I hope you enjoy these reviews, focused on a select number of exceptional pictures. Most are available on home video, in both DVD and Blu-ray. These films include U.S. as well as international releases, ranging from classics to contemporary works, and encompassing all genres from comedy to suspense. I’ve also created websites for three provocative filmmakers/authors: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Pier Paolo Pasolini, and Derek Jarman. Some of these reviews are brief, while others are in-depth. COMING LATER IN 2021: First-time reviews for the remaining Fassbinder, Pasolini, and Jarman films; for those not on video, I’m using my notes from screenings. Begun in 1997, this is an ongoing site, and I look forward to continue adding new reviews.
- Titles: A, B, C, D, E
- Titles: F, G, H, I, J
- Titles: K, L, M, N, O
- Titles: P, Q, R, S, T
- Titles: U, V, W, X, Y, Z
Reviews
Titles: A, B, C, D, E
- Accattone (Pier Paolo Pasolini / 1961)
- Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1974)
- The American Soldier (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1970)
- The Andromeda Strain (Robert Wise / 1971)
- The Angelic Conversation (Derek Jarman / 1985)
- Anger / The Films of Kenneth Anger Volume One (Kenneth Anger / 1947–1954)
- Anger / The Films of Kenneth Anger Volume Two (Kenneth Anger / 1964–2002)
- Arabian Nights (Pier Paolo Pasolini / 1972)
- Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein / 1925)
- Bay of Angels (Jacques Demy / 1963)
- Beauty and the Beast (Jean Cocteau / 1946)
- Benjamin Britten: A Time There Was (Tony Palmer / 1980)
- Berlin Alexanderplatz (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1980)
- Berlin Alexanderplatz (Phil Jutzi / 1931)
- Beware of a Holy Whore [tongue-in-cheek title refers to cinema] (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1971)
- Big Eden (Thomas Bezucha / 2000)
- The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1972)
- Black Sunday (aka Mask of the Demon) (Mario Bava, 1960)
- Blade (Stephen Norrington, 1998)
- Blue (Derek Jarman / 1993)
- Born to Kill (Robert Wise / 1947)
- Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola, 1992)
- BRD Trilogy: The Marriage of Maria Braun, Lola and Veronika Voss (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1979–1982)
- Bremen Freedom (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1972)
- Britten / Benjamin Britten: A Time There Was (Tony Palmer / 1980)
- Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee / 2005)
- A Bullet for the General (aka Quien sabe?) (Damiano Damiani / 1967)
- Bully (Larry Clark / 2001)
- Canterbury Tales (Pier Paolo Pasolini / 1972)
- Caravaggio (Derek Jarman / 1986)
- Children of Paradise (Marcel Carné / 1945)
- Chinese Roulette (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1976)
- Citizen Kane (Orson Welles / 1941)
- “The City Tramp” (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1966)
- The Coffeehouse (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1970)
- Coming Out Under Fire (Arthur Dong / 1994)
- The Consequence (Wolfgang Petersen / 1977)
- Criminal Lovers (François Ozon / 1999)
- The Curse of the Cat People (Robert Wise / 1944)
- The Day the Earth Stood Still (Robert Wise / 1951)
- The Decameron (Pier Paolo Pasolini / 1970)
- Demy / The World of Jacques Demy (Agnès Varda / 1995)
- Derek (Isaac Julien / 2008)
- Desert Hearts (Donna Deitch / 1985)
- Despair (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1978)
- Different From the Others (Anders als die Andern) (Richard Oswald / 1919)
- Doña Herlinda and Her Son (Jaime Humberto Hermosillo / 1985)
- Donkey Skin (Peau d’âne) (Jacques Demy / 1970)
- Dracula (Tod Browning / 1931)
- Edward II (Derek Jarman / 1991)
- Effi Briest (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1974)
- Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1973)
- 8 Women (François Ozon / 2002)
Titles: F, G, H, I, J
- Family Fundamentals (Arthur Dong / 2002)
- FASSBINDER / Films of Rainer Werner Fassbinder – with an overview of his career, role in the development of New German Cinema, and reviews of all his films
- Fear of Fear (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1975)
- Fellini Satyricon (Federico Fellini / 1969)
- The Films of Kenneth Anger Volume One (Kenneth Anger / 1947–1954)
- The Films of Kenneth Anger Volume Two (Kenneth Anger / 1964–2002)
- Fox and His Friends (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1975)
- The Garden (Derek Jarman / 1990)
- Genet / Jean Genet: Conversation with Antoine Bourseiller – Spring 1981 (Antoine Bourseiller / 1981)
- Genet / Jean Genet: Conversation with Bertrand Poirot-Delpech – Winter 1982 (Bertrand Poirot-Delpech / 1982)
- Germany in Autumn (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1978)
- Glitterbug (Derek Jarman / 1994)
- Gods of the Plague (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1970)
- The Gospel According to Saint Matthew (Pier Paolo Pasolini / 1964)
- The Haunting (Robert Wise / 1963)
- The Hawks and the Sparrows (Pier Paolo Pasolini / 1966)
- Heavenly Creatures (Peter Jackson / 1994)
- Horror of Dracula (UK title: Dracula) (Terence Fisher, 1957)
- I Only Want You to Love Me (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1976)
- I Want to Live! (Robert Wise / 1958)
- In a Year With 13 Moons (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1978)
- Intervista (Federico Fellini / 1987)
- Iris (Richard Eyre / 2001)
- Jail Bait (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1973)
- Jarman / Derek (Isaac Julien / 2008)
- JARMAN / Films of Derek Jarman – with an overview of his career in film, painting and literature, and reviews of all his films
- Jarman Short Films
- Jean Genet: Conversation with Antoine Bourseiller – Spring 1981 (Antoine Bourseiller / 1981)
- Jean Genet: Conversation with Bertrand Poirot-Delpech – Winter 1982 (Bertrand Poirot-Delpech / 1982)
- Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray / 1954)
- Jubilee (Derek Jarman / 1985)
Titles: K, L, M, N, O
- Katzelmacher (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1969)
- The Kingdom: Series One (Lars von Trier / 1994)
- La Belle Captive (Alain Robbe-Grillet / 1983)
- La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini / 1960)
- The Last of England (Derek Jarman / 1987)
- “La Ricotta” (Pier Paolo Pasolini / 1963)
- Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles (Jennifer Baichwal / 1998)
- Lewton / Val Lewton Horror Collection (Cat People / The Curse of the Cat People / I Walked with a Zombie / The Body Snatcher / Isle of the Dead / Bedlam / The Leopard Man / The Ghost Ship / The Seventh Victim / new documentary Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy) (produced by Val Lewton / directed by Jacques Tourneur, Mark Robson, or Robert Wise / 1942–1946)
- Licensed to Kill (Arthur Dong / 1997)
- Like a Bird on a Wire (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1974)
- Lili Marleen (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1981)
- “The Little Chaos” (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1966)
- Lola (Jacques Demy / 1961)
- Lola (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1981)
- Lonesome Cowboys (Paul Morrissey / 1967)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Peter Jackson / 2003)
- Love is Colder than Death (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1969)
- Love Meetings (Comizi d’amore) (Pier Paolo Pasolini / 1964)
- Mamma Roma (Pier Paolo Pasolini / 1962)
- The Marriage of Maria Braun (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1979)
- Martha (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1973)
- Martin (George A. Romero, 1977)
- Maurice (Merchant/Ivory / 1987)
- Medea (Pier Paolo Pasolini / 1970)
- Meet Me in St. Louis (Vincente Minnelli / 1944)
- The Merchant of Four Seasons (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1971)
- Michael (Mikaël) (Carl Th. Dreyer / 1924)
- Monster (Patty Jenkins / 2003)
- Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1975)
- Mrs. Dalloway (Marleen Gorris / 1997)
- Muriel (Alain Resnais / 1963)
- My Own Private Idaho (Gus Van Sant / 1991)
- The Niklashausen Journey (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1971)
- The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton / 1955)
- Night Waltz: The Music of Paul Bowles (Owsley Brown / 1999)
- Nora Helmer [Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House] (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1973)
- North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock / 1959)
- Nosferatu (F.W. Murnau / 1922)
- Nosferatu the Vampyre (Werner Herzog, 1979)
- Notre Musique (Godard / 2004)
- Odds Against Tomorrow (Robert Wise / 1959)
- Oedipus Rex (Pier Paolo Pasolini / 1967)
- The Old Dark House (James Whale / 1932)
- The Opposite of Sex (Don Roos / 1998)
- Orpheus (Jean Cocteau / 1949)
- Ossessione (Luchino Visconti / 1942; adaptation of The Postman Always Rings Twice)
- Othello (Orson Welles / 1952) – analysis of a key sequence
- The Outlaw (Howard Hughes & uncredited Howard Hawks / 1943)
Titles: P, Q, R, S, T
- Paris Was a Woman (Greta Schiller / 1995)
- PASOLINI / Films of Pier Paolo Pasolini – with an overview of his career, his role in Italian cinema, and reviews of all his films
- The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Th. Dreyer / 1928)
- Phantom (F.W. Murnau / 1922)
- The Philadelphia Story (George Cukor / 1940)
- “Photo de famille” (François Ozon / 1988)
- Pioneers in Ingoldstadt (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1971)
- Porcile (Pier Paolo Pasolini / 1969)
- Prince in Hell (Michael Stock / 1993)
- Querelle (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1982)
- Ran (Akira Kurosawa’s 1985 film of King Lear)
- Red River (Howard Hawks / 1948)
- Rio das Mortes (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1971)
- Run Silent, Run Deep (Robert Wise / 1958)
- Salò (Pier Paolo Pasolini / 1961)
- Satan’s Brew (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1976)
- Sebastiane (Derek Jarman / 1976)
- See the Sea (François Ozon / 1997)
- The Set-Up (Robert Wise / 1949)
- Sex in Chains (Geschlecht in Fesseln) (William Dieterle / 1928)
- Shogun Assassin (Kenji Misumi & Robert Houston / 1980)
- Singin’ in the Rain (Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen / 1952)
- Sitcom (François Ozon / 1998)
- A Slightly Pregnant Man (Jacques Demy / 1973)
- Son of Dracula (Robert Siodmak / 1943)
- The Sound of Music (Robert Wise / 1965)
- The Stationmaster’s Wife (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1977)
- Stories from the War on Homosexuality: Coming Out Under Fire (1994), Licensed to Kill (1997) & Family Fundamentals (2002) (Arthur Dong)
- Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock / 1951)
- Strangers on a Train (Hitchcock) shot-by-shot analysis of a sequence (1951), including a comparison with Patricia Highsmith’s original novel and the screenplay by Raymond Chandler and Czenzi Ormonde
- “A Summer Dress” (François Ozon / 1996)
- Sunday Bloody Sunday (John Schlesinger / 1971)
- Swimming Pool (François Ozon / 2003)
- Tales of the City (Alastair Reid / 1993)
- Tarnation (Jonathan Caouette / 2004)
- The Tempest (Derek Jarman / 1979)
- Teorema (Pier Paolo Pasolini / 1968)
- Theater in Trance (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1981)
- The Third Generation (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1979)
- A Time There Was [Benjamin Britten] (Tony Palmer / 1980)
- Tous les Matins du Mond (Alain Corneau / 1991)
Titles: U, V, W, X, Y, Z
- The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy / 1964)
- Un Chant d’Amour (Jean Genet / 1950)
- Under the Sand (François Ozon / 2000)
- Val Lewton Horror Collection (Cat People / The Curse of the Cat People / I Walked with a Zombie / The Body Snatcher / Isle of the Dead / Bedlam / The Leopard Man / The Ghost Ship / The Seventh Victim / new documentary Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy) (produced by Val Lewton / directed by Jacques Tourneur, Mark Robson, or Robert Wise / 1942–1946)
- Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (Yoshiaki Kawajiri & Tai Kit Mak, 2000)
- Vampyr (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1932)
- Veronika Voss (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1982)
- Victim (Basil Dearden / 1961)
- War Requiem (Derek Jarman / 1989)
- Water Drops on Burning Rocks (François Ozon / 2000; based on an early Fassbinder play)
- West Side Story (Robert Wise / 1961)
- Whity (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1971)
- Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1970)
- WISE / Tribute to Robert Wise – with an introduction to his exceptionally diverse career and brief reviews of (now 11) of his best and most representative films, including The Set-Up (1949), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), West Side Story (1961), The Haunting (1963)
- Wittgenstein (Derek Jarman / 1993)
- Women in New York (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1977)
- Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Pedro Almodóvar / 1988)
- The World of Jacques Demy (Agnès Varda / 1995)
- World on a Wire (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1973)
- Zachariah (George Englund / 1971)
Begun 1997 / Revised April 12, 2021