Yearly Archives: 2014

Silent Autumn

It’s only a week away from “Silent Autumn,” the San Francisco Silent Film Festival’s (SFSFF) event to be held at the Castro Theater in San Francisco. On Saturday, September 20, 2014, the SFSFF will present an all-day program of silent features … Continue reading

Posted in Announcements, Film Festivals, Silent Film, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Miss Lulu Bett

The 1921 silent film “Miss Lulu Bett” tells a familiar story about about a downtrodden women cast into a life of drudgery while her supposedly better-looking sister wins a husband. However, often the actress playing the poor sister, or (in … Continue reading

Posted in Movie Reviews, Silent Film | Leave a comment

Paths of Glory

Stanley Kubrick is one of those directors that make me super aware of the film-making process. While presenting pure technique of camera placement and sound, Kubrick manages to maintain the tension and focus on the actors and story. Add to this … Continue reading

Posted in Movie Reviews, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Piccadilly

It should be easier to see every Anna May Wong film, but since I mostly rely on Netflix and film festivals to unearth rarities, most of Wong’s work remains unseen. She made over 50 movies in America and Europe and always … Continue reading

Posted in Movie Reviews, Silent Film | Leave a comment

Kanchenjungha

Kanchenjungha, the third highest mountain in the world, is the highest mountain in India. It’s a fitting analogy for the heights the characters strive for in Satyajit Ray’s 1962 film of the same name. They labor to understand their relationships … Continue reading

Posted in Movie Reviews, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Furies

In an attempt to blend film noir with the Western, Anthony Mann made a 1950 movie called “The Furies,” which stars Barbara Stanwyck, Walter Houston, Gilbert Roland and Wendell Corey. While I would have preferred the movie to be more brightly … Continue reading

Posted in Movie Reviews, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Gun Crazy

Sometimes I see movies that seem so far out of place, that a fascination strikes me that things can happen by accident. The director hopes to cast actors he thinks perfect for the roles, but gets presented with a different … Continue reading

Posted in Movie Reviews, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Grand Budapest Hotel

In Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” released in 2014, Bill Murray does a cameo as a hotel concierge. That funny concept is one of the many delights of the film, which gives us a unique and thoroughly entertaining take … Continue reading

Posted in Movie Reviews, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Ride the High Country

Even though many people know Joel McCrea from all the westerns he appears in, I remember him mostly from “Sullivan’s Travels (1941)” and “The Palm Beach Story (1942),” films in which he’s most definitely a city guy. However, he makes … Continue reading

Posted in Movie Reviews, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Scarlet Empress

I found “The Scarlet Empress,” the lavish 1934 Paramount Pictures production directed by Josef Von Sternberg, to be thoroughly satisfying and intriguing as a historical portrait of the enigmatic Catherine the Great of Russia. After visiting Catherine’s palace outside of … Continue reading

Posted in Movie Reviews, Uncategorized | Leave a comment