Western movies used to be referred to, usually dismissively, as horse operas. It’s not a bad term for them. Like classical operas, they might have silly plots or bad acting, but these things might be redeemed by beautiful music, or … Continue reading
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Stroll into Autumn with the Champagne Music of Lawrence Welk . . . Click on the image to enlarge.
The arrangement here is a kind of country-flavored lament, the vocal a half-spoken plea, with the insinuating lilt of Dylan’s wonderful, sly vocal on “Brownsville Girl”, from 1986, a song he wrote with Sam Shepard. The singer seems to be … Continue reading
We don't really have Fall in the Mojave Desert, but when the killing heat of the summer subsides, the change creates an autumnal feeling. Fall doesn't officially begin anywhere until 23 September, but September is an autumnal month, and it's … Continue reading
Part two of Paul Zahl's essay on the novel By Love Possessed and its screen adaptation: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (Part Two) Arthur Winner's “nightmare on Elm Street” begins when a Roman Catholic lady friend of Marjorie Penrose attempts … Continue reading
Autumn at the beach — a season that has some substance here because the damp of the sea air puts a bite into the chill of things. Ventura Beach is never what you would call a happening place. Even in … Continue reading
Thou enlightenest wonderfully from the everlasting hills. — Psalms 76:4 Another superb dossier for The Zahl File — Paul Zahl on two extraordinary movie sets from two oddly related films: Autumn on the Hill by Paul F. (“Maleva”) Zahl … Continue reading
David Cromer's Off-Broadway production of Our Town, at the Barrow Street Theatre in Manhattan, has been getting lots of press attention and some extraordinary reviews. Frank Rich in The New York Times devoted a very insightful column to it, relating … Continue reading
This was the next to last feature film John Ford completed, in 1964, when he was 69 years-old. It doesn't work as a drama, much less a melodrama, or as a character study or as an historical epic . . … Continue reading
Fall is in the air — you can tell, even out here in the middle of the Mojave Desert, because the Mets have just completed their annual Autumn collapse. After dominating their division for almost the whole season, with what … Continue reading
Amarilly Of Clothesline Alley Apocalypto Baby Face The Bad and the Beautiful The Bellboy The Big Combo The Big Trail The Birds Blind Husbands Born Reckless Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia Casablanca Cherry 2000 Cheyenne Autumn Chimes At … Continue reading