*MAJOR UPDATE IN PROGRESS* I’m revising this entire website, including LGBTQ+ Literature and Film. Thank you for understanding.
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 both U.S. and international releases, ranging from classics to recent 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 IN 2021: First-time reviews for the remaining Fassbinder, Pasolini, and Jarman films; for those not on video, I’m using notes from screenings. I will continue adding new reviews for a diverse range of films. Enjoy!
- 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)
- The Films of Kenneth Anger Volume One (Kenneth Anger / 1947–1954)
- 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)
- Britten / Benjamin Britten: A Time There Was (Tony Palmer / 1980)
- Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee / 2005)
- BRD Trilogy: The Marriage of Maria Braun, Lola and Veronika Voss (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1979–1982)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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, his role in the development of New German Cinema, and reviews of all of 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)
- Genet / Jean Genet: Conversation with Antoine Bourseiller – Spring 1981 (Antoine Bourseiller / 1981)
- Jean Genet: Conversation with Bertrand Poirot-Delpech – Winter 1982 (Bertrand Poirot-Delpech / 1982)
- 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)
- Howards End (Merchant/Ivory / 1992)
- 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)
- Jarman / Derek (Isaac Julien / 2008)
- JARMAN / Films of Derek Jarman – with an overview of his career in film, painting and literature, and reviews of his films available on video
- 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)
- “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)
- 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 of his films available on video
- 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)
- The Third Generation (Rainer Werner Fassbinder / 1979)
- 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)
- West Side Story (Robert Wise / 1961)
- Water Drops on Burning Rocks (François Ozon / 2000; based on an early Fassbinder play)
- 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 on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Pedro Almodóvar / 1988)
- The World of Jacques Demy (Agnès Varda / 1995)
- Zachariah (George Englund / 1971)
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Begun 1997 / Revised November 2, 2020