The Three Lost 1970’s Titles by Chip Kaufmann Two years ago in a previous edition of Reel Takes, I wrote an article on England’s legendary Hammer Films to celebrate the company’s rebirth and the upcoming release of The Woman in Black with Daniel Radcliffe. That film opened in February 2012Continue Reading
Chip Kaufmann’s Pick: Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) Sergio Leone’s 1968 Western Once Upon a Time in the West is a multi-character, multi layered film. The principal story concerns the expansion of the railroad into new territory as presided over by a greedy railroad baron who usesContinue Reading
Chip Kaufmann’s Pick: Much Ado About Nothing (1993) It’s always instructive (not to mention a lot of fun) to compare a new film adaptation to an earlier one. Sometimes, as in the case of The Great Gatsby, there is more than one major version out there. This often happens whenContinue Reading
Happy May, dear readers! Well it looks like 2013 may be shaping up to be a decent year in movies after all. All three of the films I reviewed this month are worthwhile, and one of them, Mud, will no doubt be on my ‘best of’ list come award season.Continue Reading
Chip Kaufmann’s Pick: Les Miserables (1998) Now that the blockbuster musical version of Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel LesMiserables has hit the big screen (reviewed in this issue), it makes sense to recommend one of the non musical versions so that you can actually experience the story more or less theContinue Reading
Michelle Keenan’s Pick: The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) A few weeks ago I caught part of William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives on Turner Classic movies, and it has stuck with me since. It’s a film I’ve seen a few times over the years, but notContinue Reading
Chip Kaufmann’s Pick: Chronicle Chronicle (2012) Since I reviewed the two latest installments of the Spiderman and Batman franchises in this issue (combined budgets: $490 million), it only seems fitting that my DVD pick of the month was a movie that I enjoyed more than both of them and itContinue Reading
Chip Kaufmann’s Pick: Vampire Circus Vampire Circus (1972) Having sat through Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, I came out longing for the B movie vampire flicks of yore where the built in limitations of a low budget often led to tighter scripts, more colorful performances, and a more creative use ofContinue Reading
Chip Kaufmann’s Pick: “Brief Encounter” Brief Encounter (1945) With colleague Michelle Keenan having picked Casablanca for her DVD pick, I’ll recommend its British equivalent, Brief Encounter.This 1945 film written by Noel Coward and starring Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson is considered to be the greatest British romance ever made butContinue Reading
