Tag Archives: John Sturges

“I think I’m a pretty good storyteller.” — John Sturges

It’s the birthday today of great and weirdly under-rated American director, John Sturges. One of the best parts about writing about the Criterion essay for the release of The Great Escape was getting to do a deep dive into the … Continue reading

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Things that got me through 2020. In no particular order.

Elvis mask, made for me by Jill Blake who was like “I just happened to have this Elvis 68 Comeback Special fabric lying around … do you want a mask?” Do you have to ask? There were so many great … Continue reading

Posted in Actors, Books, Directors, Founding Fathers, Movies, Music, Personal, Television, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

Year in Review: Shooting My Mouth Off in 2020, Part 1

What a year. Hard to say “the worst” because I was at least somewhat mentally stable during 2020, but this year was an assault. An assault after a couple of years of exhausting assault. It was an assault on us … Continue reading

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Podcast #1: Talkin’ the Cooler King

I was a guest on the Speeding Bullitt podcast, devoted to the life and films of Steve McQueen. Host Kelsy Norman had me on to discuss The Great Escape (I came to his attention because of the essay I wrote … Continue reading

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The Great Escape: Criterion release today 5/12

The long-awaited Criterion release of John Sturges’ 1963 classic The Great Escape is now available for order. The release includes a number of special features: a couple of different audio commentaries, one done in 1991 by Sturges and Elmer Bernstein … Continue reading

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Criterion May releases announced

I wrote booklet essays for two of Criterion’s May 2020 releases – Dorothy Arzner’s 1940 film Dance, Girl, Dance, and the 1963 beloved classic The Great Escape. There are multiple reasons these were very exciting assignments. Dance, Girl, Dance is … Continue reading

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January 2020 Viewing Diary

Hell Is for Heroes (1962; d. Don Siegel) A spare lean and mean war movie – pretty standard, actually – except Steve McQueen is actually presenting a character study here, a character he probably knows something about. He is eerie … Continue reading

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December 2019 Viewing Diary

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019; d. Marielle Heller) This is a really good film. Thoughtful and deep. I love Marielle Heller’s work so much and so psyched to see whatever it is she chooses to do next. The … Continue reading

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2019 Books Read

It’s been such a busy year for me as a writer. The busiest. I’ve had to “make time” for reading stuff that has nothing to do with anything writing-wise. I need to read for pleasure. Many of the books I … Continue reading

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Supernatural: Season 3, Episode 3; “Bad Day at Black Rock”

Directed by Robert Singer Written by Ben Edlund Before we get down to brass tacks, let’s take a moment to list just how much this episode accomplishes in 41 minutes. 1. A continuation of the two season-wide Arcs – Dean’s … Continue reading

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