Tuesday 11 December 2012
Brandy & Ben See Django at the TIFF Bell Lightbox
In the ramp up to the release of Quentin Tarantino's hotly anticipated new movie, TIFF Bell Lightbox is screening Sergio Corbucci's 1966 Django. This movie might rightfully be subtitled: The patient zero movie that launched ...
Monday 10 December 2012
Pretty Clever Film's Ultimate Movie Lover's Holiday Gift Guide
So here it is, Pretty Clever FIlm's Ultimate Movie Lover's Holiday Gift Guide. Ask and ye shall receive, film fans! I asked all of you what's on your holiday wish list and you responded in droves. Here are the highlights of what Pretty Clever Film's ...
Saturday 8 December 2012
Georges Méliès and the Birth of Filmmaking
Georges Méliès was born on December 8, 1861. I says hats off (or heads off if you're as talented as Monsieur Méliès) to the man who first recognized cinema's potential for magic. To honor the bday of one of cinema's greatest pioneers, here's...
Friday 7 December 2012
Film Friday Weekly Roundup
It's beginning to look a lot like... Holiday movie time. Yep, time to dust off It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Story or whatever holiday movie floats your boat. (If you keep reading, you'll get to Rober...
Thursday 6 December 2012
Watch It and Rate It: Be My Wife (1921)
Be My Wife (1921) was written and directed by and stars Max Linder. Linder is a little bit like the rich man's Charlie Chaplin. While Linder was actually French and always "European," his recurring comic character of Max was...
Wednesday 5 December 2012
Dickens on Screen at TIFF Bell Lightbox
As part of the global fete of Charles Dickens' 200th birthday, TIFF Cinematheque is launching a retrospective of the famed author's various screen incarnations. From the famous to the rare, from the classic to the contemporary, "Dickens on Screen" pr...
Saturday 1 December 2012
Let's Make a List: The Ultimate Movie Lover's Holiday Gift Guide
Yep, it's December 1. And that means it's time to start dropping some not so subtle hints for your friends and loved ones about what you want to find stuffing your stocking this holiday season.
Now, as a lover of rather obtuse movies, I know it's ...
Now, as a lover of rather obtuse movies, I know it's ...
Gallery: The Petrified Forest (1936)
Now that you've read Ben O'Brian's rockin' review of The Petrified Forest, you probably want more. (Who doesn't want more Humphrey Bogart. He's kind of like ...
Review: The Petrified Forest (1936)
The Petrified Forest begins with a solitary hitchhiker wandering through the dusty desolation of an Arizona desert road; his canteen empty and his walking stick leading the way as automobiles and tumble weeds pass him by. He...
Friday 30 November 2012
Watch It & Rate It: Male and Female (1919)
Cecile B. DeMille's Male and Female was released on November 30, 1919, and this one is a beauty people! You've got sexual tension between aristocrats and common folk, you've got shipwrecks, and you've got savage jungle survi...
Film Friday Weekly Roundup
When I first grasped that the NHL Lockout was going to be a reality this season, a black wave of depression swept over me. What's winter without hockey? Just a cold, gray lump of crud, that's what. But as the lockout has dragged on, I've discovered I...
Monday 26 November 2012
Wings to Screen at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Tuesday, November 27, 2012
As part of TIFF Cinematheue's Hollywood Classics series, William A. Wellman's Wings will get special screening at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on Tuesday 27, 2012 at 6:30 pm.
Where does one even start when talking about
Where does one even start when talking about
Friday 23 November 2012
Film Friday Weekly Roundup
Now that the American's have gorged themselves on turkey and are out in shops right now fighting over discounted televisions, it's official - the holidays are upon us, people! Whether that statement fills you with dread or joy, it is time to start ma...
Wednesday 21 November 2012
Review: The Spanish Dancer (1923)
My review of The Spanish Dancer, a silent costume drama from director Herbert Brenon, could really be six words long Pola Negri, Pola Negri, Pola Negri. She is dazzling in this 1923 programmer. Sure, there's action and roman...
Monday 19 November 2012
Watch: Our Hospitality (1923)
Buster Keaton's Our Hospitality was released on November 19, 1923. I'm pretty sure I don't need to tell you anything more than its BUSTER KEATON. But you can slip away for an hour today, watch Our Hospitality, and marvel ove...
Friday 16 November 2012
Thursday 15 November 2012
Akira Kurosawa - Japan's Greatest Director?
Here's a piece I wrote for The Toronto Film Scene wherein I wonder if Akira Kurosawa is Japan's greatest filmmaker. My takeaway is - impossible to say. Impossible for me, at least, because I don't know much about Japanese cinema beyond, well, Akira K...
PCF mentioned on the See You Next Wednesday Podcast
There are lots of people in this world that just love, love. love movies. They will spend an enormous amount of time seeing them, talking about them, writing about them. They'll listen to podcasts, make podcasts, and start websites.
But, in my exp...
But, in my exp...
The White Shadow is Streaming Now!
Remember how 3 reels of the 6 reel The White Shadow were discovered in the New Zealand Film Archive? And how we all got excited because this is the earliest surviving work of Sir Alfred Hitchcock, who worked as the assistant...
Wednesday 7 November 2012
Watch: Raggedy Rose (1926)
Raggedy Rose is a cute little silent comedy from 1926 starring Mabel Normand. Rose works for a cheap-skate junk dealer and dreams of romance with a wealthy bachelor. I say: who doesn't, sister?
There's not a lot that's tr...
There's not a lot that's tr...
Movie Moustache #18: Charles Laughton in Island of Lost Souls
Movie Moustache #18 – Charles Laughton in Island of Lost Souls
Tuesday 6 November 2012
Election Night Film Festival - 3 Great Political Movies
So this is it - election night in America. It seems like this campaign has been dragging on forever, or at least 4 years. CNN is already checking in with attractive people at polling stations in Florida and Ohio every 10 minutes, and it's not even no...
Monday 5 November 2012
Watch: The Headless Horseman (1922)
The Headless Horseman starring Will Rogers was released November 5, 1922. While this wouldn't be the last film adaptation of Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", it is the earliest that I can rustle up. In this...
Pretty Clever Film's Top 20 Movie Moustaches
It's that time of year again! Movember! A glorious month when otherwise rational men grow upper lip fuzzies in the name of prostate cancer.
Odd? Yes. Delightfully fun for the rest of us? Absolu...
Odd? Yes. Delightfully fun for the rest of us? Absolu...
Saturday 3 November 2012
Watch: Just Rambling Along (1918)
The earliest surviving Stan Laurel movie and the first film he made with Hal Roach, the silent Just Rambling Along, was released on November 3, 1918. The story is what you might expect - a nice boy gets into scrapes until he...
Friday 2 November 2012
Film Friday Weekly Roundup
What a totally awesome fun week I've had! First, I got a year younger and then it was Halloween. I got the amazing Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray and now I have something to play in the Blu-ray player that I got a month ago for ...
Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray Report: Saboteur (1942)
Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray: Saboteur Blu-Ray
Saboteur (1942) treds familiar Alfred Hitchcock narrative ground with "an ordinary man put in a bizarre situation," ...
Thursday 1 November 2012
Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray Report: Rope
Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray: Rope (1948)
"Innovator" might not be the first word that springs to mind when thinking of Alfred Hitchcock, but a casual glance over his long career reveals a master f...
"Innovator" might not be the first word that springs to mind when thinking of Alfred Hitchcock, but a casual glance over his long career reveals a master f...
Sunday 14 October 2012
Go Lillian Gish, It's Your Birthday!
Lillian Gish, the incomparable Lillian Gish, was born on October 14, 1893. Seem like just yesterday, doesn't it?
Celebrate with some of my other posts about Miss Gish, a clip from one of my favorite movies, Broken Blossoms,
Celebrate with some of my other posts about Miss Gish, a clip from one of my favorite movies, Broken Blossoms,
(Don't) Watch: Cleopatra (1917)
Cleopatra, starring the sexy and mysterious Theda Bara, was released on October 14, 1917. It was the most popular movie of 1917 by a landslide. The public was intrigued and infatuated with The Vamp. The studio worked overtim...
Saturday 13 October 2012
Watch: The Navigator (1924)
Today is the release date of Buster Keaton's The Navigator, except in 1924. It's not opening down at the local cineplex or anything (a shame, if you ask me). I'm going to go out on a limb and guess if you're reading this, yo...
Friday 12 October 2012
Film Friday Weekly Roundup
Well, hey now, it's Friday. Thanks to the magic of the interwebs, Pretty Clever Film Gal appears to be feverishly working at PCF Headquarters and she isn't. Ha! Currently, she's in an undisclosed location, playing gin rummy with Dick Cheney. Ok, not ...
Wednesday 10 October 2012
Review: The Bells (1926)
I didn't know anything about The Bells (1926) until I was browsing the catalogue at reelclassicdvd.com. But when I see silent + Lionel Barrymore + Bo...
Saturday 6 October 2012
The Jazz Singer... when the movies learned to talk
Well, hell, The Jazz Singer was released on October 6, 1927. And the rest is... well, history. But let's get the story straight. It was not the first sound picture - there was never really a problem with sound pictures. It w...
Watch: The Wedding March (1928)
The Wedding March was directed by Erich von Stroheim and some version of it was released on October 6, 1928. There's a tortured story here, as per usual with von Stroheim, and a lot of slash burn. At some point the movie was...
Friday 5 October 2012
Film Friday Weekly Roundup
Breaking news: I've just been informed it's Friday. Seriously, this almost slipped past me. Granted I've been caught up in trying to find footage of the debate that Mitt Romney "won," because surely everyone else is talking about a different debate t...
Thursday 4 October 2012
Happy Birthday Buster Keaton
Well well well - happy birthday Buster Keaton!
It seems like it happens once every year... today is Buster Keaton's birthday. Had he been Canadian with ready access to cost effective health care, he would be 117 years old today. Even though it's B...
It seems like it happens once every year... today is Buster Keaton's birthday. Had he been Canadian with ready access to cost effective health care, he would be 117 years old today. Even though it's B...
Wednesday 3 October 2012
Watch: From the Manger to the Cross (1912)
We're going heavy with today's screener. From the Manager to the Cross, or Jesus of Nazareth, was released on October 3, 1912, making it exactly 100 years old. Directed by Sidney Olcott and written ...
Tuesday 2 October 2012
Watch: The Pawnshop (1916)
Charlie Chaplin's The Pawnshop was released on October 2, 1916 and distributed by Mutual. It's a super silly knockabout slapstick with Chaplin co-star regular Edna Purviance. Chaplin is a clerk in a pawnshop and he bungles everything. That's all ther...
Monday 1 October 2012
Watch: A Woman of Paris (1923)
CharlieChaplin's A Woman of Paris debuted on October 1, 1923. The movie is atypical Chaplin - it's a drama and though it was written, directed, produced and scored by The Tramp, Charlie Chaplin was not the s...
Friday 28 September 2012
Film Friday Weekly Roundup
It's shaping up to be a fantastic week for the classic film fan, especially the ones who live in Toronto. First, we get the totally fab news that Blancanieves is Spain's official nom for Best Foreign Language Film at next year's Oscars. Stay tuned fo...
Watch: Never Weaken (1921)
Never Weaken, Harold Lloyd's last short film, was released on September 28, 1921. Directed by Fred Newmeyer, this 3 reeler with its thrilling, building dangling stunts might fairly be seen as a ramp up to the Lloyd feature <...
Thursday 27 September 2012
Watch: Diary of a Lost Girl (1929)
Ah, Louise Brooks! Diary of a Lost Girl (Tagebuch einer Verlorenen) was released on September 27, 1929 silent film. It was directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst and starred Louise...
Sunday 23 September 2012
First Keystone Productions Release is 100 Years Old Today
The first Keystone production hit movie screens on September 23, 1912. Released through Mutual, this one reel of film held two silent shorts Cohen Collects a Debt and The Water Nymph. Of course, we ...
Watch: Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (1927)
Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt) is a 1927 German film directed by Walter Rut...
Saturday 22 September 2012
Watch: Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917)
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, starring Mary Pickford, was released on September 22, 1917. Directed by Marshall Neilan, the script was based on...
The Strange Fate of Kim's Video
This article from The Village Voice chronicles the sad, strange tale of what happened to the collection from New York's Kim's Video. Kim's Video was a very strange place, and a very New York place. Despite that this twisted story ends up in Italy, it...
Friday 21 September 2012
Film Friday Weekly Round Up - The Catch Up Edition
Do you have a post TIFF hangover? I certainly do. Even though it's been 5 days, I'm not sure I'm completely recovered. Also, I'm not sure what movies I saw. TIFF is now a popcorn grease strained blur. I do know I saw Blancanieves...
Saturday 15 September 2012
TIFF 2012 Review: Men at Lunch
You know that photo of New York City iron workers eating lunch on a steel girder hundreds of feet above the sidewalks of Mahattan? You definitely know this photos because as the new documentary Men at Lunch from Seán Ó Cualá...
TIFF 2012 Review: Passion
As I was leaving the theatre after seeing Brian De Palma's Passion I overheard two women discussing the film. One said to the other, "He was trying too hard." Yes he was. He always does. Personally, it's a thing I love about...
TIFF 2012 Review: The Act of Killing
Joshua Oppenheimer's The Act of Killing is one of the most difficult to watch films I've ever encountered. That's not to say it's not a good documentary, but you should brace yourself to look evil directly in the eye. Seriously, a woman sitting behin...
Friday 14 September 2012
TIFF 2012 Review: The We and the I
How I long for the Michel Gondry of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep. That Gondry was inventive, weird, and wildly endearing. That Gondry was the reason I signed up for...
Thursday 13 September 2012
Interview with Pablo Berger, Director of Blancanieves
I wish that each one of you may see Blancanieves. I also wish that each of you could sit down for a few minutes with Pablo Berger. He is delightful, articulate, and passionate on the subject of silent cinema. And seriously, ...
Wednesday 12 September 2012
TIFF 2012 Review: Short Cuts Canada Programme #5
Having seen two of the Short Cuts Canada programmes, I'm up to 14 shorts in this fest. I'm trying to collect them all, like baseball cards. But, seriously, short films can be really freaking amazing and some of these are. Turns out Canadians can be w...
Tuesday 11 September 2012
TIFF 2012 Review: Blancanieves
I saw Pablo Berger's Blancanieves and it left me speechless. I'm apparently not the only one blown away by this movie. Just this Blancanieves was shortlisted to represent Spain at t...
Monday 10 September 2012
TIFF 2012 Review: The Central Park Five
Look, I knew going into The Central Park Five there was a high probability that I was going to get Burnsed. But I thought, hey this was directed by Sarah Burns not Ken Burns and if ever the was rich doc fodder it wa...
Sunday 9 September 2012
TIFF 2012 Review: Short Cuts Canada: Programme #1
The best film I say at TIFF 2011 - hell the best film I saw in all of 2011 - was a short film titled Le Trotteur
TIFF 2012 Review: Yellow
The TIFF 2012 premiere of Nick Cassavetes' Yellow was packed to the rafters on Friday night...
