Just Imagine (1930) This movie is more about what people in the 1930s hoped America would be like in the 1980s. Orwellian in many respects, we all have numbers now [Social Security]; compressed space food and psychedelic pills have come true, as has artificial insemination. David Butler directs this high-camp science fiction musical. Haunted by … More Just Imagine (1930)
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) Jack Arnold cunningly trimmed and directed this stunning adaptation of 1950’s male anxiety, from a novel by Peter Matheson, now without the obvious sexual issues and the creepy pederast. Instead, a giant cat and giant spider provide the terror for Grant Williams, whose credible performance should have earned him an … More The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
The Wild, Wild Planet (1966) [I Criminali Della Galassia] The first in an Italian GAMMA ONE series intended by MGM for television, the high camp set designs [Piero Poletto ] and space vehicles are guaranteed to bring back fond memories of The Jetsons. A mad scientist [Massimo Serato], drawing on corporate power to fund organ harvests … More The Wild, Wild Planet (1966)
Death in the Garden (1956) Luis Buñuel directed this French-financed mix of genres during his Mexican film period. The first half of the picture is haunted by his hatred of Franco’s fascism, as he dramatizes the bungling conflict between a military junta and greedy diamond prospectors that erupts into violence. The second half follows a motley … More Death in the Garden (1956)
War Gods of the Deep, aka City in the Sea (1965) “What kind of people would do things like this?” The fish out of water is heart-throb Tab Hunter, as Ben, a pugnacious American, rescued from a high-kamp script, thanks to Vincent Price’s performance as “The Captain.” David Tomlinson flounces about, as a portrait artist in … More War Gods of the Deep, aka City in the Sea (1965)
Witness: The Ecological Poetry of W.S. Merwin (2017) A documentary film by Larry Cameron and John Carpenter. This is one of the best extended interviews with W. S. Merwin at the end of his life. What can be said about a poet who achieved a full life, who died in the place where he chose … More Witness: The Ecological Poetry of W.S. Merwin
The Yellow Submarine (1968) The Beatles used their wealth and fame to create a children’s film that championed innovative and experimental animators, much like Walt Disney did with Fantasia. Full of songs and good cheer, the vibrant colors celebrate pop art’s mischievousness. George Dunning is credited with keeping the crew of crafty talent all on … More The Yellow Submarine (1968)
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