Author Archive: Mark R. Hasan

Solo Narratives 1: The Guilty / Den skyldige (2018)

Review of the tense, single-person narrative THE GUILTY / DEN SKYLDIGE (2018) from Magnolia.

Werewolves, Sex, and Steamy Delinquents

WEREWOLF IN A GIRLS’ DORMITORY / LYCANTHROPUS (1961) gets a deserved second chance in Severin’s lovely Blu-ray.

Susan Lacy’s Spielberg (2017)

Review of Spielberg (2017), Susan Lacy’s engaging doc on the iconoclastic filmmaker from HBO.

Clark Gable at Fox: Soldier of Fortune + The Tall Men (1955)

Clark Gable’s 1955 diptych is comprised of an underrated gem + a dud: the stellar THE TALL MEN on Twilight Time Blu + SOLDIER OF FORTUNE on Fox DVD.

Examining the Image: Mike Wallace Is Here (2019) + Jane Fonda in Five Acts (2018)

Two recent docs on TV and cinema icons: MIKE WALLACE IS HERE (2019) from Magnolia + JANE FONDA IN FIVE ACTS (2018) from HBO.

Podcast: Austin Wintory’s REMNANTS + ERICA (2019)

In a new podcast, composer Austin Wintory discusses scoring the interactive PS4 video game ERICA + the eclectic music on the compilation album REMNANTS.

Dante Tomaselli’s Out-of-Body Experience (2019)

Admirers of Dante Tomaselli’s prior sonic explorations will be quite surprised at the shift the director of Torture Chamber (2013) and Desecration (1999) took with his latest album, titled Out-of-Body Experience, released July 4th, 2019 via TuneCore…

ArtScopeTO 09: Interview with Photographer Pengkuei Ben Huang

ArtScopeTO Podcast interview with photographer Pengkuei Ben Huang, whose series SOLEMN PINES FADING THINGS is running at Toronto’s Urban Gallery as part of the 2019 Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival.

DVD: Guilty, The / Den skyldige (2018)

Told entirely from the perspective of one person, The Guilty is ostensibly about the last hours of a detective shoved into dull administrative duty as a dispatcher…

BR: Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory / Lycanthropus (1961)

The original title of this Italian-Austrian co-production made more sense: the girls are actually delinquent young women in a remote juvenile facility being terrorized by a rabid creature…

DVD: Spielberg (2017)

Distilling the career, the creative and industry accomplishments of Steven Spielberg into even a 147 mins. doc is quite a chore, but like her subsequent portrait…

BR: Tall Men, The (1955)

Director Raoul Walsh may have been attracted to The Tall Men by the oddness of the story, in which former Confederate Col. Ben Allison (Clark Gable) rescues young lass Nella Turner (Jane Russell) from an Indian massacre, falls for her one night…

DVD: Soldier of Fortune (1955)

Upon it’s original theatrical release, Clark Gable’s first picture after being ‘dumped’ by longtime studio MGM wasn’t well appraised by critics, and although the passing years may have enhanced the film’s curio value…

LP: John and Mary (1969)

Written during his busiest period (1968-1970), Quincy Jones’ score for John and Mary was quite sparse, leaving obligatory space for the film’s myriad dialogue exchanges and source music, but the score is memorable for being atypical of the material Jones was writing at the time: action comedies (The Italian Job, The Hell with Heroes), comedies (Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,Cactus Flower), and the funky style of They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!

CD: Runaway Train (1985)

For some soundtrack fans, it was a bit of surprise to learn the composer of pioneering synth scores had begun his career with large orchestral scores for John Boorman’s Excalibur (1981) and Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal (1982)…

LP: Bourne Identity, The (2002)

The first film in the enduring franchise gave John Powell the perfect opportunity to write what remains both his definitive action sound, and the definitive action score of that decade, blending large orchestral sounds with layers upon layers of electronics…