David Lynch has always been a challenging director, with films such as Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, and Mulholland Drive rounding out his filmography. An abstract artist, his films register on many levels, namely the subconscious. He places images in front of our faces that we find repulsive, and yet because of his prowess as a visionary […]
David Cronenberg’s Crash is a study of incredibly sick people who share a mutual fetish involving sex and car crashes, which means that it’s also one of the most disturbing films ever made. Even after seventeen years, the film has lost none of its potency. I’ve been writing on the subject of film for a […]
A young girl sits next to her older sister in front of a creek, casually tossing stones into the bubbling waters out of boredom. Her sister quickly grows tired of this, and slaps her on the hand. She angrily stares dead on at the audience. This young lady is Alice. This is Lewis Carroll’s beloved […]
The good folks at Shout Factory are releasing a pristine Blu-ray/DVD combo of Peter Strickland’s brilliant erotic fantasy, The Duke of Burgundy, in September. It is a must-own for any serious film buff. The Duke of Burgundy’s opening moments set the tone for the rest of the piece, as a woman cycles through a neighborhood […]
“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the Earth? When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” With this verse of Scripture from the Book of Job, Terrence Malick begins his philosophical exploration of God, of nature, and of grace. The Tree of Life is an […]
In this wonderfully baffling debut film from director Panos Cosmatos, entitled Beyond the Black Rainbow, a young woman with telekinetic powers is held captive by a mad doctor in a Kubrickian new age institute. The time is 1983. Through a series of psychedelic flashbacks, we witness the circumstances which led to the doctor’s mental and […]
In 1959, John Cassavetes directed a film that would become known as a landmark in American independent cinema. That film was Shadows. Shadows tells a tale of three siblings – Ben, Leila, and Hugh – who are trying desperately to scrape out a living in New York City. Ben and Hugh are jazz musicians. Ben, […]
Suspiria is a big, bloody rainbow of a horror film. It doesn’t make much sense at all, but it is loads of fun. The film, which was released in 1977, concerns a young ballet dancer, Suzy Banyon (played by Jessica Harper), who travels to a prestigious school of dance in Germany. Things begin to go […]
Shout Factory has finally released Michael Mann’s Manhunter in a pristine collector’s edition Blu-ray set. Several years before Anthony Hopkin’s would appear in his iconic role as Hannibal Lector in Jonathan Demme’s masterpiece, The Silence of the Lambs, Michael Mann would adapt Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon, casting Brian Cox as everyone’s favorite cannibal. William Peterson […]
Donnie Darko is one of my all-time favorite films. I saw it for the first time in 2001 on VHS (the only copy available in Easley, South Carolina) after I had followed the film on the internet months before the street date. Since then, I’ve seen the film over fifty times. I keep coming back […]
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