L’inhumaine (1924) Marcel L’Herbier

L’inhumaine (1924) Marcel L’Herbier
Flicker Alley Blu-ray (2:02)

Almost anyone who loves science fiction movies will have at some point watched at least part of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927). Maybe it’s the only silent science fiction film they’ve ever seen. (I know that was the case with me for several years.) Yet other silent sf films are also worth your attention, such as The Lost World (1925), A Trip to the Moon (1902) and many others. Now, thanks to a stellar new release from Flicker Alley, you can add L’inhumaine (1924) to that list.

Blu-Ray Wish List Revisited

Exactly one year ago, I posted my Blu-ray Wish List, films that may be available in other formats (DVD or streaming), but not on Blu-ray. As of today, not one of the 11 films/categories from last year’s list have been given a domestic Blu-ray release. I believe one of those films is in the works, but other than that, zip.

So while we’re waiting on those films to emerge all nice and Blu, here are five more films/categories I’d like to add to my original Wish List:

Graphic Novels Read in Early 2016 Part I

Although it may seem like it, I haven’t forgotten my comics and graphic novels in 2016, I’ve just forgotten to post them. Today I thought I’d get started on posting the books I’ve read since the New Year started… nearly two-and-a-half months ago!

Blindspot Series 2016: Gilda (1946)

Gilda (1946)
Directed by Charles Vidor
Screenplay by Marion Parsonnet and Ben Hecht (uncredited)
Adaptation by Jo Eisinger from a story by E.A. Ellington
Produced by Virginia Van Upp
Cinematography by Rudolph Maté
Edited by Charles Nelson
Music by Hugo Friedhofer (uncredited)
Costumes by Jean Louis
Columbia Pictures
Criterion Blu-ray (1:50)

Continuing my Blindspot Series 2016:

The Great Movies, Episode 3: Double Indemnity (1944)

The third film in our Great Movies series at the Severna Park Library was another fun evening with a large, enthusiastic crowd. Before we watched Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity, I spoke for a few minutes about the problems in adapting James M. Cain’s earlier 1934 novel The Postman Always Rings Twice for the screen. The novel was very popular at the time, but was considered smut by many, which didn’t help its chances with the Motion Picture Production Code (also known as the Hays Code), which started clamping down on American films in 1934. (1934 was a bad time to be a Hollywood producer if you wanted to make a film that was even slightly racy.)

Movies Watched in February 2016 Part II

You can find Part I here. So let’s continue…

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Sony Pictures DVD – library (1:44)

(Just a short review of this one, although there’s so much more to say, perhaps in a later post.)

There are casual Coen brothers fans and there are the folks who know every shot in every film and can tell you the connections between seemingly insignificant moments from one film and how they relate to scenes from another film. The casual fans may walk away from Inside Llewyn Davis slightly disappointed, hoping for something similar to what the brothers have done before, either in comedic insanity (Raising Arizona, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Burn After Reading), noirish thrills (Blood Simple, The Man Who Wasn’t There), historic or postmodern law-and-order tales (True Grit and No Country for Old Men, respectively). The diehards will no doubt embrace Inside Llewyn Davis, even though it just might explore some previously unexplored territory.