B The Pleasure Garden For a new director's first film, The Pleasure Garden is surprisingly assured--creatively using all the cinema's tools to tell a good story. Based on a popular novel of the time, it follows two young women, both dancers, as their professional and love lives go in different and contrasting directions. One goes … Continue reading Hitchcock 9, Part 3: Sunday
Hitchcock 9, Part 2: Saturday
I spent most of yesterday at the Castro, watching the Hitchcock 9 festival of early, silent Alfred Hitchcock movies, all newly restored. Here's what I saw: B Champagne With it's ditzy heiress ingénue, romantic plot, broad humor, and class consciousness, this Hitchcock silent has all the ingredients of a screwball comedy except sparkling dialog. I … Continue reading Hitchcock 9, Part 2: Saturday
Hitchcock 9 Report, Part 1: Blackmail
Friday night Blackmail A beautiful young woman ditches her boyfriend (a Scotland Yard detective), flirts with another man, then kills him in self-defense. The next morning she's at the mercy of a blackmailer. Alfred Hitchcock's tenth feature and second thriller already shows touches of the master. Her night wanderings after the incident, her reaction to … Continue reading Hitchcock 9 Report, Part 1: Blackmail
What’s Screening: June 14 – 20
In festival news, DocFest continues through this week. The Hitchcock 9 runs from tonight through Sunday. And Frameline opens Thursday night. I've separated the festival screenings below. A Much Ado About Nothing, Albany, Aquarius, Century San Francisco Centre 9, opens Friday. Most of us don’t associate Joss Whedon with Shakespeare, yet he's done wonders with … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 14 – 20
Much Ado About Nothing
A Romantic comedy Adapted and directed by Joss Whedon From the play by William Shakespeare It seems like a stupid question: Who could better adapt one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies to the big screen: Kenneth Branagh or Joss Whedon? The first is our generation's Olivier. The second is known for movies and TV shows … Continue reading Much Ado About Nothing
Nail-biting Laughter: My Blu-ray review of Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last!
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!
One Downside of Digital Projection
Regular readers know that I'm a fan of digital projection--not only for today's movies but classics, as well. But I'm not a fundamentalist. Digital has its downsides. And one of those downsides is the number of great motion pictures now unavailable in any decent theatrical format--digital or otherwise. More and more classics are becoming available … Continue reading One Downside of Digital Projection
What’s Screening: June 7 – 13
DocFest continues this week and beyond. You'll find my totally non-fiction festival recommendations and warnings at the bottom of this newsletter. A On the Town, Cerrito, Thursday, 7:00. Three sailors arrive in New York for a 24-hour leave. That’s precious little time to see the sights, drink in the atmosphere, and fall in love. What … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 7 – 13
Frameline LGBT Festival Preview
I've previewed three films that will screen at the upcoming Frameline LGBT film festival. Here's what I thought of them: B The Campaign By following a handful of organizers and volunteers, this documentary provides a close and intimate look at the unsuccessful campaign to defeat Proposition 8. But aside from some brief historical context, The … Continue reading Frameline LGBT Festival Preview
What’s Screening: May 31 – June 6
The Green Film Festival continues through Wednesday. Charlie Chaplin Days takes over not just the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum but the whole neighborhood of Niles. DocFest opens Thursday. And here's something heartening. The CineMark Classic Series has been so successful that they're expanding it, adding a Sunday matinee to the existing Wednesday afternoon and … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 31 – June 6
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