Australian director George Miller successfully redefined automative action sequences with his first two Mad Max movies. The first Mad Max (1979) is an origin story, told on a small budget, and helped make a star of a young Mel Gibson. It has its moments, but is rough around the edges. The sequel, with a much…
Heavens Gate
Heavens Gate is infamous at the movie which bankrupted United Artists and reined in the excesses of the 70s auteurs. Director Michael Cimino, hot off the Oscar-winning success of The Deer Hunter was given free rein and budget to bring to life this sprawling Western, loosely telling the story of the 1892 Johnson County Wars…
Logan’s Run
Logan’s Run had one of the more interesting premises of 1970s sci-fi movies, to the extent I’m surprised it has not since been remade/reimagined. In the future, instant plastic surgery can make everyone beautiful, and everyone enjoys a hedonistic, luxurious lifestyle. The catch is that this all lasts until the age of 30 only, to…
Ride The Wild Surf
This is quite a cool poster for one of the more popular surfing exploitation movies made in the 60s. Now, I have never been a surfer. (The one time I tried, I ended up swallowing half the Pacific Ocean, I reckon). But these movies have become cult classics amongst aficionados. Ride The Wild Surf was,…
To Catch A Thief
To Catch A Thief is one of the lighter Hitchcocks. It is notably lacking in much suspense, but coasts along nicely on on the star pairing of Hitchcock favourites Cary Grant and Grace Kelly and charming French Riviera ocations. Grant plays an ex-Resistance fighter and retired cat burglar, who has to track down an imposter…
The Harder They Fall
No, this is not the recent Western fronted by Idris Elba. It’s a 1956 boxing movie with Humphrey Bogart. The Harder They Fall was Bogart’s final film role. He was diagnosed with cancer shortly before production, but kept this secret from his fellow cast. The movie is a noir-ish critique of the boxing industry, especially…
Cat On A Hot Tin Roof
This is one of those classic movies which I don’t recall ever seeing. I’ve certainly read Tennessee Williams’ play, as I studied it at university. He’s undoubtedly one of the all-time great American playwrights. The movie pairs Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie “the Cat” and Paul Newman as her husband Brick, with Burl Ives as his…
Spanish heralds (ii)
I wrote previously about my recent discovery of Spanish heralds. Here’s 3 more recently acquired fun items from the 50s, these all with a loose nautical theme. Take your pick from Gregory Peck in Captain Horatio Hornblower, Rock Hudson in Sea Devils or the one and only Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid. I don’t…
Night Moves
I don’t remember a whole lot about Arthur Penn’s noirish 1975 thriller Night Moves, other than when I saw it on TV years ago in the 80s, the station had somehow screwed up adjusting the aspect ratio – hence the boom mic was flapping about in shot for about half the scenes. Talk about distracting!…
The Good The Bad And The Ugly
The Good The Bad And The Ugly is one of my all-time favourite movies. Sergio Leone’s masterpiece (the culmination of the ‘Dollars’ trilogy starring Clint Eastwood) has it all – great performances, iconic lines, beautifully choreographed set pieces and, of course, Ennio Morricone’s famous score. I first saw it in a small art cinema in…