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- “Precision and accuracy are necessary for both white and black writers. ‘A black aesthetic’ should not be an excuse for sloppy writing.” — poet and publisher Dudley Randall
- “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
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- Leena Myller on “It wasn’t there, and then it was there.” David Lynch on Elvis
- Leena Myller on “It wasn’t there, and then it was there.” David Lynch on Elvis
- sheila on “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
- Maddy on “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
- sheila on “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
- Maddy on “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
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Tag Archives: Vincente Minnelli
“If you want to see the girl next door, go next door.” – Joan Crawford
Today is Joan Crawford’s birthday. Some links first: World-Class Acting: On Joan Crawford and Sudden Fear Here are the re-caps of Feud: Bette and Joan I did for The New York Times. Lots of discussions of Joan Crawford’s career and … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Crawford, Johnny Guitar, Otto Preminger, Sudden Fear, Vincente Minnelli
10 Comments
September/October 2023 Viewing Diary
I moved in late September. Again. I found a little cozy apartment, the second floor of a little house, with slanted ceilings, little cubbyhole-eaves everywhere, and a big yard. It’s a 10 minute walk to the beach. I found it … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies
Tagged Bette Davis, biopic, comedy, Costa-Gavras, Dana Andrews, documentary, drama, Eli Wallach, England, Ewan McGregor, film noir, France, Fritz Lang, George Cukor, George Sanders, Germany, Gloria Grahame, Hal Wallis, historical drama, Ireland, Joan Crawford, Joan Fontaine, Judy Blume, Kate Lyn Sheil, Lana Turner, Lee Marvin, Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Miriam Hopkins, Norma Shearer, Otto Preminger, Paul Schrader, River Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Roman Polanski, Rosalind Russell, Sidney Lumet, Spain, Supernatural, Vincente Minnelli, women directors, WWII
29 Comments
Dissolving telephones
Look at this gorgeous dissolve from Vincente Minnelli’s The Bad and the Beautiful, a blistering film about Hollywood, power, greed, and – most importantly – the compromises people are willing to make for fame. They’ll trade anything. It’s SO good. … Continue reading
June 2022 Viewing Diary
Watcher (2022; d. Chloe Okuno) I was super impressed – and totally freaked out – by this thriller, psychological and otherwise. The mood is HEAVY with omnipresent DREAD. I reviewed for Ebert. Russian Doll (Season 1 and 2, 2019-2022) I’m … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged animation, Australia, Baz Luhrmann, comedy, David Mamet, drama, Dustin Hoffman, Elvis Presley, Emma Thompson, England, France, George Cukor, Judy Garland, literary adaptation, Meryl Streep, musicals, Paul Schrader, Quentin Tarantino, Robert De Niro, Robert Walker, short films, Supernatural, Susan Sarandon, thrillers, true crime, Vincente Minnelli, women directors
43 Comments
Present Tense: Death Scenes
William Holden, “Sunset Boulevard” For my next “Present Tense” column at Film Comment, I wrote about a long-time obsession – which I have covered from time to time here on my site: Actors performing death scenes. And a tribute to … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies
Tagged Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Bonnie and Clyde, Faye Dunaway, Francis Ford Coppola, James Cagney, Janet Leigh, Jensen Ackles, Marlon Brando, Meryl Streep, Present Tense, Raoul Walsh, Roaring Twenties, Shirley MacLaine, Sunset Boulevard, Supernatural, Vincente Minnelli, Warren Beatty, William Holden
6 Comments
April 2017 Viewing Diary
I just dash these off. Superficial bullet-point analysis for the most part. It’s a good way to keep track of what I’ve seen, for year-end lists, of course, but also for future reference. I also always love the discussions on … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Angela Lansbury, Bette Davis, Cristian Mungiu, documentary, Dogfight, France, Hal Ashby, Humphrey Bogart, Isabelle Huppert, James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Joan Crawford, John Huston, Josephine Decker, July and Half of August, Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margaret Atwood, Nancy Savoca, Paul Verhoeven, Romania, Shirley MacLaine, Supernatural, Susan Sarandon, Vincente Minnelli, women directors
50 Comments
Seen Recently: Corman’s World (2011), Imitation of Life (1959), Viva Zapata! (1952), The Skin I Live In (2011), Undercurrent (1946)
Corman’s World directed by Alex Stapleton A great documentary about Roger Corman whose low-budget productions in the 1960s/70s basically acted as film-school and film-experience for a generation of filmmakers who now run Hollywood. The stories are legendary, but here in … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged documentary, Douglas Sirk, drama, Elia Kazan, film noir, Katharine Hepburn, Lana Turner, Marlon Brando, reviews, Robert Mitchum, Spain, thrillers, Vincente Minnelli
17 Comments
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
There are bad movies. There are good movies. There are great movies. And then there are perfect movies. Meet Me in St. Louis is a perfect movie. A beautiful post on Meet Me in St. Louis, from Greenbriar Picture Shows, … Continue reading
Snapshots
— Still making my way thru War and Peace, a couple chapters a day. Still only on page 540 … but it’s riveting. It’s not a boring read and even the long sections about the freemasons end up adding to … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
Tagged Andrei Rublev, Dean Martin, Hope, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Shirley MacLaine, snapshots, The Seagull, Vincente Minnelli, War and Peace
21 Comments