I honestly do not know what to make of Barbarella. I only have vague memories of having seen it once on TV and I recall it was very campy, silly and not particularly funny. Yet it has a status now as something of an influential cult classic, so maybe I was just too young to…
Peplums
Here are some examples of a peculiar sub-genre. “Peplums” are a term for low-budget Italian-made ‘sword and sandal’ historical epics. The peak “peplum” period was the 60s, when hundreds of such movies featuring Biblical stories and/or Greco-Roman mythical heroes were made. These attempted to copy the success of Hollywood epics such as Ben Hur or…
Touch Of Evil
1958’s Touch of Evil is one of the greatest Film Noirs of all time. It also contains one of the most famous long take tracking shots in history, courtesy of the great Orson Welles. Star Charlton Heston brought Welles onboard to both direct and star as the villain of the piece – a bloated, corrupt…
3.10 to Yuma
Now here is a rarity – a French grande poster from 1957 for the original version of 3.10 to Yuma. I honestly cannot remember if I have ever seen this movie (starring Glenn Ford). I have, however, read the (very) short story it is based on – by ‘hardboiled’ writer Elmore Leonard, no less, and…
For Your Eyes Only
For me, For Your Eyes Only got the Bond franchise back on track for a short while, after the ludicrous, played for laughs, Moonraker – which shot Bond into space! This is a deliberately much more grounded and sober affair, and despite Roger Moore showing his age, I consider it the best of his later…
Thunderbolt And Lightfoot
Thunderbolt And Lightfoot is one of the great ‘buddy’ movies of the 70s. The idea of a mis-matched ‘bromance’ comedy-thriller is certainly nothing new, but there was a slew of these type of films released around the same year (Freebie And The Bean, Scarecrow). Subsequent movies in the genre include Midnight Run, 48 Hours, Lethal…
The Exorcist
The Exorcist is a land-mark horror movie. It was the first horror movie to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. (It lost out to The Sting, but won the Best Adapted Screenplay award). Plus, its success ushered in a slew of big budget supernatural horror movies from major Hollywood studios (notably The Omen and…
The Battle Of Algiers
Here is a rather striking poster for a film I must admit I have never seen. The Battle Of Algiers is supposedly a land-mark movie in cinema-verite. It covers events in the Algerian war between rebels in North Africa and the French government. The movie was shot on location in 1966, largely with non-professional actors…
12 Angry Men
12 Angry Men is the grand-daddy of the court-room drama sub-genre. There have been some great court-room drama movies. (The Verdict, with Paul Newman, is my personal favourite. Director Sidney Lumet, for whom 12 Angry Men was his first feature film, also went on to direct this many years later, so clearly he felt an…
Bonnie And Clyde
In the ongoing debate about graphic violence in the movies, Bonnie and Clyde is something of a watershed. It is tame stuff by today’s standards, but in 1967 the climactic assassination scene, where Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed and ripped apart in a slow motion orgy of gunfire, attracted plenty of notoriety, and became hugely influential…