Easy Rider is not just a significant American movie. It is also an exceptional example of independent filmmaking, one where, with the unwavering ambition of youth and a desire for something different, a film rises above and beyond the studio-beholden establishment to achieve a triumph all its own.
Few would argue against the original Chain Saw Massacre as being anything but a classic of the horror genre. Its influence lasted for decades afterwards, still reverberating today when horror movies opt for grimy, gritty, gross-out realism. With respect to the sequel, which was filmed and released a full 12 years later, the debate is still wide open. It has been equally lambasted and praised, sometimes for the very same reasons, such as not paying one iota of respect to the tone of the original.
Blue Velvet has plenty of the makings of noir: a sultry and dangerous atmosphere, big city fear, femme fatale (Dorothy Vallens/Isabella Rossellini), an intrepid detective working outside the police force (Jeffrey Beaumont/Kyle MacLachlan), and, of course, Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper), a psychopath akin to the best of late-period classic American noirs. By stirring the pot …
In 1986 it was a strange world and it was about to get weirder, as the irradiated detritus from the Chernobyl disaster infected Northern Europe a similarly radioactive event was contaminating cinema screens worldwide, as we alight upon the first masterpiece of Lynch’s career – I just thought I’d be up front about that. After the painful critical evisceration of Dune a wounded Lynch retreated to his lair and decided he needed to go back to his roots and make a smaller, more personal and manageable film, without the distractions that an interfering studio, costly SFX and adjacent marketing concerns which had partially diluted his creative essence and drive.
Speed Directed by Jan de Bont Written by Graham Yost 1994, USA For nearly two hours, the pulse-accelerating, Keanu Reeves vehicle, titled Speed, rarely taking a second to slow down. With a story by debuting screenwriter Graham Yost (of Justified fame), this high-adrenaline, nonstop roller-coaster ride is really three pictures rolled into one. Speed is …
River’s Edge Directed by Tim Hunter Written by Neal Jimenez USA, 1986 River’s Edge is probably best known as a bewildering showcase for some of the strangest performances of 1980s cinema. Featuring Keanu Reeves, Crispin Glover and Dennis Hopper in an already puzzling film about the murder of a teenage girl and the apparent apathetic …
Speed Directed by Jan de Bont Written by Graham Yost & Joss Whedon (Uncredited) US, 1994 Despite his tortured artist demeanor and frustratingly enigmatic career form which is more akin to Vincent Gallo than Bruce Willis, Keanu Reeves is an actor who’s strangely potent potential can be compared to the unpredictable success of what you’d …
True Romance Directed by Tony Scott Screenplay by Quentin Tarantino 1993, USA “Not since Bonnie and Clyde have two people been so good at being bad”. Written by one-of-a-kind Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction) and directed by Tony Scott (Top Gun, Hunger, Crimson Tide), True Romance is if anything consistently entertaining. This outlaw-lovers-on-the-run flick …
True Romance Directed by Tony Scott Screenplay by Quentin Tarantino 1993, USA “Not since Bonnie and Clyde have two people been so good at being bad”. Written by one-of-a-kind Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction) and directed by Tony Scott (Top Gun, Hunger, Crimson Tide), True Romance is if anything consistently entertaining. This outlaw-lovers-on-the-run …
Nicol Williamson as Merlin in Excalibur (John Boorman, 1981, UK): Turning in by far the best acting in Boorman’s epic, Williamson sets the bar for all other interpretations of the Merlin character. Best known as an acclaimed stage actor with a history of incredibly unprofessional behavior, this is Williamson’s most memorable film role and will …
He He was a cowboy, an outlaw biker, a drug fiend, a madman, a criminal, a gun nut, a hippie, a Republican, and an Obama supporter. Hopper was also a prolific photographer, painter, and sculptor. His painting style ranged from abstract impressionism to photorealism and often included references to his cinematic work and to other …
Philippe Mora’s Mad Dog Morgan, a violent true story and a 70’s classic that forever changed the way international audiences saw Australian cinema, is being released in a two-disc limited edition DVD set on November 24 from Troma. Dennis Hopper (Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now) plays Mad Dog Morgan, Australia’s most notorious criminal, with all the …