"Audiences need to see violence in certain movies," the Italian director Fernando Di Leo said of his work. "It's a way to de-stress." Di Leo should know. As a scriptwriter, he helped bring us the spaghetti western classics "For a Few Dollars" and "For a Few Dollars More," seminal works in the strain of brutal-yet-stylized violence that fills our … [Read more...]
‘WUSA’: Newman’s own political rant
"Love it or leave it," went the tagline for "WUSA," a movie about right-wing radio that Paul Newman called one of his best works. Mostly, audiences of 1970 left it, tired of conspiracy movies and less than thrilled about seeing star Newman playing a cruel and cynical drunk. Critics weren't impressed, either: "WUSA" is not an ordinary bad … [Read more...]
Basil Dearden: Up from the ‘Underground’
Quick, name four Basil Dearden movies. Anyone? Congrats if you came up with one -- even if it was "Khartoum." British director Dearden made a swarm of films from 1940 to 1970, almost all forgotten outside his native land. The overdue DVD set Basil Dearden's London Underground shines the Criterion Collection spotlight on a quartet of the … [Read more...]
‘Throne of Blood’: Of madness and ‘Macbeth’
Shakespearean hearts of darkness pump the lifeblood into "Throne of Blood," one of Akira Kurosawa's greatest films. Loosely based on "Macbeth," the movie is a blood-soaked tragedy set in feudal Japan of the 16th century. "Throne of Blood" is widely regarded as one of the most successful film adaptations of a Bard play. Kurosawa dares to edit … [Read more...]
‘Man Who Shot Liberty Valance’ on DVD
Imagine you're a studio executive and it's 1961. The pitch comes in: How about a western directed by John Ford, starring John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart. Sound pretty good? Nah. Incredibly, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" was a black-sheep project, made only because of Wayne's clout. Paramount declined to green-light the movie, even with its … [Read more...]
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