Mike Clark
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Mike’s Picks: ‘Holiday’ and ‘Trapped’
Holiday Criterion, Comedy, $29.95 DVD, $39.95 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Lew Ayres, Doris Nolan, Edward Everett Horton. 1938. Adapted from a play Philip Barry wrote well before he concocted The Philadelphia Story, this comic portrait of the unapologetic rich featured one of the four pairings of Katharine Hebburn and Cary Grant. Hepburn … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘Holiday’ and ‘Trapped’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘The Bad and the Beautiful’ and ‘The Story of Temple Drake’
The Bad and the Beautiful Available via Warner Archive Warner, Drama, $21.99 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Dick Powell, Gloria Grahame, Walter Pidgeon. 1952.The Bad and the Beautiful, a critical/commercial hit in its day, is tops of its kind if you’re into Vincente Minnelli’s specialized approach to sometimes gasket-blowing melodrama. A dissection of … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘The Bad and the Beautiful’ and ‘The Story of Temple Drake’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘Holiday’ and ‘Trapped’
Holiday Criterion, Comedy, $29.95 DVD, $39.95 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Lew Ayres, Doris Nolan, Edward Everett Horton. 1938. Adapted from a play Philip Barry wrote well before he concocted The Philadelphia Story, this comic portrait of the unapologetic rich featured one of the four pairings of Katharine Hebburn and Cary Grant. Hepburn … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘Holiday’ and ‘Trapped’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘The Bad and the Beautiful’ and ‘The Story of Temple Drake’
The Bad and the Beautiful Available via Warner Archive Warner, Drama, $21.99 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Dick Powell, Gloria Grahame, Walter Pidgeon. 1952.The Bad and the Beautiful, a critical/commercial hit in its day, is tops of its kind if you’re into Vincente Minnelli’s specialized approach to sometimes gasket-blowing melodrama. A dissection of … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘The Bad and the Beautiful’ and ‘The Story of Temple Drake’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘The Far Country’ and ‘The Bells of St. Mary’s’
The Far Country MVD/Arrow, Western, $39.95 Blu-ray, NR. Stars James Stewart, Ruth Roman, Corinne Calvet, Walter Brennan. 1954. Though his infectious smile directed mostly at Walter Brennan goes a long way to defuse this perception, The Far Country surprises a little by casting James Stewart as a real hard-ass with some unattractive traits, given that … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘The Far Country’ and ‘The Bells of St. Mary’s’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and ‘Christmas in July’
Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll Shout! Factory, Documentary, $24.97 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Linda Ronstadt, Etta James. 1987. Keith Richards wanted to give Chuck Berry a backup band he deserved for once as part of a splashy St. Louis tribute concert that Taylor Hackford then filmed — and … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and ‘Christmas in July’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘Days of Wine and Roses’ and ‘Charley Varrick’
Days of Wine and Roses Available via Warner Archive Warner, Drama, $21.99 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, Charles Bickford, Jack Klugman. 1962. In terms of his overall career, this harrowing warning shot about how alcohol can destroy lives, livelihoods and families seems to have been a highly unusual project for Blake Edwards, and … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘Days of Wine and Roses’ and ‘Charley Varrick’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘David Crosby: Remember My Name’ and ‘My Favorite Year’
David Crosby: Remember My Name Sony Pictures, Documentary, $25.99 DVD, $24.99 Blu-ray, ‘R’ for language, drug material and brief nudity. Featuring David Crosby, Cameron Crowe, Roger McGuinn, Jackson Browne. 2019. Filmmaker A.J. Eaton had apparently been working with Crosby for a while fashioning what came to be a combo confessional, irresistible rock-memories clip show and … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘David Crosby: Remember My Name’ and ‘My Favorite Year’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘When We Were Kings’ and ‘The Return of Martin Guerre’
When We Were Kings Criterion, Documentary, $29.95 DVD, $39.95 Blu-ray, ‘PG’ for images of violence, brief nudity and some language. Featuring Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Norman Mailer, George Plimpton. 1996. The now famed, Zaire-set 1974 Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman provided the century-caliber upset of which Oscar-winning documentaries … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘When We Were Kings’ and ‘The Return of Martin Guerre’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘The Tall Men’ and ‘There’s Always Tomorrow’
The Tall Men Available via ScreenArchives.com Twilight Time, Western, $29.95 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Clark Gable, Jane Russell, Robert Ryan, Cameron Mitchell. 1955. A substantial hit in its day that made Clark Gable give a damn because he took a percentage deal against his already meaty salary, The Tall Men is a combination cattle drive drama/wagon … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘The Tall Men’ and ‘There’s Always Tomorrow’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘The Major and the Minor’ and ‘The Set Up’
The Major and the Minor MVD/Arrow, Comedy, $39.95 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Rita Johnson, Diana Lynn, Robert Benchley. 1942. In the first Hollywood directorial outing from Billy Wilder, a grown woman posing as a 12-year-old meets and gradually falls for a kindly and thoroughly aboveboard Army major — who probably isn’t even … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘The Major and the Minor’ and ‘The Set Up’”