‘Do You Want to Live Forever?’—John Milius’ ‘Conan the Barbarian’
The Frankenstein’s monster that is Justice League, the Warner Bros/DC superhero team-up film that has critics and audiences comparing notes on who shot/wrote what, Zack…
Documentary
The immortal ‘Casablanca’: Why the Old Hollywood’s Everlasting Masterpiece Is Still Beloved
There is only a spoonful of movies that enjoy such a reputation as Casablanca, the romantic war drama directed by Michael Curtiz which started winning…
‘The Last of the Mohicans’: Michael Mann’s Riveting Love Story as the Formation of American Identity
After a string of successes on television, having made a name for himself on projects such as Starsky and Hutch and Police Story, Michael Mann…
‘Predator’: John McTiernan’s First Studio Gig that Became an Epic Action Classic
After Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky IV proved to be a huge box office hit back in 1985, earning more than 300 million dollars on a 28-million…
Jeeps in the Orchard: The Logistical “Laters” of Attenborough’s ‘A Bridge Too Far’
British war cinema is preoccupied, it seems, with stiff-upper-lipped defeat—from innumerable plucky POW features to the sinking of Noel Coward’s destroyer from In Which We…
‘Touch of Evil’: Orson Welles’ Grandiose Film Noir that Took Four Decades to Shine In Its Intended Form
When Universal approached Orson Welles with an intriguing supporting role in a new thriller tentatively called Badge of Evil, the filmmaker was at a difficult…
Terrence Malick’s ‘The Thin Red Line’: The Traumatic and Poetic Journey into the Heart of Man
Twenty years have passed between Days of Heaven, Terrence Malick’s second feature film, and The Thin Red Line, his great 1998 comeback, the third film…
‘The Verdict’: Sidney Lumet and David Mamet’s Masterpiece as a Blend of a Courtroom Drama and a Personal Redemption Story
Frank Galvin is an empty, whisky-drenched shell of a man. Once a successful lawyer at a prestigious law firm, a dedicated professional whose life was…
‘Jaws’: The Groundbreaking Summer Blockbuster that Changed Hollywood, and Our Summer Vacations, Forever
It seems unbelievable, but it’s been 42 years since Steven Spielberg’s Jaws premiered in cinemas across the United States. Almost half a century since the…
To the Wonder: The Lyrical Appeal and Influence of Richard Donner’s ‘Superman’
Richard Donner, director of The Omen, the Lethal Weapon series, The Goonies, but oh so especially the golden standard of comic book movies and feel…