(Re) Watching Michael Mann’s disjointed supernatural film, The Keep I realised I wanted one thing from it – Mann’s original cut. Apparently clocking in at 3 1/2 hours it was trimmed down to 2 by Paramount Pictures, who then cut another half hour out of it after some rough previews. It’s not like now. If…
Tag: Jew
Carrion Comfort (1989) – Dan Simmons
I’ve been enjoying the Dan Simmons’ books I’ve been reading, and finally had time to dig into his epic, and much hailed horror novel, Carrion Comfort. A massive read, the book is actually horrifying in the traditional sense. I’ve always enjoyed horror novels, and the like, but this novel is truly frightening, and it is…
Life is Beautiful (1997) – Roberto Benigni
Walking away with Oscars for Best Foreign Film, Best Original Score, and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Benigni, Life is Beautiful is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Schindler’s List. In this partly whimsical tale that touches on true humour while facing…
The Last Metro (1980) – Francois Truffaut
The next film on the What Else to Watch list of DK Canada’s very enjoyable The Movie Book is this classic Truffaut film from 1980 featuring performances from Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu. It’s the early 1940s in occupied France, and theatres are doing a booming business chasing away the spectre of war. But the…
Chariots of Fire (1981) – Hugh Hudson
Today, I dive into the recommendations from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of Raging Bull. This four time Oscar winner (Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Score, and Best Costume Design) had never before graced my screen, so I was looking forward to settling in and watching…
The Book Thief (2013) – Brian Percival
I read the book for this one some time ago, and had forgotten enough of it so that I was coming in to the story fresh, and wow did I enjoy this one. Great performances, a stirring score, thank you John Williams and an emotional and human tale from a script by Michael Petroni,…
The Hindenberg (2011) – Philipp Kadelbach
Releasing to DVD this week, Anchor Bay oversees the historic disaster that summarily ended the sophisticated age of travel that was the zeppelin, Hindenburg. Filmed as a German mini-series but shot in English, this excursion is a bit of a mixed bag. There are some really good things about this three-hour epic, and there…
The Great Dictator (1940) – Charlie Chaplin
The Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book continues to provide me with films I hadn’t seen before, as I continue my quick tour of recommendations following my viewing of The Gold Rush. This film, is probably my least favorite of the bunch so far, and despite its strong message, given by Chaplin…
Bermuda International Film Festival – The Attack – Ziad Doueiri
The Bermuda International Film Festival screened The Attack last night, a gripping drama about a Palestinian doctor working in Israel. Dr. Amin Jaafari (Ali Suliman) is an Arab working in a Jewish world, he’s a prominent and successful surgeon, has a beautiful wife, and friends. But when a suicide bomb claims the lives of 17…
TIFF 2012: Lore – Cate Shortland
Bright new talent Saskia Rosendahl stars as Lore, a young girl who has to make her way across war-torn Germany near the end of WWII, with her much younger siblings in tow, including her infant brother, Peter. They are trying to get safely to their grandmother’s home in Hamburg after their parents have been…
The Mind Reels 