Author: MANK

Charley Varrick: Walter Matthau excels as the titular antihero in Don Siegel’s solid Crime Thriller

Charley Varrick (1973), starring Walter Matthau, Andy Robinson, John Vernon and Joe Don Baker, is a thrilling Crime\gangster drama directed by genre veteran Don Siegel. Siegel made this film immediately after his iconic cop thriller, "Dirty Harry," and in many ways this film is the definitive Don Siegel film. Director, Don Siegel, is most famous … Continue reading Charley Varrick: Walter Matthau excels as the titular antihero in Don Siegel’s solid Crime Thriller →

The Wild Geese: Richard Burton, Richard Harris and Roger Moore are aging mercenaries in this action-packed ‘Men on a Mission’ adventure

The Wild Geese (1978), directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and starring Richard Burton, Richard Harris and Roger Moore as aging 'soldiers of fortune' fighting in Africa, is a worthy addition to the subgenre of 'Men on a Mission' war\action picture. In 1968, British thespian, Richard Burton teamed up with then up and coming American star. … Continue reading The Wild Geese: Richard Burton, Richard Harris and Roger Moore are aging mercenaries in this action-packed ‘Men on a Mission’ adventure →

Frenzy: Alfred Hitchcock returned to Britain (and returned to vintage form) and created his last great macabre thriller

Frenzy (1972) was the great director Alfred Hitchcock's penultimate movie. This serial killer thriller, starring Jon Finch and Barry Foster in lead roles, finds the British director returning to his homeland to create his best film since the 1960's Psycho. Film Director, Alfred Hitchcock, started making films in Cinema's silent era, in the 1920s. After … Continue reading Frenzy: Alfred Hitchcock returned to Britain (and returned to vintage form) and created his last great macabre thriller →

The Spy Who Loved Me: In the year of ‘Star Wars,’ James Bond kept the ‘British end up’ with the best Roger Moore Bond film

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) was the third film to feature Roger Moore as Ian Fleming's James Bond. With the massive success of this film, directed by Lewis Gilbert, James Bond made a grand comeback after a tumultuous decade that saw diminishing box office returns and three different actors embodying Bond. The year 1977 … Continue reading The Spy Who Loved Me: In the year of ‘Star Wars,’ James Bond kept the ‘British end up’ with the best Roger Moore Bond film →

Play Misty for Me: Clint Eastwood made a confident debut as director with this proto-‘Fatal Attraction’ romantic thriller

Play Misty for Me (1971) was the first film directed by Clint Eastwood. Clint also starred alongside Jessica Walter in this romantic thriller set in and around Clint's hometown, Carmel. 1971 was a big year for Clint Eastwood. He had three releases that year- Two of which was directed by his pal & mentor, Don … Continue reading Play Misty for Me: Clint Eastwood made a confident debut as director with this proto-‘Fatal Attraction’ romantic thriller →

Mr. Majestyk: Elmore Leonard mixed colorful characters, quirky dialogue and explosive action in creating one of the best ’70s Charles Bronson Actioners

Mr. Majestyk (1974) is an action thriller written by Elmore Leonard and directed by Richard Fleischer. The film stars Charles Bronson as a Colorado Watermelon farmer who comes into conflict with gangsters lead by Al Lettieri. So, after 'breaking his back' for more than two decades - starting out with bit parts, progressing to villainous … Continue reading Mr. Majestyk: Elmore Leonard mixed colorful characters, quirky dialogue and explosive action in creating one of the best ’70s Charles Bronson Actioners →

The Way We Were: At the height of gritty ’70s cinema, Sydney Pollack brought Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand together for this glossy old-fashioned romantic drama

The Way We Were (1973) is a lush romantic drama directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford in lead roles. This film, released at the height of the gritty, experimental 'New-Hollywood cinema' period, was a throwback to the glossy, star-driven romantic melodramas from golden-age Hollywood. Hubbell Gardiner: People are more important … Continue reading The Way We Were: At the height of gritty ’70s cinema, Sydney Pollack brought Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand together for this glossy old-fashioned romantic drama →

Ryan’s Daughter: David Lean’s unfairly maligned masterpiece finds the great British director returning to his roots to create his most personal and ambitious epic

Ryan's Daughter (1970) is considered to be the great British director David Lean's lone artistic misfire. But this film, an epic romance set on the wild west coast of Ireland and starring such stalwarts like Robert Mitchum, Trevor Howard, John Mills and Sarah Miles, is one of Lean's most personal and ambitious films. In a … Continue reading Ryan’s Daughter: David Lean’s unfairly maligned masterpiece finds the great British director returning to his roots to create his most personal and ambitious epic →

The Gauntlet: Clint Eastwood’s over-the-top send-up of his ‘Dirty Harry’ films is fun, fast-paced and packed with baroque action sequences

The Gauntlet(1977), directed by and starring Clint Eastwood and co-starring Sondra Locke, was an attempt by Clint to send up his 'Dirty Harry' films by exaggerating and parodying the tropes associated with those cop thrillers. Originally conceived as a starring vehicle for Marlon Brando and Barbara Streisand, and then, after Brando's withdrawal, as a vehicle … Continue reading The Gauntlet: Clint Eastwood’s over-the-top send-up of his ‘Dirty Harry’ films is fun, fast-paced and packed with baroque action sequences →

Casablanca: This Bogart-Bergman classic mixes varied themes & genres to create a heady cocktail of classical Hollywood entertainment

Casablanca(1942) is undoubtedly the most beloved American motion picture ever made. With a dream cast top lined by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman and a crew led by eminent director Michael Curtiz and producer Hal B. Wallis and an endlessly quotable script designed by more than five writers, the movie’s genius lay in its ability … Continue reading Casablanca: This Bogart-Bergman classic mixes varied themes & genres to create a heady cocktail of classical Hollywood entertainment →

Flaming Star: Elvis Presley at his very best as a dramatic actor in Don Siegel’s dark & violent Western

Flaming Star(1960), directed by Don Siegel, is a dark & violent Western that deals with racism and culture-clash in the old-West. The film has Elvis Presley, in a full-fledged dramatic role, giving a terrific performance as a half-breed torn between his white father and Kiowa mother. Apart from being the 'King of Rock & Roll" … Continue reading Flaming Star: Elvis Presley at his very best as a dramatic actor in Don Siegel’s dark & violent Western →

Warlock: Henry Fonda and Anthony Quinn are fantastic together in this literate, Law & Order Western Drama

Warlock (1958), directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Anthony Quinn and Dorothy Malone, is an intelligently crafted Western drama that deals with issues of vigilantism and Law & Order Edward Dmytryk is one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, who started his career in films as early as the 1920s. Never to … Continue reading Warlock: Henry Fonda and Anthony Quinn are fantastic together in this literate, Law & Order Western Drama →

Out of the Past: The definitive Film Noir classic that established Robert Mitchum as the ultimate Noir hero

Out of the Past(1947), directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas, Jane Greer and Rhonda Fleming, may well be the greatest Film Noir ever made, with Mitchum giving one of the greatest Noir-hero performances of all time. "Baby, I don't care" was the title of actor, Robert Mitchum's biography written by Lee … Continue reading Out of the Past: The definitive Film Noir classic that established Robert Mitchum as the ultimate Noir hero →

Coogan’s Bluff: Don Siegel’s solid Cop drama transformed Clint Eastwood from a ‘Western’ hero into a modern action hero

Coogan's Bluff(1968) was the first collaboration between director Don Siegel and Star, Clint Eastwood. The film effectively transformed Clint from a star of Westerns into a modern, urban action hero. Clint Eastwood is a multitalented movie superstar; he acts, directs, produces and even composes music, but, over and above all this, what I find most … Continue reading Coogan’s Bluff: Don Siegel’s solid Cop drama transformed Clint Eastwood from a ‘Western’ hero into a modern action hero →

Superman: Richard Donner’s dazzling, delightful & star-studded superhero epic set the template for comic-book adaptations

Superman (1978), directed by Richard Donner and starring Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman and Christopher Reeve as the eponymous 'Man of Steel,' was the first serious attempt at making a big budget studio feature film about a comic-book superhero, and it also remains one of the best. "This is no Fantasy" This is the first line … Continue reading Superman: Richard Donner’s dazzling, delightful & star-studded superhero epic set the template for comic-book adaptations →

Barry Lyndon: Stanley Kubrick’s ice-cold exercise in pure cinema is also his most emotionally rich and perfect movie

Barry Lyndon(1975), adapted for the screen by Stanley Kubrick from William Thackeray's novel, is perhaps Kubrick's greatest film. The film, starring Ryan O'Neal and Marisa Berenson, charts the rise and fall of its amoral hero, Redmond Barry, in the backdrop of the tumultuous events in Eighteenth-century Europe. I find Stanley Kubrick to be a bundle … Continue reading Barry Lyndon: Stanley Kubrick’s ice-cold exercise in pure cinema is also his most emotionally rich and perfect movie →

Force 10 from Navarone: Robert Shaw and Harrison Ford topline this rather silly but reasonably entertaining sequel to ‘The Guns of Navarone’

Force 10 from Navarone (1978), directed by Guy Hamilton and starring Robert Shaw, Harrison Ford, Franco Nero and Edward Fox in lead roles, is a sequel to the classic WWII adventure, 'The Guns of Navarone.' Though not as good as the original by a long shot, the film is reasonably entertaining with some interesting plot … Continue reading Force 10 from Navarone: Robert Shaw and Harrison Ford topline this rather silly but reasonably entertaining sequel to ‘The Guns of Navarone’ →

Wyatt Earp: Kevin Costner attempted an ambitious, ‘The Godfather’-like sprawling epic on Old-West’s most legendary lawman

Wyatt Earp (1994), co-written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan is an epic Western starring Kevin Costner as legendary Frontier Marshall, Wyatt Earp, and Dennis Quaid as Earp's friend 'Doc' Holliday. The film attempts to be a definitive biopic on Earp, as it traces his growth from a young Iowa farm boy into the most legendary … Continue reading Wyatt Earp: Kevin Costner attempted an ambitious, ‘The Godfather’-like sprawling epic on Old-West’s most legendary lawman →

Get Carter: Michael Caine’s iconic star turn and Roy Budd’s pulsating score powers this classic British Crime drama

Get Carter(1971), written & directed by Mike Hodges, and starring Michael Caine as the amoral titular gangster, is a gritty & nihilistic British crime Drama. It was not well received upon its release, but it's now revered as one of the greatest British films ever made. "Pint of Bitter..... in a thin glass" One of … Continue reading Get Carter: Michael Caine’s iconic star turn and Roy Budd’s pulsating score powers this classic British Crime drama →

The Man with the Golden Gun: Despite a solid premise and a spectacular villain, Roger Moore’s second outing as James Bond almost ended up killing the franchise

The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) was the second film to feature Roger Moore as James Bond. Despite having a great antagonist in Christopher Lee's Francisco Scaramanga, the film turned out to be such a critical and commercial dud that it almost became the last film in the Bond film franchise. Francisco Scaramanga aka … Continue reading The Man with the Golden Gun: Despite a solid premise and a spectacular villain, Roger Moore’s second outing as James Bond almost ended up killing the franchise →