The character: Gitl The actor: Carol Kane The movie: Hester Street (1975) Films about immigrants to America tend to follow one of three paths. An American Tail and The Emigrants/The New Land both envision a challenging, often unfriendly America which can be countered with a community brought from the old country. That community, especially in… Read More Better than AFI’s Heroes and Villains: Hero #41
Dir. Sidney Lumet. Starring Al Pacino, Charles Durning, James Broderick Enter another one of those Andy Griffith Conundrums, although maybe this is more like a Daniel Kaluuya Conundrum. Like Judas and the Black Messiah, a film based on actual events which featured name-brand actors in leading roles, Dog Day Afternoon makes most of its hay… Read More Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Dir. Hal Ashby. Starring Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid The Last Detail, with its frustrated young men, faithfully rendered milieu, and miles of walk-and-talk, screams “Linklater movie.” It’s no wonder that Last Flag Flying borrows from this movie; the guidebook is right here in Hal Ashby’s direction and Robert Towne’s screenplay before either of them lost… Read More The Last Detail (1973)
Seeing Things Secondhand 