus great portability: you can watch on gadgets too small for … Continue reading On David Pogue, Piracy, and the Call for Making Movies Available Online Immediately
Blu-ray Review: Jaws
Universal Studios must have been an interesting place in the 1970s. As Alfred Hitchcock's career wound down, Steven Spielberg's started up. I don't know if they ever met, but there's no doubt that the young film school graduate had studied the master's work. In his second theatrical feature and first big hit (and also, I … Continue reading Blu-ray Review: Jaws
Blu-ray Review: Love and Anarchy
The political is personal in Lina Wertmüller's moving tragicomedy about a country bumpkin who comes to Rome to assassinate Mussolini, and finds love in an upscale whorehouse. The story starts out funny, becomes surprisingly romantic, but never strays from an intense sadness. If you were too young in the 70s to watch R-rated, subtitled films, … Continue reading Blu-ray Review: Love and Anarchy
Blu-ray Review: The Gold Rush
In 1925, Charlie Chaplin created what many consider his masterpiece: The Gold Rush. In 1942, he altered it to an extent that would make George Lucas blush. And he insisted to his dying day that the new version was the better one. This Tuesday, Criterion releases a superb Blu-ray of The Gold Rush that includes … Continue reading Blu-ray Review: The Gold Rush
Blu-ray Review: Manhattan
Woody Allen followed the triumph of Annie Hall with a dead-serious drama that few people saw and even fewer liked: Interiors (Confession: I haven't seen it). Luckily for his career, Allen followed Interiors with Manhattan. Like Annie Hall, Manhattan is a realistic, character-driven comedy about love, romance, and how the sexual urge messes up our … Continue reading Blu-ray Review: Manhattan
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