Rear Window: One of the Greatest Thrillers Ever Made

The Oscar-nominated Rear Window isn’t just one of Alfred Hitchcock’s best films but one of the greatest thrillers ever made. I was late to watching Hitchcock films for the most part. Up until the pandemic, Rear Window and North by Northwest were probably among the few Hitchcock films that I’ve watched. But even then, I put off Psycho for several years with the thought that it was a horror film and not a psychological thriller.…

"Rear Window: One of the Greatest Thrillers Ever Made"

The Naked Spur Redefines the Western

The Naked Spur is an Oscar-nominated Western and the third of five Westerns and eight films directed by Mann and starring James Stewart. Screenplay nominations for Westerns were quite rare when the film was released. But sure enough, Sam Rolfe and Harold Jack Bloom’s script earned a nomination. They could have had their military history better researched but it is what it is. In any event, their work would play a tremendous role in redefining…

"The Naked Spur Redefines the Western"

How the West Was Won: An Epic Western at 60 Years

How the West Was Won is an epic Western that follows the Prescott family bloodline during a 50-year period stretching 1839-1889. Spencer Tracy narrates the Oscar-winning film through its five main segments and an impressive epilogue showing the transformation of the West into the early 1960s. In particular, we see the Hoover Dam, the Four Level Interchange in Downtown Los Angeles, and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. It’s kind of like the ending…

"How the West Was Won: An Epic Western at 60 Years"

Next Time We Love Arrives On Blu-ray

Next Time We Love makes its arrival on Blu-ray for the first time by way of Kino Lorber Studio Classics with a brand new 2K master. The film marks the first of four collaborations between Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart. Their next three team-ups were in The Shopworn Angel, The Shop Around The Corner, and The Mortal Storm. Sullavan only appeared in 16 films throughout her career with her final film role coming in 1950.…

"Next Time We Love Arrives On Blu-ray"

You Can’t Take It With You

You Can’t Take It With You, an adaptation of the George S. Kauffman and Moss Hart play, is one of Frank Capra’s best films. The gist of the film is that Tony Kirby (James Stewart) works at his family’s bank. His father, Anthony P. Kirby (Edward Arnold), is returning from Washington, DC with plans for a government-sanctioned munitions monopoly. Grandpa Martin Vanderhof (Lionel Barrymore) is the only person standing in the way of building his…

"You Can’t Take It With You"

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance on 4K Ultra HD

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is the 31st title to join the Paramount Presents line and does so on a beautiful 4K Ultra HD disc. John Ford is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time when it comes to the moments between “action” and “cut.” This is one of his later period films and it teams up two of the biggest stars of the era. However, it would come to be the best…

"The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance on 4K Ultra HD"

The Best Rom-Coms Ever: Watch Movies Before 1970

One cannot write a list of the best rom-coms of all time if the list of movies does not include any films released prior to 1970. The amount of times I hear that someone refuses to watch movies from before a certain year is just mindboggling. Like why? How can anyone write about film without at least making an effort?!? If you’re especially writing about film history, you MUST make an effort to study film…

"The Best Rom-Coms Ever: Watch Movies Before 1970"

Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection: Volume 2

Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection: Volume 2, a limited edition set, brings six films home for the first time on 4K Ultra HD. This limited edition set features Anatomy of a Murder, Oliver!, Taxi Driver, Stripes, Sense and Sensibility, and The Social Network. The set comes with an 80-page hardbound book in the history and impact of the films. In addition, there are over 30 new hours of new and archival special features. A…

"Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection: Volume 2"

The Shop Around The Corner: The Lubitsch Touch

The Shop Around The Corner, starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart, features the traditional Lubitsch touch in their third team-up. When Ernst Lubitsch died, as William Wyler once remarked to Billy Wilder, it meant “no more Lubitsch movies.” The movies were personified by what we call The Lubitsch Touch. As explained on the back of the Blu-ray case, it’s the filmmaker’s trademark: “wit instead of buffoonery, sentiment instead of sentimentality, affection instead of attitude.” The…

"The Shop Around The Corner: The Lubitsch Touch"

The Mortal Storm Got MGM Banned In Germany

The Mortal Storm, starring both Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart, is the film that got MGM banned by Germany during WWII. Between 1936 and 1940, Sullavan and Stewart starred in Next Time We Love, The Shopworn Angel, The Shop Around the Corner, and The Mortal Storm. One could make the argument that Sullivan is also responsible for Stewart becoming a star. This is another story for another day. But anyway, this is their fourth and final team-up before…

"The Mortal Storm Got MGM Banned In Germany"