You can find the introduction and index for this series here. Film Director Year Type Dragonwyck Joseph L. Mankiewicz 1946 Narrative feature Nightmare Alley Edmund Goulding 1947 Narrative feature I Remember Mama George Stevens 1948 Narrative feature “Goodbye, Miss Turlock” Edward L. Cahn 1948 Short Strange Victory Leo Hurwitz 1948 Documentary The Secret Land Orville O.… Read More 100 American Films to Save: Mirrors (1946-1952)
Steven Hyden introduced his five-albums test more than a decade ago as a third way to judge a band, short of its popularity or its critical acclaim. While this one is not meant to stand on its own—for example, he’s not sure that either Bob Dylan nor the Rolling Stones had made five great albums… Read More The Five-Movies Test or: Which Director Has Had the Best Stretch of Consecutive Feature-Length Films in English?
Dir. George Stevens. Starring Ronald Colman, Jean Arthur, Cary Grant For one reason or another, there are only so many movies that one can imagine being remade without serious alterations today: the business angle, the dearth of irony, the surfeit of suggestion. But it’s not hard to imagine The Talk of the Town coming out…well, you know… Read More The Talk of the Town (1942)
I’m joining in the spirit of the year-in-review post, even though the way I watch movies isn’t really conducive to the kind of list that one usually sees at the end of the year. (Incidentally, if you happen to be a recent music aficionado, friend of the blog Matt will have his year-end list of… Read More 2018 Year-End Review: Fifty Movies
The following is from my series of Oscar Best Picture rankings, as well as my strongly worded suggestions for what should have won from among the nominees. For an introduction to the project, click here. For a way to vote on some Oscar-related ideas, click here. If I’ve written a review on any of the… Read More Better than the Oscars: 30-26
The following is from my series of Oscar Best Picture rankings, as well as my strongly worded suggestions for what should have won from among the nominees. For an introduction to the project, click here. For a way to vote on some Oscar-related ideas, click here. If I’ve written a review on any of the… Read More Better than the Oscars: 75-71
You can read up on the basis for this series here, and also find links to other posts in the series. Movies I’ve reviewed on this site have a link in the title which you can follow to read my full review. 10) Hacksaw Ridge (2016), directed by Mel Gibson – featuring Andrew Garfield… Read More 100 Exceptional American Movies in 10 Genres: Biopics, 10-6
You can read up on the basis for this series here, and also find links to other posts in the series. Movies I’ve reviewed on this site have a link in the title which you can follow to read my full review. 5) Fantasia (1940), directed by (deep breath) Samuel Armstrong, James Algar, Bill Roberts, Paul… Read More 100 Exceptional American Movies in 10 Genres: Sprawling, 5-1
Dir. George Stevens. Starring Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean In recent television dramas, much has been made of the inclination towards male antiheroes at the expense of virtually any other type of protagonist. Since the form hit its heights with Tony Soprano, Don Draper, and Walter White, it’s become fashionable to simply give us… Read More Giant (1956)
Dir. George Stevens. Starring Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters In a movie that frequently sits on Montgomery Clift emoting – a very good choice, that – and lingers on closeups of Elizabeth Taylor, the most important player is Shelley Winters, the patron saint of women who want things too much and never can take… Read More A Place in the Sun (1951)
Seeing Things Secondhand 