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a mad genius
You really can't miss when doing a biography of Howard Hughes , certainly one of the most brilliant , glamorous , eccentric , and fascinating men who ever lived . And for me , Leonardo DiCaprio and Scorcese don't miss . DiCaprio's portrayal of Hughes is a revelation . ( I'll digress here to say , for those who have acc...
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Based on a true story
Sean Penn plays Sam Bicke who decides to kill President Nixon in " The Assassination of Richard Nixon , " a 2004 film brilliantly directed by Niels Muller , who co-wrote the excellent script with Kevin Kennedy . The film is actually based on a true story and stars Sean Penn , Naomi Watts and Don Cheadle . The story beg...
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excellent noir
Although a B movie , " The Narrow Margin " is considered one of the best of the film noir genre ever made . It's fast moving , like the train that Charles McGraw , Marie Windsor , Jacqueline White , and some thugs are taking to Los Angeles . The thugs seek to stop a mobster's widow from handing over his " pay list " an...
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Sumptuous drama of the royal court of Henry VIII
Richard Burton is Henry VIII and Genevieve Bujold is Anne Boleyn in " Anne of the Thousand Days , " a beautifully acted and brilliant looking film from 1969 , from the play by Maxwell Anderson and directed by Charles Jarrot . Irene Papas is Catherine of Aragon , Anthony Quayle is Cardinal Woolsey , and John Colicos is ...
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Six trainers try to qualify their horses for the Kentucky Derby
Six trainers prepare for " The First Saturday in May " in this excellent 2007 documentary currently playing limited engagements in select theaters . The good news is that the producers , the Hennegan brothers , have found a distributor , and the film is due to be released on DVD . The documentary follows the trainers o...
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Remarkable . Devastating .
This is a not to be missed story of one of the most remarkable women ever to hit films - Mary Pickford . Not only was she a brilliant actress and a beautiful woman , but an astonishing businesswoman and visionary . Pickford formed United Artists with Douglas Fairbanks ( her soon to be husband ) and Charlie Chaplin in o...
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Two great female performances
Vanessa Redgrave is " Mary , Queen of Scots " in this 1972 film which stars Glenda Jackson , Patrick McGoohan , Timothy Dalton , Ian Holm and Nigel Davenport . What a pity that young people today don't have a chance to see the great Jackson , who has retired , or Redgrave , who no longer plays leads in films . These tw...
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The human side of warring factions
First , on a light note , I saw " Road to Perdition " right before I saw this film , and therefore made the conclusion that Daniel Craig is in every film made . At this point , I feel like I know his face better than one of my family members . " Munich " is a powerful story done by a powerhouse group , as it is directe...
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A little boy thinks the butler did it
A little boy ( Bobby Henry ) thinks he saw a murder in " The Fallen Idol , " a 1948 film directed by Carol Reed from a Graham Greene screenplay . You really can't get much better than that . Phillipe is the son of the French ambassador to England and his good buddy in the large place where they live is the butler Baine...
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Powerful images
It's Indonesia at the time of the 1965 revolution , and a young , ambitious reporter , played by Mel Gibson , is in Jakata to cover it in " The Year of Living Dangerously , " a 1982 film that also stars Sigourney Weaver and Linda Hunt . Peter Weir does an incredible job at evoking the atmosphere of poverty , homelessne...
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Nice Spielberg-Hanks collaboration
Tom Hanks is Viktor Navorski , a man without a country who lives in " The Terminal , " a 2004 film directed by Steven Spielberg . While Viktor is en route to the U . S . to fulfill a wish of his late father's , there is a coup in the Eastern European country he calls home . When he lands at JFK airport , he finds he ca...
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Funny and technically remarkable
Zelig is another terrific film from Woody Allen , about a chameleon who lived earlier in the century and was treated by a psychiatrist to become one , whole person . Done in documentary style all the way through and narrated by Patrick Horgan , it's difficult to tell sometimes who is real and who is acting . Leonard ...
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biography of a Hollywood beauty
Linda Darnell was certainly one of the most beautiful women to hit Hollywood , but when she first came on the scene , she was just a girl . This Biography episode covers the actress ' tragic life , using home movies , film clips , and interviews with family , friends , and costars . Linda Darnell's story is compelling ...
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A man tries to gaslight his wife
As Suzanne once said on " Designing Women , " " you're trying to gas stove me . " The term for driving a person crazy by either gaslighting or gas stoving them comes from this magnificent 1944 film , remade from a 1940 British production - and both come from the play " Angel Street . " But it was this Oscar-winning fil...
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A Jonas meets robbers - mayhem results
Hilarious dark , British comedy about robbers who have the incredible misfortune of planning their crime in the home of Mrs . Wilberforce while posing as musicians . Thinking her a harmless little old lady , they enlist her unknowing help in the crime , not realizing she's a total Jonas . A very clever script and a top...
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Wonderful film
Liam Neeson is " Under Suspicion " for murdering his wife and a client in this 1991 little known film also starring Laura San Giacomo . This is one of those films one rents and all too rarely realizes that they have found an unsung treasure . Set in England in 1959-60 , Neeson plays an police officer , Tony Aaron . Whi...
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a joy in every way
This was the best and brightest of the Lifetime reunions ! The ladies - and by that , I mean the real " Designing Women " - Delta Burke , Dixie Carter , and Annie Potts - looked incredible and were a riot together as themselves , just as they were playing their characters . They told some hilarious stories . The tremen...
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The warts and all bio of a music great
A masterful performance by Jamie Foxx is just one of the highlights of " Ray , " a 2004 film also starring Kerry Washington , Regina King , Curtis Armstrong , Richard Schiff , Sharon Warren , Patrick Bachau , and many others , all giving excellent support to the film . The film has several main focuses : the first is C...
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Unforgivable is Unforgettable !
Ken Burns has done an amazing documentary on the life of Jack Johnson - but even more amazing is the story he tells of the times in which Johnson lived . There is still racism in this country , for sure - one wants to believe that at least in most parts of the country , it is a little more circumspect than racism was d...
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I LOVE this show !
I've been a devotee of MONK since it started and am ashamed to confess that I just discovered the very funny , very clever PSYCH on USA Network . It's a familiar format - two buddies , a head honcho in the police department who resents them - but it has some great twists . James Roday is Shawn Spencer , an observant de...
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Still a boy at heart
Big is a captivating , funny , heartwarming movie starring Tom Hanks . It is well deserving of any and all accolades . A kid , Josh , makes a wish at a carnival machine to be big - and Zoltar grants it . The boy becomes a man - on the outside , anyway . When Josh's own mother doesn't know him , his best friend helps ...
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Haunting fantasy with a traditional post-war theme
The World War II zietgeist was an obsession with what happens after death , with angels coming to earth ( " The Bishop's Wife , " " It's A Wonderful Life , " ) with the dead appearing in someone else's body ( " Here Comes Mr . Jordan " ) and with people returning to live in another time . Thus we have the beautiful sto...
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A lot of fun and heart
Ugly Betty is a refreshing show from ABC that is based on a soap opera , I believe from Mexico . The place and the characters are quite similar to " The Devil Wears Prada , " except that in " Ugly Betty " her boss loves her . Like Prada , UB takes place in the offices of a fancy fashion magazine a la Vogue , in the s...
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Excellent look at the brilliant career of Edward R . Murrow
This Reporter is the story of Edward R . Murrow and his career at CBS , so beautifully told in the film " Good Night , and Good Luck . " If possible , see the documentary first - you will appreciate the film even more . Murrow was a handsome man who always had a cigarette in his hand ; this documentary traces his car...
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engrossing documentary about the great director
John Ford is one of our greatest American directors , and he is profiled in this 1971 documentary that features a hilarious interview with the man himself ( Interviewer : How did you shoot that scene ? Ford : With a camera ) and actors who worked with him many times over the years : John Wayne , James Stewart , Henry F...
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a one man band
Kevin Spacey is everything , including Bobby Darin , in " Beyond the Sea , " a biography of the young man who set himself up as the next Sinatra - and indeed , might have been - had it not been for his early death . Darin was a cocky kid with a great presence and oodles of talent . The essence of Vegas cool , his singi...
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Beautiful adaptation
Orson Welles hauls out his " Citizen Kane " corsets to become Mr . Rochester to Joan Fontaine's Jane Eyre in " Jane Eyre , " a lavish 1944 adaptation of the book by Charlotte Bronte . Jane is a poor orphan shuttled from one horrible situation to another - first the home of her cruel aunt ( Agnes Moorhead ) , then to an...
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Another version of " The Front Page " starring Grant and Russell
Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell make great sparring partners in " His Girl Friday , " a remake of " The Front Page . " Grant plays the conniving newspaper publisher Walter Johnson , and Rosalind Russell is the reporter Hildy Johnson , a woman this time , and Johnson's ex-wife . She's trying to get remarried , move to A...
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Top-notch all the way
Black people " passing for white " was not a new topic for Hollywood in 1949 . It was part of the plot of " Imitation of Life " in 1934 , but in that film , an actual black actress , Fredi Washington , played the role of the young woman who " passes " in the white world . In 1949 , there were two films dealing with thi...
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Jonathan Demme directs - not too shabby !
Both Steven Spielberg and Jonathan Demme cut their teeth on Columbo . This is a particularly good episode that sports not only Demme directing but an excellent script by Robert Van Scoyck , an award winning writer who wrote episodes for Columbo , Ellery Queen , Banacek , and other shows . Louis Jourdan is the murderer ...
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The spots !
Betty Hutton is responsible for " The Miracle of Morgan's Creek , " a 1944 comedy written and directed by Preston Sturges . A very famous movie and rightly so . Hutton shares the screen with Sturges regulars Eddie Bracken , William Demarest , Brian Donlevy , as well as Diana Lynn , Akim Tamiroff and Porter Hall . Hutto...
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A singer changes a brothers ' music team and their relationship
Jeff Bridges and Beau Bridges are " The Fabulous Baker Boys " in this 1989 film also starring Michelle Pfeiffer . The Baker Boys have been playing dual pianos on the lounge circuit for years , with Frank ( Beau ) acting as the booking manager and accountant . When the bookings dry up , the brothers decide to hire a sin...
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Be careful what you wish for
Three models set out to land some " rich millionaires " in " How to Marry a Millionaire , " a cinemascope extravaganza starring Lauren Bacall , Betty Grable , and Marilyn Monroe . To show off the new , wide screen system and stereo sound , there is an overture and finale which today seem unnecessary . Bacall rents the ...
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London in the ' 60s in all its glory
Julie Christie is " Darling " in this 1965 film directed by John Schlesinger , and also starring Dirk Bogarde and Laurence Harvey . Schlesinger does a beautiful job of showing us ' 60s London as it was , and yet he managed to make a film that is just as timely now . Julie Christie is model Diana Scott , a gorgeous , am...
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Warner Brothers ' courageous bio of a gifted and important scientist
Dr . Ehrlich's Magic Bullet is the story of the groundbreaking Nobel prize winner Paul Ehrlich , credited with many discoveries still critical in the practice of medicine today , and perhaps most importantly , for finding the cure for syphilis . This is an important film for the use of the word ' syphilis ' which was...
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hilarious , poignant , with brilliant performances
I found myself chuckling at the beginning of this film , howling with laughter in the middle , and in tears at the end . This is a brilliant work that uses wine as a metaphor to describe its two main characters , Miles , the pinot noir , and Jack , the cabernet . Both men are pathetic , but for different reasons - Mile...
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suspenseful
This is another underrated film , probably due to the fact that in those days , the studios just churned them out . It's a shame that today , with fewer films being made , more can't be " churned out " like this one . A top-notch cast , including Robert Taylor , Nazimova , Conrad Veidt and Norma Shearer do justice to a...
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black widower on the prowl
This is a fantastic episode from the " Thriller " series that benefits from a brilliant performance by Helen Mirren . I personally know her work from a later era , but here , she is only 29 . The story concerns a black widower , Mark , who meets , charms , and marries wealthy women , and then kills them , making it loo...
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A delight !
Two teenage girls stalk a pianist in " The World of Henry Orient , " a 1964 film starring Peter Sellars , Angela Lansbury , Phyllis Thaxter , Tom Bosley , Paula Prentiss , Merrie Spaeth and Tippy Walker . Spaeth and Walker are the 14-year-old teens , and the writing for them isn't good - it's PERFECT , capturing what i...
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mesmerizing
Fabulous film that demands a second , third and fourth viewing because of its structure . A concept that is brilliantly executed . It manages to scare and yet have realistic , warm characters the audience identifies with and cares about .
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bring a box of Kleenex
This wonderful tribute to Elvis hosted by Priscilla Presley contains home movies , interviews , clips from the ' 68 comeback special , Aloha from Hawaii , outtakes , Elvis : That's the Way it is , his films - in short , everything you could possibly want to see in an Elvis tribute . Priscilla , Lisa Marie , Priscilla's...
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What a spectacle !
Possibly the most sweeping epic ever to hit the screen , the 1959 " Ben-Hur " came by its 11 Oscars and 12 nominations honestly . It's truly a magnificent film , beautifully acted and directed by William Wyler . While working on the film , Wyler informed Charlton Heston that his performance wasn't good enough . When He...
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Memory can change . . . the heart prevails
It's hard not to fall in love with a film that begins with a voice-over saying ( paraphrasing ) : " Valentine's Day was created by card companies to make everybody feel like crap . " Right afterward , I watched Jim Carrey force himself through a half-closed train door , and I said , this is for me . Carrey , in a compl...
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compelling story of an unusual woman
I may not agree with most of Ayn Rand's philosophy , but I do consider her a great fiction writer , and I found this documentary tremendously interesting in all aspects . " The Fountainhead " is one of my favorite books of all time , as it speaks of mediocrity becoming the highest standard by which all is compared - ju...
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an amazing film
It's hard to express what an emotional experience seeing this movie was for me . How something done so simply can be so profound is beyond my limited abilities , but that's what " To Kill A Mockingbird " is , a simple , beautiful film with profound messages . It takes one back in time , to 1932 - and you don't for a mi...
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Great , just great
Decision before Dawn , a 1951 20th Century Fox film , is one that possibly baby-boomers will remember from its TV premiere on " Saturday Night at the Movies . " " Saturday Night at the Movies " was a Fox ' 60s television show that debuted many of the studio's films on the air . " The Desert Fox , " " Diplomatic Couri...
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Magnificent statement about the power of one
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing . ( Edmund Burke ) The evil in 1954's " On the Waterfront " is the union bosses , brilliantly portrayed by Lee J . Cobb , Rod Steiger and their thugs . They are allowed to do business because of the fright , intimidation , and passiveness of an...
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obscure but memorable
It is totally amazing , nearly 60 years later , to realize the lengths that 20th Century Fox went to in order to keep Tyrone Power a handsome leading man rather than letting him show his stuff . It's no wonder Fox came to disgrace during the Cleopatra era . Pity it didn't happen earlier so Power had more opportunities ...
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I've met some hard-boiled eggs in my time . . . but you , you're 20 minutes .
I first saw " Ace in the Hole " as " The Big Carnival " over 20 years ago , and it had a powerful impression on me . Seeing it again , the effect it has is even more powerful especially in light of today's media frenzies over everything from Britney , Lindsay Lohan , Paris Hilton , Lady Diana's life and death - 10 year...
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a heartbreaking and wonderful film
This is a beautifully told story . Like one of the posters stated , it seems crazy to reiterate what everyone else has said . This film appealed to me because it concerns the protests that went on in my college days . For me , it's a story about how the choices one makes can change your life , haunt you forever , and a...
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This isn't your mother's movie musical !
It's amazing , after seeing Chicago , to contemplate how the movie musical has changed over the years . Thinking back to the musicals in my own era - " West Side Story , " " My Fair Lady , " " Sound of Music , " and " Music Man , " one is struck by how entire numbers were performed straight through . Then came MTV , an...
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Pre-code grapefruit
James Cagney is " The Public Enemy " in this 1931 film also starring Jean Harlow , Edward Woods , Donald Cook , Joan Blondell and Beryl Mercer . The film concerns two buddies , Tom Powers ( Cagney ) and his friend Matt Doyle ( Woods ) , who start getting into trouble as kids , becoming mobsters involved in bootlegging ...
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Fantastic documentary
This is a brilliantly done documentary about one of film's great enigmas , Greta Garbo . For me , watching this was very personal , as I was privileged to research the biography written by Barry Paris ( who appears in this documentary ) . There are interviews with another biographer , Karen Swenson , with Garbo's frien...
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A furtive tear
As much as I have always appreciated Woody Allen comedies , I admit to liking more the dramas where he asks the tough questions . The brilliant " Match Point , " like " Crimes and Misdemeanors " is one of those , and it's his best . Loosely based on " A Place in the Sun , " Allen's tough question is , " Would you rathe...
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excellent made for television movie
Second Serve is a stunning made for TV movie done at a time when TV films seemed to have a little more thought put into them than they do now . In later years , they have descended into true crime and women in crisis , drawing largely from the headlines . This film is drawn from the headlines , too , but a different ...
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O tempora , o mores ! - so sayeth Oscar Jaffe
John Barrymore , Carole Lombard , Walter Connelly , Roscoe Karns , Charles Lane and Etienne Girardot ride the " Twentieth Century " in this outrageous 1934 comedy directed by Howard Hawks . The story was made into a successful musical in the 1970s that starred Madeline Kahn and John Cullum . Barrymore plays Oscar Jaffe...
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A Lubitsch comedy masterpiece
Just the thought of Jack Benny walking onto a stage as Hamlet is enough to send anyone into spasms of laughter . That he does - and a lot more - in " To Be or Not to Be , " a 1942 film about the Lunt and Fontanne ( Benny and Carole Lombard ) of Poland , Josef and Maria Tura , as they go up against the Nazis . Circumsta...
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The ultimate has-been in the ultimate Hollywood story
William Holden is Joe Gillis , a down and out screenwriter trying to keep his car from being repossessed in " Sunset Boulevard , " a 1950 film written and directed by Billy Wilder . The film stars Gloria Swanson , Max von Stroheim , Nancy Olson , Jack Webb , and Cecil B . Demille . Gillis hides his car in a garage , no...
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The phenomenal Paul Scofield
Paul Scofield is Sir Thomas More , " A Man for All Seasons , " in a 1966 film directed by Fred Zinnemann and also starring Robert Shaw , Orson Welles , John Hurt , Leo McKern , Wendy Hiller , and Susanna York . Vanessa Redgrave , who was to play York's role , did a play instead and agreed to do the non-speaking role of...
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Iconic film , iconic stars
Frank Capra's 1934 film " It Happened One Night " paved the way for many copycats ; even the soap opera " General Hospital " had a story arc that involved a runaway - bridegroom this time - and those famous Walls of Jericho . Not only that , but it changed the undershirt industry and inspired a famous bunny pose . The ...
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absolutely fabulous in every way
Another knockout performance by Helen Mirren as a down and out ' 60s folk singer who , in order to help the family that took her in , goes undercover as an art dealer . Mirren , of course , does the transition from drugged-out hippie throwback to a glamorous woman of the world perfectly in this intriguing and very exci...
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Beloved of God
To be born with the love of music and with great ambition and yet have a mediocre talent ; to hate passionately one with clearly a heavenly gift - that is the story of Amadeus . Directed by Milos Forman and starring F . Murray Abraham , Tom Hulce , Roy Dotrice , Elizabeth Berridge , Jeffrey Jones and Christine Ebersole...
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Rock the Casbah
A gang of thieves hide out above Algiers in the Arab section of the city , the Casbah , in " Pepe le Moko , " a 1937 film - an homage to the U . S . gangster movie - that is often credited as the inspiration for the film noir craze that swept U . S . cinema . In order to draw attention to the American version , " Algie...
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One of the best ever
Based on the wonderful play by Agatha Christie , the film version of Witness for the Prosecution is a magnificent film , one of the best ever . It was given the all star treatment - directed by Billy Wilder , starring Tyrone Power , Marlene Dietrich , Charles Laughton , and Elsa Lanchester . Right there is all you need...
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Violent , disturbing and stunning
A enforcer for a gangster in the liquor business finds the tables turned on him and goes on the run with his son in " Road to Perdition , " a 2002 film directed by Sam Mendes . Tom Hanks plays Michael Sullivan , a quiet , remote father of two who works for a crooked liquor dealer , John Rooney ( Paul Newman ) who took ...
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One of the great political films of all time
An ill President wants his nominee for Secretary of State confirmed in " Advise and Consent , " a 1962 film based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Alan Drury and directed by Otto Preminger . It was the first film in seven years for Gene Tierney and the last for Charles Laughton . Tierney couldn't have chosen a be...
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Beautiful , touching , and funny film
Barbra Streisand directed , produced , co-wrote and starred in " Yentl , " the story of a young woman who wants to study the Talmud but can't because she's a woman living in middle Europe in 1908 . However , she is secretly taught by her father who encourages and appreciates her intelligence at a time when all a woman ...
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An all-star cast en route to Germany as Hitler takes power
Ship of Fools it may be , but it is also a Ship of Stars : Oskar Werner , Vivien Leigh , Lee Marvin , Simone Signoret , Jose Ferrer , Elizabeth Ashley , George Segal , and Michael Dunn . Directed by Stanley Kramer , this 1965 film deals with a German ship heading to its port in Bremerhaven in 1933 and the lives of so...
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Impressive Capra
Ronald Colman finds " Lost Horizon , " the 1937 film beautifully and masterfully directed by Frank Capra and also starring Jane Wyman , John Howard , Edward Everett Horton , Thomas Mitchell , Margo , H . B . Warner , Isabell Jewell , and Sam Jaffe . Growing up I have two vivid memories - one is the horrific musical ver...
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The ultimate noir
Double Indemnity is a 1944 film directed by Billy Wilder , and it's a classic . The plot has been around forever - a beautiful woman seduces a man because she wants him to help kill her husband . What Wilder does with it demonstrates his mastery . Wilder's genius starts with the casting of Fred MacMurray , Everyman i...
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One of the great comedy classics
Brilliantly brought from screen to stage , " Arsenic and Old Lace " is as funny today as it was 60 years ago . Newlywed Mortimer Brewster receives the worst of all wedding gifts - he finds out everyone in his family is completely nuts . He knew about his murdering brother Jonathan , who disappeared , and his uncle who ...
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Beautiful adaptation of Terrence Rattigan's play
David Niven , Deborah Kerr , Burt Lancaster , Rita Hayworth , Wendy Hiller , Rod Taylor and Gladys Cooper sit literally or figuratively at " Separate Tables " in this 1958 film also starring Cathleen Nesbitt and Felix Aylmer and directed by Delbert Mann . The story concerns characters at a British seaside resort : Majo...
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Love is in the air
Before " Dancing with the Stars , " there was " Strictly Ballroom , " a 1992 Australian film written and directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Paul Mercurio , Tara Morice , Bill Hunter and the late Pat Thomson , who died before the film was released . There's not much of a story - it's about an innovative dancer , Scot...
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Fabulous
Not much else to say after my one-line summary about this wild ride brought to us by the man who , in 1991 at least , promised to be the next Orson Welles . And don't tell me he wasn't doing more than a touch of Olivier in _ Rebecca ( 1940 ) _ qv in his black and white scenes - Branagh's sense of humor is just one of t...
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The love of money is the root of all evil
So how many actors can hold the viewer while he acts - alone - on screen ? I don't know how many can , I only know that Humphrey Bogart can and did in " The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , " a 1948 film directed by John Huston and also starring Walter Huston and Tim Holt . Bogart is just one of the treasures you'll see ...
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Ah , yes , I remember it well
I saw this show when it first aired 36 years ago and never forgot it . I just watched it again ; this TCM presentation was different in that it shows what went on when they were just setting up . I had the good fortune to transcribe some interviews with Hepburn over the years . Consequently , none of what went on in th...
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often imitated - never equaled
I saw " The Sting " tonight for the first time in many years - I saw it several times in the theater when it opened in 1973 . Great cast , perfect direction , fantastic script , excellent period setting , brilliant soundtrack - it's hard to ask for more . Seeing it again brought back so many memories , especially seein...
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10
Machts gut , Papa
An American woman , her European husband and children return to her mother's home in " Watch on the Rhine , " a 1943 film based on the play by Lillian Hellman , and starring Paul Lukas ( whom I believe is repeating his stage role here ) , Bette Davis , Lucile Watson , George Coulouris , Geraldine Fitzgerald , and Donal...
495,030
342,623
40,725
10
What I did for love
The Red Shoes is a magnificent film , the jewel in the crown of Powell and Pressburger . I have to believe that since the film was first released , thousands of young women have wanted to become ballet dancers . This vibrantly-colored movie concerns a gifted ballerina ( the impossibly beautiful Moira Shearer ) whom t...
495,136
342,623
66,975
10
I cried and cried , and then I cried some more
What a gorgeous film this is , and how it tugs at the heartstrings . Though quite different in tone from the Frederic March film of the same name , Death Takes a Holiday still tells the same story . Death takes human form and comes to earth to find out , as he puts it , " why people claim so tenaciously to life . " Lik...
494,615
342,623
28,683
10
Transcendental performance by Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo is " Camille , " in the 1936 MGM film directed by George Cukor and also starring Robert Taylor , Henry Daniell , Lionel Barrymore , Laura Hope Crews , Jessie Ralph , and Rex O'Malley . Based on the Alexandre Dumas fils novel / play LA DAME AUX CAMELIAS , it is the often told story of the tubercular Margueri...
493,639
342,623
380,673
10
Whatever you write about me , don't make it sad
Though the above summary comment was a request that Rita made of the press , the life of one of the world's most charismatic and glorious looking stars comes off as being just that - sad . For all the joy she gave the world and continues to give it , there should have been a lot more personal joy in the story of Rita H...
495,192
342,623
36,983
10
A great , inspirational film
Gregory Peck plays Father Francis Chisholm , who has been given " The Keys to the Kingdom " in this sweeping 1944 film based on the famous novel by A . J . Cronin . Also starring are Thomas Mitchell , Edmund Gwenn , Sir Cedric Hardwicke , Vincent Price , Rosa Stradner and Roddy McDowell . The story is told in flashback...
494,237
342,623
63,227
10
Kind of a Medieval " Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf "
Peter O'Toole is Henry II , a true " Lion in Winter " in this 1968 film version of the play by James Goldman and also starring Katharine Hepburn , Anthony Hopkins , Timothy Dalton , Nigel Terry , Jane Merrow and John Castle . On Broadway , the roles of Henry and Eleanor were played by Robert Preston and Rosemary Harris...
494,479
342,623
110,598
10
Dancing Queen
Toni Collette wants to have " Muriel's Wedding " in this 1994 Australian film , directed and written by P . J . Hogan . Muriel is a social outcast living with her dysfunctional family and fantasizing about a better life for herself , as exemplified in Abba music . She wants the excitement the music has , the fun , the ...
493,765
342,623
37,008
10
prime film noir with " fabulous aspects "
Like many other people , " Laura " is one of my favorite films . Otto Preminger directed a dream cast - Gene Tierney , Dana Andrews , Clifton Webb , Vincent Price , and Judith Anderson in the classic story of a detective and a portrait he can't forget . And who could - it's Gene Tierney in the portrait in the role for ...
494,725
342,623
99,225
10
beautiful story , excellently crafted
This was one of the best TV movies ever produced . A very compelling story about a young woman who comes back home after an absence of many years . The question is , is she or isn't she ? This film turns out to be about a lot more than an identity question . The young woman , who may or may not be Caroline , becomes in...
494,405
342,623
246,601
10
insightful , moving documentary
I really loved this documentary on Elia Kazan , put together in 1995 by Richard Shickel . Instead of the usual interviews with people talking about the subject , Kazan and his films speak for him . We gain tremendous insight into the way he worked , what attracted him to the film topics he tackled and the actors he dir...
494,381
342,623
37,059
10
Beautifully realized film directed by Vincente Minnelli
Judy Garland , Mary Astor , Lucille Bremer , Leon Ames , Harry Davenport , Margaret O'Brien , Henry Daniels , and Joan Carroll are the Smiths of St . Louis in " Meet Me In St . Louis , " a musical lavishly produced by MGM and lovingly handled by Vincente Minnelli , who would eventually marry its star , Judy Garland and...
494,449
342,623
32,762
10
Thrilling movie and one of Power's best
Director Rouben Mamoulian keeps the pace and excitement going in the wonderful 1940 " The Mark of Zorro " starring Tyrone Power , Basil Rathbone , Linda Darnell , Gale Sondergaard , Eugene Palette , and J . Edward Bromberg . All are excellent . This is one of Power's best performances in one of his best films . He is h...
494,968
342,623
32,904
10
Great ensemble cast makes this one POP
Like a lot of other people , " The Philadelphia Story " is one of my favorite films . It possessed one of the strongest ensemble casts ever assembled : Katharine Hepburn , Cary Grant , James Stewart , Ruth Hussey , Virginia Wiedler , Mary Nash , Roland Young , and Henry Daniell . The film is based on the hit Broadway p...
495,023
342,623
28,597
10
I absolutely love it from beginning to end
This is a favorite film , starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne at their absolute goofy best as a divorced couple who can't admit they still love one another . The comedy is flawless , the dialogue witty , the chemistry great between the two stars . Cary Grant is handsome , sophisticated , but not above the occasional pr...
494,401
342,623
68,397
10
great episode featuring a repeat offender
This is one of the first and best Columbos , starring Robert Culp and Ray Milland . Robert Culp appeared on another Columbo , as did several other villains , including Patrick McGoohan , William Shatner , and Jack Cassidy . Ray Milland also made a later appearance . In this one , Ray Milland is convinced his beautiful ...
495,120
342,623
68,398
10
love it
This is another of my favorite Columbos . It sports a top-notch cast , including John Cassavetes , who was never handsomer or sexier , Anjanette Comer , Myrna Loy , and Blythe Danner . Now here's something I've always wondered - had Gwenyth Paltrow been born when this episode was shot , or was Danner pregnant at the ti...
493,706
342,623
429,086
10
fantastic
This documentary was sock-o ! I love " The Third Man , " and the insight given by this documentary was tremendous . Not only was the narration great , but the scenes of post-war Vienna were staggering . ( In Vienna today , one can actually take a " Third Man " tour . ) The background of the Selznick-Korda conflict , th...
493,527
342,623
120,689
10
overwhelming
This knockout of a movie is the best of the Stephen King " morality " films such as the wonderful " Shawshank Redemption " and the TV versions of " The Stand " and " Storm of the Century " . " Green Mile " manages to inspire and devastate at the same time . The casting is interesting , utilizing such actors as Bonnie H...
493,907
342,623
116,282
10
You have no call to get snippy with me .
I just love McDormand's face when she says that line - she takes a beat , her facial expression doesn't change , and then it comes out of her mouth like she's ordering a hamburger . Brilliant . This is one of my all time favorite movies . I saw it the first day it opened in New York City , and I loved it . I've seen it...
495,129
342,623
32,976
10
one of the greats
Rebecca is one film I could watch over and over . It is definitely one of Hitchcock's masterpieces . I recently saw the DVD version for the first time , which had the screen tests and some of Selznick's memos . My favorite was the memo that said , " Please don't say anything to Larry and Vivien " referring to the fact ...
493,897
342,623
50,212
10
Madness
Alec Guiness and his men are ordered to build " The Bridge on the River Kwai " in this magnificent 1957 film starring Alec Guinness , William Holden , Sessue Hayakawa , and Jack Hawkins , and directed by David Lean . Lean manages to give us an epic that manages to focus on fascinating and multilayered characters . The ...
494,183
342,623
41,615
10
Stupendous
Jennifer Jones is " Madame Bovary " in this 1949 adaptation of Flaubert's novel , directed by Vincente Minnelli and also starring Van Heflin , James Mason , Louis Jourdan , Gene Lockhart , Alf Kjellin and Ellen Corby . The film starts with Flaubert , on trial for indecency . As he defends the book , he tells the story ...