Comes a Horseman may be regarded as a revisionist western – its setting near the end of WWII offers an interesting series of culture clashes between returning war veterans, locals, traditionalist cow herders, and the emerging postwar economy that would boom with oil and mineral mining in formally pristine environments…
Billed as Woody Allen’s first formal drama, Interiors is sandwiched between his much-lauded and awarded classics Annie Hall (1977) and Manhattan (1979), and although this creative gamble was nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Director and Best Writing, Interiors has aged into an overly mannered snapshot of a wounded matriarch and her bickering family…
Woody Allen’s examination of fame, adulation, and the worth of a comedian’s career is filtered through a Felliniesque lens that’s still a bit of a challenge 35+ years since its release, perhaps because, to paraphrase fan salvos aimed at central character Sandy Bates, ‘it’s not as funny as his older films…
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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