Today, The Criterion Collection released a new DVD and Blu-ray edition of John Hughes’ 1985 feature “The Breakfast Club.” While many fans of this film were happy to see its inclusion in The Criterion Collection’s line-up, there were also many movie lovers who were displeased that this film was selected for re-release, especially since it has been widely available for home entertainment viewing for years and it saw a 30th anniversary release in 2015.
For someone who understands the punk rock world so well, Alex Cox is very quick to tear the nostalgia shades off of the viewers to depict a meeting of two lovers that was so intense it resulted in an unfortunate murder. “Sid and Nancy” are often romanticized by music lovers even to this day, but Alex Cox who brought us the masterpiece “Repo Man,” looks behind the gloss, picturing two unbearable, but real individuals. Director Cox paints a brilliant picture of two people spiraling in to oblivion, with a remarkable drama that’s less a biopic and more a chronicle of two doomed lovers. Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen are a lot to drink in. From the moment we meet them, they’re loud, they’re parasitic and disgusting, but they form a relationship where they understand each other. In many ways they decided that they need each other to survive.
It’s apt that John Hughes’ “The Breakfast Club” would be granted a Criterion release, as it’s still one of the most riveting character studies ever released. While it’s often imitated, Hughes’ 1985 drama stands alone as a hallmark of simplicity, grabbing a cast at the top of their game in a decade, offering up truly remarkable performances in already seasoned careers. “The Breakfast Club” was basically “The Big Chill.” Except for a drama being about people in the middle of their lives, we’re able to sit down for ninety minutes with five young people at the beginning of their lives pondering on what they could become as adults, what they don’t want to become as adults, and what they fear they will become as adults.
George Cukor’s “The Philadelphia Story” isn’t just a masterful romance comedy, but it’s also an important piece of filmmaking that marked important turning points in the lives of its stars. In particular there was Katharine Hepburn who, believe it or not, was considered “Box Office Poison” by critics after a series of cinematic flops. Once “The Philadelphia Story” proved her brilliance as an actress, her career only went up. “The Philadelphia Story” is one of the least cloying romance comedies I’ve ever seen, as it’s one wrapped up in genuine human emotion and spite that tends to be shockingly entertaining. The fact that the film is models itself after the hit play never hinders the production, allowing “The Philadelphia Story” to feel very lively and energetic.
Orson Welles had an obviously nightmarish vision in mind when approaching Shakespeare’s “Othello.” The story itself is a maddening depiction of betrayal, deception, manipulation, and death, and Welles emphasizes that back drop in every shot. Despite being a troubled production, “Othello” looks beautiful and depicts the world around Othello as a confused and jarring mess where nothing is ever what it seems; that’s emphasized by the dizzying editing and close ups. Othello is a man driven by his passion who finds that the one person he trusts has likely betrayed him. This makes him abusive and inevitably murderous, and Welles offers no quarter when it comes to the titular character.
From the artistic peaks of “Citizen Kane” and “The Magnificent Ambersons” to that infamous recording of a frozen peas commercial, Orson Welles ran the full spectrum from the sublime to the ridiculous. Often treated with scorn and ridicule by the critics during his peak years, today he is beloved for his wild and tumultuous career output. Facebook’s funniest guy, Anthony “The Kingfish” Vitamia, returns to “The Online Movie Show” to talk about Orson’s amazing life. This is THE ultimate Orson Welles show that you need to hear!
The episode can be heard here.
“The Online Movie Show” is produced at the Platinum Wolfe Studios.
It’s utterly amazing what one small gesture can do to affect another person’s life. “L’Argent” isn’t so much a crime drama, though it does involve a crime, but it’s more a tale about how every choice creates a ripple, that have an important affect. Director Robert Bresson takes the first part of Leo Tolstoy’s posthumously published 1911 novella “The Forged Coupon” and uses it for the basis of a story about the downfall of various people, all the hand of a forged piece of currency.