Abraham Lincoln, for whatever his historical faults, is perhaps the most cinematic President the Unites States has ever had. Whether you put him in a theatrical D.C. backroom drama like Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln," or in a silly, pulpy movie like Timur Bekmambetov's "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" (from the same year!), you get a great film. Maybe it's because of his iconic appearance, maybe it's due to the almost mythical challenges of leading a country in the midst of a Civil War, or maybe it stems from the temptation to cast him as a hero battling the evils of U.S. slavery.
Spielberg's "Lincoln" has scenes set in the wreckage of battlegrounds. "Vampire Hunter" has Honest Abe fighting vampires on runaway trains. Most every film about Lincoln dramatizes the Civil War to some degree, and they typically allude to Ford's Theatre, where he was assassinated. That's what...
Spielberg's "Lincoln" has scenes set in the wreckage of battlegrounds. "Vampire Hunter" has Honest Abe fighting vampires on runaway trains. Most every film about Lincoln dramatizes the Civil War to some degree, and they typically allude to Ford's Theatre, where he was assassinated. That's what...
- 2/26/2023
- by Anthony Crislip
- Slash Film
Some show had to be the first — back in 1935, this was the first movie to be produced entirely in full 3 strip Technicolor. Just like any revolutionary filmic development, it came from outside the studio system, which says something about how Hollywood works — studios will spend millions of dollars to take advantage of a striking innovation, but let somebody else do the painful R&D. Pioneer Pictures’ project began filming started with one director but then restarted with Rouben Mamoulian, who a little earlier had already shown the town a thing or two about the possibilities of sound. A stage play of the classic novel becomes almost a pageant of color, led by the reliable Miriam Hopkins. Is the movie any good? That’s debatable. But it needs to be seen, to fully appreciate the movie miracle created by chemists, not artists.
Becky Sharp
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1935 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 84 min.
Becky Sharp
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1935 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 84 min.
- 4/2/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Viewers looking (desperately) for American leaders to admire can’t do better than to reflect on John Ford’s folksy, at least partly authentic honorarium to one of the greats. Henry Fonda is 100% dead-on as a vision of Abe Lincoln to bring tears to our eyes. Imagine . . . there’s such a thing as political integrity, or simply a person that puts the public good ahead of personal advantage. Criterion’s older extras are augmented with a fine new feature commentary by John Ford authority Joseph McBride.
Young Mr. Lincoln
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 320
1939 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 100 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date January 9, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Henry Fonda, Alice Brady, Marjorie Weaver, Arleen Whelan, Eddie Collins, Richard Cromwell, Eddie Quillan, Ward Bond, Milburn Stone, Francis Ford, Fred Kohler Jr..
Cinematography: Bert Glennon
Original Music: Alfred Newman
Written by Lamar Trotti
Produced by Kenneth Macgowan, Darryl F. Zanuck
Directed by John...
Young Mr. Lincoln
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 320
1939 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 100 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date January 9, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Henry Fonda, Alice Brady, Marjorie Weaver, Arleen Whelan, Eddie Collins, Richard Cromwell, Eddie Quillan, Ward Bond, Milburn Stone, Francis Ford, Fred Kohler Jr..
Cinematography: Bert Glennon
Original Music: Alfred Newman
Written by Lamar Trotti
Produced by Kenneth Macgowan, Darryl F. Zanuck
Directed by John...
- 1/6/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
When Alfred Hitchcock films are praised, this 1944 picture tends to get overlooked. Yet it hooks and holds audiences as strongly as any of the Master’s classics. When a handful of English and Americans are lost at sea, survival depends on their ability to cooperate. Can they trust the experienced sea captain — a German — who joins them? And when things become grim, will their behavior be any better than his?
Lifeboat
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1944 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 96 min. /Street Date March 21, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak, Mary Anderson, John Hodiak, Henry Hull, Heather Angel, Hume Cronyn, Canada Lee
Cinematography: Glen MacWilliams
Art Direction: James Basevi, Maurice Ransford
Film Editor: Dorothy Spencer
Original Music: Hugo W. Friedhofer
Written by: Jo Swerling, story by John Steinbeck
Produced by Kenneth Macgowan
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Hitchcock goes to war, this time for 20th...
Lifeboat
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1944 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 96 min. /Street Date March 21, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak, Mary Anderson, John Hodiak, Henry Hull, Heather Angel, Hume Cronyn, Canada Lee
Cinematography: Glen MacWilliams
Art Direction: James Basevi, Maurice Ransford
Film Editor: Dorothy Spencer
Original Music: Hugo W. Friedhofer
Written by: Jo Swerling, story by John Steinbeck
Produced by Kenneth Macgowan
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Hitchcock goes to war, this time for 20th...
- 4/8/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
It's the John Ford film you never heard of, not because it's bad, but because it's a little confused. Richard Greene, David Niven and an emotional George Sanders (!) dedicate their lives to clearing their father's name of a smear by international arms smugglers! Their spirited companion Loretta Young behaves almost as if this were a screwball comedy. So does the director! Ford aficionados will be fascinated. Four Men and a Prayer 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives 1938 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 85 min. / Street Date December 15, 2015 / 19.98 Starring Loretta Young, Richard Greene, George Sanders, David Niven, C. Aubrey Smith. J. Edward Bromberg, William Henry, John Carradine, Alan Hale, Reginald Denny, Berton Churchill, Barry Fitzgerald, Chris-Pin Martin. Cinematography Franz Planer Film Editor Louis R. Loeffler Written by Richard Sherman, Sonya Levien, Walter Ferris from a novel by David Garth Produced by Kenneth Macgowan Directed by John Ford
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
We all...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
We all...
- 1/9/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
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