In 1936 Alfred Hitchcock’s name was not yet immortalized as the Master of Suspense, but he was getting there. Having labored through the twenties and early thirties making flat, flavorless silent melodramas and romantic “comedies,” Hitchcock had reinvented himself as…
Where Have All the Credits Gone?
Too many of today’s movies have something missing. It’s a conspicuous absence, although the average moviegoer probably doesn’t notice. It used to be one of the most essential, obligatory cinematic identifiers, integral to any film’s artistic fiber. Can…
The Film Canon: Les Diaboliques (1955)
It is no more possible to discuss the importance and impact of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Les Diaboliques without diving into spoilers than it is to examine Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) without mentioning Janet Leigh’s brutal murder. And yet Clouzot’s masterpiece has…
Top Ten: Some of Our Favorite Movie Endings
Movies can be eternal, they can provide a needed two hours of pure escapism, they can be a mere blip in time, or they can be everlasting. For me some of the most poignant moments in films-in the greats-are how…
Tribeca 2013: Beetlejuice Drive-In
The 2013 Tribeca Film Festival featured a wide variety of films to choose from, including a look back at some of the most memorable films every person should know. As part of the Tribeca Film Festival Tribeca Drive In events,…
The Avengers and the Survival of the Cinema
Every few weeks, an article entitled “Death of the Cinema” or “Death of Film Criticism” materializes on some film blog. “The cinema is dying! Young people don’t go to the movies! They’re not made like they used to be,” they…