Dario Argento is one of the most influential filmmakers of the horror genre, and on this week’s episode of “The Online Movie Show” we offer a tribute to his remarkable output. Film historian Troy Howarth returns as our guest, offering cogent commentary on all things Argento.
It’s surprising that “A Raisin in the Sun” is just as socially and politically relevant today as it was in 1961. Deep down while “A Raisin in the Sun” is a family drama, it’s also a film about inequality both in housing and socially. It’s about the poor and have nots looking for their own big break in a world that’s unfairly balanced in another direction entirely. It’s very easy to see where the stage play ends and the film begins, as “A Raisin in the Sun” is primarily a one setting drama about people looking for their own exit from a situation that offers them absolutely no future of wider horizons.
It’s not hard to figure out why “The Princess Bride” is considered one of the all time great cinematic fantasy classics. Even today it manages to stand as a movie that’s way ahead of its time and deconstructs a lot of the fairy tale and hero’s journey tropes way before “Shrek” ever popularized the idea. Rob Reiner injects a meta-mold to “The Princess Bride” helping it stand apart from a lot of the other fantasy epics we would have seen from the decade. His choice to make the story of Princess Buttercup told by a grandfather to his sick grandson is a testament to the incomparable experience of being swept away in a good book.
A young woman takes a gig watching a man’s son and his date’s son one evening as she cases the place. As the evening advances, supernatural events start putting a wrench in her plans.
Desperate for money, a group of teenagers takes jobs catering a lavish dinner party in a Malibu mansion in hopes of getting more than their pay out of it. Once inside, they quickly discover that the elite is much different than they expected.
The best thing I can say about “Bohemian Rhapsody” is that it aims to become a surefire Oscar contender, and the only aspect deserving of an Oscar is Rami Malek (bad fake teeth and wigs be damned). If you have to absolutely see “Bohemian Rhapsody” see it for Rami Malek, whose portrayal of Freddie Mercury is heartfelt, sublime, and much too fantastic for a movie that’s pretty much a sanitized version of the story of Queen and Freddie Mercury. When you have a biopic of the group that’s been authorized by the surviving members and is PG-13, there’s only so much flexibility allowed, and Malek thankfully rises to the occasion. And then there’s the rest of the movie.
BOOTLEG FILES 660: “The Westminster Passion Play – Behold the Man” (1951 British feature film).
LAST SEEN: It is on Amazon Prime, albeit for the wrong reason.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: Yes, but for the wrong reason.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It is complicated.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely at this time.
In 2011, a DVD label called Synergy Entertainment made one of the most spectacular blunders in the history of the home entertainment industry. This label, which specializes in public domain titles, brought forth a release of the rarely-seen 1921 French silent film “Behold the Man,” which told the story of Jesus’ last days. But there was a problem: the print used for the Synergy Entertainment was not from the French silent film, but instead belonged to a 1951 British production originally titled “The Westminster Passion Play – Behold the Man.”
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