For a brief introduction and a running list of movies covered in this project, click here 15) Mr. Turner (2014), directed by Mike Leigh J.M.W. Turner was famous for his seascapes. There’s nary a person to be found there; there are the clouds, the sun, the ships, of course the water. But people are of less interest,… Read More Better than BFI’s Top 100: 15-11
Dir. Dario Argento. Starring Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Alida Valli Suspiria is what you’d get if Michael Powell and John Carpenter were forced to do a movie together, combining stunning color with marvelously eerie settings. Like the best of Powell’s work, a good but somewhat outmatched woman is at the center of the movie; like… Read More Suspiria (1977)
The following is part of an overview of the top 100 American narrative fiction feature films, from my perspective. For an introduction to the project and an index of other entries in the series, click here. For a list of more than 800 films which I considered for the top 450 and my eligibility qualifications, click here.… Read More Better than AFI’s Top 100: 55-51
Dir. Carol Reed. Starring Joseph Cotten, Trevor Howard, Alida Valli The Third Man starts slow. It builds atmosphere through its people (Alida Valli vamping, Trevor Howard with a mustache, Ernst Deutsch stuttering with an accent), through its sights (Vienna – if you haven’t seen the movie, just ask John Irving about it), and of course, with… Read More The Third Man (1949)
Seeing Things Secondhand 