“Good evening, Clarice.” The Silence Of the Lambs creeps me out. It did when I first saw it nearly 20 years ago. And it still does. There’s a grotesqueness to this movie that emits a kind of psychic stench that clings to me, like the cloying smell of maple-flavored bacon that lingers in the kitchen […]
Entries Tagged as 'Adaptation'
Silence Of the Lambs, The
October 22nd, 2009 · No Comments · 1991, Adaptation, Anthony Hopkins, C-Word, Color, Composer: Howard Shore, F-Word, Hannibal Lecter, Jodie Foster, Mid-Point, Orion Pictures Corporation, Plot Point I, Plot Point II, Screenplay Structure, Silence of the Lambs, Thriller
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Driving Miss Daisy
October 20th, 2009 · No Comments · 1989, Adaptation, Color, Composer: Hans Zimmer, Dan Aykroyd, Drama, Driving Miss Daisy, Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman, Warner Bros. Pictures
I love everything about this movie. I can’t think of a sweeter, kinder, more uplifting movie in the pantheon of Best-Picture winners. Not even Marty, as sweet as it was, beats Driving Miss Daisy. It doesn’t get any better than this. And, truth be told, few movies can bring a tear to my eye like […]
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Last Emperor, The
October 18th, 2009 · No Comments · 1987, Adaptation, Bernardo Bertolucci, Biopic, Color, Communists, Criterion Collection, Dalai Lama, Drama, Drug Use, Hemdale Film, Last Emperor, Puyi, Tibet
This is an incredibly sad movie. Not sad in the sense of Out of Africa or Terms of Endearment. Rather, sad in a passing-of-an-era sense. From its entry on Wikipedia: The Last Emperor is a biopic about the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of China…Puyi’s life is depicted from his ascension to the throne […]
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Amadeus
October 15th, 2009 · No Comments · 1984, Adaptation, Amadeus, Classical Period, Color, Jasper Rees, Milos Forman, Orion Pictures Corporation, Sir Neville Marriner, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) is my favorite composer of the Classical period (1750-1825). “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” (A Little Night Music) is one of my favorite pieces of music, as are the Horn Concertos 1-4, especially the Dennis Brain/Herbert von Karajan (1954) recording. In addition, the crown jewel of my possessions is the Philips 180-CD Complete […]
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Terms of Endearment
October 14th, 2009 · No Comments · 1983, Adaptation, Color, Comedy, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, James L Brookes, Paramount Pictures, Shirley MacLaine, Terms of Endearment
Finally! A nice, light comedy. Or is it? True, James L. Brooks, who directed and wrote this movie, is known for his remarkable pedigree in television – everything from Mary Tyler Moore, Rhoda, Lou Grant, Room 222, and Taxi, to The Simpsons (Woo-hoo!). Heck, James L. Brooks even wrote two episodes of my favorite sitcom: […]
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Ordinary People
October 11th, 2009 · No Comments · 1980, Adaptation, Color, Composer: Marvin Hamlisch, Drama, F-Word, Mary Tyler Moore, Ordinary People, Paramount Studios, Robert Redford, Swearing
I’ve always liked Mary Tyler Moore. She was incredible as Laura Petrie in The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966), and she was superb in her own series, the highly acclaimed The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977). To be honest – and, let’s face it, who isn’t honest when he blogs? – I had a crush […]
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Kramer vs. Kramer
October 11th, 2009 · No Comments · 1979, Adaptation, Color, Columbia Pictures, Drama, Dustin Hoffman, Kramer vs Kramer, Meryl Streep, Mid-Point, Plot Point I, Plot Point II, Screenplay Structure
Kramer vs. Kramer, the three-hanky movie that pits the sizable talents of Meryl Streep against those of Dustin Hoffman (on opposite sides of a custody battle for the divorcing couple’s son), is a well-constructed film that still holds up some 30 years after it was released. In fact, some scenes – like the “French-toast scene” […]
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
October 6th, 2009 · 2 Comments · 1975, Adaptation, Color, Drama, Jack Nicholson, Milos Forman, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, United Artists
I remember seeing Cuckoo’s Next at the theater the year it was released, 1975, one of the most important years of my life. These are some of the things I remember about the movie: 1. Jack Nicholson’s performance is over the top, as it always is. He makes Rod Steiger look like an William Hurt […]
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