The Color Purple
SimilarA Christmas Carol (1938), Apocalypse Now (1979), Belle de Jour (1967), Ben-Hur (1959), Billy Elliot (2000),
Blade Runner (1982) Blood and Chocolate (2007), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Chicago (2002), Contact (1997), Contempt (1963), Crash (1996), Dances with Wolves (1990), Desert Hearts (1985), Enough (2002), Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Gone Baby Gone (2007), I've Always Liked You (2016),
Jackie Brown (1997) Just Cause (1995), Lost in Translation (2003), Manhattan (1979), Metropolis (1927), Mystic River (2003), Oldboy (2003), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Solaris (1972), The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019), The Bridges of Madison County (1995), The Cider House Rules (1999), The Elementary Particles (2006), The Fisher King (1991), The Irishman (2019),
The Name of the Rose (1986) The Party (1980), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), The Tin Drum (1979), Titanic (1997), To Die For (1995), Volver (2006),
Watch afterAquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023), Poor Things (2023), Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023), The Whale (2022),
StarringColman Domingo,
Blitz Bazawule's adaptation of the Alice Walker classic (and the Broadway musical) is a more joyful, celebratory film than its predecessor.
The Color Purple has taken on a musicality ever since Steven Spielberg and Quincy Jones adapted Alice Walker’s 1983 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel for the screen. When the first film was released in 1985, Spielberg already referred to it as a “musical.” In a behind-the-scenes interview about the film's musicality included in Warner Bros’ sumptuous new 4K release, Walker, Spielberg, and Jones conduct us through the “diverse places” that music appears in the original film. There are rail work songs, African dance, juke joint blues, and revival gospel; all tonally matched together in a near seamless “immersion” of sound.
In an age where nearly every popular and cult film gets a Broadway adaptation, The Color Purple is a particular no-brainer. Celie’s journey of self-discovery through systematic abuses and struggles at the turn of the twentieth century lends itself to the kind of emotional bigness a musical requires. With music by the legendary Brenda Russell and the late queer songwriting icon Allee Willis, The Color Purple: The Musical also showcases a diverse range of musical styles and modes, especially those well suited for the stage, like swing and Greek chorus. Continue Reading →
Dream Scenario
SimilarA Clockwork Orange (1971), Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006), Brazil (1985), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Forrest Gump (1994), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), M*A*S*H (1970), Mars Attacks! (1996), Shaun of the Dead (2004), The Party (1980), The Party 2 (1982), The Science of Sleep (2006),
Watch afterAnatomy of a Fall (2023), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023), Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), Leave the World Behind (2023), Napoleon (2023), Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023), Saltburn (2023), The Killer (2023),
StarringNicholas Braun,
StudioA24,
At this point, you can roughly divide the output of Nicolas Cage into one of two categories. First, there are films so tailored to his reigning wild man of cinema persona that it seems unimaginable they could exist if he passed. In the other camp are the quieter efforts like The Weather Man, Joe, and Pig that remind of what a powerful actor he still can be. His latest project, writer-director Kristoffer Borgli’s Dream Scenario, combines both approaches into a single offering. The result is a strange and wildly audacious work anchored by a surprisingly deft and low-key turn from Cage that stands in marked contrast to the weirdness surrounding him. Continue Reading →
Flashdance
SimilarAs It Is in Heaven (2004), The Party (1980),
Forty years on, Adrian Lyne's tale of welding, dancing, dreaming, and cold-shoulder sweaters still leaves us all feeling like maniacs.
Personally, the notion of referring to films as "guilty pleasures" has always struck me as slightly absurd—if a movie can touch, thrill, amuse, arouse or otherwise entertain you in some way, don't feel guilty about it.
So when I say that I've been a huge fan of Flashdance since its original release in 1983 (and can confirm, via the new 40th anniversary 4K UHD release from Paramount Home Video, that I still adore it), I feel absolutely no guilt or shame. Sure, the film is as preposterous a concoction as has ever been placed before a camera, assembled in such a calculating manner that you practically hear the gears grinding away in the background. But every time I've watched it over the years—and that's a lot—I find myself falling under its goofy spell once more. Continue Reading →