Comedy and tragedy get equal billing in the "Buster Keaton Collection," an unspooling of three films the silent-era comic made under the thumb of MGM at the dawn of the sound age. The two-disc Warner/TCM Archives set (retail $39.92) is billed as "a celebration of Keaton's art," but the party is best saved for his earlier works as an independent … [Read more...]
‘The Yakuza Papers’: Gangsters high and low
They have sniveling down to a fine art in Kinji Fukasaku's "The Yakuza Papers." Sniveling, weeping, groveling and myriad other abasements of the spirit. There's little nobility found in the clashes between Fukasaku's low-rent Japanese gangsters, only the "Battles Without Honor and Humanity" promised in the subtitle. "The Yakuza Papers" consists … [Read more...]
DVD reviews: ‘Nutty Professor,’ ‘The Bellboy’
Paradox completists eventually must turn to la mystere de Jerry -- why is it that French film masters such as Godard and Truffaut so loved Jerry Lewis? The Franco-Lewis thing has become a well-worn joke -- something to chew on with your Freedom Fries -- but it's a safe bet the directors weren't thinking of the braying, pratfalling side of the … [Read more...]
‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ on DVD
Sergio Leone proudly served up his finest Spaghetti Western to a Roman audience in the final days of 1966. The premiere print of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" sprawled over three hours in telling its tale of three desperados in search of gold amidst the chaos of the Civil War. Leone, a volatile Italian who brought his sensibilities as an art … [Read more...]
‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’ on DVD
"This is terrible," Walt Disney said. It was 1954, and the master of animation had just gotten his first look at the giant silly squid that was about to eat his studio. Director Richard Fleischer was equally mortified as the men watched dailies from the Disney shop's first live-action film, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." "So much was … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- Next Page »
