When you think of the career of Don Siegel two items readily spring to mind: he helmed the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and his frequent collaborations with Clint Eastwood. His partnership over the years with the iconic ...
Read More »Bruce in Bollywood: Dharmendra Meets Bruce Le in Katilon Ke Kaatil
Try to imagine that, like me, your life has become a steady parade of disappointments and squandered potential, but then one day, the following happens: having previously been enlightened as to the existence of a Bollywood ninja movie—a rip-off of ...
Read More »‘My daughter is not possessed!’ Or how I learned to stop worrying and love an ‘Exorcist’ rip-off
In 1977 – nearly 3 1/2 years after the release of The Exorcist (1973) and just a few months before its impossibly awful sequel – came Audrey Rose. Based on Frank De Felitta’s pulpy best-seller (“The novel of reincarnation”), it had a great cast and ...
Read More »Born Losers: Crime in Dog Day Afternoon and Night of the Juggler
1980 was a pivotal year for New York City. It hosted the Democratic National Convention, flooding the city with thousands of tourists. New construction was also beginning to change the landscape and attract young people back after decades of abandonment. ...
Read More »The Sacrifice (1986): The Final Requiem of Andrei Tarkovsky
The films of Andrei Tarkovsky are known for their powerful imagery and deep-rooted feelings of melancholy. When it comes to cinematic art by way of Russia, his name, along with Sergei Eisenstein, are most commonly mentioned. Tarkovsky crafted a unique ...
Read More »Marvelous Yet Misunderstood: The Hunting Party (1971)
Film fans who have never seen, much less heard of, The Hunting Party are not alone. The 1971 Western – directed by TV veteran Don Medford and starring Gene Hackman, Oliver Reed, and Candice Bergen – was savaged by critics ...
Read More »Vengeance is Mine (US Blu-ray review)
Japanese director Shohei Imamura has an interesting career trajectory. Beginning as an assistant to the, now, legendary director Yasujiro Ozu, Imamura soon grew tired of Ozu’s depiction of Japanese life. Despite the praise for Ozu’s authentic Japanese cinematic style, Imamura ...
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