As expansive and iconic as its title suggests, Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West certainly seemed to be written in John Ford’s blood, from the vast wide-angle visions of Monument Valley that Leone and cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli luxuriated in, to the railroad-based, future-of-America economic landscape that serves as a backdrop to a number of bandit-versus-bandit power plays. Henry Fonda, with that methodical, stately stroll of his and those killer blue eyes barely visible from under the rim of his hat, can be seen and heard throughout, sending a shiver of great nostalgia up one’s spine. Ripened and tanned by years of desert sunlight, Ford’s Wyatt Earp is back in the saddle again.
But that particular pace and posture that Fonda had become known for in such films as My Darling Clementine, matched with the devious glint in those baby blues, now took...
But that particular pace and posture that Fonda had become known for in such films as My Darling Clementine, matched with the devious glint in those baby blues, now took...
- 5/21/2024
- by Chris Cabin
- Slant Magazine
Rarovideo is back, with an excellent Italo war drama that finds humanist values in an appalling situation: a young Italian lieutenant is tasked with distributing 12 Athenian prostitutes to garrisons on the road back to Italy, to ‘service’ the troops. It’s a mixed group — a couple of the women have signed up to avoid starvation. The trek takes them directly into partisan conflict. Sympathetic director Valerio Zurlini assembles a terrific international cast: Mario Adorf, Anna Karina, Tomas Milian, Marie Laforêt, Lea Massari, Valeria Moriconi and Milena Dravic.
Le Soldatesse
Blu-ray
Rarovideo / Kino Lorber
1965 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 118 min. / Street Date October 25, 2022 / The Camp Followers / Available from Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Mario Adorf, Anna Karina, Marie Laforêt, Lea Massari, Tomas Milian, Valeria Moriconi, Milena Dravic, Aleksandar Gavric, Dusan Vujisic, Jovan Rancic, Dragomir Felba, Jelena Zigon, Alenka Rancic, Milica Preradovic, Rossana Di Rocco, Mila Cortini, Guido Alberti.
Cinematography: Tonino Delli Colli
Production Designer:...
Le Soldatesse
Blu-ray
Rarovideo / Kino Lorber
1965 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 118 min. / Street Date October 25, 2022 / The Camp Followers / Available from Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Mario Adorf, Anna Karina, Marie Laforêt, Lea Massari, Tomas Milian, Valeria Moriconi, Milena Dravic, Aleksandar Gavric, Dusan Vujisic, Jovan Rancic, Dragomir Felba, Jelena Zigon, Alenka Rancic, Milica Preradovic, Rossana Di Rocco, Mila Cortini, Guido Alberti.
Cinematography: Tonino Delli Colli
Production Designer:...
- 11/5/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
If you love Westerns, you owe Sergio Leone a great deal of thanks. Leone was instrumental in bringing the spaghetti Western to prominence in America and even popularized a number of its tropes, including tension-laden shootouts and the demythologization of the cowboy figure. Leone's work, which includes the "Dollars" trilogy and the "Once Upon A Time" series, even led to some significant changes in how films were shot and edited, especially in America.
Tonino Delli Colli, the cinematographer on Leone's "Once Upon A Time In The West", was interviewed for the book "Once Upon A Time In The West: Shooting A Masterpiece," which serves as an in-depth look at...
The post How Sergio Leone's Westerns Rewrote the Rules of Filmmaking appeared first on /Film.
Tonino Delli Colli, the cinematographer on Leone's "Once Upon A Time In The West", was interviewed for the book "Once Upon A Time In The West: Shooting A Masterpiece," which serves as an in-depth look at...
The post How Sergio Leone's Westerns Rewrote the Rules of Filmmaking appeared first on /Film.
- 3/21/2022
- by Collier Jennings
- Slash Film
It’s still one of the most popular movies ever, and fans are proving that by shelling out for an umpteenth home video release, this time on the 4K Ultra HD format. Everybody knows exactly what to expect from Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach, but what about the transfer quality and encoding — Sergio Leone’s film was originally shot in the half-frame Techniscope format, which is on the low-res side to scan in 4K. Kino adds a Blu-ray disc and a mountain of accumulated extras from earlier editions.
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
4K Ultra-hd + Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 162 min. / Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo / Street Date April 27, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 39.95
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach, Aldo Giuffrè, Luigi Pistilli, Rada Rassimov, Enzo Petito, Benito Stefanelli, Aldo Sambrell, Al Mulock, Antonio Molino Rojo, Mario Brega, Chelo Alonso,...
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
4K Ultra-hd + Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 162 min. / Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo / Street Date April 27, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 39.95
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach, Aldo Giuffrè, Luigi Pistilli, Rada Rassimov, Enzo Petito, Benito Stefanelli, Aldo Sambrell, Al Mulock, Antonio Molino Rojo, Mario Brega, Chelo Alonso,...
- 6/12/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Ace Italian cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno, who was instrumental to the making of masterpieces such as Luchino Visconti’s “The Leopard” and Federico Fellini’s “Amarcord,” but also worked in Hollywood and was an Oscar nominee for Bob Fosse’s “All That Jazz,” has died. He was 97.
Rotunno, who was nicknamed Peppino, died on Sunday in his Rome home, his family announced without disclosing the exact cause.
Born in Rome on March 23, 1923, Rotunno started his remarkable six-decade career as a still photographer at the Italian capital’s Cinecittà Studios in 1940 before being recruited in 1942 to serve as a newsreel cameraman with the Italian army where he cut his teeth as a cinematographer.
In 1943 at age 20, with World War II still raging, Rotunno was hired as an assistant Dp by Roberto Rossellini for the 1943 war film “L’Uomo dalla croce” (The Man with a Cross), a drama about a military chaplain.
After the war,...
Rotunno, who was nicknamed Peppino, died on Sunday in his Rome home, his family announced without disclosing the exact cause.
Born in Rome on March 23, 1923, Rotunno started his remarkable six-decade career as a still photographer at the Italian capital’s Cinecittà Studios in 1940 before being recruited in 1942 to serve as a newsreel cameraman with the Italian army where he cut his teeth as a cinematographer.
In 1943 at age 20, with World War II still raging, Rotunno was hired as an assistant Dp by Roberto Rossellini for the 1943 war film “L’Uomo dalla croce” (The Man with a Cross), a drama about a military chaplain.
After the war,...
- 2/8/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The Wonders of Aladdin
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1961 / 93 Min. / 2:35.1
Starring Donald O’Connor, Vittorio De Sica
Cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli
Directed by Henry Levin
Henry Levin was a more than reliable director of Hollywood entertainments, most notably the unassailable widescreen thrills of Journey to the Center of the Earth. Donald O’Connor was a first-class, multi-faceted actor. Mario Bava was a visionary genre trickster. And Vittorio De Sica was one of world cinema’s greatest artists. Shocking, then, that their 1960 collaboration, The Wonders of Aladdin is just another movie… a non-event, a Saturday matinee misfire.
O’Connor promoted the fantasy with a bit of brazen ballyhoo: “The story of Aladdin has been done by everyone but this is its first time around as a comedy.” Dave and Max Fleischer would beg to differ—their 1939 Popeye cartoon, Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, serves up more laughs, not to mention more magic,...
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1961 / 93 Min. / 2:35.1
Starring Donald O’Connor, Vittorio De Sica
Cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli
Directed by Henry Levin
Henry Levin was a more than reliable director of Hollywood entertainments, most notably the unassailable widescreen thrills of Journey to the Center of the Earth. Donald O’Connor was a first-class, multi-faceted actor. Mario Bava was a visionary genre trickster. And Vittorio De Sica was one of world cinema’s greatest artists. Shocking, then, that their 1960 collaboration, The Wonders of Aladdin is just another movie… a non-event, a Saturday matinee misfire.
O’Connor promoted the fantasy with a bit of brazen ballyhoo: “The story of Aladdin has been done by everyone but this is its first time around as a comedy.” Dave and Max Fleischer would beg to differ—their 1939 Popeye cartoon, Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, serves up more laughs, not to mention more magic,...
- 11/17/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
The Thief of Baghdad
Blu ray – All Region
Colosseo Film
1961 /100 min.
Starring Steve Reeves, Georgia Moll, Arturo Dominici
Cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli
Directed by Arthur Lubin
When he shuffled off this mortal coil in 1995, Arthur Lubin’s New York Times obituary was titled “Arthur Lubin, 96, Director Of ‘Mr. Ed’ TV Series, Dies.” It’s doubtful the prolific Lubin would have complained about that particular credit headlining his accomplishments; the man who directed Karloff and Lugosi, jumpstarted Abbott and Costello’s film career and gave Clint Eastwood his first break, also had a thing for talking animals. In 1950 he bought the rights to a book about a talking mule and began a series of hit comedies starring a four-legged chatterbox named Francis and his two-legged pal played by Donald O’Connor.
Industrious to a fault, Lubin’s career was spent crisscrossing from theater to film to television and back again yet...
Blu ray – All Region
Colosseo Film
1961 /100 min.
Starring Steve Reeves, Georgia Moll, Arturo Dominici
Cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli
Directed by Arthur Lubin
When he shuffled off this mortal coil in 1995, Arthur Lubin’s New York Times obituary was titled “Arthur Lubin, 96, Director Of ‘Mr. Ed’ TV Series, Dies.” It’s doubtful the prolific Lubin would have complained about that particular credit headlining his accomplishments; the man who directed Karloff and Lugosi, jumpstarted Abbott and Costello’s film career and gave Clint Eastwood his first break, also had a thing for talking animals. In 1950 he bought the rights to a book about a talking mule and began a series of hit comedies starring a four-legged chatterbox named Francis and his two-legged pal played by Donald O’Connor.
Industrious to a fault, Lubin’s career was spent crisscrossing from theater to film to television and back again yet...
- 7/11/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
In celebration of its 100th anniversary, the American Society of Cinematographers has released a list of the 100 best shot films of the 20th century.
This list was released to "showcase the best of cinematography as selected by professional cinematographers.” Here's how the list was put together:
The process of cultivating the 100 films began with Asc members each submitting 10 to 25 titles that were personally inspirational or perhaps changed the way they approached their craft. “I asked them — as cinematographers, members of the Asc, artists, filmmakers and people who love film and whose lives were shaped by films — to list the films that were most influential,” Fierberg explains. A master list was then complied, and members voted on what they considered to be the most essential 100 titles.
Here's a little sizzle reel that was cut together showcasing some of the films on the list:
It's hard to argue with the Top 10 films,...
This list was released to "showcase the best of cinematography as selected by professional cinematographers.” Here's how the list was put together:
The process of cultivating the 100 films began with Asc members each submitting 10 to 25 titles that were personally inspirational or perhaps changed the way they approached their craft. “I asked them — as cinematographers, members of the Asc, artists, filmmakers and people who love film and whose lives were shaped by films — to list the films that were most influential,” Fierberg explains. A master list was then complied, and members voted on what they considered to be the most essential 100 titles.
Here's a little sizzle reel that was cut together showcasing some of the films on the list:
It's hard to argue with the Top 10 films,...
- 1/9/2019
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
He’s fast on his feet, quick with a gun, and faster with the to-die-for beauties that only existed in the swinging ’60s. The superspy exploits of Oss 117 were too big for just one actor, so meet all three iterations of the man they called Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath . . . seriously.
Oss 117 Five Film Collection
Blu-ray
Oss 117 Is Unleashed; Oss 117: Panic in Bangkok; Oss 117: Mission For a Killer; Oss 117: Mission to Tokyo; Oss 117: Double Agent
Kl Studio Classics
1963-1968 / B&W and Color / 1:85 widescreen + 2:35 widescreen / 528 min. / Street Date September 26, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 59.95
Starring: Kerwin Matthews, Nadia Sanders, Irina Demick, Daniel Emilfork; Kerwin Matthews, Pier Angeli, Robert Hossein; Frederick Stafford, Mylène Demongeot, Perrette Pradier, Dominique Wilms, Raymond Pellegrin, Annie Anderson; Frederick Stafford, Marina Vlad, Jitsuko Yoshimura; John Gavin, Margaret Lee, Curd Jurgens, Luciana Paluzzi, Rosalba Neri, Robert Hossein, George Eastman.
Cinematography: Raymond Pierre Lemoigne...
Oss 117 Five Film Collection
Blu-ray
Oss 117 Is Unleashed; Oss 117: Panic in Bangkok; Oss 117: Mission For a Killer; Oss 117: Mission to Tokyo; Oss 117: Double Agent
Kl Studio Classics
1963-1968 / B&W and Color / 1:85 widescreen + 2:35 widescreen / 528 min. / Street Date September 26, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 59.95
Starring: Kerwin Matthews, Nadia Sanders, Irina Demick, Daniel Emilfork; Kerwin Matthews, Pier Angeli, Robert Hossein; Frederick Stafford, Mylène Demongeot, Perrette Pradier, Dominique Wilms, Raymond Pellegrin, Annie Anderson; Frederick Stafford, Marina Vlad, Jitsuko Yoshimura; John Gavin, Margaret Lee, Curd Jurgens, Luciana Paluzzi, Rosalba Neri, Robert Hossein, George Eastman.
Cinematography: Raymond Pierre Lemoigne...
- 9/16/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Sergio Leone’s Civil War gunslinger epic is everybody’s favorite western, and most everybody has a bone to pick regarding problems with the previous DVDs and Blu-rays. The good news is that Kino’s 50th Anniversary Special Edition takes giant leaps in correcting older audio issues . . . but the bad news . . .
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Blu-ray
2-Disc 50th Anniversary Special Edition
Kl Studio Classics
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen (Techniscope) / 187 161, 148 min. / Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il cattivo/ Street Date August 14, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach, Aldo Giuffrè, Luigi Pistilli, Mario Brega, Al Mulock, Aldo Sambrell.
Cinematography: Tonino Delli Colli
Production Designer: Carlo Simi
Film Editor: Eugenio Alabiso, Nino Baragli
Original Music: Ennio Morricone
Written by Agenore Incrocci, Furio Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Leone, story by Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Leone.
Produced by Alberto Grimaldi
Directed by Sergio Leone
I’d like to report...
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Blu-ray
2-Disc 50th Anniversary Special Edition
Kl Studio Classics
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen (Techniscope) / 187 161, 148 min. / Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il cattivo/ Street Date August 14, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach, Aldo Giuffrè, Luigi Pistilli, Mario Brega, Al Mulock, Aldo Sambrell.
Cinematography: Tonino Delli Colli
Production Designer: Carlo Simi
Film Editor: Eugenio Alabiso, Nino Baragli
Original Music: Ennio Morricone
Written by Agenore Incrocci, Furio Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Leone, story by Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Leone.
Produced by Alberto Grimaldi
Directed by Sergio Leone
I’d like to report...
- 8/12/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
A breezy five-episode compilation movie about swindles plays out in five film capitals, under the eye of five different directors including Claude Chabrol and Jean-Luc Godard. But Roman Polanski’s Amsterdam segment couldn’t be included, which is a shame. It’s in B&W ‘scope, and everybody gets to bring their favorite cameraman and composer along.
The World’s Most Beautiful Swindlers
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1964 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 95 108, 124 min. / Street Date April 25, 2017 / Les plus belles escroqueries du monde / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98
Starring: Mie Hama, Ken Mitsuda, Nicole Karen, Gabriella Giorgelli, Jan Teulings, Arnold Gelderman, Guido Giuseppone, Giuseppe Mannajuolo, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Catherine Deneuve, Francis Blanche, Sacha Briquet, Jean-Louis Maury, Philomène Toulouse, Charles Denner, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean Seberg, László Szabó.
Cinematography: Raoul Coutard, Tonino Delli Colli, Jerzy Lipman, Asakazu Nakai, Jean Rabier
Film Editor:
Original Music: Serge Gainsbourg, Pierre Jansen, Krzysztof Komeda, Michel Legrand, Keitaro Miho, Piero Umiliani...
The World’s Most Beautiful Swindlers
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1964 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 95 108, 124 min. / Street Date April 25, 2017 / Les plus belles escroqueries du monde / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98
Starring: Mie Hama, Ken Mitsuda, Nicole Karen, Gabriella Giorgelli, Jan Teulings, Arnold Gelderman, Guido Giuseppone, Giuseppe Mannajuolo, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Catherine Deneuve, Francis Blanche, Sacha Briquet, Jean-Louis Maury, Philomène Toulouse, Charles Denner, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean Seberg, László Szabó.
Cinematography: Raoul Coutard, Tonino Delli Colli, Jerzy Lipman, Asakazu Nakai, Jean Rabier
Film Editor:
Original Music: Serge Gainsbourg, Pierre Jansen, Krzysztof Komeda, Michel Legrand, Keitaro Miho, Piero Umiliani...
- 5/16/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Now for something truly remarkable from the neglected Spanish cinema. Luis García Berlanga's wicked satire is a humanistic black comedy, free of cynicism. The borderline Kafkaesque situation of an everyman forced into a profession that horrifies him is funny and warm hearted - but with a ruthless logic that points to universal issues beyond Franco Fascism. The Executioner Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 840 1963 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 92 min. / El Verdugo / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 25, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Nino Manfredi, Emma Penella, José Isbert . Cinematography Tonino Delli Colli Film Editor Afonso Santacana Original Music Miguel Asins Arbó Written by Luis García Berlanga, Rafael Azcona, Ennio Flaiano Produced by Nazario Belmar Directed by Luis García Berlanga
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Criterion brings us 1963's The Executioner (El Verdugo), a major discovery for film fans that thought Spanish cinema began and ended with Luis Buñuel. I've seen politically-charged Spanish films from...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Criterion brings us 1963's The Executioner (El Verdugo), a major discovery for film fans that thought Spanish cinema began and ended with Luis Buñuel. I've seen politically-charged Spanish films from...
- 10/25/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
We here at The CriterionCast wear our admiration for The Criterion Collection squarely on our sleeves. Not only is it in the very title of this website and the podcast from which it spawned, but it is in the very DNA of what we strive to do through both ventures. At their very best, The Criterion Collection doesn’t so much bring to light gloriously dense home video releases of beloved, crystal clear classics from the history of film, but instead highlights lesser known masterpieces from throughout the world and spanning the entirety of film’s history as an artform. Be it esoteric experimental works like that of director Jean Painleve to baroque world cinema classics like La Cienaga, Criterion’s greatest achievement is giving the world a new glimpse at world history through the lens of those directors commenting on it through their films.
And few films quite hit...
And few films quite hit...
- 10/24/2016
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
By Todd Garbarini
This weekend of August 12 through 14th, the Laemmle Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre in Los Angeles will be presenting a series of classic western films that will also feature special guests who are scheduled to come and speak about their work in the films. We strongly suggest checking with the theatre’s schedule to see which other guests are added.
From the press release:
Anniversary Classics Western Weekend
August 12-14 at the Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills
5 Classic Westerns with special guests throughout the weekend
Laemmle’s Anniversary Classics presents our tribute to the sagebrush genre with the Anniversary Classics Western Weekend, a five film round-up of some of the most celebrated westerns in movie history. The star-studded lineup features John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Kevin Costner, Montgomery Clift, Natalie Wood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef and others.
This weekend of August 12 through 14th, the Laemmle Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre in Los Angeles will be presenting a series of classic western films that will also feature special guests who are scheduled to come and speak about their work in the films. We strongly suggest checking with the theatre’s schedule to see which other guests are added.
From the press release:
Anniversary Classics Western Weekend
August 12-14 at the Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills
5 Classic Westerns with special guests throughout the weekend
Laemmle’s Anniversary Classics presents our tribute to the sagebrush genre with the Anniversary Classics Western Weekend, a five film round-up of some of the most celebrated westerns in movie history. The star-studded lineup features John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Kevin Costner, Montgomery Clift, Natalie Wood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef and others.
- 8/9/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
“Every gun makes its own tune.”
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly screens at The St. Louis Public Library Central Branch (1301 Olive Street St. Louis) Saturday, August 6th at 1pm. This is a Free event.
There’s a new film series in town! To celebrate the Summer Reading Program theme, “Worlds of Wonder,” Central Cinema at the St. Louis Library will be screening some of the most unique and fantastical films ever shown on the big screen. This weekend is Sergio Leone’s 1966 epic The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.
In 1964, Clint Eastwood accepted the lead role in a Western being filmed in Spain titled “The Magnificent Stranger.” The part had been offered to many of Hollywood’s most rugged actors, including Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, and Charles Bronson. Eastwood, on break from his TV series Rawhide and looking for a film project, immediately recognized the story as...
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly screens at The St. Louis Public Library Central Branch (1301 Olive Street St. Louis) Saturday, August 6th at 1pm. This is a Free event.
There’s a new film series in town! To celebrate the Summer Reading Program theme, “Worlds of Wonder,” Central Cinema at the St. Louis Library will be screening some of the most unique and fantastical films ever shown on the big screen. This weekend is Sergio Leone’s 1966 epic The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.
In 1964, Clint Eastwood accepted the lead role in a Western being filmed in Spain titled “The Magnificent Stranger.” The part had been offered to many of Hollywood’s most rugged actors, including Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, and Charles Bronson. Eastwood, on break from his TV series Rawhide and looking for a film project, immediately recognized the story as...
- 8/1/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, and Tom Stockman
Happy Birthday to one of We Are Movie Geeks favorite stars. Clint Eastwood was born on this day in 1930, making him 86 years old. The actor and two-time Oscar winning director hasn’t let his age slow him down a bit. Sully, his new movie as a director, opens in September.
We posted a list in 2011 of his ten best directorial efforts Here
Clint Eastwood has appeared in 68 films in his six (!) decades as an actor, and here, according to We Are Movie Geeks, are his ten best:
Honorable Mention: Honkytonk Man
By the 1980s, Clint Eastwood was one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars. With his own production company, directorial skills, and economic clout, Eastwood was able to make smaller, more personal films. A perfect example is the underrated Honkytonk Man, which also happens to be one of Eastwood’s finest performances.
Happy Birthday to one of We Are Movie Geeks favorite stars. Clint Eastwood was born on this day in 1930, making him 86 years old. The actor and two-time Oscar winning director hasn’t let his age slow him down a bit. Sully, his new movie as a director, opens in September.
We posted a list in 2011 of his ten best directorial efforts Here
Clint Eastwood has appeared in 68 films in his six (!) decades as an actor, and here, according to We Are Movie Geeks, are his ten best:
Honorable Mention: Honkytonk Man
By the 1980s, Clint Eastwood was one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars. With his own production company, directorial skills, and economic clout, Eastwood was able to make smaller, more personal films. A perfect example is the underrated Honkytonk Man, which also happens to be one of Eastwood’s finest performances.
- 5/31/2016
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Appearing at New York's Film Forum from the 20th - 26th of March, Marco Bellocchio's newly restored political-sexual satire plays something like Robert Altman at his most biting, but the flavor is distinctly Italian, the milieu that of local politics in a small city. Glauco Mori plays an aspiring socialist candidate for municipal office, a man who has tried every center-left party on the map, and even dabbled with communism; a man with no convictions but a vague itch for power, perhaps because he's so ineffectual in his own life.He's having an affair with his secretary, and his campaign manager is sleeping with his sister, and both lovers are conniving to force a lucrative marriage. Meanwhile, his brother is gravitating towards minor acts of terrorism...Nobody is admirable in Bellocchio's supremely cynical vision: there are no noble deeds to be done in politics, and the public's contempt for...
- 3/19/2015
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
Once Upon a Time in America
Directed by Sergio Leone
Written by Leonardo Benvenuti, Piero De Bernardi, Enrico Medioli, Franco Arcalli, Franco Ferrini, Sergio Leone
Italy/USA, 1984
Widely and justly heralded for his trendsetting Spaghetti Westerns, Sergio Leone’s final and arguably most ambitious work was in another staple American genre. Like these Westerns though, this film was as much of its respective variety as it was about it. Once Upon a Time in America, with its name obviously derived from Leone’s previous Once Upon a Time in the West, is a gangster film of the highest order, and, at the same time, it recalls so many of its predecessors, from the Warner Brothers classics of the 1930s to The Godfather. This was by design. As Leone himself notes, “My film was to be an homage to the American films I love, and to America itself.”
Out now on...
Directed by Sergio Leone
Written by Leonardo Benvenuti, Piero De Bernardi, Enrico Medioli, Franco Arcalli, Franco Ferrini, Sergio Leone
Italy/USA, 1984
Widely and justly heralded for his trendsetting Spaghetti Westerns, Sergio Leone’s final and arguably most ambitious work was in another staple American genre. Like these Westerns though, this film was as much of its respective variety as it was about it. Once Upon a Time in America, with its name obviously derived from Leone’s previous Once Upon a Time in the West, is a gangster film of the highest order, and, at the same time, it recalls so many of its predecessors, from the Warner Brothers classics of the 1930s to The Godfather. This was by design. As Leone himself notes, “My film was to be an homage to the American films I love, and to America itself.”
Out now on...
- 10/15/2014
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
The Gospel According to Matthew
Written and Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini
Italy, 1964
As an avowed Marxist, homosexual, and atheist, Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini may seem to some a dubious choice to have made one of the most austere, faithful, and simply one of the best films about the life and death of Jesus Christ. But, with The Gospel According to Matthew, from 1964, that’s exactly what the controversial filmmaker, poet, novelist, and theorist did. This gritty and unpolished depiction of the life of Christ contains many of the narrative hallmarks featured in other film versions of the same story: the virgin birth, the early miracles, the apostles, Christ’s persecution and, ultimately, the crucifixion. However, no other cinematic depiction of this well-known chronicle looks, sounds, or feels quite like this one.
Before making this film, Pasolini had directed his first feature, Accattone!, in 1961, followed by Mamma Roma, starring...
Written and Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini
Italy, 1964
As an avowed Marxist, homosexual, and atheist, Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini may seem to some a dubious choice to have made one of the most austere, faithful, and simply one of the best films about the life and death of Jesus Christ. But, with The Gospel According to Matthew, from 1964, that’s exactly what the controversial filmmaker, poet, novelist, and theorist did. This gritty and unpolished depiction of the life of Christ contains many of the narrative hallmarks featured in other film versions of the same story: the virgin birth, the early miracles, the apostles, Christ’s persecution and, ultimately, the crucifixion. However, no other cinematic depiction of this well-known chronicle looks, sounds, or feels quite like this one.
Before making this film, Pasolini had directed his first feature, Accattone!, in 1961, followed by Mamma Roma, starring...
- 3/8/2014
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
His life tragically and brutally cut short by a still unknown assassin, Italian auteur Pier Paolo Pasolini’s last completed project, known as the Trilogy of Life, gets the master treatment from Criterion this month, which includes three films based on classic literary anthologies, The Decameron (1971), The Canterbury Tales (1972), and Arabian Nights (1975). Pasolini was one third done with his next project, to be called the Trilogy of Death, of which his last film, Salo (1975), was the first installment. Upon each of their initial releases, the Life films were all equally greeted with controversy, celebration, and a distinct notoriety, but all overshadowed by the infamy of Salo, which stands on many lists as one of the most difficult to watch films of all time (and was the first Pasolini title to be inducted into Criterion’s annals). Pasolini’s overall motif encapsulated in these three features is a celebration of life,...
- 11/27/2012
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
For someone who's considered one of the greatest filmmakers in history, Sergio Leone was not especially prolific. While he worked extensively as an assistant director (with credits including "Bicycle Thieves," "Quo Vadis" and "Ben Hur"), he was only credited on seven films across his thirty-year career (with uncredited direction work on three others -- "The Last Days Of Pompeii," "My Name Is Nobody" and "A Genius, Two Partners and A Dupe").
But given that those films include some of the greatest Westerns -- the Man With No Name trilogy, and "Once Upon A Time In The West" -- and a wonderful crime epic, "Once Upon A Time In America," it's hard not to mourn that we didn't get more films from the director, who passed away 23 years ago today, on April 30th, 1989. But it wasn't for a lack of trying, as there were a number of other projects that Leone considered,...
But given that those films include some of the greatest Westerns -- the Man With No Name trilogy, and "Once Upon A Time In The West" -- and a wonderful crime epic, "Once Upon A Time In America," it's hard not to mourn that we didn't get more films from the director, who passed away 23 years ago today, on April 30th, 1989. But it wasn't for a lack of trying, as there were a number of other projects that Leone considered,...
- 4/30/2012
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
When J. Edgar was released last Fall, We Are Movie Geeks published our Top Ten Tuesday article on Clint Eastwood’s best films as director. With word that Eastwood has come out of acting retirement, it’s time for another Top Ten list, this time of movies that Clint has starred in. Trouble With The Curve is currently filming and stars Clint as an ailing baseball scout in his twilight years who takes his daughter (played by Amy Adams) on the road for one last recruiting trip. This will be Clint’s first acting role since Gran Torino in 2008.
Super-8 Clint Eastwood Movie Madness will be a great way to celebrate the life and films of this legendary American actor. It takes place February 7th at the Way Out Club in St. Louis (2525 Jefferson in South City). Condensed versions of these memorable Clint Eastwood films will be shown on a...
Super-8 Clint Eastwood Movie Madness will be a great way to celebrate the life and films of this legendary American actor. It takes place February 7th at the Way Out Club in St. Louis (2525 Jefferson in South City). Condensed versions of these memorable Clint Eastwood films will be shown on a...
- 1/31/2012
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
From just the first few minutes into Once Upon a Time in the West its magnificence is immediately evident. What is perhaps Leone’s best western opens with a beautifully orchestrated sequence that sees three unnamed gunmen awaiting the arrival of train and one of its passengers, ‘Harmonica’ (Charles Bronson). Leone builds tension in this scene using every tool at his disposal, most obviously in the effective use of a soundscape that manipulates sound effects and the score so as to control the audience’s reactions down to the finest detail. His almost patented use of wide shots and close-ups also both establishes and develops whilst at the same time never losing any engagement with the viewer. The opening is a lesson in filmmaking from one of cinema’s greatest experts and the excellence on display here continues throughout.
The fact that the film begins with the arrival of a...
The fact that the film begins with the arrival of a...
- 9/2/2011
- by Craig Skinner
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Michael C. here with the second season finale of Unsung Heroes. A recent obsession with the music of Ennio Morricone led me to the perfect subject, which manages the tricky feat of being both a landmark achievement and the work of an artist who is still somehow underappreciated.
When Orson Welles finished Citizen Kane he was so grateful for Gregg Toland’s contributions to the film that he took the largely unprecedented step of sharing his title card with his cinematographer. I think it can be argued that the subject of this week’s episode of Unsung Heroes, cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli, was worthy of similar recognition. Delli Colli shot all of Sergio Leone’s famous spaghetti westerns climaxing in Once Upon a Time in the West (1969), which many, myself included, consider their masterpiece. Yet I rarely, if ever, hear recognition extended past Leone the way I do with the cinematographers of other great auteurs,...
When Orson Welles finished Citizen Kane he was so grateful for Gregg Toland’s contributions to the film that he took the largely unprecedented step of sharing his title card with his cinematographer. I think it can be argued that the subject of this week’s episode of Unsung Heroes, cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli, was worthy of similar recognition. Delli Colli shot all of Sergio Leone’s famous spaghetti westerns climaxing in Once Upon a Time in the West (1969), which many, myself included, consider their masterpiece. Yet I rarely, if ever, hear recognition extended past Leone the way I do with the cinematographers of other great auteurs,...
- 8/12/2011
- by Michael C.
- FilmExperience
Sergio Leone’s epic coming-of-age crime saga has been screaming out for a high definition transfer since the birth of blu-ray, not only for it’s stunning cinematography but because blu-ray is the only format that can contain Once Upon a Time in America’s epic three hour fifty minute running time!
Making a seamless transition from the western to the gangster genre, Sergio Leone undertook what is probably still the most thorough and thought-provoking depiction of prohibition era criminality ever exposed to celluloid. Documenting a fifty year journey for it’s central character ‘Noodles’ (Robert De Niro) – Once Upon a Time in America delves more darkly and deeply into the spiral-like path of becoming an underworld icon.
The film moves back and forth from Noodles’ childhood where he meets his life long friend and criminal partner Max (James Woods) to the height of power in prohibition era New York to his contemplative old age.
Making a seamless transition from the western to the gangster genre, Sergio Leone undertook what is probably still the most thorough and thought-provoking depiction of prohibition era criminality ever exposed to celluloid. Documenting a fifty year journey for it’s central character ‘Noodles’ (Robert De Niro) – Once Upon a Time in America delves more darkly and deeply into the spiral-like path of becoming an underworld icon.
The film moves back and forth from Noodles’ childhood where he meets his life long friend and criminal partner Max (James Woods) to the height of power in prohibition era New York to his contemplative old age.
- 2/24/2011
- by Paul Cook
- Obsessed with Film
iReel is a new web-based streaming VOD, Svod, Dto service, offering HD movies viewable directly from a special player on site. The iReel service, available in Canada and the Us, is noted as the only online movie service that does not require a downloadable player. With no cost to join, film content includes major studio, classic and independent features, with a "focus on ease of use and high quality..." This week's major studio iReel pick is Revolutionary Road , directed by Sam "American Beauty" Mendes, starring actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet of Titanic fame. Screenplay by Justin Haythe is based on the 1961 novel by author Richard Yates, set in 1955, following 'Frank' (Leonardo DiCaprio) and 'April Wheeler '(Kate Winslet) as they move to 'Revolutionary Road' located in one of New York City's wealthiest Connecticut suburbs, where they live a life, raise a family and challenge each other with bitter arguments and physical abuse.
- 6/6/2009
- HollywoodNorthReport.com
Monday night, watched a 1959 movie called Venezia, la luna e tu (‘Venice, the Moon and You’), in which Alberto Sordi played a gondolier who – you’ve guessed it – gets involved with two silly foreign girls. With only Tonino Delli Colli’s colour photography to recommend it, the main surprise of the film was in seeing Sordi, Nino Manfredi, and director Dino Risi – all of whom, a year or so later, became leading figures in the commedia all’italiana movement which cast a critical eye on contemporary mores in a changing Italy – caught up in such an inconsequential piece of fluff.
Tuesday morning: As there was nothing kicking off on the Lido till the evening, I caught a vaporetto over to Dorsoduro and made my way to the church of San Nicolò dei Mendicoli, which Donald Sutherland worked so hard to restore in Don’t Look Now. Obviously, whoever took over...
Tuesday morning: As there was nothing kicking off on the Lido till the evening, I caught a vaporetto over to Dorsoduro and made my way to the church of San Nicolò dei Mendicoli, which Donald Sutherland worked so hard to restore in Don’t Look Now. Obviously, whoever took over...
- 9/1/2007
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Acclaimed Italian cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli was found dead in his Rome apartment on Wednesday. He was 81. Delli Colli, who received a BAFTA nomination for Once Upon a Time in America, worked on more than 130 movies, including The Good The Bad And The Ugly and Life Is Beautiful, and worked with renowned directors Roman Polanski, Sergio Leone and Federico Fellini. Delli Colli retired in 1997 after working on Roberto Benigni's Oscar-winning film as director of photography. He is survived by his son Stefano.
- 8/19/2005
- WENN
ROME -- Legendary cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli, who worked alongside many of Italy's film titans over the past six decades, died at his home in Rome on Wednesday. He was 82. Working with such storied directors as Federico Fellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Sergio Leone, Roman Polanski and Roberto Benigni, Delli Colli amassed an impressive filmography. Among the more than 130 films Delli Colli worked on were Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West, Pasolini's The Canterbury Tales, Fellini's Ginger and Fred, Polanski's Death and the Maiden, J. Jacques Annaud's The Name of the Rose and Benigni's Life Is Beautiful, the cinematographer's final film.
- 8/18/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
ROME -- Legendary cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli, who worked alongside many of Italy's film titans over the past six decades, died at his home in Rome on Wednesday. He was 82. Working with such storied directors as Federico Fellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Sergio Leone, Roman Polanski and Roberto Benigni, Delli Colli amassed an impressive filmography. Among the more than 130 films Delli Colli worked on were Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West, Pasolini's The Canterbury Tales, Fellini's Ginger and Fred, Polanski's Death and the Maiden, J. Jacques Annaud's The Name of the Rose and Benigni's Life Is Beautifu, the cinematographer's final film.
- 8/18/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NOBODY'S FOOL
Paramount
Fittingly, there's no fool to be found in "Nobody's Fool", the story of an old construction dog, Sully (Paul Newman), who, despite his 60 hard and wayward years, just might be able to learn a new trick. Also starring the late Jessica Tandy as Sully's supportive land-
lady, this warm film will surely win some select-site affection for Paramount.
In this kind depiction of an everyday man's battles and demons, screenwriter-director Robert Benton has presented the gritty underside to the traditional Norman Rockwell-esque portrait of small-town America (HR 12/12).-- Duane Byrge
LEGENDS OF THE FALL
TriStar
Heightened with a richly panoramic musical score and widened by some jaw-dropping lensing, "Legends of the Fall" should score some modestly respectable business based on its textural beauty. Unfortunately, this family saga wanders close to the borderline of melodrama, while annexing more story line than it can compellingly handle. Overall response will be decidedly mixed.
With its miniseries range, "Legends of the Fall" is a decidedly ambitious production, casting a slant on the West itself through the prism of this very active and individualistic family (HR 12/12).-- Duane Byrge
DEATH AND THE MAIDEN
Fine Line
A trio of Oscar-worthy performances and Roman Polanski's superb direction propel the triumphant screen translation of Ariel Dorfman's award-winning play "Death and the Maiden".
A treacherous descent into a dense emotional and psychological minefield of searing memories and the desire for revenge, the Fine Line release should do brisk select-site business, but the film will be a tough sell beyond its targeted mature audience.
Polanski and cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli make every ominous frame count visually and achieve a frightening intimacy with the characters (HR 12/9-11).-- David Hunter
SPEECHLESS
MGM/UA
Opposites attract, especially when they're cut from the same cloth. That's the case in the latest spin on this romantic screwball comedy, with Michael Keaton and Geena Davis starring as two battling political speechwriters who find there is more to campaigns than mudslinging and photo opportunities.
In general, "Speechless" glides along on a breezy, tried-and-true narrative platform as scriptwriter Robert King mixes vintage screwballish romantic dialogue with droll putdowns of the political process. Unfortunately, it doesn't always flow smoothly -- certain sections, including a dewy denouement, lag. Nevertheless, director Ron Underwood contributes some zingy visualizations and nicely balances the sweet stuff with the satirical smears (HR 12/12).-- Duane Byrge
READY TO WEAR
Miramax
Robert Altman presents the Emperor's New Clothes line of the haute couture fashion industry, an acerbic behind-the-ramp peek into the women's fashion industry.
Stitched in black and laced with acid, "Ready to Wear (Pret-a-Porter)" is already producing yowls of disapproval from the fashion pooh-bahs back East. It's a farcical, backside sendup, which should titillate sophisticates and cineastes (HR 12/9-11).-- Duane Byrge
Other reviews
Also reviewed last week were the films "Where the Rivers Flow North" (HR 12/7), "Boys Life" (12/8), "Drop Zone" (12/9-11), "Century" (HR 12/9-11) and "Immortal Beloved" (HR 12/12).
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
Paramount
Fittingly, there's no fool to be found in "Nobody's Fool", the story of an old construction dog, Sully (Paul Newman), who, despite his 60 hard and wayward years, just might be able to learn a new trick. Also starring the late Jessica Tandy as Sully's supportive land-
lady, this warm film will surely win some select-site affection for Paramount.
In this kind depiction of an everyday man's battles and demons, screenwriter-director Robert Benton has presented the gritty underside to the traditional Norman Rockwell-esque portrait of small-town America (HR 12/12).-- Duane Byrge
LEGENDS OF THE FALL
TriStar
Heightened with a richly panoramic musical score and widened by some jaw-dropping lensing, "Legends of the Fall" should score some modestly respectable business based on its textural beauty. Unfortunately, this family saga wanders close to the borderline of melodrama, while annexing more story line than it can compellingly handle. Overall response will be decidedly mixed.
With its miniseries range, "Legends of the Fall" is a decidedly ambitious production, casting a slant on the West itself through the prism of this very active and individualistic family (HR 12/12).-- Duane Byrge
DEATH AND THE MAIDEN
Fine Line
A trio of Oscar-worthy performances and Roman Polanski's superb direction propel the triumphant screen translation of Ariel Dorfman's award-winning play "Death and the Maiden".
A treacherous descent into a dense emotional and psychological minefield of searing memories and the desire for revenge, the Fine Line release should do brisk select-site business, but the film will be a tough sell beyond its targeted mature audience.
Polanski and cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli make every ominous frame count visually and achieve a frightening intimacy with the characters (HR 12/9-11).-- David Hunter
SPEECHLESS
MGM/UA
Opposites attract, especially when they're cut from the same cloth. That's the case in the latest spin on this romantic screwball comedy, with Michael Keaton and Geena Davis starring as two battling political speechwriters who find there is more to campaigns than mudslinging and photo opportunities.
In general, "Speechless" glides along on a breezy, tried-and-true narrative platform as scriptwriter Robert King mixes vintage screwballish romantic dialogue with droll putdowns of the political process. Unfortunately, it doesn't always flow smoothly -- certain sections, including a dewy denouement, lag. Nevertheless, director Ron Underwood contributes some zingy visualizations and nicely balances the sweet stuff with the satirical smears (HR 12/12).-- Duane Byrge
READY TO WEAR
Miramax
Robert Altman presents the Emperor's New Clothes line of the haute couture fashion industry, an acerbic behind-the-ramp peek into the women's fashion industry.
Stitched in black and laced with acid, "Ready to Wear (Pret-a-Porter)" is already producing yowls of disapproval from the fashion pooh-bahs back East. It's a farcical, backside sendup, which should titillate sophisticates and cineastes (HR 12/9-11).-- Duane Byrge
Other reviews
Also reviewed last week were the films "Where the Rivers Flow North" (HR 12/7), "Boys Life" (12/8), "Drop Zone" (12/9-11), "Century" (HR 12/9-11) and "Immortal Beloved" (HR 12/12).
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 12/13/1994
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This film was originally reviewed Sept. 15 at the Toronto Film Festival. It opens in Los Angeles today.
Roman Polanski's back in North America, at least in the form of his latest film, ''Bitter Moon.'' A love story set on a luxury cruise ship plying the high seas under the dark of the moon, the film is ultimately about the cruelty that lovers can inflict on each other after their relationship has reached its peak.
On this seemingly tranquil voyage, a young British couple, Nigel and Fiona (Hugh Grant, Kristin Scott-Thomas) are celebrating their seven years of marriage with a second honeymoon. They encounter a disarmingly captivating Continental pair: Oscar, a wheelchair-bound writer (Peter Coyote), and Mimi, a fun-bound dancer (Emmanuelle Seigner).
Oscar inveigles Nigel to listen to his story, a process that doesn't take much arm-twisting since the story is about Oscar and Mimi's torrid sexual relationship, and the diffident Nigel is clearly smitten with the sensuous Mimi.
Oscar's is a tale of meeting cute, initial passion and many of the other standard but entrancing ingredients of everyday romance, but it's also torqued with desperate sexual excess and ennui.
Told in flashback via Oscar's overripe, acidly dry descriptions, ''Bitter Moon'' is a wicked tale of sensuality, perverse humor and emotional abuse, all smeared together in a base element of psychological need. It's catalyzed by Polanski's standard doses of poison: Sharp knives, hot girls, subversive humor and dark cruelty.
The scenario, by Polanski, Gerard Brach and John Brownjohn, is scathingly funny and sharp-edged but intermittantly stumbles hard on its own audacity.
Often it's so brash that it's unintentionally hilarious. Still, this nervy amusement is very well-made and delectably provocative. Polanski's crisp and twisted direction unravels one kinky film.
As the wormy writer, Coyote is a terrific, devilish provocateur, while Seigner's erotic performance as his wife the dancer brings to the forefront the desperation of her sexual needs. The mousy, sexually spent English couple, Grant and Scott-Thomas, are well-cast and reveal their stiff inner mettle.
Technical contributions are well-realized, in particular cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli's shimmeringly sensuous compositions.
(c)The Hollywood Reporter...
Roman Polanski's back in North America, at least in the form of his latest film, ''Bitter Moon.'' A love story set on a luxury cruise ship plying the high seas under the dark of the moon, the film is ultimately about the cruelty that lovers can inflict on each other after their relationship has reached its peak.
On this seemingly tranquil voyage, a young British couple, Nigel and Fiona (Hugh Grant, Kristin Scott-Thomas) are celebrating their seven years of marriage with a second honeymoon. They encounter a disarmingly captivating Continental pair: Oscar, a wheelchair-bound writer (Peter Coyote), and Mimi, a fun-bound dancer (Emmanuelle Seigner).
Oscar inveigles Nigel to listen to his story, a process that doesn't take much arm-twisting since the story is about Oscar and Mimi's torrid sexual relationship, and the diffident Nigel is clearly smitten with the sensuous Mimi.
Oscar's is a tale of meeting cute, initial passion and many of the other standard but entrancing ingredients of everyday romance, but it's also torqued with desperate sexual excess and ennui.
Told in flashback via Oscar's overripe, acidly dry descriptions, ''Bitter Moon'' is a wicked tale of sensuality, perverse humor and emotional abuse, all smeared together in a base element of psychological need. It's catalyzed by Polanski's standard doses of poison: Sharp knives, hot girls, subversive humor and dark cruelty.
The scenario, by Polanski, Gerard Brach and John Brownjohn, is scathingly funny and sharp-edged but intermittantly stumbles hard on its own audacity.
Often it's so brash that it's unintentionally hilarious. Still, this nervy amusement is very well-made and delectably provocative. Polanski's crisp and twisted direction unravels one kinky film.
As the wormy writer, Coyote is a terrific, devilish provocateur, while Seigner's erotic performance as his wife the dancer brings to the forefront the desperation of her sexual needs. The mousy, sexually spent English couple, Grant and Scott-Thomas, are well-cast and reveal their stiff inner mettle.
Technical contributions are well-realized, in particular cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli's shimmeringly sensuous compositions.
(c)The Hollywood Reporter...
- 3/17/1994
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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