Classics | Cagey Films

Year End 2017

Posted on January 3, 2018December 10, 2022 by Kenneth George Godwin

Him (Javier Bardem) tries to convince Mother (Jennifer Lawrence) to appreciate his rioting fans in Darren Aronofsky's mother! (2017)

Some comments about the past year’s DVD and Blu-ray releases.

Speed reviewing: 50 Capsule Comments

Posted on December 13, 2017December 19, 2024 by Kenneth George Godwin

A malevolent psychic returns from the dead in Tom McLoughlin's One Dark Night (1982)

Very brief comments on several dozen disks viewed over the past few months.

Summer viewing: short takes, part 2

Posted on September 13, 2017July 8, 2023 by Kenneth George Godwin

Jon Voigt as Ed, forced to face the darkness in himself in John Boorman's Deliverance (1972)

More notes on recent viewing, from a sadistic thriller to emotionally resonant anime, from a literary adaptation to two investigations of racism in America.

Summer viewing: the serious stuff

Posted on September 6, 2017September 16, 2023 by Kenneth George Godwin

O (Buster Keaton) scurries through ruined streets trying to evade E (the camera Eye) in Samuel Beckett's Film (1965)

Two recent releases uncover fascinating fragments of cinema history: G.W Pabst’s dramatically powerful and technically innovative early sound films Westfront 1918 (1930) and Kameradschaft (1931) from Masters of Cinema and Samuel Beckett’s sole foray into movies Film (1965) paired with Ross Lipman’s “kino-essay” about the production Notfilm (2015) together in a dual-format release from the BFI.

Summer viewing: short takes

Posted on August 16, 2017December 15, 2021 by Kenneth George Godwin

A sepctacular oil field blaze in Andrew V. McLaglen's Hellfighters (1968)

A round-up of recent viewing ranging from classic fantasy to low budget horror to rugged adventure and a western.

Michael Curtiz’s The Breaking Point (1950):
Criterion Blu-ray review

Posted on August 9, 2017December 10, 2022 by Kenneth George Godwin

Harry Morgan's (John Garfiled) money troubles are established early in Michael Curtiz's The Breaking Point (1950)

An almost lost masterpiece resurfaces in Criterion’s excellent Blu-ray release of Michael Curtiz’ The Breaking Point (1950) starring John Garfield. This Hemingway adaptation fell prey to Hollywood’s post-war Red Scare, but is now revealed as among the director’s and star’s finest work.

Summer viewing: science fiction

Posted on August 2, 2017December 10, 2022 by Kenneth George Godwin

Communing with the sliens in Denis Villeneuve's Arrival (2016)

Technical accuracy is not necessarily what makes science fiction satisfying; more important is storytelling, as illustrated by two older, and one recent, movies released on Blu-ray: Byron Haskin’s Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964), Joseph Sargent’s Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) and Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival (2016)..

The transition to sound: Arthur Robison’s The Informer (1929)

Posted on July 19, 2017December 18, 2023 by Kenneth George Godwin

The rooftop shootout in Arthur Robison's The Informer (1929)

The BFI Blu-ray release of Arthur Robison’s The Informer (1929) offers a fascinating glimpse of the sometimes rocky transition from silent cinema to sound, with restorations of the original silent version and the partial Talkie made simultaneously.

Marcel Pagnol’s Marseilles Trilogy (1931-36): Criterion Blu-ray review

Posted on July 5, 2017November 1, 2022 by Kenneth George Godwin

Orane Demazis and Pierre Fresnay as Fanny and Marius in Marcel Pagnol's César (1936), the third part of the Marseilles Trilogy

Criterion’s Blu-ray edition of Marcel Pagnol’s Marseilles Trilogy is a revelation, a vibrant, humanistic display of the dramatic possibilities of sound cinema.

Catching up with Twilight

Posted on May 31, 2017March 29, 2023 by Kenneth George Godwin

Alex Cutter (John Heard), the embittered Vietnam vet with a money-making plan in Ivan Passer's Cutter's Way (1981)

Four Twilight Time releases showcase exceptional acting in a variety of styles: Spencer Tracy and Frederick March in Stanley Kramer’s Inherit the Wind (1960); Jeff Bridges, John Heard and Lisa Eichhorn in Ivan Passer’s Cutter’s Way (1981); Sean Penn and Christopher Walken in James Foley’s At Close Range (1986); and David Thewlis in Paul Greengrass’ Resurrected (1989).

Tag: Classics