CineSavant
Pretty Maids all in a Row
The movie ratings system experienced a rough beginning. Studios got the notion that America wanted R-rated product, which led to a number…
Articles by Glenn Erickson
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Letty Lynton
This Blu-ray re-premieres a notable Joan Crawford picture that's been all but unseeable since 1936. It's romance and murder the way the…
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The Outfit
The best film of director John Flynn may be this unpretentious crime saga, a Richard Stark adaptation that makes no wrong moves…
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Soylent Green
Richard Fleischer's dystopian drama takes place in 2022, which makes it four years past its 'sell by' date. Is our world beginning…
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The Pornographers
The Japanese New Wave strikes -- in a challenging, entertaining art picture where all the perversity is in the characters' heads. Shôhei…
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The Navy vs. the Night Monsters
Whoa ... Red Flag Down. We're so spoiled by improved transfers of Public Domain titles that we forget that poor quality PD…
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Destination Moon
After decades of neglect, George Pal's history-making Sci-fi breakthrough arrives in a worthy video transfer. The milestone production is as original as…
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Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
One of the best combat films of World War II is this MGM ode to the 1942 Dolittle Raid, the strike at…
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My Neighbor Adolf
Here's a rather good picture that's a tough sell. We especially admire its comic tightrope act ... there's no humor in the…
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Without Apparent Motive
Sans mobile apparent. Star Jean-Louis Trintignant and composer Ennio Morricone dominate this cheerfully attractive serial killer tale, shot in sunny Nice. A…
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The Hunt for Red October
I'll bet that plenty of Russians enjoy this Cold War thriller -- Sean Connery charms everyone. Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan tale is…
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La tête contre les murs
Head Against the Wall. Georges Franju's first feature adapts a novel protesting the French system of mental health asylums -- and breathes…
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Charade
High on the list of '60s mainstream movie entertainments is this twist-laden comic-romantic murder thriller, cleverly modeled on the Hitchcock template by…
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Explorers
Director Joe Dante's special skill with actors shines in this overachieving 'juvenile' space adventure that overflows with The Sense of Wonder. It…
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Toomorrow
Dennis Bartok brings an oddball film back from obscurity -- an unreleased big budget comic Sci-fi musical given a big 1970 premiere,…
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Carlos Saura’s Flamenco Trilogy
Criterion's reboot of their branded line Eclipse goes in a great direction with a remaster of Carlos Saura and Antonio Gades' marvelous…
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Possessed
It's glamour time with one of Joan Crawford's best star vehicles, a core shopgirl-to-Park Avenue saga that's All About Joan. Clark Gable…
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Sentimental Value
A highlight of this year's awards season becomes a handsome, rewarding Criterion release. Joachim Trier's drama finds power in the intersection of…
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The 5-Man Army
Spaghetti westerns were the rage in 1969, as long as the action was constant and the body count high. An Italo producer…
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Unearthly Stranger
1963's critics favored this 'cerebral' Sci-fi offering but the main draw was its mysterious heroine, a new bride who may be an…
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Follow Me Quietly
Director Richard Fleischer's crime thriller passed the test with RKO's new owner Howard Hughes, possibly because of its clever story hook: a…
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7 Faces of Dr. Lao
George Pal's production had a hard nut to crack, adapting a highly misanthropic adult novel to serve as a family attraction for…
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Night World
Nope, it's not a stealth Karloff horror feature, but another of his underworld roles ... actually, a semi-underworld role in a nifty…
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Marlowe
James Garner takes a spin as the world-weary detective Philip Marlowe -- "unassailably virtuous, invariably broke." An updating of Raymond Chandler's The…
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The Thief of Bagdad
Douglas Fairbanks' miracle film of the silent era is back in a new restoration from Photoplay Productions, with a bounty of extras;…
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Hi, Mom!
Brian DePalma's wild skit + provocation comedy cemented his status as a capable, meaningful filmmaker just before he turned to a commercial…