http://filmjournal.net/clydefro Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:16:27 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en One of the tiniest of upsides in all this financial crisis mess is the comparative resurgence of the U.S. dollar against several other currencies, including the British pound. Those on the other end obviously see it differently, but the favorable exchange rate has finally allowed for some good deals when ... http://filmjournal.net/clydefro/2008/11/30/blah-indeed/ Nothing really to report. Hope everyone is enjoying the annual ritual that goes by the misleading alias of "the holidays."  As always, all times are EST and program days begin at 6:00 AM. Sunday November 30 10:00 AM Twentieth Century (Hawks, 1934) - BW-91 mins. - I've gotten on a Carole Lombard ... http://filmjournal.net/clydefro/2008/11/28/the-tcm-ten-1129-125/ The centennial of Carole Lombard has been celebrated quietly, but nonetheless in many of the best places (though unfortunately not on DVD). Turner Classic Movies made her Star of the Month in October, Lombard's birth month, and Film Forum in NYC has recently begun a nice tribute of 23 films, ... http://filmjournal.net/clydefro/2008/11/25/virtue/ Humphrey Bogart and William Holden have very little in common. They both won an Oscar. Both men were obviously accomplished actors and movie stars. Each was married to an actress. But the most obvious thing they've shared for over fifty years now is Billy Wilder's Sabrina, where the two played ... http://filmjournal.net/clydefro/2008/11/18/invisible-stripes/ I've given the day to Billy Wilder at DVD Times. A privilege, I'm sure. Sabrina isn't one of my most preferred Wilder films, but I do find it supremely entertaining. Hopefully I've conveyed that appreciation sufficiently. Sunset Blvd., on the other hand, is most likely my second favorite of his ... http://filmjournal.net/clydefro/2008/11/16/wilder-times-dangerous-noir/ I've been swamped these last few days so short introduction and mostly short write-ups. I'm going to make another brief post over the weekend linking to that On Dangerous Ground review I mentioned a bit ago and I'll also have reviews going up at DVD Times of the recent Paramount ... http://filmjournal.net/clydefro/2008/11/14/the-tcm-ten-1115-1121/ Yikes! I've just realized that TCM will be showing the 1951 film Roseanna McCoy, about a romance amidst the infamous Hatfield-McCoy rivalry, at 5:00 AM on Tuesday November 4th (Election Day). It didn't click when I was going through the choices, but Nicholas Ray did some uncredited work on the ... http://filmjournal.net/clydefro/2008/11/02/an-eleventh-hour-eleventh-choice-tcm-ten/ (This was supposed to accompany a review of the new DVD release, but Universal didn't send me a copy. I wrote it after a theatrical screening a few weeks ago, and there's no reason to let a few hours of writing go to waste.) It’s either to Orson Welles’ credit or ... http://filmjournal.net/clydefro/2008/10/08/touch-of-evil/ September 23rd sees new R1 releases of The Godfather trilogy, now restored and available on Blu-ray for the first time. I can't pretend that the idea of trying to efficiently and properly review this set isn't intimidating, especially with nearly five hours of special features (not even counting commentaries on ... http://filmjournal.net/clydefro/2008/09/15/the-godfather-on-blu-ray/ I propped up Mister Buddwing a couple of weeks ago in my weekly TCM picks. Some minor research left me hesitant but entirely intrigued. James Garner as a guy who wanders around the streets of Manhattan in search of himself sounded familiar. I've never experienced memory loss or found myself ... http://filmjournal.net/clydefro/2008/08/27/mister-buddwing/ Something I'm fascinated by, as it manages to enter my thoughts at least daily, is what constitutes masculinity right now. In the DVD extras for The Ice Harvest, an underrated attempt at neonoir from a couple of years back, screenwriters Robert Benton and Richard Russo, both of whom are quite ... http://filmjournal.net/clydefro/2008/08/19/le-cercle-rouge/ Forever transforming intricate layers of sleaze into something profound, Shohei Imamura continued on the same path he'd journeyed in 1963's The Insect Woman with its follow-up, Intentions of Murder. The 1964 film approaches many of Imamura's favorite subjects, notably an unremarkable and unhappy woman dragged through conflict and emerging with ... http://filmjournal.net/clydefro/2008/08/12/intentions-of-murder/ My enthusiastic suspicions have now been confirmed. Elliott Gould is, forever and always, one cool cat. I caught the Gouldness sometime after seeing California Split and The Long Goodbye in fairly close succession - amazed, humbled, and envious at every turn. Gould may not necessarily have been the best actor ... http://filmjournal.net/clydefro/2008/08/10/little-murders/ How does one approach Shirley MacLaine? With respect? Surely. With admiration? Maybe. With awe? Possibly. If The Apartment is as close as any to being your favorite film, you probably do so equipped with something related to that movie, book-wise. Arm twisted for no apparent reason, I'd probably choose The ... http://filmjournal.net/clydefro/2008/07/23/tuesday-with-shirley/ I wasn't sufficiently acquainted with Kon Ichikawa's work (and, truthfully, I'm still not), but the entire tone of his relatively obscure I Am a Cat caught me somewhat by surprise. I'd loved Ichikawa's Fires on the Plain, a deeply and darkly humorous look at the ridiculousness of war played against ... http://filmjournal.net/clydefro/2008/07/18/i-am-a-cat/