Budd Boetticher is only one year removed from his best work- 1959’s Ride Lonesome. So, you’d figure working with talented DP Lucien Ballard (The Wild Bunch) would yield better results The Rise and Fall of
Pépé le Moko succeeds on three separate levels. First, Jean Gabin is undeniably commanding as the titular hero, gangster, and lover (this is largely a romance after all). The atmosphere of the Casbah of Algiers
La tête d'un homme, also known as either A Man’s Neck or A Man’s Head is a superb seedy crime story. Duvivier’s camera is constantly floating around—Murnau-like mobility (this is before Ophuls and Duvivier is
Martin Eden is a sweeping biopic transposing Jack London’s novel and setting it in Italy Pietro Marcello, like Kelly Reichardt and others, uses 16mm here. We’re at an interesting point in history when some are
Julien Duvivier remade his own silent film here for Poil de carotte—Harry Baur is back again as Monsieur Lepic—the father of the title character (carrot top)—his son, who is an unloved child-- ignored by Baur’s
A biopic filled with cinematic bravado that would make for a good double-billing with Welles’ Citizen Kane made a decade later The first sound film for Julien Duvivier – already a veteran with 10+ silent
Simon Stone’s The Dig features stellar performances, magic-hour photography, and some reoccurring overhead shot choices Clearly Stone is an admirer of Malick- sun flares on the lens, the camera pushing through the blades of grass
With Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield and even to a lesser degree here Jesse Plemons- Judas and the Black Messiah features three of the most talented male actors under the age of 35 It is based
It is fascinating that the two words in the title “Memories” and “Underdevelopment” describe the two distinct facets of Tomás Gutiérrez Alea’s work. You can draw a direct line between Alain Resnais’ Hiroshima Mon Amour
Pedro Costa’s Vitalina Varela is one of the most visually accomplished films of the of the 2010’s. With Horse Money in 2014 he shifted to higher definition video photography (Vitalina is pristine – immaculately crisp),
Horse Money is easily Pedro Costa’s greatest triumph to date in 2014 In many ways it is similar to his previous work—his Fontainhas trilogy (which has now been expanded beyond a trilogy because all of
The Big Country is a fitting name for Wyler’s audacious, expensive, open-air western. It is closer to Stevens’ Giant (1956) in terms of expanse (beyond actually)- especially in comparison with Boetticher’s work or Anthony Mann
