Rather remarkably, this is the only Aronofsky effort I've seen to date, caught during its initial American theatrical release, and I found it reasonably engaging, but not particularly distinguished other than the committed performances, not least that from star Portman, who was evidently trying to stretch her thespian wings (pun intended) in this project. The overall results pale beside the 1948 classic 'The Red Shoes', still surely the finest ballet-themed drama committed to screen.

the original film was actually my very first John Wayne film

School science teams make living matter smaller, I was in the runner-up team. Their experiment died melted on the gym floor O street NW

just finished watching this in the early morning hours and it was a cinematic gem, so gritty, realistic and atmospheric.

where can i watch this?

Sokurov is in a special league of his own <3

Where can I watch this with English sub?

Best movie of 2017.

The music is quite well written by WarGames composer Arthur B. Rubinstein.

This film is a flat out masterpiece. A haunted house noir. I love it. Very much connected to his film Two Lane also. The opening with the hair dryer I feel is supposed to evoke Two Lane. Only someone with a lifetime full of wisdom and experience could of made this. The fact Hellman was 80 years old blows my mind because it also has the touch of youth. Feels radical, like someone with nothing to lose like a young person made it and yet it has the weight and wisdom of a whole lifetime. I love this film.

Thank you for sharing...🙏✨👌👻📽️🐲❣️

This classic is a visual and technical marvel, formally one of the summits of cinematic evolution up to its time of production and release, but the story is indeed contrived and downright silly, marring the film's reputation (at least for me) as the masterpiece its admirers claim. The film, incidentally, was promoted as a sound feature on its original American release in 1927, employing an early sound-on-disc soundtrack, that element still preserving ontologically the film's status as the silent movie most commentators usually cite.

incoyable

Great review! This movie rocks, and I've loved it ever since I saw it for the first time on TV as a kid. I couldn't guess how many times I've watched it since. The oddness of the characters, who are all uncanny cold fish except for the lovely Clarisse and the eccentric book people, fit in well with the basic idea of the story, which is that a lack of literature and simply deep and/or critical thought of any kind distorts and destroys people. The book and film certainly foreshadowed today's age of wokeness and cancel culture, where an obsession with grievance is leading to censorship demands from all sides. But as solid as this film is, it isn't THE definitive adaptation of the novel. I had long been hoping for an updated film version that really did justice to the premise, which is why the recent remake is such a disappointment (or so I hear - it didn't sound like anything I wanted to waste my time on).

Love this film and Wellman in general. Clara Bow's performance and Gary Cooper's very small role (apart from the incredible photography) always stood out to me since I do love their performance style. Night Nurse and Track Of The Cat are fav Wellman's that I'd rec if you haven't checked them out already, if only for the performances of Stanwyck in the former and Mitchum in the latter. Great video as always. :)

The title annoys me, and the movie isn't all that good anyway, IMO. It's not the life of Emile Zola. It focuses on his involvement with the Alfred Dreyfus Affair and tries to make the point that Dreyfus wouldn't have been freed without Zola. That's very misleading.

Ayo man keep up the good work

Don't get out of the cage Stan!! STAY IN THE CAGE!!!!

Wo cares?

This film and Maltese Falcon are two of my most favourite films.I can watch them again and again and never get tired. To me they are two of the best films ever made.

It's actually remarkable how widely beloved this highly dubious film remains with American audiences, an undeniably sumptuous screen spectacle that yet horribly misrepresents the nation's often oppressive and violent history. It is a film that is compelling to watch, a success in terms of being enduringly entertaining, but one that rightly troubles (or should trouble) modern audiences with its apologist perspectives on slavery and racism. Not a personal favorite, too flawed to be called a masterpiece (other than perhaps in technical terms), it certainly remains a contentious and conflicted classic.

This is a good example of an all-time personal favorite film not being, in my estimation, a masterpiece. There are too many elements that are too contrived (or, as in the words of Jonathan Rosenbaum [another fan], "hokum") for it all to coalesce into that rarefied status, But it's an undeniable (even, dare I say, timeless) classic, one I love revisiting more than many films I do regard as masterpieces. The love story between Rick and Ilsa, with its lovely theme song, and that stirring ending never fail to inspire this old sentimental movie buff.

That's an interesting point about the film's possible insularity in thematic terms, as it is a story about Americans that may not necessarily resonate well if at all with audiences from other parts of the world. I find it a highly affecting film, unusually mature and honest for a Hollywood picture of its time, concurring with Jonathan Rosenbaum that it's probably the best movie dealing with the subject of returning veterans, at least from an American perspective relative to the Second World War.

A masterpiece and a personal favorite of mine, containing some of the most splendid landscape cinematography in the medium's history. The desert, the quintessential cinematic environment, has rarely been showcased to more mesmerizing effect--one even sees the fine grains of sand dancing on the wind.

This is a deserved classic, to be sure, sharply written and impeccably acted, with Bette Davis one among many standouts. It's largely a visually pedestrian film, but it's other qualities make up for this element. I don't think a more cynical and jaundiced view of the world of professional theatre has ever been committed to screen (the character of Margo was reportedly modeled upon Tallulah Bankhead).

Ehhh! With great respect - you make lots of achedemic sounding comments and compare this or that production/ producer etc with this one,,, but why can you not simply enjoy a film with its own sort of greatness? Can you not enjoy Winnee The Pooh along with Lord Of The Rings???

hey man, I messaged you a few days ago, I need your help with something.

pretty short review

I watched this last year and absolutely loved it! nearly 3 hours and barely any of it bored me, I'd put it up there with other war greats such as The Great Escape (1963) and the vastly underrated Edge Of Darkness (1943)

I've seen Mildred Pierce (1945) but I still haven't seen this one yet, I've got it on DVD though!

your voice and rendition is boring and annoying at the very least listening to your elitest pretten voice.......simply awefu;l

nice critic of movie -------- // tick no 10

I once saw and heard a short film on Patton giving a public speech in England. Strangely, he had quite a nasal tone, totally unlike George C Scott's rendition.

What a waste of time

I did not expect you to sing🤣

I know virtually nothing about this film aside from it's homosexual undertones, does it have that or are people exaggerating?

❤

Where can this film be purchased? I am a Wilbert Bradley and Richard Harrison Fan.

This is such a brilliant film, like you said.

Gol den Sci Fi classic based on one of the novels From The British pioneer of the genre

for me its a 4/10 for the plot cinematography 7,8/10 visuals 8,9/10 overral is an 4/10 not for me but still recommend it

This is one of your most astute and probing analyses yet. The film is definitely and deservedly a classic by now, one with an undiminished emotional power and an abiding pertinence to human power struggles, but, as you indicate in your assessment, not the formal equal of so many other works of world cinema. It is a superior work of mainstream American cinema, and is indeed doubtlessly one of the best Best Pictures in Oscar history.

I was unaware (but not surprised) of a director's cut now available. I saw the film in its original theatrical release, and enjoyed it (I was especially taken with the beauty of Prague, the scene of the film's location shooting), but feel more equivocal today, feeling an utter lack of sympathy for Salieri, whose narcissism and ingratitude leave me cold--all of which isn't necessarily an artistic detriment of the picture, but which distances me now from personal investment in its achievement.

The 1978 Academy Awards was the first time I remember being cognizant of the Oscars, and feeling I had skin in the game, as I was rooting for 'Star Wars' snagging Best Picture, and was crestfallen when 'Annie Hall' (which I had not yet seen at that tender age) won instead. Decades later, older and hopefully a bit wiser, and with Allen's pivotal work in my viewing repertoire, I now agree on the superiority of Allen's excellent achievement, a film that, in spite of its narrow focus, superbly illuminates the zeitgeist of its world, and is still pertinent on the eternal human comedy of romance, longing, and regret. In any assessment of Allen's stature as an artist, 'Annie Hall' would be an essential accomplishment with which to contend.

by the way, I just thought I'd ask here since you aren't available much on our main form of communication but do you have a microphone? because I was thinking when we film our collaboration, you could be the one recording our conversation on your end, since last time when I recorded it on my end, the audio turned out poorer than piss.

I first watched this in May 2021 and I still remember how much that ending made me cry, both tears of despair and joy, beautiful film

so I should watch the theatrical cut when I do eventually watch the film?

Donde la puedo ver

I neglected to ask you when we were in more frequent contact but do you have a letterboxd account?

Hindi ma nhi ha