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…
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…
Flesh Gordon
First up, I’ve never seen 1974 soft-porn parody Flesh Gordon! Clips on YouTube, however, given a pretty good idea of what to expect, as Flesh and co travel to the planet Porno to try save the earth from the evil Emperor Wang. Various special effects artists who cut their teeth on this movie went on…
Chinatown
“Forget it Jake, It’s Chinatown…” This is the final line of one of my all-time favourite movies. Jack Nicholson has never been better than as private detective Jake Gittes, who becomes embroiled with wealthy businessman John Huston and his estranged daughter Faye Dunaway in 1930’s Los Angeles. Roman Polanski’s classic neo-noir has a great sense…
Spanish Heralds
I wasn’t at all familiar with Spanish heralds until I bought a small lot recently. These are basically post-card sized double sided flyers which were cheaply printed and given out to promote upcoming movies. The majority seem to date from the 50s. Considering the volumes in which they must have been produced, its surprising that…
In Cold Blood
I don’t remember if I’ve ever seen the movie In Cold Blood, but I have definitely read Truman Capote’s book on which it is based. It is one of the best pieces of non-fiction writing ever, I think. Capote spent considerable time with the condemned killers who brutally murdered a family in Kansas in 1959. Based…
Priest Of Love
I have no idea if I have ever seen 1981’s Priest Of Love. However, its subject matter holds some meaning for me as author DH Lawrence came from my home town and was one of the most famous alumni of the school I attended. (It was said he got expelled, but I am not sure…
Tenebrae
Dario Argento is a director I must admit I just don’t “get”. I found his supposed masterpiece Suspiria a badly-acted incomprehensible mess, but maybe that’s missing the point. His movies don’t really care much about characterisation or logic, they are more about atmosphere and bloody set-pieces. Tenebrae (“Darkness”) is a ‘giallo’ thriller, featuring bad dubbing…