The Phantom of the Opera (1925) Lon Chaney will be forever remembered for this remarkable performance, and for the harrowing make-up he designed for that climactic scene when his mask is ripped away. Thanks to an unfavorable audience response at the first screening, the checkered Production history of this picture led to several versions being … More The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
My Gun is Quick (1957) For author Mickey Spillane, women are either cunning bitches or dead whores. Proletarian Noir hero Mickey Spillane [Robert Bray] gets sucked into a plot involving stolen Nazi jewels. As usual, the vigilante detective is quick with a punch or a gun, and the villain is a fey ex-army con who … More My Gun is Quick (1957)
Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold [Zatôichi senryô-kubi] (1964) Shintaro Katsu made Zatoichi, the blind masseur, his role for 25 films and a television series. Though there have been several excellent remakes with fine Japanese stars, there really is nobody like Shintaro Katsu. This sixth episode, directed by Kazuo Ikehiro, remains my favorite. The worst … More Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold (1964)
The Cameraman (1928) Criterion’s new release of this picture may be the best that can be done after MGM’s contemptuous neglect of Buster Keaton’s work and talent. The original negative was lost in a studio fire, and this restoration arises from “Cineteca di Bologna, the Criterion Collection, and Warner Bros.” With Marceline Day as the … More The Cameraman (1928)
They Came From Within (1975) Also known as The Parasite Murders, and Shivers [Frissons], David Cronenberg launched his career directing films that obsess over horrors of the human body. Parasites infect an apartment complex, but in the most private of places: the bathroom. Barbara Steele, doyenne of Gallo horror, makes her cameo as the lesbian … More They Came From Within (1975)
The Warped Ones/ a.k.a. The Weird Love Makers (1960) Koreyoshi Kurahara employs New Wave techniques to enliven Nobuo Yamada’s relentless study of a wild juvenile delinquent, played with memorable abandon by Tamio Kawaji. The only thing this rebel reveres is black jazz. “The whites stole it from the blacks,” Tamio says, “and we imitate the … More The Warped Ones/ a.k.a. The Weird Love Makers (1960)
Beautiful Dreamers (1992) I am not a member of the Poetry Foundation. I have never been published in Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. I could care less to whom the Lilly Foundation gives their money. Nothing I write will survive me, which is why it is called “Disposable.” Nobody reads poetry any more, except for … More Beautiful Dreamers (1992)
Don’t Bother to Knock (1952) What could go wrong with Marilyn Monroe as a neighbor in an apartment across from you? Quite a lot, since she’s channeling her crazy mother into this role as the worst person to babysit anybody’s child. Or so Richard Widmark thinks. But he’s a playboy and something of a cad. … More Don’t Bother to Knock (1952)
Paracelsus (1943) When you reach for the stars, you may get your hands burned. At least, for Werner Krauss, the great Dr. Caligari, once he became Hitler’s favorite German star, he gained access to all the prize roles. Here he portrays the much maligned Paracelsus, father of toxicology, who, misunderstood and persecuted by his peers, … More Paracelsus (1943)
Best in Show (2000) Christopher Guest’s mocumentary about pretentious dog shows nevertheless becomes tender-hearted toward owners for whom a dog is a prize companion that everyone should adore. Five dogs and their comedians were encouraged to improvise dialogue: Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara with their Norwich Terrier Winky; Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock with their … More Best in Show (2000)
