A former New Jersey shoe salesman-turned sharpshooter, Bronco Billy (Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby) is the leader of a scarcely attended traveling Wild West Show. Under the tent, nothing goes smoothly: snake dancers are bitten, and the latest Lovely Assistant …
Blu-ray Review: The Heiress (1949) (Criterion Collection)
Director William Wyler’s keen adaptation of both Henry James’ 1880 novel Washington Square and the subsequent 1947 stage version The Heiress stars Olivia de Havilland (Gone With the Wind) as Catherine Sloper. An intensity shy young woman, she is the …
Blu-ray Review: Midnight Lace
Doris Day became one of Hollywood’s biggest film stars of the early 1960’s due to the success of several lightheaded comedies, including three co-starring Rock Hudson–Pillow Talk in 1959, for which she received the only Best Actress Academy Award nomination …
Blu-ray Review: Portrait in Black
By the late 1950’s, Lana Turner was experiencing a career resurgence. Kicked off by her Oscar nomination for her role in Peyton Place, followed by the media frenzy surrounding her involvement in the 1958 Johnny Stompanato murder, and the 1959 …
Blu-ray Review: Swing Time (Criterion Collection)
Over a span of sixteen years–1933 to 1949–Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made sixteen films together. Released in 1936, Swing Time their sixth pairing, is considered by many to be their best. The wait to see them dance is a …
Blu-ray Review: Fatso
When their beloved, yet morbidly obese, cousin Sal drops dead at 39, Antoinette (Anne Bancroft, The Prisoner of Second Avenue) insists her brother Dominick (Dom DeLuise, The Cannonball Run) to lose some weight. After breaking down at the funeral, Antoinette …
Blu-ray Review: The Running Man (1963)
Highly respected for a trifecta of films from the late 1940’s–Odd Man Out (1947), The Fallen Idol (1948), and The Third Man (1949)–few truly questioned Carol Reed’s talent. However, by 1962, following a decade of up and downs, and perhaps …
Blu-ray Review: Can’t Stop the Music
After the massive success of Grease, I guess producer Allan Carr thought he could turn absolutely anything into box office gold. I mean, why else would he think Can’t Stop the Music was a good idea? That’s not exactly true. …
Blu-ray Review: A Patch of Blue
These days, A Patch of Blue is dismissed by some as being corny and predictable. Perhaps, but I, a longtime fan of star Sidney Poitier (Lilies of the Field) have always enjoyed the film. Released in 1965, it’s a story …
Blu-ray Review: The Prisoner of Second Avenue
Directed by Melvin Frank (A Touch of Class), The Prisoner of Second Avenue is based on the hit Neil Simon play. Amid a New York City heat wave, long-time married couple Mel and Edna Edison (Jack Lemmon, Grumpy Old Men, …