American Graffiti (1973) – George Lucas

George Lucas’ nostalgic American Graffiti is the next stop on the list of recommendations from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Jailhouse Rock. While not a musical in the technical sense of breaking into song and dance, the music and the voice of deejay Wolfman Jack play an…

The Twilight Zone (1961) – Still Valley, The Jungle, and Once Upon a Time

My journey through Paramount Pictures’ The Twilight Zone: The Complete Series continue with another trio of episodes this week. Up first is Still Valley. Series creator and showrunner Rod Serling adapted Manly Wade Welmman’s short story for this episode that first aired on 24 November, 1961. The tale, set in 1863, follows Sgt. Joseph Paradine…

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) – David Lean

The next stop in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book is David Lean’s classic film that made a star out of Peter O’Toole.  Grabbing seven Oscars at the 1963 Academy Awards, the film walked away with Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Sound, Best Film Editing and Best…

King Kong Vs. Godzilla (1962) – Ishiro Honda 

  The Sci-Fi Chronicles book has proven itself to be an absolute joy so far, and I am loving diving deeper into things I only knew peripherally. For instance… King Kong! This installment sees the colossal ape (much bigger in this version than he’s been in the American films to date, but his size seems…

The Eclipse (1962) – Michelangelo Antonioni 

  Continuing my exploration of the drama genre after my viewing of Last Tango in Paris for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. So I settled in to have my introduction to the films of Antonioni, and, I liked what I saw. The shots, looks and moments are all wonderfully composed, as…

The Amphibian Man (1962)

We turn to Russia for the next entry on the 101 Sci-Fi Movies list. Although technically, I wouldn’t call this a science fiction film, I’d call of it more of a fantasy romance adventure… The film is based on a popular novel written in 1928 by Aleksandr Belyayev and the two able directors, Vladmir Chebotaryov and Gennadi Kazansky have turned…