His Master’s Voice (2018) Stanislaw Lem simply can’t catch a break. Another film adaptation draws from Lem’s metaphysical ideas, that even if an alien message arrived from space, nobody would be able to decipher it. György Pálfi recasts this into a parable about a young man from Hungary who travels to America to find his … More His Master’s Voice (2018)
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)
“The Masque of the Red Death” from Extraordinary Tales (2015) This concluding sequence, from Spanish director and animator Raul Garcia ’s collection of five tales from Edgar Allen Poe, remains my favorite cinematic version. As Jeannette Catsoiulis wrote in her New York Times review, “…the rosy wash of oily color that flows over the story’s … More “The Masque of the Red Death” from Extraordinary Tales (2015)
Until the End of the World (1991) Not all movies benefit from having an extended version. CRITERION, however, has issued the director’s cut, all 287 minutes in two Parts, of this romantic jet-set across multiple countries, where making a film becomes an act of mapping the mind. Watching such a film requires a different … More Until the End of the World (1991)
Repulsion (1965) What I have most admired about Catherine Deneuve is her choice of roles in movies. Instead of catering to her physical beauty as a model, she has undermined her image by playing psychopaths and sexual deviants, maturing eventually to respectable but flawed matriarchs. In this early performance, she embodies Roman Polanski’s jaded vision … More Repulsion (1965)
The Undying Monster (1942) Before finding better employment on television shows, such as The Twilight Zone, John Brahm brought his German Expressionism to this obscure B-Film that combines elements of The Hound of the Baskervilles with The Wolf Man. The Hammond Family – the two who remain – are haunted by an ancient curse. A … More The Undying Monster (1942)
To Sleep with Anger (1990) I have no idea why this film did not have better success. Danny Glover’s performance is charismatic and frightening all at once. Charles Burnett wrote and directed what happens when an old friend, a vagabond for years, shows up at the door of a bourgeois black family. Natural supernaturalism of … More To Sleep with Anger (1990)
Peppermint Soda (1977) “For my sister, who still hasn’t returned my orange sweater.” Diane Kurys wrote and directed this twist on The 400 Blows, which follows the lives of 13-year-old Anne [Eléonore Klarwein] and 15-year-old Frederique [Odile Michel], sisters whose parents are separated. And yet, despite the political chaos of the time, Kurys focuses on … More Peppermint Soda (1977)
The Image Book (2018) “Man’s true condition is to compose with his hands,” Jean-Luc Godard announced from his editing table at the very start of this collage-narrative. The first half explores Western cinema; the second half explores neglected Arabian cinema. Film clips from famous and obscure movies are spliced together, bleached and washed, while a … More The Image Book (2018)
The Peanut Butter Solution (1985) Second in a series of fantasy tales for children, undoubtedly written by a precocious 3-year-old at the kitchen table, what begins as a conventional ghost tale reveals how important hair is to adolescents. Somehow this hair as paintbrushes automatically create pictures anyone can crawl inside, a magical alternative reality. I … More The Peanut Butter Solution (1985)
SPACESHIP 