Tag: filmnoir
Neo-Noir DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS Slinks It's Way to Criterion
Los Angeles, 1948. The war is over and we won. That, though, is past. Victory euphoria? Fading, fading quickly. For some, particularly the alienated veterans of classic Film Noir, they’ve survived the fire only to have landed in an altogether different frying pan. What’s the opposite...
Now on Blu-ray: Criterion Unleashes BRUTE FORCE and THE NAKED CITY
By the mid-1940s, “Film Noir” was thoroughly established stylistically, though not yet by name. Undeniably, there was a prevailing mentality rooted in postwar societal darkness, and it had permeated Hollywood studio filmmaking. The movies’ inherent propensity for light and shadow...
Blu-ray Review: LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN Hypnotizes
Murder. Neglect. Jealousy. Oppression. Obsession. These themes collide in Leave Her to Heaven, the oddly sunny drama-turned-film noir directed by John M. Stahl from the book by Ben Ames Williams. I say "oddly sunny" because it's a deceptive opening: the...
Blu-ray Review: DETOUR is Sublime Film Restoration
Recently released by Criterion, Detour is --- from what I understand --- a criminally underseen, Poverty Row film noir. I was pleased to see the restoration on the big screen at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA shortly before receiving...
Blu-ray Review: NOTORIOUS Is Glorious
Of course, if you're reading this, you know who Alfred Hitchcock is. If you somehow do not and consider yourself a fan of classic cinema --- Hollywood or otherwise --- you need to rectify that as soon as possible. One...
Blu-ray Review: Frank Borzage's MOONRISE Glows for Criterion
Director Frank Borzage was never one to wallow in the darkness. He made quality dramas, his work spanning from the silent era into the early 1960s. Although one of the major filmmakers in his earlier career, we don’t hear all...
Now on Blu-ray: Film Noir for the Holidays From Kino Lorber Studio Classics
There's nothing like a nice, smoky film noir to keep you warm over the holidays. In recent weeks Kino Lorber's Studio Classics line has released a number of classic noirs on Blu-ray that are definitely worth your attention. Many of...
Blu-ray Review: PRIVATE PROPERTY, A Gripping Noir Finally Gets Its Due
Leslie Stevens' 1960 film noir Private Property is an incredibly tense psychosexual thriller that is years ahead of its time. Stevens was probably best known as the creator of the influential science fiction TV series The Outer Limits, but before...
Toronto 2016 Review: ASURA: THE CITY OF MADNESS Unleashes Unbridled Machismo in Brooding Noir
It's a man's world in Asura: The City of Madness, and a rotten one at that. Cops, prosecutors and politicians jostle about with unbridled machismo in a noirish caricature of corruption in the latest thriller to balk at the irresponsible...
Now on Blu-ray: ROAD HOUSE, BEWARE! THE BLOB, FIXED BAYONETS!, & MY BODYGUARD From Kino
A curious quartet of Blu-rays recently appeared from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. Today I'm looking at Road House (1948), Beware! The Blob, Fixed Bayonets!, and My Bodyguard. Each film is interesting it its own way and all are worth owning....
Blu-ray Review: Nicholas Ray's IN A LONELY PLACE, A Requiem For Love
I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me. I've only seen a few Nicholas Ray films, but after those I cannot help but be convinced that...
Meeting The Criterion: It's A Criterion Christmas And You Get RIOT IN CELL BLOCK 11
It's a Criterion Christmas! I'll be using Meeting the Criterion as a convenient way of reminding you of many of the Criterion Collections great releases from the last year. Whether your Criterion Collection is organized by spine number, title or director...
Morelia 2014: Mexican Film Noir Program Announced
October is near and so is the 2014 edition of the Morelia International Film Festival! Taking place from October 17 to 26, the 12th edition of Morelia is going to be celebrating the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, with an image...
Full Disclosure 2014 The Directors Cut: Orson Welles
For the month of May, ScreenAnarchy commemorates what would have been the great Orson Welles' 99th birthday by putting his career under the spotlight. In Full Disclosure, we take the filmography of a revered filmmaker each month and then select...
"I Don't Need To Be Put On A Pedestal": An Interview With BASTARDS Director Claire Denis
Claire Denis goes all-out noir in Bastards, a brooding, nocturnal thriller where innocents get punished and good men die. With a star studded cast, Denis creates a film experience so seductive and mesmerizing, it reminded me of the exhilaration that...
Noir Lives: The Bogart Estate And Director Steve Anderson Unveil Santana Films
In 1947, Humphrey Bogart, one of Old Hollywood's biggest talents, started an independent production company named after his yacht. The story behind Santana may sound quaint by today's standards, as just about every actor with some clout has their own...
SCREENANARCHY Presents 100 Years of Nikkatsu at TIFF Bell Lightbox
One of the great things about TIFF finally getting a home space is their ability to curate niche mini-festivals. Even more great is that they give the likes of ScreenAnarchy's own Todd Brown a chance to bring an unappreciated sub-genre...
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