Reeling Backward
Reviews of older films.
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From life to death, from breath to dreams, the metaphysics of Pixar’s “Toy Story” movies are a fascinating example of how films maintain their internal logic. Continue reading →
Tags: film criticism, metaphysics of toy story, Reeling Backward, toy story theories
3 yaps
Though it wasn’t the film to do it, “Malta Story” helped Alec Guinness on his thespian’s journey from “funny little man” to dramatic lead. Continue reading →
Tags: alec guinness, anthony steel, brian desmond hurst, classic film, flora robson, jack hawkins, malta story, muriel pavlow, nigel balchin, nigel stock, Reeling Backward
3.5 yaps
A reliably entertaining knockoff of “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” with a merry band of outlaws giving it to the corrupt landlord in 1800s Australia. Continue reading →
Tags: brian aherne, captain fury, classic film, douglass dumbrille, george zucco, grover jones, hal roach, jack jevne, John Carradine, june lang, paul lukas, Reeling Backward, victor mclaglen, william c. de mille
3 yaps
It earned a slew of Oscar nominations, but “Watch on the Rhine” defied expectations — in a bad way. Continue reading →
Tags: bette davis, beulah bondi, classic film, dashiell hammett, donald buka, donald woods, george coulouris, geraldine fitzgerald, herman shumlin, lucile watson, paul lukas, Reeling Backward, watch on the rhine
5 yaps
If there’s a greater actor in a better role than Paul Newman in “The Verdict,” I haven’t met it. Continue reading →
Tags: barry reed, charlotte rampling, classic film, David Mamet, edward binns, jack warden, james handy, james mason, joe seneca, julie bovasso, lindsay crouse, milo o'shea, paul newman, Reeling Backward, roxanne hart, sidney lumet, the verdict, wesley addy
4.5 yaps
Best remembered for that iconic kiss on the beach, “From Here to Eternity” actually belongs to Montgomery Clift and his bold, sideways performance. Continue reading →
Tags: burt lancaster, classic film, claude akins, daniel taradash, deborah kerr, donna reed, ernest borgnine, frank sinatra, fred zinnemann, from here to eternity, jack warden, james jones, montgomery clift, philip ober, Reeling Backward
3 yaps
A production design in search of a movie, “The Great Gatsby” is a curiously bloodless adaptation of the iconic Fitzgerald novel. Continue reading →
Tags: Bruce Dern, classic film, Francis Ford Coppola, jack clayton, karen black, Mia Farrow, Reeling Backward, robert redford, sam waterston, Scott Wilson, The Great Gatsby
4 yaps
This 1956 drama is a harrowing and terrific portrayal of female POWs during World War II. Too bad the central romance seems pointlessly tacked on. Continue reading →
Tags: a town like alice, classic film, jack lee, jean anderson, john fabian, kenji takaki, marie lohr, nevil shute, peter finch, Reeling Backward, richard mason, tran van khe, virginia mckenna, w.p. lipscomb
4 yaps
This well-done World War II film takes an almost documentary-like look at the battle to destroy the mighty German warship. Continue reading →
Tags: c. s. forester, Carl Möhner, classic film, Dana Wynter, edmund h. north, jack gwillim, Karel Štěpánek, kenneth more, laurence naismith, Lewis Gilbert, maurice denham, michael goodliffe, Reeling Backward, sink the bismarck
4 yaps
It might have been another mushy midcentury romance if not for the way “The Enchanted Cottage” focuses on the disfigurement of WWII soldiers. Continue reading →
Tags: alec englander, arthur wing pinero, classic film, DeWitt Bodeen, dorothy mcguire, herbert marshall, herman j. mankiewicz, hillary brooke, john cromwell, mildred natwick, Reeling Backward, richard gaines, robert young, spring byington, the enchanted cottage
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