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Back in 1967 when this film was first released, critics jumped all over it as just a Richard Burton-Elizabeth Taylor vanity project which it was but that’s all they saw. Now that Dick and Liz have been supplanted by …insert celebrity couple here…the film is ripe for rediscovery and there is much to discover here.Continue reading “DOCTOR FAUSTUS (1967): Richard Burton’s Version Is Ripe For Rediscovery”

I first encountered this film upon its initial release in 1978. I’ve always admired Richard Burton (even in disasters like BLUEBEARD) and would go to see Lee Remick in anything. The two of them along with Franco-Italian actor Lino Ventura made for some pretty strange casting yet somehow it works. The major selling point isContinue reading “THE MEDUSA TOUCH: The Power Of A Destructive Mind”

I have been a fan of silent movies for many years and am happy to be living in a time where a renewed interest in silent films is growing every day. New titles are being discovered at a remarkable rate and festivals in the U.S. and Europe are drawing larger and more enthusiastic crowds. ThisContinue reading “KIDNAPPED (1917): A Moviegoing Experience From 100 Years Ago”

It has been a long time in coming but at last Josef von Sternberg’s three legendary silent masterpieces are coming to DVD and in a Criterion edition no less. I’m not quite sure how or why Paramount agreed to this but I’m certainly not complaining. As others have pointed out, DOCKS OF NEW YORK andContinue reading “JOSEF VON STERNBERG: 3 Legendary Silents”

WHY CHANGE YOU WIFE is the latest Cecil B. DeMille silent film to be released on DVD. It is the last of his marital trilogy and the second to be issued so far (DON”T CHANGE YOUR HUSBAND (1919) and OLD WIVES FOR NEW (1918) are the others). WIFE with Gloria Swanson and Thomas Meighan wasContinue reading “DeMILLE & de MILLE DOUBLE FEATURE”

Having recently watched and reviewed MISS LULU BETT and being impressed with the job done by William C. de Mille (1878-1955), I went back and revisited THE SECRET GAME from this 2001 collection as it is the only other readily available film from Cecil B’s older brother (Cecil was born in 1881 and died inContinue reading “WW I FILMS OF THE SILENT ERA: More From William C. de Mille”

Although my true field of interest remains the silent film (see my other reviews), I just cannot pass up the opportunity to say something about this movie which has been one of my favorites for many years. I first saw it on television back in the 1960’s and it has been with me ever since.Continue reading “THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS Is Still Brutal After 60 Years”

Like so many early 1970s British horror movies, I first saw BURKE & HARE at a drive-in as part of a double or triple bill. I don’t remember what else was showing that night but this was the movie that I came to see and it wasn’t the first feature on the program. I knewContinue reading “BURKE & HARE (1971): Two Very Different Movies Rolled Into One”

THE DOCTOR & THE DEVILS is one of the best examples of a movie that I didn’t appreciate the first time I saw it. The fact that the original script is by Dylan Thomas and that it was directed by Freddie Francis, celebrated cinematographer (THE INNOCENTS, THE ELEPHANT MAN) and occasional mainstream horror film directorContinue reading “THE DOCTOR & THE DEVILS: Literal Version Of Dylan Thomas’ Burke & Hare Story Isn’t For Horror Fans”

19th century Edinburgh grave robbers Burke & Hare have been the subject of at least 4 films prior to this one (5 if you count Val Lewton’s THE BODY SNATCHER (1945) which has the same setting and plotline but only one grave robber). 1) THE GREED OF WILLIAM HART aka HORROR MANIACS (1948) with theContinue reading “BURKE & HARE (2010) Is Uneven At Best”