Wednesday, March 28 2007
The Director with Roots in Hell
Step right up folks, don't be shy. There's room for even the most sophisticated film fan when it comes to the exploitation excess of grindhouse pioneer Dwain Esper.
Tuesday, February 13 2007
A Fistful of Yen
Is there really a link between feudal Japan and the Wild West of a post-Civil War America? Thanks to the films of two famed international auteurs, the connections are closer than you think.
Thursday, January 18 2007
The Most Powerful Woman in Hollywood
At one time, she was the most powerful woman in Hollywood's paternalistic boy's club. So why is Mary Pickford merely a forgotten cinematic icon today? The answer seems, sadly, to be a matter of personal, not professional drive.
Monday, December 11 2006
Finally, Room at the Inn
Billy Wilder's The Apartment captures the holiday season feeling of those who stand beyond the glow cast by Christmas lights.
Thursday, November 9 2006
There is No Spoon
Trick photography? Optical experimentation? The purposeful playing with the cinematic language? Russian filmmaker Dziga Vertov was doing it all, decades before a certain sci-fi film challenged the notion of perception vs. reality.
Friday, October 6 2006
Or Are You Just Glad to See Me?
This month, our cinematic classicist looks at the human love of firepower, and how one forgotten film noir in particular encapsulated everything good and bad, appealing and appauling, about this obsession with guns.
Thursday, August 31 2006
The Skeleton of My Dead Child
Eric Von Stroheim would have been a fantastic television director, free to spin out 13-hour movies as a full season of edgy, mature, character-driven drama.
Friday, August 4 2006
Punchin’ in the Rain
Gene Kelly and Bruce Lee were from different generations and decidedly divergent disciplines. Yet they have more in common than one might imagine.
Friday, June 23 2006
She Thinks She’s Edith Head
With her severe onyx bangs, owly blue-tint sunglasses and mirthless, tightlipped mien, this classic Hollywood costumer was more recognizable than her designs... and that's exactly how she wanted it.
Friday, May 26 2006
Mechanical Animal
Who's the perfect silent film comedian for our techno-centric age? Here's a hint: he's the classic 'stoneface' who made machines his friends, not his entertainment enemies, during the course of his amazing cinematic career.
Wednesday, April 19 2006
Supercalifuckthesystemexpialidocious
Desperate for a symbol other than Fight Club's Tyler Durden to help 'realign your perceptions' on life? Look no further than Walt Disney's 1964 family classic, and a certain subversive nanny who understands rebellion all too well.
Monday, April 3 2006
Non-Tragic Mulatto
There is perhaps no better example of misguided melodrama than 1934/1959's Imitation of Life, and according to our cinematic scholar, no more culturally defining or disturbing character than its light-skinned, half-breed heroine.
Tuesday, March 7 2006
Blonde Persephone
While it may mark the final film for two of Hollywood's legendary icons, our resident classic film connoisseur says there's more to Arthur Miller's 'Eastern Western' than meets the cinematic eye.
Friday, February 3 2006
‘Monument’ Achievement
When you discuss the classic Westerns of Hollywood, one name immediately comes to mind: John Ford. And when you consider his stunning cinematic masterpieces, one particular desert locale is his iconic trademark.
Friday, January 6 2006
Ain’t ‘IT’ a Shame
In her debut column, Classic Film Columnist Glaze argues for one forgotten actress's place in the pantheon of legendary leading ladies.
