Yasuzo Masumura amazes us with yet another sensual stunner. This period way-of-all-flesh tale is almost a horror film, but the supernatural shivers are far outpaced by the daily Evil that Men Do. Japanese superstar Ayako Wakao blazes across the screen as a self-decreed avenger of the female sex, who allows men to destroy themselves and uses them to destroy each other. The bloody killings orbit around the desire to possess the irresistible Spider Woman, an in an ‘annihilating noir.’ The screenplay is by the equally famous Kaneto Shindo, from a Japanese ‘amor fou’ novel by Junichiro Tanizaki.
Irezumi
Blu-ray
Arrow Video
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 86 min. / Street Date June 22, 2021 / Spider Tattoo / Available from Amazon / 39.95
Starring: Ayako Wakao, Akio Hasegawa, Gaku Yamamoto, Kei Sato, Fujio Suga, Reiko Fujiwara, Asao Uchida, Kikue Mori.
Cinematography: Kazuo Miyagawa
Production Designers: Hiroaki Fujii, Shiro Kaga
Art Director: Yoshinobu Nishioka
Film Editor: Kanji Suganuma
Original Music: Hikaru...
Irezumi
Blu-ray
Arrow Video
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 86 min. / Street Date June 22, 2021 / Spider Tattoo / Available from Amazon / 39.95
Starring: Ayako Wakao, Akio Hasegawa, Gaku Yamamoto, Kei Sato, Fujio Suga, Reiko Fujiwara, Asao Uchida, Kikue Mori.
Cinematography: Kazuo Miyagawa
Production Designers: Hiroaki Fujii, Shiro Kaga
Art Director: Yoshinobu Nishioka
Film Editor: Kanji Suganuma
Original Music: Hikaru...
- 4/30/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The Criterion Channel’s July 2021 Lineup Includes Wong Kar Wai, Neo-Noir, Art-House Animation & More
The July lineup at The Criterion Channel has been revealed, most notably featuring the new Wong Kar Wai restorations from the recent box set release, including As Tears Go By, Days of Being Wild, Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love, 2046, and his shorts Hua yang de nian hua and The Hand.
Also among the lineup is a series on neo-noir with Body Double, Manhunter, Thief, The Last Seduction, Cutter’s Way, Brick, Night Moves, The Long Goodbye, Chinatown, and more. The channel will also feature a spotlight on art-house animation with work by Marcell Jankovics, Satoshi Kon, Ari Folman, Don Hertzfeldt, Karel Zeman, and more.
With Jodie Mack’s delightful The Grand Bizarre, the landmark doc Hoop Dreams, Orson Welles’ take on Othello, the recent Oscar entries Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time and You Will Die at Twenty, and much more,...
Also among the lineup is a series on neo-noir with Body Double, Manhunter, Thief, The Last Seduction, Cutter’s Way, Brick, Night Moves, The Long Goodbye, Chinatown, and more. The channel will also feature a spotlight on art-house animation with work by Marcell Jankovics, Satoshi Kon, Ari Folman, Don Hertzfeldt, Karel Zeman, and more.
With Jodie Mack’s delightful The Grand Bizarre, the landmark doc Hoop Dreams, Orson Welles’ take on Othello, the recent Oscar entries Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time and You Will Die at Twenty, and much more,...
- 6/24/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
This Friday (September 15), The Metroraph in New York City and the UCLA Film And Television Archive team up for what is bound to be one of 2017’s great repertory film series.
As part of their mission statement if you will, the UCLA Film And Television Archive strives to bring back to life some of cinema’s great forgotten masterworks. Be it social activist documentaries from the Civil Rights era or long lost silent masterpieces, the group’s Festival Of Preservation is a bi-annual series and subsequent national tour of new restorations spanning the history of film. With past festivals include titles as wide ranging as Too Late For Tears and God’s Little Acre, these series are some truly exciting restorations and the perfect way to discover your new favorite film.
After a run in La earlier this year, the series is now set to hit The Big Apple this week,...
As part of their mission statement if you will, the UCLA Film And Television Archive strives to bring back to life some of cinema’s great forgotten masterworks. Be it social activist documentaries from the Civil Rights era or long lost silent masterpieces, the group’s Festival Of Preservation is a bi-annual series and subsequent national tour of new restorations spanning the history of film. With past festivals include titles as wide ranging as Too Late For Tears and God’s Little Acre, these series are some truly exciting restorations and the perfect way to discover your new favorite film.
After a run in La earlier this year, the series is now set to hit The Big Apple this week,...
- 9/15/2017
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
There are two major sides to the film noir coin, as I see it – the psychological and the practical. Now, the practical noir is fairly straightforward; maybe a detective has to solve a crime, or someone gets themselves in over their head with some scheme gone wrong. There’s a problem to be solved, and the protagonist either overcomes or becomes consumed by it. Double Indemnity, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Night and the City, The Killing, and The Maltese Falcon fit into this section rather well. The psychological noir uses genre tropes to investigate someone’s soul, usually stemming from their nearness to sin and death. Scarlet Street, Laura, Female on the Beach, The Chase, Sunset Boulevard, and Kiss Me Deadly fit the bill. Obviously films in each use elements of the other to shade the characters or move the story along, but the texture and flavor is notably distinct,...
- 7/19/2016
- by Scott Nye
- CriterionCast
By Tim Greaves
(The following reviews pertain to the UK Region 2 releases)
When I'm in the right mood I adore bit of film noir. I admire the diversity of its storytelling, I love every facet, from the hardboiled private eyes, duplicitous dames and characters that seldom turn out to be what they first appear, to the alleyways bathed in inky shadows, ramshackle apartments and half-lit street corners they inhabit. How can you not get drawn in by the sheer delight of Edward G Robinson playing a second rate psychic trying to convince the authorities he can see the future in The Night Has a Thousand Eyes? Or amnesiac John Hodiak on a mission to discover his own identity, in the process getting embroiled in a 3-year-old murder case and the search for a missing $2 million in Somewhere in the Night? Yes, indeed, there's nothing quite like a hearty serving of...
(The following reviews pertain to the UK Region 2 releases)
When I'm in the right mood I adore bit of film noir. I admire the diversity of its storytelling, I love every facet, from the hardboiled private eyes, duplicitous dames and characters that seldom turn out to be what they first appear, to the alleyways bathed in inky shadows, ramshackle apartments and half-lit street corners they inhabit. How can you not get drawn in by the sheer delight of Edward G Robinson playing a second rate psychic trying to convince the authorities he can see the future in The Night Has a Thousand Eyes? Or amnesiac John Hodiak on a mission to discover his own identity, in the process getting embroiled in a 3-year-old murder case and the search for a missing $2 million in Somewhere in the Night? Yes, indeed, there's nothing quite like a hearty serving of...
- 7/10/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit the interwebs. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
45 Years (Andrew Haigh)
Andrew Haigh’s third feature as a director, 45 Years, is an excellent companion piece to its 2011 predecessor, Weekend. The latter examined the inception of a potential relationship between two men over the course of a weekend, whereas its successor considers the opposite extreme. Again sticking to a tight timeframe, the film chronicles the six days leading up to a couple’s 45th wedding anniversary.
45 Years (Andrew Haigh)
Andrew Haigh’s third feature as a director, 45 Years, is an excellent companion piece to its 2011 predecessor, Weekend. The latter examined the inception of a potential relationship between two men over the course of a weekend, whereas its successor considers the opposite extreme. Again sticking to a tight timeframe, the film chronicles the six days leading up to a couple’s 45th wedding anniversary.
- 6/17/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
In this episode of Off The Shelf, Ryan and Brian take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for Tuesday, June 14th, 2016.
Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.
Follow-Up Brian’s tweet about The Thing News Twilight Time – September/October Titles Arrow Video – September titles The Deadly Trackers Blue Sunshine Kino Lorber – Moving Violations, The Park Is Mine The Transformers: The Movie Scream Factory Sale Raising Cain The Thing Invasion Of The Body Snatchers Links to Amazon Airport: The Complete Collection Black Dog La Chienne Edvard Munch (1974) (Masters of Cinema) Gold Here Comes Mr. Jordan (The Criterion Collection) Jaws 2 Jaws 3 Jaws: The Revenge Nikkatsu Diamond Guys Vol. 2 Star Trek XI Star Trek Into Darkness Too Late for Tears Woman on the Run X-Files: The Event Series The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) on Blu-ray Inserts (1975) on Blu-ray The Member of The Wedding (1952) on Blu-ray The Panic in Needle Park...
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Follow-Up Brian’s tweet about The Thing News Twilight Time – September/October Titles Arrow Video – September titles The Deadly Trackers Blue Sunshine Kino Lorber – Moving Violations, The Park Is Mine The Transformers: The Movie Scream Factory Sale Raising Cain The Thing Invasion Of The Body Snatchers Links to Amazon Airport: The Complete Collection Black Dog La Chienne Edvard Munch (1974) (Masters of Cinema) Gold Here Comes Mr. Jordan (The Criterion Collection) Jaws 2 Jaws 3 Jaws: The Revenge Nikkatsu Diamond Guys Vol. 2 Star Trek XI Star Trek Into Darkness Too Late for Tears Woman on the Run X-Files: The Event Series The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) on Blu-ray Inserts (1975) on Blu-ray The Member of The Wedding (1952) on Blu-ray The Panic in Needle Park...
- 6/16/2016
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
What in the world -- an A + top-rank film noir gem hiding under the radar, and rescued (most literally) by the Film Noir Foundation. Ann Sheridan and Dennis O'Keefe trade dialogue as good as any in a film from 1950 -- it's a thriller with a cynical worldview yet a sentimental personal outlook. Woman on the Run Blu-ray + DVD Flicker Alley / FIlm Noir Foundation 1950 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 79 min. / Street Date May 17, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Ann Sheridan, Dennis O'Keefe, Robert Keith, John Qualen, Frank Jenks, Ross Elliott, Jane Liddell, Joan Fulton, J. Farrell MacDonald, Steven Geray, Victor Sen Yung, Reiko Sato. Cinematography Hal Mohr Art Direction Boris Leven Film Editor Otto Ludwig Original Music Arthur Lange, Emil Newman Written by Alan Campbell, Norman Foster, Sylvia Tate Produced by Howard Welsch, Ann Sheridan Directed by Norman Foster
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Amazing! Just when one thinks one won't see another top-rank film noir, the...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Amazing! Just when one thinks one won't see another top-rank film noir, the...
- 5/24/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Noir if I can help it! Sultry Lizabeth Scott out-'fatals' every femme we know in this wickedly ruthless tale of unadulterated female venality. Rough creep Dan Duryea meets his match, as do other unfortunate males that get between Liz and a plump bag of blackmail loot. The Film Noir Foundation's restoration is a valiant rescue job, for a worthy 'annihilating melodrama.' Too Late for Tears Blu-ray + DVD Flicker Alley / FIlm Noir Foundation 1949 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 102 min. / Street Date May 17, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Lizabeth Scott, Don DeFore, Dan Duryea, Arthur Kennedy, Kristine Miller, Barry Kelley Cinematography William Mellor Art Direction James Sullivan Film Editor Harry Keller Original Music Dale Butts Written by Roy Huggins from his story Produced by Hunt Stromberg Directed by Byron Haskin
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Who's doing good work for film preservation? The Film Noir Foundation has racked up some impressive rescues and restorations in the last fifteen years or so,...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Who's doing good work for film preservation? The Film Noir Foundation has racked up some impressive rescues and restorations in the last fifteen years or so,...
- 5/21/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
As a supplement to our Recommended Discs weekly feature, Peter Labuza regularly highlights notable recent home-video releases with expanded reviews. See this week’s selections below.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Two new restorations from the UCLA Film and Television Archive, in conjunction with the Film Noir Foundation, certainly speak to that ethos. First up, the piercing eyes of Lisabeth Scott explain everything one might need to know about this woman who wants it all. In Byron Haskin‘s Too Late for Tears, writer Roy Huggins stages a flipped gender perspective of Double Indemnity. Driving along with her dull husband (Arthur Kennedy at his most subdued), Scott’s Jane Palmer has a bag of $60,000 literally drop in her lap. Goody two-shoes husband wants to hand it to the authorities, but she sees this as the opportunity to finally lean in. Dp William C. Mellor lights Scott’s...
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Two new restorations from the UCLA Film and Television Archive, in conjunction with the Film Noir Foundation, certainly speak to that ethos. First up, the piercing eyes of Lisabeth Scott explain everything one might need to know about this woman who wants it all. In Byron Haskin‘s Too Late for Tears, writer Roy Huggins stages a flipped gender perspective of Double Indemnity. Driving along with her dull husband (Arthur Kennedy at his most subdued), Scott’s Jane Palmer has a bag of $60,000 literally drop in her lap. Goody two-shoes husband wants to hand it to the authorities, but she sees this as the opportunity to finally lean in. Dp William C. Mellor lights Scott’s...
- 5/19/2016
- by Peter Labuza
- The Film Stage
In this episode of Off The Shelf, Ryan and Brian take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for Tuesday, May 17th 2016.
Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.
Follow-Up A History of Disney Television Animation: volume I Amazon purchases News Criterion August titles Kino Lorber: I The Jury, Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend, The Neptune Factor, Finders Keepers Code Red: Screams of a Winter Night, The Working Girls Scorpion Releasing: Don’t Go In The House, also – Go Tell the Spartans – through Screen Archives Links to Amazon Candy Cop Rock: The Complete Series Dark Passage FitzPatrick Traveltalks: Volume 1 For Men Only / School for Sex Hired To Kill I Saw What You Did Killer Force The Last Command (Masters of Cinema) The Naked Island Too Late for Tears (Flicker Alley) Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? The Witch...
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Follow-Up A History of Disney Television Animation: volume I Amazon purchases News Criterion August titles Kino Lorber: I The Jury, Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend, The Neptune Factor, Finders Keepers Code Red: Screams of a Winter Night, The Working Girls Scorpion Releasing: Don’t Go In The House, also – Go Tell the Spartans – through Screen Archives Links to Amazon Candy Cop Rock: The Complete Series Dark Passage FitzPatrick Traveltalks: Volume 1 For Men Only / School for Sex Hired To Kill I Saw What You Did Killer Force The Last Command (Masters of Cinema) The Naked Island Too Late for Tears (Flicker Alley) Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? The Witch...
- 5/18/2016
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
An exercise in dizzy disorientation, this Cornell Woolrich crazy-house noir pulls the rug out from under us at least three times. You want delirium, you got it -- the secret words for today are "Obsessive" and "Perverse." Innocent Robert Cummings is no match for sicko psychos Peter Lorre and Steve Cochran. The Chase Blu-ray Kino Classics 1946 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 86 min. / Street Date May 24, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Robert Cummings, Michèle Morgan, Steve Cochran, Peter Lorre, Lloyd Corrigan, Jack Holt, Don Wilson, Alexis Minotis, Nina Koschetz, Yolanda Lacca, James Westerfield, Shirley O'Hara. Cinematography Frank F. Planer Film Editor Edward Mann Original Music Michel Michelet Written by Philip Yordan from the book The Black Path of Fear by Cornell Woolrich Produced by Seymour Nebenzal Directed by Arthur D. Ripley
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
As Guy Maddin says on his (recommended) commentary, the public domain copies of this show were...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
As Guy Maddin says on his (recommended) commentary, the public domain copies of this show were...
- 5/7/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
In this special episode of Off The Shelf, Ryan and Brian take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for Tuesday, March 8th 2016.
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Follow-Up Chronicles Episode 1 Brian’s Zatoichi set News Disney: Star Wars: The Force Awakens Blu-ray Announced Criterion UK Kino Lorber: Taking of Pelham 123, Deadline USA, Buster Keaton Short Films Warner Archive: Hitchcock’s Suspicion (Warner Archive) Masters of Cinema: The Last Command (Masters of Cinema) Arrow Video: June titles: Return of the Killer Tomatoes, Suture, Ray Harryhausen, Nikkatsu Diamond Guys Volume 2 -also Too late For Tears and Woman on the Run. Olive Films: May titles Goodbye Gemini, Puppet on a Chain on Screen Archives (Scorpion Releasing) Kingdom of the Spiders (Code Red) Links to Amazon Batteries Not Included The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas Coming Home The Forbidden Room Howard the Duck Hogan’s Heroes: The Complete...
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Follow-Up Chronicles Episode 1 Brian’s Zatoichi set News Disney: Star Wars: The Force Awakens Blu-ray Announced Criterion UK Kino Lorber: Taking of Pelham 123, Deadline USA, Buster Keaton Short Films Warner Archive: Hitchcock’s Suspicion (Warner Archive) Masters of Cinema: The Last Command (Masters of Cinema) Arrow Video: June titles: Return of the Killer Tomatoes, Suture, Ray Harryhausen, Nikkatsu Diamond Guys Volume 2 -also Too late For Tears and Woman on the Run. Olive Films: May titles Goodbye Gemini, Puppet on a Chain on Screen Archives (Scorpion Releasing) Kingdom of the Spiders (Code Red) Links to Amazon Batteries Not Included The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas Coming Home The Forbidden Room Howard the Duck Hogan’s Heroes: The Complete...
- 3/9/2016
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
The fine folks at Flicker Alley have just announced two new Blu-rays coming in April 2016:
Flicker Alley, the Film Noir Foundation, and UCLA Film & Television Archive are proud to present two rediscovered gems of film noir, Too Late for Tears and Woman on the Run, both brilliantly restored in brand-new Blu-ray/DVD dual-format editions.
Here is a preview of Noir City, included in the supplements.
Here is the press release they’ve sent out:
Flicker Alley, the Film Noir Foundation, and UCLA Film & Television Archive are proud to present two rediscovered gems of film noir, Too Late for Tears and Woman on the Run, both brilliantly restored in brand-new Blu-ray/DVD dual-format editions.
Too Late For Tears
Finally! One of the great missing films of the classic noir era-resurrected! Rescued and preserved after a five-year crusade by the Film Noir Foundation, this 1949 classic is at long last available in a clean digital version,...
Flicker Alley, the Film Noir Foundation, and UCLA Film & Television Archive are proud to present two rediscovered gems of film noir, Too Late for Tears and Woman on the Run, both brilliantly restored in brand-new Blu-ray/DVD dual-format editions.
Here is a preview of Noir City, included in the supplements.
Here is the press release they’ve sent out:
Flicker Alley, the Film Noir Foundation, and UCLA Film & Television Archive are proud to present two rediscovered gems of film noir, Too Late for Tears and Woman on the Run, both brilliantly restored in brand-new Blu-ray/DVD dual-format editions.
Too Late For Tears
Finally! One of the great missing films of the classic noir era-resurrected! Rescued and preserved after a five-year crusade by the Film Noir Foundation, this 1949 classic is at long last available in a clean digital version,...
- 1/22/2016
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
This is definitely the time of year when film critic types (I’m sure you know who I mean) spend an inordinate amount of time leading up to awards season—and it all leads up to awards season, don’t it?—compiling lists and trying to convince anyone who will listen that it was a shitty year at the movies for anyone who liked something other than what they saw and liked. And ‘tis the season, or at least ‘thas (?) been in the recent past, for that most beloved of academic parlor games, bemoaning the death of cinema, which, if the sackcloth-and-ashes-clad among us are to be believed, is an increasingly detached and irrelevant art form in the process of being smothered under the wet, steaming blanket of American blockbuster-it is. And it’s going all malnourished from the siphoning off of all the talent back to TV, which, as everyone knows,...
- 1/9/2016
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
This is a Great film noir. A straying husband's 'innocent' dalliance wrecks lives and puts his marriage in jeopardy. Been there, done that? Dick Powell and Lizabeth Scott are menaced by Raymond Burr, while wife Jane Wyatt is kept in the dark. Andre de Toth's direction puts everyone through the wringer, with a very adult look at the realities of the American marriage contract, circa 1948. Pitfall Blu-ray Kino Lorber Studio Classics 1948 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 86 min. / Street Date November 17, 2015 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, Jane Wyatt, Raymond Burr, John Litel, Byron Barr, Jimmy Hunt. Cinematography Harry Wild Art Direction Arthur Lonergan Film Editor Walter Thompson Written by Karl Kamb from the novel by Jay Dratler Produced by Samuel Bischoff Directed by André De Toth
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Is 'domestic noir' even a category? I think so. Some of the creepiest late- '40s noir pictures take intrigue,...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Is 'domestic noir' even a category? I think so. Some of the creepiest late- '40s noir pictures take intrigue,...
- 11/17/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Michael Caine young. Michael Caine movies: From Irwin Allen bombs to Woody Allen classic It's hard to believe that Michael Caine has been around making movies for nearly six decades. No wonder he's had time to appear – in roles big and small and tiny – in more than 120 films, ranging from unwatchable stuff like the Sylvester Stallone soccer flick Victory and Michael Ritchie's adventure flick The Island to Brian G. Hutton's X, Y and Zee, Joseph L. Mankiewicz's Sleuth (a duel of wits and acting styles with Laurence Olivier), and Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men. (See TCM's Michael Caine movie schedule further below.) Throughout his long, long career, Caine has played heroes and villains and everything in between. Sometimes, in his worst vehicles, he has floundered along with everybody else. At other times, he was the best element in otherwise disappointing fare, e.g., Philip Kaufman's Quills.
- 8/6/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Too Late For Tears: Shai Plumbs the Depths of B-Noir Devices for Punchy Debut
A brunette with bloody fingers shakily inhales the fumes of a cigarette in the opening sequences of Oren Shai’s directorial debut, The Frontier, a title that evokes the desolation of a vintage Western. But this musty, dusty period narrative concerning shady folks doing very bad things in an isolated outpost in the middle of nowhere is a snug throwback to the B film-noirs that used to be spackled into double feature zingers at the local matinee. Not one of Shai’s motley, if generally entertaining crew, qualifies as the proverbial ‘good person,’ but he manages to instill the same sense of investment in a beautiful but morally compromised femme fatale as those films from a bygone era. Though its production value sometimes belies a stingy budget with amateurish sting, Shai manages to distract from...
A brunette with bloody fingers shakily inhales the fumes of a cigarette in the opening sequences of Oren Shai’s directorial debut, The Frontier, a title that evokes the desolation of a vintage Western. But this musty, dusty period narrative concerning shady folks doing very bad things in an isolated outpost in the middle of nowhere is a snug throwback to the B film-noirs that used to be spackled into double feature zingers at the local matinee. Not one of Shai’s motley, if generally entertaining crew, qualifies as the proverbial ‘good person,’ but he manages to instill the same sense of investment in a beautiful but morally compromised femme fatale as those films from a bygone era. Though its production value sometimes belies a stingy budget with amateurish sting, Shai manages to distract from...
- 3/16/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
"Roar" feels like Walt Disney decided to make a snuff version of "Swiss Family Robinson." It may be the single most irresponsible thing I've ever seen as a movie, and I have seen it three times now. I may watch it again tonight. I am that fascinated by this record of absolute madness. Drafthouse Films has done a great job of picking up worthy new films for release, starting with "Four Lions," but they've also displayed a knack for turning up some fascinating curios, forgotten films that might otherwise never get their moment. "The Visitor" was a great example, a deranged mix of religious allegory and post-"Star Wars" blockbuster mania. One of the highlights of this year's Fantastic Fest was a screening of a film called "The Astrologer," a self-financed vanity project that defied any easy description, and I was disappointed to learn that there are copyright issues that...
- 3/6/2015
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
Lizabeth Scott, the sultry blonde who epitomized cinematic "bad girls" in film noir productions, has passed away at age 92. Scott specialized in playing hard-bitten, self-confident femme fatales usually from the wrong side of the tracks. Her leading men included Robert Mithchum, Burt Lancaster, Michael Caine, Charlton Heston, Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis and Kirk Douglas. Her film credits include "Loving You", "Dark City", "I Walk Alone", "Too Late for Tears", "Pitfall" and "Scared Stiff". Her last screen appearance was in director Mike Hodges' acclaimed 1972 cult movie "Pulp", which was a send-up of the film noir genre. Scott's career began to fade in the late 1950s though she did make occasional appearances in TV series in the following years. In more recent years, she occasionally appeared at film festivals to discuss her work and career. Click here for more. ...
- 2/7/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Too Late for Tears
Written by Roy Huggins
Directed by Bryon Haskin
U.S.A., 1949
Alan and Jane Palmer (Arthur Kennedy and Lizabeth Scott respectively) are driving up a lonely road one evening for a dinner party hosted by some of the husband’s friends. Jane, incessant in her pleads to turn around, has Alan stop the car for a moment at which point another vehicle heading in the opposite direction passes by. One of its occupants tosses a large duffle bag in their vehicle. Upon inspecting its contents the married couple discover hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash. A third vehicle fast approaches and gives them chase, and while the duo escape whomever it was that pursued them along the dusty road, it is clear that someone is after the hefty sum currently in their possession. Jane is over the moon with their discovery whereas Alan would prefer to have nothing of it.
Written by Roy Huggins
Directed by Bryon Haskin
U.S.A., 1949
Alan and Jane Palmer (Arthur Kennedy and Lizabeth Scott respectively) are driving up a lonely road one evening for a dinner party hosted by some of the husband’s friends. Jane, incessant in her pleads to turn around, has Alan stop the car for a moment at which point another vehicle heading in the opposite direction passes by. One of its occupants tosses a large duffle bag in their vehicle. Upon inspecting its contents the married couple discover hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash. A third vehicle fast approaches and gives them chase, and while the duo escape whomever it was that pursued them along the dusty road, it is clear that someone is after the hefty sum currently in their possession. Jane is over the moon with their discovery whereas Alan would prefer to have nothing of it.
- 9/12/2014
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
Film Noir Foundation president and founder Eddie Muller is fighting the good fight for film preservation. When he's not overseeing the unmissable Noir City film festival in San Francisco each year, he's chasing down long-lost prints and buried treasures that others can't get their hands on. In an engrossing new profile in Pacific Standard, Muller opens up about his struggle to secure Byron Haskin's 1949 "Too Late for Tears" (which had been burned, recut, and in the public domain for years) in 35mm earlier this year, and 1951's "Cry Danger," which had been collecting dust in the Warner Archives. "You have these deals on paper, but they don’t have the slightest idea where the movies actually are," Muller tells writer Rick Paulas. But, while not a lone soldier in the preservation game -- Scorsese's Film Foundation holds down the fort in La -- Muller knows where to look. So how does Muller do it?...
- 8/11/2014
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
By Frank Calvillo
There’s usually very little to look forward to at the movies during the uneventful dog days of winter. This weekend, apart from the release of what looks like a passable popcorn thriller called Non-Stop, starring Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore, it seems like there’s nothing in the way of big-screen entertainment to get jazzed about.
The game changed, though, when The Film Noir Foundation announced the First Annual Noir City Austin, a three-day film festival taking place at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz from February 28- March 2. The weekend features ten lesser-known film noir gems starring the likes of John Garfield, Shelley Winters, Peter Lorre and Robert Cummings, among others, and promises to be the ultimate gin-swilling, cigarette smoking gift from the movie gods themselves.
The lineup is as follows:
Too Late for Tears (1949) -- Friday 2/28
Through accidental circumstances, Alan and Jane, an average married couple,...
There’s usually very little to look forward to at the movies during the uneventful dog days of winter. This weekend, apart from the release of what looks like a passable popcorn thriller called Non-Stop, starring Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore, it seems like there’s nothing in the way of big-screen entertainment to get jazzed about.
The game changed, though, when The Film Noir Foundation announced the First Annual Noir City Austin, a three-day film festival taking place at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz from February 28- March 2. The weekend features ten lesser-known film noir gems starring the likes of John Garfield, Shelley Winters, Peter Lorre and Robert Cummings, among others, and promises to be the ultimate gin-swilling, cigarette smoking gift from the movie gods themselves.
The lineup is as follows:
Too Late for Tears (1949) -- Friday 2/28
Through accidental circumstances, Alan and Jane, an average married couple,...
- 2/26/2014
- by Contributors
- Slackerwood
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