Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara (2023) The true account of a six-year-old Jewish boy, who in 1858 was taken from his family by Papal authorities because the boy was secretly baptized without his parents consent, is told in melodramatic, and times surrealistic flourishes, and painterly im...

A Matter of Life and Death (1946)

next: swords and sandals

That Lady in Ermine (1948) The Lubitsch touch still works in this Betty Grable vehicle, in which she plays two roles: Countess Angelina, and her grandmother Countess Francesca. The countesses must save the kingdom of Bergamo from Hungarian invaders, led by a dashing colonel, played by Douglas Fairb...

Atlantic City (1981)

next: department store

Napoleon (2023) Sumptuous production design and costumes, A lucid script by David Scarpa, and Ridley Scott’s great direction make this an enjoyable historical drama. It took me a while to warm up to the performances, but slowly Joaquin Phoenix’s Napoleon takes form. The reliably excellent Vanessa K...

The Paradine Case (1947)

Next: Agatha Christie adaptation

Nothing much to quibble about. Maybe replace Guys and Dolls with Kiss Me Kate. Kathryn Grayson had her best role, and Ann Miller was equally good.

La chimera (2023) Italy. A ragtag group of Neapolitan drifters, led by the mystical Arthur (Josh O’Connor), work for their bread by digging up graves in search of Etruscan artifacts, and selling the treasure on the black market. You can feel the echoes of neorealism in director Alice Rohrwacher’s sp...

To Catch a Thief (1955)

Next: a man undone by a woman

I finally got around to watching The Breaking Point. The old saying the book is better than the movie doesn’t apply here. Not that Hemingway’s To Have and Have Not has a high bar to clear. Breaking Point, though, without being tied to the book, is a very fine film. I want to single out cinematograph...

Safety Last! (1923)

next: culture clash

Annie Hall (1977) opens with Woody Allen imparting perhaps his most pithy joke about two elderly women in the Catskills. One woman comments on the poor food quality, and the other mentions the small portions, which according to Allen perfectly sum up life. What follows is a rewatchable comedy about ...

Cate Blanchett

next: judgmental

The Guilty (1947) A low budget wonderful noir from Monogram Studios, with a well-earned surprise ending. Bonita Granville plays twins, one of whom is a femme fatale. Granville’s petulant persona from her past films morphs into an effective seductress, easily manipulating WWII vets Don Castle and Wal...

Ten Performances by Marcello Mastroianni in chronological order: 1. White Nights (1957) 2. Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958) 3. La Dolce Vita (1960) 4. La Notte (1961) 5. Divorce Italian Style (1961) 6. 8 1/2 (1963) 7. The Organizer (1963) 8. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963) 9. Marriage Italian ...