The Tales of Hoffmann exists in defiance of the commonplace. Steeped in magic, bright with beauty, it explodes like a flare, dazzling you with colour and sound. You emerge dazed and longing to see it all over again. Only Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger could have made it. In the 1940s and ‘50s Powell and […]
The Riddle Called Married Life: ‘Two for the Road’ (1967)
Two for the Road begins with a love affair gone sour then cycles back to when it began, skipping back and forth in time and through different phases: flirtation, rancour, complacency and newly-wedded bliss. The film is a non-linear slide into heartache. Driving through a small town, Mark (Albert Finney) and Joanna Wallace (Audrey Hepburn) […]
In the Mouth of Madness: ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ (1961)
How does a man go mad? In The Pit and the Pendulum the answer is inch by inch, like shadows creeping up a stair. A disintegrating mind is as terrifying as a haunted house. Francis Barnard (John Kerr) isn’t interested in ghosts. They interfere with facts. Sent word that his sister Elizabeth (Barbara Steele) has […]
The Debonair Fred Astaire
It’s impossible to love musicals and not revere Fred Astaire. The epitome of elegance, Astaire was an actor, singer, choreographer, fashion icon and one of the greatest dancers in film history, whose 76 year-career encompassed 10 Broadway and West End shows, 31 musical films and dozens of recordings and TV appearances. He entered show business […]
To Boldly Spoof: ‘Galaxy Quest’ (1999)
This post is part of the Outer Space on Film Blogathon, hosted by Moon in Gemini. See the other posts here. Resistance is futile. Live long and prosper. By Grabthar’s hammer. The last of these is not like the others. Grabthar hails from Galaxy Quest, a cinematic love letter to Star Trek that boldly parodies […]
Blast Off: The Outer Space on Film Blogathon
Hailing frequencies open. Debbie Vega of Moon in Gemini is hosting the Outer Space on Film blogathon this weekend, April 13-15, and I’m joining in. See the full roster here.
Something to Sing About: Classic Hollywood comes to FilmStruck
Classic film fans have a new reason to cheer: FilmStruck is teaming up with Warner Bros. Digital Networks to expand its library to include hundreds of films from Golden Age Hollywood. Beginning today, subscribers to Turner Broadcasting’s streaming service will have access to films from the Warner Bros. catalogue including Singin’ in the Rain, Casablanca, Citizen […]
Jeu d’esprit: ‘The Story of a Cheat’ (1936)
Imagine an act in which the magician pulls a rabbit from a hat, followed by a grand piano, the Eiffel Tower and an undiscovered Van Gogh. This is Sacha Guitry’s picaresque The Story of a Cheat. Guitry plays the eponymous Cheat (we never learn his name) who, well into disreputable middle age, settles down to […]
Strike a Pose: Women’s Fashion at the Movies
Fashion Week recently descended on New York, which got me thinking about women’s clothes in film. The best costumes reveal a character’s tastes and temperament, the way she sees herself and the world sees her, before a single word is spoken. In The Blue Angel, cabaret singer Lola Lola’s top hat and tights embody Weimar […]
Frank Oz at The Museum of the Moving Image
Miss Piggy made a guest appearance in Queens last Friday. So did Fozzie Bear, Bert, Animal, Grover, Cookie Monster and Yoda. Frank Oz, the man behind some of the world’s most beloved puppets, encompasses multitudes, his voice (or rather voices) familiar to anyone who has ever spent time on Sesame Street, at the Muppet theatre […]
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