A penniless, orphaned young woman (Miriam Hopkins) uses her wits -- and her sex -- to rise in the society of early 19th century England. Adaptation of William Thackeray's Vanity Fair (by way of a play by Langdon Mitchell) is primarily notable as the first movie filmed in 3-strip Technicolor; because the movie was produced independently and only distributed by RKO, when they went to re-release the film in the late 40s, they struck new prints in the inferior 2-stip…
Favorite films
Recent activity
AllRecent reviews
More-
-
The Paradine Case 1947
A married English lawyer (Gregory Peck, not even trying for an accent) falls in love with his latest client, a beautiful foreigner (Alida Valli) accused of poisoning her wealthy, elderly, blind husband. One of Alfred Hitchcock's lesser efforts: the first half is a turgid romantic melodrama, with zero chemistry between the two stars, or even between Peck and Ann Todd (as his wife); the second half is better, a gripping if not always believable courtroom drama; Hitch tries to liven…
Translated from by
Popular reviews
More-
Gimme Shelter 1970
Finishing up their 1969 tour of the U.S., The Rolling Stones plan a free concert a the Altamont Speedway, near San Francisco, and featuring other artists such as The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane; the decision to hire the Hell's Angels as security for the event, and the combination of drugs and alcohol exacerbates an increasingly tense situation, leading to tragedy when a man is stabbed to death by the Angels while the Stones are performing. Legendary documentary is admittedly…
Translated from by -
Pickpocket 1959
A wooden cypher (Martin LaSalle) becomes addicted to a life of petty crime. Of all the "greatest filmmakers of all time," writer-director Robert Bresson is emerging as my least favorite: his so-called minimalist style is stultifyingly boring, lacking rhythm and depending too much on telling rather than showing; he lacks any ability to direct the amateur players he casts, leaving them to stand still, reciting the bland dialogue without any emotion whatsoever; and he takes potentially intriguing ideas -- such…
Translated from by
