Well, it was in the 1984 U.S. re-release of the director's cut, released 5 years before Leone died, and its in the VHS version released in 1985.  The scene was excised in the truncated 1969 U.S. version, which was not approved by Leone.  That said, I'm not convinced that the restored versions of the other Westerns…

When I was in college I took a film class in which a gorgeous new print of THE WIZARD OF OZ was shown.  That afternoon the T.A. for the section after the screening cancelled the class.  Seems, growing up in a household that only had a black and white T.V. (this dates me, doesn;t it), he had no idea that the movie,…

Leone juxtaposes the two genres to contrast the ethos of Roman virtu displayed by the gunmen''s demeanor to the impersonality of modern warfare.  TGtBatU is the first film where Leone acknowledges (and laments) that his characters' existential code of violent engagement is antiquated in the face of modern, impersonal,…

To Skunk Ape: Leone juxtaposes the two genres to contrast the ethos of Roman virtu displayed by the gunmen''s demeanor to the impersonality of modern warfare.  TGtBatU is the first film where Leone acknowledges (and laments) that his characters' existential code of violent engagement is antiquated in the face of…

I recall that Peckinpah himself utilized the "territorial imperative" argument in interviews explaining the film, although the forementioned letter to Kael offers sort of a rebuttal to this. Consequently he tended to  devalue the film's actual message.  The key to understanding the film, as mentioned earlier, is in…

Blame the remake.  The rights to the film were held originally by ABC, and Disney has since been selling the option.  Criterion released it around 2002 in a terrific two disk version.  Then the rights went (i think) to Warners, that added a new commentary track with the usual Peckinpah panel (Seydoe, Redmond, Simmons…

Quite a few great films were hand-me-downs.  For Scorsese alone you have TAXI DRIVER and RAGING BULL, and if you go back in time, most of the great studio directors took projects on as assignments and turned out something decent or great from time to time.  Quite a few suck but that can be said of director's pet…

If memory serves, I think that Cecil B. Demille began using multi-camera coverage in dramatic scenes in the late teens and twenties as a means of shortening production time by eliminating set ups.  By the look of his films it didn't really make for compelling editing.

What you are saying is correct but you aren't responding to what Todd wrote.  Geographically speaking, what is best remembered about television's "Golden Age" (a misnomer in my opinion) was produced by New York based talent, which was all that was meant in the lead paragraph.  Consequently much of the medium's…

or DEEPER, BLUER SEAS

That was probably the first thing I saw Robertson in.  I remember liking it a the time, but then I was probably 9.

I agree, UU.S.A. has all of the gonzo excesses but with a surer sense of how to contain those elements in a genre narrative than usual .  I also dig the Mabuse like audio and visual transitions throughout the movie.  OBSESSION is pretty underrated as well.

Is Noel's review of the Stillman film a response to Scott's impatience with the insular quirkiness of festival auteurs?  His critiques made the movie sound more interesting, as it emphasized certain things that Stillman is doing to re-invent his style.

For a change of pace—check out Robertson in Sam Fuller's UNDERWORLD U.S.A, where he plays perhaps the most irredeemable heel in movie gangsterdom.  For a guy often described as "primitive", Fuller delevers a structurally perfect film, with wonderfully expressive camera movement and action choreography to boot. 

I managed to catch both CONTAGION and WARRIOR this weekend.  Soderbergh intertwines metaphors of disease, communication, and reproduction deftly, but ties the artiness to a bland, network T.V. salute to  the medical professional elite.  I know that TRAFFIC doesn't get much love here, but that film, a cousin of sorts…

I've been developing the same sentiments of late as well (in part after seeing CONTAGION). My appreciation rises when there are new additional elements, tonal changes, or other developments around the auteurial signature.  I'd rather see a good movie servede by a director's trademark touch rather than let the style…

The R was for some frank sex talk that went beyond double entendre

In a lot of ways ANIMAL HOUSE displays how the privileged coopted the anti-establishment ethos, changing its message from challenging authority on the rounds of moral or philosophical superiority to resentment over a perceived loss of entitlement.  Consequently, it ushers in the era of the Reagan youth comedy…

So Spielberg is the Jay Leno of cinema.

It's mentioned in Steven Farber's book that came out a year or two after the incident, and I think it came up in a few contemporary reports as well