Author Archives: chipkaufmann

This clever take on the silent era is a valentine (note the titular character’s name) to Old Hollywood and especially to lovers of classic movies. Unknown French director Michel Hazanavicius, who also wrote the screenplay, wanted to take on the challange of making a silent film, complete with black & white photography & title cards,Continue reading “THE ARTIST: For Lovers Of Classic Cinema Everywhere”

The silent film is alive and well at least outside of the U.S. In the past few years a number of films such as TUVALU from Germany and OF FREAKS AND MEN from Russia utilize many silent film techniques in telling their stories. The 2002 Brazilian film MARGARETTE’S FEAST however is a true silent movieContinue reading “MARGARETTE”S FEAST (2002): An Intriguing Modern Day Silent Film From Brazil”

THE MIDNIGHT MAN was just one of a number of films that came out in the mid-1970s that attempted to update the 1940s film noir genre. Other prime examples were NIGHT MOVES, THE LATE SHOW, and THE LONG GOODBYE. Unlike those titles, THE MIDNIGHT MAN got mixed to negative reviews and quickly sank without aContinue reading “THE MIDNIGHT MAN (1974): A Forgotten, Modern Film Noir 45 Years Later”

By the time Robert Aldrich made TWILIGHT’S LAST GLEAMING in 1977, he had become a director for hire. Gone were the days when he had his own studio to make the films he wanted (THE GRISSOM GANG, THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE) and gone were the glory days of WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?Continue reading “TWILIGHT’S LAST GLEAMING (1977): Robert Aldrich’s Last Great Movie”

I am a big fan of Sergio Leone. There are no other movies quite like his. His use of wide vistas and extreme close-ups is well known along with a penchant for large scale action set pieces and sudden bursts of violence. As a silent film fan though I admire his lack of dialogue, deliberateContinue reading “DUCK YOU SUCKER: My Favorite Sergio Leone Film”

When I first saw ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA in a theatre in 1984, I was very disappointed. I had been a fan of Leone’s since THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE UGLY (although I didn’t like the first two DOLLARS movies). What I saw looked like a GODFATHER clone with Jewish as opposedContinue reading “ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA: Sergio Leone’s Swan Song”

For those of you who only know Lon Chaney as The Phantom or Quasimodo and for those who don’t know him at all, this collection is the ideal introduction to one of the most gifted artists to ever step in front of a camera. Start first with the British documentary on Chaney narrated by KennethContinue reading “TCM LON CHANEY COLLECTION Is An Ideal Introduction To “The Man Of A Thousand Faces””

Although part of the large scale GARBO:THE SIGNATURE COLLECTION featuring 7 of her 1930’s films, THE GARBO SILENTS is available seperately for the silent film enthusiast or for those who don’t want to purchase the whole package. It joins the sets of Buster Keaton and Lon Chaney films released earlier by TCM Archives. As withContinue reading “TCM Archives: Garbo Doesn’t Speak!”

THE CAMERAMAN is one of my favorite Keaton films and it’s great to have it in about as good a shape as we’re ever likely to see it with a suitable new score from Arthur Barrow (Criterion has since released a definitive edition). This film illustrates what Keaton’s career at MGM could have been likeContinue reading “TCM Buster Keaton Collection Is A Five Star Presentation Of Four Star Material”

No, this does not refer to the 1944 thriller starring Bela Lugosi (a neat little thriller by the way) but rather to the original screen vampire Theda Bara. Her 1915 film A FOOL THERE WAS launched a revolution in the motion picture industry and introduced the word vamp (as noun and verb) into the AmericanContinue reading “THEDA BARA: The Return Of “The Vampire””