MMM is a screwball comedy reformulated into a pitch black misadventure where dangerous entanglements recur with greater intensity, and the nonsense begins when against Larry’s wishes Carol agrees to accept an invitation of coffee & cake by senior neighbours Paul and Lillian House…
Alice is clearer example of Woody Allen revisiting his familiar template of an unhappily married woman going through a series of personal adventures before she decides it’s time to change her life and begin a second and more enlightened phase that may not even require a husband or boyfriend…
The joy (and perils) of infidelity are centre-frame in Paul Mazursky’s Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) + Woody Allen’s Husbands and Wives (1992), on Blu via Twilight Time.
Woody Allen’s last film starring Mia Farrow is one of his best and darkest comedies, hyper-fixating on the (largely) negative effects of infidelity – the film earned Oscar nominations for writing and supporting actress (Judy Davis) – but its most powerful moments…
Reviews of two Woody Allen satirical classics – Bananas (1971) + Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* But Were Afraid to Ask (1972) – on Blu via Twilight Time.
Woody Allen’s reteaming with Take the Money and Run (1969) co-writer Mickey Rose struck pure gold in this poke at contemporary politics in which a moron becomes the leader of a South American country after it undergoes a Cuba-like revolution…
One of the toughest challenges for any film built around a series of thematically connected sketches is consistency of quality, and offering enough variation so that no segment is redundant nor feels disconnected from the original concept. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex…
Reviews of Woody Allen’s formal feature directorial debut Take the Money and Run (1969) from KL Studio Classics, the short mockumentary Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story (1971), and the underrated drama September (1987) from Twilight Time.
Running a compact 25 mins. Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story is a satire of the Nixon Administration, which was past the halfway point of its first term mandate when the short was scheduled for airing in February of 1972, but as the lore surrounding this ‘lost’ film goes…
Released the same year as Radio Days, Woody Allen’s September retains the cast members Mia Farrow and Dianne Wiest, but the tone harkens back to the auteur’s Interiors (1978), a more dour and overwrought attempt at Serious Drama…
Melo-Noir: Black Widow (1954) + Slightly Scarlet (1956)
A pair of noir-melodramas boasting striking mid-century style: Nunnally Johnson’s BLACK WIDOW (1954) on Twilight Time Blu + Allan Dwan’s delicious SLIGHTLY SCARLET (1956) on VCI DVD.
Women in Prison, Part IV: Le evase (1978)
Review of Giovanni Brusadori’s infamous WIP drama ESCAPE FROM WOMEN’S PRISON / LA EVASE (1978), new on Blu via Severin Films / Unobstructed View.
Neo-Noir Trois: The Big Fix (1978)
Review of the private eye thriller THE BIG FIX (1978), the oddball adaptation of Roger L. Simon’s novel, new on Blu from Twilight Time.
A Vibrant Return for Becky Sharp (1935)
Review of BECKY SHARP (1935), the first feature shot in 3-strip Technicolor, new on Blu from KINO’s KL Studio Classics / Unobstructed View.
TJFF 2019: It Really Schwings!
Review of Eric Friedler’s documentary IT MUST SCHWING! THE BLUE NOTE STORY (2018) at TJFF 2019.
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.
Podcast interview with LES MISERABLES’ John Murphy
Podcast interview with composer John Murphy and his recently-scored BBC mini-series LES MISERABLES (2018).
ArtScopeTO 08: Interview with Photographer Lori Ryerson
The latest ArtScopeTO podcast features a chat with photographer Lori Ryerson, whose series OFF THE BEATEN PATH can be seen at Toronto’s Urban Gallery until Sat. April 27, 2019.
The film, itself based on a praised 1958 novel by Oakley Hall, could be summarized as High Noon (1952) with double the characters and tripled conflicts…
It’s unsure whether director / co-writer Edward Dmytryk was aware of any thin connections to the violent & fetishistic giallo genre, whereas the film’s other co-writers, Maria Pia Fusco and Ennio De Concini…
Nunnally Johnson’s adaptation of Patrick Quentin’s novel Fatal Woman is almost as slick as this stellar big screen production…
Slightly Scarlet is a strange amalgam that shouldn’t work so well, being part noir, melodrama, and crime film, and yet everything hums…
BR: Escape from Women’s Prison / Le evase – Storie di sesso e di violenze / Violez les otages (1978)
Reportedly one of the most infamous women in prison (WIP) films, Giovanni Brusadori’s lone feature film is far removed from the U.S. poster art…
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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