Laura [Extended Version] (1944)

Though the time since I started collecting DVDs (later Blu-rays) has brought me to a much greater awareness of film noir than I ever had before, I’m still catching up to even titles long since listed as the top of the heap. I think Laura kept slipping past me because noir and gangster movies seemed […]

The Set-Up (1949)

Once upon a time, physical releases of films were more prevalent in a different way–new films released to DVD that never saw VHS, in a market that worked unlike most others before. Cinephiles joining up via the internet, archives re-opening, and a pre-set generation ready to watch films at their leisure rather than per programming […]

Swamp Water (1941)

It doesn’t function nearly like Criterion in terms of reliability, but Twilight Time as a release label is one I’ve been paying a lot of attention to over the past year or so. I ran into this movie at the local Half Price and picked it up because it was out of print, a reasonable […]

In a Lonely Place (1950)

I tend to wonder when I’ll lose my death grip on caution with regard to most movies from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. I find myself debating how I’ll feel about them, being wary or trepidatious on approach because I suspect I won’t enjoy them as much as another movie. Is it a vestige of […]

Touch of Evil [Restored Cut] (1958)

Anachronistically, I forever find myself singing the Judas Priest song whenever I think of this movie. Of course, timing aside, this makes no sense: the Priest song is intensely sexual, which is not really relevant here. But the mind does as it will. Nonsensical associations aside, this is hardly an obscure film. I’d heard of […]

The Killing (1956)

As someone who has more interest in character than spectacle or plot and ideas than visuals as a general rule (but of course not an exclusive one), Stanley Kubrick is an unusual director for me. Obviously many people love the man’s work dearly, and I certainly put in my hands and vote for the original […]

The Third Man (1949)

The first advice I have for you is simple: don’t read anything about this film, including what I’m about to write, before you watch it. I could attempt a review that didn’t spoil certain elements, but it would be terribly, terribly difficult and fail to address the movie itself, really. Obviously this means there will […]

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

“There’s nothing tragic about being fifty. Not unless you’re trying to be twenty-five.” One of many “classic” films I bought sight unseen; I knew nothing of the plot, the nature or anything else of the film, except its reputation. I did eventually gather, of course, the presence of Gloria Swanson and William Holden as stars, […]