Key Largo, a 1948 noir crime drama, was the fourth and final theatrical paring between Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. I was looking for something to watch on Monday night (January 22) and didn’t want to watch something ridiculously long. Nothing against long films but if I’m pressing play just before 9 PM, I don’t want to be up way too late. Rather than turn to any of the streamers, I decided to check the…
"Key Largo: The Second Best Huston, Bogart Film Of 1948"Tag: Edward G. Robinson
A huge risk at the time of its release, Confessions of a Nazi Spy is now available on Blu-ray through the Warner Archive Collection. No other studio would show guts like Warner Bros. in the late 1930s. I cannot say this enough. This is certainly something that I discuss almost every time that I write about the studio for its centennial. Germany’s LA consul, George Gyssling, wrote letters in hopes of shutting the film down.…
"Confessions of a Nazi Spy Gets Warner Archive Blu-ray"
Cecil B. Demille’s epic film, The Ten Commandments, makes its arrival on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and Digital during Passover. Unlike previous Blu-ray releases, you’ll be able to watch the film on a single 4K UHD disc. The 6K scan in 2010 was also the basis for the 65th anniversary edition being released today on 4K. As such, you’re taking in the full beauty of the VistaVision negative. Paramount spent over 150 hours doing new…
"The Ten Commandments Hit 4K Ultra HD"
Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity set the standard for film noir when the seven-time Oscar-nominee was first released in 1944. Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) is having an affair with insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray). Murder is on the horizon because Walter wants Mr. Dietrichson (Tom Powers) to sign a double indemnity policy. The trick will certainly come in making it look like an accident. This is easier said than done, right? Of course, no matter…
"Double Indemnity Set Standard for Film Noir"
While Cecil B. Demille’s The Ten Commandments (1956) is hailed as an epic, the lengthy film does not come without its own flaws. Starting tonight through sundown on Saturday evening, Jews living in the diaspora will be celebrating Shavuot. The holiday celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Inside Israel, the holiday will end on Friday. In any event, shuls are closed and thus, The Ten Commandments may also feel like appropriate viewing…
"The Ten Commandments: A Flawed Epic" Confessions of a Nazi Spy was seen as a huge risk for Warner Bros. at the time because it dared speak out against Nazi Germany at the time. When Dr. Karl Kassel (Paul Lukas) makes his way to the United States, his main goal is to persuade German Americans to support the Nazi cause. Kurt Schneider (Francis Lederer), unemployed at the time, ends up joining the cause and becomes a spy. Schneider sends a letter…
"Confessions of a Nazi Spy: A Huge Risk"