Saturday, March 7, 2015
Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (1958)
A self-assured business man murders his employer, the husband of his mistress, which unintentionally provokes an ill-fated chain of events.
A brilliant homage to Film Noir, this classic also anticpates Nouvelle Vague aesthetics and atmosphere, but just as well functions as morality play (plus a great score by Miles Davis).
Halliwell*: "Complex, watchable suspenser with pretensions."
Maltin***1/2: "Filmed by Henri Decaë on the streets of Paris in a bracing style that anticipates the New Wave."
Ma femme est une actrice (2001)
A "normal" guy who is married to a hot actress gets worried that she is involved with her costar.
OK, but very light comedy about jealousy; Terence Stamp does offer a slight parody of himself as 'movie star'.
Halliwell**: "Enjoyable comedy of obsessional jealousy that also makes fun of self-obsessed celebrities."
Maltin**1/2: "Entertaining froth with star-wrter-director Attal (who resembles Al Pacino) delightful as the befuddled hubby. Stamp also scores as the star's leading man."
From my library: Christian Keßler - Das wilde Auge
Christian Keßler is a German film journalist, who mostly worked with the (cult) film magazine Splatting Image and is probably one of the most knowledgable experts on genre cinema and especially on the most obscure and lesser known movies. After having participated on the book Obsession, a legendary and comprehensive work on Jess Franco, he published this volume (title translated: The Wild Eye) on Italian horror movies. Needless to say this has become a coveted collector's item as well.
Friday, March 6, 2015
Thursday, March 5, 2015
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
A retiring Captain takes out a last patrol to stop an impending massive Indian attack.
Classic John Ford western with its star bringing in one of his greatest characterizations, still watchable, although some of the gung-ho and the music is quite dated.
On repeated view I still agree with my initial evaluation; fun to watch for simply seeing "John Ford country" again.
Halliwell**: "Fragmentary but very enjoyable Western with all Ford ingredients served piping hot."
Maltin***1/2: "Director Ford's stock company in fine form...Beautifully filmed in color by Oscar-winning Winton C. Hoch, but a bit top-heavy with climaxes."
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
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