JOHN ROBERSON

JOHN ROBERSON

Favorite films

  • O Lucky Man!
  • Blue Velvet
  • The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
  • Aguirre, the Wrath of God

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All
  • Nosferatu

    ★★★★

  • Berlin Alexanderplatz

    ★★★★½

  • Street Scene

    ★★★★

  • The Scarlet Letter

    ★★★★★

Recent reviews

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  • Nosferatu

    Nosferatu

    ★★★★

    Well, first reactions: I wasn't disappointed. It's a decent remake. My fears regarding Eggers' fondness for Coppola's DRACULA and particularly the Mina-reincarnation thing were, fortunately, unfounded. If anything, he used the "she's calling to him" thing quite well. This film is definitely better than Coppola's campfest; there's no trace of camp in this though it is VERY melodramatic.
    I am not sure what I think of the look of Orlok here. It's impressive. It IS quite different--more of a merging…

  • Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom

    Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom

    ★★★★★

    The most uncompromising attempt in the history of film to distill and express how fascism feels.
    Of course it's not pretty. Why would you want such a thing to look like anything less than being in Hell? Particularly as America now starts to experience it.

Popular reviews

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  • Black Robe

    Black Robe

    ★★★★★

    It's the anti-DANCES WITH WOLVES, in that it treats the Native Americans like humans, not like elves. Which means sometimes they're assholes like anyone else. And different tribes aren't necessarily friends with each other at all. And the priest has a learning and humbling arc throughout the film. This is NOT the Mission, though the plot revolves around trying to reach a remote, abandoned mission in the dead of a Canadian winter--in fact it's very much also an answer to…

  • The Charge of the Light Brigade

    The Charge of the Light Brigade

    ★★★★

    I've recently been delving into Tony Richardson, having not seen many of his films till recently. I find him interesting as a director kind of in between eras. CHARGE is the one that I've been finding an interesting curiosity to rewatch the last month or so. And it's not like it's a particularly good film as such--though very watchable--but the WAY it's done is kind of weird so it's interesting. There's of course the animated framing sequences, which I like…

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