Mike Clark
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Mike’s Picks: ‘A Patch of Blue’ and ‘This Island Earth’
A Patch of Blue Available via Warner Archive Warner, Drama, $21.99 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Sidney Poitier, Elizabeth Hartman, Shelley Winters, Wallace Ford. 1965. A Patch of Blue is at once a star vehicle for Sidney Poitier plus a terrific ensemble piece, though its No. 1 takeaway is still Elizabeth Hartman’s knock-you-on-your-duff performance in what is … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘A Patch of Blue’ and ‘This Island Earth’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘Gaslight’ and ‘Mother Wore Tights’
Gaslight Available via Warner Archive Warner, Mystery, $21.99 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, Dame May Whitty. 1944. MGM’s superbly cast George Cukor remake of a 1940 British film is definitely a classic, a stylish mystery about a wastrel who marries a delicate woman for her inheritance, which is mostly wrapped up … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘Gaslight’ and ‘Mother Wore Tights’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘A Patch of Blue’ and ‘This Island Earth’
A Patch of Blue Available via Warner Archive Warner, Drama, $21.99 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Sidney Poitier, Elizabeth Hartman, Shelley Winters, Wallace Ford. 1965. A Patch of Blue is at once a star vehicle for Sidney Poitier plus a terrific ensemble piece, though its No. 1 takeaway is still Elizabeth Hartman’s knock-you-on-your-duff performance in what is … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘A Patch of Blue’ and ‘This Island Earth’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘Gaslight’ and ‘Mother Wore Tights’
Gaslight Available via Warner Archive Warner, Mystery, $21.99 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, Dame May Whitty. 1944. MGM’s superbly cast George Cukor remake of a 1940 British film is definitely a classic, a stylish mystery about a wastrel who marries a delicate woman for her inheritance, which is mostly wrapped up … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘Gaslight’ and ‘Mother Wore Tights’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘Can’t Stop the Music’ and ‘Rider on the Rain’
Can’t Stop the Music Shout! Factory, Musical, $29.95 Blu-ray, ‘PG.’ Stars Bruce Jenner, Valerine Perrine, The Village People, Steve Guttenberg. 1980. Feel-good Can’t Stop the Music has all the makings of a cult movie with the passage of time, but its disco DNA ultimately might have been a commercial liability in its time as it … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘Can’t Stop the Music’ and ‘Rider on the Rain’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘Between the Lines’ and ‘Warlock’
Between the Lines Street Date 6/18/19 Cohen, Comedy, $29.98 Blu-ray, ‘R.’ Stars John Heard, Lindsay Crouse, Jeff Goldblum, Gwen Welles. 1977. As an easygoing, era-specific comedy that both lauded and poked mild fun at the disillusioned hip, Joan Micklin Silver’s Between the Lines (with a knowing script by Fred Barron) also had at least a … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘Between the Lines’ and ‘Warlock’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘The Big Clock’ and ‘Baby the Rain Must Fall’
The Big Clock: Special Edition MVD/Arrow, Drama, $39.95 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, Maureen O’Sullivan, George Macready. 1948. With a larkish approach to drinking straight plus several wacky asides, the toned-down movie of Kenneth Fearing’s novel The Big Clock isn’t exactly “noir” yet would still be a tough one to leave off a … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘The Big Clock’ and ‘Baby the Rain Must Fall’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘The Heiress’ and ‘This Gun for Hire’
The Heiress Criterion, Drama, $29.95 DVD, $39.95 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Olivia de Havilland, Montgomery Clift, Ralph Richardson, Miriam Hopkins. 1949. Adapted from the 1947 Ruth and Augustus Goetz play whose springboard was Henry James’s source novel Washington Square, the William Wyler-directed The Heiress allows Olivia de Havilland to undergo a subtly eerie transformation before our … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘The Heiress’ and ‘This Gun for Hire’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘Summer Stock’ and ‘Three Coins in the Fountain’
Summer Stock Available via Warner Archive Warner, Musical, $21.99 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Eddie Bracken, Gloria DeHaven. 1950. Judy Garland’s last movie at the studio whose heyday she helped establish may be even more interesting to talk about than it is to see, but there are enough evenly sprinkled golden moments in … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘Summer Stock’ and ‘Three Coins in the Fountain’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘Bend of the River’ and ‘Melvin and Howard’
Bend of the River Kino Lorber, Western, $29.95 Blu-ray, NR. Stars James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Julia Adams, Rock Hudson. 1952. This second of the five revered James Stewart-Anthony Mann Westerns, Bend of the River has the “elements”: two great lead actors playing characters who are alternately friendly and adversarial with each other; a supporting cast … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘Bend of the River’ and ‘Melvin and Howard’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘A Face in the Crowd’ and ‘Tarantula’
A Face in the Crowd Criterion, Drama, $29.95 DVD, $39.95 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, Walter Matthau, Anthony Franciosa, Lee Remick. 1957. Elia Kazan’s warning shot about how broadcast mass media might be able to “package” political candidates the way Madison Avenue had done for antacid TV spots may be one of the … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘A Face in the Crowd’ and ‘Tarantula’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘The Great Buster’ and ‘The River’s Edge’
The Great Buster: A Celebration Cohen, Documentary, $25.99 DVD, $30.99 Blu-ray, NR. 2018. Filmmaker/journalist/historian Peter Bogdanovich provides a Buster Keaton overview that hits most of the key points with some major surprises when it comes to unearthed twilight TV footage — unexpectedly but shrewdly stockpiling a lot of the central features’ most evocative clips until … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘The Great Buster’ and ‘The River’s Edge’”