As much as I hate to let my Americanism show, it crops up the worst when it comes to cinema. I don’t have a natural aversion to foreign cinema, but Britain is usually my go-to foreign country. The few times I do venture outside English it’s generally through the horror genre. Director Jacques Demy has…
Originally published October 26th, 2015 Halloween is imminent and TCM and Fathom Events answered the call with their Dracula double feature this Sunday (with a repeat this coming Wednesday). I’ve watched Bela Lugosi as the infamous Count countless (pun intended) times, but I’d never previously watched the presumed superior version, the Spanish language version filmed…
Twilight Time, long the company providing beautiful Blu-ray transfers of oft-neglected titles, enters the giallo business with La Bambola di Satana or The Doll of Satan. Unlike the giallo work of luminaries like Mario Bava, The Doll of Satan is helmed by first (and last) time director Ferruccio Casapinta, with a production as wacky and…
This month’s theme is haunted houses, but I bet even the spookiest house couldn’t compete with the house director Nobuhiko Obayashi throws audiences into in House (aka Hausau). I’m at a slight disadvantage with House, knowing little about Japanese cinema short of noticing obvious WWII/atomic bomb imagery. Let’s just say, much like US cinema in…
Director Francois Truffaut will always be associated with iconic works like The 400 Blows (1959) and Jules and Jim (1962). And yet the man directed 27 films outside of those two. Twilight Time recently released one underseen work in Truffaut’s canon, 1969’s Mississippi Mermaid. (For the record, I know I’m going to misspell Mississippi at…
The universal nature of cinema is best illustrated through tributes by other directors. Acclaimed French director Francois Truffaut, part of the French New Wave, was directly influenced by the work of Alfred Hitchcock when he created The Bride Wore Black (he’d also just published a book of extensive interviews with the Master of Suspense). The…
This is what happens when inspiration knocks. I originally had zero plans to review Gigi. I’d seen it years ago and didn’t care for it, but figured I’d give it the benefit of the doubt; my youth colored my perspective. Unfortunately, time and an increased awareness of classic films and women have only made the…
