The Big Knife    A cutting (sorry!) look at Hollywood studio politics, director Robert Aldrich's translation of the Clifford Odets play features Jack Palance as a movie star whose attempts to get out from under the thumb of ruthless mogul Rod Steiger could reveal a deadly secret in his past. Ida Lupino co-stars as Palance's estranged wife; with Shelley Winters, Jean Hagen, Wendell Corey. DVD 114 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby mono; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; theatrical trailer.  original poster available from MoviePoster.com |
What I like?Robert Aldrich always delivers. So does Shelley Winters, and the other actors aren't half bad. Rod Steiger is really great. Interesting subject, too. And I don't care what you say, I like Jack Palance. back | |
| The Seven Year Itch Billy Wilder's delightful comedy about (imagined) adultery stars Tom Ewell as the happily married man who finds himself tempted by upstairs neighbor Marilyn Monroe while his wife is on vacation. Marilyn's famous "standing on the subway grate" scene is a highlight; with Evelyn Keyes, Sonny Tufts. DVD 110 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 3.0, Dolby Digital stereo, French Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish; featurette; deleted scenes; newsreel footage; theatrical trailers. | Hadn't seen it since I was seventeen. Not Wilder's greatest movie, but what do you want? As Tony Curtis said, "kissing Marilyn Monroe is like kissing Adolf Hitler". Tom Ewell virtually carries the entoire film - great performance. That subway grate has really become famous by Richard Avedon's photographs. back | |
| Attack! Compelling WWII drama from director Robert Aldrich ("The Dirty Dozen") set in Belgium in 1944, where cowardly American captain Eddie Albert has placed one of his small platoons in danger, sending them into a combat zone without protection. Led by lieutenant Jack Palance, the soldiers must fight their way back from the front. Lee Marvin, Richard Jaeckel and Buddy Ebsen also star. DVD 108 min. Standard; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital mono, Spanish Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish, French; theatrical trailer. | If you by some weird chance haven't seen The Dirty Dozen, and even if you have seen it, it may have escaped you that Aldrich is not exactly crazy about the army. This is another anti-war war movie of his. back | |
The Pride And The Passion   In Stanley Kramer's adventure saga, Cary Grant is a British naval officer who must retrieve a huge cannon abandoned by Spanish troops in order to use it against Napoleon's army. After enlisting guerrilla Frank Sinatra for the mission, Grant falls for his girlfriend (Sophia Loren). With Theodore Bikel and Jay Novello. DVD 132 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English Dolby mono, Spanish mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish, French; theatrical trailer. | I was curious, as it was based on a very good novel by C.S. Forester (He of Hornblower). They chucked out everything that makes the book good — like anti-climaxes, as John Huston did in his overrated The African Queen. Than, they chucked some more in to make it still worse. Franz Planer's photography is marvelous. back | |
| Bonjour Tristesse Otto Preminger's compelling drama stars David Niven and Jean Seberg as a father-daughter pair of fun-seeking sybarites living on the Riviera, with Deborah Kerr as the lonely widow whose relationship with Niven ultimately leads to tragedy. Co-stars Geoffrey Horne, Walter Chiari. 94 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital stereo, Portuguese Dolby Digital stereo; Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Portuguese. | Really fine, even if I find Sagan's original novel quite unreadable by now. Especially the gimmick of showing the present in B/W with flash-backs in full color works great: A sunny Rivièra beach suddenly super-imposed on a grimy Paris wall. back | |
| Some Like It Hot Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis are two musicians who witness a mob hit, then escape by disguising themselves as women and joining an all-female band. You'll roar with delight at the twosome's antics, and savor Curtis' attempts to woo the gorgeous Marilyn Monroe. Billy Wilder's classic co-stars George Raft, Pat O'Brien and Joe E. Brown. DVD 120 min. Widescreen; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1 and mono, French mono, Spanish mono; Subtitles: French, Spanish; theatrical trailer. | "A pant-pisser." What do I like about this movie? Hah! Better ask &c. Monroe, disgusting as she is, still does a very good job, and her singing of Running Wild even rivals Ella Fitzgerald's. Tony Curtis tells he was decided to be the best actor Wilder ever had on the set, and he succeeded. back | |
| Seconds Considered a cult classic, director John Frankenheimer's innovative, sci-fi-flavored drama follows bored, middle-aged New York businessman John Randolph as he meets with a mysterious company that offers him a new life in a younger body. "Reborn" as handsome artist Rock Hudson, he soon begins having second thoughts about the arrangement, but finds there may be no going back. With Will Geer, Salome Jens, and eerie cinematography by James Wong Howe. DVD Foreign theatrical version; 107 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby mono, French mono; Subtitles: English; audio commentary by Frankenheimer; theatrical trailer; scene access. | That story sure reminds me of an English production where a guy gets a penis transplant; also a cult movie. It's Percy with music by the Kinks; which I haven't seen either. The music of that one may turn out to be more interesting, but for the rest? Especially that cinematography I'd like to see. back | |
| Seven Thieves (1960) Suspenseful, stylish "perfect crime" thriller stars Edward G. Robinson as a professor who, before he dies, wants to pull the ultimate heist at Monte Carlo's casino. Rod Steiger is the old friend who helps him assemble a gang. Joan Collins, Eli Wallach, Michael Dante, Sebastian Cabot co-star. 102 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital Surround, Spanish Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish; featurette; photo gallery; theatrical trailer. | Another one that I wanted to see again after almost 50 years. Turned out to be even better than I remembered. Talk about inflation: 7 guys set out to rob the casino of 4 million bucks. One of the best Hathaways, which is saying quite a lot. Good acting, photography by Sam Leavitt. Music is "adequate". back |
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