"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...]
‘Foreign Correspondent’: Hitch at war
The Brits excelled at propaganda movies, an awkward genre that nonetheless produced a handful of classics -- say, Noel Coward's "In Which We Serve" and the Archers' "The 49th Parallel." MIA from the brisk U.K. propaganda effort was one Alfred Hitchcock, the director who'd found fame combining dark British sensibilities with German … [Read more...]
‘Throne of Blood’: Madness & ‘Macbeth’
Shakespearean hearts of darkness pump the lifeforce 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...]
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