Classic Cinema

THE CINCINNATI KID — CLASSIC FILM PICK

Capsule Reviews, Classic Cinema, Drama, FIVE STARS, Gambling, Literary Adaptation

April 22, 2009

This cinematic treatment of Richard Jessup’s novel, about an up-and-coming ’30s poker champ, benefited from screenwriting contributions by Ring Lardner…

CASABLANCA — CLASSIC FILM PICK

Black and White, Capsule Reviews, Classic Cinema, FIVE STARS, Noir, Video Essay, Women's Cinema

April 19, 2009

Although it was made in 1942, “Casablanca” remains the greatest and most beloved romantic drama ever made. It’s a status…

THE BLUE ANGEL — CLASSIC FILM PICK

Black and White, Capsule Reviews, Classic Cinema, FIVE STARS, German Cinema, LGBTQ, Women's Cinema

April 12, 2009

Set in Weimar Germany, “The Blue Angel” is a modern morality tale of lust and betrayal that launched the sultry…

ASHES AND DIAMONDS — THE CRITERION COLLECTION

Black and White, Capsule Reviews, Classic Cinema, Criterion Collection, FIVE STARS, Polish Cinema, Video Essay, War, Women's Cinema

April 11, 2009

The final installment in Andrzej Wajda’s war trilogy — following “A Generation” (1954) and “Kanal” (1956) — is a coolly…

A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE — THE CRITERION COLLECTION

American Cinema, American Independent, Capsule Reviews, Classic Cinema, Criterion Collection, Drama, FIVE STARS, Independent Cinema, Video Essay, Women's Cinema

April 11, 2009

Rowlands’s fearless tour de force performance is the stuff of legend. She doesn’t just own the role of a woman…

CLASSIC FILM PICKS

Articles, Classic Cinema, Film

April 6, 2009

Ace in the Hole After a string of successes, which included “Double Indemnity” (1944) and “Sunset Boulevard” (1950),…

WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT — CLASSIC FILM PICK

Animation, Capsule Reviews, Children's Cinema, Classic Cinema, FIVE STARS, Horror, SHOCKTOBER!

April 6, 2009

British Claymation geniuses Nick Park and Steve Box bring to life their best-loved characters Wallace (voiced by veteran actor Peter…

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S — CLASSIC FILM PICK

Capsule Reviews, Classic Cinema, Comedy, FOUR STARS, Literary Adaptation, Women's Cinema

April 5, 2009

Although the movie won Oscars for music and song (“Moon River”) by Henry Mancini, “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” has a dark…

ZODIAC — CLASSIC FILM PICK

Capsule Reviews, Classic Cinema, Crime Drama, FIVE STARS, Horror, Serial Killer, Suspense, True Crime

April 5, 2009

A sweeping scope of social convergence is magnified to the tune of Three Dog Night’s “Easy To Be Hard,” which…

THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR — CLASSIC FILM PICK

African American Cinema, Blaxploitation, Capsule Reviews, Classic Cinema, FOUR STARS, Political Satire, Politics,

April 4, 2009

This rarely seen classic of blaxploitation cinema is director Ivan Dixon’s 1973 incendiary filmic rendering of Sam Greenlee’s novel about…

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN — CLASSIC FILM PICK

Black and White, Capsule Reviews, Classic Cinema, Comedy, FIVE STARS, Podcast, sex, Spoof

April 2, 2009

Mel Brooks caught comic lightning in a bottle with his appropriately black-and-white spoof of James Whale’s 1931 classic horror film.…

THE FLY — CLASSIC FILM PICK

Capsule Reviews, Classic Cinema, FIVE STARS, Horror, SHOCKTOBER!

April 2, 2009

Add David Cronenberg’s 1986 version of “The Fly” to the short list of successful remakes in the history of the…

THE 400 BLOWS — THE CRITERION COLLECTION

Black and White, Capsule Reviews, Classic Cinema, Criterion Collection, FIVE STARS, French Cinema, French New Wave, Video Essay

March 10, 2009

Film-critic-turned-filmmaker François Truffaut’s debut film not only spurred on the Nouvelle Vague (New Wave) movement of French cinema, but Truffaut…

FIGHT CLUB — CLASSIC FILM PICK

Classic Cinema, Cult Film, Film Reviews, FIVE STARS, Horror, Podcast, Political Satire, Psychological Thriller, SHOCKTOBER!, , Transgressive Cinema, Women's Cinema

March 1, 2009

Misogynist, anti-capitalist, and class-conscious, novelist Chuck Palahniuk’s “Fight Club” takes a “Trainspotting” brand of glee in dismissing lifestyle mores and…