Tail Pop
Peter Bogdanovich’s ‘Paper Moon’
When I was growing up in the 1970s, there were at least two cinemas in my town that used to play double features in the old tradition. […]
Film History
Book Reviews
Nonfictionality
‘A New History of Documentary Film’ firmly establishes itself as the most thorough overview of the evolution, achievement and future of the documentary film to date. […]
Tail Pop
Albert Brooks’ ‘Modern Romance’
Perhaps because I work in this business, or just because I love movies so much, I’m always asked to define which ones I think are the classics. To me, that’s simple: First, when it’s on, I have to watch it — no matter what. […]
Tail Pop
Brad Bird’s ‘The Iron Giant’
What if a gun had a soul? That was the question that was pinned to walls, doors and bulletin boards on the production of The Iron Giant. […]
This Quarter in Film History
Wartime Precedent
Director Ridley Scott’s award-winning film ‘Black Hawk Down’ was based on a distinguished nonfiction book entitled ‘Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War’ by Mark Bowden. […]
This Quarter in Film History
THIS MONTH IN FILM HISTORY: When Women Go Wrong, Men Go Right After Them
Mae West has become a folklore icon as well as a movie star. Anecdotes abound about her on- and off-screen behavior, and her quips fill an entire page in most books of famous quotations. But she has never really been accepted as a serious cultural figure. […]
Tail Pop
Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jurassic Park’
If I had been asked 20 years ago whether a glass of rippling water would become one of the most iconic and recognizable images in cinematic history, I probably would’ve said, “No way.” But then again, I guess that’s not really a question you would ask an eight- year-old. […]
This Quarter in Film History
One in Eight Million
Sixty-five years after the semi-documentary film The Naked City (1948) premiered in March 1948, it still reveals much about New York City that has not changed. […]
This Quarter in Film History
Mad Cowboy
There are no shortage of Huds in high places in our society today. […]
Tail Pop
Robert Redford’s ‘Ordinary People’
It was March 31, 1981. I was celebrating my second anniversary of becoming a union story analyst by watching the 53rd Academy Awards. The host was Johnny Carson and the field of films was perhaps the strongest it had been in decades. […]
