I recently unearthed a university paper I wrote almost 30 years ago in which I tried to explain why Frank Capra’s work rubbed me the wrong way. It’s a glimpse of where I came from as a writer about film.
Blast from the past: a 28-year-old term paper
Author: Kenneth George Godwin
Kinji Fukasaku’s Yakuza epic
Arrow releases yet another impressive limited edition box-set with their dual-format edition of Kinji Fukasaku’s Battles Without Honor and Humanity, a key work in the transition of Japanese cinema from the “classical” post-war period to a more transgressive critique of the nation’s history and culture.
Year End 2015
Although I saw fewer movies in theatres than ever, this year offered a rich array of films on disk, belying continuing prophecies of the medium’s demise in the face of on-line streaming.
Criterion Blu-ray review: Harold Lloyd’s Speedy (1928)
With an impressive Blu-ray of Speedy (1928), the Criterion Collection continue their project of proving that Harold Lloyd was the equal of Chaplin and Keaton in the art of silent comedy.
Winnipeg’s vanished movie theatres
I recently gave a speech based on my documentary about the history of movie theatres in Winnipeg; this is the text.
The joy of B: Sam Katzman’s 1950s horrors
Sony’s Icons of Horror Collection: Sam Katzman DVD set presents an entertaining selection of low-budget genre movies from the mid-’50s. While they’d never be mistaken for art, they’re undeniably entertaining.
Recent viewing: November 2015
A grab-bag of recently watched movies, some old, some new, covering a wide range of genres and styles.
Julien Duvivier in the Thirties: Eclipse 44
Criterion’s latest Eclipse set showcases a neglected master of pre-New Wave French film, Julien Duvivier; the four films here are stylistically adventurous and have great emotional depth.
Criterion Blu-ray review: Richard Brooks’ In Cold Blood (1967)
Criterion’s Blu-ray of Richard Brooks’ In Cold Blood (1967) gives the film a stunning visual presentation and enhances it with a substantial collection of supplements dealing with the original murder case, author Truman Capote’s approach to reporting the story, and the stylistic and technical innovations brought to the project by Brooks and his collaborators.
Random notes: two films and a book
A variety of approaches to horror are on display in Guillermo Del Toro’s new film Crimson Peak; a book about Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining which gathers together articles, essays and interviews from the ’80s to the present; and a disturbing 1983 Austrian film based on a real-life multiple murder, Gerald Kargl and Zbigniew Rybczynski’s Angst.
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