Category Archives: Older Films

One Way Passage: A Tour Through Yesterday

Posted on September 6, 2015 by Mark DuPré

After recently watching a “minor” work of the great British team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, “I Know Where I’m Going”, my wife asked me how I enjoyed the 1945 film, most of which was set in the rugged … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Older Films | Tagged "I Know Where I'm Going", Aline MacMahon, Box Office Poison, Dragon Seed, Emeric Pressburger, Ernst Lubitsch, Frank McHugh, Fred Astaire, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Katherine Hepburn, Kay Francis, Life with Father, Mae West, Marlene Dietrich, Michael Powell, One Way Passage, Pre-Code, Tay Garnett, The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Thin Man, Trouble in Paradise, William Powell | Leave a comment

The Two Great Film Anniversaries You Probably Didn’t Hear About

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Mark DuPré

2015 is the one-hundred-year anniversary of two monumental events in the history of cinema. The fact you’re not hearing about them is two-fold: one is especially technical and most folks aren’t interested, and the other is being tragically choked out … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Film-Related Articles, Older Films | Tagged "In Glorious Technicolor", Birth of a Nation, D.W. Griffith, George Eastman House, Gone with the Wind, History of American Film, Jim Crow, Ku Klux Klan, racism, singin' in the rain, Technicolor, The Wizard of Oz | Leave a comment

Quick Takes: Inside Out, Ant-Man, Out of the Past

Posted on August 15, 2015 by Mark DuPré

Been busy with the publication of book number two and the continuation of book number three! So here are some quick takes on what I’ve been seeing. Inside Out Pixar’s latest success in a long string of successes. Great vocal … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films, Older Films | Tagged Ant-Man, Avengers, Evangeline Lilly, femme fatale, film noir, Inside Out, Iron Man, Jane Greer, Lost, Michael Douglas, Out of the Past, Paul Rudd, Pixar, Robert Mitchum, superhero, The Big Sleep | Leave a comment

The Garden of Allah (1936)

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Mark DuPré

Such a curiosity! The film is visually stunning, stolid, lumpy and howlingly unbelievable. But it’s worth a look for several reasons. The story is so out of our time as to be worthy of archeological study. A young woman who … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Older Films | Tagged Algiers, Charles Boyer, David O. Selznick, Gone with the Wind, H.G. Wells, Marlene Dietrich, Max Steiner, Oscar, Richard Boleslawski, Technicolor, The Garden of Allah, The Method, The Red Shoes, Things to Come, William Cameron Menzies | Leave a comment

Judgment at Nuremburg and A Man for All Seasons: The Cinema of Conscience

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Mark DuPré

When I teach my students about editing, I make sure to point out that it has a dual power—to both contrast and compare. Classic scenes of violence cut with scenes of a holy rite (The Godfather, Part One) or violence … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Older Films | Tagged "Tout le monde a ses raisons", A Man for All Seasons, Christopher Nolan, conscience, Fred Zinneman, Jean Renoir, Judgment at Nuremburg, Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich, Maximilian Schell, Montgomery Clift, morality, Nazi, Paul Scofield, Priceline, Richard Widmark, right and wrong, Spencer Tracy, Stanley Kramer, Star Trek, Third Reich, William Shatner, Wolf Hall | Leave a comment

An Open Letter to Christopher Plummer

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Mark DuPré

Dear Mr. Plummer: I am making a presentation soon on The Sound of Music, and chose it partially due to the attention recently given to it on its 50th anniversary. Although you’re making nice right now, we all know you’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Film-Related Articles, Older Films | Tagged an open letter to Christopher Plummer, Christopher Plummer, Julie Andrews, Robert Wise, The Sound of Music, underplay | Leave a comment

The Red Shoes (1948, British)

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Mark DuPré

The Red Shoes is a 1948 British Technicolor wonder that also happens to be a film about ballet and the constant struggle between being a great artist and having a life (see Whiplash for the most recent cinematic reminder). The … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Older Films | Tagged "In Glorious Technicolor", An American in Paris, Black Narcissus, dance, Emeric Pressburger, George Eastman House, Jack Cardiff, Michael Powell, Rochester, singin' in the rain, Technicolor, The Red Shoes | Leave a comment

Follow the Fleet

Posted on September 28, 2014 by Mark DuPré

Follow the Fleet (1936) is considered one of the lesser Astaire-Rogers musicals. Seeing it again for research, it’s clearer than ever why. If ever there was a musical that should be fast-forwarded through to get to the musical numbers, this … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Older Films | Tagged Betty Grable, Follow the Fleet, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Harriett Hilliard, I'd Rather Lead a Band, I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket, Let Yourself Go, Let's Face the Music and Dance, Lucille Ball, Randolph Scott | Leave a comment

Jaws Revisited

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Mark DuPré

It only made sense when doing a large extended-family vacation on Cape Cod, after spending an afternoon on the beach, to take another look at Jaws. The first time around, the film got lost in the phenomenon. It’s heralded as … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Older Films | Leave a comment

Two Films from 1942

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Mark DuPré

Holiday Inn As part of my general research on musicals, I wanted a complete look at a couple of films of what I’d only seen bits and pieces. Both were released in 1942. Both were packed with star power, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Older Films | Leave a comment