Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies, and many more, at Trailers From Hell. This week we hope you are ready for some ghost stories. We have wine pairings for three movies featuring spirits, which are easier to come by than spirits pairings for movies featuring…
Danza Macabra Vol. 2 – The Italian Gothic Collection Blu-ray Severin Films 1963-72 / 1:33.1, 1:85.1 Starring Barbara Steele, Rosalba Neri, Adolpho Celi, Giorgio Albertazzi Written by Gianni Grimaldi, Corrado Farina, Giorgio Albertazzi Photographed by Riccardo Pallottin, Antonino Modica Directed by Antonio Margheriti, Corrado Farina, Giorgio Albertazzi The conspicuous success of Mario Bava’s Black Sunday…
Fans of Brit war fare will like these mid-’50s look-backs at daring exploits in uniform, directed by Lewis Gilbert. Albert R.N. is a little-seen but rather good POW tale taken from real life. Anthony Steel, Jack Warner, Robert Beatty & William Sylvester try out a brilliant but risky escape plan, utilizing a ‘new’ prisoner in…
One of the most entertaining musicals ever, MGM’s ‘All Black’ Broadway extravaganza wins over audiences with its big heart, tuneful song list and wickedly funny comedy. The all-star cast bursts with unique talent: Ethel Waters, Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson, Lena Horne, for a fantastic Film Blanc morality play. Additional musical magic is provided by Duke Ellington…
Texas becomes a battleground for change: the law ‘n’ order image of the Texas Rangers, the attitudes of established immigrants, a soldier trying to instill older values and a teacher trying to inspire new ones. How do we deal with the controversial past, public and private? Director John Sayles’ vivid screenplay benefits from excellent performances…
Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies, and many more, at Trailers From Hell. This week we take a lighthearted look at some cinematic unions that should have been fixed in post-production. Marriages start out with wine, generally. A toast with Champagne at the reception is…
And we thought we’d seen everything good from Christopher Lee! This rarely-seen national epic gives him a highly unusual role as Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the Father of Pakistan. The great man is sober and authoritative — and also sheds a tear. The well-made picture is a fast tour through postwar Indian history, that avoids total…
Tomorrow may only be ‘A Day Away,’ but the important thing to remember is that it is a bleak gamble. Harry Belafonte produces and stars in an angry, unsettling heist noir with little chance for a happy outcome. The heavy-duty race theme comes across well, and sparks fly between Belafonte’s desperate musician and Robert Ryan’s…
Wow, Severin’s killer 4K restoration boosts Antonio Margheriti’s bloodsucking ghost chiller nearer the apex of classic gothic Eurohorror. Barbara Steele seduces, swoons and shudders as one of several phantoms cursed to repeat their murderous crimes, and lure new victims to join them in undead Lust. The original Italian version is an uncensored knockout, and generates…
The Red Balloon and Other Stories: Five Films by Albert Lamorisse Blu-ray Criterion 1953-65 / 1:33.1, 2.35:1 Starring Pascal Lamorisse Written by Albert Lamorisse, Jacques Prévert, James Agee Photographed by Edmond Séchan, Maurice Fellous, Guy Tabary Directed by Albert Lamorisse The little heroes of Albert Lamorisse’s films are alone but not necessarily lonely, they’re just…
Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies, and many more, at Trailers From Hell. This week we have wine pairing for three films directed by Irving Rapper. Irving Rapper was born on January 16th, 1898. He passed away less than a month before he was to…
Hopefully this release is just the beginning of a new series of WAC Tarzan remasters. The original pre-Code classic has everything we want: innocent/lustful sex in the jungle, terrific work from Johnny Weissmuller & Maureen O’Sullivan, bloody savagery . . . plus race attitudes stuck in the white supremacist 19th century. The monkey acrobatics and…
A pact with Satan! A pop-eyed sea monster! The lurid artwork for this fairly obscure 1961 horror double bill looks like adult fare, with a naked she-devil riding a centaur, and a giant claw hefting a typical female victim above the briny Caribbean, 🎶 or Carribbe-an Sea! 🎶 They form an anti-blockbuster Filmgroup drive-in release, and…
Cushing Curiosities Blu-ray Severin Films 1960-71 / 2.35:1, 1.66:1 Starring Peter Cushing, Bernard Lee, Patrick Macnee, Alida Valli Written by Robert Westerby, Nigel Balchin, Lewis Griefer Photographed by Arthur Grant, Max Greene, Desmond Dickinson Directed by Charles Frend, John Boulting, Roy Boulting, Quentin Lawrence Severin Films’ new Blu ray release is called Cushing Curiosities for…
The film adaptation of Mordecai Richler’s book retains the original’s richness and feeling for character, thanks to fine direction by Ted Kotcheff and spot-on supporting performances by Micheline Lanctôt, Jack Warden, Randy Quaid, Joseph Wiseman, and Denholm Elliott — and a fearless starring effort by Richard Dreyfuss. Intent on getting rich fast, the ‘pushy’ punk…
Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies, and many more, at Trailers From Hell. This week we have a trio of films directed by Howard Hawks, and some hopefully Hawksian wine pairings to match. If you are one of those people who just watches movies without…
Christopher Nolan’s biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer is a welcome departure from present film trends. The story of the ‘father’ of the atom bomb prioritizes the scientist’s dilemma — the nation wants Oppie’s expertise to make a super-weapon, but won’t tolerate his opinions about the atomic future. Was there ever a 3-hour epic devoted mostly…
December 31st marks a very special time of year, film fans: Val Kilmer’s birthday. Kilmer remains one of the all-time favorite movie stars of your trusty Trailers From Hell correspondent in North Hollywood, and I like to commemorate the occasion with a TFH review, provided it doesn’t yet have a corresponding commentary from a TFH…
The Man in Half Moon Street Blu-ray – Region Free Imprint 1945 / 92 Mins. / 1.33:1 Starring Nils Asher, Helen Walker Written by Garrett Fort Photographed by Henry Sharp Directed by Ralph Murphy Just because a movie is in black and white doesn’t mean it has to be colorless, but such is the case…
An eclectic stack of B&W thrillers — Island of Doomed Men, The Red Menace, The Burglar, and 13 West Street — is given [Imprint]’s deluxe packaging treatment. The organizing factor for their fifth noir box is a star associated with noir classics: Pete Lorre, Dan Duryea, Alan Ladd, Rod Steiger and . . . Commies?…
Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies and many more at Trailers From Hell. This week, we’re working our streaming platforms as if they are pack animals. Christmas movie after Christmas movie after Christmas movie, only pausing for refills, bathroom breaks and an occasional viewing of Die…
This is a Christmas movie? The 1980s began early with this high-concept, edgy-but-silly urban fantasy dreamed up by Walter Hill when an original realistic concept was rejected: ads about ‘Armies of the Night’ glamorizing street gangs worried the old folk, while the exhibition rollout was disturbed by violence in theaters. Essentially one long foot chase…
This once-obscure item has accumulated a solid cult following. Allen Baron writes, directs and stars in a gritty on-the-streets tale of a hit man having difficulties lining up his latest score. The over-achieving tiny independent feature bursts with arresting storytelling and eye-opening visuals. It’s holiday time in the Big Apple, and the camera records the…
Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies and many more at Trailers From Hell. This week, we remember another star who has left our galaxy. We will also pair some wines with his movies. In the early 1970s, the National Lampoon Radio Hour skewered Ryan O’Neal with…
Does it Creak? Not at all. Paul Muni brings this revered biographical drama to life, even if it’s less about Zola and more about the notorious Dreyfus Affair, the kind of subject normally too touchy for Hollywood. Warners’ prestige offering nabbed a well earned Best Picture Oscar — everything connected to the crucial trial is…