Four that define: The Red Shoes (1948)--True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist.--Albert Einstein Mon Oncle (1958)--Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.--Confucius The Decalogue (1988)--Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts. --Sore...

Finally I saw HELL DRIVERS (Cy Endfield 1957). In spite of some positive reactions here on SSO over the past two years, I was prepared to be disappointed, fearing that it would be a rehash of THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT , THIEVES' HIGHWAY or WAGES OF FEAR . Although there are certainly elements of those mo...

A great documentary made while the genre was in full flower. Interviews with actors, directors, and behind the scenes footage of classic films:

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Although Spaghetti westerns fell out of favor in the early 70's there were still a few directors making these films periodically. The Italians often refer to this as the "Twilight" era, as we would categorize later Noir efforts that do not fall within the supposed classic time frame. Silve...

Canyon Passage is an amazing film. I remember I was painting our son's room when I ran back our bedroom to hit record and was so struck by the camerawork and colors I actually sat through the first 15 minutes of the film before I heard a voice yell "I don't hear any work going on back there!&q...

Morricone had done other work, but he really did not hit his stride until scoring Fistful of Dollars (1964) for Leone. From different accounts I've read, Leone did not like the traditional score he originally proposed and suggested the use of sound effects (whips, clanging bells, exotic instruments)...

One of my favorites was It Can Be Done, Amigo . Another one I need to track down. It's incredible how many westerns they churned out and so many of them aren't even available in the U.S.. When I think of the other Italian genres like Giallo, Poliziotteschi, or Sex Comedy, they had limited runs beca...

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h150/redsleep/Une_corde_un_colt_1968_zps9e77eec7.jpg I thought it might be nice to have a thread dedicated exclusively to the Italian western. While the origins of the genre are well known--Sergio Leone views Kurosawa's samurai flick Yojimbo (1961), transfers the p...

I don't mean to insinuate that he is a hack. In fact, I own and enjoy Reservoir Dogs and Jackie Brown , which are my personal favorites. I think his real gift is dialogue (although a lot of Jackie Brown is straight from Rum Punch ) and how he puts his pictures together, creating threads that tie the...

Did Quentin do a remake of the Italian film? Tarantino doesn't really remake films as much as take parts from different movies to create something that is an homage to the different genres he enjoys. I think he is a great ambassador for genre film and a gateway to the offbeat wonders that have lain...

Sorry Quentin, I'll take the original:

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Best opening death:

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And thanks for stopping by as well, Mr. Arkadin.. I must confess.. you have me creeped out just READING about the death scenes in the film you mention. ha. (I am almost too afraid to watch the clip.. especially if the one is as graphic as you say) Though I have to say I really enjoyed reading your ...

Here's a pair of older posts about Lucio Fulci's Don't Torture a Duckling (1972), where death might be savage, but life is never seen as cheap: I've said before that Lucio Fulci's films are my favorites of the giallo genre. Where many directors utilize graphic violence to titillate their audiences, ...

In the U.S., Passer directed the lzcutter-Dewey-Mr. Arkadin-ChiO favorite, CUTTER'S WAY (1981). A movie about nothing. Two old friends, both musicians, reunite in the village that one of them never left. They talk. The returnee soaks up the culture he had left behind...and remembers. An intimate po...