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John Boorman’s 1981 EXCALIBUR is an impassioned almost operatic version of the story of King Arthur. Visually lush throughout and with a cast of very talented actors (some near the beginning of their careers) this may be the best film of the famous legend. Boorman could sometimes go far off the rails with his films (ZARDOZ, EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC) but the tale warrants a somewhat over the top ...

John Ford’s 1946 MY DARLING CLEMENTINE is a decidedly fictionalized version of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and the OK Corral. It is also one of the greatest westerns ever made. Henry Fonda gives one of his best performances as Earp with subtle character touches and his iconic moment balancing on a chair. Shot mostly in spectacular Monument Valley, the preferred location for Ford, the poetic visua...

Brian DePalma’s 1970 HI MOM follows a Viet Nam vet (a very young Robert DeNiro) who gets involved with filmmaking and revolutionary theater. At the time this was seen as a brilliant satire but it now just seems tedious. Many of the scenes appear improvised and go on too long. There is an endless sequence shot in black and white and hand held of a confrontational black theatre group assaulting a...

Joe Dante’s INNERSPACE is a 1987 sci fi comedy wherein a miniaturized pilot (Dennis Quaid) is accidentally injected into a nervous grocery store clerk (Martin Short). The set up for this situation involves lots of exposition which kinda slows down the film. Still Short is given wonderful opportunities for some great physical comedy. Not as subversive as Dante’s better films but still fun. Meg ...

In John Ford’s SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON a cavalry captain (John Wayne) on the eve of his retirement must take out one last patrol to stop a massive Indian attack. Shot in Technicolor in Monument Valley Ford and his cinematographer Wilton Hoch based their imagery on the paintings and sculptures of Frederic Remington. While there is obtrusive heavy handed humor (mostly by Victor McLaglen) and an a...

Paul Newman’s film version of Ken Kesey’s SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION is a largely unfelt portrait of a logging family of rugged individuals. I have never read the novel but from all accounts its 600 pages are complex and complicated, so probably not easily adaptable. Despite a very talented cast it comes off as a middling drama. Newman took over direction early on when the assigned director was fi...

THE GENERAL is a 1926 silent comedy directed by Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman. One of Keaton’s finest silents though it is not perhaps his funniest. His physical comedy is peerless and his direction of the elaborate action sequences involving multiple moving trains has never been topped. Made a century ago with NO CGI and Keaton did his own stunt work. Few have been able to combine comedy a...

Robert Wise’s 1963 THE HAUNTING is set in an old mansion which has evil spirits. Wise considered the movie to be a tribute to Val Lewton whose 1940’s horror films were built around the idea that audiences were most scared by what they could not see. Rather like Jack Clayton’s THE INNOCENTS repressed sexuality and hysteria might be what is causing “the haunting”. Julie Harris gives a brilliant p...

Clarence Brown’s 1931 POSSESSED set the template for Joan Crawford’s career during the thirties. Most of her roles during this period cast her as a poor girl who makes good against all odds. Here she plays a box factory girl who becomes the mistress of a wealthy lawyer (Clark Gable). This is a slickly shot and designed MGM feature with nary a believable moment. At one point Crawford sings a son...

Akira Kurosawa’s 1949 STRAY DOG is a noirish crime drama. A young cop (Toshirō Mifune) has his gun stolen. Even as he pursues the robber the gun is used to kill a series of people. The cop becomes obsessed with finding the killer. Fascinating early work by this great director with deeper characters and situations than you’d normally find in this genre. A must for film buffs. The new restorat...