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- February 2026 Snapshots
- “I’ve never thought of my characters as being sad. On the contrary, they are full of life. They didn’t choose tragedy. Tragedy chose them.” — Juliette Binoche
- Happy Birthday, “Mr. Personality” Lloyd Price
- For International Women’s Day: Ladies I Love
- “Have you ever noticed how a cat stretches after a nap? We can learn from watching animals.” — Cyd Charisse
- Review: Pompei: Below the Clouds (2026)
- “Since when was genius found respectable?” – Elizabeth Barrett Browning
- Happy Birthday, Dean Stockwell
- “Character roles definitely age better than your ingenues. You don’t get to keep doing that.” — Catherine O’Hara
- “Silence is necessary to tyrants and occupiers, who take pains to have their actions accompanied by quiet.” — Ryszard Kapuściński
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Tag Archives: Robert Duvall
“Paper, tobacco, food, and a little whiskey.” — William Faulkner on his writing requirements
“The writer’s only responsibility is to his art. He will be completely ruthless if he is a good one. He has a dream. It anguishes him so much he must get rid of it. He has no peace until then. … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Movies, On This Day, writers
Tagged nonfiction, Robert Duvall, William Faulkner
12 Comments
“I knew [I was a director] from the beginning. It was just a matter of proving it.” — Martha Coolidge
It’s the birthday of director Martha Coolidge. I have always loved her work – cherished it, really – and finally got to pay tribute to her in my Film Comment column. And it’s funny how things work out. Mitchell and … Continue reading
April 2022 Viewing Diary
When I first got the Raging Bull gig, I began a re-watch of all the Scorsese-De Niro movies – at least the ones clustered around that period. I grew up on these films. These movies were huge to me as … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Anjelica Huston, biopic, Brian De Palma, Canada, Christopher Walken, comedy, Dana Andrews, documentary, drama, Elia Kazan, F. Scott Fitzgerald, France, historical drama, Italy, Jack Nicholson, Jane Fonda, Joan Didion, John Cazale, Liza Minnelli, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Mickey Rourke, musicals, Ray Milland, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Robert Mitchum, romantic drama, Russia, sci-fi, Tuesday Weld, Ukraine, Vietnam, women directors, WWII
12 Comments
February 2020 Viewing Diary
Ted Bundy: Falling For a Killer (2020; d. Trish Wood) I can’t help it. I’ve been reading about Ted Bundy since I read Ann Rule’s book in high school. I hate him so much, but I can’t quit him. I … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Bill Pullman, Claude Chabrol, comedy, documentary, drama, Germany, hockey, Isabelle Huppert, James Gandolfini, Jane Austen, Jean Arthur, Kurt Russell, Laura Dern, literary adaptation, miracle on ice, Nicolas Cage, Robert Duvall, romantic comedy, Sandrine Bonnaire, sci-fi, sports movies, William Powell, women directors
8 Comments
“Masters of the Acting Art”: An Interview with Author Dan Callahan
Dan Callahan is one of our best writers on the craft of acting. Not only does he describe why a performance is good, he digs into the much thornier issue of how it is good. This is where most critics … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies
Tagged Al Pacino, Cate Blanchett, Charles Laughton, Diane Keaton, Dustin Hoffman, Ellen Burstyn, Faye Dunaway, Gena Rowlands, interviews, John Cassavetes, Judy Davis, Laurence Olivier, Lee Strasberg, Maggie Smith, Marlon Brando, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Patricia Clarkson, River Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Stella Adler
11 Comments
April 2018 Viewing Diary
Elvis Presley: The Searcher (2018; d. Thom Zimny) New 2-part HBO doc about Elvis. Grateful it exists now. Long overdue artistic redress. I reviewed for Ebert. Morvern Callar (2002; d. Lynne Ramsay) Re-watched in preparation for her latest, You Were … Continue reading
Posted in James Joyce, Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Coen brothers, Costa-Gavras, documentary, Elvis Presley, Finnegans Wake, France, Handmaid's Tale, Japan, Jared Padalecki, Jeff Bridges, Jensen Ackles, Joan Blondell, Leo McCarey, Margaret Atwood, Martha Coolidge, Mervyn LeRoy, Norway, politics, Robert Duvall, Sebastián Lelio, Supernatural, women directors
8 Comments
Ebertfest Day 4: Rambling Rose, with director Martha Coolidge
The screening of Rambling Rose requires a longer essay, which I will write when I am not so busy. Martha Coolidge was at the Fest to present her film, a movie Mitchell and I saw in its first release in … Continue reading
Posted in Directors, Movies
Tagged drama, Martha Coolidge, Robert Duvall, women directors
4 Comments
Year in Review: Running my mouth in 2017
It’s been a God-awful year in so many unprecedented ways. It’s also been a great year for me professionally (which has brought with it its own set of challenges.) Here are some of the things I’ve written this year. Reviews, … Continue reading
Posted in Movies, Television
Tagged Actors Studio, B.B. King, Bette Davis, Carrie Fisher, Cate Blanchett, Chuck Berry, documentary, East of Eden, Elvis Presley, Greta Gerwig, Groundhog Day, Harry Dean Stanton, Howard Hawks, Isabelle Huppert, Jack Garfein, Jerry Lewis, Joachim Trier, Joan Crawford, John Steinbeck, July and Half of August, Kim Stanley, Kristen Stewart, Mary Astor, Pat McCurdy, Robert Duvall, Sam Shepard, Sofia Coppola, Supernatural, William Faulkner, women directors, year in writing
15 Comments
For Film Comment: On Faulkner’s Tomorrow (1972), starring Robert Duvall
I wrote about the 1972 film Tomorrow, a Horton Foote adaptation of a William Faulkner story, starring Robert Duvall (same year as The Godfather) for Film Comment. It’s screening on TCM this month. Years ago, I remember my father talking … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged drama, Horton Foote, literary adaptation, reviews, Robert Duvall, William Faulkner
19 Comments