In a previous post I wrote of my admiration for Raymond Bernard’s Wooden Crosses and Les Misérables . Ann Harding graciously recommended Bernard’s silent film The Chess Player and I’m glad she did. The Chess Player is an extraordinary epic, featuring a spectacular battle scene, sword fights, patriot...

Hollis wrote:

And I'm sure you've all heard of the dyslexic atheist?

He didn't believe there was a Dog!

Dyslexics of the world, untie!

For me, some movies are like time machines. When I watch a classic Universal horror film, or one of Roger Corman’s/Vincent Price Poe movies, I’m instantly transported back to my childhood home, the bunk beds in the room my twin brother and I shared, (shag red carpet on the floor, stereo with turntab...

Anne: Wow, High Fidelity is probably one of my favorite modern films: The obsession of music, and how to categorize it.----check The significance, structure and absolute art of the mix-tape.----check Trying to reconcile past relationships.----check Maybe it’s a “romantic” film too much from the male...

My list, in no particular order: Francois Truffaut: Jules and Jim, Shoot the Piano Player, Small Change Ingmar Bergman: Winter Light, Fanny and Alexander, Cries and Whispers Richard Linklater: Before Sunrise, Dazed and Confused, Waking Life Eric Rohmer: My Night at Maud’s, Clair’s Knee, Summer G.W. ...

Gone With the Wind. Four hours of a selfish woman behaving selfishly and ends up being selfish. Fiddle-de-de...

ChiO: I heartily agree about Julie Adams. The Creature From the Black Lagoon is one of the few Universal classics that can still make me jump, probably because I’m so busy watching Ms. Adams... Terry Moore reminded me too much of my sister. Like Joe, I was “bigger”, but I still had to do whatever sh...

Chris: My older sister had “Out of the Blue” on 8-Track! I used to borrow that all the time! (She had Foreigner’s first album on 8-Track, too. “Cold As Ice” was one of the songs that spanned two tracks. Every time I hear it on the radio, I anticipate it fading out in the middle, hearing the “click”,...

In another thread, it was mentioned that Mae Clarke is best remembered for the ol’ grapefruit in the face, which, no doubt, she is. But I commented that I remember her best as the original “bride” of Frankenstein. Coupling that thread with the thread on the 10 Silent Screen Beauties, I figured I’d s...

ChiO, What can I say about ELO? I hated them when I was a kid. And then Lynn got involved with George Harrison, over-producing his stuff, sure, but getting some brilliant music from the “Quiet Beatle” nonetheless. (He did a great job on Harrison’s posthumous album, Brainwashed , and co-produced the ...

A few other film books (mostly from the Silent era) with lots of wonderful photos: Buster Keaton Remembered --Eleanor Keaton & Jeffrey Vance Mary Pickford Rediscovered --Kevin Brownlow Harold Lloyd: Master Comedian --Suzanne Lloyd & Jeffrey Vance Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema --Jeffrey Vance...

I want to second mrsl’s recommendation for The Holiday . My wife convinced me we had to see this movie, and, knowing what’s good for me, I agreed. Surprise, surprise, the movie was great fun, with some real chemistry between Kate Winslet and Jack Black. (I like Black in School of Rock and especially...

Gagman wrote: Is there any word on the TCM Archives Lon Chaney Volume 2 Box set that Warner's promised for 2008? The year is better than half over? As far as I know THE BLACKBIRD (1926) was not scheduled to be included! Despite a brillant restoration in 2005, with a Robert Israel score! It makes zer...

Another list of the latest cd’s I’ve been listening to that need to be cleared off my desk: Melody Gardot --Worrisome Heart (A nice jazz/vocal album that will probably stay on my desk for the next couple of weeks). The Velvet Underground --Loaded (Even the Velvet’s worst is still good) The Knack --R...

Ashamed to admit, but I never heard of French filmmaker Raymond Bernard but took a chance on the Criterion Eclipse collection, containing two of his masterpieces. Wooden Crosses , an anti-war film, rivals, and in my estimation is even better than All Quiet on The Western Front The harrowing battle s...