Ace in the Hole: Criterion Collection
July 21, 2007
Billy Wilder was a cynical filmmaker working in Hollywood during its most productive time – the classic period when legends like John Huston and John Ford reigned. Wilder made commercial films with a wildly subversive streak. For example, both Double...
Ace in the Hole
July 20, 2007
Billy Wilder was a cynical filmmaker working in Hollywood during its most productive time – the classic period when legends like John Huston and John Ford reigned. Wilder made commercial films with a wildly subversive streak. For example, both Double...
Neverwas
July 19, 2007
Neverwas (2005) is one of those cinematic oddities that somehow managed to slip under the radar despite its star-studded cast. For whatever reason (usually internal politics), Miramax bought the film two years ago and decided not to get behind it. Reviews,...
Factory Girl: Unrated
July 17, 2007
Charles Taylor’s recent article in the New York Times documented the checkered production history of Factory Girl (2006), a biopic about Andy Warhol star, Edie Sedgwick. The shoot was plagued with a shifty financial backer, delays and re-shoots. Then,...
If….
June 25, 2007
Before Malcolm McDowell became the poster child for juvenile delinquency with his iconic performance in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (1971), he laid the groundwork in Lindsay Anderson’s ode to youthful rebellion and revolution with If…....
The Verdict: Collector’s Edition
June 21, 2007
The Verdict (1982) came along at just the right time in Paul Newman’s career. He hadn’t had a hit movie in some time or a role that really challenged him (Absence of Malice excepted, natch). This would all change when he signed onto this troubled...
The Hustler
June 8, 2007
The Hustler (1961) is a crucial film in Paul Newman’s career. It launched him into the Hollywood stratosphere and marked the beginning of an incredible run in the 1960s, with movies like Hud (1963), Cool Hand Luke (1967) and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance...
Army of Shadows
May 21, 2007
For reasons that are still unknown, Jean-Pierre Melville’s Army of Shadows (1969) was never distributed in North America. It wasn’t until April 2006 that it finally enjoyed a theatrical release on that continent. Who so long? Was it perhaps Melville’s...
Vengeance is Mine
May 17, 2007
Shohei Imamura’s Vengeance is Mine (1979) is based on a novel by Ryuzo Saki which was inspired by the real-life story of a serial killer. According to the booklet that accompanies the DVD, Imamura spent a year researching the facts of the case and uncovered...
La haine
May 11, 2007
La Haine (1995) is a blistering howl of dissent chronicling the disenfranchised minorities living in the projects just outside of Paris. Mathieu Kassovitz’s film sheds light on the unemployed youth and the pointlessness of their existence. We normally...
