A Woman’s Work Is Finally Done in Siodmak’s ‘Time Out of Mind’
Robert Siodmak’s Time Out of Mind, based on the novel by first National Book Award winner, Rachel Field, mixes gothic, classical, and literary elements in an unappreciated film.
film history
The Past Isn’t Past in Stanley Kwan’s Fantasy Drama ‘Rouge’
Stanley Kwan’s 1987 fantasy drama based in Hong Kong, Rouge, is part romance, part ghost story, part political fable, and all gorgeous.
Film Noirs ‘The Guilty’ and ‘High Tide’ Have Strong Literary Roots
Crime stories by Cornell Woolrich, The Guilty, and Raoul Whitfield, High Tide, are masterfully adapted by director John Reinhardt in two restored film noirs.
Pre-Code Films from Directors Beaudine and Vidor Give Creepy Thrills
Restored pre-code films William Beaudine’s ‘The Crime of the Century’ and Charles Vidor’s ‘Double Door’ thrill with their frightening fearlessness.
Color Lines: 1930 Colonial Film ‘Mamba’ in Early Technicolor
Albert S. Rogell’s 1930 Technicolor film Mamba offers a colonial critique that’s sometimes explicit, sometimes implicit, and sometimes contradictory.
San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2022: Dangers! Thrills! Desires! – and Sweet Enchantment
Silent films have a way of burrowing their stories into your mind and taking root. With this preview of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2022, let us plant a few seeds.
Neorealism Meets Fairy Tale in Vittorio De Sica’s ‘Miracle in Milan’
If the escapism in Vittorio De Sica’s Miracle in Milan seems simple-minded, even simpler is the cure to society’s ills.
Robert Siodmak’s Auf Wiedersehen to Hollywood
Robert Siodmak’s reverse immigration film, Deported, and drama about capital and labor, The Whistle at Eaton Falls, were the last he’d make for Hollywood.
Tied and Noosed ‘Dancing Pirate’ Waltzes into Technicolor
Restored 1936 Technicolor film Dancing Pirate crosses the early talkies’ vogue for absurd musicals with its other vogue for Hollywood Mexicana.
OVIDtv’s ‘Fric-Frac’ and ‘The Scheming Women’ Showcase Major French Stars in Minor Films
Fric-Frac is a character study of Jeanne Moreau’s role early in her starring career and The Scheming Women is bright with future French stars.
Alain Resnais’ Short Films on Art, Plastic, and Institutional Hypnotism
Icarus Films’ recent Blu-ray of Alain Resnais ‘short films ranges from footage of artworks with poetic narration to sensual color conveyed with a wink.
Barry Levinson’s 1982 ‘Diner’ Is a Film About Nothing That Still Means Something
Would Larry David’s “show about nothing”, Seinfeld, have been created if Barry Levinson’s film about nothing, Diner, hadn’t preceded it?