Blog

Italian director Luchino Visconti once stated, “I like melodrama because it is situated just at the meeting point between life and theater.” Visconti, who like Elia Kazan in America had his origins in theater, would then go on to begin his film career in the 40s, becoming one of the pioneers of Italian neorealism along with Vittorio De Sica, and Roberto Rossellini, and making such classics as Ossession, and La Terra Trema. In these films he provided us with the workings of everyday people - with casts consisting of non-professional actors - and he filmed on basic locations.

Mae West was very unusual for the time in that she was her own screenwriter, and was the complete creator of the Mae West character for 20 years in the theatre before she got anywhere near movies. Of course, she had to wait for the movies to not only be invented, but be talkies - she would not have fared well in the silent cinema.

When I was re-watching last year’s Licorice Pizza, something came across my mind that hadn’t on the previous viewings, and that’s the influence of Jonathan Demme on Paul Thomas Anderson. When Pizza was first released, I read one review comparing it to Robert Altman - as has happened with so many of his films - along with Martin Scorsese. These are two auteurs who have very distinct and obvious styles, and they’re two of his favorite filmmakers. But Anderson’s favorite is Jonathan Demme, whose style isn’t quite as overt.

When thinking of the films of John Ford, one often doesn’t think of them as romantic. They may often think of them as noble, tough, and old fashioned in the best sense. But in many of his films there’s a longing for something that was past, and perhaps the most famous example in his career of this theme is his 1952 masterpiece The Quiet Man, which turns 70 today.

Kilmer wanted to be an actor from childhood, and his brother, Mark, made movies, so there is much footage of comic remakes of Jaws, etc, and Val in school plays, all in an early ‘70s glow. He dated Mare Winningham in high school, and was the youngest person ever accepted into Julliard.