To set the record straight, the 93 minute cut of TOUCH OF EVIL has some of the changes suggested by Welles, not the 108 minute preview cut.

From my understanding, the Cannes cut (that Leone preferred) was actually 250 minutes, only about 20 minutes longer than the international release version.  The 270 or so minute version was an earlier assembly and not a final cut.  Interestingly, The final scene between Noodles and "Secretary Bailey" is missing a key…

From my understanding, the Cannes cut (that Leone preferred) was actually 250 minutes, only about 20 minutes longer than the international release version.  The 270 or so minute version was an earlier assembly and not a final cut.  Interestingly, The final scene between Noodles and "Secretary Bailey" is missing a key…

APOCALYPSE NOW REDUX demonstrates how editing can change a movie from its original conception. In the original version Willard is relentless in his quest to meet Kurtz, ignoring the crew's reluctance to accomplish the mission.  In REDUX, which restores some of the material in the screenplay, he seems to not only…

APOCALYPSE NOW REDUX demonstrates how editing can change a movie from its original conception. In the original version Willard is relentless in his quest to meet Kurtz, ignoring the crew's reluctance to accomplish the mission.  In REDUX, which restores some of the material in the screenplay, he seems to not only…

Having read a version of the script, it strikes me that Tarantino is deliberately going for a different type of provocation here than in his other movies, and one in which he will probably not have the critical gatekeepers of "appropriate" forms of racial representation firmly in his corner.  The punditocracy will…

In response to this and the comments below, I think its time we face the fact that, while scene for scene Scorsese is one of the most dynamic American directors in the last 50 years, a good number of his films (even in what are considered his early masterpieces) lack a command of rising and falling action that conveys…

I think you hit the nail on the head.  L.A.Confidential employed a naturalistic, unassuming style that mirrored the storytelling values of its period (as did CHINATOWN).  It will hold up because classic narrative, tightly executed, never goes out of style.  My only complaint (and I'm sort of in a minority on this) is…

Your take is similar to mine.  To me, REM drew their inspiration from the music of the past, while giving it a modern sound.  Up was, with the the exception of "At Your Most Beautiful" their opportunity to create a sound that was futuristic and free of prior musical influences that the band had associated itself with.…

Certainly the creators and the actors were aware of the private eye conventions, but the tone they took didn't go so far as to nudge the audience into sharing the joke.  There were also some dark and melancholy episodes as well, such as the one discussed last year, and some of the Chase written episodes in the last…

Also "Police Story"

While I really enjoyed this article, I think it might give the wrong impression of the show to those who are not familiar with it.  Maybe from today's perspective, Rockford's sense of humor seems to bounce off of the cliche's of the private eye genre, but the villains and supporting characters were in fact novel…

For me, Costello's songwriting and the Attraction's musicianship triumphs over bad production.  GCB was mishandled in the mix and unfocused (and undiscriminating) in its song selection, but it is well written and sung overall.  For Costello records of the 80s, it is the 2nd most disposable however, after ALMOST BLUE..

Back in college I was in a funk at the end of a relationship.  I put on "My Aim is True" to console myself by finding a compatriot in my rage and anger.  Instead, I ended up seeing the humor behind the self righteous bile that I'd never realized was there all along.  My appreciation for Costello bloomed from then on,…

"5 Year Engagements" failure isn't too surprising.  I do covert screen checks on the weekends and reaction to the  audience response to the trailers was very weak for a comedy.  I regret that Pirates didn't do so hot.  It's witty and the craftsman-like feel of the animation comes across stunningly in 3D.  "Safe" was…

Terrific and disturbing film, Kind of in the mood of HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER mixed with MISS BALA

Carell would be terrific in a Lynde biopic!

In a memo written by Sam Peckinpah when he was battling the studio over pre-production on a film, he said something to the extent that if the bosses wanted it done badly they should hire Richard Donner. While this remark is maybe a bit harsh (Donner's best fil's are competent in handling the dominant styles of the…

I not only liked the way he played, but I loved to hear him sing

About 12 years ago I saw a traveling exhibit of Guthrie memorabilia put together by the Smithsonian.  Seeing the decline of his faculties as evidenced in his handwritten lyrics and letters while in the throws of Huntington's almost made me cry in public.