Review of A.W. Sandberg’s epic melodrama about infidelity, The Golden Clown / Klovnen (1926), restored in 2006 and screened with live music by Jeff Rapsis at the Revue Cinema January 28, 2017.
Two career peaks are profiled via Twilight Time Blu-rays: George C. Scott in The Hospital (1971) + Charles Bronson in The Valachi Papers (1972).
A lengthy comparative review of Dick Maas’ extremely fun killer elevator diptych – 1983’s The Lift / De lift + the 2001 English remake Down / The Shaft, both on Blu via Blue Underground.
A lengthy podcast with Peter Roffman, editor / author of Dear Guelda: The Death and Life of Pioneering Canadian Filmmaker Julian Roffman, director of the CanCon 3D classic The Mask (1961), and so much more.
Underrated director Andre De Toth’s last two films are spotlighted: the nihilistic Play Dirty (1969) on Blu from Twilight Time + El Condor (1970) on DVD from Warner Archives.
Details on the forthcoming Cult Epics Comprehensive Guide to Cult Cinema, which features more than a few of my reviews, some Editorial Blather, and a Happy New Year!
As Guillermo del Toro’s At Home with Monsters exhibit nears its end at the AGO next week, here’s a personal narrative on this must-see pilgrimage for fans of horror culture.
Review of the stellar GLOW: Season 1, another exclusive Netflix series.
Two 1953 3D flicks on Blu: Cease Fire! from KL Studio Classics / Unobstructed View + Man in the Dark from Twilight Time.
Reviews of two films starring Kerwin Mathews, courtesy of Twilight Time: The Pirates of Blood River (1962) and The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960).
ArtScopeTO 07: Interview with Photographer Andre Vittorio
Aprils ArtScopeTO podcast features photographer Andre Vittorio, whose series Abstractions on Metal can be seen at Toronto’s Urban Gallery until Sat. April 28, 2018.
Viva Amiga (2017) and the Video Toaster: Revolution (1991)
Review of Zach Weddington’s swell documentary Viva Amiga (2017) on the iconic multimedia computer, links to a vintage demo video on NewTek’s Video Toaster, and links to a new blog on York University’s Film Program, circa 1987-1991.
Terror Rides the Rails: Dutchman (1966) + The Incident (1967)
Reviews of two tales of terror set in cramped NYC subway cars: Larry Peerce’s The Incident (1967) on Blu from Twilight Time + Anthony Harvey’s Dutchman (1966) from Image.
Peeping into the Labyrinth: the Giallo & the Neo-Giallo
Reviews of two giallo entries from 1972: Mario Caiano’s Eye in the Labyrinth / L’occhio nel labirinto on Code Red DVD + James Kelley’s What the Peeper Saw / Diabólica malicia via VCI on Blu.
No Laughing Matter: Victor Hugo’s Cruel Romance “L’homme qui rit”
Reviews of Victor Hugo’s The Man Who Laughs on film: the 1928 silent classic directed by Paul Leni & starring Conrad Veidt + the 2012 Jean-Pierre Améris version.
ArtScopeTO 07: Interview with Photographer Andre Vittorio
Aprils ArtScopeTO podcast features photographer Andre Vittorio, whose series Abstractions on Metal can be seen at Toronto’s Urban Gallery until Sat. April 28, 2018.
Marilyn Lerner Talks Scoring Silent Film
Jazz composer & improviser Marilyn Lerner discusses performing her scores live for silent films, including Frank Borzage’s Street Angel (1928) + the upcoming The Man Who Laughs (1928) at Toronto’s Revue Cinema.
Dear Guelda, Part 1: A Conversation with Peter Roffman
A lengthy podcast with Peter Roffman, editor / author of Dear Guelda: The Death and Life of Pioneering Canadian Filmmaker Julian Roffman, director of the CanCon 3D classic The Mask (1961), and so much more.
When the Amiga computer made its auspicious 1985 debut in an elaborate product launch at Lincoln Center, it was another new player determined to assert itself in a market dominated by IBM, Apple, Atari, and Commodore, and for a while it seemed as though the big-thinking team behind the unconventional machine would find a place where it could gain followers, grow as a creative entity, and perhaps become a dominant player as a true multimedia, multitasking personal computer…
The making of Larry Peerce’s second feature film is almost as fascinating as The Incident itself, which began as a live teleplay for the DuPont Show of the Week in 1963. Produced in the third and final season of the series, Ride with Terror was an hour long drama about two thugs who terrorize subway travelers on a dry, late Sunday night…
After starting off as an actor and later establishing himself as a noted editor for directors like Stanley Kubrick (Lolita, Dr. Strangelove) and Bryan Forbes (The L-Shaped Room), Anthony Harvey selected a most unusual script for his directorial debut: Amiri Baraka’s (aka LeRoi Jones) 1964 play Dutchman…
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!
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…
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