Author Archives: Mark DuPré

About Mark DuPré

Retired (associate) pastor at a Christian church. Retired film professor at Rochester Institute of Technology. Husband for nearly 50 years to the lovely and talented Diane. Father to three children and father-in-law to three more amazing people. I continue some ministry duties even though retired from the pastoral staff position. Right now I'm co-writing a book, co-writing a serious musical drama, and am half-way through writing (on my own a month-long devotional.

News of the World and The Dig: Two slow films for a fast-paced culture

Posted on February 8, 2021 by Mark DuPré

I’ve seen a lot of films lately, but two have stuck out for their amazingly slow pace. One is the new(ish) Tom Hanks film, News of the World. The second is a new Netflix film starring Carey Mulligan and Ralph … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Captain Phillips, Carey Mulligan, Cate Blanchett, Flight 93, Helena Zengel, Jason Bourne, Netflix, News of the World, Nicole Kidman, Paul Greengrass, Promising Young Woman, Ralph Fiennes, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, Tom Hanks, Western | Leave a comment

One Night in Miami…

Posted on January 22, 2021 by Mark DuPré

One Might in Miami… is an extraordinary film. For one, it’s an accomplished work from a first-time director, Regina King, already in the history books for winning Best Supporting Actress for 2018’s If Beale Street Could Talk (https://film-prof.com/2019/01/20/if-beale-street-could-talk/). It has … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Aldis Hodge, Cassius Clay, Eli Goree, Hamilton, If Beale Street Could Talk, Jim Brown, Jr., Kemp Powers, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Leslie Odom, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, One Night in Miami..., Regina King, Sam Cooke | Leave a comment

Wonder Woman 1984

Posted on January 3, 2021 by Mark DuPré

Seeing Wonder Woman 1984 was both exhilarating and disappointing. It was our first movie “date” in nearly a year, and it was great to be back in a good theater with a large screen (I’d seen Tenet on my own … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Cheetah, Chris Pine, Gal Gadot, Kristen Wiig, Patty Jenkins, Pedro Pascal, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, The Mandalorian, Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman 1984 | Leave a comment

Mank and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Posted on December 21, 2020 by Mark DuPré

Mank Two films that are sure to be receiving multiple Oscar nominations have recently been released. They were originally supposed to be seen in theaters (remember theaters?), but have landed on Netflix instead. They couldn’t be more different, except for … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged A Letter to Three Wives, All About Eve, Amanda Seyfried, Ben Mankiewicz, Chadwick Boseman, Citizen Kane, David Fincher, Frank Merriam, Gary Oldman, George C. Wolfe, George Jazz Band, Heath Ledger, Herman Mankiewicz, Jack Fincher, Joseph Mankiewicz, Josh Mankiewicz, L.B. Mayer, Lackawanna Blues, Les Miserables, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Mamma Mia!, Mank, Marion Davies, Netflix, Orson Welles, Pauline Kael, Philip Seymour Hoffman, River Phoenix, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Viola Davis, William Randolph Hearst | Leave a comment

Tombstone (1993)

Posted on December 12, 2020 by Mark DuPré

I was speaking with one of my sons the other day, and he made a Tombstone reference. I confessed that I hadn’t seen the film, and he humorously dropped his phone and generally expressed his horror and disappointment. The gauntlet … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Older Films | Tagged Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Billy Zane, Charlton Heston, Cobra, Dana Delaney, Doc Holliday, George Cosmatos, Jason Priestly, John Corbett, Jon Tenney, Kevin Jarre, Kurt Russell, Leviathan, Michael Biehn, Michael Rooker, Powers Boothe, Rambo: First Blood Part II, Sam Elliott, Stephen Lang, Thomas Haden Church, Tombstone, Val Kilmer, Wyatt Earp | Leave a comment

Two ’50s Films That “Shouldn’t Have Won” Best Picture

Posted on November 28, 2020 by Mark DuPré

(Note: It’s been a while since I’ve written. There was some pandemic going around that seems to have messed things up a while. Plus I’ve been busier than usual. But I hope that retiring from teaching, which I’ve just done, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Older Films | Tagged Anastasia, Argosy Pictures, Around the World in 80 Days, Baby Doll, Betty Hutton, Bus Stop, Cantinflas, Cary Grant, Cecil B. DeMille, Charlton Heston, Come Back, Cornel Wilde, David Niven, Dorothy Lamour, Fred Zinnemann, Friendly Persuasion, George Barnes, Giant, Gloria Grahame, Golden Globes, High Noon, I Vitelloni, Ivanhoe, James Stesart, Jean Hagen, John Ford, Joseph McCarthy, La Strada, Little Sheba, Lust for Life, Michael Todd, Moby Dick, My Cousin Rachel, Pia Zadora, Republic Pictures, Richard III, Seven Samurai, Shirley MacLaine, singin' in the rain, Technicolor, The Bad and the Beautiful, The Greatest Show on Earth, The King and I, The Quiet Man, The Searchers, The Ten Commandments, War and Peace, Written on the Wind | Leave a comment

Tough Films, Great Performances: The Informer (1935) and The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Mark DuPré

I’m not sure exactly what I imagined The Informer to be, but it wasn’t what I expected. This is the film that gave John Ford his first of four Best Director Oscars (still unmatched) and gave an Oscar to lead … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Older Films | Tagged Battle Cry, Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance, Caged, Casablanca, Charles Laughton, Clark Cable, Dark Victory, Detective Story, Eleanor Powell, Elmer Bernstein, Ernest Borgnine, Franchot Tone, Frank Sinatra, From Here to Eternity, Gone with the Wind, Interrupted Melody, Jezebel, John Ford, Johnny Belinda, Kim Novak, Life with Father, Marlon Brando, Marty, Max Steiner, Mutiny on the County, Now Voyager, Otto Preminger, Sergeant York, Since You Went Away, The Caine Mutiny, The Garden of Allah, The Gay Divorcee, The Informer, The Letter, The Man with the Golden Arm, The Moon is Blue, The Sound of Music, Victor McLaughlin | Leave a comment

How Green Was My Valley (1941)

Posted on July 29, 2020 by Mark DuPré

How Green Was My Valley is now, and will continue to be, best remembered as the film that “stole” the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars from Citizen Kane. If I have to come down on one side or the … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Older Films | Tagged Arthur C. Miller, Broken Blossoms, Citizen Kane, Donal Crisp, Drums Along the Mohawk, Gregg Toland, How Green Was My Valley, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Intolerance, Jezebel, John Ford, Maureen O'Hara, Mutiny on the Bounty, National Velvet, Pollyanna, Red Dust, Roddy McDowall, Spencer's Mountain, Stagecoach, The Birth of a Nation, The Grapes of Wrath, The Informer, The Life of Emile Zola, The Music Man, The Musketeers of Pig Alley, The Quiet Man, Tobacco Road, Walter Pidgeon, West Side Story, Wuthering Heights, Young Mr. Lincoln | Leave a comment

Da 5 Bloods

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Mark DuPré

Spike Lee’s new film (streaming on Netflix) is simultaneously the most important film of the year so far, yet not necessarily the best one. It’s important because Lee is one of our most important filmmakers, and it’s important because … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Apocalypse Now, Chadwick Boseman, Da 5 Bloods, Delroy Lindo, Do the Right Thing, General Norman Schwarzkopf, Heart of Darkness, Jonathan Majors, Joseph Conrad, President Trump, Spike Lee, Stormin' Norman, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Vietnam | Leave a comment

The Three to See: The Birth of a Nation, Gone with the Wind, and 12 Years a Slave

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Mark DuPré

The Three to See: Birth of a Nation, Gone with the Wind, and 12 Years Slave As I wade into where angels fear to tread, I want to make it clear that I am stepping outside the current social discussion … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films, Older Films | Tagged 12 Years a Slave, Benedict Cumberbatch, Broken Blossoms, Butterfly McQueen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Civil War, D.W. Griffith, Dark Victory, Dodge City, Gigi, Gone with the Wind, Green Book, Gunga Din, Hattie McDaniel, HBO Max, Hollywood, Intolerance, Jacqueline Stewart, Ku Klux Klan, Lillian Gish, Love Affair, Lupita Nyong'o, Max Steiner, Michael Fassbender, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, NAACP, Netflix, Ninotcha, Of Mice and Men, Olivia De Havilland, Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood, Oscars, Prissy, Reconstructionists, Sarah Paulson, Solomon Northup, Stagecoach, TCM, The Birth of a Nation, The Cheat, The Clansman, The Wizard of Oz, The Women, Viven Leigh, William Cameron Menzies, Woodrow Wilson, Wuthering Heights, YouTube | Leave a comment