Fear of the Velvet Curtain
SUMMER TO THE RESCUE, SORT OF: 13 MAY-AUGUST MOVIES I WANT TO SEE
Summer is upon us. That is, summer as defined by movie studios which, in the 40 years since Star Wars was released,…
Articles by Dennis Cozzalio
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
The Abominable Dr. Phibes
The pomp and circumstance of Felix Mendelssohn’s “War March of the Priests,” as played on a grand pipe organ by a hooded…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
THE TRUTH ABOUT ZARDOZ, PLUS NINE OTHER THINGS I LEARNED AT TCMFF 2017
Just back from the 2017 TCM Classic Movie Festival with a few thoughts and thoughts about thoughts. I certainly held my reservations…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
A TCMFF 2017 PREAMBLE
“It’s the most wonderful time/Of the year…” – Andy Williams Well, yes and no. There is, after all, still about a week…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
LET US NOW PRAISE THE MAD GENIUS OF RICHARD HARLAND SMITH
A few years ago, in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the death of influential film critic Pauline Kael, I wrote the…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
T2 TRAINSPOTTING
In 1997 there came a little movie called Trainspotting, adapted by director Danny Boyle and scenarist John Hodge from Scottish writer Irvine…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
OMG! OSCARS, MURIELS and GELDERBLOM’S “PRETTY MESSED UP”!
So, going into the final stretch before the Oscars are announced, I have a question: if you like—no, love this year’s front-running…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
JOSEF VON STERNBERG’S ANATAHAN (1953)
One of the most unusual, and unusually moving swansongs in cinema history, Josef Von Sternberg’s Anatahan (a.k.a. The Saga of Anatahan) returns…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
NOSTALGIA AIN’T WHAT IT USED TO BE
Nostalgia just ain’t what it used to be. When the poster for American Graffiti (1973) asked the question “Where were you in…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
KNEEJERK REACTIONS TO THE OSCAR NOMINATIONS AND THE FINAL WORD ON 2017
Even when you live in Los Angeles, as I do, if you’re not in the network of critics groups and press screening…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
BEST OF TIMES, WORST OF TIMES: THE MOVIES OF 2016
2016: the reviews are in! And they have been for quite some time, actually. If you keep up even a distracted presence…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
HAVE YOURSELF A MOVIE LITTLE CHRISTMAS: 2016 EDITION
I’m guessing that you, just like most of us, have always had seasonal favorites when it comes to movies that attempt to…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
JACO (2015)
Much has been said and written about the receiving and processing of music as a spiritual experience, either in the religious sense,…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
A SEASON FOR THANKSGIVING
Thanksgiving. After the past year of tumult, anger and divisiveness we’ve experienced in this country and around the world, to say nothing…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
HAL PHILIP WALKER, ALBUQUERQUE, NASHVILLE AND ELECTION 2016
From the first time I saw it until this moment, two days before what might just be the most important, potentially resonant…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
A HALLOWEEN ELECTRIC DREAMHOUSE
Yesterday, amid a crush of sweaty people desperate for last-minute props, I visited a local Halloween superstore with my daughter, looking for…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
THE 2016 LONE PINE FILM FESTIVAL: WORDS AND PICTURES
Ten years ago I attended the Lone Pine Film Festival for the first time. It was the 17th annual celebration in 2006…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
VIN SCULLY AND THE “BEST PILLOW IN THE WORLD”
Vin Scully, the voice of the Dodgers, is calling it a career this weekend after 67 years in the booth. If you…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
A FINE PAIR AND THE LIMITS OF CLAUDIA LOVE
This fall semester I started taking an Italian language class two evenings a week with my daughter, and Thursday night I was…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
A Few Words About Gene Wilder and Jon Polito
GENE WILDER 1933 -2016 In all likelihood, the events of this past week probably didn’t offer any more or less sadness and…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
THE FOVC GUIDE TO THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE PART 3: DRIVE-IN MOVIE MOVIES
11 DRIVE-IN MOVIE MOVIES (in alphabetical order): Blue Thunder (1983) One key sequence in this thriller about a high-tech urban surveillance helicopter…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
THE FOVC GUIDE TO THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE PART 2: AIP AND 13 NOTABLE DRIVE-IN MOVIE MASTERS
Of all the companies that produced pictures primarily for the drive-in market, none did so with as much brio or thrived because…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
THE FOVC GUIDE TO THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE, PART 1: A BRIEF HISTORY
It might seem that celebrating the drive-in movie season during the dog days of August is a celebration that is coming about…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS (1958)
The sound of an electric pencil sharpener masks the crack of a shot that initiates what might have been the perfect murder…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
BLOOD SIMPLE, SWEET CHARLOTTE, SUICIDE SQUAD AND OTHER SCATTERED SHOTS AND SHORT ENDS
I’ve been back from my Oregon vacation for a couple of weeks now, and though the getaway was a good and necessary…
Fear of the Velvet Curtain
LOOKING FOR ALBERT BROOKS IN THE NETFLIX WORLD
In the hierarchy of significance in what made news this past week, the sudden availability of the entirety of Albert Brooks’ output…