Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All of My Readers

by John Charet

I just want to wish all of my dear readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2025 🙂 Now I would like to conclude this year with not one, but two youtube video links to two great Christmas songs 🙂 The first is Run Rudolph Run by Rock and Roll legend Chuck Berry 🙂 The second is Cher’s DJ Play a Christmas Song, which I linked to last year at this time, but it was so popular with all of my dear readers that I have to include it again 🙂

In case you missed it the first time, I am linking to my two previous posts for you all 🙂

Click here to view my 25 Christmas Film Recommendations list

Click here to view my blog entry regarding Some of My Many Favorite Things

Click here to listen to Chuck Berry’s Run Rudolph Run

Click here to listen to Cher’s DJ Play a Christmas Song

Some Of My Many Favorite Things (Entertainment Related or Lack Thereof)

by John Charet

-A Word Before Reading-

None of you dear readers have to be familiar with what I am talking about in order to reply to this blog entry 🙂 In fact, you could all talk to me about things (cinema, television etc.) that make you happy and we can all reply back and forth to each other in the comment section 🙂

-Introduction-

As all of my dear readers can gather by the title of this link, today, I will be linking you all to some of many things that give me joy, whether it be during the Christmas season or otherwise 🙂 So, without further ado, here is the first one below 🙂

-Jennifer Coolidge-

Yes, she played Stiffler’s Mom in the American Pie movies, but Jennifer Coolidge has always been reliable in every role she has ever played 🙂 She has won for Supporting Actress in Television three times (one Golden Globe and two Primetime Emmys) for her role as the wealthy Tanya McQuoid on the darkly comedic HBO anthology series The White Lotus.

Click here to watch her 2023 Golden Globe speech

Click here to watch her 2022 Primetime Emmy speech

Click here to watch her 2023 Primetime Emmy speech

Click here and here to watch some of her character’s best moments

Any of my dear readers familiar with all of those Discover Card commercials you all see on television? 🙂

Click here to watch a few of them

Speaking of that, actress/comedian Chloe Fineman spoofed Coolidge’s persona with (I believe) two hilarious SNL (Saturday Night Live) sketches

Click here to watch this 2022 one

Click here to watch this one from two months ago

-Pamela Anderson: The Cinephile-

As much as I love Pamela Anderson’s screen image, that does not compare to the awesomeness of who Pamela Anderson really is behind it. Recently, she has been earning raves for her dramatic lead performance in Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl, which garnered her a recent Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. This brings us to a recent video of her getting the luxury of going into the Criterion Closet to pick some Blu-Ray/DVD’s for herself. It is here that Anderson is at her coolest. She comes off as a cinephile not only with her love of the films she talks about, but also the directors behind them. Late great Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami gets a shout-out in the video 🙂 How awesome is that among the others she mentions 🙂

Click here to watch her recent visit to the Criterion Closet

-Danny Devito’s Jersey MIke’s Commercials-

They just bring a smile to my face 🙂

Click here to watch them all

-The Clovers: One Mint Julep–

Yes, Todd Haynes 2015 masterpiece Carol is what got me addicted to The Clovers 1952 R&B song One Mint Julep :)The song is just so tuneful to me 🙂

Click here to listen to it

Click here to watch the scene that the aforementioned song plays in the film

Let me conclude this blog entry with two questions for my dear readers below:

What are some of your many favorite things (Entertainment Related or Lack Thereof?

What links interested you the most? If all, some or none of them did, that is perfectly fine too?

John Charet’s 25 Christmas Film Recommendations (Alternative or Otherwise)

by John Charet

-A Few Words Before Reading-

Please be kind to not only the film at number 13, but also any other films I mention in my summary of that number. Any comment expressing negativity towards number 13 or any of the other films I mention in that summary will be deleted. So once again, please be polite 🙂

-Introduction-

Ah, the Christmas season 🙂 The celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth 🙂 Each year, I delight in putting up the Christmas decorations and the tree 🙂 It really makes my own house look so magical 🙂 Also, It is the one time of year (except for maybe one’s own birthday), where everybody arguably gets to open more than just a few presents 🙂 Christmas Day also happens to be my birthday 🙂 Yep, you heard it hear first my dear readers. December 25th is my birthday 🙂 Anyway, with all that being said, let us not forget one of the other most important aspects of the season 🙂 What is that one you might ask? 🙂 Watching Christmas films of course 🙂 I have admittedly eclectic tastes, though a few items on my list below are traditional entries 🙂 The 25 titles I am presenting to all of you are in chronological order as opposed to preferential 🙂 These are not my only favorites, just the ones I happen to watch during the season 🙂

Click here to listen to the late great Doris Day singing Christmas songs from her 1964 album of such 🙂

Also, click here to listen to Prim & Proper’s rendition of Here We Come A-Caroling

Also, click here to watch a video of TCM’s offerings this month with the above song playing in the background

Now without further ado, I present to all of my dear readers:

-John Charet’s 25 Christmas Film Recommendations-
(In Chronological Order)

01.) Hell’s Heroes (1929)
Dir: William Wyler
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
What Makes It a Christmas Film: A church celebrates Christmas near the end of the film.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: As much as I love John Ford’s 1948 remake Three Godfathers, director William Wyler’s 1929 version entitled Hell’s Heroes still remains unsurpassable. Dramatically and visually poetic, Hell’s Heroes is as masterful a western as those of Ford’s.

Click here to watch the entire film

02.) The Thin Man (1934)
Dir: W.S. Van Dyke
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
What Makes It a Christmas Film: The whole film is set during Christmastime.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: The delightful chemistry between it’s two lead stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as detective couple Nick and Nora Charles is one good reason. The witty dialogue is another. Last, but not least, The Thin Man is just so entertaining on a whole. Oh and let us not forget Nick and Nora’s talented dog Asta.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

03.) Remember the Night (1940)
Dir: Mitchell Leisen
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
What Makes It a Christmas Film: The film is set during the Christmas season.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: Released the same year that it’s screenwriter Preston Sturges made his directorial debut with The Great McGinty and his follow-up Christmas in July, Remember the Night is a fitting bookend to his career as a writer-for-hire. A genuinely funny comedy on the one hand and a touching drama on the other, Remember the Night serves as a perfect demonstration of Sturges talents as a writer. Plus, we get two lovable lead characters, who are played here by Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

04.) The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
What Makes It a Christmas Film: The whole film (or at least most of it) is set during the Christmas season and concludes on Christmas Eve.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: Along with Heaven Can Wait, The Shop Around the Corner ranks as celebrated German-American director Ernst Lubitsch’s purest expression of the human condition. As to be expected, the result is genuinely funny and touching.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

05.) The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
Dir: Orson Welles
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
What Makes It a Christmas Film: Watch the sleigh ride sequence.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: How does legendary director Orson Welles follow up one of the greatest directorial debuts in cinematic history? For him, he does it with this haunting adaptation of Booth Tarkington’s Pulitzer Prize winning 1918 novel of the same name. From start to finish, The Magnificent Ambersons remains a masterpiece of mise en scene.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to read an article about the continuing search for original 131-minute cut of Ambersons

Click here to view a short video about it

Click here to view a link to a 1993 book about Orson Welles original cut entitled The Magnificent Ambersons: A Reconstruction

Click here to view an excerpt from the 1982 documentary entitled The Orson Welles Story, in which Welles details how RKO sabotaged Ambersons

06.) Christmas Holiday (1944)
Dir: Robert Siodmak
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
What Makes It a Christmas Film: The present day sequence is set on Christmas Eve.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: Dark and tragic. These serve as only two of many traits that have characterized the film noir subgenre. Director Robert Siodmak obviously understood this when he helmed Christmas Holiday. Blend the two aforementioned elements together and you get a demonstration of why it is such a fitting combination.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch the entire film

07.) The Curse of the Cat People (1944)
Dir: Robert Wise
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
What Makes It a Christmas Film: Part of the third act is set during Christmas Eve.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: Against the wishes of producer Val Lewton and director Robert Wise, The Curse of the Cat People was wrongly marketed as a horror film in the same vein as it’s 1942 predecessor Cat People. In truth, The Curse of the Cat People plays out more as a psychological fantasy drama than a straight up scare picture. In fact, director Joe Dante once remarked that the film’s disturbingly Disneyesque fairy tale qualities have perplexed horror fans for decades. Late English-American film historian William K. Everson has implied that it is every bit as poetic as Jean Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast. I could not have stated those aforementioned sentiments any better.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch this 2007 documentary entitled Martin Scorsese Presents: Val Lewton The Man in the Shadows

08.) Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Dir: Vincente Minnelli
Country: United States
Color: Color
What Makes It a Christmas Film: One of the vignettes is set during Christmastime. Among other things, the film is noted for introducing the world to the celebrated holiday song Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: Even though I rank his melodramas and comedies higher, director Vincente Minnelli is still a master of musicals and Meet Me in St. Louis (my second favorite after The Band Wagon) may be the most charming of them all. Judy Garland’s rendition of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas never fails to move me.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch Judy Garland singing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

09.) The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1944)
Dir: Preston Sturges
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
What Makes It a Christmas Film: Part of the latter half is set during Christmastime.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: I think I may have finally answered my own question regarding what makes director/writer Preston Sturges so deservedly unique. The answer may be that his screwball comedies remain incomparable to all of the others. In The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek, Sturges takes the subject of unwed pregnancy and turns it into a laugh out loud comedy with two lovable characters, who are played here by Eddie Bracken and Betty Hutton. Long after concluding with a sidesplittingly hilarious surprise ending, one question inevitably remains on the minds of we the audience. How on earth did all of this hilarity get passed the Hays Office? For example, in the film, three characters have the last name Kockenlocker. Kindly figure it out for yourselves :)) Either way, The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek still emerges as a bonafide comedy classic.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

10.) Black Narcissus (1947)
Dir: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Country: United Kingdom
Color: Color
What Makes It a Christmas Film: One sequence revolves around a Christmas Eve mass.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: British-American film critic/historian David Thomson cited Black Narcissus as an erotic film about the fantasies of nuns. I could not have stated it any more eloquently. Plus, I just had to include a Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger film on here.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch a youtube video link of British film critic Mark Kermode’s commentary on it as one of his BFI Player picks

11.) Good Sam (1948)
Dir: Leo McCarey
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
What Makes It a Christmas Film: The third act is set during Christmastime.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: Director Leo McCarey’s unofficial counterpoint to Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life deals with some of the negative consequences that arise from altruism. Whereas the latter film has since been reassessed as a holiday classic, Good Sam has yet to receive this honor and for me, it is ripe for rediscovery.

Click here to watch the entire film

12.) All That Heaven Allows (1955)
Dir: Douglas Sirk
Country: United States
Color: Color
What Makes It a Christmas Film: Two scenes stand out in particular here. The first is outdoors at what looks to be a Christmas Tree shop. The second features Jane Wyman’s character staring at the snowy outside.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: As directed by the master of melodrama Douglas Sirk, All That Heaven Allows bright color palette contrasts with the drama’s social commentary on suburban 1950’s conformity. The plot here revolves around the romance between an older woman (Jane Wyman) and a younger man (Rock Hudson). Along with Sirk’s other masterful melodramas, All That Heaven Allows is as visually expressive as it is subtly insightful.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch Mark Cousins Moviedrome intro to the film

13.) Bell, Book and Candle (1958)
Dir: Richard Quine
Country: United States
Color: Color
What Makes It a Christmas Film: Part of the first act is set on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: Richard Quine’s career as a reliable director debatably rests on his four collaborations with actress Kim Novak. Pushover, Strangers When We Meet, The Notorious Landlady and this enchanting 1958 romantic comedy entitled Bell, Book and Candle. While their chemistry in Vertigo still stands in a class of it’s own, the onscreen pairing between lead stars James Stewart and Novak here remains every bit as (If not more) inspired.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch the entire film

14.) Blast of Silence (1961)
Dir: Allen Baron
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
What Makes It a Christmas Film: The film is set during the week of Christmas.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: When it comes to dream double bills consisting of a film noir and a neo-noir, the pairing of Irving Lerner’s Murder by Contract with Allen Baron’s Blast of Silence would be an ideal one. Not unlike that aforementioned earlier film, Blast of Silence can be best described as an existential crime drama with a Bressonian sensibility. Furthermore, I have a feeling that If Blast of Silence were made today (2024 in this case), everything about it would remain intact. In other words, as with Murder by Contract, Blast of Silence has aged like fine wine.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch TCM’s (Turner Classic Movies) Eddie Muller’s intro to the film from his Noir Alley series

Click here to watch TCM’s (Turner Classic Movies) Eddie Muller’s outro to the film from his Noir Alley series

15.) The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
Dir: Jacques Demy
Country: France/West Germany
Color: Color
What Makes It a Christmas Film: The conclusion is set outside a gas station on Christmas Eve.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: Not Unlike All That Heaven Allows before it, director Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg unfolds against a visually beautiful backdrop. Only here, the film’s bright use of color aligns with the mood as much as it stands in contrast to it. As a coming-of-age musical (all of the dialogue is sung), The Umbrellas of Cherbourg resonates with me on so many levels. The denouement never fails to bring tears to my eyes.

Click here to watch a Restoration trailer of it

Click here to watch a what I believe is a BFI 2019 trailer showing of it

Click here to watch a recent 4K Restoration trailer for it

16.) Female Trouble (1974)
Dir: John Waters
Country: United States
Color: Color
What Makes It a Christmas Film: The early parts of the film’s first half. I usually watch this one shortly before or after Thanksgiving.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: Quite possibly one of the few (If not the only) genuine trash classics that can be watched and enjoyed during Christmastime. For me, Female Trouble is the film I will watch on the last day of November to kick off my Christmas viewing marathon. Before hitting the mainstream somewhat with Polyester, Hairspray and Cry-Baby, iconoclastic director/writer John Waters was making delightfully trashy 16mm underground films like Pink Flamingos, Desperate Living and this one in between the two. In Female Trouble, the late great Divine (a then Waters regular) plays bad girl Dawn Davenport, who embarks on a life of crime when she does not receive her beloved Cha Cha Heels for Christmas. A ridiculous premise no doubt, but only Waters could write such trash and make it charming at the same time. I hate you, I hate this house, and I hate Christmas! is just one of many truly hilarious lines that can be found in the film. Click here to see more examples.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch a TCM interview with John Waters from earlier in the year

Click here to view John Waters Top 10 Favorite Films of 2024

Click here to watch one video of an actress reaction (I won’t spoil) from his number one choice’s reaction

Click here to listen to all of the songs from his album of Christmas songs (I believe it was from 2013) entitled A John Waters Christmas

17.) Fanny and Alexander (1982)
Dir: Ingmar Bergman
Country: Sweden/France/West Germany
Color: Color
What Makes It a Christmas Film: The opening sequence is set during Christmastime.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: Every once in a while, Fanny and Alexander gets wrongfully dismissed as Ingmar Bergman’s sellout film, but as a huge fan of the aforementioned Swedish director myself, I can assure all of you dear readers that it is anything but. Fanny and Alexander is undoubtedly more optimistic than his then more recent films, but standing on it’s own, it remains every bit as emotionally and intellectually stimulating as the rest of Bergman’s work. At the heart of it, Fanny and Alexander is a semi-autobiographical period drama of Bergman’s upbringing as a child. In fact, the latter title character is based (loosely or otherwise) on Bergman himself. One can’t get more personal than that. Though I still rank Persona, Wild Strawberries, Cries and Whispers and Saraband above it, Fanny and Alexander still remains a grand late period cinematic achievement that I never tire of watching.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch a BFI 40th anniversary trailer for it

Click here to watch a youtube video link of British film critic Mark Kermode’s commentary on it as one of his BFI Player picks

18.) A Christmas Story (1983)
Dir: Bob Clark
Country: United States/Canada
Color: Color
What Makes It a Christmas Film: Everything about it basically.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: What do you know, a traditional comedic Christmas classic. What else can be said about A Christmas Story that has not been said yet? The vignettes for one thing. Whether it be the licking of a school flagpole in one episode to the presence of a leg lamp clad in fishnet stockings, it is nothing but pure hilarity from start to finish. Last, but not least, who can forget the lead child protagonist’s wish of a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle for his Christmas present. Almost everybody’s response to it is the inevitable you’ll shoot your eye out.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

19.) The Dead (1987)
Dir: John Huston
Country: United Kingdom/United States/West Germany
Color: Color
What Makes It a Christmas Film: The story is set during a dinner party celebrating the Epiphany.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: If anything else, The Dead not only resembles the work of a seasoned veteran, but also that of a born-again director. For his intended or unintended swan song, Huston adapts James Joyce’s title story that first appeared in the aforementioned celebrated author’s 1914 book of shorts entitled The Dubliners. Huston’s refined touch fits perfectly with the elegantly written drama, which is penned by his son Tony. The result is every bit as intimate as it is profound.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

20.) Die Hard (1988)
Dir: John McTiernan
Country: United States
Color: Color
What Makes It a Christmas Film: The entire film is set on Christmas Eve night.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: Along with A Christmas Story, this recommendation is for all of you normies out there. Admittedly, I wrestled back and forth as to whether or not I should include Die Hard on this list. Make no mistake, I love the film and I do watch it four times each year with December marking one of those occasions. Taking all of that into account, I just decided to put it on here anyway. What else can be said about this action-packed masterpiece that has not been said before? Aside from featuring a suave villain played with relish by late great British actor Alan Rickman, Die Hard made a superstar out of a then low-profile Bruce Willis, who at the time was only known as one of the two leads (the other being Cybill Shepherd) on the ABC television series Moonlighting. In contrast to all of the Ramboesque type action heroes at the time, Willis John McClane is a wisecracking everyman (a cop in this case) and to feature such a character at the time was a breath of fresh air when the action genre was showing a slight (just slight) case of wear and tear. All in all, in the words of the immortal McClane, Yippie-Ki-Yay motherf**ker.

Click here to watch the first original theatrical trailer for it

Click here to watch the second trailer for it

Click here to watch the third trailer for it

Click here to watch a 30th Anniversary trailer for it

Click here to watch a hilarious trailer in the style of a Christmas themed film :))

21.) The Long Day Closes (1992)
Dir: Terence Davies
Country: United Kingdom
Color: Color
What Makes It a Christmas Film: Along with a child staring at a window (it is snowing outside), we get a poetic image of a family (all dressed up) sitting at a table for Christmas Eve dinner. This film is full of many other such images.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: In contrast to the bleakness and existential dread that powered the late great British director Terence Davies Children, Madonna and Child, Death and Transfiguration (his three early short films) and Distant Voices, Still Lives (his first feature-length film), The Long Day Closes is driven more by a beautifully realized combination of gentleness and melancholia. In The Long Day Closes, the grimmer aspects of those previous films are limited to the surface. This time around, it is jubilation and togetherness that take center stage. One of many standout images is set in a packed movie theater and the camera gazes in the center top at a young boy (the film’s protagonist), who has a look of joy on his face at what he is watching. As with it’s predecessor, The Long Day Closes is an autobiographical film for Davies. In fact, Davies love for Classical Hollywood cinema (it is set during the mid-1950’s) is emphasized by excerpts from numerous films of that era peppered throughout. I too share his passion. The Long Day Closes is as much a celebration of cinema as it is the cinematic equivalent of a poem.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch a short video about the use of dissolves and memory in the film

Click here to watch this 1992 documentary on Terence Davies (one of the joys here comes at the 3:00 mark of the video featuring him lip-synching to Doris Day)

Click here to watch Terence Davies insightful analysis on Ingmar Bergman’s Cries and Whispers from a 1990 episode of Channel 4’s Movie Masterclass

Click here to watch Terence Davies 1989 BBC Film Club into to Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove

Click here to watch Terence Davies 1989 BBC Film Club into to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey

Click here to watch a video entitled In Conversation: Terence Davies

Click here to watch a video of Terence Davies talking about Ealing Studios

Click here to watch a video of Terence Davies appreciation of The Ladykillers

22.) Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Dir: Stanley Kubrick
Country: United Kingdom/United States
Color: Color
What Makes It a Christmas Film: The whole film is set during the holiday season. For example, we see Christmas lights displayed in various places.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: Along with Barry Lyndon, Eyes Wide Shut is legendary director Stanley Kubrick’s most mature film to date. A fitting achievement for a debatably unintended swan song. Here, Kubrick takes the early 20th-century Vienna setting of Arthur Schnitzler’s 1926 novella Traumnovelle (the film’s source material) and interestingly updates it to the then present day New York City of the 1990’s. With the exception of one or two establishing shots, Eyes Wide Shut was filmed entirely in the United Kingdom (England in this case). This blends perfectly with the film’s dreamlike quality. The result is simultaneously disturbing and sexy.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch another trailer for it

23.) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Dir: Wes Anderson
Country: United States
Color: Color
What Makes It a Christmas Film: Vince Guaraldi’s Christmas Time Is Here is played in the film. Enough said.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: As to be expected from director/co-writer Wes Anderson, beneath The Royal Tenenbaums stylized surface, lies at the center, a deadpan and poignant comedy/drama effortlessly acted by it’s ensemble cast. The now retired Gene Hackman stands out especially as flawed family patriarch Royal Tenenbaum. Like Anderson’s other films, The Royal Tenenbaums is set to a distinctive soundtrack of popular songs.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

24.) Bad Santa (2003)
Dir: Terry Zwigoff
Country: United States
Color: Color
What Makes It a Christmas Film: The film is set during the Christmas season.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: Delightfully tasteless comedies like Bad Santa are in short supply compared to the endless number of tasteful ones, which is why I always gladly welcome something like this. Lead actor Billy Bob Thornton’s performance as the irreverent title character (named Willie T. Soke here) is worthy to that of the late great W.C. Fields.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

25.) Carol (2015)
Dir: Todd Haynes
Country: United Kingdom/United States
Color: Color
What Makes It a Christmas Film: The first half is set during the Christmas season.
One of the Many Reasons Why I Love It: If Carol is not the greatest LGBTQ romance drama ever made, then it certainly comes close. Adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s 1952 novel The Price of Salt (under the pseudonym Claire Morgan), Carol is like a collaborative match made in heaven. On the one hand, Carol is helmed by gay director Todd Haynes and on the other, it is written by lesbian screenwriter/playwright Phyllis Nagy. When it comes to content, the two complete each other so effortlessly, one is tricked into thinking that the whole production must have been a cakewalk. As a period piece set during the early 1950’s, we are treated to beautifully evocative Super 16mm cinematography and costume designs courtesy of Ed Lachman and Sandy Powell respectively as well as Carter Burwell’s expressive music score. Last, but not least, who can forget the standout performances of it’s two lead actresses, which in this case are Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara? In Carol, Blanchett and Mara imbue their respective characters with grace and pathos. Carol is also noted for featuring one of the most tender lesbian sex scenes ever depicted in an English-Language film.

Click here to watch the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch the film’s second trailer

Click here to listen to composer Carter Burwell’s entire score for Carol

Let me conclude this blog entry with two questions for my dear readers below:

What Christmas films do you love to watch during the season?

What links (video or otherwise) interested you the most?

John Charet’s Top 10 Favorite Film Noirs of All Time

by John Charet

-A Few Words Before Reading-

Please be kind to the film at number 01 on this list because that one means a lot to me. Any comment expressing negativity towards number 01 will be deleted. So once again, please be polite ðŸ™‚

-Introduction-

Why am I first deciding to concoct a list of my top 10 favorite film noirs of all time to close out November? Simple. Throughout the entire month, November is more or less dedicated towards film noirs. Hence the word Noirvember, a monthly long holiday dedicated towards film noirs that originated in 2010 by great female film critic Marya E. Gates (read here). So now in it’s fourteenth year, I decided to compile a list of ten titles that I consider to be some of the greatest ever made. There were choices that I wish I could have included, but that would take a lot longer because I have tons of favorite noirs. Now I limited the list to film noirs alone as opposed to neo noir and tech noir. The reason for this is because traditional noir (film noir in this case) came first and I felt that it only made sense to focus solely on that. One of these days though, I will provide another list dedicated towards neo, tech and proto noirs, which came before film noir. Also, click here to listen to some fitting music for the mood If you readers want 🙂 Now without further ado, I present to you all:

-My Top 10 Favorite Film Noirs of All Time-
(#10-01)

10.) The Narrow Margin (1952)
Dir: Richard Fleischer
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
When it comes to 1950’s film noirs, The Narrow Margin stands out as quite possibly the most inventive of them all. Along with Alfred Hitchcock’s 1938 British mystery classic The Lady Vanishes, The Narrow Margin ranks as the quintessential train thriller. Like that aforementioned earlier film, The Narrow Margin is set almost entirely on a train. As directed by the frequently reliable, not to mention unfairly overlooked, Richard Fleischer, The Narrow Margin is an assured piece of genre filmmaking. Throughout it’s slim 72-minute running time, The Narrow Margin remains a taut B Noir full of twists, turns and clever dialogue.

Click here to watch a youtube video link to TCM’s (Turner Classic Movies) Eddie Muller’s intro to the film from his Noir Alley series

Click here to watch a youtube video link to TCM’s (Turner Classic Movies) Eddie Muller’s outro to the film from his Noir Alley series

Click here to watch a youtube video link to the film’s original theatrical trailer

09.) They Live by Night (1948)
Dir: Nicholas Ray
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
Nicholas Ray’s 1948 directorial debut is also the film that cemented his reputation as the poetic outsider of Classical Hollywood cinema. Stylistically, Ray would go on to make bolder films, but his personal themes have never been presented more assuredly than in They Live by Night. As with most of Ray’s films, They Live by Night examines the contrast between it’s anti-hero and the environment surrounding them. Adapted from Edward Anderson’s 1937 Depression-era novel Thieves Like Us, They Live By Night centers on an escaped convict’s struggle to break free from his criminal past. As usual, Ray’s expressive mise-en-scene blends perfectly with the film’s melodrama. No other film noir is simultaneously electrifying and poignant as They Live by Night.

Click here to watch a youtube video link to TCM’s (Turner Classic Movies) Eddie Muller’s intro to the film from his Noir Alley series

Click here to watch a youtube video link to TCM’s (Turner Classic Movies) Eddie Muller’s outro to the film

Click here to watch a youtube video link to the entire film

I can’t really find a proper trailer for the film

08.) The Killing (1956)
Dir: Stanley Kubrick
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
If Fear and Desire and Killer’s Kiss resembled the work of a talented beginner, than The Killing resembles that of a master filmmaker. Director Stanley Kubrick’s breakthrough third feature is also the most tightly constructed of his films. Not unlike John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle, The Killing centers on the planning, execution and aftermath of a robbery that goes awry. Only here, Kubrick presents this film noir’s narrative in a nonlinear fashion and as a storytelling device, it served as an influence on Quentin Tarantino when he made his 1992 directorial debut Reservoir Dogs. All in all, The Killing may just be the greatest heist film ever made.

Click here to watch a youtube video link to TCM’s (Turner Classic Movies) Eddie Muller’s intro to the film from his Noir Alley series

Click here to watch a youtube video link to TCM’s (Turner Classic Movies) Eddie Muller’s outro to the film from his Noir Alley series

Click here to watch a youtube video link to the film’s original theatrical trailer

07.) Murder by Contract (1958)
Dir: Irving Lerner
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
Cited by master filmmaker Martin Scorsese as the film that has influenced him the most, Murder by Contract also happens to be my number one favorite B Noir of all-time. For me, Murder by Contract remains every bit as fresh today as it was during it’s initial theatrical release back in 1958. Lucien Ballard’s black and white cinematography and Perry Botkin’s minimalistic guitar score fit perfectly with the film’s deadpan tone and it’s existentialist anti-hero. If anything else, Murder by Contract is debatably the closest thing the American cinema will ever get in giving us a Bressonian film noir, albeit one with a dry sense of humor. I do not know about the rest of director Irving Lerner’s output, but the fact that he made the extraordinary Murder by Contract is an achievement in itself.

Click here to watch a youtube video link to TCM’s (Turner Classic Movies) Eddie Muller’s intro to the film from his Noir Alley series

Click here to watch a youtube video link to TCM’s (Turner Classic Movies) Eddie Muller’s outro to the film from his Noir Alley series

Click here to watch a youtube video link to the entire film

Click here to watch another youtube video link to the entire film

Click here to watch a youtube video link to the film’s original theatrical trailer

06.) Angel Face (1952)
Dir: Otto Preminger
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
If I were to program a double bill of two Otto Preminger films that consisted of a literary adaptation and a film noir, I would choose Bonjour Tristesse for the former and Angel Face for the latter. The great former Chicago Reader film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum could not have stated it any better when he said that in some ways, Angel Face is Preminger’s first draft of his 1958 Bonjour Tristesse. The similarity is that both films center on a spoiled, wealthy and ultimately destructive young female. As the conniving Diane Tremayne, Jean Simmons creates one of the most interesting cinematic femme fatales ever. As with lead actor Robert Mitchum, Simmons is simultaneously charismatic and sexy. Effortlessly blending film noir with melodrama, Angel Face (like Bonjour Tristesse after it) emerges as the purest expression of Preminger’s mise-en-scene with an audacious ending to boot.

Click here to watch a youtube video link to TCM’s (Turner Classic Movies) Eddie Muller’s intro of the film from his Noir Alley series

Click here to watch a youtube video link to TCM’s (Turner Classic Movies) Eddie’s Muller’s outro to the film from his Noir Alley series

Click here to read former Chicago Reader film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum’s article on film noirs in which he talks about Angel Face. The title of the article is Ten Overlooked Noirs.

Click here to watch a youtube video link to the film’s original theatrical trailer

05.) The Shanghai Gesture (1941)
Dir: Josef von Sternberg
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
Even after meeting all of the demands imposed on it by the Hays Office for a seal of approval, The Shanghai Gesture still emerges as a sensual cinematic work of art. As directed by the great Josef von Sternberg, The Shanghai Gesture is an inspired marriage between form and content. Since it was inevitably going to be adapted as a toned down version of John Colton’s provocative 1926 Broadway play of the same name, the Austrian-American Sternberg ended up doing the next best thing. Sternberg’s reliance on Boris Leven’s stylized art direction and Oleg Cassini’s sexy and stylish costume designs go a long way in shaping The Shanghai Gesture’s mise-en-scene as one of decadence, which is represented here by a casino (in Colton’s play, it was a brothel). If anything else, as a film noir, The Shanghai Gesture is the crowning achievement of visual style.

Click here to watch a youtube video link to an essay on the film from a channel on the site called One Way Ticket Productions

Click here to watch a youtube video link to the entire film

Click here to watch another youtube video link to the entire film

I could not a link the film’s original theatrical trailer

04.) The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
Dir: Orson Welles
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
With the exception of Edgar G. Ulmer’s Detour, no other film noir has benefited as tremendously from it’s shortcomings as The Lady from Shanghai. Director Orson Welles original cut of The Lady from Shanghai reportedly ran 155 minutes, but Harry Cohn (then head of Columbia Pictures) despised it and recut the film (read here). Not unlike the similarly truncated The Magnificent Ambersons, The Lady from Shanghai was coincidentally released in an 88-minute cut and remains the only existing version of the film as of 2024. Even so, when one takes into account film noir’s emphasis on twists and turns (i.e. The Big Sleep), a credible argument can be made that The Lady from Shanghai works as an elaborate spoof of the aforementioned subgenre. As instructed by Welles, Rita Hayworth cut her long natural red hair short and bleached it blonde to play the femme fatale of the title much to Cohn’s dismay (read here). Along with Lana Turner in The Postman Always Rings Twice, the always sexy Hayworth creates one of the sexiest cinematic blonde femme fatales ever with her portrayal of Elsa “Rosalie” Bannister. Last, but not least, The Lady from Shanghai is noted for it’s dazzling climactic sequence set in a House of mirrors that has been referenced in everything from Enter the Dragon to John Wick: Chapter 2 and beyond.

Click here to watch a youtube video link to TCM’s (Turner Classic Movies) Eddile Muller’s intro to the film from his Noir Alley series

Click here to watch a youtube video link to TCM’s (Turner Classic Movies) Eddie Muller’s outro to the film from his Noir Alley series

Click here to watch a youtube video link of Mueller and Alicia Malone discussing the film and it’s lead actress Rita Hayworth from TCM (Turner Classic Movies) a few years back

Click here to watch a youtube video link to the film’s original theatrical trailer

03.) The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Dir: Charles Laughton
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
Indifferently received by both critics and audiences during it’s initial theatrical release back in 1955, The Night of the Hunter has since been reassessed (and deservedly so) as one of the greatest directorial debuts in cinematic history. Unfortunately, the film’s then polarizing reception reportedly disillusioned actor Charles Laughton so much that he decided to never direct another film again. A shame because The Night of the Hunter resembles the work of a cinematic giant. German Expressionism has influenced film noir in a number of ways, but never more deeply than in The Night of the Hunter. Stanley Cortez stylized black and white cinematography gives The Night of the Hunter a dreamlike vibe that harkens back to the films of the Silent era. As conman/serial killer Harry Powell, Robert Mitchum creates one of the screen’s most unforgettable villains. Behind Powell’s charming phony preacher persona lies a man of unadulterated evil. With the exception of Cape Fear, Mitchum has never been more menacing than he is here. Referenced in everything from The Rocky Horror Picture Show to Do the Right Thing to more recently, Promising Young Woman, The Night of the Hunter has also influenced the work of directors as diverse as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Joel and Ethan Coen and Guillermo del Toro to name just a few.

Click here to watch a youtube video link featuring directors William Friedkin and Spike Lee and horror icon Robert Englund’s appreciation of the film

Click here to watch a youtube video link of Guillermo del Toro’s appreciation of the film

Click here to watch a youtube video link of the film’s original theatrical trailer

02.) Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
Dir: John M. Stahl
Country: United States
Color: Color
Extraordinary on every single level imaginable, Leave Her to Heaven also happens to be my number one favorite film noir of the 1940’s. As the first film noir shot in color (read here), Leave Her to Heaven is noted for uniquely blending elements belonging to that aforementioned subgenre with that of melodramas, romantic dramas and psychological thrillers. The result still stands out today as an American masterpiece in a class of it’s own. Though he made two other very excellent films that Douglas Sirk would later not only equal, but surpass (Magnificent Obsession and Imitation of Life), Leave Her to Heaven towers above them all as director John M. Stahl’s greatest film. Leon Shamroy’s gorgeous Technicolor cinematography and Kay Nelson’s stylish costume designs serve as only two of many aspects that shape Stahl’s dazzling mise-en-scene. For my money, the always sexy Gene Tierney delivers a performance for the ages as the cold-hearted and narcissistic Ellen Berent Harland, who simultaneously ranks as the sexiest and most complex femme fatale in cinematic history. Aside from ranking as the second highest grossing film of 1945 after The Bells of St. Mary’s, Leave Her to Heaven also reportedly ranked as 20th Century Studios (then 20th Century Fox) biggest box-office hit of the decade. Now that is something.

Click here to watch a youtube video link to TCM’s (Turner Classic Movies) Alicia Malone’s intro and outro to the film from a few years back

Click here to watch a youtube video link to master filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s introduction of the film at the 2007 New York Film Festival

Click here to watch a youtube video link to Scorsese introducing it again. Only this time it was from this year in 2024. The date he introduced it was on Sunday, November 10, 2024

Click here to watch a youtube video link to the entire film

Click here to watch another youtube video link to the entire film

Click here to watch a youtube video link to the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch another youtube video link to the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to watch another youtube video link to the film’s original theatrical trailer

01.) Vertigo (1958)
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Country: United States
Color: Color
The other great former Chicago Reader film critic Dave Kehr eloquently praised Vertigo as One of the landmarks-not merely of the movies, but of 20th-century art. I am in total agreement with him. Coincidentally, Vertigo simultaneously ranks as my number one favorite film noir and film of all time (read here, here, here and here). For me, Vertigo not only stands out as the crowning achievement of Classical Hollywood cinema, but of filmmaking on a whole. No other cinematic masterwork has impacted me on so many levels than this 1958 American classic. Set to celebrated composer Bernard Herrmann’s unforgettable music score, Vertigo opens with a characteristically expressive title sequence designed by the legendary Saul Bass. After this, we are treated to one of the most atmospheric and visually stunning films ever made. In the center, Vertigo is two beautifully realized films for the price of one. What begins as a riveting mystery, suddenly turns into a haunting drama of sexual obsession. The result is every bit as erotic as it is disturbing and ultimately tragic. As directed by the iconic Alfred Hitchcock (a.k.a. The Master of Suspense), Vertigo is a masterpiece of form and content. More than that, Vertigo serves as Hitchcock’s magnum opus. Though renowned (and justifiably so) as a showman, Hitchcock also deserves to be lauded as an artist. This latter trait has never been more evident than in Vertigo. In that same review, Kehr summed up Vertigo as the most intensely personal movie to emerge from the Hollywood cinema. Kehr is totally right on that. For everybody involved, Vertigo represents the pinnacle of their careers. What else left is there for me to say except that Vertigo is (for myself) the greatest film ever made.

Click here to read former Chicago Reader film critic Dave Kehr’s review of Vertigo

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to view the film’s 1996 Restoration trailer

Click here to view the film’s 60th anniversary 4K Restoration trailer

Click here to view legendary title designer Saul Bass masterful opening title sequence

Click here to view the film’s memorable psychedelic dream sequence

Click here to listen to Bernard Herrmann’s haunting music for the film

Click here to view the documentary on Vertigo’s 1996 Restoration from 1997 entitled Obsessed with Vertigo

Let me conclude this blog entry with two questions for my dear readers below:

What are your top 10 favorite film noirs of all time? (not proto, neo or tech)

What links (video or otherwise) interested you the most?

John Charet’s Top 100 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time

by John Charet

-Introduction-

Last year around this time of year, I posted a blog entry regarding my Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time. As all of my dear readers are probably aware, I posted this year’s entry one week before Halloween (click here). As for Halloween 2024, I have posted a big treat, which comes in the form of my Top 100 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time. Now all of the films listed are not my only favorite horror films (I have an unlimited number), but this is a perfect start. I have decided to start with number 100 and work my way down to 01.

-The Opening Celebration-

First off, below are a few delightful links to check out 🙂

Click here to watch the complete 1983 music video of late iconic singer Michael Jackson’s (a.k.a. The King of Pop) song Thriller

Click here to listen to a shortened version of the song

Have any of you dear readers out there heard of The Merkins? Check out their youtube channel here. They do horror parodies of songs and one of their running acts is The Slashstreet Boys (a spoof of The Backstreet Boys) 🙂 The band consists of Leatherface, Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Kruegger and Ghostface 🙂 Below are three of my personal favorite parodies of theirs 🙂

Click here to view their spoof of I Want It That Way entitled I’ll Kill You That Way

Click here to view their spoof of Larger than Life entitled Die By My Knife

Click here to view their spoof of Rock Your Body Right entitled Slashing Bodies

-A Few Words Before Reading-

Please be kind to the film at number 07 on this list because that one means a lot to me. Any comment expressing negativity towards number 07 will be deleted. So once again, please be polite 🙂

Now, without further ado, I present to you all:

-John Charet’t Top 100 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time-
(#100-01)

100.) The Lighthouse (2019) (Dir: Robert Eggers)
99.) Frankenstein (1931) (Dir: James Whale)
98.) The Spiral Staircase (1946) (Dir: Robert Siodmak)
97.) What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) (Dir: Robert Aldrich)
96.) Kwaidan (1964) (Dir: Masaki Kobayashi)
95.) The Exorcist (1973) (Dir: William Friedkin)
94.) The Changeling (1980) (Dir: Peter Medak)
93.) Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) (Dir: Francis Ford Coppola)
92.) The Orphanage (2007) (Dir: J.A. Bayona)
91.) Under the Shadow (2016) (Dir: Babak Anvari)
90.) The Invisible Man (1933) (Dir: James Whale)
89.) The Body Snatcher (1945) (Dir: Robert Wise)
88.) Kuroneko (1968) (Dir: Kaneto Shindo)
87.) Rosemary’s Baby (1968) (Dir: Roman Polanski)
86.) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) (Dir: Tobe Hooper)
85.) God Told Me To (1976) (Dir: Larry Cohen)
84.) The Entity (1982) (Dir: Sidney J. Furie)
83.) Jacob’s Ladder (1990) (Dir: Adrian Lyne)
82.) Halloween II (2009) (Dir: Rob Zombie)
81.) Annihilation (2018) (Dir: Alex Garland)
80.) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) (Dir: Tobe Hooper)
79.) Twixt (2011) (Dir: Francis Ford Coppola)
78.) Bluebeard (1944) (Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer)
77.) Horror of Dracula (1958) (Dir: Terence Fisher)
76.) Island of Lost Souls (1932) (Dir: Erle C. Kenton)
75.) Onibaba (1964) (Dir: Kaneto Shindo)
74.) Night of the Living Dead (1968) (Dir: George A. Romero)
73.) Halloween (1978) (Dir: John Carpenter)
72.) Dead Alive (1992) (Dir: Peter Jackson)
71.) The Descent (2005) (Dir: Neil Marshall)
70.) The Lords of Salem (2012) (Dir: Rob Zombie)
69.) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) (Dir: Rouben Mamoulian)
68.) The Leopard Man (1943) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
67.) Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) (Dir: Terence Fisher)
66.) Blood and Black Lace (1964) (Dir: Mario Bava)
65.) The Tenant (1976) (Dir: Roman Polanski)
64.) Inferno (1980) (Dir: Dario Argento)
63.) Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) (Dir: John McNaughton)
62.) Cemetery Man (1994) (Dir: Michele Soavi)
61.) Shaun of the Dead (2004) (Dir: Edgar Wright)
60.) The Phantom Carriage (1921) (Dir: Victor Sjostrom)
59.) Cat People (1942) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
58.) Psycho (1960) (Dir: Alfred Hitchcock)
57.) Kill, Baby… Kill! (1966) (Dir: Mario Bava)
56.) Suspiria (1977) (Dir: Dario Argento)
55.) Possession (1981) (Dir: Andrzej Zuwalski)
54.) The Fly (1986) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
53.) Cronos (1992) (Dir: Guillermo del Toro)
52.) Let the Right One In (2008) (Dir: Tomas Alfredson)
51.) The Babadook (2014) (Dir: Jennifer Kent)
50.) Nope (2022) (Dir: Jordan Peele)
49.) Haxan (1922) (Dir: Benjamin Christensen)
48.) The Old Dark House (1932) (Dir: James Whale)
47.) I Walked with a Zombie (1943) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
46.) The Birds (1963) (Dir: Alfred Hitchcock)
45.) Dawn of the Dead (1978) (Dir: George A. Romero)
44.) Evil Dead II (1987) (Dir: Sam Raimi)
43.) Cure (1997) (Dir: Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
42.) Martyrs (2008) (Dir: Pascal Laughier)
41.) The Haunting of Hill House (2018) (Dir: Mike Flanagan)
(Miniseries)
(Streaming/Television)
40.) Pearl (2022) (Dir: Ti West)
39.) The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) (Dir: Jean Epstein)
38.) Freaks (1932) (Dir: Tod Browning)
37.) Dead of Night (1945) (Dir: Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer)
(Anthology Film)
36.) The Innocents (1961) (Dir: Jack Clayton)
35.) The Wicker Man (1973) (Dir: Robin Hardy)
34.) Dead Ringers (1988) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
33.) Ringu (1998) (Dir: Hideo Nakata)
32.) Rec (2007) (Dir: Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza)
31.) Under the Skin (2013) (Dir: Jonathan Glazer)
30.) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) (Dir: Robert Wiene)
29.) Bride of Frankenstein (1935) (Dir: James Whale)
28.) The Uninvited (1944) (Dir: Lewis Allen)
27.) Night of the Demon (1957) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
26.) The Haunting (1963) (Dir: Robert Wise)
25.) Eraserhead (1977) (Dir: David Lynch)
24.) The Thing (1982) (Dir: John Carpenter)
23.) Audition (1999) (Dir: Takashi Miike)
22.) Inside (2007) (Dir: Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo)
21.) Mother! (2017) (Dir: Darren Aronofsky)
20.) Un Chien Andalou (1929) (Dir: Luis Bunuel)
(Short Cinema)
19.) The Black Cat (1934) (Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer)
18.) Isle of the Dead (1945) (Dir: Mark Robson)
17.) Peeping Tom (1960) (Dir: Michael Powell)
16.) Hour of the Wolf (1968) (Dir: Ingmar Bergman)
15.) Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971) (Dir: John Hancock)
14.) Videodrome (1983) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
13.) The Kingdom Trilogy (1994/1997/2022) (Dir: Lars Von Trier)
(Danish Television)
12.) Pulse (2001) (Dir: Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
11.) Climax (2018) (Dir: Gaspar Noe)
10.) Vampyr (1932) (Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer)
09.) The Shining (1980) (Dir: Stanley Kubrick)
08.) Nosferatu (1922) (Dir: F.W. Murnau)
07.) Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) (Dir: David Lynch)
06.) The Devil’s Backbone (2001) (Dir: Guillermo del Toro)
05.) Midsommar (2019) (Dir: Ari Aster)
04.) The Seventh Victim (1943) (Dir: Mark Robson)
03.) Diabolique (1955) (Dir: Henri-Georges Clouzot)
02.) Eyes Without a Face (1960) (Dir: Georges Franju)
01.) Don’t Look Now (1973) (Dir: Nicolas Roeg)

P.S. I just added two links from this year’s blog entry regarding my Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time – a Kim Newman commentary link on number 3 and a documentary link on number 4. Click here 🙂

Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed reading my Top 100 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time list and last, but not least:

Have a Happy Halloween
. .
U

John Charet’s Official Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time

by John Charet

Note: Next Thursday, which is October 31st (Halloween), I will be posting a blog entry regarding my Top 100 Favorite Horror Films of All Time, so this is not the only Halloween post I will be doing this year 🙂

This blog entry is dedicated to what I consider to be an official version of my Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time. Aside from some different choices (see numbers 4,5 and 6) this year, every film on here from last years remains intact. I know I have said it before, but it bears repeating – all lists (including my own) are subjective. Nevertheless, please be kind to number 7 on this list because that one means a lot to me, so once again please be polite 🙂 Also, any comment expressing negativity at number 7 will be deleted. Now, without further ado, I present to you all:

-My Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time-
(#10-01)

10.) Vampyr (1932)
Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer
Country: Germany/France
Color: Black and White
Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer’s only horror film was dismissed by critics as one of his lesser works during it’s initial theatrical release in 1932. Fast-forwarding ninety-two years later in 2024, many critics now consider Vampyr to be (in the words of former Village Voice film critic J. Hoberman) Dreyer’s most radical film. Given everything that came before and after it in Dreyer’s oeuvre, Hoberman’s view can not be stated any better. Intentionally emphasizing atmosphere and imagery over plot, when it comes to horror films produced after the advent of sound, Vampyr stands out as quite possibly the only one to truly resemble that of a nightmare.

Since I could not find a youtube video link to an official theatrical trailer, click here to view a 90th anniversary trailer

Click here to view a youtube video link of British film critic Mark Kermode’s commentary on it as one of his BFI Player picks

Click here to watch the film on youtube

09.) The Shining (1980)
Dir: Stanley Kubrick
Country: United States/United Kingdom
Color: Color
Author Stephen King may have been greatly disappointed over director Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of his 1977 bestselling novel, but this has not prevented The Shining from eventually becoming (and deservedly so) a quintessential example of cinematic horror. Along with other Kubrick films, The Shining has only improved with time. Not unlike Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Vampyr, The Shining remains the only horror film within Kubrick’s oeuvre. Similar to the former, The Shining resembles the work of an idiosyncratic filmmaker. Here, we get now iconic scares ranging from the elevator of blood sequence to images of hacked up twins to the image of it’s lead actor Jack Nicholson exclaiming (through ad-libbing) Here’s Johnny!. As in all (or most) of Kubrick’s films since 1957’s Paths of Glory, The Shining has been open to all sorts of interpretations and neither one would be wrong.

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

08.) Nosferatu (1922)
Dir: F.W. Murnau
Country: Germany
Color: Black and White
German director F.W. Murnau’s unauthorized silent adaptation of author Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula also happens to be my personal favorite version of the source material. Whereas other versions romanticized the aforementioned title character, Nosferatu depicts the vampire (named Count Orlok in this film) as a truly hideous monster in every single way imaginable. All of his mannerisms are expressed perfectly by it’s lead actor Max Schreck. As a masterpiece of both German Expressionism and cinematic horror, Nosferatu is driven less by scares and more by it’s eerie atmosphere.

Since I can’t find an official theatrical trailer for it, click here to view this youtube video link of it’s 100 Anniversary trailer

Click here to watch the film on youtube

07.) Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
Dir: David Lynch
Country: United States/France
Color: Color
Critically savaged upon it’s initial theatrical release back in 1992, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me has since been reassessed as not only a misunderstood masterpiece, but also as one of director David Lynch’s major masterworks. As for myself, I will go one step further by citing Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me as the number one greatest American horror film of the 1990’s. A prequel to both the original series (1990-91) and 2017’s The Return, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me centers on the sad last days of Laura Palmer – acted with gusto by the immensely beautiful and talented Sheryl Lee. Aided by composer Angelo Badalamenti’s haunting music score, the result is every bit as surreal and nightmarish as it is ultimately tragic. British film critic/novelist Kim Newman once stated that the film’s many moments of horror demonstrate just how tidy, conventional and domesticated the generic horror movie of the 1980’s and 1990’s has become. I could not have stated it any better.

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to listen to the soundtrack

Click here to watch author Scott Ryan’s introduction to the film at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre from last year

Click here, here, here, here and here to watch a Q&A with actress Sheryl Lee and actor Dana Ashbrook from a 2021 showing of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre

06.) The Devil’s Backbone (2001)
Dir: Guillermo del Toro
Country: Spain/Mexico
Color: Color
Along with the equally inventive Under the Shadow, The Devil’s Backbone is an inspired combination of the supernatural and the allegorical. When it comes to 21st century cinematic horror, both films serve as personal favorites of mine. As one may have deduced from this list, The Devil’s Backbone ranks very high for me. Set during the final year of the Spanish Civil War, The Devil’s Backbone is on the one hand, a subtly tragic ghost story and on the other, a quietly frightening antifascist historical drama. Now I love every single film of Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and the highly personal The Devil’s Backbone (my second favorite of his after Pan’s Labyrinth) is arguably the most insightful out of all the truly great horror films produced since the dawn of 2000.

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to view British film critic Mark Kermode’s commentary on it as one of his BFI Player picks

Click here to read Kermode’s Criterion essay for it

05.) Midsommar (2019)
Dir: Ari Aster
Country: United States/Sweden
Color: Color
Whereas Ari Aster’s directorial debut Hereditary resembled the work of a master filmmaker, it was his follow-up film Midsommar that officially cemented him as such. As a horror film, Midsommar’s masterstroke lies not so much in it’s atmosphere as in how it uses it. Like The Wicker Man before it, Midsommar’s unique emphasis on daylight is what makes the film all the more disturbing. In fact, everything about Midsommar still sends shivers down my spine. As it did during it’s initial theatrical release five years ago in 2019, Midsommar still hits close to home (metaphorically and otherwise) in more ways than one.

Click here to view the film’s original teaser trailer

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

04.) The Seventh Victim (1943)
Dir: Mark Robson
Country: United States
Color: Black and White
Out of the nine unique official (or unofficial) horror films produced by Val Lewton at RKO Pictures during the 1940’s, director Mark Robson’s The Seventh Victim stands out as my personal favorite of the group. Every single trademark that shapes a Lewton production reaches it’s peak here. While The Seventh Victim is similarly downbeat as Lewton’s other horror films, neither of them ended on such an explicitly bleak note as this one does. The film’s black-and-white color palette coincides perfectly not only with it’s urban setting, but also in it’s thematic elements relating to depression and satanism among other things. Mature subject matter like homoeroticism is even touched upon here in an intelligent and sensitive manner. In addition, The Seventh Victim features a quietly chilling shower sequence that predates Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho by seventeen years.

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to view TCM’s Eddie Mueller’s Noir Alley intro to the film from 2020

Click here to view TCM’s Eddie Mueller’s Noir Alley outro to the film from that same episode

Click here to view a Vimeo link to the 2007 documentary entitled Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows

03.) Diabolique (1955)
Dir: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Country: France
Color: Black and White
Though Alfred Hitchcock is often credited for redefining cinematic horror with Psycho in 1960, with all due respect to the Master of Suspense, the aforementioned genre was actually redefined five years earlier in 1955 by French director Henri-Georges Clouzot with Diabolique. Coincidentally, not too long after the publication of Diabolique’s 1952 source material She Who Was No More, which was written by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, Hitchcock set out to option the rights to it. He changed course upon learning that Clouzot had obtained them serveral hours earlier, which enabled him to adapt it as Diabolique. As the film’s plot unfolds, Clouzot wastes no time in elevating the tension to completely unbearable heights and effortlessly keeps it going throughout. Culminating in one of the scariest twist endings ever conceived, Diabolique is a horror thriller that will ultimately make one’s heart stop.

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to view Alex Cox’s Moviedrome intro to the film

Spoiler Alert: If you have not seen the film, I strongly advise you not to click on the link below
Click here to view British film critic/novelist Kim Newman’s analysis of Diabolique

02.) Eyes Without a Face (1960)
Dir: Georges Franju
Country: France/Italy
Color: Black and White
If French poet Jean Cocteau had directed a 1930’s Universal horror film, the result would have undoubtedly been Eyes Without a Face. While it may not possess the delightfully eccentric humor that shaped The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein among others, Eyes Without a Face does offer something every bit as inspired. Disturbing and poetic in equal measure, Eyes Without a Face is as much a horror film as it is a fairy tale. Dismissed by critics as one of his lesser films during it’s initial theatrical release in 1960, Eyes Without a Face has since been reassessed (and deservedly so) as not only French director Georges Franju’s most famous and influential film, but also his greatest one.

Click here to view what may or may not be the film’s French trailer

Click here to view British film critic Mark Kermode’s commentary on it as one of his BFI Player picks

Click here to view Kermode’s Kermode Uncut commentary on it

Click here to view Mark Kermode’s Cult Film Corner commentary on it

01.) Don’t Look Now (1973)
Dir: Nicolas Roeg
Country: United Kingdom/Italy
Color: Color
Now often hailed as one of the most influential horror films ever made, Don’t Look Now also happens to be my number one favorite horror film of all-time. Reportedly cited by it’s British director Nicolas Roeg as his exercise in film grammar, Don’t Look Now also stands out as quite possibly the most beautiful marriage between form and content. Accompanied by composer Pino Donaggio’s emotionally powerful music score, Roeg’s trademark unconventional editing style and it’s fittingly bleak, yet strangely lovely atmosphere, Don’t Look Now explores a tragedy’s impact on a married couple through the power of visual storytelling. Along with an explicit controversial sex scene between it’s two lead actors (Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland), Don’t Look Now is noted for featuring (like Diabolique before it) the scariest ending ever conceived in the history of cinematic horror.

Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Click here to view the film’s 2019 4K Restoration trailer

Click here to view British film critic Mark Kermode’s 2008 Culture Show interview with director Nicolas Roeg

Click here to view Kermode’s review of the 2019 4K Restoration of the film

Click here to view Irish documentarian Mark Cousins 2001 Scene By Scene interview with actor Donald Sutherland on the film

Click here to view Mark Cousins Moviedrome intro to the film

Click here to view Danish-Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier commentary on the film

Click here to listen to the soundtrack

Let me conclude this blog entry with two questions for my dear readers below

What are your top 10 favorite horror films of all-time?

What video links in my blog entry interested you the most?

My Big-Screen 70 mm Experience: Vertigo (1958) at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, Illinois

by John Charet

A polite reminder before reading this blog entry of mine 🙂 I will not tolerate any insults or negativity towards any of the films or people I mention in this post. Any negative comments will be deleted, so I am politely asking you all to please be kind 🙂

-Sunday, September 15, 2024 – 2 pm-

On an absolutely gorgeous sunny afternoon on that aforementioned day and time above, I was absolutely filled with joy as I got to watch my number one favorite film of all-time on a big-screen in 70 mm. The film in question was director Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 American classic Vertigo. I saw a 2:30 pm showing at the historic Music Box Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. Before I get started with my thoughts, I would love to share a few awesome pictures that I posted below 🙂

This is my ticket for the 09/15/2024 2:30 pm showing for Vertigo in 70 mm 🙂

This is a picture of the original poster for Vertigo designed by the iconic Saul Bass 🙂 Of course it did not include that smudge on the left side 🙂

Behold – The Music Box Theatre in all of it’s glory 🙂

Below are two pictures of me standing in front of the Music Box Theatre – which picture do you all prefer? 🙂

I am full of happiness at getting to see Vertigo on a big-screen in 70 mm 🙂

Still full of happiness 🙂

Now this poster for Vertigo was from a February 15-28th 2013 showing on a big-screen in 70 mm, but I had to take a picture of it nonetheless 🙂

-My Experience Watching Vertigo (1958) on a Big-Screen in 70 mm-

First things first, Vertigo (or at least in my view) looks amazing on either a television (for me, an HDTV) or a big theater screen. Here, I will talk about my experience watching Robert A. Harris and James C. Katz’s 1996 restoration of the film that resulted in the 70 mm print that we have all watched ever since.

From iconic designer Saul Bass’s characteristically expressive title sequence to the denouement, Vertigo proved to be every bit as spectacular on a big theater screen in 70 mm as it has on my HDTV at home. Imagine the size of how the film is presented on a latter and then times it’s height and width by 10, 15, 20 or beyond and you get an experience resembling a pure spectacle (i.e. Lawrence of Arabia).

As just one of many people watching Vertigo that day in a huge theater room on a big-screen (If this was not a sold out showing, it certainly came very close), my viewing experience was not only every bit as involving there as it was at home, but in some ways, five times more so.

Each viewing of Vertigo involves me on not only an intellectual level, but a visual one as well. No surprise given that the 1996 restoration resulted in a 70 mm print of the film. When viewed on a big theater screen, the visual experience becomes even more exhilarating. Every exterior and interior makes one feel like a tourist visiting a landmark. While the same vibe can be felt when viewed at home, on a big theater screen, it comes off as more explicit. Same sentiments apply to the dolly zoom shots and the famed dream sequence.

Final word of note on this subject, like all truly great films, Vertigo offers something I did not notice on the previous viewing. In this case, it comes from the film’s use of lighting. The scene in question takes place in Big Basin Redwoods State Park. As John “Scottie” Ferguson (James Stewart) and Madeline Elster (Kim Novak) are walking, the lighting on Madeline’s white coat makes her look like a ghostly figure, which is fitting considering that her character thinks that she is possessed by a dead woman.

-On the Side-

After watching my number one favorite film of all-time, I looked at all the awesome posters on the walls in the lobby and below is a picture of one of many favorites 🙂

This poster was for a David Lynch Retrospective that was held from April 7-14 back in 2022.

-Click here to watch an incredible trailer for it.

I actually think this is one of the most beautiful homages to a fictional film and television character, which in this case is actress Sheryl Lee’s Laura Palmer from Twin Peaks. As one can see from the picture, it is a dollar donation jar. As my dear readers might have guessed, I am a huge fan of the films of director David Lynch, everything Twin Peaks related and Sheryl Lee. This picture was taken on July 21 of this year when I saw director Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai in a 4K Restoration on the big-screen.

I also wanted a picture of me holding the aforementioned donation jar and I got my chance. As one can notice, I am very happy in this photo. To this day, along with Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now, David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me ranks for myself as one of the most emotionally powerful horror films ever made. As the beautiful and tragic Laura Palmer in the latter, Sheryl Lee gave a performance for the ages. Palmer’s descent into madness in that film always moves me to tears. As viewers, we want to reach into the screen to rescue Laura and then console her. Any director who can incite those feelings into us (in this case, Lynch) is doing something right.

This photo was taken today, but this Film Calendar is from the Summer of 2018 as one can deduce from the picture. In October of that same year, I saw director John Carpenter’s 1982 masterpiece The Thing in 70 mm.

Once Again, this photo was today, but this CINEPOCALYPSE calendar was from the Summer of 2018. I saw director Stephen Hopkins tightly-paced Chicago set 1993 Neo-noir action thriller Judgment Night there. I took a picture with Hopkins that has unfortunately been lost to time due to the fact taken on my old IPhone 😦 I do not know If it is just me, but director Alex Cox’s 1984 Sci-fi/Neo-noir/comedy Repo Man would be perfect for that. I do not know If CINEPOCALYPSE is still annually there though.

Back in August of this year (in this case 2024), the Music Box Theatre got a spectacular renovation that included drink holders – I noticed this when I saw Vertigo in 70 mm two Sundays ago 🙂 Click here to read more about it.

-Click here to watch this clever trailer (or lack thereof) for it 🙂

I picked up one of these Film Schedules back in July when I saw Seven Samurai there. I also saw the classic 1959 spy thriller North by Northwest (also directed by Hitchcock) in 70 mm back on August 11 of this year. That last title was part of their Summer of 70 mm series.

-Click here to watch the trailer for it.

I picked up one of these Film Schedules when I saw Vertigo in 70 mm two Sundays ago.

-In Closing-

All in all, I want to thank Chicago’s Music Box Theatre for the wonderful time I had watching my number one favorite film of all-time (in this case Vertigo) on a big-screen in 70 mm. All of you keep up the great work as always 🙂

-If any of my dear readers are interested in more info, click here to watch an 11-minute video celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Music Box Theatre from the Summer of 2019.

-Further Reading-

Click here to read my 2022 blog entry regarding My Top 10 Favorite Films of All-Time

Click here to read my 2023 blog entry regarding My Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time

Click here to read my 2023 blog entry regarding My 100 Favorite Films (1-100)

Click here to read my 2024 blog entry entitled Vertigo (1958) – A Ten-Part Personal Essay Written By Me

Click here to read my 2024 blog entry wishing actress Sheryl Lee a Happy 57th Birthday

-Questions for My Dear Readers-

1.) Name one of your favorite films that you have watched on a big theater screen? (70 mm or otherwise)

2.) Describe the excitement in your own words what it was like watching it on a big theater screen. What was it like?

3.) What theater/theatre did you see it at?

4.) As a follow-up to question #3, was there anything in the theater/theatre lobby that interested you (i.e. poster or otherwise)?

Blog-a-thon: Your 65/70 mm Experience – September 26-30th, 2024

by John Charet

Question – how many of you dear readers of mine are familiar with 70 mm Film gauge?
Give up? I will try to explain this motion picture format as simply as I can. Think of standard 35 mm film. Now times that number by two. In this case, our answer comes to 70 mm. The negative is basically 3.5 times as large as 35 mm film (read here). Admittedly, on camera, the format is 65 mm, but when it comes to projection, it is printed on 70 mm film (read here). As for Digital cinema, that is a different topic for another time. But If any of you want to talk about that sometime, feel free to leave me a comment 🙂

What is this blog-a-thon all about?
To any blogger who would like to participate in this, I would like you to write a blog entry about a great film you saw in 65/70 mm. The film can be old or new. If you would like, you can also write about the theater/theatre you saw it at (i.e. a historic landmark among other examples).

For Participants
If any of my fellow bloggers would like to participate, please leave a reply in the comment section and I will add you to the participant list. Also, the deadline for participation is Tuesday, October 1st. That is right, I will add you on the last day of the blog-a-thon as a participant 🙂

R.I.P. Alain Delon (1935-2024)

by John Charet

Along with Gena Rowlands, the cinephile community lost another giant this past month on August 18. In this case, it is Alain Delon – one of the most iconic French actors of all-time. He was 88 years-old and the cause of death was B-cell lymphoma. On the screen, Delon oozed coolness and sexiness in equal measures. Various actors, artists, directors and musicians among others have cited Delon as an influence on their work. As usual, I could go on, but I want to finish this blog entry by citing some of my favorite films with Delon (all * * * * out of * * * *).

  1. Purple Noon (1960) (Dir: Rene Clement) Click here and here to watch two various trailers
  2. Rocco and His Brothers (1960) (Dir: Luchino Visconti) Click here and here to watch two various trailers
  3. L’Eclisse (1962) (Dir: Michelangelo Antonioni) Click here to watch a various trailer for it
  4. The Leopard (1963) (Dir: Luchino Visconti) Click here and here to watch two trailers
  5. Any Number Can Win (1963) (Dir: Henri Verneuil) I could not find an English subtitled trailer for it
  6. Le Samourai (1967) (Dir: Jean-Pierre Melville) Click here to watch a 4K Restoration trailer for it
  7. La Piscine (1969) (Dir: Jacques Deray) Click here and here to view two different 4K Restoration trailers for it
  8. The Sicilian Clan (1969) (Dir: Henri Verneuil) Click here to watch a trailer for it
  9. Le Cercle Rouge (1970) (Dir: Jean-Pierre Melville) Click here to watch a 4K Restoration trailer for it
  10. Un flic (1972) (Dir: Jean-Pierre Melville) Click here to watch a trailer for it
  11. Tony Arzenta (1973) (Dir: Duccio Tessari) Click here to watch a trailer for it
  12. Mr. Klein (1976) (Dir: Joseph Losey) Click here to watch a 4K Restoration trailer for it
  13. Nouvelle Vague (1990) (Dir: Jean-Luc Godard) I could not find a trailer for that one

I would like to end this blog entry with a question for my dear readers below

What is your favorite Alain Delon film?

R.I.P. Gena Rowlands (1930-2024)

by John Charet

Last Wednesday, one of the most extraordinary actresses to have ever lived passed away at the age of 94. The actress was Gena Rowlands. The cause of death was complications of Alzheimer’s disease (read here and here). According to her son Nick Cassavetes (read here), Rowlands had been living with Alzheimer’s for the past five years. And yes, Nick is the son of the late great actor/director/writer John Cassavetes. Rowlands had been married to John from 1954 until his death in 1989. To commemorate her career, I will list my favorite films of hers where she serves as a standout below (all * * * * out of * * * *).

  1. Faces (1968) (Dir: John Cassavetes) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  2. Minnie and Moskowitz (1971) (Dir: John Cassavetes) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  3. A Woman Under the Influence (1974) (Dir: John Cassavetes) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  4. Opening Night (1977) (Dir: John Cassavetes) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  5. Gloria (1980) (Dir: John Cassavetes) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  6. Love Streams (1984) (Dir: John Cassavetes) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  7. The Notebook (2004) (Dir: Nick Cassavetes) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

I would like to end this blog entry with a question for my dear readers below

What is your favorite Gena Rowlands film?