Excalibur: A Second Look

It's been obvious that John Boorman had his own little cinematic world. It was less distinct visually than someone like Fellini, especially across the films, but he was operating in a distinctly unique thematic space. In Excalibur, Boorman found the most distinct visual presentation of his style, embracing Romanticism and operatic theatrics to bring the…

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Fire and Ice

#3 in my ranking of Ralph Bakshi's filmography. Partnering with Frank Frazetta to create the art design, Ralph Bakshi returned once again to the world of high fantasy with Fire and Ice, a middling effort that brings nothing particularly new to the table while demonstrating that Frazetta's art was best used in the visual art…

The Lord of the Rings (1978)

#2 in my ranking of Ralph Bakshi's filmography. I hadn't so much as given upon Ralph Bakshi's career as lost as I had considered him a man so far out of his depth in the feature film world that I regretted taking on the task of watching his films. It got to the point where…

Wizards

#10 in my ranking of Ralph Bakshi's filmography. Ralph Bakshi wanted to prove that he could make a movie for families, so he made a film filled with Nazi imagery, a female fairy that is in a near-constant state of undress with obvious nipple protrusions, extreme violence, a meandering, nearly pointless plot, and complicated, underexplained…

Die Nibelungen: Siegfried

#12 in my ranking of Fritz Lang's filmography. Fritz Lang dealt with Germany’s present in Dr. Mabuse, and now he turns his eyes to its past, its myth, and its legends. It’s also a rollicking good time of grand adventure, magic, and bravery. It’s a triumph of physical production combined with a wonderfully engaging mythic…