Thursday, May 21 2009
Forbidden Hollywood’s William Wellman: The Forgotten Man
The 1934 Production Code’s puritanical stance towards sexuality is often highlighted by contemporary historians, but it also held extremely reactionary political mandates that forbade movie representations of conflicts between capital and labor.
Thursday, July 24 2008
The Furies: Criterion Collection
Mann scatters fragments of Shakespeare’s King Lear into the mix along with the familial clinches of Eugene O’Neill’s dour compositions
Monday, March 31 2008
Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 2
Hooray for 'Hollywood': Second volume of '30s 'Forbidden' films is a fascinating collection.
Monday, June 18 2007
Part 1: Pure Classicism
In its infancy, the cinematic artform went through some formidable technological and stylistic changes. The ten DVDs discussed here highlight the very definition of the Golden Age of filmmaking.
Thursday, January 11 2007
Time Encapsulating: The Best DVDs of 2006
From solid single issues to amazingly complete film and television compilations, the works highlighted here argue for DVD's continued importance.
Wednesday, July 26 2006
The Big Valley: Season One
Tensions caused by the growth of urbanization and industrialization and the dying out of the frontier, the excesses of the robber barons and the risk they pose to democracy, and the angst of Civil War veterans trying to find their place in the world, again, set the stage for this virtuous, wealthy, 19th century family.
Monday, February 23 2004
Walk on the Wild Side (1962)
Edward Dmytryk makes fine use of the French Quarter's Byzantine ironwork, its shadowy foyers, and the Escher-like twists of its courtyards and balconies.
Sunday, January 1 1995
The Lady Eve / Sullivan’s Travels (1941/2001) - PopMatters Film Review )
One gets the feeling that Preston Sturges shot his creative wad early on, then exhausted by fighting the suits' efforts to censor his work.
