Author Archives: chipkaufmann

Hats off to Kino Lorber for giving us a DVD version that does this film justice surpassing the earlier MGM release. There are two main reasons for this. 1) the carefully muted color that John Huston and Brit cameraman Oswald Morris devised to give the film a 19th century look (similar to a book illustration)Continue reading “MOBY DICK (1956): A Digital Release That Does John Huston’s Film Justice”

After the remarkable success of their first low budget effort, THE BLOB in 1958, producer Jack H. Harris and director Irwin S. Yeaworth put together an even better follow up in 4D MAN (1959). It did not achieve the success of its predecessor at the box office yet it would influence future shows like THEContinue reading “THE 4-D MAN (1959): A Low Budget Sci-Fi Flick That Has A Lot To Offer”

I’ll add my name to the long list of those asking for SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE to be released on DVD. It was made for a company called Cinema Center Films, one of a number of small independent firms that sprang up following the collapse of the Production Code in 1968. They shut their doors inContinue reading “SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE Finally Released On DVD”

The year is 1973. English Gothic Cinema is on the run. DRACULA A.D. 1972 has brought Christopher Lee into the 20th century. Period flavor films like THE GHOUL still have motor cars and other modern trappings. Tigon Productions, one time rival to Hammer who made WITCHFINDER GENERAL (1968) and THE BLOOD ON SATAN’S CLAW (1970)Continue reading “THE CREEPING FLESH: One Of The Last Of The Old School English Gothics”

Say the name Amicus to horror fans and immediately one word comes to mind…anthology. Anthologies or portmanteau or multi-story films were Amicus’ stock-in-trade. It helped to distinguish them from Hammer Films and from AIP (American International Pictures) who were the primary purveyors of quality low budget horror films during the 1960s and 70s. Movies withContinue reading “AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS (1973): Amicus’ Greatest Single Story Film”

THE BEAST MUST DIE, despite its rather generic horror film title, is really a rather clever 1970s reworking of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME. Big game hunter Tom Newcliffe has hunted every type of game there is. For the ultimate sport (and an untried thrill), he invites a number of people to his large English countryContinue reading “THE BEAST MUST DIE Is Better Than The Title Would Leave You To Believe”

There are many people who consider G.W. Pabst to be the finest director of German silent cinema. I am not one of them. I find his movies to be poorly paced and lacking in visual interest. They are kept afloat by their adult subject matter and by the performances of his female stars (Greta GarboContinue reading “SECRETS OF A SOUL (1926): Psychoanalytic Time Capsule Is Still Of Interest”

Finally there is a version of THE CABINET OF DR CALIGARI that shows it in such a way that it is now possible to understand the impact that the film must have had on audiences in 1920. Of course in order to fully achieve that effect it is necessary to try and view CALIGARI asContinue reading “CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1919): You WILL WATCH This New Presentation”

I have waited since 1968 to see this movie which I first encountered in Carlos Claren’s seminal book AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE HORROR FILM which traces horror movies from 1895 through 1967. It has been worth the wait. In fact I was so taken with the film that I immediately watched it again andContinue reading “THE HANDS OF ORLAC (1924): Better Than CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI”

That phrase, so closely associated with Monty Python, makes for an apt description of this legendary 1922 German silent film which has been unavailable in America for many years. Made the same year as F.W. Murnau’s NOSFERATU and featuring many of the same performers, WARNING SHADOWS is like a combination of it and THE CABINETContinue reading “WARNING SHADOWS (1922): And Now For Something Completely Different”