Month: April 2020

Moviedrome Mondays: The Great Silence (a.k.a. The Big Silence) (1968)

by John Charet

Spoiler Alert: This post contains spoilers to the film and If you have not seen it yet, I advise you to not read it any further.

Although I do have youtube video links and even a Vimeo one this week, I could not find a youtube video link of Moviedrome presenter Alex Cox introducing Italian director Sergio Corbucci’s 1968 bleak revisionist Spaghetti western masterpiece The Great Silence. Once again, readers will have to rely on Cox’s intro transcript (read here). The episode’s original airdate was August 26, 1990 (read here). I absolutely agree with everything Cox says about this brilliant film. Everything from legendary composer Ennio Morricone’s somber music score to it’s winter scenery sets the tone for what may be one of the darkest westerns ever made. Even the ending is a completely tragic one as Cox details in the links. For my money, it may even by my number one favorite spaghetti western of all-time – and I have tons of other favorites in that sub-genre. Btw, If any of you readers are interested in reading my list of my favorite westerns, read here. Also, If you are interested in reading a list of my favorite Sergio Corbucci films, read here.

Here is a youtube video link to Alex Cox’s intro to The Great Silence from a special feature on the 2004 Fantoma DVD edition (read here)

Here is a Vimeo link to Cox’s intro to it for something called International Film Series

Here is a youtube video link to the film’s original theatrical trailer – though I do not think it ever got a theatrical release in America on it’s initial release in 1968.

Finally, here is a youtube video link to the 2018 Digitally Restored version of the film from the Film Movement Blu-ray/DVD company that released in on home video in that aforementioned year


Also, here is a link to Alex Cox’s book on spaghetti westerns If any of you readers are interested.

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Moviedrome Mondays: Walk on the Wild Side (1962)

by John Charet

Once again, I could not find a youtube video link of Moviedrome presenter Alex Cox introducing director Edward Dmytryk’s 1962 screen adaptation of writer Nelson Algren’s 1956 novel Walk on the Wild Side, readers will have to rely on Cox’s intro transcript (read here). The episode’s original airdate was August 19, 1990 (read here). Not much to add except that while the performances are great, everything else is hit-or-miss. Even though the subject matter revolves around women involved in prostitution and lesbianism, in execution, the film feels too tame by today’s standards and it unfortunately, does not have quality that can more than offset that reminder. Nevertheless, I do love the opening title sequence by the late legendary Saul Bass. P.S. I could not find a youtube video link to the film’s original theatrical trailer.

Anyway, here is a youtube video link to the aforementioned title sequence I was talking about

 

 

 

No New Post Today

by John Charet

Moviedrome Mondays will resume next Sunday – I was so busy with Easter that I just hadn’t had the time to prepare, but do not worry, I will be back with a new one next Sunday 🙂 I hope all of my dear readers had a Happy Easter as well 🙂

P.S. my Wednesday post might interest all of you – read the link here 🙂

An Alex Cox Intro Gem: The Long Goodbye (1973)

by John Charet

One may not know this, but shortly prior to hosting Moviedrome from 1988 to 1994, filmmaker Alex Cox guest introduced two films for another BBC Two series entitled The Film Club (1986-1991) on March 5, 1988 (read here). The two films were 1967’s Point Blank (directed by John Boorman) and 1973’s The Long Goodbye (directed by Robert Altman). The latter cleverly updated novelist Raymond Chandler’s iconic Philip Marlowe detective character to a 1970’s setting. Anyway, I was able to find a youtube video link of Cox introducing The Long Goodbye, I unfortunately could not find the one for Point Blank. In case any of you missed it the first time, If any of you readers are interested in reading my list of my favorite Robert Altman films, read here.

Here is a youtube video link of Alex Cox introducing The Long Goodbye on The Film Club.

 

Here is a youtube video link to the film’s original theatrical trailer

Moviedrome Mondays: The Phenix City Story (1955)

by John Charet

Once again, I could not find a youtube video link of Moviedrome presenter Alex Cox introducing director Phil Karlson’s 1955 expose film noir classic The Phenix City Story, so I will have to made do with Cox’s intro transcript (read here). The episode’s original airdate was August 12, 1990 (read here). Fittingly shot in black-and-white and filmed on location (which gives it a documentary feel), this may be one of (If not) the grittiest film noirs to emerge from the American cinema during the 1950’s. The plot deals with attempts to clean up a seedy Alabama town and it was reportedly based on a true story (read here and here). If any of you readers are interested in reading my list of my favorite Phil Karlson films, read here.

I could not find a youtube video link to the film’s original theatrical trailer either.