Lawrence of Arabia: A Second Look

The second of two movies that David Lean directed to the Best Picture Oscar, Lawrence of Arabia is often held up not only as Lean's best work but one of the greatest films of all time. I, er, put it #3 in my list of Lean's films. Still, it's just so great. Lean was a…

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West Side Story (1961)

So, I have something of a history with this film. Previous to this screening, I'd only seen it once, about twenty years ago, and I hated the film. I loathed it. In fact, despite having only seen the film a single time two decades ago, I retained surprisingly clear memories of the film itself as…

The Apartment: A Second Look

I'm going to pay Billy Wilder the highest compliment I think he would accept: The Apartment could fit in with Ernst Lubitsch's mature period. Watching this alongside The Shop Around the Corner would be a fascinating look at how essentially the same sense of comedy, drama, and romance developed over about twenty years. It's still…

Hell in the Pacific

#1 in my ranking of John Boorman's films. I love these sorts of tiny little films from accomplished filmmakers. This is two actors (literally no more than two at any point in the film) in a battle of wills and wits on a beach. It's the sort of thing that, just at the sound of…

Point Blank

#5 in my ranking of John Boorman's films. John Boorman, supposedly based on a positive review from Pauline Kael for his first film Catch Us if You Can, started receiving offers to work in Hollywood, and he attracted the attention of Lee Marvin who, at the height of his fame, was offered complete creative control…