"Satyricon" is advanced Fellini, a film seemingly made with little regard for its audience -- going so far as to end mid-sentence to stress its fragmented nature. The idea was to "upset viewers," says one expert on the film. Fellini, of course, succeeds at upending the cinema as few filmmakers could. Difficult and frustrating as "Satyricon" … [Read more...]
‘F for Fake’: Welles’ last magic trick
File "F for Fake" under truth in advertising. After all, this is not a real Orson Welles movie -- at least not in the sense of "Touch of Evil," or even "The Magnificent Ambersons." Welles took an unfinished documentary shot by someone else, tacked on some hocus-pocus at the beginning and end, mixed in spicy footage of his mistress and called it … [Read more...]
‘A Hard Day’s Night’ on Blu-ray
The long-awaited Blu-ray of "A Hard Day's Night" comes with the prominent subtitle: Directed by Richard Lester. Truth in packaging, as the Criterion Collection's smashing release of the Beatles' film puts the focus squarely on the iconoclastic director, whose vision and bravery under fire made what could have been a forgettable "jukebox musical" … [Read more...]
Fuller’s ‘Big Red One’ botched on Blu-ray
Sam Fuller's "The Big Red One," a lost platoon of a movie that was cut to shreds upon initial release, finally came home to a hero's welcome in 2005 with the release of "The Reconstruction." What appeared to theatrical audiences of 1980 as a ragtag chronicle of young men at war now stands tall as one of the dozen or so great movies about World … [Read more...]
‘Touch of Evil’ on Blu-ray, times 3
The three faces of "Touch of Evil" make their U.S. debuts on Blu-ray in Universal's "limited edition" rerelease of the dark Orson Welles classic. The Blu-ray release is essentially a rerun of the October 2008 "50th Anniversary Edition," complete with director Welles' pleading and cajoling notes to the studio that took the editing away from him. … [Read more...]
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