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bryantburnette
Reviews
Bamboozled (2000)
See this movie!
Somewhere close to the front of my mind, I'd been knowing since "Malcolm X" that Spike Lee is one of the great filmmakers working right now. Seeing "Bamboozled," a stunning film, leaves with with no doubt whatsoever that Lee is a genius. This is a film that has, since its quasi-release by New Line in October of 2000, gone almost entirely unregarded. It's about time that changed. Leaving the politics aside, this is a film of stunning moral complexity, one that is as impactful as "Network" or "Easy Rider" or just about any other film that attempts to tackle real social issues. The style -- the film was shot on digital video -- is wholly appropriate. The acting, from top to bottom, is outstanding. If you are interested in film, then you owe it to yourself to check this one out (preferably on DVD, where you can find an excellent documentary on the film and a commentary by Lee).
Rich and Strange (1931)
Underrated early Hitchcock
Like "The Farmer's Wife," this is an early Hitchcock film that has gone entirely too overlooked. It is broadly comic, and rather disturbing in a few spots. Don't expect wronged-men or murder plots, and you may enjoy this movie as much as I do.
The Farmer's Wife (1928)
Ignored Hitchcock gem
I'm not sure why this film's reputation is so slight. Perhaps it's because it's a Hitchcock film that isn't a "Hitchcock" film. However, if you can deal with watching a silent movie, it's well worth a look. The performances are uniformly excellent, there is a good deal of effective humor, and the technical artistry is impeccable. One note: find the 129-minute version, as opposed to the shorter one (which is a good half hour shorter).
Regi Andrej Tarkovskij (1988)
A great documentary about a great filmmaker's final film.
I'm not quite smart enough to talk at any depth about Andrei Tarkovsky. His films are, in my experience, unique. Only Kubrick's films have an effect that are remotely similar, but even that is an inadequate comparison. This documentary is best appreciated after you have made yourself familiar with Tarkovsky's seven great, complex, troubling movies; after seeing them, this film serves both as an excellent window into the mind of the man who made them, and as a touching eulogy for his departure. That aside, it's also one of the best films about filmmaking ever made. It's available on the DVD release of "The Sacrifice" as the bottom half of an excellent double feature.